The Devil Made Us Do It

Cards Upgraded and New Stretch Goal Revealed!
over 2 years ago – Wed, Aug 11, 2021 at 10:47:55 AM

Thank you, Liars! You have again smashed through another stretch goal with devilish speed!

As a result, we’re upgrading all of the cards in the three games we’ve funded—Who the Devil Are You? and Devil’s Dandy Dogs as well as Stealing Stories for the Devil. All three games use cards during play, and all of their cards are now upgraded to a lovely, high-end linen finish.

Let’s turn our attention next to the Devil’s Dandy Dogs—those fine hounds who have been trying so, so hard to be good dogs in the face of difficult choices and pernicious temptation. (You can read all about this game, where you play as a dog fetching souls for the Devil, in Update 7.) As a reward, we’d like to give them a special, custom Temptation die.

Devil’s Dandy Dogs comes with the rules and tarot-sized cards, but you also need four six-sided dice. One of these dice must be different than the others—this is the Temptation die.

At $260,000, we’ll add three standard six-sided dice to the box, plus a custom Temptation die.

Remember, everyone who pledged at the GIVE THE DEVIL HIS DUE tier or higher gets Devil’s Dandy Dogs—another completely separate, standalone RPG—along with their copy of the deluxe version of Stealing Stories for the Devil. If you’re not backing at that level, you really should take a look—it’s a pretty incredible deal. You’ll save $30 compared to pledging separately to get your hands on all three games in standard print and PDF versions—and that doesn’t include the value of the upgrades in the deluxe version of Stealing Stories (which will not be widely available after this Kickstarter).
 We’re happy to tempt you with a great value pledge and this new stretch goal, but really, we  #BlameTheDevil.

Thanks again for your support!

Team MCG

Resources Added—What’s Next?
over 2 years ago – Sun, Aug 08, 2021 at 08:43:34 AM

Well done, Liars!

Once again, you have spun your tales and changed reality, and further upgraded Stealing Stories for the Devil with even more GM resources. These are added to the standard version in single-page-sized documents, and to the deluxe version in, well, deluxe format, which in many cases means poster-sized documents.

Let’s keep making this game better! Strike that—let’s make all three of the games we’ve funded better with this next stretch goal.

Stealing Stories for the Devil includes Mission Cards for the players, and Twist and Turn Cards for the GM. Who the Devil Are You? has similar cards, and Devil’s Dandy Dogs includes tarot-sized cards used in character creation, generating stories, and gameplay. At $240K, we’ll upgrade the cards in all three games to a high-end linen finish card stock.

Given the speed at which we hit our last stretch goal, this shouldn’t take long! Please remember to use the tag #BlameTheDevil in your posts and shares. People are talking about this Kickstarter, and the more we can tempt, the more goals we can reach and the more we can continue to grow and improve these games!

Thanks again for your support!
Team MCG

Devil's Dandy Dogs UNLOCKED!
over 2 years ago – Fri, Aug 06, 2021 at 12:40:50 AM

Thank you, Liars!

The Devil's Dandy Dogs have been unleashed and you have funded an entire new game! All backers at the GIVE THE DEVIL HIS DUE level and above are now getting this game, in print and PDF, added to their rewards automatically. (For those of you keeping track at home, that's now three games unlocked by this Kickstarter, all of which go to backers getting the deluxe version of Stealing Stories for the Devil.)

The Devil's Dandy Dogs is a no-prep, rules-light storygame filled with magic, mystery, and a pack of supernatural dogs trying their best to be oh-so-good. The focus is on narrative storytelling, complex dilemmas of mind and heart, unique supernatural abilities, and the interplay between the Devil and their dogs. It's a boxed game (completely separate from Stealing Stories for the Devil) that includes a rulebook and tarot-sized cards used for character generation, narrative creation, and gameplay. You can find even more info about this game in our last update.

As mentioned above, the best way to get Devil's Dandy Dogs is to back at GIVE THE DEVIL HIS DUE or higher, where it's included among the rewards. But we've also added some new backer levels for just this game. And if you're backing only for PDFs, there's a new level that includes all three unlocked games in digital-only format.

Every great heist story has unexpected twists and a central turn at the midpoint where things suddenly go in a whole new direction. This fantastic unlock was our dramatic Turn—and now the Third Act is in sight, when we'll bring the campaign to an exciting conclusion filled with even more stretch goals and upgrades. What's next?

The zero-prep system in Stealing Stories for the Devil succeeds because of its unique structure and collaborative adventure-creation process. A load of handy GM resources makes it even easier. Maps, plans, and similar documents give the GM lots of material to flesh out the adventure's setting and put narrative meat on the bone. In the standard edition, these documents are handy page-sized double-sided sheets; in the deluxe edition, many of them are poster-sized.

Stealing Stories started with a bunch of these, and we've already increased them through two previous stretch goals. But the GM can never have too many, so let's put more in the box! For our next stretch goal, we'll add roughly half a dozen additional maps and similar resources. We'll unlock this upgrade at $220,000.

We get there the same way we unlocked Devil's Dandy Dogs—by tempting new backers to this campaign. There's a lot of buzz out there about Stealing Stories, and the news about Devil's Dandy Dogs is worth shouting about, too. Please hit Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, EN World, RPG.net, Reddit, or anyplace else gamers talk about cool games. Don't feel inspired to craft your own endorsement? There are plenty of posts, tweets, and other messages out there you can retweet, share, like, or respond to—it only takes a few seconds!

#BlameTheDevil

Thanks again for your support!
Team MCG

Dice Upgraded! Time for Some BIG News!
over 2 years ago – Thu, Jul 29, 2021 at 11:27:53 PM

Well done, Liars! Once again, you’ve upgraded Stealing Stories for the Devil, this time increasing the dice from 14mm to a hefty 16mm size. This upgrade affects both the standard and deluxe versions of the game.

We have so many more thoughts for how to further upgrade Stealing Stories, but The Old Gent has different ideas. Don’t blame us: The Devil made us do it!

A great heist story is unpredictable, even with the thieves’ most carefully laid plans. Despite the best efforts to account for every contingency, at some point things take a radical, unexpected turn. The story changes, often becoming bigger and more exciting than when it started out.

In Stealing Stories, we call that the Turn, and it’s a key point in every great heist adventure. Our friend, the Prince of Lies, has a Turn in store for this Kickstarter—and we’ve now reached it!

You know how others see you. Those who walk the mortal world, caught in their temporary trials and transient anguishes, their tiny heartaches. They see your shadowed form, your glowing eyes, your lolling tongues, and they think they know something important. They call you hellhounds, destiny’s dogs, death bearers, soul stealers.

You are, of course, none of those things. Especially, you are no thief. (The nerve.) Every soul you have ever garnered has been given to you freely. Even the Devil understands the power of consent.

You might wish you could explain this to those who cry out at the sight of you, soothe them with a better grasp of how short-lived they are, how insignificant, of what their soul becomes after, in the Devil’s hands. But succor is not in your nature, and even if it was, that’s not the way the Devil plays the game.

Besides, the truth is so much more complicated. A veridicality so universal and obvious that you have to say it loud lest it be forgotten. Like love and death and gravity. Also, why roosters crow at dawn (because destiny is an asshole) and how the Devil likes their tea (black, extra sugar, just enough whiskey to make it sing).

You’re the Devil’s emissary, oh yes. And the Devil’s shadow. Their soul collector. Their good dog. They made you in their image, of their image, and you are tethered to them in ways that are ancient and exhausting and powerful and roped with pleasure and pain. The black leash of love stretches long.

Though you are part of the Devil, you are not the Devil. (Hush that blaspheme). You are your own dog. You have dreams. A plan, perhaps. At the very least, a shimmering hope, faint and far away as a morning star.

Every soul you collect is collateral against that hope. A card turned against fate. A pair of dice rattling toward midnight. A bone buried at the crossroads. In the end, everyone makes a deal with the Devil. This is yours.

You are one of the Devil’s Dandy Dogs, part of a pack of supernatural hounds tasked with collecting souls for the Devil. You live by the Devil’s code and do the Devil’s bidding. If you are a good dog, someday you will earn your reward—freedom, a soul of your own, the promise of protection for a loved one, or something much bigger. Perhaps you even dream, secretly and surreptitiously, of becoming the Devil yourself.

But the Devil is cunning and crafty and will get the better of you if they can. But they too have a code, and you—a creature torn from the Devil’s very shadow—are under that code’s protection. Pursue your ambitions carefully, and you can earn your reward without tempting the Devil’s wrath.

Of course, you are a creature born of temptation. Your personal Temptation gives you strength and power, but rely on it too much, and you will fall. Desire, greed, fear, hunger, and even love can cause you to stray from your path.

Devil’s Dandy Dogs, by Shanna Germain, is a no-prep, rules-light storygame filled with magic, mystery, and a pack of supernatural dogs trying their best to be oh-so-good. The focus is on narrative storytelling, complex dilemmas of mind and heart, unique supernatural abilities, and the interplay between the Devil and their dogs.

Characters rely on four traits to complete their tasks: Devil (how good you are at supernatural stuff), Dandy (how you interact with the world and others), Dog (how good you are at dog stuff), and their own personal Temptation (an enhancement to other abilities, but dangerous to rely on). A deck of tarot-sized cards (along with d6s) are used to design the characters, create the narrative, and drive the story.

Devil’s Dandy Dogs is a complete game with everything you need to play included in the box. It delivers separately from Stealing Stories for the Devil, but all backers at the GIVE THE DEVIL HIS DUE level and higher (in other words, all backers receiving the deluxe version of Stealing Stories for the Devil) will receive a copy as part of their rewards. It will also be available as an add-on for $25.

We will unlock Devil’s Dandy Dogs at $210,000.

#BlameTheDevil

Thanks again for your support!
Team MCG

You’ve Unlocked Even More GM Resources!
over 2 years ago – Tue, Jul 27, 2021 at 11:38:22 PM

Thank you, Liars! You have once again blasted through a stretch goal, and as a result, we’re adding another half-dozen maps and similar resources to Stealing Stories for the Devil. These items will be page-sized in the standard edition and poster-sized in the deluxe edition.

(Incidentally, these resources aren’t just great for Stealing Stories—they’ll be super useful for any modern game you might run!)

A few stretch goals ago, we upgraded the dice; instead of standard polyhedrals, we’re making custom dice specially designed for Stealing Stories. Let’s upgrade them again, this time giving them some real heft. At $170K, we’ll upgrade all ten dice—the polyhedrals and the injury dice—from 14mm to 16mm. They’ll have a nice, weighty feel in your hand as you reshape reality to carry out your daring missions.

This is a smallish stretch goal, one of many upgrades we’re looking forward to unlocking for the game. Fairly predictable. When you’re carrying out your high-stakes heist, scenes that go as predicted are always a relief—but you can’t count on them always playing out that way. Sooner or later, something happens that all your careful planning couldn’t foresee. A twist. A turn. A moment when the unexpected changes everything.

We’ve already unlocked Who the Devil Are You?. Does the Old Gent have any more surprises in store for us? We’re only in the second week of this campaign—who knows what lies ahead?

Thanks again for your support!
Team MCG