‘City Builder’ Platinum Edition Kickstarter Update #30: ‘Shrine’ and ‘Stable’ Writeups Unlocked!

As we progressed through day twenty-nine of our Kickstarter campaign for a "Platinum Edition" of Skirmisher Publishing’s City Builder: A Guide to Designing Communities we unlocked two more Stretch Goals, allowing us to further expand the companion book we are developing for backers! 

* When we hit $29,000 we unlocked the Sanctuary of Ares Stymphalus, a specific example of a Shrine (one of the general sorts of places covered in City Builder). Located on the reedy shores of Lake Stymphalia — once home to a foul and dangerous flock of supernatural birds slain by Hercules — this place is now the seat of a strange martial cult and is variously sought out or actively avoided by pilgrims walking in the Footsteps of Hercules. 

* When we reached $30,000 we unlocked the Bullpens of Knossos, a specific example of a Stable (one of the general sorts of places covered in City Builder). Located near the port city of Heraklion and in the ruins of an ancient Minoan palace, these stables devoted to the care of bulls descended from the former royal house of Crete are a popular stop for travelers on the Footsteps of Hercules pilgrimage route. 

Storytellers will be able to use both of these places either in conjunction with the overall “In the Footsteps of Hercules” universal sourcebook or by themselves, and as part of the historical fantasy country we have set them in or within their own worlds. Each of these entries will include detailed descriptions, information about non-player characters associated with them, custom full-color illustrations by fantasy artist Amanda Kahl, custom maps/floorplans by artist William T. Thrasher, and two or three adventure hooks. 

* If we reach $31,000 we will unlock the Alepotrypa, a subterranean complex believed to an entryway to the underworld that is occupied by a priest of Hades and which is a specific example of a Hermitage (one of the general sorts of places that will appear in the Platinum Edition of City Builder). It is the spot where Hercules descended into the underworld to battle the infernal three-headed hound Cerberus and is a stop on the Footsteps of Hercules pilgrimage route. 

Thanks to everyone who has come on board with this project and helped bring it to the awesome point it is at! Backers of this campaign will now be receiving two complete publications — both a core book with descriptions of 85 general sorts of places and a companion sourcebook with a growing number of specific places — as a result of the Stretch Goals we have unlocked. We very much hope you are enjoying our updates to this project and pleased with the exciting things we are doing with it.