Hello to all the backers of The Endtimes Trilogy! This project was kind of a test for me to see if people want smaller, weirder games and the answer seems to be a solid "yes." For that, I thank you.
What's the Plan
Last month while this campaign was running, I also did all the fulfillment for my 2025 kickstarter project Uneasy Lies the Head. Suffice to say, I'm tired in many ways!
I'll be taking it easy for a week or two here at the start of March as I slowly re-acclimate myself to working on these games. Then it's a matter of going through each one, taking stock of where they are in the design and development process, and pushing each one towards completion. Here's a quick overview of where each game is:
Game 1: Quy Serra Serra
Despite being the oldest game of the trilogy, this one has the most question marks at the moment. The last two playtests I did hit some of the goals I was looking for and missed a few more, so I'm whittling away at the design to try to find a way to extract the game I want.
I've been having some good ideas for how to do this, so it's a matter of collecting those until they're playable, testing it, and seeing where we're at.
I have a decent grasp on how the layout for this one will look, but I'm not happy with the cover at the moment. I have about 100 bad drafts of covers, so we'll keep plugging away until a good one arrives.
Game 2: Into A Warm Sun
Unless there's some cataclysmic playtests on the horizon, the game design for this one is finished.
The layout is designed as well, styled after some bunker manuals I found.
There's a bit of content I need to add to the zine for GMs to grab onto during play. With more playtests, I'll get a better idea of what they might need, but for now I have a clear idea of what I think I need to write.
Game 3: The Way Out
Again barring some nightmarish playtesting, I think this one's finished being designed.
I've got a clear picture of the layout, and I love the cover my friend Angelo did for it.
3 of the 4 chapters are written, and then if there's space in the zine I want to write some guidance on how to write your own chapters and how to design whole new loops for the game
Beyond that, I need to go through some production quotes and decide how exactly these will be printed. Thankfully that part is relatively easy since I've done all this before.
Looking Forward
I will aim for monthly updates to the project to check in on how everything's going. If you want to hear more from me, I'm going to try to start using the discord server I have set up for The Locked Room Murder Mystery Game open playtest, so swing on by. I just set up a channel for The Endtimes Trilogy where I'll try to post some updates about the games progress, thoughts, and maybe even some playtests.
We've got just one week left in Zinetopia, and The Endtimes Trilogy is just under $600 away from the funding goal! Thanks for backing and sharing the campaign around, every little bit helps me in my quest to get these zines made. Hopefully we'll cross the funding line soon and set things up for a strong finish this time next week.
The Way Out: An Overview
I've done another in depth overview of one of the games. This time, I talk through The Way Out, discuss all of its influences, moves, and chapters and how I'm using tarot cards to drive forward a story about cyclical apocalypses. Check it out:
The grand month of zines continues apace. I hope you've found time to look through all of the great projects here on Backerkit and elsewhere, this is always an exciting time of the year for indie roleplaying enjoyers like me (and I assume, you).
Thanks to all of the backers, The Endtimes Trilogy is on its way to funding successfully, but we're not there yet! If you're reading this, please share the campaign on social media or with the storygame sickos in your life that might enjoy my fun little games.
Into A Warm Sun Overview on Youtube
The first of the in-depth overviews of the three games is here! In this video, I go through all the different components of Into A Warm Sun and explain how it's played at the table. It should give you a good idea of how this game will feel when you play it.
Other Projects I Think Are Worth Your While
Here's a completely non-exhaustive list of other pojects you should check out! All month you'll find cool zine projects from every corner of the indie rpg scene.
Rise, Wizards! & All's Fair - most of my backers have already backed this, but if you haven't yet you should take a look! These are two great looking games, one about wizard hubris & another about world-saving intimacy. If you back both of our projects, you'll get a sixth game designed by Dillin, Robin, and me where you'll create the backstory of some absurd supervillain!
Veritable Tales of Folly in the Realm - This is a party game by Pidj Sorenson, who always delivers something exciting & novel during zine month. This one's a collection of medieval minigames that culminate in the titular Veritable Tales. Axolotl With A Gun - In this one, you're an axolotl and you have a gun. You have to defeat the horrors that are ruining the world by amassing a huge pile of d6s. If things go wrong, don't worry: the game is coin-operated, so you can pop a coin into the machine to keep going.
GOBZ - Spencer Campbell is embracing the zine quest spirit with a fun little game about goblin battles. You'll be flicking dice and coins around your table and just overall having a great time with the funny lil guys you can find in the zine.
Hello everybody! Big thanks to everybody who has backed so far, we're halfway to making the Endtimes Trilogy a reality. Please share the campaign with anyone you think might like it: drop it into discords, share it on bluesky, or post it anywhere else you know that there are fans of weird RPGs. With your help we can get these games funded and one step closer to print!
Overview Videos
This coming week, I'll be recording a little overview video of each of the games and posting them here as updates. Head over to the poll to let me know which game I should talk about first.
Livestream - Tomorrow at 1PM
Tomorrow I'll be briefly reviving the Tabletop Call-In Show over at twitch.tv/adamebell. I'm going to hop on and browse other zine month projects while taking calls (via discord) from anybody who wants to pop in & chat. I hope you'll stop by!
