Heliana and Ryoko's Guide to Mythozoology closes its Kickstarter campaign today after a month-long run that saw it raise over $4 million from more than 17,000 backers. The D&D 5e expansion hit $1 million on its very first day and hasn't slowed down since, making it one of the biggest third-party tabletop RPG campaigns of 2026.
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Find events near youThe project is a joint effort between DnD Shorts and Loot Tavern, two of the most recognised names in third-party D&D content on YouTube. Together they've produced over 1,000 pages split across two sourcebooks. Heliana's Forgotten Monsters brings a crafting system where you harvest parts from slain creatures to brew potions and enchant gear (think Monster Hunter meets D&D), alongside new subclasses, species and familiars. Ryoko's Forbidden Myths adds kaiju summoning, an armour mastery system and its own set of adventures.
Both books are compatible with D&D 5e and the revised 5.5e rules. Backers at the $2.7 million stretch goal unlocked a free set of monster-hunting "mythstery" dice, and subsequent goals added softback expansions including the Mech Manual for piloting and building mechs. For a third-party supplement to reach $4 million puts it in rare company, well beyond what most official publishers achieve on crowdfunding.
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Start organising for freeThis isn't a first outing for either creator. Heliana's Guide to Monster Hunting and Ryoko's Guide to the Yokai Realms both ran successful campaigns previously. Mythozoology combines the strengths of both into a single project, and the funding total suggests the appetite for high-quality independent 5e content is stronger than ever.
Sources: Kickstarter Campaign | TTRPGfans | Tabletop Analytics
