Surprise Zine - Magitecnica Codex 1: The Use and Misuse of Powers Great and Small (Patreon)

Dear heroes,

Yes, the Bluelands are coming, soon, yes, even in the lifetime of this month of Fireleaf.

But meanwhile, opportunity and necessity have conspired to encourage the creation of this first SDM magic codex.

As I've mentioned, I'm assembling a guide book for the UVG (and SDM) that is just the rules (and examples), leaving Our Golden Age to focus on just setting and weirdness. Well, I've also been talking with the Exalted Funerals, and was nudged that it's about time for another zine. I hemmed and hawed, and realized that I indeed had the first one of those zines I'd talked with y'all good heroes: the broad rules for magic from Uranium Butterflies (née Seacat), updated for SDM. After all, the magic section of the guide book was writ up, along with example spells and albums and such.

So I took a ten-day, I laid out those rules all pretty-like, added examples featuring mostly the characters of Noë and Onion from the guide book, and some fresh art, creating the codex it is my sincere pleasure to present to you to-day.

Whereas the previous zine, There A Red Door, was a foot-loose romp through the Given World, this one is ... focused on powers. Or magitech. Or technomagic. Look, these far-fallen folk of the later times, they don't distinguish to much.

What's in the zine?

It's a 48-page zine, so there's 52 pages in the pdf. Cover, endpaper, body, endpaper, back cover.

The magic rules. About 28 pages thereof.

Magic albums, four albums, and 24 powers. About 20 pages thereof.

Art. Some older art, given purpose and meaning (the cover was originally from a section chapter for URS. That's ... oof, that's getting raided for OGA.) Some brand new art.

A 3D cutaway map of a wizard's shiptower. This one is really cool. You get a version to show players, and one to run the tower from.

Stories. Mostly linked to a creepy undead floating head wizard named Vorus Hafut.

Additionally - tables for spell albums, ideas for becoming a proper wizard™, streamlined corruption rules and mechanics, ways to use 5E / OSE spells with levels as powers (and by implication, rules for turning SDM powers into spells for those systems).

Look, here's the Contents:

Again, thanks to the sharp-eyed M.O.L.W. and N.P.C. Knights Grammarian, you made this tome much sharper with your reading and wit than I could ever have without.

The Shiptower

One thing I'm ridiculously proud of in this codex is the wizard's er... shiptower. Look at this beauty.

Ah, but there is more.

Both Boba and Antiboba agree, this is a cool map.

If I can believe my links folder, there's another ~30 illustrations in the book. Some of them are old ones reworked, and ... some of them turned out super-spiff.

Here's the OG from A.D. 2021.

And the modern, Era of Later 23, remaster.

Others are brand new.

There! Poncho, mighty magus! I really love how dynamic the magic erupting limestone tree is in this illustration. Real proud of this one.

Getting the Physical Codex ... er ... Zine

As usual (by now), I'm releasing this zine through Exalted Funeral. We're targeting it for Schwarzer Freitag - November 24. There'll probably be some discount. I hear it's a holiday celebrating the gods Konsu and Mêr in parts of the world.

It'll also be available afterwards and I'll put it up on the regular online stores (and here on patreon). The full rules text will likely end up on syntheticdreammachine.com once I find the time to pull a few copy-paste actions.

I'm Really Chuffed With This Codex

Maybe it wasn't super clear, but ... I really, really like how this zine turned out. It takes on board some layout changes (simplifications) and guidelines I gave myself, and ... it feels like it finally works the way I want it. The text is clear and easy to read (and 0.5 points bigger than in UVG, helping my older eyes), but most of all - the art isn't squashed away in one corner or another.

It's funny, in the past I often experienced something like a post-creation melancholy, a generative blues, but this time ... no. This time, I am just pleased with it. It looks and reads and feels like I imagined it would.

Finally. Only took ... five, six years to get here?

----•••----

To more regular programming!

First, a welcome to all our new heroes: it's a pleasure to have you here. Here's a link to the discord for everyone who wants to keep up with my doodling and scribbling more on the regular (https://discord.gg/AxtWR6njrY). There's also plenty of nice folks talking games, drawing things, listening to musics, and such. Quiet and cozy.

Second, again, a heartfelt thank you to all of you heroes. This pretty zine you got today? I could only make it because you made it possible for me to take the time to learn, explore, and improve. Thank you.

Third, and yes, I know, this is classic me. I promise to update one thing, then I drop a 48-page something else. I know. I know. Well, the Blue Lands are a-coming soon. Next week. As soon as the fabled spore god blooms once more.

As is tradition, my post finds you, us, all again in the midst of a novel war. I wish you all peace and health in this time, and a space for games and play to keep your minds strong and your souls well.

When I feel overwhelmed, I find solace in good friends and unexpected games, but also my walks with the hound and the strange little plants and bugs and mushrooms her three-steps-one-sniff approach to the world makes me meet.

So, enjoy this quite inedible mushroom.

Think of it as a ... sampler ... of the Blue God's realm.

Be well, good heroes,

—Luka,
Seoul, October 2023

EDIT 2023.10.18: Added a paginated version (not in spreads) for easier digital reading on small screens.