A streamlined fantasy rules system with an evocative setting that's both family-friendly and deep enough to create compelling stories.
This post is for backers only. Please visit Kickstarter.com and log in to read.
Hi Good Doggos,
Before we get into our sneak peek on masterworks and relics today, I've got one little bit of information - or, really, several little bits of information in one easy package - to share with current and potential backers.
As he's been doing throughout the campaign (and well before), Eddy has answered some of the most common questions popping up about Realms of Pugmire. In a recent Twitch stream, Eddy provided more As for your Qs, as asked by show host Dixie Cochran. It's another excellent source for information about Pugmire, this edition of the game, and everything around it. Check it out!
The Old Ones left their items of wonder behind when they left the world. Many names exist for these relics and artifacts, but dogs generally refer to Man’s creations as masterworks. Many people covet such items, whether from a desire to understand Man better, to gain respect in canine society, or to control the power within such objects. Masterworks fall into three different categories: relics(Man’s powerful artifacts), fixes(consumable items of magical power), and wonders(strange, arcane things with limited utility).
A dog holding a relic or wonder immediately and intuitively feels the item’s extraordinary nature; she may attempt to discern the masterwork’s nature through an hour of careful study. This study requires physical contact. Once complete, the dog understands the masterwork’s initial properties, and how to use it. On the other paw, just a quick look, a little taste, or a careful sniff of a fix allows the dog to understand its function.
Some masterworks (such as an artisan’s focus) only function once a dog forms a bond — called attunement — with the item. A dog must rest for an hour, focusing only on the masterwork and maintaining physical contact, to attune with the item. She may not study the masterwork while attuning: these actions require separate periods of focus or study. Perhaps she carefully examines the masterwork, meditates upon it, or practices a kata with a masterwork weapon. Whatever the activity, interrupting it causes the attunement attempt to fail. Otherwise, after that rest the dog intuitively understands how to activate the item’s magical properties, including requisite command words.
Some relics grow more powerful with time and use. After a character attunes the artifact, she may use an improvement to grant refinements, just like with tricks. If she gives the refined relic to another character otherwise able to use it, the refinement benefits stay with the object. Further, attuned and refined relics don’t stay lost for long — through various circumstances, such relics inevitably find their way home to their owner’s paws. Fixes and wonders cannot be refined.
Relics or artifactsoffer consistent benefits toadventurous dogs. Some straight-forward relics take the form of armor or weapons crafted from mysterious metals or that most miraculous and mystical element: plastic. Some dogs get their paws on more rarified items, like goggles which permit them to see in the dark, or health-boosting amulets. Noble families loan relics to their members while free dogs jealously guard theirs, treasuring the advantages offered by these items in dangerous situations.
All relics may be refined. Like other trick refinements, unless otherwise stated they can only be taken once, but they can be taken in any order.
Requires attunement
These artifacts take different forms: amulets, gauntlets, rings, and other wearable objects. Choose an attribute at object creation; this may not later be changed. Whilewearing this object, the applicable attribute becomes +4. These items have no effect on individuals with natural attribute modifier of +4 or higher.
Refinements
Requires attunement
Many forms of armor exist; no matter the design, wearing it grants a dog with the appropriate Aptitude trick an additional +1 bonus to defense. Masterwork armor crafted to reduce its weight, or the rare plastic armor, is extremely valuable and often kept secret by its owners.
Refinements
Requires attunement
The collective term for these magnificent wonders pays tribute to the belief that these tools once assisted Men in adapting to damage to their bodies, birth defects, or other difficulties with movement, sense, or bodily needs.
The Body of Man as a class of relics encompasses all manner of accessibility items, from wheelchairs, canes, and replacement limbs to hearing aids, masks or implanted eyes which restore lost senses, and more subtle wonders which regulate blood sugar or counteract lung damage. If a dog’s body doesn’t act the way he wants it to act, there’s probably a Body of Man item out there which can help him.
A Body of Man item, upon attunement, immediately responds to her intuitively, as if sapient, and will never slow her down or otherwise impede her.
Refinements
These dark lenses grant the user Darkvision (out to a range of 60 feet) when worn. Dogs who already have Darkvision find wearing the goggles increases their Darkvision’s range by 60 feet.
Refinements
Requires attunement
This hat’s wearercan use an action to cast the Disguise Self spell (p. XX) at will, once per day (sleeping recharges the hat). Spellcasters do not use spell points when casting it. Removing the hat ends the spell.
Refinements
This strange lantern, shaped like a stubby wand made entirely of plastic, has a crystal at one end. When lit, this lantern burns for a quarter of a day, shedding bright light in a 30-foot radius and revealing any invisible creatures and objects within its light.
Refinements
Requires attunement
While the user wears this robe, she can use an action to cause the garment to display a shifting pattern of dazzling hues until the end of her next turn. During this time, the robe sheds bright light in a 30-foot radius. Characters that can see her have a hindrance on attack rolls against her. In addition, any character in the light that can see the user when the robe’s power is activated must succeed on a Cunning test (difficulty 15) or become Stunned until the effect ends. The robe can only be used once per scene or combat.
Refinements
Bigger on the inside, this large sack — about half the size of a dog when full — holds much more, up to the weight of ten full-sized dogs. The bag reduces the weight of any items inside to no more than a reasonably filled rucksack. A dog can store anything inside which fits through the top of the bag (approximately two feet in diameter) and may retrieve this item with an action. Overloading the bag, piercing it, or tearing it ruins the bag; it can’t be used again. Turning the bag inside out spills out its contents unharmed, but the bag must be turned right side out prior to further use. Characters “stored” in the bag survive for a few minutes before beginning to suffocate.
Refinements
Relics, fixes, and wonders are all featured in Chapter 7 of Realms of Pugmire. Backers will be able to read the full text of that chapter, along with the complete magic chapter and an a tour of the Realms of Pugmire when the next manuscript preview drops on Tuesday. It's a big, big section and I can't wait to check it out!
After Tuesday, we will have access to the first 7 Chapters of the book, which cover all of the rules and setting and have all of the information players need to make dog characters for the Realms of Pugmire. The following day, on February 8th, I'll be sharing the Conversion Guide.
Lots of exciting pieces coming this week! Including some twitch appearances from Eddy!
Eddy will be a guest on the Extra Credits Twitch channel next week. You can catch him twice on
Visit their Twitch channel here: https://www.twitch.tv/extracredits
“Congratulate me, Darcy,” Alistair Afghan said as he slammed the door to their apartment behind him before spreading his paws wide. “Before you stands a new dog.”
Darcy Cat, Alistair’s valet, carefully set the silver tray carrying an ornate tea service down on the table. He brushed some imaginary dust off his immaculate black coat before turning to look at his employer. He took in the carefully combed black and tan fur, the elaborate tunic that Darcy laid out for Alistair this morning, the well-tailored cape with the Afghan crest carefully stitched into it, and the brown boots that were polished this morning but seemed to have accumulated a disturbing amount of red clay which was even now being ground into the expensive rug. Darcy stifled the sigh building in his chest and looked back at Alistair’s eager face. “You look much the same as you did before you left, sir,” he said, his voice carefully neutral so at not show either his disapproval or his confusion.
“Well, not literally a new dog, Darcy,” Alistair said, his smile fading slightly as his arms dropped to his sides. “More… you know… thingy.”
“Figuratively, sir?” Darcy asked politely.
“That’s the chap.” He raised his paws again. “Before you stands Pugmire’s first consulting artisan.”
Darcy poured the tea into a porcelain cup with the Afghan crest painted on it. “Please enlighten me, sir.”
“It’s clear the local guards, as well as many citizens of Pugmire, are in need of some, shall we say, occult knowledge. And I can provide it for them!” Alistair smiled and started to rummage in his cape. “The first ones just came in this morning.” Not finding anything, he frowned and checked the other side of his cape. With a flourish, he pulled out a squashed roll of parchment, which he handed triumphantly to Darcy, who unrolled the parchment and read:
Does your family have an ancient curse that needs removing? Need to locate a missing magical artifact? Trouble with strange cultists living underneath abandoned grooming shops? Then contact Afghan and Cat, Consultants. Reasonable rates. Just off the street with the bakers and whatnot.
“Well? What do you think?” Alistair trembled with anticipation.
Sighing, Darcy turned back to the parchment. “Well, for one thing, the last example seems rather specific.”
“You like it? I was inspired by our last adventure.”
“I prefer the term ‘debacle,’ sir, but let’s move on. My second question relates to the address.”
“I wasn’t sure if people would know where to find us. That’s why I added that bit at the end.”
“You do know, sir, that each street is named.”
Alistair looked surprised at this revelation. “They are?”
“Indeed, sir. And often, such names come from either a prominent personage in Pugmire history or, as is relevant in this case, the nature of most of the professions who do business in the area in question.”
“So the street with all the bakers on it is called….”
Darcy stared at him for a moment. In his experience, Alistair Afghan could be incredibly brilliant and insightful. Other times, he simply pretended to be dumb to confuse others who might try to take advantage of him. But sometimes he was genuinely ignorant of how the world worked, or just didn’t pay attention. But it was very hard to tell those various states apart. “Baker Street,” the cat said with careful patience.
“Ah. That would be easier. I’ll have to remember to change that in the next batch.”
Darcy carefully rolled the parchment back up in his paws. “Which leads to my last question. What will you do when your family finds out?”
The artisan laughed as he put the parchment back in his cape. “My relatives have little interest in my balling with magic. They’re quite against it, to be honest. I doubt they’d even realize what I’m doing if I announced my presence with a band of musicians and a parade.”
At that point, there was a knock at the door. Without being asked, Darcy behind Alistair to open the door. Standing on the other side was another afghan with similarly expensive clothing.
Darcy stepped back and addressed Alistair. “Your brother, Roderick Afghan, to see you, sir.”
Hello Good Dogs!
Let's JUMP right in to the good news!
ACHIEVED! - At $40,000 in Funding - JUMPSTART PDF - An introductory scenario designed to introduce new players to the game, along with ready-made characters and a basic rules overview, will be created as a Jumpstart PDF supplement and added as a bonus to the rewards list of all backers receiving the Realms of Pugmire PDF.
With our latest achievement, we've unlocked every Stretch Goal posted thus far. So... let's fetch some new ones!
We're in the middle of the campaign, which are usually a Kickstarter projects "quiet plateau." We've got a few traditional Onyx Path milestone markers to help us keep pace through these quieter times to keep our enthusiasm up as we move forward.
At $42,000 in Funding– DIGITAL WALLPAPER – Exciting Realms of Pugmire artwork will be used to create a wallpaper for your computer desktop. This digital wallpaper will be added to the rewards list of all Kickstarter backers supporting this project.
At $44,000 in Funding - MOBILE WALLPAPER – Realms of Pugmire artwork will be used to create a wallpaper for your mobile device lockscreen. This mobile wallpaper will be added to the rewards list of all Kickstarter backers supporting this project.
At $46,000 in Funding – VTT BUNDLE – As a bonus, all backers of this project will receive a Realms of Pugmire VTT Token and map bundle containing Pugmire Core Rules (1E) VTT Assets, Pugmire Base Set Tokens, and The Secret of Vinsen’s Tomb VTT Assets.
Hopefully we'll move through these quiet times quickly and be able to unveil a few more Stretch Goals before the end!
Please continue to spread the word and share this project in your social circles and on your social media!
Hello Good Doggos,
And welcome to Curious Cats and Motivated Mice! If you're checking out this post and reading the page to decide to back or not, I've got a few more pieces of excitement to share to help you make up your mind. After these links, we're going to have a sneak peek at the next section of manusript, which will provide some information about the "Rival Species" of Cats, Rodents, Badgers, Reptiles, and Birds from the Pugmire perspective.
If you want to know more about the evolution of this game and updates from first edition, here are some great resources to dig in to (links taken from our main page):
Here are some new bits and pieces to add to those links from our main page. Eddy and the Red Moon Roleplaying team have posted their second session in their Realms of Pugmire Actual Play, Tower of the Oliphant! It's great.
Next, Rich talks about the Realms of Pugmire and answers some of your questions in the latest Monday Meeting Notes blog <here>.
Eddy will be a gusit on the Extra Credits Twitch channel next week. You can catch him twice on
Visit their Twitch channel here: https://www.twitch.tv/extracredits
And finally, we've unlocked another Stretch Goal!
ACHIEVED! - At $38,000 in Funding - REDBUBBLE PET DESIGNS – A Realms of Pugmire design will be hosted on Onyx Path’s Redbubble store and made available on pet merchandise, including pet mats, pet blankets, and pet bandanas. Backers will be notified when these options become available.
If you haven't joined in yet, now is the perfect time! We're working together to unlock our next Stretch Goal, which will add brand new content to the rewards list for all doggos who have pledged to have the PDF as part of their rewards list. We're very close, and YOU can help us hit this target!
At $40,000 in Funding - JUMPSTART PDF - An introductory scenario designed to introduce new players to the game, along with ready-made characters and a basic rules overview, will be created as a Jumpstart PDF supplement and added as a bonus to the rewards list of all backers receiving the Realms of Pugmire PDF.
Now let's preview our next Manuscript Preview, coming on February 7th.
Dogs are not the only species in the world. There are others with vastly different goals, cultures, and agendas from the dogs, which often puts them at odds. The cats, rodents, reptiles, and birds are the most commonly seen by dogs, but there are others. The badger clans rule the wild lands outside the kingdom, while families of rabbits work the land. The world is wide and can encompass many wonders left behind by the Old Ones.
Yosha says: I firmly believe no species is inherently evil. They might take actions or hold beliefs that cause problems for dogs, but that doesn’t mean they need to be exterminated. Individuals can be bad, certainly, but just because someone is a cat doesn’t make them a bad dog.
Jack Terrier adds: What Yosha’s trying to say is this is all a generalized account from the perspective of the dogs in Pugmire. That doesn’t mean every person from a particular species acts the same. I’ve got some great rat friends I trade stories and plastic with, and there are some cats I would stab the moment I saw their whiskers again. Don’t be surprised if each of these species has their own perspective of dogs.
The dogs’ main rivals are cats. Cats are very individualistic, which is often at odds with the community-focused nature of the dogs. Further, there was a nasty war between Pugmire and the Monarchies of Mau a few decades ago, and things are still tense between the two nations today.
The Monarchies of Mau are a confederation of independent city-states. These autonomous groups work against each other’s interests as much as those of other species. Over the centuries, six different cat monarchies have formed into a coalition of houses that work with and against each other in a complex political web: House Angora, House Cymric, House Korat, House Mau, House Rex, and House Siberian. Because of such intrigues, cats have both a surname and a house name: Zola Mau von Korat, for example, means “Zola Mau, declaring allegiance to House Korat.”
I have some experience with cats, so while I won’t tell you everything about the cat houses, I can give you a quick overview.
Aside from the six houses, there are other minor houses, organizations, and the like that desire a say in the government of the monarchies. These (and those cats with no house) are all part of the Shadow Bloc, a group with no unified structure or agenda beyond agreeing that they deserve a seat at the table.
In general, I suggest staying clear of cat politics, but if you want to get your paws dirty, that should help you keep some of the various agendas straight.
Outside of the war, there are other reasons why dogs might not trust cats. In particular, some cats are believed to practice necromancy, using magic to see spirits and manipulate the dead. This leads some dogs to believe cats are unwholesome and willing to defile corpses for their purposes. Because of this prejudice, many cats who have left the Monarchies (moggies, the cat equivalent to strays) have difficulty finding legitimate work within Pugmire and are forced into less savory occupations. Cat burglars, spies, and assassins are not uncommon, and thus many dogs assume all cats are inclined to such nefarious pursuits.
In equal parts dismissed and vilified, rats and mice (collectively called rodents) live in the margins of civilization. Cats and dogs have had rivalries with rodents for as long as they’ve had conflicts with each other. However, rodents don’t have a city or empire that can be attacked or negotiated with (or perhaps they used to — some rodents whisper stories of a city that was lost generations ago).
Instead, rodents are explorers of a different kind, living in old ruins, mines, caves, and even entire underground villages. They search endlessly for what they call shinies, attractive objects they sometimes trade to other species in exchange for food and shelter. What constitute a shiny seems arbitrary to dogs — a mouse is just as likely to trade for an old notebook as they are for a nice bit of plastic. There are also whispers rodents use these shinies to refine strange mental powers, but many dogs just consider these to be rumors.
Some rodents who choose to live in kingdoms like Pugmire form criminal enterprises, using their treasure to gain power and leverage over others. These rodents believe they’ll never get fair treatment from cats and dogs, so they do whatever it takes to survive… which reinforces the stereotype of the shifty rat.
Some of the rodents’ negative reputation comes from a group of fanatics that live within rodent society. Calling themselves the Cult of Labo Tor, these rats and mice have found a higher purpose: the worship of Man’s 100 Theories. These self-proclaimed White Mice wear white robes and bleach patches of their fur white, and they believe the 100 Theories can only be discovered through the science of Man — although to them, “science” means capturing other people and subjecting them to horrific and often deadly experiments. Most rodents reject the White Mice, but the cult’s secretive nature, combined with the natural reticence of the rodents, makes it hard for outsiders to tell the difference between honest mice and devout psychopaths.
The badgers (also comprised of other polecats) are scavengers. They don’t seek to build a civilization as much as take what they can to survive. Some clans of badgers prefer to live in abandoned areas rather than taking by force, but they usually end up in competition with the rodents, leading them to desperate (and violent) action. Badgers may be seen as violent barbarians by most dogs, but the truth is far different.
Badgers have a rich culture of their own, with several clans uniting only a few years ago under one king, Kibu the Red. They can be deeply superstitious. Like dogs, they fear the Unseen, but unlike dogs, nearly any bad luck can be filed away under that heading — bad weather, a rumbling in the forest, the loss of a favored weapon, or the death of a loved one.
Recently, Kibu offered a gift to unite the clans, and soon after many badgers were suddenly able to speak and understand the common language of other species. The language they used to use is still available, and some badgers prefer to use it (such as when they want to exclude outsiders), but many of the miscommunications that used to occur between dogs and badgers have been less frequent as of late. Still, badgers are a proud people, and do not like to be made fun of.
Reptiles live in nomadic families that generally inhabit the more arid parts of the world. They travel together in colorful caravans, acting as traders and messengers. Reptiles buy and sell items everywhere, including information. Indeed, early dog exposure to the lizard trade families have caused many to call any reptile they encounter “lizard.”
Some reptile families (like the geckos) have settled in cities built on small areas of green near the deserts of their nomadic brethren. Others, such as the turtles and serpents, prefer to move from location to location in a collection of tent cities. As they travel, they make their livings through barter, scavenging, and performing ad hoc work for other species. Most reptiles cover their faces when speaking outside of their community and use strange magic to defend themselves.
A surprising number of reptiles comprise sailing crews. The combination of their nomadic lifestyle and their adaptability to harsh environments makes them hardy sailors and pirates, allowing them to use the Acid Sea as part of their migrant (and mercantile) lifestyle.
Birds are better known to Pugmire than reptiles, partially because storytelling is so intrinsic to their culture. Even cats and dogs who haven’t ever met a bird have likely heard some of their stories, brought into the cat and dog realms via travelers and adventurers. Though many may see the stories birds tell as fabrications and fantasy, birds value truth in their stories above all else. As with most folks, though, birds also tend to see themselves as the heroes in their stories; therefore, what’s true may be up for debate at times.
Birds dress in gaudy, colorful clothing to complement their plumage. The most brightly colored birds tend to wear one or two solid colors that show off their feathers to best advantage, while the neutral-toned birds array themselves in a cacophony of hues and tones. This can be jarring even to the cats, who see birds as gaudy and obnoxiously candid. Most dogs of Pugmire admire their forthrightness and loyalty to each other, if not to the Old Ones, and find their songs and dances amusing.
The FULL TEXT of Chapter Five, which covers the setting for the Realms of Pugmire, will be available to backers on Tuesday, February 7th. This will be a big preview, and will also include Chapter 4: Magic and Chapter 7: Masterworks! It's really packed.
By next Tuesday, Backers will have access to the first 7 Chapters of the book, which covers all of the rules and setting and has all of the information players need to make dog characters for the Realms of Pugmire. The following day, on February 8th, I'll be sharing the Conversion Guide.
If you have Pugmire and want to use the newest rules presented in Realms of Pugmire, or maybe you have an adventure or supplement written for Pugmire, and want to update the material? This Guide should help you get a sense of what needs to be changed chapter-by-chapter between Pugmire and Realms of Pugmire. This should give you a good start on converting most everything from the previous books.
Coming on our final Tuesday, Feb 21st, Backers will have the complete text for the book, including the Appendix. One of the most common questions players new to Realms of Pugmire ask is “Can I play a cat?” Yes, you can! Detailed rules for cat player characters will be available in a possible future book, Cats of Pugmire, but if someone wants to play a cat right meow, we’ll give you some suggestions on how to use the rules presented in this book to give a rough approximation of a cat character. We’ll even throw in some guidelines for rat and mouse characters to boot while you’re waiting to get the eventual Rodents of Pugmire book!
If you haven't already joined, or even if you have and you still want more information, check out these Backer downloads when they become available. Another thing to remember - we'll be sharing a link for a Feedback Form, so you can help make these bits even better by sharing your input directly with Eddy and his team of developers and writers.
The Realms of Pugmire has been built bit-by-bit over the past 8 years. Together we can continue exploring and expanding this world and game! Thanks for your continued support! Please remember to share this campaign on your social media and in your social circles and let's see if we can't unlock another Fetch Goal or two before the end!