hobbygamers ~ View topic

*Last edited by Revan on Mon Nov 17, 2008 10:34 pm; edited 1 time in total*

Well, we have a fair number of people playing BT now, but a lot of the fluff and tech stuff we're coming up with at the moment is still passed around by word of mouth unless you're a member of the devteam. If we want this setting to be more accessible, we need to have at least a quick summary out there that players can work with to get the feel of the setting.

I'll be working on consolidating campaign fluff text for now given what we have in the proposals and in discussion sections. This should be a bit like our "namelog" thread, with the names of various factions, etc, plus quick descriptions.

Tech team will try to get a few things in. *prepares TT whip*

Otherwise, just send me everything we need to put in, and any BT images you may want to include. I'm practicing my Indesign skills, so I'll try layouting them into a decent pdf. Wink

Inspired by Oerth Journal

Okay, how about this? Instead of a Quickstart Guide, I recommend a non-regular Bonethrall Gazeteer. It's an e-zine, much like the Dragon of today (though it will most likely have less articles). Basically, every issue will feature some fluff, a Paragon Path or two, maybe even an ED. Nothing ambitious; 20-30 pages per issue seems good enough.

If you guys agree to this, we need to do a few things ASAP:

*We're going to offer it as a free download, so we need to find a site (or the know-how) that will host the pdf files.
*We need to assign positions like E-I-C, Layout artist and somesuch.
*We need to sign the GSL as the UP Hobbygamers' Circle. Link
*I think we have enough material to publish issue #1 by December. Of course, that means the above concerns should be addressed by next week.

So far, here's some content that could work for issue #1:
*Introduction: The Journal of Kyris Lasirlan
*The Godforged Epic Destiny

Other articles that we can cook up relatively fast:
*Untended Lands: The Ruined Sea (written in the style of Domains of Dread)
*Bloodsun Hunter (A paragon path I'm designing that is inspired by Fhrayle Brittlewood)

Other suggestions are welcome.

So guys, willing to work for the first issue?

Suggestion, how about excerpts from "The Ilawith Times" (I mean, the Lizardbones IC thread). Some ongoing story that people might read for enjoyment, also for people to get a grasp of our game world through the Player Characters' eyes.

It could work, although the Journal of Kyris lasirlan seems to work okay already for that.

It's a nice suggestion, though. I may be able to work with it...

Format sounds interesting. Why oh why must something so interesting as BT come to flower at the same time that I have to write for thesis? Razz

Occasional contributor, continuity buff maybe. I don't know if I should go all out EIC, as I'm going to have my hands full.

Though as a clarification, I intended the Quick-start guide as something of a primer to BT, explaining the setting in broad strokes and setting up some basics, rather than a fully-detailed world book like the FRPG. It's an introduction, not a comprehensive splat, just so that new players and DMs will have an idea of what the world is and what can be seen here.

I understand that, Rev. I also believe that one issue of the Gazeteer wouldn't describe BT completely.

Think of it this way: Issue 1 is the QSPG; we'll even include your current work on the QSPG in the first pages. i just want to expand on it a bit, so that it becomes an actual e-zine, and something that we could continuously do after.

As for the EIC post, I'd actually suggest AAS for it, if he can bear the load. Besides, he is conveniently the current PubComm head, too. Wink

EIC won't be doing too much, even. Just organize the stuff that the other people have written.

Very Old Dragon Joined: 29 Aug 2007 Posts: 693

It's a good idea but we're going to need people actually willing to write. >.>;; Saying it is one thing but the doing seems to be the problem...though it should probably be something presented aside from the quickstart guide because these are two different concerns entirely...

Very Old Dragon Joined: 29 Aug 2007 Posts: 693

@_@ Now that I've read it better, that was probably the lack of sleep talking...scratch that... XD

All right, we've been talking over the Gazetter idea. Roughly:

AAS==EIC
Revan==contributor and continuity buff
Juaberman=will need to learn Acrobat for editing into PDF. consult with BJ.

Issue 1 outline
-Introduction to Bonethrall
*take the introduction of the BTQSPG Alpha 1. Expand slightly.
-The core races in Bonethrall
-Places.
-Fluff Article: On the Nature of Godstones: An Alternative Hypothesis by Magnus of Jorat.
-Tech Article: Nagthari Bloodsun Hunter.
-Tech Article: Critical Threats (A collection pf notable custom creatures used in the games so far, such as the Eladrin Warpblade, Nihilist, etc.)
-Sample Adventure

Very Old Dragon Joined: 29 Aug 2007 Posts: 693

Alright...since the writers I've asked are all COPALS, I want you guys to look at the outline and tell us what you want to do. The Fluff article and the Sample adventure are covered already though the Nagthari PP might have to be shelved depending on if BJ can handle that and the sample adventure. If he can't do the bloodhunter, we'll have to have someone coordinate with Erwin for a different PP.

Deadline for the articles, realistically speaking will be in December. I will be happy if we can get them earlier but if you're all really busy then it'll have to be by the end of December so that the vacation will keep you from any excuses. I want to be able to publish by mid January.

An issue...

We need an artist. If you guys have any nominations, throw it my way. Keep in mind that we want to keep the org funds as unmolested as possible so if you can get a guy to work for free or cheap or maybe pay with your own pockets then that would be preferable.

Anyways...I'm calling dibs on the location article, I suppose.

Stop referring to erwin with a capital "E". It has been established long ago that lowercase is the trick. Wink

Unless erwin wants to change that, of course.

*serious mode*

Paragon Path

I am honestly more prepared to do the Bloodsun Hunter. However, I have committed to the adventure, and I'll at least deliver on that one. Realistically speaking, my heavy work on Bulan will most likely make me unable to finish the PP on time.

Have a plan b for PP is what I'm saying.

A central theme will be nice for each issue. I think for the 1st one, "Introduction" is our theme. So nothing too fancy. I believe the Bloodsun Hunter would better fit issue #2.

Artist

We all know that I have at least one recommendation. Currently, however, princessa's skills are inaccessible as a lot of frappes haven't yet been rightly offered. Besides, I do believe her style is inappropriate for BT's feel.

I know someone else, of course, but I don't think it will be free. You need to figure these out:

*How many drawings do we want? My suggestion would be just one for cover, though we could max it at three, depending on the articles.
*What are the exact descriptions of each drawing? Everything down to the pose of each character and the color of the sky and the ground's composition (sand, snow, whatever).

When we have these two, we can canvass artists. Until then, we can only guesstimate expenses/frappe offerings or whatnot.

pdf

juaberman, I suggest you learn InDesign instead. Get one of those (I believe Revan can lend you one). See, Acrobat Professional can only "print" files into pdf's. You can't do cute things like layout and such and such. Once you have Indesign, I'll help you learn the ropes.

Bear in mind, though, that I know only as much as I taught myself. I haven't unlocked the program's true potential.

Very Old Dragon Joined: 29 Aug 2007 Posts: 693

Alright, following up on the project. How are your articles going?

I'll probably base my article on the Nightmare Chieftain. I made a couple of custom monsters there, so I at least have the material.

How about the others?

All right, updates on the articles guys?

New articles are slow on my end. What I've been doing is reworking existing fluff text into usable stuff.

What I have at the moment:
-Introduction (A reworking of the original world proposal)
-Tales of the Godfall War: The Shame of the Mandrakori
-The Rise and Fall of Tarkonis

In Progress:
-On the Nature of Godstones
-Reworking the Kyris' Ruined Sea adventure journal into a "sights and sounds" sort of location guide for the Ruined Sea.
-Debating whether I should do a worldbuilding article that is a bit more OOC, like my original discussion of the Nagthari in my Multiply account.

I wanna ask: Who's writing articles? I'm aware that derps, Phil are, but that's it. Who else?

Okay, hear me out. The go signal should go to AAs, but this is what we need to do, offhand:

My idea is to make this first issue related to Ilawith and Sinaghari, two factions of light. the contrast between them would be interesting.

Articles: I think each of these articles should have its own thread, so we can monitor them closely.

*Quickstart: What Revan originally wanted to put in.