Physical timeline update
almost 2 years ago – Tue, May 03, 2022 at 07:47:26 PM

Greetings world builders

Just a quick update to let you know about some timeline changes.

What's changed?

Due to how the world is at the moment, the October delivery date estimate (for physical products) is going to be pushed back. I'm looking into realistic deliverable dates at the moment and will of course keep you all updated with news as and when I know it.

Why the change?

The world. 

The worldwide Covid pandemic has created delays for everyone, in all areas of the world - from resources and materials for manufacturing, staff time, all through to freight, and shipping. For example, China (the hub of our manufacturing) has been going through a high level lockdown across numerous major cities. This impacts all areas of their workforce and production chains. The current war in Ukraine has also put a lot of strain on international oil availability, and other resources, which may also considerably impact freight and shipping timelines for some time, on top of the already stressed timelines due to Covid. Brexit has also made trade very problematic between the UK and EU.

I've been in meetings with all of our shipping companies (each dedicated to different continents) over the last couple of months and have been told the same story by them all - timelines have grown considerably over the last couple of years. And these recent happenings have only served to extend the realistic window of delivery.

Never fear!

Everything is coming together nicely. The designs are looking great, and the products are shaping up to be better than I dreamed of! There's a new design for the Twilight and Dusk books too, but I'll show you that another time, I'm super excited about it!

ATLAS IS moving, but the final steps will take just a little longer.

Digital

Digital products are in various stages of completion, some very nearly ready to go, and some of those will begin to ship (digitally) as they're ready, which is actually quite soon!! With others following shortly after. Updates on that soon!

I'm in frequent meetings with the manufacturers (as well as shipping companies), and these are some of the very best manufacturers in the world (you probably already own numerous games and products from them already), so you can rest assured that this project is moving along nicely, and it will be with us all soon! 

And it will be all the sweeter when it is! :)

Happy gaming!

Ollie - Moonlight Maps

Let's look at the Monster Cards
about 2 years ago – Thu, Mar 31, 2022 at 11:06:30 PM

Greetings world builders!

It's Monster Card time!

I've been ticking off various stages of the ATLAS production recently, and I thought I'd give you a closer look at the Monster Cards we've produced. Without giving tooooo much away of course :)

The decks

As you know, there are 150 Monster Cards in the Monster Decks, 75 in each deck. These monsters - ...well...creatures, and humans, and animals too, they're not ALL evil monsters - have been carefully curated from the SRD (freely usable) list of official DnD 5e creatures. Ranging through all sizes, from tiny right through to Gargantuan, and almost all CR (challenge rating) levels - although we've covered almost every CR level we've put more weight in the low-mid range so you can enjoy them without having to necessarily wait until your party survive all the way to lvl 20 ;)

But rest assured, there are some very high CR level enemies in the decks!

On top of the expected devilish creatures, I've also included some regular animals, such as; Draft Horse, Elephant, Ape, etc because those friendly critters sometimes get caught up in the battles...Poor old Toby...

The cards

"What will the cards be like?! I want to hold them!" And so you shall. The finished cards will have rounded cut corners, so no stabbed fingers or bent edges here! I'm also discussing final texture finishes with the manufacturer, and will likely be going for a nice, tactile, finish on the cards to give them the quality they deserve. Perhaps a linen texture, or something rustic. So we get some extra purchase on the cards when our mid-battle, panic stricken, sweaty hands need some help. This finish will in no way affect the readability, or usability, of the cards.

The reverse side of each card will have the creatures' stat block, as you would have seen in previous promo images. These stats are being carefully designed to be quickly accessible and easily readable at a glance, without having to scour web pages, or read your scrawled notes.

My aim for these cards is to create something that really lasts. Great quality, very usable, and with beautiful artwork. I want these at your table for many years to come :)

Project we love - Pirate Borg (18 hours to go!)

Leaky keels, it's PIRATE TIME!

I backed this as soon as I saw it, the TTRPG world has been sorely missing some horrid pirate adventures, and this book looks sooo good I can barely contain myself!!

A scurvy ridden, rules light, art heavy tabletop RPG. Inspired by history, fantasy, horror, and rum. Your cutlass & flintlock won't save you from the hordes of skeletons, the Kraken, or even your own crew.  Pirate Borg is a self contained, rules light game based on and compatible with Mörk Borg.

Unique monsters, loot, classes, ships, simple mechanics for ship battles, and a whole horde more!

I like to spotlight other projects that I like and this one genuinely ticks that box. I can't wait to get my copy and start gaming on the high seas!! Don't wait on this one,  go check it out here!

Happy gaming!

Ollie - Moonlight Maps

Physical maps: first look at materials!
about 2 years ago – Wed, Mar 16, 2022 at 05:05:17 PM

Greetings world builders!

Exciting developments! 

Materials can make or break a product, and I want to make sure that we MAKE this one. I've been talking to various manufacturers all over the world, and spent a long time ensuring that the materials we're using will be of the very best quality! It's also very important to me that ATLAS is the best that it can be, as a product. I want it to 'just work', so you can enjoy what you're here to do - tell stories.

White samples

Here's a look at some map 'white samples'. These are test products that are plain, with no printed colours, so you can see and feel how your product might end up before you get down into print quality. 

These are both folded, how they'll appear in the books, with the Twilight map on top to the right, and the larger Dusk map behind. They have a gloss finish (for dry-wipe) which I'm testing right now. We'll fine-tune the amount/style of gloss further down the line once we can see how it acts with the printed maps.

Note: these white samples do not include the 'tab' (which connects the maps to the book/binder), as this is purely to look at material options at this stage. This will appear in later tests.

Lie flat!

It was very important to me that the maps lie flat (as flat as we can possibly get from a folded product), so I've been trying out various different card thicknesses and finishes to see which works the best as a table map. We want our minis and tokens to sit on the maps comfortably, enjoying the beautiful scenery and deadly dragon breath. These thicknesses have ranged from 157 GSM and below, up to 250 GSM and coated grey board (which although is a very sturdy material, it is not practical to have 50 folded grey-boards in a book :D  ). I think we've got pretty close in either 157 and 200 GSM, as you can see below.

Size

To give you a better idea of the size of the maps when they're folded in the books, this is a folded Dusk map (25x25 inches when opened flat). The Dusk book will be a little larger than this to hold all of the folded maps inside.

Once map finishes are chosen, full product manufacturing tests will be produced so we can make sure the design works fully as intended. At this stage we can then tweak sizes of the tabs, where the binder sits, the makeup of the books/boxes, and various other elements to make sure everything is perfect for manufacturing!

Exciting times indeed!

As always, thank you so much for being a part of this and bringing ATLAS to life!

Project we love - Crucible Magazine - 48 hours left!!

WHAT?! A monthly magazine for DnD 5e!? Filled with interviews, unique adventures, subclasses, a comic, DM tips, and more?! SIGN ME UP!!!

Crucible is a monthly magazine packed with over 80 pages of fifth edition content like adventures, subclasses, magic items, a four page comic, interviews, and more! Today is the first day to hop on the Kickstarter at https://www.cruciblemag.com/moonlight where you can get a FREE copy of their launch issue!

Crucible Magazine is reminiscent of the magazines of old with a next generation and modern look for a digital world. Each issue comes as a monthly printed magazine and PDF. Not only that, Crucible has teamed up with FoundryVTT and every issue comes built into a complete JSON module with all of the adventures and playable content included in one easy package!

There's only 48 hours left to get involved!

I'm genuinely really excited by this magazine concept. We've been long overdue a magazine like this for DnD!! Take a closer look and get your free copy here - https://www.cruciblemag.com/moonlight

Happy gaming!

Ollie - Moonlight Maps

Encounter card decks mini-update
about 2 years ago – Sat, Feb 26, 2022 at 02:40:26 AM

Greetings world builders!

Full production is underway for the encounter decks, and I CANNOT wait to explore them all!

Now that we're getting details locked in with manufacturers, our writing team has been let loose to create a plethora of exciting, atmospheric, and unique encounters to bring new levels of depth and life to your wonderful worlds!

As mentioned in a previous update - I had previously planned to adapt some existing encounters from my weekly releases, but as this project grew to unexpected heights I wanted to really make something special here and create everything from the ground up. ATLAS GMs only get the best, after all!

I'm also expanding the writing team by hiring at least 1 other writer. This will not only speed up production, but also help create much more variation in these encounters.

I'm excited. Very excited!

It won't be long before I can show you progress on these and other items from ATLAS! Fun times ahead!

Project we love - Seeds of Decay (1 day left!!)

A genuinely well formed and unique setting for 5e that really feels like a unique world. Can't wait to play me some little creatures against the rot!!

A crack has formed in the darkness of the Alwaysgreen Forest, leaking rot and decay. Trees are withering and crops are failing to mature. Strange, twisted creatures have been seen in the shadows. 

The Rot Weaver has returned. Will you save the forest from the spreading decay before it’s too late?

Seeds of decay is a 300+ page tome packed with exciting new content that you can immediately add to your 5E game.

Engage in compelling adventures; rules for inventing new equipment, building contraptions & foraging for components; plus a treasure trove of fully-illustrated spells, items, monsters & player options!

Check it out here - Seeds of Decay

Happy gaming!

Ollie - Moonlight Maps

DICE spotlight! - Mini update
about 2 years ago – Wed, Feb 16, 2022 at 02:19:32 AM

And just like that, another update...

Greetings world builders!

I've just locked in production for the 'Midnight' resin dice set! These dice are separate from the rest of the project manufacturing as they're being produced by a company that specialises in quality dice production (they will still be delivered with the rest of the items).

The dice

The dice are solid resin, cast with a deep blue transparent pigment which holds swirls of fine silver glitter. This combination mirrors the depths and mystery of the night sky. Each die is numbered with silver ink, with a custom Moonlight Maps crescent moon logo replacing the d20 '20' and the d6 '6'.

Each set comes in a custom made velvet bag to keep your precious dice safe, with the ATLAS logo on the front (so you dice Goblins don't lose it in the depths of your collections).

I can't wait to roll these!!

Project we love - Crucible Magazine

WHAT?! A monthly magazine for DnD 5e!? Filled with interviews, unique adventures, subclasses, DM tips, and more?! I'M IN!!

Crucible is a monthly magazine packed with over 80 pages of fifth edition content like adventures, subclasses, magic items, a four page comic, interviews, and more! Today is the first day to hop on the Kickstarter at https://www.cruciblemag.com/moonlight where you can get a FREE copy of their launch issue!

Crucible Magazine is reminiscent of the magazines of old with a next generation and modern look for a digital world. Each issue comes as a monthly printed magazine and PDF. Not only that, Crucible has teamed up with FoundryVTT and every issue comes built into a complete JSON module with all of the adventures and playable content included in one easy package!

This looks genuinely fantastic, a DnD magazine with all this?! I can't wait! Get involved here and check it out! - https://www.cruciblemag.com/moonlight

Happy gaming!

Ollie - Moonlight Maps