SoA: Development Log 6

 

I love having a character sheet on a piece of notebook paper or an index card. There is just something about it that brings joy to my heart. This is in addition to really reinforcing the do it yourself vibe and sate the nostalgia. All of this is especially true with games that make this process a lot easier. I have even started to deeply enjoy using one of those small a5 notebooks and writing my character sheet in there. I also include a bullet point quest log to help keep track of my characters deeds or misdeeds. 

That and using one of those little notebooks gives me an excuse to use my fountain pens and fancy mechanical pencils. 

Though, with that being said, there is something epic about a well put together character sheet to use. A good character sheet can add personality and some artistic flare to a game. That is why a lot of my games have a character sheet option even though the character information for my games could easily be written in a notebook or on a note card. 

Secrets of Arn is no different and I have had the honor and opportunity to enlist the amazing talent of Evlyn Moreau. I was blown away with what Evlyn came up with!

 

 

Writing Update: This is probably what everyone has been waiting for. I am currently playing catch up with life but the game is about 85% written as the last section I am working on is the monster list. All of the art has been commissioned and is in. 

SoA: Development Log 5

 

The Appendix N found in the Advanced Dungeons and Dragon's Manual is famous and has even been expanded in later editions. As I am working on Secrets of Arn, I decided to include my own Appendix N to share with everyone where my inspirations have come. In my Appendix N, I have included a healthy list of movies, books, documentaries, Manga, and non-fiction selections. A handful of books from my last appear on the original Appendix N but there is also a lot of book that do not appear on the list that I highly recommend. Of course, there were no movies, manga, or non-fiction on the original list so that is going to be new for everyone. 

Without further ado, my Appendix N...

 

Film

•  Sorceress, 1982
•  Conan the Barbarian, 1982
•  The Last Unicorn, 1982
•  Sword and the Sorcerer 1982
•  The Last Unicorn, 1982
•  Krull, 1983
•  Fire and Ice, 1983
•  The Beastmaster, 1983
•  Deathstalker, 1983
•  The Flight of Dragons, 1984
•  Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind, 1984
•  LadyHawke, 1985
•  Legend, 1985
•  Masters of the Universe, 1987
•  The Princess Bride, 1987
•  Willow, 1988
•  Dragon Slayer, 1992
•  Dragon Heart, 1996
•  Princess Mononoke, 1997
•  13^th Warrior, 1999
•  Spirited Away, 2001
•  Howl’s Moving Castle, 2004
•  Genndy T.’s Primal, 2019

 

Books

•  The Barsoom (Martian) Series by Edgar Rice Burroughs, 1912-1914
•  The Land that Time Forgot by Edgar Rice Burroughs, 1918
•  The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien, 1937 (1st Edition Text)
•  Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis, 1950-1956
•  Lord of the Rings Trilogy by J.R.R. Tolkien, 1954-1955
•  The Dying Earth by Jack Vance, 1950
•  Conan the Barbarian by Robert E. Howard, 1950-1954
•  Stealer of Souls by Michael Moorcock, 1963
•  The Chronicles of Prydain by Lloyd Alexander, 1964-1968
•  Stormbringer by Michael Moorcock, 1965
• Dune by Frank Herbert, 1965
•  Eye of the Overworld by Jack Vance, 1966
•  Earthsea Cycle by Ursula K. Le Guin, 1968-2001
•  Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser Series by Fritz Leiber, 1970-1988
•  The Chronicles of Amber by Roger Zelazny, 1970-1991
•  The Riverworld Series by Philip Jose Farmer, 1971-1983
•  Eaters of the Dead by Michael Crichton, 1976
•  Dragonlance Chronicles by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman, 1984-1985
•  The Black Company by Glen Cook, 1984
•  The Riftwar Saga by Raymond E. Feist, 1982-1986
•  Redwall Series by Brian Jacques, 1986-2001
•  Dragon Prince Series by Melanie Rawn, 1988-1990
•  Wizard’s First Rule by Terry Goodkind, 1994
•  The Farseer Trilogy by Robin Hobbs, 1995-1997
•  Game of Thrones Series by George R. R. Martin, 1996-Present
•  Kushiel’s Dart by Jacqueline Carey, 2001
•  The Blade Itself by Joe Abercombie, 2006
•  The Night Angel Trilogy by Brent Weeks, 2008-2009
•  The Magician Series by Lev Grossman, 2009-2014
•  H.P. Lovecraft: The Complete Fiction, 2011
•  Broken Empire Trilogy by Mark Lawrence, 2011-2013
•  Between Two Fires by Christopher Buehlman, 2012
•  Spiderlight by Adrian Tchaikovsky, 2016
•  The Library at Mount Char by Scott Hawkins, 2016
•  The Court of Broken Knives by Anna Smith Spark, 2017
•  Aching God by Mike Shel, 2018
•  The Poppy War by R.F. Kuang, 2019
•  The Blacktongue Thief by Christopher Buehlman, 2021
•  The Hollows Places by T. Kingfisher, 2022

  Documentaries

• James Cameron’s Story of Science Fiction, 2018
•  Secrets of Blackmoor, 2019
•  The Dreams in Gary’s Basement, 2023
•  Adventure Never Ends: A Tabletop Saga, 2023

 

Manga

•  Record of Lodoss War, 1986-1989
•  Berserk, 2003-2022
•  Delicious in Dungeon, 2014-Present

 

 Non-Fiction

• Sly Flourish’s The Lazy Dungeon Master by Michael E. Shea, 2016
•  Life in a Medieval Village by Gies, 2016
•  Life in a Medieval Castle by Gies, 2016
•  The Ultimate RPG Game Master’s World Building Guide by James D’Amato, 2021
•  Tony Bath’s Ancient Wargaming, 2021
•  Slaying the Dragon by Ben Riggs, 2022
•  The Elusive Shift by Jon Peterson, 2022
•  The Ultimate RPG Backstory Guide: Expanded Genres Edition by James D’Amato, 2022
•  The Game Master’s Guide of Proactive Roleplaying by Jonah & Triston Fishel, 2023
•  Playing at the World 2e by Jon Peterson, 2024

If I am being honest about this list, I would say start with the nonfiction.