Nimble Co.

Testing the Waters…Something New

Hey everyone, I've got something new today (we'll be back to our normal programming with the next update) pre-alpha rules for what I've been code naming "Kid Nimble."

The Working title is Nimble: Hero Club, and it's for 8–14 year old kids to play with their parents, middle school programs, libraries, etc. To introduce them (and their parents/teachers) to TTRPGs in a not boring way! (as well as a sneaky way to reinforce, reading, math, social skills, problem solving, etc.)

I recently ran a session (of regular Nimble) with my kids, and while they had a BLAST, and have been ITCHING to play again—they, frankly, understood maybe 20% of what was going on. It was all mostly above their heads. This aims to fix that.

The rules are most definitely not completely fleshed out, but what's here should be more than enough for someone who is already familiar with Nimble to run a quick 20–30 minute into session for some kiddos and see how they like it. I made a quick video explaining some of the thinking and design choices, one thing I'm keeping a close eye on is the level of complexity—I don't want it to be too oversimplified, nor too complicated.

https://youtu.be/dw5dc8e2HpQ

I don't know that this will ever become a "real" product (and judging by the recent survey response, it likely shouldn't!), but I'd like it to be.

Thanks, as always for your continued support. I've got this out of my system for now, back to regular Nimble development, I'm still neck-deep into subclasses and will be releasing some here quite soon!

–Evan

New Monster Group: Lizardfolk!

Hey everyone, I'm excited to release the award-winning Lizardfolk monster group. This group features some rad new mechanics, environmental challenges for the heroes to overcome (and for the GM to exploit!), as well as my new favorite ability name "Uh, guys..."

This release features:

• 6 New Lizardfolk Monsters, from the sneaky Reedstalker to the burly Greatscale and mystical Shaman. With a powerful new ability AND sneaky thematic weakness.

• 2 New companion monsters that the Lizardfolk brong with them into battle, the swift Swamp Raptor, and the TERRIFYING Hydra!

• A new tightened layout to make running them as easy as possible with handy, actionable lore right next to each statblock, as well as advice on how to increase or decrease the difficulty on the fly.

A BIG Announcement

Keep your eyes out for the next newsletter, I'll be dropping a BIG announcement soon 🤫

Hope you guys enjoy this new release! As always thank you for your continued support and please let me know any questions or feedback you have!

–Evan

New Monster Group: Fiends!

Happy spooky month everybody! 🎃 🎃

I've got an extra spooky monster group for you this week, FIENDS!

From the deepest pits of the Horrible Beyond come the Horrible and Tyrannical Fiends: evil, black-hearted beings of fathomless hunger. They intrude upon the mundane world when the walls between realms are strained. Some arrive, heralded by the rattle of endless chains, in iron cages that grind upward from below. Some are summoned by cult forces, while others tear their way through reality in black fissures that bleed smoke and flame.

This release is actually TWO monster groups in one. Fiends come in two main categories (chaotic evil and lawful evil, in standard d20 terms): the FIENDISH HORRORS are Brutal & Chaotic, the FIENDISH TYRANTS are Cunning & Lawful.

Some of the New Mechanics:

• The Cowardly Imp, hits hard when allies are nearby, but can hardly fight at all when singled out.

• The Lacerating Hookspawn. Turns tactical movement into a painful puzzle, and larger creatures who can shove heroes around are made even more deadly.

• The Screeching Vrock, with its powerful AoE ability that ignores armor and can even Daze heroes who come too close.

• The Consuming Hezrou, who very well may just EAT you!

• The Spell-Thieving Nalfeshnee, who can copy any spell it has seen cast, or can use its own terrifying Ichorbolt!

• The Tormenting Executor who places heroes in a painful catch-22, should they be Courageous or Cowardly? Heroes can save themselves or doom their entire party!

• The Blackmailing Grumbulus who, when faced with death will sell out his own allies at another chance to live.

• And many more!

Layout

I'm also trying out a new layout for the monster lore and advice. Rather than having it on separate pages (which, if you're like me, you'll skip right over the lore to get to the juicy statblocks) I'm including the lore bits and GM advice right on the same spread for easier use.

Also I'm testing out arranging the statblocks in order of strongest to weakest so that the coolest monsters are front and center. I feel like this makes a much stronger first impression (but as ever, I'm open to your thoughts!).

Vorgrath, the Insatiable

Also included is possibly the COOLEST Legendary Monster I've ever made: Vorgrath, the Insatiable. He offers the heroes cruel ultimatums, and quickly takes advantage of any who would think to escape his torment. Also, instead of choosing one of a few different abilities the GM simply uses each ability in order, allowing the heroes to get a sense of his attack cycle and adapt—and it frees the GM to role-play reeeallly nastily 😏. LOTS of cool stuff going on with this guy, really excited for you all to check him out!

Secret Store

There are 5 damaged boxed sets left with Gamesquest for international patrons, I need to close those out really soon—and for US patrons about a dozen or so printed Creator's Kits for free; and for all US orders I've been including a free die-cut STABS sticker as well :)

There are also remains some rad t-shirts available to all as well!

Secret store link:

https://nimblerpg.com/collections/secret

P.S. How much interest would there be in a small print run of spell/item cards? I'm thinking about possibly doing that.

New Class: Artificer 1.7 Updates & More!

Hey Everybody!

Got some exciting updated for the new Artificer class: a bunch of brand new art from the talented artist Kyle Cox. As well as balance and quality of life changes.

• Level 3 feature: I've got JUST the thing! Added "Simple" and a FAQ to clarify the intent.

• Thunder Gauntlets given Range 4 instead of Reach. Updated art! Extended Arc Coils improved.

• Manabolt Canon wording clarified. Amplified Conduit improved. Overload Damper improved.

• Manablade completely reworked (not rolling dice, doing very predictable damage was not as fun as intended). Overhauled to be more powerful but more unpredictable/risky. Stabilized Mana Core improved. Arc Module reworded to better work with the Inventor subclass's level 11 feature. Streamlined Ignition improved. Interaction with armor tweaked.

• Aethertuned Jerkin new art!

• Manaforged Plate ablative coating no longer affects creatures Huge+ creatures.

• Gadgets & Subclasses reorganized for clarity. New art!

• New FAQ added.

I'm very much looking for feedback on this new iteration, please join us in the Patreon discord channel, there's a new Patreon Feedback channel to discuss these sort of updates.

Updates on the Patreon Only Store

I've added a small handful of US discounted product, some more printed Creator's Kits, and still have a good number of international only damaged boxed sets.

I've also updated the shipping settings on the store, particularly for international orders, to include prepaid Duties and Taxes for countries that support that in order to avoid any unpleasant surprises (but let me know if anything seems off).

Coming next: more monsters, more subclasses, and more rad art!

As ever, thank you all for your continued support.

– Evan Diaz

New Adventure: The Emerald Vow

Hello all!

This week we've got a brand new award-winning adventure for you to try out: The Emerald Vow!

Crash the perfect wedding in this whimsical fae-inspired adventure for LEVEL 6 heroes!

This adventure is unique in that it leans more heavily into RP and exploration/creativity pillars—there is still some rad combat of course!—but the focus is on the deeper story going on and how to solve it.

Design Jam: Subclasses

If you haven't heard, the newest Nimble Design Jam just launched, and this time we're making Subclasses! Check out the announcement post here if you'd like to join in the fun!

What's Next?

I'm going to take a break from adventures for a bit, and work on more monsters as well as the upcoming Artificer class!

Remember all the Patreon content is in beta and open for testing and feedback. Please let me know if you have any questions or issues as you read/run it! Either here, or on the patreon pals channel on the Nimble discord

As ever, thank you all for your support,

—Evan @ nimble co. 💪

🏴‍☠️ Yarrr Here Be a New Adventurrrre: The Last Song of the Cloudwhales

Hey everyone!

Fresh off the press is a brand new award-winning adventure written by the talented Pablo Dapena. This adventure feature SKY PIRATES, a shipwreck base, and a dynamic, open dungeon layout! It also features:

• Super quick 10 minute GM prep.

• 3 Quest Hooks to fit it easily into your existing campaign.

• 4 Traveling Encounters to set the stage.

• 3 Flavorful new magical items with lots of fun consequences for GMs and players.

• An interesting spin on legendary monsters that incorporate Role-Playing into combat!

• A Semi-Legendary duo boss battle that can hook into future adventures!

Hey everyone!

Fresh off the press is a brand new award-winning adventure written by the talented Pablo Dapena. This adventure feature SKY PIRATES, a shipwreck base, and a dynamic, open dungeon layout! It also features:

• Super quick 10 minute GM prep.

• 3 Quest Hooks to fit it easily into your existing campaign.

• 4 Traveling Encounters to set the stage.

• 3 Flavorful new magical items with lots of fun consequences for GMs and players.

• An interesting spin on legendary monsters that incorporate Role-Playing into combat!

• A Semi-Legendary duo boss battle that can hook into future adventures!

Hey everyone!

Fresh off the press is a brand new award-winning adventure written by the talented Pablo Dapena. This adventure feature SKY PIRATES, a shipwreck base, and a dynamic, open dungeon layout! It also features:

• Super quick 10 minute GM prep.

• 3 Quest Hooks to fit it easily into your existing campaign.

• 4 Traveling Encounters to set the stage.

• 3 Flavorful new magical items with lots of fun consequences for GMs and players.

• An interesting spin on legendary monsters that incorporate Role-Playing into combat!

• A Semi-Legendary duo boss battle that can hook into future adventures!

Hope you all enjoy, and as ever please let me know any feedback: here, via email (evan@nimblerpg.com), or on the new Discord channel for Patreon Feedback.

–Evan @ Nimble co.

Shhh! Secret Shop Items, for Patrons Only

Hey everybody!

As a thank you for supporting the continued development of Nimble I wanted to give you first dibs on some cool stuff I have. All deeply discounted, at cost, below cost, or even free where I can swing it!

Stock is VERY limited on some of these items (low single digits), but more will be made available over time. Apologies ahead of time if/when I run out :(

What's available:

• Nimble T-Shirts

• Creator's Kit Printed Booklet (for free! US only)

• Scratch & Dent Books or Boxed Sets

• Extra Spell/Item cards

• Extra BIG Monster cards

• Extra GM screens

• Extra Cloth Maps

I've got some other stuff planned, hopefully in greater quantities. Thanks again for your continued support, please let me know if there's anything you're interested in me adding to this secret shop.

https://nimblerpg.com/collections/secret

Oh, and if any of the shipping prices seem wonky, please let me know, there might be an error!

THE TARRASQUE

Weep and lament for the end comes.

An earth Titan of horrific power and primordial origin—The Tarrasque is a cataclysmic force whose footsteps reshape continents. It cannot be defeated, only sent back into depths to slumber for a time before it inevitably reemerges to bring devastation to the world.

I've started developing a series of TITAN monsters, and to give you a vibe check of what these will be check out this GM advice note:

These encounters are intended to be particularly unique and challenging. The Tarrasque, for instance, does not move and has unique survival and damage mechanics that obviates the need. Heroes move around (and inside) it, but this titan is beyond small things like movement.

Why create such huge monsters?

It's true that very few tables will play all the way to level 20, but having creatures like this is very important for game design and world building. Above the table, monsters like this can be incredibly inspiring for players to even think about fighting. This sets the bar and the limits of difficulty. Story-wise it also helps ground the heroes and prevents them from feeling too much of "super heroes" knowing there are things out there far more powerful than them. This creature explicitly cannot be killed. It can act in the story without ever actually coming into the story—it is the monster that a cult threatens to awaken. It is the weapon a kingdom unleashes on its enemies. It is the story device that reshapes your world, the nexus that calendars are based upon "before the cataclysm…"

What's coming next??

While this one is firmly a 20+ level challenge and only a small departure from standard legendary monsters, not all of the Titans will be. Many will be for lower levels so that more groups can encounter them, and others will depart much more from current expectations: some with explicit roleplaying challenges, some are composed of multiple stat blocks (leg, tail, head, etc.), some are entire dungeons themselves!

I'm very much looking forward to cooking up more of these baddies. Thank yo uall for your continued support 💪

Adventuring Companions

I've got some rad new content for you guys today Adventuring Companions!

Expanding upon the simple "sidekick" optional rules in the Core Rules book, we now have companions! Some players just love taming pets, gathering friends, or paying mercenaries to join them and this provides a super flavorful but light framework to support that fantasy. And this also make for a more well-rounded party for GMs with a smaller group, to maintain the heroic teamwork aspects of gameplay.

For now there are 2 different adventuring companions available: Stabs! a kobold Cheat, and Grace, a human Shepherd, with more to follow in the coming days & weeks (I'm planning one for each class as well as animals, mercenaries, and even higher level temporary companions à la Gandalf). It also includes important guidance on when to use them and (importantly) how to avoid the pitfall of a "DMPC"!

I'm looking for feedback on how it feels in play, so please let me know if you use one of these companions in your adventures.

Hope you all enjoy! Thanks as always for your support 💪

New Monster Group: Vampires!

Hey everybody!

New monster group here, possibly the spiciest ones yet: VAMPIRES! 🧛🧛🧛

It includes 5 new (high level) vampire variants: from the lowly Vampire Spawn, to the grotesque Vampire Gorger, and the true Full Blooded Vampire. As well as 4 new vampiric servants that can aid them in battle: Gargoyles that fly around and attempt to crush heroes with their stony weight, to Blood Thralls—humans under the sway of a powerful vampire lord who help lure victims to them.

It includes vampire lore, adventure seeds, loot, custom weaknesses for you to choose from to keep your heroes guessing, premade encounters with tactics for various levels, as well as GM guidance on what could happen if the heroes are defeated and one or more of them are TURNED!

It also includes an expanded guidance section on how to run the legendary Vampire: Alaric Draegoth, the Crimson Count. How to play him as well as how to increase or decrease the difficulty for your heroes on the fly. Wow!

In other news: SHIPPING HAS OFFICIALLY BEGUN!

The freight company finally delivered all the pallets of books to me (in case you've ever wondered how much space a crowdfunded project takes up—roughly an entire 2 car garage). My family and I have been feverishly folding boxes, taping, packing, and shipping. We've already packed hundreds of orders, with plans to start early tomorrow and continue as quickly as we can—many are already on their way to people (I think the UPS man was surprised by how many boxes he had to pick up—yes I helped him load the truck).

Thank you all for your patience and your continued support. We have a sizeable backlog of orders, we'll be working hard to ship them all out asap—feel free to let me know in the Discord server or here in to comments when you receive your order. 💪

—Evan

New Monster Group: FEY!

Hey all, while I wait on pins and needles for the books to arrive (the latest update I have from the freight company is tomorrow, but it might actually end up being next week?), I've been working hard cooking up some new monsters. Big thanks to Alexandra Petruk for the art and Frank Hudson for the lead design on this one (which I'm really excited about by the way).

What's new with fey?

Fey are lighthearted and fun, as a GM you can feel free to throw much more difficult fey encounters at your heroes because this is the first monster group that explicitly DOESN'T want the heroes dead. Their m.o. is to prank, embarrass, taunt—all for the fun of it. Now, some particularly evil fey might want the heroes dead, but the default assumption is that it's for the lols.

2 subgroups Faeries & Gremlins

Faeries. Tiny, evasive prank-pulling creatures. They're mobile, very hard to hit, but with equally low HP. Fighting these guys will feel like a light-hearted prank-war, but watch out, they're VERY tricksy!

Gremlins. Ugly, pot-bellied little troublemakers. They are eager to pick fights, despite their small size and will taunt, grapple and wrestle creatures MUCH larger than themselves.

2 new legendary monsters

Razzle, Gremlin Iconoclast. Razzle is an unspeakably awful little creature—this makes him quite popular amongst Gremlins. He summons "The Boys" and acts as an insufferable hype man for his crew.

Mav, the Winter Queen. A formidable fey monarch that rules over a wintry domain. She includes some new unique area denial and forced movement mechanics that'll really make your heroes rethink how to best approach her.

What else?

I'm really starting to home in on the best format for new monster groups. The most useful things for me as a GM are: brief lore, quest hooks, loot, premade encounters, and advice on how to run them. All of that makes a return for this monster group, and already existing monster groups will likely be updated in time to include these handy features. I hope you all enjoy, and while this group is quite polished, I'm certainly open to playtesting feedback and typo reports!

As always, thank you all for your continued support, I've got much more being cooked up (vampires are coming next!).

New level 5 adventure: Tears of a Parched god

Hey all!

I'm finally beginning to publish the winning entries to the Design Jam (adventures take a lot of time to edit!). This one is a spicy cult adventure on the shores of the Sea of Tears, I hope you all enjoy!

In other news Dave Thaumavore just published his (GLOWING) review of Nimble, do check it out and make sure you give him a sub if you're not already!

Shipping Update

The books have landed in the US and have cleared customs (orver 17,000 POUNDS of product)! I expect to begin shipping on Monday, this comign week I'll probably be head-down in box-ville getting the physical books out to you all as fast as possible. Some international orders have already started to ship as well from my shipping partner.

On the Docket

I continue to receive more art for various monsters and for the Artificer and will be pushing more content regularly. I'm currently working with the design jam writers to polish and edit their entries and get them ready for publishing, if you were worried that I wasn't busy enough, have no fear I AM! 😅

Thank you all for your continued support,

Evan

New Monsters: Mana Constructs & "Design Dials"

Alright guys, I'm excited about these new monsters! A really cool take on your typical clockwork constructs, these are created by mages— Mana Constructs. Enchanted armors flowing with living mana, they are automata that react to mana being spent, so they can be particularly dangerous against Mages and other spell casters. They gain additional attacks—which is BAD news for the heroes…unless they can position themselves intelligently, in which case they can force the Mana Constructs to attack one another!

I love how difficult these guys feel (until they are "figured out"), and how it can feel like a subtle chess game for the heroes (they're still dead simple to run as the GM). The mechanics give extra value to spells and abilities that force movement and for heroes who can move quickly.

They also each have a unique "On Death" feature that rewards you for taking them down. They leave a powerful magical essence that can be used to grant one of the heroes a brief boon to give them an edge in battle.

Design Dials

One really cool thing I'm particularly happy with is a new "design dial" I've come up with. Design Dials are existing triggers or hooks a designer can use to add interest to the game without adding any additional complicated systems. Examples of existing Design Dials are: Hit Points (and there are even nested HP design dials such as Bloodied, Dying, When healed, etc), Wounds, Hit Dice, Conditions, etc.

The design dial I've added with these monsters have to do with the Hero core stats. A hero who primarily mitigates damage by being very strong and wearing lots of armor is "Tanky" while a hero who wears lighter armor and has high DEX is "Evasive" (the same is tru for the other stats INT & WIL). A monster such as the Spire Hulk is designed specifically to strike swiftly so they deal extra damage VS "Evasive" targets; on the other hand, Breaker Hulks are designed to swing monstrous hammers the size of a small vehicle. A "Tanky" target who plans on just standing there and raising their shield is going to have a bad day against such a monster.

These are super simple mechanics that do not add any additional complexity to the character sheet, but adds a good amount of extra design space for monsters, traps, and other exploration situations—and without the extra steps and slowness of saves.

And it need not be only drawbacks. You could imagine a terrifying monster that has some powerful effect on all heroes except those who are particularly Courageous (WIL>INT — perhaps it takes an additional action for the non-courageous to Defend or Interpose, or the Courageous could do so more easily!). Or a master of Illusions who would have little power over someone who was particularly Logical (INT>WIL). This is a very new design space, lots or room to create some cool things!

There could even be some benefits/drawbacks for well-balanced heroes where the 2 competing stats are equal. Or even apart from comparing stats, any hero with a stat of X or higher is immune to the effect.

Hope you guys enjoy these Mana Constructs, and I hope even more to see some cool creations you guys come up using these brand new Design Dials!

New Spell School: Terramancy!

Hey everybody!

I know I promised the Mana Constructs this week (they're still coming), but I've got something even more exciting! A brand new spell school TERRAMANCY. It is a plant and earth based school that focuses on control, and big (slow) damaging spells. The plant spells deal low damage but offer strong controlling options at decent range; the earth spells are much slower but deal tremendous amounts of damage and reshape the battlefield in interesting ways.

It's still in alpha and I expect a few of the spells to need some balancing and tweaking but so far it really feels fun and unique. What's in it?

• It introduces the first cantrip and reaction spells that costs 2 actions (expensive, yes— but they're VERY good)!

• It also features a number of spells that have a dual use for those creative enough, many spells can be used against enemies or helpfully for your own allies in interesting ways (Vinelash, Pillar of Stone,).

• It also introduces a new healing spell MENDBERRY that feels very unique and flavorful to the new spell school.

• Cantrips that do extra die damage rather than flat damage (interacts with armor in new, interesting ways).

• It features a spell EARTHWARD that fills in the gap for some tanks who wanted to be able to take a lot more hits in a round without worrying about the Defending limit (got to be careful about this, but I see Oathsworn and Stormshifter in particular really liking this).

• It also includes simple rules for introducing Terramancy into your campaign without powercreeping your spellcasters. Hooray!

What's coming in the future?

Some Terramancy utility and secret spells, as well as possibly more art, and lore. I'm also cooking up some alternate spells that may replace some of the existing ones—we'll see!

Hope you all enjoy, as always, I'm eager to hear your feedback 💪

Final Hexbinder playtesting & editing!

Hello all!

The new Hexbinder class is ready for it's final playtesting and editing pass. If you'd like to playtest it and get your feedback in, please do it in next 2 weeks! We'll be going to print on it shortly after that. We've been doing a good bit of playtesting and iterating on it and I feel like it's really in a great place.

That said, there may be some unforeseen broken combos or features that could be worded slightly better. Please let me know!

What's new?

• Better balance & broken combos ironed out.

• COOL new mechanic "Futuresight"

• Subclasses overhauled

• New logo, art, & layout ready for print

• FAQ added (please let me know if anything else should be added there!)

Monster Design Jam

The latest design jam is going great so far and we've got just a but less than 1 week left before submissions close, (which is PLENTY of time if you were thinking about making a submission!). If you'd like a bit of guidance on your design before you make a submission be sure to check out this live stream as well as this one where I did a couple of in depth early feedback sessions. Some great ideas so far, but still room for more!

Next Week

Next week I hope to release a new monster group: Mana Constructs. They're pretty spicy and sport some new mechanics I think you might really enjoy!

Updated Goblins, New Design Jam, and More Adventure Feedback Videos!

Hey All!

More people have been asking me for adventure feedback so I went ahead and recorded more detailed feedback for them, and I wanted to share that with you all too! It's a bit too niche to publish widely so I've left them unlisted, but if you're a writer or an aspiring one, you might get something out of them:

Behold, Stench & Rot Adventure Feedback https://youtu.be/_pcvBaWaGFI

Belchazar's Hunger Private Feedback https://youtu.be/56bTmt6srks

Requiem of the Fey Adventure Feedback https://youtu.be/1UazdzRdn3k

Updated Goblins!

I've also been working hard on expanding what all is included in a monster group. The mini bestiary in the GM Guide was a great start, but if I were to ever publish a full monster manual it should include a bit more, no fluff, just things that would make the GM's life easier and play more fun for the heroes.

What's new: Each monster group will now have a page of practical lore, adventure seeds, and loot. Followed by a spread on how to run that particular monster group along with different premade encounters and advice on tactics for increasing and decreasing the difficulty on the fly. Many monsters will have TPK alternatives, or Parley options, or even questhooks.

For the stat blocks themselves, for monsters where it makes sense, I'm testing out including TRAPS with stat blocks. And for Goblins it definitely makes sense! And I'm also including more than 1 legendary monster for each group to better showcase what fighting these monsters could be like.

Anyway, I'm really happy with the progress being made as I continue to iterate and figure out what is the most useful information for the GM to have with a monster book, but I'm eager to hear your feedback. I read every comment, and I really appreciate and count on your feedback.

Let me know if you think we're on the right track! What would you change, add, or cut? Check out the free PDF below.

–Evan

P.S. If you haven't heard, I just kicked off a new Design Jam, this time for MONSTERS. I'd love it if you all would make a submission! I'll be doing a stream this friday/saturday to review the early submissions and give feedback before the deadline.

Artificer Beta

Some big changes with the Artificer class! Testing has been going well so far, lots of great feedback. The class feels very customizable, uniquely so, and I think that's definitely the fantasy I'm trying to hit. A genius who can make inventions and upgrade them in lots of different ways.

There are currently about a dozen different inventions (you can pick a new invention roughly every other level) and nearly 40 different upgrades (you can pick 1 new upgrade every level). There may be a few more or a few less by the time the class is completed, but it'll likely be roughly in that ballpark. Enough customization to scratch the itch for theorycrafters and optimizers, but not so much that it scares away the normies!

The artificer can fill a number of different roles quite well: as a frontliner tank, a glass cannon damage dealer, a fast ranged class, and even as a healer in a pinch. It's far from finished, but it's far enough along to move from an Alpha test to now be called a Beta test. I'm eager to hear your feedback as you get your hands on it and start testing.

I'm commissioning some new art for the inventions, so please don't mind the filler art too much. For feedback I'm mostly interested to hear about the mechanics, do they play smoothly, and the upgrades, are there any that are so OP you feel like you must take them, or any so underpowered you'd never want to take them?

What's next?

I'm putting the finishing touches on the Hexbinder class (formerly the Witch). It's feeling like it's really in a good spot. And I'm starting to cook on the Psion Class and a new class that I'm *quite* excited about. So excited that I've already commissioned some art for it (and it looks rad). Stay tuned, I'll be sharing it in the coming days.

I'm also working on some new monster groups, constructs called Mana Hulks.

As always, thanks for the continued support

– Evan

New Monster Group: DEATH KNIGHTS!

Wow, you guys…

This is definitely my favorite monster group yet. I feel like I'm really honing in on the GM tools that will be most useful to run them now too. Because the tactics are so subtly deep, I really like having different tactics spelled out for the GM, including ways to make it harder (and seem like a tactical genius) or easier (without looking like you're intentionally throwing it). I love that these Death Knights also have possible parley options that could even lead to a new quest if you wanted.

These monsters are really exploring some new territory that I'm enjoying: they have minions you can choose, they cause some pretty spooky conditions and restrictions to encourage heroes to think and play differently, and maybe the coolest thing: a spicy new reaction "GRAVEWALK." They can really turn the tide of battle in an interesting way.

This PDF packet also, includes TWO new legendary monsters with completely different tactics. One is fast and highly mobile, where positioning really matters a lot. The other is stationary and summons wave after wave of minions—he can really put the heroes in a catch 22. I love it.

Hope you all enjoy the latest release, thanks for the continued support.

Let me know in the comments what you think and what you'd most like to see next!

New Monsters: the Orcs are upon us!

Hey all! really excited about this new monster group, THE ORCS! In the PDF below, you'll not only find 7 new monsters and 1 new legendary monster, but also something I'm QUITE happy about: additional handy info for the GM running these guys. Premade encounters and tactics for different levels, as well as Orcish Names (for when the heroes inevitably ask "what's this guy's name?"), and 2 new things I'm most excited about:

Parley

Some alternate things to do instead of a "fight to the death.." What else would happen if the heroes win, what would it look like if these orcs wanted to Parley? What would the heroes get out of it?

Defeat (TPK alternatives)

What if…the Orcs are winning? Is the only option for you as the GM fudging the dice or causing a TPK? No! Now you have additional options for what else could happen to keep the story moving forward, even in the face of defeat. I really like this the most since it frees you as the GM up with experiment with different power levels without worrying too much about unintentionally ending the campaign. Defeat can simply be the next twist to the story!

New Mechanics

These orcs have some really interesting mechanics that make them feel very "Orc-y." Battlelust triggers when initiative is rolled, Tough as Nails gives them a thematic "weakness" without them feeling weak, and their Enrage ability will make the heroes change up their own tactics as they learn how fighting Orcs works.

The Orcish Battlebard makes for an interesting secondary objective and breathes new life into less damaging spells & abilities. The Warchief and High Flamecaller add some tactical spiciness to the top end of the monster group. Even if you've fought Orcs at a lower level, they gain powerful new abilities at higher levels, making for a much more versatile and longer lasting monster group (I love getting MORE out of each monster group).

What else is going on? Design Jam Review!

If you haven't heard, I've just announced the very first Nimble Design Jam. I've already got a number of submissions for it, and tomorrow (Friday) at 11:30 am eastern. I'll be doing a livestream to give some preliminary feedback on them before the final deadline of next Friday.

There's still time to come up with your own submission if you're interested, click here for more details.

Thanks as always for your continued support. Please let me know what you think about the awesome and ferocious orcs!

Artificer Updates!

I was quite surprised to see not only the instant support for the earlier artificer draft, but also how many people volunteered to do extended playtesting! Seeing that, I wanted to put some extra time into the class so that it can be a more more solid foundation from which to collect feedback. The first draft was really more of a loose collection of ideas rather than a playable class, THIS version, is very much playable, and I'm eager to hear your feedback,

What's changed?

• The overall flavor has shifted from sci-fi to more fantasy. While players can always reflavor elements of a class, I wanted to make sure the artificer fit with the feel of the rest of the game.

• Placeholder art. To better show off the concept of the weapons and inventions, I'm commissioning new art to be made!

• Much clearer mechanics and balance. The core mechanics are much better defined and the numbers should be rather close to where other classes are at the same level.

What I'm keeping an eye on:

• The progression of gaining new inventions/upgrades. I heroes to feel like the have a good, healthy number of options, not starved of then nor too many to keep track of.

• Mishaps. The goal is that they convey the feeling "yeah, I deserved that for pushing my luck so far" rather than "i'm being punished". Some may need fine tuning, others may be changed entirely.

• Are there any gadgets/inventions/fantasies you feel like an artificer should have that is not currently represented?

• Some names are still not quite there, and could use another pass.

Please send me any notes you have from your own playtesting, either here, on discord or via email evan@nimblerpg.com

Thanks!

Artificer Class Alpha

Hey All, it's tinkering time!

I've been working hard on the first draft of the new ARTIFICER class, and the first few levels are ready to be played (link to the PDF below)! Being an alpha version, it's obviously rough around the edges and quite unrefined, but if you don't mind that, you can get a very good idea of the direction and goals of the class.

Most of the names, numbers, and other specifics will change, but broad strokes I'm really happy with how it's turning out so far. It feels very different than any other class, with a lot of "push-your-luck" mechanics, a lot of battlefield flexibility, and a bit of good-natured chaos to create for awesome stories!

I've got one of my writers, Stan, helping me with the intro class flavor, and another artist is finishing up her take on the hero art. In the meantime, I'll be refining the mechanics to best capture the fantasy I'm shooting for. I did a design livestream a couple days ago if you'd like to check that out here: https://youtube.com/live/7WFXAhqy3Ec?feature=share

What else I'm working on

Progress on the Hexbinder and Psion classes continues well, the Hexbinder is well into its beta and playtests are working out some minor kinks. Psion is still pre-alpha, but I'm excited about how it's shaping up.

The Creator's Kit has amassed some great feedback and I'm working on integrating it all and releasing the public version very soon.

I'm also working with some new artists and acquiring some rad new art (I'm cooking on some REALLY cool elemental monsters, more on that in the coming weeks).

Print production is coming along well, I'm working with the manufacturer to minimize the impact of tariffs, it won't affect any of you but it's super important to me! Whatever the extra cost, I'll just eat it, rather than passing on any extra charges to you all.

As always thanks for your continued support,

—Evan

Creator's Kit!

Hey all!

As promised, the Creator's Kit is now available!! I'm super excited about this, it ended up taking a lot longer than expected because I kept thinking of really useful things to put in there. Then, if I was spending this much time on the content, surely I'd want the design to look decent as well… and here we are :D

Note that this is the first draft. I expect there will be lots of typos, some content that could be clarified, improved, or added. I'm releasing the first draft here on Patreon before it's released more widely so we can take care of a bulk of that feedback before too many eyes are on it. So, please have a read (it's not TOO long, just 14 A5 pages—that's just 7 regular sized pages), I've packed it with lots of useful tips that weren't necessary or appropriate for the core rules or GMG, but SUPER helpful for anyone making their own content.

I really want to hear your feedback, either in the comments here, on discord, or feel free to email me (evan@nimblerpg.com). What could use clarifying, what's missing? What do you most like? What would you want to see expounded upon? (don't worry too much about typos, I should be able to sort those out myself)

As always, thank you for the continued support,

–Evan

Edit: the creator's kit has been updated and can be found at: https://nimblerpg.com/pages/creators

Hexbinder Beta v1.2

Hey all!

Initial playtesting of the Hexbinder (formerly the Witch) is going well, and I've got the next draft ready to review and playtest. The class is really feeling like it's in a very good place already, if anything, maybe a bit too strong? It has tons of neat little interactions and subtleties that I think make it quite a fun class to play.

I'm looking for playtesting feedback! We're organizing some playtesting on the discord server, if you'd like to help or if you've done any separate playtesting, please let me know in the Patreon Pals channel! Here's a quick changelog of some of the bigger updates:

• Consult the Bones. Time req. reduced from 30 to 10 min.

• Mystic Marks. Can now choose more of them, and earlier in the level progression. From levels 5, 10, & 13—to now: 4, 6, 9, 12, 16. Much better!

• Soothsayer. Now earlier and more core to the class, gain it at level 5, improved at levels 10 and 17.

• New Level 14 ability: Hexplosion. You can end an affliction on a target and deal LVL damage to them (the name and effect may not stick, it's a bit silly, but the idea of sacrificing an affliction for a different effect seems like it has a lot of potential) for coolness.

• Afflictions. Better balanced power level. Wording adjust to make them more balanced against Legendary monsters. Haunted & Pestilent swapped. Enfeebled now knocks prone, Dimmed causes disadvantage 2 on ranged attacks, Brittle increases in power at level 10.

• Sigil of Rot. Streamlined & clarified.

• Misery. Increased from 1d6 to 1d8.

• Coven of the Hunt. Familiars tweaked, subclass streamlined.

What else I've been working on

I spent a good bit of time taking some product shots of the printed books and boxed sets! I'm also cooking up some more monsters, coming soon: ORCS! Maybe releasing them next week. Also coming soon, the creator's kit! Stay tuned.

New Monsters: Troglodytes!

Hey all!

I've just cooked up half a dozen new monster stat blocks, the ever-stinky and spooky TROGLODYTES! Perennial GM favorites for any low to mid-level campaign that ever goes underground, these stinkers pack quite a nasty punch.

Some new things you'll notice I'm trying out:

Flavorful new ways to get into combat. How can we simulate the stinkiness of these creatures without annoying everyone by forcing them to constantly make saves? How about exchanging the usual initiative roll with a STR save. No added steps, but it's an interesting and unique way to reward those with stronger stomachs!

On Death Mechanics. Again, rather than forcing saves too frequently what if we gave a mechanic that rewards smart tactical play? Can the heroes figure out a way to position themselves so that they're not permanently Poisoned? I love making puzzle-like monsters that make the heroes CHANGE-UP how they play.

Burrower. Hidden monsters are a neat little challenge, but. I think the Troglodyte Tunneler strikes a nice balance of being a sneaky ambusher/debuffer without being annoying the play against (for the heroes) or to run (as the GM).

Screech. An AoE attack that ignores the heroes armor! Heroes get plenty of these kind of abilities, it's only fair that monsters do as well. Troglodytes are a particularly tactical enemy to fight against since WHERE each hero stands really matters a lot. I can see this being a lot of fun watching players figure out.

Preferred Targets. One final thing I'm testing out is having some sort of "monster tactics" or "who they like to attack the most" thing. While the heroes roll initiative the GM can roll for the monster's temperament. Different characteristics each hero has can make them more (or less) of a priority target. I'd definitely recommend letting the heroes know or discover during combat that "these Troglodytes really hate your perfume" that can lead to very interesting tactical decisions and roleplaying moments.

I think the idea is a good one, but maybe needs to cook just a bit longer. Thank you all, as always for your support, and let me know how you like the spooky, smelly dudes :D

What I'm Working On

I'm still working on the creator's kit, it's becoming much more of a production than I anticipated (in the best possible way). More on that soon. Also, fingers crossed, hoping to do the Foundry reveal stream with Phil this week too. 💪

Witch Beta & Artificer Updates!

Hey everyone! I'm excited to send some updates on the witch and artificer classes. First off, the Witch is now called Hexbinder. I wanted something a bit more evocative, and Hexbinder works on so many different levels: it better describes what the class is like (HEX is in the name now, for crying out loud!), and binding has double meaning of both healing and harming which fits perfectly I think. It also has the added benefit of avoiding any unintended real-world connotations. I think it's a really good fit! What do you think?

The Hexbinder class is now ready for beta testing (download it below). Both subclasses, and all of her features and spells are now more fully fleshed out. Expect most balance to be in the right neighborhood, but there may be a feature or two that are completely broken—that's what testing is for! One final thing that has changed, the layout is now going back to a more typical A5 sized zine rather than a trifold layout. I love the trifold layout but not as many Printing companies support that format, so back to zines it is! It also gives a bit more flexibility in terms of how much content there is, I can just add a few more pages to the zine if necessary.

Test it out and let me know any feedback you have!

Artificer

Progress is coming along nicely (see above for the latest draft art), as for the name I'm leaning toward something like Mechanist. "Artificer" as a name brings with it certain preconceptions that I may not want to set up—for instance, almost every "artificer" type of class I've seen is just a middling spellcaster. That's not the direction I'm going, this class will not cast spells, it will use inventions!

One more little gadget our Artificer class can create, the handy-dandy SAFETY BUDDY!

Safety Buddy. Summon a 1 hp single-use construct to Interpose for an ally within Reach 2 instead of you. Upgrades:

• Advanced Propulsion System. +2 Reach.

• Explosive Framework. On death: deal INT d6 damage to attacker. They gain Smoldering.

• Reusable parts. +1 Safety buddy

As ever, the name may change (I generally think of silly names first), but the ideas feels really cool! As the Artificer levels up they can select new gadgets and inventions and customize them to push the class in a variety of directions. It could fill a very glass cannon/heavy damage role, or that of a tank, or a flexible support class—depending on which inventions and gadgets you bring to the fight.

Ooo, that feels so cool :D

One more thing…🎉 I'M EXPECTING THE WET PROOFS THIS FRIDAY!! 🎉

And you better believe I'm going to do a detailed livestream when they come in. 💪

Thanks all for your continued support. I've got a lot more to announce later, got some BIG plans!

-Evan

First look: printed proofs & the Artificer

Hey everyone, quick update here on the Nimble printed books. Just got an update from the printer, they were supposed to have the wet proofs (the small batch of test prints) shipped to me already, but there wee some internal delays on their side (out of stock on a certain kind of paper, and their first print run they used the wrong thickness greyboard), BUT I should be receiving the physical proofs next week. In the meantime they did send me some pictures of the progress if you'd like to check them out!

I really like the gold foil on the front of the box, that was a last minute addition and I'm glad we did it. Also, you can peep the cool pattern on the inside of the box, and you can see a bit of the easter eggs on the side panels of the box. Little details like that really make a product sing, I think. Each book will also have a ribbon book mark in a matching color and an anti-scuff coating for extra durability. I'll definitely do a livestream as soon as I get them in!

Draft Artificer Art! (I went with "A")

Artificer

I was quite surprised to see the ARTIFICER ranked the highest on our recent "what to work on next" poll. So, I've started on it, and I REALLY like how it's shaping up, both fantasy-wise and mechanically.

The Nimble artificer fantasy: Someting akin to Iron Man, Batman, Rocket Raccoon. A person who uses their intelligence to create and use inventions that help them on the battlefield.

Sample mechanics and abilities:

I'd LOVE for one of the classes to pick up and roll entire fistfuls of dice. There's just something awesome and intimidating to all that clickety-clack. The problem is that it can be rather time consuming to add them all up. So one mechanic I'm testing is a dicepool type of system for the Artificer. They could roll, say 5 or 10 dice, and rather than tediously adding them up, something may happen only on the highest (or lowest result).

Push-your-luck mechanics. Your inventions can be used reliably, but you can also give them extra energy to make them deal more damage, but also risk a malfunction!

Arcane Cannon. A BIG ranged weapon that ignores armor and deals damage to all creatures between you and your target (think like a handheld Rail Gun type of weapon). You can fire it normally for a decent amount of damage. But you can also overcharge it for the chance to deal huge additional damage, but at the risk of it malfunctioning.

Reactive armor. When struck in melee, knock the medium or smaller attacker back 1 space they land prone. You can also give you armor additional energy to increase the effect (and risk of malfunction)

• Extra Energy. Increase the size category or distance by 1.

• Malfunction. You are knocked back and prone as well.

Gadgets. In addition to creating your own Weapons and Armor, you can create single-use/consumable items like the mighty Stim Pack! (all of these names and mechanics are definitely subject to change, btw) Stim Pack. Heal HP, Gain 1 action. End of turn: STR save or dazed (DC 16). How cool?!

And of course all of these weapons, armor, and gadgets can be upgraded and customized (that's the plan at least). I want to give he feeling of a. really intelligent, resourceful inventor, but without the needless complexity of sorting through 234123412311 different options.

I've got a lot more notes and will continue to work on them but so far, so good I think. What do you think?

What else I've been working on and what's next?

I've been spending this week doing a lot of work on the website, getting it up to the standards I've wanted. Not finished yet, but it's looking MUCH better now if you'd like to check out to progress.

I've also been cooking on the foundry module (will do a livestream of that SOON, maybe this friday) the Witch, kid nimble (I hired an artist to help with that project), and a couple of big secret projects I'll be announcing in the coming weeks/months. Exciting times!

Thanks again everyone for your continued support 💪

– Evan @ Nimble co.

What I'm cooking on: Kid Nimble first look (and more)

I announced last year that I may be working with an illustrator on a kid's version of Nimble aimed at teaching TTRPGs to middle school aged kids, for afterschool programs, libraries or parents with young kids. Working title: Kid Nimble, but I'm leaning toward something a bit cooler like Nimble: Adventure Club.

For as much as Nimble streamlines TTRPGs, the goal here would be to go much further. It must keep attention, remove as much waiting as possible, you should be able to teach it instantly, and over all be a silly, fun time.

Starting with the Nimble base, we're streamlining it even further. Here's some of what I'm thinking:

• Instant to teach & reduced analysis paralysis. 2 actions instead of 3. No assess, No monster armor, etc. etc. Super streamlined mechanics and combat while retaining the core fun, role-playing and tactical, monster-fighting, adventure bits.

• No character creation. Character selection instead. We'll have a set of premade heroes to choose from (currently we have The BRUTE, MAGE, SNEAK, HOTSHOT, and GUARDIAN), kids can flip through the cards (perhaps laminated for durability and can use dry erase markers?) one side of the card will have art for a boy hero the other side girls.

• When you level up, grab the next card. everything you need to know will be listed on the card and you can jump right in to the next adventure.

That said, I'm not sure this project will ever become a thing. Nimble did well with crowdfunding, I'm not sure this would do the same. Distribution with schools/libraries likely requires a publisher of some sort. Who knows?

What's going on with the other projects?

I like to work on multiple things simultaneously, so I'm working on them still! While the Witch alpha is percolating in the back of my head, I'm thinking up mechanics for the Psion and Artificer, as well as new monsters, how a nature/earth spell school would function and other cool mechanics!

This week I expect to get the wet proof of the cloth map and next week the wet proofs of the entire boxed set! Will make sure I show them off ASAP.

Patreon Update

I'm also going to reduce the cost for the Patreon this week. I'd rather let more people join in and contribute to development than expect a lot from a smaller group of people. Plus it's a bit less pressure on me to ensure super high value if the cost is lowered. Lower pressure all around.

Thank you all for your support. 💪

POLL: What should we work on next?

As Patrons, you can help point me in the right direction, what would me most helpful to you, what is most exciting?

Please vote and then leave a comment with additional details, or your 2nd or 3rd favorite option!

To give you an idea of how long each thing takes (from more time/effort to quickest/easiest):

1 new class: 2-3 months, story-based subclass: 1-2 months, 1-shot adventure: 1 month, new magic school: 1 month. a few legendary monsters: 1 month, ~1 dozen regular monsters: 1 month. 

The Witch Class Alpha

Thank you for continuing to support the Nimble development! The first thing we'll be working on here is the new WITCH class (see the next post for a poll and vote on what to work on next/simulta). Initially a collab with the folks who made the project Faerie: a Realmwalker's Guide, it was going to be a rather straightforward adaptation but the more I worked on it, the more I wanted to make a Nimble class every bit as cool as the other 11 classes. SO we're still taking inspiration from that project, but this is really at its heart a brand new creation. This is not simply a re-skin of any other class, she uses NONE of the existing spells. Her abilities are all NEW, and I'm super pumped about it!

What is the Witch?

It's primarily a medium damage, controlling & debuffing class (with some built-in healing capabilities). The problem with debuffs is that they can be hard to track, slow the game down, or be useless/overpowered depending on the encounter. I think we've landed on a really good spot: she can cast powerful afflictions—but only on ONE creature and there are very few to track (and they mostly serve to set up her own spells and abilities). This keeps play quick and smooth, and creates a lot of teamwork opportunities for her and her partymates.

What to expect with an early Alpha

This class is somewhere around 60-70% finished. Some abilities and features are incomplete, balance is likely not perfect, some abilities will change; however the core of the class is pretty well set. It is perfectly playable!

This is the best time to give feedback and have it make a big difference. Have a look, try a playtest—I'm eager to hear your feedback!

Once completed, this will be made available as PDF download for all Patrons, and likely a printed trifold product.

–Evan @nimble co.