Scottie taking a much-needed sabbatical to finish publishing an RPG book!

Hello all you fine folks!

As some of you may know, I have a second job doing self-publishing with a business partner and a few employees (which is why I only work at Portalarium 4 days a week)…. The crazy hours of the last release had me neglecting some of my duties in that arena (as well as a load of things that I need to take care of outside of work)… My plan had been to take off a week or two after the completion of Xenos, but it ended up being only two workdays and the weekend trying to catch up, which just wasn’t enough…

Now that I have most of the Xenos bugs done that I can fix, and a few additional tasks for this milestone as done as I can make them, I’m now going to take the time off I need to get the recent game-book I’m publishing finished and out the door (it was supposed to be printed by the end of 2016,…but here we are)…! ^_^

Once I’m done with that, I’ll be returning to Portalarium in the second week in March to continue my efforts here, but at an even more reduced schedule for a while (two days a week or so instead of the four I’m now working) to ensure that I’m able to give the newly published book the attention it deserves with web-support (those of you who had been interested may have noticed that my ShardRPG website and forums are in MUCH need of love and attention), conventions, trade-shows, and other such commitments, which will require more of my time…

Anyway, the long and the short of it is that I'll be out of pocket and somewhat inactive on the forums until the second week in March or so...and will continue to be on minimal hours after that for several months... Please forgive my silence or slow responses!

Take care everyone,...and I'll greet you again in March!

Yours truly,.... Scottie ^_^

 

@Scottie
Hey Great job on Xenos, thanks for all the 115% days you put in. best of luck to you getting your other project completed and we'll see ya when you get back

oh..re: your ShardRPG site. link please

weeeeeeeeeee

-sol

 

Oh! My paper RPG game page is www.shardrpg.com.... Please forgive,...it's from the heyday of Flash, and we're also hoping to update it soon to HTML5.... There's no new news on it right now, because we've been fairly silent for awhile as the result of the book having been delayed for so long, as well as other company changes... All that's about to change, though!

Scottie ^_^

 

I'm always interested in new RPG games to play or run. Can you give us a brief summary of the background and mechanics?

 

SHARD is a unique fantasy campaign setting that strays from the confines of typical RPGs. You won't find the standard fantasy fare in its pages; there are no elves, trolls, dwarves, knights, or even dragons. Indeed, the campaign world is quite a deviation from most European fantasy settings.

It's set in a world called Dárdünah (pronounced DAHR-doo-nah), which is fairly alien in nature, compared to typical European fantasy. Dárdünah’s time period is not strictly medieval. The setting draws its flavor from eastern rather than western cultures (largely based on inspiration from ancient India and Persia). And, it is not set on an alternate version of Earth. In fact, there are no humans on Dárdünah. Players may choose from a wide variety of animal people who are the main cast of the many adventures the world offers.

Imagine 12-foot tall elephant warriors wearing giant insect armor, cobra assassins wielding crystal blades poisoned with their own venom, and owl sorcerers ensconced in magic rituals while glowing gemstones float before them... Skyships glide through shimmering skies past majestic crystal peaks under the light of twin suns and multiple moons. Giant insects prowl alien jungles or lurk in the sparkling emerald seas. Warriors with blades of diamond and amber duel across crimson sands. And mystics chant in shadowy chambers as their spirits wander abroad in the realm of Dream.

Think "Dark Crystal" meets "Warriors of the Wind" with cool animal people as the characters you get to play... All of this set in a world of "Dune"-like intrigue based on the cultural styling of ancient India, Persia, Bali, Indonesia, and Malaysia.... (with a little China thrown in for good measure)... ^_^

The first rulebook is already out, called the "Basic Compendium", which features 90 Animal Templates, over 230 Professions, and all the basic rules and writings to create characters, get a feel for the setting with 10,00 years of summarized history, and of course play the game.... The system is similar to the Storyteller System, in that it uses dice pools that you roll to achieve "successes", although it differs largely because there's no variable target number, and instead variable difficulty and bonus modifiers to your roll, which take the number of dice you can roll away (or add to them), on a case-by-case basis... The number of dice you roll when performing a Skill is based on general Attributes that can be as low as 1 (low skill level) and as high as 12 (legendary), depending on how you spent your points to build your character, and the chosen "level" of your campaign... When rolling against another in a test of skill, you compare successes (any number higher than 3 on a d-6), and the one with the most successes wins, and affects their opponent in various ways depending on the Skill and how many more successes you rolled than your opponent. For general (un-opposed) rolls, you need to roll at least two successes to moderately perform a Skill, with additional successes making the outcome better and better.

It's a very simple system, and all other rules sort of evolve from those basics.... The goal of the system is to have the basic mechanics of all skills, including magic and combat, support a very "cinematic" style of gaming, where player descriptions pertaining to attempted actions are valuable as to how the GM decides to present the outcomes of dice rolls,...and one's success, even at magical rituals, can change moment to moment based on continuing dice rolls as the scene plays itself out...

The book we're trying to publish right now is the "Magic and Martial Arts" book, and is an expansion of the Ritual Magic and Martial Styles systems presented in the "Basic Compendium" that are the core of the game's action... That, plus 90 more obscure and cool Animal Templates to choose from!

Please wish us luck!

Scottie ^_^

 

Hello @Scottie ,
Enjoy your time off!!!!
Xenos is a masterpiece and you did an extraordinary job!!!



Cheers and see you soon

-MH

 

Scottie you will be missed. I love the work you have done here. I wish you the greatest success with your other work and hurry back to us. This game needs your talent and enthusiasm very much. We are lucky to have you even part time.

 

Awesome work on Xenos...

 

Good luck with your book @Scottie! The world you created looks awesome! your words show us how passionate you are with both projects.

 

Best of luck and a well deserved time off.

 

Heh! Thanks so much everyone! Hopefully this process goes smoothly!!!

Scottie ^_^

 

Scottie....I am already having withdraws.....I miss you so much...I finally got to go look at Xenos and the whole place is amazing! But what is crazy is the small details you put in the zone. For example, I am in MAD MAD love with the stone benches...like I need them in my life! Have a great break..tho its not really a break just more work work work =)

 

Heh! Thanks for the sentiments and comments! I'm so glad you're enjoying Xenos!

I promise that, in addition to the work I'll be doing to get this book to the printer, I'll make sure to take a bit of time for myself too!

In fact, now that I can actually take a bit of a breather, I may just go online from time to time and visit Xenos as my seldom-used character Nimrond Ionescu... I've walked around the city a few times, but there's rarely anyone around to interact with... Everyone's off adventuring! I'm such a "newb" I don't dare try much of that myself... I usually run (and die many times doing so) through all the areas I must pass through to get from one part of the world to another...

Take care,...and have FUN, my dear!

Scottie ^_^

 

Thanks so, so much, my friend... I'm so very glad you're enjoying it!!!

Scottie ^_^

 

I truly appreciate that Rada... It will be so wonderfully fine to see this second book go to print! It's been a long time in coming!

Scottie ^_^

 

You make me blush, Majoria!!! Heh! I'm humbled by your sentiments, and I really appreciate your support... I will do my best to keep up my efforts when I return! I really want to see us succeed and grow our game into the creation you all deserve...

Scottie ^_^

 

Much thanks, my friend! It was a big task, but an even bigger pleasure to see it come to fruition! So glad you like it!

Scottie ^_^

 

Thanks so much! Your post was hilarious, by the way... Sorry if I caused any undue concern...but I wanted you all to know that I would only take such time off with very good reason!... I'll see you all again soon!

Scottie ^_^

 

You know I always have fun! Maybe to much fun....If you need another break in Sept. There is always Dragon Con in Atlanta!!!! I will be happy to buy you a few drinks ^.~
LB always has a good time and we drag people from Australia there...its always an adventure...and you can nerd out with celebs! Just an idea!

Eclipse <3

 

Hello all! I'm back from my hiatus having gotten my book ready to go to print as soon as we get the last bits of artwork finished and implanted! WOW that was a busy three weeks!

Now that I'm back, though I'll be limiting my time to about two, maybe three days a week here at the office, I'll be jumping into some UI work, including a parcel of new icons and other interface art, and also preparing for my small contribution to the upcoming Telethon! I'll be talking at about 10:00pm this Thursday concerning the Virtue Devotional statues I finished right before I took my time off (presented with Bob Cooksey's awesome shrines he created), about some symbol work with Richard concerning the Anti-Principles, Anti-Virtues, and the Concordant Diagram (showing the relationship between Chaos, and the Principles, and how they contribute to either the "goodness" of Ethos or the "evils" of Dominion.).... We might even have the chance to talk a bit about the now-finished Xenos, since the Mad Hatter's in the house visiting us during the Telethon...

Anyway, it should be enlightening! Hope to see you guys there!

Scottie ^_^