April 22, 2013
Stop me if you heard this, an astrobraqueur, raumräuber, and astroräuber walk into a bank . . .
After only two weeks of existing, What is a Roleplaying Game? has already been translated into French, German and German! And from what I hear, there’s a Portuguese version on its merry way.
And while we’re on the topic, there seems to be something of a Hungarian translation or explanation of “The City of Fire & Coin” out there. Or at least that’s what I’ve been able to suss out using Google Translate.
Every day there are less and less excuses for you not to get your game on with that great aunt of yours!
April 9, 2013
Interstellar Delivery
Good news for non-Americans looking to get a hold of Vast & Starlit!
The entire Vast & Starlit library is light enough that I can ship it anywhere in the world for a little over a dollar. So forget the search for International Reply Coupons. Here’s the new plan:
If you want Vast & Starlit shipped anywhere outside of the United States of America, you can simply send a self-addressed envelope and one extra dollar instead of the postage.
* The whole library is less than an ounce and fits in a regular-sized envelope.
April 8, 2013
What is a Roleplaying Game? is a tiny, but complete roleplaying game designed for the uninitiated. It’s a quick game meant to give people an honest taste of the hobby minus the giant, intimidating rulebooks.
And it is free for you to use and distribute.*
Here it is in an illustrated PDF format that, when printed, should fit in your pocket, making it a game you can carry anywhere. Whip it out at a family reunion when your great aunt wants to know what those silly games you’re still playing are all about. Take it to a job interview so you can show your future employer what that “Other Interests” section of your resume is dominated with. If folded properly, it’ll even fit under the tongue, in case of capture or incarceration. Personally, I’m going to have it printed on the inside of a folded business card so I can hand it out to folks I meet who wonder what the hell it is I do.
* The Creative Common license on it says that you must attribute me when you do so and you are not allowed to sell the game, but let me tell you how you can ignore even these two little restrictions.
You cannot sell the game as is. Even if you completely redo the layout, graphic design and illustrations, you may not sell the game. You may distribute it for free, but you cannot make money off of it.
However, you may include the game as part of a larger work that you have for sale, including, but not limited to: anthologies, magazines, zines, CD-ROMs accompanying game books sold in DVD cases, in the introduction of your own roleplaying game, that sort of thing. In all these cases, you still must attribute the game to me, but you can make money off the larger work.
If you make a non-superficial change to the text—such as changing the initial situation to a bunch of friends stuck in traffic and one of them is about to give birth or change it so people are called out for doing Sneaky and Lazy things—including non-superficial changes to the answers to the question “what is a role-playing game”—such as saying it’s a game that requires dice or a GM—then you must change the attribution and may therefore distribute the game however you please, including selling it, since it is now something of your own creation.
Superficial changes, like calling the characters astrothieves instead of astrorobbers or having someone called out for doing something Difficult instead of Hard, do not qualify for this clause. You’re allowed to reword the game in this way to make it fit whatever format you choose to distribute it in. If you have a question about whether such a rewording qualifies as a non-superficial change, feel free to send me your text and I’ll let you know.
Now here’s the most important part. If you disagree with me about any of my answers to the question posed in the title, or if you have any sort of quibble with the game design itself, you must express this by making non-superficial changes to the game and text until it satisfies your concerns and then distribute that new game under your name. All other forms of criticism will, at best, be ignored.
March 27, 2013
Wondering what sort of drawings people are sending in to get a hold of Vast & Starlit and it’s supplements?
Wonder no longer. The Vast & Starlit Tumblr is here. Creatures, spaceships, landscapes, technologies and other oddities from all over the universe delivered directly to your computer/phone/space screen! What a wonderful future we live in!
March 21, 2013
I will be at PAX East this weekend. Which means Vast & Starlit will be there as well. If you’re looking for me or the game, you will find us at the Indie Bazaar booth which historically has been with the tabletop retailers just outside the Exhibit Hall in the Tabletop Room. You’ll definitely be able to get the game at the booth, whether I’m there or not. And there will be plenty of other fine products there looking for your remaining dollars.
If you want to guarantee meeting me, I’m also a panelist! And you’ll be able to find me at these panels: Sex and (Non)violence and An Inside Look at Indie RPGs, both of which are on Sunday, Sunday, Sunday.
March 13, 2013
A nano-game of interstellar crime & rebellion by Epidiah Ravachol
Vast & Starlit: The core rulebook. A universe of adventure that fits in your pocket. Just under 445 words long, and jam packed with all you need to play:
Bodies in the Dark: The sex and warfare supplement. Romance among the stars! Orbital bombardments of the moon! The longest book in the library, clocking in at just over 460 words long in two full-color pages, this tome includes:
Stellar Atlas: A full-color map of the entire galaxy rendered in loving detail over a gorgeous two-page spread. Also included:
Renegade’s Technical Manual: This is the one for all you savvyheads out there. Gear, gear, gear. Almost 450 words of technical know-how, this full-color manual includes:
Awesome! How do I buy this?
Well, we can do this the easy way or the hard way.
The Easy Way
You find me, at a convention or meet-up or in a coffee shop (I’m rather partial to the Brass Buckle in Greenfield, MA) and you hand me one lousy American dollar and I had you the book of your choice. We can continue handing dollars and books back and forth until you’ve had your fill or one of us runs out of dollars or books.
The Hard Way
If you don’t want to meet me face-to-face, that’s fine. I totally understand. I wouldn’t if I were you. I can still get the game to you. Here are the hoops I’m going to make you jump through:
Mail me one dollar, or whatever currently exchanges for a dollar in your country’s currency; along with a self-addressed, stamped* envelope; and a drawing for each book you wish to purchase. You may use the same self-addressed, stamped envelope for up to four books, but you need spend one dollar and one drawing per book.
The subject of your drawing will depend on which book you’re getting.
You don’t have to do the drawings yourself, though I wish you would. However, you must have the rights to grant me the non-exclusive rights to use the drawings to promote Vast & Starlit and use them in future Vast & Starlit related materials. Because that’s what you’re going to be doing.
Warning: I am not responsible for the condition the game reaches you in if we do this the hard way. I’m sure the post office will be as gentle as possible, but I can’t guarantee anything.
Fine, let’s do this the hard way. What’s your address?
Epidiah Ravachol
21 Forest Ave
1st Floor
Greenfield, MA 01301
USA
* International orders can ignore the stamped requirement and just send an additional dollar. More details here.
