T-Minus 3

So let me frontload. You have to realize that I'm not much of a performer and am terrible in front of a camera, so for me making the video was the hardest part of preparing for the Upwind Kickstarter. If not for the help and advice of my techie buddy Eric it would have been even harder and considerably more wooden. Yes - this is me NOT being wooden. The second round of shooting was easier and I've always enjoyed editing video, so in the end it was fun, but what I am trying to say is Spielberg did not make our Kickstarter video...

T-Minus 4

We are 4 days out from the launch of the Upwind Kickstarter (10.11) and as promised here's another sneak peak into the core book. 

Hemoths, Dwellers and Meat Crickets...Oh My!

The Kin are not the only inhabitants of the strange world of Upwind - not by a long shot. Here are three examples - and an awesome illustration by James Stowe - of the wondrous and often dangerous creatures that can be found in the uncharted skies. 

Hemoth

The Hemoth are massive creatures that drift through the skies of the Realms in large familial herds. They are shaped like ship-sized teardrops, with rows of stubby, seemingly ineffectual wings along their flanks, and huge sail-like tails. Their gigantic, ponderous forms are held aloft by the elemental power of the Wind - like the hulls of skyships - though arcane zoologists disagree about whether their flight is an innate use of wild Potential or something more enigmatic.

Hemoth are truly gentle giants. They are clever for animals and apparently communicate using low frequency airborne vibrations that are felt more than heard. Though hunted for meat by some Kin cultures, Hemoths are only aggressive in defense of their herds, otherwise drifting peacefully through the sky. Stories are told of feral Kin who have somehow domesticated hemoth herds, not only riding upon them like ship’s crew, but of whole tribes living nomadic lives upon their backs. Such tales always seem to accompany strong drink and so should be taken accordingly.

Hemoths graze on cloud gardens, diving through the dense vegetation that grows in these drifting groves, consuming great swaths of the plants, and often the animals, that live within. A sizable herd can decimate even a large garden, eating all but a few remnant tatters in short order. These shreds however, are quick to seed new gardens and some of the species within even depend on being consumed and disbursed by feeding hemoths to facilitate this.

Dwellers

Dwellers are enigmatic creatures. They are gaunt, bipedal beings with long limbs, squat bodies, heavy jaws and bulbous eyes. They are social and self aware but otherwise appear prelingual. Dwellers are found across the skies but are most commonly encountered in the Twilight Frontier.  Though regional populations are usually small there have been reports of large concentrations in specific locales. 

The creatures are furtive and live in small, family bands. Strangely, dwellers are most frequently found denning in Masters’ ruins - living in the deepest chambers and using the tunnels to move about unseen. The more warren-like the cache the more likely dwellers are to be found. Dwellers to not appear to make tools or build structures, but they have been observed using found objects in tool-like ways - including as effective weapons. They appear to be omnivores and only opportunistic hunters.

Most Guild zoologists believe dwellers are related to the ferals encountered in the Dark - another vestigial line of Child. Some fringe thinkers believe they may be degenerate relatives of the Kin or even corrupt descendants of the Masters of the Wind themselves. Necropsies of recovered specimens have provided scant clues to the mystery and scholars continue to debate their origins. 

Though the creatures generally avoid contact with Kin there are cases of violent encounters and savage battles with dweller hordes. Whether larger populations make them more aggressive or drive them into territorial frenzies these attacks have been unprovoked, vicious and deadly. Accordingly, Guild members are instructed to treat all contact with dwellers as potentially dangerous. 

Meat Crickets

Meat crickets are large, regionally abundant arthropods found throughout the Frontier. They are ugly, pallid, hard-shelled creatures the size of dogs with dangerous pinching claws and long, multi-jointed hind legs that allow them to leap 30 feet at a bound. Meat crickets are voracious, carnivorous pack-hunters that employ both pursuit and ambush tactics with equal effectiveness.

When chasing prey, crickets cooperate to bring down individual animals much larger than themselves - snapping at their limbs with their formidable claws, leaping ahead to cut them off, wearing them down by injury, blood loss and fatigue. The loud and eerie chirping sounds they use to coordinate their pursuit add chilling notes to the kill.

When lying in ambush, meat crickets array themselves around a kill zone, camouflaging themselves in ground litter. The ring of predators will then take it in turns, chirping quietly, their cooing calls serving to attract other predators that are themselves on the hunt. When the unwary target finally enters their ring the crickets burst from cover, swarming the prey and eating it alive. Meat crickets in a feeding frenzy are frightening and dangerous even to themselves, often taking slices out of each other as they eat. 

Meat crickets are actually quite tasty and if explorer crews are willing to risk being hunted themselves crickets are a ready source of fresh meat. They are easily roasted and served in their own shells and have a mild, fish-like taste.  It has become a common pastime for the more artistic among Guild crews to scrimshaw images from their explorations on the large pincer claws leftover from a meat cricket feast.

T-Minus 5

Five days to the launch of the Upwind Kickstarter on October 11th. As part of the continued countdown we wanted to share one of the stretch goals we are most excited about.

Upwind Incursion - A Print & Play Skyship Combat Game

This goal funds the production of Upwind Incursion, a print-and-play “miniatures-style”, tactical wargame of skyship-to-skyship combat in the dim reaches of the Twilight Frontier. A target and destroy battle of sharp-eyed lookouts, daring maneuvers and devastating broadsides, Incursion brings the war between the Explorers’ Guild and the Children of the Dark out of the RPG and onto your nearest tabletop. The game is a fast playing, tactical challenge that depends on stealthy movement and decisive actions. Since it’s print-and-play you can scale up to fight as many ships as you care to put in the sky against as many opponents as you care to challenge!

Mock-ups of the tokens we are using for playtesting. The final counters will be much prettier.

Mock-ups of the tokens we are using for playtesting. The final counters will be much prettier.

T-Minus 6

The Upwind Kickstarter launches in 6 days and as part of the countdown we wanted to tell you about the funding focus of the campaign - three products that will provide a complete game line and a limitless sky of adventure. These are not stretch goals but all core elements of the project.  

Upwind Core Book (of course)

Upwind will be a full color, 225+ page, beautifully illustrated, hardcover book. It will contain everything needed to adventure across the endless skies of the Kingdoms in the Light and deep into the Dark. At higher pledge levels the book will feature a collector’s edition embossed cover and signed dedications by the design team.

The Knight’s Deck Playing Cards

Upwind is played using standard poker cards rather than dice with an original bidding mechanic that uses the various features of those cards to direct the narrative. The Knight’s Deck is a custom-designed deck that enhances the Upwind setting. Beyond use in play, every card in the deck features an illustration of a specific settlement, location, or Master’s cache as well as descriptive text. An integrated coordinate system allows players to arrange the cards into an illuminated schematic of the Upwind setting that provide fun and useful insight into the uncanny geography of the game.

Prophecy of the Grand Amplifier Campaign and Setting Supplement

The Prophecy of the Grand Amplifier is a setting-spanning, Upwind sourcebook and campaign written by Upwind’s authors. The book is packed with new locations, NPCs, Relics, creatures and Master’s caches, and the adventure will draw players deep into the setting. The story takes a band of young Knights from novice recruitment, through their Academy training, challenges them with their graduation cruise, leads them on a ranging series of missions across the Realms and then sends them deep into the Dark in pursuit of an ancient legacy. The discoveries they make will upend everything they know about the history of the Children, the Masters of the Wind and the origin of the Kin themselves.

One Week To Launch!

Biohazard is a week out from the launch of our Upwind Kickstarter on October 11th! We are excited to finally get the campaign underway and to show it we are going to count down with cool art, KS previews, sneak-peaks and giveaways over the next seven days. Join us here, on Twitter and on Facebook and help us count down to the big day!

Upwind Art

Check out the art that has been coming in from the amazing James Stowe. It is bringing the strange world of Upwind to vivid life!

Game Day Tacoma!

Join Biohazard Games for some Upwind demos at the Gamerati's Game Day event this Saturday (9.24) at the First Christian Church of Tacoma - 602 North Orchard Street, Tacoma, WA.
We will be there from about 10a until folks are done playing and we would love to introduce you to the game. We will be running our GenCon demo scenario "Holding Down the Fort" and we promise you will have a blast!
Come on down and join us as we spin things up for the October 11th launch of the Upwind Kickstarter campaign.
 

New Partnership!

We are excited to announce our new publishing partnership with Nocturnal Media and Stewart Wieck (co-founder of White Wolf and co-creator of the World of Darkness). Biohazard and Nocturnal will be working together to bring a bigger and badder "Upwind" RPG to an even broader audience. Check out this link for more details on the new partnership.

Upwind Cover

After much design work and anticipation we are excited to share James Stowe's amazing "Upwind" cover. It evokes the spirit of the setting perfectly and is a stunning preview of what's to come.

 

 

 

 

Third Wheel Upwind Interview

The cool folks at Third Wheel just posted a fun interview on the development of Upwind. They are great guys and have a cool take on the gaming podcast. Check them out and give a listen to the show.

GenCon Report

GenCon was great for Biohazard! We ran lots of Upwind demos, and met with lots of cool folks. RPPR generously let Jeff sit on their "Game Designer's Workshop Live" panel and Upwind was featured in several great podcasts. We also hope to announce some big news in the next week or so, so please stay tuned to this space.

In the meantime, please check out "Third Wheel." These generous and hilarious guys put out a unique, animated form of rpg actual play on YouTube as well as the occasional one shot and interview. While at GenCon Faust, Matt and Jay participated in our  Upwind demo "Holding Down the Fort." They were super fun to play with and I had a great time running the game.

If you've been curious about how Upwind plays or what the game can provide take a listen. Note that we did our best to find a "quiet" corner in which to record but that at GenCon there really isn't such a thing. Accordingly, please forgive the inevitable background con noise.