Fantasy Mecha Unlocked, Stickers to Come
over 5 years ago – Sat, Apr 03, 2021 at 06:44:42 PM

You really like your fantasy robots! Collectively, you unlocked the $130K stretch goal, which means that five original fantasy mecha designs will be a free bonus PDF for all backers pledging $13+. Booyah!

Stick Around For This $140K Stretch Goal!

We will design a 4” x 6” sticker set that includes a bookplate and Anime 5E logo that we will send as a free bonus to every backer who pledges for physical rewards! These stickers won’t be available for sale anywhere – they are exclusive promotional gifts only. You can stick the bookplate in the front of your Anime 5E RPG book to mark your territory, so to speak.

Class Spotlight: Techknight

“My father’s father brought me into the Divine Glade the night that I had reached my name day and told me he was a member of the secret Order of Techknights. He saw in me a spark that was missing from my parents and siblings and said that I was to take up his mantle in the Order once he was gone. Unfortunately, the time of his departure was rapidly approaching, and so my training began. When he was gone, I donned this wondrous emerald armour, claimed his sword as my own, and continued his mission of to cleanse the lands of filth.”

Nearly two centuries ago, a giant fireball could be seen from many kingdoms streaking brightly across the night sky before it descended below the horizon and presumably into the sea.

The presumptions were wrong. The object was not a fireball, but a spaceship that crashed into a small archipelago inhabited by a large tribe of humans who had little experience with the continental world. The ship was largely destroyed and no living creatures were discovered, but strewn about the crash site were hundreds of suits of bizarre armour. The suits were painted many colours and though they afforded protection similar to chain mail (AC 16), they were significantly lighter and allowed a greater range of movement (ie. no Strength requirement; no penalty to Stealth checks). With this unexplained gift from the heavens, thus began the martial Order of the Techknights. Over the subsequent decades, the Techknights have expanded across the world to bring peace into the land by vanquishing those creatures and humanoids who terrorise the innocent and the helpless. Stories of the “sky cave” are passed down from generation to generation, as are the suits of prized armour.

Characteristics

Though the existence of their Order is not widely known, Techknights are sometimes described by learned scholars as “faithless Paladins” – champions of those who cannot adequately defend themselves, but without the religious motivation behind their actions. Techknights approach their duty with respect and dedication, though they rarely take themselves too seriously.

Relationships With Other Classes

Techknights can form strong relationships with all Classes, though their combat focus naturally means that they align with other warrior Classes more easily, such as Hunters, Ninja, Samurai, Shadow Warriors, and Warders. They are also attracted to the enigmatic nature of Brokers and Isekai Students. Classes with paranormal or magical powers are not as relatable for Techknights, but they judge an individual’s worth by their actions and not their labels.

Deluxe-Deluxe Edition and Fantasy Mecha!
over 5 years ago – Sat, Apr 03, 2021 at 06:44:11 PM

We set them up, you knock them down! And blazingly fast.

Since you have blasted through the $120K stretch goal (thank you for that!), we will now print a frontsheet for the Anime 5E Deluxe Limited Edition that will be individually signed and numbered by designer Mark. We think he’s going to need a new pen to accommodate all the backers!

Fantasy is Awesome With Mecha!

Mecha aren’t just for contemporary or SF gaming campaigns. Where there’s magic that can create fireballs from nothing and leather sacks of seemingly infinite space, there can be giant piloted robots, too. 🥳

If campaign funding reaches $130K, we will create five original fantasy mecha across the power and size spectrum, with Anime 5E stat blocks and brief descriptions. These awesome artefacts will be available as a free bonus PDF download for all backers pledging at least $13 in the Kickstarter.

Race Spotlight: Half-Troll

“I met Isbjorn in a city alleyway one night when he saved me from a gang of cutpurses who were anxious to take advantage of my drunken stupor. He could have just left me at their mercy – he had nothing to gain by interfering. Yet, interfere he did. He gently carried me to his room and stayed with me until I slept off the ale by the next afternoon. Isbjorn was kind and gentle, but shy and so unsure of himself. Trying to get him to talk was like convincing a dragon to let you borrow some coins! I kept at him over the next several days, though, and I hired him to guard me on my next caravan. That was six years ago, and we’ve been happily married for the last five.”

On those (fortunately) rare occasions when a male troll mates with a humanoid, the resulting offspring takes on few monster traits; they retain much of their mother’s humanity and physical appearance. A Half-Troll’s skin usually has a pale green or brown tone, allowing them to pass as a half-goblin or even a Half-Orc – and thus avoiding the inevitable glares and probing questions from strangers. Their most significant tie to their troll origins lies in their incredible regeneration.

Adventuring Notes

Usually searching for companionship and their place in the world, Half-Trolls can make for an excellent addition to an exploration party due to their ability to quickly recover from injury and keep going. They typically prefer to serve as support for the team, and thus favour Classes like Bender, Dynamic Spellbinder, and Magical Girl/Guy.

Base Speed

Medium – a Half-Troll’s base speed is 30 feet/round.

Heightened Senses

Like their troll parent, Half-Trolls have an exceptionally keen sense of smell, with both enhanced range and precision.

Language

Most Half-Trolls have picked up multiple languages to help them integrate with various societies. These usually include Draconic, Goblin, and Orc.

Regeneration

Half-Trolls regenerate up to an astounding 4 Hit Point each round. Their bodies will even naturally repair nearly traumatic injury within several days, including severed limbs and severe organ damage. Unlike their troll parent, though, their regeneration ability is not negatively impacted by acid or fire damage; all bodily trauma is regenerated in the same manner.

Subrace Variation

When the parent is a member of the water troll Subrace, the child is similarly part of the uncommon Water Half-Troll Subrace. Such characters can breath for extended time underwater (Rank 1 Resilient: Underwater) and can also swim quickly (Water Speed Rank 2 – 90 feet/round). They lose their darkvision feature, but instead gain Heightened Senses: Taste.

Pre-Gens Have Powered Up! Plus Signed DLE
over 5 years ago – Sat, Apr 03, 2021 at 12:00:24 AM

Just a quick update, between interviews (it’s been a busy day!). In a few short hours after the last milestone, you pushed the campaign funding and unlocked the $110K stretch goal. Your generous support means we will be designing a pre-gen pack of six 8th-level characters, which will be a free bonus PDF for all backers pledging $13+.

Signed and Numbered Deluxe Editions at $120K

Following on the pre-gen pack’s heels and unlocking at $120K is a unique upgrade to the Anime 5E Deluxe Limited Edition. We will print a frontsheet for the DLE that will be individually signed and numbered by Anime 5E designer, Mark MacKinnon. After all, nothing signals “limited edition” like a number and a signature! The photo below is an example of what the frontsheet looks like for the BESM Fourth Edition DLE, and Anime 5E will be similar to this.

Thanks for reading. I expect we’ll be checking back in a few hours. 😁

Sneaking In One Final Update Tonight
over 5 years ago – Wed, Mar 31, 2021 at 08:03:49 PM

OK, so we called the day over prematurely because you smoked another pledge goal before we turned off the computer for the night. Since the campaign reached $90K funding, all backers pledging at least $50 will receive a free bonus poster of Anime 5E’s glorious cover art. Thanks everyone!

Big One at $100K: Free Anime RPG!

We want to unlock something big and valuable if the campaign reaches $100K in funding and thought what better reward could there be than another complete, stand-alone anime RPG? If you help us reach this HUGE milestone, every backer who pledges $100 and above will receive a free PDF copy of Dyskami’s multi-genre anime RPG, BESM Naked – a complimentary gift that normally sells for over $17 on DriveThruRPG.

BESM Naked is a stripped-down (see what we did there?) but complete version of the core BESM Fourth Edition, with all the rules in a more compact presentation. At 144 colour pages, BESM Naked gives you everything you need to play nearly any anime or manga character from any genre you can imagine. It’s an excellent sister product to Anime 5E that gives a peek into how a fantasy-specific game could be expanded into any genre or setting. Read more about BESM Naked and BESM Fourth Edition on our website.

If you’re already a proud owner of BESM Naked from an earlier purchase and have no need for a duplicate copy, why not gift the PDF to a gamer friend who would enjoy exploring beyond what Fifth Edition fantasy role-playing offers? Wouldn’t you be popular! After all, we can all use more sweet anime gaming in our lives. 🥳

OK, that’s it, we’re done for tonight. Thanks once again for pushing the Kickstarter campaign so far in such a short period of time.

PS. As mentioned in Update #9, we'd still love to hear from you about your thoughts concerning future stretch goals. Please join our community in the stretch goal thread on the Anime 5E Facebook Group (you’ll need to request access through Facebook if you’re not already a group member), and let us know what you think.

$80K Traps, with $90K Poster to Follow
over 5 years ago – Wed, Mar 31, 2021 at 04:56:37 PM

Admiral Ackbar would be pleased! Thanks to your generous support, you have collectively (and quickly!) unlocked the five original traps stretch goal, which will be a free bonus PDF for all backers pledging $13+.

Next Up at $90K: A Gorgeous Anime 5E Poster

We love the Anime 5E cover art spread so much, that we were hoping to make it into a poster. The problem is that quality posters don’t come cheap unless they are printed in reasonable volumes.

If the campaign funding reaches $90K, all backers pledging at least $50 will receive a free, high-quality 36” x 24” printed wall poster showcasing that cover art (folded to fit into the pledge shipping boxes). With a retail value of $10, it would be our pleasure to provide this gift for you should we reach $90K.

That’s should wrap things up for us tonight. Thank you for ensuring this Kickstarter had another fantastic day!