Lost Necromancer PDFs
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Post Posted: Wed May 12, 2010 10:34 am 
 

No question, the project is risky.

Frog God Games is publishing a prestige product for the Necromancer faithful.

I bought the $2 first module last night.


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Post Posted: Wed May 12, 2010 11:04 am 
 

Badmike wrote:Thanks for the info, Jon.

Initial purchases funding later continuations of publication always makes me a bit antsy....

Mike B.

I don't have a problem investing early in works to be released later. I had no issue with RJK's product or delivery, regardless of delay. But all the products I've ponied up for in advance have been single products that only require that the author is going to release a single one hit product.

Here you have to invest in an ongoing product and hope it gets completed, regardless of any inevitable delays. People set themselves programs.schedules they intend to meet, but in reality most people over estimate how much they are capable of getting done in any given time, especially when they have the bulk of the money up front.

Once you've been paid, where's the motivation? Reputation? Loyalty? Good old honesty? All good intentions and I'm sure offered with every intent to deliver. But reality is too often different from good intent.


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Post Posted: Wed May 12, 2010 12:20 pm 
 

Would be $22 for the first book Ian as its only 3 parts.

I remember paying for the large Game of Thrones book back in the day as an initial purchase, course everyone that paid got that book - though the company is no longer.

As for this Frog God release, may have to weigh the options as money is sort of tied up at the moment.

ShaneG.


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Post Posted: Sun May 23, 2010 2:29 pm 
 

Looks like they have removed the Tsar pdf from the necromancer section of drive thru.

  

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Post Posted: Sun May 23, 2010 4:48 pm 
 

If so, maybe someone's been reading this thread. :lol:


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Post Posted: Sun May 23, 2010 4:51 pm 
 

mbassoc2003 wrote:If so, maybe someone's been reading this thread. :lol:


That is exactly what I was thinking

  

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Post Posted: Sun May 23, 2010 4:56 pm 
 

Bad economy.
Business struggling from pillar to post.
Seems like a poor attempt to try to justify the $160 price tag to me.

The great irony is, purely on account of FGG's pricing of this, I'd be willing to bet I can get the whole damn lot for free on the internet winting a week of their release in PDF form.

People don't like it when you try to screw over gamers, and they have no loyalty to an auther or a company that does it. That's why everything ever published by WoTC is available for free online despite WoTC's best efforts to prevent it, but hey presto, you can't possibly get TLG's Yggsburgh or Castle Zagyg. Yes they're rare and much sought after, but they were very fairly prices.

FGG should be marketing a $50-80 boxed set, and they're adding the extra $100 on the price purely 'cos they're greedy and they don't give a shit about gamers or any of the author's faithful followers and fan base. This product in it's current form will kill this author's reputation.


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Post Posted: Sun May 23, 2010 10:27 pm 
 

The Frog God website is down at the moment.

Possibly work in progress?


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Post Posted: Sun May 23, 2010 11:42 pm 
 

I think it was posted on ENWorld that they were changing their web server.


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Post Posted: Tue May 25, 2010 7:05 pm 
 

Think they did some fixings the past week so this link works: http://talesofthefroggod.com/index.html

ShaneG.


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Post Posted: Tue Jun 22, 2010 8:05 pm 
 

I need to clear up some wildly inaccurate allegations and guesswork here and comment that I'm more than a little disturbed by the blatant comfort with illegal piracy that some here have displayed.  

On the other hand, to those of you who are legitimiately interested in this project and not just spewing venom, here's the scoop.

The entire Slumbering Tsar Saga is written (well, not the bonus chapter, but more on that later).  It is currently in 3.5 format.  The maps are all drawn and are currently being professionally finished by a cartographer (we're up to chapter 7 now).  The artwork is done save for a new intro piece for each chapter since it wasn't originally intended to be a 14-unit item, but the artist has been secured and all is on schedule.

Here's the deal.  Original ST was 3 mega-adventures.  The first one was released on DTRPG in pdf format, but the other two never were.  The 14 parts that make up the saga break down as follows.  Adventure 1 (the one previously released) parts 1-3, Adventure 2 parts 4-8, Adventure 3 parts 9-14.  The first three parts are basically line-for-line repeats (with a small amount of additional material) of the 3.5 pdf but updated for Pathfinder.  The original pdf cost $22, and the first 3 parts that are repeats also cost $22.  If you buy the subscription and e-mail Bill through the website, you get refunded the initial $22 investment, so there is NO paying for the same material twice.  Let me repeat that for those in the back.  No paying for the same thing twice.  

Some of you seem to have hitched your wagons to that accusation and concluded that this is some sort of scam or that Necro/FGG doesn't care about their customers.  If you really want to believe that in spite of the evidence to the contrary, that is fine; I wouldn't want to do business with you.  For those that understand what I'm saying and know Bill Webb/Necro's track record, you know that is not how Bill has ever operated nor will he start now.  FGG is a chance for Necro to start back up again and come out of its haitus, albeit in a new format, not for a one-shot capital boost.  Bill can sell Necro pdfs from now until Kingdom Come without having to go through the trouble and hassle of producing Slumbering  Tsar.  He's producing because he wants to and lots of folks want him to.

Now, having said all that, if you subscribe you get the hardback (~800 pages) for the cost of its shipping.  The subscription allows us to both know the number of the big books that we need to print and have the capital to pay for them.  This isn't going to be some 1000-copy print run.  We're going to print the books for the people who purchase them and probably a few extras, but that is it.  Anyone who wants to buy it after that will have to absorb the cost of a single-copy print run which is substantially higher than bulk.  Plus there will be a bonus chapter for subscribers not available for those who buy individually later.  This and signed and autographed print copies for all subscribers is how we're rewarding those folks who invested in us to make this all possible.  Yeah, it's on the priciny side, but it's a BIG book with a small print run, so it's not going to be priced as cheaply as other bigger operations can do.

As for it fizzling out, well, as I said all it's written.  All that's happening now is the conversion to PF RPG for the stat blocks which I am doing month-to-month.  I'm sure most of you don't know me, but I've written for every adventure path for WotC and Paizo Publishing since Age of Worms (3.5, 4e, and PF RPG).  You can check that out to see if you like what I do or buy the $2 1st chapter for a low-price sampling.  I've already written Slumbering Tsar for 3.5, and I don't write 500,000 words for the intention of letting it fizzle out.  I've been fighting for this to see the light of day since 2006, which is how we managed to get to where we are today.  So while I can understand initial skepticism, if the facts don't match up for it, I'd hope you'd let the evidence speak rather than some personal agenda or paranoia.  If you're unconvinced, simple, don't buy it.  But I had to speak out in light of all the misrepresentations (surely unintentional, I understand) so that there would be some good info out there.

To get more info you can check out the Frog God Games website or join in the forum discussions about this project at both Necromancer Games and Paizo Publishing.

Bottom line, neither Bill nor I are new to the industry nor do either of us have a reputation for screwing fans/customers over.  If it's not your cup of tea, I respect that, but there's no need for false accusations and calls of support of illegal piracy.

  

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Post Posted: Tue Jun 22, 2010 9:30 pm 
 

Hi Greg!

Thanks for coming here and posting.  It's a project worth supporting.


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Post Posted: Tue Jun 22, 2010 10:31 pm 
 

Greg A Vaughan wrote:I need to clear up some wildly inaccurate allegations and guesswork here and comment that I'm more than a little disturbed by the blatant comfort with illegal piracy that some here have displayed.


Hi Greg.

Based on what I know about the people that post here, I can say that just about everyone here is against piracy, especially when others profit from it.  Heck we even have a thread devoted to nothing more than weeding out people who sell illegal pdf's on Ebay.

As for the inaccuracies that were posted, at least for me, it was only because there didnt seem to be a whole lot of specific and accurate information available all in one place at the time of the initial discussion.  Jon Hershberger's previous post was helpful as is yours and the one that Bill made earlier today.

I've already made up my mind and cashed in.  I've just started reading the introductory installment and so far it looks good.  I'll just have to deal with my .pdf "phobia" and wait eagerly for the hardback.

Thanks again for the informative post.


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Post Posted: Wed Jun 23, 2010 12:47 am 
 

Hi King and Form Critic,

Sorry if my previous post came off too harsh.  I understand that the information on this project has come out piecemeal (it has developed piecemeal, in fact) and not everyone knew the whole story.  I just wanted to make sure that the true information was getting out, and I appreciate everyones' efforts in doing so. The frustration I'm sure you read in my post was specifially in regards to the piracy-related stuff, which I didn't mean to imply was common at The Acaeum or that all of the posts related to it.  That stuff is just a pet peeve of mine.

Anyway, my apologies to anyone I have offended.  I know good information wasn't readily available on this and I appreciate everyone's efforts to find it and explain it.  I'm really glad that Bill posted in the other thread too.  Thanks everyone for your support.  If you get the book, let me know what you think.  we aim to please.  :D

Greg

  


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Post Posted: Wed Jun 23, 2010 10:26 pm 
 

Hey Greg, nice of you to come by The Acaeum Forums and post your thoughts.  

The Acaeum community really is a great group of folks. I've had the luxury of getting to know many of them personally over the past four years as they've been big supporters of the AD&D projects with which I've been involved.  The skepticism (sp?) here runs from low to off the charts, partly because they're collectors who trade in skepticism (and integrity) on a near-constant basis, but also because many of the members here have been burned by unsavory con men, shaddy publishers and 'dealers', and so forth.  But if you're honest with them and treat them with the respect collectors deserve, as I'm confident you will, you'll win them over for life.

Although I stated upthread that I was still undecided about taking the ST plunge, and gave my reasons why, I do think I wll be buying the whole she-bang. As you know, I do like a number of your previous rpg releases, including The Impossible Eye adventure for the Legacy of Fire adventure path for Pathfinder, so I have little doubt that I'll like ST I - III.  My main reservation is that the stat blocks really are a waste since I'll be converting it to AD&D (or OD&D) to run it.

Anyway, good to see you around.

Jon



  


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Post Posted: Thu Jun 24, 2010 12:03 am 
 

Thanks, Jon.  I'm getting the idea of what you're saying from the feedback I've been getting both on the boards and through PM.  So that's all good to know.  And I understand skepticism.  It can be a VERY healthy thing, especially in internet transactions.  So no hard feelings.  :D  I just wanted to make sure that the information out there was accurate and could put some of the concerns to rest.  

Thanks for the kind words, I'm glad you liked Legacy of Fire.  Being a grognard visit to the City of Brass it is probably the closest in design terms to what I've done with Slumbering Tsar.  As for ST not having the stat blocks you use, I promise that you won't feel like you wasted a bunch of money on stat blocks.  If I took all the stat blocks out this series is still going to run 400,000+ words, which is a whopping huge amount of material not to mention about a hundred maps that you could use for whatever.  It's got A LOT of stat blocks, for sure, but they don't overrrun the adventure.

  

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Post Posted: Thu Jun 24, 2010 12:58 am 
 

Having the maps on PDF along with the hardback easily doubles the value of the maps.


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Post Posted: Thu Jun 24, 2010 1:22 am 
 

Just ordered the full subscription edition, and downloading the initial installment now.

Thanks Greg & Bill, for getting this release rolling out - looking forward to the entire release!

Jon "tacojohn" Hershberger



  
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