The Earthwarden is a lithomantic Fury subclass for MCDM's tactical cinematic heroic fantasy RPG, Draw Steel. As an Earthwarden, you'll wield nature's power to channel the strength of stone, summon weapons from the earth, shape mountains, crush foes, and defend your world against threats from beyond the veil.
Additionally, this supplement will include the usual array of new player options — we've gottreasures, titles, complications, and perks, with more on the way, and even new base-class Fury abilities so everyone can rock and roll!
Okay, so who's behind this, anyway? Well, me! I'm Jonas Tintenseher, a writer, editor, game and layout designer, rules nerd, AP performer and producer, volunteer playtest coordinator for Draw Steel, and TTRPG mega-fan. The Draw Steel community might recognize me from my work with Triglav Gamesor Font of Victories; the first Jams of the Timescape; my layout work for the Magewright, the Vessel, and more; the Draw Steel Brewery server; my previous subclass, the College of Infinite Reflections; or the many hours I've spent in the #ds_rules_questions channel in the MCDM Discord!
I've always wanted to be able to play a character who can wield stone weapons, shape the earth, fling rocks at foes, make floating stepping stones, and a whole host of other cool powers you might see from inspirations like Nahiri from Magic: The Gathering, Toph from Avatar: The Last Airbender, and Terra from DC Comics. I've had various successes in various TTRPGs, but Draw Steel is finally letting me live out my close-quarters lithomantic dream — a dream I now get to share with you!
The main event for this campaign is the Earthwarden subclass. I want to put out the best product I can, and luckily, I'm able to do the graphic and layout design on my own. But what I can't do is make a bunch of sick art! I've already commissioned a few pieces, and I have some other artists lined up, but commissions need funding, and that brings us to BackerKit. The majority of the funds from this campaign will go toward more commissions for the Earthwarden — and you might even see some familiar faces inside...👀
The Earthwarden — @Sleepy
But that's not all! I also want to pay for some professional editing and testing, and even get the subclass implemented into the Codex. But for that, we must turn to...
The good news is, the hard part is already done: the entire subclass has been designed and seen several dozens of hours of playtesting. It just needs more testing, plus art and layout. I will also need to design any additional content from this crowdfunder, such as the potential quest and any new items, titles, or other goodies. And, of course, art takes time to commission and complete. With all that said, I expect the final product to be complete by the end of the year, and potentially sooner.
As mentioned above, I've been a team member on multiple successful Draw Steel crowdfunders already, but this is the first time I'm doing one by myself. While there may be hurdles I hit along the way, I've already released a product of similar quality without a crowdfunder at all, and I have several partners lined up if we hit our stretch goals. I feel confident that I can deliver the Earthwarden in all its glory without much trouble, and I'm deeply grateful for the confidence of those of you who support the campaign!
Primordial Aspect: Earthwarden is made by humans, for humans, without the use of generative AI. Supporting this campaign means supporting a real human with real dreams of throwing large rocks at monsters.
