The BPB Progress Report
Where am I at in terms of production of Black Powder and Brimstone
So I thought I should show off some actual production in this production blog.
But first I want to say a big hello to the new followers from the Mörk Borg facebook group. We are now 100 souls strong in this here company of the damned.
So this is the folder containing all the pages for the book, this folder of doom has haunted my dreams since i started work on this project in (checks date of first file) late January of 2023. Bloody hell.
So as you can see it's looking to be about 60+ spreads so at minimum 120 pages. Although that number is definitely going to go up as some pages including some deep cut lore are not present in this screenshot as I need to reformat the text to look like a bible verse, and still be fun to read and not a dreaded wall of text.
When I started this venture I knew I wanted to have a complete project done before I sought crowd funding, that way the risks and strain of making the thing are more spread out if not completely eliminated and backers will know the thing is done, I just need some dosh to get the project printed and in people's hands.
Now there are more pages and things I want to include as extras for stretch goals, things like more enemies, as well as a collection of highly detailed “Nemesis” characters as a stretch goal. But at the moment I’m more focused on making what’s called a “minimum viable product” so the game in all its glory and leaving bells and whistles to the fates so I don't get bogged down in a horrid bog that is feature creep. A terrible morrase that is the watery depths of many an ill fated project.
Now in terms of when I’m hoping to get this sorted I’m planning to have the book done by the end of September, start sorting things out for a crowdfunding campaign in October and actually start the campaign on Halloween night. These dates however may change due to unforeseen circumstances so don't hold me to them yet.
As for the book itself I am budgeting for something really special so as to keep up with other projects in the OSR rpg scene. So the book is going to be A5, Hardback, and I’m aiming to have glossy thick paper to really show off the artwork. A significant aspect of the book is that it’s going to feature a stitch bound spine. That way the pages won't fall out after the fiftieth time you’ve leafed through it to find the particular rule or generative table you need.
After that things like a ribbon, embossed cover as well as other special features depend on how successful the kickstarter is.
As far as variants go, I only plan to have one kickstarter exclusive book cover as a reward tier, so the more that is raised, the more special a book you will get for the price, rather than a ladder of books of differing quality. Honestly it’s amazing what you can do with printing now and I’m committed to making the book something I’m truly proud of rather than just uploading it to Drive Through RPG and having it made as cheaply as possible with print on demand.
As for more goodies and extras I’m thinking of having play cards printed with characters and enemies on one sad, and then quick stats and lore on the back for the table. That way you can show off a creature from the bestiary without having to awkwardly show the illustration in the book while hiding the stats.
One thing I’m interested in featuring is some custom coins that can be used for the table, as some rules require a d2 or a flip of a coin to see the outcome.
And then there’s the other things I want to include like bookmarks, pin badges, art prints and the obligatory printed map on nice textured paper for you to stab a dagger into, pinning it to the table and annoying whoever owns the map and the table.
I don't want to go too crazy with backer rewards like t-shirts and awkward GM sessions over discord, but if you have suggestions of what you like to see in these sorts of crowdfunding efforts let me know in the comments.