Sneak Peek: Special Edition Covers
almost 5 years ago – Wed, May 29, 2019 at 09:09:33 PM

In today’s sneak peek, we look at the two different special edition cover options for Empire of the Ghouls. We have done similar special edition covers for some of our previous Kickstarter projects, and we included pictures of those books for an “in person” look at the types of covers we offer. 

Limited Edition Ghouls Hardcover

(in pledge tiers $125, $170, and $275)

This cover is black leatherette with a silver foil stamp, ornate endpapers, and black ribbon bookmarks. The above image is a mockup of this cover. The below image is a picture of our green leatherette with gold foil stamped cover special edition Creature Codex for a look at how these leatherette, foil stamped covers appear “in person.”

Empire of the Ghouls Black Leather Handbound Edition

(in pledge tiers $750, $2500, and $5000)

This cover is in finest hand-tooled and stamped leathers with ornate and macabre endpapers and ribbon bookmarks. This edition is very limited as a special kobold hand-binds these books individually. The below image is a picture of the hand-tooled and stamped leather special edition Tales of the Old Margreve for a look at how this book would appear “in person.” Please be aware that since these are handbound some variations are possible.

Sneak Peek: Underworld Lairs and Player’s Guide
almost 5 years ago – Wed, May 29, 2019 at 12:52:50 AM

Our kobolds are hard at work adding the stretch goal unlocks to the Underworld Lairs and Underworld Player’s Guide. Remember the derro map and encounter? The dark shrine? The gravebinder magic? Designers Jeff Lee, Kelly Pawlik, and Jon Sawatsky give us a small preview of what they have in store for you in these two books.

From Jeff Lee:

•  Bastion of the Deranged. A remote outpost on the outskirts of the Ghoul Imperium. The darakhul are willing to overlook the mad machinations of its derro occupants so long as they continue to provide defense against intrusion by outsiders.
•  Cathedral of 10,000 Flames. A strange sanctuary to dark powers. Thousands of candles, their eerie, green flames flickering and fanning to unfelt breezes. Can the adventurers conquer the fanatical, blood-crazed master of this temple and find the secrets it guards?

From Kelly Pawlik:

•  Underworld Lairs. Give your players the chance to visit the twinkling caverns of an Ebon Star strongpoint where they can petition for assistance, challenge them with the secure darakhul outpost designed to control the flow of traffic to the Imperium, and allow them a strange break in a village of myconids, a mushroom people who have thus far fended off any incursions.  
•  Gravebinder Arcane Tradition - A subclass that focuses the wizard into an undeath defying and destroying dynamo.
•  White Necromancer Arcane Tradition - A wizard subclass that balances the duality of life and death rather than focusing on death alone as a typical necromancer would.
•  Paladin Oath of Consumption - What can a darakhul paladin consume? It might be better to ask what a darakhul paladin can't consume...

From Jon Sawatsky:

•  Deep Trollkin. The strange environs of the underworld demand much from the creatures that live there, and the trollkins’ adaptability allows them to meet those demands. Though the deep trolls and their kin vary from one to the next like any species, they share one trait in common: mutation.
•  Drow. The great stone spires of the dark elves serve as proof that the Underworld does not lack for highly-organized societies. The wood and web bridges connecting the spires are a corrupt recollection of the exquisite architecture found in the cities of their surface kin. The drow consider themselves the rightful rulers of the Underworld, and, though many other species resent this haughty assumption, few but their eternal enemies the ghouls can disprove it. 
•  Mushroom Folk. Growing in the pale light of the fungus colonies deep below the surface of the world, the quixotic mushroom folk tend the great stalks and coral-like shelves of their homes. The mushroom folk are surprisingly intrepid, and they often go on long walkabouts in the underworld, returning to their colonies with stories and knowledge to be used by all.

For more about Jeff Lee and his work, check out his Patreon!

For more about Kelly Pawlik and her work, check out her website and find her on Facebook! 

You can follow Jon Sawatsky on Twitter @JonSawatsky 

The Final Week!
almost 5 years ago – Mon, May 27, 2019 at 11:15:37 PM

As we enter the final week of the Kickstarter, we are ecstatic, humbled, and ever-grateful for your support. You are helping us bring our story of ghouls and the Underworld to (un?)life. Let’s take a look at what you’ve unlocked so far:

· Underdark Monsters - You added six new monsters to the campaign book’s bestiary.

· Derro Map and Encounter - You added a new derro-themed encounter to Underworld Lairs.

· Underdark Monsters - You added six MORE monsters to the campaign book’s bestiary.

· Derro Player Character Race - You added the derro as a playable race to the Underworld Player’s Guide.

· Ghoul Map and Encounter - You added a new ghoul-themed encounter to Underworld Lairs.

· Derro Magic Items - You added several new magic items by Wolfgang Baur that embrace the dark insanity and instability of the derro—or show their bizarre mastery of ancient mysteries.

· Treasure of the Necropolis - You added several new items by Kelly Pawlik that have been unearthed from the desert necropolis.

· More Art - You enabled us to commission more art from great artists like Bryan Syme, Egil Thompson, William O’Brien, and many others!

· Blood Cult Weaponry - You added several new items used by the blood cults of Midgard.

· Darakhul Player Character Race - You added the darakhul as a playable race to the Underworld Player’s Guide.

· Dark Shrine with Map - You added a new dark cult-themed encounter to Underworld Lairs.

· Ghost Knight Map and Encounter - You added a new ghost knight-themed encounter to Underworld Lairs.

· Blood, Bone, and Void Magic - You added several new spells themed around blood, necromancy, and void magic.

· Fuligin Realm Locations - You added several new locations in our “darker than dark” Underworld.

· Treasure of the Imperium - You added several new items used by the Ghoul Imperium.

· Eccentric Undead NPCs - You added several new undead NPCs that are sure to frighten your players.

· Drow Race Expanded - You added an expanded version of the drow player race to the Underworld Player’s Guide.

· Underdark NPCs - You added several new NPCs from the dark depths that might be friend or foe to your players.

· Wanderers in Darkness - You expanded our random encounter tables to include the different terrain types and areas found in the Underworld.

· Vampire Map and Encounter - You added a new vampire-themed encounter to Underworld Lairs.

· Cult of the Red Goddess - You added a detailed section about the Red Goddess’ cult in Midgard written by Dan Dillon.

· More Art - You enabled us to commission more art from great artists like Bryan Syme, Egil Thomspon, William O’Brien, and many others!

· Gravebinder Magic - You added new spells of the gravebinders, priests and wizards dedicated to helping the dead find eternal rest, written by Kelly Pawlik.

· Lich Map and Encounter - You added a new lich-themed encounter to Underworld Lairs.

· Wild Fungi Player Character Race - You added the wild fungi as a playable race to the Underworld Player’s Guide.

· Streaming: The Black Chambers - You unlocked a streamed game of parts of Chapter 1: Black Chambers of the Undercity run by the writer, Christopher Lockey.

· Darakhul Naming and Customs - You added more lore and character flavor options for roleplaying a darakhul.

· Radiant Libram - You unlocked a treatise on destroying the undead, which includes a magical, holy book of the sun god.

· Library of Rattling Bone - You unlocked a new location in the capital city of the Ghoul Empire, written by Wolfgang Baur.

WOW! The warrens are humming with activity as the kobolds work tirelessly on these 29 stretch goals. The Kickstarter ends this Friday, May 31st, at 4:00 PM EDT. Please remember that, although pledges can be swapped in BackerKit, it’s not possible to upgrade to the limited edition or the handbound versions of the book after the Kickstarter closes. 

Thank you all for your support! Lets finish this Kickstarter strong and see if we can get the kobolds working on even more stretch goals!

-The Kobold Team 

Design Diary: Pure City of Vandekhul
almost 5 years ago – Fri, May 24, 2019 at 11:57:56 PM

In the final chapter of Empire of the Ghouls, the players enter the darakhul city, Vandekhul, and confront the leader of the ghoul uprising. Richard Green tells us what it was like writing the final chapter.

After working on the overall outline and writing The Holy Robes of Sister Adelind, I was delighted when Wolfgang asked me to write the finale. In Pure City of Vandekhul, the player characters travel to the ghoulish city Vandekhul, home to the Emperor’s summer palace. Here, they must put a stop to the ghoul villains’ evil masterplan.

Since playing the original modules back in the 80s, I’ve always loved D&D’s subterranean realms, so it was great to write an adventure that takes place in the heart of the Ghoul Imperium. The first part of the story has the characters visiting a truly fantastic underworld location that first appeared in the original Empire of the Ghouls. But time has passed below ground as well as on the surface of Midgard, and new threats await the characters in an underground shrine.

Of course, the bulk of the adventure takes place in the Pure City of Vandekhul itself. I was able to draw inspiration for the city from its description in the original Empire of the Ghouls campaign, the detailed write-up of the White City of Darakhan in the same book, and the ghoul city of Kilenor that Wolfgang Baur created for Dungeon magazine in Kingdom of the Ghouls. I also drew some inspiration from Lovecraft’s Dreamlands and the stories of Clark Ashton Smith. Since Vandekhul is a city of flesh-eating undead, I had fun writing about some unique and horrifying undead-centric analogs to surface world shops and businesses, such as butcheries and theaters. 

Clearly, attacking every ghoul in sight in such a large city is a surefire route to a TPK, so the characters – and players – will need to come up with clever strategies to succeed. Is the enemy of their enemy a friend or just another enemy? Opportunities for intrigue abound, as the characters attempt to recruit useful allies before the final showdown with the campaign’s arch-villains.

 You can find Richard Green on Twitter @richgreen01  

What Does “Fuligin” Mean? - Design Diary: Into the Fuligin Realm
almost 5 years ago – Tue, May 21, 2019 at 11:46:30 PM

Latin-based, the word “fuligin” roughly means “darker than black” or “blacker than black.” Though an archaic word, it has found use in recent decades by the author Gene Wolfe. We use the word to describe the Underworld of Midgard not just because the Underworld is a place without sunlight, but because it is also a place of dark creatures and dark deeds. The penultimate chapter of Empire of the Ghouls finds the players in this darker-than-dark Underworld, infiltrating the Ghoul Imperium. This chapter’s writer, Mike Welham, gives us some juicy details about some of the challenges the players will face in the depths of the Underworld. 

For Into the Fuligin Realm, I had Richard Green’s comprehensive outline to build from. With all the major beats set in the outline, it became a matter of filling in all the details to make each section of the adventure shine. The encounters suggested by the outline appealed to me, especially since I got to work on a nasty variant of one of my favorite monsters, which I won’t spoil here.

One thing I can spoil, since this chapter takes place in Midgard’s Underworld, is the fact the PCs encounter derro as part of their ongoing quest. The madness inherent in the derro allowed me to push a little on the fourth wall in one part of the chapter, as they simulate an adventure to test the PCs’ worthiness to earn the derro’s assistance.

Another fun aspect of this chapter is the notion that the PCs have to make some less-than-noble choices to achieve their goals. The party helps and seeks help from creatures they’d normally try to destroy. This opens up opportunities for interesting and unique roleplaying encounters in the chapter.

Not all of those who help the PCs are less-than-noble, however, as the PCs also get some helpful hints from a friendly kobold who should be familiar to many of those who have traveled through Midgard.

 You can follow Mike Welham on Twitter @mdwelham