Tag: pathfinder

Press Release: PATHFINDER® FOR SAVAGE WORLDS COMING TO KICKSTARTER JANUARY 2021

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Press Release: Paizo PR: Humble RPG Book Bundle

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Humble RPG Book Bundle:

Pathfinder Comics Cache by Paizo & Dynamite

We’ve teamed up with Dynamite Entertainment and Humble Bundle to bring you a bundle filled with Pathfinder First Edition tabletop RPG books and comics including Pathfinder RPG Advanced Player’s Guide, Pathfinder Module: Crypt of the Everflame, Pathfinder: Worldscape #1, Pathfinder: Goblins! #5 (of 5), and much more!

Go to Humble Bundle

It’s New Comics Day on Humble Bundle!

“Wednesday always means New Comic Day, when comics fans like me swarm to the racks to find the newest releases. It’s been a while since we released a new Pathfinder comic with our friends at Dynamite (more on that soon—we’re working on something really special), but we thought the approaching holiday season was a good opportunity to team up with Humble Bundle to bring you a huge selection of Pathfinder comics at the best price of all: whatever you feel like paying!”

Read Erik Mona’s Blog

NOTE: This article includes affiliate links to Humble Bundle. As a Humble Partner I earn from qualifying purchases.

PRESS RELEASE: UNLEASH MORE HEROES! THE ADVANCED PLAYER’S GUIDE PLAYTEST HAS BEGUN

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PRESS RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

UNLEASH MORE HEROES!

THE ADVANCED PLAYER’S GUIDE PLAYTEST HAS BEGUN

Get ready for more high-fantasy classes for Pathfinder Second Edition:

investigator, oracle, swashbuckler, and witch!

REDMOND, WASHINGTON (November 6, 2019): Today, less than 100 days after the launch of Pathfinder Second Edition, Paizo has launched the worldwide Advanced Player’s Guide Playtest of four new classes. Players are invited to go to PathfinderPlaytest.com, download the free PDF, make one—or more!—of the playtest classes, and put them to the test!

“We’d like you to play these classes in a variety of levels and situations. If you’re looking for a published adventure, we recommend Fall of Plaguestone, which offers a standalone experience at some of the most commonly played levels of the game with some particularly challenging combats that can help put the classes through their paces,” said Jason Bulmahn, Director of Game Design.

This playtest focuses on four new classes for the upcoming Advanced Player’s Guide, a rulebook full of new character options that is scheduled for release at GEN CON in August of 2020.

The investigator is a savvy, street-smart character who takes cases to uncover clues and solve mysteries. This class ties to parts of the game that aren’t covered in depth in the Core Rulebook, so the playtest will see if their approach to solving mysteries is satisfying while keeping the rules for the game as a whole flexible.

The oracle commands divine powers by drawing from universal concepts, casting powerful revelation spells that take a toll on their body and manifest as a double-edged curse. The designers want to make sure the curse effects are fun and engaging without disrupting the balance of the class compared to other characters. For the playtest, they’ve selected only a subset of mysteries, but there will be more in the final version.

The swashbuckler is the flamboyant daredevil of the battlefield, tumbling through foes and entering a heightened state to deliver devastating finishing blows. Players will be testing a system that encourages them to gain panache, a state of bombastic flair that lets them use more powerful abilities. The playtest version emphasizes new rules specific to the class so that they can playtest those thoroughly, but the final version might pick up some of the fighter’s weapon feats suited to dueling.

The witch serves a mysterious patron entity, casting spells and hexes learned through a powerful familiar. This is the most flexible spellcasting class Paizo has introduced since it allows you to build your own path by selecting not only feats but also lessons from your patron. The designers want to make sure those options work well both narratively and mechanically across all three of the spellcasting traditions the witch can gain access to.

Once you’ve had a chance to try the classes, you can submit your feedback in the following ways. If you only have time for one form of feedback, Paizo asks you to please take the survey. It makes it easier for them to hear and apply your feedback since it’s more structured and puts your responses directly at their fingertips.

Surveys: Head to https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/APGClassSurvey and https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/APGOpenResponse to take surveys that will allow the designers to gather your responses. These surveys will be available starting Tuesday, November 12, 2019 and they will remain open until the end of the playtest.

Forums: On paizo.com, you’ll find a general forum for discussion and announcements, plus forums for each of the four new classes. When you post to the forums, look for existing threads on your topic before starting a new one. Remember that every poster is trying to make the game better for everyone, so please be polite and respectful.

Twitch: Players can engage with designers on Paizo’s Twitch channel at twitch.tv/officialpaizo this Friday at 4:00 p.m. Pacific. Video from that stream will be archived on Paizo’s YouTube channel at youtube.com/PaizoInc.

The playtest will run until December 2, 2019. Paizo is looking for your feedback, comments, and criticisms regarding these classes, but they’re focusing our attention on feedback from play. Make new characters, use them as PCs or adversaries, and run a few game sessions or encounters incorporating them! Go to PathfinderPlaytest.com to unleash your newest hero!

 

About Paizo

Paizo Inc. is one of the world’s leading hobby game publishers. Since 2002, millions of players have joined the goblin army by playing the Pathfinder® and Starfinder® roleplaying games across tabletops, at conventions, at their favorite local game store, and digitally on virtual tabletops. Paizo.com is an online retail hobby destination for millions of gamers that carries the latest products from top hobby game publishers. Players also find accessories, like dice and maps, miniatures, T-shirts, goblin plush toys, and the newest releases to quickly replenish those adventuring supplies for the next dungeon run.

Press Release: NEW D&D5E and Pathfinder Books! Richard A. Knaak’s Rex Draconis RPG – NEW and Available NOW for YOU on DrivethruRPG!

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I am very excited to announce that REX DRACONIS RPG, a project that I had a large part in creating and Kickstarting (alongside Micah Watt of Pyromaniac Press), is now LIVE over on DrivethruRPG!

In this first release batch are three main books, and each has versions for both D&D 5E and Pathfinder (1e).

Be sure to check out any of the linked cover images below by clicking on them.

If you want a great sample, we offer NPCs, Monsters and Magic Items of Rex Draconis for free to give you a taste of the epic adventure that awaits!

LIMITED TIME DISCOUTNED PRICE: In order to celebrate the launch of these products, the flagstone adventure module Rising Tides is currently dropped to under $10 for the first two weeks – so get in now!

D&D 5th Edition (Click cover images to navigate through)

            

Pathfinder (Click cover images to navigate through)

    

Thanks folks, and be sure to spread the word… Rex Draconis needs it heroes!

Press Release: RULE THE WORLD WITH THE KINGMAKER 10TH ANNIVERSARY CROWDFUNDING CAMPAIGN

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RULE THE WORLD WITH THE KINGMAKER 10TH ANNIVERSARY CROWDFUNDING CAMPAIGN

Make your pledge now for a brand new collected and expanded hardcover compilation of the Kingmaker Adventure Path, Kingmaker Companion Guide, a Kingmaker Bestiary for Pathfinder First Edition, and a Kingmaker Bestiary for 5E.

The Dead RoadsREDMOND, WASHINGTON (May 7, 2019): Today, Paizo Inc. launched the Kingmaker 10th Anniversary crowdfunding campaign at KingmakerCampaign.com. The campaign is based around four books: the Kingmaker Adventure Path converted to the newest Pathfinder edition, the Kingmaker Companion Guide inspired by the Owlcat Games CRPG, an old-school Kingmaker Bestiary for Pathfinder First Edition, and a Kingmaker Bestiary for 5E. More add-ons and unlocks will be revealed as the campaign progresses over two weeks on Game On Tabletop. The campaign will end on May 21 at midnight.

In 2010, Pathfinder’s Kingmaker Adventure Path raised the bar on what a tabletop fantasy RPG campaign could be. With open-ended sandbox-style adventures, Kingmaker beckoned players to claim their throne and carve a new nation out of the treacherous River Kingdoms, map hex by map hex. Tens of thousands of gamers answered the call, ranking Kingmaker among the best-known and best-loved tabletop campaigns in history.

Last fall, Owlcat Games released a best-selling computer game adaptation of the Kingmaker campaign, adding new adventures, new mysteries, and more than a dozen new companions to accompany the players as they expand their holdings from a single fortress to a burgeoning empire. A new generation of rulers have schemed and sliced their way to the heights of power in the River Kingdoms, and interest in the Kingmaker campaign has never been higher!

Paizo Publisher Erik Mona said, “We are excited to bring 10 years of development and innovative expansions back to the gaming table. The only question is… how ambitious do we get? That’s where you come in. Help us celebrate the tenth anniversary of the Kingmaker Adventure Path and bring this epic campaign to a new generation of gamers—and to your own tabletop!”

A stunning 576-page hardcover, the Kingmaker Adventure Path provides GMs everything they need to run this epic campaign. All six chapters published in 2010 will be updated to Pathfinder Second Edition rules, incorporating a decade of player and GM feedback and new characters, conflicts, and plots inspired by the best-selling digital adaptation of the campaign that released last fall—including a new prologue making its tabletop debut in this release! Detailed appendices provide GMs with flavorful gazetteers of the campaign’s myriad locations, from the Stolen Lands at large to the rival city of Pitax. The Kingmaker Adventure Path also features complete rules for hex-map exploration and kingdom building and management to bring the campaign’s most innovative elements to life at the table. Lastly, a bestiary of new and updated monsters that feature prominently in the Adventure Path give GMs of any campaign new tools to torment their player characters with! As the campaign levels up, the size of this book will grow to include new content!

The adventures don’t stop in Kingmaker’s core campaign, though. Inspired by the hit CRPG from Owlcat Games, the Kingmaker Companion Guide is a 32-page softcover compendium designed for Pathfinder Second Edition. Additionally, the book has the potential to increase in pages as the crowdfunding campaign levels up.

Paizo has old-school Pathfinder players covered with the hardcover Kingmaker Bestiary for Pathfinder First Edition, a 160-page monster and NPC resource that converts the new companions, NPCs, and monsters unlocked by this campaign into Pathfinder First Edition. They can play along in the new and updated encounters with this helpful conversion guide featuring back-converted stats for the entire Kingmaker campaign, plus other rules conversions, tips and tricks to run the campaign as smoothly as possible.

Why limit the fun of the Kingmaker Adventure Path to Pathfinder players? With the Kingmaker Bestiary for 5E add-on, GMs and players of the fifth edition of the world’s oldest roleplaying game gain access to more than 140 monsters and key NPCs from the Kingmaker Adventure Path! With 5E conversions by our industry-leading partners at Legendary Games, this 160-page hardcover volume is an add-on from day one. Whether used as a companion volume to help convert the entire Kingmaker campaign or as a handy way to add new challenges and foes to 5E campaigns of all varieties, these time-tested critters and foes are sure to keep players on their toes!

Go to KingmakerCampaign.com to learn more.

XXX

About Paizo

Paizo Inc. is one of the world’s leading hobby game publishers. Since 2002, millions of players have joined the goblin army by playing the Pathfinder® and Starfinder® roleplaying games across tabletops, at conventions, at their favorite local game store, and digitally on virtual tabletops. Paizo.com is an online retail hobby destination for gamers that carries the latest products from top hobby game publishers. Players also find accessories, like dice and maps, miniatures, T-shirts, goblin plush toys, and the newest releases to quickly replenish those adventuring supplies for the next dungeon run.

PRESS RELEASE: STRUGGLE TO SURVIVE IN THE TYRANT’S GRASP

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Tyrant's Grasp Trailer

STRUGGLE TO SURVIVE IN THE TYRANT’S GRASP

Use all your wits and skills to make allies, challenge invaders, and make your way back to the lands of the living in the first volume, The Dead Roads.
The Dead RoadsREDMOND, WASHINGTON (April 22, 2019): Paizo Inc. has released two of six exciting volumes of the Tyrant’s Grasp Adventure Path for the first edition of the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game. Volume one, The Dead Roads, and the second volume, Eulogy for Roslar’s Coffer, are both available for purchase at paizo.com and retailers worldwide at an MSRP of $24.99 for softcover.

This survival horror campaign takes heroic players through both the afterlife and the mortal realm to stand against one of the most ancient threats ever to loom over the world. The heroes awaken already defeated—slain by a super-weapon unlike anything seen before. They must fight their way back to the land of the living and warn the rest of the land of this new threat.

The Dead Roads contains a first edition Pathfinder adventure for 1st-level characters. Additional material includes tips, tools, and tricks drawn from the Boneyard, an exploration of races inevitably linked to death, an extensive timeline of the events, and a bestiary of monsters drawn from the lands and lore of the dead.

Author of The Dead Roads, Ron Lundeen, recalls: “My favorite part of this adventure was building it in multiple parts, like a Netflix miniseries, with the players able to decide what order they tackle the middle pieces in. I wanted to make the middle pieces as different from each other as possible within the ‘horror movie’ theme of the entire adventure, so they range from disturbing whimsy to space-warping nightmares.

The adventures continue with a new volume every month for a total of six months. Volume three, Last Watch, can be preordered today and purchased starting April 24. The Tyrant’s Grasp Poster Map Folio and the fourth volume, Gardens of Gallowspire, can both be preordered today and purchased starting May 29.

The free downloadable Tyrant’s Grasp Player’s Guide is available now is gives players all the spoiler-free background, information, and inspiration they’ll need to create characters ready to hit the ground running. Explore the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Tyrants Grasp Adventure Path at paizo.com/tyrantsgrasp.
About Paizo

Paizo Inc. is one of the world’s leading hobby game publishers. Since 2002, millions of players have joined the goblin army by playing the Pathfinder® and Starfinder® roleplaying games across tabletops, at conventions, at their favorite local game store, and digitally on virtual tabletops. Paizo.com is an online retail hobby destination for gamers that carries the latest products from top hobby game publishers. Players also find accessories, like dice and maps, miniatures, T-shirts, goblin plush toys, and the newest releases to quickly replenish those adventuring supplies for the next dungeon run.
Eulogy for Roslar's Coffer
Last Watch
Gardens of Gallowspire
Tyrant's Grasp Player's Guide
The Tyrant's Grasp Poster Map Folio

PRESS RELEASE – DRAGONS AND THINGS OFFICIALLY PARTNERS WITH PAIZO

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DRAGONS AND THINGS OFFICIALLY PARTNERS WITH PAIZO
REDMOND, WASHINGTON (January 29, 2019): Paizo Inc. has welcomed Two Kings Entertainment LLC into its international fold of licensed partners, where the team will continue to produce epic fantasy tales on their actual play live stream, Dragons and Things, now in its second season. They can now expand their schedule with new and innovative content using the Pathfinder and Starfinder roleplaying games.
“We were drawn to Dragons and Things because it embodies the core of what tabletop gaming is all about: good friends, wild stories, and high-fantasy adventure. We look forward to working with them as they bring Pathfinder and Starfinder to life through vibrant characters and officially licensed RPG hijinks,” said Jim Butler, Vice President of Marketing & Licensing at Paizo.
“Jim Rodehaver and I have always loved creating epic fantasy stories both at the tabletop and on the screen. What started years ago with his dad as GM has now grown into a tabletop experience that includes friends and loved ones, and extends to fans across the world every Friday night on Twitch. We’re beyond excited to be partnering with Paizo on the next part of our adventure and very fortunate that they share our love of fun, memorable, and sometimes loud storytelling involving dragons and things. The team is looking forward to making 2019 just the beginning,” said founder and CEO of Two Kings Entertainment, Adam Rady.
 
Dragons and Things isn’t just about rolling dice while the internet watches. The cast chats with the audience live every week. Fans influence the game itself in a dynamic story that leaves even the GM guessing what might happen next. It’s a community experience that keeps old fans coming back and welcomes new fans with open arms.
 
Dragons and Things streams every Friday night at 6 p.m. (PST). Find it on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Twitch, YouTube, and Patreon with the @datdragonshow handle.
About Two Kings Entertainment LLC
Two Kings Entertainment has been streaming live every Friday night since January of 2018 on twitch.tv/datdragonshow with its flagship show, Dragons and Things. It is also responsible for Bedlam and Discord, and is set to release a brand new podcast to Patreon supporters this year. Get access to this exclusive content and more on patreon.com/datdragonshow and stay up to date on all the latest from the Krag Krew @datdragonshow on Twitter and Instagram.
About Paizo Inc.
Paizo Inc. is one of the world’s leading hobby game publishers. Since 2002, millions of players have joined the goblin army by playing the Pathfinder® and Starfinder® roleplaying games across tabletops, at conventions, at their favorite local game stores, and digitally on virtual tabletops. Paizo.com is an online retail hobby destination for millions of gamers that carries the latest products from top hobby game publishers. Players can also find accessories, like dice and maps, miniatures, T-shirts, goblin plush toys, and the newest releases to quickly replenish their adventuring supplies for the next dungeon run.

PRESS RELEASE – PAIZO AND GLASS CANNON EXTEND PARTNERSHIP

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PAIZO AND GLASS CANNON EXTEND PARTNERSHIP

“A couple things are gonna happen…”

REDMOND, WASHINGTON (December 6, 2018): Paizo Inc. and the Glass Cannon Network are pleased to announce that their licensing partnership has been extended another three years. This includes both The Glass Cannon podcast for the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game and Androids & Aliens for the Starfinder Roleplaying Game.

“Our whole enterprise began out of a love bordering on obsession for Pathfinder and the adventures that Paizo puts out. We are thrilled to be extending this partnership at an exciting time in the industry as tabletop RPGs continue to explode into the mainstream and technology allows people worldwide to take part in a shared gaming experience with us on an almost daily basis,” said Troy Lavallee, CEO of The Glass Cannon Network.

“We’re excited to continue adventuring through GCP’s imagination as they bring our Pathfinder and Starfinder Adventure Paths to life through their gifted storytelling,” said Jim Butler, Vice President of Marketing & Licensing at Paizo. “We look forward to working with Troy, Joe, Matthew, Skid, and Grant as they continue their foray into the Pathfinder and Starfinder universes.”

The Glass Cannon Network includes The Glass Cannon Podcast, Raiders of the Lost Continent and their Glass Cannon Live! Tour where they play the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Adventure Paths Giantslayer, Ruins of Azlant, and Strange Aeons as well as Androids & Aliens, their Starfinder Roleplaying Game Dead Suns podcast.

The Glass Cannon Network Patreon page at http://www.patreon.com/glasscannon allows subscribers to unlock goals for the future and reap exclusive rewards, including episodes of the Raiders of the Lost Continent.

Learn more and find links to Glass Cannon Network podcasts, blogs, events, and store pages at https://glasscannonpodcast.com.

About The Glass Cannon Network, LLC

Following the rules of the Pathfinder and Starfinder RPG systems, The Glass Cannon Network endeavors to create weekly captivating epic fantasy stories accessible to gamers and non-gamers alike. Interweaving immersive storytelling with irreverent, improvised humor, the GM and players deliver the experience of what it’s really like to sit around a table rolling dice with your closest friends. Professional high-quality audio, complex and memorable three-dimensional characters, instructional elements designed to enlighten both new and veteran players, and a commitment to community-building amongst their fans all combine to make The Glass Cannon an exciting and innovative voice in podcasting.

They recently signed with Paradigm Talent Agency to represent them as they embark on a cross-country tour. Joining a client roster that includes A-List acts such as Coldplay, Imagine Dragons and Ed Sheeran, the New York-based podcast company is ready to bring their unique brand of live role-playing game entertainment to cities all around the US. After kicking off their tour with a sold-out show in Los Angeles this October, dates will soon be announced for stops in Portland, Chicago, Dallas, Seattle and more in 2019.

About Paizo

Paizo Inc. is one of the world’s leading hobby game publishers. Since 2002, millions of players have joined the goblin army by playing the Pathfinder® and Starfinder® roleplaying games across tabletops, at conventions, at their favorite local game store, and digitally on virtual tabletops. Paizo.com is an online retail hobby destination for millions of gamers that carries the latest products from top hobby game publishers. Players also find accessories, like dice and maps, miniatures, T-shirts, goblin plush toys, and the newest releases to quickly replenish those adventuring supplies for the next dungeon run.

PRESS RELEASE – Dynamite Launches Kickstarter for First Pathfinder Resin Statue Today!

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Dynamite Launches Kickstarter for First Pathfinder Resin Statue Today!

Kickstarter Promotion Available for Only a Limited Time with Special Pledge Rewards For Supporters!

October 23, 2018, Mt. Laurel, NJ – Dynamite Entertainment announces a Kickstarter campaign for the first-ever resin statue for the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game. The publisher continues their strong partnership with gaming leader Paizo Inc. following years of expanding the lore of the game’s world. Backers can preorder their copies of the limited-edition statue and bundle and a range of extras currently available only through the Kickstarter.

Seoni, one of the most popular iconic heroes in the Pathfinder universe, was an obvious choice for the statue. The powerful Varisian spellcaster is perfect with her intricate tattoos and patterned clothing. The high-quality resin statue stands approximately 12 inches tall. The tattoos and other details like “dirt” and battle damage are all hand painted.

The statue is available in multiple variants. A “Spellcasting” edition portrays Seoni using her signature magic using a plastic energy effect. The “Battle Ready” edition swaps that out for her staff and an alternate pose. The Spellcasting version is available unpainted for the DIY enthusiasts.

Supporters can choose among a range of reward tier options, including Dynamite’s well-received comics, from the recent Spiral of Bones series to a complete set of nine graphic novel volumes – over 1,600 pages of Pathfinder content! Another option is the campaign setting book Sandpoint, Light of the Lost Coast signed by author James Jacobs. And of course, t-shirts! Or go big and get all the above!

Most exciting is the opportunity for tabletop devotees to collaborate with Dynamite and a professional sculptor to develop and create 10 custom pewter miniatures up to 35 millimeters tall.

“We’ve been creating great Pathfinder comics with Paizo over the last half-decade, but today, I’m immensely excited to announce the expansion of that partnership, starting with our first Pathfinder statue of Seoni,” shared Nick Barrucci, Dynamite Publisher/CEO. “We worked hand in hand with our friends at Paizo to create this beautiful statue, and to add so many cool collectibles and comics at different pledge levels. I have no doubt the fans will enjoy this beautiful piece.”

“It’s been a joy working with Nick and the team at Dynamite to bring Seoni to life,” said Erik Mona, Paizo’s Publisher and Chief Creative Officer. “The attention to detail we’ve seen as they’ve produced the comic line is mirrored in the production values of the statue, and we’re excited to see these made available to Pathfinder players.”

To support the Pathfinder Seoni Kickstarter, visit https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/dynamiteent/pathfinder-limited-edition-statue

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About Dynamite Entertainment

Dynamite was founded in 2004 and is home to several best-selling comic book titles and properties, including The Boys, The Shadow, Red Sonja, Warlord of Mars, Bionic Man, A Game of Thrones, and more.  Dynamite owns and controls an extensive library with over 3,000 characters (which includes the Harris Comics and Chaos Comics properties), such as Vampirella, Pantha, Evil Ernie, Smiley the Psychotic Button, Chastity, and Peter Cannon: Thunderbolt.  In addition to their critically-acclaimed titles and bestselling comics, Dynamite works with some of the most high-profile creators in comics and entertainment, including Kevin Smith, Alex Ross, Neil Gaiman, Andy Diggle, John Cassaday, Garth Ennis, Jae Lee, Marc Guggenheim, Mike Carey, Jim Krueger, Greg Pak, Brett Matthews, Matt Wagner, Gail Simone, Steve Niles, James Robinson, and a host of up-and-coming new talent.  Dynamite is consistently ranked in the upper tiers of comic book publishers and several of their titles – including Alex Ross and Jim Krueger’s Project Superpowers – have debuted in the Top Ten lists produced by Diamond Comics Distributors.  In 2005, Diamond awarded the company a GEM award for Best New Publisher and another GEM in 2006 for Comics Publisher of the Year (under 5%) and again in 2011.  The company has also been nominated for and won several industry awards, including the prestigious Harvey and Eisner Awards.

About Paizo Inc.

Paizo Inc. is one of the world’s leading hobby game publishers. Since 2002, millions of players have joined the goblin army by playing the Pathfinder® and Starfinder® roleplaying games across tabletops, at conventions, at their favorite local game store, and digitally on virtual tabletops. Paizo.com is an online retail hobby destination for millions of gamers that carries the latest products from top hobby game publishers. Players also find accessories, like dice and maps, miniatures, T-shirts, goblin plush toys, and the newest releases to quickly replenish those adventuring supplies for the next dungeon run.

PRESS RELEASE – PAIZO PARTNERS WITH THE ARCHIVES OF NETHYS ON PATHFINDER AND STARFINDER SYSTEM REFERENCE DOCUMENTS

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PAIZO PARTNERS WITH THE ARCHIVES OF NETHYS ON PATHFINDER AND STARFINDER SYSTEM REFERENCE DOCUMENTS

Find what you’re looking for at PFRD.Info and SFRD.Info.

REDMOND, WA (September 12, 2018): Paizo is pleased to announce that they have partnered with Blake Davis and the Archives of Nethys to serve as the official home of the Pathfinder and Starfinder System Reference Documents! The URLs published in Paizo products will now redirect to the Archives of Nethys, as will navigation on paizo.com. Save these URLs for rules reference going forward:

Pathfinder: PFRD.info
Starfinder: SFRD.info

“Over six years ago I started the Archives of Nethys, with the goal of supporting my friends and fellow gamers who played Pathfinder and loved participating in the Pathfinder Society. Now, thanks in large part to many helpers among the Paizo community, the Archives has grown to support more content than ever before and even encompass a second game system, the Starfinder RPG (with a third site not far off!) I can’t express how proud my team and I are to become the official representatives of this content. I plan to work closely with Paizo to ensure a constantly up-to-date and useful rules resource for all of the Pathfinder and Starfinder communities.” – Blake Davis

As an official licensed partner, the Archives of Nethys will be able to incorporate Paizo’s product identity for Pathfinder and Starfinder, allowing gamers to find all of the Golarion- and Pact Worlds-specific rules they’re looking for efficiently. As Paizo moves toward the launch of Pathfinder Second Edition, the Archives of Nethys will also serve as the home for those rules.

 

The Archives of Nethys remains a free rules resource to players, but they can join its Patreon and support its future growth by visiting its Support page at http://aonprd.com/Support.aspx.

 

About Paizo

Paizo Inc. is one of the world’s leading hobby game publishers. Since 2002, millions of players have joined the goblin army by playing the Pathfinder® and Starfinder® roleplaying games across tabletops, at conventions, at their favorite local game store, and digitally on virtual tabletops. Paizo.com is an online retail hobby destination for millions of gamers that carries the latest products from top hobby game publishers. Players also find accessories, like dice and maps, miniatures, T-shirts, goblin plush toys, and the newest releases to quickly replenish those adventuring supplies for the next dungeon run.

PRESS RELEASE – FIGHT TO SURVIVE THE NIGHT IN PATHFINDER PLAYTEST PART 3, “AFFAIR AT SOMBREFELL HALL”

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FIGHT TO SURVIVE THE NIGHT IN PATHFINDER PLAYTEST PART 3, 

“AFFAIR AT SOMBREFELL HALL” 

Paizo challenges players to confront the horrors of Doomsday Dawn
 and then give feedback at PathfinderPlaytest.com.

REDMOND, WASHINGTON (September 10, 2018): Today, “Affair at Sombrefell Hall” the third of seven scenarios in the Doomsday Dawn adventure officially began at Paizo Inc. The relentless adventure for four 7th-level characters was written by acclaimed Paizo Developer, Amanda Hamon Kunz. It runs on real and virtual tabletops through September 23 as part of the worldwide, free playtest of the Pathfinder Second Edition.

Jason Bulmahn, Director of Game Design at Paizo, introduced the new scenario saying, “A group of agents of the Palantine Eye are sent to secure the aid of an occult scholar who is on sabbatical at his family estate, which just happens to be in haunted Ustalav.”

The playtest is available as a free PDF bundle. Changes to the playtest have already been made! Rules Update 1.2 and a new character sheet have just been added. Player, Game Master, and Open Surveys unlock as each new part begins. They will remain open throughout the playtest period. The PDFs and surveys are all available at PathfinderPlaytest.com.

The Paizo Twitch channel (twitch.tv/officialpaizo) hosts live play every Thursday from 2-5 PM Pacific and discussions with the design team every Friday at 4 PM Pacific.

Paizo also discusses the surveys and resulting game changes on its blogs. Players and Game Masters can participate in the Pathfinder Playtest Forums and sign up for email updates on paizo.com.

 

Pathfinder Playtest Schedule:

Affair at Sombrefell Hall, September 10 – September 23

The Mirrored Moon, September 24 – October 8

The Heroes of Undarin, October 9 – October 21

Red Flags, October 22 – November 4

When the Stars Go Dark, November 5 – November 18

About Paizo

Paizo Inc. is one of the world’s leading hobby game publishers. Since 2002, millions of players have joined the goblin army by playing the Pathfinder® and Starfinder® roleplaying games across tabletops, at conventions, at their favorite local game store, and digitally on virtual tabletops. Paizo.com is an online retail hobby destination for millions of gamers that carries the latest products from top hobby game publishers. Players also find accessories, like dice and maps, miniatures, T-shirts, goblin plush toys, and the newest releases to quickly replenish those adventuring supplies for the next dungeon run.

PRESS RELEASE – CHILL OUT WITH COMICS AND SOCIETY SCENARIOS FOR PATHFINDER AND STARFINDER

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CHILL OUT WITH COMICS AND SOCIETY SCENARIOS FOR PATHFINDER AND STARFINDER
Enjoy the last days of summer with Spiral of Bones comics and Organized Play adventures!

REDMOND, WASHINGTON (September 4, 2018): Paizo has partnered with Dynamite Entertainment and the Organized Play Foundation to keep the summer fun going with a new Spiral of Bones comic and five new Society Scenarios for the Pathfinder Society Roleplaying Guild and Starfinder Society Roleplaying Guild.

  • Pathfinder—Spiral of Bones #4
  • Pathfinder Society Scenario #10-01: Oathbreakers Die
  • Pathfinder Society Scenario #10-02: Bones of Biting Ants
  • Pathfinder Society Scenario #10-03: Death on The Ice
  • Starfinder Society Roleplaying Guild Scenario #1-21: Yesteryear’s Sorrow
  • Starfinder Society Roleplaying Guild Scenario #1-20: Duskmire Accord 9

These products are available for purchase at game retailers and paizo.com now and many of them can be easily adapted to any fantasy world.

Pathfinder—Spiral of Bones #4

Story by Crystal Frasier
Art by Tom Garcia and Diego Galindo
Covers by Tom Mandrake, Vincenzo Federici and Marco Santucci
Published by Dynamite Entertainment
Licensed by Pazio

Trapped in a three-sided struggle between his fellow Pathfinders, an ancient wizard, and the agents of death itself, Valeros struggles to understand what his life has become and retain control of his own living body! The Spire of Bones story continues in this tale written by former Pathfinder developer Crystal Frasier with art by Tom Garcia (Mercy Thompson, Pathfinder: Hollow Mountain). It also contains an ongoing Starfinder bonus story, a Pathfinder RPG rules appendix, and a bonus pull-out poster map!

Bonus: Starfinder story by Paizo Chief Creative Officer Erik Mona! Thousands of years in Pathfinder’s future, the Starfinder Society spreads adventure across the solar system.

It is available for purchase at paizo.com and retailers worldwide at an MSRP $4.99. Product link: http://paizo.com/products/btpya1t7?Pathfinder-Spiral-of-Bones-4

 

 


Pathfinder Society Scenario #10-01: Oathbreakers Die

This Pathfinder Society Scenario designed for levels 1-5 was written by Nicholas Wasko.

The city of Daggermark is best known for its poisoners and assassins, who maintain active guilds that enjoy the full respect of local authorities. Local venture-captain Istivil Bosk prefers to keep his head down and stays out of their affairs, but he has recently learned that a Pathfinder agent has been targeted for assassination. Can the PCs enact the venture-captain’s daring plot to save this agent without becoming the assassins’ next victims?

It is available for purchase at paizo.com for $4.99 as a PDF. Product link: http://paizo.com/products/btpya1y0?Pathfinder-Society-Scenario-1001-Oathbreakers-Die

 

 

 


Pathfinder Society Scenario #10-02: Bones of Biting Ants


This Pathfinder Society Scenario designed for levels 3-7 was written by Sean McGowan.

The sole survivor of an ill-fated Society expedition into the Mwangi expanse barely managed to return home years ago, bringing little to show but an unpleasant affliction and haunting memories, neither of which they could shake. While the agent had planned to retire from the Society for good, they now seek assistance in finding closure, seeking a cure, and recovering the relics the team had to abandon. What sounds at first like a simple recovery mission becomes far more complicated, for the same threats that spelled disaster for the first mission are as dangerous today.

It is available for purchase at paizo.com for $4.99 as a PDF. Product link: http://paizo.com/products/btpya1y1?Pathfinder-Society-Scenario-1002-Bones-of-Biting-Ants

 

 

 


Pathfinder Society Scenario #10-03: Death on the Ice

This Pathfinder Society Scenario designed for levels 5-9 was written by Scott Young.

A message delivered by an unlikely courier sends the PCs to the Crown of the World. After making a dangerous trek across the icy passes and bays of Golarion’s northernmost continent, the PCs must come to the aid of a Pathfinder Society expedition whose archaeological excavations have uncovered far more than they expected to find. Can the PCs unravel the mysteries that lie beneath the gelid glaciers of the Crown of the World in time to save their fellow Pathfinders from a frigid fate?

It is available for purchase at paizo.com for $4.99 as a PDF. Product link: http://paizo.com/products/btpya1y2?Pathfinder-Society-Scenario-1003-Death-On-The-Ice

 

 

 


Starfinder Society Roleplaying Guild Scenario #1-20: Duskmire Accord 9

This Starfinder Society Scenario designed for levels 1–4 was written by Brian Duckwitz.

A vault opens inside the mysterious false moon of Salvation’s End, and the Starfinder Society sends in a team of agents to investigate. Although it has discerned little about the vault”s interior, the Society has identified a powerful energy signature near the vault’s center. Several factions within the vault clash for control of the area. If the PCs are to succeed at their mission, they’ll need to choose a side.

Content in Duskmire Accord 9 is a continuation of the Starfinder Society special, Starfinder Society #1-00: Claim to Salvation and Starfinder Society #1-09: Live Exploration Extreme!; however, playing those previous scenarios is not required.

It is available for purchase at paizo.com for $4.99 as a PDF. Product link: http://paizo.com/products/btpya0dv?Starfinder-Society-Roleplaying-Guild-Scenario-120-Duskmire-Accord-9

 

 

 


Starfinder Society Roleplaying Guild Scenario #1-21: Yesteryear’s Sorrow

This Starfinder Society Scenario designed for levels 3–6 was written by Jason Keeley.
 
The Exo-Guardians’ leader, Zigvigix, has been forced by recent events to reevaluate the Society’s arsenal of weapons. They order a new exploration mission to the irradiated nuclear wasteland world of Elytrio, homeworld of the beetle-like ghibrani species. Far from the homes of the surviving ghibranis, the PCs travel into a missile silo that contributed to the death of a world. What deadly weapons can the PCs find and what further concealed truths are there to uncover about the history of the ghibranis?
 
Content in Yesteryear’s Sorrow is a continuation of the Starfinder Society scenario, Starfinder Society: Yesteryear’s Truth, however, playing this previous scenario is not required.
 
It is available for purchase at paizo.com for $4.99 as a PDF. Product link: http://paizo.com/products/btpya0dw?Starfinder-Society-Roleplaying-Guild-Scenario-121-Yesteryears-Sorrow

About Paizo

Paizo Inc. is one of the world’s leading hobby game publishers. Since 2002, millions of players have joined the goblin army by playing the Pathfinder® and Starfinder® roleplaying games across tabletops, at conventions, at their favorite local game store, and digitally on virtual tabletops. Paizo.com is an online retail hobby destination for millions of gamers that carries the latest products from top hobby game publishers. Players also find accessories, like dice and maps, miniatures, T-shirts, goblin plush toys, and the newest releases to quickly replenish those adventuring supplies for the next dungeon run.

RPG News, Press Releases, and Deals – Fat Goblin Games and TinyD6, John Silence Open Call, New James S.A. Corey Expanse Short Story, and more

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Yesterday I covered four RPG Kickstarters, Tiny Supers, Spacecraft 2000 to 2100 AD, Art of War, and Power Outage here. Today, let’s look at some news, press releases, and RPG deals.

 

NEWS BITES

  • Are you a fan of The Expanse either the novel series or the TV series? If/when Green Ronin Publishing’s The Expanse Roleplaying Game reaches $300,000 and $400,000 in funding, the plan is to offer:

    “$300,000: James S.A. Corey Flash Fiction
    We will add a new flash fiction reward tier. Imagine if you could have Daniel and Ty write a one page story about your Expanse RPG character. A select number of backers will be able to do just that if we unlock this stretch goal. All backers who pledge $30 or more will get a PDF of these stories for free!

    $400,000: New James S.A. Corey Short Story
    The big enchilada! If we unlock this stretch goal, Ty and Daniel will write a brand new Expanse short story for the rulebook. It will be set in the period between Leviathan Wakes and Caliban’s War (the timeframe of our core rulebook) and feature new characters. How awesome is that?”These stories (getting official flash fiction is an amazing opportunity) will cement the RPG as canonical within the Expanse-verse.

    Status: Funding
  • Fat Goblin Games, recently we reported Rick Hershey’s public discussion about launching a new RPG stock art site. Well, that site is live to support all of your publishing art needs:Status: Live
  • I covered the Kickstarter for John Silence recently. After it successfully funded, they’ve started looking for submissions for an anthology. Do you have poetry or fiction for John Silence that you would like to submit by September 30th for paid publication? “The John Silence RPG & Anthology is a collective projective reinvisioning Algernon Blackwood’s “John Silence” short stories to focus on non-white/POC/ethnically and racially marginalized psychic detectives in an alternate American noir setting spanning the 1920s to the 1990s.” If so, they’re open to short submissions here.
    Status: Recruiting
  • New Agenda Publishing (Facebook link here, their website here, and check out the quickstart for their upcoming project, Orun, here) announced the list of writers that they hired from their open call for writers. On top of DC Comics writer, Route 3 creator, BlackSci-Fi.com EiC, and Tessera Guild member, Robert Jeffrey (Facebook), NAP selected David Castro, Samantha Day, Tim and Kristin Devine, Sharene Gilchrist, Kathryn Lee, Alexa Fae McDaniel, Thomas Manuel, Nell Raban, and Alex Whalen. Their bios are available here.

    Status: Writing
  • As John McGuire discusses (here), I had a chance to play Savage Worlds Flash Gordon at Gen Con 2018. It was excellent and if you’re interested in getting a copy, there’s still a few more days to do so (here).
    Status: Funding
  • Are you a fan of Fat Goblin Games? Did you back any of the TinyD6 Kickstarters or bought them from DriveThruRPG? FGG has signed “a licensing agreement with Gallant Knight Games to create roleplaying game supplements based on the popular TinyD6 Engine. … Fat Goblin Games has teamed up with Gallant Knight Games to expand on the amazing TinyD6 genre books with new supplemental material. … The first planned release will be Heritage Composer, a complete guide to creating new heritages for your TinyD6 games.” For more details, you can read the full press release here.
    Status: Funding
  • Have an original Mage: The Ascension product that you’d like to share with the world? The Storyteller’s Vault is now open to buy and sell 3PP Mage: The Ascension RPG products.
    Status: Creating
  • The Wraith: the Oblivion 20th Anniversary Edition is available via DriveThruRPG. Funded via Kickstarter, this is the celebration of Wraith and its history within the Storyteller world.

Status: Available

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PRESS RELEASES
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DEALS ON KICKSTARTER
  • MAIN GAUCHE – a ZWEIHÄNDER Grim & Perilous RPG supplement – Ends on Wed, September 5 2018 11:32 PM EDT.
    At the $1 Beggar’s Bowl level, you will receive a PDF of a hat… which, at first blush may seem odd, but it’s put to clever use as a hat that tracks your damage level in-game. Here’s an update describing it in more detail. Check out the full Zweihander campaign here.
    more of our former winners
  • Folklore: Creatures of Myth and Legend for Fifth Edition D&D – Ends on Thu, September 6 2018 6:04 PM EDT.
    This is a limited time, early bird deal. At the CA$ 10 (US$ 8) Loremaster (Earlybird) level, you will receive a PDF of this 5e supplement at half price. If you’re going to back this, early is the time to do it! Check out the campaign here.
    Folklore
  • Domina Magica – A Magical Girl RPG – Ends on Thu, September 6 2018 10:00 PM EDT.
    At the $1 Classmate level, you will receive:
    💙Classmate💙
    At this level you […] get a “FIGHT LIKE A MAGICAL GIRL” slap bracelet!!! […] Fight Like A Magical Girl Slap Bracelet (US backers only)
    How cool is it that they’re bringing back slap bracelets? Along with this, there’s a lot of good coming from this Kickstarter! Check out the full campaign here.

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Disclosures: This article contains affiliate links.

Egg Embry, Wanna-lancer™
Freelancer for EN World, Knights of the Dinner Table, Open Gaming Network, and the Tessera Guild.
Want your RPG Kickstarter reviewed? Want to share news? Press releases? Rumors? Sneak peeks? Deals? Have some RPG wanna-lancer thoughts to share? Contact me here or on Facebook (Egg Embry) or on Google Plus (+Egg Embry).

3 RPG Kickstarters You Should Back – City of Seven Seraphs, Quests of Doom 4, and Gauntlets & Goblins

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This week, I look at three amazing RPG Kickstarters. One for kids, one for 5e, and one with vibrant art that fits the angelic theme. Let’s count them down.

 

3) Gauntlets & Goblins by Ian Gibson
Ends on Saturday, September 9 2017 8:18 AM EDT.

“A Role-playing game for adults to play with kids. Simple and engaging.

Gauntlets & Goblins is the result of my nephew’s desire to play the kind of games that mommy, daddy, and his uncle played. I took the concepts of conventional RPGs and boiled them down to the absolute simplest form. As a result, G&G has all the essence of a full fledged experience in a package that a six year old can understand.

Gameplay: We use cards and symbols to make the game as manageable as possible for young players. Dice mechanics are simple, roll a set amount and count your successes. Spellcasting is a breeze with easy to grasp, conceptual spells like fly, enlarge, or disguise. Combat is engaging and exciting, but not overly threatening. If you run out of heart cards, you just fall down until it’s over.

Game will contain:

  • Four character classes, warrior, thief, mage, and cleric. Each with their own strengths and weaknesses.
  • Equipment cards of three quality levels. Swords, spell books, holy symbols and more.
  • Magic item cards to enhance your adventuring experience.
  • Spell cards that grant you magic that can be used as much as you like.

Try the playtest now! www.gauntletsandgoblins.com”

Wanna-lancer™ Reward:

“Pledge $200 or more

Glittering Gold

You will work with us to create a magic item card for inclusion with the game. See the FAQ for guidelines.

You also get the physical edition of the game.”

Egg’s Thoughts:

Gauntlets and Goblins is an all-ages RPG on Kickstarter with an option to create content for the game. Why am I sold? Because I write all-ages game reviews at EN World and I review RPG Kickstarters with wanna-lancer* rewards right here. This is the crossroads of “journalist” Egg and wanna-lancer Egg. Getting to design for an all-ages game would be awesome! Need more details? Try Dan Davenport’s Q&A with Ian Gibson of G&G here. You can find the playtest for G&G here. This is worth checking out!

 

You can support this Kickstarter campaign here.

 

*Wanna-lancer™ – A gamer that’s pursuing freelance RPG work. Some back RPG Kickstarters that offer rewards to create NPCs, spells, items, adventures, etc. in order to build up their resume, make contact with publishers, and learn what’s expected on assignments.

 

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2) Quests of Doom 4 by Frog God Games
Ends on Sun, September 10 2017 12:33 AM EDT.

“Adventures worth winning for Fifth Edition, Swords and Wizardry, and Pathfinder.

Frog God Games wants your help in bringing to life 16 exciting and challenging adventure modules in the Quests of Doom series. Each adventure is already written and converted, and the maps and art are paid for – they only need to go through layout. After layout, they need to be printed, which is where you all come in!

Art from Quests of Doom 4

Each individual adventure was designed by a veteran author to offer a fun, exciting challenge to your players, and to easily integrate into your game world. If you prefer the Lost Lands Campaign Setting, each module includes specific location details and lore that fit seamlessly into the Lost Lands.”

Egg’s Thoughts:

Fifth edition rules, first edition feel; FGG lives that ethos. It’s Frog God Games, you can’t go wrong. Their work and track record speaks for itself. If you have not experienced it, instead of reading my thoughts, try some of their work like the Sword and Wizardry Complete Rulebook at a suggested PWYW of $0.00 here. After you read that, it will make backing this 5e, Pathfinder, or Swords and Wizardry Kickstarter campaign an easy choice.

 

You can see examples of Frog God Games work at DriveThruRPG here.

You can support this Kickstarter campaign here.

 

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1) City of Seven Seraphs – A Planar Campaign Capstone for PFRPG by Lost Spheres Publishing
Ends on Sunday, September 10 2017 1:59 AM EDT.

“The City of Seven Seraphs is a fully developed Planar Metropolis for the Pathfinder RPG available in full-color Hardcover and PDF.

Nexus Base Class - Michael Sayre/Design, Liz Courts/Layout & Graphics, Vincent Coviello/Artist for Iconic
Nexus Base Class – Michael Sayre/Design, Liz Courts/Layout & Graphics, Vincent Coviello/Artist for Iconic

The City of Seven Seraphs is a Campaign Capstone sourcebook for the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game©. Inspired by epic adventures in the Planes of the 2nd Edtion of the World’s Oldest Fantasy RPG, The City of Seven Seraphs will bring a home to planar adventure for the Pathfinder gaming community and infuse existing campaigns with a new level of otherworldly reality.

Amethyst Angel of the Eternal Dawning
Amethyst Angel of the Eternal Dawning

A fully-realized Planar Metropolis, the City of Seven Seraphs will be a 300+ page full-color, hardcover gaming manual with exclusive content for the Pathfinder RPG system including: 

  • Rich NPCs and Organizations: 14 Planar Organizations, the Parities, which focus on the core Dualities of the Multiverse. Each Parity will have its own story themes and mechanical support such as Archetypes, Prestige Classes, feats and more.
  • 8 Distinct City Districts: Each section of the City of Seven Seraphs will be fully expanded with its own section in the book with plots, locations and mechanical elements to create a vivid tapestry of planar possibility.
  • Planar Mechanics: Dozens of Feats, Spells, and Archetypes to support the Parities and allow your characters to take on the powers of the planes both in the City and in the worlds Beyond.
  • Bestiary & NPC Codex: Dozens of foes and allies statistics for easy use in your planar games. Varied CRs from 1-20+.
  • Expanded Compatibility: Full Support for both the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Occult Adventures system AND the Ultimate Psionics system from Dreamscarred Press. Optional support for the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Mythic Adventures and Ultimate series expanded rules (including vehicles, social combat and intrigue).
  • New Base Classes: The book contains new base classes, the Nexus, a veilweaving class which gains the ability to take on the mantles of various outsiders to allow PCs to gain the powers of the Planes, and the Shadewalker a traveler of the dark roads between. Could there be more? We seem awfully fond of 7s.
  • New Races and fresh takes OGL Classic Races: New races like the judow, and inevitable-spawn people influenced by kyton or the a fresh-look at the ceptu (from Epidemic Books Oathbound: Seven) a races of telekinetic invertibrates!
  • Campaign Toolkit: Rules for planar adventure, intrigue and advice on how the City connects to your existing campaigns and links them to each other!”
New Nexus Base Class
New Nexus Base Class

Contributor:

N. Jolly (Racial Design and Planar Mechanics): “N. Jolly is widely regarded as a hero by most, having been involved in numerous successful kickstarter projects including the Forest Kingdom Campaign Compendium and Spheres of Might. Known for his skill with mechanics as well as flavor, he’s a well seasoned writer who brings his own unique flair to this project in order to make sure it turns out ehncredible.” Patreon link.

Egg’s Thoughts:

This art! It’s Pathfinder, it’s an interesting concept, but it’s Vincent Coviello’s art that pushes it over the top! Follow the link and check it out, it’s worth taking a peak just to see Vincent’s artistic skills.

Also, N. Jolly is contributing to this project. I’m shouting him out for no reasons other than he’s a nice dude and his work on this product is going to help knock it out of the park and it leads to my signal boost below.

 

You can see examples of Lost Spheres Publishing work at DriveThruRPG here.

You can support this Kickstarter campaign here.

Art from the City of Seven Seraphs… I mean, come on! This is soooooo nice looking!

 

* * * * * *

 

Signal Boost:

Let’s bridge to this first signal boost by mentioning that N. Jolly (from City of Seven Seraphs above) is working on Modern Adventures.

Modern Adventures Tabletop RPG – Take up sword and gun to seek fame and fortune in this gritty fantasy game set in modern-day Earth. For the Pathfinder RPG system. From Higher Grounds Publishing.

Read more about N. Jolly on this project here.

 

Jump in your Starfighter for Era: Balam – A Project Of Earth – Explore a solar system and defend Humanity from an alien fleet! Era: Balam runs on your choice of Era d10, FATE or Savage Worlds! From Shades of Vengeance.

 

Robert Asprin’s The Cold Cash War – A role playing game setting, for the Savage Worlds and Cepheus System, based on Robert Asprin’s The Cold Cash War. From Battlefield Press, Inc.

 

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Disclosure: This article contains affiliate links to DriveThruRPG.com.

Savage Worlds: Fast, Furious, and Fun! - Available Now @ DriveThruRPG.com

 

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Egg Embry, Wanna-lancer™

Wanna-lancer™ Checklist T-shirt available at Cafepress

Interested in being a wanna-lancer? Start with the official Wanna-lancer Checklist t-shirt or wall clock or ice tea glass!

* * * * * *

Egg Embry wrote comic book short stories, edited comic book series, wrote and drew a webcomic, and contributed to comic book journalism across the 2000s. Now, he buys the opportunity to write for a variety of tabletop role-playing games in the tradition of vanity press. His purchases have been published by:

Want your RPG Kickstarter reviewed? Have some RPG wanna-lancer thoughts to share? Contact me here or on Facebook (Egg Embry) or on Google Plus (+Egg Embry).

8 Independent RPG Kickstarters You Should Back – Redshirts (Starfinder), Lion’s Vault, Mysterious Happenings at Furlong Down, Wicked Pacts, and more

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A lot of good RPG Kickstarters get overshadowed by better known publishers or titles. Others, like third-party 5e or Pathfinder products, have to compete against a sea of competition. This week, I’m counting down eight [Good gravy!!!] RPG campaigns that deserve a look. Some of these offer wanna-lancer* rewards that are worth considering into if you want to build your RPG resume.

*Wanna-lancer™ – A gamer that’s pursuing freelance RPG work. Some back RPG Kickstarters that offer rewards to create NPCs, spells, items, adventures, etc. in order to build up their resume, make contact with publishers, and learn what’s expected on assignments.

 

8) Wicked Pacts by The Polyhedral Knights
Ends on Thursday, August 31 2017 10:14 PM EDT.

“A modern day Roleplaying game where players create various types of magic users. Urban fantasy magic meets gritty crime drama.

Wicked Pacts – Grunt Archetype

Unknown to the general public, there are chaotic societies filled with magic, supernatural creatures, and other beings trying to establish themselves in the enchanted world and to promote their self interests regardless of the conflict that ensues. Meanwhile, many of the responsible magic practitioners do their best to shield the Ungifted from the reality of their existence to avoid a modern day witch hunt.  It is in everyone’s best interest not to draw attention to their mystical world.

…

In Wicked Pacts players create magic users from various types of blood lines, from Pure blooded, half-blooded, Angel blooded, or Demon Blooded. Furthermore, there are a wide variety of magic training thus forging them into an archetype they can pick from in the game. Wicked Pacts features Talents, Complications, and a ton of Spells.

The game mechanics are designed to be fast and easy to learn, but not too easy it waters down the play and detail of the action. Wicked Pacts uses the regular polyhedral dice set and also what we call our Tarot Card element. Each character is linked to an Arcana card in a Tarot Deck. This card and many other cards can be used as fuel for the GM or the Player to affect various elements in the storytelling.”

Wanna-lancer™ Reward:

“Pledge $100 or more
Enchanter

For your pledge, you will be able to work with the creator to help design either a supernatural monster, organization or ultimate bad guy or adventure with full credit to your contribution.”

Egg’s Thoughts:

This is a new dice and Tarot Card combo gaming system that you can help fund. Or, if you want to create content for this setting/system, you can pledge to create a substantial element for it. You can write up an organization or adventure which could have an impact on the direction of this game. Their wanna-lancer reward gives you the chance to influence Wicked Pacts from the start.

 

You can see examples of The Polyhedral Knights work at DriveThruRPG here.

You can support this Kickstarter campaign here.

 

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7) Lion’s Vault Module for 5th Edition D&D & Pathfinder RPG by 2CGaming
Ends on Friday, September 1 2017 12:00 AM EDT.

“The Lion’s Vault – Part 3 of the Fate of the Forebears adventure path for 5th Edition D&D and Pathfinder RPG.

Lion’s Vault is the third chapter of the Fate of the Forebears Adventure Path, beginning immediately after the close of City of Sands module. The players must now venture out into the desert wastes of the Mirrored Steppes to uncover the secrets of an ancient city in ruins. Characters must withstand an ever-present corruption that feasts on their will, while they race treasure hunters and bandits through trapped-filled ruins to find the corruption’s source, an unspeakable horror protected by an ageless guardian.

The 80+ page adventure is setting agnostic, but with original locations and written for both Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition as well as the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game. The module will take characters from level 9 to level 11 and brings them through three narrative acts of a story arc, yielding 10-12 sessions of play. It is the continuation of the second module of Fate of the Forebears AP, City of Sands, which, in turn, picks up after the first module, Domes of Ishaq-Zahur.

In addition to the module, there will be an opportunity to pledge for digital assets in addition to PDF and print versions, which will allow you to easily run it online through virtual tabletop as well as at your table.

The destruction and terror the Nartheneen scepter caused on the metropolis of Archensheen will mark the city for decades. But even as the warring factions of the city fell to its power, it was clear that its evil source came from somewhere. Following a trail of disreputable treasure hunters, it is learned that a long-ruined Nartheneen city in the wastes of the Mirrored Steppes was the source of not only that scepter but all manner of evil and corrupted artifacts.

A dark corruption lies beneath the Nartheneen ruins, tainting everything around it—and this corruption is protected by ancient guardians who will stop at nothing to protect their secrets. What extremes must the adventurers reach to reveal the Nartheneen secrets and what horrors will awaken when they do?”

Egg’s Thoughts:

This is the first of five RPGs that are for either 5e or Pathfinder or both (six if you count Starfinder since it’s akin to Pathfinder/3.5e). With that in mind, each of these 5e/PF adventures deserves a look because they all have something to offer.

 

 

You can see examples of 2CGaming work at DriveThruRPG here.

You can support this Kickstarter campaign here.

 

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6) The Mysterious Happenings at Furlong Down. 5th ed Adventure by John R Davis
Ends on Friday, September 1 2017 5:31 AM EDT.

“The Mysterious Happenings at Furlong Down is an adventure landscape (mini campaign) for 5th edition D&D. It is for 4-6 2nd level PCs.

The Restless Dead

The Restless Dead

The Mysterious Happenings at Furlong Down is an adventure landscape (mini campaign) for use with 5th edition Dungeons and Dragons. It pays homage to early 1st edition modules such as Bone Hill, Sinister Secret of the Saltmarsh and Against the Cult of the Reptile God. It also draws specific inspiration from the following 1980s small press publications: Starstone by Paul Vernon & the Adventures in Tortured Souls Magazine.

There are at least 20 quests / plots / mysteries to resolve. There is plenty for the PC’s to do.

This Kickstarter is to raise funds to pay for editing and to add as much art, from the most excellent Jonny Gray,  as possible. Some draft illustrations are shown.

This publication will contain:

  • A rural village to investigate, and save?
  • 20 wilderness encounters to overcome.
  • 10 site based adventure areas (with 11 maps), containing about a 100 dungeon ‘rooms’.
  • A random encounter table for the various terrains.
  • A table of rumour, worry and gossip.
  • A map for Hexploration outlining the ranges of the many foul, and fair, creatures that roam the land.
  • Total 32-36 page count PDF in two column format. Size 11 font. Approximately 20,000 words.
  • Access to an at cost Print On Demand.
Torbin, the Village Reeve, is a worried man
Torbin, the Village Reeve, is a worried man

A call for help from a PC’s relative takes the party to the area around the village of Furlong Down. All is not well. A strange pallor has afflicted the village teenagers; farmers report sightings of dangerous beasts. The county was once plagued by a now destroyed vampire, but it still casts a shadow the village cannot escape from.

The half elf scout, Eldrin, brings ill tidings
The half elf scout, Eldrin, brings ill tidings

The PCs should be 5th level by the time they have made the land safe once more. The adventure is suitable for a whole range of classes, and races.”

Wanna-lancer™ Reward:

Too many to list. They start at £7 (about $9) and let you create undead, sprites, warriors, and more.

Jared, Volunteer for the Village Patrol, is no match for the challenges ahead

Egg’s Thoughts on The Cruellest Mistress Of All:

I backed John R. Davis’ The Cruellest Mistress Of All Kickstarter and pledged for a vanity press reward. My pledge allowed me to get the adventure and the prequel as well as create and write a setting and NPCs. The reward let me write a location but John let me sneak in a pair of NPCs to enhance the flavoring. John was easy to work with, very open to my ideas, and offered a lot of praise (and may use the setting/NPCs in a future volume of his adventure path. That was a validating conversation). CMoA was a nice addition to my RPG resume and pleasant work experience.

For John’s campaign, I gave £15 (about $24 at the time). If I hadn’t pledged for that, I would have gone with the Forgotten Souls level (£14 or about $21) that included the prequel adventure, the adventure for CMoA and the gazetteer. My wanna-lancer cost was a pound or about $3 (all January, 2016 conversions and poor rounding). The adventure is fun, the art is solid, and my writing appears in the product. I count this as a win!

[UPDATE – 2017-08-29 at 13:23 – After I messaged John R Davis about this post, he emailed me about my CMoA submission –

“Hi Egg
Thanks for the support
One of your merfolk is pencilled in to become sea-dragon food in Part 4 of Keranow! Might feel a bit guilty about that now!
regards
John“

John cracks me up! Support his newest campaign here.]

Egg’s Thoughts on The Mysterious Happenings at Furlong Down. 5th ed Adventure:

Based on my experience with John R. Davis, this is an easy recommendation. I expect a great adventure, great art, probably some extras, and John is very open to including your ideas. The base cost is £5/$7 or you can create content for £7/$9. The extra cost is negligible and a great resume builder. I cannot recommend it enough!

 

You can see examples of John R. Davis’ work at DriveThruRPG here.

You can support this Kickstarter campaign here.

 

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5) Redshirts: A Starfinder Comedy Adventure Path (Levels 1-3) by Happy Gnome Publishing
Ends on Friday, September 1 2017 6:49 PM EDT.

“Sometimes the greatest adventure in space is simply surviving the orders of your captain. Redshirts brings laughs to your gaming table.

Chief of Security, Mitzy Stuffington

Redshirts: Adventures in Absurdity (Vol. 1) is a Starfinder compatible Adventure Path, guaranteed to have your PCs laughing hysterically from one end of the galaxy to the other.

Critics have called it “The Office meets Survivor…in space.”

Unlike most RPGs which set up the PCs to achieve great heroic victories over threats to the very existence of the world, Redshirts is more a game of survival, as in can the PCs survive the ridiculous orders of the command crew. Redshirts is perfect for players wishing to emulate the tone of comedic Space-Opera settings such as Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, Futurama, or Spaceballs. It parodies and builds upon popular Sci-fi settings and tropes, while building its own niche.

The final product will be between 100-120 pages, and will include 5 pre-gen characters for those that just want to pick up and play. It is available in PDF, softback, and hardcover (all in full color).

Redshirts plays like a combination of a Role-playing game and an improv comedy routine (always say “yes”), as the PCs run the crew’s most dangerous errands. Vol. 1 encompasses the first three “missions” and takes the PCs from level 1 to level 3.

  • Mission 1: The Terrible Tacos: When Captain Ginny wakes up after a weekend bender with an intense craving for tacos, she decides to send her newly arrived recruits on their first mission. Unfortunately for the recruits, the local Taco Galaxy is under deadly new management.
  • Mission 2: The Cheaper Cleaner: Stuck in a surveillance mission around a dying star, first officer Laisse Faire decides to save a few credits and send the PCs to pick up his dry cleaning instead of paying for delivery. He’s sure the quarantine around the planet won’t be a problem.
  • Mission 3: The Pirate Bonanza: When several important pieces of the ship’s engine go missing, the PCs are sent shopping at the local space pirate flea market with a budget of $0 and the Captain expecting change back. Can the PCs get the ship back in working order or will they end up swabbing the decks of a pirate ship for the rest of their days?

Redshirts: Adventure in Absurdity (Vol. 1) will include the following new things that can be used in any Starfinder game:

3 new specific settings (2 space stations and a planet) which will include statistics and maps.

6 new playable races including: Door-tu-Dorans, Plushians, Aggressians, Mongrels, Pointers, and Beardies.

15 new monsters/NPCs to challenge your PCs, each with full stat blocks and artwork.

Detailed backstory for the Confederation of United Nebuls, Terrestials, and Sidereals (The people who pay the PCs tiny salary). The name of this huge bureaucracy refers to the three types of creatures eligible for citizenship in the Confederation:

  • Nebuls (creatures born on non-human worlds or races without significant amounts of human DNA)
  • Terrestials (Creatures born on human worlds with a significant amount of human DNA)
  • Sidereals (creatures naturally born in space or difficult to categorize)”

Wanna-lancer™ Reward:

“Pledge $200 or more
Design an NPC

Backers at this level will work with the design team to create an NPC crew member that will appear throughout the Redshirts adventure path. This character can be of any race that exists or we can design a new one to fit it. The character will receive a prominent role in the overall storyline, and will have original artwork designed for it. This backer level will also receive front cover credit as a designer…

Pledge $500 or more
Design a mission

A backer at this level can work with us to design an entire 25-35 page mission including creating new NPCS, races, monsters, and a planetary (or space based) setting. Includes up to 5 pieces of original artwork based on your creation. Backers at this level will be credited in the front cover as a designer.”

Egg’s Thoughts:

Paizo’s Starfinder was crazy popular at Gen Con 50 and sold out in seven hours on the first day of the show. Rumor at the con was Paizo brought 150% of the largest inventory they’d ever brought to a show. 7 hours ate that. Demos for Starfinder had hour-long lines even on Sunday. There is an appetite for Starfinder that Paizo and third party publishers are working to meet. That brings us to Redshirts: A Starfinder Comedy Adventure Path (Levels 1-3) by Happy Gnome Publishing. Launched with a 60-day funding period, this Kickstarter used its longer-than-normal length to ride the growing wave of interest in Starfinder and reach a wider audience. They’re developing a setting that lampoons Star Trek within the Starfinder setting. Interested in designing a NPC or an adventure early in the lifecycle of Starfinder? This campaign offers an opportunity to do just that. You can show off your chops with one of the hottest games in 2017.

 

You can see examples of Happy Gnome Publishing work at DriveThruRPG here.

You can support this Kickstarter campaign here.

 

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4) The Draw of Glenfallow, a 5th edition adventure module by Sinopa Publishing LLC
Ends on Friday, September 1 2017 9:00 PM EDT

“A role playing game adventure module for the 5th edition game mechanic. If you like Dungeons and Dragons this is for you. RPG DND 5e

Sample image from play test draft
Sample image from play test draft

Pieron was just another commoner until an encounter with a mysterious woman and a magical deck of cards changed his destiny.  Now Pieron is seeking out stout companions to aid him in claiming his birthright, the Keep at Glenfallow.

Overrun by monsters a century ago, the keep at Glenfallow now lies in ruin.

Will you help Pieron face unknown peril?  Would you dare to stand beside the future lord of Glenfallow as he struggles to retake what it is rightfully his?  Can you forge the destiny of a newly minted lord?

A host of monsters stand between Pieron and his destiny.  The malicious goblin chief lords over his subjects, and dark creatures stir in the catacombs beneath the keep.

Will you gamble your future on The Draw of Glenfallow?”

Egg’s Thoughts:

This is the third of five RPGs that are for either 5e or Pathfinder or both in this post. The Draw of Glenfallow is the first in a series from Sinopa Publishing LLC. This adventure is currently 48 pages and should grow a bit with maps and art. At $5 for “a PDF copy of the module, … [and] the Encounter Scale System printable encounter map pack”, the price is hard to argue with.

 

You can see examples of Sinopa Publishing LLC work at DriveThruRPG here.

You can support this Kickstarter campaign here.

 

* * * * * *

 

3) What Lies Beyond Reason Part 2; Adventures for Pathfinder/5e by Pyromaniac Press
Ends on Sunday, September 3 2017 8:18 PM EDT.

“An epic adventure that explores themes of madness and obsession, of betrayal and consequence, and the hope of redemption.

The Mad God’s legacy continues to plague the Eternal City!

The Echo of Faith, a twisted spirit obsessed with atoning for her crime of deicide, plunges Anduria deeper into the darkness of the void. Her plans bring the unsuspecting citizens that much closer to the brink of annihilation.

Only a handful of souls are even aware of the coming darkness, and most of those cannot be trusted. The characters are all that stand between the city and utter ruin.

Having survived the mind bending energies of corrupt artifacts, the hungry predation of nightmarish creatures and the plans of sorcerers and devil worshipers, the characters stand on the cusp of understanding just how deep the crisis goes…

The continuing adventures begin to peel away the final layers to allow the players to see the bigger picture at play. All the hints and clues they have gathered so far begin to fit together.

“Sanitarium” (Adventure 4) details the fall from grace of the Healing Hands, an altruistic organisation that has been secretly harboring the divine corpse of the Mad God Aether. The acolytes are about to learn that the aphorism “The road to hell is paved with good intentions” holds truth, as their attempts to siphon off divine energies only accelerate the city’s woes, and that deals with infernal organisations never end well – for anyone. The city will never be the same.

As the dust settles, the characters, armed with knowledge of an arcane ritual that might arrest the slide into madness, must uncover why the city has been bled dry of much needed silver. “Seeking Silver” (Adventure 5) sees the characters uncover the oppression of a nearby mining community at the hands of evil forces and amoral merchants, and the seemingly unconnected events that are actually derived from the same source as the city’s troubles. They must confront a fallen ally and offer them one last chance at redemption…”

Wanna-lancer™ Reward:

“Pledge AU$ 70 (About $55)
Pyromaniac

…the naming and description rights (and statistical input) on an NPC Hero or Villain that will appear in the “Seeking Silver” adventure (submission guidelines apply). Your creation will have bust artwork in the book based on your specifications.”

Egg’s Thoughts:

Another option for the world’s most popular role-playing games, What Lies Beyond Reason offers an epic adventure. What’s the quality like? You can try the What Lies Beyond Reason Player’s Guide for free here. If you like it, they offer a chance for you to submit a NPC to the adventure and get the character drawn.

Also, let’s quote about…

“All of the products from the first kickstarter have received strongly positive reader reviews, but they have also been critiqued by Endzeitgeist a respected and impartial critic who is widely held to be the most prolific reviewer of 3rd party Pathfinder and OSR material to date, with a continually expanding catalogue. He has more recently added 5th edition material to his reviews. He has no compunctions about disassembling material and spotlighting its flaws.

All five products (6 if you count the Player’s Guide) were rated 4.5 stars or better (on a 5 star scale), with two – the Campaign Guide for pathfinder and From the Ashes (adventure 3) for both pathfinder/5th ed – receiving his personal recommendation.

This is a passion project for me – you will only ever get my best work. You don’t have to simply take my word for it, you can read the reviews here.”

You can see examples of Pyromaniac Press work at DriveThruRPG here and their free What Lies Beyond Reason Player’s Guide here.

You can support this Kickstarter campaign here.

 

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2) Dimgaard Vol. XXI – 5e DnD Adventures by Dan Hass Endeavors
Ends on Monday, September 4 2017 12:59 AM EDT.

“6 5th edition adventures within 2 story arcs & 2 supplements: Blood Hunter CR0-20 & 1st level Adventuring Days

Dimgaard

Welcome to the 20th volume of Dimgaard’s 5th edition adventures. Thanks for the consideration. If you want to see what a Dimgaard adventure module looks like, here is a sample (the first episode of this volume’s Tyranny in Purple). Also, here is the first episode of the Fey Secrets series.

In this volume we continue with Fey Secrets. We present episodes 16 through 18. We also continue with episodes 5 through 7 of Tyranny in Purple. As bonuses we have the supplement GLD21 Blood Hunter CR0-20 and DGS30 Adventuring Days I (for 1st level PCs).”

Wanna-lancer™ Reward:

“Pledge $100 or more
Sponsor

…Have a favorite PC that you would like to see become a permanent NPC — cool. If you have a reasonable idea, we’ll probably be receptive.”

Egg’s Thoughts:

The Dimgaard adventure path series is huge. Want to try the campaign guide for free, DriveThruRPG has it available here. Want to be a part of one of the longest-running (if not the longest) Kickstarted 5e adventure paths? Here’s your chance to be a part of volume 20. Have a NPC or another cool idea that you want to use to help build this world? Dan Hass Endeavors is open to your ideas.

 

You can see examples of Dan Hass Endeavors work at DriveThruRPG here and the campaign guide for free here.

You can support this Kickstarter campaign here.

 

* * * * * *

 

1) Raids: The storytelling RPG by Liam Thornton
Ends on Thursday, September 7 2017 7:00 AM EDT.

“A tabletop roleplaying game with dice. Quick to learn for gamers of all experiences, Raids lets players tell the stories they want to.

What is Raids?

Raids is an immersive storytelling role playing game. I use that description because the focus should be on the stories that the players are creating, with the rules acting as a framework and a guide, rather than constricting them. That’s not to say that Raids won’t offer a challenge for veteran gamers- the base setting is a dark fantasy world, where you’ll need to think carefully about your actions or else you’ll find it very challenging.”

Wanna-lancer™ Reward:

“Pledge £70 or (About $91)
Guest designer bundle

…PLUS- You will get to help design and name a creature OR a location that will be included in the rulebook with you listed as designer on the page, and receive an exclusive print of your creation’s artwork.

(Please note that we reserve the rights to make any necessary changes to the created creature or location, to ensure copyright laws are not breached and that it does not contain any offensive material.”

Egg’s Thoughts:

If storytelling RPGs are what you’re looking for, Raids offers a new system to consider. On top of that, you can create a creature or, exercising more of the creative-chops, you can create a location. The location could let you spread your wings a bit wider and add more to the world.

 

You can support this Kickstarter campaign here.

A human spellcaster by Kyle Wright

From RAIDS – A human spellcaster by Kyle Wright

 

* * * * * *

 

Let me give a quick signal boost to two games that just launched:

 

Modern Adventures Tabletop RPG – Take up sword and gun to seek fame and fortune in this gritty fantasy game set in modern-day Earth. For the Pathfinder RPG system. From Higher Grounds Publishing.

 

Jump in your Starfighter for Era: Balam – A Project Of Earth – Explore a solar system and defend Humanity from an alien fleet! Era: Balam runs on your choice of Era d10, FATE or Savage Worlds! From Shades of Vengeance.

* * * * * *

 

Disclosure: This article contains affiliate links to DriveThruRPG.com.

Savage Worlds: Fast, Furious, and Fun! - Available Now @ DriveThruRPG.com

 

* * * * * *

 

 

Egg Embry, Wanna-lancer™

Wanna-lancer™ Checklist T-shirt available at Cafepress

Interested in being a wanna-lancer? Start with the official Wanna-lancer Checklist t-shirt or wall clock or ice tea glass!

* * * * * *

Egg Embry wrote comic book short stories, edited comic book series, wrote and drew a webcomic, and contributed to comic book journalism across the 2000s. Now, he buys the opportunity to write for a variety of tabletop role-playing games in the tradition of vanity press. His purchases have been published by:

Want your RPG Kickstarter reviewed? Have some RPG wanna-lancer thoughts to share? Contact me here or on Facebook (Egg Embry) or on Google Plus (+Egg Embry).

PRESS RELEASE – Modern Adventures for Pathfinder Kickstarter is Live

  By

Higher Grounds Publishing, LLC
Ray Machuga, Owner
Frisco, TX 75033
(214) 592-5753
Highergroundgamingllc@gmail.com

August 19, 2017 – Higher Grounds released their newest tabletop gem! Modern Adventures is a Pathfinder-compatible game set in modern-day Earth. Modern Adventures brings the full feel of a Pathfinder game into the modern era. You’ll get everything you expect from a modern setting including computer hacking, firearms, vehicles and aircraft. You’ll also get all of the races such as elves, dwarves and gnomes in addition to some new, never-before-seen races available for play. Modern Adventures combines everything awesome about a fantasy game with the gritty, realistic feel of modern era play.

Pathfinder: Modern Adventures includes:

  • A new, unique magic and spellcasting system. No more spell per day slots!
  • All the races you’ve come to love in your Pathfinder games.
  • New races including half-gnomes, city elves and the insect-like Acaroi.
  • Story oriented play style with gritty, real-world themes.
  • Completely revised class system, including new classes like Shaman and Mage.
  • Powerful new spells for spell casters to sling at their enemies.

 

* * * * * *

 

Disclosure: Affiliate links to DriveThruRPG.com were added to this press release.

Savage Worlds: Fast, Furious, and Fun! - Available Now @ DriveThruRPG.com

3 Comic Kickstarters You Need To Back – Niobe, Untold, and Grond

  By , ,

Demons, orcs, half-orcs, and a half-elf. Kickstarter offers some of the best fantasy and horror comic book options. This week, I’m counting down three winning comic book Kickstarters.

 

3) GROND “Oublar’s Revenge” Book Three by Midcity Comics
Ends by .

“Grond is now Kallok. Obberoth is dead. Valara’s fate is decided by Ugreth. Oublar is close to getting what he desires, being Mok’Dar.

BOOK THREE : PRESENT DAY

Obberoth is dead! A peaceful gift for a king turns out to be the death of him. Valara has been accused for the death of Obberoth and is outraged and is now fighting for her life.

Oublar  demands Taurok, Juug’la of the clan to hold a clan trial for the sentencing of Valara. Oublar’s plan has now been set in motion. Only Mok’dar can grant her freedom.

But the oath of Rom’gara has been broken, and the punishment for that is DEATH. Grond is shocked to see what is about to happen next.”

 

Egg’s Thoughts:

FUNDED AND WORKING ON STRETCH GOALS.

Full Disclosure: I’m co-writing a comic set in the Grond-verse for Midcity Comics. 

Do you have enough orcs in your life? No. No, you don’t. If you break out D&D or Pathfinder or Shadowrun or any tabletop RPG on the weekends, chances are you’re looking for more orcs in your day-to-day. Michael Phillips has you covered with the Grond series! A half-orc fighting his orc family! Orc-errific!

Grond is a half-orc and the son of a prince searching for acceptance among his orc brethren. Since these are orcs, they either accept him or plan to gnaw on his bones. Fortunately for the reader, they opt for bones and we get to enjoy the fights! This is a story of political intrigue, murder, and revenge. I’ve mentioned Grond several times over the course of its campaign. I’m excited about the book! The stories are from the orc point-of-view… No one but Michael Phillips would do that. For his part, Michael embraces the world and the orc culture. It reflects in the brutality of his work.

This Kickstarter offers Grond #3 as well as the option to get Grond 1 to 3 and other Midcity Comics goodies. Michael’s completed ten Kickstarters, so this campaign and the production cycle are a science.

 

Check out the Kickstarter here – GROND “Oublar’s Revenge” Book Three

 

 

* * *

 

2) NIOBE: She is Life Hardcover & She is Death #1 Comic Book by Stranger Comics
Ends by .

“”With a world divided, who do you turn to?” Niobe by Sebastian Jones, Amandla Stenberg, Ashley Woods, Sheldon Mitchell, & Darrell May.

NIOBE: She is Life and Death Campaign:

Get an oversized special Kickstarter Exclusive edition hardcover collection of NIOBE: SHE IS LIFE with 32 pages of extra material not contained in the retail edition paperback and a Kickstarter Exclusive version of the first issue of the sequel NIOBE: SHE IS DEATH by Jones, Stenberg, May and new artist Sheldon Mitchell. Be the first to read the book well before its in-store release next year.

While first introduced in The Untamed, Niobe’s solo story begins years later with the character as a teenager. A child of prophecy is on the road to fulfilling her destiny… Niobe: She is Life.

With a world divided who do you turn to?  

Between two warring nations, in the heart of Western Ujoa, there is a haven to those who have lost their way. Some say you can rebuild your mind and spirit upon the mountains of Ugoma. For a Half-Elven (Sin-Galemren) girl with off-colored eyes, it is a chance to flee a dark past, and rest safely within the secret monatery of her ancestors. But you cannot run from destiny, or hide from the Devil.

Set within the original fantasy world of Asunda, Niobe: She is Life is a coming of age Beauty and the Beast love story threaded with murder and mystery that leads to all out war.

And the upcoming sequel… She is Death.

There is nothing more dangerous and beautiful than a wild woman.

Niobe: She is Death is a tale of hard truths and revelations for a young woman who is tired of running. Niobe has lost her faith – in humanity and the world around her. In the sequel to Niobe: She is Life, we will witness Niobe’s journey from heartbroken teenager to warrior woman, set to take on a world that would see her dead. Narrowly escaping a violent prison death, she learns that girls like her are being abducted. But the hunted becomes the hunter when she allies herself with a savage mentor who teaches her how to take vengeance on those who prey on the helpless – by being a bounty hunter herself.

Niobe: She is Life #4 – Ashley Woods Cover

Niobe will hunt down and capture human traffickers, rescuing the victims for the families who seek her help. But each step takes her further down the path toward a destiny she did not ask for and a burden she does not want.

Written by Sebastian A. Jones (The Untamed, Dusu) & Amandla Stenberg (Everything, Everything, Hunger Games)
Layouts and Concepts by Darrell May (The Untamed, Dusu)
She is Life: Illustrated by Ashley A. Woods (Lady Castle, Millennia War)
She is Death: Illustrated by Sheldon Mitchell (Cable, The Darkness, Vampire Hunter D)”

 

Egg’s Thoughts:

FUNDED AND DESTROYING STRETCH GOALS.

Niobe: She is Life is a beautifully illustrated graphic novel. Not enough good can be said about this project. The production values are second to none at Stranger Comics. Their books aren’t just comics, they’re art books.

The art. Ashley A. Woods: She [well, her art] is Life. What first pulled me into Niobe is Ashley’s visuals. Her designs captivate the reader even as they capture the spirit of the scripts she works from. The work she does as she weaves the world of Niobe into a visual cornucopia is staggering – it’s bright, beautiful, alien, familiar, and wonderful. For Niobe, Ashley’s work set the stage and made this a comic worth hunting down. But, don’t take my word for it, at the end of this article, I have several pages from Niobe featuring Ashley’s work.

The praise for the art is no slight to the work of Sebastian A. Jones, Amandla Stenberg, Darrell May, or Sheldon Mitchell. All of them bring their AAA games to the table. I cannot wait to have this book in my hands to take in all of the design elements poured into each page.

The campaign has several other graphic novels from the same universe available.For the RPG side of my life, it also has the Niobe Pathfinder book as an add-on. “Want to play in Niobe’s world? Pathfinder is making a 32 page supplement book for Niobe, allowing fans their first opportunity to game in Asunda.” Comics and RPGs? Perfect for lil’ Egg Embry!

 

Check out the Kickstarter here – NIOBE: She is Life Hardcover & She is Death #1 Comic Book

 

* * *

 

Untold – Karl Jones Variant Cover

1) Untold #1 and #2 by Daniel Farrand 
Ends by .

“Untold is a horror comic series that combines psychological unrest, with striking visual gore, to create a truly terrifying experience.

Through a series of dark and twisted visions shown to her by a disfigured demon. Alice must attempt to separate fact from fiction, and unravel the truth behind her Grandpa’s decade long stay in the UK’s most notorious insane asylum.

After a short lived reunion with her beloved grandpa, Alice finds herself confronted by the grotesque demon, Daisy, and is soon plummeted into a dark, and twisted vision.

Issue #2 will introduce The Dark Figure, who we briefly saw in issue #1, as we delve deeper into his world, and discover exactly what he is capable of.

Untold #1 (28 page) was successfully funded in 2016, thanks to the amazing support from 146 backers. We are offering anybody who may have missed out first time round, an opportunity to grab a copy of issue #1 within this Kickstarter.

Untold #2 (22 page) is the latest installment within the Untold series.”

 

Egg’s Thoughts:

FUNDED AND WORKING ON STRETCH GOALS.

Cut off your nose to spite your face? With a demon, would that be for spite or for Clive Barker reasons? Untold’s monster is a demon child without a nose named Daisy. Two issues – one in the can, one to be created using funds from this Kickstarter – of demons and asylums are available from this campaign.While a comic book project, this series has the feel that horror RPGs strive for. Creator Daniel Farrand presents a horror world of dark visuals and scares. Backing this campaign offers the option to get both issues for a deeper inspection of the world he’s crafting.

Check out the Kickstarter here – Untold #1 and #2

 

 

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Because I love tabletop RPG games and Kickstarters let me add a bonus to the list:

The S’rulyan Vault II Map at the Gaming Table

The S’rulyan Vault II by Kort’thalis Publishing
Ends on Thursday, June 22 2017 10:46 AM EDT.

“This project is a file/PDF for a high-resolution, printable map in both old school module blue and white, as well as, parchment color.”

Example Map from the S’rulyan Vault II

 

Check out the Kickstarter here – The S’rulyan Vault II.

 

* * *

 

Examples of Ashley A Wood’s Niobe: She is Life art:

Niobe Example Pages by Ashley A. Woods

Check out the Kickstarter here – NIOBE: She is Life Hardcover & She is Death #1 Comic Book

 

* * *

 

Egg Embry, Wanna-lancer™

Wanna-lancer™ Checklist T-shirt available at Cafepress

Interested in being a wanna-lancer? Start with the official Wanna-lancer Checklist t-shirt or wall clock or ice tea glass!

* * *

Egg Embry wrote comic book short stories, edited comic book series, wrote and drew a webcomic, and contributed to comic book journalism across the 2000s. Now, he buys the opportunity to write for a variety of tabletop role-playing games in the tradition of vanity press. His purchases have been published by:

Vanity Press: What Kickstarter RPG Rewards Are Available? – Dark Obelisk & A Delve in the Cave

  By , , ,

Sometimes (all of the time), wanna-lancing is about gaining the experience needed to become a tabletop RPG freelancer. Other times, it’s about meeting people in the industry. This week, I look at crowdfundings that offer one of each scenario.

Dark Obelisk:Artifacts & Artifice Collection (Pathfinder/5E) by J. Evans Payne
Kickstarter campaign ends on Monday, June 12 2017 8:47 AM EDT.

Dark Obelisk – Artifacts & Artifice

“200+pp color PDF/hardcover with a wealth of magical items, each with quests, backstory, NPCs, and integration with the Dark Obelisk AP.

TL;DR: The Value Proposition

If you play Pathfinder or 5E/Fifth Edition, this book will be valuable to you.

On the fence? Check out the sample magical item, Abhorrent Naginata, available for free only during this KS campaign. It’s 10 pages of lavishly-detailed goodness, all dedicated to a single, nifty magic weapon. It’s a good example of what to expect… times dozens of items!

Obelisk-Shard Dagger illustration credit Jack Kaiser

This product is a massive, 200+ page full-color PDF and hardcover roleplaying supplement that will enhance any Pathfinder or 5E campaign in any setting.

 

Artifacts & Artifice will be a richly detailed hardcover gaming sourcebook, and companion to one of the most ambitious and massive indie RPG adventures in recent memory.”

Egg’s Thoughts:

Infinium Game Studios is offering a free sample of the type of product that they’re developing through this Kickstarter. If you need major items for your campaign along with detailed backstories, related NPCs, and adventures, this has got you covered. Add to it, you can design a NPC related to one of those items or a magic item to appear in one of their two books or you can design both and an adventure. Lots of vanity press options. For these books, they’re a good mix of RPG crunch and wanna-lancing opportunity.

You can find the Kickstarter campaign here.

* * *

5E Adventure: A Delve in the Cave by Jamie Chambers
IndieGoGo (originally on GoFundMe) campaign ends on Saturday, June 17 2017.

“I accidentally wrote a 5E fantasy RPG adventure! Wanna help me print it? This is a short campaign … it ends on June 11, 2017.”

Egg’s Thoughts:

Jamie Chambers wrote more on his GoFundMe page [UPDATED – This has moved from GoFundMe to IndieGoGo here. The GoFundMe total counts toward the overall total] detailing the experience of/reason for writing this adventure, not so much about the adventure itself. Let’s assume it’s a good dungeon crawl for 5e and it’s worth entertaining a quick inspection of it and its crowdfunding campaign.

From a wanna-lancing point of view, this campaign offers the opportunity to help craft a NPC and/or playtest the product with the creator. This offers the potential for face-to-face contact instead of everything between you and an established pro being type, type, type, type, type, type, and more type.

For Egg, there’s one additional opportunity here. While looking up Jamie Chambers, it turns out he lives a town or two away from where my humble home. One of the challenges of any type of entertainment freelancing is location. Live too far from where the wider professional community sits and you’re dependent on computer and phone contacts. Face-to-face causes some professionals/editors/publishers to become more invested in you as a person and creator. Human contact and all.

For my end, I live in Georgia, which has taken on a degree of prominence in the TV production world. But, for many other creative endeavors, it’s pretty far from where the action’s at. The potential to meet a local creator to network with is an opportunity to break out my rusty speaking skills instead of typing… Always typing. Will Jamie want to meet me? That’s CLEARLY not part of the crowdfunding campaign so I have no illusions that he’s dying to meet a dude named Egg. Heck, he’s not too far away, he may know some Embry’s and be feeling Hatfield toward McCoy, you know. Still, an interesting possibility of an “extra”. When looking at wanna-lancer opportunities, this is a bonus. The potential to meet someone in the industry outside of a convention is worth looking into.

You can find the IndieGoGo campaign here.

 

* * *

 

 

My Tessera Guild-mate, Robert (Route 3) Jeffrey II, is still running his Kickstarter as is my friend and publisher, Michael (Grond) Phillips. I cannot recommend checking out these Kickstarters enough!

Route 3

Route 3 by Robert Jeffrey II and Sean Damien Hill
Ends on .

“Centuries old prophecies. Shadowy government conspiracies. Super heroic action. Just a typical day for teenager Sean Anderson. Route 3.”

Check out the Kickstarter here – Route 3

Grond 3

Grond #3 by Michael Phillips
Ends on .

“Grond is now Kallok. Obberoth is dead. Valara’s fate is decided by Ugreth. Oublar is close to getting what he desires, being Mok’Dar.”

Catch up on the back issues and support the creation of the current issue on Kickstarter here – Grond #3

 

 

* * *

 

 

Egg Embry, Wanna-lancer™

Wanna-lancer™ Checklist T-shirt available at Cafepress

Interested in being a wanna-lancer? Start with the official Wanna-lancer Checklist t-shirt or wall clock or ice tea glass!

* * *

Egg Embry wrote comic book short stories, edited comic book series, wrote and drew a webcomic, and contributed to comic book journalism across the 2000s. Now, he buys the opportunity to write for a variety of tabletop role-playing games in the tradition of vanity press. His purchases have been published by:

Vanity Press: What Kickstarter RPG Rewards Are Available? – Underworld Races & Classes

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Playing in the subterranean underworld in 5e or Pathfinder? Need some more races (monsters), societies, and classes? AAW Games has the Kickstarter for you!

Underworld Races & Classes – Funglet

Underworld Races & Classes — 5th Edition & Pathfinder RPG by AAW Games
Kickstarter campaign ends on .

“Help us put our Underworld Races & Classes into a massive tome with new racial traits, feats, archetypes, magic items, and spells!

The Underworld Races & Classes tome for 5th Edition and the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game (two separate books) includes devious drow, deep mining svirfneblin, psychedelic funglets, beautiful, semi-crystalline colliatur and more: a total of 14 new races and over 25 classes clocking in at 250+ pages!

In 2014 AAW Games released the ENnie Award nominated Rise of the Drow mega-adventure along with various source books, injecting a huge dose of the wonder of spelunking back into the deep realms of the games we all know and love.

Critical acclaim and fan demand prompted the creation of individual books, featuring new races and classes born from the darkness and alien splendor of the caves below as well as detailed notes on the cultures and histories of these proud people. 

The frontier of the deep, its black horizons with their phosphorescent lights, deserves unique heroes and villains to populate the crystal-studded caverns, black subterranean lakes and mushroom jungles.

Using feedback obtained from numerous fans, play-testers, and reviewers we have completely revised and expanded upon all of our races & classes and combined them into one rock-solid volume for each system, suitable as darker, weirder and more insidious companions to your Pathfinder RPG and 5th Edition core books.”

 

* * *

 

Underworld Races & Classes – 5e Layout

Underworld Races & Classes – Pathfinder Layout

 

Looking at these layouts, AAW is clearly thinking about how the source systems should be presented and not doing a simple copy and paste with only the stats tweaked.

Underworld Races & Classes – 5e and Pathfinder Cover Mock-Ups

 

While this Kickstarter does not feature any vanity press options (my usual barometer for pledging for RPG Kickstarters), I’m featuring it because:

  • it offers more races and classes – all of them specific to the underworld – to expand your game. The art and the write ups look great and you can’t – CAN’T – go wrong with fungus folk! [EDITOR’S NOTE – Mileage may vary on one’s love of fungus-based PCs… and fungus-based players.]
    • 14 Underworld Races
    • Detailed discussions of each of the race’s society and interactions
    • 25+ Underworld Classes
    • Additional Drow Domain Details (AD&D&D?)
  • I had an opportunity to do an early review of the Kickstarter and offer suggestions on it. The version of the Kickstarter that is posted now is more dynamic than the first two versions I read and better showcases the products that they are offering. Add to that it was funded in the first hour and you’ll realize that AAW games is knocking these books out of the park.

This is basically the Underworld Player’s Handbook and any campaign set underground will benefit from this resource.

 

* * *

 

Egg Embry, Wanna-lancer™

Wanna-lancer™ Checklist T-shirt available at Cafepress

Interested in being a wanna-lancer? Start with the official Wanna-lancer Checklist t-shirt or wall clock or ice tea glass!

 

* * *

 

Egg Embry wrote comic book short stories, edited comic book series, wrote and drew a webcomic, and contributed to comic book journalism across the 2000s. Now, he buys the opportunity to write for a variety of tabletop role-playing games in the tradition of vanity press. His purchases have been published by:

Vanity Press: What Kickstarter RPG Rewards Are Available? – Midgard Campaign Setting: Dark Roads & Deep Magic

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Two weeks ago, I discussed picking up a RPG playtester resume credit from Kobold Press’ Tome of Beasts and Book of Lairs Kickstarter. This week, I’m looking at Kobold Press’ 5e campaign setting, Midgard, the early access to playtest materials that they’re offering, and their stretch goal that will open this campaign setting up to let anyone write and publish in it.

Midgard Campaign Setting

Midgard Campaign Setting: Dark Roads & Deep Magic by Kobold Press

Kickstarter campaign ends on Friday February248th, 2017 at 4:00 PM EST.

Their Pitch:

“Five years have passed; high time to update the Midgard Campaign Setting, and add Deep Magic, adventures, and player options galore!

Welcome to Midgard’s shadow roads, traveler! The way is winding and dangerous, but the rewards are great for the adventuresome and bold.

The rewards for the Midgard Kickstarter include 3 primary books, plus a slew of thrilling adventures and crunchy expansions! The core rewards include these volumes:

Dusk Queen of the Shadow from the Midgard campaign setting

Midgard Campaign Setting for 5th Edition and Pathfinder RPG: A 300+ page volume describing the Midgard regions, from the Northlands to the Western Wastes, and from the Southlands to the Crossroads. With detailed locations, cities, rulers, heraldry, plots, and adventure hooks galore, plus full details of the various pantheons, masked gods, and dark gods, there’s enough here to fuel years of adventuring!

In this updated edition, you’ll get the expanded Blood Kingdom of Morgau and updates to Zobeck, the Cantons, the Western Wastes, and other regions. If we meet our goals, we’ll also  add the Shadow Realm and Blood Kingdom as standalone chapters, and may even open the golden gates of Khandiria… It’s a rich and standalone edition of the setting.

This book is available in both a regular cover and in a special limited edition with leatherette cover, bookmark, and stamped gold foil, plus a handbound leather edition.

Midgard Heroes Handbook for 5th Edition: Full details for Midgard races, variants, archetypes, and backgrounds—everything you need to play trollkin, ravenfolk, kobolds, and others! You’ll also get more than a dozen new cleric domains, new weapons and equipment, and Deep Magic spells and traditions such as Clockwork Magic and Ley Line Magic. Stretch goals will add even more Deep Magic to the book, plus expanded races and broader options for existing ones.

Midgard GM’s Screen

Midgard Player’s Guide for Pathfinder RPG: Collects all of Midgard’s racial lore, class options, feats, and equipment under one set of covers—plus new material for ley line magic, and more. We hope to expand it with shadow magic and other stretch goals. Developed by Paizo staff developer Amanda Hamon Kunz.

Eldritch Lairs: A series of short 5th Edition adventures written by James Haeck and other designers, somewhat like the Prepared! collection of one-shots. This starts as a set of PDF stretch goals, and it will become a print volume included with the premium tiers once the collection is big enough (it will be an add-on for Basic pledge tiers).

***

Pit of the Dust Goblins from the Midgard campaign setting

Their tenth update: Open World of Midgard

From the earliest days, the Midgard Campaign Setting has been an open world: pre-Kickstarter, patrons brainstormed elements of Zobeck, the Margreve Forest, and the horrors hidden beneath the Ironcrag Mountains. Over the years we’ve kept that door open, with an open freelance submissions policy and frequent design contests to bring new talent into the field.

Well, now we’re taking a big step beyond that. If we get enough backers on this Kickstarter, we’ll launch Midgard as an Open World on DriveThruRPG and RPGNow.

What will it mean for Midgard to become an Open World? Glad you asked! Like the Forgotten Realms and Ravenloft in the DM’s Guild program, Midgard will be open for anyone to use and publish locations, adventures, characters, lairs or other playable material (under certain conditions). In this case, it would cover supplements that are compatible with 5th Edition, Pathfinder RPG, and 13th Age RPG.

Midgard Table of Contents

How close are we to that goal? We need 2,000 backers to form a strong enough nucleus of new designers to attempt it; we’re currently at just over 1,000 backers, with a little more than 2 weeks left. That means we definitely need your help to make it happen. It’s possible, but it’s not a slam-dunk.

What gets us there? Every backer of the project counts toward this goal, regardless of dollars pledged or rewards chosen. That means if all 4 players in your local game pledges $1, we’re 4 backers closer to the Midgard Open World. Any and all of those backers get first peek at Backer Updates in this project, which might also inspire them to roll up some homebrew encounters or build out that archetype they’re always talking about. It’s up to them.

Why Open Midgard? The reality of a small press is that we can never keep up with the demand for new material, and we’re always scouting talent. This approach helps with both, by providing additional Midgard adventures and resources, while opening up a way for talented-but-unknown designers to be recognized. Our hope is that participants in an Open Midgard will also become freelancers who keep the setting vibrant and join the Kobold crew on future official releases. That’s the plan; all we need is a large enough set of backers to launch it!”

***

Midgard Open World

Egg’s Thoughts:

I’m building a RPG resume by purchasing creator opportunities on Kickstarter. This Kickstarter has pledge levels that offer early access to playtest materials for one of the largest third-party publishers. As a bonus, if the campaign reaches 2,000 backers then Kobold Press will make the Midgard setting an open world.

What’s an open world? In this case, it’s a RPG setting that you can publish content for (with certain restrictions). Want to set an adventure and characters in the Midgard’s Ironcrags and publish it for profit? If this stretch goal is achieved, that will be an option.

In a perfect kickstarted world, I’d want to playtest as much of Midgard as possible and use that knowledge to create worthwhile new content within the Midgard setting. With every new backer on this project, we’re getting closer to my goal.

***

Egg Embry, Wanna-lancer

Egg Embry wrote comic book short stories, edited comic book series, wrote and drew a webcomic, and contributed to comic book journalism across the 2000s. Now, he buys the opportunity to write for a variety of tabletop role-playing games in the tradition of vanity press. His purchases have been published by:

  • Sasquatch Game Studio’s Primeval Thule for 5e (2015) available at DriveThruRPG.com – Writer
  • Ember Design Studios’ Yrisa’s Nightmare for 5e and Pathfinder available at DriveThurRPG.com – Writer
  • Ember Design Studios’ Rats in the Street for 5e and Pathfinder available at DriveThurRPG.com – Writer & Artist
  • Kobold Press’ Tome of Beasts for 5e available at KoboldPress.com – Playtester

Vanity Press: What Kickstarter RPG Rewards Are Available? – How to Write Adventure Modules That Don’t Suck

  By , ,

No vanity-press-buy-a-RPG-creator’s-credit this week. Instead, let’s focus on a publication to improve my RPG adventure module writing skills.

How to Write Adventure Modules That Don’t Suck by Goodman Games
Kickstarter campaign ends on Tuesday, February 14th, 2017 at 11:50 PM EST.

How to Write Adventure Modules That Don’t Suck

Their Pitch:

“Advice on how you can write great adventures – from the company that has published more than 200 top-notch adventures!

Many years ago, when Goodman Games was first starting out, many sage elders in the industry gave Joseph Goodman advice on what to publish. The most common advice received was: “Don’t publish adventure modules. They don’t sell.”

What we have learned since then is that advice is largely true. Poorly written, uninteresting, uninspired adventure modules do not sell.

But the good adventure modules – the exciting ones – that ones that read well and play well at the table – they become treasured memories for us all. They become legends. These adventures are the shared experience that builds our community. We remember our exploits, ask each other how a different group handled that encounter, and lament the secret doors we may have missed. We tell our friends about the climactic finale; we are in turns surprised and devastated and thrilled as we navigate the encounters. And most importantly, if an adventure is fun to play – if the game master and the players both have a blast – then we tell our friends, and they play, and they tell their friends, and that adventure becomes a community builder. It is played thousands and thousands of times. It becomes a legend.

How to Write Adventure Modules That Don’t Suck

This book is about how to create tabletop RPG adventures that become those legends. This book is about how to write great adventure modules – the ones that gamers can’t stop talking about.

This is the primer that every game designer needs to have on his bookshelf. I’ve been in the role-playing game design industry for more than forty years. In many of those years my products were the best selling products out that year. I learned many new things from this set of articles. I have learned things that have improved my design skills, so I know they will improve yours as well.

The essay writers include:

Jobe Bittman, Mike Breault, Anne K. Brown, Timothy Brown, Stephen Chenault, Casey Christofferson, Chris Clark, Michael Curtis, Chris Doyle, Joseph Goodman, Allen Hammack, Jon Hook, Kevin Melka, Brendan J. LaSalle, Lloyd Metcalf, Bill Olmesdahl, Steve Peek, Jean Rabe, Merle M. Rasmussen, Lester Smith, Harley Stroh, Jim Wampler, James M. Ward, Skip Williams, and Steve Winter.”

Egg’s Thoughts:

How to Write Adventure Modules That Don’t Suck

I want to be a tabletop role-playing game freelancer. I have some creator credits and experience that I’ve bought through RPG Kickstarters. What I don’t have is a mentor. HtWAMTDS is not that, but it is written by individuals that would be ideal mentors. The book promises to share their thought process for designing modules and adventure paths.

The cleverest part of Goodman Game’s Kickstarter is the updates, they’re samples of the book’s philosophy. Unlike so many projects, this one creates a clearer and clearer picture of what you are purchasing every time they add a new post.

To be clear, there are no vanity press rewards here. Instead, for as little as $12, you can get the PDF of HtWAMTDS and learn from those that have gone before and made money in this industry. Seems like money well spent.

***

Egg Embry, Wanna-lancer

Egg Embry wrote comic book short stories, edited comic book series, wrote and drew a webcomic, and contributed to comic book journalism across the 2000s. Now, he buys the opportunity to write for a variety of tabletop role-playing games in the tradition of vanity press. His purchases have been published by:

  • Sasquatch Game Studio’s Primeval Thule for 5e (2015) available at DriveThruRPG.com – Writer
  • Ember Design Studios’ Yrisa’s Nightmare for 5e and Pathfinder available at DriveThurRPG.com – Writer
  • Ember Design Studios’ Rats in the Street for 5e and Pathfinder available at DriveThurRPG.com – Writer & Artist
  • Kobold Press’ Tome of Beasts for 5e available at KoboldPress.com – Playtester

Kickstarter RPG Reward Level: Validation – Chris Pramas of Green Ronin Publishing’s Thoughts on Breaking into the Game Industry

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Chris Pramas of Green Ronin Publishing (publishers of Fantasy AGE, Mutants & Masterminds, A Song of Ice and Fire Roleplaying, and D&D 5e’s Sword Coast Adventurer’s Guide among other role-playing products) wrote a post about how to break into the game industry. It is an excellent piece covering the practical ways to become a game designer. I recommend reading it for all of his thoughts.

Green Ronin Publishing Logo

Green Ronin Publishing Logo

Chris’ blog, falling at the end 2016, is an apt sounding board for a year-end review. For what my experiment – purchasing role-playing game writing opportunities via Kickstarter to build a resume and advance from RPG wanna-lancer to RPG freelancer – I want to compare the parts of his article that relate to my process as a gauge for how well I am doing.

Where is Chris Pramas at as 2016 closes? President of Green Ronin Publishing with a slew of games he’s designed and the awards to testify to their quality. He has two-plus-decades of experience seeing freelancers break into the game industry. With his position in the industry, his thoughts will make an excellent progress marker.

Where am I at the end of 2016? I’ve leveled from fan-with-a-plan to fan-acting-on-a-plan with a few pleasant RPG credits and I was invited to join this blog. With my day job and life leaving limited time to work on creative pursuits, I’ve enjoyed this year as I ramped up my skills and consistently met deadlines.

Let’s compare my plan to Chris’ suggestions. (All quotes are pulled from Chris Pramas’ article.)

Green Ronin Publishing - A Song of Ice and Fire

Green Ronin Publishing – A Song of Ice and Fire

Blogger

“[…] create a blog and write about games.”

I started buying vanity press RPG writing credits in mid-2015 and started blogging about the results fourteen months later. To spread out the blog’s content, I have not covered all of the writing opportunities I have bought to-date. At the close of 2016, I have 10 Kickstarter RPG writing credits (published or forthcoming), 1 RPG art credit, some RPG work-for-credits, 1 trip to Gen Con, and a comic book mini-series pitch approved. I’m not out of the wanna-lancer stage but I’m taking baby steps to get there. With content and a consistent theme for my blog, 2017 should be a good year in my journey to freelancer.

“This costs virtually nothing […] writing regularly is good practice.”

While blogging does cost “virtually nothing”, the route that I chose, buying RPG writing credits, does have a cost. Being financially invested heightens my interest in finding time to make this happen. It’s less about wouldn’t-it-be-nice and more about I-need-to-make-that-money-back.

The same thought process applies to regular blogging. Having a blog that runs two to three Tuesdays a month, while not a hard deadline, helps to build deadline “muscle memory”. It also makes the most of the money and time I’ve invested in these by turning each Kickstarter into a part of the narrative of my quest.

“[…] I suggest writing actual game content. […] pick a game or two that you like and start writing material for it. […] Design some monsters or magic items. Write a short adventure. Make some NPCs with adventure hooks. If you start creating useful content, you can develop a good reputation in the game’s community. This may eventually lead to freelance work.”

The beauty of buying a RPG writing assignment is being given a small, specific project to develop that you know will be published. As Chris suggests, I am developing a monster or a magic item or whatever the assignment is. However, instead of putting it onto the internet and hoping that gamers and publishers see it, I am putting these short projects into successfully crowdfunded RPGs that will be read by editors and fans. It is Chris’ advice turned up to 11.

Celltar Drumthunder. Art by Egg Embry

Celltar Drumthunder from Ember Design Studio’s Yrisa’s Nightmare and Rats in the Street. Art by Egg Embry

“At the very least you are developing a body of work that is easy to show off. If a developer asks you for a writing sample, you’ll have ready material for that.”

My plan has always been two birds with one Kickstarter pledge. Bird one is, of course, the writing and credits themselves. The opportunity to be handed an assignment from a publisher, work for them, get published, and, hopefully, open a door to become a RPG freelancer. As Chris suggests, I have submitted my published work as writing samples. Bird two is to blog about the experience and build interest with gamers for the product I’m in and the work I’ve contributed to it.

“Writing reviews can also be useful. It can show that you can think critically about games. Checking out a wide variety of game material is never wasted time either.”

Writing about the purchase and the creation process means, in a limited way, I get to review the product that I was in. With respect to these reviews, since I am not an unbiased observer, I don’t do an in-depth discussion. But, these blogs are a chance to bring up the product and cast a new perspective on it with some minor production information.

Some of the RPG assignments are for systems that I have limited experience with. My comfort zone is Dungeons & Dragons 5e. But, through purchasing assignments, I’ve added development work in Pathfinder, W.O.I.N., Call of Cthuhlu 7e, and touched on Castles & Crusaders. Doing this has exposed me to a growing list of game material, lockstep with the suggestion from the President of Green Ronin Publishing.

Green Ronin Publishing - Mutants & Masterminds

Green Ronin Publishing – Mutants & Masterminds

Freelancer

“[…] I’ve mentioned a couple of ways to break into freelancing already but there are others. Some companies do open calls from time to time. You will end up in a big slush pile but it’s a chance at least.”

In the year and a half I’ve been experimenting with this, I’ve only submitted for one RPG freelance assignment and that was under a month ago. Why did I wait this long?

  • It’s easier to buy an opportunity because, through the logic of commerce, they have to work with you because they took your money. For freelancing, the reverse is true – You have to work with them if you want their money. That means their schedule, their style, their notes, their way. I want to make sure I’m ready to follow other people’s rules before I raise my hand.
  • It seemed almost pointless to cold submit for projects with no resume. With no prior experience, I expect it would be a long while before anyone takes a chance on me. Now, I have some entries which have led to intern-esque opportunities.
  • I mention time a lot because I have very little of it that I can spend in front of a computer writing. That situation has improved recently so it is time to try these type of opportunities.

“You’ll also find game design competitions out there. You may not win—you probably won’t, in fact—but good work can get you noticed and may result in freelance opportunities. Once you get a gig, the most important thing to do is hit your deadline. If your developer asks for revisions, do them in a timeline fashion. It is better to do solid work on time than produce something of sheer genius months late.”

Through the Kickstarter for Kobold Press’ Tome of Beasts for 5e, about 100 backers and I submitted monsters for consideration in their book. Twenty were selected. Mine was not one of the selected entrants. However, I did get quality feedback from Wolfgang Baur and Dan Dillon on the design that improved the monster. Dan shared that mine was in contention for one of the final two slots (as were about 20 others). I lost but, based on their thoughts, I was not hopeless. Taking their advice, next time I’ll have a better idea of what to do.

Green Ronin Publishing - Fantasy Age

Green Ronin Publishing – Fantasy Age

Publisher

“[…] The biggest game changer though is crowdfunding. […] I’ll just note here that sites like Kickstarter and IndieGoGo make it possible for game companies to overcome the biggest hurdle most of them face: funding. […] Just do your homework before trying your first crowdfunding campaign. There is much to absorb about the process and the best practices of crowdfunding […]”

While I’m not racing to be a publisher, what I am doing would not be possible without crowdfunding and their decision to offer writing opportunities as rewards. Without those two things, I do not believe I would have a path to become a freelancer.

* * *

I only touched on some of Chris Pramas’ article. But based on it, I’m doing a number of the right things and I’m doing them my way. 2016 has been a successful year in terms of dipping my toe into the game industry. As I head into 2017, I have more products coming out and other irons in the fire. I am ready to make 2017 the Year of the Wanna-lancer!

* * *

I want to thank my gaming buddy, Sir Leland Beauchamp, for sharing Chris’ article with me. And Chris Pramas for sharing his insights with the world.

As the year closes, I want to thank Erica and our nieces and nephews for making every day worth living, my parents for their spirit of independence, the members of the Tessera Guild for letting me play in their sandbox, Michael Phillips at Midcity Comics for all of the good conversation and motivation, all of the RPG publishers that I have had the privilege to work with and all of the wonderful content that they’ve produced, and Michael Bugg‘s RPG group that keeps me in-character. Without each of you, 2016 would not have been a success for me.

* * *

Egg Embry, Wanna-lancer

Egg Embry wrote comic book short stories, edited comic book series, wrote and drew a webcomic, and contributed to comic book journalism across the 2000s. Now, he buys the opportunity to write for a variety of tabletop role-playing games in the tradition of vanity press. His purchases have been published by:

  • Sasquatch Game Studio’s Primeval Thule for 5e (2015) available at DriveThruRPG.com
  • Ember Design Studios’ Yrisa’s Nightmare for 5e and Pathfinder available at DriveThurRPG.com
  • Ember Design Studios’ Rats in the Street for 5e and Pathfinder available at DriveThurRPG.com

Vanity Press: What Kickstarter RPG Rewards Are Available? – Sunken Temple and Hypercorps 2099: Wasteland

  By , ,

Behind the scenes, I’ve made strides in my scheme to buy my way up from RPG wanna-lancer to RPG freelancer. Still working at getting into RPGs professionally, but strides are being made all the same. The root of my plan is buying role-playing game writing credits via Kickstarter to create a resume. Currently, here are some of the Kickstarters that are offering vanity press options.

I’ve chronicled the NPC that I created for Ember Design Studios via their Kickstarter for Yrisa’s Nightmare and Rats in the Street. My guildmate, John McGuire, wrote up his experience creating a NPC for the same products here. As it happens, EDS is running another Kickstarter and they’re offering more NPC creation options.

* * *

Sunken Temple, an RPG adventure for 5e, Pathfinder, & WOIN by Ember Design Studios

Kickstarter campaign ends on Sunday, December 18th, 2016 at 12:00 EDT.

Sunken Temple Art

Sunken Temple Artwork

Their pitch:

“Lost beneath the waves for untold millennia, the Sunken Temple has been seen again. Inspired by the works of HP Lovecraft. 

Sunken Temple is an adventure written for 5e, W.O.I.N., and the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game. It takes place in a mysterious range of never-before-seen mountains and is suitable for use in any setting. The module is inspired by the works of H.P. Lovecraft, particularly The Case of Charles Dexter Ward, The Shadow Over Innsmouth, and At the Mountains of Madness. 

The project includes: 

  • An adventure suitable for 4-5 characters of 6th-level. The playstyle is predominately a dungeon crawl, with a horrific element appropriate to the source material.
  • The temple includes several wings, each with a different feel, assortment of baddies, and their own malevolent purpose – with additional wings ready to be unearthed through stretch goals! 
  • Game stats and original artwork for several traditional Lovecraft beasties (deep one, star spawn, night gaunt, and rat thing) and a few originals of my own devising. 

Sunken Temple will be available in print, PDF, and through City of Brass.”

City of Brass

City of Brass

Egg’s thoughts:

This project will have versions available for 5e, Pathfinder, and – best for my resume – W.O.I.N. That adds another system to my list. Adding to its draw, this is another project that plays in Cthulhu’s sandbox.

For EDS’s last Kickstarter, I created Celltar Drumthunder. It was fun, easy, and formed a part of a set of memorable Christmas gifts as I gave two other NPC creation slots to my buddies, John McGuire and Leland Beauchamp. We tied the back stories of our non-player characters together.

For this adventure, EDS is offering two types of NPCs, sailors or more prominent characters (captain, etc). Since this is a similar opportunity as with Yrisa’s Nightmare, let me offer Sunken Temple the highest praise I can give – John McGuire, Leland Beauchamp, and myself are all investing in it and all paying the extra to create more NPCs. The experience was good enough to warrant repeat business.

That brings us to the 6th Kickstarter update to their campaign, the vanity press rewards:

Sunken Temple art showing the reason the temple sank - Too many C[thulhu]arbs!

The reason the temple sank – Too many c-thulhu-arbs!

“New Addon: Make a Sailor

With the unlocking of Voyage of the Sea Darter there is a chance for those of you who want to leave a more lasting mark on Sunken Temple to do so.

Sea Darter boasts a crew of about 20 sailors. Several of them will have minor roles in the adventure, and the more and diverse personalities that they have, the better. So, if you’d like to take a swing at creating a sailor that will appear in this finished aventure, just add $20 to your pledge.

Now, maybe you want to have a more prominent impact both on the project funding and the characters in the adventure. If you’d like to nab one of these slots, add $50 to your pledge and message me, so I know which one you want and make sure we don’t have everyone adding the same ones. For each of these that someone claims, I’ll also commission extra artwork for the character.

The limited roles include:

  • Captain
  • First Mate
  • Navigator
  • Mutinous Sailor (I’m not saying there’s a mutiny but just in case)“

* * *

Hypercorps 2099 Wasteland: 5th Edition Apocalyptic RPG (5E) by Mike Myler

Kickstarter campaign ends on Sunday, December 18th, 2016 at 11:59 EDT in the evening.

Hypercorps 2099: Wastelands for 5e - Mutants

Hypercorps 2099: Wastelands for 5e – Mutants

Their pitch:

“Venture into the ruins of civilization! Fight nuclear fallout and wild warlords! Try to survive and thrive in Earth’s atomic twilight!

Pockets of Earth are decimated by nuclear war in 1969 after the Bay of Pigs escalates into World War 3 and atomic weapons are unleashed across the planet. The alter sapiens of the world put aside their differences and use their abilities to create safe havens across the globe, saving those they can from nuclear devastation. Almost a century and a half has passed since the atomic apocalypse and through tireless scientific effort, areas of the world are becoming livable once more and civilization is creeping out to seek out life once again under the sun—though doing so means surviving in the Wasteland and many believe they were better off locked away in their shelters.

Help us make a 120+ page campaign setting source book for taking your D&D game into the apocalyptic future of an alternate Hypercorps 2099!”

Egg’s thoughts:

This setting is an alternate timeline deviating from their main setting which is a variant timeline from our own. The idea of multiple timeline settings presents a campaign idea – learning the origins of these worlds by dimension jumping the PCs from the Hypercorps 2099 timeline/setting to “our” timeline to find out why the altered sapiens and fantasy races never emerged. From there, travel to the Cuban Missile Crisis to see the start of Hypercorps 2099: Wastelands before traveling to the “current” wastelands setting. There’s a nice story in seeing the cause and effect of the worlds and how the players can influence it.

Add the vanity press post apocalypse Kickstarter rewards and this is a winning setting! Not only do you get to design a wasteland warlord and/or a NPC, you also are involved in the art discussion. You will get some say with the artist on how the character(s) will look which is a nice bonus.

Hypercorps 2099: Wastelands for 5e - Cyborg

Hypercorps 2099: Wastelands for 5e – Cyborg
Samurai

Their vanity press rewards:

“Pledge $250 or more
WASTELAND WARLORD

Wasteland PDF, Wasteland hardcover, 5 session mini-campaign through Roll20.net for you and four friends, and you will help design and order artwork for one of the warlords in Hypercorps 2099: Wasteland!

  • Hypercorps 2099: Wasteland Hardcover and PDF
  • Hypercorps 2099 5e Hardcover and PDF
  • 5 Session Mini-Campaign Through Roll20.net for You and Four Friends
  • Help Design a Warlord for the Wasteland (Includes Art Order)“

* * *

“Pledge $500 or more 
WASTELAND SOVEREIGN

Wasteland PDF, Wasteland hardcover, campaign through Roll20.net for you and four friends (minimum of 10 sessions), and you will help design and order artwork for a unique NPC survivor of your own design and one of the warlords in Hypercorps 2099: Wasteland!

  • Hypercorps 2099: Wasteland Hardcover and PDF
  • Hypercorps 2099 5e Hardcover and PDF
  • 5 Session Mini-Campaign Through Roll20.net for You and Four Friends
  • Help Design a Warlord for the Wasteland (Includes Art Order)
  • Design a Unique NPC for the Wasteland (Includes Art Order)“

* * *

Closing thoughts:

Both projects will be fun to see brought to life. Cthulhu or mutants? Both are going to be fun to fight!

I’ve already pledged for EDS’s Sunken Temple. I’ve worked with them before and they are easygoing. I expect a top shelf product with plenty of extras. I’m really excited about this one! And that’s no slight to Mike Myler’s Hypercorps 2099: Wastelands. I believe it will turn out nicely as well. He is presenting an interesting world and solid vanity press options.

Both have an extra bit of win, they could be purchased as Christmas gifts for the RPG fan that has it all… save for creator credits.

* * *

Egg Embry, Wanna-lancer

Egg Embry wrote comic book short stories, edited comic book series, wrote and drew a webcomic, and contributed to comic book journalism across the 2000s. Now, he buys the opportunity to write for a variety of tabletop role-playing games in the tradition of vanity press. His purchases have been published by:

  • Sasquatch Game Studio’s Primeval Thule for 5e (2015) available at DriveThruRPG.com
  • Ember Design Studios’ Yrisa’s Nightmare for 5e and Pathfinder available at DriveThurRPG.com
  • Ember Design Studios’ Rats in the Street for 5e and Pathfinder available at DriveThurRPG.com

Kickstart the Character – Creation Process of Kaiya Blackmoore

  By , ,

It’s not just my fellow guildmate, Egg Embry, who has dabbled his toes into the Roleplaying Kickstarters. I have kicked in for a couple, here and there. Sometimes it was because of the game, sometimes because of the creators, and sometimes just because.

However, it wasn’t until Egg presented me with a fairly unique Christmas present last year that I ever got to participate in the creation side of the process. As he alluded to in his post “Kickstarter Reward Level: Vanity Press – Yrisa’s Nightmare and Rats in the Street“, myself, Egg, and our friend Leland all had the opportunity to come up with a trio of characters that would appear in Yrisa’s Nightmare.

Yrisa's Nightmare.

Yrisa’s Nightmare.

One of the things you tend to do when you roleplay, no matter the system, is create characters. Obviously you create the ones you are going to actually play, and then after you get them going you think of about 100 more that might be cool to play. I have folders upstairs of all the characters I’ve ever played in a game, but lost to time are the others who might have had backstories or perhaps some were just a collection of stats, never to see the light of day past some random afternoon or evening.

I like to think that this bit of daydreaming has come in handy for writing fiction. Novels normally have need of tons of characters – each the hero of their own stories. Perhaps some of those lazy Sunday D&D characters have gone onto a second life within some story without me even realizing it.

This was a little different, as this would be a character who needed to “fit” into the world Lucas Curell had created. And while it wasn’t stated anywhere that the three characters needed to be tied to each other, we felt like it might act as a cool Easter Egg for anyone reading the adventure.

***

Egg actually had his character, Celltar Drumthunder, mocked up by the time Leland and I came onboard. Here was a good-looking guy who travels from town to town playing his music wherever he can find a tavern with attentive patrons (or at least the kind who might part with some hard-earned coin). Of course, he repays their kindness by allowing them to invite him into their homes where he generally takes their most valuable of possessions. Through some form of magic, the people only realize it is gone, and not that Celltar might have taken it.

It was Leland who thought “I think it would be neat to brainstorm a connection between them, then make the character. If they blend together, it would add story.”

Would they be a gang? Or…

“One could be a bounty hunter looking for someone who is stealing these heirlooms.”

But then…

“Or maybe the lost love who is still under the spell.”

There was Kaiya right there. I took the lead on her character. Then a little later the thought of a Wererat was mentioned who would become “Sully” took shape (who Leland wrote up). And it was really there that the connection made some sense and how they tied together made some level of sense. The key points and connections were:

Sully:

A noble who was going to marry a noble woman.

He was cursed at their engagement by a thief.

Possibly mention he’s hiding from his ex-bride.

Celltar:

Cursed a noble at his engagement party.

Tried to use a spell to marry a noble woman.

Kaiya:

First groom was cursed, and they did not marry.

Almost wed to a bard who put a spell on her.

Rats in the Street. Featuring Wererats.

Rats in the Street. Featuring Wererats.

Now there was some concern that these types of connections might not work for Lucas. Perhaps it might be too overt. Maybe it just couldn’t fit in the world he was trying to craft. Heck, maybe we were trying too hard to put our own spin on these characters and doing the “group thing” was not a great idea. Still, we decided to work them up.

Worst case, we thought, we could use these characters for something else on our own.

The great thing about working with others on any kind of story/character/fiction is that you have someone to bounce ideas off of. People who can see something slightly different from you are able to do. And last, but not least, is that you have built-in editors to help make sure you’re not misspelling every other word. What followed was a series of back and forths among the three of us as we worked up a first draft, then a second, and then a final draft in a format Lucas was looking for.

Appearance – This is not only their physical appearance, but also trying to convey some level of insight into their actions. Sully might have been a “lost soul”, but he still held himself in a “regal manner”.

Personality – I’d say this one probably ties most to the actual roleplaying of the character by the Game Master. Celltar was “certain that the world owes him”. “Lazy, liar, and showman.”

Goals – These felt like something which would boil our characters down to their basic instincts. What did they want to do? And maybe how would they get there? To transform into someone they always wished to be. To restore themselves. To get through life as easy as possible.

Hobby – This was as simple as “drinking” or losing themselves in research.

In Yroden (where we lay our tale) – Here was our thoughts on how and why the character might be in Yroden (and thus how they might tie into the actual adventure). This was really the crux of the character and really would determine whether or not the character(s) would end up being used.

Now done, we sent it off and waited…

When Lucas responded he said he loved the interplay between them, but had a twist in mind for using them. Kaiya would actually appear in Yrisa’s Nightmare where the other two would get referenced. However, Sully and Celltar would get their proper appearance in the companion adventure Rats in the Street – especially since that one featured a gang of wererats.

kaiya-blackmoore

From the City of Brass Character Entry for Kaiya Blackmoore

***

And that, as they say, was that. The characters appeared in their respective stories, and my own hope is that some Game Master out there has not only spotted the connection, but worked it into his own story. Maybe Kaiya is out there helping fight wererats alongside some adventurers. Maybe Celltar has finally found the wrong person to charm. Maybe Sully has found a cure after all.

Maybe…

***

Kickstarter information:

Yrisa’s Nightmare, an RPG adventure for Pathfinder and 5e by Ember Design Studios
Raised $2,680 starting November 13th, 2015

If getting a NPC into an adventure is on your Christmas 2016 wish list, Ember Design Studios is running another Kickstarter and is offering two options to get your sailor NPC into the mix (see the 6th update on the Kickstarter). Sunken Temple, an RPG adventure for 5e, Pathfinder, & WOIN by Ember Design Studios
Raised to-date (this Kickstarter is still going at the time of this writing) $5,431 starting November 18th, 2016

sunken-temple

***

John McGuire

John McGuire is the author of the supernatural thriller The Dark That Follows, the steampunk comic The Gilded Age, and the novella There’s Something About Mac through the Amazon Kindle Worlds program.

His second novel, Hollow Empire, is now complete. The first episode is now FREE!

He also has a short story in the Beyond the Gate anthology, which is free on most platforms!

And has two shorts in the Machina Obscurum – A Collection of Small Shadows anthology! Check it out!

He can also be found at www.johnrmcguire.com.

Kickstarter RPG Reward Level: Vanity Press – Yrisa’s Nightmare and Rats in the Streets

  By , ,

“If I buy my way into RPG freelancing, will I ever be taken seriously?”

To obtain a job and be successful at it, generally, you need the applicable skills for that profession and you have to prove you possess said skills. I want to move from a role-playing game wanna-lancer to a freelance writer. My proof that I have those skills involves buying writing credits in RPGs via Kickstarter. Stocking my resume with vanity press entries. But if my resume is all vanity press, will that make me a laughing stock instead of someone to take stock in?

 

-=-=-=-=-=-=-

 

Yrisa's Nightmare.

Yrisa’s Nightmare.

Before I dive too far into these thoughts, let’s touch on how the Kickstarter vanity press idea works? Some RPG Kickstarters offer rewards that let you submit content to their game. They offer an opportunity to write and you pay them for the opportunity.

Due to my schedule, this is ideal. It lets me write something with a low word count, typically a few hundred words like an adventure hook, a NPC, a location seed, a monster, or a magic item that will be printed and credited to me.

This is my journey to freelancer and it starts with selecting the Kickstarter RPG Reward Level: Vanity Press.

 

-=-=-=-=-=-=-

 

For my first purchase, I participated in Sasquatch Game Studio’s Primeval Thule for 5e where I provided a location seed in their campaign setting. Another opportunity that presented itself was Ember Design Studios’ Kickstarter for Yrisa’s Nightmare and Rats in the Street.

Yrisa’s Nightmare, an RPG adventure for Pathfinder and 5e by Ember Design Studios

Yrisa’s Nightmare is a supernatural mystery set in a viking fort town. Your characters arrive, supernatural attacks happen to them and those around the settlement, and your party either uncovers why these attacks are happening or they don’t get to leave. Ever.

Rats in the Street. Featuring Wererats.

Rats in the Street. Featuring Wererats.

Rats in the Street (5e) by Ember Design Studios

Rats in the Street is a city adventure in the same world as Yrisa’s Nightmare. This time, you’re facing a gang of wererat thieves and you have to piece together the clues to stop them.

Launched in November, 2015, both adventures come from Lucas Curell the creator of the online RPG tool, City of Brass. The concept – viking mysteries – interested me but I collect Kickstarter writing credits. To get my $75 they needed something extra on top of:

  • Print and PDF copies of Yrisa’s Nightmare for either Pathfinder or 5e – $25 via Kickstarter / $25.53 (taxes and shipping to me) via DriveThruRPG.com
  • PDF copy of The Song of Aracos for 5e – Kickstarter Bonus / $4.95 via DMsGuild.com
  • PDF copy of Rats in the Streets for either Pathfinder or 5e – $5 via Kickstarter / $4.95 via DriveThruRPG.com

That extra sauce that captured my wallet was the:

  • World Builder add-on – “Work with [Lucas Curell] to create an interesting NPC for the village of Yroden or nearby countryside.
    Remember, Yroden will be released using a CC BY-SA 4.0 license so only select this option if your comfortable with that. These characters will all be included in the web supplement, and in the finished adventure.”
  • Vanity press upcharge – $15 x 3 = $45
Celltar Drumthunder. Art by Egg Embry

Celltar Drumthunder. Art by Egg Embry

The opportunity to create an NPC expanded my resume from just a location seed to a character. I bought the ability to create three NPCs for Yrisa’s Nightmare. It was just before Christmas 2015 and these seemed like fun gifts for my RPG buddies, John “Cursed Sword” McGuire and Sir Leland Beauchamp. What did we do with three NPCs? We alluded to a shared history through them.

Lucas picked up on the shared backstory and saw a clever way to use the characters. He put Kaiya Blackmoore as an important NPC in Yrisa’s Nightmare. In that adventure, Sully and Celltar Drumthunder appear as part of the supernatural effects that drive the tale. In Rats in the Street, Sully and Celltar take on some of the larger NPC roles within the adventure. The characters unite these adventures through their shared easter egg (no pun intended) backstory.

 

-=-=-=-=-=-=-

 

UPDATE – 2016-12-07 – John McGuire did a write up of his character and the process here.

 

-=-=-=-=-=-=-

 

City of Brass

City of Brass

Credit where credit is due. Lucas took these characters, saw their backstory and potential within his world, and wove them into the fabric of his tales in Yrisa’s Nightmare and Rats in the Street. The steps to bring this to life – pay, bat ideas between John and Leland, write, draw, submit, read, smile – were all easier than I could have asked for. These adventures have been delivered and enjoyed. Vanity press RPG writer’s credit number two and RPG art credit number one complete! On to number three…

 

-=-=-=-=-=-=-

 

To my initial question, will I be taken seriously if my resume is all vanity press Kickstarter rewards? It was a worry. Then Sir Leland* and I went to Gen Con 2016, my first Gen Con. There we had the opportunity to meet Lucas and play through another adventure he created,  Bella’s Yarn (5e), another excellent adventure. I really liked playing mideval detective to solve that mystery. For his part, Lucas was awesome. Instead of treating me like a joke because I am trying to buy my way through the door he was happy to talk gaming, and Kickstarters, and RPG websites. He treated me like a welcome addition to the community. It cured my concern.

Will I be judged for my start in the industry? Likely. Will that be the end of my quest? No.

*The “Sir Leland” reference is because my buddy’s name is Leland Beauchamp – Amanda, Jeremy, John, Chad, Robert, the whole Tessera Guild, we all know Lee – anyways, in high school, he named his D&D knight, Sir Leland. Could you imagine if I tried that? Ser Egg. Only George RR Martin could pull that off…

 

-=-=-=-=-=-=-

 

Sample NPCs from Yrisa's Nightmare.

Sample NPCs from Yrisa’s Nightmare.

Kickstarter information:

Yrisa’s Nightmare, an RPG adventure for Pathfinder and 5e by Ember Design Studios
Raised $2,680 starting November 13th, 2015

If getting a NPC into an adventure is on your Christmas 2016 wish list, Ember Design Studios is running another Kickstarter and is offering two options to get your sailor NPC into the mix (see the 6th update on the Kickstarter). Sunken Temple, an RPG adventure for 5e, Pathfinder, & WOIN by Ember Design Studios
Raised to-date (this Kickstarter is still going at the time of this writing) $4,273 starting November 18th, 2016

 

***

 

Egg Embry, Wanna-lancer

Egg Embry wrote comic book short stories, edited comic book series, wrote and drew a webcomic, and contributed to comic book journalism across the 2000s. Now, he buys the opportunity to write for a variety of tabletop role-playing games in the tradition of vanity press. His purchases have been published by:

 

  • Sasquatch Game Studio’s Primeval Thule for 5e (2015) available at DriveThruRPG.com
  • Ember Design Studios’ Yrisa’s Nightmare for 5e and Pathfinder available at DriveThurRPG.com
  • Ember Design Studios’ Rats in the Street for 5e and Pathfinder available at DriveThurRPG.com

Vanity Press: What Kickstarter RPG Rewards Did I Miss? – The Faerie Ring

  By , ,

Current State? Role-playing game wanna-lancer. Mission? To become a RPG freelancer. Plan? Pledging for writing credits in other creator’s RPG Kickstarters.

The_Faerie_Ring_1

From The Faerie Ring by Zombie Sky Press.

That’s the situation now, but what about the past? Are there any un-mined RPG writing credits in Kickstarter’s long tail of products? As it turns out, yes.

The projects I didn’t back… Some are professional and, likely, memorably fun but charged more for their vanity press pledge levels than I could afford. Some were great looking products but did not have a vanity press option at all. One of the latter was The Faerie Ring for Pathfinder and 5e. I did not pledge but I follow them on Facebook and they have posted a writing opportunity…

The Faerie Ring for Pathfinder Roleplaying Game and 5E by Zombie Sky Press

This Kickstarter is in the rearview having started on November 30th of two thousand and fifteen.

Their pitch:

“The Faerie Ring expands the fey options for both players and GMs using either Pathfinder Roleplaying Game or 5E and creates new opportunities for meddling where you probably shouldn’t. It introduces new fey monsters, playable fey races and other character options, fey big bads or patrons (or both!), fey cities and planes and other locales, and more.

This project aims to highlight the fey: to build their mythos with the strong personalities of powerful fey lords, to build their mystery with extraplanar fey locales and adventures, and to build their influence with fey character options.

The_Faerie_Ring_2

This picture encapsulates the wanna-lancer to freelancer journey. From The Faerie Ring by Zombie Sky Press.

We’re updating and remastering the two existing PDF releases (“Prelude” and “Red Jack”) and incorporating them along with nine additional chapters of brand new content as The Faerie Ring: Along the Twisting Way in two printed volumes: a Campaign Guide and a Player’s Guide. Plus, a third book in PDF, the Magic Guide.

The Faerie Ring began over 5 years ago and launched Zombie Sky Press. And though the project’s been silent for a while, we’ve been quietly designing the whole time, and now, we’re ready to unveil our plans. The original “Prelude” is linked in the Update section for everyone to check out.”

Egg’s thoughts:

Not out of intention, but every RPG game I’ve played has been set in a human-centric world. The concept of the fey fleshed out to be more than the occasional antagonist is interesting. This product seems likely to offer both the flavor and crunch needed to make the faerie races, monsters, magics, and societies feel grounded and workable. Had there been a vanity press option, I’d have happily put in my coin.

But, a year later, there is an option.

The_Faerie_Ring_5

From The Faerie Ring by Zombie Sky Press.

Update #23:

“Public Update and a Call for Magic Submissions

We Want Magic Submissions! 

As we pull together the Campaign and Player’s Guides for The Faerie Ring, we’re thinking more and more about the Magic Guide. So we’re calling for magical pitches. Interested in submitting something for consideration? Accepted pitches will be commissioned at 5 c/w.

For design contributions, please put together a pitch of one or more ideas for the Magic Guide that you’d be interested in working on. We are certainly looking for individual spells and rituals—and I’ll be asking for those at a later date—but we’re currently looking for other things, like fascinating optional subsystems related to magic and the fey. For the pitch, give me a description of what you’re proposing and the presumed word count (assume you can’t have more than 2,000-3,000 words per idea, though great pitches may be given more room). These can be for either 5E or Pathfinder (if accepted, we’ll convert if possible), or maybe, they’re largely flavor with minimal to no crunch; let us know in the pitch. Send pitches to scott(at)zombieskypress(dot)com by December 1, 2016.

Get your ass to Mars.

Kuato Lives! From The Faerie Ring by Zombie Sky Press.

For example, the concept of the moonshadow will be a part of the Magic Guide. This will detail how the moon’s passing affects different fey in different ways (but all fey feel the effects of the moon in some way).

Here’s the PDF that started it all back in 2010. It’s getting some updates for the new release, but it is offered here as inspiration: The Faerie Ring Prelude.”

Egg’s closing thoughts:

To this point, there has been safety in paying for the opportunity to write. Once they have my money they can’t fire me without a refund.

What Zombie Sky Press is offering is work-for-hire. Submitting to write comes with no guarantee of acceptance like a Kickstarter pledge does. This situation requires skills not born of my bank account. They’re offering the first major test in my mission: Have I reached the level (oy) where I can move from paying to write to being paid to write? Am I ready to jump from wanna-lancer to freelancer?

Vanity Press: What Kickstarter RPG Rewards Are Available? – Apocalypse the Risen RPG

  By , ,

I am building a resume of tabletop role-playing game writing credits by buying them from Kickstarter. The goal is to go from a RPG wanna-lancer to a paid freelancer. It’s… well, it’s my personal demon. To that end, there is an option to pay to write about that or any type of demon.

 

* * *

Apocalypse the Risen Campaign Setting

Apocalypse the Risen Campaign Setting

Apocalypse the Risen RPG (Pathfinder Compatible) by Rust Portal Games

 

Kickstarter campaign ends on Wednesday, November 2nd, 2016 at 10:18 EDT in the evening.

 

Their pitch:

 

“Can you survive the undead and demonic horrors ravaging post-apocalyptic Earth some 25 years after the Rise? Pathfinder Compatible RPG.

 

Apocalypse the Risen Campaign Setting is a Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Compatible post-apocalyptic fantasy horror RPG based on Earth, twenty-five years after the fall of society, an event known as the Rise. This full color hardcover campaign setting will be heavily illustrated and over 400 pages.

 

Ghost, Emotes All by Preston Stone

Ghost, Emotes All by Preston Stone

Apocalypse the Risen thrusts you into the role of a resolute survivor, forging through the ashes of humanity on an Earth besieged by demons and the dead—known as Risen. Twenty-five years after the collapse of society, humankind and their new allies now fight back, staggered and beaten but never broken.

 

Is it the survival of your Colony that drives you onward in the hunt for precious resources? Or perhaps hatred for the evils walking the Earth that fuels your righteous anger seeking redemption?”

 

Egg’s thoughts:

 

First, like so many Kickstarter RPG projects, the art is rich and amazing. The book will look glorious with this level of art.

Second, you get to design a demon. I mean, does it get more metal than designing a demon? No, no it doesn’t.

 

Their vanity press rewards:

 

Descended Draft, Seraphim Banner by Rodrigo Vega

Descended Draft, Seraphim Banner by Rodrigo Vega

“Pledge $349 or more

 

Demonologist

You are the Light against the Darkness.

 

Includes

  • Design a Demon! Apocalypse the Risen includes a detailed demon creation system and we will put it at your fingertips. Give us an idea, a name, a concept, or dig deep into the demon creator and we will work with you to design a demon to be published by Rusted Portal with designer credits for you.
  • Apocalypse the Risen Campaign Setting Hardcover
  • Access to Stretch Goals unlocked during campaign!
  • AtR Character Portfolio Pack (18 Sheets)
  • Apocalypse the Risen GM Screen
  • Apocalypse the Risen Campaign Setting PDF
  • “Adrift” AtR One-shot Adventure PDF
  • Nine 8th Level Pre-Generated Characters PDF”

 

* * *

Shonk, The Holy Wood

“OMG! Demon metal me?! Yeah-no!”    – Shonk, The Holy Wood!

 

Closing thoughts:

 

The project looks stunning, the concept – post-apocalyptic Earth – is, while not wholly original, a fresher patch of farmland than replanting yet another crop of pseudo-western Europe setting-seeds. It looks like a world where action will carry the story and the conflicts of good and evil are defined.

The vanity reward is designing a demon. How do you make a demon fun to run for any role-playing group? Pinhead would not work for every table and, because of that, making a fitting demon would take some thought. The hardest part of this task is likely to be not basing the demon on one of your old role-playing buddies… That might be impossible.

 

* * *

 

Egg Embry, Wanna-lancer

 

Egg Embry wrote comic book short stories, edited comic book series, wrote and drew a webcomic, and contributed to comic book journalism across the 2000s. Now, he buys the opportunity to write for a variety of tabletop role-playing games in the tradition of vanity press. His purchases have been published by:

 

Sasquatch Game Studio’s Primeval Thule for 5e (2015) available at DriveThruRPG.com

Vanity Press: What Kickstarter RPG Rewards Are Available? – The Dread House and Salt in Wounds Tabletop Setting

  By , ,

I want to freelance in the tabletop role-playing game industry. To get there, I’m buying a resume of writing credits via Kickstarter rewards. So far, I’ve largely bought into D&D 5e. But the RPG industry is wider than D&D and I want to add as many systems to my resume as I can. That makes these projects of interest to me.

"Fascinating." - Mirror Mirror Robert Jeffrey

“Fascinating.” – Mirror Mirror Robert Jeffrey II

 

* * *

 

The Dread House (Pathfinder/5th Edition/Call of Cthulhu) by Hammerdog Games

 

Kickstarter campaign ends on Saturday, October 29th, 2016 at 3:00 EDT in the afternoon.

 

Their pitch:

 

“The most haunted house in the world, presented with multiple storylines, in multiple time periods, and for multiple RPG systems.

 

Dry leaves crackle under your feet as you make your way up the hill towards the dark manse, your path lit by a bold harvest moon. The taste of rain is in the air and you hear a distant peal of thunder. The townsfolk begged you not to come up here. Not tonight. Especially not tonight.

The Dread House

The Dread House

 

You reach the grounds as storm clouds slip across the moon, darkening the yard. You make your way carefully to the front door but find it barred from the outside. It would take a crowbar and some muscle to get in this way. The windows are high off the ground but seem breakable. You test your theory with a large rock, and the glass shatters as the first bolt of lightning slashes across the sky. You climb up and through the broken pane, carefully turning and lowering yourself to the floor of the room inside. The townsfolk may be afraid of this place buy you aren’t.

 

“Good Evening” says a deep strong voice that makes you whirl with shock. Your eyes search the darkness but you see nothing. A flash of lightning verifies to your eyes that you are alone.

 

“I trust you will be staying?” says the voice. “Excellent, it’s been a long time since we’ve had company.” Lightning flashes again. The drawing room is empty of everything but old furniture. You turn and scramble to the window, ready to leap through it and to the ground below. But the window isn’t broken any more. Somehow it’s healed.

 

You stop to puzzle this impossibility for the briefest of moments. That’s all it takes. The voice in the darkness gets you, and nobody hears you scream. You should have listened to the townsfolk. You should have come better prepared…for The Dread House.”

 

Egg’s thoughts:

 

The Dread House is a series of adventures set in different eras that utilize different systems – Wizard of the Coast’s D&D 5e, Paizo’s Pathfinder, but, most important to lil’ Egg Embry, Chaosium’s Call of Cthulhu. Call of Cthulhu is not on my resume. Add to that the concept – a haunted mansion that exists from medieval times to present – offers a growing tale and world to explore. Character’s actions from one era can be felt in the next. The vanity press offer – “an adventure, encounter, or monster in the Dread House” – combined with the chained nature of these adventures will, I hope, allow me to write something a little longer than many of my Kickstarter vanity press pledges.

The Dread House's Gentleman Ghost

The Dread House’s Gentleman Ghost

 

Their vanity press rewards:

 

“$150 or more

Architect of Dread

 

An undead professional, you seek to further your career even after death. You gain a copy of The Dread Wedding and all PDFs. You will participate in the development process of an adventure, encounter, or monster in the Dread House. No prior experience is required but the more experience you have, the more you can contribute. You will gain a credit as a developer. [Freight Extra]”

 

* * *

 

Salt in Wounds Tabletop Setting for 5th Edition & Pathfinder by J. M. Perkins

 

Kickstarter campaign ends on Thursday, October 27th, 2016 at 2:03 EDT in the afternoon.

 

Their pitch:

 

“A gore splattered, monster-fed, city based dark fantasy setting for your favorite Tabletop RPGs.

 

Salt in Wounds is a fictional city; a detail-rich dark fantasy setting designed specifically for tabletop roleplaying games (although it can be enjoyed by anyone who appreciates intricate works of imagination). More specifically, Salt in Wounds is a city whose culture, economy, and existence is beholden to the reality of the giant, regenerating kaiju called the ‘Tarrasque’ which is imprisoned within the city center so it can be butchered over and over again.

 

Salt in Wounds City Map (Rough Draft)

Salt in Wounds City Map (Rough Draft)

There are few monsters in role playing games more iconic than the Tarrasque: the ‘end game’ boss that’s been terrorizing high level characters (and delighting players) for decades. The Salt in Wounds setting takes the beast in an entirely new direction: as the perpetually slaughtered ‘natural’ resource that has been feeding the population & fueling economy of the sprawling metropolis of Salt in Wounds for the last two centuries.

 

Since 2015 I’ve been fleshing out the city, its inhabitants, and setting the stage for adventure: first on the Ennie nominated gaming website Tribality and then on its own page www.saltinwoundssetting.com. I’ve written fiction, created monsters, and worked hard to create a compelling, incredible world just begging for exploration & play. Here’s just a sample of some of the work that’s already been made public about Salt in Wounds:

  

Now, with your help, I want to take my mishmash of ideas, player options, lore & creatures and turn it into a proper series of books & supplements that will inspire your Pathfinder, 5th Edition, and other gaming for years.”

 

Egg’s thoughts:

 

Salt in Wounds. Any city with a title for a name (like King of Prussia, Pennsylvania) screams out, “Visit me!” more than, say, one of the early titles of my home city, Marthasville [Note – Marthasville, where Superman and Batman get on like chocolate and peanut butter.] Title alone states this is an engaging product. J M Perkins has a fully realized city with enough real estate to share some pretty views with the public. The reward – design one of the 13 main families in the city for both D&D 5e as well as Pathfinder – has curb appeal. This reward could lead to a dynasty write up, information about their home, magic items, and NPCs. Lots of potential to show your RPG writing skills.

Salt in Wounds. I spy a Tarrasque.

Salt in Wounds. I spy a Tarrasque.

 

On the other hand, by the time I noticed this one all of the rewards were gone. Fiddlesticks. I believe the individuals that chose this one picked a great vanity press option. I cannot wait to see the results.

 

Their vanity press rewards:

 

“Pledge $250 or more

Binder-Lord

 

You rule Salt in Wounds, and you get everything listed above, three additional pieces of Sway, and design considerations (see text below for more information).

 

INCLUDES

  • Name the Harpoon Release Command Word
  • Help Design a Meridian House
  • Swag x 6

 

Limited to only 11 (there are 13 Aristocratic Meridian Houses, and two Binder-Lordships have already been claimed by patrons) you get all the above rewards + an *additional* 3 pieces of Swag (for a total of 6 pieces of Swag) and you get design considerations for your chosen Meridian House, invitation to an exclusive design session hangout, and you select the legendary ‘command word’ of your house’s immoveable harpoon. Legal possession of this command word grants Binder-Lords their authority within the city of Salt in Wounds and can be used to actually free the Tarrasque.”

 

* * *

 

Closing thoughts:

 

The Dread House offers the chance to add Chaosium’s Call of Cthulhu to my list of vanity projects. Sold. Salt in Wounds lives up to its name because it looks amazing but all of the writing rewards are spoken for. Regardless of my salted wound, I think both of these projects are going to be fun. I’m looking forward to seeing how they progress.

 

* * *

 

Egg Embry, Wanna-lancer

 

Egg Embry wrote comic book short stories, edited comic book series, wrote and drew a webcomic, and contributed to comic book journalism across the 2000s. Now, he buys the opportunity to write for a variety of tabletop role-playing games in the tradition of vanity press. His purchases have been published by:

 

Sasquatch Game Studio’s Primeval Thule for 5e (2015) available at DriveThruRPG.com

Vanity Press: What Kickstarter RPG Rewards Are Available? – Embers of the Forgotten Kingdom and Manastorm

  By , ,

My journey from tabletop role-playing game wanna-lancer to freelancer involves buying into the right projects (chronicled here). To build my vanity press resume, I review a number Kickstarters. Here’s a few standout projects with vanity press options.

* * *

Manastorm – A Pathfinder-Compatible Campaign Setting by Terran Empire Publishing

Kickstarter campaign ends on Wednesday, October 26th, 2016 at 9:06 EDT in the evening.

Manastorm's Zula Pyromancer

Manastorm’s Zula Pyromancer

Their pitch:

“Manastorm is a new campaign setting set on a planet located in the Milky Way galaxy. Shin’ar is a world of high magic and epic fantasy!

What is Manastorm?

Manastorm is the inaugural product offering from Terran Empire Publishing. It is a new Pathfinder Compatible campaign setting featuring 16 new playable races – each with their own hybrid class – and 6 new prestige classes.

The planet of Shin’ar boasts 10 expansive regions to explore, from dust- choked ruins to far off enclaves guarded by logic driven automatons.

Manastorm introduces players to the Manasphere, a bubble of radiation that surrounds the planet, given off by mana crystals found deep within the planet’s interior. The Manasphere allows those who can tap into it’s unlimited power to fuel fantastic feats of magic and wonder. Players will be able to create new magical items from mana crystals that allow the user to cast stored spells on themselves or others, as well as allow spellcasters to renew spent spell slots. Players must be warned though, the overuse of mana crystals can result in Mana Poisoning, and eventual death and rising as a Mana Zombie.

Manastorm's Kalarin Rogue

Manastorm’s Kalarin Rogue

The planet suffers from events known as Lunar Quickenings. The Dri-jen moon, the smallest of the planet’s two moons, has an erratic orbit. When it moves close enough to the planet, the moon causes all mana crystal deposits within the planet to react wildly. Bursts of raw mana saturate the Manasphere and cause fluctuations in its behavior. During these times, portals to unknown planets and planes of existence spontaneously open all over the world, depositing countless people and creatures on Shin’ar.

The vast majority of the peoples encountered on Shin’ar are not native to the planet. Many races have migrated to the world during Lunar Quickenings and found themselves stranded when the event ended. Portals to others dimensions or planets can only function during Lunar Quickenings. The Manasphere does not allow the opening of gates or portals outside of Lunar Quickenings, and it has a way to punish those who try to circumvent this. These events last for an indeterminate amount of time. Some have come and gone in the span of a few years, while some can last over a millennium.

Lunar Quickenings allow GMs and players to include all kinds of “homebrew” races and monsters. While Manastorm will offer more than enough to begin to play wonderful and exciting adventures and campaigns, the Lunar Quickenings make it so anything and everything can be encountered on Shin’ar. Terran Empire will also be hosting competitions to include new races and monsters from fans into future products.

History has been disrupted multiple times by these Lunar Quickenings, often with the release of demonic entities and other fearsome creatures, some of which could not find their way back home before their portals of origin were closed. Here is where our story begins: a Lunar Quickening has raged on for the past 38 years, only recently ending and leaving the world to recover once more.”

Egg’s thoughts:

This patchwork world is purpose built to seamlessly port your homebrew Pathfinder lands/creatures into. Add to that, this third party Pathfinder campaign setting feels ready-made to upvert for Paizo’s upcoming Starfinder system/setting (2017), it is like you’re getting two products in one. While not written in their pitch, this setting recalls the best of DC comics’ Adam Strange and his Zeta-Beam trips from Earth to save the planet Rann. For me, Manastorm screams unabashed sword and jetpack barbarian-fi!

John McGuire, American Novelist

John McGuire, Novelist, Moleman Bent on Conquering the Surface World, Amazing Role-player

Their vanity press rewards offer a little extra vanity, not only do you get to write an NPC for their product line, but for $35 more they’ll draw the NPC. I’m likely to request a character modeled on great American novelist, John McGuire.

Their vanity press rewards:

“Pledge $90 or more
Most Learned

Reward – Full color hardcover book of Manastorm: World of Shin’ar; Credit in our “Special Thanks” section; Terran Empire game token; Hand drawn “Thank You” card; Poster Map of Shin’ar, PDF (Full) of Manastorm: World of Shin’ar, World of Shin’ar Book of Maps (softcover), PDF of World of Shin’ar Book of Maps, Terran Empire Bookmark, Create a NPC

***Special – Most Learned Backers will be given the opportunity to create a NPC to be used in future Manastorm products and Adventure Paths!***

INCLUDES

  • Manastorm: World of Shin’ar (Hardcover)
  • Terran Empire Game Token
  • Hand drawn “Thank You” card
  • Map of Shin’ar (Poster)
  • PDF of Manastorm: World of Shin’ar (Full)
  • World of Shin’ar Book of Maps (Softcover)
  • PDF of World of Shin’ar Book of Maps
  • Terran Empire Bookmark”
Pathfinder

Pathfinder, the logo

* * *

“$125 or more
Elder Sage

Reward – Same as Most Learned plus more!

***Backers at this level will also get a small color portrait of their character created and a Limited Edition Art of Shin’ar book!***

***Portrait will be delivered after delivery of book, completion and acceptance of NPC created.***

INCLUDES

  • Manastorm: World of Shin’ar (Hardcover)
  • Terran Empire Game Token
  • Hand drawn “Thank You” card
  • Map of Shin’ar (Poster)
  • PDF of Manastorm: World of Shin’ar (Full)
  • World of Shin’ar Book of Maps (Softcover)
  • PDF of World of Shin’ar Book of Maps
  • Terran Empire Bookmark
  • Art of Shin’ar (Limited Edition Softcover)
  • Portrait of NPC”

* * *

Embers of the Forgotten Kingdom by Metal Weave Games

Kickstarter campaign ends on Sunday, October 23rd, 2016 at 9:00 EDT in the evening.

Their pitch:

Lady Ceidwen of the Embers of the Forgotten Kingdom

Lady Ceidwen of the Embers of the Forgotten Kingdom

“Discover the forsaken. A systemless, soulsian-inspired book of NPCs and creatures to take your games into dark new worlds.

All backers, who receive a PDF or more, will receive two free PDF statbooks of their system of choice.

Any additional statbook will be a $5 add-on.

Systems so far supported: D&D 5th Edition, Pathfinder, Shadow of the Demon Lord, OSR/AD&D, Cypher System, Dungeon World, FATE, Savage Worlds & 13th Age.

Embers is a systemless art and lore book designed to inspire GMs and players, much like the Baby Bestiary was. However, instead of adorable creatures, we have a line-up of dark fantasy characters and creatures to invade your games.”

Egg’s thoughts:

A systemless offering, this product requires AAA writing to stand next to its epic-level artwork. The art is the selling point for this project. Based on its quality, I believe that the final product will look exceptional. If you’re writing for it, you’ve got to rise to breathtaking prose to go next to these portraits.

Their vanity press rewards:

Art from Embers of the Forgotten Kingdom

Art from Embers of the Forgotten Kingdom

“Pledge $400 or more
Forlorn Lord

INCLUDES

  • Name in backer credits
  • PDF of Embers
  • Print of Embers
  • Create a surviving character with us”

* * *

“Pledge $400 or more
Forlorn Beast

INCLUDES

  • Name in backer credits
  • PDF of Embers
  • Print of Embers
  • Create a surviving creature with us”

 * * *

 Closing thoughts:

Each project brings interesting art options. I am intrigued by both. Getting a chance to design within Pathfinder for Manastorm would expand my work into a system beyond 5e (albeit a related system). Going systemless will remove the “crutch” of rules all together and require a focus on creativity to match the art of the Embers of the Forgotten Kingdom.

I pledged Manastorm. Getting to design a character to appear in a third party Pathfinder product, with a hoped-for conversion to the upcoming Starfinder, AND getting original art in the deal, it’s a winner and the right choice for lil’ Egg Embry.

***

Egg Embry, Wanna-lancer

Egg Embry wrote comic book short stories, edited comic book series, wrote and drew a webcomic, and contributed to comic book journalism across the 2000s. Now, he buys the opportunity to write for a variety of tabletop role-playing games in the tradition of vanity press. His purchases have been published by:

Sasquatch Game Studio’s Primeval Thule for 5e (2015) available at DriveThruRPG.com