A gothic-horror fantasy RPG campaign setting for Pathfinder/5E, Dark Harbor is Ravenloft by way of Planescape, presented via Saw.
This post is for backers only. Please visit Kickstarter.com and log in to read.
Good news up front, here: as an apology for the delays in working through the pipeline of back committed work before I can truly full focus on Dark Harbor, please feel free to grab the massively-successful and infinitely-useful Solo Adventuring Toolkit for a big discount here.
A bit late, I'll be the first to admit, but you can check out all of the details here.
It's late mainly because I really wanted to finish the FlexTale Encounter Generator Solo Adventuring Toolkit before I shared the broader status of things, and that massive book released today, so huzzah!
If you're entitled to that book, check your inbox for a free copy notification from DriveThruRPG.
The Western Realm Gazetteer is next in the pipeline. With the massive amount of work I've already finished on it, I should be able to finish that by the end of the year.
Beyond that will be Artifacts & Artifice 3, and Gauntlets & Gaslight.
My thanks again to all of those eagerly awaiting these, and other products in the pipeline! Hang in there!
As always: thank you, for making what I do possible, and for all of the patience, wonderful feedback, and stories of enjoying the stuff we put out.
2021 has been an incredibly challenging, stressful, and chaotic year for many, and certainly for my family, but I'm thrilled that I've still been able to complete and publish some of our most useful, most successful, and best-received books ever.
Many of you have asked what you can do to help support our family's battle with cancer. While it won't solve anyone's problems, it might feel good to check out our "F&%$ Cancer 2021 Charity" bundle. It's a massive discount on a ton of our most successful and powerful books.
Stay safe, stay sane.
Onward!
Hi, all! Still working hard on that pipeline to free up time to dedicate 100% to Dark Harbor.
In the meantime, please help yourself to a freebie: Ravenloft: Overkill, a 149-page mega-guide to preparing and running a truly ridiculous Curse of Strahd campaign, or a game set in any gothic horror fantasy RPG.
Took next to zero time to just dump the prepwork I had done anyway into a massive PDF to share with anyone else out there who might be running, or planning to run, a Ravenloft campaign (I imagine the Venn diagram of such folks and you lovely backers probably has some intersection!).
Check your inboxes for your free redemption link, and let me know if you have not yet received one.
Onward!
Hi, all! Hope you're enjoying your summer for those who are in that season.
I apologize at the delay in providing a quarterly update several weeks into the actual quarter.
I'll just say it: we sold our house, and my wife was diagnosed with cancer. It's been a hell of a past few months. I'm writing this literally the day after she started chemotherapy.
There's a good chance that you, as a kickstarter backer who doesn't know me or my wife personally, might see this as too much information to share. But I've always tried to err on the side of transparency, and this sort of thing has a notable impact to my spare time, so I wanted to be clear.
There's also, sadly, a high probability that you know someone who has helped a loved one deal with cancer. For that subset of people reading this, you know what's involved, and how big a disruption it can be.
Despite the chaos and vileness of the past few months, I've still managed to steal some time for IGS. Here's a quick summary of what's been achieved:
I waited to post this update, and the State of the Realm Q2 update, until we had gotten the first chemo infusion completed. To be honest I still don't know what the impact is going to be, either financially or logistically. But it's a great scenario in terms of survivability and that's what matters in the long run.
As you know by now, I'm an optimist to a fault, so I'm still very excited about what I'll yet be able to accomplish this year.
My goal at the start of the year had been to finish all major pieces of my backlog by the first of next year. That may not be entirely possible any more, but I'll still get close, I feel.
Please find the detailed State of the Realm update on the IGS website here.
I'm not exactly sure what else to say. I'm not where I wanted to be, and there are grim undertones to that statement that haven't been there before. But I'm still dedicated, and optimistic, and excited, and still getting stuff done. Just not quite as quickly as I would have wanted.
Working on IGS stuff has quite literally kept me sane, especially recently, I cannot imagine not doing it as a major part of my life, and I see no reason why that would ever change.
Stick with me. I've got a lot more to do, and it's only going to get more awesome. Thank you for your understanding and support.
Onward. Now, more than ever.
Hi folks! Wanted to provide an update on the outlining, design, and art commission direction for Dark Harbor.
The launch week for the new official WotC 5E Ravenloft book seemed an appropriate time to provide some extra visibility, as I assume the Venn diagram of backers of this project shares a lot of the Ravenloft buyers circle. :)
It's hardly a secret that the basic concepts of Dark Harbor and Ravenloft share a lot in common. It will also come as no surprise that I, as someone who has been DMing on and off for more than 30 years, have a long-standing obsession with the classic module, and am a somewhat avid collector of all of the many accessories that have spawned from the original I6.
So let's not be coy about it: Dark Harbor will be, arguably unavoidably, an homage to the iconic adventure.
All of the above, you could probably have pieced together already.
What may be new information is that structurally, Dark Harbor will also be similar to the more grandiose incarnations of the original adventure, for example, Curse of Strahd. In fact, much of the description that follows will be written in the context of that version of the Ravenloft adventure and setting.
Trapped Until Triumph
In Dark Harbor, the purpose of any adventure that occurs there will be to escape the island. There are variations on this, and more complexity, but ultimately, the PCs are trapped there until they accomplish something, at which point they may leave.
Simple, Clear Goals
In Ravenloft, despite the dozens of side quests and settings, the objective is very clear: the PCs must defeat Strahd to escape. In Dark Harbor, the PCs must defeat the tests that await them that challenge them in ways directly related to their sins.
Locations of Interest
Just as Curse of Strahd is broken into chapters, each depicting a locus of side-questing opportunity, so too is Dark Harbor structured around Locations of Interest. These are featured on the overland map of the Nameless Island, and of course in standard IGS form redacted from the Players' editions of the map, but the unique thing about Dark Harbor is that the terrain is ever changing and maleable... meaning that any given Location of Interest can be placed or appear in a wide variety of locations on the island.
The list is still growing as I try to balance the right a mixture of features, but as of this writing, each of the following receives a chapter, including tons of detailed maps, hooks, quests and subplots, NPCs, history, lore, magic items, optional events, and so on... very much similar to the manner presented in Curse of Strahd.
Specific Locations of Interest (DRAFT)
I have many dozens of these sketched out, and to be perfectly honest, they're not all gonna fit in the books that are part of this KS. Many will be fodder for future tomes, but for the time being, here's what I have defined to be included in these books:
In Ravenloft, the PCs can spend dozens of sessions exploring Barovia and dealing with its myriad subplots. Some of these actions can benefit the PCs directly, by adding allies or items; others help flesh out the mythology and lore toward a deeper understanding of the context of the ultimate and titular challenge. All such "side" pursuits help the party level up.
In most Ravenloft campaign runs, the PCs moreso than other factors decide when they will venture into the castle and confront the dark lord of the realm. Sure, Strahd can offer his invitation, and others can steer the PCs toward the castle prematurely, but ultimately, it's really the party's decision as to when and whether to pass the fateful portcullis. I've always felt that the adventure's feel hinges on this truth: that in a perversion of the vampire trope, the party must *want* to venture inside in order for Strahd to be pleased that they have arrived. It would be most unsatisfying for the darklord to simply teleport the PCs into the castle and kill them; where is the fun in that?
Now, to the topic at hand: Something similar happens in the context of Dark Harbor adventures. Those of you familiar with both the Ravenloft adventure as well as Dark Obelisk 1: Berinncorte will understand best: there is a catalyst tracker in Dark Harbor, decoding and tallying the actions of the party as they undertake side quests, toward an ultimate "tipping point" where their accumulated actions trigger the core, final, confrontation with their fate. Of course, the G/DM can overrule this mechanic and simply trigger the confrontation themselves.
Open-Ended
It’s possible to be stranded in the island indefinitely, if one actively avoids the tests. They actively seek you out three times; once you have escaped or avoided them, but failed to defeat them, that many times, you will have to actively seek them out in order to defeat them. Until you have, it is impossible to depart the Island.
Indeed, the Adventure Book is designed to contain sufficient material and inspiration to fuel an entire campaign which takes place exclusively on the Nameless Island of Dark Harbor.
The most important thing for me to do right now is to continue hammering away at the pipeline of work that has to be resolved before I can focus 100% on Dark Harbor. That's going very well.
Our next update will likely contain info on Factions of the Island.
Onward!