Path of Morality + Progress Update
over 7 years ago – Mon, Aug 01, 2016 at 12:04:07 AM

Even as I write this update, the art for the back of Path of Hope is finalizing right next to me! It features a dragon swooping in on an archer who has but a single (very hopeful!) arrow remaining.

Sorry that I didn't post an update last month. I intend to post updates once per month in the less dramatic stretches of the project, and there will be more frequent updates during the fulfillment. With that in mind, look for another update in just a few weeks…!

Path of Morality

Whew! This was a major nut to crack. The mechanic I discussed in the prior update that allowed you to move “backwards” on a path worked nicely, but there are simply too few total cards in deck of Storypath Cards to have enough of both light and dark cards, so for that pragmatic reason we reworked the design.

The result is a system in which the GM gives players some kind of token to represent whether the choices made by their characters are “light” or “dark”. This judgement is made each time a player uses a card from the Path of Morality, and can be extended to cards from other decks that are played on a Path of Morality Theme/Climax card combination. The tally of these tokens is important when a Climax card is played as the result varies depending on whether the players took the high (and probably more difficult) road, or the low road on the path to resolution.

Here’s a look at some of the cards in the deck, including all four Theme cards. The sample Climax card shows how the tally of light and dark tokens affects the results.

Whispers In The Dark

• Theme Card: You are constantly tempted away from the path of righteousness by voices in your head, a demon, or just poor impulse control.

The Path To Heaven

• Theme Card: You are confronted by choices between “Right” and “Wrong” according to the dictates of your religion.

For They Are An Outlandish People

• Theme Card: The confrontation between two cultures, religions or species emphasizes what it is to be part of “Us”, instead of “Them”.

Shades Of Gray

• Theme Card: There is no absolute “Good” or “Bad”, there are only Shades of Gray.

The Wages Of Sin

• Climax Card
• White: You are exonerated of any slanders against you. The lies of your accusers are seen for what they are.
• Black: The Wages of Sin turn out to be riches galore. Sure, the people may hate you, but you have amassed wealth far beyond their puny belief.

Progress Update

With the Path of Morality finally completed, we can really begin to roll. I will deliver PDFs of the Path of Horror, Path of Intrigue and Path of Hope prior to the end of August. The other two will follow in short order. I apologize for the substantial delay, but design of Path of Morality was a challenge that has left a large wake. Now that it’s finished, progress will be rapid from this point forward, so stay tuned. I will update you again around mid-August.

Paths of Shadows and Chivalry

There are two other decks of Storypath Cards in the works as well. You’ll recall that Path of Shadows was offered in the recent Kickstarter project for Hellywood. That deck is now available for pre-order along with Hellywood itself.

Path of Chivalry is a new offering that is part of the current project for Prince Valiant® The Storytelling Game.

Neither of these decks will cause additional delay in delivery of your rewards for backing this project. Thanks again for your support!

 

Winner: Path of Morality
almost 8 years ago – Thu, May 12, 2016 at 02:21:17 PM

The winner of the fifth deck voting is Path of Morality! Corruption trailed for second and Transformation was a close third. Design for this fifth deck is starting immediately and shouldn't delay the overall schedule.

BackerKit

The other piece of news is a reminder that I'm using BackerKIt for project surveys. BackerKit is a "pledge manager", which means you'll not only confirm your reward and answer questions, but you'll also have the opportunity to change your pledge and add additional items to your shipment. For instance, if you pledged at $12 for one deck, you may wish to upgrade your pledge to $40 so that you receive four decks plus the free fifth deck. Five decks for $8 each instead of one deck for $12. A bargain!

Look for your link to BackerKit soon! The delay is due to the fact that I am going through each backer to correctly apply credit for the bonus "mission cards". Hopefully, when you get to your BackerKit page you'll either see a free 10-card "Mission Set" or your account will have a $1 or $2 credit. You can technically use that credit toward anything, but the intention is that it's for the "Mission Set".

Other Roleplaying News

Because you followed the mission to sign up for website updates (right?!) you already know about the RPG Spanish Invasion I announced, but in case you missed the news, please take a look at the blog post.

Ending Today on Kickstarter!

My current project closes today. A science fiction board game might seem quite far afield from card that add narrative to roleplaying games, but you may wish to take look, with special attention for an update with discussing game design decisions. Designer Greg Costikyan notes that creating a board game that had the feel of a classic SF novel was one of his "design pillars". Once you play the game, I think you'll agree that he succeeded!

The project ends in about seven hours, so look now if you're interested!

The Fifth Deck...
almost 8 years ago – Tue, May 03, 2016 at 09:06:55 AM

... is still undecided!

The Path of Corruption/Morality/Redemption/Transformation/Trials pulled away in the end, but now we need to choose which of those five names to give this deck.

Vote now through noon CST on May 5th. This time you get only one choice, so make it count!

All of these are permutations on a theme, but there are subtle differences as I see them:

Corruption: concerned more about descent.

Morality: concerned more about shades of grey.

Redemption: concerned more about ascent.

Transformation: not concerned entirely about an individual.

Trials: not concerned entirely about spiritual changes.

Lobby for votes with your thoughts in the comments here!

Final 24 Hours!
about 8 years ago – Fri, Apr 22, 2016 at 04:45:40 AM

What a great surge of support! Welcome to the newcomers, and thank you again to everyone for supporting Storypath Cards.

We didn't quite get to $20k as the 24 Hours to Go buzzer sounded, but we got very, very close. If the last 24 hours sees the same support as the prior 24 hours, then... well, we'll just barely miss the final stretch goal.

Therefore, this update is to make certain all the newcomers know about how to get free cards added to your Storypath Card decks.

Copied here from the top of the project page are links for little promotional missions. Just complete these tasks and send me a message (not a comment, please) with links and you can get two bonus cards for every Storypath deck.

Please note that you may substitute a similar mission that is more to your liking. Don't like Facebook? Then post to Google+. Don't want to navigate Reddit? Then post to a RPG forum. Every little bit of exposure will help!

Here are the links:

These are the DAYS OF HORROR! Get free bonus cards just for signing up for updates at Nocturnal Media. Scroll to the bottom of this page.

You may still undertake the DAYS OF HOPE! Learn how to get free bonus cards in Update #4.

You may still undertake the DAYS OF INTRIGUE! Learn how to get free bonus cards in Update #3.

You may still undertake the DAYS OF ADVENTURE! Learn how to get free bonus cards in Update #2.

• Thanks again!

Surging Past the Stretch Goal
about 8 years ago – Thu, Apr 21, 2016 at 05:15:34 AM

Thanks for the amazing support. It looks like the "final" stretch goal is going to fall. I encourage those of you at $5 for one digital deck or $12 for one print deck to increase your pledge to $20 or $40 respectively because there's a free 5th deck of Storypath Cards in your future!

Days of [Path] Missions

Your help pushing the word about the project has without a doubt helped create this surge of support. I do not by any means wish to downplay this help, but I believe I need to offer the eight additional cards (2 per set as bonus rewards for the missions) as an add-on. There are too many backers who either do not use social media or simply don't like social media, and I don't want to force them to participate in something that makes them uncomfortable for the sake of a few cards.

Therefore, the eight cards that are the rewards for the bonus missions are now available as a $5 add-on. Just select the blue "Manage" button at the top of the screen and pledge $5 more than the reward level you wish requires. So if you're currently pledging $60 for COMPLETE CARD COLLECTION, then change your pledge amount to $65 for the same pledge.

If you have completed at least three of the four missions, then you don't need to add funds. You'll receive these cards free.

If you completed only one of the missions (and the fourth one is pretty easy! just sign up for updates at the bottom of www.nocturnal-media.com), then I'll credit you $2 toward this $5 add-on. If you know this means you, then you can add $3 to your pledge total.

Deck100 Indie Variant

Also available as a $15 ($17 outside the US) add-on is the Indie Variant version of Deck100. You can see details about this deck on this DTRPG page where it's available now for $18 + shipping. This is a great play aid for those who play DCC, Fate and other games that require a larger variety of polyhedral dice.

Extra Stretching!

With four hours still to go and the "final" stretch goal about to fall, I think we should add another goal!

How about $27,500?

At $27,500 I'll add an additional 2 cards to every deck of Storypath Cards. That makes the base decks 34 cards with two more available via the missions or $5 add-on.

Keep sharing the project and increase your pledge for add-ons and I bet this goal will fall too!