Bloodbane arose from a strong desire to write a pulpy pastiche of the standard Castlevania adventure, boiled down to a valiant man stepping up to fight a curse and invasion levied by a powerful dark sorcerer. Originally intended to be set in a secondary world, the story developed into a more contemporary setting, which brought in the less derivative and more amusing elements of improvised weaponry (see pic) and well-known cryptids.

No doubt influenced by the illustrious Misha Burnett, I wanted to explore a bit how an everyman can rise up with only his strength and intuition to take on supernatural evils. How much power and persistence can he derive from just the need to bore through any obstacle and get back to his family? And what might be able to keep him from getting back to civilization at all?

Along with this I developed the compulsion to synthesize all of the Castlevania and dungeonsynth music I was listening to (for ambiance) into an original soundtrack of my own for the story. This also served to support the project's overall aesthetic, being lofi and utilizing many chiptune elements, such as the C700 SNES synth.

All in all it was a blast to create and I've got many more ideas in mind should this subgenre of my personal brand perform well. If you enjoy pulp, Castlevania, or fantasy horror, please consider supporting Bloodbane with a book and/or album purchase!

What a horrible night to be invaded by psychos from the 65th Dimension.
Lance Cutfield just wants to get home to his wife and daughter.
But in his way stands a legion of Once-men, blood sorcerers, and countless foul creatures infesting the wilderness.
Lance must use his working man's strength, and every tool at his disposal, to bring the fight to his foes.
Little do these 'Baneborn' know, they've chosen a predator for their prey...

Quest of Lance is a pulpy gamelit adventure with very lite RPG elements.

Elements in this book:

Classic NES game story start with a fast pace.
Not-so-subtle nods to the Castlevania series, but with lots of variation.
Surprising alliances...
A simple, gear-based progression system.
Lots of combat.
Light crafting.
Subtle notes of Resident Evil and Metroid.
Light sequence-breaking.
A masculine hero.
Orbs.