CHAOTIC NEUTRAL by Mark Sable and Chris Anderson

June 2023 Update - this is a good one!
almost 3 years ago – Mon, Jun 12, 2023 at 01:24:42 PM

ffdddyone,

I'm happy to share that we've made tremendous progress on CHAOTIC NEUTRAL since the last update.

Chris finished the maps for the module: a town map, keep, dungeon and wilderness area.  They aren't keyed yet, but I will share them in a future update.  I think it should be fun to see how he transformed my poorly handrawn maps into works of art.

But I do have things to share.  Jacob Hurst has completed a huge chunk of layout for the module.  Here's what some of the first few pages look like:

Bear in mind that these are screenshots I took of a PDF so the resolution is not what you'll see in the final print and PDF forms, and that we'll go through at least one more round of edits/proofreading when the full module is laid out. (If you see XXX in some places it's because we're waiting for the final page #s)

BUT...I am thrilled with how the pages are turning out.  I think Jacob is capturing the feel of old school D&D modules while at the same time making it much more readable and accessible for DMs.  (I'm running Keep on the Borderlands with my D&D group, and while a classic it is often a wall of impenetrable text).

Layout still needs to be finished, we'll need to do a final round of edits, we've got to deal with the printer, get backer kit set up etc...but between Chris completing the cartography and at last half the module laid out, we've come a long way.

Fingers crossed that there will be more good news to share in the next update.

As always, thanks so much for your support and patience.

Mark

April 2023 Update
almost 3 years ago – Sun, Apr 30, 2023 at 10:31:04 PM

This post is for backers only. Please visit Kickstarter.com and log in to read.

March 2023 Update
almost 3 years ago – Wed, Mar 29, 2023 at 04:42:02 PM

Hey Everyone,

I'm about to head to the C2E2 comic convention in Chicago (if you're there, please stop by Artist's Alley Table F-02 and say hi!), but I wanted to give a quick update on the project before I go.

As I mentioned in the last update, module editor/layout artist extroardinaire Jacob Hurst sent me a revised draft of the text of the adventure.   He's done a great job of re-organizing it and making it clearer and more concise, suggesting where it can be more interactive etc.  He had a number of questions for me, and I sent him answers along with my own close-to-final revisions.

Some of you have asked for an example of what's going to be in the module, which has been hard because a) layout isn't done yet and b) I don't want to spoil anything.

But, I thought could share an example both of content and how Jacob and I are making going back and forth.

Here is the initial rumor table I created for the adventure (I've taken out the answers as whether they are true or false, which the DM/GM will know):

IV. RUMORS:

ROLL 1d10:

1.The Prince Bishop is A Devil Worshipper 

2. The Cyclopean Ruins were built by actual Cyclops 

3. Huckle Enworth, The Halfling Whoremonger is operating without a license from the Thieves Guild 

4. An orc has secretly infiltrated the town to soften it up for an invasion 

5. The Prince Bishop’s sacrifices do not actually protect the town from invasion 

6. The Cutwife is in league with Baphomet

7. There are forces of Chaos even Baphomet fears 

8. Rubbings made of Cyclopean Artifacts can be used as spell scrolls 

9. Oleng, the Imperial Guard, is from an advanced civilization and hides a weapon of immense power.

10. The Princess has been impregnated by Baphomet

Jacob suggested that rather than randomly rolling for rumors, that they be spread out amonst the NPCs of the story, and written in the voice of those characters.  That should make it less work (and more fun) for the DM to work them in organically.  

What I came back with are the rumors broken down by location/NPC:

1. THE NIGHT-MARE INN/DRUNKEN PATRON (immediately silenced by barkeep) "The Prince Bishop is hypocrite!  Why, he worships Baphomet himself!" 

2. FORGE OF FURY/FAFNIR FURY: "They say the Cyclopean Ruins aren't up to the standards of Dwarven craftmanship, but they were built by actual an Cyclops.  I slain plenty of cyclops in my time, and they never struck me as smart enough, but what else could have lift such heavy stones! ...

3. BEGGAR's GUILD/BEGGAR KING: "If you're smart, you'll stay away from the brothel in town.  That Halfling Whoremonger is operating without a license from the Thieves Guild.

4. PRINCE BISHOP'S KEEP/GUARD: "Town's lucky to have us protecting it.  I hear an orc has secretly infiltrated the town to soften it up for an invasion." 

5. KRESSLE FARM/THE CUT WIFE: "To think the church condemns me but sends innocent townsfolk to their doom.  And for what?  The Prince Bishop’s sacrifices don't actually protect the town from invasion.  The forest does, and that was here long before the Bishop or his Crucifying God." 

6. CHURCH OF THE CRUCIFYING GOD/MOTHER SUPERIOR: "That Cut-Wife's work is an abomination against god.  She's surely in league with Baphomet." 

7. DRUID/HUT WOOD ELF DRUID: There are forces of Chaos even Baphomet fears

8. ALPTRAUM ANTIQUITIES/ELVEN ARCHAELOGIST: "These are no mere etchings! Rubbings made of Cyclopean Artifacts can be used as spell scrolls!" 

9. VANCE'S ALCHEMY/ALCHEMIST: "Don't let her spear fool you.  Oleng, of the Imperial Guard, is from a highly advanced civilization.  I know she's hiding a weapon of immense power somewhere.  Bring it to me, and any potion you want is yours 

10. HUCKLE'S WHOREHOUSE/ANY PROSTITUTE:  "Stellan think's he's too good for us, and has been having an affair with The Princess.  But what he don't know is that's she'  been knocked up by Baphomet himself!" 

This is just a small part of the 30,000 plus word adventure.  But I wanted to share it so that you can see the attention to detail we're giving to everything, trying to balance giving the adventure a unique voice with ease of use on the table.

It should give you a taste of the larger world of both the module and the comic.  These are just a small portion of the town locations and NPCs.

So what's next?  Jacob should be able to move to layout now.  Once I have a sample of that I'm excited to share it.  Chris will be doing cartography.  Right now the adventure calls for three maps - the town hub (which is done), a small wilderness area, a keep and a dungeon.  Together we need to get Backerkit going to work out distribution and try to deliver rewards like original art.

I'll update you all in April, hopefully with more progress to show.

As always, thanks for your patience and support.

Mark 

First Update of 2023
about 3 years ago – Mon, Feb 06, 2023 at 09:24:36 PM

Hey Everyone,

Just wanted to give a quick update on the progress of Chaotic Neutral.

In the last update, we announced that we'd hired Ennie-award winning creator Jacob Hurst to edit and layout the adventure module (the comic has already been laid out designed by the wonderful Dave Accampo).  At that point, Jacob had sent me a slew of incredibly insightful notes.

Since then, I sent a detailed reply to his notes with answers to questions he had, solutions to problems he found etc.   He recently came back with a revised draft that incorporates the changes to the first half of the module (which comprises the overview, the town/NPCs, and the small wilderness hex crawl) and is continuing to work on the second half (the dungeon).

So far I've been thrilled with the results.  It's much clearer, better organized and more interactive.  I'm confident the module will be easier to use as a result, while at the same time maintaining the depth of I've tried very hard to imbue the adventure with.

As soon as I get and approve the fully edited draft of the module, we'll move on to layout and a bit of cartography (Chris has already created a gorgeous map for the town, we just need some maps for the wilderness, dungeon and a keep in the village).  I can't wait to share an example of what the module will look like.

From there, the next steps will be printing and fulfillment.  As always, I'm hesitant to give a specific timetable.  But know that we've been making progress and that I'll continue to update you monthly.

In the meantime, thank you once again for your support and patience.  

Best,

Mark

P.S. There's a been a couple of events in both comics and gaming I thought I should address:

In comics, Aftershock, the publisher I've been doing the majority of my comics for over the past two years, has declared bankruptcy.  To say that's been extremely upsetting and disruptive to me and my fellow creators would be an understatement.  I want to assure you, however, that it hasn't gotten in the way of Chaotic Neutral.   Thanks to all of you we've got the funds to see this through to completion, and it remains my creative priority.

In gaming, you may have heard the controversy about the OGL (Open Gaming License).  The OGL is a license that Wizards of the Coast (the current owners of Dungeons & Dragons) created that allowed independent creators such as us to legally create gaming material for current and previous editions of D&D.  

Earlier this year a document was leaked from Wizards threatening to revoke that license, causing publishers to panic (with good reason).  Thankfully, due to the fan community pushing back, Wizards has decided to leave the OGL as is - at least for D&D 5E and older editions, like Basic/Expert or AD&D. (The print version of Chaotic Neutral will be compatible with B/X and AD&D, and we'll be adapting it to 5E as a stretch goal).

As with the Aftershock news, it was definitely a source of stress, but hasn't and should not disrupt the publishing the module. 

Some good news to end the New Year
about 3 years ago – Fri, Dec 30, 2022 at 04:50:38 PM

Hi Everyone,

I'd like to introduce you to Jacob Hurst, the newest member of the CHAOTIC NEUTRAL team.

Jacob is editing and doing layout for the adventure module.  He's an incredibly accomplished RPG creator in his own right, writing and editing such books as The Dark of Hot Springs Islands and winning multiple Gold Ennie Awards (the RPG equivalent of the Oscars) for his work (which you can check out here).  He's also run a number of wildly successful Kickstarters himself.

Writing and editing CHAOTIC NEUTRAL's adventure module has been challenge.  It nees to feel deeply connected to the comic, rewarding readers while still presenting surprises for them as players.  At the same time, I want it to be accessible to players and dungeon masters who haven't read the comic.  

Most importantly, the module needs to evoke the look and feel of old school D&D but have the ease of use that modern innovations have brought to role-playing games.  I want it to be something DMs can pick up and use with as little prep as possible, while still offering players a rich, deeply satisfying experience.

Jacob was far and away my first choice for this job, and is joining Chris and I in rising to that challenge.

He read the revised draft of the adventure that I handed to him after the last update, and responded quickly with some excellent notes about organization, clarity and concision.  I've been most impressed by his story notes - as many weeks as I've playtested, there are still questionst that players may ask that I want DMs to have answers for.

I'm now in the process of responding to those notes, and working with Jacob on editing and laying out the adventure is my top creative priority.  I don't feel comfortable giving dates for the completion of those tasks, but I'm going to do everything on my end to turn around edits as fast as possible.  

Regardless, I feel confident in saying that this new collaboration is going to result in the best possible adventure experience, to add to Chris' masterful work on the comic itself.

I'll continue with monthy updates, but until then wanted to wish you all a Happy New Year.

As always, thanks for you patience and support.

Mark