Things To Come

A new year means that I should update this fallow blog.

Why is it fallow? Because I don't have much to report! Still, if you come here at all and are interested in my perpetually in development projects, an update is likely welcome. So how do things look for 2013? Let's go project by project:

Before Iron - This, of course, is the big one. I've written at length about it and have more to write, but I have to time infodumps with the development status. The final final draft was sent off to Greg prior to the holidays... timed just right so as to coincide with his work on Book of the Estate.

What does that mean? A little longer. I've seen a partially laid out version of an older draft. I'm hoping this drops in 2013. It's done. I feel good about this last draft. There's just a lot of busy stuff on the part of all sides: I have school and a three year old, +Peter Williams  has his career and Flatland Games, and Greg is perpetually busy with Pendragon, continuing Glorantha writings, and generally being a busy, cool guy.

So, Before Iron is done but not done. I'm confident that 2013 will see it hit the market.

Gonzo - +Bret Gillan and I have gone back to the drawing room on this, at least as far as the system goes. InSpectres, while a great game, just wasn't a great fit when we looked at the finished project. And it was, more or less, finished, which stings greatly. We had art and were weeks away from a Kickstarter campaign when we (with some of Jared Sorensten's input) decided to go in a different direction.

The good news: we both feel better about what's to come. While it's on the back burner at the moment, the rework will fit the source material better. A significant portion of the non-system specific material is perfectly portable over to the new book (I posted a chunk here in fact), so the work should go fast, once things line up. I'm not confident of a 2013 release, but I do feel good about the project in a holistic sense.

Amaranthology - This isn't my project, but my first short story should be published "soon" in a game fiction anthology for Machine Age's fine RPG, Amaranthine. I haven't flogged it publicly too much, simply because it's going to be out when it's out, but I'm immensely excited and honored to be associated with names like +Filamena Young and +Chuck Wendig for my very first foray into short story writing. I'll post something once it's released, of course.

Unnamed Project Which May Not End Up Existing - Bret and I have a thing. A proto-project. It's potentially very, very awesome, using an open source game system which we all know and love (well not ALL of us; it's not an OSR). One or both of us will spill the beans on this more when it's out of the planning stages, but there's potential for coolness if we can get over a few creative humps regarding the marriage of rules to game world. Which, of course, may never happen; games sometimes just disappear, and that's a good thing, not a bad one. It won't be 2013, certainly, but I do hope it gels the way I think it's going to.

So, that's it. It's a bit of a lull, at least with game/writing related stuff, but I'm busy otherwise and planning on a good year. As always, you can find me on G+ or here and updates of any appreciable importance will be posted both places. A happy new year to all of you!


Oh! As a late Christmas gift, here's a link to some late draft character sheets for Before Iron. Hopefully this whets the appetite for later.

Before Iron Sheets