Inquirer Update and other thoughts...

Wanted to update everyone concerning the Eldritch Inquirer.  I received the first print proofs and overall they looked really good! Still, there were a few corrections to make and I am waiting on an answer from DTRPG on something specific. Once I hear back from them, I'll be able to upload again and get a second round of proofs ordered next week. I'm also going back and forth on whether to release the "Standard" version - seems kind of meh, but would be a cheaper option than the "Premium" format. The Premium is much cleaner, also note the trim difference between the two.

1/21/20 UPDATE ... Uploaded new files today and will be ordering new proofs as soon as the they clear!

Premium

Standard

Something else that has been on my mind lately is Sword & Sorcery. For...well at least a year and a half now, probably a bit longer, I have had it in my mind that I want to write my on S&S style game using White Box as a base to build on, while at the same time stepping away from that game. When writing Eldritch Tales, I made a number of concessions for the sake of compatibility and that led to me including elements that weren't my favorite. And worse making a game that I know is a bit wonky in places.

So, why is suddenly fore in my brain again? I recently heard (from John Large on the Purple Worm podcast) that James Spahn was rewriting and Kickstarting his excellent The Hero's Journey, also based on White Box. When I investigated, I found that James had been talking about his developments on his blog for quite some time (Halfling's Luck) and was voicing similar concerns. I thought, maybe now is the time to revisit this...?

(Find THJ 2e right now on Kickstarter!)

The first question that comes to mind - do we need another S&S game? Well, maybe not. Everyone knows that Inlove Astonishing Swordsmen and Sorcerers of Hyperborea, but there are many other great games out there - Conan 2d20, Savage Worlds Beasts & Barbarians and Solomon Kane, Barbarians of Lemuria, Crypts & Things, just to name a few. Still, I want a game that brings together all of the elements that I love, from many other games, but built into new package... so, yeah, maybe a "heartbreaker" game and probably not for everyone, but we'll try to work on that.

What are my goals with this game?

First, write a game that is somewhere between White Box and AS&SH in terms of rules weight. It will show clear inspiration from these games, as well as others like The Black Hack, DCC, 5E, and Conan, not to mention The Hero's Journey.

Next, write a game that could easily be adapted to "historical fantasy" or "alternate history" style games. And honestly the game may sit more closely in these genres than S&S anyway. For example, in the Berserker class that I've drafted, I have stripped out the polymorph ability found in many games, so that what is left is a less fantastic version of the archtype, something more akin to Egil Sallagrimsson than Beorn from The Hobbit.

Finally, step away from some of the traditional elements of fantasy RPGs. Vancian magic will be gone in favor of something more akin to what you see in Eldritch Tales; Armor Class completely changed to actually represent what armor does (it doesn't keep you from being hit, it keeps you from being injured when you are hit); that sort of thing. Still, much of the classic will remain like Classes, Saving Throws, and whatnot.

What do I have written? Quite a bit is drafted - Classes, much of the rules, sorcery, some of the spells, and equipment, have all been visited. Somewhere around 33,000 words (much of this is spells). 

How much has been playtested? Absolutely none of it! Not quite there yet. I'll run it with my home group first, and hope to have something stable by April, when I attend Roundtable Con.

What's this game called? I've no idea! My working title is "Ages Undreamed Of" but that may step on the toes of the Conan: Adventures in an Age Undreamed Of property. So, I'm working up other ideas.

Stay tuned for more updates and thanks for visiting!

The Eldritch Inquirer Update!

Greetings All,

Happy New Year & welcome back to the 20s! 

Dropping a quick update concerning the first supplement for Eldritch Tales - The Eldritch Inquirer! 

From the product description:

-‐---‐----------------------

The Eldritch Inquirer is the Official Magazine for the Eldritch Tales: Lovecraftian White Box Role-Playing game! The pages of the Inquirer hold the secrets of Mythos Earth, history, inspiration, new game mechanisms, world-building material, and a full-length Mythos scenario!

In this inaugural issue, you will find:

• An historical chronology of the year of 1920. (10 pages)
• Manias to expand the Insanity tables in the core Eldritch Tales rules. (3 pages)
• Interesting and inspiring news articles & advertisements culled from the pages of the Arkham Advertiser, meant to be used as scenario seeds and world-building inspiration. (3 pages)
• A list of "American" names that offer 80,000 name combinations, all suitable for Eldritch Tales characters of the 1920s. (6 pages)
• The highlight of the issue, Return of the Windwalker, is a full-length scenario that takes the player characters to the remote mountains of New Hampshire to investigate a new archaeological site, but they are soon embroiled in a tale of Mythos madness and mystery! Can they stop the return of the Windwalker? (31 pages)

This issue is very art heavy, and contains both black and white and color art throughout. Much of the material is system-neutral and that which is written specifically for Eldritch Tales could be easily adapted to other Lovecraftian games.

Included are High Resolution and Low Resolution PDFs of the magazine, as well as Color and B&W PDFs of the handouts for the scenario.

The scenario handouts are also available on high quality cardstock through DTRPG's print-on-demand service! 

-----------------------------------

Inclusive of front matter, the OGL, and end pages, this issue clocks in at 59 pages in a perfect bound trade-sized format!

I've ordered the print proofs today of both Premium and Standard versions, I want to see the differences between the two and decide if they should both be offered. I've already received the proofs of the POD Handouts and they are quite nicely printed on heavy cardstock that will withstand your player's snack-smudged hands. 

I hope to release two issues each year. For the foreseeable future, issues will follow the same basic format - chronology of a year (issue #2 will be 1921), a name list of a particular nation or culture, articles and adverts, some game mechanics info, and a scenario. 

So that's it for now. Barring printing issues, I'll be back in the next week or so with images of the proofs and release information!

All the best!

Goblyns Deep Released!

Hello!

About a year and a half ago I was heavily into Swords & Wizardry White Box and while randomly brainstorming, I thought it would be fun to write a game wherein the players take on the roles of goblins, protecting their underground domain form the incursion of adventurers. I never got very far with developing it, but the idea never really went away.

Well, at the beginning of this month I spotted a post on social media that piqued my interest. Scott Malthouse of Trollish Delver Games shared a game he created called The Midnight Chimes. This game was based on another game, Tunnel Goons by Nate Treme of Highland Paranormal Society, and Nate was running a contest of sorts, the Goon Jam, over on Itch.io. I downloaded both, gave them a read, and was most impressed.

I'm a big fan of Victorian horror, so The Midnight Chimes really grabbed my imagination; its really excellent. Tunnel Goons did something that no other "one-page" RPG has ever done for me - it actually feels complete. Please, check out these excellent works!

So, back to the story. These two games inspired me to revisit my old goblin adventure game and I felt like a hack of Tunnel Goons would be an excellent fit. So over the past 13 days, I put together Goblyns Deep, a two-page TRPG of goblin shenanigans, adventure, and tongue in cheek dark humor.

You can download it now for free over at Itch.io!

Goblyns Deep

 

Cthulhu Mythos Sale!

Eldritch Tales: Lovecraftian White Box Role-Playing and related products are part of the *Cthulhu Mythos Sale* over at DriveThruRPG.

Not only that, I've permanently reduced the prices of the PDF, Softcover, and Hardcover versions of the core book!

Celebrate H. P. Lovecraft's birthday with some new gaming goodness!

https://www.drivethrurpg.com/mythos.php?manufacturers_id=9237&filters=0_0_0_0_0_45178#selectpub

Eldritch Tales Referee Screen Now Available!

Great News!

The Eldritch Tales: Lovecraftian White Box Role-Playing Referee Screen and Reference Sheets are now available at DriveThruRPG and RPGNow!

There are 5 interchangeable internal sheets containing all of the important tables from the Core Rulebook, as well as two additional bits - the Insanity Saving Throw flowchart and the Skill Reference list - both of which should prove very useful at the table. Finally there are 4 external sheets of artwork to decorate the front of your screen or use as handouts, mood setters, etc. All are color, landscape format and 8.5"x11".

The sheets are available in PDF for $3.99 and in Print (with PDF) for $9.99. If you purchase the print version, you will given the option to add a vinyl GM Screen for an additional cost at checkout. I was skeptical about the quality of the screen and bought one myself. I can tell you that this thing is HEAVY DUTY! It seem very well made, and has four panels, with sleeves front and back, and measures about 45.5" in length by 9.25" high. Have a look at the pictures below!

A few additional observations...

• The sheets are interchangeable so you can customize your GM Screen to other games!
• The cards are printed on a thick cardstock and should prove durable and long-lasting.
• The vinyl screens are only shipped from the United States, so overseas shipping is expensive. I encourage those outside the U.S. to find a vinyl GM Screen locally.

  

Eldritch Tales in Print!

Greetings and belated Happy New Year to all!

Thank you all for your patience throughout the past year. I am coming to you with excellent news - Eldritch Tales: Lovecraftian White Box Role-Playing is now available in print-on-demand! 

Standard Color Softcover is priced at $29.99 while the Premium Color Hardcover is priced at $44.99.

If you bought the PDF version before today (January 23, 2019), you should have received a coupon  allowing you to purchase the Hardcover version for $35, that's $9.99 off the normal price!

(Remember that to have received the discount email, you have to have your account set up to allow contact from Raven God Games!)

***UPDATE*** It has come to my attention that the original coupon I sent out to early supporters did not work correctly and I have sent a new coupon that should work!

Also note that the PDF version has been updated with a few minor corrections and a form-fillable character sheet has been added for download as well! Use the links below to head over to RPGNow today!

Eldritch Tales (all versions)

Character Sheet

Here are some photos of the final proofs of the print version.

Hardcover on left, softcover on right.

Hardcover on bottom, softcover above.

The Hardcover spine seems tight and durable.

These final two offer a comparison of the same page spread, softcover above and hardcover below. The edge color in the hardcover is ever so slightly brighter than the softcover.

Mullings over....

Something that I have been considering lately is "how can I best support Eldritch Tales?"

In answering the question, I've been greatly inspired by Glynn Seal's excellent Midderzine, which he uses to support his own Midderlands setting. I appreciate to smaller format and the ability to spread the focus of each issue - as opposed to a longer form supplement book. While I still plan to release some scenarios and such, a zine is looking very likely. It would be a convenient place to release short articles, plot hooks, optional rules, single-session scenarios, lore and the like.

And so I come to you and ask - what do you like for a title? Here is my short list:

*The Eldritch Inquirer* 
*The Eldritch Observer* 
*The Eldritch Herald*