Director's Briefing - September 2024

Started by NicholasHMCaldwell, September 17, 2024, 03:27:06 PM

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NicholasHMCaldwell

Welcome

To the one hundred-and-fifty-eighth Briefing and ninth scheduled Briefing of 2024.

Dragonmeet 2024

A headsup that Dragonmeet 2024 will be on Saturday 30th November at the Novotel Hotel in Hammersmith, London. Tickets are now on sale for this. I hope to see some of you at Dragonmeet.

As a Dragonmeet trader, we are entitled to submit entries for the Inaugural Dragonmeet Awards. For the first set of awards, products published since December 2015 are eligible. The four Award categories are Best Roleplaying Game, Best Roleplaying Adventure, Best Roleplaying Expansion, and Best Roleplaying Accessory. As Rolemaster is divided into multiple rulebooks and Creature Law isn't ready yet, we will probably need to pass on the Best Roleplaying Game. I would be happy to see your thoughts on what we might propose for Best Roleplaying Adventure and Best Roleplaying Expansion. Post in the forums or chime in on Discord.

Software – Roll20 for Rolemaster

Brett Nash declared himself complete on the Roll20 datasets for both RMU Core Law and RMU Spell Law. He, Colin and I then needed to synchronise the release across the Roll20 marketplace site and the DriveThru site. This has been done and both datasets are already on sale – and you may have seen the announcements sent out by Colin.

In addition to just being able to purchase the Roll20 datasets on their own, we have created a number of bundle offers. There is a bundle offer for the two datasets, there is a bundle offer for Core Law pdf and Core Law Roll20, and there is a bundle offer for Spell Law pdf and Spell Law Roll20.

We also set up discount coupons so that if you have purchased a pdf of either Rolemaster Core Law or Rolemaster Spell Law, you can purchase the associated Roll20 dataset at a reduced price, again as a thank you for adopting the pdf versions early. The emails for those coupons have already been sent out and I know some of you have redeemed the coupons already. If by some mischance, you have not received the coupon codes, please ask Colin very nicely. If you still have not set your DriveThru preferences to receive emails from us, please do so.

HARP and Adventures

Progress continues apace on Banecroft: The Mage's Tale. The remaining artwork has now been commissioned. I am virtually certain that Banecroft will be the next release. Will it be ready in time for Dragonmeet? That's a much harder call – I think the pdf will be ready in time, but the print release is much more certain.

Cyradon

I am still working my way through the Cyradon refresh, and still deliberating on the best way to publish this for both HARP and RMU. I am also mindful that we don't want to release the main setting book and then have a long gap between it (whether in separate HARP and Rolemaster incarnations or a dual volume) and the adventure modules. We have multiple complete adventure module manuscripts for Cyradon, so the bulk of the writing has been done on them, but they need HARP stats updated (and expanded to enable GMs to exploit the full set of supplements), Rolemaster stats added, and artwork and cartography commissioned. My expectation is that we will build the base book and then aim to get several of the adventure modules shipshape before we release any of them.

Until next time

More updates in future Briefings. Stay safe and keep gaming.
Best wishes,
Nicholas

Director, Iron Crown Enterprises Ltd
Professor Nicholas HM Caldwell
Director, Iron Crown Enterprises Ltd
Publisher of Rolemaster, Spacemaster, Shadow World, Cyradon, HARP & HARP SF, and Cyberspace, with products available from www.drivethrurpg.com
Author: Mentalism Companion, GURPS Age of Napoleon, Construct Companion, College of Magics, HARP SF/HARP SF Xtreme, and coauthor HARP Bestiary

Twistor

Quotethe print release is much more certain.

I assume this was a typo and it was meant to say uncertain.

QuoteI would be happy to see your thoughts on what we might propose for Best Roleplaying Adventure and Best Roleplaying Expansion. Post in the forums or chime in on Discord.

For Expansion, I'd present HARP Subterfuge and RMU Treasure Law. Both excellent supplements (although the latter is arguably a core product) with lots and lots of material within.
"This here is my invention. A small orb with a tornado trapped inside of it. Magnificent, like a ship in a bottle but with dynamics and power fluctuating inside. Here, you may take a closer look. Just don't drop it or we will all die."
- Vir'alaar the Air Elementalist

WickedBar

5th Knight of Xar

Thot

Oh, additional question: Are there plans for further RMU products?

5th Knight of Xar

Quote from: Thot on September 20, 2024, 03:51:10 AM
Oh, additional question: Are there plans for further RMU products?

Yes, Creature Law 2 then Character Companion (1?), beyond that, not sure but probably yes.

5th Knight of Xar

Quote from: Thot on September 20, 2024, 03:07:09 AM
Quote from: 5th Knight of Xar on September 19, 2024, 10:26:44 AM
Quote from: WickedBar on September 19, 2024, 10:06:14 AM
No news about Creature Law?

It's being worked on, ref Discord.

So, another year? Five years?
Try joining the ICE Discord, the ICE team is active there answering questions on a daily basis, they'll let you know first hand.

Thot

I am part of that Discord (and yet I don't see the information I seek). Forums are far superior für information that isn't immediate, though.

Mordenkainen

We might be on track for all the core books to be out by the 15th anniversary of the initial RMU announcement! (which was in 2011)

DavidKlecker

Anyone have a link to the discord site? Having trouble locating it.

Elrich Maltah

You can find it on the Contact Us page on the main site.

jdale

Here's the link without any looking: https://discord.com/invite/7fYkMHZ

Creature Law I layout is underway, there isn't much to say except that it has started and is not yet finished. I think we will probably release the Character Companion before Creature Law II but we'll see. It's written but needs a final editing pass, and then art and layout. It will include expanded treatment of every skill (along the same lines as School of Hard Knocks, and reworking a fair bit of that material for the reduced skill list), fighting styles, more talents, more flaws, optional rules about training and training packages (but a much simpler take than RMSS/RMFRP), optional rules about how talents can be acquired (i.e., if you don't want everyone to be able to just take any talent), additional Arms professions. Also added some magic items that grant abilities based on things in this book, and random tables of character traits based on stats (similar to how they are assigned in the random NPC generator I did for IPP).
System and Line Editor for Rolemaster

lordmalachdrim

Quote from: 5th Knight of Xar on September 20, 2024, 04:28:53 AM
Try joining the ICE Discord, the ICE team is active there answering questions on a daily basis, they'll let you know first hand.

Discord can burn in the enteral pits of hell.

5th Knight of Xar

Quote from: lordmalachdrim on October 04, 2024, 02:09:19 PM
Quote from: 5th Knight of Xar on September 20, 2024, 04:28:53 AM
Try joining the ICE Discord, the ICE team is active there answering questions on a daily basis, they'll let you know first hand.

Discord can burn in the enteral pits of hell.

Ok

DavidKlecker

Quote from: 5th Knight of Xar on October 04, 2024, 02:21:04 PM
Quote from: lordmalachdrim on October 04, 2024, 02:09:19 PM
Quote from: 5th Knight of Xar on September 20, 2024, 04:28:53 AM
Try joining the ICE Discord, the ICE team is active there answering questions on a daily basis, they'll let you know first hand.

Discord can burn in the enteral pits of hell.

Ok
I rather like the discord servers for ICE.