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Post by thegreyelf on Jul 3, 2012 12:02:24 GMT -6
So I've been seriously contemplating a kickstarter campaign to release either Twelve Parsecs or Wasted Lands (or both). Both have been long-promised, and for both I want to do them right. A kickstarter seems the only way to get the funds.
However, I'm also always concerned that nobody is interested enough in my work to bother. So I figured I'd give it a start here. Who would be interested in helping to fund one of these projects, or both?
Thanks.
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Post by aldarron on Jul 3, 2012 12:57:02 GMT -6
Jason, I'm tempted to vote "no interest". I didn't, because I honestly don't know enough about either project to know whether I should be interested or not.
I expect I could get more info with google, but I think it would serve your interests better if you explained why you want to make and market these games and what about them should attract players and backers in a fairly busy kickstarter market. As it stands I've no way to distinguish them from other games of the same genra.
Just as an aside.... if you are considering Kickstarter projects, an adventure for Spellcraft and Swordplay would be nice....
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Post by stevemitchell on Jul 3, 2012 13:42:09 GMT -6
The "Lovecraftian Sword. . ." tag has me interested. Lovecraftian Sword & Sorcery, I assume? Where would I go to find out more about this?
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Post by thegreyelf on Jul 4, 2012 6:46:14 GMT -6
Yes, its Lovecraftian Sword and Sorcery. I talk about it a good bit over at my blog on elflairgames.blogspot.com/ Twelve Parsecs is the space opera RPG I've been working on that will be powered by O.R.C.S. (our house system). It will be set up as an overarching generic set of space opera rules, hopefully covering everything from cyberpunk-style adventures to planetary romance with starfighters and mystic warriors. It will then have an included "meta setting" that will be default for the game. The meta setting will deal essentially with secret societies in space--the Templars, the Masons, the Illuminati, and similar groups battling amongst the stars. Wasted Lands, on the other hand, is what I call "Lovecraftian Swords and Sorcery." In an effort to find the kind of balance a good swords and sorcery game needs, I'm not focusing on the "Weird" or on visceral horror. That is to say, I'm not going to mask essentially just another retro-clone with artwork full of nude women being ravaged by tentacles, nor am I going to present a basic horror game that pretends it's a fantasy game. Wasted Lands will be much more Robert E. Howard in style, and many of the rules I've put forth for my Age of Conan OD&D pamphlets are being tweaked and incorporated for the game. The premise is that it takes place about 1,000 years after the stars go wrong, putting the Old Ones to sleep. Mankind is struggling against the lingering servants of the Old Ones to carve a place in the world, and the heroes of this age will go on to be remembered as the gods of the ancient world. This game will include new elements to magic from Spellcraft & Swordplay, including a corruption mechanic and all new spells. For both games, the system will be advanced from S&S, though still recognizable.
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Post by aldarron on Jul 4, 2012 12:55:08 GMT -6
Yes, its Lovecraftian Sword and Sorcery. I talk about it a good bit over at my blog on elflairgames.blogspot.com/ Twelve Parsecs is the space opera RPG I've been working on that will be powered by O.R.C.S. (our house system). It will be set up as an overarching generic set of space opera rules, hopefully covering everything from cyberpunk-style adventures to planetary romance with starfighters and mystic warriors. It will then have an included "meta setting" that will be default for the game. The meta setting will deal essentially with secret societies in space--the Templars, the Masons, the Illuminati, and similar groups battling amongst the stars. Wasted Lands, on the other hand, is what I call "Lovecraftian Swords and Sorcery." In an effort to find the kind of balance a good swords and sorcery game needs, I'm not focusing on the "Weird" or on visceral horror. That is to say, I'm not going to mask essentially just another retro-clone with artwork full of nude women being ravaged by tentacles, nor am I going to present a basic horror game that pretends it's a fantasy game. Wasted Lands will be much more Robert E. Howard in style, and many of the rules I've put forth for my Age of Conan OD&D pamphlets are being tweaked and incorporated for the game. The premise is that it takes place about 1,000 years after the stars go wrong, putting the Old Ones to sleep. Mankind is struggling against the lingering servants of the Old Ones to carve a place in the world, and the heroes of this age will go on to be remembered as the gods of the ancient world. This game will include new elements to magic from Spellcraft & Swordplay, including a corruption mechanic and all new spells. For both games, the system will be advanced from S&S, though still recognizable. Okey-doke, I had gathered a lot of that from some of your earlier threads. Correct me if I'm wrong, these games will basically be Spellcraft and Swordplay, tailored to each genra, yes? 12 parsecs really holds no interest for me. It doesn't seem particularly "special" in any way that would draw me in to playing it over the spcae based games I already know. There's no "hook" I can see, and, of the two, you seem to have the least passion for it. <shrug> Wasted lands, on the other hand, drawing on your excellent Conan stuff and S&S, seems to fill more of a niche as a gritty alternative to the high fantasy of D&D. I wonder though, if you might be better served by creating them as supplements to S&S, than stand alone games.
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Post by stevemitchell on Jul 4, 2012 17:05:44 GMT -6
Wasted Lands. . .by Crom and Cthulhu, yes! Just my sort of thing. And just to be contrary, I'd prefer a standalone set of rules.
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Post by thegreyelf on Jul 5, 2012 6:35:00 GMT -6
Okey-doke, I had gathered a lot of that from some of your earlier threads. Correct me if I'm wrong, these games will basically be Spellcraft and Swordplay, tailored to each genra, yes? 12 parsecs really holds no interest for me. It doesn't seem particularly "special" in any way that would draw me in to playing it over the spcae based games I already know. There's no "hook" I can see, and, of the two, you seem to have the least passion for it. <shrug> Wasted lands, on the other hand, drawing on your excellent Conan stuff and S&S, seems to fill more of a niche as a gritty alternative to the high fantasy of D&D. I wonder though, if you might be better served by creating them as supplements to S&S, than stand alone games. No, I don't think I would--I originally had planned on doing so, but I've done a lot of industry "Trending" research, and a few things stand out: 1. The system is going to be "advanced"/altered enough for both games that I would need to include enough rules to make them both practically full games anyway. Core S&S is really an alternate take on D&D-style fantasy, and those concepts are subsumed and assumed in the rules set--neither of these games fit. 2. Generic games, for the most part, are done (at least for now). There are so many generic games on the market that just having a good system doesn't cut it when you're selling to people who don't need yet another fantasy/sci fi game. You need to have a selling point, and the selling point is strong system/setting integration (though still with the ability to strip the setting specifics if the buyer wishes). Doing projects like this as a sourcebook is a poor way to bring in new players, who shouldn't be forced to buy multiple books just to get in on it. This is why I'm moving away from core S&S for the time being, though it will remain in print, and moving towards setting-based games. I also have a poll going at my website and it's interesting. Here so far I'm about 50/50 between interested/not interested, with the interested parties leaning towards WL. Over at my blog I have a LOT more interest in supporting the effort than I do no interest, but the supporters are also evenly split. I still would like to get some more responses, as the 20 or so I've received between here and there aren't enough to convince me I can move forward...but if I do I'll still need to decide which one to pursue first. I'm leaning towards Wasted Lands. Now, onto what will differentiate these games. Twelve Parsecs I think what will differentiate 12P is the setting. I plan to do a lot of intrigue, political maneuvering, and subterfuge. It's going to have elements of mysticism and espionage mixed in amongst the starfighters and naval battles in space. If you think about current conceptions of secret societies, there's a popular culture conception of the "New World Order" wherein they're all competing for control of the world behind the scenes. Make that literal and move it to the entire galaxy and beyond... Wasted LandsFor Wasted Lands, the key I think is the idea not only of humans struggling to take the world away from the servants of the newly-slumbering Old Ones, but the fact that you're playing characters (nominally) who will go on to become the gods and heroes of later myth. So, for example, you might be playing a warrior from Hyperborea named Thor, or a sorceress from Khem named Isis. But you're not gods. You're human beings with extraordinary powers (sorcerers, warriors, assassins, etc.) whose great deeds will be deified by later civilizations. It's a melding of the Mythos with elements of real-world mythology, set against the backdrop of a Howardian world, only even more savage. That's the concept I'm working with, anyway.
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Post by stevemitchell on Jul 5, 2012 7:45:58 GMT -6
Or a priest from Shem named Yahweh?
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Post by thegreyelf on Jul 5, 2012 9:30:24 GMT -6
Or a priest from Shem named Yahweh? I'll admit I hadn't considered that but it's a pretty d**n brilliant idea and yes, spot on with what I had in mind, though it'd be a sorcerer from Shem. As there are no "gods" yet beyond the Great Old Ones, there are also no priests, per se.
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