As of this writig, the game has taken six months longer (and counting...) than I thought it would to write, playtest, and release. It'll be a couple months more at least before there's a Buy Now button underneath the Core Rules book on the site... I know only about two people care at this point, but I thought I needed something to put out there to let people know exactly where the game is and where it's going and what the thought processes are leading up to all of it. I feel so dirty for writing one of these. Next I'll get a cell phone or something. But this is all stream of consciousness stuff, not organized or designed to be a real series of essays or anything.
Anyway, the core system is done, but not completely typed. Notes are in notebooks (neat, isn't it?) all over my apartment. I've taken a week off of work and I'm going to get it all typed up, make copies, and send to the volunteer playtesting groups. I'm wanting to get 5-700 hours of playtesting total on this before deciding whether I'm good to go (fixing problems brought up in the playtest) or in need of a total rewrite (if the system collapses outside of me running the game). So if playtesters have a manuscript in their hand at the end of May, I'm hoping to go to print end of July.
Preliminary playtesting has already been happening, both in my own apartment where lego men with varying stats fight each other (the hours just fly by at my house, let me tell you), and some limited playing with a group. There, the rules are as I intended, more a rough guide to answer "what happens?" in contentious situations, but I've got no way to tell if the system is specifically serving my gaming style, or if my gaming style is just successful withing the system. Time will tell.
I'm also going to be taking a rather big step later in the year... relocating to Finland. For how long, I don't know, but the idea will be to just write write write for the game while the girlfriend is at class or working. No job. If things go well, I'll be marrying and I won't be coming back. What this is likely to do is raise the cost of the RPG by about fifty cents or so from the intended price (added mailing costs and all that), but I'm really trying to make sure each book is no more than $4.50 postage included to buy directly from me. Getting the opportunity to travel to a foreign country, obligation free, is something I wouldn't turn down anyway... but the quitting the job and leaving the apartment thing is a huge step. At the end of it, hopefully I'll have enough LotFP: RPG product written to where it has the foundation to grow into a worthwhile side-income... I'm under no illusions that I'll even be close to having to not need a day job. Hopeful, yes, but then I remember when I thought the LotFP music mag could break even someday. HAH. Speaking of which, the music mag is never going to die... Good metal still demands I tell everyone about it, and bad metal is still too much fun to publicly ridicule. Why would I give that up, ever? it's just coming out less often.
I often get ahead of myself, and work for LotFP: RPG is no different. The core rules aren't even out the door and I have a line of supplements planned:
First up after the core rules will be the creatures book, just because that's the easiest option for finishing out 30 pages plus covers. It won't be unique monsters I make up, but an illustration of how "real" mythological and legendary creatures (dragons, zombines, etc) can work within the LotFP system, complete with tons of options so even when players have that book and the GM says "zombie" they never know what to expect. For instance, rules will be given for zombies in both the Romero vein, the Return of the Living Dead vein, and a few other options, but I don't know if I'll go so far as to have Fulci's teleporting psychic zombies. It won't be a totally original supplement but a big GM aid in saving time within the LotFP: RPG system.
Next project is a setting. A continent full of nations and places and ready-made intrigue and all that. The setting's been in my folder since 1990 and it really is a neat thing, if I do say so myself. What's best about it is it does not assume any place for the game. You can do an 'old west' game by the frontierlands, a wargame in certain areas, 'standard' adventuring in ruins and non-human controlled areas, a mob game in the urban areas, politics, a more theology based game, vikings, celtic, it's all there in the setting, interrelationships between the various cultures explained, and none of it saying "this is where your game should fit in this world." A setting that enables gaming, not one that directs it.
... and then, the magic book. I've gone through several phases of thought on this. First was "this is essetial to a fantasy game, it must be out the same time as the main book!", then "Well, this other book can be finished quicker." Current thought? A magic system is in no way necessary, even to a fantasy role playing game. For certain styles of play, maybe it is. When the book is out, it'll be fantastic for that style. Promise. But the very existence of a magic book makes assumptions as to how things should be played. The entire idea of LotFP: RPG is to remove those assumptions. So by delaying the magic book and saying it's not necessary to play the game, it gives the entire project a whole new perspective, one that hopefully will be retained even after the magic system is released. "A fantasy RPG with no magic." Think about it.
The first adventure supplement has been planned, the Nightingale adaptation. It will come out after the setting for sure, and as written will take place within that setting, but the setting itself will not be crucial to the adventure.
Next two ideas fall under "write what you know." Sourcebooks for the setting which deal with subcultures that have nothing to do with mysticism or "special" people... just people, existing on the fringes of the society laid out. Advantage: This can give a focus to play. Advantage: This can flesh out facets of the setting in ways 'standard' supplements don't. Advantage: If people don't give a shit, it's not something they need to pay attention to, and it won't ruin the setting or the game for them. Disadvantage: It's not necessary so they might be bad economic decisions. Ah, who gives a flying fongoolie, this entire thing is an economic disaster waiting to happen... but it will be my disaster, damn it. The ideas... working title Goblinpunk, basically taking the heavy metal subculture and putting it in a fantasy medieval societal context. They are against the status quo, they are centered around "odd" music, and they base their appearance on the goblin tribes across the mountains. What this does is force definition of the society in the first place, and maybe I just haven't been looking, but how many people publish sourcebooks for games that are entire social in effect, without game mechanics being important at all? Maybe tons. Add one more. Similarly, the plans for Pro Gladiator... troupes of warriors who fight for profit in front of audiences... but is the combat real? Tons and tons and tons and tons and tons of potential here for all sorts of things, and I'm sure people will just have their minds boggled by rules for determining how many people show up to the arena to watch, and if it is all staged combat (which the GM will decide), how to determine if the crowd picks up on it or not. Anyway, two books that are a step up in creativity from "Dwarves of the Deep" or "Armies of the World"... Another advantage is there's a couple of audiences to aim at that aren't just RPG players.
... so, I've finally been looking around RPG sites. I'd stayed away from that because I didn't want to be influenced. Now that I'm looking around, I'm scared. It looks like a lot of players are into games where the setting is hardwired into the game itself, and the character's role is strictly defined... like people should know what they need to do just by reading the back of the book. Agh. This is going to be tough. Even old D&D made the assumption that killing monsters and collecting treasure was the goal of the game... that's how the character improvement system was designed. LotFP: RPG makes *no* such assumptions. Apparently that's seen in some quarters as a "design deficiency", leaving a character's purpose uncertain. Christ, who would ever touch a game where it all falls apart if you want to do something other than the hard-written character roles?
I've also got two distributors set up, albeit on a consignment basis. Can't hurt.
... I think I'll wrap this up now, look out for frequent postings, but certainly less lengthy postings as I sum up a couple days instead of a couple weeks...
Anyway, the core system is done, but not completely typed. Notes are in notebooks (neat, isn't it?) all over my apartment. I've taken a week off of work and I'm going to get it all typed up, make copies, and send to the volunteer playtesting groups. I'm wanting to get 5-700 hours of playtesting total on this before deciding whether I'm good to go (fixing problems brought up in the playtest) or in need of a total rewrite (if the system collapses outside of me running the game). So if playtesters have a manuscript in their hand at the end of May, I'm hoping to go to print end of July.
Preliminary playtesting has already been happening, both in my own apartment where lego men with varying stats fight each other (the hours just fly by at my house, let me tell you), and some limited playing with a group. There, the rules are as I intended, more a rough guide to answer "what happens?" in contentious situations, but I've got no way to tell if the system is specifically serving my gaming style, or if my gaming style is just successful withing the system. Time will tell.
I'm also going to be taking a rather big step later in the year... relocating to Finland. For how long, I don't know, but the idea will be to just write write write for the game while the girlfriend is at class or working. No job. If things go well, I'll be marrying and I won't be coming back. What this is likely to do is raise the cost of the RPG by about fifty cents or so from the intended price (added mailing costs and all that), but I'm really trying to make sure each book is no more than $4.50 postage included to buy directly from me. Getting the opportunity to travel to a foreign country, obligation free, is something I wouldn't turn down anyway... but the quitting the job and leaving the apartment thing is a huge step. At the end of it, hopefully I'll have enough LotFP: RPG product written to where it has the foundation to grow into a worthwhile side-income... I'm under no illusions that I'll even be close to having to not need a day job. Hopeful, yes, but then I remember when I thought the LotFP music mag could break even someday. HAH. Speaking of which, the music mag is never going to die... Good metal still demands I tell everyone about it, and bad metal is still too much fun to publicly ridicule. Why would I give that up, ever? it's just coming out less often.
I often get ahead of myself, and work for LotFP: RPG is no different. The core rules aren't even out the door and I have a line of supplements planned:
First up after the core rules will be the creatures book, just because that's the easiest option for finishing out 30 pages plus covers. It won't be unique monsters I make up, but an illustration of how "real" mythological and legendary creatures (dragons, zombines, etc) can work within the LotFP system, complete with tons of options so even when players have that book and the GM says "zombie" they never know what to expect. For instance, rules will be given for zombies in both the Romero vein, the Return of the Living Dead vein, and a few other options, but I don't know if I'll go so far as to have Fulci's teleporting psychic zombies. It won't be a totally original supplement but a big GM aid in saving time within the LotFP: RPG system.
Next project is a setting. A continent full of nations and places and ready-made intrigue and all that. The setting's been in my folder since 1990 and it really is a neat thing, if I do say so myself. What's best about it is it does not assume any place for the game. You can do an 'old west' game by the frontierlands, a wargame in certain areas, 'standard' adventuring in ruins and non-human controlled areas, a mob game in the urban areas, politics, a more theology based game, vikings, celtic, it's all there in the setting, interrelationships between the various cultures explained, and none of it saying "this is where your game should fit in this world." A setting that enables gaming, not one that directs it.
... and then, the magic book. I've gone through several phases of thought on this. First was "this is essetial to a fantasy game, it must be out the same time as the main book!", then "Well, this other book can be finished quicker." Current thought? A magic system is in no way necessary, even to a fantasy role playing game. For certain styles of play, maybe it is. When the book is out, it'll be fantastic for that style. Promise. But the very existence of a magic book makes assumptions as to how things should be played. The entire idea of LotFP: RPG is to remove those assumptions. So by delaying the magic book and saying it's not necessary to play the game, it gives the entire project a whole new perspective, one that hopefully will be retained even after the magic system is released. "A fantasy RPG with no magic." Think about it.
The first adventure supplement has been planned, the Nightingale adaptation. It will come out after the setting for sure, and as written will take place within that setting, but the setting itself will not be crucial to the adventure.
Next two ideas fall under "write what you know." Sourcebooks for the setting which deal with subcultures that have nothing to do with mysticism or "special" people... just people, existing on the fringes of the society laid out. Advantage: This can give a focus to play. Advantage: This can flesh out facets of the setting in ways 'standard' supplements don't. Advantage: If people don't give a shit, it's not something they need to pay attention to, and it won't ruin the setting or the game for them. Disadvantage: It's not necessary so they might be bad economic decisions. Ah, who gives a flying fongoolie, this entire thing is an economic disaster waiting to happen... but it will be my disaster, damn it. The ideas... working title Goblinpunk, basically taking the heavy metal subculture and putting it in a fantasy medieval societal context. They are against the status quo, they are centered around "odd" music, and they base their appearance on the goblin tribes across the mountains. What this does is force definition of the society in the first place, and maybe I just haven't been looking, but how many people publish sourcebooks for games that are entire social in effect, without game mechanics being important at all? Maybe tons. Add one more. Similarly, the plans for Pro Gladiator... troupes of warriors who fight for profit in front of audiences... but is the combat real? Tons and tons and tons and tons and tons of potential here for all sorts of things, and I'm sure people will just have their minds boggled by rules for determining how many people show up to the arena to watch, and if it is all staged combat (which the GM will decide), how to determine if the crowd picks up on it or not. Anyway, two books that are a step up in creativity from "Dwarves of the Deep" or "Armies of the World"... Another advantage is there's a couple of audiences to aim at that aren't just RPG players.
... so, I've finally been looking around RPG sites. I'd stayed away from that because I didn't want to be influenced. Now that I'm looking around, I'm scared. It looks like a lot of players are into games where the setting is hardwired into the game itself, and the character's role is strictly defined... like people should know what they need to do just by reading the back of the book. Agh. This is going to be tough. Even old D&D made the assumption that killing monsters and collecting treasure was the goal of the game... that's how the character improvement system was designed. LotFP: RPG makes *no* such assumptions. Apparently that's seen in some quarters as a "design deficiency", leaving a character's purpose uncertain. Christ, who would ever touch a game where it all falls apart if you want to do something other than the hard-written character roles?
I've also got two distributors set up, albeit on a consignment basis. Can't hurt.
... I think I'll wrap this up now, look out for frequent postings, but certainly less lengthy postings as I sum up a couple days instead of a couple weeks...
