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Old 05-22-2023, 02:55 PM   #1
DouglasCole
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Default Artifacts of Legend: Coming to Kickstarter May 25

My NEXT project - launching in three days! - is Artifacts of Legend

This two-book project is launching on Thursday on Kickstarter. It will run through June 10. The first book, which gave the campaign its title, is Artifacts of Legend. It is 40 pages long, and contains nine major artifacts, plus a Legendary Item generator to generate cool magic items based on the Named Possession model. The second book, which looks to be 36 pages, is Artifacts of Saga. These are darker, more grey-area in many cases. There are 11 such items (each artifact has a two-page spread), plus strong tie-ins with some NPCs, who are given plot-seed treatment. Finally, it includes two additional power sources for items: spirit-binding and tapping ley-line loops.

With little effort, these mighty weapons can be easily transported out of the Nordlond setting ... and as my future projects take off with the Infinite Archipelago series of settings, you'll see more and more "not Nordlond" coming out of Gaming Ballistic.

Please follow the campaign to be notified on launch.

Artifacts of Legend
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Old 05-22-2023, 03:02 PM   #2
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Default Re: Artifacts of Legend: Coming to Kickstarter May 25

Neat! I haven't used many magic items in my DFRPG game so far, but I look forward to changing that. I'm also glad for the support for additional settings outside of Nordlond--not that I mind the Nordlond bits either.
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Old 05-22-2023, 03:13 PM   #3
DouglasCole
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Default Re: Artifacts of Legend: Coming to Kickstarter May 25

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Originally Posted by sjmdw45 View Post
Neat! I haven't used many magic items in my DFRPG game so far, but I look forward to changing that. I'm also glad for the support for additional settings outside of Nordlond--not that I mind the Nordlond bits either.
I get it completely. I have a few ideas that I'm looking at right now for other systems, and potentially rip up the map around the Nordlond region into something a lot more fractured, but in a good way.

that doesn't mean I'm done with Nordlond - at all. Not even close. But I want to expand the capabilities in particular ways, with more freedom, and I have many ideas along that line.

But first of course...I have to get this next project filled with art and successfully funded!
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Old 05-23-2023, 05:28 AM   #4
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Default Re: Artifacts of Legend: Coming to Kickstarter May 25

As a Patreon of GM, I have looked through it and it is very good. I can't wait for the final product.
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Old 05-25-2023, 09:59 AM   #5
DouglasCole
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Default Re: Artifacts of Legend: Coming to Kickstarter May 25

The Artifacts of Legend Kickstarter is now live.

Containing 20 objects of great power, plus a random legendary object table, new types of magic items for good or ill, and plot seeds featuring the items and the personalities that need them.

Live on Kickstarter from May 25 through June 10.

I'd appreciate your pledge on this one. Not only is this a fun book of powerful and portable items, it's one of three GURPS-related projects I'm hoping to complete before the end of 2023. Successful projects mean a head start on getting the next ones done.
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Old 05-30-2023, 11:43 AM   #6
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Default Re: Artifacts of Legend: Coming to Kickstarter May 25

Cover Art WIP Update; Page Count Increase


Cover Art!

I got an update on the cover art that focused on more details for the cover page of both books.

[Go to KS Update to see the art]

We're still focusing on "we're too cool for clothing, let alone armor" on the Frazetta-homage that is the cover to Legends.

Team Evil gets even more self-satisifed on Sagas.

[Go to KS Update to see the art]

The covers will continue to evolve as the project goes on.

Page Counts
I've more or less spent the entire weekend on Sagas, since Legends is in a pretty good place. Sagas is growing. Spirit-bound weapons were already kinda cool, but we had some ideas that - I think - make them even more fun. And this has resulted in Sagas overtaking Legends in page count: Now it's looking like it's going to come in at 44 pages, with plenty of example items.

Progress
Right now, we're ... doing OK. We're at 70% funding, with about $4,000 more to go - about 115 more people.

Still, if one must be honest, the response is not overwhelming. We may fund, but the trajectory is such that we're not going to be close to the 500-700 people we saw in the Bestiary, Citadel at Nordvorn, or even Hall of Judgment.

Of course, at a backer count level of 500-700 folks, contemplating a hardcover, sewn-binding, 96-page omnibus gets pretty attractive. The need for printing in the EU and much more challenging staging and shipping gives one pause, but as backer counts hit that range, it seems attractive. A stretch goal - though it's in the distance at this point - of 200% funding for a hardcover omnibus instead of the 2x softcover books isn't crazy talk ... should we get close.

For now, we still have two full weeks to go, so I hope folks jump on board and help push it to fund.
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Old 06-02-2023, 09:54 AM   #7
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Default Re: Artifacts of Legend: Coming to Kickstarter May 25

I reread this post when I wasn't distracted and realized it came off as mean discouraging instead of sadness that more people weren't already supporting because I think the idea is cool.

Rather than make some vane attempt to fix it I'm erasing and moving out of this thread.
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Last edited by mehrkat; 06-04-2023 at 07:48 PM. Reason: Removing
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Old 06-02-2023, 10:58 AM   #8
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Default Re: Artifacts of Legend: Coming to Kickstarter May 25

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Originally Posted by mehrkat View Post
I wish it was funding better though I think it will fund though. I wonder if magic items is just not a strong draw like it is in say DnD. I've pretty much supported all your SJ games licensed products.

I was excited to see Delvers to Go and the various monster manuals and the companion has got me smiling. I have to admit while I'm looking forward to magic items I'm more excited about:
1. More World content maybe even additional worlds
2. More foes (especially the VTT docs)
3. Delvers to Go companion (I would love to see GCS versions)

Please note this isn't meant as a complaint or judgement of your books. I find them all to be top quality and good value and strongly encourage people to back. They will be happy with the results if they want some interesting books to mine for many genres but especially fantasy.
If it happens I can generalize "what mehrkat wants" into a niche for my GURPSy stuff that means I can stay in business, I'd happily settle on that and curate my solicitations accordingly. I'm not trying to say "you're wrong," just that it's been a challenge recently to rack up backer counts sufficient to make the kind of books I like to make (high quality color art, custom commissioned wherever possible, with as high quality paper and binding as the market will support).

That means I'm not making the sort of books the buyers want, but I also see the conventional wisdom of what sells (monster and gear catalogs) falling down. Settings usually don't do that well, 'cause this is the place where many people like to roll their own, as it were.

Dunno. I'm hopeful that this current project will fund, but honestly it's likely to lose money up until/unless I convert it to other systems ... like Old-School Essentials, Shadowdark, and whatever variant of Fifth Edition D&D (including my own Dragon Heresy) seems to be appropriate.
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Old 06-03-2023, 05:38 AM   #9
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Default Re: Artifacts of Legend: Coming to Kickstarter May 25

Quote:
Originally Posted by mehrkat View Post
I have to admit while I'm looking forward to magic items I'm more excited about:
1. More World content maybe even additional worlds
2. More foes (especially the VTT docs)
3. Delvers to Go companion (I would love to see GCS versions)

Please note this isn't meant as a complaint or judgement of your books.
4. More adventures

Adventures are VERY VERY VERY important, in my opinion.
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Old 06-03-2023, 10:28 AM   #10
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Default Re: Artifacts of Legend: Coming to Kickstarter May 25

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Adventures are VERY VERY VERY important, in my opinion.
I agree, with the caveat that they are also difficult to do well, and it can even be hard to define what a well-done adventure module even is, aside from obvious stuff like how easy to read the map key is and how easy it is to figure out where to start the PCs. (If it fails at either of these basic tasks, it's a bad module, full stop.)

There are plenty of other metrics, like how generous the rewards are relative to challenge, or how evocative the prose is (how vivid a picture it paints for the GM and/or players with only a couple of adjectives), that are difficult to evaluate and more difficult still to excel at.

Still, even with that caveat in mind, adventures are important for conveying norms. There was a thread here recently asking about how much treasure delvers should get from an adventure. The poster was grateful to get any feedback at all from others on what's appropriate. A simple book of dungeon crawls a la Against The Giants sounds like something that would have helped me seven months ago, when I was first learning DFRPG. I don't know if it would fit the Kickstarter business model though.
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