“Bring your ideas, talent and work to us at their best!”
That statement has haunted me for a bit. I reread the mechanics section, bonding, and campaign section of Honorbound. It’s a good game. Like, possibly a great game. Players are weaving dynamic stories that relate to the current adventure. The All-4-One climax roll feels epic. The conflict skill matrix is slick, combining story narrative and easy to use rules. And here I was tossing…and turning.
It had been months since I handed off the text to be edited and laid out when I got a chance to look at it again. Not everything was done yet, but it was well on its way. I hated it. Not because it didn’t work but, because I’ve had four additional months of playtesting and obsessively thinking about Honorbound. It was driving me mad not being able to make any updates.
After Will’s most recent kickstarter update, superbacker Marek Benes dropped an encouraging comment:
After taking stock of everyone’s deadlines, I saw my window. If we want to make sure we get all the sketches we originally contracted, we have to wait an additional month and a half. I was set to terminate early to get to a publish date. I tossed; I turned.
I don’t speak for everyone, but I personally prefer a delay to get the best version of your vision as I can over meeting some projected completion date.
Bring your ideas, talent and work to us at their best!
After some conversations with layout mastermind HTTPaladin and various artists I pulled the trigger. I booked emergency playtest sessions, swatted aside contest applications, and mournfully put away frisbee disks as I watch the rest of the season slip through my fingers once again. To say my hair is on fire is understatement. More like Kīlauea as mechanics, editing, and writing erupt from my fingertips.
The pressure has reached a fevered pitch as I reset new due dates for each project. I get antsy when I’m not directly working it. I love it.
We have already stress tested a different way to resolve conflicts using Low Stakes/High Stakes and a new way bonds work. Low/High system works wonderfully for Legends of the Khurst Riders. It does NOT for Honorbound. But now I know. I can cross that off my ‘worry index’. However, the new bonding mechanics are soooo much better. I fall asleep as soon as my head hits the pillow.
This is to say ‘Thank You’ for your belief in us as a team.
If you want to see all the new updates in action come play them yourself! I am going to Gamehole Con for the first time this year and I have just a couple more slots open for players in both Goblyn Market and Honorbound.