Half a million quid! And an artificer!
over 2 years ago – Mon, Nov 01, 2021 at 11:58:43 PM

So, we did it. We hit the £500K stretch goal and unlocked the artificer. Thank you all so very much for your support.

We've already started work on it. Here's a peak at the intro:

Artificer

Artificers work in the arcano-sciences, combining both magic and technology despite all the risks. They are masters of their fields, experimenters, and inventors that push the limits of mortal capability ensuring that progress marches on. They represent the knife’s edge of understanding and may end up shortcutting their way to the future of civilization if their work doesn’t become a mere footnote of failed ideas, but it is the artificer’s determination and drive that sets them apart—they can fail a thousand times so long as they successfully unlock a mystery of the universe at least once.

Ingenious Eccentrics

Most artificers start their work in a craftsman’s trade or as a scholar, only to discover some idea or problem yet to be overcome. Where others give up the artificer digs deeper, and discovery leads to fascination or full-blown obsession. Often they work alone, or under the tutelage of a master who shares their scientific eccentricity. Their workshops are full of marvels and ingenuity and the occasional explosion.

Usually these eccentricities are regarded as harmless or even valuable if the artificer maintains their trade’s services. But occasionally artificers need to work in secret, especially if their work is considered unsavory or morally gray, or if their inventions are making other work obsolete. But for artificers the march of progress is the highest priority, the consequences be damned. It may be a rune to be perfected, a cosmic enigma to be answered, a theorem to be validated, or an injustice to be rectified, but to the artificer with tools in hand nothing is impossible.

Wizarding schools often accuse artificers of “faking magic”, but in reality artificers have discovered how to harness the very same arcana through physical laws rather than ancient rote. Where a wizard chants their magic words invoking old forgotten pacts the artificer grabs a hold of magic and drives it into reality. Each of their spell inventions is a marvel and it’s only a matter of time before they’re truly mastered and become stable enough so that even a commoner could make magic do their bidding. Such a thing is troubling to say the least and mutterings of “banning fake magic” drift among the halls of prestigious magical colleges. Conflict is brewing between the realms of magic and science, and woe to any poor soul that gets caught between them.

Scientific Inquiry

While a great many artificers would like nothing more than to be left alone to their research, experiments take money, and often the answers they seek cannot be found in a lab. Adventuring solves both problems for them, providing lucrative opportunities for funding their research and far-off locales where they might find the answers to puzzles both new and ancient. Alternatively, sometimes the artificer’s answers lie at the bottom of a dungeon or other dangerous locale and joining up with an adventuring guild may be the only feasible way to reach it alive.

Archetypes

I can also reveal the three artificer archetypes: Bombardier, Engineer, and Stitcher!

Next up: Jabberwock!

If we hit £550K we'll unlock the Jabberwock -- a full monster with the complete Level Up treatment!

Gate Pass Gazette Schedule

A few people have asked when they get the Gate Pass Gazette, so I thought I'd talk a little about it.

You already know the content we want to include -- lycanthropy, artificer, jabberwock, and construct. And every backer automatically gets it in digital form for FREE.

Because it's a stretch goal, it wasn't made before the Kickstarter launched like the core books were; we had to hit stretch goals to start work -- so we expect to release it for free 1-2 months after the Kickstarter ends.

As an aside, it's a personal hope that this is only the first Gate Pass Gazette. I'd love to publish monthly issues to support the Level Up game line. But that's another thing for another day -- right now, we're focused on just this Kickstarter and making sure you get your rewards quickly and efficiently.

Culture & Destiny

We posted a preview of the culture and destiny rules over on the official website.

We'll have something to show you every day for the remaining 5 days of the Kickstarter campaign, so keep an eye on the Level Up news page! We'll update you here too, but we try to avoid bombarding you with emails every day, so we'll batch them together into a couple of updates.

Thank you all again! Just a few days before those delicious PDFs arrive in your inbox!

- Morrus

Dragons! Spellcasting Monsters! Challenge Ratings! Starter Adventure!
over 2 years ago – Fri, Oct 29, 2021 at 12:03:39 AM

Hey folks! Just over a week to go before you have this game in your hands. We can't wait!

In the meantime, we have a few updates for you.

• A preview of the starter adventure, Memories of Holdenshire.
• A look at how we handle spellcasting in NPC and monster stat blocks.
• The entire Monsters by Challenge Rating list.
• A deep dive into the awesome stuff we've done with dragons!

We've also now added the leatherette collector's editions to the add-ons you can grab when you pledge. As a reminder, to add add-ons to your existing pledge, simply hit the "Manage Your Pledge" button at the top of the screen. If you haven't pledged yet, then Kickstarter will take you to the add-ons screen after you select your pledge level. 

Virtual Tabletop (VTT) Support
over 2 years ago – Thu, Oct 28, 2021 at 09:06:15 PM

Before I talk about our VTT plans, I wanted to mention that we'd hit the £450K stretch goal, which means we have lycanthropy rules! Next up is the ARTIFICER, which I know that a lot of you are very keen on.

Virtual Tabletops

If you're not interested in playing online via a virtual tabletop you can skip this update.

We conducted a big survey which launched on October 10th to find out what you wanted in terms of VTT support. We had a couple of thousand responses, so thank you for that! 

So the most asked for VTT options were:

• Foundry 
• Roll20 
• Fantasy Grounds 

There were others, but those three dominated the results, so those are the three we've decided to focus on.

After the Kickstarter

Once the Kickstarter is over, work will start on VTT support for the above three platforms. This will take some time, as it's a big, work-intensive undertaking. Fortunately, we have what we need all lined up and ready.

We're not including these as add-ons or anything in this Kickstarter because we don't know yet what the landscape will look like in terms of pricing and availability. We'll know more about that closer to the time. If we can (and we don't know whether this is possible yet -- we will need to discuss that with each platform separately to see what we can do, and our arrangement with each is different) we would like to offer priority access to our Kickstarter backers, as without you guys those things could not be made. 

I know you probably have a ton of questions, and right now we don't have a ton of answers. But the main purpose of this update is to let you know what the long-term plans are in terms of VTT support.

TL;DR -- VTT support for three platforms is coming next year, once we've fulfilled this Kickstarter.

Thanks again for all your support!

- Morrus

12 Days To Go!
over 2 years ago – Sun, Oct 24, 2021 at 09:31:34 PM

With just 12 days to go before you get this awesome game in your hands, it's time for another quick update on things that our going on in the Level Up-osphere!

•  Screenrant covered Level Up a few days ago. It's a solid, well thought-out article based on an interview they conducted with me last week, and well worth a read.
• We previewed another pregenerated character -- Cenya the elf bard! If you missed the previous ones, we recently also previewed Gia the planetouched warlock, Lily Canterfoot the halfling herald, and T'lingbet the dragonborn ranger.
• There's a thread on EN World where one page from the Adventurer's Guide is being posted each day.
• Also check out this preview of a Level Up cosmology.

Also we're headed at breakneck speed towards that next stretch goal!

So we did it! Narrator's Screen Unlocked, New Stretch Goals Include Artificer!
over 2 years ago – Fri, Oct 22, 2021 at 05:37:01 AM

We did it! We reached that £400K stretch goal, and we unlocked the Narrator's Screen! 

So, what's on the Narrator's Screen? We're still putting it together, but we plan to include (if we can fit it all in):

• Journey actions
• Random NPCs
• Basic combat maneuvers
• Encounter building basics
• Turn order
• Journey checklist
• Travel pace
• Object stats
• Lighting, vision, cover, stealth, and invisibility
• Useful page references

The Narrator's Screen is now available as an add-on. Simply manage your pledge to be taken to the add-ons screen. It's £20 for the physical version, or just £7 for the PDF version (so you can print out and make your own). We're planning on a 3-panel landscape screen.

Note that some reward tiers automatically get the Narrator's Screen for FREE. If you're in one of the following tiers, you don't need to select it as an add-on:

• Collector and Dragon's Hoard get the physical screen for free (plus the PDF).
• Marshal gets the PDF for free.

More Stretch Goals!

You knew we had more up our sleeves, right? Well, we have more stretch goals ready.

These goals go to build an additional FREE digital supplement (every backer will get it) called the GATE PASS GAZETTE.

The contents of that free supplement depend on the stretch goals we reach. We currently have four planned -- lycanthropy rules, the artificer class, the jabberwock, and the construct heritage.

Yep, that's right. One of those goals is the full ARTIFICER class! People have been asking for this since the project launched, and we really want to deliver it!

So, to summarize -- the GATE PASS GAZETTE will be a free digital supplement for all backers, and its content will be determined by the stretch goals we reach.

Additionally, if you prefer a softcover version, we will also be providing a coupon which will allow you to buy a print version at cost from DTRPG.

So, there it is! Our roadmap for the next couple of weeks!