A Secret Chord: An Adventure Zine for The Mothership Sci-Fi Horror RPG

A Secret Chord: An Adventure Zine for The Mothership Sci-Fi Horror RPG

A thrilling three act adventure of cosmic horror for The Mothership Sci-Fi Horror RPG including a crashing ship, a mystery in a colony, and a three-level underground temple. Will you survive the return of Black Emperor as he pierces the veil of reality?
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Zine Month
#Horror
#Sci-Fi
#LGBTQIA+
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And I am on a pedestal,

You did not raise me there,

Your laws do not compel me now,

To kneel grotesque and bare.

-Leonard Cohen (1976 AD)

What is A Secret Chord?

A Secret Chord is a thrilling adventure of cosmic horror for The Mothership Sci-Fi Horror RPG 1e. It will be a 48 page saddle-stitched zine. It is completely playable with the materials included and contains:
  • 4 Adventure Hooks Including a Solo or Wardenless hook
  • A condition for characters: become Harmonic
  • 3 Locations
    • A Ship
    • A Colony
    • A Seven-Level Underground Temple
  • Event Tables
  • Encounter Tables
  • Random Items Table
  • 17 NPCs and Encounters
  • 5 Unique Items
  • 20 Mysterious Visions

A Secret Chord Cover Mockup

Scenario

IRV David’s Harp Concept Art

The IRV David’s Harp is a research vessel of Canary Dynamics Ltd., a science think tank funded by Wyman-Isaacs Megacorp, en route to Exeter-II, the solitary moon of a gas giant called Exeter Prime. Exeter-II is the site of the ultra-secret Exeter II Collider Lab, where a classified anomaly was reported by a Wyman-Isaacs Megacorp agent two months ago.

The captain, Boris Huang, has recently fallen in with an offshoot of the Russo-Centauri Church that venerates St. Tropos, the saint of those lost in the void of space. St. Tropos is known to them by his apocryphal name, The Black Emperor.

Appendix N

Bingo!

Mothership License

Mothership RPG are trademarks of Tuesday Knight Games. For additional information, visit www.tuesdayknightgames.com or contact [email protected].

Mothership License
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Canary Dynamics Ltd. Pack Mockup


If you are a prior RV Games backer, you get a $3 credit towards shipping or add-ons. This will be credited in Pledge Manager when surveys are distributed.

You are also able to purchase our early bird patch as a campaign add-on. These will not be available after the campaign in Pledge Manager.


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Digital Edition

  • Get a PDF of A Secret Chord and Bride of STAR Station

Bride of STAR Station Mockup


Bride of STAR Station
is a 16-page prequel adventure module that is also a sequel to the RV Games modules Escape From STAR Station and Return to STAR Station. STAR Station has new tenants who are hosting an academic conference; unfortunately, an amorous space squid has decided that its will be the Bride of STAR Station. Bride of STAR Station is a lighthearted companion to the more serious, cosmic horror focused adventure that is A Secret Chord.

Zine Only

  • Get the digital edition and a physical zine of A Secret Chord

Deluxe Edition

  • Get a the digital edition, a physical zine of A Secret Chord, a physical zine of Bride of STAR Station, a poster, and a Canary Dynamics, Ltd. patch.

Poster Mockup


RV Games Bundle

  • Get the Deluxe Edition of A Secret Chord in addition to copies of Escape From STAR Station, Return to STAR Station, Rampant, and Hecate Cassette Archive.
  • You also gain access to a digital bundle that will give you lifetime free access to all of RV Games existing and future digital catalog!
  • Free Shipping
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We have one stretch goal! At $6,000 raised, we will commission an exterior ship render in addition to the illustrations by Amanda Lee Franck and the maps by Ben King.
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Cross Collab With Starships & Soldiers


We are very excited to participate in a cross collab with Hammer City Games for their project Starships & Soldiers!

If both projects fund, the following items will be added to each project.

A Secret Chord

Brenden Carlson of Hammer City Games will write a new vehicle to be included in A Secret Chord.

Starships & Soldiers

Violet Ballard of RV Games will write a set of digital skirmish rules for an even more military themed way to play. Think Forbidden Psalm for Mothership.

Fulfillment

RV Games is fulfilling both projects, and they will both be done at the same time, so you will be able to save on shipping if you back both.
  • Backers who back a physical pledge level for both projects will receive a $7 shipping credit for Starships & Soldiers.
  • You will still need to complete both surveys. Orders will be combined on the backend once they are pushed to Shopify for fulfillment.
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We hope to fulfill the zine by 4Q 2025.

The manuscript will go through more changes, but it has been in development for the last six months. The manuscript is complete and has gone through dev editing. There will soon be an editorial team meeting to generate notes for copy and line editing and layout.

We know this is a project that we can deliver quickly. However, our graphic designer has a few other projects he is finishing ahead of this one, and he is someone who needs some time to deliver the incredible results that he does. We also have tried to include buffer time in our estimate, we really would like to deliver early rather than late, and everything than can happen during a crowdfunding project will, so we are using a conservative estimate.

Obsidian Eye Concept Art
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If you missed getting the patch during the first 48 hours, you are able to add it as an add-on to the Zine Only Pledge Level during the campaign. We will not be selling the patch as an add-on after the initial campaign.

When the campaign is over, and we send out Backer Surveys, you will have a chance to buy a large selection of zines, books, and accessories from RV Games in addition to receiving your copy of A Secret Chord.

Collider Beast Concept Art
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Worldwide shipping will be organized by RV Games via ShipBob.

The following table shows estimated shipping rates. These are only estimates and can change between now and fulfillment. Due to the fluid nature of the unconstitutional tariffs possibly being placed by the Trump administration, these fees are subject to change. Trade wars help no one. RV Games refuses to be complicit.

Shipping Estimates


Pledge Manager
RV Games will be using BackerKit as a pledge manager once the campaign is complete. We will be using a feature called Auto-lock and Charge that will lock your order and charge you for shipping and add-ons when you complete your survey. For this reason, you will end up receiving your survey a little later than you may be used to, surveys will go out once products have arrived at the warehouse.
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All major contributors on the project receive equity in addition to their upfront fees. Everyone benefits when the project is successful.
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Writer - A. Jordan DeWitt (he/him)

A. Jordan Dewitt

A. Jordan DeWitt is a theatre educator, director, and performer from Birmingham, AL. He's been playing tabletop games since at least 2012, and imagination games since he was old enough to walk.

Producer and Dev Editor: Violet Ballard (she/they)

Violet Ballard

Dr. Violet is a proudly Queer mom and educator from Fresno, California. She is the owner of RV Games and the writer of the Mothership modules Slasher and Rampant.

Copy and Line Editor: Greenspore

Greenspore

Greenspore is the creator pre-Mothership 1e Shipbreaker’s Toolkit hack known as Miniships and is part of upcoming 1e adventure anthologies.

Graphic Designer: D.N. Wilkie (he/him)

Anxiety Wizard

D.N. Wilkie is a graphic designer specializing in books for tabletop roleplaying games. His work includes The Stygian Library and Crapland Squared.

Illustrator: Amanda Lee Franck (she/her)

Amanda Lee Franck

Amanda Lee Franck is a Chicago-based artist and writer working on making up new kinds of monsters, zines, and comics. She is best known for a trilogy of boat-based rpgs that include You Got a Job on the Garbage Barge and Vampire Cruise.

Mapper: Ben King (he/him)

Ben King

Ben King is a grocery clerk in Chicago, Illinois. His blood type is O+. He has work featured in Devil's Due and Hecate Cassette Archive.

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ZiMo 2025

Zine Month is an annual event for independent creators to crowdfund and release tabletop RPG zines. Every year, RV Games likes to bring the work of a new creator out for ZiMo, someone who hasn't widely published before. It's the opportunity that got us started, so we want to pay it forward.
If you believe that this project is not in compliance with BackerKit’s Community Guidelines or Terms of Service, you can file a report by sending a message via this link: Report this project