Everyone loves to play RPGs, now more than ever; thanks to popular culture and mass media, being a “geek” has become cool. What Derek Chung, co-creator of Nomnivore Games, noticed is that not everyone who wants to play can handle the TTRPGs on the market today. They might not be able to handle the complexity of the rules or the most common gameplay styles. They might be easily distracted, or have difficulty reading, or find the underlying math too much of a challenge. To counteract these challenges, and make rolplaying more accessible, Derek created Emberwind, an RPG based around a modular rules system called Rise, which allowed players to choose how complex they want their games to be, whether they want it rules heavy, or simple to learn; whether they are “roll focused” or “role focused”. You could have RPG veterans playing alongside newcomers, in the same campaign but using slightly different rules.
But that was back in 2019, and Nomnivore has branched off into something new: an imagination-fueled, fun-filled experience for the ultimate in “gaming newbies”, that being children and their families. In Nomventures, not only are the players young, so are the characters! Players create “nomnisaurs”, or Noms, using their Hero Card, with Traits. Unlike most character creation, where you are choosing skills and abilities from a list, a Trait can be anything that can be described in a few words. “Knows magic”, “Runs super fast”, or even just “strong” are all valid choices. As well as the Hero Card, you will also need a Check Deck, which is used every time the Adventure Guide (aka game master or storyteller) gives a character a Test (i.e. an action they need to succeed at). The Yay and Nay cards can be printed out, or you can just use a normal deck of cards and have red be Yay and black be Nay. Adventure Guides can also get an adventure module to start with.
All these things are available for free online as a Primer. So why is there a Nomventure Kickstarter campaign? Because Nomnivore Games is creating The Big Book, which not only gathers the basic rules and adventure ideas together in one place but also adds in new Modules. The Modules will be divided into several categories: Gameplay modules, Accessibility modules, Educational modules and Therapeutic modules. The Accessibility modules may help to deal with (for example) vision impairment, dyslexia, social anxiety, or difficulty expressing yourself. Gameplay/Storytelling modules will give advice on how to be a better Adventure Guide, add more complex rules that players can grow into, and provide new pre-made adventures to try. And finally, the Professional modules will help find ways to integrate games into a Classroom or Therapy environment.
Now that we know what is in the Big Book, let’s talk about the campaign itself. I will warn you, there are a lot of reward levels, so it may be a little overwhelming. There is also an unprecedented (in my experience) number of add-ons for a single campaign. There are options to get both digital-only and physically delivered products.
Level one: Snack Sized Support, $2 Canadian
This is the traditional “back it because you love it” level, which also gives access to some (but not all) of the add-ons. The add on options for this level are the three Adventure Bundles, which each have one adventure story combined with a childrens’ book based on that adventure.
Level two: The Basics – PDF only, $30 Canadian
This level gets you a digital copy of Nomventure: The Big Book, a print-ready PDF for the Hero Cards, and a print-ready PDF for the Check Deck cards. You also have the option to add one or more Adventure Bundles at $15 CAD each
Level three: The Basics – Early Bird Special, $55 Canadian
Here is our first physical bundle, everything you need to start playing. You get a physical *and* PDF copy of The Big Book; a PDF copy of Adventure Bundle #1: Beefcake’s Big Day; four physical Hero Cards (which are reusable) with a PDF file to make more; and two physical Check Decks with a PDF file to make more. This level gives access to a lot more add ons than previous levels. You can get more Hero Cards, Check Decks, a Check Tokens set, assorted Enamel Pins, assorted sticker sets, or a dinosaur plush. You can also add more Adventure Bundles, an extra copy of The Big Book, copies of Nomnivore’s other games (Dungeons and Dinos, and Snack Attack) as well as their expansion packs. Finally, you can get a copy of Emberwind, either the rule book, or the campaign book.
Level four: The Basics, $60 Canadian
This is the same as the Early Bird package, if you miss the deadline for the discount price.
Level five: The Charity Partner Donation, $60 Canadian
If you really love the idea of this game, but you don’t think you or your family will ever play it, you can take this reward level, which will send everything in The Basics level to one of four charities, VGCUSA (https://vgcusa.org ), Board Games for the Better (boardgamesforthebetter.org), The Cookie Brigade (https://cookiebrigade.org ) or Aloha Adventurer’s Guild ( https://alohaadventurersguild.wordpress.com/). And as a thank you for your donation, you will receive 11 promotional cards for the Dungeons and Dinos game. (At this level you are also allowed to buy any of the previously mentioned add ons.)
Level six: Are We There Yet?, $70 Canadian
At this level, you will receive everything in The Basics, but you will also get to see the first Adventure (Beefcake’s Big Day) before it is published, with enough time to give feedback and get credited in the book as a playtester. This level again has access to all the add ons.
Level seven: Gotta Nom ‘em All, $95 Canadian
This level has everything in the Basics, but with PDF copies of all three Adventure Bundles instead of just one. This level also allows access to all the add ons.
Level eight: Retail/Group Order, $135 Canadian
By pre-paying $135 CAD ($100USD), you will receive a “credit” in that amount, at Retail discount prices, for anything that Nomnivore Games sells, including the items from this campaign. And if you can show that you have a brick and mortar retail store, you will also receive a promotional kit for free. This level can also buy add ons.
Level nine: All for One and One for All, $179 Canadian
This level has *two* copies of everything in the Gotta Nom ‘em All level: one sent to you, one sent to someone else. On the Kickstarter page, there is a lovely comment that says “if you don’t have a specific friend in mind, consider sending one to a teacher or therapist where you live.” This level can also buy all add ons.
Level ten: Dino-mite!, $220 Canadian
This level gives you everything from the Gotta Nom ‘em All level, plus physical copies of all of Nomnivore Games’ dinosaur themed games. You get a copy of Snack Attack!, and copies of Dungeons and Dinos, and all of its expansions (Nomster Manual, Wild Thangs! and A-nom-e). This level can also buy all add ons.
Level eleven: How About Two RPGs? $249 Canadian
This level includes everything from the Gotta Nom ‘em All, plus everything from the original Emberwind RPG. You get a physical and PDF copy of the Hero Manual, both physical and PDF copies of two different Emberwind Campaigns (one of which has been out of print), and future access to any and all future Emberwind updates (including the Nexus, the home of player made game content). This level can buy all add ons.
Level twelve: Everything Nomisaur!, $415 Canadian
This is the ultimate bundle. It includes everything from the Dino-mite level, a dinosaur plush, plus all the enamel pins (9 full size and 4 mini size). All add ons are available at this level.
Level Thirteen: Build a Nom Workshop, $695 Canadian, limited to 10 pledges
This level includes everything from the Dino-mite level, one dinosaur plush, and a custom-made clothing accessory for the plush.
Level fourteen: You’re a Game Designer, Harry!, $1337 Canadian, limited to 5 pledges
Here’s your chance to be creative. In addition to everything in the Gotta Nom ‘em All bundle, plus the opportunity to have *your* idea made into a Nomventure adventure; a story with 3 scenes and 6 pieces of art. Once you and the game developers have perfected the story and artwork you wanted, you will receive a PDF copy of the Adventure you made, the *only* physical copy of the Adventure that will ever be printed, and signed physical copies of the artwork.
As of time of writing, the campaign has not reached 100%, although there are stretch goals waiting in the wings, including having physical copies of the Emotion Cards added to all Check Decks, improving the card quality of the Check Decks, an “Adventurers Cookbook”, and the donation of 10 copies of the Nomventure game to charity.
This campaign is based out of Canada, and provides international shipping, although it is optimized for Canadian and American shipping. Unfortunately, I was not able to find any details regarding the shipping prices.
The Kickstarter Campaign for The Great BIG Nomventure ends on September 2rd, 2024.
