Inside Look: Character Classes from Escape From New York
over 1 year ago – Thu, Oct 06, 2022 at 12:13:37 AM

Hello Backers,

We are introducing 3 new character classes set in the Escape From New York world - The Street Warrior, The Gutter Rat, and The Motorhead. Here is a deep dive into the Gutter Rat:

Gutter Rat (Charming Hero)

The gutter rat may seem like the lowest of the low—weak, and pitiable—but in truth, they are among the most dangerous of people. They know how to play mind games with their enemies, striking when and where they are most vulnerable. Most treacherous of all are their lies, which come to them as easily as breathing does to most.

Gutter Rats are versatile heroes who can support a team with a mix of social skills and subterfuge outside of combat. In a fight, they specialize in inflicting status effects on enemies and delivering devastating blows to their suffering opponents.

Proficiencies

• Saving Throws: Dexterity and Charisma
• Skills: Choose Three (Acrobatics, Deception, Intimidate, Perform, Security, Sleight of Hand, Streetwise, Stealth)
• Equipment: Basic and Improvised Equipment
• Underhanded Expertise: Choose One (Deception, Security, Sleight of Hand, Streetwise, Stealth)

Sample Talents

• Play the Fool (1st Level). You can take an action to distract an opponent who can see and hear you. Make a Charisma (Deception) check opposed by a Wisdom (Insight) check from the target. If you win the contest, the opponent is considered Distracted by your antics until the beginning of your next turn.
• Slippery (1st Level). You have advantage on Dexterity (Sleight of Hand) checks made to escape bonds and Dexterity (Acrobatics) checks to escape a grapple. You can make such checks as a bonus action during combat.
• Sneaky (1st Level). You have advantage on Dexterity (Stealth) checks made while trying to move without making any noise.

Sample Tricks

• Gloat. After an opponent has made a successful saving throw against a talent or attack you used against them, you can use your reaction to roll an influence die to apply a penalty equal to your roll, potentially turning the success into failure.
• Hobbling Strike. When making a melee attack, after rolling to hit but before determining the result, you can roll an influence dice and add it to the attack roll. If the attack hits, in addition to the normal damage the target’s speed is reduced to 0 until the end of their next turn.

As you can see, our designers are putting a lot of fun storylines into this story. If you haven't picked up this Cinematic Adventure, now's the time. You can visit our preorder store here:

Inside Look: Artwork from Escape From New York (Part II)
over 1 year ago – Fri, Sep 30, 2022 at 09:04:14 PM

Hello Backers,

You're going to find a lot of interesting characters in the trash-filled streets of New York. Here is a look at a few from artist Wilson Andres Carreño Guevara:

Dinner Party Gone Wrong

The simplest activities can get quite heated when goods and supplies are in short supply. Those who control the wharf eat like Kings. Those that don't, starve.

Death Races and Drag Races

Build your character using the Motorhead class and become really good a modding vehicles. In New York, races happen all the time. It's a quick way to win coin or get yourself killed.

As you can see, our designers are putting a lot of fun storylines into this story. If you haven't picked up this Cinematic Adventure, now's the time. You can visit our preorder store here:

Inside Look: Artwork from Escape From New York
over 1 year ago – Thu, Sep 22, 2022 at 04:48:31 AM

Hello Backers, 

We thought we'd share some of the artwork we've been accumulating for the upcoming Cinematic Adventures™ starting with Escape from New York (PDF version released January 2023, in store release in March/April 2023). If you want to see more of this over time, please leave feedback in the comments.

New Cover Art

Unveiling the new cover art for the Escape From New York Cinematic Adventure from acclaimed artist David Chen. You'll notice that Snake Plissken is no longer on the cover because the story is about you.

Map of Manhattan

Move over Absalom (Pathfinder) and Baldur's Gate (D&D). There is a new city where adventures are around every corner. Introducing our map of New York and the gangs who control the various territories. This beautiful work was illustrated by famed artist Damien Mammoliti

As you can see, we work with the best artists to ensure the highest quality roleplaying experience. If you haven't picked up this Cinematic Adventure, now's the time. You can visit our preorder store here: 

This RPG Writer and PDH Candidate Talked US! into Pursuing Escape From New York: A Writer's Q&A
over 1 year ago – Wed, Sep 14, 2022 at 11:04:32 PM

Hello Evil Backers, 

When we were a poor nobody publisher, we reached out over the interwebs looking for writers. Only one answered the call. We asked him what he wanted to write and he said “Escape From New York… Best movie ever.” So we commissioned him to do the writing long before we had the official license.

Let’s start with a simple question. Who are you? How did you get into gaming as a hobby and as a profession?

It all started with Blood Bowl and the local library. I’d been reading fantasy books for years, and even played some of the Fighting Fantasy books that were available at the time, but the local library had a Blood Bowl club in the basement underneath. I joined and on the first night, the Blood Bowl was canceled. But they WERE played this thing called D&D, set in the Dragonlance world (that I knew a bit about from the novels), and did I want to join? After that, I was hooked, and have been since 1993.

Doing it professionally came to a lot later though, with RPG Superstar as it was run by Paizo Publishing. I’d participated once or twice, but never really “for real”, usually because I forgot all about it. But in 2014, I’d submitted an item for the competition, but another appeared in my head at the same time — though it was never committed to paper. In 2015 though, I nearly missed out until my wife reminded me. I sat down and finally got it on paper, with less than 24 hours to go, and out of the hundreds, if not thousands, of submissions – it made it to round 2. I never got past that round, but it got me started with 3rd Party Publishers, and today, I’ve got more than 100 books behind me, in less than 6 years.

What drew you to Evil Genius Games, what about Everyday Heroes™ appeals to you and your writing style?

Honestly, it was the open call from the Evil Genius Leader himself, and the opportunity to try to play with Intellectual Property that wasn’t normally available. I pitched, for something that I don’t think was in the card at the time — Escape from New York — but it seems my pitch was good enough to get me on board. 😊

As for Everyday Heroes itself, it’s the chance to take a well-known and loved system (5e) and take it from its intended Fantasy roots and bring it to someplace new. It’s always a challenge, especially in the early going, but it is often worth it.

What do you think of the concept of Cinematic Adventures? Why did you want to write one?

I’m a great fan of the Cinematic Adventures, as it gives you (as the player) a chance to engage with adventure in a slightly different way. For most modern adventures, you (as the player) rarely know too much about what you’re going into, but for a Cinematic Adventure, you have a bit of forewarning of what you’re going to see. They’re also, generally speaking, a lot more action focus and “in the moment” than most adventures tend to be, which is refreshing.

Tell us about your thoughts on Escape From New York. When did you first encounter the property and what was your initial reaction?

Escape from New York was one of my first loves as an action film and was introduced to me by the GM of the Dragonlance campaign in fact. (We were best friends and played together for many years until I moved to a different country). My initial reaction to it was “Wow, this is different”. At the time, when I saw it for the first time, the big action stars were Arnie, Sylvester, and Van Damme, and seeing this Plissken character portrayed was completely different from anything else. This guy was fallible and not overly muscled or capable of kicking your head off. Instead, he was smart and ruthless and capable of reacting quickly to changing circumstances.

What excites you the most about bringing this movie franchise to life through a tabletop roleplaying game?

The opportunity to expand the world and tie some more of it together. Unlike modern films, the “Plissken-verse” of Escape from New York and Escape from L.A. were never expanded upon to the same crazy degree that we see today with so many films and universes. Being able to do that, and tie some of the disparate parts of the two Escape films together was something I was very excited about.

What would you tell fans of Escape From New York to ensure them that the movie property is in good hands?

Rest assured, I’m a fan, just as much as you are. And even if you might not get to play Plissken, you’ll get to experience some of what he did.

The Escape From New York Cinematic Adventure will be available in January 2023. You can pick up this Cinematic Adventure and more on our Pre Order Store.

This Pathfinder Veteran is Ready To Get His Mind Wiped: A Writer's Q&A w/ Carlos Cabrera
over 1 year ago – Sat, Sep 10, 2022 at 07:00:56 PM

Hello Evil Minions,

From Pathfinder Society Adventures to Rulebook Contributions, this fantasy writer puts down his inked quill to pen a few martian chronicles. As it turns out, this talented writer is a true Total Recall aficionado.

Let’s start with a simple question. Who are you? How did you get into gaming as a hobby and as a profession?

My name is Carlos Cabrera, and I have been a freelance game designer since 2017. I’ve had my own LLC, Something Clever Games, since 2015. I started playing games with early video game consoles like the Intellivision, Colecovision, and Vectrex. It wasn’t until I played Flashback: The Quest for Identity on the Sega Genesis that I wanted to make games a career. I wanted to get into video games, but my path took me into tabletop RPGs first by networking at PaizoCon.

What drew you to Evil Genius Games, what about Everyday Heroes™ appeals to you and your writing style?

When I was approached by Evil Genius, I was really impressed with what they were trying to do with d20 Modern. I was a fan of that system, and was even planning on utilizing it myself one day. What’s better than finding an opportunity to do that professionally? Everyday Heroes allows me to be a part of the next chapter of modern-day roleplaying, and all of the IPs they are working with are incredibly exciting.

What do you think of the concept of Cinematic Adventures? Why did you want to write one?

I really like the idea! It allows you to quickly get started with a specific universe you enjoy without having to do a lot of the heavy lifting yourself. I’m a big fan of pick up and play right out of the box, or in this case, right out of the book.

Tell us about your thoughts on Total Recall. When did you first encounter the property and what was your initial reaction?

I watched Total Recall not long after it came out. The special effects were crazy! I think they hold up over the years as well. A little grotesque, but super cool! And it’s always fun watching Arnold in a good action flick, catchphrases and all.

What excites you the most about bringing this movie franchise to life through a tabletop roleplaying game?

I really look forward to expanding on the lore of the film immediately after it ends. With this specific property, I have the opportunity to solidify the next chapter. There’s air on Mars now! What does that mean for Cohaagen? Earth? The mutants? All of these things I am very excited to explore.

What would you tell fans of Total Recall to ensure them that the movie property is in good hands?

I am a big fan of science fiction and fantasy and have been freelancing in the industry for 5 years now. This includes writing encounters and adventures, and I even GM! I promise to deliver not only an exciting tribute to the original film and short story, but to open the door to the wider Total Recall universe that I hope has you gasping for air!

The Total Recall Cinematic Adventure will be available in May 2023. You can pick up this Cinematic Adventure and more on our Pre Order Store.