As of today, Engine Publishing is now an imprint of Encoded Designs. You should head over to Engine Publishing and read Martin’s statement. Then come back here. Ten years ago, Martin Ralya gave me my first book writing gig as a contributor to Eureka. A few years later, he decided to take a chance on me writing my first solo book, a book all about prep, called Never Unprepared. Over the years, I wrote on every...
I don’t normally put the full court press on people when the ENnies voting comes around. Normally, my annual advice is “Please go vote, and if you vote for something I worked on, great.” This year I am going to be more direct. Please vote for Focal Point in the Best RPG Related Product Category. Here’s why… Focal Point is the final book in an accidental trilogy of books that became the Complete Game Master’s Series. It started...
Hello and happy Spring to you all, or for those on the East Coast, second winter. Despite the cold, snow, and overcast skies, there is much to be happy about here at the Encoded offices. We had our second anniversary in February. This quarter was a busy one for us, with some unplanned work coming up that we will talk about below. That unplanned work knocked some of our Q1 and Q2 plans aside, and...
Encoded Designs (designers of Part-Time Gods of Fate, Life and Moon, and Dangerous Space Jail) have teamed up with artist Matt Morrow to create the Character Cache, a collection of characters designed to be used in tabletop RPG gaming. This effort is being supported via a Patreon community. We have recently updated the campaign and are once again looking for supporters. In the new version of the Character Cache, we have expanded the community input, allowing...
Another three months have passed, and 2015 has drawn to a close. We are getting close to our 2nd anniversary, next month. This quarter has been a busy one for the Encoded team, as the past several have been. With the transformation from writers and designers to publishers, our planning for 2016 looks to make it a big year for us. Before we look forward, let’s look back at Q4. Publications Character Cache The Character Cache is going well. We have cleared...
Wow…three months goes by quickly. It’s time again to look at how Encoded is doing, what we are up to, and things that are coming in the near future. In terms of the team we have not grown, nor are we planning any future growth at this time. With the current team, we have all the skills we need to design, write, and create books and other publications. When I started Encoded, I never thought that...
Welcome, students. Up to today, we have covered three major periods of the history of Elhal. They are not equal in number of years, but rather are grouped out of significance. The first time period was Before the Empire, when Elhal went from an unorganized group of humans into Kingdoms, and ending with the formation of the Empire. The second period was the Imperial Age, where the Empire ruled over Elhal. It was in retrospect a...
September 15, 2015 - Encoded Designs is teaming up with artist Matt Morrow to create the Character Cache, the blending of character art and game material for GMs and players. As a GM you will be able to use the Character Cache as a collection of NPCs. The content includes different ways the character can be used in your campaign. If you are a player, the content supplies an illustration of the character, and provides questions to...
Before we conclude our discussions on the Reign of the Demon King, having already covered it's effects on the kingdoms and organizations, I thought I would take a lecture to discuss with you my own personal experiences during this period of time. So as we conclude this section of lecture, if you do not mind a more personal and less objective historical recount, I will tell you about some of my experiences during this period in recent history. My...
We continue our discussion about the Reign of the Demon King. In our last lecture, we talked about the fate of the Kingdoms, during this thirty year period. This week, we look at some of the major organizations in Elhal, and how they fared under the rule of the Demon King. The Organizations In all the Demon King, and by extension, the Demons were mostly hostile to any organized group of humans. As a student of humanity,...
Greetings once again, students. Today’s lecture covers the thirty-year span in Elhal’s history where the Demon King ruled over Elhal. There is no darker time for humans than this period of time. All that was built in the thousand years of the Empire would erode under the dark presence of the Demon King. Left unchecked, it is possible that humanity and all of Elhal would have perished. Today, we will cover what happened to each...
Welcome back, students. I hope you enjoyed your time off as much as I did mine. In our last lecture we discussed the state of Elhal in 1024, after the Demons solidified their hold on Arelean. In that lecture we talked about King Therion's plan to rebel against the Demons. Today, we will look more into Therion's plan, and his foresight. The Quiet Before the Storm For six years, from 1024 to 1030, Kotkala prepared for a war...
We are now a few weeks into Quarter 3 of 2015, and I wanted to updated everyone on what Encoded has been doing and how things are going. While we are still building our team and our products, this past Quarter marks our first major project going out the door. The most exciting news we have this Quarter is the addition of a new member to the Encoded Team, Tim Jones. Tim is a graphic artist...
In today’s lecture we return to the discussion of our history, and we look at the early reign of the Demon King. We will start by looking at how each of the human kingdoms dealt with the Demon Kingdom, and then how one human kingdom was moved to action. This was a trying time where the fate of humanity was uncertain. The Early Reign By 1024, after the crushing defeat at Nendar Moor, the military might of the...
Today, we talk about one of the more controversial factions who were present during the Reign of the Demon King: the Brotherhood of Steel. To some they were a band of vigilantes, exacting a harsh justice in the lands outside of the control of the Demons. To others, they were a noble line of soldiers who refused to lay down their arms and give in to the Demon King. As with all contrasting views, the truth...
Welcome back, students. We have recently completed our review of the castes of Demons. Before that, we discussed Elhal’s ancient history, the rise of the Empire, and its Fall to the Demons. Before we get into the next major era, The Reign and Fall of the Demon King, I want to spend the next few lectures discussing the major groups and institutions which will play a pivotal role during the Reign of the Demon King...
The Fiendish are the half-demon corruption of different living creatures. Created for different purposes, they all have common traits and represent a hybrid between the un-living Demons and the natural forms of life on Elhal. Fiendish creatures are not necessarily evil, but they are not natural either. As we conclude our discussions on the tiers of Demons, I thought it would be worthwhile to discuss the half-demons, as they form their own tier; not quite a Demon and...
The last caste of Demons are the Demon Princes. These creatures are the apex of Demons, possessing the physical and martial capabilities of the Demon Knight, with the intellect and arcane abilities of the Demon Lord. Yet none of that makes them the most terrifying caste of Demons. It is their ability to reproduce that is far more insidious. Creation A Demon Prince is created in a special ritual, different than the previous three castes of Demons:...
We now have reached the Demon Lord, the last of the forged Demons. This final forged caste sacrifices martial prowess for intellect and arcane ability. They are the juxtaposition of great abilities and limitations, which we will explore during this lecture. Despite these challenges, the Demon Lord plays a vital role in Demon society. Let us start as we have in the past by returning to the Demon Forge, and discuss the Demon Lord's creation… Creation As with the...
Now that we are a few weeks into Quarter 2 of 2015, I wanted to go over what Encoded has been doing, and how things are going. Overall, things have been busy and focused for the team. We are still in the building phase, with most of our projects still in development, some approaching publication. I have a certain anxiety of wanting to get things published to prove that we are doing things, but we...