Disclaimer: I am working on a Tombpunk project that will be published by Outland Entertainment.
I first heard about Alan Bahr’s Tombpunk when a friend approached me to take part in their Tombpunk project from Outland Entertainment. When I saw Outland was doing a one-week Kickstarter to bring Tombpunk from Patreon to the wider market, I thought it’d be a good time to share what the game is, discuss where the game came from, and who is involved in this. Fortunately, Outland’s Jeremy D. Mohler agreed to talk about this project with me.
EGG EMBRY (EGG): Thank you for talking with me about this Kickstarter. What is Tombpunk?
JEREMY D. MOHLER (JEREMY): Thank you for reaching out, Egg! We very much appreciate it! Tombpunk is a quick, easy, and less crunchy (meaning, not tons of number crunching in regard to rules) tabletop roleplaying game. The goal being to get to the story quick and spend more time telling a story and less time looking up rules.
EGG: Alan Bahr created the original draft of this RPG for his Gallant Knight Games Patreon. I reviewed the original version for Knights of the Dinner Table, and have run a session with the system. It’s quick to the table and easy to explain, which are the hallmarks of an Alan Bahr RPG. What’s the core mechanic for this RPG?
JEREMY: Tombpunk is designed to play fast, so it’s rules light and moves quick. I feel that, above all, is at the core of the game.
EGG: As a publisher, how did Outland Entertainment become involved with this RPG engine?
JEREMY: Alan and I go back quite a ways – when it came up that he had an original game system that he designed and didn’t have time to put out through Gallant Knight Games, we jumped at the chance to work with him and with Tombpunk. We’ve got a ton of IP and over the next year, you’ll see a variety of different projects using Alan’s Tombpunk system.
EGG: How is Alan involved in this now that Outland is using the engine? Who else is working on it?
JEREMY: We work closely with Alan – this is his creation and Outland, as a company, always works hard to make sure that we honor the creators of the projects we develop and publish. Alan reviews all Tombpunk projects and also adapts any new rules for the system that might be needed to fit a particular IP. He also has final say on all Tombpunk related material. So, if we’re putting it out, it’s safe to assume that it has Alan’s stamp of approval.
EGG: This campaign is for an 110-page version of the core rulebook. That’s an increase in size over the original. For fans of the original, what can they expect with the new version?
JEREMY: This is very close to the original without much change in rules, but it’s not compressed down into a short PDF. It has new artwork and we’ve designed the book to have a 5.5 x 8.5 format. Doing that has made the book larger. Plus, we’ve added several micro-settings and a short comic, so there are a few new things.
EGG: Like many Alan Bahr-related RPGs, this one offers micro-settings. What are micro-settings, and what are you offering with these?
JEREMY: Micro-settings are short adventures that players can use as jumping off points for games of their own. Again, they are small and quick with just enough information to get the game going. For the core book, we have two micro-settings – one from our Editor-in-chief, Alana Joli Abbott, and one from our Senior Editor, Gwendolyn N. Nix. Alana’s setting is about a gender swapped Robin Hood, while Gwen’s involves grave robbers and gargoyles! Should make for a lot of fun!
EGG: Your campaign makes use of comics to convey the setting. What inspired you to go that route as opposed to leaning into prose or videos or another option?
JEREMY: Tabletop roleplaying games always have a lot of artwork and we felt that a fun way to introduce potential players to the world of Tombpunk would be through a short, funny, comic. Plus, it lets us show off some of Nicolas R. Giacondino’s (the artist for the book) amazing storytelling!
EGG: There’s quickstarters and then there’s quickstarters, why an eight day campaign, and during the holiday season to boot?
JEREMY: Considering the book is complete already and, in an effort to get this out to backers quickly, we wanted to do a fast campaign that would be easy on us as well as our potential backers. And admittedly, it is right before the holidays, so we wanted to keep it short, sweet, and to the point. No reason to drag this out over Christmas!
EGG: This engine will be used for a number of Outland Entertainment offerings, correct? What can you share about that?
JEREMY: We’ll be using the Tombpunk system for a variety of upcoming projects related to our IP. The next will be a setting utilizing the world of our Blackguards anthologies – so a game focused on scheming anti-heroes, dark protagonists, and characters from the seedy fantasy underworld. Should be a ton of fun. And, we’ll have a bigger number of micro-settings to go along with it.
EGG: Beyond Tombpunk and RPGs, what else is coming from Outland Entertainment in 2021?
JEREMY: We have more Warlock 5 comics coming, along with a number of original novels and anthologies we’ll be announcing over the next several months. Not to mention several new card games and a new Apex card game from Herschel Hoffmeyer!
EGG: Thanks for taking the time to have this conversation. For those that are interested in learning more about Outland and this Kickstarter, where can they follow you online?
JEREMY: Thank you for taking the time, Egg! You can find everything you might want to know over at the Outland Entertainment website, or on Facebook/Twitter/Instagram. Thank you!
Tombpunk: Lo-Fi Roleplaying by Alan Bahr from Outland Entertainment
“Welcome to Tombpunk, a high-octane, high-action system with a rules-light approach. Jump into your adventure and brave a gritty world!”
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