In time for the Fourth of July holiday, the ebook/PDF edition of Colonial Gothic Revised is now available for sale. Newly revised and expanded, this edition of Colonial Gothic builds upon what has come before and also presents new options and guidelines for running a supernatural historical horror roleplaying game set during the dawn of the American Revolution. Also included in the book are three new original short stories penned by Jennifer Brozek.
So sit back, and celebrate the Fourth of July by learning about the secret history of Colonial America. You can purchase the eBook edition from one of the following establishments:
- Buy it from Indie Press Revolution (IPR)
- Buy it from Drivethrurpg.com
- Buy it from RPGNow.com
- Buy it from Yourgames.now
- Buy the Kindle edition
As for the print version of the game, it is making its way to the warehouses of IPR and Studio 2 Publishing. As soon as they get them, they will be out in stores.
I knew it was our largest book, but now I have pictures to prove it. (Yes, I am a dork.)
So here is the first edition of Colonial Gothic, next to the brand new edition.
First thing you should notice is that the covers have changed, and that we have made sure it matches the first two supplements.
Now, here is the side by side comparison:
So what does this tell you?
No, not that I am digging my new iPhone. Page count is a lot more, and compared to the first version, it is a true expansion.
Just to drive the point home, here is another comparison:
At the time, Thousand Suns was our largest book. Now when you look at them side by side you see:
As you can see, Colonial Gothic Revised is still a little thicker than Thousand Suns.
The point of all of this? Colonial Gothic Revised is large.
So here we are, Week 8 of the 13 week discussion of Colonial Gothic Revised. This week, the week of June 29, 2009, a holiday happens. That holiday? The Fourth of July.
Though I tried like hell to get the books out on this date, the eBook/PDF will be available at RPGNow.com, Drivethrurpg.com, and Yourgamesnow.com on July 3. In addition, the Kindle edition will be available that day as well. Physical copies are on their way to Indie Press Revolution and Studio 2, and this means that books will be shipped throughout the month. It is hard trying to keep all the various balls in the air, but the game is due out in July and will be out in July. With that out of the way, let’s turn the discussion to this week’s chapter, Chapter 8.
Chapter 8 is another chapter dealing with background, and the background found here deals with the colonies as well as the Native American tribes. This chapter is big. It gives you a very good survey of both topics. Like the whole book, this chapter is written with both the GM and player in mind. The topics found here aid the player in building the background of their Heroes. This chapter is also important for the GM in that a lot of needed world background is presented that aids in the creation of adventures and ongoing campaigns.
The first half of this chapter covers the Thirteen Colonies, and as was done in the original version; they are organized in three groups: New England, Middle Colonies and Southern Colonies. The information found here follows what has come before, namely background, major settlements and adventure seeds. Those who have pre-ordered the Rulebook, and have read the PDF version, have mentioned in their emails that the major settlements have some surprises. The most often asked question about this is a simple one: “Is this on purpose?” Yes. There are a lot of subtle touches like this found in the game, and the reason for this is simple – to ignore him would do a disservice to his creations.
Ok, I realize this is vague and obtuse, so let me clear this up. There are subtle touches and mentions to some of Lovecraft’s creations. This is done purposely, and for me, to not mention them, or even acknowledge them, would do a disservice to the game. Lovecraft lived and breathed New England, and his writings mention the period a lot. I decided to acknowledge this, and that is why you see mentioned some of Lovecraft’s most famous New England settlements. Does this mean Colonial Gothic is a Mythos game? No. It means I am honoring the past.
Due to space, as well as focus of the Rulebook, only the 13 Colonies are mentioned. This is not done to short change New France, or the holdings of Spain, it was done to save space, as well as keep the rulebook clearly focused on the 13 Colonies. Those looking for a little more coverage of other areas are advised to check out Colonial Gothic: Secrets. In addition there are projects in the works which will deal with the other areas of North America.
With that out of the way the second half of the chapter deals with the Native American tribes found in the game. Just like the original version of the game, the same tribes are available for play out of the book. This was done not to slight the other tribes, but to keep things manageable. There are many tribes, great or small, which had an impact on the period. To keep things manageable, as well as to give room for the tribes, I limited the list. As many know I want to do a sourcebook covering the Native Born in depth. The Rulebook is not a place for this.
In all, Chapter 8 is a packed chapter. Everything found here is geared to making the period as accessible as possible. I also did not include any rules in this chapter, or the previous chapter. The reason for this was simple: I did not need to. The game has enough rules already, and when assembling the chapters and thinking what I wanted to provide, I really wanted the background chapters to be as filled as they could be. Rules tend to take up too much space, and since the game is really rules light in many ways, I want to keep the focus on background at the forefront.
I am very happy with how Chapter 8 and Chapter 7 turned out. There is a lot found here, and a lot that both players and GMs can use and run with.
Next week I talk about Chapter 9 which is titled Game Master Advice.
Two posts this week about Colonial Gothic Revised. Earlier this week I talked about the short stories written by Jennifer Brozek that are found in the book. Today I want to talk about the next chapter, Chapter 7.
Chapter 7 begins a major section of the game: background material. Though background — be it historical and setting — is found throughout earlier chapters, starting with Chapter 7, background takes center stage. So what does this chapter cover? Well the title explains it all: “Player’s Guide to the Colonies.”
One of the things I wanted to do with Colonial Gothic Revised was address a lot of criticisms I received about the first edition. That criticism was that there was not a lot in the first book talking about the world of the colonists. Little things people wanted to see was discussions about religions, education and the like. For me, I wrongly assumed that gamers and GMs new as much as I did about the period. I also assumed that those who wanted to know about the period would do research. I assumed wrongly on this, and for that reason when I decided to tackle Colonial Gothic Revised, the first thing I wanted to do was make the period as accessible as I could. Chapter 7 is an example of how I did this. The goal with Chapter 7 was to give all the information a player and GM would need about the period. This is not indepth, and if you want to know more about the period reading a few of the books found in the Bibliography are good places to start. Still this chapters answers questions like:
- What was the education like?
- Can my hero go to a library?
- What were the main religions?
- How do you get from Point A to Point B?
I answer these questions, as well as others, and give you enough to use to create your hero, or as a GM, to throw in details. One of the larger sections in this chapter is the one dealing with Religion. I included this because it is an important topic and and important detail about the period.
Also found here is a long discussion about magic and alchemy. Unlike the sections found in the earlier parts of the chapter, this is where Colonial Gothic’s background comes in. It is with the magic discussion that you start to see what I mean about the secret history of the game. There is a lot of historical truth in the section, but there are also touches to things that happened in the background.
And to answer the question I know many of you have. The 13 Colonies and Natives are covered in the next chapter, Chapter 8. There is a logic to the layout. 
In all Chapter 7 is a tight chapter filled with the bits and pieces that aid both the player and GM in running and playing the game. I really like this chapter, and I hope others do as well.
At exactly 5:00 PM CST today the doorbell at the Rogue Games Compound was heard. When the elite crack security ninja team returned they informed me that a Messenger in Brown had delivered a package. Said package, once inspected, was the proof of Colonial Gothic: Rulebook aka Colonial Gothic Revised.
So how does it look? Awesome.
Said book is thicker than the first version, hell it is thicker that Thousand Suns, and looks so much better. Ariana, upon seeing the proof, had one word to say: “Wow.”
Book will be printed sometime this week and then it wings it ways to the warehouses.
Robot Viking has the first review of Colonial Gothic Revised. You can read it here. I am a happy person right now.
There will be two posts this week about the changes in Colonial Gothic. This week I plan on writing about Chapter 7 which begins the massive amount of background found in the game. What I want to talk about today is one of the bigger changes to the game — fiction.
Fiction is something I typically do not like in my rulebooks. The reason is that I think fiction clutters a game and blurs the line between what a gamebook should be. For me, a gamebook should be about the game. It should contain all the rules and items you need, and fiction should be saved for books.
Still in thinking about Colonial Gothic’s revision, I realized that the game missed the boat in trying to get across the style and feeling of the game. Fiction, when done correctly, is perfect for doing this. So making the decision that I wanted fiction, it almost did not happen. Why? No writer. Now, one can rightly ask, why didn’t I write it. The answer is simple, I am not a fiction writer. I do not have the skills. I write game material, and that is far different than fiction writing. So thinking about the fiction, I could not find a writer who could do what I wanted.
So it was at GenCon 2008 that I was at the booth taking a break — I was by myself and there was a lull in the hall — that I met Jennifer Brozek. Colonial Gothic’s cover and title caught her eye, and the next thing I know we’re having a great conversation about the game and the like. At the end of our chat, she said she be in touch, and that was it. Few days later I get an email and she says she was interested in doing some work and pitched the idea of writing some fiction. I had found my writer, and the rest is history.
Working with Jennifer has been great, because she gets what Colonial Gothic is about. Using history as the springboard, and the effort to keep it as “real” as possible. So, Jennifer wrote three short stories: Curious Words, Safehouse and Where Loyalties Lie. All three stories help show off what the world of Colonial Gothic is like. Of the three my favorite is Curious Words. Why? I am a sucker for stories like this, and Jennifer did an awesome job of pulling me in.
As for what else Jennifer has planed. Well she is already working on a PDF supplement for later this year, and we are talking about a few other projects. I can safely say as long as she wants to work with us, she always has a place at Rogue Games.
Morning.
Looking for something to make your day? Wondering if the next Thousand Suns book is worth the wait? Want to see what you will be able to purchase in August at GenCon? Well, I would check this out:
More to come.
