Deal of the Day: Starter Adventures!

Today my Starter Adventures is the Deal of the Day on RPG now.  The PDF is normally $7.99, but today it's only $4.  This is a great product to introduce someone into table-top RPGs.  I wrote this one specifically for folks who don't know a d20 from a ghoul.  A product that enhances what is fun and interesting in the game.  To hook newbies into coming back for more.

There are four adventure/situations for the the four main classes meant to be run one-on-one.  These scenarios will help a new player explore different aspects of the game.

There is a fully developed tavern filled with characters, secret doors and of course a basement that links into a sewer system.  Red Bear Tavern is a place where adventures begin, one ale at a time.

And the final piece is a full-fledged adventure.  After your newbies figure out that pyramid looking die is a d4, they can get busy being heroes. 

And to make it all come together, the incredible artwork by +Jason Sholtis and +John Larrey, the maps were created by my long time friend +Rob Conley and the unsung heroes of any written product, the editors +Tim Snider and my wife.  Any typos or grammatical assassination are on me because between those two they cleaned up a ton of my mistakes.

If you've had Starter Adventures in your cart or thought about checking it out, today is the day to do it.  If you have any questions about it, please just comment, Google+ me or email me.  I'll be glad to chat about anything gaming.

Flash Sale: Starter Adventures 20% Off to Match Lulu's 20% Off

Lulu is celebrating national splurge day.  They are offering 20% off of all print books by using the code SPLURGE.  I have matched Lulu's discount and lowered the price of Starter Adventures by 20%.  This deal is only good today.  So grab a print copy of Starter Adventures. 

The Winner is...

Wow.  I don't think I have ever gotten so many in-depth answers.  You guys out did yourselves.  If oyu haven't had a chance check out all the comments.  A lot of good stuff there.  Thanks to everyone who participated. 

Now on to the winner.  With a single roll of the die +Michael Prescott came up the winner for the dinged up copy of Starter Adventures.  I hope you enjoy.

Settings or Rules or Both and Why Not, Another Giveaway

+Erik Tenkar, the trouble maker over at his tavern region, posted a question based on a comment that +Michael S wrote in a response to a post about someone's critique of +James Spahn's very successful White Star (by the way James when is it going to be in print?).  The question is Where Should the Innovation Be - Rules or Settings?  Which was a response to Michael's comment,

Move beyond White Star for a moment... how do we encourage the next EPT? The thing that really goes beyond the same "orc and pie" or "dusty corner with 2000cp" ad nauseum? When do we get away from the D&D that has been trod and retrod and just "small changes" and really push for the stars? How do we encourage that, grow that? Do we focus on the reskins or do we take those really unique finds and give them the limelight?

Great questions.  As in all cases on this blog I can only answer for myself and what I prefer.  As is the entirety of the OSR we are all smart enough, creative enough to make the choices that suit us best.

While I am interested in new rulesets, recently I have been reading Torchbearer, I need to give Dungeon World a look, Heroes & Other Worlds, Basic Fantasy and I recently received a copy of The Burning Wheel RPG.  That's five rulesets I have sitting in a small pile behind me.  I've have dozens more sitting on my groaning bookshelves.   Even my favorite system, Swords & Wizardry, has different rules systems (Core and Complete) and within them there are different editions.  So for me, new rulesets is not what I'm looking for. 

A picture of someone else's groaning book shelves.

 However, I am always looking for ideas to improve the ruleset I prefer.  There are a few things in Torchbearer that I might try to staple onto my S&W game.  But will I run a Torchbearer game, probably not.  It's interesting, it's innovative (to me), but I'd rather stick to a system I am familiar with and add on to it.  Does that mean people shouldn't create new rulesets?  Absolutely they should.  There is a reason why my shelves groan with all those different RPG rulesets.  I read them like fiction.  For ideas.  And to see what goes on behind their GM screen. 

To me it's an artform.  Folks can draw a maps of the same place, paint a picture of the same object or write a story about the same event and all of them will be different.  To me, the interesting thing is to see other folks' interpretation.  I know when I am looking at other maps I steal from them all the time.  While I will never have the artistic talent of +MonkeyBlood Design, +Pär Lindström, +Gus L, +matt jackson, +Dyson Logos or +Simon Forster, I try to learn from them.  See how they do things.  Hoping to improve my own style.

That's what rulesets do for me.  Teach me another way of looking or approaching a ruling.  Options are always good to have.

Setting are something I value.  Again, not as a whole.  Even when I was a snot-nose kid with a head full of hair and still figuring out if the Weapon Speed rule was stupid or was I missing something.  I love new settings.  Again.  Read them like fiction.  Again.  I pick things out of them I like and place them into what I'm doing.  When I find a cool culture or religion I try to integrate it into my setting.  I've been connected with two recent Kickstarters that feature settings and backed a couple more.  And I'll probably back others as they come out.

Here's the thing.  Back when the original neckbeards were creating their thing there were very few of them doing it.  So if someone popped out a setting or ruleset it was significant.  Even through the 80's if something new like that popped up it was like a shiny new thing.  But today, and this is especially true of the OSR, people are creating innovative settings and rulesets all the time.  Can we see it clearly?  No.  So much comes out it is nearly impossible to find and them all.  The subject of White Star that started this conversation, James created something that has been lingering for a while, but he was the one who was able to grab this amorphous idea and mold into something usable for a lot of people.  That is all you can ask.

Alright, now to the giveaway.  I recently ordered a batch of Starter Adventures and one of the copies got a little dinged up in transport.  Here's how this will work, might make you work for it a little.  If you give me an opinion about the subject you'll get entered twice for the giveaway.  If you don't want to give an opinion, comment and you'll get a single chance. 

I'll keep the window open for entries until tomorrow morning sometime.  Say 12 EST on the 22nd of May.   I will then randomly roll to determine the winner.  

Starter Adventers, Sale Upon a Sale

Lulu is having a 30% off sale this weekend when you use the code: APRIL30.  So I saw some others matching that discount and I decided to do the same thing.  So I cut Starter Adventures print version by 30%.  BOOM!  If you've had it in your cart for a while or just doing a giant shop like I did, grab a copy, it's the lowest cost it has ever been. 

If you've got a player who is just starting to learn RPGs, Starter Adventures is a great product to have.  Short Adventure designed to assist someone learn the game.

Manor Sale Topped 100

Hey Guys, thanks a ton.  Since I put The Manor PDFs on sale for a $1 each, I've sold more than 100 copies since the 9th of December.  To be more exact, I've sold 121 Manor PDFs.  For a small time publisher dude like me it's fun to see those orders come in on email.

I'm keeping the sale up through Christmas.  If you want to grab a bunch of Manors for cheap you can still grab them for a $1 each.

Also, Starter Adventures has been doing very well.  My expectation were fairly minimal for this product due to the fact it is a higher sticker item and the print version is only available at Lulu.  I know when I shop at Lulu it's usually with a coupon.  But despite that, I wanted to sell at least 20 copies before the weekend and I reached that this morning.  I should be getting my comp copies from Lulu soon and I'll send those out to my helper dudes after Christmas.

I haven't done a sales report for the past couple months.  Not sure why.  Just forgot I guess.  I'll do a catch-up post and reveal the numbers.

Again thanks for the support, have a great weekend and get those gifts now man.  In fact, I gotta run.

Starter Adventures for Sale

Yesterday I received my copy of Starter Adventures from Lulu.  I was pleased with the way it turned out.  This is my first experience dealing with POD.  I tried RPGNow first, but found it difficult to navigate the print side of things.  Lulu was more user friendly.  Easier to get your book setup. 

This project took a long time.  Mainly due to me getting distracted by a different project or just plain laziness.  +Jason Sholtis and +John Larrey did all the the artwork you'll find inside.  They did an awesome job.  This was actually the first project Jason and John helped me with and these guys really went to town.  The cover was done by Jason.  He sorta tossed it at me and asked if I could use it for anything.  I looked at it and said, "That's my cover."  I love the twilight lighting, the orcs searching and the PC hoping whatever is in the bottle is going to help.

I had another OSR all-star assist me with this project, +Rob Conley did the maps.  I think I had him do six different types of trees for the one map.  I think he was ready to hit me with one of those trees.  His maps are always fantastic and pieces of art themselves.

Starter Adventures was thought up after a night of gaming with my wife.  I wrote it so folks could use it to introduce someone into the RPG hobby.  There are four adventures for each of the four main classes (cleric, fighter, magic-use and thief).  I wrote Starter Adventures to teach a person what die to use, some of lingo, that combat is not the only option, using magic items and so on.  Also inside is Red Bear Tavern.  Every adventuring group needs a place to hang out.  It's a pretty cool tavern if I do say so myself.  And the final entry is a full-fledged adventure to put those newbs to the test.

If you have any question, feel free to ask in the comments or email me. 

Lulu Print Link
Lulu PDF Link

RPGNow PDF Link

Starter Adventure Proof in Hand

As the title reads, I got my proof copy of Starter Adventures.  It looks good, but the cover needed tweaking.  The reds were muted.  That was my fault.  I used a textured red and it didn't translate well.  I changed it up with a more striking red that will make the words and cover pop a little more.  Ivy also said, "put your name on the damn cover, that's where it belongs".  So I added it at the bottom.  That's a light glare in the bottom right corner.

On the back cover, the picture's colors and reds were also muted.  I changed the contrast on the picture and that improved it.  Ivy also said, "put your blog address on the damn back cover, that's where it belongs".  So I added it at the bottom.  The upper left corner got dinged pretty good during shipping.

Here's a glance of what it looks inside.  It came out better than expected.  I'm happy with the guts of it.  And look at how +Jason Sholtis and +John Larrey and +Rob Conley made it look amazing.

A little trivia.  Jason drew a picture of stirges for me way back when this project started.  While this project languished in land of dust bunnies he needed a stirge picture for Frog God Games, Monstrosities.  It looks spectacular in those pages.  So Jason drew me a whole new stirge picture.  I think my stirges are scarier.

I absolutely love the map Rob drew for me for the adventure.  You'll find several masterful maps by Rob inside.  And Jason captured the final moment of an adventurer with an unfortunate name.

I tweaked the covers and submitted the changes to RPGNow and await their approval.  Last time it took six days.  I'm going to release Starter Adventures on PDF for $8 and print at $16.  If you purchase the print version you get the PDF for free.  I'm also going to see if Rob can create me a VTT friendly version so GMs can use it on Roll 20 or Fantasy Grounds without the room numbers.  This will avoid any complains from grumpy dwarves or metro-sexual elves. 

If you have any questions, please let me know.  You can email me, Google + me or just comment.

Starter Adventures Approved

Yesterday I got the okay from RPGNow to order a proof copy.  Ordered it ASAP.  Now I'm waiting on that.  In the meantime I need to go over to Lulu and do the same thing and get the PDF finalized.  I'm very excited about getting this done and out there.

Starter Adventures Sent for Approval and a Peak at the Backside Cover

Finally did it.  I sent in my files to RPGNow to get approval to get it printed.  Then I can order a copy of it and see how it looks.  That is if it gets approved.  I'm sorta flying blind here.  I tried to watch videos and read about the best way to do it, but most if it I didn't understand so I do what I always do, throw the manual over my shoulder and learn by doing.  We'll see.

Love the cover.  +Jason Sholtis sent me this one a while back wondering if I could use it for anything.  I replied, "That's my cover!"  I love the twilight hues of light against the trees.  It's also one of the scenarios in the book, The Last Potion.

While most of you know what the front cover looks like, he's what the backside looks like...and the backside of a goblin.  I think this picture sets the tone for the book, it is written with casual tone, a bit sarcastic in places and hopefully funny.  A goblin who moons the party while making smoochy noises is funny to me.

Project Updates

Lots of stuff going on over at the Manor, mainly its me been avoiding them.  Here is the status updates for my current projects.

Manor #6
All written.  Cover art done.  And it looks pimping good.  I'll share the cover later this week.  +Jason Sholtis got his pimp daddy on.  Needs a few more pieces of interior art.  Needs proofread.  And I'm having a printer situation.  More on that later.

Manor Compilation
Cover is done.  +Johnathan Bingham and his wife, Daisy, did an amazing job.  I am in the process of figuring out the POD stuff.  I think I may have the cover done, but not sure.  I tried to watch those frickin' videos, but they are all over an hour long and right now I don't seem to have the patience for it.  I need to though.  And  also have some tweaking to do to set up the entire manuscript.

Starter Adventures
Everything is done.  Art.  Writing.  Editing.  All I need to do is what I need to do for the Manor Compilation.  I need to get wise and get it done. 

On another front is my printer is vomiting yellow ink across everything.  I want to thank Epson for their quick and friendly response....bzzzzz....those wanks didn't help for nothing.  While I dug my Epson for a while, here is why there will never be another on my desk.  First, they refused to acknowledge the problem of their printer spewing yellow ink, even though there are many complaints about the same problem.  They wanted me to keep sopping up the ink with page after page.  A temporary fix.  In addition to that, when Staples would put out their coupons for store purchase, every-time Epson ink was excluded.  I could use it on any other brands, but Epson.  While my Workforce got me going its time to change it up and get something more reliable and more customer friendly.  I'm doing research on printers and I plan on getting a new one later this week.

And as an aside, I've now joined +Erik Tenkar's b-team, a S&W complete game that is exploring +Joseph Bloch's Castle of the Arch Mage mega-dungeon.

I've also joined +Douglas Cole's group for a GURPS campaigned called the Alien Menace.  The first game is schedule later this month.

All this is in addition to my regular Monday night crew.  +Chris C. is running his Ephemera campaign tonight.   We've wore out +Ken H and he needs a GM nap.  Right now, four out of the five of us, could pick up the GM reins and run with it to give the 1st string GM a breather.  

Starter Adventures to be Released...Finally

Last night I did an interview with Douglas Cole on his Gaming Ballistic blog and I decided to announce that I will be releasing my next product, Starter Adventures.  It's a project that has been on the back burner for a very long time.  There was a lot of starts and stops, but this time around I reached out and asked for help with the edits.  +Tim Snider came through.  I've gone through all the edits and finished them today.  I also went through and finished the layout today.  

I will release it in PDF and print.  The print will be done with the POD services available on RPGNow and Lulu.  I just need to get it formatted for POD correctly. 

Starter Adventures was made for people who are learning RPGs.  I've written four scenarios for each of the four basic classes.  Each of the scenarios teach something about the game such as the basics of combat, the importance of role-playing, problem solving and there can be many paths to solving a problem.  In addition to the scenarios, I've included a full mapped and detailed tavern.  Your new players will need to meet up some where.  And the last part of the book is a one-shot adventure once your new players get the hang of the game. 

I'm excited to finally be releasing Starter Adventures.  I'll update its status within the next week.

GM Games April Report

April saw the Mini Manor go out to folks for Swords & Wizardry Appreciation Day.  I don't have an accurate count of how many times it was downloaded because Dropbox doesn't do that.  So I just have my count from RPGNow.

April also saw GM Games get involved with d20pfsrd.com store selling PDFs.  I'm excited about getting involved with another store front.

On to the numbers for April.

Lulu
1 - Manor 3

RPGNow
2 - Manor 1
2 - Manor 2
3 - Manor 3
1 - Knowledge Illuminates

Print
2 - Manor 1
2 - Manor 2
3 - Manor 3
1 - Knowledge Illuminates

17 total units sold.

Free Downloads
26 - Cave of  Seijua
187 - Mini Manor (does not include possible DLs from Dropbox)


On to May
Manor #4 is nearly completed, but little work was done in April.  I've got it scheduled to release on or about the 3rd week of May.  All the art is in and it looks incredible.  Just have to finish my part.  As of now it looks like it will be coming in a 36 pages.  I bought another ream of 28-pound paper to really make it a nice zine.  So I need to get on it.

Also, I've released a couple copies of Starter Adventures to be playtested.  It will be my next project after I get issue #4 completed.  Starter Adventures is something I've had for a few years and haven't gotten it out yet.  I'm planning on getting it out this summer.  When I release Starter Adventures it will be in PDF and POD.  So production of it will be completely out of my hands which will be weird for me.  My long arm stapler may get jealous.

That's all for now.

Manor #3 Update

I've been working away on the 3rd installment of The Manor.  *looks at watch* Only a few months late.  I should have did it as a Kickstarter *rim shot*.  I'll be here all week.

Seriously though, I switched direction I was originally going with it.  It's half-way done.  I have two more pieces to finish writing and seeing if I can get a couple pieces of art.  The cool thing is Ivy did some of the artwork for me this time.  I'm excited about the progress and looking forward to getting it out into cyber land. 

I know there have been recent changes in postal costs.  Rev Dak who produces the DCC zine CRAWL! told me about the drastic increase in Canadian postage.  So some price adjustments will probably need to be made.  I'm not sure how much at this time, but I'll let you know.  I still miss my creepy butterflies.  They were the best.

This Manor will be like the rest in length, 24 pages long with a card stock cover.  I'm going with a paper brown bag cover.  The first entry in be a One-Shot Adventure for low level characters.  Although I may need to rethink it being a 1st level adventure because the more I looked at it the more I think it might be scaled too high.  But then again I like them when they are a little tougher.

To save some space in the print version, in the adventure there will are a group of NPCs so rather than take up space in print I am going to offer the PDF version free to those you order the print version.  That way you can download the NPC pages and get more content overall. 

I created a new banner for GM games.  Instead of using that as a blog I am going to use it as a store front.  I'm hoping that people will use it as a hub to get any of the stuff they want.  Right now I've got my adventure and zines available through me directly, RPGNow, Lulu and Noble Knight Games.  I'm working towards completing a larger project, my ever always working on Starter Adventures, but its very close to being completed. 

 Time for some snoozes.  Later.

Cleaning the Desk

Cleaning the my office table again.  Maps and half written adventures and crap I don't even remember getting it amongst the piles.  Sorting and organizing, throwing away and filing, lifting and wiping.  I've got pieces of the next Manor all over the place.  I have managed to pull together all my files for Starter Adventures, but found I have lots of work to do.

First off, I apparently used 9 font for the first half and a 10 font for the second half.  That irritates me to no end.  The wife says the font is still a little small.  Arg.

Second, I need to adjust the margins.  Inside margins need to be a bit bigger so when the book is bound you don't lose text into the center.

Third, I need to reformat the middle section.  The majority of the book is in a two column format and for the tavern section I did a single column thinking it would look okay.  After printing it I don't think it looks good mixing the two.

Forth, some minor writing needs done.  The last section of new monsters and magic items a few entries still need completed.

And lastly, I need to study up on how to transfer the file to Lulu and RPGNow to get it into book form.

I was looking at the prices.  I think my Starter Adventures will come in around 56 pages.  I see some of the prices have gone up.  I'm not sure what the price point will be yet, but hardly a concern until I get all my crap completed.

Editors, Luckily I have two on board for sure and a third I'm sure that will help clean up any sloppiness on my part.

And stop being distracted by all the other maps I find and wonder what I can do with them. The picture above is something I made messing around with Xara.  It's the entry way to the Temple of the Dead.  How can I not be distracted by this?

Map Transformation

I found this map in my ever growing file of not completed adventures I'm working on.  I sketched it for my Starter Adventures book to have Rob Conley work his magic.

This is the barrow tomb of a minor barbarian chief.  The adventure is called 'The Cleaner' because you as a thief are supposed to go in and poke around.  Sardwin the Sharp, your instructor in the art of thievery, says..

"A band of adventurers broken into one of the barrows.   They took their share of loot, but they always miss something.  None of us was with them.   I want you to go into the barrow and find what they left behind.  Sometimes they stash items for later."

 And so starts your adventure as a solo thief heading into a plundered tomb.  Here's Rob's purdy map.

We played around with the fill and I liked the tonal gray the best.  Rob did a damn good job of capturing the map feel I was going for.  Of course, how could be not, my sketch was to spot on and so lifelike it was spooky.

I thought I'd give people a peek at what they would find in Starter Adventures.  I'm happy with it and I will be getting it out the door this spring.  Just one of those projects I keep pushing back into a file and pulling out every so often.  Oh, and if that map isn't cool enough for you here is the artwork from Jason Sholtis that goes with it.  I think the title for this one should be, "Failed Save". 

A Good, but Quiet Week at the Manor

Quiet, but not silent.  Look at the excellent items I got in the mail last week.  I was going to do a review of them, but decided each needed its own spotlight so I'll do individual reviews of each one.  In short, they are all very good. 

Gaming is back on Monday nights.  We're taking a break from the d20 world and tossing 3d6s around for GURPS.  One session in and we're playing a small group of mercenaries in a land that resembles a mixture of King Arthur and The Game of Thrones.  And sprinkle in some LOTR also. 

Wednesday nights are gearing back up this week.  Trey is adding a couple players for his Weird Adventures campaign and we're switching from the Pathfinder system to the WaRP system.  I have no experience with WaRP.  Looking forward to seeing how it works.  And to get into more trouble and explore that wonderful City of Trey's.

Sales for the Manor continue to do well.  I think the first issue of the Manor is creeping toward a 150 sales.  And the second is slowly climbing toward a 100.  Not quite there yet, but its been interesting to see how many PDFs of Knowledge Illuminates has sold because of the Manor. 

Starter Adventures is pretty much laid out.  I'll be sending it to a couple proofreaders this week.  Then grab a few pieces of art from Jason and it should be good to go.  I'm hoping to get it released by the end of August. 

Well, time for work.  I'm looking forward to rolling some virtual dice tonight. 

Edits Are Done!

Editing is one of those jobs that is a grind.  Tonight I finished editing 90 pages of Rob Conley's upcoming adventure Scourge of the Demon Wolf.  There is a ton of stuff packed in that adventure.  I edited 90 pages of text.  I tried to break it up in smaller bites, but that didn't work out so I took big gulps and got it finished.  We'll go over it again once he does the layout and goes through the edits.  Just double checking that numbers match and are there.

With that behind me I can move onto my next endeavor.  Getting Starter Adventures complete.  I need to get a couple of pieces of art, of which I need to figure out what I need and then do I finally read through.  I'm shooting for mid to the end of August to get it done.

While I'm doing that I've got some stuff for the next issue of The Manor to write down.  I need to get it out of my head and on paper.  I've had a couple of idea banging around up there for a while. 

And lastly, the Monday night gaming group begins a new campaign.  Looking forward to it.  And I think this Wednesday Trey is starting up his Weird Adventures game again so I can break out Boris and has a shotgun full of fun.

Working on Starter Adventures

Yesterday I put in about six or so hours in working on Starter Adventures, mainly doing the layout.  With the artwork and maps and stat blocks and oh yeah the text, trying to find a good way to put the page has been a big challenge.  I fought my way through the introduction, cleric and fighter section and the adventure in the back is all set.  I had one of my little incidents again with Word closing on me and I lost about 90 minutes of work.  After a tirade of swearing I got back to it and ended up calling it a night when I got back to the place I had been before the loss.  Sometimes I swear this project is cursed, never had so many problems with Word.

Sections that need done:
Magic-User (4 sections)
Thief (4 sections)
New Magic Items
New Monsters
Red Bear Tavern
  - I need to get the map for this one.  I keep making them and losing them just as fast.
  - Need a few pieces of art for this.

Everything is written, except the magic item section which only need one more added.  Most of this is just layout now. 

Some of you offered to do some proof reading for me (Porky and Boric G) and I will be taking you up on that offer.  I would like to have one more set of eyeballs.  So if you are interested let me know.  Not only will it be for making sure my typos are no too obvious, but problems with layout they see or maybe something that needs clarification. 

And this one is just for Rob Conley, maker of maps, 5-4 I win!  Muhahaha.

Newbies to the Hex Crawl

In a week or so I plan to initiate a handful of people into the world of the hex crawl.  Some of them have a little experience with RPGs, but very limited.  Most of their experience is with card games. 

On average the players are 15 to 20 years younger than me which makes me feel fucking old.  But, it should be interesting if my GMing techniques can translate to the initiates.  One of the problems I've run into with younger players is they are terrified to make a mistake.  When given an open world to explore they get paralyzed with all the choices. 

Here's my plan.  And like all things I say and do are subject to change at a whim.

In the first session I will have a batch of premade characters and the players can choice one.  I considered having them roll up their first characters, but since there will be five to six players, only one rulebook and the probability of me needing to explain a lot of things, I decided to give them characters so we can get to the game.  If not the first session would be consumed with character creation and I really want to get them used to the dice and system. 

That leads me to what system I will use.  I am planning on using Swords & Wizardry.  I am leaning toward the core rules, but may decide on the complete rules. 

The first session will be me teaching them which dice are which.  Explaining the various things on their character sheets and then a brief practice adventure so they can get used to the game itself.  Prop wise I will be using a vinyl battle map and token figures (since I have no real miniatures).  I want to keep it simple for the first session so they can focus on learning the game and not on the do-dads. 

The adventure I'll be running is the one I made for Starter Adventures.  I need to playtest it anyway.  So this will be a fantastic opportunity to do it.