Three system-agnostic old school style adventures to use in your favourite TTRPG.
Latest Updates from Our Project:
June is almost done!
6 months ago
– Sun, Jun 16, 2024 at 03:20:51 PM
A little late with this month's update. My Normie job has taken its toll on me.
However, we have lots of progress!
Artwork is flowing
Kiril and I worked out a production schedule, and he has been absolutely smashing the artwork out of the park. Every few days, he sends something through and I just sit and stare at it for a while. I am loving how this is all coming together. Below is a little collection of pieces from Abbotsmoore. I will keep the artwork for Bitterpeak and Steelhollow under wraps until we’re ready to share the PDFs (maybe).
The Mouths. A take on the classic mouth trap from Tomb of Horrors.
Ratfolk Zealots, followers of the Troll Priest, fleeing from the adventurers.
Ungmak the Abbot, offering quests.
Writing becomes Editing
I have brought Will Jobst on as editor for this project. They’ve done some excellent work and I’ve had some really excellent feedback already. Writing is a very insular activity. When working on a project for many months you can become too familiar with it. It becomes something very closely connected to you and it is hard to see what is really there. An editor lets you release the writing. Allows the very personal piece of art remove itself and become its own entity.
This moves back the completion of layout slightly, but still well within expected time frames.
Stay tuned. By the end of July we will have a lot more to share.
Long days and pleasant nights.
Stuart.
Things progress! Some art and writing samples.
8 months ago
– Sun, Apr 28, 2024 at 12:50:48 PM
Hello all!
Writing is complete and going through the editing phase. I wrote myself into a hole for the last scene. I knew what I want to be there, but I didn't know how to make it some gameable and interactive. So, for the last month or so, every time I sat down to write it, I would stare at the screen, drag out a few sentences, get frustrated, and walk away. BUT! Last week I had a breakthrough, and after a long back and forth discussion with a close friend, I found my solution.
Here's a brief sample from Steelhollow (this is not the ending scene described above:
Herenja, the Endless Desert
The dunes roll on forever, and the sun radiates each grain until they’re blisteringly hot. Walking in the desert while the sun is high in the sky is not advised. Death is likely. The dunes are interspersed with occasional rocky outcroppings jutting out from the sand. These rocky bastions can make for good shelters but should be used sparingly, as they will be swallowed by the moving sand within a few days. Steel ruins will also be found in the deep desert. They’re the remnants of an ancient civilisation. Any structures found here are stripped bare from looters and the sand. There is other strangeness out there. Most of it is real, but some is a result of too much heat.
Mirages and hallucinations
1 Purple scales slither through the sand dunes above. A huge beast, a dragon perhaps. It disappears as fast as it appeared.
2 You hear running water, a stream or small creek, bubbling just over the next dune.
3 The sand dunes move like waves crashing on the shore. You see them rise and fall and as you approach their chaotic swirling subsides to nothing.
4 A dozen people walk, single file, across the desert. Their black hooded cloaks cover them from head to toe. As the last one steps over the crest, they’re gone. Swallowed by the desert or they never were.
5 A glistening silver structure extends high into the sky. Towering hundreds of feet over the dunes. It flashes bright in the sunlight. (as the party approaches, it slowly changes to a gnarled, dry tree with steel spikes hammered into it).
6 Flashes of violence. A scene of full scale war. A few huge purple scaled creatures fight with thousands of soldiers. Blood and terror soak the sand. The empty desert is filled with the wild fury of battle. These visions flash like lightning.
Art!
Kiril has been flying though initial sketches. As there are a quite a large number of pieces across the three zines, he is getting the sketching and getting the rough designs done before cleaning them up. So, the things you see today are not the final pieces and will be given fine tuning in the coming weeks.
Spot art for Abbotsmoor
These three faces sparked quite a bit of back and forth. Two of them are portals and one leads to certain death. The art and room descriptions hint at what each one leads too. But players will need a leap of faith to find out for sure.
Design we settled on, awaiting clean up. A homage to Tomb of Horrors.
Overall this project is progressing at a good pace. While a little slower than I first thought due the ending scene, it is still way a head of schedule.
Stay tuned for more news!
Long days and pleasant nights.
Stuart.
It's been a while but I teaser for you!
9 months ago
– Mon, Mar 25, 2024 at 11:16:24 PM
This post is for backers only. Please visit Kickstarter.com and log in to read.
And... done.
10 months ago
– Wed, Feb 21, 2024 at 01:53:27 PM
I've sat here looking at this screen for about 10 minutes. I've been a little lost for words. Trying to think of something profound to say. Something that doesn't feel like KS campaign hype jargon. But I can't really, so, I will keep it simple.
Thank you.
Thank you for supporting this project. By supporting this project, you are supporting creative works made by humans. Art that comes from the heart and minds of living, breathing people.
It means a great deal to us.
Where to from here?
Kiril and I get down to work.
I will be finishing off the editing, and a little of the writing. Kiril will soon dive head first into the artwork and at that time I will be doing the same for the layout.
Later today you will receive notification that a survey is available. This survey will just collect your DriveThruRPG email and the email you want to use for Backerkit, the country you're from, and will ask if you'd like to sign up for my month newsletter, The Largshire Bulletin.
Starting next Friday, i will be posting monthly updates. They will include progress on writing, layout, and art. They will answer any questions asked and share some of the other things we're working on.
Backerkit won't open until we are getting closer to shipping. We do not want to provide incorrect information about shipping costs and want to secure the best prices for you. Once that opens, the project will be close to fulfillment time. We have put December 2024 down as the fulfillment time, however, it may be much sooner than that. No promises though (Kickstarter's, am I right?).
The Final Stretch Goal
The final stretch goal for this project was a revenue split. Kiril and I are both working creatives and every little bit helps to support us. It helps us to continue to make the things we make. If you're interested in seeing the other projects we're working on you've got some options. Kiril regularly posts to his Instagram with current and past projects, including insight into his process. I particularly liked seeing how this piece came to be. As someone who is artistically challenged, it's great to see how it all unfolds. And while the Bulletin gives monthly updates, I also have a Patreon where I write about all sorts of things. Currently exploring the idea of turning an RPG into skirmish game. You can sign up for free to see all the writing posts.
Until next time
Thank you all again. Next week I will be in touch with the March update. If you've got any questions, concerns, or comments, send them my way.
Long days and pleasant nights.
Stuart.
Two weeks in and we're getting a map
10 months ago
– Wed, Feb 14, 2024 at 07:47:24 PM
Map Time
Looks like we're getting a new map. A few have reached and said they'd like to see my little mud map of the 'world'. This map is just the very rough outline that Kiril will use to turn into something beautiful. The idea with this map is that can be used with Untrodden Paths to orient the players and create adventures based on travel. It includes the major locations from the three Abbot adventures, as well as Winterbrook and Largshire. It also has a range of unnamed locations. There's a lot of 'A Town' and one 'The Capitol' which can be renamed to whatever suits your world.
Ah, but what you don't have a world to slot this into? Well, Untrodden Paths will also have a little town and city builder to roll up some basics and get you started.
So, here's the roughy. It reminds me of a child's scribbling, and I'm all good with that. But Kiril is going to make this excellent. Just look at these.
Writing Update
All writing for Abbotsmoore and Bitterpeak is done and has is editing phase. Steelhollow is coming along quite well. I aim to have the writing done by the end of the campaign will just have to edit in the following weeks. A bulk of the writing work I have been doing the last few weeks has been focused on connecting all these adventures together. Writing in all the little details that will weave between them all. For example, there are the remains of an ancient civilisation in each adventure. The SAME civilisation. And elements of their culture and technology are found throughout each adventure. There are teleportation stations that allow each travel between the sites, if they're found, that is. There's also items that reoccur through. Such as these metallic plate sides scales. Which first appear in Abbotsmoore:
But then again in Bitterpeak, this time worn on the armour of some barbarian's met out in the tundra:
They're all small additions that build up over time. And honestly this has been one of the most enjoyable elements in writing these adventures. I know what I am like and I will tinker them for quite some time. But I have set myself the deadline of March 31st to complete editing and drafting. However, layout has already begun for Abbotsmoore! More on that next week.
