State of the Realm: Q3 2021
TL;DR
We’re behind our targets, but still making progress.
Unfortunately, family health issues and a house sale have slowed things down considerably in 2021, but we are still committed to delivering tons of content this year.
While it’s no longer feasible to complete all pipeline items by the end of the year, we remain committed to finishing our backlog of promised work as our top priority. My current plan is to place all future kickstarters on hold until I successfully complete and deliver on the outstanding kickstarters.
The FlexTale Encounter Generator Solo Adventuring Toolkit (FTEG SAT) has been released and is a Copper bestseller after only a few hours.
Family Health Issues (continued)
No other way to say this, so I’ll lead with it: my wife has cancer. Found early, stage 1, very high survivability, and all that. But it’s still a massive disruption to our lives. Chemo is going well, and will have finished by the time I post my next State of the Realm update.
I’m proud of our family for weathering this storm, relieved that treatment is proving responsive, and, more to the point of why you’re reading this, superbly happy that despite these circumstances, I was able to get heads-down enough to complete what is my proudest achievement to date: the Solo Adventuring Toolkit. It may seem uncouth to pair these two phenomena, but continuing work on IGS books has kept me sane in a way little else has during 2021.
That might be too much information, and I respect that some of you simply won’t care, because all it really means to you personally is that you still don’t have Book X. But I have always tried to err on the side of transparency, and as this has an impact, I wanted to be open about it.
More than 11,000 customers might be reading this, and I don’t know hardly any of you IRL, so I’ll just leave this topic at that. Statistically, if you’re reading this, you probably know someone who has gone through this, so you’re well aware how big of an impact it can have.
If you’re interested in how you can help, check out my “F&%$ Cancer 2021 Charity” bundle, which grants an obscenely huge discount on all of our best and most powerful books.
Detailed Project Status
I still have a clear vision of the future, and what upcoming work is reasonable to achieve, when.
Recently, and the Immediate Future
FTEG Solo Adventuring Toolkit (FTEG SAT) [completed]
This released in late October, almost three years to the day after its Kickstarter concluded.
As of this writing, working on securing Goodman Games’ approval to release as a Dungeon Crawl Classics-compatible product as well.
Working on the hardcopy version and should be able to at least start fulfillment by end of the year.
Western Realm Gazetteer [main focus]
With FTEG SAT completed, WRG is now my main focus, as it’s next in line.
I’ve already spent a ton of development time on this. The world map is already the most detailed thing I’ve ever worked on; more than 85,000 entities drawn and placed on a map that already contains more content than any gazetteer or map pack I’ve ever bought or seen myself.
This will be absolutely enormous in terms of density of content, and best of all, I’ve been organizing it along the way to make it as easy as possible to reference and use at the table. The goal here—and I think I’ve achieved it—is to be able to literally open the book to any page, place the PCs on the map, and start an entire decade-long adventure campaign… all with ZERO PREP beforehand. Because I’ve already spent the better part of 35 years planning things out, FOR you. :)
Targeting December 2021 to complete.
Artifacts & Artifice 3 [in process soon]
Nearly everything is done with this. Still. I need only to finish laying it all out and finish a small handful of the items’ flesh-outs. It should be some low-hanging fruit that I can complete quickly following some of the above items.
Targeting Q4 2021 to complete, hopefully.
Gauntlets & Gaslight: Incarnae of Aquilae (IOA) [in process soon]
(This was “ABR Volume 4”, unlocked originally as a stretch goal of ABR and then expanded in scope with its own KS campaign.)
As in Q2: Mapping for the setting of Nycarrad is nearly completed, and the commission for the coverart has been completed. Please find a preview of both in the Kickstarter update.
I realize those folks who backed the G&G Kickstarter have been waiting patiently for a VERY long time to see the fruits of the concept. I’m fully committed to it still: G&G features heavily in the evolving detail of the mythology of Aquilae.
Targeting Q4 2021 / Q1 2022 to complete.
FlexTale Encounter Generator v2.0 [in process]
FTEG SAT has been gifted free to all of the good folks who have been patiently and eagerly awaiting FTEGv2. In addition to being a nice little thank-you for waiting, there’s no better thing to whet your appetite than the Solo Adventuring Toolkit, which contains a good deal of what will be in FTEG: Quests.
As in Q2: I’ve been working on this for years already, and I cannot wait to put pen to paper laying it all out. Much is already in Excel in various forms; the layout itself should be disturbingly straightforward once I wrap up the predecessor work.
I’ve actually begun work on the FTEG v2: Monsters tome, as a natural consequence of working on the Master Index. That book is probably about 30% complete at this point.
Targeting 2022 to complete.
Ultimate Character Compendium [in process]
Q2 Update: Nearly finished Volume 5, which will be published by Thanksgiving if current pace sticks.
This is probably the single most-behind project in terms of the horsepower that’s still required to finalize. I’ve generated a ton of the crunch, but it’s certainly not done. The good news, however, is that I’m nearly in a place where I can dedicate all of my “crunch time” to generating statblocks for UCC. There’s a very good chance the crunch-work will be complete by the time I wrap up the above so I can start laying things out.
I’m dedicating a small chunk of every workday—time that cannot be spent on layout or mapping or write-ups, for example—to UCC crunch development. I’ve published the UCC Bookshelf, as well as Volumes 3 and 4, and I’m most of the way through Volume 5; hoping to continue this pace into next year.
Targeting 2022 for completion.
Published Work Wrap-Up
ABRE Hardcovers [in process]
Several of these have already been ordered and fulfilled. I recognize that many remain anxious to get theirs. I will have more time going forward to make sure that everyone entitled to hardcovers receives them.
Per prior comms, hardcopy fulfillments will be handled individually: I will reach out personally to each individual backer deserving of a hardcopy of ABRE, and that backer will have a chance to verify their mailing address, finalize an edition, and if you’d prefer, receive a partial refund if you’re merely interested in the PDF version you now have.
ABRE Master Index [in process]
As I have all the needed information for all 1,660 monsters in a convenient Excel document, and have finished the number-crunching and prep. All that remains is to include the Monsters of Aquilae additional critters and generate the files.
Targeting Q4 2021.
Monsters of Aquilae (MOA) [completed]
All editions (PF, 5E, P2E, DCC, and OSR) are now completed.
Dark Obelisk 1: Collectors Edition [complete; fulfillment in process]
This is complete, published, and fulfilled from a PDF standpoint. POD codes have been sent out for those entitled.
Outstanding still is ordering hardcopies for Adamantium-tier backers so I can sign and number them, and ship those out individually to each backer entitled to a set.
Targeting Q4 2021 to complete fulfillment.
Deeper Pipeline
Villainous Locales [in process]
Per Q1:
Tangible progress: As part of developing the Western Realm Gazetteer, I’ve placed more than 150 Points of Interest directly related to the Villainous Compendium and the baddies therein.
The VL book will include an overland “heatmap” of the western continent of Aquilae, highlighting the locations of villainous hideouts and maps. In addition, more than 50 regional maps will be included, showing the surrounding region where each and every villainous point of interest.
You’d be inclined to ignore these of course if you’re not playing in the campaign setting of Aquilae, but even if you aren’t using the IGS setting, having regional maps ready to go with zero prep describing the area around each zoomed-in actual map will be useful for many GMs.
This is all in addition to and a bonus on top of the actual planned content: a villainous locale map for each baddie in the Villainous Compendium. That’s still happening!
Each and every one of the dozens of maps has been sketched out by hand. Figure about a half to a full day per map to adapt to CC3+ and flesh out and lay out.
Targeting 2022 for completion.
Prior Lives [in progress]
Per Q1:
This, too, has been part of developing the Western Realm Gazetteer: each and every one of the dozens of NPCs featured in the Prior Lives stories has two points of interest: one for their present location, and one for their “Prior Lives” formative adventure.
I realize it’s not much, particularly for those awaiting the actual adventures, but it’s in progress!
The adventures and backstory for all of Volume 1 is sketched out; I need to draw the maps and lay it all out.
Targeting 2022 for completion.
Other Planned Work
I’m well aware that there are other books waiting in the wings. These are largely planned out, outlined sketched, and/or otherwise in a ready state; it’s just a matter of freeing up enough time to launch them in earnest.
To those eagerly awaiting such concepts, I can offer my continued apologies, and to verify that I have in no way forgotten them, nor even neglected: simply that I need to wrap up other work first.
Thank you for your feedback—positive or negative, it’s still constructive!
Other Detail (unchanged from the start of 2020)
I’m not good with deadlines. We’ve established that over the past 5 years.
We’ve also established that I will, and do, deliver. And that the end product tends to be massive, and beyond what was originally conceived and promised.
Whether our ubiquitous delays are “worth it” relative to the end result is up to your individual assessment as a backer, a user, and a player or GM. I try to be as transparent as I can be, but it’s an unavoidable fact that I have difficulty predicting my output, and so target dates continue to be more of a guideline than a commitment.
I’ve gotten a lot of feedback from backers and customers. Ultimately, it seems as though there are two general camps.
Those who have gotten something from IGS remain almost universally very positive about the situation. They may be frustrated, or disappointed, in the pace of what is delivered when, but they tend to be thrilled with the products they’ve gotten, and are eager for more.
Those who are still awaiting anything that they’re owed are also pretty positive, but the frustration is greater. This only makes sense: they have much less in hand to demonstrate the value that will be coming, and the longer it takes to receive what they’re owed, the more that absence penalizes their interpretation of the situation.
I get it. As I’ve said numerous times, I’m a backer and a customer, too, and I get frustrated and disappointed when I’m put in the position that many of my backers are in. All I can do is to remain transparent, and to work as hard as I’m physically capable of to deliver everything as quickly as possible.
Self-praise by omission, then: Deadlines, crap. Everything else, aside from delivery timing, I’m super proud of.
Conclusion
So that’s where we stand.
2021 has… not been my favorite year. But despite the hardships and chaos, I’ve still managed to produce some of the best, most successful, and most well-received stuff I’ve ever put out, and for and about that, I’m grateful and proud.
Thank you. I’ve said it before, and hopefully I’ll have many future opportunities to say it: I get to do what I want to do most. This is the most intellectually, professionally, and creatively rewarding work I’ve ever done, and it’s only possible because of all of the people who see a spark of potential in what envision. From the original 56 backers of Dark Obelisk 1, to the now-six-thousand-plus customers who have grabbed at least one of our products, it is all of you who make my work possible.
I endeavor as hard as I physically can to make it worth your confidence, your patience, your input, and, well, yes, your money too. I lose money on every hardcopy I deliver, and at best I break even with Kickstarters. I invest every single minute of time, every dollar of income, into making more, and making everything better.
Onward.