Ever since I started The Folio I've wanted to take a different look at gaming and go back to the heady days of the late 70s and early 80s and robust swords & sorcery storytelling. When I was a kid life was different, tropes were different and seemingly more acceptable, and I wanted to create a Folio line that brought some of that era back into the light.
The Folio: Black Label is going to have a more adult edge than is found in the standard Folio, and yes, there might be some nudity, and maybe some horror, and maybe a twisted quality here or there, but at the base its really just about the unfettered fun of hacking and slashing your way through a pulp style adventure with blatant evil doers, magical treasures, and exposed flesh.
So, I'm throwing out the playbook for 2019, and turning the flux capacitor back to the early days of gaming. I hope some of you will join me.
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Why Digital Only? I'm sure some of you will immediately ask why this project is PDF only. Well, I'm not sure of the response the project will get, so going digital allows me to at least create the product I want with incurring the weight of a print run. HOWEVER, if you check the stretch goals, you will see that at $4000 there will be a limited edition, signed and numbered, print run of 100 copies of this product (I will open new Perks levels for all three current Perks so that everyone gets a chance to have a shot at these 100). If we make it, you will have the ability to upgrade your pledge level to get one of those copies, so keep that in mind.
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Great Cover, who did it? Well, it is an incredible painting by former TSR artist Daniel Horne! If you want to check out more of his incredible work, and help him continue to paint awesome fantasy, why not check out his GoFundMe that is currently running! You can find it here: https://www.gofundme.com/keep-classic-painted-fantasy-art-alive
Who is this adventure for?: It will be based around classic AD&D gaming mechanics, while also have 'grey' stat and treasure blocks for 5th Edition D&D, so it is easily playable in BOTH formats. It has been designed for 6-8 characters, roughly 3rd through 5th, and will include a Virtual Table Top map without secret doors, traps, and numbers.
What does the adventure for The Sins of the Three Sisters revolve around? Well, this will be a standard swords & sorcery based adventure that is based around a corrupted swamp with three old temples that are plaguing the lands with undead, monsters, and dark magic. The initial adventure will include 1 temple for exploration, but additional stretch goals can also provide temple #2 and temple #3, thus make the 'three sisters'.
What are all the other Folio products? Although this is currently a purely digital product, the bulk of my Folio adventure series has been in physical form and can be found at artofthegenre.com. For the purposes of some of the upper pledge levels, these previously produced adventures are offered in their PDF formats. Thus far, there have been 20 Folio standard removable cover adventures, and 5 hardcover Folio books (3 compile and reprint the Folio campaigns, and 2 are gaming supplements). You can see more about these products in the video below.
For the $75 Pledge, what are the 'Orange Spine' books?: These 'Complete' volume PDFs include not only all the information from 6 Folio adventure modules, but also 6 or more 'mini-adventure' supplements added for extra content, iconic character cards that are playable, and a gazetteer supplement that defines the world the adventure takes place in. Also included is the Storyteller's Arcana, a 128 page DM & Player guide of my own tips and experiences in 30 years of gaming, and the Folio of Fiendish Monsters with 115 new monsters. ALL these books are in in both AD&D and 5th Edition D&D formats.
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*TRADEMARK DISCLAIMER
"D&D" and "AD&D" are trademarks of Wizards of the Coast, LLC. Art of the Genre is not affiliated with Wizards of the Coast LLC. We make no claim to, or challenge to, such trademarks.
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$1000: [SUCCESS!] Inclusion of a second temple compound effectively doubling the size of the adventure.
$1500: [SUCCESS!] Centerfold! Inclusion of a centerfold of one of the infamous Three Sisters!
$2000: [SUCCESS!] Inclusion of a third temple compound effectively adding another 1/3rd content to the adventure.
$3000: 3D Map of Temple #1!
$3250: 3D Map of Temple #2!
$3500: 3D Map of Temple #3!
$4000: Limited edition print run of 100 signed and numbered copies of The Folio: Black Label #1
Risks & Rewards:
Since 2012, Art of the Genre has run over 50 successful crowd-funding campaigns, delivering 8 fantasy and science fiction novels, 20 Folios adventures, and many other small projects over that 7 year span.
This is a personal passion project for all the authors and artists involved, so we are as anxious as our backers to see these volumes become a reality as quickly as possible, however, life does sometimes have delays, and crowd-funding must understand that, but our track record should prove we always get out products out to our supporters as soon a humanly possible.
