Here are some random insights into the design and development process of Voshod. This, obviously, contains spoilers, so if you want to enjoy the game as a player, be careful.

• I am always tempted to put small mechanical gimmicks into my adventures. Cult of the Blood God has a mini-boardgame as a finale, and Voshod has the special encounter mechanic with the floating heads. Since Knave is mechanically simple, my hope is that these little extras provide delight and surprise rather than added tedium.
• While DMs are free to directly explain the Head Hunting mechanics to their players, I designed the opening scene, when the characters first glimpse Voshod and come upon the watchtower, in a way such that a lot of information can be learned in an immersive fashion:
  • The structure at the far end of the village is the temple (since it is the bandit's goal).
  • The floating heads patrol the skies and can raise destructive forces.
  • The temple grounds are dangerous territory.
  • Not even a well-armed, large group can cross the open grounds without getting destroyed.
  • The swine are not attacked by the heads.
  • The headless corpses are harmless unless alerted by the heads.
  • Helping the headless corpses with their re-enactment takes one head out of the equation.
  • Making loud noises attracts the heads.
• The Handlinger are lifted directly from China Miéville's Bas-Lag cycle where, if I recall correctly, they are some of the most fearsome enforcers of the regime. Thing from the Addams family also comes to mind.
• While "Neckromancer" is an admittedly quite silly wordplay, the character is actually based on a dream I once had that pretty much played out like the finale in the temple in the adventure and scared me shitless. Licopeo drew the character delightfully horrible, balancing the silly name quite nicely.
• The swine LEGION has its obvious reference in Christian mythology, where Jesus is supposed to have cast a demon into a herd of swine. I find hive minds and synchronized behavior exceedingly spooky.
• Vadym Kuranos is a "rot druid". In classical D&D, druids are always painted as neutral guardians of the cycle of life. But then they are always depicted with flowers in their hair, frolicking through lush groves. I was interested in exploring druids that are deeply focused on the other side of the wheel of life: rot, ruin, death, mold, mushrooms, fossils, oil.
• The NPCs, despite living in the sticks, have a rather erudite mode of speech. Here I was deeply inspired by Jack Vance's Dying Earth stories, although I could obviously never aspire to the heights of his prose. Neckless Nikolai's clan is directly inspired by the Busiacos from Eyes of the Overworld, who explain to Cugel the semantics of their name: "It is both our race and our family; we make no differentiation, being somewhat polyandrous by habit."
• The name Voshod and most of the NPC names in this adventure are Ukrainian, and I made an effort to give the document an Eastern European design touch. This is no coincidence. Russia's invasion of Ukraine has shaken me deeply, and I suppose Voshod is my attempt at both processing the daily horrors and atrocities of the war I experience from afar, as well as honoring the brave defenders on the frontlines that are also constantly exposed to the threat of destruction by floating observers. This is why whatever money I make from this I will 100% donate to charity. You, as a player or dungeon master, however, should freely enjoy this adventure as what it is: a grimly funny horror romp with quirky villains. Spare a thought, grab the dice, and have fun!