Newt

Final Update from me before the campaign ends: OK the end is nigh, lets quickly review what's already been achieved. The Basic goal of raising enough for a basic level of black and white art was achieved within 24 hours and the first stretch goal funded more art, which means I have a big enough art budget to go to town and give the 290 page book the art it deserves. A week ago I added an extra stretch goal as Stretch Goal 2, which is the Last Witness scenario - a 40 page standalone adventure which all backers will get as a Pdf. Within about half a day of me announcing it we reached it So this means the core rulebook has funded + everyone gets a FREE Pdf adventure. We can do better than that Currently Stretch Goal 3 at £4000, which is the core rulebook in full colour, is currently just £520 away from being achieved. To get there's a variety of routes that can be taken. If you are an existing backer, think about upgrading your pledge to Cryogenic Colonist. We only need about half a dozen of such upgrades and that takes us to Stretch Goal 3. Also to sweeten the deal I will add instant access to the Binary Deep campaign in draft to Cryogenic Colonists once the campaign ends, since if we don't reach the heady heights of £5000 where it would be released as a standalone book will be included in the RoH Companion instead. Please consider the First Contact add-ons. Even if you have the pdfs in the bundle already I will happily pass them on to someone else you nominate as a gift. If you haven't, note that this is excellent opportunity to get these games at a greatly reduced price which I won't be repeating. Also if you have a blog please let people know what you think about the game. This sort of feedback really helps get backers in. Even if you take the time to point out that we are in the final stretch this helps too. Finally if you are sitting on the fence about RoH and are considering backing, check out what other backers have said (in Update 8 ) and note that you'll be getting early access to both the game and its first adventure at a discount a good 5-6 months before it goes on general release. Over to you. Lets hit Stretch Goal 3 and see RoH in glorious colour

Full list of books coming out of the OQ2 campaign, or 'redevelopment campaign" OpenQuest Deluxe (released) - The full game - Think RQ3 Deluxe OpenQuest Basic Edition (coming soon) - A concise version - Think RQ2 without any Spirit Combat, Shamans, Divine or Glorantha. OpenQuest 1st Edition - its gone and not coming back. OpenQuest Deluxe replaces it. Supplements - Adventure/Settings Crucible of the Dragons (formally known as Here Be Dragons) - completely new - out late March/April Savage North (Directors Cut) a cleaned up and slightly expanded version. - aiming for April Life and Death (Expanded Edition) a cleaned up and slightly expanded version.- aiming for April. OpenQuest Adventures - a mix of adventure creation articles and scenarios. -aiming for June/July.

Not at the moment. Its mainly been used for distributing backer previews. I'm currently reviewing what I'm going to do with it, its coming up to the end of the 1 year membership that the backers enjoyed, so I'll post here the outcome.

And for balance, here's what OQ Basics does contain Overall OQ Basic Edition is a concise version of the game, which you can use as a player/GM reference, and as quick start game. And when it goes on General release, once the backers all have their copies, the pdf will be Pay what you want and the print version will be relatively low cost (seeing as the book is no-art).

As sent out to the backers yesterday, shared with the rest of you interested in what's going on with OQ2 releases. A bit later than I expected, the last update was Jan 21 for those of you keeping score, but I wanted to have something concrete to say than "I'm still working on stuff". OpenQuest Basic Edition This is now done, the final proof came back while I was away and I've just made my last amends and sent off for the final print proof to drivethru.rpg which should be with me around the end of next week. If all is well with it I will then order physical copies for those of you who pre-ordered physical copies of OQ2. I've uploaded the pdf to DrivethruRpg.com and will presently be sending out coupons for free copies to the address you gave during the pre-order. If this has changed since then please let me know at newt@d101games.com. Breakfast with OpenQuest Basic Edition Crucible of the Dragons (formally Here be Dragons) Finally done and dusted. Some last minute art tweaking delayed this one a bit, but its worth it and don't shoot artist Simon Bray because he also a good half a dozen new pieces of art and a stunning colour map which graces the back cover of the book. Full colour map of the Island of Pharae Also the book has had a change in title and is now known as "Crucible of the Dragons". Went to proof today so the same timescales of delivery for the physical book as OQ Basics. Pdfs will go out to Demi-God backers via DriveThru coupons soon. Savage North/Life and Death/OpenQuest Adventures Work on these has been slow, with the focus on finalising OQ Basics and Here Be Dragons, but with those finished I now intend to get on with finalising those books to. Delivery dates have however slipped to early April, but I have a firm commitment to doing it by then. Once the last of the physical books is done I'll look at refreshing OpenQuestRpg.com and putting the OpenQuest SRD online.

Hi Doofstructor I'm sorry that you feel uphappy and upset about the OQ2 campaign. I admit that I'm a little over the usual monthly update, a family winter break and bouts of sickness has gotten in the way as well as a desire to actually have something concrete to report. The last update to backers which was also posted Jan 21 for those keeping stoce. I also posted it on OpenQuestrpg.com on Jan 21 and on D101 on G+. I did overlook posting here. So I do think it a bit unfair of you to say that there has been a complete lack of communication over OQ2. If anyone ever feels that I've gone quiet on the OpenQuest 2 front as far as updates are concerned, please fell free to ask me politely either here or directly via my email (newt@d101games.com) As fate would have it I've just hit an OQ2 milestone or (two) today and will be sending out an update to backers, along with some deliverable either later today or tomorrow

Please take some time to consider where the River of Heaven Kickstarter is up to: About to enter its final week, if you miss out it will be a good six months to you getting the core rule book + other goodness the campaign unlocks. Talking of goodness, we hit stretch goal 2 so all backers get a pdf of the forty page Last Witness Adventure. If you are a backer you get early access to the 293 page no art pdf. If you like OpenQuest/D100 you’ll like this, its D100 in Spaaaaaaaaaaceee! We’ve been getting good feed back from the backers, see what they say about the game. Nice things the backers have said about River of Heaven. So go on what are you waiting for? River of Heaven Kickstarter

Update#8 Nice things our backers have said about the game. Here at D101 Games we like River of Heaven, we wouldn't be putting long hours into getting it published if we didn't , but what do our backers think after they've seen the current draft? River of Heaven, here's some cool stuff our backers have said... "Thoughts on the "River of Heaven Sci Fi RPG": My initial impression of the game (& the reason I decided to become a supporter) is that it has a firm hard science fiction foundation, but within that chitin of chemistry & physics beats a warm heart of humanity...the wonder of discovery, the desperation of conflict & the fascination of innovative technology. I believe that my group I'll clamor to play it, & that it will find a place of honor on my bookshelf in close proximity to the other greats of Sci Fi gathered over a lifetime of gaming an collecting." Ken "Professor" Thronberry via email "Reading through the vehicular (including space) combat - I can almost see the final battle from The Wrath of Kahn!" Vaughan Cockell on G+ "I'm really enjoying the draft! I like the way transhumanism is handled; the universe is very engaging--great writing style. I think this is the sci-fi rpg I've been waiting for for a long time. Looking forward to more!" John Gardner on Kickstarter "This game is looking incredible. Reading through the "fluff" now, and getting strong vibes of Dune from it (which to me is a great thing), as well as shades of Revelation Space (also a great thing to me). I'm really digging the "harder" sci-fi aspect of the setting. No anti-grav, no "space fighters". I also really appreciate the authors comparison of space flight/detection/operations to submarine operation/warfare. My Dad was a career Navy man (USA) and spent over half his career in submarines, which means I've had an intense interest in them pretty much all my life. I have thought many times that space travel/warfare would be most like submarine operations, so this setting really clicks with me. I can easily and happily envision ships hunting each other through the void, "listening" intently for any hint of the opponent, and when they detect the enemy, dropping into their "baffles" and angling for the perfect shot with their "torpedos" (which I envision as more like "smart" missiles with limited robot brains and tipped with advanced active sensors to "ping" their targets). Fantastic." Christopher Sigmund on Kickstarter "I’m a backer and have looked over the early release PDF, and I find a very high quality product. Folks who haven’t backed this yet should consider doing so, as the game appears to be in an advanced state of development and the wait for a finished product should not be long. The writing is clear and rock solid, with a surprising amount of good advice for good gaming." Lemnoc on Basic Roleplaying Central Forum. "I had the assumption that this game would be like Mongoose’s Traveller book; big on rules, brief on setting, with supplements to flesh things out later. There is a ton of backstory, information on planets, stars, etc. included in the book. I would say that it takes up the majority of the space." Ned Leffingwell from a blog post,"Things Iam excited to see in River of Heaven" Read full post here: http://sphereofannihilation.blogspot.co.uk/2014/02/things-i-am-excited-to-see-in-river-of.html Only Two weeks of the campaign left at time of writing, with more excitement yet to come If you are a backer please help spread the word. If you are not currently a backer please feel free to come and check out the campaign Regards ;O) Newt

Following on from the release of the draft to backers last week, a mini-review from one of the who liked what he read http://sphereofannihilation.blogspot.co.uk/2014/02/things-i-am-excited-to-see-in-river-of.html

Halfway through campaign, backers who have pledged at one of the reward levels now get instant access to the current draft of the game See Update #6 for access details once you've made your pledge https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/645319106/river-of-heaven-sf-rpg/posts/739710

Hi all, Sorry for going dark on you all, been a bit pre-occupied getting the yearly tax return in to Her Majesties Revenue and Customs for the last week. Now that's done and I can breathe again, I'll be updating a bit more regularly. In five days time we will be officially half-way through the campaign. I'm preparing a big info-burst for when we hit that point; more preview material and a new video that goes into more detail about the game. If you are an existing backer get ready to help out by spreading the word. If you are sitting on the fence hopefully this will tip you off it. I'm feeling overwhelmingly positive about the campaign, which was funded in just over a day and whizzed past the first stretch goal a couple of weeks ago. This means that when the campaign ends in six weeks time all backers will receive the current draft of the rules and D101 will already be cracking on with producing the game with money in the bank to pay for it. I'm also sure that we'll have gone beyond that point, we are half-way towards getting all the stretch goals I've already revealed and there is more in my mind if we go beyond that. A big thanks to backers who have come in at Guildmaster level, you really are the foundation of the campaign. Only two Guildmaster rewards left and when they are gone they are gone! Remember Guildmasters also get the River of Heaven Companion, that was announced in the last update, in print along with the Binary Deep Campaign in print , if we reach that stretch goal. This is not to say that I don't value people who have come in on our PDF reward level. I'm meeting with John next week and one of the things I'll be discussing is how we can give that level a bit more of a thank you. Right more next week, until then I'll leave you with the full pager that Peter Frain did for his River of Heaven try out. You can see more of Peter's art over at his 77 Studios Blog ( http://77studios.blogspot.co.uk/ ) Onwards and Upwards ;O) Newt

Hi all, Hurrah we’ve passed the first stretch goal of £2000 ! This means a lot to us (Me, John and artist Peter) since it means that we don’t have to be stingy with the art and Peter can really go to town in defining the visual look of the setting. So thanks to our backers for making this possible. To celebrate I’ve added the following: Two new Backer levels. Galactic Merchant (aka Retail Backer £100/around $164) and Cryogenic Colonist ( aka River of Heaven Companion Backer £50/ roughly $80 USD). First Contact Addons. Two Pdf bundles our Games, if you either haven’t got a complete collection or this is the first time you’ve come across us. OK here’s the new options in detail Galactic Merchant (aka Retail Backer level, £100 roughly $165 USD) If you are a shop this Backer level is for you. If you know a shop that would be interested in stocking River of Heaven, please point it out to them. Six hardcover copies, at roughly 55% of usual cover price. P&P free within UK, other countries to pay shipping costs, I’ll provide quote upon request, which I’ll sort out at the end of the campaign. eta June 2014. Cryogenic Colonist (aka River of Heaven Companion Backer. £50/ roughly $80 USD) I’ve had a some queries from people who would like to back the campaign with some more money and get some additional content for the game. I thought about this for some time and had a quick chat with John and the obvious answer would be to do a “River of Heaven Companion”. This hundred page book would have additional scenarios, rules and background articles written by John and other D101 writers. While this content would not be exclusive to campaign, backers at the new Cryogenic Colonists and the existing Guild Master level would have exclusive access to the work in progress drafts, and final pdf way before general release which would be Nov/Dec at the earliest. Backers at the the Cryogenic Colonist and Guildmaster level. would involved in the creation of the book (see details below). The Companion will not be offered as a stretch goal. At this level you will receive the Deep Space Explorer benefits + a pdf/pod version of the River of Heaven Companion. You will be involved in the creative process, we will ask all Cryogenic Colonists what they want to see in the Companion, and your feedback on the draft will be asked for. Backers of this level will get early access to the work in progress Companion. Work in earnest will start on the Companion after the Core rule book has shipped. Page count will be around 100 pages. Please note the Guildmasters now also have the benefits of this level. First Contact Add Ons If you’ve not come across D101 games before, or only have a couple of our titles, the following pdf bundles are an excellent way of supporting the RoH campaign and also getting a bargain for yourself. These Add Ons are available to purchase at any backer level. All you need to do is go to “Manage my pledge” and add the cost of the Add-on, do not change your backer level unless you want to. At the end of the campaign I will check with you which Add on you've purchased. Standard First Contact (£10/ roughly $16 USD) This gives you the other two games that are part of the OpenQuest family: OpenQuest Deluxe (260 pages Full Colour art book of the Fantasy Game that RoH is based on) and The Company (Modern Warfare RPG). Normally these two games would come to £18. Expanded First Contact (£50/ roughly $80 USD) You will be sent a pdf copy of everything that D101 currently produces (13 titles) for £50 ( for just under £100 worth of Pdfs) Includes: OpenQuest 2 Deluxe, The Company, Hig 1-5, Gloranthan Adventures#5, Book of Glorious Joy, Crypts and Things RPG, Tomb of the Necromancers, Blood of the Dragons, Monkey, Worlds of Wordplay, Ye Little Book of HQ Fantasy. More information about D101’s range of books can be found here: http://d101games.com/books/

That's bang on the money how I would do it. Perhaps for clarity's sake I should have put some guidelines in OQ2 about that, but it honestly didn't occur to me since it doesn't happen in my games (which feature lots of humanoids with weapons). Some things in OQ2 just need the GM to have the confidence to make a common sense ruling.

One of the backers had a few questions for me about the game. Here's my answers to them, which hopefully should give a bit more insight;

Hi Rod All the best with this

Quick update to let you know that in just over 24 hours the Kickstarter has met its basic goal for the art. Now onwards towards the Stretch Goals

Yup that's why I went for the long campaign

Sorry about this, I forgot Kickstarter UK doesn't have the option for paypal etc. I look into what I can do about this. Watch this space.

The Kickstarter for River of Heaven, our Sci-fi RPG based on OpenQuest has now opened for 60 days until March 8th. River of Heaven Kickstarter Here's a quick breakdown of why I'm using Kickstarter to raise money for it. Rewards Include early access to the current draft once the Kickstarter funds and ends, Pdf copies, PDF+Softcover, PDF+Hardcover and a special Guildmaster level where you can work with the author to include a game artefact (NPC, piece of tech, place etc) within the game. About the Game River of Heaven uses D101 games' OpenQuest rules engine; a sleek and streamlined D100 rule set that enables you to maintain the tempo of your stories whilst keeping the rules simple and in the background. In the 260+ page core rulebook you will find: The OpenQuest Rules Engine Tailored to a hard sci-fi setting. Simple Character Generation Enabling you to go from concept to fully finished character as quickly as possible. Augmentations Humanity has found many ways to improve upon what nature created. Quickly augment your character with the latest biotech/nanotech upgrades. Equipment All the weapons, armour and other types of equipment your character might need to go adventuring in the 28th century. Transportation Information on how to get around the River of Heaven universe, be it lowly pack animal on a frontier dirt farm or an interstellar trader equipped with an exotic stellar-tap drive. Background In addition to a timeline spanning 1000 years of future history, River of Heaven includes an introduction to the Bright Age, the default play setting for the game. It also includes a campaign setting – the Kentauran Hegemony – and information about all the colonised star systems at the start of the 28th century. An example adventure Reunion is an introductory adventure designed to get you up and running River of Heaven as soon as possible. It can be played as a one-off, or as the start of a campaign. Adventure Seeds Ideas for adventure ideas set in the River of Heaven universe, covering a wide range of styles and themes. Friends and Foes An A-Z list of lifeforms that may be encountered by the player characters during their adventures. It includes humans from the various divergent cultures and castes, mundane animals encountered on many worlds of humanity, and some more exotic creatures too. Finally here's Jon Hodgson's amazing cover

Only one more sleep before the Kickstarter opens. See you all tomorrow

No. Like The Company and any other OpenQuest derived games or supplements it will contain no new Open Game Content.

I figured without Kickstarter's approval process, so its all there and ready to go. I guess it will go live sometime next week. While you wait here's the campaign's video.

Hate to be a pedant, but its the french tranlation of MRQ2 Elric (the logo is in the corner)

Yup, that was one of the design goals and why I'm not in any great rush to write aforementioned pdf

Wow this is like being transported back in time to when OQ1 was initially released One day I'll have to put together a free pdf called "Auðumbla's Rules" (think about it ) with all the bits of RQ (from its RQ2 or 3 incarnation)I left out that people miss in OQ, such as Hit locations and tick box experience.