NeoExodus off into the sunset

At 8:30 this morning I spoke with LPJ and after a frank conversation, he notified me that my license for all NeoExodus Legacies products was to be terminated effective on June 30th 2015.

While I am extremely saddened by this, I can't say it was much of a surprise. The two of us have been drifting apart, on a professional level. He's been off working on other projects as I moved Legacies forward. Then he returned to redo NeoExodus without any input or insight from me or the campaign. What I needed from an organized play campaign's perspective and what he wanted to produce as a publisher matched less and less.

Things had to come to a head.

So we had a frank discussion in which he decided to remove the NeoExodus license from FOE. It is his right to revoke, and this means that I have to remove all of his IP from FOE products before June 30th. This of course means that no further NeoExodus adventures will be written. The storylines

I guess sales haven't been what we both wanted them to be, but they were enough to keep me interested in putting out more material. But from a business perspective, he did not see it that way. I maintain that it is one thing to sell products, it is another to create fans. One requires a good salesman (which LPJ is a great one) while the other requires community engagement (which is more my thing). I thought we did a good team while it lasted, but it had to end.

A year ago, this would've meant the end of FOE, however, with the work being done on Secret Project X, the "replacement" will be in place by then. I planned to unveil everything for Gencon, but that will move up to Origins.

The very important adventure I had planned for Origins, "The Bastard of Mureath" will no longer be set in NeoExodus. I will bring other adventures with me for people to play.

Of the four years of NeoExodus Legacies, I leave with a very positive track record.

   -  Twenty eight written and ran adventures
   -  Three additional adventures (1 playtested and 2 in "advanced drafts")
   -  Many tables, conventions, friends

What of the campaign, you ask? Part of SPX was to have a campaign that could include and span multiple worlds, which was to include a storyline in NeoExodus, one in SPX, and I was in talks with others to have them write their world into the campaign. The story line of NeoExodus ends as of this moment.

I will update the Campaign tool kit to remove all of the NeoExodus products. However, just because FOE will no longer be allowed to distribute them, the campaign will keep recognizing these adventures, whether they were initially published by FOE, LPJ Design, or others. So if you purchased an adventure, feel free to enjoy them.

So it is with a sad heart, that I bid LPJ good luck on his future ventures.

I realize some of you may not be overly happy about this and the internet's natural reaction is to flame the world. I will ask you NOT to flame LPJ. Although he and I are no longer in business together, I still consider him a friend and plan to work with him in the future.

I plan on making a huge sale of all the NeoExodus stuff so we can start afresh with SPX. Which also coincides with my birthday! Woohoo!

JP

PS: Again, Louis is a dear friend, and one I value very much. This business decision sucks, but that diminishes neither the respect or the personal esteem I have for him, so PLEASE do not flame him.