A perilous adventure unearthing the dark arcana behind Sword & Sorcery’s iconic tabletop roleplaying game
Latest Updates from Our Project:
Progress Report + More on the OGL
over 1 year ago
– Wed, Jan 25, 2023 at 03:16:42 PM
Hey All,
It's been a somewhat brutal few weeks of illness on the BGK team since our last project update. COVID hit two team members, and norovirus struck a third. As a result, we are currently running about 1-2 weeks behind the production schedule we had set for ourselves, but are still hoping to makeup for lost time!
We've made great progress on the setting content in the core book—which is now looking to be much longer than we expected. As a result, we are considering a free upgrade for backers to make the core book a perfect bend soft or hardcover rather than the saddle-stitched booklet you saw mocked-up in the campaign page.
We've also almost wrapped the content on Black God's Gambit, the standalone game. We should be moving to layout for that book in early February.
Once those two are in the layout phase, we'll pickup the remaining three RPG booklets: Black God's Shadow setting supplement, the Encounter the Architects module, and the Hellsgarde module (already in progress).
While all of that is taking place, we'll also be simultaneously laying out the short story books! Our goal is to have everything laid-out and ready for manufacturing by the end of March, for the Sept 2023 delivery stated in the campaign. As mentioned above, we are a couple of week's behind that current schedule, but we're mostly all healthy now and hustling!
Here are a couple of WIP shots from the illustrationdesk of Saprophial:
Salmina, a former sorceress who lost her humanity to the Black God and now resides as a corrupted NPC in the realm
Salmina's guardian golems, constructed from the warped hardwood growing in the swamp where she resides
More on the OGL
As the dust has settled, regardless of whatever backtracking WotC did after the leaked OGL 1.1, we are feeling very good about our decision not to use the OGL. To expand on the statement in our last post: there really is no legal reason why the Black God's Kiss books need it. Aside from the IP which we have licensed from the estate of C.L. Moore, all of the content is original—and we can easily use only generic terms for game mechanics that are not subject to copyright (terms like "Wisdom" and "+1 Sword"). While we understand the position of other creators who still feel the need to adhere to the OGL, it just doesn't feel central to the work we're doing. Consequently, to avoid any potential issues with the materials we are working very hard on to deliver, we will not be adopting any version of the OGL.
There are of course other open licenses out there, and also in the works. Some of the collaborations being discussed, like Project Black Flag—the ttrpg system being developed by Paizo and Kobold Press (among others)—are very exciting and promising. However, we need to move forward now, and feel like we can do so without adopting any licenses while maintaining a high level of quality that will nonetheless be 100% compatible with both 5e and OSE.
Once more for the people in the back: we will not be using the OGL, nor do we need it in order to make our materials compatible with 5e and OSE.
Moving forward, we'd like to keep all of our updates focused on Black God's Kiss, and avoid further discussions outside of our box set's content. But we recognize how much of a concern this has been in the community, and wanted to make sure we addressed those concerns so we can move forward with developing the rest of this incredible game!
What's Next?
We should have another project update in a couple of weeks with more content progress, and a date for the pledge manager opening. In the meantime, we are always eager to hear your thoughts, ideas, and comments. Please feel free to reach out to us here, or via one of the channels below.
Project Update regarding the OGL
almost 2 years ago
– Mon, Jan 09, 2023 at 11:59:44 AM
This post is for backers only. Please visit Kickstarter.com and log in to read.
Hellsgarde Maps!
almost 2 years ago
– Thu, Dec 08, 2022 at 06:52:52 PM
Hey All,
Since our last update Jog has been cranking away on the Hellsgarde maps. You may ask, "Why the Hellsgarde maps first?" when that book was a stretch goal, and a late-breaking one at that. Well, Hellsgarde is a fairly self-contained module; it's a very straightforward (and fun!) 'survive the night' adventure in a haunted castle. Consequently, it was easiest to get him started on those maps while we piece together what our mapping needs are for the more dynamic and evolving core books. For any historical nerds out there, you'll be interested to know that Jog loosely based the design of Hellsgarde on a real castle that was built in the 12th century (then rebuilt in the 15th century) called Château de Montbrun. Given the timeline and geographical setting of C.L. Moore's short story, this was an appropriate model for us to work off of. At the end of this update you can see some studio shots of Jog's incredible hand-drawn maps for Hellsgarde.
Now that Jog has wrapped the Hellsgarde maps he needs to finish up a couple of other projects, and will then return to the rest of the Black God's Kiss maps at the end of the month. If you want access to more of his work for your own homebrew adventures, you can follow his Patreon here!
Surveys & Pledge Management
The main hold-up on surveys right now is still choosing a manufacturer. We've had some very exciting developments on this front, which *could* mean additional bells & whistles for the box set! We don't want to open the pledge manager and preorder store until we have that locked down, because it could effect your decision making when it comes to add-ons and pledge management. We have a few meetings setup to discuss specs, options, and pricing so hopefully we'll have those answers soon.
What's Next?
We should have another project update before the end of December. In the meantime, we are always eager to hear your thoughts, ideas, and comments. Please feel free to reach out to us here, or via one of the channels below.
Terrain and details of the swamp surrounding Hellsgarde
Cosmology, Custom Rules, Maps & Illustrations
almost 2 years ago
– Mon, Nov 28, 2022 at 06:59:25 AM
Hey All,
Thanks for your patience while we focused on developing content and logistics over the past four weeks, since our last update. As we mentioned before: if we are quiet just know it's because we are working hard! Here's what we've been up to:
Writing Updates
Janaka and Peter have been meeting for several hours each week to hammer out the details which underpin the magical effects, weird physics, and mechanical consequences of the pocket dimension which constitutes the Black God's realm. This is the 'heavy-lifting' part of the core book, which informs all the content to come! In between each of these meetings they retire to their separate wizard towers to further write, think, and flesh out the pages. Good progress has been made and we're excited about the results. Topics covered so far:
"The Black God's Gift" (a player's and GM's guide to the setting)
Custom mechanics for Humanity checks, and the consequences of losing Humanity points
How the realm affects the use of Arcane and Divine casters
Notable locations in the realm (which will inform Jog's terrain mapping)
Adventure Hooks
Sketching out two "side quests"
Illustration Updates
In the meantime, Saprophial has been polishing the additional cover illustrations which weren't completed before the project launched. There are four of those, and each one alone requires nearly 40 hours of illustration time to complete.
After documenting and sketching out the key details for Hellsgarde from the short story with Janaka, Jog has been drafting the castle mapsin earnest—consisting of three top-down levels, one isometric view, and a terrain view which includes the surrounding swamp with raised causeway.
Other Updates
We have not sent the surveys out yet. After doing some research we are looking at a few other manufacturing options for the box and booklets. Once those specs are locked in that will inform the physical dimensions and weight so we can lock in shipping charges and let you all complete the surveys.
What's Next?
With the holiday this week, you can expect our next update around December 7th. We should have some sneak peeks at art to share with you by then, as well as more content development and an update on the surveys! In the meantime, we are always eager to hear your thoughts, ideas, and comments. Please feel free to reach out to us here, or via one of the channels below.
Writing & Concept Art & Some More Occult S*%#
almost 2 years ago
– Tue, Oct 25, 2022 at 10:11:37 PM
Back Online!
Thank you all again for the incredible support during our campaign. After it ended I was really fried from all the adrenaline, social media posting, Discord communicating, and project managing. I unplugged for almost two weeks and retreated to a farm in rural New England to sleep, read, write, and recover. It also gave me time to reflect on how deeply grateful I am for all the support, and get excited again about building-out the contents for this project!
BACKERKIT& ADD-ONS
A quick reminder: we will use Backerkit for pledge management, add-ons, and collecting shipping. Once the Backerkit page is set up, you will receive a link to your survey. More on that in the near future! We are working out some manufacturing details before we send out surveys so that you can make the most informed decisions possible when managing your pledge.
THE WORK BEGINS AGAIN
I need to catch up on a number of direct messages and questions from backers. If you're waiting to hear from us, you can expect that soon.
Peter Bebergal and I have begun meeting multiple times a week to work on the RPG materials together.
Jog has picked up the multi-level mapping for the Hellsgarde stretch goal module.
Saprophial has been getting settled into her new home after making an international move at he end of the project, and just recently finished detailing the concept art for the Jirel mini:
Concept art for Jirel miniature
What's Next?
We've got a LOT of work to do over the next 5-6 months to get this project into the manufacturing pipeline. We will try to keep you posted on updates every week or two, but if we are quiet just know it's because we are working hard.
Back in 2019, I had the incredible privilege of doing an improvised performance with cellist Lori Goldston—who has played with a number of premiere musical acts including Nirvana and Cat Power, as well as Earth (whose music I often listen to when I'm creating my own work). The one-of-a-kind event was recorded live at All Pilgrims Church in Seattle, and is now being released by Neurot Recordings in 2023.
The performance was recorded, mixed, and mastered by Mell Dettmer—who has engineered albums for other acts such as: Built To Spill, Earth, Sunn O))), Master Musicians of Bukkake, and Wolves in the Throne Room, among many others. The artwork for the album is by David V. D’Andrea, who has done art for so many amazing bands that have influenced me: Sleep, Earth, OM, and Godspeed! You Black Emperor. Meanwhile, the record itself is being expertly produced by Third Man Pressing—the record-manufacturing division of Third Man Records & Books, who published my book upon which the performance is lifted from: Ascend Ascend.
There are some early bird rewards, and tons of limited edition, exclusive ephemera—from colored vinyl to art prints to t-shirts to live performances. I hope you'll at least go check it out!
