Gubat Banwa Is FULLY FUNDED!

Gubat Banwa is FULLY FUNDED!

In less than A DAY, we've hit our goal of $40,000! Thank you all so much! Your continued support made this massive achievement for SEA representation in TTRPGs possible. 🔥🔥

Revel in glory, Kadungganan! This victory belongs to us all!

The campaign will continue to run for the next 29 days. There are a few stretch goals still waiting up ahead, so if any of these catch your interest, do continue to spread the word about the project.

The Gubat Banwa Kickstarter was fully funded in 1 day! (But we've still got some neat surprises in the stretch goals...) Check them out here:

Kickstarter

Gubat Banwa - Southeast Asian Fantasy Tactics RPG

The War Drama Martial Arts Tactics RPG set in the Sword Isles: a Fantasy setting inspired by the refulgent stories of Southeast Asia.

We cannot overstate how deeply we appreciate your support, it truly means the world to this small team from the Philippines. Now, let us see this campaign through to the end of the far horizons, shields abreast and blades gleaming and heads held high with pride.

Until glory!

Off-hand tangent that I feel is related enough to mention: If you're doing professional work, you deserve professional pay, even if you personally don't count yourself as A Professionalᵀᴹ

"I don't really count you know since I'm not formally trai-" Shut up and price your art what it's worth.

"But it's not fair to those people who actually do this as a source of livelihood-" What's not fair is you setting a precedent for clients lowballing artists, by letting the same clients lowball you. Demand fair compensation.

"I mean it's not like I'm an expert or that I actually know what I'm doing or anything-" If they are HIRING YOU to do something, they clearly recognize your expertise relative to them. You know enough, fucking own it.

"I can just do this for free, I only do this as a hobby anyw-" A hobby? Fine- a hobby is still pieces of yourself expended; how little do you value your own time and love and labor? Are you nothing?? Do you cost nothing to trample underfoot like a ragged threadbare rag of wet lies and filthy insecurities??? Take the pay, goddammit.

There's got to be some merit in formal and professional training in the pursuit of the arts, but formal and professional training is no less "real" than the beauty of a random child of any age picking up a pen or a brush or a stylus for the first time and finding so much joy and wonder and catharsis to explore in what they allow themselves to create that they just- keep doing it, and eventually blunder ass-backwards into competence that they can't seem to fucking accept just because they don't have a degree for it. Enough of that, now. Do not ever lose sight of the fact that art should be accessible to everyone, in consumption and creation both.

art tips

don't call what you create "content". regardless of what it is. that's the devil talking. call it art, call it writing, call it music, call it analysis, call it editing, literally just call it what it is

I was going to put other things but oh my god please just don't call yourself a "content creator". you are a person you are making art / writing / music / etc you are an artist an author a musician

you are not an Image Generator For Clicks And Views. please. allow yourself to connect with your work by naming it properly and acknowledging yourself in kind

The Seventh Blade: Kalis - Bleeding Edge

And so- in the end- the wheel must turn, and a new day must usurp the old. Perhaps then, these long-fallen flowers will feed the soil, and nourish a new bloom. Perhaps the fire will find home in the bleeding rivers and cauterize the land, and the steam will rise into skies of the clearest blue. Perhaps our songs will be of triumphant yesterdays, hard-won and now bearing fruit. But we are Kadungganan- we do not sit idly to await the dawn. We claw at heaven to bring forth our own tomorrow! One more day until the launch of the Gubat Banwa Kickstarter! Fight for another day in the turbulent fires of the Sword Isles, carving out your own story by blade and sheer will in this tactical martial arts TTRPG, inspired by the thousand, thousand colors of Southeast Asia.

I've been posting weapons I've drawn for the game to count down the final week before the launch. This was supposed to be for Swordtember, but the deadline had to be pushed back. 7/7 blades, ending with the KALIS

This blade adorns the logo of Gubat Banwa, at once uniting and splitting in twain. Kalis refers to a number of uniquely Philippine variants of the more widely known collective of kris blades, which appears in several forms across Southeast Asia.

(Diagram by Lorenz Lasco) What separates Philippine kalis from kris seems to be an answer with multiple facets. Some say it's a linguistic matter, others say kalis refers specifically to certain blades from the Sulu archipelago.

(Photos from Raymundo Lucero)

(For comparison, an Indonesian kris) Admittedly, the kalis is a bit of a blindspot in my knowledge. I've done what research I can, and asked those who know better, but I exist a considerable distance away from where these blades belong- physically and culturally. This is, perhaps, where I will be most prone to making mistakes of fact with the information I present. If I make any mistakes, please do not hesitate correct me!

(Photo from Zambasulta Pakukus) On the heels of that disclaimer, let's take a look at the blade. This is definitely one of the most beautiful weapons I've ever had to draw. Philippine kris/kalis tend to be longer and more "sword-like" than those of our neighbors.

(Photos from Johnwick Cabrera) The hilts tend to differ depending on who makes them. Some sport what might be cockatoo/"kakatua" bird-head hilts, some have very ornate junggayan hilts, some feature okir carvings, some are more rudimentary.

(Photos from Dennis Andrew Golez) The blade is used by several peoples in the south Philippines, including the Maranao, the Tausug, and the peoples of Maguindanao. I am most definitely missing a few groups, this is not an exhaustive list. There are differences between the way they build hilts and assemble blades that I don't feel qualified to speak about. And yes, the blades are like that because they are an assembly near the handle.

(Photo from Sulu Utak Shop) Apart from hilt shape and assembly, variations occur in blade thickness, ornamentaion, presence and type of okir carvings, number of curves or seko (odd numbers), length (kalis sundang = "swords", kalis gunong = "daggers") Actually- you know what?

(Photo from Richard Hudson) Since this is the last one in the countdown, I'm going to do something different. I invite you to find the answers yourself. That is part of what Gubat Banwa is meant to be: an invitation to engage in a fantasy setting centered on our cultures, so you can tell stories built on our terms. The cultures in the Sword Isles are NOT the cultures in the real world from which they draw inspiration. It is very much still a fantasy setting. But part of engaging with the setting in good faith is doing your own learning, on things for which you are not owed an explanation. Curiosity rewards the adventurous. The kalis is well-researched. If you're curious about something, you'll find the answers. You don't need me to hold your hand.

Instead, I'm just going to show you some of the coolest kalis I've seen.

(Silver and ivory-hilted kalis from the NCAA) A (relatively) simple but gorgeous build by a modern smith.

(Blade by Zambasulta Pakukus) A pair of kalis from a smith in Zamboanga.

(Blade by Panday Onsboy Maktar) Silver-hilted kalis from Sulu.

(Photos from Arma Filipinas; Polished by the "Blade Barber") Kalis with some gorgeous carvings on it.

(Photos from Sulu Utak Shop) Kris inlaid with a brass naga.

(Photos from Ron Zambaranno) Kalis rehilted by a Lumad group- uncertain which group. Supposedly, the Lumad would take kris they captured from enemies, disassemble them, and rehilt the blade.

This one appears to have a blade that looks like most of the kalis we've seen, but with a hilt similar to Indonesian or Malaysian variants.

(Photos from Raymundo Lucero) Antique Moro kris sundang with a hilt made of fossilized mammoth tooth, ornamented with a silver coin from the 1700s. A personal favorite, as I used the hilt as a reference for one of my favorite designs.

(Photo from Richard Hudson)

(Art by yours truly) As with the panabas, the people who make and use the kalis are still around. There are bladesmiths, scholars, practitioners of Moro Fighting Arts, historians, and just people who live alongside these blades who can tell their own stories better than I ever could.

(Photo from Richard Hudson)

I hope this and all the other threads I made inculcated an interest in some of you- even those who just look at the pictures (I see you)- to look into these blades yourself. Do your due diligence, treat people with respect, and approach what you are unfamiliar with in good faith- and you should be well on your way to learning more than you thought there ever was to know.

The Gubat Banwa Kickstarter launches in 1 day! Check it out here:

Kickstarter

Coming soon: Gubat Banwa - SEAsian Martial Arts Tactics Fantasy RPG

A Drama and Martial Arts Tactics RPG set in the Sword Isles: a Fantasy setting inspired by the refulgent history of Southeast Asia.

A very special thanks to GB team-member onefloor who helped expand my knowledge on this blade. This legend scores the music for Gubat Banwa, check them out here! This will be the last blade post I do for the promotion. I'm going back into the hole I dug in the ground to work on the rest of the weapons I'm drawing for this game. If there's interest, I might do another series of 7 before the Kickstarter campaign ends. Anyway, help us get the word out, small team of creators from the global south, too broke to advertise, etc. etc. you know the drill by now if you've read the other posts. Until next time! Until glory!

The time has come. Raise the sails, sound the horns, bang the gongs! Glory awaits. It's time to sail the sky and seize heaven's thunderclaps! 

Gubat Banwa's KS is LIVE NOW!

Kickstarter

Gubat Banwa - Southeast Asian Fantasy Tactics RPG

The War Drama Martial Arts Tactics RPG set in the Sword Isles: a Fantasy setting inspired by the refulgent stories of Southeast Asia.

The Fourth Blade: Panabas - "For Chopping"

Four days to the launch of the white-hot lightning that is the Gubat Banwa Kickstarter! Gubat Banwa is a TTRPG supported by the twin pillars of tactical martial arts and contemplative war drama. Meditate upon love and violence as warriors of a burning world. Will you stem the tide of blades? Or is it rising by your will?

I'll be posting the weapons I've drawn for the game as a countdown until the launch on October 10. This was supposed to be a Swordtember series, but we needed a little more time to gain momentum. 4/7 blades, past the halfway point, let us proceed with the PANABAS

Towering amongst what blade collectors categorize as "Moro weaponry", the panabas is quite possibly the largest blade I've ever drawn. Like- I'm not lying, I drew all the blades in this series to scale relative to each other, and the panabas has by and large been the one determining how big my canvas needs to be. The edge is on the longer curve, the spine of the blade is thicker near the handle, and the handle is about as long as the blade (if not longer).

(Photo from Kristian Josef Acedo)

The form belies the function; it isn't difficult to guess how this blade is used just by looking at it. The name- if I'm not mistaken- is an even bigger giveaway. Panabas supposedly comes from "pang-tabas" which literally means "for chopping". It also goes by the name of nawi.

(Photos from Raymundo Lucero) As large as its reputation might be, the choppers aren't always massive. Their utility ranges from agricultural to combative to ceremonial, and the size and shape usually matched the nature of the work.

(Tools from Datu Paglas, Maguindanao)

(Photo from Dondon Dimpas)

(Exhibit at Museum of the Filipino People- biggest one) The panabas is most often attributed to the peoples of Maguindanao, though the range of its use and the variants of its make span across large portions of the Mindanao area.

(Antiques from the collection of Richard Hudson, size comparison with a kalis) A popular tale (especially amongst Filipino Martial Artists) states that the US Marines wore leather collars to protect their necks during the American Occupation in Mindanao, due to blades like these that gave the troops pause, and feel that the extra protection was necessary. Supposedly, this is where the term "leatherneck" came from. Although the veracity of this latter claim is a bit on par with the claim that the Colt .45 was invented specifically to stop the same Moro warriors, the story has already stuck.

(Antique from Lake Lanao)

(Photo from The Metropolitan Museum of Art) We touched upon "Traditional" blades last time, referring to blades made by the same people to whose cultures those blades belong. This time we look at the other side of the coin. "Modern" is the term collectors here often use to refer to reinterpretations, usually by modern smiths who are separate from where a blade traditionally belongs. The point of reference I used for "Traditional" blades before is a katana forged by a traditional Japanese swordsmith. If- instead- a white blacksmith in America were to forge a katana using their own smithing methods, that would be considered as a "Modern" blade under this categorization. I'll leave it to you to spot the differences in these next few photos:

Traditional panabas with a rattan ferrule (Photo from Lorenz Lasco)

Modern blades by Jun Deuna (Espanola) and RE Pandayan (Quezon) (Photo from Dennis Andrew Golez)

Traditional blades (Marawi and Maguindanao) (Photo from Dennis Andrew Golez)

Modern full-tang build by Traditional Filipino Weapons (I know who forged this but I won't doxx their location) (Photo from the TFW website)

Modern full-tang build by Batangas Armory (Batangas) (Photo from Job Abat)

Pair of panabas and a binuaya (leftmost) by Traditional Moro Blade, Maguindanaon (Maguindanao)

Say it with me this time! Blade culture is alive and still developing. Mindanao was never conquered by Spain- the fierce resistance of the Moros made sure of that- and again it shows in the blade cultures. Though the panabas is now popular enough to have modern reinterpretations made by smiths across the Philippines, the traditional panabas and the people who make them are still around.

(Photo from Iniingatang Talim at Kaluban, taken by Ramon H. Bathan)

One of the Five Major Mahamandalas of Gubat Banwa pays homage to and gleans inspiration from living cultures like those I mentioned here. Yes- I repeated the text from the previous installment, because it's equally true, here. Additionally, the panabas shows up as the iconic weapon of the Martyr- one of the 25 Disciplines (read: "character classes") whose moon-bright martial techniques you could pick up in-game. Anyway, go check out the Kickstarter!

The Gubat Banwa Kickstarter launches in 4 days! Check it out here:

Kickstarter

Coming soon: Gubat Banwa - SEAsian Martial Arts Tactics Fantasy RPG

A Drama and Martial Arts Tactics RPG set in the Sword Isles: a Fantasy setting inspired by the refulgent history of Southeast Asia.

Not long now- this is a very small team of creators from the global south knocking on your doors asking for help to get the word out. I truly cannot understate how small this team is, and how amazing it is that they've come this far- we just need a little bit of a boost! With your help, this grand ambition can be realized. We would greatly appreciate any help rendered towards getting more eyes on this game!

This is an incredibly sad thing to share but I feel like I have to. I’m not a defeatist but I don’t want to downplay the human toll, either.

I’d have to look up some words (it’s not in dialect) or have some help from someone better at this than me to do a better and more direct translation, but the gist of what Motaz is saying is that the pause has ended and it’s about survival now. He’s been transferred(? Moved around?) through all of it and he swears he’s done what he could in service of his country. He lives now in a new period of internal siege; there’s no escape from any direction. He is surrounded by Israeli tanks in central Gaza in a tragedy beyond imagination. He wants us to remember that Palestinians are not content to be consumed, they’re a people being murdered and a cause to protect from erasure…he ends with an expression of loneliness and abandonment and that’s why I can’t not share this. Those of us who are physically safe need to stay steadfast and keep pushing.