There's a lot of overlap in the Venn diagram of people who play Dungeons & Dragons and people who read comic books. Chaotic Neutral is a new project that lets you scratch both itches at once.
Written by Mark Sable (Miskatonic) and drawn by Chris Anderson (Heavy Metal: Los Angeles), Chaotic Neutral is inspired directly by the golden age of Dungeons & Dragons, before the Satanic Panic era where parents feared tabletop RPGs were corrupting an entire generation. The story asks a simple question – what if they were right?
Check out an exclusive preview of Chaotic Neutral #1 in the slideshow gallery below [note – beware of some NSFW content!]:
Chaotic Neutral revolves around a humble farmer named Stellan, who hires a group of adventurers to defeat an evil cult and rescue the Prince Bishop's daughter. However, Sable and Anderson are pointedly not following the traditional hero's journey with this story, so expect the plot to veer in some strange and unexpected directions. That includes a secondary comic by God Hates Astronauts creator Ryan Browne, which spoofs the fear-mongering Chick Tracts comics of the '80s.
The real novelty with Chaotic Neutral is that it's also a playable RPG campaign. The comic comes with an adventure module written by Sable and designed to be compatible with most classic tabletop RPGs. The set also includes a sheet of "Monster Cards" – trading cards spotlighting the strange beasts of the Chaotic Neutral universe and with character stats printed on the back.
"Chaotic Neutral combines a 48 page comic book story with a fantasy role playing adventure module in one exciting package," Sable told IGN. "It offers readers the chance to play in the same world and face the same dangers as the characters in the story. It's inspired by dark and daring old school RPGs , before the so-called 'Satanic Panic' of the 80s scared publishers away from dangerous, demonic elements of D&D. Chris Anderson's art perfectly balances this edge with a whimsical, modern touch that helps make the story and adventure accessible to modern readers."
"Shows like Stranger Things and Critical Role, combined with the ability to play with people around the world through platforms such as Roll20 and a longing to connect with people through the pandemic have made role playing games more popular than ever," said Anderson. "We’re paying tribute to the history of the games on many levels. We asked Ryan Browne of God Hates Astronauts and Curse Words fame to spoof the anti-RPG religious propaganda, Chick-Tracts, that were distributed during the satanic panic. We also have uncut monster stat cards, similar to those that came with some of the early games, drawn by comic and fantasy megastar artists Max Dunbar, Dan Panosian, Kyle Straham, Jeremy Haun, Tim Seeley, Kyle Strahm, Jim Rugg and Maan House. We want this to be a real tactile experience, down to the paper the book is printed on."
Chaotic Neutral is currently being crowdfunded on Kickstarter. The drive will end on October 28. Assuming Chaotic Neutral is successfully funded, the bundle is expected to ship in April 2022.
Speaking of Critical Role, the popular YouTube series will be getting an animated spinoff called The Legend of Vox Machina, which has been picked up by Amazon Prime. IGN spoke with some of the Critical Role cast about the Kickstarter's impressive success, and their excitement about adapting the Vox Machina campaign. We also learned the lead designer behind Young Justice has joined the series.
Jesse is a mild-mannered staff writer for IGN. Allow him to lend a machete to your intellectual thicket by following @jschedeen on Twitter.