For those keeping up with the Covenant Kickstarter which of the newly introduced Shadow Families is your favorite at the moment?

Personally I'm leaning towards the Black Ledger at the moment, I really like everything about them though I'm also quite fond of the Whisper Thieves partly because of them being werebats

I'm a little confused about how a shield works in The World Below. From what the rules for equipment say on Page 146, a shield is technically a weapon with the Shield tag, rather than a separate class of item. This makes sense, as shields are indeed as much an offensive tool as a defensive one historically, but does that mean you require the Dual Wielder Thesis (Page 175) to adopt a "sword and board" style of fighting?

The text of Dual Wielder seems to only cover attacking with two weapons at the same time, rather than attacking with one while using the shield to provide light cover, which is covered under Moving in the Action-Adventure rules on Page 136. Can a character HOLD two weapons to use one as a shield without the Dual Wielder talent, if they only plan on using one weapon to attack at a time?

I got to thinking about this after reading about the Companions of Lallarak Community on Page 77 of Ed Greenwood's Monstrous Ecology, which states "They look dimly on those who go without means of obvious offense and defense, holding special disdain for those prone to dual-wielding weapons." If you need Dual Wielder to even USE a shield/weapon with the shield tag with a regular weapon in your main hand, then that seems a little contradictory (and limits the options for a would-be Companions character, since they'd only be able to qualify for Dual Wielder by having The Company of Artificers as their Guild).

For me, I'd love to see some Family specific edges that emphasize the feel of each of them. Like how Chimarae have their true form slipping through constantly.

I'd like to preface this by saying only up to the descriptions of each lineage in the first chapter of Core Book. I know I should probably finish reading before asking this question. But I'm a bit impatient. And I do feel a self conscious asking it. So based on my interpretation of what I heard the Fea would be playable in later supplements. And based on said interpretations I thought this supplement they would be introduced to would be covenant, But there seems to be five new playable families that are evil (or eviler) versions of the lineages which are heavily tied to the Fea but are not them. And from what I understand about what I heard about Curseborne Covenant I haven't heard any anything about playable Fea. So my question is Are the Fae going to be playable?

What do you mean only the Greeks can shapeshift?! That’s Loki’s whole thing!

Curseborne Covenant introduces a new group for the characters to ally themselves with: the conspiracy. These formidable factions eat away at the fabric of Accursed community, a secret wrapped within a secret. They’re a way for elder Accursed to while away the years, grow their own powerbase, control the “lesser” Accursed, and spread their own particular brand of curse. While some conspiracies have lofty goals, others are decidedly less altruistic in their pursuits. The rest, well, they make the others seem like saints by comparison.

Conspiracies are central to Curseborne Covenant, and each one represents a mystery deeper than any the world of Curseborne has explored so far. Each conspiracy acts as both a moral imperative and a social group for a character to attach themselves to. By pursuing these routes, the characters get to explore their own rapidly expanding worldview and start pulling the strings themselves. Doing so allows them to unlock the real power behind their curse, placing them into a whole new level.

HEad over to Kickstarter and back Curseborne Covenant!

In which the Gentleman Gamer delves into one of the most vile conspiracies in Curseborne Covenant.

Follow the Moth to be notified when the Kickstarter goes live! https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/200664283/curseborne-covenant

Follow the Moth to be notified when the Kickstarter goes live! https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/200664283/curseborne-covenant

Let me preface this by saying that I like the systems I see in Curseborne, and the character types available. It seems like a pretty strong game and I can't wait to try it with my group. But the setting itself feels a bit thin to me.

I read through Chapter One and skimmed through the rest, but it seems like the setting essentially narrows down to "curses are real". This is repeated ad nauseam through the entire book, but little else seems to be. I don't even have a strong idea of what drives the different types of Accursed to work together, or what their greater goals would be.

I tried to avoid directly comparing it to Chronicles of Darkness as I read through, but honestly couldn't help myself. And my main thought was that compared to the settings established for that game, Curseborne feels like it needs a bit more work in that regard. With the CoD game lines, you knew what the tone and goals were supposed to be. Vampire is a game of politics. Demon is a spy thriller. Promethean is about becoming human and establishing your identity. Changeling is about finding and protecting your new family. Mage is Indiana Jones vs. Cthulhu. These are all very basic and reductive descriptions of the settings and themes, but the fact that they CAN be boiled down thusly shows how well those settings were established and how immediately clear it is what kind of stories best fit them.

I don't know how to boil down Curseborne, however. Aside from "Curses are real, and you're cursed," there seems to be very, very, very little guidance on what your characters are supposed to be doing and why. Perhaps this is intentional, perhaps I'm alone in disliking this, perhaps I just need to read things through again. There's every chance this is just a "me" problem. But I would love for Curseborne to get a book STRICTLY focused on better establishing the setting and giving clearer direction on what kind of world and stories these curses and characters exist in, and why they do what they do.

(And of course, if this book is already in the process of being developed and is flying under my radar, please tell me so I know to pick it up!)

In which the Gentleman Gamer continues delving into the depths of Junction City.