Paizo, the Woodinville-based publisher behind Pathfinder and Starfinder, has launched its first standalone Kickstarter campaign for 13 Omens, a rules-light supernatural horror roleplaying game designed for single-session play. Entering its final 30 days on the platform ahead of a Friday, 13 November 2026 deadline, the project has already passed its £75,352 ($100,000) funding target, securing £158,912 from 1,533 backers.
Rather than relying on d20 tactical combat grids or multi-year adventure paths, 13 Omens uses a bespoke six-sided dice pool pulled from a physical bag at the centre of the table. The campaign marks a deliberate pivot for Paizo into fast-paced, mortal danger, following brutal live playtests run by Director of Game Design Jason Bulmahn at the UK Games Expo in May 2026.
The shared dice bag and Omen Dice mechanics
13 Omens structures each standalone session like a horror film, dividing play into a prologue and three distinct acts. Instead of spending hours building characters from scratch, players select from scenario-specific Archetypes. Every story provides bespoke Archetypes pre-loaded with personality traits, interpersonal opinions about the rest of the group, a secret personal goal, and exact rules tailored to the threat at hand, including specific aspects, perks, and starting gear.
The core tension of the game operates through a tactile push-your-luck resolution engine:
- Starting Pool: The game begins with eight six-sided Safe Dice inside a shared central bag.
- Action Resolution: When a character attempts a check against their aspect ratings, the player reaches blindly into the shared bag and draws between two and four d6s.
- Escalation: As the story advances through its three acts, the Host (Game Master) steadily introduces up to 13 red Omen Dice into the bag.
- Lethal Consequences: Drawing Omen Dice and rolling poorly triggers severe setbacks, injury, despair, and character death. As clarified during earlier convention playtests, Omen Dice drawn by wounded characters remain with those players until they die rather than returning immediately to the bag, altering the statistical odds for the rest of the table until a casualty occurs.
By the third act, the central bag holds nearly twice as many Omen Dice as Safe Dice. A free playable demo of the rules is available to download directly from the campaign page for groups that want to test the odds before pledging.
13 Omens stories focus on narrative play, with an emphasis on visceral feelings over rules and procedures so the players can remain immersed in the experience. At the end of each session, the characters have either vanquished the evil or have been overcome by its malice.”
The 13 Omens creative roster and guest zine authors
While Paizo is best known for books that don’t shy from crunch, the publisher has assembled a mix of veteran in-house leads and external horror writers to build the core rulebook and its accompanying anthology of adventure zines.
| Role | Contributors |
| Core Team | Jason Bulmahn (Game Designer), James Jacobs (Creative Developer) |
| Rulebook Adventure Authors | Jason Keeley (Senior Designer), Erik Mona (Publisher & CCO), Ianara Natividad (Senior Editor) |
| Zine Adventure Authors | Josh M. Belanger (Author), B. W. Holland (Writer), Jenny Jarzabski (Starfinder Creative Director), Epidiah Ravachol (Author & Game Designer), Johnny Sims, Sasha Sienna |
Bringing in indie roleplaying game designer Epidiah Ravachol, creator of the acclaimed one-shot horror game Dread, which famously uses a Jenga tower to resolve actions, alongside The Magnus Archives writer and performer Johnny Sims and Rusty Quill Gaming alumnus Sasha Sienna, signals where Paizo is aiming. These external zine authors understand pacing, theatrical dread, and high-mortality one-shots, and they pair naturally with Paizo veterans like James Jacobs and Erik Mona.
Crowdfunding bundles, zines, and fulfilment details
Instead of treating 13 Omens as a single monolithic tome, the campaign splits content between the core rulebook (printed on FSC-certified paper with soy inks) and modular adventure zines.
For digital groups, the entry-level Digital Rulebook sits at $15 (approx. £12) for the PDF, while the $119 (approx. £90) All In Digital tier bundles the PDFs with virtual tabletop support across Roll20, Foundry VTT, and Alchemy, plus Syrinscape audio integration. Physical backers can enter at $35 (approx. £27) for the Physical Rulebook (offering a choice between the standard cover or a Kickstarter-exclusive cover) or $60 (approx. £46) for the Basic Play Set, which packages the book, dice, and one adventure zine.
The most popular option among backers so far is the $120 (approx. £91) Standard Physical Bundle, which packs the rulebook, GM screen, standard dice, and every adventure zine unlocked during the drive. Higher tiers introduce liquid core dice and a special edition hardcover in the $225 (approx. £170) Deluxe Physical Bundle, while a standalone $100 (approx. £76) Plushies Only tier isolates the campaign’s three macabre soft toys: Heidi, the Omen Keeper, and the Intestine Doll. At the top end, the $850 (approx. £641) Core All-In tier adds bone-themed dice, a dice tray, an embroidered messenger bag, pins, and apparel, while limited tiers stretching from $1,000 to $10,000 (approx. £754 to £7,536) offer one-of-one artist sketch covers, private Zoom sessions or GenCon 2027 games run by the designers, and executive producer credits. Backers pledging $125 or more can also use Kickstarter’s interest-free Pledge Over Time system to split the cost across three monthly instalments, though the pledge manager will calculate and charge shipping, taxes, and VAT separately closer to release.
Paizo reports that core game design is complete, with the adventure zines currently moving through development, editing, and layout. This all-or-nothing campaign closes on Friday, 13 November 2026, with production scheduled to begin shortly after and fulfilment estimated for May 2027.
