A Kickstarter That is Flying Under the Radar: The Way of Tree, Shadow & Flame for The Secret Fire RPG

Do you remember The Secret Fire RPG? I do, and while I'd be hard pressed to find my print copy at the moment, I was looking at the PDF the other week wonder why it never got more attention than it did.

Same may be said for the Kickstarter of The Way of Tree, Shadow & Flame for The Secret Fire RPG. Two days into the Kickstarter and not a dollar pledged.

I think a major part of the issue is that there isn't a pledge level that doesn't include a a copy of the  Secret Fire Rules, in print or PDF. I already have it in print and PDF - why do I need to pledge for a level that includes something I already own? I would suspect that this Kickstarter would attract those that already have an interest in The Secret Fire, so why not allow them to pledge for what they actually need?

Has anyone else seen this Kickstarter mentioned anywhere?

The goal is reasonable - 3k. At 6k The Secret Fire Companion for Swords & Wizardry is added. I'd jump in for that alone if I was being forced to rebuy a game I already own.

The listing of involved authors has some major writers of classic D&D and OSR fame:

Authors include Ed Greenwood, Logan Bonner, Michael Curtis, Thomas Reid, Bill Heron, Ronald Corn, George Strayton, and Bill Smith, with a foreword by Jim Ward.

I'm surprised none of them are mentioning their involvement on their blogs or social circles.


Here's the rest of the blurb:

This first supplement for The Secret Fire roleplaying game augments the material presented in the main rulebook, expanding upon existing elements as well as adding new dimensions of play. At the same time, The Way Of Tree, Shadow & Flame seeks to maintain the dark sense of mystery, uncertainty, and danger of the original system, while providing players and Master Creators with options and advice for creating and fleshing out three-dimensional characters to set forth on perilous quests in search of fortune, glory, or perhaps some greater cause, all within a realistic fantasy milieu. As The Secret Fire was always meant to be a free-wheeling game of adventure loosely bound by its rules and empowered by the varied imaginations of its various participants, so this book is the result of contributions from many veteran game designers responsible for some of the most popular game systems and campaign worlds in the history of the hobby. 

The Way Of Tree, Shadow & Flame contains new Callings (Assassin, Druid, Huntsman, Knight-Errant, Skald), new prayers, spells, and rituals, new Traits and Trademarks, expanded Energy Point options, backstory and relationship generation tables, new equipment, rules for building and running your own domain, new monsters and talismans, new ways to use the Elder Gods and the Character Wheel, optional rules to customize your campaign and increase immersion, random encounter tables for sandbox play, advice for MCs, and more!

Sounds interesting but unlikely at this time. George may be better served by rebooting this Kickstarter with a little more support up front and some friendlier support levels for those that supported the game with their gaming dollars when it released.

edit: from the comments on this post


Michael CurtisApril 26, 2013 at 10:35 PM
Check out the Updates on this Kickstarter. Apparently there's a problem between Kickstarter and Amazon which is not allowing contributions to be processed, hence the $0.00 funding. It looks like George is going to pull down the campaign and reboot it. Maybe he'll take your advice and reconfigure the pledge rewards as well.

I don't think he made a formal announcement regarding the Kickstarter due to the problems with the contribution process. He told me he'd let me know when it was underway, but I hadn't heard anything until reading this post.