Expanding the Tortured Earth multiverse


Over the past few weeks, Kevin and I have been working to add stories to the Tortured Earth collection. At the moment, we are converting some of the convention modules into boxed sets - each set containing a Rules Lite GM Guide, Rules Lite Player's Guide, Story booklet, Fold-out maps, Character sheets for 10 people, and two sets of dice. 

The current design of the Rules Lite set allows players to run the boxed scenario but also opens the doors for a broader storyboard if a GM is creative and wants to get a little extra mileage out of the set. Each boxed set is designed to serve as a story starter for a larger campaign and can be used by GMs as a means of introducing players to more advanced game mechanics.

With all that said, allow me to inform you of the reality of a small game company producing said boxed sets. Due to the uncertainty of customer interest in the boxed set, we have been producing the sets ourselves. This means we have a spiral binding machine and assemble the sets by hand. It also means having stacks of papers scattered all over the house, little punchout dots continually escaping the collection tray of the binding machine, and the never-ending search for a place to store all of the booklets produced. As interest in the sets grows, this project will be outsourced. Until that glorious day, we'll simply continue to produce the sets by hand.

That translates to coming home from work to work another three hours editing documents and another 2 to 3 hours binding booklets. Because the Rules Lite books are the same in four of the six boxed sets, we are trying to build a stockpile of booklets. As the new stories reach completion, they will have separate covers to indicate a different Rules Lite skill set.

Griping and moaning about the work associated with a small business of this nature is simply a rite of passage. Despite the bellyaching, I actually love all aspects of this business. From promoting, to production, to editing, and writing. I love it all. The work is something I hope becomes my retirement. Seeing people enjoy the madness crawling around in my head is a reward in and of itself. Knowing they are anxiously awaiting more is a thrill I cannot begin to explain.

On a side note: We travel to Atlanta this weekend to attend Southern Fried Gaming Expo. The convention has a strong video game presence but has a wide range of board games and tabletop games available. We're looking forward to the outcome of the convention.

Thanks for reading!

-K. B. Kidder

The 2.0 version of Tortured Earth are now available through the following links:

Amazon:

Tortured Earth Core Rule Book 

Tortured Earth Supplemental: The Unofficial Account of Gavin Harris

Tortured Earth Supplemental: The Travel Journal of Mica Greer 

Barnes & Noble:

Tortured Earth Core Rule Book

The Unofficial Account of Gavin Harris

The Travel Journal of Mica Greer

Books-a-Million:

Tortured Earth Core Rule Book

The Unofficial Account of Gavin Harris

The Travel Journal of Mica Greer

Mountains of Mists and Mystery is available as a free download to those wishing to purchase the system and are waiting for the next line of modules.

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