A medieval fantasy setting where writing is taboo: Arlo The Artisan, the first module compatible with Notorious Style TTRPG.
Arlo's story and Ilse of Elys is expertly told by Victoria Dumeng, illustrated by Clément Filleul.
Arlo The Artisan is a setting you can use in any rule light fantasy game, and as a module for Notorious Style.
The high society uses craftspeople like Arlo to produce their fancy clothes, tapestry and all kind of art, yet writing word are nowhere to be seen. Through Arlo's eyes we discover the old ruins that populate the Isle of Elys hides an ancient script. That discovery will change Arlo's life when he realise that the script has magical properties and that others are aware of its secret too!
Is this script the reason some are wealthier than others? Is this the reason that writing is taboo? And what are you going to do with the script's knowledge and power?
In the pamphlet, you'll get the following that can be used in any rule light game:
Arlo's background, that you can use as a playable character or NPC.
The map of Ilse of Elys, fully illustrated.
Illustrations of some of the prominent places.
Some of its notorious inhabitant to use as NPCs
Oracles to generate NPC/antagonist, their knowledge of the secret, and who they side with.
A hand writing style font saying Compatible with Notorious Style.
You'll also find rules and oracle to play Notorious Style in Arlo's world:
A Playbook that reflect Arlo's charater.
New moves to understand this powerful script and to use it.
Arlo has his mother’s artistic soul and his father’s practical skill, but his impatience makes for a poor tailor. He strives to be an artisan, inspired by Raelynn’s teaching, and often practices on the walls of dirt-pathed, labyrinthine alleyways.
When Arlo stumbles upon a ruin in Cadence, he recognizes a script used on high society clothing. He adopts the script into his work, and, when strange events occur within Acros’s alleyways, Arlo realizes there's more to these ‘blessings’ than the wealthy are sharing.
The words The team written in a calligraphy pen font
Arlo the Artisan is the culmination of the work done by many hands. Strictly no AI was used in this project or any of Colourful Name's project for matter
Clément Filleul: Illustrations and Graphic design.
A black and white photo of Clément Filleul wearing a cap with an anchor on it
Clément is a designer from Brittany, France, with a soft spot for murals and some real technical chops. You can find Clément's portfollio here.
Victoria Dumeng: Lore and Setting writing.
A photo of Victoria Dumeng, sitting in a grass field looking at the viewer
Hey there! My name is Victoria, and I’m a writer, illustrator, and creative. My preferred genres to both enjoy and create are action, adventure, queer fantasy, and I currently have two WIPs that I hope to bring about as written and/or visual novels. Long backstory short, I had studied Illustration in college and only just rediscovered my passion and a renewed mindset towards being an artist thanks to my time home during Covid.
My recent favorite things have been Baldur’s Gate III (I’m actually entirely new to the TTRPG world), the newest Sherlock Holmes games by Frogwares, and the TV series Murdoch Mysteries. ‘Outside’ of my creative hobbies, I enjoy dance, boxing, fitness, and homemade paper crafts like scrapbook/notebook making. While I work a full-time job now, I’m hoping to build a life solely around my creative interests and to be a support for others who wish to craft lives that promote self-expression and honor the unique rhythms we have as individuals.
An illustration of a pond with with water lilies. Just above the horizon a single eye radiating gold circles and stars
Dona Vajgand is a freelance illustrator, concept artist and designer. Her vibrant work is inspired by nature, the fantastic, and the surreal. She has a rich background working on graphics for video games, and frequently collaborates with live streamers on creating hand-drawn images and animations for the broadcasts. Other interests include reading, gaming, and journaling.
A hooded person wearing glasses, also the design of the Nerd playbook in Notorious Style
FRAUD can be found playing a variety of games from light card games to 90s wargames, to heavy euros and of course TTRPGS. When not trying to get computers to work, they obsess on game design. This is FRAUD's 3rd corwdfunding after Notorious Style and ZIMO's getting up, both of which were delivered on time!
The words Pledge Levels written in a calligraphy pen
Here is the list of pledges, and why you'd want to back at that level
Shipping and Shipping Fees
See Shipping at the bottom of the page.
€4: Arlo's Pamphlet - Digital only
You get a digital copy of Arlo The Artisan. It will include digital version of any other material unlocked during the campaign.
€5: Arlo's Pamphlet - Physical and Digital
You get a physical copy of Arlo The Artisan. It will include digital version of any other material unlocked during the campaign.
€15: Arlo's Pamphlet + Notorious Style - Digital only
You get a digital version only of Arlo The Artisan and a digital version Notorious Style. It will include digital version of any other material unlocked during the campaign.
€20: Arlo's Pamphlet + Notorious Style - Physical and Digital
You get a physical copy of Arlo The Artisan and a physical copy of Notorious Style. It will include digital version of any other material unlocked during the campaign.
€1: Fly on the wall
You just want to get updates or show support. Thank you!
€2: Merchant
If you are a retailer and want to be contacted once the campaign is over, but do not want to commit just yet, that the pledge for you.
€60: Retailer Tier
For retailer only: Get 10 copies (physical and digital) of Arlo The Artisan and Notorious Style.
Notorious Style is a solo tabletop roleplaying game with journaling and drawing at its core.
It is for people who like graffiti but are new to tabletop role-playing games, as much as it is for existing tabletop gamers who are curious about graffiti culture.
The Notorious Style Zine, open on the first page showing the table of content
Notorious Style is a 36-page, self contained zine where you play a graffiti artist growing a reputation in the scene. Arlo the Artisan is a setting and Module that expand Notorious Style.
Arlo The Artisan, will come in quality paper that should last you a lifetime if you take care of it like you would for any book.
We also use the most sustainable material available to us at the time of print. That means using recycled paper certified by FSC, superior-quality vegetable-based ink, and Free and Open Source software for 90% of the task of getting that zine done.
HUMAN MADE written in big black bold letters, next to a human hand shape.
At the heart of our work is humans and that's why we never use AI in any aspect of our work. Supporting this project means you are supporting real human beings who have dreams, passions, & bills
The money raised via Backerkit if we meet our goal will be allocated as follows:
Cost breakdown, same text as bellow but with iconography to illustrate each line.
15% for backerkit fee 20% for the print run. 65% for art, illustration and page layout. Any monies collected past our funding goal and stretch goals will continue to go towards art, and used to pay for a professional playtest if/when new content is added.
The Stretch goals written in a calligraphy pen font
Locked goals
Here are all the Stretch goals remaining to be unlocked!
Stretch Goal #1: New Downloadable Character Sheet.
If we reach €200 we'll create another character sheet that matches the aesthetic of Arlo you can print at home.
Stretch Goal #2: New Downloadable NPC Sheet.
If we reach €250 we'll create another NPC sheet that matches the aesthetic of Arlo you can print at home.
Stretch Goal #3: New Downloadable Spot Sheet.
If we reach €300 we'll create another Spot sheet that matches the aesthetic of Arlo you can print at home.
Stretch Goal #4: New Downloadable Spot Table and Narrated Painters & Crews table.
If we reach €400 we'll create another Spot and NPC creation tables to match the Isle of Elys setting you can print at home.
Stretch Goal #5: New Downloadable tables.
If we reach €500 we'll create another 3 new tables like the original Motivation, Incident, and Encounter tables from Notorious Style but made to match the Isle of Elys setting, you can print at home.
Stretch Goal #6: New Downloadable Character Playbook #1.
If we reach €600 we'll create a new set of two illustrated playbooks with custom moves you can print at home.
Stretch Goal #7: New Downloadable Character Playbook #2.
If we reach €700 we'll create a new set of two illustrated playbooks with custom moves you can print at home.
Stretch Goal #8: New Downloadable Character Playbook #3.
If we reach €800 we'll create a new set of two illustrated playbooks with custom moves you can print at home.
Stretch Goal #9: New Downloadable Newspaper Add-on for Notorious Style.
If we reach €900 we'll release a digital add-on Notorious Style "The News Paper" that includes weather tables, event tables, and prompts, you can print at home.
Stretch Goal #10: Physical tier get printed version of the stretch goals.
If we reach €1000 we'll print all the digital only stretch goals and ship it with your physical pledge.
Meldar16 is coming to zine month with a solo journaling TTRPG, which is probably something you'd be interested into if you are into Arlo and Notorious Style.
A character lounging on chairs with juice flying around as they are in space with no gravity, a leaky marker on their side and Vapid Venus Ventures written in a calligraphic font.
And so, if you back both project, you'll get a little extra from them and from us. We'll have a mini game, as an add-on to the main Vapid Venus Venture game, in our style and theme.
A person wearing a space suit painting a large metalic object using a spray can. They are painting a graffiti that reads ARLO in green and purple letters
Shipping will be charged post-campaign in the Pledge Manager and will be country dependent.
EU Shipping
For the EU backers, everything will be shipped from France, therefore you will have no custom tax to pay. The shipping should be about 4€ for Arlo on its own, and 7€ for both Arlo and Notorious Style.
UK Shipping
For the UK backers, everything will be shipped from Scotland, therefore you will have no custom tax to pay. The shipping should be about 3£ for Arlo on its own, and 5£ for both Arlo and Notorious Style.
US Shipping
For the UK backers, everything will be shipped from IPR warehouse in Nevada, therefore you will have no custom tax to pay. The shipping should be about $8 for Arlo on its own, and $10 for both Arlo and Notorious Style.
Shipping to Canada
For the Canadian backers, everything is slightly in the air because of tariffs and while we originally planned to send everything from the USA, we are looking at finding a local partner to do Canadian distributions. If we cannot find a partner, we will send it from the UK at £8 for Arlo and £14 for Arlo and Notorious Style.
Shipping to the rest of the world
For people outside of the above geographies, we will send it from the UK. Depending on where you are, sending Arlo only will be between £8 and £12, sending Arlo and Notorious Style between £12 and £18. You may have to pay custom taxes on top, depending how your customs feel about letters and cardboard letters
