D&D enhanced: A 350+ page tome of kaiju battles, crafting mechanics, and player options inspired by ancient folklore and yokai legend. Published by Loot Tavern.
Latest Updates from Our Project:
April Update: Bonus Kaiju + A Surprise Gift!
7 months ago
– Thu, Apr 11, 2024 at 02:09:46 PM
Entering The Final Form!
Ryoko's Guide Enters It's Final Form!
In response to your incredible feedback and playtesting, I'm delighted to announce the writing for Ryoko's is finished! We're now in the deep trenches that is arranging and implementing the feedback, nearly 1000 pages of art, mechanics, tables, and stat blocks. I like to call this final process the "oh god, what have we done?!" part of making three books.
But we're getting there! Almost every art piece is done, and we can't wait to get it all together for you for the 1.0 release. Implementation of feedback is a big job; across both books, it's over 60 A4 pages full of changes. Concurrently, we're making a change-log of every improvement implemented so you can quickly and easily see what's new. Even then the job's not done because the final version is going to include some extra, awesome things in response to your feedback, so get ready for:
A guide for building your own kaiju! It's a step-by-step process for converting any existing stat block into an epic kaiju boss battle. Kaiju tarrasque? Kaiju Red Dragon? Kaiju kobold?! You'll now have the tools to make it happen! Even better, the step-by-step guide demonstrates the process using a stat block in Ryoko's, meaning there's now an additional kaiju stat block for you to play with in the core book, Vulnerable Areas, Behaviour table, and all!
The Ancient Ōmukade Rises!
18 bonus stat blocks, based on every subclass in Ryoko's Guide! These humanoid stat blocks are perfect for GMs looking for statted NPCs, or ways to make encounters more interesting by flavouring simple enemies with class features. Each stat block also comes with a brief guide on how it behaves in combat - it's tactics, behaviour, and character. They also make for a great way for players to hop into a game. Want to guest in a game for a few sessions? Do you have a player new to the game who wants something more streamlined while learning the basics? Grab one of these stat blocks as your character for a quick, simple, and fun way to play with everything taken care of.
Told ya that we had tons of gorgeous new art coming through!!
Thousands of improvements based on your suggestions! These include tweaks to the Element Bender to allow Benders to benefit from the Weapon Mastery system with their Elemenetal Strikes, more early game options for the Yokai Druid's Wild Shape, mechanics for the Impact property, adding Domain Spells for the Shrine Warden, and... look you gave a lot of great feedback; we have over 60 pages of notes on stuff that's been improved! We can't wait to get it out to you as soon as the arrangement is done.
Big Boi Betobeto!!
Katana Holder STL is now on Backerkit
...and it's looking beautiful! Everyone in the Digital Deluxe Tier, Deluxe Tier, and All-In Tier can download and print this bad boy from Backerkit right now. The STL is also available as an add-on if you want to pick it up. Here's a picture of one we printed!
The Coolest Dice Holder Ever? Painted by Courtney De Vries.
Coolest Dice Holder Ever! Painted by Courtney De Vries.
And on the subject of awesome of STLs....
A Surprise Bonus Kaiju Mini!!
We teamed up with the 3D-modelling superstars Archvillain Games to create another kaiju mini, and we're giving to you! Enjoy a FREE STL of Nomi, the kabuto kaiju. It's a big beetle, about 102mm tall, 89mm wide, 75mm deep; look at how awesome it is!!
Speaking of Archvillain Games, check out their upcoming Kickstarter!
Erevan’s Guide to Death and Beyondis the upcoming 5E Tome that brings you dark spells, unholy monsters, arcane craftable items, and undying mega bosses! It also comes with an uncanny new campaign for levels 1 through 10! Find out what happens after a Total Party Kill!
The book will include new death mechanics, an Undead Grafting System, more than 10 terrifying Megabosses, each with its own miniature, more than 10 Profane Lairs, each with its own gruesome mechanic, 8 new haunting races, otherworldly familiars, dark subclasses and all you need to create the best haunting, cursed stories for your games!
And the book is being designed to be wholly compatible with the Crafting and Harvesting system found in Ryoko's, Heliana's, and many other projects!
Grab a teaser PDF along with the impressive Voragheel, the Vampire Dragon mini STL to get yourself started!
If you've got any questions, or want to join the party and discuss Ryoko's with others, head on over to the #ryokos-guide channels of the Loot Tavern Discord Server.
- Will and the Team
New Subclasses, Weapon Mastery, and More! Ryoko's Guide Update!
10 months ago
– Wed, Jan 31, 2024 at 03:35:03 PM
Oh yeah, things are looking REAL good!
BETA TEST ROUND 2, BABY!
What's up fellow Ryokids! The updated Ryoko's Guide to the Yokai Realms and Wrath of the Kaiju BETA-releases are out now on Backerkit! (Note: these are updated files for the existing downloads, you will not see a new item listed on Backerkit. So All you need to do is download them again and it'll pull the updated BETA.) They include a TON more stuff (including stretch goals unlocked over the campaign) for you to explore and give feedback on! As before, this is the BETA-version, so some art may be missing or unfinalised, but the core material is ready for you to sink your teeth into! Let's talk about what's new....
"Water" you lookin' at?! - Gerry, the Isetsu Element Bender
The Weapon Mastery System
The much awaited Weapon Mastery System is now out in Ryoko's Guide! This massive expansion to the core rules brings incredible customisation to all martial characters, and makes weapon choices matter! Every weapon now plays a huge part in your character's story and gameplay, with progressive Technique Trees to explore as you progress in levels, unlocking new, incredible abilities that represent your growth and skill as a warrior. Exciting combos and creative gameplay aren't just for spellcasters anymore!
This is my weapon, I called him"Mr. Stabby", because he stabs people.
New Subclasses
They're finally here! You can now imbue your adorable familiars with powerful martial techniques as a Sensei Tamer, blow stuff up with pyrotechnics as a College of Hanabi Bard, and create devestating combinations of elemental forces as the Disciple of Fusion Bender! These subclasses have been added to the Classes chapter in Ryoko's Guide to the Yokai Realms, alongside the core rules of the Tamer class (which first appeared in Heliana's Guide).
Some smol familiars doing what they love
New Spells, Stat Blocks, Feats, and Familiars
But wait, there's more!! The following bonus stuff has made its way into the updated BETA for you to check out!
The final round of familiars have been added to Wrath of the Kaiju
Several new Yokai stat blocks have been added, introducing many more forms for the Circle of Yokai Druid to adopt at lower levels, like the Kasha, Narigama, and Ushi-Oni!
See Future Death was a spell we forgot to include in the first BETA-release, but it appears here to round off the spells in the Shinigami Warlock spell list, alongside some other new spells like Extract Shirikodama, and Lifesap Aura!
Two new feats have been added that interact with the Weapon Mastery system: Dedicated Combatant and Martial Initiate.
Only slightly less angry and hate-fuelled than an ordinary house cat.
Feedback Progress
We're hard at work going through the feedback y'all have been sharing post-BETA release! Your response has been incredible, and we're acting on suggestions and tweaking bits and bobs to ensure the final book is 100% perfect. Most feedback inspired changes haven't made it into this new BETA-release because we're still collecting feedback (including any thoughts you might have on material introduced in this update), but we have already started implementing your suggestions and are loving how everything is coming together.
When smoking is REALLY bad for your health...
All in, everything is going amazingly and we're right on schedule! It's been incredible to see so many people come together and enjoy Ryoko's already, as well as lending your voices and ideas to make it even better! As a reminder, the feedback forms can be found here:
If you've got any questions, or want to join the party and discuss Ryoko's with others, head on over to the #ryokos-guide channels of the Loot Tavern Discord Server.
- Will and the Team
Ryoko's Guide + Wrath of the Kaiju BETA-PDFs are Launched!
11 months ago
– Thu, Dec 21, 2023 at 12:12:03 PM
It's Kaiju Time!
Wrath of the Kaiju Unleashed!
That's right! Both Ryoko's Guide to the Yokai Realms and the Wrath of the Kaiju adventure book BETA-PDFs are out now on Backerkit. The response has been amazing, we're so happy people are loving these first-wave PDFs and we've gathered some great feedback already. Ifyou'veyet to complete your survey on Backerkit, whenyou do your order will be locked the following Monday and you'll be able to download the PDFs and get playtesting.
Remember, these are BETA-tests, so some art is missing, Stretch Goals are going to be added in a later update, and other things will be touched up and added based on your feedback. There's still over 550 pages of content to dive into already though, plenty to enjoy over the holidays, plus the Koi Dragon STL both supported and unsupported for anyone looking forward to printing their own!
Rampage with Raiko in the Spire of the Storm Herald adventure!
A Holiday Slumber
For most of the team, creating Ryoko's has been a nonstop adventure for over a year, during which they've also been handling other responsibilities too! Wrangling kaiju and stuffing them into books is fun, but it's also exhausting work. Everyone on the team is going to take a well deserved rest over the holidays. Officially, DnD Shorts and Loot Tavern are on break until January 4th. We'll be back right after to start collating feedback and prepping the January update to the playtest documents, but our presence will be smaller over these next two weeks. We might pop in and answer questions on occassion, but if a member of a team does so over the break, that's them going above and beyond because they're a legend. Really, this is the part where you take over for a while and explore the Yokai Realms! Let us know what you're thinking as you go via the feedback forms, linked here and also in the PDFs themselves.
Battle with a Bakekujira in the Phantom of the Mourning Tide adventure!
Seeing the community celebrate and enjoy Ryoko's together has been incredible. If you've got any questions, or want to join the party and discuss Ryoko's with others, head on over to the #ryokos-guide channels of the Loot Tavern Discord Server. We're going to enjoy a rest, but we're already excited to bring you the rest of the content and polish up everything based on your playtest experience.
Happy holidays!
- Will and the Team
P.S. Low Price Last Chance! You've seen the Harvesting and Crafting rules, as well as the familiars and Tamer class. Those came from Heliana's Guide to Monster Hunting. With fulfilment of that campaign around the corner, Heliana's pre-orders will be closing soon—now is your last chance to get the pre-order price. That's $25 for a 600-pagePDF that will add to your Ryoko experience!
48 Hours Until Ryoko's Guide BETA-PDF Launch!
11 months ago
– Mon, Dec 18, 2023 at 10:38:29 AM
It's the Final Countdown!!! (Synth Riff Intensifies)
Ryoko's Guide to the Yokai Realms: Beta Playtest Release
You read that right, within the next 48 hours we're going to be releasing the BETA-PDF of Ryoko's Guide! As detailed in the last update, it's a document similar to the Unearthed Arcana released by other publishers, formatted and ready for you to explore, playtest, and give feedback which we can act on. You'll be able to download it fromBackerkit if you have paid, and will be notified upon its launch.
The Stretch Goal Masks Bard will appear in the first version of the playtest PDF! Other Stretch Goals, and the other Bard subclass, will be added at a later update (likely in January)
BetaTest. Although this is a beta playtest document, it will contain art. Some art is still in progress so please expect a few gaps.
In addition, some of the stretch goal content will not be included in the first iteration of the beta test PDFs. The whole team is taking a break over Xmas but plans to incoporate that content into an updated beta test PDFs, in January. That includes:
Weapon mastery system (Ryoko's)
College of hanabi bard subclass (Ryoko's)
Disciple of fusion bender subclass (Ryoko's)
Sensei tamer subclass (Ryoko's)
Five kaiju familiars (Wrath)
Kaiju feats (Wrath)
Locking Orders and Payment Information
At the moment, everyone's orders are getting locked in, which means this is the last chance to upgrade or make changes before the card details you provided will be charged (including any tax and shipping costs). This charge will happen at some point over the next 24 hours. If you haven't filled out your survey, or don't have sufficient funds in your account, you have until shipping begins (in the Summer of 2024) to resolve it, but you won't be able to access your digital downloads until your survey is filled and the balance is paid. If you've still got to fill out the survey, now is the time (it takes about 5 minutes). Here's the link if you still need to do it!
If you're even 50% as hyped for Ryokos as this Wanyudo is for eating your soul, we're doing our job correctly. (Btw, the Circle of Yokai Druid can Wild Shape into these bois)
Moving forward, we'll lock in orders every Monday. So, if you complete your survey on a Wednesday, your card will be charged the following Monday, and you'll recieve any digital assets at that time too!
Future Changes
Are you concerned your order or shipping address might change? Don't worry! Although orders are locked, you can still change your shipping info on backerkit, and if you'd like to ammend your order or pick up some more add-ons, we're here to help. Just hop on the Loot Tavern Discord Server and we'll guide you through the process and be able to answer any questions you might have.
Here's an ōmukade spawn. I had a friend who vowed to see a true ōmukade or die trying. In the end he did both!
Wrath of the Kaiju
The Wrath of the Kaiju BETA Playtest is also coming out later this week! As with Ryoko's Guide, it is a BETA document designed to give you everything you need to playtest and enjoy the adventures for playtest purposes. It'll include the adventures, the kaiju stat block variations, and a load of NPCs, factions, locations, and a whole bunch more stat blocks!
Sure, our battle with the 50-foot tall kaiju beetle destroyed several towns and displaced hundreds of families, but we got this adorable kabuto familiar! That's what we call a worthwhile enterprise. Kaiju familiars are coming in January of 2024.
Playtest
We can't wait for you to enjoy the playtest and hear your feedback on how we can improve! We're talking HUNDREDS of pages here, so doubltess there'll be a spelling error or two. Put on your most meticulous reading glasses and tell us what you want to see! You can find more information on the BETA-releases in the previous update, and Ryoko's Guide includes an introductory chapter on providing actionable feedback for us to dive into.
Feedback Forms. Each BETA-PDF will include a link to a feedback form, which is how we'll collect your thoughts. If you'd like to bookmark the links to the forms early, here they are.
If you've got any questions, head on over to the #ryokos-guide-questions channel of the Loot Tavern Discord Server for the fastest response. We're excited to share the BETA-documents so you can start playtesting, it's won't be long now!
Happy holidays!
- Will and the Team
December Update! The Beta-Test Preamble
12 months ago
– Wed, Dec 06, 2023 at 01:42:56 AM
POV, you're waiting on the Playtest Document
Happy December y'all, I hope you're doing well in these chilly times. Everything is going great on our end; we're finishing page layout for the Ryoko's Guide to the Yokai Realms BETA-test document right now, and the Wrath of the Kaiju adventure book is pretty much finished in terms of writing and is in the process of being edited and formatted. More on that in a moment though, because first...
The Free Dice Glitch - A Reminder
Here's a reminder to those of you who experienced the free dice glitch after changing tiers post-launch we discussed in the last update: you can now go onto Backerkit and add them to your order. You can always hop on the Loot Tavern Discord Server if you need guidance or support on anything, whether it pertains to this glitch or something else.
Gimme Dem Dice!!
BETA Playtest Document: Coming This December!
The Ryoko's Guide to the Yokai Realms playtest document is dropping in the second half of this month! Stretch Goals unlocked over the campaign will be added at a later date, most likely in a January update. We're in the process of finalising the Weapon Mastery system stretch goal, which just keeps growing with new skill trees, and now with a few new weapon properties too. Other stretch goals, like the Fusionist Element Bender, Tamer subclass, and NPC stat blocks, are going to appear in the January update. Some stretch goals, like the Ryōkido, are already completed so we can release those in the first version of the playtest document.
A Ryōkido Shrine Warden Cleric!
We've also recieved great feedback from you all, even at this early stage. One common request was for a guide on creating your own kaiju, or adapting existing stat-blocks into kaiju stat-blocks. That's something I'll definitely add in the stretch-goal update to the playtest! Other requests, like a deeper dive into lore and locations, we've worked into the adventure settings and history within Wrath of the Kaiju.
A snapshot of battle! Can you tell the four new playable races in this shot?
And speaking of Wrath of the Kaiju, we're in the final stages of writing and arrangement, and we'll get the playtest document of that book out to you two weeks after Ryoko's Guide. Of course, as a playtest document, not all art will be finalised in these documents, but we will include notes on what to expect in places where we're waiting on artists. Mainly, this is all about getting your feedback and playtest experience to ensure everything is as balanced, understandbale, and fun as possible.
Here's a newly finished art piece for one of the yokai in Ryoko's Guide: The Korōri! Can you guess the CR? (it's more dangerous than you might think!)
A Kaiju-Sized Project
As we've been making Ryoko's, we've found areas to enhance and expand as we go. The number of feats has shot up from 40 to 75, for example, because we kept having great ideas while ideating on what feats to include Last week we just finished creating four, awesome backgrounds to jumpstart your character creation with close ties to the setting, and we've already mentioned the expanded Weapon Mastery system. Your support is inspiring, and allows us to focus on making the greatest book ever! Everyone on the team is kicking butt and firing on all cylinders as we close in on the BETA release; they are literally the greatest creators and fantasy artists in the world on the planet, after all. Can't wait for your feedback so we can take it to the next level!
brb, taking the familiars for a walk
If you've got any questions, head on over to the #ryokos-guide-questions channel of the Loot Tavern Discord Server for the fastest response! We're excited to share the BETA-documents so you can start playtesting, it's not far off now!
