Steinhardt's Guide to the Eldritch Hunt: A 5e Supplement

Quick Update For Steinhardt's Guide to the Eldritch Hunt
3 months ago – Fri, Sep 06, 2024 at 05:17:58 AM

Hello everyone,

First and foremost, I want to sincerely apologize for the recent lack of communication. 

I didn't want to clutter your inboxes with updates that simply said, "Still working!" But I realize now that a quick note would have been appreciated. After all I know that things are progressing, but you have no way of knowing.

To make a long story short we're in the final stages of mass production, with only about a week left to go. Once production is complete, we'll move directly to freight.

I understand you're eager for updates, and I promise to provide a more comprehensive one as soon as production wraps up. That update will include detailed information on how you can track your order during the shipping process.

Thank you so much for your patience and continued support. Your enthusiasm for this project means the world to me, and I'm working hard to ensure you receive a product that exceeds your expectations.

If you have any pressing questions or concerns in the meantime, please don't hesitate to reach out to our support.

Looking forward to sharing more news with you very soon!

Best,
Evan | MonkeyDM

4th of July Update - Steinhardt's Guide to the Eldritch Hunt
5 months ago – Thu, Jul 04, 2024 at 01:55:19 PM

Hello good hunter,

I hope this update finds you well on this 4th of July.

Production Update:

I'm can now confirm that mass production is approximately 50% complete. While we're all anxious to get the final product in our hands, this milestone represents significant progress.

Sample Videos

To give you a taste of what's to come, I've included videos of the final samples that I've personally received. 

While it's not quite the same as having the book in your hands, I hope it gives you a concrete idea of the final aspect of the product. 

(Coffee stains and crocs are not included.)

Core box

Deluxe Box

Shipping:

The shipping companies are on standby, ready to spring into action as soon as mass production is complete. We're doing everything we can to ensure a smooth and efficient delivery process once the books are ready.

Important: Pre-Orders Closing Soon

As we've reached this crucial turning point in production, we will be closing pre-orders in one week from today, on the 11th of July. If you know someone who's been on the fence about joining our eldritch hunt, now is the time to act, as the opportunity will be gone after that date.

After the pre-order window closes:

• Existing backers can still make changes to their orders by contacting customer support.
• New orders will no longer be possible.

I understand many of us are eagerly awaiting our copies of Steinhardt's Guide to the Eldritch Hunt, and I want you to know that I share your excitement, especially since I cheated and received the full bundle early (a big benefit that comes with organizing the project) and am in love with it.
 

Thank you all for your continued patience and support. 

Your enthusiasm fuels this project, and I can't wait to see Steinhardt's Guide to the Eldritch Hunt in your hands.

Talking about Steinhardt's....

Heresy of Steel

The cursed convoy adventure path was renamed to the Heresy of Steel, and adventure 2 just dropped, called:

In the Belly of the Beast

This second instalment in the "Heresy of Steel" adventure path for Steinhardt's Guide to the Eldritch Hunt. (Click the name to access it for free)

Following the events of "The Cursed Convoy," your party now finds themselves deeper in the twisted heart of Luyarnha. The city teeters on the brink of chaos as tensions between factions reach a boiling point, and an unseen beast stirs beneath the streets.

This adventure is also free, as will be the next one.

Afterwards we will change the format. 

To read more about that, you can look up the adventure for free on my Patreon.

New Feature: Faction Standing Tracker

We've introduced a new spreadsheet tool to help you easily track your party's standing with the various factions of Luyarnha.

These will matter in the long-run of the adventure, as they will influence the fate of the city.

Changes

You'll notice that the first part of the adventure, "The Cursed Convoy", is included in the PDF. This is on purpose for people who start from scratch.

In addition we made some changes to the previous adventure, including the personal missions, the faction standings and more.

P.S. If you have any questions leave them below, Alina or myself will answer them! 

A Short Update from Steinhardt's
7 months ago – Thu, May 23, 2024 at 12:21:16 PM

Hello good hunter,

Just wanted to give you a quick update on where we're at with the project.

The good news is that the content is coming along nicely. We've tackled the issues I mentioned in the last update, so we're back on track.

In a couple of weeks, I'll be posting another update with the second part of the adventure "Rise of the Wretched," which we've renamed "The Heresy of Steel." 

We're waiting on a custom map to go with it, and once that's ready, we'll be all set to share the adventure with you.

With regards to the physical stuff, a bigger update in a couple of weeks, but I figured you should know, rather than letting you wait in the dark.

We appreciate your support and can't wait to get this awesome content into your hands.

Take Care!

Evan | MonkeyDM

Steinhardt's Bonus Adventure + FAQ
8 months ago – Mon, Apr 15, 2024 at 02:29:28 AM

Hello good hunter!

Today's update will be in two parts.

Part 1 is about the new adventure path set in the world of Steinhardt’s. I'm giving it to you for free while you wait for your order

Part 2 is a FAQ to answer all your questions about printing, shipping and more.

1. Rise of the Wretched Adventure Path

Embark on a journey into the world of Steinhardt's Guide to the Eldritch Hunt, in the heart of the doomed city of Luyarnha with "The Cursed Convoy," the first installment of the "Rise of the Wretched" adventure path.

In this adventure for 1st to 2nd level characters, your party finds themselves aboard a speeding train carrying both a curse and a chance at salvation. As the train hurtles towards Luyarnha, you become entangled in a web of dark secrets, eldritch mysteries, and perilous confrontations.

The subsequent adventures will be released progressively, building upon the events and revelations of "The Cursed Convoy" to form a complete campaign.

You can click the link above to read more about it, it’s free!

The full campaign will contain personal missions which can influence the adventure. 

It will also contain a faction relationship system that keeps track of the party's decision, and depending on their choices will turn allies into enemies and vice-versa, altering the path set before them.

I wanted to give you something to play with while you wait for your order to arrive.
 

2. FAQ

Do you have any more Steinhardt’s content???

Yes! See the Rise of the Wretched part of this update. It’s free for all backers.

What's the status on the Tamer subclass? Last I heard it was uncancelled, but then nothing more. What even was it going to do?

I updated the Steinhardt’s Guide to the Eldritch Hunt PDF, you can find it on page 483.

The Core tamer class is free, I left a QR Code and link in the PDF to access it.

So, if you were to put a percentile value on completion, where would you say the overall progress is?
 

I’ll make 3 categories here: content, printing and shipping.
 

Content is at 95%

The book itself is completed, as well as all the supplementary content (expect the Trick Weapon Workshop, more on that further down). What remains is printing and shipping.

Printing is at 50%

We recalled the first batch of mass production because there were some defects. Notably, some pages being printed upside down.

Though it does give a unique look to the book, it ain’t very practical. We had to redo them.

Shipping is at 25%

The shipping companies are ready to come and pick up the orders, but for that the orders need to finish printing. Once that happens, everyone will receive a tracking number and be able to follow their orders.

Another issue with not being happy about something not being perfect? Its happening a lot to this project, Im not sure Im going to get the book at this rate, being a year late now
 

I’m sorry about the delay, I am not happy about it either, trust me.

The thing is, we are already late, so we might as well delay it more and ensure the product is top notch, rather than delivering something subpar. 

I’ve seen the fallout that happens to games like Cyberpunk 2077 when they are rushed.

Heliana’s Guide to Monster Hunting was also delayed, but now that people are finally receiving it they are thrilled about it.

I hope to deliver the same experience.

Once again, I apologise for the delay
 

Do you have any non-bloodborne music you would recommend to accompany the adventure or a game in the setting you've created?

I recommend the work of Solas Composer on YouTube, I’ve been using it a lot in my Steinhardt’s Games. He has music that can be used for everything, from exploration to boss fights. His “The Old Hunters” song is a favorite of mine as a Boss Theme.

Is it too late to adjust shipping info?

No,If you go to backerkit, there should be a button that says "Edit your address"

I've been so stoked ever since my original pledge! What's been your favorite part of the product to work on?

The writing. 

Production is a nightmare hahaha (tears) 

Recently I dove deep into the customer experience side of things, the first impression you get when you receive the box.

For example in the Dark Souls board game the first thing you see when you open it is a paper.

On it written: "You Died"

Damn, that sets the tone.

I wanted to create a similar experience. I hope you'll like what I came up with.

We also did a lot of finishing touches, including adding wax seals, better wrappings and more. 

I know it'll be low priority next to the physical goods being shipped, and I totally understand that - but is there any news regarding the trick weapon workshop?

It requires a lot of work to balance, and virtually all of my attention, so I’ll only finish it when the shipping begins so as not to delay it more.

I know of competent people to hire to help me finish it once we get heavily started on it.

If you could have your own trick weapon, what weapons would you combo to make it?

I wrote the book, so a lot of my favourite ones are already in writing. 

I'm cheating I know.

As a big Legend of Zelda fan I love the grappling hook. The Meat Hookshot is that but with a gun attached to it, which I adore.

The Silver Serpent Bladewhip is also tons of fun.

Any plans for more Kickstarters in this setting?

Nothing until everyone gets their hand on the book. 

That being said, I am writing ideas down in my free time.

I have also learned a great deal from this Kickstarter. 

So if and when Steinhardt’s 2 happens, I will only be after I’ve written all of the content, and have the samples ready so we can begin mass production immediately.

I don’t want people to wait as long as they have for this product.

If you could pick one creature/NPC from the book to get a mini for which one would it be and why?

The Galvanised Prowler, because the design is cool af.

The previews for the deluxe edition of the book show the tendrils around the outside on the front cover to be a more purplish black color and help make the art pop. The version you have shown recently from the samples is all gold foil on a black cover. Will the final version look like the promo images that were used during the kickstarter, and are still up in the late pledge site, or will they look like the sample images you have shown a few updates ago?

This is the final look. We tried both, but the gold and leather aspect is just so much cooler.

You mentioned you would eventually consider also adapting SGtEH to Pathfinder 2e, is this still an option you're considering? :)

Not at the moment, I’ve had conversations about it, but it’s too much of a time commitment, time which could be invested elsewhere.

Would you collab with 3D artists to create minis or even STL files of the monsters in your book so we can have physical versions of them?

STLs are a consideration.

Minis on the other hand, are not. They are incredibly difficult to ship without breaking, are very expensive to print en masse unless you have the equipment for it (which I do not). 

I just don't think I'm qualified enough to handle them.

Were there any subclasses (core classes and Jaeger) that didn't make the cut for the book? If so, what were they and will you remake them for Steinhardt 2 electric boogaloo?

A lot was left on the cutting room floor.

We had more osteomancy based classes which we didn’t touch.

I wanted to include a vampiric set, for that classic gothic horror element, but it just wouldn’t fit in the lore

I also had more oceanic based monsters which we left behind. 

Steinhardt’s 2 might include a Holy War and oceanic conquests, so we will see what we can do there. 

Where are the poison swamps ?/ Joking. Seeing as this is a homage of the fromsoft games , is there stuff from Elden ring you're thinking of integrating into V2 to mix up gameplay ?

Note to self: Add poison swamps

Yes that blue golem hidden on ledge in Caelid that shoots lasers and drops nothing.

Real Talk: I do, but don't want to say anything just yet.

I've noticed that the king of the hunt only has a stat block. Why isn't there any information on him like there are for all the other stat blocks? is the information hidden around the book or have you just not written anything for the mystery?

There’s plenty of information about him scattered throughout the book. I’ll let you puzzle out this mystery ;)

Will there be a pantheon/ elder gods mentioned in the campaign, and is there anyway to gain their favor?

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What is your philosophy for designing/running a good boss fight in the 5e system? Any tips or neat "moments" you envisioned for any particular bosses or encounters that perhaps you couldn't put into the books?
 

A good arena

A good boss is a good time. 

A good boss in a changing arena with interactive elements is an absolute blast.

I also like to prepare a cool description for something the boss does either at the beginning or in the middle of the fight. 

For example when Malach sheds his flesh, make sure to make that description as blood-curdling as possible.

Being more interested in the lore of this setting, we have been given great details in the history, districts, even some NPCs (the fallen hunters in particular) of Luyarnha. There’s just one person who isn’t very clear though are given bits of information about him through out the book and that being Steinhardt Silverblood himself. Are we gonna get more info on him one way or another?

Steinhardt’s story is yours to create from the lore scattered throughout, he was the only enemy that wasn’t given straightforward lore so that GMs could shape him to fit their needs. Who knows what happened of him after he vanished on a Hunt?

Take Care!
 

Evan | MonkeyDM
 

While we wait, let's do a Q&A!
9 months ago – Wed, Feb 28, 2024 at 09:22:00 AM

Hey there, Hunters,

I've noticed a lot of you are really looking forward to getting your stuff, which is awesome to see!

We're just as excited over here.

All the shipping details are sorted, and now we're just waiting for the mass production to finish. With over 20,000 orders to get through, including those late pledges, it's taking a bit of time, so thanks for hanging in there.

I also promised you an adventure to help pass the time. 

It's all set, but when I gave it another look, I wasn't happy with how some parts turned out, especially how the backgrounds (from the book itself) were blending into the story. So, I decided to polish those parts up a bit.

I'll drop the first part of the adventure in our next update, which will be pretty soon. 

But,  in the meantime, if you've got any questions, just ask them below. I'll make sure to answer the big ones in our next update.

Take care!

Evan | MonkeyDM