Fablecraft News

Greetings Mages! In this week’s update, we’re breaking down the pricing structure for the purchasable stuff that will launch in Tales of Fablecraft once we hit Early Access this summer. Before we get into the details, I want to make two notes.

First, prices will be lower while we’re in Early Access.

Second… We’re still making a free-to-play game.

Fablecraft will launch with the complete five-session The Road to the Starfall Festival Adventure included for free. GMs can use the 130+ assets from that Adventure and custom uploads to homebrew their sessions, too.

Today, we’re answering a bunch of questions we routinely get about the cost of the extra cosmetics and Adventures.

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

Let's begin!

[h3]Meet the Marketplace, a work in progress[/h3]

We’ll begin in the Marketplace. This screenshot represents a work in progress and features some temporary language, pricing, and features.



Those Mages among us with a lot of points in Perception may notice two things on that screenshot that we won’t talk about much today. First, the Unlock Content button on the bottom left will be where players can use a code to get content, whether that’s from a special at a convention or a giveaway online. Second, the Friends of Fablecraft button on the bottom right will allow players to support creators and small, local game shops that have worked with us to become partners. That second button won't be available at Early Access launch, but it'll be coming very soon.

Speaking of which, if you’re a local game shop and are interested, drop us a line on Discord. The idea here is that players can enter your unique code so that you get a portion of whatever is purchased. We’ll officially unveil this program down the line with details about how to sign up, but we hope this helps spread the word about our virtual TTRPG while supporting the stores that introduce us to some of our favorite games.

[h3] Okay, who needs to buy the pre-made Adventures?[/h3]

This is a quick and easy one! Only the Game Master needs to own the Adventures in order to run them for players.

Some parties will want to pitch in to split the costs, while others will continue allowing their friends to pay the GM tax on their own. We don’t want to ruin your table’s dynamics! No shame!

[h3]How much will five-session Adventures cost?[/h3]

Standard five-session Adventures will normally cost $19.99.

These Adventures will always include a complete Game Master Guide for running each session alongside a slew of original artwork, Battlemaps, NPCs, monsters, music, and soundscapes for GMs to use however they please… That includes homebrew and, of course, improvising once their party veers wildly off course.



Two paid, five-session Adventures will be available in the Marketplace once we hit Early Access: The House in the Manor and Murder on the Tipsy Pearl. We’ll be adding more of our original Adventures over time!

[h3]What types of cosmetics will Fablecraft offer, and how much will they cost?[/h3]

Two key cosmetics will be sold in Fablecraft: Dice Skins and Player Token Skins. They will each normally cost $2.99 separately or $4.99 when purchased as a pack of two.

Here's what the Dice and Token Skin section of the Marketplace looks like right now as a work in progress.



We love these cosmetics and think they’re a great way for players to express themselves when rolling and in battle. We’re really excited to grow the slate of options as time goes on. Personally, I want loads more Dice Skins.

We may offer other cosmetics down the line, but this is all we have planned for now.

[h3]What about discounts? Packs? One-shots? Future content and subscriptions?[/h3]

The Dice and Player Token Skin packs are a great example of how the Packs will work. We’ll bundle similar items together and offer them at a discount when you buy them as a group. So, instead of spending $5.98 for the Long Meadows Dice and Long Meadows Token separately, we’ll offer them as a pack that goes for $4.99.



We’ll also have things discounted over time, but we haven’t decided when and how those sales will start. They may be during seasonal events or tied to Steam sales. Just know that checking the Marketplace occasionally is probably smart, as things will be discounted.

We also intend to release some special one-shot Adventures (one of which is in production right now). These one-shots will work just like standard Adventures, but they’ll be shorter and cost less. We’re planning to launch the first one-shot later this year for $9.99, and it’ll come with a ready-to-run GM Guide and a host of new assets, NPCs, battlemaps, story scenes, and more.



Finally, the planned subscription. At launch, we won’t have a subscription available. However, as GMs get in and start homebrewing campaigns, we intend to offer a subscription to offset server costs. All GMs will get 100 MB of free storage for their homebrew needs. The subscription will be available to remove that cap.

Down the line, that subscription may include extra perks, but we haven’t gotten there yet in development. As for the price of the subscription? That’s undecided as well. We’re looking to keep it as inexpensive as possible, and we’ll share the price as we get closer to launching the subscription service.

That’s it for the Marketplace and the initial pricing plans for those Fablecraft goodies. If you have any questions, you can always comment on this post or hop into our Discord to chat with other players and our team.

We’ll see you in Mythas very soon, Mages! Don’t forget to add Fablecraft to your Steam Wishlist!

Catch you next week. 🧙

We’ve just dropped the largest update to the Tales of Fablecraft demo yet! Welcome to the official patch notes for v0.13. 🧙

We have a lot to cover with this update. As usual, we’ll start with an in-depth look at the marquee features (in both video and text form), and then we’ll give you the complete rundown of additions, tweaks, bug fixes, and known issues.

Let’s begin.

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[h2]Learn the Game Master ropes with a fresh tutorial 🎓[/h2]

The first version of the Fablecraft demo featured a single tutorial that covered the basics of our TTRPG system and gave players a glimpse of what it’s like to make decisions, roll skill checks, and engage in light combat.

Now, we’ve introduced a brand new tutorial that’ll teach you how to be a GM. Heads up, there are even more tutorials coming soon.

[h3]It’s time to become a GM[/h3]

Want to find out what it means to GM a game in Fablecraft? This GM tutorial takes roughly 15 minutes to complete, and it’ll show you how to change scenes, guide your players through roleplaying, ask them for skill checks, and even get them back on track once they’ve gone totally off the rails.



What’s more, it features two “players,” Kai and Cali, complete with their own hilarious backstories and outstanding voice work. I don’t want to spoil anything here, but it all involves a brooding performer, a quick-fingered thief, and a delightful kazoo.

[h2]Well, hello there, Combat Arena! 🤛[/h2]

Looking for a challenge? Or, maybe you’re looking for something to do while you wait for your party to show up… Either way, the Combat Arena is here for new sparring.



[h3]Tactical, single-player battles[/h3]

The first iteration of the Combat Arena mode, which arrives with Fablecraft v0.13, features an increasingly difficult set of four combat scenarios backed by a brief narrative.

You’ll guide three Mages as they take on typically peaceful creatures across multiple battles. As you clear each fight, your three Mages will level up and give you the choice of three new abilities for your next melee encounter.

Which will you choose?



[h3]Victory or defeat? Share your results[/h3]

Once you go through the combat scenarios and clear the final stage–or die trying–you’ll get a results screen that recaps your Combat Arena run.



The results screen features all sorts of stats like Average Sparks rolled, total Miscast Rolls, damage dealt, upgrades gained, and more.

Grab a screenshot and challenge your friends!

[h2]How about those delicious rewards? 🍰[/h2]

You may have caught the announcement last week; we’re giving away two rewards for clearing the new sections of the demo.

You'll unlock the Rainbow Cake Dice Skin if you complete the available tutorials (the Hero Demo and the GM Demo).



You’ll unlock the Rainbow Cake Token Skin if you complete the Combat Arena.

These unlocks will say with your account into Early Access release, too, so don’t worry!

[h2]Homebrew Environments are here[/h2]

Homebrew is crucial to Fablecraft, and the set of tools GMs have at their disposal to build robust adventures will grow through Early Access and beyond.

We’ve added one more with this update.



GMs can now upload a custom image for homebrew environment creation; it’s just a static image for now, but we’ll be adding support for animated environments down the line.

Even better, you’ll be able to create custom variants for each environment you add. Want to have day and night variants of Tokyo? You can do it.



And with that, we’re on to the patch notes.

[h2]The Complete Tales of Fablecraft v0.13 Patch Notes[/h2]

[h3]Features[/h3]

• We’ve officially opened up a 15-minute-long Game Master school with the GM Demo. Give it a shot!
  
• How about some single-player tactical combat? Take on the brand new Combat Arena mode, and share your results with friends.
  
• Want some sweet, sweet rewards for playing Fablecraft? Complete the Hero and GM Demos to unlock the Rainbow Cake Dice Skin, and complete the Combat Arena to unlock the Rainbow Cake Token Skin.
  
• Sick of Mythas (please say ‘no!’)? Now you can homebrew your own environments and their variants with image uploads.
  
• Speaking of variants, we’ve added a drag and drop to variant to stage feature that keeps the day, night, snowy, or sacked options behind the virtual GM screen as the environments are loaded.
  
• We added an eye icon to the password input field on the login screen so users can make sure they’ve typed the correct password.
  
• Nope, your memory isn’t going bad. We’ve updated the home screen for the demo!
  
• We’ve updated the level-up screen to better indicate to players that Charge is receiving an upgrade.
  
• In a rush to learn? You can now click the monologue boxes in the demo to run through dialogue faster.
  
• It’s okay, you don’t have to feel lonely. You can now access your friends list while in the Hero tutorial demo.
  

[h3]Bug Fixes[/h3]

• Fixed an issue where muted players would still be highlighted as speaking when enough noise was made.
  
• Fixed an issue where Rocksquitos would sometimes attack without dealing damage during the Hero Demo.
  
• Fixed an issue where GM Roll Requests would sometimes display an incorrect difficulty setting.
  
• Fixed an issue with the Camera instantly displaying during the demo if it was set to “on” in the settings menu.
  
• Fixed an issue where the Hero Demo would lock up when it was time to murder that last pesky Rocksquito. Begone, bug!
  
• Fixed an issue where the listed roll request in the GM Guide didn’t match the menu it opened. This was, admittedly, confusing.
  
• Fixed a broken Wishlist button. Hey, this is the perfect time to remind you to Wishlist Fablecraft on Steam!
  
• We also performed various smaller bug fixes.
  

[h3]Known Issues[/h3]

• The Hulking Slab enemy attack order is backwards, so you’ll be pushed before you’re attacked. The result is still the same.
  
• Display images may not show if you toggle video modes between side, minimized, and expanded views.
  
• Some battlemap variants may show incorrect tiling patterns. This doesn’t affect play, just the way things look.
  
• When a player leaves the battlemap, the battlemap may refresh for other players. Refreshing? Yes! Annoying? Only slightly.
  
• We’re seeing an issue where the input and output volume sliders may not work for some players.
  
• While you can see your friends list while you're in the Hero tutorial demo, you won't be able to send social DMs.
  

We wanted to give you a heads-up, Mages. 🧙

Very soon, we'll release a large update for the Fablecraft demo, including new content, a new single-player mode, and a giveaway.



[h3]What are we giving away?[/h3]

We're giving away two cosmetics, the Rainbow Cake Dice Skin and the Rainbow Cake Token Skin. Here are those delicious dice now.



[h3]What do players need to do?[/h3]

We're putting the finishing touches on a large update to the Fablecraft demo now, and that update includes a new combat trial mode and new Combat Style tutorials.

If you complete the Combat Style tutorials, you'll earn the Rainbow Cake Dice. If you complete the combat trial mode, you'll earn the Rainbow Cake Token.

[h3]Will this be timed like the Stress Test?[/h3]

No! But...

This offer will be available as long as the demo is live. We're looking to pull the demo down in the coming weeks as we shift focus on wrapping the Early Access version of Fablecraft. That's still due to release this summer, and we're on pace.

If you have any questions, join us on our Discord and fire away! We'll see you soon!

Welcome to the official patch notes for Tales of Fablecraft v0.12. Our intention with patch notes (like these and the ones we put together moving forward) is to surface the marquee features in a blog and vlog format before offering the bulleted update rundown you’re probably familiar with.

The largest additions that arrive with Fablecraft v0.12 are Charge and the Galaxy Dice Skin Giveaway we’re hosting as part of an upcoming stress test.

Watch the video for the high-level overview and dig into the nitty gritty with the text below.

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

[h2]Meet Charge, your gateway to dying 💫[/h2]

If you’ve played lots of Fablecraft before in the closed beta or even the recently launched demo, you’ll immediately notice something new around your character portrait. This gold, notched semi-circle represents Charge, a new, key resource.



[h3]What’s Charge and how does it work?[/h3]

Charge is a requirement for Spellcasting outside of battle.

Spells, listed in the Actions menu, now require Charge in order to activate. Whether you’re looking to apply the Self-care Spell for an HP refresh or Condescend to really prove your point to that poor Timberwolf, it’ll cost one Charge to make it happen.

Your Charge capacity will increase with level-ups, and GMs can add or remove Charge at their discretion.



Separately, as part of this update, we’re adding some different mechanics to Spells. Self-care is our first in this process, as we’re making it easier for players to manage their health outside of battle. With this update, casting Self-care will automatically increase your health, no GM interaction or roll required. We’ll be tweaking Spells like this more down the line, too.

[h3]”Right, but you mentioned death?”[/h3]

Death… yes…

If your HP reaches zero, you’ll be KO’d. Getting knocked out will reduce your Charge by one.



If you’re out of Charge, you enter a state that we’re calling “Spent.” If you’re Spent and you get KO’d, your character will die. It’s up to the GM whether or not to bring you back to life. You could want to let a Mage die forever. It’s your story!



Of course, if you’re the GM, you have the power to make the Charge and its tendrils as brutal or not brutal as you and your party prefer. GMs control Charge and can add or remove however they see fit. Want your players teetering on the edge of doom, you can do that! Want to be more lenient and flexible, you can hand Charge out like candy.

Our intention is to give you the tools to make Fablecraft as challenging as you like.

[h3]Tension and consequence[/h3]

Charge arrives to provide some fresh tension and drama to roleplaying through sessions. With Charge, players now have to think a bit before they utilize a Spell to discern the worth of a trinket, for example. It might not be worth the Charge to see how legit that sea shell necklace really is.

Down the line, Charge will see a bunch of different tweaks and updates. Give it a shot, and let us know what you think on our feedback board!

[h2]Get those Galaxy Dice this weekend[/h2]

In case you missed our earlier posts on Steam, Discord, and Twitter, we’re offering up some free Galaxy Dice just for playing the demo during our stress test.



We’re working to ensure the Fablecraft servers can handle an increased concurrent player count, and we need your help. Simply log into the Fablecraft demo on Steam between 1:30pm and 2:00pm EDT on Sunday, June 2nd, 2024.

The Galaxy Dice will unlock for the account that you’re logged in with, and you’ll get a pop-up once they’ve been added to your collection. It’s as simple as that!

[h2]The Complete Tales of Fablecraft v0.12 Patch Notes[/h2]

[h3]Features[/h3]

• We added the previously described Charge system as a Spell casting resource and penalty for KOs, and that includes a slew of new tutorial tools and menus that you’ll encounter during play.
  
• We also added a Spent status for characters who run out of Charge.
  
• Thanks to that Charge and Spent system, we’ve also added the bittersweet release of death for your characters.
  
• We re-worked the Self-care Spell to be automatic on cast instead of tied to a dice roll. That’s right; healing only costs a single Charge with no risk of epic failure hanging over your head.
  
• We spent some time making the GM Guide a little bit easier to read and navigate.
  
• We updated the error message that pops up when you try to begin battle without any bad NPCs on the battlemaps. We’re shocked you tried to get your players to murder each other. Well, maybe we’re not shocked. We’re disappoi-- just kidding, we’re not even disappointed.
  
• We added speaker highlighting to video and voice chat. Now you’ll know who’s talking as their box lights up when they speak.
  
• When you click into your inventory, you’ll now get a full view of those beautiful items instead of a small popup. It’s pretty!
  
• We added main menu details and unlock pop-ups for those Galaxy Dice that you’ll get for participating in the Stress Test on June 2nd between 1:30pm and 2:00pm EDT.
  
• We reworked the models for the Underwater and Galaxy Dice Skins.
  

[h3]Bug Fixes[/h3]

• Fixed a bug that would prevent Mages from casting Spells and rolling skill checks during inactive combat.
  
• Fixed a bug that would cause the chat menu to stick on the screen, no matter what you poor Mages tried to do to get rid of it.
  
• Fixed a bug that would cause the inventory panel to display incorrectly during battle.
  
• Fixed a bug that would allow players to open multiple pop-ups while selecting between Spells and Skills.
  
• Fixed a bug that would cause the inventory panel to be blank in some Story Scene sequences.
  
• Fixed a bug that would prevent players without attached Mages from opening and viewing character sheets.
  
• Performed visual QA to the GM Guide and demo flow.
  
• Improved the account creation flow a bit more.
  
• Fixed various, smaller bugs.
  

[h3]Known Issues[/h3]

• If you're rejoining a campaign built before the end-of-May release (v0.12), hero Charge will be set to 0 (only on initial entry). You can refill charge manually by right-clicking the hero, or use the bottom-right menu to recharge.
  
• If you're rejoining a campaign built before the end-of-May release (v0.12), your campaign might show a blank or empty Story Scene / Combat Scene. The GM can select a new environment or battlemap, and the game should resume as normal!
  

CLOSED BETA PLAYERS: YOU MUST LOG INTO THE DEMO, NOT THE CLOSED BETA, IN ORDER TO EARN YOUR GALAXY DICE. The Stress Test is on June 2nd between 1:30pm and 2:00pm EDT.

Join the Riftweaver team as we stream a session of Tales of Fablecraft, our upcoming virtual tabletop RPG. We'll be streaming here on our Steam page from 12:00pm PT on June 11th, 2024.

What mischief and mayhem will we create in Mythas during this fresh adventure?

Fablecraft will be free-to-play on Steam, on PC and Mac platforms, starting on this summer. Wishlist to be notified at launch!

https://store.steampowered.com/app/2176900/Fablecraft/