Hatchlings Games is bringing a unique solarpunk tabletop role-playing experience to Kickstarter with their latest offering, Dragon Dowser, having pledged $12,583, surpassing its initial goal of $3,703, with still 24 days left until the campaign ends on June 22.
Dragon Dowser utilizes Peach Garden Games’ Carta system, inviting players into a desolate future reminiscent of Studio Ghibli’s Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind (1985). As a ‘Dowser,’ players embark on a crucial mission to locate abandoned dragon eggs and return them to a sanctuary, with the ultimate goal of raising the hatchlings to influence the kingdom’s destiny.
The game provides four distinct challenges to players, each linked to a playing card suit, thereby exploring a variety of themes like war, environmentalism, and empathy in the context of the dangerous setting of Praelar. Hearts symbolize community and culture, clubs represent machines and warfare, diamonds are associated with exploration and secrets, and spades signify landscape and weather.
Dragon Dowser’s gameplay has players traverse a 6×4 grid of playing cards, answering journaling prompts to reveal their experiences. Players aim to locate a predetermined dragon egg (Ace) and safely return it to the Sanctuary (Joker). Each game starts with 8 resource tokens that can either be increased or expended based on the cards revealed. Each Ace card signifies a unique egg and narrative, thus influencing the dragon’s adult characteristics and actions.
If players stumble upon a broken egg, they can bury its shell fragments to gain additional resources. After successfully transporting the rescued egg to a Sanctuary, players journal about rearing the hatchling and its world-altering influences upon reaching adulthood.
Dragon Dowser thrives on variety. With 48 cards, each displaying two open-ended questions, each game guarantees a unique and highly personal narrative experience. From tales of tyrannical rulers consuming dragon eggs for immortality to power machines of war, Dragon Dowser promises to set players’ imaginations ablaze.
For fans of solarpunk aesthetics and single-player RPGs, Dragon Dowser’s Kickstarter campaign is live and open for backing.