Bad Toad Games has a “Notify me on launch” page in place for Mercs, Mages and Monsters and we’re expecting that to bloom into a fully functional crowdfunding campaign in February.
However, we don’t have to wait to get a 19-page look at the publisher’s flagship TTRPG as there’s a Pay What You Want quick start on DriveThruRPG.
The pitch on the quick start page is simple;
A skill based TTRPG using a 3d8 roll under system. Set in the grim-lite yet humorous fantasy kingdom of Yogath.
I got in touch with Jeremy and Casey Lowe of Bad Toad with some quickfire questions.
Is Yogath a dark setting and if so, what makes it so?
Yogath is what we call a grim-light setting. Most of its creatures would happily eat you and most of its citizenry would poke you with something sharp if it meant getting some silver, which covers the “grim” part. The “light” part comes from knowing that there is potential hope, even if it isn’t heroes that bring it. We’ve also included a fair share of “dumb humor” in the NPCs and the world in general.

A challenge on the Bad Toad site is “How far would you go for coin?” and I wonder whether that’s a timeless question or one with extra relevance in today’s corporate climate?
For us that quote is extremely relevant to the world we’ve built, but as always with these kinds of games, real life tends to bleed into world crafting and can mean different things to different people.
How does the 3d8 system work?
With the 3d8 system in general, odds are “middled” and are modified more by circumstances and skills rather than just a roll of the dice. Our choice to use the roll-under aspect is because it’s akin to “real life” as we’re all limited by our capabilities, or in the case of the game; traits. The combination of these allowed us to include supporting mechanics like NAT 3, NAT 24, and doubles.



The Kickstarter pre-pitch explains that “Mercs, Mages and Monsters” will have an estimated 120-page core rulebook, a three-act campaign and GM tools such as a random contract generator for mercs.
We’re also told “Mercs, Mages and Monsters” will have a host of art and a map of the Kingdom of Yogath and Bad Toad have been kind enough to share some previews with us.
I also noticed Bad Toad Games has a Redbubble store with some of their great toad characters. Tell me that Harold wouldn’t make for a great Ingress t-shirt.

Quick Links
- Mercs, Mages and Monsters: Quick Start.
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