Design Diary

I am fully immersed in the newest edition as I pound away on the laptop and desktop converting years of Feudal Lords campaign tidbits into a Player’s and Gamemaster’s Guide. There is a lot of information to digest with 4th Edition and, coupled with the GSL, my workload is unrelenting. However, each day passes and I see a bit of light at the end of the tunnel.

First, before I get on with the update, I like to thank all the fans who posted on the forums at our website, aleapublishing.com, and wrote us to put out a 3.5 Feudal Lords Guidebook. It made updating the campaign setting to 4th Edition effortless. As I predicted before the release of 4th Edition, the additions we added to 3.5 converted nicely.

Okay, for those interested or curious, here is what have ready:

A Short History – this is a small section detailing common knowledge players have of the setting, at least for those lore masters delving into dusty history tomes.

Saints and Deities – a list of each major saint of the Church of the Eternal Spirit and their patron saint benefits. The Patron Saint feat allows non-clerics/non-paladins special benefits for revering a particular saint. Those of the cloth can also gain this feat. Of course, while writing this section, I worked on each Channel Divinity Power and a few special magic items devoted to particular saints.

Equipment – lists of new armors, weapons, and magic items. Thankfully, nothing emerging from the Adventurer’s Vault duplicated what I wrote, but a few things did come close. This section includes new weapon properties and groups. A few properties are as follows: weapon bond, parry, close-quarters, mount, penetrate, and master crafted quality. As for armors, a few have the “action” special ability. We also have ancient armors – armors used by fallen empires.

Languages – a minor section outlining the various tongues of Terra.

The Cthonia Gazetteer – this section offers in detail the lands of Cthonia. It also provides players with regional feats depending on their character hailing from a particular town or area. Darcadia and the Hill Lands are next in line for a similar treatment.

Races and Classes – this is similar to the section found in Classes and Races of Cthonia, however we added new information concerning races and classes introduced in 4th Edition. Certain races, such as elves and dwarves, have an additional ability focused on their thousand-year war with each other. And guess what? That’s right; they still war with such an intense hatred that you will only find the most tolerant players running dwarves and elves in the same group.

Now, the other sections, including the crunchy tidbits, soon come to close. Here are some of a few new rules you will see with the launch of the player’s guide:

Personas – Heroic Tier additions to character classes. You can choose one persona, such as inquisitor, and add them to your class. Each persona has new powers for the ready.

Commands – best described as mundane rituals for warlords and others bearing heraldic symbols. These commands work only in civilized areas where you can dictate poor commoners and soldiers to do your bidding!

Well, that’s it for now. I will try to update when I can, but I’d rather use that time getting things ready. Until next time, happy gaming.

It seems some people, through a minor glitch, have in hand the coveted 4th Edition core rule books.

Well, I am not one of those lucky few . . . I do not have the books yet . . . just the adventure with the quick start rules and pre-gen characters.

My group is playing tonight for the first time, so we will see how it goes. At first glance, it seems just like an alternative D20 system and mechanically looks just as good as 3.5.

With that said, I am a little concerned how WotC presented the rules as a conversion of a computer-like game atmosphere. However, it is really how the Game Master presents it to their players.

I remember flipping through the 3rd Edition Player’s as a GM (I’ve played since 1st Ed.) and cringing at the +20 to hit the spell True Strike gave a character - and it’s 1st level, I thought.

Well, some other GMs I knew restricted that spell, while others continued to play 2nd Edition (and still do - go figure; some 3rd Edition player’s even thumbed their nose at 3.5), but after playing the game, that spell along with other facets of the game began to look more like the D&D I knew and loved.

As a game designer, I am excited to dig in (I even started converting some of our innovative ideas into 4th Edition innovative ideas)- as it is a refreshing change of pace and some of the elements run parallel with our own plans for the Feudal Lords campaign release.

As I discussed with Jonathan Tweet in a forum several months back, they designed a great game in 3rd Edition and 3.5 made it flow even better. It is a solid system. Maybe the reason it is so solid is that it borrowed a lot from other RPGs that developed in the wake of Gary Gygax’s initial creation - in hopes to build a better mousetrap.

However, as contradictory as it may sound, it is a solid game because of its flexibility, with which myself, Cameron, and many other 3rd party publishers could tweak or add new rules to the system mechanics without gumming up the works. I think 4th Edition will follow toward the same trend and you will soon begin to see 3.x-like elements in 4th Edition (I say3.x-like because of the GSL).

I am not a proponent for or against the latest D20 system, but if 4th Edition is a better game, I will play - if not, I still have all my 3.x books not far from reach.

Josh R.

Now that the D&D Experience is coming to a close and a bit of information floats about the web, I can really give my overall first impression of the newest d20 System. However, before I begin, I must remind readers that like a first date, your partner only allows you to see what they want you to see because first impressions are vital in developing a foundation for a future relationship.

First, I will address what I’ve seen as a game designer. Like looking at any new mechanics, my brain immediately begins working on how I might add or modify the new rules to fit in a 4th Edition Feudal Lords Campaign book (as some of you may or may not know, settings are permissible in the new Game System License; source - Scott Rouse). In the development of new rules, Alea always tries to use existing rules for new systems. The honor system in Honor and Corruption uses the wealth mechanic presented in d20 Modern. For another example, the heraldry and piety systems use the reputation mechanic.

By doing this, it makes a less bulky system then just simply tacking on a new rules mechanic. Our use of Action Points in the Feudal Lords Campaign (we call them Blood Points for flavor and to explain their source - from ancestors of long bygone days) seems it won’t change in a 4th Edition atmosphere.

Even our initial thoughts and ideas on how Bloodlines will work will not change much. This also depends if it is vital for certain characters in 4th to spend action points or whether this is an extra “hmpf” characters can use in sticky situations like in did in 3.x. If the later is the case, then it is simply a matter of giving the choice of either spending action points normally or reserving them to gain Bloodline powers. If the former is true, then we might use Bloodline abilities as a Power Source (like arcane, divine, and martial sources in 4th Edition).

There are a lot of rules in Classes and Races of Cthonia we did not put into the book fearing that they might not be easily adjusted in 4th Edition. An example from the get go is the possessed character class. It did not make the cut because the tiefling is a core race in 4th Edition. We feel the background for the possessed core class is better served in the form of the tiefling - a human who made a pact with a devil or demon to become a tiefling or a human whose ancestor (or parent) made a pact in exchange for one of their offspring.

As a player and Game Master, the rules seem enjoyable. Nevertheless, it is hard to say this without first playing them for a few months. There is only one thing I can initially say that I am wary of - the unmodified 10 saving throw on a d20. Without able to look at what feats and class or race abilities, that will provide modifiers to the saving throw, it is difficult to immediately call “foul”. Only time will tell. By the way, despite my initial misgivings, I do like how character death is resolved.

Well, what is our initial first impressions? I like what I see, but like Cameron, I am wary that they are changing rules just to change them (i.e. opportunity attacks instead of attacks of opportunity). This might be to completely separate it from 3.x and the old OGL.

Nevertheless, is it a better game? I can’t tell from the first impression WotC is letting me see. As a game designer, 3.x is a solid system. Sure it is clunky in some areas, but most house rules implemented over the years by thousands of Game Masters fixed most of those. However, I look for synergy - both in mechanics and character development. Though the mechanics in 3.x are somewhat synergistic, character interaction is not. It looks like 4th Edition tackles this problem head on and will prove useful in the direction we want to take the Feudal Lords setting. I am excited.

As a player, I want to be heroic occasionally throwing realism to the wind. It looks as though it might tackle that problem as well. However, having a heroic character is not always due to having the right stats or abilities, but having - well - character. This doesn’t come from a roll-playing but rather role-playing. A role-playing rules system should support this more so than a glorified combat system.

As a Game Master for the past 20 or so years, I want a simplistic rules system to quickly prepare the stories I want to tell. It is easy when all you use is fantastic monsters, but creating NPCs takes a lot of time. I find NPCs more interesting and more challenging for players so I tend to use them as villains over monsters. Creators of 4th Edition claim constructing NPCs is less of a chore, but again, it is hard to garner such a promise on first impressions.

Overall, I like what I see - the first impressions WotC presented makes them worthy of a second date.

Work begins this week on Medieval Landscapes: Dungeon, and like its namesake before it, Medieval Landscapes: Peasant House, this product will further our Any Edition line. Its most unique feature is the Flowchart System which allows Game Masters to create quick and unique dungeons.

As well as serving as a generic product for any campaign or role-play setting, Medieval Landscapes: Dungeon also features a few dungeons in the Feudal Lords Campaign Setting.

Two d20 Modern Horror adventures are also set for release. The first, Invisible People, takes place in Nevada as investigators look into the disappearance of a local girl and a fringe scientist obsessed with his poltergeist machine. The second is Shadow of Possession. Characters awaken in a mysterious place of unknown origin only to find their reason for being there and need for escape is one in the same. It takes place in the Amazon jungle in the bitterly war torn country of Colombia.

Last, but certainly not least, is the March Issue of the Poor Gamer’s Almanac. This features articles from some talented small publishers and is a Your Games Now only product.

More on these products when we approach closer to a release date.

Well, it’s done. It underwent a lot of changes over the last year. Though most of the new rules were written before the announcement of 4th Edition in August, we just weren’t sure how to package the product or if we should release it at all. Well, our fans convinced us through e-mails and in the forums they wanted more of the Feudal Lords Setting regardless of its 3.5 format. So, we ultimately decided to release it, but not as a campaign setting.

At first, we called it the Player’s Guide to Cthonia. However, when we reached the decision to release it in January, the task to detail Cthonia properly (maps of cities, full descriptions, and the like) proved too daunting for the time frame.

Thus, we changed it to the Feudal Lords Playtest Guide. Well, we felt the rules and fluff we wrote after our initial decision to go ahead with the Player’s Guide overall focused heavily on Cthonia rather than the setting as a whole. Therefore, it did not encompass the nuances even a playtest guide would provide.

Then, during the final editing this weekend, it hit us over the head. The book geared toward characters and races of the Feudal Lords Setting, especially in regards to Cthonia. It has new core classes, new prestige classes for the region, 97 feats that not only defines Cthonia, but the setting as a whole. It also new domains, and a spells, as well as new rules for creating a Feudal Lords character. The title screamed out at us. I only wished it screamed out early.

Regardless, Classes and Races of Cthonia is here and at an extremely low price - we hope you enjoy and thank you for your support.

Since the announcement of 4th Edition, we began, at the behest of our patient fans, to compile the 3.5 rules for the Feudal Lords Campaign Setting for release. Initially we decided to release a smaller version of the campaign guide focusing on Cthonia and offer it at a reduced price. However, even the prospect of further detailing the lands of Cthonia beyond that presented in our free campaign primer, The Chronicles of Yrza the Crow, still daunting, we decided to release a fluff lite playtest version of the setting. We also announced that it would be free.

Once again, in our state of constant flutter under the ever looming shadow of 4th Edition, we changed directions. Hopefully, since we are releasing it next week, this is the final change. First, let me announce the title of our last 3.5 fantasy product: Feudal Lords Playtest Guide. Second, and I know this is disappointing, let me say it does have a price, albeit a small one: $2.95.

Why the change in price? For the most part, it is to recoup some of our initial investment and time creating the product. As a small company, and it is always a problem for us being a small publisher, we expect a loss even with the reduced cost. Which leads me to the second reason why we changed the price: to make up losses incurred for the slump in the 3.5 market place. Our newest Feudal Lord product, The Shew Stone, is doing poorly.

Since it is our first feature length fantasy adventure, it is hard for us to determine whether its failure to sell is due to the 3.5 slump, fantasy adventures don’t sell well, or both. Although Caldor: City of Crossroads continues to sell fairly well, it does not warrant us to continue producing 3.5 fantasy products. Instead, we will support the setting through our Any Edition line of products until we are able to release 4th Edition products.

We also hope the cost of the playtest guide will generate enough money for a bigger and better production of the 4th Edition Feudal Lords Campaign Setting. We do apologize for the change for there is nothing that I like better than to give everything we produce away, but we must remind ourselves we are a company. That fact sometimes eludes us because being small also allows us to be informal and flexible. However, at times, the need for flexibility is due to being under the shadow and decisions of bigger companies. The announcement of 4th Edition is a perfect example of this.

Anyway, that is it for now. We are doing the final edit on the playtest guide this weekend, thus look for it early next week. We once again apologize for the change and we thank you for your patience.

Welcome to the Alea Publishing Group design diary.  Within this book, you will find notes, ideas, stories, playtest rules, news, general thoughts about the world of gaming, and the industry.  However, we hope this will also become a doorway into the realm of small publishing for those interested in supporting our endeavors.