Writing and project updates

The May Sale went really well. Thanks to everyone who made this month a great success. Always great to see how many people support FOE with their hard-earned cash and it drives me to make sure you have value for your money.

I think it is important for me, and for you to give you an idea of what you can expect from us in the coming months. There is a lot going on and I am spinning a million plates at once, which definitely keeps me busy

Races: I have two race books currently in the work riding on the back of the great success of Gostor: Amazon and Gostor: Amazon for 5e.

Feats: I have two books of feats in the works: one for 5e and one for Pathfinder. These are not simple "mirrors" of each other, but rather a series of new character options for the game itself.

Adventures: More adventures for ToS are in the works.

Setting Material: Building on Onero: City of Sins, I am trying to complete at least one more setting book, this one will be for the Spiderfen Forest. However, the Legacies campaign is expanding the world a lot this year, with forays into the neighboring nations of the Assar Wastelands and the country of Brumis. I have always maintained that Saggakar will grow with you, and so it does...

Adventures: Rhym adventures are coming soon. It will include my own "Black Sails", and adventure filled with, as you can guess, the sounds of "YARRR!" and "AHOY MATEYS!" I love pirates.

Setting Material: The Rhym Campaign Setting may just be out, but there is already work done on Rhym.

Other books

I am trying to release some HeroLab extensions for some of FOE's material. This is something many of you have asked me in the past. Both Gostor: Amazon and Gostor: Amazon for 5e have a herolab extension I plan to give out to those who buy these products. I am waiting on WolfLair to get back to me.

Peter-S provided me with awesome superhero art for a project of mine I've been kicking around for a while now. I will no doubt spend some time on this project during the fall.

There is also Mecha Battles whose rules set I've been working on for a while now, having frequent battles with the kids. The game has evolved into something that is very quick and that plays fast and furious.

With the release of Starfinder, I will have to spend some time looking into it. I'll admit to not being too hot to it, but as information filters out of PaizoCon, I am warming up to the idea. Now, if only I can play some of it, and not at Gencon or Origins... I'm sure there will be some events in the Nashville area.

I have a bunch of ideas floating around, but nothing that is formed enough to be workable.

Inca Army

Long ago, I bought a series of miniatures on EBay, labelled as "Aztecs". However, turns out these boys are Incas! I painted these guys into three different units.

The Purples are the king and his immediate command.

The Whites and the Yellows are a base unit.

The Reds are halberdiers, taken from the Spaniards.

The Greens represent a low-quality or levee unit with children pressed into service.

These guys will do serve as Aztec allies for Nashcon.

Aztec Jaguar Knights

More for Nashcon... This time two units of Aztec Jaguar Knights. They have similar colors, except for the leaders who have unique colors. They are easily differentiated tho using the square vs circular bases.

I used a little creative license with these guys, particularly with the shields... I used a variety of shields for them and kept the design simple on purpose as I really wanted the bright colors of their cotton outfits to shine.

[MechaBattles] Nashcon Gundam Preview

Just a quick update amid the craziness of the painting and preparation for Nashcon. I really like the final design... Looks pretty appealing...

Writing this one-pager, I further simplified the rules, particularly with the use of shields.

Blog dedicated to Rhym

this is actually pretty cool news, JD (the mad man behind Rhym) has started a blog dedicated to all things Rhym. His blog will have inspiration, notes, stories, and fiction about Rhym. He has a good story about how much of a jerk I was to him...

What? Don't believe me? Have a look at his blog!

Click here to go to the Rhym Talk Blog.

JP

Gencon registrations are open and FOE sells out

Just a few quick words on Gencon registration... They started today at noon-eastern (11AM here in Tennessee).

As of right now, most of my 5e slots are full or nearly full (I expect there will be some movement in the seventy nine days between now and the con). This includes the special for 5e and the Rhym game on Sunday Morning.

In a sharp contrast, my Pathfinder games still has available tickets right now, but I'm not worried.

This should give you time to register... but hurry up!

Rhym Campaign Setting released

For those of you who have been following this blog, you know that I have been working with JD Conrad at putting the finishing touches to Rhym. Well the wait is FINALLY OVER!

I can finally announce that the Rhym Campaign setting for 5th Edition is finally released! This new setting presents new twists on familiar tropes in a setting that is consistent yet open, simple yet complex, and familiar yet different.

Consistent Rhym is a land of history where empire rose and fell over the course of its long history. Empires are expansive through either mercantile, military, or servile means, while others are being invaded or strong enough to keep to themselves.

Open Rhym was designed to provide you with enough information to capture the spirit of our thought, yet allow you to leave your own mark upon the world. Rhym needs heroes and adventurers to change it. For better or worse is up to you.

Familiar Humans form the largest concentrated population and the core of the cultures of Rhym. The core races (dwarves, elves, orcs, goblins, etc) are all present on Rhym. There is a pantheon of gods representing simple concepts of the world.

Different Two rings (the Bridge of Heaven and the River of Stars) that dominate the sky day and night, bathing the land in a soft glow day and night. Known races are given interesting twist: the mountain dwarves of Kadin-kar are ostracized, outcast and besieged, the elves of Mythrym segregate themselve from lesser races, the drow dominate the realms below, the Deep Realms guided by a divine prophetess, the half-breed of Zhakur serve as mercenaries.

Simple The dragons used to control the world until their empire was overthrown, their empire is now but a shell of what it was as their former slaves rose against them and established kingdoms

Complex Although at first Rhym is simple, once you scratch the surface, the interactions between nations are steeped in history and filled with layers of nuances.

A large portion of the book presents the setting itself: its nations, its people, its organizations, its languages, its religions, filling with adventure and campaign ideas.

This book includes a brand new race: the Darkling. Darklings are half-demonic offspring of drow with fiendish or undead creatures. One of our iconic characters, Nightshade, is of that race and I had a lot of fun running him.

It also includes a number of new options for your class, such as new archetypes, new backgrounds, new feats, and new spells.

You can find the book at either: DriveThruRPG or RPGnow. If you get it now, you will benefit from FOE's 40% off sale!

If you prefer a physical book, well they too are available! You can get them from your choice of Amazon or CreateSpace

Also, for those of you who want to know, YES, Rhym material will be available in the Legacies Organized Play campaign.

Slimy Monday

I got these guys years ago in a random pack. I mean slimes are useful in so many ways... Mostly to beat up your PCs, which I like... I painted them as ocher jelly, yellow mold or some other type of goo. They disgust my daughter most of all, which makes me like the even more!

Two random adventurers

Two completely random adventurers... one from Reaper and one from Foundry IIRC. This second one I may use for my newest 5e character.

Gladiators

Here are a number of gladiators I won from a random Ebay auction. I based some for Moritari Te Salutamus, FOE fast and simple miniature game to represent gladiator fights.

Check it out now at DriveThruRPG or RPGNow.

Gencon Program for FOE

For another year, I will be making the trip north to Indianapolis to participate in Gencon. Like Origins, I will be offering adventures for both 5e and Pathfinder.

You will notice that these adventures, other than the special (The Assar Gambit) are re-plays from Origins. This is on purpose: this summer will be a busy one as I will be travelling with the family to Canada, a major software upgrade at work, and just summer time. I plan on enjoying my time with the kids too. So I opted to limit the amount of writing I would have to do.

For the Service and Reward, this series of short 2h adventures may very well have some new material for the con, all of them falling under that S&R umbrella.

The Sorrowful Lady has been a work in progress for month, starting with a very simple adventure to something of a major story arc. My biggest issue is keeping it small. It is such a wellspring of inspiration that I have to remind myself to stay focused on the current plot and task.

5e Thursday

All these adventures will be run using 5th Edition.

Tyrants of Saggakar: Service & Rewards 8am-1pm

Tyrants of Saggakar: The Sorrowful Lady 1pm-6pm

Tyrants of Saggakar: Assar Gambit 7pm-1am

Pathfinder Friday

All these adventures will be run using the Pathfinder RPG.

Tyrants of Saggakar: Service & Rewards 8am-1pm

Tyrants of Saggakar: The Sorrowful Lady 1pm-6pm

Tyrants of Saggakar: Assar Gambit 7pm-1am

Rhym Sunday

All these adventures will be run using 5th Edition.

Rhym: Black Sails 8am-1pm

Edit: Fixed the times (1am->1pm)

[ArcadiaQuest] Nina the crossbow

The final of the original ArcadiaQuest, Nina the crossbowwoman. I will be honest and she is not as exciting as some of the others. In fact, she is rather plain as a model: fully armored with bright red hair. I am ambivalent on her.. the sculpt felt uninspired.

I can't say I'm overly proud of this model... There is nothing that pops about her. This is bad to say but I do not know what I could've done to give her some pop. I did do a three tone work of metal and two for her hair.

Origins Program for FOE

The last three origins have been a mixed bag for me. The two years I went to run events for Legacies, were not great. Not great at all, with only a single table out of 8 or 9 slots offered. Not exactly what I planned or wanted. It did get me in, but I really hated it as I felt like I was cheating the system.

Last year, I opted to not run any Legacies and run Arcanis. Although I love to play Arcanis, I discovered that I really hated to run it. I did the best I could to give people a good experience, but I would not put this into my favorite game experience. I fully realize that this has more to do with me than Arcanis or the adventures.

So this time around I had to decide what I wanted to do. I decided to roll the dice and see what would happen. I decided to offer three adventures, the same for Pathfinder and 5th Edition. Conveniently aimed at limiting the amount of work I would have to do.

Once again, I am working with The Gathering, a collection of smaller organized play groups including

One of my not-so-secret goals is to see where the play numbers are going and put my focus there going forward, or if I need to keep both systems going at once...

So here is my current schedule for Saggakar events (I will only be running Saggakar adventures at Origins). Last I checked before their registration system went down, there were only a few open seats left for my games. I can't wait until their system comes back up to see the registration numbers.

Wednesday

1pm-5pm D&D 5e The Sorrowful Lady Blue trees, a merchant-priest, a raccoon, a rebellious house, and a night queen: it is a long way from the Spiderfen Forest. Introduction to the Tyrants of Saggakar. Play a pregen or bring your own Legacies character.

8am-12pm D&D 5e Encounter in the Mists An abandonned fortress in the Mists with a dark secret for you to discover. Introduction to the Tyrants of Saggakar. Play a pregen or bring your own Legacies character.

Thursday

8am-12pm D&D 5e Service and Rewards The ArchDespot wants to conquer her neighbors. First, she must get the cooperation of the Houses. Introduction to the Tyrants of Saggakar. Play a pregen or bring your own Legacies character.

1pm-5pm Pathfinder The Sorrowful Lady Blue trees, a merchant-priest, a raccoon, a rebellious house, and a night queen: it is a long way from the Spiderfen Forest. Introduction to the Tyrants of Saggakar. Play a pregen or bring your own Legacies character.

8am-12pmPathfinder Encounter in the Mists An abandonned fortress in the Mists with a dark secret for you to discover. Introduction to the Tyrants of Saggakar. Play a pregen or bring your own Legacies character.

Friday

8am-12pm Pathfinder Service and Rewards The ArchDespot wants to conquer her neighbors. First, she must get the cooperation of the Houses. Introduction to the Tyrants of Saggakar. Play a pregen or bring your own Legacies character.

Sunday

8am-12pm Pathfinder Open Library of any Legacies adventure

Amazon for 5e

Well after a few days and some angst on my end about the rules I had feeling "wonky" and not exciting. The flavor and background was already defined and released with the Pathfinder version which I released earlier this week.

I went back and forth on a few different elements: grant advantage on this or that. But nothing really clicked, it simply felt flat. I just could not see what was needed. You know, the forest for the trees. So I asked my panel of experts (Thanks Loren) and he provided the tightening and perspective I needed to make them exciting for 5e in a way the Pathfinder version added something unique.

So without any more ceremony, this book is now ready to add a new dimension to your 5e campaign. In time for the May big sale!

It is now available on DriveThru RPG or RPGNow

Conquistador Crossbowmen

Continuing the work for Nashcon, here are crossbowmen. I was initially surprised to learn that Cortes' expedition to Tenochtitlan included a large number of crossbowmen. However, this makes a lot of sense in the early 16th century. Crossbows were easier to make than guns. Bolts are easier to make, carry and use than gunpowder and bullets. A crossbow functions in wet conditions and training to use a crossbow quicker and easier than matchlocks.

I did not have a full unit of them, so I completed the unit with an armored knight and a banner man for a twelve-man unit.