Nicholas Caldwell and John Seal from Guild Companion Publications and Aurigas Alderbaron are interviewed by farsight blogger about Roleplay gaming, ICE and what we’re working on. Read this great insight here:
http://www.farsightblogger.blogspot.co.uk/2013/01/interview-nicholas-caldwell-and-john.html
Happy New Year to everyone.
This is our eighteenth Briefing and is the first scheduled Briefing for 2013.
In the January 2012 Briefing, we began with a look back at what we had accomplished in 2011 and looked forward to what we hoped to achieve in 2012. Things did not quite turn out how we expected in 2012, but it was still a good year for GCP Ltd and the various product lines (and thus a good year for the whole Iron Crown family of companies and fans).
2012 saw the virtual completion of our rebranding efforts. We were able to release Arcane Companion and School of Hard Knocks as scanned but searchable pdfs. Our layout gurus were able to get the complete Spacemaster: Privateers product line rebranded and it is all now available in pdf. We were also able to get the quartet of RM Classic rulebooks into print-on-demand and some of the Spacemaster: Privateers books into print-on-demand. The only residuals are the RM Quarterlies, which just need their front pages replacing, and Channeling Companion, which has IP complications.
We had hoped that we would have been able to release Emer 3 in 2012, but the book became bigger and bigger as Terry thought of more material that just had to be written up. On the other hand, the advent of the standard color option at OneBookShelf enabled us to create print-on-demand versions of Xa-ar with minimal stress and at a very competitive price.
In HARP, we completed the enhancements to the first three HARP Fantasy rulebooks, including an improved spell creation system and a new monster creation system. This allowed us to release the HARP Fantasy core rulebook in pdf in August. Due to some layout difficulties, we held off pushing it into print-on-demand but it will be released early this year. HARP Fantasy became the first ever GCP (and indeed ICE) product to ever become an Electrum top seller on RPGNow.com. Indeed if all of our sales across the OneBookShelf sites are totalled up, HARP Fantasy has already sold enough copies in aggregate to be a Gold seller. AutoHARP, a new character creator and combat tracker, was released in beta form.
And then we surprised everyone by opening up the new edition of Rolemaster to a full Public Playtest. There’s already been lots of great feedback and playtesting by the fan base on the first three volumes of unified Rolemaster.
So what happens next?
With unified Rolemaster, we have been taking notes on improvements to the beta rules and will be issuing a series of revision documents for perusal and further playtesting by the fans. We won’t be creating wholly new layout pdfs as that will slow the process too much and I have other tasks for our layout gurus so that products in the layout queues can get published. Creature Law and Treasure Law will enter Public Playtest in due course.
The first goal for Shadow World is for Terry to finish Emer III. Obviously it will be ready before RMU is finalised, so Emer III will receive an early edition release, which will have RM2/Classic stats and very probably RMSS/FRP stats. At a later stage, a RMU version will be made. After Emer III is complete, Terry and I will be looking to bring back several of the older Shadow World sourcebooks, again as early edition releases. Terry has to convert their layouts into newer software formats before the old layout formats become totally obsolete, so we’re taking advantage of work Terry must do anyway. We will also be seeking to put other authors formally under contract to write additional Shadow World material.
For HARP Fantasy, the first task is the tidying up of the core rulebook layout such that it is ready for print-on-demand. Martial Law and College of Magics are both ready to go to layout as soon as we have all the layout templates resolved to our satisfaction. In previous Briefings, I’ve talked about the dependencies involved in the various HARP books, such as needing to sort out the spell creation system (as will be published in the enhanced College of Magics) so that it could be used to construct the spells as given in the HARP Fantasy rulebook. In my tracking spreadsheet of upcoming products, Loot: A Field Guide, HARP Bestiary and Cyradon, are next on the agenda for HARP. Loot only has backward dependencies (to HARP Fantasy, Martial Law, and College of Magics) but nothing yet depends on it. The new HARP Bestiary has the same backwards dependencies but also has forward dependencies in that there are future products that will require the Bestiary material to be finalised. That makes Bestiary a more critical product to get finished as soon as possible. Cyradon has the same backward dependencies and it has a partial dependency on Bestiary, because although the monster creation system is finalised, it will necessarily accumulate more monstrous abilities and “overlays” as Bestiary is written. Getting a canonical Cyradon text is, however, vital to all the Cyradon downstream products that are already underway.
Which is a long explanation for why I decided that the most useful thing that I could do over Christmas on days when my wife was treating her patients was to create a canonical Cyradon text, minus the Bestiary chapter.
A few hours before the end of 2012, I had duly completed the necessary change list document for Cyradon. The changes include:
1. Enforcing consistency in terms of the timeline, races, geography, etc. – an example Belynar is now definitively and definitely located on a dormant volcano.
2. A clearer and more accurate statement of the appropriate themes and moods for Cyradon.
3. Making the races either consistent with the HARP Fantasy defaults or better balanced with them. Gryphons are now consistent in terms of their movement rates with the monster creation system
4. The character creation chapter has had the unnecessary duplication from other HARP books removed. (For instance, there’s little point in describing the Alchemy skill if you don’t have access to College of Magics for the potion creation rules, and if you have CoM, you don’t need the Alchemy skill description repeated in Cyradon.)
5. Religious Orders have been brought into line with the rules for Clerics in HARP Fantasy and possible uses of CoM spells indicated. I’ve taken the opportunity to include two of the religious orders previously published in an issue of HARPer’s Bazaar (Pride of Rasa and Children of the Moon), suitably adjusted to only need HARP Fantasy and CoM spells
6. As originally presented in Cyradon, the various magical traditions and variant professions conflated spell casting styles, spell foci, and mana sources in ways that were inconsistent with College of Magics. These have now been resolved and the drawbacks, including fewer spells than standard professions, made clear.
7. All of the spells drawn from CoM for these traditions have been updated to reflect what will be in the new published version of CoM. (Like I said, it is all about the dependencies).
8. All of the Cyradon Gazetteer material and the Tears of Life article (from another Bazaar issue) have been pruned, adjusted for consistency, etc., and assimilated into the Cyradon main book.
The Bestiary chapter will be completed in tandem with the work on HARP Bestiary.
The initial portion of the Cyradon publication roadmap looks like this: We begin as you might expect with releasing the Cyradon setting base book. We want to follow this in very short order with “Cyradon: Arrival” and “Cyradon: ReAwakening”, where these adventure modules would be set respectively in the Arrival and Post-Ritual phases of the timeline. The Ruins of Kausur rerelease, written by Jason Brisbane, and the all-new Enya Lote adventure module, written by Andrew and Heleen Durston, then form two Post-Compact modules and the goal is that they follow in swift succession. As a separate fork, we will be rereleasing A Wedding in Axebridge and the all-new Caer Glais, both by Chris Seal, as adventure modules to pull back the curtain on another region of the Shatterings.
Those of you who’ve been with Cyradon since its first launch are by now wondering about Allen Maher’s excellent trilogy of scenarios and didn’t they cover the Arrival and Post-Ritual timeframes? Indeed. We are buying in all three of Allen’s scenarios and they will be used as the cornerstones of the new modules. We do, however, need additional adventure material for both modules.
For “Cyradon: Arrival”, I would like to see an adventure, let’s call it “The Last Retreat”, which covers the rearguard actions of a small team trying to shepherd refugees through the mountains to the dwarvish outpost, fending off Orsai forward scouts and wild animals. This should be for 1st-level characters, utilise only NPC enemies and creatures from HARP Fantasy. It must not pose a threat to the timeline, i.e. the worst the PCs can do is get themselves and their particular group of refugees killed, their failure cannot prevent the exodus to Belynar.
For “Cyradon: ReAwakening”, I am interested in 1-2 adventures, similar in spirit to Allen’s work or building off the other adventure seeds for the post-Ritual phase (as described in the base Cyradon book). Again this should be for 2nd or 3rd-level characters. It must not use Patagos, Gorgers or Fey Drakes as monstrous foes. It must not pose a threat to the timeline, i.e. again the worst the PCs can do is get themselves killed, it cannot endanger Grayson or the signing of the Compact.
For each, I am interested in a scenario of 5,000 to 10,000 words, including stats. If you are interested in writing one of these, then send me an email with a detailed outline of your proposed adventure. If I receive multiple submissions for a particular spot, I will pick the best outline. I want the final version of the adventure complete and submitted to me by the end of February. Payment will be at our normal adventure rate of 1 US cent per published word.
If these specific opportunities don’t interest you but you are keen to write in the Cyradon setting, then keep thinking about ideas for the post-Compact period. We will be seeking adventure modules both in and around Belynar and the Devastation, plus widening the perspective to the rest of the Cyradon continent in terms of sourcebooks and adventure/campaign books.
And as an aside, we will be making similar calls for Shadow World once Terry has completed the manuscript for Emer III.
Until next time
The next scheduled Director’s Briefing will be in February.
Best wishes,
Nicholas
Director, Guild Companion Publications Ltd.
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| © 2013 Iron Crown Enterprises |
Our friends over at AppEndix LLC are proud to announce the release of:
SHERLOCK HOLMES 1 – MURDER AT THE DIOGENES CLUB
Scandal shakes London’s most exclusive men’s club as Colonel Philip Sylvester lies murdered in the reading room. Can you uncover the murderer, the motive and the method? Is anyone among the respected but anti-social members a likely suspect? Can you rely upon Sherlock Holmes or his older (and some say “more accomplished”) brother Mycroft for assistance?
YOU are the detective in this intriguing first “gamebook” of the SHERLOCK HOLMES SOLO MYSTERIES (TM) series. This gamebook also includes a second, complete mystery adventure, IRISH STAR. Two complete Holmes mystery adventures in one app!
What is a gamebook, you ask? A gamebook is unlike a regular book. In a regular book, you read one chapter after another, from 1 to 2 to 3. In a gamebook, at the end of chapter 1, you have to make a decision (or roll the dice, or both); and your decision and the results of your actions determine what chapter you read on from there. In this way, a gamebook does not present you with just one fixed storyline, but splits into dozens and sometimes hundreds of different outcomes. YOU determine how the story goes on. And no two plays are the same.
GAME FEATURES:
– Dynamically adapting music
– Atmospheric sound effects
– Create your own detective or play the default character
– Fully automated character/clues sheet and your own digital notebook
– Automatically saves and resumes the story where you left off
– All gamebook rules: virtual animated dice, page flip and random number table
– All the original artwork from the printed book in HD
– Game Center Achievements
– VoiceOver compatible (listen to the text!)
– Supports full iPhone 5 screen / iOS 6 compatible
Sherlock Holmes 1 is the first of eight (!) Sherlock Holmes Solo Mysteries gamebooks by Iron Crown Enterprises to be published as interactive apps, including one title which was never available in English before. The app is universal (iPad/iPhone) and multi-language: English, Spanish, French, German, Italian and Brazilian/Portuguese are supported initially.
SHERLOCK HOLMES 1 – MURDER AT THE DIOGENES CLUB is available now on the AppStore for just $0.99! No ads, no unlocking, just pay a buck and own it!
http://itunes.apple.com/app/sherlock-holmes-1/id550319671
Note: This gamebook is an original work. It is NOT the work of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.
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You may think that Iron Crown Enterprises had recently been putting all their energy into creating new products and rejuvenating the old. You are wrong. In addition to the stellar work of the designers, writers, artists, layout professionals and others involved in the production of our new product offerings, ICE has been building on the more social aspects of gaming with a view to becoming not just a purveyor of great Role Playing Games but also a network, a hub, a company of friends and associates all united by their love of gaming and their belief in ICE to provide them with everything they need to continue enjoying their gaming for years to come. |
Over the past couple of months Iron Crown have set up two new social media outlets (Twitter and Google +) as well as redoubling our efforts with our Facebook pages. Our twitter page has taken off better than we could ever have imagined. Iron Crown’s blend of company news and industry updates seems to strike a chord with a number of our followers. Google + is going just as well with more and more people adding Iron Crown Enterprises to their circles and so being kept up-to-date with everything ICE related. Even our already established Facebook pages are seeing steady growth in “likes” and an increase in activity. It would be easy to sit around and pat ourselves on the back for the success of our social media output but the truth is that it has very little to do with us. The success of our social media campaigns, and indeed everything that we do is down to you folks, the fans.
So what now?
We have no intention of resting on our laurels. We have made great strides in cementing our social media presence but now we need to take the next set of leaps forward. . There is so much more that we intend to do via our new social media outlets. Without giving away too much we are looking to:
• Run more elaborate and more exciting competitions
• Create ICE events that provide unique entertainment as well as a way for fans to get to know each other
• Increase the level and the quality of our social media output
• Run gaming contests using Google + hangouts
• Create video interviews with your favourite industry professionals
• Hold Q&A sessions with ICE and GCP team members
• And much, much more…
As with everything we do, it is all down to the fans so if there is anything you would like to see ICE doing that we aren’t already, any content that you think is news worthy, any opinions that you want voiced, feel free to sign up to one of our many social media sites and get in touch. We’re here to build ICE beyond a publisher of great games and into a community of gaming adventurers!
ALSO – I am super-chuffed to be seeing the old ICE Sherlock Holmes solo adventures come out again in print on the ipad/ipod and soon on the kindle and android. Not only is it a successful example of mining old IP, but far more importantly, it links to the concept of community we want to develop. The core of what we do will be about fantasy and Sci-Fi table top RPGs but I play other games, and in other ways, and I’m into all stuff fantasy, Sci-Fi, military, history, etc and we want to expand a little what we can offer, as long as its relevant to our community and is synergistic to the core. It won’t all be games. It could be books, game apps or news and reviews. We will see.
One of the things we will soon be starting is a monthly news letter. This newsletter is designed to keep fans up-to-date on developments across all of ICE’s products. Our newsletters will bring fans closer to the action and build on the sense of community and fan participation. We understand that not everyone has time to read through everything on the forums or to check social media sites every day. The newsletter will bring everything you need to know into one place so that you never miss out on any important news. Again, we need fan feedback – what do YOU want to see in it?”
– John Seal
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It is time to announce The Public Playtest for the new unified Rolemaster. Hurrah! |
Reclaiming The Iron Crown
There are (at least) two ways of rebuilding a game system and its fan base. There is the steady reconstruction that gradually builds up from a small core and step-by-step brings a game back to life and success. And for many reasons, that’s the route we have been and are taking with HARP Fantasy and HARP SF, and it is already showing signs of working.
And then there’s another bolder methodology that can and perhaps must be employed when more strenuous measures are called for, such as when a version split like that existing between RM2/Classic and RMSS/FRP needs to be healed. We – that’s GCP, Aurigas and our partners – have discussed and deliberated and done the hard sums.
The Rolemaster Public Playtest files will NOT be appearing on the OneBookShelf network.
The Rolemaster Public Playtest files WILL be published for you to playtest FOR FREE on the ICE website
How To Play Your Part
1. Go to the forums on the ICE website
2. Are you already a member of the ICE forums? If your answer is Yes, then go to Step 4. If your answer is No, then go to Step 3.
3. Register on the ICE forums as a new member
4. As a registered forum member, you will be able to see the Playtest Forums
5. Go to the various Playtesting Agreement and Playtest File threads, read and agree to the terms, then download the Public Playtest files
If you are a GM, tell your players that they need to get their own copies of the Playtest Files. If you are a player, tell your fellow players and your GM that they need to get their own Playtest File copies. No sharing, please. Just Steps 1 to 5 and its FREE to playtest.
Now come the fun parts. Read the Playtest files and try the new rules. Build characters and fight duels of steel and sorcery. Run the new rules in sandbox scenarios. Convert your existing game to the new Rolemaster and roll those open-ended dice.
Then post your thoughts, your comments, your opinions on what works and what does not, your solutions to any problems, and your playtest reports on the Playtest Forum.
Playtesters who make contributions will find their names in the Playtester credits in the final products.
And After The Public Playtest?
We take the final versions, edit, polish and make them beautiful, and then we release them for sale on the OneBookShelf network as pdfs and print-on-demand, and through mainstream distribution.
For those of you who wish to start saving your gaming dollars, the pdf price of the books will range from 15 USD for the smaller books (probably Arms Law, Character Law, and Treasure Law) to 20 USD for the larger books (certainly Spell Law and Creature Law). The print-on-demand price will be the pdf price plus the manufacturing cost, which varies according to format. The mainstream distribution cost depends on printing partners, on deals with printers, final page counts, and the final format that is chosen for distribution.
New Rolemaster Will Be In Colour and in Black & White
Yes, you read that correctly. The five core rulebooks will be in colour. Colour interiors throughout.
We know that the Shadow World Player Guide was an eye-opener to many fans as to what is possible for GCP/ICE products. Now it is the turn of the new Rolemaster to reach for the crown.
And for those whose budgets are more constrained, there will be black&white versions, so everyone is catered for.
So Now What?
The next scheduled Director’s Briefing will be in November but why are you still reading this? Steps 1 to 5 and Start Playtesting Now.
Best wishes,
Nicholas
Director, Guild Companion Publications Ltd
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Director’s Briefing – 14th August 2012 (updated 21st August)
This August Briefing is the thirteenth Briefing, which might be considered unlucky for some, but is merely a bit later than I would have liked. There is, however, good reason for being late, and it’s not just that I’ve been fiendishly busy with the day job (though that never helps). |
The good reason for being late is that we have been very busy with lots of products.
HARP Fantasy is back!
Join the new road to high adventure with HARP Fantasy. Enhanced, remastered, HARP Fantasy has drawn upon years of actual game play experience, fan feedback, and logical reasoning to improve the rules from the original 2003 and 2004 editions without compromising their playability.
Here’s your checklist of rules changes:
We have also improved the interior artwork, replacing virtually every filler piece with meaningful illustrations. You’ll love the new art.
The proper price for the HARP Fantasy pdf is 20 US dollars. However, as we promised in previous Briefings, we are making a special time-limited offer for any ICE fan who would like to buy the new HARP Fantasy pdf. Use the following link to buy the HARP Fantasy pdf for a mere 5 (yes, FIVE) dollars
http://www.rpgnow.com/index.php?discount=91524
(if you prefer www.drivethrurpg.com/index.php?discount=91524 and so on for all the other OBS affiliates. You may need to directly put in the discount code 91524 at the checkout screen.)
This is a time-limited offer and will END on 15th September. Do not procrastinate, do not dither, just take advantage of it. Tell your friends, tell your players. This is a one-off bargain that you and they must not miss.
The pdf version is already available. Softcover and hardcover versions will become available as soon as OneBookShelf approves the print files.
Spacemaster: Privateers
The rebranding of the Privateers is now complete! All seven Privateers books are now available in pdf and all eight DataNets are also now available.
Three of the Privateers products are also now available via OneBookShelf print-on-demand as softcover books, namely Robotics Manual, Vehicle Manual and Blaster Law. Spacemaster Privateers and Privateers:Races & Cultures should be available in the next week as softcover books.
Rolemaster Classic
As we have firmly stated, the older editions of Rolemaster, i.e. Rolemaster Classic and RMSS/FRP, will remain available for purchase as pdfs. Where it is practically possible, we will be making them available in print-on-demand versions as well, so that fans who wish to stick with older editions can replace their threadbare copies.
All four of the RM Classic books, Rolemaster Classic Character Law, Rolemaster Classic Arms Law, Rolemaster Classic Spell Law and Rolemaster Classic Creatures & Treasures, are now available as softcover print-on-demand editions.
And Everything Else?
And meanwhile we’re working on unified Rolemaster, other HARP Fantasy sourcebooks, and a lot more besides. For instance, the new Arms Law, Character Law, and Spell Law are currently incorporating feedback from the Gamma discussion ahead of the public playtest, while cover art is being commissioned, new layout templates developed and a new logo designed. In HARP, Martial Law has been handed over to layout, while a substantial fraction of the artwork for the new enhanced version of Loot has already arrived
There will be a scheduled Director’s Briefing in September but there also will be a special Briefing to announce the Public Playtest of unified Rolemaster.
Best wishes,
Nicholas
Director, Guild Companion Publications Ltd.
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Happy Thirtieth Anniversary!
There was a number of items I wanted to talk about this quarter, and was struggling how to start which is why I’m a bit late (that, and the day job ), but a book I have been reading with my daughter, Charlotte, combined with some ranting over on RPG.Net, gave me some inspiration. I came to be constantly tumbling this word in my mind, for which I now provide a formal definition: com•pa•ny n. pl. com•pa•nies OK, I’m sure you have guessed which book I have been reading with my daughter – The Hobbit. This will be the 16th time I have read it. I still find it to be one of the best written stories I have ever read – really, every sentence is a joy to read, not just because of the story but the actual English words and their flow. It was the first fantasy book I had ever read, given to me by my 5th grade teacher (shout out to Mrs. Wendel), for whom I was a pest. But I think she realized I had something in me that would draw me to such a world and, like all great teachers, she was right – I became an avid reader not only of fantasy, but of science fiction, horror, and history (esp. military). I’m mentioning this because I have noticed a trend from public boards, our own forums and in publication, a trend of parents looking to play with their kids. An example – Knights of the Dinner Table – Bob playing with his niece and nephew, Nitro with his daughter and the pee wees. And also my situation – I have been waiting for my two girls to be old enough to game with me and now they can! This is important because I think it is a reflection of the demographics of the RPG fan base which as game manufacturers we need to understand, and a hope for the future. On the demographics, I suspect that the population of table-top RP gamers is aging, and we have our own “player boom” from those of us who were teens to twenties in the late 70s, 80s and early 90s. Those that came to “gaming age” after the mid 90s were mostly lost to electronic gaming. I don’t think that means the fan base has shrunk much, but it is unlikely to have grown. Certainly the revenues are down, probably because older players have less time to play and are buying less product. However, as the player boom ages, we may have more money and time to indulge in our hobby (even if it was dropped for multiple years) and, given the importance put on family time these days, to do so with our children – and I think we are seeing that expressed in gamer media. If so, it means that we should be focusing on products that continue to support the player boom and that might include products that help them get their kids interested. In fact, I have this need – and I can’t start out with RM (too heavy and gritty) and even HARP is too big a bite for kids around the age of ten. Hence, a project was spawned which you can follow over at the forums [LINK] where hopefully I will find the time to post regularly about my journey in developing a game for my kids (with the help and input of Thom). I’m not aiming really for the game itself to be commercialized, though maybe that will be a result, but more to provide an experience and example that will hopefully inspire others to sling dice with their kids and where they can learn from all the mistakes I am sure to make! On the hope angle, perhaps these gaming parents will produce a “baby gamer boomlet”! Now, back to the definition… A group of persons…sitting around a table having fun! RPG’s are all about people and people being social with one another. And we need more of that. All too often I see examples of how as a society we are dehumanizing our interactions with some sort of electronic device in between, and if not that, some physical or social barrier – gates, walls, fences, income gaps, race further separating us. It drives me nuts when the kids are on the iPad playing games and can’t even respond to me when I ask a question they are so immersed. A recent Newsweek article, to paraphrase, stated that people who play games or use social media several hours a day exhibit brain functionality similar to schizophrenics! My fight back? (Yeah, first I need to lose the iPad) – game night! Fortunately, we do play a lot of games in our home. But I expanded recently to running a game night at our church in central London. We had a huge turnout – people loved it! Old people who live alone were so thankful (I had no idea) to have some fun and companionship, and to make new friends. Adults were just happy to get out of the house, with their kids in tow but to socialize in a neighborly fashion with adults without the need to get “dressed up” and pay for a sitter. Kids made new friends, learned new games, achieved bragging rights. People are clamoring for me to do another…why…? I was surprised by the level of excitement, but my explanation on reflection is that we all really do want to socialize, have a little fun in a personal, “face-to-face” way, and exercise our brains (math, English, strategy skills) together. That tells me I am doing the right thing – that there IS demand for games and that it is “good for people” ( the more social the better) – if only we can get people to exit the rat-race treadmill of over-work and Matrix-like brain-control of our electronic devices. One’s companions or associates or the state of friendly companionship. Look, we are NOT just playing games – it’s a hobby! And at that level of commitment, with those hours involved, the people you game with BETTER be your friends! My best game groups were with people who were my friends first, but I also made friends with people I met through gaming. The idea this activity is best enjoyed amongst friends and family, or at least like-minded acquaintances, is an important distinction to many of the newer forms of entertainment on offer. Even compared to going to the cinema, it is better. I don’t know about you, but when I go with my wife to the cinema, we don’t really get to talk much or literally even SEE each other…because we are watching a movie…in the dark! And for that privilege, it cost us about $40 for 2 hours of fun (with snacks), not including the sitter – another $30! So for 2 hours of entertainment I could have bought TWO RPG rule books that will last me hundreds of hours of much higher quality entertainment…and some people complain RPGs are too expensive?! I don’t get it – these people must either be very bad at math or never do anything for entertainment other than take out “free” books from the library. A troupe of dramatic performers…a military unit…Perfect! Yup, you have your acting (my youngest will love that, I think as long as she can be a faerie or an elf) and you got your military/strategy (get out those swords – my oldest, Georgina, will dig this – the only one in my family like me that is entranced by medieval weapons when we go to a museum). There is something for everyone – boys and girls, fighting and diplomacy, charades or strategy – you name it. I think this is one part of role playing games that just never makes it to the outside world – the flexibility and diversity of the role playing gaming concept for it to be what you want it to be. And lastly… A business enterprise; a firm. Where does this come from? Well, it takes a company of people to create a business enterprise, hence “company”. Companies don’t exist without some group of people to run and work in it. Today, “companies” seem to be bad things to many people, but every single mom and pop shop you buy a sandwich from to an Apple or Dell that sells you your computer is actually just a group of people working together for a common purpose to create something that other people want. Usually, but not always, this is done for profit. Let’s think about what they are actually doing – a group of people organizing themselves to create what they, or a larger group of people, want. I left this for last because it’s the one that stands out from the others. Mainly, it is not the one that describes the end product of value in an RPG where the other sub-definitions seem to capture that well; for it is really the people, usually friends – the players and the GM – sitting around creating fun. They by far, are the most important element of the whole gaming experience. The next is the fact that being a gamer is a hobby where there is a group of like-minded “fans” (versus just individual “customers” or “audience members” as compared to virtually all other leisure pursuits) – a group of people who see the fact that the value of the whole is greater than the sum of the individuals in terms of the additional social, intellectual and entertainment benefits in being a part of a “fan-base” or “network” provides. BUT I feel fairly confident in saying that high quality gaming as we know it would not exist without game products. Otherwise it’s just collaborative storytelling. We need the rules to define the challenges and measure the risk of success or failure with the added element of the unpredictable outside of human control (the dice) to “replicate” real life experience. Some “group of people” needs to do this and it also needs to be standardized so that it will provide the “network benefits” to the fan-base. It’s no surprise that D&D is so dominant despite its many flaws simply because so many people play it now and that you can always find someone to game with. Furthermore, we need to support game products to add value to the gaming experience. Particularly in today’s time-poor world, we need these products, at reasonable prices to reduce the time players and GMs spend on preparation so they can maximize their time on gaming fun. For a group of fans in multiple game groups, this has a huge amount of efficiency and value-add as compared to each GM making their own. So, who is this “group of people” at the “company” of ICE? Well, I believe it is not just the Aurigas Aldebaron team and the GCP team and the moderators, editors and freelance writers, artists and e-support developers, all of whom are doing this part time (generally, in excess of full time day jobs!) or for free. Nope, we have to move beyond that way of thinking. The “Company” includes YOU, the fans: The “Company” I am talking about is all of us who play Iron Crown products and have done so over some time frame during the last thirty years. We (the collective we – fans, GCP, Aurigas, freelancers) are a “company”, a group of people, with a like-minded goal – to play gritty, real, deadly RPGs of varying levels of detail and/or complexity in a social, face-to-face, fun environment. We need to all think like this because there is no point in any of us working on this (you on your home games, and us on the products) unless we have your full support and can actually grow the fan base or the “network” to add incremental value. Either the products produced work for us all as gamers and do so in a way that is different and generally better than what else is on offer, or we should all just drop it and go play something else. I don’t want to waste my time and you don’t want to waste yours. That does not mean that we are going to take everyone’s individual recommendations for rules changes, for example, but it does mean we need to listen and produce products that meet the needs of the greatest number of fans. And let me be clear so it is not misconstrued: In the very first instance, the products MUST stand on their own. They must be of high quality at a fair price. I do not make this call to arms without understanding that the product must be something worth supporting. At the same time, while producing games is enjoyable and rewarding in and of itself, that only goes so far. It’s hard work and time away from family and friends. For some, it means not spending time working more hours elsewhere to earn money (Jeeze, I’m doing that right now!) In essence, it’s a sacrifice to the collective effort. The more people with the needed skills we can cast a charm spell on to do this, the better! But we also need a sacrifice from the fans – and that comes in the form of paying money to cover all the costs of production, including creative time. Now, I know some of you are starting to glaze over as I go into the business aspects of this – its certainly not fun to discuss. But by understanding it, I hope you can see that by helping to ensure products are not pirated, and that paying a full and fair price is actually to the “Company’s” benefit – and by that I mean all our benefit. If we, the managers and designers, can see that its working, and the freelancers see its working, they will work all the harder to get you more for your game. And when there is a profit, you know that it’s going to go back into making more product. In one way, its good we all have day jobs – we don’t need to take any money out of the business and we don’t need to have “business decisions” override what is best for the game (a la Gary Jackson in KoDT, if you know what I mean). Put it another way – the money you use to buy a product will go about 85% for the actual production and delivery of that product to your hands, and 15% will go essentially as an investment in the next two or three products, or spent on marketing to other role-players to convince them to join Iron Crown. I hope I have explained this well enough to convince you to join me in the “Company” of Iron Crown for the next thirty years! OK, someone start a thread on this post and let’s get some commentary! |
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Gamers have been enjoying the thrill of the critical and the excitement of the open ended result for 30 years… Throughout the years there have been revisions but regardless, the experience has always remained the same – an exciting taste of realism with grit and excitement that remind you that every battle could be your last.
Rolemaster will be getting an update as a new revision is targeted for beta release shortly, and then once the feedback and adjustments are completed we’ll be moving full speed ahead rolling out a new era, but we don’t want to forget about the past, so we’re asking you to share your experiences with us.
In honor of 30 years, we’ll be running a weekly contest for the next 30 weeks. This contest will tie in to each of the 5 main books associated with the new unified Rolemaster (Arms Law, Character Law, Spell Law, Creatures Law and Treasures Law). We’ll spend 5 weeks on each with a winner each week and they will receive 3 products (of their choice) from our existing inventory. After we’ve gone through all five categories, the fans will select a winner as best in each category. The winner will receive a hard copy version of their category book, and then finally the fans will pick one overall winner who will receive the full set of Rolemaster hard copy books.
Each week will run from Monday-Sunday and all submittals need to be posted on the ICE forums. The winner each week will be selected by ICE, but don’t worry if you don’t win the week you submitted, because we will roll forward all submittals until the category has 5 winners.
Our first category is… Arms Law
We’ve all had some amazing experiences using Rolemaster’s incredible combat system with open ended rolls, lifesaving criticals, and unexpected fumbles. Tell us about one of these memorable experiences and share the thrill.
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Rolemaster Fans – Smiteworks has forged and released a new version of its virtual table top program Fantasy Grounds II for Rolemaster Classic. The update was hammered into shape by our friends Yves and Jeremy who have been hard at work to bring significant enhancements to the Rolemaster Classic Ruleset:
For those who have yet to see it, we heartily recommend Fantasy Grounds Rolemaster Classic Ruleset. Whether you play remotely or have a face to face tabletop game, this can be a great GM tool kit to speed up your game and add a graphic interface for images and maps. Of course, if your main crew is spread all over, this is a must have and enables you to pick up the dice (virtually) and playing again with your buddies no matter where they may be.
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This is the twelfth of our scheduled Briefings.Now that there’s been a little bit of time for the ICE community to digest the news of our Rolemaster Briefing, this is a good juncture to answer at least some of the questions that people have been asking. |
Qu 1: What is the status of the new unified Rolemaster products?
There’s been a lot of speculation about this. The facts are as follows – a complete draft of the new Arms Law has already arrived fresh from core playtesting to my inbox. Copies have been provided to selected individuals for their commentary and their independent second-round playtesting. The new Character Law and the new Spell Law will be the next to appear, but I don’t know which will materialise first. The fourth and fifth books, namely “Creatures” and “Treasures” will turn up last.
Qu 2: Is this a new edition of Rolemaster?
In some ways, it is a new edition. In some ways, it is very much a “best of” drawing upon the best ideas of the past three decades. It is not a cut-and-paste job. It is definitively and definitely Rolemaster.
The RPG industry and the hobby have been around a long time now with a myriad mechanics explored in games mainstream and indie. For a game to survive and to flourish, it needs quality and stability in order to attract and maintain the interest of players and GMs, and it needs to be supported by its publisher.
Of course you as fans have to give unified Rolemaster a chance and support it in turn as that support enables us to produce more products for it, encourages software creators to develop high-quality virtual tabletops and support tools, and so on. Living, growing rpg systems attract more players and GMs, which means more opportunities for existing gamers to find new folk to game with. A win for everyone.
Qu 3: What happens next? How can I become a playtester?
After the first three of the vanguard products have arrived and have survived my editorial scrutiny and that of our specialist commentators, we will then make them available for a public beta playtest. The expectation is that this public beta test will kick off in August. Copies of the drafts will be available for purchase in minimalist formatting from the OneBookShelf network and paid-up beta testers will be able to comment and discuss their playtesting results on the ICE forums.
This will be a strictly time-limited beta test and it will end once our crack team of artists have finished the illustrations and covers, so that final editing and layout can occur. Anyone who purchases a beta version of one of the new books will be able to update their pdf copy at no extra cost to the release version as soon as they become available. PDF release of the final versions will be followed by print-on-demand and mainstream distribution.
We are determined that unified Rolemaster will be the best it can possibly be. With the feedback from the community, we are certain that together we can create a new edition of Rolemaster that will stand the test of time and be a new classic.
Qu 4: Why five books? Why not one?
Our assessment is that while many fans would like an introductory, lightweight or streamlined version of Rolemaster in one book, many more will want a full-blooded, full-featured version of Rolemaster. From the publishing perspective that we want to support Rolemaster through new Shadow World and Cyradon material and adventure/campaign modules, we need the complete unified Rolemaster now.
There will be a “Lite” one book edition of Rolemaster in due course, but it will be fully compatible with the full version. It will not be a conflicting or variant edition – the voice of the community is very clear that multiple competing editions are a major problem.
Qu 5: So what is happening with Shadow World?
Shadow World will continue to be the premier fantasy setting for Rolemaster, and there will be a Rolemaster Handbook for Shadow World that provides the necessary additional rules material (e.g. Loremaster and Navigator spell lists) for gaming in the perilous lands of Kulthea. Depending on when Terry finishes his latest masterwork, Emer III, this may become one of the first sourcebooks to be a unified Rolemaster product. What is certain is that new Shadow World material beyond Emer III and books written by third-party authors will be written for unified Rolemaster. In addition, we will be updating and refreshing existing sourcebooks such as Emer I, Emer II, Eidolon, Cloudlords of Tanara, and more, to be compatible with the new Rolemaster.
As an aside, there will also be a HARP Handbook for Shadow World.
Qu 6: What about Cyradon?
In addition to being the premier setting for HARP Fantasy, we will be providing a unified Rolemaster conversion of Cyradon, enabling future Cyradon products to support both HARP Fantasy and Rolemaster gaming. Once again, this will not be a variant of unified Rolemaster; it will be a straightforward conversion with appropriate additional material.
Qu 7: Is a new version of Spacemaster being worked? Will Spacemaster be unified?
Spacemaster is not currently being worked on. There are limits to how much even our teams of freelancers can cope with at the same time. But in due course, there will be a unified version of Spacemaster and it will be compatible with the new unified Rolemaster. Meanwhile we are continuing with our rebranding and rerelease of the existing Privateers line – five of the seven books are now available on the OneBookShelf network.
Qu 8: What’s happening with the HARP Fantasy line?
It’s full steam ahead for the HARP Fantasy line. As I write this, I have an email from Eric with the latest complete HARP Fantasy draft layout and covers to review. I finished all of the extra material for Martial Law and so it is ready to hand over to Eric. Virtually all of the new artwork for HARP College of Magics is already here.
We don’t see HARP Fantasy/HARP SF as rivals to Rolemaster/Spacemaster but rather complementary systems addressing different gaming needs and this will become more obvious as new products are developed and released. Due to the larger pool of freelancers that GCP is able to draw upon, we have the capability to maintain a stream of substantial products for multiple lines at the same time and this keeps everyone in the community happy.
The next scheduled Director’s Briefing will be in early August, but I expect to be announcing the release of HARP Fantasy in the interim.
Best wishes,
Nicholas
Director, Guild Companion Publications Ltd.
