Deep Dives by Wanderer's Haven Productions - The Lore You Know!
over 3 years ago – Fri, Dec 11, 2020 at 10:51:51 AM

Hey there, Heroes of the Hornsaw,

We're *so close* to our next Stretch Goal! Let's keep at it! 

As you've probably gathered, I'm a big fan of the Scarred Lands, and have enjoyed reading about the setting since the first Creature Collection came out over 20 years ago! I always like sharing some of the cool setting details to new players and other gamers who haven't heard about Scarred Lands yet. 

Even better, I like when other people share stuff about Scarred Lands, because they usually do a much better job than I can! So, today, I'm happy to share a few deep dives into the Scarred Lands from Wanderer's Haven Productions. 

Check these out, and please keep spreading the word! We've got about 12 days left, and I really really want to land another Stretch Goal or two - just for my own personal selfish reasons! More Scarred Lands for me!

Lots to digest there, and lots of fun stuff!

As I was recently telling Travis, my current character is a cleric (though I just took a level or rogue). Though we're not currently playing in the "real" Scarred Lands, there's still a lot of Scarred Lands influence on our hodge-podge game, and over the next few updates I'm going to share a bunch of stuff about Scarred Lands clerics and the pantheon and the outer planes from this setting. It's all cool stuff, and will hopefully continue to build interest in this campaign as we work towards the conclusion!

So, keep on rolling and I'll be in touch soon! And please, remember to share this campaign in your social circles and on your social media! Let's continue to collect XP and start gearing up for those final 10 days!

#ScarredLands

#DeadMansRust

Sneak Peek: The Gleaming Valley
over 3 years ago – Thu, Dec 10, 2020 at 07:43:18 AM

Hey there, Heroes of the Hornsaw!

Well, I initially mistyped that as Hereos, and now I'm thinking about some kind of Scarred Lands-inspired Oreos. 

Anyway...

We've spent some time talking about the horrors and terrors of the Hornsaw Forest. I mean, it can be a dark and scary place. But, just beyond... that's when you get to the Gleaming Valley! Let's take a sneak peek at the next chapter from our manuscript, available for all backers to download on Monday.

Villages of the Gleaming Valley

Within the Gleaming Valley, a series of small villages thrive amidst the peace that the hollow knights have created. However, something dark stirs, corrupting the people that would try to strive for a better existence. Now, your heroes have the chance to find the source of that corruption and help who they may.

Ironworth

• Large village, chaotic good
• Population: 900
• Area of Influence: The Gleaming Valley
• Government: Village Elder
• Leader: Sapphira Noran (she/her, LG, ironbred, ironbred warrior),Grandmotherly ironbred who has retired from the Iron Riders to lead her village and support the Gleaming Valley.
• Commerce: Ironworth exports metalwork and crops. The village’s primary imports are leather, meat, and luxury goods.
• Folkways: Each year, the Ironbred hold a week-long festival that celebrates spring. They cook delicious food and invite Siblingers to their village.
• Allies: The Golden City, Steelhart Village
• Enemies: Glivid-Autel, Calastia
• Notable NPCs
• Rodren Verdant(he/him, CN, ironbred, ironbred warrior), hothead, young ironbred who seeks only to further his own goals and take power from Sapphira.
• Lyran Koren(she/her, LE, Human, necromancer) Human spy from Glivid-Autel who seeks to undermine the Golden City by corrupting the outer villages and cutting off food supplies.

Story Hooks

Just outside the Golden City rests a bucolic village with houses made of thatch and wood. Plowed fields are verdant with crops of all kinds, grown to help feed the bustling nearby city. Ironbred live a relatively peaceful life here, sheltered from those that would mistake them for sutak. The village seems like something out of a fairy tale, but it still has its struggles. Recently, many young ironbred have gone missing, and there are rumors that they haven’t gone of their own free will.

Trouble in Paradise. Sapphira Noran has long been the village elder and leader of Ironworth Village. Recently, though, a young ironbred named Rodren Verdant is trying to undermine her at every turn. Sapphira has tried to speak with Rodren about this, but he seems hellbent on taking a seat of power within the village. Complicating matters, many other hotheaded and young ironbred are following his lead. During village meetings, these young Ironbred call for Sapphira to step down.

Sapphira is concerned about this, especially since Rodren doesn’t seem to be worried about the missing ironbred. As she tries to juggle her responsibilities as the village leader reasoning with Rodren, she feels herself failing. She asks the heroes to try and speak with Rodren and if that fails, try to find the missing ironbred.

Strong Willed.Rodren believes that Sapphira is too old to lead the village, and that it’s time for the young Ironbred to take over. He leads a band of younger ironbred, who name themselves the Iron Will. They can be often found carousing at night and causing mischief. Rodren ask the heroes to help undermine Sapphira. If asked about the missing ironbred, he seems careless and unconcerned about it, claiming that they likely left because they were sick of being led by a “sick and weak octogenarian.”

In truth, Rodren has been approached by Lyran Koren, a necromancer in disguise from Glivid-Autel. She befriended him before insinuating that he was not living up to his potential and had the makings of a great leader. With her plan in motion, she continues to egg on Rodren and the Iron Will from behind the scenes. She has taken up residence in a nearby hut on the outskirts of the village and has styled herself as a local healer who gives out tonics to those in need. Some of her tonics could very well be deadly poisons.

Lyran has also been stealing away some of the young ironbred for Glivid-Autel in order to bolster their armies for an attack on the Golden City. Rodren has turned a blind eye to the disappearances, believing that Lyran is fully supporting him and the young ironbred are being trained as warriors to return to Ironworth to support him.

Steelhart

• Medium village, Chaotic Good
• Population: 750
• Area of Influence:Gleaming Valley
• Government: Council of three
• Leader: Brisnava Arzen (she/her, CG, Human warrior). Young village council member who longs for the life of an adventurer. She tends to be very hands-on in village affairs because of this.
• Drago Karden(he/him, LG, human combat mage). An elderly village council member who believes he has seen it all, even though he hasn’t.
• Larsena Jakar(she/her, LG, human warrior). A middle-aged village council member and mother who believes in keeping the village safe, no matter what.
• Commerce: Steelhart primarily exports crops and woodworking. The village imports metalwork.
• Folkways: Teach the younger hollow legionnaires to be humble and respect all forms of life. Never betray the village and their goals.
• Allies: The Golden City, Ironworth Village
• Enemies: Glivid-Autel
• Notable NPCs
• Kornac Jihar (he/him, CN, human, assassin). Young bandit, taking advantage of the chaos in the Gleaming Valley. Works with Glivid-Autel while trying to rob anyone who appears to have anything of worth on them.

Story Hooks

Just past the Golden city and on the eastern edge of the Gleaming Valley lies Steelhart Village, a place of sturdily-built wooden houses, barns, and farmers. Men and women tend the fields and craft wooden furniture and wooden beams for construction in the Golden City. This village also often fosters young hollow legionnaires, teaching them what life is like in a smaller village before they receive a higher position in the Golden City, or leave to see the world.

While most villagers focus on crafting, there is a small, trained force within the village. Lead by Brisnava, this fighting group trains with the hollow legionnaires that they foster while also protecting the village from any incursions from the nearby Hornsaw Forest.

Tree Trouble. Recently, the forest has become even more dangerous during the tight-knit expeditions that venture there to cut down trees. Many of these groups have not returned, and Brisnavais all for going into the forest with a force to save them. Drago, however, is more cautious. Men and women have gone missing before, and this time is no different; there’s very little that can be done about it other than take precautions for the future. The two often argue during village council meetings, and Larsena often finds herself being the moderator between them. In addition, many of the people of Steelhart seem to be growing weaker and sickening, but no one seems to be able to find the cause. Brisnava will ask the heroes to go into the forest with her, which will result in having to fight two Blood Reapers(Creature Collection p.21) and no information, though Brisnava will believe this solves the issue.

Not in My Neck of the Woods. Larsena doesn’t believe that the problem is with the Hornsaw Forest. Instead, she believes that their woodcutters are being waylaid before that. She’ll ask the heroes to investigate and see what they can find. If they look at the road leading to the Hornsaw Forest, they’ll find a group of bandits, lead by a man named Kornac Jihar. Kornac is smart and won’t be taken easily. He’ll try and rob the heroes, but if it looks like he’s going to lose, he and his crew will run.

A Disturbance. Drago will say that he’s sensed a magical presence nearby and will ask the heroes to be involved in a ritual conducted by him to seek out this presence. If the heroes agree, Drago will conduct the ritual and one of the heroes will be able to “sense” the magical presence nearby. They will eventually find that it leads to Lyran Koren from the Ironworth Village, and that she has been selling potions laced with mild poison to the people of Steelhart to weaken them over time.

I mean, we all know this is an epic adventure - you've seen the Actual Plays and heard everyone talking about it! But it's also a massive setting book, detailing an awesome area of the Scarred Lands that is full of cool lore and fantastic flavors, and I can't wait to dig in!

Travis has mentioned that it's possible to play tons of sessions in the Dead Man's Rust setting and barely touch the "main" storyline. Reading these hooks - for only these two towns - it's easy to see how these can springboard from all of the political intrigue and small town machinations at work.

A reminder - backers will be able to read the ENTIRE manuscript for Dead Man's Rust before the campaign concludes in two weeks. So, if you haven't already - jump on and check it out!

#Scarred Lands

#DeadMansRust

#IWantOreosNow

A Stretch Goal! A Dead Man's Rust Actual Play! General Excitement!
over 3 years ago – Wed, Dec 09, 2020 at 08:24:48 AM

Hello Heroes of the Hornsaw,

We're at the halfway point of this 30-day campaign, and I think it's trucking along quite nicely!

Before we go further, though, has everyone been reading the manuscript sections I've been posting? It's been a couple of days since I put up Chapter 3, but I'm just finishing today because it's CRAMMED full of Scarred Lands setting goodness. Not only the chapter we shared, but also the third section of the Appendix. I know we've highlighted the adventure/campaign portion of this book, but it's so full of setting material and additional rules and stuff for your 5E game.

As a player, we all hunger for those awesome magic items that will give us the edge in combat and help us vanquish our enemies. But you know the stuff that's often remembered the most fondly, or becomes the centerpiece in the stories we tell - it's often the stuff that gets used outside of combat, or ends up serving a surprise purpose. Those moments that we didn't see coming, when things align and just surprise and delight everyone are the best moments of the game for me. 

And looking at some of these things, I think there are surprises in store for some games...

Alelon’s Dye

Wondrous item, uncommon

This magical dye is used in clothing. Any item colored with this dye can have the color changed by the wearer with a thought. The wearer can add or remove patterns, change the color to any visible color, or cause the item to glow any color of choice, providing dim light in a 5-foot radius.

As someone who's played their share of rogues and slippery-types, the idea of being able to alter an outfit thanks to the magic dyes used... well, I'd be up to no good, that's for sure!

Or these arrows...

Multiplying Arrow

Ammunition, uncommon

Lore. Used by lower ranking members of the Liliandeli, these arrows bear the temporary enchantment multiply missile. Liliandeli spellcasters regularly create several of these each day.

Powers. When you make an attack using this ammunition, the arrow splits into multiple versions of itself, granting you advantage on the attack roll. Additionally, you roll the weapon damage die two extra times and add the rolls together to determine damage. On a critical hit, these extra dice are not rolled again. If unused 8 hours after creation, it becomes a normal arrow.

Swarm Arrow

Ammunition, uncommon

Lore. The small unit size of the Liliandeli means they use tricks like swarm arrows to inflict heavy damage before their foes even know they’re under attack.

Powers. When you hit with an attack using this ammunition, the arrow explodes into a swarm of smaller arrows, creating a cone 30 feet long. Each creature in the cone must make a DC 15 Dexterity saving throw. A creature takes 3d10 piercing damage on a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful one. The original target automatically fails this saving throw.

Anyway, just day-dreaming. There's a lot of great stuff in here, is what I'm saying.

But, let's get on to the first exciting announcement today!

UNLOCKED! - At $19,000 in funding – VTT Tokens & Map Pack: Elvish Excursions – Digital assets will be created to support online play for 1-2 encounters in Dead Man’s Rust, including location maps and necessary character and creature tokens. All backers receiving the Dead Man’s Rust PDF will automatically have this digital pack added to their rewards list.

That's right - we've unlocked another Stretch Goal! Now we'll be receiving some Elves to go along with our Dwarves and provide us with more tools for online play! 

I hadn't expected to hit this goal so quickly (thanks to all new backers!), and we're already closing in on the next one! Here's what's coming into reach for us...

At $20,000 in funding  – Digital Wallpaper! – Dress up your monitor with an action-packed scene from Scarred Lands: Dead Man’s Rust added to the rewards list for all backers.

After that, we'll have even more content written for the Scarred Lands with a new Gazetteer! Can we land this in the next two weeks? Let's go for it!

At $22,000 in funding – Gazetteer: Dier Drendal – A supplemental PDF focused on the underground city of Dier Drendal, providing hooks and guidance on how to incorporate it into the Dead Man’s Rust mega-adventure. All backers receiving the Dead Man’s Rust PDF will automatically have the Dier Drendal Gazetteer PDF added to their rewards list.

Finally, let's look at some Dead Man's Rust in action! Reading the book has been really fun for me, but this is where it truly shines - getting played! That's what it's all about.

In this two-parter, the Vorpal Tales crew dive into the Dead Man's Rust section of the Scarred Lands and have a little fun. Check it out:

OK, like I've said - we've got half of the campaign still to go! So, let's see if we can't land another Stretch Goal - OR TWO, please! - before these next 15 days have passed! Please, continue to spread the word, and share your excitement and enthusiasm on social media and in your social circles! We're 4th level now, let's keep adding members to our party and collecting more XP!

#DeadMansRust

#ScarredLands

Backers Only - Manuscript Preview #3
over 3 years ago – Mon, Dec 07, 2020 at 09:15:42 AM

This post is for backers only. Please visit Kickstarter.com and log in to read.

XP ALL AROUND - STRETCH GOAL UNLOCKED!
over 3 years ago – Mon, Dec 07, 2020 at 03:33:34 AM

Hello Heroes of the Hornsaw!

These seem to be coming fast! We've just unlocked another Stretch Goal! 

UNLOCKED! - At $18,000 in funding – VTT Tokens & Map Pack: Dwarven Dilemmas – Digital assets will be created to support online play for 1-2 encounters in Dead Man’s Rust, including location maps and necessary character and creature tokens. All backers receiving the Dead Man’s Rust PDF will automatically have this digital pack added to their rewards list.

That's awesome, because I always seem to need more dwarf tokens for online play. I mean, you can never have enough. That means it's time to announce some new Stretch Goals...

First up, we've covered some dwarves. But, if I recall from Chapter 2 of the manuscript, there are a lot of elves too...

At $19,000 in funding – VTT Tokens & Map Pack: Elvish Excursions – Digital assets will be created to support online play for 1-2 encounters in Dead Man’s Rust, including location maps and necessary character and creature tokens. All backers receiving the Dead Man’s Rust PDF will automatically have this digital pack added to their rewards list.

At $20,000 in funding  – Digital Wallpaper! – Dress up your monitor with an action-packed scene from Scarred Lands: Dead Man’s Rust added to the rewards list for all backers.

At $22,000 in funding – Gazetteer: Dier Drendal – A supplemental PDF focused on the underground city of Dier Drendal, providing hooks and guidance on how to incorporate it into the Dead Man’s Rust mega-adventure. All backers receiving the Dead Man’s Rust PDF will automatically have the Dier Drendal Gazetteer PDF added to their rewards list.

Some additional VTT assets, a chance to dress up your monitor with some Dead Man's Rust artwork... and NEW CONTENT! I mean, I was already excited, but to have additional areas of the Scarred Lands written up with ideas about how to tie it into this mega-adventure... I love it!

Please spread the word! We're settling into the quieter phase of a kickstarter campaign - the middle weeks are usually a bit less boisterous (though we've still been hitting Stretch Goals, so what do I know?!), but any help we can get adding new backers will help us all get closer to those Stretch Goals! Share in your social circles and on your social media! Let's keep this party rocking!

#ScarredLands

#DeadMansRust