Category Archives: General

General

Modular Tavern Storefront — Mini Monday 25

It’s Mini Monday, where I share customizing, scratch building, kitbashing, and miniature painting projects for your roleplaying and tabletop gaming. This week we’ll build a modular tavern storefront, because every adventure starts in the pub.

Mini Monday Logo

Modular Tavern Storefront

“You meet in the tavern…”

That line has probably started more roleplaying campaigns than any other, as cliched as it is. Having some tavern terrain is going to get a lot of use in fantasy tabletop games, so let’s build one. We’ll make it modular to get as much use out of this piece as possible, and we’ll use the magic of magnets!

Module Tavern Storefront Without Sign
The module tavern storefront without its sign.
Modular Tavern Storefront and Mini
With the power of magnets, the shop sign is attached. The Pewter Tankard is an obscure Warhammer FRP 1st ed. reference, and is the name of the establishment in our Pewter Tankard Tavern Map.
Modular Tavern Storefront Phoenix Books
We make books, so we need a book shop, even if it’s only a mini one. More magnets and a quick switch are all that’s needed.

Overview

We’re making a sandwich, with the door and window in the middle, then the walls, then the wooden beams. This will give the model depth, but allow us to keep things thin enough to game around.

I’m sorry that I don’t have any pictures of the process of making this. I did take a few, but they’ve been lost in the general chaos of my Pictures folder. If I do find any I’ll update this post, but I’ll do my best to describe what’s going on.

The Frame and Door

Cut two pieces of card into rectangles. Mine is 4″ long and 2.5″ high, enough space to incorporate the door and window. Cut a space for the door and window in both pieces of card so you’ve got two copies.

Cut a rectangle of balsa wood to make the door. This should be wider than the space you’ve cut in the cardboard.

Cut lengths of balsa wood to form the outer wooden frame, for both sides of the model. Keep any offcuts for later.

Ramblings on Balsa Wood

A lot of people use popsicle sticks or coffee stirrers for wooden features, but balsa wood is much easier to work with, lighter, and a strip of it will get you through many projects. They build remote control airplanes out of the stuff, it can take a real banging. Believe me, I’ve crashed my glider more often than I’ve flown it.

Detailing

Use the back of a hobby knife to lightly gouge along the grain of the balsa wood. You can press harder to define planks, so the door is one solid piece that looks like it’s made of individual planks. This cheating saves time and glue, and keeps the model stronger.

Window

The window is made of stiff plastic, like the type you find in toy packaging. Cut a piece of this that is larger than the space it’ll fill. Use a ruler and a permanent marker to draw the black lines to represent the lead frame on one side of the plastic. Then, use a yellow highlighter to carefully color between the lines and color the opposite side too. Let this dry, and remember that the highlighter will rub off easily. Finally, carefully stipple gloss varnish over one side, leaving it to dry before doing the other. This should cause the yellow to pool and will texture the glass.

Assembling

Glue the door onto one piece of card. Then, using cutoffs, line the outer side of the card (the same side that has the door) and around the window. Fill all the gaps so you won’t see any when the second piece of card is joined.

Next, glue the outer wooden frame onto the walls.

Pro Tip: Don’t stick the second piece of card or the window on yet. Work with the two pieces until you’ve finished painting them, then glue the window in and join the walls. This way, you won’t have to worry about getting paint on the window.

The Magic of Magnets

Glue a strip of metal above the window. We’ll hide this later, and then use magnets on the signs to stick them onto the wall.

Texturing

Mix up a small amount of wall grout and paint it onto the walls, between the wooden supports. Be sure to paint it over the metal strip.

Base

Use strips of cardboard to make the slate stones of the base. As long as your wall isn’t top-heavy, the base can be quite narrow, making it easier for gaming around.

Painting

If you haven’t glued the two sides together or stuck the window in, this part will be easy enough.

Paint the walls an off white, then use a slightly darker version of the same color to paint the top of each wall section, drawing the brush down to make it look like weather damage.

Paint the wood black, making sure to fill in all the gaps. Paint over this brown, without filling the gaps. Holding the brush flat against the wood will help with this. Drybrush with a lighter brown over the edges of each beam.

Paint the stone gray, then drybrush with a lighter gray, picking out the edges again.

Modular Tavern Storefront
Use a small picture frame eye screw to make a door knocker. Stick a “U” shaped loop of paperclip over this to complete the look.

Finally, paint everything with a matt varnish, except for the window, then glue it all together. Done!

A Dark Night for Russia

I’m very excited to tell you about Nightscape: Red Terrors, our latest release:

Nightscape: Red Terrors RPG Cover

In the wake of the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, the Russian government decommissioned several publicly hidden research facilities devoted to ‘arcane science,’ chief among them, PERM Laboratory 37. Recently, due to several strange energy emissions, the location of the PERM 37 facility has been discovered by various parties with an interest in the lab’s inventory of eldritch artifacts.

You’re an agent of one of these factions on your way through driving sleet to the facility. Dusk is falling as you pass through the broken security gate…

“The line between magic and science disappeared in the utopianism of the early Soviet period. Hopes formerly invested in religion and magic were transferred to technology and science. Stalinist political culture utilized ideas taken from the occult elements in its attempt to influence the masses.”
— B.G. Rosenthal

In Nightscape: Red Terrors you play an agent of Integrand General — an extra-governmental non-profit established to research the arcane sciences — fighting your way through the PERM 37 facility. You will be opposed by the horrific forces at the disposal of the Director. Modern weapons have little power against the most powerful horrors you’ll face, but a host of creatures do bleed. Arm yourself well and expect the unexpected.

Nightscape: Red Terrors includes everything you need to play, except for a few 20-sided dice and a group of friends.

Journey into the world of Nightscape:

Visit nightscapeseries.com to find out more, and buy the book today:

 

It’s becoming a tradition that we end off product announcements with a 20% off discount code. This one is good until the 23rd of August.


General, Tips and Tricks, Write - Design - Program

How to Learn any New Game Dev Skills — WDP

One of the things I absolutely love about game design is that I’m learning all the time. In this article, I’m going to talk a little about what ‘baby steps’ really mean and how you can go about learning new game dev skills — or anything else — to become a better game designer, GM, or whatever.

Write - Design - Program
Write – Design – ProgramWrite

Think about it; what do ‘baby steps’ actually mean? First of all, they’re small and slow. Baby’s don’t take steps until they’ve first managed to support the weight of their own head, roll around, push themselves up, crawl, and then pull themselves up and stand. That’s a whole lot of learning that’s happening in a brain that’s a giant information sponge — and we haven’t even taken a ‘baby step’ yet.

When babies start walking, they get everywhere, exploring the world around them and enjoying the new freedom afforded to them by their little legs. It’s fun, and the risk of falling doesn’t hold them back much.

If there’s a new skill you want to learn — and this doesn’t just apply to learning new game dev skills — then you need to be like a baby:

Have Fun

In a recent interview, with Kenny from Oh! Sheep, I talked about following your passion. Passion certainly fuels motivation, but things can quickly start to look more like work than play when the lines between your job and hobby blur. You have to keep things fun, and that often comes down to finding the fun.

If you can’t find ways to keep things fun for yourself and you’re creating games, writing for entertainment, or trying to bring joy to others, then that’s something worth investigating for yourself. Ultimately, I think it comes down to a sense of play or having a puzzle to solve. A lot of the time work throws puzzles at you, and trying to crack them can be a lot of fun.

I once asked my dad why I’d never seen the train set he had as a boy laid out before. He told me that, as an engineer and property developer, he was doing that sort of thing every day, only on a much bigger scale. His job was full of puzzles, and there was a sense of play to his work. It has kept him motivated, even after suffering a debilitating stroke.

Compete with Yourself

Unlike most of us, babies are never comparing themselves to other babies and putting themselves down for what they can’t do.

It seems even more difficult to avoid comparing ourselves these days, thanks to social media. When was the last time you came away from social media feeling good about yourself? If Twitter or Facebook left you feeling down or angry the last time you visited, what types of posts affected you and how did they make you feel, personally? Did you feel like you weren’t achieving enough? I often get that feeling when browsing social media.

The thing is to compete with yourself, not with the world. It’s far better to get better each day than to be like someone else, and it’s far less draining.

Something from nothing

That’s the motivation mostly out of the way. Let’s get practical for a moment.

Breaking It Down into the Basics

I picked up skateboarding again two months ago. I’m… not very good, but I see a lot of things more clearly now than I did when I was a kid, inspired by Rodney Mullen and Tony Hawk and trying to learn to ride for the first time.

For one thing, we’re incredibly lucky to have the Internet and sites like YouTube that make learning more accessible. That doesn’t mean that all of the content is good, accurate, or useful, but we can easily skim through basic information in a couple of minutes, assimilate and process it, then apply it.

Most YouTube videos (and posts like this one) tend to provide the surface information, and you have to dig deeper to gain true mastery. That’s true of many books too, but we have to be aware that we’re only scratching the surface.

As an example, something that doesn’t come up much in videos on skateboarding is how important it is to get the basics right. Yes, many videos talk about where to put your feet for a trick, but few people are talking about getting comfortable on your board, riding in different stances, riding backwards, getting comfortable turning, stopping, and generally mastering the basics. Nobody thinks these basics are cool. Maybe they’re just seen as the gateway to becoming a real skater. Even though these skills are fundamental to being able to skateboard and the best skateboarders have mastered these skills.

In Talent is Overrated: What Really Separates World-Class Performers from Everybody Else, Geoff Colvin talks about deliberate practice, and a part of that is getting the right practice for your needs. This, I think, also means not getting too far ahead of yourself.

I recently read an article about a martial artist that spent lockdown practicing footwork, the “literal foundation” of martial arts. He listed three goals he had:
1. Be comfortable with either foot leading.
2. Be able to stop instantly without losing balance.
3. Maintain a good posture throughout his movement.

By focusing on these basics he was able to improve a vital element of his martial arts skill, train using his limited resources, and overcome bad habits.

Image Credit: Drew Beamer
Image Credit: Drew Beamer

In short, you have to look for the pillars of whatever skill you’re learning, then seek to master them.

In coding, this might be understanding the logic of if else statements and other general coding principles before trying to master the whole of Java.

In writing, knowing how to write good, grammatically sound sentences has made it far easier for me to deal with the complexities of storytelling and composing larger pieces.

When I first started skateboarding, I was pushing mongo, which is generally considered the worst way to push a skateboard around. It never felt comfortable and it caused all sorts of other issues. Since starting again, I’ve focused on the basics and seen much better growth. Skateboarding now feels like something that’s possible, rather than an impossible pipe dream.

Not saying I’ve cracked the code or anything, but it certainly seems there’s a lot of worth in having a good base to any skill you want to master.

#RPGCon is Wrapping Up

Rising Phoenix Games’ #RPGCon has been a real blast, and we’ve loved sharing every minute of it with you. We’ve already begun discussing plans for next year, so hopefully #RPGCon will just grow and grow. Thank you all so much for your support!
 
Rising Phoenix Games Con
You can still find all the articles, interviews, and discounts on the  #RPGCon Homepage. Many of the discounts are ending today and tomorrow, so this is your last chance to buy great supplements for Pathfinder 1e, D&D 5e, and some excellent stand-alone games.
 

General

Rising Phoenix Games Interview with Oh Sheep!

Kenny of Oh Sheep! recently interviewed me about the creation of Rising Phoenix Games, publishing games, pursuing your passion, and building your audience. Check out the Rising Phoenix Games Interview with Oh Sheep! below, or on YouTube.

Have any questions about the Rising Phoenix Games interview? Feel free to leave them in the comments below and I’ll do my best to answer them.

You can find out more about the Oh, Sheep! card game and the upcoming Kickstarter campaign for the project on the Oh, Sheep! website. There’s also a print and play version of their beta rules for Oh, Sheep!

Rising Phoenix Games on YouTube

Be sure to check out our own Rising Phoenix Games YouTube channel, where we take a closer look at some of our products and projects. This blog and our newsletter remain our focus, but we release new videos every now and then, especially to showcase new products or ask the community questions, so please consider subscribing.

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Rising Phoenix Games’ RPG Con is this week, all week, right here on the blog!
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Join us for articles, interviews like this one, discounts, and more RPG fun! We’ve been adding links to the RPG Con Homepage all week, and there are a lot of super deals to be had.
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Tuesday’s post was the next installment in the Valkyrie: Ragnarok series of fiction: Flight Through Bastion.



General

Phoenixes of the Realms — Fire Fowl of Faerûn

Phoenixes of the Realms is our newest title on the Dungeon Master’s Guild. The book is a comprehensive collection of phoenixes and phoenix related player options, including seven phoenix subspecies. And you know how much we love phoenixes.

Phoenixes of the Realms

Here’s what you’ll find inside:

  1. The Desert Phoenix (Huge, Challenge 10)
  2. The Desolation Phoenix (Gargantuan, Challenge 18)
  3. The Imperial Phoenix (Large, Challenge 14). inspired by the Chinese Fenghuang and Japanese Houou.
  4. Two new flaming feathered familiars, including the Shield Phoenix.
  5. Rules for phoenix feather magical items.
  6. Phoenix Guardian monastic tradition
  7. Oath of the Phoenix sacred oath.
  8. The Miniature, Frost, and Hydro phoenixes.

Phoenixes of the Realms Page 5

Origins of the Book

Phoenixes of the Realms converts the rules, which first appeared in Phoenixes — A Field Guide (Pathfinder RPG), to fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons. It includes new rules and is now set in Faerûn, though it is more of a monster and player option book than a setting book. Ismael Alvarez did a great job of converting the rules, while Anja Svare handled layout. We’ve added more magical phoenix feathers to round out the offering.

Phoenixes of the Realms Page 14

The book is available on the Dungeon Masters Guild and is sure to be an invaluable addition to any campaign featuring these flame-feathered creatures. It also supports the OGL, so you can add a little phoenix magic to your own roleplaying projects.

 

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Phoenixes of the Realms is 20% Off, during RPG Con only. Grab it while it’s, erm, hot.



General

Aurora’s Christmas at the Realms Emporium

Aurora’s Whole Realms Catalogue was a supplement for Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 2nd-Edition, packed full of fun and useful items for your characters. Now, we’re revisiting Aurora’s Whole Realms Emporium for some early Christmas shopping!

Aurora's Christmas Catalogue

Friends of mine, Ismael Alvarez, Kim Frandsen, and Troy Daniels kindly asked me to join them in revisiting Aurora’s Whole Realms Emporium, this time for D&D fifth edition. We’ve been doing so for a while now, with a Summer, Autumn, Winter, and now a Christmas catalogue published on the Dungeon Master’s Guild.

Need the perfect gift for the barbarian, bard, cleric, druid, fighter, monk, ranger, rogue, sorcerer, warlock, or wizard in your party? Look no further.

 

Aurora’s Whole Realms Spring Catalogue is in the works, and will soon go off to editing and then layout.

Aurora’s Christmas — Behind the Scenes

A magician never reveals their secrets, but, besides the fact that we deal with magic all the time, I’m no magician, so let me show you a little about what happens behind the scenes during the making of any Aurora’s Whole Realms Seasonal Catalogue.

First, one of our developers becomes a 17th-level wizard and learns the gate spell. We then pool our collective resources, sell a few unnecessary organs, and purchase a diamond worth exactly 5,000 gold pieces. The exchange rate between South African Rands and gold pieces has never been great, so we don’t go for flashier bling, or cut corners. Our dev then teleports to Faerûn to speak directly with Aurora.

On his probable return, the developer sits down with the rest of the writers to produce an accurate translation of the latest seasonal catalog from Common into English. We then have our ash dwarves layout the document in MS Paint, before fairy magic turns the document into the glorious PDF available for purchase.

It’s worth noting that we don’t use any gnomes during the process, they’ve already got plenty of other work to keep them busy and can’t spell ‘catalogue’ to save their lives.

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Tuesday’s post was the next installment in the Valkyrie: Ragnarok series of fiction: Flight Through Bastion.

A Special Bonus, Just for You

You made it to the end of the article, so here’s a 20% off coupon on Aurora’s Christmas, just for you.



General

Flight Through Bastion — Valkyrie: Ragnarok

Continue the Valkyrie: Ragnarok story with Faya’s flight through Bastion. Can she escape, or will she swing for the trail of blood she has left behind her?

Subscribe to our newsletter for the full excerpt. You can find past excerpts by checking out the Valkyrie: Ragnarok tag (bookmark it).

Author’s Note:

We leave Faya’s memory of the dwarves to return to her flight through the city of Bastion. She has just stabbed a man and lost a business associate, and now, with the authorities after her, she tries to make her escape through the labyrinthine city of Bastion. Faya knows that, as a half-elf, she isn’t likely to receive a fair trial; escape is her only option.

If you’ve missed parts of the story, don’t worry, I’ll be compiling all of these into a complete novel, so enjoy these highlights from Faya’s adventures in the meantime.

Flight through Bastion. Image credit: Jace Afsoon
Image credit: Jace Afsoon

Flight Through Bastion

Faya slid under the giant’s tabard and through his legs. Leaping up, she caught a slender stone strut that angle up, into the darkness.

Below she could see the lamps and burning torches of the Undercity. Above sparkled the undying magical luminescence of glow globes.

With her hands and feet, she climbed up and up as arrows whizzed past her. She had to somehow slip out of sight of the watch and escape.

More struts, like stony black ribs, appeared out of the darkness above her. She jumped for them, but as she flew through the air an arrow punched through her upper arm. She caught one of the struts with both hands, but the pain was too much and her right hand slipped.

For a moment she hung in space, illuminated by the torches of the watch and dangling in the open.

Faya gritted her teeth against the pain and caught the strut with her injured hand, then hauled herself up. More arrows bit at the stone between her and the shouting men. She hopped from strut to strut, as her pursuers followed her along the parallel walkway below.

The series of struts ended abruptly at a wall, which the walkway cut through via a narrow tunnel. It was too far to jump back to the walkway, which was packed with men brandishing halberds. Where in the Abyss was that giant, Faya though? She could sense the tempo of the archers now and waited for the lull between their firing and reloading. Then she swung out again and caught the edge of the tiled roof above and pulled herself up, screaming against the pain in her arm. In a moment she was running up the sloped roof, then over an adjoining roof that covered the wall. The guards followed her through the tunnel, their arrows ready to catch her if she hesitated for even a moment.

There was nothing on the other side, only a deep dark void and a covered bridge that crossed from left to right above her. It was too far to jump.

Suddenly Faya heard a sharp crack. It took her a moment to feel the pain across her cheek, but by then she’d already turned to face her assailant. A city watchman, dresses in the burgundy and black of their number, stood higher up on the roof, his whip coiling through the air for another strike.

“Oh yes, let’s play!” The man was slender, with angry red skin and a sneer. His whip arched back, then snapped forwards in a flash.

“No games,” Faya said, as she caught the whip. She gave it a hard pull and it came free from the man’s hand. The momentum pulled him forwards and he stumbled towards the edge. In a flash, Faya jumped onto his back and launched herself towards the bridge. As the man fell to his death, she lashed out with the whip and caught one of the stone pillars of the bridge. She swung across. She climbed up as fast as she could, aware that an arrow could catch her at any moment.

Springing through one of the stone arches, she bumped over a baker and her basket of fresh bread. Other people stopped to watch the commotion, and the shout went up for the watch. It was early morning, and if she stayed on the street she’d never escape.

Looking around Faya spotted an ash dwarf chained to a post. The post was affixed to the wall by brackets and ran up into the rafters of the bridge’s roof.

Just then crowd parted, and the giant came into view.

The rest of the story continues later this week, but you’ll have to be a newsletter subscriber to get the rest of the action.

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Monday’s post was about painting flesh golems for your roleplaying table.

General

Flesh Golem Frank N. Stein — Mini Monday 24

It’s Mini Monday, where I share customizing, scratch building, kitbashing, and miniature painting projects for your roleplaying and tabletop gaming. This week we’re painting Mr Frank N. Stein, the flesh golem from the Dungeons & Dragons: Castle Ravenloft Board Game.

Mini Monday Logo

The flesh golem from the Castle Ravenloft Board Game is one of my favourite minis. The detail is crisp and he looks like he has just walked onto the stage of an Iron Maiden concert. I wanted him to have really gross, leathery skin, and I’m very pleased with how he turned out.

Flesh Golem Final

Undercoating and Flesh Wash Magic

I sprayed the mini white, then painted sections of his skin in off-green, off-blue, and flesh colour. I also left some sections white. It’s all in the name of visual interest.

Flesh Golem Basecoat
Yum, yum. I think I might never eat sushi again.

I then went over this with my magical Flesh Wash. I’ve used it in a few projects now, such as the Cacodemon, Yochlol, and the skeletons. Flesh Wash was perfect for getting that dry leather look, and the off-green and off-blue shows though enough to give it a sickly look. Perfection!

Flesh Golem Flesh Wash
Flesh Wash for a Flesh Golem! I knew there was something to the name!

Stitches and Iron

After some experimenting, I painted the stitches black. If Dr Frankenstein was using thread, these would turn black from the blood it would soak up. I did try adding silver to make them look like staples, but that didn’t make sense to me in a fantasy setting, so I ditched the idea.

Okay, he has metal fingers under the flesh of his one hand, but I’m still not doing staples. I picked out the raised metal edges with silver paint.

Disaster

I didn’t want to paint every stitch, so I tried a marker pen instead. What I didn’t realise until I’d finished was that I was using a dry-erase pen. Whenever I added wet paint or varnish, the colour ran and pooled in an ugly mess. What seems to have worked was going over this with an actual permanent marker or dryish paint.

Live and learn.

Exposed Muscle

I painted the flesh golem’s exposed muscle pink, then went over the raised parts with a reddish-purple. I used a black wash to pick out the detail, and then made sure to use a gloss varnish to make this section appear wet.

Pants

We decided on purple pants to contrast nicely with the orangy flesh, and because this guy looks like an undead version of the Hulk.

I painted the pants the same reddish-purple as the exposed muscle, then dry brushed a lighter purple over the raised bits. The straps were painted a leathery brown and given metal highlights on the buckles. Finally, I used a black wash (watered-down black paint) to pick out the shadows.

Almost done!
The first layer of paint on the pants. It’s not very smooth, but the dry brushing will cover that up.

Final Details

I painted the tongue pink and the teeth yellow, then these also got a black wash. When I was done, I gave varnished the flesh golem with matt varnish, except for the exposed muscle, as I mentioned before.

Flesh Golem Final
Here he is again, in all his gory glory.

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General

The Lion’s Den — Valkyrie: Ragnarok

Continue the Valkyrie: Ragnarok story as the crew of the Rat finally reach their home. What will happen to their stowaway in The Lion’s Den?

Subscribe to our newsletter for the full excerpt. You can find past excerpts by checking out the Valkyrie: Ragnarok tag (bookmark it).

“Never underestimate the depth of our work, Gawn.” The captain sat in his command chair, speaking with pride as the Rat rolled slowly down the great highway, past tall monuments, towards the vast doors of the dwarven city. “We dwargen have built more than a city. We have built a civilization beyond the taint of men and elves, yes. We have built libraries and mills, mines and inventions, sure. But our true genius is not in any one individual thing. Our brilliance is the interconnectivity of each individual part. A meshing of gears so harmonious that the system sustains itself. No such colossal creation could function without this harmony. Yes, maybe for a time, but entropy would win out, eventually. That is the fault of humanity. They are too short sighted and proud to build something that can both support the system it exists in and be sustained by that system. Yes, they can innovate, and their systems are continually improving, but their works lack the agreement across all parts. Like themselves, their inventions are individual in nature.” Gawn nodded to show he was still listening, though his thoughts were more on seeing home again. It wouldn’t be long now

“It is a lesson we take from nature.” The captain continued. “The birds eat the fruit of the tree, they spread the seeds and saplings grow in new lands. The blossoms of the trees provide nectar for the bees, and so on and on it goes. Such harmony cannot be created from chaos. There is architecture built into the system. As Argitekos built our world and gave the oceans their ebb and flow, created a harmonious, interconnected system, so we mirror his divine creation, a creation that ultimately fulfils his mighty purpose. We all have purpose, Gawn, and it’s time for you to fulfil yours.”

Gawn looked up, paying attention for the first time. “Captain?”

“You’ve done a good job as my second in command. This last outing was a close thing, but you kept the boys together. It could have gone horribly wrong, I can’t deny it, but we’ve made it through. I’m of a mind to recommend you for promotion.”

“Thank you, Captain. I’m honoured.”

“You’ve earned it.”

There was a moment of silence as the Rat crept between two giant stone monoliths. Cascading lava illuminated the large inscribed pictograms that covered it. The play of the shadow in the red light made the features all the more striking, as if they contained the very fires of the lava within. They recorded the great histories of the Dwargen of Grothoring Highhold, a record of the mightiest of the dwargen kingdoms beyond the Mistiga Barg in Avernos.

“One day your deeds will be marked on one of those stones. You’ve the aptitude for it.” The captain said, smiling. “I can see you’ll do great things, Gawn. Protect our great work.”

Valkyrie: Ragnarok. Photo credit: Isis Franca

What hell is this, Faya thought as she awoke inside the belly of a terrifying creature. She guessed it was a dragon because of the smoke, the red hot fire that burned somewhere unseen and cast red shadows on the black walls, and the awful roar. Tiny black creatures of soot danced around her, then leapt across her skin and made it prickle. Worst of all was her thirst. She was sure a creature of ash was choking her with its gritty hands.

I’ll die here. Please, Mother, let it be soon.

She heard her mother’s voice answer in the incessant clanking, but what she said was just beyond understanding. She saw wondrous sakrust falling around her like manaleaf from above, but it turned to acrid slag in her mouth and made the thirst worse.

A sudden hiss made her jolt. There was a violent shudder, then everything went still. The red reflected off the innards of the beast seemed to dim, but the metal dragon or whatever it was was surely only asleep. Gaining enough of her wits, she knew she had to flee, now. She scrambled over the iron decking and through the vaguely remembered crawl space, back into the storage compartment where the dark haired dwarg had hidden her. Was it the longing for sakrut or some other tincture that had given her the visions? She wasn’t sure. She kicked hard at the door. And again. Again. Finally, the lock broke and the door swung open. She rolled out and dropped down, into the shadows below a ledge that ran parallel to the dwargen contraption. Someone heard the commotion and shouted something after her, but Faya was already running.

The rest of the story will go out to newsletter subscribers soon, so be sure to sign up.

Plunder for your Undersea Campaign

Hordes of plunder for your undersea campaign, Atlantean inventions, a fleet of new ships and vehicles, and more feats than you can swing a yardarm at.

Get it now with this special discount (good until the 7th of July).

General

Claustrophobia is Four! Celebrate with Us!

Claustrophobia!, the game of little gnomes in tight spaces, turns 4 today! Celebrate with us and get 40% off Claustrophobia! when you buy it from our store. Full details below.Claustrophobia Cover

“This is pretty much up our alley.”

— John Arcadian, Gnome Stew

Grab your pointy hat and say goodbye to the daisies, it’s time to embark on a perilous subterranean journey as a brave — or suicidal — garden gnome.
Face grueling challenges and unique monsters as you explore the dark places, traveling aboard the HMS Keeton, a scratch-built, nuclear-powered drilling rig with a mind of its own.
Claustrophobia’s unique mechanics and elegant rules system emphasize cooperative story play, providing the perfect mix for an evening’s hilarious insanity. Just add friends and dice.

 

*Use the code ‘FourGnomes’ on checkout.

The coupon is good for 40% off on Claustrophobia!, until the 7th of June, 2020. Use the coupon code ‘FourGnomes’ on checkout to redeem your discount.

A Brief History of Claustrophobia!

Personally, I learned so much from making Claustrophobia! If you’ve ever wanted to make a game, then the best advice I can give you is: go for it. The process is worth the journey, and each game you create will help you grow as a designer.

Claustrophobia! isn’t perfect, by any means, but it taught me so much and helped me do a much better job of later projects, such as the upcoming Nightscape: Red Terrors TTRPG. It’s one of the reasons why I treasure the game, it was a stepping stone towards going pro.

Here’s a look at the various logos we had for Claustrophobia! I think they speak for themselves. Hiring my brother Don to take on the art and layout of Claustrophobia! was one of the best decisions I made. The book wouldn’t have been nearly as good without him, or my team of playtesters.

The Future of Claustrophobia!

Work is already underway on Claustrophobia! Expanded, the second edition of the game. I’ve learned so much in these four years since the book launched, and there are many things I want to do with the system, that revisiting and expanding the system into a fully formed RPG just makes sense.

I’m toying with licensing the core mechanics under a Creative Commons license, which means you’ll be able to use the mechanics in your own published games. I’d love to see Claustrophobia’s community grow, and supporting creators is one way I can see of doing that. What do you think?

New Fiction

Don’t forget to check out our latest fiction from Valkyrie: Ragnarok. The crew of the dwarven mine crawler known as the Rat face new dangers and have tough decisions to make in Soup With the Enemy.

Bowls

Madness Cards Available Again

Our Madness Cards for fifth edition are available again!

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, card printing was unavailable for a time, so we used the opportunity to update the set. This meant that we had to reorder print proofs, but we did and they look great. Madness Cards are available through Drive Thru RPG.

Madness Cards Set
Madness Cards for fifth edition.

We’ve got Madness Cards coming for the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game: Second Edition too, so watch the blog.



General

Soup With the Enemy — Valkyrie: Ragnarok

A new excerpt from Valkyrie: Ragnarok is here! Join the crew of the Rat, a dwarven mine crawler, and their mysterious guest in Soup With the Enemy. Far from home and running out of supplies, the Rat’s crew resort to desperate measures…

For the full excerpt, be sure to subscribe to our newsletter. You can find past excerpts by checking out the Valkyrie: Ragnarok tag ( it’s worth bookmarking the link).

The churned sand sucked at her feet as she walked, her slave shift whispering against the sand as she moved. In the distance, the sun sank slowly past the darkening dunes again, marking another dusk. The twilight was dreamlike, peaceful.

Sand exploded up, a great cloud that showered dirt over the travellers. In the chaos that ensued, Faya caught only fragments of sound and sights. The awful clanking of metal. Balls of fire flying through the air. A guard, screaming as flames engulfed him. A loud crack and a flash, then death screams. A short, thick shouldered figure battered a guard with the butt of his weapon. Then vice-like hands grabbed her by the arm. She tried to run, to wrestle herself free. She didn’t want to die. A gruff voice, commanding her is a harsh language she couldn’t understand. She broke free. She ran. An arm wrapped around her waist and held her tight.

She was half pulled, half dragged through the sand and gloom. Several masked figures stood close, ramming rods into their long weapons, then firing gouts of explosive flame past her shoulder. More shouting, then more of the creatures arrived. She suddenly yanked up into the air. More thick hands grabbed her and she was bundled through a dark opening.

It was like another world. Dark, hard, cold, metallic. Acrid smoke burnt her nose and choked her lungs. It was cramped here, claustrophobic. She was shoved and pulled along. The metal grating below her feet clanked as the creatures jostled her.

There was a monstrous roar and the world began to buck and shudder beneath her feet. She fell over, cracking her head hard on the edge of something. More shouting. She got to her knees and felt warm blood running down her face, covering her fingers.

For a time, Faya must have blanked out. She caught glimpses of red light, heard rough, savage laughter, and the thump of a hammer. Darkness enveloped her, but always there was the horrible shuddering.

…

‘Gawn, you blundering bulldog. “Water,” I said, and here’s you, giving us another mouth to quench.’ Captain Stalslag flexed his bandaged hand, sitting forward in his captain’s chair to stare sternly at the younger dwarf.

‘Aye, Captain. But she was clearly a prisoner.’

‘So, is she our prisoner now, or who exactly have we done a favour for? She’s clearly no Savonin welp.’

‘I have no…’

‘Neither is she a local.’

‘Aye…’

‘Nor is she a mokith pup, though I might be glad if she were.’

‘Aye, but…’

‘Don’t speak while I’m scolding you, boy. This is an important lesson you need to learn. Use your head, boy. Your heart’s in the right place, but now we have a problem, and I don’t intend to be the one cleaning it up. Do you get my meaning?’

‘Aye, Captain. I…’

‘You’ll listen carefully, is what you’ll do. Beir recons we’ve got enough water to make the run back, which means three or four days. Five, if we’re unlucky. You need to decide what you’ll do with your little pet before we reach the grottoes.’ The captain held up three thick fingers. ‘Three days, Gawn, three days. After that she can’t come with us. You know the penalty. And it’ll be your head, not mine. Are we clear?’

‘Aye, Captain. You have my word.’

‘Good. You’re a good lad, and you did the right thing. Just sort it out, for all our sakes. Dismissed.’

‘Aye, Captain.’ Gawn turned on his heels and left the cockpit.

…

In the companionway he met The Geezer. ‘Gawn, Captain give you an earful, did he?’

‘Aye, but it’ll all be sorted soon.’

‘I have a mind to tell you the same thing that I’m sure the Captain did. She’s not something we want aboard when we reach the grottoes.’

Gawn moved to pass the older dwarf, who grabbed him by the arm before he could escape.

‘She’s not what you think, Gawn. She’s human enough, but not all of her is. She has a touch of the Dark Woods about her. That scares me, Gawn. She shouldn’t be alive if she’s one of their tryst bastards. That’s one taboo the elves don’t take a kindly view of.’

Gawn paused, considering the fact.

‘Poor thing cut her head. I bandaged her up. The proof’s right there, Gawn, hidden in her hair.’

‘Thank you, Geeze, you’re a good friend.’

‘I’ll be your only friend, if you don’t sort this out.’ The older dwarf chuckled. ‘What will you do?’

‘I’ll think of something.’

‘What? Drop her off with the mokith? Drop her off on the surface? I’m not sure what’s worse.’

‘There has to be a human settlement somewhere. Maybe the bedawi?’

‘The bedawi won’t touch her with a stick.’ Sal said, as he came in through a porthole, carrying a bowl of steaming soup for the captain. ‘Foods up. You better eat.’

‘Aye, before Beir scoffs it all.’ The Geezer said. ‘But take that bowl through, then explain what you mean.’

‘The bedawi?’ Sal asked, then continued. ‘They’re down to earth people, but they didn’t survive Angor by being curious.’

‘And other villages, Sal?’ Gawn asked.

‘You’re out of luck. The next village is a day’s detour north. Considering the Savonin were heading that way, I wouldn’t bet my luck on it.’

The stories continues, be sure to subscribe to our newsletter to get the full story.