Razor Coast Sneak Peek #4

Rule the Razor you say? A fool’s ambition. The subtleties and perils of this realm are manifold. Land and sea murder at the whim of ancient gods. Men’s smiles hide a thousand knives. Those fooled into believing that the Kraken’s tentacles are more fearsome than its insidious and far-reaching schemes soon find themselves cruelly enlightened – usually moments before calamity claims their souls. The Razor is too vast, its terrors too multitudinous, for even the bravest adventurer to conquer. It won’t stop them from trying though, and that means good business for me. I thank the gods daily for sending so many fools into this world.

                   - Saldrin Seaheart, local guide and purveyor of “adventuring supplies” 

38% Funded and we have goodies!

Effective Immediately all the pledges at the $110 level and above will also include the PDF of Dead Mans Chest. This Necromancer Games product (edition 3.5) runs 200 pages and is a treasury of nautical lore. No place offers more adventure than the ocean. No dungeon is as deep, no jungle as full of exotic and dangerous life. Most folk spend their entire lives on dry ground, unaware that entire civilizations thrive beneath the waves, sometimes far more ancient and steeped in mystery than any on the world's upper surface. Though player characters (PCs) have long grown familiar with the air-breathing world above, seldom do they venture into the depths, and when they do, they discover wonders they never dreamed existed. The ocean offers a venue for adventure that is at once alien and appealing. Strange things exist down there, as perilous as they are compelling.

Dead Man's Chest lays bare the ocean and the creatures that inhabit it. Within these pages are detailed rules for ship movement, as well as guidelines for underwater exploration, and three complete maritime adventures. This comprehensive source for sailing is sea-packed with over 100 new magic items, monsters, feats, prestige classes, and spells. Plus get a bonus NOW to accompany Dead Man's Chest™. Click Below to download Cannibal Hearts now. This pdf includes four magic items that... ah, you better see for yourself! http://www.necromancergames.com/pdf/cannibal_hearts.pdf

Razor Coast Update & Sneak Peek

Thank you to those fans who have backed the project already. We are excited to see this come to a reality. We are 1/3 of the way to being funded!

There have been questions about the Canada shipping and the pre-orders options. We will continue to answer them and post answers under the FAQ section of the Kickstarter at the bottom of the main page.

We have also added more info about the player's guide and Casey's exclusive module. 

We have lots of bonus goals coming too which as some of you have guessed will also include the Indulgences and yes even MORE NEW CONTENT! So stay tuned for those and keep spreading the word.

Here is another sneak peek at some of the amazing artwork from Razor Coast!

So keep spreading the word, posting to blogs & forums, facebook, G+, twitter, etc. Below are some images you can use

Razor Coast Kickstarter is LIVE!

TAKE ME TO THE KICKSTARTER TO PLEDGE NOW

READ THE PRESS RELEASE HERE

READ A SNEAK PEEK HERE

INTERVIEW WITH NICK LOGUE

Interview questions by Christopher Helton, conducted via email.

1. What brought about the genesis of the creation of Razor Coast? What inspirations stewed in your head for it to come about?

Razor Coast was born out of two of my favorite places in the world:

As a young boy my family vacationed on the Outer Banks of North Carolina every summer.  The landscape and the lore of those strange sandy isles captured me.  Nagshead, The Graveyard of the Atlantic, Ocracoke Island (Blackbeard's ole stompin' ground) and the old lighthouses dotting the coast - vacant sentinels who had born witness to terrifying storms and life-rending wrecks - all worked a strange alchemy on my young gamer's brain.  This was one piece of the puzzle.

When I moved to Hawai'i I was immediately struck by the sheer power of the islands.  They are primal and alive in a way no other place is.  Up in the mountains, bamboo forests creak eerily in the wind, and the jagged teeth of Shark's Cove gnash at the incoming waves.  My first trip to the Big Island (as Hawai’i is known) blew my mind - the history of the ali'i and the legends of Pele were such delicious fodder for gaming goodness that I couldn't resist.  The unfortunate history of the islands worked into this as well -- the whaling fleets, the plantations, the usurpation of the native Hawaiians set a great backdrop for a land in need of heroes.
From a strange mixture of the Outer Banks and the Hawaiian Islands, Razor Coast slowly came to life.  A coast of pirates and marauders with a distinctly Polynesian mythos, melded with all the sinister threats we have come to know and love in fantasy RPGs.

2. What makes Razor Coast such a good fit for each of these rule sets, since Swords & Wizardry and Pathfinder come from such different places, from a design viewpoint?

I think the two traits that links Swords and Wizardry and Pathfinder for me are these: First there is  an adherence to the wonderful traditions of fantasy roleplaying that have defined two generations enjoyment of our hobby and second,  a commonly shared sense of adventure.  Anyone who has ever played in a game I’ve run knows well that rules take a back seat in my sessions unless they contribute to and enhance the spirit of adventure, daring, danger and drama that fuels our imaginations as gamers.  Pathfinder and Swords and Wizardry both deliver the goods.


3. What sorts of games do you run within the Razor Coast setting? What sorts of things can people take from the setting to bring into their own games?

Razor Coast was born out of the single best gaming experience of my life.  Gencon 2000 was a magical event for me during which my core group (who I had gamed with since high school) all showed up at the con and we ended up meeting a group that was our delicious bizarro mirror image - a bunch of dudes from NYC who we instantly fell in love with.  I wanted to run something that would forge us together.  I had been stewing Razor Coast in my mind for years and Dajobas was hunting me in my dreams nightly (I'm terrified of sharks - have been since my trips to the Outer Banks, where my brother would force me to watch Jaws with him).

I decided to give Dajobas an ocean to swim in and let him feast on the blood of my group and our new found friends.  Many of the NPCs in the Razor Coast setting were PCs generated for that session - in fact most of the Wave Riders made their debut that fine Gencon Sunday morning.  I still have photos from that session somewhere and every time I find them, a warmth spreads through me.
After its birth, Razor Coast became the setting of choice in my games for the entire 6 years I spent in Hawaii from 2002-2008.  A lot of the set pieces and side adventures in there were spun from off-the-cuff adventures in which some friends would pop by and be like "would you run something for us tonight" and with about 15 minutes prep time I would unleash some of Razor Coast's sinister plots and denizens on them.

4. For those who may know the history of this project, what lessons have been learned that will see this setting finally get released and published?

Ha!  The single most important lesson I learned was that I have my limitations.  I was possessed of the idea that I could do ANYTHING before Razor Coast.  I learned I'm not a business man, nor do I have a head for publishing.  I also learned a lot about how stress can make you hide from things and do stupid things.  I hit bottom, not just in the industry, but in life.  I'm just happy I made it out the other end.

On the up side I learned another great lesson - this hobby is full of wonderful and supportive people who care deeply about one another.  Without the support of Greg Vaughan and all the lovely people at Frog God Games, and of course the indescribable and enormous dollops of human kindness Louis Agresta lavished upon me in my darkest hours, Razor Coast would have been my albatross.  Now its an incredibly exciting experience - not only fueled by my dark imaginings but also injected with goodness from the twisted minds, of Lou, Tim Hitchcock, Richard Pett, and a host of other unsavory masters of the dark arts.  Although its been a strange journey - we are ending up with a Razor Coast far more potent than the original, and for that I am eternally thankful to all corners.

5. What do you see happening with the future of Razor Coast?

This is a great question.  Lou and I have had many a disturbing discussion about where the setting could go from here.  It is truly unique, not only in content, but also in form and I think there are a host of opportunities for future development with FGG.  I have a TERRIBLE reputation of promising too much and delivering too little in this hobby, so I won't reveal anything now.  I'll wait until RC is out there in the world first - no longer counting krakens before they spawn, is Nicolas Logue.  And that's another lesson I've learned.

PLEDGE NOW FOR RAZOR COAST

Razor Coast Sneak Peek #3

The Razor Coast has drawn men to madness and slaughter since the world was young. Tulita natives, born from the same fire as this jagged coast, claim the Razor existed long before the world’s other lands. It is a crucible of flame cooled by the ocean’s caress and its mountains, reefs and lightless depths teem with as many terrors as they do lustrous spoils. The Razor bucks the trappings of civilization in much the same manner the storm-tossed sea spurns the men who dare mount her. This is no place for the weak-willed. Untested souls are food for its storms, its fickle gods, its ancient spirits and the evil predations of unfathomable creatures. No less dangerous are the men who make the coast their home and whose dark desires put most horrors to shame.

Every year another colony of hopeful settlers springs up, only to be silenced by the unforgiving landscape or butchered by fearsome tribes of monsters lurking just beyond the tree line. Yet still the colonists come in their hundreds, lured to the coast’s riches: its kava, its jocas fruit and koa wood, to name but a few. All treasures worth twice their weight in gold and all ripe for the picking along the Razor. Mossy placards emblazoned with the bold names of these colonies’ founders are the only testament left to their brief, prideful existence. The last chapter of their story is now told in dust and ash.

Port Shaw is the only survivor. The town clings to the coast like the sea’s most stubborn barnacle, impossible to scrape from the Razor’s edge. At times it limps along, vexed by demons, angry gods, cannibal tribes, dread pirate armadas, and worse; but at present the city thrives as foreign vessels flock to its harbor, their holds hungry for whale oil and other treasures.

Port Shaw menaces and delights in equal extremes. Treasures and pleasures abound in this whaling boomtown, but evil and abandon take almost every soul who comes her way. This playground of pirates is ruled by the crushing fist of the Municipal Dragoons and filled with both the ancient curses of the coast’s Tulita natives and dark secrets of its own. It is an easy place to die, and a town where countless legends are born. 

                   - From the Journals of Reiker Glassgrinder, naturalist and historian

KICKSTARTER PROJECTS BEGINS 12-25-12 MIDNIGHT

Razor Coast Sneak Peek #2

The Razor Coast by Nicolas Logue

A sea of blood caresses the savage shore of the Razor. Port Shaw is beset by land and sea. Rising from the abyssal depths, Harthagoa, the bastard spawn of kraken and demon, drags whole fleets beneath the waves. In the fetid Blacksink Marsh, where unspeakable horrors are sunk beneath the bog water, accursed cannibals pay gory obeisance to an ancient shark god of slaughter.

A ghostly armada, murderous pirates, and bale-sharks prowl the seas. Meanwhile foreign invaders in search of baleen, ambergris, and gold menace the native Tulita tribes, driving them from their ancestral home with smoke-belching cannonade.

Pele, The Goddess of Fire and Wrack, watches all from her smoldering throne on Dreadsmoke mountain. She stands ever ready to purge the people of Port Shaw from her domain in a torrent of ash and molten lava. You decide the fate of the Razor Coast - A Dark Vista in dire need of heroes.

Razor Coast is a 250+ page mega-adventure by Nicolas Logue for 5th to 12th level characters. Using an exciting and entirely non-linear plot web format Razor Coast allows you and your players to brave wild adventures in any way you see fit. Set sail for peril. There will be blood by the bucket-full boyos.

KICKSTARTER BEGINS 

SW KS Update

So I was hoping to be able to report the ship date of the rulebook today since they are all sitting at the printer. However, sadly, I need to report that we once again need to delay delivery. There were some missing images found on the PDF (thank you Steven Dolges) so we have decided to reprint those pages and fix the rulebook. This will delay the delivery until at least January. Therefore, we will also delay the invoice statements. We don't want to send them out before the holidays only to have the book take another few weeks. We hope you understand. We pride ourselves in a quality book and want to make this right.

As for the Kobold pledges only, we will be sending your statements and dice orders since there is no need to wait for the rulebook. All the other pledges have a rulebook and will be sent in January.
We apologize for any inconvenience and are equally disappointed that we did not get this book in your hands by the Holiday.

In the meanwhile, below is the cover art of the monster book, Monstrosities. We are looking at over 500 monsters in this bad boy!
~Blonde Frog

Frog God Games Get Social

A new featured rolled out this past weekend over on Google+ is something they are calling Communities. It is like having a discussion forum rolled into your G+ account. For fans of Google+ this is a boon because they can enter into even more conversations without having to leave their G+ page (which means not having to jump around from site to site to get the important information about your games and talk with fellow fans). If you have a Google Plus account, you can click the images below to find a link to the Frog God Games communities.

Swords & Wizardry

The Swords & Wizardry Discussion community has literally exploded in the last few days. Swords & Wizardry creator Matt Finch, various Frog God Games employees and some of your favorite Swords & Wizardry/OSR bloggers have already joined the discussions. All that is missing is you.

Update: When the Swords & Wizardry community reaches 500 members, Frog God Games will have a random drawing and give one (1) free PDF copy of the Swords & Wizardry version of Tome of Horrors Complete to a lucky winner.

Fans of Frog God Games

If you're a fan of Frog God Games in general, and would like to talk about some of their non-Swords & Wizardry adventures and products (such as their many Pathfinder adventures and aids) check out this community.

If you aren't over on G+ yet, or you are just starting out, ping one of the helpful Frog Minions for assistance.

Razor Coast Sneak Peek #1

From Nick Logue

The first chapter details the campaigns' main villains and their dread agendas (most of which involve awful things for the people living within hundreds of leagues of them) and also gives detailed info on the three major potential story arcs for each. Later chapters include “Inciting Incidents" and basically supplies the GM with a bunch of tiny teaser encounters that draw the party into the main plot arcs or subplots connecting to them. There is no linear plot. The PCs have a bunch of encounters in their face, and they can get involved with the adventures behind them in ANY way they want. The adventure part of this builds to a climax, but the PCs actions could completely avert it, or make it even worse for everyone. It's all about hard choices and conflicts you need more than just a sturdy sword or fiery spell to overcome. Though those will definitely help when you are staring down the bastard spawn of demon and kraken. ;-)

Razor Coast Kickstarter is live 

Status Update

Just wanted to update everyone on printing status. As you can imagine, we have been having holiday issues and some delays—greatly sorry for the delay, but both of our printers have been a bit backlogged, and we have had a few issues getting the art in as well. I wanted to let everyone know that the SW rulebook is printing and should ship to me next week (about 15 days to arrive to me), and the SW monster book is in the final throes of layout. The SNS 3-4 books had some errors at the printer, but I understand that they shipped to me Friday (usually takes 4-5 days to arrive). Northland Saga 5 should be here Monday (also had print delays).

Funny, this time we got the dice fastJ. All the rest of the SW materials are here at the warehouse, and we will start shipping SW orders out soon. Invoices will be sent out soon for shipping etc. We also are going to start including shipping in the Kickstarters to avoid invoices next time.

The Rappan Athuk subscription has had all 6 levels drafted and maps are in for the artist—I should have the first installment ready to go to you by the end of January. Cyclopean Deeps should release in alternate months (starting in February).

Thanks for bearing with us—FGG is fully committed to providing you all with the highest quality materials for your Swords and Wizardry and Pathfinder Games and would rather deliver late than sub-par.  

New S&W Coverart

Erol Otus has done a fantastic job on the new Swords & Wizardry Coverart, check it out:

RA Subscription

RA subscription is being worked on--I drafted the first half of installment 1 this past weekend. Maps for 8 areas (1.33 years worth) have been drafted and sent to cartography, and I have outlined all 8 of those areas (levels really). Packing slowed me down a bit--thanks for the patience--but I don't want you guys to get drivel; this stuff needed thinking through to make sure it flowed with the main book.

You can subscribe to the 6 new Rappan Athuk levels online here: http://www.talesofthefroggod.com/rappan.html

Spoof: Frog God Games In the news...

FROG GOD GAMES needs to step up measures to combat child labor in the frog pond, according to a study requested by the Frog Fair Labor Association that found “numerous” violations of its internal work rules.

"The maker of Rappan Athuk and The Slumbering Tsar Saga needs to improve internal monitoring to fight the practice of child labor as baby frogs were found to be working for long hours", the FFLA said in a report. "Some of the children were forced to work without being fully clothed."

About 46 percent of the Baby Frogs were involved in packing boxes, folding posters, bagging dice, and more.

President and CEO Bill Webb refutes, "Tsathogga has spoken, all frogs to work, no exceptions."

Blonde Frog, VP of Sales & Marketing nervous of talking with the press admits "The hours are long, the orders were just coming and coming, we couldn't keep up. I was forced to put my own two toddlers to work bagging dice."

What will this mean for the giant 3rd party publisher? Will they be forced to raise labor costs to ensure that fair labor laws are being met? Will they be able to fulfill the Swords & Wizardry orders without the use of child labor?

"Child labor is a more persistent problem than anybody believed,” FFLA President said. “What we’re talking about is changing the way companies in the industry do business, and Frog God Games has yet to come on board with the times."

Rappan Athuk Feedback

Alex Hoggett says:

 

"You guys really blew away both Traveller and Ogre on this. We won't get Traveller 5 for at least another 3 months, and we won't get OGRE for like, 8 months or something... Both of these finished at or before your kickstarter, so I am really thankful you took our donations seriously and delivered as promised. It is a big deal if Kickstarters, no matter how good their intentions, don't deliver, it affects the viability of the platform."

 

 

Press Release

Friday, October 19, 2012

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Nicolas Logue’s Razor Coast

Frog God Games Announce Availability of

Nicolas Logue’s Razor Coast

A Kickstarter Project

New York & Washington — Nicolas Logue’s Razor Coast — Today online, Frog God Games announced the imminent launch of a Kickstarter Project, Nicolas Logue’s Razor Coast.

About Razor Coast

Razor Coast is the long anticipated Caribe-Polynesian flavored, Age of Sail swashbuckling RPG campaign envisioned and designed by Nicolas Logue. It is applauded for its ambitious and original design, its epic flavor and its lurid, full-color art – including a cover by the award winning Wayne Reynolds. Logue tapped a team of veteran designers to help develop and write Razor Coast, including Lou Agresta, Adam Daigle, Tim Hitchcock, and John Ling.

“Razor Coast isn’t just an adventure,” according to Agresta, Razor Coast Project Manager, “it’s part setting, part adventure path, and part toolkit to build your own unique campaign. It’s non-linear. It’ll never play the same way twice.”

“We filled it with corrupt municipal Dragoons, dastardly smuggling rings, weresharks – lots of weresharks, desperate naval battles, oppressed tribes craving heroes, witches, cursed islands, legendary treasure troves, an impending apocalypse or two, demon pirates, retired assassins, undead worms, gator men, failed heroes waiting to be redeemed, dark conspiracies brewing in the oceans depths, vengeful ghosts…oh – and mutating cannibal pygmies. Who doesn’t like those?”

Razor Coast Availability

“Frog God Games has committed to doing more than just putting out another pirate campaign,” said Rachel Ventura, Frog God Games VP of Sales and Marketing, “This is going to be a hardcover, full color extravaganza, complete with Player’s Guide and enough swag to sink any pirate ship!”

“We decided to take what we learned from Kickstarting Rappan Athuk and crowdsource Razor Coast, because it allows us to unleash a complete experience for both Pathfinder and Swords and Wizardry fans,” said Bill Webb, Frog God Games CEO.

“We plan to compile the campaign articles into their own book, create a player’s guide, develop and include an independent system for ship-to-ship combat, have treasure chests of unique pirate items, and offer a Tallship Cruise with the creator, Nicholas Logue,” stated Ventura. “We’re also planning stretch goals that include expanded art and cartography from the same artists the fans have already approved, as well as from new artists of similar style and talent, poster-sized printed maps, custom character sheets, and more.”  

Frog God Games Razor Coast Kickstarter starts December 25^th 2012 at midnight and will run for 30 days.

“After the Kickstarter gets funded, Frog God Games has pledged to fulfill not only the pledges from the backers but all remaining pre-orders, national and international” said Agresta, speaking on behalf of Logue. “As of October 19^th, 2012, I finished honoring every refund request Nick received. Making good on Nick’s past obligations cleared the way for Frog God Games to step in and finally bring this to print.”

About Frog God Games

Founded in April 2010, Frog God Games publishes resources for the tabletop roleplaying games Pathfinder Roleplaying Games and Swords & Wizardry; Adventures and books such as Rappan Athuk, Tome of Horrors, The Slumbering Tsar Saga, and many more. Its products are known for their grand adventure settings and high quality production values. “If our hardcovers won’t last you a lifetime of use, we have not made a high enough quality product”, said Webb. Frog God Games currently serves customers worldwide. The writers of Frog God Games have won numerous ENnie Awards. For more information about Frog God Games visit its website at www.talesofthefroggod.com

Kickstarter is Live

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/froggodgames/razor-coast

More Packing

More van trips to the post office.

 

Lots more boxes packed.

And a big mess too.

We have about 350 more pledge to pack up.

Packing up and shipping out!

Rappan Athuk has finally begun shipping out! Check out some of the photos of Bill & Blonde Frog packing.

 We have dice!

 This is one big book!

 The first box we packed up

 

 You won't believe the amount of tape we go through

 Mountain of boxes

This is the second load that went to the post office...

Chris McFann Art

More McFann Custom Art

These are the non-leather editions that received artwork by artist Chris McFann. They are done with pen & ink: