Handimonsters – Page 3 – Handiwork Games

23rd July 202130th July 2021

Friday news update – a|state is ready for launch!

Step inside a world both beautiful and baroque, a sprawling urban nightmare – yes, the a|state Kickstarter launches on Tuesday 27^th July.

Paul Cornell calls it, ‘An exciting, cutting edge RPG that takes on cyberpunk and noir shapes and moves them on enormously, in ways informed by the future shock we’ve all experienced in the last few years. Playable, prescient and wise.’

Based on the Forged in the Dark system, and fusing the wine-dark visuals of Dark City with the socially-aware dystopia of Metropolis, a|state is blades and backstreets, footpads and fatalities. It’s Dickensian, anti-Thatcher, sparks-and-knives SF.

Team up to defend your corner from selfish authorities, angry gangs and heartless industries. Fight off threats to your canalside home, and strive to make the grim and haunted City a safe and better place.

a|state is your story – it’s the story of how you fight back.

Our a|state sign-up page has passed 350, which is amazing. If you haven’t joined us, please do go and add your name – and tell your friends. That way, we can share everything as it happens.

And do check out Jon’s interview with Morgan Davie, telling us all about the second edition!

Plus, working with our friends at Nightfall Games, we have a brand new 5e setting due!

With new rules, new classes and unique monsters, Harrowvale brings a uniquely British spin, with influences ranging from 2000AD and Kes to Dragonslayer and Trainspotting.

Find all the details on the Nightfall games site.

And take a sneaky glimpse at Next week’s Handimonster!

Masters of magic and psionics, Thálassans can be spotted hunting in the ocean’s subtropics, near coral reefs. But beware: their evil is only tempered by their choice to dwell in the deeps.

Catch your own Thálassan by joining our Patreon.

And a couple of reminders:

If you’re at the UK Games Expo, grab your copies of BEOWULF from our retailer backers, All Rolled Up.

Or, at our store, grab £2 OFF our Forest Dragon games. Enter the code ‘Summerdragon2’ to get £2 OFF The Forest Dragon or The Forest Dragon Bang and Twang. This will last ‘til the end of July and keep your kids creative over the summer!

Keep up with all the news:

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The Forest Dragon is trying to get some sleep!

2nd July 20212nd July 2021

Friday News Update – July 2nd

All the monsters you can handle!

Our HANDIMONSTERS Patreon has been steadily gathering followers since we launched it last year – and is still bringing you a new and completely original monster every single Monday. (Best way to start your week, seriously). It’s now up to THIRTY individual beasties. And that’s a full menagerie, right there!

Created by the Handiwork team, Handimonsters come in every size and shape, in every alignment, and to suit every adventure, setting and level. They’re made for the 5e system, and they come with all sorts of scenario ideas and suggestions, with gorgeous artwork from Scott, and with all their stats, background and lore. They’re not just for fighting, they’re for your whole campaign.

Join up, and you’ll get the FULL beastie backlog – every monster we’ve made!

And next Monday, you get to meet the AMORPHIC, a magical creature that holds its physical form by force of will alone… but is always look to spread.

And what do monsters need, but LAIRS?

Featuring art by Jon, we have a brand new VTT Barrow Builder up on DriveThru – which includes a grassy base map and full set of .png tokens. Tunnels, chambers, pillars, niches, cists, altars and bones – everything you’ll need to bring the place to life.

Just add your monster of choice!

And – just to prove we haven’t forgotten – a little more amazing a|state art. The Kickstarter is coming very (very) soon, so hang onto your pocket money… because it’s going to be gorgeous.

Get yourself in the zone by downloading our free primer, Nicely, Done.

Find us at:

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25th June 202125th June 2021

Friday News Update – June 25th

BEOWULF is on the move!

Our BEOWULF books have travelled the Whale Road and have arrived at Handiwork Games. All eight hundred and fifty KILOS of them!

We’ve already sent a shipment to the US. If you’re in the UK, it may take us a little while to pick and pack your orders, but fear not, the task is underway.

Full details here.

If you’re in the EU, there’s a little more useful information up at our store.

To keep you going, have another fantastic BEOWULF cover quote, this one from the mighty John Gwynne!

And have a brand new scenario!

The Elfshot is written by Jacob, with art by Jon and design by Paul. It’s for fourth to fifth level characters and it’s now available at DriveThruRPG.

‘Giorsala’s hall stands empty; her warriors’ gear still in their racks; children’s toys scattered on the playfield. All the people are gone but still it feels like something is watching you…’

An entire settlement has gone missing. Can your Hero/es discover the truth?

We’ve also got some sneak info about next week’s HANDIMONSTER!

This coming Monday, journey to the Caverndeeps and discover the Deepsail, a subterranean creature that absorbs heat from geothermal vents, subsists on fungi, and is well-equipped to defend itself against other underground monsters.

HANDIMONSTERS is our creature-feature Patreon, and EVERY new beastie comes with all the things you’ll need – stats and background, art and lore. The monsters are a huge assortment of sizes and shapes, alignments and levels (not to mention fun and games), and they come with scenario and setting suggestions, sure to keep your PCs hopping.

If you’d like to give them a try, there’s a free sampler on DriveThru. And the VERY best bit – your players will never have seen them them before. So every monster is a new adventure, and every adventure a new discovery.

Also coming up next week, we’ll have a cheeky extra from Jon’s Map Tiles. Watch our Socials for our Barrow Builder Kit!

Find us at:

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Some more of Paul’s fabulous a|state art. Because we can.

11th June 202111th June 2021

Friday News Update – June 11th

a|state – the first overview!

Yes, it’s the news you’ve been waiting for – we’re bringing the second edition of a|state to Kickstarter. A cult hit, built on Forged in the Dark rules, it’s written by Morgan Davie, Malcolm Craig and Gregor Hutton, with art by Paul Bourne, Jon Hodgson and Scott Purdy. And it’s gorgeous…

Get your first full overview of the The City, here.

And if you’d like a taste of what it’s all about, grab the free primer, ‘Nicely, Done’ from DriveThruRPG.

It’s an astonishing setting and we’ve got lots more to share – can’t wait for this to happen!

This week has also seen the anniversary of the launch of BEOWULF: Age of Heroes – and what a massive adventure it’s been!

From warriors and meadhalls to the foam crests the Whale Road, from followers and faithful to monsters and lairs… we’ve battled our way from The Hermit’s Sanctuary right up to facing the fearsome Stoor Wurm – and we’ve lived (hopefully!) to tell the tale.

Jon had a few words to say on the project…

A big mug-thumping thank you to those who have sailed with us – and the physical copies of the core campaign book will be with us very soon.

In the meantime, you can grab the .pdf , and a host of surrounding adventures, from Drive Thru. And there’s a brand new scenario, The Elfshot coming very soon.

Watch this space…

And this week’s HANDIMONSTER is another freebie (honestly, we’re so good to you).

Meet the Thallian Scout, a visitor from another reality, securing its safety with a metallic shell and engraved in runes and wards. It wants information, and beware – it may not take no for an answer…

Our HANDIMONSTERS Patreon starts at £2.50 a month, and brings you a brand new 5e beastie every Monday, complete with full stats, artwork, background and lore. Plus loads of additional info including scenario ideas, maps and a dozen ways to add our monsters to your campaign.

And the best bit? Your players will never have seen them before…

Plus, upper tier backers get paper minis, VTT tokens and all sorts of additional extras!

For more, please do follow us on our Socials!

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4th June 20214th June 2021

Friday News Update – 4th June

Lots of new goodies in the news this week!

Our brand new BEOWULF scenario, Seven Stones, is now available at DriveThruRPG.

Written by Elaine Lithgow, with art from Jon and Scott, this adventure takes your Hero/es to a desperate village, living in terror of a gargantuan sea serpent. Find a rocky peninsula blasted by frigid winds, and the genrations old legend of the Stoor Wurm…

Plus, the original file has now been updated with:

.pdf poster-sized battle maps by Jon

VTT battle maps

VTT tokens for NPCs and adversaries

Also out this week – our first BEOWULF Digital Pack. Likewise at DriveThruRPG, this contains:

Fetch quests .pdf by Jon

VTT tokens for the first 11 Beowulf monsters

Battle maps – a ship at sea and on the beach

Music – four atmospheric tracks for your games

All the BEOWULF interactive sheets

And a video tutorial from Jacob on how to use the Monster Worksheet, and get the best out of your beasties

You can also find the worksheets on the Handiwork Games site.

Stay tuned, as there will be more of these to come!

And, with suitable symmetry, this week’s Handimonster is an additional BEOWULF freebie!

Meet the Mennbana, the Man-Troll. Not lurking on your socials, but found in mountainous or deep forest areas, and emerging to raid the local farms and settlements. They’ve got a great sense for defensive magical items, but beware the consequences, if you take one of these for yourself…

And, of course, we have our DICE. Many of you sharing some very cool pictures to our Discord (thanks, guys). But hey, they’re not a thirst trap, honest…

For more, please do follow us on our Socials!

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28th May 202128th May 2021

Friday News Update – May 28th

OUR DICE HAVE ARRIVED!

And they’re gorgeous – three 31mm d20s (rather than the usual 19mm), coloured for our BEOWULF alignments. If you just love dice, though, they’re proper-shiny click-clack-maths-rocks and we still have a few of the Special Edition Packs left – all three dice, in a linen pouch, coming with exclusive pin badge and a card signed by both Jon and Paul.

In more BEOWULF news, a new scenario coming very soon! Seven Stones takes us to a desperate village, living in terror of a gargantuan sea serpent. The village lies on a rocky peninsula blasted by frigid winds, and here, people have lived in fear of the Stoor Wurm for generations…

Written by Elaine Lithgow, this should come to DriveThru next week.

And this week’s Handimonster is a real beauty. With art by Scott Purdy, the HEARTWOOD GUARDIAN dwells in the centre of the ur-forest. With skin of bark and wings of leaves, it seems both benevolent and peaceful. But beware its wrath, should you harm the trees.

Join our 5e Patreon for new monsters every Monday.

Plus, in case you missed it last week, you can catch Jon talking BEOWULF, HANDIMONSTERS and everything else over with our friends at Rolistes…

For more, please do follow us on our Socials!

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21st May 202121st May 2021

Friday News Update – May 21st

The first copies of BEOWULF!

Yes, they’re real – we finally got out mitts on the very first copies! And just have a LOOK at this artwork:

With huge thanks to our friends, supporters and heroes…

‘An epic tale deserves an epic game system. This is that system’ – John Kovalic

Breathtaking… staggering… atmospheric in the extreme. It’s as if you were stepping into 6th Century Scandinavia and boarding a longship’ – John Gwynne

‘Really magical’ – Will Hindmarch

‘A vast treasure hoard’ – Francesco Nepitello

‘A magnificent accomplishment’ – Lou Anders

‘Brimming with brutal authenticity’ – Snorri Kristjans

‘Ingenious, beautiful, epic, enormous’ – Angus Watson

And to Maria Dahvana Headley for our foreword.

In more BEOWULF news, catch our latest podcast!

While BEOWULF was crafted for duet play (one Hero and one GM), in this episode, Jon and Jacob talk about how it can be played by a full adventuring party.

And you’ll need full adventuring party for this week’s Handimonster! Additional content for the Clatterbones is now available to our patrons – a desert-based scenario for a party of 4^th– 5^th level. We’ve all seen skeletons before, but not like these…

And in a|state news…

We’ve updated our pages with some info on the game’s history. From its earliest notebook appearances, to its first hardback manifestation at Conpulsion in 2004, it’s been an amazing project. And it returns very soon with a retooled system and all of the original creators still on board!

“Bringing the wine-dark visual vibes of Dark City and the socially-aware dystopia of Metropolis, a|state delivers Dickensian anti-Thatcher sparks and knives sci fi.”

For more, please do follow us on our Socials!

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14th May 20212nd June 2021

Friday News Update – May 14th

Back to the Table SALE!

This weekend, we’re celebrating the return of round-the-table gaming with a SALE on our RPG accessories.

Sign up to our newsletter for your SALE code, and you can save precious gold on mats, maps, dice trays and our award-winning family card game, The Forest Dragon. Almost everything you need to get back to dungeoneering (apart from the biscuits).

Dungeon Tiles – just add Adventuring Party (and monsters)!

Signing up for our newsletter will also give you regular extra peeks from Jon and the team – including exclusive info, behind-the-scenes glimpses, and early warnings when cool new stuff hits our stores.

This week, though, the big news: BEOWULF has arrived in Germany!

If you’re a kickstarter backer, or you’ve pre-ordered your copy: –

From the UK, then the books should here any minute, and we will ship them to you, along with your UK rewards

From the EU, you should receive your book in the coming weeks.

From the US – more info as we have it.

You can follow our updates on the Handiwork site.

If you haven’t yet ordered your copy, the book is available to pre-order in our STORE. In the meantime, you can download the .pdf from DriveThru, and have a good look through our BEOWULF scenarios and adventures!

And on the subject of adventures – have a cheeky freebie!

In proud celebration our Scots language and people, Jon and Paul bring you BEOWULF Scots portent tables:

If you’re not a native speaker, then have fun looking these up on Google!

We also have a new BEOWULF quest coming very soon! This one is written by Elaine Lithgow, comes complete with Jon’s always-gorgeous maps, and is suitable for a Hero or Heroes of 4^th/5^th level.

From the opening paragraph: Our Hero is approached by a desperate young woman who begs them to come with her and save her village from a gargantuan sea serpent known as the Stoor Wurm. The village lies on a rocky peninsula blasted by frigid winds to the farthest-north. Here, people have lived in fear of the Stoor Wurm for generations…

Plus, this week’s HANDIMONSTER is one of our favourites.

Jacob and Scott have truly outdone themselves. Meet the Lord of Ambition, wanderer of the multiverse, unstuck in time and space. He may offer you knowledge, but beware…

Join our Patreon for a new, fully detailed monster every Monday, plus all sorts of adventure and scenario ideas.

And please do follow us on our Socials!

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BEOWULF Limited Edition. We may have squeeed a little.

7th May 20212nd June 2021

Friday News Update – May 7th

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!

30th April 202118th May 2021

Friday News Update – April 30th

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.