Role-Playing Psi-Kids > My Vision > Who? > Level Ups > Rewards > FAQs
FULLY FUNDED IN LESS THAN 20 MINUTES!
(No additional levels will be unlocked during the late pledges.)
Psi-kids is a tabletop role-playing game. It is a coming-of-age story set far in the future on the multi-generational ship, Elysium. Elysium and its half-million passengers have searched for a new home world for over 300 years.
You and your friends play a group of kids living in "The Below," Elysium's lowest, grittiest, toughest levels. Life for "corridor kids" like you is hard enough. Living on your own. Scrounging to survive. But suddenly, a few kids begin developing strange abilities! Some kids can move things with their minds, some can read and send thoughts, and others can do more amazing things.
Hey, maybe for once, you are going to get a break! A little "leg up" from the Universe. Yeah, that's not going to happen. Because now, kids are disappearing. And kids with these new Psionic Abilities are snatched up first by The Dark Ones. (They wear dark uniforms, cloaks, and helmets, and that's what you get when you let a nine-year-old name the enemy.)
Can you survive? Can you control your new abilities? Can you escape the Dark Ones? Can you uncover Elysium's secrets?
Psi-Kids is inspired by movies like Firestarter, Carrie, Push, Stranger Things, and Scanners, and books like Escape to Witch Mountain, Maximum Ride, and The Psionic Pentalogy.
When kids are left to fend for themselves, they must overcome incredible obstacles just to survive. But that's only the beginning. They also have to worry about mysterious organizations that want to study and even abuse their newfound abilities. However, you and your friends are resourceful, determined, and have a bit of an edge with your new Psionic Abilities. So you're not going down without a fight.
Psi-Kids uses Lester Smith's bestselling Bookmark HP RPG rules (a pdf copy of the core rules is included at every level.) Bookmark HP RPG is explicitly designed for fast-paced, role-playing heavy, action RPGs. Like everything in this campaign, the system fits on a playing card.
Characters can be created in just a matter of minutes! While the system is simple to learn, its mechanics are amazingly flexible yet easy to use. All you need, in addition to a copy of Lester's main rules (did I mention that a PDF copy is included with all levels?!), the Psi-Kids RPG Core Deck, some gaming dice, and a few friends (but check out the videos for solo options.)
While the rules for Psionics have been updated since these videos, you can get a feel for what it's like playing with the Bookmark HP RPG, Mythic GME, and Game Master's Apprentice.
- Everything you need to play is included at all levels
- Play solo using an oracle like Mythic GME or Game Master's Apprentice
- Play with your group - this is a full tabletop role-playing game presented in a compact playing card format!
I am so excited to be able to share my tabletop role-playing game set in my Psi-Kids universe! Since I'd been using so many card-based tools in my games, even replacing dice, I wanted to make a portable RPG that included everything I needed to play solo or with my friends, nearly anywhere.
It had to be compact. Since I was already using so many playing card tools, creating the game on playing cards made sense, too. Creating Psi-Kids and the Playing Card Adventure Log (PCAL) worked great with other card-based oracles and tools like Mythic's "Game Master Emulator" (GME) decks and Nathan Rockwell's "Game Masters Apprentice" (GMA) cards, as well as Lester's BHPRPG.
After experimenting with this system solo, during cons, and when running games with my friends, I learned that cards fulfilled all the requirements I had in mind. They are customizable and modular. You may quickly generate an adventure for your solo game or a game to play with friends by using a mix of random cards. As new Booster Decks are released (such as the ones that can be unlocked during this campaign), you'll be able to expand your games with additional resources.
The hidden gem of this project though is the PCAL system which allows you to record everything from PCs/NPCs, Foes, locations, events, game summaries, lists, maps, and more in a convenient and compact way. But, of course, this is also the size of a deck of playing cards.
You may not know me, but I have a few past RPG projects under my belt. While this is my first crowdfunding project, more on this in a minute, it's not my first time creating an RPG setting from scratch. Of course, like many of you that end up here, I'm a lifelong game that's written many games for my friends and me over the years.
But here are a few projects I've worked on.
- Dr. Cushing's Chamber of Horrors - RPG Adaptation of Stephen Sullivan's novel by the same name.
- 4 complete boxed games (rules, adventures, maps, etc.) Also based on Bookmark
HPRPG. These four games were produced over four months as a personal challenge to see if I could. - I've written three non-fiction books on IT and cybersecurity.
- I've ghostwritten a cybersecurity book.
- I've published two settings for Lester Smith's D6xD6 game. Noir Vigilantes - The Justice Chamber! and Tales from the Terror Tomb which will be featured in Lester's 2nd edition release of the game.
I love to game with my friends and solo! I love these kids and the setting and I hope you enjoy playing in their world as much as I have writing it.
If I had a Psionic ability it would be Telekinesis. Which I would use mostly to close cupboard doors.
First, when I decided (at my friends' prodding) to crowdsource my game, I knew I needed to make my first project one that was accomplishable. Something that I knew I could deliver. For me, this originally ruled out a physical product because I had seen so many horror stories about shipping and printing issues, mainly due to the pandemic.
However, by being able to offer you the Print On Demand at near cost*and allowing you to fulfill your order, I can still create these great digital and physical versions of my game for you without incurring the anxiety that would keep me from even doing this in the first place. Plus, I have a great mentor in Lester Smith, who has successfully launched multiple crowdfunding in the past, and my other friends in the gaming industry.
The real challenge is going to be printing the PCAL product. This may actually have to come from a specialty printer. Standard playing cards have a coating on them, making it challenging to write on character notes, character sheets, etc. Of course, for the Core Setting and Booster decks, this won't matter, but the hidden gem in this project is the Playing Card Adventure Log system. And, for this, it's ideal to have cards that are easier to write on, like paper stock.However, I am already working on sourcing the cards through a specialty card publisher. The PCAL, however, will always be available as a print-n-play product. PDF.
The Psi-Kids core deck is in layout and editing right now! As we unlock Levels and more of Derek's artwork, the project will be updated and released to backers in PDF format! Since funding the artwork is my main goal with this project, once that is done and the text is edited, it will just need to get prepped for the printers. However, the Psi-Kids RPG Core Deck is about halfway completed and ready to print and play at home!
The PCAL is also in layout mode, and I consider 95% done. It just needs some tweaking and proofing. The challenge (discussed elsewhere) will be whether or not we can get it printed in decks with the appropriate paper.
Prototype cards
It's funny how life works sometimes. Derek is a local artist. We met at a Farmer's Market where Derek showed off his artwork. Of course, I stopped to have a look, drawn (pun intended) to some of his Eberron work, shown below. I mentioned it's a small world in that Derek and my wife know each other from a previous job. Derek and I started emailing about his project, and I think his vision and mine mesh well together. The best part is that Derek is local to me. This will make collaborating during this project all that much easier, especially for my first crowdfunding project!
I've always wanted to be an artist, and I pursued that dream by attending The Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design for my Bachelor of Fine Arts in Illustration. After college, I got a job as a lead artist at an apparel screen printing company and spent 10 years creating designs printed on t-shirts and other apparel. Then, in 2015, I decided to attend The Kubert School in Dover, NJ, where I learned new skills in cartooning and comic book illustration.
Since graduating from the school in 2018, I've illustrated characters for a podcast called Rather Peculiar Gals and my 24-page book called Devil in the Detail. I also collaborated with Noble Hero Press to illustrate their superhero d20 sourcebook game called Beyond Mere Mortals. I enjoy what I do, plain and simple, I am my own boss so this is the career that I have chosen.
I would enjoy having the Psionic Ability of Telekinesis to aid me in moving objects in my everyday life. An extremely helpful skill to add to my repertoire of creative absurdities.
Gowri Re-envisioned:
I asked Dreck to start with some rough sketches of Gowri to see if we were on the same page. We are!
Eberron Samples
Here are some samples of the style that Derek will be using to re-envision the characters.
Lester Smith is a veteran designer and editor of role-playing, board, and card games. He has worked for major game companies such as GDW, FASA, West End Games, Flying Buffalo, TSR, and SFR Inc.
Lester and I became acquainted at Gary Con several years back and have kept in contact ever since. My love of Lester's work started with the game "Dark Conspiracy." I'm honored to have him as my mentor for this project and his Bookmark No HP RPG rules.
Bookmark HP RPG is a distillation of 37 years of professional game design and 5 Origins awards. Its mechanics are precise, and it's easy to understand and use. The system is underpinned with a tight little "One Role to Rule Them All™" dice system, with meticulous odds on a 1-10 scale. This system captures success or failure, degree, and character growth without HP or XP. Hence the ridiculous name.
I believe you'll find it's like no rules-lite system you've ever seen before. Welcome to the world of Bookmark HP RPG adventuring!
A copy of the Bookmark Core Rules will be made available via PDF to every backer level. Every supporter will have a complete role-playing game that fits in the palm of your hand (the size of a deck of cards.)
As a special treat, if we reach my funding goal of The Below: Escaped the Dark Ones or higher, backers will be the first to view and receive a copy of Lester's take on supernatural abilities. As we discussed our approaches to supernatural powers, I lean more towards sci-fi & horror, and the system presented in Psi-Kids emulates the feeling I wanted for the game. Of course, there's enough flexibility to adapt the rules to any Bookmark HP RPG game! Lester's Paranormal Wordbookmark is a unique take on powers based on his D13 RPG game. You can use it in your games or add these powers to your Psi-Kids adventures!
My primary goal for this project is to get 10 characters illustrated by Derek in a consistent artistic style. This allows me, with the current rules, setting, PCs, NPCs and a couple of lists, to publish a full 54 card deck that can be printed on demand or at home as a print-and-play game.
It absolutely can be! There are different modes of play suitable for any group of players. Also, the game has no graphic or gory artwork or descriptions.
Elysium is your play space; you can use it as you wish!
In a family game, you might have action like "Home Alone" or Disney's movie adaptation of "Escape to Witch Mountain." The themes remain. But bad guys are clearly defined, and any PG violence is only implied or happens off-screen.
Also, "Psi-Kids" is a game of mysteries, and players are encouraged to find alternative means of defeating a foe.
Psionics are mental abilities like telepathy, telekinesis, and other fantastic feats.
Here is a blog post I wrote with more information about the subject:
https://www.jamesthegeek.com/2022/09/26/psionic-kids-what-the-heck-is-psionics/
Of course, as far as Psi-Kids goes, it's a fun ability to role play!
The Playing Card Adventure Log is playing-card sized documentation system for your games. It's a set of note cards, list cards, map cards, and more. But, more improtant is how to use it. Check out the videos above for some demos.
For now, this is solely a print-and-play game, delivered to you in PDF format so you can print as many as you need. However, I hope to find a way to have these pre-printed and later available for Print on Demand. The challenge will be finding the right printer and the right paper.
Fully illustrated Psi-Kids RPG Core Deck (54 cards) & Tuck Box
Playing Card Adventure Log Deck
Lester Smith's Bookmark HP RPG Core Rules
Lester Smith's Paranormal Wordbookmark
10 Card Introductory Adventure PDF: Escape to Elysium
10-card Game Host's Booster deck - Secrets of Elysium
10-card Player's Booster Deck - Tips, Ability Cards & more!
10-card Creatures and Gear Deck
10-card adventure deck: Terrace Above Us
10-card adventure deck: The Pinnacle of Elysium: Secrets
Of course, this all depends on the levels we unlock. I hope all will be available in PDF and POD*.
You'll continue to receive updates to this as long as you don't cancel your pledge before you've received your rewards. The final digital rewards will be offered as they become completed and will be hosted here as well as on DriveThruRPG (that's my goal anyhow).
Coupon codes for physical rewards will be sent as the products become available. You will have 12 months (from when we issue the codes) to claim your reward and order a physical copy. You will be responsible for the shipping and handling and the balance of the product, which will be sold near cost or heavily discounted.
Many products will become available shortly after the campaign ends and funds are collected. All four of the bonus games are already written. Lester's core rules are also currently available.
As they become available, with a complete delivery target of July 31, 2023.
Yes. Part of the reason I am delivering digital and physical rewards in the mannter that I am is so that nearly anyone can participate. All backers are responsible for their own shipping from the manufacturers I end up using.
See the campaign itself for all the details, but here's a recap:
I'm already using card-based oracles and tools like Mythic GME and Game Master's apprentice.
So much more compact than all those books.
It makes the game modular.
The PCAL system worked great on cards.
It's fun.
It's different.
It travels well.
It's versatile
So, thinking of doing crowdfunding is pretty intimidating. And, everyone I talk to that have used other, larger sites, have related more stressful stories than positive ones. I've chosen GameOn Tabletop because it has so many more tools in one place, and is significantly more automated. This has reduced my anxiety about the project significantly. Plus, I love to support small businesses, like you're supporting me. I love GameOn's vision and what they have created here!
Once unlocked, print on demand will become available to all levels. We will use a variety of services, including DriveThruRPG. DriveThru has various seller statuses based on the number of sales a product does. In order to count towards this goal, and though, the product has to earn a small amount over its cost. Therefore, by covering this small amount you are also helping us spread the word about our games since higher levels get promoted more often!
Note that this cost is in addition to your pledge amount and will be paid when you redeem the coupon code.
You will need to pay for the product, using our discount codes or links, and you will also be responsible for all the shipping and handling.
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