Live Chat on RPG.NET: Gaming Ballistic talks Dragon Heresy; Podcast Roundup
about 6 years ago
– Thu, Apr 12, 2018 at 08:19:07 PM
RPG.NET Chat
I was invited to come on to the RPG.NET Live chat tomorrow at 8:30pm Central Time.
To join: http://tinyurl.com/rpgnetchat
Log to be posted at: https://gmshoe.wordpress.com
RPGnet is a registered trademark of Skotos Tech, used with their permission.
If you're not dropping by to grill me on my Discord Channel, you can come by the RPG.NET chat tomorrow!
Podcast Palooza
Each of these is pretty worth listening to, even if I say so myself.
First, I was on The Established Facts with Derek Knutsen-Frey, whom I’ve gotten to know through the IGDN. We had a long chat divided in two parts: a bunch on Dragon Heresy, and then 45 minutes on game publishing as a business.
The always-awesome James Introcaso hosted me for a while on Table Top Babble, and we mostly talked about Dragon Heresy
Chris Sniezak and I got deep into the depths of the game mechanics
Jason Hobbs had me and Eric Farmer on at the same time, and our take was more broad. Can you do “martial arts” in Old-School systems? What does that even mean?
Matt Finch and I had a great chat, and he was absolutely enthusiastic about the materials, construction, and use of period weaponry, and egged me on effectively.
Finally, I was on with Nerdarchy Dave for a live discussion and chat, and I had a great time talking with him and taking questions
Live Chat with Nerdarchy Dave! Today at noon CST
about 6 years ago
– Thu, Apr 12, 2018 at 06:10:06 PM
I'm going to be talking with Nerdarchy Dave at noon CST about Dragon Heresy. Live chat!
Old Playtest Reports
about 6 years ago
– Tue, Apr 10, 2018 at 08:16:41 PM
Well. We hit 200% funding today. Thanks, everyone!
In the meantime, I wanted to link in some playtest reports from the game's development over on Gaming Ballistic, my blog. These vary from Level 1 through Level 7, but give a good feel of what I was going for when designing the game. Not everything is the same, but much is. One of the tests - Group 2 Dragon Heresy - was a deliberate attempt to use my "monster manual" to convert a GM's Guild module on the fly, with no prep. It worked very well.
Note that many of these playtests are old. Problems that cropped up (and they did, of course) have been fixed to the best of my ability.
Heretical Campaign 1 – The Ogre of Northpoint
Heretical Playtest: Group 3 gets dogpiled by orcs
Dragon Heresy: Group1, Session 2 – Bandit Camp
Dragon Heresy Playtest Report: Silent Village
Dragon Heresy – Group 2 Playtest 1: Palace of the Crowned Skull
Dragon Heresy Group 1: The Village is Secure
Quick Playtest Report: Group 2 Dragon Heresy
As you read through these, you'll notice that my grasp of the rules, and the content of the rules, firms up real hard towards the end. You can also see the emergent behavior of the system arise in terms of things like wound/vigor, shield use, reach being decisivie in one-on-one engagements, grappling as a viable option, and the difficulty of many-on-few encounters even with strong level imbalance on the part of the few.
$22,000 Stretch Goal Added: Even More Content
about 6 years ago
– Mon, Apr 09, 2018 at 08:05:04 PM
New Goal, Big Book
In response to a few comments off line, I have added a stretch goal at $22,000 that will plus the book up to 304 or 320 pages.
This would follow the coveted-by-me offset print run, and therefore be affordable (a 320-page POD costs more than the current retail price of the book).
Classes like rangers, paladins, warlocks, and rogues would be on the menu of options (plus a few more).
Basically, if we hit this, I'll put all of the content in a poll, along with wordcout. Y'all will vote, and I'll fill the book up to a maximum page count starting with the most popular and working my way down until the allotted page count is filled.
Is This Likely?
We're on a trajectory right now that is flirting with the offset goal. Right now, we're sitting at $6,640, which means if we average just shy of $500 per day, we'll hit the offset print goal!
That's only 9 backers per day at the current average pledge level; only 14 per day gets us to the "Even More Content" goal.
Total backers required? About 300 and 400 respectively. That's the same number that backed Dungeon Grappling for my first Kickstarter, and a bit more than that, and neither is the runaway success that 1000-2000 backers would indicate (more properly known as irrational exuberance given my current reach!).
So not only is it doable, it's very doable. If you guys want to help, you can reshare the podcasts and updates, or say nice things in front of folks that will read it. The power of the network cannot be denied. Also: chat up your Favorite Local Game Stores, as the KS has a retail option available for five hardcover copies that gets especially appealing to all concerned once we hit that offset print run.
Podcast Week
As I've said in this space before, it's kind of podcast week.
Last week THE ESTABLiSHED FACTS dropped, with Derek Knutsen-Frey
Today Table Top Babble went live. James Introcaso is always a great host.
For the rest of the week, you'll see me on Hobbs and Friends, Down with DnD, and Uncle Matt's D&D Studio, all of which were great conversations. I also pre-recorded a 'cast that will go live on Apr 21 on Shane Plays, and will be speaking to Nerdarchy Dave later this week.
If there are any other shows that might be interested in talking to me about Dragon Heresy . . . let me know. I'll find the time!
Page Count, Cosmology, and first review
about 6 years ago
– Sun, Apr 08, 2018 at 04:02:38 PM
A backer asked about the setting page count, and I thought it was worth explaining in more detail in a comment what's actually in the book.
I'm targeting a 3-5% wordcount reduction in the overall text during the editing stage to try and keep the book at 256 pages once the front matter, maps, Index, and ToC go in, so pages might shift a bit. But this will be a good guideline.
Not Exactly a Table of Contents
-
Introduction (1 page)
- Core Mechanics (9 pages)
- Generating Characters (1 page)
- Character Races (11 pages)
- Character Classes (11 pages)
- Character Backgrounds (7 pages)
- Beyond 1st Level (1 page)
- Equipment (12 pages)
- Campaigns/Adventuring (14 pages)
- Rewards and Treasure (3 pages)
- Magic Items (5 pages)
- Combat (18 pages)
- Damage, Rest, and Injury (6 pages)
- Conditions (2 pages)
- Magic (8 pages)
- Spells by Class (25 pages)
- The World of Etera (14 pages)
- OGL (1 page)
- Foes (100+ pages)
So that's what's in the book.
Cosmology Preview
There are a few things I've yet to do with this that will change a tetch by final entry, but here's a brief glimpse into Etera and the Nine Realms.
The World Tree and pathway between worlds, Yggdrasil maps
the ever-shifting flows of magic through the nine realms. One
can move through the realms by tapping into and following the
flows of magic, by being transported by Heimdallr’s Bifrost, or
by stepping through a dimensional rift.
The nine realms touched by Yggdrasil, the World Tree, are described below.
Realms of the Gods
The highest branches of Yggdrasil reach into the heavens, and
touch on the realms in which the most powerful beings in the
universe dwell.
Asgard. The home of the Aesir, and the seat of power of
Woden Allfather. Not all of the Aesir are on the level of Ziu,
Donnar, Valfreya, and Skadi (to name but a few), and travelers
can meet Aesir of varying power (See the Aesir section of the
Bestiary). Transit between Asgard and the Realms of the Field
is achieved via the Bifrost—a powerful teleportation circle over
which Heimdallr of Asgard stands eternal watch.
Alfheim. This plane or dimension is the realm of the Archfae,
and the home of at least the Winter Court. The Summer Court,
if it exists at all, might be here as well. This plane is not the
realm of the pocket dimensions of the lesser fae (svartalfheim),
though access to that realm is much easier from Alfheim than
other places.
Jotenheim. The “giant’s home” is the demesne of the elder
dragons, where they undertake their journeys of mind and spirit
as they slumber on their hoards. Even in their sleep, they are
active—and very dangerous—in Jotenheim. Encounters with
ancient and elder dragons can be expected, and their power is
as great as their motives and desires are mysterious. It is called Jotenheim because that's what the Aesir call it . . . and they were greatly disturbed when the Elder Dragons drove the giants from their Realm.
Realms of the Field
The middle branches of Yggdrasil contains the realms in which
the powerful lords of creation play their games—the playing
fields of the gods. This includes the world on which Etera sits,
and possibly many others.
Midgard. The home of Etera and the physical world. The sun,
moon, and the world are considered part of Midgard. The Astral plane, the realm of pure thought, interconnects the Realms
of the Field like vines weaving through the branches of a tree.
It is formally part of Midgard, as it cannot exist without the
thoughts, perceptions, and guidance of the living minds of the
world to create it.
Vanaheim. There is some mystery and argument over Vanaheim. The association of some of the Aesir, such as Yngvi
Lifegiver and Valfreya with magic, nature, and the cycles of
winter and summer are cause for debate over whether Vanaheim is the realm of magic itself, or if it is related to the spirts
and natural phenomena of the world. The animating spirits of
places and things that can be called forth that are not souls and
elementals. Others—a distinct minority—feel Vanaheim consists of parallel worlds, similar to Midgard but different in some
ways. The ethereal plane, the realm of alternates and interconnectivity between the physical and other, is part of Vanaheim.
Muspelheim. The plane of fire, and home to fiends. The Gods
are much more powerful than even the lords of the tyrann and
kvoldomur that rule over Muspelheim—at least on an individual basis. The fiends of Muspelheim are far more numerous
than the Aesir, Elder Dragons, and Archfae, and pose a real
threat to Midgard.
Realms of the Spirit
Here are the ephemeral planes and universes that stand in for
archetypes and non-physical journeys.
Hel. The realm of death, over which Halja has dominion
(but she commutes to work, and most often resides and can
be found in Asgard). The souls of the departed not selected to
dwell in Asgard awaiting Woden and Valfreya’s need are found
here. This is also the realm necromancers contact and touch to
create undead.
Niflheim. The realm of “ice,” so named after the first journeys
to this plane found a cold and inhospitable space, filled with
creatures of ice and frozen stasis. The name held, even when it
was discovered that other elemental essences also were found
here. This is where the fire, earth, water, ice, air and other elemental forces and archetypes originate.
Svartalfheim. The “home of the dark elves,” this is where the
base fae create their pocket dimensions and personal realms. It
is also an ethereal plane, and from here, most other realms and
worlds can be reached.
First Review
Larry Hamilton over at Follow Me and Die! likes reviewing my stuff. I like it when he reviews my stuff. So it's a good match. This won't be the only pre-release review of the material, but it's the first to be published. So check out FMaD!'s review below
DRAGON HERESY – A QUICK REVIEW
