First, let me extend my immense gratitude to all of you who backed The Black Spire Pact. We are having so much fun making this, and we are already talking about our next set in the line!
Project Progress
Skinner has finished all of his illustrations, and Arik is very close to being done.
I am in the final stretch of writing the draft before handing it off to Janaka.
When I finish the draft, I will hand it off to Janaka to edit and rewrite portions of it to really craft the language and reading experience.
During this time, we plan to get a draft out for playtesting. I will keep you all posted about that.
Once Janaka finishes up editing/writing, then I will update our layout to get it print-ready.
We will have a final review of proofreading before going to print.
Once the books are being printed, I will pick back up with working on the PDF of the traditional OSE dungeon crawl version. If you are interested in preordering a physical copy of the zine, you can get one over at Flaminghand.com.
Print copies available for preorder!
What I am working on now (SPOILER ALERT)
If you don't want any spoilers, stop reading here.
It has been a wild ride writing these PvP gamebooks. I have revised some of the mechanics to better handle combat that involves NPCs and both players. After wrapping that up, I returned to writing dungeon rooms, and I got a bit stuck at the encounter with the infamous Leonard. He is trapped in a magic circle and I am trying to avoid overly limiting player agency when it comes to engaging him in conversation, fighting, or taking some other more divergent approach like bringing him the green candle and performing the osculum infame.
Anytime there is much conversation, it can add a lot of branching entries!!
Once I get Leonard finished up, the last particularly complex room I have to tackle is the room of imprisoned Enochian angels. That one is probably going to be a doozy, but I think it won't be as complicated as the Leonard room.
I'm going to go ahead and wrap up this update here so I can get going on writing today.
Thank you again for your support. I am having such a good time with these books and am confident that they will be an absolute blast to play. I'll share more art in the next update!
First off, thank you so much for such a wonderful campaign. Your support has been huge. And likewise, to everyone who participated in the play-by-poll, that was some of the most fun I have had running a campaign. As you read the play-by-poll update today, know that I didn't fudge the dice rolls. Things just came to a natural close. Serendipitous ... but maybe in a bad way?
So all that is to say, thank you!!!! We are so excited to wrap this up and get things moving into the next phase. I'll keep you all posted. I definitely recommend joining our Discord server if you want more frequent updates or to be able to ask questions. We will keep updates on Backerkit on a monthly basis.
Oh, and if you haven't backed the campaign yet, now is your last chance to get entered in the drawing for the 5 x 7 original artwork!
New Art Reveal!!!!
Both of these pieces are available as add-ons. And this is the last day to add on any original artwork. As a reminder, both Skinner and Arik Roper have kept prices low for the campaign.
Behind the Black Spire by Arik Roper - $350
The Pit Fiend by Skinner - $350
Voth rolls a 6 for initiative and Marax a 1, if this had been the first round of combat, that would have been a surprise.
You spread your arms in an arc as you speak the enchanted words, a low hum becomes audible as the invisible force field surrounds you. You gain +4 to your damage resistance. You lash out with your Serpent's Blade striking Marax. You roll a 4, max damage, so roll again with a result of 3, +2 for a total of 9 damage! Marax is down to 9 HP!
Just before Marax swings his flaming sword at you, the 5 cosmic faces attack again. You roll a 3 on your save versus spells, which is unfortunately a failure. Each of the 5 faces does d4 damage for a total of 14 damage. However, thanks to your magic shield, that damage is reduced by 4 to a total of 10 damage. This brings you down to 2 HP.
As you reel from the inner pain of the faces of chaos, Marax brings his flaming sword down upon your head. His attack deals 7 damage. Your magic shield reduces that to 3 damage. Leaving Voth at -1. You have died.
As you collapse to the floor, head split, your spirit rises up from your corpse. You look over your shoulder and see yourself lying on the ground. Marax looks down at your body with a grin. Then, you see smoke rising from the tiles on the floor. The smoke takes the form of a Vraxagon.
The Vraxagon laughs and holds out his hand. "Welcome, Voth! I've come to collect our favor. If you thought this was hell, just wait until you see what we have in store for you!"
Game Over.
As you close your book, you shake your fist at the sky and scream, ... see poll to vote on what you scream.
Unfortunately, I've got some family stuff that has come up (who knew that being a parent meant possible disruptions to plans??) So, we have to cancel our stream we had planned for today.
Campaign ending tomorrow!
I've said this a few times, and I'll say it again: thank you for your help spreading the word! We get to make these books because of you, and we get to make them way cooler as a result of you all helping to fund this campaign! Any sharing on this final day is deeply appreciated!
And don't forget to tell people about the giveaway!
Play-by-poll!
You voted to attack Marax twice since Haste is active!
Voth rolls a 3 on initiative, and Marax rolls a 5.
Marax strikes Voth with his flaming sword, charged by the faces of chaos! Since Mirror Image is cast, Marax has a 50/50 chance of striking the illusory Voth. Marax rolls a 2, and unfortunately, does strike the real you! Your mirror image dissipates.
As the sword strikes you, you feel the burning and the wild energy of the cosmos, shocking you to your core. You take 17 damage, bringing you down to a total of 12 HP.
The 5 faces of chaos swarming the cosmic winds lash out at you, but you roll a 17 on your save versus spells, and manage to avoid all damage.
You leap at Marax with your Serpent's Blade, and roll a 4 (+2) for damage! Since that is max damage, the Serpent's Blade allows you to roll an additional damage die, adding 2 more damage for a total of 8 damage. With Haste active, you attack again, striking Marax for another 2 damage.
Both you and Marax are clearly suffering significant wounds!
Roll for initiative!
The campaign ends soon, and our daily play-by-poll will also end. If you are interested in playtesting or future group play, be sure to check out the Flaming Hand Discord server.
We are in the final stretch of the campaign, and we could use your help. If you have already backed the project, then I hope you will consider sharing it in its final hours! Nothing beats hearing directly from folks who are stoked on a project! Plus, don't you want to indoctrinate as many people as you can into the demonic dungeon crawl life?
If you haven't yet backed the Black Spire Pact, now is the time! Hell, you'll even get a chance to win an original 5 x 7 illustration!
Play-by-Poll: Combat with Marax Continues!!
You voted to attack Marax with your Serpent's Blade twice (using Haste).
Voth and Marax both declare Fight for initiative. Voth rolls a 3, and Marax a 1, so Voth goes first again!
Voth attacks with his Serpent's Blade, dealing 3 damage. Haste is still active, so Voth attacks a second time and rolls a 4 (+2) maximum damage, triggering a second damage roll with the Serpent's Blade. Voth rolls another 4, triggering a third damage roll! That roll is 2, so Voth deals a total of 12 damage this attack and 3 from the first for 15 this round!
Marax stumbles back wounded, eyes widening, and raises his flaming sword into the air, siphoning the swirling energy of the color storm!
Voth rolls a 13 for save versus spells vs his save of 8! Success! The cosmic faces scream through Voth, but these sorts of magical attacks are familiar to Voth, and his will is stalwart.
NEW ART REVEAL:The Chapel of the Grave, by Arik Roper!!
Check out Arik's newest finished illustration for The Black Spire Pact! The original drawing is now available as an add-on. You voted to declare Fight for initiative and use the scroll of protection from Vraxagons for your action.
Voth rolls a 6 for initiative, and Marax rolls a 5. Marax declared Fight as well and doesn't seem to be running any longer.
You read the incantations from the scroll, and the sigil of the Vraxagons appears in red glowing embers surrounding you. The sigil follows you as you walk. Haste is still active, so you get a second action and are able to attack Marax with your Serpent's Blade! You swing at Marax, slicing into his thick skin as purple blood trickles from the wound. You deal 2 damage.
Marax touches one of the gems in his four horns. You notice that all four gems are buzzing with energy, though the last time you saw him, they seemed duller.
As Marax mumbles a strange language, brightly colored, familiar cosmic winds tornado through the room. This time, five ethereal faces appear, swirling and screaming as they pass through you. Save versus spells!
Voth rolls a 16 vs his save of 8, and suffers no damage from the faces.
Next round. Roll for initiative.
As a reminder, Haste, Mirror Image, and Protection from Vraxagons are all active!
If you want to see what spells Voth has available, you can grab a preview copy of the draft PDF that includes Voth's Spellbook!
