William Ward as RPG Editor

Howdy folks!

I just wanted to take a minute and introduce William Ward as our new RPG Editor.

For the last year or two, we've been chipping away at a tabletop RPG based on the Baeg Tobar setting. Scott (Colby) and Daniel (Gooden) have been working hard at putting together the basic premise for the RPG and writing out the meat of the book. But, for what we have planned, we wanted to bring somebody with a little more experience with RPG's into the fray.

William will be taking over the development of the rules system (something we're still not quite set on, but we are working on it) and the development of supplemental RPG material once we get the core book wrapped up. William will also be heading the development and execution of a Living Campaign based on the world of Baeg Tobar (which I am rather excited about).

I have known William for some years. He has contributed a variety of content to Baeg Tobar over the last few years, both conceptually and story wise. The main one that people might remember was the webcomic Stoneteller. He has since contributed another short comic that we haven't made available yet and a lot of good advice.

Outside of Baeg Tobar, William has been on the comics scene for quite a while and has had his work appear in the British small press books Futurequake and its manga offshoot Mangaquake as well as the Diamond solicited anthology Fiendish Fables. Most recently, William organized, edited, and had a story in the Fablewood Anthology. You can order and find out more about Fablewood at http://www.fablewoodcomic.com.

Welcome to the team, William!

BT RPG

Work continues on the Baeg Tobar pencil-and-paper RPG. We've decided to frame it as a secret document developed by a Riddari that the Fae courts can use as a means of predicting mortal behavior.

Here's a sneak peek at the current draft's Introduction:

It has not escaped the Courts’ notice (nor that of this humble author) that the Duine of the Dying Lands, despite their mortality, could one day pose a threat to those of us in the Dreaming Lands. The following document, created at the behest of the Courts, describes a simulation of the Duine of the Pilean Continent to be used as an assessment of the Duine threat and to prepare future defenses against mortal incursion. To most properly defeat one’s enemy, one must be able to think like one’s enemy.

Simulation participants will utilize a combination of precise traits and carefully balanced ratios to assume the identities of Duine characters. Said characters can then be placed in any number of unique situations as a means of exposing their workings, both individually and as a group. Completion of this simulation will reveal much about the chosen characters, providing a new, deeper understanding of the strange mortals that inhabit our sister realm. Aids including miniatures, maps, and costumes can make the simulation easier to visualize, though the only necessary tools are parchment, a quill, and a set of dice.

Participants must be mindful at all times of their characters’ impending demises. Regardless of the party’s success or failure at their given tasks, its members will all eventually die. Mortality is not an easy concept for those of us in the Dreaming Lands to grasp, yet it is the single most important motivator in Duine life.

Every simulation requires the designation of one participant as the simulation master (SM) responsible for the creation and administration of the planned experiment. The SM imparts all details relevant to the simulation’s setting to his fellow participants and determines the effects of all participants’ actions upon the simulation as dictated by the rules and probabilities within this document and, when necessary, his own best judgment. The SM must also be able to produce, as quickly as possible, any necessary information required to properly describe any people, animals, or phenomena the participants may encounter. Preparation is an important part of being a successful SM.

Characters controlled by the participants are called participant characters (PCs). Characters controlled by the SM are called non-participant characters (NPCs) because the SM is not considered a character. NPCs include all characters the PCs meet during the simulation, including any characters that may join their party. NPCs are not defined as completely as the PCs – the SM rarely needs to know in advance the complete character history of each shopkeeper, for instance.

SMs are encouraged to create situations that will challenge the minds of their participants. Forcing participants to adopt mortal thought processes to solve complex problems will provide a more complete understanding of Duine tactics and priorities. Participants should do their best not to break character while completing such tasks.

It would be most beneficial to the Courts of Twilight to see the same characters utilized in the same setting for several sessions as they attempt to achieve a difficult goal. These campaigns often revolve around a story of some sort in which the participants fill the lead roles. The SM plays the role of the storyteller, much like an author writing a novel wherein the characters have minds of their own and the story often deviates in useful and interesting ways.

Please note that this document is bound to the Courts of Twilight through a magic most sensitive and destructive. Use this simulation against the will of the Courts at your own risk.

- Secrecio, Most Knowledgeable Riddari of Admi

News and Shuen Taishu Concept Art

Hello folks!

I thought you all might like to have a bit of news and maybe another bit of artwork for the project. We're slowly moving forward on our various projects and I hope to relaunch Baeg Tobar sometime in the first quarter of 2009. Granted, nothing is set in stone, but if things continue to proceed as they currently are, we should be in good shape. As of right now, we have several projects in production, those being -

1. The Torn God, our primary webcomic which was written by Daniel Gooden and Scott Colby and illustrated by Shannon Potratz. This will be free online for everybody to read.

2. The Rise and Fall of Pileaus, a comic that we're planning to distribute through print, also written by Daniel Gooden and Scott Colby and penciled by Alan Gallo. I'm looking at coloring this book myself.

3. A revised, edited, and newly illustrated version of The Unmade Man, written by Daniel Gooden.

4. Numerous short stories written by a variety of contributors that will tie into the main webcomic, The Torn God, and expand upon the world as we move through the main storyline.

5. Baeg Tobar Realms, a massively multiplayer online game. The game will be a war game that takes place in the Shoro and will pit players against each other to become the dominant country in the region. We'll have several versions of the game, one which will be free for all to play and also a subscriber only version.

6. The Baeg Tobar RPG, which will also be a print product that we hope to release sometime late in 2009 and which will be fully illustrated by me.

Those are just the main projects we are working on right now and I can say with some confidence that things are moving forward. Slowly, but surely.

In the meantime, here is some concept artwork by Caleb Prochnow of the Shuen Taishu. These are the massive creatures that the ocean going cities of the Shuen reside upon. As you can see, Caleb did a rather amazing job on this creature - it is unlike anything I have ever seen and I absolutely love this design. It'll be a lot of fun to see it in action!
Keep checking back for updates! I'll let you all know more as we make more progress!

I hope you all have a great holiday! Thanks!

Jeremy