Other Worlds (Off topic idea)

[prophet118]

i keep being drawn back to an idea i first sent to west end games (though they themselves told me point blank they had no interest)

i would love to play, design, help create, whatever, a Western era roleplaying game, using the D6 system, i think it lends itself quite well to it, and in fact, i think the GSA mods work excellantly..

i know, WEG would be a better front to go to, but as i said, they have no real interest, they did suggest i play D6 Adventure (i have the game, but id love an era book or something)

anyone else besides me?

course, this probably is just coming from reading "The Dark Tower" series for like the 8th time.

[prophet118]

i think it'd be best as a setting book, because i dont see it as having too many "exclusively its own" ideas

id thought about modding the powers from GSA to represent purchasable abilities

its the easiest way to represent gunslingers, and other things from that style (spaghetti westerns and all)

thoughts?


i'll be able to post more after novacon, when i can sit down and think more clearly

[Jerry D. Grayson]

Who doesn’t like a Western?
The idea of a weird and fantastic west would be cool. I’ve even toyed with the idea of doing a GODSEND Agenda setting book set in the American west. Sadly I don’t think I could do the setting justice and it would come off like a hack job. :(

A gunslinger setting would be cool since it crosses so many different genres from sci-fi, western, to fantasy. Trans-dimensional jaunts, strange creatures, demons can all be incorporated to great effect using the GODSEND Agenda rules. I’ve tried to build the super rules in such a way that it doesn’t necessarily have to be used for just supers hero games. The D6 system is transparent enough to allow for the creation of the characters from the book without too much hassle.

I’d love to see what you come up with.:)

[prophet118]

yeh, id love to as well..lol

like i said, ive got to finish the stuff for novacon (its the 11th-13th, and ive still got to make star wars d6 characters AND star trek)

so 12 characters to finish, before i can put much thought into it

id probably start with the basic (obviously) making notes from d6 star wars, d6 adventure, and GSA about what things i like and didnt like..

i think it would probably be better tailored to a wounds system, although i could see both, just like in GSA where you can have grim and gritty(wounds), or heroic (hit points)

the weaponry itself (guns) would be pretty simple, as during the time period there wasnt much in the way of armories of weapons (such as the construct program in the matrix)

maybe 5-6 different rifles/shotguns, 4-5 styles of 6 shooters (revolvers) some heavier peices as well, since during that period there were things like gattling guns (very primitive by modern standards)

i think all in all this would be more about the RP aspect than the weapon, which is pretty hilarious in my mind..lol

[prophet118]

course, anything i came up with would be just amatuerish im sure..lmfao

hack job indeed, you have "street cred" in the game world, im just a gamer

[prophet118]

i had some spare time tonight, got some ideas written down, i'll email you Attis..

right now im using d6 adventure and godsend as sort of a guideline as to what changes would be nice to make, some changes i like, and some are just funky odd (which can be good!)

im also using Feng Shui and Riddle of Steel to get some ideas from..

i'll probably look into Star Wars D6 as well, and see what ideas i can steal from it...lol

the chances are pretty good that this would be nothing more than a netbook for a settings... though im working on trying to make it unique enough to be a book unto itself... id need your help for that, as an individual, i cannot contact the author id like to contact..lol

[prophet118]

ive emailed Attis the small bit of meager information i have :)

no sarcasm there, i only ended up with like 2 pages of notes..

im kind of limited, because since it wouldnt be its own unique world (its just a setting) its likely not going to contain too much info on background


course, im surprised that Attis even wants to see any of it at all, WOTC and White Wolf wouldnt (couldnt, actually, their lawyers get mad)


lets put this in writing right now, i want a wild west D6 game, if Attis goes and takes my ideas and they show up in a game, thats fine, a small sum of money, and recognition would be just fine, i wouldnt be angry, id be happy to have helped.

[Jerry D. Grayson]

Getting a hold of Stephen king is a major undertaking and to license the Dark tower series for a role-playing game would be a coup.
Unless I knew someone it would be impossible for me to get directly into contact with King. In order to contact Stephen King you have to go through his literary agent. Finding the address or email of the agent would be fairly easy and I’m sure he or she would pass the information along to King.
Once that’s done a business proposal has to be drawn up stating how the property would be used and roughly how much money could be made with it. He may feel that it isn’t worth it and say no thanks right there.

But let’s say he doesn’t

Let’s say he’s interested in licensing the property. He’s probably going to want money up front for the rights and a contract will have to drawn up detailing how many books per year will be produced and what the books will involve. No one wants their product to saturate the market and he is going to want to know that there is some kind of quality control. He will want approval of all the work done as well

Buying the right won’t be cheap. Just for giggles let’s say he wants 10k up front and 5% of the net sales (that’s a low end number). Reasonable since the property is a big deal. So before any actual work or printing is done you have to come up with 10K just for the privilege of writing a RPG adaptation of Dark Tower.

Now to even make your money back you have to make at least 10k.:eek:

Let’s say you want to do a core book and 7 supplements (one for each book of the series)

Now for the core book
Ummm….Core book should be fairly hefty. So lets say that book is roughly 200 pages black and white, and hard back. Since this is Dark Tower you go with a big print run of 5,000. A 200 page hardback would run you maybe…$4 per unit. That’s another $20k.
Since it’s a licensed core book of Dark Tower you decide to sell it for $40 a book.
You are going to need a lot of lead time to get this book done since you have to commission art and writing and after all that is done Stephen Kings people have to approve it. So for roughly a year you are out $10K plus what ever production cost you to do a Dark Tower book.

He approves the book and the book goes into distribution
Distributors get a 60% discount off the price of the book. So you must sell your $40 book to the distributors for $16.00

In order to pay for the printing and the license you have to sell at least 2000 books and to make a small profit you have to sell 3000 books. Remember, we haven’t figured out how much it cost to produce the book, just the printing and the license amount.

Oh, I forgot his 5% take of the net profit. So if you sell 3000 books at $16.00 a book you won’t make $48,000.00 instead it will be more like 45,600.00

Licenses are fun to dream about but really hard to work with unless you have a REALLY hot property and then they are going to want a lot of money. I cant imagine what the Star Wars, Trek or Lord of the Rings license goes for…and the hoops you must jump through :o

I had a buddy who drew the next Generation comic for DC back in the day. Each character likeness had to be approved before a book could go to print so there had to be a few extra months of lead time when producing the book. If he didn’t get the likeness right it was literally back to the drawing board.

I love the enthusiasm you have for the project but I would suggest doing a book that was LIKE the Dark Tower.

For instance; Cyberpunk 2020 isn’t Neuromancer but its base heavily on it. A fire of Amatsumara isn’t Firefly buts it was influenced by it.

If the book is just a labor of love that you need to express write it up and put it up on a website for everyone to see. There is no law saying you can’t pay homage to a work of art.

BUT

If you’re really punk rock about this project and want to see how far you can take it I’ll look up the Literary agent for King and try and get you in touch with him. Don’t let me discourage you…go for what you know man. Make that dream happen

Nothing feels better than creating something you’re excited about

[Jerry D. Grayson]

I’m kind of limited, because since it wouldn’t be its own unique world (its just a setting) its likely not going to contain too much info on background
Id suggest if you’re really serious about doing a Wild West D6 book to go for it and write it up. Either print it yourself or shop it around. –or- sell it as a PDF. You would have to buy a D6 license from WEG to use the system but it’s really that easy.

I’d love to print other books beyond GODSEND Agenda but I’m such a small entity that my budget is next to nil. One disastrous move and I’m done for. Most of the work that I’m focusing on deal with GODSEND Agenda in some way.



Course, I’m surprised that Attis even wants to see any of it at all, WOTC and White Wolf wouldn’t (couldn’t, actually, their lawyers get mad)
Id love to see a Wild West D6 supplement. I cant print it but I’m sure someone can and if not you can always post it on your website. Creating something isn’t just a money making venture it’s a creative form of expression…art. Do it just for that if nothing else.



lets put this in writing right now, I want a wild west D6 game, if Attis goes and takes my ideas and they show up in a game, that’s fine, a small sum of money, and recognition would be just fine, I wouldn’t be angry, id be happy to have helped.
Rest assured, if I did do a Wild West game with your work in it I would give you due recognition and satisfaction. I’m a turd but not that type of turd;)

[prophet118]

Getting a hold of Stephen king is a major undertaking and to license the Dark tower series for a role-playing game would be a coup.
Unless I knew someone it would be impossible for me to get directly into contact with King. In order to contact Stephen King you have to go through his literary agent. Finding the address or email of the agent would be fairly easy and I’m sure he or she would pass the information along to King.
Once that’s done a business proposal has to be drawn up stating how the property would be used and roughly how much money could be made with it. He may feel that it isn’t worth it and say no thanks right there.

But let’s say he doesn’t

Let’s say he’s interested in licensing the property. He’s probably going to want money up front for the rights and a contract will have to drawn up detailing how many books per year will be produced and what the books will involve. No one wants their product to saturate the market and he is going to want to know that there is some kind of quality control. He will want approval of all the work done as well

Buying the right won’t be cheap. Just for giggles let’s say he wants 10k up front and 5% of the net sales (that’s a low end number). Reasonable since the property is a big deal. So before any actual work or printing is done you have to come up with 10K just for the privilege of writing a RPG adaptation of Dark Tower.

Now to even make your money back you have to make at least 10k.:eek:

Let’s say you want to do a core book and 7 supplements (one for each book of the series)

Now for the core book
Ummm….Core book should be fairly hefty. So lets say that book is roughly 200 pages black and white, and hard back. Since this is Dark Tower you go with a big print run of 5,000. A 200 page hardback would run you maybe…$4 per unit. That’s another $20k.
Since it’s a licensed core book of Dark Tower you decide to sell it for $40 a book.
You are going to need a lot of lead time to get this book done since you have to commission art and writing and after all that is done Stephen Kings people have to approve it. So for roughly a year you are out $10K plus what ever production cost you to do a Dark Tower book.

He approves the book and the book goes into distribution
Distributors get a 60% discount off the price of the book. So you must sell your $40 book to the distributors for $16.00

In order to pay for the printing and the license you have to sell at least 2000 books and to make a small profit you have to sell 3000 books. Remember, we haven’t figured out how much it cost to produce the book, just the printing and the license amount.

Oh, I forgot his 5% take of the net profit. So if you sell 3000 books at $16.00 a book you won’t make $48,000.00 instead it will be more like 45,600.00

Licenses are fun to dream about but really hard to work with unless you have a REALLY hot property and then they are going to want a lot of money. I cant imagine what the Star Wars, Trek or Lord of the Rings license goes for…and the hoops you must jump through :o

I had a buddy who drew the next Generation comic for DC back in the day. Each character likeness had to be approved before a book could go to print so there had to be a few extra months of lead time when producing the book. If he didn’t get the likeness right it was literally back to the drawing board.

I love the enthusiasm you have for the project but I would suggest doing a book that was LIKE the Dark Tower.

For instance; Cyberpunk 2020 isn’t Neuromancer but its base heavily on it. A fire of Amatsumara isn’t Firefly buts it was influenced by it.

If the book is just a labor of love that you need to express write it up and put it up on a website for everyone to see. There is no law saying you can’t pay homage to a work of art.

BUT

If you’re really punk rock about this project and want to see how far you can take it I’ll look up the Literary agent for King and try and get you in touch with him. Don’t let me discourage you…go for what you know man. Make that dream happen

Nothing feels better than creating something you’re excited about


im used to diappointment on that front..lol

in the FAQ on his site there was a question about turning the game into a video game, he didnt say heck no, just said there were no plans at the moment. (perfect non commital answer, ugh)

im not honestly sure of what route id like to go right now, i do know for a fact that no company would likely take on something like this..lol

[prophet118]

Id suggest if you’re really serious about doing a Wild West D6 book to go for it and write it up. Either print it yourself or shop it around. –or- sell it as a PDF. You would have to buy a D6 license from WEG to use the system but it’s really that easy.

I’d love to print other books beyond GODSEND Agenda but I’m such a small entity that my budget is next to nil. One disastrous move and I’m done for. Most of the work that I’m focusing on deal with GODSEND Agenda in some way.


Id love to see a Wild West D6 supplement. I cant print it but I’m sure someone can and if not you can always post it on your website. Creating something isn’t just a money making venture it’s a creative form of expression…art. Do it just for that if nothing else.


Rest assured, if I did do a Wild West game with your work in it I would give you due recognition and satisfaction. I’m a turd but not that type of turd;)


i can understand that, right now i cant give it my full attention, due to novacon (and school, and the baby..lol), it'll probably end as a pipe dream, same as my write up i had for a home spun campaign setting for D&D... all the d20 people ive talked to said "we arent looking for another setting, especially not an unknown"

which is fine.