WHGO is a setting for use with WHPA by Get Haunted Industries, inspired by Summer vacations in the North Woods of Minnesota, family and regional folklore.
Weird Heroes of the Great Outdoors is a campaign setting for Weird Heroes of Public Access by Get Haunted Industries.
This game is centered around the TV Hosts of Regional Public Broadcasting Station WHGO-TV37, and the lake Resort that visiting WHPA Hosts will stay at during their time in the North Woods.
This game is for WHPA Hosts on vacation.
Maybe they are seeking some fun in the sun on a pontoon, or waterskiing behind a kick-ass jet boat. Or maybe they are looking to connect with nature in the rustic, remote North Woods.
WHGO is also an expansion to the WHPA core rules.
Players will gain access to 5 new types of Hosts created just for WHGO-TV37, and fresh new mechanics to keep the adventures rolling:
Movies Like: The Great Outdoors, Grumpy Old Men, Friday the 13th, Harry and the Hendersons, The Ritual, National Lampoon's Vacation, Jaws, Cabin in the Woods, Blair Witch Project, Dirty Dancing.
Books Like: The Ritual by Adam L.G. Nevill , Hex by Thomas Olde Heuvelt, Horror Movie and Cabin at the End of the World by Paul Tremblay, Motheater by Lin Codega, My Heart is a Chainsaw by Stephen Graham Jones, Cthulhu Mythos by H.P Lovecraft.
This game was inspired by a family vacation in North Woods of Minnesota. We were staying in an old lake cabin that had recently had an indoor bathroom added on (swanky digs, I know).
All that week we shared stories of summer vacation memories. With so many of these tales I found myself thinking,
“This would make a great WHPA adventure!”
Except, not really.... because there isn’t a city to set these adventures in. These North Woods adventures take place in locations spread across a network of dirt roads (assuming there is a road). I knew I needed to create a new setting to give these stories life, and now I am inviting you to join in the adventure!
Tools for Refs to make running adventures simple, fun, and unforgetable.
2. Terrifying True Stories to Tell Around the Camp Fire
40 pages of adventures inspired by the tales told in the North Woods. Encounters include exploring creepy laundry rooms to encountering the return of Regional Elder Gods, and everything in between.
3. The Legend of Paul Bunyan
The legendary lumberjack is real and causing a giant mess of the North Woods, plus more related adventures! 36 pages!
All zines will be printed in black and white on 80 pound paper with a 130 pound full color cover.
This special edition cover for Weird Heroes of the Great Outdoors setting book was done by Matt Houle of Belt & Bone (www.instagram.com/matthouleart)
Matt has been a dear friend of mine since we were both living in Bemidji as young metalheads. I said give me your gnarliest, North-Woodsiest cover, and he delivered in a major way! Can you identify all 24 Minnesota species on the cover?
This cover (and the accompanying extremely rad t-shirt) will only be available during this campaign, do not hesitate. maybe even order a couple of them!
The featured art in these zines mostly comes from two main sources:
Old family photos
My partner's family are true Weird Heroes of the Great Outdoors. They have lived in the North Woods of Minnesota for 5 generations, living off the land, hunting, fishing, trapping, organizing mud runs, fishing tournaments, community clubs, and living life on their own terms with no shortage of adventures along the way.
My father's extended family ran a lake resort in Northern Minnesota when he was growing up that served as a gathering place for the entire family.
WHPA Drawing Club
Multiple times a week since mid-October on the Get Haunted Industries discord server, weirdos have been completing drawing prompts. Some of my drawings are in these zines, as well one piece from a fellow Drawing Club member!
There are also handful of drawings, stats, and adventure hooks created in collaboration with my monster-obsessed kid.
Here's an example of the family stories and family photos coming together to inspire an adventure:
During the aforementioned vacation, my partner's uncle shared a legend from his youth about an old monastery nearby that involved a ritual to summoning a ghost.
My partner had a relative that escaped a chain gang
Minnesota really was a popular stop for Depression Era gangsters.
Caves were used by bootleggers and as speak easies.
And who can resist a monkey paw?
The group pictured on the left is my paternal great-grandfather (third from the left), when he was the "Mayor" of the village that would eventually become the city of West Fargo, and his thuggish "Board of Trustees" in the early 1930s. On the right is my paternal grandmother's family from the same time. It was often repeated that they found it convenient to hold their family reunions in the state prison. The rest are modified stock images.
You may be asking, "How can hosts open a vault with no key?" Rest assured there are solutions contained in the other adventures in these zines, and I do not doubt a motivated party could come up with their own answer.
Shipping, taxes, and international VAT/duties will be charged after the campaign ends via the pledge manager.
Estimated shipping
U.S. $7 to $10 depending on weight and number of items
Canada, and Mexico $21 to $24 depending on weight and number of items - VAT taxes may apply
UK $35 depending on weight and number of items - VAT taxes will apply
EU $39 depending on weight and number of items - VAT taxes will apply
The rest of the world $45 depending on weight and number of items - VAT taxes may apply
Fulfillment
The files will be sent to the printers upon completion of the Campaign. I think a reasonable estimate for backers to receive their pledges during August 2025,
The zines are 99% written, proofed, and edited. Every day I am tightening thing up to make this the best product I can. It will be ready to print when the campaign ends.
The only major risk I can foresee is an unforeseen event, like alien abduction or getting pulled into another universe by a desperate elven mage, where it is revealed that I am actually a knight of legend summoned once again to save their kingdom from certain doom.
