Beyond Corny Groń - Adventurer's Guide
A downloadable setting
BEYOND CORNY GROŃ – ADVENTURER’S GUIDE is a system-neutral toolkit and sandbox generator, set in the world heavily inspired by legends from the Polish mountains, folk songs of bold highwaymen, and romantic tales about Hidden Things. It's sequel of Corny Groń - solo map-making ttrpg, available for PWYW right here.
For the printed version check out: nerdsirens.pl
Welcome to Karpakian Mountains – a land of bold highlanders and valiant highwaymen, mighty fey-kings, and diabolical nobles. This realm attracts people who yearn for freedom, and those who wish to temper their spirits like hard rocks amid biting winds and high ridges. The pristine woodland growing on the mountains' slopes makes a perfect place for a fortress – built from the endowment of lowland rulers, or against their will. Shepherds speak of bandit treasures and moss-covered pagan strongholds hidden among the peaks. Ancient knights of the long-forgotten prince sleep and wait in deep caves for the last call to battle.
Karpaki are home to biesy – mysterious beings, sometimes called Good Neighbors, Hidden Folk, or Cousins. For centuries they hid their secrets among crags and forests, away from the greedy eyes of mortals who inhabit the lowlands. Many scholars (as arrogant as they are enlightened) ignore or even deny the existence of biesy. Meanwhile, any child will say that weolcaners, netherlings, goblins, or wyrdwifes are as real as the wind or coming rain, sudden love, or mischievous joke. Just because they can't be seen at first glance doesn't mean they don't exist. The uncrowned ruler of these odd creatures is undoubtedly the Mountain Spirit, about whom legends are whispered by owls and wind blowing among pines.
As Ash Alder from Wizards Respite blog, put it in his review of the solo version of the game:
As I read through (...) I felt like I was reading stories that my old Polish grandfather would’ve told me about his homeland.
The thing is, I don’t have a Polish grandfather. There’s not a drop of Polish blood in my family! That’s how easy it is to immerse yourself in this fairytale.
If you want to read more about Karpaki, its inhabitants or factions, and to create characters originating from these mountains – you can download the PLAYER’S GUIDE* right now. They are and will always be free, serving as an introduction to the setting for those who will want to wander into the Valley.
You can also get character sheets (for Knave 1e and system neutral, in A4 and Letter format, editable and not), as well as template sheets for making your own highland maps and Karpakian soundtrack!
If you like our setting, we will be incredibly grateful for every review left here (they help a lot!), for every recommendation, passing on and sharing the link to the game. If you want to share your thoughts or ideas, get to know what other folks think, or simply join the community of Corny Groń fans - you can check Other Paths, our FB group and discord server!
Also - you can follow us on itch.io, Facebook, and Twitter.
Purchase
In order to download this setting you must purchase it at or above the minimum price of 19.00€ EUR. You will get access to the following files:
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Download demo
Development log
- Polish version update / Wieści o polskiej wersjiJul 03, 2024
- Beyond Corny Groń books availableJan 23, 2024
- PDFs updatesDec 10, 2023
- Update#19 - PRINTING!Jun 30, 2023
- Character sheets... for maps!Jun 14, 2023
- Ready to get going? a.k.a. PDF IS READYMay 30, 2023
- ...of cutting, printing, folksy music and obsolete heroesMar 29, 2023
- New Year's catch-up, new art and some lore!Jan 14, 2023
Comments
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Would it be possible to have a lightweight file for use in the cloud? Maximum 20mb?
I see that there's a physical version that was for the kickstarter. Is there ANY chance that a physical book will be available for purchase here?
I really REALLY want a physical copy!
Thanks!
JW
Hi JW, yes - you can go through link above to nerdsirens.pl store (we are shipping worldwide from Poland) to buy directly from us, or - if you're from UK or US and want to save some $ on shipping - check stores where BCG is available (Exalted Funeral in US, Iglootree, Lost Pages & Lost Bay Studio in UK)
Thank you! It looks like Exalted Funeral is sold out, but I'd love to support you guys directly so expect an order from me soon!
Ordered! But I don't see a link anywhere for downloading the digital copy. Shouldn't that be in an email?
Best,
John
Hi! Stripe, which we are using to manage the orders, doesn't send any mail automatically, but I see your order on the list, so I can confirm it :) Later today we will send you a link to pdf as well. Thanks for your support!
Awesome. Thanks
Hi John, link to claim your BCG .pdf was just sent :)
It is such a lovely book ^__^
Czy Stronnictwo Witów ma jakąś konkretną historyczną inspirację?
Hej, tak ;)
https://pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Powstanie_chocho%C5%82owskie
Hi! I'm very tempted to start playing this one, but seeing "Corny Gron" is especifically for solo, and this one specifies for several players, I have my doubts. What do you suggest? (as a solo player)
Hi, sorry it took so long, but here I am! Beyond Corny Groń wasn't written with solo plays in mind, so I cannot guarantee anything, but it should work pretty well as solo-gaming oracle. It can also give more (I mean - a lot more) flavour and context to "original" solo game's setting.
I just got the physical version from my Kickstarter rewards and omg, It Is so beautiful and full of exciting content. So much folklore and information, and amazing illustrations. Thank you for this beautiful work! ❤
Thanks Camilla, I must admit reading a comment like yours was something I needed today! <3 I'm really glad you've enjoyed our book! :)
This is a great book - I like the world-building told through the bestiary but most of all mechanics for exploration that are actually good! That give players and incentive to pay attention to exploration! Only when you read good stuff like this do you realise it has been missing.
Thanks! :) I'm really glad the book is doing what it meant to do, so we delivered our own intention!
Hej! Czy wracając do odwiedzonych miejsc trzeba ponownie rzucać na encountery? Przymierzam się do poprowadzenia Gronia jako przygody kompletnie bez prepu, więc bardzo istotne dla mnie byłoby dobre zrozumienie procedury losowych spotkań i kwestia rzucania na encounter przy powracaniu już wytyczonymi szlakami jest dla mnie najbardziej zastanawiająca.
Sam podręcznik jest przepiękny! Ma mnóstwo cudownych ilustracji i jest ładnie opisany. Jest parę literówek, ale to nic co by utrudniało grę. Jest tam mnóstwo elementów pobudzających wyobraźnię.
Czekam na polską wersję, chętnie bym ją zdobył w fizycznym wydaniu :D
Hej, przepraszam za poślizg z odpowiedzią, ale już śpieszę - generalnie intencja jest taka, że spotkania losowe powinny być sprawdzane zawsze gdy postacie wchodzą do lokacji, nawet w przypadku poprzednio odwiedzonego miejsca. Ja tak robię kiedy prowadzę, chyba, że np. od poprzedniej wizyty minęło za mało czasu żeby coś się mogło zmienić :).
Dzięki za miłe słowa i cieszę się, że narzędzia śmigają zgodnie z założeniami i się podoba :)
Odpowiadam z podziękowaniami za odpowiedź! Gra wyszła idealnie, zero prepu a wydarzyło się na sesji tyle co w minikampanii :D. Spotkania z godlingami, jedzenie grzybów, walki z bandytami i dyskusje z palącym fajkę a la włóczykijem i pozostawienie serca górom przez jednego z graczy, który poniósł śmierć w walce i w efekcie stał się kimś w rodzaju karpackiego Davy Jonesa. Przepiękna sprawa, liczę na polską wersję głównie z uwagi na to, jak podszedłbyś do tłumaczenia nazw własnych szeregu biesów, bo bardzo mnie ciekawi by pogrzebać w jakiś podaniach ludowych informacji o tych stworzeniach.
Pięknie, widzę, że podręcznik i wajb działa absolutnie zgodnie z intencją :) Polskie nazwy biesów nie potrzebują tłumaczenia, tzn. wymyślałem je po polsku, i dopiero potem tłumaczyłem na angielski, więc to polskie wersja są domyślne ;) Mogę Ci podać nazwy dla tych, które Cię interesują, bo wrzucanie całej listy może się mijać z celem :D
Really amazing! I've been playing solo for a bit and I like it a lot so far. A really wonderful beastiary. Beautiful art with lots of details for a huge amount of creatures. I love how different they are than standard beasts too and the sort of 'rumor' feature when PCs encounter them so they have a hint of what this creature is (which they've either probably never heard of before or only know radically different versions) but there's still a lot of mystery about them.
The fact that the book walks you through live generation of the area sets it up perfect for solo and zero/low prep sessions. After I a get a smoother grip on it all I'm going to test it out on a group. I have pretty high expectations!
The factions are also very rich though I haven't quite figured out how it all works together and haven't included them in my game yet. I think it will really enrich the game though.
I'm gushing a bit now but this book has really got me excited. Thanks for all the work put into it!
Wow, thanks! I'm really glad you are enjoying all things that meant to be enjoyable in this book - bestiary, map-generation procedure, ease of use for sessions with zero/low prep or playing solo etc. So cool!
And yes, connecting factions is intentionally left for "reader" discretion, since I didn't want to sketch the setting too much. In principle, however, almost every faction can potentially compete with every other faction (with the possible exception of Commonality and Krakogród Academy, which don't have too much collision points).
Wow! Beautiful. Havent read the book , but just on first scroll of the new pdf, this is amazing. I will be waiting for the printed edition, before i settle down to it, but wanted to say congrats! so nice
Thanks! I cannot wait for your thoughts after reading the whole thing :D
Cześć! Czy przewidujecie wydanie w przyszłości wersji w języku polskim?
Jeśli tak, to czy będzie fizyczna edycja?
PDF będzie na pewno, fizyczna wersja prawdopodobnie też. PDF raczej prędzej niż później, fizyczna - trudno powiedzieć.
Dzięki za info! A to prędzej to tak bardziej wrzesień czy marzec? 😅
Mam nadzieję, że raczej wrzesień ;)
I've grown to realize how amazing RPG books are that give you all the tools to create an entire adventure. Beyond Corny Gron is one of those books, and its flavor is second to none. There are tools for everything you need, including for creating mountain regions and caves, and a truly stunning bestiary that keeps going and going, and much more. And the art is the first thing that attracted me, back in regard to the original Corny Gron book (I have one of the prints hanging on my wall), and this book just amps that up by a thousand. Amazing stuff.
I'm really touched that you like BCG so much, especially considering that you point out as an advantage exactly what this supplement was supposed to do. I'm glad everything went according to plan, thanks!
Really looking forward to this!
...and I am looking forward to know how was your first adventure in Karpaki!
This is a wonderful book with more inspiration than I ever could have wished for! Can‘t wait to bring it to my table and explore the mountains.
I can't wait to see all those maps that will be created using the tables from BCG <3