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Flora shivered in her thin nightgown, clutching the lace shawl tight around her shoulders. Her bare feet scarcely made a sound on the icy marble floor, yet the stillness of the hour threw every creak and moan of the deserted manor into sharp relief. Flora almost regretted staying at Starkhollow Hall over winter break. The empty corridors and lonely rooms lent the school a desolate air, and the bleak winter days cast deep shadows that stretched long into the evening. Yet, Flora knew this might be her only opportunity to learn the truth about the eerie music that floated from the ballroom late at night. With the other students gone, and only a handful of staff remaining, she was largely left to her own devices, which gave her plenty of time to explore.
The flame of her candle flickered and jumped as she carefully padded across the Great Hall toward the ballroom doors. As she approached, the high, piercing wail of a violin echoed from within, joined by a thin, reedy voice rising to accompany it in an unknown language. Steeling herself, Flora took a deep breath and extended a trembling hand toward the worn brass doorknob. As the door swung open to reveal what was inside, Flora bit back a scream as the flame of her candle suddenly winked out, plunging her into darkness...
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Starkhollow Hall is an investigative, gothic fiction-inspired tabletop roleplaying game set in a remote girls' boarding school. It builds upon the GUMSHOE SRD (a product of Pelgrane Press, developed, written, and edited by Robin D. Laws with additional material by Kenneth Hite, and licensed for use under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License), allowing characters to investigate their spooky surroundings, and uncover clues to Starkhollow Hall's many mysteries. Starkhollow Hall prioritizes exploration and discovery, and is packed full of atmospheric locations, colorful characters, and supernatural secrets. The system streamlines investigation and builds upon information discovered by the players in a dramatic, holistic way, making it the perfect foundation for a mystery-horror game.
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Gothic fiction describes a form of literature that emerged in the mid-18th century and continued to grow in popularity through the Victorian era. A genre focused on the salacious and macabre, it pioneered a number of horror tropes that remain in use today. Gothic fiction is atmospheric, romantic, mysterious, and concerned with humanity's darker aspects, along with spiritual or supernatural occurrences that defy rational explanation. Many famous protagonists of gothic fiction are innocent and impressionable young women, who must discover ways to outwit villains or survive perilous circumstances. Starkhollow Hall draws upon this tradition by making player characters students at a crumbling, isolated boarding school for inconvenient and wayward girls. If you love Crimson Peak, Penny Dreadful or The Haunting of Bly Manor, then Starkhollow Hall is the perfect game for you.
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Starkhollow Hall is a participant of Zine Month 2022 (aka "Zimo"), and the print game will be released as a black and white, 5.5 x 8.5, ~48-page booklet; similar to the gothic novels and Victorian "penny dreadful" serials that inspired it! The core book contains character creation and setting information, rules for play, and tips for GMing campaigns or stand-alone games.
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(A Starkhollow Hall Mystery)
Flowers Withered on the Stem is a short adventure that takes place in Starkhollow Hall. In it, players seek to discover the sinister truth behind a fellow student's feverish waking nightmares. In their search for answers, the characters will unearth long-buried secrets about the history of Starkhollow Hall, and perhaps even unravel one of the school's greatest mysteries.
Flowers Withered on the Stem is available in both PDF and zine format, and is included with the "Prefect," "Headmistress," and "Haunt" perks.
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$6 - Student
(Starkhollow Hall PDF)
Backers who choose this perk will receive a PDF copy of Starkhollow Hall, and their name will be included in the list of backers in the book!
$12 - Prefect
(Starkhollow Hall PDF + Flowers Withered on the Stem PDF)
Backers who choose this perk will receive both the Starkhollow Hall PDF and the Flowers Withered on the Stem mystery adventure PDF. Their name will also be included in the list of backers in the book!
$12 - Professor
(Starkhollow Hall PDF + Starkhollow Hall Zine)
Backers who choose this perk will receive a 5.5 x 8.5 physical copy of the Starkhollow Hall zine, a PDF copy of Starkhollow Hall, and their name will be included in the list of backers in the book!
$24 - Headmistress
(Starkhollow Hall PDF + Starkhollow Hall Zine + Flowers Withered on the Stem PDF + Flowers Withered on the Stem Zine)
Backers who choose this perk will receive a PDF copy of Starkhollow Hall, a PDF copy of Flowers Withered on the Stem, the Starkhollow Hall and Flowers Withered on the Stem zines, and their name will be listed as a backer in the book!
$120 - Haunt (Only 10 Available)
(Starkhollow Hall PDF + Starkhollow Hall Zine + Flowers Withered on the Stem PDF + Flowers Withered on the Stem Zine + Flowers Withered on the Stem Mystery Box)
Backers who choose this perk will get both PDFs, both zines, and their name will be listed in the book. They will also receive a box of lovingly handcrafted props and ephemera to enhance the Flowers Withered on the Stem mystery adventure!
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SHIPPING IS INCLUDED FOR ALL USA BACKERS!
Both domestic and international shipping is available, but international backers should be aware that shipping rates are very high outside of the United States right now, due to the pandemic. First Class international postage rates begin at $14.25, and may include additional VAT and customs fees.
INTERNATIONAL SHIPPING WILL BE COLLECTED IN BACKERKIT AFTER THE CAMPAIGN ENDS!
International shipping will be collected via a new Backerkit feature that allows postage to be charged later, when rewards are ready to ship. By doing this, we hope to provide international backers the fairest rate possible, since shipping costs are currently in a state of flux.
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The first draft of Starkhollow Hall is already written and Flowers Withered on the Stem has been fully outlined. Covers for both books are also complete, as is most internal artwork. After the campaign closes, the manuscript will be sent for editing, and writing will begin on Flowers Withered on the Stem. Additional art and layout for both books should happen in the summer, while crafting items for the "Haunt" perk will occur monthly until all ten Mystery Boxes are ready to ship. Fulfillment is currently scheduled for December 2022, and backers will receive monthly updates as the project progresses.
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Drowning Moon Studios is an independent publisher of tabletop roleplaying games founded by Joie Martin (that's me). We have completed two successful crowdfunding campaigns thus far for Mage to Order, a humorous game about magical maintenance workers in a sprawling technomagical city, and Follow Me Down, a two-player Powered by the Apocalypse game inspired by the myth of Orpheus and Eurydice. We are currently in the process of fulfilling Follow Me Down, while we have completed fulfillment for Mage to Order (for more information on how Follow Me Down will impact fulfillment of Starkhollow Hall, please check our FAQ). To learn about Drowning Moon Studios, or to see our other titles, visit our website, our itch and DTRPG pages, or follow us on Twitter.
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It's not a secret that the pandemic has brought some unique challenges. Because supply chains are currently a mess, there's no guarantee that anything will occur in a timely fashion. To hopefully make fulfillment easier, We've elected to use US-based company Mixam for zine printing, and chosen to keep this crowdfunding campaign as simple as possible. There are no stretch goals or physical add-ons, which minimizes production time, and all of the props for the "Haunt" tier are things I can (and have) made in my own home. Shipping rates and wait times are the one area where things can get a little hairy, but we're hoping those will stabilize by the end of 2022.
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As previously mentioned, Starkhollow Hall is proud to be a part of Zine Month 2022. There are numerous other amazing games and designers who are crowdfunding right now. Take a peek at the Zimo website for links to those campaigns, or for additional information about Zine Month itself!
Finally, if backing Starkhollow Hall isn't an option, please consider sharing this campaign on social media or discussing it with your friends. Crowdfunding campaigns are always more successful when there's word of mouth, and this is a small thing you can do to help bring Starkhollow Hall to life.
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