They said it would never happen. They said the Zobeck book would always lose to flashy new horror/fey/steampunk/Arabian adventures.

Ladies and gentlemen, the Tales of Zobeck are commissioned, and design begins tonight!

While this is good news for patrons, it is bad news for everyone unfortunate enough not to have signed up earlier. The price of patronage will bump up as soon as I have a spare minute to reset it.

The commission for Blood of the Gorgon has been met, and the project is well and truly launched!

We will now delve into some of the details of the psychotic aristos involved in this plot, together with the various blood hags, the Gorgon Mother, cultists, and others who lurk in the adventure's corners and crevices, seeking to turn events to their own ends.

Ringmaster Nicolas Logue is at the helm, and we're underway with creepy villains and LOTS of excellent discussion to date about what works and what doesn't.

New patrons are still welcome until February 29th. After that, we may go quiet for a while as design closes in on a first draft.

Join us, won't you?

The commission has been met, and the Arabian Nights project is moving ahead. Thank you to everyone who donated.

Design starts tonight, with quick outlines (these are miniadventures, after all) and then text.

One of the adventures will be written by Jeff Grubb, the author of Arabian Adventures! The working title for his piece is "Blood Oasis". More to come.

Sorry I doubted you, ladies and gents! The commission is met, and the project is greenlit. Empire of the Ghouls is officially moving full speed ahead.

Thank you to everyone who donated, and thanks for your patience as I quietly tore my hair out in February when it looked bleak. I will now shut up about the fundraising and start talking about adventure design. Which is a huge relief, frankly.

I'm leaving the door open to latecomers to join until midnight on Friday, the 30th. After that, no more patrons for Ghouls. I'll reconsider that in July, when the playtest draft is done. Which reminds me: I have the rough schedule.

March 31st: Design begins with Monster Selection
April: Design continues with New Monsters, Hooks, and first Encounters
May: Design continues with Encounters, Major NPCs, and Maps
June: Design continues with Ghoul Empire background and more Encounters
July 1st: Playtest draft complete. Start playtest cycle and second draft.

I'll post an updated outline soon, and we'll have the first creature poll tomorrow.

We're off!

Yes, the second Open Design project is now funded and underway. I'm delighted that it happened on Halloween, and I think it constitutes an excellent omen.

I am also delighted that I can stop feeling like one of those Public Television folks during the subscription drives. You know you're offering something good, but I'm still squeamish about saying so. And even more squeamish about asking for donations! It's *just*not*done. Or something.

The patron who put it over the top is varianor, who helped edit "Steam & Brass". Thanks varianor, and thanks to everyone who donated today. Thanks to you, we can now officially ramp up the discussion of monster choices, the Shadow plane, isometric maps, castle design, star & shadow magic, dark fey, and (you know) as much of the AWESOME as I can stuff into this one.

Target date for patrons to have the completed adventure in their hands: March 1.

I’m happy to announce that the project is now funded, and 49 patrons are the charter members for the first patron adventure! Mighty Matt Forbeck pushed it over the finish line, for which I am quite grateful. I've been itching to announce the voting results.

The patrons have chosen “Steam & Brass” as the adventure title: it's a city adventure with a clockwork mage, a Mouse King, and a persistent devil. Per patron request, I’m designing it for 12th level characters, and scaling it down with full details for 6th level and 8th level. The final design will be provided exclusively to members, no later than October 4.

You can still join in! While the votes are already counted, a $25 donation gives you access to the project site, input to draft materials, and a copy of the adventure. The price will only increase between now and October.

This site will post only locked content for the next couple months. Please donate using the button below to help fund art and maps, and join the conversation about adventure design!

UPDATE: Here's the first piece of art for the adventure, by Jason Engle, a sketch of Orlando's steam golem.
UPDATE: Now with full color treatment by aaronace.

Original Sketch by Jason	Color and layout by aaronace