Preview: Quadded Challenges
almost 7 years ago – Fri, Jul 28, 2017 at 01:52:12 PM

To wrap up the week, here are some preview Quadded Challenges.  Challenge is a general term for anything that requires a non-combat check--doors, locks, jumps, falls, social or conversational challenges, that sort of thing.

Here are two versions: One is "non-quadded", meaning PCs of any level experience the same situation.  The other is quadded, meaning that depending on the difficulty level band of the PCs, they experience an easier or more difficult version of the challenge.

This isn't rocket science; most doors, for example, simply up the DC by 2 for each band.  However there are cases where the nature of the challenge encountered changes, as well as slightly upping the check value required to defeat.

Preview: Quadded Treasure
almost 7 years ago – Tue, Jul 25, 2017 at 01:48:04 PM

Another new feature coming to Berinncorte Basecamp that represents an improvement over Dark Obelisk 1: Quadded Treasure.

Here's an example.  The format allows for two types of treasure: Common Treasure and Quadded Treasure.

Common Treasure is marked with all four Variable Difficulty badges, and is there regardless of what level the PCs are.

Quadded Treasure is split out, reflecting the iteration of treasure that is found depending on the Variable Difficulty band the PCs are when they happen upon it.

The Hallway Chest example below contains both.  Specifically, PCs of any level will find the identical journal book; further treasure is also found and its contents and value depend on how skilled the party is.

 Onward with more content writing!  Book is up to 733 pages and growing.

Preview: Quadded Traps
almost 7 years ago – Mon, Jul 24, 2017 at 06:54:48 PM

Significant progress; the Brushgather Farm standalone adventure chapter is about 50% complete and consists of many of the neatest maps in the book.

Here's an example of a new feature in IGS books, which premieres in Berinncorte Basecamp: Quadded Traps.

All this means is that each trap gets Quadded Statblocks.  Meaning, every trap has four descriptions, each scaled for a different level of variable difficulty, roughly equating to PC character levels 1, 6, 10, and 14, though there's a great deal of flexibility in there.

This is just like every NPC and monster that's been in our books from the beginning, but now, based on feedback and reviews, the intent is to have the same approach for traps, some skill checks, and locks.

So without further ado, here's a pretty standard poison needle trap, Quadded out (Pathfinder rules system version of the book):

Preview: Prose from the Gates
almost 7 years ago – Fri, Jul 21, 2017 at 02:05:49 PM

Terror & Fear: Opposing Forces

One might reasonably ask why a population fleeing a situation like that within the city would end up so close to it—after all, wouldn’t it make more sense to run farther away from the thing you’re afraid of?

There are two forces at work here: terror, and fear.

Terror is the immediate threat, the burned-in vision of neighbors and colleagues being torn apart by demons, and the physical wounds that are still healing. This is what has caused the flight from the city to any other place of save haven. 

Fear, however, is what keeps the battered citizenry close to their home: monsters from the city have in some cases found their way out, and are roaming the countryside. To venture too far afield might mean running into them, and having zero support structure to call upon. 

So while it might drive some to madness, and many may question whether a better choice may be possible, for the time being, at least, the population dwells right outside the city walls. 

Nightly, they hear sounds of the horrors within wage further destruction upon their former home. Daily, they question their sanity, and second-guess the decision. 

But uprooting and moving elsewhere seems unthinkable. To leave their home would mean truly giving up on it, to admit defeat, and to recognize that things will never return to normal. 

There’s a certain inertia in near-term defeat, a glum resignedness to the status quo, that has permeated the hearts of those huddled in the muddy shadows about the base of their onetime place of safety.

IGS State of the Nation: July 2017
almost 7 years ago – Thu, Jul 20, 2017 at 01:55:29 PM

TL;DR: Executive Summary

• I am committed to deliver everything I've promised, regardless of whether or not a given product gets its own "enhancement KS" or if such a KS gets funded. 
• Kickstarters for already-committed work are, and will only be, used to fuel additional content, primarily in the form of commissioned artwork. 
• Kickstarters for already-committed work do not, and will not, interrupt the development of earlier-committed work. 
• I need to up my dedication of time to increase the output, and make sure we deliver more, more quickly, than we've been on track to thus far in 2017. 
• I'll use surveys increasingly to get feedback from backers, to make sure that we are working on the things that are most important to the people who make our work possible. 
• Although it will take time to deliver on everything promised, all products will be completed. And hopefully many more, besides! 

Detailed Thoughts 

I wanted to take this opportunity to muse about where we are right now, and offer some insight as to how we plan to move forward. 

The good news is, we've had a number of hugely successful Kickstarter projects in 2017. 

The more frustrating status is, we're behind schedule on delivering. 

In 2017 thus far, we've delivered quite a lot--the Players' Guide to DO1, three books of pregenerated characters (including the largest such volume known in indie RPG publishing), and a massive proof-of-concept magic item that has set the stage for two future books of such items. We've also fulfilled a great deal of pledge rewards--over 700 individual PDF, hardcover, and softcover distributions. We've gathered professional reviews, and have commissioned dozens of pieces of new artwork--including illustrations for the entire suite of NPCs from Dark Obelisk 1, to be featured in the upcoming Berinncorte Basecamp book. 

Kickstarter & Commitments 

I definitely do consider myself committed to deliver all of the books promised throughout the KS projects that I've already had, and I do fully intend to deliver them. Druid Enclave, for example, will be produced and published and delivered regardless of how its KS goes. I need no further funds to produce what I've committed to. Frankly, I get such a kick and a rush out of writing this stuff that it is truly its own reward. It may be difficult to believe based on the enormous success of recent Kickstarters, but I really do lose money net/net on all of this--every cent I earn from KS goes right into tools, artwork, printing, etc. So I'm in this for the long haul, regardless of what Kickstarter does, or what sales turn out to be on RPGnow, or whatever.

The main catalyst for the several most recent Kickstarters has been art leadtime. DO1 had very minimal artwork, so timing of those commissions wasn't nearly as much of a factor. But now that so many projects have enjoyed so much success, I really do want to have more art--and for books like Artifacts & Artifice, for example, art is crucial to the presentation. A single illustration takes up to 3 weeks from initial ask to completed file, and I'd like to have dozens in each of the books on the radar--even with a cadre of five artists helping, the math dictates a pretty significant leadtime to spin things up. 

If a Kickstarter fails, or if I decide to simply not do a KS project for a particular book, then that book will still get produced, but it'll lack the artwork that I feel would make it a more complete, professional product. Basically, the Druid Enclave KS, for example, allows me to scale the planned commissions inline with the project's success... but the book will get written regardless. 

None of the recent or new Kickstarters has delayed production of other products already in the pipeline. BB, for example, is so behind not because of the intervening Kickstarters, but frankly from a combination of three factors: my day job having changed, the birth of my third kid, and the ambition of the project having grown. 

Crowdsourcing, Crowdfunding, & Quality

As a superbacker myself of over 300 Kickstarters, I can appreciate a variety of backer perspectives on delivery. 

Personally, I recognize that KS is far less a store than a creative crowdfunding and crowdsourcing engine, and as a result, I tend to prefer eventual delivery of a better product. I'd also estimate that 10% of indie RPG projects I've backed simply never deliver anything, another 50% end up taking an order of magnitude longer to deliver than the initial estimates projected, and 20% of the remaining projects that deliver somewhat close to on time turn out to be disappointments of really amateur quality. I'd estimate that, generously, maybe 20% of RPG products I've backed deliver on time, with decent quality... and every single one of those "on time and good" projects was either already completed when the Kickstarter launched (which I interpret as simply using KS as free marketing and sales, which isn't bad but doesn't seem quite in the true spirit of KS), or was created by a "real company" who had full-time employees etc. YMMV as to the projects you've backed, of course, but that's been my experience over the last few years. 

All of that said, I absolutely do respect the preference to have work completed within estimates. Ironically, I'm a project manager in my day job, so I get it, really I do!

Communications & Expectations 

I've tried to be pretty transparent about all of the above in my update postings and in the descriptions to each Kickstarter, but I recognize that I tend to put a ton of verbiage out there and sometimes the spirit of what I mean to say gets lost. 

I always welcome feedback, and several of you have messaged or emailed me with your thoughts, recommendations, and concerns. Going forward, I'll be more active in explicitly soliciting input from backers. As a matter of fact, I actually have a survey already authored, and ready to pull the trigger on. But I wanted to get at least DO2 out the door and delivered before I do that; hard to ask what order backers want pipeline products to be delivered in when a major looming one hasn't yet gone out the door! 

Capacity Planning 

This may be more transparency than you care to know, but I just this morning had a sit-down with my wife, and we arranged childcare duties in weekday evenings so I can squeeze in an extra 1-2 hours a night to work on getting committed projects out the door more quickly. That should help considerably. 

Nobody's Reading Any More, Wrap It Up, Dude 

So in closing: I always welcome feedback. I respect and value each and every backer from each project, and it is absolutely my goal to make sure everyone ends up with products that make them feel thrilled, and glad that they backed me to begin with. And to be a bit modest, I do feel that the output delivers in that regard. It's the time element that's definitely lacking right now, and I hope to improve that going forward. 

Sincerely, 

  Jason