What are we doing?

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Finally finished up a chunk of Machinations (the Nova Praxis GM's guide) that had been nagging me. 

  • Ghosts in Shadow, the (~32 page) intro scenario that we be in the back of the book, is in playtesting.
  • The rules for Sequences are in playtesting.
  • The first draft of the expanded coverage the Houses is complete. 
  • A number of concepts for additional antagonists have been submitted.
  • An overview of how the Houses and Coalition operate together and separate has been done.
  • The four campaign arcs have been outlined.
  • Plus some other stuff.

We've still got more to do, but progress is being made. It's not progressing nearly as fast as I'd like, but a number of personal complications have blah blah blah... Nobody wants to hear excuses.

We've also got two more huge projects in the works. One is a conversion of Nova Praxis to another popular game system. I can't say much more right now, but it's going to be awesome. I won't be handling the conversion myself. Instead, the bulk of the work is getting passed off to an expert with the system. Honestly, I can't wait. But don't worry, we're not ditching FATE by any means. Supplements going forward will be released for both systems, either as a single book with two sets of stats, or as two separate books. Not sure yet.

The other project, which looks like it's going to be huge, is actually something that can supplement just about any game system. More on that as we get samples in and go through testing. After we're satisfied with the quality, we'll be firing up a Kickstarter.

We're looking at a Q1 2014 release for all of this stuff.

Bundle of Holding - Indie Edition

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Void Star Studios is proud to be a part of the latest Bundle of Holding.

From now through Dec 3rd, you can get a ton of great games for dirt cheap. And you help out some worthy charities in the process!

The Bundle currently contains...

Apocalypse World: The fantastically innovative post-apocalypse RPG by Dogs in the Vineyard designer D. Vincent Baker.

Sagas of the Icelanders: The hot -- rather, the arctic cold -- new Apocalypse Engine spinoff by Gregor Vuga.

Perfect, Unrevised: Dystopian steampunk criminal radicalism by Monsterhearts designer Joe Mcdaldno.

And by paying more than the current average price [$18.73 at the time this was posted], you also get all these bonus titles:

Dungeon World: The complete 450-page Apocalypse Engine fantasy game that is transforming the field.

Adventures on Dungeon Planet: Takes Dungeon World into science fantasy.

Durance: Fiasco designer Jason Morningstar's game of survival and status on a brutal prison planet.

Nova Praxis (Augmented .PDF): The fascinating Fate-system transhuman SFRPG, offered in a state-of-the-art .PDF version that shows everyone how it should be done.

Ghosts in Darkness Released to Playtesters

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Ghosts in Darkness, the intro scenario from Machinations, has finally gone out to playtesters!

And to celebrate, I give you The Chickenhawk! This comes with an announcement that Ryan Wolfe of 0hr Art and Technology (http://0-hr.com/) will be lending his talents to Machinations and future Nova Praxis products.

Those familiar with Ryan's Future Armada line might recognize The Chickenhawk as an Exeter class vessel. I highly recommend checking this, and his other great designs, out on his website.

Chickenhawk Deck.jpg
Chickenhawk Render.jpg

Progress Behind the Curtain

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Finally got the first draft of Ghosts in Darkness complete. It's the introductory scenario that will be in Machinations, the Nova Praxis GM guide.

It took longer than I'd hoped because I've been running a playtest as I've been writing it, and scheduling conflicts have made getting play time in rather difficult of late.

I've got a few little tweaks to make, and a few NPCs to stat up, and then it will be ready to release to playtesters.

I've also been in the process of pulling a lot of other strings together for future projects. I can't talk much about those yet, but expect to hear at least two big announcements by the end of the year. 

 

Nova Praxis Print Sale

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For a limited time, you can get Nova Praxis in print at a reduced price! 

Nova Praxis [Hardcover]
$29.99 $44.99

This is the hardcover printed copy of Nova Praxis.

272 pages + Poster Map

Available now!

Learn more about Nova Praxis here. 

International Shipping: Why is it so expensive? See here.

Nova Praxis PDF and Website Store Updated

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Just a quick note. I have drastically reduced the file size for the version of the print version of the Nova Praxis PDF. You can get the update by re-downloading it from DrivethruRPG or wherever you got it.

We have also just added several new products to our web store. I believe you'll get a better discount ordering from us directly than anywhere else. 

And more are coming! 

Check it out, and if you see any problems, be sure to let us know. 

Void Star at GenCon

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First of all, Indie Press Revolution (IPR) will be selling Nova Praxis at their booth there. So if you want a print copy, and haven't gotten one yet, there you go.

Second... Looking over my schedule, it looks we're going to arrive at the con on Thursday around 3:00 or so. 

As of right now, I'm going to be free from 10:00-11:00AM, and then any time after 3:00PM, Friday and Saturday. I'm free most of the day Sunday, but we'll be leaving sometime around 3:00.

During the free time, I'm going to be looking for people to hang out and/or game with. It's just myself and my wife going. It's our first time at GenCon, and I'm not overbooked on events. So don't be shy! My main reason for going is to socialize with you guys, game, get feedback, talk future products, etc.

I'm going to create a Google+ circle for people who want to meet up and talk Nova Praxis, FATE, D&D, movies, sci-fi, the singularity, or whatever other chunks of assorted geekery you want to talk about.

And if a game breaks out, then that's great too.

Nova Praxis has gone Platinum!

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Almost exactly four months after its release, the Nova Praxis Augmented PDF has become a Platinum Best Seller on DrivethruRPG!

Thank you all very much!

I cannot express how cool it is to finally see Nova Praxis out there in the hands of the fans. And more,Nova Praxis Augmented PDF seems to have triggered a trend in the industry. Since its release, I've seen many more publishers adding additional functionality to their PDFs (many of them even calling them "Augmented PDFs" :D ).

And now all the orders for the print version have been shipped, and you can get the PDF of the print version on a "Pay What You Want" basis here. And don't forget that this version grants permission to share the PDF with friends and family. So please do!

If you want it in print, you can either order it from this site or ask your local game store to order it from Indie Press Revolution.

What's next?

GenCon is coming up and I hope to see you guys there. While Void Star Studios will not have it's own booth, Nova Praxis will be sold at GenCon by our distributor Indie Press Revolution. And I'll be there ready and willing to talk to sign books, hang out, and answer questions about Nova Praxis, Strands of Fate, or whatever else you want to talk about.

After that, we become laser focused on getting Machinations out the door. Formerly called "The GM Companion", Machinations will cover a lot of the stuff we just didn't have room for in the core book. It'll delve deeper into the Houses, introduce some new factions, provide an introductory scenario (Ghosts in Darkness), sample plot arcs, more advice on running Shadow War centered campaigns, advice for running different types of campaigns that diverge from the mission-based structure suggested in the core book, and more. We've already been putting some time in on it, and I'm super happy with how it's shaping up.

Many thanks to everyone who has supported us! 

 

Nova Praxis Now Available at IPR

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I am pleased to announce that Nova Praxis is now available, to both individuals and retailers, through Indie Press Revolution.

If you are a retailer who would like to carry Nova Praxis, please contact IPR at support@indiepressrevolution.com

If you are not a retailer, please take a moment to tell your local gamestore owner about Nova Praxis and direct them to IPR. They can also carry Strands of Fate and Strands of Power, but since they are only available via print on demand, they should contact us directly at info@voidstarstudios.com to discuss the details.

IPR will also be handling our convention sales. So if you want a copy of Nova Praxis at GenCon, be sure to stop by their booth! 

Nova Praxis Shipping Update

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We've been busy folks. The Kickstarters are going out first and are almost done. All of the domestic signed copies are out the door. The international ones go out tomorrow.

Those that Kickstarted, but got copies that weren't signed, start going out today. 

If our luck holds, all Kickstarter orders should be fulfilled by Wednesday. And all current website orders should be filled by Friday.

If you haven't got one yet, and you want one, you can order from our website here. Or you can ask your friendly local game shop to order some from Indie Press Revolution (IPR)!

 

Pay What You Want for Nova Praxis

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PrintCover.JPG

The PDF of the print version is now on sale on DrivethruRPG. And best of all, we're releasing it as a "pay what you want" title. And if you're like most people, that means "free!". 

This PDF is a raw PDF, and is in fact a slightly modified version of the PDF sent to the printer. It doesn't have any bookmarks, links, etc. But hey, it's free. :) If you want all that stuff, you need to check out the Augmented PDF.

The second bit of news is that the Augmented PDF has been updated. So make sure you go download the latest version. There is very little in the way of errata or content changes, but I fixed a few issues with the functionality of the PDF, made it a little faster, and improved the look and interface a bit.

 

Kickstarter Shipments

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Surveys to collect shipping addresses have gone out. Make sure you fill them out ASAP!

If you don't see it in your email, make sure you check your spam. If you still don't see it, make sure you backed a tier that offers a copy of the book in print. If you didn't get the survey, and you checked your spam, and you know you backed at a level that gets you a copy of the book, email customerservice@voidstarstudios.com

And just to be clear, the last question is asking for the number of additional books you ordered. So if you didn't add any extra funds to cover any extra copies of the book, just enter "0".

Thanks! We're hoping to be shipping by the end of next week, and Kickstarters who get their surveys filled out by Tuesday are first in line.

Thank you all!

Mike