Pandion Letters - A Busy May Update
Hints and Hijinx, Banda's Grove, Catalyst Cards, and more!
Hello Everyone!
It has been a busy May here at Pandion Games, so much so that we had to sit down and create a project database to start tracking everything. And we decided to make it public for you to see!
Hints and Hijinx Games – Solo+ Expansion!
This month, the Hints and Hijinx system saw an expansion with the Solo+ release that lets creators choose between making simpler solo-only mysteries, or larger multiplayer mysteries with a more traditional GM + Players. Like the core solo rules, we still provide a copy and paste template to get you going.
The Solo rules are perfect for making games of a detective like Sherlock Holmes, while Solo+ lets you build games for a group of mystery solvers like Scooby-Doo.
We have two games in development using the Solo+ rules: Whispering Pines, a 1980’s wilderness mystery, and The Substratum Protocol, our science fiction horror delve to the center of the earth game.
All told, we have six total Hints and Hijinx games in various stages of development:
Hamsters and Himbos - A raucous and silly small-town mystery of using your posse of himbos to uncover why giant hamsters have appeared in Willowsdale. If you enjoyed Waffles for Esther, you’ll definitely love this one.
This game is nearly completion, and about to head to layout.
We are just finishing up the event table now (We have 14 of 36 written).
The Substratum Protocol – A scientist-in-exosuit delve to the center of the earth to save the planet from the interdimensional portal consuming the earth’s core.
Whispering Pines – A 1980s wilderness mystery, that will feature a mystery theme selector for the players to choose the kind of mystery they want to uncover (conspiracy, horror, eldritch, classic, etc.).
Cover art is done for this one (thanks again to Tony Tran!), and will be revealed soon!
Alan Alan Alan Al Alan – A woodchuck murder mystery. More details in the future.
Blink – A mystery on the galactic scale in the far future. Work to discover why the stars are blinking out. (We have a narrative intro hidden in the project task on our status page if you want to read more)
Awoken Plains – A mystery of consciousness, we are considering writing this one in the SkyRealms setting by Iko of The Lost Bay, exploring the awakening of the She-Goddess.
And yes, we will be running another Game Jam in the future for Hints and Hijinx! We are targeting July, but haven’t solidified anything yet. Stay tuned!
Badger + Coyote: Daring Adventures
We are working on a small update to Badger + Coyote’s layout, and combining the game and adventure supplement for a deluxe print version. We’ll update you on release dates and where you can get them soon.
At this time, we don’t plan to combine the digital versions on itchio, but the core game will be updated with the fresh layout.
Vending Machine TTRPGs
We’ve been working with the wonderful people behind Knave of Cups, and Badger + Coyote will be available in A6 sized game packs as part of a TTRPG vending machine trial in Portland, Oregon!
We think this is such a cool concept – self-contained game packs that have everything you need to play that can be purchased via a vending machine. I’m excited to see this expand and grow.
Catalyst Cards
Catalyst Cards are currently going through the digital print step and they are looking fantastic! This is taking longer than we originally planned, but our current goal is to create 150x 18-card packs in-house while partnering with Salt and Paper Press to do the letterpress printing. A lot of the delay is in me going back and forth on paper stock and order of operations for printing – I don’t want to mess these up!
We are going to take these to crowdfunding, but I want to make sure we can make a high-quality product that we’re proud of before any campaign is launched.
In addition to the special letterpresssed cards, we are also looking into having them printed as a standard playing deck.
Banda’s Grove
Writing is complete on the overhaul of Banda’s Grove! The text is undergoing several read throughs by others to make sure I didn’t miss anything. You can read the latest devlog here.
In addition to the overhaul - that we are very excited about - we are working on two additional pieces:
The Hapdash Grove - a complete and detailed setting
We originally released a bare minimum Grove to let people start playing immediately, and while it was okay, we knew we could do better. We are writing a fully fleshed out setting that you can use called the Hapdash Grove. It will include NPCs, facilities, plenty of locations, adventures and event tables, and more.
Echoes Beyond the Realm - A Campaign
This is one we are absolutely ecstatic about. Echoes Beyond the Realm is a campaign of monumental proportions that will take campers on a journey of discovery and perils. Their decisions will fundamentally change the Grove, the other campers, and even the game itself.
Echoes of the Realm is designed to be uncovered a bit at a time during your normal play by decoding messages from an unknown source. These coded messages will use a cipher that the players are given. At the start of a session, decode the next message, and incorporate the information into play. Each decoded message will give players new information, Events, Badges, Character Sheet upgrades, new Facilities, and take them on Weekend Adventures.
Look around you. This is not what it seems. There is more to the Realm than what you are told. I’m not even sure if Banda themself knows of the thorny brambles in which they play. Be wary, Camper, as knowledge is gained, you may wish for the pastoral bliss of ignorance. If you decide to continue, a deeper understand will be found that changes the very nature of yourself and the Grove. But such grand secrets must be guarded against accidental discovery, which is why I have coded my entries.
Pandion Ponderings, a podcast
We are in the early stages of creating a short format podcast where we talk about interesting mechanics, settings, and ideas that come to us. I am targeting 5-8 minute, informal talks. Just small snippets to dig into concepts that are fascinating. My goal is for listeners to leave with sparks of inspiration to build upon the ideas.
I’ll be launching the Pandion Ponderings through Substack, so keep an eye out for that, and I’ll release more information as I figure it out.
Until next time!
-Andy