VirtualHorror Con company Gehanna Gaming has launched a Kickstarter for a tabletop roleplaying game that, with cosmic horror, mashes together inspirations from the anime Evangelion and the blockbuster Pacific Rim.
Eldritch Automata is pitched as dark and dangerous, and Gehanna Gaming is doing that while holding true to its goals of terrifying yet safe and inclusive gaming experiences. The Kickstarter goal is scary, too, set at $65,000, but the Atlanta-based company is 20% of the way there after just two days. You can see their current progress on the pitch page.
The psychological horror uses the Year Zero Engine, using the Open Gaming License from Free League. That’s a gaming system that lets players push their luck, so it has a good amount of psychology baked in, and Gehenna Gaming is adding its own lore, extra rules, and settings to bring the final book up to around 300 or 400 pages.
Characters in Eldritch Automata are pilots and survivors. The world is one in which both Horrors and Seraphs have arrived, both terribly dangerous and responsible for the post-apocalyptic setting.
Automata pilots must face their own fears and demons, their stability under constant duress and the threat of violence near. As a result, pilots’ interpersonal dramas and relationships are significant.
The game incorporates psychological, religious, science fiction, and cosmic horror themes, focusing on character and player experiences and roleplaying combined with “mecha” combat. Inspiration has been drawn from Neon Genesis Evangelion, Pacific Rim, Godzilla, Escaflowne, Alien, Pandorum, and other science fiction, psychological horror, and anime media.
Backers who pledge $30 or more will get a digital edition of the core rules, plus appropriate stretch goals as a thank you.
At $45, a digital starter set is added to the rewards, along with the core rules.
Gehenna Gaming is offering worldwide shipping, and backers who pledge $55 or more will get the standard edition of the physical core rules plus the digital rulebook.
Then, at $70 or more, backers get physical core and starter sets, plus the digital editions.
Dice, a GM screen, armour and equipment cards, plus a Horror Dossier Pack are added to the physical rewards at $100.
As the existence of a standard edition implies, there’s a more exclusive one, and the ‘Deluxe Seraph Edition’ core rulebook swaps in, along with the Seraph Dice Set, a zinc alloy, for backers who can stretch to $200.
There’s even a $400 tier with an exclusive pin badge, more dossier packs and scrap iron dice as well.
A limited edition $800 offers an Eldritch Arms weapon model for those who’ll wait until January 2025.
Otherwise, the deluxe editions are due in October 2024, according to Gehenna’s planning and the standard editions, whether they’re physical or digital, in August.
The campaign closes on the 1st of February.
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