1985 Games had a Kickstarter campaign for their new Studio Ghibli/Zelda-Inspired D&D campaign called Obojima that broke goals within minutes.
Studio Ghibli will be having a fantastic year for exposure due to Miyazaki’s latest film, The Boy and the Heron, coming to North America soon for TIFF 2023. Additionally, 1985 Games’ Studio Ghibli and Legend of Zelda-inspired D&D TTRPG campaign setting, Obojima: Tales from the Tall Grass, recently received 6,500% funding on its Kickstarter goals within the first two days. The Kickstarter page was created on August 1st and has almost gathered $1 million dollars in funding (as this is being written)!
The campaign only launched on August 1st and will run until the end of the month. Many of the stretch goals have expanded, along with zounds of merch to grab for the different tiers of Kickstarter backers. Some cool knick-knacks included things like pin sets to card decks and a wide variety of Kickstarter exclusives (such as special resin dice)!
Obojima was said to be a world-spanning over 250 pages worth of details and content, using the 5E content. The 1985 Games described the campaign as being “Broken into two halves,” where the first half was building the setting of the island of Obojima with its various locations, characters and lore. Then, the second half contained “hundreds of new player options, as well as a robust collection of monster stat blocks and a new system for Potion Crafting.”
“Never Before Seen 5E Content” from their Kickstarter page:
- A detailed Potion Crafting system with 130+ ingredients & 180+ potions to create
- 8 Subclasses
- 3 Playable Races
- 50 Spells
- 60 Monsters
- 50 Magic Items
- The Hero’s Journey Boon System
- Thematic Feats & Fighting Styles
- 8 Familiars and Fresh Familiar Mechanics
- 20 Weapons & Weapon Mechanics
- 10 In-Depth Chapters on the World & Lore of Obojima
While this campaign would not be directly correlated to the worlds of Studio Ghibli and The Legend of Zelda, the inspiration Obojima was interesting to hear. The Creative Director Jeremiah Crofton explained how he drew upon childhood experiences to create this campaign. He noted how he was a big console tabletop gamer, and one of his favourite Nintendo 64 games was The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. Then, he fell in love with the film Princess Mononoke, which was described to him as “Pocahontas meets The Legend of Zelda.” His passion for the two worlds was fully realized when 1985 Games wanted to create a fresh D&D campaign setting.
Everyone knows that the Zelda games and Studio Ghibli films are known for their amazing artwork, and this campaign was said to encapsulate that energy. The 1985 Games team highlighted the two artists they brought on to bring the visual storytelling to life in their book. Varguy Art and Panel Per Day (aka Scott Higginbotham) were the two artists brought on for this project. They both garnered a lot of community support over the years with their distinctive art styles.
So far, 1985 Games released playtest materials back in June to their community weekly. Also, they have released a collection of creatures, subclasses, and magic items, with more player options still to come. All existing playtest content can now be found on the Kickstarter page.
I am excited to potentially back something Obojima, which mixes two amazing fantasy worlds of video games and anime. The released art already gives off the nostalgia of Studio Ghibli films that I adored since my childhood. The page also broke down the exact project inspirations overall, which included Howl’s Moving Castle, Adventure Time, Princess Mononoke, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, Dragon Ball, Saga, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and Spirited Away.
1985 Games has been no stranger to Kickstarter products, as Obojima will be their ninth campaign to create a new TTRPG product. Their first Kickstarter was the Dungeon Craft terrain system back in 2019, and have only been trying to expand their TTRPG goals since. Be sure to check out the Kickstarter page to see this coolly-blended and infused world that brings some of the richest RPG worlds together in one.
