D&D sci-fi book trilogy Neon Odyssey raises $3.7 million in hours on Kickstarter

Avantris Entertainment seems poised to beat its previous Kickstarter record. The Dungeons & Dragons actual play group raised $4 million on Kickstarter in 2023 for its folk-horror setting and adventure The Crooked Moon.

The latest Avantris project, Neon Odyssey, is a space opera trilogy for D&D using the 5e game system that’s described as “Star Wars meets Cowboy Bebop with a coat of synthwave paint.” After going live Tuesday morning, the fundraising campaign reportedly crashed the Kickstarter site, smashing through its $60,000 campaign goal in under 30 minutes and reaching $3.68 million in a matter of hours with 29 days left to go.

That kind of early momentum puts Neon Odyssey on track to become one of the biggest third-party D&D crowdfunding campaigns ever and reinforces just how massive the audience for premium, system-expanding content has become in the 5e era.

“Inspired by iconic sci-fi films, retro video games, classic animation, and synthwave nostalgia, Neon Odyssey gives players and Game Masters everything they need to chart their own cosmic destiny, including a vibrant campaign setting, cinematic space combat, new player options, alien monsters, strange worlds, bounty hunts, starships, factions, and high-stakes cosmic adventure,” the company wrote in a press release. The Space Opera Trilogy also introduces a novel space combat system, rules for vehicles, and a Machinist class while reskinning existing classes for sci-fi. It also provides more than 40 subclasses for existing D&D classes and more than 30 unique species.

A three-minute hype trailer for the project released in February now has more than 1.7 million views on YouTube. It’s animated in a retro style by Brazen Animation and geologiq and features characters deeply reminiscent of Cowboy Bebop‘s core cast. The video also feels a bit like a music video for a catchy tune called “Among the Stars” by Max Cruise and featuring Ollie Wride and Nikki Flores with spot-on lyrics: “Out among the stars, that’s where you’ll find me / With starlight in your eyes, you set the world on fire / Come join me on this neon odyssey.”

The “trilogy” of books includes the Outrunner’s Handbook focused on characters and rules. The Cosmic Codex details the primary setting for the Stardust Rhapsody campaign and includes a bestiary and index of magical items. And the Overdrive Expansion book provides additional details for the other two books, including optional advanced rules.

The Neon Odyssey Kickstarter campaign will end on June 3 at 11:59 p.m. ET.