Dastan means "story" in Urdu and Hindi. Stories told by the fire, from the dawn of humanity, down through our ancestors to now.
And that is what Project Dastan aims to tell.
Your story, my story, stories from every corner of the world.
Project Dastan is an initiative to uplift diverse voices across cultures and diaspora by providing a platform to tell their stories through various geek/nerd culture content. Our goal is to show the creative and storytelling prowess of people from around the world, from various backgrounds, cultures, etc! Dastan means "story" in Urdu and Hindi, and we are here to help tell your stories!
In a time when creators are endangered due to AI, corporate layoffs, exploitive streaming platforms, etc, we hope that we can be a place for mutual growth for our creators, not just through visibility but also through monetary support.
On top of that, we hope to use this momentum to help create the very first, high-production value Indian TTRPG actual play, using studios IN India, as well as local talents and crew. We want to tell an authentic story, while also showing the world that there is so much that the non-western world has to offer!
This project was always about the people first, and the base funding goal, as well as future stretch goals, reflect that!
Artists, especially nowadays, have been disrespected and discarded. We aim to help rectify some of that.
We are proud to have the amazing creators on-board, and every so thankful to our Dastan team. To show our thanks, the base funding goal is solely relegated 100% to help our fellow creatives by giving them a joining bonus, as well as put money into a Project Dastan scholarship fund for future creators coming on board.
We are making the first ever Pathfinder 2e High-Production Tabletop Role Playing (TTRPG) show IN India, using local talent.
We are proud to say we are officially supported by Paizo Inc., Roll20, Demiplane, and DriveThruRPG to help produce this unique show!
Our crew already includes professionals working in the Indian film industry (Bollywood, Tollywood) and are well versed in bringing high-quality content to the screen.
We plan to hire local talented writers, artists, set designers, costume designers, technicians, etc. to produce the best and unique Pathfinder 2e TTRPG show we can.
Our show will draw inspiration from the rich history, customs, traditions, colors, textures, flavors and smells of India and South East Asia to tell you a unique and unforgettable story,.
KP Upadhyayula is a Desi photographer, performer, voice actor, writer, and cultural consultant, who's worked on and performed in many major projects. This includes consultation on Critical Role and Riot Games, written work in the upcoming Eldritch Automata and The Crooked Moon settings, performing in many TTRPG shows and voicing as narrator in the book "A History of Burning" by Janika Oza. KP has been playing and living TTRPGs for over 6 years now, and never plans to stop.
The Creative Director
Amaan is a TTRPG enthusiast and a creative from the Indian filmand advertisement industry having worked as a Creative Producer, Director, Writer, Cinematographer, Editor, Animator, and Storyboard artist. When he's not juggling the daily struggles of living on planet earth, he's found co-hosting and running the Indian TTRPG audio-only podcast - "The Infinite Tavern Podcast", or hunkering down with a cozy book, or out and about sampling cafés and restaurants. He's a self-appointed 'Dragonsworn' to Rand al'Thor, and is in the middle of writing a Indian-inpspired horror campaign setting.
The Marketing Director
Steve aka sassypants (he/him) is the "best faceless streamer/youtuber and TTRPG producer/performer from India." He is a very out and proud "brown pansexual man" and uses his platform to further his passion to fundraise for charity, advocate for better mental health resources and talk about gay rights. His recent charity event ran live on Twitch for 52 hours straight and involved 70 people coming together to fundraise for Trans Lifeline. Steve runs Pantsless Tables, a TTRPG AP studio designed to shine a spotlight on underrepresented Asian talent in "a timezone that is not 5am for us." At his day job, Steve is Head of Marketing for a Real Estate company where he strives to use the resources at his disposal help millennials and GenZ find their first home. When he's not doing all of that, he likes to spend his free time reading, writing or playing the guitar.
TON is an actual play studio run by @AlecTheBard with his editor @Mizlavender. Producing 5 actual plays featuring 23 players and 5 different TTRPGs in its first season. We are looking forward to sharing our stories with you all in our new home here on Project Dastan & Moonbeam!
Tabletoptempest:
Tabletop Tempest is a TTRPG actual play channel that is founded by immigrants/children of immigrants. This channel was created to provide a platform in order to capture both visible and non-visible types of diversity, and celebrate the intersectionality of our players and community members by providing a forum for expressing their unique identities. Season 1 shows will focus on themes of immigration, family/generational trauma, rage, folklore, and self-discovery.
TheHypeGoblin:
Originally a casual gaming channel, Sara and her cast tell diverse queer stories through collaborative world building and occasionally antagonize killers in Dead By Daylight.
Magic: The Gathering:
Tabletop Jocks:
Bringing their amazing and fun play of MtG, covering strategies, featuring deck builds, and showcasing competitive play! With a star studded host of amazing guests and seasoned gamers, it's always an entertaining watch!
Board Game Show:
Beneeta Kaur is a Desi creator and the host of several boardgame shows focused on playthroughs and reviews of popular and new board games. Watch as she covers known and unknown boardgames, indie to mainstream titles, as well as yet to be released/soon to be on a crowdfunding campaign games, Beneeta truly knows her craft.
"Chit Chat & Chai," hosted by KP11 Studios, with guests from across the geek/pop-culture industry, bringing you insight, news, and just good chai with inspiring professionals in our space.
Videogame Streaming Show by KP11 Studios:
Live gameplay, reviews, and interaction with viewers.
Honest and relatable reviews by players, for players.
Each higher tier is inclusive of rewards from all previous tiers. Read below for more details on each pledge.
Level 1
Level 2
Level 3
Level 4
Level 5
Level 6
1. Well-Wisher ($11)
Access to our future Project Dastan community channel/discord
Name listed in the credits of one episode of the Indian TTRPG Show.
2. Enthusiast ($45)
All previous rewards
Access to exclusive behind-the-scenes content
High-Quality Digital character art from the Indian TTRPG Show
Private watch party for Episode 1 before it airs publicly.
Name listed in the credits of the Indian TTRPG show
3. Hero ($100)
All previous rewards
Limited edition Project Dastan 8 dice set, with the first 7 dice as a d20 set in Project Dastan colors, and a special 8th d20 dice using Indian numerals instead.
[Locked] 50% off of all content on Pathfinder Nexus through Demiplane (Must reach $65,000 stretch goal to unlock)
4. Legend ($500)
All previous rewards
Invitation to an online 1hr Q&A group session exclusive to the Legend tier with the core Dastan team, where we can talk about the story, characters, behind the scenes work, production process, or anything else relevant to the show.
Personalized in-game item or character named after you in the Indian TTRPG campaign
Personalized thank you video from the team
Special credit in the episode where your item or character is featured.
Special, limited edition artwork signed by the cast and crew
5. Mythic ($1,000)
All previous rewards
Exclusive access to view Session 0 with cast members.
A private online gaming session with the Indian TTRPG team
Cameo appearance in an episode as an NPC (digital only)
Credit in a future collaboration.
6. Godly ($10,000 / Episode Producer)
All previous rewards
Sponsor 1 full episode of our Indian TTRPG show and have your company/brand be featured on the episode
In person guest appearance on an adventure (limited to max of 3 episodes) (Flight and Stay included)
We are also a part of the Moonbeam Cross-Collab Campaign. When you back us, you support our Realm and get early access to Moonbeam. If you also back Moonbeam at any Pledge Level, you'll receive an exclusive badge on Moonbeam to showcase your support for our Realm and Moonbeam, 100 moonstones, and an additional two months of Moonbeam+ for FREE!"
We are proud to announce that the following official sponsors/supporters and industry leaders are helping bring Project Dastan to reality!
Paizo Inc.:
We are launching our first ever Indian TTRPG AP as an exclusively Pathfinder 2e campaign, with official support from the creators of Pathfinder itself, Paizo Inc.
Roll20/Demiplane VTT:
The Roll20 ecosystem, now including the popular Demiplane, will be the premier VTT experience for Project Dastan and will be the platform that the Indian TTRPG AP will be using for our show and campaign experience.
DriveThruRPG:
DriveThruRPG will be our official marketplace for future Project Dastan AP content, including campaign settings, character sheets, world book, monster sheets, maps, and more.
Foam Brain Games:
Foam Brain Games are our premier sponsors who designed and will be manufacturing the amazing 8 dice set!
