Left on the cutting room floor

One of the things that didn’t make it into the final version of Dreadnauts: Maiden Voyage was a Supplies & Rationing system.

It was supposed to be there, but somehow I didn’t notice it was missing until it was too late. It happens.

Fortunately, having this Substack gives me a place to share optional rules, additional content, and even systems that were accidentally left out. You can test them and decide whether to adopt them in your own games.

I’ll be testing these rules myself as I prepare the next releases and work toward the complete game.

Buy Dreadnauts NOW!

Usage Dice

My initial idea was to bring the usage die mechanic to Dreadnauts.

I first encountered it in The Black Hack, by David Black, an OSR game that takes a fast-and-loose approach to D&D-adjacent RPGs.

Instead of tracking every arrow, ration, or unit of water, you roll a die to see how much of a resource remains. If the result is neither a 1 nor a 2, nothing happens. But if you roll a 1 or 2, the usage die steps down one size, from a d10 to a d8, for example. Once you reach a d4, rolling a 1 or 2 means the resource is depleted.

Some argue that this isn’t much simpler than counting arrows or rations. I like it because it adds a tactile element to resource management and introduces a little unpredictability into what would otherwise be a rather tedious bookkeeping task.

A New Twist on Usage Dice

For Dreadnauts, I’m using the usage die mechanic with a couple of twists.

EDIT: These rules apply only to Ship Supplies.

Supplies & Rationing

Resources such as food, water, ammunition, and repair materials are tracked with Usage Dice. Each resource starts at d20. Whenever a resource is consumed, roll its die. If the result is equal to or lower than the Threat, step down to the next die:

d20 → d10 → d6

If the result meets the Threat on a d6, the resource is depleted.

Roll for food and water once per day. Roll for other supplies only when used, such as firing cannons or repairing sails.

Increasing the Threat. The Threat starts at 1 and increases by 1 after each Usage Die roll. The higher the Threat, the faster supplies dwindle.

Rationing. The crew can ration food and water, rolling their Usage Dice every other day instead of daily. However, announcing rationing increases Mutiny by 1.

Resupply. While at sea, the crew can replenish dwindling supplies through fishing, collecting rainwater, and similar efforts. A successful resupply reduces the resource’s Threat to 1. If the ship makes landfall and spends time hunting, gathering water, or collecting other supplies, reset the Usage Die to d20 and its Threat to 1.

EDIT:

Tracking:

You can use dice to keep track of your resources as follows:

1)Mark four circles on a blank sheet of paper and label them WATER, FOOD, AMMO, and MATERIALS.

2)Place the corresponding usage die in each circle, with the current Threat number facing up. 3)After each usage roll, increase the Threat by 1 on the corresponding die.

4)When a resource is resupplied, reset its Threat to 1 and adjust the die accordingly.

So, what do you think?

Is it better/easier than tracking food, water etc. unit by unit?

Let me know in the comments.

If you apply these rules on your games, please let me know how it went.

Buy Dreadnauts NOW!

Until next time,

Keep sailing!

Luiz

So I thought it would be a fun experiment to adapt some elements from the series to Dreadnauts. The goal is to show you how easy it can be to take ideas from a completely different source and turn them into a fun Dreadnauts game for your group.

Oh! If you haven’t watched the series yet and plan to, be warned: spoilers ahead. Lots of them.

What’s It All About?

Below is a six-episode Netflix series that tells the story of Calvin Penney, a Newfoundlander living in Snook’s Arm, a remote fishing community. He works as an iceberg scavenger, collecting clean ice from the sea and delivering it to a distillery that uses the meltwater to produce vodka.

In fact, the entire village economy revolves around the Crocker Corporation, a shady capitalist enterprise whose ulterior motives gradually emerge as the story unfolds.

But the story actually begins forty years earlier, in 1986 (Oh God, has it really been FORTY years already???), when young Calvin and his family were relocated, along with the entire population of Little Pot Rock, the isolated village they called home. The operation was carried out by the government and the Crocker Corporation.

During the sea transport of their entire house (one of the strangest things I’ve ever seen), something causes the house to get stuck in the middle of the ocean. Calvin’s father jumps from the boat onto the house to investigate, while Calvin, his mother, and his sister Nancy remain aboard with the company representative.

That’s when Calvin spots an enormous shadow beneath the boat. A gigantic eye watches him before disappearing into the darkness below.

Inside the house, Calvin’s father discovers something huge lurking beneath the floor. Before he can do anything, the creature bursts through the wooden floorboards, causing the house to tilt and begin sinking. The small boat carrying Calvin’s horrified family watches as the house disappears beneath the waves.

In a desperate move, Calvin cuts the rope connecting the house to the boat. He saves his family, but in doing so, seals his father’s fate.

Now, forty years later, the same creature has returned to terrorize the new village where the population was relocated decades ago.

The inciting incident occurs when Calvin retrieves a piece of ice contaminated with high levels of ammonia and a foul-smelling slime. It’s unfit for human consumption, but extremely interesting to the local Marine Science Center.

Soon, strange events begin disrupting life in the quiet fishing village. First, a gigantic iceberg drifts into the bay, just as the monster from forty years ago seems to have returned to haunt Calvin and his family.

To make matters worse, the ice contains microorganisms that begin infecting the local population. The symptoms include intense thirst, hallucinations, and paranoid episodes of self-harm, as if something were calling the infected out to sea.

From there, things get complicated, and describing every twist would be tedious. You’re better off watching the series yourself.

What Can We Use for Dreadnauts?

Several elements from the story can be transplanted into the Dreadnauts setting with very little work.

1. The Monster

The creature in the series, something resembling a giant octopus or squid, absurdly intelligent and hungry, is 100% Dreadnauts material.

You can simply use the stats for the Kraken or Giant Squid (Dreadnauts: Maiden Voyage, p. 49) and voilà: you’ve got yourself the perfect antagonist for a group aboard a ship, trapped in an isolated village, or stranded at a distant colony.

2. Another Monster

The infection can also be treated as a second monster or a secondary threat in the adventure.

Using the Horror Creation Tables (D:MV, p. 47), we could build this threat by rolling 1 on Table 1, 3 on Table 2, 5 on Table 3, and 10 on Table 4. This gives us a Tiny threat (invisible microorganisms), Fungus/Infection (it enters the body through the respiratory tract or contaminated water), Corruption (it affects the body and mind, causing delusions and psychotic episodes), and Insidious (it operates unseen, like a disease).

Fortunately, if the victim is restrained, given access to large quantities of clean drinking water, and allowed to rest, the symptoms subside within 48 hours, and the victim gradually regains their senses.

3. The Location

Snook’s Arm is a perfect setting to adapt for Dreadnauts.

It’s populated by curious, peculiar people whose lives are entirely bound to the ocean: fishermen forbidden from fishing by legal restrictions, marine biologists devoted to investigating the mysteries of the sea, and representatives of a predatory corporation.

It’s a powder keg waiting to explode, a place where player characters can establish relationships, get involved in local conflicts, and create the kind of interactions that propel the game forward.

4. The Corporation

The Crocker Corporation is a perfect stand-in for the Company, the all-powerful capitalist enterprise that exploits and ruthlessly controls trade routes and colonial expansion around the world.

5. The (Oc)cult

One of the most interesting elements of the series is also, unfortunately, one of the least developed: the strange community formed by the families who refused to leave Little Pot Rock and have survived there for forty years in a bizarre symbiotic relationship with the monster.

They call it “Mudder” (Mother?) and worship it as a deity.

Mudder provides fish for them to eat, a strange hallucinogenic substance, and protection against intruders. In return, the residents perform sacrifices to the sea in its name.

It’s a Lovecraftian cult through and through.

There’s even a curious custom in Snook’s Arm, actually a Newfoundland tradition where newcomers are invited to kiss a fish as part of a local welcome ritual. For those unaware of this tradition (such as myself!) it instills an element of pure folk horror, something you would expect in Insmouth or other Deep One related locales.

6. The Research Ship and the Marine Sciences Institute

The scientific angle can be used to contrast with the beliefs and occult elements surrounding the monster.

Of course, in Dreadnauts, the research vessel should look much more like the Beagle (the ship that carried Charles Darwin on his voyage) than the Calypso (the oceanographic vessel used by Jacques Cousteau).

The scientist in the series could be either a local with an education in Natural Sciences or a highbrow intellectual sent by the Company to gather information about the monster. If you want to add an element of comedy, this character could be inspired in Seinfeld’s George Costanza, and be someone who pretends to be a marine biologist (a natural philosopher, at the time).

Putting It All Together

Now, let’s try and turn all these elements into a Dreadnauts scenario for you and your friends to play. We can follow the D.R.E.A.D. Cycle, which I discussed in this article, and sketch out one possible way to use it.

Of course, you can adapt these same elements differently to fit the game you’re already running for your group. Feel free to make them your own!

D for Departure

This is where the story begins.

The player characters could be aboard a ship sent to Snook’s Arm to deliver supplies, transport a company representative tasked with pressuring the locals into accepting another relocation (freeing up the territory for its precious metal deposits), or investigate the strange events taking place in this remote settlement.

To establish the right atmosphere of horror, the location must be genuinely isolated, with no easy or immediate way to contact civilization.

R for Revelation

This is when the first signs that something is wrong begin to appear.

The slimy, foul-smelling ice. Rumors of missing people and boats, like the Portuguese fishermen in the series. Perhaps even the first sightings of the monster.

The first hints of a dark cult operating beneath the surface of village life can also instill the feeling that something is off at Snook’s Arm, setting the characters on an investigative trail.

The iceberg drifting into the bay could serve as the main trigger. It attracts the monster, contaminates the water, and infects the population.

E for Emergency

The monster’s first attack, targeting those who ventured out to investigate the iceberg, works perfectly as the next stage in the escalation.

The first attack could target a fishing boat, a Company vessel preparing to leave the settlement, or even the research team investigating the contaminated iceberg. The important thing is that the attack should change the situation in a way the characters cannot ignore.

Maybe the monster destroys the only boat capable of taking them back to civilization. Maybe the crew of a fishing vessel disappears, leaving behind a bloodstained deck and a strange substance clinging to the hull. Or perhaps the attack happens right in front of the villagers, forcing everyone to confront the fact that the old stories about Mudder might be true.

At the same time, the infection spreads. People begin acting strangely, the local authorities impose restrictions, and the Company tries to keep the situation under control. Some residents demand that the characters leave. Others beg them to stay and help.

Whatever happens, the characters should have more immediate problems than simply figuring out what the monster is.

A for Attack

Eventually, the characters must confront the threat directly.

This is where the situation boils over. The monster attacks the settlement, the Company’s mercenaries move to silence the witnesses, or the cult begins its final ritual. Perhaps several of these things happen at once.

The important thing is that the characters can no longer remain passive observers. They must act, make difficult choices, and face the consequences.

The nature of this confrontation depends on the adventure you’ve built. If the monster is the main antagonist, the characters might need to lure it away from the village, destroy its nest, or descend into the depths to find a way to stop it. If the Company is the real threat, they might have to fight their way through armed mercenaries to expose its crimes. And if the cult is behind the events, the characters might have to interrupt a ritual before the villagers perform the next sacrifice.

Of course, there’s no reason to limit the adventure to a single antagonist. The Company might be trying to capture the monster while the cultists attempt to protect it, leaving the characters caught between two opposing forces. The infected villagers could turn violent at the worst possible moment, or the creature might attack everyone indiscriminately.

This is where all the threads you’ve introduced begin to collide.

Don’t assume that the characters must fight their way through every obstacle. They might bargain with the cult, sabotage the Company’s operation, exploit a weakness in the creature’s behavior, or turn one faction against another. Reward clever plans and creative uses of the information they’ve gathered.

But whatever approach they choose, make sure their decisions matter. If they ignored the highbrow’ warnings, the infection might spread during the confrontation. If they earned the villagers’ trust, the locals might help them escape. If they made a deal with the cult, its members might demand payment at the worst possible moment.

The confrontation should be the culmination of everything that came before it, not just another encounter with a tougher monster.

And even if the characters win, the story isn’t necessarily over.

D for Defeat

In a nautical horror adventure, defeating the antagonist doesn’t mean everything returns to normal.

The monster might be dead, the cult dispersed, and the Company’s operation exposed. The survivors might finally escape Snook’s Arm and return to civilization, carrying enough evidence to prove what happened.

But something remains.

Perhaps one of the characters was infected, and although the symptoms have disappeared, they still hear something calling from beneath the waves. Maybe a character lost a leg during the confrontation, while another can no longer sleep without dreaming of the creature. A third might have made a terrible bargain with the cult and must now live with the consequences.

The survivors might also discover that their victory was incomplete. The monster’s body sinks into the depths, but nobody suspect its eggs to be hatching beneath the water. The Company is driven out of the settlement, only for a new expedition to arrive months later. The cult’s temple is destroyed, but someone has preserved its sacred relics.

You don’t need to turn every consequence into a new adventure hook. Sometimes, the most disturbing outcome is simply knowing that the world is not quite what the characters believed it to be.

This is the defining feature of horror: even when the characters survive, the experience changes them.

Let the players decide how their characters respond to what they’ve endured. Some might become obsessed with studying the creatures of the deep. Others might refuse to sail again, abandon their former lives, or spend the rest of their days trying to convince people that what happened at Snook’s Arm was real.

And some might discover that, despite everything, a part of them misses the terror.

The goal isn’t to punish the players for succeeding. It’s to make their victory meaningful by showing what it cost them.

After all, a Dreadnauts adventure should leave its mark. The characters may return to port, but they can never truly return to the people they were before they went to sea.

Making It Your Own

The best thing about adapting a series like Below is that you don’t need to simply reproduce the plot. Take the elements that appeal to you, change the relationships between them, and build a situation in which the characters would have meaningful choices to make.

For Dreadnauts, I’d focus on three questions:

• What does the antagonist want? Is the monster hunting, defending its territory, reproducing, or responding to something humans have done? Are the mercenaries protecting the Company’s interests? Does the cult seek to appease a god, or is it trying to bring something into the world?

• What is at stake? What will happen to the settlement, the expedition, or the characters themselves if the antagonists succeed?

• What will victory cost? What will the characters lose, sacrifice, or become in order to survive?

You don’t need to answer every question before play begins. In fact, leaving some things unresolved can make the adventure more interesting, provided you know enough to run the factions and respond consistently to the characters’ actions.

And that’s the real lesson here: you can take a story from a Netflix series, a horror movie, a novel, or even a newspaper article and turn it into a Dreadnauts adventure. You don’t need to adapt the entire story. You just need a dangerous situation, a few competing interests, and something lurking beneath the waves.

The rest is up to your players.

Now that the game is out there and following the course we’ve charted without any major storms along the way, I’m changing the name of our periodic update from Captain’s Log to Dreadnauts Update. Just on the account of clarity.

From this side of the deck, the work continues steadily:

1 - We are actively looking for new ways to promote the game.

If you are (or know!) someone with a YouTube channel, blog, podcast, Instagram profile, or any other news outlet focused on TTRPGs, please get in touch with me, so we can discuss how to send you a review copy.

Also, if you have any suggestions of people or channels/podcasts that might be interested in running actual plays of Dreadnauts, let me know.

And if you manage or frequent a Friendly Local Game Store that might be interested in having a few copies of Dreadnauts on the shelf, get in touch.

2 - We have already started working on the next releases

Right now, I’m writing two new books in parallel:

• One is an official periodic Dreadnauts zine. This is going to be a digest/A5 format, between 48 and 64 pages, and each issue will have a specific theme. The idea is that the zines become the official way to gradually develop and descre the Dreadnauts setting in greater detail while, at the same time, preparing new content for the complete edition of the game, which is somewhere on the horizon. These zines will be my way of offering players and Dread Masters official content in homeopathic doses, instead of dropping a tome of hundreds of pages on you. Besides more information and deeper exploration of the setting, we will have new Stations, optional rules or game systems that didn’t fit into Dreadnauts: Maiden Voyage, new maritime horrors, and - of course - ready-to-play scenarios that you can read-and-play with your group.

  

• The second product is a campaign book that mixes the concept of megadungeons with hexcrawl rules, adapted for a nautical horror setting. I can’t say much more at the moment, but in the next Dreadnauts Update I hope to be able to dive a little deeper and give a little more details about it. What I can say for now is that it will be set in a specific location in the world of Dreadnauts, a mysterious place that has inspired many works of fiction, including a cycle of stories by the master of nautical horror, William Hope Hodgson. If you know Greg Gillespie’s Barrowmaze, think of that, but at sea. Wanna know more? Wait for the next Dreadnauts Update, in November.

  

3 - We are looking for bold adventurers willing to write for Dreadnauts.

If you have a cool idea for a scenario, new rules, interesting characters, maritime horrors, short-stories, comics, music, interesting locations, or any other content to expand the world of Dreadnauts, please get in touch with me by leaving a comment, sending a direct message, or emailing me at hexplorepublishing@gmail.com.

We need more hands on deck to keep this ship sailing!

Well, that’s gonna to do it for now.

I hope you’re putting Dreadnauts to the test with your group and, if so, let us know! I’m very curious to hear from people running or playing Dreadnauts:

• How was the game?

• Did you have any problem in running it?

• How can we make the game better?

I want to hear from you.

So, until next time, keep your sails full and the helm steady.

See you at the next port!

May fair winds carry you!

Luiz,
Hexplore RPG

And now he’s just released a new music video which is pure Dreadnauts.

Watch and get inspired for your next nautical horror game.

https://youtu.be/_0fr6OHGgPs?is=UrhkLMX7Rw0qBfbM

It’s been a while, I know.

My last two months were absolutely insane, with the book finally coming out on GenCon and all that’s been happening since.

Time to get you updated on what exactly’s been going on with Dreadnauts.

Gen Con Release

Dreadnauts: Maiden Voyage was release during Gen Con and performed really well. The book were well received and there was a lot of buzz around it, with people coming to the Plus One Experience’s booth and asking for it, interested in finding out more about it.

If YOU are one of these fine folks, thank you!

Dreadnauts ended up being among the top sellers (2nd place if I’m not mistaken!) which is 20.000 Leagues beyond my wildest expectations. There’s a special pack with all the best selling titles on sale right now:

I was very flatered to hear that people from Tuesday Knight Games (Mothership) and Limitrhon (Pirate Borg) said some nice things about Dreadnauts, which is really encouraging.

Feedback From You Guys

Well, I’ve been refraining from posting too much on Facebook and Reddit groups to avoid being too obnousxious in promoting the game, but even so, some posts have had really cool responses. Both of compliments and questions, which tells me people are reading and enjoying the book.

However, I’ve still haven’t heard from anyone who has RUN IT. If that is YOUR case, if you had the chance to play or run a Dreadnauts game, I would absolutely love to hear about it, even if it was a more tempestuous voyage than you wished for. Any feedback will be appreciated as this ZERO EDITION is exactly designed to allow people to experience the game, make informed judgements and offer their criticism, suggetions, opinions and, if we so deserve, some compliments, hopefully!

So, don’t be shy - drop a comment, send an email, DM me. I’ll be more than happy to engage and talk about the game. I haven’t been doing much more than this lately, apparently…

If You Want to Hear From Me

I’ve been interviewed by Alex, at Golem Productions, and we talked about Dreadnauts. I think there are some cool things being said there, so check it out:

OSR Rocks! by Golem Productions

All My Fears, Brought to the Table

The ocean scares the shit out of me. Most large bodies of water do, honestly. I don’t like swimming at the beach, because just the thought of some unknown (probably harmless) creatures moving beneath my body drives me nuts. Flying over the Pacific was one of the most frightening experiences I’ve ever had. And yet, swimming next to a humpback whale in th…

Read more

2 months ago · 11 likes · 3 comments · Der_AJZ | Golem Productions

Once more, I thank Alex for the kind invite and the nice conversation.

The Road (?) Ahead

With the book finally out there, it’s time to plan for our next steps. And we’re not wasting time. Right now, I’m in discussions with a couple of authors and designers who expressed their desire to write and design something for Dreadnauts.

From the feedback we got so far, people are eager to get a sense of WHAT to do with the game. What kind of adventures, scenarios or campaigns are a good fit for Dreadnauts, as opposed to, say, Pirate Borg.

So, while I’m develloping a crazy idea I had about a very strange region of the sea, which will propably look very much like an ‘oceaninc megadungeon’ or a ‘hexsail/saltbox’ experience, we are also starting to work on some adventures.

There’s not much to say about that right now, but I thought I needed to put the word out and give you more news later.

On that note, if YOU have a cool idea, character concept, scenario proposal or setting development for Dreadnauts (from adventures to rules, to character materials or monsters), get in touch so we can guide you on how to PITCH your idea to us.

Loading the Hold

One of the things we wanted to do with Dreadnauts Maiden Voyage was to offer you guys a place where we could post Errata, Playtest Material, New Rules, DLCs, Random tables and special aids to help DMs to create and run Dreadnauts games.

Hopefully it will be availabla soon and I’ll let you know. Here and by email (if you’re a SUBSCRIBER).

That’s gonna do it for now

I’ll be back with more news about these exciting developments soon. In the meantime, you can sing up to be notified on new releases, updates and downloadable contents, just go to http://ttrpg.link/jointhecrew

As always, I appreciate all the support and excitement I’m getting from you guys and I hope we can make Dreadnauts worthy of your confidence and interest.

See you around,

Luiz.

Hexplore RPG

During college, I discovered his work in an Art History class and it simply clicked. There was something about the colors, the shapes, the way he expressed himself in his books and letters, reflecting on how he saw art, that always felt strangely familiar to me.

When I went to New York for the first time, I happened to walk past what looked like a typical town mansion, which turned out to be a gallery, hosting a Kandinsky exhibition. I asked my partner for an hour and dove headfirst into it.

I have to explain something: my brain is not a “standard brain.”

Lately, this has commonly been referred to as being neurodivergent, which sounds like some supercool class of psychohackers rebells in a cyberpunk world. Idea noted!

But the fact is that I can hear music in shapes, and vice versa. Paintings, especially, but not only, abstract ones, “sing” to me, suggesting notes, melodies, timbres, harmonies, in much the same way that music makes me visualize lines, shapes, spaces, angles, and colors.

It’s quite a trip!

So imagine my surprise when I read the other day:

“Kandinsky literally saw colors when he heard music and heard music when he painted.”

There it was. Another piece of my puzzle fell into place. I am so deeply affected by the work of this Russian who lived so far away from me because, in this peculiar characteristic, we were actually quite close.

By the way, do you want to “hear a Kandinsky”?

This “condition,” or “nature,” also manifests itself in something some highbrows decided to call echoic memory and phonological loop. Apparently, these are useful terms for explaining how I memorize sequences of numbers through the “sound” of saying them, or how I can listen to the same song for decades and then, one day, all of a sudden realize what the lyrics actually mean, because all those years I was “hearing” the words as sounds rather than as units of meaning.

This is going to lead us to Dreadnauts, I promise...

As should be obvious here, one of the major inspirations for Dreadnauts was Iron Maiden’s “Rime of the Ancient Mariner.” Not coincidentally, another song by the band is one of my all-time favorites: “Stranger in a Strange Land”

And then, as so often happens to me, I have just discovered that this song, which has been accompanying me for exactly 40 years, since the release of the album in 1986, had a straight and secret connection to Dreadnauts that had completely eluded me.

The lyrics, as it turns out, have nothing to do with Robert Heinlein’s novel, which I suspected since I read it almost 40 years ago. Instead, Adrian Smith was inspired by the 1984 exhumation of the remains of John Torrington, a low-ranking sailor and the first casualty of the Franklin Expedition, which inspired the book and TV series The Terror.

If you have a strong enough stomach, read this.

And watch this documentary about the exhumation (viewer discretion advised):

And so we finally arrive at the fact that I can add yet another reference to the list of inspirations for Dreadnauts.

I hope you get some idea, piece of information, or nugget of value out of this winding and troublesome digression.

Let me know in the comments if you enjoy this kind of kinda-wacky reflection, or if I should use this space only for material directly related to the game. Perhaps the compromise is to create another section for “mumblings and musings” like this.

But Hold Fast!

I’ll be back soon with more news...

Until then, thank you for the support (and the patience...).

Luiz

P.S.: If you haven’t heard the news, Dreadnauts is OUT!!!!

Check the Plus One Experience online store:

https://plusoneexp.com/products/dreadnauts-maiden-voyage

Check out this 3-page comics by

It has all the elements of a great start for a Dreadnauts adventure.

What do you think?

Cheers.

Luiz

I’m very happy to tell you all that the launch of Dreadnauts at Gen Con was a success!

I have to admit that I am both humbled (and a little surprised!) by how the game was received, both from people who picked it up at Gen Con and from the response we have been getting online.

Seeing people discovering Dreadnauts, talking about it, asking questions and telling me that they are looking forward to playing it was incredibly rewarding. After spending so much time working on the game, it is a strange and wonderful feeling to finally see it in the hands of players.

So, first of all: Thank you!

But this voyage is only beginning.

Over the next few months, besides continuing to promote the first edition of Dreadnauts, appropriately named Maiden Voyage, I will be dedicating a good deal of my time to creating material to support the Dread Masters and players who decide to venture into the Sea of Madness.

The first step will be The Hold, our repository of free Dreadnauts content.

We will be adding all sorts of material there to help you run and play the game. Character sheets, tables, monsters, ideas, resources and other things designed to make your Dreadnauts games stranger, more dangerous and more memorable.

You can sign up to receive updates at: http://ttrpg.link/jointhecrew

Also I’m already thinking about the first Dreadnauts scenarios. This is probably the request I have heard the most since the game was released, and I hope to put the first one into production soon.

In the meantime, I want to continue using this Substack to explore the ideas behind Dreadnauts, sharing game ideas, tips for Dread Masters, monsters, rules discussions and talking about some of the works that influenced the development of the game.

That means films, television series, short stories, novels, games and anything else that might have something interesting to teach us about horror at sea.

But I don’t want these posts to be simple recommendations.

I want to look at them from the perspective of the game table. What can we learn from them? What makes a particular situation frightening? How can an idea from a movie or a story be turned into an encounter? How can a particular atmosphere, creature or situation inspire your Dreadnauts adventures?

Hopefully, this will give greenhorn Dread Masters a few more resources for creating their own challenges and maritime horrors. After all, there is only so much horror I can put into the book. The rest is up to you guys.

Well, that’s all for now.

Thank you once again for the incredible support Dreadnauts has received.

And please send us your session reports, suggestions for improvements, ideas for future products, questions, criticisms, strange stories, or anything else you think we should know.

We’re here to listen.

Get your print or digital copy here.

Fair Winds,

Luiz Ricon
Hexplore RPG

Johan Egerkrans, the great artist behind Dragonbane visual awesomeness is a must-follow on all of the social thingys.

In this post from his FACEBOOK, he gifts us with astounding visuals for six different kinds of sea serpents, based on the works of the “father of cryptozoology”, Bernard Heuvelmans.

If you’re like me, you probably would include these creatures in your future Dreadnauts games.

So, below you will find the game stats of the six new nightmares of the sea shown above and three more, only mentioned in the post.

They follow the same structure I used on Dreadnauts - Maiden Voyage to describe sea creatures:

• One-sentence description

• Stats compatible with existing monsters

• One special ability, described briefly

• Simple attacks, keeping it simple

1. Humped Sea Serpent

A colossal serpent whose long body rises from the sea in a chain of great humps, often mistaken for several whales or dolphins travelling together.

Size C 55 A 3 I 65 W(Hp) 3 (20) ATT Bite/Crush 3d10

False Length: Creatures attacking from long range suffer [-] as they struggle to judge which hump hides the creature’s true head.

2. Merhorse

A graceful horse-like creature of the open sea, said to guide lost ships—or lure sailors to watery graves.

Size C C 45 A 1 I 55 W(Hp) 2 (15) ATT Hooves/Bite 2d10

Ghostly Gallop: Once per encounter it may move anywhere within sight before attacking.

3. Long-necked Seal

A curious marine beast with an impossibly long neck that peers silently above the waves before striking.

Size C C 40 A 2 I 60 W(Hp) 2 (18) ATT Bite 2d10

Sudden Reach: Ignores cover provided by a ship’s railings or rigging.

4. Grandfather-Turtle

An ancient dragon-turtle whose jagged shell resembles a floating fortress. Revered by sailors as the oldest predator in the sea, it crushes ships before exhaling clouds of scalding steam.

Size C C 70 A 20 I 60 W 8 (80) ATT Bite/Claws 5d10

Scalding Breath: Once per encounter, exhales superheated steam. Every creature on deck must make a Body Save or suffer 2d10 DMG. On a failure, the ship also suffers +1 HDMG from shattered timbers and blistering steam.

5. Marine Saurian

A savage marine reptile with enormous jaws and powerful flippers, hunting anything that enters its territory.

S H C 60 A 4 I 60 W(Hp) 4 (20) ATT Bite 3d10

Death Roll: On a successful hit, Body Save or suffer an additional 1d10 DMG.

6. Monster Eel

A gigantic eel lurking inside wrecks and underwater caves before exploding forward with terrifying speed.

Lightning Lunge: If it attacks from hiding, the first attack has Advantage.

Size H C 55 A 0 I 70 W(Hp) 2 (15) ATT Bite/Constrict 3d10

7. Multi-finned Whale

A massive whale whose dozens of broad fins allow astonishing bursts of speed and impossible underwater maneuvering.

S H C 55 A 2 I 55 W(Hp) 5 (40) ATT Slam/Ram 3d10

Cyclone Wake: Ships within Close range must Save vs. HLM or drift for one round in a direction chosen by the DM.

8. Giant Otter

A gigantic river and coastal predator possessing frightening intelligence and playful cruelty.

Size C C 50 A 1 I 60 W(Hp) 2 (118) ATT Bite/Claws 2d10

Pack Hunter: Gains [+] while an ally threatens the same target.

9. Yellow-bellied Tadpole

A grotesque amphibious horror with an enormous yellow belly and a tooth-lined circular mouth, drifting motionless before engulfing prey.

Size H C 45 A 3 I 45 W(Hp) 5 (30) ATT Bite/Swallow 3d10Bite

Voracious Gullet: On a critical hit, the victim must Body Save or becomes swallowed. Swallowed victims suffer 1d10 DMG each round until freed.

Design Comments

I think these creatures fill ‘gaps’ in the existing bestiary:

• Humped Sea Serpent: deceiving reptile, difficult to hit.

• Merhorse: fairy creature, more supernatural than predatory .

• Long-necked Seal: stalker, makes surprise attacks over the railings .

• Grandfather-Turtle: a dragon turtle, a mythic, scary boss creature.

• Marine Saurian: brute force predator, akin to a giant crocodile/aligator.

• Monster Eel: stealth killer lurking in wrecks and caves.

• Multi-finned Whale: controls the battlefield forcing ships to move instead of causing damage.

• Giant Otter: extremely inteligent pack hunter.

• Yellow-bellied Tadpole: specialized in swallowing victims, offers a different mechanic than existing creatures.

I also believe this nine horrors will fit nicely along any monsters from the Age of Sails, as with those depicted in naval charts of the time, medieval bestiaries and illuminbated manuscripts, keeping with the simplicity and elegance of the Panic Engine.

If you happen to use them in your Dreadnauts games, please comment below. Also, if you have already got your copy, tell me what you think of the book and the game in general.

Thank You!

Luiz Ricon - Hexplore RPG

If you missed the convention, you can order a print or digital copy at

https://plusoneexp.com/products/dreadnauts-maiden-voyage

In the meantime, check this awesome diorama that hits all the right notes of a Dreadnauts encounter.

But first, roll a Sanity Save…

We’ll be back with more news about Dreadnauts soon.

So stay tuned!

Cheers,

Luiz Ricon - Hexplore RPG

If you happen to be at GENCON, just sail to BOOTH 449 and grab your copy.

And, please, say “Ahoy!” to Tony Vasinda for me!

Cheers!

Luiz Ricon

With Dreadnauts so close to the release date, I’ve been receiving messages and comments asking about adventures for the game.

As a ZERO EDITION, Maiden Voyage packs just enough to get you started and, as such, there was no room for a full introductory adventure. However, you will find a lot of tables to generate elements and ideas for your games, from generating seaworthy ships, to derelicts full of mysteries and loot, from inciting situations to strange locations to inspire encounters and stories, from a list of NPCs to a full-fledged Horror generator, to create all sorts of nightmares for you and your players.

Even so, I think I can offer some additional help.

In this post, you will find a list of selected movies and series that can inspire you as they did with me. I recommend you watch them with pen and paper to take notes of scene elements, characters, situations, set pieces and anything that can be repurposed or transformed to be part of your games.

Most of these movies (and series) can be watched on streaming platforms, and some might be available ‘on the high seas’, if you catch my meaning…

Oh, and the order dowsn’t mean anything, as they are organized alphabetically:

1. Black Sails (2014–2017)

A gritty prequel to the classic “Treasure Island”, following Captain Flint and his crew as they battle rival pirates, naval forces, and their own ambitions in the Golden Age of Piracy.

2. Boundless (Sin límites) (2022)

A historical miniseries chronicling Ferdinand Magellan’s and Juan Sebastián Elcano’s expedition, the first successful circumnavigation of the globe, highlighting the hardships, political tensions, and extraordinary endurance of the voyage.

3. Cold Skin (2017)

A young weather observer arrives on a remote island where he and a mysterious lighthouse keeper must survive nightly attacks by amphibious humanoid creatures, blurring the line between monster and man.

4. In the Heart of the Sea (2015)

Based on the true story of the whaleship *Essex*, whose sinking by a massive sperm whale inspired Herman Melville’s *Moby-Dick*. A tale of survival, obsession, and the unforgiving power of the sea.

5. Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World (2003)

During the Napoleonic Wars, Captain Jack Aubrey relentlessly pursues a powerful French privateer across the world’s oceans, balancing duty, friendship, and the harsh realities of naval warfare.

6. Moby-Dick (1930, 1956, 1998, 2011)

Adaptations of Herman Melville’s classic novel, in which the obsessive Captain Ahab leads the crew of the *Pequod* on a relentless hunt for the legendary white whale that cost him his leg.

7. The Last Voyage of the Demeter (2023)

Based on a single chapter from Bram Stoker’s *Dracula*, the film follows the doomed crew of the merchant ship *Demeter* as they discover a terrifying predator stalking them during their voyage to England.

8. The Lighthouse (2019)

Two lighthouse keepers descend into paranoia, madness, and supernatural terror while isolated on a storm-battered island, in a psychological horror inspired by maritime folklore.

9. The Terror (2018)

Inspired by the doomed Franklin Expedition, this historical horror series follows two Royal Navy ships trapped in Arctic ice while their crews face starvation, mutiny, and an ancient supernatural predator.

The work that first sparked the creation of Dreadnauts and remained my guiding compass for shaping its tone—a perfect balance of horror, mysticism, paranoia, and despair.

10. Triangle (2009)

After a sailing trip goes horribly wrong, a group of survivors boards an abandoned ocean liner where they become trapped in a terrifying time loop of mystery, violence, and psychological horror.

Set in the 21st century but easily adaptable to the Age of Sail, the film masterfully explores the terrifying consequences of the paradoxes inherent in time travel.

Have you seen any of these?

Do you know any nautical horror movies or series that will fit in this list?

Comment with the titles.

Until next time,

Keep sailing!

Luiz Ricon

Today I’m announcing a brand new addition to my Substack publication: Hexplore RPG Substack subscriber chat.

This is a conversation space exclusively for subscribers—kind of like a group chat or live hangout. I’ll post questions and updates that come my way, and you can jump into the discussion.

This chat is where I'll share development updates, inspirations, behind-the-scenes content, and answer questions about Dreadnauts. With Gen Con just around the corner, this is the best place to follow along.

Join chat

How to get started

1. Get the Substack app by clicking this link or the button below. New chat threads won’t be sent sent via email, so turn on push notifications so you don’t miss conversation as it happens. You can also access chat on the web.

Get app

2. Open the app and tap the Chat icon. It looks like two bubbles in the bottom bar, and you’ll see a row for my chat inside.

3. That’s it! Jump into my thread to say hi, and if you have any issues, check out Substack’s FAQ.

Great news!!!

Dreadnauts is finally being released.

The Zero Edition of the game, aptly named Maiden Voyage is schedule to hit Plus One Experience’s online store on July, 27th, in both Digital and Print formats.

But if you want to see the book ‘in person’, you’ll have a good chance to do it at GenCon. Just dock your boat by Plus One Experience, on booth #449 (with Indie Press Revolution) and have a look.

But hurry up! Stocks are limited.

Until then, you can enlist to receive updates, news and other goodies at http://ttrpg.lin/jointhecrew

Now, to celebrate, I’m sharing a few images of the printed copies, straight from the warehouse. They look and feel amazing! See for yourself.

I hope you enjoyed this sneak peek (as much as I did!) and feel free to leave your impressions, comments, suggestions or remarks.

I’d love to know!

As always, thank you for supporting this project and see you on the open sea!

Luiz.

Sign up to be notified when it’s out

http://ttrpg.link/jointhecrew

While I work on the final adjustments for Dreadnauts: Maiden Voyage, the zero edition of my nautical horror hack of Mothership RPG, I also returned to an older idea that is finally beginning to take shape: Trailblazers, a Dark Frontier setting for Shadowdark.

As promised in my previous post about Trailblazers, this article introduces the first new class created for the setting: the Bushmaster.

The idea behind the new classes

When I first developed Trailblazers, the intention was to adapt the structure of Shadowdark by replacing its grim medieval fantasy setting with a colonial dark frontier world. The first step in that process was defining the character classes.

Shadowdark uses the four core archetypes from old-school Dungeons & Dragons, especially the B/X lineage, within a modernized 5e chassis: Fighter, Thief, Cleric, and Magic-User. To preserve that structure in Trailblazers, I began designing classes that fulfill the same functional roles, adapted to the new setting.

The goal is to give players and game masters enough familiarity to reduce friction when entering the setting, without requiring them to relearn the fundamentals of their characters. The identity of the original classes is preserved, but expressed through a different thematic lens.

Depending on feedback from players and game masters, additional classes may be introduced to expand play styles within the Dark Frontier. For now, the design begins with a small and focused foundation.

The initial four classes are:

The Trailblazer, replacing the Fighter. Explorers, scouts, and frontier conquerors. Trailblazers push beyond the edges of the map, crossing untamed rivers, forgotten trails, and hostile jungles in search of gold and glory.

The Bushmaster, replacing the Thief. Hunters, trackers, scouts, and wanderers tied to the supernatural wilderness of the Dark Frontier. Bushmasters read clues in broken branches, ripples in water, animal cries, and shifting winds. Some believe the jungle itself communicates with them.

The Spirit Caller, replacing the Magic-User. Shamans, herbalists, and speakers of the dead. Spiritcallers stand between the living and the unseen. Visions, rituals, and ancient traditions allow them to commune with ancestors and the spirits of the Darkwild.

The Missionary, replacing the Cleric. Preachers, healers, and exorcists. Missionaries bring faith to the Dark Frontier. They offer salvation, tend the sick, and confront supernatural forces, acting as a fragile beacon of hope in a dangerous world.

The Bushmaster: attuned to the wilderness

The first class being released is the Bushmaster. In mechanical terms, it fills the specialist role occupied by the Thief in Shadowdark. In literary and historical contexts, relevant inspirations include Hawkeye from The Last of the Mohicans and Sacagawea, the interpreter and guide of the Lewis and Clark expedition.

It can be argued that the Bushmaster is closer to the Ranger archetype than to the Thief. The design focus, however, is on party function. The Thief operates as a specialist in dungeon environments, while the Bushmaster fulfills a similar role in wilderness exploration, ensuring safe passage through hostile natural terrain.

The Bushmaster also maintains a supernatural connection to the natural world, expressed through class features and access to a dedicated spell list. This is designed to avoid direct overlap with the Spirit Caller, who represents the full spellcasting tradition in Trailblazers.

For this reason, the Bushmaster is designed as a half caster, with fewer spells, slower progression, and a delayed start, gaining access to the first spell at level three. This progression reflects their extended time spent in the wilderness, developing skills and deepening their connection to it.

Special features

Bushmasters begin the game with two core features derived from their bond with the natural world.

The first is Wilderness Bond. A Bushmaster cannot be surprised in wilderness environments unless they are unconscious or under supernatural influence. This reflects their ability to interpret subtle environmental cues such as sound, movement, and absence of life.

The second feature allows the Bushmaster to invoke the force of nature to gain advantage on specific tasks such as tracking, foraging, navigation, and similar survival-based actions. This positions them as expert guides and scouts capable of consistently reading and responding to environmental conditions.

A major limitation

To reinforce thematic and systemic tension, Bushmasters interact with firearms in a restricted way. Black powder weapons represent a destabilizing force within the setting, particularly in conflicts between settlers and indigenous peoples.

Due to their deep connection to the wilderness, Bushmasters cannot use firearms or remain near their use without consequence. If they are exposed to a firing weapon within close range, they must make a Wisdom saving throw. On a failure, they lose access to Wilderness Bond, Wild Senses, and spellcasting until they complete a rest.

Wild magic

The Bushmaster spell list reflects a style of magic deeply rooted in the wilderness. It includes natural forms of protection, communication with animals and plants, and abilities that enhance survival and exploration.

Bushmaster spells can often be performed in ways that resemble ordinary actions for someone with deep knowledge of the wilderness, such as touching soil, breaking leaves, or listening to wind patterns. This creates space for roleplaying moments that blend mechanical effects with narrative expression, reinforcing the integration between character and environment.

Take a look for yourself

The Bushmaster is not just a class. It is a statement of intent for the Dark Frontier. A character who does not simply survive the wilderness, but reads it, listens to it, and is shaped by it.

This is the design direction Trailblazers aims to explore, where mechanics and fiction collapse into one another, and where the environment is an active force shaping every decision at the table.

The full Bushmaster class is already available as a playable PDF on DriveThruRPG. It includes the complete spell list, progression table, and expanded rules for wilderness interaction and Black Powder corruption, ready to use in Shadowdark campaigns.

You can get it here:

This is the first class released for Trailblazers. More will follow, each one designed to reshape how exploration, danger, and belief operate within the Dark Frontier.

If you play it at your table, I would be interested to hear how it performs, what breaks, what works, and what emerges when the wilderness starts responding in unexpected ways.

See you on the Wild Side!

Luiz.

Writing an RPG zine is a lot like preparing for a long sea voyage.

There is a constant tension between everything you want to bring and everything the ship can carry. Planning, prioritization, and choices become unavoidable. Do we load more hardtack (tack-tack!) and salted meat, or more cannonballs? Will this amount of fresh water sustain us until we reach an island where we can refill our barrels?

As Dreadnauts draws ever closer to leaving the docks and setting sail, it is time to make difficult decisions.

Today, I want to talk about some of those decisions and about how format, scope, and the realities of publishing shape (and sometimes restrict) the work of game designers and writers. And about how it is far better to make painful choices now than to find yourself throwing cargo overboard later just to keep the boat afloat.

Why a Zero Edition?

When I decided to launch Dreadnauts as a Zero Edition, I was driven both by practical limitations (time, production costs, and final price) and by the ecosystem in which the game will inhabit.

The community built with remarkable passion and creativity around Mothership is one of the most vibrant and active in tabletop gaming today. Creators and fans alike are constantly experimenting, sharing ideas, and pushing the boundaries of what the Panic Engine can do.

A few similar projects inspired Dreadnauts, like Cloud Empress, Ruination Pilgrimage, and the recent Fatherfog. All of them, in one way or another, helped shape the bones of this game, and I owe them.

So, the safest and most promising course is to start with a Zero Edition that introduces the setting, explain the fundamentals, and gives Players and Dread Masters a chance to test the waters before diving fully into a new campaign and rules system.

The 0E also gives us the opportunity to gather feedback from players which will influence future revisions, adjustments, and even complete redesigns of parts of the rules.

The Inevitable Trade-Off

But (and it is a big but!) at some point, every designer must weigh, evaluate, and choose.

The urge to include everything in the game, and then some, is real. We want to give players and game masters as many tools, options, and ideas as possible. And the temptation to add one more subsystem or one more resolution mechanic can be irresistible.

Plan, Prioritize, Choose

With that said, let me share where the Zero Edition of Dreadnauts currently stands.

First, the good news.

The layout is looking fantastic: immersive, atmospheric, and deeply inspiring. Mike Rieman is doing an amzing job combining period artwork, evocative typography, and thoughtful page design. I genuinely cannot wait for you to see it.

Now for the not-so-good news.

We have reached the point where it is simply impossible to fit everything I envisioned into a zine of 48 to 64 A5 pages.

Choices must be made. Cuts must happen. Some rules and game elements that I genuinely love will have to be let go.

My priority is to streamline the text and rules as much as possible. Hopefully, what you will find in the Zero Edition is a carefully distilled version of what has been developed for Dreadnauts, focused on delivering a fast, cohesive, and immediately playable experience. Especially for those already familiar with Mothership and the Panic Engine.

So, my fellow sailors, the tactical naval combat rules and the procedural system for long sea voyages unfortunately will not fit into our cargo hold.

As I write this, I am actively remodeling the chapters on ships, navigation, voyages, and naval combat to better align with the lighter, streamlined approach used throughout the zero edition.

But I do have another piece of good news.

Fortunately, none of these rules are being thrown overboard as flotsam and jetsam. They will be waiting for us in the dockside warehouses for our future voyages.

A Treasure Trove for Dreadnauts

While the Zero Edition will contain everything you need to create characters, run adventures, explore cursed seas, and experience the core mechanics of Dreadnauts, many parts of the game will remain under active development and playtesting.

Rather than locking unfinished systems into print, we have chosen to focus on the foundations of the game while offering Players and Dread Masters access to a treasure trove of digital content.

It’s not clear exactly WHEN (or HOW) we will implement this, but the current plan (and plans, like ships, can always change course with the wind) is to create an online repository for additional content for both Players and Dread Masters.

Getting the book in print or PDF form, will grant you access to an ever-expanding collection of optional rules and playtest material, including:

• Expanded rules for sea voyages and naval encounters
• Optional tactical ship-to-ship combat systems
• Additional Stations, Skills, and equipment
• Mini-adventures and scenario ideas
• Random generators and tools for the Dread Master
• New monsters and horrors from the Sea of Madness
• Rules updates, revisions, and errata

Naturally, these materials will evolve based on community feedback and ongoing playtesting. So, if you choose to play or run Dreadnauts, we urge you to share your experiences, report issues, and tell us what worked, and what did not.

Your feedback will help shape future editions of the game.

That’s all for now.

Keep rowing!

Luiz
Hexplore RPG

The last settlement is now days behind you. Ahead lies the Darkwild: a green hell of tangled jungles, winding rivers, lost cities, forgotten ruins, hidden treasure, and unnatural horrors whispered about around campfires.

Some come here in search of gold. Others seek glory, knowledge, redemption, or escape.

But most never return.

Welcome to Trailblazers

Trailblazers is a Dark Frontier Fantasy setting for Shadowdark RPG.

Inspired by frontier exploration, colonial expeditions, folk horror, survival tales, and the myths and legends of the early Americas, Trailblazers takes adventurers to the edge of the known world.

Vast territories remain unmapped, strange creatures lurk beyond the reach of civilization, and every journey into the wilderness carries the promise of discovery.

Or disaster!

Trailblazers is an independent, third-party setting, published under license and not affiliated with The Arcane Library or Shadowdark creators.

The World Beyond the Dark Frontier

The Dark Frontier is a place of opportunity. But it is also a place of danger.

Fragile settlements cling to rivers and coastlines, surrounded by immense and unexplored stretches of wilderness. Merchants dream of new trade routes. Treasure hunters chase rumors of lost cities. Missionaries travel into lands few outsiders have ever seen. Soldiers and mercenaries seek wealth and recognition.

But the Darkwild does not surrender its secrets easily. Expeditions into the wilderness face starvation, disease, hostile terrain, rival explorers, and countless dangers never seen before.

The Darkwild

If the Shadowdark lies beneath the known world, the Darkwild stretches beyond its edges.

It is the vast wilderness beyond the last settlement, where maps end and certainty disappears. Ancient forests swallowing forgotten roads. Rivers carving paths through lands few have ever seen. Ruins from lost peoples hidden beneath tangled roots and creeping vines.

The Darkwild is more than a place. It is a feeling.

A brutal realm of mystery, danger, and opportunity where fortune and death walk hand in hand. Every expedition into the Darkwild risks getting lost forever, but countless adventurers continue to push deeper, seeking wealth, knowledge, and glory.

The Darkwild rewards the bold and punishes the careless. Preparation matters. Resources are scarce. Every journey carries risk. Every discovery feels earned.

But if the Shadowdark keeps its secrets deep underground, the Darkwild hides them beneath endless canopies, across uncharted rivers, and beyond the blurry lines traced on maps.

Who Are the Trailblazers?

The people of the frontier are not heroes. They are survivors.

Guides and explorers plunging deep into uncharted lands. Hunters tracking dangerous prey. Sellswords seeking coin where law is scarce. Missionaries carrying their faith into unknown territories. Scouts, traders, outcasts, sailors, deserters, and wanderers. Each with their own reasons for venturing beyond the safety of civilization.

Some seek fortune. Some seek purpose. Some are just running from their past.

But they all meet beyond the frontier.

What Makes Trailblazers Different?

Trailblazers is fully compatible with Shadowdark RPG, but it offers a very distinct style of play.

Trailblazers combines exploration, folk horror, unreliable firearms, survival challenges, and moral temptation into a unique frontier-driven experience where every expedition might change the maps as well as the people who survive it.

There are FIVE key elements in Trailblazers that make this setting an unique gaming experience:

1 - Exploration

At its heart, Trailblazers is a game about exploration.

Maps are incomplete. Roads are rare. Many regions have never been charted at all.

The setting is a natural fit for hexcrawl, sandbox, and West Marches campaigns, where discovery and player-driven exploration take center stage.

Every expedition becomes a journey into the unknown. Players must navigate rivers, forests, mountains, and swamps while managing supplies, gathering information, and deciding how much risk they are willing to accept.

A forgotten trail, an abandoned settlement, a hidden valley, or a ruined temple may bring discovery... or doom.

2 - Folk Horror

The frontier is filled with stories that most people dismiss as superstition.

But they are often wrong.

Trailblazers draws heavily from folk tales, regional myths and legends, and oral traditions. Strange lights appear over the water. Hunters vanish without a trace. Travelers hear voices calling their name deep in the forest where no one should be.

The horrors of the frontier are often stranger, older and far more difficult to understand.

3 - Gold and Corruption

Gold lures people beyond the frontier.

Expeditions are launched for it.

Wars are fought over it.

Lives are ruined by it.

In Trailblazers, wealth is not merely a reward or game advancement.

It is a form of temptation.

The pursuit of fortune can transform individuals and entire communities. Ambition, greed, obsession, and desperation shape the frontier as much as swords and muskets.

The greater the treasure, the greater the danger.

4 - Black Powder and Firearms

Firearms have changed the frontier. A musket can bring down an armored foe with a single shot. A pistol can end a duel before it truly begins.

Yet black powder weapons are far from perfect. They are slow to reload, vulnerable to weather, difficult to maintain, and prone to failure when needed most. Firearms are powerful tools, but survival still depends on skill, preparation, and courage.

5 - Survival

The wilderness is indifferent to human ambition.

Storms destroy camps. Rivers sweep away supplies. Disease spreads through isolated settlements. Predators stalk travelers far from home.

The frontier tests every explorer.

Success requires more than combat ability. It demands planning, adaptability, and resilience.

Sometimes the greatest challenge is simply coming back home.

The Trail Ahead

This is only the beginning!

Over the coming weeks and months, I will be sharing previews, development notes, new classes, creatures, equipment, optional rules, and glimpses into the world of Trailblazers.

The first preview will introduce The Bushmaster Class, a specialist on wilderness survival and frontier exploration.

Until then, sharpen your blade, keep your powder dry, and your eyes on the trail.

The Dark Frontier is waiting. And it is hungry…

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