Urban Horror In A Corrupt City: A Setting & Adventure Path for 5E, Pathfinder, and S&W

Frog God Games has sent along an enormous ten-page preview of The Blight: Richard Pett's Crooked City. For D&D 5E, Pathfinder, and Swords & Wizardry, this book details a decadent and corrupt city. Richard Pett created Dungeon Magazine's The Styes, worked on Paizo's adventure paths, and originally created this city for Pathfinder. A Swords & Wizardry conversion followed, and now a 5E version is coming! This enormous 900-page book contains a poster map, a full guide to the city (with new classes, player options, races, and 13 city districts) plus an entire urban horror adventure path called Levee, "set within the rotten and degenerate urban confines of the city, where the PCs must scratch and claw their way to survival starting at 1st level and continuing through 9 adventures all the way to 10th level and above."

Below is the D&D 5E version of the ten-page preview. When you've finished looking at that, head on over to the Kickstarter and back it! It has 13 days to go and is two-thirds funded. It's $50 for the PDF or $135 for the hardcover, but for that you get 900 pages of setting and adventure path, which is a big, big book - bigger than Monte Cook's Ptolus: City By The Spire, bigger than the War of the Burning Sky compiled adventure path, bigger than Hero System 5th Edition Revised, bigger than Tome of Horrors Complete and Rappan Athuk, bigger than Talislanta 4E, and nearly as big as The Slumbering Tsar (which edges it out at 937 pages).

 

[Luz]

Bravo Luz, and thank you for your faith. Please spread the word on any 5e sites you visit, I'd be really, really happy to have a whole new group of players to torment That goes for all you fine posters here, please keep shouting if you would be so kind.

Rich

Certainly, Richard. Since my campaigns are primarily set in Greyhawk, I'll mention it on the 5e forums to the good folks at Canonfire! I personally envision The Blight serving as the city-state of Rel Astra, or maybe Prymp in Ahlissa or along the coast of the Northern Kingdom. Is there another specific region in GH you would suggest? Somewhere else that would put it into context in GH?

Cheers,

Trevor

 

[rich pett]

Good choice Trevor, they're very flattering places for the Blight to rest, I think you've made a selection of fine choices and I wouldn't want to suggest others. I'm going to root out my old copy of the Styes later on and see if it had anywhere suggested from that particular relative of the Blight (since it was and is WoTC owned) and will let you know later on.

Canonfire! why didn't I think of that? Yes, please do, I'd be very grateful.

Just as a quick update we're rattling up to 63K, a rise of approaching 9K in the past 96 hours so impetus is building, a 5e version would gladden my heart, more players to lure down into the Blight's claustrophobic alleyways and enjoy...

 

[Doctor Futurity]

Borderlands Provinces was always meant to be for 5E as well as the other two lines.

In fact, Adventures in the Borderland Provinces was initially writing in the 5E format and converted to Pathfinder and Swords & Wizardry.

The Blight started its development cycle at least 2 years ago when 5E wasn't even an option. We decided to do try and do a 5e version of The Blight because so many fans were asking for it.

We want to do a 5E version of this book. We have a dedicated team of converters set to work on a 5E version of this book. I personally want a 5E version of The Blight on my bookshelf (I'm the AD and layout guy for FGG).

This isn't about preferred editions. We aren't a huge company and a misstep on something this big has the potential to shut us down with too much debt.

It's not an "Oh well, if you really want it . . ." it's more of an "Oh wow! They really want us to do it!"

Okay...that is cool...I think maybe I've been reading too much doom/gloom into the text of the Kickstarters for some reason.

Given Nord Games' approach to providing a pledge level for each edition, is there a chance you'd structure future Kickstarters like this? It's helpful to a backer as I can actually see that there's a lot of 5E support for Nord's NPC book, for example, so I felt very confident in backing it right off. This might also work for the publisher as well to see what backers want right off the bat, before the survey goes out at the end.

Another question....you might know the answer (or not)....has FGG considered options for POD in cases like this? I'd be very likely to back a project which says "XX amount for PDF, and a print-at-cost coupon for the POD edition" on risky ventures where the idea is to mitigate cost but still offer what the backer is looking for. Sine Nomine does this to great effect. If that were an option then I could safely back the project knowing I'll get what I want, and FGG would not be on the hook for an enormous potential loss on product....and FGG does have POD books available through onebookshelf so the relationship to do this is already in place.


(FINAL EDIT: If I'd realized Borderlands started in 5E and was converted I would have pledged on that one for sure. As it is I still plan to get them when they are in print and available to the general public).

 

[Desh-Rae-Halra]

I like the idea of a PoD pledge level, the problem being that DriveThru RPG does not historically do a good job with large volumes (and The Blight is a 900 page monster!), and the paper is typically of a lesser caliber (Look at the recent Mage 20 PoD comments to see the dissatisfaction of PoD copies falling apart.)
I think if they did PoD, the best option would be to split it into 2 or 3 books... Setting, New Rules/Players Guide, and then the AP, that way you dont have to worry about the Bindings.

 

[Morrus]

I like the idea of a PoD pledge level, the problem being that DriveThru RPG does not historically do a good job with large volumes (and The Blight is a 900 page monster!), and the paper is typically of a lesser caliber (Look at the recent Mage 20 PoD comments to see the dissatisfaction of PoD copies falling apart.)
I think if they did PoD, the best option would be to split it into 2 or 3 books... Setting, New Rules/Players Guide, and then the AP, that way you dont have to worry about the Bindings.

I'm very happy with my 800-page War of the Burning Sky compiled AP, which is from DTRPG.

 

[mach1.9pants]

FGG won't do POD with their big hardbacks. They are proud of the fact their books will last, with proper sewn binding. The level of quality of FGG books is the highest, you'll be able to hand them down to your kids.

Unlike my 5E PHB which is already a folio, with number 2 starting to loosen around the bindings too.

 

[Desh-Rae-Halra]

Morrus,
I am curious: how would you rate the binding, quality of paper, and color as compared to books like:
Pathfinder Core Rulebook, FFG Star Wars/Dark Heresy/Deathwatch, etc, or even the Numenera Core book?

 

[jerryrice4949]

Which means absolutely nothing in this case at the rate they are funding there is not going to be a hardback for 5E. Perhaps better to consider what customers want.

 

[rich pett]

Certainly, Richard. Since my campaigns are primarily set in Greyhawk, I'll mention it on the 5e forums to the good folks at Canonfire! I personally envision The Blight serving as the city-state of Rel Astra, or maybe Prymp in Ahlissa or along the coast of the Northern Kingdom. Is there another specific region in GH you would suggest? Somewhere else that would put it into context in GH?

Cheers,

Trevor

Trevor,

As promised I've rooted out my old contributor copy of Dungeon 121 and the suggested setting for the Styes - which was the embryonic version of the Blight - is Prymp, so you were spot on! Just for reference the article by James Jacobs suggests Marsember for Forgotten Relams and Rekkenmark in the Eberron setting.

Bravo and cheers.
Rich

 

[THEMNGMNT]

Richard Pett is among the very best adventure writers. Certainly today, maybe ever. Just gobs and gobs of evil and awesome flavor. I've pledged $50 for the PDF and hope we one day get a 5E hardcover.