July Update - Hot New VTT Fixes + Manufacture Date
over 1 year ago – Tue, Jul 11, 2023 at 07:37:21 AM

Hey again! Jess here with another monthly update for Heliana's Guide to Monster Hunting! We're gonna go over VTTs, manufacturing, and finish with two projects currently live by our favourite creators.

VTT Updates!

First up on the exciting updates for Heliana's Guide: the VTTs are looking ROBUST. Quality of life upgrades are rolling out for VTTs including searchable appendices for items, spells, creatures, and more. Thank you again to the playtesters that have provided wonderful feedback on the early additions of the VTTs, as well as our hard-working VTT converters: Darryl, Kage, Bob, Sean, Vauxs, Evo, and Chris!

Roll20. The compendium has been submitted to the R20 staff for approval! It's outfitted with all the items, classes, races, monsters, and spells in Heliana's Guide. The compendium's drag and drop functionality makes modifying your character sheets and prepping for sessions a breeze. This will be implemented into the Roll20 package before the next KS update, so keep your eyes peeled.

A small note - there were a few reports of images failing to load. Unfortunately, this is a Roll20 bug, and there's not a lot we can do about it on our end. Here's a few ways to troubleshoot the issue, provided by Roll20.

Foundry. Our Foundry VTT had a glow up, implementing stat blocks for our familiars and adding the creatures for Fiends and Familiars and the Dreamweavers. The companion improvements are being worked on as we speak (well... type).

A lot of care is going into making each of the items, spells, creatures, classes, races and familiars as easy and automated for the end user as possible! Check out the implementation of the item variants:

Fantasy Grounds. Fully complete! And everything is in SmiteWorks's hands, we're just waiting on approval to host on their storefront. We're hopeful that it will only take a few more weeks for them to get back to us and we'll let you know when keys drop!

Shard. Fully complete! Keys are available through your Shard account.

NEW VTT, Alchemy!

 There's a hot new VTT on the block, and Heliana's is on board! Alchemy boasts a sleek interface with which to share your universes with players and run sessions in the dead of night without burning your retinas. 

But don't take our word for it, give it a shot yourself! The folks over Alchemy were kind enough to convert the entire Heliana's Universe for free. We want to pay the kindness forward to thank you all for being so patient with us in the creation of Heliana's Guide!

How do I get my free Alchemy version of Heliana's Guide? First, go and make a free account over at app.alchemyrpg.com/home. If you got the Heliana's PDF, you have a URL code available through Backerkit. Click on that URL (or copy it to a browser), then click 'GET.' This will allow you to access Heliana's book 1 through Alchemy RPG FOR FREE! First, be sure to make a free Alchemy account for your new copy of Heliana's to exist in, and get your code through Backerkit.  The package will then be added to your account for free.

NOTE: These codes will expire in 30 days, so be sure to redeem them quickly if you want your copy of Heliana's on Alchemy! 

If you didn't back Heliana's, or just want a taste, make a free Alchemy account and use this link to add the Shining Shrine Hunt to your universe! 

New Worlds Join the Hunt!

What's this?! Heliana's hunting and crafting rules apply to new settings? That's right! Your book will now be compatible with many new 5e third-party books including:

• Fool's Gold: Into the Bellowing Wilds
• Steinhardt's Guide to the Eldritch Hunt
• Riftborne: Champions of the Multiverse
• Dungeon Scribe - Magical Oddities 
• Caliya’s Chronicle of Runes
• And more to come!

How will they be compatible? Each book can use our rule sets to harvest creatures in these books and craft new items. Expand your collection (possibly indefinitely)! Be on the lookout for a Heliana's badge to accompany third-party works rolling out soon! 

Important Manufacturing Dates!

Huzzah! We have a date! Alas, it's later than we expected, but we assure you, it'll be worth it . Our manufacturer estimates that our project will complete production in early October 2023! After months of waiting, we can finally see a concrete finish line and our team could not be happier. We're investigating all shipping options with our fulfillment partners and will have an estimated date of freight delivery by the next update.

As an important reminder, please make sure your addresses are up to date and fill out your surveys. If you're not sure, log in to Backerkit and update your information like so!

Project We Love - Caliya’s Chronicle of Runes 

Need even more Heliana-compatible content? Caliya’s Chronicle presents 400+ runes, all craftable with harvested monster components. They have a ton of beautifully designed runic fonts in a myriad of fantastical languages for your players to decipher and craft! 

Caliya's Chronicle introduces a new type of magic item: runes. These inscriptions add modular effects to weapons, armor, and more! We even designed one ourselves: a rune written in Thieves' Cant that can be inscribed on any set of gloves to let you cast an improved mage hand. Check out their free 16-page sample pdf on their kickstarter page now!

JUST LAUNCHED! Another Heliana-Compatible Magic Item Book? - Tome of Oddity 

Items should be Magical. Dungeon Scribe’s Tome of Magical Oddities adds hundreds of fully illustrated and unique magical items for empowering your players to forge new stories. FIVE HUNDRED+ magic items, in fact. With cards. Really big cards. Like, designed for neurodivergents and people with ADHD big cards with boldeding and symbols. Just look at em!

Dungeon Scribe is one of our faves, he rose to fame doing the art for Critical Role's Munchkin, and has been churning out beautifully illustrated magic items for years.

Crafting. His first stretch goal is compatibility with Heliana's Crafting system! That means he'll have a table with crafting recipes for every item (just like we do in Heliana's and L'Arsene's Ledger) making your Heliana's experience even richer! BACK WITHIN THE FIRST 48 HOURS TO GET A FREE D20!!

That's it for now! Catch you in the next update!
                      Jesse (and Mo and Max and the team!)

Heliana's June Big VTT Update!
over 1 year ago – Mon, Jun 05, 2023 at 08:52:59 AM

Howdy folks! 

Jess here with a big VTT update to share that'll excite you!

Roll 20, Foundry and Shard Keys are here!

That's right! The Roll20, Foundry and Shard versions of Heliana's Guide is ready to go! Enjoy hunting down beasties online with all of your friends with all the strain of converting done for you! 

Redemption codes are available now to download on Backerkit (except Shard which was sent directly). Once you get your code, here's a brief breakdown of  how to redeem each version:

Roll20: Use this helpful guide to redeem your codes for Roll 20! 

We apologize for the delay. Regarding Roll20, the reason was our package was initially too big. We had to break it up into smaller packages by copying world, organizing the content, and keeping only what was necessary. It was a lot of work to see which spells etc. were needed for each chapter. Initially when we submitted, Roll20 approved, but when we tested, everything was empty. It turns out deleting stuff doesn't actually delete it, and Roll20 needed to 'vacuum' out the deleted content. Oops!

Now with most of the kinks worked out, we're good to go on the initial launch and the compendium is soon to follow! Our converter just finished the tamer and all subclasses that will be implemented with the compendium update.

If everything goes smoothly with a month of testing, we'll release to general public on the roll20 marketplace! Here's a preview of the listing. It's looking spiffy! 

Foundry VTT: For Foundry, use this guide on how to redeem your code! 

Distribution of Foundry codes rolled out today, so they should appear on Backerkit soon! Our new team has restructured everything and our first version is ready! We're hosting on the Foundry servers themselves and will distribute updates through there. The robust appendix section includes all spells (plus the school of BIomancy!), magic items, 90% of creatures, and five of the hunts.  

The next steps are to finish hunts! This is much easier with all the appendices complete. We're also working on building the subclasses and the tamer into the FVTT charactermancer for a more seamless character creation process!

Shard: These codes were directly sent to backer inboxes by Shard, so be sure to check your linked kickstarter email. After reading the steps they provide and obtaining the code, head on over to their webstore to unlock their version of Heliana's Guide to Monster Hunting.

But Wait There's More!

Fantasy Grounds. Our converter Evo has everything except the random encounters which should be ready by the next update! We're currently getting a product page set up on smiteworks, and can roll out keys shortly thereafter! 

 PDF 1.13 and Monster Sounds

      Version 1.13 of the Heliana's PDF is available on Backerkit! There were just a touch more tweaks made to the print export such as fixing Cacophonics's sudden alignment change to lawful good to neutral good (sometimes a few paragraphs change a person...okay?), the phial of ooze acid having different names, or the dastardly Endoleech spell needing an oddly cheerful assortment of rainbow paints for its magical components. Our editor, Jessic is a terror upon the written word, and we are ultimately so thankful for their expertise perception rolls. 

As a reminder in case you missed last update, these are done and ready to be downloaded on backerkit! In fact, all digital assets (except Shard, Fantasy Grounds, and Foundry keys) should be ready to hunt, so go check them out if you haven't already!

 Manufacturing

         With happy tears in our eyes, the presses are rolling and we are waiting with baited breath for our manufacturer to give us an estimated time. This is our first major foray into a production this big and we're so thankful for your patience.
         We want the utmost quality and have even made strides to improve physical editions such as including helpful notations for the GM on handouts, thickening our paper (better than current standard 5e editions), enhancing the display boxes with new designs, tweaking the internal packaging for better shipment, and making all the handouts double sided! It's the little things that make a difference, and we want to go above and beyond the standard!

Alrighty, that's it for now!  While you can leave comments here (which we check 1-2 times per week), we encourage you to head to the Loot Tavern Discord server which we check multiple times a day. Share your feedback, ask questions, and let us know how we can help!

      Thanks!
       Jesse (and Mo and Max and the team!)

May Progress Update
over 1 year ago – Fri, May 05, 2023 at 03:33:31 PM

Hey folks,

Four things to cover today: PDF, Monster Sounds, manufacturing, and VTTs.

PDF - New Version

Version 1.12 is available on Backerkit! This is the digital export of the print version that has been sent to the manufacturers. Please, god, don't tell me if you find any mistakes. Tell Jessic, in the Discord server, and he can make an errata in secret that I never have to know about.

The changes in this version are mostly small typo fixes. The most notable change is that the components you harvest from boss monsters are now known by the creature type, and you put the boss monster's name in the metatag section. So what was 'magnetite scales' is now 'Dragon (magnetite) scales'. This comes with advice for the GM: you can make the boss monster items craftable from any component of the right creature type (i.e. haemscale can be crafted from the scales of any dragon) or you can make the metatag compulsory (i.e. haemscale can be crafted from the scales of only a magnetite dragon). Your choice!

Monster Sounds

These are done! We just started distribution on Backerkit (5.15pm MST). You should be able to download them in about 30 minutes.

Manufacturing

We pressed go! After receiving the physical samples we made a few small alterations (flipping the upside-down text on the magnetic dice box, increasing saturation of the item cards, adding 'Ages 14+' to the pins so we don't get sued if a kid eats a pin) and updated those files. Then we said "make it so" and asked them to start mass production. When we have an estimate for completed manufacturing, I'll do a mini update to let you all know.

VTTs

Roll 20. Short story: you should expect to redeem codes for this in the next couple of weeks.

Long story: this has been done for a while. The addon was approved and Roll20 asked us to make a test game to use it in to check everything was right. Every time we added it, none of the data appeared in the new game. We went through a few cycles of re-submission only to find out that... you guessed it... it's too big. 

Over the next few days we are breaking the single book addon into its core parts:

• 11 Hunt Addons
• Intro + Loot Tavern
• Tracking + Random Encounters
• Harvesting, Crafting, and Cooking
• Player Options (Races, Classes, Familiars)
• 3 Appendices

The bonus of this is you'll be able to install just the parts you want. In addition, we have some exciting news...

We've been given the go-ahead to make a Roll20 Compendium for Heliana's Guide!!! This will take a couple of months to make and will be delivered at no extra cost to every backer that got the Roll20 VTT Bundle!

Shard. It's done! Expect codes next week!

Fantasy Grounds. Our converter, Evo, has been sick the past couple of weeks and apologises for not having completed it yet. He estimates 40 more hours of work needs to be done and is currently doing 2-4 hours a day on it.

Foundry VTT. The speed we were progressing wasn't acceptable. We've amicably parted ways with the original Foundry converter and have hired two new people who are up to speed and have been busy reorganising the backend so we can progress forwards more efficiently.

We are also working to build two modules for Foundry, one for harvesting and one for crafting. Check out the work in progress here:

We have an open alpha playtest for the harvesting module which you can download here. And you can submit feedback here.

Okay, that's all folks. As always you can leave comments here, which we check 1-2 times per week, or head to the Loot Tavern Discord server which we check multiple times a day.

Thanks,

Max (and Mo and Jess and the team!)

Mini Update! Print Test Has Arrived!!
over 1 year ago – Tue, Apr 18, 2023 at 08:49:42 PM

Hey folks,

Just a mini update in audio visual form. Full update coming later this month.

Thanks!

Max (and Mo and Jess)

Manufacturing Photos, VTT Update, and Future Kickstarters
almost 2 years ago – Fri, Mar 24, 2023 at 04:59:39 PM

Hello!

This month’s update is going to show the manufacturing progress, give an update on the status of VTTs (and everything digital), and talk about a super secret project… coming soon!

Manufacturing

Our manufacturing partners sent us an encouraging update on the progress so far—the tests are almost done! Photos are below, but here’s a quick summary:

Products

• Core book - done
• Deluxe book - done
• Stickers - done
• Loot tavern map - done
• Handouts - done
• Ooze dice - done
• Gemstone dice - done
• Magic item cards (x3) - done
• Enamel pins - done
• Animated familiar cards - done
• L’Arsene’s Crafting Catalogue - awaiting manufacturing 
• Hunt posters - done
• Canvas wall hanging - done
• Dice bag - awaiting manufacturing
   

Packaging

• Core box - done
• Deluxe box - done
• Enamel pin boxes (x2) - done
• Deluxe dice box (surprise, we decided to make a nice box for these addons!) - done (but they printed something upside down...)
• Item card boxes (x3) - done
• Animated familiar card box - done
   

Once all the outstanding items are made, we’re expecting the manufacturers to send everything to us. Hopefully, it’s all perfect and we can pull the trigger on mass production, but we will not press go on products we’re not happy with. After that, it gets freighted to our warehouses and then distributed to you guys.

PHOTOS!

VTT & Digital

Heliana's Guide has been updated to v1.09 and L’Arsène’s Crafting Catalogue is on Backerkit for digital download. Word on the street is Humperdink slid 7 more bespoke, craftable familiars into the book, behind L’Arsène’s back. Grab it now! It’s available to everyone that got the PDF.

Here’s an update on the progress of everything digital that isn’t associated with the VTTs:

• PDF - done
• Bard songs - done
• Ambiences - done
• Monster soundscape - 95% done (Jess says we can upload to Backerkit next week)
• Bonus Hunt - done
• L’Arsène’s Crafting Catalogue - done
   

DAB

The Digital Asset Bundle (DAB) has been done for a little while, but we have another surprise! A few folks requested tokens of the familiars, so we commissioned our friend Venatus Maps to make them! Check out these cuties.

VTT Roll20

This is done and is undergoing final checks. We’ll be submitting it for review next week!

VTT Foundry

The currently completed chapters are:

• Chapter 9 - Polyhedrooze
• Chapter 10 - The Shining Shrine
• Chapter 11 - Tavern Mimic
• Chapter 13 - The Veiled Lady
   

While we’ve been delivering 1 chapter a week, this progress is slower than we had hoped. We’ve reached out to more FVTT conversion experts to expedite this process. In addition, we’re going to condense all the chapters into a single adventure module, which we’ll version up as each chapter is finished. This means just one module to install for you guys, and you'll be notified when it needs updating!

VTT Fantasy Grounds

Evolivolution, our converter, says he is somewhere between 2 and 5 weeks from being done. After he’s done, the package gets submitted to SmiteWorks for approval. We don’t have a bead on their timeline, but we will let you know when we have more information!

VTT Shard

Word on the street is the bulk of conversion is done and it’s getting fine-tuned. Should be available by the end of the month!

VTT Feedback

We’re mindful that there may be bugs and imperfections. We want to create the best VTT products you’ve used so please let us know if you find anything that can be improved. We’ve set up some google forms for you to submit feedback.

Roll20 Feedback: https://forms.gle/D2CNve4VJvMN3bD3A

Foundry VTT Feedback: https://forms.gle/Fcgto9iig6b9eCiM7

Fantasy Grounds Feedback: https://forms.gle/2htNgXaEtTkdryf69

Shard Feedback: https://forms.gle/dudDrgDDJTyzRWgN7

Future Kickstarters

We want to talk to you about two things - L’Arsene’s Ledger of Treasure and Trinkets (LLTT) and Heliana 2.

Firstly: L’Arsene’s Ledger! Next week, we are launching a Kickstarter compiling 300+ of the best magic items from the Loot Tavern Patreon. They are fully compatible with Heliana’s crafting system giving you fresh new options for your monster hunting. Plus there are five more Heliana-style hunts and craftable familiars.

But You Haven’t Fulfilled This Kickstarter Yet! It’s true, we haven’t! It's important to understand that in a team people have different roles; designers, writers and artists can't stay idle while manufacturing is underway.

Over the past year and a half, we’ve built a great team of artists, writers, and digital converters. We have so many ideas on ways to make your games more fun and we want to make those projects a reality! Launching this project in no way delays getting Heliana’s into your hands!

This project is almost entirely done already so the turnaround is going to be much quicker than Heliana’s Guide. Also, there’s a free giveaway if you back the campaign in the first 72 hours so follow the page to make sure you don’t miss it!

Heliana 2 - Electric Boogaloo. Don’t worry, that’s not its real name. Jess, Mo, and I (Max) started ideating this! We have some very cool ideas but they’re under wraps for now. What we’d love to know is what you want from the hunts in terms of level distribution. We made a little google form (it’s just 2 questions) to help us know what levels of hunts you played most, and what levels of hunts you want to see in the future! Check it out.

Alpha Content Playtest. One of the stretch goals for Heliana’s Guide was access to alpha content for the next book. In Autumn of this year we hope to distribute links to this alpha-level content—likely the key art, new mechanics, and some hunts—so we can get your feedback in the formative stages of the book.

FREEBIE! Remember that free hunt we gave you back in October: Flames of the Faithful? Well… here’s a waxy familiar you can make from the Pontiff’s remains! And if you missed that hunt (which, btw, is one of the Motes of the Divine hunts in L’Arsene’s Ledger) you can get both PDFs here.

Okay, that’s all for now folks. For more regular interactions with the team, head on over to the Discord server.

Thanks,

Max (and Mo and Jess and the rest of the team!)