Working on a publication: Kaidan

[Alfar]

I started posting that cover design on several other forums - Paizo, Goodman Games, and EnWorld, with initial promo on Kaidan RPG in existing threads of mine on those sites, or new ones in the Announcement boards.

Right away I got interest and responses, but also right away, they asked for link to a website so they can get more details. Whoops, I didn't have one ready yet, so I rushed on getting this up. There's some "hidden" information under About Us dropdown menu - setting, that gives more details than the obvious pages.

Check it out and tell me what you think?

Kaidan RPG site

I still plan to add more pages, more details, perhaps its own forum and what not.

GP

Dude... have I mentioned to you that you need a CMS? Maybe use a blog-system, would make the news section so much easier to handle

Neato site, just maybe the red in the menus is a bit too... light? I think a darker tone like the one you use for the page titles would be nice.

Also, something to end the tatami pattern at the bottom of the page.

Oh, and the transparency on the menu bar is a bit wonky - use png with alpha transparency instead of gif with 1-bit transparency. And the menu bar end gif is stretched which causes pixelation.

Content-wise, great!

[Steel General]

@GP - For throwing it together in a hurry I think the site turned out quite good. It would be kinda cool if the menu bar were an actual katana or some other appropriate weapon, but that's just something that popped into my head.

[Gamerprinter]

Thanks, SG, yes I plan to make improvements as more time is available. The Katana navigation bar is an excellent idea. That navigation bar needs some work as Alfar mentioned.

GP

[Gamerprinter]

Because of the lack of my personal time to do any actual writing beyond creating the plotlines, complete outlines and story-boarding which I've provided the primary author of the first adventure, Andy Champagne - who is also the collaborative publisher in the project. I was worried that I wouldn't be able to put out adventure modules fast enough, with the goal being one per month.

I just picked up (or soon to pick up) another published author who asked to be "conscripted into my Asian Horror army!", while I don't have his name right in front of me at the moment, I'll edit this post and put it in here. He's a marketing consultant in Australia, and writer/setting designer with his brother, with a Chinese wife with her own fascination with Chinese ghost stories. So the work might get some Chinese mythology influence, at least insomuch as being close to the Japanese emphasis, which I'll tweak if necessary.

Edit: Andrew Chirgwin, is the name of the new writer and he is officially on the Kaidan Creation Team, as of now.

Anyway, this means I should be able to achieve my one module per month schedule.

I'm also talking with another writer, also from Australia very interested as well, so this might even be more efficient. Just measuring costs at the moment.

More good things happening!

GP

[Gamerprinter]

OK, the cover art for the main Kaidan RPG Handbook (rules and setting splat) is just finished, this is before place title labeling and legalese info.

I wanted to emulate both the D&D 4e Players Handbook and Pathfinder RPG Handbook cover designs in that both feature a male and female adventurer in the foreground, with a menacing dragon about to attack in the middle ground and something in the background.

Being this is for Kaidan, or a Japanese setting, I used an oriental dragon instead, but same concept.

The artist is Simon Turnbull, a UK artist currently teaching in China.

What do you think?

GP

[Steel General]

Fan-freakin'-tastic!

[zhar2]

Fan-freakin'-tastic! :d

Dito, its jusat AMAZING.

[RPMiller]

That is some good stuff right there! Although, when I see the "female" I don't think female because of the armor and such. The long hair isn't enough to evoke the idea that it is a female. I'll just take your word for it.

Although I suppose the bald one could be the female just as well.

[Ascension]

Ya don't see many nordic muscle dudes wielding magic to slay oriental dragons so kudos for originality there Oh wait. maybe he's bald, nm Wish I could draw water and perspective like that. Nice stuff.

[Gamerprinter]

Strange, I find myself making "whooshing" noises staring at that rough surf hitting the rocky shore. And, no Ascension, he may be "blonde skinned" but definitely not "blonde haired" - yeah, he's bald.

Also seem to notice that both the cover design of The Gift and this cover illustration both emphasize an upward perspective, interesting, in that neither artist saw the other's work, yet both came upon the same idea, hmmm.

I'm definitely going to have to put pen to paper myself, and save me some money with my own illustrations, instead of relying on these masters. Very inspirational anyway.

And for RPMiller, who can't recognize that samurai as a woman for sure, shouldn't have a problem with a Mark Hyzer illustration of a Seduction Ghost... (note: no nipples, I said "not too risque" in requesting this one, the missing legs should help imply the "ghostness" of this piece.)

Edit: though Mark H. names this as Yuki-onna, that's not correct.

GP