Speak of the devil. Television that is. Television is the devil.

This week while prowling the forlorn recesses of eBay for out-of-print games and books, as I often do, I thought to myself:

*Self, I should track down a print copy of this.*

Coincidentally, not a day later, I saw the echoing announcements and reshares on G+ regarding something long awaited. This is now a Kickstarter and it already funded during its first hours:

Problem solved.

A Preview of Far West. Finally.

After two years since funding and numerous delays and projected delivery and delays again (and again and again), it seems Far West is finally on the verge of release. Update #81 links to a 65-page preview consisting of the first five chapters in completed art and layout format. This was a step that should have happened months ago if Adamant Entertainment had the partly completed layout draft, but there could have been many reasons why this was not feasible before. At a glance, the layout is clear without being bland. It uses a parchment background that does not interfere with readability, unlike other books and PDFs that use extensive watermarking. Art is of the expected style and variety, including the piece inspired by the lumpy mug of this patron (I'd use the term 'anti-photogenic'). I haven't looked at the actual rules and setting content yet.

When the final file is sent to Cubicle 7, they should by all accounts work the full book through their approval process in short order. I expect it will be release to backers not too far from now. This is the most significant, verifiable update in the two year history of this project. While the 65-pages sent look to be complete, the Table of Contents reveals the rest of the sections afterwards (from around page 78 onwards) possibly remain in a state of layout flux as they're denoted with the dreaded XX page marking. Hopefully the book is further along than the current selection because the ToC lists about twice as many sections in total as shown in the preview.

The first funded Kickstarter I backed is finally drawing to a conclusion and it looks to be at least a satisfactory result (like I said, I still have to read it). Despite delays, health issues, and staff changes, something could be said about completing a project. When the full book finally proliferates to all the backers, maybe we'll get the post-mortem the much-beleaguered game designer/developer said he would write so he can tell his side of the story. Until then I await the full product.

A New Year

We've shot way past this didn't we?

Welcome to 2014.

We're a 111 years (give or take) from the flight of the first airplane, a hundred years from the start of World War I, thirty years beyond the dystopia of 1984 as imagined in '48, and five years after the Near-Apocalypse of 2009, by some reckoning.

It's a new year and with it comes resolutions I'll probably procrastinate and second guess.

Hey everyone running down their list and will actually follow through with cool gaming-related stuff. I'll put up my list of wishful thinking.


Kickstarter: The Dissection
I'll continue to ramble about things that arrived from Kickstarter projects and discuss things that have fewer sightings than blind terrestrial rodents on days other than Groundhogs Day. 

Pathfinder: The Butchery
I'll make some attempt at posting junk for the Pathfinder system because the system is satisfyingly crunchy I won't be able to avoid breaking some eggs just to join in the cacophony.

The D20 Detritus Deluge
In which I will delve into my growing collection of materials from the D20 boom ... and examine it. What is it? Is it any fun? What is it doing on my shelf anyway?

Let's Read: The Forgotten Realms Campaign Boxed Set (2nd Edition)
Why 2nd Edition? Why not! There are plenty of defenders for the Old Grey Box (1st Edition version) as to the setting's old school credibility. I'm not going to say that continues with the second version, but it was my first introduction to the setting and I found it enough to make me a fan of the setting. I've learned much more about world building in the years since and I've grown quite sick of the more recent stuff. We'll see how it holds up.

Pseudo-Projects
I wouldn't get my own hopes up for these, they are so far term they make the Realms Beyond feel cozy and proximal.

~ The Homebrood
A mutating homebrew setting that probably isn't anything like I originally started out with.

~ Realmsfinder
A related carnage to the above mentioned Pathfinder butchery. An attempt to convert to Pathfinder some elements of the now Misbegotten Realms liberally mixed with Golarion and Midgard, perhaps hammered out into a veneer of a setting which is not much worse than the Realms people paid money for. It's not the setting you deserve, it's the setting composed through market research and misplaced 4xtreme post-90s angst. We have low standards on this blog.

~ The Vicious Coil
Continuing the snake-themed world building from the random races experiment of yesteryear.

~ Glamouriana
A dark fantasy side-project drawn from the remnant ichors of the discards above. Or basically me cobbling a lot of crap together into something weird in the absence of creative ideas. An Elizabethanesque swashbuckling and sorcery clockpunk setting with mythos elements diluted into pre-deluvian seafaring bloodlines in overt competitive intrigue against a faux Europe.

~ Project 44
A vestigial outgrowth of the mess above. A sci-fantasy setting where 'unspace' alters the people traveling through it but presents the only feasible method for interstellar transportation. Our intrepid explorers meet strange races in the dark cold void of other space. Weird shenanigans ensue.

~ Liminal Verge
Coming from an extensive time in freeform PBeMs, I've always wanted a way to frame freeform games in some semblance of non-arbitrary action resolution. This is intended for a near post-scarcity, humanistic, cyberpunk lite, space opera that pretends to be thought-provoking science fiction. Not that any of this matters as I know most participants in such games and the associated setting universe would rather wank poetic in their debauched freeform decadence.

Indeed as the list of projects progresses, I have a diminishing notion of how I'm going to even approach them. Though, it was a blast to give them evocative or ominous monikers.

Kung Fury

Yes, please!

Currently funding on Kickstarter: Kung Fury

Also check out the SoundCloud pages for the people responsible for the movie's awesome faux '80s soundtrack: Mitch Murder and Lost Years.
They've been doing this for a while.

Kickstarter Round-Up: (Post) Christmas Edition

Right around Christmas Eve and even onto Christmas day, I've been bombarded by Kickstarter messages and announcements. A number of Kickstarter projects took the days of high Christmas to get some of their affairs in order. Mostly I received advanced-stage preview of their progress with some projects even choosing to time their full digital distribution of rewards to coincide with the holiday gifting tradition.

>> Some of the significant ones sending digital rewards include:

Ultimate Psionics

Dreamscarred Press sent the full 450 page PDF to their backers Christmas Eve. I've followed their updates with interest and they've each been comprehensive. Though a bit delayed from their original estimated delivery date, the project overshot their goal by a considerable amount and the project grew in scope. The wait was worth it as the final product is packed with psionic goodness for Pathfinder.

The book has professional quality layout (right up there with Paizo and WotC) and filled to the brim with full color images (again comparable with the M.O. of much larger companies). Another bonus is the PDF has been optimized to the point where a 450 page file loads and scrolls as smooth as books one-tenth its size without noticeable sacrifice in visual quality and clarity. Understandable as the file size is on-par with those much smaller yet unoptimized books. More companies should go the extra step to streamline their digital files. It makes the electronic file run better on tablets especially, which find their way to the game table (where a supplement wants to be).

Ballpoint Universe (originally College-Ruled Universe)
Not a tabletop game but a computer game in the "Schmup" genre using graphics derived entirely from drawings done in ballpoint pen on college-ruled paper (thus the name). I backed on a whim based on the art style in the second quarter of 2012. After a steady development phase, the game was sent in a thumb-drive months ago but the designers continually cleaned up the gameplay and added features. Once the game was up on Steam, the project created sent Steam Keys to the backers. I considered this complete with the delivery of the flash drive, but having a Steam key means I have an 'perpetually' updated version on my account, keeping the game relevant in my library. Ballpoint Universe receives a well-deserved "Got It" check mark.

Lady Sabre and the Pirates of the Ineffable Aether
The project creators (Greg Rucka, Rick Burchett, Eric Newsom) sent all the digital files to backers, including the graphic novel, the supplemental gazetteer, maps, desktop icons, wallpapers, and graphics. Physical rewards will go out around early Spring 2014 once they print and get prepped for shipping.

>> Other projects have technically shipped, but are using the holiday update to announce improved functionality or content.

Quantum Flux (formerly Spacial Flux)
This was a rogue-style wandering spaceship game. The project funded by a relatively low amount. Knew it was going to be a long shot even if it relied mostly on textual interactions with graphical enhancements. Project creator with the help of another party more established in game production managed to get this to a working Alpha/Beta stage. Then the project was handed over to the third party as a Beta and will continue development from there. This v1.0 (technically finished, but still Beta-y game) was the version uploaded to patrons this week. It's functional if not exactly as smooth as expected from a finished product. Not a bad effort for the funding level. I backed it at a low tier to throw some support for indie developers, and partly because FTL sparked my interest in rogue-like games. Hopefully as this gets onto steam and other platforms development will refine the game as its profile rises.

Takedown
Sent out an update showing DLC in QA testing. This tactical shooter barely met its funding goal in early 2012. About 18 months later they launched their product and sent Steam keys to backers. The game was unfinished to say the least and its reputation took a hit. Rather than abandon ship after such an incident, the company has continually improved on the game, fixing bugs, cleaning up game play, and adding new areas. While I haven't kept up to date with the project, it is good to see the company owning up to their project and hammering away at the game. Maybe something decent will come of this someday, but for now, this remains an example of the difficulties of crowd-funded indie games (and I think developer Serellan even got help from publisher 505 Games).

>> Other projects don't have their primary reward ready for digital consumption, but they have offered a related gift to backers for their patience.

Shadows of Esteren - Book 2: Travels
After rapid fulfillment of the first two books of Esteren, a French medieval horror RPG translated to English, Agate Editions went for a Kickstarter for Book 2. The following for these lavishly illustrated and beautifully produced books has grown with each book and the scope of Book 2 grew. This was all accounted for in the Kickstarter with the fulfillment dates updated and split up before the project ended. Still the wait for the completion of Book 2 is longer than for the others and Agate Edition offered up downloads of Book 1 to backers who didn't already have it with the encouragement to share one copy if a backer already has it. This was a nice gesture to their fans, but also a good way to grow their audience. A game lives only if people play it.

Deluxe Tunnels & Trolls
Deluxe T&T has been delayed for a bit and for the last few months, backers have been getting DTRPG coupons for free T&T modules. In May we received Buffalo Castle, in July City of Terrors, Saving Fang in August, and Dungeon of the Bear on Christmas. These are mostly older modules scanned into PDF or recently expanded upon. Nothing matches actually having the core rules in hand, especially since this is my first copy of T&T, but it is a nice gesture to keep the craven masses occupied and is a good use of their substantial back catalog.

>>And finally we get previews almost as good as the final product.

Guide to Glorantha
Moon Design Publications sent a 346 page backer preview for the holidays. If this is indication of the final product, as it looks like a partial layout and some completed graphics and images, this will be a tome to behold. Showing completed chapters is doing previews right no matter how much more work you have to complete.

Adventures in the East Mark - The Red Box
Sent out the text of the translated rulebook to backers. It's a good start for people curious about the game system sans any layout and art.

Via Singularity & Co.:

Calling all NYC (and surrounding area) RPG and table gamers! 

THIS WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 18:

Singularity & Co. presents 'Secrets of the Lost Tomb' Game Night with Everything Epic Games. 

Singularity & Co. invites everyone with a love of pulpy adventure and thrills to join us and special guest Everything Epic Games as we showcase and play their new game, 'Secrets of the Lost Tomb' (currently running their own ALREADY FULLY FUNDED Kickstarter - http://kck.st/1cmO3sX). 

Players will be transported back to a thrilling 1930's adventure universe, complete with collaborative play and brilliant artwork - 'Tomb' truly is a unique game of action and discovery! 

Email to get on the player list: chris@everythingepicgames.com 

Where: Singularity & Co. Bookshop , 18 Bridge St, Brooklyn, NY 11201 

When: Wednesday, December 18th, 6:30 - 10:00 (if you survive that long...) 

How much: FREE! 

Check out Everything Epic Games for more info about this awesome game: http://www.everythingepicgames.com/

Can't argue with FREE.

Would love to attend a gaming event in my area, but the time is smack dab in the middle of finals week. We'll see.

Updates from Project Eternity, Wasteland 2, and Shroud of the Avatar

Obsidian Entertainment sent an update through their Project Eternity Kickstarter yesterday announcing the official name of their game: Pillars of Eternity.

Along with some housekeeping pledge management site update stuff they included their new logo:

Good color choice.

More importantly, they posted a trailer using the in-game graphics, noting some of the animation is being refined.

Seems they're making good progress.

Not to be outdone, Wasteland 2 posted Update #40 this evening announcing the beta release for Windows to their backers.

Not to be left out, Shroud of the Avatar: Forsaken Virtues also put up their Update #40 with details for backers on accessing their beta release.

Hmm, odd that, both Update #40.

I backed both Wasteland 2 and Project Eternity Pillars of Eternity. Though I missed Shrouds of the Avatar, I will likely pick it up on release. These are some of the biggest gaming projects funded on Kickstarter. It is good to see them making significant strides towards a finished release.

In fact, it is fundamental the games resulting from these projects turn out to be good in order to demonstrate multi-million dollar crowdfunded computer games from established companies or with the involvement of influential industry veterans are viable alternatives to the big publisher funded titles. Here's to them, may they succeed for the sake of these old school style CRPGs and their own company health.

Kickstarter Roundup: The "Got It!" Edition

Kickstarter updated the Backer History page for each user's account, including a handy check box marked "Got It!" if the backer deems the project completed. Clicking on it neatly marks the project with a Kickstarter-branded green check mark, which apparently also denotes a similar indicator on the project creator's list of backers.

As some participants in the Kicksnarker G+ community expressed, it's not as functional as a custom spreadsheet tracking all the details of each project, and I agree. However, I think it's still a useful bit of functionality that was a no-brainer to implement on Kickstarter's part, since the Backer History is already a comprehensive list of a backer's pledged projects. It's also a useful method for them to gauge backer satisfaction and project completion rate.

I went through my list and checked off completed projects. Due to the binary "Have It/Don't Have It" choice, the results show a drastic difference from my own spreadsheet, which included remarks for partial fulfillment and itemized rewards. When made to distinguish the Got It as fully complete projects only, my count of satisfied projects drops precipitously (granted a number of them are recent projects).

It can be disheartening to see, but considering the successes I've backed, I still think Kickstarter remains a useful system to fund projects. I feel it was worthwhile to see the good projects come to fruition rather than to dwell overlong on the tardy ones and the outright failures. Not that the missteps are forgotten.

So who are the winners who earned their green check marks?

Limiting this to my tabletop gaming related projects only, else the full list is much longer. In order of backing they are as follows:

Journey to the West: Pathfinder RPG Voyage (Kobold Press/Open Design): Physical goods received as well as one oversized PDF stretch goal. There is one outstanding PDF stretch goal, but seeing as the other PDF grew to three times its original size and the last PDF book is in editing (it too is larger than promised), I consider this fulfilled far beyond the content promised. I saw some backers comment it took longer than expected, but seeing as this involved an elaborate and rigorous pitch-and-design process it came in well on time by my reckoning.

Castles & Crusades: Classic Monsters Manual (Troll Lord Games): This was completed on time, but I missed the survey and for some reason my books were "lost" for a while. An email to Mr. Chenault easily resolved that after a time as the books were shipped back to him from another backer possibly with a similar name (a lesson on my part to keep tabs on my questionnaires, and thus my KS spreadsheet was born). I received the books with personalized notes. The Troll Lords rock as far as I'm concerned with this project.

It Came From the Stars: Bringing the Weird to Pathfinder RPG (Zombie Sky Press): Was fun to read the development process as project creator and lead designer Scott Gable and company used a system similar to Wolfgang Baur's Open Design. The resulting book and PDF are a beauty to behold (a weird alien beauty).

D-Day Dice Board Game(Valley/Radiant Games): This exploded from stretch goals and I received a lot of stuff from this, quickly too. I'm pleased with the product. I've heard Valley/Radiant Games and its owners have gotten into some legal strangeness with another of their funded Kickstarter projects to reprint an older game. Even then, from the updates of that other project it looks like they may have resolved the issues and are moving forward. Didn't back the other one, just know that D-Day Dice went smoothly and one of my earliest backed (and received) projects.

Zong Shi (Gryphon Games & Eagle Games): Backed this on a whim, liked the concept, and it arrived at my doorstep before I realized it had even shipped. This was the first Kickstarter product I received. Gryphon and Eagle Games have about 25+ games completed or ongoing, all funded by Kickstarter. From what I can tell, they're pumping out board and card games at a rapid rate. When one project concludes they have another project up shortly (or even concurrently) at the same time they are manufacturing others or shipping another. They function like a well-oiled machine (maybe a bit too prolific in some ways) with a comparably minimal of delays (as far as I can tell). I haven't backed another of their projects yet, but usually at least skim their new projects. Some companies are really putting Kickstarter to good use and Gryphon/Eagle aren't the only ones, but they've been doing this for a couple of years now on KS with some success.

Artisan Dice (Artisan Dice): One of the original (if not the first) wooden dice makers on KS. I received my sets. They work well enough but I got them for the novelty and as a gift for a friend (again novelty). I heard some of the more exotic woods could not be machined and that led to a few disappointed backers, but for the most part the dice have been shipped to most backers (as far as I can tell).

Quicksilver Worldbook for Pathfinder (UNIgames): A company with Jeff Dee's involvement, this was a weird fantasy setting with psionics and living liquid metal. After some delays (not even considerable by KS standards), I received the book. A spur of the moment backing and I haven't given the book more than a thumbing through. It's nice enough at a glance. 

King For a Day (Postworldgames): Similar to above, backed for the hell of it, looked interesting at the time. After some delay got my book and PDFs. Project delivered and it looks like what was pitched.

Midgard Tales: 13 Pathfinder Adventures (Kobold Press): This resulted in a beautiful hardback of adventures. Stretch goals also gave backers an adventure by Wolfgang Baur and a Legends of Midgard supplement. All of them look great. The only outstanding product owed is the standalone Freeing Nethus adventure, but it's in editing last I heard. I consider this more or less complete. As the expanded adventure for Nethus was a stretch goal and we're gotten several already, and I've never been owed anything I paid for by KP, I expect the last adventure to ship soon/eventually. The main hardback grew larger than originally planned (maybe a stretch goal was in there somewhere), so there's plenty to chew through in the meantime.

Adventures Dark and Deep: A Curious Volume of Forgotten Lore (BRW Games): One of the positive legends of tabletop RPG Kickstarters. This arrived as projected or was it early!? Joseph Bloch (BRW Games) continued this success with the rest of the ADD books, each one earlier than projected. Unfortunately, I didn't make it in on the other ADD Kickstarters before they ended, my brain fumbled its save vs fascination with other inferior KS projects, backed losers instead of winners. I do have the ADD Players Guide hardback incoming from DriveThruRPG, hopefully that will make me feel better.

Traveller 5th Edition (Far Future Enterprises): Received this a while ago. The game is a bit dense and I'll probably never play any version of Traveller. I do like the dice included as backer swag.

Rappan Athuk (Frog God Games): Went for the whole festering demon horde on this one, add-ons galore. Besides the main book and stretch goals, I got Slumbering Tsar, some Necromancer Games modules, the Tome of Adventure Design, and the City of Brass Boxed Set. They all arrived within a reasonable estimated delivery time and well packaged. Due to the positive experience here, this was not my last dealing with the Frog Gods.

Dungeon World (Sage Kobold Games): This gem arrived without any fuss, then exploded in popularity on my gaming news and social feeds. Love the little supplement booklets that came with it.

Ace Detective: Storytelling Game (8th Summit): Got this for the use of pulp detective artwork from Black Mask. The art is unrivaled in atmosphere for obvious reasons. I also liked the detective theme. The game looks sharp and comes with a Mythos investigation expansion too.

Shadows of Esteren: A Medieval Horror RPG (Agate Editions, Studio 2 Publishing): Esteren came out of nowhere (well out of France actually) and seized attention with its gorgeous award-winning art and production. Aside from the art, the atmosphere of the setting is dark and foreboding, which is supported well by the visual design. Haven't the chance to play the game yet unfortunately.

Tabletop Forge: Virtual Tabletop for G+ Hangouts (Tabletop Forge): Okay, marking this as complete might be controversial as Tabletop Forge imploded before a fully functional version could be released. The updates go into detail. I don't consider this a lost cause because the creator salvaged what he could from this by investing the existing TTF efforts into competing virtual tabletop Roll20 (also a Kickstarter funded project). As I understand it, much of the funds went to (besides KS & Amazon's cut, expenses, taxes and the like) fulfillment of backer perks (gaming PDFs, maps, game time with designers).

Backers of TTF were incorporated into Roll20 as if they were charter members of Roll20's own Kickstarter with the perks that come with that. Essentially, TTF became a second crowdfunder for Roll20. Most of the art and map assets were introduced into Roll20. Since they were owned by their respective artists anyway and they could sell it at the Roll20 marketplace, they weren't left to dry either. TTF might have died, but it made Roll20 stronger. I also received my non-TTF perks from this project, a bunch of books in PDF format and a custom world map for my use as a homebrew setting map. To date it is one of the most unique Kickstarter rewards I've received.

Bulrup: The Mystical Card Game of Abstract Agriculture (Stonescrye Games): An interesting little card game, another impulse backing, liked the agriculture theme and simple but effective art design. I think it was just the designer and one artist's effort, maybe with some help from friends here and there. This was one of the smoothest projects I backed proving a small outfit can achieve success if they're organized and serious (and passionate) about their project.

Numenera (Monte Cook Games): Numenera delivered a sci-fantastic setting wrapped around Monte Cook's new d20-descended Cypher System. Monte set up for one book and ended up funding an entire product line, all before D&D 5E reached a suitable beta release. With his friend Bruce Cordell signing on to the company and leading development of another game, The Strange, based on the same system, Kickstarter has helped these industry veterans launch a new company with top-notch production values to compete on stronger footing in a market with entrenched gaming titans.

Reaper Miniatures Bones (Reaper Miniatures): Along with everyone else and their dog, I went in for at least the Vampire package. I now have more minis than I know what to do with and more than I can ever hope to paint. Probably the greatest relative value of all.

Swords & Wizardry Complete (Frog God Games, Mythmere Games): Probably one of the better values in Kickstarter I've backed. Came away shortly after with a beautiful hardback for S&W Complete, a hefty Monstrosities book (did not dawn on me how big a tome this was until it uncovered it from the shipping box), and some adventures. Normally more of a Pathfinder or 2E person, but if I had to choose an OSR game, it would be S&W, due mostly to this Kickstarter (and its association with FGG's dual system support). S&W Complete is also 'advanced' enough to make an easy segue for my 3rd edition-centric habits.

Art of Brom (Flesh Publications): Not technically a gaming project, but it's Brom who defined a good portion of my favorite gaming products growing up. The book is magnificent in reproducing some of Brom's best and most iconic works. This launched, concluded, and most importantly distributed early enough for me to get another copy as a Christmas present for a friend. I've backed a few art books (and comics) and many will miss the holiday season. I can never rely on a project as a gift until I have it in my hands. Fortunately, Art of Brom had everything ready beforehand.

Fate of the Norns (Pendelhaven): Didn't know anything about the game going into this project, but apparently it's been out for 20 years, this was for the anniversary reprint and update. Anyway, the art style attracted me to Fate of the Norns more than anything, that and the Norse theme. Believe it or not, this was another project mistakenly shipped to another backer and this time I filled out the survey. I discovered this when the project creator contacted me to check if I received my package. This initiated the process to correct the shipping issue and I received my book and runes not long afterwards. I appreciate the project creator touching base to make sure everything was alright which informed me of the problem and they were quick to fix it. Good follow up and customer service.

Tenra Bansho Zero (Kotodama Heavy Industries): A RPG playing with Japanese influences actually written by Japanese designers, with a translator who treats it as a passion project? Sure I'll give it a try. Tenra delivered and the project creator kept in steady communication throughout the process. Books look great, came with cool a bunch of kanji dice (pretty unique from my other dice), some supplemental player cards and GM reference sheets and book marks, and a manga. Stretch goals had some PDFs, which are in development, but I have confidence they will be completed. The books are out, people are playing the game, that's what counts.

Shadows of Esteren Prologue (Agate Editions, Studio 2 Publishing): Like the previous Esteren project, this arrived before I realized it shipped. The production values and art remain 'Triple A' quality. Due to the success of their third KS project, the Prologue PDF is now available as a free downloadable intro to the game. This is an excellent way for a game to gain traction and this is all due to efficient use of crowdfunding.

Fate Core (Evil Hat Productions): Fate Core set a high standard for value, timeliness, communication, total transparency, diverse ideas and settings, and low cost of entry for all Kickstarters to come (or since). It's almost unfair to other projects to have this bar of quality looming over them. Fate and Evil Hat are like the Master Race of Tabletop Gaming, but aren't snooty enough to rub it in people's faces (I jest, but only partly). Aside from a producing a cool system and a bunch of settings, I like that the people involved highlight the amount of work it took to reach their level success and the insane costs of shipping. Listen and learn from the best, future Kicksterterers.

Sorcerer Upgrade (Adept Press): Got this more for the influence of the game than plans to play it, but never know, this is actually closer to what my game-conscious friends prefer in an RPG than the more D&D type games. Backed and received the books with good communication from the project creator.

Ehdrigohr: The Roleplaying Game (Council of Fools): The game with the most creative ambiance and less-tread cultural influences I've encountered on Kickstarter without heading into gonzo territory. The setting was realized vividly with distinct art and strong prose. The book is in full color too, unusual given the inexpensive backing levels. Where others do that and crash, Council of Fools delivered all the while with enough updates to keep backers apprised of progress.

Razor Coast (Frog God Games): The infamous Razor Coast project, already a failed pre-order from Sinister Games during the early days of Pathfinder. After a long absence, the setting creator appeared suddenly one day with an apology and with another supportive freelancer acting as a mediator, who handle his refund account for him with disgruntled preorderers. Then it was announced FGG had purchased the rights to the project. While FGG hit a snag with the full color printing and overseas logistics, they managed to pull everything together and get the books out before or around Gen Con 2013 (from start to finish still faster than a lot of other KS projects). Problems can hit the most experienced and organized of companies, but what separates the good ones from the ones who end up being the topic of snark is that the professional companies deliver in a reasonable time in spite of the setbacks (or deliver at all). Razor Coast shows us late is a viable alternative to never, all things considered.

Dungeon Roll (Tasty Minstrel Games): With custom production molds for dice with non-standard symbols and a game box in the shape of a treasure chest (or the awesome KS exclusive mimic monster box) I thought for sure this would be delayed beyond all reckoning. Fortunately TMG demonstrated they are in control of their production schedule. Shipped through Amazon, which I heard was not timely for other backers, but worked well for me. I received a very cool game with the aforementioned unusual aesthetics. The instructions included a few blatant typos, which was unfortunately given the brevity of the document, but the quality of the other components is solid.

Mage Tower: Tower Defense Card Game (Super Mega Games): Hassle-free project, backed and received on time. Helps the product was ready to go from their contracted print/production company.

Lords of Gossamer and Shadow: Diceless Role-Playing (Rite Publishing): Rite Publishing approached the Lords of Gossamer and Shadow Kickstarter with an interesting setup. Most backer tiers contribute only to the game's development (editing, art, layout, stretch goal PDFs). For the medium tiers, acquiring a print book is offered as an at-cost coupon through DTRPG. Some might say that's backwards, paying for a product twice. This actually offers the most transparent way to deal with rising shipping costs, else the project creator would just incorporate the print & shipping cost into the tier's price and then roll the dice hoping shipping or production costs do not explode in the meantime. I'm comfortably backing the middle tier knowing I'm paying for development costs and stretch goals. Together with the at-cost print and shipping, backing the project still cost less than other projects with exclusive hardcover tiers.

Majus: A Magic Noir Pacesetter Game (Goblinoid Games): Backed and received shortly thereafter. If only all projects were handled so smoothly.

Short Order Heroes (Calico Games): Another one that shipped before many projects of similar scope or projected schedules.

Torchbearer (Burning Wheel): This one was easy as well. The resulting book feels at once like it would fit amongst the old editions, but with a subtle modern/deluxe flare to it.

Haggis & Ross Clan Deck (Indie Boards and Cards): Recently received and it already made a list for top games for the holidays under $20. Another positive for actually delivering product to backers, it means you can also distribute through regular channels and you know ... sell your game and make a wondrous thing called profit (this is the esoteric Step 3 to profit's Step 4). Dungeon Roll above also made the same list. The secret is out folks.

Numenera: Poster Map of the Ninth World (Maps of Mastery): Went in for the basic map, got it. That went well.

That's what I've got, satisfied backing of 36 projects to date. There are more on the way and some of the recent ones look to be capable of delivering. Several companies also reappear as creators on my recently backed projects including: Kobold Press, Frog God Games, Rite Publishing, Monte Cook Games, Tasty Minstrel Games, and Agate Editions/Studio 2 Publishing. I back with confidence because I've actually received stuff from them. Success begets success, but they put the work in to earn it.

^Torchbearer

Shiny.

Foiled title aside, it has a weave textured cover not unlike the old (read: original) 1E manuals. The paper used is even a non-glossy cream, instead of the slick, stark white of more recent game books. And a Mullen cover, in case the look and feel of the book wasn't enough to invoke the games of old. Nice nods all around.

Received Torchbearer earlier this month, but hadn't the chance to mention it. According to the Kickstarter page, estimated due date was September, received in October. I count that as on time, especially seeing as the PDF was sent out way before that.

I'm willing to given more than a two or three months leeway for Kickstarters and that's not even due to the chronic lateness of projects. I'm used to the pace of patron projects like Open Design where the design and discussion is laid open to participants who are integrated into the process. As long as the communication and interaction is sufficient, I'm even good for time table changes on the scale of months or a year.

It feels good to back a prompt Kickstarter. Good on Luke Crane, Thor Olavsrud and the Burning Wheel team for running an efficient project (and wisely choosing to limit the project scope by eschewing stretch goals). For every project that crashed and burned, I've probably participated in at least two that were good (or made good). We'll do an actual count someday.

Also, huzzah for game designers and game companies in New York.

Kickstarters: Myth & Magic Player's Guide - Update and Shipping Status

Today I found on my Kickstarter feed a rare update from the Myth & Magic Player's Guide. The update is set to Backers Only, but I don't feel there's any information in there worth isolating to the 400 people who backed the project. It is included below. It's good news the project person is getting a move on the shipping. At this point I would be satisfied to received the player's book in hand.

Would still like to get a coupon link to the DriveThruRPG copy we were supposed to get. I missed the link last time as it was sent over the Kickstarter updates and not email.

The project is long delayed, but many Kickstarters are at this point. What rubbed people the wrong way initially were the unresponsiveness and the evasiveness of the project manager's actions and posts. There's still a bit of that defensiveness, even something a bit snarky, in the tone of the project runner's post. Understandably he's under pressure to get these books out. Holding out on backers without reasonable updates would set them off, backers can be an aggressive lot, they have to be with the rate of Kickstarter problems accruing. Rightly so, people are literally owed money at the least, that's a motivator which in turn self-encourages them to motivate the tardy projects.

Now I wouldn't go after the guy's livelihood as that decreases the chance of ever getting these books. I would ease up on the threats. Patience pays off in the end. We still have to see if these books make their way to all the people due physical product, but if it does, I would still count this as a success.

Major lessons of Kickstarter are once again:
1. Don't over promise without running numbers and locking in prices. Not always possible and that's the danger of these things.
2. Shipping (and fulfillment) is scary. There is never an exception to this. Some projects disclosing their info (like Fate Core) showed shipping to eat up a third of the total funds. Forget scary, shipping is hell.

[Update begins here]

Hi Everyone,
I just wanted to update on you on shipments. I wasn't able to ship out 10% during each of the last few weeks, but I have 98 shipments out. I put out 20 today but couldn't get any out last week. That being said, I've asked a few local gaming youngsters to help me package things up, and they're going to come by either this weekend or the weekend of the 21st. With help, my hope is to get ALL orders ready for shipment. That would mean that 100% of the orders would be ready for the mail as of Monday, Sept 23rd. This is a tedious process alone, with order tracking, packaging, weighing, printing, delivering, etc. I know you don't care. Just wanted you to know that I'm going to get this done. I actually CAN'T wait to be free to discuss things more positive.
Just so you know, I cannot get anything ready for shipping during the weekend of the 14th due to my daughter's 3rd birthday party on Saturday and an anniversary party on Sunday.
Also FYI, I need some more shipping supplies and I need another 100 or so Player's Journals, which I'll order today. I have also designed a softcover Player's Guide to ship to those folks who ordered softcover versions of the Starter Guides. I think they probably thought they were ordering softcover Player's Guides anyway. It shouldn't take long to get the shipping supplies and the Journals, so I should have everything ready soon. If there is a delay on the printing of the softcover Player's Guides, it shouldn't be long and it doesn't affect that many of you, but I still think I'll be good to get all of them ready on or before the 21st.
I'm attaching some pictures. I certainly contribute to the various posts calling me a scam artist, thief and worse. There are droves of backers that think the books do not exist. The pictures were taken today. They show the remaining boxes of PGs and Journals ready to be stuffed into some sort of shipping box and sent on their way.
Picture 1, Picture 2, Picture 3, Picture 4, Picture 5.
You certainly owe me nothing, but I'm asking anyway. There have been some very nasty, accusatory posts over the last few weeks, some calling for drastic actions that could potentially put everything on the line for me - not in terms of NHG but in terms of my career and home life. I really hope that will stop. I sincerely do apologize and have apologized for the delay and lack of updates, but campaigning to take everything I've worked for and have it destroyed is taking it to a very drastic level. I already know that collectively this Kickstarter has been an epic fail, but I hardly think the delays and lack of updates have ruined any of your lives. I really hope the few of you that have started a campaign to ruin mine will have second thoughts and rail it in. What keeps me even slightly positive is the fact that they're really more disappointed than angry, because they really love the rules set and they really think the books do not exist. I know that once they get their orders and start gaming, the nasty conversations will change and we'll all feel like gamers again.
I know that I need to update more, so please do not comment here about that. I'll update you after the weekend of the 21st.
On a different note, I wanted to talk about the expansion material. Jeff Scifert did a great job with the expansion races and classes. He is still working to tighten them up after reading your comments and suggestions (some of which are very spot on by the way). There are more updates to what you have and more expansion material in the works that really rock. Thank you to all the backers that have contributed to that discussion. He deserves the feedback and the game will be better for it.
Until the 23rd,
Tom

Unleash the Kickstart!

The Torchbearer Kickstarter is up. Powered by the Burning Wheel system and designed by Thor Olavsrud, Torchbearer is described as Advanced Mouse Guard RPG (AMGR?), or to put it another way D&D Basic on Hard Mode.

Honestly, they had me at "murder hobo" in an earlier description of this game. I have no experience with the Burning Wheel games, but did come into recent possession of the Mouse Guard hardcover. The blasted boxed set is still far out of my budget range due to the intense bidding on that out-of-print cardboard beast.

For Torchbearer, Luke Crane and company are keeping it simple, just the 200-page black & white interior hardcover with four color cover. Letter-sized unlike the other digest-sized Burning Wheel books, cause it's a nod to AD&D. Aww, now they're just getting sentimental.

It's good to see a Kickstart keep it simple, no frilly add-on stretchy bits. As always, I get home too late to grab one of the signed copies. Anyway, pretty cheap to buy in and coming from an established entity, this should be relatively safe. Oh look, it's already funded.


In other Kickstart news, Joseph Bloch, the Greyhawk Grognard, has launched the KS project for the next component for the Adventures Dark and Deep RPG, a massive ADD Bestiary of 900(!) critters. Adventures Dark and Deep (or "ADnD", heh, but seen it as ADD mostly for differentiation purposes I guess) is the "What if Gary Gygax wrote 2E" role-playing game. As this blog has started to become 2E-centric, I'm interested in all things 2E, actual, tangential, or theoretical, which this falls under.

I backed the first supplement of this alternate universe AD&D 2nd Edition, A Curious Volume of Forgotten Lore, and the book ended up at my doorstep before I knew it was done. It's full of neat ideas and classes (all OSR compatible). I missed the Players Handbook, which I hear shipped early. Now I expect this book to deliver before I realized I wanted it.

This latest project for the ADD Bestiary has tiers with baked-in Players Manual and even the forthcoming Game Masters Toolkit, so slackers like myself can play catch-up.


And last but not least, this one actually went live yesterday by George Strayton is the supplement to The Secret Fire RPG, The Way of Tree, Shadow & Flame. It has a nice modest goal of $3000, but it's the stretch goals that have my attention. It's basically a list of who's who of RPG art and design luminaries and freelancers, running the gamut from Old School to newer school (and many who exist in all worlds). They've got names like David "Diesel" LaForc, Stan!, Brian Berg, Owen K.C. Stephens, Bruce Heard, Ed Greenwood, Matthew Finc, Tom Phillips. It's not just all contributor names, peppered through those stretch goals are support for Swords & Wizardry, Pathfinder, more adventures, stories, miniatures.


Heck, let's throw in one more ending soon, Shadowlands Campaign Guide headed by Chris Merwin. The Shadowlands is a campaign setting for Pathfinder, now with a Fate Core supplement from the stretch goals. Contributors include (the Ubiquitous) Ed Greenwood, Colin McComb, and potentially Tracy Hickman (stretch goals permitting).

All of these companies have delivered product before.

One more thing. These four projects have authors/designers/creators/companies centered within the Tri-State area, three from New York, one from New Jersey. Odd little coincident I noticed while writing this up.

Whew!

(Disclaimer: As always, backing a Kickstarter project involves risks. Exercise judgement and fiscal responsibility at your own discretion. I have no vested interest or relationship in these projects, other than as a project backer, some previous ones, and most likely these current projects.)

Second Chances or More 2E

Being a fan and player of AD&D 2E I’ve been a bit disappointed the edition often gets skipped over by the gaming community at large, whether mainstream, OSR, indie, or what have you.

The rising juggernaut of Pathfinder champions the spirit of 3E/3.5E. Their support includes volumes of gorgeous full color books, ample primary and third party publisher support (probably the best in the industry), competent and convenient digital retailing, and print distribution with increasing prominence in many brick and mortar stores.

It can be argued the forthcoming 13th Age is a divergent adaptation of 4E using the OGL. It has a growing community and we will see how well it fares when its released into stores giving all gamers outside of the pre-order folks or convention goers a chance to look at the system.

OSRIC, one of the earliest OSR games, claims direct descent from the ideas offered in AD&D (1E). Other games emulating earlier pre-Advanced versions have supplemental and companion books (S&W Complete, LL AEC) easily scaling up the basic systems to approach AD&D. All these games are reaching out to their audiences and in some instances making headway towards new player-bases. Their growth is made evident by the response to Swords & Wizardry Appreciation Day and other indicators, such as Wizards’ reprinting earlier editions in premium or collector formats.

Where does 2E fit into this? There’s not as much activity as far as I know. Two games always pop up when I search for a 2E ‘retroclone’. Both have been around for a couple of years, but none of them have reached the self-sustaining critical mass like some of the other OSR games have (third party adventures, subsystems, genre variants). One is For Gold & Glory and the main website hosting it appears to have expired.

The other is Myth & Magic and my personal experience (or lack thereof) goes back to Late March, Early May of 2012 with the conclusion of a very successful Kickstarter project. Things were looking up. The supportive community helped the game complete a crowd-funding project with an abundant surplus. Maybe this was the catalyst a 2E-style game needed to gain traction with the gaming community.

I mean, in their DIY scrappiness the OSR games have found ways to gain solid footholds in traditional distribution channels and were always adepts at digital distribution — and self-publishing, and crowd-sourcing, and print-on-demand, all the publishing hot topics that have several industries dizzy, giddy, and panicky from the whirl of activity — always pioneers to begin with.

At the time, the next pioneering wave seemed to be Kickstarter as it was riding off the high of its first mega-projects. It was THE platform with which to launch a creative project and games in particular. It was essentially self-publishing ground-zero, not just self-publishing which other platforms could do, but came prepackaged with expanding an audience as well.

Well, I joined that herd and I can say the experience was especially unmemorable. I promptly forgot about Myth & Magic in the midst of more exciting and better updated projects. Not that New Haven Games didn’t update, I just found a lot of them didn’t raise my interest beyond the surface level of "Oh, that’s nice to hear". Others were focused on the Game Master’s Guide Kickstarter, which I didn’t bother backing as other things again seemed more interesting at the time.

I neglected this project until reading Tenkar’s Tavern updating on the progress on this and the developing history of trouble facing this project, a history which had skipped over my head entirely due to my absence of attention. Previously, I had downloaded the direct upload of the Players Guide, but the password locked PDF annoyed me and I never went beyond a skim of the table of contents. I missed the RPGNow coupons for the regular PDF as it was sent along with the flood of Kickstarter update emails. I have those emails turned off. By now New Haven Games had grown silent and non-responsive, so my request for another coupon is not likely to be heeded.

In a recent update, we at least know the reason for the lack of communication. In the face of mounting pressure from the project and real life issues, the project creator blanked out. The whole situation, what was once a positive experience, became an unpleasant weight.

You know what? I’m perfectly fine with that explanation. Having experienced similar situations and pressures, and falling flat on my face, I can understand. Glad to hear the designer realize it and claims he’s taking steps to resolve the remaining issues with the project. I hope to get what I backed for, sooner rather than later. We’re coming up on a full year now for a project that already had a draft and now a completed PDF but seemingly no where near completion in terms of physical goods. Tom Ryan, the one-man show behind New Haven Games also admits to making a publishing miscalculation choosing the print option of glossy pages. Art for one of the supplements is going to be non-existent and shipping is going to eat into the GM Guide funds or he has to pony up the difference. Doesn’t help that postal rates rose. Another stumble in the long line of slip ups, but publishing dilemmas have plagued far more experienced and well organized projects than this one.

One thing Tom said in his update, "Myth & Magic is likely doomed now because of my mismanagement of the campaigns", may hold true. Honestly, 2E may not be the most popular of D&D editions and a 2E retroclone probably doubly dubious in its position. With the extent of problems disrupting it, M&M may very well be dead in the water. The thing with retroclones is they have to reach out to a large enough segment of the gaming community to warrant groups adopting the rules, at least for gamers like me who play solely online in either PBeMs or PbPs. I don’t have a tabletop group I can convince to play a retroclone they’ve never heard of. Convincing a GM online to run a retroclone he’s never heard of is even more remote.

Funny thing is right around this time last year when Myth & Magic seemed like it would rekindle 2E’s flame, I joined an actual 2E game with members of my group left over from a shuttered 3E game. It’s a lot of fun and probably the best time gaming I’ve had in years. So do I really need a retroclone? Probably not.

What else is right around the corner, a year after Myth & Magic’s funding? The WotC produced official AD&D 2E premium reprints. Not only are 2E books easy to find in used bookstores, flea markets, or eBay, we’re going to have a set of brand new reprints available in May. Steve Winter already received his copies (some of the first off the press) and posted a picture on his Twitter account. They’re handsome books. I may get them just to support 2E.

In the beginning …

Welcome to The Campaign Expanse.

'What's with the name?' would be an apt question to answer in order to establish the primary focus of this blog. I’ve wanted to start a gaming and general geekery blog for some time, but through the course of various obligations and distractions never initiated one with the proper time or effort. A recent set of influences has provided me the impetus to finally try my hand at blogging.

Part of the reason for the long delay to action was a muddled sense of purpose. What would I post about? The thought brewed for some time before I looked back and realized the topics I gravitate towards through my years as a gamer (and geek of other media) were the campaign settings. I like to read about them, discuss them, try them out and play in them, buy the setting guides, examine the different versions, even study their publication history, and when the opportunity arises add to them.

My fascination with settings and worlds was quite obvious, I'm surprised it took me this this long to express, but there was never a need to reflect on something meant for fun, since the objective of fulfillment overrides most requirements for objective scrutiny. As a nod to the campaign settings that inspired me when I first entered the hobby, this blog takes its naming cues from the campaign accessories, regional supplements, and most obviously the campaign expansions of the classic campaign settings.

While I will write about the concept of settings and the settings themselves here, it will certainly not be the sole subject. I've collected an assortment of different game systems, adventures, and other books over the years and continue to increase my library. Expect the usual random thoughts, reviews, product hauls, as well as posts on other non-gaming topics, though I will keep to things of interests within related genres and fandom.

One of the more recent games to enter my library is Swords & Wizardry. My exposure to the OSR community and retro-clone type games is limited. Although I have electronic copies of the more prominent OSR games (because they’re free, why not keep the main PDF for reference), Swords & Wizardry is one of the few OSR games I have acquired a print copy. Thanks partly to Kickstarter and partly to Frog God Games who I previously purchased Pathfinder materials from. Crowd-funding may be a source of many posts for this blog as I have several products derived from these sorts of projects or due from such projects. Come to think of it, this blog just became a lot more interesting due to that thought alone.

A major reason for finally getting a blog off the ground is the upcoming Swords & Wizardry Appreciation Day on April 17th. The growing list of blogs and overall energy of the S&W and OSR communities is infectious. Since I have a perfectly good copy of Swords & Wizardry in hand, I figured I would finally crack open the book. For Sword & Wizardry Appreciation Day, my perspective will be mostly as a 'newish school' gamer looking at an old school style system for the first time, 'newish' since I started at the end of 2nd edition (and still play the system), but spent most of my time in 3E/3.5E and more recently Pathfinder. Then again, by now with 5E on the way, everything is 'old school' in some sense. Everything under the many suns of the 'verse is fair gaming.

H