Hunt demons, eldritch horrors, and more in a world consumed by darkness. You are Chosen, but can you survive? (Supports 1-4 players)
Latest Updates from Our Project:
October Update 1.1...barely...
5 months ago
– Fri, Oct 31, 2025 at 11:02:36 PM
Happy Halloween, Everyone! (It's still Halloween on the west coast, right? lol)
Since I last sent out an update, I've had a wild month of health issues, gaming conventions, and a few other things, but November looks to be even more chaotic. I'm scheduled to work U-Con in Ypsilanti, MI, November 14-16. Then, one week later, I head to Philly for Pax Unplugged. The week after that, I'm heading to Colorado to visit family. This November is by far the busiest I've had in quite a while, so we'll see how it goes.
If any of you are attending either of the conventions I mentioned, I'm always down to talk games. I'll put a bit more info about those cons in the first November update. In any case, let's get to it.
I've been making headway on incorporating the convention working documents, including my monster charts, into the manuscript. There will be a setup like the one below for every contract monster in the game. Minor monsters/creatures will have a much simpler creation mechanic.
Here's an example manuscript entry for contract monsters. In this case, I chose the Witch. I love homebrewing, so I look forward to seeing/hearing which lists players tweak, what they use, and how they use them!
Posting these here, I already see there's a spacing issue with the "Magic Ability Chart" title text blocks. That's an easy fix, and I'll do that right after I finish typing this up.
Just as a reminder, there are six primary contract types: Demon, Vampire, Eldritch Horror, Werewolf, Witch, and Fiend. Abyssal creatures will have a creation table, but they are more of a "hunt for sport and try not to die" type thing. There will also be a "build your own custom monster" table. Monster creation has always been one of my favorite things to do, so I'm really enjoying this part of the design.
If you notice, the Witch has two "solvable" motivations. This allows solo and GM-less players to pursue non-violent solutions when these motivations are selected. A non-violent solution creates an NPC ally. Allies may travel with the player character, teach them something, trade something with them, etc. However, making allies of NPCs you would usually kill will have a negative effect on the PC's morality. As a designer, I'm always looking for ways to give players additional roleplaying options, and this seemed like an interesting one.
I'll likely put out the first November update before U-Con, and then I'll try to make a second one toward the end of the month. I hope all of you had an enjoyable and spooky October!
The next two weeks will be gone before we know it, so you'll hear from me again soon! Until then, happy gaming!
Sincerely, Joe Weaver - Creator
October Update 1.0!
6 months ago
– Mon, Oct 06, 2025 at 03:13:56 PM
Greetings, Chosen!
First, my wife's birthday was on October 3rd. We've already celebrated it, but I would still like to wish her a happy birthday here!!! If not for her encouragement and support, I might not be making my own games. While this has by no means been an easy process, I feel blessed to have the opportunity to create this game for you all and would not want to be doing anything else.
Second, I indicated a few weeks ago that I intended to do more than one update for September. Full transparency, my daughter's homeschooling has necessitated a more active role in her day-to-day education, which severely cut into my time working on the Chosen manuscript the past few weeks. Things appear like they will balance back out a bit here soon, but a Halloween release is looking less likely. I have a busy holiday season ahead of me, but I have absolutely no desire to take this project into 2026. The goal is to finish the year strong by completing the manuscript, hopefully before Pax Unplugged.
By the way, there was a typo in last month's update, where I described the updated Demon Blade ability. I said the ability allows you to control your demon sword "telepathically." The actual wording is, "A psychic bond with the demon in the sword allows for telekinetic control." In other words, you can control your demon sword without holding it. Using it still consumes one of your actions, but it opens up more opportunities to roleplay the character.
Now, for new update material! I have a little more to go, as I've decided I like the consistency of the "full-page scroll" visual versus "text windows" and must finish the conversion of a few other pages. The text window style just limited the use of the space so much. They were hard to work with and were a little distracting when reading the manuscript. However, there are a couple of places in the manuscript where I'm leaving the text window style because it adds character to those locations in the book. The majority of the book will be presented in this style, though.
With a layout like this, the pages are starting to fall in place. No more maneuvering windows to try to fit the text or stressing over how much text is getting on each page. It improves the page flow and frees up space that I, honestly, needed. As an added bonus, it provides an opportunity to drop in more page decoration, this time in the form of alchemical circles.
Alchemical circles play a key role in the world of Chosen. Order blacksmiths in-game build their forges on top of them, which is what allows them to bind alchemical elements to weapons/armor and provide Eclipseborn with top-tier monster-killing gear. If a smith isn't trained by the Order, their shop won't have alchemy-laced goods.
As I intended last month, I would like to release multiple updates this month. That said, I will be at Gamehole Con, which is October 16th-19th. If you attend the con and come by the Imagining Games booth, I'll happily give you a look at the manuscript.
That's all I got for right now, but you'll be hearing from me again soon!
Happy Gaming! Joe Weaver - Creator
September Update 1.0!
7 months ago
– Wed, Sep 17, 2025 at 03:56:25 PM
Greetings, Chosen!
This is the first of what will likely be two updates for the month of September. This month has seemed to fly by with multiple birthdays and family events for me and my family. I hope each of you is also doing well!
The first item on the update list is that I've corrected what I considered to be a design flaw in the book's layout. Until a couple of weeks ago, each character path was on a single page, featuring the path's title, artwork, and a brief overview of its abilities. The details of these abilities were to be listed in a separate "Abilities" section.
While reviewing the paths after a game at GrandCon, I realized that having abilities separate could work, but would eventually get on my nerves as a player. It makes more sense to simply be able to open to a path's location and have what I need. Saying it out loud, it seems like this should be a no-brainer, but sometimes you've got to take a step back to see the whole forest instead of just a bunch of trees.
Doing this meant reformatting the layout for half of the abilities and relocating everything to its proper position in the book. It wasn't too intensive, just tedious, but it was worth it. Now, each path features a two-page spread that showcases the path's art (no footer or text) and provides a detailed list of its abilities. Here's an example:
The second item on the update list is directly tied to the path abilities. Multiple abilities were updated during the review and relocation of the Abilities section, including some major changes and some minor ones. The first ability on each path's ability list is considered that path's "signature" ability. Players don't have to choose it, but lore-wise, it is what those paths are known for.
One of my favorite changes I made was the Sentinel's signature Demon Blade (formerly called Sword of Souls). I felt like it was lacking something and decided to try an idea at GrandCon. If you've seen Netflix's Castlevania series, you may be familiar with Alucard's telepathic connection to his sword. Well, I allowed a player to do that at a convention table in Grand Rapids. The result was amazing, so I decided to roll with it. Now, not only do you have a psychic connection to your Demon Blade, but you can also control it telepathically.
I'm currently working on the layout for the section explaining how Chaos Engine works, which I expect to finish before the end of the month. You will hear from me again when I do!
Until next time, happy gaming!
Joe Weaver - Creator
August Update!!!
8 months ago
– Wed, Aug 20, 2025 at 12:33:30 PM
Greetings Chosen!
Let me start by saying that, as is sometimes the case, there is not a lot to report this month. Development is exciting at times, and at other times it just feels like a grind against the clock. However, progress is progress.
I will say that Gen Con was a good experience. One of my players happened to be an acquaintance whom I had met before. He and the other players were very candid during their game session, providing some great feedback. I also had the opportunity to talk with that acquaintance for a while after the session ended (shout out to Paul B for taking the time to have a fruitful conversation about your experience).
I think I've mentioned before that convention sessions at this point are more preview than playtest. However, if there are details that can be improved, I will do so as long as it's needed or doesn't throw the development off the rails. Tweaks are often easy improvements that make quality of life better for the player. The development window is closing, though, so I suppose that makes these last few convention sessions before release some of the most important. As the game nears its final iteration, they are the proof of whether it works or not. Feedback has continued to be positive, so that's definitely a good sign.
I know I was quiet this month. However, September and October will likely be more months of multiple updates. These will include things like a look into the finalized system mechanics, a peek at the monster/enemies section, and a few other things that I think are exciting.
I'll close the update with this. I have my sights set on Halloween, folks. I'll be at GrandCon in Grand Rapids, MI, next weekend. The next convention I'm attending after that is Gamehole Con, two weeks before Halloween. I want to try to hammer what's left out between now and then. Time will tell, or as Volgrath the Dread Knight would say, "We'll see if the dark gods smile upon thee."
You'll be hearing from me again soon! Until then, happy gaming!!!
Joe Weaver - Creator
July Update 1.2: DrivethruRPG and Spotify
8 months ago
– Mon, Jul 28, 2025 at 08:49:54 PM
Greetings, Chosen!
I wanted to let you all know that all pre-release materials are now live on DrivethruRPG, except for the map of The Shadowreach, which has been submitted and will go live this week. For those who downloaded from Itch.io, these are the same files. Last week, there was some drama between Itch and their payment processors (Mastercard/Visa), and my main goal was to build an audience on Drivethru anyway. It just took a bit longer to submit everything.
I also decided I would share Chosen's development playlist with you. I mean, why not? Many of these songs have had a direct impact on Chosen itself. Certain songs stir specific emotions and help me get into a particular headspace. For example, the last two pages of the story text in The Return were inspired by/envisioned to the first 26 seconds of "Raise Your Flag." The playlist is, of course, free. You can find it on Spotify here:
I am scheduled to work Booth 458 for most of the con. I will be at Booth 464 for the majority of my time in the exhibit hall on Saturday. Feel free to stop by and say hi!
