Explore the mysteries of a sect of Solarians with a powerful understanding of Solar Astrology, 2 unique classes, new items for innovative problem solving, and both ties to Prospero's Dream, and a mandate to explore abroad.
Sunlit path is a toolkit for running a sect of Solarian monks on Prospero's Dream, deep within the lower station. It includes:
Two new classes: The Bioascetic and the Sower!
A new mission in the depths of the Choke: Face the physical manifestation of another's sins!
The Sunlit Astrology System: Let the Crew help drive their own fate!
Over 10 New Items: For the discerning Solarian to navigate the Dream and beyond!
Custom Music: Up the immersion with a Solarian hymnal, written and performed by Bonnie Jeanne and Alden Burt!
MUCH MORE!
In the early time there was a star that shined bright.
It said, “siblings! I cast so much light into the dark, if I could burn larger still, I could illuminate all there is.”
At first some did, but Lo! Their light was gone, become the glow of their larger sibling. Some resisted, but The Large One was insistent. “You should give your self unto me so that we can shine even brighter. It is the only good thing to do.”
But it imploded into black hole. Though it didn't shine, it still grasped and wanted and consumed.
There will always be more darkness to fill, but we can only draw so much on those around us. We can only be so large before we collapse, but neither collapse or initial good intentions will keep us from striving.
Delve into a Sunken Solarian temple in the darkness of the Choke, the abandoned lower station of Prospero's Dream. Step forth with spiritual fortitude and mystic knowledge, to face the Onus Umbra. The Crew will discover a creature that challenges assumptions about evil and what it means to save or solve the horror.
⚫ The Bioascetic carves liturgical tattoos into their flesh and implants photosynthetic bacteria into the wounds. These monks commune directly with their sun Gods and Goddesses, taking nourishment from their light so that they can walk the sunlit path in harmony with other beings. The Bioascetic is paradoxically frail and resilient.
⚫ The Sowers are the builders and defenders of the order. Less crusaders and more mutual aid workers, though they don't mind breaking a few corpo eggshells to make an omelette. While some are truly devout, just as many see the Sunlit Path as a means to an end, rather than being hardcore believers.
Each class comes with unique stat boosts, loadouts, trauma responses, motivations and NPCs! Also included is a digital character sheet with references for quickly rolling up both classes.
Follow the light and throw your lot in with one of 6 deities and divine omens in the stars to predict and guide the fate of the crew, for better or for worse. Each deity creates different signs and encounters based on the realms they govern. This hex flower-based system will give Warden's tools to fulfill prophecy and keep your players immersed in the Sunlit Path!
Sail the solar seas on The Sculptor, a fully-statted planet-hopping shuttle that uses solar winds to navigate the planets around Prospero’s Dream. Equipped with solar sails, a contraband hold, along with a solarium and prayer garden: everything needed to fly beneath the radar when running drugs or O2 around the system.
Barter favors and creds for 10+ unique Solarian items such as...
⚫ TheSolarian Staff, a (usually) non-lethal weapon with a table of moves to take on the darkness
⚫ The Travel Terrarium, a portable device that can grow a variety of plants, some deadly, some beneficial
⚫ The Sunbeam, a two-handed, solar-charged weapon for taking down Tempest Co. goons
Heighten the immersion with a Solarian hymnal!
Bonnie Jeanne and Alden Burt will once again be teaming up to create a song for Sunlit Path. This track will be an in-universe song with original music and lyrics to help immerse your players in the world of the Sunlit Solarian.
Bonnie writes music that's both haunting and heartfelt, incorporating unique instrumentation with clever lyricism. Bonnie's TTRPG work includes "When The Night Has Risen" (from Radio Free Hekate)and "Lost Transmission" (from Hecate Cassette Archive), collaborating with Alden on the latter.
Design is not finalized.
Lastly, you can add on a Sticker Sheet featuring art from Sunlit Path (exact design TBD!) for only $6! We'll have a poll after the campaign to decide which artwork from the zine makes it on the sticker sheet.
This work was made by humans from A to Z. No AI or Machine Generated works are included in any part of this project. Supporting this project means you are supporting real human beings who have dreams, passions, & bills. Thank You.
Let's talk Stretch Goals! Once we hit $10,000 funding, Bonnie and Alden will get to work on a second Sunlit Path hymnal; this one centered on the sunken Solarian temple.
At $15,000, EVERYONE gets Sunlit Soothsayer, our cross-collab with Extrajudicial Warfare, as a digital bonus. Those who backed both projects will get the cross-collab as a printed trifold!
What happens at $22,500? We're upgrading the patch! Instead of the ol' plain jane patch format, we'll be switching to a frayed edge border. Flashy!
Okay, so how about if you continue to fund beyond that? Well, that's a mystery that will only be revealed when enough folks follow the Sunlit Path.
We are also thrilled to be doing a cross-collab with Extrajudicial Warfare by Nine Lives Games! Back both Sunlit Path and Extrajudicial Warfare before the campaigns end to receive TWO special, exclusive, free bonuses:
⚫ Sunlit Soothsayer: A digital trifold centered on a Solarian of the Sunlit Path who divines fates in the gladitorial battles of the Court, written by RAC Computing and Joshua Justice
⚫ Secret Safehouse: A digital trifold that creates a safehouse for Sower smuggler and Doptown freedom fighter alike to lay low and plan their next move.
Both releases will be automatically added to backers' carts after the campaign ends.
Writing, Additional Artwork, Layout Ryan aka RAC Computing is the writer of and did a most of the interior collage and layout for Straight Arrows. She hates writing bios. Once she set a piece of paper on fire, quenched it on the concrete, and used it, patio concrete grime and all, for a collage in Straight Arrows.
Joshua Justice (he/they)
Writing, Additional Artwork Joshua Justice is a TTRPG writer/designer behind Radio Free Hekate, Hecate Cassette Archive + more. They also do a radio show called Ghost Tropic. A music aficionado, they often work this love of music into their writing. Their cat Bobbie is their muse.
Amanda Lee Franck (she/her)
Amanda in a cave somewhere with a helmet on.
Artwork
Amanda Lee Franck is an artist and writer living in Chicago. The first RPG she ever ran (and first zine she ever published) was You Got a Job on the Garbage Barge. She has written and illustrated books for Games Omnivorous, Exalted Funeral Press, Mausritter, and many others.
Chris Airaiu (he/they)
A cartoon Chris—glasses and can headphones—waves from a standing desk with some sci-fi books on it.
Editing
Chris has published and written for over 20 Mothership RPG publications, and worked on more than 10 other Panic Engine projects, such as Cloud Empress, Milk Bar, and his own 5 Million Worlds RPG. He also hosts The 5MW Ansible Uplink, a sci-fi module review podcast. Not Enough Scoundrels, When in Rome, Bio-Drones & Cryo-Clones.
Worne's Works (Worne)
A map of Archer Farm from Straight Arrows, illustrated by Worne
Maps + Ship Design
Worne is an artist from Hungary. He has always been obsessed with creating games because it’s the best way for him to share his imagination with others. Making games for art and art for games is his passion. He's worked with Ryan previously making maps for Straight Arrows.
Bonnie Jeanne (she/they) + Alden Burt (he/him)
Double exposure photo of Bonnie Jeanne wearing headphones, and a photo of Alden in a jean jacket holding a cute cat
Music
Bonnie Jeanne is a musician and vinyl DJ currently residing in Gunnison, Colorado. Alden Burt was born and raised in Gunnison and makes alternative folk punk with a twist of experimental ambience to disturb the comfortable and comfort the disturbed. Bonnie and Alden make music together in their band, Tiger Electric. In the Mothership realm, they most recently created a haunting ambient piece for cassette X as part of Hecate Cassette Archive.
We’ll keep backers updated throughout the process if anything changes, but we’ve given ourselves a VERY generous timeline to account for anything that may come up in playtesting or production, for example. We aim to have the project in Chris Air’s hands for editing by mid-Q1, and a pre-print PDF to backers by late Q2 before finalizing things and going to print in June. Lastly, everything will ship to Tuesday Knight Games' warehouse for final delivery!
TL;DR November 11th: Backerkit crowdfunding ends! Mid-Late Q2: Pre-print PDF to backers! June: Printing / Shipping to TKG!*
*More on shipping in the section below.
While every project has risks, we've moved to cover all expenses including inflated printing costs with our Backerkit goal. We also have an excellent team with lots of experience delivering successful Mothership and other TTRPG projects.
Ryan and Joshua personally have multiple projects under their belt at this point, Ryan most recently crowdfunding and delivering Straight Arrows within their timeline, as part of Mothership Month 2025. While Joshua has never managed his own crowdfunding, this partnership and the solid team we have together give us confidence we'll be able to deliver on time.
This year, we're trying something different. Nearly every Mothership Month project is part of a shared shipping initiative. That means:
One pledge manager. When Mothership Month ends, you’ll receive one combined pledge manager survey for all participating projects — our “mega pledge manager.” That means just one survey and one shipping payment for multiple projects.
One shipping charge. Because these projects will ship together, you’ll only pay shipping once, saving you money.
One fulfillment timeline. All participating campaigns are scheduled to ship at the same time, ensuring your rewards arrive together.
Two exceptions. Only two creators (Bombs Bursting in Air and Roach Motel) have opted out of this group fulfillment plan; their shipping will be handled separately. Why did they opt out? These two projects are very close to being ready to fulfill, and it didn't make sense to their teams to wait.
Estimated Shipping
Below is a table of estimated shipping prices based on weight. You can see at the bottom what the estimated weights are for different items. Prospero's Dream should be around the same weight (maybe slightly lighter) than the Mothership Core Set. Additionally, if you order several items you'll incur a small charge for additional items, which varies based on your country.
This does not include any applicable VAT or taxes. A reminder that these shipping prices are an estimate and its possible they will change based on global conditions beyond our control.
When will these projects ship? Our collective goal is to have all Mothership Month 2025 projects fulfilled before Mothership Month 2026 begins. Some projects are further along than others, so their timeline for digital rewards will vary. But we have roughly a year to fulfill before Mothership Month 2026, which gives everyone enough time to finish up and get their products to our warehouse.
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.
