Kickstarter - The Dragon Heresy Introductory Set Fantasy RPG (built off of the 5.1 SRD)

"Explore and conquer in a Norse-inspired land with Dragon Heresy, an SRD5.1 Fantasy RPG. Secure your place in the sagas, or die trying!"

I've been following +Douglas Cole 's Dragon Heresy project for a while now and it's exciting to see it come to life.

In the Dragon Heresy Introductory set, you will find everything required to create your hero, play the game, and challenge fearsome foes.   

Venture forth under the eyes of the Aesir. Put your skill, strength, and sacred honor to the test. Find horror and death, or rise to take your place among the jarls of Torengar.   

Go forth and stake your claim. Your saga starts here.

Doug does Kickstarter right. You can tell he is a project manager by trade as everything is done like clockwork. What do I mean? Writing and layout are already done :)

So, what makes Dragon Heresy different?

Dragon Heresy builds off of the excellent SRD5.1 game engine, but with adjustments and additions made to match the feel of the setting and provide more nuance to combat and struggle. 

• Division of HP into wounds and vigor for a more coherent treatment of rest and injury
• Shields are way, way cooler, providing active defense using your reaction, and protection against missile weapons and other swift attacks not available to melee-only fighters
• Enhanced use of existing mechanics to add nuance and risk to combat, especially exhaustion and reactions
• The ability to aim and evaluate, make a called shot, and rules to ensure long-reach spear-fighters are a force to be reckoned with
• Grappling rules that don’t suck! Dragon Heresy originated the rules that became Dungeon Grappling
• The changes in the rules have been painstakingly rippled through the rules for monsters and spells, updating each where appropriate

I'm looking forward to giving these rules a proper workout.

As for where your money goes when you back:

The Dragon Heresy project has been underway for the better part of two years, and substantial pre-investment has been made to bring the book to its current state. So what's left?

• Final Editing - getting an SRD5.1-aware editor on board for a final check of wording, grammar, and rules consistency
• Indexing - A great book deserves a great index.
• Remaining Art Spaces - there are a few art holes that need to be filled
• Printing (covered by your pledge) and Shipping (which will be done in Backerkit)

That's really it. Backers at the Berserker and higher levels ($5 and more) will receive preliminary, playable copies of their electronic files the day the Kickstarter funds settle. 

$20 for the PDF level, $50 for the B&W print plus PDF and $100 for the glorious color plus PDF.

I'm in at $50.

Oh, almost forgot. There is a $500 backers level. If I thought Rach wouldn't kill me it's DAMN tempting:

Skjald-hirð 

A shield-bearer of the elite guard! Join the huscarls of Torengar, and get a shield to go with it! 

At this pledge level, in addition to a color copy of the game, I will also build for you a custom-constructed viking shield. It will be made of aspen planks, butted together with hide glue, to historical dimensions. 

Custom-spec the size (half your height recommended) to an upper limit of about 35.5". Hand-carved oak handle, goatskin edging, and linen stitching. Painted with colors and symbology from the game. 

I make these myself and have made a dozen in a week's time before; I am not worried about getting them made. These shields are suitable for historical re-creation martial arts training but not for re-enactment. Contact me for details if you're curious. 

The shield will be very expensive to ship and will only ship inside the USA. Cost is listed as zero, but will be charged in Backerkit.