Book 0 - Prologue : the new kickstarter is LIVE!

[Clovis]

Hullo, Nel, Esteren Team,

Congratulations on a second successful Kickstarter for Shadows of Esteren, and I was so pleased to see that it got more money in it than the original KS. That says something for your dedications, the fans' desire for new product, and the stretch goals that you introduced into the KS.

Well done, mes amis!

Thank you very much for your support JohnK! Although earning money is not our prime objective, it's true that it is a good indicator of how successful the Kickstarter was, and it's indeed a pleasure to see the results we have been able to attain thanks to the trust and enthusiasm of the Backers!

We'll do our best to keep going further with the same care for quality!

I assume that the additional content for Book 2 refers to the English edition of the book, or are we talking a revised, French edition in hardcover? Was the original Livre 2 - Voyages softcover or hardcover?

The additional content is intended for the English edition of Book 2. I don't really know what will be done regarding a possible French edition, but it stands to reason that this new material will be published in French as well.
As for the original, it was a softcover book.

Btw, are there any plans to write original English game material for the game, or will the English products be translations of the French materials for the foreseeable future?

Well, Shadows of Esteren is originally a French game, Les Ombres d'Esteren, so any product will first be released in French before it is translated to be made available to English-speaking role-players. However, as you could see with the Kickstarters, special offers and exclusive props are also released for the English community; and we are going to keep doing our best to propose something new and original, even though I'd say SoE/OdE will primarily remain a French game.

[JohnK]

Hullo, Clovis,

Congratulations on a second successful Kickstarter for Shadows of Esteren, and I was so pleased to see that it got more money in it than the original KS. That says something for your dedications, the fans' desire for new product, and the stretch goals that you introduced into the KS.

Well done, mes amis!

Thank you very much for your support JohnK! Although earning money is not our prime objective, it's true that it is a good indicator of how successful the Kickstarter was, and it's indeed a pleasure to see the results we have been able to attain thanks to the trust and enthusiasm of the Backers!

We'll do our best to keep going further with the same care for quality!

I wasn't referrring to earning money per se on the part of being an objective (though the folks at Studio 2 and Agate RPG definitely need to make some money out of writing and publishing the game), but was referring more to the fact that the Book 0 KS got more money pledged to it than the original KS for the game.

It was my pleasure to support the second KS in whatever way I could, and I am looking forward to seeing the material that comes out of this KS and the quality of the products, of which I have no doubt.

I assume that the additional content for Book 2 refers to the English edition of the book, or are we talking a revised, French edition in hardcover? Was the original Livre 2 - Voyages softcover or hardcover?

The additional content is intended for the English edition of Book 2. I don't really know what will be done regarding a possible French edition, but it stands to reason that this new material will be published in French as well.

Wasn't sure whether it was referring to a French or English version of Book 2. Thanks for clarifying that for me.

As for the original, it was a softcover book.

Interesting. I thought it might have been a hardcover, given it had the GL Screen and the double-sided map of Tri-Kazel/Osta-Baille.

Btw, are there any plans to write original English game material for the game, or will the English products be translations of the French materials for the foreseeable future?

Well, Shadows of Esteren is originally a French game, Les Ombres d'Esteren, so any product will first be released in French before it is translated to be made available to English-speaking role-players. However, as you could see with the Kickstarters, special offers and exclusive props are also released for the English community; and we are going to keep doing our best to propose something new and original, even though I'd say SoE/OdE will primarily remain a French game.

That doesn't really answer the question per se, but that's understandable, Clovis. I am hoping that all of the French products for the game are translated to English, but it seems to me that perhaps the folks at Studio 2 might be able to get a project going for an English supplement of some sort for the game that could be translated back to the French.

One of the things I'd like to see for the game is a large Travel guide to the game world with a more objective view of some locations and places in the game world. While Book 2 - Travels seems to be partially that, there's just so many places on the map and things that could be discussed about the world. Not to mention the cultures and social groups as well.

[Erich]

Hey hey, JohnK! Glad to be here; Canada represent!

It's good that you'll be running Esteren in Canada. Out here in the Philippines, we don't really have enough of a tabletop RPG presence to warrant conventions, so I've taken to using the KS options to purchase "gifts" for the other Game Leaders I know in the area. Our plan was to play next year, but I'm getting impatient and may run an introductory demo at the university before year-end, haha.

no scenario ever survives the player characters intact.

This bore highlighting; it is precisely why I gave up on elaborate plans for the games I run! Also, since players learn from GMs and GMs learn from players, after my players routinely smashed my railroad, I learned to be the kind of player who smashed other GM's railroads, and have been training other GMs to be the kind of player who smashes railroads... The circle of life continues ever on.

You've got a few of the fan-made French scenarios translated?? Are they translated in any form of roughly legible format? If so, would you be amenable to sharing? When I first heard about the fan-created scenarios, I began to fervently wish for their translation and maybe even official publication (kind of like Dungeon magazine was a collection of fan-made adventure modules). If you have a few to share, I'd be deeply appreciative.

Also consider me a reader of your adventure blog! I'll add it to my bookmarks list now, .

[Dragoslav]

This discussion reminds me of this blog post. Maybe you've read it: http://thealexandrian.net/wordpress/414 ... prep-plots

"Don't prep plots, prep situations."

[Erich]

"Don't prep plots, prep situations."

That's a good way of condensing the idea. My method is to just think about NPC motivations and plans. If I know what the NPCs are up to (including the ones the PCs don't know about), then I'll know roughly what situations will likely occur during the course of the session.

I love reading session design blogs like this. The one I found which outlined it the best wasn't from a website, though, but inside of another published game--Apocalypse World. The three axioms it pushes which I agree with most are 1) discover the story at the same time as the players through play, 2) be a fan of the player characters, and 3) be willing to kill, destroy, or take away anything--including your most beloved NPCs.

Tomorrow I'm going to run a session in which I'll be doing (3) for the first time if the players don't find a way to stop the chain of events already in motion. It'll be as much a gut punch to me as to them, but I think it'll be good for the story of the game if it does come to be.

[JohnK]

Hullo, Erich,

Hey hey, JohnK! Glad to be here; Canada represent!

Living in Ottawa, the heart of the Canadian government, and having a great time running Shadows of Esteren and a prehistoric creatures- and dinosaur-themed game that is based on a tv series whose spinoff is currently filming in Vancouver.

It's good that you'll be running Esteren in Canada. Out here in the Philippines, we don't really have enough of a tabletop RPG presence to warrant conventions, so I've taken to using the KS options to purchase "gifts" for the other Game Leaders I know in the area. Our plan was to play next year, but I'm getting impatient and may run an introductory demo at the university before year-end, haha.

Always a good plan, Erich. Conventions are a good way to see games that one might be interested in "in action" so to speak, and SoE will certainly benefit from the game being run at conventions.

As for my games, I've been running the game now on both the Friday and Sunday gaming groups for a couple of months, and have 12 sessions of the game beneath my belt (6 sessions of the game on each gaming group). Having a good time with it so far.

no scenario ever survives the player characters intact.

This bore highlighting; it is precisely why I gave up on elaborate plans for the games I run! Also, since players learn from GMs and GMs learn from players, after my players routinely smashed my railroad, I learned to be the kind of player who smashed other GM's railroads, and have been training other GMs to be the kind of player who smashes railroads... The circle of life continues ever on.

To be honest, I prefer scenarios is a somewhat rough, almost complete format, though with Esteren I've come to like the Canvas versions of scenarios, which offer frameworks and still allow all kinds of stuff. That said, any characters or whatever that the player characters may have to fight definitely need to be statted in advance, since opposition in this game needs to be carefully tailored as the combat mechanics are indeed very deadly.

You've got a few of the fan-made French scenarios translated?? Are they translated in any form of roughly legible format? If so, would you be amenable to sharing? When I first heard about the fan-created scenarios, I began to fervently wish for their translation and maybe even official publication (kind of like Dungeon magazine was a collection of fan-made adventure modules). If you have a few to share, I'd be deeply appreciative.

I've only done up a couple of scenarios from the French fan-made ones, and have about a third of a third adventure translated as well. Nothing in a clean format that is ready to share yet, but these will be ready as soon as possible. And there's also a couple of canvases as well that I'm working on. I work as a translator so am doing this stuff at my own pace, as I really don't want to translate material for work all day and do more stuff all night. When they are ready to be shared, I'll let folks know both here and on my blog.

Also consider me a reader of your adventure blog! I'll add it to my bookmarks list now, .

[/quote]

Thanks for that. You can comment to me about the material or ask questions either here in PM or in my blog or in personal e-mail if you like. The campaigns for the two gaming groups have been interesting so far, in terms of how the characters are being portrayed and the differences between the two groups and their styles of play. I'm enjoying both games, but have to be careful not to burn out on the game, too!

[Clovis]

I am hoping that all of the French products for the game are translated to English, but it seems to me that perhaps the folks at Studio 2 might be able to get a project going for an English supplement of some sort for the game that could be translated back to the French.

As I said, so far, all of the French releases are intended to be translated to English.

As for an English supplement, to be honest, I doubt it will happen... at least in the near future. As I said, the team for Shadows of Esteren is French, so you've got to admit that asking them to write a book in English would be rather silly! Therefore, the official series should primarily remain French.

One of the things I'd like to see for the game is a large Travel guide to the game world with a more objective view of some locations and places in the game world. While Book 2 - Travels seems to be partially that, there's just so many places on the map and things that could be discussed about the world. Not to mention the cultures and social groups as well.

Well, there's only so much you can speak about in one book! However, rest assured that as the series unfurls, light will be shed on more and more elements of the universe. Still, the uncertainty aspect that can be seen in Book 1 will probably remain Esteren's trademark all through the books; it's a way to leave the universe open to the ideas and interpretations of the Game Leaders!

[Iris]

Hello !

I had a long week... and will try to complete... but so much things were told, thanks to Clovis who could answer to the questions !

I confirm that I am not able to write easily in english, I do my best, still, I must face the reality : I can write about 8000 signs in 1h30 / 2h00 with a various vocabulary, that's not the case for english... In th future, far, far away, maybe, we could have studios in different languages... ... but... I have the impression, this is not so common, I mean : does White Wolf have a french version ? ... with Esteren, it's only the reversion of the problem : the english readers must wait a little...

I need to add something : we really do the maximum to reduce the time between releasing in french and english... but... there are limits... translation... maquette (rhaa, forgot another time the word)...

One of the things I'd like to see for the game is a large Travel guide to the game world with a more objective view of some locations and places in the game world. While Book 2 - Travels seems to be partially that, there's just so many places on the map and things that could be discussed about the world. Not to mention the cultures and social groups as well.

You mean, if I understand you weel :

- objective locations
- mention of social groups linked ?

... I cannot detail, just saying : we cannot do this for ALL the locations ... but I hope you will have enough information of that order...

Clovis said it right : there will still be mysteries and fog and poetry

[Clovis]

maquette (rhaa, forgot another time the word)...

Layout! It's layout!

[Gully]

Hi everyone,

If this is not the appropriate place to mention this then feel free to move or delete, but I have left a couple messages on the Kickstarter that have gone unanswered.

I order the December delivery of Book 0 but have still not received a notice of shipment or delivery. I sent Jim an email and left a couple of posts but have heard nothing back. I'm hoping to find out what the next step is.

Thanks for your help!

Gully
(Richard Pratt, Kickstarter)