FINAL stretch goal: Roots of Old Kalduhr!
almost 5 years ago – Mon, Feb 24, 2020 at 01:28:06 PM

We are ready to reveal the FINAL stretch goal for the Trophy campaign. If we can hit $150K USD, we will unlock...

Roots of Old Kalduhr: The Trophy Gold Megadungeon! 

That's right: in the tradition of Undermountain, The Emerald Spire, Anomalous Subsurface Environment, The Temple of Elemental Evil, and others, we are aiming to create a megadungeon for Trophy Gold. Here's the pitch:

In the deepest part of the fell woods outside Fort Duhrin lie the ruins of Old Kalduhr, remnants of the mighty, debauched people that used to dominate the land. Many treasure-hunters have set out for these ruins in the hopes of recovering their secrets and antiquities, but most never make it; the forest, watered with the malignant blood of Old Kalduhr, shatters them. But what about those few who manage to survive the woods, who manage to find Old Kalduhr? What’s waiting for them when they get there?

Roots of Old Kalduhr is a megadungeon for Trophy Gold. In it, you’ll explore the ruins of an ancient civilization and learn the truth about what caused its fall. The exploration begins on the surface, in the heart of a terrible forest, but quickly gives way to a dazzling, subterranean city deep below the ruins. Impossible magicks, wondrous treasures, and chthonic horrors await those brave enough to enter.

What truth can be found in the roots of the world? What secrets do Old Kalduhr have yet to whisper?

From the very beginning, the core lore of Trophy's world has revolved around two things: the forest and the lost civilization of Old Kalduhr. This megadungeon will allow your play group to explore the rumors, history, and myths surrounding these aspects of the Trophy world, and we're dying to bring it to you. 

We have assembled an amazing team of writers to bring Roots of Old Kalduhr to life:

Natalie Ash, Litza Bronwyn, Mad Jay Brown, Aaron Burkett, Emily Care Boss, Linda Codega, Jason Cordova, Madeleine Ember, Cat Evans, Lowell Francis, Amanda Lee Franck, Fiona Geist, Cecil Howe, Oli Jeffery, Judd Karlman, Mike Martens, Kyle Maxwell, David Morrison, Epidiah Ravechol, Gerrit Reininghaus. Gabriel Robinson, Jesse Ross, Ramanan S, Fraser Simons, Skerples, Chris Stone-Bush, Jason Tocci, Sabine V, Michael Van Vleet, and Phil Vecchione. 

We'll be sharing more about these folks and their other projects in a future update, but for now, just know that they constitute some of the very best writers from the indie TTRPG scene, the OSR scene, and the Trophy creator community. 

Roots of Old Kalduhr will be a Digital Stretch Goal, designed for easy booklet printing. It will take a big effort to reach $150K USD, but we think we can do it, especially with your help. Please just keep spreading the word!

And thanks so much for your support! 

The end is near...
almost 5 years ago – Sun, Feb 23, 2020 at 03:26:37 PM

Hello! We are in the final hours of the Trophy campaign. This will be the last update before the campaign ends. Let's dig in! 

The Facebook Social Goal needs your help

We have unlocked two of the Social Goals, but there is still one more to go. The Facebook social goal currently has 203 of 350 shares needed to unlock the Expanded Treasure Tables for Trophy Loom. Sharing the FB post is an easy way for you to help the campaign in the final hours. You can find the FB post here.

BONUS Stretch Goal: Expanded Physical Books

We are making good progress on the Bonus Stretch Goal ($171K of $185K needed) but it's going to be very, very close. If you know anyone who would be interested in Trophy, please let them know about this campaign. Here are a few things you can emphasize when pitching the game:

• Trophy is a dark fantasy game that let's you create deep, rich stories of tragedy and horror without a lot of complicated rules. 
• When you back Trophy, you're not just getting the rules, but also 35 incursions to play in (including a megadungeon).
• You can start playing right away! The rules for Trophy Dark and Trophy Gold are available on the KS page, plus you get 12 Trophy Dark incursions the day after the campaign ends. 

The best time to get everything is now

We put together a wide variety of price points and options for this campaign so you'd have the flexibility to pledge for just the items you want. That said, if you intend to eventually get all the physical options (books, cards, dice, and tokens) the best time to do so is right now. You'll be able to get the hardcover books and add-ons individually after the campaign ends via the pledge manager, but the only way you can get them with the current set pricing is via Kickstarter. The Archivist pledge tier gets you all three books for $20 USD less than they will be post-campaign. The Treasure-Hunter tier gets you everything for $50 USD less than post-campaign. You also save on shipping with those two tiers. 

Climbing the Witch's Tower is now on Kickstarter

Another exciting Rooted in Trophy game is now on Kickstarter as part of Zinequest 2! This one is called Climbing the Witch's Tower.

At the top of the Tower lives the Witch. They have knowledge, power, wealth, beauty, and respect... and that's exactly what YOU want. Join a company of companions, each seeking something different from the Witch, each convinced that they're the one who will safely navigate the Tower as others fall by the wayside. Each of you has your own relationship with the Witch, and will be compelled by their Tower in unique ways.

Climbing the Witch’s Tower is heavily inspired by fairy tales like Kate Crackernuts, musicals like Into the Woods, and games like Bluebeard’s Bride. It is rife with tarot imagery and a dark fairytale aesthetic.

The Witch is Waiting.

Check out the campaign here.

Hester's Mill debuts at Con of the North!

Jesse debuted Hester's Mill, a Trophy Gold incursion, at Con of the North this past weekend. it was a big success! Jesse did a great Twitter thread re-capping his session, particularly the intense combat encounter with the archdemon Malphast. Read the thread here.

Estate Festivals of the Levasti Countryside

As you may know, a portion of the Trophy Loom book is being crowdsourced. Trophy has always had community creation buried deep in its DNA, and the Loom crowdsourcing is part of that. It's also a great chance for you put your own small stamp on the Kalduhr. 

The newest crowdsourcing is called "Estate Festivals of the Levasti Countryside." 

Bucolic. Pastoral. Steeped in tradition. The Levasti countryside is one of the most peaceful and beautiful places in the Kalduhr. It’s a land free of the stench of Ambaret and the terrors of Fort Duhrin, a place where you can live in harmony with the land, raise children, and grow old. But the people of the Levasti countryside are no fools—they understand that what they have is special, and that the Kalduhr has a long and terrible history which must always be remembered. They choose to remember this history through the tradition of the “estate festival,” in which the great landowners of the Levasti countryside throw feasts and fetes designed to honor a specific event from the past.

You can read the post and contribute here.

You can read (and contribute to) all the previous Loom posts here.

We're almost at the end! Thanks so much for continuing to spread the word about this campaign. We'll see you on the other side!

-The Trophy team

Just 6 days left!
almost 5 years ago – Sun, Feb 23, 2020 at 03:23:38 PM

Greetings! With just 6 days remaining in the campaign, we're making good progress on unlocking the final stretch goal, Roots of Old Kalduhr, but we still have a ways to go. Some updates...

Social Goals

Social goals are one of the best ways to give the campaign a push in its final days. Here's an update on where we stand with each of them:

We have 306 of 350 re-tweets needed to unlock the expanded monster tables. So close! Go here to help us reach that goal. 

We have 124 of 350 FB shares needed to unlock the expanded treasure tables. Go here to help us reach that goal. 

We have 78 of the 100 Doomed Treasure-Hunters needed to unlock the weapon generation tables. Learn how to help out here. 

Night Reign is now on Kickstarter

Night Reign is a Rooted in Trophy tabletop roleplaying game of stealth, guile, violence and devilry. You are a member of the Red Right Hand, a disgraced intelligence agency fighting a guerrilla war against covetous noble houses in the streets and atop the rooftops of Laenfendport, an Edwardian fantasy metropolis.

You can read all about it right here. 

Roots of Old Kalduhr Contributors

We're very excited to bring you Roots of Old Kalduhr: The Trophy Gold Megadungeon (if we can unlock it, that is). One of the reasons it's such an exciting project is the line-up of amazing TTRPG creators who will be working on it. We wanted to use this time to highlight some of those creators and their current worK:

Fiona Maeve Geist is an editor, writer and indie darling residing in Massachusetts. She’s worked on a number of projects including editing Ultraviolet Grasslands and Silent Titans, and writing for the ENnie award winning Mothership. She is currently in the midst of a Zinequest project Disk Horse #1: Off to the Races: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1458202166/disk-horse1-off-to-the-races

Amanda Lee Franck makes drawings, games, and comics in Chicago. She likes looking at bones and thinking about the Abyssopelagic zone.

Follow her on Twitter here: https://twitter.com/annabelle_lee

Her Kickstarter for YOU GOT A JOB ON THE GARBAGE BARGE can be found here: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/garbagebarge/you-got-a-job-on-the-garbage-barge/description

Cat Evansis a British RPG designer, who lives in a small, dark house on the edge of a huge, dark forest where ancient powers whisper amongst the trees. She writes horror and dark fantasy RPG content on the DMs Guild and elsewhere. Check out her spooky D&D settings: 

Sithicus (with Oliver Clegg): https://www.dmsguild.com/product/299252/Ravenloft-Gazetteer-Sithicus

Kalidnay: https://www.dmsguild.com/product/292393/Ravenloft-Gazetteer-Kalidnay

Gerrit Reininghaus(alles-ist-zahl.de) from Germany has been a regular contributor to Gauntlet Codex and is one this year's Golden Cobra Challenge winners for Best Live Action Online Game. He might also be known for his Tuk Fast Tuk Furious racing game having its roots from his time in Central America. 

Ramanan S is an OSR scenester. He has created several web applications to aid gamers, most notably his various random character generators. He blogs at Save vs Total Party Kill—once in a blue moon—and runs a coveted gaming award.

Emily Care Boss is an independent role-playing game designer/publisher and conservationist living in western Massachusetts, USA. Through her imprint Black & Green Games, she brings you role playing games centered on exploring emotions and the human experience. Find Emily's games and other work at blackgreengames.com.

Fraser Simons is a Canadian tabletop game designer best known for his cyberpunk games The Veil, Hack the Planet, and his upcoming game, Retropunk. You can find his games at samjokopublishing.com and follow his work @frasersimons on Twitter.

Michael Van Vleet (@signalstation) wrote the prize-winning Trophy Dark incursion "A Warm and Pleasant Hum," co-created the fatalistic and fun DYING IN SPACE, and is contributing a bee-filled incursion for Trophy Gold as part of the Trophy Kickstarter.

As always, thanks so much for your help with this campaign! Your support means everything to us!

-Jesse and the Trophy team