Category Archives: World of Erseta Fantasy Setting

What’s the plan for 2014?

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A lot has changed since the last update on upcoming projects, and I wanted to let everyone know where things stand. Here’s the current plan for 2014, but as Haviland Tuf once sagely observed, “It is in the nature of plans to change.”

The Castle of the Mad Archmage™ is right on schedule to be released by February, using the Adventures Dark and Deep™ rules, but usable with most Old School rules. This will be followed by a Pathfinder edition, probably by June, but exact date TBD. Will we see any expansion levels?

You might, rabbit, you might.

The biggest change is that the World of Erseta™ Fantasy Setting is on indefinite hold. I have determined that the world just doesn’t need yet another European medievalesque fantasy setting. That said…

In the desire to shake things up and move beyond Arthurian/Tolkien/Conan/Lieber/etc. fantasy, the next project will be a rules supplement based on Chinese mythology and folklore combined with wuxia (kung fu) tropes. Usable with most OSR-type rules, it will bring a more focused approach than the original Oriental Adventures did, avoiding the mish-mash of samurai, Shaolin monks, ninjas, and Taoist magicians. Name to be determined, but I will likely stick with something in the “Adventures xxx and xxx” line.

Along with that will be a setting suitable for play with such rules, fabled Cathai™. More details to come, but the setting will not be tied to the rules. You’ll be able to have your kung fu  adventures in whatever setting you prefer, and you’ll absolutely be able to mix and match your regular mages, fighters, and thieves with their more Eastern counterparts.

Finally, I am really hoping to crank out Adventures Great and Glorious™ in 2014, which will be a rules supplement covering political intrigue, large-scale warfare, long-term campaigning (rules for stretching play out with “campaign turns”, children, and the like), and domain-level rulership. That’s been simmering on the back burner for a while now.

Sounds like a lot, doesn’t it? Well, I managed to get all three Adventures Dark and Deep™ books out in 2013. Maybe I can get four big projects out in 2014. If not, AGG can always wait until 2015. After all, “it is in the nature of plans to change.”

Castle of the Mad Archmage Status Update

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Hey Ho! Now that the Adventures Dark and Deep™ Bestiary is out the door, my baleful glance carries to the next project in line; the Castle of the Mad Archmage™.

I know a lot of folks have been waiting for this for a long time, and frankly so have I. Now that it’s back in my clutches, here is where things currently stand with the project:

  • No Kickstarter. Turns out that given the scope and particulars that I’m looking at (see below) no Kickstarter will be required to get the books into your eager hands. 
  • Expanded and revised material. The whole thing has been expanded since the free version from a few years ago. It is a complete environment now, and includes the surface ruins and first dungeon level of the castle. Each level of the dungeon has new expanded overviews for the game master, to give pointers on how the various factions and personalities will interact with one another, what might happen as time wears on, etc. All of the Greyhawk references have been removed, and the whole can be placed in any campaign world, or used as a tent pole adventure location in the upcoming World of Erseta Fantasy Setting™. It is designed to be used with the Adventures Dark and Deep™ rules, but can be used with just about any old-school rules set with minimal fuss.
  • Three books. There will be three separate books; the adventure book, a map book, and an art book. The art is designed to be a “this is what the players see” type book, like TSR did in the old days with products like Tomb of Horrors. The adventure book will be available in hardcover and softcover. The other two will only be in softcover (saddle-stitched).
  • Maps are done. I have received all of the maps from my most excellent cartographer, Joe Bardales (he who did such sterling work on the digital cartography of the original version), and the map book is now complete. I will be sending it to the printer to order a proof this week.
  • Art is mostly done. I continue to be blessed by the Gods with a terrific crew of artists. There is a deadline of mid-November for the art, and we seem to be on track to meet it. Once that happens, I’ll send the art book off to the printer for proofs.
  • Adventure book is mostly done. Specifically, the text of the adventure itself and all the introductory material is complete and already sent to Steve Rubin, my excellent editor. The only thing that is still being worked on right now are the appendices (things like new spells, new magic items, etc.). Estimated completion date is mid-November, and hopefully the whole thing will be back from Steve by Thanksgiving. 
  • February 2014 release. Right now we are very much on track for a release no later than February of 2014. Like BRW Games’ other products, it will be offered as a print on demand product via RPGNow and DriveThruRPG, and as a pdf bundle. All print versions will include the pdf versions of course. Depending on how things go, February might even be a pessimistic estimate.