#witchford academy

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They Came from the Cyclops's Cave!

The first game I've ever pitched and developed is out!

They Came from the Cyclops's Cave! is a game of fantasy cinematic adventure. Part of the They Came From series by Onyx Path Publishing, Cyclops's Cave is completely standalone, an awesome game covering fantasy in all its shapes.

Each They Came From is a love letter to a given movie/media genre zeitgeist, and I pitched Cyclops's Cave to be unique and do the whole fantasy genre. It allows to play from Harryhausen movies to The Lord of the Rings, passing through Xena, Ladyhawke, He-Man, Labyrinth, The Dark Crystal, The Black Cauldron, and Dragonheart.

Seriously, I can't overstate how much range this game has. Like, it *technically* covers TV shows and movies from the 40s to the 90s, but I am who I am, so you'll find nods to Adventure Time, Zelda, She-Ra and the Princesses of Power, and many more in here. Of course you will, this game's my baby, and I wanted it to commit to fantasy at its fullest.

Here you'll find:

- Tools to create your own heroes, be them warriors, gorgons, pixies, slimes, or mimics

- Cinematic powers that replicate movie beats.

- A vast collection of antagonists and creatures.

- Two ready-made scenarios.

...and much more!

Seriously, I love They Came From, how it combines comedy and devotion to media at the table through honest love. This baby of mine is the result of so much hard work, done by a team of awesome people who poured their love for the project into all pages.

Please consider checking it out! That would mean the world to me.

(Also: Cyclops's Cave is the foundation for the upcoming They Came From Witchford Academy!, its very cool upcoming Magical School supplement!)

#ttrpg #onyx path publishing #they came from #ttrpg writing #fantasy #ttrpg design #ttrpg dev #ttrpg development #xena warrior princess #labyrinth #ray harryhausen #clash of titans #dragonheart #ladyhawke #she ra and the princesses of power #he man #adventure time #cyclops's cave #witchford academy

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Rewatch over!

It's always SO good, perhaps even more than the first time I went through it.

And knowing just how much of it went into Witchford Academy warms my heart.

#little witch academia #witchford academy

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In honor of this witchy month, we just released a preview that reveals all the playable character Archetypes for our upcoming game (and baby of mine) They Came from Witchford Academy!

Here you'll see them all in action, in a way I think highlights their nature well already.

If you're familiar with our core inspirations such as The Owl House, Little Witch Academia, and Witch Hat Atelier, I'm sure you'll be able to track several characters to them, but all provide for the Magical School genre as a whole.

So happy to have this first bit of text reach the public! Let me know which Archetype inspires you the most.

#ttrpg #onyx path publishing #they came from #witchford academy #ttrpg writing #witch hat atelier #the owl house #little witch academia

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Talking about They Came from Witchford Academy! on an Onyx Path recording yesterday prompted a Little Witch Academia/The Owl House rewatch, with a side of reading Witch Hat Atelier. Those really were my guiding stars for that book.

First episode of Little Witch Academia and I'm already bawling.

I'll also try to go over Hilda once again before leaving for my Sweden holiday, for mood purposes.

#ttrpg #onyx path publishing #they came from #witchford academy #little witch academia #the owl house #witch hat atelier #hilda netflix

[ghostofcinders]

Our RPG about witches & wizards might be really far from release, but as its Dev I felt like we still had to pay due homage to the spooky month of October.

So the fine folx at Onyx Path and I organized a little - yet still nice! - thing in the coming weeks.

I promise I'll share details as soon as I can!

#ttrpg #onyx path publishing #they came from #witchford academy

[ghostofcinders]

Chapter Opening Quotes for They Came from Witchford Academy!

They Came from Witchford Academy!, our Magical School RPG supplement for Onyx Path's They Came from the Cyclops's Cave! I pitched and developed, is currently going through the Editing stage. I don't have the permission to share previews yet, but I still want to give you all something since it's been a while since I talked about it (the development phase took tons of my attention!) So, here are the various chapter opening quotes, each citing one of the many piece of media that inspired us all during the project:

“The well-being of our students is our top priority. Which is why we send all our troublemakers to our new and improved detention pit.”

— Principal Bump of Hexside School of Magic & Demonics, The Owl House (2020 — 2023)

“I don't care about ancient history, I didn't come here to become one of those moldy old witches. It's no fun at all. I wanna be a cool witch like Shiny Chariot.”

— Atsuko “Akko” Kagari, Little Witch Academia (2013)

“This looks like a job for inadvisably applied magic if ever I saw one.”

—Terry Pratchett, Making Money (2007)

“It was only when Shona, in sheer fury, turned the carnivorous sheep among them that they moved. They ran, some of them with charming little white sheep attached to their legs or backsides and the rest shouting about monsters.”

—Diana Wynne Jones, Dark Lord of Derkholm (1998)

“Arch-sorceress Matilda Pilqvist. Enchanter of Livelihoods, Grand Alchemist of the Dark Communion of Halgar, First Bloodsister of the Order of the Black Candle, tormentor of the…”

“Yeah, okay, we get it. She’s accomplished and scary”

— Frida and Hilda, Hilda (2018 — 2023)

“I’m not sure whose twisted idea it was to put hundreds of adolescents in underfunded schools run by people whose dreams were crushed years ago, but I admire the sadism.”

— Wednesday Addams, Wednesday (2022) This is barely a taste of the actual book, but I still think it gives off the right impressions!

#ttrpg #onyx path publishing #they came from #the owl house #little witch academia #wednesday #hilda netflix #diana wynne jones #terry pratchett #witchford academy #ttrpg writing

[ghostofcinders]

Jeez, any time I confront with some barriers fantasy games tend to have, I'm really happy & proud the one I developed allow you to look like anyone, in any role.

Really, bless the They Came From's Archetype model.

#ttrpg #onyx path publishing #they came from #Cyclops's Cave #witchford academy

[ghostofcinders]

Honestly, at least a little bunch of Cyclops's Cave owes to the fact that I was watching & loving She-Ra and the Princesses of Power back then and decided to make it everyone's problem.

Just like that summer later on where a devastating flu forced me in bed for two weeks. Which I mostly spent watching The Owl House, Little Witch Academia, and Hilda (plus some others, Gravity Falls, Amphibia, and She-Ra again included). The initial mote of inspiration that led me to Witchford Academy happened right in the middle of that animation/fever combo.

#ttrpg #onyx path publishing #they came from #cyclops's cave #witchford academy

[ghostofcinders]

I'll run games for Onyx Path at UKGE once again this year. Had a blast the last time! Specifically, I'll run my babies Cyclops's Cave and Witchford Academy, alongside two of the genres I created for the They Came From RPG Anthology: Cowboy's Gulch and Under the Skull & Crossbones (which *do* cover two genres I love) This is also going the first time stuff from Witchford Academy and Skull & Crossbones gets to meet the public (got special permissions to do that ahead of release!), so that will be interesting. If you attend, you can even book a place for yourself at my tables!

#ttrpg #onyx path publishing #they came from

[ghostofcinders]

Scion: Once & Future I've no doubt will be one of the most awesome Arthurian pieces of RPG ever published.

I'm a big Arthurian geek and admit I would have loved to work on it, but enjoying a book as a fan & witnessing your friends' hard work has a whole value of its own.

And I'm doing my humble part by filling They Came from Cyclops's Cave! and They Came from Witchford Academy! with Arthurian references, which ain't much but is honest work.

#ttrpg #onyx path publishing #they came from #scion #scion rpg

[ghostofcinders]

They Came from Witchford Academy, as a RPG allowing characters to play in Magical Schools, owes a lot to the main inspirations that drove me to pitch & develop it. The Owl House, Little Witch Academia, and Witch Hat Atelier are its central direction, no doubt. With so many genre-appropriate inspiration from other media too (I also didn't write it alone, and all the members of the team brough their faves in the text to guide their work) Still, I also injected a lot of my love for animation in it, even when not *really* on point. Hilda is as responsible as the above for giving me the book idea (hey, Hilda has witches, and some are students indeed). Also, yeah, while I was rewatching The Owl House, I threw in Amphibia too. So while not as overt...let's just say you'll be able to find nods to both once the book comes out. Stuff like a "Tontu" name thrown there, or the fact one of the sample characters is a "froggoblin" who got to study at Witchford by hopping into a portal from her swamp-y dimension into ours.

Long story short: The degree varies, but there's so many little treats to find in there if you like any of the series I mentioned (and several more)

#ttrpg #onyx path publishing #they came from #the owl house #witch hat atelier #little witch academia #hilda netflix #amphibia

[ghostofcinders]

To celebrate the birthday of Akko from Little Witch Academia, I'll make a short post about how she shaped one of the Archetypes from our upcoming magical school game They Came From Witchford Academy!

Specifically, as revealed during Onyx Path Con this month, she was one of the core inspirations for the Enthusiast Archetype (which is among the 2 out of 5 we revealed!)

The Enthusiast is all about passionate characters who adore everything about magic. They love spells, they love witchy attire, brooms, magical classes...the whole deal.

They love magic despite everything, even if they're not necessarily as good as others Archetypes when it comes to talent or prestige.

And their passion shines through, inspiring others, making them lovable even when they fail, and ensuring Magic itself loves them back. Even when faced with hardships and shortcomings, the Enthusiasts keep going.

Pure Akko!

Although she's not the only main inspiration I used when writing the Archetype, she sure is a central one.

Want to hear about some of the others?

Luz is another central Enthusiast inspiration. She kept going, pursuing her dream of becoming a witch no matter what. And her determination & sincerity earned her plenty of friends.

Coco from Witch Atelier also left a big impression on Enthusiasts. Coco loves magic and mages. Everything about magic talks to her heart, even when confronted with how the world she lives isn't as gentle as she imagined.

Then there's Frieren. Akko, Luz, and Coco arguably were my main core (although, as fitting for an Archetypes, the Enthusiast resonates to the whole genre), but Frieren appears there too.

Frieren arguably was more important for another Archetype we didn't reveal yet, but I didn't forget her sheer love for learning new spells just for the sake of it.

I hope you found this bit interesting! Odds are I'll talk about They Came from Witchford Academy! more and more as development advances, but this felt like a perfect occasion to discuss the Enthusiast!

#little witch academia #atelier of the witch hat #the owl house #witch hat atelier #sousou no frieren #they came from #onyx path publishing #magical school

[ghostofcinders]

If you're among those who could be interested in "They Came From Witchford Academy!", the RPG game of Magical Schools we're making for Onyx Path's They Came From line, the above is a VERY important page to keep in mind for Witchford Academy.

I swear Coco helped me so much to define one of the Archetypes, along a couple of other famous protagonists. I like to say The Owl House, Little Witch Academia, and the Witch Hat Atelier here shown were my personal main guiding stars there, but the book is those and many, many more. This book is a true labour of love for the genre, y'all. Made while being resolute to reclaim it for a certain entry, I'll add. We're working hard to make that happen as soon and as good as possible!

#ttrpg #onyx path publishing #they came from #magical school #witch hat atelier #the owl house #little witch academia

[ghostofcinders]

After an Hilda and a She-Ra rewatch, I'm also back to Kipo! Which has this as my first rewatch of it, for some reason. But the series is so good! (The Owl House and Little Witch Academia don't feature in this rotation because I rewatched both SO MUCH while working on They Came from Witchford Academy!) Anyway, I'm having a blast. Netflix sure isn't perfect, but between these animated shows and Nimona, it's giving me lots of comfort lately.

#hilda #the owl house #little witch academia #she ra and the princesses of power #nimona #kipo and the age of wonderbeasts

[ghostofcinders]

They Came from Witchford Academy!, a Magical School RPG game supplement to Onyx Path's They Came from the Cyclops's Cave! I pitched and developed (after pitching and developing Cyclops's Cave too) is still quite far in the future, but I feel sharing the Special Thanks section with you: "To Dana Terrace and the crew of The Owl House, for the stories they told, the battles they fought, and for showing us magic belongs to us weirdos.

To Sir Terry Pratchett, for teaching us the magic of empathy, wit, and kind anger." I think it gives away the right idea already. Of course, proper tribute to our other inspirations such as Little Witch Academia and Witch Hat Atelier (plus many others) is further inside.

#ttrpg #onyx path publishing #they came from #the owl house #discworld

[ghostofcinders]

I feel sorry for whoever will get my art notes for They Came from Witchford Academy! Because of the notes I've in mind, and the vast collection of reference images I'm collecting for those. Then again, I feel even more than any other They Came From! book, the looks of Witchford Academy will really make it or break it. Its target audience needs to see what they love in it. It needs to see our core inspirations (The Owl House, Little Witch Academia, Witch Hat Atelier) in there, plus all the other valid witchy inspirations from The Worst Witch to Raya Lucaria while passing through the love for assorted books & animation that gave us our drive (Hilda, She-Ra, Amphibia, Gravity Falls, everything Terry Pratchett..) Otherwise I think the book will fail, no way around it. If it doesn't look fresh, fun, and familiar at the same, it's doomed. So I've all the intentions to do what's possible on my part to make that happen.

#ttrpg #onyx path publishing #they came from #ttrpg writing #the owl house #little witch academia #witch hat atelier