January 2022: Signing Off

 New Year, All Change.

Regular readers should hopefully be aware of a pretty major change in personal circumstances for me that is looming soon (the pic below is a good clue), though I have some pretty big news regarding that. Hand-in-hand with this is news of what's happening with Frozen Skies for 2022. So, should be something of interest for folk with this post.

For Crown And Country

So the pretty big change in personal circumstances that I've mentioned in previous posts and alluded to above is me joining the Royal Air Force. I had been given a spot on the Basic Recruit Training Course (BRTC) at RAF Halton in March.

This has now changed.

Couple of weeks ago I was offered a spot on the BRTC starting at the end of January 2022, effectively three months earlier than the previous date I'd been given, and naturally I took the offer since I had nothing planned for the next few months and no real obligations in my current employment. Whilst I now have considerably less time to prepare before I ship out, it will prove beneficial in the long run which brings me onto my next topic; Frozen Skies.

Given that there is going to be a period of at least ten weeks where I am going to be otherwise pre-occupied, thus going to have very little time to devote to anything gaming related, I realise that I am not going to be able to get anything done regarding Frozen Skies. 

However.

I have taken steps to enlist some help with getting some elements of Frozen Skies sorted whilst I'm otherwise engaged, it is my hope that once I've graduated from basic training I'll be in a position where I'll be able to think about getting new artwork sorted along with the other things that need to be to publish a RPG product. At present I'm expecting to have something pretty solid done in six months time, though admittedly circumstances can and do change. But it is my hope that the SWADE version of Frozen Skies will be out in 2022 round summer/autumn time.

This is going to be my last post for quite some time, I'll be switching my Patreon over to a 'charge per post' model before the end of January but will do a Patrons only before I do so. Other than that, the last thing left for me to do here is wish everyone a Happy New Year and all the best for 2022!

Fly safe!

Stephen 'Stormwell' Hughes

June 2021: State of the Press

 Good grief, almost halfway through the year.

We're now heading into summer (or winter for those readers residing in the southern hemisphere) as signalled by it not raining for more than five minutes here in the UK, so it seems like a good enough excuse for an update on things. It'll be a short post, covering Frozen Skies and some personal stuff that still effect things.

Frozen Skies

One of the big changes with Frozen Skies is that I've managed to enlist some outside help, mainly to provide an extra set of eyes and opinions to counteract how much of Frozen Skies has been developed in relative isolation. For me this is great as I finally get some sort after feedback prior to going to print, thus hopefully leading to a much improved product when that happens. Obviously, that's a boon for everyone concerned.

The biggest change has been to make the Weird Science Arcane Background a NPC only thing, Weird Science was the only Arcane Background in the setting and it was hard justifying it. So now for player characters, Weird Science is effectively just the gizmos and devices side of things rather than powers. Weird Science would still remain a valid skill to operate said devices, though to acquire them a character would have to seek out a NPC mad scientist.

Another change is the inclusion of some alternative rules for air combat, which are just that; an alternative. The hex grid based more tactical rules are being kept, though GMs and their players are gaining more options to use. Whilst not being a be all and end all, it is hoped that this will provide greater choice for people wanting to play Frozen Skies.

Gonna try and get the revised SWADE update document, 'Frozen Skies Black Ice', done by the end of the month so that people can see the actual changes and thus provide feedback on them. As for the final product, I still can provide no ETA on that.

Personal Stuff

A potential boon/spanner in the works (depending on POV) that I've mentioned previously is that I'm currently in the process of joining the Royal Air Force. Needless to say, joining the British military can be and is a drawn-out process with the various steps being spread out over a period of a few months. As you can imagine, a global pandemic has slowed things down as well.

I'm currently at the Medical stage, though I did my actual medical back in April I failed on eyesight and need to re-do this section after acquiring a pair of glasses. Once this is done I have one more stage to get through, the Pre-Joining Fitness Test, before I finally receive a start date for recruit training. Presently I'm waiting on the medical to be re-booked, frustrating as the delay is it does mean more time to work on fitness and I'm currently estimating that it will be October time when I go off to recruit training.

As I said previously, hope to have something more substantial out for the SWADE version of Frozen Skies by the time that happens.

State of the Press October 2020

 Tis been a while since I've posted an update on what's happening with Utherwald Press, especially with the year that 2020 has turned out to be. There is some Frozen Skies news that goes hand-in-hand with some personal, behind the scenes development that'll be of interest to folk. 

The Year That Was

So this year has been dominated by Covid-19, something that looks set to affect our lives going forwards. Here in the UK we endured a national lockdown for close to five months and may soon face a second lockdown as we head into winter. For me, I still had work to go to as my main job was considered an essential service and only in the past few days has my second job started back up (busy busy man).

So how has it effected Utherwald?

Covid has effected things in a couple of ways. First, work has been suspended for the time being on my Keep The Home Fires Burning setting as it's set during the height of the Spanish Flu it seemed to be in bad taste to post about it given the current global situation. It is a setting that I'd like to resume work on, though perhaps down the line a fair bit.

The second effect has been conventions being cancelled, meaning less chances to promote Frozen Skies and make some sales. Online sales via DriveThruRPG have been ticking over, though Utherwald is really more of a hobby compared to my main employment. Ironically, no conventions has meant no real expenses.

In short, I've managed to get by comfortably.

But I'm still trapped in the same problem of lacking the funds to get Frozen Skies updated and released for SWADE, so work has been plodding along with regards to Frozen Skies. With things still being uncertain, I'm not sure how viable crowdfunding is right now.

Covid has put the spanner in some personal plans, meaning some things for me are currently on hold. Partially because of this I am currently working on trying to join the real life RAF, something that will mean Utherwald being put on the backburner for a bit but at the same time I'll be in a better position when I come back to it. 

Course this will probably mean 2022 before Frozen Skies gets properly released under SWADE, though least hopefully I'll be able to cover the cost of getting it done. 

 In the meantime? 

I'm mulling the idea of perhaps releasing a draft version of the SWADE Frozen Skies, it'll give something for people to work with and hopefully get some feedback before finalising the end product. We'll have to see how that works out.

2020 Spring PWYW Sale

All Utherwald Press products are now Pay What You Want (though you'll still need to cover printing and postage for print products) through to 1st May.

Happy gaming folks!

https://www.drivethrurpg.com/browse/pub/3975/Utherwald

State of the Press: February 2020

So here we are, now getting into February as the year marches onwards to spring. This also means a new post from Utherwald Press as part of the monthly schedule it's now operating on. This month I have a couple of things to talk about, so stay tuned.

Like this new monthly format? Got suggestions? Please comment!

Frozen Skies

I'm still hopeful that Frozen Skies will get updated and released for SWADE later this year, though progress on that front have admittedly been slow due to reasons highlighted in my last post.

That said, recently managed to get some playtesting in.

Granted it was almost last minute as there was a tiny turnout for my regular gaming group, but useful all the same. It was a chance to try out aerial combat with a hex grid, something that seemed to help alot with the position of planes and the players seemed to like it. It worked, though there is still room for improvement.

*For ranges I went with dividing them by 50 to determine the number of hexes, though this seems too short and so I'm considering changing this. At present I'm trying to decide whether the ranges should be divided by 25 or 30, leaning towards the latter as it would fit in better with ranges in Savage Worlds.

*Manoeuvrers is something that needs to be expanded upon and tidied up a little, also ties in with movement. What I have is functional, but could be better.

*I'm seriously considering dropping the Evasion stat for aircraft, penalties in Savage Worlds (recoil, movement, range, etc) already make aircraft difficult enough to hit as it is.

Positioning and facing are going to be pretty important with this version, so this is going to be an area that will need some focus. Still a step in the right direction and it seems to work, which is good enough for me.

CON-tingency 2020

This was a local convention that I attended for the first time, though only as a trader and I 'commuted' from home for each of the four days I attended.

It was a very friendly convention with a strong focus on games, probably amongst the smallest and slowest 'trade hall' I've experienced at a convention. Other than food and fuel for the car, it was straight up profit and so I can't complain. Do plan to attend next year, bit better organised and perhaps get some gaming in including running some Frozen Skies.

Some positives is that I've now invested in a card reader to help boost sales and I may be able to get Frozen Skies picked up by Leisure Games here in the UK.

http://www.con-tingency.uk/

Going Forward

Really just a general checklist for whats planned/wish to achieve this year.

*More playtesting.

*Finish updating Frozen Skies.

*Attend Diceni in Norwich in May.

https://www.facebook.com/Diceni-Tabletop-Games-Cosplay-Show-Norwich-117570275059298/

State of the Press 2020

Its the beginning of a new year, and decade, so time to reveal how things currently stand with Utherwald Press. There are some changes ahead, though I'm going to have to be a little personal here in order to give context and explain my decisions behind the changes. Though I will also be setting out my goals for what I want to achieve this year, something which I am hopeful I will achieve.

Less Is More

OK, lets start with the change.

From this point forward I'll be reducing my post rate on the blog down to once a month.

Part of this stems from a burnout and part of it stems from more personal reasons, both kinda overlap with one another. I feel that the writing of my blog posts have suffered over the past few months, some of this has been down to bit of a burnout as I've increasingly struggled to think of stuff to write and accordingly my posts have suffered.

There have also been changes to my personal circumstances in the past few months, less than ideal changes. Others already know alot of the details, though I'm only going to briefly summarize here; Recently gained the tenancy of where I live from a relative, this has brought a sudden increase in my monthly outgoings and has resulted in having to claim state benefits to help cover the rent and bills (with all the 'joy' that entails).

Never been flushed with cash, even working a 36+ hours a week retail job, and so my available funds for Utherwald related projects have effectively dwindled to nothing. So this is a less than ideal situation I find myself in, thankfully I do have a plan to improve things; I've currently started doing a bookkeeping course in an attempt to change careers and get a job with better hours and pay. If I can do this it'll mean more time and thus funds to put towards getting my various RPG stuff done.

So the burnout couple with needing to get this course done has resulted in me deciding to cut down on the blog posts. This would give me plenty of time to work on the course and hopefully get it down quicker, additionally it may help me improve the quality of my posts as I'll have more time to think them over and work on them.

Hopefully that gives people a clear idea of what is currently happening and why I've decided to make changes.

Goals

Right at the start of the blog post I mentioned there are some goals planned for this year, I have a couple.

My main goal is to finish getting Frozen Skies updated for SWADE and thus a new version released, lack of funds here means this one is going to be delayed and I'm in two minds in trying to crowd fund what I need. That said, things are set up ready for when I've finished the updates and rewrites in addition to having the cash needed to get it done....just very dependent on that last bit.

My second, more modest, goal is getting the blog updated and rethinking my approach to both Social Media and Patreon.

So thank you all for your support and I wish everyone good fortunes in the year/decade ahead!

Update May 2019

So...its been a wee while since an update on things was posted.

The big thing most people are going to be interested in is what is currently happening with Frozen Skies, chiefly the update to SWADE. Also covered will be plans for the future, new products and potential events. There will also be a small announcement, so hang around for that.

Frozen Skies

Have already confirmed that Frozen Skies will be receiving an update to SWADE and it has been something that's been worked on. Can't currently give an ETA, but provisionally it'll be some point over the summer. Presently the Bestiary is the current section being worked, pretty much the various NPCs that need restating (Savaged.us has been a huge help here). Then it'll be the Adventures section, updating what is currently there and attempting to include an extra adventure or two.

You can check out the current version of the update *HERE*.

After the SWADE update is done I intend to start work on the next Frozen Skies book; Skies of Crimson.

This book will have a strong focus on sky pirates and a detailed look at the pirate haven of Broken Spires in addition to all the usual goodies. Certainly a few pirate gangs will feature along with stuff relating to aero-vessels.

Other Products

Other items in the pipeline include mini-settings of the various Setting Ideas that I've posted about previously and more content for Cold War Skirmishes (beyond Operation Thule). First proper entry for CWS is likely to be the ANZACs in Vietnam, allowing content to be used with Tour of Darkness.

Events

Recently did Diceni in Norwich, though personally I am not likely to be attending any more events this year. You may be able to find copies of Frozen Skies at other shows, possibly ones that have a presence from Indie Press Revolution.

Have a wishlist of shows that I'd like to do next year, but its too early to say anything at this stage.

Announcement

Frozen Skies has been submitted for this year's ENnie Awards, not sure how well it'll do be we'll see when nominations are announced in July.

Update Feb 2019

Well, its been a while since an update was posted.

Now we've settled into a new year its probably an idea to make a post about whats planned for Utherwald in 2019. The big news is probably going to be Frozen Skies and SWADE related, but some other stuff will be covered.

Frozen Skies

Its already been mentioned that Frozen Skies will be updated to the Adventure Edition of Savage Worlds.

Have been working on an update document, which covers the changes needed for Frozen Skies to conform with SWADE. The last real job left to do is update the Bestiary and NPCs found in the book as well as going over the air combat rules to see whether any improvements can be made.

A Jumpstart for SWADE is ready to go, just waiting for it to go out to the SWADE Kickstarter backers before it gets put on general release. It features some new content and an adventure that I hope captures the feel of Frozen Skies.

Then it'll be a case of updating the book and releasing a SWADE version, though the Savage Worlds Deluxe version will remain on sale. It is my intention to have separate listings for the different versions.

After all that, the next release planned for Frozen Skies is called Skies of Crimson. This book will focus on the sky pirates of the setting; showcasing a few gangs, feature a more detailed look at Broken Spires and more air combat related content.

Other Projects

Some of you may recall a series of posts about various Setting Ideas, basically ideas for settings other than Frozen Skies. The various ideas are as follows;

Cold War Skirmishes - Covering lesser well-known conflicts of the Cold War period.

Darkwatch - Heroes fight to restore order in a city recently liberated from dark forces.

Forsaken Space - Scavenging for relics in the alien ruins of a dead galaxy.

Gwentshire Chronicles - Confronting the supernatural horrors of an English county throughout the ages.

Keep The Home Fires Burning - Supernatural horror amidst a plague ravaged post-WW1 London.

It is hoped that each of these will see the light of day as Jumpstarts, then followed by full books for each setting.

Also looking to update a previously made fan adventure to SWADE and release it through the Savage Worlds Adventurer's Guild, stay tuned for further updates on this.

Misc

One of the other things I'm hoping to do this year is update the blog/site and reorganise stuff.

Challenge Accepted

Recently Utherwald Press reached over a 100 likes on Facebook.

To celebrate this achievement I offered to either an adventure, location, item or NPC based upon a one or two word prompt. I was expecting some interesting responses and I wasn't disappointed, though they were surprising all the same. So...

Organic Spacecraft

An interesting one, though not all that surprising given who posted it (you know who you are!).

Spacecraft automatically means we're looking at the SciFi Companion for this one. Decided to build it like a normal spaceship to begin with, though picking stuff that would make sense. Then to better reflect its organic nature, added in some special rules.

Drokzi Hive Ship

Gargantuan Starship: Size 24, Acc/TS 25/20, Climb -2, Toughness 67(25), Crew 3000
Notes: Artificial Intelligence, Armour x6, Electromagnetic Shielding, Garage/Hanger x6, Sensor Suite (Planetary), Torpedo Tubes x8, Targeting System
Weapons: Heavy Torpedo x112
Special Abilities
*Living Ship: Instead of a Repair roll to fix or 'heal' wounds, the ship uses the Healing skill to do so. It is assumed to have d6 for the purpose of this roll.
*Sentient Vehicle: See SciFi Companion p.92
*Regeneration: The ship can make a natural Healing roll once per day.

Cargo Cults

This was the other response, a particularly curious one. I have to admit that this one cause a bit of head scratching until I hit upon the idea of a religious order devoted to the safe transportation of goods.

The Conveyors of the Way, or simply the Conveyors, is an organisation that traces its origins back to the wars that once ravaged the lands that now form the Artian Confederation. The many wars waged between Tyland and the Holy Sodkan Empire saw trade disrupted within the Artian states and many towns and villages left upon the brink of starvation. Many concerned church leaders branded together and got tact approval from the commanders of the warring armies to run convoys through to the affected villages, though it still left the problem of bandits and highwaymen. A call went out to the faithful who processed skill at arms and they were taken on as effectively caravan guards, though they proved themselves more than capable fending off ruffians and seeing that the convoys got through.

The Conveyors have evolved a bit since then, attracting former soldiers and specializing in safeguarding certain goods. Though whilst there are certain factions they won't work and certain goods that they won't escort, the Conveyors do only ask for a modest fee. Once they've been charged with escorting a cargo, a Conveyor will guard it with religious devotion until it reaches its destination. There have been many stories of Conveyors giving their very lives to ensure the safety of the cargo that they were charged with protecting.

Conveyor

Attributes: Agility d8, Smarts d6, Spirit d6, Strength d6, Vigor d6
Skills: Fighting d8, Intimidation d6, Notice d8, Repair d6, Shooting d6, Taunt d6
Charisma: -2; Pace: 6; Parry: 7; Toughness: 8 (3)
Hindrances: Code of Honor, Loyal, Vow (Minor)
Edges: Alertness, Block, Combat Reflexes, Counterattack, Dodge, First Strike, Quick, Quick Draw, Steady Hands, Two-Fisted
Gear: Revolver (12/24/48, 2d6, RoF 1, Revolver), sword (Str+d6), plate corselet