Backroads: An American-gothic Horror TTRPG

Core Book | D20 | Crunchy | Post-apocalyptic | 4-5 Players

Welcome to St. Louis, the City of the Arch. Beyond Backwater and the border of the American Lands lies the City of the Arch, a diamond in the rough and a trove of Old World artifacts for those who wish to strike it rich, uncover lost technology, or shed light on this nation’s catastrophic history. Drawing curious researchers, skilled prospectors, and desperate scavengers from across the continent, the ruins of the old city are a vast urban jungle, crawling with danger but promising a fabulous wealth of knowledge, technology, and antiquities—for those who survive. Are you willing to risk it all, scavver?

Backroads: City of the Arch is a standalone book with 275 pages of post-apocalyptic, middle-America lore and rules for the original d20 game system. 

Media

You can find more information about Backroads in the following links:

• Schedule for Launch podcast
• Mildra the Monk
• Geek Native
• TechRaptor
• Randomworlds TTRPG Q&A

Contributors

Asa Donald (he/him) & Alex Johnson (he/him) are the creators, developers, and primary writers for the Backwater series. They became friends years ago through a friend's ttrpg group. They remain friends after moving to different wards in the American Lands. Icons by Collin Wilhelm.

Tate Allen (they/them, she/her) is a mixed Indigenous artist and coffee drinker who loves all things nerdy. (Twitter, Artstation)

Carlos Eulefi (he/him) is a concept artist and illustrator from Santiago Chile, painting creatures and fantasy stuff since 2005. (Artstation)

Sonya Henar (she/her) is a mixed race Asian-American artist who specializes in character design and illustration. She’s done comic work, illustrations for the "Tales of BarBEARia" board game, the successfully Kickstarted "2022 Baby Bestiary Calendar," concept art and illustration for a mobile game, and a children’s book. In the world of TTRPGs, you can find her work on the upcoming Quest RPG adventure "Bone Appetit" and on the cover of "The Princess Project" and "The Heart of the House," which are available on the DMs Guild, as well as "Unbreakable: Revolution" and the upcoming "Unbreakable: Pathways," "Unbreakable Vol 2", and "Unbreakable Vol 3." (Website, twitter)

Olajide Ajayi (he/him) is a concept artist and illustrator from Lagos, Nigeria. (Artstation)

Aaron Radney (he/him) is a Fantasy Illustrator based out of St Louis with an overriding love of stories from around the world and believes good storytelling can (and should) broaden our empathy and ability to understand others. To further that idea, Aaron specializes in illustrations that center marginalized people in fantasy and hopefully broadens the landscape of who feels included in the genre. Also as a lover of classic fantasy stories that include a map in the front of the book, he’s picked up skills in fantasy cartography to add another dimension to his stories and worldbuilding. (Website, Patreon, twitter)

Shay Snow (they/them) Writer is a Native professional tabletop author and editor and has contributed to several lines, including Pathfinder, Starfinder, and Coyote & Crow. When they’re not writing or working, they’re often gaming either at a table or on their Twitch channel with friends. They’re Caddo and Swampy Cree and most of their inspiration for writing comes from their culture and the experience of reconnecting. They’re based out of Seattle, WA, where they live with their spouse and orange cat, Beans. (website)