What’s in the Strangelight Kickstarter? | Iron Kingdoms Roleplaying Game
As we stand on the cusp of the Strangelight Workshop Kickstarter launch (July 25th at 6pm BST / 1pm EDT!) it’s time we give you a peek behind the veil…
…in other words, it’s time to talk about what you’ll get in the Kickstarter, and how you can use it!
Strangelight Workshop Core Book
First comes the Strangelight Workshop core book. We’ve already talked a bit about what you’ll see in the core book, but let’s expand on that.
In addition to the rules for playing as agents of the Workshop, the unusual gear and equipment they use, and unique backgrounds tailored for the sorts of people attracted to a life poking at the shadows, the core book has a rich background and setting information.
Included within is an abridged history of the Iron Kingdoms, what life in the modern era is like, and a deep dive into Ceryl, the City of Wizards. District by district, the Ceryl gazetteer has rumors and story hooks scattered about one of the largest cities in the Iron Kingdoms.
The core book also covers the major factions in Ceryl. These groups range from the monolithic and powerful, like the Order of Wizardry, that gives the city its nickname; to shadowy groups, like the Shroud sept of Dark Twin worshippers; to the crusty Buckets O’ Blood Bunch, one of many street gangs found in the Thurian Hills and Wharf districts.
Most important, the core book offers a deep dive into the Strangelight Workshop as an organization. The origin of the Workshop, its key personnel, secret agendas, odd associations, and bitter rivals are here to inspire you to create weird and rich stories of your own.
What pledge? The Strangelight Workshop core book is included in all pledge levels in either hardback or PDF form. The Collectors Edition is included in the Deluxe Pledge.
Specternomicon
Meanwhile, the Specternomicon serves as the main compendium of monsters for your Strangelight Workshop games.
Each dossier within includes what little the Workshop knows about these anomalous entities — from the humble crabbit to the grotesque charnel thrall — along with suggested procedures for containment, combat, and running away.
The senior agents of the Workshop are a nosy, chatty bunch, and key members can’t help but leave comments in the margins, giving readers a look at the (sometimes contentious) relationships between them.
With monsters for every kind of investigation and level of play, the Specternomicon is a key resource for the Strangelight Workshop that no agent should be without.
What pledge? The Specternomicon is included in all pledge levels in either hardback or PDF form.
Investigator’s Handbook
Speaking of useful resources, the Workshop’s employee handbook is just the thing for any new hire
Presented as an in-world manual, the handbook offers an immersive look at the policies and procedures of a group that deals with the absurdity of its work through a rigorous application of scientific methods and good old-fashioned bureaucracy.
What pledge? The Investigator’s Handbook is included in all pledge levels in PDF form.
Exclusive Case Files
Also included are three Kickstarter exclusive case files, in both physical and PDF form.
These folios feature readymade investigations for Game Masters to run for intrepid agents, including physical hand-outs and other immersive items.
Each case file is a full adventure on its own, but when played together, they form three acts for a gripping, overarching story.
The case files take the field team from the humble beginnings of the first (frantic!) day in the field, through a series of seemingly unrelated investigations, culminating in a grand finale with innocent citizens throughout Ceryl under threat.
Along the way, your team must discover and decipher clues, interpret evidence, and, naturally, bust some ghosts! Each case file has a mixture of mystery, social encounters, and exciting action to test every member of the team.
What pledge? The Case Files are included in all pledge levels in either physical or PDF form.
To Be Unlocked: Fourth Case File
During the Kickstarter, we’ll be unlocking new content daily, including a mysterious Fourth Case File.
Join us in the updates to puzzle out hints as we uncover the contents of this classified dossier. The Fourth Case File won’t be the only thing we unlock, however. As we investigate, we’re sure to stumble across an interesting item or two…
What pledge? The Fourth Case File unlocks will be included in all pledge levels in either physical or PDF form. Any unlocked items will be included in pledge levels as applicable (for example, the Spectral Pledge will include only digital unlocks).
Encounter Cards
The deluxe encounter deck is your at-a-glance inspiration for interesting encounters and curveballs. Did your field team turn a wrong corner? Need to toss in an extra challenge or a red herring?
The encounter deck will give you a Where, a Who, and a What Next?!
The deck contains three card types: location, entity, and twist.
Location cards offer two related-but-contrasting options for where to set an encounter, based on the card’s orientation. In one orientation, the location might be a hospital, while in the other, it’s a morgue.
Entity cards feature various monsters found in the Specternomicon, but with a minor, characterful quirk. These quirks are meant to inspire personality and behavior, without changing the encounter in a major way.
Twist cards are rules that somehow change an encounter. These include environmental effects, new monster traits or actions, and modifiers to the way the game is played.
Fair is Foul, and Foul is Fair, for instance, reflects a corrupting stain of chaos left in the aftermath of one of the Defiers of the grymkin. When it’s in play, the circumstances that would grant a character or creature advantage instead impose disadvantage, and vice versa.
What pledge? The Encounter card deck is included in the Deluxe Pledge.
Spell Cards
The deluxe spell cards are an easy reference for anyone who wants to play an arcanist or any other class that wields the Gift of Magic.
Each spell in the book is presented with a quick reference card in this deck, so your spellcasting players don’t have to keep borrowing your core book each time they want to cast corrupting gaze or reveal souls.
What pledge? The Spell card deck is included in the Deluxe Pledge.
Other Deluxe Items
Last but not least, the Kickstarter includes whatsits and doohickeys to help your Strangelight games run smoothly and look spiffy.
The Game Master screen includes tons of useful references to keep your games going without too many dives back into the rulebook, while concealing your notes and dice rolls from prying eyes.
Speaking of dice, the collectible Strathmoore Dice are sure to capture attention — and potentially some entities, too. And of course, you’ll need somewhere to store them.
To help your players navigate the City of Wizards and tell their Thurian Hills from their Palace districts, the gorgeous cloth map of Ceryl includes all the city’s significant landmarks, major districts, and a network of main streets and back alleys to get lost in.
And speaking of players, also included are five highly detailed miniatures representing each of the core Strangelight Workshop classes.
Finally, you’ll find a Strangelight stamp for rubber-stamping official docs, and three coins connected to the case files for your players to ponder over as they try to decipher their significance—to say nothing about the unusual ciphers etched into their surfaces…
What pledge? All deluxe items are included in the Deluxe Pledge. Digital and poster versions of the Ceryl City Map will also be included in other pledge levels.
Pledge Levels
Whew! We’ve covered quite a bit there, so we’ll keep this brief:
The Strangelight Kickstarter will include five pledge levels. Sounds daunting, but all will become clear!
In a nutshell:
- The Spectral Pledge includes all PDF Strangelight content and all PDF unlocks.
- The Strangelight Pledge includes all non-deluxe Strangelight content in both physical and PDF form, and all non-deluxe unlocks.
- The Deluxe Pledge includes ALL Strangelight content from the live Kickstarter — physical, PDF, and deluxe.
- The Iron Kingdoms Collection Pledge (PDF) includes all PDF Strangelight content, all PDF unlocks, AND PDF editions of the three main books from each of the four previous Iron Kingdoms campaigns — Requiem, Borderlands, Nightmare Empire, and Deep Wild.
- The Iron Kingdoms Collection Pledge includes ALL Strangelight content from the live Kickstarter — physical, PDF, and deluxe — AND hardback editions of the three main books from each of the four previous Iron Kingdoms campaigns — Requiem, Borderlands, Nightmare Empire, and Deep Wild.
We’ve included the Iron Kingdoms Collection Pledges to give those who missed previous campaigns a chance to get everything in one hit. There will be add-ons available, too, for anyone who’d prefer to mix and match.
The launch is almost upon us, Agents. Make sure you’re following the Kickstarter to get notified when our investigation goes live!
