New Cover Art

 

by James S. Austin

 

We have an almost-finished cover piece for an upcoming release. Hope you enjoy!

Design Journal 02/22/24

 

One of the struggles of putting yourself deep into creative work, which I am sure could be likewise for other careers, is the mental changes that take place. There is probably a certain point when going too far is a thing. An example of this is when going to bed. I put on the TV with a timer, playing a show I have seen a billion times, to resist the need to watch. This helps quiet the brain. During the day, while working or at any point of the day, it is constantly doing mental gymnastics with creative thoughts. And, wearing so many hats at once does not help, jumping between writing, editing, layout, and creating art.

 

Another fun effect of working nearly every day, if not nearly every hour in the day, is the sense of what day it is in the week. Don’t get me wrong, I do know what day it is as they pass. I guess you could call it ‘All Fridays.’ To me, every day is a Friday. I am excited to work and have plenty to do. I know that if I want, tomorrow could be a rest day if I want. But that day of rest never really comes or is quite infrequent. So, I have a proverbial carrot pulling me along.

 

When you combine the two, it is imperative for me to be sure to get some good sleep. I exercise enough so that when I climb into bed, I am good there those evenings. If I pull a long day, which is nearly every day, no problem there, either. When I wake the next day, I get up with a kick and jump right back into the fray. So, I do the things I must, because those mental yapping imps in my head still need to be quieted… until I am ready to let them loose again. 

 

- James S. Austin

Design Journal 02/21/24

 

Another task that sits high in this push is working through the Calling’s Special Features. These are skill-specific, leaning towards a particular role of an adventurer. Some may only fit for one Calling, while others are shared. An example is Maneuvers. Maneuvers are fighting skills, themed batches for the different weapon types. 

 

To make it a little light-hearted and exciting, each batch of Maneuvers is themed with an animal. So, simply take some of the highlights an animal is used for and work from there. The Bear Maneuvers are considered Heavy, focusing on strength and defense while moving on the offensive. As a peek into the mechanics – 

 

Bear Grasp - On the designated Attack's hit, an adjacent target to you is moved to a different space adjacent to you, Pushed 5 feet, Agility / Dodge Check to prevent the Push. And this Maneuver is stepped with level progression, to reflect your growth and understanding when using this Maneuver.

 

I am hoping this and early posts are grabbing your interest as we come closer to cementing the core mechanics and pushing for publication!

 

- James S. Austin

Design Journal 02/20/24

 

 

The time has come to push out as much of the ‘grindy’ over the rest of this and next month. One is no surprise when creating a new RPG – spells. The task of putting together a full list of spells has been completed, but leaving room for going beyond the base list, catching those spells that help balance the core adventuring needs. 

 

Right now, the list is over 900. This is because we want a sense of diversity between the available Callings. I, like many, am fatigued with all wizards having some of the same handful of spells in their repertoire. I do love a good fireball, but what about a cryomancer? We can have an ‘ice ball’ as a repurposed fireball, but let’s go beyond. When done, we should have a pretty awesome set to work with for players.

 

- James S. Austin

Castiel Journal 02/13/24

 

The Cassian Peninsula sits in the northwestern corner of Ballidrous, a massive continent located mostly in the northern hemisphere of Enolia. The region has been inhabited by humans for centuries and was geographically isolated from land passage until the Ardalian Empire’s seafaring expansion began charting and linking the north. The Ardalians mapped a land route and opened waterway trade routes connecting to ports within the Ardalian Empire and the surrounding kingdoms and territories. This resulted in an age of enlightenment for the Cassians, a blending of Cassian ideals and daily living with external arts and scholarship.

 

- James S. Austin

Castiel Journal 02/07/24

 

As we roll out the Chronicles of Ballidrous Campaign Setting, I am working through the various game systems to see what directions we should go. We are already using 5E, but there are plenty of other options. There is of course The Pathfinder Role-Playing Game and Pathfinder 2E. The goal would be to have the system complement the system, as some may not be a fit.

 

What would be other options you would like to see and play?

 

- James S. Austin

Design Journal 02/05/24

 

We have our first printed product on the cusp of release. Just received the proof to review. Not bad as a whole. Need to adjust the margins slightly for a better presentation. The images come in darker than you would expect. I have the ‘shadow’ image in this one, and it is quite dark. I know it’s not practical, but I loved it being that dark, hard to distinguish the shapes… kinda like finding a shadow within a shadow.

 

I see the cuts are not as straight as I would like to shave the bleed, but that is somewhat to be expected when having page images with lines to highlight the issue. But overall, feels good to see a physical product.

 

- James S. Austin

Castiel Journal 02/05/24

 

 

The Kingdom of Castiel will be our first major location release for The Chronicles of Ballidrous. I chose this one as the primary as it is a coastal setting in the far northwest. The feel is as if it is an isolated nation with only interactions with a few other local nations, allowing players who are not familiar with the setting to have a chance to slowly learn.

 

Key points of this area:

 

- Low magic, higher levels of magic are looked upon with suspicion and fear.

- With the dawn of commerce abroad becoming prevalent, venturing out to discover the world around them sits at the heart of budding adventurers.

 

General Storylines

- Touch more on the Fae interactions with humans.

- A clash between the worshipers of the Old Gods and the introduction and rising popularity of the Eidonias (elven) gods.

- Was recently occupied by the Ardalian Empire, an elven military-driven nation.

- An empire of humans once ruled the lands in the north but mysteriously disappeared ages ago, leaving behind remnants of their civilization. Cassians are indirect descendants of these lost people.

 

Castiel will also be the launching point for the first set of modules focusing on the storyline – ‘The Bai’shen Prophecies’. Awesome times to come!

 

Let us know what you think!!!!

 

- James S. Austin