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After a few years away, I'm getting back into RPG writing again and was thinking of taking a stab at producing some planar products for Pathfinder since it's often an under-served niche and I just love that stuff (plus Paizo has opened a fair amount of their cosmology - thanks!). But I'm that player who writes up 4 different PCs at the beginning of a campaign and then has to randomly pick which one to use because he can't decide. Same thing happening here, too. So I figured I would ask and see if there is more interest in any of these ideas over the others.
I'm leaning towards a hybrid sourcebook/adventure anthology format maybe in the 96 page range, but that's entirely flexible. They would be Pathfinder compatible, but heavier on the fluff than the crunch most likely - lots of locations, NPCs, plot ideas. Also, if there is interest, I am looking to build these into a line (tentatively) called Planar Frontiers. Planescape focused heavily on Sigil, and I'm looking to counter that with focusing more on the "wilds" of the Planes. Ruins, and small settlements far from big civilizations. Planar prospectors, bordertowns where two planes bleed into each other, those sorts of things.
Caravans of the Mercane
Adventures start innocently enough as caravan guards for traveling mercane merchants, but of course there is far more to their agenda - and their selecting the PCs - than at first appears. Include information on the mercane race as well as several planar trade companies. Several locations that feature planar bazaars. Information on various forms of planar travel beyond the traditional spells and magic items - from shifting your beliefs while travel to shift planes to "backroads" that only traveling merchants now about.
Pirates of the Silver Void (or just Sailing the Silver Void)
Fleshing out the Astral Plane with locations, organizations, and plots enough to support an entire campaign. Would also possibly include magical ship information (although I'd love for Sailing the Starlit Sea to get funded and be able to use or reference their ideas - just an unsolicited shout out to that project that is really close to funding but not there yet with the deadline looming).
Unnamed book on traveling planar circus/carnival/freakshow
Been burning through names on this one trying to find something with a lot of character but not too cheesy. I'll get there. But a sourcebook/adventure anthology on a traveling performance troupe that could be enemies, allies, or even the PCs themselves. Just an FYI - back when I played Warhammer 40K, I was Eldar Harlequins every time. So I love this mash up of bizarre circus/carnival and gaming.
Book of Elemental Fire
The first of 4 building up the elemental planes with locations, organizations, NPCs, plots, adventures, etc. Could see a bit more crunch creeping into this one with some definite new archetypes, support for the Ifrit, etc. I think there's plenty of great stuff that could be done with all of the elemental planes, but fire is of course an easier one to make exciting and help build initial interest. The elemental planes are an area that even Planescape didn't go too deeply into. A while back I even sketched out ideas to make an all elemental plane campaign viable with conflicts between genies and elder elementals, etc.
So, do any of these 4 appeal to you?
Lastly, on a related note, I am looking to use Kickstarter to get this funded (Claudio Pozas is already slated to do the cover artwork), but for a primarily digital product what sort of rewards would be enticing? I will probably include limited edition soft and hardcover options printed through Lulu for the higher backers. Otherwise, is varying levels of input into the design enticing? Or more tangible rewards better?
Thanks for the input!!
dotting for interest.
Guess I'll bump once to see if anyone has an opinion.
Maybe I should have tried a sexier title like "Planescape meets Pathfinder!" or something. *shrug* :)
Hey, Tiny Coffee Golem, do you have any preferences? If not, that's cool. Thanks for the interest either way. Nice alias, by the way. I like it! If you add HD, does it become a Grande Latte Golem?
All right! As a backer of "It came from the Stars" and "Sailing the Starlit Sea" I have to say that I'm excited about the prospect of planar material. However, I'd suggest releasing small pdfs first before jumping in the deep end with Kickstarters or big products.
Since I'm currently reading "The Japanese Devilfish Girl" by Robert Rankin, I'd love an interplanar freak show. I'd also be interested in sourcebooks on the inner planes, provided they don't offer x archetypes/PrCs/feats etc. for elementalists - there's enough of that already out there and quite frankly, I'm sick of them. Fluff...now that's something completely different. Planar adventure anthology sounds nice, just be aware of OD's Planar sourcebook coming up - any synergy would be extremely cool - the same, of course, also goes for other supplements. The less competing systems there are and the more synergy we get, the better.
Caravans of the Mercane could rock - I fondly remember "March of the Modrons" and this could rock on a similar level...
Don't be discouraged and if you want to show that you're offering a product here, put the name of your company in brackets.
Cheers and all the best,
Endzeitgeist
All right! As a backer of "It came from the Stars" and "Sailing the Starlit Sea" I have to say that I'm excited about the prospect of planar material. However, I'd suggest releasing small pdfs first before jumping in the deep end with Kickstarters or big products.
I missed "It Came from the Stars", but definitely jumped on board for "Sailing the Starlit Sea". It's awesome that it got funded and I can't wait to see what they come up with.
Since I'm currently reading "The Japanese Devilfish Girl" by Robert Rankin, I'd love an interplanar freak show. I'd also be interested in sourcebooks on the inner planes, provided they don't offer x archetypes/PrCs/feats etc. for elementalists - there's enough of that already out there and quite frankly, I'm sick of them. Fluff...now that's something completely different. Planar adventure anthology sounds nice, just be aware of OD's Planar sourcebook coming up - any synergy would be extremely cool - the same, of course, also goes for other supplements. The less competing systems there are and the more synergy we get, the better.
I'm also following the Open Design planar project (patron of that one), and definitely plan to compliment all these other efforts as much as possible and certain not conflict or overlap with.
And I certainly am into writing the fluff. Some crunch falls out of the fluff naturally, but these would certainly be fluff-focused and crunch would arise only when it naturally follows from that. I'm not big on "Ok, we need at least X feats, Y PrCls (or archetypes now are in vogue), etc." Crunch just for crunch's sake doesn't inspire the same way a really evocative idea does.
Caravans of the Mercane could rock - I fondly remember "March of the Modrons" and this could rock on a similar level...
And "Great Modron March" and "Tales of the Infinite Staircase" are definitely models for the kind of Planescape adventures I enjoy the most. (I would have loved to expand on the Orcus-tainted Modrons I referenced in Dragon magazine, but it was cool just getting some Modron love out there in 3.5.) However, I was definitely avoiding being as ambitious as these adventures.
Don't be discouraged and if you want to show that you're offering a product here, put the name of your company in brackets.
Cheers and all the best,
Endzeitgeist
Thanks for the feedback! I'm still getting things together, so I'll definitely be throwing in the company name and such once it's all set.
-Ken
If I had to pick a book, either the caravan or the circus for sure.
As to kick starter, don't do it. Not until you've got a few quality products out and people can see what your company is like.
I am going back and forth on the "small little products vs moderate sized books" and we'll see. I have a decent freelance track record and fan site creds, but this would be my first self-publish (and I can expound on all that elsewhere). And, of course, I would include sample work and not just "hey, trust me!" :)
Also, I didn't get into it, but in addition to standard PDFs, I have built something far more interactive than traditional PDF "book wannabes" that might generate some additional interest. But I wanted to focus here on the content first.
I'm pretty excited about those ideas, too. The more I think about it, I'm not sure about leading with the circus because that might be best done with significant artwork, but I'm not sure. Text might be enough to capture that particular feel. (Whichever I start with, I'm starting small with the artwork because that's an area that can add up real fast. Best to either spend the money to do artwork right or include very little at all. Going with cheap and poor quality art seems to hurt a product more than no or little art at all.
But thanks for the feedback! I'm still in the very early planning stages, so I'll definitely take this under consideration. I might start small and then build up or go right for a moderate sized book. Definitely not diving in deep with a massive book with tons of art and maps and what not. I'm not THAT crazy. :)
Thanks again!
Ken
I really like the idea of Inner Planes-focused material. I think that the Elemental (and Energy) Planes are vastly untapped sources of great adventuring material, which is all too often overlooked by attitudes of "they're innately deadly as well as boring in their featurelessness."
I say, bring on the Inner Planes!
I definitely agree about the inner planes. There was a single Planescape book and an occasional location in an adventure, but they really got little love even under Planescape. "The Plane of Water is... well... just a lot of water... without end." is pretty dull and no real different than just being undersea. Fire is just a bunch of fire, Earth is an Underdark with out drow. Blarg.
Fire should be chaotic - the planar politics constantly shifting with force and personal power rewarded. Those who live there try to control others while in an uncontrollable environment. Power doesn't last, those in charge never stay that way, settlements rise up dramatically and collapses gloriously. In Air, nothing lasts and nothing is fixed. Water flows smoothly but constantly. Power struggles are furious in Fire, but subtle in Water. The Shaitan Empries of the Plane of Earth have lasted millenia. But when a change does occur, the effects tear through the foundations of entire societies.
We have all sorts of metaphors that surround these elements, and the planes should embody those as well in their cultures and interactions.
Thanks!
Ken
They all sound great. If I had to choose one I'd say the Mercane one I think.
Pirates of the Silver Void! I have visions of Spelljammer meets Planescape flashing in my head. I would buy that in a heartbeat. Well with some of the over the top Spelljammer bizarreness toned down or left out (that's why I helped fund It Came From the Stars). I would also buy the elemental planes supplements, though I would expect at least some archetypes/PRCs/feats. Hell even the planar traveling circus/freakshow sounds interesting.
On a separate note I wish I had known about Sailing the Starlit Sea before the Kickstarter for it ended.