Ryoko's Guide to the Yokai Realms

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over 1 year ago – Thu, Oct 31, 2024 at 01:08:37 PM

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Ryoko's Guide Is FINISHED! Printing, VTTs, and More!!
over 1 year ago – Fri, Sep 27, 2024 at 12:15:44 PM

Yes, We're Still Alive!

Hey everyone! We wanted to avoid spamming you with updates as we closed up the final leg of our dusty trail to finishing Ryoko's, so we saved all the big news for today: Ryoko's Guide is finished!! 

That means you can download the (effectively) final version of the Ryoko's Guide PDF from Backerkit today. Wrath of the Kaiju will be uploaded late next month as well (we're finalising the layout around the changed bits of text and additional pages). These are the versions of the books with all your incredible feedback implemented. And speaking of feedback...

Feedback, Changelogs, and Extra Material

Thank you so much to everyone who gave feedback. Across a playtesting group of over 10,000 people, we've managed to improve pretty much every element of Ryoko's. From balance tweaks, to grammar errors, to hidden memes, to adding an entire additional segment (because OF COURSE you should have the tools to build your own kaiju), your help has let us take both Ryoko's Guide to the Yokai Realms and Wrath of the Kaiju to the next level. 

If you're interested in seeing what's been updated, you can see all the changes in this handy changelog. Praise be to Mel, for putting this document together (I am assured cataloguing grammatical changes across two 300+ page books taxes the very fabric of one's soul). 

Upon receiving your feedback, we took it upon ourselves to add a bunch of new material to the book. Not only the additional Build-A-Kaiju rules, but new spells, magic items, spell lists, subclass features, tables, and stat blocks needed to be created and implemented. This also meant getting new art commissioned too.

The feedback period is now closed. Mechanics-wise, we're locked in. However, there is still time to correct typos and grammar, or improve the wording and formatting of abilities for clarity before the final print run. That is why this version is called Ryoko's v0.9. If you spot any missing commas or feel something could be made clearer in the text, let us know on discord!

Implementing all the feedback and creating new material for the books took time, but don't worry! In the background, we've been preparing all the other stuff needed for printing the physical books, dice, cards, tokens, and other materials!

The Print Test

This past Sunday we sent off for the final Print Test for Ryoko's Guide. That means everything is getting printed and sent back to us in its final packaging. It's essentially the first "official copies" of everything, now that Ryoko's is fully completed. This step is necessary for us to assure the quality of all the packaging and printing is up to scratch. We've already done white sample tests (where everything is printed, but with blank pages), so this step really is the final round to make sure everything is as it should be!

As soon as we can confirm that all the cards, books, dice, etc. are as they should be, that's when we go to batch production and shipping. In other words... We're pretty much right on schedule, baby! We'll make sure to update you when the final print tests arrive. If there's anything that needs changing, we'll let you know, but (touch wood) this should be the final step before we start sending you physical things.

VTTs + Other Things

Now that Ryoko's is finished, we can deliver it to the Virtual Tabletops it's getting published on. Implementing Ryoko's on those platforms is something the VTTs do themselves, it's not something we can do personally, but we'll let you know when it's up! Everyone who backed at a tier that includes VTT integration will be able to access it on their VTT of choice freely once it's out. 

We can also now move on to collating the information for all the tokens, rules, music, maps, mini STLS, handouts, etc. for both the physical and digital versions of those products! We'll let you know when those are available for downloa in future updatesd, and they'll be included in your Ryoko's package when it ships if you picked them up as an add-on, or you grabbed a tier that includes them.

Other Fun Things!

If you've been following us for regular updates on discord, you'll probably already know that we've been doing a liveplay of Ryoko's with Viva La Dirt League! It's using the original book as a source, so some features have changed, but it's here to watch on YouTube if you want to get the juices flowing before diving into the world yourself.

As part of that, we also made four additional NPC stat blocks for you to use! You can download those to use in your games, with original art, here.

Projects We Love

If you're hungry for more subclasses, species, magic items, rules expansions, and more awesome stuff for D&D, here's a free magazine from the DnD Shorts Patreon! I publish monthly magazines there stuffed full of 5th edition goodness, enjoy the free magazine and if you're interested in more, consider subscribing on Patreon to get the last 3 months worth of content immediately for free, or grab individual issues here!

A Heartfelt Thanks

We're closing in on the final chapter of the Ryoko's journey now, and we could never have made it here without you. Beyond your incredible financial support of the project, your kindness, thoughtfulness, and good humour spread throughout the feedback and in the discord has been an endless source of energy and motivation for all the team. 

Projects like Ryoko's Guide could never happen without community support, not only directly, but in how the entire community stood together to protect the rights of independant publishers in January 2023 over the OGL crisis. It's among the greatest honours of our lives to be a small part of your games, in thanks for everything you've done for us.

Remember to download the final version of Ryoko's Guide on backerkit, and pick up the final version of Wrath of the Kaiju if you're in the Game Ready tier or above when it drops next month. We'll keep you updated when more materials drop, and when the print tests are finished and your orders get sent out!

If you've got any questions head on over to the #ryokos-guide channels of the Loot Tavern Discord Server. Smaller, regular updates are given there more often too!

You can also reach us on the discord if you need any support, want to contact the team or upgrade your pledge. You are awesome, thanks for being so awesome - it's awesome how awesome you are. 

- Will and the Team

Ryoko's Updates, Changes to D&D, and More!
almost 2 years ago – Wed, Jul 10, 2024 at 11:53:28 AM

Howdy Everyone!

Since we last spoke, there's been two big updates to the Ryoko's BETA! The first one updates the Kaiju chapters (introducing the Build-A-Kaiju section), Equipment, and Weapon Masteries. The second update dropped a couple of days ago, and updates Harvesting and Crafting and Creature's of the Yokai Realms. 

At the core of our philopsophy as we finalise the book is ensuring everything is as easy and fun to navigate and explore as possible. There's a brand new, masive Crafting Reciple list with EVERY RECIPIE in Ryoko's and Wrath of the Kaiju now, so it's easier than ever to know exactly what you can craft and how you can craft it. We've also added some beautiful Creature Reference tables so you can effortlessly find creature's statistics, CR, Allignment, Type, and page number. All of this is hyperlinked so you can quickly jump to the stat block you're looking for using the PDF.

This will make life easier for GMs looking for creatures to build encounters with, and for playing looking to find options as a Yokai Druid or a Tamer. You can grab these updated PDFs on Backerkit if you want to dive in right now with the most recent material: Log in to Backerkit, then go to: My Projects > Active Projects > Ryoko's Guide > My Digital Downloads.

Production and Packaging Is Going Great

Ryoko's physical production is is coming along great and on schedule. At the moment, we're finalising the layout of the core and deluxe boxes, preparing for the white sample prototypes. This is more complex than it looks, but we've managed sort out packing everything safely, without any wasted space, excess weight, or unnecessary packagaing materials!

Changes to Dungeons & Dragons

You may have heard that Wizards of the Coast are publishing an update to the core Dungeons & Dragons system this year. We've had the opportunity to explore the new rules and PHB in full, and can confidently confirm that all 5e content from any publisher is fully compatible! With that in mind, we're interested to know what your thoughts are for the games you play at your table. Do you intend to make use of the 2024 updates to the core classes? Tell us what your thoughts are in this poll!   

Projects We Love

Our great friends at Arcane Minis just had a spectacular launch to a new, full world system for 5e: Moonsoon! Moonsoon is the first publication (aside from Ryoko's) to make use of both Heliana's-compatible magic items and the Ryoko's Kaiju Battle System! 

Monsoon is a new 5th edition campaign setting centred around the power of 12 celestial moons; explore the new Moon Deck Mechanics to influence and transform your journey in incredible ways. It has over 600 pages of beautiful worldbuilding, 11 Playable Races, 13 Subclasses, and tons of new spells, creatures and monsters, epic avatar battles, and craftable items & oddities. Check them out here!

If you've got any questions, or want to grab regular Ryoko's updates the moment they drop to backerkit (including the Changelog's of everything that is updated between new editions of the BETA), head on over to the #ryokos-guide channels of the Loot Tavern Discord Server.

You can also reach us on the discord if you need any support, want to contact the team or upgrade your pledge. We're close to the finish line now, folks!!🥳🥳

- Will and the Team

May Update - Updated Races & Classes (And a Kaiju Sized Gift!)
about 2 years ago – Wed, May 22, 2024 at 02:45:16 PM

We've almost finished arranging the final version of Ryoko's Guide and Wrath of the Kaiju based on your incredible feedback (we'll have the full PDF to you within the next few weeks), but we wanted to pop in early to drop some parts of it first!

The Updated Races & Classes Are Out (beta v3, doc v0.15)

We had over 2000 pieces of feedback for these two chapters alone! As such, we're getting it to you early to explore. The biggest class changes were to the Skeletal Blade, Tamaya Rogue, and Shinobi Wizard, although almost every race and class has had some improvement based on your playtesting. 

We have a changelog Google Document you can check out if you want to see all the things that have been improved. You can download this update using the same old link on Backerkit. There are 2 PDFs available, the old v2 Beta and the new v3 of just races and classes. If you already downloaded v0.14 of the file (uploaded yesterday), a new version (v0.15) has just dropped.

There is still time to give feedback on the races and subclasses! You can use the original feedback form; we focused on these two chapters first to give you that extra time to review and leave any final suggestions or playtesting experience.

More Kaiju Business

The anticipated kaiju-conversion expansion that walks through changing a normal stat block into a kaiju stat block will be out in the final version of Ryoko's Guide. We're also adding schematic pages to WotK (also included in the cheat sheets for anyone who grabbed those!) with the kaiju's sizes. The kaiju tokens are coming along swimmingly, and they're... well, take a look...

But wait, there's more, we've got a new kaiju mini STL for Raiko, the Infinite Tempest, for everyone who backed the Kickstarter or on Backerkit and has the Wrath of the Kaiju book. HE'S SO CUTE!!

Shout out to Archvillain Games for making this miniature for the project, and speaking of Archvillain Games...

Projects We Love

Our amazing friends at Archvillain Games, the creators of the stunning Kabuto and Raiko kaiju miniatures, have just launched an electrifying new Kickstarter today: Erevan's Guide to Death and Beyond!

Rise Again: Begin your journey after a total party kill (TPK) and resurrect your characters as formidable undead races. 

Power Through Defeat: Graft the limbs of your vanquished foes to boost your strength and abilities. 

Magnificent Minis: Collect more incredible miniatures to enhance your gameplay experience. Introducing Erevan’s Guide to Death and Beyond, an epic companion book for D&D 5E that takes over when your party meets its end! 

Venture into the treacherous Death Valley, battle fearsome unholy beasts, face off against monstrous megabosses, and explore all-new Profane Lairs. Forge alliances with otherworldly familiars and navigate the perilous underworld. Plus, discover and craft powerful magic items and spells crucial for surviving in the realm of the dead! 

Excitingly, their crafting systems and familiars are fully compatible with Heliana's Guide and Ryoko's Guide, ensuring seamless integration and endless fun! Don't miss out on this thrilling adventure. Support the Kickstarter and bring your campaign back to life in the most extraordinary way possible!

That's all for the moment! The next update will be the final PDF of the core and adventure books!

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

April Update: Bonus Kaiju + A Surprise Gift!
about 2 years ago – Thu, Apr 11, 2024 at 02:09:46 PM

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!

• 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.

• 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.

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!

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!!

You can download the STL free here to print it yourself. We hope it brings you joy, and your players terror! Thanks so much for all your support, this is a free STL for all backers at any tier. If you like any of these pant jobs, check out the artist, Courtney's, socials.

Projects We Love!

Speaking of Archvillain Games, check out their upcoming Kickstarter!

Erevan’s Guide to Death and Beyond is 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