Liber Arcanum

[NJPDX]

Good luck with the edits and revision, Hopefully you get the greenlight and make this a go. I'm highly interested.

[Shin Majin]

I'm pretty psyched too. I mean, 50 spells? I'd buy that just for the corruption results!

[Tortog]

Thanks for the support! It shouldn't be too much longer before I know where this project is heading. In the mean time here is one of the corruption entries for a 5ht level spell called Devastation.

Corruption: The caster suffers from a case of Dragon-pox! Over the course of the next 1d3 turns, the caster breaks out in painful, itchy, multi-hued pustules. They cause a general -1 penalty to all actions, armor class, saves, initiatives as well as attacks and damage rolls for the duration of the disease. The victim must also succeed at a Luck check every 1d3 turns or they suffer from a 1d3 round sneezing fit during which they sneeze once per round in a random direction. The blasts created by the sneezes are 30deg. cones that extend out 20ft, +5ft per level of the afflicted character. Any who fail their save take 1d6 points of energy damage, +1 point/ caster level of the snarffing wizard. This fit requires each of the caster’s allies caught within the blasts to succeed at a DC 15 Fortitude save; see general description for random energy table, but only roll 1d8. Additionally, any time the caster falls: 1d5 of the pustules will erupt causing 1 point of random elemental damage each to the afflicted caster. Anyone damaged by these effects must succeed at a DC 18 Fortitude save or they are infected. For the duration of the Dragon-pox infection: roll 1d8: (1) 72 hours, (2-3) 48 hours, (4-7) 24 hours, (8) 12 hours, but increase all DC values by 1 point and all damages are doubled. There is no cure except to survive the ravages of the disease and it will leave the survivors with hideous multi-colored scars and no residual immunity bonuses.

random energy table...
...roll [1d8] to determine the type of energy: (1) Acid, (2) Bludgeoning, (3) Electricity, (4) Fire, (5) Frost, (6) Piercing, (7) Slashing, (8) Sonic,


There are some other fun aspects of the book, not the least of which is that there are several new critters introduced as a by-product of the function or mis-function of the various spells... and then there is the Alien Tool Chest. It has several fun little items inspired by Asimov's Foundation series for any players clever enough to get their hands on them and figure out how they work: using one of these items improperly can kill the user...

Auto-punch – This tool looks like a crossbow stock without the ‘bow’ and is small enough to be used one handed. The red beam it creates may be used once every 1d4 rounds, and ignores the damage and energy reduction values of the target(s). There is no attack roll for this weapon, targets get a DC 15 Reflex save to avoid being damaged and non-living mater as well as unattended items caught in the beam are disintegrated.

• The smallest setting punches a hole that is less than a hairs width but can be 50ft deep. As a weapon this is a straight line that causes 1 point of damage to everything on that line; but, living creatures suffer an automatic critical hit but increase their critical die by one step on the dice chain.

• The next setting creates a 1 to 10 inch diameter hole that is up to 15ft deep. As a weapon this causes 3d6 points of damage to everything in the path of the beam. All living creatures suffer an automatic critical strike but increase their critical die by 2 steps on the dice chain.

• The largest setting is 24 inches in diameter, but it is only 5ft deep. Living creatures hit by this weapon are slain upon a failed DC20 Reflex save; all else takes 4d10 damage.

{edit - I should probably clarify this last entry a bit because out of context it looks scarier than it really is. Even if a character does find one of these kinds of items... it requires 3 months of study and a successful DC 18 INT check to figure out how each device works. Failing that INT check results in a powerful explosion. Even with success the items require three arms to use properly which in game terms means they can only be used every 1d4+1 rounds unless the use also has three arms. Additionally, if the user critically fails an attack they must succeed at a DC15 INT check to stop the item from exploding.}

[Tortog]

Later than the latest news...


So I actually got permission to move forward with this project nearly three weeks ago... again I got so busy marking out the final layout and orchestrating the illustration phase, that I totally spaced it on updating and notifications.

When will Liber Arcanum be ready? I have no idea, the length of time for illustrations can never be predicted with any accuracy. However, we are moving ever closer to the finish line... a few more feet every day. Here are some examples of the art from the book:

Some shield designs


and an arcane casting diagram


More later

[Tortog]

Just thought I'd check in with everyone...

Art is progressing well, but Liber Arcanum is as big as the CCD, so there is a lot of art and even with three artists its going to take a fair bit of time to get everything inked and set down into the layout. If all goes well we're looking at late Spring or early Summer before it hits the shelves... so to speak. Maybe someday I'll get a better handle on estimating project deadlines, but it will have to wait for my next project.

Here is a doctored pic of one of the art plates in Liber Arcanum:


The book doesn't have the "logo runes", and all empty spaces are filled with new runes for players to suffer... I mean discover...

I got permission to put together a Printable PDF for anyone who wants one and the file also includes several "blank" rune tiles for anyone who wants to create their own versions.

https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B8iHPun ... sp=sharing


I've also created a blog post with an excerpt from Liber Arcanum detailing a way to add some underpinning structure to the magic system for those of us who like to delve a little deeper into a game's milieu. It's a lot of fun and adds new tools for the Storyteller without interfering in the general randomness and fun of the DCCRPG system.

http://myaereth.blogspot.com/2013/10/ce ... ereth.html

All comments welcome.

[Zargon]

This looks like some more really fun stuff. I was a fan of the CCD and I can't wait for the Liber Arcanum. Runes are a great thing, they're really evocative of a low magic mythical setting. Runequest built their rpg around them (go figure) and portrayed them in a really fascinating way. Thanks for the update, I look forward to seeing more material that you're working on...

[Raven_Crowking]

The Scrying spell in The Revelation of Mulmo is Open Gaming Content, and you may use my version of Magic Wand from Crawl! #3 if you like, so long as you give proper attribution.

[Tortog]

Thanx Zargon! Encouragement is always welcome! I love Runequest... and I think its starting to show. One of the other reasons for the material on celestial geometry and stuff is to act in support of the 6 specialist wizard builds: Aeromancer (air), Pyromancer (fire), Aquamancer (water), Geomancer (earth), plus Animancer (positive spirit, life) and Necromancer (negative spirit, death and decay). The first four are tied in with the elemental patrons, the last two have no specific patrons that create them so as to allow for easier integration into different gaming environments. The general structure of "reality" suggested in the the celestial geometry section also allows Animancers and Necromancers to be set up in such a way that a Storyteller can use the material to run games without clerics if they wish.

I should also like to mention that in the PDF version, I left the celestial diagrams are in full color; but they are black and white in the print version to keep costs down.

@ RC> Wow! And thank you for the offers. I may check out the scrying spell, though I don't have a subscription to Crawl! Fanzine. Fortunately, The Revelation of Mulmo is on my wish list and I was planning on picking that up at the end of this month. I would take you up on the magic wand spell... but I already wrote one up for Liber Arcanum.

In other news:
I mentioned earlier on in this thread that one of my next projects would be something along the lines of "the Book of Lost Runes". However, I've recently decided to release the other 8 rune sets independently (here and on my blog) as I finish drawing them so I can have more time to work on my next project... which is more of a setting/ sandbox than rules supplement.

[Raven_Crowking]

@ RC> Wow! And thank you for the offers. I may check out the scrying spell, though I don't have a subscription to Crawl! Fanzine. Fortunately, The Revelation of Mulmo is on my wish list and I was planning on picking that up at the end of this month. I would take you up on the magic wand spell... but I already wrote one up for Liber Arcanum.

In case you change your mind, you can also find it here:

http://ravencrowking.blogspot.ca/2012/0 ... -wand.html

[Tortog]

@RC> Considering that yesterday was the first time I've seen your version, I'm heartened by some of the similarities in design, it tells me I'm on the right track. {EDIT 10/22/13: AHA! I removed this part now that I've read it a few more times, I get it now.}

Anyway, I use the 2nd level spell Wizard Staff when setting the scale for the powers and abilities for the Wand Magic spell when I designed it. This spell can also create a dangerous and unstable wand that might explode any time it is used; these can be scattered in a treasure haul or the result of an underpowered spell casting (result of 17.) I also deliberately set it up so that the binding costs for a found/stolen wand are less than for creating one... thus reinforcing the "wizards are nasty bastards" meme.

Call it a sneak preview, but here's a link to the Wand Magic spell clipped from the Liber Arcanum layout file:

https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B8iHPun ... sp=sharing

Cheers

[Zargon]

I'm really looking forward to the Liber Arcanum. I'm a huge fan of your first book; Creatures, Critters & Denizens, Tortog... just this past weekend I was using the Imp from that book and the players went nuts. A gnome PC ended up running off with the soul box and a barbarian PC had a D.A.M.N! field day with the little fiend...glorious. I hope you can supply us with an update soon.

[Tortog]

I'm really looking forward to the Liber Arcanum. I'm a huge fan of your first book; Creatures, Critters & Denizens, Tortog... just this past weekend I was using the Imp from that book and the players went nuts. A gnome PC ended up running off with the soul box and a barbarian PC had a D.A.M.N! field day with the little fiend...glorious. I hope you can supply us with an update soon.

Thanx for the feedback Zargon, glad you guys had fun! If the Gnome character is also from the CCD then I can totally see the PC building devices powered by stolen souls… All kinds of story options there.

Incidentally, when a player gets hold of a soul-cage I like to make them roll a Fort save every time they use it to heal themselves of 15 or more hit points per day. DC= hp restored, failure means they suffer -2 casting check penalty for the next 24 hours from lack of sleep and nightmare visions from the lives of the souls they've sacrificed… critical failures cause corruptions and eventually turn the user into another imp. That was part of the original entry, but snipped off in editing because I felt that it should be up to the end user as to whether there were any further deleterious effects from long term use: other than turning a character into a soul-stealing menace. Other variations on the theme suggested (but unexplored) in play-testing included: feasibility of selecting animals as targets rather than sentient beings as well as having victims remain alive but under the control of the creature/character that is using the soul cage. Treat subjugated creature/humanoid as suffering from a fixed result on the Charm Person spell chosen by the Storyteller until the victim can touch the soul cage that holds their soul. From that point return of the soul is automatic on the grounds that the victim's soul knows where it belongs.

Liber Arcanum is progressing, the manuscript is finished but for stamping out a few typos here and there and thus far, the art I've seen has been fantastic. I'm hoping that with the holidays behind us, the pace will pick up a bit.

In the meantime, I have in fact been working on an update for the CCD. Since I’ve cross-threaded things this far, I should say that there are a lot of ways to define the word ‘update’ so I plan to do this in several steps. The first is a text only errata file because that will be faster to produce than anything else. The second phase being an actual update file with several new mutations, critters, and a new player character race option as well as an eventual re-release of the updated version of the CCD; all this is on the menu for 2014, but it will need more time for the extra illustrations.

Thanx for the support.
Bye for now…

[Tortog]

I found that this had been sent to me by Min McGreggor, the newest member of our intrepid band of illustrators.
***Removed***
I got the artist's permission, because I just had to share. All in all, I'd say 2014 is off to a great start!

{edit: 4/17/14:

The joke's on me, 'cause yet another artist has been claimed by the quest for Liber Arcanum. Min quit the project and took my money and the right to use her art with her when she left so I had to delete the image from this post. }

[Zargon]

That's a wonderful piece of art McGreggor, thanks for the sneak peak tortog.

Also an interesting read on your expanded version of the soul cage, I think I could implement it if the Gnome discovers a healing use with it. The Gnome PC is a product of the design done by Yves Larochelle (sheriffharry). I hadn't thought of using the Gnome in the CCD, but after mentioning it to the player we may do some tinkering. An update to the CCD sounds wonderful, just having a look at the 'update' of the Imp's soul cage right there I think I can expect that the CCD update will have a pleasant amount of useful material to use, and I look forward to that as well.

[Zargon]

Any new news?

[Tortog]

Sorry I didn't see this sooner. I have this thread set to send me an email when someone posts, but nothing came through. Not sure what's going on, but since it involves computers, it's probably my fault.

I wish I had better news, but as the edited post above demonstrates... things are moving slow enough that with the removal of Min's art we're technically moving backwards at the moment. This is exacerbated by the fact that I spent the last 3 months packing up my home so my wife and I could move back to Colorado, so I've not had the time for any of my writing projects. We got here at the start of April, but have spent most of the last 2 weeks dealing with repair crews and such. I only just finished setting up my office and art studio yesterday. On the up side - I no longer have to listen to roaming gun battles every week.

When I started this project I was really keen on the idea that each spell should be separated from the others so that printing or copying any given spell will essentially create a scroll that can be used as a prop. But to pull this off, the layout requires (at last count) 32 pictures of various sizes totaling 20 pages to keep the 47 spells separated. I'm still really keen on the idea, but I can only beg patience for the time needed to make it happen.

Amongst other things, the book contains :
* 2 expanded and fully illustrated rune sets (Mortal and Fey) as well as some new uses for runes.
* Blank rune art so you can make your own rune sets.
* an expansion on the 5 element theory introduced in the CCD, which includes maps of a celestial geometry of the 5-element system as well as randomized table s for plane hopping. (color versions of these maps and an excerpt from Liber Arcanum on this subject are available at my 10/19/13 blog post on http://myaereth.blogspot.com/ )
* 6 patrons; based on the general concepts of battle, exploration, and the 4 basic elements
* Appendix I. This is a short tag-on that contains: a magic weapon record sheet, 9 new powers of types 1 to 3, 6 new banes and bane creatures, and the rules to support an expand version of table 8-1 of the Sword Magic section of the core rules to include all melee weapons as well as ranged weapons and ammunition. It also contains 40 pre-generated magic weapons set up in randomized tables by power:
twenty +1 weapons, eight +2 weapons, seven +3 weapons, and five +4 weapons for those occasions when the players find treasure you didn't see or wasn't defined in the module write up
* several new critters and supporting equipment
* This book will hopefully be up on the EBM printing network, so folks in other countries can have a hard-copy printed on demand so as to avoid international shipping rates and much, more...

Thanx for checking in!

Gotta go for now... another repairman to deal with...

[Shin Majin]

Sorry to hear about the complications.

I'll keep watching this, though! I'd buy this even if it didn't have any art at all!

[Zargon]

You could always use art from common/public sources. I'm not sure but I think a lot of the illustrations on wikipedia are of this designation. There is a lot of classical, gothic, and otherwise fantasy appropriate pictures out there you could probably use. Keep up the good work, and we look forward to hearing more.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Public_domain_art

[Tortog]

@ zargon> Thanx for the idea and the link. Didn't find much that I could use for this project, but there was a lot of stuff that I could see myself using in future, particularly the 17th and 18th century maps and architectural stuff. I'll poke around some more out on the internet to see if there's anything out there that I can use.

Sorry to hear about the complications.

I'll keep watching this, though! I'd buy this even if it didn't have any art at all!

Thanx for the support! Just yesterday one of the project artists let me know that he has a couple of friends that might be interested in helping out. Nothing solid yet, but it could be a good shot in the arm for the project. If not, then I'm considering abandoning the original format for one that has the least amount of art I can get away with.

I'll know more in a week or so.
Cheers!

[Tortog]

Well the quest for Liber Arcanum continues because in the last week, we've added another artist to our intrepid band of heroes. I'm also currently negotiating with a 4th artist, so the current layout receives a stay of execution!!


More Later,
Cheers,

[Tortog]

Aaaand we've got 4 artists! Well, OK. For a few moments at least. So, actually, lets call it 3 and a half... I turned around the other day just in time to see one of them dragged off into the bushes by the long tentacles of possible jury duty.

Ahhh. Life... it never stops being interesting.

Since two of the artists are members of this DCCRPG community I just wanted to take the time and say thanxs to the community for the support!

[Tortog]

*ping* "Thank you for using Dead Air as your conveyance of choice. Please note that we are commencing our final checks and we have received notice that all sacrifices have been accepted. Before landing the Ritual Master has tasked me with reminding you that it has turned on the NO CHANTING sign. I would also like to take this opportunity to let you know that any altars, wands, swords, and ritual daggers should be stowed in the overhead compartments and that The Ritual Master has told me to remind all passengers that the NO SMOKING sign is still lit and you shouldn't be. This includes, but is not limited to brewing ales, potions, spellburn, and the preparation of mid-transit snacks. We have enjoyed ferrying your soul to its final resting place and as we are continuing on to Nirvana, Elysium, Hades, Tantalus, and all points in-between now would be a good time to check your ticket to make sure that you are debarking upon the Plane of you choosing."

*****

But seriously, I just thought I'd let everyone know that we didn't fall off the planet!

The final draft (text and layout) is done and now: 45 new spells, 6 patrons, new critters, pre-generated magic weapons, and a whole lot more packed into 300 pages. Final price isn't yet determined, but I'd be surprised if it costs more than the soft-cover or digital prices for the CCD.

Including the cover, there are only 10 pieces of art left and this puppy goes out the door. So let's start the count-down clock at:

10

Then it's on to a much needed revision of the CCD, complete with several new critter entries!

[catseye yellow]

great! hit us with some preview.

[SavageRobby]

Nice. Looking forward to this.

[Zargon]

How many art pieces are needed until completion, now? I'm very excited to hear that the Arcanum is close to being ready, and that there will be a revisionary CCD!