Here at Handiwork we produce lots of economical products that support our larger offerings. Here’s a few things we offer that make quick and easy gifts for anyone on your holidays list.
Huge Dice
For BEOWULF: Age of Heroes we produced a series of extra-large dice to work with our Wyrd alignment/advantage system. But they’re impressive enough to use for any d20-based game!
Another bonus item we unlocked during the BEOWULF Kickstarter was a series of professionally sculpted miniatures. If you’re looking for unique Migration Era/Viking minis, we’ve got a fabulous set for you! Available in cast white metal and STL files for printing (resin machine highly recommended).
We’ve been hard at work bringing our patrons at Handimonsters.com brand-new 5e monsters every single week of the year. And now, since we have such a horde of wild and wonderful unique beasties, we’re going to publish them in an annual!
It’ll be a handsome, full colour softcover book, in the region of 64 pages, available direct from our webstore, and of course in PDF from DrivethruRPG. Every monster gets its own page, with it’s own unique stat block, abilities and actions, along with its own stunning piece of art. Since we’ve built this horde up over a year, they’re all unique killer, and absolutely no filler!
Our monsters are designed by Jacob Rodgers (Adventures in Middle-earth 5e, The Ruins of Symbaroum 5e, BEOWULF Age of Heroes) and illustrated by Scott Purdy (Pathfinder, Numenera, BEOWULF Age of Heroes)
We’ll have more information on how you can get your hands on one very soon. And be sure to swing by www.Handimonsters.com to check out the free stuff and subscribe!
What a bunch of news we have for you today! There are updates on Forest Dragon games, Handimonsters, a|state, and BEOWULF: Age of Heroes.
BEOWULF: Age of Heroes
Digital Pack 6
We have released our sixth set of digital add-ons for BEOWULF. This is the first one backers are not getting free as part of their pledges. It’s packed with PDF articles, maps, VTT tokens, and music.
Packages continue to wing their way across the country and our warehouse will continue to pack and ship backers’ rewards, with a bit of an interruption for Thanksgiving. We hope to have our shipping done early next month.
a|state
Late pledges for a|state are closing soon! Our kickstarter for this early 2000s British RPG classic smashed all expectations, and there’s a small window left to make a late pledge.
In a|state you’ll band together to try to make a life in your corner of the endless City better, bringing the ability to Care to Forged in the Dark games.
As you’d expect from Handiwork, there’s a host of useful and beautiful accessories available to check out at the late pledge page.
Handimonsters
This week we released our last Dungeon Construct of the year, the Throne Mimic for Handimonsters. Enchanted with the power to draw creatures to itself, it then grabs and devours them. You can get it and over 50 other monsters at www.handimonsters.com!
We are also hard at work at assembling the annual, a print compilation of our first year of Handimonsters that will collect all of our beautiful art and tricky monsters into a physical form. We’ll have more to talk about here soon.
Forest Dragon Games
Let’s take a quick look at the Forest Dragon Farmer. In the game, you collect crops by growing them. This requires a Field, some Seeds, and a Helper. Each of them need to match (for example each of the above cards have a green plant symbol, so this is a matching set). Keep making sets in order to win the game!
Links
Sign up for our newsletter and you’ll get extra offers, insights and snippets of info.
Join us on Discord, just point your browser at www.discord.me/handiworkgamers and that will generate you an invite. Sometimes you have to cut and paste for the bot to do its magic. Say hello to everyone and find channels for all your favourite releases.
Huge Excitement! News on Forest Dragon products, Handimonsters, a|state, and BEOWULF: Age of Heroes!!!
BEOWULF: Age of Heroes
… the curved prow such course had run that sailors now could see the land, sea-cliffs shining, steep high hills, headlands broad. Their haven was found, their journey ended.
BEOWULF: Age of Heroes has landed on the western shore! Fighting valiantly through hordes of ‘customs’ (whatever fell creature they might be), it won its way and arrived in good condition to the House of Wares here in America:
From here, it must be sorted and divided, packaged appropriately, and sent on to each individual’s destination. That process began this week and will continue (with some interruptions next week due to American Thanksgiving) until everyone of our American backers has their rewards! We know you’ve been incredibly patient while this was sorted out and we appreciate the patience.
Other BEOWULF news
With our original BEOWULF project within sight of being completed, let’s talk about what’s coming next. We have dozens of BEOWULF digital releases and many requests to provide their content in a physical format. In order to deliver the highest possible quality product with the best ‘bang for the buck’ we will launch a kickstarter next year for a hardcover book – an adventure anthology of the digital adventure releases. We’ll also take the opportunity to revisit each adventure for opportunities to update, expand, and link them together. And who knows? With an extra successful campaign, we might be able to add new material as well.
The contest to win a copy of the Whale Road poster runs until tomorrow at 14:00 UK time. Learn more here.
a|state news
The new edition of a|state is taking pledges right now, as we finish up work on the core text. Set in a dystopian city of mysteries, it is up to your gang of troublemakers to build up a secure corner in the city where your friends and families can be safe while you poke and prod at the authorities and their cruel and strange agendas.
Pledge today to join us in The City. You’ll never forget what you find there, though you won’t be remembered.
Handimonsters
Wow! Look at that… literally dozens of monsters for your 5e games and you can get all of them, just by signing up for Handimonsters! And that’s not even a complete set!
Sign up today at Handimonsters.com and get this incredible deal now.
We will produce a print release of our first year monsters, the 2021 Handimonsters Annual! It will be available to order very soon.
Forest Dragon products
We are doing final playtesting on two Forest Dragon products: Forest Dragon Farmer and The Pieman’s Apprentice! Forest Dragon Farmer is our game of (slightly) advanced strategy as farmers compete to produce the best crops. But when the harvest is in and the time comes to celebrate, the folk of the lands of the Forest Dragon enjoy their pies.
In the Pie Man’s Apprentice, players try to help the Pie Man bake the best pies. Everyone’s got their own favourites, so win extra points by making your friends and neighbours happy!
More news on both games will be coming very soon!
Links:
Sign up for our newsletter and you’ll get extra offers, insights and snippets of info.
Join us on Discord, just point your browser at www.discord.me/handiworkgamers and that will generate you an invite. Sometimes you have to cut and paste for the bot to do its magic. Say hello to everyone and find channels for all your favourite releases.
Just for fun, here’s a poster that shows off some of the Handimonsters that are currently available. Handimonsters is a weekly Patreon that produces 5e monsters every week. You can sign up for as little as $3 a month. You’ll get access to all the monsters shown above (plus more that didn’t fit) and, as long as you’re subscribed, you’ll get a new monster every week. Sign up at www.handimonsters.com!
Our bonus level included not only the statblocks but transparent images for virtual tabletops, in both a portrait (pog) format and a top-down view of the monster. We include a digital art print so you can show off the monster to your players without accidentally revealing any game info, and we also include a printable paper mini to put out on the table for face-to-face games.
ONE individual prize is available for this competition, each consisting of a BEOWULF Whale Road Poster. You may enter ONCE on each of our Social sites:
To enter, please make sure you have fulfilled the listed criteria – you must be following us on the platform in question, and you must share/retweet as outlined.
The prizes are as advertised, there will be no cash alternative.
This competition is not open to the employees of Handiwork Games, or to their families.
Entries from competition sites or other automated mail systems will be deleted.
We will draw ONE winner, on Wednesday 18th November 14:00 UK time.
You MAY enter this competition if you are outside the UK.
Today we’re going to take a look at a release for Jon Hodgson Maps, the Stone Circle Battle Map:
This 27″x27″ map features two levels: an ancient stone circle on a broken plateau, and beneath it spiraling triskele labyrinth studied with mysterious sacred stones.
The download includes: • 27 inch poster maps with plain, gridded, and hex versions • Convenient home printable poster maps in A4 and US Letter versions • There are also two 120dpi jpegs of the maps for Virtual Table Top (VTT) usage
We’ve got news for you on Forest Dragon Farmer, Handimonsters, A|State and BEOWULF: Age of Heroes!
BEOWULF: Age of Heroes
BEOWULF has surpassed another milestone in its quest for America! The books have cleared customs and should be ready to ship to the warehouse. We are hoping for another update to come soon, indicating that they’re on the way but we also know that there are challenges in this aspect of shipping too so we don’t want to speak out of turn.
We really appreciate our customers’ understanding and good will and we are preparing a little thank you for your patience. More news very soon.
We are having a special sale for our flexible dice trays. Full-colour printed with beautiful art (including a whole series of BEOWULF images and designs) they’re easy to transport and easy to use. As more and more opportunities arise for us to see each other, make sure your dice stay organised: Dice Trays
These are some of our most popular products, with our best selling designs, and they’re only sale right now (sale lasts until Wednesday morning, 0930 GMT)!
A|State Pledge Manager Open!
The A|State Pledge Manager is open and production on add-on items is underway! If you’re interested in joining us in The City, please get in as soon as possible.
Game Development Progress
We have begun the editing process on the completed sections of the manuscript as development is wrapping up. Production is ongoing for the add-ons and it’s all coming together for a timely delivery .
We anticipate PDF release in December, and remain on track for a June 2022 release.
Handimonsters
We are getting closer and closer to our anniversary. We have plans for a special product to celebrate and hope to have an official announcement later this week. Meanwhile, here’s a Dungeon Construct, the Knightmare:
Sign up at handimonsters.com and get access to dozens of monsters immediately. New monsters every Monday!
Forest Dragon Games
We’ve released a preview version of the Forest Dragon Farmer rules. Check out the website for more information and to download the rulebook!
Links:
Sign up for our newsletter and you’ll get extra offers, insights and snippets of info.
Join us on Discord, just point your browser at www.discord.me/handiworkgamers and that will generate you an invite. Sometimes you have to cut and paste for the bot to do its magic.
If you’ve been interested in a|state this is your opportunity to join us in The City. Take on roles like the Ghostfighter, the Lostfinder, the Activist, and the Sneakthief to defend your part of the city from selfish authorities, angry gangs and heartless industries, and deal with the spiralling consequences of your own actions as you struggle for a better tomorrow. And there’s lots of amazing things for a|state being worked on right now.
Add-ons: Received Prints and Production Notes
We’ve received the print run for The Three Coins, a roleplaying game that exists in the City. We also have production notes and diagrams from our friends at Campaign Coins, showing us how they’re going to produce the compass and the coins.
For details on these items, go to the Pledge Manager and scroll down – each add-on has a section all about it!
We remain on track for a June 2022 release.
Handimonsters
Our first anniversary is fast approaching! We have a plan for a special product to celebrate and should have an official announcement in about a week. Meanwhile, we ended our Legions of Autumn releases this year with the Soulseeker:
We’re taking the rest of the month to round out some of our monster collections, in anticipation of our exciting news, coming very soon!
When you join www.handimonsters.com you support us and our work, plus you’ll gain access to our entire backcatalogue of 5e monsters and receive a new monster every Monday!
Forest Dragon Farmer
We’ve received some very good news on Forest Dragon Farmer that has unlocked the potential for us to offer a level of production quality that we just didn’t have access to with earlier card game releases. We’ll have a big announcement for you, very soon!
BEOWULF
Will you be visiting family and friends over the upcoming holidays? Maybe you’ve got one special relation that you’ve always wanted to introduce to fantasy roleplaying but the logistics of putting together a big game would never work out? BEOWULF: Age of Heroes is designed for one player and one gamemaster. You can download the free introductory scenario The Hermit’s Sanctuary or order it Print On Demand. As long as you’re familiar with 5e, you can run the adventure by itself.
Orkenspalter TV recently featured BEOWULF in a review/skit. We asked a fan who’s a bit more proficient in German to give us the scoop and here’s what we heard back:
The scenario [The Three Ogre Brothers] reminds one of classical faerie tales, and would work well in other settings…
…Now we come to our favorite rule: The Hero always gets a spear – regardless of where one is. Either it’s given to them, there’s one lying around, or it’s improvised…
Beowulf is rich with fascinating, lively (or living), genre-setting mythology; the text is authentic and the pictures create such a fantastic atmosphere, that you just have to try it. We give it an 8.5 out of 10.
What a fun review!
As for our American shipment, the transportation fog remains strong. We know that the shipment arrived in Miami some time ago, and we have a mysterious message regarding paperwork dated in October, but things are still unclear. We know that there’s a tremendous backlog right now, and we’re still hoping for a bright ray of clarity to shine on us any day now. Or we’ll take a surprise truck visit.
Links:
Sign up for our newsletter and you’ll get extra offers, insights and snippets of info.
Join us on Discord, just point your browser at www.discord.me/handiworkgamers and that will generate you an invite. Sometimes you have to cut and paste for the bot to do its magic.
Ear of Stone for BEOWULF Age of Heroes was released in September. Today we’re talking about art.
Jon: When making art for a scenario it’s important to support the tone and feeling that the writing is trying to build.
When I first read Ear of Stone by KC Shi, I was struck by the desolate feel of many of the places. While the island location itself is of a modest size, many of the places had a wide open feel. Reading about them I can hear the soundtrack in my mind.
Many of the characters too gave me the sense that there’s the potential for a big feeling of melancholy here. Ear of Stone at its heart is all about family relationships and tradition, and it has the potential to be a quite sad tale depending on how events unfold.
That’s a funny one to deal with in RPG art. It’s not something we see a lot of, and quite understandably. What was the line from the album notes I read in the 90s? “People don’t travel long distances to see flat landscapes”? Was it REM or Talking Heads? It was art school. I forget. And I’m not even sure that’s a real quote, but it’s something I think about.
It’s easy to understand why frenetic action and visually complex scenery is more commonly seen. It’s exciting! There’s lots of detail to pore over, and action gives us a sense of movement, excitement and power.
But sometimes it’s nice to change gear. And with the support of our BEOWULF backers, we’re able to make things a little differently. And so Ear of Stone has a quieter, hopefully more melancholic tone.
