Friday 14 September 2012

Challenger is Finished!

Well, it's finally here. A new Challenger...

role-playing games
Attentive viewers may be able to spot the old Challenger RPG character sheet somewhere...

Thanks to everyone who waited while I was trekking in the bush on vacation, to all those who offered their much appreciated advice and support, and of course to the players who I hope will enjoy the new version.

The new book should become available in all formats across the internet (and in print on Amazon in the Books category) when the various companies finish review processes (I've essentially done my bit). The first new copies will probably show up on Amazon Kindle because those guys are awesome and the PDF on RPGnow.com. Next most likely is the direct Smashwords page for the book. After that, it's a toss up between: Apple, Kobo, Sony, Nook, and the Print Edition (which requires additional reviews and other pains in the posterior).

Because you're reading this, I'll treat you to an ultra-boring rendition of the various virtues of the different formats:

The Kindle Version will be freaking awesome with the most new artwork, highest picture qualities, best TOC and navigation, and the pure awesomeness of Kindle. They also don't have an upper file size limit so that should increase the awesomeness with the new equipment tables.

Next up is the PDF which will have awesome bookmarks, a huge file size, and all the artwork. The navigation will probably only be second to the Kindle version. The large file size may cause some small problems on clunker computers (like mine) but that's the price of art, I guess.

The other electronic versions of the book are subject to weird restrictions such as 5 MB of file upload size. Thus, not all of the artwork will appear and I could not put in the weapon, armor, and equipment tables present in the other new versions of the book (sad face). Also, TOCs are illegal in Smashwords so that's a pain too. Other than that, I'm hoping the book will otherwise be up to snuff. Sorry e-book Sony and Apple Ipad users, you might be missing a couple pictures and tables! Yell at Smashwords and not me!

And, finally, the new print edition (when it finally comes out) will not only feature the TOC, all artwork, and a cool back cover; it'll also have awesome page borders if everything comes out alright. That's right, the print edition has everything 'and' page borders. Pretty awesome, huh? I'd still invest in the e-book version first (Kindle Emulation is free and so is the book in all formats). If you deem it worthy, you can always get the print version later. Personally, I always prefer to have physical copies of my favourite books. I guess you could call me old fashioned that way. ;)

Yes, and that's about it. Congratulations, you've survived through a load of prattle which is probably only interesting to the 0.00001% of people who are game designers and e-book publishers!

To hear of the many other virtues of the new game, see the previous blog post below.

P.S.

I've also updated Adventure Pack One to include weapon damage and reduced XP to match the new revision. I hope everyone likes the changes we've made! Also, apologies all the new artwork isn't done yet. I paid for it, honest! You can yell at the artist instead of me...

All the Best,

--David L. Dostaler
Author, Challenger RPG (free)

...Challenger RPG on Amazon 

Monday 10 September 2012

Challenger Revision Updates


Dear Everybody,

Challenger is so close to being finished you can probably smell the glue warming up for the new binding.

In other news, I have returned from my 15 week sabbatical in the wilderness. I climbed mountains, I swam lakes, I trekked forests, I ate blueberries, and I played Challenger to 31st level with a 5-year-old who created a Ninja-Rabbit named "Rabbo".

Best Regards and Keep the 20's Rolling,

--David L. Dostaler
 Author, Challenger RPG

I'm waiting on one person's final edits. There will be 3 new classes: Telekinetic, Seer, and Shadow Samurai. The skills chapter has been completely overhauled. I've added in weapon damage. There are new chapters on: henchmen, game design, and magic item crafting. There is a massive new list of magic items and tons more monsters. I've added an extensive glossary which should be hyper-linked in the e-book version. All classes and races have been completely overhauled complete with a 'new look' at all powers with an eye to improvement and game balance. The game text itself has been made more 'new person' friendly with clearer sentences, step-by-step filled out character sheet picture, a new (very cool) character sheet, a better introduction to role-playing, help with dungeon maps, and more tips on adventure and game design for new players. There were many other changes, but I figure if you're actually reading this tiny writing you'll probably see them in the new version anyway. Well met! --David

...Challenger in PDF