Lightraiders is an episodic fantasy rpg you can use as a discipleship program. Learn Scripture and its application naturally as you play. Each one-hour lesson includes a thirty to forty-five minute episode of a continuing quest followed by a ten to fifteen minute Bible study wrap up.

The boxed set includes everything you need to play the game plus the first two adventures, for a total of 24 episodes. New adventure packs will follow over the course of six semesters, with two quests and four new ranks per semester, allowing the players to advance and grow their characters into Lightraider knights. Dice colors will vary.

The pillars of the system are the fruit of the Spirit, the armor of God, and the sharing of the Gospel. The foundation is the Word. Players use their fruit in fantasy quests and nurture them by employing Scripture to help their friends and conquer tests and trials. They temper their armor and use verses in battle to defeat dark creatures that represent sin. And they practice sharing and explaining "the Great Rescue" in the Dragon Lands to save the lost.

The fantasy game engages players by letting them take part in the story, work as a team, and develop their own unique characters with abilities, items, weapons, and specialties. 

Role playing enhances learning by allowing players to describe the allegorical effects of dark creature attacks and counsel other characters using Bible verses and their real world applications. The Bible study wrap-up solidifies this learning at the end of each episode by digging deeper into the context of the verses used.

An RPG system means each player creates a character to play in the story. The leader (called the adventure master) reads the story and asks the players what their characters do and say. Based on their answers, the player's characters might be called upon to test an ability, talk to a stranger, or fight a battle. The system allows the players to take part in creating the story, so that every group's experience will be unique.

Each player character (or PC) is founded on the fruit of the Spirit (called the core strengths) and has a set of items, weapons and abilities. Players grow their characters by earning points to spend in improving their core strengths and ranking up twice per quest to improve their abilities.

Character creation is easy with our quick nine-step process. Players fill out their character sheets as you guide them, choosing their initial abilities, items, and weapons and determining their starting vitality and wisdom.

Tests, trials, parleys, and battle are the primary actions of the game. A test is a simple test of an ability, such as "test Observe to find the key," and requires one roll of the dice. A trial is a team effort involving several tests to gain enough successes to accomplish an objective like building a bridge or freeing a trapped animal. Parleys involve talking to game characters (called non-player characters or NPCs). A parley might be about learning information to help in the quest or it might lead to an attempt to share the Great Rescue (the Gospel). Battles involve tempering armor and testing fight and other abilities to defeat dark creatures. Players will learn to lean on Scripture in the heat of these battles. That's the rule book in a nutshell.

Streamlined rules make learning the game easy. The quest guidebook tells the adventure master what to read to the players, what cues to give them, and what to do based on their responses. Our basic rule set is orders of magnitude smaller than most RPG rule books. Play is faster and more efficient to help you fit the game into specific Bible study time frames. Advanced rules will also be available for groups that want their characters to do more.

Wisdom points are the currency of the game. Players earn and spend Wisdom points (Wp) to improve their characters and help their characters out of trouble. Bad roll of the dice? No problem. Spend Wisdom points to change the outcome. Tracking Wp (and damage) is made easy by a slider right on the player mat, so there's no need to corral a bunch of punchout pieces or make and erase a ton of tick marks. This way, your character sheets will last much longer.

The dice in the game are called starlots. They are the tokens of the Lightraider Order and represent new creations. In the Lightraiders realm, starlots are crystalized dragon fire from the time when the Rescuer stood against the dragons. He took what was corrupted by sin and formed it into something new and beautiful. Players roll three starlots for each roll and usually take the middle value (not the middle die on the table!). Each set has three starlots (colors will vary).

The Adventure Journal in the back of the Cadet Handbook includes all the verses a player will need for each episode. Players get extra Wisdom points for saying verses from memory, but they can always have their handbooks open for reference. The episode's journal pages also include recommended readings from the handbook for clues to help them succeed, cues for how to respond when attacked by dark creatures, and (most importantly) verse applications to help them counsel the other characters when needed.

Failure is a blessing in Lightraiders. When a player's character takes damage in battle or in a trial, one of the character's core strengths (fruit of the Spirit) might become infected. The others must offer counsel using the verses and applications provided to heal this infection. Repetition is designed into the game so the verses and applications will often be used more than once. This fosters better learning, and players will be glad of it, because they'll need to remember what they learned when they face the hardest challenges at the end of each quest.

Growing is the goal in the Lightraiders system--growing your character and growing in your relationship with Christ. Players will feel their progress as their characters increase through twenty-four ranks over the full six semesters. In the first semester (included in this boxed set), their characters will advance in the Lightraider Order through the ranks of Initiate, Cadet Stalwart, and Cadet Sentinel to Cadet Scout 1. The following semesters can take them all the way to Knight's Marshal and Guardian.

James R. Hannibal is the developer of Lightraiders, but he's also a client. Hair jokes aside, he really is. Lightraiders was born from a 1980s system called DragonRaid, created by Navigators author and Christian counselor Dick Wulf. The deep learning James gained from DragonRaid in the 80s stuck with him--through high school, college, the Air Force, and as a Christian author. As Dick requested before he passed, James and the Lightraiders team want to bring that learning to a new generation.

Biblical application and understanding are vital to discipleship and Bible study. Memorizing verses is wonderful, but understanding those verses in the context of their chapters and Scripture as a whole leads to deeper retention and to growth in Christ. Lightraiders teaches application and understanding by prompting players to use their verses in fantasy scenarios to counsel others, ask for help, share the Gospel, and fight battles.

Creating stories together engages youth (and adults) and builds memories. By prompting players to declare their actions and words, Lightraiders encourages them to add to the story. As they gain comfort in this dynamic, the story will flourish and will soon become a memory of adventure they'll carry their whole lives. And by the way, waiting right beside those memories will be God's Word.

We're offering five pledge levels plus a $5 donation level for those that just want to help. For the first 48 hours of the campaign, we're also offering early bird pricing on all product levels, so don't miss out! Please take special note of the levels with the trilogy books and with the First Watch new edition card game. 

The trilogy is set in the same world as the game and includes some of the same characters at an earlier era. In fact, the characters your players create will play an important prequel role in the story of the trilogy. 

First Watch is a companion card deck that is also it's own game (two games, actually--one with dice and one without). Having a deck at the table greatly enhances game play in our experience because the cards are conveniently suited by the core strengths (fruit of the Spirit) and include the real-world applications the players need for the game. The deck also serves as a great study tool between sessions. We sold out of two print runs of First Watch, so we're releasing a new deck with extra verses for this launch. If you already own first watch, you'll find the expansion pack with the new verses in the add-ons.

Remember, shipping comes much later for a crowdfunded product like this one, after production is completed, so shipping is not included in these prices. For more on the shipping costs (which range between $9 and $15 for the US), check out our Schedule and Shipping section below. 

And now, the pledge levels . . .

Add-ons are items you can add to your order after you select a pledge-level. We can't offer everything in the Lightraiders inventory as an add-on, so we chose items that best serve as companions to the game. We did manage to discount the add-ons for the launch campaign to thank you for your support.

****IMPORTANT: Pledge pricing does not include shipping. Once we are ready to ship, you'll receive a survey in which you can update your address and select and purchase your shipping option. The shipping rates below are our best estimate for the basic boxed set (smallest package) and the Ultra Backer level (biggest package without add-ons) based on today's USPS rates discounted for our small business shipping provider.****

We understand that everyone wants this game right away. We do too. We've been at this for five+ years, building funds, finding artists, and leaning on God to bring Lightraiders to you. Now we're in the home stretch, but we're not over the finish line.

Once the project is funded and the campaign is over (Nov 19) we still have many months to go before the games will arrive on your doorstep. We have to complete the last steps before publication, do a back and forth with the manufacturer to secure approval for the final product on both sides, complete additional safety testing to the standards of multiple regions and nations, manufacture the games, get them shipped to our warehouse, and then, finally, ship them to you.

At best, we think we can do all this by the end of May 2024, but the global situation is always shifting and has a major effect on our timeline. We have managed to deliver early after crowdfunding in the past, but we've never done anything on this scale. Please be patient and keep us (and the global situation) in your prayers.