Preview: Mancers, Ministers, and Mystics
9 months ago
– Sun, Feb 25, 2024 at 08:32:49 AM
Hi Cool Cats!
We've had a few chapters from this book made available to backers already, and we'll have our next coming this Tuesday. It's going to be all about Cat Magic, and I've got a sneak peek preview for you today.
Mancers, Ministers, and Mystics
Among the Monarchies, the three main spellcasting approaches are those practiced by mancers, ministers, and mystics. A handful of others do exist, most notably dabblers, but their numbers are very small. The only thing tying all the disparate types of spellcasters together is their command of magic. Their means of accessing it and working their will on the world are all very different.
Mancers
Mancers rely on a focus to bring about the abrupt, chaotic changes in the natural order that their magic produces. Always made of bone, these foci are both a means of refining the energies the mancer calls upon and the source of the spell. A mancer must be touching their focus when they cast a spell, in addition to any incantations or ritual gestures the spell calls for. The spell’s effects emanate from the focus. For example, strands of sticky web burst from the empty eye sockets of a rodent skull and lighting bolts flash from the runes carved into a femur used as a walking stick.
The focus need not be the entire item — skulls are often mounted on staffs or necklaces, for example — but they are always made of bone.
Each house initiates its mancers differently, and some have more demanding requirements surrounding the freshness of the bone used as a focus than others, but all involve the destruction of a masterwork, whose energies awaken the latent magical talent of the mancer-initiate.
A mancer gains a focus when they take the Mancy trick. Although they’re extremely resilient to damage, if a focus is lost or destroyed, the mancer may find or create a new one by the start of the next story.
Starting mancers know the three basic spells listed here:
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Chill Touch: Your magic hurts your enemy and stops them healing.
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Eldritch Blast: Pure magical force strikes your enemy.
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Prestidigitation: Minor magical tricks are yours to command.
Ministers
Ministers compel the chaotic magic around them to change the world with the power of their voice. Some sing bawdy songs, others recite a soliloquy, or simply command the magic to manifest, but ministers’ magic comes from them, pouring from their mouths and hands in a barely restrained display of power. A minister must vocalize their spells. If they are unable to speak, they cannot work their will upon the world around them.
The details of the secret rituals surrounding a minister’s creation vary, but all involve a convocation of cats surrounding the minister-elect and reciting a ritual chant that infuses the new minister with magic.
Starting ministers know the three basic spells listed here:
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Friends: You magically compel another character to trust you for a short time.
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Thaumaturgy: Minor wonders spring into being.
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Vicious Mockery: Your insults damage your enemy’s psyche, momentarily distracting them.
Mystics
Mystics are spellcasters, often cats, who roam the wilds and journey across the Acid Sea. Their magic relies on using materials found in the natural world to fuel the spells they wish to cast.
Mystics share many spells with both mancers and ministers, but their ability to cast them comes from intuition and the world itself, rather than what are now seen as traditional methods of study: the consultation of arcane tomes or repositories of songs. As such, classically trained spellcasters often look down on them, but none can deny the effectiveness of a mystic’s ability to summon a fireball with a bright red leaf or call forth a giant worm with nothing but a piece of string.
Traveling mystics keep an eye out for promising apprentices and, when one is found, tutor them in the mystic’s arts. This process is dangerous for both apprentice and teacher, and can take a long time, but the apprentice gradually learns how to use whatever they can lay their paws on to enact their will. Because of the danger, most mystics live in the wild places of the world — leading some to call them feral — and make their own clothing and jewelry from natural fibers, bones, and shells.
Starting mystics know the three basic spells listed here:
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Animal Friendship: You compel an animal to trust you.
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Mystic Power: You manifest small, nature-themed wonders.
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Nature’s Might: Your magic strengthens a weapon you are holding.
Eager to learn more about the unpredictable and sometimes volatile nature of Cat Magic? Backers will have access to the current draft of Curious Cats of Mau chapter 3 on Tuesday! All backers of this project will be able to download the entire manuscript before the end of this campaign - before any pledges are processed or payments collected. So join in if you haven't and check it out and see if this game is for you before you commit!
If you're a Curious Cat, I know you've likely already signed up! But let's keep recruiting new backers and see if we can't unlock another Stretch Goal in the upcoming days!
#CuriousCats
#CatMagic
Curious Cats Draft Manuscript Part 2
9 months ago
– Fri, Feb 23, 2024 at 07:40:50 AM
Hell Curious Cats!
Now that we've officially funded, it's time to update my avatar!
That's better!!
I've got the next section of our Curious Cats of Mau draft manuscript today, and we're starting to get into some of the systems and rules chapters a bit. It's not just numbers and lists though, today is all about creating your cat character and making them a part of this fun and fantastic setting.
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Chapter Two (An Excellent Cat): Here are rules for creating your own cat character, plus an explanation of new rules for cat characters. Remember, sometimes cats and dogs approach the world very differently!
Yesterday, I shared a chapter from the
Realms of Pugmire core rulebook so you'd have reference material when needed. Tomorrow I'll do the same, with the dog character creation chapter from that book. But today's Cat chapter is the exciting bit for sure!
International Shipping – Collected in the Pledge Manager
One quick note about Shipping before we get into the manuscript previews.
First up, it's amazingly expensive to ship, especially from Onyx Path's home base in the US. We get that, but there's not much we can do at this time. Onyx Path is in a difficult space where the company is big enough that they're not saving money by fulfilling out of Rich's garage, but small enough that they can't really set up international partners to handle portions of the fulfillment. So we are where we are - for now.
The best we can do at this point is to plan carefully, advise everyone up front that international shipping will likely be expensive (see our projections on the main page) and only charge what it costs us when the time comes. We’ll be charging for shipping in the Pledge Manager once the books are being printed and we can deal with the actual shipping charges rather than using our best-guesses this far out. If you live outside the US and aren't sure you want the hardcover or other physical items, you can pledge to the PDF tier now and upgrade your pledge in the Pledge Manager once we know the final shipping costs.
DRAFT MANUSCRIPT PREVIEWS - BACKERS ONLY
Remember, thanks to BackerKit magic, these download links are visible to Backers only - you must be logged in and reading this on the website to have access to the manuscript preview links. So, if you're reading this via e-mail, click that "Reply to The Update" link on the bottom and I'll see you below the title treatment.
WE WANT YOUR FEEDBACK
I'm going to be sharing the manuscript in sections over the next 30 days, Part of the reason for that is to keep focus on one section at a time so the developers, Eddy and Lauren, can gather feedback to help guide the manuscript through the next steps of editing and development. To that end, they've created a special Feedback Form for you to submit your comments after reading each section!
You can submit your comments here:
CURIOUS CATS OF MAU FEEDBACK FORM <link>
FUNDED! - And Now Stretch Goals
9 months ago
– Thu, Feb 22, 2024 at 10:51:52 AM
Hello Curious Cats,
We're all gonna get some catnip!
Because working together, we helped fund the ongoing development and creation of the
Curious Cats of Mau PDF and hardcover book!
WE DID IT!
What a great way to start this campaign!
But let's not rest on our tails just yet - there's still a lot of days of campaign ahead of us, so let's see if we can maybe add another option or two, maybe introduce some new content and rewards, and celebrate some milestones along the way.
Of course, I'm talking about STRETCH GOALS!
As we increase the overall funding and support for the project, we’re able to add additional resources to the project, expand the rewards listed, and add in new offers and opportunities. Each Stretch Goal will have a target that, once reached, will add a project to the reward list for backers of the relevant Stretch Goal path. Whenever we achieve a stretch goal, the image will be updated to reflect the achievement.
At $22,000 in Funding – REDBUBBLE BACKER T-SHIRT – A Curious Cats
-themed Crwodfunding Backer shirt will be hosted on Onyx Path’s Redbubble store for a limited time. Only backers will be notified when the shirt becomes available for purchase.
At $25,000 in Funding – DIGITAL WALLPAPER – Cool Curious Cat artwork will be used to create a wallpaper for your computer desktop. This digital wallpaper will be added to the rewards list of all backers supporting this project.
At $28,000 in Funding – REDBUBBLE PET DESIGNS – A Curious Cats design will be hosted on Onyx Path’s Redbubble store and made available on pet merchandise, including pet mats, pet blankets, and pet bandanas. Backers will be notified when these options become available.
Why should pet owners get all the fashion, when we can deck out our pets in cool gear? I love this one and look forward to seeing our pets wearing some Curious Cat logos!
There we go! A trio of targets to take us through the first half of the campaign! We'll check in on these targets over the next few weeks as we get more of the draft manuscript and have other bits of Cat lore come out to satisfy our curiousity!
If you haven't read the first manuscript section yet, you can check out <This Update> to get the download link. We'll have the complete draft manuscript out to backers before the conclusion of the campaign - you'll be able to read the book before any pledges are processed or payments collected.
Let's keep up the good work, cool cats!
#CuriousCats
Rules of the Realms
9 months ago
– Thu, Feb 22, 2024 at 04:47:06 AM
Hello Curious Cats!
I know we're all cat-focused with this campaign, but today is a bit of a dog day. That's because
Curious Cats of Mau is a setting and character expansion for the greater
Realms of Pugmire game line, which means the foundational rules for the game are contained within the
Realms of Pugmire core rulebook.
With me so far? Good!
Now, the
Realms of Pugmire core rulebook isn't out just yet. It had it's own crowdfunding campaign last year, and I expect to see the PDF out this summer. But that won't stop us from sharing the rules with the backers of this project!
So, after that long preamble, we'll get to today's topic - the Rules of the Realms, which means we've got Chapter 3 from the
Realms of Pugmire manuscript available for backers to download today!
DRAFT MANUSCRIPT PREVIEWS - BACKERS ONLY
Remember, thanks to BackerKit magic, these download links are visible to Backers only - you must be logged in and reading this on the website to have access to the manuscript preview links. So, if you're reading this via e-mail, click that "Reply to/Read The Update" link on the bottom and I'll see you below the title treatment
.
