Playtest Soft Launch!
almost 3 years ago – Mon, Jan 08, 2024 at 06:00:10 PM

Greetings, Voyagers! 

Last update I said we had a 'frighteningly large' update to share with you soon. 

As it turns out, time is subjective. 

I had hoped to have this update done by the end of November, but as it turns out the sheer amount of content that we wrote for Aether Adrift is considerably larger than either of us had realized until I started putting it all in one place. When November ended, I had hoped to have this update to you in time for Christmas, but I ended up working too hard on it in November and burning myself out.

But now it's January, and we present to you...

The Aether Adrift Playtest Document

Reduced File Size Version

Playtest Feedback Questionnaire 

Big disclaimer: This is nowhere near finished. There are a fair few instances of placeholder text, inconsistent design elements, The Table of Contents is completely unfinished, and likely more. As much as I want to go back and sand down those rough edges, I've been looking at this document for too long and it needs other peoples' eyes on it.

This document represents a sort of minimum viable product for Aether Adrift. It contains all of the elements that we want to be present in the final product. Do keep in mind that nothing here is permanent. Things may be changed, added, or even removed depending on what testing reveals. With one exception, no Shaper content is currently present in the book. 

One big section that isn't in the book yet is the GM's guide to Elisi. The final book is intended to have a relatively fleshed out Elisi to use mostly out of the box, but we haven't started on that yet.

Regardless, this document is ready for playtesting.

Shaper Content

Now that the 'promised content' is mostly complete, we will be reaching out to our Shaper backers to start finalizing their ideas properly. If you are a Shaper, please read the new lore and mechanics in the Playtest document and use that new information to help solidify your idea in preparation!

What We Need From You

Read the book from cover to cover, take note of any questions you have, any misspellings or errors you see, any time something seems unclear or confusing.

Players who don't want anything about the setting spoiled should stop reading before the GM section. Don't worry about missing it, there's a two page spread and the color scheme changes to denote the GM section.

Prospective GMs, or folks who are more interested in the setting than the 'game', I would like your honest feedback on the GM chapters. Any information you feel is 'missing' from any of the sections, and questions about the setting or world that you as a GM feel are not answered adequately, and any of the random tables or generation tools that you don't think are useful or fit for purpose.

Please be honest, but try to be constructive. We can't improve Aether Adrift without knowing what needs to be built on or cut out.

How Does Playtesting Work?

If you are a Savage Worlds GM, or know a Savage Worlds GM, you can (and should) take this book and run your own campaign of Aether Adrift. Come to the Demonskunk Studios Discord Server to get access to some playtest adventures. Take notes of what you do and don't like. After each session, you and your players should complete the feedback form.

If you're not a GM and don't know one, we will be running public playtests with an open, persistent world. Players would be free to bring their own character and join in on any given session.

We'll have more details on the public playtests after we've had a bit of time to rest and decompress.

Areas of Concern

My current concerns are mostly around the GM sections. Sam and I worry that the random event table, terrain generation, and 'dungeon' generation rules aren't good enough. We're not sure how necessary they are, or how much use folks will get out of them. I'm very concerned with scope creep and the size of the book, since we're sitting at nearly 300 pages and most of the art isn't even in the book. We're considering whether it would be better to spin the random generation systems into a supplemental PDF, or move them to a separate or future book.

The other area is the Precursor and Empire chapters. I worry that there isn't enough information for a GM to work off of. It's possible (and likely) that I'm over planning. I'm very consciously comparing Aether Adrift to something like Golarion or the Forgotten Realms, which have had years, decades, to be developed and worked through.

The last area of concern is where to put the bestiary. I'm not sure if it should be at the back of the player's section, or the back of the book. Players with the Beast Master edge can choose a creature to have as a companion, and characters should be able to have some familiarity with the creatures on Elisi from general exposure. On the other hand, the bestiary tends to be the purview of the GM, and some of the beasts in there are rare or extremely scary, and not things the players should have knowledge of before hand.

Sam feels that the equipment list is lacking in SMGs or similar personal defense weapons, but isn't sure we should add more because we already have so much equipment in the book already.

Finally, we're both concerned about higher level play. Most of our experience with Savage Worlds hovers around Seasoned. We don't have many options specifically tailored boy Veteran and higher characters, and we aren't sure if high level play will feel lacking or not.

What Happens Now?

We take a break. Maybe a month or two, so we can come back with fresh eyes. Once we're (hopefully) rested, get started on building out the playtest sandbox and then provide you with another update.

Happy Halloween!
about 3 years ago – Tue, Oct 31, 2023 at 06:42:00 PM

Happy Halloween from Demonskunk Studios

We've been hard at work on Aether Adrift, and will have a frighteningly large update to deliver to you very soon! Be safe and have fun during the spookiest night of the year!

That's all for now, Voyagers!

Voyager Command, Signing Out!

Progress Report May 2023
over 3 years ago – Sat, May 20, 2023 at 09:03:25 PM

Greetings Voyagers!

Update request received loud and clear!

Aether Adrift Playtest PDF Progress

• [▓▓▓░░░░░░░] Playtest Adventures
• [▓▓▓▓▓░░░░░] Base Building Rules
• [▓▓▓▓▓▓▓░░░] Encounter Table
• [▓▓▓▓▓░░░░░] Gear Modification
• [▓▓▓▓▓▓▓░░░] Terrain Generation
• [░░░░░░░░░░] Loot Tables
• [▓▓▓▓▓▓▓░░░] Animal Companions
• [▓▓▓▓▓░░░░░] Elisi Island Setting
• [▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓░░] Bestiary
• [▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓░] Equipment
• [▓▓▓▓▓░░░░░] Dungeon Generator
• [▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓░░] Edges
• [▓▓▓▓▓░░░░░] Archetypes
• [▓░░░░░░░░░] Backer Submissions
• [▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓] Non-Humanoid Robot Stats
• [▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓] Hindrances
• [▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓] New Skills
• [▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓] Vehicles
• [▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓] Bartering System
• [▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓] Crafting Rules
• [▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓] Nanotech Powers

Bestiary: We've been spending the last couple months mostly working on the bestiary. We're through with writing the stats for beasts native to plains, forests, jungles, deserts, tundras, and swamps. We're halfway through highlands. We've got Mountains, Water, Volcano, Mushroom, and Underground beasts, as well as some un-catagorized stragglers to finish.

We've currently got around 20 beasts, 8 plant monsters, and 4 precursor drones to finish statting out.

Equipment: The Mikwa have received some new weapons in the form of several slingshots and slingbows, as well as some unique ammunition to go with it. Pepper balls, mini bombs, and good ol' steel balls. The Fulgori received a new pocket revolver loved by undercover agents and retired soldiers.

Concept Art!

We've sadly exhausted our complete artwork, but we're happy to share concept some concept art of our new beasts and plant monsters. All of the names are placeholders at the moment, so bear with us.

Firstly we have a trio of Bite Bulbs, a family of carnivorous plants that come in a wide variety of troublesome variants. Pictured are the Poison Bite Bulb, which breathes clouds of noxious gas that sap the energy of anything who breathes it; the Razor Bite Bulb which has an X-shaped mouth and inward pointing teeth that make it difficult for prey to escape; and the Glue Bite Bulb which spits globs of sticky sap that creates hazardous glue traps or directly binds prey.

Next we have a stinky spiny hyena, or what we lovingly call the Scraggly Boy. These dog-sized beasts are scavengers that have a diet of roots, berries, and scavenged meat. When threatened, they're capable of bloating up to twice their size, causing the spines growing all over their body to point outward and (hopefully) scare off whatever is making them feel unsafe. If this doesn't work, they can fart all that noxious gas out and then flee using the opaque cloud as cover.

Finally, we have a Swamp Dog. These excitable little beasts make up for their lack of intelligence with an insatiable appetite and unparalleled friendliness. Swamp dogs often just open their mouth and scoot their face along the swamp floor or through the muck and swallow whatever happens to float inside. Even in the wild, Swamp dogs are very friendly and approachable, wagging their little nubs excitedly as they toddle up to a curious explorer.

Swamp dogs come in two variants. Clean swamp dogs have remarkably antibacterial drool that can even be used to sterilize wounds. Nasty swamp dogs have a festering cesspool in their mouth that almost ensures any bite will fester if untreated. Both will attempt to lick your face.

That's all for now, Voyagers!

Voyager Command, Signing Out!

Progress Report March 2023
over 3 years ago – Sat, Mar 18, 2023 at 08:21:42 PM

Greetings Voyagers!

We've been hard at work on Aether Adrift these last few months, and we're well on our way to our playtest PDF release. Since it's been over a year since the Kickstarter conclude, I'll lay out what we've been working on, what we've finished, what we're working on, and what needs to get done before we're ready for our next phase

Aether Adrift Playtest PDF Progress

•  [▓▓▓░░░░░░░] Playtest Adventures 
•  [▓▓▓▓▓░░░░░] Base Building Rules 
•  [▓▓▓▓▓▓▓░░░] Encounter Table 
•  [▓▓▓▓▓░░░░░] Gear Modification 
•  [▓▓▓▓▓▓▓░░░] Terrain Generation 
•  [░░░░░░░░░░] Loot Tables 
•  [▓▓▓▓▓▓▓░░░] Animal Companions 
•  [▓▓▓▓▓░░░░░] Elisi Island Setting 
•  [▓▓▓▓▓░░░░░] Bestiary 
•  [▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓░░] Equipment 
•  [▓▓▓▓▓░░░░░] Dungeon Generator 
•  [▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓░░] Edges 
•  [▓▓▓▓▓░░░░░] Archetypes 
•  [▓░░░░░░░░░] Backer Submissions 
•  [▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓] Non-Humanoid Robot Stats 
•  [▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓] Hindrances 
•  [▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓] New Skills 
•  [▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓] Vehicles 
•  [▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓] Bartering System 
•  [▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓] Crafting Rules 
•  [▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓] Nanotech Powers 

Playtest Adventures: We're aiming to have 5 pre-written adventures ready to play at initial launch. The Abandoned Mine, The Fulgori Munitions Factory, The Sunken Lab, Mystery of the Red Mist, and a yet-to-be-determined 5th precursor adventure will each run 1-3 sessions. Abandoned Mine, Sunken Lab, and Red Mist are essentially complete, but in need of rebalancing. Munitions Factory has been concepted out, but needs rules, and the unnamed adventure needs the most work.

Base Building Rules: The rules for building up a base of operations to return to are tentatively complete. We don't want an overly complex management system, but more of a hideout where the players can lick their wounds, store gear, build or repair new equipment or vehicles, and then set off again. 

Encounter Table: The encounter tables are largely complete, but need some tweaking, and possible conversion to use playing cards. As it stands, it is usable but not ideal.

Gear Modification: The gear modification rules allow you to tweak or enhance equipment by attaching things you find. You can increase or change the damage type of a weapon, make gear lighter and easier to use, make your armor keep you warm or cool, and other things. We need to add a few more options to the list before we're ready to call it complete.

Terrain Generation: The tools for generating your own islands are functional, but we need to add some more unique biomes before we can call it complete.

Loot Tables: We haven't begun making loot tables for the different areas and enemies yet. That will likely be the last thing we do, since it's reliant on so many things being finished.

Animal Companions: We're going to have a separate bestiary of animals to be used as companions for players with the Beast Master edge, instead of simply pulling from the bestiary, including some special robot animal companions brought along on the Albatross. We may also include some simple rules for building an animal companion from scratch.

Elisi Island Setting: The core book will be primarily focused around the island of Elisi, a temperate continent with abundant plant and animal life, and almost supernaturally fertile soil. The island itself will be a hex-crawl island wilderness with large amounts of open space between detailed points of interest. We have not started to detail the island proper yet, but we have a lot of flora and fauna ready to go.

Bestiary: We've got a small bestiary at the moment, but we're planning to expand it to include at least 5 unique creatures for each biome type (Forest, Plains, Desert, etc), as well as a number of precursor defense drones, hostile NPCs and war machines before we call this complete.

Equipment: The equipment lists for Mikwa, Fulgori, and Humans is pretty much complete, and even the Precursor equipment list is sizeable. We just need to give it a final read-through to make sure nothing is missing before we call it complete.

Dungeon Generator: The dungeon generator is a tool to quickly generate any kind of 'dungeon', be it a precursor facility, a fulgori base, or a cave system. We've been running into trouble trying to balance detail with ease of use. The dungeon generation rules are technically functional but not ideal.

Edges: We're almost done with the list of extra edges, we just need to add another couple of mikwa and fulgori specific edges, and add one or two legendary edges.

Archetypes: A list of 20 character archetypes that represent some common character types that would fit in well with the world of Aether Adrift. They're ready to play right out of the box, all you need to do is add Hindrances. The Novice rank versions of them are complete, and we're working on the Seasoned rank versions.

Backer Submissions: We have collected nearly all submission ideas from our Shaper backers, but have not started writing the rules for them yet.

Non-Humanoid Robot Stats: One of the things that was originally going to be a stretch goal, we decided to include them anyway. These rules allow you to play quadruped or avian robots. They are complete and ready for testing.

Hindrances: The list of new character flaws is complete and ready for testing.

New Skills: Aether Adrift adds 2 new skills and changes the way Common Knowledge works slightly. They are all complete and ready for testing.

Vehicles: at least 5 vehicles for each culture have been statted up and are ready for testing.

Bartering System: A bartering system based on the Wealth rules where you trade items and charm or threaten a merchant to get what you want is complete and ready for testing.

Crafting Rules: Ultra simple crafting rules based on the complexity and size of the thing you want to build are complete and ready for testing.

Nanotech Powers: The completely new system of customizeable science magic powers is complete and ready for testing.

What's Next?

Once we've finished this to-do list, we'll start to transfer rules from our Google Drive into a proper PDF to create the initial layout for the Play Test PDF. We'll distribute the playtest PDF to our backers and start dedicating time to regular play tests. Ideally our backers (that's you) will play the test game and give us feedback. We'll also be reaching out to actual-play podcasts and other outside Savage Worlds GMs to ask their assistance in testing. Once we collect playtest data, we'll adjust what needs adjustment then do another playtest pass.

More Artwork!

We'll leave you off with a few more pieces of finished artwork.

First we have the Awaq'willa, "web-weaver", a creature that lurks in dark places and waits to pounce on prey. It spins webs from spinerettes on its head that it holds between its forelimbs. When it pounces, it wraps its prey in webs so it can't escape, then devours it.

Next we have a Maway'chi, a winged snake that measures around 15 feet in length. Their wings enable them to whirl through the air like a majestic eastern dragon, then swoop down to bite their prey with a paralytic venom. Maway'chi like to sleep up high in hidden out-of-the-reach places. Many a voyager has accidentally surprised one and gotten an arm full of venom for their trouble.

Finally, we have the Maka'qarka. These cave-dwelling hexapodal lizards are frighteningly intelligent, able to creep around unseen in the darkness of their cave homes to ambush unwary prey by grasping their face with a hand on the end of its tail, muffling their cries for help while it drags them off to their doom. They are smart enough to watch a creature's face and pay attention to its sight lines, tossing rocks or making noise to cause a distraction to split up groups and strike.

That's all for now, Voyagers!

Voyager Command, Signing Out!

Happy Holidays from Demonskunk Studios!
almost 4 years ago – Sun, Dec 25, 2022 at 07:44:22 PM

Happy Holidays, Voyagers!

We hope you're enjoying yourself in a safe and responsible way during  this 2022 holiday season. We don't have any big news for Aether Adrift yet, but work is proceeding. In the meantime, enjoy some fresh Aether Adrift artwork as a gift from Demonskunk Studios to you.

First we have the Allqu, this common beast can be found all over Elisi in a variety of colors and tusk arrangements. They are fierce beasts that hunt in packs. If only one allqu remains in a pack, it flies into a vengeful rage, making them particularly dangerous to hunt.

Next we have the Adralqu, a cousin of the allqu that has the curious ability to breathe fire. Adralqu are considerably more hardy and dangerous than allqu, but unlike allqu, adralqu are typically solitary hunters.

 Finally, we have a Sillurqu. Sillurqu are large herbivorous land crustaceans that can remain stationary for long periods of time - long enough for plant life to begin growing on their shells. They are generally non-aggressive, but if harmed, they doggedly pursue their attackers with murderous intent.

That's all for now, Voyagers!

Voyager Command, Signing out!