Today on the blog, I wanted to point out several artist campaigns that I think you all might be interested in. It features fantastic art and more by incredible artists, and if you have not already checked them out, you should do so NOW!
First, we have Jon Sideriadis's Astromythos. Jon shares:
Astromythos blends powerful storytelling, original worldbuilding, and stunning artwork to create a universe where stars, planets, and cosmic forces become legendary characters like warriors, queens, wizards, and kings. It is the story of how stars were created, and how they fight to save their kind from destructive forces looking to devour all light in the cosmos. In this originaool astral fanto, the stars are portrayed with humanoid qualities. It is filled with allegorical characters like Brown Dwarfs, Red Giants, Magnetars, Pulsars, Comets, and Shepherd Moons, among many other living stars and heavenly bodies. They live on nebula landscapes, where they've built castles, towers, and great medieval dwellings. Astromythos shines with its stunning visuals, original mythology, and story. Books One and Two each contain 200 pages and over 100 illustrations.In Book Two, men wage war with the stars, with those who give them warmth and light. The cosmos fears and hates mankind, but men were corrupted against their will. Men do the bidding of black holes, of evil spider-stars called Photovores. The Photovores and their allies continue to slay good stars, like our sun, to extinguish all light in the cosmos. And so the living stars fight back, but only the mightiest heroes can help them. Throughout the cosmos, Stars are still vanishing from the sky. The King of black holes, Photovóros, is consuming them, as are his evil offspring, the "Photovores." They strive to persuade other beings, like humans, to steal and enslave Stars. Persuaded so, the king of humankind and his Spider Lords corrupted the world of Zós, the Earth-like world of this series. Their armies murdered Stars and enslaved other Planets to expand their territory in the system, the galaxy, and eventually the universe. But all the while, their own Star is dying, the Star of their solar system, the ancient warrior Thárocles from Astromythos Book One. Thárocles’s only hope is to wait eagerly for a band of heroes to save him and his planet Zós.
I have known Jon and loved his work for a while now, and I can not wait to see this new installment in the series! So let's pitch in and make this a reality!
Next, we have Michael Bielaczyc's SagaBorn D100 Starter Kit Print Book. Michael shares:
The SagaBorn D100 Starter Kit is a guide to help begin telling adventures in the world of the Dark Return using the streamlined SagaBorn D100 system. This kit gives the StoryGuide (gamemaster) and players everything they need to start their first adventure.
What’s inside?
- Getting started – a quick overview of Sagaborn D100
- The World – explore the major themes of the Dark Return setting.
- System Overview – a condensed look at the rules for making and playing a character.
- Characters – 7 pregen characters for players to choose from.
- Adventure – the heroes find themselves prisoners of the Uthgard Empire, but an escape is planned.
- StoryGuide’s Codex – rules and advice on running a SagaBorn D100 game.What is SagaBorn D100?
SagaBorn D100 is a tabletop roleplaying game of dark fantasy, adventure, and discovery. Built on Chaosium’s BRP system, it uses a streamlined percentile skill mechanic – roll under your skill to succeed. Every sword swing, whispered spell, or desperate gamble is decided by the dice.The system is built in the world of the Dark Return, created by artist Michael Bielaczyc and author Dane Clark Collins. A long-time passion project, the game has begun to thrive under the D100 banner.
What is the Dark Return?
The Dark Return is an Against the Dark fantasy RPG setting set in the lands of Uteria. It is a world that is crumbling because of the old power systems and new supernatural threats. It is a place where those who rise up to fight for a better world are heroes, facing the darkness with hope.What is “Against the Dark?”
I was trying to come up with a quick description for the style of world that Uteria is. It is not grimdark, it is not gothic. It also doesn’t fit well with some new themes like hopepunk. So I came up with Against the Dark. The world has troubles. The people in power are greedy and have no empathy. There are factions of people who do evil things. And the characters are heroes who are fighting back against this darkness. Grimdark has no hope. Against the Dark is when the world may be dark, but the heroes are going to change it. It is a game setting of heroic resistance against dark supernatural forces and oppressive mundane systems.Why Kickstart this if there is already a finished PDF?
Putting out a print book always entails more cost, and this is a way to see if there is demand for the product before those costs incur.SagaBorn D100 is Powered by the Basic Roleplaying Universal Game Engine
Michael has been doing cool work with a lot of heart for years, and he is a really good guy. I am looking forward to this one! I hope you take the time to check out the campaign!
That's all for another exciting week on the blog. See you back here next week! Until then...
