Lords Of Olympus Without Interior Art?

[Lawbag]

Im certain you could easily run an epic Superhero campaign which mixes heroes and villains using Amber as well.

[Lorrraine]

Ultimately I want the print edition with art. If I could get that right away I would not bother with a PDF.

I will look at the numbers in terms of cost of PDF now, eventual cost of book, and discounted cost of book with PDF now, but as long as the prices seem remotely reasonable I will probably spring for the PDF as soon as possible and the print edition when available.

[finarvyn]

If you can get the no-art PDF soon, and doing so will let you get the art-filled PDF later for free plus a discount on the print edition?

Perhaps. Like Lorraine, I'd have to look at the different cost options and weigh my choices.

Certainly this is a better option than no-art and then nothing. The thing is, I'm not a huge fan of art in RPGs once I get used to the rules and setting but the art does help set the tone and atmosphere.

[RPGPundit]

I want to thank everyone for their honest and non-snarky input.  I'm sure this sort of information is useful to have.

Personally, my goal would be that the eventual art-included edition of LoO have at least a visual depiction of every NPC in the book, and there are quite a few of them.  Of course, they're all characters from mythology, so it could certainly be possible to use classical images for them.

RPGPundit

[brettmb]

Im looking forward to seeing how this game works in conjunction with Amber. One of the key problems I feel with Amber is the lack of ability to transfer the "rules" of a diceless game to any other genre or a different style of game. Id find it impossible to run Amber in say a low fantasy/Harn type setting.
 
Consider the questions levelled at Brett instead then.

I'd say that the system is ripe for hacking for other settings. You can do low fantasy, but you're going to have to structure powers for the various ability levels - this isn't much different from Amber. In other words, the higher ability levels will need to be viewed as less than they are in the base setting. So instead of the Olympian Class representing the power of a true Olympia, it may mean a master craftsman in a low-fantasy setting. That's just my take on it. Perhaps, I'm misunderstanding your question.

[Panjumanju]

It should be noted that art of Greek Mythology is not usually open-source, because it is usually a photograph of something more physical like a vase or wall tapestry, and thereby owned by the photographer. This makes it very difficult to come up with some "place holder" art in a hurry.

I am usually called crazy for this opinion, but for an RPG book typsetting I always prefer double-column text layout with simple black and white pictures every once and a while. Most of the RPG books of the 70s and 80s were like this...and the transition into "higher production values" of essentially making every page a picture with text shoved between the exciting bits, always really put me off. This is part of why I think the Amber DRPG book is such a beautiful book...visually, it is uncomplicated. The art is clear, evocative and imaginative without needing ten thousand colours. The pages are easy to read, rather than being backsplashed with another art picture to make the whole darn thing look like a ratty middle aged book.

Here is a little of a wild idea...

I suggest, if its not too much trouble, making an "art lite" pdf, with some simple black and white drawings. They can even be used as a place-setter for the more sincere art of the later edition, if you choose to escalate the production values to what people seem to want these days.

For a 150 page book you require approximitly 60 pieces of art. All it would take to get them to you is someone with an ink pen and a flat-bed scanner at 600 dpi, emailing to a (rather healthy) email address, or uploading to a central Internet site (like a Box account).

Therefore, if you get only 12 middling artists to contribute, on a volunteer basis - even just drawing from people around this site - around 5 pieces each, (assuming the size of the book) Lords of Olympis has an "art lite" pdf ready to go that will make an effective transition into the complete version.

You could draught and assign a list of necessary touch-stones for the art ("Need one picture of Hermes") and we could check them off like a pot-luck list. People are keen to buy an RPG book their art is in, and the community that encouraged the process can help contribute.

There are lots of people on this site, I'm sure, who are just happy to draw, and happy to contribute to a worthy project. Still, it's a bit of a wild idea.

//Panjumanju

[KrakaJak]

To ask a Pricing question with a bit of safe conjecture:

All Print versions of Précis games come with the PDF. If you buy the PDF only, you can later pay the difference for a print copy.

For example, if the print copy is $30 and the PDF only is $20, then you can usually pay $10 (+ s/h)to upgrade to a printed edition.

What this sounds like is an offer to have the game in hand now, as just a text .pdf, cheaper then the game's final release. Then the upgrade is free to the final version: pay the difference for a print version. If that's the case...that sounds awesome and I would totally buy it!

[brettmb]

To ask a Pricing question with a bit of safe conjecture:

All Print versions of Précis games come with the PDF. If you buy the PDF only, you can later pay the difference for a print copy.

For example, if the print copy is $30 and the PDF only is $20, then you can usually pay $10 (+ s/h)to upgrade to a printed edition.

What this sounds like is an offer to have the game in hand now, as just a text .pdf, cheaper then the game's final release. Then the upgrade is free to the final version: pay the difference for a print version. If that's the case...that sounds awesome and I would totally buy it!

That is the case. Thank you.

[Lorrraine]

Thanks for the clarification. I'm sold.

[RPGPundit]

Good! Now we just need it to be done.

RPGPundit