Nordlond Sagas for the Dungeon Fantasy RPG

Bestiary is first-pass complete
over 4 years ago – Mon, Dec 23, 2019 at 11:32:55 PM

Just finished up the bestiary entries. Whuff. I wasn't sure I was going to be able to get 'em all in, but I did. Well, like Hiccup: "Most of 'em." I will note that the Wyvern is on p. 91. And p. 92 is the (blank) index and final page of the book.

There's still more to do, but at this point for this one, we're into "collect the commissioned art," commission new art, and now "get thy butt to work on Rosgarth."

So great progress today, and more to come as the days go by.

Still working hard - a sample spread
over 4 years ago – Sun, Dec 22, 2019 at 09:37:09 PM

I'm spending a lot of time working with the artists and getting the bestiary/creature chapter into place right now. I hope to make significant progress on that today, to the point where "round 2" of art commissions can go out to fill any spaces in the monster/creature section.

Even so, art is coming in for the rest of the book, and some of these pages are just awesome. I mean, I'm no artist, so I pay people who are. But even with one of my projects, sometimes I just look at a spread and say "dang."

Progress
over 4 years ago – Mon, Dec 16, 2019 at 02:08:44 PM

I've got work in progress for all the images but four, including the cover.

The four maps are looking very good; three are done, and the town map is really turning out fun. Because Skogurenda is frequently beset by enemies, and plus the fact that it's on the ruins of a very large castle (think Himeji Castle in Japan big, which covers about 1.5 square km), there's a LOT of area inside the walls. Like 15 square km. So it has a very different feel than the small "sure, we've walled the town a bit" places around, say, Nordvorn.

Also, I commissioned the multi-talented Glynn Seal to do a graphic for each room in the dungeon. He did some quick photoshop work on an existing page. I'll be putting each room number in the Midgard Circle, and while I'll be adjusting font size and style, the overall look is coming along:

One of my frequent backers took a look at the manuscript in its pre-art form. In addition to some great editorial commentary, he described the entire thing as "epic." So that's to the good.

I hope to really lay into finishing this book and getting the next one into layout over the next three weeks. The holidays are always tricky, but we're not going out of town and I'm taking both weeks as vacation (the benefits of working for one company for 20 years, I guess) so I should have a lot of time.

The artists are busy arting, and preliminary sketches and near-finals are starting to flow in.

Art Progress
over 4 years ago – Fri, Dec 13, 2019 at 11:23:15 AM

Looks like there are a minimum of 35 pieces of internal art in Forest's End, plus the cover. All but four are assigned to artists. Some work fast, and Piotr Jamroz sent me his four sketches. I'm going to show three of them. One of them is really nice work, but doesn't quite fit the tone of the setting, so we're reworking it. But here are some pieces, and as the artists provide sketches and give permission to share, I'll post them here.

Unlike many Nordlond towns, much of the farming in Skógurenda is done inside the walls. This piece of filler art appears at the bottom of a spread, showing both the work on the wall itself, as well as someone tilling a field and planting. The ruins of the former dragon citadel are large, and contain enough land for much of the required agriculture to be done within its boundaries . . one of the benefits seen when the location was scouted years ago.

During the festival that the adventure centers around, it is usual for the jarl to call out worthy deeds and reward them. Dalmar isn't a jarl yet, but he wants to be...and he's living the part. Here, a thegn (thegn (n): a mighty warrior or mage, not a noble, who kicks butt and takes names for a living) is rewarded with a gift of an axe. It of course is of high quality.

Lusinda Blackbow is the head of the rangers, hunters, and scouts that keep Forest's End warned of pending encroachments from dragonkin trying to reclaim the territory. Any resemblance to Charisma Carpenter or Kate Beckinsale is strictly the fault of the publisher.

Unboxing video of ALL THE THINGS Pledge Package
over 4 years ago – Tue, Dec 10, 2019 at 12:04:10 PM

This is a nice unboxing video of the Four Perilous Journeys "ALL THE THINGS" pledge level. All five adventures (and the 1-2% error rate on Vampire Hunter Belladonna for assembly problems did not affect this order, so yay!), plus the counter sheets and card deck. Engage MN Passive Voice: "Nice things are said."

Plus: beer.

 [Posted this in wrong group. Sorry. Was up late last few nights working on Forest's End, which is ready for art direction but needs the Bestiary laid out. That's slow, meticulous work.]