ROACH MOTEL is a new module for Mothership RPG in which players stumble into a mothballed R&D facility with seemingly no exit. They'll need to figure out why the layout seems to shift and change, and what's causing their rapidly deteriorating cognisance — without having one-too-many violent encounters with the desperate others that are trapped alongside them.
The module is a 32 page, saddle stapled half-letter booklet — printed in a striking black, white, and pink–orange palette. It's suitable for a 2–4 session short-shot, or to be slotted into your wider campaign aboard Prospero's Dream.
Dense layout, succinct writing. Each section is tightly organised, and every room has indentation and bolding to make skim-reading mid-session a breeze.
130+ rooms across 10 areas. As your crew desperately search for an escape, they can piece through the layered history of the facility and its many unfortunate visitors.
Variable events and encounters. Each area of the facility has its own unique table of events and encounters to throw a wrench into quiet and cautious exploration.
Ripe with hooks and sockets to integrate into your campaign. Multiple options of 'jobs' for the crew, and a cast of NPCs that can be run as-is or swapped out for factions from your crew's past adventures.
Printable play-aids for wardens and players. Reminder sheets with the full facility's layout, plus key mechanics and stats. Letters from the crew's employer, for easy reference as they wish they never came here.
5,000 NZD (~3,000 USD) — A5 ART PRINT Every physical copy of the zine comes with a A5 print by Fellow Mammal, with brand new artwork not featured anywhere in the module. Stick it to your wall!
10,000 NZD (~5,800 USD) — DESIGNER'S COMMENTARY See how the sausage is made! I'll make a downloadable designer's-commentary version of the module — annotated on every page with thoughts, process notes, sketches, and bits 'n' pieces that fell to the cutting-room floor.
The above 'A5 Art Print' image is a placeholder; it's a previous piece of artwork by the artist, shoddily recoloured by me. The actual artwork for the print will look much cooler.
TIER 1 — DIGITAL — 14 NZD (~8 USD) All the digital rewards: a PDF copy of the zine, plus all digital stretch goals.
TIER 2 — PHYSICAL — 25 NZD (~15 USD) All the physical and digital rewards: a print and PDF copy of the zine, plus all stretch goals.
TIER 3 — PAY-IT-FORWARD EDITION — 35 NZD (~21 USD) All the physical and digital rewards: a print and PDF copy of the zine, plus all stretch goals. Also adds one community copy — a stockpile of free digital keys for anyone who can't afford one.
TIER 4 — GET MORTALISED — 150 NZD (~85 USD) — 10 Slots Available A barely-recognisable corpse within the facility will bear your custom trinket. The rest of your possessions will be scattered by scavengers. Also includes all the physical and digital rewards, all stretch goals, and adds five community copies. For more information on this tier, check the FAQ.
FELLOW MAMMAL will be illustrating the A5 art print stretch goal, some of the early-bird sticker designs, and the bookmark cross-collab reward . You may recognise her work from the sticker designs for the Brackish and Dead Weight crowdfunding campaigns.
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, oversight, and plot-hole has been lovingly handcrafted for you to enjoy.
A special thanks to mockups-design.com for the mockups, notsure for the audio used in the trailer, Brandon Nickerson for the fonts, and my home table for all the advice and moral support.
"...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
Norgad is one of the absolute best 3rd party Mothership designers going. A master of detail-oriented game design: every sentence matters, every idea serves the whole. Ingenious environmental twists lurk in every adventure. I can't wait to see their design sensibility unleashed upon Prospero's Dream. — Ian Yusem
[Brackish] is the best investigation-based Mothership module I’ve read or run, and one of the best two-shots overall. The authors know what they’re doing, and I’m keen to see any forthcoming Mothership month projects. If you have a table who can do two sessions with not too much of a time gap between them, and they want something a little more cerebral, you’ll have a great time with this. — Pointless Monument
The module is dripping with delicious opportunities for creative problem solving. The violent impulses so frequently lauded by elf games will only make these problems worse... Dead Weight has replaced Ypsilon-14 as my go-to Mothership one shot. It comes with player handouts, a GM worksheet, and a 9 track OST. Literally all of you should buy it. — Valeria Loves
Shipping is 8 NZD (~4.7 USD) worldwide. Just like all of my previous campaigns — I'll be handling fulfilment myself, and all the zines will be sent in envelopes as letters via New Zealand Post. This means...
Early fulfilment. The zine will be ready to ship in Q1 2026, so self-shipping means you won't be waiting an extra half-year for the main-wave Mothership Month shipping.
Stamped envelopes for all physical backers. Your zine will arrive with company-approved decorative embellishments.
No surprise costs. Shipping will be charged at a low, fixed rate, which saves you from getting caught out by volatile shipping rates.
Very 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.
The zine is about 70% written, laid-out, and illustrated (I am a freak that does all three at the same time). The main unfinished section is the room descriptions, which I am steadily chipping away at. Everything else is in editing.
Similar to my previouscampaigns, the project timeline is very short.
Right now, and until the end of January, I'm working hard on getting the zine finished. There's some extra time in the timeline as a buffer, just in case (for some unknown reason) things take longer this time. I'll also be sorting out stretch goals, commissioning artwork for the stickers, prints, and bookmarks, and getting test-prints made.
In early February, I'll charge shipping and give the green light for the full print run. This is planned for February to avoid the holiday chaos that often strikes businesses and the postal service. This also gives me a healthy buffer in case we hit any last-minute snags.
In late February, I'll pack and ship all the physical orders. I'll also distribute the digital rewards (via itch.io).
The physical zines should start arriving mid-March, slightly sooner if you live near New Zealand, and slightly later if (for some strange reason) you live somewhere else.
In mid-April, 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).
Alongside this campaign, I'm also working on Eight Short of a Dozen as part of Mausritter Month. However, that project is in a much more complete state, and I set out the timeline with both projects in mind. Unless I suddenly drop dead, the zine will be released and all rewards will be sent.
I'll send updates as we advance through each stage, or if (somehow) we encounter any significant roadblocks.
If you back both Roach Motel and Eight Short of a Dozen at the physical level, you'll get a free bookmark, illustrated on both sides by Fellow Mammal.
I wanted to give people a little extra nudge to check out both games if they haven't already. Mothership and Mausritter are both rules light OSR systems that are super well laid-out and written, and both have thriving third party scenes. I love both these games! Oh, also, their core rulebooks are both free to download!
Roach Motel is not participating in shared shipping, but backing this project still counts towards getting a Supply Pod. For this project's shipping information see the shipping section of this campaign page.
For information on Mothership Month and Supply Pods, see below.
What is Mothership Month?
Every year, Tuesday Knight Games and dozens of third-party creators launch new Mothership projects around a shared theme. This year’s theme (“The Dream Returns”) centers on Prospero’s Dream, the infamous X-Class back-world, black market space station. Each project ties back to the Dream in some way. Not only that, but we'll be opening up Prospero's Dream as a shared setting for all third-party creators going forward.
Get your exclusive Supply Pod!
This year we're changing up the Supply Pods. Now there is just ONE BIG SUPPLY POD. It's unlocked once all projects fund and it improves as we hit more group achievements. How do you get the Supply Pod? Back 5 or more projects at the physical level and get access to all the cool goodies.
