White text that says 'Welcome, Keeper' on a starry sky background
The Gods' Favourites is a ttrpg set in a magical pocket dimension where monsters roam free under the care of the Chosen. Play as a Chosen keeper and balance your duties while managing the shenanigans brought on by various visiting godlings and heroes. Do not anger the your patron Gods or risk their wrath.
The book will include expanded character creation and gameplay from my previous games, Cryptid Keeper and (ARPIA-nominated) Prehistoric Keeper, featuring new game play mechanics surrounding magic, optional godly backgrounds, and new resource stats to balance.
Latest from the Creator
Joie
24 days ago
Update 3: This Didn't Go As Planned
A header image with white text on starry background that says: Welcome, Keeper
The Bad News:
I have just been informed yesterday by Backerkit that TTRPG books do not count as 'books' under their Printopia banner, which means that I am no longer in the event*. This is a setback as I was really counting on the cross-collab I had planned with another creator and the event's traffic to help spread the word and get the project funded.
I took a day to process this and reorganize my thoughts and planning as I have absolutely dreaded writing this update. Nevertheless the project will still go on, its launch will just be tentatively delayed until Zinetopia 2027.
* If this reminds you of how ttrpgs are consistently excluded from game events because the organisers meant video games not physical/analogue/tabletop games, then you are not the only one. As someone who has been campaigning for tabletop games to be more recognised in game spaces in Australia, this is extremely disappointing to have the same issue come from the other side of this conversation and from a company that has always been so supportive of ttrpgs. Saying that, I respect and accept their stance on this, even if I don't agree with it, anyway...
The Silver Lining/The Original Update:
There will still be something to look forward to in September as I am working on a teaser adventure with pre-written characters and half-formed world for you to play and give feedback on. I was working through the character portraits of these characters when Backerkit threw this wrench my way. Here are two that I have completed so far:
Bridgit (working name) is a nervous redhead from a Welsh family of Keepers. She has a knack with animals and is the latest of her kin to be a Chosen.
Iska (working name) is a runaway from a suffocating traditional family who became a Chosen to escape a life she doesn't want.
Jun (not shown) is who I'm working on next: an androgynous godling who is mysterious and too cool for school.
These are just some backgrounds and backstories to show the wide variety and endless possibilities of how someone could have become a Chosen. I want to really encourage creativity and narrative exploration so...
A footer image with pale gold and white text on starry background that says: Stay tuned for project updates
A header image with white text on starry background that says: Welcome, Keeper
Last time I shared the moodboard and art direction for the project and today, it's (tentative) cover art reveal day!
The talented Anya Chalina has helped create this beautiful artwork that will sit both on the cover of the book as well as in the interior as a spread without any of the text to distract from her work. Here's a small mock up of the cover:
Cover mock up of The Gods' Favourites featuring artwork by Anya Chalina
After studying Joie’s references and ideas, I immediately knew the piece needs to have some stylistic elements inspired by Medieval art. We wanted the piece to feel timeless and not have any direct attachment to specific cultures to allow the viewers to draw their own ideas. Animals with scales can be spotted throughout the piece with a large dragon cascading in the background, a water serpent swimming through the river and a snake coiling around a tree in the middle. They anchor the space in the artwork and symbolize different elements. For the character, we chose Artemis as the inspiration but decided to portray her differently from her original image. She is surrounded by majestic animals and lush greenery, and her palace can be seen in the background. I felt much joy working on this piece and Joie allowed me so much space for self-expression that this piece easily became one of my favorites. - Anya Chalina
When commissioning this piece, one of my only specifications was that it was to show the multi-cultural aspect of the game to reflect the many pantheons and mythologies that are in the game. The flowers in this garden were also chosen specifically for their godly-associations. I gave Anya a lot of freedom and trusted her fantastic eye and talent to just do her thing. Having Artemis be dressed the way she is was a fantastic surprise for me and I love it :)
You can see the larger piece on Anya's Bluesky post and please leave all the nicest things to let her know how great this piece is! I'm already planning to commission a second illustration featuring Apollo as a companion piece if the project goes very well.
Meanwhile on my end, I've been very busy working on client work to pay the bills and planning on making a small scenario of The God's Favourites as a preview of the new mechanics. If you haven't already checked out its precursor projects, you can get a lite version of the game FOR FREE in the form of Cryptid Keepers (cryptids, need I say more?) or Prehistoric Keeper (dinosaurs, also very cool).
A footer image with pale gold and white text on starry background that says: Stay tuned for project updates
Hi friends, just sharing some pretty things today.
The moodboard for this project is a mix of modern hi-res photo textures and vintage patterns and prints. Of particular interest is the centerpiece of the moodboard and one of the guiding images for the project: The Unicorn Rests in a Garden from the Unicorn Tapestries and the dragon-motif Buzi.
The Gods' Favourites Moodboard by Joie Yong
Finding ways to incorporate them into the book is going to be very fun and I'm already very psyched to be using a mix of these public domain vintage art and borders illustrated by the super talented Caleb (@littlestpersimmon).
Here's a sneak peek of one of Caleb's borders, tweaked to have a more textile (tactile? haha) on the page:
Next time:
Hopefully in the next update, I will be able to share something from the cover artist, another super talented artist: Anya Chalina.
More likely, it will be a quickstart for people to playtest and give feedback on (so follow the project to not miss out!!)
