Latest from the Creator
PROJECT UPDATE
The World Anvil Publishing
CREATOR
6 days ago
Project Update: December Update
Hello Mercenaries,
TL;DR: We made some changes to how Tarots will work in the game.
A word from the designer
For this update I asked Alberto Tronchi, the designer of Valraven: The Chronicles of Blood and Iron, to explain his work on the Tarot Deck, and here's what he had to say:
Working on the Valraven Tarot Deck was a fascinating design challenge, as I decided early on to make them an integral part of the setting, rather than just a game tool. I began by exploring their history within the setting, and, as with everything arcane in the world of Valraven, there are two versions of the story: the one passed down through legends and folklore to ordinary people, and the truth known only to those privy to the secrets of magic.
From a design perspective, I reworked how the cards are used because playtesting revealed overlaps in certain types of draws, particularly between those made by the Players and those made by the Master of Chronicles. Now, the Tarots are always divided into three decks: Major Arcana, Minor Arcana, and Faction Arcana, and their use is always tied to the context. The Major Arcana provide fundamental information tied to the archetypal meanings of the cards, the Minor Arcana expand with additional details, while the Faction Arcana situate the outcomes within the setting.
The Major Arcana are used by the Chronicler both before and during Sessions to determine the outcome of certain events, such as battles, NPC or Faction objectives. The creation of Supporting NPCs can also be enhanced by drawing cards from the Minor Arcana, which provide questions for the Players and define the NPC’s Traits, Flaws, and Unique Characteristics. Before the Session, the Chronicler can always rely on the Tarots to flesh out NPCs, locations, battles, and missions.
As mentioned, the Tarots are also a tangible element of Valraven’s setting, and the rules for Players include three new Dark Past Gifts directly tied to the Tarots. Through these Gifts, a Character can use the Tarot in-game to produce a variety of effects, manipulate fate, or allow themselves to be guided by the cards in fulfilling their destiny. The result is a duality where the Tarots weave the threads of fate behind the scenes when used by the Chronicler and openly manifests their power in play when used by the Players.
We’re still working on the final design of the Tarots, so that will be the focus of a future reveal.
Unboxing for Lost Stories
Those of you who added Broken Tales: Lost Stories to their pledge will be happy to see how it turned out in this unboxing video.
Our next game
Bitter Chalice is an adventure role-playing game set in a desolate fantasy world. The story takes place in the Blighted Lands surrounding the once lush and now cursed city of Vathan, where the inhabitants are condemned to a life of thirst, hunger, and madness.
Bitter Chalice is structured to be a different experience to traditional TTRPGs: think of it as one huge, highly curated game campaign that comes with its own rules. The game aims to evoke the feel of a TTRPG Soulslike: an intoxicating and challenging journey into a dark, immersive world inspired by Hollow Knight, Bloodborne, Elden Ring, and Dark Souls—but without the relentless fight/die/repeat loop.
We've created a 42-page overview that you can download for free HERE.
If you like what you see, you can:
- Bookmark the Kickstarter page (this actually helps us)
- Get two Harry Conway (Magic the Gathering, D&D) art prints for FREE on top of any physical pledge you make during the campaign, just by signing up HERE (use the same email you use for your Kickstarter account)
Reminders
- You can always access your Pledge Manager survey from HERE. Orders are locked but get in touch if you need changes.
- The Late Pledge for Valraven is HERE.
- You can find us on our Discord server, visit our website and store, like our Facebook page (The World Anvil Publishing), follow our Bluesky account, get the key news from Telegram, check out our Instagram channel, or see Actual Plays and more from our YouTube channel.
– Tommaso
PROJECT UPDATE
The World Anvil Publishing
CREATOR
about 1 month ago
Project Update: #20 - November Update
Hello Mercenaries,
TL;DR: Work is proceeding, we reached some important milestones.
Project Status
We've recently reached a milestone in the project, namely we've finished reorganizing the Core Book for a better reading flow that takes into account all the feedback we've received over the years since the original release. Alberto has also added some new sections where necessary. Last night we approved all the changes and the Core Book is now in the translation queue.
Speaking of translations, I've made some progress, with the extended version of Widmar's Destiny now 100% complete, but I have to say that real life has got a bit in the way, as I've simultaneously changed my day job, joining Sixmorevodka as Project Lead for the upcoming Orken campaign, moved into a new flat AND am about to have a second child. So yeah, there's a lot on my plate at the moment. However, I have managed to find a few hours a day to continue my work on Valraven, which I hope to accelerate during the December holidays.
All our activities with The World Anvil Publishing are going on as usual, so you can expect us to talk about a new game soon enough.
Having said that, below is a layout test made by Matteo Carioni, who will be joining the project to help out when all the material is ready. The images will probably change, but he has made some small changes to the original layout that I think make the text feel more compact than before (ignore the white lines breaking up images, this is an export with print settings).
Alberto is halfway through completing the rules for the Tarots, and we have made some changes to make them cooler to use at the table, but more on that in the next update when we can (hopefully) show you the first cards.
Reminders
- The second Broken Tales expansion, Lost Stories, is now available for preorder on our store. PDFs available immediately.
- You can always access your Pledge Manager survey from HERE.
- The Late Pledge for Valraven is HERE.
- You can find us on our Discord server, visit our website and store, like our Facebook page (The World Anvil Publishing), follow our Twitter (X) account, get the key news from Telegram, check out our Instagram channel, or see Actual Plays and more from our YouTube channel.
- Tommaso
PROJECT UPDATE
The World Anvil Publishing
CREATOR
2 months ago
Project Update: More Rewards PDFs now available!
Hello Mercenaries,
Just a quick update to let you know that all PDF copies of non-Valraven rewards (ie: other games) have been sent out via Backerkit. If you added Broken Tales, Dead Air: Seasons or anything else to your order, you can now download the PDF. Some of them have been available for weeks, but ahem, I forgot to hit the notification button. However, I've just added all the Lost Stories PDFs, so there's that.
If you haven't received a download that you think you should have, please get in touch, but check your spam folder first, or I'll spend the next week on customer support, probably just telling you to check your spam folder.
Reminder
- We’re looking for players for a Play by Discord Valraven game: read all about it here.
- You can always access your Pledge Manager survey from HERE.
- The Late Pledge for Valraven is HERE.
- You can find us on our Discord server, visit our website and store, like our Facebook page (The World Anvil Publishing), follow our Twitter (X) account, get the key news from Telegram, check out our Instagram channel, or see Actual Plays and more from our YouTube channel.
- Tommaso
PROJECT UPDATE
The World Anvil Publishing
CREATOR
3 months ago
Project Update: #18 - October Update
Hello Mercenaries,
TL;DR: Work is progressing as expected, translation is running in parallel and will be accelerated starting this month, we're testing a new collaborator for layout, and I'm planning to host a Play by Discord game of Valraven, read below for more info!
Status update
Time flies when you're having fun, and we're already in October, so it's time for another update. Alberto is finishing up the restructuring of the Core Book, which is more extensive than originally planned, making this pretty much a new edition of the game rather than a simple translation. He should be done next week, and will then move on to finishing the Tarot deck. I've continued translating the Scenarios: we have one new one finished and one in progress.
As we send our previous crowdfunding project, Broken Tales: Lost Stories, to the printer in the next ten days or so, I fully plan on accelerating my translation work once the files have left my hard drive and all we can do is wait for the books to be printed. If you added Lost Stories as an add-on to this campaign, you'll also receive the final digital files before the end of the month. If you missed that completely, you can still access the Late Pledge, but be fast! It closes on October 6th.
I've been talking to a new potential collaborator about helping with the layout: he's now got the files to try things out, and I'll hopefully get the first tests in the next few days. If all goes well, I expect this will speed up the workflow and allow me to delegate some of the work, as the current amount is enough for 2-3 people.
I've been talking to a new potential collaborator about helping with the layout: he's now got the files to try things out, and I'll hopefully get the first tests in the next few days. If all goes well, I expect this will speed up the workflow and allow me to delegate some of the work, as the current amount is enough for 2-3 people.
I want to play a game
(Imagine this in the Saw puppet voice)
We have had some success with Play by Discord games on our server, with both Broken Tales and Dead Air: Seasons, and I'm itching for a Valraven game as well.
We have had some success with Play by Discord games on our server, with both Broken Tales and Dead Air: Seasons, and I'm itching for a Valraven game as well.
Play by Discord works a bit like the old Play by Forum games: I write a move, players respond in the next day or so, and the game continues. The game system lends itself well to this, this style of play can ignore time zone differences, and it's also easy for others to follow along if they wish.
I'm now calling for up to four players, with priority given to those who haven't played with me before. If you are interested in trying Valraven out and want to know how this works in detail, join the #game-sessions-eng channel on our server, look for this specific announcement, and let me know.
Reminders
- You can always access your Pledge Manager survey from HERE.
- The Late Pledge for Valraven is HERE.
- You can find us on our Discord server, visit our website and store, like our Facebook page (The World Anvil Publishing), follow our Twitter (X) account, get the key news from Telegram, check out our Instagram channel, or see Actual Plays and more from our YouTube channel.
- Tommaso
PROJECT UPDATE
The World Anvil Publishing
CREATOR
4 months ago
Project Update: #17 - Sancta Sanctorum Ashcan Preview
Hello Mercenaries,
TL;DR: I have a small ashcan preview to show. Work is proceeding as planned. We’ve printed a couple of Add-Ons and we have the picture.
Status update
Work is going more or less according to plan. The team had summer vacations with different schedules, but with the 1st of September everyone is back on the normal schedule.
Alberto has been implementing all the fixes and suggestions we have collected over the years, which will result in less ambiguous texts for some Gifts and some additional clarifications. We also decided to add a brand new section that delves into massive battles, with clear examples of how to handle the situation while still keeping your players at the center of the game.
The next part is the most daunting and has to do with a reorganization of the Core Book flow, which we know is a bit scattered in the original Italian version of the game. Basically, we're trying to avoid introducing a concept that hasn't already been explained when discussing another mechanic. There were good reasons for structuring the book this way (mostly: TTRPG books are also reference books, and linear reading is not necessarily a priority), but since we figured out how to do it with the following games, Broken Tales and Dead Air: Seasons, we think it would be beneficial to use that approach here as well. This means a lot of cutting and pasting, working on the outline, and some rewriting.
Meanwhile, I've started my translation work on the parts of the game that won't be affected by this reorganization. More on that below.
I'm also in talks to get some outside help on layout, which would be very welcome and would free me from a massive amount of work in early 2025 (we're looking at 600+ pages when including everything). Nothing is set in stone yet, but things are happening.
Sancta Sanctorum, the ashcan preview
Look, I have to be honest here: the most efficient way to deliver the game in the least amount of time is to give you zero previews, especially when it comes to layout. Previews are a distraction and tend to slow down everything else. Still, I think you deserve to see a little more of the juicy stuff, so I came up with this compromise: I can share ashcan (text only) versions of some files much earlier than I could if I had to wait for layout.
The first one I want to send out is Sancta Sanctorum, a one-shot Scenario written by our friend Claudio Serena of Fumble GdR (you may know Not the End, which had SIX nominations at this year's ENNIEs).
I love this Scenario because it perfectly captures the mood of Inquisition/Mozgus-era Berserk, it's quick to play but lends itself to a lot of cool scenes, and it can be played with the characters and rules you'll find in the Valraven's Quickstart.
If you like the ashcan approach to getting your hands on some early previews, please let me know in the comments and we may do it again in the coming months.
Sancta Sanctorum is a Scenario included in the Book of Eclipse - you will receive an email from Backerkit with a download link to the ashcan version if:
- You have backed at a level that includes the Book of Eclipse
- Your survey has been completed and all outstanding fees have been paid.
I know that some of you did not include the Book of Eclipse in your pledge, and the Pledge Manager is now closed: if you want to remedy this, contact me at [email protected] and I'll be able to help.
Monad Echo SRD and Ruin, now printed!
We recently received the printed copies for the English edition of the Monad Echo SRD and its hack to play in the vein of Darkest Dungeon, Ruin. These are some of our most popular free downloads, they are meant to give you an idea of what the system of Valraven can do, and now you can see them in all their physical glory.
If you didn't add them to your order as Add-Ons and now want them, contact me at [email protected] and I'll be able to reopen your order.
Cheers!
Reminders
- You can always access the Pledge Manager from HERE.
- The Late Pledge for Valraven is HERE.
- You can find us on our Discord server, visit our website and store, like our Facebook page (The World Anvil Publishing), follow our Twitter (X) account, get the key news from Telegram, check out our Instagram channel, or see Actual Plays and more from our YouTube channel.
