Sunday 28 January 2018

January 2018 Update

First update of the new year.

The biggest thing is progress with the Kickstarter fulfillment, something thats taken a shift forwards and is probably of interest to a few people. There is a couple of other things that tie into the Kickstarter which some details about will be posted. Lastly there will be some stuff concerning what Utherwald Press has planned for this year.

Kickstarter

As mentioned above, the Kickstarter has seen a shift forwards with the signing of a few artists. Some preliminary sketches have been received in addition to one or two finished pieces. One of the pieces being worked on is located below and is of a female Genchi. If the artists maintain their current rate of work, then Frozen Skies may be out earlier than expected.


Act 1 of the Kickstarter exclusive adventure 'Remnants of the Past' is almost done, just need to finish off the Act in question and had NPC stats, etc. The first draft of this should hopefully be made available to backers within the next few weeks.

Alyeskan Tales Fiction Companion

Alyeskan Tales is getting a revamp and update.

Included in the new edition is a revised version of the Alyeskan Job story and a completely new story called Jinx. Kickstarter backers will be the first to get their hands on the PDF version before the files on DriveThru get updated.

Other Products & Events

Hoping to get a Cold War Skirmishes PDF out around April time that covers the 1982 Falklands War. Included will be details on the conflict, timeline of events, gear and Role Play suggestions. Its intended to be a PDF-only product and so will likely be available as Pay What You Want.

The Odd Angry Shot book, that covers the ANZACs in Vietnam, is still intended to be released. More details on this possibly later in the year.

As for events this year its not certain whether I'll be attending any.

Local show Diceni is back on this after, though its format is being changed and I've been given no guarantees that I'll get a spot. NOR-CON later in the year another local show I'm hoping to do, though that'll be only as a trader.

On the national level there is UK Games Expo, but at the moment it seems the only way I'll be able to attend is spend the entire weekend running games (well enough to qualify for the free hotel room). There is also suppose to be a UK based Savage Worlds convention, but I need to look into that.

A pipe dream at the moment is attending one of the US conventions, probably GhengisCon which I've heard has a big Savage Worlds presence.

Sunday 21 January 2018

The Airman's Gazetteer: Back of Beyond

Now that the 'core' nations of Darmonica have been covered we come to the last entry in the Airman's Gazetteer series; The more distant but relatively unknown reaches of Darmonica.

The major powers of Darmonica are aware that distant lands lie well beyond their borders, though the details are sketchy at best. Some lands have been discovered and explored a little, others are only known thanks to travelers from foreign parts. There is also the prospect of remnant enclaves of Ancient Terrans waiting to be found.


The Back of Beyond

As already mentioned, there is the vast wasteland known as the Southern Wastes that forms the southern border of the Sultanate of Taramate. It is an inhospitable land, where few dare tread, and widely believed to contain numerous Ancient Terran ruins. It is not known how far these wastes reach, but its suspected to be many thousands of miles. The Darmonican powers did establish a number of naval waystations along the coast, though most of these were either destroyed or abandoned during the Great Darmonican War. These waystations remain, but none of the Darmonican powers have expressed any desire to reclaim them. Presently only the Commonwealth is best suited to re-explore the coastline by mounting an expedition from its colony of Orduesh.

To the south of Alyeska lies another continent that is currently known as Colonialis, another vast land that hasn't been fully explored. Most of its coastline has been mapped thanks to various efforts made by the Darmonican powers. The interior has seen few attempts at exploration, early expeditions were hampered by inland cliffs and the inhospitable terrain. The settlements that do exist are located along the coast, but attempts have been made to push further inland after aircraft came available. The interior of Colonialis is dominated by vast deserts and deep jungles inhabited by savage and outlandish creatures. After early disasters, the interior settlements have been established on top of peaks and plateaus. These settlements have been nicknamed 'aerie towns' and being located above the ground has proven to be the best defence against the creatures that inhabit Colonialis.

Finally there is the lands that lie to the east of the vaulting mountain range called Serlov's Bulwark. Not much is known about these lands, save for the few strangers that have come from the eastern lands. Surviving historical records of the former Holy Sodkan Empire report clashes with invaders that forced their way across the Bulwark, though they were beaten back before they made it too far into Sodkan lands. Between the prisoners captured from these incursions and the previously mentioned strangers it is known that a vast kingdom lies beyond the mountains, but these eastern folk have refused to reveal more than that. Without a proper name, many in the Darmonican nations have dubbed this unknown kingdom the 'Forbidden Empire'.

Each year many from the east brave Serlov's Bulwark and settle in the 'western lands', though after the rise of the Iron Collective many of these strangers now take a more southerly route to reach the Union of Sodkan Republics. They've spread out across the various nations of Darmonica, though the great majority of them reside in Sodkan lands. It is believed that Madame Orla's mother was "of the east".

Sunday 14 January 2018

The Airman's Gazetteer: Pamdinia

Nestled to the south of the Artian Confederation is one of Darmonica's few surviving small countries; Pamdinia.

Wedged in between the Mammut Sea to its south and the Odin Mountain Range to the north, Pamdinia is a long but narrow country with few natural resources. It managed to stay neutral during the Great Darmonican War, primarily due to its status as a major trading partner of the Sultanate of Taramate and the strong Pamdinian Navy.


The Pamdinian Republic

Pamdinia is very much a maritime country, its has a long coastline and its land borders are mostly mountainous which forced the country to look to the sea. It established trading routes across the Mammut Sea to many ports and gradually became the nexus point of trade between the northern Darmonican countries and the Sultanate to the south. The construction of the Trans-Pamdinian Railway provided an alternative land route between the Kingdom of Tyland and the Holy Sodkan Empire than going through Artian territory. The Trans-Pamdinian Express was a popular train service linking east and west thanks to Pamdinian neutrality in numerous conflicts that engulfed Darmonica.

The Pamdinians are well known for their extensive maritime trading routes, their long standing neutrality and their strong navy. Though recent upheavals have effected them; trade was greatly affected by the war and the reshaping of power in Darmonica. The once friendly United Provinces (now the Coalition) have turned into fierce rivals, Tyland has fallen under Artian influence, trade with Sodkan lands to the east have fallen sharply and now the Artians are coveting relations with the Sultanate. With reduced access to raw materials such as coal and iron, the Pamdinian Navy is in danger of losing its superiority. The Pamdinians have started retrofitting their ships to use oil, a resource that they do have good access to and one that is increasingly becoming more important.

Wary of the prospect of another major war that could engulf Darmonica and even drag Pamdinina into it, the Pamdinians have been pushing for what they call 'The Darmonican League'. It is intended to be an intergovernmental organisation with the goal of preventing future wars and setting international disputes via peaceful means. The idea has support from the Free State and some Sodkan Republics, though its biggest support will come from the Commonwealth which has openly welcomed the idea but has yet to former any firm commitment to it. Potentially the League could usher in an era of lasting peace for Darmonica, though its a case of getting the idea off the ground.

Sunday 7 January 2018

The Airman's Gazetteer: Sultanate of Taramate

Lying across the Mammut Sea south of the 'core' nations of Darmonica is the ancient kingdom known as the Sultanate of Taramate. It is said to be older than the Kingdom of Tyland, though much about the Sultanate is veiled in secrecy. Outsiders are generally restricted to a handful of ports on the Mammut Sea coast, though permission had grudgingly been given for a small number of expeditions to the interior over the years. Recently relations have been struck with the Artian Confederation and a small but growing Artian military presence has been established.


Sultanate of Taramate

Due to the restrictions on dealing with outsiders not a great deal is known about the Sultanate. There is presumably a ruler, though their gender and name has yet to be revealed to non-Taramates. Its military was believed to have been made up of an elite 'Royal Guards' unit and a number of regional militia forces, though this is in the process of being completely reorganised by the Artians. Though even the Artians admit their dealings with the Sultnate governing body has been via court scribes who refer to their ruler as 'Their Serenity'.

What is known is that, aside from the coastal strip, the Sultanate is a vast desert country that stretches to a loose border region known as the 'Southern Wastes'. It is unknown what lies this far south, though it is believed that there are a number of Ancient Terran ruins including what many presume to have been a fairly important city. It is not known whether the Taramates have tried venturing south. There are a handful of Ancient Terran ruins within the Sultanate itself, these have been the sought after goals of a number of expeditions over the years. It seems the Artians may have gained greater access to these ruins.

The Taramate people themselves are mainly clustered in the coastal strip area where there is water and relatively fertile ground for growing crops. The rest reside in scattered desert villages or are nomads that roam the width and breath of the Sultanate. A fair number reside in the Commonwealth colony of Orduesh, wedged between the Sultante and Union of Sodkan Republics, though these are as tight-lipped as their neighbouring cousins. The Pamdinians have had the greatest contact with the Taramates, they regularly trade with one another across the Mammut Sea but the Pamdinians only know little more than everyone else. It appears that the Taramates worship some sort of deity, though as with everything else in their country they have refused to share any info with outsiders. Indeed, many outsiders have reported being barred from entering Taramate temples and even being subjected to a curfew on occasions.

Though normally restricted to the ports on the coast, a few outsiders have managed to sneak into the desert land to the south. They have confirmed the presence of a few Ancient Terran ruins, as well as some newer ruins that may be from the early days of the Sultanate's existence. It is not known how or why these ruins came to be and Taramates seem to steer well clear of them, citing that 'some darkness' now lays claim to them. The few outsiders who have made it this far also report being dogged by the Nobetciler (roughly translates as the Sentinels), the supposed elite bodyguard of the Sultanate's mysterious ruler. The Nobetciler reportedly pursued persons who have visited the desert beyond the Sultanate and warned them not to return, though the Nobetciler are said to be responsible for the outsiders who turn up dead.