Austin

Oh wow, very cool.

Always a pleasure! We had a blast recording this, so y'all should go listen and check it out!

Hey all, I recently finished reading through TDM's Mythic Babylon, and posted a review on it. Would love to hear others thoughts on the book! https://akhelas.com/2023/07/14/review-mythic-babylon/

Huh, never heard of that. I'll have to go check it out! Thanks for the tip. 😄 I'm a bit leery about getting into details because we're just at the start of playtesting and a lot could change very rapidly. One of my goals is to have a single task resolution mechanism, and for most tasks to be resolved with a single D100 roll. In particular, that means cutting the resistance table, then figuring out how to handle situations where we'd normally use it. Single method of task resolution - in my opinion - helps make D100 games more newbie-friendly. We're also consolidating skills into a smaller list. My basic goal is to have most of the character sheet adventuring stuff fit on one page, then the back page has stuff like augmentations, equipment, resources, etc. I don't want players to have to hunt for skills, but to have a quick list of options how they might act or respond to a situation, and to identify how likely they are to succeed. Like I said, I'm leaving out a number of details because I don't know what will or won't change as we work. But I hope that helps sate your curiosity!

Independent publisher Akhelas has a new roleplaying game in development using Chaosium's Basic Roleplaying: Universal Game Engine under the Open Roleplaying Creative (ORC) License. Eden Fallen is a science fiction roleplaying game set on a generation ship launched from Earth to begin colonization of planets outside the solar system. Centuries later the vessel—built around and within an asteroid—still drifts through the void. No one knows when—or if—it will arrive. The Founders built this ship as an inspiring symbol of humanity's unity. Generations of crisis have shattered their dream. The inhabitants of Eden now live grim lives reusing depleting resources. Players will take on the roles of heroes and antiheroes, fixers and breakers, struggling to survive. Design goals include: Newbie-friendly iteration on classic D100 mechanics Unfamiliar cultures to roleplay, such as the AI-worshiping Hullbugs or the downtrodden Passengers Rules for an augmentations powers system enabling players to gain cyberpunk prosthetics, grafted plantmeat, or perform superhuman stunts Complete colonypunk setting focused on the City—Eden's semblance of “civilization” Gamemaster support including secret histories, end-game crises, and a complete collection of antagonists All new rules development will be freely available for use by other game designers under the ORC License. Akhelas has published independent work for RuneQuest since 2019 through Chaosium's community content program, the Jonstown Compendium. Eden Fallen is Akhelas's first original game. Eden Fallen will be crowdfunded, with further details to be determined. Any crowdfunding campaign will provide a playable Beta to backers upon the campaign’s completion. To follow the development process and help support the game, check out the Akhelas Patreon page. News from Akhelas is also available at our website, on Facebook, and on Twitter.

People keep saying the nicest things about The Queen's Star. Thank you all, very much! Remember, if you've picked up a copy I'd love to hear what you thought! Reviews and ratings play a big role in helping me figure out what worked—or what didn't—in my Jonstown Compendium releases.

Very easy. It's loosely set in Fire Season of 1626 ST, but the main story makes no reference to metaplot events, and the side characters motives ought to be easily adaptable. The trickiest bit would be getting to Esrolia from Sartar. I suggest either a shaman wanders north inviting the adventurers to come to the Festival of the Monkey King, or that you put the Temple of the Bones somewhere in a local forest. Tarndisi's Grove is a little small, but would get the job done well enough.

And it's here! To Hunt a God is now available in print! You can check it out at the link above. If you'd like to take a peek inside, a friend helped me film unboxing the book for the first time. The video captures the softcover, not the hardcover, because they were sent in separate packages. I hope you all enjoy! 😄

😉

I've received the notification that the print proofs are shipping, so it's finally time to share that To Hunt a God is coming to Print on Demand! Availability depends on shipping, and if the proofs are OK. There will be two versions available: Budget: Standard color, softcover. Fancy: Premium color, hardcover. I'm not 100% certain on the prices yet, but probably around $30 for the softcover, and $50 for the hardcover (maybe less). Most of that is actually ink quality, not cover style! Both versions have the same 140 pages of content—whichever you pick, you won't be missing out on anything.

1) I am not Chaosium. 2) Probably a review embargo. This is pretty standard practice in industries like video games and book publishing. You send out copies plenty early so people have time to consume the media, but you're not allowed to publish a review until after a certain date. That date is usually still before the release of the content - this is why we see a shitton of video game reviews like, the week or two weeks before a new title comes out. Breaking an embargo generally isn't "illegal," but it does mean you won't get advance review copies (ARCs) in the future. 3) There is a really good video review up of the Prosopaedia on OrcusDorkus's YouTube channel. IIRC the video uses a early-access copy purchased at Chaosium Con, which might be why it wouldn't be covered by an embargo - it's a legally purchased copy, not a free review copy. Again, not Chaosium, just speculating based on my Publishing Lore 30% skill.

The Queen's Star has earned its Copper Bestseller medal! Thanks to everyone who has picked up a copy. I really appreciate the support—it helps me be able to continue making more work!

Woo! Congratulations, this looks amazing! I'm looking forward to reading through.

Thanks so much! I'm really grateful to everyone who has picked this up. Constantly improving my craft is important to me, and aiming at as professional a production I can. If you'd be willing to leave a rating or a few words of review after reading through, I'd really appreciate it! Reviews and ratings are a great, easy way to help me get the adventure into the hands of more gamers. (That does go for the rest of you who have picked this up, too. 😉 )

And now it's out! You can get The Queen's Star here. (I'll also add a link in the OP, all the same link.)

Coming this Friday to the Jonstown Compendium! Cover art by the delightful Zed Nope. The Queen's Star is a site-based adventure which describes one portion of the infamous Cinder Pits in the lands of the Colymar Tribe, in Sartar. This sandbox-style adventure gives the gamemaster the tools needed to discover whether the adventurers will use weapons or words to free an imprisoned Star Captain. It is designed for use with beginning adventurers (such as the RuneQuest Starter Set pregens), and to provide from 1 to 3 sessions of play.

I'll be honest, this was years ago and I have zero clue anymore.

Pleased to confirm that The Queen's Star will, in fact, release in May. 😄 Well, assuming nothing goes too sideways. But currently I'm feeling confident enough to actually announce a release date (so that's pretty confident!).

Fair enough! I didn't remember that detail. Sounds like a fun plan. 😄

Jajagappa's advice is really good. Also want to note that I love your players' creativity, this sounds hilarious and you damn well better tell us how it plays out! If you want an additional complication, I'd suggest that eating hazia won't do anything (or won't do much), because the drug is usually inhaled (by smoking), not ingested. That doesn't mean it won't work! It just means they need to find some way to drug Redeye with the smoke. I can see the Increase/Decrease Wind spell, the Wind Warp spell (keeping the smoke all in one place), or Summon Air Elemental being useful here. Build a big fire, chuck a bunch of hazia in, and blow the wind the right way. Of course, smoke increases the likelihood that other entities are gonna get drugged (including the players)...

Thanks for the clarification.

Oh, interesting. I'd never considered that type of pseudo-crowdfunding before. Thanks for the idea! I don't think I'll implement it with Queen's Star—I already kind of have in mind what I want to do—but I'll definitely keep it in mind for future work. @Nick Brooke just to check, would this suggestion step on any toes I'm not thinking of? I don't imagine it would, but always better to ask than to assume.

The Queen's Star is now available on the Jonstown Compendium! A dream comes in the night. The shade of Kallyr Starbrow—once Prince of Sartar—asks the adventurers to be her hands in the Middle World. One of the noble Star Captains has gone missing… This new site-based adventure for RuneQuest invites the adventurers to travel to the Cinder Pits in the heart of Sartar to discover the fate of a star who fell from the Sky. It'll be around 30 pages. The manuscript is finished, and I'm currently commissioning art and working on graphic design. Depending on art schedules, The Queen's Star will release in May.

Hey all, I watched & reviewed an Indian movie recently which I think some other Gloranthaphiles may like, Yamadonga (2007). It has a heroquest into the Underworld during the middle act. Posting here because it doesn't quite feel "On Topic" for the Glorantha forum, but I still think some of y'all may enjoy the film. It's by the director of RRR and Baahubali. Review is here. Film is here on YouTube (subtitled). To the best of my knowledge, this is a free and legal host of the film.

Nah, not far off the mark at all. On the business end, my main goal throughout this has been "be able to keep making stuff." To Hunt a God is probably my last "art" project—in the sense that I was creating to create, and comfortable operating at loss or break-even—for a while, unfortunately, and so I really wanted to close it (and MOTM) off with a bang. For those who don't know, I'm currently trying to turn my writing into a full-time income. The JC has been a phenomenal help at honing my work, and teaching me lots of related skills (such as graphic design). I plan to continue writing for the JC, but my projects will inevitably have to scale back somewhat from the grandiose production of To Hunt a God. That doesn't mean I need to make books that look like crap, but I do need my RuneQuest writing to provide net income. So my next stuff will be aiming at "fairly good" rather than "excellent." Either that, or I'll have to do less RuneQuest writing. However. What I would love—what would be the dream, really—is to be doing well enough off JC stuff to turn the bulk of my energy to RuneQuest and Glorantha work (extra freebie content like the reviews or recent short story on my website). I doubt there's a full-time equivalent income there, but hitting even part-time equivalent would be absolutely incredible. And honestly, for the last few months that's roughly where my effort has been. These next few months should be seeing new publications from me on the JC for the first time in over a year. Their performance will have a big impact on deciding how much more RuneQuest content I can afford to create. TLDR buy my books, I'll make more books! (Or shoot money at my Patreon because hey, always be shilling, right? 😄) More games, more stuff to read, and I get to buy groceries. Figure that's a win for everyone involved, yeah?