December Holiday Update
over 1 year ago – Mon, Dec 26, 2022 at 07:29:19 AM

If you have yet to fill out your survey, you can access it here (please use your Kickstarter email address to access): https://skyraiders.backerkit.com/

If you have an issue with your survey, please send an email to S[email protected] and we'll look into it (please be sure to include your backer number or your backer email address).

>>> IMPORTANT >>> We have received a few requests to help update addresses. Don’t worry, we will respond and unlock your surveys before we lock them down again, but we’re going to try to do that in one group when we’re closer to shipping.

All Endings Come to New Beginnings

By Laura Hickman

As we finished up the Skyraider’s Handbook,I felt a pang of regret.  It was hard leaving the places and characters that I had come to know on my travels in Abarax. They have become dear to me.

Of course, the next step is to complete the Skymaster’s Almanac.  There are further lands and people to be discovered.  There is the mystery of the ancient world to unfold for you.  As well as some new creatures of this world to reveal.  I am looking forward to that. I also know that just as it was hard to relinquish the first manuscript, it will be tough to let go of the second manuscript.

There is something that is making it easier to let go, though; The layout and art that have been created for these books are beautiful and will add so much to the work. Avalee Reynolds, a talented young woman, is working under the guidance of Kim Bourrie on layout and I can’t wait to see the books in finished form.

I’ve come to understand that the real joy in creating this world will be deep into the process. As I look into the near future, I see a time when Tracy and I will be sharing the people and places of our world with you… and that is not the end but the exciting new beginning when Skyraiders will take flight.

Extraordinary Prototypes

By Kim Bourrie

The Skyraider’s Handbook manuscript is complete, and we’ve begun working on the layouts for the final book! We’ve also been working closely with Diehard Dice and we’re happy to show off the initial prototype for the scroll and dice sets! Enjoy!

 The Skyraider's the Limit: App Feature Set

By Joe Bourrie

A few weeks ago, Tracy and I set up a whiteboard to talk through the feature set for the Living Tome System app, asking the question: what flexibility does he, as the writer, need in order to tell the Skyraiders story? Up until now, the system has been quite flexible: but with that flexibility comes complexity and would basically require Tracy to be a programmer in order to write Skyraiders content effectively. This wasn’t feasible - we needed a better plan.

After a quarter of a century of game programming, one of the most important lessons I have learned is that there is value in limitations. We often see limitations as a detriment - after all, computer programming languages are designed to allow pretty much anything. But if you set up the right limitations, they become a strength. Limitations give us a foundation, a structure to work within, which enables us to build creative content without getting bogged down in the infinite complexity of implementation. They allow us to create specialized tools for non-programmers to flex their creative muscles. And that’s exactly what we needed - the “right” set of limitations.

The most important factors to Tracy were threefold:

• The GM should be able to Trigger events within the Living Tome System.
   
• Each Player should see those events in a way customized to themselves, filtered by Ancestry, Culture, Class and past actions that player has taken.
   
• Gameplay should remain on the table whenever possible.
   

That third factor is especially important when integrating an app into a tabletop game: if too much happens on the phone screen, then we might as well be making a video game. There’s power in the physical action of rolling a die, of communicating your decision to the GM, and to the improvisational aspect of live action role playing that is lost when tapping a menu option on your device. Skyraiders is a tabletop game augmented by an app, not the other way around.

The result is a system we feel meets all of these needs, while also being quick and easy to write for, allowing Tracy and Laura the ability to create content without needing to “program” the logic behind it all. Over the next few weeks, we will be testing this system out, and I’m sure it will need a few modifications based on what we find, but we think we have found the right balance of limitations and flexibility.

And that balance is the most important thing when programming a game.

• Joe@Syncoplay
   

Painted Heroes on Display

by Tracy Hickman

Our friend and Skyraider backer, Beau, has been busy painting skyraider's miniatures and just presented us with his first finished set.

OK, so admittedly the halfling is HUGE in comparison and we will need some size adjustment in these particular prints. Yours are fine, it's just MINE aren't all in the same size as yet.  Still, it's nice to see everyone in my living room!

ALL of the printable minatures should be available to you now. I hope you are enjoying them. I know my own 3D printer has been running nearly non-stop with the holiday coming up.

Happy Holidays ...

From all of us here at Skyraiders to all our good friends throughout the world, with all our hearts we wish you joy in this holiday season ... and are looking forward to putting Skyraiders into your hands this coming year!

Music to take us to the Skies!
over 1 year ago – Tue, Nov 22, 2022 at 05:57:41 AM

Hi everyone, we are happy to report that 94% of surveys have been completed, however, that does mean that we have 261 surveys yet to be completed. If you have yet to fill out your survey, you can access it here (please use your Kickstarter email address to access): https://skyraiders.backerkit.com/

If you have an issue with your survey, please send an email to [email protected] and we'll look into it (please be sure to include your backer number or your backer email address).

>>> IMPORTANT >>> We have received a few requests to help update addresses. Don’t worry, we will respond and unlock your surveys before we lock them down again, but we’re going to try to do that in one group when we’re closer to shipping.

Also, as a reminder, we will be publishing an update every 4 weeks or so so we can focus our time on all of the amazing products we’ve promised to deliver.

Haven Screen Tested and Delivered: 

The 3D printable Haven GM Screen has FINALLY been print-tested and the files have been placed in the 08_HavenGMScreen_DELIVERY folder!

-- Kim Bourrie

Software/App Update

This month’s app update is short, as all of this month’s content creation has been focused on developing the printed books. On the app development side, we are currently working to ensure smooth online connectivity between users, even when their phone goes in and out of sleep mode throughout the session.  Once this current push on the printed books is complete, we plan to be able to show more digital content within the app.

-- Joe Bourrie

Joe Bourrie and I will be meeting the first of next week after the United States Thanksgiving holiday to work through the user interface, authoring and flow structure of the digital side of Skyraiders. It's very exciting to work with talent like Kim (an incredible UX designer) and Joe (a brilliant software and app designer) to help engineer such an exciting evolution in role playing games as the Living Tome System!

-- Tracy Hickman

Pre-Gen Characters for Skyraiders

There are a number of reasons why using the pre-generated character sheets included in the Skyraider’s Handbook can be helpful to both players and gamemasters.

There are times when pre-gens ‘save the fun’. Pre-gen characters can be a time-saver in a game session zero get together. It makes it so you can have a ‘hot start’ to an adventure for your group.

They can also be very handy when an unexpected guest player joins your group for an evening. It’s great to be able to welcome someone new into the group with ease and just hand them a couple of previously printed character sheets to choose from. The correlating thought to that is that they’re a simple way to introduce newbie players to character sheets who’ve no idea what roleplaying is.

In Skyraiders we’ve crafted the included pre-gen sheets specifically to the starting place in the world; Abarax. As part of the pre-gen sheets, we’ve included tantalizing threads about the character’s history.

We think of these story hooks as a way to draw players more fully into their new character. It gives players a taste of the world they’ve entered. It can aid in visualizing their new characters and how players might portray the persona they’ve chosen.

Can they be customized? Of course. Change the names and history to suit yourself and anything else allowed by the GM. First and foremost, Abarax is made to come alive off the pages of the books through the GM and the group.

-- Wishing you all adventuring success, Laura

Karl Preusser Takes Us to the Skies

Skyraiders has proven to be a far more complex project than we anticipated but also, in so many ways, far more rewarding than we had hoped. Among the many things that keep us so excited about this project is the music being created for the project by Karl Preusser. We are delighted today to share one of those compositions with you, a three-part demo piece he composed called ‘Skyfaring. It is his imagining in music of what a journey aboard one of our aeroships of the Skyraiders might be like.

 You can experience this right now here or through the following private link on Youtube: https://youtu.be/ZphDVJypUQE

While I have included some of our cover graphics in this video, I strongly encourage you to CLOSE YOUR EYES while listening to the piece. Imagine your own adventure through each of its three parts:

• ‘Skycrossing’ where you are on the deck of a grand, wooden aeroship, its masts towering over you as you sail with rolling motion through the clouds with the waters of the Surulian Sea far below you.
• ‘The Storm’ where danger awaits you in the skies. Whether the forces of weather or the fierce menace of dragons or Ice-spiders, your very survival is challenged.
• ‘New Shores’ as you peer through the hazy dawn and catch the first sight of uncharted lands filled with hope and opportunity.

Whether you access it as part of your game through our Living Tome app or through other media, we are excited to feature Karl’s magnificent, unique spice of music to our world.

-- To the winds, Buccaneers, to the storm! Tracy Hickman

Flash Update: Skyraiders Player's Book

The Skyraider's Player's book is now complete in its first draft form! Laura is finishing up her editorial touches as I write this. We have, of course, been adding touches to the Skymaster's Guide manuscript all along ... but now we turn our full attention to that second book and the world of Skyraiders that it brings to life. 

-- Tracy Hickman

Living Maps, a Fighter's Tale and Meridian
over 1 year ago – Thu, Oct 13, 2022 at 03:06:04 AM

Hi everyone, we are happy to report that 93% of surveys have been completed, however, that does mean that we have 286 surveys yet to be completed. If you have yet to fill out your survey, you can access it here (please use your Kickstarter email address to access): https://skyraiders.backerkit.com/

If you have an issue with your survey, please send an email to [email protected] and we'll look into it (please be sure to include your backer number or your backer email address).

>>> IMPORTANT >>> We have received a few requests to help update addresses. Don’t worry, we will respond and unlock your surveys before we lock them down again, but we’re going to try to do that in one group when we’re closer to shipping.

Also as a reminder, we will be publishing an update every 4 weeks or so, so we can focus our time on all of the amazing products we’ve promised to deliver.

Larry Elmore Cover

It is with considerable pride and excitement that we share the final art for Larry Elmore’s Skyraiders cover painting! Larry captures a Skyraider crew docked at the remains of an ancient Aeroship port in search of relics to plunder from its ruins.

I am so grateful that my old friend consented to do this cover for us. We look forward to where his art takes us. -Tracy   

Living Maps

This month, we’re excited to share the current state of the Living Maps system, one of the core features of the Living Tome App that uses augmented reality to enhance your tabletop role playing experience.  One of our goals coming into this app was to make it “content-agnostic” - in other words, the app does not need to know all of the quests, maps, or really anything about the world of Skyraiders in order to run.  We accomplish this lofty goal through the integration of the World Anvil system for content generation.

To get a Living Map into the app, the first thing we needed to do was to create a map on the World Anvil website, and then download that map into the app, breaking it down into its fundamental pieces (image, geography, markers, etc) and reinterpreting all of that as three-dimensional objects that can be displayed via our augmented reality viewer.

After that, we can then cross-reference that World Anvil data with any map that the Living Tome App recognizes through the camera in your phone.  Finally, all area labels, event markers, and decorative elements can be overlaid onto the physical map as digital elements.

In the following images, you’ll see this in action: the physical printed map only displays the terrain, but the markers, labels and cloud layer (w/ cast shadows) are projected as 3D objects on top of the map using the Living Maps system.

Tracy and Laura can use this AR/World Anvil link to add information and lore to any printed map, create custom dynamic events with real positioning in the world, and more.  We’re very excited to start showing how these Living Maps will integrate into your adventure, so keep on the lookout for our next update! - Joe

Getting to know the Classes on Abarax

I’ve been getting to know the stories of some of the people on the island.  I’ve already scribed the tales of several of those who’ve found adventure on Abarax.  Today we share the story of Jerryn, a fighter:

In the late evening Jerryn ducked toward the low door of Ipater’s Pub.  The smell of food pulled the young man through the doorway. Hoping his size would impress someone enough to give him work, he stood tall with elbows akimbo as his eyes became accustomed to the dim room and scanned for the pubkeeper. He hoped no one could see how road weary he was.

“Folk don’t wear their weapons in here.  Causes trouble, you know.” A portly man commented as he served several glasses to patrons at a nearby table and then approached the man.

Jerryn’s hand instinctively flew to protect his scabbard. He would not be taking off his father’s sword in this strange place. His father had gifted it to him when he’d proved himself a worthy swordsman.

He’d left home several days ago when he realized he’d have to earn a living by his sword this fall as his family’s farm crops had failed. He’d never come into town before and felt uncertain and wary here in Haven.

“What can I do for you? Looking for work, are ya’ young fella’?” prompted the man.

Jerryn felt awkward as the room quieted and many were watching him.

He swallowed hard and his tongue felt thick. He managed a nod in agreement and the pubkeep slapped him on the shoulder and smiling said quietly, “I have work where you won’t have to put your sword aside.  Let’s get you fed first. Can’t do much on an empty stomach.” Gasby, the pub owner,  sized up the tall lad to be a farm boy with a sword, but he could give him a bit of work.

After a large bowl of stew Jerryn revived and gratefully followed Gasby the pub keeper to the back room through a door and down a stone staircase that ended in a shallow cave slick with moisture.  The pair stepped out of the cave entrance that was well covered with vines at the shoreline of the river below the pub that was on the hill above.

“I’m expecting a delivery of some barrels.  The fellows who bring them will stash them upstairs so don’t worry about that.  What I need you and that sword of yours to do is to make certain there’s no trouble with the delivery, see?” Gasby winked at Jerryn.   “I’m not saying there’ll be trouble, but if there is I need two things from you: Don’t let any of the barrels escape into river pirate hands and secondly and most important, don’t make too much of a ruckus. I don’t want the Ogre Watch awake and curious about this stretch of beach.”

With that Gasby disappeared back into the cave.  Jerryn turned and looked at the inky water of the river trying to discern if there were boats in the darkness floating toward him.

He wondered what kind of work he’d fallen into.  Barrels delivered to a hidden cave in dark of night?  Don’t wake the Ogre watch?  Jerryn, exhausted and stomach full, shrugged his tired shoulders.  If it wasn’t exactly honorable, at least it was a task he understood. He’d spent many nights on watch for those who came to steal chickens or livestock.

He saw the glint of a lantern on the river that suddenly vanished.  Friend or foe?  He would soon find out.

-Laura

Cartography and a Visit to Meridon

One of the most thrilling (if exhausting) parts of visiting a new world is the cartography that graphically describes a living place. Everything has to be organic and in four dimensions. It isn’t just the relationship of the land to the inhabitants or the buildings to each other but the history which brought about all of these relationships.

On the Erinyes Coast alone there are thirteen separate cultures found in their various city states, towns, villages and regions. Each one is unique. Each one has an organic relationship – not just in terms of geography but down through several centuries of history with its neighbors.What happened in each place after the last Aeroship departed from the Coast? Which side did each come down on during the Possession Wars? Did the Warden Keepers work with their prisoners or against them? Once the Fae were free to command their own magic, how did they relate to their former oppressors? The currents and eddies of history, proximity, military might, political power, economics and intrigue are – not surprisingly – all written on the face of the maps of each location.

It’s thrilling and exhausting all at the same time.

Take, for example, this newly created map of Meridon. It sits on either side of the River Krystalost where it joins that region of the Sulurian Sea at Nyad Inless into the Waters of Giliu.It sits at the junction of three roads: the north-west road to the MIddle Territories where most of the Halflings make their home; the eastern road that turns inland to the north and leads to the great warrior city-state of Defiance with the other settlements beyond; and the road into Edoneh – the mysterious Fae kingdom – whose very boarder of frightful guardian forests and Sentinel obelisks rest against the southern and western edges of Meridan.   

This is a town that is shaped by magic in more ways than one. As the center to which all fae gathered, Edoneh became the nexus of magic in every aspect: teaching the craft of Sylph Magic used in Wizardry. As such their instruction in the Wizard arts became not only a means of keeping the peace with their neighbors but an industry with which they could barter for the outside goods produced by their neighbor states. This became particularly apparent at the end of the Possession Wars with the halfling-bartered Euwyn Accords. In part as an acknowledgement of the halfling’s role in brokering the agreement (and as an attempt to understand and control the wild, natural magic of the halflings) the Edolan (Keepers of the Light) who ruled the fae decreed the Nurdolan (Shadows of the Light) be sent to form a settlement just beyond their borders where their disciplined magic could be taught to those of other ancestry.

The intention was only to address the issue of halfling magic but in the end people from all different ancestries all along the Erinyes Coast who had a penchant for magic flocked to the town of Meridan.

Over time, as the magic was learned, competing schools of magic sprang up on the north and east reaches of the town. These are generally ‘cut-rate’ pale reflections of the great fae Nuldoran Academy nestled against the border with Edoneh and surrounded by a fae enclave but if one must learn magic disciplines these offer an avenue with more flexible standards and prices.

And, of course, all trade with the fae kingdom of Edoneh happens exclusively through Merican. Much of the economy therefore revolves around trade, magic and the trade of magic. This makes Meridan a tumultuous locus of power and intrigue … all stirred vigorously by the fact that the town seems nearly overrun with magic-wielding, halfling scalawags!

Now … imagine twelve more such places just waiting for you to explore.

-Tracy

Deadeyes, Deadlines, Destiny & Data
over 1 year ago – Fri, Sep 02, 2022 at 09:51:12 PM

Hi everyone, we are happy to report that 92% of surveys have been completed, however, that does mean that we have 343 surveys yet to be completed. If you have yet to fill out your survey, you can access it here (please use your Kickstarter email address to access): https://skyraiders.backerkit.com/

If you have an issue with your survey, please send an email to [email protected] and we'll look into it (please be sure to include your backer number or your backer email address).

*We have received a few requests to help update addresses. Don’t worry, we will respond and unlock your surveys before we lock them down again, but we’re going to try to do that in one batch when we’re closer to shipping.

Also as a reminder, we will be publishing an update every 4 weeks or so. We want to focus our time on all of the amazing products we’ve promised to deliver.

Deadeyes and Deadlines

A deadeye is a nautical term for a circular wooden block with a groove around its circumference. It is used in both the standing and running rigging of traditional sailing ships. Deadeye is also a term that refers to an expert marksman … one who hits their target with consistent accuracy.

One has to have a target before you can hit it: that is especially true when it comes to complex (and occasionally overwhelming) projects like Skyraiders. Deadlines, benchmarks and goals are all targets that let us know how close we are coming to the ultimate goal of delivering the amazing experience of Skyraiders into your hands.

Looking ahead, there are many factors shifting our targets that are outside of our control … international trade uncertainties being among them. We also want to ensure that this project completely fulfills its promise; no cutting corners or rushed text.

So taking our best and most realistic aim means that we expect to ship Skyraiders in the first quarter of next year in 2023.

We will continue to keep you updated and respond to your questions. We are driven by the fact that so many of you are excited and anxious to get into this world and experience it.

DESTINY is now Calling you!

In our last update, we told you about the new 5e enhancement we named ‘Callings’. It is a set of abilities and feats that allow you to alter the course of your character without changing its character class. We talked about such learned and acquired callings as Aeronaut, Pilgrims, Crafters, Nobles, and Explorer. However, as we got into the design of it, both Nobles and Explorers felt both incomplete and out of place.

About this same time, we were adding a new section to Ancestry about family trees. Since ‘twining’ already asked you to define the ancestry of parents and grandparents, we decided to have players create brief family trees that includes both ancestors and immediate family. This will have a direct game effect on character death. Many of your deceased character’s most prized possessions will be brought back to your ‘family’ … allowing your brother, sister, or other relative to exact revenge for your death or pick up your quest. It also allows you to create a legendary character at the top of your tree who … so your family story says … is the ancestor who was first imprisoned on the island.

Suddenly both these concepts melded together. That was when a new calling was born … destiny!

Destiny is a calling that finds you rather is sought by you. Legendary characters may be Nobles, Explorers (both no  longer a calling directly), Infamous, Heroic, or Rebels. Each has its own advantages and disadvantages.

And while you may believe you know your legendary ancestor … only you Skymaster knows the truth about your family’s past … a truth which they will weave into your game for you to discover! Is it a destiny you wish to embrace? Or will you find a way to ‘change your stars’ and break what you see as a family curse?

What will your legacy bring you?

— Tracy Hickman

Coast to Coast Skyraiders

Tracy’s new Dragonlance book (with co-author Margaret Weis), ‘Dragons of Deceit’ was launched at the beginning of August. We’ve found ourselves back on the summer convention circuit just like old times.

We’ve traveled to three large game /comic /sci-fi / fantasy conventions.  They are: Gen Con in Indianapolis, Emerald City Con in Seattle, and DragonCon in Atlanta. We are, in fact in Atlanta at DragonCon as I’m writing this.

All this traveling has given Tracy and I the opportunity and pleasure of meeting face to face with our Skyraiders backers and others who are interested in the Skyaiders project. We’ve had fun talking with you and getting to know some of you.

Our official convention crew t-shirt this year is a Skyraiders shirt of Matt Stawicki’s cover art and it is so gorgeous that we’ve had people on the street walk up and ask where they could get one. 

If you’d like to see one being silkscreened by our favorite t-shirt printer, Greg at Southern Utah Screen Printing, head over to Tracy’s facebook page for a look at the process. https://www.facebook.com/trhickman/videos/745432886689217

For those of you who are interested: We are working with Matt S. On a way for people to get their crew t-shirts soon.

Tracy’s first event here at DragonCon is in the Weston tonight at 7 pm.  We hope to see you there and please come and say hi.

— Laura Hickman

PS:  We are pleased to announce that they’ve revved up the press and the new Dragonlance book is already in a second printing.

Living Tome & Skyraiders App

Over the past few weeks, we have been working to get the Living Maps functionality fully working and integrated in with the World Anvil system.  This feature can be very straightforward for simple maps, but its power scales with the complexity of the content being created for it.  This is one of the main reasons we chose to integrate World Anvil: an app might be “cool” to have, but the usefulness of it lives or dies on the amount of quality content Tracy & Laura can create for it.  Having an already existing online toolset like World Anvil gives them a way to create content quickly, knowing that it will seamlessly work within the app.

Our current build allows augmented reality overlays on a physical map, as well as the loading of map data from World Anvil.  Unfortunately, at the time of publishing this update, one missing piece is keeping us from being able to fully integrate the two, so screenshots of it in action will need to wait until the next update.  We’re really excited to show it off, and we hope to have the chance to very soon! :)

— Joe Bourrie

GM Screen STL files

We have one set of files awaiting release! Our GM Screen files! I apologize for the lateness of these files - we're in the process of moving and we need to ensure proper print testing of all of the files before release! Stay tuned for release date! Thank you!

— Kim Bourrie

Lastly, here is the latest sneak peak of Larry Elmore's amazing art! Enjoy!

Larry Elmore and Riding the Whirlwind
almost 2 years ago – Mon, Aug 01, 2022 at 02:03:12 AM

Hi everyone, we are happy to report that 91% of surveys have been completed, however, that does mean that we still have 408 surveys yet to be completed. If you have yet to fill out your survey, you can access it here (please use your Kickstarter email address to access): https://skyraiders.backerkit.com/

If you have an issue with your survey, please send an email to [email protected] and we'll look into it (please be sure to include your backer number or your backer email address).

*We have received a few requests to help update addresses. Don’t worry, we will respond and unlock your surveys before we lock them down again, but we’re going to try to do that in one group when we’re closer to shipping.

Note on Updates: Our team has a SO much going on that we need to push updates to a cadence of every 4 weeks. 

First Look: Larry Elmore Cover 

It is with considerable pride and excitement that we share for your first look at the sketch for Larry Elmore’s Skyraiders cover painting. Larry captures a Skyraider crew docked at the remains of an ancient Aeroship port in search of relics to plunder from its ruins.

I am so grateful that my old friend consented to do this cover for us. We look forward to where his art takes us.

GM Screen update:

We’re a bit behind on our last set of STL files. We’ve been print testing as we go, so we’re hoping to release these files by the end of August (sorry for the delay! Lots going on!)    

Skyraiders and World Anvil

It is with considerable delight and excitement that we announce that we are working directly with World Anvil  (World Anvil Worldbuilding tools & RPG Campaign Manager | World Anvil). and integrating our systems as a centerpiece of our world design and app integration. We have been working quietly with this exciting company for many months now, using their tools to assist in the organization and content creation of our Skyraiders world. Joe Bourrie from our team has been working directly with Dimitris and his team so that we will be able to properly provide content to the Living Tome app that will expand the world beyond the horizon of the books. 

World Anvil is a set of worldbuilding tools that helps you create, organize and store your world setting. With wiki-like articles, interactive maps, historical timelines, an RPG Campaign Manager and a full novel-writing software, World Anvil have all the tools you’ll need to run your RPG Campaign or write your novel.

We encourage you to establish a free World Anvil account so that you can explore this great authoring environment as we continue to expand our own integration into this amazing space. We have big plans for the future with World Anvil.

Living Tome & Skyraiders App

With the announcement of our partnership with World Anvil, a whole new world of app content has been opened up to us!  We’ve been hard at work creating APIs (programming interfaces) that allow us to sync characters, environments, and entire world maps from the World Anvil site.  Due to the unique nature of our app, we are also looking into ways to allow additional data to be stored “invisibly” on World Anvil to help moderate the logic needed for AR and Living Tome.    

In addition, we have been working on building Living Tome as a separate application from the Skyraiders app - constructing it in a way that allows us to not only use it for future Skyraiders products, but to open it up for use in other products (and potentially other platforms) in the future.  It was important that we do this right from the start - we believe Living Tome has potential not only for Skyraiders but also for the future of tabletop gaming.

With World Anvil now integrated into the app, we are digging in on more visual features - starting with the Living Maps.  Expect to see more info on that system in our next update!

COVID, Class and Callings

A few weeks back, both Laura and I tested positive for COVID. We had been feeling poorly but nothing beyond cold symptoms. Soon, however, we were in quarantine. We streamed a lot of movies and don’t remember any of them.

However, that break from the keyboards did allow us to talk and think about 5E Character Classes and the idea of Callings.

Originally, I had wanted to change Character Class. Aside from just feeling that the word ‘Class’ was archaic and out of place, I never cared for the idea that players had to choose one ‘profession’ to play. They could grow (level up) in that profession but they couldn’t seem to change course somewhere in the middle of their lives in any way other than ‘multi-classing’ – and cumbersome and, to my thinking, a punitive way of taking on a new profession.

This went beyond just game preferences in Skyraiders. One of the basic concepts is that your character discovers Aeroships that will allow them to escape. To do this, they would have to acquire the knowledge and skills of the Aeronauts – a ‘class’ that they would take on AFTER character development.

As Laura and I were talking through this during our quarantine the solution came to us. Rather than try to entirely redesign the 5e Class system (arguably the heart of the 5e game), we could adopt a ‘calling’ as something of an ‘add-on’ to our character class. ‘Callings’ could then be seen as a ‘change of course’ in the life of a character. This would allow us to define not only enhancements to each player’s character class – giving them new skills, feats and abilities – but also the ability to set prerequisites and conditions to adapting these callings. For example, to adopt the Aeronaut calling, the character may have had to sail on an Aeroship first before being offered the option to accept the calling. This ‘callings’ concept could then be extended to other things such as ‘Pilgrim’ or ‘Harpist’.

Suddenly, with this change, character creation and progression became at once much simpler and as dynamic as we had hoped. The final piece of the character puzzle fell into place.

Skyraiders, fly! – Tracy

Unconventional Conventions

Laura and I will be on something of a whirlwind tour over the next few weeks as we are guests at three separate conventions. Each one offers us an opportunity to see you, talk Skyraiders and answer your questions face to face regarding the progress of the project.

GENCON begins next week (August 4-7) in Indianapolis, Indiana. We will be holding a specific Skyraiders seminar on Saturday afternoon as well as something of a Skyraider’s themed Killer Breakfast that morning. Oh, and we’re also premiering the release of our new Dragonlance novel there as well.

EMERALD CITY COMIC CON is next (August 18th-21st) in Seattle, Washington. There will be a Skyraiders presentation there, as well, and we’ll be streaming a Dragonhearth Live from the convention as well.

DRAGONCON is our final stop for our being on the road (September 2st-5th) covering much of downtown Atlanta, Georgia. We have no specific event for Skyraiders scheduled there but plenty of opportunity to talk about the Ernyes Coast at our other panels there, including a Dragonlance panel.

We are also anticipating a trip to the Lucca Convention in Lucca, Italy in late October of this year so we hope that will also afford an opportunity to meet with a few of our European friends as well.

For those of you who can manage to find us, we offer you a warm welcome and engaging conversation about Skyraiders!

To the Winds – Tracy

The Words of the World

Andrakonis is a place with many unique names, places and peoples.  Tracy and I love words, creating them and naming things.

In looking over the Skyraiders Handbook manuscript and the maps recently, I realized that over time the names and spellings of people and places have shifted somewhat.  A good world-tidying seemed to be in order.

I thought about handing it off to a freelance editor. I quickly concluded that while I may do such a thing in the future, it would not be until I’d accounted for all the singular words myself.

The list started as a few words scribbled on a Post-it note and I soon understood that I would run out of Post-It’s rather quickly. I moved on to an alphabetized document called ‘the Words of Andrakonis’ that includes the official spelling of our creations.

In many instances in building this document I had to eliminate alternate spellings or names that had simply evolved to something else over time.  It was very much like putting our world under a microscope to clean it up.

I’ve scrubbed the manuscript with a spell checker that will recognize our special words (as well as the usual copy cleanup of course.)  Moving forward it should be easier for us to use one single spelling for cities, people, magic items and so much more.

Worlds are complex places and while we hope to bring you a cohesive landscape be aware you just might find a ‘name artifact’ or two.  Please consider these your personal ‘discovered arcana’ on Andrakonis.

To the Skies!--Laura