Broadsword news and a good ol' Rant

I just sent the first draft of the Broadsword Expansion I to Heyoka Studios.
Hopefully James will like it and give it a good going over with his editorial pen. We may see it on sale by the New Year.

Now that the first Broadsword expansion is off to editing, my next project will be to finish up “For Love and Honor".

Just as a refresher, "For Love and Honor” (L&H) will be a full-sized adventure for the Idyll 1PG game. It takes place in a mythical world known as Aurora, during a period similar to our Victorian age, yup a Victorian Adventure – not “steam punk” I hate that term.

L&H will be an homage to works like "The Prisoner of Zenda" and "The Mad King". There are elements of magic, fantastic creatures, and heroic romance.

I'm a visual type of person, so first off I'm creating a map of the portion of Aurora that will be featured in the adventure. After which I will apply my notes to the locales and let the adventure spill out of my head and onto the page.

After L&H I will be giving LoS some much needed attention. The artwork for the game has been slow in coming, but I’m hoping that situation will change in the New Year. I have one group headed by Tim of Heropress that will be running a play-test of the rules very soon.

I’ve received a number of requests and offers to review and play test LoS and I have been remiss in answering some of those inquiries, I do apologize. At the present I’ve decided to hold off on sending anymore copies of LoS out for review or play testing.
The main reason being, that for all the copies I’ve sent out I’ve only gotten the tiniest tinkle of feedback.
Here’s how it generally works, I get a private email telling me how much they enjoy the Blog and love the S&S genre, then they ask if they can take a look at the game and help out with critiquing or maybe play testing it with their group. I send out a copy to them with a heartfelt thank you and a few notes on what I would like them to pay attention to. After that, a few weeks pass, and I hear NOTHING, I send an email wondering how it’s going…NOTHING.
Was it that bad? Did it suck so much that they fell off the face of the earth and they can’t even flip me one on the way down? I don’t know. If they at least dropped me a line and said:

“Hey Jeff, about your game? IT SUCKS! Bye.”

At least then I would have some closure. But like my Drill Sgt. used to say “you got screwed without even the decency of getting a reach-around.”

So I’m kinda done with sending out copies. It’s like loaning a book out to a buddy and then never getting it back. From that point on the relationship is always tainted. If you’re a reader you know just what I’m talking about.

Now that’s not to say everyone has done this, Thank God. I have received a great deal of help from close friends, gaming buddies, and internet friends. Gabriel B, Tim, Pmikey, Doc Holaday, Dabos, Walker P, Rock viper, Jeff H, Nate, Tony, and MG, immediately come to mind, there are others. Because of you guys I know the game is worth the effort. I thank you for the honest and at times tough critiquing that you have given LoS so far.

Wow, that was a rant. I haven’t ranted on my Blog in awhile…felt good though.