Brindlewood Bay is a tabletop roleplaying game that combines Murder, She Wrote with H.P. Lovecraft. In it, you play a group of elderly women, members of the local Murder Mavens Mystery Book Club, who help the authorities solve murder cases in a picturesque New England Town. Over the course of their investigations, they become aware of a dark occult conspiracy that connects the cases, and will eventually have to face that conspiracy in order to save their community. The game is low-prep and easy to play no matter your experience with tabletop roleplaying games.
Latest Updates from Our Project:
Advanced Sendings & Servitors
over 4 years ago
– Fri, Apr 29, 2022 at 12:06:17 AM
We're feeling really great about the campaign at the end of Day 3. Thanks so much for your enthusiasm and support.
Online Character Keeper
The Gauntlet was an online play community before it was a publisher, and so we have a very strong desire to see our games get played. To support that, our friend Ben Bond has created a fantastic online character keeper for Brindlewood Bay. This character keeper makes it super simple to play with a group of friends online. It allows you to see each other's character information in real time, to have all your Clues and mystery info in one place, and to have easy access to all the moves. The character keeper is a free resource and can be found on our Discord server in the #brindlewood-bay channel (we'd share a direct link, but Kickstarter updates are funny about what kinds of links you can share).
New Stretch Goals
The next two stretch goals are all about the Midwives of the Fragrant Void. Mysteries and Mavens have had their turn, and now it's time for the Midwives to emerge from the shadows. At $175K we unlock Advanced Sendings & Servitors, a new chapter in the Brindlewood Bay book that delves into the power, abilities, and lore of the Midwives. What kinds of magic rituals can they perform? Who in the town secretly works for them? How can they make the Mavens' lives more challenging (once enough Void Clues are revealed)? This chapter will also include a "monster manual" of unique beasts that combine Greek myth with cosmic horror.
The $200K stretch goal is The Children of Persephone. This is also a new chapter in the Brindlewood Bay book. It will name and describe the world-ending monstrosities the Midwives are trying to summon from the depths of the sea. It also includes advice on how to structure your campaign and Void Mystery around specific Children. We're very excited about these two goals, because this is the kind of thing we've always wanted to be in the game, and these expanded hardcover books are giving us the space to get it done. It's going to make the setting of Brindlewood Bay so much richer and weirder, and we think you'll love it.
Future Updates
Now that we're past the launch window, updates will be a little less frequent. You should expect to hear from us just a few more times during the campaign, such as when we reach a major milestone or have something important to announce.
We're going to leave you with a brand-new, never-before-seen piece of artwork! The piece below is for The Hex-Files mystery.
The Hex-Files
Thanks so much for your support!
-The Brindlewood Bay team
Bed, Breakfast, & Beyond
over 4 years ago
– Thu, Apr 28, 2022 at 03:25:23 PM
We've had a really wonderful Day 2 of the campaign. We have just unlocked our TENTH stretch goal, which will add a whole new set of Maven Moves inspired by sleuths from classic mystery books! A few quick updates...
Gauntlet Publishing Discord Server
We want to encourage you all to join the Gauntlet Publishing Discord server. Jason, the creator of Brindlewood Bay, is there all the time and happy to answer any questions you might have. Additionally, it's just a great place to hang out—the community there is extremely energized and supportive. You can find that Discord server here.
FAQ coming tomorrow
We've gotten a few questions more than others, and so we're going to add those to the FAQ starting tomorrow. We'll do our best to keep that FAQ updated throughout the campaign, so please check there first if you have a question related to fulfillment or the campaign (not the actual game or game mechanics).
Mystery Writing Contest
We're in the middle of a mystery writing contest, and there is still plenty of time to submit. The deadline for submissions is May 22nd, and Jason is holding a special workshop for participants this Sunday, May 1st. You can read more about the contest here.
Bed, Breakfast, & Beyond
Our $150K stretch goal is Bed, Breakfast, & Beyond, a 2-player version of Brindlewood Bay! A little history about this game... Alicia Furness and Chris Bissette wrote the original version of BB&B, which is about an elderly gay couple in Brindlewood Bay who run a bed & breakfast. They have to investigate why guests keep disappearing from Room 3. The game is loads of fun, and explores some interesting themes related to this couple's long-term commitment to one another... while also exploring supernatural weirdness happening at their business.
For this stretch goal, Alicia and Chris are going to revise the game so it is a duet game. The original version was 2 players plus 1 Keeper. This version will be strictly 2 players, no Keeper needed. The idea is that you will be able to play a Brindlewood Bay-style mystery game when it's just you and a friend! We're very excited about how BB&B will expand the Brindlewood Bay universe and gameplay, and we can't wait to hit that stretch goal.
BB&B
As always, thanks so much for your support. Onward to Day 3!
-The BBay team
Thank you for an incredible start to the campaign!
over 4 years ago
– Wed, Apr 27, 2022 at 02:08:59 AM
We have had an incredible first day of the campaign! Thank you all so much for backing and spreading the word. We have a lot of love for these little old ladies, and a lot of passion for this game. It feels extremely gratifying to know you share that love and passion.
We've already unlocked seven stretch goals but we're not slowing down. The next stretch goal is up and it's a BIG ONE: at $100k, we'll commission more art from Cecilia, nearly doubling the amount we originally planned for the books. Importantly, each mystery will get a new, full page of full-color art, which will really help bring the scenarios to life. We're very excited about it, and there are more ways you can help us reach that goal...
Tell your friends on social media. Places where we don't have a lot of presence, like TikTok, Instagram, and Facebook, would be especially helpful. Facebook groups focused on gaming would be excellent.
Post on forums. Places like RPG.net and the RPG subreddit are a terrific place to find people who might love this game. It's especially effective when the message doesn't come directly from us, the creators of the game, but rather a trusted member of the forum.
Emphasize a few key points. We find the following three talking points work best when sharing the game with people:
The game is Murder, She Wrote mashed up with Lovecraftian horror.
The game features an innovative mystery system.
The game is very easy to run and play, even for first-time roleplayers.
Once again, thank you all so much for your support. Onward to Day 2!
