Araukana Media’s latest RPG is set on Ophoi, a huge creature or living landmass so large that each of its four lungs is the basis of a tectonic plague. Ophoi’s breathing changes the land, and its emotions colour the air.
PCs are Windfolk, people born from the emotions of the land itself. Creator Frederico Sohns is asking £20,000 to fund the project, has two weeks left to do it and is more than halfway there. You can see progress or chip in on Kickstarter.
As Araukana Media did with Nibiru, the publisher gets deep in thought and leans heavily into themes. One thematic axis here is debt and obligation, and the other is feeling and identity, and it’s the latter pair on which the game’s token economy is built.
Zephyr’s system is based on Zephyr tokens, which directly represent Ophoi’s emotions. These tokens are available in Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, and Black. They are used not only to resolve conflict but also to represent the way the Zephyr combines, combining colour-theory-based combinations that evoke known emotions (rage, sorrow, bliss, dread, and so on), which the players then use to define their characters’ sentimental bonds to the world and its people.
Zephyr has been a pretty big endeavor for me in terms of art. Every spread of the book is illustrated, with the text often laid out within the negative spaces of the illustration, or in high contrast zones. The illustrations are entirely done by me, and largely cover my journey from starting to learn digital art in 2019 (when I sketched out my first windfolk) to the present. That’s why, even if most illustrations I’ve redone/reworked as I got better, I’ve still left many from those first years so that the book can be a window into that growth process (I’m adding dates scribbled in so you can track that!)…
You can back Zephyr for any amount, but those who contribute £30 or more will get the PDF, an audiobook and their name and statue in the Ancestor Forest. Now, not many RPGs get to say that.
At £35, backers also get a pack of Zephyr tokens.
The hardcover and regional maps are added to the rewards for backers, stretching to £50.
There are higher tiers; £62 ads a second token set and a poster of Ophoi, whereas £75 gets added hardcovers and two regional maps.
The top tiers have sold out, and the £200 is halfway there.
Frederico estimates this year for the game and in November.
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