I've just expanded the Story section, so when the campaign for Chancers goes live in a few days, folks will be able to take a good look at what the game has to offer.
Three significant bits are also worth mentioning here. First, I've pushed back the campaign launch date by a single day, to Tuesday, June 16th. That will line it up with the launch of the campaign for The Blue Way, our cross-collab partner,so you'll be able to back both more conveniently if you'd like.
Second, I've also increased the incentive for backing both campaigns to include three Whorl dice, rather than the two I'd announced formerly. That makes better sense in terms of the game rules and gets you a goodlier set to throw for those critical rolls!
And finally, here's a good look at the Damage Dice early bird backers who pledge at a level with physical rewards during the first 48 hours of the campaign will receive with their pledge; you'll receive three of these dice:
As promised in the latest email update from Jaunty Goblin Central, it is high time to slip into launch party mode. I'm delighted to report that the campaign for Chancers will launch in 28 days!
I'll offer some summary/summery information and updates here as a help to those who've been following along from the start and those who are visiting for the first time. Welcome!
The Essentials In brief, Chancers is an optimistic tabletop high fantasy role-playing game about found family, community, and the uplifting work of building a better, more magical world.
At Length:A Thumbnail History For nine generations the nation of Aurichor, once connected to thriving lands remembered as the Continent, was ruled by King Hereson and his heirs. To the thinking of most, Hereson and his sons were more interested in accumulating riches than seeing to the needs of their subjects. Though Hereson rose to power with the help of Chancers, wielders of a wild magic never seen before, he grew to fear and envy these early allies. He banished them all, stripping them of their wealth, their titles, and their land.
These early Chancers fled, but they gathered as a host and marched on Aurichor years later, when Hereson had grown gray with age and named his heir. Rather than exacting revenge, however, the Chancers crossed over to the Continent and severed the land bridge behind them, setting Aurichor and its neighbor islands adrift in time and space so Hereson's armies could not pursue them. The lands left behind became the Drifting Kingdoms.
More than 300 years later, Hereson's line met with a shameful end. Though many sought the crown, the people clamored for Solor the Beloved, a wanderer possessed of strong Chancing magics, to take the throne. Solor declined, but he proposed a solution the people accepted: he and a band of aspirants would visit the Iridex, one of the godlike powers that arose when the islands of the Kingdoms were settled by humans, and seek its counsel. The Iridex released a great soul and told the company that the soul would seek the one who loves the Kingdoms best, the one who should rule.
That soul found and filled Jovolor, a young transgender man, a chosen brother of Solor. Jovolor was persuaded to accept the crown, and they and their successors have transformed the culture Aurichor over the past eighty years. The current rulers, the twins Halcyor and Kaledor, are eager to continue the reforms Jovolor began long ago.
And that, dear readers, is where you come in.
The Nature of the Game Chancers in many ways ventures past the RPG stories we already know. While the game still has one foot in that world (players will sometimes explore ruins to seek treasure, hunt monsters haunting the fringes of civilization, and root out villains who would love to reinstate the old machinery of power), it will also consider the prospect of building a better future, encouraging players to think of ways they might address lingering issues that still trouble the Kingdoms.
Chancers have been readmitted to civic life, and citizens of Aurichor now enjoy guaranteed food, shelter, a basic income, and care for their health; the population of the island has grown increasingly diverse, and many measures have been taken to make the island inclusive, accessible, and welcoming. The monarchs are certain even more might yet be done, and players will have the chance to help them figure out how.
And Cross-Collaboration! While partnering with CMich press as it launches The Blue Way this June seems like a no-brainer for a bunch of excellent logistical and promotional reasons, it took me only a few minutes of serious rumination to recognize the stake both games share in telling that next set of stories--the challenging stories of change.
If you back both campaigns, you'll earn special perks if both projects reach their funding goals. From Chancers you'll receive a pair of ten-sided Whorl dice, dice linked to the key attribute of self-expression in the game:
And from the CMich Press you'll receive card sleeves featuring the art of Samuel Araya:
We're all looking forward to getting these games in your hands! Be sure to keep an eye on both pages for updates as the ides of June draw nigh!
(NB: the Chancers header image above is adapted from the beautiful photography of Ian Chen found over at Unsplash and is used in accordance with their license.)
Update - 6/7/26 I've just expanded the Story section, so when the campaign for Chancers goes live in a few days, folks will be able to take a good look at what the game has to offer.
Two significant bits are also worth mentioning here. First, I've pushed back the campaign launch date by a single day, to Tuesday, June 16th. That will line it up with the launch of the campaign for The Blue Way, so you'll be able to back both more conveniently if you'd like.
Second, I've also increased the incentive for backing both campaigns to include three Whorl dice, rather than the two I'd announced formerly. That makes better sense in terms of the game rules and gets you a goodlier set to throw for those critical rolls!
