#RPGaDay2023 - Day 30 - Obscure RPG I've Played

Day 30 of #RPGaDay2023!  We've made it once again!

For each day I'll be answering the question provided, and for fun, review how I answered a similar question during #RPGaDay a decade ago.  Scout's Honor, I have not peeked at the older answer.

Day 30's prompt is "Obscure RPG I've Played"     

This one rattled my brain for a bit, especially after ten years.  It's easier to research older games than the subjective term of obscure.  To compound things, the prompt specifies an RPG I've actually played.  

First off, anything remotely mainstream is all dependent on gamer's experience and timeline.  I recently ran The Ice Caves of Azinth for my Monday night group.  At first glance, most people would have no clue what it is, so its a safe choice.  Throw on some additional data points and its not as obscure as one thinks. 

Picture from an Etsy listing...

It's a pamphlet-sized 16-page d20 module produced by Alderac Entertainment Group in 2001.  It was part of a large catalog of these fantasy modules for $2.49 or $3.00.  They had their own counter display, and with 3rd Edition getting released less than a year prior, these were perfect for for a ravenous public looking for any material it can, and who wouldn't pay a few bucks for a module, compared to $15-25 for a third party book which might be questionable. If they sold half as good in the rest of the country as they did in eastern Pennsylvania, thousands upon thousands of copies were sold.  Maybe not 5e sales figures, but for anyone not associated with WotC or Hasbro, respectable sales. 

I also took a hard look at all my Kickstarter purchases, specifically ones with print options.  A couple of the zine projects I figured would be low print runs, but had over 1,000 backers.  Others that only have a few dozen pledges, well... I haven't played/used.

(As a guideline, Arc Dream's Delta Green's relaunch had 2,500 backers, and DG-Conspiracy campaign that I participated in had over 3,500,  and Arc Dream is a steady 3rd/4th tier publisher. 

So to stay adherent with Rule #0 of #RPGaDay (Stay Positive!), I'll tweak the criteria. 

1)  Physical product only (no PDF only, or POD only options).  I have so much "stuff" on Drivethru that's just weird. 

2) Games/supplements I have not played, but really want to. Expanding this gives me two recent gems I haven't gotten on the gaming docket: 

Exhibit A:  Madness at the Mall by Louis Hoefner.  An adventure for the Dare-Luck RPG, this was part of this year's #ZineQuest and it appears 36 folks pledged for a physical hard copy.  It's a shame it was that low, because it's essentially a short guide to 80's malls, with 10 plot hooks for Dare-Luck, which seems like a kids-on-bikes RPG (so "Kids in Malls: the RPG?).   It is a template I want to use for my Risus: Illuminati University game, but just haven't gotten around using yet.

Final thought:  Physical copies arrived on time.  For all the authors, large and small, that have massive delays, it's wise and proper to laud those who have their stuff together, normal life issues, and deliver on time. 

Exhibit B: Exit, Pursued by a Bear by Stephanie Bryant.  A Fate game where you play Park Rangers handling a certain Ursine creature ingesting a large quantity of a processed product of Columbia.  

Yeah, it's that game. 

63 backers on Kickstarter for #ZineQuest, 42 requested physical copies.  

TEN YEARS AGO:  Ten years ago, the question was actually what was the Rarest RPG I owned.  Obscure was a prompt used on Day 8 of #RPGaDay2019, and it was the same answer:  The T.W.E.R.P.S.-Files for TWERPS, produced by Reindeer Games/Gamescience. 

While most casual readers of Dragon in the 80's and 90's would consider any non-TSR product advertised in the back of the magazine to be obscure, but in reality, there are more copies of Justifiers or Reich Star out there than anyone cares to admit.  Same goes for early TWERPS book, which Gamescience/Zocchi Distribution dedicated a 1/3 or 1/4 page ad most months.  The T.W.E.R.P.S. Files was the last supplement in the line, and didn't get must advertising, and pretty soon things turned south for the company.  I have my copy, but I'm frightened to see what Noble Knight would price out a copy still in the ziplock baggie, with the mini-d10.