Hi everyone! Dark Fever continued to be a killer in Harbour City for generations. No-one knew how to stop it until one of the Chike family, one of the larger clans present in the city finally figured it out. As they had got too close to the truth about the Anonassi, in the eyes of…
Hi everyone! Today, I’m supposed to “Describe your plans for your next game.” As I released a game on Kickstarter, I find that question just slightly ironic! My next game is going to be the second session of my hitherto very successful Era: Lost Legend playtest campaign! The characters managed to escape Stardust City and have…
Hi everyone! Today, I’m asked to “Describe a tricky RPG experience that you enjoyed.” Again, I am not having too much trouble with this one, as one particular occasion stands out in my mind – Con-Tingency 2018. Con-Tingency is a UK convention run by a fantastic team of people and, if you live in the UK,…
Hi everyone! And another “Describe”. I think these ones will tend to be a little longer! Describe a failure that became amazing. Only one thing comes to mind for that, from an early playtest of Era: “High Fantasy”. A character called up to a fort, asking to be let in in an area which had…
Hi everyone! Some great news for fans of Era: Hitman, our modern, “assassins with superpowers” game today: a number of support materials have just been released on DriveThruRPG! For the first time, you can get hold of a campaign which we wrote specially for Era: Hitman’s Kickstarter, “Two Wrongs”. This 3-session story follows a “simple…
Hi everyone! Getting to the CEO’s office only opened the door to new problems, as the team now have to deal with the CEO’s assistant, who is present. How will they hide their activities from her watchful eye? Find out here: https://youtu.be/s5hQ43ItCF8 Join Ed (the creator of Era: The Consortium) and the regular crew as they…
Hi everyone! Week 3 is a sequence of “Describe” questions… beginning with: Describe how your play has evolved. My play primarily involves being a GM. I think the way I plan has changed a lot since I started creating games. Now, while I have the option to plan sessions in endless detail, I more often give…
Hi everyone! Today’s question is (What is your) Wildest character concept? I think I’m probably relatively boring when it comes to concepts! There are so many in my group who have come up with better than me. However… One of the early Era: The Consortium games included a character named Mary, who was a Hayden Bank…
Hi everyone! I have some great news for all fans of Sci-Fi out there, as Era: Balam is now not only available in the Era d10 Rule Set, but also running on the Savage Worlds rules! This special version of Era: Balam was written as a Kickstarter reward for our space fighters game, and is…
Hi everyone! Day 11 and the #RPGaDay2018 guys are asking: (What is the) Wildest character name (you have come across)? Well, I have quite a few. There’s one member in my regular group in particular who has come up with gems (Martian Pants Man, who wishes he was called “Forethought”, but the name stuck and…
Hi everyone! Even though I don’t have a huge amount to show, I wanted to assure you that we are still working, and new images are coming in daily. The featured image might look pretty empty (and, in fact, it is, because that’s the Training Ground with no-one in it for the “Locations” Section of…
Hi everyone! For Day 10, the question is almost impossible for me to answer: How has gaming changed you? I am a tabletop RPG creator, I’m a writer, an art director, a project manager for the books, a publisher, a distributor, I run a company which does all of these things and more. Without gaming, my…
Hi everyone! I have another story today, from our amazing writing team. This one takes place in the Second Era, when scientific research begins to make progress, and new ways of fighting the Anonassi are discovered… – Ed ———————————————————————————————————————– It had taken years of constant change, upgrades, additions and even the building of a new…
Hi everyone! In about a week, we’re going to be putting Era: The Chosen – our horror game – up on Kickstarter. So I thought now would be a great time to remind you what it’s all about! Our universe is under siege. Most people don’t realise it – that feeling of a hand reaching…
Hi everyone! I suspect my answer to this question will be a little unique, because of my perspective as a creator: How has a game surprised you? For me, I’ve never been more surprised than about the fact that people like Era: Survival so much! I worked hard, as I do on every one of my…
Hi everyone! Day 8 asks one of my favourite RPG questions: How can we get more people playing? I think it’s about offering more than just one thing, and raising the visibility of the indie community. There are hundreds of great games out there, and you don’t have to play D&D to enjoy Tabletop RPGs. Some…
Hi everyone! Day 7’s question is How can a GM make the stakes important? I have a couple of ways I do this and it actually features in one of my demo sessions, which I run regularly at conventions. The stakes that most players care about are their character’s survival and prosperity. In Era: Survival and…
Hi everyone! I have some fantastic news for you today, because Free Trader, the first of our Wave 2 expansions, has just been released on DriveThruRPG! http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/247173/Era-The-Consortium–Free-Trader Some of you may be familiar with this book already, but for those who aren’t, it provides the rules and information for trading and piracy within the Consortium!…
Hi everyone! With Nara rescued, the team proceed to the CEOs office. Join me (Ed) as the GM and the rest of the crew as they enter the world of Era: The Consortium: https://youtu.be/ffcoFS6z1o8 But when the lift does work “properly”, they are forced to improvise and adapt. How well will the team cope with this…
Hi everyone! Onto week two, and the list asks How can players make a world seem real? I think that players can make the world seem real by immersing themselves into it. I am running a playtest for Era: Lost Legend at the moment and, although the world is a little ridiculous at times, I think…
Hi everyone! Day 5 asked probably the easiest question this month (for me): (What is your) Favourite recurring NPC? Keelah. Okay, I cheated a little, she began as a player character – my first one, as a matter of fact. Her backstory and character became a lot more refined when she became the Unit Commander…
Hi everyone! The print and play version of Champion of Earth is now available from our store! https://www.shadesofvengeance.com/product/champion-of-earth-core-deck-digital-print-and-play/ If you’ve always wanted to try defending the Earth from an Alien Invasion, there’s no better way than with Champion of Earth… and now you can do it without even waiting for the shipping! If you want…
Hi everyone! Day 4 asks: (What is your) Most Memorable NPC? That’s actually a really tricky one. There have been some real characters over the years. I think, however, that there’s no measuring up to Monolith on this score. The wingbeat of this character shapeshifted into a giant dragon has scared Empowered senseless more times…
Hi everyone! We’re still working through the remaining images at the moment, so the “only” thing I have to show you is the latest awesome artwork from Keith! The text is now completely finalised, but the artwork, as I said, is taking a little longer than we had initially hoped to get it looking amazing. I’d…
Hi everyone! Onto the third day, and we have: What gives a game staying power? I think that staying power stems from adaptability within a game. Eventually, all groups tire of playing exactly the same thing every time. I think if you want a game to stay, you need to have the adaptability that you see…
Hi everyone! Today, I’m sharing some information about the Nakamura Clan. Although they only join the Chosen in Harbour City in the second era of the war, they have been fighting the Anonassi for generations. Even exiled from their homeland, they had no intention of stopping and it was inevitable they would eventually run into…
Hi everyone! I wanted to take a moment today to speak with you about conventions in the UK. As many of you already know, we do quite a few conventions here, as it’s where I live and I hate travelling! We have just finished an amazing weekend up in Manchester, exhibiting at MCM July. If…
Hi everyone! I’m back for more: What do you look for in an RPG? I’m sure it will come as a huge surprise that I look for an expansive, detailed world with plenty of room to play whatever type of game I want. Okay, well, maybe not…! I love the ability to create details within a…
Hi everyone! I was told last year’s #RPGaDAY entries caused amusement and insight into the way I work and why, so I thought I’d continue that this year! So we come to Day 1: What do you love about RPGs? I actually get asked this question a lot in slightly different words – “Why make…
Hi everyone! As a Lyre, one of the “big damn heroes” of the kingdom of Yarnolth, you’ve definitely travelled all over the Kingdom of Yarnolth, right? Right? Okay, so you aren’t actually a hero, so you didn’t do the travelling thing, but you still need to know every detail, in case someone asks. Enter the…
