Enter the Feather-head Swamp!
over 1 year ago – Tue, Apr 04, 2023 at 08:51:57 AM

“Birdos be proud and the rats be bowed under the feathery regime of the dead tree that toucheth the clouds.”

- Excerpt from the poem "Trampling Through Yonder Woods"

Feather-head Swamp is one of the brand new areas featured in this printing of Blights ov the Eastern Forest and is very much a "sandbox" location with many different alternatives the players can take. (SPOLIERS AHEAD!) [All art by A. C. Kreader]

The domain is ruled over by the Birdos that reside in Dead Tree Tower.

There are three swamp rat tribes that live under the yoke of the Birdos!

The Moonskins: These odd, nearly hairless swamp rats appear to almost glow with a pale luminance, especially at night. Peering into their overly large black eyes is like staring into the deep void. Their speech patterns are musical, flowing like a babbling brook or the wind through the leaves.

The Ruby Faces: Burly swamp rats are of a warrior caste, with dark bristling hair that oftentimes has a white or red strip running down either side and deep ruby red faces and hands. They pride themselves on their martial training and are exceptionally skilled with staffs and slings.

The Moss Furs: Aptly named, these swamp rats’ fur are covered in a greenish brown moss. They have a lethargic demeanor and their thick lidded, yellow eyes reveal the sorrows they have long endured. Over the many years they have succumbed to the strange black lotus that blooms near their burrows, choosing to dream rather than face the trials of this world. 

Each swamp rat tribe detests the other and it is up to the PCs to rally the tribes! Can they put away their differences to over throw the Birdos reign?

This section also features the template to make your own swamp rat PC based on one of the three tribes!

Backerkit Surveys

Backerkit is currently reviewing the survey for errors. I should hear from them in the next couple of days to see if any changes need to be made!

Cheers!

- Thorin

Necromancers Unite!
over 1 year ago – Tue, Apr 04, 2023 at 08:10:56 AM

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

The Art is Rolling In!
over 1 year ago – Thu, Mar 30, 2023 at 10:29:25 AM

Afternoon everyone!

After a glorious time at GaryCon I have managed to return from the snow covered plains of Wisconsin back home to the humid lands of Georgia. This was my first GaryCon and it was indeed a memorable one. I met a couple of you there and got to run through some game sessions of Sky ov Crimson Flame and Blights ov the Eastern Forest!

 ART ART & MORE ART!

Over the past couple of weeks I've had a lot of artwork rolling in. I'd say that between the two books we're about half-way through all the commissions! So without further ado let's see what we've got!

First up we have a piece by Teresa Guido (Art Station, Instagram, Drivethru): A myriad of gelatinous brain-covered blobs of varying colors ooze out from holes in the sides of the valley and drip down from overhanging branches to land with a wet splat before instantly bouncing into the shape of 4’ tall bear cubs. Before you realize what’s happening, they spring into action, bouncing off tree trunks, grassy mounds, and rocks with menacing intent!

Up next is a full page piece by Alexander Moore (Website, Instagram): Suddenly your ears are pierced by the agonized screams of pain heaved forth from a hundred dry mouths as the corpses rise into large mounds that push towards you! 

Dan Harker shows us why it's a bad idea to go for the silver shamrock! The sweet pungent smell of festering fruit wafts through the air as you step into an overflowing patch of decomposing pumpkins. Mounds of pumpkins litter the ground which seeps with pulp. In the center of this mess is a lone silver shamrock about the size of one’s hand. The path meanders through the patch to the other side.

Up next are two piece from Goran Gligović (http://gorangligovic.com)

The temperature in the room drops as a shadowy figure grows out of the earthen floor until his tall crooked form almost touches the 10’ ceiling. His pale rotten flesh is marred with thorn ridden vines that have embedded themselves deep beneath the surface and his ragged blood stained overalls reek of death and decay. Roses grow from the palms of his hands as a dry husky voice croaks, “Ah! More blood to water you my love! Now soon you’ll grow…”

Once some of the best knights in King Roulreed’s court, these unfortunate souls met an ill fate on the day their King fought against 3 warlock brothers. 

And last but not least! The vile soul stealing trickster of the forest, the Wrook by Goblogna (Twitter).

A black cloud of feathers and smoke swirls down through the hole in the roof, gathering momentum as it continues to circle round and round. For an instant, you think the entire hut may collapse on top of you before this torrent morphs into a bizarre and hideous creature with midnight black skin. Set wide on its elongated face are 2 golden orbs that it must use for eyes. It sports a long leather coat and an overly large silver medallion which swings low from its neck. 

Backerkit, Manufacturing, etc!

Still working on finalizing the Backerkit survey and making sure I am plugging in the most reasonable shipping quotes per weigh/country/etc. If you've every tried setting up the Backerkit survey you know it can kind of be a pain... 

I have a manufacturer lined up that will handle everything except the cassette tapes (which will come from a separate manufacturer).  We are still working out the finer details for the dice/bags/stickers and of course I need all the completed artwork before I can pull the trigger.

I might be a tad bit too hopeful when I say that I want to get everything in house by late July, early August, but that said everything is running smoothly!

Let me know what you think of the art and be sure to check or follow the artist's pages!

Cheers!

Thorin!

Trudging Along
over 1 year ago – Wed, Mar 15, 2023 at 12:33:28 PM

What ho Adventurers!

Tis the season when the wizards speed up time again and us lowly thralls must suffer an hour's loss of sleep... Ah, but even the Eastern Forest is in bloom again and despite the evil that dwells within there is beauty to be had.

Things are moving as they ever do in the village of Reed, slow and steady. I am still awaiting a horde of gold to be dump on my doorstep from the benevolent patron Kickstarter, art commissions have been sent out, and new quotes have been received from the mysterious manufacturer scribes that will bound all my scribblings and jottings together into magnificent tomes.

In short... We're still waiting friends, but the ball is rolling! In the meantime let's explore...

Area A - Lair of the Yss'sak

The Yss’sak is an ancient foe of mankind. As legend has it, there was a great feud between the Yss’sak and a young warrior who, with an enchanted sword, struck a mighty blow against the beast, mortally wounding it. Having saved the land, the young warrior was crowned King Roulreed the Just and spent the rest of his days as protector and king of the Eastern Forest.

Unbeknownst to the young warrior king, the Yss’sak was not truly slain and slunk away to bury itself in a deep cavern where it has lain hidden in a state of torpor for ages. During this time the Yss’sak was discovered by a primitive race of fey known as the kubulynu, who soon built shrines of reverence to this god-beast and have sworn to protect it while it slumbers. The foul events and black magic conjured recently at the Ancient Keep (events detailed in Sky ov Crimson Flame) have stirred the Yss’sak from its long rest and in time it may again wreak havoc on the surrounding lands.

Changes from the 1st Printing

This area has been slightly expanded to include the kubulynu peoples, giving a little more background info to the area and possibly a fun turn of events as dictated by the player's actions!

Surveys and Other Details

The surveys will go out as things gets closer to manufacturing.

Pre-order Store is now up and running, so if you have any pals that missed out on the Kickstarter you can let 'em know!

Speaking of, I've added this RAD t-shirt to the store (mostly because I wanna wear one and figure others might too!) And fret not! This will be available as an Add On for backers once the survey goes out!

GaryCon is just around the corner, so if you see me around please say hello! I'd love to meet you all of you in the meat-space we call reality!

Cheers!

- Thorin

An End Fitting for Song!
over 1 year ago – Sat, Mar 04, 2023 at 10:12:28 AM

Together we stormed the Ancient Keep and defeated many blighted areas of the forest, but as you can see from the map, CHAOS STILL STIRS YET! Thank you all again for supporting my project, it has been a fun ride and with your support and little black magic we pushed through some awesome stretch goals like the Blights Die, the Dungeon-synth album (I mean how cool is that!), more creature illustrations! So once again, my sincerest thanks to you all!

 What Comes Next?

 The estimated shipping date for all items is June 2023. Here's a breakdown on where we stand and what's on the horizon:

• Kickstarter is working on pledge payments at the moment (so make sure your cards are update-to-date) and I'll be receiving the funds in roughly 2 weeks or so.
• Currently commissioning more artwork some some fan faves like Stefan Poag, & C. Aaron Kreader to some newcomers! I'm filling these books TO THE BRIM! It's going to be glorious!
• I'm getting some new updated quotes from manufacturers I've already spoken to and new ones I've met along the campaign's journey.
• Both books are completely laid out and edited and I've got proofreaders working to find those hard to spot typos. (Sky ov Crimson Flame sits at 32 pages & Blights ov the Eastern Forest sits at 92 pages). So once I plug in the new art they'll be ready to go to print!
• The music for the dungeon-synth album is nearly complete apparently, if not 100% already, and just needs to be properly mixed.

  Gary Con 2023

 I'll be attending GaryCon 2023 this year. On the books, I'm running 2 sessions of Sky ov Crimson Flame and 2 sessions of Blights ov the Eastern Forest. So far this is the only game left with available sits!
 However I'll probably be running (if not playing) in many off-the-books games as is the way, so if you happen to be attending and you see me there please come say hello!

Socials!

If you're so inclined you join the band and follow along you can do so through one of these outlets:

•  Instagram: @OwlKnightPub
•  Twitter: @OwlKnightPub 
•  Website: www.owlknightpublishing.com (where you can sign up for my mailing list)

And if you're into vinyl, smoking pipes, reading musty books and petting cats, my personnel's are:

Instagram: @SonOvThrain

Twitter: @SonOvThrain

Have a wonderful weekend everyone!

-Cheers!

- Thorin