I'll admit, I'm pretty excited about this one. Unlocking the playable folk stretch goal will let us really expand on the ten core sentient species in the game. Their cultures and backgrounds will weave the world with vibrancy.
What started as a world dominated by humans - the Nimmians and the Wildering Folk - is now joined with a myriad of species that intermingle with all facets of the world: from the smallest farms to the largest cities. Like the humans, some folk have Wildernight-altered counterparts, like the Patchfolk and Tatterlings, while the hot-bodied, glowing Lumenites graced the lands only after the sun was shattered, and they toppled forth from its interior.
Today, I'd like to share a work in progress of how we plan to build the new playable Folk into character creation with one of my favorite Folk: the Woadlings, or long-lived Tree-Folk.
WIP. The full plain text version available at the bottom of this update.
At $40,000, all the magnificent character art that Galen Pejeau has created for the Backgrounds will get fleshed out with names, backgrounds, and character sheets for you to use in quick one-shots you create, or using one of the 10 mysteries and festival adventures in the game, or to run into while you play.
Development and Community
Join the Community
We have been incredibly touched by those who have joined in the community to play the Preview Version of Midnight Muscadines, given us feedback, and asked questions. The game is still in development as we speak, and your input and questions are invaluable to us. Players have already helped us identify several rules they found unclear, and we will be updating, for instance.
If you'd like to join the community of Marmateers, and help shape the world and game of Midnight Muscadines,jump into our Discord Server. Looking for Players? We have added a channel in our discord for players looking for others to play Midnight Muscadines with!
Events and Content
This campaign is just the beginning! We want to support you, our players and creators, in making third-party content for Midnight Muscadines as you explore and imagine yourself in the world. In the future, we will be hosting game jams to help you create your own adventures, new ingredients, and fun community events to get to know your fellow Marmateers.
We recently had a wonderful conversation in our Discord, with players wanting to add fibercraft and weaving to the world of Song, and others are already exploring the Nimm and the Wildernight.
One event we'd love to host is a magical jam jar creation contest! Draw, paint, crochet, 3D print or otherwise make your magical jar to hold your jammy spells.
What other events would you like to see? Please let us know in the comments!
Status Update
This week, we finished the edits for the bestiary. It is a giant milestone as the bestiary is one of the more complex chapters filled with artwork, stat blocks, mechanics, and descriptions.
Galen finished the illustrations for the new Backgrounds (Rookwright, Hearthkeeper, and Songheart), and has started illustrating the Bestiary.
M. Allen Hall, our core setting and adventure writer, has been hard at work writing detailed entries for NPCs, events, and locales for each of the 13 towns in Nimm, and he has completed the fifth one this week. At 1500 words for each town, that is no small task!
All told, development and design are moving along at a good pace and I couldn't be happier with the progress!
Until next time, -Andy Boyd
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Woadlings
“Through soil, sky, and story, we grow from all paths taken.”
Woadlings are a people of bark, leaf, and long memory. Each begins life as a seedling, tended with great care in a Family Grove’s garden.
As they grow into saplings, Woadlings uproot from their gardens become mobile and are gently encouraged to leave the grove, exploring the world to gather experiences, meet new people, and understand the wider balance of life. These journeys are never aimless, they are considered essential, a way to bring new branches to old roots.
Eventually, a Woadling feels the call to return home, settle into their grove, and take root, transforming into a massive, sentient tree alongside many other generations. Even in this form, they remain aware, social, and creative, shaping their bodies into shelters, hollows, and bridges for the next generation to use. These Rooted Elders add their memories to the Root System, a living archive of shared experience stretching back centuries.
Appearance
Sapling Woadlings often resemble tall, spindly humanoids made of bark, leaves, and budding branches, growing stouter as they age. Their bodies shift subtly with the seasons, blooming in spring, bronzing in fall, and slowing in the quiet of winter. Their eyes glow faintly with a saplight hue, and moss or blossoms often grow along their shoulders.
Abilities
Deep Memories You carry generations of memory passed down through your family’s root system. Once per session, recall an ancient story, piece of wisdom, or practical skill that may help in the current moment, even if you've never learned it yourself. Add an additional Impact die if making a Check.
Sapling’s Step You move with the patience of a tree and the awareness of the forest. Burn a Card when traveling through natural areas and trails, to notice a subtle sign before others: hidden paths, animal warnings, changes in weather, or unnatural disturbances.
Returning to Root Whenever you return to a meaningful place (your grove, a place of growth, or a remembered landmark), you can tap into a Root System below the soil and choose to remove a condition, gain insight to a recent event, or share a story from the Root System with someone, providing them insight to their question.
Character Questions
● What was the last thing your family grove offered to you before you left? ● What memory do you carry in your bark that you’ve never told anyone? ● What do you fear forgetting? ● What do you hope to bring back when you finally take root? ● A Rooted Elder secretly asked you to bring something back to the grove from your travels. What was it?
