Castle Shadowcrag © Wolfgang Baur, 2009

Wolfgang Baur is running another round of Open Design so this is the perfect time to get in on it.  This time is a little different as there are three proposals for people to vote on and any one or even all three can progress should they achieve enough funding.  I’ll outline below all 3 proposals, but only one is being written in 4e ~ Courts of the Shadow Fey! The Scathsidhe return from both the Ennie nominated Castle Shadowcrag and Wrath of the River King.

I have been a patron of Wolfgang Baur’s Open Design movement since Castle Shadowcrag (oh how I wish I’d signed on for Steam and Brass!).  At some point I’ll write a full description of all of the projects I’ve been a part of (Castle Shadowcrag, Empire of the Ghouls, Arabian Nights, Blood of the Gorgon, Tales of Zobeck, Wrath of the River King, and Halls of the Mountain King). For now I’d like to bring attention to the three projects up for patronage this round and a quick discussion on what is changing.

Patronage

Wolfgang Baur started the Open Design movement with the idea that during the Renaissance artists created works for private patrons, so RPG products could be written for a select small group of patrons who would provide input and direction into the process.  That simple idea has spawned a large following of people who get to watch first hand how a master writer crafts his finished works. Patrons also have the opportunity to provide input, suggest topics, pitch content, and in some cases even author some of the work.  There are two levels of patrons, the patron level which grants access to the discussion and allows patrons to provide input on the design; and the senior patron level who get advanced views of some content, is allowed to pitch suggestions, and takes part in deciding the next round of projects after the current one finishes.

In the past the projects were exclusive, only those who were patrons of the project while it was being written would get an electronic copy and would be given the ability to purchase the print on demand version. That changed a bit after the first project to allow those of the current project (ie. Halls of the Mountain King) to purchase the previous project (ie. Wrath of the River King). Only recently did Wolfgang open up the Ennie award winning Tales of Zobeck to the public because of the award.  With the three projects below, however, Wolfgang is not keeping them exclusive to patrons. Provided they achieve funding, each project will see the light of day as electronic books available for mass consumption. Patronage still has its perks as I’ve outlined above. For me the draw is seeing how an amazing adventure comes together behind the scenes.

Open Design Projects Seeking Patrons

Courts of the Shadow Fey ~ link ~ Sign up today!

Written by Wolfgang Baur, this adventure will be written for Dungeons & Dragons 4E. It has been pitched as a paragon level adventure that takes players to the Plane of Shadow when the intrigues of the Scathsidhe threaten the Free City of Zobeck.  The adventure will be one of politics, assassination, intrigue, and stealth. Personally this one gets my vote as it is both 4E and written by Wolfgang himself, oh and its set in Zobeck.  I loved both Shadowcrag and Wrath so I’m looking forward to more Shadow Fey goodness.

From the Shore to the Sea ~ link ~ Sign up today!

This one will be written by senior patron Brandon Hodge who contributed substantially to the Halls of the Mountain King project.  The project is being designed to use the newly released Pathfinder RPG rules and will hopefully be set in the Pathfinder campaign setting, Golarion (pending agreement by Paizo Publishing).  The adventure will draw players beneath the waves where an ancient kingdom of aboleth have reawakened and has enslaved an entire village.  The Pathfinder RPG shows promise and Golarion is one of the most intriguing settings currently being supported.

Red Eye of Azathoth ~ link ~ Sign up today!

Joshua Stevens is leading this Cthulhu-inspired collection of adventures.  The project will either use the Call of Cthulhu system or the Pathfinder RPG depending on how the patrons choose (talk about involvement!).  The adventures will span several time periods as sleeping elder gods seek to invade the mortal world.  These 5 adventures will be set on earth in 5 different periods of history and senior patrons for this project will get to pitch entire adventures.

Personally I wish I had funding available to join all three projects or even one at the senior patron level. As indicated the 4E adventure, Courts of the Shadow Fey is my current favorite.

Free RPG Day

Free RPG Day

Free RPG Day was held on June 20 this year. This was the first year that I was able to enjoy the day as it has not been supported outside the States before.  Here in Vancouver there were several stores who had received packages from the fine people running Free RPG Day. I went out to my FLGS, Imperial Hobbies, in Richmond in the late afternoon.

Even with the late time I managed to pick up quite a few products all of them phenomenal. From Keith Barker’s Eberron Adventure to a Rogue Trader introduction, all great promotional material.

WotC – D&D 4E – Khyber’s Harvest ~ link

Alright I’ll admit that this was the product I was most looking forward to. Keith Baker has put together a great 2nd level adventure in 4E Eberron in Khyber’s Harvest. During a conjunction between Mabar and Xoriat, Cultists of the Dragon Below attempt to open a gateway to Khyber. Your party must thwart their intentions before something from below emerges to devour the Shadow Marches. The adventure also came with a full Dungeon Tile as well depicting a Dragonmark-like symbol on a dungeon floor and purple crystals on a bare earthen floor on the other side.

Goodman Games – D&D 4E – Immortal Heroes/Hearts of Chaos ~ link

The Immortal Heroes section of this flip book presents 9 epic destinies by Aeryn “Blackdirge” Rudel the editor in chief of Goodman Games’ Level Up! magazine.  They run the gambit from Archfiend to Radiant Master to Sidhe.  The other side is a preview adventure of Goodman Games’ upcoming Amethyst RPG that uses 4E rules in a modern setting that has collided with the Fantastical.  Magic, monsters, and machine guns all feature strongly in this new game coming in September.

Paizo Publishing – PFRPG – Bonus Bestiary ~ link

With Pathfinder RPG launching at Gencon this year, Paizo has released teasers of changes made to characters but this is the first preview of creatures created under the new rules. Pathfinder RPG is one of the most anticipated releases this year with over 50,000 people participating in the Open Beta test over the past year. The bestiary includes creatures like the Allip, Dragonne, and Shadow Mastiff all with incredibly high quality presentation as we’ve come to expect from Paizo.  The interesting parts come not only in the stats revealed but the introduction detailing how the new rules apply like Combat Maneuver Bonus and Defence and diseases and poisons.

Fantasy Flight – Warhammer 40K Rogue Trader – Forsaken Bounty ~ link

I’ve not had the chance to play the Warhammer 40K RPG yet, but I used to play the miniatures games fanatically for several years during university. The Rogue Trader RPG looks fascinating, putting characters in the position of merchants and traders on the fringes of the empire.  The preview also contains the short adventure Forsaken Bounty in which characters are given salvage rights to the Emperor’s Bounty, a vessel lost in the Maw.

White Wolf – Geist the Sin-Eaters – Quickstart Rules and Adventure ~ link

Again showing my recent monogamous gaming habits, I’ve not had the opportunity to play any of the new World of Darkness games despite having enjoyed Vampire, Werewolf and Mage in the past.  Geist is a game featuring people who’ve thwarted death just before passing over in a Faustian bargain with spirits or geists.  Those geists demand the saved allow them to ride along in a symbiotic relationship with the Sin-Eater. Also included is an adventure ‘The Return of Mr. Monster’ for the game.

Mongoose Publishing – Paranoia – Citizen’s Guide to Surviving Alpha Complex ~ link

Are there ever a lot of great games from back in the day being given new life. Mongoose Publishing has been publishing many Paranoia supplements and included this small digest sized introduction to the game.  Commie Mutant Traitors beware, the Computer’s Troubleshooters are being given higher and higher levels of access in order to track you down. Infiltrators beware should the Computer’s agents get wind of your treachery.

Imperial Hobbies – d6 ~link

My local FLGS is great. Not one to miss out on the marketing opportunity they created several d6s with their name and phone number on them.  A nice little touch to be sure, though my wife has claimed mine

I have no idea if there were more companies participating in the event, but I had a great time. I appreciate the marketing effort that went into all of these top notch products and I’m sure I’ll give some of them a shot.  I hope that this event continues in Canada every year.