New 5E Epic Books coming in 2020

[Upper_Krust]

Hope you're doing well, UK!

Howdy Chess435!

I'm getting there buddy. Had a bit of a busy few weeks there but should be getting back into the writing properly next week. Had been doing a few hours here and there but the house is a complete mess (we were half way through redecorating when she got really ill) and having to just get one room sorted at a time.

Should be able to get 4-8 hours progress a day, 4 days a week from next week. So I will see how I get on with that and update accordingly.

 

[RPWT]

I always come late for everything.

Still wish UK can tell any progress or other plan if I can know some of them.

 

[Upper_Krust]

Howdy RPWT buddy,

I always come late for everything.

Still wish UK can tell any progress or other plan if I can know some of them.

Progress is slow but steady. Tons of artwork done, but still 25-26 illustrations to go - that will take us hopefully 10 weeks...and just to clarify the book will not be finished in 10 weeks (though should be in around the 250 pages completed mark about then - so in the 'home stretch' as it were).

Final* monster count is 69 (and that is not counting those monsters with multiple stat blocks like Dragons). 61 monsters/npcs/deities in the Bestiary section and 8 elsewhere in the book - monsters in the bestiary are divided into sections (for reasons) and not listed alphabetically.

*I keep adding new ideas - I can't help myself.

As noted before, my CR's are 20% lower than WotC. By WotC standards the CR break downs are (and I am probably counting these wrong, the list I am reading off isn't in order of CR...and FWIW I'll probably change one or two CR's before release anyway):

CR 9 or less = 5 (minion types)
CR 10-19 = 15 (monsters you'll probably fight more than one of)
CR 20-29 = 21 (monsters you probably won't fight in multiples unless your PCs are immortals, although several of these are unique beings)
CR 30+ = 28 (Mega monsters, Anti-gods, Overgods, Indwellers, forgotten Arch-dukes etc.)

About 60% of the book is the Bestiary, the rest is deity templates and rules, a new epic magic system, portfolios, mega monster rules and a ton of other stuff I won't go into.

Bit of Trivia: (Only) One monster from the original Epic Bestiary shows up in this book and it is CR 25 (my CR that is, it would be CR 32 by WotC standards)

 

[Upper_Krust]

Hey all, just to clarify what's taking so long here (aside from the tragedies I've experienced in 2020 and 2021).

Basically my initial plan was for a 'mere' epic bestiary with 27 monsters; which was going to be a 64-80 page book a good chunk of which was nearly finished around this time last year.

But I didn't think 'that' book was epic enough and the monster list wasn't diverse enough for my tastes either. I reworked the ideas, doubled the monster count (which then further trickled over 60 these past months), then decided well I'll have to explain the power of gods, so added a big section on rules for immortals, which then necessitated portfolios...and an epic magic system and so forth and then before I knew it the book just exploded into a 300 page behemoth. Which of course necessitated triple the art and the time doing all these layouts.

So in a nutshell I just got carried away, let my imagination run riot and the book itself became an unruly monster.

Ultimately, this will all be worth it, BUT as most of you know, I'm not the fastest writer and its easy (for me) to get stuck on a page, rework a game mechanic, tweak a stat-block or just come up with a completely new monster and convince myself it MUST be included.

I have a rough idea when I expect to be finished. I won't say when that is until I am sure (other than yes sometime this year*) but it won't be the next 3 months at least.

*

 

[LunarSquid]

I have a rough idea when I expect to be finished. I won't say when that is until I am sure (other than yes sometime this year*) but it won't be the next 3 months at least.

*

Is this year still a possibility?

 

[Upper_Krust]

Howdy Lunar Squid amigo,

Is this year still a possibility?

I could still have the book finished by the end of the year (early editing of portions should start next week). I have some time off work coming soon and making big progress during that time will let me know when it will be finished - so I should be able to give a finish date by the end of October.

That said, even assuming the book is finished in (lets say for the sake of argument) December, I'll still need to do the pre-Kickstarter hype/marketing and so forth - that's probably the part I am least confident about.

But I may release a chapter of the Bestiary section for free as a sort of teaser/playtest style pdf, when I get it done (in the time between having the book finished and the Kickstarter launch). Unlike other Kickstarters I should be ready to go to print as soon as I receive the money.

On the plus side everything is finally starting to condense. I had some game mechanics issues which are all now sorted and as I said, early editing of some stat-blocks should begin next week (by people other than me). I'm reasonably confident the game mechanics and progression stats are as solid as I can get them, but I will wait and hear what my editors say.

Still some art to be finished (including a new cover which I have not commissioned yet), maybe 15 colour pieces and around 15 b&w pieces (but I already have over 100 pieces of art completed so the art is approx. 75%+ done).

The book is shaping up to be 400 pages, I'll try my best not to go over that. Adding the Kosmos chapter (because I am a complete idiot and couldn't help myself) just bumped the book up by 64 pages (and half of that chapter is colour art).

So hang in there a bit longer. I know the wait seems interminable, but it will all be worth it when you see the final product.

 

[E-1000]

Been reading some of this thread, can't wait to see the book! If you have the title I'dlike to hear it so I know what to look up when it's ready.

 

[Upper_Krust]

Hello there E-1000!

Been reading some of this thread, can't wait to see the book!

Thanks for the support - I know I haven't shown anything yet, but I really think its shaping up to be great.

I may have a 2 page preview here of a monster up in a day or two (very simple preview - don't be expecting anything fancy; I just want some feedback on a few design choices). The preview itself is basically written up, I'm just not happy with some of the graphical aspects of the page layout.

If you have the title I'dlike to hear it so I know what to look up when it's ready.

Yes, I did change the title (when it stopped being just an Epic Bestiary). Its going to be:

(The) Immortal's Handbook: Gods & Monsters