Please keep EditorBFG in your thoughts and prayers...
Good Morning, All:
I have heard from EditorBFG this morning, and his news is sobering, to say the least: a very close friend of his has passed away, and he needs some time to recover. Unfortunately, based on our conversation, I believe that means he will not be able to work on this project before our extended deadline. I definitely feel it is more important that he take the time to recover properly than to try and push himself for this project. He's got a lot on his plate right now, and I don't want Fantasy Concepts to be another burden on him. Please keep him in your thoughts and prayers, as I feel he could use the support at this time.
This puts me in a quandary, though. I hate the fact that I could not meet our original delivery date, and I am committed to meeting the current date: November 17th. As you can tell from our status reports, a great majority of the work on this project has been my own, as EditorBFG has had a number of life issues and higher priorities throughout the development of this project. EditorBFG was perhaps halfway to three-quarters of the way through the talent paths, but a good portion of that was also based on work I sent him to review and possibly include. Prestige classes have not even been touched. I can finish things off, but that pretty much makes the project almost completely my work (save for races, which I could either use EditorBFG's work with his permission, or my own, if he does not give permission.)
My original deal with Big Finger Games was that we would work together to complete a document by the end of October, and then they would sell the PDF while I would sell the POD. Given the current circumstances, the conditions of our Gentlemen's Agreement have not been met, so technically I could move forward with publishing the project on my own, so long as I use my own work. However, my personal integrity says that I should not release a PDF for sale unless I get Big Finger Games' blessing on doing so, because I do not want to create bad feelings with a fellow publisher over any misgivings about how I handle this situation.
Therefore, if Big Finger Games gives me their blessing on moving forward with selling a PDF of Fantasy Concepts, acknowledging that the conditions of our original Gentlemen's Agreement were not met and therefore our deal is dissolved with no malice between the two of us, then I can, in good conscience, release Fantasy Concepts as a PDF.
Either way, I intend to move forward with releasing a POD version of the Fantasy Concepts rules. If you feel that the work is worthy, I would ask that you pick up the POD version as a way of letting me know that my efforts were appreciated.
As my final thoughts, please know that I do not blame EditorBFG in any way for the events that have occurred in his life over the last two-three months, and I would ask that others not do blame him, either. He has had to make some difficult choices based on making a living and dealing with illness and a very personal loss. I think he has made the right choices for him, even if that put the Fantasy Concepts project behind the curve. I don't want this project to reflect poorly on him or his abilities. He's a good game designer, and I have enjoyed working with him. I wish him the best of luck in the future, and I look forward to possible future opportunities to work with him on other projects.
With Warm Regards,
Flynn