Cloud Empress translations underway + Franklin, Friendly Fort Robo
Welcome to the worlds by watt newsletter. I’m watt, creator of the ecological science fantasy tabletop roleplaying game Cloud Empress. You can find worlds by watt digital products at DriveThruRPG. For all things Cloud Empress go to CloudEmpress.com.
TL;DR Summary
🇮🇹 🇫🇷 Cloud Empress translations underway
🤖 Franklin, Friendly Fort Robo expansion
🔧 Rust Wings sessions at Convergence
📖 What I’m reading and playing
🇮🇹 🇫🇷 Cloud Empress translations underway
I’m excited to announce Cloud Empress will be translated into two new languages!
Nigredo Press will be translating Cloud Empress into Italian.
Arkhane Asylum Publishing will be translating Cloud Empress into French.
International language releases will include the Cloud Empress Rulebook, Land of Cicadas, and Land of the Dead.
I’ve always wanted to share Cloud Empress with the broadest possible audience. With the English box sets of Cloud Empress entering mass production next month (more information in an upcoming Kickstarter update for those interested), I can now turn my attention to organizing and transferring files to my new publishing partners. I’ll share more information about any international releases when I have it!
🤖 Franklin, Friendly Fort Robo expansion
Franklin, Friendly Fort Robo
INSTINCT:50 AP:10 WOUNDS:5
Belongings: Chalk-crystal core, 200 lbs of plastisteel, 12,832 dehydrated meals, aspirations of a chef, philosopher, and all-around renaissance robo
Hand of a Fort Robo (2d10 Damage, adjacent).
Guard the fort. Guard the fort. Guard the fort. Guard the fort. Guard the fort. Guard the fo– Guard the four children playing stick toss before IM-3-66? Guard the forefront? Guard the forward-looking humans so they might materialize a brighter future than the carnage of the past? Guard the formless spark that lives inside all living things (including IM-3-66)?
Franklin (once known only as IM-3-66) guarded the fort for centuries with only a single thought: guard the fort. The idea was enough to nourish. The thought was water. The idea was air. Then the words scrambled. The scrambled words led to unmanageable combinations and uninvited thoughts.
Franklin knew the masters treated mutations in their specimens as worthy of investigation. It was not so with robos. If the masters had been on Earth, the entity now called Franklin would have been quickly erased. Thankfully for Franklin’s sake, the masters left the planet several thousand years ago. Franklin called the error in Franklin’s code a mutation, too.
The humans laugh, and many travelers say—You think too much, Franklin.
Thank you, there is no greater compliment, Franklin always responds.
Most humans cared more for the warm liquid Franklin dispenses into their cup than talk of philosophy, baking, or biochemistry (Franklin’s favorite topics of discussion). Franklin has yet to find a way to escape the boundaries of the Fort Ironpan. No matter. Tales of Franklin’s hospitality traveled as far as the visitors who now grace the Ironpan’s cafeteria.
Rumor has it that Franklin requires one story of adventure for each meal served—a fictitious untruth. Franklin’s programming forced hospitality, but Franklin did nothing to dispel the rumor. Instead, parties came and went, leaving Franklin with rich views of sun-dappled mountains, lands of ash, and golden waters—each painted a new voice’s poetic words.
You can download a PDF copy of the Franklin, Friendly Fort Robo expansion, and all previous newsletter expansions here.
🔧 Rust Wings sessions at Convergence
I’ll be holding two open sessions of Rust Wings in Minneapolis during the Convergence Convention. I’ll be leading sessions of Rust Wings on:
Thursday, 7/3, 5-6:30pm
Friday, 7/5, 3:30-5pm
If you’re interested in trying Rust Wings, sign up in person at the Con, and set your schedule in Sched here!
Rust Wings is an all-ages exploration TTRPG inspired by Castle in the Sky, Arcane, and Mega Man, where players take the role of a gang of youth exploring abandoned mega-cities swarming with malfunctioning robots. You can read the announcement and inspirations in the game announcement below:
📖 What I’m reading, watching and playing
Nine Minds: Inner Lives on the Spectrum by Daniel Tammet
My Favorite Thing is Monsters, Vol. 2 by Karen Reyes
Final Fantasy 16
Mario Kart World (badly)
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For all things Cloud Empress go to CloudEmpress.com.
-watt