Fablecraft News

Greetings, Mages! 👋🧙‍♂️

The latest version of Fablecraft, v0.22, is live, and it delivers online play features to improve the Fablecraft experience, more Homebrew Battlemap tools, and the introduction of Fablecraft Plus.

We'll cover the big items before diving into the complete patch notes below. Let’s begin.

[h2]Fablecraft Plus: What’s included?[/h2]

We’re officially rolling out Fablecraft Plus, the subscription tier of Fablecraft that’s perfect for GMs looking to homebrew up a storm in our platform.

The base game will, of course, remain free. Fablecraft Plus unlocks more Homebrew potential and lets our most dedicated players support Fablecraft and gain access to a growing list of features. Here’s the current list of features available in the free version of Fablecraft Basic alongside what players get with Fablecraft Plus.



As a Plus member, you’ll unlock 2GB of cloud storage space alongside unlimited Heroes, Hosted Campaigns, and Custom Characters.

Fablecraft Plus will cost $3.99 per month, and we intend to grow its offerings over time. Only the GM needs to subscribe to take advantage of these offerings; Fablecraft Basic is all your players need to join your games.

[h2]Homebrew Battlemaps Version 2[/h2]

We introduced Homebrew Battlemaps to Fablecraft at the end of 2024, but they arrived with the promise of rapid improvement. With v0.22.0, we’re supporting two of the most common requests for custom battlemaps: Non-walkable Squares and importing from external map makers.

[h3]Draw non-walkable terrain and walls[/h3]

Designating walls and terrain that can be walked on is exceptionally easy in Fablecraft. Use the Homebrew Battlemap’s terrain tools to make quick work of traversable definitions, as seen in the screenshot below.



Here’s a tip: while using the Non-walkable Squares, Walls, or Eraser tool, hold down the space bar to toggle map movement. This makes drawing and map panning much easier.

[h3]Importing from third-party applications[/h3]

Let’s say you use tools like Dungeon Scrawl or Dungeon Alchemist to build your maps and want to bring those top-down wonders into Fablecraft. In the video below, our own David Hohusen demonstrates how importing map data from third-party applications works.

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

The tl;dw? If your map maker can spit out a flat image and a .json file with floor data, you should be able to import it directly into Fablecraft. That import should automatically inherit any wall or floor data you created in the third-party tool

We know some folks use tools that create .vtt data, and we’re looking into that for a future release. If it’s standardized enough, we might be able to make it work! Stay tuned.

[h2]React with emoji[/h2]

What about when you want to react to something happening in-game, but your camera’s turned off or it’s on but your facial expression isn’t enough?

You can now react with a set of in-game emoji. It’s fast, it’s easy, and it’s effective.

Here are the emoji included.



[h2]Location Pinging is here[/h2]

Folks have wanted to ping locations in scenes to call the attentions of players and GMs since Fablecraft launched into closed beta, and we’re ready to deliver our solution.

Want to point something out? Hit the emote button, select ping mode, select your emoji and start calling attention. Like so…





Let’s get into the patch notes.


[h3]Features[/h3]

• Fablecraft Plus launches for $3.99 per month. This subscription service unlocks unlimited heroes, unlimited campaigns, unlimited custom characters, and 2GB of cloud storage.
  
• If your subscription lapses, you’ll be able to choose which uploaded and created assets you keep and which become inaccessible. We’ll freeze those inaccessible assets, though; they’ll be waiting for you if you ever return.
  
• Homebrew Battlemaps version two arrives, too. GMs can now draw Non-walkable Squares, designate walls, and import battlemaps from third-party map-making tools.
  
• Let the emoji do the reacting for you with our new in-game emote system. Showcase your surprise or utter panic, regardless of your mic or camera, as your fellow adventurers make another poor decision.
  
• We’ve also introduced location pinging to Fablecraft. You can ping with the emoji we’ve added, too, lending a little extra spice to pointing things out to your friends.
  
• We added a nighttime variant to the Tipsy Pearl’s Back and Front Deck Battlemap, me mateys.
  
• The Brawler and Storyteller Collections are now available on Steam.
  

[h3]Bug Fixes[/h3]

• We’ve made improvements to the voice chat volume issues some users encountered during play.
  
• We fixed a bug that caused some custom environments to save improperly.
  
• We fixed a bug that caused GMs’ cursors to stick as arrows after right-clicking on NPCs in the Characters Tray.
  

[h3]Known Issues[/h3]

• Pings on the left side and when the right side tray is open might sometimes be hidden or look funny.
  
• In 3-6-person campaigns with normal video, the bottom players might not see their emotes (or displays) when their panel is open, but their location pings will still show up!
  
• If the Game Master (GM) leaves the battlemap mid-game, everyone else might get a one-way ticket back to the Story Scene.
  
• AOE splash damage and NPCs moving with their AOE damage can currently phase through walls like ghosts.
  
• Walking toward walls sometimes makes your character take a strange scenic route thanks to some odd pathing.
  
• Ability tooltips and descriptions won’t show in combat if it’s not your turn or if the ability is on cooldown.
  
• The Crystalize visual effect (VFX) now appears on both the hero casting it and their target. Twice the sparkle.
  
• Some consumables only work in the Combat Scene. Using them in the Story Scene? Not so much—unless the GM gives the thumbs up!
  
• Updating your Hero Portrait inside a campaign doesn’t always sync across all player views.
  
• Linux users (who we don't officially support quite yet) might need to turn off all animations to see static scenes and backdrops.
  
• Homebrew environment and battlemap videos can take up to 90 seconds to load. While you're waiting, you might see a white or black screen if you're not the GM.
  
• The Game Log in older campaigns might go poof during sessions.
  
• Windows users might experience a "quiet" period for the first 3-5 seconds after turning on their mic, but hang tight—it fixes itself.
  
• Older campaigns with tons of activity might get an "Error Syncing Campaign" popup, making them unplayable. If this happens, don’t delete your campaign! Message our team on Discord or email us right away. You can email us at support -at- riftweaver.com.
  
• Players may experience squished video feeds when they use external cameras.
  

Well, hello there, Mages! 🧙‍♂️ This week's edition of Fablecraft Friday features more news concerning our next major update.

The core focus? Version two of our homebrew battlemaps functionality.

We'll have a summary of the news below, but check out the video version of Fablecraft Friday this week as David Hohusen, Riftweaver's Co-founder and CEO, demos the new features.

A quick note: The inspiring map used in the video and screenshot in this post comes from Eightfold Paper.

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

We'll start with the big news surrounding maps.

[h2]Homebrew battlemaps getting several key upgrades[/h2]

Currently, you can upload custom artwork (both animated and static) for use as a homebrew battlemap. You can also designate your custom battlemap's tile count, too.

We've already announced that the next version of homebrew battlemap functionality in Fablecraft will give players the tools to draw walls and designate untraversable tiles.

Now, we can share that Fablecraft will support importing homebrew battlemaps from third-party applications such as Dungeon Alchemist, Dungeon Scrawl, and Inkarnate. You can see that process in action with David's demo in the video above.



So, with the next major update to Fablecraft, homebrew battlemap makers will be able to:

✅ Upload static and animated files for battlemaps
✅ Designate untraversable terrain
✅ Draw walls
✅ Import battlemaps from third-party sources
✅ ...and include the associated .json files that will help define specific map data

[h2]When's this release coming?[/h2]

We haven't locked down the exact release date quite yet, but we're aiming to launch the next version of Fablecraft before the end of January.

That means *checks calendar* you should have access to these fresh homebrew features, the previously announced in-game emoji, and pinging system, by the end of next week.

Maybe! Probably! That's the goal!

Until then, join our Discord and say hello. See you soon, Mages.

👋

Hello, Mages! 👋🧙‍♂️

For this week’s Fablecraft Friday, we’re ready to showcase the upcoming emote reactions and location pinging features, which are currently in development and slated to launch with our next major update.

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

[h2]Location pinging, with a meaningful twist[/h2]

If you’ve used our feedback board and looked into the top 10 most upvoted feature requests, you know that location pinging in both combat and story scenes has always been a popular ask.



It’s officially coming.

We’re building a location pinging system that allows you to imbue your pings with extra emotion, and we’re doing this with a new set of in-game emotes (which we’ll showcase below).

You could use the sword emoji and the pinging tool to point to the potential location of a hidden combatant. Or, you could signal a curious alcove with the question mark ping. Maybe a local shop caught your attention and deserves a quick thumbs up.



We’re currently working on the appearance of the pings themselves, so consider the GIFs, screenshots, and clips in this post and the vlog above to be work in progress that will likely change.

[h2]Emoji reactions, too 💗[/h2]

What about when you want to react to something happening in-game, but your camera’s turned off? We’ve heard players want more ways to play text-based or microphone-only games, and the pinging feature above and emoji reactions will help make that experience even better.

You’ll be able to emote soon, and it’ll look something like this…



Those emotes will appear next to your camera or hero portrait as you play, and they’ll arrive with some animated spice to make things feel more alive.

[h2]About those brand-new emoji[/h2]

You’ve seen thumbs, hearts, and Bubblefrogs; but what emoji are we delivering with this first update? Here’s the in-progress panel.



I adore the Fable Dice, especially.



All of the above emotes are now available in the Fablecraft Discord, in case you’re a member.

Not a member? Join the official Fablecraft Discord here.

That’s it for this week’s update. We’ll see you soon, Mages!

👋

Hello, Mages! 🧙‍♂️ We’ve released a hotfix for Fablecraft that brings it up to v0.21.4.

[h3]Bug Fixes[/h3]

• We’ve fixed a bug that caused Nice Dice to become extremely not Nice Dice (as in, rolling a lot of failures in a row… we called them “Yikes Dice.”). Nice Dice should now behave as intended.
  
• We improved the Campaigns menu for more straightforward navigation.
  
• We fixed the alignment for Custom NPCs and their tooltips, making them appear as intended in the Characters panel.
  
• The Game Log no longer shows rogue party names.
  
• All Battlemaps from Object of My Affection now have the correct titles.
  
• The hover tooltips in the GMG and Lore Guides now appear consistently.
  
• The Time Bomb VFX has been updated.
  
• Some GM Demo buttons are now correctly disabled.
  
• The Mage Mates Steam Achievement now triggers when you make friends, not just when you’re asked to be friends. Making friends is what matters, friends.
  

[h3]Known Issues[/h3]

• iPad users may experience significant lag in the Combat Scene, especially with custom large-size battlemaps. Turning the camera off helps alleviate some of this lag.
  
• Homebrew environment and battlemap videos can take up to 90 seconds to load. Players (non-GMs) may see a white or black screen while the video is loading.
  
• The Game Log in older campaigns may be wiped during sessions.
  
• The Game Log in may be wiped in multi-session campaigns or populate incorrectly.
  
• Sometimes a player leaving the battlemap (most likely the GM) will cause all other in-game players to return to the Story Scene.
  

Welcome back to Fablecraft Friday, Mages! 🧙‍♂️ It's our first post in 2025.

Happy New Year!

In this week's video and blog, we're showcasing the upcoming update we are working on for homebrew Battlemaps.

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

Let's begin.

[h2]The next iteration of homebrew Battlemaps[/h2]

Last month, we released a major update for Fablecraft that included many new tools and features for homebrew, lore, and more. One of those features was the first version of Homebrew Battlemaps.

In the first version—that's still what's currently available today—GMs can upload static or animated battlemaps, indicate their grid count, and give them a name and description.

With the next major update due later this month, GMs will be able to use a painting tool to indicate traversable and non-traversable map spaces. Check it out in the video above or GIF form below.



It's worth noting that while we have this up and working in an in-development version of Fablecraft right now, it still requires some polish and bug testing that could influence its final form. It's not guaranteed that what you've seen here will match the version that ships later in January.

[h2]January's update features more, too[/h2]

We're working on more for January, though we're not quite ready to showcase it just yet. What can we share, though?

You can expect some additional homebrew Battlemap tools alongside improvements to the game for text-only players and, perhaps, some super fun emoji-based features that should make roleplay and interaction while not speaking that much nicer.

We're excited for you to get your hands on this stuff, so let us know what you think!



That's it for this week's edition of Fablecraft Friday. Next week, we'll look at some of the aforementioned emoji-based features.

Until then, pop into our Discord and find your next party for a fresh adventure in Mythas.

See you next week, Mages!