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ODD GOBS: A Pocket-Sized, Fold-Out Map of an RPG

Created by Madness Heart Games

Goblins Surviving the Gig Economy in a Cyberpunk Dystopia. Odd Gobs is a stand-alone tabletop RPG for 2+ players, fully contained on a single double-sided folding pocket map. Taking place in a near-future cyberpunk dystopia, the Goblins (that's you) have to make ends meet in any way they can. What better way than signing up for an app that allows you to take jobs as they come up and do what Goblins do best? (What do Goblins do best? Introduce chaos to any given situation!) Each game will consist of one player (the GigL Master) creating gigs for the Goblins. The Goblin players will then travel through the liminal spaces of a sprawling cyberpunk metropolis to reach destinations, perform whatever tasks they need to, return to a safe space, and then negotiate their pay, all while avoiding getting burnt out by too many stressors! Utilizing its own system that allows you to roll whatever sort of dice you have on hand, Odd Gobs is geared for quick pick-up and play. Goblins have tags called Benefits and Stressors that can improve (or hinder) how they do certain tasks. These tags can be modified through shopping, getting paid, getting hurt, or the ever-present CHAOS TABLE. The map will feature: - A Z-Fold Design, making it easy to pack up and store! - Covers that are laminated and durable, making it safe to carry with you to whatever area of the city your GigL jobs take you! - One side with rules, random tables for creating jobs and Goblins, and the Chaos Table, which helps the GigL Master add more and more chaos to the game as things go on. - One side with a map of the city, which features locations for tasks and random tables that display events, threats, obstacles, and treasures. - Easy hackability into other Cyberpunk-themed roleplaying games! - The map of the city is player-facing so you can share the beauty of dystopia with all!

Latest Updates from Our Project:

State of the Cyber-Union
almost 3 years ago – Sun, Jun 25, 2023 at 06:05:14 AM

Did I use that joke headline already? I don't know! Things have been a blur, if you follow any of my other projects you know I've faced some pretty heinous health issues over the last couple of months. It's put a halt to most endeavors as I try to get that straightened out. 

It is not straightened out.

However despite it not being straightened out, life, and especially goblin-y chaos must go on! Rollin and I will be finishing up and releasing the two stretch-goal conversion classes next month. Both are written, so now we're just getting them edited and gussied up and ready for public consumption! As these are digital-only files, we'll deliver them as soon as they are ready! They'll also be added to the itch.io page so they will be available in your library for all time!

--John Baltisberger

Digital Godness
almost 3 years ago – Sat, May 06, 2023 at 07:54:02 AM

Good Gob What a Day! 

First, YAAAAY digital files are out, and we expect to begin shipping pretty quickly for physical rewards!

Secondly, 

I've gotten a few messages and questions about the digital files)

So, I sent the digital files to the fulfillment team, and they sent it off, and then I realized I hadn't communicated that anyone who got Odd Gobs digital (or higher) should also get Odd Gobs Plain Text digital. So I went into the backerkit system and added that rule, but of course, I'm newer to that system and may have just double-sent files to several people, so I apologize for that.

I  also connected the itch.io page to the Kickstarter, so you'll probably be getting a message or have already gotten one from https://madness-heart-games.itch.io/ saying you can add Odd Gobs to your library.

To reiterate, all you need is the one PDF file that has the map and the rules. You can also use the plain text pdf, which again, you only need one of those.

GobFall
almost 3 years ago – Thu, May 04, 2023 at 09:00:24 AM

Look unto the smoke-filled skies! Behold the neon storm clouds and the shadows of laughing tech-gods as a case falls from unimagined heights to the ground. The time of prophecy is upon us. The time of... GobFall.

The Goblin Has Landed

This game was a beast to get through production! Rollin used so many colors and so many depths of color that the printer was having trouble making sense of it. But Look! BEHOLD! We got it through, and then THEY got through the printing, folding, and finally shipping phase! And they are BEAUTIFUL.

What Next?

So, there are a few steps now:

  • Get the Plain Text Zine in hand
  • Get Hungry Dawn Stickers to the Fulfillment
  • Deliver Digital Rewards
  • Deliver Physical Rewards
  • Run the Game for Backers!
  • Compatibility Addons

Plain Text Zine

We actually got the first printing of these already, but frankly, they turned out to be way more popular than I thought they would be, so we ordered more to cover everyone, and those should arrive at fulfillment door any day now!

Hungry Dawn

These stickers are printed and on their way to the fulfillment center, we were waiting for the final counts!

Deliver Digital Rewards

We're hoping we can get these out to you this week or next!

Deliver Physical Rewards

We've spoken with the fulfillment team, and while they're waiting on the stickers and zines, it should be a very quick turnaround. We expect that we'll be able to hit our May fulfillment estimate!

Run the Game for Backers!

Some of y'all backed at a level where John Baltisberger would run a game for y'all. We'll make that happen as soon as we can organize it, John's on some nasty antibiotics at the moment but once that clears up he'll reach out to all of y'all.

Compatibility Stretch-Goals

The final piece of the puzzle, these goals got met. We've got them worked out and written, they'll go through editing, World Champ Games is going to have a go at adding some content for the CyberMetal 2012 goal, and then Rollin will layout the two classes and we'll send them out as soon as they are complete.

And that's about it. Sorry for the lengthy pause between updates, but from the proofs being approved to it arriving there wasn't much to say! We'll see you soon, Hopefully with an update about how Goblins have invaded every home and caused much mayhem and joy!

Shipping Prices Investigated
almost 3 years ago – Wed, Apr 12, 2023 at 11:25:51 AM

It Was A Weighty Problem!

Okay, so after the last update, I had a lot of people yelling. So I looked into it. 

What happened is that we had put in "Safe weights" for the products. Meaning that everything was listed as rounded-up weights in order to make sure we never exceed and have a project rejected. Which, in our old way of calculating shipping would be fine... except we don't do that anymore. No, we use weight-based shipping costs in accordance with the USPS media mail.

  • Media Mail is a special type of mail used for printed material, at a steep discount, so it;'s the cheapest form of shipping we can use.

We've gone in and adjusted all the weights of all the physical rewards, meaning you can add every single addon or a couple of extra maps and not get the bumped-up shipping cost. If you DO see a higher shipping cost, it means that the combined total weight of all of your add-ons exceeds our lowest tier allowance. 

  • We haven't locked orders yet, so if you want to add the Plain-Text zine or Morkkabeans, you can without bumping up the cost of shipping. 
  • IF YOU HAVE ALREADY FINISHED YOUR SURVEY AND ARE HAPPY WITH THE ITEMS YOU HAVE... you don't need to do anything, the shipping costs will already have been adjusted for the new weights.

Thank you, everyone for your patience, and I hope this helps!

mobile update
almost 3 years ago – Wed, Apr 12, 2023 at 04:51:25 AM

Hey all! update using the voice-to-text on my phone, so I apologize for any wonkiness. I am going to have a meeting with the fulfillment company today to discuss the shipping prices and see what can be done. 

If you have already paid for shipping. Do not worry. If it changes, you will be refunded the difference in cost.   I want to make sure everyone can get this game in hand, and get the add-ons they want, without spending a ludicrous amount of money.  

signed, John Baltisberger.