What's Next?

Howdy folks! It's been a week since release, and I'm already humbled by the attention all of this has gotten! Ironbound Shadows is a project long in the making - I first began writing in February 2024 - and while Ive had updated drafts in circulation for a while now, the release of this introductory mission has been the first grand step to making it all feel truly real. Seeing people willing to not just follow and look through the drafts but offer money for it has only energized me to keep pushing further.

All this said, I also believe that this material support means I owe you all something in return - transparency and understanding on what to expect from this project and when to expect it.

The Gameplan

As detailed in the introduction section and the front page itself, Ironbound Shadows is a three-mission series split into three "parts", each with their own focus. 

• Part 1 is an introductory section intended to lay down the groundwork of the full series, providing a feel for the local people, factions, and political circumstances the PCs are surrounded by as they begin their investigation.
• Part 2 is where the intrigue truly kicks off as the PCs' investigations lead them to an arena. The rising tension of this section finally leads to a climactic showdown in....
• Part 3, a no-holds-barred assault on the Scions of Iron! Here, the PCs finally let loose, face their foes, and dismantle all they can.

Each of these three parts will be released separately, in the vein of Ironbound Shadows - Part 1: a free draft demo, maps and the project itself formatted into a nice layout at $7.50, and a $10 optional with standalone files of any artwork included as a "thank you" for support. 

I also hope to begin setting up a Kickstarter for a "definitive edition" of Ironbound Shadows that collates all three parts into a single mission series, spruced up with artwork I cannot fund out of pocket including two-page spreads and more character portraits. Such a release would, of course, provide discounts to those who have purchased the individual missions.

Timelines!

Ironbound Shadows is a two-person project. I am the sole writer, layout artist, and project manager, with the only assistance being that of a friend willing to offer pro-bono editing passes. As you can imagine, a three-mission series is quite the undertaking in these circumstances! Even now, with solid, playable rough drafts of the entire missions series available on Pilot.NET, I cannot accurately measure how long the rest of this project will take. However, I can provide a rough roadmap.

• My first order of business will be a Part 1 Update, which will include three tactical maps, some minor edits, a substantial update to Downtime's special event, and clearer guidance for what comes next in Part 2. This should be completed and  released around March 2025 - February and March are fairly busy months for me due to some big personal events, but as of now, two of three maps are completed, and most of the update is written.

• After this comes Part 2! Much of this is already feature-complete; all combats have already been written and playtested, as have many of the beats. That said, I also wish to substantially improve the narrative elements of this section before release, providing more room for the PCs to breathe, the antagonists to establish themselves, and the GM to incorporate material of their own. My hope is that I will be able to present a complete, refurbished draft by May-June 2025, if not a complete product itself.

• Finally, the mission series will culminate in Part 3, with a host of epilogue material to guide the GM in illustrating the effects of the PCs' actions and manners in which they may consider continuing the story. Part 3 is a more straightforward affair; its combats and narrative beats are fully written and playtested, and I only wish to cut an optional combat and inject a bit more overall narrative juice into its current draft. If things go well, I hope to have this complete by August 2025. 

Once again, thank you all for your support! I am overjoyed to have you all along for the ride as the story of the Appian Tuaithe continues. It will be my goal to provide monthly updates as we continue to push forward.