The Wagadu Chronicles launches MMO and 5e project

We’ve been tracking The Wagada Chronicles since the start of the year. It’s always looked great.

Earlier this month, the 5e sourcebook for the RPG became a free download. I speculated at the time that Twin Drums’ goal was, probably, to whisk up interest in the forthcoming Kickstarter for the ambitious MMO. That moment is here. You can check the status on the Kickstarter page.

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The Afrofantasy MMO for roleplaying is now live and the impressive company, based in Berlin, speaking in English and representing much of Africa, is asking for €100,000 to fund. A high target for a tabletop game, not so much for a computer game. It’s early days, but €20,000 has already been funded, and Kickstarter loves the project.

In a slight twist, the email announcement from Wagadu reveals that they’re partnered with Riot Games. I think this is a good match. Riot certainly know how to make computer games, and the company is very interested in getting more involved in the tabletop space.

So, what are Riot doing? They’re co-funding the project and “joining the development journey”.

Early bird alert If you back the campaign in the next 20 hours (at the time of writing) then you get the Digital Edition of the MMO and 7th era setting of the 5e rulebook, as well as three days early access to the game. That costs €30.

If you miss that, then the cost only increases only to €35.

There are higher tiers that give more of the PDF supplements for the game and access to alpha tests as well as in-game items.

In fact, you can go up to €3,500 or even €8,000 if you want your name associated with this project to represent African culture in a fantasy computer game.

If you’ve watched the pitch video, you’ll know there’s a whole section on getting the sound right. Twin Drums uses African instruments and music, yet blends with a fantasy (Western) approach to create something sympathetic to the RPG experience.

Here’s a taster. After the first minute, it changes tone.