Here’s a quick update on where we stand with the e20 System, since we obviously did not get it finished in time for Christmas.

Bad News: Just as I was finally able to work near full capacity again and I was plowing through material at a really high pace, the developer — senior patron Jack Hale — had an epic collapse almost as bad as mine after Gen Con. Like me, he has some significant mental health issues that can seriously impact his work, and he has even more serious physical problems on top of that.

I didn’t even realize how much trouble he was having until a couple of weeks ago (when more and more of my work was having to be put off because I needed the sections he was working on to do them), and it quickly became apparent that we couldn’t hit our current deadline. I put off announcing a new deadline, though, because for a while I thought we might be able to at least finish the PDF by Christmas; even that turned out to be wishful thinking.

Jack has actually been doing better for the past few days, but we agreed that it’s probably best to work from the assumption that any such productive periods will be the exception, not the rule. Jack is still going to help where he can, but I’m shifting his assignment to things that won’t slow down other pieces of the book if he falls behind again.

So, I’ve now taken stock of the work that needs to be done and figured out how long it will take me to do them completely on my own. Unfortunately, it looks like I can’t possibly finish the whole book myself before the end of February 2012. Patrons and pre-orders would receive their PDFs at this time, and the printed books wouldn’t be delivered until somewhere around mid-March 2012.

I hate seeing the deadline pushed out that far, but at this point I don’t see anything else as realistic. Since I have medication for the time being, I think my work output can be fairly reliable at least through the end of February, and recent history tells me that I have to assume that Jack won’t be able to contribute much. (As I said, he’s been better for the past few days and he might pleasantly surprise us, but it’s better to be happy to get something early than to be disappointed to get it late.)

Good News: Since things are taking so long, I’m trying to think of ways to make it up to everyone who graciously provided so much support so early on. One of the first things I thought of was re-integrating the last two chapters of the book, which detail the settings of Fallen Gods (dark fantasy) and The Hollow Sky (space opera with a horror twist). Given that I won’t be doing the final editing pass until the start of February or so, there’s now time for me to get in touch with those chapters’ authors and see if they’d be willing to do some revisions & expansions to flesh out the chapters a bit. With any luck, we’ll be able to have two working campaign settings in the Universal Rulebook, and these settings can be more fully fleshed out in a future e20 System product.

I have some other ideas to hook up my patrons with a little extra — some bonus PDFs, most likely — and I’m hoping to make an announcement about that in the next several days. At the very least, patrons will get an early look at some of the laid-out chapters of the Universal Rulebook before the final PDF is assembled.

Thanks again to everyone for being so understanding about this and for your kind words about my last post on the subject. Any game publisher would be blessed to have such a devoted and supportive fan base, and it means even more for a small indie publisher like GMSarli Games.

Enjoy the rest of the holidays!

Matt Forbeck (@mforbeck) is a game designer, writer, and friend who I met at Gen Con 2011 when we shared the spotlight on some industry guest of honor panels, and he's trying an ambitious project called "12 for '12" in which he wants to write a new novel each month of 2012 for his Brave New World dystopian superheroes roleplaying game. As you can imagine, this is quite an undertaking because it would dominate his work schedule for all of next year, so he has some fairly high goals to fund all the books and he has just 3 days left before the Kickstarter deadline.

For the first trilogy of the 12 novels, he's already unlocked the first book and, as of this writing, he's just $389 short of funding the second book ($8,000). If he gets up to $10,000, an electronic copy of a full-color, 11" x 17" map of Crescent City (the main setting for the RPG and novels) will also be commissioned and sent to every backer. If he actually makes it to the ultimate goal of $15,000, all three novels in the first trilogy will be fully funded.

In addition, anyone who backs the project at $25 or more can download a PDF of the Brave New World RPG from DriveThruRPG.com for just $5.

This is Matt's first Kickstarter project and, as his friend, I gave him a lot of advice on how to organize it and I'd really like to see him succeed. If any of you feel like making a pledge, rewards start at just $5 -- go give it a look! The funding deadline is December 4th, 2011 at 12 noon CST.

Hi all,

I'm very sorry about my absence since Gen Con. The following post I made should explain everything:

e20 System Update, and Some Thoughts on Mental Health

Here's the short version: The e20 System Evolved RPG Universal Rulebook will be published no later than mid-December. Book printing will take a couple of weeks longer once the PDF is sent out to patrons and all who have pre-ordered, and my goal is to get the physical books in your hands before Christmas.

If you want the full explanation of what's been happening, go read the post. Warning: The second half gets a little heavy, so don't feel obligated to read it. It cathartic for me and I really needed to write and share it.

Thanks for your understanding and support.

Unfortunately, I realized several days ago that I had misunderstood one of the printing deadlines to have the book printed in time for Gen Con. I had thought the number they gave me was the total turnaround time, but it was actually just the printing time for the books themselves. It didn't include their initial file approval time (1 to 2 business days), the time to print a proof copy of the book for me to evaluate (1 to 3 business days), the time to ship the proof copy (minimum 1 business day), and the time to ship the actual print run (minimum 1 business day).

Once I realized my error, I knew I had roughly 12 hours to try to finish all the layout if I still wanted it printed by Gen Con -- and, frankly, 12 hours wasn't enough time to do it right. (I had thought the cut-off point wasn't for another 4 to 7 business days.)

Rather than compromise on the quality when it was so close to finished, I called an audible and decided that I'd just have PDF copies of the book for sale on CD at Gen Con. That would give me a few extra days to make sure the book is as good as it can possibly be, and I would receive the book's print run very shortly after getting back from Gen Con. Once they arrive, I'll start mailing them out to every patron who contributed at the $50+ level.

Also, all patrons will get a link to download the PDF of the book as soon as I have everything finished (before Gen Con starts).

To everyone who was looking forward to receiving their copy in person at Gen Con, I'm really sorry about this; I do hope you still drop by the GMSarli Games booth (#2242 in the exhibit hall) and the e20 System seminar (Thursday, 8/4 at 6 PM in Marriott: Indiana Ballroom D) to chat about the project.

Thanks again for all your patience!

Most of the patrons who were doing design work have completed their tasks, and the handful of outstanding work that remains should be delivered shortly. As such, I'm now in "burn the midnight oil" mode to assemble the manuscript, format it correctly, give it a solid development pass to ensure rules consistency throughout and to fill any remaining gaps, and finally run it through editing. Allison Bricker, who helped with editing on e20 Lite, will be the primary editor as I finish development on each chapter, and then I'll give it a final pass as managing editor before moving to layout.

It's a hectic final schedule, but everything looks to be on track to have the final PDF of the book done sometime in the middle of July; every backer will receive a copy of this as soon as it's done so you get to see the final product before it goes on sale to the general public. 

After the PDF is ready, we shouldn't have any trouble getting the printed copies of the book in hand in time for Gen Con (August 4th - 7th in Indianapolis).

If you are a backer at the $50 level or above (i.e. your reward includes one or more hardcover copies of the book), I'd like to know the best way to deliver your book(s) to you: 

• If you are planning to attend Gen Con this year, message me (either through Kickstarter or on our message boards) to let me know so I can bring your copies of the hardcover book with me to give you in person.
  
• If you're not coming to Gen Con, I'll have your hardcover books in the mail as soon as possible, probably a day or two before I leave for Gen Con. If the shipment shows up a little later than expected, I might not be able to get them all in the mail before I leave, but I'll do my best to get them to you as quickly as I possibly can.
  

At Gen Con, the paperback edition of the rulebook will be on sale to the general public, and it should be available at GMSarliGames.com and Amazon.com shortly thereafter.

It's been a long and winding road, but we're finally closing in on the end. Thanks again for all your support in making this project a reality!

-- Gary 

DOWNLOAD e20 Lite v.0.5

This makes up about 1/3 of the final book and there are tons of changes, so take your time reading it -- you might need a couple of nights to get through it all. I'll have more updates coming soon on our forums as I outline the plan for moving forward from here.

-- Gary

Gen Con is just around the corner, and I'm busy working out the details for the e20 System's premiere mini-adventure, "Evolved Delve." I can't wait for you guys to get a chance to try it in person at the convention!

Since the idea behind the mini-adventure is to showcase how the game works so you can get a feel for it in a very limited time (just a 2-hour time slot), I'd decided that the entire adventure will take place on one running series of maps -- specifically, three designed by Chris West. The first is commonly known as "Freight Transit Station," and it originally appeared in the 2008 Starter Set for Star Wars Miniatures. Chris later made "Mass Transit I" and "Mass Transit II" as expansions that add onto the original to create a mega-map, so I'm excited to try running an adventure in such a large arena.

Speaking of Chris, he got the funding for "Mass Transit II" right here on Kickstarter, and he currently has another project looking for patrons. "Forsaken Lands II" has underground caverns on one side and badlands on the other, settings appropriate for any game genre from fantasy to sci-fi to horror. It's 86% funded with 5 days to go before deadline; take a look, and help Chris spread the word. One of the rewards of being a backer on Kickstarter is that Chris sends out the maps with free shipping, so take advantage of it while you have the chance!

e20 Lite (version 0.2) is finally done, and it incorporates a lot of feedback I got on v.0.1 over the last month. I think that it gives us a solid template for moving forward with more extensive development and playtesting, so download it and see what you think.