Collaboration project!  Back both A Construct's Nature by TTRPGkids and BOW by Hatchlings Games to get 4 FREE digital TTRPGs from these creators!
A Construct's Nature, a solo-journaling TTRPG

A Construct's Nature, a solo-journaling TTRPG

A Construct's Nature is an audio narrated solo-journaling TTRPG following the path of a newly awakened being in an overgrown world sparked with magic as they solve the land's mysteries, find connection with others, and discover their purpose.
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Post-campaign, pre-order store now live!

Looking to pre-order after the campaign is over?

Visit the pre-order store here to select your tier!


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A Construct's Nature


A machine imbued with life... and seeking a purpose

Born from a love of stories about robots, androids, and machines finding life and seeking meaning, A Construct's Nature is a solo-journaling TTRPG following the path of a newly awakened being in an overgrown world sparked with magic.

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Narrated journaling

This is a solo-journaling tabletop RPG, which means you'll be playing as a character in a story that can go down multiple paths.  While reading and playing along, you'll be writing down your responses to prompts and skill checks (i.e. rolling a die or pulling cards from a deck) to determine where your particular story goes.



This is unique in that it feature an audio narrated slideshow that walks you through your journal prompts.  As you click on choices in the slideshow, you'll be zipped to the next slide where our storyteller, Rose Velorum, will be reading to you and setting the tone.




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Narrative impact and multiple endings

Throughout the story, you'll make choices that open up certain paths or options... and close others. 

Deciding on the order to complete tasks, what path to take, or how to approach and obstacle will have a meaningful impact to both how your stats function and what you discover about the world.



You'll also meet NPCs that you can decide to leave behind or bring along.  By making certain choices in the presence of your companions, you'll impact their trust level, which affects the bonuses they offer and their willingness to follow you on your journey.  Watch out, though, because making a move to increase the trust with one companion could decrease the trust of another... or have other unintended consequences.



The choices you make and the trust of your companions ultimately determines your story's ending, and there are several endings, giving this game wonderful replay value.

 
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Testimonals and demos

This is a really fun idea. I was a fan of the "Choose Your Own Adventure" books and this was nicely reminiscent of those.
-Dan, Almost Bedtime Theater

This is a great low spoon day game to play.
-Wanderer's Haven AP chat

I could honestly imagine playing this with my wife and stepdaughter and them both having a really great time with it.
-Joel, Creators Assemble


A Construct's Nature was featured as an actual play on Wanderer's Haven where you can check out how the chapter 0 (character creation) and chapter 1 (choices and mechanics introduction) work and teach as you play.



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Rewards



Rewards include the core game book, the audio narrated slides, a card deck to help with tracking your friends and gear, replay journals, a coloring book, and the boxed set, along with options for supporting libraries and educational content.

*all art and depictions on this page are in development and the final product may vary

The Journal (digital & physical options) - $24




The base for your game is going to be the journal, and this book, be it in digital or physical form, will be the core reference that you go back to as you progress through the story.  This book will be ~300 pages with hand drawn illustrated pages and space to either write or draw your response to prompts throughout the adventure.

Audio Narrated Slides - $16




The main goal for this campaign is to fund audio narration (and music/SFX through stretch goals) for slides that align with the journal, allowing you to easily click through prompts and giving opportunities for incorportaing immersive visual and audio affects with the experience.

The Card Deck - $18




While I designed the character sheet to easily track your companions and your gear in one easy to reference location, I also know from experience that I am much more likely to use and ineract with game elements if I have a tangeable representation of them.  Because of this, an optional card deck is available that will help track your friends (and their fluctuating trust) and your inventory.  

The deck will also include numbered cards that can replace your die for randomization and bookmark cards to help go back to your character sheet and mark your place in the journal.

Replay Journals - $12/ea




Because the game has multiple endings, you may want to play again.  Replay journals are blank journals (they do not have the story from the core journal) with unique character sheet art and interior boarder art to match their individual styles.  There are three journal variants to choose from to connect with the three main themes of the game: nature, magic, and tech.

The Coloring Book - $12




All of the game's art is hand drawn and was made with the intention of being colorable so you could interact with it and tone it how you want or feel in the game.  The coloring book has some of the larger and more thematic focus pieces to color during or between journaling chapters.

Bundles


The above elements are grouped into bundles for the campaign to help save some cost for you and give options for different budgets:
 


Limited Edition Boxed Set (100 available)


There will only be 100 copies of the limited edition boxed set available, which includes all digital rewards AND all physical rewards in a special single print run box:



Library and Classroom Resources


In addition to game materials... I have some bonus rewards that help support two awesome non-profits while supporting the project.

Library Donations - $6+




To help support public gaming libraries, I'm offering a library donation option that contributes to a fund for sending physical game copies to the Games & Gaming Roundtable's Interational Games Month where libraries can apply to get donated games for their readers.  Every cummulative $24 in this fund adds another physical book game donation... and keep an eye on stretch goals to hopefully reach more.


Classroom Game Sponsorship - $400




I am making A Construct's Nature with the intention of having it be classroom accessible, and I also want to support additional work in classroom TTRPG development.  Sponsoring a game will fund my writing a classroom-ready TTRPG in alignment with curriculum guides from Creators, Assemble! that I and gives you the opportunity to help influence where that game goes in addition to you being credited as the sponsor and choosing the game's dedication. 

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Stretch Goals






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The Team



Steph (they/them) from TTRPGkids is the writer and artist for the game!  They've published two print titles in the TTRPG space, Bakers, Charge! and Making a Tabletop RPG for YOUR Particular Kid, along with over 50 digital titles.  They've played and reviewed over 120 all-ages friendly TTRPG projects and are excited to use that knowledge to make this game special!



Rose Velorum (she/they) is the Voice Actor and Audio Editor for this project! She is the voice of Avennadiel on D20Tales' Planestriders, and is excited to bring this project to life!



Steph, of Lucky Fox Studio, is the composer and SFX artist for this project! Steph rekindled her passion for writing and producing music in 2022, beginning Lucky Fox Studio with her partner Bex. Together they make immersive visual and audio assets for the TTRPG community. 
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Collaboration with Hatchlings Games

This project is a collaboration project with Hatchlings Games as part of the Backerkit collaboration program!

We've launched our projects on the same day, and if you back both of our games at the physical tier or higher, you'll get a set of free digital game copies from some of our other works!  This includes Solar Mech Squad, Critter Mech Squad, and Ranger Mech Squad from TTRPGkids and Dragon Dowser from Hatchlings Games!

After backing here, if you back Bow, we'll be notified by Backerkit that you're on both and will add you to the bonus rewards list.

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Shipping and fulfillment

Shipping will be charged after the campaign is over, after you've filled out your post-campaign survey, and when rewards are ready to ship.  This allows for the most accurate shipping price calculation, and it gives you the opportunity to include add-ons along with your core shipment to save on overall cost (versus shipping in multiple packages).   It also lets us calculate shipping cost for your particular mix of tiers and add-ons so we can reduce the price as much as possible. 

VAT will also be charged in the pledge manager for easier fulfillment management.

Fulfillment for this campaign is through DriveThruRPG, which allows printing and shipping from both the US and the UK to help reduce overall shipping cost. 



Shipping within the US, UK, and Europe will typically follow these rough estimates.  This is subject to change based on final calculations through DriveThruRPG and will be finalized when you take your survey after the campaign is over.

Journal only ~ $6 (US) -$20
Journal + Card Deck ~ $10 (US) -$15
Replay Hero Bundle ~ $15 (US) -$20
Boxed Set ~$25 (US) - $60

Shipping cost may be higher outside of the US, UK, and Europe. 

Some add-on titles, like Bakers, Charge! and Making a Tabletop RPG for YOUR Particular Kid, are managed outside of DriveThruRPG.  These ship from the US only and will have shipping costs between $4 - $10 for most countries.

IMPORTANT NOTICE:  We will be unable to ship physical products to the following countries at this time: Russia, Ukraine, North Korea, Cuba, Syria, Iran, Afghanistan, Kazakhstan.  We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.

IMPORTANT NOTICE:  Shipping will be charged close to actual fulfillment for accurate calculations.  Shipping is also based on weight, meaning that add-ons that increase the weight of your package may increase your shipping costs.  You are also not being charged for taxes, fees, and other charges that may be specific to your particular country at this time.  This will also be done close to the fulfillment date for accurate calculations.  You will not recieve your rewards if you do not pay shipping, taxes, fees, and other required charges to shipping the product.  You will also not recieve a refund for your pledge if you do not pay shipping, taxes, fees and other required charges to shipping the product.  This notice has been posted since the start of the campaign.   

Fulfillment is targeted for all physical rewards shipping by June 2025.  If significant stretch goals are met, this may mean that more time is needed to add these additional elements and fulfill rewards for the project to ensure that we are providing a quality product.  It may also take up to 6 weeks for products to ship due to using cost reducing shipment methods, like media mail, to help decrease the overall shipping cost that you are paying.  We will keep you informed as to the status of the project as fulfillment time approaches. 
If you believe that this project is not in compliance with BackerKit’s Community Guidelines or Terms of Service, you can file a report by sending a message via this link: Report this project