The Charnel Gods are coming!

[Bankuei]

This whole thing sounds really cool to me, since I'm also a big fan of the "lesser of two evils" or "Is it evil if properly directed?" theme.

As for me... The trick of some positions of real power is often having the choice of doing horrible things -- and then going ahead anyway -- cause that's the job.

A rather interesting thing I had read basically defined a king as "someone who decides who dies", which can be either read as executive power, or the power to make those tough decisions(sending armies out, leaving a region to fend for itself against floods, etc).  Pretty related to the idea.

Great stuff, looking forward to it.

Chris

[Gordon C. Landis]

Scott,

I, too, thank you for your reply.  I'll be looking forward to Charnel Gods - in the end, the question with a "weighted" decision is "is it so weighted as to not really be a decision?", and that's something I'll have influence on in play, so  . . .  looks good.  You intend to leave the choice, and if I don't like where you mark the balance, I can move it.

The art - eh, one man's opinion ain't worth much, and I'm not the sort who's highly influenced by art in RPGs anyway.  Maybe it's beacuse it's so *close* to being a remarkable evocation of the game (as I understand it), but doesn't quite work for me, that I made a comment.

Anyway, like I said - looking forward to more info on and/or the completion of this one.

Gordon

[Ben Morgan]

Taking a stab at Premise (capital-R, moral question-type thingy):

"When does the cure become worse than the disease?"

That's all.

-- Ben (who really really REALLY wants to run this)

[hardcoremoose]

Hey guys,

I have a new teaser page for Charnel Gods, with new artwork.  Check it out:

http://www.angelfire.com/games4/gildedmoosegames/charneltease2.html">More Charnel Gods

I'm particularly interested in Gordon's reaction.

And forgive the Angelfire advertising.  Gilded Moose Games has had to evacuate its previous location, and so Angelfire is taking up the duty, at least for the near future.

Thanks go out to Matt Gwinn for setting up these pages for me.  Thanks man.

- Scott

[Gordon C. Landis]

I'm particularly interested in Gordon's reaction.

Scott -

Oooh yeah, that I like.  A lot.  Works perfectly with the game and the text.  The composition (if I'm remembering my art terminology correctly) is really, really effective.

Bits to quibble over - eh, unless you and/or the artist really want that kind of detailed feedback from an artistically UNgifted observer, I'll pass on quibbling.  Bottom line - I like.

Gordon

[Ron Edwards]

Hi there,

Well, Scott, the MS prep is all done from my end, and I can't wait to see the final form. It's great work.

Charnel Gods is one rocking gloomy blood-spray of a mini-supplement. Good for what ails us all.

Best,
Ron

[hardcoremoose]

Gordon,

I hated to single you out, but in my own unscientific way, I wanted to confirm one of my design goals - to employ artists with radically different styles, in an attempt to appeal to a large audience, while maintaining a coherent look to the book.  It helped that the two of them were friends and were able to conspire among themselves when creating the imagery.

Wait until you see Malachi's Doomed City pic.  It's just insane.

Ron (and everyone),

I'm cleaning up the typos as we speak.  The cover art should be done today.  The maps will be ready soon.  I'm hoping  to ship it all off to Mr. Snyder by the end of the week...

And that's when Matt Gwinn and I get down to putting together the pared down GenCon edition.

I can't wait.

- Scott

[bpzinn]

___Somewhere, in the darkness...

___...a musty room...
_____...a dining room table...
_______...a porcelin platter, empty...
_________...a silver fork at the left, tarnished...
___________...a silver knife at the right,...
_____________...untarnished & very sharp...

___...the sound metal striking wood...


*thump*

___"food..."

*thump*

___"food..."

*clang*

___"we want charnel gods..."

*Thump*

___"We Want Charnal Gods..."

*Thump*

___"...The Rotting Flesh of Divinity..."

*THUMP*

___"...N...O...W...!"

[greyorm]

Have to agree with the last poster...where the heck IS it?
I know things pop up sometimes last minute, so I'm not so much demanding it as requesting an update since last we all heard it was due out as of a month ago, or thereabouts.

[hardcoremoose]

Raven,

I PMed bpzinn with this answer:

Soon.

That aint much of an answer, but I'm not going to try to spin this.  I would have liked to have had this puppy out right after GenCon - all the raw materials were in place.  But I want the best for Charnel Gods in terms of layout and presentation, and you all know what that means:  Matt Snyder, baby.

Matt's a busy guy though, so I'm waiting my turn.  But damn, it's gonna' look good when it's done.  Real good.

On a side note, I think Matt's been on vacation or something this week.  When I hear from him, I'll give you another, more definite, date.

So that's what 's up with Charnel Gods.  And boy o' boy, I can't wait to see it either.

- Scott

[Matt Snyder]

Raven,

I PMed bpzinn with this answer:

Soon.

That aint much of an answer, but I'm not going to try to spin this.  I would have liked to have had this puppy out right after GenCon - all the raw materials were in place.  But I want the best for Charnel Gods in terms of layout and presentation, and you all know what that means:  Matt Snyder, baby.

Matt's a busy guy though, so I'm waiting my turn.  But damn, it's gonna' look good when it's done.  Real good.

On a side note, I think Matt's been on vacation or something this week.  When I hear from him, I'll give you another, more definite, date.

So that's what 's up with Charnel Gods.  And boy o' boy, I can't wait to see it either.

- Scott

Hey, can my head fit in here?

Seriously, folks, Moose is too patient. I've been busy as all heck with "real" work and some freelance leftovers. It's not all Dust Devils! There's some maps to do, Charnel Gods, then the Dust Devils PDF. All in good time. I'm sweatin' once again, but CG should be around withing the next, say, 10 days.

[hardcoremoose]

Matt,

Thanks for popping in and giving everyone a heads up.

I'm as eager as everyone else to see the finished product (and to see people playing it).

- Scott

[urbwar]

Seriously, check this out:

http://www.angelfire.com/games4/gildedmoosegames/charneltease.html">Charnel Gods

The artwork is coming in, and I'm diligently working on the text.  The problem is this:

I want this to set a new bar for mini-supplements.  That's no small task, considering just how brilliant the existing mini-supplements are (and Sorcerer in Space is sure to be).  But I'm giving it a helluva a go.

I have two fantastic artists.  I have the best layout guy around (right Mr. Snyder?).  The text itself has been put through the ringer, and genuinely brings some new stuff to the Sorcerer table.  This is the game I've always wanted to play, and I want it to be a product people will be proud to own.

Ron says he'll have the best product line in existence.  I don't want to make him a liar.

With that in mind, the PDF may or may not be ready by GenCon, but my goal is to have a trimmed down promotional version available there.  It'll have all the rules needed to play, a sample setting, a couple sample Weapons, and a decent bit of art.  I'd like to give it away with any purchase of Sorcerer & Sword, but that's Ron's call.

I'll be playing it too, with anyone I can drag kicking or screaming to a table.

So that's the state of affairs with Charnel Gods.   Any questions?

Take care,
Scott

How is this coming along? It sounds like an interesting setting. Any updates beyong the two pieces of artwork on your website?

[hardcoremoose]

urbwar,

Thanks for the inquiry.  Seriously, I hope to have the game up for sale within a matter of days...

But in the meantime, I'm more than willing to talk about it.  

As an aesthetic product, it should be fantastic (which is to say nothing of its practical, in-play value, which has proven to be amazing).

Matt Snyder is doing the layout.  If you haven't seen his stuff, you need to check it out.  See Trollbabe, octaNe, his very own Dust Devils, or the upcoming Godlike supplement Wild Talents.  Or look at his website http://www.chimera.info/">here.

Veteran Sorcerer artist Jeremy McHugh provides a panopoly of grisly delights, including a grim, grim cover piece.  Check out his stuff http://www.mchughstudios.com/">here.  None of his Charnel Gods work is one, but much of what is in his galleries fits the tone of the game perfectly.

David Hendee came aboard the project late, and quite circumtuitously (via the amazing Jared Sorensen).  His website is http://www.davidhendee.com/">here, and it includes a couple of the fine pieces he provided for the mini-sup.  See if you can guess which ones (and no fair if you've seen the GenCon edition).

Finally is D. Malachi Penney, who sadly doesn't have an online gallery I can point you to (yet).  This guy is amazing, and he contributes perhaps my favorite piece to the project: The Doomed City.  It's exquisite in its detail, and lingers in the memory.

Have fun cruising the sites, and hopefully I'll have some more information soon.

Take care,
Scott

[urbwar]

Thanks for the inquiry.  Seriously, I hope to have the game up for sale within a matter of days...

But in the meantime, I'm more than willing to talk about it.  

Cool. I will probably be picking up Sorcerer and Sorcerer & Sword soon, so this is one supplement I would interested in picking up

As an aesthetic product, it should be fantastic (which is to say nothing of its practical, in-play value, which has proven to be amazing).

Matt Snyder is doing the layout.  If you haven't seen his stuff, you need to check it out.  See Trollbabe, octaNe, his very own Dust Devils, or the upcoming Godlike supplement Wild Talents.  Or look at his website http://www.chimera.info/">here.

Veteran Sorcerer artist Jeremy McHugh provides a panopoly of grisly delights, including a grim, grim cover piece.  Check out his stuff http://www.mchughstudios.com/">here.  None of his Charnel Gods work is one, but much of what is in his galleries fits the tone of the game perfectly.

David Hendee came aboard the project late, and quite circumtuitously (via the amazing Jared Sorensen).  His website is http://www.davidhendee.com/">here, and it includes a couple of the fine pieces he provided for the mini-sup.  See if you can guess which ones (and no fair if you've seen the GenCon edition).

Finally is D. Malachi Penney, who sadly doesn't have an online gallery I can point you to (yet).  This guy is amazing, and he contributes perhaps my favorite piece to the project: The Doomed City.  It's exquisite in its detail, and lingers in the memory.

They have some cool sites. Some great art work as well. Here's a question for you.

With the reasonable pricing for the mini-supplements, how do you afford such kick ass art work? I mean the two sample pieces are great, and some of the stuff on these pages are top notch!

Have fun cruising the sites, and hopefully I'll have some more information soon.

I look forward to finding out more. This looks like a killer product