Time for another update! We've been posting weekly summaries in our Discord, so here's the digest for everyone who isn't there yet.
THE NUMBERS
Since the last backer update, we've completed roughly 98 pages. The week-to-week pace has varied, thanks to a number of factors -- including a convention. But despite that, this was our most productive month yet. We actually reached an average of 2.8 pages per day (including weekends!)
Crocodilian Spirit
WHAT WE DID
We've been deep in the fey. The Chelonian Village sits on a lake in the fey realm and has been suffering a curse for over a year: their gold mine has become inaccessible and their egg-laying has completely stopped. Also, beneath the city of Krystallia lies the Feydark -- an underground fey realm that was built over by a careless ancient hero.
Feydark Inhabitant
We finished the Shining City Palace dungeon and cellar, which Xane had run for our live stream group over multiple sessions. Because the material was so well-tested, we knocked out 8 pages in two days. (You can watch that playthrough on the Dungeon Damsel YouTube channel in the LIVE section if you are feeling industrious! http://youtube.com/@thedungeondamsel, episodes 3 – 15.)
Shining Palace Cellar
Then there's Gull Bay -- a coastal city with extensive playtest notes that went quickly. We did add one new wrinkle: MOLD STORMS, since the city sits close to the now-melted Ice Temple. We also fully fleshed out a carousing option called the Spirit Vigil, where players can work with a seer to speak with the dead. As you might know, each population center has its own carousing table with many different options, all tying into the lore and NPCs of the area. Our players really love the diversity of possibility and make it a point to try to carouse in each region.
Moon Temple
And then this past week -- 41 pages! These were the spell sections for the Arachnomancer, Grave Warden, Ovate, and Shaman (the last three pulled from Unnatural Selection). The reason for the speed: these spells had all been incorporated into InDesign, so this was mostly page layout work rather than converting notes into finished content. Xane also took the opportunity to fix some language in Unnatural Selection that didn't match proper Shadowdark style -- things like "near area" instead of "near cube" -- plus a round of buffs and nerfs based on three years of further testing and feedback from backers, which will also be incorporated into the second edition of Unnatural Selection.
BIND Spell
ON THE ROAD
We just got back from EGG Con in Lake Geneva! It was a fantastic trip. We ran the Chelonian Gold Mine there, where more players fell in love with the Skinweaver class. We also ran sessions of SUPERDARK to rave reviews -- lots of laughter and brutality -- which is exactly what we're going for.
Skinweaver
ART UPDATE
Some beautiful pieces have come in: Captain Narj of the Sand Sea, the interior spaces of more dungeon environments, art for the Aging Spire (a standalone time-travel adventure), the Moon Temple entrance, and Xane's favorite -- the Fool's Mold. In the Ice Temple, there's a type of nearly indestructible mold that giant snails love to eat. There's also a predatory, carnivorous mold that disguises itself as the snail's favorite…
Captain Narj
Fool's Mold
Sun Temple Guardian
Lava Ettin
PLAYTESTING OFFER
If you are a backer and you'd like to run a group through part (or all) of Druskara, please DM Xane in Discord or Bunni on Facebook! We love seeing how other GMs handle the material, and anyone who provides feedback we implement gets added to the credits. The Skinweaver class has been particularly popular in playtests -- players keep finding creative and devious ways to use spare corpses (fish gills for breathing underwater, griffon wings for flight, turtle shells for AC). Its popularity and creative use has exceeded expectations!
Ruins of Xal'Tarrak - Map
JOIN US ON DISCORD
If you'd like to follow along week-to-week, come join the community! After the last update, about 50 new backers jumped in, and it's been great to have them. Beyond the weekly updates, it's also where playtest opportunities are announced and where Bunni and I are most reachable. The more you engage, the better the final product gets -- and we love the interaction. We're fueled by it.
Parallel Shadows: Volumes 2 & 3 by Parallel Dimension Gaming — that's Casey Christofferson, who we also met at North Texas RPG Con! It's Volumes 2 and 3 of Shadowdark 'zines of an ongoing adventure series, and it's currently live on Kickstarter at 128% funded with 17 days to go. I’m sure you’ll love it!
Thanks for reading, and thanks as always for your support.
