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Post by doublejig2 on Feb 7, 2020 16:24:13 GMT -6
I have written a book. It's Dice or Die: Investigations into a Fantasy Campaign Milieu. The book is 33 chapters and 697 pages. It is broken into a 1st chapter, followed by 8 sections of 4 chapters each: Classes, Denizens, Communities, Core Areas, Adversaries, Geography, Fantasy milieu, Campaigns. It features a Rick Sardinha cover, and interior art by Jaquays, Leblanc, Sardinha, and others. Does it have a happy ending? At $23.99, that may be.
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Post by Finarvyn on Feb 7, 2020 20:35:58 GMT -6
Details look interesting, but a little vague. Is this aimed at OD&D, or is there a specific edition/game that forms the focus of the book? Maybe it's a "general RPG" primer?
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Post by doublejig2 on Feb 7, 2020 21:00:49 GMT -6
I'd have to go with general RPG primer; it's a guided invitation to a fantasy campaign milieu discussion -- more OD&D and 1e than any other systems but not tied to a specific system.
Here's the toc:
LEGALESE 4 DEDICATION 5 PREFACE 6 TABLE OF CONTENTS 12 INTRODUCTION 15 ANTE UP 21 PART I—CLASSES 41 CLERICS, HEALERS, AND DRUIDS 42 FIGHTERS, PALADINS, AND RANGERS 53 MAGIC USERS & ILLUSIONISTS 64 ROGUES 77 FICTION: BOOTS 88 PART II—DENIZENS 90 ARISTOCRACY 91 COMMONERS 113 THE GAINFUL PERSON 136 NPCS 140 FICTION: THE STERN MAN 163 PART III—COMMUNITIES 165 GROUPS 166 CITY FACTIONS 173 URBAN PLACES 183 SOCIETY 202 FICTION: ADVENTURER’S CONTRACT 215 PART IV—CORE AREAS 218 A NEWS STORY EXAMPLE 219 A SANDBOX EXAMPLE 229 TEMPLATE EXAMPLE 246 AN URBAN EXAMPLE 253 FICTION: SONG IN THE SLAVE HOLD 268 PART V—ADVERSARIES 274 EVILDOER 275 EVIL CULTS 294 MONSTERS 308 CULT OF THE SHORN MEN (ADVENTURE LEVELS 10+) 320 FICTION: DOG CAPTAIN 337 PART VI—GEOGRAPHY 339 ISLANDS 340 VOLCANOES 345 DYNAMO (A DIALOG) 349 TRAVEL LOG ENTRIES 366 FICTION: THE TALE OF LYRATES 381 PART VII—FANTASY MILIEU 386 CHANGE 387 CULTURES 401 COSMOLOGY 409 SPELL CASTER REPUTATION 423 FICTION: SUN OF ASPS 433 PART VIII—CAMPAIGNS 437 WITCHLANDS (A FANTASY CAMPAIGN SETTING) 438 TROUBLE IN TECKTON (AN ADVENTURE LEVELS 1-3) 502 DUNGEONS 568 RE-SKINNING 581 FICTION: THE TRIALS OF CHERZANUS 646 EPILOGUE 652 APPENDIX BLOGS 654 APPENDIX BOOKS 659 APPENDIX MOVIES 665 APPENDIX WATCHTOWER 668 BIBLIOGRAPHY 671
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Post by Finarvyn on Feb 7, 2020 22:47:13 GMT -6
Looks pretty extensive. Is the target demographic novice gamers or experienced? (e.g. is it a "what is an RPG?" sort of thing, or a "here's how to master what you do already" concept?) The TOC makes it seem a lot like a guide for the novice.
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Post by doublejig2 on Feb 7, 2020 23:02:07 GMT -6
Not for novices, though I wish I had had something similar when I first started out. Each chapter is an in-depth look at a topic. It's more basics/foundation than beginner, if that makes sense. Hopefully, the experienced gamer will enjoy it as a general, re-assert a campaign milieu source book. Thanks for the inquiry. I'll change the blurb on Amazon to reflect the intended audience better. Here's a link to Chapter 2 - clerics, healers, and druidsAnd one to Chapter 5 - rogues.
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Post by doublejig2 on Feb 16, 2020 17:54:42 GMT -6
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Post by doublejig2 on Apr 27, 2020 11:56:02 GMT -6
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Post by doublejig2 on Oct 6, 2020 13:53:40 GMT -6
Based on feedback, I have released a second edition of my book. The result is a dense, tight book of 436 pages, suitable for cogent DMs and ferocious world builders, or anyone else, who insists on some deeper FRP foundation in discussion or at the game table. From the book's description: Tired of just skimming the adventurer gameable surface? Take a plunge into a productive, fantasy campaign milieu discussion. Responding first to the question of whether or not a person can return to the game table after decades hiatus, the book investigates with vigor a fantasy campaign milieu, which is seen to follow from the simple assertion that the bulette is tougher than the owl bear. Here, what follows is an in-depth, eclectic body of work. Gritty fantasy world conceptions are developed, including: classes, denizens, communities, core areas, adversaries, geography, fantasy milieu, and campaigns. This sourcing foundation is augmented with original fiction and chock full of examples and insights into the creative process. Always, the reader is anchored into the campaign milieu and its panics, revels, and struggles, which develop over the course of the text. Thus, with depth, an answer to the original question develops. As well, eloquently, when taken to the max this book should be flat out inspiring to a particular kind of reader. Gaining entry are thus experienced referees, rock-steady adventurers, theorists, hooded savants, and planet savers. Last, pound for pound and for the money, this book is by far among the best available on its subject. For although Gary Gygax's renowned Fantasy Worlds series is the closest in concept, it's out of print and very expensive, while Dice or Die is 3 times the length and less expensive than one of the excellent Kobold Guides. The only questions remaining, then, sir or madam, are will you pass muster in an intense game table discussion? Will you feed your head?Here's the Amazon link: Dice or Die: Investigations into a Fantasy Campaign Milieu.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Oct 7, 2020 5:25:55 GMT -6
Do you have a preview of the actual "main" chapters online, perhaps?
Also, if you're on Amazon, will there be a Kindle edition coming?
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Post by doublejig2 on Oct 7, 2020 7:35:23 GMT -6
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Post by doublejig2 on Oct 9, 2020 9:29:43 GMT -6
Dice or Die: Investigations into a Fantasy Campaign Milieu is currently under review by amazon. It will be ready in a day or two.
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Post by doublejig2 on Oct 10, 2020 17:22:07 GMT -6
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Post by doublejig2 on Nov 14, 2020 14:40:16 GMT -6
Okay. After a favorable review from Mister Frau Blaucher for the 1st edition, I received feedback from Finarvyn that the book was good but theoretical in places. Agreeing, I rewrote chapters on npcs, society, cosmology and a few others. The book 2nd edition is now complete and should allow for a full read without incurring the risk of a fatal brain aneurysm or any other discomfort. The skivvy: I think you will like Dice or Die: Investigations into a Fantasy Campaign Milieu, if you like the following two sample paragraphs: Manifest Dyad of Lost Imperial Nalel (scores: 5, 2, 6, 5, 2, 6, 5) Manifest Dyad of Lost Imperial Nalel (scores: 5, 2, 6, 5, 2, 6, 5)
Behold the Manifest Dyad of Lost Imperial Nalel! On the surface, just on the southern coast of the straits of Ongr, along the northern border of the Desert of Protean Kings, where the River Nicor rushes down from a hard plateau, below which lies Candela’s terrible Tombs of Hurn, the City State of Fajar declares for all of Běone of both the sun and the moon. Yet far beneath the surface, cunning in access, entry by regal charter alone, beneath Fajar’s palace, subterranean schooners trade on the upper Chthon River. These ships traverse daily to find Fajar’s underdark sister City State, which is the legendary hidden gem called Hrad. Such is the Manifest Dyad of Lost Imperial Nalel. Few know its larger secrets. Access to the lower realm is not easily acquired. Historical landed arrangements guard the trade between the ruling houses of both cities.
There is a wildness to both of these places. Savagery, conquest, and experience are called equalizers here. Life cannot be restricted to craft and tedium alone. It is up to an individual to render himself on such a canvass in a way that captures the imagination of others. Intrigue, politics, indulgences of every kind find the markets and alleys of Fajar near the desert. And these pale before the Hradian sense of upright man, limping before the satyr he could be, if he weren’t so d**ned reserved. Those who can do. Those who can entertain, enliven, and embolden either the City State of Fajar or Hrad do very well, indeed. Festival in these places touches upon lunacy. The peoples here push for more out of habit. There is a great longing for lost glory. There is a willingness to be seduced by promises for its renewal. Many cults claim Fajar and never sunlit Hrad as their place of origin.
Fight on!
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Post by doublejig2 on Nov 20, 2020 20:04:10 GMT -6
Anyone out there interested in reviewing Dice or Die 2nd edition? If so, message me your mailing address, and I'll send you a copy.
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Post by doublejig2 on Jan 18, 2021 12:59:15 GMT -6
A new review of current book on Amazon (2nd edition): 5.0 out of 5 stars "Dice or Die" is the Edda of Fantasy Campaigning!Reviewed in the United States on January 12, 2021 With its interwoven strains of world creation, game mechanics, philosophical debate and original fiction, "Dice or Die" reads like an ancient text that reveals only the surface of a vast cosmological array. Take the journey cover-to-cover and you will find yourself fully immersed in a fantastical world that feels perfectly real and true. It will prod any DM worth their salt to consider questions of geo-political, societal, ethical and historical depth as they construct and inhabit the fantasy world in their care, and suggest ways in which game mechanics can make such considerations manifest in a very real, table-top RPG context. Kudos to Knoepfle for bringing these worlds so thoroughly to life in flesh and bone, the parts you see and don't see. "Dice or Die" is truly a wonderous tome.
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Post by doublejig2 on Jan 19, 2021 16:29:34 GMT -6
Just added an image of a dice blowing courtesan thief by Rick Sardinha to the book.
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Post by doublejig2 on Feb 4, 2021 18:39:04 GMT -6
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Post by rredmond on Feb 15, 2021 9:54:14 GMT -6
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arkansan
Level 5 Thaumaturgist
Posts: 229
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Post by arkansan on Feb 24, 2021 20:18:05 GMT -6
Just ordered a copy, I'm looking forward to it!
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Post by doublejig2 on Feb 26, 2021 11:23:28 GMT -6
Awesome! First sale!
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arkansan
Level 5 Thaumaturgist
Posts: 229
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Post by arkansan on Mar 3, 2021 20:34:22 GMT -6
My copy arrived in the post the other day. I've been a bit busy lately, but I plan on sitting down and giving the book a first pass this weekend. May even write up a preliminary review.
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Post by doublejig2 on Mar 8, 2021 10:22:47 GMT -6
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Post by doublejig2 on Jun 18, 2021 11:25:21 GMT -6
In an effort to generate word of mouth comments regards my book, I will send a free copy of Dice or Die to anyone who wants one (up to 10 people). No review expected or necessary. If interested, just send a pm with your mailing address.
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Post by jeffb on Jun 21, 2021 7:53:04 GMT -6
I had no idea you had written a book, let alone how long ago- First time I saw this thread. I'm clueless about some of the areas of this forum. Looking forward to checking this out. Thanks doublejig2
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Post by doublejig2 on Jun 23, 2021 14:17:57 GMT -6
Thanks to everyone who responded with PM. Half the books are on order. The other half are delayed by a billing snafu, which should be resolved in a day or two.
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Post by doublejig2 on Jun 27, 2021 9:30:26 GMT -6
All books are ordered and should be shipping soon. Expect your copy by Wednesday or Thursday of coming week.
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Post by jeffb on Jul 1, 2021 12:41:18 GMT -6
FYI- received my copy today. Thank you. It's hefty! Looking forward to sitting down with it a bit this weekend.
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Post by doublejig2 on Jul 1, 2021 14:32:59 GMT -6
Cool, man! The slow blade penetrates the shield, said Duncan Idaho to Paul...
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jamiltron
Level 2 Seer
Always looking for games/player in West LA
Posts: 44
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Post by jamiltron on Jul 7, 2021 10:12:10 GMT -6
Just ordered, I am looking forward to reading this!
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jul 9, 2021 13:02:15 GMT -6
I'm halfway through my complimentary copy (thanks). Enjoying it a lot so far. I've read a lot of advice about making a believable and interconnected fantasy milieu over the years, of course, which is inevitable when you've been running and playing in fantasy RPGs for decades, but you've organized your thoughts into an enjoyable, informative and often humorous way.
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