Welcome back to our weekly look at tabletop roleplaying game, and accessories, crowdfunding roundup! Each week we’ll be looking at a few campaigns currently running that have caught our eye as well as occasionally speaking to some of the creators about their campaigns, or looking at some of the ‘behind the scenes’ business aspects of putting together, launching, operating and then delivering a crowdfunded project. If you have anything you’d like us to cover, or questions about anything we talk about, please don’t hesitate to leave a comment or contact me directly.
Limitless Monsters – 100 DnD5e Monsters by Limitless Adventures
(Campaign Ends : Saturday 28th October 2017; 04:59 UTC)
Kicking off this weeks’ column is a 5th Edition book from Limitless Adventures called Limitless Monsters. The book features 100 unique monsters for D&D 5E with each monster coming with not only its stats and abilities but also lore that the characters might know, tactics on how they might fight, sample treasure that the characters might find, and adventure hooks – giving you a variety of ways you could bring the monster into an adventure, or be the focus of an adventure. There are actually 300 further adventure hooks in the book to help the DM write follow-up quests.
“Limitless-Adventures was created as a way for busy DMs to liven up their campaigns, and reduce the burden of game prep. We specialize in DM-friendly products that minimize your prep so you can spend more time at the table playing and less time writing.”
The book is also being converted to Fantasy Grounds as a free add on for all backers.
Numenera 2: Discovery and Destiny by Monte Cook Games
(Campaign Ends : Friday 27th October 2017; 23:59 UTC)
Monte Cook has done it again. With over a week to go Numenera 2 has already raised over $500,000 and will no doubt add quite a bit more before the campaign wraps on Friday 27th October.
We’ve written a fair bit about the campaign here at EN World (“Monte Cook announces Numenera 2 Kickstarter and the Village of Ellomyr” and “Numenera 2: The Kickstarter Is Live!”) but I feel it’s worth mentioning in this week’s column too. Afterall, it is one of the biggest RPG KS campaigns of the year!
Numenera is a game in which player characters explore the ruins of aeons past to gather amazing treasures and help build a new future for a world struggling in darkness. Since the launch of Numenera in 2013, we have delivered well on the first part, but we’ve always wanted to do a more thorough job exploring that second part. That desire has led us to Numenera 2 and this Kickstarter campaign.
Through this Kickstarter we’re going to replace the existing corebook with two new corebooks. The first is called Numenera Discovery and the second Numenera Destiny.
Numenera Discovery will be a book that covers familiar territory; it is basically a revision of the original Numenera corebook. Next summer, we will allow the original corebook to go out of print, and Numenera Discovery will take its place. In Numenera Discovery, you’ll get some revisions to make things clearer and more fun, and to increase the options available to players. Nanos, Jacks, and Glaives will get an overhaul. Many foci and some of the descriptors might see some reworking. You’ll have more options, clearer rules, and perhaps a bit of expansion to the regions of the Steadfast and the Beyond that are covered in the existing corebook.
But Numenera Discovery is not a new edition. We will make virtually no changes to the way the game plays mechanically—and none of those changes affect the way NPCs, creatures, or items like cyphers or artifacts work. We also won’t be making changes to the setting. So if you already play Numenera, your bestiaries, adventures, card decks, character portfolios, and books like Into the Night, Technology Compendium, and Jade Colossus will not be affected by these changes. We will not issue any “second editions” of the existing supporting titles—and if you choose not to get Numenera Discovery, future Numenera supplements will work fine with your existing Numenera corebook. Your ongoing campaign will flow smoothly through the change in corebooks. You will even be able to mix existing characters with those from Numenera Discovery into your game. In fact, the game can be played with both the existing corebook and Numenera Discovery in use at the same game table!
(One small exception: Numenera Character Options and Numenera Character Options 2 will remain compatible, but will become substantially less relevant following the improvements to characters in Numenera Discovery. We will retire those titles.)
As excited as we are about Numenera Discovery, we may be even more excited about Numenera Destiny. This title will enable characters to truly become a part of the setting—to help shape the future of the Ninth World. The people of the Ninth World are locked in a medieval-like state, a world of struggle and danger and often suffering in the shadow of the prior worlds’ wonders. Numenera Destiny allows you to build adventures and campaigns in which players don’t just explore the wonders of the past—they utilize them to help lift the Ninth World out of darkness.
You can make the world a better place. Help a community defend itself from abhumans or the iron wind. Create centers of learning or trade. Innovate, build, and protect. Manage an entire community and help it prosper and grow—or simply create a cool base or vehicle for your adventuring group. Numenera Destiny will allow you to take what you discover and make your mark on history as someone who elevated the Ninth World into the future.
Adventuring—exploring the weird and wondrous remnants of the prior worlds—remains, of course, at the core of Numenera play. Numenera Destiny will give you new things to do with your discoveries, along with entirely new and epic ways to structure your campaigns. You’ll discover materials, power sources, and treasures that you can utilize in an entirely new, robust crafting and building system. And perhaps best of all, Numenera Destiny will offer three new character types and a number of new descriptors and foci geared toward this innovative style of play.
The above two books aren’t the only books that are available through the campaign. More may be added, as stretch goals tumble, but for now we also have….
The Trilling Shard: A sourcebook on Ellomyr and its challenges, setbacks, opponents, solutions, and triumphs over the course of this campaign. The exact specs of this product remain to be determined (in part by your contributions to this campaign!) but at a minimum it will be a 64-page softcover with a poster map.
Discover Your Destiny: This PDF product will come out early next year (before Numenera Discovery and Numenera Destiny). It uses story to introduce players to the Ninth World, and focuses on the narrative concepts behind Numenera 2. It leads players—both new and experienced—through creating a character using some of the brand new material from Numenera Destiny and highlights some of the changes people will see in the transition from Numenera to Numenera 2.
Numenera Player's Guide: Create characters, explore the setting, and learn the basic rules in this inexpensive second copy of key rules and setting material. The 64-page softcover is perfect for getting a taste of the game, for having an extra rules and setting reference on hand at the gaming table, or for game masters to hand to new players.
Building Tomorrow: More installations and items to build, more allies to recruit for your community, more sample communities to build from—and more challenges to face. Building Tomorrow is a 160-page hardcover sourcebook that expands on the community-related content introduced in Numenera Destiny.
Slaves of the Machine God: A powerful overlord with an army of automatons: is this a simple, straightforward threat to you and your companions, or is there something more going on than meets the eye? An epic adventure of twists and turns in a 120-page softcover.
Priests of the Aeons: This 160-page hardcover includes new foci and descriptors, cyphers and equipment, and other options and items for your character. It also covers the Aeon Priesthood in detail, giving you information on working with—or joining—the Aeon Priesthood to help enlighten the Ninth World.
Ruin Deck: When the characters start plumbing the depths of a prior-world ruin, the GM needs as much help as they can get. This deck allows GMs to generate an exciting, vivid and—of course, since it’s Numenera—weird set of ruins to explore. Limitless adventures in one deck of cards.
Lost Hall of Tyr: A 5e Adventure (Dungeon Grappling support) by Douglas H. Cole
(Campaign Ends : Tuesday 31st October 2017; 02:00 UTC)
The Lost Hall of Tyr is a Fifth Edition adventure for four to six characters of levels 3-6. As well as being written for 5E a 2-page quickstart has been included for Dungeon Grappling - Gaming Ballistic LLC’s book on how to make grappling epic in tabletop games such as Pathfinder, 5E, and Swords & Wizardry.
“ The Hall of Judgment: Here Tyr himself guided human and dwarf in the ways of honor, law, retribution, and justice in war and life. It has been lost for centuries, hidden by the power of Asgard from those without permission to enter.
Until now . . .
The Tiwstakn, the fabled keys that unfog the mind and guide the body when seeking the Hall, have been found. The clerics of Tyr in the city of Isfjall, have offered the PCs a substantial reward if they have the will to rediscover the hall, and return the holy books from within.
They are, of course, not the only ones looking… ”
The adventure uses the mythology and legends of the Asgardians, and is set in the Nordic/Viking culture, but contains advice on how to use it in any campaign or setting containing mountains/wilderness.
As well as the core scenario, the book also includes rules on Wilderness Travel and a Bestiary which lists each monster from the scenario.
Orbis Mundi 2 – Real Medieval Life by Phillip McGregor
(Campaign Ends : Monday 30th October 2017; 21:40 UTC)
Orbis Mundi 2 is a revised and much expanded version of the 2006 Orbis Mundi. This Kickstarter is actually for two books. Orbus Mundi 2, a 450 page guide to real Medieval life which we’ll talk about in a moment, and The Medieval Marketplace: An Annotated Price List which is going to be atleast 96 pages. The book is a systemless resource suitable for all fantasy roleplaying games.
The Medieval Marketplace looks “at a wide variety of equipment, services, landed and moveable property that could be acquired by, or on behalf of, the Player Characters … or which they might end up temporarily in possession, before fencing it … and provides descriptive information as to what the items are, how they are used and any 'rules' that might be applicable to their acquisition or use. And how likely the various items are to be available for instant purchase according to the size and/or location of the place the purchase attempt is being made … or a general idea of how long it will take for the local craftsman/men to actually make the item on order. “
Orbis Mundi 2 aims to take an in-depth look at medieval society to help GMs make their campaign worlds more “real”, The book is split into eight main chapters…
City & Country, which is divided into four subsections, Cities & Civics (Town Organisation, Markets, The Cityscape, Civic Militia and Garrisons, Guilds & Guild Organisation); Village & Villein (Types of Manors, Manorial Officials, The Manorscape); Res Rustica aka 'Agriculture' (The Farmer's Year, Farming, Stock Raising, Food & Famine) and Highways & Byways (The Natural Dimension [Forests, Wasteland, Wildlife], The Human Dimension [Demographics; Highways, Roads & Bridges; Ports, Sea & River Travel]) … ~75 pages.
As it says, this Chapter covers all aspects of City and Rural living and organisation (but not the Feudal System, nor a detailed look at Law and Justice, both of which are covered in the next Chapter, Kingdoms & Crowns), the places, people and officials you'll find in these locales, the crops that were grown, how and where they were cultivated and stored, and the ubiquity of famine (fortunately, rarely in the same place every year) as well as the 'wilder' side of things, the wildlife that you'll find away from the settled areas (and what wildlife you won't find), the demographics of a medieval society (life expectancy, morbidity and mortality etc.) and the important topic of Travel, covering the nature of roads and highways and land transport, Ports and Sea Transport in general terms (more information on each of those key areas can be found in Ars Mechanica: Mercaturia).
Kingdoms & Crowns, which is divided into three subsections, Lords & Vassals (Feudalism, English Feudalism, French Feudalism, Other Feudalisms); Law & Justice (Law & Justice in England [Before the Norman Conquest, After the Norman Conquest], Law & Justice in Europe [Civil vs Customary Law]); and Bullion & Budgets (Money & Coinage [England, France, The Germanies, Spain; Minting, Moneychanging], Feudal Dues and Taxes) … ~60 pages.
This chapter covers the Feudal System as it worked in practise, both in England and France, where, though there were significant similarities, there were also practical and legal differences originating from their different historical heritages, as well as, in broad strokes, how it operated in the rest of Europe … where, unsurprisingly, it worked quite differently to the Anglo-French model that is the only one normally presented in RPGs.
Also covered is Law and (the enforcement) Justice as it existed in the various areas – again, looking at the differences between the English Common Law and French-Iberian-Italian Civil Law systems as well as, again in broad strokes, the systems that existed in other parts of Europe and, especially, at the changes which occurred over the period covered by the book, changes that are often poorly modelled, anachronistically presented, or roundly ignored in many RPGs.
Finally, money and financial matters are covered in a degree of detail – suffice it to say that, in the real medieval period, 1/10th pound Gold Coins did not exist, pretty much nobody used a decimal system for their coinage and there were no coins other than gold or silver ones (NO. No Copper, Bronze, Tin, Iron. No Platinum. No Electrum. Gold and Silver only … though both could be debased, sometimes so badly as to have little gold or silver in them other than a thin wash over a base metal blank).
Also, the differences between the coinages and coin weights between the major European states/ethnic areas is also covered – and, while most states adhered to something like the old Late Roman 1 Shilling = 12 pence, 20 Shillings = 1 Pound system, the weight of the 'pound' of precious metal on which the coins were based varied by locality! Note that Gold and Silver, whether in coinage or bullion, was much less common than most RPGs would indicate – and wages and prices were far lower than are suggested in those self-same games.
De Civitate Dei ('The City of God'), which is divided into five subsections, the Roman Catholic Church (Regular & Secular Clergy; Land, the Church and the State; A Typical Cathedral; A Typical Monastery; Celibacy; The Liturgical Year; Heretics and Heresies), the Orthodox Church(Orthodox Churches, Hierarchy, Liturgical Year, Typical Orthodox Churches, Heresies); Judaism (Organisation, Generic Synagogues, Liturgical Year, Pre-modern Anti-Semitism, Restrictions & Discrimination); Islam (What is Islam?; Mohammed &The Beginnings, The Caliphs, The Shia-Sunni split, Organisation, Sects and Heresies, A Typical Mosque, Islam & The People of The Book) and Marginalised or Extinct (Gnosticism, Zoroastrianism, Paganism) … ~40 pages.
Even if your campaign world doesn't have the same world religions that the medieval Mediterranean world did, there's a lot of information to mine here – a lot that can be transferred whole cloth to whatever religions do exist. The idea that the year is broken up into distinct liturgical periods with a set and repeating pattern of ceremonial observances over the course of the week and the year is pretty useful, and easily adapted to pretty much any sort of organised religion – or the differentiation between Clerics and Monks, Major and Minor Orders and so on. The attitudes that existed between the historical religions – “Brotherly Love and No Quarter!” – is also an interesting pattern to follow.
De Re Militari ('On Military Matters'), which is divided into four subsections, De Re Militari(Military Technology, Before the 10th Century, The 10th-13th Centuries, The 14th Century; Military Organisation by region and ethnicity, Chivalry, Code of Chivalry, Cost of raising Troops), Stratagemata ('Stratagems') (The Sinews of War, The Cost of War, Logistics; Medieval Laws of War, The Peace of God, 'Just War'; On Crusade, Crusader States, Costs of a Crusade, The Hospitallers, The Templars), Arma Virumque Cano ('Of Arms and the Man I Sing') (The 10th Century, the 11th-14th Centuries; Armour and Weapons) and Castle & Keep (Castle Development, Early [9th-10th Centuries], Standard [11th-14th Centuries], Parts of a Castle; Other Fortifications; Siege! [Bypass, Surprise, Escalade or Invest, Besiege], Occupy or Destroy?, Siege Engines & Techniques, Gunpowder Weapons) … ~84 pages.
This is a particularly interesting chapter for gamers – on both the level of Tactical and Individual armour and weapons, their nature and use, as well as on the higher Operational and Strategic levels. There are fairly extensive notes on the 'typical' tactical organisation of most feudal forces, and an examination of how fragile they were … even the Knights, who were, at least to begin with, pretty much useless in battles (as opposed to individual combat) as often as not, as well as background on the local-ethnic-national organisation of some of the major forces players might encounter (or belong to … or even command!).
There is also coverage of the logistical side of warfare and the Crusades – where logistics was very important – and the horrendous cost of running a war on the pitiful levels of income available even to major rulers. No possibility of making war support war here. Also included is a look at Castles, Castle Building and Sieges and siege operations … which are also horrendously expensive.
Finally, there is a detailed examination of the types of armour available, and how that availability changed over time, as well as the types and variety of weapons … which also changed over time. These changes were a constant dance between improved weapons creating a need for improved armour and improved armour creating a need for improved weapons … pretty much like the modern world, in fact.
What you won't find is a huge variety of polearms, as almost all of the types included in RPGs date to after the increasing use of man portable gunpowder weapons on the battlefield … which is way past the cut-off date for OM2.
Ars Mechanica ('The Mechanical Arts'), which is divided into five subsections, Architectura ('Architecture') (Stone & Brick Buildings, Wooden Buildings, Building Materials, Building Components), Coquinaria ('Cooking') (The Medieval Kitchen, Equipment-Staff-Layout; Cooking Methods; Foodstuffs & Recipes; Food Service & Etiquette), Mercaturia ('Trade') (Land Transport; Water Transport, Shipbuilding Technology, Medieval Navigation; Commercial Practise, Banking, Maritime Law), Metallaria ('Metals') (Ferrous Metals, Cold Iron, Steel; Non-Ferrous Metals, Copper-Tin-Bronze-Brass, Gold-Silver-Lead, Casting; Mining) and Vestiaria ('Tailoring') (Materials, Sources of Fibre, Other Materials; Weaving, Knitting, Dyeing, Putting Out System; Garments & Footwear; Cleaning & Maintenance) … ~73 pages.
This chapter covers those things the medievals classed as 'mechanical arts' … what we moderns would call a mix of crafts, technology and commerce. If you want to know how things were built or made, what materials were used and how they were put together in the styles that changed over the four centuries covered, this is the chapter you'll want to have a look at.
It makes it clear that this is not a world of mass production – it is based on low productivity labour, hand tools and handcraft level production. Things are made to order, almost as 'one offs' … you don't walk into a shop and buy more than a very limited range of items 'off the shelf', you order it from the shop owner, who then makes it for you over the next days or weeks. Even months.
And you'll find out why things are so slow to make.
Surprisingly, 'Ars Mechanica' includes things related to these areas of interest – so Cooking covers table manners as well recipes, and Trade covers Navigation as well as Maritime Law.
Ars Scholastica ('The Scholastic Arts'), which is divided into two subsections, Ars Scholastica(Medieval Schooling, Primary Schooling, Grammar Schools, Medieval Reading & Writing; Universities, The Seven Liberal Arts, The Trivium, The Quadrivium, Philosophy & Science) and Practical Science (Alchemy, Medicine, Herbal Remedies, Surgeons & Physicians, Death by Surgery) … ~30 pages.
Medieval people could spend years gaining an education – a small percentage of the population anyway. Just like today – but the content of that education was very different. Much of it was completely useless and totally wrong, in fact … but you'll get an idea of the sort of education that might be involved with a Mage's or a Priestly Collegium course. And what was involved with a medieval medical education … which is pretty scary, at least in part.
Daily Life, which is divided into two subsections, Daily Life (People, Attitudes & Behaviour, Hygiene, Leisure [Games, Hunting, Jousting & Tournaments, Plays & Drama, Song & Dance, Sports]; Names [Anglo-Saxon, Norman-French, Arabic, French, German, Italian, Spanish]; Sleep & Dreams) and The World (Calendars & Chronology, Julian Calendar, East Roman Calendar, Islamic Calendars; The Measure of All Things, Area, Distance/Length, Weight, Volume; Heraldry, History of, Basic Design, Continental Variations, Livery) … ~54 pages.
This chapter covers miscellanea – those things that are of interest either on a personal or campaign level but which don't fall into any of the other main Chapter categories.
Myths & Medievalism, which is divided into two subsections, Myths & Medievalism (Fantasy States, Static or Universal Empires, Feudal Snakepits, Cities – Oligarchies or Princedoms; Stated Limitations, Transport & Communications, The Cutting Edge [Technology]; Social Stasis; Costs & Prices) and Magic & Medievalism (Magitech … In Warfare, In Agriculture, In Health, In Industry) … ~16 pages.
The final chapter covers a variety of issues that are of possible interest to a Game Master who is considering the design of a new, or existing, campaign world – dealing with some of the dubious excuses given by existing (commercial) campaign designers for the existence of what should be mutually exclusive anachronisms and/or baseless 'explanations' as to why, supposedly, there is no advanced technology, or no technological advances in their world.
Use it or ignore it as you will.
Baby Bestiary 2018 Calendar by Baby Bestiary
(Campaign Ends : Sunday 29th October 2017; 01:00 UTC)
From a heavy-weight campaign of a comprehensive book looking at Medieval life to something a lot lighter…. the 2018 calendar from Baby Bestiary.
This is their fourth in a series of popular calendars and, this year, features the art of Travis Hanson. Many of you may have seen Travis’ artwork in Life of the Party: Realities of an RPG’er which not only a successful Kickstarter in itself, but is a popular webcomic.
The calendar will feature a variety of art pieces, including Owlbears, Griffons, Rust Monsters, Balrogs, Hydras, Lizardfolk, and Cthulhu.
With a December fulfilment date this could make a great Christmas present.
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If you like what we do here at EN World (the Forums, Columns, News, ENnies, etc) and would like to help support us to bring you MORE please consider supporting our Patreon. Even a single dollar helps Thanks!
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If you have a forthcoming Kickstarter, or see one that excites you, please feel free to drop me an email on angus.abranson@gmail.com You can follow me on Twitter @ Angus_A or on Facebook where I often post about gaming.
Until next week, have fun and happy gaming!
Angus Abranson
Limitless Monsters – 100 DnD5e Monsters by Limitless Adventures
(Campaign Ends : Saturday 28th October 2017; 04:59 UTC)
Kicking off this weeks’ column is a 5th Edition book from Limitless Adventures called Limitless Monsters. The book features 100 unique monsters for D&D 5E with each monster coming with not only its stats and abilities but also lore that the characters might know, tactics on how they might fight, sample treasure that the characters might find, and adventure hooks – giving you a variety of ways you could bring the monster into an adventure, or be the focus of an adventure. There are actually 300 further adventure hooks in the book to help the DM write follow-up quests.
“Limitless-Adventures was created as a way for busy DMs to liven up their campaigns, and reduce the burden of game prep. We specialize in DM-friendly products that minimize your prep so you can spend more time at the table playing and less time writing.”
The book is also being converted to Fantasy Grounds as a free add on for all backers.
Numenera 2: Discovery and Destiny by Monte Cook Games
(Campaign Ends : Friday 27th October 2017; 23:59 UTC)
Monte Cook has done it again. With over a week to go Numenera 2 has already raised over $500,000 and will no doubt add quite a bit more before the campaign wraps on Friday 27th October.
We’ve written a fair bit about the campaign here at EN World (“Monte Cook announces Numenera 2 Kickstarter and the Village of Ellomyr” and “Numenera 2: The Kickstarter Is Live!”) but I feel it’s worth mentioning in this week’s column too. Afterall, it is one of the biggest RPG KS campaigns of the year!
Numenera is a game in which player characters explore the ruins of aeons past to gather amazing treasures and help build a new future for a world struggling in darkness. Since the launch of Numenera in 2013, we have delivered well on the first part, but we’ve always wanted to do a more thorough job exploring that second part. That desire has led us to Numenera 2 and this Kickstarter campaign.
Through this Kickstarter we’re going to replace the existing corebook with two new corebooks. The first is called Numenera Discovery and the second Numenera Destiny.
Numenera Discovery will be a book that covers familiar territory; it is basically a revision of the original Numenera corebook. Next summer, we will allow the original corebook to go out of print, and Numenera Discovery will take its place. In Numenera Discovery, you’ll get some revisions to make things clearer and more fun, and to increase the options available to players. Nanos, Jacks, and Glaives will get an overhaul. Many foci and some of the descriptors might see some reworking. You’ll have more options, clearer rules, and perhaps a bit of expansion to the regions of the Steadfast and the Beyond that are covered in the existing corebook.
But Numenera Discovery is not a new edition. We will make virtually no changes to the way the game plays mechanically—and none of those changes affect the way NPCs, creatures, or items like cyphers or artifacts work. We also won’t be making changes to the setting. So if you already play Numenera, your bestiaries, adventures, card decks, character portfolios, and books like Into the Night, Technology Compendium, and Jade Colossus will not be affected by these changes. We will not issue any “second editions” of the existing supporting titles—and if you choose not to get Numenera Discovery, future Numenera supplements will work fine with your existing Numenera corebook. Your ongoing campaign will flow smoothly through the change in corebooks. You will even be able to mix existing characters with those from Numenera Discovery into your game. In fact, the game can be played with both the existing corebook and Numenera Discovery in use at the same game table!
(One small exception: Numenera Character Options and Numenera Character Options 2 will remain compatible, but will become substantially less relevant following the improvements to characters in Numenera Discovery. We will retire those titles.)
As excited as we are about Numenera Discovery, we may be even more excited about Numenera Destiny. This title will enable characters to truly become a part of the setting—to help shape the future of the Ninth World. The people of the Ninth World are locked in a medieval-like state, a world of struggle and danger and often suffering in the shadow of the prior worlds’ wonders. Numenera Destiny allows you to build adventures and campaigns in which players don’t just explore the wonders of the past—they utilize them to help lift the Ninth World out of darkness.
You can make the world a better place. Help a community defend itself from abhumans or the iron wind. Create centers of learning or trade. Innovate, build, and protect. Manage an entire community and help it prosper and grow—or simply create a cool base or vehicle for your adventuring group. Numenera Destiny will allow you to take what you discover and make your mark on history as someone who elevated the Ninth World into the future.
Adventuring—exploring the weird and wondrous remnants of the prior worlds—remains, of course, at the core of Numenera play. Numenera Destiny will give you new things to do with your discoveries, along with entirely new and epic ways to structure your campaigns. You’ll discover materials, power sources, and treasures that you can utilize in an entirely new, robust crafting and building system. And perhaps best of all, Numenera Destiny will offer three new character types and a number of new descriptors and foci geared toward this innovative style of play.
The above two books aren’t the only books that are available through the campaign. More may be added, as stretch goals tumble, but for now we also have….
The Trilling Shard: A sourcebook on Ellomyr and its challenges, setbacks, opponents, solutions, and triumphs over the course of this campaign. The exact specs of this product remain to be determined (in part by your contributions to this campaign!) but at a minimum it will be a 64-page softcover with a poster map.
Discover Your Destiny: This PDF product will come out early next year (before Numenera Discovery and Numenera Destiny). It uses story to introduce players to the Ninth World, and focuses on the narrative concepts behind Numenera 2. It leads players—both new and experienced—through creating a character using some of the brand new material from Numenera Destiny and highlights some of the changes people will see in the transition from Numenera to Numenera 2.
Numenera Player's Guide: Create characters, explore the setting, and learn the basic rules in this inexpensive second copy of key rules and setting material. The 64-page softcover is perfect for getting a taste of the game, for having an extra rules and setting reference on hand at the gaming table, or for game masters to hand to new players.
Building Tomorrow: More installations and items to build, more allies to recruit for your community, more sample communities to build from—and more challenges to face. Building Tomorrow is a 160-page hardcover sourcebook that expands on the community-related content introduced in Numenera Destiny.
Slaves of the Machine God: A powerful overlord with an army of automatons: is this a simple, straightforward threat to you and your companions, or is there something more going on than meets the eye? An epic adventure of twists and turns in a 120-page softcover.
Priests of the Aeons: This 160-page hardcover includes new foci and descriptors, cyphers and equipment, and other options and items for your character. It also covers the Aeon Priesthood in detail, giving you information on working with—or joining—the Aeon Priesthood to help enlighten the Ninth World.
Ruin Deck: When the characters start plumbing the depths of a prior-world ruin, the GM needs as much help as they can get. This deck allows GMs to generate an exciting, vivid and—of course, since it’s Numenera—weird set of ruins to explore. Limitless adventures in one deck of cards.
Lost Hall of Tyr: A 5e Adventure (Dungeon Grappling support) by Douglas H. Cole
(Campaign Ends : Tuesday 31st October 2017; 02:00 UTC)
The Lost Hall of Tyr is a Fifth Edition adventure for four to six characters of levels 3-6. As well as being written for 5E a 2-page quickstart has been included for Dungeon Grappling - Gaming Ballistic LLC’s book on how to make grappling epic in tabletop games such as Pathfinder, 5E, and Swords & Wizardry.
“ The Hall of Judgment: Here Tyr himself guided human and dwarf in the ways of honor, law, retribution, and justice in war and life. It has been lost for centuries, hidden by the power of Asgard from those without permission to enter.
Until now . . .
The Tiwstakn, the fabled keys that unfog the mind and guide the body when seeking the Hall, have been found. The clerics of Tyr in the city of Isfjall, have offered the PCs a substantial reward if they have the will to rediscover the hall, and return the holy books from within.
They are, of course, not the only ones looking… ”
The adventure uses the mythology and legends of the Asgardians, and is set in the Nordic/Viking culture, but contains advice on how to use it in any campaign or setting containing mountains/wilderness.
As well as the core scenario, the book also includes rules on Wilderness Travel and a Bestiary which lists each monster from the scenario.
Orbis Mundi 2 – Real Medieval Life by Phillip McGregor
(Campaign Ends : Monday 30th October 2017; 21:40 UTC)
Orbis Mundi 2 is a revised and much expanded version of the 2006 Orbis Mundi. This Kickstarter is actually for two books. Orbus Mundi 2, a 450 page guide to real Medieval life which we’ll talk about in a moment, and The Medieval Marketplace: An Annotated Price List which is going to be atleast 96 pages. The book is a systemless resource suitable for all fantasy roleplaying games.
The Medieval Marketplace looks “at a wide variety of equipment, services, landed and moveable property that could be acquired by, or on behalf of, the Player Characters … or which they might end up temporarily in possession, before fencing it … and provides descriptive information as to what the items are, how they are used and any 'rules' that might be applicable to their acquisition or use. And how likely the various items are to be available for instant purchase according to the size and/or location of the place the purchase attempt is being made … or a general idea of how long it will take for the local craftsman/men to actually make the item on order. “
Orbis Mundi 2 aims to take an in-depth look at medieval society to help GMs make their campaign worlds more “real”, The book is split into eight main chapters…
City & Country, which is divided into four subsections, Cities & Civics (Town Organisation, Markets, The Cityscape, Civic Militia and Garrisons, Guilds & Guild Organisation); Village & Villein (Types of Manors, Manorial Officials, The Manorscape); Res Rustica aka 'Agriculture' (The Farmer's Year, Farming, Stock Raising, Food & Famine) and Highways & Byways (The Natural Dimension [Forests, Wasteland, Wildlife], The Human Dimension [Demographics; Highways, Roads & Bridges; Ports, Sea & River Travel]) … ~75 pages.
As it says, this Chapter covers all aspects of City and Rural living and organisation (but not the Feudal System, nor a detailed look at Law and Justice, both of which are covered in the next Chapter, Kingdoms & Crowns), the places, people and officials you'll find in these locales, the crops that were grown, how and where they were cultivated and stored, and the ubiquity of famine (fortunately, rarely in the same place every year) as well as the 'wilder' side of things, the wildlife that you'll find away from the settled areas (and what wildlife you won't find), the demographics of a medieval society (life expectancy, morbidity and mortality etc.) and the important topic of Travel, covering the nature of roads and highways and land transport, Ports and Sea Transport in general terms (more information on each of those key areas can be found in Ars Mechanica: Mercaturia).
Kingdoms & Crowns, which is divided into three subsections, Lords & Vassals (Feudalism, English Feudalism, French Feudalism, Other Feudalisms); Law & Justice (Law & Justice in England [Before the Norman Conquest, After the Norman Conquest], Law & Justice in Europe [Civil vs Customary Law]); and Bullion & Budgets (Money & Coinage [England, France, The Germanies, Spain; Minting, Moneychanging], Feudal Dues and Taxes) … ~60 pages.
This chapter covers the Feudal System as it worked in practise, both in England and France, where, though there were significant similarities, there were also practical and legal differences originating from their different historical heritages, as well as, in broad strokes, how it operated in the rest of Europe … where, unsurprisingly, it worked quite differently to the Anglo-French model that is the only one normally presented in RPGs.
Also covered is Law and (the enforcement) Justice as it existed in the various areas – again, looking at the differences between the English Common Law and French-Iberian-Italian Civil Law systems as well as, again in broad strokes, the systems that existed in other parts of Europe and, especially, at the changes which occurred over the period covered by the book, changes that are often poorly modelled, anachronistically presented, or roundly ignored in many RPGs.
Finally, money and financial matters are covered in a degree of detail – suffice it to say that, in the real medieval period, 1/10th pound Gold Coins did not exist, pretty much nobody used a decimal system for their coinage and there were no coins other than gold or silver ones (NO. No Copper, Bronze, Tin, Iron. No Platinum. No Electrum. Gold and Silver only … though both could be debased, sometimes so badly as to have little gold or silver in them other than a thin wash over a base metal blank).
Also, the differences between the coinages and coin weights between the major European states/ethnic areas is also covered – and, while most states adhered to something like the old Late Roman 1 Shilling = 12 pence, 20 Shillings = 1 Pound system, the weight of the 'pound' of precious metal on which the coins were based varied by locality! Note that Gold and Silver, whether in coinage or bullion, was much less common than most RPGs would indicate – and wages and prices were far lower than are suggested in those self-same games.
De Civitate Dei ('The City of God'), which is divided into five subsections, the Roman Catholic Church (Regular & Secular Clergy; Land, the Church and the State; A Typical Cathedral; A Typical Monastery; Celibacy; The Liturgical Year; Heretics and Heresies), the Orthodox Church(Orthodox Churches, Hierarchy, Liturgical Year, Typical Orthodox Churches, Heresies); Judaism (Organisation, Generic Synagogues, Liturgical Year, Pre-modern Anti-Semitism, Restrictions & Discrimination); Islam (What is Islam?; Mohammed &The Beginnings, The Caliphs, The Shia-Sunni split, Organisation, Sects and Heresies, A Typical Mosque, Islam & The People of The Book) and Marginalised or Extinct (Gnosticism, Zoroastrianism, Paganism) … ~40 pages.
Even if your campaign world doesn't have the same world religions that the medieval Mediterranean world did, there's a lot of information to mine here – a lot that can be transferred whole cloth to whatever religions do exist. The idea that the year is broken up into distinct liturgical periods with a set and repeating pattern of ceremonial observances over the course of the week and the year is pretty useful, and easily adapted to pretty much any sort of organised religion – or the differentiation between Clerics and Monks, Major and Minor Orders and so on. The attitudes that existed between the historical religions – “Brotherly Love and No Quarter!” – is also an interesting pattern to follow.
De Re Militari ('On Military Matters'), which is divided into four subsections, De Re Militari(Military Technology, Before the 10th Century, The 10th-13th Centuries, The 14th Century; Military Organisation by region and ethnicity, Chivalry, Code of Chivalry, Cost of raising Troops), Stratagemata ('Stratagems') (The Sinews of War, The Cost of War, Logistics; Medieval Laws of War, The Peace of God, 'Just War'; On Crusade, Crusader States, Costs of a Crusade, The Hospitallers, The Templars), Arma Virumque Cano ('Of Arms and the Man I Sing') (The 10th Century, the 11th-14th Centuries; Armour and Weapons) and Castle & Keep (Castle Development, Early [9th-10th Centuries], Standard [11th-14th Centuries], Parts of a Castle; Other Fortifications; Siege! [Bypass, Surprise, Escalade or Invest, Besiege], Occupy or Destroy?, Siege Engines & Techniques, Gunpowder Weapons) … ~84 pages.
This is a particularly interesting chapter for gamers – on both the level of Tactical and Individual armour and weapons, their nature and use, as well as on the higher Operational and Strategic levels. There are fairly extensive notes on the 'typical' tactical organisation of most feudal forces, and an examination of how fragile they were … even the Knights, who were, at least to begin with, pretty much useless in battles (as opposed to individual combat) as often as not, as well as background on the local-ethnic-national organisation of some of the major forces players might encounter (or belong to … or even command!).
There is also coverage of the logistical side of warfare and the Crusades – where logistics was very important – and the horrendous cost of running a war on the pitiful levels of income available even to major rulers. No possibility of making war support war here. Also included is a look at Castles, Castle Building and Sieges and siege operations … which are also horrendously expensive.
Finally, there is a detailed examination of the types of armour available, and how that availability changed over time, as well as the types and variety of weapons … which also changed over time. These changes were a constant dance between improved weapons creating a need for improved armour and improved armour creating a need for improved weapons … pretty much like the modern world, in fact.
What you won't find is a huge variety of polearms, as almost all of the types included in RPGs date to after the increasing use of man portable gunpowder weapons on the battlefield … which is way past the cut-off date for OM2.
Ars Mechanica ('The Mechanical Arts'), which is divided into five subsections, Architectura ('Architecture') (Stone & Brick Buildings, Wooden Buildings, Building Materials, Building Components), Coquinaria ('Cooking') (The Medieval Kitchen, Equipment-Staff-Layout; Cooking Methods; Foodstuffs & Recipes; Food Service & Etiquette), Mercaturia ('Trade') (Land Transport; Water Transport, Shipbuilding Technology, Medieval Navigation; Commercial Practise, Banking, Maritime Law), Metallaria ('Metals') (Ferrous Metals, Cold Iron, Steel; Non-Ferrous Metals, Copper-Tin-Bronze-Brass, Gold-Silver-Lead, Casting; Mining) and Vestiaria ('Tailoring') (Materials, Sources of Fibre, Other Materials; Weaving, Knitting, Dyeing, Putting Out System; Garments & Footwear; Cleaning & Maintenance) … ~73 pages.
This chapter covers those things the medievals classed as 'mechanical arts' … what we moderns would call a mix of crafts, technology and commerce. If you want to know how things were built or made, what materials were used and how they were put together in the styles that changed over the four centuries covered, this is the chapter you'll want to have a look at.
It makes it clear that this is not a world of mass production – it is based on low productivity labour, hand tools and handcraft level production. Things are made to order, almost as 'one offs' … you don't walk into a shop and buy more than a very limited range of items 'off the shelf', you order it from the shop owner, who then makes it for you over the next days or weeks. Even months.
And you'll find out why things are so slow to make.
Surprisingly, 'Ars Mechanica' includes things related to these areas of interest – so Cooking covers table manners as well recipes, and Trade covers Navigation as well as Maritime Law.
Ars Scholastica ('The Scholastic Arts'), which is divided into two subsections, Ars Scholastica(Medieval Schooling, Primary Schooling, Grammar Schools, Medieval Reading & Writing; Universities, The Seven Liberal Arts, The Trivium, The Quadrivium, Philosophy & Science) and Practical Science (Alchemy, Medicine, Herbal Remedies, Surgeons & Physicians, Death by Surgery) … ~30 pages.
Medieval people could spend years gaining an education – a small percentage of the population anyway. Just like today – but the content of that education was very different. Much of it was completely useless and totally wrong, in fact … but you'll get an idea of the sort of education that might be involved with a Mage's or a Priestly Collegium course. And what was involved with a medieval medical education … which is pretty scary, at least in part.
Daily Life, which is divided into two subsections, Daily Life (People, Attitudes & Behaviour, Hygiene, Leisure [Games, Hunting, Jousting & Tournaments, Plays & Drama, Song & Dance, Sports]; Names [Anglo-Saxon, Norman-French, Arabic, French, German, Italian, Spanish]; Sleep & Dreams) and The World (Calendars & Chronology, Julian Calendar, East Roman Calendar, Islamic Calendars; The Measure of All Things, Area, Distance/Length, Weight, Volume; Heraldry, History of, Basic Design, Continental Variations, Livery) … ~54 pages.
This chapter covers miscellanea – those things that are of interest either on a personal or campaign level but which don't fall into any of the other main Chapter categories.
Myths & Medievalism, which is divided into two subsections, Myths & Medievalism (Fantasy States, Static or Universal Empires, Feudal Snakepits, Cities – Oligarchies or Princedoms; Stated Limitations, Transport & Communications, The Cutting Edge [Technology]; Social Stasis; Costs & Prices) and Magic & Medievalism (Magitech … In Warfare, In Agriculture, In Health, In Industry) … ~16 pages.
The final chapter covers a variety of issues that are of possible interest to a Game Master who is considering the design of a new, or existing, campaign world – dealing with some of the dubious excuses given by existing (commercial) campaign designers for the existence of what should be mutually exclusive anachronisms and/or baseless 'explanations' as to why, supposedly, there is no advanced technology, or no technological advances in their world.
Use it or ignore it as you will.
Baby Bestiary 2018 Calendar by Baby Bestiary
(Campaign Ends : Sunday 29th October 2017; 01:00 UTC)
From a heavy-weight campaign of a comprehensive book looking at Medieval life to something a lot lighter…. the 2018 calendar from Baby Bestiary.
This is their fourth in a series of popular calendars and, this year, features the art of Travis Hanson. Many of you may have seen Travis’ artwork in Life of the Party: Realities of an RPG’er which not only a successful Kickstarter in itself, but is a popular webcomic.
The calendar will feature a variety of art pieces, including Owlbears, Griffons, Rust Monsters, Balrogs, Hydras, Lizardfolk, and Cthulhu.
With a December fulfilment date this could make a great Christmas present.
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If you have a forthcoming Kickstarter, or see one that excites you, please feel free to drop me an email on angus.abranson@gmail.com You can follow me on Twitter @ Angus_A or on Facebook where I often post about gaming.
Until next week, have fun and happy gaming!
Angus Abranson
