Gunslinger - Strange Science

 One of the features of Gunslinger is Strange Science. To those familiar with Gamma World (or the classic Expedition to the Barrier Peaks) you'll recall how exciting it was to find some weird unknown piece of technology and trying to figure out how it works. Sometimes to great effect, and other times to disaster!

And since Gunslinger doesn't have magic* this is the closest thing to it. As Arthur C. Clarke famously said "Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic." That is certainly true in the Arizona Territory in the 1800's where strange science is involved.

For those fans of the genre, there are a lot of Easter Eggs in here I'm sure you'll appreciate.

Closing in on those last little details to send Gunslinger to press this week.

*There is a "Mythic West" appendix in the back for those who want a little supernatural in their campaign.

Gunslinger Week: Critters

 Another preview of the final text and art from the Gunslinger RPG.

I mentioned previously how much art went into the making of this game, well a huge amount of that went into the critters section. During research for the setting of the 1800's Arizona Territory I came across quite a few interesting legends. Many of these made it into the book, with some modification to make them useful for your own wild west (with a bit of strange science!) campaign milieu. 

Gunslinger Week

 This week Gunslinger goes to press!

So, I'll post a little preview of final art and text each day this week. Let's start with our main character, the Gunslinger. I like to think of him as the "Paladin" of the game.

This will be your last chance to get the Gunslinger RPG (PDF) at the "Beta Edition" rate, once the full final version is posted it will go up to regular price. https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/435804/gunslinger-roleplaying-game

D&D 2024 Classes

 Information is beginning to trickle out on what is in D&D 2024. Here are the classes and sub-classes that will be in the Player's Handbook.

The posted release dates for the Core Books:

2024 Player's Handbook – 17 September 2024

2024 Dungeon Master's Guide – 12 November 2024

2024 Monster Manual – 18 February 2025

Here are the 48 subclasses to appear in the 2024 Player's Handbook.

Barbarian:

• Path of the Berserker
• Path of the Wild Heart (Previously Path of the Totem Warrior)
• Path of the World Tree (new to Dungeons & Dragons)
• Path of the Zealot

Bard

• College of Dance (new to Dungeons & Dragons)
• College of Glamour
• College of Lore
• College of Valor

Cleric

• Life Domain
• Light Domain
• Trickery Domain
• War Domain

Druid

• Circle of the Land
• Circle of the Moon
• Circle of the Sea (new to Dungeons & Dragons)
• Circle of the Stars

Fighter

• Battle Master
• Champion
• Eldritch Knight
• Psi Warrior

Monk

• Warrior of Mercy
• Warrior of Shadow
• Warrior of the Elements (previously the Way of the Four Elements)
• Warrior of the Open Hand

Paladin 

• Oath of Devotion
• Oath of Glory
• Oath of the Ancients
• Oath of Vengeance

Ranger

• Beast Master
• Fey Wanderer
• Gloom Stalker
• Hunter

Rogue

• Arcane Trickster
• Assassin
• Soulknife
• Thief

Sorcerer

• Aberrant Sorcery
• Clockwork Sorcery
• Draconic Sorcery
• Wild Magic

Warlock

• Archfey Patron
• Celestial Patron
• Fiend Patron
• Great Old One Patron

Wizard

• Abjurer
• Diviner
• Evoker
• Illusionist

Sauce: ComicBook.Com

Update: Just got a preview of the Character Sheets.

Gunslinger - Lots and Lots and Lots and Lots of Art

 June is the month Gunslinger goes to press. Come hell or high water it is getting finished. So I imagine I'll have to do a postmortem at some point to pinpoint why it took so long and how to make future projects more efficient. 

Looking at the art folder there are over 200 art assets.

Over...two...hundred...art...assets.

This is a one man operation, I did have some help editing and playtesting, but the writing, design, graphics, layout, and art are all my responsibility. Just back of the envelope math if each art asset took 4-6 hours to make (some took a lot more, a few took less). That is 1200 hours of work.  I have a full time job, and I'm a dad, so that had to be done between life responsibilities. And that doesn't include the writing, editing, playtesting, research, and design where the bulk of my time was spent. This project got to be a little ridiculous. I thought it was going to be a quick little OSR western. If I had been smart about it that is what Gunslinger would have been, but nope.

The book itself is clocking in at 134 pages. The kickstarter version is a little longer because it includes a prelude chapter to the Princess of the Red Planet adventure. By RPG standards 134 pages isn't huge, but note that it is the cream of the research and playtest efforts. Not a lot of drivel in it, like most RPG's have.

In the end nobody cares how long something took to make. The product stands or falls on its own. All I can say is I did my best on it. This month, June, the book goes to press. Fin.

For some reason I thought illustrating every critter was a good idea.