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Monsters of Murka Trilogy: Ratified & Radified

Created by Action Fiction

Enter a World where Capitalism is King. Then, punch it in the face. Monsters of Murka is a Platinum-Best-Selling trilogy of campaign settings for 5e D&D. We've added hundreds of new spells, items, and monsters, all with that over-the-top Murka flavor!

Latest Updates from Our Project:

WE ARE LIVE! Come hang out in the live stream!
over 1 year ago – Tue, Jul 15, 2025 at 10:30:22 AM


My fellow Murkans,

It is with great pride and exhilaration that I come to you in this hour. Our Grand Ascent is upon us, and with your help, we shall spread our wings and soar stupidly into the sky.

All that to say: The Backerkit campaign for Monsters of Murka: Ratified & Radified is officially LIVE. Like, RIGHT NOW. If you’re reading this on Backerkit, then you probably already know this (and you might be watching our livestream). If you’re reading this in your email or on another campaign of ours, then you should consider it your civic duty as a Murkan to click this link. Should you choose to finish reading this email first, well, that would be alright. But remember to come back and click that link. Or this one.


First time Crowdfunding, or first time with BackerKit?

If you are unfamiliar with the grand endeavor known as crowdfunding, or if you’ve never born witness to a campaign on BackerKit specifically, fear not. The only thing to fear is fear itself. 

When you choose to support us in creating Monsters of Murka: Ratified & Radified, your payment is only processed upon our triumphant success at the end of the campaign (August 15th). This gives you the ability—nay, the freedom—to adjust your pledge, add new stuff, and ask all the questions you might have, all the way up until the final moments of the campaign. This is your BackerKit-given right and it shall not be infringed.
Additionally, should your pledge exceed the sum of $150, you may choose to divide thy payments into four monthly installments after the end of our campaign.

How This Wonder of Fiscal Engineering Functions:

  1. Pledge boldly. ($150 or more - if you’re getting a bundle of all three books, you qualify!)
  2. Select "Pay Over Time" at checkout.
  3. When the campaign ends, you'll be charged 25% of your total pledge each month over four months. You’ll still receive all your campaign rewards at the same time other backers do.

You can use Pay Over Time without fear of interest or additional fees; there are none. This system is simply a way to make it easier to support projects like ours! You can read more about this feature of BackerKit here.

Join your Fellow Murkans on Discord!

Want to chat with the creators and with other fans? Want to ask us a bunch of questions or share your ideas with content? Want to check out other folks’ homebrew Murka content? There’s no better place to do that than on our Discord server!


Thank you so much for joining us on this wild journey. I’m so excited for all of you to have these books in your hands and enjoy the work we’ve put in. I hope you have a blast with it.

Yours across the plains of Midwesteros,

Jaron R. M. Johnson
And the Action Fiction Faction

 

WE LAUNCH TOMORROW!
over 1 year ago – Mon, Jul 14, 2025 at 10:36:07 AM

My fellow Murkans,

The time is nearly upon us for our fantastical kingdom to spread its Freedom Dragon wings and take to the skies. Tomorrow at 10:00 AM Eastern, 7:00 AM Pacific, we begin our Grand Ascent, with eyes set to the stratosphere.


As a reminder, we’ll be doing a Launch Party Livestream beginning right when we launch, and lasting until you run out of questions and I run out of dumb things to say. I’ll be showcasing some fun unreleased content, discussing the design philosophy of our books, showing off some sneaky new art previews - all sorts of stuff. It’ll be a blast, which is great, because that’s what Murka is all about.

Blastin’.

Tonight, we stand together on the precipice of this great journey, and I am so full of energy that I can hardly keep still. I will see you all tomorrow.

Jaron R. M. Johnson
And the Action Fiction Faction

🔫🥢 Gunchucks [Reworked Ranged Weapon for 5e] - ONE WEEK TO LAUNCH!
over 1 year ago – Wed, Jul 09, 2025 at 10:24:52 AM

Quick update: WE ARE ONE WEEK FROM LAUNCH!

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH
*inhale*
-HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH
 

Gunchucks (Reworked Ranged Weapon)



Greetings, my fellow Murkans! Happy Content Drop Wednesday (WE ARE SO BACK)

Today I am stoked to bring back a true Murkan classic, the mechanics of which we have completely overhauled to tighten them up and make them all the more clear, easy to understand, and (if you'll forgive the D&D pun), versatile. I give to you: Gunchucks. (We debated longer than you can imagine on whether or not to call them Gunchaku, but ultimately decided that would be far too accurate a name for the Average Murkan to comprehend, lmao)

What could be more satisfying than whipping around one of the most iconic, if extremely ineffective, weapons from every action movie ever, then combining it with a true icon of Murkan living so that it can beat baddies and plant freedom seeds? I don't know the answer to this question, and it keeps me up at night!

When we first designed this weapon, we really wanted to make something very over the top and ridiculous, something that captured the "I can't believe this thing really exists" feeling of Murka. We fell in love with the imagery of scoring a critical hit swinging it around, and imagining the chuck firing off and hitting some other bad guy like you totally meant to do that.

We also included a new weapon property we gave to our firearms, called Backfire. This is designed for all my gambling goblins (gamblins?) out there who love high risk, high reward play. Pro-tip: Don't give your 1st-level wizard a pair of Gunchucks, as they may incidentally self-immolate. Speaking from experience.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy the Gunchucks. No need to scroll down this time; the image above is all the Gunchuck text we've got!

Let us know what you think in the comments! As a reminder, this content is a work-in-progress, and we're looking for your feedback and playtesting. If you see any glaring issues, don't be shy about pointing them out!

Also, don't forget to let us know which subclasses, spells, items, or monsters you'd like to see us showcase! We'll be dropping sneak peaks from across all three books as the campaign continues. 

Cheers, and thanks for reading!

Jaron R. M. Johnson and the Action Fiction Faction 



🗓️ 7 Days to Launch! Come Cast Your Vote for Best Potion Art & Design! 📊
over 1 year ago – Tue, Jul 08, 2025 at 04:49:06 PM

Launch is a mere seven days away! 🗓️

My fellow Murkans, we stand at the precipice of freedom, ready to shine the light of Murka on all her citizens. Excitement flows through our veins like high-cholesterol blood!

We've scheduled a Launch Day Livestream, so don't forget to come join us and hang out! We'll be answering your burning questions about Murka (do direpigs make for better bacon?), showing off some exciting new content (as well as some exciting, radified, behind-the-scenes stuff), and just generally vibing (as is the Murkan way).

Potion Contest

Thank you to everyone who entered our Potion Design Contest! ✨🍾 There were so many hilarious, creative entries, and we loved reading through all of them! The Action Fiction team has picked our top choices for both art and potion design, but now it’s your turn to vote in both polls and help us choose the Community Favorites!

🟣 You can vote once in the Art and Design polls using your Backerkit account!
🟣 Voting closes on LAUNCH DAY, Tuesday, July 15!!
🟣 Don’t forget to leave a comment on the poll or defend your favorite in our Discord!
🟣 We’ll reveal both the AF Choice and the Community Choice winners during our Launch Day Livestream!

🏆 As a reminder, the winners of Best Potion Design will have their potion added to a book, be credited as a writer, and receive a free pledge for the physical copy of the book their item is in. The Best Coloring Page winners will receive a free PDF bundle pledge for all three books

Read the submissions for the potion design finalists below! ⬇️


  • Draught of the Sho'tg'un
    • This oddly shaped potion container is filled with iron pellets, which somehow float inside the frothing golden liquid. The precise and ancient technique to properly utilize this potion has been passed down through secretive brotherhoods for generations. Cracking the bottom of the potion and drinking the contents as quickly as possible allows the drinker to then exhale a torrent of burning liquid and solid iron pellets, dealing fire and piercing damage in a 15ft cone. The drinker, however, must make a dexterity saving throw or take a small amount of slashing damage, due to improper technique.
  • Garry's Brew
    • This purple brew with black cubes floating in it has been described as being bizarre to drink, the cubes lacking any sort of mouthfeel, not many people expect to eat something missing a texture. For effect, you gain resistance to bludgeoning damage and can cast the Feign Death spell on yourself as a reaction to taking a hit. When casting it in this way, you become immune to bludgeoning damage, and you can end the spell's effect without using an action.
  • Metagamer's Delight
    • This long-discontinued line of soft drinks comes in a bottle so old you could swear it's imbued with some sort of magical cocaine. Which, to be fair, is quite possible considering the effects of it. Printed on the front side of the label are the name and motto, paired with a cartoonish depiction of the current Game Master holding the product. The ingredients portion of the label has been scraped off entirely, probably to avoid the full might of FDA regulation, which, to be frank, is equivalent to being whacked by that one annoying toddler with a pool noodle who watched a bit too much Star Wars. When this potion is ingested, the character will, for 1 minute, gain sight into the 'IRL' or 'Earth' plane, and will be able to see and communicate with their eldritch masters above (the players) in all their unwashed glory. Optional Rule: The character must make a successful DC 12+ (2 for every player in the room that hasn't recently showered, bathed, or otherwise emits an unpleasant odor) constitution save, or be poisoned for 1 minute.
  • Lava in a Bottle
    • Originally pioneered by the controversial Crowd Warlock Isjasa Peranks, this clever potion appears to contain churning magma and is even hot in your palm, however, a close inspection will reveal the silvery wisps of the illusionary liquid within. As an Action you can throw this potion up to 30 feet away, where it will explode into a 20-foot radius sphere of boiling hot magma. This magma will “burn” and “scorch” what it coats, and will give off immense heat and bubble and hiss angrily, but in reality, is illusionary in nature and is completely harmless. Physical interaction reveals the true nature of the “lava,” but a DC13 Intelligence (Investigation) check can also be made to ascertain its true nature. The illusion fades after 10 minutes, where it becomes a nonmagical, faintly translucent white liquid that is remarkably difficult to remove from carpets and rugs.
  • Refreshie of Shrewd Shenanigans
    • This delightful drink is a favorite amongst Chromatic Archivists, but is on the super-duper-ultra-secret menu only! Behaves mechanically like other refreshies as far as sizing, but the would-be imbiber must roll a Constitution save to see whether they can actually finish it, because it’s heccing sugary! Chromatic Archivists & Lettered Dragons get Advantage on this Constitution save. (Optionally, other select demographics may also be granted Advantage on that Constitution save via unanimous consent of all players and the DM for the relevant campaign.) Those who successfully down their entire container of this implausibly sweet beverage (which smells ever so faintly of citrus) receive advantage on all Charisma checks, excluding Intimidation, until the potion effect expires. On a failed attempt, their mood sours, and they instead receive the bonus ONLY for Intimidation. Side effects (optional): verbal communication by those who drink this potion abruptly includes a great many uses of alliteration and/or puns.

And check out the amazing art finalists! ⬇️


📹🔐 Sir Valence [New CR 24 Monster for 5e!] - TWO WEEKS TO LAUNCH!
over 1 year ago – Tue, Jul 01, 2025 at 03:24:38 PM

Quick update: WE ARE TWO WEEKS FROM LAUNCH!

I hope y'all are locked and ready to rock. Be sure to swing by our Launch Page to watch our Monsters of Murka: Hometown Heroes one-shot preview livestream on Thursday, July 3rd, at 7:30 PM Eastern!
 

Sir Valence (New CR 24 Monster)



Greetings, my fellow Murkans! Happy Content Drop Whatever Day I Say It Is, Sucks To Suck (Get Rekt Nerds) (That's the new official title)

Today I am OVERWHELMINGLY excited to share with you all the new big bad of Monsters of Murka: Arcana Americana. While this creature may resemble eye-stalked abberations from other, more coastal settings, this construct is a malevolent machine of his own making. Meet Sir Valence.

This guy was SO much fun to design. We knew we wanted to create a new BBEG that was bigger-er and badder-er, to match this edition of Murka, and Sir Valence is all that and a bag of microchips.

We also wanted a villain that was a bit more timeless, a bit more of a commentary on the problematic system at large, rather than any one symptom. A surveillance state, an overly authoritative body of government, a construct that believes itself infallible and tugs at the strings of a puppet named democracy? Now THAT'S what Murka is all about. (If you read that in the voice of those "Now THAT'S What I Call Music" commercials, it's time to take an ibuprofen for your back pain)

A lot of the mechanical effects at play here revolve around crowd control in all its many definitions, with plenty of psychic damage to go around. He's perfect for the villain of a long-term campaign, since he can ALWAYS watch the party. Those post-credit narrative moments you give to your players before ending a session where you highlight a betentacled camera emerging from a wall and watching them is sure to give your players chills.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy Sir Valence. Scroll down to the followers-only section for the full content.

Let us know what you think in the comments! As a reminder, this content is a work-in-progress, and we're looking for your feedback and playtesting. If you see any glaring issues, don't be shy about pointing them out!

Also, don't forget to let us know which subclasses, spells, items, or monsters you'd like to see us showcase! We'll be dropping sneak peaks from across all three books as the campaign continues. 

Cheers, and thanks for reading!

Jaron R. M. Johnson and the Action Fiction Faction