We're getting close to two weeks into the campaign and we're doing well. We're funded and working towards those stretch goals.
We wanted to remind people that we'll be running a demo game of Coven & Crucible tomorrow from 7-11 pm CST on our Discord. There are still a couple of seats available and we'd love for you to join us. Stephan will be running the game using the 2nd edition ruleset. Pregenerated characters will be provided. So come and have some Tuesday night fun.
Other things happening this week: We'll be talking to Mildra the Monk on Wednesday. We've been on the channel a couple of times in the past and its always been a blast.
And this weekend we'll be at the Midwest Gaming Classic running tables and talking up the game.
As of this morning, Coven & Crucible: Reforged is funded! We cannot begin to thank you enough for your support of this project. We're so excited to bring the second edition of the game to life.
So what does this mean? Well, first of all it means we're taking a day to celebrate. Funding a ttrpg these days is no small feat these days. But then we're back to work. We've got a convention coming up (Midwest Gaming Classic) as well as a podcast interview with Mildra the Monk. In addition we'll be hosting a demo game on our Discord server on April 21st. Seats for that game are filling up, so if you are interested in playing with Stephan you should send an e-mail to [email protected] with the subject header "April Demo Game Interest".
Finally, this means we focus on reaching our stretch goals. As a reminder, below are our goals:
Moar! Artwork! If we reach $20,000 in pledges Charlotte will create ten brand new color spot art pieces for the book.
Moar! NPCs! If we reach $25,000 in pledges we'll bring the political backdrop of Coven & Crucible right to your doorstep with new NPCs that you can use to play out conflict between the two entities and your characters. This will include 5 brand new NPCs: 3 specific to the Coven and two specific to the Crucible.
Upgraded Character Sheets! If we reach $30,000 in pledges we'll release new character sheets with House variations + Form-Fillable PDF versions.
New Magic Items! Get right into the thick of it with new magic items and artifacts for your characters to use, misuse, steal, lose and otherwise interact with. If we reach $35,000 in pledges we'll add 13 new magical items to the book: items such as the Ring of Arcane Focus, the Libram of the Collector, or the Dreaded Cudgel of Undeath, to your game.
Moar! Scenarios! Reforged comes with nine scenarios for you to run, but we could offer more. If we reach $45,000 in pledges we'll add 4 more scenarios bringing the number up to 13. Deal with the genus loci of the Chicago River, head to the Night Court to answer a summons, figure out what is draining the kegs and bottles at a witch bar, or defend the Pope on his visit to Chicago.
Arting it Up! - If we reach $50,000 in pledges Charlotte will also add 5 brand new full page, full color art pieces for the book.
Additional Chicago Setting and Lore Information! Want to know about phantom kangaroos, or what is up with the Crown Fountain? Or maybe you want to know what precautions you should take before you visit the Sears Tower. If we reach $60,000 in pledges we'll add more settings and lore to the Chicago of Coven & Crucible.
Improved Print Quality! If we reach $75,000 in pledges we'll go all out with premium features for the book. This means heavier paper, ribbon bookmark, custom end papers, and more.
We'd love to hit all of the stretch goals as they'll allow us to provide you with more art, more lore, and more fun in the game.
For now, though, we party. Thank you again for all of your support. It means the world to us.
We had a great time this past Saturday at Concinnity talking about the game and the campaign to bring the 2nd edition of Coven & Crucible to life. We always love talking to people about this game we've created.
When you are a game developer, a lot of your work is done in a vacuum. You come up with ideas and hash them out with the others in the company, but it's not until you put it out there that you get feedback. And sometimes you don't get any feedback at all. So when we have the opportunity to speak face-to-face with people about the game, we always have a blast. Seeing reactions in real time to our pitch lets us know that we're on the right track.
Plus, every event gives Stephan another chance to take a photo of his screaming smile.
Later this month we'll be at Midwest Gaming Classic. Stephan will be running games while roach is in the booth. We're looking forward to it.
Speaking of running games …
April Discord Demo Game
Every month we run a demo game on Discord. This is an opportunity for six people who have never played the game before to get a taste for what it is like. Stephan runs the demo games and they're always a good time.
This month's game will be held April 21 from 7-11 pm CST. It's played over voice chat on our official Discord server. If you'd like to have a seat at the table, you need to 1) join our Discord server and 2) e-mail us at [email protected] with the subject line: “April Demo Game Interest”. Include your Discord handle so we'll know who to add to the role.
Seats are first come, first served. If we get an overwhelming number of people interested, we will consider adding more demo game dates this month.
Retailer Tier
We have added a Retailer Tier to our campaign. Game stores can get 50% off on three hard cover copies of Reforged to sell.
Thank you for following our campaign. We try not to inundate you all with too many updates because we know you probably already get a lot. If you haven't backed us already, consider doing so as the sooner we get funded the sooner we get started working towards the various stretch goals.
We're off to a great start with the Coven & Crucible: Reforged campaign! We're over halfway to our funding goal! As people wiser than us have said, crowdfunding is a marathon, not a sprint, so we're looking forward to a long month of reaching our funding and various stretch goals.
What's our first stretch goal? We're so glad you asked. If we reach $20,000 in pledges Charlotte will create ten brand new color spot art pieces for the book. You've seen samples of the art from the book throughout the campaign page and in these updates. The first edition book had over 50 pieces of art. These new additions will not only be original to Reforged but will be in color. So if you've liked the art style of the world, get excited to hit that stretch goal after we've funded. If you haven't backed us yet, now is the time.
Lore Drop: Witch Houses
We wanted to dig into some of the things about Coven & Crucible that make it a unique system and world. One of those are the Witch Houses in the game. Instead of factions or classes, one’s character can join a Witch House. These are organizations that have distinct approaches to and goals for magic and witchcraft. There are nine houses in the second edition, all that are aligned with the Coven.
Witch Houses give characters not only opportunities for roleplay, but resources such as unique traits, that they can make use of. The Witch Houses add in layers to the political landscape of the game, offer characters avenues for adventure, and a sense of belonging and working towards a common goal.
The nine Witch Houses of Reforged are:
The Magi - Master summoners and international witches of mystery.
The Merlins - Traditional magicians that claim the potentially mythical Merlin as their founder.
The St. Martins - A house of aristocratic witches who meddle in the affairs of governments all over the world.
The Baba Yagas - Criminally-minded witches who use magic to steal, kill and deal their way to the top.
House Volva - These are your viking witches. They hurt and heal through magic and fists.
The Stregas - These witches are masters of hexing. They have a tenuous relationship with the Catholic Church, but don't let it get in the way of their witchcraft.
The Artificers - A group of witches who forge magic items and use divination to pick stocks. They're the reason stock markets are so heavily warded against magical interference.
The Greek Triad - Three smaller houses that banded together into one. They focus on divination and run an online divination service called Oracle.
The Müller Family - This family of witches specialize in grimoires: magical tomes that hold the knowledge of particular witches.
What do you think? Is there a Witch House that speaks to you? We have a poll going on right now where you can pick the house that resonates with you. Go ahead and make your mark!
Heading into the weekend, Stephan and roach will be at Concinnity talking about the game. If you'll be at the con, stop by and say hi. And pledge if you haven't yet. We have some great stretch goals in the queue to make Reforged a great addition to your tabletop sessions.
We are one day away from the launch of Coven & Crucible: Reforged, and we couldn't be more excited! We are sitting at just over 700 followers for the campaign and hope to reach 800 by the time of launch. So if you would like to help us reach that goal, please share the campaign with your friends, your family, your mortal enemies, and random strangers on the street.
In our effort to get funded and to reward those of you who are early backers, we have two awesome incentives for those people who back us in the first 48 hours. The Art Goblin, Charlotte, has put together a sticker sheet featuring art from the book. Familiars play a large part of the game. Every witch needs an animal companion, right? Not only do familiars provide fun flavor for your character, but they add a mechanical benefit to the magic casting. The sticker sheet early backers will get shows three different familiars one could have for their character. There's the classic cat and toad, but also a jackalope. Who wouldn't want a fast talking lagomorph who is fond of whiskey and cigarettes as their sidekick?
Early backers will also receive an 11x20 poster print featuring signed by Charlotte. This print is a redraw of the original core book cover art. Charlotte wanted to play around with the core concept and make it more detailed, more colorful, and overall more magical.
The sticker sheet and print will be added to the rewards of each pledge made in the first 48 hours of the campaign.
If you are still uncertain about what Coven & Crucible is all about, we've posted a couple of videos on our Youtube channel where roach and Stephan talk about the game basics. You can watch the first part below. In it, roach & Stephan each break down the game in one minute or less. They talk about the origin of the game, as well as what the Coven and the Crucibles are. Finally, they talk about how the magic system works in the game.
We can't wait to see you tomorrow when the campaign launches and pledges open. Join us, won't you?
