Welcome to Kickstart Monday! This is our weekly series featuring 2 or more crowdfunding projects that have caught our eye. We scour over platforms like Kickstarter, Gamefound, and Indigogo to find projects that interest us.

There are certainly some exciting projects out in crowdfunding land. Let’s take a look at a couple of games that we think you should check out.

Call of Cthulhu Horror on the Orient Express: The Board Game

Our first game this week is Call of Cthulhu Horror on the Orient Express: The Board Game on Kickstarter from Chaosium Inc.

Horror on the Orient Express is a cooperative board game for 1 to 4 players from the makers of the Call of Cthulhu TTRPG and the authors of the popular board games Nemesis, Frostpunk, Lords of Ragnarok and Destinies. You and your fellow investigators are passengers on the luxurious Orient Express. What starts off as a comfortable train ride soon delves into the realm of eldritch horror as the train passes into the dangerous Dreamlands.

You are charged with keeping the other passengers on the train safe all while the train is being attacked by hideous creatures from the strange realm beyond. To make matters worse there is a secret cult aboard the train as well seeking to complete a dark ritual that will doom the Orient Express and its passengers to an evil fate. You will need to question the other passengers as suspects to root out the hidden cult members and stop the ritual before it’s too late. You will need to work together to use the unique skills of your investigators along with items and spells you collect along the way if you are to have a hope of succeeding.

Horror on the Orient Express looks to have a unique table presence with a 3-D train centerpiece made of 6 train cars that the investigators and passengers can move between. The train cars feature moveable window curtains to let you peek out at the horrors that wait you beyond the train or to close them to protect  yourself. The game also features custom miniatures for each of the investigators, the Reaver, Absorber, Howler, and Vampire monsters, and six different suspects. The game is available at two pledge levels, first is the First Class Ticket level for $98. This includes the core game, the Investigators Unveiled expansion and a promo miniature of the Nightmarish Orient Express and any unlocked stretch goals. You can upgrade your ticket to be a VIP Passenger for $145 which will get you everything at the previous level and the Consumed by the Void campaign expansion. You’ll want to get on board for Horror on the Orient Express before April 19 2,024 when the campaign ends.

Lairs & Legends 2 – The Definitive 5e Resource Anthology

Next up on Kickstarter is Lairs & Legends 2 – The Definitive 5e Resource Anthology from The DM Lair.

The Lairs & Legends 2 campaign is offering 2 new books for fifth edition Dungeon & Dragons campaigns from Luke Hart who runs the popular Dm Lair youtube channel. Between the two books; Lairs & Legends 2 and Loot and Lore 2 you will find a whole host of resources for running exciting 5e D&D games. First off there are 30 full length adventures included. This includes 6 three-part adventure arcs that cover each tier of gameplay. On top of that there are 12 stand alone adventures that also cover each tier of play.

Beyond that there are also 30 stand-alone encounters for when your party strays off the beaten path. Of course you’ll need to make sure there are plenty of monsters for your players to face during these adventures and there are over one hundred different monsters available to choose from in Legends & Lairs 2. Many monsters have new tactics and abilities to surprise and challenge your players. In addition to those challenges see how your adventurers fare against 30 devious traps and 30 clever puzzles. Reward your players with 20 new magic items – which has actually expanded to 30 with an unlocked stretch goal! You can expand your campaign with six new rulesets that provide some fun new mechanics for your 5e campaign these include rules for:

  • Skill Challenges
  • Naval Combat
  • Rewards & Recognition
  • Diseases
  • Sanity
  • Spell Dueling 

The books are designed specifically to be easy to use and run at the table. The formatting, layout, wording and art are all designed with care to keep you from having to dig through multiple pages of the book to find what you need. Also all of the content of these books is guaranteed to be free of AI-generated material.

Here is a breakdown of the various digital and physical pledge tiers that are available.

  • Both PDFs – $80 – digital copies of Lairs & Legends 2 and Loot & Lore 2
  • Both PDFs plus Foundry VTT Module – $100
  • Both Standard Hardcovers – $120 (includes PDFs)
  • Both Standard Hardcover plus Foundry VTT Module – $140
  • Both Limited Edition Hardcovers – $150 (includes PDFs)
  • Both Limited Edition Hardcovers plus Foundry VTT Module – $170

The campaign for Lairs & Legends 2 will only be open until May 2, 2024, so plan your quest accordingly and make your pledge before then.

Did we miss your favorite project?

Thank you for checking out this week’s Kickstart Monday! If you find these interesting or want some attention on a Kickstarter or other crowdfunded projects that you would like to read more about please share your thoughts with us via our social media or email.

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