Cover Rough: Fursona Unleashed

 After a fairly long delay, I began the final work on the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game incarnation of Fursona, which I'll be titling Fursona Unleashed. I chose this title because it ties in with Technology Unleashed, as well as the fact, considering the subject matter, the pun works.

I'm putting the finishing touch on the spells and magic items I'll present in the book. I'm also working on a relatively short campaign guide/city book built around Fursona. I do not know yet if the campaign guide will be sold as part of Fursona Unleashed, or if it will be a separate, stand alone release. What I can tell you is it focuses on a free city named Saint Mipple, and is heavily, heavily inspired by the classic TaleSpin cartoon.

Yesterday I commissioned a cover from Anthony Cournoyer, who recently provided the cover art for Keith McBlane's Fursona 5E. (A quick and easily cleared up miscommunication is why the top image his the words Fursona 5E roughed in on the top of the page.) As you can see his rough sketch is going to be pretty kickass. Here's the image description I sent him.

Cover of Ult. Fursona

The cover is two Anthros locked in combat, and reflects the fact the soucebook focuses equally on fantasy and high-tech campaign settings. The two combatants are battling in a natural environment of some kind- maybe a winter forest with snow falling around them. The two combatants are:

The Armored Bear Anthro from the Fursona 5E cover makes a reappearance, swinging a massive axe. Instead of the small hand-axe he had on the prior cover, give him an absolutely enormous, magical weapon. The exaggerated, heavy head of the axe resembles a stylized lion’s mane, and it’s crashing down right beside the High-Tech Rabbit, probably scraping sparks against the Rabbit’s armor.

The Bear’s opponent is a High-Tech Rabbit Anthro. The High Tech Rabbit is wearing futuristic powered armor with brown and white hull plating, giving it a forest/winter camo pattern. The High-Tech Rabbit is blasting away with a gun built into the wrist/gauntlet of his armor, just missing the Armored Bear by inches. The armor’s helmet is semi-transparent, allowing you to see some of the Rabbit’s face beneath the helm; the armor includes hardened plastic ‘sleeves’ for the Rabbit’s ears covered with black mesh on the front, like stereo speakers.

 

(I chose to make a power armor wearing rabbit the adversary in this image as a homage to the fearsome Independent Lapine Republic in the Albedo comics and RPG setting- even though those guys never fielded powered armor, they were a dangerously effective sci-fi military.)

In other news, I'm collecting art and adding a few last items for Enchantments of Black Tokyo II as well as the Heavy Grimorie. Expect all these books soon.
CHRIS

First Book of 2017: Neon in the Dark

My first product of 2017 is an example how a product can change slightly in the gap between intitial idea and publication. I originally intended to title this player's guide to the Black Tokyo Campaign Setting as "The Blackest of Heroes", emphasizing the horror-side of the setting, and the visceral, body-horror intensive nature of many of the powers. Instead, John Picot turned in a bright, beautifully superheroic image for the cover, and I decided to rename the book Neon in the Dark.

I decided this title emphasized the PC heroes of the setting are literally light in darkness, superheroic, bright spots of hope against the utterly horrific badguys of the setting. In any case, Neon in the Dark ended up being 217 pages of very dense, very fun content. I just put it up at www.rpgnow.com and it should be up for sale as soon as the cache refreshes.

I'm aiming for more projects this year than last. Right now I've got the manuscript for Enchantments of Black Tokyo Volume II completed as well as a manuscript for a revised and expanded Heavy Grimorie, for the Heavy Future setting, nearly complete. I'm also nearing completion on a similar and as-yet-untitled collection of Battlechanger magic items. (Basically, I've been working on all these gear books near simultaneously). I'm also finally satisfied with the draft of Ultimate Fursona and will start gathering original artwork for that one soon, though I've already got tons of usable stock.

So look for that and a little bit more this spring, if all goes well. Meantime, the sales text from Neon in the Dark.....

Anyone can be a hero.

Anything can be a weapon.

The Black Tokyo Campaign Setting is built upon equal measures of anime homage, hentai in-jokes and traditional Japanese folklore and the dangerous world’s heroes are some of the most diverse in gaming. Daring catgirl ninjas walk the shadows with the half-alive children of vampires or the mournful ghosts of women who died during childbirth. The seductive school-girl corpses of suicide might team up with hulking Oni to battle other dimensional horrors, or to challenge a local Yakuza gang for dominance of the back alleys. Minor goddesses might pilot transforming mecha into battle against (or alongside) lithe monks whose bodies are covered in 108 all-seeing eyes. Filth-licking ghouls and heavy industrial robots share the urban night with enslaved catgirls and glamorous sex androids whose origins are far more magical then their assemblers like to admit.

Neon in the Dark: The Strange Heroes of the Black Tokyo Campaign Setting is the definitive guide to building characters for the Black Tokyo Campaign Setting. Inside you’ll find details on the myriad races native to the setting. Unlike other campaign worlds, the heroes of Black Tokyo will likely be monstrous and strange. There are several Outsider and Undead races to choose from, as well as an assortment of created races created by occult techno-magic or supernatural engineering. Unique powers such as shapechanging, flight and innate magical talents are common.

After you meet the player races available in this setting, you’ll discover an assortment of unique traits and feats for Black Tokyo’s heroes. Learning the right talents will let Black Tokyo’s heroes shapeshift into fairy-like animal forms, transform their bodies into sexual weapons of war, slip between worlds and more effectively battle the myriad horrors unique to the setting.

Finally, Neon in the Dark closes with an assortment of unique cultural templates. Adding one of these templates can turn an ordinary hero (if there is such a thing) into an internationally acclaimed Idol, a resolute Samurai, or even a hapless (but cute) Love Magnet, or more.