Chosen

November Update!!!
over 1 year ago – Wed, Nov 20, 2024 at 01:28:13 PM

Greetings, Chosen!!!

It's been another long month working on the details of the game. I will say that Metatopia was a smashing success! I received quite possibly the most helpful feedback I've had to date. The game is in a very good place (evocative is the word several used to describe it), but there's still work to do.

It's become apparent that there's a vast difference between how the game functions when played solo versus how it plays when there is a group. When played solo, the game presents the narrative journey of an anti-hero. When played as a group, much of the narrative gets pushed to the wayside in favor of simple monster bashing.

As a result, I'm currently knee-deep in rewriting a few things (primarily prompts and abilities) to improve the gaming experience from a group perspective. Changing the writing has changed some of the layout, so I hope to make these changes in time to get a copy for Pax Unplugged. However, that window is quickly closing.

We're getting there, folks. It's just taking longer than I would have liked. The reactions of those who have seen the progress thus far have been totally worth it, though.

As I was typing this, the Chosen tabletop banner arrived. It turned out great!!! I'll use this banner as a flag for my table during the RPG Designer Meet & Greet at Pax Unplugged and whenever I'm at Games on Demand (unless the players want me to run Broken Tales, which will be offered opposite Chosen).

I will post another update in mid-December to let you know where we are in the development timeline. With a little luck and a lot of determination, the message will be that your game is getting reviewed by the editor or is ready to take on that task.

For those who practice Thanksgiving, I hope you have a happy one! I am thankful for so much, including you all. If you don't observe the holiday, have a great rest of the month!

Sincerely,
Joe Weaver - Creator

October Update!!!
over 1 year ago – Wed, Oct 30, 2024 at 02:24:46 PM

Greetings, Chosen!!!

Happy Devil's Day!!! I don't know about you all, but this month has flown by for me. It's been a month of working on book layout and edits, purchasing art, doing more work on layout, and continuing to tweak the Chaos Engine. I also playtested Chosen again, this time at Gamehole Con in Madison, WI.

I want to take a moment to thank my players from Gamehole for their amazing gameplay and feedback. It's one thing to run a playtest, but it's something else to get really good, productive feedback. The benefits a productive playtest provides for games in development can't be overstated. Thanks to their input, I will make a few more changes to the Chaos Engine geared toward immersion. 

Since I'm just aiming for a test copy at Pax Unplugged, I won't send the manuscript to printers for mass production until December. That means I won't be locking addresses until we get closer to shipping.

For those going to Pax Unplugged, I will participate in the RPG Designer Meet & Greet at Games on Demand on Saturday, Dec. 7th, from 10:00 a.m. to 10:55 a.m. Feel free to come by and say hi. I'm not sure how busy it will be, but I'll happily talk about Chosen, next year's planned project, and potential ideas for the future.

Also, thank you to everyone who took a few minutes to fill out your survey! The number hasn't moved since September, so I'm pretty sure we can call that one.

Progress (minor and major)

Minor
New Seal of the Order
As you can see on the media banner, I've changed the design of the Seal of the Order to a more finalized version. This "Crowned Skull" version of the seal has replaced the previous design throughout the book.

Dedicated Abilities Section
I originally planned to have two-page spreads of each playbook. However, I've changed my mind, and each playbook is now limited to one page with an "Abilities Overview." Detailed descriptions of abilities will go in a section specifically for that to prevent the situation where details end up too for the page, and I'm stuck spending extra time editing the descriptions. This would have been "major" progress if I had come to this conclusion last week, but I got this idea the first day I began adding abilities to the playbooks, so I saved myself some trouble.

Name Change
I changed the name of one of the Paths. I'm not sure if I've mentioned The Ashen before, but that Path is now called The Conduit. Conduits channel spirits from the void to aid them in battle. The Conduit's appearance changes to that of who they're channeling, and the weapons of the individual manifest from the void for The Conduit's use. "Ashen" is now the official name of the type of spirit used.

Map Change
I also made a few minor changes to the map.

Miscellaneous
A few other details that don't merit much attention (mechanic tweaks, art swaps, etc.)

Major
All the art for Character Paths/playbooks has been purchased and is in place. The last thing for the playbooks will be updating the page numbers and reference page numbers for each Path's abilities. With a total of 14 Paths to choose from, players have a lot of options. For those who like to do things their own way, mixing and matching abilities from different Paths/Houses to create a custom Path could also work. After all, it's your Eclipseborn. Tell the story you want to tell.

With that said, I would like to share one playbook from each house, so let's get started. A few things to know going in:
VP = Vitality Points (Health)
Connection = 1 of 3 attributes, represents a character's bond with the world itself
Cunning = 1 of 3 attributes, represents a character's strength of mind
Combat = 1 of 3 attributes, represents a character's combat prowess
CR = Combat Roll
Chaos Roll = A feature roll where high risk comes with high reward, 50/50 odds
MPD = Miles Per Day
SKD = Strike Damage (any non-magical damage)
SUD = Supplemental Damage (any magical damage, the type of dmg is in parenthesis)
Italicized words are mechanics in the game.

These pages will be digest size (5.5x8.5) and are pretty much ready for the editor (after the updates mentioned above). I'm definitely in the home stretch now.

Final Thoughts

I'll be sure to get you guys another mid-month update in the next couple of weeks. I'm going to Metatopia for the 1st time next week. From what I've heard, it is THE convention for designers to attend. Shout out to Pete Petrusha for inviting me to come along this year! I'm looking forward to hearing what other creators think of the game.

That said, I'm ecstatic that we're so close to the finish line!!! It's not completed yet, but the book is together enough that it definitely has a soul. I'm just thankful I get the chance to bring it to life.

By the way, I would love to hear what you guys think of the art/book style in the comments! I've spent a good deal of time making sure I got the aesthetic I was searching for. Have an amazing and safe All Hallow's Eve, and you'll hear from me again soon!

Happy Hunting,
Joe Weaver - Creator

Mid-Month Update!!!
over 1 year ago – Tue, Oct 08, 2024 at 06:30:19 PM

Hey everyone,

I hope your October has been spooktacular thus far! I, for one, love this time of year. I took some time to sit down and write out what was left for development today. After doing so, I felt I needed to get you this update.

Today, I realized I've been miscalculating my time projections for about two months because I've been overlooking two key steps of the process. One is editing, and the other is printing a test copy of the main book to ensure everything is as it should be. Test copies for small books aren't always necessary, but I'm aiming for high quality, so I'm not cutting corners. With that said, I have good news and unfortunate news.

I believe in ending on a positive note, so I'll tell you the unfortunate news first. Although I have an editor, I'm not done with the book yet, so their eyes have not graced its pages. Since they haven't seen it, a test copy is a no-go, at least not yet. Ultimately, this has me thinking that it's highly unlikely I'll have early copies ready for Pax Unplugged :(. At the very least, I would like to be able to take a test copy with me, though.

The GOOD news is that this shouldn't affect the original promise of a January fulfillment. Being done in time for Pax Unplugged was more of a personal goal, but I'm not going to rush something when I know it would decrease quality. Mistakes happen, but my epiphany today definitely gave me that noob sensation of a learning curve. After last month's updates, I apologize to anyone hoping to pick up their copy early at Pax. I had hoped to have the game ready by then.

You guys deserve every penny of what you paid for, so that's what I intend to give you. I've even decided to add something at the end of the book as a bonus for your contributions to making this dream come to life. This was my first attempt at crowdfunding...ever, and the statistics aren't great for first-time Kickstarters. However, you guys made it happen.

Thank you all, and I can't wait to get Chosen into your hands.

Sincerely,
Joe Weaver - Game Creator

September Update!!!
over 1 year ago – Mon, Sep 30, 2024 at 12:44:25 AM

Greetings, Chosen!!!

It's been a long month of birthdays (including mine) and fighting off the onset of the Fall sick season, but we're finally here! I have a lot to share tonight, so I'll get right down to it.

First, let me say that 11 people still haven't filled out the survey. If you plan to do that, your opportunity window will close soon. I just wanted to mention it one last time. Chances are that the next monthly update will be a lead-in to locking addresses.

Next up are some reveals. These are the first few pages of The Armory, including some submitted weapons (more on that after the pages). You may see yours here. If not, fear not—The Armory is still being compiled.

Again, I want to thank everyone who pledged to the higher reward tiers. You guys are amazing and have submitted awesome material! I still have formatting to do for Scourge of Demon backers and The Legend backers, but everything I've seen is absolutely usable. That said, efficiency is the name of the game at this point when it comes to layout. Most lore/backstories will probably be omitted from the actual book entry.

HOWEVER, as those who are in the Discord already know, Advent Chaos (my brand) is now an official LLC. Chosen will be Advent Chaos' flagship game, and when I rework my website, I intend to reserve a section of it for an in-depth look at Chosen with lore pages, descriptions, stats, etc. The submitted backstories/lore for your weapons, NPCs, and more will have a home there. I'm super excited to get that set up, but it will have to wait until the game is submitted for printing.

I've also been working on the overall book layout and taking a hard look at the game's mechanics. In doing so, I've determined I will add one more Mindset. These determine how your Eclipseborn/Chosen approaches combat.
Mindsets
Brute allows a Chosen to carry a weapon one size larger than their body type.
Nimble grants a Chosen the ability to dual wield and gives -1 to Strike Damage taken.
The new mindset, Mender, allows a Chosen to mend weapons/armor without a smith as long as they have access to the necessary equipment. Menders can also sharpen weapons in the field, providing a +1 Strike dmg for one contract.

Another new addition is a Cannibalism mechanic. This is a dark time that sometimes requires drastic measures to be taken, so I thought up a mechanic that provides the Chosen with a buff for consuming a fallen monster. Beware, though, these buffs come at a cost and are irreversible.

Witches, for example, can cause Necromantic Saturation. A character who consumes witch flesh must make a Chaos Roll. A success provides immunity to necro dmg for 1D6 contracts. A failure results in the flesh on a limb becoming necrotic and falling from the bone. The limb continues to work as normal (including the head if that is the affected limb), but your choice will forever mark you. Characters suffer only one affliction per consumption. Consuming Eldritch flesh provides permanent Chaos Sight (eyes turn black). A character with Chaos Sight must make a Chaos Roll before every encounter to determine how their altered psyche aligns with that specific entity, which could make for some interesting situations. 

If you want to go a darker route, eating a fellow Eclipseborn is possible, but you take permanent shadow poisoning for it. In exchange, you gain one ability from the consumed Chosen. The player can either choose or roll for which one, as goes with all afflictions taken in this manner.

I'll share a couple more pieces of source art that are now in the book.

Image by Kalleeck/Shutterstock.com

Image by Warm_Tail/Shutterstock.com

Image by DomCritelli/Shutterstock.com

I think I've mentioned this before, but most of the pieces I license for use end up with filters on them. It just helps to get the right look. The original werewolf piece was monochrome. I wanted a more "full moon" look, and this was the result of playing around with colors/filters for a while.

Final Thoughts

We're rounding the last bend for Chosen's development. I can't thank you all enough. I will reach out with another mid-month update soon! If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact me!

Best,
Joe Weaver - Creator

Progress Update and Surveys
over 1 year ago – Wed, Sep 11, 2024 at 08:44:20 PM

Hey everyone,

I'm working my way through the surveys and have responses from everyone except 16 backers. If you're one of those 16 individuals, please check your email for the survey and fill it out. If you have any questions, feel free to reach out to me.Also, I mentioned that if anything significant changed, you would be the first to know. The book is coming along, but it seems I was a bit ambitious in judging how long it would take to format the game.

That said, I'm postponing the PDF release by about a month, maybe less. The goal is to release the PDF the same day I send the book to the printers. I indicated in the KS campaign that the release date for physical copies would be January 2025.

My goal, now, is to have copies for Pax Unplugged. The original timeline allowed for a Halloween release of the PDF and provided me a cushion for getting books printed and shipped. I'm simply removing the cushion. The PDF needs more work, but it should be ready for printing in time to take Chosen with me to Pax.

Backers who go to Pax Unplugged will then have the opportunity to take their rewards home with them. I will likely send a scheduled update sometime next week. I have more news related to Pax, but it can wait.

I also look forward to showing you examples of your submissions that have been formatted for the book! Until then, have a great week/weekend!!!

Best,
Joe Weaver - Creator