Way back when, I was sure that the Lost City was going to win, and Angels of Our Better Nature, and pretty much every time, I'm wrong. So... I shouldn't be surprised to see that now it's Wrath of the River King, the project that doesn't begin until July and that uses a GSL I haven't seen, that is drawing patron attention. It is just 15 patrons behind Tales of Zobeck, in fact.
And why not the 4E contender? If the Wrath of the River King commission is funded before the Tales of Zobeck/Courts of the Shadow Fey, I will write that one first. The paranoid side of me is convinced that patrons just want to see me flail around with a new format/ruleset/design parameters. "Wrath" would certainly involve a lot of that, as I'll be ramping up in a hurry.
Donate for Tales of Zobeck
Donate for Court of the Shadow Fey
Donate for Wrath of the River King
In other news, I've posted the first design essay for new project (or, if you prefer, another in the continuing series of Blood of the Gorgon design essays). This one is about encounter design, and especially about non-standard encounters. Patrons, give it a look and tell me what you think!
UPDATE: There seems to be some confusion about what I mean by writing Wrath first if it is commissioned first. It won't prevent Tales or Court of the Shadow Fey from moving ahead, but I can only write one project at a time, really. So, the first project to be commissioned gets more of my attention in June/July/August, but both will be written for the patrons who support them.
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open_design- Wolfgang Baur
- the Free City
Page Summary
- innercaine : Whoohoo! [+0]
- rpgadamd : Caine's recruiting worked on me. [+0]
- krell1 : (no subject) [+4]
- jagdell : (no subject) [+0]
- eyebite79 : I Hope We See Both [+10]
- wills4223 : (no subject) [+8]
- avidreader514 : This is an unexpected development... [+6]
- darkthorne68 : Goal Tracking? [+1]
- davidei : Non-use of OGL as part of GSL agreement [+1]
- coffeesucker : Zobeck...or nothing [+4]
- funkbgr
Comments
I am interested as a player and DM in having a medium for having fun in a consistent game.
To me (and no offense guys/gals) the whoile 4E shtick appeals to the same folk who get a kick out of every new mobile phone launch.
Give me good stories translated into a good game mechanic (which works) and focus on adventures and not splat
eek! soapbox, sorry!
Hell, you really have 3.5 down pat, isn't it time for a new challenge?
That's why I transfered my GSL money to Wrath.
In any event, I hope we see them both eventually.
At this point however, I really hope Zobeck takes it. It's Zobeck's time. Wrath can be done when the GSL and rulebooks are out, and we've all had time to kick the tires a little.
I'm firmly in the "wait and see" camp for 4e. I know there is this mad dash to get into 4e as soon as possible, but why not wait until we all have *some* grasp of the rules so we can more thoughtfully contribute to the development of Wrath?
Agreed.. lest I be misunderstood, I am supporting both projects, and didn't seek to steal any support from one to the other.
And actually I am in the wait and see camp too.. However, after pre-ordering the set of bundled core books from Amazon, it didn't seem much more to spend $30.00 too see how a professional works the new system. One might never get another chance like this.
And I'm hoping that through the development process I gain a better understanding of the overall 4E system, shortcut the longer term process that seems to happen at the table.
-Ben.
Both will go ahead this year, just a matter of priority.
Defenders of Zobeck! Your enemy is the River King!
Frankly, I'm not clear WHY the level of 4E support is so high when the game isn't out yet. Maybe the WotC marketing is working after all. Maybe there's a larger cadre of 4E fans than I've seen at Open Design before.
For the record, there's ZERO patron exclusivity on Wrath, other than discussion and design essays. But frankly, I expect that may be the most entertaining part.
Edited at 2008-05-07 08:45 pm (UTC)
I couldn't let that typo stand. What happened to my Edit button, dagnabbit?
Also for the record I am a Wrath 4E supporter
About the zero exclusivity, I just mean that "Wrath" is not a limited edition.
Edited at 2008-05-07 11:46 pm (UTC)
Just wanted to let you know that I've signed up for Zobeck, with the option of having my donation go toward the Shadow Fey adventure if that wins (unlikely). Like some of the others, I'm unwilling to put money on a 4E adventure before I own the rulebooks and know what to expect (or what I even want).
I am wondering, however, if the recent announcement by WotC that a company which produces books using the GSL cannot continue to produce books that use the 3.5 system affects Open Design?
There were some WotC clarifications to their GSL announcement that seem to imply that a company can produce both, as long as they are in separate product lines. No word yet on how product line is defined, but I'm taking suggestions on what to name the 4E line.
Though, probably best to take suggestions from 4E fans. :)
I'm with a few others > I hope WoTC loses its ass on 4E. I haven't supported any of their products for years and don't plan to do so again.
Paizo, Sinister Adventures, Kobold Quarterly, and OD has my support...as long as they do not convert to 4E. If they do, then I'll be done with them too.
No hard feelings to anyone - just stating the facts from where I'm sitting.
-g-
I don't understand how people can write 4e off, sight unseen. Preview material or not, you can't judge it until you've got it in your hands.
That's why I signed up for Wrath - I want to read about the process, and see what's different (or isn't different). I think it'll help me make a more informed decision in the long run about what I want in a game, and which edition is best to present that.
However, I am not going to patronize 4e products, no matter how cool the designers are.
As they: Your cheque is in the mail!
:)
Patrick
BTW Wolfgang,
Any way to put this automatically into the choices for the next OD: If choice No 1 is not chosen, please apply my contribution to No 2.
It might make your job easier...
Patrick
-Ben.