So What’s Next?

Now that the Stonehell Supplement Two is out the door and working as intended (and I again thank you for your patience in the early hours of the day when things were amiss), it’s time to look at the last item on my “To Do” list for 2010.

Some folks remember that way back in June, I had a moment of inspiration and a new book idea exploded from out of nowhere. Several people kindly stepped forward to assist me on that project and I’ve gotten most of their contributed elements now. All that remains is some of the maps and for me to finish writing the damned thing. The draft is about half-way done and still needs some heavy beating with blunt objects to form it into the shape I want, but this is going to be my final project for 2010 and I expect to be putting all my energies into this one. It wants to be a bigger book than I initially imagined and I’m currently torn between giving it a little freedom and reining it in hard. In either case, I think some people will enjoy it while others maybe not so much. That’s why I’m doing it in-house rather than shopping around to see if some publisher has interest. If it face-plants on release, the suck stops here.

Without going too much into a book that’s still under construction, I’m going to be shooting for more of a high fantasy feel with this one instead of the grittier pulp vibe that’s been the backbone of the OSR. My design goal is, stated loosely, “What if Dragonlance was done more as a sandbox for starting characters instead of a railroad that led to the Big World-Ending Evil?” Now you see why I say some will like it and others will loathe it. I’ve got some ideas I think are nifty to bolt onto the Basic D&D/Labyrinth Lord framework without turning it completely into another beast, but it will ultimately be you folks who determine if I did it right or not.

I’m going to take a day or two of “creative palette cleaning” by scrubbing my brain with sci-fi, but then it’s back to high fantasy. I’m hoping that the book will be out in time for the holidays or to at least take advantage of the money you get for returning that crappy gift from Aunt Sheila. If you’ve already contributed art to the book, have no fear—the project is moving forward and you haven’t been forgotten. I’ll be contacting those folks again in a few weeks as I get closer to the finish line. I’ll likely be looking for someone to help slash the book to ribbons with an editorial pen since it’s too big and I’m too close to the material to do so myself.

A new Radiation Theatre will be up tomorrow, but here’s a short recommendation for another film. If you’re running or will be running a Metamorphosis Alpha game, I’d suggest checking out Pandorum. This is especially true if you’re starting the game using the alternate “We’re All Clones” beginning or are going for a darker, nastier feel to the campaign instead of wild and zany. The film is not high cinema, but it does feature folks running around an adrift spaceship while being chased by weird, murderous creatures without a clue of what went wrong. No robots, unfortunately.

Stonehell Dungeon Supplement: Buried Secrets Now Available

Stonehell Dungeon Supplement Two: Buried Secrets

The second in a series of supplemental material for Stonehell Dungeon, this twenty-page PDF is an anthology of three adventuring sites located in and around the ancient prison suitable for exploration by low-level characters. Included are “Modnar’s Cellar,” the undercroft of a ruined tower owned by a magic-user with a strange agenda, “The Nest of Otrogg,” a cave system once occupied by a loathsome cult, and “The Sanctuary of Chthonia,” a secret sub-level located inside Stonehell Dungeon and overseen by an undead witch. It also introduces two new spells, eight new monsters, two new magical items, and a pair of minor deities for your Labyrinth Lord™ game. This supplement contains three maps but no other interior illustrations.

Suitable for use by characters of levels 1-4, the adventures found within will provide several sessions worth of entertainment and their stand-alone nature makes them easy to insert in any campaign regardless of whether you're using the Stonehell megadungeon in you world. And, at the low price of $2.99, that's less than you'd pay for that party-sized bag of chips for your game table.

Click here to buy your copy today or visit the Lulu storefront for more Stonehell Dungeon game products.

Update Regarding Jim Ward

UPDATE: The following was posted by Tim Kask on the below-linked Dragonsfoot thread:

Jim’s latest trip to the Mayo Clinic was not good; one piece of bad news after another.
His irrepressibly optimistic side is very much in evidence, and trying to brave it out. Another battery of tests with another flock of specialists is still to come; in three to four weeks time they will all compare notes and diagnoses and recommend a medicinal regimen that we all hope and pray will see him out of this.

The medicines are very powerful and have many nasty potential side effects, so it is still a rather perilous circumstance he still finds himself in. While he is starting to replace some of the weight he so precipitously and dramatically lost, his stamina and energy levels are still AWOL.

I am trying to coordinate an effort to ease some of his financial burden with several individuals. I am getting legal advice as to how we might do this without increasing Jim’s obligation to the IRS. For the present, please do not make any direct donations to his PP acct. I will share details on that just as soon as I can. Keep the faith.

From the Dragonfoot thread regarding Jim Ward's health struggles and the efforts to help cover his growing medical expenses:

I just called Jim Ward a few minutes ago and was lucky enough to get an update on his condition. He is still pretty crook, and feeling very weak, and will remain so for some time yet.

For those of you who have asked - I spoke to him about donations, and he has a paypal account: TEMPORARILY REMOVED.

He appreciates everything that people have been doing to help him out, and despite his current circumstances seems pretty cheerful, even if he is completely knackered.

Craig J. Brain
WardCo.

So for those of you who would prefer to make a donation directly to Jim, you can use the Paypal information Craig provided above. Purchases from WardCo's DrivethruRPG store will help too if you're looking to fill in the gaps in your Metamorphosis Alpha collection, albeit after Drivethru takes their percentage from each sale.

Newly Discovered Lore for Stonehell Dungeon

Last year, as I was putting together the first Stonehell Dungeon book, it became clear that I had more stuff to cram between its covers than I had space for. Rather than wait until the sequel came out, I decided that I would launched a series of supplemental PDFs to be used in conjunction with the main books. The material included in these supplements was intended to be just that – additional information that could be used or discarded without affecting the overall dungeon. Not only would this allow me to release the game information that had to be trimmed due to lack of space, but it also gave me a way to continue to build on the Stonehell Dungeon setting after the second and final book was released.

It was and remains my intention to limit these supplemental releases to a strictly PDF format. Since each would be relatively short in pages and word count, it didn’t make much sense to go the printed route. It also would keep them cheap to produce and I could then pass the savings along to you, the potential consumer. Each supplement would be available on my Lulu storefront for no or low cost.

The very first of these supplements, The Bandit Caves, was released in conjunction with Stonehell Dungeon: Down Night-Haunted Halls. It was and is a free PDF file that details the lair of a bandit gang who has unfinished business within the dungeon. From the feedback I’ve received, people seem to enjoy it and have a lot of fun customizing the bandits and their aims for their own campaigns. My own players just got around to tangling with those outlaws the other week and barely escaped with their lives.

It has been nearly a year since that first supplement was released, and I didn’t want 2010 to end without some new Stonehell material seeing the light of day, especially since it was my original intention to have the sequel out by the end of this year. I mentioned previously that my workload for this year has made that an impossibility, and you’ll have to wait until 2011 to see the final book. In light of these events, I’m pleased to announce that the second Stonehell Dungeon Supplement will be available tomorrow.

Entitled Buried Secrets, this 20 page supplement is an anthology of adventuring sites located in and around Stonehell Dungeon. They include a monster-inhabited cellar beneath a ruined tower that was home to a magic-user with a most unusual agenda; a cave system that was once the sanctuary of a loathsome cult dedicated to the King of Pests; and lastly, the very first sub-level for Stonehell Dungeon, a somewhat safe haven for the PCs to rest – provided they don’t upset the ancient mistress of the place.

Stonehell Dungeon Supplement Two: Buried Secrets is a direct result of my own group’s exploits in my home campaign. Each of the adventuring sites included in the anthology was first explored by them, often with hilarious and lethal results. Now, through the means of the Stonehell Supplement series, you too can tread where they did. Even if you’re not using Stonehell Dungeon in your own campaign, the sites can be used as stand-alone adventures suitable for most any fantasy world.

Now, a word of warning or at least full disclosure: The Stonehell Supplements are not slick, professional products, nor were they ever intended to be. They are my own cleaned up and edited notes laid out in a clear, easy-to-read format – the same one used in the main Stonehell books. And since my only budget for these is time, they suffer from a severe lack of commissioned artwork, using clip art or public domain pieces for their covers and lacking any interior illustrations at all. If it’s any consolation, I try to make the best use of that extra space by cramming in as much fun stuff as I can. Supplement Two is no exception to this. I wanted to make that perfectly clear so that nobody feels duped. Also, the format of the supplement is somewhat different from the first Stonehell book. The first two locations are detailed in a more traditional dungeon notes method rather than the modified One-Page Dungeon method used in Stonehell Dungeon. The last location, which is a sub-level of the dungeon proper, does use that abbreviated format and can be printed out and inserted inside the book for easy reference during play.

Buried Secrets is the first supplement that comes with a price tag, namely a $2.99 one. For that low price, you get the three adventuring sites (Modnar’s Cellar, The Nest of Otrogg, and The Sanctuary of Chthonia), two new spells, eight new monsters, two new magical items, and a pair of minor deities. All that for less than the cost of a bag of Tostitos chips, and it’s guaranteed to last longer, too.

If this sounds like something you’d like to add to your gaming collection, be sure to swing by here tomorrow when the official announcement is posted and the storefront link provided.

Please Help Jim Ward

As I was preparing to leap back into the 2nd edition Gamma World toxic waste pool, I read the following over at the Original D&D Discussion site:

At Dragonsfoot, Tim Kask says Jim Ward is very sick.

So as not to be the bearer of only bad news, Craig Brain is proposing a tribute product to help raise money for Jim's medical expenses - completing one's collection of MA stuff at RPGNow is also a great way to do so.

I have a handful of RPG design heroes, ones whose work continues to inspire, thrill, and entertain me long after it first saw print. James Ward is one of those heroes and this news saddens me greatly. I hope that he recovers from his illness and continues to produce more of his always inspiring work. I’ll be picking up a few MA goodies next week to do what I can to help Jim and his family take care of medical expenses.

Here’s a video that has more information on what you can do to help.

Happy Halloween

A Short Rest in Peace

This time, last year, saw me head down and pushing the final draft of Stonehell Dungeon towards the door. This year, I’ve been busy with keeping things flowing with my Labyrinth Lord campaign, working on other people’s projects, and juggling three blogs at once. That’s a whole bunch of stuff to be doing during my favorite time of the year.

Since the Watchfires & Thrones game is taking off for Halloween, I’ve got a brief tretch of time ahead of me where I don’t have any specific deadlines looming. Therefore, I’m taking some well deserved “me time” starting now and extending into the first week of November. The Society will be on hiatus during this period, as will the Archive of the Rotted Moon. I’ll be finishing up my “31 posts in 31 days” marathon over at Secret Antiquities, but I’ll be taking a breather from that project after the 31st.

Once I return, I’ll be diving back into the post-apocalyptic pool again as I’ve still got some ground to cover there. However, if all goes according to plan, I’ll have something new for you folks as well. Stay tuned and have a Happy Halloween. I’ll see you soon.