Social Stretch Goal passed: 500 backers! Plus - Monstrous Orders and Quickstart play reports
about 5 years ago – Tue, Mar 26, 2019 at 11:42:24 PM

Hey folks,

We've passed the next social stretch goal! Now that we've crossed 500 backers, we'll be making an eBook version of the book to aid in portability and legibility. With just 18 more Facebook Likes or 72 more retweets we'll unlock the Solo Play module, allowing you to play the game without a GM. Douglas is very much looking forward to working on this one!

If you check out the House PDF in the beta handouts Dropbox folder, you'll see two new arrivals: the Order of Kyradar, and the Untamed Order. One dedicates their life to hunting down ruinous titanic monsters following the legacy of poor, ruined Kyr (see Volfyirion for that story); the other forms a mystical bond with the beasts of the borderlands, living and hunting alongside them as equal partners. Two radically different ways of life, but linked by a deep understanding for the creatures of this world.

Also - we were very excited to receive play reports of the Quickstart out there in the wild!

• "We were two Legacy veterans and two PBtA newcomers."
• "The GM was terrified of Qoam moves being too versatile, but the group's use just enhanced the feeling of mysticism and power. Rituals were very considered VERY costly."
• "Covenants worked very well, though the Legacy 2e veterans missed the backstory questions.
• "The flow of story was smooth, and the group felt more inclined to help the city and refugees and deal with the quests than with the mystical plot. One player said that her parents were refugees from a war in Europe, and that she felt drama in play to be sensitive and immersive."
• "Aid and Support were described as "very charming", because the GM used crystalline dice of a particular colour for each player."

• "With two newcomers to RPG games, and two traditional D&D players we ran The Bitter March in one go, over a 6hs session!"
• "We adapted really well to rules - taking the cue of more strategic video and board games to take on House moves very efficiently."
• "But soon, Heroes and Montaran dilemmas led us to improvise and roleplay their House actions more naturally."
• "We discovered Aid and Support early on and embraced it with gusto... up to the moment where our Covenants started suffering and our Houses' relations started to suffer. Tensions increased fast!" 
• "They were in way over their heads in the final confrontation. Up to the point where they used Wield with a two extra foci, granted by two characters giving them their Aid!"

Have you given the Quickstart a try? If so, let us know what you thought!

20k hit - map and location cards unlocked!
about 5 years ago – Sat, Mar 23, 2019 at 01:36:50 PM

Hey folks,

We passed £20,000! That means we've unlocked the map board.

This board will fold out to an A3 size (297mm x 420mm). It'll be decorated with a basic map of the area around Montara, and ready for you to customise with a dry-erase friendly  coating.

This board will be included for free in all pledges at the £70 tier and above. If you're at a lower tiers, just raise your pledge by £10 to grab a version for yourself.

We're also adding cards to help you through city creation and track the factors at play in your world. Each deck holds 50 cards - 13 City Buildings, 13 Borderlands Landmarks, 8 Personages, 8 Stages and 8 Events. These cards are appropriately sized to sit at the side of your map board, holding your notes about important places and details of your city. To get a deck, just raise your pledge by £6.

Build a Monster

Finally, we've opened up another custom content reward tier. The Build the World - Monster tier lets you work with us to create a new monster to put in the book. We'll work together to shape its ecology, strange habits, and curious abilities, and we'll commission a piece of art matching your description of the creature. If you're interested, back at the £200 tier - or hold tight, and we'll tell you more about the creatures of Mysthea soon!

Deep dive 2: The City of Montara
about 5 years ago – Fri, Mar 22, 2019 at 07:29:21 PM

Hey folks,

As promised, today I'll talk about City creation, and game setup in general.

The Crimes of Empire

So, you've sat down to play a campaign of Legends From the Borderlands. You've discussed what sort of story you want to play, checked that everyone is on the same page about the kind of content you want to see, and what kind of commitment you have in mind. The first step to build your world? Decide two crimes that define the Kitrean Empire's occupation of Montara, out of Cruelty, Corruption and Neglect.

Each crime comes with questions for your group to answer. Say we've picked that the Empire ruled Montara with a mix of Corruption and Neglect. We'd then put together answers to questions like this:

• Which City landmark was rendered useless by rampant corruption?
• What did the Montarans do when they found warehouses full of spoiled food after a harsh season of famine?
• Where must people walk to for them to get potable water?

The Houses - and the War

Next, each player picks a House to govern. Let's say we've picked a Vassal of Magista, a Division of Kaetur, and the Order of the Commons. Their initial choice is their statline - which grounds the House's strengths and weaknesses in the events of the war. After a round of stat picks, we might end up with:

•  From Magista: The Empire’s many secrets came to light only during the War and at great cost of lives. This Vassal of Magista is strong at diplomacy and subtlety, less good at direct action. 
•  From Kaetur: Your lengthy siege is what broke the city. This Division of Kaetur is very good at military action, but has few friends. 
•  From the Commons: The city’s people were denied any of the Empire’s luxuries. The Order is good at subtlety and aggression, but won't do well at the negotiation table. 

The players continue making choices: their traditions, doctrines and loyalties. As part of this, the Kaetur detailed an Empire Cabal that still threatened them - they decided this was a cell of Kitraen saboteurs, still hiding in the city.

Drawing the Map

The next step is the most important: you draw out the map of your city, together. 

First, each player draws two City Building cards, and two Borderlands Landmark cards - if you're not using these cards (available as a print-and-play download soon), you can also roll on the provided tables. You take it in turns to place one of these markers on the map, adding further detail. And for each, you decide which of these it is:

• A remnant of the old city, with an NPC Cabal rooted in it.
• A scar of the war, a ruined location that you'll need to go on a quest to fix.
• A haven, a well-preserved and secure location where your House makes their base.
• An impending threat, that'll grow and define your first Flashpoint.

You can only pick each option once.

So, after our first round, here's our map:

The Magistans put down a Garrison, and described it as a remnant. Under the occupation, the Kitreans used a local group as their security services. Neglectful, remember? The strongarms still linger, making their home in this garrison. Next, the Division of Kaetur placed down an Emporium, and claimed that as a scar. That lengthly siege devastated Montara's bazaars, and if people are to begin trading there again you'll need to convince them it's safe again. Finally, the Order of the Commons place down a Hospital - a haven they set up as their base in the wake of liberation.

After Round 2, we have:

• An academy of the Qoam arts, now occupied by the Vassals of Magista as a haven.
• A temple of the Lusman faith placed by the Kaetur, ruined during the occupation and now a threat as it's home to an arcane horror.
• A bank where the Empire stored the wealth they were pillaging. The Commons say it's now a remnant, as revolutionary forces occupy it and attempt to redistribute the assets inside.

In Round 3 we turn to the borderlands. We have:

• A port on the river, that the Kaetur forces have occupied as their staging area.
• Once-fertile plans and farmland; the Magistans put it as a Scar, now corrupted by the Ambiance of heavy Qoam usage. It's growing crops, but they are not edible, and work will need to be done to make the land usable.
• A pass through the mountains guarded by a mighty fortress. The Commons label it a Threat - the war front is in this direction, and a steady stream of deserters have been trickling through here.

Finally, round 4.

• The Vassal of Magista place down a fungal grove deep in a crystalline cavern with a lonely shrine. They have no choice but to make it a Threat. They don't have an idea, so the GM draws a random Factor and comes up with a Place of Power, where barely-contained mystical energies converge and overflow.
• The Kaetur warriors place down an inverted crystalline mountain, dangling from the sky. This giant crystal, hovering over the city, is home to a Remnant - the ruling classes of Montara took refuge in this mountain when the Kitreans invaded, and see little reason to come down with the Ilvashans now occupying their city. But how has the mountain's Ambiance warped them in the meantime.
• The Order of the Commons finish us off by placing down a hollow hill where an Onygauros makes its lair. This particular collector-beast is a Remnant, and they decide it collected tales and folklore of Montara. With the city's archives ruined, it now is the only source of the city's histories.

Finishing Touches

So, that's your map. The final step is to name any cabals created in map drawing, and make up an epithet for this city. Is this Montara the Peaceful? Montara the Brave? Maybe Montara the Holy?

Next you'll make characters, and dive into your first flashpoint - dealing with those deserters, the horror in the temple, and the runaway magic in the cave. But that's for another time.

Finally, if your group isn't interested in this stage or you want to hit the ground running, we'll also providing four pre-made cities for you to use. If you don't use them for Montara, maybe they're its neighbours?

That's it for today. But I'd be happy to answer any questions you have!

Social goal hit: online character sheets! Plus full rules package and our next goals
about 5 years ago – Thu, Mar 21, 2019 at 03:41:27 PM

Hey folks,

Get your handouts!

First up, we're releasing the game's handouts! These print-and-play PDFs have everything you need to play the game: House sheets, Hero sheets, Influence tracking cards, House Inheritance cards, rules reference sheets, and even the Landmark cards mentioned in yesterday's update! Give them a download and let us know what you think.

(The Order of Kyradar and Order of Typhon aren't quite ready for primetime yet, but look out for them soon!)

Social Stretch Goal Progress

We've hit 500 followers on the UFO Press Twitter account, so our next social stretch goal has been unlocked! We'll be putting together interactive character keepers - as form-fillable PDFs, on Google Sheets, and integrated into Roll20.

The next social stretch goal is an ePub version of the book, creating a portable version of the game text that'll also prioritise accessibility. And after that?

In two social unlock's time, we'll make a Solo Play expansion for the game. 

With this free expansion you'll take command of a single House and Hero, with a modified version of the setup procedure ensuring that your world still feels vibrant and lived-in. 

You'll take action using the standard rules for Houses and Heroes, but things change at the point you make a roll. You'll pull the dice you need from a bag holding 10 dice in 5 different colours. The colour combination you draw will give you an overall theme for how to interpret the value you roll on them, and decide what happens next - sudden fortune? A turn to violence? A surge of Qoam energies? At certain milestones, you invest a die from a roll and remove it from the bag, signalling the overall outcome of your quest and changing how the world might respond in the future.

This also doubles as an in-setting method of divination, with the five colours representing the five islands orbiting the Henakor crystal - and you can bet we have ideas for an addon that will get you 10 Mysthea-themed dice, in five different crystalline colours!

The Road Ahead: Shards of Mysthea

We're closing in on the £20,000 stretch goal, which means it's time to reveal the next stage of our roadmap. At £23,000, we'll create the first of what we're calling Shards of Mysthea: The Rebel Underground.

Each of these Shards is a complete expansion for the game, opening up a new area of gameplay. The Rebel Underground is all about the resistance movements that sprung up in Montara under the Kitrean Empire's occupation, and how those movements grow and find new forms after the Empire's expulsion from the city. In this 20 page mini-expansion, you'll find:

• A new House playbook: The Disavowed Order might be a surviving arm of the old Montaran state, a clandestine cell left behind when the Kitrean Empire retreated, or a insurgent movement forming among Montara's civilians. Whatever their origins, they're masters of infiltration, espionage and information control.
• A new Wonder: The Revolution. We haven't discussed Wonders yet, but they're the system this game uses to track long-term projects your House can invest Surpluses in, culminating in a world-changing event that sets the stage for the next Flashpoint. The Revolution is a way to track your House's campaign to overthrow whatever group is currently ruling Montara - but will they be able to shape the government that takes their place?
• An exploration of resistance movements by Helen Gould. Helen's a writer and poet whose RPG work has been published in Cthulhu Dark and Fear's Sharp Little Needles. In this essay she'll talk about how to bring a resistance movement to your table - ranging from the markers of small-scale protests (certain phrases and language, songs, events) to major underground movements and the figures who lead them.

We have lots more Shards to come exploring the weapons of the great war, the ways Qoam crystal use has reshaped Ilvashan culture and individual lives, myth and history in the borderlands, and more!

That's it from us for now. But if you're looking for something a little different in your roleplaying, you could stand to check out synthesis, a collection of mini-rpgs about metatextuality and perspective, and Interstitial, an Apocalypse World-powered game about interdimensional adventures and unbreakable bonds between hearts.

Bye!

Art unlocked - and Quickstart now available!
about 5 years ago – Wed, Mar 20, 2019 at 07:48:06 PM

Hey folks,

That was a nice funding level to wake up to! We've unlocked more art for the book, and we'll make sure that it lines up with the excellent art we have already from Travis. Next up - beautiful endpapers and a bookmark ribbon, to help you keep your place in the book.

I'm also happy to announce that our Quickstart is finally live! In The Bitter March, five Houses are sent from Ilvash to secure Montara the Serene - a city high in the mountain passes that serves as the gateway to the Empire. To get there, they'll have to make their way through narrow passes, and deal with lingering Montaran and Imperial forces. And once they're there? It's their responsibility to deal with the wounds the Kitrean occupiers - and the Ilvashan liberators - have left on the city and its populace.

Check it out!