There is an open call to work with the Tessera Guild. When the offer to join was presented, I’m glad I accepted. My vanity press RPG series on the guild has led to several connections that are shaping my [hoped for] freelancer future. Among those contacts is Venger As’Nas Satanis of Kort’thalis Publishing. Several weeks ago I reviewed Goodman Games’ Kickstarter for How to Write Adventure Modules That Don’t Suck. In the write-up, I mentioned that I do not have a mentor. Venger hunted me down on Google+ and offered to be a RPG mentor to me. That made my day, that’s for sure!
In the brief amount of time that I’ve known him, Venger has been nothing but generous. He’s provided me with samples of his company’s products to research, advice on what steps may benefit my tabletop role-playing game journey, and offered professional feedback on anything I choose to share.
Now he’s pitching his tenth RPG Kickstarter and it includes a vanity press option for an incredibly economic price.
I’m all-in!
***SOME LINKS NOT SAFE FOR WORK***
Trinity of Awesome Returns! by Kort’thalis Publishing [WARNING: NSFW]
Kickstarter campaign ends on Friday, March 31 2017 12:01 AM EST.
Their Pitch:
“More Trinity of Awesome… fantasy, sci-fi, and pulp / investigative horror RPG adventures from the slimy pen of Venger As’Nas Satanis!
[TL;DR: I’m making three scenarios, 10-page PDFs… back it if you like awesome! Also, some of the images may not be safe for work.]
Welcome back, my friends!
It took me a little while to get things settled. As some of you may know, I took about 4 or 5 months off in order to devote all my time and energy to family. Our twin boys are 3 months old, healthy and happily spitting up breast milk on my wife and I.
As I type this [2/21/17], I just got back from having a vasectomy. That’s how committed I am to being there for all Kort’thalis Publishing’s fans, supports, detractors, and casual observers! Actually, we simply decided that 5 kids was enough. 😉
So, what’s this Kickstarter all about then? Do you remember my last Kickstarter Trinity of Awesome? Here’s the link.
Well, this is more of the same. I’m creating one eldritch science-fantasy scenario (Crimson Dragon Slayer), one retro sleazy sci-fi scenario (Alpha Blue), and one pulp / investigative horror scenario (The Outer Presence).
Each of these adventures will be approximately 10 pages in length and will include color covers and 2 or 3 pieces of original b/w interior art.
Sometime down the road, these scenarios will most likely be included in a print-on-demand softcover. But for this Kickstarter, I want to focus on making them awesome rather than the fulfillment of physical books. Sending out PDFs is easy by comparison.
If you’re unfamiliar with those rules/systems, I’ve got some good news for you – each scenario will be between 80 – 90% system neutral, perfect for hacking, re-skinning, or converting to your RPG of choice.
Each scenario is mostly going to be setting, hook, NPCs, tricks/traps, creatures, treasure, and weird shit happening. Expect lots of random tables. That’s what I’m known for. Ask around!”
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Their vanity press reward:
“Pledge $17 or more
Infamous
You get 3 PDFs, one for each genre/system. Additionally, your name will be included in the front-matter of all three PDFs as a Kickstarter contributor! If you’d like to submit creative content, I’ll try my best to work it in.”
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Egg’s Thoughts:
This will sound mercantile, but this is as cost-effective as expanding your tabletop role-playing game resume gets. For $17, you get 3 ten-page adventures for three different genres and you get to add content to them.
This could be the hard sell or this could be, “Hey, it’s $5.67 a resume credit. You in?”
Ok, let me dial back the dollars and get to the important part – Will it be fun?
As I mentioned above, I’ve spoken with Venger a few times and he’s a super pleasant dude. He’s done a number of RPG Kickstarters and other RPG-related projects. His original gaming system is so intuitive, I can explain it after a glance at the rules. His adventure ideas are gonzo. They exude fun! Add to that, he has three settings to choose from in this Kickstarter so you can pick your genre – fantasy, sci-fi, or pulp horror – and contribute what you want to.
But don’t just take my word for it. Eric Fabiaschi wrote his own review at Sword and Stitchery. Still need something else to convince you? Try out Kort’thalis Publishing’s system in Crimson Dragon Slayer 1.11 for free.
There is no downside that I can see. Join the Trinity of Awesome!
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Egg Embry, Wanna-lancer™
Interested in being a wanna-lancer? Start with the official Wanna-lancer Checklist t-shirt or wall clock or ice tea glass!
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Egg Embry wrote comic book short stories, edited comic book series, wrote and drew a webcomic, and contributed to comic book journalism across the 2000s. Now, he buys the opportunity to write for a variety of tabletop role-playing games in the tradition of vanity press. His purchases have been published by:
- Sasquatch Game Studio’s Primeval Thule for 5e available at DriveThruRPG.com – Writer
- Ember Design Studios’ Yrisa’s Nightmare for 5e and Pathfinder available at DriveThurRPG.com – Writer
- Ember Design Studios’ Rats in the Street for 5e and Pathfinder available at DriveThurRPG.com – Writer & Artist
- Kobold Press’ Tome of Beasts for 5e available at KoboldPress.com – Playtester
- Kobold Press’ Deep Magic 9: Ring Magic (5e) available at KoboldPress.com – Playtester