Tell tales of dark and horrific fantasy with your friends using Robert J. Schwalb’s thrilling new tabletop roleplaying game.
The first adventure is now live! You should be receiving your download right now. As usual, be sure to check your spam folder if you don't see it. If you still don't receive it, please send me a message here with your email address so I can send you a link to your download.
Thanks!
Rob
The Shadow of the Demon Lord PDF is headed your way! As I type this, DriveThruRPG is sending out coupons so you can grab your copies. Whew!
If you don't see the email, make sure you check your spam filters as it may have landed there.
Also, please spread the word that the game is now available and can be purchased at DriveThru RPG and on SchwalbEntertainment.com.
Thanks for your support!
Rob
Or something like that. After a harrowing weekend, it's time to spew updates into the tubes of the internets. So here we go:
Layout has all the corrections and Hal is working on implementing them today. There are still a few outstanding bits to wrap up, but I'm hoping to send the final file to the printer by mid-week. If not, well, I might just go out and play in traffic. I kid! In any event, once I upload the files to Drivethru RPG, I'll mass send out your codes so you can grab your copies of your new favorite RPG. Very exciting and terrifying all at the same time, as I'm sure you can imagine. Enough nonsense. You want to see something gooey to hold you over, right? Well, how about a map of your playground?
These are all waiting to be pushed through the InDesign birth canal. We have the template, so these should go super fast.
Hobos have no fear! Your starter guides are coming next. Hal just has to push these through the same birth canal. Twins! This is the next thing to be born.
Back from editing, we're waiting on layout to get this bad boy out. Triplets!
Also awaiting layout.
Chris Sims, of Wizard of the Coast fame, has possession of this supplement, massaging it with rare oils and hate. I should have this back from editing in three more weeks. I'll be buying art for this book soon.
I had a romantic couple of weeks with Carmen and Marti at the post office and today we concluded our tryst, slapping postage on the last of the add-ons. This means if you haven't gotten your toys yet, relax. They are on the way. The only add-ons that did not yet ship are the screens (regular and deluxe). We were waiting on art and a finished layout to get these through production and into printing. My buddies Andy and Eric, with aid from Adam and Dan, are pulling these together. Go team go!
Once we get the core book out, I'm taking a couple of days to find some sanity. When I get back from Dragon*Con, I'll be sending out emails to set up times for romantic evenings spent putting together unspeakable things.
I will also be scheduling the first of these sessions following Dragon*Con. Stay tuned!
So all that stuff above is 2015 excitement. Now to 2016 excitement.
Story Pack 1: Bruce has already delivered his horrific jaunt and Pramas and Winter are sacrificing bricks of tofu on altars to Baphomet to get their adventures done. Bruce, as I expected, turned over something quite tasty.
Story Pack 2: Kenson, Hite and Townshend have their contracts and work is now underway.
(I plan to release the stories in each pack separately, so you know.)
Fiction: Work continues. More about the stories when I have them. They're still due on Halloween.
Tombs of the Desolation: First draft written, polished, and being torn apart by rabid playtesters.
And that's it for this week. As always, thanks for reading, supporting, and (soon!) playing!
Hello!
I'm back from Space City Comic Con and GenCon and I'm hard at work on Demon Lord (and several other projects). I know you're itching for more previews, but you're going to get the PDF of the core rulebook at the end of this month. What's a couple of weeks, right?
On to the project updates.
Victims of the Demon Lord: Layout continues as art rolls in.
Shadow of the Demon Lord: Layout continues and art is still rolling in. Here are a few sketches and works-in-progress.
Exclusive Adventure: The adventure for backers of a certain level and higher is done and ready for layout.
Retailer Adventure: The adventure for retailers is done and ready for layout.
Disciple of the Demon Lord: This extra is back from editing and ready for layout.
Tales of the Demon Lord: I just got feedback from Scott Gray and have responded. We should have this back from editing very soon and then it's off to order more art and push it through the layout birth canal.
Demon Lord Companion: Chris Sims has started work editing this bad boy and we should have the final back in 8 weeks.
Add-Ons: I've started shipping out dice, t-shirts, tokens, character sheets. I'm driving into the wilds of east Tennessee to pick up the Demon Lord mugs on Thursday, so these will be shipping too. They're going in small waves since I'm a one-man show, but they're coming and I hope to have the last of these packages out in a couple of weeks.
GM Screen: I should have a sample layout in hand early next week. Once we have art, it's off to the printer.
Deluxe GM Screen: Eric has the materials and is putting these together once we have the final art and tables. Here's his supply pile:
Design a Demon/Demon Lord: I know I mentioned this before, but it can't hurt to do so again. Once the PDF of the core rulebook goes live, I'll be contacting backers to schedule these sessions.
Play with Schwalb Online: I'm also waiting to get the core rulebook out before these games start. If you're one of these backers, you can expect an email from me after Dragon*Con to schedule your sessions.
And that's all the stuff I'm getting out in 2015. What about next year? Funny you ask.
More Tales volume 1: Just an hour ago, I got Bruce Cordell's adventure, "A Year Without Rain," a perfectly horrifying experience for starting characters. We're going to put this through playtesting now. Chris Pramas and Steve Winter are both banging out their adventures as we speak.
I send out contracts for volume 2 on the 17th and design starts for this set of three on the 31st.
Fiction: Work is underway. We're still looking at a Halloween turnover, at which point my buddy Jim Lowder works his magic, while I handle Jim's story. These should be out by the end of the year or first of the next year.
Tombs of the Desolation: I'm about 90% finished with this and I'm very excited by how it's turned out. I think you'll love it too.
Here's a preview of how the revenant works (playtesting on this won't start until the end of the month):
To create a revenant, first create a character with the human or dwarf ancestry. Other ancestry options may be available at the GM’s discretion, though they must be living, mortal, possess souls, and not be created by magic—so, no changelings or clockworks. Once you finish, apply the revenant traits to your character.
Attribute Scores Strength +1 and Intellect –1
Characteristics Defense –1 and +1d3 Insanity
Immune damage from disease and poison; diseased, fatigued, poisoned
Darksight You can see in areas obscured by shadows and darkness within medium range as if those areas were lit. Beyond this distance, you treat darkness as shadows and shadows as lit.
Eternal Returns You die when you become incapacitated. You remain dead for 1d3 hours. If your head is still attached to your body at the end of this time, you become undead, gain 1d3 Insanity, and heal damage equal to your healing rate. Otherwise, you are destroyed.
One Foot in the Grave You heal half damage from magic and potions.
I'll be at Dragon*Con, doing a slew of panels in September followed by additional shows. If you want to know where I'll be, check out my schedule on SchwalbEntertainment.com.
For design, I'm juggling several other projects at the same time as Demon Lord, so work on 2016 releases continues. The next product after Tombs will be the Alfheim supplement. I plan to re-watch Pan's Labyrinth to get in the right state of mind before I dive into that strange setting.
I had lots and lots of fun at Gen Con this year. Lots of meetings, handshaking, exchange of filthy jokes. As today marks another year closer to becoming old and decrepit, I am going to keep the update short. Here's a final art piece by Bailie d'alessandro. Enjoy!
