TLG 8015 Castle Keepers Guide

Druvas · Post by **Druvas** » Wed Jul 21, 2010 2:08 pm

Omote wrote:
It exists. It is real. And it is coming...

~O

I hear this and yet... Any word on a expected release date?

Hey fellas, new to TLG forums but longtime Dragonsfoot guy.

Omote · Post by **Omote** » Wed Jul 21, 2010 2:18 pm

Hey Druvas! Welcome.

I don't want to speak for TLG, but they had a goal of getting this book released by Troll Con. Well that's not going to happen, but following the posts on FACEBOOK, parts of the CKG are in editiing and some are even in layout! That's the farthest the CKG has ever been.

I'd say that the CKG is most certainly (all massive calimities aside) going to be available this year. I'M POSITIVE!

~O
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seskis281 · Post by **seskis281** » Wed Jul 21, 2010 2:22 pm

Omote wrote:
Hey Druvas! Welcome.

I don't want to speak for TLG, but they had a goal of getting this book released by Troll Con. Well that's not going to happen, but following the posts on FACEBOOK, parts of the CKG are in editiing and some are even in layout! That's the farthest the CKG has ever been.

I'd say that the CKG is most certainly (all massive calimities aside) going to be available this year. I'M POSITIVE!

~O

Hey Druvas - welcome also to TLG boardland.

I would concur with Omote - given where things are I'd put real money down on release sometime in the coming months of 2010. Steve a good while ago just went with a "will be done when it's done" release, but it is getting closer and closer with, as Omote said, good chunks going to edit and layout. Steve has said there will be a sneak-peak at Troll Con this weekend.
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Christina Stiles · Post by **Christina Stiles** » Wed Jul 21, 2010 3:04 pm

seskis281 wrote:
I would concur with Omote - given where things are I'd put real money down on release sometime in the coming months of 2010. Steve a good while ago just went with a "will be done when it's done" release, but it is getting closer and closer with, as Omote said, good chunks going to edit and layout. Steve has said there will be a sneak-peak at Troll Con this weekend.

I'm editing several chapters of the book now, so it truly exists. I have no clue on a final release timeline, however.
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hedgeknight · Post by **hedgeknight** » Wed Jul 21, 2010 3:08 pm

Christina Stiles wrote:
I'm editing several chapters of the book now, so it truly exists. I have no clue on a final release timeline, however.

NO FAIR! I WANNA HELP!!!
(sniff) Oh, hey Druvas!

Druvas · Post by **Druvas** » Wed Jul 21, 2010 4:06 pm

Thanks for the welcome. I have been too lazy to make a profile. Glad I broke out of that lazy streak! Good to see some familiar DF'ers too!

That sounds promising that Christina Stiles has some of it and is editing. I, too, wouldn't mind getting a peek and assisting with the editing... Ahh, well, I guess I'll just have to continue to wait. In the meantime, I hope to see some more of the Umbrage Saga... But I'll go post on that thread...

Piperdog · Post by **Piperdog** » Sun Jul 25, 2010 9:55 pm

I am hoping to get a preview of the CKG at GenCon.
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Treebore · Post by **Treebore** » Sun Jul 25, 2010 11:21 pm

We got to buy a "preview" of the CKG at Troll Con. Between reading it and the seminar given (that Morty recorded and will be getting put up on U tube for us ASAP) the CKG is going to be about 300 pages and 17 chapters of great stuff to ponder for all of our respective games! (Current estimated price: $40.00, subject to change!)
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Relaxo · Post by **Relaxo** » Sun Jul 25, 2010 11:35 pm

Sounds chock full o' goodness!

garydee · Post by **garydee** » Mon Jul 26, 2010 12:16 am

Treebore wrote:
We got to buy a "preview" of the CKG at Troll Con. Between reading it and the seminar given (that Morty recorded and will be getting put up on U tube for us ASAP) the CKG is going to be about 300 pages and 17 chapters of great stuff to ponder for all of our respective games! (Current estimated price: $40.00, subject to change!)

How big was the preview and what was all in it?

Christina Stiles · Post by **Christina Stiles** » Mon Jul 26, 2010 12:43 am

garydee wrote:
How big was the preview and what was all in it?

It is Chapter 1: All the classes and ability scores expanded.
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moriarty777 · Post by **moriarty777** » Mon Jul 26, 2010 1:50 am

Dang it!

To think I just placed an order last Tuesday! I would have gladly kicked in a few bucks towards the preview if it was made available. Hell, here's a suggestion: Make the preview a PDF off RPGNow! and people will buy it!
Seriously... I would.

M
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garydee · Post by **garydee** » Mon Jul 26, 2010 2:06 am

moriarty777 wrote:
Dang it!

To think I just placed an order last Tuesday! I would have gladly kicked in a few bucks towards the preview if it was made available. Hell, here's a suggestion: Make the preview a PDF off RPGNow! and people will buy it!
Seriously... I would.

M

I would as well.

Go0gleplex · Post by **Go0gleplex** » Mon Jul 26, 2010 3:43 am

I thought I told those con goers to get microfilm of the CKG information for dissementaion.
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moriarty777 · Post by **moriarty777** » Mon Jul 26, 2010 9:06 am

Go0gleplex wrote:
I thought I told those con goers to get microfilm of the CKG information for dissementaion.

We've been betrayed...

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CKDad · Post by **CKDad** » Mon Jul 26, 2010 12:16 pm

Go0gleplex wrote:
I thought I told those con goers to get microfilm of the CKG information for dissementaion.

We were distracted by one of Peter's models.
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seskis281 · Post by **seskis281** » Mon Jul 26, 2010 1:39 pm

CKDad wrote:
We were distracted by one of Peter's models.

Dudes... Troll security was high....

Not just charm via a wall of Peter's art and model....

But Todd Gray and Mac Golden were floating about -- and how does one confound BOTH St. Luther and Aristobulous at the same time?

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Go0gleplex · Post by **Go0gleplex** » Mon Jul 26, 2010 1:40 pm

[quote="seskis281"][quote="CKDad"][quote="Go0gleplex"]I thought I told those con goers to get microfilm of the CKG information for dissementaion. [/quote]

We were distracted by one of Peter's models.[/quote]

Dudes... Troll security was high....

Not just charm via a wall of Peter's art and model....

But Todd Gray and Mac Golden were floating about -- and how does one confound BOTH St. Luther and Aristobulous at the same time?
[/quote]

TRIBBLES!!!
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Treebore · Post by **Treebore** » Mon Jul 26, 2010 2:56 pm

moriarty777 wrote:
We've been betrayed...

Actually, we got better. Hard copies.
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ssfsx17 · Post by **ssfsx17** » Mon Jul 26, 2010 3:24 pm

Treebore wrote:
Actually, we got better. Hard copies.

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Real production copies? Really? It'll be ready to ship when TrollCon is over?
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CKDad · Post by **CKDad** » Mon Jul 26, 2010 3:43 pm

ssfsx17 wrote:
Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Real production copies? Really? It'll be ready to ship when TrollCon is over?

Hardcopies of the Chapter 1 exceprt, he means.
THE CKG IS NOT DONE.

Neither Steve nor any other Troll mentioned a specific release date in my hearing. During the CKG panel, Steve DID say that this year seemed like a very real possibility, but there are still a couple chapters to be written and clean-up and rewrites are in progress on the finished chapters, along with editing.

It's clear that getting this done is still priority #1 for the Trolls, that what has been finished looks very good indeed, and that the finished product is going to be something pretty awesome.

I really hope Morty's video of the panel comes out well and he can get it posted quickly, as it will answer many questions.
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cuchulainkevin · Post by **cuchulainkevin** » Mon Jul 26, 2010 4:20 pm

CKDad wrote:
Hardcopies of the Chapter 1 exceprt, he means.
THE CKG IS NOT DONE.

Neither Steve nor any other Troll mentioned a specific release date in my hearing. During the CKG panel, Steve DID say that this year seemed like a very real possibility, but there are still a couple chapters to be written and clean-up and rewrites are in progress on the finished chapters, along with editing.

It's clear that getting this done is still priority #1 for the Trolls, that what has been finished looks very good indeed, and that the finished product is going to be something pretty awesome.

I really hope Morty's video of the panel comes out well and he can get it posted quickly, as it will answer many questions.

I'll have the video up sometimes this week once I figure out how to divide it up into parts that I can upload. It's a little over an hour long.

I also have a nice video of Steve running a huge game that's about 3 hours long and a couple hours of Casey running Fields of Battle (which is super cool, btw).

A few things that stuck about the seminar and the excerpts:

Steve mentioned that about 7 of the 17 chapters (don't quote me on that as I'm going from an admittedly bad memory here) are wrapped.About 8 more chapters are in various stages of completion- some are nearly done and just need editing, some require more work. About 2 chapters have yet to be written. He's specific about that, but I haven't rewatched the video yet.

There's also a ton of info about the whys and hows concerning the product.
One of the things they kept repeating is that none of the options in the book are official rules. Adament about that, really.

All the offical rules are in the PHB and will remain so.

As to the excerpts, here's the rundown from a quick reading:

To try to avoid the perception of these rules being "official" they had a paradigm that they've tried to stick to where they give multiple (usually 3) options to each "rule".

The Trolls released the chapter on developing characters from the CKG at TRoll Con- while it does defiately include progessions and abilities beyong level 12 (which look sweet, btw). I'd guess that these are probably going to be the most "official" of anything in the book.

It includes 6 alternative methods of determining attributes depending on what style of game you want to play.

There are options to modify how attributes are used (different bonus amounts than the PHB) as well as how to handle attribures of "God-like characters.

There is options on adding other attributes to the game if one desires- they give a concrete example of adding a beauty attribute.

There are also a ton of charts to add depth. I'm looking at charts on minimum starting age of races, aging effects, height and weight learning languages, etc.

Expanding character races gives 3 examples of adding races to the playable classes: deep dwarves, longleaf halflings, and orcs. It also explains the considerations a CK needs to examine as he adds there own playable races.

Overall, I was very pleased with the info in the excerpt. I'm actually more excited about buying it than I was before. That being said, I hope people look at the book for what it is and what its going to be rather than what they "expect" it to be based on that old D&D "3 book paradigm."

Morty
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Omote · Post by **Omote** » Mon Jul 26, 2010 4:22 pm

Treebore wrote:
Actually, we got better. Hard copies.

Dude, that is great to hear. I know a lot of work went into that chapter. Lucky TrollCon attenders!

I'm looking forward to hearing more about the CKG. Morty's video would be nice to see. Was there brimstone and fire from the audience? Haha.

~O
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CKDad · Post by **CKDad** » Mon Jul 26, 2010 5:00 pm

cuchulainkevin wrote:
I'll have the video up sometimes this week once I figure out how to divide it up into parts that I can upload. It's a little over an hour long.

I also have a nice video of Steve running a huge game that's about 3 hours long and a couple hours of Casey running Fields of Battle (which is super cool, btw).

Most excellent sir, and thanks very much in advance for these!

FWIW, I don't think any written description I can come up with will do justice to the chaos that was Steve's game.
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Aladar · Post by **Aladar** » Mon Jul 26, 2010 5:35 pm

garydee wrote:
I would as well.

Me too!
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Ace of Swords · Post by **Ace of Swords** » Mon Jul 26, 2010 6:02 pm

Any chance of an electronic version of chapter 1 to tide those of us who couldnt attend over?

seskis281 · Post by **seskis281** » Mon Jul 26, 2010 6:05 pm

I was gonna do the breakdown of the Codex Persona (the name Steve gave to the Chapter 1 preview release, subtitled "Excerpts from the CKG"), but Morty beat me to it and did a great job.

It is a very good chapter, and has especially what I personally wanted most, which are the class expansions, all to level 24. The racial variation section at the end, with three examples for PC races (Deep Dwarf, Longleaf Halfling, and Orc) are great, and give any CK excellent direction on how to expand races for PC use. The very final thing in it is an absolute little gem - a "racial interaction" table that gives some basic guidelines and a scale of interactivity from "Reverent" to "Disdain" that would be very helpful in any game.

Needless to say, I liked the preview.

And to reiterate what CKDad said above - no, IT'S NOT DONE.... it is, however, moving along much faster and is #1 priority for finish...

Sometime this fall is MY guess, based on what I heard.... again, Steve knows better than to give an absolute date here.

I also hope Morty gets the panel discussion up, because it was very relevatory - the evolution, the "jumping the gun" that happened with Diamond distribution and Amazon that started the whole "it's been promised since 2006," the different takes and philosophies of Steve, Davis & Mac Golden as to whether or not such a product should even exist, and how what it should be has changed and morphed over the years, the impact of the CZ line, etc. Fascinating learning experience.

This will be a fantastic resource product... though there's sure to be those quick to jump on it for "not being what it should be..." to their own preconcieved expectations, but, in the end, this is very much going to be "quintissential" TLG and C&C - a practical tool for CKs, but not just in the "stack of tables" concept of the old DMG nor in the "here's the rest of the REQUIRED rules" in the 3-book-paradigm concept of 3x/4e. I said this out loud at the panel - I love that right off the bat there are "here are SIX alternatives to attribute creation" - the structure itself is clear - these are alternatives and additional ways of expanding or tweaking the game, i.e. paths and templates for houserules and individualizing C&C games.

If the Chapter 1 preview release is indication of the rest of the book, TLG will be in fine shape with this product.

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CKDad · Post by **CKDad** » Mon Jul 26, 2010 6:05 pm

Ace of Swords wrote:
Any chance of an electronic version of chapter 1 to tide those of us who couldn't attend over?

There were still print copies left when I split for the airport at 12:30 or so Sunday. It wouldn't surprise me if those are made available sometime soon. Wouldn't hold my breath on an electronic version just yet, though.
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Go0gleplex · Post by **Go0gleplex** » Mon Jul 26, 2010 6:21 pm

coolness!
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Rigon · Post by **Rigon** » Mon Jul 26, 2010 11:38 pm

Omote wrote:
Dude, that is great to hear. I know a lot of work went into that chapter. Lucky TrollCon attenders!

I'm looking forward to hearing more about the CKG. Morty's video would be nice to see. Was there brimstone and fire from the audience? Haha.

~O

You had your chance to go. So you have to wait for the whole she-bang. I command it!
In all seriousness, Morty and Seskis have explained all the goodness of the Chap 1 preview. And yes, Mac Golden is real; I shook hands with him.

R-
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