Independent creator John ‘Hedge’ Hall is currently funding a physical print run for Embers of Humanity, a tabletop roleplaying game that focuses on community survival after the collapse of civilisation.
Running on Kickstarter until July 19, 2026, the campaign has already surpassed its £849 goal, sitting at over £2,400. The project aims to translate the digital game, originally released in February 2025, into a 6×9-inch hardback printed via Lulu, complete with an updated layout and new artwork commissioned from Joie Yong and Ann-Sofie Hall.
Mechanically, the game strips down the Basic Roleplaying (BRP) framework to inject an Old School Renaissance (OSR) feel into a post-apocalyptic setting. Rather than tracking individual wealth, the rules omit currency entirely. Instead, play anchors around the Settlement, a community hub that grows from a small camp into a functional town. The game master tracks this growth through development benchmarks on a dedicated Settlement Sheet, ensuring that the community’s evolving needs organically generate plot hooks, whether that involves negotiating with raiders, scavenging for tools, or surviving the unpredictable forces of nature and the breakdown of time itself, referred to locally as the Weird.
Mechanics and Community Building
Embers of Humanity is built for tables that appreciate scalable difficulty and modular sessions. Because each game session logically concludes with the survivors returning to their settlement, the structure easily accommodates rotating player groups. The pacing of the settlement’s expansion rests firmly with the game master, allowing the story to alternate between a slow, careful rebuild of society or a high-stress scramble for resources.
The creators highlight their transparent approach to this campaign, noting the game is functionally complete and the funds are strictly for art and printing costs.
We’re folksy, charming, lovable rogues who just want to make games. We hate AI, we love community, and you’ll get solid customer service from Hedge. Cause he’s, like, a decent guy.”
Pledge Tiers and Availability
Rather than offering an overwhelming list of options, the campaign keeps its rewards focused on getting the physical book into players’ hands, highlighting two primary avenues for backers.
- Pledge €35 (approx. £30): The Book – Hardback. This tier includes the standard 85-page physical hardback of the game, along with the digital PDF version.
- Pledge €50 (approx. £43): Limited-Edition Hardback. This upgrades the pledge to a 100-plus-page edition featuring the core game, an additional scenario by Brian Ashford called ‘A Cure for Hunger’, community-written one-page settings, and unlocked stretch goals like the Angelic West setting.
The campaign operates on an all-or-nothing basis and will close on Sunday, July 19, 2026, at 4:11 PM BST. Physical rewards are estimated to begin delivery in December 2026.
