Progress & New Storytelling Project
about 8 years ago – Fri, Mar 18, 2016 at 12:52:18 PM

Greetings all. I'm back with a brief update and some links for you. No, not a link to any material yet, but we're close.

Translation Update

Aquelarre editor Roderick has assembled a battery of questions for Lester. This is all part of the process of establishing a "playbook" for language and terms in the game. A large part of this is fine-tuning the style and word choices of the translation. It's a particular challenge with Aquelarre because the book is not written in a simple "gamebook-ese", but rather has a very definite style of its own. This makes for an outstanding final product, but a more difficult process overall.

That said, Lester has added the short adventure "The Tale of Shadows" (Fabula de Umbris) to the material Roderick is editing. This adventure was unlocked as our first stretch goal and according to Lester it's an excellent beginner adventure and will really help give you an idea of the tone of the game.

In fact, Lester ran the adventure at Gary Con recently. Yesterday, he posted a blog about that game session and the adventure itself:

http://lestersmith.com/2016/03/16/a-gary-con-aquelarre/

Anyway, Lester is answering Roderick's questions this week and it will likely be only another few days after that before the editing is complete and I can get the text to layout for those of you who wish to see it in "Aquelarre format".

New Project: Storypath Cards

Meanwhile, if you're interested in collaborative storytelling in your roleplaying games, please take a look at the project I launched a few days ago for new editions of Storypath Cards and Whimsy Cards. We originally published Storypath Cards at White Wolf in 1990, and Whimsy Cards are the progenitors from a couple years earlier.

The project has funded and met a first stretch goal for new artwork, and we're closing in on a second stretch goal that will add cards to all four decks of Storypath Cards. I'm a fan of involving the players in the narrative, and if you are too, then please consider supporting this project.

Read about Storypath Cards on the project page!

Monthly Update + Scarred Lands Project
over 8 years ago – Fri, Jan 22, 2016 at 04:48:12 PM

Greetings!

Translation update.

The last update was almost a month ago and I certainly intend to keep you updated on at least a monthly basis! I hope everyone is off to a fine start in 2016.

Lester's translation schedule was somewhat interrupted by the holidays as well as a move, but he reports good progress and tells me that the work gets easier and easier the more he's completed. This is partly because more terminology is determined, but he's also just getting a better feel for the style of the language in the rulebook.

He's currently finishing the Advantages & Disadvantages.

BackerKit Pledge Manager

Thanks for the great response to the BackerKit pledge manager. I still need to hear from about 20% of you, so as you are able, please make your way there and confirm your pledge information and consider any add-ons. I'll soon be placing the dice order and need to know how many of such items to produce. I'll send a nudge via BackerKit so you have the link handy.

Reminder!

If you purchased dice, then please send an email to [email protected] to remind me to add the free 666 and 777 dice to your rewards. If you have already emailed me, then thanks! I'll be updating all the carts soon.

Also remember to send me a short description for your sketch card. This is needed for EVERYONE who pledged for THE BOX.

And now for a change of pace to heroic fantasy:

Scarred Lands Reborn

 

My new Kickstarter project is for a new edition of the Scarred Lands. The Scarred Lands Player's Guide actually comes in TWO versions: one for Pathfinder Roleplaying Game and another for 5th Edition OGL. This is an heroic fantasy setting of a world recently ravaged by a great war between the gods and titans. I originally co-created this setting more than a decade ago when I owned White Wolf. You can read some of that story in this project update.

Please consider supporting my project if you like dramatic, powerful and detailed fantasy settings, and especially if you're a player of either of the games for which there will be a new Scarred Lands book.

If you'd like to sample the Scarred Lands, then please download our free 40+ page full-color adventure, Gauntlet of Spiragos. Like the book we're funding, there are both Pathfinder Roleplaying Game and 5th Edition OGL versions.

The Scarred Lands Player's Guide project has already funded, but there is extra material that I'd like o include in the book, and I need more support for that to happen. The fact we're funded is good news for backers, though, because everyone who pledges $30+ already receives a ton of free extras:

• 16 updated characters from The Wise & The Wicked
• a complete three-novel trilogy
• a brand-new short story by Richard Lee Byers
• three (almost four!) bonus PDFs of your choice

Thanks for supporting my projects on Kickstarter!

At Long Last: The Pledge Manager!
over 8 years ago – Wed, Dec 23, 2015 at 08:49:37 PM

Whew! That's was tricky! I think Lester has the easier job of translating Aquelarre compared to setting up BackerKit to provide your surveys and manage your pledges! It's not the fault of BackerKit — they were quite helpful figuring out some things. It's because this project has so many moving parts. In this, I have been my own worst enemy. Hopefully you will benefit from all the free dice, extra games you can add, and more.

But Merry Christmas! Look for a link from BackerKit soon. You won't have Aquelarre for this Christmas, but you can have dreams of sugar plums and... hmmmm. Best to not dream of Aquelarre!

Warning: The Box is VERY Limited

Those who pledged at THE BOX reward level have one box already reserved for them, but if you added more funds for a second box (or if you pledged at DISCIPLE or MASTER and added funds for a box), then I HIGHLY ENCOURAGE you to complete your survey immediately!

The quantity of boxes is VERY limited. I have reserved a couple boxes in case someone who pledged for one misses out, but please do not rely on this not-100%-failsafe.

Great Add-Ons

There are so many awesome add-ons to this project. Please take a moment to look at all the dice, coins, artwork and other games that are available at checkout. I know the holiday season is a bad time for you to consider buying more stuff, but your card will not be charged anytime soon (certainly not before March 1st), so please enter your orders for these other items so I can best determine how many of these items I need to produce.

King Arthur Pendragon players... take heed! I added KAP dice to the list! While discussing the dice with KAP-designer Greg Stafford, Greg noted that using the crown in the place of a 20 on a d20 wasn't the best call because a 20 is an automatic fumble (unless your skill is 20+). So, I opted for a set of 3d6, which allows you to roll of three of Arthur's crowns!

Early Shipping for King Arthur Pendragon

The survey includes a question for those who backed for physical copies of Brevarium, Aquelarre and KAP Edition 5.2 to see if you would like early shipping for KAP (and/or Würm).

Basically, if you answer "yes" to the survey question, then $7 is added to your checkout to pay a little extra for the additional shipment I'll make in June-ish. If you are in the USA, Spain, Germany, Canada, France or the UK, then this $7 covers your additional shipping.

If you are NOT in those six countries, then you will also need to add the item called "Early Shipping" to your cart too. This item covers the remaining amount of additional shipment that I could not create any other workaround to add. (There's a reminder about this in the survey question answers!)

What is Würm? Hey, I told you about it in a past update! Why didn't you back the project? Anyway, if you DID back Würm, and you added KAP 5.2 to your Aquelarre pledge, then you're receiving your KAP 5.2 via early shipping at no additional charge. There are Aquelarre survey answers to reflect this. Please do NOT choose these answers if you did not back Würm. (Finally, if you did back Würm and Aquelarre, then your free dice will be dealt with in the Würm survey.)

Lester's Translation Progress

Les is aiming to complete a first translation through page 67 by the end of the year. He's then going to stop and rework back through that material to clean it up and check the earliest work. It's very important at the outset to get all the terms and conventions established so that later translation goes faster and with fewer errors.

Aquelarre Wrap-Up & New Project Launch
over 8 years ago – Fri, Nov 20, 2015 at 05:46:17 PM

What a Finish!

I'm stunned by those last 15 hours or so of this project! A full 20% of the backers and funds came in during that time... and I've already heard from a dozen people sorry they missed the project. Thank you all very much. Lester and I are very pleased to not only be on the path to Aquelarre in English, but probably in line to translate a number of the excellent Aquelarre supplements.

The 777 3d6 Dice

In case you missed my note in the Comments at the conclusion of the project, I've decided that 738 is close enough to 777 and that demons should be offset by angels in any event, so everyone who pledged for add-on dice will receive the 666 3d6 AND the 777 3d6 as free extra dice.

The fact that I want the 777 3d6 surely has nothing to do with this...!

Next... Silence for a Couple Weeks

Kickstarter recommends that I wait until the pledge payments are processed and received before proceeding too much, so you may not hear from me for a short bit. In this time we'll build the BackerKit page where you will be able to manage and add to your pledge. People who missed the project will also be able to go to BackerKit and pre-order the game. They just won't get bonuses like free dice that you get for supporting Aquelarre on Kickstarter.

In general, though, expect to hear from me regularly. I'll get with Lester and we'll develop a plan for sharing the translation and I'll also let you know details about fulfillment of all the items involved in the project. There's a good bit of logistical detail that needs to get sorted out.

Now to a change in text divider graphics...

Talislanta Project Now Live!

You'll also hear from me about new Kickstarter projects. I hope you won't mind. I'll keep those notes brief, and usually include them with other details pertinent to Aquelarre. Like right now!

Yes, Aquelarre ended yesterday and I have a new project that launched today. Roleplaying game veterans may recall the Talislanta RPG from the 1980's. I'm working with creator Stephan Michael Sechi on a new Talislanta game, but we're premiering the new Talislanta setting in a comic format. It's called Talislanta: Tales of the Savage Land. I hope you'll give it a look!

In fact, if you decide to help with that project and back it at the $40+ level that includes a printed graphic novel, then I'll include one of the Aquelarre silver coins in your package when that graphic novel ships. I enjoy giving backers of multiple projects something extra as thanks for the support.

Here's a look at the first page of the comic illustrated by the talented Ben Dennett:

4th Stretch Goal Unlocked!
over 8 years ago – Tue, Nov 17, 2015 at 12:24:20 PM

We've just cleared the 4th stretch goal! The count is 464 of the 450 needed.

Next at 500 is the silk bookmark!

Remember to share this project with your friends, especially the $5 Brevarium PDF reward, because there are free dice at 666 backers!