The Campaign Builder's Guild

As you well know, I am involved in almost a half dozen side publishing projects and moving forward with all of them (I'm a workaholic kind of guy, what can I say.) Anyway, one of those projects, a monthly subscription based product line of "adventure slices" ready to drop-in any adventure or campaign setting as a completely supported mini-adventure. Each product consists a mapped location or set of map tiles with a complete cast of NPCs, monsters, magic items for both Pathfinder RPG and OGL, perhaps others too. We intend to create new classes, magic items, monsters, feats as bonus support material (including my requested other thread about props and accessories - its for this project.)

Anyway, what's really cool with the project, is compared to developing a setting or adventure, both are lots of work (you guy's know...) these products are like an exercise in setting or adventure development, on a much smaller scale. Yet still fun to create from the ground up, a unique setting or set of ideas as a brief add-on product to existing games.

For month three on the production schedule, for example, I'm thinking of creating 16 geomorphic map tiles of urban alley ways. I've created a printed product called Endless Terrain Battlemaps which are printed and laminated products and has always been a consistent seller over the 3 years I've offered them. So I know geomorphic map tiles will sell. These would be printable PDF maps of sixteen, but each sliced allowing a pair to form a single map - edge marked for easier map matching.

Think of an urban environment where the local population consider themselves overlords over an existing population who are treated as second-class citizens. In this case, these are Celts. The Celts living in the city are forced to live in the slums, called the (Celtic) Green Branch Warrens. These peoples still practice Celtic worship, druidical practices and witchcraft (conversing with Fey beings.)

The civil authorities in league with the city's church maintain an inquisition against practitioners of witchcraft. Using both the new classes coming in Paizo Pathfinder's Advanced Players Guide, the Witch and the Inquisitor, bring a witch hunt mentality against the Celtic arcane practitioners. The city's wizards are all chartered with the city, and good standing with the local Arcane Academy. Celts practice unofficial rites in the use of their arcane powers, fey  influenced sorcery bloodlines, even a Myrddon New Class of Tattooed Wizard I've developed. These Celts would maintain street gangs and an underground subversive group of provocateurs (terrorist?) bent on fighting the local authorities on their terms.

Venturing into the alleyways is a trip to the "First World". Because the map tiles are geomorphic, once the party passes from one tile to the next, the tile behind changes - once you go in, its difficult to leave. Work in all the fey land tropes into the Warrens. Time doesn't move in the alleyways and its a perpetual twilight. Fey food is delicious and addictive, but have no nutritive value, while this doesn't affect you in the Warrens, outside the warrens eaters of fey food pine for more fey food, declining normal food and die of starvation. Stay on the path, in this case the altering alleyways. Climbing the walls and going to the roof reveal - you're not in Kansas anymore. The terrain is different and the city beyond the warrens nolonger exist.

Some homage to a Celtic deity, a promise made with fey being, a geas placed, a curse undone, a good deed performed are the only means of escaping the warrens.

Basically I get to create settings and worlds in mini-adventure slices ready to place into any existing adventure or campaign setting. However, at the same time, I'm am world-building from the bottom up, in locations placed in a city and region that will eventually build its own setting, for a next year advanced line of products that might include larger adventures and more defined settings.

Its a fun project so far.

Thoughts?

GP

I think I would really love to get in on this thing you're doing ;P

For right now, its on the ground floor and its a three way partnership between me and two writer/marketers, Johnn Four of Roleplaying Tips Newsletter and Mike Bourke of Game Mastery blog. I'm sure they wouldn't welcome a fourth partner.

However, as momentum builds and a first year's productline is established, looking at next year's expanded agenda, we will need paid contributors - and the possibility might exist then.

This is all speculation, of course, one never knows if something will become successful or not - just wait and see.

GP

Quote from: Gamer PrintshopFor right now, its on the ground floor and its a three way partnership between me and two writer/marketers, Johnn Four of Roleplaying Tips Newsletter and Mike Bourke of Game Mastery blog. I'm sure they wouldn't welcome a fourth partner.

However, as momentum builds and a first year's productline is established, looking at next year's expanded agenda, we will need paid contributors - and the possibility might exist then.

This is all speculation, of course, one never knows if something will become successful or not - just wait and see.

GP

That was a joke (I know... sarcasm is hard to read online). I'm already plenty busy with my own project which is ramping up for an initial release here once we get the final touches put in. This looks pretty awesome though, definitely something worth purchasing.