Following the great war between world powers Roses and Beryl, Beryl has gained new lands in the region of Penumbria. With a strategic location near the Roses border and trade blossoming between the now-allied kingdoms, the Beryl government is providing a monetary bonus to those brave souls willing to homestead in the new lands. As sea sick individuals arrive in the port town of Beryl's Victory, carrying little more than their meager bounty, they are faced with the harsh reality that Penumbria is no reward. Though the land is beautiful and expansive, it is also home to rumors of prior "homesteaders:" the fish men of the lake region, the lizard folk of the swamp, and the goblins of the high passes and dark recesses. Amidst the ruins of other once-great civilizations, our heroes journey to Bert's Fork, a small crossroads situated between the great trading cities of the region, to pursue their fortune. Can these intrepid settlers make their way in this bountiful land, or will Bert's Fork fall like so many other fledgling outposts to the hazards waiting at their doorstep?

Pursue your own Manifest Destiny and make your way to Penumbria, where the booty and the bodies, the mysteries and the histories, all wait at the doorstep to your new home.

Thanks for stopping by. We've created this blog as a design diary and publicity tool for our newest project, Penumbria. I'm Sweeney Todd (Andrew).

"Fleet Street DMs" is a group of online GMs I played Neverwinter Nights with starting in 2002. I still consider those sessions some of the most fun I've had with a video game. I got back into NWN recently, and was excited about the game as it stands today -- the community is still going strong, and the community tools are fantastic.

So now my wife Naturally Blonde (Erin) and I are using it to do something we've been wanting to get to since we had a three-hour conversation about colonialist fantasy on our third date. (Yes, she's awesome.) To represent the idea that the folks coming into this part of the world really don't know what they're getting into, we chose with the intentionally vague title "Penumbria".

We'll post here to tell people more about our ideas and solicit feedback. (And also to let our friends know what we've been up to -- Fleet Streeters of yore, drop us a line!) We specifically want to hear people think of the project, since one of the core goals is to get people thinking like a "homesteader", meaning we want it to be a place where you can kick back, relax, and kill a few goblins while building a community with friends.