BEOWULF. a|state. Maskwitches. Cold City:Hot War. FiveEvil
Updates for BEOWULF – and a|state!
We now have have FOUR full adventures for our BEOWULF setting. These include our ENnies-nominated intro, The Hermit’s Sanctuary, The Three Ogre Brothers, which comes as part of the main BEOWULF rulebook, plus two adventures more recently released – Horror at Herrogate and The Witches and The Wyrm. And, thanks to feedback from our backers, we’re delighted to release some updated content!
The next stage of the a|state second edition is complete!
Our intro-adventure Nicely, Done was played by fully forty playtest groups. Incorporating their feedback, Morgan, Malcolm, Gregor and Paul have created a complete and fully illustrated, 132-page preview edition of the a|state rulebook.
This will go to Kickstarter backers AS SOON AS you back the project – so keep your eyes peeled for more news!
With your help, we can unlock a whole swathe of game and setting expansions, detailing more of The City.
Here, line developer Morgan Davie gives us a sneaky glimpse into some of the new rules. They’re built on Forged in the Dark foundations, so we can best present a|state’s location, feel and gameplay:
Continue reading “Caring in the City with Morgan Davie”A brand new scenario for our BEOWULF setting!
Now available at DriveThru, The Witches and the Wyrm sees your Hero face the serpent undying, in the hope of restoring time…
And, to go with new scenario news – our BEOWULF page proofs have arrived!
Jon and Paul have a good look through them, and we should have the finished article very soon. If you’ve got one on pre-order, then your wait shouldn’t be much longer.
In the meantime, the .pdf is also available from DriveThru, and we’ll update you about the physical book as soon as we can.
And a huge thank you to the mighty John Kovalic!
And, just in case, you haven’t heard us shouting – we have DICE. Gorgeously coloured, proper outsize, click-clack d20 maths rocks, made by Q-Workshop for BEOWULF. We still have a few of the limited edition sets left, so grab yours quick!
For more adventures, try this week’s HANDIMONSTER!
The Flesh Fungus is a larder keeper… but it’s not going to hang about until you die of natural causes. You can find out all the gorgeous, gruesome facts, plus full stats and lore, when you join our Patreon. Starting at only £2.50 a month, it’ll give you a whole manual of monsters and all sorts of suggestions for adventures, including maps and scenario outlines.
And this week’s bonus content takes you to Magisterio College, Kardoshevk City, where you can learn all about the Primordial Realms…
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It’s happened: print proofs of BEOWULF Age of Heroes have arrived!
We’re almost there – our print proofs have arrived and Jon and Paul have given them that all important read-through. They’re looking absolutely beautiful (as you can see).
We’ll be despatching your pre-orders in a couple of weeks’ time – ready for you to lose ourselves in the ultimate 5e adventure!
In the meantime, you can grab the .pdf on DriveThru!
Whether you’re a follower of god, or of the old ways, whether you’re a lone Hero with your trusty followers, or a part of that party of intrepid and courageous adventurers, this is a world of great legends and old lore, of mysteries and monsters, and of true, high-hearted heroics…
Find out everything you need to know about the world of BEOWULF!
Calling all Dice Goblins!
They’re already so popular, we’ve put the pre-order up early! Treat your click-clack Goblin self to this set of three, chunky boi d20. Each one is 31mm across (a normal d20 is 19mm), and designed with the legends and lore of our BEOWULF setting in mind.
Every set comes in its own pouch, but the FIRST HUNDRED SETS SOLD will be limited edition – coming with a BEOWULF pin badge and a card signed by the designers, Jon Hodgson and Paul Bourne.
Of course, if you’re not a BEOWULF player, and you just like those lovely maths rocks, then that works too. Giant dice are great for DMs, so the players can see as you make those tense and all-important rolls, and what 5e character doesn’t need their very own d20?
You could even roll them for our HANDIMONSTER encounters! This week’s new 5e beastie is the MOAT TERROR, lurking about the outsides of castles everywhere – and in lakes, ponds, canals and slow-moving rivers. A mass of mouths and tentacles, its unknown creator may even have crafted it to defend some forgotten space.
Or perhaps not so forgotten…
Get a new monster every week when you sign up to our Patreon.
And something we’ve haven’t talked about nearly enough – the second edition of a|state is almost done! Take yourself away from monsters and moats, legends and lore, bards and beasties… and travel instead the crumbling streets of The City. Lose yourself, lose your mind, lose your soul. And make sure you watch the shadows…
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Coming soon – The Witches and the Wyrm!
The Witches and the Wyrm is a brand new, completely extra, BEOWULF scenario – and coming very soon. Written by Jon and illustrated by Jon and Scott, the tides of this adventure carry your Hero away from the Church and The Hermit’s Sanctuary, and back towards the Old Ways and the mysteries of the Goddess.
Heroes are divided by alignment – and in BEOWULF, that’s by the Church and the Old Ways, rather than by the ones you know – and in episode 2, Jacob and Jon talk you through how that works.
This week in the BEOWULF podcast on YouTube, as Jon brings us up to speed on everything going on, and as he and Jacob talk FEATS, character improvements for your Hero.
Speaking of Heroes, you can now download all of our Hero miniatures as single character .stl files, enabling you to print and paint them at home. As well as Blaedswith and Ham Anfaeld, you can also find Bald Eadig, Ibn Uthman, Alys, Cwenhild, Waelwulf and – of course – Muthbona.
All available at DriveThru!
They also available to pre-order in metal, in a lovely boxed set at our store.
And we’ll have more BEOWULF treasures in the next couple of weeks. Brand new accessories, just to please the goblins among you (you so know who you are)…
Plus: more news from Handimonsters!
Jacob’s been busy plotting (we worry when he does that), and his JUMP RAT ENCOUNTER is now available to patrons. These rodents may be little, but they’re fast, they’re fierce, they’re feisty, they’ve got long legs, and they can cause all SORTS of trouble for your 5e party. This encounter comes complete with map, index, and pointers for GMs – and it’s available when you sign up to our Handimonsters Patreon.
And don’t forget – when you sign up, you’ll get the full manual of all our monsters, a new monster every Monday, and a whole heap of extra content to play with – starting at only £2.50 a month.
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It’s all about free monsters!
Big thank you to DriveThruRPG: our Handimonsters mini-manual is the FREE .pdf of the week – and has already seen almost a thousand downloads. Head on over to the site, and grab half-a-dozen of our fabulous 5e monsters, drawn and designed by our top team of gamers and gaming experts.
Meet the Knacker, and it’s knack (sorry) for digging blind tunnels, ready to upset dungeon-builders and confuse adventurers everywhere. Meet the Spell-Thief, who has a perfect way to upset your mage, and the Holingean, who has one even better. And meet our BEOWULF critter, the Briar Goblingas or Heópapúcan, with all his special rules, allowing you to craft something really clever for your Hero/es to face.
Our Handimonsters Patreon is only £2.50 a month. It gives you a new monster every Monday (best way to kick off your week), plus a load of additional content – scenario suggestions, facts, maps and insights.
It’s less than a high-street coffee, and it’s definitely more fun.
Also now on DriveThru, individual Beowulf minis. If you have a 3D printer, you can download the .stl files for Blaedswith, our Witch of the Old Ways, and for our warrior Ham Anfaeld, who lives for the sea – and for the treasure.
Both these characters can be found in The Hermit’s Sanctuary, our Ennie-Award nominated intro-adventure for our beautiful and legendary BEOWULF game setting. Whether you know your Anglo-Saxon lore or not, BEOWULF something truly special, taking you and your players to another place, to another time, and back to a world of legends.
You can find all of our BEOWULF character .stl files here.
And, as you travel, don’t forget your sampler of our Jon Hodgson ‘Evil Forest’ Map Tiles, all in ‘fuzzy-edged’ .pdf and perfect for your virtual tabletop adventure.
Of course, we all hope that we can escape the virtual and return our own Whale Road very soon – whether it leads to the tavern, to the marketplace, or to meet our mates at the Mead Hall and to roll dem bones. But, wherever we game, it’s always fun to be a Hero!
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Face your Monday with a roar, your workload with a growl, your meetings with a smile full of teeth!
Not literally, obviously, but with the brand new monsters that come with our Handimonsters Patreon – some of which are now available at DriveThruRPG!
When you play the World’s Favourite Role-Playing game, some things are just familiar. You know the mimic, the owlbear, the gelatinous cube; you know them and love them. You know how to face and beat one, should you meet it down the dungeon.
Heck, you might even have one as a pet.
So, every Monday, we’ll start your week right – with something that your PCs (and you) have never seen. A brand new, completely original monster, every one with a full run of stats, plus artwork, lore and background. Some of them interlink, one creature with another, others have bonus content that you can grab through our Handimonsters tiers. And they all come complete with a tactics section – plot hooks and scenario ideas to have your PCs hopping (possibly literally).
And some of these are FREE.
Let’s start with our patron beastie, the Knacker:
Knackers like mines. Rather like our sturdy and bearded friends, they’re obsessive about their digging, and they tunnel constantly. The problem is: miners don’t like knackers. Left to their own devices, Knackers are haphazard and uncontrolled, creating structural weaknesses, dead ends, and tunnels that go nowhere.
They are quite helpful for non-logical dungeons, however…
The Hölingean:
A remotely-living, magical giant, the Hölingean pursues the learned arts and dallies with its mates in the summertime. Usually peaceful, they can fight if they have to, and they’re rather fond of human magic-users, often seeking them out.
The problems only start when their humans try to leave…
The Quicksilver Troll:
Alchemically changed and lightning-fast, the Quicksilver Troll is suffused with light. Smarter than their regular cousins, though still wary of fire, they’re stealthy, perpetually hungry, and devour anything they can catch.
They can also semi-dissolve themselves to a liquid-like state – so watch where you put your boots…
The Spell Thief:
The Spell Thief is a rumour, a flicker of darkness in a shadowed cloak. Was it created by magic-users, stealing each other’s spells? Or trying too hard to conjure a servant? Are there many – or is there just one? Whatever the answers, the Spell Thief seeks power.
And it may just come looking for you…
And last, but most definitely not least, the Goblingas:
The Briar Goblingas, or Heópapúcan (Old English) is a troublemaking spirit that lives in the forest. And, as this one is a special BEOWULF monster, it also comes with special rules, called ‘burdens’ and ‘gifts’, to fit with our 5e setting. Each of these gifts changes something about the Goblingas, and you can mix and match, creating something special for your Hero/es to face…
Starting at only £2.50 per month, there are many more Monsters where these came from, plus LOADS of additional content – maps, scenarios and suggestions.
Join our Patreon at Handimonsters!
APRIL’S COOL – and that means Weekend Offers!
It’s Spring, it’s a long weekend, and it’s time to celebrate – with a couple of cheeky discounts!
Grab one of our 36” spring neoprene Battle Mats, now £4 OFF. These come gridded or ungridded, all ready for freeform role-play or the for itty-bitty-scritty-nitty-gritty of those all-important combat rounds. They’re made from neoprene, easy to maintain, and they feature no branding or logo – just Jon’s awesome art.
And please remember, if you’re going anywhere this weekend (or indeed for the next while), wear your MASK. Not only do they add +2 to the Fortitude Saves of all those around you, but you can wear the BEOWULF designs of Paul Bourne.
They’re £2 OFF, made for Heroes (of course), and they come complete with filter fabric.
PLUS: there may EVEN be a cheeky add-on discount waiting for you at the checkout. Y’know, just because we love you.
But be quick – these offers are this weekend only!
Plus: on the subject of BEOWULF, this week sees an extra special freebie Handimonster!
The Briar Goblingas, or Heópapúcan (Old English) is a troublemaking spirit that lives in the forest. And this one is a special BEOWULF monster, meaning it comes with special rules, c‘burdens’ and ‘gifts’, to fit with our 5e setting. Each of these changes something about the Goblingas, and you can mix and match, creating something special for your Hero/es to face…
And more Beowulf from our own Heroes! Jon and Jacob take to the Whale Road once more and this week, they’re talking ships!
Catch them on Spotify and on anchor.fm.
Keep up with all the news, when you join us on our Socials:
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Join us at the Spring Showcase!
This weekend sees Tabletop Gaming Magazine’s epic Spring Showcase, offering the inside scoop to the gaming community’s up-and-coming news. Find announcements, play-throughs and sneak peeks – and find Jon, on the main stage, at 3pm tomorrow (Saturday 27th March GMT). He’ll be talking everything Handiwork, and what we’ve got coming up.
While you’re waiting, you can follow the Whale Road with our trusty Hero, Bald Eadig, who’s finally reaching the end of his adventure. Jump on over to Campaign Coins on YouTube and watch the epic, double-length finale of The Hermit’s Sanctuary – where the foul beast is finally uncovered!
And, if that leaves you in the mood for slaying nasties, then grab Horror at Herrogate, our full-length BEOWULF adventure, from DriveThru. Confront the dreadful dréag, the nightstalker, the breaker of bones, unkillable by mortal hand…
The .pdf comes complete with three poster-sized battle maps, tokens for VTT, new Follower cards and separate NPC artwork.
And, if you love a good monster, and a good RPG fight, then our Handimonsters Patreon is less than the price of a coffee. Start your week, every Monday, with a brand new 5e beastie – each one carefully designed and drawn, and coming complete with stats, lore, background, and all sorts of scenario ideas.
Plus – there’s loads of bonus content, and there’s loads of FREE stuff too!
And don’t forget – we’ve got some new goodies in our RedBubble store. Two of Jon’s best-loved designs are now available as photographic prints!
Choose from ‘The Sacred Grove’, a haven of light and rest…
…or ‘Monster’, for when you need to kick some butt!
If you have a favourite design, then do tweet us @GamesHandiwork and let us know!
Keep up with all the news, when you join us on our Socials:
Twitter @GamesHandiwork
Facebook @HandiworkGames
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And sign up for our newsletter here!
