The Algernon Files

[carmachu]

Just out of curiosity, any of you guys pick up either Vol. 1 or 2?

When they released a HERO version of it, I picked up both volumes. Its interesting, both the characters and translation into HERO.

 

[DSumner]

What's the difference between the new deluxe files and the Kickstarter Volume 1 & 2?

Here's what Aaron Sullivan posted.

*1* It's got a better, tighter and more professional-looking layout than the two from last year.

*2* It includes 54 entries, so you have the 20 from the first two books put out last year, plus another 34 you haven't seen before. Abraxas through Control Freak. Somewhere around the 300 page mark. I believe you'll find a list of the entries a page or so back in this thread.

*3* All the entries have lead-in "mini-fiction" (including the 20 previously undecorated with such) in the form of recorded communications between ALGERNON, The Challenger Institute, and various other characters. The fictional conceit underlying the series is that Doc Steel has asked the Challenger Institute to curate a MASSIVE amount of files and associated information for Doc, so that the information is secure but not limited to Fortress II's archives (having learned a lesson with Fortress I's destruction). He'd also like this done by people who aren't part of the Sentinels' organization in order to eliminate at least one level of potential bias. CI (and the Challenger family themselves) is one of the few parties he trusts to do this and do it right. This isn't a publicized effort, but various parties have become aware and are either interested in helping with the compilation, or interested in gaining access to it. I've also gone back and added some additional sidebars here and there to some of the 20 previously published entries.

*4* Assuming things fund, there will also be some new art interspersed with the previous entries (such as Baron Brimstone's lieutenants the Chance brothers and Dolly DeVille, or Apex's Proctor drones).


After discussing it with many knowledgeable people offering their advice, earlier in the summer I decided to wait on the Kickstarter until after Con season, as Origins and GenCon apparently have a noticeable effect on gaming KS campaigns and the availability of funds among the potential audience. I will be releasing a number of entries on DriveThruRPG as their own individual products to get a separate cash flow going until then; those of you interested will get to see the new layout then (at least two of the DTRPG products are entries that weren't previously published - Carapace and Brainchild).

With a couple of exceptions (done to test spacing around large figure pieces on the layout), the individual entries that will be going on sale before and during the Kickstarter (October) will be the redone (new layout, a few extra things added) entries from the two non-Deluxe volumes Blackwyrm put out last year. Those releases will run through and quite a bit past the time of the Kickstarter. The people who back the Kickstarter will get the whole shebang at once, complete with fiction inserts and some art and maps that won't be getting released individually. They'll also be WAYYYY ahead of the people who wait to pick these up week-by-week (the release schedule I plan to keep). Since it'll be next September (2016) before the DTRPG releases catch up with the entries in the full Deluxe volume.

And since someone has already asked me, no, buying the pdf files from DTRPG won't get you a rolling, individually-calculated discount by entry and buyer on the full volume. That special tier -- calculated solely on whether you bought one or both of those volumes -- will only be available to the people who's emails I have gotten from Blackwyrm for last year's original Kickstarter backers. Hopefully you guys will not respond to that as ...ummm... heatedly as the individual I already answered. Logistics will already be a major hassle and I'm a one-man shop.

And finally this as of yesterday.

Brief Review, Followed By Walk-Through Explanation:

Well, it’s been almost a month and a half since I started the Wordmonkey storefront on DriveThruRPG (http://www.drivethrurpg.com/browse/p...monkey-Studios), and work continues apace. Product #6 (Abraxas) just went live a few minutes ago.

I’ve decided to take a page out of Evil Hat’s playbook (a company I have deep respect for) and just be up-front and totally transparent with Wordmonkey’s business. It’s not like I have trade secrets or fierce market share to zealously guard or anything. Looking back over the last month and taking in the sales numbers, as well as soooooo many talks and deep-dives into Kickstarter numbers has made me face a few harsh realities. I’ll walk through these with some supporting numbers, Kickstarter first.

In order to be able to produce the Kickstarter-based book I have talked about, i.e., the first volume of the Deluxe Edition ALGERNON Files, I am looking at the following costs:

Art (Buying all of the character art off of Blackwyrm for the 54 entries, paying for the additional art needed and a cover) — $5600

Layout (For the estimated page count, and keep in mind this is at a VERY reasonable page rate) — $1300 (approximately)

Total (including the amount needed to pay Kickstarter so the above numbers don’t get undercut) — about $10,000 (technically, a couple of hundred just under that… I rounded up)

This doesn’t include potential expenses related to different tier offers, print options or anything shiny like that. It’s just getting the pdf made. That’s all. You observant readers will also note that it also includes no actual line item for the writer or the company to actually make anything above and beyond expenses. Point of fact, between last year’s KS ran by Blackwyrm and the DTRPG storefront, the writer (that would be moi) still hasn’t made a penny.

Nope, not a one. Seriously.

Blackwyrm covered its expenses for physical production and distribution, but is still sitting on art costs it needs me to take off of their hands. Another point of fact, even those two little books they made barely hit their KS goal last year. Barely. And that goal was a fraction of what I'd be asking.

A long, hard look at Kickstarter histories also shows me that for projects like this, for this system (or similar comic book games), primarily character (or “fluff”) based and not crunch, and put out by someone who’s name is NOT Green Ronin, that $10,000 might as well be $100,000. These kinds of projects routinely and simply fail to fund at anything past a couple of thousand bucks. They just do. And adding in the cost of my making even just my base word rate on this monster (over 200K words in the end) would in fact double the necessary total cited above, pushing the likelihood of funding even further into wishful thinking territory. So no go there.

I have been blessed to have a couple of dozen fans who buy pretty much anything with my name on it. God bless ‘em, each and every one. But, especially short-term, that number fails to carry the financial day.

So, Plan B. Put out each entry first as a pdf through DTRPG , and then, once they’re done, and money from those sales have helped me take a chunk out of the cost of the art, as well as gotten the layout 90+% done, then I can try a much saner level Kickstarter to cover remaining expense and put out a compiled book. At one entry a week released, that puts our more reasonable KS at hitting the airwaves no sooner than 4th quarter of 2016.

Is that my ideal way of handling this? No. But it’s the reality of the situation. To reinforce this, let’s look at the aforementioned DTRPG business.

In order to make back expenses (just expenses) on one of the pdf products, which is to say, cover the cost of paying Blackwyrm for the art and paying the layout person for his work, I have to move 81 units (i.e., I have to make 81 sales per entry). Again, I don’t take home a penny out of those 81 units – they’re just covering the costs. Given the numbers and time cycles I’m seeing, that means that each entry is going to take 3-6 months to dig out of the red. Seeing as some of these are redone versions of entries that my most stalwart fans already have seen, the sales also understandably suffer on the first 2o of those 54 entries. Carapace (not previously released) noticeably and significantly outsells the other products so far.

Gaming products that are more than stick figure art tossed into Word doc and converted into a pdf cost money to make. They just do. And my costs are actually VERY reasonable – in fact, they’re a little on the soft throw side since they don’t include paying the writer. And I’m still left with the situation described above.

Long story shortened slightly – it’s going to take a bit longer to get stuff out than I might have otherwise hoped. Them’s the breaks for a one-man shop unwilling to take substantial financial risks.

Best way of seeing Wordmonkey make it as ongoing concern for M&M support (I hope to branch out to other systems eventually – comic books are a niche genre in gaming and historically sell very poorly in comparison to the rest of the field) is to continue to buy the series as it comes out. If it gets to the point where I can see I do nothing but lose money even over my anticipated recovery period, I will have little choice but to close up shop. Again, that’s the simple reality. This is a labor of love, but still a business that incurs expenses.

 

[DSumner]

The ALGERNON Files Deluxe Edition: Alphamech

Do you have what it takes to face the meanest machine on the planet? Do you? DO YOU!?! Alphamech is the deadliest, toughest merc anywhere. Just ask him and he'll tell you. And then give you a beatdown for needing to ask. The mind of the most macho marine to ever sing the corps' hymn stuck in the best robot combat machine Uncle Sam's money can pay to have reverse-engineered from recovered alien technology -- he's ready to take your money to put the hurt on whoever you want. Who's ready to make his next payday?

Alphamech is a PL 12 threat to add to your Mutants & Masterminds campaign.

The ALGERNON Files Deluxe Edition is a treasure trove of enemies, allies, locations, and items of power to add to any ongoing M&M game. The series updates the fan-favorite ALGERNON Files material to the 3rd edition of the game and expands it, adding many new and exciting characters to meet and places to go.

The series is presented as files being transferred (and commented on) from the databases of the AI known as ALGERNON (who supports The Sentinels' superteam) to the possession of The Challenger Institute for curation. Each entry contains a character or other material of note ready to be dropped into a broad variety of adventures and settings with little or no work on the part of enterprising Gamemasters.

Written and designed by Aaron Sullivan, with full color art by Alex Williamson and layout by Eloy Lasanta. Designed for use with the Mutants & Masterminds 3rd edition game.

http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/158390/The-ALGERNON-Files-Deluxe-Edition-Alphamech

 

[DSumner]

The ALGERNON Files Deluxe Edition: Amalgam

Proof that powers don't make the hero ... because Amalgam's got your powers, too, and one thing Amalgam most definitely isn't is a hero. Arrogant by design, this sorcerous construct hates you for having the one thing its creator denied it - a soul. So, it's going to show its better than you regardless, and the only way it knows how, violently and with your own tricks and talents turned against you.

Amalgam is a PL 11 threat to add to your Mutants & Masterminds campaign.

The ALGERNON Files Deluxe Edition is a treasure trove of enemies, allies, locations, and items of power to add to any ongoing M&M game. The series updates the fan-favorite ALGERNON Files material to the 3rd edition of the game and expands it, adding many new and exciting characters to meet and places to go.

The series is presented as files being transferred (and commented on) from the databases of the AI known as ALGERNON (who supports The Sentinels' superteam) to the possession of The Challenger Institute for curation. Each entry contains a character or other material of note ready to be dropped into a broad variety of adventures and settings with little or no work on the part of enterprising Gamemasters.

Written and designed by Aaron Sullivan, with full color art by Alex Williamson and layout by Eloy Lasanta. Designed for use with the Mutants & Masterminds 3rd edition game.

http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/159951/The-ALGERNON-Files-Deluxe-Edition-Amalgam

 

[DSumner]

The ALGERNON Files Deluxe Edition: Brainchild

Don't let looks deceive you -- there's an evil mind in that adorable little girl's body. Not that the mechanized death machine she's driving would let you anyway. Run from Brainchild, longtime supervillain telepath and infamous sadist, his old body destroyed and currently trapped in the frame of the diminuative victim unfortunate enough to be his host. He's not happy and he's looking for targets to take that out on -- are you going to be one of them.

Brainchild is a PL 11 threat to add to your Mutants & Masterminds campaign.

The ALGERNON Files Deluxe Edition is a treasure trove of enemies, allies, locations, and items of power to add to any ongoing M&M game. The series updates the fan-favorite ALGERNON Files material to the 3rd edition of the game and expands it, adding many new and exciting characters to meet and places to go.

The series is presented as files being transferred (and commented on) from the databases of the AI known as ALGERNON (who supports The Sentinels' superteam) to the possession of The Challenger Institute for curation. Each entry contains a character or other material of note ready to be dropped into a broad variety of adventures and settings with little or no work on the part of enterprising Gamemasters.

Written and designed by Aaron Sullivan, with full color art by Alex Williamson and layout by Eloy Lasanta. Designed for use with the Mutants & Masterminds 3rd edition game.

http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/162190/The-ALGERNON-Files-Deluxe-Edition-Brainchild

 

[DSumner]

The ALGERNON Files Deluxe Edition: The Arsenal of Democracy

Sometimes, justice can be profitable. Or, security can be anyway. The Arsenal of Democracy are a privatized team of metahumans for hire with the support personnel, equipment, and systems to keep them operating at peak efficiency in the field. Their name and image bought from the US government by corporate concerns, the market has turned Uncle Sam's failed experiment in national superteams into a highly effective and quite profitable international security asset. Are you ready to face the Arsenal to get at their clients? Becasue they say they're ready for you...

The Arsenal of Democracy is a team of characters (PLs averaging 10), with supporting personnel and vehicles, to add to your Mutants & Masterminds campaign.

The ALGERNON Files Deluxe Edition is a treasure trove of enemies, allies, locations, and items of power to add to any ongoing M&M game. The series updates the fan-favorite ALGERNON Files material to the 3rd edition of the game and expands it, adding many new and exciting characters to meet and places to go.

The series is presented as files being transferred (and commented on) from the databases of the AI known as ALGERNON (who supports The Sentinels' superteam) to the possession of The Challenger Institute for curation. Each entry contains a character or other material of note ready to be dropped into a broad variety of adventures and settings with little or no work on the part of enterprising Gamemasters.

Written and designed by Aaron Sullivan, with full color art by Alex Williamson and layout by Eloy Lasanta. Designed for use with the Mutants & Masterminds 3rd edition game.

http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product...Files-Deluxe-Edition-The-Arsenal-of-Democracy

 

[DSumner]

The ALGERNON Files Deluxe Edition: ALGERNON

Being a hero is tough. You're busy with the punching and the blasting, but there's so much more to the job. Every good hero needs support. ALGERNON is the AI behind Doc Steel, the Sentinels, and, oh yeah, a little thing called The ALGERNON Files (maybe you've heard of it). Could you do with a little help?

ALGERNON is a PL 12 character to add to your Mutants & Masterminds campaign.

The ALGERNON Files Deluxe Edition is a treasure trove of enemies, allies, locations, and items of power to add to any ongoing M&M game. The series updates the fan-favorite ALGERNON Files material to the 3rd edition of the game and expands it, adding many new and exciting characters to meet and places to go.

The series is presented as files being transferred (and commented on) from the databases of the AI known as ALGERNON (who supports The Sentinels' superteam) to the possession of The Challenger Institute for curation. Each entry contains a character or other material of note ready to be dropped into a broad variety of adventures and settings with little or no work on the part of enterprising Gamemasters.

Written and designed by Aaron Sullivan, with full color art by Alex Williamson and layout by Eloy Lasanta. Designed for use with the Mutants & Masterminds 3rd edition game.

http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/166716/The-ALGERNON-Files-Deluxe-Edition-ALGERNON

 

[DSumner]

Bad Penny

Think you've had a bad day? Not yet you haven't, at least not until after Bad Penny's done with you. This probability-manipulator is "muscle" for hire to any enterprising bad guy or organization that can provide her the kicks to go along with the paycheck, and her kicks aren't pretty. Bad Penny isn't satisfied with just beating the opposition ... her ego demands she heap the humiliation all around her.

Bad Penny is a PL 11 enemy to add to your Mutants & Masterminds campaign.

The ALGERNON Files Deluxe Edition is a treasure trove of enemies, allies, locations, and items of power to add to any ongoing M&M game. The series updates the fan-favorite ALGERNON Files material to the 3rd edition of the game and expands it, adding many new and exciting characters to meet and places to go.

The series is presented as files being transferred (and commented on) from the databases of the AI known as ALGERNON (who supports The Sentinels' superteam) to the possession of The Challenger Institute for curation. Each entry contains a character or other material of note ready to be dropped into a broad variety of adventures and settings with little or no work on the part of enterprising Gamemasters.

Written and designed by Aaron Sullivan, with full color art by Alex Williamson and layout by Eloy Lasanta. Designed for use with the Mutants & Masterminds 3rd edition game.

http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/168104/The-ALGERNON-Files-Deluxe-Edition-Bad-Penny

 

[DSumner]

The ALGERNON Files Deluxe Edition: Apex

An omnicidal narcissist and egomaniac of near-mythic levels, Apex and his "tests" are feared throughout known space. Can your campaign world measure up to his perfect standard? Or will your heroes have to protect humanity from the terminal judgment of this hypercritical destroyer of worlds?

Apex is a PL 15 nightmare to add to your Mutants & Masterminds campaign.

The ALGERNON Files Deluxe Edition is a treasure trove of enemies, allies, locations, and items of power to add to any ongoing M&M game. The series updates the fan-favorite ALGERNON Files material to the 3rd edition of the game and expands it, adding many new and exciting characters to meet and places to go.

The series is presented as files being transferred (and commented on) from the databases of the AI known as ALGERNON (who supports The Sentinels' superteam) to the possession of The Challenger Institute for curation. Each entry contains a character or other material of note ready to be dropped into a broad variety of adventures and settings with little or no work on the part of enterprising Gamemasters.

Written and designed by Aaron Sullivan, with full color art by Alex Williamson and layout by Eloy Lasanta. Designed for use with the Mutants & Masterminds 3rd edition game.

http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/170358/The-ALGERNON-Files-Deluxe-Edition-Apex

 

[DSumner]

The ALGERNON Files Deluxe Edition: Apparition

There's no such thing as unbeatable security, not even when dealing superhumans and their homes, vehicles, or other toys. Don't think Apparition is good enough to get at what you're hiding in those oh-so-impressive vaults? She's just waiting for the opportunity to prove you wrong. Part of being the best is knowing you have prove it. Constantly.

Apparition is a PL 10 thief extraordinaire to add to your Mutants & Masterminds campaign.

The ALGERNON Files Deluxe Edition is a treasure trove of enemies, allies, locations, and items of power to add to any ongoing M&M game. The series updates the fan-favorite ALGERNON Files material to the 3rd edition of the game and expands it, adding many new and exciting characters to meet and places to go.

The series is presented as files being transferred (and commented on) from the databases of the AI known as ALGERNON (who supports The Sentinels' superteam) to the possession of The Challenger Institute for curation. Each entry contains a character or other material of note ready to be dropped into a broad variety of adventures and settings with little or no work on the part of enterprising Gamemasters.

Written and designed by Aaron Sullivan, with full color art by Alex Williamson and layout by Eloy Lasanta. Designed for use with the Mutants & Masterminds 3rd edition game.

http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/170939/The-ALGERNON-Files-Deluxe-Edition-Apparition