Hey folks!
Well, we're over three weeks into 2017 and like many of you, I have mixed feelings about it. Don't get me wrong, I was very, very done with 2016 - but going into 2017 feels a little surreal, both because of the stampede of stupid and because I'm taking a large leap of faith as a game designer/developer.
If you've been following my social media, you know I'm launching another Kickstarter, this time for a completely new setting I've been designing called Bloodlines & Black Magic. I've been working with Clinton Boomer on it for nearly two years, but we've really been working hard on it over the last year. And next month, the Kickstarter goes live. Are we done with the book? No, but we're in a great spot. In fact, I think when the rest of the deliverables come in, we'll be in a place most folks aren't when they launch - nearly complete. This should enable us to put a rough manuscript out by the time the Kickstarter funds (if not, in the following month). That's a good feeling. But... it's not done yet and I always plan for things to take longer (just to be safe).
Plus, I'm still preparing the Kickstarter campaign. This will be the first time we ask for a larger sum of money to match our awesome production standards, although some of this will go to reimbursing me for the thousands of dollars I've already invested in it. So, I've got my fingers crossed for this one. This is one of those Kickstarters I really need to fund.
Mind you, the concept is awesome and the team developing for it is nothing less than all-star. I mean, who doesn't want a book written and designed by Michael Azzalino, Matt Banach, Clinton Boomer, Stephen Michael DiPesa, Ben McFarland, Jaye Sonia, and Brian Suskind. Oh, and not to mention we also have Savannah Broadway, Jim Groves, and Time Hitchcock on the sidelines, eyeing the project with interest.
Of course, the art for this is nothing short of amazing, and backers will be getting a high-quality b&w masterpiece, with an artistic feel meant to match the darker setting's appeal. This is not a re-skinned, retro-clone of HP Lovecraft's stuff. Nope, we're tackling supernatural horror, occult menaces, and inserting that odd, old Americana narrative directly into 2017, touching on a whole culture of myths, legends, ideas, and assumptions, developed as a part of a darker, modern world. I think that's pretty awesome. Just last night I was making notes on things like drowning pools, and possessed hotrods. You know, figuring how I'd define them. Would I treat them as haunts or as a type of entity? I think that should be up to the GM, but the options should be there if they exist.
So, we're covering a wide array of topics that include everything from daily living to the costs of falling off the grid. We're also sending you some information from our own, dark world - including a wide range of unique NPCs and encounter locations. Folks are going to get a lot of cool stuff with this setting. Plus, it's our take on how Pathfinder Modern might be imagined, using O7 model (which we designed against Boomer's E6 stuff). All in all, it's been a real fun ride, and I look forward to its success. I really want people to buy this book and more importantly, play in this world. Oh, and I can't wait to share aspect traits with backers. Man, that's going to be cool.
Of course, I'm going to also start including more of my design notes in my journal here, since this is why it's here. I'll also be including more systems translations, updating some of Rhune's Pathfinder stuff to 5e. So, if you're wanting to make the transition between systems, we plan to provide the basic tools.
But we can talk about those next time.
Cheers, Jaye