[Kickstarter Review #1] "REIGN Enchiridion" (by Greg Stolze): Part 1: Overview

The first project I backed on Kickstarter was REIGN Enchiridion by Greg Stolze/Arc Dream Publishing/Cubicle 7. This project funded on December 18, 2009. I pledged $15 for the digest-sized softback book and the pdf. This project is old enough that it was created before Kickstarter required estimated delivery dates. My best recollection (It has been four years!) is that I received the pdf in March 2010, the physical book arrived in May 2010, and both were on-time.

What is REIGN Enchiridion? REIGN Enchiridion is REIGN: A Game of Lords and Leaders with the (weird but interesting) setting stripped-out and some of the material from REIGN's (free) supplements added-in. REIGN uses the One-Roll Engine (or ORE) that is used in games like Godlike, Wild Talents, and Monsters and Other Childish Things. What differentiates REIGN from any other standard fantasy role-playing game is the ability to play the leaders of a "Company."

What is a "Company"? A Company is any group of people who have common cause ... for example, a business, a group of mercenaries and/or thieves, a religion, or a secret conspiracy. The Company is created very much like you create a character.

The book is digest-sized (6" wide x 9" tall x 1/2" thick) and softbacked. The cover is glossy and a darker red than the image above. The interior is black and white and well laid out with illustrations only between chapters. It is worth noting that the pdf has hyperlinks in the extensive table of contents but not in the index.

The (watermarked) pdf is available on DriveThruRPG for $9.99. The book is available on Amazon. Indie Press Revolution carries REIGN but not REIGN Enchiridion?

Coming up next ... a more detailed review of the contents of REIGN Enchiridion: Part 2: Introduction & Character Creation.

Reviews of Games Backed on Kickstarter & Indiegogo

It has almost been two years (!) since I put any new content up on this blog. One of my summer projects is to review the role-playing, board, card, and dice games that I have backed on Kickstarter and Indiegogo. This is going to take more than a bit of time.

I have backed 119 (!) projects on Kickstarter and two on IndieGoGo as of the writing of this blog entry. Of those backed, only one failed to fund. I have only withdrawn my pledge from one project. I have only been unable to fund one project. My damn credit cards refused to pay to an English company—even though I had successfully paid the same company before. I ended up paying through PayPal. The vast majority of the projects are role-playing games.

I have had (mostly) success with the projects that I have backed. I have only had one project where the creator still has not delivered on the stretch goals even though the project funded almost three years ago. I have had another project that went belly-up after funding—but another developer picked up the ball and is making progress towards completing the project. Although I will probably just end up getting a pdf even though I backed for a book. The vast majority of the remaining projects were/are late on their promised delivery dates. So, my advice for you is to expect the projects to be late—sometimes up to a year or more late! Stretch goals seem to be the main culprit in making a project late to deliver.

I am going to start reviewing with the first project I backed on Kickstarter: REIGN Enchiridion by Greg Stolze/Arc Dream/Cubicle 7. This project funded on December 18, 2009. I pledged $15 for the softback, digest-sized book and the pdf. This project is old enough that it was created before Kickstarter required estimated delivery dates. My best recollection (It has been four years!) is that I received the pdf in March 2010, the physical book arrived in May 2010, and both were on-time.

Coming up next ... a review of REIGN Enchiridion by Greg Stolze.

Kickstarter: "Better Angels"

Arc Dream Publishing has just launched a Kickstarter for Better Angels by Greg Stolze. The Kickstarter ends on Sunday, August 26th, 2012. It will use a variant of the variant of One-Roll Engine (ORE) used for A Dirty World by Greg Stolze.


You play a supervillain. At least that is what everyone thinks. Actually, you are just a good person who voluntarily lets a demon ride him. You do this to try to reign in the evil that the demon could do if left unchecked. You come up with these ridiculous, over-the-top plans that the superheroes (possessed by angels!) can easily thwart but satisfy the desires of the demon riding you.

Back Dungeon World

I backed Dungeon World on Kickstarter! I have heard great things about the game. I think it will help scratch the itch to play some D&D (which, unfortunately, D&D Next, based on the initial playtest documents, did not).