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Want to win this painting? Then all you have to do is sign up for the newsletter at www.gamesmithsllc.com! Also, send them your email in a private message so they can confirm! That's all. Free entry--no purchase necessary.

Gamesmiths WAR painting raffle: [link]

Game Smith will soon launch his Unrestricted Gaming System -to which this illo abose is the cover, AND its frist Campaign Setting, Saga of the Dragon Star, a game that I had the chance to participate a bit in, it will be a KS project and will launch on Nov. 19th. Stay tuned!

Check it out and win an original WAR painting!!!


RATS! > [link]

The "RATS" RPG is fully funded now and growing strong!!! Now aiming to it's final stretc goal:



Join up now and help push the line up to squeeze more bloo...errr, extras from the creators of this exotic and super fun game.

RATS! > [link]

Make a furry, smelly player and join up!

PS: WHen I get my cop, my firts rat will be a LOLRat fer'sure!

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I'm resumming work on commissions (old and new), and they will be done on a first come, first served basis, but I'll also sketch up some of the commissions down the line to not keep you waiting mcuh longer. FYI The commissioners listed below are the "newest". I'm organizing myself to put the old list too so that previous commissioners see their status too.

I'm resumming work on commissions (old and new), and they will be done on a first come, first served basis, but I'll also sketch up some of the commissions down the line to not keep you waiting mcuh longer. FYI The commissioners listed below are the "newest". I'm organizing myself to put the old list too so that previous commissioners see their status too.

1.:iconkalebold: WIP
2.:iconprodigal-gamer:WIP
3.Marc Johnson
4.:iconabigwood:WIP
5.:icondragnmoon:WIP
A.Nicholas WoldWIP
B.:iconwrose:
C.:iconprofcarlisle:
I mean... Astounding!



A good friend of mine, Ashton Sperry, AKA :iconwhodrewthis: is runing an Indiegogo Campaign to produce his paper minis. The project is nearly 200% funded and it's a go! Ashton started the Pathfidner minis line, so he sure knows what he's doing ;)

Don't miss the chance to get your hands on official Astounding paper mines and join up in here > [link]

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I'm resumming work on commissions (old and new), and they will be done on a first come, first served basis, but I'll also sketch up some of the commissions down the line to not keep you waiting mcuh longer. FYI The commissioners listed below are the "newest". I'm organizing myself to put the old list too so that previous commissioners see their status too.

I'm resumming work on commissions (old and new), and they will be done on a first come, first served basis, but I'll also sketch up some of the commissions down the line to not keep you waiting mcuh longer. FYI The commissioners listed below are the "newest". I'm organizing myself to put the old list too so that previous commissioners see their status too.

1.:iconkalebold: WIP
2.:iconprodigal-gamer:WIP
3.Marc Johnson
4.:iconabigwood:
5.:icondragnmoon:
A.Nicholas Wold
B.:iconwrose:
C.:iconprofcarlisle:

Thanks for Watching!


The "RATS" RPG is fully funded now and growing strong!!! Jopin up now and help push the line up to squeeze more bloo...errr, extras from the creators of this exotic and super fun game.

RATS! > [link]

Make a furry, smelly player and join up!

BTW, the image abode isn't for the rats game but for Tales of a Israeli Storyteller ;)

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I'm resumming work on commissions (old and new), and they will be done on a first come, first served basis, but I'll also sketch up some of the commissions down the line to not keep you waiting mcuh longer. FYI The commissioners listed below are the "newest". I'm organizing myself to put the old list too so that previous commissioners see their status too.

I'm resumming work on commissions (old and new), and they will be done on a first come, first served basis, but I'll also sketch up some of the commissions down the line to not keep you waiting mcuh longer. FYI The commissioners listed below are the "newest". I'm organizing myself to put the old list too so that previous commissioners see their status too.

1.:iconkalebold: WIP
2.:iconprodigal-gamer:WIP
3.Marc Johnson
4.:iconabigwood:
5.:icondragnmoon:
A.Nicholas Wold
B.:iconwrose:
C.:iconprofcarlisle:

Thanks for Watching!

Thanks for Watching!
I'm resumming work on commissions (old and new), and they will be done on a first come, first served basis, but I'll also sketch up some of the commissions down the line to not keep you waiting mcuh longer. FYI The commissioners listed below are the "newest". I'm organizing myself to put the old list too so that previous commissioners see their status too.

1.:iconkalebold: WIP
2.:iconprodigal-gamer:WIP
3.Marc Johnson
4.:iconabigwood:
5.:icondragnmoon:
A.Nicholas Wold
B.:iconwrose:
C.:iconprofcarlisle:

Thanks for Watching!
I'm a big fan of miniatures, specially unique, exotic miniatures and I wanted to share this Kickstarter with you guys.

It ends this sunday 23 at noon, and at the moment you get 17 monters minis for $50, 30 minis for $75 and 37 (some of them large!) for $100, and more! Check it out and don't miss the opportunity to get these fabulous and unique minis for such a low price!

Kickstarter> [link]



This is a "different" kind of RPG where you get to play a rat who's trying to conquer the world back from the humans!

RATS! > [link]

This is an Indiegogo campaing (nearly fully funded already!) made by a friend :iconurikson:, which guarantees a good quality game!

Make a furry, smelly player and join up!
The butterfrog contest is over now and it's time to review and judge the entries. Since we extended the deadline a week, we'll be hasting the judging process and we'll be announcing the winners on next monday 10th.

Next on Butterfrog Studio:
We'll be working for a few weeks on the book Campaign Spots: The Butterfrog, we expect to publish it in October.

For september, we are looking to launch at least a new line of adveture-like products, we'll give more details next week.

On Artwork, I'm resuming with the commissions from PaizoCon (and of course all previous pending commissions), and they will be done on a first come, first served basis:

1.:iconkalebold: WIP
2.:iconprodigal-gamer:
3.Marc Johnson
4.:iconabigwood:
5.:icondragnmoon:
6.Nicholas Wold
7.:iconwrose:

Thanks for Watching!
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Find and research a Butterfrog! Study this fantastic creature and share your findings with the rest of the world. Get yourself published in Campaign Spots: The Butterfrog, a professional Pathfinder® Roleplaying Game Compatible product, and be part of the very first Butterfrog Studio product. The winning entries and other selected entries will become part of Campaign Spots: The Butterfrog source book.

There is no purchase necessary to enter the contest, and the final Player's Guide and Children's Book PDF will be free (yes, there will be a Children's Book!).

Dates:
Starts August 8th
Ends on September 3th.
Finalists will be published September 7th.


Download your FREE Field Guide to The Butterfrog [link] for guidelines and inspiration and join the contest!

Hop in the pond and become a croaking designer!

Prizes
Once the voting ends and the finished Campaign Spots: The Butterfrog book is published, the winners will receive their prize through the mail. Winners' entries will be published in Campaign Spots: The Butterfrog book. Other non-winner entries will be selected as Runner-Ups and will be published as well.

Prizes are:
1st Place: Contest Prize Plate, Loot, Character Plate, and a signed exclusive edition of the Butterfrog's Box with the original illustration of your butterfrog.
2nd Place: Contest Prize Plate, Loot, a signed Exclusive Edition Book, and the original sketch of your butterfrog.
3rd Place: Contest Prize Plate, Loot, and a signed Exclusive Edition Book.

Prize Description:
o Contest Prize Plate: Your printed Diploma with your rank as an expert Butterfrog Journalist, Hunter, Crafter, or Storyteller.
o Loot: Various Butterfrog Studio merchandise. The Butterfrog book PDF, a plate of your butterfrog  and a gift certificate.
o Character Plate: A printed custom illustration of your original character.
o Exclusive Edition Book: A contest-exclusive personalized softcover color copy of the final Campaign Spots: The Butterfrog book.


Entries
To enter the contest, you must track down, study, and describe a Pathfinder®compatible version of the mysterious butterfrogs that eluded the famous Researcher, Nigel Badgerthorpe. You can pick one of the species presented below or research a brand new one from the natural variants, which are regular animals, insects or plants. You must use the Field Guide to the Butterfrog (BFS0000) as guidelines to create your own butterfrog.

Arachnitoad: This creepy eight-legged toad, lacks a normal butterfrog's wings and hunts prey with a silky tongue, dripping webs, and a poisonous bite (Small, CR 1-3).
Beardtoad: This bloated, spiky-skinned toad is a strange mix of the frill-necked lizard and bearded dragon with a nasty butterfrog croak (Small, CR 1/2-1).
Caterpole: This primitive-looking wingless hybrid appears much like caterpillar that gorges on tasty plants and then spins itself a silk cocoon to evolve into the larger caterfrog (Tiny-Small, CR 1/4-1/2).
Crocofrog: This short-tempered butterfrog with a vicious bite is the wingless offspring of dangerous crocodiles and playful butterfrogs (Large, CR 3-4)
Dragontoad: This graceful butterfrog hybrid of dragonflies and tadtoads possesses sparkling antennae and darts about on droning gossamer wings (Small, CR 1/2-1).
Frogamander: This hot-acclimatised colorful butterfrog is a dangerous specimen for its nasty flaming breath weapon (Small, CR 1-2).
Lanternfrog: This dancing butterfrog that flashes strange and hypnoptic bursts of light from its  firefly-like abdomen (Tiny, CR 1/3-1).
Hornedtoad: This scaly, skittish mix of butterfrog and horned lizard  puts its sharp horns and spikes to very good use (Small, CR 1/2-1).
Rattletoad: This slithering  wingless breed of butterfrog and snake possesses deadly venom, a cobra's hood, and an unnerving rattling tail (Small CR 1-2).
Snaptoad: This slow and temperamental mix of wingless butterfrog and alligator snapping turtle enjoys a formidable pointy carapace that inspires numerous nicknames when it rolls up into a ball (Medium, CR 1-2).
Sproutoad: This odd, veggie toad takes on lush plant-like features due its glutonous vegetal diet, and is highly sought for its unique colorful blossoms during mating season (Small, CR 1/3-1/2).
Wasprana: This breed  butterfrog possesses a wasp stinger and droning wings, and have the hazardous habit of taking over wasp nests (Fine, CR 1/4-1/2).Each submission must contain its folklore (a tale, legend, song, or a poem), its ecology (habitat, physiology, and lifecycle), its stats, and a magical item or piece of equipment made from butterfrog-derived components.

*Your journal must include its folklore (a tale, song, poem or parable), ecology, physical description and abilities, and Item(s) derived from it. Use the Field Guide to the Butterfrog BFS0000 as a creation guideline.

*Stats and rules are OPTIONAL and do not count against the word limit. Winning Entries that include stats will get a special "Rule's Lawyer" surprise award.

* Máximum 2,000 limit.

Important: All entries must include the name (and title, if any) of the Researcher who is your own original character presenting the journal. The winning entries will have his/her Researcher made into an Pathfinder® compatible character (including an illustration!) and will be included in the book.

To submit your entry, email it to hugo@butterfrog.com within the contest time frame. The document must be a .DOC, .TXT, .RTF, or .PDF file attachment .
   • Entries must be submitted in English with correct spelling and grammar.
   • All entries will become property of Butterfrog Studios. Any entry published in a Butterfrog Studio product will designate proper credit to its writer and no additional compensation.


Judges and Voting
The entries will be reviewed by Mike Welham, Adam Daigle, and Hugo Solis. Twelve will be selected on the Journalist category (one of each butterfrog), and three from the other categories. These selected entries will be made public (without the contestant's name) and winners selected by the public. The judges will place special emphasis on the entries' creativity and usefulness, as well as adherence to the butterfrog creation rules and writing skill.
Contestants are prohibited from prematurely disclosing their entries under penalty of disqualification.
Public voting begins on September 3rd and ends on September 7th. The method and rules for voting will be disclosed at that time.
All judge rulings are final.

Contest Rules
1. The contest is open to all. No purchase necessary to enter.
2. The contestant can submit only one entry per category. The contestant entries must follow the rules of the categories you submit for.
3. Submissions must be received via email (hugo@butterfrog.com) no later than September 3rd, 2012 10PM Central time .The contestant must format each entries' stats, rules, and mechanics using the standard creature and item format as presented in the Pathfinder® Roleplaying Game Bestiary™ and Pathfinder® Roleplaying Game Core Rulebook™, respectively.
4. The contestant's submission must be made in a .DOC, .TXT, or .PDF document.
5. The contestant will authorize Butterfrog Studio the use of their name for promotional  purposes. The contestant will not receive any kind of remuneration other than the Prizes for the winners.
6. The contestant must agree with this document and its rules to enter the contest.
7. The contest follows Wizard's of the Coast OGL and Paizo's Pathfinder Compatibility rules.
8. The contestant can only use references from Pathfinder® Roleplaying Game compatible products and the Butterfrog Reference Document. The contestant must submit original material. The contestant is solely responsible for any infringement of another company's IP.
9. Butterfrog Studio will own all entries, and reserves the right to edit and modify such entries for proper use and publishing. Authors will be given credit if their entries are used in a Butterfrog Studio product, with no additional compensation other than the Prizes awarded to the winning entries.
10. Butterfrog Studio reserves the right to disqualify contestants at any time due to inappropriate behavior by sole discretion of Butterfrog Studio. Butterfrog Studio reserves the right to terminate this contest at any time without prior notice.

Failure to meet any of these rules and requirements will result in automatic disqualification, and any prizes awarded will be immediately forfeited.

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_______________________________________________________________________
Compatibility with the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game requires the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game from Paizo Publishing, LLC. See [link] for more information on the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game. Paizo Publishing, LLC does not guarantee compatibility, and does not endorse this product.

Pathfinder is a registered trademark of Paizo Publishing, LLC, and the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game and the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Compatibility Logo are trademarks of Paizo Publishing, LLC, and are used under the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Compatibility License. See [link] for more information on the compatibility license.
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Made a quick adv poster to remind you that you can download you FREE copy of the Field Guide to the Butterfrog now

You can find it in here: [link]

Don't forget to start creating your own Butterfrog to join the contest and win lotz of goodies!!!

Contest: Create your own Butterfrog
[link]

Frog out!
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Find and research a Butterfrog! Study this fantastic creature and share your findings with the rest of the world. Get yourself published in Campaign Spots: The Butterfrog, a professional Pathfinder® Roleplaying Game Compatible product, and be part of the very first Butterfrog Studio product. The winning entries and other selected entries will become part of Campaign Spots: The Butterfrog source book.

There is no purchase necessary to enter the contest, and the final Player's Guide and Children's Book PDF will be free (yes, there will be a Children's Book!).

Dates:
Starts August 8th
Ends on September 3th.
Finalists will be published September 7th.


Download your FREE Field Guide to The Butterfrog [link] for guidelines and inspiration and join the contest!

Hop in the pond and become a croaking designer!

Prizes
Once the voting ends and the finished Campaign Spots: The Butterfrog book is published, the winners will receive their prize through the mail. Winners' entries will be published in Campaign Spots: The Butterfrog book. Other non-winner entries will be selected as Runner-Ups and will be published as well.

Prizes are:
1st Place: Contest Prize Plate, Loot, Character Plate, and a signed exclusive edition of the Butterfrog's Box with the original illustration of your butterfrog.
2nd Place: Contest Prize Plate, Loot, a signed Exclusive Edition Book, and the original sketch of your butterfrog.
3rd Place: Contest Prize Plate, Loot, and a signed Exclusive Edition Book.

Prize Description:
o Contest Prize Plate: Your printed Diploma with your rank as an expert Butterfrog Journalist, Hunter, Crafter, or Storyteller.
o Loot: Various Butterfrog Studio merchandise. The Butterfrog book PDF, a plate of your butterfrog  and a gift certificate.
o Character Plate: A printed custom illustration of your original character.
o Exclusive Edition Book: A contest-exclusive personalized softcover color copy of the final Campaign Spots: The Butterfrog book.


Entries
To enter the contest, you must track down, study, and describe a Pathfinder®compatible version of the mysterious butterfrogs that eluded the famous Researcher, Nigel Badgerthorpe. You can pick one of the species presented below or research a brand new one from the natural variants, which are regular animals, insects or plants. You must use the Field Guide to the Butterfrog (BFS0000) as guidelines to create your own butterfrog.

Arachnitoad: This creepy eight-legged toad, lacks a normal butterfrog's wings and hunts prey with a silky tongue, dripping webs, and a poisonous bite (Small, CR 1-3).
Beardtoad: This bloated, spiky-skinned toad is a strange mix of the frill-necked lizard and bearded dragon with a nasty butterfrog croak (Small, CR 1/2-1).
Caterpole: This primitive-looking wingless hybrid appears much like caterpillar that gorges on tasty plants and then spins itself a silk cocoon to evolve into the larger caterfrog (Tiny-Small, CR 1/4-1/2).
Crocofrog: This short-tempered butterfrog with a vicious bite is the wingless offspring of dangerous crocodiles and playful butterfrogs (Large, CR 3-4)
Dragontoad: This graceful butterfrog hybrid of dragonflies and tadtoads possesses sparkling antennae and darts about on droning gossamer wings (Small, CR 1/2-1).
Frogamander: This hot-acclimatised colorful butterfrog is a dangerous specimen for its nasty flaming breath weapon (Small, CR 1-2).
Lanternfrog: This dancing butterfrog that flashes strange and hypnoptic bursts of light from its  firefly-like abdomen (Tiny, CR 1/3-1).
Hornedtoad: This scaly, skittish mix of butterfrog and horned lizard  puts its sharp horns and spikes to very good use (Small, CR 1/2-1).
Rattletoad: This slithering  wingless breed of butterfrog and snake possesses deadly venom, a cobra's hood, and an unnerving rattling tail (Small CR 1-2).
Snaptoad: This slow and temperamental mix of wingless butterfrog and alligator snapping turtle enjoys a formidable pointy carapace that inspires numerous nicknames when it rolls up into a ball (Medium, CR 1-2).
Sproutoad: This odd, veggie toad takes on lush plant-like features due its glutonous vegetal diet, and is highly sought for its unique colorful blossoms during mating season (Small, CR 1/3-1/2).
Wasprana: This breed  butterfrog possesses a wasp stinger and droning wings, and have the hazardous habit of taking over wasp nests (Fine, CR 1/4-1/2).Each submission must contain its folklore (a tale, legend, song, or a poem), its ecology (habitat, physiology, and lifecycle), its stats, and a magical item or piece of equipment made from butterfrog-derived components.

*Your journal must include its folklore (a tale, song, poem or parable), ecology, physical description and abilities, and Item(s) derived from it. Use the Field Guide to the Butterfrog BFS0000 as a creation guideline.

*Stats and rules are OPTIONAL and do not count against the word limit. Winning Entries that include stats will get a special "Rule's Lawyer" surprise award.

* Máximum 2,000 limit.

Important: All entries must include the name (and title, if any) of the Researcher who is your own original character presenting the journal. The winning entries will have his/her Researcher made into an Pathfinder® compatible character (including an illustration!) and will be included in the book.

To submit your entry, email it to hugo@butterfrog.com within the contest time frame. The document must be a .DOC, .TXT, .RTF, or .PDF file attachment .
   • Entries must be submitted in English with correct spelling and grammar.
   • All entries will become property of Butterfrog Studios. Any entry published in a Butterfrog Studio product will designate proper credit to its writer and no additional compensation.


Judges and Voting
The entries will be reviewed by Mike Welham, Adam Daigle, and Hugo Solis. Twelve will be selected on the Journalist category (one of each butterfrog), and three from the other categories. These selected entries will be made public (without the contestant's name) and winners selected by the public. The judges will place special emphasis on the entries' creativity and usefulness, as well as adherence to the butterfrog creation rules and writing skill.
Contestants are prohibited from prematurely disclosing their entries under penalty of disqualification.
Public voting begins on September 3rd and ends on September 7th. The method and rules for voting will be disclosed at that time.
All judge rulings are final.

Contest Rules
1. The contest is open to all. No purchase necessary to enter.
2. The contestant can submit only one entry per category. The contestant entries must follow the rules of the categories you submit for.
3. Submissions must be received via email (hugo@butterfrog.com) no later than September 3rd, 2012 10PM Central time .The contestant must format each entries' stats, rules, and mechanics using the standard creature and item format as presented in the Pathfinder® Roleplaying Game Bestiary™ and Pathfinder® Roleplaying Game Core Rulebook™, respectively.
4. The contestant's submission must be made in a .DOC, .TXT, or .PDF document.
5. The contestant will authorize Butterfrog Studio the use of their name for promotional  purposes. The contestant will not receive any kind of remuneration other than the Prizes for the winners.
6. The contestant must agree with this document and its rules to enter the contest.
7. The contest follows Wizard's of the Coast OGL and Paizo's Pathfinder Compatibility rules.
8. The contestant can only use references from Pathfinder® Roleplaying Game compatible products and the Butterfrog Reference Document. The contestant must submit original material. The contestant is solely responsible for any infringement of another company's IP.
9. Butterfrog Studio will own all entries, and reserves the right to edit and modify such entries for proper use and publishing. Authors will be given credit if their entries are used in a Butterfrog Studio product, with no additional compensation other than the Prizes awarded to the winning entries.
10. Butterfrog Studio reserves the right to disqualify contestants at any time due to inappropriate behavior by sole discretion of Butterfrog Studio. Butterfrog Studio reserves the right to terminate this contest at any time without prior notice.

Failure to meet any of these rules and requirements will result in automatic disqualification, and any prizes awarded will be immediately forfeited.

Photobucket
_______________________________________________________________________
Compatibility with the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game requires the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game from Paizo Publishing, LLC. See [link] for more information on the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game. Paizo Publishing, LLC does not guarantee compatibility, and does not endorse this product.

Pathfinder is a registered trademark of Paizo Publishing, LLC, and the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game and the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Compatibility Logo are trademarks of Paizo Publishing, LLC, and are used under the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Compatibility License. See [link] for more information on the compatibility license.
Butterfrogs provide ingredients for many concoctions and magic items. Poison is the most obvious material a character can obtain from the butterfrog and its crossbreeds. A competent alchemist can gather saliva or skin secretions from a butterfrog or a crossbreed; the collected poison retains its potency for a day. A butterfrog's feelers provide an abundant source of ingredients for magic items, potions, and alchemical mutagens, typically those that enhance the senses or allow the user to change his physiology. Unscrupulous individuals kill butterfrogs, dissecting  and harvesting the remains: the wings for items that grant flight,  carapaces and scales for items that improve natural armor, and vocal cords for mind-affecting items. For those interested in capturing a butterfrog and able to withstand the onslaught of ardent creatures, the spring mating season is the best time to make the attempt. However, if more than two strangers encroach upon butterfrogs during mating season, the entire group will disperse.

A rare butterfrog will allow a druid or ranger to take it as an animal companion, or, even more rarely, by allowing a witch or wizard to take it as a familiar. This tame creature grows accustomed to the hustle and bustle of society while repressing its mating urges for a season or two. Compassionate characters will release a companion butterfrog into the wild during mating season with relative assurance that the creature will return to them after their week-long frenzy.

Due to the butterfrogs' faerie origins, many of the creatures make their homes near faerie realms. In primal forests and swamps, fey creatures enlist butterfrogs for protection; adventurers trespassing in these areas speak of pixie cavaliers and knights riding butterfrogs in a charge against the trespassers. Centuries-old butterfrogs or large concentrations of the creatures typically, but not always, indicate the presence of nearby portals to fey lands.

This is a excerpt by Mike Welham (aka Taig) from the Campaign Spot: The Butterfrog (see below). Edited by fabulous Sarah Counts.

Campaign Spot The Butterfrog
[link]

Hope you like it!
As one would expect, a typical butterfrog lives near large bodies of water far from civilization. It prefers forested or swampy areas that provide abundant shelter and a bounty of favorite prey and tasty plants. While a butterfrog prefers a consistently temperate environment, it can easily survive in areas that experience wintry conditions by hibernating during the coldest months. As long as the butterfrog's habitat remains relatively unspoiled by humanoids, it stays in the same area for its entire life. If civilization encroaches on a butterfrog habitat, the creatures migrate to quieter locations.

A butterfrog is usually carefree in the wild, capering and flying about. Even while fleeing from predators or hunters, a butterfrog makes a game of the chase, frequently leading pursuers into natural hazards or difficult terrain. The creature indulges its curiosity exploring its surroundings and often gets into trouble by investigating shiny objects, intriguing baubles, or discarded gear that catches its eye. With small groups of humanoids, especially those who demonstrate a healthy respect for nature, a butterfrog remains shy yet approachable. Many villages near butterfrog habitats are home to rumors of a persistent person following a curious butterfrog at a safe distance and recovering discovered treasure. Unfortunately, a butterfrog dislikes large-scale humanoid incursion, and as a village thrives and grows, the local butterfrog population eventually leaves. Those communities that remain small benefit from butterfrogs in varying ways—one village's cows may produce higher quality milk due to the nearby butterfrog chorus, another might have a remarkable absence of crime, and yet a third has friendlier dealings with fey creatures. Communities aware of the butterfrogs' positive influence attempt to hide the reason for their modest successes. Sometimes this behavior backfires when a particularly curious visitor assumes the prosperity derives from sinister means.

In captivity, the carefree butterfrog often becomes sullen, and its brightly-colored wings become dull and drab, giving it a moth-like appearance. The creature no longer sprouts feelers, and many of its secretions and moltings lose alchemical efficacy. If a captured butterfrog escapes after spending too much time in confinement, it transforms into a dreadfrog or gloomtoad, and haunts its former home. Knowledgeable caretakers of captive butterfrogs ensure they have plenty of space to roam and hunt, making "ownership" of a butterfrog an expensive proposition—and a temporary one, since a butterfrog will quickly get bored with even the most expansive confinement and yearn to go back to its natural environment.

This is a excerpt by Mike Welham (aka Taig) from the Campaign Spot: The Butterfrog (see below). Edited by fabulous Sarah Counts.

Campaign Spot The Butterfrog
[link]

Hope you like it!
At a quick glance, the butterfrog looks like a typical, albeit large, frog. The creature maintains this mundane appearance until something startles it, when it cracks open its camouflaged carapace to unfold diaphanous wings replete with butterfly markings. A closer look at the butterfrog also reveals hard scales, composed of the same material as its carapace, protecting its forelimbs, nasal ridge, and occipital brow. While this allows the butterfrog to survive attacks by most birds of prey, it does not adequately protect the creature from larger, stronger predators that share its habitat, such as crocodiles and gar. As a butterfrog ages, it outgrows its carapace and scales, shedding both every five years; the molted creature remains vulnerable to attack while its new carapace and scales harden over the course of a month.

A butterfrog's thin gossamer wings would seem incapable of holding the creature aloft, yet they manage to do so. Revealing its wings betrays its fey-touched origins, both in terms of their incredible beauty and their surprising strength. A butterfrog must beat its wings quickly to take flight and stay airborne, and it maneuvers about as gracefully as one would expect of a flying frog. The creature rarely flies more than ten feet above the ground,  preferring to fly over bodies of water and leafy brush so it can make a quick, diving escape from predators. From a distance, a flying butterfrog looks and sounds like a fat, tailless dragonfly.

Another of the butterfrog's odd features is the fleshy barbels that operate similarly to a catfish's whiskers, allowing the butterfrog to avoid obstacles while on the ground, underwater, and especially in flight. The creature sheds these feelers every three months and looks like a typical warty toad until it regrows them. Due to a butterfrog's fey origins, druids and alchemists carefully harvest these protrusions for their own use in creating magic items and mutagens. Druids are especially aware of concoctions they can brew out of nearly every butterfrog part, secretion, and excretion, but they keep this knowledge secret to prevent exploitative hunters from capturing the creatures.


This is a excerpt by Mike Welham (aka Taig) from the Campaign Spot: The Butterfrog (see below). Edited by fabulous Sarah Counts.

Campaign Spot The Butterfrog
[link]

Hope you like it!
Sages who study the butterfrog deduce its fey nature originates from stray frogs venturing into faerie circles and crossing into the faerie realms. The fey energies infused the otherwise normal frogs and transformed them into incredible creatures with disguised carapace hiding butterfly wings. The resulting butterfrogs multiplied and prospered, with many eventually emigrating either via those same entry portals or through weakened planar boundaries back into the mundane world. Some of these sages posit that powerful fey deliberately created butterfrogs and released them into an unsuspecting world for their own inscrutable purposes.

One legend speaks of a vain prince who successfully wooed a faerie lady and relocated to the fey realms to start a family together. He quickly grew bored with his wife though, and pursued a romantic assignation with another faerie. In his vanity and hubris, he failed to realize two important facts: that someone from a race of shrewd tricksters would be more difficult to fool than his usual mortal prey, and that a scorned faerie has much more devastating tools at her disposal for revenge. She transformed him into the first butterfrog, cursed him with the desire to seduce creatures similar to himself, and released him into the wild. According to the legend, the cursed prince still lives in a hidden, primeval part of the world's oldest forest, siring new butterfrogs every year.

Whenever anyone asks a fey creature why they would chose the frog, of all creatures, as the basis, the fey usually smiles enigmatically and alludes to differing opinions on aesthetics. An odd theory asserts that faeries chose the frog on a bet that they could make a beautiful creature out of something mundane humanoids consider unattractive, but no one knows with certainty why they have not chosen to create a buttermouse, a butterdeer, or a similarly improved "cute" crossbreed.

Whatever the butterfrog's origins, humanoids living near rivers and lakes become delighted when they spy the playful butterfrog; however, during the weeklong butterfrog mating season, most knowledgeable people give the creatures' habitats a wide berth. Communities who have spent generations near a butterfrog habitat have even developed their own myths and folktales revolving around butterfrogs and their relationships with other creatures.


This is a excerpt by Mike Welham (aka Taig) from the Campaign Spot: The Butterfrog (see below). Edited by fabulous Sarah Counts.

Campaign Spot The Butterfrog
[link]

Hope you like it!
Parents repeat this parable to their children to illustrate the dangers of focusing so narrowly on achieving a goal that they lose sight of their safety. If true, it also explains why foxes never attack butterfrogs.

   Ages ago, Butterfrog danced and played near the shore of a large lake. One day, Fox decided he would eat the tempting Butterfrog, whose tasty flesh was legend throughout the land. As Butterfrog sat on a favorite rock enjoying the sight of the rising sun, Fox sneakily crept closer. Fox thanked his luck at finding Butterfrog daydreaming and lunged for his unsuspecting meal. *PLOP* went Butterfrog as he slipped out of Fox's grasp and landed on a lily pad in the lake. Fox, determined not to let Butterfrog escape, leapt into the water and again grabbed Butterfrog. Once more, Butterfrog wriggled free, hopping closer and closer to the lake's center. After several failed tries, Fox gave up the chase... only to discover how far he was from land and how deep the water had become. Poor tired Fox began to drown! But Butterfrog and his fine froggy friends were quick to forgive Fox, who only hunted out of hunger, and they carried the soggy animal back to shore. To this day, grateful foxes refuse to chase butterfrogs other than in play, with some even protecting butterfrogs from hunters.

This is a excerpt by Mike Welham (aka Taig) from the Campaign Spot: The Butterfrog (see below). The first official text from our very first product to see the light of day :')

Campaign Spot The Butterfrog
[link]

Hope you like it!

PS: Thanks to Sarah Counts for her promptly editing!
Or >"The perils of House Remodelation"...

July's last two weeks were vacation time for me, and I thought this was the perfect time to do a long overdue house remodelation and to catch up with illo work. And it was.

But I never counted that having a low budget crew will require so much of my direct intervention in the process... Oh joy...

From having to retell to the tiniest detail to the head constructor to check every little details was OK; from having to move 75% of my whole house furniture TWICE (my wife and I doing these ourselves), to have to clean everything over and over... Mexican homes are brick houses and it's hard to imagine how much dust can produce tearing down a 18 suare-feet wall section... No matter how many plastic cover you lay around, the dust WILL get inside your stuff.

So, imagine doing pencil artwork around so much dust and without having a proper desk or table to do it... With lots of hammering and drilling around... And with TONS of stuff laying ALL OVER the place (yup, we gamers are kind of hoarders...) and covered in dust... and no, you can't go out to a cafe or elsewere to work on stuff because if you leave the place alone you may find that you new kitchen counter is 2 inches taller than you requested it...

So, you may get the picture now -_-'

So! remodelation isn't over yet but what's left is nearly done and the wife is taking care of it. I have a proper place to work now and no more delays will occour, thou I do have a huge 2-week setback with the little issue described abode.

Anyway, I'll continue now with the previous work and then post a Status on the newest commisisons I took previous to PaizoCon.

My apologies for yet some more delays :(
ENnie Awards Voting Booth 2012
[link]
Don't forget to vote!



The Book of Drakes [link] got nominated for Best Interior Art

This scaly baby was written by fabulous Adam Daigle and Mike Welham. The Kobold-in-Chief, Mr Wolfgang Baur, gave me the amazing opportunity of tackling the whole interior art for this book, and now I hope I honored his chance with this nomination.
Create your own Butterfrog and get it published on BFS (Butterfrog Studio) first product ever:

Campaign Spots, The Butterfrog [link]

Leave your mark on the world of the Butterfrogs, get published on a printed product among professionals of the pen and paper RPG industry, and take home a hefty Boxed Set with lots of goodies and your winning entry!

The contest will have two categories:

Butterfrogs
Show off your studies on your favored Butterfrog!. Create and describe the ecology of one of the Butterfrog critters, its pure and amazing biological cycle, strange abilities, and fantastic properties. Tale its fantastic legends, stories and poems behind it. No stats, only pure and awesome creativity.

Concoctions
Display your fabulous discoveries on what happens when swallowing crystalized Butterfrog eggs, applying distilled Butterfrog oil to you enchanted cloak on a full moon. Share the effects and process to create these fabulous concoctions!

Monster hunters Mike Welham and Adam Daigle -creators of Midgar's Book of Drakes-, and Hugo Solis, the skittish monster illustrator, will select from submitted entries and then open polls for the public to select the winners.

The submission's guidelines and deadlines will be given early next week, stay tuned!

Photobucket
Photobucket

Here comes product No. 0!!!

Campaign Spots, The Butterfrog presents a creative and highly detailed field guide to this fantastic creature with many a useful detail and story, for both curious children and adventurous hunters of the mysterious, fey amphibian butterfrog.

A wonderfull and mysterious critter that despite it's relatively common nature, manages to elude the most cunning adventurer, crafty alchemist and greedy trapper, yet somehow many a curious children and lost wanderer stumble upon it on the most curious of circumstances. The Butterfrog is playful -and hazardous when treatened- fey frog-like creature that druids and alchemist find most handy for harvesting -or poaching!- into one too many helpful items, spellcasters hunt for spell components and familiars, and hunters seek as prized prey for fame and fortune, or faithful -croaking- companionship.

This Campaign Spot presents:

- A highly graphic field guide to the Butterfrogs that describes all the details you require to find and interact with these scaly critters.
- Fantastic bedtime -and tavern!- stories about wonderful encounters with these croaking and sparkling fellows.
- Fully fleshed out characters with links and adventure hooks to catch your own Butterfrog.
- Over 5 maps -handouts, overland, and tiles- for easy and visually rich- active encounters
- Items harvested and poached from all kind of Butterfrogs (not an endagered species, so no worries!)
- Full stats for over a dozen different species of Butterfrogs
- Handy and easy to print sheets of minis, item cards, props and tile maps.
- Poster-sized chart of the known species of buterfrogs for printing!

All this in one player's FREE PDF and a PDF/Print GM book!

The PDF will be presented in two books, a non-crunch, all ilustrated, Children Story Book (yup, a children's book, get your kid started on fantasy)/ Player's Field Guide (FREE, FREE, FREE!!!), and a full crunchy, all stats, background stories and GM's aid Book.

This will be all info for tonight, I'll continue giving more info tomorrow ;)

Other things to be detailed:
-Who's involved in this -premiere- project
-A contest (yes, a contest! Get published in the first BFS product)
-Limited printed copies.
-Release date (of course!)
-And maybe a few crazier ideas.

Stay Tuned!

PS: Pardon the poor writing, I'm an illiterated illustrator, not a writer! This area will be covered by other professionals, the first name to Top the List: Mike Welham, RPG Superstar 2012!

UPDATE 17/07
A few FAQ that I suppose may rise:

Why such a big supplement for such a tiny creature?
This free No. 0 product is aimed to give a sample of the quality on BFS products. I've chosen Butterfrogs due personal (sentimental) reasons and also to explain the name of the company a bit. I think this is a good and harmless way to start the company off. This product is numbered "0" cause even thou it's an official product, it's only purpose is to be a presenttion of BFS. Product No. 1 will be announced by the end of august once the book is near to finished.

What's a Campaign Spot?
Campaign Spots is the spear head product I'll be developing. These books will present small yet fully developed concepts ready to be droped in any campaign. This product line will support such concepts with background info, characters, cartography, stats n' crunch, and gaming aids like tiles, paper minis, item cards and other such useful goodies. All these on handly formated PDFs for easy extraction. All Campaign Spots will come also with a booklet meant for players, which will be presented as journals and field guides formated to be usefuly informative to players without giving away the GM's tasty bits.

How can I get a printed copy?
PDFs will be available to download on the most common internet RPG stores. The print copies will be made available through another site on a limited time frame and on a limited number of copies. I'll be making and shipping these printed copies myself (almost literally hand made). All will be numbered, signed and personalized (yup, your name will be on it).
There will be a few different options for printed copies: Regular soft cover, Faux engraved leather hard cover, Standard boxed set (with soft cover and printed GM aids, such as map tiles, paper minis, item cards, props and other stuff) and Collector's Boxed Set (same as the previous box but with hard cover and more goodies). Printed copies won't go on retail because it's a free product. I'm making a few prined copies available for the people who likes their RPG stuff printed and in their bookshelves and for thos who want to have a nice physical book to read to their children :)

What's next?
Next I'll be announcing some of the people involved in this product and...A CONTEST!

To be announced this weekend.

Journal History

What are you most interested in monsters: 

31%
47 deviants said Classic dragons and Dragonlike-critters
26%
39 deviants said Tentacled, mythos-like aberrations
25%
38 deviants said Steampunk-like Constructs
15%
22 deviants said Huge-to-Gigantic Beasts
3%
5 deviants said Nevel-old mindless undead

Shoutbox

*butterfrog:iconbutterfrog:
news facebook sketch! [link]
Thu Jun 30, 2011, 7:50 AM
~FaceDownDagon:iconfacedowndagon:
Zogs! No one's shouted since two-thousand ten?!?
Wed May 18, 2011, 9:50 AM
~Kassil:iconkassil:
*rabid barking*
Tue Oct 26, 2010, 7:21 AM
~mr-nick:iconmr-nick:
'appy new year!
Sat Jan 2, 2010, 1:56 AM
~thedukeofweasels:iconthedukeofweasels:
:cheese::dance:
Sun Aug 30, 2009, 10:44 AM
~Kassil:iconkassil:
Five months! Seventy-eight days each!
Mon Mar 9, 2009, 6:28 AM
~JonShade:iconjonshade:
Let me know what we need to do for our commission, eh?
Sun Jan 4, 2009, 12:39 AM
~AramilXiloscient:iconaramilxiloscient:
Can't wait to see your next picture!
Fri Oct 3, 2008, 3:37 PM
*butterfrog:iconbutterfrog:
I just removed the chainmail walk with the wolves... It was quite bad...I'll redraw it soon
Wed Oct 1, 2008, 1:56 PM
*butterfrog:iconbutterfrog:
Frog the all!
Mon Sep 22, 2008, 4:51 PM
Nobody

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