TAVERS The Meow Wolf Roleplaying Game on Kickstarter: A Collaborative RPG Across Impossible Worlds

TAVERS The Meow Wolf Roleplaying Game on Kickstarter is a collaborative tabletop roleplaying game set across the interconnected impossible worlds of Meow Wolf's immersive art exhibitions — where immortal cybernetic hamsters, underground rat punks, pan-dimensional skeletal dancers, and shadowy agents of the Charter coexist in a universe held together by something stranger than physics. Players take on the role of TAVERS, gifted individuals with a connection to SOURCE, the raw creative energy flowing through every world, giving them the ability to open portals, bend reality, and reshape the world around them.

Developed by Exalted Funeral in partnership with Meow Wolf and produced by Genuine Entertainment, the TAVERS Kickstarter campaign has raised over $176,000 against a $50,000 goal with 18 days still remaining. For fans of Meow Wolf's sprawling exhibitions and players who want an RPG built around exploration, collaborative storytelling, and maximalist creative energy, this is one of the most distinctive crowdfunding projects in the tabletop space right now.

Campaign Overview

Platform: Kickstarter

Funding Goal: $50,000

Amount Raised: $176,193

Backers: 1,576

Time Remaining: 18 days

Estimated Delivery: December 2026 (physical), earlier for digital

Publisher: Exalted Funeral

License Partner: Meow Wolf

Lead Writer: Tiger Wizard (Andrew Bellury)

Additional Writing: Michael J. Wilson (Meow Wolf Lore Keeper)

Producer: Genuine Entertainment

Quick Verdict

Who Will Enjoy TAVERS

• Meow Wolf visitors who want to bring the exhibition experience to their game table

• Narrative RPG players who prioritise collaborative storytelling over combat mechanics

• Groups looking for a rules-light system that's accessible to complete newcomers

• Collectors drawn to premium physical editions with distinctive art and component design

Main Strengths

• Original game system built specifically for the Meow Wolf multiverse — not a reskinned d20

• Dice-light design makes it genuinely accessible to players with no RPG experience

• Tactile, puzzle-like inventory system adds a physical mini-game layer to character management

• 100% human-created art from a roster of 15+ named illustrators — no generative AI

• Exalted Funeral's proven track record across multiple successful crowdfunding campaigns

Possible Drawbacks

• No solo play mode — the game requires a group of 3 to 5 players plus a Storyteller

• Familiarity with Meow Wolf's world will enhance the experience, though it isn't required

• Physical delivery is estimated for December 2026, placing it among longer crowdfunding timelines

• Some pledge tier naming and campaign structure is deliberately playful and abstract, which may make navigation confusing for first-time backers

Is TAVERS Worth Backing?

For Meow Wolf fans and narrative RPG players, the Quantum Parabox at $65 is a well-priced physical entry point. Players who want the full premium experience should look at the Portal Party or Psychic Panoramic tiers. Exalted Funeral's reputation as a communicative, experienced crowdfunding publisher significantly reduces the standard risk of a campaign at this stage.

What Is TAVERS The Meow Wolf Roleplaying Game?

A Roleplaying Game Built for the Meow Wolf Multiverse

Meow Wolf began as a DIY artist collective in Santa Fe and has since grown into a network of five mind-bending immersive art exhibitions across the United States — with Los Angeles and New York City locations in development. Every exhibition is a physical world unto itself: spaces where art moves, stories unfold in every direction, and every corner hides something worth finding. TAVERS is the tabletop roleplaying game built for exactly that sensibility.

The lore connects every Meow Wolf location through portals and a vast psychic network known as the TAVE. Players are TAVERS — gifted individuals who can access the TAVE, open portals between worlds, and harness SOURCE, the raw creative energy that flows through the entire multiverse. The result is an RPG that feels less like a dungeon crawl and more like stepping into one of Meow Wolf's exhibitions: non-linear, visually overwhelming, and full of things that shouldn't make sense but somehow do.

A Game for Everyone — Including People Who've Never Played an RPG

TAVERS is explicitly designed to welcome both veteran roleplayers and complete newcomers. The system is built to get groups playing quickly, with pregenerated characters, accessible rules, and a structure that doesn't require absorbing large amounts of lore before the first session. For experienced RPG players unfamiliar with Meow Wolf, the game offers a fresh open storytelling system with a genuinely original mechanical identity. For people who've never played either, the campaign describes the experience as a warm introduction to both.

Gameplay Overview: How TAVERS Works

The Storyteller and the Group

TAVERS uses a traditional RPG structure where one participant takes the role of Storyteller — guiding the session, portraying non-player characters, and building the world around the players — while the remaining participants each play a TAVER. The recommended group size is three to five players plus the Storyteller, with four players and a Storyteller described as the ideal configuration from playtesting.

Session Structure and Collaborative Tools

Rather than individual character sheets tracked in isolation, TAVERS keeps the whole group engaged through a shared notes sheet where everyone takes notes and doodles together. This communal record-keeping reinforces the collaborative storytelling identity of the game and keeps all participants invested in what's happening at the table, not just during their own turns.

Sessions are built around Episodas — pre-written story arc launch-points that each deliver hours of play. The five Episodas included in the Core Rulebook cover a range of scenarios drawn from across the Meow Wolf multiverse, including adventures tied to the Gyre, Space Truckers, and a giant hamster kaiju.

Winning and Progression

TAVERS is not a game with a win condition in the traditional sense. The goal is collaborative storytelling and exploration, with individual character progression driven by personal goals unique to each character. Accomplishing those goals unlocks future potential and guides how each character evolves across sessions. Key action types reward story progression when utilised, keeping advancement tied to the narrative rather than to combat or experience point accumulation.

Core Mechanics: How the TAVERS System Works

Dice-Lite Resolution: The Ossahedrals

TAVERS uses just two custom eight-sided dice — called Ossahedrals — to resolve the outcome of searching for clues, events, and anomalies. The dice determine what the characters find or encounter, but the outcome of the story itself always remains in the hands of the players. This dice-light approach keeps mechanical friction low and ensures that narrative choices carry more weight than any individual roll.

The Ossahedrals themselves are custom oversized d8s with a wavy centre bar that bisects two colours inspired by the Meow Wolf logo — designed as tactile objects as much as functional game tools.

MEMs: Backstory-Fuelled Skills

The skill system in TAVERS is driven by MEMs — group-created memories or dreams generated through a round-table tale-weaving exercise. MEMs provide a fluctuating skill system based on the words used during their creation, meaning the skills available to your character are directly tied to the collaborative story your group tells. This system makes character creation itself a narrative act and ensures every group's skill pool is genuinely unique.

Tactile Inventory Management

One of TAVERS' most distinctive mechanical touches is its Itemtronical system. Every item your character acquires is represented by a physical punch-out piece in a specific shape, and those pieces must fit together on your character sheet like a spatial puzzle. This tactile inventory mini-game turns resource management into a physical activity that keeps players engaged with their character sheets between rolls.

SOURCE Tokens and the Power Economy

SOURCE is the raw creative energy of the multiverse, and SOURCE Tokens are the physical representation of how much of that energy a character can harness at any given time. Spending, trading, and managing SOURCE Tokens is central to how TAVERS power their abilities across sessions. The poker-chip-sized tokens are designed to be tactile and satisfying to handle — spun, flipped, and used as a physical presence at the table.

Goal-Oriented Character Progression

Every character in TAVERS has individual goals to scheme towards. Reaching those goals unlocks new potential and advances the story in meaningful ways. Key action types are built into the system to guide character choices and award progression when used, creating a loop where good storytelling decisions and mechanical advancement reinforce each other.

The Psych-O-Dynamic Disc (P.O.D.D.)

The circular reference wheel — officially the Psych-O-Dynamic Disc — is a table-reference tool that gives players and Storytellers quick access to everything available to TAVERS during play. It's printed on thick gameboard-weight card at 8.5 inches in diameter, designed to be passed around the table during play.

Player Count, Playtime, and Complexity

TAVERS is recommended for three to five players plus a Storyteller, with no solo mode included. The complexity level is intentionally accessible — the dice-light system and pregenerated character options make it one of the more approachable RPG systems on the market, particularly for groups with mixed experience levels. Playtime will vary by group and Episoda, but the five included story arc launch-points are each described as delivering hours of play, suggesting the game rewards extended campaign-style investment rather than one-shot sessions.

Replayability and Narrative Depth

The Meow Wolf Multiverse as a Setting

With 14 unique Meow Wolf locations detailed in the Core Rulebook — including Cowboix Heavvven, The Tave, Glowquarium, Convergence Station, The Forked Earth, Omega Mart, Plasmaplex Arcade, and The Gyre — the setting provides a vast, interconnected playground for multiple campaigns. Each location carries its own visual logic and story texture, giving groups a genuine reason to explore beyond the five included Episodas.

MEM Variability

Because the MEM system generates skills through group storytelling, no two groups will ever produce the same skill pool. The skills available in one campaign are directly shaped by the specific memories and dreams that group created together — a source of structural variability that ensures each playthrough has a genuinely unique mechanical character.

Character Synergies and Goals

With 14 named non-player characters and 8 pregenerated TAVER characters included, the combination space for group compositions and inter-character dynamics is broad. Individual character goals create narrative throughlines that differ from group to group, giving long-running campaigns a sense of personal investment that rewards continued play.

Components and Artwork

The Core Rulebook

The TAVERS Core Rulebook is an A4 hardcover book of approximately 150 pages, printed in full colour throughout with two ribbon bookmarks and an acetate slipcover (unlocked as a stretch goal). It includes the complete rules for character creation and play, a comprehensive Storyteller guide with examples, 14 unique Meow Wolf locations, 14 wild non-player characters, and five Episoda story arcs. Two additional locations have been unlocked as stretch goals.

The Kickstarter-exclusive Limited Edition cover features holographic foil and spot gloss treatment over art by Jesse Jacobs, and includes metallic printed edges as a locked stretch goal still in play.

The Quantum Parabox

The Quantum Parabox is the deluxe boxed set edition — a sturdy nesting box measuring 12.5 x 9 x 2.4 inches with a full colour exterior. It contains the Core Rulebook, the Psych-O-Dynamic Disc reference wheel, three custom Ossahedral dice, five SOURCE Tokens, three Itemtronical sheets, five character sheets, eight pregenerated TAVER sheets, five Episoda sheets, and three sticker sheets. All physical components are allocated to dedicated compartments within the box.

The Nimseskaiju Miniature

The campaign's standout physical component is the Nimseskaiju — an oversized 80mm kaiju hamster miniature sculpted by David-Lee Whitaker. It's an unpainted injection-moulded PVC piece that functions as both a game component and a display piece, and it captures the absurdist maximalism of the Meow Wolf aesthetic in physical form.

The Original Soundtrack Vinyl

Meow Wolf's audio designers composed an original soundtrack exclusively for TAVERS. The vinyl record ships in a single pocket album jacket and includes gameable content printed on the record sleeve — specifically a micro Episoda that adds additional playable content to the package.

Art Direction

Every piece of art in TAVERS was created by human illustrators. The campaign is explicit that no generative AI was used anywhere in the project — writing, editing, playtesting, illustration, layout, or otherwise. The roster of 15+ named illustrators includes Tradd Moore, Jesse Jacobs, Jordan Speer, Jamiyla Lowe, Sam McKenzie, and Tristan Wright, among others. For backers who care about supporting human creative work, this is a meaningful commitment worth noting.

Kickstarter Pledge Levels and Pricing

Digital Entry:

Techstreamer's Delight ($25): PDF and audio MP3 files — the complete all-digital package.

Physical Tiers:

Hi-Volume, Volume ($45): Physical book tier.

TAVERS: Quantum Parabox ($65): The complete boxed set — the recommended entry point for most backers.

Holo Infoilstructure Volume ($75): Includes the Limited Edition holographic foil cover rulebook.

Portal Party! ($95): Quantum Parabox plus the TAVERS Toolkit and Mem Maker Kit.

Premium Tiers:

Psychic Panoramic ($195): Expanded premium bundle.

Big Tave Dipper ($295): The top tier — previously included exclusive preview week tickets to the Meow Wolf LA exhibit, which are now sold out.

Retailer Tier ($382): For game store buyers; free shipping on orders over $500.

US shipping ranges from $9–$21 depending on tier. UK shipping runs $10–$21; EU averages $11–$24; Australia $16–$45. Rest of World rates are confirmed in the BackerKit Pledge Manager after the campaign. Final shipping will be charged through BackerKit separately from the pledge amount.

What Makes TAVERS Stand Out on Kickstarter

Most licensed RPGs apply an existing ruleset to a new coat of thematic paint. TAVERS is built from the ground up specifically for Meow Wolf's universe — the mechanics reflect the world rather than just describing it. The MEM system, the tactile Itemtronical inventory puzzle, and the SOURCE token economy all feel native to the Meow Wolf sensibility in a way that a standard d20 adaptation never could.

The collaboration between Exalted Funeral and Meow Wolf is also genuinely complementary. Exalted Funeral brings a strong track record of successful, well-communicated crowdfunding campaigns and a deep connection to the indie RPG community, while Meow Wolf brings a universe with built-in cultural cachet and a fan base that spans art, music, and gaming. The result is an RPG campaign that feels credible on both the creative and the production side simultaneously — a combination that's rarer than it should be.

Risks and Considerations

Exalted Funeral is an experienced crowdfunding publisher with a strong communication record across many successful campaigns, which mitigates the most common risks associated with tabletop RPG Kickstarters. Physical delivery is estimated for December 2026, which is a longer timeline than some comparable campaigns — backers who want to play soon should note that digital files will be delivered earlier, as they are completed and before going to print.

The game's deliberately maximalist and playful campaign presentation — unusual pledge tier names, dense lore references throughout — may create some navigation friction for backers unfamiliar with either Meow Wolf or Exalted Funeral's house style. International backers outside the US, UK, EU, Australia, and New Zealand should note that Rest of World shipping rates are only confirmed in the BackerKit Pledge Manager post-campaign.

Should You Back TAVERS The Meow Wolf Roleplaying Game?

TAVERS The Meow Wolf Roleplaying Game on Kickstarter is one of the most creatively distinctive RPG campaigns currently live on the platform. It doesn't try to be D&D in a Meow Wolf costume — it builds a system that reflects the exploration-first, narrative-driven, maximally weird logic of its source universe from the ground up. The Quantum Parabox at $65 is the right entry point for most backers: a complete physical package at a fair price, backed by a publisher with the track record to deliver it. For players who want the vinyl, the kaiju hamster miniature, and the holographic cover, the Portal Party and Psychic Panoramic tiers offer a premium experience that's hard to find in any other RPG campaign on Kickstarter right now.

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FAQ about TAVERS The Meow Wolf Roleplaying Game

How many players do you need to play TAVERS?

TAVERS is recommended for three to five players plus a Storyteller. The sweet spot from playtesting is four players plus a Storyteller. There is no solo mode.

Do you need to have visited a Meow Wolf exhibition to enjoy TAVERS?

No. The game is designed to introduce both the Meow Wolf universe and the RPG format to newcomers. Familiarity with Meow Wolf's worlds will enrich the experience, but is not required to play.

What dice does TAVERS use?

TAVERS uses two eight-sided dice called Ossahedrals for resolving clues, events, and anomalies. The custom oversized Ossahedral dice are included in the Quantum Parabox and Mem Maker Kit.

When will backers receive their rewards?

Digital files will be delivered via BackerKit as they are completed, before going to print. Physical components are estimated for December 2026. Updates will be shared monthly via Kickstarter after the campaign ends.

Is generative AI used in TAVERS?

No. Exalted Funeral has confirmed that every element of TAVERS — writing, illustration, layout, editing, and playtesting — was created by human beings. The campaign explicitly does not support the use of AI-generated content.