Final 48 Hours! Cleared stretch goals and elaboration on the Unlocked One Shot: Curse of Neungwon Temple
over 3 years ago – Wed, Oct 26, 2022 at 12:49:13 AM

Good afternoon and holy heck!!

We have less than 48 hours of the campaign remaining and we've cleared $72K plus an incredible amount of stretch goals already! Your generosity means the world and we're going to triple our efforts to make this project something every one of you will remember.

Now, let's dissect what we've cleared and what's to come!

The "School of Astromancy" Wizard has been unlocked! You can rewrite the cosmos to empower your spellcasting to new heights.

The new Tactician homebrew class has been unlocked! Mounted on a legendary beast, you will ride into battle and lead your comrades to victory! The three Military Arts we've prepared for this homebrew class are the combat and defense-focused Art of the General, the lyrical Art of the Hwarang, and the Art of the Monster Slayer designed to take down creature types you've prepared against! I'd also like to confirm when we publish future books, we would absolutely be happy to expand this list with more homebrew subclasses.

"Curse of Neungwon Temple"

Neungwon Temple/능원사 is actually a temple that exists in Korea, located in the Gyeonggi Province. It's famous for its splendor, I mean, seriously, if you look at photos of it, you'll see that it's a spacious, beautiful temple with intricate, beautiful designs on its architecture. 

There is also the legend of the Neungwon Temple that appears in the Samguk Yusa. A group of thieves sneaked into the temple to loot the shrine of King Suro of Geumgwan Gaya, the ruling city-state of the Gaya Confederacy. What they were greeted by when they got there was a nightmare: immortal warriors fired arrows that rained on them from the skies. 

When they tried again, they found the shrine guarded by 30 giant serpents whose eyes glowed like lightning and their bites impaled the thieves. In this legend, the temple protects something extremely sacred and I wanted to bring this legend to life through a one-shot where players attempt a grand heist. I'm thinking about setting it around the latter end of Tier 2 or earlier Tier 3 depending on where my writing takes me.

But I'm extremely excited to bring to you this adventure! I'll be using all my dungeon-making chops to do so.

In the next update, we'll talk more about our plans for the expanded lore! To give you, the players, more options for creating characters traversing through Danguk, we're excited to reach out to writers and creators representing these different Asian cultures to help build this world together.

Once again, thank you so very much for all your generosity! All of us at Nine Heavens Press are deeply humbled by the outpouring of love from TTRPG players.

Final Hours: "Way of the Dosa" Monk archetype unlocked! And more incoming
over 3 years ago – Tue, Oct 25, 2022 at 02:26:57 PM

"The Way of the Dosa" Monk has been unlocked! Activate states of inner power corresponding with the five elements of Taoism with this incredibly flexible Monk archetype!

We've mentioned in the prior update details about our next stretch goal at 69k: the "School of Astromancy" Wizard. Astromancers can draw constellations in the heavens that corresponds with different schools of magic spells fall under to give them a boost during your daily preparation. 

At 70k, we have the Tactician class, but let's talk a bit more about the other goal next to it: an expansion to the book, "Birth of Malice". It's difficult to talk about the sixth arc of the book when we've kept Arcs 1-5 under wraps, but we'll try our best!

The book's story spans from levels 1-17 and the story finishes satisfactorily with the end of Arc 5. There are few loose ends to tie up and you've foiled the machinations of the main villains handily. Arc VI will begin with a time skip featuring your characters being able to enjoy their new lives as well-regarded heroes of the realm.

A new villain that opted instead to spectate from behind the curtains decides to gather the pieces of the calamity you foiled. The gates to the Realm of Darkness opens, flooding the world with the mud of mortal malice. With the crowning of the Emperor of Darkness, the unifying will of all evil, grudge-consumed spirits, you have one last job to do and banish this threat once and for all.

From levels 18-20, you and your party will be in for the fight of your lives against a specially planned dungeon through a plane of malice and the superboss waiting at the end!

There's still more to come after this too!! Thank you so much and I hope we're able to make it to the very end!!

3 days remaining: "Path of the Unbound" Barbarian Unlocked plus other news
over 3 years ago – Sun, Oct 23, 2022 at 04:47:41 PM

Good morning! The "Path of the Unbound" Barbarian has been unlocked! Let nothing stop you in the march of liberation! Your rage is a righteous one.

What's next on the horizon?

As mentioned in the previous update, we have coming over the horizon both the Bard and Monk archetypes! The "College of Ink" surrounds your ability to make paintings and calligraphy come to life while the "Way of the Dosa" centers the five elements of Taoism. You will harness the elements in your body and activate various states.

Beyond that, what have we missed?

Of course! Who can forget the Wizard?

The "School of Astromancy" revolves around not just the study of stars, but the manipulation of the boundless supply of ambient energy in the heavens. Once considered a mere offshoot of the school of Divination, Danguk mages' long study of the stars culminated in the means of drawing power from constellations to fuel your spells. The wizards who enter this field must possess iron discipline to become one with the cosmos, but also to resist the deceitful whispers of the entities that reside there.

Starting out, you can imbue your spells with "Nova Casting", giving them the radiant quality of the stars. This enables you to substitute your regular spell damage with radiant plus a chance to blind your enemy a number of times a day.

Your most heralded feature is "Stellar Realignment", a flexible ability that allows you to align the stars in the heavens to your favor. These new constellations you write with space as your parchment will empower your ability to cast spells from specific schools of magic with unique abilities. It's a flexible feature that goes in tandem with your spell preparations for the day.

Beyond that, we have our homebrew Tactician class available at 70k! With more goodies I hope we can unlock over the final days of our campaign! It's been a blast, everyone, and thank you so much for pushing us this far.

Oh, also! You can check out a review of our Jeoseung Saja patron made by the good people over at URGE TV! Check it out for a breakdown of our upcoming Warlock subclass!

UPDATE: Naraka Prosecutor Rogue Unlocked and Previews!
over 3 years ago – Sun, Oct 23, 2022 at 03:51:35 PM

Hello!! I come bearing good tidings:

Another batch of our archetypes has just been unlocked! Since the last update, now you have access to the "Deadeye" Fighter Archetype, "Circle of the Medium" Druid, and "Naraka Prosecutor" Rogue. Thank you once again and we really hope you enjoy all of them!

In addition, we would also like to share with you a preview design we're working on of the Noru ancestry:

As you can see, we've gone in a deer-like centaur direction with our messengers of the gods. This is a sketch, but we're excited to share with you what we have planned with regards to coloring since we've really been shooting back and forth with ideas on that. But for the time being, you can definitely see fey-like influences with their claws, antlers, and fur slicked back into like hair.

But now let's talk about what's over the horizon.

People in Danguk are bound by a restrictive social caste system, codifying their inequality. The Nobi of the Cheonmin caste for example are bound to the land and the lord that rules over it. A Barbarian that follows the "Path of the Unbound" bears the weight of their fellows' pain and rage inside of them and makes you able to endure a great deal more pain. You can push past your ordinary limits at the cost of health to deal mightier blows against the arrogant who look down on you. Having perfected your rage, you benefit from the effects of Freedom of Movement, allowing nothing to ever again hold you down. Lead your allies and compatriots to a better future as a liberator.

Bards stand alongside Wizards in holding great influence in the mageocracy of Danguk. Many poets have risen to prominence and in honing their craft, they've developed the "College of Ink" that emphasizes calligraphy and ink paintings. When you reach 3rd level, your progress in training has earned you access to the full power of the Virtuoso's Inkbrush. It's a magic item that you can use to draw anything and have your pieces come to life.

You can both cast Silent Image at will and Animate Inkpiece, creating a lifelike, living painting that you can either fight alongside with or use to deceive your foes with its hyper realism. In time, this Living Inkpiece becomes an extension of your magical ability, enabling you to cast spells through it. 

Dosa in Korean refers to Taoist monks in real life or in fantasy, Taoist lowercase w wizards. As monks following the "Way of the Dosa", you've learned to channel your Ki in such a way to tap into the mystic weave of the arcane that flows through the earth. By spending Ki points, you can enter into a state that corresponds with an element in the Five Phases: Fire, Earth, Metal, Water, and Wood. You transform your body and take on the powers associated with the element. However, you also understand that in the course of achieving balance, for the great strengths you take on, you also gain a weakness to compensate.

This archetype was our way of trying to create an elemental monk that corresponded more with the five elements of eastern tradition. It's built around spending ki points to access transformations each with different powers, making flexibility part of your strength even with the potential debuff associated (each triggered with their unique conditions).

Shout-Outs

Hunter's Full Moon Trilogy 

This book by Midnight Tower (creators of An Unexpected Wedding Invitation (5e), a Jane Austen-inspired romance and mystery adventure!) on Kickstarter contains three adventures focused on traversing through the wilderness. The scenarios were designed for characters levels 1-3, but the encounters are scalable to suit any higher level adventurers. In the cold autumn nights, the people of Buckbridge count on you to save their small village and later, search for Queen Freja Swiftsteel's long-lost tomb.

Check it out!

Stretch Goal 3 and 4 Unlocked!! Plus coming previews
over 3 years ago – Sun, Oct 23, 2022 at 09:21:08 AM

Good morning to all of you!

Just letting you know that you've all unlocked the plague-eating "Circle of the Medium" Archetype for Druids and our "Village Guardian Deity" Jangseung and "Messenger of the Gods in Deer Centaur Form" Noru ancestries! Also, each Mudang Tier and above backer gains free access to our upcoming module on Alchemy RPG!

For those who would only like the module through Alchemy, we are also offering it as an add-on at $15 (half off for what modules of this size usually cost on their platform). 

As of now, we are just a short way's away from clearing 63K: the "Deadeye" Fighter Archetype! So let's share some upcoming previews.

At the Olympics, archery is a game Korea consistently sweeps gold medals at. Our tradition of archery goes all the way back to before 37 BC with the founding of Goguryeo by King Jumong, a legendary archer. In honor of this history of pure skill, we present to you the "Deadeye" Martial Archetype for Fighters whose magnificent aim does not require trick or magic arrows.

You declare "Called Shots" that enable you to aim at a specific body part or weak point on a creature. On a hit, you can inflict a debilitating debuff that weakens them in unique ways. Go for the headshot and really do a number on your foes!

As a Cleric of the "Hearth" Domain, you oversee the iron-clad laws of hospitality. In Danguk, you would normally be a priest of Jowangshin, the goddess of both the kitchen and fire. Your cooking skills benefit from the guiding hand of providence and your divine gifts can protect and nourish you and all your guests during rests. But make no mistake, you are not at all incapable of combat.

The deities of the Hearth command you to deliver retribution against ill-mannered intruders who would abuse or break your hospitality. For those brutes, you have spells like Fireball to punish. Make your friends and family unforgettable meals while blasting the hell out of all those who would interrupt this sacred time of rest!

The term "Naraka" refers to the plane of hell in Indian religions, but we're using it in the context of Buddhism. You're familiar with "Jeoseung Saja" Warlocks who are charged by the psychopomps of the underworld to capture those who would subvert the natural order. Rogues who serve as Naraka Prosecutors share a similar mission, but they are in no ways bound to any code of neutrality for life and death. Directly appointed by the Ten Narakwang, the divine judges of the underworld, they act where the reapers fail and drag lawbreakers or those with the potential to break the law for judgment.

These Rogues are Karmic Mediators that can sense the ebb and flow of karma like second nature. As part of their Cunning Action, they can freely Ready a full action. This archetype is all about preempting your enemies with your reactions. Eventually, you receive the secret techniques of the fiendish wardens that dole out torture for compiled, negative karma and you can deliver certain debuffs for which enemy action you're preempting.

You exist outside the laws that the underworld must abide by to punish the greater evil. 

Shout-Outs

Also I highly encourage you to check out Elementara, the sourcebook by our friends at Plus Three Press that contains a whole setting built around archetypes and spells based on elemental manipulation! They JUST unlocked some rad Boss Elemancer NPCs and they're on their way to unlocking some more sweet Archetypes! As of now, they only have a little over a day left, so get in on the ground floor!