Los Angeles tech studio QuestXR, Inc. has opened a $5 pre-launch reservation on BackerKit ahead of a November 2026 crowdfunding campaign for its augmented-reality roleplaying game platform. Built on Chaosium’s d100 Basic Roleplaying (BRP) engine, the mobile software turns real-world locations into digital maps where players use their phones to discover clues, resolve encounters, and manage character statistics without a physical table.
The project highlights the evolving application of the Open RPG Creative (ORC) licence in digital spaces. While the software is being built independently using the open rules, the studio maintains a direct link to Chaosium through a basic memorandum of understanding, alongside a Chaosium team member holding a minority financial stake and an advisory board seat. To explore the mechanics and business realities of translating tabletop rules into a spatial mobile experience, we spoke with QuestXR co-founders Adam Lesh (CEO/CTO) and Zachary Hunchar (CCO). I learned not to call this an AR game.
QuestXR Interview
How does the relationship between QuestXR and Chaosium work in practice – is this an official commercial co-development, or are you building independently under the Open RPG Creative (ORC) licence?
Currently, we have a basic memorandum of understanding with Chaosium, but most of the work is being done independently under the ORC license. A member of the Chaosium team also serves as an advisory board member and holds a minority stake in the company. As we move forward, we may be able to expand that relationship.
Why did you choose Chaosium’s d100 Basic Roleplaying rules over a lightweight or bespoke system designed specifically for quick mobile screen resolution?
Our end goal is a platform that is expansive and nimble in both AR and TTRPGs. We had to start somewhere, and we chose Chaosium’s system because of its open license, it is simple to learn, and, after Dungeons and Dragons, has the largest established fan base. We’re fully engaged with BRP, but we plan to add other systems over time, with the end goal of representing every gaming system. A lightweight or bespoke system may have served us well during development, but it wouldn’t have benefited our core consumers and we would have had to start from scratch building our own fan base. Ideally, QuestXR is a gateway to RPGs.
Basic Roleplaying is renowned for lethal combat, sanity attrition, and investigative horror, most famously through Call of Cthulhu. How much does QuestXR lean into that spooky, perilous atmosphere, and how does your app translate visceral tension to players standing in broad daylight in a public park?
The short answer is: check the app to see our current zombie quest. There’s some spookiness there. The longer answer is that QuestXR can run Call of Cthulhu or any other BRP system, so it comes down to what the creator community decides to make. Creators who want monsters, terrifying puzzles, and creepy music cues can build them, then share them or make them available for free or to purchase. Atmosphere doesn’t require darkness, either. In my regular game, I’ve run Curse of Strahd and Ravenloft, and some players were terrified through dramatic lighting and eerie music alone. Playing at sunset with speakers or earbuds on can create the same effect, as can well-written clues and NPCs with creepy dialogue. It comes down to imagination. Safety tip: be aware of your surroundings if you’re gonna use earbuds. Only your character should be in danger.
Full disclosure: we haven’t implemented sanity yet, but it is on the roadmap. By the time we’re done, the entire BRP Game Engine will be supported within QuestXR.
How does the software handle tactile resolution steps, such as opposed resistance rolls, hit locations, and characteristic checks, without reducing tabletop roleplaying games to automated, passive video game calculations?
Currently, we’ve implemented streamlined combat mechanics. Turn-based with options for Attack and Defense. Selecting an attack/defense option triggers the roll mechanism. Notifications let the player know the results. As we add in more combat features, the plan is that whenever there is a required roll it will take an affirmative action by the player. We’re starting from the assumption that, like when they play a TTRPG, players will want to actively roll the dice, even digitally. Of course, we’re open to feedback from our community on when to add more automation to speed up combat and other game mechanics.
How do you balance physical spatial movement with tabletop turn order when an encounter triggers in a real-world location?
With single-player, this isn’t an issue. When we implement multiplayer, we’ll need to address how party dynamics work.
Outdoor environments are unpredictable. In what way does your Quest Creation Toolkit prevent physical geography from breaking an adventure if a public area is closed, fenced off, or obstructed?
That will be largely determined by the Quest creator. Given we want to reach the largest number of people during the crowdfunding pre-campaign and campaign, our current Quests are not locked to a specific location. Most can be played anywhere, including your house. One is best played in a shopping mall, but a clever player could find another location that would work. In the future, when an internal or independent GM places a Quest in a public area that is somehow inaccessible, it will be up to that GM to move it. The Quest/encounter mapping part of the Toolkit will make that straightforward.
In The Quest Log video series on your YouTube channel, you discussed why you opted for BackerKit rather than Kickstarter or traditional publishing. What financial realities and backer demographics drove that platform decision?
As we chose BackerKit largely due its having the biggest TTRPG backer community. Our goal is to drive enough engagement on the pre-campaign page to get noticed by the BackerKit algorithm and get boosted to the community.
You have promised a marketplace where Game Masters can build, publish, and monetise custom quests. How will QuestXR navigate digital copyright, safety liability for real-world foot traffic, and third-party commercial rights under your creator tools?
Our plan is to match the current standards set in UGC platforms. Generally, that means the players or IP owners will contact us through our reporting mechanism. We will then investigate and determine if the complaint has merit and take down any IP violating content. We will not be proactive in screening content as that has proven to be largely ineffective.
Augmented-reality mobile titles famously struggle with player retention once the visual novelty fades. What mechanical depth keeps a gaming group returning to QuestXR for a long-term campaign?
We don’t see QuestXR as an AR game. It is a live-action TTRPG that utilizes a variety of technologies, including AR, to tell stories. We like to say that TTRPGs were the first UGC platforms. If AD&D had just relied on its own published modules for longevity, it likely would have disappeared long ago. That’s what we see as QXR’s greatest strength – our GM community. Whether they create Quests to be played in specific locations, anywhere, or simply integrated into their own campaigns, they will be our backbone and our foremost job will be to support their creativity.
We’re not building a mobile AR app. We’re building an ecosystem designed to support individual players, regular groups, and campaigns and foster a community of GMs, players, and homebrew creators. The social connection is the main driver.
Many tabletop purists push back against screens at the game table, let alone replacing the table altogether. Where does QuestXR draw the line between a digital companion tool and an actual tabletop roleplaying game?
That’s the joy of QuestXR. It’s meant to create a harmonious experience between the table and the world outside it. While Adam would love nothing more than to create a National Treasure style campaign with a party moving from location to location to complete a Quest, Zach is a little more focused on tabletop, but still wants to get his players out in the world. Zach has lost several close RPG friends to health issues in recent years, so getting his players outside and active matters to him. We’re designing QuestXR for the full spectrum of play. Quests can take place fully on or off the table and any mix between. For added fun, side Quests can be assigned between gaming sessions.
As for devices at the table, phones are already part of our lives, so we want to turn them into an asset. For example, spatial positioning would let you hold up your phone, look around the table, and see each character instead of the player. There could also be moments when a spell is cast and everyone sees it through their phones. The goal isn’t to remove the communal feeling, but to enhance the fiction.
Adam, drawing on your background contributing to classic Advanced Dungeons & Dragons supplements, and Zachary, with your background in horror fiction, where did your design philosophies clash most during this five-year development journey?
There’s been little to no clash. Most challenges involve translating creative ideas to the technical side, and recent technology advancements have led to far fewer “maybes” and “I don’t know.” We both want the game to be captivating and immersive and we each bring our different perspectives on how to get there, which we find are usually complementary.
When physical playtests have gone completely sideways in public spaces, what was the most memorable failure that forced you to rewrite a rule or redesign a feature?
To be honest, other than connectivity issues (which is on the roadmap to fix with a feature to download a complete Quest), we haven’t had a complete failure yet, however, we did get feedback from players which led to a number of updates:
- Added a skip feature to combat turns so the user doesn’t need to wait for the countdown timer if they don’t want to attack or defend.
- Added support for escape skills so players can avoid combat.
- For Quests where there is a series of combat encounters, fixed an issue where they can trigger back-to-back
For Game Masters keen to test the engine ahead of the BackerKit campaign, where should they look to get involved, and what community projects or fellow indie designers are currently inspiring your team?
Join us on our Discord server. We’re taking feedback now. Ask questions. We’re already preparing some short videos to show how the GM Toolkit is working. As for other projects, We’ve been leaning into a lot of horror-themed product, including The Magnus Archives and Free League’s The Walking Dead. We also just picked up Paizo’s 13 Omens starter through their BackerKit.
QuestXR faces the dual challenge of proving augmented reality can sustain long-term engagement while convincing traditional gaming groups that mobile devices enhance rather than hijack a session. With early playtests live via their web client and the full crowdfunding push scheduled for November, the coming months will reveal whether tabletop roleplaying communities embrace spatial play outdoors or keep their dice firmly on the kitchen table.
