The wildly popular board game Gloomhaven had elements of a role-playing game from the start. Its choose your own adventure styleOpens in a new tab and massive worldbuilding leads to intricate characters, epic quests, and grand battles. Now it’s officially getting an RPG version. Gloomhaven: The Role Playing Game is getting its own crowdfunding campaign starting in April 2023. If it’s anything like the original game or its sequel, Frosthaven, it’s likely to raise millionsOpens in a new tab. If you’re ready to step into the role of Gloom Master and start a new epic journey, here’s your chance to get in on the ground floor.
Cephalofair shared the newsOpens in a new tab that the RPG will launch on crowdfunding platform Backerkit. The game will continue using cards instead of dice, rewarding player ingenuity rather than relying on luck. According to the game’s designer Isaac Childres:
…this isn’t just the board game with a GM. First of all, we’ve opened up the playing field to allow for any class and ancestry combination. You can be an Inox Spellweaver, an Orchid Cragheart, or anything else… And this newly developed system integrates card management into the role-playing experience. That’s right, we’ve added a third skill check action to these cards, which lets you perform great feats out of combat, but also opens up a new dimension in combat, letting you swing from chandeliers, kick through walls, or even convince the bad guys to stop fighting.
For those who have already spent countless hours playing Gloomhaven gamesOpens in a new tab, there’s yet another way to update the experience. A second crowdfunding campaign will also launch in April 2023. This one is for a line of miniatures that can be used in the role-playing game or any of the other titles, replacing cardboard pieces in the board games. There are more than 500 figures in all and they work with the original board game and its sequel and multiple spinoffsOpens in a new tab.
Melissa is Nerdist’s science & technology staff writer. She also moderates “science of” panels at conventions and co-hosts Star WarsologiesOpens in a new tab, a podcast about science and Star Wars. Follow her on Twitter @melissatruthOpens in a new tab.