Adventure Building

[tilt]

I'm with all of the above.. oh.. is that not possible *lol*

As GP pointed out I play 4e, played all the previous version also (not pathfinder though). I believe however that it is possible to create a good combat map for 4e and keep some realism as well (it is fantasy however so a little fantastic is allright in my book). I'm not a hard core 4e player though, so I'm pretty much glad just to play and I'll use any old map if need be

I think a subforum would be nice to do this stuff in - and I also agree with Ravi that we have to run this by Arcana to do this on the guild. However I do also believe that CG pooled together could make cool stuff and I'd glady help lead the project on the way. But lets get the CL forum to discuss it and then lets gather interested people and see what positions people would like to fill

[industrygothica]

Thanks IG. <s>

If we are going to take this seriously, it might be worth having another subforum for it which will be closed to everyone except those involved in the project. Do you want me to float it in the CL discussion forum?

All of this is going to require Arcana's blessing which AFAIK has not yet been received.

Yes, please do. Thanks!

[Ramah]

I'd also like to help with this in any way I can. I have next to zero experience with these kind of things but for some time I have been genuinely interested in learning and understanding how they are crafted and that's what's important, right?

[DevinNight]

I'd like to help out a bit too. I was going to offer my less used production background to help with the layout and look of the overall project, Tilt beat me to it, but I might find a place as assistant to Tilt or possible if we have two or more projects going I'll layout one, and him another after we establish and overall guideline. Also I have done a dungeon map or two in my time.

As far as system, I am currently running Thunderspire Labyrinth and we are in the Horned Hold, most of the rooms are 20x30 or smaller, some larger... A well designed map will work for 4E and any system. A 4e controller won't complain anymore than say a 3.5 wizard walking into 20x20 room and not being able to cast fireball. It's the same thing.. Some places are meant to hinder large effects and movement while other areas are great for big effects and raging fights. A good adventure will have both.
I vote for making great maps based around solid, fantastic ideas, and making them for the most popular user bases.

[Redrobes]

I think that this could be a great idea. I don't know how I could help and I am inundated with work as is but if I can comment or lend some expertise or something then just call on it. I did publish a pressed CD in DVD box with artwork though I am not sure i'd want to recommend the way I did it as a template for doing it right (I'll sum it up - I didn't use Adobe products). All I would say is that you need to decide some things before you even start to write or draw. What are you making, how are you going to publish it and through what channels inc licensing - Copyright / CC / PD. If for profit then how ? Using RPGNow and deliver electronically, Ad revenues or go to print and sell physical cos it makes a big difference. If profit then decide up front how its going to be split. And are you advertising through the guild cos yeah I think a nod from Arcana would be required. In short, agree who's responsible for what and have a charter for what your doing before anyone puts effort into it and your all neck deep in the project. Im not experienced enough to know how to do this right but I am mildly experienced enough to know how to do it badly wrong !

[industrygothica]

To be honest, my original intent was to do this for the love of doing it. The thought of charging anything for it hadn't even crossed my mind. I see no reason why we can't continue to do the things we love while letting the RPG community reap some of the rewards. Why let things like money get in the way and complicate things?

And Redrobes, having the pleasure of owning your ViewingDale product, I can say from experience that it was beautifully packaged. In fact, that's one of the things that impressed me the most with it! So if you did something wrong, I can't even imagine what it would look like if you did it right!

[tilt]

money doesn't have to be a part of it, I think the idea is just floated that if CG might make a buck of it we could cover some costs and perhaps even sponsor some prices for a challenge now and then ... however if we're thinking that we also could do real printed stuff - then money of course is an issue - especially since we'd have to pay up front for the prints unless we go with print on demand. I won't go into quality issues and expenses here though

anyways, a nice free pdf thing would be a good starter no matter what

[industrygothica]

Do we have anyone that does any art besides cartography? Like for cover art and NPC's and such?

[Ascension]

Always need a few good illustrations of dudes in armor and some monsters to put in various places. I haven't done any of that in 20 years so I'm out. Also, haven't played any of these games since 1986. My only real skills have little bearing here (until we have the company baseball/football/volleyball/basketball/etc game or someone needs their psyche examined). There are far better illustrators here and far better mappers and far better managers and far better art directors than I but I'd still like to help however I can...even if it's just as a proof-reader or guy with the eye who says things don't look quite right. At any rate, I'll be in and where ever I fit in is where I'll go.
Here's my early list, some of these may not be necessary right now but will be down the road and some slots might be filled by 1 person (add to the list as you see fit):

Illustrators - heroes, monsters, backdrops, etc
Techies - knowledge of VTs and whatever else is out there that I don't know about
Industry guys - publishers, printers, etc
Game guys - they know the various systems
Managers - keep things organized
Art director or art committee - pick the best stuff and keep things stylistically coherent
Designers - page layout and stuff like that
Project lead - tells managers what to do and when to have it done
Idea men - general all-around thinker types
Writers - make stories, scenarios, plot hooks, etc.
Editors - make sure that the stories make sense and are logical
Proofers - look for typos and grammatical errors

[tilt]

Ravells has floated the idea in the CL forum and we'll discuss making a subforum as soon as Arcana signs on