The Final Countdown!
over 2 years ago – Tue, Sep 28, 2021 at 05:48:53 AM

Quick news and update summary:

•  Pathbuilder support!
•  New add-ons: Set of 8 resin minis, set of 8 mini STL files, cloth treasure map!
•  Stretch Goals! Knocking out those goals left and right!
•  Dragon Ancestries details!
•  Amazing new Stretch Goals are incoming!
•  RPG Superstar 2021 starting this week?!
•  How to Purchase Add-ons

This is it, the last and final week of the Kickstarter. Please get out and help spread the word because the bigger the Kickstarter, the more content we can add to the books! Already the Battlezoo Ancestries: Dragons book has nearly doubled in size, and if we keep adding more pages to the Jewel of the Indigo Isles I might just have to release this thing as two books (not really... I hope).

In fact, we're already talking with additional authors to help out with these books as we're adding so much additional content. If you want to help spread the word simply point people to battlezoo.com, which will redirect them right to the Kickstater. Nice and simple. But with that, let's get into the latest updates:

• For those of you who play Pathfinder Second Edition, perhaps the most popular free character builder on the market today is Pathbuilder (found at https://pathbuilder2e.com/). Well, in the near future you'll be able to utilize the new rules found in the Battlezoo books right in Pathbuilder! That's right, we have partnered with Pathbuilder to release all of the new ancestries, backgrounds, archetypes, magic items, and more directly into Pathbuilder! Exact details are coming, but expect the new content to be integrated around the same time as the books are released. Of course, you would still need the books for all the lore, illustrations, and other details, but the base information will be integrated and allow easy character generation in the near future! Stay tuned for more details.
• A few weeks ago we added resin minis to the Kickstarter and we achieved the Cloth Treasure Map stretch goal, and now you can add those directly as add-ons! The eight hard resin minis include several new playable ancestries/races, including the following:

    ⭐ Indigo dragon cleric — new playable ancestry/race, included in Battlezoo Ancestries: Dragons.

    ⭐ G’mauyn pirate thief — parrot-people, new playable ancestry/race, included in Indigo Isles.

    ⭐ Wildfire leshy fighter — wildfire lehsy, new playable ancestry/race, included in Indigo Isles.

    ⭐ Galtzagorri sorcerer — flying fey, new playable ancestry/race, included in Indigo Isles.

    ⭐ Orpok — pig-people, new playable ancestry/race, included in Indigo Isles.

    ⭐ Chochori — coral-people, new playable ancestry/race, included in Indigo Isles.

    ⭐ Hardriggan — ram-people, new playable ancestry/race, included in Indigo Isles.

    ⭐ Kragrak — rock-people, new playable ancestry/race, included in Indigo Isles.

• In addition, you can also purchase all eight minis as 3d Printable STL Files with Themed Bases provided as both Supported and Unsupported files. 
• Finally, you can also purchase the full-color Cloth Treasure Map which kicks off the Jewel of the Indigo Isles adventure as a separate add-on as well. For more information on how to purchase add-ons see later in this post.
• People have been asking for more details about the upcoming Battlezoo Ancestries: Dragons book, and we have some details! The book is still being developed, but the following is the general outline for the Pathfinder Second Edition of the book (the 5e book will be similar). As these are further developed we will provide you additional details, but for now, here is the outline:

 🐲 Book Intro

 🐲 Ancestry Intro

 🐲 Heritage Rules

 🐲 Ancestry Feats (massive section the bulk of where the dragon powers come from)

 🐲 Dragon by Dragon Lore (at least 44 pages now!)

 🐲 Archetypes

• As this is the last week, we are going to be adding yet more amazing stretch goals, but unlike the others (which have been fairly simple to reach) we will be making these a bit more difficult. Again, help spread the word wherever you can as it's now or never! Look for those new goals shortly!
• As many of you already know, all of the monsters from the Battlezoo Bestiary were written by non-professionals who won the RPG Superstar 2020 contest. Due to the overwhelming success of this Kickstarter, we are proud to announce the start of the next contest -- RPG Superstar 2021 Strange and Unusual! 

The contest goes live on Wednesday, September 29th, and will challenge you to create a Pathfinder Second Edition monster that is both "strange and unusual"! Check the site https://rpgsuperstar.com/for more details, but contestants can enter up to three monsters, and we have increased the number of winners! Last contest we had a total of 101 winners (which resulted in a total of 114 new monsters), now we will have 137 winners (which should result in 150 new monsters). Make sure to enter now!

And for those of you from 5e, now is a great time to learn all about Pathfinder Second Edition! The RPG Superstar website will help you generate your monster and you can see all of last year's winning entries on the site. And, of course, the Roll For Combat community is extremely friendly and helpful, simply head on over to the Roll For Combat Discord channel  https://discord.rollforcombat.com/ to discuss your ideas or ask for help learning all about Pathfinder Second Edition.

Trust me, it's quite straightforward and just as much fun as 5e!

How to Purchase Add-ons

• Make a pledge by selecting one of the tiers on the right.
• Click "Manage Your Pledge".
• Click "Change Your Pledge".
• Change your total pledge amount to the total of your tier plus the add-ons you wish to purchase.  For example, if your original pledge was $39 and you wanted to add the Ancestries: Dragon PDF for $20, you would change your total pledge amount to $59. 
• Click "Configure Reward" and select the add-ons you wish to add to your pledge.
• Click "Continue" and you are done!

Stretch Goals Galore and RPG Superstar 2021?
over 2 years ago – Wed, Sep 22, 2021 at 11:11:42 AM

Quick news and update summary:

•  New add-on: Battlezoo Ancestries: Dragons for Foundry VTT
• Double Dragon! Stretch Goal incoming
• It Goes to 11! Stretch Goal details
• Amazing new Stretch Goals are incoming
•  RPG Superstar 2021 starting soon? Very soon? 
• Projects we love featured today: Tanares RPG - 5e 

We are back from GenCon and we are about to enter the home stretch of the Kickstarter with only 10 days left... time to kick it up a notch! Ready... here we go.

• First, we added a new add-on to the list. You can now purchase the Battlezoo Ancestries: Dragon book for Foundry VTT for $14 ($6 off the list price) in the add-ons section. To add this to your order simply click "Manage Your Pledge", Confirm your pledge tier (you can just leave that alone if you aren't changing it) click "Continue", select any add-ons that you want and click "Continue", and then you should be all done!
• Plus, we are working closely with some of the Foundry system developers to integrate all of the Battlezoo products into Foundry VTT. We have already started developing our VTT integrations to ensure that those are released at the same time as the books and the initial tests have been looking great!
• Next, many new and exciting Stretch Goals are on the horizon with the biggest goal coming up next, Double Dragon! and the addition of at least 44 new pages of lore to Battlezoo Ancestries: Dragons and artwork for every dragon ancestry! That's a lot of dragons, but we are confident that adding this much content won't jeopardize the final product's launch date. We even started on some of the artwork with a sneak peek of the bronze dragon:

• The other big Stretch Goal that was just reached was the It Goes to 11! Stretch Goal. I was reviewing the Jewel of the Indigo Isles adventure path and thought it could use just one more level of adventuring so that the PCs could fully experience the thrilling conclusion at levels 10-11 and take on some truly horrific encounters. With the Stretch Goal reached, we have added an additional level to the second book, Voyage to Runaway Reef, thereby having it run from levels 4-7, with Battle at Barnacle Bay now occurring during levels 8-11. And those people worried about scope creep, don't fret, we have this all planned out, and there is a huge advantage working with professional RPG developers, they can easily handle the addition of another level and not delay the project.
• We are also about to add some truly incredible Stretch Goals, including new familiars written by Linda Zayas-Palmer (who wouldn't want a Shale Hatchling, Wildfire Leshy, Seafoam Spirit, Mechanical Parrot, or Embersap Ooze familiar?), yet MORE new playable ancestries, new archetypes, and many many more exciting goals. And in case you were wondering what an Embersap Ooze familiar might look like, check out our Wildfire Leshy Wizard with their Embersap Ooze familiar!

• Next, as many of you know the Battlezoo Bestiary was a direct result of winning entries from people who submitted to the RPG Superstar 2020 contest. For those unfamiliar with the contest, nearly anyone could enter a Pathfinder Second Edition monster into the contest, which was then voted on by a mixture of professional and public voters. The final winning entries were turned into the monsters featured in the upcoming Battlezoo Bestiary book. With that being said, we are looking to start the NEXT RPG Superstar Contest soon... very soon. I'll just leave this here for now, but look for more details in the next few... days?

Projects We Love - Tanares RPG - 5e

Unless you have been living under a rock, you have probably heard about this Kickstarter. With legendary participants, such as Ed Greenwood (the creator of Forgotten Realms), Amy Vorpahl, Bruce Nesmith (Skyrim’s lead designer), Tanares RPG - 5e promises to be one of the greatest projects of the year for 5e.

Almost 1,000 pages of options for beginners and entertainment for experts. A scarred world of complex geography. Unforgettable adventure path, characters, dungeons, and experiences. VTT-ready content. Plus more, much more...”

Make sure to check out this massive campaign:

•  It has already raised more than U$1,500,000.00
•  The campaign ends soon, so make sure to check it out shortly!
•  Plus, they have masterfully-sculpted miniatures of all kinds!

BACK NOW on https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/dragorigames/tanares-rpg?ref=f4o2vp

Stretch Goals Galore!
over 2 years ago – Thu, Sep 16, 2021 at 12:48:58 PM

We are officially at the halfway point and a lot has happened in a little more than two weeks! A few highlights:

• We have been working with the folks over at Cult Miniatures to create some new minis for the campaign. We are looking to add all of the iconic adventures for the Jewel of the Indigo Isles Adventure as minis right now (three of which you can see on the cover) which includes the g'mauyn thief, the galtzagorri sorcerer, the wildfire leshy fighter, and the gold dragon cleric. We also plan on adding other ancestries to the mini collection, so be on the lookout for those in the near future.
• How do you get these new minis you might ask? There will be a few ways. First, anyone who pledges at the RPG Superstar or the RPG SuperDUPERStar level will get to chose between a set of minis or standard Battlezoo Bestiary book during the follow-up process after the Kickstarter is over. Everyone at those tiers will automatically get the Collector's Edition of the Battlezoo Bestiary, the standard edition will be optional and can be swapped out for the minis at no extra charge.
• The second way is that will offer the minis as an add-on so that anyone can add them to their order. We are still in the process of figuring out pricing and the number of minis we will be offering, but we expect them to be approximately the same price as the standard Battlezoo Bestiary when all is said and done. Look for this add-on in the near future (also note, you will also be allowed to add any add-ons to your order after the Kickstarter is over during the Backerkit stage).
• People have also been asking if we will offer the minis as STL files so that people can print out their own minis for those of you out there with 3d printers. We are looking into that option, but we expect to offer this option, including STL files with supports! Be on the lookout for that add-on option as well. And for a sneak peek of the first mini, check out the (crude) render below!

• We also added a lot of new stretch goals -- new dragons, new ancestries, another level to the Jewel of the Indigo Isles Adventure Path, and 44+ pages to the Dragon Ancestires book! Plus be on the lookout for yet more stretch goals in the near future!
• Finally, I will be at GenCon starting tomorrow and will have a copy of the Battlezoo Bestiary with me as well as some pins to hand out. I will be wandering the show floor mostly and don't have a set plan, but I expect to be at the show all four days. If you see me just head on over and say hi and I'll give you a pin and a sneak peek at the book!

Projects We Love

There are a lot of cool projects going on right now that we really love and you should definitely check all of these out!

Wondrous Items for 5e: Dungeon Scribe - Magical Oddities

I'm always a sucker for a cool deck of cards, and with only a few days left, our friends over at Dungeon Scribe have a really cool-looking project. There are only a few days left, so many sure you check it out quick!

Dungeon Scribe: Magical Oddities Decks are 4 Deck Volumes with 200 cards of fresh content for your 5th Edition Games. Discover unique fully illustrated oddities with quick reference icons all designed for multiple tiered expansive varieties of play. Grow your table's arsenal, dole out new items with ease, and empower both players and NPCs in bold new ways.

What’s In Store:
 - 4 Decks of Unique Items & Oddities.
 - 200 Fully Illustrated Oddities in Total!
 - Quick Reference Icons and Layouts.
 - Designed for varied levels from Common Items to Artifacts, all for 5e.

Check out the campaign here: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/ds-magical-oddities/cards-0?ref=1n3ex4 

Valda's Spire of Secrets: A Colossal Expansion for DnD 5E

I got a sneak-peek at this book and I have to tell you, what I saw was sick! This book looks incredible and I could easily see the world of Valda and Battlezoo crossover in the near future. Definitely check this one out!

Our friends over at Mage Hand Press just put out a killer new 5e expansion, Valda’s Spire of Secrets. It’s the Player’s Handbook 2 you never dreamed of -- 10 new base classes, 150+ subclasses, 5 new races, and more than 130 spells. And that’s only scratching the surface; it’s nearly 400 pages long.

Valda’s Spire of Secrets works with every campaign setting and every 5e product (including ours!) If you want to be excited about rolling up your next character, or you're a GM that wants to inject some life into your campaign, check out Spire of Secrets today. There's a free 30-page sample too!

Check out the campaign here:  https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/magehandpress/spire-of-secrets/ 

Peculiar Discoveries: Magic Items and Companions For 5E

If you couldn't tell, but we are suckers for cute things and Peculiar Discoveries definitely fits that bill!

Peculiar Discoveries is a 5e supplement focusing on creative items and adorable companions for both players and DM's to enjoy. The beautiful art in the book really emphasizes its fairytale style which will add a whimsical touch to any campaign! The companions featured in the book are a great addition to your 5e game as they can add another element to your stories and enrich the lives of the players and their characters alike. Each companion comes with their own secret quest that will grant a bonus to the characters only if the quest is fulfilled!
With over 200 pages of new content, Peculiar Discoveries’ book brings more than 320 new items and companions.

The project has more than 1200 backers and has already unlocked many stretch goals including a Baby Mimic Box which is an absolute cutie.

Check out the campaign here: https://split.to/peculiardis 

Secrets of the Drow Trilogy (5e)

Did you know that I have read nearly every single Drizzit book and nearly every book ever written by R. A. Salvatore? Well... I have! I'm a huge fan of the Drow so whenever I see anything Drow-related I nearly always immediately back it. Make sure to check out this new launch!

Secrets of the Drow Trilogy is a book with three dangerous dark elf adventures for the fifth edition of the world’s largest roleplaying game. The adventures are designed for characters of level 4 to 6, but include scalable encounters to suit any level from 1 to 20.

The book will be approximately 160 pages if all stretch goals are unlocked, and available in hardcover, softcover, and digital format.

The campaign is created by Midnight Tower, the two nerds who brought you Rise of the Ice Dragons Trilogy, The Prophecy of Nine Omens Trilogy, Before the Stroke of Midnight, and more adventures.

Check out the campaign here: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/midnight-tower/secrets-of-the-drow-trilogy 

We Updated the RPG Superstar and RPG SuperDUPERstar Tiers With New Options!
over 2 years ago – Fri, Sep 10, 2021 at 02:14:44 PM

You talked, we listened. People want more content and cooler rewards. So we added both!

• A lot of people weren't interested in a second Battlezoo Bestiary book at the RPG Superstar! and the RPG SuperDUPERstar! tier, so we adjusted those tiers. Now when you pledge at the RPG Superstar! or the RPG SuperDUPERstar! tier you will get to choose between receiving a standard Battlezoo Bestiary book (you will automatically receive the Collector's Edition) OR a set of 32mm hard resin minis. 
•  The set of minis will consist of the "core four" iconic adventurers from the Jewel of the Indigo Isles Adventure Path -- the g'amyun thief, the galtzagorri sorcerer, the wildfire leshy fighter, and the gold dragon cleric -- plus the orpok fighter. We will continue to add more minis as stretch goals and will also add these minis as an add-on option for those who want to add these minis in the near future. For those who are wondering you will make the choice between the second book or the minis AFTER the Kickstarter is over via the BackerKit survey.
• For those who have already pledged at a lower tier and want to upgrade their pledge, simply adjust your pledge to the RPG Superstar! or the RPG SuperDUPERstar! tier and you'll still receive the free Hunter's Dice Case -- do NOT cancel your pledge. Just adjust your pledge and you'll get the new minis.
•  Via Stretch Goals, we will be adding new dragons to both the Jewel of the Indigo Isles Adventure Path as well as playable ancestries in the Dragon Ancestries hardcover book. We are calling this group of dragons "Sunset Dragons" and they will be unlike anything you have seen before. Neither "good" nor "bad" these Sunset Dragons could probably be best described as "Party Dragons". Sure they are Dragons, but they really like to have a good time!
•  Right now the Sunset Dragons consist of the Indigo Dragon (unlocked), the Amber Dragon, the Harlequin Dragon, and a few more that will be revealed in the near future. Each new dragon will get a minimum of a two-page layout in the Jewel of the Indigo Isles Adventure Path, three stat blocks, and a full writeup by Mark to enable them to be playable ancestries. 

Okay, that should hold us over for a while. As the minis are developed we will post pictures to show the progress.

Also if anyone is going to GenCon next week, some of us from the Roll For Combat team will be there as well, including myself (Stephen Glicker). I will have a draft copy of the Battlezoo Bestiary Hardcover as well as some enamel monster pins, so if you see me just come on by and I'll show you the book and give you a free pin! Let me know if you are heading out to GenCon as well!

New Cloth Map, New Minis, New Everything!
over 2 years ago – Thu, Sep 09, 2021 at 12:56:01 PM

Hope everyone had a nice holiday weekend in States. In the meantime, we have been busy over here. We are working hard on several new items, but the biggest ones we are ready to reveal are below.

• As requested, we have added new stretch goals that are both content-related as well as new physical items. The most obvious one is the automatic inclusion of at least one cloth map to those at the RPG Superstar! level. Not sure why we didn't think of this before as the first adventure is literally "Search for the Missing Map" and the adventure starts with the PCs getting a piece of a map, so... yeah. Anyhow, our printer can print just about anything, and we'll have the map designed for the adventure, so there you go. We are looking into potentially also adding other maps including one of the Indigo Isles themselves, we will see how the funding for the Kickstarter goes. For now, this will be automatically included in the RPG Superstar! level and will be an add-on for others.
• We also vastly underestimated the popularity of minis, so we are in the process of adding several custom minis as well! Since not many people seemed interested in getting an extra book with the RPG Superstar level, we are planning on making it an option when you submit your order via BackerKit. You can either get the extra Battlezoo Bestiary standard book (you will automatically get the Collector's Edition version) OR you can get a pack of minis instead! We are still working on the minis but we expect that all of the iconic adventures featured in the Jewel of the Indigo Isles cover, all the new ancestries, several of the key NPCs from the adventure, and a few other surprises. We will have more to show you in a few days, but for now, here is a sneak peek of the g'mayun pirate mini, still in VERY early stages!