Man-thing
First Post
Has everyone checked out Wolfgang Baur's Open Design project. The first project is now complete with the end result being a 117 page urban mystery adventure for level 12 (but scalable to 8th and 6th as well).
This time he has 6 potential products up for design:
Angels of Our Better Nature
Angels arrive and impose celestial law; no one is sure why they are here, but things quickly go downhill. The angels claim they are protecting the citizens and improving their morals directly, and they say they were invited by the prayers of a secret priesthood. But something else seems to be going on as well, some task that the angels do not discuss with mere mortals.
About 25,000 words, commission $1250 (total from all patrons). It will take three months to write.
The Beastiary: How to Design Monsters
This manual describes how to design monsters and provides plenty of examples. A full range of 20 monsters from EL ½ to EL 19, each described in full detail, plus essays on monster design, cheats, shortcuts, and common errors.
The monsters themselves will be chosen by the patrons, and are likely to include most DM-favorite types from undead to humanoids to Cthulhoid monsters. This also includes design essays on the secrets of designing low level monsters, setting CR, and related topics.
About 25,000 words, commission $1250 (total from all patrons). It will take three months to write.
Castle Shadowcrag
This large castle sourcebook includes a shadow plane adventure. While set in the world of “Steam & Brass”, it is only loosely related to that adventure.
The dark story of the castle and its king involves both a legacy of family madness and entanglements with a plane of shifting shadows. The adventurers help the sole surviving heir (who could be one of the PCs), and the castle is layered with dark secrets and an ancient curse that is almost impossible to lift.
This adventure is heavy on the tragic prince, castle exploration, Gothic tone, bardic knowledge, historic legacy weapons and items, and it also includes a dungeon crawl, partly based on real castle dungeons. Also includes new shadow spells, a Star & Shadow mage, and all the sordid tale of entangled bloodlines.
Weighing in at a minimum of 45,000 words, this is by far the largest of the proposed projects. The required commission to start design is $2,250 (total from all patrons). It will take at least 4 months to write.
The City-State of Zobeck
A regional and magic sourcebook for the Free City of Zobeck first described in “Steam & Brass”. Include complete rules for the star & shadow school and clockwork magic, the society of steam-powered mercantilism it enables, new clockwork and S&S monsters and spells, major NPCs of the city, and hooks and handouts for adventuring. In addition, two or four pages of expansion rules for kobold PCs and gearcraft.
A regional gazetteer section briefly describes surrounding nations such as the giant-dominated cities of Nordheimand the magocracy of Bemmea. Comes with a large city map and a regional map showing trade routes, cities, and kingdoms.
Minimum length 28,000 words, the minimum commission total is $1,400 (total from all patrons). It will take three months to write.
The Goblin Courts of Ertyk Uhl
A chance to visit the center of a goblin kingdom as ambassadors and … Oh, let’s be honest, your players will probably mortally offend some goblin noble and they’ll fight their way out of the center of a hostile kingdom full of goblins, hobgoblins, bugbears, barghests, dire wolves, and nasty, nasty masses of goblin heroes.
Could be a roleplaying/intrigue adventure for neutral, half-orc, or goblinoid characters.
While this includes a few details of the goblin kingdom for adventure purposes, this is not a goblin sourcebook (not enough room in 21,000 words). Like all the projects, length will expand if enough patrons sign up to support it.
About 21,000 words, commission $1050 (total from all patrons). It will take a little less than 3 months to write.
Morgau, the Kingdom of Nightmares
An undead kingdom, with both living and undead citizens, a society that functions day and night, toiling away for undead barons whose only entertainment is either fighting each other, or fighting the rest of the world.
Their sleepless energies and the fact that only half the population requires crops make Morgau a powerful kingdom, despite it’s relatively small size. Strange customs, the Morgau tournaments, new monsters, and ways to use the kingdom in a campaign.
Roughly 18,000 words, commission $900 (total from all patrons). It will take a little less than 3 months to write.
Join up at customadventure.livejournal.com for a price of $10 to $85+.
Get there quick and vote for Castle Shadowcrag.
This time he has 6 potential products up for design:
Angels of Our Better Nature
Angels arrive and impose celestial law; no one is sure why they are here, but things quickly go downhill. The angels claim they are protecting the citizens and improving their morals directly, and they say they were invited by the prayers of a secret priesthood. But something else seems to be going on as well, some task that the angels do not discuss with mere mortals.
About 25,000 words, commission $1250 (total from all patrons). It will take three months to write.
The Beastiary: How to Design Monsters
This manual describes how to design monsters and provides plenty of examples. A full range of 20 monsters from EL ½ to EL 19, each described in full detail, plus essays on monster design, cheats, shortcuts, and common errors.
The monsters themselves will be chosen by the patrons, and are likely to include most DM-favorite types from undead to humanoids to Cthulhoid monsters. This also includes design essays on the secrets of designing low level monsters, setting CR, and related topics.
About 25,000 words, commission $1250 (total from all patrons). It will take three months to write.
Castle Shadowcrag
This large castle sourcebook includes a shadow plane adventure. While set in the world of “Steam & Brass”, it is only loosely related to that adventure.
The dark story of the castle and its king involves both a legacy of family madness and entanglements with a plane of shifting shadows. The adventurers help the sole surviving heir (who could be one of the PCs), and the castle is layered with dark secrets and an ancient curse that is almost impossible to lift.
This adventure is heavy on the tragic prince, castle exploration, Gothic tone, bardic knowledge, historic legacy weapons and items, and it also includes a dungeon crawl, partly based on real castle dungeons. Also includes new shadow spells, a Star & Shadow mage, and all the sordid tale of entangled bloodlines.
Weighing in at a minimum of 45,000 words, this is by far the largest of the proposed projects. The required commission to start design is $2,250 (total from all patrons). It will take at least 4 months to write.
The City-State of Zobeck
A regional and magic sourcebook for the Free City of Zobeck first described in “Steam & Brass”. Include complete rules for the star & shadow school and clockwork magic, the society of steam-powered mercantilism it enables, new clockwork and S&S monsters and spells, major NPCs of the city, and hooks and handouts for adventuring. In addition, two or four pages of expansion rules for kobold PCs and gearcraft.
A regional gazetteer section briefly describes surrounding nations such as the giant-dominated cities of Nordheimand the magocracy of Bemmea. Comes with a large city map and a regional map showing trade routes, cities, and kingdoms.
Minimum length 28,000 words, the minimum commission total is $1,400 (total from all patrons). It will take three months to write.
The Goblin Courts of Ertyk Uhl
A chance to visit the center of a goblin kingdom as ambassadors and … Oh, let’s be honest, your players will probably mortally offend some goblin noble and they’ll fight their way out of the center of a hostile kingdom full of goblins, hobgoblins, bugbears, barghests, dire wolves, and nasty, nasty masses of goblin heroes.
Could be a roleplaying/intrigue adventure for neutral, half-orc, or goblinoid characters.
While this includes a few details of the goblin kingdom for adventure purposes, this is not a goblin sourcebook (not enough room in 21,000 words). Like all the projects, length will expand if enough patrons sign up to support it.
About 21,000 words, commission $1050 (total from all patrons). It will take a little less than 3 months to write.
Morgau, the Kingdom of Nightmares
An undead kingdom, with both living and undead citizens, a society that functions day and night, toiling away for undead barons whose only entertainment is either fighting each other, or fighting the rest of the world.
Their sleepless energies and the fact that only half the population requires crops make Morgau a powerful kingdom, despite it’s relatively small size. Strange customs, the Morgau tournaments, new monsters, and ways to use the kingdom in a campaign.
Roughly 18,000 words, commission $900 (total from all patrons). It will take a little less than 3 months to write.
Join up at customadventure.livejournal.com for a price of $10 to $85+.
Get there quick and vote for Castle Shadowcrag.
