9 self-contained adventures inspired by Dante's Inferno for the sci-fi horror RPG Mothership. Each circle features unique mechanics and stories. Play as standalone one-shots or link them into a campaign with an overarching meta-plot.
Early Birds Rewards. All Visuals are WIP and subject to change.
PAN AIRFARE (Preferred Assets Network) designed by Lone Archivist. All Visuals are WIP and subject to change.
EARLY BIRD SPECIAL
Bookmark: Designed by Lone Archivist. An in-universe prop the Warden can show at the table, and a bookmark to track your place as you take a break after diving into your favorite part of 9Circles. Free for 48 hours only* (*available for print/ physical orders only)
Physical Early Bird price CHF 35 (regular CHF 40) limited to 100 units, once they are gone, they are gone!
Sinful Early Bird price CHF 58 (regular CHF 66) limited to 66 units, once they are gone, they are gone!
What is 9Circles
9CIRCLES is a Mothership anthology of nine standalone sci-fi horror adventures, each built around a unique mechanic that twists the rules and reshapes how the game plays. Assassinations. Heists. Survival horror. Reality shows. Murder mysteries. Each circle explores a different facet of human (and corporate) monstrosity.
Play them as one-shots. String them together into a campaign. Let your players discover what lurks beneath each contract and what it awakens in them.
Warden-first content and layout
Built as a toolbox for the Warden
Each adventure introduces a unique mechanic that reshapes how Mothership plays (credit economy, horde survival, flashback heists, mystery-building, dungeon design)
Modular and extractable: use the mechanics in your own campaigns; drop individual circles into ongoing games
Scalable sessions: run each as a tight one-shot (3–4 hours) or stretch into multi-session arcs (2–4 sessions)
No fixed order: play circles in sequence for a Pulp Fiction-style timeline, or pick the circle that fits your table tonight
Warden-friendly layout: handouts, maps, key mechanics, NPCs, twists, and escalation paths formatted for fast reference at the table
Art by Lisa Dahlin. All visuals are WIP and subject to change.
100+ pages of modular sci-fi horror. Nine adventures. Nine artists. One descent into damnation.
Layout example. Art by Chris Askahm. All visuals are WIP and subject to change.
Standalone Adventures
Nine Standalone Adventures
Each circle is a complete scenario with its own tone, mechanic, and moral trap(s):
Unique gameplay mechanics per circle: spending like a millionaire, twisted heists, collaborative mysteries, reality TV production, and more...
Scalable sessions: run as tight one-shots (3–4 hours) or expand into multi-session arcs
No fixed order: play circles in any sequence; discover the non-linear timeline as you descend
Left: Art by Chris Askham. Right: Art by SALAMANDER KING. All visuals are WIP and subject to change.
Adventures include
Each adventure includes the following sections for easy navigation
What's Going On: Hook, setup, and hidden agendas
How to Use: Warden guidance for pacing, escalation, and running as one-shot vs. campaign
Mechanics: New rules unique to this circle (fully extractable for your own games)
"NPCs": Memorable characters with motives, secrets, and story hooks
"Enemies" (when applicable): New threats and bestiaries
Locations/Maps: Key sites detailed for play
Escalation: Tables and triggers to ramp tension and consequences
Wardens First
Built for the Warden
Modular toolkit: Use and remix our mechanics, NPCs, and tables for your own Mothership campaigns (homebrew)
Galaxy map: Shared setting across all nine adventures for connective tissue
Handouts and props: Player-facing materials to help players (and wardens) at the table
Professional layout : Clean, utilitarian design prioritizing clarity and usability at the table
GM-friendly structure: All nine adventures follow the same organizational system to navigate effortlessly
Example of Handout for the players. Art by Chris Askham. All visuals are WIP and subject to change.
Example of layout built for the Warden. Art by Chris Askham. All visuals are WIP and subject to change.
Unique Elements
Unique Elements Per Circle (no spoilers)
Depending on which circle you run, you might encounter:
Custom character classes
Unique artifacts and strange technology
Specialized starships
New infection mechanics
Reality-warping dungeon-building rules
And more waiting to be discovered...
Art by Tony Tran. All visuals are WIP and subject to change.
As the project grows and we unlock more resources, we’re able to expand the content and provide extra tools for players and Wardens. Every milestone reached adds value for backers, and we’ll update this section as new goals are revealed.
9CIRCLES brings together an eclectic and varied pool of very talented TTRPG veterans and blooming newer artists.
Writer and designer:
Hadrien
Hadrien is a writer, professional GM, and indie publisher running EpicQuest.ch, a one-person TTRPG studio out of Geneva, Switzerland. Writing and publishing Breaking News for MM25 was both a great honor and chance to learn from the best: TKG and the other MM25 creators involved.
Guest writers:
World Zero
World Zero is a designer, artist, and forever GM who recently took the jump into published adventures with Zone 44 and Dream Fragment.
Waco Matrixo:
Waco Matrixo is a British animator, illustrator, and TTRPG creator based in the Netherlands. He is best known for making animated Mothership content on his Youtube channel and creating the Mothership modules, Decagone,Cryo-Siq and Gas! Gas! Gas!
Haven Milne
Haven Milne, otherwise better known and operating as Cat Skull Press. This year he focuses on his MA Design Illustration course where he has planned to create a large scale independent TTRPG project. (Breaking News, The Piteous Priests, Cemetery Beach)
Thursday is a writer, editor, and game designer who spends a lot of time in the dystopian future. Outside of her own works and editing Mothership projects like this, she's also contributed to The Between: Shadow Society and Blades '68's The BLUE Files.
9 Illustrators
Nine(+) illustrators
Each artist interprets their circle through a unique visual lens: united by a limited 2-color palette and grayscale, but otherwise given creative freedom to express horror, corporate dystopia, and moral decay in their own style:
Tony Tran:
Tony Tran is an illustrator with no fixed style. His TTRPG work includes contributions to Resonant, Vesta Mandate, ChainXLink, and ERRANT, among others.
Lisa Dahlin is an illustrator and TTRPG-enthusiast based in Sweden. She also loves old horror movies and sci-fi!
Zaque:
Zaque creates and tells the stories of strange characters from unusual worlds. He blends stop motion with digital illustration creation surreal worlds. His other works include his webcomic "The Strange Travels of DJ Chedda" and his in the works animated series "When the Moon Dies"
HAIL SANTA:
Sam Wildman is a freelance illustrator and hard science fiction pedant whose art has appeared in first-party Mothership publications including the Shipbreaker's Toolkit, Wages of Sin, Another Bug Hunt, and Orphans as well as several third party adventures.
Jan Buragay:
Jan Buragay is a freelance sci-fi illustrator. He is known for work on Mothership "A Pound of Flesh" and many more. His work ranges from mechanical creations to organic creatures.
Chris Askham is the creator of many small press and indie comic books funded by Kickstarter, including the Switchblade Stories series. He has also provided illustrations for the Savage Realms series of choose-your-own-adventure game books, and other professionally published titles.
The Salamander King dwells somewhere deep within a wooded labyrinth. Scattering his tales across the many realms from beneath a sodden stone, where he spends his time crafting his beloved tomes.
Roque Romero is a mercenary of the pencil and tablet, who has created his own bestiary/setting for Troika (Codex R) and illustrated the one for the Cairn second edition Warden Book. He has also done artwork for various titles for Mothership, Liminal Horror, and CY_ and Mork Borg, among others.
Haven Milne:
Haven is an illustrator, writer, and printmaker from Pembrokeshire, Wales, with a background in bookbinding and risograph printing.
How is it going ?
You can track the progress of the overall project down to the adventure level. I will update it regularly as well as refer to it in the Community updates.
On the left you have the different sections of the book (including Common, which refers to the "Meta" elements of this work: the corporations, the NPCs and the places you might encounter in more than one story...).
Sep1st 2026
Risks and Challenges
While this is my second crowdfunding campaign and my first time handling fulfillment and shipping myself, I am very confident in fulfilling this project. This is my full time occupation and I am not doing this blind. I've been advised through the process by industry veterans who've run larger campaigns than this one, and I'm applying what they've taught me directly to how I'm planning fulfillment for 9 Circles.
Now, if DIY fulfillment turns out to be more than I can handle at the volume this campaign reaches, I will bring in a contract fulfillment center to take it over. I'd rather make that call early than let it become a problem for you.
Production itself carries the usual risks every self-publisher faces: printer schedules, supply chains, and shipping delays outside anyone's control. I have nonetheless built extra time into the schedule to absorb some of that.
I will keep you updated through the Progress Timeline and community updates (as I have done for BREAKING NEWS) as things move, including if anything changes on the fulfillment side.
Shipping costs will be collected at a later date through BackerKit and are not included in your pledge.
These shipping estimates are based on Swiss Post's official commercial pricing (January 2026 edition) and are subject to change without notice, given current international shipping conditions.
VAT and import duties are not covered in these shipping estimates.
The list of countries we currently cannot ship to is below.
We are handling fulfillment ourselves, in house, from Geneva, Switzerland. We've built extra time into our schedule to account for possible delays in production, contributor availability, or international shipping disruptions.
Physical rewards are estimated to ship by July 2027.
Due to shipping limitations, we cannot currently ship to the following countries: Afghanistan, Belarus, Bhutan, Brazil, Brunei, Central African Republic, Chad, Cuba, French Guiana, Guadeloupe, Iran, Israel, Laos, Liberia, Libya, Mayotte, Mongolia, Niue, North Korea, Papua New Guinea, Reunion, Russia, Saint Pierre, Samoa, Sierra Leone, South Africa, South Sudan, Syria, Tajikistan, Timor-Leste, Turkmenistan, United Arab Emirates, and Yemen.
