Back to Basics...

I don't know how it happened but I really lost track of the last few months on this blog. In fact, the past few years, this blog has been a bit of a symptom of a greater problem and posts have been few and far between. Naturally, I'm keeping busy and I constantly have projects on the go. All I need to do is look back at 2017 and 2018 to see what I've accomplished with Arcana Creations and its imprint, Arcana Elements.

When I first started this blog in October of 2009, things were vastly different for me. I just formed Arcana Creations and started working with John of Brave Halfling Publishing back when the OSR was still relatively new. I adopted Castles & Crusades as my FRPG of choice and I was running a regular campaign. At that point, I had already been gaming for over twenty years and I cut my teeth on a mixture of 1st and 2nd edition AD&D alongside the venerable BECMI D&D sets. With that, I had equal parts of fun with other diverse systems and genres from a variety of publishers.

In short... I loved gaming and, while there was a 'burn-out' of sorts after the shine of 3rd Edition wore off, it was Castles & Crusades that rekindled my love for the hobby and got me regularly gaming (both running and playing). More than that, the online community around this game (and others) were very engaging and I found myself getting involved with them. I was sharing ideas and participating in discussions. Those actions is what led me to doing a bit of work with John Adams and shortly after Arcana Creations was born.

Other aspects of the gaming hobby I had never explored such as painting and using miniatures became an extension of my hobby and, very recently, so did the world of 3D printing using FDM printers!

There were other changes along the way. New editions of various games have come and gone and some of my tastes have changed along the way. People have changed too and somehow, things got a lot more polarizing in the past couple of years. Circumstances and priorities has caused existing campaigns to be put on hold, or end altogether. More importantly that love and thrill I've once had is gone -- possibly robbed by a host of things that have plagued me personally or that I have simply witnessed or read about one too many times.

What does this mean and how does this relate to this blog?

In short, I've taken a step back in order to get a better look at what lies ahead in order to rekindle what is important to me.

Arcana Creations is still my main focus and I'm busy in fulfilling the recent Kickstarter campaign for Ballista. Things are going to plan on that end and I do enjoy working on that material. It's always very satisfying to see something come together culminating in some physical you can hold in your hands.

Beyond that, I have three hobbies that are interconnected (for me) where I need to devote time they deserve for me to properly enjoy them. I have HUNDREDS of miniatures to paint and so many models I want to print up (and then paint) -- all for my game. Above all, I want to come to a place where I'm comfortable at running a small and carefree game. I don't know when this last part will actually end up happening but it's the goal.

And... I want to write about it and share my experiences as I try and rekindle my love for this hobby. This is where 'Under Siege' comes into play. I used to enjoy writing reviews... sharing my opinions... and so on but sometimes that is the hardest part. I'm hoping what I end up doing and going through will help others who are also juggling a full time 9-5 but struggling to find time to devote to their hobby after all their other commitments are out of the way. Just as important, it's about a routine which I need to try and set down to get things moving again.

Anyway, I'm hoping for a lot of good things related to the hobby in 2019 and I'm eager to share this experience as well as other things of interest I happen to be doing or come across.

M

Ballista Adventures: Final 48 Hours on Kickstarter

Well, I've been busy the past few weeks managing this Kickstarter and trying to get the word out.  It's finally paying off and the campaign has fully funded about 24 hours ago (give or take) and we are currently still climbing -- albeit slowly. CA $3500 might have been a bit ambitious but, it also wasn't a single product but a product line I've been trying to fund. Plus it wasn't a dedicated 5E product which a lot of people love to throw money at.

However I think the concept behind Ballista is striking a cord with some people. Hopefully, the word will continue to spread and I really want this to be a great product and this line be the first few titles of a series which will end up having many more.

As it stand right now, someone going for the all print bundle gets SIX small modules to them for about CA $60 -- that is with shipping included. After the USD exchange, that works about to less than $8 per module *AND* you get the PDF versions of that complimentary.  I like to think that's a pretty good deal as it stands but I am also understandably biased.  ;)

If you prefer a digital only format, CA $22 gets you the same six adventures and this works out to a little less than $3 USD per title.

I love the support I've gotten from my fellow gamers and I am thankful for it.

So... if you want to check out the Kickstarter, you can do so HERE.

Oh... and here's a cover of the fourth module in the series:

 M

Ballista: Two Never-Before-Published Titles

When Arcana Creations started out around 9 years ago. I had ideas, spare time, and was inspired. It's been an interesting decade with many rough patches. There have been highs and lows but one thing that I kept on saying up to the start of last year was that I was a 'hobby publisher' at best. Earlier on, I didn't even want to be known as a publisher! Rather... I was happier being recognized as a 'Studio' doing work on existing projects. You see, almost 10 years ago, Brave Halfling Publishing was doing great work and John from BHP was very encouraging to a few people. Some have gone on to do even better things but Arcana Creations stumbled a bit earlier on.

In those early years, I have been given manuscripts for scenarios that have not yet been published though TWO of them have most of the work done on them and were a very short way from actually seeing the light of day. I also have others beyond that but I'll get to those later.

One of these two which will be making an appearance is an adventure scenario by Bill DeFranza entitled, Hide in Plain Sight. Unlike the other three modules, there is just more content in this adventure which could easily be broken up in two parts. It is undergoing a new round of edits with a very basic level of tweaks since the scenario was originally written with Castles & Crusades in mind. Now, it is getting a Ballista makeover.

The other module being produced that has gone through full editing and is in layout is Todd Pote's Mystery at Morfurt. Like Bill, Todd has been an early support of Arcana Creations and he presented what looks to be a straight-forward and fun scenario. I've recently been in contact with him regarding a map in order to finalize the content for the module.

Both of these still need art and they need to be finalized but, everything should be finished up before the end of the year. And, it is only taking THAT long because between now and the holidays, I do have my full time 9-5 job and a couple of small shows that I am doing.

I mentioned other content too and I do have more to publish for Ballista. However, being a big fan of Kickstarter, I know that over reaching can be problematic and over promising can just kill a great idea. Aside from a COUPLE of surprises I'm holding for the Kickstarter starting this weekend (should be tomorrow but might actually end up being Sunday), I'm keeping things 'finite'. I'm also giving myself EXTRA time for fulfillment. If by some chance, the campaign being launched becomes WILDLY successful, we'll be able to handle the volume and TWO-THIRDs of the project is already complete!

Arcana Creations have brought two projects to Kickstarter. Both were small and only one successfully funded. Both were for the Arcana Elements imprint publishing fiction and non-fiction. The first delivered early. The second still got completed without funding but was kept to a very small print run sold at shows. Had it funded, it would have been ready to go out to backers within a month of the end of the campaign. The intent is to do no different with this campaign and deliver on time... if not earlier.

Once that is under way, I'll be happy to launch more titles... perhaps another small batch in 2019.  :)

M

Ballista: A Trick on the Tain

The third adventure in the Ballista Adventures line is A Trick on the Tain.  Like the first two, this was a module originally published for Castles & Crusades and this version has also seen changes between that version and this new Ballista version. Where as the Skerry scenario was primarily a local-area overland scenario, and Ramat was primarily a dungeon scenario, A Trick on the Tain takes place over a broader region and can be classified as a wilderness adventure. In this case, the adventure takes place in the tundra.

As a location-based adventure, there is enough material and ideas in the pages of the module to get you going but it also leaves plenty of room for a creative GM to flesh out. The region could easily become the home of many other adventures as the players explore this wilderness. James Maliszewski from the old Grognardia blog had this to say about it when he reviewed the original C&C version back in 2010:

It's also a good example of the old school design philosophy, leaving many aspects of the adventure open to referee interpretation rather than providing a definitive answer to every question that's likely to arise. I appreciate that and think it only adds to the module's utility, although some will no doubt disagree, expecting a published module to be completely self-explanatory.

His full review on the original C&C version can be found HERE.

He did go on to say that he didn't think it would have as broad of an appeal to everyone but I do believe it is an underappreciated gem. It was also a gem that was still a bit on the rough side that got a Swords & Wizardry conversion done for it a couple years back.

In preparation for this new version, a new round of edits where made. Material that was at the end of the module and the appendix was cut for this version. However, all that material critical to the actual core of this adventure has remained. It is my hope that we will revisit this region and expand on the material in the near future.

At this point, there are two more titles I want to present which are unpublished adventure scenarios which, along with the three already discussed, will be part of the upcoming Kickstarter launching this weekend! Expect a post about those two in the next day or two.

M

Ballista: How the Base Rules Work

So... you picked up a copy of a Ballista Adventure and you have dice in hand along with some characters. What next? If not using one of the many existing systems compatible with the Ballista line, each module also includes a basic set of rules which can be used instead.

As the rules included in these books are not meant as a replacement for other systems, you won't find rules to create actual characters. Some books in the line will offer some pre-generated characters and there are other online resources that can be used to meet this need. Naturally, characters from any d20 system derived from the world's most popular Role Playing Game such as Swords & Wizardry or Castles & Crusades will easily fit the bill.

Beyond that, if someone prefers to use their favorite system instead, more power to them. Nothing in the line should be an impediment from doing so. Others may wish to mix and match various rules for their own home brew campaign.

The rules included on the inside cover as separated in seven sections. They are How to Use This Book, Attributes & The Game, Understanding the Encounters, Battle, Damage, Bonuses & Penalties, and finally Magic & Miscellanea.

The first section is a simple and basic introduction but the second is far more significant. It covers the six traditional attributes and how to go about deal with saving throws or skill saves. A target number is determining by added a base value and a difficulty level rated on a scale of 1 to 10. A player would roll a d20 plus relevant attribute modifier and character level.

Understanding the Encounters breaks down the stat block and details how each part impacts the game where as the following Battle section quickly covers the order of combat in relation to this information. Damage is the logical continuation of both previous sections and informs the reader on how to proceed.

Of course, anyone who has played a similar role playing game before will already know how all of this works. Even the following section isn't particularly 'new' given the multitude of other systems that use a similar mechanic. Greatly popularized in 5th Edition and utilized to great effect in other games such as Chaosium's Call of Cthulhu (7th Edition), Ballista advocates the use of bonus and penalty dice in the game to avoid stacking additional numbers to a skill, save, or attack roll in a veritable escalation of numbers.

Magic & Miscellanea is a quick and dirty way of running magic without the need of a Vancian-type of, fire-and-forget, spellcasting. The GM will need to determine challenge level, taking into account the scale of the desired effect, which the spell caster will need to roll for in order to success. This taxes the spell caster (in the form of nonlethal damage).

The rules are very basic but, in their own way, complete enough to run a game. They represent an easy set of guidelines that can be used instead of a rule book -- especially if the participants are experienced gamers. In time, a bit more will be offered, if only to provide some interesting options for the campaign YOU want to run.

M