Free download Shadows of Esteren Book 0 Prologue

 No worries, this is a completely legal download. The kickstarter of Book 2 Travels has reached one of its stretch goals which has made Book 0 Prologue available for free download as of now. 

Book 0 Prologue provides an introduction to the setting of Shadows of Esteren, a quick overview of the rules system, six pre-made characters, and three introductory scenarios. 

It's a great way to get a feel for the setting, the rules, and the game's beautiful artwork.

Head over to DriveThroughRPG to download Shadows of Esteren Book 0 Prologue for free.

Shadows of Esteren Book 2 : Travels Kickstarter

The new kickstarter for Shadows of Esteren is online. Book 2 Travels consist of 196 pages of Shadows of Esteren goodness. I already have the pdf and I can tell you, this book looks as amazing as the others. Stunning artwork all over the place.

The first chapter Cartography takes a look at several noteworthy places of Tri-Kazel. It takes an in-depth look at Gwidre, Reizh, and Taol-Kaer but it doesn't stop until about 45 pages are filled with setting material and descriptions of locales the players can visit or encounter.

The chapter continues with information on travelling in Tri-Kazel, the meaning of several Varigal signs, and advice on storytelling a travelling scene. After overland travel, the chapter takes a look at sailing the seas surrounding the peninsula, information on different ships and navigation.

Chapter 2 Canvasses features five short scenario's for 2-3 hour play.

Chapter 3 A life choice is a short campaign about a Magientist mother who finds out her long-lost child and husband are now living in an ultra-traditionalist community in Taol-Kaer and organises an expedition to save her child from a dogmatic upbringing. The campaign is split up in different scenes with hints throughout on which music to use for a particular scene, tips to enhance the setting, indications on where to add (optional) gore or suspense, all illustrated with clear signs we've come to know from the previous books.

Chapter 4 Figures of Tri-Kazel takes a look at 18 memorable non-player characters the players can encounter on their travels through the land.

Finally chapter 5 Bestiary explores several common place creatures that can be encountered and 10 much stranger creatures from Loch Sniomh, the sea wyrm to the majestic Siren of the Taelderoth.

Check out the Shadows of Esteren Book 2 Travels Kickstarter !!

For those in doubt what to expect, check Martin from Grognard Games unboxing his package from the previous kickstarter.

Shadows of Esteren : Book 0 - Prologue Kickstarter

After a succesful kickstarter for their Book 1 - Universe, the Forgesonges Collective and Studio 2 Publishing are back for the release of Book 0 - Prologue.

Book 0 will be an introduction to the Universe of Shadows of Esteren, contain a summary of the game system, 6 sample characters, and 3 adventures. And it will feature beautiful artwork.

Sure this is a dark and gritty low fantasy setting, full of gothic horror and Cthulhu influences, what really drew me into supporting the first kickstarter was the incredibly beautiful artwork.

I met author Nelyhann and illustrators Gawaine and Chris at Spiel Essen this year and they are incredibly nice people with a genuine love for the game. They've worked really hard on getting these books out in English and I for one, will support their work.

Please support the Shadows of Esteren Book 0 - Prologue Kickstarter

Shadows of Esteren: A Medieval Horror RPG Kickstarter

Kickstarter seems to have really caught on in the RPG world.

Shadows of Esteren is a French roleplaying game which will now be translated into English.



It's being described as a mixture between Braveheart, Sleepy Hollow, Ravenloft, and Call of Cthulhu. Well that certainly had my interest peaked.

From what I can see on the Shadows of Esteren Kickstarter page, it certainly is going to be a beautiful book.

I chose the Farl collector pledge which contains a limited edition version of 300 copies.

The gaming system is described as follows

• A Detailed Character Creation. The creation of a PC goes through ten steps. The Characters are designed “inside-out”: you determine his psychology with 5 Ways that define how the Character sees and affects the world. Thus, there are no attributes such as Strength, Dexterity and so on, but there are Combativeness, Creativity, Empathy, Reason, and Conviction. By default, all the Characters are equally strong, fast, good-looking, etc. However a Character can purchase Advantages and Disadvantages to flesh out some of these physical attributes (“Strong”, “Weak”, “Hawkeye”,etc.), or provide him with allies, extra funds, etc... Skills are then picked according to several stages of his life (youth, professional training, miscellaneous activities).
• The System of the Ways. The Ways are characteristics that determine the major traits of the Character’s personality: the Player allocates the scores 1,2,3,4,5 among the 5 Ways. Ways are rated from 1 to 5: 1-2 is considered Minor , 4-5 is considered Major. Therefore, a Character will have 2 Major Ways, 2 Minor Ways and an average one. This makes it possible to roughly determine the way he thinks, his emotional tendencies, etc...
Additionally, there are five Faults, one for each Way: Passion (Combativeness), Subversion (Creativity), Influence (Empathy), Doubt (Reason), and Guilt (Conviction). The main aim of these characteristics is to give references for role-playing, but the Leader (GM) can ask a Player to make a Test roll in one of his Character's Major Faults to see if his Fault gets the better of him in a heated situation. Also, a Character chooses 1 Flaw and 1 Quality based on his Major or Minor Ways (a Major Way can imply both a Flaw and a Quality). As shown in the example below, a Major rating in Combativeness can result in an Optimistic behavior, but also an impulsive one. Example for Combativeness
• Quality:
Major Rating: combative, optimistic, dynamic, brave, pugnacious, etc. Minor Rating: calm, phlegmatic, cool-headed, peaceful, etc.
• Flaw:
Major Rating: impulsive, presumptuous, prideful, stubborn, arrogant, boastful, etc. Minor Rating: pessimistic, spineless, sad, weak-willed, fearful, self-conscious, coward, etc.
• A Resolution System Based on a D10. When a resolution roll is required, the Player adds the Character's rating in the appropriate skill + his rating in the associated Way + 1d10, and must beat a given Threshold. The margin determines the quality of success or failure. There are critical successes and failures as well. This resolution system is used for every aspect of the game, from fighting to using skills and calling upon mystical powers.
• Quick and Violent Combats. Combat is clearly deadly. Fighting attitudes have been designed to define how the Character fights. Moreover, the amount of Health Points defined at the creation of the PC (which is most of the time the same for every Character) does not increase as the PC improves in the various skill fields. The basic principle is that the human body is fragile: for example, close combat remains dangerous, no matter how good a PC is in a given domain.
• A Complete Sanity System. Dying is not the only danger that threatens the PCs: their psyche can be sorely tested, and they can even sink into madness. This is an important aspect of the game: where the combat system has been summed up in only three pages, the sanity system plays a much more important part and provided several tools to embody a psychically unstable PC. From the creation of his Character, the Player chooses a latent pathology for him, which may come to light if mental traumas become too heavy.
• Three Types of "Magic". Although Shadows of Esteren is defined as a low-fantasy universe, supernatural elements still exist. Magical powers are meant to be most often rare, but powerful, and their use is never without consequences. The game system details the Demorthèn arts (druidic/animistic tradition); the Miracles of the Temple, granted by the One God to the Elect; and Magience, a science using “Flux”, a fuel harvested from nature.