Krug
Newshound
This week we have Joshua Raynack of Alea Publishing Group for our Friday Five:
1. Give us an overview of your product lines.
As of this point, we have launched, with great success, our Question/Guidebook series (A Question of Honor: A Guidebook to Knights and A Question of Loyalty: A Guidebook to Military Orders), which focuses on the different facets of knights and knighthood.
Within each of these products we are slowly developing the Hill Lands, a region that can be inserted into any already made campaign world or actually become the starting point in exploring the world of Terra. In a Question of Honor, we provide a brief overview of the Hill Lands region along with descriptions of various places of interest. We provide a full color map of the region and a map of the dominate city, Argos, which we are proud to say, have received high marks by our reviewers and customers.
In a Question of Loyalty, we expanded the region by adding maps of the two main military strongholds as well as an influence map of the region showing the area of influence some of the military orders control.
However, our Question/Guidebooks will not only focus on knights. We are planning many well-thought out products to enhance the series as well as pushing the envelope in easily adaptable rules in the d20 system as well as pdf and packaging development.
We also are working with Pegaso Models, a fabulous Italian based-miniature company, and are adding to our product list a realistic paper miniature line. Our first product in this series is APG Paper Figures: Military Orders.
Also, we have a Studio Companion product line that provides copyright free artwork for publishers lacking money or talent for good, solid artwork or for the Game Master who wishes to spruce up their webpage without any legal hassle. Our Studio Companion Vol. 1: Dixon and Rhead is the first of this line providing 300 dpi. .jpg and 300 dpi .tiff files.
2. Tell us at length about your most recent project (upcoming or just
released).
We are in the midst of exploring the horror genre within the d20 system mechanics and once again pushing the envelope. To launch this product line, we will release two d20 Modern adventures that can build upon one another or be run separately. Our first product will be A Whisper of Horses followed by Delirium. It will feature the Sanity rules first presented in the Cthulhu d20 system and Unearthed Arcana.
Not only will they give your players the heebie jeebies, make their skin crawl (our playtesters literally had nightmares about the adventures, while another was afraid to drive the long trip home alone afterward; one even he thought he saw something at work days after playing), great maps and handouts to look at, but something new entirely to the .pdf realm: horrifying animated .gifs that you as a GM can show your players exactly what their characters see!
3. What is your main target audience?
Our main audience are players and GMs who wants to add a little more something to their game and game experience rather the plethora of prestige classes, feats, and, as of late, new character classes. I admit those are great avenues and our products contribute to bandwagon, however we are constantly thinking of how to innovate the game rather then flood the game.
We also wish our audience to feel at home with Alea Publishing Group and we encourage active players and GMs to contribute to our products in order to become a fully integrated customer-based gaming company.
4. What is the main thing about your company that makes you most proud?
First and foremost, I am really proud of the people I have the privilege of working with as well as the interaction with our customer base which the e-book/internet world allows. We listen intently to what our customers say (good or bad) which allows us to make a better product.
Secondly, I am proud that our products are innovative in the new rules we present (medieval banking, combat skills, magical charms, the critical attack bonus, the critical AC bonus, etc.) as well as the alternative routes we have forged rather than jumping on the bandwagon (class templates rather than alternative new character classes).
5. Where do you see your company one year from now?
We have totally embraced the fact that a .pdf product can be a better venue than a print product. Our products will continue to try to push that envelope, not only in innovative rules, but innovative packaging: animated .gifs and interactive maps, eventually moving toward sound effects and movie files for our products, as well as other venues to which a print product cannot compete. As the cost of laptops and PDAs are becoming feasible to the average gamer, we want our products to reflect that so that our products can go anywhere.
We also want to move to print products, however, as for other companies that may be an ultimate goal, we see it as more of a sideline venture because the .pdf market will allow us to actively communicate with our customers as well as offer them incentives over print products to enhance their game.
Also, more importantly, we really want to flesh out the Hill Lands region, and the world of Terra, with PCs rather than NPCs into a fully interactive campaign environment where PCs can become kings or leaders of military orders. We want our products to eventually reflect their (players) significant role while GMs help to actually create and mold the world. We want our customers’ characters not just live in a world, but shape it!
Alea Publishing's products are available <A href="http://www.rpgnow.com/default.php?manufacturers_id=464">here</a>.
1. Give us an overview of your product lines.
As of this point, we have launched, with great success, our Question/Guidebook series (A Question of Honor: A Guidebook to Knights and A Question of Loyalty: A Guidebook to Military Orders), which focuses on the different facets of knights and knighthood.
Within each of these products we are slowly developing the Hill Lands, a region that can be inserted into any already made campaign world or actually become the starting point in exploring the world of Terra. In a Question of Honor, we provide a brief overview of the Hill Lands region along with descriptions of various places of interest. We provide a full color map of the region and a map of the dominate city, Argos, which we are proud to say, have received high marks by our reviewers and customers.
In a Question of Loyalty, we expanded the region by adding maps of the two main military strongholds as well as an influence map of the region showing the area of influence some of the military orders control.
However, our Question/Guidebooks will not only focus on knights. We are planning many well-thought out products to enhance the series as well as pushing the envelope in easily adaptable rules in the d20 system as well as pdf and packaging development.
We also are working with Pegaso Models, a fabulous Italian based-miniature company, and are adding to our product list a realistic paper miniature line. Our first product in this series is APG Paper Figures: Military Orders.
Also, we have a Studio Companion product line that provides copyright free artwork for publishers lacking money or talent for good, solid artwork or for the Game Master who wishes to spruce up their webpage without any legal hassle. Our Studio Companion Vol. 1: Dixon and Rhead is the first of this line providing 300 dpi. .jpg and 300 dpi .tiff files.
2. Tell us at length about your most recent project (upcoming or just
released).
We are in the midst of exploring the horror genre within the d20 system mechanics and once again pushing the envelope. To launch this product line, we will release two d20 Modern adventures that can build upon one another or be run separately. Our first product will be A Whisper of Horses followed by Delirium. It will feature the Sanity rules first presented in the Cthulhu d20 system and Unearthed Arcana.
Not only will they give your players the heebie jeebies, make their skin crawl (our playtesters literally had nightmares about the adventures, while another was afraid to drive the long trip home alone afterward; one even he thought he saw something at work days after playing), great maps and handouts to look at, but something new entirely to the .pdf realm: horrifying animated .gifs that you as a GM can show your players exactly what their characters see!
3. What is your main target audience?
Our main audience are players and GMs who wants to add a little more something to their game and game experience rather the plethora of prestige classes, feats, and, as of late, new character classes. I admit those are great avenues and our products contribute to bandwagon, however we are constantly thinking of how to innovate the game rather then flood the game.
We also wish our audience to feel at home with Alea Publishing Group and we encourage active players and GMs to contribute to our products in order to become a fully integrated customer-based gaming company.
4. What is the main thing about your company that makes you most proud?
First and foremost, I am really proud of the people I have the privilege of working with as well as the interaction with our customer base which the e-book/internet world allows. We listen intently to what our customers say (good or bad) which allows us to make a better product.
Secondly, I am proud that our products are innovative in the new rules we present (medieval banking, combat skills, magical charms, the critical attack bonus, the critical AC bonus, etc.) as well as the alternative routes we have forged rather than jumping on the bandwagon (class templates rather than alternative new character classes).
5. Where do you see your company one year from now?
We have totally embraced the fact that a .pdf product can be a better venue than a print product. Our products will continue to try to push that envelope, not only in innovative rules, but innovative packaging: animated .gifs and interactive maps, eventually moving toward sound effects and movie files for our products, as well as other venues to which a print product cannot compete. As the cost of laptops and PDAs are becoming feasible to the average gamer, we want our products to reflect that so that our products can go anywhere.
We also want to move to print products, however, as for other companies that may be an ultimate goal, we see it as more of a sideline venture because the .pdf market will allow us to actively communicate with our customers as well as offer them incentives over print products to enhance their game.
Also, more importantly, we really want to flesh out the Hill Lands region, and the world of Terra, with PCs rather than NPCs into a fully interactive campaign environment where PCs can become kings or leaders of military orders. We want our products to eventually reflect their (players) significant role while GMs help to actually create and mold the world. We want our customers’ characters not just live in a world, but shape it!
Alea Publishing's products are available <A href="http://www.rpgnow.com/default.php?manufacturers_id=464">here</a>.
