![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
tafeanorn2012 is the year of Ellis: Kingdom in Turmoil.
What is Ellis? Ellis is a pen-and-paper roleplaying game that I have been writing for the last couple of years. It is a setting, Ellis is the name of both the capital city and the kingdom where the game takes place. It is also a set of game rules, the +3 System, specifically designed for this setting.
What makes it special? Why does the world need another rpg? Ellis is about roleplaying, about playing a character. Characters are detailed, but not just details about combat -- when you make a character you make his or her whole life.
And Ellis is a world that focuses on real people, doing real things. No wizards destroying armies or priests raising the dead. But people -- some important, some common -- trying to succeed in the world, trying to resolve conflicts with their neighbors, trying to keep true to their own morals.
Combat is quick with a fair amount of detail. It encourages movement around the battlefield, and allied fighters assisting one another. There is no magic, though you may encounter evil witches or evil demons. But even those foul abominations must bow to the power of the church.
Ellis is a kingdom in turmoil. The old, beloved king, Heinrich, has died and his three sons have begun fighting over his land. Greedy lords, kept in check by a strong ruler, are quick and eager to take advantage of the dispute. And an ancient evil, responsible for Heinrich’s death, is loose again on the world, ready to drown the world in blood.
And it’s almost done.
Yes, really.
The first week of the new year were busy at work doing inventory, but since that was over, I have been devoting a great deal of my time tackling the manuscript. And it’s nearly ready to go to the printer. The rules are all playtested and working. The setting and fiction are fully edited. The interior art is nearly done, with only a handful of pictures still due to come in.
And the maps. I’m still waiting on the maps, but I’ve been in frequent contact with my cartographer and I’m confident it will be done by the end of the month.
How close am I? Very. I could finish this weekend. Figure the week after just to make sure. Very close.
Which has spurred me to think: What’s the next step? After thinking about it, I think it looks like this:
Sunday 1/15
Print the last proof copy, examining it for layout errors and image problems.
Monday 1/16
Get the Ellis Kickstarter posted with list of perks and video promos.
Talk up the Kickstarter on RPG.net and RPGgeek.com and elsewhere. Continue this for the next few months.
Make website for EllisRPG.com
Tuesday 1/24
Have the manuscript completely ready (except for maps) and Kickstarter perks.
Tuesday 1/31
Have maps and cover done?
Monday 2/6
Kickstarter ends
Tuesday 2/7
Finalize manuscript and send to printer
Friday 2/10
Proof returns from printer
Monday 2/12
Send revised proof back to printer (if needed).
Thursday 2/16
Second proof returns from printer. It’s perfect (hopefully!) and I place an order.
Friday 2/17 through Sunday 2/19
RadCon. Promote book and show off proof. Sit on RPG panels.
Tuesday 2/18
Books Arrive!
Or something very similar.
Let’s see if I can keep to it!
What is Ellis? Ellis is a pen-and-paper roleplaying game that I have been writing for the last couple of years. It is a setting, Ellis is the name of both the capital city and the kingdom where the game takes place. It is also a set of game rules, the +3 System, specifically designed for this setting.
What makes it special? Why does the world need another rpg? Ellis is about roleplaying, about playing a character. Characters are detailed, but not just details about combat -- when you make a character you make his or her whole life.
And Ellis is a world that focuses on real people, doing real things. No wizards destroying armies or priests raising the dead. But people -- some important, some common -- trying to succeed in the world, trying to resolve conflicts with their neighbors, trying to keep true to their own morals.
Combat is quick with a fair amount of detail. It encourages movement around the battlefield, and allied fighters assisting one another. There is no magic, though you may encounter evil witches or evil demons. But even those foul abominations must bow to the power of the church.
Ellis is a kingdom in turmoil. The old, beloved king, Heinrich, has died and his three sons have begun fighting over his land. Greedy lords, kept in check by a strong ruler, are quick and eager to take advantage of the dispute. And an ancient evil, responsible for Heinrich’s death, is loose again on the world, ready to drown the world in blood.
And it’s almost done.
Yes, really.
The first week of the new year were busy at work doing inventory, but since that was over, I have been devoting a great deal of my time tackling the manuscript. And it’s nearly ready to go to the printer. The rules are all playtested and working. The setting and fiction are fully edited. The interior art is nearly done, with only a handful of pictures still due to come in.
And the maps. I’m still waiting on the maps, but I’ve been in frequent contact with my cartographer and I’m confident it will be done by the end of the month.
How close am I? Very. I could finish this weekend. Figure the week after just to make sure. Very close.
Which has spurred me to think: What’s the next step? After thinking about it, I think it looks like this:
Sunday 1/15
Print the last proof copy, examining it for layout errors and image problems.
Monday 1/16
Get the Ellis Kickstarter posted with list of perks and video promos.
Talk up the Kickstarter on RPG.net and RPGgeek.com and elsewhere. Continue this for the next few months.
Make website for EllisRPG.com
Tuesday 1/24
Have the manuscript completely ready (except for maps) and Kickstarter perks.
Tuesday 1/31
Have maps and cover done?
Monday 2/6
Kickstarter ends
Tuesday 2/7
Finalize manuscript and send to printer
Friday 2/10
Proof returns from printer
Monday 2/12
Send revised proof back to printer (if needed).
Thursday 2/16
Second proof returns from printer. It’s perfect (hopefully!) and I place an order.
Friday 2/17 through Sunday 2/19
RadCon. Promote book and show off proof. Sit on RPG panels.
Tuesday 2/18
Books Arrive!
Or something very similar.
Let’s see if I can keep to it!
