Catching Up on Work & Play

I’m waiting on copyedits for Banner of the Bull (my contribution to Kobold Press’ Tales of the Valiant Kickstarter) and on a proof copy from DriveThruRPG for the illustrated hardcover edition of Tales from Stolki’s Hall (the recently Kickstarted adult fantasy short story anthology set in Norrøngard). So I’ve got some idle time before I can finalize both those projects. I don’t do idle time well, so I’ve started on another project. Meanwhile, my eldest is heading to college next week, and we’ve been checking off boxes (as well as shipping them) of things we want to get done while my TV buddy is still here.

We recently powered through all of Peter Capaldi’s run on Doctor Who. I haven’t watched the episodes since he was still the Doctor and my child has never seen them, having jumped ship on Who during Smith’s run. But I convinced them to give it a try, and I’m so happy they have joined me in my Sincerely. Held. Belief that Peter Capaldi is the best Doctor and this era is the best Who ever got. Best acting. Best writing. Best Tardis interior. Even best opening credits. But watching the episodes back to back in a binge, I was able to trace all the nuances of the changes in the Doctor’s character across these three seasons. They really played well seen night after night not weekly with months and even a year’s break in between. When I try to list my Top Ten favorite Doctor Who episodes of all time, episodes from Capaldi’s run are easily half the list, and the remainder are probably still written by Steven Moffat.

After that, and while catching up on Futurama (we started back with season seven and are now on season ten), we watched the fifth and final season of Disenchantment. This is Matt Groening’s fantasy epic. Way back when, it took me a few episodes to get hooked. I was put off by their choice to forgo Tolkienesque elves in favor of the classic folklore brand of little toy and candy making elves in pointed hats, giggling and repairing cobblers’ shoes. But I stuck with it, and it rapidly grew into one of my favorite things. We finished it last night, and I think it has eclipsed both The Simpsons and Futurama for me, because while it’s not as funny as the best standalone episodes of either show, it does something neither of those shows do, or even attempt—it tells a story, with an arc, with character growth and change, with a beginning, a middle, and an end. And while it follows deeply flawed people (as all Groening’s works do), it shows a deep heart with great character development. And with its fifth season, it brought everything to a very satisfying conclusion, so it’s one up on a lot of other fantasy series in that respect! I highly recommend it, and though I’ll make myself wait, I am already itching to start a rewatch!

Finally, while waiting on what I need before I can polish off the previous two projects, I’ve started on another one. The 5e campaign setting Thrones & Bones: Norrøngard and the related adventure book, Sagas of Norrøngard, have been out since September and October of 2021 respectively. They are two years old! In that time, I’ve gotten a lot of feedback. I’ve also gotten two more years of design experience. I’m doing a pass on both books, correcting errata. I’m taking the occasion to do something else I’ve been wanting to do. Both volumes have an enormous amount of wonderful, full color art, but they did use a small amount of stock imagery. While the illustrators that did the stock art are wonderful in their own right, I worry that people will recognize the stock and not realize how much of the art in the book isn’t stock. So I’m replacing it all with new, original artwork. There are around 50 new images being added to the books. While I’m at it, I’m expanding the core campaign setting. I was working on a 5e Bestiary of Katernia for my world. I don’t know if that’s still moving forward. Right now, the plan is to convert to Tales of the Valiant with projects going forward, the 5e-base Black Flag Roleplaying system from Kobold Press. So I’m taking the Scandinavian-flavored monsters that were created for Sagas, Vengeance of the Valravn, this bestiary, etc… and I’m adding them to the core book. All the monsters in one place! I’m also updating the map with the expanded map from Tales from Stolki’s Hall, and making other cosmetic changes. Finally, I’m going to go over all my monsters from head to toe and make sure I still approve of their design. I’ve already completely rebuilt my gray seal (I don’t know what the heck I was thinking when I created it way back when. That seal was a tank!). So I’m going to give them all a once-over and make sure they are as polished and perfectly-perfect as they can be.

This is not a small project. However, when I’m done, everyone who has already purchased the PDFs of the two books will get a free update, and I’ll probably send a coupon to customers who want to order the revised hardcovers at a discount. I’m hoping to have this done in October, but as I say, this is not a small project.

Meanwhile two follow-up adventures intended to be run on the heels of Banner of the Bull, set in Norrøngard and designed for the Black Flag Roleplaying system, have just been commissioned. When they are ready, there will probably be a Kickstarter for them both together (with Banner as an add-on, though it will be available on DriveThruRPG long before that). And of course, the big adventure path that takes place elsewhere on the continent of Katernia, kicking off in the Swiss-inspired land of Nelenia, will be the major project of 2024.

Anyway, that’s what I’ve been up to. Let me know your opinions of Doctor Who, Disenchantment, the impending switch to Tales of the Valiant, if you are so inclined.