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Legendsmiths

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  1. Narosia: My Sea Of Tears

    in HERO System Discussion

    Posted

    Just a little update on Narosia from us folks over at Legendsmiths. We have gotten ourselves back on track and have revised timelines for the publication of Narosia: Sea of Tears. Since the start of the project many things have changed in the industry that caused us to question some of our approach and our overall goals with the project. 

     

    Last September we completed the content for the game. Since that time we have been fighting to get back on everyone's schedules to complete the publication and it has been a struggle. That is the danger of slipping on your production schedule — it can absolutely snowball, and it did. However, we have smashed that snowball and put everything back together and now we are back on track.

     

    Our current estimate is PDF layout by end of January, back and forth with the printer end of February, and then off to print. Does that mean March for print product? Probably, at the earliest, but we will make the PDF available as soon as the proofs for print are finalized. Backers will have access to the pre-proof PDF as soon as we get it from layout. 

     

    We aren't entirely behind the curve however. But for the addition of Fel Essence and Corruption text, the iOS app is complete and we are waiting on an estimated timeline from my Android developer looking at the conversion. 

     

    Additionally, the cards are finished. For those of you unfamiliar with the project, the cards are used as a metagame mechanic to simulate divine intervention. We will make these for sale likely in February, the timing will align with the PDF as well as our next project. 

     

    As the scope of this changed over the life and time of the project, we have too much content. The additional content will be made available online and incorporated into future projects. Speaking of....

     

    We haven't announced the start of our next Kickstarter, but we already have the majority of the content completed. We have learned a lot during this project, and we certainly have taken our lumps. But, we suck it up, drive on, and keep striving for our objectives anyway. One of the key changes we made is to diversify content creation now that we have established the core of what Narosia gameplay is about. We also have the resources to invest in getting this content produced prior to our final push for publication to ensure that we have everything as ready as possible before any funding initiatives. 

     

    This next project has many different goals, but three of them are likely to interest Hero players the most. 


    1. A complete village/base of operations for your adventurers, including a multi-episode adventure that takes the players from dealing with a local threat to a regional one.
    2. A 5-7 session sequel to the introductory adventure that explores lost and forgotten deepland halls and provides the characters to add a critical resource to your campaign to be leveraged in future scenarios.
    3. The possible (via stretch goals) expansion of the setting, with additional spells, orisons, races, regions, and cultures. 

    Even if you aren't a Narosia fan, the adventures can be fit into any Fantasy Hero campaign. Even more exciting, if you are a fan of Dungeons & Dragons Fifth Edition, Fate, or Savage Worlds, the adventures will be designed for those as well. We have some great authors lined up to work on those conversions if those goals are funded, which will increase your options for how you use the content. 

     

    Narosia has three setting-level antagonists that these adventure engage with, and are very likely in your own campaigns. This axis of evil are sourced from: 


    1. A fallen god, Endroren, with his fiendish minions.
    2. Elemental evil known as the Fel and manifest by the undead.
    3. The Qliphothic, with its unknowable intent and as manifest in its demons and mutant voidspawn that stalk the ruins of the fallen empires of Narosia. 

    As a demonstration of our commitment to our efforts, we have joined DoubleExposure's Envoy program. We will announce more on this when our term begins in March, and we will certainly be looking to arm its Heralds with all the content we can.

     

    So, that's it. We are excited. We have big things planned and we are looking forward to sharing them with you. 

     

    - Shane Harsch 

  2. Status of Narosia

    in Fantasy Hero

    Posted

    Just a little update on Narosia from us folks over at Legendsmiths. We have gotten ourselves back on track and have revised timelines for the publication of Narosia: Sea of Tears. Since the start of the project many things have changed in the industry that caused us to question some of our approach and our overall goals with the project. 

     

    Last September we completed the content for the game. Since that time we have been fighting to get back on everyone's schedules to complete the publication and it has been a struggle. That is the danger of slipping on your production schedule — it can absolutely snowball, and it did. However, we have smashed that snowball and put everything back together and now we are back on track.

     

    Our current estimate is PDF layout by end of January, back and forth with the printer end of February, and then off to print. Does that mean March for print product? Probably, at the earliest, but we will make the PDF available as soon as the proofs for print are finalized. Backers will have access to the pre-proof PDF as soon as we get it from layout. 

     

    We aren't entirely behind the curve however. But for the addition of Fel Essence and Corruption text, the iOS app is complete and we are waiting on an estimated timeline from my Android developer looking at the conversion. 

     

    Additionally, the cards are finished. For those of you unfamiliar with the project, the cards are used as a metagame mechanic to simulate divine intervention. We will make these for sale likely in February, the timing will align with the PDF as well as our next project. 

     

    As the scope of this changed over the life and time of the project, we have too much content. The additional content will be made available online and incorporated into future projects. Speaking of....

     

    We haven't announced the start of our next Kickstarter, but we already have the majority of the content completed. We have learned a lot during this project, and we certainly have taken our lumps. But, we suck it up, drive on, and keep striving for our objectives anyway. One of the key changes we made is to diversify content creation now that we have established the core of what Narosia gameplay is about. We also have the resources to invest in getting this content produced prior to our final push for publication to ensure that we have everything as ready as possible before any funding initiatives. 

     

    This next project has many different goals, but three of them are likely to interest Hero players the most. 


    1. A complete village/base of operations for your adventurers, including a multi-episode adventure that takes the players from dealing with a local threat to a regional one.
    2. A 5-7 session sequel to the introductory adventure that explores lost and forgotten deepland halls and provides the characters to add a critical resource to your campaign to be leveraged in future scenarios.
    3. The possible (via stretch goals) expansion of the setting, with additional spells, orisons, races, regions, and cultures. 

    Even if you aren't a Narosia fan, the adventures can be fit into any Fantasy Hero campaign. Even more exciting, if you are a fan of Dungeons & Dragons Fifth Edition, Fate, or Savage Worlds, the adventures will be designed for those as well. We have some great authors lined up to work on those conversions if those goals are funded, which will increase your options for how you use the content. 

     

    Narosia has three setting-level antagonists that these adventure engage with, and are very likely in your own campaigns. This axis of evil are sourced from: 


    1. A fallen god, Endroren, with his fiendish minions.
    2. Elemental evil known as the Fel and manifest by the undead.
    3. The Qliphothic, with its unknowable intent and as manifest in its demons and mutant voidspawn that stalk the ruins of the fallen empires of Narosia. 

    As a demonstration of our commitment to our efforts, we have joined DoubleExposure's Envoy program. We will announce more on this when our term begins in March, and we will certainly be looking to arm its Heralds with all the content we can.

     

    So, that's it. We are excited. We have big things planned and we are looking forward to sharing them with you. 

     

    - Shane Harsch 

  3. Status of Narosia

    in Fantasy Hero

    Posted

    The post to G+ was just an expanded update of went out to backers about a month ago. 

     

    The layout was supposed to have been done last week. I, unfortunately, have not seen it. I was hoping to have reviewed at least the first pass on the layout by now and I am working to find out where things are. However, I am not the one doing the layout so I can only do my best to elicit a response from the layout designer, which has not been successful yet. I shared the preliminary stuff in November, and sent out a survey to backers soliciting feedback and I have provided that feedback to layout. My hope is that, in spite of no comms, that any day I will see the preliminary full layout. 

     

    The G+ post was also about communicating that, as the designer and custodian of the setting, we need to keep moving forward. We have two adventures in development (and I have shared them on the site), in addition to the system expansion. 

     

    I also have the iOS app nearly complete (last bit is hold/abort actions in the initiative tracker), and I am talking to an Android developer about porting it over to that platform. 

     

    While there has been a long delay in the delivery of the project, that does not reflect our intent and goals for the game/setting. We are actively working on this now that the setting has been completed (well, the core foundation anyway - lots of expansion to do), and that's what we are doing to move forward.

     

    Here is the G+ post:

     

     

     
    I apologize as I have had a whirlwind 4 weeks, with 2 cons, Thanksgiving, and a trip to Disney/Universal. Fantastic times all around, and I've finally gotten my posts up. 

    The biggest news of late is the Narosia System Expansion. While we finish the layout on the current version of the game I have assembled a fantastic team to bring this all together: +Rik DesChain , +Brendan LaSalle , +Rob Donoghue , +Ryan O'Grady , +Shawn Dry , +Richard Bellingham , +MonkeyBlood Design , +Alex Greenshields .

    We are already fast at work on the D&D 5E version of the game, which will be the first out the door. Playtesting has been a great success, and we will be sharing as much of this process with you as we move forward. 

    Our intent is to support Narosia across its core system, D&D, Fate, and possibly Savage Worlds. This means that every adventure we produce will have triple or quadruple stats. We think we have figured out the best approach to that, so as part of our system expansion will be the inclusion of 3 adventures:

    Ruins of Baradahm
    Depths of Bardahm
    Village of Gillkas

    Combined this should provide about 10 or more sessions of play just following the storyline, as well as providing a solid base of operations for future adventures. Brendan, Alex, Monkeyblood, and I are all collaborating on this to create the best experience possible. Last Saturday I had the pleasure to run an episode of Village of Gillkas for this team, plus +Carter Adams   and it was a blast. 

    Now that I am back from my whirlwind travels, I'll keep you all better informed. 

    For more information, visit us at:http://www.legendsmiths.com/news/narosiasystemexpansion

  4. Status of Narosia

    in Fantasy Hero

    Posted

    Absolutely. Everything we do from here on out is going to be written before it goes to Kickstarter and will be available when you back it. Regardless of our track record, I think there have been enough issues with KS from many sources that such an approach is a requirement for me, personally (having backed 42 projects). 

     

    We are on the same page for the structure of the adventure. I appreciate the feedback.

  5. Status of Narosia

    in Fantasy Hero

    Posted

    I think with a Kickstarter model, adventures can be viable, if not profitable. Here again it's about expectations management. What does an "adventure" mean in terms of structure, art, length, and so on. I think I have a pretty good idea of what I like to see in an adventure write-up and the Ruins of Baradahm adventure in the Narosia book is an example of my approach/structure. If that style jives with people, then I think we have something on which to build. I have been writing a Narosia adventure every year for about the last 10 years, so I have something to build on. None of them are "production ready" but they are tested adventure plots that have been run and revised multiple times, so I am confident they are at least fun. 

     

    Equipment: the main thing I want to focus on are special materials and expanding into some of the "special equipment" for adventurers. I'm with you on having good sources of generic equipment, as I think most of the fans of the genre are. 

     

    The races, spells, and orisons are about expanding the scope of the defined world. We aren't introducing things that aren't already a part of the setting, we just knew that we would not be able to fit them in the first book, so we focused on the most common races/spells/orisons. 

  6. Status of Narosia

    in Fantasy Hero

    Posted

    Thank you, Ternaugh. That is mostly correct. 

     

    At this point we have not actually cut anything from the book. Our budget was 190K words and we are sitting on 300K. I'm making my judgement to cut things based on what the ultimate impact to cost to print will be. We are over budget, so this means we do have choices to make. So, anything we include is bonus material beyond what we originally were going to include. We can meet our obligation for the KS with the reduced material, but I want to include as much of it as I can in the main book because I believe that's where it should be.

     

    That material will also be available (and is available now) to backers as part of this KS (not the next). The question is one for printing, not content availability. We may hold back some of that material to be printed during the next KS.

     

    Backers will get access before anyone else. The physical books are being warehoused at DOJ, so they will be shipped to backers essentially when they are available through the Hero Store, but not necessarily before they are available anywhere else. That's just how the logistics will work. We could delay availability to stores/disty but I'm not sure that will really have a big impact. 

     

    The delay was unfortunate and we know what the bottleneck was (me) and why. Getting the foundation of the setting/game unfortunately could only fall to me. However, now that we have that we can continue with our plans for greater support by assigning the additional development to additional writers. 

     

    So, what is it that you would like to see once the main book is available? I know what I want to do/see, but from a fan perspective, what would be of the greatest value? Right now I have 2 adventures queued  up, we have the cards, 4 more races, more spells/orisons, plus a ton of additional equipment. Feedback is welcome.

  12. Sanity Combat

    in HERO System Discussion

    Posted

    I didn't do much more than run that adventure (about 6 times at various conventions). One of the best sessions I've ever run (every time, but in different ways). I can't say I 100% followed my rules, and they have evolved slightly (especially through Narosia campaign play). I have my notes and will revise. I usually go super detailed on my rules and then my players beat me back until we find a happy medium.

  14. Champions 101 - Online Session

    in HERO System Discussion

    Posted

    Monday, July 21, 7pm Eastern... confirm on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/events/589516004498114/?ref_newsfeed_story_type=regular#

    or here. I will be hosting on Google Hangouts and probably Roll20.

     

    Ever wanted to learn the Hero System? Always heard about Champions but never had a chance to find out what it's all about? Join us for a session of character creation and then take that character into combat to see how the mechanics of the game work. The GM, Shane Harsch, is a veteran of running Champions for new players at Origins and GenCon for the past 10 years. He is also the author of Narosia: Sea of Tears, a complete fantasy RPG powered by the Hero System (www.narosia.com).

  16. Sanity Combat

    in HERO System Discussion

    Posted

    On the Legendsmiths website are Sanity rules for the Hero System which are used in their setting Narosia:

    http://narosia.legendsmiths.com/rule-hacks/sanity

     

    "Adventures into Darkness" from Atomic Overmind Press written bei Kenneth Hite included Sanity rules too.

    It actually was devloped specifically for Cowboy Cthulhu from the rules I use in Narosia. I so very much wanted to include these (at least a revision) in the core book, but it will have to wait for the Qliphothic supplement.

     

    I do use them a lot (one of my playtesters insists on dabbling with chaos magic) and all manner of horrible things have happened. Much coin has been spent with the Newardin Psions to restore their sanity. And, like all players, they never learn.

     

    Thank you for the recognition - I didn't realize anyone had seen those rules con-goers.

  17. HERO Basic vs Champions Complete

    in HERO System Discussion

    Posted

    @bigdamnhero My thoughts exactly. When we started putting this together I made the fast realization that any Hero player worth his or her salt will be able to modify Narosia however they want. I am going to build this the way I know works for my intended story as I have been building it through the years. If you want to pay END for everything and have free Recoveries, it will not break the game at all.

     

    Don't like Hit Locations or Bleeding? Okay, gone.

     

    I do agree it is helpful, especially for new players, to establish a baseline and to not present an option. That is what APGs are for.

  20. HERO Basic vs Champions Complete

    in HERO System Discussion

    Posted

    Champions Complete, on the other hand, appears to be much like the 4e Hero System Rulebook + Champions hardcover. I can easily see running a game out of it only, and leaving the 6e1 and 6e2 books on my shelves at home. I'm optimistic that the upcoming FH Complete will be the same way. I was hoping that Narosia was going to be that way, but from the progress reports, it sounds like the core rules are being rewritten a bit to fit the setting.

     

    Narosia is 6E without any significant changes. The only things we have done are really in the Combat & Adventuring section, and even then its about clarifying combat options or simplifying falling damage. When you look at 6E there are a lot of campaign choices to be made, so in Narosia we are just making them and setting them down as "the rules".

     

    For example, we don't track END, but there is also no Post Segment 12 Recovery. That's not a change to the rules per se, but making a Toolkit Choice to fit the setting. We've made some core skills Professional Skills and added Spell & Orison Maneuvers, but we really haven't changed the rules. Characters can be created in HERODesigner and any character/creature from any product will work in Narosia (they might not fit the context/story but that's a separate issue).

     

    Think of it as Fantasy Hero Complete set up for a specific campaign setting and magic system. Narosia is definitely not presented as a toolkit.

     

    I hope that helps.

  21. Narosia: My Sea Of Tears

    in HERO System Discussion

    Posted

    I just posted a backer update, but I know not everyone here are backers so here's what I can share:

    Big Thanks to Leah Watts!

    Leah ran the Ruins of Bardahm adventure at a local con. We put together a GM Pack for her and she ran with it. I have one of the card proofs earmarked as a big thanks to her for running this at the con. I would like to refine the GM Pack a little more and definitely extend the same support to anyone else who wants to run at a local con, including the card deck. More on this to follow. 

    Card Success!

    I just sent all the cards off to the printer for a first proof run. Right now a fully printed deck (on poker stock) is about $25. We are going to do what we can to get that down. 

    I also submitted these to FedEx Online as well and had them print and cut them on 60# stock. For B&W printing it was $12. I had to put notes to ask them to cut the cards and the online system could not price it, but the pricing worked out onsite. This is far easier than printing, cutting, and stuffing your own. It took about 12 hours to get the order done, but I showed up and had a complete set of cards ready to go. 

    What Remains?
    • DONE. As mentioned above, we have 12 pieces of art to complete.That's in parallel to finalizing the book. I've attached a couple of pieces for fun. The half armored/naked Gral is our Hit Location chart. 
    • DONE. Finalize the Divine Intervention cards. These are complete and laid out and just need a final editing pass to make sure there are no typos and the counts are correct. 
    • DONE. Final spells built. These are in HERO Designer and in need of a final pre-editing pass before handing off for layout. 
    • Final orisons built. Same as spells. 
    • Finalize Treasures chapter. 
    • Finalize Finishing Your Character chapter (i.e. Equipment and stuff). 
    • Finalize Rewards chapter. 
    • DONE. Review Ruins of Baradahm adventure to ensure it aligns with Bestiary and Combat & Adventuring rules. 
    • Add Sanctity to Ruins of Baradahm for setup. 
    • DONE. Pull Talents that are built as powers and add them to Heroic Abilities chapter. This is for clarity and also to add to the discussion about building Heroic Abilities in your games. 
    • Finalize Race chapter

    We still have work to do, but we are moving this constantly forward. 

  23. Narosia: My Sea Of Tears

    in HERO System Discussion

    Posted

    Thanks everyone for your support on this. I was not aware of this thread or I would have chimed in earlier. 

     

    Shuddemell - I hear you, I do. As I have communicated in the KS updates we are doing something here that is a little different than other setting books in the past. This has caused a lot of churn on the back-end in terms of making the rules work and being able to communicate them clearly. I am frustrated by this delay hopefully more than anyone. This project definitely became bigger than I thought at the outset. 

     

    At the outset we were sitting on so much material I thought, honestly, this was going to be primarily an exercise in editing. That turned out to be very wrong, but the outcome is extremely positive. 

     

    I am receiving the last pieces of art this week and finishing the magic section. It is coming together very nicely. The reason I am being so careful about the final product is, fundamentally, I've got one shot to lay the foundation for future products. If the core book is broken, inconsistent, or requires numerous clarifications/revisions after its release, potential new players will find it simply too frustrating to get into the game. I want to avoid as much of that confusion as possible so that I can continue to expand the product line. 

     

    As for profit - this is, ultimately, a loss leader. Our goal with the KS was to fund its production with as little cost as possible. We recognize that the market for a product like this is smaller than most. So, on the back-end there is a lot of investment by me to make this happen. I love what we are doing here and I am looking forward to having the book in my hand, but we need to do it right. 

     

    Make no mistake - I am the bottleneck, for good or ill. I am working to ensure that the setting works the way it should and that that is leverages all the strengths of the Hero System in a way that is fun and accessible. I don't like the delay, but I will tell you it will be a better product for it. 

     

    Thank you for your patience and support. 

  24. Experience with Narosia

    in Fantasy Hero

    Posted

    Re: Experience with Narosia

     

    I am thrilled that the kick start was successfully funded. I have played with Mudpyr8 in other games many years ago... back in my screen monkey days. He is a great GM. I was able to participate in the online quick start preview a couple of weeks ago. We went through the character process. The process is quick and easy for new players' date=' yet has enough details and crunchy bits for us longtime Herophiles. ln spite of logging in late (I had trouble getting Google+ to cooperate), I was able to catch enough detail to create a very cool Loriya Rogue. He can turn invisible by holding his breath! All in all it turned out to be a great intro to the character creation system, and I am really looking forward to the full game book.[/quote']

     

    I had no idea I was in the presence of the illustrious (and elusive) Starwolf. Thank you for your kind words and perspective. It is great to see that we continue to meet our objectives with the game of making it both accessible to new players and enjoyable for us Hero grognards.

  25. Experience with Narosia

    in Fantasy Hero

    Posted

    Re: Experience with Narosia

     

    Seriously, that is some powerful necromancy, Steve. I remember that demo in an Ann Arbor game store that no longer exists, embarrassingly 7 years ago. It is a testament, if nothing else, to how long we have been polishing this game. Now it is go time. I will lurk and respond as requested/necessary.

     

    As a general comment, I have run a Narosia adventure at every Origins, GenCon, and U*Con since this thread started. Greg has played in many of my non-Narosia games as well. The reason that is relevant is that for about that time as well I have run 6-7 HERO events at each of those cons as well. I am a HERO fan, and whether it's running Cowboy Cthulhu, Fallout, or various attempts realize the perfect Cyberpunk game my focus is on HERO. What this means for Narosia is attention to detail, and a commitment from the Narosia team that we are trying to leverage every strength that HERO has to realize the Narosia metaplot. I will certainly leave that evaluation for the consumers and fans, but at least know that we recognize that reality as an element of our success.

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