The Chained Coffin Kickstarter or Your Fantasy Appalachia Campaign in a Box

There is a Kickstarter currently underway for my forthcoming DCC RPG adventure DCC #83 The Chained Coffin. Why is Goodman Games conducting a Kickstarter rather than simply publishing the adventure as they’ve done eighty-two times before? Good question.

It began with a little puzzle lock idea I included in the original manuscript. An ancient and long-sealed door bears a combination lock puzzle that needs bypassing in order to get through the mighty valve. My initial plan was to have the puzzle illustrated in three pictures that could be printed out or photocopied, and then the judge would assemble the wheel by hand to give to the players to monkey with. Joseph Goodman thought we could go one better and inquired with the printers whether it was possible to create such an item and have it included with the adventure. It was, but it would take a little doing, and thus the Chained Coffin Kickstarter campaign was launched.

That was the humble beginning of a project that is now dreaming big dreams and asking the DCC fans for help achieving that objective. Joseph and I discussed various stretch goals to help drive the Kickstarter, and I admitted that I had a lot of stories waiting to be told in the Shudder Mountains, that fantasy Appalachia analog inspired by the works of Appendix N author, Manly Wade Wellman. I originally told Joseph that if the adventure proved popular, I’d like to revisit the setting again in a sequel. If all goes well, I might not have to wait that long.

It has come to pass that The Chained Coffin may be destined for greater things that a simple 32 pp. adventure. If the fans desire it, The Chained Coffin could become a mini-campaign boxed set, one that includes a large 11”x17” regional map, a gazetteer describing the Shudder Mountains, and, in addition to The Chained Coffin adventure, a pair of secondary adventures designed to begin play in the region as zero-level PCs and to encounter later in their adventuring careers.

Needless to say, if this “campaign in a box” idea becomes a reality and is well-received by the fans, it may begin a new trend with DCC RPG. People have been clamoring for an official DCC RPG campaign world (whether a new one or a revised version of Aereth, Goodman’s original campaign world for the 3E DCC adventures) and this could be the first of several steps to make that happen.

DCC RPG encourages judges to abandon the notion that the campaign world needs to be a vast, sprawling expanse filled with countless cities and diverse ecospheres. Instead, DCC RPG suggests taking a smaller approach and limiting the campaign to a compact region, like a duchy, a minor stretch of wilderness, or even a single valley. The Shudder Mountains are precisely this style of world design: a finite area filled with enough adventuring ideas, unusual locals, and unique critters to meet the needs of long-term play.

A series of “campaign boxes” would allow judges to pick and choose what they want to include in their campaign worlds, rather than be given the full world treatment common to most pre-packaged fantasy campaigns. To continue with an Appalachian-themed metaphor, you’d get the patches to make the quilt rather than the whole blanket, and could assemble them using only the squares of color that catch your interest. Not into Egyptian-themed adventuring regions? Then there’s no need to spend the buy that campaign module (although if I wrote that one, I hope you would anyway). Love the idea of sword-and-planet type adventures? Pick up the hypothetical “Perils of the Purple Planet” themed set. And so on down the line.

This way, the folks who want a sense of a shared campaign world could have one—if they so desired—while the maniacal homebrewed campaign designer could pick and choose, utilizing material from the sets that captured their interest whole cloth or just the portions they liked. It’s an interesting concept and I believe it would be useful to game masters of not just DCC RPG, but other fantasy games as well.

As it stands now, The Chained Coffin Kickstarter needs to meet a goal of $36,000 dollars to make the boxed set a reality. But even if it fails to hit that mark in the two-weeks-and-change remaining, there’s still a plethora of goodies already funded. As of this morning, a $30 pledge entitles you to:

1) DCC RPG #83 The Chained Coffin with a special silver foil cover.

2) A stand-alone spinning wheel puzzle dial along with five other ways to utilize the device in your campaign beyond the original door lock.

3) Additional source material including a patron write-up for “Ol’ Blackcloak,” a powerful entity encountered in the adventure.

4) A mini-gazetteer of the Shudder Mountains region.

5) Several pages of added random encounters in the Shudder Mountains.

6) Two full pages of Doug Kovacs’ illustrated player handouts.

7) Seven alternate versions of the Bad Lick Beast, another challenging denizen of the Shudder Mountains.

8) Two more pages of player handouts.

9) A zero-level adventure complete with Shudder Mountain regional starting occupations.

10) The Almanac of the Shudder Mountains (working title) that compiles the additional background material into a single, digest-sized supplement for ease of reference during play. The Almanac includes several new monsters waiting to meet the players.

Still awaiting funding are:

11) $18,000: The Almanac will be expanded to include Magic of the Shudder Mountains. 

12) $20,000: The Almanac will be upgraded to 24 pages of normal letter-sized pages, and will be expanded to include even more gazetteer material. 

13) $25,000: We'll add in another mini-adventure in the Shudder Mountains that fills the gap between your level 0 characters and the level 5 Chained Coffin module.

14) $30,000: The Almanac will be expanded with another 8 pages of gazetteer material further expanding the Shudder Mountain region.

15) $35,000: We'll print an 11"x17" poster map of the Shudder Mountains region.

16) $36,000: We'll print a full-color box to hold it all! The Shudder Mountains gazetteer and adventure path will be complete. This two-part box (i.e., complete with "box and lid," both in color) will hold your copy of the module, the Almanac, the poster map, and the bonus mini-adventure. With some room to spare! 

I’m immensely proud of the work I’ve done with the Shudder Mountains. You can hear me gush about the project a bit on the latest Spellburn podcast (note that the stretch goal tiers have been reduced in cost since that episode was recorded—you get an even better deal for your money!). It’s not every day one gets the play in a world inspired by the evocative works of Manly Wade Wellman and transform 1950s Appalachia into a fantasy setting. I summed up the experience and The Chained Coffin itself in a piece I penned for last year’s Goodman Games Gen Con program:

One of the great joys of writing DCC RPG adventures comes from the game’s commitment to remaining true to the classic pulp-era fantasy and science-fiction stories that inspired fantasy roleplaying, the so-called “Appendix N” tales. And while “sword & sorcery” yarns comprise the lion’s share of Appendix N, they are not the only types of stories found within it. The Chained Coffin derives its inspiration from American folklore, as perceived through the atmospheric works of Manly Wade Wellman. You’ll find no kobolds and orcs in The Chained Coffin, but plenty of restless ghosts, shunned witches and conjure-men, and devils willing to make a deal at midnight, all set against a backdrop of superstition-filled mountains and secluded hollows where the still air smells of pine trees. Heady stuff, indeed, and a far cry from your traditional fantasy RPG fare.

The Chained Coffin stands as my favorite DCC RPG adventure to date. The opportunity to create and then dwell for a time within a region more at home in the eons-old Appalachian Mountains than the fantastical landscapes of Tolkien, Howard, Moorcock, and Leiber was a designer’s dream. Hopefully, my personal enjoyment will be shared by you, the judge and player. So gather ‘round the fire, friends, pass the jug this way, and bend an ear to the music of the mountains. There are both horrors and wonders waiting in the Deep Hollows and, if you listen close at midnight, you might just hear a tune or two played on a lonesome fiddle strung with silver strings…

I’m looking forward to the opportunity to expand on the material I’ve already conjured up. Hopefully, if share an interest and want to be part of it, we’ll make the boxed set a reality. Please share this post or the Kickstarter page with similar like-minded folk if you would. I’d be most appreciative if you help me turn the Shudder Mountains into a place that spawns a hundred new DCC RPG campaigns. I’ll sign off now and let you go take a gander at the Kickstarter and weigh your decision. But before you depart, allow Leadbelly to put you in the appropriate state of mind:

Thanks, friends. See you in the Shudders.

The Last, Long Mile of the Stonehell 2 Journey

I've been keeping the masses informed about the progress of the Stonehell Dungeon sequel over on the books' Facebook and Google+ pages, but new milestones have been reached. I thought I'd share that report here, along with a preview of the cover art and links to other associated projects.

Stonehell Two Status Report (5.3.14)

I’m extremely pleased to break the month-long silence with news that all the last elements of the book are coming together. As predicted, I didn’t have much to report as the book’s progress relied on other people’s contributions and wasn’t directly in my hands. It amazing how things move forward when I’m not the one responsible for pushing the project along. This report brings us two big pieces of news: the finalization of the sequel’s cover art and the edited manuscript back in hand.

J.A. D’Andrea, who did the cover of the first Stonehell book, is providing the cover art for the sequel. I’m always greatly impressed by J.A.’s work, but his piece for the sequel really struck a chord. He did a magnificent job of expressing the depths of Stonehell Dungeon and the strange mentality that accompanies those who tread its halls. I’m proud to feature this one on the cover, not only because it’s good, but because having J.A.’s work reappear makes a nice book-end for the Stonehell series. Other pieces of art are also trickling in, meaning that I’ll soon have all the components needed to push on to final layout.

I have also received the edited manuscript back from the outside editor. I’m happy to report that my own three passes over the draft were not in vain and that the editor found only minor corrections that need to be implemented. This was a great relief, as my mind always suspects the worse when I send things off for others to review. However, in this case at least, the worry was unfounded.

Here’s what remains to be done on the punch list:

1) Implement the minor changes required by the manuscript.

2) Collect the last stray pieces of art.

3) Finalize the layout by adding the art, tweaking the format, and including the various legalese, index, credits, and “special thanks to” sections.

4) Compose the cover.

5) Get a printer’s proof made and review it.

6) Make any final changes required by the proof.

7) Publication.

As you can see, there’s still a little work to be done, but we’re heading into the last mile of the journey. Unfortunately, and you knew there had to be an “unfortunately” if you’ve been following this project, I’m running into a time crunch. The success of the Metamorphosis Alpha Kickstarter left me with a few pressing projects that need completion ASAP. I need to get these off my plate before I can attend to the sequel. I also have North Texas RPG Con in a month and must complete the last adventure that needs writing before I get on the plane for Dallas (space remains in at least two of my games if you’re interested). I’d hoped to be able to debut Stonehell 2 at North Texas, but, barring a miracle of time and effort, I doubt this will occur. Rest assured, I’m eager to complete Stonehell 2 and bid a fond farewell to the project. I’ll continue to push ahead when I can and I’ll keep you informed of my progress.

Once again, I thank you for your patience, but know that we’re almost there. In the meantime, I ask anyone who enjoys my work to check out the latest Goodman Games’ Kickstarter for The Chained Coffin, a new adventure penned by me that centers on a hexcrawl through a “fantasy Appalachia” as inspired by the work of Manly Wade Wellman. The Chained Coffin is one of my favorite works to date and I think it demonstrates admirably the goal of DCC RPG going back to the source material of the hobby and doing new and interesting things with the Appendix N material.

METAMORPHOSIS ALPHA: 1976

You may have heard the news already, but I’ve yet to chime in on the latest announcement by Goodman Games that emerged from the chaos of Gary Con VI. Yes, it’s true: the original METAMORPHOSIS ALPHA rules as written by James. M. Ward is being re-released in a deluxe collector’s edition!

Late last year, I started receiving some very cryptic emails from Joseph Goodman inquiring about my familiarity with METAMORPHOSIS ALPHA. I knew the game, and had the uncommon honor of adventuring aboard the Warden three times under Jim Ward’s mastery without the loss of life or limb. I was hoping these email were leading in the direction they seemed to be going, and, sure enough, once the legalities and contracts were obtained, I got the invite to climb aboard the doomed Warden for another go-around.

For those of you unfamiliar with METAMORPHOSIS ALPHA, it is the original science-fiction roleplaying game released by TSR back in 1976. You play the role of a primitive tribesman aboard the generational starship, the Warden, bound for a distant star. Generations ago, catastrophe struck the Warden, killing a large percentage of the crew and colonists, and mutating many of the survivors. Over time, those left alive on the Warden forgot their original mission and plunged into a state of barbarism. The decline of civilization was so thorough that the survivors forgot they were aboard a starship, and developed tribal communities in self-contained levels of the ship that defined their entire world.

As a player character, you begin the game in these small enclosed worlds but eventually discover the truth of your predicament, acquiring knowledge of the Warden and learning to use many of the weird artifacts (lasers, vibro blades, Geiger counters, etc.) left behind by the original crew. If you survive long enough (a difficult task given the hostility of the mutated creatures that prowl the ship and the lethality of radiation still lingering in places), you may eventually gain control of the ship and perhaps even guide it to safety on a new world.

Although METAMORPHOSIS ALPHA didn’t have a long printing life during the TSR days, the game, unlike the PCs who explore the Warden, proved notoriously hard to kill. METAMORPHOSIS ALPHA is the urtext for GAMMA WORLD, and many of the mutations, mutants, and technology found in that first post-apocalyptic roleplaying game first appeared in MA. And like GAMMA WORLD, a game which has gone through seven or eight editions, METAMORPHOSIS ALPHA endured beyond its original print run. TSR released a version of the game for it AMAZING ENGINE system in 1994, Fast Forward Entertainment published a 25^th anniversary edition in 2002, Mudpuppy Games produced the fourth edition in 2006, and there is currently work on a 5^th edition of MA by Signal Fire Games. On top of all this, the original 1976 rulebook is available for download and print-on-demand from WardCo.

“So why in the blazes in Goodman Games producing a deluxe collector’s edition of the original rules?” you might ask. The answer is based on playability, longevity, and historical importance.

The original rules, as available from WardCo., are identical to the 1976 TSR release—and that includes the minute font they were printed in. If you’ve never seen the original rulebook, the type is very small and the layout is in dual column format. That might have been a good idea in 1976, but as many gamers get older, their eyes aren’t what they used to be and the tiny type becomes difficult to decipher. The Goodman Games print run will be an oversized 10.5” x 14” book, allowing the original rules to be printed at 110% size. This will alleviate the eyestrain factor.

The Goodman Games version also collects a vast amount of material released for METAMORPHOSIS ALPHA under a single cover. Magazine articles about the game, James M. Ward’s short story, “Footprints in the Sky,” a new introductory adventure, special advice essays written especially for the deluxe edition, and other useful material will all be compiled in the Goodman Games edition. To ensure this material survives, say exposure to cosmic radiation (or regular game use), the deluxe edition will utilized high-quality binding, that used by collegiate text, to keep the book intact for decades to come. It’s a book you’ll be proud to have as part of your RPG collection, yet tough enough to actually use at the table.

The collector’s edition release also allows Goodman Games to provide support for METAMORPHOSIS ALPHA in the form of published adventures, something that MA has been lacking for many years. Four (and maybe five if the Kickstarter hits its stretch goals) adventures released by Goodman Games are planned for METAMORPHOSIS ALPHA in the coming year. The first, The Android Underlords, was available for purchase at Gary Con VI and was written by yours truly. The opportunity to contribute even a little bit to the Warden’s long history was a dream come true for me, and when the creator of the game praised the adventure, it was a fan’s dream come true. If Jim likes it, you know it’s both good and worthy of bearing the METAMORPHOSIS ALPHA title on the cover.

Once the Kickstarter funds, there will be another three adventures produced, one by Jobe Bittman, another by me, and a third by the captain of the Warden, himself, James M. Ward. Should the Kickstarter hit $37,000, a fifth adventure, author to be determined, will be published as well. Even if you decide that the collector’s edition isn’t your cup of tea, you might consider contributing to the Kickstarter to get the complete run of adventures, all of which can be played with the WardCo version of the rules or easily adapted to other RPG systems (like DCC RPG, for instance!).

Before I go, it bears mentioning that the deluxe collector’s edition is being produced under a license that allows a single printing of the book. Once this run is gone, so is the deluxe version. Those who don’t get aboard the Kickstarter now will have to rely on the secondary markets—where it will command an extravagant price—to obtain a copy.

Hopefully, my ramblings have piqued your interest enough to back the Kickstarter, but if not, there are other ways to get involved with the original science-fiction RPG. Consider checking out one or more of the following METAMORPHOSIS ALPHA forums for more information about the game and to meet like-minded mutants:

The Official METAMORPHOSIS ALPHA forum
The Goodman Games forum’s METAMORPHOSIS ALPHA section
The METAMORPHOSIS ALPHA Facebook Group
The Google+ METAMORPHOSIS ALPHA Community

MAJUS: Funded!

Abracadabra! As of yesterday afternoon, MAJUS has reached it goal of $3,500. I'm extraordinarily pleased to see that the game has the funding necessary to pay for the art and layout. Great strides have already been made in completing the illustrations and Dan Proctor reports that the game may be ready before its estimated August 2013 release date.

Allow me to extend my gratitude to everyone who contributed. Without your gracious contributions, MAJUS might have been regulated to the "good ideas that never materialized" pile. For those of you wishing to get in on the Kickstarter before it ends, you have two more days to contribute over at the Kickstarter page. The project's deadline for contributions is Sunday, April 21st at 9:01 AM EDT.

MAJUS' funding completed, I'll now cease my shilling. Thank you for enduring my side-show-esque hawking for the last few weeks.

MAJUS: The End is Near

Four days and $280 near to be precise. MAJUS is 100% compatible with TIMEMASTER, ROTWORLD, SANDMAN, and certain other old Pacesetter titles like STAR ACE and CHILL. If you dig those games, MAJUS introduces new threats and abilities to unleash upon your players or enrich your campaign. More details and a chance to make the magic of MAJUS happen are available at the Kickstarter page. Please consider pushing us across the finish line.

MAJUS: Five Days and Less than $500 Remain

Today's MAJUS-related post is a simple one. There's five days left in the funding campaign and we're less than $500 away from our goal of $3500. If you haven't kicked in yet and were planning to, the time to panic is almost here. Please visit the Kickstarter page and pledge now so I can finally get a good night's sleep! Thank you.

MAJUS: Marvin and Lord Rathmore are in. How about you?

Today's blatant plug of the MAJUS Kickstarter comes from Jim Wampler, Gygax Magazine Art Editor and creator of Marvin the Mage! We're seven days and $603 away from funding my magic noir game. Don't be left behind once the magic goes away. And for the record, I hate shilling, but it's a necessary evil sometimes. It'll soon be over, I promise, but it's going to get worse the closer we get to the finish line until we get those last couple of C-notes to finish the funding. Apologies in advance!

MAJUS: Five Adventure Seeds to Get You Started

As I write this, we’re just 9 days and $1,119 away the end of the MAJUS Kickstarter campaign. Some of you have already contributed and now have a playable copy of the game in your (digital) hands. But where do you begin your new MAJUS campaign? With many different options available to you, you might already have the wheel spinning in your heads. However, some folks may require a little helpful guidance before heading into the shadowy underworld of the Maji. In that regard, I’m here to help.

What follows are five adventure seeds you can use to jumpstart your MAJUS game. As is my usual design philosophy, I’m going to avoid hard game mechanics and just give you the gist of things to get your creative juices flowing. Whenever applicable, I note what version of the Skein might work best for these seeds, but feel free to ignore whatever I say (which is also my design philosophy in a nutshell).

1) One of the young scions of the Skein bloodline (Skein option #1) vanishes and the PCs become embroiled in locating the child, either by their Tower or as part of their own schemes in the Mehen. With no ransom forthcoming, kidnapping for monetary or magical gain seems unlikely. The PCs’ investigation unearths that the child went missing while accompanying his minders on a seemingly mundane errand close to one of the seamier section of the city. Unbeknownst to all, the child was lured away from his protectors by a band of Tylwyth Teg slavers intent on selling the child to the highest bidder, be it child slavers or rival Maji. The PCs must venture into the faerie-controlled criminal underworld to rescue the child before he goes up on the block.  For a more horrific adventure, substitute the Tylwyth Teg faeries for one of De Rais’ Children, making the PCs’ search a race against the clock before the missing boy becomes the ogre’s next meal.

2) On May 20, 2003, US-led forces invade Iraq under the codename “Operation Iraqi Liberation.” Ostensibly, the collation’s purpose is to end the regime of Saddam Hussein and stop Iraq’s weapons of mass destruction initiative, but was there another purpose? In this adventure, the Iraq War is the public face of a gambit masterminded by the Projecteers to locate and loot a number of ancient sites dating back to Sumer strewn throughout the Iraqi deserts. The PCs are deep-cover operatives of the Projecteers charged with the discovery and plundering of those sites before rival Towers can do the same. Played against a backdrop of on-going warfare and insurgency, the PCs must navigate a treacherous landscape where not all threats are magical. In addition to dodging bullets and IEDs, the Maji must face down enemy sorcerers and mystical guardians, some of whom have grown incredibly powerful since they accepted their charges from the priest-kings of old. Skein options #2 and #3 work equally well for this campaign, which can continue throughout the occupation of Iraq.

3) A series of anonymous tips alert the PCs to certain stratagems in play by rival Maji, allowing them to counteract their enemies’ schemes before coming to fruition. The identity of their informant remains a puzzling mystery, but one thing is clear: Whoever is alerting them knows much about the Old Game. But can this mysterious source be trusted? After much convincing, their unknown ally agrees to meet with them and the PCs discover that he is none other than a “feral” golem whose master died in the Old Game. Now searching for a place in the mystical underworld, the golem is well-versed in the Mehen and is both a valuable source of intelligence and a formidable opponent in battle. But can he be completely trusted, or is its aid all a prelude to its subtle campaign to bring about the destruction of all Maji, who it still harbors ill-will toward for its creation and abandonment? Skein option #4 works well for this adventure idea, but cunning CMs might use option #3 and make the golem itself one of the artifacts important to the Skein.

4) The PCs catch wind of a rumored artifact of old, long forgotten in an ancient temple dedicated to an obscure deity from antiquity. The location of the temple has vanished in the mists of history and the worshippers of that long-ago god no longer exist to aid their search. With no other leads available, the Maji must venture into the Astral Plane to the region known as Cemetery, where old gods go to die. After navigating the hazards of the Astral realm, the PCs win their way to Cemetery to locate the flickering spark that was once a deity and convince it to reveal the location of its former temple. If they’re lucky, the PCs might not only discover the resting place of the artifact, but inspire new life in the dying divinity, earning them a potent new ally in the Mehen once the god begins to reclaim its old power.

5) It is a well-known fact that nobody walks away from the table once they’ve started playing the Old Game. Retirement is not an option for Maji. Nevertheless, it seems one Majus intends to prove everyone wrong and has decided to duck out of the Mehen at the top of his game. In order to do so, he must tie up decades’ worth of loose ends, owed favors, enemies still gunning for him, and a host of other small tasks to make a clean break. To do so, he decides to employ the up-and-coming PCs as his agents, promising to hand the reins of his magical empire over to them if they help him get out of the Old Game. Can he be trusted? Does the Majus really want out or is this just another one of the multi-faceted schemes he’s used over the years to build his powerbase? This adventure seed works best with option #4, but can easily incorporate any (or even all) other Skein option in a campaign. CMs looking to run a campaign with a secretive director issuing regular adventures to the PCs for them to pursue will find this an excellent framing device for the campaign.

MAJUS: A Look at the Skein

Let me first say that I’ve extremely grateful to the fifty-seven of you who have contributed to the MAJUS Kickstarter. We’re at the half-way point now and the game is more than 50% funded. With two weeks left in the campaign drive, I thought I’d shine a hasher light into the shadows of MAJUS and illuminate the driving goal of its inhabitants: that strange thing called “The Skein.”

Conflict is a necessary element in drama, and therefore a requirement for any medium seeking to engage and entertain its audience—RPGs included. When I sat down to write MAJUS, I set out to design a central point of contention that drove the battles in the shadows that are the lifeblood of Maji. At the same time, my design goal was to make this axis of conflict customizable to allow game masters to run the type of campaign they wanted within the MAJUS universe. The end result was the Skein, an enigmatic end game that most of the rival magical Towers seek to either control, destroy, or protect.

In short, the Skein is a thing that the Maji have been contesting since the days of ancient Sumer, with some seeking to claim it for themselves, while others strive to destroy it completely. It serves as the focal point of the Old Game, otherwise known as “the Mehen” after a nearly forgotten Egyptian game of strategy. But what that thing is, I leave wholly up to the hands of the CM. This way, the Skein retains much of its mystery, and allows the game master to best build a campaign of MAJUS to his/her and the players’ liking.

MAJUS doesn’t leave the CM completely in the dark regarding the Skein, however, and I make a few suggestions as to what the Skein might be and how it affects the type of campaign that uses those options. Here’s a quick breakdown of the types of Skeins up for offering and what a campaign featuring those types might entail. You can find more details in the MAJUS rulebook, itself.

1) The Skein as a bloodline: Although all Maji trace their heritage back to the Sumerian priest-kings, not all are equal in blood. Among them is a sacred, powerful bloodline destined to bring about great changes on the magical stage. Jokingly known as the “Harry Potter option,” the Skein as a bloodline sees the campaign revolve around gambits designed to protect, enslave, or eradicate the descendents of this ancestral legacy. The PCs might be mystical bodyguards or, on the flip side of the coin, magical assassins charged with slaying those of the blood before they come to power. Another option would be a campaign where the members of the bloodline are unknown, forcing the PCs to track down the living descendents before deciding whether they need protection or destruction. Game masters looking to run campaigns featuring the Knights Templar, the Priory of Scion, or to cannibalize the plot of The Da Vinci Code will find this option to their liking. It can also take strange turns into Lovecraft country. After all, the Maji of ancient Sumer were said to have come from the sea. Perhaps the members of the bloodline are those “pure” specimens who retail the strongest hold on their aquatic ancestry or maybe they are the inheritors of the lost arts of sunken Mu.

2) The Skein as sacred sites: This option casts the Skein as a network of lay lines, dragon roads, etc. which cross at potent points across the globe. These nexuses contain immense mystical power and the Tower that controls these sites bolsters their magical prowess a hundredfold. In their moves and counter-moves in the Mehen, the Maji battle to discover and possess (or destroy) these sacred sites before their enemies can, and game masters looking to indulge in world-spanning travel to obscure locals will find this option to their liking. From dense jungles to frozen wastes, the PCs journey to locate these nodes to tap or negate their power. In this version, these sacred sites are known as “labyrinths,” named after one of the first of their kind in ancient Crete. And of course, every labyrinth needs a “minotaur” to guard it. In a campaign with this type of Skein, these minotaurs run the gamut from strong and obviously supernatural defenders to inbred hillbillies with shotguns and a strong family legacy to patrician New England families with a sense of honor and millions of dollars in their trust funds. The PCs might even be minotaurs themselves, seeking to protect their labyrinth from outsiders seeking to pillage or decimate it. If you want a campaign with gunfights and spell-slinging amongst the ruins of Machu Picchu after the tourists have gone back to their hotels, this is the option to choose.

3) The Skein as antiquities: For the Indiana Jones’ fans, this version of the Skein sees the Towers competing to possess or eradicate ancient objects of power, and like the Skein as sacred sites’ version, is a good excuse for world-trotting Maji to battle in exotic or unexpected places. At least one of the Towers, the Sodality of Thoth Eternal, dedicates itself to the collecting and cataloguing of ancient artifacts, and with this Skein option, the PCs might be members of that Tower looking to acquire new artifacts either from forgotten locations or from the hands of their current owners. Game masters can do a lot with this type of Skein. One week might see the PCs battling in a dilapidated Mayan tomb in the middle of the jungle and the next week have them plotting an “Ocean’s Eleven” type heist to steal an artifact from a gleaming and heavily defended (both magically and mundanely) skyscraper. If you really want to pay homage to the noir roots of MAJUS, steal the plot of “The Maltese Falcon,” but make everyone a rival Maji and give the Falcon some potent mojo. Game masters looking for inspiration or artifacts to outright steal will find ten of them in the pages of MAJUS: From Hess’ Luger to the Emerald Tablet of Hermes Trismegistus, there are some neat oddities to choose from.

4) The Skein as the Maji: In this version, the Skein and the Old Game is the same thing, with the Maji fighting to dominate the magical underworld and plot the course of humanity’s fate. Call it the “Highlander Option,” if you will. Rather than battling to possess some external element, the Maji are fighting themselves, with each Tower out to use or destroy the rest until only one remains alive. To this end, there is no lack of double-crosses, multi-level conspiracies, paranoid, and machinations, and the PCs can never trust others—even the party itself might face betrayal from within! This version really draws inspiration from the gray morality of film noir and players who thrive on weaving complex schemes and manipulating others will find this option most enjoyable. In the end, only one Tower will remain standing (or maybe just a single cabal of Maji within that Tower): Are the players’ crafty enough to be those survivors?

If any of this is pushing your “That’s So Cool!” buttons and you haven’t done so yet, please take the time to throw a few bucks at the MAJUS Kickstarter. Remember, every contributor receives the draft copy of the rules, allowing you to familiarize yourself with the world of MAJUS and get playing long before the book arrives on your doorstep in August. Thanks for reading and a double “thank you” for contributing!

MAJUS Draft Now Available to All Funders

This just in from Dan Proctor courtesy of the Goblinoid Games blog:

Starting today all backers have access to the draft of MAJUS prior to final layout with art. This is provided as a thank you to all supporters, and so that you can get right into enjoying the game before the final version is finished. Current backers please check today's update (for backers only) with download instructions. Future backers, once pledged, can read Update 2 from the Kickstarter page to find instructions.

Have a great weekend!

Whether you've pledged $1.00 or $100.00, here's your chance to get the magic of MAJUS started right away. Go make a pledge at the Kickstarter page and checkout Update #2 for details on how to get your copy of the art-free draft version of the game.

More About MAJUS

There have been a few questions floating around about Goblinoid Games’ new Pacesetter System game, MAJUS. Since I’m extremely well-qualified to answer them and because playing coy doesn’t help the game get funded, I’ve put together this handy primer on what to expect while you’re expecting MAJUS to fund. Hopefully, it’ll also help those of you currently on the fence to make the plunge and throw some money at the project to get us across the finish line.

What’s the Kickstarter for?

Primarily, the Kickstarter campaign is to raise money to pay for the art and final layout of the book. The rules are 100% written and play tested, so there’s no waiting on the actual game itself to be completed. The art for MAJUS is being done by Mark Allen, whose work appears in numerous other gaming supplements (including Realms of Crawling Chaos by Goblinoid Games). You can check out his website here if you’re unacquainted with Mark’s work.

What time period is MAJUS set in?

By default, MAJUS is set in the modern world, but the CM is not limited to the 21^st century when creating the campaign. Although MAJUS is billed as a “magic noir” game, implying it takes place during the 1940s and 1950s, the heyday of film noir, it’d be more accurate to call it a “neo-noir” setting. However, since “neo-noir” is less recognizable than “noir” amongst the general population, I billed the game as “magic noir.” Also, you could roughly translate “magic noir” as “black magic,” which isn’t a bad way to sell an urban fantasy RPG featuring sorcerers with questionable moral compasses.

Despite the modern setting, there’s nothing preventing you from running MAJUS in any time period of your liking. The Old Game between Maji has been ongoing since the days of ancient Sumeria and the game rules contain mechanics for an array of skills and weapons ranging from the archaic to the futuristic. Additionally, powerful Maji are able to project themselves backwards in time to previous incarnations, allowing for both one-off and ongoing adventures in distant epochs. If you want to rub shoulders with Da Vinci or fight Nazi magicians in the ruins of WWII Berlin, MAJUS allows you to do so.

MAJUS is a game about magicians, so how does magic work?

I had a heck of a good time researching “real world” magic systems and school when writing MAJUS. Borders Books and Music was shutting its doors during the design period and I helped clear out my local store’s New Age and Occult section of reference material.

In MAJUS, there are a number of magical paths known as “adits” and each is a three-tiered system of spells. At the lowest level, minor effects are possible, but with study, greater and more impressive results occur. There are twelve adits to choose from in MAJUS, ranging from “animagic” (the power to influence animals via mystical means) to “weather control,” with adits such as “blessing,” “hexing,” “glamour,” “counterspelling,” “summoning” and “warding” in between.

Magic is powerful, but low-key in MAJUS, and you won’t find a lot of fireballs or flying Maji around. Spell casting takes a bit of time, requires props and tools, and you’ll find variables like knowing your target’s true name or possessing something important to him helps the spell casting process. However, Maji are able to “hang” spells, allowing them to begin the mystical process prior to events that might benefit from magical assistance and then complete the spell when needed to produce nearly instantaneous results. The number of hanging spells a Maji can have ready at one time is dependent on his level of magical training and experience.

Besides the magical adits, Maji also walk strange paths, some of which seem preordained. A Maji can tap into the power of Synchronicity, enabling the magician to be at the right place at the right time or pick up hints the magical Skein might be strewing in the Maji’s path.

Since a player can cherry-pick which adits his PC knows, this allows for the creation of nearly any type of magician. If you want to play a sorcerer steeped in the Celtic druidic tradition, a New Age earth mother with potent healing (and hexing) powers, or a Hermitic magician well-versed in summoning angels and devils to do his bidding, you can build such a character in MAJUS.

That all you got?

Nope. Since the line between magic and psychic phenomenon is blurry (and some would argue non-existent), MAJUS contains rules for psychic talents and most Maji have one or two of them as well. These “paranormal talents” (PTs) cover a lot of ground and include aura reading, distance viewing, dowsing, dream walking, mesmerism, psychometry, and pyrokinesis, just to name a few. All total, there are thirteen different PTs to choose from, some of which will be familiar to those acquainted with other Pacesetter games, while others a brand new.

How are Maji organized?

In general, most Maji associate themselves with like-minded individuals and these groups are known as “towers” after the traditional sanctums of magicians. Towers vary in size from a half-dozen magicians to a few hundred, based on their goals, training, and ability to get along. MAJUS includes nine suggested towers, some of which are suitable for PC membership, while others are out-and-out “bad guys.” The nine towers included in MAJUS are:

• Abraxas: A group of magical families who enhance their power by consuming demons and other supernatural entities.
•  The Circle of Saturn: Aging Maji who are searching for immortality—by any means necessary.
• Prima Materia: Alchemists who seek not to change lead into gold, but perfect their mortal bodies into near-indestructible killing machines.
• The Projecteers: Maji who walk the halls of government, using military funding to engage in their own private wars to win the Old Game.
• The Quiet: Magical police (or are they assassins?) working for the enigmatic Veiled Masters who might be pulling all the strings in the Mehen.
• Schwarze Sonne: A tower of Maji birthed in Nazi Germany that still has access to the strange occult experiments enacted during that time.
• Sodality of Thoth Eternal: Maji on an archeological quest that travels the world, collecting artifacts and grimoires.
• The Thessalians: Witches with the power to draw down the moon and harness its energies against their enemies.
• The Witchfinders: Outlaw bikers who have no interest in the Old Game and serve as a (relatively) safe haven for those of similar thinking.

In addition to the towers, there’s a new breed of Maji in the Old Game, one that came out of the Age of Aquarius and the increased interest in magic during the 1960s. Known as “erratics,” these Maji are independent agents who might be the key to winning control of the Skein or disposable pawns easily manipulated by the towers.

You’ve got Maji, but urban fantasy is rife with other supernatural creatures. Any in MAJUS?

A dozen of them, not counting rules for creating your own astral entities like angels, nature spirits, devils, and demons. As with the magic of MAJUS, I drew on real world folklore to populate the supernatural ecological niches of the game, but gave each a different twist. From magic viruses that turn the infected in bloodthirsty maniacs, to indestructible ogres created by twisted French nobles, to psychic vampires, to aquatic bogeymen who keep the souls of drowned victims in bottles, there’s a lot of nastiness in the shadows of MAJUS. You might never look at a neon “LIVE NUDE GIRLS” sign the same.

I’m not that familiar with the other Pacesetter games. How compatible is MAJUS with other games?

The good news is that MAJUS is a complete game and you don’t need the other Pacesetter games available from Goblinoid to play. Hopefully, once you read the rules, you’ll use them as written and launch a MAJUS campaign with the rulebook alone. Plus, as an Action Table system game, MAJUS is fully compatible with TIMEMASTER and ROTWORLD, allowing you to throw in magic-wielding foes or new monsters in those game campaigns.

However, even if you decide not to use the Action Table system, the MAJUS setting is detailed enough (but not overly detailed) to easily be used with other RPGs. You can adapt the background material, towers, default setting, and other aspects of the game to build an exciting campaign using your rule system of choice. Plus, MAJUS features a short primer on “noir” campaigns, which is extremely helpful to the novice game master looking to incorporate those elements into other games.

Hopefully this clears up some of the questions surrounding MAJUS and gets you all excited to play. If so, please consider helping fund the game by visiting the Kickstarter page and pledging. If you have further questions, feel free to ask them hear or comment over at the Kickstarter page. Either Dan Proctor or I will address them whenever possible.

Legendary Realms Terrain Kickstarter

There's one last Kickstarter campaign I'd like to direct your attention to--assuming anybody still has money left in their bank accounts after the flurry of projects that have emerged lately. This one is by Legendary Realms Terrain, a small local company that produces dungeon terrain, accessories, and other neat pieces. They're also nice folks, to boot.

Legendary Realms Terrain produces resin pieces, making them lighter and less expensive than similiar pieces produced by companies like Dwarven Forge. All their items are sold pre-painted, which is a real boon to time-strapped gamers like myself. They have a pretty extensive back catalog of items, but they're looking to expand the variety of pieces and themes they produce, hence the Kickstarter.

If you use dungeon terrain in your games (or are thinking about doing so), please take a moment and check out the Kickstarter page and see if LRT has what you're looking for.

Dungeons & Dragons: A Documentary

Assuming you have any discretionary income left after backing the Reaper Kickstarter, The Horror on the Orient Express Kickstarter, and any other role-playing related projects that came down the pick recently, you might want to wander over the Dungeons & Dragons: A Documentary Kickstarter page and consider making a contribution to help get this film funded.

I know a few of the people participating in this documentary, all of whom expressed their enthusiasm for seeing this film made if only for the opportunity to finally allow for a fair-handed treatment of our favorite pastime, rather than one filled with histrionics, atypical gamers, or Mazes and Monsters.

The Kickstarter has four days to go and is around $15,000 away from funding. Look, read, watch, and if you think it's a good goal, kick a few bucks into the kitty and help it become a reality.

One More DCC RPG-Related Announcement

A new Kickstarter campaign has just been launched for Tales From the Fallen Empire, a 3PP supplement for Goodman Games’ Dungeon Crawl Classics RPG. Tales of the Fallen Empire is a post-apocalyptic swords & sorcery setting inspired by the works of Fritz Lieber, Robert E. Howard, Lynn Carter, H. P. Lovecraft, Roger Corman, and Michael Moorcock. It’s being produced by Chapter 13 Press and here’s the skinny on the setting:

1OO years have passed since Mankind revolted and slew the Sorcerer Kings of old… Now, the survivors of seven kingdoms begin to rebuild, placing new lives and hopes on the ashes of old. However, even as life continues, an ancient and forgotten evil stirs awaiting its moment to strike against mankind.

Join a war-torn land where the struggle for survival continues as new empires arise to impose their will upon the masses. Vicious warlords fight to control territories carved out of fallen Kingdoms. Imposing magicians emerge claiming the legacy of the Sorcerer Kings. High Priests of long forgotten gods and goddesses amass wealth in the name of divine right while Warrior-priests, devoted to a banished god, patrol the lands bringing justice to people abandoned by their rulers.

Within these pages is a detailed post-apocalyptic fantasy setting taking you through an ancient realm that is fighting for its survival and its humanity. Seek your fortune or meet your fate in the burning deserts of the once lush and vibrant land of Vuul, or travel to the humid jungles of Najambi to face the tribes of the Man-Apes and their brutal sacrificial rituals.

Tales From the Fallen Empire is a post apocalyptic swords & sorcery setting created for use with the Dungeon Crawl Classics RPG by Goodman Games.  It introduces new classes, an alternate way to handle the 0 level character funnel, setting inspired spells, new optional rules for swords & sorcery play and more.  Tighten the straps on your sandals, grab your weapon, and head forth into a land of trouble and turmoil. Adventure  awaits those foolhardy to enter the wastelands or for those who fear not the unknown. Pledge today to begin the adventure in the fragments of the Fallen Empire. 

I’m one of the writers slated to contribute to the book and your funding means you keep me working! I’d be ever so grateful if you stopped by the Kickstarter page, gave the project a look, and help make Tales From the Fallen Empire a reality.