Computer vector art by Irina Parfenova

ARKYVR is a film-documentarian toolkit for Mothership 1E where players try to make a movie in an alien infested kill zone. Equipped with only their camera gear, ARKYVRs will attempt to document life in space and expose corporate atrocities while surviving the void’s unspeakable horrors. Easily hack this setting into existing Mothership modules or use the toolkit's scenario generator to launch brand new campaigns.

Preview manuscript, character sheets, and shot list are available on itch.io

Toolkit Features

Assigned with a Shot List of audio and video deliverables; documentary crews will venture into dangerous locations to capture its sights, sounds, and stories. Players will choose what stories to follow and which moments to record. If an ARKYVR happens to survive their film shoot, they must decide how to distribute the footage. Some clients will pay a handsome price to cover up their dirty work while others will use it to lead a revolution. How will players use their craft to shift the balance of power in the universe? Will they even live long enough to tell the story?

Created by and in collaboration with industry filmmakers! ARKYVR is planned to be a 48 page, saddle-stitched zine for Mothership players; both green and veteran. ARKYVR will feature:

• Existing module compatibility
• Authentic film protocols and on-set dynamics
• New character classes, gear, and skills
• New pre-production, production, and post-production character actions
• Customizable post-production facility options for your ship
• Hackable lore to add corporate propaganda and intrigue into your games
• Legacy media tables containing flavorful multimedia excerpts from humanity's past
• Randomized filming conditions, capture failures, industry backgrounds, and much more!

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“The universe is monstrously indifferent to the presence of man.” 

-Werner Herzog

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Flexible Toolkit for Any Mothership Game

• Replay old modules from a different perspective
• Turn your original PCs into NPCs for your ARKYVRs to interact with
• Add corporate propaganda intrigue into your current campaign
• Generate hundreds of new investigations designed for filmmakers using ARKYVR's mission generator
• 25% of the zine will contain randomization tables and it's all completely hackable!

SHOOT FOOTAGE, NOT GUNS

ARKYVR adds a new level of creative teamwork to your Mothership games. Featuring 4 new classes-

Primary Equipment Module [PEM] Cards

Every class includes a Primary Equipment Module that carries a plethora of features, modes, and actions. Equipment details will be printed on thematic corporate business cards for easy in-game reference and will be included with every physical copy of ARKVYR. 

Capture the horror, then log it on a Shot List

Every mission will begin, follow, and end with the sacred client shot list. Your shot list will act as a mission guide, footage organizer, and storage tracker. The very success of your mission relies on how your team maintains this tool; no film set experience is complete without a little logistical chaos.

1. Use your mental library of cinematic knowledge to describe the most amazing shot.
2. Work together to increase your Skill % and roll to see if filming goes as planned.
3. A success will unravel the stories you want. A failure will introduce new problems for the crew.
4. Log your results on the Shot List
5. Move on, if you're not dead.

Corporate Propogandist or Investigative Reporter

Earning credits will keep your ship flying but how long can you feed the machine before it consumes you as well? If you manage to find other clients in the sector, you may have some leverage in what stories to film. But there are varying degrees of risk and reward should you venture outside the corporate umbrella. How will you navigate your survival? What stories will you document? Whose voices will you empower through your craft?

Find Truth in Treasure

Add depth to your world by finding legacy media formats instead of treasure (celluloid, magnetic tape, vinyl, cassette, hard drives). Restore its contents using skill checks and uncover human stories that time forgot using Discoverable Media randomization tables. Some factions may pay a high price for the media you find during your travels.

Multimedia Randomizers

Search #ARKYVRLOOT on TikTok or Instagram to access our growing media library. Anyone can add to the library by simply tagging their videos with our hashtag. Wardens can use this media with our Signal Corruption tables to generate randomized in-game mutations and effects! 

Collect our other games to support ARKYVR!

We have all of our zines and merchandise from 2023 available here as well. Games/merch purchased on this Crowdfundr campaign will be shipped with your copy of ARKYVR and 100% of the funds will go to the creation of this project!

Stretch Goals

Just in case it happens, here's what we've got planned-

$2,000 Funded - Upgrade zine to perfect bound with 12 extra pages to accommodate more art, layout options, and content.

$2,800 Funded - Upgrade zine to full color interior.

$4,000 Funded - Add 12 more pages of content including a full ARKYVR starter module.

$7,000 Funded - Upgrade zine to hardcover. Shipping rates will increase in relation to the new weight.

Shipping

Distribution will be handled by Indie Press Revolution once the zine is complete. You will receive an email to confirm your order and pay final shipping costs when we are closer to fulfillment around late summer of 2024. Current shipping/handling estimates are as follows but are subject to change depending on the rates at the time of delivery.

• United States Shipping/Handling Cost: $11
• International Shipping/Handling Cost: $24

Interview with Talk of the Table

A discussion with Elliot Davis and Brian Flaherty on the creative process behind ARKYVR.

Talk of the Table

The Crew

This project is developed entirely by humans. All stock art for this campaign page and marketing materials have been licensed through Adobe Stock and a confirmed human artist. Should you confirm any material here as not human-made please contact us immediately, and we will make sure that art is removed. No stock art will be used in the final zine release.

Writer & Project Manager

Rhodrick Magsino

(Alewood Games)

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Film Industry Advisor & Component Graphic Designer

Alex H. Cheng

(Cardboard Dynamo)

. Editor

Samantha Leigh

(Blinking Birch Games)

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Guest Writer

Elliot Davis

(moreblueberries)

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Guest Writer

Adam STATION

(An Infinity of Ships)

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Cover Artist

Wolfordeer Colony

(Tonymidi Artworks Studio)

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Title Artist

Dirck Ober

(Cemetery Piss)

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Character & Equipment Artist

Logan Espartero

(Logan Arts)

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Alien Computer Vector Art

Irina Parfenova

(Irina Parfenova :: Behance)

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Corridor Backgrounds

Sujinda

(Adobe Stock)

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Social Media Content Collaborators

Olivia Lilley (Theater Producer & Owner of Pop Magic Productions) 

William L. Cox (Film Director of Age of Stone and Sky: The Sorcerer Beast)

James Thompson (Sound Editor & Producer for Pop Culture Role Call)

Derek Mungor (Film Director & Owner of B Movie Studios)

Shaun Hildner (Video Producer & Content Creator)