Accursed RPG: 2016

Tuesday, December 20, 2016

Year End Wrap-Up

Happy Holidays, to all of our readers.

Season of the Witch

As the calendar winds down, we found time to squeeze in one last release. Every year, John's home game has one session devoted to eating too much food and an over top adventure that's in keeping with the very worst of very special Christmas episodes of ongoing TV series. It's particularly effective when the current campaign has nothing at all to do with Christmas. In keeping with that theme, Ross wrote up a new Accursed 1-sheet entitled "Season of the Witch." Here's the background:

An idealistic young girl sets out to prove that the celebration of Evergreen Night is for everyone, even the reclusive and infamous Frau Pechta. The Penitents are asked to bring the girl back to her family before Frau Pechta’s inhuman hunger brings a grisly end to the holiday! Can the Accursed handle a sugar-spun stronghold, candy-frosted banes, and the spirit of the season?

Season of the Witch is now available from DriveThruRPG. We've decided to make it a Pay What You Want title, with a suggested price of $1.

Year End Sale

If you're looking for a last minute gift, all of our digital releases are now 25% off through the end of the 2016. When checking out, you can select an e-mail to send the PDF as a gift to a fellow gamer. Print / PDF combos also include a discount on the digital component. Note, though, that at this point, the print on demand copies will not arrive until the new year. Of course, if Santa gave you a little extra money this year, now's the perfect opportunity to flesh out or even complete your collection of any of our lines!

Friday, April 1, 2016

New April Releases - No Fooling!

We've wrapped up the series of World of Morden ebooks created through our January Kickstarter, and we wanted to make sure that everyone was aware of the new products.

Bone and Barrow

We've previously talked about our releases of Frost and Fang as well as Science and Sea. Bone and Barrow is the final ebook in that series. Cairn Kainen and the Outlands were the first casualties of the Bane War. Neither could mount an effective defense against the Witch Armies, though for very different reasons. In both cases, their early collapses provided the Witches with the resources they needed to push the battle into Morden's other surviving nations.

Now, both regions suffer under tyranny, long after the Witch Council dissolved. Hecate's Oubliette remains in the foothills of the Darkwall Peaks, and her banes prowl the Outlands. The Morrigan has made a new home in Blackroot Wode and collects a steady tithe of new souls to feed her cauldron.

Bone and Barrow provides additional information about the nation of Cairn Kainen and the Outlands that provide a barrier between the Darkwall Peaks and Morden's more stable nations. It includes a broad range of different adventure hooks for GMs and players looking to explore these specific regions. It also introduces new banes as well as Hindrances and Edges specific to these cultures.

Bone and Barrow is available for $6 from DriveThruRPG.
An important note on this release is that Sean Tait Bircher was so excited about his work on this that he wrote more than would fit. He's chosen to make his extra writing freely available on his blog.

World of Morden

With the last of the ebooks complete, we can now also offer the print compilation of all four volumes. Accursed: World of Morden compiles the PDF releases from Sand and Stone, Frost and Fang, Science and Sea, and Bone and Barrow. It's now available in several different print formats directly through DriveThruRPG, starting at$35.

In the World of Morden, the forces of evil triumphed. The six great nations lost the Bane War to the Witch Council. Their armies were shattered. Now, Witches rule the land, but their Grand Coven has been sundered. The remnants of their massive army include captured citizens of the conquered nations who fought as the Witches’ shock troops. These soldiers became Accursed. Witchmarks burned into their flesh and souls transformed men and women into monstrous forms. Unable to return to their former lives, the Accursed wander the land, giving aid to those in need in an attempt to atone for past sins.

Sand and Stone Updated

As part of the World of Morden project, we created two new maps for Accursed: Sand and Stone. This required us to do a new layout of the ebook. When we did that, we ended up with a little extra space in the Hebron chapter, which we used to add another bane from the Crone's witchline: the Many Header. Previous buyers can download the new version from their DriveThruRPG library. Other interested customers can obtain Sand andStone for $6 from DriveThruRPG.

Ill Omens on DriveThru

We needed to add Ill Omens as a print product to DriveThruRPG in order to fulfill it to customers in our January Kickstarter. We've chosen to leave it available for purchase their as well for customers unable to obtain it through traditional channels. Ill Omens released in the summer of 2014, as a compilation of all of the adventures that we had released in PDF up until that time. It's now available for $20 on DriveThruRPG.

Paws and Stripes Charity Bundle

Melior Via is participating in a charity bundle organized by Fainting Goat Games. The bundle includes more than $200 worth of RPG ebooks in exchange for a donation of $20. All proceeds go to the Paws and Stripes charity. They're an organization devoted to training and providing service dogs to veterans in need of assistance.

Here's the direct link to the bundle: Paws and Stripes Bundle on RPGNow.

Other Accursed Projects

Ross continues to work on a novella for release in late 2016 that was funded by the January Kickstarter. We also have two short adventures that are in development in conjunction with a couple of our Kickstarter backers, which we expect to release this summer.

Tuesday, March 15, 2016

March Updates

We're still struggling a little bit with the time change here, but we've had a few different things happen, and we wanted to share them with you.

Science and Sea

Our second World of Morden Kickstarter ebook has now been released. Backers should already have a coupon in their inboxes, and the PDF is now available for everyone on DriveThruRPG.

Manreia did not suffer any battles within its borders during the Bane War, but the nation still suffered grievous losses. She sent many soldiers and vast stories of supplies to aid the Army of Light in its battles. Since the war ended and Manreia surrendered, she has had to struggle under the Witches' tyranny, living in a turmoil that even Manreian ingenuity cannot overcome.

Refugees who left Manreian camps often boarded ships that carried them to the islands of the Discordian Sea. Most met with disaster, but a few have managed to survive on one of the many islands. Their lives are little easier than the ones they left behind, but at least they are less likely to directly encounter banes.

Science and Sea provides additional information about the nation of Manreia and life on the Discordian Sea within Accursed's setting of Morden. It includes a broad range of different adventure hooks for GMs and players looking to explore these specific regions. It also introduces new banes as well as Hindrances and Edges specific to these cultures.

For anyone who didn't back the Kickstarter, the ebook is now available for $6 in PDF from DriveThruRPG.

Melior Via is currently participating in the DriveThru GM's day sale as well. All of our older products (IE, before Frost and Fang) are now 30% off.

The Dark Queen's Gambit

The Witchmarked heroes discover a village in the Outlands destroyed by banes harboring a lone survivor. They must uncover the cause of the damage, rescue any other survivors, and try to put a stop to the banes responsible. In the process, they may uncover a new plot that the Dark Queen, Hecate, has already put into motion.

Dark Queen's Gambit is a 1-Sheet style scenario that focuses on the adventures of a band of Witchmarked heroes in the Accursed game setting. The adventure may be played as a standalone, or it may be used with the Plot Point Campaign included in Accursed. The adventure features brief scene descriptionss, with necessary game mechanics and opportunity for tasks that can be resolved in a variety of ways.

This ebook is now available for $1.25 in PDF from DriveThruRPG. It was written by Richard Woolcock of Savage-Stuff!

Tuesday, February 16, 2016

Frost and Fang - Now Available

Thanks to the support of all of our backers, the first release from our World of Morden Kickstarter project has been completed. We sent it out to backers early this morning, and it's now available for general sale on DriveThruRPG as well. Here are the full details:

Frost and Fang

Valkenholm’s history began as a colony of Steppengrad, but they soon outgrew the Tsar and his Grafs. Ever since it became independent, the two nations have maintained a strong rivalry. In the wake of the Bane War, both countries struggle to survive. Their homes were the core battlefront. Their land was devestated and countless lives lost. Now, they soldier on under the tyranny of the Blood Witch and Baba Yaga.

Frost and Fang provides additional information about the nations of Steppengrad and Valkenholm within Accursed's setting of Morden. It includes a broad range of different adventure hooks for GMs and players looking to explore these specific regions. It also introduces new banes as well as Hindrances and Edges specific to these cultures.

Mike Brodu's map of Aziev:

Elif Siebenpfeiffer's illustration of the Watch in Valkenholm:

For people who didn't back the Kickstarter, the ebook is now available for $6 in PDF from DriveThruRPG.

Upcoming Releases

With Frost and Fang out, we're now concentrating on finishing up Science and Sea, the next release in the World of Morden series. This ebook focuses on the nation of Manreia and the dangers of the Discordian Sea. We're aiming to get that one completed and out in March of 2016. Bone and Barrow will follow that, presenting Cairn Kainen and the Outlands.

Friday, January 8, 2016

Initial funding Achieved! Stretch Goals in Progress

We've made great progress in just a few days, and we're now crested the $4000 mark. The first stretch goal – Science and the Sea, featuring Manreia and the Discordian Sea – is firmly in our sights. We appreciate your contributions to date, but we're going to need continued help spreading the word about the project. Don't forget, as we hit stretch goals, your pledges become more valuable.

World of Morden Kickstarter Now Live

Since we first started blogging about Accursed in 2013, the setting has enjoyed tremendous support from its fans. The game's initial publication depended upon a crowdfunding campaign. Without your help, it never could have come to fruition. Two years later, we're reaching out for your support once more. We want to create a companion volume to Accursed that explores the World of Morden, and we need your help to realize that.