Community Project: The Mageflame Chronicles

Martin Killmann, designer of Dark Pacts & Ancient Secrets and Dark Alleys & Twisted Paths, as well as frequent contributor to Escalation, just launched a new project. This one's a little different than his previous works, because he's seeking help from freelancers. You don't need design credits to participate, either. This could be your opportunity to contribute to a hefty 13th Age project and eventually see your name in print!

Here's what Martin recently said about the project:

Fine folks of 13th Age, let me give a quick update on the Mageflame Chronicles project: This came up as the idea to build a community-created setting around the Mageflame Icons originally created by Cody Swendrowski.

By now, we’ve got a rough idea where we’re going and seven community members creating the first pieces.

The project is open to anyone, so come in, have a look, and start your freelancing resume.

For more information, including compensation per word, how to contact Martin, and were to watch the project unfold, check out the project document.

Sketches from Maximilian Schmuecker's work on the Mageflame icons.

Articles Needed: House Rules

Work on Issue 9 is underway, now that we've completed Issue 8. Before the latest issue had even been finalized, we had received several articles that appear to have a common theme: house rules. So we're going to run with the theme and flesh out the next issue with the fun additions, variants, options, and omissions that make 13th Age unique to you and your table.

Interested in submitting an article? Here are some general categories that might spark your imagination.

• How do you handle icons in your game? This may be the largest element that differentiates one 13th Age group from another. We'd love to hear your ideas. Did you replace them with a different system? Add mechanical benefits that icon advantages grant during combat? Use icon relationships as a replacement or addition to backgrounds?
• Have you added mechanics that were intended to capture the feel of a particular adventure or encounter?
• Have you borrowed a system that you enjoyed in another game and added it to 13th Age? How did you incorporate it?
• Do you handle backgrounds differently? Do you use a skill system from another game?
• Have you used One Unique Things to grant mechanical bonuses to your characters?
• Did you need to change any mechanics to support a different genre, such as mysteries, sci-fi, or gritty, low fantasy?

Take a look at the link at the top right corner of the page for submission guidelines and contact information. Please spread the word and help the community tailor 13th Age so it matches their needs perfectly!

Escalation Issue 8 is Available

I'm pleased to announce that Escalation Issue 8 is now available! You can find it on the Vault of the 13th Age. This issue's theme is Midgard, the campaign setting made famous by the fine folks at Kobold Press. We’re pleased to present the official Midgard icons, written by Wade Rockett, featuring new art that was commissioned for this issue. An introductory adventure features two of Midgard’s most well-known locations: the Margreve Forest and the Free City of Zobeck. Midgard is known for its diverse drakes and dragonkin, so we offer some new variations. Players needn’t fear, because this issue is filled with character options, including ley line magic, alcohol-themed talents, the trollkin playable race, a new take on gearforged, and a collection of Midgard character options from Martin Killmann.

We love to hear feedback, so let us know what you enjoy and would like to see more of in the future. What's missing that you'd like us to include next time? What didn't work so well, and we should consider omitting? This is the community's fanzine, and we want to make it as useful as possible for you.

Please consider submitting articles that expand upon the theme of House Rules for Issue 9. See the information on the right side of the page if you'd like to submit an article or art.

Thanks again to everyone who made this possible!

Vote for the 13th Age Community Icons

Since Escalation operates using Fire Opal Media's generous community use policy, we're able to refer to the Dragon Empire's icons by name in our free publications. Third party publishers need to create icons of their own, since the Dragon Empire icons aren't included in the 13th Age SRD. Over the years, this has led to several different sets of third party icons, some of which can be found at 13thagesrd.com/icons.

Pelgrane Press would like to show its support of the community by commissioning icon symbols for a list of Open Gaming Content (OGC) icons. These icons and their accompanying artwork will be OGC, and available for third party publishers to use, if they so choose.

Pelgrane Press reached out to us here at Escalation, and asked us to help create a set of Community Icons. We decided we'd put it up to a vote between existing sets of icons. We selected the Mageflame and C.A. Wright icons as candidates, because they work seamlessly with official material.

Now's your chance to vote for your favorite OGC icons. Winning icons and their symbols will appear in a set of Community Icons. Voting will end on Tuesday, July 28, at 12:01 AM EDT.

Vote Here

Icons are courtesy of Dungeons & Dragons ©Wizards of the Coast.

Escalation Issue 7 is Available

I'm pleased to announce that the whopping, 124-page Escalation Issue 7 is now available! You can find it on the Vault of the 13th Age. This issue's theme is The Divine. We dive into pantheons that you can use in your 13th Age game. Signs of the gods are manifested in their followers in the world. New barbarian talents expand the class and add complexity. God Time and heroquesting is discussed for our Glorantha fans. Ashley Law presents new divine spells, magic items, and flavorful options from the overworld. John Marvin provides sample gods from Gods and Icons. And remember, in a world where the gods (potentially) fuel the magic of their followers, these articles aren’t just for clerics and paladins in your party. We sought to include content that’s useful for world building and for PCs of all varieties.

We love to hear feedback, so let us know what you enjoy and would like to see more of in the future. What's missing that you'd like us to include next time? What didn't work so well, and we should consider omitting? This is the community's fanzine, and we want to make it as useful as possible for you.

Please consider submitting articles that expand upon Kobold Press' support of 13th Age in the Midgard campaign setting. Issue 8 is dedicated to bringing Midgard to life using 13th Age. See the information on the right side of the page if you'd like to submit an article or art.

Thanks again to everyone who made this possible!

Articles Needed: Midgard

As a long-time fan of the awesome products from Kobold Press, I'm excited to announce that we're ready to begin work on the next issue of Escalation, focused on the Midgard campaign setting. Not familiar with Midgard? Then check out this short primer.

The Midgard Bestiary: 13th Age Edition offers dozens of Midgard creatures and NPCs, thirteen icons, and nine PC races. Combined with the Midgard Worldbook, the bestiary provides the basis for entire Midgard campaigns using 13th Age. Yet, available 13th Age content only scratches the surface of Midgard. We need the help of the community to flesh out Midgard for 13th Age gaming groups.

Here are some ideas for articles:

• There are many Midgard races that aren't detailed in the Midgard Bestiary. A selection includes alseid, bearfolk, shadow fey, trollkin, derro, dhampir, jinnborn, lamia, ratfolk, sahuagin, lizardfolk, hiveless, werelions, and winterfolk halflings.
• The icons presented in the Midgard Bestiary were drawn from a time period about a decade in the Midgard metaplot's past. What icons are present, now?
• Midgard features several continents. Many powerful NPCs—potential icons—are limited in scope. What advice can you offer GMs to select the right icons for their adventures and campaigns? What might the icons in a Zobeck- or Margreve-focused campaign look like? How would they differ from a campaign where PCs are from all over Midgard?
• Deities are more present and important in Midgard than they are in 13th Age's Dragon Empire. This leads to several cleric domains that haven't been explored in 13th Age. These include apocalypse, beer (yes, beer!), bird, cat, clockwork, dragon, glyphs, hunger, hunting, insect, labyrinth, mountain, ocean, prophecy, speed, travel, and void domains. 
• Ley lines are an important aspect of arcane magic in Midgard. How can they be represented mechanically in 13th Age?
• The Status attribute offers mechanical benefits and drawbacks in Midgard. The system wouldn't be hard to port to 13th Age, but how can it be syncretized with icon relationships?
• Some archetypes might work well as talents. For example, Midgard features ghost knight fighters, vampire slayer rangers, and clockwork wizards.
• Ring magic, rune magic, blood magic, and void magic offer new spells and even approaches to tapping into the arcane. How can these be represented in 13th Age?
• The Tome of Beasts and Creature Codex are filled with hundreds of new Midgard monsters. What 13th Age campaign wouldn't be richer with more foes?

For further ideas, the Midgard Swords & Wizardry Guidebook could serve as a good template for bringing Midgard to 13th Age.

Take a look at the link at the top right corner of the page for submission guidelines and contact information.  Please spread the word and help us create an issue that will help the World Tree grow!

Nachtfalter PC Race from Nocturne

The Savage Mojo wiki appears to no longer be supported. That's a shame because it was home to my fan creation: the nachtfalter playable race from the Nocturne campaign setting. Fortunately, I captured a copy of the wiki page and uploaded it to my cloud drive in the summer of 2017. I'm providing the content from that page for the Nocturne player who recently asked about it. All credit for the creation of the nachtfalter monster goes to Sam Phillips. I merely took his evocative work and made it a PC race.

Nachtfalter original race concept and concept art by Sam Phillips

Nachtfalter (aka Moth-Men)

by Tim Baker - 13th Age kickstarter backer. Thank you Tim - great work making the moth-men fly as a playable race.

+2 Int or Wis
The moth-men of Nightfall are the enforcers of the realm. One in a thousand nachtfalter is corrupt and gains free will. These outcasts are lonely indeed: feared by the people of the land and hunted by their own kin.

Silvered Wings (Racial Power)

One battle per day, your adventurer gains flight as a move action. He must land at the end of his turn or fall and take damage (as per the tier).

Champion Feat: Your adventurer also gains silvered wings while the escalation die is 4+, but loses it at the end of his turn in the round when the escalation die can no longer advance.

Moth From the Flame (Optional Racial Power)

If you choose, your adventurer can gain this optional racial power in addition to his normal racial power. One battle per day, when staggered, he can turn into a cloud of moths as a standard action. As a cloud of moths, your adventurer can only take move actions and gains resist 16+ to all damage except fire damage. He can reform from the cloud with a normal save.

When you pick this power, fire is your adventurer's weakness. While affected by his weakness, your adventurer is vulnerable to all attacks, and must either lose the benefits of his racial powers or lose the benefit of the escalation die (your choice) until the source of the weakness is gone.

Original Date Created: 18-Aug-2016 04:29:05 PM UTC