A dark urban fantasy tabletop RPG Powered by the Apocalypse. Fight the darkness or let it swallow you whole!
Latest Updates from Our Project:
Urban Shadows Community Survey & City of Mist!
over 6 years ago
– Thu, Aug 30, 2018 at 08:59:45 PM
Now that we've finished the Urban Shadows Kickstarter... it's time for us to start thinking about the future! We've had a blast over the last four years designing, writing, and publishing all the books, playbooks, and minigames you all funded, and we're eager to turn our eyes to the future. More playbooks? New supplements? Something else?
As you might guess, we're pretty community-minded around here... so we'd like to ask for your help. We're launching a community survey this week (through Sept 30th) and we'd like to give you all the first chance to tell us how you'd like to see Urban Shadows grow over the next few years.
The community survey should only take 5-10 minutes, but it will give us some real insight into what we should do next! Please take a few minutes and fill it out!
City of Mist: Nights of Payne Town Kickstarter
If you're interested in more urban fantasy that's Powered by the Apocalypse, you might want to check out the new City of Mist Kickstarter that ends tomorrow (Friday)! I'm writing a new District (Colonia de Sombras) for the project, as is the amazing Chris Spivey (Independence!). I am super pumped to see new myths and legends, especially from creators of color!
If you're not familiar with City of Mist, here's the scoop from the creator, Amit Moshe:
City of Mist is a cinematic, neon-noir tabletop RPG set in a modern-day city where legends and stories incarnate in ordinary people. Play as detectives, vigilantes, and crooks wielding the magic of fairy tales and gods, investigate strange cases, and face off with other modern-day legends while trying to balance your ordinary life with the legend within you.
Packed with award-winning art, beautifully-designed accessories, and non-stop cinematic action and drama, City of Mist is the ultimate urban fantasy RPG. The unique system features tag-based characters, story-propelling actions, a narrative damage system, and non-linear character evolution.
Los Cazados Must Hunt!
over 6 years ago
– Wed, Jul 11, 2018 at 01:58:38 PM
Greetings all!
After a little more than four years of designing, playtesting, and publishing... today we are releasing Los Cazados, our final stretch goal for the Urban Shadows Kickstarter. It's been an amazing journey for both myself and Andrew, and we're so honored and excited that you all joined us to make it happen. Thank you!
But before we wrap this thing up for good, we've got some werewolves we'd like you to meet...
Los Cazados (The Hunted)
After a ton of playtesting and revisions, Los Cazados is finished!
Los Cazados is a stand-alone minigame set in the Urban Shadows universe, a PbtA game like Ghost Lines or Lady Blackbird that gives you everything you need to play a pack of werewolves in a short PDF. Here's a quick summary:
Long ago, the people of central Mexico faced a terrifying enemy, a spirit that birthed monsters. When they destroyed the spirit, it cursed them to be more than mortal: part human and part wolf. Their children inherited the curse, and the responsibility to protect the mortal world from the spirits that would threaten it.
When the Spanish arrived in 1519, they brough with them Los Malditos, demonic entities of pain and suffering that found the pieces of the spirit the wolves had killed. They called the spirit La Madre, and they started putting her pieces back together... and hunting the children of the wolves who had almost destroyed her.
Nearly 500 years later, you are Los Cazados (The Hunted). Your family has fought La Madre and Los Malditos for centuries, always on the brink of extinction. Yet you konw that you are the last and only line of defense against those who would see the mortal world overwhelmed by La Madre's monstrous desires...
The game has a whole new set of basic moves, mechanics for stress and trauma, rituals that Los Cazados use to tap the power of the Wild, and new agendas, principles, and moves for the MC. It's a whole PbtA game, jammed into just a few pages. We hope you enjoy it!
Getting Los Cazados
As with the LE playbooks, we’ll be running the delivery for Los Cazados through DTRPG via coupon codes delivered through Backerkit. We’ve already pushed those coupons out via email, but if you didn’t get an email, you can grab your coupon directly from the Urban Shadows Backerkit Digital Downloads page:
The file includes everything you need to play Los Cazados, including a character sheet, rules for creating new rituals, and instructions for the MC... but you'll still need to know how to run a PbtA game to use the short PDF we're providing. Lucky for us... you all are already PbtA experts!
Los Cazados will go live for non-backers on Thursday, July 12th, so please spread the word! We’re always excited to expand Urban Shadows (and the Urban Shadows community) with new playbooks, city guides, and more!
This is the End, Beautiful Friend
And... that's a wrap. After four awesome years, this release means we've come to the end of the Urban Shadows Kickstarter. It's been an amazing journey, one that has challenged both Andrew and I to become better developers and writers, master the tools of PbtA design, and take more feedback than either of us had ever seen before. We wouldn't trade this experience for anything in the world. Thank you!
Now that we're wrapped up with everything we promised from 2014 (whew!), we're talking about what kind of things we'll release in the future. We've got a few new playbooks planned, maybe a city guide or two, and a few other ideas that we think you all will like. We'll keep you posted, but please also let us know in the comments below what you think we should do next. You all have had so many great ideas, and we can't wait to hear a few more.
And once more... thank you. Urban Shadows changed our lives, gave us a sense of direction and purpose in game design, and provided us an opportunity to bring race and other urban issues into the light in totally new ways. We're so proud of the work we've done, but we're even prouder that you all supported us while we did it. Thank you!
The Immortal Emerges!
over 6 years ago
– Wed, May 16, 2018 at 06:33:30 PM
The steely grasp of death cannot contain... The Immortal! We're releasing our final playbook for the Urban Shadows Kickstarter, an ancient soul whose plots and schemes shape the city itself. Read on to get your copy!
The Immortal is Ready!
After many revisions and revivals, The Immortal is finally finished!
When we originally started work on Urban Shadows, both Andrew and I were convinced that The Immortal was one of our core playbooks. But... it turned out to be hard to make The Immortal's schemes work, and we decided to hold back on the playbook until we figured out some fun ways to give players control over their own schemes.
And now the playbook is ready! We hope you and your fellow players enjoy!
Getting The Immortal
As with Dark Streets, we’ll be running the delivery for these final limited edition playbooks through DTRPG via coupon codes delivered through Backerkit. We’ve already pushed those coupons out via email, but if you didn’t get an email, you can grab your coupon directly from the Urban Shadows Backerkit Digital Downloads page:
The file includes both the legal-sized playbook for The Immortal… and a separate addendum with information for players and MCs about how to use this new member of Power in a campaign (like you’ll find in our other books). We've also included additional instructions on schemes, since they make The Immortal a little more challenging for the MC than traditional playbooks.
The Immortal playbook will go live for non-backers on Thursday, May 17th, so please spread the word! We’re always excited to expand Urban Shadows (and the Urban Shadows community) with new playbooks, city guides, and more!
The End is Near...
Now that The Immortal is finished, we're going to start wrapping up the last piece of the Urban Shadows Kickstarter... Los Cazados! Stay tuned for more information on that short game of tragic werewolves, which should be out in the next few weeks!
The Dragon Arises!
almost 7 years ago
– Wed, Apr 11, 2018 at 01:43:27 PM
Hey everyone!
We’ve got an exciting update for you all today: we’re releasing the final Dragon playbook! Rawr! Check out this update for how to get your copy, exciting news about the Adventure Zone, and the Cartel Kickstarter!
The Dragon on DriveThruRPG
After much playtesting, prodding, polishing, and proofing… the Dragon is ready!
As with Dark Streets, we’ll be running the delivery for these final limited edition playbooks through DTRPG via coupon codes delivered through Backerkit. We’ve already pushed those coupons out via email, but if you didn’t get an email, you can grab your coupon directly from the Urban Shadows Backerkit Digital Downloads page:
The file includes both the legal-sized playbook for The Dragon… and a separate addendum with information for players and MCs about how to use this new member of Wild in a campaign (like you’ll find in our other books). We are really, really excited to see you all bring the finished Dragon to your table (or online session).
The Dragon playbook will go live for non-backers on Thursday, April 11th, so please spread the word! We’re always excited to expand Urban Shadows (and the Urban Shadows community) with new playbooks, city guides, and more!
On that note… keep your eyes peeled for The Immortal very soon. We’re doing the final proofing passes on the addendum materials before we release the final limited edition playbook!
The Adventure Zone: Dust
We’re also really excited that Urban Shadows has been featured on The Adventure Zone podcast! The Adventure Zone crew did a mini-arc of Urban Shadows (4 episodes + setup) set in the Western-style town of Dry River. (If you want to see more on how to shift the setting of Urban Shadows to historical periods, check out the first essay (Ancient Shadows) in Dark Streets.
We’re honored and excited that they chose to use Urban Shadows for their campaign. Give them a listen!
Cartel on Kickstarter: Last Five Days!
Last but not least...my new Kickstarter, Cartel, ends on Sunday! Cartel is a PbtA game of Mexican narcofiction: you play bold narcos, naïve spouses, and dirty cops tied to the Sinaloa drug cartel, facing a dangerous game of drugs, money, and power. Navigate complex and dangerous relationships, make desperate plays for money and power, and discover how far you are willing to go to hold on to what is yours. Buena suerte, cabrón.
Cartel is a direct extension of the work Andrew and I did together on Urban Shadows, a crime fiction game that focuses on the tense exchanges and desperate plays that characterize fiction like Breaking Bad, The Wire, and El Mariachi. You might not play werewolves and vampires, but the politics of violence and deception in Cartel will feel familiar to anyone who has walked the dark streets of Urban Shadows.
https://youtu.be/f-BKGbSdxbE
Cartel has raised more than $40,000, unlocking more than a dozen stretch goals (new location cards, hacks, playbooks, etc) and giving me the chance to create a beautiful book that captures my love for Mexican culture and drug fiction alike. There are five days left in the campaign, so please come check it out!
Last Rites
With the Dragon finished (and the Immortal waiting in the wings), the only thing left for this Kickstarter is Los Cazados, my short game about a pack of werewolves who must evade the clutches of the ancient being originally cursed them with lycanthropy. Stay tuned for more info on that release when we get the Immortal out the door this month; the game is close to done, and I can’t wait to share it with you all. Thank you!
Dark Streets Print Copies Have Arrived!
over 7 years ago
– Thu, Sep 14, 2017 at 10:35:15 PM
Hey everyone!
First, thanks for your patience this year while we've worked to sort out the print run for Dark Streets. Andrew and I are both thrilled to announce today that the print copies for Dark Streets are in our hands and ready to ship out to you! Read on for how to get your book (and for more information about why we had such delays)...
Dark Streets in Print!
Yay! Dark Streets is finally ready to ship to backers!
As we said earlier this year, we’ll be running the delivery for these books through our webstore via coupon codes delivered through Backerkit. We’ve already pushed those coupons out via email, but if you didn’t get an email, you can grab your coupon directly from the Urban Shadows Backerkit Digital Downloads page:
We have a limited supply of these books in hardcover, but all of you get first crack at them. Your coupon covers the entire cost of a softcover book ($20), but if you prefer the hardcover version you can upgrade for just $10 more. Either way, shipping is already covered; just select "Free Shipping" when you check out to get free shipping on your entire order, including any additional books you get at the same time.
If you have any trouble getting your coupon code or using your coupon, please contact us via email: [email protected]. We'll get you sorted out right away!
And if you didn't order Dark Streets through the Kickstarter campaign, now is a great time to order a copy now through our webstore...
Printing Problems: Dark Streets
If you're curious about why the print run was delayed so much... here's the full story.
When Andrew and I started working on Dark Streets, we figured it would be a short supplement in addition to the core rulebook. Once we saw the main book in print, however, we knew we wanted to get hardcover copies of Dark Streets printed as well!
When we sent the files to the printer earlier this year, we ended up having to go back and forth with them for nearly a month to get the casebound cover approved. Since a hardcover has different proportions than a softcover, it needs a separate file. Yet... when we got the actual books in hand in late July, something was definitely off:
Hardcover DS next to hardcover US
Since the top of the book was bleeding on to the spine (definitely not how we wanted it!) we ended up having to negotiate with our printer to get new copies. There was some back and forth, delayed a bit by Gen Con 50, but we got our new copies in this week:
Revised Dark Streets Books
Whew! Again, thanks for your patience while we got these books finalized!
New Playbooks: The Immortal & The Dragon
In addition to getting out coupon codes to backers for Dark Streets this week, we've also sent out the newest versions of The Immortal and The Dragon, our last two LE playbooks.
Both playbooks have been through an extensive set of revisions after some robust playtesting, so we'd love to hear from you all if you get a chance to use them at your table. Just drop us a line at [email protected] and let us know what you think of the revised playbooks. We'll be finalizing both playbooks, including writing up a bit of advice for players and GMs in the next few weeks.
Thanks again for all your support! This community has meant so much to both Andrew and me, and we're so excited to put a new book in your hands!
