renau1g
First Post
[MENTION=20323]Quickleaf[/MENTION] - did you click on the Updates tab of Kickstarter? It's at least 1 monster - the Mud Man
D&D Supplement: Heroic Threats by Willow Updates — Kickstarter
Heroic Threats: A D&D Kickstarter
- Thread starter willowx
- Start date
[MENTION=20323]Quickleaf[/MENTION] - did you click on the Updates tab of Kickstarter? It's at least 1 monster - the Mud Man
D&D Supplement: Heroic Threats by Willow Updates — Kickstarter
Colmarr
First Post
I notice the sample mudman has Resist 5 Untyped damage.
I don't think I've seen that before in 4e, although I once homebrewed a monster with resist 5 arcane. Is that sort of resistance 'canon' (ie. has it appeared in a WotC product)? It seems to harken back to old (not to be confused with 'bad' necessarily) ideas that some classes should be better than others at certain fights.
I don't think I've seen that before in 4e, although I once homebrewed a monster with resist 5 arcane. Is that sort of resistance 'canon' (ie. has it appeared in a WotC product)? It seems to harken back to old (not to be confused with 'bad' necessarily) ideas that some classes should be better than others at certain fights.
Matt James
Game Developer
Nothing in 4e (official) has Resist X Untyped. There's nothing wrong with this--it just doesn't exist in an official capacity. It gives the creature a hardened defense against anything but elemental-type damage, which can be cool.
Good morning EN World! As promised, another preview.
Clockwork Automatons are giant clockwork beasts, designed as guardians or weapons of war. Each one has a “Clockwork” ability, representing the mechanical nature of the creature. At the start of its turn, if certain conditions are fulfilled, it takes a specified action, which is powerful and it normally can't do any other way, and then ends its turn. Since the Clockwork ability triggers as a free action, this may allow the creature to get around the Dazed condition (but not the Stunned condition) in certain circumstances. Players who enjoy logical puzzles will find it interesting to determine what triggers each Automaton's Clockwork ability. For players who prefer focusing on tactical movement and figuring out the right move, the Gamemaster can be more transparent about the Clockwork triggers, letting those strategists get to work outsmarting the enemy right away.
The Clockwork Automatons come in five varieties: the Clockwork Hound (level 5 soldier), the Clockwork Serpent (level 6 skirmisher), the Clockwork Dragon (level 6 solo skirmisher), the Clockwork Spider (level 7 skirmisher), and the Clockwork Siege Engine (level 10 artillery).
The Clockwork Hound, if not next to any marked enemies at the start of its turn, can shift next to an enemy and make a powerful attack that marks and knocks that enemy prone. The Clockwork Serpent gets to shift its speed at the start of its turn. If it ends next to a bloodied foe, it makes a powerful attack, otherwise, it takes a turn normally. The Clockwork Dragon's Clockwork Rampage allows it to attack multiple characters at the start of its turn. The Clockwork Spider has fangs with a poisonous reservoir; if it starts its turn next to an enemy that isn't poisoned, it gets a powerful bite attack and then scuttles away. Finally, the Clockwork Siege Engine has a built in self-destruct sequence: if it starts its turn with under 20 hit points, it explodes.
Here's the whole stat block for the Clockwork Hound:
Clockwork Hound Level 5 Soldier, XP 200
Small Natural Construct (Animate)
HP: 64, Bloodied 32
AC 21, Fortitude 17, Reflex 18, Will 16
Initiative +6
Perception +8, Darkvision
Speed 7
Immune Charm, Disease, Fear, Poison, Sleep
Traits
*Clockwork Pursuit: At the start of the Clockwork Hound's turn, as a free action, if it is not next to any of its marked foes, it stands up from prone (if needed) and shifts its speed adjacent to a marked foe and then makes the following attack: +12 vs AC, 2d8 + 8 damage and the target is knocked prone and marked until the end of the Clockwork Hound's next turn. Its turn then ends.
Standard Actions
*Bite: +11 vs AC, 2d6 + 6 damage, and the target is marked until the end of the Clockwork Hound's next turn.
Triggered Actions
*Guardian Hound (Immediate Reaction, At-Will)
Trigger: An enemy's attack bloodies one of the Hound's allies within 7 squares.
Effect: The target is marked by the Clockwork Hound until the end of that enemy's next turn.
STR 16 (+5) DEX 16 (+5) CON 16 (+5) INT 6 (+0) WIS 12 (+3) CHA 10 (+2)
Alignment: Unaligned Languages: None
Tactics: Clockwork Hounds loyally defend their charges with a single-minded focus. Should those marked by it attempt to flee from the Hound, it pursues them with Clockwork Pursuit and makes a more powerful attack. Whenever one of the Hound's allies is bloodied, it uses Guardian Hound, giving it more options on what target to pursue.
Clockwork Automatons are giant clockwork beasts, designed as guardians or weapons of war. Each one has a “Clockwork” ability, representing the mechanical nature of the creature. At the start of its turn, if certain conditions are fulfilled, it takes a specified action, which is powerful and it normally can't do any other way, and then ends its turn. Since the Clockwork ability triggers as a free action, this may allow the creature to get around the Dazed condition (but not the Stunned condition) in certain circumstances. Players who enjoy logical puzzles will find it interesting to determine what triggers each Automaton's Clockwork ability. For players who prefer focusing on tactical movement and figuring out the right move, the Gamemaster can be more transparent about the Clockwork triggers, letting those strategists get to work outsmarting the enemy right away.
The Clockwork Automatons come in five varieties: the Clockwork Hound (level 5 soldier), the Clockwork Serpent (level 6 skirmisher), the Clockwork Dragon (level 6 solo skirmisher), the Clockwork Spider (level 7 skirmisher), and the Clockwork Siege Engine (level 10 artillery).
The Clockwork Hound, if not next to any marked enemies at the start of its turn, can shift next to an enemy and make a powerful attack that marks and knocks that enemy prone. The Clockwork Serpent gets to shift its speed at the start of its turn. If it ends next to a bloodied foe, it makes a powerful attack, otherwise, it takes a turn normally. The Clockwork Dragon's Clockwork Rampage allows it to attack multiple characters at the start of its turn. The Clockwork Spider has fangs with a poisonous reservoir; if it starts its turn next to an enemy that isn't poisoned, it gets a powerful bite attack and then scuttles away. Finally, the Clockwork Siege Engine has a built in self-destruct sequence: if it starts its turn with under 20 hit points, it explodes.
Here's the whole stat block for the Clockwork Hound:
Clockwork Hound Level 5 Soldier, XP 200
Small Natural Construct (Animate)
HP: 64, Bloodied 32
AC 21, Fortitude 17, Reflex 18, Will 16
Initiative +6
Perception +8, Darkvision
Speed 7
Immune Charm, Disease, Fear, Poison, Sleep
Traits
*Clockwork Pursuit: At the start of the Clockwork Hound's turn, as a free action, if it is not next to any of its marked foes, it stands up from prone (if needed) and shifts its speed adjacent to a marked foe and then makes the following attack: +12 vs AC, 2d8 + 8 damage and the target is knocked prone and marked until the end of the Clockwork Hound's next turn. Its turn then ends.
Standard Actions
*Bite: +11 vs AC, 2d6 + 6 damage, and the target is marked until the end of the Clockwork Hound's next turn.
Triggered Actions
*Guardian Hound (Immediate Reaction, At-Will)
Trigger: An enemy's attack bloodies one of the Hound's allies within 7 squares.
Effect: The target is marked by the Clockwork Hound until the end of that enemy's next turn.
STR 16 (+5) DEX 16 (+5) CON 16 (+5) INT 6 (+0) WIS 12 (+3) CHA 10 (+2)
Alignment: Unaligned Languages: None
Tactics: Clockwork Hounds loyally defend their charges with a single-minded focus. Should those marked by it attempt to flee from the Hound, it pursues them with Clockwork Pursuit and makes a more powerful attack. Whenever one of the Hound's allies is bloodied, it uses Guardian Hound, giving it more options on what target to pursue.
Hi Rechan:
I expect to end up selling the book on Lulu for a $3 PDF/$15 physical copy.
Printing and shipping costs vary based on quantities printed, but for a book of this size, I can expect my printing costs to be $4-7. Additionally, there is fulfillment: Lulu will ship them to me (the bulk shipping is fairly cheap), and then I will ship them out (this gets pricier). Again, this varies, My ballpark figure is about $10-12 per total physical book.
PDFs are cheap. If the kickstarter fails, I may still go forward and release this as a PDF only product. However, I wouldn't expect to get to $1000 on just PDF sales. And the more physical books I sell, the less total profit there is.
And ultimately, that's what it comes down to: anyone who tells you that a rpg product can't, or shouldn't make a profit, is wrong. Designers deserve to be paid for their work. I've spent a lot of time and effort on this project. Compared to every other rpg kickstarter I've seen, Heroic Threats has the lowest expectations of what success means.
I expect to end up selling the book on Lulu for a $3 PDF/$15 physical copy.
Printing and shipping costs vary based on quantities printed, but for a book of this size, I can expect my printing costs to be $4-7. Additionally, there is fulfillment: Lulu will ship them to me (the bulk shipping is fairly cheap), and then I will ship them out (this gets pricier). Again, this varies, My ballpark figure is about $10-12 per total physical book.
PDFs are cheap. If the kickstarter fails, I may still go forward and release this as a PDF only product. However, I wouldn't expect to get to $1000 on just PDF sales. And the more physical books I sell, the less total profit there is.
And ultimately, that's what it comes down to: anyone who tells you that a rpg product can't, or shouldn't make a profit, is wrong. Designers deserve to be paid for their work. I've spent a lot of time and effort on this project. Compared to every other rpg kickstarter I've seen, Heroic Threats has the lowest expectations of what success means.
If I can offer some well-intentioned advice:
Yes designers should get paid for their work, but that's should not be part of the initial Kickstarter goal. In general you want your initial goal to be equal or less than the cost to produce the book. You profit will come from a) exceeding the goal, or b) continuing to sell the book through other channels after Kickstarter.
Also for print-on-demand, I'd take a look at RPGNow/DriveThruRPG's program.
Yes designers should get paid for their work, but that's should not be part of the initial Kickstarter goal. In general you want your initial goal to be equal or less than the cost to produce the book. You profit will come from a) exceeding the goal, or b) continuing to sell the book through other channels after Kickstarter.
Also for print-on-demand, I'd take a look at RPGNow/DriveThruRPG's program.
