Upcoming Crowdfunding Campaign and Minor Release

We've previously mentioned that we have a series of World of Morden books in development. Next week, we'll be launching the crowdfunding campaign to help fund the additional artwork that they require. The initial goal will fund Frost and Fang, a book focusing on Steppengrad and Valkenholm. Notably, that book is already written, and backers will receive a draft of it as soon as they pledge.

Savage Lairs Fantasy Forests

“You want to go where?!”

Players are an unpredictable lot. You spend hours planning the perfect
adventures, then they ignore your carefully staged clues to head off
in a direction you had not prepared. Savage Lairs is here to help.

This book presents a range of sixty encounters all tailored to fit
within a typical fantasy forest. Each page presents a new scene that
offers a way to occupy the players while you try to figure out how to
adapt your masterwork to their unexpected actions. Some could lead to
a side quest or an unrelated adventure, but this is not necessary.
These encounters help you to occupy the heroes for a bit, while you
hurriedly readjust your main focus.

Savage Lairs Fantasy Forests is for use with any fantasy setting. It
makes use of the Savage Worlds game system and requires the Savage
Worlds Core Rules for use.

Savage Lairs Fantasy Forests is now available from DriveThruRPG for $10 in PDF.

Bundle of Nerves +3

Bundle of Holding asked us to participate in their Halloween promotions, and when we saw what they were including, we just had to jump on board. Starting with the most important aspect, 10% of the money raised goes to the National Center forMissing & Exploited Children. This is an organization dedicated to fighting some of our world's most horrifying monsters.

After that, customers can buy in at two different levels. At the base level ($9.95), buyers receive PDFs of Savage Worlds Deluxe Explorer's Edition as well as The Horror Companion. (Conveniently, the two books required to play Accursed!) They also receive Silent Legions from Sine Nomine Publishing, a modern Cthulhu game with mechanics in keeping with the OSR movement.

Buyers who buy at more than the threshold price (initially $19.95) receive a whole bunch more. First off, they receive Accursed. We're guessing you already know about that since you're viewing our site. They also receive Rippers and the Rippers Companion from Pinnacle, a brilliant setting that focuses on Victorian Monster Hunters. Finally, they receive Shadows of Esteren Book 1 Universe. This is a lavishly illustrated game setting of medieval gothic horror.

The folks at Bundle of Holding tell me that there's still more coming, and I'm excited to see it. Buyers who join in now get anything that might be added to the bundle later as well. However, that threshold price for bonus books does go up over time, so if you want in, it's better to buy early. The base offer is $40 in books for $10. The bonus offer is $100 in books for $20. I don't think you can go wrong with either, even if you already have some of those books.

LINK TO THE BUNDLE OF NERVES +3

Thanks for your attention, and please help us to spread the word about this great deal.

Old School Blue - Geomorphic Dungeon Tiles

We've just launched a new set of print-on-demand products, as part of Melior Via's Maps and Tools line.

There are currently four sets available:

• 8 Basic Tiles ($4.00)
• 6 Tiles of Curved Rooms ($3.00)
• 4 Tiles of Rooms with Columns ($2.00)
• 8 Tiles of Angled passages ($4.00)

Each tile is a six-inch square, with the grid marked out in the classic blue from old adventure maps. They are otherwise undetailed, so that they can be used for dungeons, space ships, office buildings, or any other combat map that your game needs. The back of each tile is a blank 6-inch grid, useful for quickly expanding any of the maps into a larger area.

Tiles do have a matte coating, which works well with dry-erase markers. It's easy quickly indicate room features like doors or traps, and then wipe it away when the encounter is complete.

Because of their small size and stack-ability, the tiles are quick to pack up and easy to lay down as the battlefield grows on your next game night.

Old School Blue Geomorphic Tiles are compatible with Blue Dungeon Tiles from Red Kobold Games.

I shot a quick video to give a brief overview of the tiles.

One Day Accursed Sale

Today's the two year anniversary of when we successfully ran the Accursed Kickstarter. We're thrilled by the way that the product line and the community have grown through that time. We're up to twenty products in our store now, and that's all thanks to the continued support and interest of our fellow gamers. Recently, we even saw releases of the game setting in Portuguesefrom our licensees at Retropunk as well as the first deck of NPC cards fromWarning Label, LLC.

A Night at the Museum

Violence, murder, and a lingering paranormal presence bring Corktown Precinct investigators to the Detroit Institute of Art. Two guards are dead, priceless artifacts are smashed, and a 2,000 year old mummy is missing. Or is it?

The Thin Blue Line - A Detroit Police Story now available in print!

We've just received our second round of prints proofs for The Thin Blue Line - A Detroit Police Story. These look exactly as we intended them, and we're absolutely thrilled with the print quality. Consequently, we've enabled Print on Demand ordering through DriveThruRPG. The 143 page book is immediately available to order. Buyers also receive the PDF with their purchase at no additional cost. This is the full version of the setting.

A Release, a Sale, and some News

We have a few small announcements that we need to share.
 
New Release
Last week, we released Fall of the Tower, an adventure for Accursed. This began as a special event run at Gen Con 2014 for a few of our Kickstarter backers. It represents a turning point in the struggle for the future of Morden, a savage blow struck against either the Witches who have conquered the land or the Order of the Penitent that seeks to save it.

The Thin Blue Line - Full Setting PDF Release

Late last night, we took the PDF release of The Thin Blue Line - A Detroit Police Story live on DriveThruRPG. The 143 page PDF is available immediately for sale, and expands upon the content that was included in the Player's Guide. This version includes two additional chapters. The first presents important citizens and monsters active in Detroit. The second offers a random adventure generator, a selection of Savage Tales, and a Cursed Item Generator.

Movin' Right Along

 

We're very pleased to announce that we've just released The Thin Blue Line - A Detroit Police Story - Player's Guide in PDF on DriveThruRPG. The 82 page PDF is available immediately for sale, while we wrap up the full setting guide. This book features a detailed history of paranormal Detroit, instructions on creating characters, two new Arcane Backgrounds, and a selection of gear tailored for officers of the Corktown Precinct.

Summer Sale!

Melior Via is just one of the many publishers participating in DriveThruRPG's Christmas in July Sale.

It just launched today, and runs for about a week. This year, however, there's one particularly notable change. In addition to marking down ebooks, DriveThruRPG also offered publishers a chance to mark down their print products as well. We've opted into that, and have discounted all of our print products by 15%. Almost all of these are exclusively available through DriveThruRPG, and we have never had a sale on them before. If you've been considering the Premium Hardcover Color Edition of the Accursed, the Accursed GM Screen, or our Double Deck of Accursed Cards, there has never been a better price.

Our Far Away Galaxy Poster Space Battle Map set is also included in the sale. I don't think you'll find another fully illustrated 3 foot x 3 foot battlemap for $5.10.

Crowdfunding Successful, Thank You!

Today, the Kickstarter project to fund The Thin Blue Line: A Detroit Police Story successfully concluded. Much to our surprise, we even managed to attain our $10,000 stretch goal. Thank you to everyone who supported the project and to all who helped us spread the word about it. We're indebted to you for your efforts. We intend to deliver a great product to you in return.

1 Week Update on The Thin Blue Line Kickstarter

The Thin Blue Line: A Detroit Police Story has been running for about a week now. We've been toying with the 50% funded line for the past couple of days approaching it and even briefly passing it, before a couple of backers had to withdraw. We're grateful for all the support and attention its received to date. We feel like a community is emerging around the project, and that's deeply gratifying. 

 

The Thin Blue Line Kickstarter Launches

This is a landmark day for The Thin Blue Line: A Detroit Police Story. We're launching a crowd-funding campaign on Kickstarter today, to fund the full production of the RPG. We're tremendously excited about this, and we hope you'll consider supporting us in our efforts. Jason has been working on this project for years, and I'm thrilled that he chose to team with Melior Via to bring his vision to life.

Sundry Updates

A number of things came together in short order recently. They’re not really thematically linked, but they’re all important. So, let’s dive into them quickly.

Accursed GM Screen Now Available

Over the weekend we received our proof copy of the Accursed GM’s screen inserts. We ordered it along with the customizable screen, and we’re very happy with the combination. All 8 of the panels reproduced our colors very effectively, and we love the way it turned out.
The PDF of the screen panels is now available for $3. Printed cards (US Letter size) are available to order for $7. Those who particularly like the screen we used can also combine the printed cards with the screen for $31.95. 

Direct Link to the Screen

Accursed Map Now Available

We’ve had a printed map of Morden available on our Zazzle site for a while. However, it’s a little more expensive than we’d like it to be, and that site’s a little off the beaten path. Recently, DriveThruRPG enabled the ability to print posters. Conveniently, those are about the same size as our map. We’ve just received the proofs of the map and we’ve now turned that on for ordering.
It’s now available in print for $6. It’s shipped flat, folded in half. 

Direct Link to the Map

Thin Blue Line Blog has launched

 
Melior Via will be publishing a new setting later this year. The Thin Blue Line: A Detroit Police Story is Jason Marker’s creation. In it, he shows his love for the city by exploring some of its darkest legends. Players take on the roles of the officers of the city’s Corktown Precinct. These officers have either demonstrated paranormal abilities or had a close brush with the supernatural. The damaged, over-worked, and under-paid officers must keep paranormal activity in Detroit under wraps and out of sight.
Jason’s posting updates to the new blog a couple of times each week as we continue development work on the project. The Thin Blue Line will be a modern horror setting, requiring the Savage Worlds rulebook and the Horror Companion for use. 

Direct Link to the Blog

Gen Con 2015 Schedule

Melior Via is hosting several events at Gen Con this year and John’s participating in a couple of others. If you’re assembling your schedule in preparation for event registration (coming 5/17/15) please keep these events in mind! 
RPG1571207 Accursed - The Lost Pyramid Thursday @ 9:00 AM 4 hours
The Order of the Penitent has asked your team to investigate rumors coming from Hyphrates. Banes once loyal to the Djinn have been searching the desert, reportedly trying to uncover a legendary site. A pyramid may exist which connects Morden with the Summerlands of the Seelie Fey. Could this be a way to bring the Seelie back to the world? Worse yet, could the banes use it as a gateway to bring back the Djinn? Game with one of the setting’s creators!
SEM1571371 How to RPG Freelance! Thursday @ 2:00 PM 1 hour
Join experienced gaming professionals as they present a guide for anyone looking to enter the gaming industry, from highs to lows & everything in between.
RPG1571208 Accursed - The Lost Pyramid Friday @ 9:00 AM 4 hours
The Order of the Penitent has asked your team to investigate rumors coming from Hyphrates. Banes once loyal to the Djinn have been searching the desert, reportedly trying to uncover a legendary site. A pyramid may exist which connects Morden with the Summerlands of the Seelie Fey. Could this be a way to bring the Seelie back to the world? Worse yet, could the banes use it as a gateway to bring back the Djinn? Game with one of the setting’s creators!
RPG1572461 Thin Blue Line - Mummy's Curse Saturday @ 9:00 AM 4 hours
Two guards murdered and the ancient Egyptian exhibit vandalized at the Detroit Institute of Art. The Corktown Precinct investigates the unexplained. Preview an upcoming setting!
SEM1575984 Savage Worlds Licensee Seminar Saturday @ 4:00 PM 1 hour
Learn what's in the works for Savage Worlds licensee companies!
SEM1576204 RPG Business Sense Saturday @ 5:00 PM 1 hour
Focusing on the business of producing and selling your own product; learn about resources to make that part easier. This seminar is interactive. Audience questions and comments welcome. Topics may include information about trade groups, administrative structure, pros and cons of distribution, crowdfunding (e.g. Kickstarter, IndieGoGo, Patreon), marketing and advertising, the usefulness of contracts, and other topics the audience wants to discuss.

Shaintar-Accursed Crossover!

Melior Via is proud to announce the release of a crossover adventure, enabling characters to travel between the worlds of Shaintar and Morden. With permission and support from Evil Beagle Games, we've released Darkest Tides, an adventure and sourcebook about both settings.

The adventure begins in earnest when the heroes arrive at Cata'Lasis or Respite—places that conceal a connection between worlds. Ranking members of the heroes' organization have sent the characters to the island in response to a request for aid. The aid requests are in response to numerous sightings of unusual creatures that have taken place in the area. Tracking the corrupted beings uncovers a larger tunnel complex. Examination of the caverns reveals that they are the remains of something ancient.

Darkest Tides is a 19 page adventure for a band of Rangers from Shaintar. It can also be adapted for  Witchmarked heroes from Accursed. The adventure may be played as a standalone, or it may integrated into a larger campaign. It follows a four act structure, while also providing details on the regions of Cata'Lasis in Shaintar and the corresponding city of Respite on Morden from Accursed. Darkest Tides includes necessary game mechanics and opportunity for tasks that can be resolved in a variety of ways. Conversion notes are provided for transferring characters between the two settings.

Shaintar: Legends Arise and Accursed provides additional details about the setting used in this scenario, however, only Shaintar: Legends Arise is required to fully make use of the game mechanics presented. Savage Worlds is also required.

Available for $6.00 exclusively from DriveThruRPG!