Court of Blades: The Companion Zine is Unlocked!
almost 3 years ago
– Mon, May 10, 2021 at 08:43:43 PM
Retainers,
I'm not sure if you've all realized, but you all comprise an actual legion right now. Over 1000 backers have pledged their support. That's AMAZING!
But you know you're awesome. You don't need me to keep telling you. You're Retainers, canny and bold. You know your business, and you're here to read about what you've just achieved.
We have officially surpassed $35k and that means that Navi and I are going to unlock the Companion Zine detailing starting situations, one-page errands in the same vein as our previous work for Blades in the Dark, fancy menus, eligible bachelors and bachelorettes, and a page or two from Ilrien Unmasked (Ilrien's favorite scandal rag). It's going to be a wealth of flavor and plot-hooks ripe for plunder and easy to include in your next taut web of lies and deception.
We're excited to get to work, Retainers. Thank you for giving us the opportunity to make more cool stuff for you. That's really all we want to do now. Pretty much forever.
Shawn and Navi Drake
A Couple of Drakes
Court of Blades in Hardback! + New Stretch Goal
about 3 years ago
– Tue, May 04, 2021 at 11:24:06 AM
Retainers,
We are pleased to announce that you have, as of this morning, ensured that we have the backing to make Court of Blades a gorgeous hardbound addition to your Forged in the Dark RPG library. If you've already gotten your hands on a copy of Blades in the Dark, Scum and Villainy, or Band of Blades, you know what we envisioned when we posted those stretch goals. That's what we're doing. That beautiful, silky matte cover is now officially unlocked for Court of Blades.
We've also decided that we should post our pie-in-the-sky stretch goal, since you seem to be smashing through stretch goals with a joyous abandon that would make House Al-Mari blush. We still have our sights set on putting together a 'zine of expanded setting material and play scenarios, and reaching out to some of our favorite community creators to bulk that up even further, but the BIG new stretch goal is "Court of Thrones."
In the core game of Court of Blades, you're taking on the role of Retainers to a noble house, specialist assets and problem solvers which expand the reach of the House. You've got latitude to undertake perilous errands, live dangerously, fall in love, and embroil yourselves with all manner of factions within the city at the behest of the noble family members of your House. In Court of Thrones we are aiming to add an additional facet to Court of Blades in which you also play powerful members of the House proper.
With new playbooks boasting powerful abilities and attainable currencies that can be spent to improve your odds in this wicked playground of intrigue and romance, Court of Thrones will cast you as the spymasters, courtiers, captains, clergy, and other family members which make up the House's movers and shakers. You'll set the agenda of your noble house, play power politics with the House's friends and enemies, leverage your resources, and engage in wide-spanning intrigues which change not just the shape of Ilrien, but the Principalities themselves.
Court of Thrones is, in essence a companion game that is played alongside Court of Blades. All of the systems will bring added depth and strategy to the core game, while retaining the engaging, fiction-first sandbox play of a Forged in the Dark game.
Currently, these ideas are in draft, so take what is said here as the early kernel of an idea for what we're working on that will change as we go into another round of playtesting to make sure that everything is tight, cohesive, and feels good to play. We're very excited to get to work. Should you all continue to exceed all of our wildest expectations, we'll happily continue creating more and more cool stuff for you.
Shawn & Navi Drake
A Couple of Drakes
Court of Blades: Maps and Art Unlocked!
about 3 years ago
– Fri, Apr 30, 2021 at 07:57:18 PM
Retainers,
It pleases me to no end to tell you that the rate at which you are all smashing through stretch-goals is monumental. The Houses of the Esultare are lucky indeed if this is the caliber of Retainer they stand to attract!
We've gotten the funds to commission Tim Wilkinson Lewis (he/him)(http://timwilkinsonlewis.com/maps), to draft us a truly inspiring map of Ilrien. You might remember Tim from his outstanding work on Spire: The City Must Fall. If you don't, then just go ahead and start bouncing in your chairs from excitement anyway. His maps slay.
We've also smashed the goals that unlock just a merciless workload of art from Al Lukehart (they/them) (https://www.lukehartstudio.com), the glorious hand behind illustrations from Our Queen Crumbles, Moth-Light, Brinkwood: Refuge, and so much more. So, for those of you who love evocative, romantic, and beautiful artwork, celebrations may now begin.
We're getting very close to unlocking hardcover copies for all physical backers, and we're within striking distance of getting a lot more published content to chew over and add depth and nuance to the wicked playground of Ilrien. Keep the comments rolling in. Ping us on Twitter. Spread the word. Every little bit helps make this campaign stronger, and lets us make more cool stuff to bring to your table. We're nowhere near out of gas, yet.
Retainers, you've already carried this project so far, further by far than Navi and I ever had reason to hope. We're incredibly thankful, we're awestruck, and we're excited for what the future of this campaign and this game holds in store.
Shawn & Navi Drake
A Couple of Drakes
Court of Blades is Funded! + One-shot Kit Unlocked
about 3 years ago
– Thu, Apr 29, 2021 at 09:42:03 AM
Retainers,
I was drafting up a heartfelt thank you for all of you glorious backers for getting Court of Blades up and over its goal, but while I was doing that I saw that you'd already soared past our first Stretch Goal. So, to spare you the gilding of the lily, I'll simply say thank you for believing in this game (and Navi and I by proxy), and tell you about what you've already unlocked.
Our One-shot Kit is going to be filled with pre-generated characters ready to be handed out to your friends and daring scenarios fraught with intrigue, treachery, and danger. With this in hand, you'll have everything you need to sit down and begin telling harrowing tales of power politics, renaissance magic, and romantic skullduggery without spending the time to meticulously set the stage. Each House will have its own starting scenario alive with hidden wrinkles, complications, and NPCs to cut out the fiddly planning and cut right to the action. We're excited to share them with you.
Thank you again for the outpouring of love and support for the little Forged in the Dark game that could. This game has been a labor of love, and getting it into your hands fills us with an excitement that I don't really have words to express. We are happy to count you all among the House Guard.
Shawn and Navi Drake
A Couple of Drakes
