#clash! shonen battle roleplay

[sabrinahawthorne]

CLASH! Crowdfunding is Live!

It's finally here - the campaign has launched, and there's some stuff I didn't tell you about! There are eight versions of the top tier pledge, Otaku - one for each Fighter playbook. When you pledge at one of those tiers, you pay for a special mini-manga featuring a little story, starring the Fighter you picked.

The campaign runs from now until the end of August, so there's plenty of time to check it out and pledge.

If you're looking to support me but want something sooner than the launch of the game, I'm also running a sale on every game in my library! Any individual title is 30% off, and you can get a bundle of every one of my games for 50% off the total price. This sale runs until the end of June.

In the spirit of the occasion, I've also set up my ko-fi! If you like, you can toss me a tip or become a monthly member. I'm not selling anything there - this is just for anyone who wants to buy me a coffee.

[sabrinahawthorne]

I'm currently working on CLASH! Shonen Battle Roleplay, an action manga RPG with a free prototype available. We start crowdfunding this Monday!

CLASH! Is all about big, dramatic fights, and the big, dramatic emotions they represent. Its main touchstones are the Big Three Shonen Manga, HunterxHunter, and more recent Shonen fare like Hero Academia and Jujutsu Kaisen.

Combat in CLASH! Is about the drama more than the tactics; players bid against their opponents from various stat pools, playing mind games to slip past their target's guard - until they come rushing together with a titular CLASH of power.

Y'all working on any games out there?

I wanna hear about them!

[sabrinahawthorne]

CLASH! Crowdfunding Extension

As Pride month comes to an end, I've been doing some thinking, and I've decided to extend the crowdfunding deadline for CLASH!.

Here's the deal - if I let the original deadline of June 30th come and go and let the campaign end, I'd be fine. Before I ever launched, I made sure to cover my bases and make sure that not meeting my funding goals wouldn't be a huge deal. It would just mean a smaller print run when the time comes, and a bit more money out-of-pocket for things like illustrations. I'm not desperate.

So why am I extending the deadline? There are a couple of reasons.

Firstly - more money would be nice anyway. I'm fully prepared to cover whatever costs I can't cover from crowdfunding, but I'd still like not to if possible. Given the various other cool stuff that Elise and I are working on for, I want a bit more time to get eyes on the game and get people excited.

Secondly - Comic Con. As I mentioned here, I will be selling my work at a booth at Comic Con in Fort Collins, CO this August. Once I gave it some thought, it seemed like a no-brainer to overlap that and the campaign, so that's exactly what I decided to do.

This isn't a delay in CLASH!'s development; I'm still working on the updated playtest materials, which I'm hoping to finish by the end of the month, and from there onto the first completed draft.

This is also the only extension I'll be making. Once August is over, the campaign ends, and whatever funds we've raised will be plenty.

Thanks for sticking with me through this - I think the end product will be worth it.

[sabrinahawthorne]

Meet The Vessel and The Beast

[image ID: a black & white illustration of two characters. The first is the Vessel, a sad teenager, cast in shadow. They stand hunched, wearing loose, covering clothing. Their hair, a long undercut, covers one eye, and they are frowning sadly.

The second character is a large creature who emerges from the Vessel's back, surrounding them from above and to the sides. It has black skin that drips off its bones like tar. It has six arms, each wearing ornate gauntlets, and six angelic wings. It wears a white cloak which drapes its shoulders and eyeless, smiling face. Around its head, it bears a floating halo. End ID.]

The Vessel does not matter. They aren't a person, not really. They're just the chariot, bearing the really important one: The Beast. That great and powerful thing which, through benevolent kindness, grants their Vessel some tiny portion of their power. For a price, of course.

Vessel Touchstones:

- Crona (Soul Eater) - Gaara (Naruto) - Yuji Itadori (Jujutsu Kaisen)

No one really pays attention to the Vessel, when the Beast looms behind them. So when someone treats them kindly, they are doubly grateful. The Vessel is Loyal to the first person who helped them regain control of their body, as well as to the Fighter who they think stands the best chance against The Beast.

Like the Specialist, the Vessel's Techs often come with altered tags. Whenever they learn a tech with the unique Pact tag, that Tech acts as a conduit for the Beast's power, and gives it a chance to take over. When it succeeds, The Beast in Human Skin emerges, wielding its full power in pursuit of its own ends, until The Vessel can wrestle back control.

Vessel Icon: Lux

They/Them

Lux is on the run, harboring a dark secret. Kidnapped as a child by a cult calling itself The Corona, they were subjected to harsh training and numerous rituals, in preparation for their role in the Corona's plan to summon their god, with Lux as its host. They almost succeeded before they managed to escape. Now, in hiding from the powerful organization, Lux carries within them Eclipse, an ancient, powerful Chimera bent on reshaping the world to its own twisted preference.

Eclipse wields two Pneumatic Powers: Cleansing Light and Blanketing Darkness, which allow it to vaporize solid matter and create thick, tar-like matter, respectively. At great risk, Lux can also access a fraction of this power.

To learn more about Lux, Eclipse, and The Corona, pledge to the CLASH! Crowdfundr at the Otaku: The Vessel tier, to receive a mini-manga when you get your physical copy of CLASH! Shonen Battle Roleplay.

[sabrinahawthorne]

CLASH! Open Beta Announcement

Starting today, CLASH! Shonen Battle Roleplay is in open beta! Let's talk about it.

You can download the playtest materials Here. They're name your own price in case you want to pitch in to the game's development, but there's no requirement. I'm also working on an updated version of these materials with character progression mechanics, Tech tags, and even one or two new Relationships. Come back often to check for cool new stuff!

As you can imagine, I'm also looking for feedback in the event that you end up playing the game! If you have feedback for me, send it to sabrinahawthornegames@proton.me. I'm looking for the following:

Stand-Out Moments. If something particularly exciting or fun happened during play, let me know! I want to hone in on the good stuff.

Questions. Are there any gaps in the design that aren't marked? Is anything phrased vaguely, or unhelpfully? Just curious about how I'm going to flesh things out? Ask away!

Rough Spots. I want to know if anything rubbed you the wrong way, or made for a boring or upsetting time. Let me know how I can shore things up and make them more engaging and exciting.

As of now, this Beta has no set end-date, although I anticipate closing it sometime in August or September. I'll be expanding and filling out the game as time goes on, and I want your feedback as I do!

[sabrinahawthorne]

Hey, thanks for the shoutout dungeongal! I would be remiss if I didn't add here that you should also check out DAWN: The RPG by Joe Happyhill. It's a crunchier approach to adapting shonen to the tabletop medium, and Joe just released the final beta version before the final release, so check it out now, especially if you've given CLASH! a look.

What systems would you recommend to replicate the feel of shounen animes or hacknslash video games?

Depending on the level of crunch you want, there's a number I could see myself recommending:

Clash by @sabrinahawthorne is on the lighter side and more focused on genre emulation. It explicitly goes for emulating the story beats and strucuture of shonen battle anime and is mostly about one-on-one battles! It's currently also being crowdfunded on Crowdfundr!

Valor is on the crunchier side and gives a lot of power to players to build their characters and powers via point budgets instead of being limited to classes and archetypes. A very interesting tactical combat system with lots of nods to action anime.

Beacon is also a crunchier tactical combat focused one that differs from Valor in the sense that it has classes, so instead of spending lots of points players will be making discrete character creation choices. It's also very heavily inspired by Final Fantasy games, especially XIV!

Anima Prime is another lighter one! It's a game that is heavily about combat and resource management, and takes lots of explicit influence from JRPGs and anime. It's also free! Haven't had a chance to play it, but I've heard great things about it!

[sabrinahawthorne]

Meet The Specialist

[image ID: A black & white illustration of a light-skinned Brazilian teenager, in the middle of a high kick. He's smiling, wearing a graphic t-shirt decorated with a cartoon dog, and a pair of loose pants tied with a rope belt. He is barefoot. End ID.]

While everyone else is casting illusions and throwing beams of concentrated energy, the Specialist fights with their hands and feet. They don't have access to the kinds of powers other Fighters do; instead, they rely on pure skill to hold their own against empowered opponents.

Specialist Touchstones:

- Rock Lee (Naruto) - Izuku Midoriya (My Hero Academia) - Asami Sato (Avatar: The Last Airbender)

The life of a Specialist is one of facing and overcoming great obstacles. They are Loyal to a Fighter who has helped them do it, and to another who also falls short of what others expect of them. In conrast, they have a Rivalry with a Fighter who easily does what they struggle to.

Reflecting their limitations, the Specialist Playbook must approach their Techniques from Another Angle - There are certain Tech tags that block a Specialist from learning them. To overcome this, all Specialists customize teach Tech they learn by altering one of its tags, thus altering the function of the Tech itself.

Specialist Icon: Davi "Kicks" Castro Cruz

He/Him

Davi, known as "Kicks" by his friends, is the best friend of Powerhouse Bennett Thompson. He was with Bennett when their sister was attacked by a Chimera, but he wasn't able to help his friend. After trying and failing to unlock his own Pneumatic power, Kicks decided to live up to his nickname and begin studying Capoeira, so that in the future he can stand up to powerful evil next to his childhood friend, as an equal.

Davi seems to most people like a laid-back, lackadaisical teen with a wry sense of humor. In truth, he doesn't think of himself worthy of very much respect, and acts like the layabout people often assume him to be. But when the call comes to help someone in need or protect someone who can't protect themself, Davi will be the first to leap into action, no matter the risk to himself.

To learn more about Davi's training Journey and his friendship with Bennett, pledge to the CLASH! Crowdfundr at the Otaku: The Specialist tier to get a special mini-manga starring Davi when you get your physical copy of CLASH! Shonen Battle Roleplay.

[sabrinahawthorne]

Meet The Ronin

[image ID: A black & white illustration of a barefoot Black/Japanese person dressed in a loose martial arts uniform, walking right-to-left. Their hair is in long locs, and they carry two hookswords - one of which is slung over their right shoulder. End ID]

The Ronin is driven to Mastery above and beyond anything. They train and learn and seek out secret arts in pursuit of greater and greater mastery, and may even hunt down forbidden techniques if it means achieving greatness.

Ronin Touchstones:

- Sasuke Uchiha (Naruto) - Roronoa Zoro (One Piece) - Toph Beifong (Avatar: The Last Airbender)

In their search for mastery, the Ronin will encounter those who challenge and frustrate her efforts. They owe a Rivalry and Loyalty to the most powerful Fighter in their party. They are also Loyal to their teacher, even if they have learned everything they can.

The Ronin Playbook is built around the Duel Relationship, and with On Guard!, they can force an opponent into a Duel, whether they like it or not. This opens up the rest of their kit, which allows them to control the Duel as they please, and even take on multiple opponents at once.

Ronin Icon: Yasuke Kurosawa

He/They

Named for the famous Black Samurai of Japanese history, Yasuke is the eldest scion of the house of Kurosawa and adoptive brother of Inez, The Genius Icon. He is a martial prodigy and the pride of his family, combining once-in-a-generation swordsmanship with covert use of his family's Pneumatic technique: Mortar of Kagutsuchi, which allows him to adhere objects together.

While outwardly cold and even hostile, Yasuke is in fact fiercely protective of their younger sister, hoping to protect her from the burden of their family legacy by taking it upon themself. Though, of course, he would never admit his weakness by telling this to her.

To learn more about Yasuke's training, their family, and their Pneumatic techniques, pledge to the CLASH! Crowdfundr at the Otaku: The Ronin tier to receive a special mini-manga when you receive your physical copy of CLASH! Shonen Battle Roleplay.

[sabrinahawthorne]

Meet The Powerhouse

[Image ID: A black & white illustration of a Black teenager in a sports wheelchair. She's wearing torn jeans and a sports jersey decorated with a hand making a peace sign and two exclamation points. Their hands are clenched into fists, generating an electric power that is lifting their dyed blonde locs into the air. She is smiling excitedly. End ID.]

Who needs training when you've got so much strength? Who needs skill when you have so much power? The Powerhouse is exactly what they sound like - someone who has more raw ability than they, or anyone else, know what to o with.

Powerhouse Touchstones:

- Monkey D. Luffy (One Piece) - Katsuki Bakugo (My Hero Academia) - Ichigo Kurasaki (Bleach)

People with such immense potential tend to draw people to themselves - allies inspired by their feats, and rivals seeking to match their power. The Powerhouse begins with the Loyalties of every Fighter in their party, and they return that Loyalty in kind. They also begin with two Rivalries; one with someone who wants to catch up to them, and one with someone who can beat you with cunning.

When the Powerhouse decides to go all out, they can use their Super Technique, Give it My All!, they initiate a CLASH! which lets them build their dice pool out of all three of their Stats, letting them rocket towards victory.

Powerhouse Icon: Bennett Thompson, Thunder-Pneuma Prodigy

They/She

Bennet was just a high schooler from the US; assistant president of the GSA, International Bacelaureate, and mega-fan of the WNBA. That was, until her younger sister was attacked by a monster - a Chimera, escaped from the Underworld and rampaging through the mortal plane.

In saving their sister, their power awakened, summoning Kalakaua: Sky-God's Wrath. Since then, they have embarked on a journey to the Underworld to train as an Argonaut and protect humankind from other supernatural threats.

To learn more about Bennett, their life, and their power, Pledge to the CLASH! Crowdfundr at the Otaku: The Powerhouse tier to get a mini-manga all about their journey when you get your physical copy of CLASH! Shonen Battle Roleplay.

[sabrinahawthorne]

Meet The Genius

[Image ID: A black & white illustration of a young white girl wearing thick clothing; a sweater, jeans, a leather apron, and rain-boots with cartoon frogs on them. She stands with her feet wide. In one hand is an open book, pages flapping in the wind; her other arm is extended forward, where it is summoning a large, flat disc of metal out of thin air. Attached to a harness on the girl's back is a worn, scuffed stuffie. End ID.]

The Genius is the brains of the team. Whatever they lack in raw power, they make up for in perception and cleverness.

Genius touchstones:

- Uryu Ishida (Bleach) - Riza Hawkeye (Fullmetal Alchemist) - Nami (One PIece)

The Genius lends their prodigious intelligence to aid their friends, often serving as a second-in-command to a more traditionally powerful ally. As a result, the Genius begins play with a Loyalty to whomever they consider their superior officer; that character also owes them their Loyalty in return. The Genius has little patience for tomfoolery, and might get jealous of anyone who seems to match their prowess without the proper study - they have a Rivalry with a fellow Fighter who they think of as thoughtless.

No-one else seems to notice the patterns the Genius can; Tch! So Predictable allows them to keep track of the Techniques used by their opponents, anticipating them and negating their effects when targeted.

Genius Icon: Inez Kurosawa, Adopted Nobility

She/Her

Brought into the fold of the prestigious Noble Argonaut family of Kurosawa, Inez lives under the shadow of her new family's legacy. With few combat skills to speak of, she spends most of her time in her laboratory experimenting with her Pneumatic Technique: Vulcan Mathematics: Utterance of the Forge. This ability allows her to summon flat discs of any material from nothingness - as long as she knows the right incantation. The more solid the material, the more difficult the conjuration, and manipulating these discs is an additional challenge for her burgeoning Pneumatic skill.

Inez keeps her lab assistant, Ollie, with her at all times. While others may question how a stuffed animal can be a lab assistant (or, indeed, what kind of animal he's supposed to be). Inez insists that he is an invaluable help, and will defend his utility - and safety - valiantly.

To learn more about Inez, Ollie, and the Kurosawa family, pledge to the CLASH! Crowdfundr at the Otaku: The Genius tier to get access to a mini-manga all about her life when you get your physical copy of CLASH! Shonen Battle Roleplay.

[sabrinahawthorne]

Meet The Cowboy

[image ID: A black & white illustration of a white woman wearing a denim jumpsuit, leaping upwards and away from the camera. The woman wears her hair in a loose ponytail, and a single devil's horn pokes from the left side of her forehead. Her left hand is raised in a fist, which glows with a magical energy. From between each knuckle on that fist emerge three taut, immaterial threads, implied to lead off-screen and towards some number of other combatants. End ID.]

The Cowboy never has a plan of action - they never think ahead. They make a mess, and use their quick thinking and quicker mouth to fight their way out.

Cowboy Touchstones:

- Kakashi Hatake (Naruto)

- Hat & Clogs (Bleach)

- Spike Spiegel (Cowboy Bebop)

The Cowboy makes enemies wherever they go, but as a rule they themself don't hold a grudge. Correspondingly, they don't begin play with any Rivalries. Rather, they begin with two Loyalties, reflecting the surprising commitment and selflessness at the heart of their blasé attitude.

Allowing the Cowboy to wiggle out of all those tight squeezes are their seemingly endless array of tricks and feints. Their unique character progression mechanic, On Your Toes, exemplifies this, allowing them to swap out one known Technique for a new one of equal or lesser tier between scenes. This means that you'll never fight the same Cowboy twice; they'll always surprise you.

Cowboy Icon: Alice, Celebrity Thief of Lantis City

She/Her

Known to citizens of the Underworld as The Prince of Lies, Alice is a humanoid Chimera with a mysterious past. She spends most of her time menacing the upper class of Lantis; breaking into vaults, private chambers, and other high-security locations, stealing valuable trinkets and selling them on the black market.

Aiding her in her criminal life is Alice's Pneumatic Technique; Spooling Essence - Tapestry Thief. With it, she's able to pull on the strings of a person's soul, temporarily stealing attributes of their body or personality and taking them onto herself. She can steal their senses, their memories, or even their own Pneumatic Techniques - at least for a time.

To learn more about Alice, Lantis City, and CLASH!, Pledge to the Crowdfundr at Otaku: The Cowboy tier to get access to a mini-manga all about her adventures when you receive your physical copy of CLASH! Shonen Battle Roleplay.

[sabrinahawthorne]

CLASH! Announcement - Art Incoming

Until now, what the public sees of CLASH! has been woefully devoid of visual interest. For that, I apologize; I know full well how much an eye-catching piece can do for getting your attention, and I can imagine you might be impatient at this point.

Well you're in luck! Core character illustrations are almost done! We're working on the last one before moving on to additional illustration work.

Once that last piece is finished, We'll be putting up a series of posts showing off the art, and doing a profile on the Fighter Playbook they represent. That means mechanics, inspiration, and even a bit about the characters themselves! That's right - each Playbook has an Icon character depicted in its core art, with their own powers, backstory, and relationships with the others.

For those who missed it - these characters aren't just Elise and I showing off. We put the work into developing Icon characters because if you pledge at a high enough tier on our Crowdfundr campaign, you'll get an exclusive mini-manga starring an Icon of your choice, packed with exciting action to get you in the mood to play CLASH!

Keep your eyes peeled - I think you'll like what we have coming your way.

[sabrinahawthorne]

Welcome to the Blog!

Updated 09/04/2024

My name is Sabrina Hawthorne. I'm an author and collector of Tabletop RPGs. This blog is where I advertise my work, and post devlogs, very rare play diaries, and the very very rare foray into my insights into rpg design, as they are.

If you'd like to support me without buying anything, Buy Me a Coffee! You can toss me a couple bucks to help keep me on my feet.

If you want to check out my work, go to my Itch Storefront. There, you'll find all my completed games, including...

The Tale of Yon: a Tyrant's Throne, a Zelda-inspired one-page adventure;

Bring the Stars Home to Me, a journaling game about being far away from a loved one; and

Broke Wizards, a game about being broke... and a wizard.

You can also check out the (free) playtest materials for my next game, CLASH! Shonen Battle Roleplay, which is currently in development.

[sabrinahawthorne]

CLASH! Playtest Campaign Diary, April 14, 2024

Preamble 1: CLASH! is currently crowdfunding! If you're interested in supporting my work, check it out here.

Preamble 2: Truth be told, I'm bragging here. I don't usually do campaign diaries; but this session was special. I'd just finished a huge rework of the system, and I was terrified about whether it'd work as intended, or if I'd need to go back to the drawing board and further delay development. I needn't have worried; we played an episode of anime.

It's time for the first official round of the Battle of the Bands. After qualifying against DJ twins Oskaar and Byrna, classic rock & roll band Nail in the Coffin is up for their first real opponent; TOEJAM, noise music duo and technical masters.

Kenshin (The Analyst), the protege of the band's missing sponsor Ian Sachs, needs to win big to follow the clues about his missing teacher. Princess Moonbeam (The Specialist), frontwoman and mysterious European weirdo, has just been informed that her favorite glam-rock band, Xenon, will be performing in town in a few days. She needs to look good if she's going to impress her idols. And Kit Tripod (The Vessel), the band's drummer, knows that winning this contest means an official meeting with Beatrice Boxer - the woman she thinks killed her father.

The battle begins without much unusual; two Contests, one win and one loss for an even score of 1-1 against TOEJAM. It's at this point that Kit's player remembers to play with the new rules and activates a Tech: Shadow on the Wall.

Raising her drumsticks above her head, TOEJAM's guitarist momentarily thinks that he sees the image of a fiend - Tom Snare, the Demon of Drums, glimpsed through stage lights. The guitarist gains the Hopeless Condition, hampering his ability to gain Potential.

With this, the floodgates open. Kenshin opens his next turn with Look Out!, giving Moonbeam useful intel on the duo for her next turn.

Meanwhile, his own turn goes to a CLASH!, Insight versus Insight, against TOEJAM's masterful DJ. Everyone at the table stands up and cheers as his four dice come up with two 6's, while the DJ's five dice land with only one.

With one uneventful turn on the part of Kit, it's 2-2. Whoever wins the next Contest goes on to the next round of the Battle of the Bands, and it's Princess Moonbeam's turn.

The Bidding phase begins slowly; tension filling the room. Moonbeam has five Insight, but no other Pool to speak of. If she lets it slip, she's doomed against the Powerhouse DJ. But we know that TOEJAM has almost no Potential left; they don't have much bluffing power.

Moonbeam ups her bid. At the table, the GM looks at her player thoughtfully.

The DJ activates his Super.

We start to get excited; having spent all of his Potential, the DJ is left with four Force dice against Moonbeam's five Insight and 2 Potential, which she turns into 4 more dice.

We all hold our breath as the DJ makes his roll - one 6. There's a breath of relief at the table - we can do this. We just need a single 6 from a pool of nine dice.

Then, Moonbeam rolls.

No 6's. Not a single one from her entire pool.

It is dead silent at the table. We just lost our first fight. We just lost our first fight, and it got us disqualified us from the Battle of the Bands. Everyone is flabbergasted.

How could this happen? How did Nail in the Coffin lose in their second match? How will Kit get to Beatrice Boxer now? Will Princess Moonbeam embarrass herself in front of her favorite band? And where is Ian Sachs?

Find out next time, on Battle of the Bands!

It was honestly perfect. We knew the stakes of the fight;

Every character had a clear goal, and a lot of drive to achieve it;

And at the end of the day? We lost the tournament arc.

Because of course we did! The heroes can never win the tournament - they have to learn from their losses and find a new way to chase their dreams.

[sabrinahawthorne]

Crowdfunding for CLASH! Begins in 3 Days!

To supplement the central crowdfunding effort, I'm also putting my entire library of games on sale at 30% off. In addition to that, there's also a bundle of every game I've released at 50% off!

That's Broke Wizards, Fantasy Heartbreaker, Bring the Stars Home to Me, and more, on sale from April to the end of June. If you've been waiting to check out anything I make, this will be a great opportunity to support me and get your hands on my work.

[sabrinahawthorne]

JUMP! Devlog, March 11, 2024 - Name Change | Artist Position Filled | Crowdfunding Announcement

This one's a big update announcement, so let's tl;dr up top, and the details will be below the read more.

JUMP! is officially being renamed to CLASH! Shonen Battle Roleplay. Largely for copyright reasons.

We have an artist! Thank you to Elise @ispybluesky - I'm ecstatic to be working with them.

This is my official announcement of a crowdfunding campaign, due to launch in April! I'll be advertising it and posting links when and where appropriate.

1. Name Change

It was a long time coming, honestly. When I originally made the prototype for the game, the idea of expanding it into a full book was sort of a distant idea - I had other games pressing more fervently at my attention, and I was burnt out from a year of making a lot of games. So I ripped assets from official anime & manga and named the thing after a real shonen manga magazine - classic internet. And besides, I was posting it for free. No harm, no foul.

But as my plans for the year solidified and I decided on this game as the project to focus on in 2024, it became quickly apparent that I simply couldn't get away with toeing the line that enthusiastically. It's a fun idea, branding your game after the most well-known shonen publication out there, both creatively and as a marketing strategy. But of course, that's just asking for trouble. So, better to change it, and give it more of its own identity in the process.

So after a bit of thought, I landed on the obvious and perfect answer: CLASH! Shonen Battle Roleplay. I mean, come on. Who's complaining about that? Certainly not me.

Going forward, I'll be tagging devlogs with the old #JUMP! Shonen Battle Roleplay tag, as well as a new one befitting the change - just to keep things together.

2. Artist Found

I was astounded at how many inquiries I got when I put out that call. I suspect I have @lighthouselio and @monsterfactoryfanfic to thank for that, so thank you both. Really, that was cool as hell to wake up to.

After some deliberation, I've decided to work with Elise @ispybluesky, who has been a delight to talk to so far, and whose style I fell in love with instantly. We're already working on the first couple of pieces, and I'm beyond excited for you all to see what they can do. Give them a follow.

Elise wasn't the only person I talked to though, and wasn't the only person whose work shone. In particular I'd like to give a shoutout to Anh Huynh @acesartscape. While it wasn't as strong a style match, I'm enchanted by their work, and am probably going to commission them for one or two things on my own time. Give them a follow too.

3. Crowdfunding Announcement

I mentioned it in my call for artists post - but I never made an announcement, so here's that: The CLASH! Shonen Battle Roleplay crowdfunding campaign is coming this April!

The Campaign is currently slated to last through June, and my goal i to put together something nice to look at and interesting to read by the time we launch. As you can probably imagine I've been working hard on this game, and it's thrilling and terrifying all at once to be coming up on this milestone. Let's see how it goes, shall we?