Fablecraft News

It's here. ✨🧙 The Tales of Fablecraft demo is officially available.

To mark the moment, we put together a fun gameplay trailer that features the demo and the adventures that lie beyond Early Access launch (which is coming soon!). Here it is.

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

[h3]What's in the demo?[/h3]

So, what can you expect from this demo? Well, we put together a rundown yesterday that you can review if you'd like all the details. But here's the short version...

The first version of the demo available now features a tutorial covering basic gameplay and combat that you can play solo. Once you're done with that, you can gather up to five of your friends (that's six players, including yourself) and take on the first three sessions of The Road to the Starfall Festival adventure, which will be available for free at Early Access launch.

Of course, you'll also be able to put on your GM hat and tell your own story with the assets included in those first three sessions.

[h3]Yes, updates are coming![/h3]

The Tales of Fablecraft demo will run through Next Fest in June. Between now and the start of Next Fest, we'll add more tutorials, an arena-style combat mode, and special cosmetic unlocks that you can earn and keep after the game officially launches.

Head to Fablecraft's Steam page and grab the demo. If you like what you play, please be sure to add Fablecraft to your Wishlist.

We'll see you soon, Mages!

We have big news to share today, Mages! 🧙

The Tales of Fablecraft demo will launch on Steam tomorrow, May 15th, 2024.

Today, we’ll discuss the demo’s features, share our plans for its future (yep, we’re updating it), reveal the goodies you can unlock by completing specific segments, and detail when we plan to take it down.

So, let’s dive in!

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

[h3]Tutorials, Adventures, Battles…oh my![/h3]

The Fablecraft demo will receive updates! What launches tomorrow will feature a brief tutorial to show new and old Mages the ropes. That means choices, dice rolls, and a brief combat session.

Gather your parties! You’ll also be able to take your new-found skills on the trail with friends and experience the first three sessions of The Road to the Starfall Festival adventure.



One of you will need to be the Game Master, of course, but you’ll have access to our GM Guide to make it happen. This tool truly makes running a session a breeze for seasoned and newbie GMs alike.

Oh! A note to our Closed Beta players… we’ve updated The Road to the Starfall Festival adventure quite a bit since you played it, so get ready for a fresh take on these opening sessions.

[h3]Future demo updates inbound[/h3]

Over the coming weeks, we'll update the demo with tons of content for future Mages to sink their teeth into.

First, we'll add new battle tutorials for the Elementalist, Gravimancer, and Radiant combat styles. We'll also add a tutorial specifically for Game Masters.



If you’re looking for a tight, addictive loop of top-down tactical combat, we're adding a brand new arena-style battle mode! Here, you’ll battle computer-controlled combatants as you work through a gauntlet of fights and rack up damage worth sharing.

[h3]Alright, fellow dice gremlins, there’s cake on the line[/h3]

Want to earn something special for clearing segments of the demo? We’ve got you covered.



In a future update to the demo, we’ll have two unlockables available for free, and they’re both on the sweet side. Completing the arena-style combat mode will get you the Rainbow Cake Battle Token, and completing all the Combat Style tutorials will get you the Rainbow Cake Dice Skin.

Delicious.

[h3]When’s the demo leaving Steam?[/h3]

The Fablecraft demo will be with us for a little over a month before we take it down. The current plan (and plans can change) is to remove the demo on June 18th, 2024.

Of course, you won’t be without Fablecraft for long, as the Early Access launch is still slated for this summer. We’ll share when we’re set to launch as soon as we can.

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

Until then, be sure to Wishlist Fablecraft on Steam to be notified of our release. See you soon!

Hey all! 🧙 In case you missed it, we recently announced that the Tales of Fablecraft demo will be dropping sometime later this month. Keep an eye out for an official demo release date announcement!

[h3]Homebrew Features[/h3]

Whether you're a seasoned GM or a fledgling hero, our upcoming Homebrew features are designed to ensure that your adventures in Fablecraft will be immersive and unique from tabletop to tabletop.

You'll see us use the word 'Homebrew' a lot; that's what we're calling the bundle of tools for game customization and adventure building. These features will grow as Fablecraft moves through development.

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

Let’s take a look at what’s coming down the pipeline!

[h3]Hero Portraits [/h3]

When you create a character in Fablecraft, you will need to choose a character portrait. Toggle through the provided options OR customize your own!

Adding your custom portraits will be simple. Select “Add Portrait” on the character creation carousel and follow the prompts.



For now, you can upload up to five custom portraits. We plan to expand this option down the road.



Once you’ve gotten your hero looking just right, it’s time to make a hero token.

Your full custom image will appear on your character sheet and your token will appear on the side of your video chat and on the battlemap.



[h3]Story Scene Environments[/h3]

Similar to character design, environment options have gotten an upgrade.

Click “Add Backdrop” and follow the steps to start creating your own custom environments.



You will be able to upload two different types of media when prompted; static images and video files.



Upload your image and it will populate the corresponding socket.

For future video environment customization, if you upload a video, it will prompt you to add an additional image that will allow players to toggle animations on and off while in game.



You will also be able to add variations of images. For now, you will be able to add up to 5 variations for each environment.



You can write in your own descriptions that players will be able to read in game as well.

[h3]A Sneak Peek at What’s Next[/h3]

Tales of Fablecraft’s mission has always been to lower the barrier to entry into the world of tabletop gaming. Continuing to expand and build upon various customization features will be a big part of that!

Upcoming Homebrew features include:

• Custom Music + Soundscapes - Add your own music and sound effects to the in-game jukebox!
  
• Custom Battlemaps - This will include tools to define the battlemap grid as well as the ability to define line of sight by drawing walls.
  

[h3]Creator Marketplace[/h3]

We're currently developing an in-platform Creator Marketplace, which will allow wonderful artists and creators to share and sell content directly to others! We’ll have much more on this after Early Access launch.

It's just one of the ways that we're hoping to support human creatives, and we hope it'll connect players to artists they love.



Excited for Homebrew? Wishlist Tales of Fablecraft on Steam!

Hey Mages! 🧙 We have some exciting news to share. The Tales of Fablecraft demo will be dropping sometime later this month. Keep an eye out for an official date announcement!

[h3]What is this?[/h3]

Whether you're participating in our Closed Beta or you're ready to try Tales of Fablecraft for the first time, you will be able to play the demo very soon! There's lots to experience in the demo from onboarding to combat, so get ready!

[h3]But wait, there's more![/h3]

Also included in the demo are the first 3 sessions of our starter adventure, The Road to the Starfall Festival!

[h3]New art animations![/h3]

We've never been more hyped for a menu screen! Credit for this magical design goes to Isabeau Backhaus and animations were brought to life by Greg Platt. The gif below is a small taste!



Waiting on the demo to get your roleplay on? Wishlist us on Steam!

https://store.steampowered.com/app/2176900/Tales_of_Fablecraft/?utm_source=steam&utm_content=050124-demo-announcement-post

📢 Hey everyone! We would like to make a quick announcement at the top of this update. The Streaming Embargo on Tales of Fablecraft will lift on May 1, 2024. We can't wait to see some of you running sessions out in the wild.

In this week's update, we will be spotlighting one of Tales of Fablecraft's incredible artists, Linda Lithén. We got a chance to see some of Linda's latest work in a previous update. This week, we'll talk to Linda herself and learn more about her creative process!

Name: Linda Lithén
Socials: artstation.com/darantha Location: Sweden
Artistic superpower: The tasty little details.
Interests beyond painting: Gaming and writing, also baking / cooking to satisfy the stomach’s needs.
Couldn't live without: Tea. I run on it, much to my dentist’s chagrin.
Favorite ice cream flavor: I like fruit flavours, like lemon or banana. Or something w/ chocolate chips in it.

Our Creative Director, Darci Manley, gives a more in depth look at the art brief process and the joys of working with Linda. You can peek behind the scenes of the design work in this week's video update!

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

Linda Lithén has many artistic superpowers, which makes it tough to pick what we are most in awe of. It could be her gorgeous and intricate details (a hallmark of any Linda creation). Or perhaps it’s the speed at which she can take a brief to final picture (seriously, she’s FAST).

It might be the fantastical creatures she often adds to her character designs (everything is better with an animal buddy!). And then of course there’s the vibrancy and storytelling she brings to anything she designs. Luckily we don’t have to choose! Players will have the opportunity to meet many of Linda’s NPC characters and play as several of them as well.



[h3]Can you tell us a bit about how you came to be a professional artist?[/h3]

LINDA: It took a couple of years after college, but it was either continuing to kick around at unemployment busywork events while trying to compete with all recent graduates for low-paying jobs, or just registering as my own business owner.





LINDA: I did some smaller jobs for self publishing authors and a few Power Rangers comic covers early on, but when Critical Role published their first book together with Wizards of the Coast, they brought in a lot of artists from the CR community, and that’s how I managed to sort of wedge my foot in the door. A lot of ADs seemed to find me through my Critical Role fanart at first. So, to be honest I think I was just in the right place at the right time.



[h3]Who are your biggest artistic influences?[/h3]

LINDA: I don’t know if I can name specific artists as general media. I remember trying to mimic the W.I.T.C.H. covers and media when I was young, and one of my childhood memories is lying on the bed in our caravan during summer vacation, copying the drawings in the Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos manual. Warcraft remained a fairly big influence as I played WoW during my teens, along with other anime influences like One Piece and Naruto, Kingdom Hearts, Final Fantasy.



[h3]What are your main sources of inspiration?[/h3]

LINDA: My fellow artists keep me pushing myself, haha. Got to learn to live with that “Oh man, I could never paint like that” to “Ok time to just try and aim higher with the next painting” emotional swing. But I also get inspiration from games that I play, and I like taking in various art styles as inspiration.



LINDA: For example, I’m currently bouncing between Elden Ring, Genshin Impact, Elder Scrolls Online and Final Fantasy XIV, and I try to follow artists from outside of the TTRPG/MtG fantasy art style bubble so I have something new I can try to parse and feed into my own style.



[h3]Can you walk us through your process when working on Fablecraft artwork, from brief through to final execution?[/h3]

LINDA: The briefs I get are always so great and leave me with a fantastic base to build from, so I usually start with just thinking about what sort of character it’s supposed to be, what the brief says about them and how they live. Then I do some thumbnail sketches with very basic design elements in them and send them off for review.



LINDA: After that one thumbnail has been selected, I do a cleaner sketch of it with basic colours. I am not good at lines, so my sketches are fairly rough, because I just merge them down into the base colours when I start painting.



LINDA: If everything looks good, I will then do a first pass on everything. In cases like the woven grass cloaks for the Longstriders like Delphine here, I will go looking for references like woven baskets and other decorations and work it up to a point where it looks ok and reads well, without getting too bogged down in the details. This is usually the point where we discuss tweaks to the art piece, like if the facial features need to be changed.



Once everything has been worked out and everyone’s happy with how the process image looks, I do a finishing pass and clean up edges and add more details and textures.

[h3]How would you personally define success as an artist?[/h3]

LINDA: I believe success is what you yourself define it as. In a social climate where ‘monetize your hobby’ is so prevalent, I am a ardent believer in that success as a artist can be anything from “I mostly draw my favourite fandom ship for my 200 followers on tumblr” to “I just got hired to work on this high budget show/AAA-game.



[h3]Any advice for aspiring artists out there?[/h3]

LINDA: If you don’t know how something looks, use references. It’s not cheating. And study your fundamentals!



Check out more of Linda’s work on Tales of Fablecraft, join our party on Discord, and Wishlist us on Steam today!

https://store.steampowered.com/app/2176900/Tales_of_Fablecraft/?utm_source=steam&utm_content=042924-steam-update-linda-lithen