Update - 03/02/2025
Hello, and welcome to another weekly update! We have a lot of new members due to the soft release of Machine Gods of the Noxian Expanse, so I'm really excited! I know many of you have already started playing the game, and the feedback I'm receiving is being really useful! But please, keep it coming, I want to make sure it's as good as it can be before I can consider it truly finalized. I've already received a couple of finished illustrations from Simone (the illustrator), and I've fixed a few more things, so I will be uploading a new beta version of the PDF soon.
So as you can imagine, most of last week was dedicated to getting Machine Gods into shape, as well as managing a few of the other projects I have in the works. I've also returned to Across a Thousand Hollow Vaults, and finished a few additional pages. I will share what I have with you later this month, I think I should have the first five chapters done by then, which would only leave two more to get this beast done!
Of course, all this depends on how much I get distracted by Machine Gods... I keep tweaking it and playing it, and I've also started writing the first setting book, The Voidspire Territories. This is all gameable content and setting details, no new mechanics are being added (other than those relevant to this city, such as the faction stuff).
In other news, I've decided to take your advice and move forward with Karum Station Blues with a new illustrator. It sucks, but it is what it is, I really need this book out. Hopefully the new illustrator will not take too long, but I don't see it being done before April. It's really annoying to have three releases just waiting on art, and the worst part is that I knew this was going to happen so I tried to plan accordingly, but a combination of problems and me being too optimistic when it comes to how long it takes to illustrate a book (which is totally fair, it takes as long as it takes, I'm not rushing anyone), has resulted in my not releasing a new book since October. And no, Machine Gods doesn't count because it's not really done.
On a personal note, I'm finally recovering from my very annoying illness, so much so that I think I'll finally attempt to go back to the gym today. I haven't trained in about forty days, so I know I'm going to suffer. Let's see when I can get back to sparring, I don't think I'll be in shape to do it this week... And I'm still not feeling 100%. According to the doctor, it's going to take a few months.
As for RPGs, I'll be focusing on ATHV and Machine Gods. I don't think I'll have the Voidspire Territories book done this month, but I will be able to share a good chunk with you.
So that's it for this week, I hope you all have a great one!
Comments (10)
The events in the ruins would need more gameplay impact. Maybe for a future supplement, your Ker Nethalas's system of room description and events would give more taste to the dungeon crawling. I m not very fond of the oracles (not yours but the system itself). As you say in a precedent thread, I prefer to be guided in my game experience and not to have write and imagine the details in the exploration. I think in S&S you managed to simplify the exploration wiithout sacrifice the taste and the influence of events on the gameplay. Maybe some adjustment on the event table would solve this now before making more complex things in a supplement.
I understand what you say, but my approach with this game was to make it as minimal as possible, which obviously means relying a lot of random tables and oracles. But since I also prefer a bit more of a guided experience, I am adding that sort of systems to the settings books, starting with The Voidspire Territories. As I said before, I want to keep this first core rules as a simple starting point, and just add layers of gameplay options and procedures, all optional, on top of it.
I downloaded and bound it over the weekend. Hopefully I can get in a game or 2 this week.
Let me know how it goes when you do!
Edit: I've missed the beta 4 announcement, so something from below might not apply anymore :P Hey Alex, you're my first time paid patreon investment, even if only for the insane projection on my part regarding how much I want to like and visualise the setting from Machine Gods myself :P. I had a long break from soloing, but I just decided to get the rules and go with it. Never had any previous experience with your esteemed works. There is a lot of dicerolling for the environment and I think I'd like that to be more streamlined, more flowing, even though I can't say I'm not enjoying the entire experience. My main gripe is with the layout, the amount of page jumping to generate and check basic things on the go is a bitch and a half. You really need to memorize at least 3-4 tables, and just spend time memorizing the whole thing to make it at least resemble something of a flow. Very stop-and-read-and-go-to-page-and-go-back-and-roll-aaaaaaand.... aaand... ACTION. And I know it's not the mechanics, which are fine, table contents are fine as well, just the composition, the order... it can be better, it should. I'm sorry I'm not providing anything more constructive at this time, since I'm fresh off a 2-hour play, and not in the mood to propose layout changes. Hope you'll forgive that. I understand it's a beta, and I'm still having fun despite the blocky minute-to-minute experience. It's money well spent and I'm very much looking forward to how you develop it.
I'm honored, thank you! I'm currently working on the Voidpsire Territories book and I think it's pretty cool so far, I have 10 pages written already introducing the region and all that!
Looking forward to setting down with Machine Gods later this week.
Hope you like it, let me know how it goes!
Hope you feel better very soon.
I appreciate it! I'm feeling definitely better, which is why I'm going to the gym. According to the doctor, it will do me good, if I can handle the uncomfortableness.