Morrus and team EN Publishing have a hit on their hands with Level Up. This is a standalone RPG that is based, expands and hopefully enhances the 5e rules.
We’re promised more depth and diversity with nudges towards heritage and culture, from races, and some tactical renaming. Monks are adepts; barbarians now berserkers, for example. The project has surged through a quarter of a million pounds in funding. You can join in or see the latest totals on Kickstarter.
With Level Up, backers get new core rule books from an assorted team that represent as much of the content as possible. The project comes with online tools, uses the Open Gaming License and the result of two years of public playtesting.
Core set. The core set consists of three books — the Adventurer’s Guide (characters, and the core rules), Trials & Treasure (magic items, exploration and journeys, and gamemastery), and the Monstrous Menagerie (monsters!)
A little more. For those who want more, there are two more books — Adventures in ZEITGEIST (a world/setting book) and Mythological Figures & Maleficent Monsters (a book of legendary heroes and villains from our own world’s myths and cultures).
These are modular enough so that if you just want the monsters, or our new class overhauls, or our exploration rules, you can buy a single book. It’s all compatible with 5E and will work with your other 5E books!
The Adventurer’s Gide is 600-pages, Trials & Treasure 300-pages and the Monstrous Menagerie 550-pages.
Pledges start at £10, but at £20, the first full reward is offered, and that’s the PDF of the Adventurer’s Guild.
PDFs are delivered as soon as the crowdfunder wraps, and I imagine money processed. The date given is December 2021.
£20 can also be used on the starter adventure, in PDF and softcover, but the latter is country-limited and has shipping to pay. Alternatively, £20 can get the Monstrous Menagerie or Trials & Treasure in PDF.
Stepping up to £40 means you get to pick your book and get a copy of it hardback and PDF. As usual, country-specific restrictions are in place.
Want all the PDFs? That’s £60. £100 adds in supplements like Mythological Figures and Maleficient Monsters from the EN Publishing Archives.
At £120, you get the hardcover set for all the books along with PDF copies. Hundreds of gamers have gone for this tier.
The top tier is £380, with many in between, which grows the loot to include faux leather collector’s editions and a half dozen other books. Dozens of people have been persuaded in.
Where there’s a physical book to ship, the estimated delivery is March 2022.
What are your thoughts? Strike up a discussion and leave a comment below.