111

Wacky note... Pirates Of Penzantium is now officially 111 pages (pre-layout). 111 was also the age that Bilbo Baggins handed off the ring to Frodo... Maybe the whole thing is gonna go poof!

The First Con of the Summer...

Welp, Origins 2008 has come upon us too fast!

Aside from being knee-deep in Pirates of Penzantium, the last two weeks have been nutzo getting everything prepared for the con and the GameWick Games booth. This is the first official booth we are running at a con, and we're pretty pumped! We're officially releasing the WEGS 101 Book-n-Card Combo at Origins, too. It's a funky old skool product design: book and card deck in a poly zip bag just like the rpg games of the 1970s. The by-line reads:

WEGS is so old skool it comes in a plastic bag.

We're also busy running morning and evening games, in addition to the in-booth demos. Plus there's a Friday Midnite Game that's pretty much got the WEGS Who's Who lined up to play (from the WittWeggers to the Shroomeaters). That game promises to be insane, especially as they main minion is a mummy named Klattabarraboo, not too mention a relic called Ogma's Orb of Obliteration!

Gonna be a busy weekend! Details to come!

The POP Arkipelago, Part 2

The Pirates of Penzantium (POP) campaign setting is done, and it was a blast to write. The content flew onto the sheets pretty quick, but one idea led to another and to another and so on... I had to be careful not to go overboard, though, as I really want a slender rule book. The only thing left to do is the Bestiary, which is a listing of all the beasts you find in/around the arkipelago (and probably should avoid!). It's an abbreviated description of the minons, not a lot of detail or stats.

I treated the campaign setting as a tropical tour guide. It's written with a breezy and casual style, similar to the WEGS 101 rules, and reveals the must-see, must-do things on the island of Penzantium and the surrounding isles. It's basically telling the players, here is what you can look forward to during your visit. There are so many options for them as there is an area/isle that covers just about every type of adventure possible: if they're looking for an encounter with the undead, head the ship toward the Zombie Isles, that sort of thing.

I'm treating the campaign aspect the way I would the Dungeons Or Dragons Player's Choice games we run at conventions: the bulk of the adventure is left up to the players' imaginations. The big question is what is it that their Arks want to see and do (just like a vacation, really). The players can anticipate the adventure that is about to unfurl, but as the content is up to the Kreator, they don't know what to truly expect. A huge part of WEGS is keeping the players involved at every step of the way. Giving them a campaign setting in the guise of a vacation tour book keeps it fun and accessible. Pick a destination and let the adventure begin!

Lots more on this topic later!

The POP Arkipelago, Part 1

Pirates morning, noon and night... That's what my life has become as I try to wrap up the text on the Pirates of Penzantium. The book keeps growing as I find myself on the shoals of the campaign setting. The chapter that was to include the game info on the island of Penzantium and the surrounding area has split into two chapters now: Penzantium and the Penzantium arkipelago. (Yeah, arkipelago... It had to be wegzified.) The POP campaign stuff could probably fill a full book, and that's something I dread in most other games: world settings. There have been soooo many world settings created and everybody has their favorite flavor. It's hard to introduce something new into this sundae that folks haven't tasted before. I've always told folks that WEGS is plug-n-play. Just keep using your favorite world setting and get the game started. Penzantium, though, screams for it. The Arks need to have a place in the world, just as much as they have a place on their ship. They need a place to start and end the adventure. Penzantium is that place.

It's been a while since I've done a serial piece. To be continued...

Piratical Ponderings...

The last two weeks have been nutzo as I hunkered down to get the Pirates Of Penzantium content complete. The book is at cruising speed now, and I think we're settled in at thirteen chapters. Every day begins with proofing three chapters, then revising those chapters and adding more content. Yes... the book is still growing. I was hoping for a slender rulebook with eighty pages or so. Looks like it's gonna be a hundred. So, POP may end up the same size as Old Skool; the advantage to this is that the book will have a printable spine. Folks and stores just love titles on spines!

The section that has really taken off are the pirate-to-pirate mechanics; what some would call the "role playing" part of "role playing game". POP is doing something unique with the way it's handling player-to-player interaction. Each pirate has a station. There are plenty of lower stations, but only a few upper deck ones. The upper stations get bonuses and abilities that truly make them the top dawg commanders. The lower stations rely on the upper stations for their advancement to the next station. So, players are forced to deal with one another on a social level. There can only be one top pirate position, the one who gets all the glory. This, of course, also puts him/her in position for a mutiny. The effect of all this isn't going to happen over the course of a three hour game. POP takes its time in the character reveal. Just as on board a pirate ship, there's going to be dissent brewing on the lower deck.

And, heck yeah, there's brutal rules for mutiny!