CHAOTIC NEUTRAL by Mark Sable and Chris Anderson

October 2022 Monthly Update
over 3 years ago – Wed, Nov 02, 2022 at 01:33:40 PM

Hi Everyone,

Wanted to chime in with a quick monthly update on the Kickstarter.

I'm finishing prepping the module for editing and layout following playtesting this summer.   The module is much bigger than I originally envisioned, and the trick is getting it to fit together with the over 40 page comic without bursting the binding and losing any content.

After the last update, some of you asked for some examples of what's inside the module, so I thought I'd share some below.  

Stats are for OLD SCHOOL ESSENTIALS, which is a "retro-clone" of Basic and Expert Dungeons and Dragons that is also compatible with Advanced Dungeons and Dragons.  We'll also be converting this module to Fifth Edition D&D, which we'll release as a PDF.   We playtested with four 3rd level PCs, all of whom played "basic" characters.  They did well, especially considering there were no healers in the party.

Keep in mind that everything I'm sharing is subject change after professional layout/editing.  Art is also not final - I'm using screenshots/jpegs to get it to fit in a Kickstarter update.

I'm choosing shorter entries so this update isn't too long, and also to try and avoid spoilers.

Without further ado, first up is a location from the module's starting village, along with an NPC (who is also a character in the comic):

3. ALPTRAUM ANTIQUITIES

-A bazaar of the bizarre, a hoarder’s paradise where strange items are sought but nothing is sold. Of particular note, GIANT STONE TABLETS with eldritch etchings.

GAIUS FAELYN - THE ELVEN ARCHAEOLOGIST

-haughty, pretentious bespectacled high elf in frilly collared doublet. Has a spell or two up his sleeve and surprisingly adept with his antique rapier

-FOUND: making etchings of rune covered tablets from the CYCLOPEAN RUINS.

STATS: LEVEL 3 ELF

AC 4 [15] (chainmail ), HP 11, Att 1 × spear (1d6) or 1 × spell, THAC0 19 [0], MV 60' (20'), SV D12 W13 P13 B15 S15, AL Neutral, STR 15 INT 17 WIS 6 DEX 13 CON 10 CHA 12,

Spells protection from evil (mu), floating disc, levitate,

Items Broom of Flying, Ring of Weakness

-Secretly opposes the CULT OF BAPHOBET, but not out of any sense of morality. He hopes that when they are cleared from the Cyclopean Ruins he’ll be able to retrieve more artifacts.

-Still has quite the stash of gold (350 gp), not having fully contributed to Stellan the Gongfarmer’s reward fund. He will overpay for antiquities recovered from the Cyclopean Ruins.

-The MASSIVE STONE TABLETS he’s recovered from the ruins can be used as spell books, his etchings as scrolls. Refuses to sell the former, but willing to sell the latter at double standard price. Each stone/etching has one the following spells: Identify, Protection from Evil, Floating Disc, Levitate 150 gp each.

-Considers the IMPENETRABLE FOREST’s WOOD ELF DRUID barbaric and beneath contempt.

Next up, stats for one of the bespoke monsters created for this adventure.  She appears in the comic, and will also be one of the monster cards for those of you who backed that tier/selected that as an add-on (once we have Backer Kit up an running, you can add these if you missed it during the campaign):

OWL HARPY

Half-woman, half-owl. She has an owl head, wings and talon, and a female humanoid body.

STATS: AC 5 [14] HD 4 (19hp) ATT 2 × claw (1d8), 1 × bite (1d8) or GRAB/DROP THAC0 17 [+2] MB 60’ (20’) / 150’ (50’) flying SV:D12 W13 P14 B15 S16 (3) ML 7 AL: Chaotic Evil XP 250 Treasure: 3 gems worth 333gp each

SPECIAL: GRAB AND DROP – Owl Harpy will attempt to snatch a victim and drop it from as high as possible, doing d6 fall damage per 10’. PC can make a strength check to avoid being grappled

Finally, here's a room from the big dungeon, which has over 20 named locations.  That's on top of the village, a keep within the village and a small wilderness hex crawl:

7. CULT ANTECHAMBER:

-Spartan room dominated by a 10’ basalt statue of BAPHOMET

-Torchlit. Lidded but leaking barrels of oil to dip the torches.

-THREE CULTISTS present:

-Two cultists lazily conduct guard duty, unless they were alerted by the skeletal hell hounds in the STABLES and/or combat in the AMBUSH CORRIDOR, in which case they would have left for the latter.

-A third cultist kneels in front of the statue, where a small bowl inlaid into the plinth along with a bloody GOLDEN CEREMONIAL DAGGER (worth 100 gp). He’s cutting a pentagram shape in his palm, a purely symbolic ritual required by all cultists who enter. If the PCs enter disguised, not doing so will arose the suspicion of even the lazy guards

-LEADS TO:

-CULTIST BARRACKS (8) to the north.

-AMBUSH CORRIDOR to the east (two western doors)

-Western Door leads to CULT HEADQUARTERS (9)

This is also just a small sampling of the module's content.  It's at 39 pages and 14,369 words.  That's on top of 48 page comic and Ryan Browne's multi-page "Chick tract" parody, not to mention the extras like the monster cards, fold out miniatures etc.  While I wish this was already in your hands, I feel confident the quality will be worth the wait.

As always, thanks for your patience and support.

Mark

Playtesting is complete! What's next?
over 3 years ago – Thu, Sep 08, 2022 at 03:41:10 AM

Hello Everyone!

Thought I'd shoot over an update on the progress of CHAOTIC NEUTRAL.

Most of this summer was spent on a weekly playtest of the module for CHAOTIC NEUTRAL.  Using the Old School Essentials ruleset (which is compatible with both Basic and Advanced D&D), I DM'd around 10 2-3 hour sessions.  That's a lot more than I anticipated for what I thought was a one-shot adventure.

Partly it took so long because I'd stop to take notes on things that I thought could use improvement. And it was an adjustment for me and my players to go back to old school rules after we've mostly been playing 5E (although we've played such systems as Lamentations of the Flame Princess, Into the Odd etc. and I ran a hybrid B/X and AD&D campaign for over a year).  

Also, while the players defeated (one of) the big bad(s) about 3/4 of the way through the adventure, they were generous enough to indulge me and spend time exploring the rest of the module's big dungeon so virtually no room or encounter was left untested.   That's in addition to interacting with all the NPCs in a fully developed town, and exploring a small hex crawl/wilderness area.

But, I've also realized this is more than a one-shot.   

While I wouldn't expect 10 sessions worth of play, this is definitely a module that you'll get multiple sessions out of.  I really feel we're giving you all your money's worth.

Most imporantly, the players really enjoyed the adventure.  While most hadn't read the comic, Chris was one of the playtesters, and I loved that I was still able to surprise him with things that are only hinted at in the story.  They also gave me great invaluable feedback, which I've already incorporated into the module.

So what's next?

As a reminder, the comic is done.  So is Ryan Browne's Chic Tract parody comics, the art for the monster cards and fold-up miniatures.  The custom dice have been manufacatured and are in my possession.

Currently, the module is 38 pages and about 14,000 in Microsoft Word.   The challenge now is getting that all to fit in a single issue that already has nearly 50 pages of comics.

To that end, I've been speaking with candidates for editing and layout.  I'm hoping to finalize my choice for both tasks in the next couple weeks.  When we have someone in place, I'll make an announcement.

I don't have an estimate on how long editing and layout will take.  My priority is giving you all the most polished comic and adventure as possible.

After that, we've got to print the module, monster cards, fold-up miniatures and ship them.  I'll also be converting the module to 5E along with one of my players, who is an even more experienced 5E DM than me.  We may have yet another DM playtest that version.  As the 5E version will be digital (along with the "making of" PDF), I've chosen to prioritize shipping the old school physical version first.

As all this is going on, Chris and I plan to set up Backer Kit.  This should not only allow us to collect your information for shipping, but also let Chris start working and shipping commissions, original artwork etc.

That's a lot to do, but we've had a productive summer and I'm hoping we can carry that momentum foward.

In the meantime, I've got a book out called WHERE STARSHIPS GO TO DIE from Aftershock, illustrated and co-created by Alberto Locatelli, with colors by Juancho Velez, lettering by Rob Steen and covers by Jeremy Haun and Nick Filardi that's in stores now and currently up to Issue 3.

And in November, FEAR OF A RED PLANET - a near future hard sci-fi/western is also coming out from Aftershock, with art and colors by Andrea Olimpieri, letters by Dave Sharpe and covers from my GRAVEYARD OF EMPIRES co-creator Paul Azaceta.  

Both books were written before the Kickstarter campaign, and I hope you'll check them out.

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

Mark

We've Got Dice!
over 3 years ago – Wed, Jul 06, 2022 at 09:46:05 PM

Quick update.

DICE DICE DICE!

First, as the subject line implies, we received the custom dice from Chessex.  These include the Black Die of Doom reward, the NYCC special "Gelatinous Cube" Green edition and the tier exclusive Blood Die.

If you didn't order one, we'll be making the non-exclusive ones available as add-ons when we get Backer Kit set up.  Regardless, I'm thriled with the quality of the dice (my photos really don't do them justice), and given supply chain disruptions I'm happy we've got one of our physical rewards in hand.

PLAYTESTING

The initial round of playtesting of the adventure is nearing a close.  I've been running weekly sessions with every week with my D&D group (which includes Chris, but he's done a good job pretending he doesn't know what's coming next).  I want to say we've done around ten three hour sessions so far.  While I wouldn't expect a 30 hour adventure - playtesting involves pauses for me to take notes and adjust etc. - I feel like this will definitely be significantly more than the one-shot adventure I originally envisioned.

Without spoiling the adventure has led to the four person party killing one of the big bads while suffering only one casualty.  We're going to continue for a bit longer just to test out some sections of the big dungeon they haven't explored.

The nexts step after playtesting will be revisions, editing and layout.  We also hope to get Backerkit set up so Chris can start on physical rewards like sketches.

SPECTRAL:

There's only 24 hours left to back CHAOTIC NEUTRAL artist/co-creator Chris Anderson's latest project, the horror anythology SPECTRAL: A SHOWCASE OF FEAR on Kickstarter.  Written and co-created by Dave Accampo (the designer responsible for CHAOTIC NEUTRAL's old school feel), it's fully funded but they are super close to some cool stretch goals.  If you're a fan of Chris' work please check it out.

As always, thanks to all of your for your support.

Mark

Update: Playtesting, Chris Anderson's "Spectral" and more
almost 4 years ago – Tue, Jun 07, 2022 at 10:29:17 PM

Hello Everyone,

First, thank you all for the kind remarks regarding my health.  Although I suffered a minor setback involving the flu, I'm much better and on the road to recovery.

Meanwhile, progress on CHAOTIC NEUTRAL continues.  The comic itself has been done since before we launched, and as we shared last time Ryan Browne's hilarious "Chick Tract" parody comic is completed as well.

I'm continuing to revise the adventure module based on playtesting.  

Chris and I have been playtesting it with our weekly D&D group for about five 2 hour sessions so far, I'd estimate takes us through about 1/2 to 2/3rds through the adventure, depending on the choices the players make (and whether their characters survive:).  I'm pleased with the length of the adventure in terms of bang for your buck,  and the feedback I'm getting is invaluable.

I'll update when the first round of playtesting has been completed, and I hope to get at least another round of playtesting with a different group (possibly with someone else acting as Dungeon Master).  

We've also ordered the dice, one of the main physical rewards.  As soon as they arrive we'll share pictures of them.

In the meantime, CHAOTIC NEUTRAL artist/co-creator Chris Anderson just launched a Kickstarter for his new book, "Spectral".

Written by Dave Accompo (who did the design work for CHAOTIC NEUTRAL, giving it that old-school D&D feel), it's a comic horror anthology collecting 6 short stories in the vein of TALES FROM THE CRYPT.  I've read the stories and I highly encourage you to check out Chris Kickstarter here.

As for me, on Wednesday June 8th, I have a new sci-fi horror series from Aftershock Comics called WHERE STARSHIPS GO TO DIE coming out:

A mix between James Cameron's THE ABYSS, John Carpenter's THE THING and Ridley Scott's ALIEN, it's about a salvage crew trying to recover the humankind's first starship from the bottom of "Point Nemo", earth's real-life spaceship graveyard.  There, they discover a secret history of doomed space missions...along with the entity responsible for their demise.

It's illustrated and co-created by Alberto Locatelli, with colors by Juancho, letters by Rob Steen, and covers by the MISKATONIC team of Jeremy Haun and Nick Filardi (with a special variant cover by GODKILLERS artist Maan House).  Jeremy and Maan also contributed some of my favorite pieces of art for CHAOTIC NEUTRAL's monster cards.

WHERE STARSHIPS GO TO DIE was written before CHAOTIC NEUTRAL (as is my next Aftershock book, which will be out in November), so I've been and will continue to be able to prioritize CHAOTIC NEUTRAL this summer. 

Finally, if you're in the LA area, I'll be doing a signing for WHERE STARSHIPS GO TO DIE at Collector's Paradise in Pasadena this Wednesday, June 8th from 5-7 PM Pacific Time.  If you're able to make it, please stop by and say hi...I'm happy to sign any and all books and, of course, chat CHAOTIC NEUTRAL in person.

Again, I can't thank you all enough for your continued patience, support and understanding.  Back to work! 

Best,

Mark  

Update on Chaotic Neutral
almost 4 years ago – Wed, Apr 13, 2022 at 03:16:08 PM

Hey Everyone,

When Chris and I launched this Kickstarter in October, we felt  confident we could deliver the book to you by this April.  The comic was completely done, with most of the module written.

Unfortunately, since then I've gone through one of the more difficult periods in my life.  I had to fly to New York to help my mom recover from major surgery, which took over a month.  Upon my return, I became seriously ill myself and only in the past few weeks have I been able to return to work on CHAOTIC NEUTRAL.  As a result, there's going to be a delay it getting the book to all of you.

I don't usually feel comfortable sharing new about my health or my family, but those are literally the only things that would have stopped me from getting the book out on time.  I also wanted to make clear that the responsibility lies entirely with me.  I held off on updates until I had a better sense of my condition.

The good news is that the my health is much improved, and Chaotic Neutral is very much back on track.  Ryan Browne has completed the Chick Tract parody backup story, which is better than I imagined.  Here's a sneak peak at just one of his pages:

I've also gotten the module to the point where it's ready to playtest, and last week started running it with my weekly D&D group.

Despite this progress, I don't want to promise a new delivery date.  There's still quite a bit to do, printing and shipping are seeing delays due to world events, and while my prognosis is good, I've learned not to take my health for granted as a variable.

What I can promise are more frequent updates - I'm going to shoot for once a month.

In the meantime, I can't thank you enough for your generosity, patience and support.

Mark