Apocrypha is produced by Lone Shark Games, and in addition to Selinker and his co-creator Rian Sand, the development team includes Pathfinder Adventure Card Game veterans Chad Brown and Tanis O’Connor, as well as Paul Peterson (Smash Up), Liz Spain (Incredible Expeditions), Gaby Weidling, Elisa Teague, Mike Vaillancourt, and Matt Forbeck.
The setting is a modern day on the brink of apocalypse, as mysterious beings called “Novem” prepare to penetrate the “Paradigm,” the only thing that protects normal people from knowledge of monsters. The players assume the role of “saints,” people who have the power to see through the Paradigm, who must work together to prevent the Novem from completing their goals and destroying the world.
The game is designed so it can be played either as a cooperative card game with roleplaying elements, or one player can assume the role of gamemaster and run the game as a full-fledged roleplaying game. The themes of the setting dovetail with the game mechanics, in which the players collect fragments of lost memories that grant them powers to confront the Novem, but which leave the character increasingly unstable.
The background and supporting material is being created by a number of well-known authors with ties to the hobby gaming market. The list of names includes Matt Forbeck (Halo: New Blood), Keith Baker (Phoenix: Dawn Command), Wolfgang Baur, Bruce Cordell (The Strange RPG), Erin Evans (Forgotten Realms novelist), Jerry “Tycho” Holkins (Penny Arcade), Patrick Rothfuss (The Name of the Wind), Kris Straub (Starslip), and Hugo Award winners Kij Johnson (The Fox Woman) and Mary Robinette Kowal (The Glamourist Histories).
The final component list has not yet been determined, pending the stretch goals reached in the Kickstarter. The base set is expected to be MSRP $66.00. It will likely include 500 cards, 16 game dice, rules, and standing character pawns. A larger expanded set is also planned which will include additional cards.
The Kickstarter program to fund the game has already attracted $138,981 worth of pledges from 1159 backers ($119.91/backer average), with over two weeks to go. Lone Shark Games will release the game into distribution shortly after Kickstarter fulfillment.
