TheRPGSite

Yes, it is out!

For the moment, we only have the book available in hardcover from Lulu, in its main (http://www.lulu.com/shop/dominique-crouzet-and-rpgpundit/dark-albion-the-rose-war/hardcover/product-22249379.html) and variant (http://www.lulu.com/shop/dominique-crouzet-and-rpgpundit/dark-albion-the-rose-war-with-alternate-cover/hardcover/product-22249410.html) cover.


(main cover)
(http://static.lulu.com/browse/product_thumbnail.php?productId=22249379&resolution=320)

The two books are the same other than the covers.  You'll be able to get the book in softcover in about a week or two, from RPGnow, where the PDF will also be available.


(variant cover)
(http://static.lulu.com/browse/product_thumbnail.php?productId=22249410&resolution=320)

But really, why wait??  Go pick it up today! This 275 page hardcover book, complete for campaigning, can be yours for under $30!

Now praise me, and throw money at me!


RPGPundit

Done!

I thought you kids were still writing it!

Any Actual Play playtest reports we could see?

I'm a little tight at the moment, what's the price for PDF's looking like?

Anyone have a Lulu coupon? I was going to pick this up, along with Whitehack v2.

Quote from: Spinachcat;839256I thought you kids were still writing it!

Any Actual Play playtest reports we could see?

Well, um, its based on a campaign I ran for the past four years, and that's still ongoing.  

There's a whole thread about it on the Pundit's forum, and you could probably find more by searching my blog with the keyword "Albion".

I'll probably grab the PDF sometime unless a future offer comes with a PDF and softcover bundle somehow.

Sine Nomine publishing throws in a PDF copy with a hard copy of his work.

Quote from: ZWEIHÄNDER;839230Done!

Ditto.  I am actually looking forward to seeing the content, as the Dark Albion descriptions have been pretty interesting over the years.

Quote from: danskmacabre;839275I'll probably grab the PDF sometime unless a future offer comes with a PDF and softcover bundle somehow.

Sine Nomine publishing throws in a PDF copy with a hard copy of his work.

RPGnow will have a PDF + Softcover bundle.

Quote from: RPGPundit;839269Well, um, its based on a campaign I ran for the past four years, and that's still ongoing.

Holy shit, its been 4 years! I would have sworn you first mentioned it last year. I remember the initial thread about it, but I am stunned its been so long.

Congrats on a 4 year campaign and getting the book out!

Quote from: Spinachcat;839305Holy shit, its been 4 years! I would have sworn you first mentioned it last year. I remember the initial thread about it, but I am stunned its been so long.

Congrats on a 4 year campaign and getting the book out!

A 4-year campaign is only slightly above average for me, certainly not the longest I've run.  But thanks!

Edited to add: It'll probably be a 5-year campaign before it's done.

My curiosity has been aroused by this game. I'm only waiting for the PDF + Print bundle to buy it, which hopefully will also give me time to choose which cover I like best...

Quote from: Battle Mad Ronin;839319My curiosity has been aroused by this game. I'm only waiting for the PDF + Print bundle to buy it, which hopefully will also give me time to choose which cover I like best...

Same here

Quote from: RPGPundit;839309A 4-year campaign is only slightly above average for me, certainly not the longest I've run.  But thanks!

That's a very loose definition of campaign.

Ahem, the choice of covers is only with a hardback from lulu. Everywhere else, the normal cover is the one that looks like a medieval book (otherwise it would quickly become confusing).

Quote from: Kellri;839323That's a very loose definition of campaign.

How so?

Btw, I loved your "celebrity OSR jeopardy"!
I thought it was funny how Raggi was very obviously Sean Connery, I was very obviously Burt Reynolds, and McKinney was very obviously someone who shouldn't be left unsupervised with children.

I want to see a review, to check the rules content is low and the setting is high.
[sounds like a song]
Then softback and pdf for me.

Quote from: tzunder;839406I want to see a review, to check the rules content is low and the setting is high.
[sounds like a song]
Then softback and pdf for me.

The rules content is low, the setting content is high. No question about it.

Over 80% of the book is setting.  The other 20% is mostly about how to make rules fit the setting. That includes stuff like the "demon summoning" mechanics, which are rules but are very much a part of the setting too.

I will buy the PDF to start if that is okay. Unless you invite me to game with you in Uruguay. I will also need a plane ticket.

I wonder if this'll get a mention at rpg.net.

I know rpg pundit is somewhat contentious there.  But hey, it should be ok to post about this right?

Aaannnd bought. Your timing on this was perfect, I started reading up on the Wars of the Roses about the time you were finishing it up so it hits me right in the interest.

Now if I can ever finish running my Shadowrun campaign, I'm ready to pillage this book for a pseudo-historical D&D 5th campaign.

Congrats!

Quote from: PencilBoy99;839412I will buy the PDF to start if that is okay. Unless you invite me to game with you in Uruguay. I will also need a plane ticket.

Well of course you can get the PDF!  I don't have any problem with that.  The book is real pretty, though.

Quote from: danskmacabre;839418I wonder if this'll get a mention at rpg.net.

I know rpg pundit is somewhat contentious there.  But hey, it should be ok to post about this right?

I'd be glad if you did; but I can bet you wouldn't win any friends there.

Quote from: grayriver;839426Aaannnd bought. Your timing on this was perfect, I started reading up on the Wars of the Roses about the time you were finishing it up so it hits me right in the interest.

Now if I can ever finish running my Shadowrun campaign, I'm ready to pillage this book for a pseudo-historical D&D 5th campaign.

Congrats!

Awesome! And welcome the theRPGsite!

Quote from: RPGPundit;839431I'd be glad if you did; but I can bet you wouldn't win any friends there.

Heh, that's ok, I have enough friends anyway and none of them are at rpg.net!  ;)

Yeah 'll I'll probably mention it, it'll be a laugh. :D

Quote from: danskmacabre;839440Heh, that's ok, I have enough friends anyway and none of them are at rpg.net!  ;)

Yeah 'll I'll probably mention it, it'll be a laugh. :D

Be sure to let me know if you do!

I created a thread on rpg.net.
I created it with a genuine interest of its reception, regardless of the work's author.
The first response was pretty positive actually.


http://forum.rpg.net/showthread.php?760352-Dark-Albion-setting-Medieval-Fantasy-Britain-anyone-got-it

Quote from: danskmacabre;839503I created a thread on rpg.net.
I created it with a genuine interest of its reception, regardless of the work's author.
The first response was pretty positive actually.


http://forum.rpg.net/showthread.php?760352-Dark-Albion-setting-Medieval-Fantasy-Britain-anyone-got-it

On topic for about 6 posts.  It'll be easier to try and wade in when my copy arrives and I can directly comment on the context.

Quote from: Votan;839557On topic for about 6 posts.  It'll be easier to try and wade in when my copy arrives and I can directly comment on the context.

Well that's pretty good for tbp.
I noticed some people after that stayed on topic.

It was funny watching the obvious "what's wrong about the pundit" set up so they could dredge up decade-old posts interpreted in the worst possible light to try to smear me.

Also the guy whose sense of social justice made him feel he couldn't endorse a game where France is literal 'frogland'... keeping in mind that the game's publisher/editor/almost-co-creator is French.

Just a quick note about Frogland, for those who wonder before having read:

1) This is a fantasy setting inspired by history, not a historical setting. Sorcery and fairies and demons exist here!

2) Frogland is not France where all inhabitants are bipedal frogs. Instead, the frogmen are creatures of Chaos who managed to take control (by force and sorcery) of human populated lands. So they are unnatural tyrants who oppress humans. But 95% of the population (or maybe even more than that) are humans. Now I like it, as if I wanted to run adventures in France/Frogland, this would give me ideas of villains, nemesis, plots, etc., I would not have if this was a regular human kingdom.

I want the hardcover badly enough that I reactivated my old Lulu account (unused since Earthdawn... sheesh!).

I'm leaning towards the variant cover, but is the title really in black against a black background? Or is it just Lulu's low-res preview messing with my eyes?

How did the Norman invasion work in Dark Albion then? Shouldn't England also have a ruling class of frog men?

The Normans had a huge influence on England becoming England as we know it, if they were frog men then modern English would involve a lot of croaking.

Quote from: JeremyR;839719How did the Norman invasion work in Dark Albion then? Shouldn't England also have a ruling class of frog men?

The Normans had a huge influence on England becoming England as we know it, if they were frog men then modern English would involve a lot of croaking.

Well the Normans invaded Britain in 1066, a few hundred years before this setting, which I believe is set in the 15th Century?.
Perhaps (and I don't know, as I've not read the material) the Frogmen creatures hadn't arrived at the time the Normans invaded?

Quote from: Turanil;839633Just a quick note about Frogland, for those who wonder before having read:

1) This is a fantasy setting inspired by history, not a historical setting. Sorcery and fairies and demons exist here!

2) Frogland is not France where all inhabitants are bipedal frogs. Instead, the frogmen are creatures of Chaos who managed to take control (by force and sorcery) of human populated lands. So they are unnatural tyrants who oppress humans. But 95% of the population (or maybe even more than that) are humans. Now I like it, as if I wanted to run adventures in France/Frogland, this would give me ideas of villains, nemesis, plots, etc., I would not have if this was a regular human kingdom.

Wow, this is a lot cooler than I expected.  It also makes the fighting between England and France make a lot of sense, and creates lots of interesting options during the dead period of the war of the roses (also make Henry Tudor a potentially more complex character).  

I can't way for the US post service to deliver a copy so I can read it and post a proper review.

Quote from: danskmacabre;839604Well that's pretty good for tbp.
I noticed some people after that stayed on topic.

Now it has swung completely back on topic, with something of a constructive conversation.  I notice that the more details we get, the more enthusiastic people get about the product.

Quote from: JeremyR;839719How did the Norman invasion work in Dark Albion then? Shouldn't England also have a ruling class of frog men?

The Normans had a huge influence on England becoming England as we know it, if they were frog men then modern English would involve a lot of croaking.

The Normans weren't frogmen.  The frogmen only emerged from the Paris Swamp and began to conquer all the lands of the frankishman kings just prior to what would come to be the 100-Year War.

Quote from: Votan;839727Wow, this is a lot cooler than I expected.  It also makes the fighting between England and France make a lot of sense, and creates lots of interesting options during the dead period of the war of the roses (also make Henry Tudor a potentially more complex character).  

I can't way for the US post service to deliver a copy so I can read it and post a proper review.

Your comment on the rpgnet thread was absolutely spot-on.

Ironically, the land of pseudo-France being full of Slann would be very 1980s Warhammer. :D

Wish some of the people asking the decent questions over there would come and ask them over here.

Meanwhile, if any of you have any questions here, please feel free to ask, where you have the benefit of the author's presence (though Dominique is acquitting himself notably over there).

Quote from: danskmacabre;839503http://forum.rpg.net/showthread.php?760352-Dark-Albion-setting-Medieval-Fantasy-Britain-anyone-got-it

The thread is derailing fast. I wanted to make a comment, but then the RPG.net was struck by a database error. Well, I will interpret this as a sign to leave all of this aside; that I posted enough on the thread and should better leave.

Pundit talk cursed rpg.net
Add it to his list of crimes..

I want to ask what kind of adventures is the main focus for 'Dark Albion'? I get that the book is an OSR product, but does that mean the focus is laid on 'old-school' dungeon crawling and looting? Dungeon crawls are not really an interesting setting focus for me, these can be done in any setting, making the uniqueness of a given setting irrelevant. I'd be much more interested in the product if the setting is actively used to create dramatic tension and facilitate a narrative.

Also, can you say anything about when the book will be available through Drivethrurpg? I'm sorry to say I've only had bad experiences with Lulu's printing quality and shipping times.

Quote from: Battle Mad Ronin;839875I want to ask what kind of adventures is the main focus for 'Dark Albion'? I get that the book is an OSR product, but does that mean the focus is laid on 'old-school' dungeon crawling and looting? Dungeon crawls are not really an interesting setting focus for me, these can be done in any setting, making the uniqueness of a given setting irrelevant. I'd be much more interested in the product if the setting is actively used to create dramatic tension and facilitate a narrative.

Also, can you say anything about when the book will be available through Drivethrurpg? I'm sorry to say I've only had bad experiences with Lulu's printing quality and shipping times.

1) Drivethru: all my files are ready, but for the moment I cannot upload them. As soon as I can (tomorrow?) I will go to someone with a fast internet connection, in the hope it solves the problem. (Files for printed books are 350 MB each; the PDF is 61MB, but comes with many hi-res maps, for a total of 130 MB).

2) Adventures: There is enough in the book to make something else of the setting than a mere dungeon crawling. There is indeed 4 dungeon crawl scenarios provided in the last chapter, but also 3 "adventuring guidelines" to run more political/interaction types of game (i.e. at court, at the fair/tourney, in a military encampment). Other than that, I am close to completing a 1st level introductory adventure that occurs on London Bridge; an investigation scenario with no dungeon crawl.

Quote from: tzunder;839863Pundit talk cursed rpg.net
Add it to his list of crimes..

Suck it, Venger Satanis!

Quote from: Battle Mad Ronin;839875I want to ask what kind of adventures is the main focus for 'Dark Albion'? I get that the book is an OSR product, but does that mean the focus is laid on 'old-school' dungeon crawling and looting? Dungeon crawls are not really an interesting setting focus for me, these can be done in any setting, making the uniqueness of a given setting irrelevant. I'd be much more interested in the product if the setting is actively used to create dramatic tension and facilitate a narrative.

My own 4-year long Albion campaign tended to have an even division of three basic forms of adventures:

1) Intrigue-based politicking between the White and Red Rose factions (i.e., pcs acting as agents of one noble trying to inflict harm on the property, reputation, or influence of a noble of the other side; or trying to convert a noble, town, or institution to their cause, or trying to recruit support in different areas, or in Parliament, or in the city Guilds, etc.)

2) Warfare-based adventures around the major military campaigns of the war: the PCs being out in the field, sometimes as soldiers or other times as agents, engaging in scouting, sabotage, rescue missions, raiding or protecting local towns, checking out weird-goings on, etc etc.

3) More conventional 'wilderland exploration' adventures:  In Albion, all the fantasy stuff tends to be out on the periphery.  So these adventures involved the PCs going to some lonely places in the countryside (The forest of Dean, the Welsh Hills, the Reiver Lands in the north, Sherwood, Scots Land, Transylvania, etc. etc.), and either resolving supernatural dangers for locals (usually based on actual folk tales of the area) or investigating ruins - these are never generic D&D-style dungeons, they always make sense in the Albion context: so you have abandoned manors and castles, or Barrow-Mounds, or Cairns, Mine complexes, Arcadian ruins, temples or catacombs, or ancient Elven sites.


There are a few other styles you could run the game that were not prominent in my own campaign: for example, in my game the PCs went all over the place, but you could run a "local area" campaign, like in the North (maybe the PCs are all stationed at one of the forts on The Wall?), or Middlesex (London and environs), or the area in the middle around Leicester/Derby (where troop movements and countless battles occurred in the war).  Or you can have a city-based campaign, most likely London; or have the PCs be Crowners (investigating deaths on behalf of the King) or Inquisitors for the Clerical Order.  

So there's a great deal of potential supported by the setting, in terms of what your PCs can do.

As long as you have more than one character, a bit of conflict, and your setting is more involved than one empty room, you can apply the 3 pillars of roleplaying to any setting regardless

Combat
Social
Exploration

Someone in the rpgnet thread had asked about "Germany".

In the Albion book, the main difference from history in that region is that the "Holy Roman Empire" didn't last.  There is no Holy Roman Emperor; instead the "Principalities" are all separate little territories; some of which will ally from time to time, some which may be at odds with each other, and of course both alliances and even territories will fluctuated over time.
In the time covered in the campaign Chronology, the Hapsburg Principality is beginning to grow in prominence and power.

Quote from: Turanil;839852The thread is derailing fast. I wanted to make a comment, but then the RPG.net was struck by a database error. Well, I will interpret this as a sign to leave all of this aside; that I posted enough on the thread and should better leave.

Hum, apparently a moderator removed the posts that where condemning Pundit about what he said some years ago on totally unrelated subjects. I approve!

Quote from: Turanil;840069Hum, apparently a moderator removed the posts that where condemning Pundit about what he said some years ago on totally unrelated subjects. I approve!

I think that was more likely just the database error...

How is the supernatural part of the setting played out? The 'Warhammer Fantasy in England' that has been used to describe it implies a rather low-fantasy setting to me. The demonic frog-creatures of France seems to be a more overt high-fantasy element. How does the setting balance between low/high fantasy?

Quote from: Battle Mad Ronin;840092How is the supernatural part of the setting played out? The 'Warhammer Fantasy in England' that has been used to describe it implies a rather low-fantasy setting to me. The demonic frog-creatures of France seems to be a more overt high-fantasy element. How does the setting balance between low/high fantasy?

It's somewhere between "game of thrones" and "WFRP" in terms of magic level.

You talk about the presence of frogmen, but keep in mind that in WFRP there are elves and dwarves and beastmen all pretty well in the open.  In Albion, the Frogmen (and undead) are by far the most visible menace regular humans are ever likely to encounter; there are no (friendly) demi-humans (unless you count the Cyrmi Travelers, who are almost like half-elves, and are only questionably 'friendly').  To an Anglish peasant not likely to go fight in Frogland, the most likely encounter he could possibly have with a supernatural creature would be some form of undead (a zombie, most likely), but even that is unusual as it would have to be some poor bastard who wasn't buried with proper funerary rites (or a sign of powerful chaos magic in the area).

The most likely magic they would see is Clerical Magic, but remember that only Clerics (and not every priest of the Unconquered Sun) is capable of miracles, and Clerics don't throw around their blessings willy-nilly.

There are magisters and witches of course, but 80% of these never surpass 1st level in their entire lives, and are thus more theoretical (and propped up by other types of lore-skills, or potentially demon-summoning) than anything else.  The Magisters spend their time philosophizing at the Collegiums or counseling the high-born.  Witches are mostly bluff anyways, using 'potions' to end unwanted pregnancies or afflict your enemies or making blessings and curses of dubious value, divinations of questionable certainty, and knowing a lot about the forest and plants; but you'll almost never see her actually do anything that will be recognizably and obviously wondrous... and most likely if you do she's one of the bad ones that needs burning.

So yeah, the supernatural is there, but it is pushed away from the epicenter of the norm and into the periphery, both geographical and in terms of the periphery of the affairs of extreme people.

Here are a few snapshots of the book:

(http://www.dcrouzet.net/darkalbion/Pic-DA-book-01.jpg)

(http://www.dcrouzet.net/darkalbion/Pic-DA-book-02.jpg)

(http://www.dcrouzet.net/darkalbion/Pic-DA-book-03.jpg)

(http://www.dcrouzet.net/darkalbion/Pic-DA-book-04.jpg)

(http://www.dcrouzet.net/darkalbion/Pic-DA-book-05.jpg)

(http://www.dcrouzet.net/darkalbion/Pic-DA-book-06.jpg)

(http://www.dcrouzet.net/darkalbion/Pic-DA-book-07.jpg)

(http://www.dcrouzet.net/darkalbion/Pic-DA-book-08.jpg)

Looks amazing. The content has a lot to live up to!  ;)

Does the whole book look like that, or are those just the art heavy pages?

If it's the whole book, then it's got some serious wow factor.

The book is now available at drivethru, but only in PDF format:

http://drivethrurpg.com/product/152423/Dark-Albion-The-Rose-War

I want to buy the PDF+softcover bundle, do you know when it will be available? Or can I get the PDF today and then get a discount when buying the softcover?

Quote from: NathanIW;840417Does the whole book look like that, or are those just the art heavy pages?

If it's the whole book, then it's got some serious wow factor.

Ah ah ah! 100%* of the book is like this! I wanted two illustrations (+ a decorative design) on EACH page. Only the pages with a full page map or illustration don't get two; as well as a couple of pages occupied by large tables, and the OGL section where this wasn't necessary.

Quote from: Frey;840419The book is now available at drivethru, but only in PDF format:

http://drivethrurpg.com/product/152423/Dark-Albion-The-Rose-War

I want to buy the PDF+softcover bundle, do you know when it will be available? Or can I get the PDF today and then get a discount when buying the softcover?

I uploaded all the files yesterday, but the validation process for the files destined to be printed as a book take much longer. When they tell me the fies are okay, I must still order a proof copy, which might take days to eventually get and approve. They are the same files as used for Lulu and Createspace mind you, but it seems that uploading files on Lightning Source (i.e. POD service used by RPGNow) is a real chore...

(Or probably more like 95%)

Quote from: Turanil;840421I uploaded all the files yesterday, but the validation process for the files destined to be printed as a book take much longer. When they tell me the fies are okay, I must still order a proof copy, which might take days to eventually get and approve. They are the same files as used for Lulu and Createspace mind you, but it seems that uploading files on Lightning Source (i.e. POD service used by RPGNow) is a real chore...

So is it better to wait to get the PDF?

There will be a small discount (app. 7$) for buying a bundle.

Note that the PDF is fully bookmarked (for easy navigation when using a tablet or computer), and the file comes with 19 high-resolution JPG of various maps. Hence, you get player maps that could not make it into the printed book. (Player maps look like parchment maps, while GM maps are hex-maps.)

That IS a fine looking book. Beautiful layouts!

Just gonna wait until there's a discount shipping offer on Lulu and then it shall be mine.

Quote from: Turanil;840428There will be a small discount (app. 7$) for buying a bundle.

Note that the PDF is fully bookmarked (for easy navigation when using a tablet or computer), and the file comes with 19 high-resolution JPG of various maps. Hence, you get player maps that could not make it into the printed book. (Player maps look like parchment maps, while GM maps are hex-maps.)

Oh nice.  I always like the idea of lower resolution maps to hand out to player characters, that can give people an idea of the geography (because there is going to be a map around, somewhere).  Making them like parchment and printable is a nice touch.

Quote from: NathanIW;840417Does the whole book look like that, or are those just the art heavy pages?

If it's the whole book, then it's got some serious wow factor.

Yes. I can confirm the whole freaking book looks like that!

Quote from: Frey;840419The book is now available at drivethru, but only in PDF format:

http://drivethrurpg.com/product/152423/Dark-Albion-The-Rose-War

I want to buy the PDF+softcover bundle, do you know when it will be available? Or can I get the PDF today and then get a discount when buying the softcover?

You need to wait if that's what you want.  Unfortunately the PDF if available before the POD; if you want the bundle you'll need to give it another week or so.

Quote from: Necrozius;840429That IS a fine looking book. Beautiful layouts!

Just gonna wait until there's a discount shipping offer on Lulu and then it shall be mine.

Psst... hurry, this expires today (http://therpgpundit.blogspot.com/2015/07/how-you-can-get-dark-albion-hardcovers.html?showComment=1436373306844#c7615811180812265868).

Just bought the pdf

Looks a really well put together book

Congrats to all involved

Quote from: Scutter;840670Just bought the pdf

Looks a really well put together book

Congrats to all involved

Thanks!

GETIT15 always works for 15% off at Lulu (print books), pays for my shipping to NZ!

EDIT: Ah sorry I see you have that on your blog, carry on nothing to see here....

Sadly the GETIT15 code didn't work on the Canadian site. Blast.

Just bought the PDF. Go buy this. It's terrific. Only thing that would make it perfect is a NEW version of LotFP to go with it.

Quote from: PencilBoy99;840714Just bought the PDF. Go buy this. It's terrific. Only thing that would make it perfect is a NEW version of LotFP to go with it.

Why does LotFP need a new version?

Bought the PDF, skimmed through it yesterday and hope to get some in-depth reading done this evening. Good stuff so far (although there were FAR too many nobles involved in the War of the Roses to keep track off.)

I too have taken the plunge and ordered a Lulu copy. For obvious reasons, Mythic Britain in all its variations is of interest to me, and as I'm planning a campaign set against either Henry VIII or Elizabeth I's rein, with a smattering of Strange & Norrell Raven King mythology lobbed-in (alongside Moorcock's Gloriana), this will be a useful book.

Quote from: PencilBoy99;840714Just bought the PDF. Go buy this. It's terrific. Only thing that would make it perfect is a NEW version of LotFP to go with it.

Thanks for the vote of confidence.  System wise, have you looked at the Appendix P rules yet?

Quote from: Battle Mad Ronin;840740Bought the PDF, skimmed through it yesterday and hope to get some in-depth reading done this evening. Good stuff so far (although there were FAR too many nobles involved in the War of the Roses to keep track off.)

The way to handle this is as follows, in my opinion (and assuming you aren't blessed with a History degree):

1.  look over the NPC section.  Pay attention to the families with a lot of entries: the Lancasters, Yorks, Nevilles and Percy being the most important ones.

2. If you're playing in a specific region of Albion, read the Gazetteer section, and check out which nobles are important in that region.  If you are playing a game where you're travelling around Albion, whenever the PCs go somewhere new, check out the names associated with that area.

3. If you're playing a game that moves along in the chronology, pay attention to the entries in the chronology and look up any names that you weren't already familiar with.

You do NOT need to learn every character from the NPC section, especially since depending on which year you're playing in some of them won't even have been born yet (or will already be dead)!
Just use it as a resource to look up as you go along.

If you're using the PDF, you can also presumably search the PDF by region in the NPC chapter, to catch any extra details.

Remember ultimately the NPCs are there to add flavor, not to get hung up on with their various subplots, unless you're running a campaign where the PCs are constantly hobnobbing with the nobility.  Conversely, if you're running a game where the PCs are mostly low-lifes (at least, for now), you won't need to know anything except the royals and the pretenders and your local lord's family.

RPGPundit

Being a Christian, is there any mention of satan? I don't mind generic 'd&d' type devils/demons, but that's where I draw a line.

Quote from: Simlasa;840729Why does LotFP need a new version?

Well, actually it just needs the Referee Book (funded October 2013 - urgently needed, it was said, because without it the Rules & Magic book couldn't go into retail... wonder if it still isn't?) to come out.

/derail off.

Congrats on gathering it all in a book, Pundit. I've been following the campaign thread here on the site, and there some cool stuff in there.

Quote from: Scutter;840896Being a Christian, is there any mention of satan? I don't mind generic 'd&d' type devils/demons, but that's where I draw a line.

Not as far as I have seen, the demons of the setting are representatives of a general 'chaos' that is opposed to the 'law' of the Unconquered Sun. Can't say I understand why you would draw a line but there you have it.

Quote from: Scutter;840896Being a Christian, is there any mention of satan? I don't mind generic 'd&d' type devils/demons, but that's where I draw a line.

No, there isn't, specifically because Christianity doesn't exist in the setting.  Instead, the Sol Invictus/Unconquered Sun religion is the dominant belief system, though its appearance is largely similar to that of the Catholic Church in the period.

In any case, in the setting "Chaos" (that is, demonic forces, etc.) are clearly presented as an evil, harmful to humanity.  Not everyone who works with it is necessarily evil, however; in following with the magical traditions of the real medieval period, magic-users who are not servants of chaos can bind demons using their will and divine authority to force the into obedience (and if they are magisters with particularly strong devotion to the Unconquered Sun, they get bonuses to do so).

Quote from: DKChannelBoredom;840899Well, actually it just needs the Referee Book (funded October 2013 - urgently needed, it was said, because without it the Rules & Magic book couldn't go into retail... wonder if it still isn't?) to come out.

/derail off.

Congrats on gathering it all in a book, Pundit. I've been following the campaign thread here on the site, and there some cool stuff in there.

Thanks!

Quote from: Scutter;840896I don't mind generic 'd&d' type devils/demons, but that's where I draw a line.

What do you mean by this?

Quote from: Scutter;840896Being a Christian, is there any mention of satan?

Despite there is no mention of an overlord of evil in the setting, nothing forbids the GM to add one. As described p.292, the highest rank of demon is the demon-king. No individual demon king is mentioned in the book, but it would be easy to add one (or more) of any name you want, including one by the name of Satan. After all, who is to say that there isn't a demon king by the name of Satan who pretends to rule all wickedness of Europe, while other unknown areas of the planet are under influence of other demon kings.

Quote from: RPGPundit;840907No, there isn't, specifically because Christianity doesn't exist in the setting.  Instead, the Sol Invictus/Unconquered Sun religion is the dominant belief system, though its appearance is largely similar to that of the Catholic Church in the period.

In any case, in the setting "Chaos" (that is, demonic forces, etc.) are clearly presented as an evil, harmful to humanity.  Not everyone who works with it is necessarily evil, however; in following with the magical traditions of the real medieval period, magic-users who are not servants of chaos can bind demons using their will and divine authority to force the into obedience (and if they are magisters with particularly strong devotion to the Unconquered Sun, they get bonuses to do so).

Perfect!

Thank you for the feedback

I got the PDF and hadn't read through it yet.

However one thing I noticed is that the various hex scales are screwed up. There is no measurement of side to side, the traditional way of using hexes. Instead the the lengths of the sides of the hexagons are given.

For example on page 56. Each side of the hexagon is 6 miles. This gives a odd measurement of 6.9282 miles from side to side.  I assumed 6 miles was chosen because that was the main Mystara scale. But in Mystara it was drawn side to side.

I am not saying it is a major flaw. But an oddity that leapt out at me when I saw the maps in the RPGNow download.

Quote from: estar;840939I got the PDF and hadn't read through it yet.

However one thing I noticed is that the various hex scales are screwed up. There is no measurement of side to side, the traditional way of using hexes. Instead the the lengths of the sides of the hexagons are given.

For example on page 56. Each side of the hexagon is 6 miles. This gives a odd measurement of 6.9282 miles from side to side.  I assumed 6 miles was chosen because that was the main Mystara scale. But in Mystara it was drawn side to side.

I am not saying it is a major flaw. But an oddity that leapt out at me when I saw the maps in the RPGNow download.

You'll have to ask our map-maker about that one.  Maybe he's using some kind of French standard we're unfamiliar with?

I used a hex-map making software. I asked it to create a blank hex-map, and voila. Okay, it's not perfect, and I didn't notice... Sorry. :idunno:

That said, it should not really hinder the game. Personally I use the hexes to determine how many are traveled in a single day, according to mount, terrain, etc. Even if the hexes are not the exact same length however you look at them, as far as I am concerned, this won't break the world's verisimilitude.

Anyway, sorry for the disappointment...

Quote from: Turanil;840984I used a hex-map making software. I asked it to create a blank hex-map, and voila. Okay, it's not perfect, and I didn't notice... Sorry. :idunno:.

Hexes aside the maps look nice and the product itself it a good read. Glad I bought it.

Quote from: Turanil;840984That said, it should not really hinder the game. Personally I use the hexes to determine how many are traveled in a single day, according to mount, terrain, etc. Even if the hexes are not the exact same length however you look at them, as far as I am concerned, this won't break the world's verisimilitude.

Anyway, sorry for the disappointment...

Unfortunately the distortion is pretty bad for long distance hex counting.

For example
The 6 mile side length seems to be for the 6 mile hex. The real distance is 6.93 miles.

Not bad except you shorten the journey from say Manchester to Cambridge by 30 miles if you assume 6 miles per hex. Roughly 90 miles by counting hexes and 130 miles by using a ruler.

It is 13.8 miles for the 12 mile on a side hexes.

It is 27.7 miles for the 24 mile on a die hexes.

What I would recommend is to  include a small note in the RPGNow/DriveThru Upload giving the true hex sizes rounded to the nearest number. And that all pretty all that needs to be done.

6 mile hex side = 7 mile hexes
12 mile hex side = 14 mile hexes
24 mile hex side = 28 mile hexes.

Otherwise the maps are accurate enough by the ruler.

Quote from: RPGPundit;839229Yes, it is out!

...

The two books are the same other than the covers.  You'll be able to get the book in softcover in about a week or two, from RPGnow, where the PDF will also be available.

I really like the light (standard) cover! Good choice.

Quote from: estar;840939For example on page 56. Each side of the hexagon is 6 miles. This gives a odd measurement of 6.9282 miles from side to side.  I assumed 6 miles was chosen because that was the main Mystara scale. But in Mystara it was drawn side to side.

I am perplexed as to where you get your corrected measurement. A hexagon with sides of 6 miles can be divided into six equilateral triangles with sides of 6 miles, all sharing a corner at the center of the hexagon. The diameter (corner to corner of the hexagon) would traverse two edges of opposite triangles for 12 miles. The distance from side to side would traverse two altitudes of those triangles (or, from the center of one hexagon to the center of an adjacent hexagon by going through the midpoint of the shared side); each altitude is 3√3, or about 5.196, for a total of about 10.392.

Quote from: estar;840987Unfortunately the distortion is pretty bad for long distance hex counting.

If the hexes are 10.4 miles, then that would be 156 miles for 15 hexes; higher than the actual distance from Manchester to Cambridge (132.36, says the Internet). But if the hex path is not all in a line (across the grain, if I understand the terminology; that is, horizontally on the hex map described as vertical at Bat in the Attic (http://batintheattic.blogspot.com/2008/10/mapping-with-hexes.html)) then two hexes totalling 20.8 miles would take you 18 miles as the crow flies and 7.5 times the discrepancy of 2.8 miles would account almost entirely for the total error. Just speculating as I don't have the map in question.

Want to do a Q&A on this one, Pundit? :)

Quote from: Dan Davenport;841021Want to do a Q&A on this one, Pundit? :)

Yes, I certainly do.  Send me a PM and we'll work out the times!

debate over hex-sizes aside, I think the maps are stunning and one of the best features of the book's layout work.

Shouldn't this be in the news and adverts section?

Quote from: Sommerjon;841033Shouldn't this be in the news and adverts section?

Nope.

Quote from: RPGPundit;841035Nope.

You sure?  Seems like there is a section about whoring out your products on these forums, one you make everyone use.
News and Adverts
Post, read, and discuss game-related advertising here.

This sure soounds like an Advert

Quote from: RPGPundit;839229Yes, it is out!

For the moment, we only have the book available in hardcover from Lulu, in its main (http://www.lulu.com/shop/dominique-crouzet-and-rpgpundit/dark-albion-the-rose-war/hardcover/product-22249379.html) and variant (http://www.lulu.com/shop/dominique-crouzet-and-rpgpundit/dark-albion-the-rose-war-with-alternate-cover/hardcover/product-22249410.html) cover.


(main cover)
(http://static.lulu.com/browse/product_thumbnail.php?productId=22249379&resolution=320)

The two books are the same other than the covers.  You'll be able to get the book in softcover in about a week or two, from RPGnow, where the PDF will also be available.


(variant cover)
(http://static.lulu.com/browse/product_thumbnail.php?productId=22249410&resolution=320)

But really, why wait??  Go pick it up today! This 275 page hardcover book, complete for campaigning, can be yours for under $30!

Now praise me, and throw money at me!


RPGPundit

This is information, not just advertising.  This is where people can reasonably expect to come get information about Dark Albion.

But you can feel free to keep right on having sour grapes if you like.

"Information",
Yes, it is out!

For the moment, we only have the book available in hardcover from Lulu, in its main and variant cover.

The two books are the same other than the covers. You'll be able to get the book in softcover in about a week or two, from RPGnow, where the PDF will also be available.

But really, why wait?? Go pick it up today! This 275 page hardcover book, complete for campaigning, can be yours for under $30!

Now praise me, and throw money at me!

Yeah....  riiight....:rolleyes:

Quote from: Sommerjon;841057"Information",
Yes, it is out!

For the moment, we only have the book available in hardcover from Lulu, in its main and variant cover.

The two books are the same other than the covers. You'll be able to get the book in softcover in about a week or two, from RPGnow, where the PDF will also be available.

But really, why wait?? Go pick it up today! This 275 page hardcover book, complete for campaigning, can be yours for under $30!

Now praise me, and throw money at me!

Yeah....  riiight....:rolleyes:

You seem to be missing the other 9 pages of information here.  But in any case, it doesn't matter much, because whenever someone posts something about a product they've made, guess who the guy is who gets to decide whether it counts as "advertising" or as a thread worthy of going on the main forum?

Hint: it's not you.

It's probably a bit premature to ask but I was just wondering if there are any plans to bring out supplements in the future; setting books or a big campaign for example?

Quote from: Scutter;841068It's probably a bit premature to ask but I was just wondering if there are any plans to bring out supplements in the future; setting books or a big campaign for example?

There are plans indeed. I am right now finishing (the text) of a one session introductory adventure (for 1st level characters) set on London Bridge. This one will be a "pay-what-you-want" PDF. If it's successful and bring me some money (so think of the "pay-what-you-want" as a sort of kickstarter), I have another, longer scenario to write.

Sign me up!

Quote from: RPGPundit;841066Hint: it's not you.

Then how about just admitting to it instead of slathering on some sophistry.

Quote from: Sommerjon;841121Then how about just admitting to it instead of slathering on some sophistry.

Admitting to what, you ass?

Quote from: RPGPundit;841135Admitting to what, you ass?

That you own the board, apparently.

We've repeatedly had discussions about Kickstarters on main board where the thread is definitely half information and half promotion. Please don't believe me, go check out the Shadows of the Demon Lord thread from a few months ago...or last week ZakS casually mentioning he got nominated for an ENnie.  

I am good with News/Adverts bleeding over to the main RPG board if the topic is about RPGs.

Quote from: Spinachcat;841153We've repeatedly had discussions about Kickstarters on main board where the thread is definitely half information and half promotion. Please don't believe me, go check out the Shadows of the Demon Lord thread from a few months ago...or last week ZakS casually mentioning he got nominated for an ENnie.  

I am good with News/Adverts bleeding over to the main RPG board if the topic is about RPGs.

Yes.  And why we don't get quite the level of setting debate as we had on RPGNET, the bulk of the discussion has been asking about setting details, how to use, and discussing the book.  That's a lot of on topic material.  

I suspect we'll get more detailed discussion once the Lulu books start arriving and the PDF bundle goes up.  Then we can ask even more questions or discuss the setting with more of the material to discuss.

Quote from: Votan;841180Yes.  And why we don't get quite the level of setting debate as we had on RPGNET, the bulk of the discussion has been asking about setting details, how to use, and discussing the book.  That's a lot of on topic material.  

I suspect we'll get more detailed discussion once the Lulu books start arriving and the PDF bundle goes up.  Then we can ask even more questions or discuss the setting with more of the material to discuss.

Absolutely.  I'll be glad for any threads that come up with questions about Albion; and for now I see this thread as a place for people who are considering buying the book to ask me about its contents.

Anyways, the first part of the first review of Albion has come out, and it's gushingly positive (http://swordsandstitchery.blogspot.com/2015/07/first-impressions-of-dark-albion.html). The only thing I took slight issue with was the totally incorrect description of it as being a "book for FH&W".  Other than the appendix at the end, there's no explicit Fantastic Heroes & Witchery material in Dark Albion, and the setting was not made for nor the original campaign played with FH&W.  Dark Albion is, outside the appendices (which deal with two different systems: FH&W and the 'Appendix P' Pundit house-rules), totally system neutral for OSR games of any type.

And the second part of that review (http://swordsandstitchery.blogspot.com/2015/07/the-dark-albion-setting-book-pdfslicing.html) is already out: geez, that guy must have spent an all-nighter reading myb ook!

RPGPundit

He talked a bit about how magic in Dark Albion is different than in other D&D type settings.  How does this pan out in the rules section and in play?  As it's setting neutral with some rules in the back, what is there to support the people at the table from falling into old habits when it comes to D&D Magic?  Something like DCC or WHFRP?

Doesn't the 'd&d' escalation of hit points go against the gritty feel of Albion?

Quote from: NathanIW;841375He talked a bit about how magic in Dark Albion is different than in other D&D type settings.  How does this pan out in the rules section and in play?  As it's setting neutral with some rules in the back, what is there to support the people at the table from falling into old habits when it comes to D&D Magic?  Something like DCC or WHFRP?

Well, there's three big ways in which magic is different: first, the magic chapter outlines how one should alter/restrict the spell lists.  There will be less explosive-style combat spells, as well as certain other types of spells that are some of the more power-house spells of a magic-user, without completely depleting the magic-user's usefulness.
On the cleric side of things, there's no 'raise dead'.

Second, magic items are rarer than in many settings (certainly rarer than what new-school D&D would be used to, but also rarer than more magic-rich old-school settings).  It's practically impossible for modern wizards to make magic items other than scrolls or potions.  Magic weapons and armor are either incredibly valuable family heirlooms or only ever likely to be found in unexplored tombs/cairns/barrows from prehistory.  The default magic sword is a "Sword +0", which means that it can harm creatures immune to non-magical attacks but offers no other bonuses.

Finally, there's the demonology rules.  They're inspired by real medieval demonology (the Goetia, etc.), and can allow magic-users to access a lot of power, if they can obtain the right seal and name, and dare to do a battle of wills with a demon.   Since these are new rules, they can pretty easily be added to whatever OSR rule-set you're applying.

Quote from: Scutter;841379Doesn't the 'd&d' escalation of hit points go against the gritty feel of Albion?

That's not my experience.  Particularly given that magical healing is not as common (though not exactly uncommon for a party of adventurers).  That said, in the Appendix P rules characters would tend to have slightly less hit points than a typical OSR character, unless "hit points" is what they specifically choose to aim for in terms of level perks.

RPGPundit

The magic stuff sounds great.  I was trying to figure out good demonology rules, so I think Dark Albion is going on my list of things to get.  The setting just sounds awesome for some WHFRP type play.

Quote from: NathanIW;841399The magic stuff sounds great.  I was trying to figure out good demonology rules, so I think Dark Albion is going on my list of things to get.  The setting just sounds awesome for some WHFRP type play.

It's ultimately a bit less WFRP than I had originally envisioned it to be; it has a lot less of the 'black humor' and social commentary that WFRP sometimes has, it's also got almost none of the 'heavy metal' style that WFRP also sometimes has.  In another sense, it's also a bit closer to 'realistic' grittiness, and it has a lot more potential for intrigue-based play.

So it's kind of somewhere in between Game of Thrones and WFRP.

My copy just arrived, looks an absolutely beautiful book.

Quote from: RPGPundit;841575It's ultimately a bit less WFRP than I had originally envisioned it to be; it has a lot less of the 'black humor' and social commentary that WFRP sometimes has, it's also got almost none of the 'heavy metal' style that WFRP also sometimes has.  In another sense, it's also a bit closer to 'realistic' grittiness, and it has a lot more potential for intrigue-based play.

So it's kind of somewhere in between Game of Thrones and WFRP.

I've had a case of Game of Thrones exhaustion since about half way through reading A Dance with Dragons.  How do you think the setting would hold up if it was set in (the equivalent of) 1488 with the war for the throne being decided?  What do you see as the greatest potential for such a game?  How much of the setting material would be left underutilized?

Quote from: NathanIW;841619I've had a case of Game of Thrones exhaustion since about half way through reading A Dance with Dragons.  How do you think the setting would hold up if it was set in (the equivalent of) 1488 with the war for the throne being decided?  What do you see as the greatest potential for such a game?  How much of the setting material would be left underutilized?

Well here's the thing: you can definitely do that, and if you're setting it just a short while after 1485, there's still a lot of the material that will be pretty usable to you. What it does is that the Chronology chapter will turn into a more standard "timeline up to the startpoint of the campaign" rather than "timeline of how events historically went in the period the campaign is intended to run".
It also means that a lot of the NPCs in the NPC section are dead, but not all of them obviously.

However, if the thing you don't like is the "Game of Thrones"-like part of the War of the Roses, and not the period itself, I think there are easier ways to get around this.  For Dark Albion to feel a lot like Game of Thrones, the PCs have to interact with the nobility.  If they don't, if your group is a lower class group, maybe based in one specific region of Albion, it will feel like dark gritty fantasy but not all that much like Game of Thrones.

While it's certainly not how things went for MY campaign, I could definitely see a GM run a game of Albion where he gets through the whole campaign with the big events of the Rose War just happening in the background, and his PCs not really directly involved in any of the major intrigues or battles of it.

Quote from: jadrax;841608My copy just arrived, looks an absolutely beautiful book.

I'll never get tired of hearing this!

I've long been a lurker on the RPGsite but I felt I had to register just to state how much I enjoy Dark Albion.

I received my hard cover standard design copy of Dark Albion last week and i've been reading it in spare moments ever since. Being a fan of WFRP and Game of Thrones, this was a no brainer for me. The layout is superb and makes the book easy to read and attractive to boot.

The setting plus appendices make for a compelling game that makes me want to run this. I've been thinking about a similar 'dark' alternative British Isles setting for running Beyond the Wall, except set during the 13th century. This isn't quite that but it's damn good and the Wars of the Roses backdrop means i'm quite happy playing in this alternative 15th century rather than the 13th.

If I have any constructive criticism it's that I would personally like to have seen a bit more material on what it means to worship Chaos. As a long time GM of WFRP, I would have loved to have seen more on what it means to receive 'gifts' from Demons. Also, a nice random Chaos Mutation table would have been nice - maybe in an appendix. I'm not using any of the WFRP mutation tables as I want to stay OSR - there's a pretty good magical mutation table in Tales of the Grotesque and Dungeonesque which I plan to use.

I own a lot of OSR games, including S&W, LotFP, DCC etc. Beyond The Wall and other adventures immediately sprung out to me as the perfect game to use in Dark Albion - the rules already accommodate the low magic suggested in Dark Albion plus fate points ala WFRP. Looking forward to having the young un's leaving the village to face warring and politicking nobles and Chaos Cults. In Wales!

Quote from: Simon F;841911I've long been a lurker on the RPGsite but I felt I had to register just to state how much I enjoy Dark Albion.

I received my hard cover standard design copy of Dark Albion last week and i've been reading it in spare moments ever since. Being a fan of WFRP and Game of Thrones, this was a no brainer for me. The layout is superb and makes the book easy to read and attractive to boot.

The setting plus appendices make for a compelling game that makes me want to run this. I've been thinking about a similar 'dark' alternative British Isles setting for running Beyond the Wall, except set during the 13th century. This isn't quite that but it's damn good and the Wars of the Roses backdrop means i'm quite happy playing in this alternative 15th century rather than the 13th.

If I have any constructive criticism it's that I would personally like to have seen a bit more material on what it means to worship Chaos. As a long time GM of WFRP, I would have loved to have seen more on what it means to receive 'gifts' from Demons. Also, a nice random Chaos Mutation table would have been nice - maybe in an appendix. I'm not using any of the WFRP mutation tables as I want to stay OSR - there's a pretty good magical mutation table in Tales of the Grotesque and Dungeonesque which I plan to use.

I own a lot of OSR games, including S&W, LotFP, DCC etc. Beyond The Wall and other adventures immediately sprung out to me as the perfect game to use in Dark Albion - the rules already accommodate the low magic suggested in Dark Albion plus fate points ala WFRP. Looking forward to having the young un's leaving the village to face warring and politicking nobles and Chaos Cults. In Wales!

Thank you, and welcome to theRPGsite!

As for Chaos worship, the thing about it is that it is extremely varied.  Law is One, Chaos is Legion.  So I don't think there's a lot of uniform things you can say about it.  There are heretical subversive cults that appear to worship the Unconquered Sun (like the Cathari), there are secret 'satanic'-style sects, lone would-be witches venerating some dark thing in the woods, there was Bishop Peacock's sect that looked like a regular church congregation on the outside but they were preparing to open a gate to hell in the old Arcadian catacombs, there are of course the Frogmen and their Frog-Gods.

I did write a little about the kind of gifts Demons can offer: the permanent use of any of that demon's special powers, magic items, access to spell knowledge for magic-users, etc.  But again, I didn't want to get too specific here so as not to be restrictive.

I did come very close to doing a random mutation table and then ended up forgetting about it as we were trying to get the project done. It will almost certainly be the subject of a future blog post of mine and maybe a free download on DOM's website or something (or something for him to add to one of the future Dark Albion books he plans to write).

Thanks again!

Stop by #rpgnet (not affiliated with Big Purple) chat for a Q&A with Pundit about Dark Albion on Friday 7/17 at 8:00 p.m. CDT!

Chatroom shortcut: http://tinyurl.com/rpgnetchat

So the chat went very well, I thought!  Log is forthcoming.

I just bought the PDF about thirty seconds ago, looking forward to diving into it tomorrow.

So it seems my GM (and co-writer) has ordered a copy, and it's going to be our next campaign. I'm very much looking forward to playing in Dark Albion! :)

Fantastic to hear, guys! I'm really enjoying all the reports of people ordering Albion, and now the first people are receiving it; and I'm so looking forward to the reports of people playing it!

Received my lulu copy yesterday, and it looks good. Couple of observations on the layout...

I find the use of drop caps for every paragraph a little distracting. Usually, drop caps are only used at the start of a chapter or major section, but this is a small thing and won't harm my enjoyment of the book.

How did you manage to get lulu to remove the barcode from the back cover? I thought that was mandatory for any book going on general release?

Also, as a Yorkshireman, I do wish you'd described the administrative areas correctly :) Yorkshire has three ridings: North, East and West. There is no South. Doncaster and Sheffield were part of the West Riding, and was by far the largest of the three. York sits right on the nexus of the riding boundaries.

Not meaning to be overly picky, but we Yorkshiremen are a proud and picky lot!

Otherwise, I'm very much looking forward to getting into the book. Glad I bought it.

Quote from: RPGPundit;842592So the chat went very well, I thought!  Log is forthcoming.

Link to the chat log! (https://gmshoe.wordpress.com/2015/07/17/qa-the-rpgpundit-dark-albion-the-rose-war/) :)

Quote from: Loz;842643How did you manage to get lulu to remove the barcode from the back cover? I thought that was mandatory for any book going on general release?

I guess you mean the ISBN barcode. So, an ISBN is required to sell on Amazon and in bookstores. For some reason, only the soft-cover books can get a barcode. However, to sell POD books on lulu and on RPGNow, an ISBN (thus a barcode) is not required; only you cannot expect to sell on Amazon and in bookstores without it. Hence, only the softcover version sold on Amazon gets an ISBN; it's not necessary for the hardcover (since they don't want to sell hardcover books on Amazon, etc.).

I understand your dismay regarding Yorkshire. But this is an alternate England, not historical England. As much as Christianity was replaced by the Unconquered Sun cult, lands and borders are not exactly as they are on Earth...

Quote from: doomedpc;842622So it seems my GM (and co-writer) has ordered a copy, and it's going to be our next campaign.

An introductory 1st level adventure happening on London Bridge is relased within a few days. First as PDF ("pay-what-you-want"), then as a printed booklet.

QuoteI guess you mean the ISBN barcode. So, an ISBN is required to sell on Amazon and in bookstores. For some reason, only the soft-cover books can get a barcode. However, to sell POD books on lulu and on RPGNow, an ISBN (thus a barcode) is not required; only you cannot expect to sell on Amazon and in bookstores without it. Hence, only the softcover version sold on Amazon gets an ISBN; it's not necessary for the hardcover (since they don't want to sell hardcover books on Amazon, etc.).

I sell plenty of books myself on Lulu, and even prepped one today, not for sale on Amazon or B&N (and, in fact, not even for general sale on Lulu), and the ISBN barcode was automatically added to the cover file. Perhaps its a softcover thing. Even so, intriguing.

QuoteI understand your dismay regarding Yorkshire. But this is an alternate England, not historical England. As much as Christianity was replaced by the Unconquered Sun cult, lands and borders are not exactly as they are on Earth...

Not really dismay, just curious as to why Pundit decided to create a new division of Yorkshire and ignore the ancient ridings. He has, after all, done a lot of research on British history for this book, so ignoring the traditional three ridings and creating a new administrative region seems a little odd.

Quote from: Loz;842691the ISBN barcode was automatically added to the cover file. Perhaps its a softcover thing. Even so, intriguing.

How do you create your covers? Mines are a single PDF files that I upload as much as I upload the interior pages file. Do you use their online cover creator?

Quote from: Turanil;842693How do you create your covers? Mines are a single PDF files that I upload as much as I upload the interior pages file. Do you use their online cover creator?

I do use their cover creator, although I have uploaded my own single spread files too. That could be how you've managed to get around the barcode thing.

Quote from: Loz;842691Not really dismay, just curious as to why Pundit decided to create a new division of Yorkshire and ignore the ancient ridings. He has, after all, done a lot of research on British history for this book, so ignoring the traditional three ridings and creating a new administrative region seems a little odd.

There's a reason in the original Albion campaign for this.  In the early period of the campaign (the first year or so of us playing it), I would frequently highlight the position of nobles, alliances, troops, and battles by using the "Richard III" wargame (published by Columbia Games).   So that board quickly became the 'map' of Albion my players used and referred to, like when they wanted to determine what route to take to travel somewhere, or where a given city was, or noble was based.

And in the map to Richard III, York was divided with those names: North York, South York, and East York.  So those became the divisions in the game setting.

QuoteAnd in the map to Richard III, York was divided with those names: North York, South York, and East York. So those became the divisions in the game setting.

Thanks for clarifying!

I have jumped and bought the hardback, alternate cover and as a longstanding citizen of South Yorkshire I will forgive the anachronism, but fie on Columbia games.

By the way, after six months tell us which cover was most popular

Quote from: tzunder;842933I have jumped and bought the hardback, alternate cover and as a longstanding citizen of South Yorkshire I will forgive the anachronism, but fie on Columbia games.

By the way, after six months tell us which cover was most popular

That would be up to Dominique Crouzet to say; but to be fair we'd need to compare only the hardcover sales, since the only version the variant cover is available in is hardcover.

I've seen reports of people getting the hardcover delivered, and stating that not only is the book pretty but that the binding/construction of the book seems very good.  That's good to hear.

Another glowingly positive review (http://coreyryanwalden.blogspot.com/2015/07/dark-albion-rose-war-review.html) here.

First views here (http://www.gamingtavern.eu/phpBB3testTHZ/viewtopic.php?f=63&t=4814).

Quote from: RPGPundit;843280I've seen reports of people getting the hardcover delivered, and stating that not only is the book pretty but that the binding/construction of the book seems very good.  That's good to hear.

I was actually surprised.  I'd assumed after Vampire 20 year edition that POD had cruddy production values and that was the price of flexible printing.  It was a case where being wrong was fine with me.

Quote from: tzunder;843646First views here (http://www.gamingtavern.eu/phpBB3testTHZ/viewtopic.php?f=63&t=4814).

Apparently you have to register to see that.  Care to cut and paste the relevant parts for us?

Or not...

Anyways, the PDF just went Copper on RPGnow!

Quote from: RPGPundit;844143Or not...

Anyways, the PDF just went Copper on RPGnow!

Here you go

Received my hardback copy of Dark Albion from Lulu this morning. Ordered on the 17th and arrived today the 21st, so printed and shipped in 2 working days. The binding looks good, despite some on-line warnings about the quality from Lulu, print is crisp and the maps look good and clear with sharp lines.

The material is good although I'm not likely to be using it with any form of OSR system (there are system-specific notes included). The pdf has a decent set of bookmarks and the print version has a two page ToC, a two page index that covers the towns, battles (of the Wars of the Roses) and the personalities. Eleven pages are devoted to character generation for modifying any OSR style game to the setting. There is a seven page appendix of RPG Pundit's house rules covering character creation, sixteen pages on using the book for Fantastic Heroes and Witchery (an OSR ruleset), four pages on Albion as a Low Magic setting including a cosmology, some spells and Summoning Magic. The book ends with the standard WotC OGL which covers most nonspecific games material as OGC. The rest of the 281 pages is background material for the Wars of the Roses in a fantasy 15th century England where supernatural creatures roam the edges of the map and Frogmen rule France.

The art is mostly B&W and includes a number of pieces that are taken from one of the Dover books and a lot of PD material from 19th century artists.

There are basic biographies of major figures including birth and death dates and allegiance (to York or Lancaster). There is a section (4 pages) covering major battles allowing you to fight these mathematically using a D20. There is a seven page noble house management system that looks much simpler than the one in ASoIaF and it includes values for all the major lords/houses.

You could easily use this setting material for a RQ6 campaign with the addition of the free firearms rules to cover early handguns. It would work for a WHFRP game as well as using it as an alternative setting for ASoIaF.

Edit: The pdf includes player maps and hex maps for various areas of England plus a colour map of the country, a player map of the country and a hex map. Also included are maps of an alternate Europe in colour and with a hex map.

Great! Any responses?

Quote from: RPGPundit;844166Great! Any responses?

Nothing currently

I got my copy, lovely book quality.
About two thirds through, very good job. I am thinking Dragon Warriors, Very British remagining of a class level fantasy game.
I'd also consider Renaissance ad100 set with firearms, political factions and witches

Is there going to be a PDF/Hardcopy bundle available at some point?

Quote from: Bobloblah;844323Is there going to be a PDF/Hardcopy bundle available at some point?

Yes.

So: I uploaded all the files* necessary to have both softcover and hardcover available on RPGNow/Drivethru. Unfortunately, it takes time to be made available. I think they must currently be on Summer vacation. So I am waiting for the proof copy being made available. Then, it takes weeks before the proof copy reaches me oversea, at which time I hope there is no technical problem on it, so I can put it for public sale on RPGNow/Drivethru. Hence, it will unfortunately have to wait (I suppose) until September 1st.

(*: both the Dark Albion sourcebook, plus a short introductory adventure for Dark Albion....)

Quote from: Bobloblah;844323Is there going to be a PDF/Hardcopy bundle available at some point?

Yes, there will be a PDF + PoD (Softcover, regular cover only) bundle available on RPGnow, hopefully sometime relatively soon, but we can't say for sure.

Quote from: tzunder;844316I am thinking Dragon Warriors, Very British remagining of a class level fantasy game.

That's a pairing I hadn't considered - have to think about that.

I thought Maelstrom and Dark Albion would be a match made in heaven. Or, for something closer to D&D, Backswords & Bucklers.

Quote from: Dirk Remmecke;844467That's a pairing I hadn't considered - have to think about that.

I thought Maelstrom and Dark Albion would be a match made in heaven. Or, for something closer to D&D, Backswords & Bucklers.

Maelstrom is, of course, exactly the right period, well, maybe a little later, but close enough.

Maelstrom was definitely inspirational for me.

Once drivethru has completed their ritual, is there any chance of getting a copy of the pdf if we've already purchased the book?

Quote from: knight.errant;844758Once drivethru has completed their ritual, is there any chance of getting a copy of the pdf if we've already purchased the book?

That's something you'll have to consult with the publisher.

Hum sorry, but I don't intend to make retroactive bundles... I think this would open a pandora box. :(

Quote from: RPGPundit;844840That's something you'll have to consult with the publisher.

Quote from: Turanil;844894Hum sorry, but I don't intend to make retroactive bundles... I think this would open a pandora box. :(

I must say,  these are some pretty crap "Not my problem, take it up with someone else" answers and does not inspire me to buy your product.

Telling a customer to "consult with the publisher, I don't know" is a poor answer indeed.
At least Something like "Hey I don't know but I'll look into it" would be great.
It's not like you're  some massive game producer with 100s of thousands of sales.
I would have thought going out of your way to help people out with enquiries would be priority 1 to garner trust and a good reputation from people.

Also, if I'd spent a fair amount of money on a hardback, not getting a bundled PDF with it (although I wouldn't buy a physical RPG book if the PDF wasn't thrown in as part of the bundle anyway), only to find later, others were getting a book+ PDF bundle, I'd not be very happy. so saying "sorry, it's a Pandora's box of problems, not happening", is a really poor excuse.

I'm a pretty loyal customer of Sine Nomine products, having bought most of his products.
Now I really like his work in general, but even so, a sizeable part of my decisions to buy his stuff is his excellent customer service attitude.
When I bought a hardback copy of SWN (which came with a free PDF btw), there was an issue with the print quality.
I originally contacted him (Kevin Crawford) about it and he got straight back to me with contact details for drivethru publishing and even said that if I got no joy with Drivethru, he'd refund me personally for the book.
As it turned out, Drivethru came through for me anyway and I knew it wasn't his fault at all, so I wouldn't have accepted a refund from him personally, as it was the printer that had an issue not him.
But still, his fantastic attitude to deal with the issue really cemented me as a regular customer and I've bought lots of his stuff and it's continued to be of high quality.
I've probably spent 100s of $$s on his work over the last few years, whether in a pbook format or PDFs only.

I know this post comes off as snarky, but I find those responses really unproductive and a pretty poor customer service.
I think you should rethink your attitude about this.
I really don't understand why a PDF wasn't thrown in with the physical book anyway.

Lulu doesn't tell me who bought hardcover books. So anybody could tell me he bought one to get a free PDF. And I don't remember seeing an option on Lulu to sell bundles. There is only on RPGNow, but it takes much time (several weeks) before I am able to set the printed book available for sale.

When you buy the PDF, you not just get a digital version of the book. The PDF ebook is fully bookmarked for easy navigation (which represents a small increase in value) and it comes with 19 maps (the hex-maps are already in the book, but all the others not).

Lastly you can ponder this: Internet being what it is, the PDF has already been pirated twice (i.e.: made available for free download illegally somewhere). I asked the sites to remove the file, but no doubt they will eventually pop-up elsewhere. Hence, some people may decide they deserve to get the PDF for free and get it that way. However, those who pay help the future release of more books, such as adventures. If all of this get enough money, more adventures specific to Dark Albion will be released. Paying for the products full price is a kind of informal kickstarter for support material.

There will eventually be some bundle on RPGNow/Drivethru, but it's a long process (even if all the files have already be uploaded) requiring to wait.

Quote from: danskmacabre;844989I must say,  these are some pretty crap "Not my problem, take it up with someone else" answers and does not inspire me to buy your product.

Telling a customer to "consult with the publisher, I don't know" is a poor answer indeed.

The reason I say that is because I am NOT the publisher, or a publisher. I'm a writer.  It would be like expecting some guy who wrote a novel to tell you what his publishing house's policy would be on something.  And the reason I didn't say "let me check on that" is conversely because I know the publisher is right here, and would see this shortly and comment.

Maybe you honestly didn't know that, but given your post-count I'd find it hard to believe you don't.

QuoteAlso, if I'd spent a fair amount of money on a hardback, not getting a bundled PDF with it (although I wouldn't buy a physical RPG book if the PDF wasn't thrown in as part of the bundle anyway), only to find later, others were getting a book+ PDF bundle, I'd not be very happy. so saying "sorry, it's a Pandora's box of problems, not happening", is a really poor excuse.

If you were told repeatedly about the book, how it was coming out, and were told time and time again "if you want the book and PDF you need to wait until the Pod+PDF bundle is available on RPGnow", would you then be likewise outraged?
Because that's what actually happened here, rather than the scenario you painted above.

QuoteWhen I bought a hardback copy of SWN (which came with a free PDF btw), there was an issue with the print quality. I originally contacted him (Kevin Crawford) about it and he got straight back to me with contact details for drivethru publishing and even said that if I got no joy with Drivethru, he'd refund me personally for the book.

I'm sure that if there is an issue of print quality with any of Dominique's books, he'd get right back to you too and help you with your problem.

QuoteI really don't understand why a PDF wasn't thrown in with the physical book anyway.

It is. With the PoD copy that people will be able to get on RPGnow, like we've said over and over again from the very beginning.

Quote from: Turanil;845025Lulu doesn't tell me who bought hardcover books. So anybody could tell me he bought one to get a free PDF.

You're the publisher and it's your call. But what I would suggest is this: anyone who posts a picture on their blog, or G+ or Facebook, of their print copy Albion book could receive a coupon for the same discount as the price reduction will be on the eventual Pod+PDF at RPGnow.  Simple, fun, and lets people show off their Albion books to their friends and readers.

Personally I saw the product here, decided I had to have it as I've always wanted to do a game based on the WotR, grabbed the pdf (for less than 7UKP), looked over it, decided I wouldn't wait until the bundle was available and having had good service (and product quality) from Lulu  (RQ6 Essentials) went over there and got the book with the alternative cover. It arrived as promised within 2 working days and looks beautiful. I've been extolling it's virtues wherever I saw someone posting about DA (it's my sort-of-review that was posted over at the Tavern and reposted here).

There is something that could be discussed, and belongs probably to another thread:

Many people believe that if they buy a physical copy of a book, they deserve to get an ebook copy for free. Many publishers provide bundles for marketing purposes, which of course reinforces the belief. However, they do it for marketing purposes (or just because they are generous, or whatever), not because of some ethical untold obligation. When someone buys two copies of a printed book, they don't ask they should get the second one at a discounted price. Why should this be different when buying a PDF and a printed book? (Especially as the PDF is already much cheaper than the printed book, and this one comes with bookmarks and a bunch of maps, so comes with more stuff. Plus the fact that a GM might decide to give copies of that PDF* to his players, which is imposible with a printed book.)

So, I don't see why it should be taken for granted that buying a printed book automatically should grant you a free PDF copy. It's your opinion, you have the right to it, but it's not an obvious ethical obligation toward customers.

By the way, the bundle won't grant a free PDF copy, only a discount on it.

(*: if only the pages on character creation, background, new classes, etc., to help them create their PCs.)

Some publishers proved a free pdf (Cubicle 7), some don't

C'est la vie :D

The trouble with pdfs is, whilst they are great for reading through a massive tome, they are next to useless for using as a rules reference at the table; regardless of bookmarks and hyper-links. ? My opinion of course

Thus I won't buy 'just' the pdf any more

You could argue that pdfs should be more expensive than hard copies - because of piracy

I think it depends a lot on the type of PDF in question.

In this particular case, the Dark Albion PDF is very well done, thoroughly bookmarked, and comes with extra material in the form of additional maps that the print book does not have. So selling it separately (or bundled with PoD but not free) is I think reasonable.

Quote from: Hermes Serpent;845036Personally I saw the product here, decided I had to have it as I've always wanted to do a game based on the WotR, grabbed the pdf (for less than 7UKP), looked over it, decided I wouldn't wait until the bundle was available and having had good service (and product quality) from Lulu  (RQ6 Essentials) went over there and got the book with the alternative cover. It arrived as promised within 2 working days and looks beautiful. I've been extolling it's virtues wherever I saw someone posting about DA (it's my sort-of-review that was posted over at the Tavern and reposted here).

Thanks so much!

Quote from: RPGPundit;845032The reason I say that is because I am NOT the publisher, or a publisher. I'm a writer.  It would be like expecting some guy who wrote a novel to tell you what his publishing house's policy would be on something.  And the reason I didn't say "let me check on that" is conversely because I know the publisher is right here, and would see this shortly and comment.

Maybe you honestly didn't know that, but given your post-count I'd find it hard to believe you don't.

So as a writer, you don't feel it's your job to know about how your product you've been working on is printed and how the offers hang together?
Really?  It's not like there's huge amounts of combinations of purchases to memorise.
Yes I realise another guy is responsible for printing the book, but I really expected you know the terms and conditions of what you get and how much your work costs etc...

Quote from: RPGPundit;845032If you were told repeatedly about the book, how it was coming out, and were told time and time again "if you want the book and PDF you need to wait until the Pod+PDF bundle is available on RPGnow", would you then be likewise outraged?
Because that's what actually happened here, rather than the scenario you painted above.

Yes I get it was made 100% crystal clear that if you buy the Physical hardback copy, you won't get a PDF. but if in the future you DO get a PDF free as part of a bundle, I'd be pretty pissed if I forked out for the hardback and wasn't offered a PDF for free (although you're wrong, you don't get a free PDF with the Softback bundle anyway).

Quote from: RPGPundit;845032I'm sure that if there is an issue of print quality with any of Dominique's books, he'd get right back to you too and help you with your problem.

I never disputed that, I was just stating the great customer service (in addition to a free PDF) I got from Sine Nomine.

Quote from: RPGPundit;845032It is. With the PoD copy that people will be able to get on RPGnow, like we've said over and over again from the very beginning.

Erm, wait, no it's NOT free with the bundle actually, as clarified a bit later after this post I quoted.  So I dunno what YOU'VE been saying over and over, but if you HAVE been saying that, then apparently it's WRONG.

Look, the bottom line is lots of RPG product comes with a free PDF with a hard copy.
Sure it's your choice not to, but for many people, not doing so will lose you sales.

Anyway, whilst my feeling Dark Albion is a decent product. I certainly won't be buying it twice (A hard copy + a PDF), as if I actually use an RPG product, I personally need a hard copy when I actually use it regularly and a PDF to browse.
I actually WAS pretty interested in getting a Hard copy, as I'd probably use it in one form or another in a RPG. One day I might buy the PDF by itself if it's cheap enough.
Or more likely just wait and see if a Softback + free PDF bundle ever appears.

I think you should rethink your sales strategy as I think it's a shame you don't offer a PDF freebie with a hard copy, but hey, it's no skin off my nose, there's plenty of other RPG product out there that does.

Quote from: Turanil;845037Many people believe that if they buy a physical copy of a book, they deserve to get an ebook copy for free. Many publishers provide bundles for marketing purposes, which of course reinforces the belief. However, they do it for marketing purposes (or just because they are generous, or whatever), not because of some ethical untold obligation.

Yeah I'm one of those people who think they should get a free PDF with a printed book. It just makes sense to me.
I haven't bought a physical book from a bookstore for years, as I buy epubs instead for novels.
If bookstores had offered a free epub version of a printed book in their stores (for example, a unique code or something printed on a receipt or whatever),  I'd still be buying physical books from bookstores.
As it stands, I rarely buy novels in a pbook format.
Bookstores didn't move forward and adapt and they're dying for that reason.

Quote from: Turanil;845037When someone buys two copies of a printed book, they don't ask they should get the second one at a discounted price. Why should this be different when buying a PDF and a printed book? (Especially as the PDF is already much cheaper than the printed book, and this one comes with bookmarks and a bunch of maps, so comes with more stuff. Plus the fact that a GM might decide to give copies of that PDF* to his players, which is impossible with a printed book.)

A PDF is not the same as a printed book. It's a hell of a lot more effort to pirate a pbook than a PDF or epub.
Sure people pirate digital copies of material. but that's neither here no there in this discussion. If it is THAT relevant, then you shouldn't sell electronic copies of your books at all. Coz whether you sell the PDF or it's bundled, some people are still going to illegally distribute it.
 

Quote from: Turanil;845037So, I don't see why it should be taken for granted that buying a printed book automatically should grant you a free PDF copy. It's your opinion, you have the right to it, but it's not an obvious ethical obligation toward customers.

Well, hopefully some of my points will give food for thought or if not, yes everyone is entitled to their opinion of course.
I dunno about the whole "Ethics" point, but as a business sales strategy, it makes sense and I think you'll make more money and get more loyal customers for future product if you do.

Quote from: RPGPundit;845059I think it depends a lot on the type of PDF in question.

In this particular case, the Dark Albion PDF is very well done, thoroughly bookmarked, and comes with extra material in the form of additional maps that the print book does not have. So selling it separately (or bundled with PoD but not free) is I think reasonable.

Speaking of additional content in PDFs. some publishers just give away additional material for free in PDF format, hoping that people will buy their core products, it certainly worked on me.
Again, Kevin Crawford does this, he gives away huge amounts of his work. But I also buy the stuff he charges for as I know the quality is good.
Another interesting thing he did was give away a version of the SWN rules (minus robots and AI I believe) and charged for the complete rules.
So I actually got to play around with SWN to see if I liked it, which I did and when onto buy most of the product he charged for.

I'm not trying to tell you how to do your business. I'm sure lots of people will buy Dark Albion whether it comes with a free PDF or not.
It looks from what I've seen a really nice product.
I just think it's worth noting there are IMO better alternatives to this and would probably increase sales.

It's nice that the PDF has some additional content, but it would have made just as much sense to put less work into doing that and throw in the PDF for free and release high resolution maps either for free or cheap.

If you were going to use Appendix P in your campaign, would you adjust monsters' HP similar to the PC classes; giving them a +1 or +2 per HD instead of a d8 per HD?

Quote from: mkro95;845102If you were going to use Appendix P in your campaign, would you adjust monsters' HP similar to the PC classes; giving them a +1 or +2 per HD instead of a d8 per HD?

If I were to use Appendix P in my campaign, I would use the S&W monsters where they do have d6 hit-dice. If using the FH&W appendix, I would rather use the FH&W monster book to come, where they have d6/d8/d10/d12 according to their type (e.g., goblins have d6, but giants have d10, and dragons have d12) plus their Constitution modifier.

Quote from: mkro95;845102If you were going to use Appendix P in your campaign, would you adjust monsters' HP similar to the PC classes; giving them a +1 or +2 per HD instead of a d8 per HD?

It depends on the monster.  But I generally wouldn't make them +1 or +2 per HD; some supernatural monsters would get 1d8 per HD, humanoids might get +3 or +4 per hit die, depending on size.

LULU just don't do PDF+POD bundles, it's a pain.
But if you chose that route then you were told quite clearly, no pdf.

On the other hand, many publishers do the 'show me a picture of you with the physical copy and I'll email you the pdf'.

Quote from: tzunder;845231On the other hand, many publishers do the 'show me a picture of you with the physical copy and I'll email you the pdf'.

That would be a PDF of very low resolution to be very light, and without bookmarks, and without the 19 maps. I will think about it and ask RPGPundit's opinion.

I think the better idea is for people who post pictures of their Dark Albion book to get a discount on the regular PDF instead (a discount equivalent to how much off you get if you do the PoD+PDF bundle on rpgnow).

TBH the separately purchased pdf and POD cost me less (with a Lulu discount) than a similarly sized rpg hardback book like ASoIaF although the binding on that is sewn rather than perfect bound as done by Lulu. As I tend to work off the pdf when running a game (clipping sections for handouts and pasting parts into a one page document with NPC stats and notes for running from for example) having the hard copy is mostly for show as leaving the pretty thing on the table attracts attention.

Quote from: Hermes Serpent;845470TBH the separately purchased pdf and POD cost me less (with a Lulu discount) than a similarly sized rpg hardback book like ASoIaF although the binding on that is sewn rather than perfect bound as done by Lulu. As I tend to work off the pdf when running a game (clipping sections for handouts and pasting parts into a one page document with NPC stats and notes for running from for example) having the hard copy is mostly for show as leaving the pretty thing on the table attracts attention.

Well, I'm glad you went with both!  Also, if I haven't said it yet, welcome to theRPGsite!

Quote from: Turanil;845236That would be a PDF of very low resolution to be very light, and without bookmarks, and without the 19 maps. I will think about it and ask RPGPundit's opinion.

Whatever you want, personally I'll buy the pdf if I run a game, that's when I use pdfs.

I think that the ENnies are dumb, but Dom as publisher might want to consider submitting Dark Albion next year, just to milk all the outrage it would generate as the Swine start a "not this time" movement to try to stack the ballots to prevent another Night of Bitter Tears.

Quote from: RPGPundit;845673I think that the ENnies are dumb, but Dom as publisher might want to consider submitting Dark Albion next year, just to milk all the outrage it would generate as the Swine start a "not this time" movement to try to stack the ballots to prevent another Night of Bitter Tears.

I could send them free PDFs (I won't sent 7 printed books + shipping costs for naught), since I have very low expectations regarding the ENnies.

Quote from: Turanil;845925I could send them free PDFs (I won't sent 7 printed books + shipping costs for naught), since I have very low expectations regarding the ENnies.

Do they accept PDFs?

They accept PDFs.

I have no idea if sending printed books increases the chances of being selected...

Quote from: RPGPundit;845673I think that the ENnies are dumb, but Dom as publisher might want to consider submitting Dark Albion next year, just to milk all the outrage it would generate as the Swine start a "not this time" movement to try to stack the ballots to prevent another Night of Bitter Tears.

Why do you think they are dumb? I often find some games I overlooked to be nominated for an Ennie award.

Dark Albion looks interesting btw. It kinda reminds of Warhammer Fantasy, only it's not fictional Germany this time. Checking it out right now.

Quote from: jan paparazzi;846038Why do you think they are dumb? I often find some games I overlooked to be nominated for an Ennie award.

I've outlined the reasons a lot of times, aside from the various nepotism or corruption scandals they had over the years, there's also the fact that it tries to give an impression of being something different than what it really is (which is really a kind of measuring-standard of what movement has the most influence in the online version of the hobby at any given time, and who is hot within the same).  If you really want more clarity on this, check out my suggestion for what an honest "rpg award" should be like (http://www.therpgsite.com/showthread.php?t=31035).

QuoteDark Albion looks interesting btw. It kinda reminds of Warhammer Fantasy, only it's not fictional Germany this time. Checking it out right now.

Thanks! I trust you'll enjoy it.

I think at this point it's fair to say that this has turned out to be my most popular RPG product. At least, among those I was the main author.

I think you can win an Ennie with this book.
They may be stupid but I bet RPL sells out on the next print run..

Quote from: tzunder;846921I think you can win an Ennie with this book.
They may be stupid but I bet RPL sells out on the next print run..

I will apply to the ENnies with PDFs.