Halcyon City Herald Collection Shipping!
about 8 years ago – Fri, Jan 12, 2018 at 09:51:01 PM

Quick update for the moment—we want to get shipping the Halcyon City Herald Collection to all of you who backed for copies!

You'll get notifications through Backerkit, giving you coupon codes, so you can put in an order for the books through Magpie Games's website.  The books will have free shipping, with no additional cost to you. So here's what you do:

1. Go to your Backerkit for Masks. You can get that link resent to you here: https://masks-a-new-generation.backerkit.com/

2. Check your digital downloads page, and look for one of the following downloads (depending upon whether or not you ordered hardcover or softcover): "HCHC - Hardcover - Print Coupon Code - 01/18" or "HCHC - Softcover - Print Coupon Code - 01/18". Get that download—it will give you a coupon code, a string of characters starting with "HCHC" and ending with "0118". 

3. That Backerkit page with your digital downloads will have instructions for each download, including the store page for your particular book at the Magpie Games webstore. Since we want to get the books out to you first, those pages aren't currently public, but you can go to them with the link straightaway. Make sure you use the link provided in the instructions for that digital download page.

4. At the Magpie Games webstore page, add the book to your cart, and then click View Cart.

5. In your cart page, put in the coupon code in the "Coupon" box and click apply coupon. The page should refresh, and beneath your subtotal, you should see that the price of the book has been deducted.

6. In shipping, click "Free Shipping". 

7. Click "Proceed to checkout" and put in the appropriate billing/shipping information.

8. Click "Place your order" to complete!

When you get a copy of the book through the Magpie Games website, it will still also give you a DriveThruRPG link so you can get a digital copy there, too.

Remember if you need to access your Backerkit page again, you can find your pledge here: https://masks-a-new-generation.backerkit.com/

We're going to start shipping those pieces ASAP, but it'll take a bit of time for things to arrive in the mail. If you don't receive your decks or dice in a couple weeks after ordering (2 weeks domestic / 4 weeks international), or if you have any other questions or concerns, please contact us at [email protected] . 

Thanks everyone!

Holiday Heroes
over 8 years ago – Fri, Dec 15, 2017 at 10:52:05 PM

Ka-pwing! It’s time for some new heroes to enter the fray, just in time for your holiday festivities!

Project Update

Right now, our energies are on getting the Halcyon City Herald Collection to you, and finishing off Secrets of A.E.G.I.S.

Halcyon City Herald Collection - These have arrived at our HQ in Albuquerque, only just recently! Unfortunately, that means they won’t be shipping out before Christmas, but they’re on the docket for as soon as we come back from the break. Just like we did before, you’ll receive a coupon code through Backerkit to order the book for free, with free shipping, from our website, and we’ll ship them out straightaway! In the meantime, check out these pictures:  

 #notaphotographer

Secrets of A.E.G.I.S. - We’re pushing pieces into editing and layout! The goal is to get this book out early in 2018. We’re very happy with the pieces we have in this book, and we’re excited to get them into your hands. Check below for more of a preview of some items from this book—playable copies of the new playbooks!  

Unbound - Our efforts are on trying to get the first two projects fully out the door, but we’re still pushing ahead on this one...and I can share some cool art from the book with you! Here’s one of my favorite pieces, showing one hero in four different versions of reality:

Halcyon City Stories - We’re beginning to work with a comics editor, Lee Francis, to try to hash out the script for the comics and then get to work on putting it together for you! In the meantime...you can find playtest versions of our new playbooks! Check your Backerkits here: https://masks-a-new-generation.backerkit.com/ 

These include the Brain, the Harbinger, and the Soldier. The Brain is all about being the smartest guy in the room, and the power that brings...along with the hubris, and the risk of creating things just as bad as what you fight. The Harbinger is all about coming from the future with knowledge, albeit incomplete, of what will happen...and trying to keep the present on their desired course. The Soldier is all about working directly for a major organization, getting missions from them, trying to serve an existing hierarchy...and eventually coming to realize that being a hero and following orders may not always be the same thing. 

These are not final versions (as you can tell by the basic layout at the moment), but they are playable and ready for your eyes. Take a look, try them out, and let us know any feedback you have for us by emailing [email protected]!

Halcyon City Adventures

We’ve begun the barest, preliminary work on a Masks board game! At this stage, it’s in the earliest possible prototyping phases, and it’s not occupying much of our attention (we have a whole bunch of other awesome stuff we have to get into your hands first!). The reception at its debut at Metatopia was positive, and we’re excited to do more work on it in and around our other projects.

The game is a card-based semi-tactical scenario based game. Each player will take on the role of one of the iconic characters of Masks, with their own unique deck, playing cards to boost their actions and accomplish the scenario’s specific goals. If you’re familiar with the Arkham Horror LCG, then you have an idea of what play is like. 

You all here are loyal, awesome backers, and we deeply appreciate your support, so we wanted to come to you first and gauge your interest. Are you excited about the idea of a Masks board game? Let us know in the comments! 

As we get closer to needing playtesters, we’ll be coming to you first to see if anybody wants to help out, so stay tuned!

Holiday Hiatus  

We’re going into a holiday break for a few weeks. We’ll be coming back on January 8th, but until then we’ll be out of the office. You can still send in messages to [email protected], but we won’t be getting back to you until January 8th.

Further Adventures  

We’re excited to keep pushing ahead in 2018 and get you still more awesome stuff. Thank you so much for sticking with us, and for making this year the Year Of Masks (™). You’re all awesome! Here’s to 2018!

The Halcyon City Herald Collection
over 8 years ago – Fri, Sep 29, 2017 at 07:23:29 PM

It’s here! The PDF is here!

The Halcyon City Herald Collection is here, officially!

Here’s what you need to know right now: 

Check your Backerkits! (Which you can find here: https://masks-a-new-generation.backerkit.com/)

There, you’ll find two new things in your downloads section. One of them is the final version of the PDF, including a code so you can go and get it on DriveThruRPG at no cost! The other is the final version of the playbooks. The DriveThruRPG link has both the book and the playbooks available—this is just our way of making sure you have all the files!

Also…THANK YOU! 

We’re going to put up a more complete update on Monday to bring you up to speed, but in the meantime, let me take an opportunity to thank this whole community for being so patient, friendly, and awesome, and for your support this whole time—especially for coming home from GenCon with the Silver ENnie award for Best Family Game!

You’re all awesome and amazing. Thank you!

Enjoy your time in Halcyon City!

It’s Homecoming!
over 8 years ago – Tue, Jul 11, 2017 at 10:41:38 PM

Lots to talk about! Lots to update on! (Also, I may be excited about Spider-Man: Homecoming, or as I like to call it, Masks: The Movie. Peter Parker: Janus, or Protégé? Discuss.)

Ennie Awards

Masks: A New Generation is up for an Ennie Award! It was nominated for “Best Family Game”, alongside a bevy of other excellent games, including Magpie Games’ own Epyllion. We’re honored to be nominated! Awards like this can help new folks find great games to try out, and we'd love to see Masks reach more people. With your help, we can get Masks in front of a wider audience and fill Halcyon City with even more heroes!

Please go vote for Masks: A New Generation and Epyllion in the Best Family Game category, and vote for Magpie Games in the Fan Favorite Publisher category! Thanks for your support, here and always!

Project Update: July 

First up—the Halcyon City Herald Collection is right around the corner!

Check your Backerkits, and you’ll find a digital download for a preview version of the book! This version is all but complete, but it is not the final PDF you’ll get when the book goes out. We wanted to share this version to make sure that we catch any issues before we go to print. So please, go check it out and let us know if you see any mistakes! We’ll give you final DriveThruRPG codes once the full version is live, but in the meantime, this version has everything in it, including the new playbooks, the articles, and the moves.

Remember, you can find your Backerkit digital downloads at https://masks-a-new-generation.backerkit.com/ 

We've also updated the LE playbooks for the HCHC. You can find those in your DriveThruRPG accounts.

Then—Secrets of A.E.G.I.S. is coming up! Things are pulling together there, including the three new playbooks—the Soldier, the Harbinger, and the Brain—along with A.E.G.I.S. reports, two playsets, and the most-wanted A.E.G.I.S. files detailing some of the worst villains Halcyon City has to offer.

Here’s a preview of some of the art coming in the book:

We’ll detail more of this book as we get closer to its release, and soon we’ll have versions of the Harbinger, Soldier, and Brain to share with you so you can try them out at your tables!

Whelmed Podcast Actual Play 

If you’re checking out cool things on the Internet, go give a listen to the Whelmed podcast. It’s a Young Justice fan podcast, and they do great work! I (Brendan) had the privilege of running a session of Masks for them, and the episodes are fantastic thanks to both the awesome players and Whelmed’s awesome editing and sound work. The first episode of our actual play is up here: http://crashingthemode.com/podcast/2017/6/21/masks-ap-relations-episode-01

In Honor of Spider-Man’s Coming Home… 

Spider-Man: Homecoming is out, it’s great, and best of all, it syncs up with Masks: A New Generation really well! Watching the movie felt a bit like a masterclass in how and when to make hard moves. (Poor Peter.)

So in honor of this awesome movie and how much it scratches our Masks itch, we’ve set up a sale so you can get a hard copy of the Masks: A New Generation book from our Magpie Games website. Just go to magpiegames.com/shop to select your copy, and use the coupon code MASKORMUNDANE to get 25% off the book and free shipping! Spread the word around to anyone else who wants a copy, too!

Wrapping Up 

We’re basking in the excitement of the Ennie nomination, and in how awesome Spider-Man: Homecoming is, but we’re still trucking ahead, and we’ve got plenty more awesome stuff in store! Keep your eyes peeled for more Masks heading your way, and as always, thank you so much for all your support and for being awesome!

Cards on cards on cards
almost 9 years ago – Mon, May 08, 2017 at 09:07:08 PM

Hey, heroes! We've got a bunch of stuff coming your way!

Project Update: May

While things have moved a bit slower than we hoped with Masks this past few months, we’re excited to start releasing supplementary material soon! Right now, the HCHC is so close we can taste it, and we’re doing everything in our power to make sure it ships to you before GenCon. (And look below for some exciting news on decks and dice releases!)   

We are also proud to announce that we’re working with Anastasia Marston on the art for Secrets of A.E.G.I.S. You can find more of her art here. 

Secrets of A.E.G.I.S. is all about the files of A.E.G.I.S., freed from that secretive organization by a courageous (and reckless) hacker, so we get to take a look at both sides of the shadowy work A.E.G.I.S. specializes in. Anastasia’s art is a great fit for the book, and we can’t wait to see the book come together. Secrets of A.E.G.I.S. will be our next release after the Halcyon City Herald Collection; we’ll include a sneak preview as soon as we have something to show you!

Decks and Dice

At long last, the dice and both the Deck of Villainy and the Deck of Influence are all ready to ship out to you! We’re going to make them available for retail purchase later—for now, our first priority is to get them out to everyone already pledged for a copy.

You’ll get notifications through Backerkit, giving you coupon codes so you can order the decks and dice through the Magpie Games webstore at no cost, with free shipping. Those notifications will point you at the appropriate pages—just enter the coupon codes once you’re checking out, and you should be all set.

You’ll also get a coupon code so you can get a digital copy of the Deck of Villainy and the Deck of Influence through DriveThruRPG. We’ve previously given those out as PDF downloads through Backerkit, but this should hopefully make it a bit easier on you to keep track of everything you’ve received.

Remember if you need to access your Backerkit page again, you can find your pledge here.

We’re going to start shipping those pieces ASAP, but it’ll take a bit of time for things to arrive in the mail. If you don’t receive your decks or dice in a timely manner (2 weeks domestic / 4 weeks international), or if you have any other questions or concern, please contact us at [email protected].

Halcyon Sparks: New LE Playbooks

We’ve got a bunch of new digital releases and previews to share with you today! First up—an all-but-final version of the first batch of LE playbooks!

We’re going to share those with you via Backerkit, so you can find them again at your Backerkit profile, same as above.

These new playbooks include:

• The Innocent, by Brendan Conway  

You’re from the past, and you should be psyched to see the world that is to come—except there’s a present-day version of you running around, and they’re kind of...a jerk. Now, you’ve got to ask yourself: how did you turn into them? And is there any way to stop it?

• The Joined, by Jenn Martin  

An advanced playbook, for playing the partner of another PC. The two of you are connected, to the extent that you’re often not seen as individuals, but as a single entity. Is that actually what you want to be, though?

• The Newborn, by Alberto Muti and Tim Franzke

You’re a brand new being. A blank slate. A fresh mind, looking for ways to understand and see the world. And of course, everyone around you, from hero to villain, is more than happy to oblige…

• The Reformed, by June Shores  

You’ve done some bad stuff. You may even have once earned the title “villain”. But now you’re trying your best to do better, to be better. If only they would stop trying to drag you back in...

• The Star, by Brendan Conway  

You’re a celebrity! Everybody knows your name! Or at least they should, and you’re going to do everything in your power to make sure they do. I mean, yeah, you’re going to save lives along the way, too, of course. But what’s the point if you don’t get to give out autographs after?

If you have any feedback on these new playbooks, let us know with an email to [email protected]. We always appreciate backers playtesting new materials!

More Previews: The Star and an HCHC Article

In addition to the playbooks, here’s an in-layout version of the Star, so you can see how it’s presented in the book, along with the accompanying advice.

The Halcyon City Herald Collection will have spreads like this for all the new playbooks!

And finally, here’s a sample of a fully-laid out article from the HCHC, including a new move at the end for use at your table. This one details some of the stranger, more mystical pieces of Halcyon City, and another organization devoted to learning more and fighting those threats: MeRIT!

Next Issues

We’re hard at work on wrapping up HCHC, as well as keeping our shipping department busy with your decks and dice. We’re sure we’ll be seeing some of you next month at Origins: stop by the Indie Game Developer Network booth to say hi or look for us at Games on Demand. You can keep up with our convention schedule on the Magpie Games page, and we love hearing about the stories you’re telling with Masks! Thanks, heroes of Halcyon!