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:
July Update 1.1: Map added as free download!
9 months ago
– Sat, Jul 19, 2025 at 02:18:30 PM
Hey everyone,
It occurred to me last night that I should create an ink-friendly version of the map to accompany the character sheets. I really like the book version of the map, but I also understand that multiple printings of items with backgrounds can add up in ink cost.
That said, I've added a background-free map of The Shadowreach to Itch with its accompanying map key. The download is free, so feel free to grab a map to go with your pre-generated characters if you'd like. Here's the link to the page: https://adventchaos.itch.io/chosen-world-map
Enjoy!
Joe Weaver - Creator
July Update: Drivethru and Itch
9 months ago
– Thu, Jul 17, 2025 at 06:31:23 PM
Greetings Chosen!
I hope that everyone is having a decent Summer! I wanted to get this out this week because I have a very busy schedule next week, and Gen Con is the week after that. I know you probably don't want to hear me ramble about how some fonts and I broke up with each other, when I planned on showing them the ultimate form of love (publication). Therefore, I will try to keep this short and sweet.
I'm still waiting for DriveThruRPG to approve the submissions I've made. A few of the pre-gens are live, but some aren't yet. That said, as promised in the last update, the pre-gens, the new character sheet, and the Chosen short story, "The Return," are now available for download. They're just on Itch.io. Apparently, DriveThruRPG likes to take its time if you're not an established publisher. Good info to know.
All of that comes at no cost to you, although I've set up the pre-gens and short story to accept donations. Every pre-gen has art that I licensed for the book as a background, so if a non-backer wants to toss a buck or two my way for the quality, I'm not going to argue.
As I mentioned in the opening, there have been some font changes that affected a few things, but they have been addressed. It was a headache. We'll leave it at that.
Other than that, I'm still banging away at the manuscript. I've got two weeks until Gen Con. Technically, I've got two weeks from yesterday because I will go down to help set up. We'll see where I am at the end of those two weeks. Currently, thanks to this week's struggles, it appears I'll need a bit longer for the PDF. My god, though, guys. I'm so excited to get this book to you!
Our booths at Gen Con are 458 (Imagining Games) and 464 (Mana Project). I'll be at Mana Project on Saturday, but will spend most of my booth time at the Imagining Games booth.
Lastly, I'm going to play around with Roll20 to see if I can get the map of The Shadowreach to work. If so, I want to do an online session and cast it somehow. You all are, of course, invited to come hang out and chat/watch. I'll let you know when the time for that comes. Meanwhile, stay safe out there, and I'll reach out to you again soon!
Best, Joe Weaver - Creator
June Update: Origins Fair, Downloads, and Timeline
10 months ago
– Tue, Jun 24, 2025 at 05:41:04 PM
Greetings, Chosen!
I hope everyone has been doing well since I last contacted you all! For those that don't know, Origins Fair was last week. I had planned to put out an update on Friday the 13th, but I realized I would have much more to share after Origins, and I'm SO glad I waited because this was probably the best playtest of Chosen I've had thus far.
Before I proceed with the rest of the update, I want to remind all my backers about the Discord server. I know I've mentioned this before, but it's been quite a while, and I think it's time to throw it out there again. In the coming months, I plan for the Advent Chaos Discord to become increasingly active. I will be posting more on the server, and I also plan to push it more when I run games at conventions. There will still be monthly updates, but if you want to stay connected to the day-to-day and week-to-week activities, I highly recommend joining the server. You can do so at the following link: Advent Chaos Discord
Origins Fair
Chosen Player: "I've played a lot of GM-less games, and this is the only one I've played that actually works."
Coming from a 25+ year gaming veteran, that is hands down probably the best praise this game has received to date. Players at Origins had two opportunities to play Chosen: one was a scheduled playtest and the other was an option at Games on Demand. GoD went the way of the alternative game (Broken Tales), but the one game of Chosen I DID get to run went smashingly well. Honestly, at this point, the "playtests" are more like previews than tests, but either way, it was definitely a success. I managed to grab a pic for you guys before cleaning up my table. In the picture, you can see a few new things, which work as a segue to the next part of the update.
Downloads
I've decided to release a few free PDFs while I finish the manuscript. First, I've written a short story set in the Chosen universe that will be included in the book. I now plan to release that story as a free PDF to anyone who wants to read it, as a means to both spread the word about Chosen and let you guys see some of the lore in action. Second, I have completely reworked the character sheets (you can see the new pregens in the above picture). The one included in the book will be a default version, but I will also make these new pregens free to download. Once I have the downloads set up, I will send out a message to let you all know they're available. I know having character sheets with no game isn't helpful, but at least you can play around with the pre-gens and have an idea of how the sheets will come together when you create your character. Here is the cover of the short story:
The Return is a short story that revolves around the vampire hunter Azriela Lee and her shadow team. It chronicles the moments that lead up to theOllenstad Massacre, the battle that earned Shadow Team Gorgorron their reputation as the fiercest in the entire Order.
The Pre-gens I've created feature all the team members from the short story.
I've already made a change to the sheets I used at Origins, as the footer on the back did not line up with the one on the front. The sheet(s) I'm posting below are likely the final iteration. In the book, the generic will be front/back, but one of the benefits of a 5.5x8.5 book is that a two-sided character sheet will fit on one side of 8.5x11 printer paper. The printable generic also has no background to save on ink. As you can see below, that is not the case with pre-gens.
And here is an example of one of the pre-gens:
Timeline
That brings me to the game's development timeline. I realize development is running long. However, sometimes reworks just need to happen. After a thorough review of my experiences playtesting the game, I concluded that I needed to modify how the system functioned. The game was too crunchy for narrative play, and some of its mechanics were unnecessary. For those who like crunch, those mechanics are still included with the game, but as optional rules. Considering the overwhelmingly positive feedback I was given at Origins Fair, it is clear that making the changes I did was the right choice.
With all of that said, I want to have a fully playable PDF ready for you all by Gen Con. How tall that order is has yet to be seen, but it is my goal nonetheless. If successful, that should mean I'll have physical copies for fulfillment by sometime in early October (depending on editing and print time) and be able to sell Chosen at Gamehole Con. As always, we'll see what tomorrow brings. That's all I've got at the moment. I look forward to the next update and encourage you to join the Discord if possible.
Until next time, happy hunting and have a safe 4th of July!
Thanks, Joe Weaver - Creator
May Update: Tweaks, Abilities, and...Canva (SMH)
11 months ago
– Mon, May 12, 2025 at 04:39:57 PM
Greetings, Chosen!
It hasn't quite been a month yet, but I wanted to go ahead and get this update out. It's been another busy few weeks working on the manuscript/layout. There have been a few bumps in the road since the last time I messaged you all. I had a minor surgery procedure done (got a good 4 inches or so of stitches in the top of my shoulder at the moment), and the future drama student that is my daughter was sick. I hope all of you are staying safe and healthy!
How is the game coming along? The edits for the portion of the book I sent to the editor are complete, and I'm in the process of finishing those revisions. I'm also continuing to make tweaks as I work my way through the book with layout. One thing I recently noticed was that I had strayed a bit from the role alchemy plays in the lore, so I changed the wording on path abilities and everywhere else elements are mentioned in the book to reflect the Order's focus on alchemy. Characters now even start with three alchemical essence pouches to enhance armor/weaponry (requires $$$), throw as alchemical "grenades" at susceptible enemies, or whatever other creative use you guys can think up for them.
Unfortunately, while making these specific edits, I went to check the page alignment with another page and realized that Canva's latest update may have added more work to my plate. I designed the game in Canva to this point because they have good design elements, and "grid view" showed you how each page aligned with the one next to it. However, Canva has updated the grid view to only show half of a page as the thumbnail instead of showing the entire page, which simply won't work for layout purposes.
I've been struggling with it like that for about a week, and it's just a pain. That said, I may have to finish general design and editing in Canva, then port the manuscript to Affinity for finishing touches. I have a friend who has experience using Affinity for layout purposes, so I won't have to operate simply on tutorials. It still sucks, but at least I have a "plan b."
The "To-Do" List The goal this week (and into next if needed) is to ensure that all path abilities are up to date and formatted in layout, work on a revised character sheet for the book, and (hopefully) get started on laying out "The Monsters of The Shadowreach" section.
Page Spreads I didn't make any page spreads for you guys before typing this up, but I should have more next time I reach out.
Happy belated Mother's Day to any moms out there! Dads, ours is up next month! Until next time...
Happy gaming, Joe Weaver - Creator
April Update #1: Mounts and Changes to Houses/Paths
12 months ago
– Thu, Apr 24, 2025 at 01:28:23 PM
Greetings Chosen,
I can't believe it's already been a month since the last update! I'm still working hard on the game, but let's go ahead and touch base. I've made a few more key changes over the past month that will directly affect player experience. In my efforts to make the game as fresh and streamlined as possible, I realized that some of the stretch goal Paths (subclasses in the game) had redundant aspects. I've reduced the Path count from 14 to 11 to fix this. The four "base" Houses (classes) will have two Paths each, while the three unlocked through stretch goals will have 1 Path each.
Another struggle during development has been how to handle special mounts. Before this month, some classes came with unique mounts while others didn't, and that never quite sat well with me. It needed revising, which has been addressed. Now, special mounts are something characters can quest to obtain and can be used by any character path. A couple of examples would be the volcano-dwelling magmawing (a wyvern/fiend hybrid) and poison gas-breathing rockclaw (a drake/mountain goat hybrid).
As I said, I've been working on streamlining information so you all can get into and start playing the game as efficiently as possible. On top of the changes I've made to the Houses/Paths, I've also moved Character Creation closer to the front of the book. One of the pleasant surprises of this month's layout progress is how the new layout allows the Character Path art to really shine.
Also, by narrowing the three stretch-goal Houses to one Path each, I was able to pick and choose from the best of the cut paths' abilities and enhance the three that survived the chopping block. One of those three is an entirely new Path for House Ydrâ called "The Nomad," which was heavily influenced by Guts from Berserk. Below are the revised opening pages of "Houses of the Order", the two Character Paths that survived the chopping block, and the new Nomad Path. Remember that some of the text looks too close to the paper's edge because the images were stretched to fit the two-page template.
Here are the three updated Volrathi Paths...
I'm really pleased with how the book is looking. Each day, I get a little more excited because we're getting closer and closer to wrapping up this project. I will say that the more I continue through the book, the more I question if I can get this out by the end of next month, though. That is still my goal, but time will tell on that front. The notes on the finished section of the book I sent to an editor have begun to roll in, so that process is moving along.
Honestly, I'm really just glad that one of my concerns isn't tariffs. Many of my friends and colleagues are dealing with increased costs, and I feel lucky that my project is small enough not to need an overseas manufacturer. I would rather not have to deal with that if possible.
I hope you all are well and look forward to what I can share in the next update!
