holdenshearer

New live Discord link + status update

The old Discord link has, for some reason, stopped working, so here's a new one. Additionally, I've just gotten out of the hospital-- farewell, gall bladder. While recovering, I'm working on the Exalted Demake: a down-shift conversion of Exalted to run on a modified version of the 20th Anniversary WoD system chassis. When complete, it will be a free public release like Exalted vs World of Darkness.

Speaking of which, work on EXvWoD Revised's supplement...

City of the Bull God

Over the last few months I've been recording Exalted vs World of Darkness sessions for an upcoming Sponsored by Nobody podcast: City of the Bull God. It features a group of Exalts digging into the supernatural underbelly of London.

Attached to this post is a piece of short fiction I wrote as the "prelude" for the character I'm running in that chronicle. This post... mostly exists so there's ...

I YET LIVE (General update)

This place hasn't gotten an update in quite a while, because, well, most everything is going on in the Discord channel these days, and because most of what I'm working on I can't TECHNICALLY actively monetize. This, then, is a state of the union update:

Exalted vs World of Darkness Revised is finished and released, and attached below.
EXvWoD: PBtA Version also came out a while back, and is similarly to be found below.
Exalted x CofD is still in the works.
Other projects I can'...

Children of Babylon, and a general update

Holy hell it's been a while. Two things to cover here: First, a general "what's up," and then, delicious content.

First of all, I'm not dead, I've just been drowned lately in various sorts of work that I can't post up here as work-in-progress previews because it's not on IPs that I own. The Discord channel is very active and a good place to see that sort of stuff unfolding, and if you haven't dropped in there yet, stop by, we'd love to see you.

Second, all projects are still ongoi...

Exalted vs World of Darkness Companion

Response to the release of Exalted vs the World of Darkness has been tremendously gratifying. I had wondered, while working on the project, if it was something that would resonate with people, or if it was just a weird mixture of my personal interests and obsessions that nobody else on Earth was going to find compelling or worthy of remark or notice.

I’m definitely not alone, as it turns out, in finding the notion of turning the Chosen loose in a setting brazenly out ...

Join us on Discord!

My Patreon discord is an active community where you're welcome to yada yada I figured out why I only seem to see a surge of new people in the Discord immediately after I make one of these posts and it's because I AM AN IDIOT who has been tossing up links to the discord that expire after 24 hours without realizing it.

This link should not expire after 24 hours. Come say hi despite that I am a dope who is bad at computers!

2019-01-12 10:47:20 +0000 UTC View Post

Riot of the Flesh

Didn't quite expect to get this up today, but here we are. This is one of those things I mentioned that I was working on but couldn't toss up previews of behind a paywall, since it's not my IP.

I wrote a Werewolf: the Apocalypse 20th Anniversary edition supplement for the Storytellers Vault program. 15 new fomor breeds, plus expanded rules for playable fomori. It's up on DrivethruRPG, for immediate sale.

If you're surprised to see this, considering the last year.....

Behind behind behind

Currently all tangled up in writing to bring in some income-- writing I can't put behind the Patreon wall as previews, unfortunately-- so I'm behind on updates here and will remain so for a couple more days. My apologies. Thanks for bearing with me.

Come see us on Discord

Hello to new patrons, or not-so-new patrons who've been busy or shy or whatever else. The Discord server is still jumping, and if you can see this message then you-- yes, you, personally-- are very welcome to join in.


https://discord.gg/X4bNKb

Exalted vs the World of Darkness

It’s a world of rain-slick streets screaming neon up at the uncaring stars. A world of smog and industry that chokes lungs and souls with equal glee. A world where vampires hunt the living across dance floors and late-night bus stations, and we are too tired to see through their flimsy lies. But once, before the Wyrm spread its cancerous wings across the Earth, before the faerie princes fled to Arcadia, before the Mythic Ages, before the Great Flood, before there was a World of Darkness… ...

Holidaze

Christmas week kicked my ass very, very, very thoroughly. Tonight I'm recovering. I'll have an essay up tomorrow or the day after.

A note

Update pushed back to tomorrow. Spoon supply very low tonight.

Be good to one another and enjoy the holidays as best you can.

The Renfield Diaries - Chapter Five complete (?)

Wednesday update, ON Wednesday for a change! Today it's the rest of the Shadow moves for The Renfield Diaries, or at least, a reasonably complete list-- I'd like to get a couple more moves into a few of the lists but am otherwise reasonably satisfied with this version.

Next, rules for the Master.

The Renfield Diaries - Chapter Five Preview

This week, it's more of The Renfield Diaries. Chapter Five is coming along nicely: this preview has full character creation rules, all role playbooks, and three Shadow move lists for the game's supernatural powers, along with rules for how Shadow moves work. Want to rip a car door clean off? How about interrupting someone else's action by springing into motion while looking like something out of Jacob's Ladder? We've got moves for that.

(Those hoping to vomit...

The Renfield Diaries - Playbooks!

EDIT: Playbooks PDF has been re-uploaded to fix a copy-paste error that was present in the initial version.

A day late update, but an update nonetheless! Fell asleep last night while formatting this.

Today's patron preview is a set of Role playbooks for The Renfield Diaries, including the Driver playbook that was previously included in the Chapter Four preview for the sake of convenience. Role moves contribute mundane skills for your familiar, whereas Sh...

Some Thoughts on Fiction in Roleplaying Games

For this week's update, a small gamedev essay.

-- 

Eight or so years ago, some guy on a forum I frequented opined that you can find fiction in roleplaying games because RPG authors are failed novelists. I told that guy to go fuck himself while drowning in a lake at the same time, which astonishingly enough is not the reason I don’t post on that forum any more, but it does point to a pretty basic question for anyone interested in making and publishing a roleplaying game: W...

The Renfield Diaries - Chapter Four + The Driver

Still working on that a game dev essay as mentioned last week, will have it done in a couple days-- it's grown a bit since I first conceived it. Instead, today we've got a new Renfield Diaries preview, encompassing Chapter Four and, since Chapter Four is pretty short and to-the-point, a Role Playbook preview for The Driver.

Ironside Express: The Mirror

Apologies for the missed update last week. Had a house guest who I see once a year at best, and between that, Halloween stuff, and midterm jitters... well. We're back, anyway, with another Ironside chapter. I don't recommend reading this update at work. As with previous updates, this PDF contains the entire story to date, so if you haven't read any of it yet, or you've missed some chapters, you don't need to go hunting back to old updates to get started. If you're up to date, th...

Ironside Express: The Traitor

Good news: Managed to see a doctor and get some antibiotics, feeling a lot better this week. Further good news: we're now into Part Three of Ironside.  As with previous updates, this PDF contains the entire story to date, so if you haven't read any of it yet, or you've missed some chapters, you don't need to go hunting back to old updates to get started. If you're up to date, then the new material begins on page 84.

Also, if you haven't checked out the Discord, it's...

The Ironside Express: The Ducts

Apologies for the lack of update last week: shenanigans intensified and formed a tag-team with infected lymph nodes. A fun time was not had and continues to not be had.

Today, though, we have a new chapter of Ironside: morning has arrived and it's time to reveal what lurks in the ducts. As with previous updates, this PDF contains the entire story to date, so if you haven't read any of it yet, or you've missed some chapters, you don't need to go hunting back to old updates to g...

D'oh

This week's update is gonna be a couple days late due to shenanigans-- sorry everyone.

The Renfield Diaries (PDF preview)

Something a little different today-- a rough/beta mockup of the already-previewed sections of The Renfield Diaries. This is of course subject to change, especially if a real art budget manages to manifest at some point, but it should give a solid idea of what the final book's going to look like; I'm interested in feedback if you have any thoughts on it, or notice any display errors in your PDF reader of choice (screenshots are greatly appreciated in that case).

I shou...

The Ironside Express: The Long Watch

Next week I expect to have more game material ready to share, but for today, we've got another Ironside chapter. As with previous updates, this PDF contains the entire story to date, so if you haven't read any of it yet, or you've missed some chapters, you don't need to go hunting back to old updates to get started. If you're up to date, then the new material begins on page 79.

The Ironside Express: Deeper Into the Night

It's Wednesday, it's update day, it's a new chapter of The Ironside Express. As with previous updates, this PDF contains the entire story to date, so if you haven't read any of it yet, or you've missed some chapters, you don't need to go hunting back to old updates to get started. If you're up to date, then the new material begins on page 72.

The Ironside Express: Questions Over Dinner

Wednesday comes again, and with it a new chapter of The Ironside Express. As with previous updates, this PDF contains the entire story to date, so if you haven't read any of it yet, or you've missed some chapters, you don't need to go hunting back to old updates to get started. If you're up to date, then the new material begins on page 65. 

The Renfield Diaries: Chapter Three (Complete)

Happy Wednesday! For today's update, we've got a completed version of Chapter Three of The Renfield Diaries. This includes not only the remainder of the chapter, but also some touch-ups to the material from last week's update, particularly in the Penanggalan profile.

The Renfield Diaries: Chapter Three

Welcome to another Wednesday and another preview. Today we've got a substantial (but not yet complete) chunk of Chapter Three of The Renfield Diaries, covering the setting and its vampires-- which is to say, your employer, your master, your blood hookup, and maybe your inside track on immortality. Enjoy!

The Ironside Express: The Kingdom of Suicide

It's Wednesday here on the East Coast, I've finally got my lungs back in something like working order, and here's a new chapter of Ironside Express! As with previous updates, this PDF contains the entire story to date, so if you haven't read any of it yet, or you've missed some chapters, you don't need to go hunting back to old updates to get started. If you're up to date, then the new material begins on page 60.

This August never ends

As I type this I am rolling into day four (?) of "physically unable to stay asleep for more than 20 minutes thanks to coughing" (pneumonia is fun). You have my word that once I've gotten seven-ish consecutive hours of sleep I'll get a Patreon update up. Thanks for bearing with me.

The Ironside Express: Sundown in the Wastes

It's Saturday, that's basically the same thing as Friday, right? 

So yeah, after getting back from the vet's yesterday I basically passed out for most of the day as (checks calendar) 15 days of cumulative sleep deprivation caught up with me. But this week's update is here now, late but not lost.

Today we have a new chapter of Ironside Express, moving us into Part Two. As with previous updates, this PDF contains the entire story to date, so if you haven't read any of it yet,...