Zine Tools: Affinity Publisher

I don't normally do these type of posts, but I think this one is called for. Anyone who knows me can attest to my ability to FUBAR programs/electronics/computers is nearly godlike. After my battle with Microsoft Publisher with my Hunters in Death Kickstarter, I jumped over to Affinity Publisher.

Ivy took over the printing process and used Affinity Publisher I was amazed at how much better it printed. It was a significant difference. Not to mention my frustration with MS Publisher dropping last sentences in table cells or randomly deleting artwork from my layout. I couldn't keep track of what it would do next to fuck up my zine. With Affinity, I...Ivy had none of those issues. 

As part of my initiation into Affinity Publisher I needed to do one of my micro-adventures. So I did. I found plenty of YouTube videos to assist me on my journey. And I finished my first one tonight. I'll do a read through tomorrow then release it.

One of the things I loved about the program is you can seamlessly go between Affinity Publisher to Affinity Photo to make adjustments. They have a third program called Affinity Designer which I have no idea what it does, but I'm sure it's great.

Price point? $50. Yup. You own it at $50. The other two are $50 each also. They have sales from time to time. So you could possibly get them cheaper. Here is a link to the site. I am not affiliated with Affinity in any way. Unless I have some long lost relative working there, but I probably wouldn't like them any way. Oh, the link...Affinity and Beyond!

Kickstarter Alert!! Phylactery 2

During this year's Zinequest Levi Combs of Planet X Games, Kickstarted The Phylactery. He kicked ass. He promised an Old School Heroic Zine and that's exactly what he delivered. Now he's doing a second issue, Phylactery 2, and this time he promising...

OSR-inspired material that is unavailable anywhere else, giving you an entire cover-to-cover zine devoted strictly to cool new adventures, quirky NPCs, wondrous magical items, marauding  monsters, fell locations, relics from beyond the mists of time and all sorts of heroic fantasy resources for your tabletop games.

This Kickstarter has four days left of this writing. Head over there and read about it for yourself. There is a lot of tantalizing details about its content and the amazing art.

And just to tempt you more, here's a sample from the first issue. Prepare to get pissed off if you didn't get a copy. Don't make the same mistake twice!

Joethelawyer interview Rob Conley and myself today. He's been wanting to do this for about a year ever since he figured out Rob and I have been friends for about 40 years.

Here's the Anchor link to Joe's podcast, No-So-Wondrous Imaginings. If you have a podcatcher I suggest listening to it on that. Anchor tends to suck.

Rob and I discuss our gaming history together. There is a lot of back pats and appreciation going on, but it's honest. Rob is good people and a good friend. And so is Joe. It was a fun interview. I learned a couple of things I didn't know.

I hope you give it a listen. And consider listening to Joe's other podcasts with his brother. They're hilarious. These two sit around a fire, drinking and smoking pot talking about D&D like excited 11 year-olds.

Hunters in Death is Done!

I put the final touches on Hunters in Death this morning. A final look through with fresh eyes. I can easily say this is the most work I've ever put into a writing project. Without my editors Joe and my wife Ivy and their persistence of wanting to go through it again, it wouldn't have turned out so damn good. They wanted it to be the best I could do. I'm glad I listened to them. 

The PDFs were sent to all those who pledged.

I've already begun the printing process. For some reason I thought it was a good idea to print from home. I'm printing 500 copies. I timed my printer, it takes 5 minutes and 15 seconds to print one copy. So after 43 hours and 45 minutes of printing, that's without mistakes, jams, or other creative things my printer likes to do, all the copies will be done. So guess what I'm doing this weekend?

I have about 450 copies spoken for. Once I get everyone's shipped I'll put the remaining copies up for sale. 

That's all for now. My printer needs my attention.

One of my favorite creators in the DYI/OSR community Glynn Seal has a Kickstater, Chewer of Fingers, with a few days left. It already blew past its funding goal and creeping up on the final stretch goal. I want to give another shout out to Glynn, I've backed him in many of his Kickstarters and every time he has exceeded my expectations. Glynn just does fun and interest projects.

His maps are fantastic. I study Glynn's maps to see what techniques I can steal. He didn't win his Goldn ENnie for nothing. 

The guy can draw also. Just look at this lineup of NPCs. Each mug has a distinctive look. And he has fun, pronounceable names! It's nice to run an adventure when you don't need a phonetic guide to pronounce the names correct. 

Let's talk about the buy in. I'm talking in dollars not pounds. PDFs run $8. Print copy is $24 plus shipping costs. This is sent directly to you, not a coupon through RPG Drivethru which costs you more. 

I need to mention his editor, they don't get enough love, Matthew Pook. He's edited many other offerings from Glynn. He does a top-notch job and a huge asset. 

Consider joining Glynn's campaign, Chewer of Fingers. Grab yourself a quality adventure.