Flotsam drifts on artificial tides in a remote coastal outpost. Document what happened to the crew of this sea-struck facility, or add yourself to the ledger.
BRACKISH is a new module for Mothership RPG in which players explore a sea-struck facility, documenting what happed to its crew while trying to avoid the same fate.
The module is a 20 page, saddle stapled A5 booklet, printed in a gritty-teal colour palette. It's suitable for a two-shot, or to be slotted into an existing campaign as an odd-job.
A self-contained ready-to-run adventure, with a dense and navigable layout. Each section is tightly organised, and every room has indentation and bolding to make skim-reading mid-session a breeze.
A dynamic pair of threats. Sections of the facility are trapped in a glacial heartbeat, chambers flooding and draining in a steady rhythm. Something prowls from room to room, hunting interlopers with cold purpose.
Diegetic, printable player-handouts. An email from your employer provides an overview of the assignment's requirements. A crew manifest and facility map are attached, and a company-approved camera (with instruction manual) has been provided.
Mandatory documentation. Di-Nobra Investigative Services require a rigorous standard of evidence for all investigations. Take photographs and scribble notes as you uncover the identities of the ill-fated crew, and defend your reasoning during the post-investigation review.
All the bells and whistles. There's no stretch goals — I wanted the module to be the best it can be, so everything that would've been a stretch goal is instead just included already!
2,500 NZD (~1,500 USD) — EVERYTHING The module goes to print! Also:
A downloadable 40-miniute ambient-track, by notsure. Ominous mechanical tones carry omens of the looping flood. Observant investigators can use the sounds to gauge the floodwater's phase.
A pair of thematic stickers, featuring art by Fellow Mammal and myself. Each physical backer gets one of each design.
Stamped envelopes for all physical backers. Your zine will arrive with company-approved decorative embellishments.
TIER 1 — DIGITAL — 12 NZD (~7 USD) All the digital rewards: a PDF copy of the zine, ambient soundtrack, and player/warden printouts.
TIER 2 — PHYSICAL — 23 NZD (~13 USD) All the physical and digital rewards: a print and PDF copy of the zine, pair of stickers, ambient soundtrack, and player/warden printouts.
TIER 3 — PAY-IT-FORWARD EDITION — 35 NZD (~20 USD) All the physical and digital rewards: a print and PDF copy of the zine, pair of stickers, ambient soundtrack, and player/warden printouts. Also adds one community copy — part of a digital stockpile of free PDF copies for anyone who can't afford their own copy.
Extra physical and community copies are available as add-ons.
Physical backers can also add a physical (and digital) copy of my previous module, Dead Weight, to their pledge.
"...Dead Weight is an absolute win: This will make it to my table, I have no doubt at all. If you’re willing to put in that effort, or you’ve got players who you want to introduce to Mothership but they don’t vibe the usual horror themes in Mothership modules, this is something unlike anything else out there." — Idle Cartulary, Playful Void
FELLOW MAMMAL will be illustrating one of the two sticker designs.
This work is AI-Free; no AI was used during any stage of creation for this project (or any of my previous ones). Every error, mistake, typo, and plot-hole has been lovingly handcrafted for you to enjoy.
A special thanks to mockups-design.com for the free mockups, Liam K. and Daniel Hallinan for running playtests, and my home table for all the advice and moral support.
Shipping is 7 NZD (~4 USD) worldwide, and will be charged shortly after the campaign ends.
I'll be handling fulfilment myself, and all the zines (excluding bulk-orders) will be sent in envelopes as letters, via New Zealand Post. This means...
No surprise costs. Shipping will be charged alongside pledges at a (low) fixed rate, which saves you from getting caught out by volatile shipping rates.
Affordable international shipping, compared to parcel mail (this is very important when shipping all the way from the Antipodes). The shipping fee includes postage, a C5 envelope to keep your zine flat, and a plastic sleeve to make sure it stays nice and dry.
No tracking and (slightly) slower delivery. Snail mail can be slower to arrive, but it's also incredibly reliable. On average, 1 in every 15,000 letters go missing, so if I send 100 copies, I expect 0.006 letters to go missing. Jokes aside, once the initial wave of envelopes have arrived safely, I'll send out a survey for anyone who still hasn't received their zine so I can send replacements. I've budgeted for this, and will have extra zines printed beforehand.
The zine is already written, edited, laid out, and illustrated. Aside from some minor tweaks and one last round of proofreading, it's finished. Unless I suddenly drop dead, the zine will be released and physical rewards will be sent.
Similar to my previous campaign, the project timeline is very short.
Once the campaign funds come in (normally about two weeks after the campaign closes), I'll order the printed copies and shipping supplies.
About a month after that (once everything arrives), I'll pack and ship the zines to everyone.
Once the zines have been shipped, I'll distribute the digital rewards (via itch.io).
Two months after zines start arriving overseas, I'll send out a survey for anyone who still hasn't received their rewards.
Around the same time, anyone who still hasn't sent through their shipping address will receive a partial refund and their print copy will be forfeit (I can't have random copies gathering dust on my shelf forever).
I'll send updates as we advance through each stage, or if (somehow) we encounter any significant roadblocks.
