Back to Numenera School Sale!
Back to Numenera School Sale!
August 25th - Sept 2nd
30% Off on The Sun Below: City on the Edge and The Sun Below: Sleeping Lady!
http://drivethrurpg.com/browse/pub/7306/Dread-Unicorn-Games-LLC
Gods and Icons Layout
Layout for Gods and Icons is underway. Alison is editing the final manuscript in word while I layout as much as she's already done. So far I haven't been able to catch up with her.
If you've see our Sun Below adventures for Numenera, the layout will look familiar. But not exactly the same. Different design and font choices for heroic fantasy vs. science fantasy.
And if you haven't, check them out!
The Sun Below: City on the Edge, and The Sun Below: Sleeping Lady.
Ghost Lake Preview
Ghost Lake
Here's a little Gods and Icons preview from Connor Marvin. This and other Unhallowed Places will include sections on using them for both roleplaying and combat settings.
A secluded mountain lake, referred to by locals as “Ghost Lake” due to the number of disappearances, strange lights, and terrifying stories surrounding it, is a day’s hike through rocky mountain terrain. On the surface it appears to be an ordinary lake. Under the lake, however, there is a sunken temple. A spell put on the temple long ago created an invisible bubble surrounding it. Fish still swim through this magic sphere, but once it is entered by air-breathing creatures they fall through to the temple's grounds and are able to breathe as normal.
The temple compound consists of one central building surrounded by statues. The columns of the central temple have spiraling patterns of snake scales carved in them, and the apex of the temple is surmounted by a stylized pinecone. The statues that surround the temple are carved snakes coiled around each-other into double-helixes, with stone bat-wings emerging from the snakes’ backs near the top. Strings of seaweed float from the lake floor as if in water, and sunlight filters from the surface of the lake forty feet above.
13 Rumors About Ghost Lake
- Hell fighter Lord Ikal periodically visits Ghost Lake, and each time, drops in a small, black box.
- Those who sleep in the temple enter the dreams of Aurum Rex, king of the metallic dragons.
- Dwarf King Thorbal's banished daughter, Princess Kori, hides in the temple. She’s been changed.
- A promise made in the temple must be kept, or one's very soul is forfeit.
- Visiting the temple ensures healthy children.
- A ghost dragon guards the lake.
- Infernals cannot enter the blue waters. Or leave them.
- If you swallow even a drop of the lake water, you will be inhabited by ghosts.
- Only the dead can leave the temple.
- Black cats surround the lake during full moons, hissing and spitting at the water.
- The waters heal broken bones.
- Baron Von Vorlatch the vampire necromancer, has cursed the lake.
- Dunking yourself in the lake cures all disorders of the mind.
Art by Sparrow Beurer
You can see more of Sparrow Beurer's art in The Sun Below: Sleeping Lady, on sale now at DriveThruRPG.
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!
GMs Want Their MTV
Have you seen MTV's The Shannara Chronicles? Season 1 is on Netflix now, and it's a great show to watch with a GM's eye.
Not that it's great all the time, mind you, but it uses all the standard fantasy tropes you might want to use in your games. Great adventure action scenes, heroines and heroes sacrificing everything to get the job done. All in big, obvious, plot points you can see and steal.
And some pretty uneven inter-party romance scenes. Let's just say everyone looks great and has a cute butt, but not all the lines are great and not all the actors sell those uneven lines. A lot of things happen that make the plot work but don't make much sense, but hey, we've got magic elf stones, sword fighting, betrayal, demons, d20s, and Star Trek.
It's fun watching yourself watch the show. What parts work for you, and what don't? How can that impact your game? For me, parts were total fails. And yet, I couldn't stop watching. Why?
IMHO, it's easier to see things to steal for your game from an uneven show you can take a step back from and analyse. So what were they?
- The party works. We had a 3 person party, a caster, a rogue, and a noble. All were young and first level when we start, and grow as the season progresses. Each had a backstory that enriched the show.
- NPCs don't steal the show. There is a super high level druid who threatens to steal the young party's thunder, but the plot demands they go off on their own while he manages a secondary plot of intrigue in the elven palace. It's almost like the show's GM is running two games, one with the party, and a one on one with the druid.
- "Bad" and "good" start off clear in the characters' minds, and change as the series continues. We start off in a very elven point of view, where humans destroyed the world that was, and all elves are honorable, and other races are evil. We learn that what people believe isn't necessarily true. This kind of worldview change is great to do in a game, and often takes a good chunk of a campaign to pull off.
- Related to the the good and bad theme was NPCs who are not what they first seem. Even evil jerks can turn out good, and a friendly face is not always attached to a friendly person.
- Tropes galore. Pit traps, splitting the party, magic swords, magic powers that grow with the character, mentors who make you feel safe then send you on your way, threshold guardians, characters with destiny, and heroic sacrifice. All great gaming material.
- Mooks (AKA minions). If you ever want to see the faceless mook trope, watch the elves.
Anyway, fun show. What did you think?
One of these Heads is not like the Other!
Here's a little art preview from Gods and Icons by Jeshields. Why does the dragon queen have an undead head wrapped in silver chains? There must be a story there...
This is Ghiama, whose name was protected by Iconic Namer Jenn of the North. She liked the preliminary name so much she protected it so it wouldn't change. Hats off to Jenn of the North!
Get Your 13th Age RPG Cheat Sheet
Here's a combat cheat sheet for all your 13th Age needs. Hope you like it! 13th Age Combat Cheat Sheet
Speaking of 13th Age, we're making good progress with Gods and Icons. Our introductory adventure, Tower in the Mists, has gone through internal playtesting, and will be sent out for external playtest soon.
Uprooted: Inspiration
I just want to share a quick bit of inspiration. I just binged-read Uprooted by Naomi Novik. Could not put it down. If you want a great fantasy read, I highly recommend it. Amazing magic, and forget tension on every page. This book has tension on every word.
OK, now I can get back to work. ;)
Roll20Con 2016
I had a really fun day at Roll20Con, followed by a real frustrating evening.
I'll start with the evening, and then get to the good stuff. I should be GMing as I write this, but my second game never started. We had constant audio/video crashes. 2 players showed up, 3 were no shows. I really needed 3 players, plus the sound went out every 2 minutes. The video with it.
My advice to the Roll20 folk, work on stability, not new features. It's very hard to sit on top of the (flaky) internet, and with the increased usage of the con, things were failing.
OK, let it go. Deep breath. I really did have a good day. I got to watch 3 great twitch shows.
I watched Marketplace Creator, Publishing in the Digital Age, and the 13th Age game. All were great fun. Then at 1:30, I ran my game: ColdSnap for 13th Age. We had a blast! I even sneaked in some content from Gods and Icons.
The final battle ended with the cleric turning crits from double damage to triple damage and the swashbuckling rogue jumping on the back of the white dragon and critting. Epic end to a 1st level adventure!
I made a few macros for the official 13th Age character sheets. In case anyone cares, here are a few:
Attack Macros: Attacks are special. You don't tell it to roll a d20 or put it in [[]], so here is the dex-based rogue attack:
@{DEX-mod}+@{level}
Just change DEX to WIS, STR, or whatever for the attack.
Barbarian Rage Attack: I couldn't get it to work in the attack place, so I put it in a custom action:
[[1d20cs>11 + @{STR-mod} + @{level} + ?{Modifiers:|0}]],
[[1d20cs>11 + @{STR-mod} + @{level} + ?{Modifiers:|0}]]
This flags both d20 rolls to crit (put a green box around the result) if they get 11+. I added some text saying "If both rolls crit, you crit."
Hit Damage. Here's the sorcerer's Breath of the White Damage:
[[3d6 + @{CHA-mod}]] cold damage
Miss Damage: Pretty much all the time it's either a hard coded 0 or:
@{level}
I know, all this seems like crazy talk. And it is. But this explains it best.
Most of the rest is entering (copying and pasting) text. The lack of word wrap is annoying, but you get used to it.
ColdSnap "Sold Out"
Just a quick note for those interested in Roll20Con. My 1:30 PM PST game of ColdSnap is "sold out." (It's free, but it's full.) So I added a 2nd at 7:30 PST. Come Play! We'll be using our new icons from Gods and Icons.
I called it ColdSnap Evening, since it's evening for me. It could be morning for you. What's with this round planet anyway?
Roll20Con!
Roll20Con is upon us! June 3rd, 24 hours of non-stop gaming. 5E, 13th Age, Numenera, and more! The first game convention held on Roll20. Watch, game, and help support Cybersmile, the international non-profit supporting victims of cyberbullying.
I'm running ColdSnap a 13th Age adventure at 1:30 (after the 13th Age WolfSamurai Twitch Actual Play). Join in!
More information from Darcy Ross on Roll20Con can be found on GnomeStew.
Roll 20 Curious? Check out our 2 part intro.
NPCs Worth Kidnapping
Ever try to start an adventure plot in motion by kidnapping or threatening an NPC the PCs are supposed to care about, only to find your players yawning?
Put yourself in the player's position. "My brother was kidnapped? I have a brother?"
Most RPGs stress the adventure, not the downtime. Some players have elaborate backstories with plenty of NPCs for you to threaten, but most... not so much. How do you get the player to care about an NPC as much as their powerful weapon?
Make the NPC Useful to the Character
Got a sister in a fantasy game? She can make potions at half price. Not an infinite number, but a few a session. Your player will start appreciating her in a whole new light. They might even remember her name!
Got a carriage driver in a steampunk game? He can tell fortunes that give the player clues about what's coming next. When he talks about death walking in flames, it's time to find some fire protection.
How about a mother with contacts that give the player bonuses when dealing with the upper classes? An uncle with contacts in the underworld? Contacts that remind the PC why they are bothering to listen to them. "Always liked your mother." "No one could shiv a guard like your uncle..."
Or a seamstress/tailor whose clothes give a bonus to social rolls. But only for a season, then fashion changes.
Do this for a few sessions. Then kidnap the NPC. Or threaten them in some way. All of a sudden, your players will find they do care.
Gods and Icons Kickstarter Ends Well
All's well that ends well!
And we began well too, funding in seven hours!
We'll be posting updates on the Kickstarter Spotlight Page. Right now we're recovering and making plans to deliver the product. We'll be adding content for the 12 stretch goals and the 4 achievements that were unlocked by our backers.
Late Backers
For a limited time we'll be accepting PayPal for late backers. Only backer levels up to Beyond Epic will be available. (No playtest, no naming items/icons, no hardcover copies, and no add-ons.)
Email john@dreadunicorngames.com if you are interested in being a late backer.
3 Days to Go for Gods and Icons Kickstarter!
Thank you backers! Only three more days, how many stretch goals can we hit? Please help by spreading the word.
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Thank You!