Apocalyptic Games has successfully funded its latest roleplaying game supplement, BILT: Magic, within 24 hours of launching on Kickstarter. Written by veteran designer and three-time ENNIE nominee Charles Rice, the campaign crossed its initial £75 target on Sunday, 18 October 2026, and is actively pushing towards its first gameplay stretch goals.
The book is the first major mechanical expansion of the multi-genre science fiction roleplaying game BILT Among The Stars and requires the base rules for play. Apocalyptic Games, based in Orlando, Florida, launched the project to expand the game’s core item-crafting philosophy into supernatural spheres, letting gaming groups integrate arcane disciplines across five distinct historical and speculative periods.
Modular arcane crafting across five tech eras
The primary draw of BILT: Magic lies in how it transposes the core game’s DIY crafting engine into magic systems. Rather than relying on static spell lists or random loot tables, the system governs magical equipment creation across five distinct eras: Ancient, Modern, Near Future, Space Opera, and Far Future.
Players can craft basic elemental gear or modify advanced weaponry by infusing harvested supernatural components. As Rice notes on the campaign page:
High level, unique monsters can be harvested for Essence, in order to enchant magical items. Every item in the game is buildable, from the most basic flaming sword, to artifacts like Excalibur.
This mechanical approach mirrors the base engine’s item-modifying framework. Game masters receive a dedicated toolkit to generate custom adversaries in minutes by layering Essence directly onto creature stat blocks, including specific rules for classic threats such as dragons, giants, lycanthropes, and vampires.
Stretch Goal: Streets Run Red
With initial funding secured, Apocalyptic Games has introduced a $400 stretch goal that unlocks an introductory adventure titled “Streets Run Red” for all backers across all reward tiers. This modern urban occult scenario is a dual-compatible module designed to work with BILT: Magic or the modern-day military rules supplement, BILT: Modern Ops.
The adventure plunges players into the roles of homicide detectives in Los Angeles caught in an escalating gang war, only to discover that two ancient horrors, a vampire lord named Stanhope and a werewolf named Bedlam, have begun slaughtering criminals as part of a competitive blood sport.
Pledge tiers and delivery dates
The crowdfunding drive runs on an all-or-nothing model until Saturday, 14 November 2026 at 2:00 PM UTC. Backers can access the project through several digital tiers:
- Pledge $10 (approx. £8): Apprentice Magician. Provides the complete digital edition of BILT: Magic, including the core magic rules, enchantment mechanics, playable species, and creature generation tools.
- Pledge $25 (approx. £19): Journeyman Magician. Delivers both BILT: Magic and the core BILT Among The Stars rulebook, covering rules across all five tech eras alongside the complete magic system.
- Pledge $50 (approx. £38): Master Magician. A complete bundle granting BILT: Magic, the 315-page core rulebook, and eight digital titles across the system catalogue, including Rice’s 2015 post-apocalyptic roleplaying game AZ: After Zombies.
Digital distribution for all tiers is scheduled to commence in November 2026, with the manuscript already fully written and playtested ahead of launch.
