I am more excited for this update than for any in a long time. That's because, even though last month I shared that we had lost our layout artist, we now have a new one, and he has already knocked out full drafts of both the rules and the character creation chapters! And the exciting part? I am sharing them out…today!
If you are a backer, you can find those previews in the supplementary, backer-only Kickstarter update that follows today’s KS update.
New Graphic Design(er)
As an RPG graphic designer, Robert Denton is probably best known for his work on the Legends of the Five Rings line, and he has also done a lot of layout work for Biohazard's Blue Planet partner, Gallant Knight Games. He is creative, easy to work with and super-fast, and his speed has already convinced me that layout will definitely not become a production bottleneck.
For those familiar with the graphic design of the Recontact Quickstart primer, you will notice a lot of changes in the new layout. The change in artist provided the opportunity to refine the style and mechanics of the layout in significant ways. My priorities for BP are readability, visual cohesion and an evocative palette. If a spectrum of book design runs from Apple to H.R. Giger, I want the BP layout sitting next to AirPods. In my opinion, Robert is blowing it out of the water, and I hope these previews make you as excited as they've made me.
Though the text is final, please note that we are still tweaking the layout, and some minor things will change. For example, the map graphics heading each section are currently only placeholders for the text-free versions we are working on - their "busy" look will be sorted out shortly.
Typo Hunting?
It has been my intention all along to share out chapter PDFs as they are completed for two important reasons. The first is so that you can start enjoying the new material as soon as possible. The second is so that those of you who are so inclined can hunt down and report typos - helping us make Blue Planet as error-free as possible. If you want to be one of these editing heroes - or if you just happen to notice a mistake as you read along - I would ask that you click on this link and fill out an error report. Please respond to the prompts with enough specificity that we can quickly identify the issue, and feel free to report anything at all that you think might be a mistake. Typos, layout glitches and even math errors - everything is fair game!
Storm Surge Playtest
Only one session this month as illness and work obligations kept half our party away from the table last week. It was a big one, however, as the characters got arrested, survived a sabotaged VTOL crash, and endured a long distance tow by the party orca to Baffin Island. Coming ashore at the notorious settlement put them at the heart of the northern insurgency just as circumstances were pushing them over the edge. Unsurprisingly, by the end of the night, the characters had gone all in with the freedom fighters.
While they awaited the arrival of Bataku’s war pod, they worked to adjust to their dangerous new status and train up for their first mission. It was a good distraction from the fact that the characters (and players) have no understanding of the magnitude of what’s coming.
Structurally, we are building to the first of the nine or so transitions I intend for this three-character-party campaign. We are shifting next to the Incorporate security perspective, where things are going to get really ugly, really fast.
Gratitude
I want to close out this update with a reminder of how grateful I am for the ongoing support. Whether you are a silent (and very patient) backer, a regular voice in the update comments, on our Twitter, in the BP forums or Discord, or you are Pawel (the hardest working human on Poseidon), it is your support and enthusiasm that are creating Recontact. You all are providing the essential motivation needed to keep pushing forward.
Mahalo...
