An absurdist tabletop roleplaying game about the inane hilarity and mundane horror of everyday life, inspired by Welcome to Night Vale, Alice in Wonderland, and Gravity Falls.
Absurdia is a tabletop roleplaying game about a surreal suburban town unmoored from space and time, where the otherworldly is ordinary and the mundane, terrifying.
A love letter to classic and contemporary works of absurdism like Welcome to Night Vale, Alice in Wonderland, and Gravity Falls, Absurdia’s rules-light gameplay invites players to subvert normalcy, embrace chaos, and get really <CENSORED BY ORDER OF THE CITY COUNCIL> weird.
In Absurdia you play as the peculiar residents of an unassuming suburban town turned upside down by entropic chaos. You’ll contend with occult bureaucracy, megalomaniacal PTA, sentient cars, malevolent garden flora, a non-Euclidean network of back alleys, and the occasional extradimensional cosmic horror in a darkly idyllic community.
Absurdia uses the rules-light, narrative-forward Powered by the Apocalypse system. All you need to play are a handful of six sided dice and a bit of imagination (optional: consult your local city council meeting or neighborhood Nextdoor page for ample absurdities). The GM-lite design encourages everyone at the table to collaboratively shape the town, its residents, and the narrative of the game.
Twelve playbooks inspired by the game's absurd touchstones offer a wide range of unique and distinctive abilities. Wield arcane red tape and municipal code as the Bureaumancer, make a mockery of linear time as the Paradox, peddle powerful and cursed objects as the Curio, be everywhere all at once as the hive mind Zeitgeist, or live out your dream of being an intrepid community radio host as the Vox.
Do you yearn for greater knowledge? Download the free* Absurdia Quickstart now courtesy of The Public Library's multidimensional-media archives.
*Terms and conditions apply. By downloading the quickstart you agree to allow The Public Library to periodically access your thoughts and memories for municipal research purposes. Side effects may include deja vu, nostalgia for a time that doesn’t exist, and increased susceptibility to crowdfunding pitches.
In a town full of unexpected terrors, grievous bodily harm may be the least of your worries. Absurdia builds on the Powered by the Apocalypse system with two major mechanics that expand the focus beyond combat to long term personal and social survivability.
Each playbook has its own specific Essence: an unusual reservoir of strength that allows you to weather the town’s absurdity. Using essence lets players control the narrative, avoid otherwise unspeakable harm, and activate unique abilities. Exhaust your essence, however, and you’ll find yourself irrevocably Fractured - a lasting change to your character that may lead to a not so peaceful retirement.
Players will also contend with the town’s four powerful Factions: Bureaucracy, Community, Underbelly, and Entropy. Helping or hindering these groups has a major impact on your standing around town - and as any small business or HOA president will tell you, reputation is everything.
We're keeping the stretch goals minimal for this campaign. Absurdia is already largely complete and ready to print, so the focus here is on a few final pieces that will make it truly special.
$15k - Additional Artwork👁️ UNLOCKED 👁️
Absurdia’s inimitable lead artist Kaylee Rowena and the surreally talented Ripley Ash will decorate the interior pages of the book with additional absurd ephemera, iconography, and vignettes that will plunge the reader ever deeper into a topsy turvy world of whimsy and terror.
$25k - Guest Writer One Shot Scenarios👁️ UNLOCKED 👁️
At this goal a wickedly talented cabal of authors, game designers, and storytellers will put together a kaleidoscope of ready to play one shot scenarios for Absurdia. Guest writers include Irving Benitez (A Witch, A Gallows Bird; Liminal Stations), Elliot Davis (Project ECCO, Rom Com Drama Bomb), Samantha Leigh (Anamnesis, Death of the Author, Outliers), and Kendrick Smith (Tales Yet Told, 2048 AM Voices in the Wood).
If we wind up surpassing these goals we will look into additional stretch goals. Mostly likely though we will just put more funds towards artwork and guest writers.
If you like to learn about a game by watching others play or listening to someone talk about it, you're in luck! Absurdia has several excellent reviews and actual plays.
If you’re looking for a one shot, there’s no better place to start than the definitive Party of One Podcast. Despite using an early ashcan version of Absurdia, this episode remains one of the best self-contained examples of how to play the game.
If you're looking for a longer example of play, check out Shrimp & Crits: Whimsy World. The seven episode mini-series offers a more narrative-forward presentation of the game set in a weird and whimsical post-apocalyptic amusement park.
If you prefer video performances over podcasts, Telling Tales: Fibre Optic has a three part mini-series available on YouTube, following a group of concerned town residents contending with an invasive and enervating public works incursion.
For a walkthrough of the character creation process, check out the wonderfully absurd How to Make a Literal Cat in your Favorite RPG as hosts Joel and Avalon create a cat haunted by the living embodiment of gossip and rumors.
For a good old-fashioned review of the game, Tabletop Book Club offers a detailed breakdown of the mechanics, gameplay, playbooks, and more.
For a look at Absurdia's development process, design philosophy, and it's tools and techniques for creating absurdity at the table, you can check out Quinn's interview with Fiona Howat on What Am I Rolling?
Quinn Majeski (he/him)is a Pacific Northwest writer, game designer, and podcaster. He is the producer and GM of Monster Hour, a narrative-driven actual play podcast exploring themes of unexpected monsters, found family, and the stories we tell when things go off the rails. A Bureaumancer by day, when not indulging his creative endeavors, he enjoys running, hiking, camping, cooking, and spending time with his wife and young son.
Cindy Butor (she/her) is a Midwestern writer, editor, and librarian. She’s written for Book Riot, contributed comics to anthologies such as Local Haunts, and edited numerous TTRPG books and adventures. She’s terribly fond of her partner Sam and their six cats and hopes to one day learn how to relax, though she’s not holding her breath.
Kaylee Rowena (she/they) is a comic artist and illustrator who loves to tell ghost stories. When she isn't drawing, she can be found daydreaming about brightly-colored haunted houses and historical fashion. Her past books include The Witch's Wings and Other Terrifying Tales, Haunts: A Haunted House Art Book, The Scent of May Rain, Party of Your Afterlife, a comic in the Eisner-winning anthology Drawing Power, and lots of other zines and anthologies.
Jon Merchant (he/him) is a graphic designer, illustrator, and tabletop game designer. When he’s not working on games, you’ll find him drawing, watching campy sci-fi movies, or spending time with his wife and two dogs Riley and Jaxx. Previous RPG credits include Forgery, Deimos Academy, and Questlings, with tabletop game credits for Flock Together, First Class Letters, Tiny Epic Cthulhu, Adventure Tactics, Trailblazer: John Muir Trail, Phantom Epoch, and his own Squire for Hire.
Please note that shipping will be charged separately after the campaign, closer to fulfillment. Due to the unceasing turmoil of the world we can’t guarantee that shipping prices will remain static between now and then, but we'll do everything in our power to keep costs as low as possible.
Below are estimated ranges for the core game book. Some add-ons, particularly additional game books, may increase shipping beyond these estimates.
US: $10-$15
CA: $20-$24
Rest of World: $25-$40
International backers will be responsible for VAT and import taxes for their particular countries. The game and add-ons may be manufactured in the US, EU, and/or China and will be shipped from the United States. We will not be collecting or reimbursing for incurred VAT or import taxes.
Fulfillment will depend on whether we reach our stretch goals. Estimated fulfillment is Q2 2026 if neither goal is reached, or Q3/Q4 2026 if either or both goals are reached. (UPDATE: first stretch goal reached!)
Risks & Challenges
The primary goal of this campaign is to fulfill orders for a print run of Absurdia. The core book has already been written, playtested, edited, illustrated, and laid out. Integrating stretch goals content will add time to the production schedule as mentioned, but otherwise it’s largely ready to print!
While this isn't my (Quinn's) first game or large project, it is my first print production and major crowdfunding effort. To help prepare and ensure that everything goes as smoothly as possible, I have consulted with several successful tabletop publishers about best practices in production and fulfillment, including Rowan Rook and Deckard, Plus One Exp, and Blinking Birch Games.
While there is always the possibility of unexpected real world absurdities intruding on the production and fulfillment, I have made every effort to be as prepared and realistic with my goals, timeline, and budget as possible.
