Hi everyone!
…
Enough said, really!
Listen if you want to know what could possibly go wrong next time you have Brunch.
– Ed
All posts by Ed Jowett
It’s the Last Day! – The Oracle
Happy Star Wars day everyone. Ed couldn’t resist an opportunity like this so he made sure our Lyres Kickstarter ended on May 4th. So join me in turning to the person next to you and saying: May the Fourth be with you!
You’ve all been great to follow along with us this far and we are really thrilled to have gotten funded and into our Stretch Goals with this unique game. Today is the last and final opportunity to get in on the Lyres Kickstarter. Remember to pass this along to anyone who might be interested in playing a game that rewards you for your quick thinking, your imagination and hopefully sense of humor!
We’ve had so many great changes and additions thanks to the input of our amazing backers that I wanted to share with you some of the things we’ve done to make this game even better than when we first posted it.
We now have the map of Yarnolth available as a print on canvas from us… or, alternatively, the permission to print a copy for yourself. The map is a great way to add dimension to your games and we’ve been told the comments scribbled on it by Lyres of the past are one of the best bits!
By popular demand, we’ve also added the Travelers Guide to Yarnolth. This brand new book is going to have descriptions of other towns along with a whole new map of Yarnolth and the lands around it. You’ll be able to really dig in and become a part of this fun world.
The Era: Lyres team is incredibly proud of the way this game has grown into something bigger and better than even we could have imagined. We have all our great Kickstarter backers to thank for making this such a successful adventure. Thank you to everyone!
Until next time!
– A
Order of the Link Sample Characters and a chance to see Amazing Space Adventures Live! – The Oracle
Order of the Link Stretch Goals are starting to go up. On the website you can find the names of all our fabulous backers. Also, the Army of Zalobs sample characters are waiting for you. Choose your favorite from them all; Empath to Explosive Expert, Transmutationalist to Zombie Hunter and even a Starship Commander! Keep an eye on the website for additional changes as they show up.
I’ve got some exciting news today from the creator of Amazing Space Adventures. In the next few months you will have a chance to see this game live! Amazing Space Adventures will be traveling with its creator to a few conventions in the U.S. East coast area. Be on the lookout for this great game and your chance to see it up close and personal.
We’ve successfully helped create two games with our partner creators and now we’re coming up on our third great game, Marked for Death. This RPG is nearing completion and we’re gearing up for a Kickstarter launch not long after we get back from the MCM convention May 24th. You are coming, aren’t you? So, set your calendars and start planning your adventures. Your chance to become a fireball wielding assassin is just weeks away!
Last but not least I want to share with you that Frontier is making good advances in the development process and I hope to give you some more detailed information about this game in the weeks to come.
Until then!
– A
Waiting on the Mail – The Oracle
After a small issue with our printed proof, I am thrilled to tell you that the Consortium Full Rulebook print edition is on its way to Ed for packaging and delivery to all our wonderful backers. I know Ed’s going to be waiting at his door; box tape and bubble wrap in hand. These first copies will be delivered to those in the U.K. initially while the U.S. copies will be coming shortly after. It’s not long now people, start inviting your friends for that first big adventure!
For those of you waiting on news for Counting Down From One I can tell you that the process is going smoothly. All the Penciling is done for the entire comic, the Inked pages are coming in now and Colouring will be completed just after that. The Lettering process is already on page 13. If everything keeps moving along like this we plan to be done fairly soon! Here’s another coloured page for you to enjoy. I’m not sure who is surprising who but they sure don’t look happy about it.
I’ll see you next week!
– A
Deliveries!
Hi everyone!
I’m really occupied with massive numbers of deliveries right now.
I’ve got Order of the Link coming in a few days, Era: The Consortium’s full Core Rulebook a week after that and Era: Lyres by the middle of this month. Add to that posters for convention sales, leaflets (just finished designing those a few minutes ago!).
Along with the copies of Amazing Space Adventures, the Era: The Consortium Primers and Comics, I think we’ll have a lot to offer anyone who joins us at MCM!
I need to get back to work, so I’ll leave you with:
I hope to see you at London’s MCM Comicon!
– Ed
A Chance to Play the Games – The Oracle
The best thing about making games is getting to play them. We love our beta-players and we also look for every opportunity to get people sitting down and rolling some dice with us. I hope you’ve made plans to join us at MCM Comicon in London, May 22nd – 24th. I can confirm that we plan to bring with us the following: Era: Lyres, Era: The Consortium Full Rulebook as well as the Primer, Order of the Link, Amazing Space Adventures, the Last Stand of Stilleto Unit comic and – for the first time ever – we will be offering some of our amazing art as posters for sale. We will have a few Consortium pieces, the Lyres map and a highly limited edition poster of “The Hunger” from the latest Era game; Superheroes!
If you’re thinking that this sounds amazing and you really wish you could make it to MCM but the flight to the UK is killing your budget…I have a surprise for you. Adam and our good friends at Dice and Stuff are attending Anime North in Toronto, Canada from May 22nd – 24th and they will be running some Consortium games!
Look for their table and I know they would love to show you around the Consortium universe. If all goes as planned we should even have rulebooks for sale at the event. I hope you’ll come see them and make some time for a game. If you don’t know who Dice and Stuff are you should check out their weekly podcasts where you get all the inside action on their Consortium team, Claymore unit. They can teach you a few things about how best to blow things up!
One last thing today. Our Lyres Kickstarter is winding down and you’ve only got 4 more days to get your deluxe edition of this unique new RPG. With your help we can still push this game to its next Stretch Goal so stop on over and take a look at some of the add-ons that Ed’s created. We’ve got cloth maps, a Traveler’s guide to the cities in Era: Lyres and Consortium rulebooks. You guys can make a difference by passing around the word about this game. I’d like to give a big thanks to everyone who’s already backed us; you’re really helping to make this vision a reality.
See you next time!
– A
Dice and Stuff Double Feature!
Hi everyone, and welcome to a Dice and Stuff DOUBLE FEATURE!
In a brand new Consortium session this week (their computer troubles are over!) during which they eventually agree that weapons aren’t needed for a steak dinner and find out what Silas looks like! Check it out, it’s awesome.
In addition, there’s the final (for now) Era: Lyres Session, “The Flying Griffons”! They finally tell a story, and they do rather well. I think Adam went a little easy on them, myself! Great fun.
– Ed
Reaching Goals! – The Oracle
Brilliant job, well done and thank you to each and every one of our backers. Lyres has surpassed the first Stretch Goal! Now, all backers will receive a digital copy of the Map of Yarnolth; a must have for every successful Lyre. Our next Stretch Goal is additional stories added to the book. We’re working hard to make this game a truly unique experience.
Thunderclap! It sounds like a Mortal Kombat finishing move but in fact is a great way to spread the word about Era: Lyres. Thunderclap collects permission to post on sites like Facebook and Twitter, then at a prearranged date and time makes one widespread announcement on any of the social media sites that you’ve selected. Thanks to our backers for suggesting this to us. We need to reach 100 participating accounts before Thunderclap will work so please consider adding to our number.
Questions. Concerns. Wondering if this Thunderclap malarkey will take over your social media sites and post grumpy cat memes on your behalf? Check out this FAQ.
We have had so many encouraging and informative messages from our backers that I wanted to share with you some of the great ideas we’ve been given. Each of these have helped to transform our Kickstarter into something more fabulous than it was in the beginning. Currently we’re considering adding player created characters to the profile of famous Lyres when we reach that Stretch Goal. It’s a chance to have your Lyre included in this universe!
We now have; the ability to add on to your reward with products such as the Era: The Consortium Core Rulebook, a travellers guide to Yarnolth and the surrounding lands, and a cloth version of the Map of Yarnolth. We also have 4 videos of Ed! In two, he explains character creation in detail, in the third a level up and finally a brief example of dice rolls in the system. If there’s anything else you guys would like to see, shoot us an email or reply back in the comments here.
There is one last thing I wanted to mention today. We all know what a great game this is and we want as many people as possible to know as well. So, Ed has been working cyberspace and telling everyone he finds about Era: Lyres. He recently had an interview with Geek Apocalypse and you can find it posted here. It’s a perfect way to get a little behind the scenes information from the driving force behind these great games.
Catch you later!
– A
Are you ready to Play? – The Oracle
Order of the Link is our newest partner game available in the Shades of Vengeance online store. If you missed out on getting a copy through the successful Kickstarter then you’ll want to check it out here!
The printed proof has just arrived and Ed has already approved it – everything is great! Here are a few images to get you inspired:
In other news, Marked For Death is making great progress; Ed is working with Game Creator Sanchit Sharma to complete this FATE Module before long.
Also worth mentioning is that Defend The Planet’s specifics are mostly locked down now. The team are finalising the last few details, so you can expect to see a Defend the Planet page on the website soon!
Until next week!
– A
Have you heard the news? – The Oracle
Last week, things came in so fast I wasn’t able to give you a proper announcement for some pretty big news. So, without any further humming and hawing, here goes… cue drum roll, smoke machine and laser beams. After 3 years of intense work, sleepless nights and plenty of hair pulling… the full Consortium rulebook (Digital Version) is now available for everyone who wants a copy! I will pause for a moment while you run outside and scream for joy.
Digital copies have now been sent out to all our amazing backers. Check to make sure that you’ve received one if that was a reward you chose. For those of you who may not have gotten in on the Kickstarter you can now head over to our online store and pick out your digital copy. Physical rulebooks won’t be far behind. The proof is being sent to Ed as I write this and we expect to have it in time for purchase at MCM Comicon. Thank you for being one of the first to see this game’s potential, to love the Consortium universe and to have the confidence to back us. We absolutely could not have done this without you.
Once you get your copy of the full rulebook we would love to hear what you think. Send us a comment, write us an email or just post us a photo with you and your rulebook on our Facebook or Twitter feeds.
Catch you later!
– A
Lyres Kickstarter, Consortium Proof and Lyres Final Version
Hi everyone!
As usual, I’ve been busy this week, but here’s a short summary of what I’ve been doing:
Era: Lyres Kickstarter
I’ve been focusing a lot of my time on the Era: Lyres Kickstarter.
It is going rather well right now – we’ve broken our first Stretch Goal, so all backers will get a Digital Map of the City of Yarnolth.
I’ve added a number of videos, including a highlight reel of the Dice and Stuff first session and 2 character creation videos to show you how it’s done.
I’ve included a few addons I’ve been asked for, including Era: The Consortium rulebooks not yet available on the Store and an opportunity to obtain a print-level quality version of the Map of Yarnolth or even a version printed on cloth and shipped to you!
Era: The Consortium Physical Proof
A long-awaited day has arrive for me: I have held the final version of Era: The Consortium’s rulebook in my hands.
The proof is not quite right – it needs a few modifications (due to printing limitations), so I’m not going to be posting images of it at this stage – forgive me for that – but it is a massive step forwards. This proof is the front end of the printing for the “standard” paperback edition of the Era: The Consortium Core Rulebook.
The first step towards being printed.
Era: Lyres Final Version
I have been working to complete the first version of Era: Lyres, because I’d like to be able to offer it at MCM Comicon in May.
It’s going well – the version is going to be slightly shorter than the final (“Deluxe”) version offered in the Kickstarter, but I believe it will give people what they want!
So, that’s most of what I’m doing right now… check back next week for another exciting installment!
– Ed
A new interview and Co-ordinates to find us at MCM!
Ed has been busy the last few weeks grabbing everyone who will sit still for two minutes to tell them about what we do here at Shades of Vengeance. From little old ladies waiting at bus stops to muscled cycling enthusiasts at the gym; he’s out there working hard to get peoples attention. And it’s working! He recently showed up on another interview; this time with Geek Apocolypse. Check out two hours of conversation on Ed’s opinions from anything to everything; including Era: Lyres.
Speaking of Lyres, thanks to all the backers who supported this game we’ve just broke past the first stretch goal! Congratulations and thank you for helping to make our dreams a reality. Now every backer will get a digital copy of the map of Yarnolth. After listening to the requests and comments of our fabulous backers, Ed has been persuaded to develop some add on items with our rewards so go check out the Kickstarter to see what’s new!
If you’ve seen our frontpage lately you might be wondering why we’ve changed. Well, we’re currently displaying a poster for the Era: Lyres Kickstarter on our frontpage as a way to let folks who might not be getting our regular updates know what’s been going on. We want to remind people what games we have available to support so that we can continue to provide new and amazing RPG’s.
Last thing for today and then I’m going to let you go. We know where we’re going to be at MCM! I hope you’ve got your tickets and plans made to come see us on May 22nd -24th at MCM Comicon in London. You can find us at table number 1333 near the S7 entrance. Stop by and play a game with us, chat us up about Consortium or any of our other games and ask any question you like. We love talking to fans! We also love cookies…seriously, bring cookies.
See you next time!
– A
Dice and Stuff – Technical Errors
Hi everyone…
I’m really sorry to not be able to bring you your weekly fix of Dice and Stuff this week.
They’ve had some technical errors according to this post.
I’ll let you know as soon as they tell me they are up and running again!
– Ed
Everything’s Better when it’s Supersized! – The Oracle
Don’t you agree? If I’m going to have a burger; I want it to have all the extras. If I’m going to have a pizza; make mine supreme. If I want a…well, you get the idea and I’m making myself hungry.
The Kickstarter version of the Era: Lyres rulebook is going to be the big one, the luxury model… the deluxe edition! We’re going to pack in all the extras we can; like audience stats and more sample characters. Of course there’s also going to be the map if we can make that Stretch goal. What I’m trying to say here is that we’re pulling out all the stops and we plan to make this first edition of the Era: Lyres rulebook the ultimate experience.
The editions that come after the Kickstarter won’t have these extras. You’ll still receive a beautifully laid out rulebook (created by our Era: The Consortium layout artist, Keith) but it’s not going to be quite the same. I recently took a sneak peak at the rulebook and was blown away. Keith did an amazing job and you can really tell that he loved working on this project. I can’t wait for you all to see it.
So. If you want to get the best copy, the one with all the bells and whistles, the one that’s going to make your friends jealous…you’ll want this first edition. Stop over to the Kickstarter and take a look. Every version of the first edition rulebook will be deluxe!
Before I leave you there’s just one last thing I wanted to mention. The latest Dice and Stuff podcasts are up and ready to be enjoyed. The crew are stretching their skills and it looks like they just might end up being some pretty talented Lyres!
Until next time!
– A
An Afternoon with a Creator – The Oracle
Things can be stressful. We get that. You spend all your time at a day job where they likely don’t realize how amazing you are and how amazing the game you’re designing is going to be. We’re here for you. Sometimes the process of creating a game is a slow one.
At Shades of Vengeance, we know that game creators have busy day time schedules so we don’t push them to move fast and that’s why we’ve got days like this one where I don’t have much to tell you. I will tell you that all the games are still being worked on. I just don’t have any big news right now.
So, that’s why we thought today would be a great time to let you in on what’s it like to be a game creator. Give you a chance to see why they do what they’re doing and how it all started. So to kick us off I’ve asked our own Ed Jowett a few questions and you get to see for yourself what being a game creator is really like. As we get time I’ll incorporate our other creators into these interviews as well. Let’s get started!
The Oracle:
Making games for yourself is a great idea, but why help others? Doesn’t that just create competition for you?
Ed:
An interesting question, and one I’ve been asked several times!
Creating games is the important thing to me. There are people out there with some brilliant ideas which, currently, will never become a game. How many of us have just one game on our shelves or in our cupboards? I don’t think I’ve ever met anyone who falls into that category. So I don’t see other games as competition, just more opportunity to give a new person a chance to try Tabletop RPGs and find they love them!
The Oracle:
What is the hardest part of creating a game and how did you overcome it?
Ed:
The hardest part of creating a game is finding the confidence to go ahead with the idea. Unless you’re supremely arrogant, the first thing that comes to mind is “why should anyone buy my game instead of someone else’s?”
Answering that question is often the major milestone in developing your game.
For me, I was very much helped by the people who interacted with the game in its early days… and I want to help provide that opportunity to other people, in case they don’t have people around them who know enough about gaming to support them.
The Oracle:
What do you like best about helping other game creators?
Ed:
I like most the chance to see peoples’ ideas come to life.
Just recently, I sent out the digital versions of Order of the Link, a game which the creator had worked on for more than 30 years, never believing anyone would pay money for it – he didn’t think his idea was worth anything. I can’t put into words how happy I am to have proved him wrong, and I look forward to continuing to work with him on an expanded rulebook for Order of the Link!
The Oracle:
Why should someone choose a Tabletop RPG over other games, like mobile or computer games?
Ed:
Again, a very common question. The answer is actually fairly simple: width of choice. Until we have AI that can adapt dynamically to decisions (and I should say at this point that I studied AI while at University and wrote a dissertation on AI in computer games!), we are limited by the pre-programmed options that the developer thought of.
A Human, on the other hand, can adapt the story to anything the players want to do.
The Oracle:
What is your biggest piece of advice to others wanting to get into the industry?
Ed:
Get in contact with us if you’re not sure whether your idea is good enough, whether it can sell. We will help you.
Thanks very much to Shades of Vengeance creator, Ed Jowett for taking the time to answer these few questions. That about wraps it up for today. If you’ve got some of your own please don’t hesitate to throw them out here either in the comments or in an email and we’ll be sure to get back to you.
Until next week!
– A
Congratulations to Counting Down From One! – The Oracle
Counting Down From One has now finished its Kickstarter event and is totally funded! We’re really happy that this great story is going to get a proper finish and we thank everyone who took the time to support us; from helping to fund the project to passing it along and spreading the word. It’s been fantastic to see this comic evolve over the three act story. I know you’re going to enjoy it.
Right now we’re waiting on the artist to complete the last 7 pages of the third Act in the series. After those pages are created it can move on to lettering and finally coloring. Our artist has been ill for the past several days but even with that small delay we’re still on track to get this finished on time! I’ll keep you posted as this project nears completion.
Here’s a page for you – hot off the press, just came in to Ed:
Also, I have some really exciting news about the Digital Version of the Consortium Core Rulebook. We’ve sent it out to all Kickstarter backers! The physical rulebooks will be coming out shortly and we predict that we will have them with us by the time we attend MCM Comicon in May.
Ed has been busy stocking up on mailing supplies in preparation. So, if you’re wandering around London and you find yourself staring at a small flat with packing bubbles, rolls of tape and postage boxes hanging out the window then you’ve found Ed’s house. Stop by and say hello.
So what’s next for the Consortium universe?
Well, Shaun Hardcastle has not yet been brought to justice and I believe Hayden Bank has something stealthy and dangerous hidden up their sleeve. Shades are still out there!
See you next time!
– A
Single-minded
Hi everyone!
If you’re wondering what I’m doing, I’m working on one thing and one thing only!
Era: The Consortium’s full rulebook is going through the final layout tweaks, and I’ve been working on it solidly this week. I am going to get it to the printer today, so I’m going to get right back to it.
Forgive my brief note this week!
– Ed
MCM and a Website Makeover – The Oracle
MCM Comicon London (May 22nd – 24th) is getting closer! We can’t wait to get in and run some sessions with everyone. You are coming aren’t you? There will be games to play and you’ll have a chance to sit down with the Era games’ creator, Ed Jowett, as well as a few of the Alpha playtesters who helped to shape the games. I’ll let you in on what you can expect to see when you stop by our event table. Remember, some of the things we’re going to bring will only be available at the convention.
-Games to Play-
Era: The Consortium – The Last Stand of Stilleto Unit session
Era: The Consortium – Counting Down From One session
Era: Superhero Chronicles (We’ve had Ed work up a teaser session, specially for MCM!)
Order of the Link
Amazing Space Adventures
-Comics to Buy-
Last Stand of Stilleto Unit – Physical Version (only obtainable from conventions!)
-Games to Buy-
Era: The Consortium Primer and (for the first time!) Full Rulebook
Era: Lyres (It might be tight but we’re really hoping to bring this game!)
Order of the Link
Amazing Space Adventures
We’ve got plenty of things to keep you busy and we know you’re going to have a great time!
In other news; I mentioned we’re going to have a bit of a website makeover. Well, in between developing games, writing backstory, marketing, fulfilling rewards and saving kittens from tall trees, Ed is also going to be personally revamping our website. He will put his extensive programming experience to work in order to spruce up and give the site a different look. The changes will be coming slowly as he makes time for it so keep an eye out.
I’ll let you go today with a couple of Kickstarter announcements. First, Counting Down From One has finished its Kickstarter and is fully funded. We thank you, thank you, thank you for all your support! It was wonderful working on the comic and we really hope you enjoy reading it. Second, the Era: Lyres Kickstarter is still ongoing with just under one month remaining. I encourage you to check it out because we’ve got some great rewards going on and the rulebook edition printed for that won’t be available once it’s over. Spread the word and feel free to shout us a question or let us know what you’d like to see. That’s it for me!
Until next time!
– A
So much to choose from, so little time!
Hi everyone!
There are more things to choose from than time this week on Dice and Stuff!
First, you can check out the new Era: Lyres podcast, Laundry Day (It’s hilarious, once again, by the way!). The Kickstarter is still running, and you can find that here.
As if that’s not enough, there’s also a new Consortium session!
That should keep you going for a few days at least…
Until next week!
– Ed
Which Way To The Pub? – The Oracle
If you’re going to set up as a Lyre in Yarnolth there’s something very important that you’re going to need: a map. If you don’t have a map to make notes on, you’ll never remember that the baker on King’s Way promised you a loaf of day old for vanquishing that Manticore. Or that the folks on Market Square are gullible as sheep on Sunday mornings after a night of hard drinking.
Our creative team love maps! Treasure maps, terrain maps, star maps, and even the annoying paper folding road maps. It’s a marvelous way of getting to know the world you’re in. So, that’s why we’ve decided to create a map of Yarnolth, in the style of something you might find in a Lyre’s hidden pocket; complete with useful commentary.
If our Kickstarter reaches the Map of Yarnolth Stretch Goal, then everyone who’s backed us gets their own copy! If not… well, we like it so much we’re still going to make the map but it will only be available as a separate purchase through our website. Not a bad deal, but if we can make that Stretch Goal then everybody gets the benefit. Pass the word to everyone who loves a good laugh!
Keep on rolling!
– A
We Keep Moving Forward – The Oracle
Order of the Link Digital Rulebook Primers have been sent out and should all be received by now. If you’re one of the awesome people who backed this game, make sure you’ve received your reward and thanks again for such great support!
For those who may be asking, “But, Oracle, I didn’t get in on the Kickstarter…am I forever doomed to live a life without this game?” No my friend…no you are not. Because we are a merciful company and we’d love to see Order of the Link enjoyed by as many people as humanly possible, this will be made available for sale through our online store very shortly.
Right now we’re in the process of getting the other rewards finalized. The printed proof should be in the hands of our esteemed Ed Jowett who will go through his exhaustive process of making it spectacular. If I ask really nicely, perhaps he’ll let me show you a photo when it’s farther along. Also, the Stretch Goal rewards are nearly completed and you can expect to see those 20 pre-made characters appearing on the website soon, on a sub-page under the Order of the Link site.
Our other games are all being worked on right now with special focus on Frontier which is going to get some new art. Happy Sunday everyone and keep those dice rolling!
That’s it for me!
– A
End of an Era (That is, an Era: The Consortium Comic Kickstarter)! – The Oracle
This is it folks! We’re down to the final hours of our first full-length comic Kickstarter. Counting Down From One ends in only 24 hours from the posting of this announcement! If you’d like to know what happens to our team of brave time travelers hop on over to the Kickstarter and pick up a copy of this 21 page full color comic. No pushing, no shoving and make an orderly line to the finish!
In rulebook news; Ed received the final layout pages earlier this week. He is at this moment making comments and small changes here and there. All this fine tuning is going to make the end product beautiful and I can’t wait to show it off when it’s finished. For now I can let you have a sneak peak. Enjoy!
See you next time!
– A
Era: The Consortium, Order of the Link and Counting Down From One!
Hi everyone!
Just a brief post this week, because I’m really busy!
Era: The Consortium’s Rulebook has been delivered to me with full layout. I have quite a few comments on it, but it’s just a case of tweaking now to get it perfect.
Order of the Link’s Digital Rewards have been sent out, and I’ve got the proofs being ordered for both International A4 and US Letter. As soon as they arrive, we’ll be looking over them carefully to make sure they are perfect before sending the books out to you!
Finally, Counting Down From One’s Kickstarter is coming to the end (about 48 hours left now!), so I’m working on just spreading the word a little more. A last push should get this comic out to a few more people!
Thanks, everyone, for all your support on these campaigns!
– Ed
Working for the Weekend – The Oracle
The team here at Shades of Vengeance have come up with an idea. See, we love being creative and we’d love a chance to share what we know with everyone who cares to listen. In order to do that we’ve been throwing around the idea of starting a podcast where we share our ideas, tips, tricks and anything else we think you’d like to know about the world of being creative.
I don’t have any specifics for you just yet but I’ll keep you posted when we decide where we’d like to move ahead with this. If you’ve got something you want us to talk about, drop us a line and we’ll try to include it. Helping other people join us in this wild ride of making our creative dreams come true is absolutely brilliant and we can’t wait to start sharing what we know!
Quick update on both of the Kickstarters that we have running at the moment. Counting Down From One is within its last 48 hours! Time is running out to get yourself a copy of this first full-length Consortium comic. We’ve got 15 pages looking great (a few still being lettered!) with the rest on the way. Check it out and ask your friends to take a look.
The Lyres Kickstarter is now just over 150% funded. Way to go!! We’ve got some time left on this event but don’t leave it until the last moment or you might miss your chance at this unique take on RPGs. Check out our Lyres page for details about the game and upcoming news.
That’s all folks!
– A
Dice and Stuff this week!
Hi everyone!
There’s no new Dice and Stuff this week, due to the Easter Weekend… which makes this the perfect time to catch up, or re-listen to all the episodes again!
Check everything Dice and Stuff is doing out at their website.
– Ed
Stretching for those Goals! – The Oracle
Now that Lyres is completely funded thanks to the support of all you fabulous people – have we told you that you look smashing today? – it’s time to focus our energy on achieving some of these Stretch Goals. We’re getting close to our first!
Travis Hill is on the alert and ready to start his contribution to the book should we get that far. We’re really pleased with how everything is going and we’ve still got nearly a month to go! The best thing you can do if you’d like to see Lyres reach a little further is just talk about it. Pass along the Kickstarter to friends, family and even that gorgeous store clerk you’ve been meaning to ask out. Seriously, there’s no better ice breaker than, “Would you like to play a hilarious game?”
Before I leave you today I want to share with you a little bit of light reading. You can check out Lyres on the website Table Top Gaming News where they wrote a really nice article about us. You can also stop by the GMShoe website where there is a lovely transcript of the Q&A that Ed and I took part in for RPGNet. Thanks again to Dan and everyone who took the time to check in, ask questions and get to know us. As always if there are questions you have that haven’t been answered please drop us a line!
Until next time!
– A
Where are they now? – The Oracle
It’s time for me to do a round up of all the great games we’ve helped creators to bring to life as well as those we’re currently working on with the creator! We’ve got six games in all and here they are in no particular order.
Amazing Space Adventures – Do you remember when we first started making games, oh so long ago? ASA was our pilot program and with your help we put out a classic sci-fi RPG. Just because we’re done developing it doesn’t mean we’re forgotten it. This game is still available on our website and we have plans to bring it with us to our next convention. Come ready to play!
Order of the Link – This game has raced through Kickstarter and now we’re working on delivering rewards – Ed delivered the Digital Versions yesterday! We were so excited to get everything to you that we had it all ready to go before Kickstarter was ready for us and thus the reason for a slight delay that you may have noticed. Until Kickstarter releases the funds we’re only able to order a printed proof – we need the money for printing. So here we sit, all dressed up and nowhere to go! We expect it won’t take much longer for it all to clear up and you can be looking for your Physical rewards very soon.
Marked for Death – Are you ready to try your hand at magical assassinations? Good, because we need your help. We’d like to open up a call for beta testers to anyone who might be interested in playing this unique game and giving us some honest feedback. We’re having a fun time with it and we’d love to see what you think. For a beta tester packet contact Ed Jowett; ed.jowett@era-games.com
Frontier – The team is working hard to pull this game together and they’re doing a bang up job of it right now. If you’re a fan of the Era D10 ruleset you’ll want to put this game on your watch list. Ed has put some time and effort into developing a multiple D6 rule set with a similar principle!
Defend the Planet – One of our newer games. With Ed’s help the creator has been working on game mechanics, rules, and story. They’ve made some good progress in the development of this FATE module. It’s moving along nicely and I hope to have more news to share with you soon.
Collisions – Our brand new title, fresh out of the creator’s imagination! At this point we’re going through preliminary settings and all that start up information so I don’t have much to tell you. This game will use the Era D10 ruleset and Ed will tailor it for a perfect fit.
Well, that about wraps it up. I’ll be back next week with some more news about these great games!
Until next time!
– A
The Consortium – A History in Profiles: Shaun Hardcastle – The Oracle
The life and legacy of Shaun Hardcastle is the Greek Tragedy of the Consortium universe. His ancestry and company history trace all the way back to 25CE, with the very first transportation contract. From the height of his position as CEO he lived an unsurpassed life of luxury with his wife and triplet sons. However, things were not always easy for this hardened man of business. I wonder if anyone could have predicted what was about to happen.
Shaun was a man who thought in angles and advantages; one step ahead of everyone around him until that one fateful day when it all came crashing down. The Big Seven levied short sighted financial sanctions against Hardcastle Haulage for a bit of sideline smuggling while at the same time his three ambitious sons and spiteful wife swept in to wrestle control of the business from him. But, did Shaun Hardcastle let some petty backstabbing stop him? Of course not!
It could be argued his actions following the takeover were ill advised…reactionary…certainly criminal, and quite possibly clinically disturbed. After all, attacking the cities of Arawn with a pirate armada of 60 ships might be seen as a bit extreme. Then again, what would you do to someone who took everything you’d worked your entire life to build?
Follow Shaun’s story in our Consortium rulebook and take a look at our Time Travel Sessions. Perhaps you’d like to do things differently!
Quick reminder that our comic, Counting Down From One, will only be available through Kickstarter for 7 more days! Jump in there and get your copy before the only thing left will be regret!!
Until next time!
– A
Loads going on!
Hi everyone!
We’re got loads of things going on right now, and you’ll have the chance to get involved with any of them!
– We’ve got the Era: Lyres Kickstarter 150% funded already, with more than 30 days to go, so we’re hoping to spread the word about that some more before we finish.
– We’ve got the Counting Down From One Kickstarter, our first comic Kickstarter, coming to an end in about a week. It’s funded, so check it out if you’d like to get hold of a full-length comic about the Consortium!
– We’re opening a couple of our games to beta testers, so watch for Sunday’s announcement from The Oracle!
– We’re working on changing the way we do certain things, such as Patreon, and we hope to offer you a new opportunity to enjoy our various creative work.
– On Saturday, Dice and Stuff will be releasing their next Consortium podcast and on Sunday, I’m told, their next Lyres podcast!
We’ve been able to do these things only thanks to your support. Thanks so much for helping us out.
– Ed
In the Business of Being Creative – The Oracle
We here at Shades of Vengeance love to create. We’re writers, artists, designers and just generally those crazy type of folk who love to make something out of nothing. It’s what we do. So, nothing gets us fired up more than being able to help others create their vision.
Do you have a new idea for a game? We’d love to hear what it is. Our roster is chock full of wonderful games that we’ll be working through the next few months to create but we do have room for more! As a team we can supply you with help developing your backstory, game content, rules, amazing works of art and so much more. We’ve run several successful Kickstarter events and we’re confidant that we can find people who would love to play your game. Get in touch with us today and talk to Ed about your new game ideas!
I’ve got two more quick reminders for you today.
The Era: Lyres Kickstarter is 100% funded and heading towards Stretch Goals!! Thank you to everyone who’s helped us so far! We’ve got Travis Hill sitting in the wings just waiting for us to reach that first goal as well as a fantastic map from Dramascape if we can push even farther.
Also, our Consortium comic; Counting Down From One, is fully funded and entering its final week in Kickstarter. There are some great rewards with this comic; the full 21 page book, personally written stories and sketches from our artist as well as copies of the Consortium rulebook.
We’ve got games and comics so there’s something for everyone. There’s still time to make some of these Stretch Goals for both projects so pass this along and let’s see how far we can take this. We thank you so much for your help!
Until next time!
– A
