Mage Hand Press

Updates and Pivots

In this post, I'll be quickly apprising you all of what's going on with various projects.

Book Updates

We're still working on updating art for old books, as well as shoring up our art catalog in general, and we've gotten some done already:

Arcane Archive (New art -- cover coming soon)

Me...

New Year's Content

I know we asked for this month off (and believe me, we've had some much needed relaxation), but we've also kept busy for most of the month. In particular, we got the binder class, which we've been steadily writing on the blog, to a playtestable-state! Here's the first five levels of the binder, complete with vestiges and a couple of subclass options. 

I'm playtesting one right now, as a matter of fact, so I think you'll enjoy what we've got here.

- - -

We also promised ...

Complete Alchemist Redux

Plan C is to blow the whole mountain up with a half ton of explosives. That's always plan C, of course.

The definitive, revised from the ground up, Complete Alchemist Redux is one of the most finely crafted classes out there. Not only it is magnetically fun to blast things into bits with alchemical bombs and brew potions on the fly, but the class is designed to be extremely customizable to suit characters of every playstyle. 

The Complete Alchemist realizes the poten...

Small Patreon Changes and Opinion Polls

Hey everyone!

I wanted to let everyone know that I'm making some small changes to hopefully improve the Patreon, make the tiers more consistent, and so forth. Then, I'd like to hear your opinion on some other important things that we're considering implementing.

Name Change, Kinda

First and foremost, we're changing the name of this Patreon to Mage Hand Press. It's important that our branding is more consistent and, while the free blog will still be Middle Finger ...

December Holidays

One more poll:

I'd like to ask you, my employer, for the month of December off, so the Digits can spend this time of the year with their families. Instead of doing a normal release, we'd spend the month to begin reworking the art for a few of our old books (beginning with Men and Monsters, High Seas, Lovecraft Handbook, and Fey Folio.) I know this pushes us further back on the release schedule (and I'll try to write something small for a January release), but we'll abide by whatever decision t...

March Poll

This month, now that we've wrapped up the Dark Matter Alpha, we're working on finishing up the rest of the Complete Alchemist Redux and (hopefully) the second (and last) Craftsman Redux. The following two months are going to be spent tackling the beginning of Electric East (name change probably pending). 

This poll is to decide the book we do the month after. These books aren't going to be massive or sprawling; they're go...

From the Arcane Archive

That dusty tome, its gilded cover worn and scuffed, somehow looked older than the wizard carrying it. 

Throughout our years crafting content for 5th Edition, we at Mage Hand Press have written a staggering number of spells. From the Arcane Archive is a massive book of 250 spells, collected from works like the High Seas Update, the Complete Witch, and Dark Matter. Within its pages are options for every type of spellcaster, including many ...

Alchemist Redux

Alchemy is about transformation, about reincarnation and rebirth.

It's about time we revisited our old alchemist! This redux fixes a litany of problems with the old version of the class: a more consistent, more balanced damage curve, simplified and reworked bombs, earlier potions, more balanced and simplified formulae and discoveries, a more sensible action economy, and dozens of quality of life changes. The whole class table needed an overhaul, too, so the archetypes should feel more...

December Poll

It's that time again! There's been a lot of balls in the air here recently: I've been working overtime on Dark Matter, piecing together the Alchemist Redux, and been working on a second redux for the Craftsman. 

The month after (November 1st) is going to be the Arcane Archive, a book that compiles all our spells in one place and also includes spell lists for all the classes. This poll is for the month after that, in December.

For this poll,...

Complete Gunslinger

The pen might be mightier than the sword, but it don't hold a candle to my peace-keeper.

The Complete Gunslinger contains the definitive version of perhaps Mage Hand Press's most fun and magnetic class to date. It comes with 16 subclasses for gunslingers of every stripe and even more class variants tied to the gunslinger's setting, so you never run out of options for your character.

This master of gunplay comes packaged with an extensive list of firearms, ranging from mus...

Dark Matter Ships

Since the Dark Matter Kickstarter is going so well, I thought I'd throw out the updated Ships chapter! We've revised many of the ship statistics, added a bunch of new ships, improved formatting everywhere, and revisited the exploration rules. Let us know what you think!

Siegeball Sourcebook

The lights, the crowd, the trophy; this is where legends are made.

Are you ready? The long-awaited Siegeball Sourcebook is finally here! With this supplement, you can engage in the greatest fantasy sport ever devised, Siegeball. Two teams, two towers, one ball.

The book comes complete with rules for the game, archetypes and feats for competitors, siegeball equipment, armor, and magic items, rules for tournaments and arenas, three example arena battle maps, and nine sample...

Public Discord Proposal

Our Discord has been a haven of good conversation, nerdy memes, new content development -- it's been a huge success. Getting to know everyone through the discord has been really brought our little community together and given the Digits a comfortable place to hang out when we're not working on new material.

There's a big option we've been considering, rife with pros and cons, that I'd like to propose to you: We can make the Discord public.

The pros are obvious: more people from our commu...

November Poll

Sorry for the later than usual poll this month! 

We had a phenomenal kickoff to the Dark Matter Kickstarter, which kept me a little busy. (Didn't know we're running a Kickstarter? Click here to check it out!)

Regardless of Kickstarter shenanigans, it'll be business as usual over here on the Patreon. This month (the first of August) is the Siegeball Sourcebook, wh...

Investigator

That's just the way of it: sell your soul, get bitten by a vampire, cursed by hags -- we all become monsters sooner or later.

This is our new base class, the Investigator, inspired by the likes of John Constantine, Hellboy, and Supernatural. Playing as an investigator means you can step into the shoes of a supernatural detective, uncovering eldritch mysteries and hunting evil monsters.

We always design our classes with a strong core hook in mind. This time, it's 'Rituals,...

October Poll

Gosh, it's been an exciting month! We've announced that we're doing a Kickstarter to print Dark Matter, and so far, the response has been overwhelming! That's gonna kick off on July 17th, so be ready!

However, while that's going on, Patreon continues as normal. At the end of this month (July 1st), we'll be releasing a new class, the Investigator, which you're going to love if you've ever read/seen Hellboy, Supernatural, or Constantine. Next mo...

Dark Matter Kickstarter

We're running our first-ever Kickstarter!

This is a print run of our book Dark Matter, which is a 200+ page supplement that converts 5th Edition into a rip-roaring science fiction setting. We're super excited to see this book in print -- it's going to be in hardcover will beautiful full-color illustrations throughout.

Check out the Official Dark Matter website for more details!

September Poll

My whole world is Dark Matter. I'm working nonstop on finishing the revised and expanded Equipment, Races, and Spells chapters this month (of which I should definitely get at least two of the three finished by June 1st.) I cannot understate how excited I am to show off all the nonsense I have ready for you all in this setting. Next month (July 1st), I'll be putting the finishing touches on a new base class, which is almost certainly going to be ...

August Poll

We've been in full Dark Matter mode for a while now, juggling tons of new archetypes and feats for the Character Options chapter (which releases at the end of this month, May 1st), and putting the finishing touches on more Dark Matter Spells and Races for the following month (June 1st.) After that, it looks like were doing another base class (July 1st.)

This poll is for the month after that! Choose wisely...

Dark Matter Equipment In Progress

I'm almost insulted any of you thought that you could be rid of me so easily! No; as you all know, I'm bound to this website phylactery and likely shall never escape. 

However, to celebrate two years of successful Patreon, I bring you a look at the Equipment chapter of Dark Matter, which you'll find quite useful when rolling up a Gadgeteer. 

Our dumb April Fool's goof, preserved for poster...

Proofreaders!

Fey Folio is finally finished (phew!) 

Just as we did with the High Seas Update, we're asking for detailed-oriented persons to help us catch the abundant errors that I made. 

If you would enjoy helping us proofread our books, send an email to middlefingerofvecna@gmail.com with the subject line "Proofreading". If you already emailed us last time around, you do not have to email again.

Fey Folio

"See those old standing stones up on the hill? Legend tells that old Mary Malgrove wandered near there on a moonless night and vanished for a fortnight. When she returned, she seemed somewhat out of sorts, and she was missing all her toes. To everyone's surprise, she announced that it was okay; she had danced them all away in the Feywild..."

In the Fey Folio, we're taking a stroll through the Feywild and enjoying the sights. From the majestic Fey Courts, to the wild fr...

Gadgeteer

"Hostiles Have Opened Fire. Finding Cover Advised" chirped Virgil as blaster bolts passed harmlessly through his holographic orb. "No, you think!?" retorted Shen, already firing her repeater.

Gadgeteers are masters of technology and engineering, turning every device available to their advantage. Assisted by their artificial intelligence companions, gadgeteers pursue the cutting-edge of science and innovation, acquiring a mass of gadgets and a wealth of knowledge along the way.

C...

July Poll

We're reaching the tail end of our commitment to the Fey Folio with our surprisingly comprehensive monster chapter this month, and then we're staring down the barrel of Dark Matter for a few months. Man, am I excited for Dark Matter.

This month also has the Gadgeteer, next month is the revised Character Options chapter, and the month after is the Spells and Races chapters. 

And with those fairly heavy commitments on...

Mage Hand Press Books

This page should serve as a handy launching point for everything available through Patreon. Enjoy!

Complete Alchemist 

Complete Captain 

Complete Craftsman

2018-03-08 07:39:22 +0000 UTC View Post

Fey Folio (In Progress 2)

Man, remember when books would be like 50 pages long and we were like "This is the longest thing we've ever written"? This one's up to 67 pages, and we've still got the entire Monsters chapter to go. That's coming up next month, alongside the Gadgeteer, with the final release. 

This iteration of the book finishes the Character Options chapter with Background and Feats, has the Equipment chapter with much-awaited Tiny Weapons and the Mispelled Spellbook, follows it up wit...

June Poll

Hey folks! It's poll time!

Right now, I'm slaving away on the Fey Folio, which should be done at the end of the month (March 1st). Of course, it this isn't finished on time (February steals a few days of work from me), it'll wrap up next month alongside the Gadgeteer class, releasing on April 1st. After that, on May 1st, we're diving even deeper into Dark Matter by completely revamping the Character Options chapter.

After that? One more ...

Fey Folio (In Progress)

Oh boy, we been working up a sweat on this one! The Fey Folio is very much still baking, and this is one of the few times that we've been writing the book faster than I can put a PDF together for it (at one point, the Google Doc housing its draft exceeded 100 pages in length.) It's a ton of content, and I'm excited to get it out to you all.

But for now, here's a snapshot of where the book is at: two and a half(ish) chapters are fully together, and a lot of this is playable right away. You migh...

Vecna Discord!

Hey all! We're trying out a bit of an experiment: we've set up a discord server for all of you, our fantastic patrons.

Drop in, say hi, and meet some friends!

Schedule Shuffling

I've been playing with the schedule somewhat on my end, and I've got some status updates on where everything is at:

It looks like, because of the length and complexity of the Fey Folio, it's going to have to be released in two months. Just as with High Seas, we'll get the first few chapters out on time (this month) while the latter half of the book lags behind to the following month.

We should have our next New Base Class finished on time without any iss...