Sartar Companion Appetizers

Submitted by Claudia on Fri, 24/09/2010 – 16:00 

It’s coming! In the last days Jeff was (and still is) very busy in finalizing Sartar Companion. Rick is doing layout like a maniac and Jeff has to quality-check every page. However – an end is in view (and I get my husband back!).

This time I concentrate the blog on the new book – it’s our main topic at home anyways! 😉 (Aside of Finn’s experiences at the Kindergarten which he attends to since Wednesday – ignoring us completely there because the other kids are so much cooler it seems…)

Now about the book:Jeff did a very huge old-school style encounter table for 42 encounters + special encounters (for sandbox gaming or for tired or hungover game masters to give them ideas if they had not enough time for preparation due to partying – OK – nowadays due to long job hours). A big thing was how to present the information behind the table means the encounters. Every encounter comes with at least one-page of background and encounter description including art.

Because of me, the layout will take a few more days because we discussed how the information would look best and I threw the practicality argument in – in my opinion something like that has to be easy to use (like a little encyclopedia). So I threw in not to make it place/page-efficient but layout each encounter page by page (which means not more than one encounter description per page). It looks very cool but I’m sure Rick cursed me for that because he had to redo several pages eating up more time and you will curse me because maybe this means adding two or three days to the release. But we all agreed – it looks now so much better (and it’s nearly done)!

I am now trying to convince Jeff and Rick to make an own little booklet out of this (of course it will stay in the companion book) but from a practical perspective it’s so much easier to use a little booklet for a quick game session using random encounters than the big book. The cool thing is that it also gives you a lot of background information about the area – means you can also use it to give players an idea of the people/creatures living in a certain area. What do you think of this? Of course – it’s the same information as in the main book but for practicality reasons….

Enough of encounters (reminds me on our last gaming session were we hit the number with the Triceratops and had to deal with it…) – I squeezed a few appetizer pages for you out of Rick! (there are still a few “XX” when referring to other pages in it and the page numbers itself can still change but it should water your mouth anyways ;)).

The first is about important people in the city of Jonstown – but especially check out the art: The lunar commanders, Diovena & Ruganath Tuskbane – isn’t that cool? I love the facial expression of Tuskbane – and his beard reminds me on the funny Prussian beards from the 19th century. The artist is Jan Pospíšil.

Diovena & Ruganath Tuskbane by Jan Pospíšil

The next is the picture from the Lhankor Mhy temple from Gill I showed you last time including some of the descriptions. Of course – if you like to know all about the temple you will need the book (no, I’m not an Issaries apprentice ;)).

This picture introduces you into the Colymar wilds:

and the Black Spear Clan.

Black Spear by Simon Bray

I love the unusual bird-perspective you have on these Black Spear thanes. And you can see the tattooed runes on their skin, the holy Black Spear of the Colymar and a raven observing the scene.This picture is made by Simon Bray.

This picture is out of the section of Runegate showing important people.

Important Personalities of Runegate by Simon Bray

As I read the descriptions, dealing with Captain Endelkarth could be interesting. It seems he tries to play people in his favor – which player party is able to play him? Maybe they will get a positive poem from Korol Serpent-Tongue – if they fail and he finds out he will have a lot of fun in the mockery! However – have a look at the picture on this page. Take your time and figure out all the little details – the cool head of the horse-queen, the swine-tattoo and the swine on the scepter of Kallvale the Sow, all the runes on Jarkandos Long Face and on Korol Serpent-Tongue. Look at the scar of Darsten Black Oak. And I nearly oversaw it – the little horse head on the brooch of Selelmal. The picture is also done by Simon Bray.

So much about book appetizers – hope you like them!

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