That's How the Light Gets In Available Now!
When someone steals your sun and takes it to another dimension, you have to give chase.
A Numenera adventure for all tiers.
The Sun Below has been stolen. Most of thieves are gone, but the PCs find one of the thieves' transdimensional ships, the Gravitas Mislaid, has tarried. It's possible for the PCs to get aboard and follow the other thieves to where the Sun Below was taken.
Once aboard, the explorers find the ship contains three different planes of existence, a new spin on the term three dimensional. There they can deal with transdimensional pirates, horrific creatures, a squid headed woman with her own agenda, and maybe even meet an old friend.
The Gravitas Mislaid docks at the City of Lost Worlds. This transdimensional nexus is run by the Terrible Beauties, the very god-like beings who stole the Sun Below. This city is the perfect sandbox for your players to explore as they figure out how to get to the vault that contains their sun. Enemies, allies, and many shades of gray populate this multi-planar city. Your PCs may visit a virtual hell to speak with a dead criminal, dine in luxury under a toxic atmosphere to gather information, and gain unlikely allies in their quest.
The Terrible Beauties have a bit of a sun-vault, in a pocket (a very big pocket) dimension known as the Saturated Sanctum. Getting in is just the beginning. For then the PCs must hijack a giant automaton which can rescue their sun.
This adventure is designed for all kinds of players. If your players want to fight things, they can. If they want to talk their way out of problems, they can. If they want to sneak past problems, they can.
No matter what path they take, there will be plenty of content left over for your own adventures. The City of Lost Worlds is a great place to visit whenever your players go transdimensional.
Players can choose a new race, the four-armed vikrons from a high-energy dimension and gain abilities from a new flavor, the dimension walker. Not to mention a huge bestiary, a big cast of fleshed out NPCs, new equipment, cyphers, and artifacts.
The Gravitas Mislaid
Thanna, a member of the four-armed vikron race from a high energy dimension. Vikron is available to players as a descriptor.
The Child. Found haunting the amethyst dimension on board the Gravitas Mislaid.
The docks in the City of Lost Worlds.
Kreeple, a tarsiss smuggler.
October
Pumpkin man by JeShields
October Game News
Fantasy Backpack Cards Released!
What’s in your wallet? Er, backpack?
When you look at your character sheet and see "Burglar's Backpack," do you need to look it up in the book each and every time? Wouldn’t it be easier—and much more fun—to have our new Backpack Deck at your table? This deck has seven cards for each of the seven backpacks from the Fifth Edition of DnD.
Get the Print and Play version here: https://www.dreadunicorngames.com/store/fantasy-backpack-cards
Get the professionally printed version here: https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/287871/5E-Fantasy-Backpack-Cards?affiliate_id=318738
The Sun Below: That’s How the Light Gets In
Sad to say, this Numenera adventure has slipped badly with the move of both our writer and editor. Unfortunately our editor’s priority is getting our house move-in ready. We hope to ship this winter.
In editorial now.
The Tower in the Mist
by John WS Marvin, the classic fantasy adventure comes to 5th Edition DnD!
This adventure will be targeted at 2nd-level DnD characters. The healing fog has turned deadly, and an ancient relic that was supposed to prevent that has been corrupted. Somewhere in the Tower in the Mist lies the terrible truth. Will the PCs restore the relic and save the locals, or will they be just another group who climbed up to the Tower in the Mist and never returned?
In development now.
The Visitor
by John WS Marvin, a bio-punk GUMSHOE adventure for Ashen Stars
The PCs are off to find out what happened to a missing archeological expedition to the Mirage system. They’ll get no help from the locals who have troubles of their own. When ancient alien artifacts come to life and humans give birth to machines, the PCs will find themselves up against an existential threat to the Bleed.
Pumpkin Man by JeShields
Overworld in Print & Light Gets In Playtest
I'm just back from GameStorm, where I got to meet one of my favorite backers, and they asked "When is the print version coming out?"
I told them I was waiting for another proof from the printer, but expected it soon.
Guess what was waiting in the mailbox when I got home? And it looks good. I'll go over it more tomorrow, but we could be shipping soon. Which still means it takes weeks to get to Kickstarter backers, but weeks are better than months! Once the backers have theirs in the pipepline, we’ll open it up to everyone to buy. If you already bought the PDF and wish you had the print version, we’ll give you a discount.
Meanwhile we’re finishing up the playtest of The Sun Below: That’s How the Light Gets In. At the same time, I’m doing a writer’s edit on the whole manuscript. I’ll integrate the playtest results and do a few more passes before handing it over to the real editor (Alison Wells).
— Nhoj
Enter The Child
Just because I’m at a hotel in Bellevue for OrcaCon, doesn’t mean work stops on our upcoming games. I just got an amazing set the sketches for The Child for The Sun Below: That’s How the Light Gets In. Are they creepy enough? These are from the talented artist Chloe Wenz.
The Child is a creepy NPC that haunts one of the three dimensions of the transdimensional ship Gravitas Mislaid.
Meanwhile at the con, I’m running two adventures The Ripper of Shriveport (13th Age) and Journey to the Sun Below (Numenera). I’ll be playing in a few other games, and in my spare time writing and planning new products.
Meet Syma
Syma can appear as housecat sized, tiger sized, and enormous sized. Syma can look like a four-eared feline of some kind, with hair that can change on whim. She can also appear as a four eared humanoid woman of the roughly the same size. As a humanoid, she can have a human or a cat head.
Isn't she nice?
Except for the fact she has stolen the Sun Below!
Art by Sparrow Buerer for The Sun Below: That's How the Light Gets In
A Numenera adventure, in production now. Compatible with the original Numenera, and with Discovery and Destiny.
Tales of the Dread Unicorn, July 2018
Tales of the Dread Unicorn
The Overworld and Beyond for 13th Age is in development. Ash Law is adding all the new content that came out of the Kickstarter stretch goals. Sparrow Buerer (The Sun Below: Sleeping Lady and Gods and Icons) has started working on additional art. Editor Keith Garrett is chomping on the bit, waiting for the text. I am handing the project management and Kickstarter duties. Once editing is done, I’ll do the layout.
Backers should have received their PDFs for any add-ons they purchased. Print add-ons will start shipping in the next week or two.
If you missed the Kickstarter, preorders are now open -> https://john-ws-marvin-dread-unicorn-g.pledgemanager.com/projects/the-overworld-and-beyond-13th-age-rpg-planar-adven/participate/?ref=website
The Sun Below: That’s How the Light Gets In for Numenera is in development. I am working on a transdimensional city that exists in three dimensions. The City of Lost Worlds is the setting for the middle act of the plot. Aser Tolentino and Megan Tolentino (The Redacted Files and The Amber Clave) have contributed a new flavor, the Dimension Walker, plus an extradimensional portal full of new cyphers. Alison Wells (The Sun Below titles, Gods and Icons, The Gods Have Spoken) will be the editor.
Connor Marvin (Gods and Icons) is working on a new RPG, which will be “contemplative yet fighty.” Once That’s How the Light Gets In ships, I will join the product. It will be set on our own unique version of Lemuria where the forces of mindless conquest have almost destroyed civilization but have overreached. The players will be working for the temples to restore civilization, but it may be too late. We’ll be using the Powered by the Apocalypse engine.
We have some other projects we can’t talk about yet. More later!
Hope all our US fans had a Happy Fourth of July! We stayed home with our brand new (nine-week-old) puppy.
John WS Marvin
Ollie
Copyright © 2018 Dread Unicorn Games, LLC, All rights reserved.
Set Your Chronometers to Transdimensional Time!
Adventures in other dimensions, travel to the planes, whatever you want to call it, we're flipping planes and visiting alternate worlds left and right.
The Overworld and Beyond is all about bringing planar fun to the 13th Age RPG.
The Sun Below: That's How the Light Gets In is all about tracking down transdimensional thieves who have stolen the Sun Below itself for Numenera.
What about our Fifth Edition fans. Would you like to see some plane walking fun? Something else? Let us know.
Map Preview 2 for That's How the Light Get's In
Adrift between dimensions lies a place for characters to get information, equipment, and betrayed. The Crystal Market has what you need. And what you should fear.
Map by the amazing Miska Fredman.
Check out a map of a transdimensional ship from this adventure here.
The Sun Below: That's How the Light Gets In, a Numenera adventure for all tiers.
Status: In production
Map Preview: That's How the Light Gets In
Here's a sneak peak at a map from our upcoming Numenera adventure, The Sun Below: That's How the Light Gets In. Each colored section of this craft exists in a separate dimension. When your players cross a portal, which dimension will they go to?
How will your players get aboard this transdimensional craft? Fight their way on? Sneak on? Or talk their way on as if they owned the place?
Map by Justin Mason.
Next: Map Preview 2!
New Website
Welcome!
Welcome to the new Dread Unicorn Games website. We have our own store now, and we hope you like what you see. Let us know what you think.
New Numenera Adventure in the Works!
In the Works
We have a few projects in the works:
- A 13th Age Roleplaying Game title we can't go into right now, but stay tuned. I think 13th Age fans will be excited.
- For Fifth Edition of the Worlds Most Popular roleplaying game, we have a deck of cards in the works that tracks both conditions, and factions, building on the faction system in The Gods Have Spoken.
- For Numenera, we're busy with the design of The Sun Below: That's How the Light Gets In.
The Dread Unicorn Speaks
The Gods Have Spoken ships, The Gods and Icons Player's Companion goes on sale, and a look at games to come.
The Gods Have Spoken
We've shipped The Gods Have Spoken, a supplement for 5th Edition D&D full of new gods, new domains, new character customizations, new creatures, new magic items, a holy weapon creation system, and a brand new set of rules for using factions in your games that let your players decide what factions come into play.
What's Next?
5E
Factions and Conditions Cards Cards to track how factions feel about the PCs, plus cards that track conditions such as Blinded on PCs and NPCs. Less looking up rules, more fighting dragons! (in design)
The Gray World An introductory 5E adventure that showcases The Gods Have Spoken. Comes with pregens, and serves as an example of how to use the new faction system. (in editorial and playtest)
13th Age
Brightvarna Red
Flash fiction and epic poetry from the world of Gods and Icons. The last deliverable from the Gods and Icons Kickstarter. (in editorial)
The Gods and Icons Upgrade Pack
This supplement will include new artwork of the three pantheons, a list of saints to use in your games, and new 13th Age creatures that have ties to the gods and the icons from Gods and Icons. (in development)
Numenera
The Sun Below: That's How the Light Gets In
A transdimensional adventure focusing who, or what, is draining the power of The Sun Below. When PCs come up against adversaries that can't be hurt, and won't listen to reason, the PCs just might have to run a con game with transdimensional stakes! (in design)
On Sale Now!
The Gods and Icons Player's Companion. On sale at DriveThruRPG
Using the Numenera Ruin Mapping Engine with the Sun Below
In Jade Colossus: Ruins of the Prior Worlds, Monte Cook Games has come up with a ruin mapping system that allows you to flesh out parts of the Ninth World that you don’t have details for. Most of the book is about the Jade Colossus, but like many Numenera ruins, it’s enormous and there is no point in detailing hundreds of rooms and corridors that players will never see. The ruin mapping engine lets you roll a few dice and create weird Numenera environs on the fly.
Let’s roll some dice!
Example One: A 5m x 10m rectangular chamber with a machine that grinds small objects into drit. It has one exit sealed with a force field, and two additional exits.
Example Two: A sealed vault (seals are level 7 with level 7 defenses that do 7 points of energy damage). The interior is made of self-repairing level 8 synth. The vault is 15m x 30m and contains a vortex of energy that swirls above a raised circular platform surrounded by complex (level 8) machinery. The vortex is painfully bright and hot, and induces a sense of awe in observers. The vortex is a wormhole that leads directly to the sun.
The Sun Below
Using the ruin mapping engine to flesh out when players go “off the path” in any Sun Below adventure is perfect. You can roll dice, or use the tables for inspiration.
Then use the background of the adventures as window dressing for your on-the-fly creations. In example two above, that vortex obviously leads not to some lame sun at the center of the solar system but directly to the Sun Below!
The Sun Below: City on the Edge
Like the Jade Colossus, Urbamorr, the city on the edge, is enormous. Unlike the Jade Colossus, it’s mostly inhabited. Use the ruin mapping engine, and 50% of the time decorate the places with praithian statues, burial chambers, and enormous artwork. Above ground sections will have dh’lann features (like dream-vapor bowls), while below ground areas will feature slithik items (like floating tubes of blood).
Since the city is inhabited, 50% of the time use a creature as the main feature, the rest of the time roll as normal. If you do have a creature, 50% of the time use dh’lanns, floaters, praithians, praithian war snakes, pyronic sentries, or slithiks.
The Sun Below: Sleeping Lady
Liluna is also massive, and, like the Jade Colossus, mostly uninhabited. 50% of the time you should decorate the areas you roll up with displays that show lido automatons, Liluna in flight, gibbering murken, Lebby with her red bouncy ball, or an aspect of Storm. Depending on what's going on in the stricken moon, you could show the forces of Liluna or of Golthnor doing well or doing poorly.
If you roll up a creature, 50% of the time use a child of Golthnor, cultists of Golthnor, data demons, gibbering murken, lido automatons, Lebby, skratts, Storm, or synites. Look at the Orb Encounters section of the adventure for ideas.
Get those Holiday Orders in!
Halloween Sale for Numenera Lovecraftian Horror!
The Sun Below: Sleeping Lady brings Lovecraftian horror to your Numenera game, and it's on sale now as part of DriveThruRPG's Halloween Horror sale.
Numenera Celebration Sale!
Did someone say 24 Hour Sale on Numenera Print Books?
OK then!
$12.49 for The Sun Below: Sleeping Lady
$9.20 for The Sun Below: City on the Edge
Buy both and save on shipping!
Both include the PDF for free!!!
Gods and Icons Comes Together
We've got some great playtesting feedback, which really helps. The art is rolling in, the writing is almost done, and editing is underway. Next up: layout!
I wanted to share this lovely picture of Lady Akuma by Jeshields. People say terrible things about the Lady, but they don't know the half of it. Maybe she's just misunderstood. ;)
We were so lucky to find some great artists for Gods and Icons. Since I both love art and fail at the basics, I'm in awe of what people can turn my art specs into.
And let's not forget Supreme Commander Tyrvek! I'm pretty sure he's not misunderstood. ;)
James did a great job on Tyrvek standing alone, but I wanted to show him as leading an army. So James added the background and I love it!
Now that's it's August, our Christmas in July sale is over, but the savings don't stop! We lowered the price for both The Sun Below: City on the Edge to $2.49 and The Sun Below: Sleeping Lady to $6.49.
Keep on gaming!
John
Christmas in July Sale!!!
It's Christmas in July!
Christmas is coming, the goose is getting fat, DreadUnicornGames.com is where the discounts are at!
That's right, Christmas in July is here! Get 25% off on digital products by Dread Unicorn Games! Put the jingle bells on, and keep some jingle in your pocket, too!
Secret Sun Below Sale
A clever backer pointed out that it's cheaper to buy the Sun Below adventures for Numenera by backing the Gods and Icons Kickstarter at the $1.00 level and adding the Sun Below titles as Add-Ons. Yes, they are right. The print versions include shipping, so yes. I made a sale so secret, even I didn't know about it!
"Sale" ends April 15th, 5:09 PM PST. Go forth and save!