Okay, besides the somewhat curious subject of this post, this is just a quick note to everyone to share some thoughts about Eldritch Ass Kicking, my latest personal masterpiece. :) With all that B.S. thus out of the way, let me drop you some pitfalls/suggestions I ran into:

1) Playtest the game.

I've run Eldritch several times, and above all, this helped. I thought my game was too simple, but after running it, I found little rules and things that needed to be worked on or clarified. Just good stuff here -- of course, this part isn't done with EAK yet either. Tomorrow night, I am going to run it again and hopefully, something new will crop up.

2) Let non-gamers read it.

Everyone should have a sister, co-worker, or whatever that is fairly open-minded. Have them read it to see if they understand it. This process for Eldritch is still ongoing for me. Some of the rules I think are still somewhat muddy and could be clarified -- this could help this process. Also, it helps you get over the hump of believing you are a great prose writer or some such. My girlfriend reminds me this every time I let her read something of mine.

3) Art is cool -- but not the end all.

Right now, Eldritch Ass Kicking PDF weighs in at 1.7 MB. Still, the thing is pretty. I am working on a no frills version at the moment. I was wracking my brains about finding art for it, when I happened upon a Wizards and Warlock clipart CD at Hastings. Guess what?!? It worked -- and the company gave me permission to use the stuff (as long as I don't sell it I think). The art is actually pretty darn decent, and it stoked me out. So -- I get to put my game out there with art - two win situation.

If I want to sell it (yeah right), that will happen down the road -- and I figure, that will happen in spite of me letting some folks download it and view it.

4) Not Really a Download

Okay, I am taking Ron's advice and not posting it for general download. Instead, I have users fill out a form, and then I will email them with the info. This way, I can have a direct contact and know who is downloading what. Pretty cool stuff...

Thanks all for listening and respond. Please tell me I'm wrong, confused, or just a poor lost soul.

Thanks,
Nathan

What is EAK about?

I filled out the form last night... looking forward to it.

Eldritch Ass Kicking is about a "typical" fantasy realm where wizards have gone mad with their terrible, mighty magicks and ripped it apart. Now, wizards battle over the remaining pieces of rock, ruin, and desolation -- struggling to determine who lead this kingdom into it's next age. The point is simply -- whoever is the last wizard standing can shape the kingdom into whatever they desire.

Essentially, it is a game that centers around descriptive magickal combat, with a simple but very competitive mechanic for battle. I have such a blast running the game, and my players have a ton of fun as well. I try to play all of my characters sort of like Profion from the D&D Movie. I chew up the scenes with long speeches and big words or whatever.

It's fun. :)

Thanks,
Nathan Hill
nathan@mysticages.com