Twelve Parsecs News: Impromptu Game Design Rocks.

In my decade-plus of doing professional game design, I've learned that sometimes it's when you sit down to do something else, and just end up randomly working on one of your design projects that your best stuff comes out, and you get the best work done.

I have commissioned an artist to do some work for Twelve Parsecs.  She is a fantastic artist, and working to get her name out there, so she's working for me at a level that I can afford, which is refreshing.  I'm still hoping to get Elf Lair to the point where I can pay professional artists what they deserve.  For now it'll be great having an awesome artist who is a really cool gal on board for this project--hopefully I'll be able to increase her compensation on future projects...that is, if you all continue to support us strongly!

Anyway, I sat down to night to e-mail her the draft as it stands so she could begin getting ideas. When I opened the file to make sure it was the right one, I just kind of started typing...I've now completed rules for cybernetics and for cyberjacking for the game. As with the rest of the manuscript, it's still a bit rough, but I did cybernetics using an Elite Path of the Tech class (the Cyborg Elite Path), and the cyberjacking rules are very fast, short, and elegant.  This is not a cyberpunk game, so there's not extensive rules on the inner workings of computer systems, or how hackers interact in the darkest corners of cyberspace.

That's not to say there won't be a cyberpunk sourcebook somewhere down the line...this game is just a generic toolkit, so I didn't want to overshadow the other elements of sci-fi with cyberpunk tropes.  The rules as they stand, I think, are pretty elegant, and work off of Ability Checks just like everything else that is Powered by O.R.C.S.

I think (I hope) you guys will dig it.

Anyway, now all I really need to do is whip up some sample vehicle stat blocks and do the psionic power descriptions, and she should be ready to go. 

That's not to say she's close to being done, obviously...those psionic powers are going to be a bear to get done.  Not difficult, mind you, just a lot of grunt work.  Writing spell, psionic, or other power descriptions is always a horrible bit of grind work.  And of course, after that I'll need to get some playtest groups together, obviously, and do some rewrites and edits before layout begins (and all of that is AFTER Eldritch Witchery and my S&S adventure modules are done), but yeah, it's coming along.

And all because I just kinda started typing tonight...neat.