Stonetop Pre-Orders Available at Backerkit

 So, uh, this happened:

As we mentioned a few times in the Kickstater updates, we've been absolutely blown away by the support and the enthusiasm. 

I've been trying to focus on finishing the two books, and keeping on top of the (considerably enlarged) Stonetop community on Discord, and just haven't gotten around to posting any follow-ups here. I'll be aiming to more of that soon, as I've got a few things to talk about that might be relevant not just to Stonetop folks but to anyone who plays and tinkers with Dungeon World or Homebrew World. In particular, I plan to talk about:

• How and why I changed the names of many basic moves
• How and why I'm changing Drives (Stonetop's take on Dungeon World's Alignment rules) into PC Instincts
• Stonetop's updated rules for Followers, which are iteration from those presented in the Perilous Wilds.

In the meantime, if you missed the kickstarter and would like to preorder the books or the PDF, you can do so here:

Click to pre-order!

Pre-orders for the physical books will remain open until a few weeks before we go to press. If you pre-order either the physical book or the PDF, you'll get access to the current preview playkit and an invite to the Stonetop community on Discord. 

Shipping costs will be added as you check out, but for the books, they are:

• US: $15
• Canada/EU/UK: $22
• Norway/Switzerland: $38
• Australia: $25
• New Zealand: $30
• China, Macao, Hong Kong: $14
• Rest of Asia: $29
• All other countries: $70-100

Shipping costs above include customs and VAT for international customers.  

Stonetop Kickstarter: March 1st, 2021

We're finally doing it:

click me for the prelaunch page

Here's the teaser text:

The Stone has always been here, in the center of the village. It’s larger than life, older than anything, etched with runes. When storms roll up from the south, as they often do, the Stone pulls lightning from the sky and the village shakes with thunder. Visitors cower. The locals? They barely even notice.

You are one such local, someone who calls Stonetop home. You’re one of a handful of notables—admired, or respected, or maybe even reviled. When there’s trouble, people look to you for the solution. Or as the cause. Or both.

And right now, as the first wildflowers appear beyond the Old Wall? Trouble is brewing. The world itself is darkening, like the sky before a summer storm. Folks can feel it. They’re afraid.

These are good people, here, in Stonetop. Your kith and kin.

If you don’t step up to protect them, who will?

I've been working on Stonetop since, criminy, 2013? It started as a "playset" for Dungeon World with beefed up rules for managing the steading's prosperity. Then it became a whole slew of custom classes with a unique structure, and a bunch of creepy artifacts. And then I started tweaking basic moves, and eventually acknowledged that this was going to be a standalone game.

I've run over 75 sessions with 5 different groups. I've played in over 30 sessions myself. We've had something like 60 different playtest groups. 

And now, finally, the end is in sight. We'll be launching the Kickstarter on March 1, 2021, closing on March 31. Target fulfillment is October 2021.  

Jason Lutes of Lampblack & Brimstone will be running the Kickstarter and publishing the game. You might know Jason/L&B from The Perilous Wilds, which is where we first collaborated. Jason is also doing layout, editing, and art direction.

Illustrations will be done by Lucie Arnoux, a UK-based artist whose work includes reportage, children's books, set design, and comics. That's her work up above. Here's some more:

(details, including a sample chapter and a more art, after the break)