Milestones to keep me going.

We have finally reached some major milestones in Tortured Earth. With the non-combative skills and weapons under wrap, we can actually say we are able to see the light at the end of the tunnel - at least for the GM guide. The magic skills themselves will require some editing though the actual mechanics haven't required a major revamp like other elements of the system.

Psychic skills will slow things down a bit. This is the one component requiring the most love. From a developers standpoint, it is an odd bag of game mechanic horrors and roleplaying elements. In our attempt to remove some of the load of governance from the GM, we undoubtedly have some interesting discussions on roleplaying elements such as Astral Projection and Telepathy. However, like Shadow Magic, I have no doubt we'll be able to develop a framework allowing GMs freedom to construct their storylines while not worrying about overpowered abilities.

My current project is pulling the material options available from the crafting section and moving it to an appendix section. When flipping through the editing copy, the options can be overwhelming. By shifting the tables and charts to an appendix, a player can read the skill summaries and flip to the back to see more about the available options. By minimizing the amount of information blasted into the player's mind at one time, it is our hope the book will be far easier to process and digest.

Of course, once all of this rearranging is complete, the whole thing will be turned over to a graphic artist who will more than likely tell me it's all wrong and come up with some other hellish project of restructuring for me to complete. Oh, well.

Once the GM guide is where I want it in a technical aspect, the fun begins with imagery, layout, and final dressing. Even with all the work involved, this phase of the project typically should last about two weeks. The editing process alone will have gone on for nearly a year once it is completed. I can deal with two weeks.

The creature manual is yet to be addressed. *Sigh*

I feel like I'm reaching the top of a mountain only to see Mount Everest in the background. 

Thanks for reading! 

K. B. Kidder

 

If you are checking out this blog for the first time, you may access our website by clicking here: Tortured Earth

Character Species released for review: Allorn, Dwarf, Elf, Eoceph, and Goblin.

Combat Creatures released for review: Braunach, Faeda, Fetid Hound, Minotaur, and Wolf.

If you are interested in the creature development process, you may submit your own creatures by filling out the following form. We will review the forms before publishing the creatures to the website. Creature Creation Form

If you would like to see what Tortured Earth looks like, the GM portion of the rule book is available as a free download on the Tortured Earth Home Page. Tortured Earth Beta GM Guide  

And finally, I have created a Tavern Generator and Loot Generator. Both are free downloads and can be adapted to a wide range of story settings. Both are written in Excel. If you are using a tablet, you can download a free version of Excel and operate it live at the game table.