My new game is launching soon! (But I really need help)
It's called "Death Game" and it's about - you guessed it...
Hi everyone!
I have a new game right around the corner! For those of you that have followed me for a while, you’ll have seen a preview of this game in one of my earliest newsletters. I’ve been working on it for over two years. And I’m finally going to be launching it on Kickstarter on the first of February.
Death Game is a classic LOC game, in the sence that it has a simple one-sentence pitch: participate in a game of death. Fight for your life for the entertainment of the ultra-rich.
It uses really fun mechanics that I’m super excited to showcase, like a rotating GM, and a peril system that puts death just around the corner.
I’ve put together a team I’m very proud of, with a fantastic artist (@HodagRPG on twitter, who also illustrated Stolen Crown), a great editor and layout artist, and some fabulous stretch goals.
It’s a cliche, but I actually really do need some help to make the game itself happen. Since a lot of my social media reach collapsed last year (Elon-geddon and all that), I pretty much only have my mailing list and some partially active accounts to help this to fund.
That doesn’t mean I’ll be spamming this mailing list - I only ever send out an email at the start and end of a Kickstarter campaign, so I’ll be sending just two more. But it does mean there are a couple things you can do that would make a big difference.
If you like my previous work, and think you might back this game, PLEASE follow the prelaunch page. I have early bird rewards up at a reduced price, so you want to get on top of it as soon as launch happens!
If you have a friend or friend group that might like the project, please share it with them. Word of mouth is the most powerful tool in our arsenal (that’s why so many companies do those refer-a-friend promotions)
If you’re in any other way excited about what I do, please share the game on social media - twitter, tiktok, bluesky, threads, whatever you have. It all makes a difference.
Right now I’m on 30 prelaunch followers, which is not a great number to be launching with. If I can get to a hundred by Feb 1st, I’ll feel much more secure.
Thank you so much in advance for supporting my work,
Laurie
PS - Since I don’t have preview art yet - that’s coming next week - I thought I’d share a snippet of text with you.
So, here are the draft Death Rules… (of course subject to change in the edit!)
Playing a character
Most characters in Death Game are doomed to die, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t care about them. Try to make every last moment count for them. Think about what your character would want to do and achieve. Would they search for connection or cut themselves off. Would they put their survival above all else, or take risks to help others? Make your characters’ acts meaningful as well as logical.
Death
Before you roll a Skill Check, the GM will tell you if this roll is Perilous. When you fail a Perilous roll, add 1 to your Peril score.
If a roll is Perilous that means there is a risk of death. When you fail a perilous roll, roll a d12. If you roll under your Peril score, you die.
Hero Points
If all players at the table decide a character has done something particularly heroic, exceptionally cunning, that character may be awarded a Hero Point (HP) which they can spend to escape an inevitable death. Narrate how your character narrowly escapes with their lives.
Returning to play
In Death Game, everyone shares the GM’s seat - when a character dies, their player becomes the GM and the GM becomes a previously established NPC.