- I'm trying to coordinate with layout on when to begin doing the layout of the book.
- Work on the cover has commenced. So far, it looks fantastic. Once money changes hands I'll be happy to announce the artist.
- I'm outlining the "Example of Play" chapter. More on that below.
Following Liu Jen Hao's suggestion, I've begun putting this chapter together in a "Choose Your Own Adventure" style. There will be a couple of sections following the Example of Play that hopefully clarify finer points of playing in and running a game of TATG. Right now it's in outline stage, which you could probably guess is tricky with a CYOA format. The CYOA covers Research and Investigation, Combat, Fear and some of the other rule tweaks in TATG. Overall, it's a good overview of the rule enhancements and character abilities -- although it lacks some of the crawliness of a typical TATG session. Mostly that's because it's just one character. And because a straight up dungeon crawl would almost be a book of its own in CYOA format.
I'd like to think it's an appropriately Gothic sort of tale with a bit of Hammer thrown in for good measure. The character is a 1st level Hunter.
A shout-out to Liu Jen for the suggestion. I think it was a great idea and it's been exciting putting work into it.
Work on Book Two
A big shout-out to Raven Crowking for the fantastic title of "Hanging Judge's Guide to Transylvania". Work has already started on this book. At this point I have about 1/2 to 2/3 of it drafted. Much of it will need to be significantly overhauled. I'll also include an Appendix of "Advanced Rules" that should give groups fun ways to tweak the DCC ruleset even further but aren't really necessary rules. The Hammer-themed "Cleavage Rule" is one good example here. Book Two will also include several "campaign themes" that should be fun to kickstart a game or two.
Ferris Bueller Has My Beta
I've heard some encouraging feedback around the "beta" version of TATG. Most responses are positive. But there's been a whole lot of silence from most of the group. I'm hoping that people are taking their time reviewing the book and are far too busy playing the mess out of TATG to respond. As far as a more widely available "beta", we're still discussing that around these parts. Maybe that's an avenue to explore in the not-too-distant future.
Conventions?
Well. I'm in Austin, Texas. And so there we are with that. I'm hoping to attend NTRPG in June. That's the hope. We'll see how finances and availability play out. There's also a guy in Waco that's trying to put together a convention. If that comes to fruition, I'd expect to be there with my vampire cape on.
I'm TIRED OF WAITING
Me too. I'm hoping to get all this to layout sometime after the Spring semester ends. I've probably mentioned before but my wife is handling layout. Don't freak out just yet. She worked in production for a well-known company and has handled layout and design for a few bestsellers. We're in good hands and she's going to rock this. The family discount doesn't hurt. But coordinating her schedule is the chief concern. It's looking like May or June before she'll have the time to devote to laying out the book. We've already discussed much of it so, conceptually, we're solid. We've got fonts. A good deal of art from Raven Crowking and Scott Ackerman. I'll also be putting together some pieces for the book. And hopefully will get a green light to commission some more art from the cover artist.
So that's where we are and where we'll be. Please feel free to share any thoughts/concerns/feedback/updates of your own. And if you plan on being at NTRPG or can get me in with that group to run a game or two, that would be awesome.