The Backwards Series

Step into a backwards post-apocalyptic America in any of these four books, which include both rules and unique settings:

• Backchannels (2025) Forthcoming
• Backwoods (2025) Forthcoming
• Backwater (2021)
• Backroads (2022)

Each book contains the full ruleset and can stand alone yet has its own unique setting, character archetypes, monsters, and mechanics. Each book also has a companion book with adventures.

Backchannels (2025), Forthcoming

Welcome to the southeastern corner of the American Lands, the Gulf ward (or what’s left of it). In this saltwater gothic TTRPG, you play as post-apocalyptic mariners, pirates, sea wardens, and merchant spies who try to scrape a living in the overwhelmed and unregulated ports of the southeast. From the gator-filled swamps and the open sea to the coastal low country and Caribbean islands, bureaucrats hold little sway in the Gulf. Laws were made to be broken, sure as ships were built to be sailed. Grab your freedom by the gills, sailor. It’s time we shove off and explore the backchannels.

Backchannels is a standalone ttrpg of 250 pages of adventures, lore, and rules. It features local writers like Basil Wright, John Gregory, and Candace McAfee and local artists like Isabel Burke, Bakari “Aura” Griffin, and Lydia Collins.

Backchannels Adventures is the adventure companion with 100+ pages, 2 full adventures, 2 one-shot adventures, and 10 adventure hooks. It features an adventure by South Carolinian John Gregory and a cover by Florida artist Vincent Cecil.

Backwoods (2025), Forthcoming

Welcome to New England and the northeast, the political, cultural, and economic heart of the American Lands. In this medium-crunch TTRPG, play as investigators, scholars, politicians, and monster hunters who must investigate strange occurrences in the twisted forests of New England and undermine corrupt government institutions, as local politicians grow bolder and more ambitious. A revolution is brewing in the Heartlands, even if its leaders refuse to see it.

Backwoods is a standalone ttrpg of 250 pages of adventures, lore, and rules. It features local writers like Matt Joro, The Furtive Goblin, and Alex Johnson and local artists like Luke Broderick and Nala J. Wu.

Backwoods Adventures is the adventure companion with 100+ pages, 2 full adventures, 2 one-shot adventures, and 10 adventure hooks. It features an adventure by Bay Stater Matt Joro and a cover by New England artist Nala J. Wu.

Backwater (2021)

Welcome to Backwater, civilization’s southern reach, spanning the Old World’s Louisiana, Mississippi, and southern Arkansas. In this southern gothic OSR-style ttrpg, you play as a warden in the post-apocalyptic South, where you navigate the swamps, quell conflicts in small towns and between old families, and keep monsters at bay.

Backwater is a standalone ttrpg with 250 pages of adventures, lore, and rules. Backwater Adventures is the adventure companion with 113 pages, 2 full adventures and 2 one-shot adventures.

Backroads (2022)

Welcome to St. Louis, a diamond in the rough and a trove of Old World artifacts. In this American gothic OSR-style TTRPG, play as curious researchers, skilled prospectors, and desperate scavengers looking to strike it rich, uncover lost technology, or shed light on this nation’s catastrophic history. Brave the ruins of the old city or explore the hungry midwestern landscape and its haunted cornfields. Middle America is crawling with danger but promises a fabulous wealth of knowledge, technology, and antiquities—for those who survive. Are you willing to risk it all, scavver?

Backroads is a standalone ttrpg of 275 pages of adventures, lore, and rules, featuring the writer Shay Snow. Backroads Adventures is the adventure companion with 117 pages 3 full adventures, 2 one-shot adventures, and 20 adventure hooks, featuring a cover by St. Louis artist Aaron Radney.