Wave 2 stretch goals! Werewolves! Not swearwolves!
about 6 years ago – Sat, Mar 03, 2018 at 10:15:01 AM

The Faeries and Folklore stretch goal has now funded, leading to the question...what happens next? What happens next is Wave 2 stretch goals.

They are:

• £10,000. Paul Baldowski will be writing a 10,000 word supplement on magicians, including the Council of Merlin and the Mercury Collegium.
• £12,000. Neil Gow returns with his take on fantastic Newcastle, with his supplement Novocastria.
• £14,000. The Case Notes expand! Currently a 10,000 word supplement with 8 to 10 cases, it will become a 20,000 word supplement with twice as many cases.
• £16,000. Guy Milner will be writing a supplement on vampires.
• £20,000. At this level we fund Places in Liminal Britain, a 20,000 word book of locations. The core book already has a gazetteer of places; this will let us publish a major expansion to it.

While I'm at it, I'd like to welcome Rich August to the Liminal crew. He will be working with us on some of the Case Notes and locations.

Oh, and did I mention werewolves? Here's Becky's introduction to the Werewolves of Britain supplement:

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Werewolves of Britain will be a tour through some of the iconic locations and legends of which sit at the heart of Werewolf culture and history in the Isles. It will:  

 - explore the real inspiration behind the Hound of the Baskervilles tale  
 - reveal why Robin Hood is known as the Wolfshead     
 - give the alternate history of Sheffield, the only Werewolf controlled city there has ever been. 

Secrets of the Werewolf gangs will be laid bare from their Rituals of Change to the strange talents powered by the gangs' unusually close bonds. There will be a rich set of NPC gangs and the famous Wolves and notes on what the Werewolves think of the others, the Vampires, the Fae, the Wizards and the unknowing humans they walk amongst. 

The encroachment of civilisation has wreaked havoc on the Werewolves. They are dangerous and fearsome but they have hungered for adrenaline, the hunt and for each other; not money, power and control. The world left them behind. But the Jaeger family want to change that, for too long the Wolves have been driven further and further out to the fringes. But Sheffield is finally growing in strength and influence, the other factions feel it and who knows what that will bring. 

 "Nothing is forgotten. Nothing is ever forgotten."

Zap! Pow! Smash!
about 6 years ago – Thu, Mar 01, 2018 at 05:52:55 PM

That was the sound of another two stretch goals funding since the last update....we now have adventures for Liminal. There's the Case Book, consisting of from eight to ten short cases, written by various people involved in the project, and a single longer scenario written by Newt Newport.

Thanks to everyone for making this possible. You're all amazing.

Next up, at £8,500 is Faeries and Folklore, a guide to the Fae and folkloric creatures and monsters in the Liminal setting, written by yours truly.

Talking of amazing people, I'd like to point out a post by the Liminal artist, Jason Behnke. He's someone I love working with and who really cares about what he's doing.

https://jasonbehnke.com/blogs/creativeprocessinprogress/liminal-rpg-by-paul-mitchener

Characters and the Core Mechanic
about 6 years ago – Wed, Feb 28, 2018 at 05:45:02 AM

Characters 

Liminal characters are quickly described with a drive, skills, and traits, as well as a few numbers coming from skills. It's easier for me to show rather than tell, so let me give you an example of a player character.

Ygraine Green 

Ygraine always knew she was different to normal. She grew up with her grandfather who told her nothing of her parents. As a child, when Ygraine commented she could see things which weren't there to others- ghosts and hints of illusions from the Fae- her grandfather simply cautioned her to stay quiet about them and not tell others, especially any adults. Ygraine never fit in at school. Her teachers thought her dreamy and unfocused. The other pupils at school merely found Ygraine odd.

When Ygraine's grandfather died, she was left alone in the world, not fully part of mundane reality, and ignorant of the Hidden World. The Fae began to approach her with promises and information. Ygraine didn't trust them, but their help let her survive, albeit often through stealing, and find out more about her world, though never enough. She even learned she had some talent with weaving the illusions of the Fae. 

Eventually Ygraine found a home and a purpose with her crew, the South Yorkshire Irregulars.

The Core Mechanic 

When your character faces an uncertain situation which tests their abilities, in game terms this is a skill test. Any particular skill test has a Challenge Level.

• When you make a skill test against a non-player character or another player character, they can oppose it with a relevant skill. The Challenge Level is then their skill level plus 8. 
• When a skill test is against a situation rather than a character, the GM sets the Challenge Level. Much of the time, the Challenge Level will be 8; a skilled character will probably succeed. 

To resolve a skill test, roll 2d6 and add your skill level along with any bonuses from Traits. If the result equals or exceeds the Challenge Level, the task is successful. If the roll succeeds by 5 or more, the result is a critical success. If the result falls below the target number, the outcome is failure. 

There's a little bit more to it than that in the rules, including specific suggestions for critical successes and failures, but that's the basics. BUT...you can spend Will to improve upon your roll in a test, either to turn a narrowly failed roll into a success, or a success into a critical success. If you wish to improve your result, simply spend a number of points of Will to add that many points to your dice roll. 

Some traits and forms of magic also require an expenditure of Will to activate. Some magical effects drain Will. 

Once per game session, you can engage your Drive to regain d6 Will. This does not take you above your usual maximum, but if the roll would take you above its usual maximum, or you are already at your maximum and gain no other benefit, tick an experience box on your character sheet.

Funded! Now for stretch goals
about 6 years ago – Tue, Feb 27, 2018 at 03:12:56 PM

We have now funded! Thanks everyone for the support. I hadn't in my wildest dreams thought I would be typing out a "we funded" message a mere eleven hours after the Kickstarter.

I'm a bit overwhelmed, but before I give in, it's time to talk about stretch goals. Each of the stretch goals will take the form of a short (10,000 word) supplement, with art again by Jason Behnke, available in PDF and print on demand (where you pay the costs of printing and shipping for the supplements you want) at the Changeling level of backing and all higher levels. So what are these supplements? I'm very glad you asked.

• £4500. Neil Gow will write a supplement on Liminal London, giving much more detail on the capital city from the point of view of a particular crew.
• £5500. Our expert werewolf consultant, Becky Annison, will write about Werewolves of Britain, detailing werewolf lore, different werewolf gangs, and places where werewolves roam.
• £6500. At this level, the Case Book is funded, gathering together a number of Case Notes- outline adventures in the Liminal setting. Contributors include Paul Baldowski, Guy Milner, Newt Newport, and me.
• £7500. At this level, Newt Newport, author of numerous adventures, will write a detailed 10,000 word scenario for Liminal.

That's probably quite enough stretch goals for now. I'll post another update tomorrow to talk about an example player character in the Liminal setting and go into more detail on some of the game mechanics (a frequent request, and one I'm listening to).

See you later, and thanks once again!