Happy Gary Gygax Day

 Oyez! Oyez! Oyez!

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On Wings of Darkness, Live!

     So here we are, one more Kickstarter going live, another nail-biting moment to endure, and hopefully, the birth of a new Gazetteer to enjoy with friends old and new. Months of work, headaches, debates, guesswork, fateful decisions, knocking at doors, jumping up and down for attention, and waving towels at passing spaceships (hopefully avoiding Vogons) all lead to the dreaded crowdfunding gauntlet.

The Setting

     This Gazetteer dives straight into Caldwen’s magiocracy, a nation of wizards hell-bent on exploring all aspects of magic, demonology, and necromancy, in ways as pragmatic as they are shameless. In keeping with the nature of my writing, eccentric wizards enjoy a certain amount of chaos tempered with laws to prevent self-inflicted doom or wars of extermination with all other realms of Calidar. Despite the magiocracy’s many grim and sinister realities, humor still emerges, making it all bearable.

The Contents

     A book 132 pages long written in condensed type is no small feat. This one counts about 100,000 words (probably more) by the time Thorfinn flags holes in the layout. Although I can’t possibly compete with lead publishers on sales prices and distribution (my books are POD), I make up the handicap with my own design style and by increasing the written content to 1,000 words per full page of text.

     I’ve taken various approaches with the writing, such as linking the Word file with an Excel doc for the purpose of tabulating the various sections’ word counts, intended art, and maps, therefore estimating as accurately as possible whether the text fits where it is supposed to. No such thing as WYSIWYG for me. By the time editing, corrections, and actual layout take place, stuff doesn’t end up quite where I expected it. It’s a moving target.

     Another new thing this time around, I added a ton of hyperlinks to the text intended for the PDF, much like a Wikipedia file. This should make it easier for readers to find something quickly without manually running a global search. It certainly helped me during design stages, considering the number of interconnected NPCs, places, references, and concepts in this book. I wouldn’t dare using the printed version without the PDF at hand. Fortunately, everyone gets this PDF with their books.

The Kickstarter

     There are several points of note. I’ve kept the same pricing structure as the previous Kickstarter, but added back a fee for shipping outside the US. That’s mostly due to uncertainties related to the Brexit issue in the UK. There’s no way to tell how this is going to affect printing and shipping six months down the road. It’s a shot in the dark, and I don’t like it anymore than any of you do.

     Other news: I’m back to 6 core pledge levels:

• $5 Airman: You get a png file of the main Gazetteer map at 150 dpi. That’s better than the previous Gazetteer, which had issued free poster map at 96 dpi.
• $10 Bosun: Your reward is the above plus the story at the beginning of the book. It picks up from where the episode ended in CAL1: “In Stranger Skies.” The story takes the Star Phoenix to Caldwen, as a way to introduce readers to important aspects of the magiocracy. This story unveils more about the nature and character of the Star Phoenix.
• $15 Master: In addition to the free digital map, your core reward is the complete PDF for Wings of Darkness.” This is great if you’re also interested in the earlier books’ PDF files. You can get there here more cheaply than present retail prices on DTRPG.
• $30 First Mate: Now we’re talking! You essentially get the softcover book. This is a good pledge level to acquire earlier books in print form, at prices lower than those on DTRPG. You also receive two of the fold-up maps (players’ and referee version, printed). You can get the others as add-ons if you wish.
• $55 Captain: Sailing right along. Your core reward is the hardcover book, printed in color on premium paper. You also receive 3 fold-up maps, as described above. There’s something new here. With the core book, there’s a separate booklet, “Adventure in Caldwen.” It starts out, in PDF form, as a 24 page collection of adventures. However, the final number of pages connects directly with the stretch goals—the more are unlocked, the greater the number of pages. The delivery date may be later, since I’ll have to write this material while production work is underway on everything else. It’s a marathon.
• $150 Admiral: You get the lion’s share of the booty. Aside from the autographed hardcover book, you get CA2 “Adventures in Caldwen” in print, plus all seven fold up maps, both printed and in digital form at full dpi resolution. I don’t sell my maps as digital files to the public—period—only their printed copies; Admirals are the only exception. I can also arrange for Admirals to pick a name for pre-rolled characters listed in CA2, on a first-come, first-served basis, as the number of characters is limited. As the adventure grows, I’m sure we can find other features begging for familiar names.

     There are lots of add-ons for new Calidar backers. These are all offered at prices lower than those listed on DTRPG, so it’s a good occasion to stock up on stuff. The good thing about these sideline items is that they all contribute to the intended funding, and to the stretch goals. The more of the latter we can unlock, the bigger CA2 “Adventures in Caldwen” gets, so everyone benefits.

     Here you have it. These are the insider news about this Kickstarter. If you have any questions, do feel free to ask, here or on the Kickstarter page. Click the image below for a direct link. Cheers, and thank you for joining this new endeavor.

Other News updates: The project flew past its 33% funding mark within the first hour from launch. It blasted ahead of its funding goal by the morning of the 4th day. Reached the 1st Stretch Goal by the morning of the 5th day, and the 2nd one the following morning. It still has until October 31 before it ends.  Stay tuned!

Big Announcement: The very next project following CA2 "On Wings of Darkness" will aim to produce kits translatings system-neutral stats and general game concepts defining the World of Calidar for the D&D® Game's 5th Edition and perhaps earlier versions (subject to copyrights limitations and OGL permissions). The present idea is to provide game stats indexed chronologically by page and sorted by topic (NPCs, Monsters, etc.) The intention is to make free PDFs and low-cost booklets. Keep in touch!

Meanwhile, we're approaching the 4th Stretch Goal. Thank you everyone who chipped in. This will bring CA2 "Adventures in Caldwen," the supplement associated with your core reward up to 40 pages. Everyone benefits. 

And while we're add it, let's unlock Stretch Goal #4 and start sailing toward #5 with more than 2 weeks still to go. Talk to your friends about this project, and make it a great weekend

We've been a bit busy these past several days. In short:

*CLICK HERE before Oct 31 6:00 pm*  

#Calidar's 10th Stretch Goal was reached last night while many of you were out partying for Halloween. That wasn't so scary. So, "Adventures in Caldwen" has reached its top page count, now at 64, on top of the core sourcebook's 132 and up to 7 fold-up maps. This leaves just one ultimate Stretch Goal, which will unlock the Players' Guide to Caldwen. Will we reach it? The next three days or so will tell. Please pass the word! Of all Calidar Kickstarters, this is probably the most rewarding one. Thank you all for this.

Coming up Soon

It's that time again... work is officially underway on a new Kickstarter event. The official launch date is Tuesday October 02 2018. Some of you hate these reminders. Understandable. So do I. But then, without them and without crowdfunding, there wouldn't be a new Gazetteer. So, sorry for the advance nagging and the inevitable follow ups.

What's this new project?

Remember the Voyage of the Princess Ark episodes from Dragon Magazine? "On Wings of Darkness" blends a new skyship adventure in a 132 pg. geographic Gazetteer packed with info about a realm of wizards and demons.

Going through the table of contents, the following chapters follow the introductory story:

• History of Caldwen (with a huge timeline of events)
• Lay of the Land (geography, local culture, economy)
• Intrigues of the Magi (politics and the military)
• Behind the curtains (brotherhoods and secret sects)
• A Cast of Many (major NPCs)
• Master & Servant (everything about demons)
• Beasties in the Dark (monsters of Caldwen)
• At the Heart of Magic (about schools of magic)
• Secrets of the Cabals (guilds of wizards, specialty magic)
• Blood of the World Soul (about an order of mage-knights)
• Sky City of Arcanial (a flying city & encounter ideas)

This comes with lots of maps including Thorfinn Tait's magnificent geographic cartography. The manuscript is complete. Crowdfunding is essentially for the purpose of acquiring decent art. On Wings of Darkness is system neutral and should work with most roleplaying games. A link should become available to view the Kickstarter page prior to its launch, later in September.

All hands on deck!

Dreams Day 1

Day 1 of Calidar "Dreams of Aerie's" Kickstarter: we did very well. By the end of Day 1, we've outdone CAL1 "In Stranger Skies." All numbers were better across the board. Thank you everyone! To help continuing this success story, do feel free to pass the word around, or simply keep chatting about the project, here, on Facebook, in forums, or on Kickstarter directly.

What else can I say, but "merci!" ☺️

A good number of you did share the campaign announcement, and this helped a lot. I'm very grateful for your enthusiasm and support. Judging from the funding pattern, it looks like "Dreams" should be at least funded by the end of the event. So far, we have at least 111 visitors who watched the video; 59% of them watched it all the way through, which is pretty good actually. Out of 111 visitors, 86 are backers at this point. Compare this with "In Stranger Skies" where more than 5,000 visitors watched the video and about 400 became backers (after 30 days.) That's very encouraging, even though June is a difficult month for crowd funding.

See You at 09:00 Central Time

See you all very soon this morning when the Kickstarter campaign launches for Calidar "Dreams of Aerie."  Search for this title on Kickstarter's home page.  I'll be back as soon as possible when the campaign launches, with the correct link.  The present one, for the preview page, will cease to work when the campaign launches.  You can also have a peek at the project preview posted on EnWorld, which reveals an extra poster map showing an "exploded view" of the aeries' upper floors on a night display of the main deck.  Until the curtains open, sit tight and enjoy the popcorn.

EDIT -- click here for the updated link.

Part Three: Gary Con VIII Video

The last part of what came through the eye of my camera consists of a collection of random video shorts (some are really, really short).  You can play the whole thing end to end and get a better sense of Gary Con's atmosphere, or hunt for specific parts you may be interested in.  Total time 23 minutes. Here is the list of contents and their timing:

• Start: Frank Mentzer introducing his D&D game (VIP gaming room)
• 03:08 Jim Ward speaking at his seminar on freelancing (auditorium)
• 08:11 Luke Gygax running an AD&D game (open gaming area)
• 09:10 Jeff Easley at the Gary Con HQ desk
• 10:01 WWI air combat game (miniatures gaming room)
• 10:58 Wayne "Von Deekin" Targo & Star Wars Armada game (miniatures gaming room)
• 12:02 Gondor Civil War game (HMGS gaming area)
• 12:54 Chronologically--Simon Todd, Lloyd Metcalf, Frank Mentzer, Diesel, Darlene, Jeff Butler, Lisa LaForce, Jeff Easley, Lou Zocchi, Tim Kask, and random crowd shots (Exhibitors' Hall)
• 14:52 Duke Seifried and Peter Adkison (open gaming hallway)
• 15:48 TSR party on Saturday evening--lots of former TSR folks here (main lobby lounge)
• 17:34 Steve Pokorny & David Zeb Cook (VIP gaming room)
• 17:57 Circus Maximus (miniatures gaming room)
• 18:22 Ernie Gygax introducing his AD&D game (VIP gaming room)
• 21:03 Merle Rasmussen and his Top Secret game (VIP gaming room)

That's it for now.  See you next year!

Click here to view stills of the convention

 

Day -1: GaryCon VIII Pictures

Alright, enough with the snow.  The storm tapered off yesterday, at around 2 or 3 pm.  The sun made its reappearance a bit later, and in all its glory at dawn today.  It was a cold and crisp morning.  The thermometer on my deck read 7F (-14C).  It's back up to near-thawing levels by now (enough to work out a sweat if you go for a walk).  The snow is blindingly bright, and the sights around the Grand Geneva breath-taking.  If you're in the Milwaukee or Chicago vicinity and hadn't planned on coming over, treat yourself to a day-trip to Gary Con.  Discover a beautiful resort, hobby games galore, good food, and a scintillating winter wonderland all around nearby Lake Geneva.  How could anyone miss this?  Visitors from as far away as Europe, Hawaii, and Australia made it this year, along with people from all across continental US and Canada.  If you're local, there's really no excuse for missing this yearly event. Here are a few more pictures of the day before Gary Con.  Some of the photos are too large to fit properly here (click on a picture to view a larger image).

Yesterday

Today!

Step in and sit by the fireplace in the lobby.

Still a bit nippy for basking under the sun, but the indoor pool is pretty snazzy.

Somebody's been busy

A few more banners

It must have been these guys.

Or the Convention Meister.

Time to fold piles of T-shirts.

One of several VIP rooms

One of the game rooms on the lower level

Remember the empty hallway yesterday?  ...not anymore!

The dealers room in the making

The auditorium.  I plan on running a visual presentation for Calidar in 2017, complete with art, maps, & Q&A

One of the gaming rooms upstairs

One of several seminar rooms, upstairs

A LEGO diorama displaying Grand Geneva grounds

This picture is from Alex Kammer.  Couldn't resist adding it here.

Here a picture from John Reyst.  Nice digs!

In my view the best gaming room, upstairs.  Check out the view from the window (see next image)

The best view from the Grand Geneva.  Sorry for the imperfect picture.  That's it for today...

Of Armadillos & d20s

I'm pleased to announce that I've been invited to join the fun at the North Texas RPG Convention.  The event will take place early June 2016 at the Dallas-Ft. Worth Marriott.  This announcement is sort of a non-secret secret, since I'm supposed to be a surprise guest there.  I've been told it's fine to make an announcement nonetheless.  It'll be a surprise for people who are unaware of my blog(s).  I'm looking forward to joining this convention.  I've heard nothing but good things about it, and as a bonus, a lot of my colleagues from old TSR will be there.  Here is the list (not final yet), of who else is supposed to be present & accounted for:

• Bob Bledsaw Jr,
• Jason Braun,
• Mike Breault,
• Chris Clark,
• David 'Zeb' Cook,
• Michael Curtis,
• Darlene,
• Jeff Dee,
• Matt Finch,
• Jeff Grubb,
• Allen Hammack,
• Kevin Hendryx,
• Jon Hershberger,
• Jennell Jaquays,
• Timothy Kask,
• Doug Kovacs,
• David 'Diesel' LaForce,
• Steve Marsh,
• Frank Mentzer,
• Douglas Niles,
• Erol Otus,
• Steve Perrin,
• Merle Rasmussen,
• Lawrence Schick,
• Mike Stewart,
• Dr. Dennis Sustare,
• Bill Webb,
• Steve Winter

This is a lot of fine people.  This ought to be fun.  I'm not sure yet what event I'll be running, as these news just came down.  Likely: a Calidar session using BECMI game mechanics, and possibly a seminar on world building.  Maybe more.  The convention takes place early June--based on current projections CC1 "Beyond the Skies" (Calidar's 2nd book release) is slated for the summer of 2016.  Early June is possible but cutting it really close for the new book's availability at the convention.  Although possible, I may just have a prepress version for demonstration.

This is good news either way.  Hope to see you there.  Until then, I'll also be at Lake Geneva's Gary Con, in March 2016. Cheers!

Calidar: Onward to CC1's Kickstarter!

At long last, I've finished the gods writeup for CC1 "Beyond the Skies."  It took far longer than I'd anticipated due to the sheer size of the project and detail I wanted to include.  This is more than a match for CAL1 "In Stranger Skies," both quantitatively (it's at least twice as large) and qualitatively.  With 88 deities, each with their own storylines, crosslinks between them and those of other pantheons (one per Calderan realm), and a focus on how this affects mortals who created them, this new book casts a new and amazingly revealing light on the whole Calidar universe, the netherworld, the outer planes, and the Ambrosian domains of the gods.

The book is full of benefits and powers for the faithful, ranked according to their degree of piety.  The servants of the gods and their foes are given in great detail, as well as a closeup look at the shamans of the Dread Lands, and how to manage the effects of Calidar's deadly wilderness. Another 15-20 miscellaneous godlings, demon-princes, and other quasi-divine beasties are included, whether they "survived" encounters with fully ascended peers, or they already died at their hands.  This brings the number of entities illustrating the faiths of mortals to more than 100. 

Kickstarter: This being done, I can now concentrate on putting together the ensuing Kickstarter.  The plan is to launch funding in December 2015, ending very early in January 2016.  If all goes well, at that point, I'll be able to contract artwork and final editing.  The final target for release should be several months afterward, depending on contracts and personal availability of the artists I would like to see involved with this project.  More later on this.  

Release Date:  Without knowing more, I'm projecting summer of 2016 as the final release, provided all goes according to plan.  Thank you for your patience.  There will be more announcements in the close future as details come together.  Please do pass this information along.  The greater the success of this Kickstarter, the more art will grace this new book's pages--with this many deities, we've got our work cut out for us!  Thanks.

Gary Con 2015

Now this was a fine vintage!

Although I attended in a most relaxed fashion, I spent more time at the convention than I ever did.  Then again, it was the first year that I hosted events.  I showed up Thursday and played a. . . game.  Imagine that!  (I forgot the title of course).  Sitting in the open gaming area, facing toward the lake  in back of the resort, I enjoyed the mist-shrouded landscape as much as the game itself.  We all finished within one victory point of each other.  I was brave enough then to drive away for lunch, leaving my parking spot open some someone else (yes, good parking space comes at a premium at Geneva Ridge).  The resort isn't really designed for a convention, but it's part of its charm.  I headed over to the Delavan inlet, and grabbed a giant calzone at Jojo's.  No way I could eat all of that, so half ended up in the styrofoam doggie box.  It was cold enough outside I didn't worry about the food going bad.  Miraculously, I found another parking spot when I returned.

After a quick chat with Dale Leonard, I received a much desired pass for a VIP parking slot in front of the entrance.  That was a nice touch.  While taking many pictures, I bumped into many old friends.  Time for my seminar came around very quickly.  With convention success come greater challenges: due to lack of space, seminars had been relegated to. . . the bar.  Ouch.  Between 6 and 8 pm, it was pretty noisy there.  And, I managed to misplace my reading glasses.  Great.  Without them, there was no way I could decipher my notes.  A fellow attendee kindly loaned me his.  That made for a rather bumpy seminar.  I'm told seminars will be handled at another location next year, but the exact place remains up in the air, since that's still being negotiated.  I believe seminars will end up in downtown Lake Geneva.  There already is a shuttle service to The Cove, where many participants have their rooms, since not everyone can stay at the Geneva Ridge resort (it is hopelessly full!)  It would make sense therefore that seminars be held nearby, Lake Geneva being a conveniently small town.

Of Podcasts and Obscure Knowledge

The folks at GeekLine 415 kindly invited me to join them on a podcast last night, February 10th.  Many thanks to Chad and his crew for this and the fun hour on the phone with them. I can imagine what joy it is to be gaming with such a happy bunch.  They reminded me of my D&D group back in France, in the early 80s.  What a flashback! The topics covered the years leading up to my move to TSR and my time there, fun bits about Mystara and the Gazetteers, and the connection with Calidar. All of this was sprinkled with jokes about obscure or underused  monsters as an ongoing theme.  What fun!  I listened to the interview a second time, this morning, and attempted to identify the various subjects.  I'll add a few comments below.

Click Here to hear the recording.

04:12 My turn comes up for my choice of monster.  I pick the thoul and give some background about when it came about in the D&D game.  Who did design the thoul anyway?

07:48 Here I explain that I'd started out as a diehard 1st Edition AD&D gamer, until I was hired by TSR and had to master the Basic D&D game line.  It was a bit of shock and a disappointment, but in hindsight I have no regrets!  It sounds like I am a 1st Edtn. player currently, though I am certainly more so than any of the later versions, I'm even more of a BECMI fan, which I didn't make clear in the podcast.

The Ides of March. . . almost!

Two events will focus on Calidar during the popular game convention, Gary Con VII, coming up in March 2015.  A third event follows, unveiling what lies behind creating a universe like Calidar.

The World of Calidar Seminar: Bruce Heard presents his new game world, Calidar "In Stranger Skies", in a two-part seminar. The first section includes a live reading to set the event's tone. An introduction to the World of Calidar follows, defining its heroes, main features, and uniqueness. Though it isn't designed for a specific rules system, Calidar is a fantasy setting for use with leading role playing games. It is the direct heir to the popular "Voyages of the Princess Ark" stories published in Dragon Magazine in the 80s and 90s, focusing on skyships, world-traveling, and space-borne adventures. Previews will be included about the current project's direction and contents. Questions are welcome from the audience, including those from present Calidar users.  Saturday 10am (2 hours).
 
Calidar Adventure:  "Eyes in the Dark" is a D&D adventure for characters level 4 to 5. Rules in use are the D&D Expert Set (Blue Box) or the Rules Cyclopedia hard cover. Pregenerated characters are provided. Set in the World of Calidar (see related seminar, Saturday), this OSR-style adventure starts in the rainforest of Meryath.  Friday 10am (5 hours).

You are senior students at Glorathon's Dragon Slayers Guild, sent to investigate a suspicious event in the tribal lands, as part of your mid-term tests. Rumor has it that a dragonship, vessel of the hated Draconic knights, landed in the foothills of the Matai-Nui. You are to unveil why they came and, if possible, to thwart any of their schemes. At the very least, return to the guild with vital information if you cannot defeat the enemy.

Dark is the jungle. Darker yet is the dungeon.

World Building Seminar: Bruce Heard, best known for his mastery of world building learned from developing TSR's popular Mystara campaign setting, presents a seminar detailing the steps taken to create a new universe, such as Calidar and other universes. This seminar is intended for game referees challenged with the daunting task of creating exciting yet credible fictional worlds, as well as professional game designers and fantasy fiction writers in general. Related questions are welcome.  Thursday 6pm (2 hours).

Gary Con is a convention honoring the memory of Gary Gygax in what he would appreciate the most: having fun and good humor.  Gary Con focuses on hobby gaming, including boardgames, roleplaying games, tabletop miniatures games, and seminars related to game play, game design, industry trends, etc.  The convention runs from Thursday morning, March 25 to Sunday 6pm, March 29 at the Geneva Ridge Resort, W4240 State Road 50, Lake Geneva, Wisconsin 53147 (Phone: (262) 249-3800).

When Old is New

“Lair of the Vipermen” was a fun idea for a game demonstration at the Burlington Public Library introducing the World of Calidar.  The adventure, which borrowed mechanics from the D&D game’s old Basic/Expert version, took place on January 15^th.  The “dungeon” was fully written in advance, with an eye toward possibly publishing it as a standalone title later.  I’d made myself a promise to keep things short and sweet.  I succeeded, kind of.  The adventure still features three levels and some outdoor adventuring in the foothills of Meryath’s Matai Nui range.  Long story short: a second session will be needed to complete the party’s foray, and perhaps a third to complete the whole adventure.

A few days before the event, I went digging into my trove of old D&D figurines.  I found my old box (nay: ancient, I should say) from Grenadier Models: “Wizards Room” Ref. #2009.  Its pieces had already been assembled in a diorama, which now sits in a larger box.  In the Grenadier’s box, instead, I’d stored original gaming pieces from my (AD&D 1st ed) campaign of 1982, thirty-year-old figurines with which I’d started my gaming hobby.  

Introductory Game Session

*Special Event*

Bruce Heard will be running a role-playing game session introducing The World of Calidar on Wednesday evening, January 14th 2015, at the Burlington (WI) Public Library, from 06:30pm to 09:00pm.

The next session is scheduled for February 11th.

The game system used will be D&D/BECMI. No prior experience with tabletop gaming is needed (just bring an open mind and a sense of humor). For further information, please contact the library at:

https://www.facebook.com/burlingtonwipubliclibrarypg

or: http://www.burlingtonlibrary.com/