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I came across this game (Fragged Empires) on BoW and thought their art style particularly attractive. They have just launched a second kickstarter, and in addition to the RPG materials have a number of quite attractive miniatures. Note: this is an expansion to their existing game, (see their first project here), not the launch of a completely new property.
All shipping costs will be collected after the Kickstarter campaign via our BackerKit Pledge Manager. This allows us to adjust for stretch goals, to not overcharge backers by having blanket prices, and gives us more time to work with fulfillment services to get the best possible price.
All orders will be shipped at our expense to fulfillment warehouses in the United States, Europe, and Australia before being posted out to backers.
Estimated costs:
North America, Europe, and Australia: $15aud.
Rest of the World: from $30aud.
This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2016/04/24 19:39:21
Hraks and Rachel immediately look appealing, Rachel in particular would be a good addition to my ever growing Escher mob
"We are the Red Sorcerers of Prospero, damned in the eyes of our fellows, and this is to be how our story ends, in betrayal and bloodshed. No...you may find it nobler to suffer your fate, but I will take arms against it."
2016/04/11 22:17:31
Subject: Re:Kickstarter "Fragged Empire RPG: Protagonist Archive and Miniatures"
Thanks so much for your support of this project. We are currently just over half way through our first day, and over half way through our funding goal
Lets Talk Artwork
As many of you have noticed, the artwork in this book is a notch above the already amazing art in our Core Rule Book. The reasons for this are fairly simple.
My existing art team has gotten better.
I have gotten better at art directing.
My team and I have had longer to work on each piece - Not having to rush production helps everything.
Lets Talk Writing
Just as the visual art has improved, so too has the writing IMO. Its also been great to have a lot more room to write about all 8 Fragged races.
There will also be a bunch of new protagonist friendly factions (ones for all 8 races), NPC leaders (such as Grandma Jinx, and Athena), and a huge write up on the Legion home system Cerberus.
Lets Talk Rules
The new rules in the book are primarily focused around 2 areas; the 4 new races (eg: new technologies and race specific Traits), and fleshing out the Core Rule Book rules (eg: filling in some equipment holes (such as adding a Heavy Crit 4 pistol), and additional Implant Traits).
I'm really proud of the new rules.
Thanks again for your support!
As this campaign progresses I will post updates focused on each of the new races, and some behind the scene looks at the creative process.
Now lets go smash that Kickstarter goal and unlock some stretch goals!!
Making use of Nephilim genetics, Archon scientist created a devastating biological weapon, classified ‘Zhou’. When deployed the Zhou sludge would rapidly spread, devouring all (prioritising biological matter) in its path until it would eventually run out of food and starve to death. If it were not for the Nephilim halting the progress of the Zhou on the planet Praid, the Zhou would have been nothing more than a footnote of yet another biological weapon used during the Great War.
Having their all-consuming hunger halted and their spread across Praid thwarted, the Zhou were given time to grow and develop in a way that they were not designed to. Making instinctive use of their incorporated Nephilim genetics to adapt, they developed their nature and gained a more fully realised intelligence, and with it the ability to understand their path towards self-destruction.
Crafting bodies for themselves from their environment, the Zhou established primitive tribal settlements. Life and culture within these settlements is heavily dictated by the size of the tribe and their immediate environment. While most tribes seek to establish a balance with their environment, and fight against their insatiable hunger, more than a few tribes do not. These warlike tribes spread, die, and regrow quickly as they seek to consume all, even other Zhou.
Making contact with the Twi-Far, a few Zhou have been invited to leave (or stowed away from) their homeworld to mingle with the other races of Haven. The Zhou are viewed with great suspicion, with many people knowing that within each one there is the ability to become an all-consuming plague.
Stats: You may function normally in all, non-heat related, hostile environments.
You gain +2 Recovery when you are in the same space as a recently deceased, organic corpse.
+1 Survival, Physical, and Exotic.
Gain Language: Primal X’ion or Zhou.
You eats lots!
-2 Electronics, and Programming.
-2 Resupply, to your groups largest Spacecraft.
Food Supplies last 2 fewer days for you. Complication:
Prejudice from Nephilim.
Fun Facts:
The Zhou emblem was one of the very first ones I designed, even before the core races.
They were originally going to be plants (despite not being plant based now, they maintain that aesthetic).
Zhou get smarter and hungrier the bigger they get.
Sentient Zhou multiply by splitting into two, the original ceases to exist and creates two offspring in their place. These two siblings are often very emotionally close (my wife thinks this is a lovely concept).
"Zhou Contagion" is a Chemical Variation that PCs can apply to their weapons (allowing you to shoot Zhou at people).
Zhou have no eyes, mouth or other holes. They wear their masks to give others a focal point to look at when engaging with them, and serve to reinforce their sense of self.
The Zhou homeworld of Praid is quarantined by the Twi-Far, and its location is a closely guarded secret (one the Devwi-Ich would love to know).
Designing the Zhou: The Zhou were designed to fill a number of roles within the Fragged Empire setting. I wanted a plant like race, a technologically basic race, and an alternative monster race to the Nephilim. While the Nephilim come with a huge amount of cultural baggage, the Zhou do not; their struggle comes from within their very nature... their endless desire to eat.
As the Zhou are effectively blobs pretending to be humanoid, I could have a lot of fun with their bodies in regards to Trait options. Such as allowing them to stretch, change shape and use their flesh as a weapon (such as throwing parts of themselves at their enemies).
I wanted the Zhou to fly under the political radar in Haven, which helps to reinforce the idea that they are a ticking time bomb. There are too few of them in the Haven system for most people to have heard of them, and they bring nothing to the table in terms of technology and economics.
I also wanted them to be the one race that the Nephilim would hate. Not because of cultural reasons, but because the Nephilim understand just how dangerous the Zhou are to Haven.
Sculpting Zafrock I always knew that Zafrock (the Zhou from the feature art) sculpt would come up well. As his pose is dramatic, and his design iconic. The only tricky bit was that I knew he would require 5 pieces, which increases production cost.
Update #4
Apr 14 2016
$40k Stretch Goal Reached!
BFFs Forever! We did it team!!!
Spoiler:
The $40,000k Stretch goal has just been broken, the Protagonist Archive will now have +15 additional pages of awesome art and written fluff focused around various interesting locations.
Let me show you some cool art (some of these are still works in progress).
(From top left: Cerberus Prime, Kaltoran Temple, Kumba Desert, Kumba)
The current plan is to include the following Locations:
Meimarin (An underwater Kaltoran Temple that was named by one of our backers!).
Cerberus System (Legion home system).
Cerberus Prime (Legion homeworld).
Nagra (An ancient Remnant city built around a giant god empowered tree, and that is overflowing with refugees and cultural tension).
Oasis Bar (A gritty space bar run by a Corporate (Thaddeus Vance), and a retired Remnant psionic warrior (Cetewayo) that is known for its overpriced drinks and information. An ideal place for people to find work and make friends).
Tanjo (The cloaked and ever teleporting Palantor city / space station that is under constant threat of Mechonid attack. This human made facility has been in the Haven system since before the Archons and acts as a gateway for the Palantor to exit their digital world).
The Roost (When the largest Twi-Far fleet stops in one place, it becomes an instant (and ever changing) city. As various ships lock together for trade and conversation).
The space-faring nomadic Twi-Far are two sentient species inhabiting a single body, the Archon created race known as the Twilinger, and an energy based alien race of unknown origin known as the Faren
Forced to flee a great foe, the Twi-Far have returned to Haven. But have they found the refuge they seek, or have they merely given their foe more victims?
Used by their Archon creators as sacrificial pawns during the Great War, the Twilinger fled far out into uncharted space (possibly further than even Humanity had traveled). There they wandered for a century before they were forced to flee back to the Habrixis sector by a warlike Nephilim race known as the Oni. While traveling the stars the Twilinger encountered innumerable wonders, but none had so greater impact on them as the Faren. An alien race of energy beings, whom they formed a symbiotic relationship with.
At a young age a Twilinger will undergo a secretive ritual known as the the Melding where a chosen Faren is inserted into their bloodstream. This process is incredibly painful, requiring the youth to be isolated for many weeks before they emerge as a singular being, a Twi-Far. Unable to openly communicate with each other, the Twilinger and the Faren now begin a life long journey together, often only truly connecting in their twilight years after a lifetime of mutual dedication towards one another.
An artistic race, the Twi-Far enjoy all manner of fine arts and creative outlets. From music, performance, visual, and martial arts. This combined with their star-faring ways has led the Twi-Far to create wondrous and beautiful spacecraft. Often with intricate carvings along their hallways, grand multi-coloured solar sails, and exotic hull designs.
The Twi-Far Culture is divided into three primary circles, each with its own focus. The Dragon (warriors, pragmatists, with a focus on the ‘struggle’), the Salamander (vocational, patient, with a focus on the ‘now’), and the Phoenix (scientists, prophets and dreamers, with a focus on the ‘new’).
Stats:
Faren-Blast: A single Cost 1 or 2 Weapon with the Energy Keyword gains the Natural and Slow Keywords, and has -3 Weight.
+1 Astronomy, Command, Operations, and Heavy Arms.
+1 Armour vs Energy.
Gain Language: Twilinger.
-2 Maximum Perception.
Any Attack with the Energy Keyword that causes you Endurance Damage gains Splash +1.
You may not take Implant Traits.
Fun Facts:
Twi-Far don't have family/surnames, they their ship names.
Twi-Far mechanics and engineers like to make art out of the workings of their machines. While mostly cosmetic, some of these alterations can affect how well a device works. Such as weaving wiring into complex murals or crafting fittings that knock against each other slightly as they turn in order to play music during important operations. And some even go so far as to change fuel compositions and energy modulations to create interesting colours with their engines.
The Twi-Far have fled to Haven to seek help against the Oni, a race of four armed pureblood Nephilim who enslave all (even other Nephilim).
Many expect the Twi-Far to flee again if the Oni defeat Haven.
There are many Twi-Far fleets outside Haven.
Not all Faren blasts are used for attacking others, some Faren focus on informing their host (eg: have a Combat Computer Faren Blast).
Faren is a Celtic word for 'beautiful'.
No one knows if the Faren are true aliens.
There is no, and never will be, any singular cannon explanation for the Faren. They are designed to be a mysterious race, and I want you to make them your own. In the book there are rules for making the Faren in many different ways. One example: they are trans-dimensional beings that only exist when there is light, another possible example is that they are digital humans.
Designing the Twi-Far:
The Twi-Far have been one of the most difficult races to write, as their culture is not only complex and varied (with multiple fleets, each with their own feel), but they are also strongly connected to 3 others races; Faren, Zhou, and the Oni. Even now I'm still developing them.
The Twi-Far fill a few key holes within the Fragged setting. I wanted a nomadic space-faring race, an artistic race, and I wanted to hint at the existence of true aliens.
All of the races and the terraformed planets within the setting have their roots planted in humanity. Generally speaking, all of the species consume nutrients the same way humans do (eating, breathing, etc...), have limbs, eyes, and physical carbon based bodies. And all terraformed planets all have their roots in earth. The Twi-Far go outside of this, they have traveled space further than humanity did, and the Faren are not like humans at all. I feel like this helps to make them feel mysterious and unique, expanding the horizons of the setting.
Sculpting Luludja:
Luludja was the very first sculpt that Jin V did for me. As this was our first project together it took lots of tweaks to get her right. I'm incredibly happy with her final sculpt, she has a very elegant and clean look. I feel like she would make not just a great Twi-Far, but also a great human looking mage for other settings.
A look at some of the new equipment, rules, and a slight stretch goal rework.
Spoiler:
Female Legion Nomad
The new book has lots of extra character options. These are designed to fill out the original Core Rule Book in areas that I thought could do with some more attention, and to accommodate the new races (and the technology they bring to the Haven system).
Lets have a look at small sample of this new content.
150+ New Traits:
Removal of the Level cap: The Level Trait "Legend" now allows your character to continue to progress past Level 20 by giving them additional Attribute Points and bonuses to Skills in the place of new Traits.
Alternate Implant Traits: There are new Implant Traits for each Attribute that allow you to choose between a combat or non-combat focused implant (eg: there are now 2 Strength Implant Traits, one for extra Armour and one that allows you to install tools into your arm).
More non-combat Strong Hit options based around social interactions, and vocations.
Extra racial Traits, for the new and the core races. I particularly like the Focus Trait 'Insatiable Hunger' that Zhou and Kaltorans can take; +Melee Damage but you cant move for a short time after killing a organic target as you have to eat some of them.
75+ New Weapons, Outfits and other Items:
Heavy Pistol; a Crit 4 pistol. The core book pistol is great as a side arm, as it has lots of ammunition and good accuracy. But as it only has Crit 3 its hard to make it your primary weapon.
Psionic Weapons; Now you can spend Resources to gain a Psionic Weapon such as: Powerful Psionic (reliable strong hits), Cunning Psionic (lets you stealth right in front of people as you alter their minds to think you are not there) or Wild Psionic (Cirt 1d6... need I say more). Each of these Natural weapons come with a range of cool Strong Hit options and allow you to define your character as a dedicated Psionic character. There is also 4 Psionic Variations that allow you to further define the nature of your psionc powers (eg: shooting through cover, targeting a persons mind directly, etc...)
Combat Computers; not only are there 2 Extra Combat Computers (Hacker's Computer, and Fire Support Computer) but there are also a large range of 7 Combat Computer Variations that allow you to do cool things like calling down an air strike or 'boosting all of your drones.
Variations; Such as self guided bullets that can shoot around corners, plasma shots that grant free Strong Hits (but can only be fired once a Turn), low tech Metal Slugs (Extra ammo, and -1 Cost), Antimatter Shells, and 6 new Disruptor Variations.
A focus on movement; lots of these new weapon variations (especially with the Combat Computer and Chemical ones), and Traits are design to encourage or discourage movement. Eg: dropping gas clouds on enemy cover to force them to move out, spores that make a target explode when they die (great vs clumped up Henchmen groups), the abilities that make all of the squares around your character difficult terrain to your enemies (great for protecting your frail companions) or traps such as caltrops and mines!
More support focus options; Such as the Awareness Trait 'Spot Trouble' that boosts your allies defences, or the new Lock On system that grant weapons more than just +Hit vs locked on targets.
Cost +0 and +2; Lots of these new Variations have higher or lower costs attached to them. This is to boost the amount of low level diversity within a group (especialy in regards to Outfits), and to give focused characters something to aim for (a Plasma cannon is a C
ost 6 thing of beauty).
Mounts: There will also be mounts!! Nimble reptilians beasts, hover bikes or tracked trucks that your friends can jump on!
These mounts will be stated a lot like drones; but they don't attack, they give you a new (higher) movement, and they have a max turn speed (nimble beasts can turn a lot better than hover bikes).
Spacecraft:
While the Protagonist Archive is focused on characters, there is some extra love given to spacecraft. And not just new builds for the PC and NPC races (sorry, the Zhou dont have a ship build).
A focus on deep space travel; lots of the new Traits are focused around helping a ship function in deep space. Such as the extra Supply, or the Slip Drive that allows easier entry and departure from star systems.
Reworked Stretch Goals
After some thought I have decided to slightly rework our stretch goals by adding in a few smaller ones, and making them more frequent. Below are the new goals.
$40,000 = Expanded 'Locations' section +15 pages.
$45,000 = All miniatures come with a hand signed, premium quality art-card.
$50,000 = Expanded Art budget; a large feature image for each of the 4 new races.
$55,000 = Expanded 'Prominent NPCs' section +15 pages.
$60,000 = Unlock Male Kaltoran miniature.
$65,000 = Unlock GM Screens.
$70,000 = Unlock Adventure: "The First".
Thanks so much too everyone who has been sharing this project around with their friends, on social media and on forums The more people we can get on board, the better we can make everything.
Another stretch goal reached!! All miniatures will now come with a hand signed (by me), premium quality art-card.
I'm really excited about this stretch goal (though signing thousands of cards may give me RSI) as it means that I can make these minis something special with a personal touch. And I think this is where Kickstarter can really shine; giving backers something that they cant get in stores. Its also a great opportunity to print up some of Clonerh's AMAZING art!
Core Race Miniatures
I'm really happy with the miniatures for the 4 core characters (+the Mechonid).
Sculpting the girls; Hraks and Rachel was straight forward, as both had dynamic poses, interesting clothing and lots of nice bits of detail that would work well for a mini.
Theodore was a little more tricky as his pose is quite plain, which works great for his 2d art as it shows his refined, controlled personality. But as a miniature he needs to look a little more interesting and to be worth the $20 price tag. To help make him awesome we put lots of work into the detailing of his clothes, and we included Texos; his trusty utility drone! Texos will come with his own base and a transparent flight stand.
Jin really blew me away with his sculpt of Max! Just fantastic in every way. We did make one small change to his 2d art with the addition of a mini gun on his back. Despite not having a lot of pieces, Max is a big model and is very expensive to make. After the Kickstarter his price will have to go up to cover production costs.
The Mechonid was a very difficult model to make as the 2d art was a little abstract, and had lots of complex details and shapes. I'm really happy with how he came up, and I cant wait to send a group of 5 of these agonist my players! This model is also made up of 8 pieces, this was done not just because of its complex shapes but to also allow for customization. The price of this model will also have to go up after the Kickstarter.
During the Great War, the Archons thought they were adapting Human created software to produce the mechanical horrors known as Mechonids, but in truth they were ham-fistedly warping sentient and fully aware digital human minds into sociopathic killers.
Despite the Great War ending, the Mechonids continue to harvest these minds to create more of their own. Forcing these digital beings, known as the Palantor, to flee back into a physical existence that they had not experienced for over three millennia.
Most Palantor consider themselves to be no more Human than any of the other genetically engineered races. Just that the nature of their creation was digital, not biological.
Inside their Network the Palantor allowed their consciousness’s to expand to extraordinarily large sizes. This resulted in the need for them to (often hastily) trim themselves down to fit within their new robotic bodies as they fled into the physical universe. This, combined with their digital nature, has resulted in many peculiar, and at times detrimental, mental conditions and eccentricities. While many hold out hope that they might one day reclaim the Palantor Network, many Palantor have embraced their new, exciting, physical existence.
Despite their refusal to acknowledge weakness or their need for help, most know that the Palantor are losing their digital war, especially now that the Haven races (and especially the Corporation) have woken so many Mechonids.
Stats:
You are a Robot!
Gain a Professional Skill based Secret Knowledge or a Moderate Perk.
+1 Programming, Engineering, and Tactical.
Gain Language: Palantor Code.
-2 Maximum Intelligence.
-2 Medicine.
Death may not be avoided by reducing Fate. A new body may be built to recover from your demise by reducing your current resources by 2.
Complications: Psychological Condition, and prejudice from Remnant.
Fun Facts:
There is a racial Trait that lets Palantor boost their Intelligence by splitting your consciousness over multiple (drone) bodies. But if any of these drones die, they take mental Attribute damage.
The main boss in one of my first campaigns (way back in 2008ish) was a Palantor known as 'Citizen Sam'. Back then the Palantor were decrepit ancient humans, each remote controlling hundreds of robot bodies... and the PCs had accidentally stolen the big bosses body when they stole his ship.
The Palantor have a cloaked space station/city in Haven that has been around longer than even the Archons. They were around during the war, but they never let their presence be known.
The Palantor and the Corporation have a love/hate/complex relationship. The Corp want the Palantor tech, the Palantor know the Corp woke up the Mechonids, some Corps look up to the Palantor as humans, etc...
Sometimes I like to think the Palantor were playing a giant game of mine-craft for several thousands years before the Mechonids started to eat them up.
You can play a reclaimed Mechonid, one that has had their mind restored(ish) and their connection to the Mechonid network severed.
Many Palantor don't use internal, hardwired comm systems because Mechonids may use them to hack them.
Palantor are effectively trans-dimensional beings, its just that the dimension they come from is a digital one.
Palantor (and Mechonids) have unique human made brains, known as Positronic Brains. Normal computers cant hold their minds. Their bodies can be made from any robotic parts. But most use the bodies of the ancient robotic servants that were made to maintain their Palantor relay nodes.
The primary trade commodity of the Palantor is their knowledge.
We know that humanity tried to avoid their fate by the Archon and the Palantor projects, I wonder what other projects they had?
Designing the Palantor:
Designing the Palantor was a relatively easy task as so much of the groundwork had already been done (in regards to humanity, the Mechonids, etc...).
I never wanted the Palantor to be cold, calculated robots as I felt like this was not very original, and a little overdone. I wanted there to be a firm reason behind their digital intelligence. This made making them digitized human minds an obvious choice, and I feel like this helps people connect to them, as it makes them less alien and gives them a firm place within the history of the setting.
Facebook Competition:
I just wanted to quickly let people know that I'm running a competition on my Facebook page to give 2 people an extra $20 to their pledge by sharing a post from my Facebook page. The winners will be announced later today. https://www.facebook.com/FraggedEmpire/
Yeah, I'm going to keep updating this thing. Can't stop my not-exactly-timely-updates! To be fair, this update may be of special interest to the Dakka community (look for a familiar few names in it...).
During my previous Kickstarter lots of people were asking for miniatures, in fact I had already commissioned a 3d artist and got some 3d printing work done... but I was not happy with the quality of the sculpt, and I didn't feel like I had a firm grasp on the production process.
As soon as my previous books had been sent off to the printers I dived head first into researching miniatures. This process took 6+ months, and a whole lot of money. Let me share with you what I have found.
What Material to use:
Hard Plastic (Games Workshop). HUGE setup cost, very low production cost per mini, great quality. Soft Plastic (Board Games). High setup cost, very low production cost per mini, very low quality. Metal (most skirmish games, indie wargames). Moderate setup cost, production cost scales well, good quality. Resin (boutique minis, limited edition miniatures). Low setup cost, production cost do not scale, good quality. The choice was really down to Resin or Metal as both can make good quality minis, and their setup costs are rather low. For economic reasons I think metal is a little better (as the cost per minis scales better and I can have them made here in Australia) but I'm a resin minis fan as I felt like they were easier to work with from a hobby stand point (cutting, gluing, painting, etc...).
Choosing a Factory:
This part proved to be a LOT more difficult than I anticipated. During my research I had 4 different factories produce minis for me. This was an important (and expensive) part of the process as I needed to not only see the the quality of their work, but I also needed to see how professional they were (answering emails, fixing problems, technical clarity, etc...). I found Prodos Games to be the best fit for this project.
While another factory that I had worked with had slightly better quality, Prodos have been 'by far' the most professional and accommodating. Their pricing has been competitive, their email responses prompt and clear, and they have been eager to fix any problems that I had. +Some friends of mine (including Modiphius) use them. I'm really excited to be working with them
3d Sculpting:
I've actually used 2 sculptors for this project. My initial sculptor did an amazing job on Rachel and Hraks but unfortunately email communication was very difficult and I didn't feel like they were well suited to a big project like what I was doing. So when Jin V approached me (I knew his work from Kingdom Death) I was very excited to see what he could do. I think the results of his work speak for themselves
Living in Australia, and being mostly a 1 man team makes shipping and packaging really important. Originally I had planned on packing and posting all of the minis myself from Australia (I was going to use blister packs made from a Electronic store wholesaler, cut foam by hand and print backing cards from my local print shop), but I was really glad to discover that Prodos Games were able to take care of all of this
This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2016/04/27 04:36:57
I do hope he's up on the AvP shipping issues with Prodos,
as while they seem to handle clients work much more efficiently than their own I'm not convinced that their shipping efficiency is going to be reliable
Lateish (no worse than many ambitious KS) but there were a fair few delivery screw ups (probably more than there should have been)
and my issue with the AvP stuff is not so much the lateness and issues with Fox (Prodos is stuck there) but the 'we'll ship it all by X, that passes, we'll ship it all by Y, that passes etc
I'm certain they want it all fulfilled (and will do so eventually), I'm sure they are trying but they've got to stop overpromising and underdeliverying
As for the mantic resins situation since mantic only came to them at the last minute after being let down by another (more than one?) resin supplier i'm not surprised that they couldn't produce the volume of stuff needed in the very short timeframe they had
Yay! There will now be more awesome Clonerh artwork in the book!!
In the Core Rule Book I was very please to be able to have these 4 awesome images. Each one showing the core values or a major idea behind each of the races, and now we get to do the same for the 4 new races!!!!
Here are the 4 images from the Core Rule Book that we also used these on our awesome GM screen.
Spoiler:
And here is a rough draft of the Twi-Far image that Clonerh is working on for us right now, it is depicting a young (teenager) female Twilinger bonding with her Faren. This bonding is the single most important, and life shaping event in a Twi-Far's life.
These next images are kinda embarrassing as they are the rough images that I sent Clonerh for these new images (it also shows Clonerh's genius that he can turn these into such beautiful works of art).
(From top left to bottom right)
A Twi-Far (as above).
A Palantor dreaming of it's beautiful digital home while it walks through the dark, depressing filth of a physical world street.
A MASSIVE bloated Zhou storming through a jungle, eating all in its path. With a single, lone humanoid Zhou pleading with it to stop.
A Remnant being raised from the dead by the All-Being.
This update is a bit of a mixed bag showing whats been going on over the last few weeks.
Spoiler:
PDFs have Leveled up!
I have updated the Core Rule Book, Antagonist Archive and the 2nd Adventure (Genetic Spectres) DriveThruRPG PDFs to v1.03
Apart from various typo fixes (3+ months of paid editing, and a year of community feedback and I'm still polishing) and clarity fixes (thanks to my fantastic community on our subreddit for helping me with these over the past year), I have also made a few minor stat changes. I'm really hesitant to make stat changes, but I feel like these are a step in the right direction.
The Analyse Action gains the Minor Effect: Hit +Extra RoF Dice (to accommodate for the new Combat Computer weapons in the Protagonist Archive).
Puncture Rifle's base range has been increased from 4 to 6 (to help make this a more viable weapon for low/medium Resource characters).
Pallet of Supplies Cost increased to 14t from 8t.
Lots of fixes to the Spacecraft Theater of the Mind Only Traits.
Skilled, and Nemesis Opponents gain +2 additional Attribute Points for PCs with +6 Average Resources.
Nemesis Opponents gain +1 Max Attribute.
Most of these changes are very small, but you will notice that I have boosted all Skilled and Nemesis opponents. I've found that Skilled NPCs have continuously been overshadowed by Henchmen, mostly due to their frailty. I feel that giving them a couple more Attribute points will help to make them more survivable and more interesting to fight.
Photos of Miniatures
As soon as this Kickstarter was funded I gave my factory the go ahead to start making up our miniatures, and they are looking fantastic! Prodos are doing such a great job.
My reason for having the factory start so early on these is not just to be able to show you cool pictures but to also speed up the production process.
New Artwork! I'm also getting lots of new art made up!
From the top left: a Nephilim in a space suit, 2 Palantor Admin Prime's, the Remnant All-Prophet, a Palantor factory.
Betraying their Archon creators, the Ursai sided with the invading Nephilim during the Great War. But this was all for naught as they themselves were in turn betrayed and exterminated. This would have been their end if it were not for the arrival of a god-like entity known as the All-Being some thirty years later who raised tens of thousands of them from the dead. The Remnant became a new spiritually focused people, forever seeking to discover the true nature of the All-Being, and to learn why they, traitors, were brought back to life.
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The Remnant home world Kumba was the centre of pre-war Ursai society. A planet of sweeping grass plains, grand cities, and great space stations. It has now been reduced to a noxious world of deserts and ruins haunted by psionic ghosts known as Echoes.
Every day hundreds of people make month-long pilgrimages from Haven to Kumba to seek the blessing of the All-Being among the Simba Mabwes, sacred places and objects of power where grand miracles have been known to happen. While several dozen Simba Mabwes are hidden in the noxious Kumba deserts, most have massive structures of worship and cities built up around them. In recent years these places of power have begun to go quiet as the All-Being has increasingly withdrawn his presence from Kumba; making these pilgrimages seemingly meaningless, and the safety of the Remnant cities that relied on their protection precarious as violent Echoes close in.
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Remnant culture largely revolves around two central questions; who is the All-Being? And, why were the Remnant chosen to be raised from the dead? These deep and immensely difficult questions have fragmented their society, leading to the formation of thousands of factions, belief systems, organisations, and sub-cultures. With few giving room for an apathetic or non-committal approach to life.
The bulk of the Remnant population live in large, tightly packed cities on Kumba. City life often revolves around strict rules, structure and discipline. Those who live outside these cities often lead nomadic and dangerous lives in the far reaches of space or the haunted Kumba deserts. These nomadic Remnant are often driven by a desire for self-discovery and learning.
The Remnant are not a single nation, but a loose federation of nations, each with their own governing body. Most governments are theocratic democracies, with the elected heads of state and religious leaders working closely together.
In recent years, with the Remnant reconnecting with the Haven races and the withdrawing of the All-Being’s power from Kumba, Remnant society has once again began to fracture. While some embrace this change, many fear they have angered their god.
Stats:
Gain +2 Attribute Points.
+1 Psychology, Gunnery, and Small Arms.
+2 Defence vs Psionics.
Gain Language: Ursai.
Bleeding Effect deals Attribute Damage to 2 random (2d6) Attributes (normally 1).
-2 Maximum Reflexes.
-1 to all Spare Time Rolls.
Complication: Prejudice from Corporation, and Legion.
Fun Facts:
Remnant use Shona names and words. This is the language of Zimbabwe, where one of my sister in laws comes from.
The Ursai are mentioned in the Antagonist Archive 1.
The Ursai are the race that enslaved the Vargarti (Corporation) on the planet Varsphere. The Remnant have no records of this, and none of them remember it... which frustrates the Corporation.
There are 3 possible explanations for the nature of the All-Being in the book; some say he is a god, others a merging of dead Ursai psionics, and some say that he is the X'ion itself (who rewarded them for their service during the Great War by bring them back to life).
Some Remnant fought in the Great War, and some of them did horrible things... why would the All-being raise them from the dead?
The Ursai are partially to blame for the fall of the Kaltorans and the Haven system during the Great War.
The All-Being has performed miracles for non-Remnant (though many religious leaders refuse to acknowledge this).
The Nephilim created a virus called the Synaptagen that kills all Ursai. It is still alive and active. The only reason why the Remnant can live is because the power of the All-Being flows through their bodies.
The Ursai brought psionics back into the universe by activating a Human Weapon known as the Deatomiser.... which promptly killed all sentient life in their home system.
The Deatomiser and the Synaptegen virus can infect certain people, making them psionics.
The Remnant home system is a 1 month journey from Haven, and is not in the Habrixis Sector.
Echoes can be any race, and have spread to Haven.
https://ksr-ugc.imgix.net/assets/011/065/264/7cb4ced92b1df15cf5ed83e7ff591136_original.jpg?w=639&fit=max&v=1462138219&auto=format&q=92&s=08b8c562eee0fb2025be2a1441100c31 Designing the Remnant:
The Remnant were a very difficult race to design, I think I remade them at least 4 times from scratch. I had some very firm ideas about some parts of their design (a mammalian race that were favored by the Archons with a psionic and religious focus) but I struggled to put it all together. I wanted their religious side to be both broad (to allow a wide range of characters and ideas) but to have strong common threads. I found the abrianic faiths, and specifically Christianity to be the best source of inspiration for this.
I feel like the cultural structure that I have designed for the Remnant not only allows for a wide range of philosophical perspectives, it also allows for a broad range of personalities. Players can play a holy knight, a zealot rebel, a ghost summoning cultists, a martial monk, a simple tradesmen with a private faith or a disillusioned youth running from their parents restrictive religion.
Sculpting Banga:
Banga was a tricky model to sculpt as the 2d art has lots of detailed layers and textures that would not transfer well on to a 3d model. But I really like what Jin V has done, he was able to know exactly what parts of the character needed to be accentuated and what parts needed to be altered.
2 new Addons! New Miniature & the Antagonist Archive book!
Spoiler:
Antagonist Archive!
Many of you know about the Antagonist Archive from my first Kickstarter, it is a fantastic 140 page book filled with 25+ factions, 5+ locations (including the Var system), 40+ NPC Traits and Variations, and 90+ NPC characters and spacecraft for your players to contend with.
It's a little like a monster manual, but with LOTS of extra setting stuff. A must have for GMs (or for people who love setting fluff and cool pictures).
Currently the AA is almost out of print (I have about 6 copies left here in Australia, 8 in America, and none in the UK), so I will be doing a reprint!!
New Promotional Miniature for FAITH the RPG.
FAITH is a fantastic indie sci-fi RPG that was Kickstarted shortly after my previous Kickstarter, and they are just about to do their second one.
I've become good friends with the guys over at Burning Games over the past year and we thought it would be fun if we did a little lighthearted crossover I'm making them a mini (who would make a AWESOME Nephilim IMO), and they are putting a Mechonid NPC Card into their box set.
But here is the FAITH guys talking about their game in their own words:
FAITH is a game that brings the art to the table with NPC and gear reference cards, and a simple yet versatile card-based resolution mechanic that allows players to manage their luck.
In the universe of Faith, there are two powerful alien species that fight a cold war for supremacy: the hyper-tecnological corvo, run by megacorporations; and the sociable Iz'kal, run by the State, an organisation that controls all aspects of their civilisation, always with the interest of its citizens in mind. The clan-based, feral Raag fight for resources to maintain their frozen home of Heimis, and Humanity struggles to survive, employed as mercenaries and bounty hunters all over the universe.
In the meantime, the mutant Ravager roam the Labyrinth, the web of wormholes that connects the universe together, absorbing all life forms in their path. The civilised species have formed a fragile Coalition to fight them off, but the fate of civilisation is uncertain...
About the character:
Skid is a corvo hacker and rig engineer enlisted in the Coalition as a Cyber Technician. Born in Tiantang, Skid has been obsessed with technology ever since he was a small ugly toddler: his life's goal is to turn his body into a machine.
Skid's parents owned an important research and development facility that focused mostly on biotechnological advances and cortex connected devices. When his ideas started diverging from his parents', he decided to quit the family business and joined the military, where he became a reputed technician. When he lost an arm in an accident, he decided to try a new prosthetic of his own design. He hopes to lose more limbs so he can experiment some more, but he's not in that much of a hurry.
The protagonist Archive will now be made even bigger (it looks like the total page count will be about 196 pages), and will include a range of full write ups on prominent NPC characters!
Adashe Itsva, the 'All-Prophet'
An eccentric Remnant prophet the wanders the desert spreading the message of the All-Being (very John the baptist like).
Admins Kuro_02 and Masami_679
The 2 most influential and powerful leaders of the Palantor. They have a deep love for one another, but they can never be together as long as they hold their influential positions and the Mechonids are a threat; their people must come first.
Athene Kosta 'Lady Vengeance'
The no nonsense, bad ass leader of the Legion Auxilia in the Haven system.
Grandma Jinx
Armed with her pipe, moonshine and her trusty shotgun, this matriarch is always at the ready to lead her large family in matters of state and child rearing.
Great Chief Zarnir
This old Zhou leads the largest Zhou tribe in Haven, and is a firm believer in their peoples traditional ways, and that there eternal hunger can be beaten through inner resolve and perseverance.
Orchilo Star-Gazer
Arguably the greatest warriors in the system, this passionate Twi-Far is always at the ready to take on the Oni with his powerful Faren powers.
Fragged Empire Music, Maximus's Mini and our Final Hours
One of the things that I love about RPGs is that they encourage creativity and a broad range of skills; performance, visual art, science, social cohesion, story telling and even audio.
During my previous Kickstarter campaign I had some fantastic ambient audio tracks from the Tabletop Audio, so when the extremely talented Jesse James offered to make some very cool Fragged Empire inspire orchestral music I knew that we had to make it happen!
"Far below the great Kaltoran city, a dark tribe mourns the loss of a much loved leader. Metal pipes carry their sombre dirge to any who would pause and listen. His children, grandchildren and great children sing a heartfelt tune of loss as they rub ceremonial spices into his lifeless body. Tears of sorrow flow freely as his many widows sing of their fallen husband's many great deeds. Every memory is cherished, every pain is mourned, every bone is picked clean. Nothing goes to waist, be it pain or flesh."
"The most ancient data streams hint vaguely that humanity explored the nebula, and perhaps even charted the other five star systems grasped by Halo and the numerous rogue planets forever wandering the expanse of the nebula’s seemingly endless innards. Analysis of what fragmentary data caches remain from the Archons’ time suggests they mostly avoided the nebula. Nearly every Archon file detailing the nebula’s inner reaches has proven corrupted or deleted. Yet there she sits, on the edge of Haven system, beckoning explorers, scientists, maniacs, and scoundrels – seeking truth, or obfuscation, within the folds of Halo’s stardust miasma."
Jesse talks about his Process
"Typically the process for writing these pieces begins with experiences I've had playing Fragged Empire with my friends. Memories from around the table, beloved interactions with NPC's, high velocity dogfights in an asteroid field, and the conversations we have after the game is done - our own little meta and narrative shaping the way we enjoy Fragged Empire.
One of the first things I remember after playing Fragged Empire was the feeling I had in the pit of my stomach driving home from a game my friends and I had just finished. The core plot involved the genetic memory of the Kaltoran's, and I remember being so immensely sad after that game that I was still very affected emotionally the next day. That's when I heard the chanting chorus for The Fallen - that loneliness of the Kaltoran people, the desolation, the bitterness, the hopelessness. So I immediately recorded myself singing those melodic lines, went back to my studio, and began writing. Around midnight, I added the funeral drums, and that cemented the form of the piece.
Waves of the Nebula came from a slightly different spot creatively. I was preparing to take a trip to NYC and had some time to kill. I've always loved the sound of Lydian, a musical mode that takes an otherwise bland major mode and alters it ever so slightly. You've definitely heard Lydian music before. It's almost always associated with outer space, science fiction, etc. As I experimented with the melody, I felt this constant rhythmic pulse in the back of my head. The more I worked it into the music, the more I felt like I was flying. And that little spark grew into a perpetual motion that then dominated the piece, from the strings to the percussion to the piano. Everything took flight."
Also, be sure to check out his Patreon page! Corp and Legion music will be released this month
Max
I also got this cool photo in from the factory! I hope to one day have an entire range of Legion minis to go alongside him.
Final Hours!
We're getting incredibly close to our final 48 hour sprint and we have two more stretch goals left to break (and if we do break these we will have doubled our initial KS target!). The Protagonist Archive has been increased to 196 pages!
Please share this project around to all of your friends and gaming communities. Every dollar we raise and every backer we gain is incredibly helpful.
Hi all, Wade from Fragged here. Buzzsaw invited me to drop by and say hi I'm glad some of you are enjoying my minis, its been a long process to get to this point.
If anyone has any questions, please let me know Only 57 hours left on my kickstarter.
Hi, Wade! First, congratulations for the game. We were doing chargen last weekend and it is surprising how easy it is for such a "crunchy" game. Kudos! Also, congratulations for the upcoming spanish language edition
I was thinking about getting some (natch, probably all) of the minis, but honestly speaking, $20 a pop is steep, and I don't know how much shipping would be. Seeing as I'm a pdf guy, so I've backed at the digital master pack level, how much do you think the minis would cost to ship? (I'm in Spain) Seeing as it's Prodos who's doing them, would it be feasible to ship minis to the EU directly from Prodos?
Also, is there any possibility that you could make an "all minis" pack for a slightly reduced cost?
Albertorius wrote: Hi, Wade! First, congratulations for the game. We were doing chargen last weekend and it is surprising how easy it is for such a "crunchy" game. Kudos! Also, congratulations for the upcoming spanish language edition
Thanks Albertorius I'm really excited to have the Spanish (and German) versions come out.
Yea, I don't think the crunch is that hard. Especialy if your comfortable with RPGs and games in general.
Albertorius wrote: I was thinking about getting some (natch, probably all) of the minis, but honestly speaking, $20 a pop is steep, and I don't know how much shipping would be. Seeing as I'm a pdf guy, so I've backed at the digital master pack level, how much do you think the minis would cost to ship? (I'm in Spain) Seeing as it's Prodos who's doing them, would it be feasible to ship minis to the EU directly from Prodos?
Also, is there any possibility that you could make an "all minis" pack for a slightly reduced cost?
Postage should be fairly cheap as the minis will go out from London or Prodos themselves. Once the KS is over I'm going to have a bunch of skype chats to my warehouse to organise the best prices.
Unfortunately I'm unable to do any larger and cheaper packs at this time. Not because I don't want to, but because I chose to make some quite intricate multi-part minis (scenic bases, etc...). When I'm closer to launching my skirmish game I will be looking into making some discounted 'squad packs'. These minis should be single piece on a standard base and be a LOT cheaper.
I am super excited to see the minis and was even considering the custom mini pledge.
But I couldn't decide what race :(
This is by far my fav RPG now can't wait to see it grow further in the future.
Thanks so much Apple Fox I'm incredibly proud of the game. And if your hanging out in the Dakka Dakka forums + your into RPGs your basically my perfect customer
Fantastic news! We have now unlocked a new miniature, Isaac Thrift!
I have always loved this piece of art and I think he will make a fantastic miniature (but we may have to extend his right leg down to attach him to his base).
$65,000 stretch goal reached! Adventure book, new stretch goal announced, and our final hours.
Wow! two stretch goals broken in 2 days We have now unlocked a new adventure; Alien Flame! This adventure module will be a Twi-Far and Faren focused adventure module, with a strong focus on mystery and exploration.
All pledge levels for a physical book or PDFs will receive a PDF of this adventure at no extra cost.
$70,000 stretch goal:
We will make up a professional quality rules video.
Learning a new rule system can be a pain, and having a clear, clean video to show prospective players (or GM) how to build a character and how the core mechanics work will be a great help.
My talented friends from Nourishing Media (who made both my Kickstarter videos) will be making this up for us
Our Final 13 hours.
As we're in our final hours and no more physical products will be added, I have added 3 new pledge levels to make peoples pledge calculations a little easier. But don't stress, everyone can adjust things via our BackerKit pledge manager once the campaign has ended.
**Both New Books* The Protagonist Archive and the Adventure.
**All of the Miniatures**
**Everything New** Both new books, and all 11 (12 if you include Texos) miniatures.
Just a reminder, one can access the Pledge Manager by making a $2 (AUS) pledge now, should this campaign not align with one's pay cycles.
. Totally backed!
I'm really excited to have the Spanish (and German) versions come out.
