Rangers of Shadow Deep – In Progress

Having posted about what is coming to the world of Frostgrave in 2019, I thought readers might also enjoy hearing about what is in progress for Rangers of Shadow Deep. Now first, I just want to explain that Rangers is a very different beast than Frostgrave in terms of my work schedule. Since Frostgrave is published through Osprey, all of my work is scheduled 1 – 2 years in advance. Thus I have a much firm grasp of what is coming out in a given year. Rangers, purposely, has a much more ‘free form’ publishing schedule, which allows me to write to my own whims and publish when a given work is ready. With that said, here is what I am planning for Rangers of Shadow Deep.

Temple of Madness – this expansion has just been sent to the designer, and I am hopeful that the PDF will be available in March, with the print not too long afterward. This supplement is divided into two sections. The first section greatly expands the magic options for Rangers and companions. It increases the number of spells up to 30 and introduces new Heroic Abilities, companions, and equipment that are specific to spellcasting. The second half of the book includes a 4-scenario mission. It’s kind of a dungeon crawl, with a little bit of puzzle mechanics thrown in.

Temple of Madress is about 15,000 words long, which, by comparison is the length of some of the shorter Frostgrave supplements. That said, Rangers scenarios, especially ones with notes, are much more ‘word intensive’ than the Frostgrave equivalent. 

Ghost Stone – I have just finished the first draft of this expansion. I’ve turned it over to Barrett to start on the artwork, while I do some playtesting and editing. I have no target date on this yet, but hopefully a couple of months after Temple of Madness. When I started working on Ghost Stone, I thought I was working on a short supplement, akin to Blood Moon, but it ended up growing to about 17,000 words. It is also divided into two main parts. The first part is a 4-scenario mission in which players will need two different Ranger bands, one of starting level, one much more experienced. Each Ranger band will play in 2 scenarios, with all of the scenarios interlinking. Don't worry, this can also still be done solo if that is your preferred method of play. If Temple of Madness is a dungeon crawl, Ghost Stone is more like a war movie.

            The second half of Ghost Stone is a collection of 52 unique weapons that can be found, each with their own detailed description and potential abilities. Of course, Rangers will be forced to study these weapons in order to unlock their full potential.

Menagerie?? – I have just started working on this, and I hope it will be a shorter supplement. The plan is for this to contain a 2-scenario mission and a section that expands the types of animal companions that are available to Rangers. Like I said, I just started on this, and even the title is subject to change.

So, that’s where I am with Rangers of Shadow Deep at the moment. Hopefully this gives players something to look forward to. Please remember though, these books are all self-published, and subject to delay from major life events! Also, I will only put the product out if I'm happy with it. I'd rather wait and get it right, than have it out and regret something.