Ships & Shores

[M Helsdon]

Ships & Shores is available on DriveThruRPG, a Work in Progress as finished art is being added, now at version nine. The book comes with supplements providing deck plans, maps, and an art book featuring the art of Katrin Dirim. It includes the Periplus, with detailed accounts of Nochet, Karse, Melib, Noloswal, and many other places. The book is richly illustrated by Katrin Dirm and Mark Smylie, and many other fine artists.

https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/452062/Ships--Shores-of-Southern-Genertela

[M Helsdon]

One of the recent pieces by Mark Smylie.

[M Helsdon]

V10 has just been uploaded with two new pictures by Mark Smylie.

https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/452062/Ships--Shores-of-Southern-Genertela

The Blue Streak Falls - by Mark Smylie (portion of the picture)

Edited December 8, 2023 by M Helsdon

[M Helsdon]

Another 35 sales and I will release the next 'supplement' - a poster featuring Katrin Dirim's picture of Nochet.

Something exciting is in progress but I can't share more about it at present....

[Martin]

For those interested in this topic I suggest checking out:

Sailing from Polis to Empire: Ships in the Eastern Mediterranean during the Hellenistic Period

https://www.openbookpublishers.com/books/10.11647/obp.0167

 

[M Helsdon]

2 hours ago, Martin said:

For those interested in this topic I suggest checking out:

Or for Glorantha, buy my book....

https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/452062/Ships--Shores-of-Southern-Genertela

[Martin]

On 12/11/2023 at 11:54 AM, M Helsdon said:

Or for Glorantha, buy my book....

https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/452062/Ships--Shores-of-Southern-Genertela

Of  course! 🙂

[M Helsdon]

2 hours ago, Martin said:

Of  course! 🙂

Thank you.

I have a copy of Sailing from Polis to Empire on order, to see if there's anything I missed.

The most interesting if obscure book I read doing the research for my book was The Periplus Maris Erythraei: Text with Introduction, Translation, and Commentary by Lionel Casson. I've read two other translations, but Casson's notes and commentary were very insightful.

[M Helsdon]

To celebrate Mark receiving the Greg Stafford Memorial Award after a quest through the postal system (and to mark the Sacred Time), the cover of Ships & Shores is now available to purchasers as a mini-poster.

The title now comes with a number of supplements. Below, a detail of the cover.
https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/452062/Ships--Shores-of-Southern-Genertela

 

[pachristian]

The book is fantastic! My main character is a sailor, and I'd like to loan my copy to my GM. Do we have a target for Print versions?

[M Helsdon]

2 hours ago, pachristian said:

Do we have a target for Print versions?

There are about a half-dozen pieces of art still outstanding, some not previewed in the draft book. Their completion depends upon the artist's work schedule.

Thank you for your kind comments.

Edited December 23, 2023 by M Helsdon

[Nick Brooke]

Further to that: as soon as the art is complete, I will prepare the print edition to the high standard you have rightly come to expect. But I can’t finish the art myself, and there’s no point starting work until everything is in the bag.

[M Helsdon]

10 minutes ago, Nick Brooke said:

Further to that: as soon as the art is complete, I will prepare the print edition to the high standard you have rightly come to expect. But I can’t finish the art myself, and there’s no point starting work until everything is in the bag.

The page count will change. One of the pieces not present in the book will be a double page spread of [redacted] and there are four half-pagers for the warfare chapter, plus a few character pieces present as drafts at the moment. From the sketches of the warfare pieces Mark has sent me, they should prove interesting, especially the partially underwater picture of [redacted]!

[M Helsdon]

On 12/11/2023 at 9:23 AM, Martin said:

For those interested in this topic I suggest checking out:

Sailing from Polis to Empire: Ships in the Eastern Mediterranean during the Hellenistic Period

https://www.openbookpublishers.com/books/10.11647/obp.0167

 

I've now read this book. Interesting, though there are more detailed treatments of sailing in the ancient world, such as The Ancient Sailing Season: 351 (Mnemosyne Supplements; History and Archaeology of Classical Antiquity) - which brings home that seasonal weather is a major factor, and it really is even more so in Glorantha, where Orlanth's great storm and Brastalos' doldrums are major factors. I was disappointed that there wasn't much on the painting of ships. 

[M Helsdon]

Siramarti and Ekeros by Mark Smylie

 

During the sailing season Siramarti and Ekeros are the flutist and the oars master aboard a trireme; outside the season they work as entertainers in Nochet or Rhigos.

https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/452062/Ships--Shores-of-Southern-Genertela

Version 11 has just been uploaded.

Edited January 2 by M Helsdon

[M Helsdon]

By popular request, following its release as a limited edition at Dragonmeet:

https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/462903/Visions-of-Myth

The hardcopies include some expanded content, special covers by Katrin, and, mea culpa, some typos I caught too late.

 

Edited January 3 by M Helsdon

[g33k]

On 12/23/2023 at 12:31 PM, M Helsdon said:

 ... will be a double page spread of [redacted] and ... the partially underwater picture of [redacted]!

Oh, you %@$!& tease, you!

(well marketed, sir!  well marketed!)
😉

[Brian Duguid]

Martin, you and Katrin are marvels.

[M Helsdon]

2 hours ago, Brian Duguid said:

Martin, you and Katrin are marvels.

Thank you. Katrin is, but I'm a bit typo-prone at the moment.

[M Helsdon]

Ships & Shores has been updated - two beautiful pictures by Mark Smylie. Now at V12.

https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/452062/Ships--Shores-of-Southern-Genertela

A fisherwoman accompanies her husband, a sailor riding a Duck's reed boat, from their coastal village as he travels to join his ship at the harbor of Karse.

[M Helsdon]

Ships & Shores has been updated to version 13.

https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/452062/Ships--Shores-of-Southern-Genertela

Minor text changes and I have modified the character pictures by Mark Smylie to remove the borders so they are all now a little larger.

Another beautiful picture by Mark: the shipwright Korrand of Sklar shows a model of a trireme to the lady Awétynna of House Chorlanaeo whilst her handmaiden makes the final adjustments to her hair. The ornate and ostentatious hairstyles of Esrolian noblewomen demonstrates their status and wealth. Awétynna is an Initiate of Choralinthor.

[The dress style is heavily influenced by Bronze Age Mediterranean costume, apparent from Sardinia to the Levant and Egypt, and best known from Crete.]

[Jason Farrell]

I don't think the achievement that this book is can be overstated.  It is THE most impressive Runequest/Glorantha related book that has come out at least since the Guide to Glorantha.  And yes, I'm including any Chaosium publication (I would put Nochet by Harald Smith ahead of most of those as well).

Mark Smylie is one of the best suited artists ever for portraying the everyday people of Glorantha, and Katrin Dirim is one of the most apt at portraying the mythological aspects.  Both of them have dozens of pieces in this book, making it perhaps the best illustrated Gloranthan book.   I'm a fan of the author's Armies and Enemies of Dragon Pass, but that isn't for everyone.  Packed with information, but a bit dry and technical in many places, not really a book to be read cover to cover.  This book is a detailed reference work as well, but also packed full with colorful narratives and personality, useful both as a reference and as entertainment. 

If you have any interest in Glorantha, owning a copy should be a priority. 

Edited February 2 by Jason Farrell

[M Helsdon]

14 hours ago, Jason Farrell said:

I don't think the achievement that this book is can be overstated.  It is THE most impressive Runequest/Glorantha related book that has come out at least since the Guide to Glorantha.  And yes, I'm including any Chaosium publication (I would put Nochet by Harald Smith ahead of most of those as well).

Hi Jason, thank you for your comments and your review.

There are five pieces of art outstanding, not previewed in the current Work in Progress, though Mark has sent me preliminary sketches. Four are roughly half-pagers, and one is likely to be a double-page spread.

It would be enormously useful to me for you to share your review on the FaceBook Runequest group, or, if you are not a member, allow me to do so. I know Mark has several commissions ahead of mine in his work queue, so I won't be posting there about Ships & Shores for a week or three.

Edited February 3 by M Helsdon

[Rodney Dangerduck]

19 hours ago, Jason Farrell said:

And yes, I'm including any Chaosium publication (I would put Nochet by Harald Smith ahead of most of those as well).

Seems to me that Nochet plus Ships and Shores make a natural combination for a great RQ campaign - I purchased both for that exact reason.  Any way they can be marketed or bundled together on DTRPG with some minor savings or extra goodies?

[jajagappa]

20 minutes ago, Rodney Dangerduck said:

Seems to me that Nochet plus Ships and Shores make a natural combination for a great RQ campaign - I purchased both for that exact reason.

Definitely! One thing I tried to do in the character backgrounds in the Nochet Adventurer's Guide was to incorporate links regarding seafaring, distant lands, the colony at Dosakayo, etc. which could encourage a seafaring expedition. There are any number of opportunities to fill in scenarios based on both works.

21 minutes ago, Rodney Dangerduck said:

Any way they can be marketed or bundled together on DTRPG with some minor savings or extra goodies?

I don't think bundling would be viable for either Martin or myself. Marketing is certainly feasible.