Kata Kemi's Art Blog

Whisper your hidden pain, loss into the darkness. She hears you. She has seen your deeds done under the her darkness. She has the ability to help you forget,so extend your hand to ─ The Mistress of the Night, Shar.

I just launched a new Kickstarter for Raccoon Sky Pirates, a TTRPG about chaos and trash.

I used to make a box set for this game. It was all black and white on copy paper, in a janky mailer box. It was beautiful.

It had a deck of 52 cards, a 12-sided raccoon die, a little rulebook, and 18 looseleaf sheets with characters and maps on them.

It let you play a whole misadventure in just 2 to 3 hours with no GM and up to six players. Which made it the perfect beer & pretzels game, not to mention a good gateway drug on-ramp for new RPGers.

But then I sold out of it, and people kept asking where they could find it, and that was kinda sad for lots of reasons. So, in the new Kickstarter, you can get it again.

But that's table stakes. The main show is a bigger, badder version of the game:

The Total Chaos Edition.

It has tons of components – most of them look like they were stolen from other games – so you can replay all you want without having to print new sheets. They add cool gameplay twists, they're built to last, and they're just fun to hold in your little raccoon mitts. Take a look:

Six raccoon dice, six custom bottle caps, three excessive & writable tabloid-size house maps by real live architects Brendan and Kate, 30 portrait cards by Robbi A Burns, 60 disaster cards with art by me and Strega Wolf Eden, hex tiles with art by Kata Kemi, and writable poker chips for all the loot you steal. And, like. A lot more. I dunno if you can zoom in on this photo, but. Things have gotten out of hand.

And the Kickstarter just launched!

Raccoon Sky Pirates is hilarious you guys. Ask anyone who's played the original. You can still do a whole misadventure in just 2 to 3 hours with no GM. It runs smoother now. All the components make it easy to visualize your raccoons – or possums – and their frantic shenanigans.

If you ever wanted to live inside a raccoon meme, this is the game for you.

Go to raccoonskypirates.com to back it now. As of this writing, the early-bird discount is still available.

Thanks for reading!

After talking about this for a while, I'm excited to say ... Defy the Gods is out now!

Getcher very own copy here.

Art by Jaqueline Florencio (left) and @thalieshelen (right). Cover design by Cris Viana

Find your fortune in the half-drowned halls of lost Atlantis. Fall in love in the hunting grounds of giant sphinxes. Slay – or seduce – your rivals in a metropolis of clay, gold and lapis lazuli.

A single sword stroke or kiss can change everything.

Art by @anonbeadraws

Defy the Gods is a roleplaying game of daring adventure, ruinous romance and cursed power. Inspired by Clash of the Titans, Conan the Barbarian and Princess Mononoke, it’s sword & sorcery that stabs you in the heart. 

Art by @kleioscanvas. Layout by Cris Viana

What's in the book?

A system designed for playing emotionally entangled outcasts with the gods themselves against them.

A fresh take on Powered by the Apocalypse where you can roll too high and blaze with glory.

The World Scene interlude where you play the villains and sharpen the story’s drama.

Rules for building gods and city-states with their own cults, customs and conflicts.

Over 30 creatures and enemies to challenge.

A guide to fantasy ancient Mesopotamia from the starry heavens to the Underworld.

Art by @kata-kemi (top) and @artiodaktyl (bottom)

Strike boldly.

Love fiercely. 

Ascend to a glorious destiny...

...and be transformed forever.

Logo design by Cris Viana

"A smart, purposeful take on sword & sorcery roleplaying, backed by mechanics that drive you toward interesting and loaded narrative. It's a really cool game." 

—Avery Alder, creator of Monsterhearts, The Quiet Year and Going For Broke

“Defy the Gods explodes into brilliant colors at the table. The game is generous in the inspiration and momentum it offers, making it easy as either player or GM. The collaborative world-building alone feels luxurious.” 

—Rae Nedjadi, creator of Apocalypse Keys and Balikbayan

“An incredibly elegant twist on PbtA that fits the world perfectly. Exactly what you want in a core mechanic and a new setting.” 

—Brian Liberge, Games on Demand

312 pages

Full color

3–6 players

18+ years of age

3–4 hours to play each session

Oh my god I got advance copies of Defy the Gods today.

It's beautiful! Queer sword & sorcery adventure-romance set in fantasy ancient Mesopotamia, everyone. If those words don't make any sense, take a look. I can't wait to show you more!

Huge thanks to everyone who made this book possible, including graphic designer Cris Viana and nearly 20 artists who contributed. The photos show work by Jaqueline Florencio (cover), @kleioscanvas (pantheon of gods), @anonbeadraws (chapters 1 and 2), @thalieshelen (How to Play the Game and special-edition cover) and @volapardus (Chapter 3).

Below is a 90-second video showing many more people's work, like @artiodaktyl (endpapers), @theveryworstthing (Queen of the Underworld, sphinx, manticore), @sheydgarden (city at night, the leviathan), @eldritchsmite (war galley at dawn), @may12324 (appendix header), @vicious-mongrel, @emorykj-art, @kata-kemi, and more! See if you can spot their art in here—I go by pretty fast! The book will be out in May! 🏺⚔️❤️‍🔥

I make one of a kind sets of resin dice and sell them!