Custom Mini-Dungeon 2 & 3 Voting Begins!
almost 3 years ago
– Fri, May 19, 2023 at 08:34:29 PM
COUNTDOWN: 5 DAYS!
New VTT Milestone & Stretch (the book) Goals!
As you learned recently we have some super cool milestone and stretch goals forthcoming on the Kickstarter. At $50k we unlocked Shard Tabletop for all backers $29 and up.
First off, when we reach $75k you'll get the Mini-Dungeon Tome II for Alchemy RPG free!
Secondly, when we reach $100k you'll get the Mini-Dungeon Tome II for Foundry VTT free!
Thirdly, we have a whole bunch of new stretch goals that we'll start unlocking soon, adding even more pages to the book (stretch the book!) in the form of index pages which help organize Mini-Dungeons by terrain type and even give you some nice rollable tables like d100 dungeon entrances, types of desert weather, and more including some special bonus content. If we unlock every single stretch goal planned this book will reach over 300 pages. That's pretty freaking rad and super stretchy!
In addition to those goals, we're bringing you the backer-inspired Custom Mini-DungeonsPDF free to all backers (even $1 backers!), 11 in total that unlock in between the aforementioned index pages.
...KEEP SCROLLING TO VOTE ON CUSTOM MINI-DUNGEONS...
Mini-Dungeon artwork by Mates Laurentiu
Custom Mini-Dungeons 2 & 3: Vote Now!
You can teleport via this link to a survey where we're asking for feedback on our next two custom Mini-Dungeons: Arctic and Coast. You'll choose # of characters, tier of play (level range), and theme. We also want to hear your feedback in the comments on the Kickstarter page which will influence what our writers craft for you.
So, what are you waiting for? Vote on your Custom Mini-Dungeons and then jump into the comments to share your ideas!
Mini-Dungeon Media
MDT II Book Enhancements
Look what you went and did! The Mini-Dungeon Tome II isn't just growing in size, but in quality as well and all thanks to you. We're almost to 999 backers which adds GILDED GOLD to the vellum page. GOLD! REAL GOLD! Well, not REAL gold, but it looks real, I bit it and it made a dent so that says something right? Yeah, I need more sleep... or caffeine! ;) We're saying THANK YOU by adding more pages, more Mini-Dungeons, and more book enhancements to make this the highest quality book we've ever produced to date.
Remember, even if someone pledges just $1 they are still a backer. If you feel like making things even more awesome tell your friends (and maybe your enemies). $1 backers get access to the Custom Mini-Dungeons PDF unlocking soon! YOU get a Mini-Dungeon, YOU get a Mini-Dungeon, EVERYBODY gets MINI-DUNGEONS! (Like I said, I need more sleep... or caffeine!)
Thank you for rocking this Kickstarter and making this book possible. FIVE. DAYS. LEFT!
Let's do this!
~Jonathan
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Alchemy & Foundry Milestones, Results: Backer Custom MD#1 + Forbes Magazine Article
almost 3 years ago
– Thu, May 18, 2023 at 05:00:54 PM
Alchemy & Foundry VTT Milestone Goals
We're bringing you all some magic and there's no need to pay extra for it!
Once we hit the $75k milestone goal Mini-Dungeon Tome II for Alchemy RPG will be unlocked and free for all backers $29 and up. If you haven't checked out the Alchemy Kickstarter please do so now, this is one beautiful and easy to use virtual tabletop.
AAW Games has our brand new Rultmoork adventure in their Dystopia pack, if you want the hardcover or box set with everything teleport here.
When we hit the $100k milestone Mini-Dungeon Tome II for Foundry VTT will be unlocked and free for all backers $29 and up.
Custom Mini-Dungeon #1
You commented, voted, and shared your ideas... and we listened!
The first custom Mini-Dungeon is ready for design by Mini-Dungeon author Claire Stricklin with maps by Tommi Salama and art by Mates Laurentiu.
Here's the final results (and remember, this unlocks around $81k so keep sharing!):
Book Enhancements
Backer goals have been unlocking improvements to the book and you've unlocked all save one!
We now have the highest quality ink and paper in all three books and we've added the following to the hardcovers (see text below in red). All that remains is to add the gilded gold on our vellum paper. Even the standard edition of the Mini-Dungeon Tome II will have a premium collectible design!
AAW Games at Gen Con 2023
Gen Con is coming up and we want you to join us! We'll have booth 575 all decked out with drow and Rultmoork stagnation, sounds like a purple/green theme to me... and we'll also be running games in our game room. If you'd like to GM a game, (Rultmoork, Rise of the Drow, or Mini-Dungeons) please check out this article here, you can get free books, loot, and a 4-day badge to the con all FREE! Yeah, so what are you waiting for? Teleport to Gen Con 2023!
Your Favorite Adventure
We've been sharing our favorite adventures in the comments, and by "we" I mean all of us- our backers, game designers, authors, editors, and artists. There is something special in that one adventure that brings back epic memories. It might have been something you ran or played in last week or an old school AD&D module from back in the day. If you haven't already commented, we'd love for you to share your favorite adventure(s) of all-time in the comments!
Mini-Dungeon Tome II featured in Forbes Magazine
We're hiding this down here because big egos suck carrion crawler maw. That said, the article turned out pretty rad. If you'd like to read it for yourself, teleport to the Forbes Magazine article here.
The Tome of Mystical Tattoos II is a massive addition to the original tome containing 200+ brand new magic tattoos compatible with 5E! This stylish catalog filled to the brim with stunning ink also comes with a variety of unique and fun mechanics that you won’t want to adventure without. Check out the campaign when you have the chance!
Hello
almost 3 years ago
– Mon, May 15, 2023 at 08:08:51 PM
A text-based adventure written by humans and run by a bot. A full game that works something like a text MMO! Choose your own adventure with our game SOCRPG!
Our combat uses AI to make every enemy reactive to your choices making each battle unique and engaging! Depending on your class, level, and items your options in combat will vary.
For more information check out our Kickstarter Here! This project is created by a small group of friends and every dollar puts us closer to our goal of making the first-ever full Discord RPG.
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Cawood Publishing returns to the heart of the game with new monsters for your table!
Monsters of the Dungeon: Brave the Darkness is the sixth book in our bestselling Monsters series for 5E, Pathfinder, and OSR games.
Seven chapters detailing 7 dungeons types: Arcane, Castle, Manor, Thieves' Guild,Tomb, Wilderness, and Mountain. Three-hundred ideas for quests, event & location tables, encounters, and magic items galore are packed in this tome.
We asked our great gaggle of grognards for their favored terrain, promising to make a custom Mini-Dungeon from the results. From fungal jungles to underground rivers, we floated a flight of fantastical ideas. After careful consideration (and a particularly violent boffer sword fight), we winnowed it down to just five.
Planar
Desert
Urban
Underworld
Swamp
All the options had their merits, and they all had their advocates. The planar contingent campaigned hard for interdimensional weirdness. For a while it looked like they were going to win the day, bringing a brand new hub world into existence! Behind the scenes all us writers had come up with this highly inventive and original idea: Vigil, the Legally Distinct City of Windows! It was shaping up to be the finest toroidal transit center in the multiverse, but our lawyers shot us down. Bunch of friggin’ killjoys.
Then there were the desert dwellers. They dismounted their riding insects long enough to tell us about their own vision for a highly original setting. It would be a far-future, dying Earth sort of setup. A solar disaster has cooked the world to within an inch of its life, leaving only blasted ruins, mutant weirdos, and power-mad mage kings threatening tyranny and destruction. As it turned out we had 1) already sort of done that, and 2) made our lawyers uncomfortable again. Must have been all our behind-the-scenes spitballing about “Obsidian Sol” or “Dusk Star” or whatever we were going to call it.
Then there were the Urban and Underworld categories. During voting, these terrain types were so neck-and-neck that we considered combining them. I mean, who’s ever heard of an urban underworld adventure? We could set up some polysyllabic monstrosity of a drow metropolis. There would be warring houses of dark elf nobles, huge stalactites at city center where the local archmages lived, and even a famous antiques market to lure in adventures. That last bit was our undoing though. As it turns out, “Menzobargainbin” is somehow considered product identity. (Seriously you guys, I’m convinced that lawyers hate fun.)
And so we were left with swamps. Not that we’re complaining! I mean, who doesn’t love a good boot full of leeches? But if I’m being honest, our writer’s room could use some help punching this one up.
That means we’re looking at another vote. So what do you say, guys? Which sort of highly-original theme should we use in our swamp? We’re looking at these five unobjectionable, certain-to-make-our-lawyers-happy options. Choose wisely.
Fire Swamp (contains unusually large vermin)
Bog of Eternal Stench (contain unusually fabulous fey)
Dead Marshes (contains dead things… dead faces in the water)
Swamps of Sadness (contains stupid horses)
Molasses Swamp (contains gloppy candy monsters)
While you’re at it, let’s also hear about your preferred level ranges (1-4, 5-10, 11-16, or 17-20) and number of characters to design for (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, or 6 heroes in the party).
Once you’re done with all that, hit us down in the comments with what else you’d like to see in your swamp of choice. From ogres with livestock to hillbilly vine-mechs, the sky's the limit. So ask BIG!
Claire Stricklin
Mini-Dungeon Master
Shard Free - Design by Dr. DM - AU/NZ Friendly Shipping?
almost 3 years ago
– Tue, May 09, 2023 at 05:19:19 PM
The Kickstarter is currently $53,024 (758 backers) with numerous stretch and backer goals having been unlocked adding even more Mini-Dungeons, maps, and pages to this already brimming tome of adventure.
Next up at 777 backers is the metallic silver sewn-in bookmark!
Mini-Dungeon Design by Claire Stricklin AKA "Dr. DM"
The development process for Mini-Dungeons is endlessly fascinating to me. I’ve never tried anything else like it. You see, in conventional dungeon design you start from a blank page. You’ll come up with a premise, grab some suitable monsters from the nearest convenient bestiary, then begin to imagine the world these characters inhabit. But when you’re writing a Mini-Dungeon for AAW, the world comes first. Our staff cartographers fully realized dungeon maps from the ether, and then it's my job as a writer to populate them.
Whenever I sit down for one of these projects, I flash back on my favorite Neil Gaimain quote: “My idea of hell is a blank sheet of paper. Or a blank screen. And me, staring at it, unable to think of a single thing worth saying, a single character that people could believe in, a single story that hasn't been told before. Staring at a blank sheet of paper. Forever.” Any writer who’s ever watched a blinking cursor refusing to divulge its secrets can relate. There’s nothing so frustrating or so difficult as starting from nothing. So when I have the privilege of picking up a fresh map and using it to scaffold my imagination, I absolutely leap at the opportunity.
Take one of my personal favorites, “The Siren’s Lament.” (You can grab a copy for free right here.) When I first saw that map, I felt the same as any dungeon explorer. Faced with twisting passages and curious chambers, I began to ask myself questions.
Whose rowboat is that at the entrance? What’s the deal with those swirly bits in Area 4? Who built this place and why?
These questions are a kickstarter for narrative invention. They’re the same questions that draw characters further into the depths, and they serve just as well to fire up a writer’s keyboard. In the case of “The Siren’s Lament,” inventing a doomed romance between a siren and her human lover led naturally to everything else. Each room became a chance to tell their story, as the animated figurehead in Area 2 became a piece of his wrecked ship, and the treasure in Area 8 was meant to be the bride price for her disapproving father.
When I’m not writing for AAW, I teach interactive narrative at Georgia Tech. In that academic world, one of my go-to articles is Henry Jenkins’s “Game Design as Narrative Architecture.” The story that players discover in “The Siren’s Lament” as they explore imaginary space is a textbook example of Jenkins’s embedded narrative, where we uncover a story through navigation and exploration. I love nothing better than finding the answers to that kind of spatial mystery, and that’s the case whether I’m holding a sword and torch or a keyboard and mouse.
EU & AU/NZ Friendly Shipping?
As promised we worked out a deal to get the Mini-Dungeon Tome II to our European backers without breaking the bank for you with expensive S&H. (Fulfillment by Black Book Editions in France!)
We are currently in the process of trying to do the same for our friends in Australia and New Zealand. I just signed some deals today that should help us move in the direction of providing friendly shipping to your part of the world as well! (Aetherworks here we come!) We'll update AU/NZ shipping estimates on the Kickstarter page once everything is finalized, but I see no hurdles at this time!
My goal is to give you the best books I can, the kind of books I would want, in pristine condition, and for prices one can actually afford. While AAW may have failed at this in the past, I've been working extra hard to make sure I take care of you. I want you to have only the BEST experience with AAW Games and I have pride in what we do and how we do it.
