project-image

Threadbare RPG

Created by Stephanie Bryant

"Plushie or plastic, mate?" In Threadbare RPG, you play a jury-rigged toy in a broken, stitched-together world.

Latest Updates from Our Project:

February Update
about 7 years ago – Tue, Feb 07, 2017 at 09:31:36 AM

Updates!

This will be quick, since I updated you in mid-January! As you may remember from that update, Juan is back and worked very quickly to submit artwork for all the playable character types. We've got everyone from puppets to socks to transformers to bunches of little guys, illustrated and ready to drop into the book!

Christmas sock!
Christmas sock!

Meanwhile, my writing continues apace. I'd probably say at this point I'm the main holdup in production, so I'm going to spend the next couple of weeks cracking down and getting my part done so we can get this thing ready and out!

Naomi and the Dragon - 2 days left!

My Make:100 comic book, Naomi and the Dragon has 2 days left in its campaign! It's a cute little family-friendly comic book about a woman who goes dragon hunting in the modern world. If you're a parent, check it out-- we're guaranteeing delivery by Christmas 2017! You can pledge here for Naomi and the Dragon.

December Update!
over 7 years ago – Mon, Dec 05, 2016 at 10:44:31 PM

I'm so excited about this update, even though it's a very light update with not a whole lot to talk about. But since the past 3 weeks have been really, really quiet around my house, I'm just so happy to login and say hello to you all and wish you all a happy holiday season! The surgery was very successful, with no complications! Hooray!

Artwork!

Our artists have been hard at work on Threadbare, and I have a lovely preview from Evan Rowland of the "caverns," a subterranean location inspired by SubTropolis outside of Kansas City.

Threadbare Caverns art by Evan Rowland
Threadbare Caverns art by Evan Rowland

We also now have "border art" for the page borders, which I think will be a really nice addition to the book.

Writing!

I've been writing a bit here and there (when not napping), and I'm unduly proud of this particular upgrade because of its simplicity:

Pocket How many Things you can carry doesn't really have hard rules in Threadbare, but by default, you can only either have or not have Stuff. With this upgrade, you have secured a pocket where you can keep an extra complement of Stuff, which is handy if you do a lot of repairs! Add an extra checkbox to I Have Stuff. If this Part is damaged, the second checkbox (and its Stuff) is lost.

Editing and Further Progress

We're heading into the final couple of months where we do a ton of editing work on everything, I finish writing up the new move options, and things start to really come together. Nothing is overly delayed at this point (fingers crossed), and I think we're going to hit our Spring deadlines, or pretty darn close to them.

November Update
over 7 years ago – Fri, Nov 04, 2016 at 12:14:43 AM

Great Convention Games

I ran a great game at Big Bad Con in October, and I heard things went well at IntrigueCon as well! Graeme also had some terrific player feedback about the game at Intriguecon, and the kinds of characters people want to play.

IntrigueCon players
IntrigueCon players

Submissions Incoming!

This month's incoming submissions are on their way to the editor, which means all the texts of the stretch goals are in editing!

  • Grab Bag - the nano-game by Josh Jordan
  • Electric Avenue - by Toby Strauss
  • My Boogie Shoes - by Alex Roberts
  • The Senate of Toys - by Elsa S.J. Henry

This is really exciting, because it means that all of our stretch goals will ship in the same book with Threadbare! When you sit down to play, you'll have it all in one book!

We also have incoming artwork! Here's a sneak peek at a sketch from Emily Riggs!

Chibi sketch art by Emily Griggs
Chibi sketch art by Emily Griggs

Crummy Personal Stuff

So, you know how a lot of Kickstarter projects eventually go completely dark and then posts an update like "I ran into some health issues and the project was delayed...." And sometimes health issues are unknowable and unavoidable because we're made of gooey biology instead of thread and stuffing. And sometimes, health issues are known and you can kind of plan around them.

Well, I have an upcoming health issue this month which will have me out of pocket for about 2 weeks. It's delaying my part of Threadbare while I recover, but in the meantime, the graphic artists are plugging away on sketches and art. 

I do not anticipate this delaying delivery of the book, but if it looks like that might happen, I will let you know in December how recovery is going and whether any launch or ship dates have been affected.

October Update
over 7 years ago – Tue, Oct 04, 2016 at 07:46:18 PM

Hello again! Here's the October update!

More artists are hired!

I had a 10-day vacation in September, during which I wrote a bunch and hired Juan Ochoa and Evan Rowland to do some of the interior artwork. They're both very talented artists who have contributed to many of the RPG books you already know and love. Emily Griggs is still doing the art to accompany the tutorials, as well. This was a big, looming thing that I'd let slip, and I'm glad to finally have it settled and in progress.

Tutorial Drafts are In!

The Mekka and Doll's Head Dice Bag tutorials are now both in editing! Here are a couple of pics of the prototypes!

Mekka Hacker Toy
Mekka Hacker Toy

 

Doll's Head Dice Bag
Doll's Head Dice Bag

Editing Progress

Vivian, our editor, is already hard at work on the "World of Threadbare" setting chapter and the tutorials. Off to See the Clockmaker has had its first pass around, so it's now back on my desk for final cleanup! 

I've heard from some of the other contributors who are cruising along, and what they're doing is so clever and inspiring! I'm very excited to be able to showcase their work in this project!

Social Media Communities

OK, there were a few people interested in Facebook as an additional platform for gathering to talk about Threadbare, so I've made a group over there for you to use! That's in addition to the Google+ group. 

Just to be clear: I don't expect people to join any social network groups to stay up to date on Threadbare. Until the project is shipped, this Kickstarter page will be the most current/accurate way to stay in the loop on what's going on, from my point of view. However, these groups can be a great way to chat with other backers and players, and to coordinate games.

Conventions

Just a reminder: Graeme Comyn will be running Threadbare at IntrigueCon in Edmonton, Alberta on October 14-16!  

I will be running Threadbare at Big Bad Con in Walnut Creek, California on October 14-16! The Threadbare session is Friday (the 14th) in the afternoon. And while I know it's booked up, I hope to say hi to folks throughout the weekend.

September Update
over 7 years ago – Tue, Sep 06, 2016 at 11:50:09 PM

Pre-Orders Available and Backerkit

If you or a friend missed out on the Kickstarter, you can now pre-order on Backerkit!

If you backed the project, I am still creating your Backerkit surveys for you. Not to worry-- they'll be ready in plenty of time.

Progress!

The Locations are just about done for now (unless I get inspired) and I'm on to fleshing out NPCs!

Bry Hitchcock's Off to See the Clockmaker is done and in editing!

The stretch goal contributors had busy summers, so nobody had deadlines for the beginning of September (except me, of course!) Which is great-- it gives Vivian (our editor) time to dig through and edit the submissions from last month.

A Bit of Fiction

There are little snippets of fiction ("fluff") in the game book. They're part example, part evocation for you to imagine the world of Threadbare more vividly. 

With that in mind, I wanted to share a little bit from The Deep Blue location text:

Cherry gazed out over the blue-green expanse. The water seemed to go on forever, though of course that was ridiculous. They all knew the Sponge-Witch lived in the center of the lagoon. It was merely a matter of... getting there.

Gingerly, they dipped their toe into the water, backing out quickly and shaking it dry. "It's cold. And slimy."

"Nothing for it!" cried Eere cheerfully. "Vroom vroom" he called out. His engine had long since deteriorated, but old habits die hard. His headlights flicked once and he charged forward into the murky waters. "Not like anything down here can really hurt us!"

Mary rolled her eyes, then put them back into her head. She turned to Cherry. "Wait for it."

A silent spark shuddered through the waters of the Deep Blue, and Eere shrieked. "My lights! It broke my beautiful lights!"

Jay limped into the water last, carrying what was left of Billo-- his long, beautiful neck, a few scorched scraps of denim, and three feet of carefully-salvaged thread. "I just hope the Witch can bring him back," she muttered as the cold water seeped all the way to her cotton-reinforced cuff.

Google+ Community

We now have a community on Google+ for Threadbare! The community's a good place to talk about the game, provide Actual Play reports, and coordinate sessions/find other players.

Please post in the comments here if you'd participate more in something on Facebook-- I'm in both places, and am happy to set something up.

I am also looking for a couple of volunteer moderators to handle stuff in either community. When I get really busy on a project, managing its online community takes resources which I need to reserve for backer communications here on Kickstarter.

Shout Outs and Conventions!

The Gauntlet talked about Threadbare at GenCon in Episode 38!

Graeme Comyn will be running Threadbare at IntrigueCon in Edmonton, Alberta on October 14-16!

I will be running Threadbare at Big Bad Con in Walnut Creek, California on October 14-16! The Threadbare session is Friday (the 14th) in the afternoon.