Updates, updates, updates!

I've begun submitting the Crawler’s Companion to the various app stores, and will post individual updates as it becomes available in each store!

The release of Lair of the Mist Men has been delayed a bit as I’m worked on adding some additional material that grew out of the initial round of playtests. Also, the lion’s share of my development time has been focused on getting the Crawler out the door, but I’ll soon return to the Lair.

The third Sunken City Adventure, A Gathering of the Marked, should arrive around Halloween, which will fit it’s haunted, creepy theme perfectly. We've been hard at work creating all the shambling horrors our creative backers have imagined, and I think it is going to be a worthy conclusion to the series. The hardcover omnibus of all three Sunken City adventures will follow about 3 weeks to a month after the release of Gathering.

Once the initial version of the Crawler is available, I’ll be updating the program with new functionality throughout the next few months. I’ve begun work on the initiative/hit point tracker, which is actually a fairly major addition to the program in terms of design time, but I know from using the Crawler regularly during game play, it’s something we will all enjoy!

Obviously, pushing all these threads forward at the same time is a bit of a challenge, and I apologize for any delays. Like most of us in our hobby, I do this work as a labor of love in the late hours of the night, and at times real life can throw a wrench in the works. Moving the family in the middle of everything has proved a far more taxing (and extended) challenge than expected, and I’ve had a few health issues temporarily slow down my productivity. But we’re moving forward, and I’m very excited about everything that will soon be coming out!

As always, thanks to one and all for your support. I couldn't do this without your kind words and the excitement you express for what we're doing.

Jon

You judges are a creative lot...

I've had some wonderful reports lately of how folks are using the Sunken City adventures, and I'm floored by the incredibly creative way that judges are enhancing them and integrating them into their campaigns. It's always been the goal to provide enough crunchy details so the Judge has a strong framework to run with, and that seems to be working!

I've mentioned many times that I'm eventually going to gather these notes together into a 'Judges Corner' so that everyone can benefit from each other's experiences, and each report gives me more fuel to get it done! Keep the reports coming. :)

On the 'new stuff' front, Lair of the Mist Men is still being refined. I decided to enhance things a bit after the most recent playtest, but most of my development time is currently being spent making the final refinements to the Crawler's Companion before submitting it to the App Stores. Both are coming along.

One final note: I appreciate everyone's support and patience as I wrestle these projects to the ground. Our recent family move proved a bit more challenging than I expected, but we're finally getting settled it, and my aching bod is beginning to recover. I have to admit I prefer writing and drawing to schlepping boxes and driving large trucks any day!

Print version of The Ooze Pits of Jonas Gralk

The lovely full-color print version of the adventure is now available through RPGNow!

If you previously purchased the PDF version, or got the PDF as part of the Crawlers Companion Kickstarter rewards, you should have received a link to purchase it at the reduced combo price. If you didn't, just let me know and I'll get the link to you.

As always, thanks to everyone for your support!

Ooze Pits is updated, tweaked, and on its way...

...back to the printer for the final time. I can't wait for all the 'print fans' to get a chance to see it. :)

Since I've spent all my available time making the updates, Mist Men will be pushed back a couple days. We came up with some nice refinements during the final playtest that I'm also integrating into the advenutre, so I think the extra time will be worth it!

Ooze Pits of Jonas Gralk Print Version

I'm going to stop making predictions on how long it will take to get the print version of these adventures out there, but we're near the finish line!

I've got the penultimate proof in my sorcerous mitts, and I must say, it looks AWESOME! I'm absolutely thrilled about how the full color looks in print. Both the vibrancy of the images and the feel of the paper have exceeded my expectations. :)

They've also moved from perfect binding to saddle stitched, which is a nice step up! (And it will allow me to get rid of the white band in the middle...) A couple of very minor tweaks, and a typo will require one more upload to the printer, but the end is in sight: the print version will be available from RPGNow in 5-7 days. (OK, one more last prediction...)

Upper Level Character Sheet

Had a request to add a blank version of the sheet created by the upper level character generator, so here it is!

http://purplesorcerer.com/dcc_character_sheet_upper_blank.pdf

Lair of the Mist Men...

... is almost ready. It seems everything is taking longer these days as real life intrudes. :)

Nardgrog, take me away!

I'll likely finish it tomorrow, and ship it off for a looksy from the usual suspects, then this condensed bundle of gonzo fun will be out there for all to enjoy! Here's some images:

Back to Work

Finally getting settled in and up and running after our family move. Updates coming soon. :)

Crawler's Companion Beta Testing

I've added some pages explaining how you can beta test the Crawler's Companion app:

If you’d like to participate in the iOS beta test, visit:
http://purplesorcerer.com/news/?page_id=351

If you’d like to participate in the Android beta test, visit:
http://purplesorcerer.com/news/?page_id=354 

Thanks everyone for your help!

Sunken City Adventure Bundle

To celebrate the release of The Ooze Pits of Jonas Gralk, I've created the "Perilous Ooze" Bundle: get both Perils of the Sunken City and The Ooze Pits of Jonas Gralk for $8.98, saving a buck from the normal combined price.

So if you haven't taken the Sunken City plunge, now's a good time to jump in!

Thanks everyone for your continuing support. :)

http://www.rpgnow.com/product/104062/Perilous-Ooze-[BUNDLE]

The Ooze Pits of Jonas Gralk is Available!

I'm very excited to announce that the 2nd Sunken City Starting Adventure, The Ooze Pits of Jonas Gralk, is now available at RPGNow!

It's been a blast to create, and I hope everyone enjoys it.

Thanks all for your support!

Crawler's Companion Kickstarter: Thank You!

The Crawler's Companion Kickstarter was a smashing success. We raised $5,581 to help spread the Crawler to mobile devices everywhere! Keep watching for updates: as soon as we complete the beta, the Crawler will be available in your favorite Android/iOS app store for free!

Crawler's Companion Kickstarter reaches Level Four!

Wow! Our first Ninja King of Distilled Awesomeness put us over the top! Now only the deepest level of the dungeon remains... and we've got 53 hours to get there. ;)

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/475776114/crawlers-companion-for-all

Crawler's Companion Kickstarter: Level Three Falls...

With four days to go, another funding goal bites the dust! All backers will now be receiving a 2nd mini-adventure in September (The Predations of the Green Man... should be nice and scary!) and I'll be adding a new dice set to the Crawler. :)

Your generosity continues to amaze. Thank you!

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/475776114/crawlers-companion-for-all

Ooze Pits of Jonas Gralk... Almost There...

It's taking a bit longer to polish/integrate all the fun new color artwork into the adventure than I had hoped, (what with all the Kickstarter shenanigans and goings on)  so we're still a handful of days out before it will be available at RPGNow. In the meantime, here are some more images from the adventure: I think (hope) everyone is going to enjoy this one!

Crawler's Companion Hardware Starts to Arrive...

I convinced my lovely accountant to let me start getting some testing devices early since we've passed our basic funding goal. The plan is to find the best deals to spread as wide a "device net" as possible: the first two purchases are an iPad 2 and an HTC Amaze Android phone. The iPad testing is likely going to have to wait until the proceeds from the Kickstarter arrive, since the Mac Mini or MacBook will be the biggest expense of this endeavor. But I loaded up the Crawler on the Amaze (after installing the Air runtime) and it runs great! I'll have to put in some more extensive testing, but on first blush it's looking very sweet for this device. :)

I'll be creating a page soon that will list the results from the devices I have to test and reports from the field.  Your kind support has made this possible!

Ooze Pits of Jonas Gralk & Kickstarter Updates

Busy, busy, busy. :)
The Ooze Pits of Jonas Gralk is shaping up well and should be available at RPGNow by the end of next week. I've decided to go with lovely full color for this one. (Don't worry ink-conscious readers, there will be a simpler b/w version included as well.)



The print version will follow a bit after the PDF launch, but there shouldn't be a month long gap like with Perils of the Sunken City!

The Kickstarter is continuing to exceed expectations. We just passed level two so I'll be adding sword, dragon, and demon random generators to the Crawler! Level three brings a new mini-adventure and a new set of dice. Thanks everyone!

Crawler's Companion Bonus Goals

Thanks to everyone's support, we've already exceeded my expectations for the Kickstarter! But with 14 days left, well, you just have to come up with some fun new bonus goals.

The Crawler's Companion Kickstarter is Funded!

Wow, what a day. Thanks to the efforts and support of many, the Crawler's Companion will be arriving on mobile devices in the near future!

I can't thank you all enough for the fantastic support and community spirit that has made this happen.

Now I've got to get some fun stretch goals put together!

Great day for the Crawler's Companion Kickstarter

I added some fun new rewards for the Kickstarter today, and the response has been great! We're motored from 65% all the way past 85%. :)

Thanks everyone!

Print Version of Perils of the Sunken City Available!

At long last, the print version of Perils of the Sunken City is available at RPGNow!

(If you've previously purchased the PDF you should receive an email with instructions on how to get the print version at the reduced combo price. If not, just shoot me a message!)

The Crawler's Companion Kickstarter has passed the 50% mark!

Thanks everyone for your support!

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/475776114/crawlers-companion-for-all

Crawler's Companion Kickstarter Update

We're over 35% of the way there folks! If current pledge trend continue, we'll need about 50 more backers to get this off the ground.  I'm keeping my eyes open for additional places to get the word out, and we've had some great links from a number of fine blogs. I appreciate everyone who has taken the time to link to the Kickstarter.

I'd also like to point out that if you're a fan of our other utilities, such as the party and character generators, the equipment we'll be purchasing with the proceeds from the Kickstarter will help us test those and future utilities on more platforms/browsers. So even if you don't have a tablet at the moment (though the prices of many Android tablets are falling fast!), you'll still be seeing a benefit from your pledge. (And you'll get some fine adventures and swag, too!)

In the past week we've had more than 20,000 characters created through the Purple Sorcerer site, a significant portion of them from the U.K., France, Spain, Norway, Sweden, Germany, Australia and New Zealand. It's thrilling to see excitement for the DCC RPG spread, and I look forward to continuing to create many more tools to help our community grow.

Thanks for your support!

Ooze Pits on the Horizon

Wow, the release of "The Ooze Pits of Jonas Gralk," the second Sunken City adventure is only a couple weeks out. I'm very happy with the way its shaping up but now it's a race to the finish!

Here's a sneak peek of the map of the quirky hamlet of Slither's End, where the fun begins... (some might recognize our huge snake friend from the Perils of the Sunken City Mustertown map... but this time he's not just around for decoration!)



 

Softcover POD version of Perils of the Sunken City

For all those who have requested the printed version, it IS coming! I've had some back and forth with the printer, and I'm waiting on the final proof. Each round-trip informational journey takes quite a while. :(

On the plus side, this is a learning experience, and we should have the kinks worked out for future releases! (And the cover on the penultimate proof looks SWEET, if I must say. :) )

Upper Level Character Generator

We've started working on a companion to the 0-level party generator that creates a single higher level character. We're in the very early stages as far as customization and polish goes, but I'm guessing many could find it useful in its current state. Check it out: updates should come early and often!

http://purplesorcerer.com/create_upper.htm

The Crawler's Companion Kickstarter is Live!

The goal of this Kickstarter is to make the Crawler's Companion (our dice-rolling, rules-referencing, table-crushing DCC RPG utility) available on as many mobile devices as possible, starting with iPads and Android 2.2 and higher tablets. I'm committed to keeping all the Purple Sorcerer DCC utilities free, but this effort will require some equipment/tool purchases - thus the need for the Kickstarter. I've tried to include a number of fun rewards along the way, so you'll get more than just a cool utility and the warm and fuzzy feeling that will come by helping the Dungeon Crawl Classics community expand!

Here's the link to the Crawler's Companion Kickstarter:
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/475 ... on-for-all

Check it out, tell your friends, lets make this happen.

Thanks to everyone for your support.

DCC 0-level Party Generator... In French!

Some French fans of DCC contacted me about updating the character generator with a version in their language: they did some awesome work translating everything, including all the Birth Augurs and Occupations. (My French doesn't go much beyond Je m'appelle Jon...)

After defeating some special French character font issues, I was still having fun, so we worked together to translate the launch page into French as well. This proved interesting as the pun tag line at the top didn't really work in French, so they came up with a rhyming version to replace it.

I think all the effort is worth it just to have Hugh scold people in French for attempting to create power characters.

Soon, DCC will be sweeping the continent! ;)

http://purplesorcerer.com/create_fr.htm

The New Funky Dice Roller: The Crawler’s Companion

I’m excited to announce that after months of effort the Funky Dice Roller has been updated with a host of new features, and is being re-launched as The Crawler’s Companion.

Find out all the details!

Why Dungeon Crawl Classics RPG? It makes killing fun again!

On reflection, my traditional judging style would make me an unlikely choice to design adventures constructed to butcher hordes of beginning players. Don't get me wrong, I understand the importance of the THREAT of death to maintain tension in a campaign, and unless you follow through on occasion players will quickly, if only subconsciously, figure out that as judge you "just ain't going there", with the resulting loss of real apprehension and genuine relief when dangers are overcome.

But if I'm completely honest with myself, I've always emphasized continuity and established bonds in the party over everything else, and player deaths have been rare, momentous events.

That's what made the first death ten minutes into the first playtest of Perils of the Sunken City so illuminating. Everyone in my group laughed! And clapped.

And it wasn't like the players hadn't already gotten attached to their peasants. I'd printed out three sheets from the 0-level Party Generator for each player, and they got to choose one group of four characters to game with. The unlucky 'victim #1" to be was a Tax Collector with a 3 intelligence, who's additional 100 copper pieces and fancy lantern made him the wealthy scion of the group. Immediately the player determined one of his other characters (an Indentured Servant with a 15 intelligence) was the Tax Collector’s servant, but in reality was the brains behind the collector’s improbable success. The fiction lasted for 10 minutes until the Tax Collector, unaware of what was really happening, fell to a viscous crocodillo tail whip while lurking too close to the water,  smiling in confusion as he went down…



Immediately the player scratched through “Indentured Servant” on his character sheet, and wrote “Freeman”. Awesome!

Also, for some unknowable reason, the party had chosen to name their Free Company "Haughtnard and the Wanderers", after an unremarkable seven-agility elven forester in their midst. When Haughtnard quickly fell to an opossuman javelin, they immediately renamed themselves "Haughtnard’s Wanderers" out of respect without missing a beat.

And so it goes. Character creation is so simple, play so fast, that players are much more accepting of death, and for those that survive, the seeds of real character development are being planted about every 20 minutes or so.

I didn’t really see it coming, but at least from a judges perspective, the Dungeon Crawl Classics RPG has made killing fun again!

Setting Specific Occupations for the 0-Level Party Generator

Judges, how would you like to have the 0-level Party Generator create characters based on an occupation list specific to your campaign/setting?

As one of the free downloads for Perils of the Sunken City I needed to create a sheet of Opossuman character sheets - and I finally dug into the code to allow alternate occupation lists. This is where you come in: if you send me a formatted list of occupations for your campaign, I'll add it to the program, and send you back the link so you can create characters specific to your campaign!

Also, ‘generic entries’ would be awesome as well. I’d love to have a coastal list, uplands forest list, desert culture list, frozen wasteland list, etc.

If we get enough good alternative lists, I'll create a cool front-end to allow folks to choose from the various campaigns/settings/locations.

For details of what info I'll need from you, and how to format it, visit:
http://purplesorcerer.com/news/?page_id=171

I think this could be a fun addition to the DCC RPG community... thanks one and all for sharing!

Amazed...

... to see Perils of the Sunken City hold on as the #1 "hottest item" at RPGNow for a day now. Can't help but smile. Thanks everyone.

Perils of the Sunken City is now available!

Perils of the Sunken City can now be purchased at RPGnow.

Huzzah! Tell your friends. Be a trendsetter and purchase a copy today! ;)

Thanks one and all for your support.

Paper Miniature Tips

For our figure-using fans, we're creating free paper miniatures as downloadable goodies to go along with every Purple Sorcerer Games adventure.

I've whipped up some quick tips/tutorial videos for preparing the miniatures and creating bases. Hopefully you'll find them useful without wanting to throttle me for rambling on. :)

Preparing the miniatures

Creating the bases

The Day is Almost Here!

Perils of the Sunken City, the first of the Sunken City Starting Adventures will officially be available for purchase from RPGNow beginning May 22!

A print-on-demand version will be available from the same source shortly thereafter.

We've been creating a number of free downloads to support the adventure, including battle maps and paper miniatures for the figure-inclined. All the free enhancements will be available at purplesorcerer.com.

We're also busy polishing and producing the same sorts of goodies for the 2nd adventure in the series, The Ooze Pits of Jonas Gralk, so that adventure will be delayed a bit to June 22, while the 3rd adventure in the series, A Gathering of the Marked, will follow on July 23.

Hopefully everyone will enjoy this summer long roll out of adventure... it's been a blast creating them!

0-Level Charts

Here's a quick, single page chart sheet that contains most of the tables necessary to get underway with zero level characters in the Dungeon Crawl Classics RPG: attack bonuses, weapons and equipment lists, and the 0-level criticals chart and fumbles chart.

Print it out in tandem with a 0-level party sheet, and your new players are good to go!

Get your party started!

The 0-Level Party Generator has been updated with all the latest data from the release version of the DCC RPG Rulebook in preparation for the official launch.

Get your party ready to go at http://purplesorcerer.com/create.htm

Why Dungeon Crawl Classic RPG? Mercurial magic…

Another aspect of the DCC RPG I enjoy is the varied, dangerous nature of magic. There’s nothing cookie-cutter or generic about spells in Dungeon Crawl Classics:

Every spell is powerful. No one tempts the greater powers by using spells for mundane purposes like lighting a hallway, since any casting can result in some nasty side-effects if the dice are against you. As the rules say, if you need light: “use a torch fool!”

Every spell is unique. When a wizard gains a new spell he rolls to determine special traits that apply only to that particular spell. Your version of fireball isn’t necessarily the same as the mage in the next valley.

Spells aren’t ‘pass/fail’: Spells results grow in power the higher you roll, leading to a huge variety of outcomes.

It’s a dangerous world: As wizards grow in power, they’ll need to seek out powerful magical patrons to further their pursuits – but of course the sort of help these powers provide brings dangers and obligations. Role-playing opportunities abound.

Some have wondered if each spell having it’s own table of results will slow down play, but I’ve found the reverse is true. A mage’s spell book is not particularly large (it’s difficult and arduous to master new spells) so it’s simple to print out each spell for easy – and quick – reference and results.

I believe mercurial magic is one of the strengths of the DCC RPG, and I’ll be including a new spell or two in each M-series adventure to add to the fun!

Why Dungeon Crawl Classics RPG? Mysterious monsters...

One aspect of the DCCRPG I really enjoy is the concept of unique monsters. There are no 'generic monsters' - just simple guidelines to create unique foes. One valley's 'orcs' might be completely different than those who dwell over the hills, and if there is a dragon in those hills, it isn't 'a' dragon, it is THE Dragon: at least as far as the local inhabitants are concerned!

I remember my earliest gaming memories involved the thrill of encountering beasties completely unknown to me... at least until I memorized the Monster Manual. Over the past  10 years I've tried to return the mystery to my players by never running any monster 'straight' - and I'm sure many GM's do the same. This thinking is hardwired in the DCCRPG, and I think the system is stronger for it.

DCCRPG adventures will rock in this aspect: I know I'm working hard to pack each Sunken City and M-Series adventure with unique and mysterious creatures to bedevil your players. :)

I don't think it's giving away to much to show you two new creatures found in the Sunken City Adventures: the pesky SnapDragon, and the 'not-so-terribly-fearsome' Opposumen!