Drifter's Choice: The Path of the Gambler
almost 4 years ago – Sat, Jun 27, 2020 at 12:27:42 AM

This Folklore Friday we're sharing another one of the Paths you can choose when making your character. Every drifter is made from where they came from (their History) and where they are choosing to go (their Path).

A drifter's path defines how they've chosen to interact with the harsh realities of life on Manifest. A path could present itself as a chosen profession or a way for the drifter to make a living. Other times a path is more like a set of values the drifter follows. As a drifter's story grows and adapts, they may even find a new path to follow as their outlook on life changes.

Also last week we forgot to give a shoutout to the ever-talented artist who created both our book's cover as well as all the art for the Paths: Andrew Thompson!

Path of the Gambler

Any saloon on Manifest worth its salt has at least one table devoted to games of chance. And whether it's cards, craps, or cactus racing, you can bet your last spur that anyone who follows the Gambler's path is looking to take a seat at that table. 

On Manifest life can be brutally short, and the Gambler understands that even the best-laid plans are likely just a long list of things that don't happen. So instead of waiting for their time to be up, they take control by playing the odds. They do so not just at the tables, but in every aspect of life and enjoy the rush of putting things up to chance. 

While another drifter might go through life weighing risk versus reward, many a Gambler will simply ask themselves, "do I feel lucky?" And if their gut says jump, they jump. It might get them in a fair few barroom brawls, or even a showdown in the street at midday, but the risk will have been worth it regardless of the payout. Because the risk, for the Gambler, is the only way to get the heart pumping and to feel truly alive. 

Excitement is what the Gambler lives and often dies for. From going all-in on a gutshot straight draw or trying to collect on the bounty for the worst bandits in the region, if it's risky, the Gambler is interested. When that risky gambit pays off, the Gambler is affirmed of their belief that the chance was well worth it, and when they hit a terrible string of luck, well them's the breaks.

Some Gamblers love the risk, but they also hate to lose, and these are the folk that will find themselves in hot water when they're caught rigging the odds in their favor. Whether it's with a literal ace up their sleeve or a faulty bullet in the chamber of an enemy's gun, the act of skewing the odds and the subsequent risk of being found out is almost as satisfying as the winnings they might earn from it.

Surviving on the Path of the Gambler is as much about skill as it is luck. A genuinely talented Gambler has what it takes to make a high stakes wager with all they have and come out on top time and time again. The adage 'every gunslinger's got a bit of the Gambler in them' is apt since risking one's life in a showdown has, of course, the highest stakes of all.

Confidence is the trademark of all Gamblers. This certainty, founded or unfounded, that they will catch that lucky card or land that impossible shot makes a Gambler a valuable ally and a fearsome enemy, for they fear nothing but boredom. There's always something to be gained for those who are willing to risk it all, and Gamblers are always feeling lucky.

Exploring Histories: Settler
almost 4 years ago – Wed, Jun 24, 2020 at 05:17:28 PM

Happy Waypoint Wednesday! While we don't have any concrete news regarding our production timetable, the U.S. is beginning to reopen in many states. We've been in contact with our publishers and our hope is to have a more informative update about our ETA for y'all in early July.  

Meanwhile, here's some info on another History you can choose when creating your character. Also, last week we forgot to give a shout out to Allen Panakal for our History landscapes! 

Histories defines where a drifter's story began and shapes the way that drifter sees the world. Some drifters embrace their history, relying on the lessons learned in those formative years. Other drifters rebel against their history, trying to escape the difficult memories of their past by becoming someone or something else. Regardless of how they feel about where they came from, a drifter's history will always inevitably be a part of them one way or another.

The majority of humanity's population on Manifest up until the Departure was confined to the factory towns. Hotbeds for corruption and plague, many were anxious to get out from under the remnants of the old world regime but didn't have the skills or the fortitude to homestead themselves. Eventually, contingents of bakers, doctors, builders, and tradespeople formed communities and headed out into the wilds to build their own camps where they could live by their own rules. They relied heavily on their numbers and complementary skills to keep them alive. 

These camps, sometimes as few as ten people, traveled away from the cities, and posted up in either the least hostile or most lucrative environment they could find. As these camps grew in size and number, they became spheres of influence within their Factory Town's territory. Camps were hubs for travelers, news posts for the local homesteaders, centers for the trading of goods and services, and stops on the local nomad pack's circuit. The Factory Town governors began sending representatives to these camps, which were looking more like constructed towns every day, attempting to keep a finger on the pulse of their people.

This felt like an intrusion to those who had purposefully left the city to escape the governors' eyes. With the Factory Wars starting in earnest, these large camps began to eschew the Factory Towns, occasionally violently.

Everything came to a head at the end of the Factory Wars, when Nova Nalani, the founder of the settlement now known as Waypoint, negotiated on behalf of the ordinary people of Manifest a deal that no one else could. Among the other notable contributions she provided over the years as 'the mother of drifters,' during the Armistice negotiations, Nova ensured that the High-Speed Rail system constructed to connect the post war Factory Towns, included a stop in Waypoint. She also saw to it that Long Range Communication towers were built in the largest camps throughout all the territories, as long as those camps agreed to the Factory Town's jurisdiction. With the LRC towers built, settlements were finally able to connect to the wider world. With that connection, camps became proper towns and brought in new citizens with a wider variety of skills. 

The variation between settlements, not just across the world but even simply across a single territory, can't be understated. Some settlements get by on essential technology and comforts, while others are fortunate enough to have some of the amenities typically reserved for Factory Towns. The smallest settlements have one road, a general store with the shopkeep’s apartment in the back, and perhaps a stable or a barber. In contrast, the notable large towns like Waypoint and Red Post, have multiple town squares, taverns, saloons, doctors, and even a bank.

Depending on how close a settlement is to their territory's Factory Town, they may or may not exchange some of their freedom for the added security of the governor's protection. Many settlements can find someone willing to step into the shoes of the sheriff, and a few settlements even grew large enough to afford to build a fence around their lands to keep out the consistent threat of bandits, critters, and other catastrophes.

However, most of the settlements on Manifest find themselves without robust protections. Though highly skilled itinerant individuals, known as drifters, are often conveniently passing through town just in time, and just long enough, to solve a town's trouble. They'll take on anything from a teakettler infestation to the returning of goods recently stolen in a bandit raid in exchange for a few spurs or supplies.

Growing up in a settlement is often as close as the average person on Manifest can get to an idyllic, simple life. The relative safety provided by the town, access to primary education, and the opportunity to apprentice under many of the settlement's tradespeople, lends a leg up compared to the lower echelons of the Factory Towns and the hardworking homesteaders. However, they are still vastly outpaced by the wealthiest and most privileged of Manifest. 

Critter Sightings: Glawackus and Warakin
almost 4 years ago – Tue, Jun 23, 2020 at 07:24:33 AM

This Manifest Monday we're showcasing two more beasts! Manifest is home to all sorts of fascinating wildlife. Ranging from the curious to the outright terrifying, the native fauna is just one of the reasons the life of a drifter requires immense skill and luck. Only truly talented individuals can survive the wilds between settlements.

Glawackus

One of the greatest hunters native to Manifest is the Glawackus. Though significantly smaller than some of the more giant fauna of Manifest, with its haunch roughly five feet tall at the shoulder, the Glawackus is to be feared no less. It is a creature of pure muscle and endurance, with the ability to track and run for days at a time. Once the Glawakus is on the hunt, there’s almost nothing that can pull it away from its prey.

The Glawackus hunting and social structure consist mostly of small family units of 2 to 4, with usually one or two kits. A Glawackus hunting ground can range from four to eight square miles, but it is not unusual for them to pursue a hunt far outside of the range. Glawackus seemingly live for the chase, they are endurance animals with the ability to stalk and chase prey for days at a time and have been recorded to have sought a quarry as far as 35 miles away from their dens.

One of the most remarkable things about the Glawackus are their kits. A kit will travel on its parent’s back for a month or two after birth and then take part in the hunt. From an extremely young age, these youngsters are built with the endurance that they will have as an adult, able to keep up with their parents far earlier than other beasts. 

A Glawackus preys primarily on livestock, herding, and pursuing their prey until it is too tired to continue on. Rarely have there been cases of an unprovoked party of Glawackus hunting humans or other predators. However, this shouldn’t imply that they will not attack a wrangler protecting their herd or other hunters or trappers coming for one of their party. If the sport is good or the threat is high, the Glawackus will abandon the sure thing for the immediate challenge. Never run from a Glawackus is an adage that originates from in the genuine risk of inadvertently issuing a challenge to a beast that relishes the hunt.

And in fact, unlike other beasts of their size, the Glawackus is cunning in their tactics. When they are seemingly beaten or evaded, they will usually retreat and attempt another tac, chasing their prey until they are too exhausted or no longer on their guard. 

Occasionally there are accounts of a Glawackus party stalking and killing a lone human traveler, though these accounts are largely unverified. The conventional wisdom is that if one finds themselves in a Glawackus party’s hunting grounds, to walk, not run, out of it as quickly as possible, and hope there’s something more enjoyable for the Glawackus to stalk.

Warakin

One of the first beasts of Manifest to come into contact, and conflict, with humans after The Departure, was the Warakin. They can be found in all the habitats on Manifest, from the frozen tundra of the Frostfire Forest to the swampy bogs of The Wastes, but the Warakin thrives best in the rocky highlands of the Badlands. 

The warakin is a muscular and deep-chested catlike canine with a large elongated head, short neck, hunched shoulders, and pointed ears. Its fur varies from deep brown-red in the steppes of the badlands to a dark banded grey in the wastes. Though it isn’t a true mane, the fur on its shoulders and upper torso grows thicker and longer than the rest of its coat.

A newborn warakin pup will be a soft beige or light grey with bands of black on its ears and tail, which fade as the warakin reaches adulthood.

One of the most social species of Manifest, Warakins live in packs of related individuals, which can be comprised of up to twenty adults. A matriarchal society, most of the members of the pack will be related, however distantly, to one of the female matriarchs, known as dames. In addition to their pack hierarchy and expressive social behavior like mutual grooming, the warakin is the most specialized for cooperative hunting, using the advantage of their large numbers to take down prey. 

Warakins are highly territorial, and disputes over territory are ruthless. However, large packs will often adopt surviving pairs of mates after these disputes. This is done both to introduce genetic variety to the pack and to add additional hunting rangers to cover the pack’s expanded territory. Often these ‘outsider pairs’ will have higher success in hunting and ranging, and they will typically return to the larger pack with their kills for protection while eating.

All adults will defend the pack against intruders, but the male warakin is better-suited for this purpose due to its stockier, more compact build. The warakin phalanx is a tactic often seen in defense of the pack. Some individuals serve as a vanguard consistently leading the defense against intruders, while others lag behind to protect the old, who in turn herd and protect the young. Often, in these situations, the pack’s most versatile hunters and rangers will break off to attack an unsuspecting aggressor from the rear or flank. 

Like the jackalope and hodag, the warakin is one of the few Manifest faunae to be tamed enough to use as a mount. However, a warakin is much more dangerous than other typical mounts on Manifest, especially if improperly or incompletely trained. As a natural predator, it may spook horses and jackalopes when stabled together. It takes a talented wrangler to tame the difficult and willful Warakin, so much so that many settlements have banned them within the town limits. Many of the best Warakin riders have had their mounts since before their bands fade. This is a tried and true strategy, as one of the only ways to keep a Warakin in line is to have it imprint on its rider rather than its biological parents.

Manifest Actual Play Now Available on YouTube!
almost 4 years ago – Sun, Jun 21, 2020 at 12:38:52 PM

Happy Father's Day to all! We're so pleased to finally be launching our YouTube channel properly! A handful of episodes of the Manifest Actual Play livestream are available now on our YouTube Channel. CLICK HERE to check it out and start catching up on all the fun! Be sure to subscribe to the channel so you can receive notifications as we keep releasing old episodes until we're all caught up.

Soak in that amazing character art by Cait May! Y'all HAVE to check out her Website, Twitter, and Instagram

Drifter's Choice: The Path of the Trapper
almost 4 years ago – Sat, Jun 20, 2020 at 12:51:33 AM

For Folklore Friday, we're sharing one of the Paths you can choose when making your character. Every drifter is made from where they came from (their History) and where they are choosing to go (their Path).

A drifter's path defines how they've chosen to interact with the harsh realities of life on Manifest. A path could present itself as a chosen profession or a way for the drifter to make a living. Other times a path is more like a set of values the drifter follows. As a drifter's story grows and adapts, they may even find a new path to follow as their outlook on life changes.

Path of the Trapper

Before the Departure, the call for skilled hunters to travel to Manifest was strong. Settlements needed protection and the promise of new and exciting game pulled at the hunters of the old world. The promise of a challenge unlike anyone had ever seen before was just on the other side of the wormhole. What it must have been like to be the first hunter to see an aatxe or a roperite. To be the first woodsman to bring back the trophy of a slain splinter cat… The glory of those days, the days of being the first, the trailblazers, the founders of the lodges, and those days are long, long gone. 

Now trapping is a volatile science, a mix between social service and extreme sport. It's said that on the homeworld that humans were the apex predator, but even with all the tech in the world, that isn't the case on Manifest. 

The social service is the one that pays best, bringing meat to those who want and need it and rescuing those who can't seem to tell up from down, let alone north from south, and leading travelers through treacherous paths. Some settler or urbanite who fancies themselves an outdoorsman will head out into the wilds, ill-prepared for what they find. Even a drifter, with all their skills, can quickly be taken out by Mother Manifest if they aren't wily enough. So as they are lost, it's the trapper's job to head out and either find them or their corpse.

Follow the tracks. It ain't hard if you know what you're looking for, especially when it's human. Sometimes it's as easy as a broken twig or footprints in the earth. For the harder game, it's loose moss or the closest sound of running water or the direction of the light when they might have passed through. A smell in the air or a taste on the wind might be all you need if you've studied the behavior, a copperbird will always fly into the sun, and a jackalope will always avoid the ground wherever it can. Know all that, and you know what to look for. 

People will pay good spurs for fresh meat, even better if it's exotic. Parts for armor and crafting, meat for eating, there's a use for every part of an animal, and so every piece will fetch you a spur, so leave no part behind. The thrill of the hunt might get a trapper through the day, but twenty spurs in your pouch will get them through a season. 

But the most crucial thing a trapper has to know ain't about trapping or even getting paid. It's about staying alive. Anyone can book learn how to trap, but the only experience can teach the solemn fact that there’s always something that's bigger, stronger, or faster on the trail just behind you. The best trappers learn that it is just as important to deftly traverse the wilderness and avoid becoming the prey as it is being the predator. Live to trap another day, be patient, respect Mother Manifest and her creatures and maybe, just maybe, a trapper will live long enough to find a quiet life in the end.