September update: Writing is complete!
over 7 years ago – Fri, Sep 09, 2016 at 06:59:12 PM

Hi folks, Rose here. :) I'll just jump ahead and turn the floor over to Eddy:

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Hello, happy dogs! I had a wonderful time in Toronto at Fan Expo Canada, where I met a couple of Kickstarter backers (thank you again!) and made some new Pugmire fans. All of the Pugmire games I ran went well, and everyone seemed excited for the future! 

When I got back, I immediately went heads-down for the final push on the Pugmire manuscript. And I'm happy to say...

PUGMIRE IS COMPLETE. I REPEAT, PUGMIRE IS COMPLETE. 

Yes, the manuscript finally has all its words written! But before you grab a celebratory drink, I should quickly clarify that while I have a complete manuscript, it still needs some revision work by me, and then a pass by an editor who isn't me to make sure that I didn't accidentally write "dribble dribble dribble" somewhere. Then it goes to layout, and there's a couple more passes between me and the layout artist. So, we still have a few months to go before a digital version of the book will be in your hands. But now I can start talking about getting art with Rich and the incredibly talented Mike Chaney, I can get the background material off to the anthology folks, and a lot of other things can move forward now that I have something resembling a complete game on my hands. 

Okay, now you can have your drink, as I move on to other updates. 

PUGMIRE PLAYTESTING! 

As soon as I get things ready for the editor, I'll compile a pre-edited manuscript of new bits that I could use some playtesting on. This will be things like revised tricks, new spells, and new enemies. I'm anticipating about 4 weeks of time for people to run the new material in their home game and send feedback, so if you have a group that's interested in kicking some new rules around, see if they're free in October! 

PUGMIRE BACKER CHARACTERS 

Last month I mentioned I was having a bit of trouble getting all the backer characters in. I was planning to discuss it with Rich, and right before the meeting I realized that just about all of the characters fit into the calling and breed spreads! So, 13 of the dog characters will have illustrations, official Pugmire names, and a quote. Here's a small example of the text: 

<<

Ratters

“Most dogs say the only monsters are outside Pugmire’s walls, but I’ve seen civilized dogs do horrible things to each other. That’s why I’m here to dig out the real monsters, even if I have to break the law.” 

— Satyrini Papillon 

[ART NOTES: USE KICKSTARTER BACKER CHARACTER “SATYRINI PAPILLON”]

>>

Some of those characters are also sprinkled through the rest of the text. For example: 

The captain of the Royal Guard is chosen by the current ruler, and the rest of the Royal Guard are chosen by the captain. The current ruler, King Puckington, chose Sir Albert Corgi as his Captain of the Royal Guard, and Sir Albert has served faithfully ever since.

Also, two characters ended up as NPCs in the adventure, but I'll leave that as a surprise. :) 

As for the cat characters, I did discuss them with Rich, and I think we'll probably save them for the Monarchies of Mau Early Access book. Since we're hoping to have the Monarchies of Mau Kickstarter in early 2017, that's not much of a wait, and all the cat characters will have a place where they're the focus, instead of being shoved into a book about dogs. 

PUGMIRE EARPLAY AND AUDIO DRAMA 

This has been put off for a bit, but for good reason, as Earplay announced they have the license to product interactive audio products for Wraith: The Oblivion! So we put together a spooky ghost story for people at the Grand Masquerade in New Orleans. It was an insanely tight schedule, but everyone really loved the final result. It really showed us that people get the potential power of interactive audio, and I hope fans will love Pugmire Earplay just as much. We did learn that it doesn't take much time to go from the germ of an idea to a final product, so once the Pugmire Earplay kicks into gear, things will move pretty quickly to getting the experience into your hands (certainly much faster than producing a full RPG book!). 

PUGMIRE FICTION ANTHOLOGY 

Jim and I are discussing contracts, but he's already reached out to some writers, and thus far lots of folks are either eager to be on board, or they're waiting to see if they can make time in their schedule. Once all the contracts are signed and pitches are accepted, I'll let everyone know the final list of authors for the anthology, but so far I'm really excited about who is coming on board! 

PAN'S GUIDE FOR NEW PIONEERS 

Another project that was waiting on getting a final manuscript together was "Pan's Guide for New Pioneers," which is intended as a supplemental guide to teach people new to RPGs and Pugmire in particular how to play. I had a few weird ideas of how that product could evolve, but I knew I wasn't going to have time to focus on it, since I have to shift gears to work on Monarchies of Mau. 

I'm happy to report, however, that Matthew "Gentleman Gamer" Dawkins has agreed to be the developer for that product in my stead! I've had the privilege of working with Matt on a few different Vampire: The Masquerade products, and he also was kind enough to run a Pugmire game for me during the Kickstarter. Check it out on YouTube if you missed it. 

Like with Jim Lowder, I trust Matt with my world, and I think he'll do a fine job with it. I've already brain-dumped much of my vague, weird ideas on him, and he'll mulling them over. He's a busy guy and has a lot of other projects to wrap up this month, but come October he should be able to focus on Pan's Guide. I can't wait to see what he comes up with!

SEE YOU IN OCTOBER! 

My travel is done for the year, but I still have one more convention to attend. If you're going to be at SIEGE in Atlanta on October 7th through the 9th, stop by! I'll be hosting a panel on writing for franchises in video games, but I'll be happy to chat about Pugmire or anything else during the show.

And with that, I'm back to work. See you next month!

August Update
over 7 years ago – Tue, Aug 09, 2016 at 07:49:21 PM

Hey, folks, Rose here, with your August update! And now I'll turn the floor over to Eddy...

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July Good Dog Bulletin!
almost 8 years ago – Wed, Jul 06, 2016 at 11:09:00 PM

Hi, folks, Rose here. ^_^ Welcome to the July update for Pugmire.

We've got less than 100 Backer Kits yet to be filled out. Please make sure you've finished yours so we can get you your rewards!

And from there, take it away, Eddy!

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* Received the first draft of the magic chapter, and I've redlined it (meaning I've made comments, corrections, and suggestions to help David with his next draft). This means that, once this chapter is rewritten, the player half of the book is done! * Redlining the enemies draft from Rob now.

* Got the draft of the introductory adventure, while I'll be redlining next (hopefully later this week).

* Discussed the Pugmire Earplay story with Dave Grossman. He's generally liking where it's going, but we're planning a more detailed discussion in the near future.  

* Started discussion with a potential editor for the Pugmire anthology.

* Started compiling a mental shortlist of my preferred actors and authors -- nothing firm yet, but I have a good idea of the people I'm approaching first once things are more firmly in place.

* I've been watching the Geek & Sundry Pugmire shows, and chatting with some of the folks behind them to see if we can come up with more awesome Pugmire opportunities in future.

* More work with the Onyx Path team on the Pugmire presence at Gen Con, as well as working with Gen Con as an Industry Insider this year. 

There will be Pugmire demos running at the Onyx Path booth, as well as full Pugmire games on the schedule, run by the ever-amazing Wrecking Crew!  

Watching some people play Pugmire has helped me refine a few bits I was on the fence about, particularly around tricks. As I mentioned last month, I've been fiddling with them to make them all compelling. One piece of that is removing the restriction to only take a maximum of two breed tricks, and that all dogs in the same family are stuck with those tricks. I know my reasons for doing that previously, but in the end I realized that I was stopping people from trying out potentially cool tricks. Plus, explaining the restriction is actually more trouble than it's worth at the table, so in the end I decided to open that up. I also completely rewrote a couple of tricks. For example, I thought that the pointer tricks were a little weak, so I replaced one with this completely new one (as always, this is pre-edit text, so it may not show up in this form in the final book):  

Deductive Strike  

The pointer with this trick can observe an opponent to learn where her opponent’s weaknesses are. The pointer can observe one opponent as a free action. Any round after the one in which the pointer observed the opponent, she can make an attack roll using her Intelligence modifier instead of Strength or Dexterity. If successful, the Intelligence modifier also adds to her damage.  

One of the things I love about working on creative projects is collaborating with creative people. Rob has been doing a great job coming up with creative and compelling enemies for Pugmire, thinking of things that I couldn't come up with and finding the right balance between old fantasy favorites and new creepy creations. Here's an early peek at one of the new monsters!  

Leechtongue (CR 4)  

Travelers tell of dogs possessed by the Unseen licking their paws on the side of the road. Never ask these dogs to travel with you, because when you least expected it, they reveal their unending thirst. A black, barbed tongue lashes the victim around the neck and the leechtongue sucks all the water out of the poor thing, leaving a dried up husk in a ditch.  

Defense: 14

Stamina points: 44 

Speed: 30 feet 

Abilities: Strength 16 (+3), Dexterity 10 (0), Constitution 16 (+3), Intelligence 10, Wisdom 6 (-2), Charisma 10 (0) 

Attack: Claws (+6 melee, 2d4+3 piercing) and tongue lash (+6 melee, 1d10+3 bludgeoning) 

Tricks: Resistance to all damage except radiant, Darkvision 

* Dehydration: After a tongue lash, the target makes a difficulty 15 Constitution save. Failure indicates the target is Weakened until they can take a rest and rehydrate. 

* Battle Frenzy: The Leechtongue makes a claw and lash attack with the same action. 

Finally, I've been working on my travel plans. As I mentioned above, I'll be at Gen Con in August. I'm also going to be at Fan Expo Canada September 1-4 in Toronto. And I'm in discussions for another appearance in late September/early October. 

That's it for now. See you in August -- hopefully at Gen Con!

Another quick update from Eddy
almost 8 years ago – Wed, Jun 01, 2016 at 11:37:31 PM

Hi, Rose here. ^_^ Eddy has a quick addendum to his update from earlier today:

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Hey folks, Eddy again. Just wanted to post a quick clarification to my last update, since I've already gotten several (very nice, but still concerned) emails about this. In a nutshell: players will still be able to make their own breeds in Pugmire.  

Just like with Early Access, players will be able to make any breed they want. That hasn't changed, and won't change. There's no need to email me to ask if you'll be able to play a Tibetan Mastiff or a Swedish Vallhund or a Bedlington Terrier or a Finnish Spitz or a Norwegian Lundehund or a Catahoula Leopard Dog. The answer is yes! Any dog can adventure in Pugmire. :)

My update is only focused on making sure the example breeds make sense. So far I've gotten some feedback which has been a huge help, so thank you very much for that!

June update!
almost 8 years ago – Wed, Jun 01, 2016 at 08:03:54 PM

Hi, Rose here, with an update from Eddy!

Welcome back, good dogs! Since my last update in May, things have continued moving forward. Here are some highlights:  

* Talked over spells with David, and how we can make artisans and shepherds distinctive spellcasters  

* Reviewed Rob's initial enemy ideas, which led to some discussion of other species in the world  

* Outlined Pugmire Earplay story, which I'll be discussing with Dave Grossman  

* Getting some support material to Ivan and the crew at "No Survivors" to help them prep for their show on Geek & Sundry's Twitch stream  

* Working with the Onyx Path team on the Pugmire presence at Gen Con, as well as working with Gen Con as an Industry Insider this year  

* Processed some of the backer rewards, and started adding backer character names in where they make sense  

* Lots and lots of rewriting the manuscript  

As planned, May was the beginning of a top-to-bottom rewrite of the manuscript. This rewrite is less about rules and more about making sure that all the bits and pieces I wrote before still do what I need them to do, revising the parts that don't do what they should, adding material where it needs to be added, and pulling everything together into a more cohesive whole.  

Part of this is adding more support for newer players -- Early Access was always intended for people experienced with RPGs, but I want to give resources to people who have never rolled a d20 before. One of those resources is the introduction of sidebars featuring Yosha and Pan, in the style we had on the Kickstarter campaign page. Yosha talks about things that newer players need to know, while Pan points out elements more interesting to established players. Here's an example from the current text (caveat: this is all pre-editing, so it may not resemble the final text).  

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Before you can start exploring the world of Pugmire, you need your own dog character.  

[YOSHA SIDEBAR]  

If you want to get started right away, you can portray me or one of my five friends! All you have to do is pick a dog that you want to play, copy down the relevant information, and start playing.  

[PAN SIDEBAR]  

Everyone shouldn’t try to play me, though — one dog per player, and that’s it. However, if you’re a veteran dog, or you just want to be a free dog and make your own character, skip ahead to p. XX. There you’ll find information on how to build a new dog from scratch.  

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Another area I'm in the process of rewriting now is the breed section. The example families in Early Access generated a lot of interesting feedback! Even with the sidebar explaining that the breed groups are meant to be evocative, and the fact that some of my "breed groups" don't have any real-world analog, a number of folks had some strong opinions about which families went in which group. I took that feedback very seriously, and combined it with a few obvious examples I just missed last time. In addition, I reformatted them into a simple 1d6 table, so people who are feeling uninspired or need to quickly make a character can roll a family name. Here are the current tables!  

Companions  

1. Affenpinscher  

2. Chihuahua  

3. Papillion  

4. Pomeranian  

5. Pug  

6. Shihtzu  

Fettles  

1. Afghan  

2. Labrador  

3. Doberman  

4. Malinois  

5. Springer  

6. Weimaraner  

Herders  

1. Briard  

2. Canaan  

3. Collie  

4. Corgi  

5. Dachshund  

6. Sheepdog  

Pointers

1. Border-Collie  

2. Bloodhound  

3. German  

4. Hound  

5. Poodle  

6. Retriever  

Runners  

1. Borzoi  

2. Dalmatian  

3. Greyhound  

4. Rat-Terrier  

5. Shibainu  

6. Whippet  

Workers  

1. Bernese  

2. Bulldog  

3. Mastiff  

4. Pyrenees  

5. Rottweiler

6. Wolfhound

PLEASE NOTE: If you still have a strong opinion about the family names, please email me at [email protected] -- I don't always get notification of comments on these updates, so email is the best way to get me your polite, constructive feedback!  

As I mentioned last month, other projects aside from Earplay are largely on hold until the core rulebook manuscript is done, or at least in a state where I can use it as reference for people I plan to hire. I might start on the anthology in June or July, however, since that only requires the setting to be formalized, and I could get those pieces in place sooner than the whole manuscript. We'll see -- my focus still is on getting the book folks backed together on time.

That's it for now. See you in July!