Mark Taylor Posted July 10, 2004 Report Share Posted July 10, 2004 ...For making Fantasy HERO Battlegrounds such a good-looking book, both externally (the cover) and internally (the awesome maps). I think these are actually the best looking floor plans I have ever seen in any gaming book. Well done, and may DOJ have the good sense and taste to employ your services in many future projects. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Hiemforth Posted July 10, 2004 Report Share Posted July 10, 2004 Re: Thanks to Keith Curtis... Hear, hear! Keith's cartography has been the bee's knees all along (especially in Champions Battlegrounds, plug - plug ), but he really outdid himself on the unbelievable maps and awesome cover art for Fantasy Hero Battlegrounds. Great stuff!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Long Posted July 10, 2004 Report Share Posted July 10, 2004 Re: Thanks to Keith Curtis... Don't worry, I'm already eager to see what he'll do with the Hudson City maps. We have every intention of keeping him on as Chief Cartographer to the Heroes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Enforcer84 Posted July 10, 2004 Report Share Posted July 10, 2004 Re: Thanks to Keith Curtis... Keith "Cartographer to HERO" Curtis! I now have to buy these books! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cpt.Storm Posted July 10, 2004 Report Share Posted July 10, 2004 Re: Thanks to Keith Curtis... ...For making Fantasy HERO Battlegrounds such a good-looking book' date=' both externally (the cover) and internally (the awesome maps). I think these are actually the best looking floor plans I have ever seen in any gaming book. Well done, and may DOJ have the good sense and taste to employ your services in many future projects. [/quote'] I couldn't agree more! Fantasy Hero Battlegrounds is simply an astounding product! If there's any way possible I'd love to see more adventures published for Fantasy Hero, especially in Ambrethel (the Turakian Age). Between these two books I'm in GM heaven. Thanks to everyone involved! Cpt. Storm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Long Posted July 10, 2004 Report Share Posted July 10, 2004 Re: Thanks to Keith Curtis... Well, we'll have to see how FHB sells before we can decide whether to do more FH adventures -- scenario products are often pretty dicey. I'd love to do some -- in fact, I have a series of four adventures in mind, sort of a "Steve's tribute to the 1st Ed. AD&D modules he has known and loved" -- but I'm not going to take the time and resources to publish 'em if they won't sell. But if we did 'em, we'd definitely want some good ol' KC maps. I'd love to see what he'd do with some of the bits I already have mapped for #2 (The Tower On The Rock) and #3 (The Lost Temple Of Narthash-O). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rayoman Posted July 10, 2004 Report Share Posted July 10, 2004 Re: Thanks to Keith Curtis... four adventures that tribute 1st Ed AD&D modules. A series? The slavers. D series? The drow. G series? The Giants. S series? Tomb of Horrors, White Plume Mountain, Expedition to Barrier Peaks and The Lost Caverns of Tsjoncanth (i think this is the last one). Which series? Well, we'll have to see how FHB sells before we can decide whether to do more FH adventures -- scenario products are often pretty dicey. I'd love to do some -- in fact, I have a series of four adventures in mind, sort of a "Steve's tribute to the 1st Ed. AD&D modules he has known and loved" -- but I'm not going to take the time and resources to publish 'em if they won't sell. But if we did 'em, we'd definitely want some good ol' KC maps. I'd love to see what he'd do with some of the bits I already have mapped for #2 (The Tower On The Rock) and #3 (The Lost Temple Of Narthash-O). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cpt.Storm Posted July 10, 2004 Report Share Posted July 10, 2004 Re: Thanks to Keith Curtis... Well, we'll have to see how FHB sells before we can decide whether to do more FH adventures -- scenario products are often pretty dicey. I'd love to do some -- in fact, I have a series of four adventures in mind, sort of a "Steve's tribute to the 1st Ed. AD&D modules he has known and loved" -- but I'm not going to take the time and resources to publish 'em if they won't sell. You know, you're not the first in the business to say that lately and it both concerns and puzzles me. There was a time when the industry was driven by adventures and I'm really disturbed to hear that that has changed drastically. For instance, Fantasy Flight Games - makers of the Midnight d20 Campaign setting - produced an adventure (a huge adventure) to accompany the campaign book. According to their leader/CEO/whatever he calls himself, the module did not sell well at all and consequently all adventure projects were killed and instead they concentrated on more source material which he claimed sold a thousandfold better. Does anyone have any insight on this major shift in the hobby? Why is it that no one wants adventures anymore? Cpt. Storm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Hiemforth Posted July 10, 2004 Report Share Posted July 10, 2004 Re: Thanks to Keith Curtis... I'm not all that sure it was ever really driven by them. There used to be a lot of them in the early '80's, when they were the cheapest things to make, and anything RPG sold. But when you think about it, they're aimed only at part of the buying audience (GM's) and their utility kinda has the Charges Limitation... a drawback Hero Games has addressed neatly by designing the Battlegrounds books specifically to have re-usable info (maps and descriptions of common sites). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gunrunner Posted July 10, 2004 Report Share Posted July 10, 2004 Re: Thanks to Keith Curtis... You da man, Keith. YOU... DA... MAN! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Long Posted July 10, 2004 Report Share Posted July 10, 2004 Re: Thanks to Keith Curtis... Which series? No particular series -- just the overall style and tone, sorta-kinda. For the record, my favorite series happen to be S, G, D, C, and A, but that doesn't specifically influence where I'd go with these products. My favorite modules ever were C1 and T1. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Long Posted July 10, 2004 Report Share Posted July 10, 2004 Re: Thanks to Keith Curtis... You know, you're not the first in the business to say that lately and it both concerns and puzzles me. There was a time when the industry was driven by adventures and I'm really disturbed to hear that that has changed drastically. I don't think the industry was ever really "driven" by adventure sales. Early on there were a lot of adventures on sale, but that doesn't mean they drove the industry. Many of them sold well, but all D&D products sold really well. For example, one of the best modules, White Plume Mountain, sold 236,000 (!) copies when it was released. Today, a product of any sort that sells 1% of that amount is regarded as a strong seller. The problem is that adventures generally sell to only 15-25% of your market -- the GMs -- and that market's not very large to begin with. We've tried to increase the sales of our adventures by structuring them around things you can use repeatedly -- maps, villain groups -- but even that's not enough to make them as successful as many other types of books. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cpt.Storm Posted July 10, 2004 Report Share Posted July 10, 2004 Re: Thanks to Keith Curtis... I don't think the industry was ever really "driven" by adventure sales. Early on there were a lot of adventures on sale' date=' but that doesn't mean they drove the industry. Many of them sold well, but [i']all[/i] D&D products sold really well. For example, one of the best modules, White Plume Mountain, sold 236,000 (!) copies when it was released. Today, a product of any sort that sells 1% of that amount is regarded as a strong seller. The problem is that adventures generally sell to only 15-25% of your market -- the GMs -- and that market's not very large to begin with. We've tried to increase the sales of our adventures by structuring them around things you can use repeatedly -- maps, villain groups -- but even that's not enough to make them as successful as many other types of books. Once again I am humbled by your incredible grasp on the business aspect of my favorite hobby. Besides being very educational, it has clearly shown me I should never dabble in the business because it's clear I'd lose my shorts! I see how I was mistaken to take the quantity of the adventures published in the 80's as an indicator that they were driving the industry. I also failed to consider that you would further reduce your audience by catering only to the GMs and not the players with adventures. Having been a GM almost immediately after discovering RPGs I have never thought from the player point-of-view. Anyway, thanks for replying and have no doubt that though there may not be enough of us to be lucrative, there are still those of us that would love to see some more adventure material, even if it's in the form of PDFs (which I would hope would reduce costs to produce). Highest regards, Cpt. Storm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keithcurtis Posted July 10, 2004 Report Share Posted July 10, 2004 Re: Thanks to Keith Curtis... Thank-you, thank you, everybody! I have been sweating the debut of this product for many, many months. Although Allen and Jason wrote it, I have been thinking of it as "my" book due to the number of maps and the responsibility of the cover. Thanks. Keith ":winkgrin: :celebrate" Curtis Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Plucky Posted July 10, 2004 Report Share Posted July 10, 2004 Re: Thanks to Keith Curtis... Well, since you can never have too many compliments, Great Job!!! I really like the maps (and the book) and am looking forward to more of your work! Plucky Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Edsel Posted July 10, 2004 Report Share Posted July 10, 2004 Re: Thanks to Keith Curtis... Just picked it up a few days ago. I agree the art and maps are wonderful. Good job! The whole thing looks good kudos to the three of you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Long Posted July 10, 2004 Report Share Posted July 10, 2004 Re: Thanks to Keith Curtis... I see how I was mistaken to take the quantity of the adventures published in the 80's as an indicator that they were driving the industry. Two other points that are probably worth considering: 1. A lot of those early modules were really short. I wish it was still possible to make money publishing 8- to 24-page products! 2. Early in the life of the hobby adventures were probably more important, and more in demand, than they are now. I know it really helped me, as a young fledgling GM, to have examples to show me how to design adventures. These days, it's so easy to find help -- and free adventures online -- that the need for an "educational" product like that is significantly less. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Enforcer84 Posted July 10, 2004 Report Share Posted July 10, 2004 Re: Thanks to Keith Curtis... I bought White Plume Mountain at a used bookstore last year for nostalgia purposes and then bought a PDF of Castle Amber as well. They were the modules I remembered most fondly. I think adventures are wonderful. I loved Shades of Black, and I am purchasing both Battlegrounds books. I can see what you are saying about the industry and its too bad. BTW along similar lines, the Plot seeds given for each character in the Hero Sourcebooks are very welcome. I consider them to be one of the true innovations from Hero games. (though they may have originated elsewhere for all I know) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vanguard00 Posted July 11, 2004 Report Share Posted July 11, 2004 Re: Thanks to Keith Curtis... So you see, Steve, it's your own fault for publishing the products you do. Your rule books have an entire GM section (just about every one, if I'm not mistaken), just about every character you put out (if not all of 'em) have 1-3 plot seeds, you devote entire books to "supportive" information, and you provide even more such ready-made material for selected NPCs, organizations, etc. It's quality merchandise like this that's going to be the downfall of...um...you know, other quality merchandise. And stuff. Like this. Crap. I started with a point. Really... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndyM Posted July 11, 2004 Report Share Posted July 11, 2004 Re: Thanks to Keith Curtis... Thank-you, thank you, everybody! I have been sweating the debut of this product for many, many months. Although Allen and Jason wrote it, I have been thinking of it as "my" book due to the number of maps and the responsibility of the cover. Thanks. Keith ":winkgrin: :celebrate" Curtis Keith, I think of this as your book too! Great work - as usual. Hugs and kisses, Andy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheQuestionMan Posted July 11, 2004 Report Share Posted July 11, 2004 Re: Thanks to Keith Curtis... Excellent work indeed sir. I will raise a glass in your honour. Good show old chap. Cheers QM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Keneton Posted July 12, 2004 Report Share Posted July 12, 2004 Re: Thanks to Keith Curtis... I showed the book to Snoop and he said.. . "Keith is the faschnizzel my nizzel." I agreed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Secret Master Posted July 13, 2004 Report Share Posted July 13, 2004 Re: Thanks to Keith Curtis... I'm with these guys Keith. Thank you for turning my scribbles into bonafide maps! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
allen Posted July 13, 2004 Report Share Posted July 13, 2004 Re: Thanks to Keith Curtis... I'm with these guys Keith. Thank you for turning my scribbles into bonafide maps! yeah, me too... definitely a showcase for Keith's talents.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lezentauw Posted July 13, 2004 Report Share Posted July 13, 2004 Re: Thanks to Keith Curtis... I bought White Plume Mountain at a used bookstore last year for nostalgia purposes and then bought a PDF of Castle Amber as well. They were the modules I remembered most fondly. I think adventures are wonderful. I loved Shades of Black, and I am purchasing both Battlegrounds books. I can see what you are saying about the industry and its too bad. BTW along similar lines, the Plot seeds given for each character in the Hero Sourcebooks are very welcome. I consider them to be one of the true innovations from Hero games. (though they may have originated elsewhere for all I know) I know that I personally do not like modules. I tend to find that a great majority of the modules that I have read, to be nothing more than one shot use items. I find that campaign sourcebooks and gazatteers are better investments for me. With a sourcebook, I am able to create a living area in the campaign world quickly. The PCs are able to be played in a manner as if they are living in the campaign world. If they do not accomplish one of the major plot seeds, it is no big deal. As I did not pay money just for a plot seed. The plot seed is either finished, by others, if they are into another, or grows into a bigger seed for later. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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