Immortals Handbook: Ascension 3.5E Print version...do you want one?

[Geminisaga777]

Hey Obly99 buddy!



Well its a bit more complicated than that. The counter offer being proposed is me having to work evenings rather than nights; which on the face of it sounds good except that I would need to work 5 evenings a week to match the same money I get from 2 nights a week. So it doesn't seem to make much practical sense, as a result my plan (as of right now) will be to take 6 months off, try a few interesting e-commerce ideas I have had planned for a while now (and just not had the time for) and see if I can do anything with them over the course of this year.

So not to worry, this may turn out to be a blessing in disguise. I'll have more time to work on these RPG projects with the even bigger incentive that I will be able to get my sleep patterns back to normal and that will double my productivity again.

Hello Krust this pdf version will be available when krust and will be compatible with 3.5?

 

[Geminisaga777]

And very happy for the news^^

 

[Upper_Krust]

Hello Krust this pdf version will be available when krust and will be compatible with 3.5?

Hey Geminisaga777 amigo!

Ascension 2023 is the Print version of Ascension (from 2007...for 3.5E), except it has an extra 64 pages (of which half of that is new art and the other half are the stat-blocks that I had finished from Gods & Monsters).

Technically you don't really need Ascension 2023 if you have the original pdf, but the art is looking really sweet. There are a couple of really cool pieces in there I think people would love but I'm not spoiling anything - you'll just have to wait and see it.

It took me another 6 hours yesterday to get all the print formatting stuff done correctly. But its all ready.

So today (Sunday) I will be:

1. Sending Drivethru the files for the Print Version.
2, They check I got all the formatting right for the Printers.
3. If I get the all clear from them I have to order a copy for myself - that might take a few days or a week or so.
4. Once I get the print copy from Drivethru in my hand I will have the book go 'live' on Drivethru and then anyone will be able to get a Print Copy and/or the PDF.

5. I will also be contacting Mixam today to send them the files for a few 'personal' glossy, ribbon, high quality paper copies (to test out their quality for the eventual 5E releases).
6. Once I get those copies sent out to my house I will forward them to the people who wanted one.

 

[Upper_Krust]

Hey all,

okay, just uploaded all the files to Drivethru. I think I have to still get the all clear from their Print Company. Then I can order my copy. Once I get that and see it is okay I can make the Book and PDF option "Live".

I could make the PDF "Live" now, but I want Print version + PDF as an option - so I would rather they were all available at the same time.

Now onto Mixam...

 

[Upper_Krust]

After another 8 hour war of attrition I have managed to get the Mixam files uploaded. Hopefully no mistakes. They told me the spine was 1mm too narrow even though I literally created it to be the exact size they specified. The whole file looked okay in the Preview and Proof modes so its all smooth sailing.

They have said delivery on Monday the 13th, so two weeks from today.

 

[Upper_Krust]

One last round of tweaks this morning, I now have everything perfect for Mixam. Delivery date as of this moment remains Monday 13th - although that may be extended to the Tuesday.

 

[Upper_Krust]

Two small updates:

DrivethruRPG have approved the files and I just purchased my proof copy (of the Print version) from them.

Mixam had one last fix needed (the bleed on a double page spread was off), that has been fixed. Everything finally approved and those copies are at the Printers. Delivery date moved to Tuesday 14th though.

So just a matter of waiting now. Almost feel like a proper Publisher again.

 

[Sunodasuto]

Signed up for an ENworld account just to follow this thread. Big but much more recent fan, I've wanted to buy physical copies of the two books but missed the boat the first time around. I really like your old art in them, I'd pay good money for a Neutronium Golem or Amilictli t-shirt!

 

[Upper_Krust]

Hey there Sunodasuto!

Signed up for an ENworld account just to follow this thread.

Thank you so much. I appreciate the interest.

Big but much more recent fan, I've wanted to buy physical copies of the two books but missed the boat the first time around.

Well, Ascension 2023 print version will either be available from Drivethru (for$34.95 + shipping, which is $4.50 in the US and £4.50 in the UK I believe).

I did order a small number of extra copies (I think 3 more than the number wanting them) from Mixam, just incase a few more people wanted a copy. I'll be giving those away more or less 'at cost' (approx. $60 to North America). If anyone orders one of these AFTER they arrive (14th of February), then expect a slightly more inflated price, since numbers will be extremely limited.

Epic Bestiary I won't be redoing because it was already released in Print Form. I do have one or two extra copies on the shelf here. Not sure what I would charge for one. I suspect you'd be better going to Ebay for a Print Copy of that.

I really like your old art in them,

I like my old art to an extent, weirdly I am actually a much better artist NOW, I just don't seem to have the time for it. What I seem to do nowadays is draw or paint something to give to one of my artists and then tell them to do it better. I end up spending more time on the layout sketch than I probably did on some of my original artwork.

I'd pay good money for a Neutronium Golem or Amilictli t-shirt!

Well funny you should mention it...

1. There is BIG new Neutronium Golem art in Ascension 2023...plus LOTS of other crazy stuff.

2. I am planning some t-shirts using art from the new 5E book(s). I am cooking up a few crazy illustrations with my main artist collaborator. Someone here on the forum mentioned not so long ago that the book should have some crazy monsters 'like' the Neutronium Golem back in the day....and while it already did (one in particular I am VERY proud of - and it was only a fluke using an "Crazy Creature Creator" Table I have in the appendix).

But I thought well, how many completely insane monster ideas can I have, so I put my thinking cap on and came up with about a dozen of the most weird and wonderful D&D monsters no one has ever heard of before. So (IMO) these 5E books are going to be something special.

Plus I have a new logo (and variants) for the Immortals Handbook - which might be 't-shirtable' (if that's even a word).

But I don't see those being released until the book itself is done* and as you know I am slow at this (albeit I am off work half the time between now and July and then taking redundancy so I will have infinitely more time to finish this stuff).

* I suppose I could release some of the icon and logo t-shirts before the book is finished - and then release the artwork t-shirts after the book is finished so as not to spoil stuff.

3. As for the idea of using the old 3E Immortals Handbook: Epic Bestiary art on a t-shirt, I must admit I had never considered it. Might be funny though.

 

[Geminisaga777]

a 3E Immortals Handbook: Epic Bestiary 2 would be awesome, have plans for that??

 

[Upper_Krust]

Howdy Geminisaga777 buddy!

a 3E Immortals Handbook: Epic Bestiary 2 would be awesome, have plans for that??

I would love to do an Epic Bestiary 2 for 3E. However, I don't think I would be able to write the stat-blocks - I just don't have the same mechanical memory of 3E and got a bit burned on the system back in the day.

That said, I would be open to doing an Epic Bestiary 2 and/or 3 using by converting over the new monsters from these upcoming 5E books.

However, I would need a ton of help from the board on converting them over.

But we could have an Epic Bestiary 2 with say 45 new monsters that would be comparable to the number of Monsters in the original. If that was worth the while we could convert over an Epic Bestiary 3.

I am happy for any of my 5E work to be converted to 3E/Pathfinder (or 4E for that matter)...just as long as I don't have to do the heavy lifting with the conversions (in terms of the stat-blocks) because I know I simply would not be able to do the conversions justice myself without spending months getting back into the system which I don't plan to do.

Once I have these new 5E monsters all done, I'll have the art ready and so forth, so it would really just take a revised stat-block to hopefully sort out.

I know a lot of you guys are big into your 3E & Pathfinder and I certainly want to appeal to as wide an audience as possible. The one small caveat I would say is just look over these upcoming 5E books first and see what you think. The 5E system is a bit friendlier to epic/immortal gaming and while I know you "epic heads" LOVE the crunch of 3E I hope you can understand from both the perspective of a designer (ie. me) and as a Publisher (ie. me again) making things easier to design for and easier to implement in game makes a lot of sense and could only widen the appeal.

But I will always be happy to do 3E conversions of future material as long as there is sufficient interest*.

*As I hope Ascension 2023 shows.

 

[Obly99]

However, I would need a ton of help from the board on converting them over.

Gladly

 

[Chess435]

Likewise, I'll contribute what I can!

 

[Upper_Krust]

Hey guys, when I get these 5E books sorted we can start a thread for the conversion of the monsters and when we have those finished I can swap the stats and release the books for 3E/Pathfinder.

Might be an idea (for me) to also change the 'trade dressing' to differentiate between the 5E and Pathfinder books, so as not to confuse people.

 

[Upper_Krust]

Just got the Drivethru copy in the post...

 

[Upper_Krust]

Overall quality was better than I thought. The book is slightly thicker than I imagined, while only 224 pages it has the thickness of a 350 page book - possibly non-coated pages are thicker but lighter? The pages are a bit springy. One of the double page illustrations is 'sort of' ruined by having the god's face right in the centre (but I can live with it). A better effort than I imagined. I need to look over it and then I can give Drivethru the all clear to sell the pdf and book.

The handful of Mixam copies will arrive on Tuesday, I'll sign those then we can work out shipping arrangements.

 

[Upper_Krust]

Okay I looked over the book and there is one tiny mistake, one of the illustrations on Page 131, doesn't go right to the bottom of the page so there is a 1mm white line underneath it. But I am going to let that go because it almost looks like the white line is just part of the upcoming pages.

I have ticked the Go Public button on both the pdf and the Print Book at Drivethru. However, they have said there might be a delay on these due to backlog.

One other minor issue.

I have set the Price at $17.50 (pdf) and $34.95 (print). However, currently the combined pdf + print option is $35.00 (instead of $34.95) and I am looking over how to change that, the extra 5 cents charge is not intentional.

Edit: Okay - got that fixed. Its $34.95 for the Print version + PDF. So whenever they allow it, it should become available.

 

[Upper_Krust]

This should be the link:

Immortals Handbook: Ascension 2023 - Eternity Publishing | DriveThruRPG.com

Immortals Handbook: Ascension 2023 - ...transcend mortal power, surpass the 'merely' epic, become an immortal, then see what lies beyond... An updated source

www.drivethrurpg.com

 

[Upper_Krust]

Can someone let me know if the link works (it might be different for me as a Publisher) and whether the book is currently available? Thanks.

 

[Obly99]

Can someone let me know if the link works (it might be different for me as a Publisher) and whether the book is currently available? Thanks.

Yes the link work.