The Black Desert RPG: 2012 Update

The Black Desert RPG: 2012 Update

      Now that we've talked a little about what's coming up in the next couple three months, let's take a look at what the rest of the year has to offer. One of the advantages of breaking down the Core Book into smaller supplements is that it provides a steady stream of smaller milestones that will keep the pipeline full of Hard Science-y goodness all the live long year. Between that and all of the ideas I've been picking up from my new Christmas and birthday books, such as The Case for Mars, Failure is Not an Option, and Rocketmen, I am prepared for the new year in a way I haven't been in the previous one. So good news, RocketFans, as far as 2012 is concerned, we here at Blue Max Studios have plenty to work on!

The Black Desert RPG: 2012 Update Schedule

January: Ships of the Black Desert: The Destiny Foundation CASSTOR Launch Vehicle

February: The Pumpkin-Suit's Manual: Easy Rules for Hard Science Fiction

March: Ships of the Black Desert: The Alan B. Shepard-class Escort IPV

April: The Black Desert: Weapons and Gear

June: Ships of the Black Desert: Consensus Manufacturing Commune Laredo Base Module

July: The Black Desert: Spacecraft and Space Combat (note: The P-SM and IPV supplements will cover most of the rules for regular space travel, so this will cover space combat and updates on the ships already released.)

August: Ships of the Black Desert: EASA Hoplite-Orbital Cutter

September: The Black Desert: Basics and Skills for BD6

October: Ships of the Black Desert: TBA

November: The Black Desert: Conflicts and Combat

December: Ships of the Black Desert: TBA

January: The Black Desert: Hazards and Threats

       Unless something major comes up, this schedule means that the complete Core Rule Book can be ready for publication around March of 2013. I will of course include new artwork and additional material not found in the smaller supplements. It may seem unnecessary to publish a complete version of the RPG, given that I'm putting out so many supplements this year, but there is a good reason for this. The small supplements provide rules for Classic D6 and D20; The complete rule book will only feature the BD6 rule set.

Play-Testing, or How to Get All this Stuff for Free!

       I'm depending on all of you, dear RocketFans, to use the small supplements, with their open game rules, to help me play-test the BD6 variations and see if they make as much sense in practice as they do on paper. For this service, I will offer a boon: Not only will each RocketFan that emails me a report on the BD6 rules in a certain supplement get play-test credit in the final compilation, They will receive a free copy of the next Core Rule supplement as my personal thank you.

       Enterprising RocketFans may wonder; if they get a free copy of the next supplement and do a play-test review on that one, will they get a free copy of the next one? The answer is yes, yes it does. If you keep submitting play-test reports, I will keep giving you free copies of the Core Rule supplements. This means that you can get the entire collection for the cost of only one supplement, as long as you keep giving me valuable input on the BD6 rules being included.

Play-Test Deal Details

       This deal starts with The Black Desert: Species and continues through he whole program, to next January. In order to qualify, I need you to email me at bluemaxstudios@yahoo.com and include you name (for play-test credit) The name of the supplement you are critiquing, and a concise report of any problems you had with the BD6 rules during play. Your comments must be based on real play – I value you impressions and opinions, as always, but if you want the free swag, I need to see some hard evidence. Any fiends in you gaming group that contribute can receive play-testing credit, but only one free coupon per email will be issued. If you give me more than one critique on a single supplement, I'm happy to provide another free coupon for the next Core Rule supplement, but not for the one after that, sorry.

       As always, any comments, questions or ideas submitted to the blog will be published and answered, but these do not qualify for the free supplement deal. Posts made by me that are copied from your emails only eligible for the one coupon, but by being posted, all of us can debate the points brought up in play-testing and hash out a solution.

       I don't know about all of you, but I'm excited! See you later, RocketFans!