With PAX closing in and Fallout 4 pre-orders about to be utilised, we should give the local scene a chance to shine. Last week, local indie designer Kim Larking launched a Kickstarter campaign to fund printing and distributing her tabletop role-playing module Dream of the Djinn. The game is designed to be run on existing role-playing systems, like DnD 3.5 and Pathfinder, and keeps combat to a minimal while ensuring the mortality rate stays high!
Larking describes the adventure as a fun and social way to build on creative problem-solving skills. “The objective of the game is simple,” she said, “but you’ll need to be clever and cunning in order to succeed.” Combat, while present, is kept to a minimum, and even that tends to be resolved via smarts rather than swords.
This de-emphasis on combat doesn’t make the game any less deadly. Larking reports high character mortality and injury rates during testing. “There are the traps which kill you,” she says, “the ones which only mostly kill you, and the ones you’ll wish had killed you.” Others are surprisingly gentle (with unexpectedly beneficial side effects), or can be turned into useful tools for players to exploit in later encounters.
The campaign’s stretch goals aim for improved illustrations, an accompanying game soundtrack, and – should funding reach $10,000 – a game expansion. The campaign runs until November 7th, so if traps and trickery sound up your alley, we recommend giving this one a pledge!
Official Kickstarter Page: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/kim-larking/dream-of-the-djinn-tabletop-rpg-adventure
