Adam Bradford, founder of D&D Beyond and designer of Invincible – Superhero Roleplaying, is launching a Kickstarter campaign for Forgotten Odysseys, a tabletop role-playing game inspired by Homer's The Odyssey and the Final Destination film series. The game, which uses a hack of the Mörk Borg system, casts players as survivors of the Trojan War attempting to reach home.
Bradford was motivated to create the game after seeing a trailer for Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey in 2025, seeing it as an opportunity to merge his interest in Greek mythology with his passion for tabletop design. He chose Mörk Borg for its distinct style and inherent sense of danger. "Mörk Borg is just so stylish," Bradford stated. "It just oozes a vibe of deadliness, and it feels like there is danger around every corner, and that things could go very, very bad."
In Forgotten Odysseys, players take on the role of "Seekers" navigating a journey from Troy to the "Sparkling Island of Telos." The voyage is represented by a spiral path based on the Golden Ratio, with encounters becoming progressively more perilous. The game is designed to be challenging, with Bradford noting that only one playtest group has successfully reached their destination so far. "I’ve been playtesting with mostly friends and family, and there’s been only one group that actually made it home so far," he said. "That’s by design, because I want the game to feel hopeless. When you do make it home, the amount of elation and utter joy that they experience felt like it recreated the experience of reading [The Odyssey] for the first time."
The journey is expected to last four to five sessions, though this can vary based on player choices and luck. Daily seafaring checks can influence the likelihood of mishaps, such as ship damage or crew curses, while successful rolls might lead to discovering safe havens with provisions. The threats encountered are not random but are orchestrated by Eris, the goddess of strife, who believes the Seekers should have perished in the Trojan War. She has enlisted allies like Nemesis, the goddess of retribution, to ensure the Seekers meet their fated demise.
Bradford cited the Final Destination film series as a significant inspiration for the game's antagonistic forces. "I’m very much a ‘90s kid and Final Destination is something that I probably think about on a weekly basis," he explained. "I love villains that are, if not sympathetic, then at least understandable in their motivations. [Eris] thinks that the natural order of things has been violated and that you all should have died, so for her, this is just another day at the office."
Players must balance the ancient Greek concepts of nostos (longing for home) and kleos (desire for glory). Playing too cautiously might result in reaching home without renown, while pursuing glory increases the risk of facing dire threats, such as cannibalistic giants. The journey's end at Telos is not necessarily the conclusion; drawing inspiration from the film The Return, which depicts Odysseus's return to Ithaca and his efforts to reclaim his kingdom, Forgotten Odysseys presents Seekers with post-journey challenges related to their experiences during the war and their arduous voyage. "If you can overcome that final hurdle, that’s where the legends are formed," Bradford said.
The Kickstarter campaign for Forgotten Odysseys is active until July 23. Backers will receive a beta PDF of the rules by the end of the month. The digital edition is slated for a January 2027 release, with the hardcover to follow in June 2027. Stretch goals include additional classes, items, islands, and a standalone adventure.