Co-creators Tadhana Joy and Jesse T William, alongside artistic director Clara Efferin, have launched a Kickstarter campaign for Barkadan: City of Noise and Plenty. Designed as a survival horror and high fantasy setting, the book blends urban peril with the rich cultural fabric of the Philippines and the nuanced nuances of the Filipino-American experience. The release comes amidst a growing movement of cultural tabletop roleplaying games seeking to move beyond traditional Western fantasy tropes by grounding gameplay in authentic, lived perspectives.
Set in a bustling metropolis where predatory mages and parasitic demons target fragile urban settlements, the setting centres heavily on community-driven survival. Players take on the roles of ordinary citizens connected by shared social bonds; whether as childhood friends, immediate neighbours, or individuals raised by the same local Lola (grandma). Instead of traditional dungeon crawling, characters must navigate social hierarchies, gather scarce resources in bustling markets modelled on real-world locations like the SM Mall of Asia, and preserve their public reputation. Crucially, simple cultural acts such as forgetting to offer a mano po gesture of respect to an elder carry mechanical weight that can directly influence a group’s standing within the city.
A Classless Engine Driven by Skill Trees
Barkadan is built to run on Legacy & Saga, an original storytelling game engine crafted by Jesse T William. The system entirely replaces traditional character classes with expansive skill trees, providing players with granular agency over their progression while treating consequences as both mechanical hazards and narrative anchors. The core book features five distinct playable races, an expansive bestiary of original horrors tied to an evil deity known as The Consumer, and dedicated entries for local flora and fauna rendered in watercolour and gouache illustrations by Clara Efferin.
“This project is not meant to fictionalize the Philippine’s past, but to instead fictionalize the present I am currently living, my personal recalled history and experiences, and the Filipino culture I am connected to right now,” notes co-creator Tadhana Joy. “Barkadan is born from these observations. The city is inspired by American obsession with industry, designed individualism, and the uncomfortable ways I see Filipinos bending backwards to fit into western culture.”
Pledge Tiers
- Pledge CA$5 (approx. £3): Chismosa. Access to project updates, community news, and an artless digital copy of the Legacy & Saga game rules alongside a demo.
- Pledge CA$25 (approx. £14): Mage. Includes the full-colour, high-resolution PDF of Barkadan: City of Noise and Plenty, alongside the artless digital core rules for Legacy & Saga.
- Pledge CA$75 (approx. £40): Demonyo. Includes printable Game Master tools, expanded lore covering monsters and beasts, high-definition art wallpapers, and all rewards from the lower tiers.
- Pledge CA$200 (approx. £107): Taga Gabay. Includes two 2-hour private video sessions with system designer Jesse T William to learn campaign building and encounter running, plus all digital materials.
- Pledge CA$200 (approx. £107): Babaylan. Features two 2-hour private video sessions with co-creator Tadhana Joy focusing on the setting’s core storytelling philosophies and cultural lore, plus all digital materials.
- Pledge CA$350 (approx. £186): Barkadan. The complete digital and consultation bundle, including both creator video sessions and all downloadable Game Master resources.
The campaign is running on an all-or-nothing funding model with a target of £9,558, and it is set to end on Friday, 14 August 2026. Digital rewards across all tiers are scheduled for delivery in February 2027.
