Interesting Patronage Project - Kaidan (eastern horror)

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Re: Interesting Patronage Project - Kaidan (eastern horror)

Post by MichaelTumey »

I'm doing the page layout, and final editing of the next release for Kaidan setting, called #30 Haunts for Kaidan. Using the Haunt mechanic from the Pathfinder Game Mastery Guide - which combines traps with undead in a unique and creepy way. This is a book of 30 related haunts in 4 story lines of events that have occurred on the cursed isles of Kaidan. Some very unique Japanese undead such karakasa-obake (an animated object ghost) and the twisted bodies of wights walking on all fours with its back facing the ground, is combined with the Ghost of Peony Lantern - an ancient Japanese ghostly tale of renown. It's all very creepy, and works exceptionally well as Ravenloft content. It will be worth a look.

Here's a link to the Haunt mechanic found on d20pfsrd.com, so you can understand, what my upcoming product is all about...

This will probably be released towards the end of December, or early January. While some of the interior art will by Mark Hyzer hand-drawn work, I'm thinking the cover design to use public domain Yoshitoshi ukiyo-e art.

Image

I'll post a link here, when it is released...

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Re: Interesting Patronage Project - Kaidan (eastern horror)

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# 30 Haunts for Kaidan

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The Haunts of Japanese Horror!

Kaidan—whose very name means "ghost story" in Japanese—is a mist-shrouded realm of exotic races, oni demons, and yurei ghosts, ruled by an undying imperial court enforced by ruthless samurai with all social castes bound to an endless cycle of twisted reincarnation. The empire of Kaidan is, by definition, haunted. Included in this tome are 30 haunts and several unique and horrifying undead variants, all inspired by classic Japanese ghost stories.

This volume is organized in nine creepy storylines to help you envision the horrors that await your adventuring party in the dark realm of Kaidan. Brought to you by T.H. Gulliver, the same designer that brought you the award-winning #30 Haunts for Objects (DieHard GameFan's best supplement for 2011). This product brings something to the game it has never had before, haunts that are embeded in the very nature of the realm.

Author: T.H.Gulliver
Cover Illustration: Yoshitoshi
Pages: 20

While I've had Way of the Yakuza also released last month, I didn't post a link here, as it Yakuza and nothing particularly horrific - this product on the other hand is excellent horror material, so worthy of a post here!

Michael
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Re: Interesting Patronage Project - Kaidan (eastern horror)

Post by MichaelTumey »

3 Reviews are now available for #30 Haunts for Kaidan, though they are scattered across the web. 2 are 5/5 star reviews, one is 4 star review, however the latter reviewer states Kaidan is his favorite PF setting - which is always good to here.

Paizo

RPG.org

Die Hard Gamefan

Always nice when reviewers like your stuff.

Michael
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Re: Interesting Patronage Project - Kaidan (eastern horror)

Post by MichaelTumey »

So Jonathan McAnulty, my primary author for Kaidan adventures is again writing two one-shot adventures to be run as demo games at Origins (he did this last year as well.) The first one will also be released as a short adventure in Rite Publishing's upcoming Adventure Quarterly PDF magazine which will be a free publication of adventures, especially for Rite Publishing's various campaign settings. The first adventure is a 'furry' adventure (ie: kappa, tengu and hengeyokai are the PCs).

One point, IMO, non-human characters make the suspension of disbelief for a horror setting less believeable. However, since Kaidan is such a niche product setting, I wanted to diversify it's marketability to include animal based, Japanese folklore inspired non-human races, so that' why this adventure is being designed. This adventure will be called The Daitengu Road.

The second, at least, is much more darker story line for an adventure and far closer to the Ravenloft feel of the setting. Up from Darkness, will be an adventure that explores the twisted reincarnation mechanic of Kaidan. Adventurers wake up in dungeon sepulchers with no memory as to who they are. As they explore the trap laden, undead haunted dungeon, anything that kills them sends them to a new body in the cellar sepulcher. Once the party reaches the topside of the dungeon to the Shogun's castle at the top, their memories return. They realize that they are volunteers for the Shogun's special forces. As part of the initiation rites for entry, they were forced to commit ritual suicide with their souls arriving in one of the waiting souless vessels in the dungeon sepulchers to prove their worthiness as elite samurai of the Shogun. Arriving successful topside, means they passed initiation.

I think this is a rather dark plot to work with, and ideal for what best describes the cursed realm of Kaidan.

Edit: also soon to be released will be The Way of the Samurai, which will contain multiple samurai archetypes, an origami based wizard, and a courtier bard. Plus 2 samurai prestige classes, rules for creating samurai clans, a complete mapped samurai town with plot hooks and NPCs, also new feats and two new samurai orders. This book will cleave closely to the setup for Way of the Yakuza which was released in December, last year.
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Re: Interesting Patronage Project - Kaidan (eastern horror)

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Jonathan McAnulty, the author of most of my adventures is currently working on a couple adventures to be run as demo games at Origins 2012, and one of the two adventures will be featured in Adventure Quarterly magazine, sometime this year.

Of the two, the really scary one (I got the pre-editted version last night) is called Up from the Darkness.

Kaidan has it's twisted reincarnation mechanic that takes place when somebody dies in the setting. Since raise dead and resurrection magic does not work in Kaidan, one is always reincarnated using one's karma score and earns a new place on the Wheel of Life. While the mechanic in itself is the primary "Ravenloftian" quality of Kaidan - sitting in the appendix of the adventure pages, it has been out of the spot light, until now. Up from the Darkness explores that mechanic for a party of 4 adventurers.

Imagine waking up in a stone coffin, awakened from a coma and you have no memories of who you are. If you can escape your coffin, you discover you are one of several individuals escaped from similar sarcophagi and all amnesiatic. You are in the bottom of a dank dungeon 3 levels deep, each inhabited by a host of haunts, varying kinds of ghouls, deranged spirits and ghosts. As you explore the environment, experience the horrors within, you slowly gain tidbits of memory access and slowly are revealed who you are and what possible reason your are here in the first place. Should you die in an encounter, you wake up once again in that stone coffin down below. You are only allowed to die 3 times...

Once you make it out of the dungeon, your full memory returns to discover that you and your allies are volunteers in the Shogun's elite assassin's order, and your initiation was to survive the rebirth, and escape the initiation dungeon, having committed suicide as the start of the initiaion.

The adventure is dark and creepy, but it's the realization at the end, that is the real horror - realizing what you did to be here.

I always find it surprising, but Jonathan McAnulty, my horror writer is an ordained minister in his non-RPG life. For a Christian preacher, he can sure write some dark material!

I am working on the dungeon maps for that scenario, in addition to my commission for Alluria Press.

-M
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Re: Interesting Patronage Project - Kaidan (eastern horror)

Post by The Giamarga »

What Michael forgot to mention is the very affordable price of Haunts: $3.99

While not Kaidan specific afais the other #30 Haunts for ... (Houses, Objects, Ships and Shores) are probably worth a look for Ravenloft fans.
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Re: Interesting Patronage Project - Kaidan (eastern horror)

Post by MichaelTumey »

I'll make the official announcement (perhaps as it's own thread), but it looks like we're starting a new Kickstarter project (using Kickstarter this time) for the creation of 3 print books with PDF bundle. A GM's Guide to Kaidan, a Player's Guide to Kaidan, and a Bestiary with 30 monsters and templates for Kaidan. To keep costs down, all three books will be soft cover with b/w interiors. However, backers will get access to a full color hardbound of the same books.

We hope we can hit all three tiers for all three books, if not, the GM's book is the first priority. If funds exceed the first tier, then the Players book is next, then the Bestiary as a third tier.

Looks like the Kickstarter will start on June 13. We'll be making a video promo with voice over, music and images from Kaidan to promote it and more.

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Re: Interesting Patronage Project - Kaidan (eastern horror)

Post by ewancummins »

I just purchased the Kaidan bundle (the currently avilable pack of PDFs).

I've only skimmed it, but 30 Hauntings looks quite good.
Delight is to him- a far, far upward, and inward delight- who against the proud gods and commodores of this earth, ever stands forth his own inexorable self.

-from Moby Dick (Hermann Melville)
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Re: Interesting Patronage Project - Kaidan (eastern horror)

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Image

Description:


Now the enemy is arrayed against us. Now the day is at hand when we shall risk everything for our lord and master! For this, we have prepared all the days of our miserable lives. Now you shall learn what it means to be samurai! Fate is in the hands of the gods, our armor is on our breast, success is in our legs! Let us go forward without fear and may our swords find a bloody sheath before we die.- Taira Motomori to his troops at the Battle of the Six Bridges.

Rite Publishing Presents

A faction guide for Kaidan and supplement for the samurai style characters designed for use with the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game by Jonathan McAnulty (Curse of the Golden Spear Trilogy, Kobold Quarterly)

This product contains information on:
•Samurai: You will find detailed information on samurai in the Kaidan campaign setting of feudal Japanese horror. Along with the nature of samurai clans you could belong to, how you deal with matters of honor and seppuku, your religious beliefs and alignment, and finally your role as a samurai adventurer.
•Honor: Detailing its inherent impact on the Kaidan setting and as a mechanic providing a useful scale to measure your samurai’s standing in the eyes of your peers.
•Traits (9): add depth to your samurai’s background from a Legacy of Steel lending you an ancestral blade, or Practiced Calligraphy bringing your pen and sword in accord.
•Gunslinger Archetype: Become a Teppou Bushi and embraces the future of warfare, learning to use gunpowder and lead alongside your steel blades.
•Paladin Archetype: Choose the way of the Yamabushi divine warrior-monk who draws power from the positive aspects of Yomi (the realm of the dead) and the Kami.
•Ranger Archetypes: Become a Yojimbo, the face of the noble lord throughout the lord’s province, traveling about your lord's lands, and defeating your lord's enemies.
•Samurai Archetypes (4): Choose the way of the Kuge and be born into a life of wealth, privilege, cultures, art, and scholarly pursuits. Choose to disdain other pursuits, and become a Nitōjutsu Sensei, spending your life perfecting the art of fighting with katana and wakazashi. Choose to champions the natural world, and become a Tajiya samurai dedicating your life lives to ridding the world of unnatural creatures. Alternatively, choose the way of the Yabusame for while most people equate the samurai with the katana, you know that the true weapon of the samurai is the yumi, or bow.
•Samurai Orders (3): Join the Order of the Shogun and swear you loyalty to him, serving to maintain order and fight those traitors who disturb the peace of the nation. Join the Order of Tajiya and learn the techniques useful against a variety of supernatural foes. Alternatively, join the Order of the Undying Emperor and serve in the Imperial court, so you can become a master of etiquette and diplomacy.
•Wizard Archetypes: Choose the way of the Onmyoji, the legal practitioners of the arcane arts, and become noted for your use of folded paper spell components (origami) and your relationship to the shikigami oni.
•Prestige Classes (2): Become a Bugyo, and gain a great deal of official authority in service to a daimyo. Alternatively, become a Mosa, the elite bodyguard of the nobility, stubbornly refusing to back down, standing resolute, even in the face of overwhelming odds.
•Samurai Feats (7): Now let every aspect of your character reflect the outlook of your samurai character weather you are Driven By Honor that continually inspires you to try harder or use Skillful Follow up, to allow your secondary attacks a greater chance of success.
•Creating a Samurai Clan: Guidelines and rules for creating customized factions of samurai reflecting the philosophies of its daimyo, the goals of its clan head, the size of the clan, its source of income, and its influence at court.
•Kawashi, Samurai Town: Also within your will find a fully detailed modular location, accompanied by the stellar cartography of Kaidan’s creator Michael K. Tumey

Price: $4.99

First Review is in 5/5 stars by Joshua G.
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Re: Interesting Patronage Project - Kaidan (eastern horror)

Post by MichaelTumey »

A 5/5 star rating by Thilo Graf -- here.

A 5/5 star rating by RPG.org -- here.

Though this isn't horror material, this is the definitive book on samurai for PFRPG, and a necessary element of Kaidan.

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Re: Interesting Patronage Project - Kaidan (eastern horror)

Post by ewancummins »

I think the Samurai book, and pretty much all the other Kadian stuff, would be quite useful to anybody running a Ravenloft game featuring Rokushima Taiyoo .

After have read through a chunk of the Kaidan materials, I'd generally recommend them to anyone interested in a 'Japanese D&D/Pathfinder' game, even if it wasn't a 'horror' game.

The mechanical differences between PF and D&D 3E are relatively minor, so conversion isn't terribly difficult.
Delight is to him- a far, far upward, and inward delight- who against the proud gods and commodores of this earth, ever stands forth his own inexorable self.

-from Moby Dick (Hermann Melville)
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Re: Interesting Patronage Project - Kaidan (eastern horror)

Post by MichaelTumey »

I made a decision last week and sent a copy of Way of the Samurai to d20pfsrd.com

I have two minds on the decision. One is I'd rather folks buy my Way of the Samurai supplement to getting the classes for free. However, I also want Kaidan, the setting, and it's supplements to have a greater acceptance in the larger Pathfinder community. I think based on the second thought - it was a smart idea.

So now you can find: teppou bushi (gunslinger archetype), yamabushi (paladin archetype), yojimbo (ranger archetype), and the four: Kuge, Nitojutsu Sensei, Tajiya and Yabusame (samurai archetypes). Also both prestige classes: bugyo and mosa. As well as the Honor mechanic.

The Onmyoji (wizard archetype) is in the queue, but currently awaiting approval of the shikigami familiar by the folks who work on Pathfinder monsters. Once that is 'approved' the onmyoji wizard archetype will be loaded as well.

I believe our mechanics for creating a samurai clan, will be installed into d20pfsrd.com as well.

I am thinking of doing the same with Way of the Yakuza, but I'll wait a month or so. Hopefully doing so will indeed proliferate Kaidan into the minds of PF gamers everywhere.

Edit: everything has been added, even the NPC stats of the sample Taketsune samurai clan, magic items, clan mechanic, everything.
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Re: Interesting Patronage Project - Kaidan (eastern horror)

Post by The Giamarga »

ewancummins wrote:I just purchased the Kaidan bundle (the currently avilable pack of PDFs).

I've only skimmed it, but 30 Hauntings looks quite good.

Those bundles on RPGNow are great: $15 for the adventure trilogy, $32 for the Kaidan stuff incl trilogy.

The kickstarter has all the Kaidan pdfs plus the new kickstarter pdfs (campaign setting, plus possibly a players guide and bestiary, plus bonus PDF adventures) for $45.
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Re: Interesting Patronage Project - Kaidan (eastern horror)

Post by MichaelTumey »

The Giamarga wrote:
ewancummins wrote:I just purchased the Kaidan bundle (the currently avilable pack of PDFs).

I've only skimmed it, but 30 Hauntings looks quite good.

Those bundles on RPGNow are great: $15 for the adventure trilogy, $32 for the Kaidan stuff incl trilogy.

The kickstarter has all the Kaidan pdfs plus the new kickstarter pdfs (campaign setting, plus possibly a players guide and bestiary, plus bonus PDF adventures) for $45.
Thanks for the mention, Giamarga! Actually if you're at all interested in Kaidan or bringing Japanese horror to your Ravenloft game, the Kickstarter payment tiers as you mentioned $45 gets you all the PDFs old and new, significantly less than retail, or the $65 tier gets you a softcover b/w interior printed book, access to POD of any other books produced and all the PDFs old and new - that's a pretty good deal. (The printed book is probably going to be $39.99 retail).

While the Kickstarter certainly pays for the costs of creating this content, I see the payment tiers as more of a 'pre-order' of products at discounts, rather than a donation. You're getting more for what you pay for - so it's a good bargain.
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Re: Interesting Patronage Project - Kaidan (eastern horror)

Post by The Giamarga »

I already pledged at $45, Michael :-) It was too good a deal to pass.

Also i applaud your decision to let d20pfsrd upload your samurai rules. I think it will only add to sales for your products. I'de be delighted if i find the Yakuza rules there too. (But... if I understand right, if your rules are OGL, then d20pfsrd could just upload them if they wanted to. Difference is only that one of them would have to pay for the pdf. )
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