Do you remember when you first heard of tabletop RPGs? Do you remember what first attracted you to them? If you are anything like me, the idea of being a fantasy hero on epic quests in a world that we created together at the table was absolutely mind-blowing.
But soon I realized that the stories we wanted to tell clashed with the rules we used to tell them. There was a disconnect between the promise offered by the art and the setting, and the experience delivered by the game itself. We had a lot of fun still, mind you, but that was in spite of the hurdles caused by the mechanics.
Stop me if you've heard this before:
Player: "Can I try to..."
GM: "You used that action already."
Player: "What if I..."
GM: "There's a penalty because..."
Player: "Well then, can I..."
GM: "No, only on level 5"
Player: *sigh* "Ok... I guess I'll just swing my sword, then"
It took me 30 years and more than 30 games published to give this one a go. What if we could actually live the promise that those book covers sold? What if we could offer new players the experience they think they will have with that one game, without the frustration of a ruleset that says 'no' all the time?
That’s how Everspark was born.
I want to provide those carefree, belly-laugh-filled, let’s-play-pretend moments of rolling dice, casting imaginary spells, and coming up with all sorts of shenanigans. I want to reignite that original spark that first attracted us to this kind of games and never left us—the Everspark, if you will.
Who is this game for?
This game is for you if:
- You want (or were asked) to introduce tabletop RPGs for
new players that want to play that Dragon game,
but you don't feel like engaging with and explaining all the
finicky rules.
- You want to reignite that carefree joy of your early
experiences with tabletop RPGs, and finally live the
fantasy that they promised but couldn't quite deliver.
- You want to play with your kids or parents, or
anyone that is excited about the vibes of fantasy RPGs,
but doesn't have the time, focus, or interest for complex mechanics.
- You are a beginner yourself that wants to experience what a fantasy tabletop RPG is like, but always felt overwhelmed or intimidated by the amount of things you'd have to learn.
Everspark is a fantasy adventure tabletop RPG that aims to capture the vibe of the most popular fantasy RPGs out there and leave everything else out of the table. Do you want to roll some d20s and pretend you are a wizard? You are in the right place.
You get to tell epic tales, live the fantasy of being a unique hero, celebrate nat-20s and lament nat-1s, and spend some quality time with your friends (or by yourself) daydreaming about dragons. You only need a d20, a d6, and a bunch of sticky notes.
Character creation takes anything from 5 seconds to 15 minutes, and then you’re ready to go. You can create your own world and quests, or play on your favorite settings with published modules, with zero conversion required.
I should warn you that if you enjoy min-maxing, tactical combat with minis on a grid, intricate character sheets with detailed, numerical and precise abilities, this is not this game. The fun of playing Everspark lies in the stories you tell, aided by the unpredictability of the dice. If your gaming preference lies towards crunchy rules… well, you might still have a good time with this game, and I encourage you to give it a try. But be warned.
On the other hand, if that’s your first experience playing a TTRPG, well, I’m honored! It is my hope that this minimalist approach will provide you with all you need to start your journey on the hobby by focusing on my favorite aspects about them: the tales you craft and the great memories they can create.
Highlights
-
Zero-prep, rules-light: Grab a d20, a d6,
sticky notes, and you are all set. You learn the rules in five
minutes and, with zero preparation, you'll play to discover the
world. With no numerical constraints, the game encourages
out-of-the-box, inventive actions, and will never penalize you
for being creative.
-
Four modes of play: Play it solo or with your
friends, as a party in coop mode, or as individual protagonists
in parallel play. You don't need a game master,
but you may have one acting as a
host and facilitator, if you want.
-
8,000 characters:
With 20 Ancestries, 20
Backgrounds, and 20 Classes, you have 8,000 possible
combinations to bring your character idea to life! If that's not
enough, you can mix and match to create your own personal take,
or import your favorite ideas from other games as well. Your
character sheet has no numbers whatsoever; you can make your
fantasy hero in just a couple of minutes.
- Any world you like: Create a unique fantasy world with the tables available, or take that worldbuilding project, campaign setting book or adventure module gathering dust in your shelf for a spin! Everspark is very welcoming to any material from other games as well!
My initial intent when considering this ruleset was: what if we stripped down classic d20 systems of everything, and left only the joy of rolling a d20?
So that’s what I did. There are no modifiers, DC, AC, HP, ability scores, spell slots, proficiency, weapon damage, skill lists. You roll a d20 and eyeball the result to see if you get a critical, regular or mixed success (or failure). If circumstances are more (or less) favorable, you judge your results more (or less) generously. That’s all there is to it:
- 20 is VERY GOOD. You achieve your goal, plus something extra (such as an advantage, opportunity, or bonus effect).
- Around 15 is GOOD. You get exactly what you want without any complications.
- Around 10 is OK. You succeed, but there’s a cost, consequence, or compromise. Or, you can forgo success now to create an opening for a better result on the next attempt.
- Around 5 is BAD. You might still succeed, but the cost is higher, or the consequences are direr. You can choose to forfeit your success to handle a minor setback instead.
- 1 is VERY BAD. You fail to achieve your goal and must face serious consequences.
Well…
almost. There’s one other simple yet versatile mechanic:
Sparks. Sparks are a powerful tool to
measure progress, and they can be used for a lot of things:
skill challenges, character progression, looming threats,
long-term projects, conditions, resources, weaknesses, montage
scenes, enemy resistance, faction plans… the list
goes on for as long as your imagination can take you.
(If you're into game design, Sparks are my attempt to combine Clocks, Aspects, Progress Tracks, Usage Dice, Hero Points and Fear Tokens into one single mechanic)
Sparks are represented by progressively drawing a 5-point star shape on a labeled sticky note. When you need to track progress of anything meaningful, grab a sticky note, name it, and place it on the table. Every time the story (or the dice) demands, you add more rays to your Spark.
But
here's the catch: when you add a ray, you may perform a Spark
Check. Roll a d6, and if you
hit a ray (e.g., if you’ve drawn 3 rays and you
roll a 1, 2, or 3), the progress is complete. This
means the task or event reaches its resolution!
There's
more nuance to it, but that's the gist. It's so simple, yet
exceptionally flexible. And better yet: it's
modular. That is, the more you get comfortable with
the mechanism, the more "Spark tricks" you can add to your
game. The book gradually teaches you a whole bunch of examples, from
combos to
magical items, from
recharging powers to
procedural exploration. And I encourage you to
come up with your own applications and interpretations, as your
version of the game demands! It's super fun!
Here's a video with a more detailed explanation of the mechanics:
I
envisioned this crowdfunding campaign as a very low-profile one. The
game is 100% developed and playtested, the writing is 60% done, the
layout is already figured out, and I have nearly all the art I need
for the game (by the amazing Ray Olli).
I want to raise some money to pay for my time and the art while I finish writing, editing, and laying out the game, and offer it at a discounted price as I do so. As such, here's a quick rundown of what you can expect from it:
- The game text is 60% written, apart from the examples of play.
After that is done, I'll enter the editing phase.
- The layout is defined, as you can see from the mockups. Once the
text is revised, it won't take long to put everything in place.
- The game will be released regardless of the campaign reaching its funding goal. You will get the game no matter what.
Regarding tiers and goals:
- There are only two reward tiers:
- For $12, you get the PDF of the game and a coupon for an optional purchase of the print-on-demand version on Lulu at cost, by yourself. The PoD version will be made available when the revised edition of the game is finished.
-
For $62, you also get a unique
custom character of your creation, illustrated by our
artist Ray Olli, according to your specifications! (see more
details below)
- You can also top off your pledge to generate community
copies of the zine for folks who can't afford it.
- There are no stretch goals. I don't want to over-promise and under-deliver. The more I get from this campaign, the better I'll be able to cover my monthly expenses.
Your reward includes:
For the $12 tier
- ~100-page, full-color, totally hyperlinked and bookmarked PDF
- Printer-friendly version of all the tables
-
At-cost print-on-demand coupon for the 6 x
9 in (US Trade) book, both in paperback or hardback options,
offered via Lulu
- Estimated delivery: December 1st, 2024.
For the $62 tier
- Everything above, plus:
- An illustrated custom character. Immortalize your Hero! Choose (or come up with) your own combination of Ancestry, Background, and Class, create a max of two paragraphs of backstory, a name, and describe your character so that our artist Ray Olli can create the art for you! You can choose to keep the character only for you or add it to the core book and become part of the game!
-
Limited: only 20 slots available!
- Estimated delivery: You'll be sent a form to fill in with your specifications after the campaign is over. Please allow us around 15 days after receiving your character details for the artist to draw it and for me to lay out the page.
- Your character and backstory submission is subject to approval. I reserve the right to decline any content that includes offensive material, such as bigotry, racism, or hate speech.
 | Cezar
Capacle is a Brazilian tabletop game designer, currently based
in Madeira Island. |
Career highlights
- Winner as 'Best Solo Game of the Year' on the Crit Awards 2023
- Finalist as 'Designer of the Year' at the Tabletop Awards 2022
- Winner of the 18-card RPG Challenge by Button Shy, resulting in I guess this is it, a 2-player game about saying goodbye, featured on Dicebreaker.
- Named one of 10 Indie TTRPG Designers To Watch In 2022 by CBR
- Winner of the Solarpunk DIY Game with the game Scraps, on the SadPress Solarpunk Game Jam
- Author of Push SRD, a system with more than 2,500 downloads, 70 games made, and translated into 7 languages
Credits
This game was made possible by the support of my amazing
patrons. Join
today and get all my future games for free!
All art by Ray Olli.
Perks
You get the full game in PDF format, fully illustrated and bookmarked, as well as a printer-friendly version of the tables.
You also get a coupon for an optional at-cost purchase of the print-on-demand version of the book at Lulu [US Trade 6x9, full color, both in paperback or hardcover]
- ~100-page, full-color, totally hyperlinked and bookmarked PDF
- Printer-friendly version of all the tables
- At-cost print-on-demand coupon for the 6 x 9 in (US Trade) book, in paperback or hardcover
- 15 claimed
- 5 remaining
You get the full game in PDF format, fully illustrated and bookmarked, as well as a printer-friendly version of the tables.
You also get a coupon for an optional at-cost purchase of the print-on-demand version of the book at Lulu [US Trade 6x9, full color, both in paperback or hardcover]
AND, you can have your own custom character illustrated by our artist Ray Olli, following your specifications! You can choose to keep the character for yourself or add it to the core book, making it part of the game!
- ~100-page, full-color, totally hyperlinked and bookmarked PDF
- Printer-friendly version of all the tables
- At-cost print-on-demand coupon for the 6 x 9 in (US Trade) book, in paperback or hardcover
- Custom character illustrated by Ray Olli to your own specifications
Highlights
See all activity312
You get the full game in PDF format, fully illustrated and bookmarked, as well as a printer-friendly version of the tables.
You also get a coupon for an optional at-cost purchase of the print-on-demand version of the book at Lulu [US Trade 6x9, full color, both in paperback or hardcover]
- ~100-page, full-color, totally hyperlinked and bookmarked PDF
- Printer-friendly version of all the tables
- At-cost print-on-demand coupon for the 6 x 9 in (US Trade) book, in paperback or hardcover
- 15 claimed
- 5 remaining
You get the full game in PDF format, fully illustrated and bookmarked, as well as a printer-friendly version of the tables.
You also get a coupon for an optional at-cost purchase of the print-on-demand version of the book at Lulu [US Trade 6x9, full color, both in paperback or hardcover]
AND, you can have your own custom character illustrated by our artist Ray Olli, following your specifications! You can choose to keep the character for yourself or add it to the core book, making it part of the game!
- ~100-page, full-color, totally hyperlinked and bookmarked PDF
- Printer-friendly version of all the tables
- At-cost print-on-demand coupon for the 6 x 9 in (US Trade) book, in paperback or hardcover
- Custom character illustrated by Ray Olli to your own specifications
