‘City Builder’ Platinum Edition Kickstarter Update #32: ‘Farm’ Writeup Unlocked!

In the final hours of our Kickstarter campaign for a "Platinum Edition" of Skirmisher Publishing’s City Builder: A Guide to Designing Communities we maintained strong momentum and unlocked another Stretch Goal, allowing us to further expand the system-free “In the Footsteps of Hercules” companion book we are developing for backers! We have established just one more iconic Stretch Goal and very much hope we are able to unlock it as this campaign comes to its conclusion. 

* When we hit $32,000 we unlocked Megalos Ellada, an example of a large Farm (one of the general sorts of places that will appear in the Platinum Edition of City Builder). This sprawling agricultural estate has long been noted for its extensive olive groves and related products like oil and soap, and has recently become known for accommodating pilgrims walking in the Footsteps of Hercules and providing special services for them (e.g., facilitating votive acts like herding “the Cattle of Geryon,” stealing “the Apples of the Hesperides,” or battling “the Mares of Diomedes” that would otherwise require them to travel to distant lands). 

* If we reach $33,000 we will unlock the Heracleia, a major annual festival held in the city of Tiryns that has significant religious, entertainment, and mercantile elements and is an example of a Trade Fair (one of the general sorts of places that will appear in the Platinum Edition of City Builder). This largest annual event in the main cult center devoted to Hercules is popular with pilgrims hoping to get the most out of their experience, merchants capitalizing on unparalleled crowds, and people in search of an over-the-top spectacle. 

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. 

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.