Thanks to EN Publishing for EN Critters: Ruins of the Pale Jungle

[John Cooper]

Rob - I responded to your comment on the review site, and I just sent you the errata list to your (correct) email address. Thanks for the response. Now if we can just figure out how a "draft" copy was sent to me (and Crothian, it seems) for review, maybe we can prevent this sort of thing from happening again!

In any case, I just want to publicly thank you for your professionalism in this matter. Errata is never fun; you got put into a position you really shouldn't have had to be in with this whole deal (I'm sure my review would have looked a lot different had I received the finished product for review), but you've handled the situation admirably. Keep up the good work - from what I've seen thus far of E.N. Critters #3 (although I've only skimmed through it thus far), it looks like I've got a "final" version this time, and the quality looks to have improved significantly over the "draft" I got of #1.

 

[johnsemlak]

Good evening all,

Thanks again for the support and feedback. I've posted a lengthy response to John's review at http://www.enworld.org/reviews.php?do=review&reviewid=2212077 hopefully clearing some of this up.

As I mentioned in the review response, some of the errors John points out were due to his having an advance copy. I take some responsibility for that as it was my first d20 PDF and I sent Morrus a draft for him to check over and verify before I sent a fairly revised version to post.

Many of the stat errors John mentions still exist. I have corrected them and will be posting the corrected version on Monday for anyone waiting to purchase it. At least half a dozen of the illustrations have also been converted to color.

I also see that Morrus has offered to replace any broken copies. I'd like to extend that offer as well. If you purchased a copy prior to this coming Monday 5-16-05, please email me at beardeddragonpublications@gmail.com and I'll make sure to keep you updated! I'll also post again on this thread once the corrected version is up.

In terms of #2 Beyond the Campfire, and #3 Tulenjord: Land of the Fallen One, those are the final copies.
John Cooper: If you'd like a copy of #2 to review, and Morrus hasn't already sent one, let me know.

Thanks for the support John Selmak, it's good to know we have at least 1 fan

Other PDFs of this series in the works include:
1) one focused on critters in and around a vast, slow moving river
2) one focused on critters in a desert-like wasteland
3) Denizens of the Mushroom Forest
4) A demonic compendium - probably have to have a gore- warning on this one though considering some of the advance artwork I've seen for it.

Thanks again!
Rob Lajoie

Thanks for the detailed comments Rob. I'm definitely looking forward to this series. I think it's one of the more useful DM aids out there. EN Critters three looks fabulous from a brief skim.

There's still a lot of themes beyond what you list which could be done. With Stormwrack coming out soon, somethign ocean related could be an idea.

 

[Soel]

4) A demonic compendium - probably have to have a gore- warning on this one though considering some of the advance artwork I've seen for it.

You should use this for any ad copy text! I'm sold on it already!

 

[Rob Lajoie]

Update on Revisions

Good afternoon all,

My apologies in advance, but the revision is going to be a few more days coming. I was originally just going to make the corrections and post it, but after working through the weekend on it along with my art team, I've decided to do a full update to bring it in line with EN Critters #2 and #3. This means it will have knowledge suggestion tables for each creature, counters, links, bookmarks, more pale jungle background, and more than half of the illustrations will now be in color. They drawback is that adding tables and text requires the layout to be completely re-worked, and that's what is taking most of the time. I'll post here as soon as it's finished!

Thanks again for your patience and support.
Rob Lajoie

 

[RangerWickett]

By the way, if you purchase an item from RPGNow, I'm fairly certain you're allowed to download as many copies as you want. Just log in and find the item, and you can download the newest version. Publishers can also send out links to all subscribers, reminding them a revised version is up.

For instance, I barely ever use Mindscapes anymore, so I deleted it from my computer. But sometimes a question comes up, and I can just hop on RPGNow and download it again for free. Or at least I'm pretty sure I can. *grin*

 

[JoeGKushner]

When mentioning that the new version will have color monsters, will there be a seperate file for b&w ones or ?

 

[Rob Lajoie]

Black and White vs. Color

Good afternoon,

I don't think we will be putting a black and white version up. If you have a black and white printer it should print out black & white/grayscale. If you have a color printer but would prefer it printed in black and white, there should be an option you can choose under the print menu. When you click print in the PDF, there should be a 'properties' button in the window that comes up. I expect in most cases the print in black & white option will be there (it's there in for my HP color printer, and I've checked a few other models and it also shows there).

Is there a different reason you would like it in black & white?

Color may make the file a bit bigger, but the illustrations look a lot better in most cases. One arguable exception would be sketches done initially using charcoal. We'll be testing that a bit in the upcoming demonic compendium as the artist for it works primarily in charcoal.

Thanks!
Rob Lajoie

 

[JoeGKushner]

Color pictures, when put into greyscale, tend to look like mud in my experience. Guardians of Order and a few others have enough talent to avoid that in some of their b&w printings like the Mecha Compendium but most art, especially if dark in the first place, is truly ugly.

 

[Rob Lajoie]

Black & White Version

Hello again,

Unless there is a clamoring for a black and white version, I don't know that I'll be specifically posting one, but to solve individual requests, I'll certainly generate a black and white pdf that I'd be willing to email to anyone that purchased a copy and would like to have it. It won't have links and bookmarks since it'll be just for printing, but it will be a smaller file and will hopefully look better when you print it.

Thanks again,
Rob Lajoie

p.s. No, the revision is not posted yet -- it is taking much longer than expected, but will have more background detail and a map this time.

 

[Rob Lajoie]

Revised Version Available

Hello again,

The revised version of E.N. Critters 1: Ruins of the Pale Jungle is finally posted and available. If I understand it correctly, RPGNow will send a message out to those who have provided an email address to them. I am hoping those who have not will see this post or the one I'll be placing under the review. In any case, here is a list of the revisions that have been made:

• Most of the illustrations have been converted to color.
• Bookmarks have been added.
• A detailed background has been added for the Pale Jungle including creature location, interesting sites and adventure hooks.
• A map of the Pale Jungle has been added.
• Links have been set for the Table of Contents as well as for bolded creature references in the jungle background.
• Counters for all creatures have been added.
• Stat and Text Errata noted by John Cooper have been fixed.
• Creature entries have been reworked in some places to make them easier to use.
• The entire layout has been reworked for better flow and 2-sided printing.

That covers most of it. If anyone purchasing this finds that the color version isn't printing as well in black and white, I have a black and white version of the pdf available if desired - Send me an email at beardeddragonpublications@gmail.com and I'll email it to you.

I think this about covers it for now. Thank you very much for your patience and support!
Rob Lajoie