Psionics! [Backer Draft Manuscript Part 2]
about 2 months ago
– Tue, Jul 21, 2026 at 06:18:58 AM
Hello Tail-blazers,
It's a big brain day, as we learn all about psionics in the Reals of Pugmire! Let's do some quick review and then get to our latest manuscript download at the bottom of the page.
Digital and Print-on-Demand Rewards
We know times are hard these days, particularly with rising costs and economic uncertainty, so we’ve designed this crowdfunder to be as painless as possible. We offer a wide variety of digital options for backing, as well as leveraging print-on-demand technology to have physical products printed as close to you as possible to cut down shipping and reduce tariff concerns.
Creating and fulfilling physical versions this way gets you the best price, fastest delivery, and excellent customer support!
DriveThruRPG's printing partners are located both
within in the USA and the UK (and expanding), making shipping cheaper and
avoiding the tariffs incurred by international manufacturing and shipping!
Draft Manuscript Previews
Over the course of these 4 weeks, backers will receive the entire current draft manuscript for Lair of the Rat Kings, but it's not going to come to you all in one go. The previews will come out in squeak-sized treats throughout the campaign. This helps me seem interesting over the next 28 days, but it's more about guiding the conversation and helping steer feedback for the developers.
Because they want your feedback! These manuscript previews are of the current draft manuscript – the document in its latest, approved form. This may not be the final form after editing and any additional development, but you can consider it about 95% finished, so keep that in mind.
In fact, you can help guide the team through the next stages of development by providing feedback on these manuscript previews! The Onyx Path team has set up a special Feedback Form just for campaign backers for this very purpose:
<Lair of the Rat Kings Feedback Form>
You can use this
Feedback Form to share your thoughts directly with the Pugmire developers and help guide them through the next rounds of development and editing.
DRAFT MANUSCRIPT PREVIEWS - BACKERS ONLY
Remember, thanks to BackerKit magic, these download links are visible to Backers only -
you must be logged in and reading this on the website to have access to the manuscript preview links. So, if you're reading this via e-mail, click that "Reply to this Update" or "Learn More" button on the bottom and I'll see you below this title treatment.
Preview: Psionic Power Descriptions
about 2 months ago
– Mon, Jul 20, 2026 at 08:09:27 AM
Hello Tail-blazers,
We had a great weekend, unlocking our second stretch goal!
ACHIEVED! -
At $5,000 in Funding - LAIR OF THE RAT KINGS MAP UPGRADE I
Map Upgrade 1 - Red Paw Gang's Burrows. The planned hand-drawn maps to help roughly orient Guides and players will be upgraded to a full detailed and gridded map to aid game play.
We're gonna continue the theme of providing more resources to the team to make Chapter 5 even better than initially planned! It's time for map upgrade #2!
At $6,500 in Funding - LAIR OF THE RAT KINGS MAP UPGRADE II
Map Upgrade 2 - Selected Areas of The Not. Maps for key areas of The Not in Chapter 5 will be added to the book.
As I've said, and thematically appropriate when dealing with the mice of Pugmire, this is a smaller project so any additional resources we can throw at the team to jazz it up even more than planned really have an impact.
But enough about that, let's get to a sneak peek of tomorrow's manuscript section.
Psychic Power Descriptions
Each psychic power is presented in a format designed to provide as much information as possible at a glance. In this section the parts of a psychic power description are broken down, so you know what you are dealing with when you get to your character sheet.
The first thing you’ll note is the psychic power’s name. This is provided as a header to help keep things organized. Beneath the power’s name is the power’s college (see below) and magnitude. Next up, the power has an activation time. This is how long it takes from the moment the psionicist starts using their powers to the moment the effect starts working. Once you get past that time frame, you’ll be dealing with the subject of the next entry: duration. Duration reflects how long a power’s effects persist. After that is a power description including what the power does and any systems associated with the power’s effects, such as damage dice, movement ranges, or conditions the power inflicts or ends.
Some powers require a location to be well known. It is up to the Guide to determine how much time a psionicist must spend in a location to consider it naturally well known.
Psionic Colleges
Rodents divide psychic powers into four distinct schools, or colleges. Scholars believe these colleges were founded in the earliest days after the Old Ones disappeared. The most scholarly among the rodents — some of which eventually formed the Cult of Labo Tor — are believed to have been the ones to codify the powers and the colleges to which they belong. Though the Cult of Labo Tor are a fringe cult that is largely despised by the rest of rodent society, most rodents agree the classifications of powers and colleges make sense.
Powers within the same college behave in a similar fashion and affect the same kinds of people, places, or things. A power’s college is determined by the power’s results and the methods by which the psionicist creates those results. Rodents generally accept four colleges of psionics, though there are always a handful of researchers trying to discover a new college. The colleges are:
-
Galvanism focuses on generating, rerouting, and manipulating energy.
-
Humorism focuses on sensing, healing, and harming living things.
-
Observationalism focuses on the psionicist’s perceptions of the world around them as well as the passage of time. Observationalism also teaches the psionicist methods of interfering with other people’s perceptions, as well as how to perceive and affect psychic and magical energies.
-
Parapsychology focuses on the mind. Through this college the psionicist can work to attain internal perfection, communicate with others, and even shatter an opponent’s mind.
Analysts study powers from the colleges of observationalism and parapsychology. Psykers focus their studies on the colleges of humorism and galvanism. Not all rodents require the framework of a calling to access Psychic Powers. Psionicists access their powers through the Mentalist Aptitude Trick rather than through a calling may learn powers from any college. The college a power belongs to is listed directly after the magnitude in the power description.
Concentration and Shapes
While many psychic powers persist for a finite duration, some are maintained, requiring the psionicist to concentrate on them. Psionics use the same rules as magic (Realms of Pugmire p. 95) when it comes to maintaining concentration on an effect and the number of shapes a power can take. Concentrating on a psychic power uses the psionicist’s supplemental action.
Modifiers, Difficulties, and Affinities
Upon attaining their first psychic power, a psionicist must assign an affinity attribute. This reflects the attribute connected most closely with their sense of self and their psionic core being. The affinity trait is ultimately up to the player, and once an affinity attribute is selected it may not be changed. At character creation select either Cunning, Intellect or Presence as their affinity attribute. This will be referred to throughout as the character’s affinity modifier.
Attacking a foe directly with psionics is considered a psychic attack. When making a psychic attack roll, the psionicist rolls 1d20 + the psionicist’s affinity modifier + the psionicist’s experience bonus.
Psychic powers that don’t require an attack roll are often resisted by a test. The difficulty for this test is 8 + the psionicist’s affinity modifier + the psionicist’s experience bonus.
Spider Climb
Magnitude 2 galvanism
Activation Time: 1 action
Range: 30 feet
Duration: Concentration, up to 1 minute
By manipulating the pull of gravity on a target, you grant them the ability to move like a spider. One willing character you choose within range gains the ability to move across any solid surfaces and upside down along ceilings, using only their feet. The target also gains a climbing speed equal to their walking speed.
Alleviate Gravity
Magnitude 3 galvanism
Activation Time: 1 action
Range: 30 feet
Duration: Concentration, up to 1 minute
By manipulating the pull of gravity on an individual, you lift them into the air, effectively rendering them Immobile. Choose one character within range who you can see. They immediately gain the Immobile condition as they are lifted 1-2 feet off the ground. If the target has a fly speed, they may move normally; otherwise they hang in the air, unable to move. This makes attacking difficult and defending themselves challenging.
Test (Agility): The target suffers no effects. Affected characters can make an additional test at the end of their turns. On a successful test, the effect ends for them.
Flight
Magnitude 4 galvanism
Activation Time: 1 action
Range: Self
Duration: Concentration, up to 10 minutes
You may telekinetically move yourself through the air. This gives you a flying speed of 60 feet. If you are still airborne when the effect ends, you fall.
Tune in tomorrow for the entire draft version of Chapter 2, which is all about Psionics in the Realms of Pugmire!
Miska’s Tonic
about 2 months ago
– Fri, Jul 17, 2026 at 06:43:17 AM
Miska’s Tonic
Howe Greymoor peered at the yellow liquid in the glass beaker. The rat frowned and swirled it around before setting it back on the table. Miska Goldenfur, his research partner — although she continually insisted on the word “friend” — poked her head over the edge of the table.
“Is it done?” she chirped. Howe was used to the higher pitches of his mice brethren, but Miska’s always seemed particularly… piercing, somehow.
“Not yet,” the analyst muttered, grabbing a bottle of green liquid and carefully pouring a few drops into the beaker. It blorped into a muddy brown.
The psychic huffed and sat back on her chair. “It’s never ready,” she grumbled. “I should touch it. That’ll make it go faster.”
Howe barely stifled a sigh as he grabbed his magnifying lenses. “Your burgeoning abilities in humorism are not toys,” he intoned, turning to Miska. Wearing the lenses made his eyes look three times bigger than usual, and Miska giggled at the sight. With a huff, Howe turned back to his experiment and continued. “Besides, there’s nothing about necrotic touch that will help this creation in any way.”
The psyker’s laugh changed into a petulant pout. “Don’t think I’m ungrateful,” she hedged. Miska knew that Howe could be sensitive at times, and she liked to stay on his good side, no matter how irritating he could be. “You’ve taught me a lot about my psychic abilities. I just—”
At that moment, Howe dropped a flat white tablet into the mixture. It touched the brown liquid and crimson smoke burst into the room, filling it with a fine, oily, stinging vapor. Both rodents coughed, and Miska rushed to open the window to her apartment.
“That,” coughed Howe, “will keep your neighbors confused for a while.”
Miska hacked again and rubbed her eyes. Leaning her head out the window, she sucked in huge breaths of fresh air before she spoke. “It won’t be the first time,” she rasped once the gas cleared. “But folks here in Riverside don’t ask a lot of questions.”
Howe waved a wisp of gas from his nose and closed one eye, looking at the beaker again. “But they do ask questions,” he grumbled, half listening.
“Oh, sure,” Miska agreed. “Mister Meow even asked me if you’re a member of the Cult of Labo Tor.”
The rat jolted his chin around to look at her, and Miska fervently waved her paws to reassure him. “No! I mean, I told him you weren’t! You’re a good rat!” He snorted and returned his attention to the beaker, swirling it and frowning. The mouse prattled on. “But you come and go a lot, and your knowledge of science is greater than mine. It’s an easy mistake to make.”
“A mistake us right-thinking scientists constantly pay for,” Howe groused.
“Besides,” Miska continued, “I think he’s looking for friends for some reason. Maybe to try to make the lives of the cats in Riverside a bit better.”
“Particularly after the monarchies have recalled their diplomats,” Howe muttered.
Miska shrugged. “I don’t know much about politics, but Mister Meow seemed pretty upset about it. Which is why I asked you to make a tonic for him.”
Howe took a sip, nodded, and put the beaker on the table. “It’s a minor form of science,” he pronounced, “but in my travels I learned how to make a good health tonic. But I fail to see how this cat friend of yours…”
“Mister Meow,” Miska offered.
“… yes, so you said. I don’t see how he benefits.”
The mouse rolled her eyes. She’d explained this several times before. “Mister Meow is nervous about his health.”
“Yes, I got that much. Hence the request for a health tonic.”
“But he’s afraid to go to the Church of Man for healing. He thinks they’re still mad about the cats who left of whatever.”
“The diplomats.”
“Yeah, the diplo cats. So when I mentioned I knew a rat who could mix an excellent tonic, he got excited. ‘I must have Miska’s Tonic!’ he would say in that obviously really fake accent of his.”
“That accent really is quite atrocious,” Howe agreed.
“If I give him the tonic,” Misks concluded, “he’ll owe me a favor.”
The rat sat down on a battered wooden stool next to Miska. “What favor do you plan to ask of him?”
“Me?” Miska giggled. The thought made her anxious. “None. But if word gets around that he owes me a favor, the other cats will leave me alone.” She shivered involuntarily. “It’s hard being a mouse who lived in a neighborhood full of cats.”
Howe shrugged. “So move. Your village fell to the Unseen, true, but there are plenty of rodent communities who would value your knowledge. Even the warm darkness of Chewpost would accept you.”
Miska walked back to close the window, but she lingered, staring out at the streets of Pugmire. “But if I go,” she asked, “who will make this place better?”
Howe didn’t have an answer for that.
Cheese the Day! This Project is Funded!
2 months ago
– Thu, Jul 16, 2026 at 03:17:30 PM
Hello Tail-blazers,
I know this is a pretty small project (like a mouse!) and a small funding goal, but it still reached that target faster than I'd expected!
While similar to our Pugmire Unleashed book from last year (now available at DriveThruRPG and in our Add-In Options!), this project was still a bit out there ... or under there... and you never know how things will all come together.
Anyway, enough squeaking around. It's true...
The LAIR OF THE RAT KINGS has been FUNDED!
and with that in paw, let's see what comes next!
As we increase the overall funding and support for the project, we’re able to add additional resources to the project, expand the rewards listed, and add in new offers and opportunities. Each Stretch Goal will have a target that, once reached, will add a project to the reward list for backers of the relevant Pledge Level. Whenever we achieve a stretch goal, the listing will be updated to reflect the achievement.
Like I said, this is a smaller project, and we want to make sure the project stays manageable and deliverable on time, so we're going to focus on some traditional Onyx Path milestone markers and then some upgrades to make the book even better.
At $3,500 in Funding - BACKER SHIRT ON REDBUBBLE
A Rat Kings-themed Backer shirt will be hosted on Onyx Path’s Redbubble store for a limited time. All backers will be notified when the shirt becomes available for purchase.
At $5,000 in Funding - LAIR OF THE RAT KINGS MAP UPGRADE 1
Map Upgrade 1 - Red Paw Gang's Burrows. The planned hand-drawn maps to help roughly orient Guides and players will be upgraded to a full detailed and gridded map to aid game play.
So, the first stretch goal is a celebration and a milestone marker. We've funded and we're growing!
The second Stretch Goal is an enhancement to the book. You won't see the related material until we get to Chapter 5 near the end of the campaign, but the plan is to make the maps sort of hand-drawn (paw-drawn?) and sketchy, to give the Guide a general sense of how it all fits together. But if we achieve this stretch goal, we can do something a little more traditional, with a gridded-style map that can really help out in any combat or exploration situations. Basically, it gives the team a few more resources to work with and expands the options ahead.
So please continue to spread the word! Share the message in your social circles and on your social media! This project is now funded, so the Lair of the Rat Kings book will become a fully-developed reality. New backers will be able to read along with the manuscript downloads as they come out, know that the project will happen, and help us add even more content and potential rewards for backers!
While we continue to recruit new backers, we're also going to keep getting sneak previews from the book! Tomorrow we'll get some fiction that will be included in the final form (along with a traditional Pugmire pun title!), and on Monday we're going to learn more about some Psionic Power Descriptions before getting the full Psionics chapter on Tuesday!
SqueaksAhoy!
Down, down, down into the Underneath! Welcome to the Lair of the Rat Kings!
2 months ago
– Thu, Jul 16, 2026 at 11:02:56 AM
Hello Tail-blazers!
The
LAIR of the RAT KINGS is now LIVE and funding on Crowdfuding by BackerKit!
The
Realms of Pugmire core rulebook covers a lot of ground, but now it's time to go further into the shadows and the world Underneath...
Lair of the Rat Kings is a full campaign sourcebook detailing a new and exciting part of the realms of Pugmire: The Underneath. It contains not only everything you need to know about the Underneath, but also has information about making rodent player characters (along with their psychic powers), advice on how to run a subterranean campaign, a complete adventure, and a massive number of locations, set pieces, and encounters.
Some highlights from the
Lair of the Rat Kings include:
- Complete character creation rules for mouse and rat player characters, including a new system detailing their unusual psionic powers
- Details on psionic inventions, and how player characters can create their own
- Guide advice on running massive underground campaigns, along with details on the elusive and terrifying Cult of Labo Tor
- A complete adventure introducing the Underneath, along with encounters and four complete mini-adventures which all link together into one massive subterranean campaign
My name is James, and I’ll be your Onyx Path Crowdfunding Concierge for this fun new project -
Lair of the Rat Kings, the latest rules options and setting expansion for the
Realms of Pugmire tabletop roleplaying game. Including new rules for rodent characters, psionic abilities and inventions, plus more! There's a lot of options to add to your
Realms of Pugmire game within these pages.
I’ll be updating the campaign as we go, sharing the draft mansucript previews, answering questions, and providing support wherever needed as best I can.
I’ll note that I’m not part of the creative team on this project – so I won’t be able to immediately answer some of the more intricate rules or design inquiries – but having me manage this Crowdfunding campaign allows Eddy and the Pugmire crew to keep their focus on the awesome projects that they’ve got in the works.
That said, feel free to make me your point person for any questions or issues you may have. I'll make sure to dig up answers as quickly as possible and clear up any issues that arise. Mostly, I'm just looking forward to an exciting ride along with all of you on this project.
Our comment section is for all members of this community – united by our shared desire to see this project fund and develop – to cheerlead the project and figure out how best to spread the word about what we’re building here. If you’ve started a thread on whatever social media platform exists today or a Discord conversation about the game or this campaign – let me know about it so we can share that info. If you’ve discussed the game on a blog or podcast, let’s hear about it! If you’ve got funny ideas for social media hashtags, well we can do those too!
I will also be the person who gets to share the updates and previews with you! As noted on the main page and in the pledge descriptions, I also get to share an exciting treat – The Lair of the Rat Kings Draft Manuscript previews, so you can start reading the book immediately! You'll receive a direct link once you pledge, or you can scroll down to the bottom of this post on the website to see the first BACKERS-ONLY update for a download link.
So, welcome to Crowdfunding by BackerKit! Welcome to a ton of new options for your Realms of Pugmire game! Now let's gather the gang and dig deep and see if we can't explore further into the Lair of the Rat Kings!
Digital and Print-on-Demand Rewards
We know times are hard these days, particularly with rising costs and economic uncertainty, so we’ve designed this crowdfunder to be as painless as possible. We offer a wide variety of digital options for backing, as well as leveraging print-on-demand technology to have physical products printed as close to you as possible to cut down shipping and reduce tariff concerns.
Creating and fulfilling physical versions this way gets you the best price, fastest delivery, and excellent customer support!
DriveThruRPG's printing partners are located both
within in the USA and the UK (and expanding), making shipping cheaper and
avoiding the tariffs incurred by international manufacturing and shipping!
Draft Manuscript Previews
Over the course of the next 4 weeks, backers will receive the entire current draft manuscript for Lair of the Rat Kings, but it's not going to come to you all in one go. The previews will come out in squeak-sized treats throughout the campaign. This helps me seem interesting over the next 28 days, but it's more about guiding the conversation and helping steer feedback for the developers.
Because they want your feedback! These manuscript previews are of the current draft manuscript – the document in its latest, approved form. This may not be the final form after editing and any additional development, but you can consider it about 95% finished, so keep that in mind.
In fact, you can help guide the team through the next stages of development by providing feedback on these manuscript previews! The Onyx Path team has set up a special Feedback Form just for campaign backers for this very purpose:
<Lair of the Rat Kings Feedback Form>
You can use this
Feedback Form to share your thoughts directly with the Pugmire developers and help guide them through the next rounds of development and editing.
DRAFT MANUSCRIPT PREVIEWS - BACKERS ONLY
Remember, thanks to BackerKit magic, these download links are visible to Backers only -
you must be logged in and reading this on the website to have access to the manuscript preview links. So, if you're reading this via e-mail, click that "Reply to this Update" or "Learn More" button on the bottom and I'll see you below this title treatment.
