The countdown has started
There is a special reason for this update: I have finished (almost) all the manuals and am now waiting for the proof of print. If the proof is positive, I will finally be able to publish the first edition of VI·VIII·X KUP RPG!
I would like to give you a preview of what this edition will look like... I started to do this in the last update, but now I want to be complete and accurate.
The finished manuals are:
the core rules, the main manual; the page number has shrinked from 220 of the playtest edition to 125 (with over 20 pages of appendices!)... I have not removed anything, in fact I have even added a section about the magic items creation! I simply removed some of the verbiage (and revised the layout!). In addition to the regular version, there will also be a limited edition: as I wrote before, after the first 50 books are sold, I will stop selling this version... it will be nice to have a book of the special edition for each of the 50 years of RPGs!
The PC notebook, which has not changed much, it is perhaps the manual with the fewest changes of all... I have added a few more ref tables and nothing else!
The GM log, which I had originally called notebook; here I did some revisions and improved the content, especially in the ref table section.
Feræ, has been revised and corrected in the animal stats and animal building rules... I originally planned to make a single animal and monster manual, but in the end I decided to keep Feræ and Fœditates separate!
The Quickstart 'In a nutshell' is new and is the first manual with an Italian part (the handouts).
Now re to the commercial offer of the manuals: with the first edition, I have decided not to give away anything for free on DrivethruRPG! The printed manuals will have the usual low mark-up (e.g. 1 Euro for hardcover versions), while the pdf manuals will be 1 Euro and no longer PWYW priced (PC Notebook will be 0.50 Euro). This is to prevent people from downloading just because the title is for free: better one reader than 1000 downloaders who don't read!
However, in order to meet everyone's demands, I have decided to publish the online version of the core rules here on Substack: the manual will be available in web page format for free to anyone who cannot afford to buy it from DrivethruRPG.
Attentive readers will have noticed that one title is missing from the playtest: the Personæ manual is not yet finished - it is the title with the most revisions next to the core rules. This is because I want to achieve the goal I described in the last 'How to run a KUP game': NPCs are one of the pillars of the KUP model, and for this reason I need a manual that is not just a list, but a guide to creation of NPCs with depth. I am aware that it is not good to release the first incomplete set, but this volume needs more care and time. I am confident that I can create a good product!
I take the opportunity to follow up on what I just wrote: one more post and I have finished the 'How to run a KUP game' series! This series will be part of the expanded rules... but I'm not done yet: since posting helps me a lot to keep my ideas in order, I've decided that I'll use this method to set the setting as well: I will start a new series, which I will call 'Where to run a KUP game' (or something similar), and it will serve to bring order to the many ideas I have about the setting.
Of course, the rest of the plan remains the same: the expanded rules, the setting, the cosmogony and the monster handbook still need to be completed... to all this I must add that adventures will also be published: I have started writing three so far and have several more planned... although everyone has told me to start with these, I have done the opposite and put the adventures as my last priority! If I'm going to fail, I have to make the best of it!