A brand new spin on the watery post-apocalypse, Islands of Weirdhope, has launched on Backerkit. Expanding on ECO MOFOS!! , Islands is a self-contained game for both groups and solo play, exploring a hazardous but hopeful near-future world, smashing Corpo Schemes while discovering Monsters and Mecha lurking beneath the waves, guzzling ambergris to learn new spells. Explore an optimistic new world, weirdhope not grimdark.
Islands of Weirdhope will be accompanied by a book of specially written watery adventures, Four Fathoms Deep, by some of our favourite writers: Ennie-winning Leo Hunt (Vaults of Vaarn, The Shrike), Zedeck Siew (A Perfect Wife, Lorn Song of the Batchelor), Chris Air (Not Enough Scoundrels, 5 Million Worlds) and Alexander Jatscha-Zelt of Golem Productions.
“Islands of Weirdhope started as a series of interlinked locations, an emergent story, that then grew into an entire setting for the ECO MOFOS!! world, a world I’ve got to know through so many sessions over the past three years,” said designer David Blandy. “It also came from an image that got stuck in my head, of a sailboat gliding through the tips of submerged skyscrapers, of a gang of happy pirates investigating a sunken world.”
Blandy is joined on the project by artist and longtime friend Daniel Locke. “Working on the ECO MOFOS!! series is a total joy,” said Locke. “I immediately fell in love with its setting and its attitude when David showed me one of the game’s earliest drafts. The job of designing and illustrating it offers the chance to summon and explore a visual world full of character and color. I’ve spent much of the past 10 years using illustration and comics to help promote progressive social issues or communicate new academic research.”
Other members of the team include editor and module writer Zedeck Siew (Lorn Song of a Batchelor, A Perfect Wife) and module writers Leo Hunt (The Shrike, Vaults of Vaarn), Chris Air (Mothership module Not enough Scoundrels, 5 Million Worlds) and Alexander Kyotokatz (Golem Productions, writer of the acclaimed Ravaged by Storms adventure for Pirate Borg)
According to the designers, the game features:
- RULES-LITE GAMEPLAY based on Into the Odd and Cairn, a tried and tested system perfect for rulings-driven OSR/NSR/FKR gameplay. The text is entirely CC-BY-4.0, so people can remix and hack the rules to make their own game.
- NO-PREP SEA ADVENTURES Uses randomized maps and tables to create dynamic scenarios as you play, so you can concentrate on following the story at the table, discovering the world together.
- A GAME, A SETTING, AN INFINITE CAMPAIGN The game rules are lightweight, giving space for pages of generative tables of Natural, Artificial and Volcanic islands, d66 craft, d66 creatures of the land, d66 creatures of the sea, 20 adventure site islands, each a oneshot adventure, and 6 major adventure site islands, each a mini-campaign. Combine all the parts to create your own infinitely adaptable but flavour and content-rich campaign.
- GUEST ADVENTURES We’re working with some of the finest adventure writers in the indie ttrpg scene to create unique modules for a companion book, Four Fathoms Deep. There will be brand new sea-faring adventures by Leo Hunt (Ennie-winning author of The Shrike and Vaults of Vaarn), Chris Air (Mothership module Not enough Scoundrels and the 5 Million Worlds game) and Alexander Kyotokatz (writer of the acclaimed Ravaged by Storms adventure for Pirate Borg).
- BURDENS Punks gain burdens when things get difficult, filling their inventory with emotional baggage that has specific requirements to be removed, leading to all sorts of new scenarios and high-jinx.
- ADAPTATIONS No levels, just adaptations, body altering substances and devices that trigger new potentials. Search for Key Items like Orbs and implants, and revel in the visions brought forth as they meld with your character’s self. Find the weird substance Ambergris in Monster’s bodies to learn new spells.
The Backerkit campaign for Islands of Weirdhope runs through Dec. 3rd. You can follow along at the Copy/Paste Co-Op website.
Images via Copy/Paste Co-op
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