Life & Death preorders live + dogsheep

Life & Death preorders, now live!

If you missed the Cloud Empress Life & Death campaign, I just launched the preorder page on Backerkit. Preorders ship at the end of Kickstarter fulfillment, cost less than retail, and include project stretch goals.

Preorder Cloud Empress Life & Death on Backerkit now!

Meet the loveable dogsheep

Last month subscribers voted to hear more about Cloud Empress’ flora and fauna. Here’s the first flora and fauna expansion — the dogsheep! This also fits into some larger work to clarify and increase animal name consistency across Cloud Empress expansions. You can download all of the newsletter expansions here.

Of all the Hereafter’s strange creations and amalgamations, none pleases a Farmerling more than the beloved Dogsheep. Whether by thousands of years of crossbreeding or ancient genetic experiments , now forgotten – the dogsheep combines the features most prized by human beings between each species. With little open land to graze, Sliplanders and Cloudlings do not raise dogsheep as livestock but occasionally breed them for pets.

Dogsheep grow thick coats of wool prized by those in the Lowland Wastes to the Cloudlings above the Spread. A thick wool coat is equally valuable in feet of snow or when battling a bitter wind thousands of feet in the air. Farmerlings often draw Dogsheep into their domiciles in cold and warm months, prizing the animals’ comforting presence and optimistic disposition.

While somehow distantly related to ancient wolves (long since extinct), dogsheep carry echoes of their ancestor's capacity for violence -- viciously growling, barking, and biting when threatened. Shepherds traditionally pull black-coated dogsheep from the herd for special training as guards or shepherds' hounds.

What I’m Reading & Playing

• Oz a fantasy roleplaying setting by Andrew Kolb

• Eastward (Switch) by Chucklefish

• Neon White (Switch) by Angel Matrix

• Uprising: Curse of the Last Emperor (Board Game) by Nemesis Games

That’s it for this month! What Cloud Empress animal would you like to see me explore next?