Kickstarter Dungeon Grappling Kickstarter is now live!

[DouglasCole]

The Dungeon Grappling Kickstarter

The Dungeon Grappling Kickstarter is now live


What is it?

First and foremost, this book contains rules based on Open Gaming Licence content from several editions of the industry’s most popular RPG to make grappling fun, exciting, and easy to play.

It contains rules and examples from three different flavors of the most popular fantasy RPG – from S&W, PFRPG, and Fifth Edition – in order to finally give grappling its due as a method of combat.

It’s a short supplement – right now it clock in at about 40 pages

Don’t take this short blurb as entire story, though – go read the pitch. You'll see layout examples, artist bios, and details about what's in the book.

How Risky is This?

Given the manuscript is done, the layout is well advanced, the indexing is in the process of being entered into layout . . . the only thing that is not done is the art.

And that’s what the Kickstarter is for.

I’ll be spreading the 16 (or 20, if stretch goals are hit) pieces through four artists, so each one will be making 4-5 pieces each. The art direction will start as soon as the project funds at the basic level, so delivering on or ahead of schedule should be achievable unless something truly unforeseeable happens.

Please help me out

This is Gaming Ballistic’s first product, deliberately small to get experience with the process and show people that I’ve got the project management chops to handle it and deliver on time.

That being said – this is the real deal. I’m excited about this product and I think it’s at least as good as any such rules that have been published to date, and better than most. I’ve been using them with great success in my trial campaigns since February for Dragon Heresy (based on SRD5.1), and the “control point” methodology formed the core of GURPS Martial Arts: Technical Grappling, which Peter Dell’Orto uses to great effect in his Felltower Campaign, which you can read about over on Dungeon Fantastic.

So I’d very much appreciate your support, as a backer, spreading the word, or both.

Thanks!

 

[DouglasCole]

FUNDED!

Gaming Ballistic is thrilled to report that the Dungeon Grappling Kickstarter, with rules examples for Swords and Wizardry, Pathfinder, and 5e, has met its minimum funding goal and will now start working on stretch goals.

The manuscript is now going to be made available in both full-color PDF and print, and the first stretch goal is an eBook format, laid out in one-column simplicity for tablets and small screens.

Once we get that, we'll start upgrading the art to full color, piece by piece.

Give grappling its due, finally.

Live to Grapple. Grapple to Live. Dungeon Grappling.

 

[DouglasCole]

We just unlocked the first stretch goal.

While the letter-size, two-column format is great for printing and reading on hardcopy and large screens, on a small screen such as most tablets and smartphones, that two-column format can be . . . downright annoying.

Thanks to your generosity and support, we have unlocked the $2,000 first stretch goal! Every backer who at least orders the PDF version will also receive an eBook format at no extra charge.

Once again, thanks for helping to make this happen!

 

[DouglasCole]

Dungeon Grappling entering final week of Kickstarter

A lot has happened!

• We met our basic funding goal.
• We met our first stretch goal, and a text-and-charts-only eBook comes with any pledge that includes a PDF ($5 and up)
• A print version has been added

I was also invited on a session of James Introcaso's The Round Table. We talked for over an hour about Dungeon Grappling, Dragon Heresy, RPG design, Fifth Edition, GURPS, and a bunch more.

Last Week of the Campaign

Dungeon Grappling is entering its final week of the crowdfunding campaign.

It’s been a great ride so far, and we’ve solidly funded and passed the first stretch goal. I’ve also (in a prior update) noted that I’ve placed all of the art orders in color already, so even though we’re not at the stretch goal for it yet, we’re tracking there, and I’d rather get you a great book early than any other option.

Welcome to the party, pal

How can you help me hit those last goals? Bring friends.

This is the time to share that you’ve backed the project with others, including perhaps the proprietor of your FLGS. The KS price is likely going to wind up being roughly half what the retail price will be, as it turns out. So you’re getting in at the right time.

The Art Cometh

As I showed on the prior update, I have started to get final art images. I suspect they’ll continue to come in through the end of December.

What might that look like?



Is that final? No. Nathan may come up with something brilliant (the above is me and a really low-quality image editor), and that’s what layout pros are for – to take raw material and make it brilliant.

Speaking of Layout

I got some good feedback on the book from a reviewer. He was completely fired up about grappling, especially when he realized how many monsters really should be grappling as a primary attack mode.

There were some things that he recommended in layout and structure that would make it easier to use in play, and streamline knowledge uptake. Nathan and I are working through these bits.

Some are easy, such as reorganizing the Quick Reference section by game instead of by topic. So if you’re playing the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game, there’s a Pathfinder section for you. Same with Basic/S&W, and Fifth Edition. The grappling techniques reference also got some shorthand to define the mechanics to be used (Attack Roll vs. Grapple DC; if successful, stunned for 1d4 turns). A few things were deleted, and some things were substituted or added that really should have been there the whole time.

There was also a monster tweak (Constrictor Snakes are now PFRPG instead of 5e) so that there are four example monsters for 5e and PFRPG, and three for S&W.

I’m also going to add a combat example for each rules system.

Good feedback, then, and actionable, so action was taken.

What’s in a Fechtbuch?

So, if you’re in at the Fechtbuch level ($18+$5 shipping to almost everywhere), what do you get?

• A full-color, layered, hyperlinked PDF that will likely be 48 or 52 pages long.
• A text-only eBook in black and white, with just content and charts, for easy loading and easy reading on small screens and tablets.
• A full-color, premium quality softcover book printed and shipped through DriveThruRPG.
• Your name in the book on a thank-you page.

Probably $35-37 plus shipping if purchased piecemeal after the Kickstarter campaign ends.

Finish Strong

If you've already backed the project, thank you for your trust. I’m definitely on schedule to deliver on time, and (knock on wood) at the moment “on time” looks like a worst case situation.

 

[DouglasCole]

The Dungeon Grappling PDF was distributed to backers today, roughly seven weeks ahead of the scheduled date.

Thanks to all that made it possible!

Here's a look inside:

 

[Random Bystander]

I have had some time to run a few test combats using 3.5e with the Dungeon Grappling rules using a Barbarian 2/Rogue 2/Fighter 2 who may be called "Nonac", with Improved Grappling and Improved Unarmed Strike, against a Wyrvern, and twice against an Ape. There was a learning curve, but a short one, and I think I shall sum it up with a tl;dr:

tl;dr - These grappling rules are unlike any other grappling rules I have ever tried or read. They are fun and easy to use. They flow naturally, and make sense. At no point was I left wondering "How did this happen?" or "Why did this happen?"

Caveat: Although at no point was I left without a firm idea of how to resolve something, the GM should be prepared to make judgement calls on the fly, such as the one noted below.

Final note: For Control Point Maximum, I used the higher of the Pathfinder method or S&W method. Using the Pathfinder method alone may result in the need to adjust Challenge Ratings to a much more significant extent. As always, actual play experience may vary. Check the back of the book for a compilation of charts.

 

[DouglasCole]

I have had some time to run a few test combats using 3.5e with the Dungeon Grappling rules using a Barbarian 2/Rogue 2/Fighter 2 who may be called "Nonac", with Improved Grappling and Improved Unarmed Strike, against a Wyrvern, and twice against an Ape. There was a learning curve, but a short one, and I think I shall sum it up with a tl;dr:

tl;dr - These grappling rules are unlike any other grappling rules I have ever tried or read. They are fun and easy to use. They flow naturally, and make sense. At no point was I left wondering "How did this happen?" or "Why did this happen?"

Caveat: Although at no point was I left without a firm idea of how to resolve something, the GM should be prepared to make judgement calls on the fly, such as the one noted below.

Final note: For Control Point Maximum, I used the higher of the Pathfinder method or S&W method. Using the Pathfinder method alone may result in the need to adjust Challenge Ratings to a much more significant extent. As always, actual play experience may vary. Check the back of the book for a compilation of charts.

Thanks so much for this feedback. I really can't ask for more than "I tried it. It worked like it was promised to work."

I hope it continues to make your games more lively! (I also applaud your GM decision to adjust the control maximum to fit your needs and expectations. Boom, and that's how you do it.)

Dungeon Grappling on DriveThruRPG

Dungeon Grappling at Gaming Ballistic, LLC

Note that over on Gaming Ballistic, there's a special product called "The Art of Dungeon Grappling." This PDF-only product is variably priced from $10 to $100, and 50% goes to St Jude's Children's Research Hospital, 35% is returned to the artists themselves as a bonus, roughly 10% goes to card charges and sales tax, and 5% goes to Gaming Ballistic for operating expenses. If you like the art and want to contribute to two good causes (fighting serious disease in children, and rewarding great art), please consider it!

 

[Random Bystander]

Note that over on Gaming Ballistic, there's a special product called "The Art of Dungeon Grappling." This PDF-only product is variably priced from $10 to $100, and 50% goes to St Jude's Children's Research Hospital, 35% is returned to the artists themselves as a bonus, roughly 10% goes to card charges and sales tax, and 5% goes to Gaming Ballistic for operating expenses. If you like the art and want to contribute to two good causes (fighting serious disease in children, and rewarding great art), please consider it!

Any chance of getting that in POD? It could make a good display book. In addition, more options generally means more sales.

Purchasing it is on my to-do list.

 

[DouglasCole]

Any chance of getting that in POD? It could make a good display book. In addition, more options generally means more sales.

Purchasing it is on my to-do list.

So the short answer is "no, no chance." But let me explain why:

Is it because I can't use the images? Nope. I can use them in whatever Gaming Ballistic products I like
Is it because I hate POD? Nope. I like tangible assets too!

Then WHY?

The images come to me sized for their ultimate destination and at a particular resolution, which is frequently 300dpi, the resolution specified as the minimum for printing well.

When I get an image like (for exampe) the scorpion on page 5, it comes in at 3.25" wide and maybe 1.5 to 1.75" tall. More importantly, it comes in at 975 pixels wide and 525 pixels tall.

When I expand it so you can see the details, it probably makes it 9.5" wide, which means that the resolution drops to about 100 pixels per inch.

That's fine on a monitor, but would look like crap printed out. You would not be satisfied with the quality, and most vendors push back hard on color print at less than 300dpi - to the point of "nope, file rejected."

So that's why. I'd love to offer it, but images sized for printing can be expanded to PDF size (as I did), but not printed well at that same size.

If only we had the TV-trope "Zoom and Enhance!" feature that always seems to magically create data from nowhere in TV shows and movies.

But that's why. Had any of the art been smaller (say, 1/2 of a column wide), it would even start to look bad in PDF form.

 

[Random Bystander]

Thank you for that clear and well-written answer. It is not what I was hoping for, but it is well explained.