Lagging Behind this Weekend!

I'd like to say it was a bit too much R&R or blame it on St-Patrick's day but sometimes, you just run out of time. :)

My weekend R&R is still in 'drafts' for this week but it will be up for tomorrow evening.

In the meantime, the post which follows will be for the contest I alluded to on Friday.

M

Suddenly Quiet?

I've been considerably busy the past couple of days. As most of you know (or assume), I have a regular 9-5 type job but thus far in 2012, I've managed to keep up on the blog and I'm having a blast doing so. I've got projects lining up nicely as I 'plan' what will be my workload for Arcana Creations for the next couple of months. This week, a few things related to C&C and current projects have taken a bit more than the usual attention. In short:

- It looks like the Domesday is going to be revived.
- Arcana Creations will be holding an adventure writing contest.
- Arcana Creations has an artist lined for the next C&C release.

I've also had a very fruitful discussion with Brave Halfling Publishing with what they are doing and producing in the months ahead. Admittedly, if I hadn't been to the Van Halen concert last night, I may have gotten even MORE done this week. ;)

I will revisit all these things in the days ahead on the blog here and provide a few more details where I can but needless to say that I'm very exited. In the meantime, I've been keeping up with a few new blogs and one that I've really enjoyed that I've just started reading is 'The Howling Tower'. In particular, a couple of posts he made this week (HERE and HERE). These posts are very interesting from the standpoint of the 'evolution' of the D&D game and the cyclical problems with the pen and paper RPG publishing industry. These are problems for large scale publishing efforts so all of us trying to chisel a niche in our spare time have nothing to worry about. It's interesting none-the-less, especially when one happens to be reading "Designers & Dragons" (Great book BTW).

I've also noticed that the One-Page Dungeon Contest is running again this year (HERE). Now I saw this after I started talking about the contest idea I had but, I don't think there will be any impact. One thing is that the deadline for this is the end of April and mind will be considerably longer (closer to Free RPG Day I think). That said, I may throw something together just for fun.

More later...

M

FOR SALE - HUGE Star Wars D6 Lot

Ok... over the past couple of months, I had a couple potential buyers for this but neither worked out. I've decided to see if anyone is interested on the forums.

This is the classic Star Wars RPG developed by West End Games and I would *love* the opportunity to see to fan or someone who is curious about what made this game so great. These are the books in the lot and they represent 32 titles in all - 10 hardcover and 22 softcover:

- Best of the Star Wars Adventure Journal: Issues 1-4
- Classic Adventures – Vol.1
- Dark Empire Sourcebook (HC)
- Dark Force Rising Sourcebook
- Death Star Technical Companion
- Fantastic Technology: Personal Gear
- Fantastic Technology: Droids
- Galaxy Guide 01: A New Hope
- Galaxy Guide 02: Yavin and Bespin
- Galaxy Guide 03: The Empire Strikes Back
- Galaxy Guide 04: Alien Races
- Galaxy Guide 05: Return of the Jedi
- Galaxy Guide 06: Tramp Freighters
- Galaxy Guide 07: Mos Eisley
- Galaxy Guide 08: Scouts
- Galaxy Guide 09: Fragments From the Rim
- Galaxy Guide 10: Bounty Hunters
- Galaxy Guide 11: Criminal Organizations
- Galaxy Guide 12: Aliens – Enemies and Allies
- Gamemaster Handbook
- Han Solo and the Corporate Sector Sourcebook (HC)
- Heir to the Empire Sourcebook
- Imperial Sourcebook (HC)
- Jedi Academy Sourcebook (HC)
- Last Command Sourcebook (HC)
- Rebel Alliance Sourcebook (HC)
- Shadows of the Empire Sourcebook (HC)
- Star Wars Gamemaster Screen
- Star Wars Miniatures Battles – Man-to-Man Combat
- Star Wars Roleplaying Game - 2nd Edition (HC)
- Star Wars Sourcebook (HC)
- Truce at Bakura Sourcebook (HC)

Please note that most of these are in great shape and none are in bad shape. Now originally, I was selling the lost for $175 (locally) and then I brought the price down to $160 (also local). Anyone here that is willing to take this lot off my hands can do so for $150 USD. SHIPPING IS INCLUDED!

Yes, you read that right. I'm in Canada and will ship to anywhere in the continental US and obviously elsewhere in Canada. Shipping would not be cheap and would easily cost me $50+ and it might have to be shipped in two boxes instead of one! For the sake of trivia... these stacked represent a FOOT of gaming material! ;)

Other thing to be aware of is that the rule book is the original 2nd Edition blue cover... not the 2nd Edition Revised book.

Now, I'm not in dire financial circumstances -- I'm just been had these set aside to sell for a long time. I still love d6 Star Wars but I still have and decided to keep only a handful given how often I actually play in the setting. I just no longer need to hold on to the other 32. :)

Anyone interested can email me at arcana777 AT gmail DOT com.

Which reminds me, I really need to put an email link somewhere on my blog!

Thanks and don't forget the poll I'm running! (see right column)

M

EDIT - SALE IS NOW PENDING AS IT LOOKS LIKE I HAVE A BUYER.

Random Updates

Well, it seems like I'm doing something right. Readership on my blog seems to be up and I've even received some offers from a couple of people looking to freelance! Add to that that things are actually getting done and I still find the time to squeeze in some blogging and I'm pretty happy all around...

What's next for Arcana Creations?

Well, obviously work continues on Ballista but while I'm placing a higher priority on that, it is probable the the next C&C module will be coming out around the same time frame (give or take). Let's face it, an adventure is much easier to put out than a rule book and the only thing that might be a bit time consuming is the layout. Thankfully, I don't do the art -- just slot it in (assuming there are no problems with it). I haven't actually commissioned the art yet for it but will be looking at doing so in the next week or two. Mapping is a whole different beast as I'm the one that does these too. This is something I enjoy though it probably takes me a bit longer than a seasoned artist. But the results speak for themselves if you've seen the maps included in the "Trick on the Tain". The title for this C&C release is "Hide in Plain Sight" and I'm conservatively slotting this for a second quarter release. I do have a big question when it comes this this C&C release and future C&C scenarios that Arcana Creations releases.

Digest or Regular size?

There are clear advantages with both though one of the biggest reasons why Arcana Creations shifted to full size releases earlier on was to get stuff into brick-and-motar stores (which did happen in small quantities upon initial release). For the purposes of general use, I'm not sure what people prefer overall. Personally, I use PDF on a my tablet or to print out sections of the adventure I'm running and my physical copy of the module is left on the shelf.

So, my question is two-fold readers:

Which format do you prefer and if the format the material is printed in differs from your preference, would this deter you from purchasing it? Feel free to comment or simply find and vote in the poll on right column.

M

Weekend R&R: City of Brass

The earliest time I saw mention of the City of Brass in AD&D was the article penned by Ed Greenwood entitled "From the City of Brass to Dead Orc Pass". This article was found in the pages of Dragon Magazine in May of 1980 but was reprinted (where I first read it) in the Best of Dragon Magazine - Vol.2. Since that point, I had seen mention of it over the years in a couple of products inspired from "One Thousand & One Nights". As cool as it was, it was not something I ever delved into and when Necromancer Games brought out this wonderful looking box set, I initially passed on it due to pricing. It was not until 4th Edition D&D was announced that my FLGS decided to try and clear some of the d20 material which included a host of products from Necromancer Games.

Now Necromancer Games was a game company I grew to like very quickly but, was one I came upon after I put 3rd Edition behind me and started playing C&C. I started acquiring some awesome looking adventure modules as well as some books such as "The Tome of Horrors". The company's motto was '3rd edition rules, 1st edition feel' and they succeeded very well with what they put out over the years. Sadly, due to restrictions of the Games System License for 4th Edition D&D, the "City of Brass" represents one of the last products that Necromancer Games produced.

The set was initially priced at $70 and, even at the discounted price (it was half off), I chose to pass on the set. Instead, I picked up a copy of the "Wilderlands of High Fantasy" boxed set and the "City State of the Invincible Overlord" hardback. Together, those two set me back a mere total of $50. If you are at all familiar with NG's treatment of the Wilderlands here, you know and understand the deal I managed to get! I went home with my purchases but, I really started to second-guess my decision to pass on the "City of Brass". After considering it, I went back to the store that very same day and dropped another $35 for it. Sure, it proved to be an expensive day but, we are still talking about a $90 savings in total!!

I got back home, and then came the unboxing. The City of Brass was a *heavy* box set but as far as quality is concerned, even at full price, it would have been worth every penny. Between the 4 books in the box set (1 of which is a map booklet), you have about 500 pages of material. The box set used is of the sturdiest and highest quality that I have seen in any other RPG box set (save NG's Wilderlands Set which is the same type). Simply beautiful...

But what is the City of Brass? To quote the description at RPGNow:

City of Brass. The name conjures visions of magnificence and splendor, of mystery and timelessness. A place of wonder, a fable, an enigma, a magical fortress adrift in a sea of flame under a sky of fire, a fantasy and so much more. A bazaar at the crossroads of the universe, the City of Brass has long been rumored amongst mortal folk to be a repository of relics both fantastic and foul. Here is a place where your greatest dreams and worst nightmares may be granted you with a Wish if the price is right.

As far as content goes, the box set is just full of flavor and a represents a setting which can be used and explored for years in your campaign. While I wasn't sure of the use and appeal initially, there is enough material and ideas to spark the imagination and create a desire to play with it. The first book details the city and region (in the inner planes as far as D&D cosmology is concerned) with the second book continuing to detail areas and providing adventure material. The third book is really where the majority of the crunch is found which, as mentioned before, is 3rd Edition. The third book isn't a complete waste though as there are 100 adventure seeds given towards the end of the book. Still -- this would have been easily half the size if the crunch were done for something a bit more rules light. Of course, this also means the the first two books, representing 240 pages is largely stat-less and usable with pretty much anything. The last book, or rather booklet, gives maps for the setting. While only around 24 pages, it does the job but the set has no other maps of any sort (no fold outs).

I really don't think there could exist a better treatment for the mythical City of Brass and the only improvements that could be made would be to further customize it to better fit other systems -- something which will never happen of course. It's certainly a great product but to use it for a game other than 3rd Edition makes it harder to justify full retail price. Looking at Noble Knight games, they have a couple used copies selling for $70 and a new (still in shrink) copy selling for $10 more. You can buy the PDF copy for $40 and they offer POD softcover options (a single softcover as opposed to a box set of 4 books) for $70 making the pricing out of whack for something like this. If you see it marked down, it is worth considering (especially if you are as lucky as I was) as it is a very nice set.

Now, while I have gone read various bits of the set on and off the past few years, I sadly have yet to take my players to this setting but I had planned to after a time spend in Freeport (one of my campaigns anyway). I look forward to the trip.

M