Level up your game with epic monster hunts, harvesting, and crafting.
Latest Updates from Our Project:
July Update - Hot New VTT Fixes + Manufacture Date
10 months 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 favouritecreators.
Running Heliana's content online just got a lot easier!
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.
This searchability is Beyond great, wait scratch that--- way better than Beyond.
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).
Prototype of how tamer improvements will be presented. They can be dragged and dropped into the statblock when taken.
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:
Just how intense of a shot are we talkin' here?
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.
It feels like an archmage designed this site! Really hope they didn't install magical traps.
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 forfree.
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!
Preview of the user interface! We weren't kidding about the sleekness.
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:
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!
We're excited for all of these compatible partners!
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!
When logging into Backerkit, you should be presented with info that might be missing. If you need to update information, go to Your Pledges and Surveys tab in the upper right corner under your username.
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 improvedmage 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!
11 months 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!
Huzzah! Heliana's made easy!
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:
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.
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.
Hmm, isn't one missing?
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!
You thought we were done with pdf 1.12? Think again!
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
12 months 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 Roll20Compendiumfor 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!
FantasyGrounds. 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:
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!!
about 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
about 1 year 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:
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!
The core box and first layer of goodies.
Map and stickers! Plus a mysterious envelope…
…filled with handouts! The next layer has the magic item cards with space for gelatinous ooze dice up top (not pictured).
The final layer - the book! Handy ribbon to pull it out. The box’s back!
The deluxe box front, and the GM screen. Look at those colours!
Handouts under the map and stickers, same as in the core box. Below the handout is the pins! There will be pins in those boxes, promise…
Below the pins, the three card packs! Animated familiar cards (see below) go on the top left slot. Below that - the deluxe book!
Deluxe box side and back.
More goodies! The posters, deluxe dice (with protective box for those purchasing as an addon), animated familiar cards, and more.
The pins! But wait… Something here isn’t right… can you spot the 3 errors
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.
Available in the DAB and in the upcoming VTT packages.
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.
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.
Help us shape Heliana book 2!
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.
