Writer and illustrator Jerry Joe Seltzer was not only a frequent contributor to Dragon magazine in the early days of D&D but has contributed to 5e projects like UnFamiliar: Release the Tiny Beasts and The Call To Adventure and non-5e such as Elemental Fantasy and Super Fun.
The talent’s latest project might not be good news for players, but it suits DMs, GMs and even authors, as it’s a book of epic villains. The campaign has been funded, and there are two months, yes, that long, still to join the project.
Curious as to what you’ll get? Jerry’s made a free-to-download sample available via Dropbox.
The pitch and promise are straightforward – a good story needs a good baddie. If you don’t know the acronym, then BBEG stands for ‘Big Bad Evil Guy’ (or Girl). No one but me uses Big Bad Evil Gribbly, and while that lets me take the gender out, it doesn’t deal with the fact that gribblies are often the small monsters in tabletop RPGs. Aaaanyway….
Joe points out that anyone interested in worldbuilding might be interested in the book; you could be writing a novel, designing a LARP weekend, putting together a computer game or the traditional RPG one-shot, scenario or campaign villain.
There’s more than just NPCs in the book as well as it includes organisations, factions and minions that the baddies have access to. Stats? Yes, and for 5e. VTT assets? Those too!
Disaster is the brush we paint with and these BBEGs are your palette. Choose from unforgettable, meticulously detailed villains, each with their own unique narratives, machinations, and challenges designed to inspire your narrative. These are not just antagonists; they are cataclysmic forces capable of reshaping entire worlds, providing high stakes challenges that will push your heroes to their limits.
Backers at $14 will get a PDF copy of the book, stat blocks and those VTT tokens for both boss and minion types. There’s add-on access as well.
Stepping up to $29 in support means backers accessing a reward tier with the BBEG hardcover added to it.
At $44, we’re digital again but also have the Critical Codex plus the Travelling Encounters volumes 1 and 2 as rewards.
There are even more digital goodies at $66 with UnFamiliar: Rise of the Tiny Beasts and Call to Adventure added to the growing loot pile.
However, at $112 (about £88), hardcovers are added back into the mix with the BBEG physical book again, and hardcovers for Critical Codex, Travelling Encounters 1 and 2. The top tier is $168, with all the previous PDF books available as digital and physical rewards.
Joe estimates an October 2023 delivery for all of the tiers.
What are your thoughts? Strike up a discussion and leave a comment below.
