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Open Design --- Round 2


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Monkey King

Explorer
sjmiller said:
Funny thing is, going to this website tells me nothing about the project. It looks like it was just started with the default pages from the service. Not terribly informative.

#*&%#( Dirk-Fing-Blast. Now I gotta kill the site manager.

Try the link in my sig; that one works.

UPDATE: Fixed.
 
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Harker Wade

First Post
It's down to 4 choices

Angles, City state, Castle Shadowcrag or shadow place...

And I'm very happy to say I like all those choices. it's kind of exciting to be involved in picking the project and I'm looking forward to the design diaries... i wasn't 'in' on the first one!
 

Miln

Explorer
Is it possible to get the final product of the first one, which I understand is now finished? Do I just sign up as an "Apprentice"?
 

Monkey King

Explorer
Miln said:
Is it possible to get the final product of the first one, which I understand is now finished? Do I just sign up as an "Apprentice"?

The first project is over and done, and no longer available. The idea behind the series is that patrons commission the work, and the project is just distributed privately to that group. It's never for sale to the general public.

I'd love to have you as a patron for the second project, and you can sign up to donate at any level you like, from Apprentice up to the full-power Patron of the Arts. I'm trying to both make it financially workable and affordable. Quite a trick.

Completed works may be made available to patrons of the later projects. I'd need to get approval from the patrons of that project, however.
 

philreed

Adventurer
Supporter
Monkey King said:
Completed works may be made available to patrons of the later projects. I'd need to get approval from the patrons of that project, however.

I'm all for you making the current, completed project available to others.
 

Miln

Explorer
Monkey King said:
Completed works may be made available to patrons of the later projects. I'd need to get approval from the patrons of that project, however.

Well, I vote for that (even though I don't count ;) ). Thanks for the info.

I guess I'll have to become a patron, and soon, by the sounds of it.
 

XeonX

First Post
So far all the choices are very cool, to say nothing of the whole 'birds eye view of designing a module' aspect.

I just signed up myself, as I find this experiment fascinating.
 

Man-thing

First Post
Update...

The open design project has been whittled down to four entries, with Angels of our Better Nature tied with Castle Shadowcrag.

There has been an initial outline released to all members for discussion for AoOBN.
Wolfgang's first design essay has been released as well and deals with chases.

Still in the running:

Man-thing said:
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, minimum met.

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.

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, reserve met.

Join up at customadventure.livejournal.com for a price of $10 to $85+.

Get there quick and vote for Castle Shadowcrag.
 

Odhanan

Adventurer
*bump* This is well worth the investment. I patroned Steam and Brass at the last moment, didn't have much of say in its design thereof, but I really like the adventure. It's basically usable with any urban setting, and it's shockful of cool design ideas (heaven can be found in the details too... not just hell) that make you stop reading and think "heh, that's a cool idea!".

All the propositions of design presented here are hugely interesting for all types of DM. If you want some tools designed to fit your needs, Open Design is the way to go. Very little chance you'd end up disappointed.

Edit -- Oops. The link again: http://www.wolfgangbaur.com
 
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