Xenozoic is beautiful!

I am just getting to my copy of the Xenozoic book I bought a few weeks ago.  Needless to say I am loving it. I completely missed these stories in the 80's and it was just by coincidence that this beautiful compilation came out a few weeks ago. From what I understand fans of Mark Schultz have been waiting many moons for this.

New art for Hador by Jonny Gray

I just had to share this...

Princess Ayesha and her Arum bodyguard Manuk.

Another great review for Legends of Steel and a word on Hador

Another great review of Legends of Steel- Savage Worlds Edition can be found at A Paladin in Citadel. While you're there stick around and have a read, the Paladin has some very informative posts. 

Sales for Legends of Steel-Savage Worlds Edition has fallen off a bit, so I'm hoping this review will generate a spike.  Simon and I have been pleasantly surprised at the sales of the hard cover version of Legends of Steel - Barbarians of Lemuria Edition.  We published it on Lulu knowing that the cover price was higher than we would have liked it to be, in fact it was more of a vanity thing on my part, I just wanted a copy of LoS in hardback. But a combination of discount offers from Lulu and overall love of the BoL system brought us much higher than expected sales.  And I honestly have to say it is a very nice volume.

Now to Hador- I was under the impression that I was close to finished with it. I sent it to Simon and a few others to have a look. 

I was wrong. 

I still have a way to go it seems. The overall feeling was positive, but there are parts that need clarification and further cleaning up. So I just wanted to let everyone know that Hador is alive, well, and still being worked on.

  

I gotta have a Croc-man for Hador

Is this guy cool or what?!

I will find a place for him on Hador.

So whats up with Hador?

Work on Hador has been very active on several fronts as of late. Chris sent me some great sketches for review of one of the races that will be enountered on the moon of Hador. Ryan is diligently working on the map and probably shaking his fist every time I email him little tweaks like "I need a real big lake here-make it so". And the World is really coming together for me the same way Erisa did in Legends of Steel. I'm a fan of subplots and side-treks, so I'm coming up with some ideas that I think will give adventurers in a Lost World plenty to keep them occupied. I have a few of the classic tropes and plenty of new twists on some familiar themes. And though Hador is built around a specific adventure, the GM can completely disregard it and still have plenty of action and danger to throw at the players by just pointing in a direction and heading out.

The plan is to have Hador out before the end of summer.
But of course like the old saying goes : "If you want to give God a good laugh tell him your plans".

The Destroyermen

There are books you read, books you plod through, and books you consume.  At the moment I'm consuming the Destroyermen series of books by Taylor Anderson. The story is about a US Navy Destroyer-USS Walker- that heads into a large storm to avoid being sunk by a Japanese Cruiser during a battle in the South Pacific during WWII. After successfully riding out the storm they find themselves in a parallel world almost identical to Earth, with the main exception being that Man never evolved, but other creatures have.

The Destroyermen series is a great read - with interesting characters, vivid battle scenes and a loving amount of attention paid to detail and historical accuracy.

Funny thing is, in the next Product from Evil DM Productions, The Lost World of Hador there is a group of sailors from a Japanese courier ship from the Russo/Japanese War of 1904 who were lost in a storm and landed on Hador. Great minds think alike.

Evil DM Productions Update

I received a draft copy of the LoSSW PDF with pictures included. I sent off some notes for revisions and corrections. This should be the final go around. I spoke with James at Heyoka tonight and he feels we should be able to wrap this all up by Sunday. Upon delivery of the final manuscript I'll be sending it to Lulu and see what a "Hardcopy" of LoS looks like. If I like what I see then I'll probably look into offering it there for hard copy purchases. If not it'll just be released as a PDF. Close on the heels of that release, LoS-Broadsword edition and LoS-ZeFRS edition will follow.

Work on Hador is going great. Joffery is doing some interior art, Ryan is working on the map and Chris has sent me some great art as well. I hope my content does their efforts justice.

Evil DM Productions has a forum

I just wanted to send a quick not out to let you all know that I have opened a forums section on the Evil DM Productions website. The Forum actually consists of two parts. First is a section dealing exclusively with Evil DM Productions – Information on releases as well as forums for each product line. The second section is an open forum geared to discussions on Heroic Fiction in all its various mediums and genres, such as the various branches of Pulp, Men's Adventure, and Historical Adventure - Everything from Conan to The Executioner.

I know it's "Another forum" and if you're like me you probably belong to three too many as it is. Never the less, I want to extend the invitation to all of you. Whether you interest lies in gaming or the any other area of Heroic Adventure in the media, I invite you join this new group and help me grow it into a interesting place to discuss our shared enjoyment of action and adventure.

Thanks,

Jeff M.

You can find the forum at the Evil DM Production website under "Forums"

http://evildmproductions.net/default.aspx

Or you can go directly to it at:

http://evildmproductions.prophpbb.com/index.php

The Lost World of Hador- cover draft

Like I stated in an earlier post this week, despite the delay with Legends of Steel, work goes on with our other products.  Here is the cover draft of our next product- The Lost World of Hador. Hador is a far off moon of exotic beauty and danger.  I can’t tell you how please I am with the artist Joffery Suarez’s vision of Hador.  I’m equally excited about the cartography being done by Ryan Shelton, who has been able to organize all of the  peoples, places, and things floating in my head that make up Hador.

“Want to give God a good laugh? Tell him your plans”

I just wanted to give everyone an update on Legends of Steel. To reiterate It’s written, It’s all done. It has gone for layout to add the art, table of contents, etc. Unfortunately the person doing the layout is under the weather at the moment. I heard from him yesterday and he is down for the count and focused on getting better. As I sit here I have three of my minions down with various stages of a cold. So even the Lair is not immune. I don’t want to string folks along with false release dates and stalling tactics. The first priority is ones health and family. LoS will come out as soon as these issues are resolved. But the good news is that this should be the final hurdle.

In other news, work on Lost World of Hador moves forward. Joffery has finished the cover and will begin work on some interior art, Ryan has turned in his latest updated version of the campaign map and I as always doing “research” and writing.

Make Mine Microsoft!

For the past week or so I have been struggling with trying to get some type of website put together for the up-coming release of Legends of Steel –Savage Worlds Edition. 

Since I started Evil DM Productions I have received lots of offers for website and Logo design. Unfortunately, I really cant afford the prices that I’m being quoted. At least not until I can recoup some of my initial investment.  So I needed to take the “do it yourself” route.

I can cut n paste – drag n drop with the best of them, but when you start talking about source codes and HTML, my eyes just kind of glaze over.

So I not only needed something free but also easy.  My first stop was my usual go to- Google.  I had a crappy site there already and I figured all I needed to do was update it. But then I find out that Google is no longer supporting their Google pages product, though they keep it running for those who want to keep using it. I really didn't want to tie my site to that hitching post.

So then I went to Tripod. And quickly left.

Finally I looked at Microsoft .

Now I’m gonna say something that may cost me a few readers, but fuck it.  I happen to like Microsoft. Nay, I LOVE MICROSOFT!

When I was In college Microsoft Office got me through many a late night.  I know for a fact that Power Point was responsible for at least three A’s based on my final presentation. And if it wasn't for Excel I would have dropped out midway through my statistics class.  And the first computer game I ever bought “Close Combat: A Bridge too far”  was from Microsoft ( I still whip that baby out and run it every so often), and as if I needed one more reason: my XBox360 lets me kick Nazi ass every day with Call of Duty . So yeah, me and Microsoft- tight.

So anyway, I do a lot of stuff on office live. I noticed that office live has a sub site-office live small business. Hey that's exactly what I want to be- a small business. in this suite of stuff they have a website designer. Nothing fancy at all, but it works and its free.

Even with this bare bones, no-frills program It still took me almost two days to hammer something halfway decent out of it.

So here it is.

http://evildmproductions.net/default.aspx

She aint gonna win any beauty contests but she does her job.  Thanks Bill.

More later.

Evil DM update

Just to let you all know that I have been hard at work on not only the ZeFRS version of Legends of Steel but also on Lost World of Hador. This explains my lack of posting and presence on some of the message boards I usually frequent. I can easily blow half a day just reading blogs and looking at funny pictures.

So if the posting is sparse, it’s because I’m actually trying to be productive.

Legends of Steel is at layout. I heard from James via email this weekend and we went over a couple of design things. It is being worked on and will come out as soon as It possibly can.

Lulu is starting to look like a viable option for those who want a printed copy in their hands (I know I want one at least). So I’m tackling that.

Hador is coming along nicely, Ryan is making good progress on the map, Joffrey is coloring the cover art, and I’m getting all my thoughts onto paper.

Rhino-man- Yea or Nay?

the other day I was at the mall with “She who must be obeyed” While she went to Ross I stopped into a little Mom and Pop toy store that has managed to survive in the world of Toys R Us and Wal Mart. they specialize in the less commercial toys. This is the kind of place you go to to find and Ant farm or a wooden train set. the kind of toys that kids would balk at today. I could just imagine the outrage of my minions if we stuffed their Christmas stockings with bags of marbles, spinning tops, and wooden farm animals.

Anyway, I saw a marvelous display of a fantasy castle with a large collection of nicely painted plastic figures. The figures were sold individually and while the paint and quality were top-notch, they were just a bit pricey for me ( was more of an Airfix HO scale army men guy myself).

But what really caught my eye though was this figure-

This lil guy looked awesome. He reminded me of the Spell Jammer Giff characters, but much cooler. A Rhino-man. A rhino-man with a big Fricken axe! I have to put you somewhere… Not on Erisa (it’s a bit too high fantasy for that setting). But on Hador he might fit right in. I already have a race of Lion-centaurs, and I’m toying with a place that has an H.G.Wells “Island of Dr. Moreau” / David Gemmell “Joinings” vibe. so why not go balls out and throw in

Rhino-men? I think they look cool. But as I have stated before the “Rule of cool” is a thin line. Does Rhino-man cross into silly? or does he have a place on Hador?

What do you think?

By the way, their Lion-man is pretty swift looking too.

Evil DM Productions update

Legends of Steel is at Heyoka studios. Its queued up for layout and will be ready for release in a few weeks at most. I’m really excited about this. I started this journey back in 2005 and I'm finally getting to the end. This hobby is full of dreams and imagination, lots of people with cool ideas and concepts. Unfortunately few are ever seen all the way through, I’m kind of proud that I was able to see this through. The plan is to release Legends of Steel –Savage worlds as a PDF.

First off, I’m going to send a few review copies out to a few key people who post on message boards, blogs and podcasts and then I’ll make it available at my website. Later, I’ll pass it over to Heyoka so they can host it at RPGNow and Drive through RPG.

At the moment the price is going to come in around $12.00, I really gave this a lot of thought. I’ve always been a firm believer in not paying more than $15.00 for any PDF products and so I’m sticking to that same conviction when it comes to my own stuff. But I do need to make sure that I at least recoup my investment. The cover art and the full color map are great, but they’re great because I had talented professionals create them, and talented professionals don’t come cheap (and rightly so).

I figure to sell directly initially and try to avoid the RPGNow commission bite. I have a PayPal account in place and I’ll monitor it closely. I may not be able to provide the instant downloading that RPGNow can, but I’ll make sure that orders are processed within a couple of hours at the most.

The second release in the Legends of Steel line will be the “Broadsword Edition” which will be geared to the Broadsword 1PG system RPG by Deep7. LoS-Broadsword will be released directly through Heyoka Studios, as they hold the license from Deep7 for all new 1PG products.

And third in line will be Legends of Steel the “ZeFRS Edition”. This edition will be a collaboration between myself and Mark Krawec, with all proceeds going to purchase new art and fund content for further ZeFRS Projects.

As for now, I hope to follow-up with The Lost World of Hador within a few months of the Legends of Steel release. I received a preliminary sketch of the cover art back from Joffrey Suarez and I’m really pleased with what he’s come up with.

Here’s is a sneak peek at the concept sketch for the Lost World of Hador cover…

The end is near.

Legends of Steel- Savage Worlds Edition is going through a second round of editing. This should be the last hoop. The cover and interior art are all ready. Following this last bit of editing it's off to Heyoka to be scheduled for Layout.


I've found a cover artist for Lost World of Hador. We are currently tweaking the sketches. Ryan is working on the map and the manuscript is coming along nicely. Hador should follow right on the heels of Legends of Steel by a month or two, and then it's time for serious work on Mission: Adventure!

Hador, Opara, and the "Rule of Cool"

I was on Skype with Ryan Shelton last night and we had a great discussion about Hador and gaming in general. We discussed The Rule of Cool and how it applies to Hador.
Saying that Hador is Pulp in concept and tone allows me a great deal of leeway in what I want to present. Pulp usually takes the form of a short story, and because it often deals with fantastic elements, fans tend to forgive the author if he happens to gloss over scientific inconsistencies or any weakly structured motivations. Thanks to the "rule of cool" we can dismiss the specifics if the premise is cool and leads to more fun during the game. Of course I realise that there is a fine line between cool and just plain silly. SpellJammer, as a concept was cool, giant space hamsters were just silly.
In Hador I'm asking for a lot of suspension of belief in order to create a setting. I'm asking the players and the GM not to delve too deeply in some of the inconsistencies that may arise. And as much as I try to work them out, any setting that mixes cultures from different worlds, tech levels, and time periods is gonna have inconsistencies. My main challenge is to make them either small enough to gloss over or cool enough so it doesn't matter-

The Habeshan warriors have domesticated giant bats that they ride into combat? Cool- I want one!

I have a dominant race of technologically advanced beings known simply as the Ancients. They keep the rest of the races on hador from advancing technologically, basically keeping everyone at pre-gunpowder level (see Priest-kings of GOR).
Now if they are so technologically advanced why not just leave Hador?
I don't know yet. I'm working on it. But I need a way to keep the playing field between the various cultures somewhat level and give the stranded PC's a chance.

By virtue of the setting i have a bit of a mish -mash of races and cultures. Most I added cause I thought it would be cool. some I removed cause they just didn't fit, even though they were cool, but explaining them would have been a stretch even by pulp standards. As desperate as they are, I have many of these cultures interacting, fighting and establishing trade.

Here are some notes on a locale I named "The Valley of the Moon".
I wanted a place with Huge sexy women (Salama Hayek, Linda Carter, Lucy Lawless, etc.)reminiscent of of the movie Abbott and Costello go to Mars Or Fire Maidens from outer space (check out the MST3K version).

Valley of the Moon
Opara is from the race known on Hador as the Ancients. Opara was a member of the ruling council that oversaw the development of Hador. Due to her opposition of the council regarding the creation and “seeding” of the Beast men on Hador, Opara chose self-exile rather than submission to the councils dictates. Opara left the ancients compound with a handful of technicians and followers and established a home in a distant mountain valley named the “Valley of the Moon”. There Opara has continued her research in genetics and the creation of synthetic life forms. Her dream is to find a way to extend the already long lifespan of the ancients to the point where they are virtually immortal. Amongst her experiments are a race of Beast men, stone skinned “rock men” who guard her valley, and a genetically enhanced race of women.

Maidens of the Valley

Opara has created a race of genetically superior human females. They are 6’5” tall, robust, and have twice the strength and endurance of a human male in peak physical condition. Opara decided on creating a race of super women because of the females higher tolerance for pain, greater dexterity and natural protective instincts, she also found the female form much more pleasant to look at than the male. Opara’s Maidens are completely loyal and make the perfect companions and bodyguards. They form the elite of the valleys defense force and are trained in a variety of archaic and technologically advanced weaponry.

The rock men


Another of Opara’s creations are the Rock men. Rock men serve as Oparas army. These being are somewhat larger than the average human male and have a thick mineral skin that is all but impervious to most weapons (swords shatter against it and bullets bounce off). The rock men aren’t very intelligent, but they are loyal and relentless. They will follow a command to the letter.

Gearing up with Hador

Legends of Steel is at the proofreaders right now. So I'm focusing more on getting The Lost World of Hador ready to go. Ryan Shelton is working on the map and I'm currently awaiting some preliminary sketches from a new artist for Hadors cover. for those of you who may not be familiar with the Lost World of Hador project, here is a rough outline-


The Lost World of Hador is an adventure and setting created in the vein of Lost World stories and Sword & Planet romance tales made popular in the pulp writings of Edgar Rice Burroughs, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, and others. The setting is non-system specific and can be used by any number of different role playing game systems.

Hador is a planet in a distant galaxy. Beings from throughout the multi-verse (including earth) may find themselves transported to this barbaric world.

Amongst the Various cultures one may encounter on Hador are :

French Knights from the Crusades.
Japanese Sailors from the Russian/Japanese War.
A technologically superior culture known simply as "The Ancients".
A people known as the Habeshan. Possibly one of the "Lost Tribes of Israel".
A race of large Arachnoids with powerful psionic abilities.
A race of serpent men (of course).
A deadly band of 17th century pirates from the South China sea.

Plus many other groups and lone individuals from throughout time and space (from Cave men to Starship pilots) all stranded on Hador and trying to survive.

Some of the cultures have made strides in this new world and have established themselves, others have splintered off and died out. Our intent is to make Hador a world of adventure with many of the classic tropes one would expect in a "Lost World" or "Sword & Planet" setting, but adding just enough twists and surprises to keep your adventurers guessing.

Seven for Saturday

One of the coolest things about this whole writing gig for me is the research part. Long before I started this venture I was a used bookstore crawler. I'm seldom happier than when I'm climbing through stacks of dusty books looking for a long forgotten treasure. Today we went and hit up one of Sacramento's larger used bookstores. I never leave that place disappointed,and such was the case today.

Amongst the gems I found this afternoon were TWO Harold Lamb Paperbacks.

Score!

Losing myself in a Lost World

My Lost World of Hador (LWOH) Project is taking up quite a bit of my writing time.
Which is a good thing.
The ideas are coming along at a nice pace and so far I haven’t suffered any writers block. I’m about 25% into the project. When I can't actually write I’m trying to absorb source material for inspiration.

I’m reading a lot of Edgar Rice Burroughs novels, adventure comics, Time/ Life books and I'm doing quite a bit of surfing on the net. The way Hador is developing I’ll be able to tackle both the “Lost world” and the “Sword & Planet” angles.

I read last week about Pinnacle Entertainment allowing publication of products using their Savage World brand, and the idea is intriguing. With World of Broadsword the focus was on Deep 7’s 1PG System, but since then, I’ve been leaning more towards producing content that can be used for any system.

Back in 1985 Hero games put out an excellent supplement for Lost World adventuring; it was called Lands of Mystery and was written by Aaron Allston. In it they gave conversion information for systems like Chill, Call of Cthulhu, and Daredevil. I’m toying with the idea of doing the same with LWOH.

I could use Deep 7 Dime heroes, open source efforts like Four Color, and ZeFRS, and possibly Savage Worlds. It all depends on how much hassle it all is, I’m more of a fluff guy than a rules cruncher. Of course the first thing is to get the manuscript written and then move on to what systems to apply it to.