Topic: Developer's Journal

[Defendi]

All products are packaged in the same way.  Anything I call a "product" is bundled together as a single purchase.  Basically I give you a sourcebook and throw in an adventure for free.  If we ever do POD, they'll actually be pagemade into one book.  that's why they have the same cover art.  Their two seperate PDFs because I feel that makes them easier to use (and frankly, makes them seem more valuable).  Always two PDFs, only containing the stats for one system (I hate dual statted books).  In addition to each of these products, there will always be a bundle that's all systems, all books of that product.  Basically 8 different PDFs, four versions of the same adventure, four of the same sourcebook, each statted for just one of the four systems.

I'll answer the rest when I get home.  My boss just showed up to relieve me.

[Defendi]

As for the rest of the questions:

"Urzag....hmmmmm.....dragons too?"

Not much in the way of dragons there.  No dragon can beat the Warlord in single combat.  Few can get past one or two of his melee attacks.  You're probably thinking of the Enaroz, which is farther east.  That would be a good sourcebook, when it comes up.

"If you do go with presteige classes in part 5, would they equate to TP's in RM?  I am guessing on clerical orders in HARP?  If you are agonizing about that I am sure you are also trying real hard not to pick up CoM for the HARP versions."

RM?  That would be a fit.  HARP?  That too, although I'd have to see what ground I haven't covered.  College of Magics is a different beast, and we've probably included that about as much as we can and still be fair to those who don't have it.  Might be some alternate stuff, though (to give different options to those who have it, I'd have to look).

"Now if Something Wicked gets released sometime around product 4..."

I don't know what you mean by that, but it sure scares me.

[mocking bird]

"Now if Something Wicked gets released sometime around product 4..."

I don't know what you mean by that, but it sure scares me.

A much anticipated sorucebook of evil 'goodness' for HARP that has been hinted at and made the last newsletter.

Regarding dragons & Urzag, I was thinking along the lines of the Dragon Council preventing travel too far east and perhaps holding the Warlord in check somewhat as well.

[Defendi]

Oh, yeah.  I'm supposed to be in the know, huh? 

[Defendi]

11/27/06

   Ah, another week gone by.
   I?m ahead of schedule again.  I finished the play test notes last week and started Product 3 on Wednesday or Thursday.  I?m in Act Two, which is LONG.  Right now the adventure is almost 50 pages , heavy on combat.  That?s a slow rewrite, turning my play test notes into a final master, so I?m not 50 pages in.  I?m on 26, with all the remaining being the original notes.  I?ll probably hit 30+ by the end of the night.  I wouldn?t be surprised if the whole thing went 64 pages without art.  We?ll have to see.
   I?m working on the Spacemaster Datanet as well.  That too is going long.  We?ll see how it ends up.
   We did the second play test session this week.  Finished the Teaser and moved into Act One.  This one is pretty combat intensive too, maybe 4 out of 5 on the sword scale.  I wouldn?t be surprised if the play test went long, but no one complained when I mentioned that, so no worries there.  Right now my goal is to get it done before the next play test.
   Wow.  That?s about it.  No big news.  Did the art list for three.  Sent out contracts.  Sent a really bad open-ended contract to one former artist, then sent him an e-mail telling him not to sign it.  Hopefully for both of us he?ll listen.
   You know, I have that little ?Dirty Little Secret of Storytelling? in every adventure.  In it, I tell GMs to change things on the fly if it makes the game funner and I relate a story about how the characters screwed up my plans in one of the play tests and how the GM rolled with it.  I couldn?t think of one for the third product, but I left the box in there.  So right now, it just looks like I?m telling GMs to cheat.
   That?s just an odd random thought.
   I guess I?ll get back to writing.

[Defendi]

Page 30.  It's up to 52 without art.

[Defendi]

Product 3 might need prestige classes too.  Dangit!

[mocking bird]

Does that mean you (or at least 'your people') have to do an impersonation of a patent lawyer trying to make sure what you want isn't already in some suppliment out there?

[Defendi]

I was just rereading my OGC and Product Identity declarations for d20.  Here's a gem from Product Identity:

". . . magic items, stories and storylines, plots, and themes."

THEMES.

I crack myself up sometimes.

[Defendi]

12/17/06

I admit it, I?m an idiot.

I was planning on releasing this morning (Sunday) at 12:45 AM (that?s when the 60 days were up on the HERO approval).  You?re supposed to set up your products on RPGNow, upload your files and give them 24 hours to approve them and combine the file and the product.  I did that Friday night, because when things are falling off the new release list, if it has multiple products on the same day, the product entered last is the last to fall off.

Here?s where the idiot part comes in.  I assume that having a day off means you work on the computer 18 hours.  That?s what *I* do.  So it didn?t even occur to me that 24 hours might only apply during the business week.

Anyway, I suspect they?ll approve Monday morning, and even if they have something wrong, they?ll just tell me to fix it (that?s what they did with Product 1 when they took issue with me categorizing the product by the most popular category on the site as opposed to the highest page count in my bundle).  I?m GUESSING they won?t get to it before I go to bed for the day, so I suspect the product will be live for purchase on RPGNow Monday night.  I?ll put it up on Final Redoubt as soon as send coupons to the volunteers.

So.  That?s out of the way.

As for the play test, we?re doing all right.  I got a big laugh at the disaster at the end of Act One, so I need to change that text a little bit.  The politics are causing just the kind of dissent that I wanted in the party.  The players hate the guys I want them to hate, like the ones I want them to like, and are uncertain about the others.  This might take a lot of notes in the adventure, because I think I need to give the GM about three-five paths through the middle of the adventure to suit the group and keep from railroading them. *My* group came up with a solution to one problem I didn?t foresee, and that will make it harder for the party in episode 6, but hey, if they?re clever enough, they get what they want, even if it hurts them later.

This weekend, from Friday Morning at 10 am to Sunday about the same time I got 4.5 hours sleep in two naps.  So going into the play test Saturday night I was at something like 33 hours with only 3.5 consecutive of pillow time.  I begged off running because I was so tired it was causing chest pain (not the heart attack kind, the stress kind), but about 8:30 the food coma from dinner wore off and I ran for two hours.  We got done more than I thought we would and ended on a nice cliffhanger for the Christmas holiday.  It?s theoretically possible we?ll finish next session, but as there are nineteen encounters left, all in a running rush, six of them containing big, challenging battle sequences, I don?t think we?ll finish until two sessions have passed.  I?ll be happy if we complete Act Two.

Then one of the couples in the group gave me Expedition to Ravenloft for Christmas, and as you might guess from an early favorite adventure thread on another part of the Ironcrown board, I don?t think I can keep myself from offering to run that (the original is one of my favorite adventures of all time).  In fact, I have a way in my head to leverage it into a big campaign where I?d run all the adventures in that 2nd edition Ravenloft campaign (called convergence, or something?).  I don?t think I?ll try to dominate the game group that much, but I?ll probably run Expedition to Ravenloft with that in mind (if the players feel like going through it) and then if they want to do more, I have about three to four years of material on my shelf.  I?d have to throw the d20 xp system completely out the window just to get it all in.

Oh look.  A tangent.

Okay, so enough about Christmas (I also got a Sea of Words which is a nautical dictionary based on the Patrick O?Brien novels.  I?m so excited.)  No really.  Enough about Christmas.

Product 3 is coming, but more slowly than I?d like.  I?m still way ahead of the publishing schedule, I?m sure, but I?m about a week behind where I?d LIKE to be (severe sleep deprivation didn?t help.)  Right now I?m on page 31/39.  I think the Dwarf section will mostly be finished tonight (there?s a fair chance I?ll finish it but not have time to edit, grammar, and style check before bed).  I?m guessing it will end at 35 pages without art.  That?s right where I want it to be.  Why?  Let?s talk page count theory.

I have a book in the works on the other three races (the Humans are covered by their own nations and in the campaign setting pretty well, and the dwarves here).  Assuming about 7 pages on the front end of that one and fifteen pages per race, I have a 52 page book without art.  Not bad.  If I run short, I?m still looking at at least 37 (ten per race), but 52 is right around where I expect.  Then there will probably be professions and/or training packages at the end (translation: prestige classes for d20 <prepares noose>).  Anyway, with that in mind I can?t, under any circumstances, short the Dwarves.  Everyone loves Dwarves.

So the first 9 pages of the book are business (title page, two TOC, two maps, 3.5 ?hey what kind of book am I reading and how do I use it?? pages.  Then comes the section on Dwarves, but there are about 8 pages of history of Uzar?g from the Dwarven POV.  I love that, but I doubt I?ll have anything so specific historically to talk about in the race book.  I expect any histories there will be minor, not enough to count on.  So that has me starting the real stuff on Dwarves on page 18.  So I have to get to 32 to feel like I?ve really given them their 15 pages.  Looks like I?ll go over a bit, but I might have more NPCs as well because of the whole diaspora issue, so that?s a good thing.

Next will come Orcs.  I?ll try to bang them out in less than 10.  They aren?t appropriate for general player character use, so I?m not worried about them getting less coverage.  Then there?s the Land, which I hope to deal with in 5-10.  Then rules, which I?m shooting for 4.  So that puts the book between 49-59 without art.  Probably over 80 with (I?m just guessing, this one is art heavy) plus a 10 page map book, like one of those map tile products.  That?s assuming I don?t go long in the other chapters, which is possible.

I?m very tired.

Anyway, just thought I?d update you.  I?ll let you know the moment Product 2 is up.

[Defendi]

I feel like there are suddenly three weeks of posts missing on this thread.

[Defendi]

Still waiting on RPGNow.  I expect approval tomorrow.  Evidently the old guy kept up with stuff on weekends, the new guy doesn't, so Monday he's swamped.  I'll keep you posted.

[Defendi]

12/25/06

It?s time for a Dev journal.  It?s Christmas, but I?m at work, so I think I?ll bang one out before I get a bout of carpal tunnel and have to ice my wrist.

We released Tuesday.  The last product fell off the new releases page Wednesday evening.  Luckily, my plan worked.  We had enough sales from volunteers that we made it onto the Hot Sellers list.  Sales are decent.  What I really need now are reviews.  I?ll probably put a call out after people have had a little time to finish celebrating Christmas.

RPGNow claims that the backlist is king, and I can see their point.  The first couple days, most of my sales were of the second product.  Friday and Saturday, I believe I sold more copies of the first product (and a lot more than I usually sell).  So I think that what?s happening is people are seeing the Hot List link and clicking on it.  Then they try to check for reviews on Product 2.  There are none, but the first product averages something like 4.8 stars with two fairly glowing staff reviews.  So they purchase Product 1.

During Product 1 sales fell off about now as people looked for reviews and didn?t find any.  This time, they have something else to buy.  I even sold an Ulcer.

So far every sale but one has been on RPGNow, despite my efforts to get people to buy from my site.  I?ve stopped worrying about it.  Let RPGNow have it?s pound of flesh.  Hopefully, I?ll make more money this way with more hotlist visibility.  I don?t think people have ever seen four products with almost the same name on the hotlist at once before.  The curiosity has to be a factor.  Anyway, the HERO people should start buying soon, and suspect they?ll go to my store.

I want to thank everyone for all the support.  I?ve had some great comments and e-mails and I have to admit, I feed on it just a bit.

Alright, that?s enough for Christmas day.  I?ve finished the Dwarf part of the Dwarf book.  I?m on page 46 now and will probably finish the draft of the Orc section tonight (it?s smaller).  I?m not sure it will get its full proofread done before I do Christmas morning stuff and o to bed, but if not, I?ll finish that Christmas night.  That?s good because I think I?ll need to be home with all my books for the section on adventure sites in Uzar?g.

Merry Christmas!

[Raf Blutaxt]

So far every sale but one has been on RPGNow, despite my efforts to get people to buy from my site.

Well asking people to buy from RPGNow to get on the hot seller list won't bring them to your site

In my defense I must add that I bought the first product and even Ulcer from your site.

[Defendi]

Yeah, that's certainly the common perception.  No worries.  People don't read subesquent posts very often anyway.

Anyone reading this:  Feel free to buy from my store.  The artists get paid quicker for those sales. 

[Defendi]

BTW Raf.  Thanks for buying the first product (and Ulcer) on my site.  And Merry Christmas.  I hope that didn't sound like a complaint.    I think it's funny, really.  I went through all my posts on the matter and I can see the exact point where I went wrong. 

[Michael Petrea]

Then they try to check for reviews on Product 2.  There are none, but the first product averages something like 4.8 stars with two fairly glowing staff reviews.  So they purchase Product 1.

FWIW, I finally got around to reviewing product 2.  Of course, I recommended that they buy product 1 first assured that if they like the setting then they will be back for Product 2.

[Defendi]

Thank you, man.  That will help.  Last product, sales slowly built with each review until the staff review, then they took off.  So keep them coming.

It was well written, too, BTW.

[Defendi]

First draft of 3 done!  Off to editor.  Today is fiction day.  If I get that done in time, you'll get more details tonight.  If not, tomorrow, probably.

[Defendi]

1/5/07

All right, time for an update.  Since we last talked we finished the play test of adventure five and it went very well.  All the post mortem notes so far have been good.  It?s going to take a bit more work for the GM.  One of the biggest issues is just the power of the party.  By the time they reach the 5th adventure, they?re quite powerful and can circumvent many of the encounters in the later half of the adventure.  In fact there?s one subplot that has all these ups and downs.  The characters managed to stop every moment that had a good feeling while allowing all the down moments.  Made the subplot into something very different than written.  It was a fascinating experiment, really.

On another front, I finished writing the third product and turned it into Josh, the editor.  There?s a lot left to do, the maps alone will make me bleed from the eyes, but I feel good about it.  I also finished a sequel to the short story Ulcer.  We ran it through my writing group tonight and Josh approved if for publication.  He approved the third product as well, but he hasn?t read the whole thing, so really he?s only approved half of it.

It?s been a while since I mentioned it, I think, so here?s how it works.  I?m the publisher but I?m also the primary writer.  That means that although I?m in charge of most everything, I can?t possibly approve my own work.  So although Josh is technically below me in the company, nothing gets produced without his stamp of approval.  You can?t let a man approve himself. That way lies madness.

So now I?m at that awkward, exhausted moment that comes right after I?ve finished a huge, difficult document.  I have to hit the deadline list and clear the decks a bit, start the House Rule contest and pay artists.  That sort of thing.

Speaking of artists, we?re in the middle a small art crisis.  I put out my call for artists for product four and only one of the usual suspects is available.  I?ve found a local artist I think is quite good, so that means we?ll HAVE a product, but I could use a third.  There?s an Italian gentleman that approached me a while back.  I think I?ll e-mail him and see if I can pay him via paypal.  That would probably make the ocean between us not as big a deal.

So that?s where we are.  The HERO version of the final document for product 3 has the longest approval period, so it has the highest priority.  I?ll put it together this weekend and try to have it in Steve?s inbox by Monday.  Then the RM and HARP versions.  D20 will come last.

Oh!  The d20 version will likely have a prestige class for Dwarven smiths.  If anyone?s read one of my reviews of a d20 product, you?ve probably read my tirades against prestige classes.  Josh thinks this is the first prestige class aimed at an NPC base class and not an adventuring class.  Josh thinks I?m thumbing my nose at the d20 community.  I?ll let history decide.  I?ve told him it will definitely have a +10 max base attack bonus and +1 divine spellcasting per level.

That?s all for this week.