The Later Blue Tome of Amaxathroth the Cursed

[reason]

Moving ahead with my Sorcerer mini-supplement, I've put up a preview PDF - linked from the pages below. It's amazing how much more you can get done per unit time in a terrible economy.

<a href=http://www.principiainfecta.com/archives/2009/06/that_shuddering.php
>http://www.principiainfecta.com/archives/2009/06/that_shuddering.php</a>
http://www.principiainfecta.com

"I, made your compelled servant, tell you this: that Amaxathroth has not wandered the world in an age. His tomes decay, his words stolen and hoarded by wizened sorcerers who cling to life like leeches in their towers. King and Lords, who would suffer a thousand agonies to gain the curse of ages bestowed upon Amaxathroth, must instead torment captive scholars, slaves failed in search of the Wanderer's final tomb.

"Amaxathroth the Patient does not laugh at these fools, nor at you, for all are less than worms to his gaze. He waits for this rotted world of men to end, or perhaps for the Demon-King to rise from a hidden coffer beneath the ruins of the Black Palace, forget his wrath, and rescind the curse of life unending. The dust covers Amaxathroth who has learned all that can be learned, seated upon the last of his Tomes, waiting."

[reason]

But of course getting the URLs right in the post would be have been too easy Try these instead.

http://www.principiainfecta.com/archives/2009/06/that_shuddering.php
http://www.principiainfecta.com

[Ron Edwards]

Buh!

What can I say but "thanks" and "cool?"

Well, I suppose I could give some substantive feedback, which I will do as soon as I can. Finals are hitting hard.

Thanks! Cool!

Best, Ron

[reason]

The PDF of the Later Blue Tome of Amaxathroth the Cursed is done and published at Drive Thru.

http://rpg.drivethrustuff.com/product_info.php?products_id=63635{1}1

The print version is pending my exploration of Lightning Source, and the speed with which that happens depends on the level of interest that the PDF garners.

[greyorm]

The print version is pending my exploration of Lightning Source, and the speed with which that happens depends on the level of interest that the PDF garners.

Out of curiousity: why are you looking at LS instead of, say, Lulu? (I ask because PDF and print are very different markets, as in entirely different, and sales in one just do not indicate or overlap with sales in the other.) Personally, if I were already looking at doing both PDF and print for a product, I would do PDF and POD, so there was a print option for those who want or prefer such and just don't want PDF. You may not want to for some reason, hence the question.

[reason]

Why LS rather than Lulu? Primarily because one of the goals here is learning (certainly making money isn't high on the list...), and LS looks closer to the deep end in terms of forcing you to learn rather than holding your hand. Once I've figured out LS, I may go on and do Lulu as well.

[James_Nostack]

Reason, is there any actual play on this?  What's the source material?  How does it differ from other Sword & Sorcery supplements like Charnel Gods and Dictionary of Mu?

[Ron Edwards]

How about congratulations?

This is the first mini-supplement since the first wave of them over six years ago. I'm happy about that.

It is also the first to be put together without any editorial guidance from me, which I decided a while back was a bad idea. Sorcerer is now effectively an open license, asking only that original rules and text not be duplicated, and for complete referencing.

Best, Ron

[greyorm]

Primarily because one of the goals here is learning (certainly making money isn't high on the list...), and LS looks closer to the deep end in terms of forcing you to learn rather than holding your hand.

Fair enough. Having read over the previews on the site, I'm really looking forward to getting a copy of this! (I tend not to buy PDF unless it comes down to that being the only option. So please let us know when the print version is available!)

[Finarvyn]

I bought one.

I thought about waiting to see what others had to say, particularly since Ron didn't put in his two cents before it went public. Then I decided that I had made too many comments about the lack of support for Sorcerer and that I needed to back 'em up with my pocketbook.

I've only glanced through parts but it looks neat so far. And there are two versions -- regular and printer friendly. Nice!

[reason]

It is also the first to be put together without any editorial guidance from me, which I decided a while back was a bad idea. Sorcerer is now effectively an open license, asking only that original rules and text not be duplicated, and for complete referencing.

I will say that designing sorcerer/demon pairs with the goal of illustrating a point, picking up a text story where it left off, or capturing a particular feel from past play in a completely different system is a challenge. Very time and thought intensive [as opposed to collaboration and emergent goals with a group]. It's a goal in which I hope I succeeded, but that knowledge can only come with more people I have no connection to playing the thing.

Reason, is there any actual play on this?  What's the source material?  How does it differ from other Sword & Sorcery supplements like Charnel Gods and Dictionary of Mu?

Actual play that happened and is ever going to be written about by me? No. I think that would spoil things. I'd be pleased to see actual play notes emerge from people for whom Amaxathroth is a found artifact, however. Anyone in this circle who is serious about investigating, playing, and writing something up should contact me if they can point to good actual play material they've written up before - it's a DriveThru PDF, so I can give away free copies pretty much as the whim takes me, and that seems like a worthwhile use of a free copy.

The existence of Dictionary of Mu was the spur for the creation of Amaxthroth, back when. There are some similarities - a scribe too clever for his own good, a world you might recognize, a low word-count/page-count ratio, a text of connected and ordered fragments rather than a contiguous narrative, the choice of game system, lots of interesting quality art, etc.

But it is its own beast, sword and sorcery and pulp tropes filtered through my twisted brain. More scribes and sorcerers, fewer muscle men. The nature of demons is quite different. There's a lot more show and hint rather than tell, which I think is the biggest structural difference between this and Charnel Gods. You won't find creature lists or geographical overviews, especially since the latter would rather ruin the process of realizing what the subtext is here and there. But wall to wall flavor text, yes.

There are 30 or so short texts in the work, each accompanied by a sorcerer/demon pair. The texts are musings on locations, human nature, the ways of a rotted, demon-infested world, and so forth, all filtered by Amaxathroth's viewpoint. Which is the nature of Humanity in the setting - defying that viewpoint. Everything that's written is a windmill to be tilted against.

Here's a selection of section headings:

This Vile Aeon
The Rushing, Fetid Waters of the Ages
And Lem Fell Beneath the Waves
Ancient Yorm that Came Before
Red-Eyed Apes of Jibaral
The Demon Grove
The Sigil that is a Doom Upon Scribes
The Sorcerer Denas, Foul and Forgotten
Rogues and Murderers Beyond Harumetha
Beauty Upon the Street of Leering Whores
The Murderous Charm
Slave Boats Upon the Nal
The Tower that Eats the Jungle

[reason]

I thought about waiting to see what others had to say, particularly since Ron didn't put in his two cents before it went public. Then I decided that I had made too many comments about the lack of support for Sorcerer and that I needed to back 'em up with my pocketbook.

Much appreciated!

I've only glanced through parts but it looks neat so far. And there are two versions -- regular and printer friendly. Nice!

Everyone should do this. It literally takes three minutes to rip out a master page background, however ornate, and save a white-background copy in something like Scribus.

[Finarvyn]

It's a nice enough product that I'm planning on buying a paper copy when such becomes availible, so do keep us up to date on this.

[reason]

The Lulu version of the Later Blue Tome of Amaxathroth the Cursed is out. Find it here:

http://stores.lulu.com/principiainfecta

It's a black and white softcover given that I suspect the full color glory of the PDF version isn't worth the full color price; save that for things that manage to be as pretty as Cthulhutech.