Rogue Dispatches

[SS&S] Now some covers

Richard Iorio II — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 10:00:20 +0000

Work is humming along on Shadow, Sword & Spell. It is great to see the years — yes, it has been years — of work finally coming to an end. This is a fun game, and I really like how it plays. One of the goals we have with this game is that we want to continue our trend of having our games look unique. Each game is different in tope and scope, and because of this, we feel each game should look different as well. I want the layout to match the setting, and in the case of Shadow, Sword & Spell, it is. Both covers are done, and they harken back to James and mine childhood when we fist got into this hobby. So without further ado, here we go.

Shadow, Sword & Spell: Basic

Coming August 2010
$12.99

Shadow, Sword & Spell: Expert

Coming September/October 2010
$12.99There will be Shadow, Sword & Spell: Advanced but that is a ways off. I cannot wait till you see this game.

[Colonial Gothic] A preview of the Gazetteer

Richard Iorio II — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 02:09:08 +0000

So, you want a sneak peak at the Colonial Gothic Gazetteer?

I know you do.

Take a gaze at the state of my birth:

Colonial Gothic Gazteer Preview

There is more cool things were this came from.

So, why we have been so quiet?

Richard Iorio II — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 02:04:02 +0000

So why have we been so quiet, you ask?

Well, we have been busy writing and designing games.

This post, I hope, will be the first of more regular posting by us. This post also serves as a good update on the status of Rogue Games. James and I want to be more communicative, but we are often faced with a dilemma: write or blog. I tend to write, after all, Rogue Games is a games publisher, and in order to be one, we need to, well, publish games. Also, for me, I like to keep my head down, and stay quiet. I will do better with the talking and sharing, but if you are looking for me to pontificate about various topics not related to games, well you are not going to get it from me. :)

Anyway, let me get to the meat of this post, a update.

Colonial Gothic

Have I said lately how much I love this game? Well I love this game. Ever since Graeme has come on board as the Line Developer, productivity has increased, and it is nice having someone who not only shares my vision on the game, but help with the work load. We have a lot on the docket for this game, and some exciting plans.

Gazetteer

Currently in layout is Colonial Gothic: Gazetteer. Said book is due out this March. It is a very tight book, and Graeme really has done a great job with the writing. The book is filled with maps, and info on the original thirteen colonies. Once the layout is done and approved, and it goes to the printer, I plan on having pre-order up and running sometime next month. In addition, this summer for Gen Con 2010, there will be a full color map available for sale. This map is the full scale version of the seven found in this book. Any copies that are left over post Gen Con, I plan on having them up for sale on the Rogue Games website, and hopefully IPR and the Studio2 online store. More details on this when the time is closer.

Campaign

I am working on the first part of the campaign. As much as I want to get this out ASAP, I want to make sure that it is good. It will be out this year.

New France

On tap for the end of the year, the New France sourcebook covers, well, New France. More on this later.

eBooks/PDFS

We have at least three planned for this year. The first will be fiction, another will be a player/GM aid, and the third a sourcebook. The fiction will be out April.

Thousand Suns

Revised

Revised is about to go into layout. James has been taking his time on the book, and that is because he wants to make sure it is perfect. This revision is not as extensive as Colonial Gothic’s was, and this should be the last one we tackle for a good long while. The revision is more of a polish than a overhaul, and James should be talking about it in a few weeks. The book will have a whole new layout, and this layout is a mark improvement over the current look of the Rulebook. This will be out in May.

Starships

Playtest has been underway, and the book will be in layout summer and out this fall.

eBooks/PDFs

Coming, we need to get the Revised Rulebook done first.

Shadow, Sword & Spell

The third game, and the one we have been working on the longest. This game, as far as I am concerned is some of the best work James and I have done. It hits the tone we are going for, and already we have ideas for follow ups for this game. Like Thousand Suns, and Colonial Gothic, Shadow, Sword & Spell will be fully supported, and scratches a design itch James and I have had for close to six-years. The rules are in playtest, and the rough breakdowns are done. The game is on target.

Basic

The first book, and it will be out in August in time for Gen Con. Unlike our other two rulebooks, this is a much smaller book, and everything you will need is found in Basic. Cover is done, and I will post that later. The book is 80% done, and the only thing left to do it tighten the setting information, and tighten the writing. The setting is something James and I have debated numerous times, but it is needed. However, the setting is designed to not be in your way. Think of the meta-setting found in Thousand Suns, and you will have an idea what we are doing design wise.

Expert

This book is about 60% done, and will be out either September or October. The reason for this is due to making sure the game is not only great, but to allow time for a major overhaul of the mass combat rules. One of the playtesters had such a good idea, that James and I sent him a contract, and he will be rewriting the mass combat rules. I will not go into details on this yet, but the rules will be fast, and allow you to quickly play battles at the table with little hassle. In addition, Expert answers the question: What’s the end game? By that, what do you do when your hero is a power unto himself? James has been thinking about this for sometime, and he is working on this now. Also, to answer the question, you will not need Expert to play SS&S. Expert is an add on, and expands your options found in Basic.

Advanced

This is roughly outlined, and a list has been made what we want to include. This will not be touched until after Basic is done. This book will not be out until next year.

City

This is my baby. This is something I have worked on for a very long time. I will deal with this at a later date, but this will be out next year. City (not the official title) is inspired by urban pulp fantasy.

If you’ve seen The Cursed Chateau, you know that we did something different. We plan on doing more of these experiments, and James and I have about six things we want to do. The plan we have is to do one of these a year, and release it at year’s end. These are small books, and that is due to the nature of the projects. I think we’ve agreed on the next one, but this is not going to be worked on heavily until April.

So there you go, this is the update. A lot on the plate, but a lot of this is either done, close to done, or being worked on.

The next Colonial Gothic book.

Richard Iorio II — Sat, 16 Jan 2010 15:11:16 +0000

Last night I sent off the final files for Colonial Gothic’s next book. What book? Graeme Davis’ Colonial Gothic: Gazetteer. This book has become my favorite book to date, and this is due to Graeme’s ideas meshed with the ideas I had for it. I wanted a book that will filled with source material, as well as hooks. I wanted a book that would serve as a quick primer to the original Thirteen Colonies.

So what is in this book? Good question. Check it out:

Introduction

Chapter 1: History

Early English and Dutch Colonization

Colonial Expansion

Local Conflicts

External Wars

Deteriorating Relations

Chapter 2: New Hampshire

History

Geography

Society and Politics

Locations

Mysteries

Chapter 3: Massachusetts

History

Geography

Society and Politics

Locations

Mysteries

Chapter 3: Rhode Island

History

Geography

Society and Politics

Locations

Mysteries

Chapter 4: Connecticut

History

Geography

Society and Politics

Locations

Mysteries

Chapter 5: New York

History

Geography

Society and Politics

Locations

Mysteries

Chapter 6: New Jersey

History

Geography

Society and Politics

Locations

Mysteries

Chapter 7: Pennsylvania

History

Geography

Society and Politics

Locations

Mysteries

Chapter 8: Delaware

History

Geography

Society and Politics

Locations

Mysteries

Chapter 9: Maryland

History

Geography

Society and Politics

Locations

Mysteries

Chapter 10: Virginia

History

Geography

Society and Politics

Locations

Mysteries

Chapter 11: North Carolina

History

Geography

Society and Politics

Locations

Mysteries

Chapter 12: South Carolina

History

Geography

Society and Politics

Locations

Mysteries

Chapter 13: Georgia

History

Geography

Society and Politics

Locations

Mysteries

Chapter 14: Native Americans

Algonquian Peoples

Iroquoian Peoples

Creek

Chapter 15: A Surprise for General Gage

Introduction

A Postal Delay

The Journey to Boston

An Interview with General Ward

Castle William

Running the Adventure

Ending the Adventure

Appendix I: Glossary

Appendix II: Bibliography

Books

Game Sourcebooks

Online Resources

This is a tight book, and I am really happy with it. Even more, it is filled with maps of the colonies, that should make any map buff happy. In addition, the color version of this map is big, and I plan on having large versions of it for sale at Gen Con 2010 (yes, you will be able to buy it online as well).

I plan on having the web page for the book up in a few days. I was going to get it up tonight, but the system is acting very strange.

Introducing a new line

Richard Iorio II — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 17:10:20 +0000

As we quickly approach our third year doing this, James and I have a lot on our plate. This is going to be a good year, and some of the things we have cooking up are going to be very neat.

Last month, as you know, we released The Cursed Chateau. This month, we announce:

What is this? This is the line where James and I will be playing. This line deals with games that do not fit in with Colonial Gothic, Thousand Suns, and Shadow, Sword & Spell. Does this mean that we have more ideas for books tht are experimental? Yes. Like what? Depends. I do know James and I are talking about another product similar in tone to The Cursed Chateau. We also have ideas for games using the 12° system. Anyway, I know it is not the most earth shattering of announcements, but more things are coming.

Maps are up

Richard Iorio II — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 01:48:46 +0000

New year is here, and we are as busy as ever. A lot of cool things are on the docket for this year, and James and I cannot wait to share them with you.

As you know, last month we released The Cursed Chateau. It was an experiment for us, and so far, it is one that has done better than we thought. If all goes well, there will be a new book like this out at the end of the year. The books should be making its’ way into distribution by next week — I am waiting for the rest of the orders to come in — but you can buy it now for the usual places.

I’ve uploaded the three maps to our Scribd site, here are the links to them:

More to come later this week.

[Thousand Suns Revised] Update

Richard Iorio II — Wed, 30 Dec 2009 21:33:47 +0000

You probably thought we forgot about this game?

Nope. It is moving along nicely. It is on target for a May release.

Here is a sneak peak at the cover:

The inside is going to look just as nice.

A Message From the Rogue

Richard Iorio II — Fri, 25 Dec 2009 14:22:09 +0000

James and I would like to wish you and yours a very Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, Happy Kwanza, and a very Joyous New Year.

We thank you for all your support this year, and making what we do a pleasure. Here’s to next year, which will be filled with a lot of cool things.

From the Rogues, peace and joyous blessings.

[Colonial Gothic] More on the Map

Richard Iorio II — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 02:24:36 +0000

Been quite, and that is due to being busy writing. Writing a lot. I thought I would take a few seconds to post the following:

As you can see, the map for the Colonial Gothic Gazetteer is still being worked on. This is going to be one pretty map.

[Colonial Gothic] Currently working on ...

Richard Iorio II — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 01:21:40 +0000

So I am fast at working writing something new. What? Maybe these pictures will help:

Could this be the first part of the Colonial Gothic campaign?

Yes.