We're in the final push (TM)! While our day jobs ate us alive this spring we're getting to the very end and almost ready to send to print/final pdfs. This update will have some previews for what the final design elements looks like, as well as some advice on tying things together!
Our next update will be the big one (I know I said that last time but this time we're on the edge of completion)! Thank you for your patience. We have been wanting to make the our magnum opus of sorts and I really feel like we've been successful in that (it just mean the creeping of time and scope which will be so good in the end moved the goal multiple times). Your enthusiasm and interest is what has kept us moving and creating. We couldn't do this without you all! - Goblin Archives
FINAL DESIGN ELEMENTS Josh has been busy away at cleaning up the final design elements left to make this book look as good as it can. All writing has been completed, all edits are in, its just the final maps and tweaks. Here are some previews of the design elements they're working on (note they are still developing so will shift to final form but they give you a good idea)! Here's the Haunted PNW design preview (Josh will be doing some minor tweaks for legibility) but this can give you an idea of what the maps and elements will look like in this section (it's the final map section)
Here's the draft of the procedure of play Facilitator Resource flow chart:
And here's the Creating an Investigator draft flow chart:
CREATING A CAMPAGIN Now that all of the scenarios are out and available in the backerkit fulfillment folder, we wanted to give some advice on how to weave them together to create a campaign.
These leverage the pregenerated This Mysterious Life (p.295). The failing paranormal investigation television show that is striving to look into The Church of Celestial Science's workings in order to launch a successful second season. We have a campaign framework you could use in the Deluxe Edition (p.295).
The basic premise is you need to film a great second season in order to avoid being cancelled. There has been a lot of rumblings in the past about The Church (p.126) but no one has ever successfully run an expose on them.
Use Einfühlung as the first module, having them explore the connections between the church and the missing artist. After that resolves there are a few different branches you can do. You can weave between these as well, creating branching entanglements that go back and forth, creating a massive campaign.
(Stopover at the Shelterwood Inn -> The Bloom) Seed the Church's recent move to Coldwater.
This will draw the Investigators out of town on a little road trip. Have them be waylayed at the Shelterwood Inn (allowing you to draw them into the crisis featured in Stopover at the Shelterwood Inn).
Once they survive that encounter (if they do), have them continue on to Coldwater (and become embroiled in the descending doom of The Bloom).
If you wanted to you could have a one-shot that pauses the campaign and has your players use Camp Coldwater as a prequel to set up what is happening right before the characters arrive in Coldwater (like a cold open).
(Cult Classic) have the Investigators learn about the disappearances in Astoria (p.285) and how the famous actress Marianna Hall has gone missing. If they find out about the Church sponsored party they may realize that it has something to do with what is brewing. This leads them to Cult Classic (the Deluxe Edition scenario). There is an invitation in the house in Einfühlung but there are ample opportunities to seed the Church's involvement and create a desire for the Investigators to sneak into that party (or maybe they are invited as a means of silencing them).
There are threads that would lead the Investigators to The Parthenogeneisis of Hungry Hollow. While the Church isn't in that module, they are attempting to buy property there and establish a foothold, the Investigaotrs could go to look to see why the church is so interested in such a small town.
There are many Investigation threads in the deluxe edition that involve the Church. We did a blog post expanding one of them that could easily be used to draw the Investigators deeper into what is happening in Portland and with the Church's involvement. https://www.patreon.com/posts/using-threads-to-153823097
While the book presents these different options, sometimes its nice to have them laid out all in one place. Our hope with creating interconnecting potential is that Facilitators can mix and match, drawing players deeper into the web of the weird. Use any, all or some. The works are presented as a framework for you to leverage how you see best, modifying to make it work for your table.
