FormCritic wrote:
Thanks for the heads up.  It looks very interesting...kind of like Rob Kuntz' project.

Yeh, except for the absolutely ludricrous "explanations" why the "patrons" won't let the material be widely distributed are disturbing, to say the least.

If you want a copy of an early work then too bad. You should have gotten in on the ground floor. You will just have to wait until someone sells their patronage for that project to you with all the appellate rights of ownership that has. Until then they have the pride of being able to say-this is mine, at least in part. I helped. And I paid for it.

....Except no one ASKED me to get in on the ground floor.  I'm pretty well plugged into the gaming/RPG world, yet never heard of this project until now.  And I'm being told tough shit, you are NEVER going to have a copy, well, because we don't want you to. That's great, but dude, don't EVER expect me to donate any money to further vanity projects of yours under any circumstances.  Jeez.    

I continue to support and purchase Rob Kuntz's material both because I like to support the direct sales model, and they are quality projects.  Then again, there is no super-secret "cabal" that is attempting to make the material so exclusive it can't be owned by anyone except game designers or their friends!


Mike B.

Plaag wrote:Those who liked Rappan Athuk Box Set may want to think about picking up the City of Brass Box Set from Necromancer Games.

ShaneG.

Yeah man, definetly going to pick this up.   

Correct me if I am wrong but some guys have already posted on the NG forums that they picked it up at Origins?  When is it actually coming out in stores?

Cheers!

Badmike wrote:
BTW, it's impossible to purchase Castle Shadowcrag in any format at this point since it's a close project....sorry!  

Not true. Any member of the current project can get a copy.

Also, I believe the last day of June was the last day to sign up for Kobold Quarterly......

Also not true. You can subscribe any time. Sorry for any confusion.

Wolfgang

islestrike wrote:Kind of like someone comissioning  Erol Otus to do an original painting, but oh by the way I am going to cover it up in my livingroom and prevent you other guys from seeing it! Ever!

Cheers!

Erol Otus is doing just that.  There is at least one member of this forum that has a commissioned piece by Otus and it is unique....no one else has one.  Dumbass still hasnt gotten it framed though.  

There is nothing wrong with doing a limited edition adventure and having people pay money to fund it.  Rob Kuntz has done that with Cairn of the Skeleton King, Tower of Blood, and Bottle City.  A little different than with Castle Shadowcrag but still basically the same idea.

By the way Mike, where did this quote come from?

If you want a copy of an early work then too bad. You should have gotten in on the ground floor. You will just have to wait until someone sells their patronage for that project to you with all the appellate rights of ownership that has. Until then they have the pride of being able to say-this is mine, at least in part. I helped. And I paid for it.

Hey, that's a ROSLOF print.  Get your classic 1st edition artists straight!

Duh, I knew that.  

I want to go on record that I love Baur's stuff.

Same here.

I feel sorry for the guy in, say, two years who just discovers Open Design and is REALLY pissed he's not going to be able to ever see any of the last three years worth of goodies....

Isn't that what .pdf's are for?

Just kidding...

The levels of membership are below...the suggested donations are $30, $75 and $100 for each level:

$30:
The complete adventure, professionally laid out as a PDF and as a paper POD book.
Access to six months of rubber-meets-the-road design discussion
Q&A, and design essays on topics chosen by the patrons


$75
All the standard privileges listed above
Acknowledgment in the credits
Ability to suggest design essay topics
Direct access to the project manuscript and to design Q&A sessions
Review sketches, art, maps, handouts, and other graphic elements


$100
All the standard & $75 donation privileges listed above
A private game in Seattle
An in-person or online chat about your own adventures or game designs
A prominent listing in the project dedication and credits
Suggest a concept for an upcoming project: your pitch may become the next Open Design!

WolfgangBaur wrote:
It's just a limited edition. What's so weird about that?

Nothing is weird about it if that's what it is.  Maybe I am the one one who misinterpreted what's on your site.  But it does say under Shadowcrag that the "project is closed and not available to the public".  Under Steam and Brass it says "not available to the public in any form..."  Also under Steam and Brass it seems to suggest that you don't have any control over the work, but rather you are bound by what the original "patrons" want to do with it.  That is weird if the adventure is a really good one and you could bring it to a larger audience instead of writing it for a few "patrons".

Anyways ...sorry if I got it wrong.     But I wasn't the only one.  Maybe look at what it says on the website and look at it from the view of the casual 1st time visitor.

Best Regards

islestrike wrote:
Nothing is weird about it if that's what it is.  Maybe I am the one one who misinterpreted what's on your site.  But it does say under Shadowcrag that the "project is closed and not available to the public".  Under Steam and Brass it says "not available to the public in any form..."  Also under Steam and Brass it seems to suggest that you don't have any control over the work, but rather you are bound by what the original "patrons" want to do with it.  That is weird if the adventure is a really good one and you could bring it to a larger audience instead of writing it for a few "patrons".

Anyways ...sorry if I got it wrong.     But I wasn't the only one.  Maybe look at what it says on the website and look at it from the view of the casual 1st time visitor.

Best Regards

I was confused also Islestrike, you have to poke around a bit on the website to find out the cutoff dates apparantly aren't writ in stone...basically, when Wolfgang decides the cutoff dates should trigger I guess, and even then some past projects could be available (although the first one, Steam and Brass, does look "officially" closed for good).  

I went ahead and took the plunge with the $30 membership...kind of steep, but as I said I do like to support this sort of publishing.  Plus, Kingdom of the Ghouls was badass...if Empire of the Ghouls is more in depth, sweet......
I got a welcome and a sign up link for livejournal.com so I could get info about the project.  Unfortunately Livejournal seems to be down tonight or having problems, I got about halfway registered and it went blaloohey.  I'll try again tomorrow or re-register.  Anyway sounds cool is you have an extra $30.
  Dang I really like the look of the Paizo Pathfinder stuff, but $20 a chapter?  The finished project would be $120, but incredibly massive (say 600 pages with maps?).  I guess I'm just cheap, I don't know. Anyway, I still might be interested enough in a Stone Giant fortress written by Baur to pony up for that one chapter...

Mike B.

Afrika Corps wrote:I have been a big fan of Wolfgang's work ever since reading his kingdom of the ghouls adventure in Dungeon Magazine #70. There are a few things that puzzle me though since this topic has been brought up.

1.Why has he decided to post here on this forum now, with few words and no introduction? (Dont get me wrong, Im excited and intrigued)

2. His website is a lil bare, vague and confusing about the products and sponsorship: Is the format available only through PDF? or is there going to be a physical printing of the work?

3.Rob Kuntz has had a great response and sponsorship of his independant physical publication of modules (I believe as a direct result of the acaeum website and forum) I have sponsored 2 of his projects and have been very happy with the product and overall quality with the minor exception as to the shipping procedures.

Thes are just my humble opinions and observations..

I have a feeling someone may have alerted Wolfgang once we started ripping him...it's happened before (with Titan games, for example), it seems a lot of Acaeum members are pretty plugged in....

The site is a little confusing and contradictory, but once I signed up and started getting the update, it began to make a little more sense.  It seems the Open Deisgin is pretty much a collaborative project between Baur and his sponsors. It's quite unique. Ignore a lot of the cutoff date stuff, and sign up if you want the magazine or the Empire of the Ghouls products.

I'm not a great fan of 3rd edition, but I'm a fan of well written and interesting adventures/campaign ideas.The process being used by Baur is very interesting, and is fascinating to read. Apparantly, Wolfgang throws out a few ideas.....they get voted on by the patrons, then every step of the process is debated as ideas are tossed out to be taken or discarded. Anyone who contributes can comment on all aspects of the project as it trundles along. What's cool, if you actually come up with a bit of gold, Wolfgang may incorporate it into the adventure.

I would recommend if you are at all interested in the professional process of putting together an adventure from concept to finished product, you subscribe to the Open Design process.  Be forewarned, since the adventure is for 3rd ed, there is a LOT of 3rd edition jargon, with people discussing templates, feats, spells, etc in 3rd edition terms.  That's not the cup of tea for a lot of people who call themselves Acaeum members (obviously). But if you can get past that, or if you really aren't that opposed to 3rd edition, you can find a lot to interest you.  The playtest sections are quite interesting, because I've never been part of any type of playtesting groups, seeing the process there is cool.

I find myself quite interested in the product because I enjoy large underdark type campaigns, no matter what the edition. I think I would be far less interested in contibuting to a project concerning a setting (there are so many settings for 3rd ed already, most of which I'm really not interested in) or one that was much more 3rd edtiion specific.  Probably like the majority of patrons, I will find myself lurking and just watching the process wend it's way along.  Highly recommended.

Mike B.