Icarus Games
Villager
TL;DR - Icarus Games is launching a new RPG magazine on May 1st, which will go out to all patrons at the $5 tier and above.
Issue 1 launches May 1st on the Icarus Games Patreon
Greetings gamers, I am excited to announce my newest project, SIDEQUEST.
SIDEQUEST is a new monthly magazine from Icarus Games that takes the content you know and love from this Patreon and packages it together into a format that's enjoyable to consume. Over the course of the last several months I have been trying to find new and better ways to reward the generous folks who support me on Patreon, and after seeing the resurgence of the monthly magazine format I realized that it's a perfect vessel for the content I've been making. And so the seed that would become SIDEQUEST was born.
What's in SIDEQUEST?
So, what are you likely to find within the pages of SIDEQUEST? There are 3 pillars to the content I want to include in this magazine.
1. Useable Content
Firstly I wanted content that you could actually use in your games, so things like new classes, monsters, and adventures.
2. Advice Content
I make a lot of D&D advice videos, but not all topics lend themselves to the video format, and this magazine is the perfect vessel for me to take some of those topics that I can't make a video on and turn them into articles.
3. Content to Inspire
This is the most nebulous category because it will mean different things to different people, but a lot of people have found my worldbuilding videos and streams helpful, or have been inspired by the stories I've told of my games. I want readers to come away from an issue of SIDEQUEST excited and inspired to create. I got started in the tabletop hobby with magazines, from Battlegames in Middle Earth, to White Dwarf, and I miss the feeling of flicking through a magazine at the start of a month and finding inspiration in unlikely places. That's what I want to provide with SIDEQUEST.
The Magazine
Issue 1 is our pilot, our test to see if this idea has legs. Very quickly after the idea came to me, my gut was telling me that this was a good idea, but you have to work with data. So I have committed myself to an initial run of 3 magazines which will be coming no matter what. If they are successful and people like them, SIDEQUEST will become what this Patreon is focused on, and all principle content produced for the Patreon will go through the magazine. Issue 1 contains 4 articles;
1. The Ashk Gazetteer
My How to Make a Homebrew Campaign series on YouTube has been very popular over the years, and people frequently ask for more content relating to the desert nation of Ashk, and SIDEQUEST offers the perfect opportunity to deliver that content in a serialized format where each month I reveal more information about the setting. In keeping with pillar #1 of the content guidelines, I will keep the Ashk Gazetteer neutral enough so that much of its content could be adapted into almost any setting.
2. The Ranger of the Wild
I've been working on my rework of the Ranger for a while now, and SIDEQUEST is the perfect place to share the latest version with the world.
This is a complete rebuild of the class from the ground up, and brings it closer to the rough and ready warrior at the fringes of civilization who must rely on their wits and grit like we see in other popular media.
3. How to Save Your Campaign
An article on the premise of the Campaign Check-in, a tool you can use to help you avoid DM burnout and save your campaign from a slow death.
4. The Sleeper of Uqorah
And finally, the last entry in issue 1 is a new CR 11 aberration monster that lurks in the astral Sea, the endless void between realms.
The Art
One of the best parts about browsing through a monthly magazine is the art, and I wanted to make sure there was gorgeous art in SIDEQUEST. The cover of issue 1 (pictured below) is a stunning stock piece from Dean Spencer, and the interior is filled with B&W and full color art from a variety of stock artists.
For the duration of the initial run I have set aside a modest art budget to purchase new stock art for each issue. If this 3-month experiment is a success, one of the future goals for this Patreon is going to be commissioning custom art for the magazine. But for now, check out the cover:
The Future
One of the things that excites me the most about this though is the potential for the future. There are so many places we can go with this magazine, and so many new article formats we can explore.
Let's talk about some of the things I would love to include in future issues.
New player options such as subclasses, feats, and spells, as well as new loot for you games and I'd love to introduce more new monsters for you to use.
A series of short, one page dungeons to be dropped into your games could be super useful, but longer adventures, or maybe even a series of connected adventures would be incredible.
And there's so much community potential. Things like letters to the editor, or sage advice style columns where I talk about a specific question asked by a reader. Or maybe even some community submitted content.
And we could do contests and guest articles from other creators here on youtube and beyond, or talk about other systems and what is exciting about them.
The sky is the limit here and I am so excited to share issue 1 of SIDEQUEST with you, and your support and feedback will be invaluable to improving the product going forward.
Each issue will be accompanied by a feedback survey to help understand what worked and what didn't, and what people want to see more of. I've collected FAQs below, and will update them if people have other questions. I can't wait to see what you think of SIDEQUEST! But until next time Happy gaming!
FAQ
How do I get SIDEQUEST?
All $5 patrons and above of the Icarus Games Patreon will get access to issue 1 of SIDEQUEST from May 1st 2021.
Is there a print version available?
I am working to make print versions available via DrivethruRPG's print on demand service, and will update as soon as it's live.
How Often Will Issues Be Released
To begin with, I am starting with a trail run of 3 issues which will release on May 1st, June 1st, and July 1st. If these first 3 issues are successful, SIDEQUEST will begin a monthly release schedule with new issues becoming available to patrons from the 1st of the month.
How Will This Affect Your Existing Patreon Release Schedule?
For the duration of the test (May-July), SIDEQUEST will replace my existing Patreon releases. The content I would have otherwise worked on will be bundled together into the magazine, so existing patrons won't be losing out on any content. If the trial issues are well received and perform well, the structure of the Patreon will change to focus exclusively on SIDEQUEST moving forward.
Will the PDF be Bookmarked?
Yes! SIDEQUEST will have embeded bookmarks to make navigation easier, and not only that, but the footer title of every page will link back to the contents page, making navigation on any device a breeze!
I missed the first issue, can I still get it?
If you missed out on subscribing to this Patreon during May, don't worry, patrons at the $10 get access to a back catalogue of issues. You will also be able to purchase individual copies on DrivethruRPG.
Issue 1 launches May 1st on the Icarus Games Patreon
Greetings gamers, I am excited to announce my newest project, SIDEQUEST.
SIDEQUEST is a new monthly magazine from Icarus Games that takes the content you know and love from this Patreon and packages it together into a format that's enjoyable to consume. Over the course of the last several months I have been trying to find new and better ways to reward the generous folks who support me on Patreon, and after seeing the resurgence of the monthly magazine format I realized that it's a perfect vessel for the content I've been making. And so the seed that would become SIDEQUEST was born.
What's in SIDEQUEST?
So, what are you likely to find within the pages of SIDEQUEST? There are 3 pillars to the content I want to include in this magazine.
1. Useable Content
Firstly I wanted content that you could actually use in your games, so things like new classes, monsters, and adventures.
2. Advice Content
I make a lot of D&D advice videos, but not all topics lend themselves to the video format, and this magazine is the perfect vessel for me to take some of those topics that I can't make a video on and turn them into articles.
3. Content to Inspire
This is the most nebulous category because it will mean different things to different people, but a lot of people have found my worldbuilding videos and streams helpful, or have been inspired by the stories I've told of my games. I want readers to come away from an issue of SIDEQUEST excited and inspired to create. I got started in the tabletop hobby with magazines, from Battlegames in Middle Earth, to White Dwarf, and I miss the feeling of flicking through a magazine at the start of a month and finding inspiration in unlikely places. That's what I want to provide with SIDEQUEST.
The Magazine
Issue 1 is our pilot, our test to see if this idea has legs. Very quickly after the idea came to me, my gut was telling me that this was a good idea, but you have to work with data. So I have committed myself to an initial run of 3 magazines which will be coming no matter what. If they are successful and people like them, SIDEQUEST will become what this Patreon is focused on, and all principle content produced for the Patreon will go through the magazine. Issue 1 contains 4 articles;
1. The Ashk Gazetteer
My How to Make a Homebrew Campaign series on YouTube has been very popular over the years, and people frequently ask for more content relating to the desert nation of Ashk, and SIDEQUEST offers the perfect opportunity to deliver that content in a serialized format where each month I reveal more information about the setting. In keeping with pillar #1 of the content guidelines, I will keep the Ashk Gazetteer neutral enough so that much of its content could be adapted into almost any setting.
2. The Ranger of the Wild
I've been working on my rework of the Ranger for a while now, and SIDEQUEST is the perfect place to share the latest version with the world.
This is a complete rebuild of the class from the ground up, and brings it closer to the rough and ready warrior at the fringes of civilization who must rely on their wits and grit like we see in other popular media.
3. How to Save Your Campaign
An article on the premise of the Campaign Check-in, a tool you can use to help you avoid DM burnout and save your campaign from a slow death.
4. The Sleeper of Uqorah
And finally, the last entry in issue 1 is a new CR 11 aberration monster that lurks in the astral Sea, the endless void between realms.
The Art
One of the best parts about browsing through a monthly magazine is the art, and I wanted to make sure there was gorgeous art in SIDEQUEST. The cover of issue 1 (pictured below) is a stunning stock piece from Dean Spencer, and the interior is filled with B&W and full color art from a variety of stock artists.
For the duration of the initial run I have set aside a modest art budget to purchase new stock art for each issue. If this 3-month experiment is a success, one of the future goals for this Patreon is going to be commissioning custom art for the magazine. But for now, check out the cover:
The Future
One of the things that excites me the most about this though is the potential for the future. There are so many places we can go with this magazine, and so many new article formats we can explore.
Let's talk about some of the things I would love to include in future issues.
New player options such as subclasses, feats, and spells, as well as new loot for you games and I'd love to introduce more new monsters for you to use.
A series of short, one page dungeons to be dropped into your games could be super useful, but longer adventures, or maybe even a series of connected adventures would be incredible.
And there's so much community potential. Things like letters to the editor, or sage advice style columns where I talk about a specific question asked by a reader. Or maybe even some community submitted content.
And we could do contests and guest articles from other creators here on youtube and beyond, or talk about other systems and what is exciting about them.
The sky is the limit here and I am so excited to share issue 1 of SIDEQUEST with you, and your support and feedback will be invaluable to improving the product going forward.
Each issue will be accompanied by a feedback survey to help understand what worked and what didn't, and what people want to see more of. I've collected FAQs below, and will update them if people have other questions. I can't wait to see what you think of SIDEQUEST! But until next time Happy gaming!
FAQ
How do I get SIDEQUEST?
All $5 patrons and above of the Icarus Games Patreon will get access to issue 1 of SIDEQUEST from May 1st 2021.
Is there a print version available?
I am working to make print versions available via DrivethruRPG's print on demand service, and will update as soon as it's live.
How Often Will Issues Be Released
To begin with, I am starting with a trail run of 3 issues which will release on May 1st, June 1st, and July 1st. If these first 3 issues are successful, SIDEQUEST will begin a monthly release schedule with new issues becoming available to patrons from the 1st of the month.
How Will This Affect Your Existing Patreon Release Schedule?
For the duration of the test (May-July), SIDEQUEST will replace my existing Patreon releases. The content I would have otherwise worked on will be bundled together into the magazine, so existing patrons won't be losing out on any content. If the trial issues are well received and perform well, the structure of the Patreon will change to focus exclusively on SIDEQUEST moving forward.
Will the PDF be Bookmarked?
Yes! SIDEQUEST will have embeded bookmarks to make navigation easier, and not only that, but the footer title of every page will link back to the contents page, making navigation on any device a breeze!
I missed the first issue, can I still get it?
If you missed out on subscribing to this Patreon during May, don't worry, patrons at the $10 get access to a back catalogue of issues. You will also be able to purchase individual copies on DrivethruRPG.
