Looking for some help on a book

[Kalos Mer]

Hey Guilders.

I've been inactive here at the guild for the past month or so because I've been working on the launch of my own pdf-based d20 'publishing company'.  I've got a lot of gaming ideas floating around in this noggin of mine, and I want to try my hand at releasing them to the public for consumption.  I'm not particularly ambitious about this - I don't intend to make a career out of it - but I think it'll be fun even if it's a financial flop, and if I do have some marginal success and make a couple hundred extra bucks per year out of it, I won't cuss.

Anyway, towards this effect, I've been working on a line of products geared towards the worldbuilder.  
Codex Linguarum: "The Book of Languages" (working title) is my premier  product in the line.  Planned as a 128-page supplement, with a section for worldbuilders, a section for DMs, and a section for players.  It gives worldbuilders a lot of advice about including language details in their gameworlds, and DMs a lot of advice on using language in play.  The focus is mainly on non-statistical advice and fluff (there has been a substantial lack of good fluff in the 3.x edition D&D manuals, in my opinion), but I also include a few optional mechanics, and the last ~1/4 of the book (the 'for Players' section) uses the standard WotC model of new feats, skill usages, magic, and classes.

That much by way of explanation and (subtle) advertisement.  Now here's what I'm looking for.

1.  Playtesters  I'm currently looking for 2-3 people who would be willing to take the various ideas that I present (especially the mechanical ones) and run them in their own games and one-shot adventures.  These would ideally be people who are good with the rules and know how to spot broken or bad mechanics at a glance.  I'm a good idea-man, but I'm inexperienced where 'balance' and the like are concerned, and I want to make sure I don't goof up.

2.  Proofreader  I also need one person who would be willing to read over the whole book carefully.  It would be of couse be this person's job to make sure that all major errors of grammar and spelling are avoided, but the main thing I need him for is to make sure that all of the ideas that I present are concise (a big problem for me) and easily understood.

3. Artists?  I am a very poor artist.  I've managed to create a somewhat decorative layout for the work using my knowledge of fancy-looking scripts and some decent imaging software, but when it comes to actual illustrations, I am no good.  For this work, I'd be looking for somewhere in the ballpark of 6-8 full-color pictures, and a handful of black and white 'sketches'.  (I'm willing to offer small-scale financial compensation for artwork, since i intend to distribute the product 'for profit'.)

If anyone would like to volunteer, just respond to this thread.  I'm leaving for Spring Break right now, but I'll have computer access through this weekend, and then sporadically next week, so I'll keep in touch and provide further details as necessary.

[Stargate525]

I'd be up for two and three, although I don't know if I'm a good enough artist for this.

[Numinous]

I know a guy who can recognize bad mechanics like you mentioned, and I'll steer him in the direction of this thread.

Also, I'm willing to do some general proof-reading, and some sketches if you can tolerate my crappy skillz.  My forte is small bits of fiction, so if you need any of that, let me know as well.

[Soup Nazi]

I'm game for playtesting mechanics in my games, though I'm not certain what kind of language-based mechanics you have in mind for this sourcebook. Basically, if its something I can actually use to enhance my gaming experience I'm all for it, but I'd have to see what you have in mind before I could say one way or the other.

This is not to say that I will pass judgment on it prematurely, but that anything I do use has to at the very least look initially appealing. Unless you happen to be cunning linguist (no not THAT kind), fictional languages as anything other than flavor tend to bog games down. (I have bad memories of translating puzzles written in Celtic runes.)

If you would be so kind as to give us an example or a tiny excerpt it would help tremendously.

[Ravenspath]

I would also be willing to help with the first or second option. (I have a negative modifier is drawing.). I am working on starting up a new campaign for D&D and may be able to incorporate some of your ideas into it. I aslo do a lot of proof reading of various items in my current job.

Would love to see a sample.

[Kalos Mer]

Let me just quickly address the (legitimate) concerns Soup Nazi raised.  

Unfortunately, I am on Spring Break right now and therefore away from the computer which houses my manuscript. In a week, I'll post some excerpts.

Until then, let me just give you my assurance that I've done my best to keep my advice relevant and as non-boring as possible.  Since I can't provide excerpts right now, here, in general terms, is an outline of what the project contains:

Part One, for Worldbuilders, does occasionally get a little too 'weighty' for your average D&D game, because I want the worldbuilding section to also be worthwhile to fantasy writers.  There is about an 8-page section on creating your own fantasy language (in the vein of Tolkien's Elvish or RJ's Old Tongue, though obviously not quite so deep and involved as the former).
The rest of that section (which is, I think, 66 pages long) deals with less technically involved aspects that can be easily inserted into any campaign world.  I talk about things like developing a consistent naming scheme, how to make the languages of your fantasy cultures have some presence without actually having to develop them in depth, how to create interesting cultural metaphors that will make your races distinct and memorable, etc.  The focus (as you recommended in your post) is entirely on making languages flavorful without being too filling (to extend the food metaphor. ;))

Part Two, for DMs, continues the flavorful aspect but comes at it from the angle of the DM (how can I use language in interesting ways on a session-by-session basis) instead of the angle of the worldbuilder.  It's about 30 pages in length, and talks a lot about how to make NPCs interesting based on how they use language (dialect, accent, etc).  A few suggestions are also included that involve giving your players written snippets of runes or other things, but I specifically recommend against puzzles that rely on players using their meta-knowledge to 'translate' symbols on a page and other ploys which bog down the flow of the game.

Part 3, for players, hasn't been written yet, so I don't know what exactly it will contain. ;)  I do know that I'm planning on creating my own arcane caster class focused on words of power (my answer to the True Namer from Tome of Magic, which was interesting but not quite to my taste.)  I may include a couple of PrCs as well, and possibly some feats.  I'm trying to stay away from what I see as a general 'power creep' trend in WotC D&D supplements, though, so I'm going to want these very carefully tested for balance and minimal potential for abuse.

There will also be a section in part 3 devoted to developing the 'fluffy' aspects of language in character creation (ie, explaining how your character came to know each of the languages he knows, use of vocal habits / 'slang', etc.)

Anyway, that's a rough outline of some of the material contained.  Although I admit that certain short sections (again, aimed at would-be-novelists) are too 'heavy' to be used much in play, on the whole keeping the book accessible and relevant has been a *big* priority, and I hope you'll find that more than 90% of the content is quite usable in most games.

[Kalos Mer]

Another question, this one regarding the future of the line.

After the book on Languages is released, the next product I intend to create is a book on Cities (which currently exists as a detailed 10-page outline).   I've always liked urban roleplaying, and I've got a load of ideas floating around that I think I can put into another supplement.

After that, I've got a 2-page summary of a proposed 3rd book on ancient history and ruins.  After all, many, many adventures center around exploring the lost tomb of a forgotten king or something similar, and many worlds have histories bespeckled with empires, powerful warlords and mighty wizards.  As an ancient historian myself, I might be able to offer a unique and informative perspective on such matters.

Beyond that, I'm looking for ideas.  Nebulous concepts I've got in mind so far include Climate, Geography, War, Courts, etc.  What do you think would be interesting?  Generally, these should be things which can follow the formula i've established  (3 parts - for Worldbuilders, for DMs, for Players, mostly fluff with a bit of crunch added into the third part)

[Kalos Mer]

Last post of my 3-in-a-row, I promise. ;)  Just wanted to quickly let the people who volunteered know that I'll PMing them tomorrow and we can work something out from there.

All of you art people who are uncertain about your skills, don't worry, I'm sure they're way better than mine.  At some point I'll ask to see a sample of your work just to confirm that, but I'm confident in you.

[Ravenspath]

Part One sounds really interesting to me as I am at the stage of my new world of creating names and cultures. I have the map drawn out and the countries blocked off as to who rules them, but other than that the map is blank. One of my next steps is to start the naming various locations, cities and develop the culture for each area.

[Matt Larkin (author)]

Part 1 sounds very interesting.  It has been something I've been considering for my setting, so I'm curious as to your take on the matter.

[Numinous]

As other have said, Part 1 sounds the most interesting, at least to me.  I predict it will garner the most interest from the guild, seeing as quite a few of us are world-builders first, even before DMs.

[Túrin]

Hey KM,

Good to hear you've been working on some interesting projects. As always, I love to read your stuff, so I'll be volunteering for proofreading. I doubt my games would be suitable for playtesting mechanical ideas, but if you've got something I like I'll sure give it a try in a game and tell you how it goes.

Túrin

[Tangential]

As a world-builder and more importantly language geek this appeals to me greatly. I can help with game mechanics and so forth and would proofread if possible (I have a lot of free time for the next week and then none for a month).

Or I can just eagerly await Part One. Up to you Mr. Mer.