Happy 2013! ...a day late but there is a good reason...

I now feel safe in that the Mayans were wrong, or was it the people misinterpreting their calendar were wrong? At any rate I will be moving forward with the maps and I hope to get to the actual adventure (done/working) this spring/summer/fall. In the mean time I will keep chipping away at.


Mansen Lin sent me a new image....last week and I will post it as soon as I figure out the best spot for it. I will strive to get that up this week end.

RPG World map

Here is my first release for the coming rpg module for the Red Ash World Engine. This will be a free module you can download directly from Red Ash. I plan on following the first module with at least two more free modules to complete one story arc.

When I am closer to having it complete I will be looking for some help in the form of editing and illustration.

For now take a look at the lay of the land. On the map you will note many areas that are not labeled, this is on purpose as this is a wild and untamed land.  BTW the big map is BIG so be aware if you have a slow connection it will take some time.

All the best!
Chris J

A "new?" look at turn based action....

I had an odd idea on turn based action and wanted to see what others may think of it. In case you do not know what turn based action is, let me explain.

Turn based action is where all active members of the game have a set turn when they can an action like an attack. Anyone that has played a table top game will be familiar with this. From D&D to Monopoly all players have a “turn”, it's a simple game mechanic. The problem with it is, is that this is when a game can slow down for the other players. This is specially true when you have a player that is not paying attention.

So my odd idea is a simple change of the turn based action from being a “take your turn now” to “your action is due now”. So in something like the Red Ash World Engine (or any role playing game) instead of having a turn for the player to figure out what to do and to go on, they need to be ready to perform their action. If they are not ready then they get skipped until their next turn. While other players or NPCs are taking their turn a player can figure out what their next action will be and ideally speed up the combat. In play I think this would make for a more intense combat.

So has anyone tried this? If so what was your experience with it? And what do I call it...?

All the best,

Chris J

The Dog Days of Summer....

....became the dog days of early autumn. This is just a quick note to let everyone know I am still working on Red Ash. I just took a bit of time off to play some games and decompress from the same old; work, eat, sleep cycle.

Now I will need to get back to hammering my keyboard and try to finish this first Red Ash RPG Module.


Till then...All the Best!
Chris J.

Why people don't venture into swamps

Besides the obvious humidity and heat, plus the bug, snakes and reptiles, you have to hope to not cross paths with a Lacerian Assassins lurking in the shadows. While Lacerians are not widely known for being aggressive they have learned, over the years, that many view them as monsters. So stop in and take a rare glimpse of the Lacerian Assassin illustrated by Mansen Lin.

Orcs! Eco-Terrorist or Eco-Warrior...you decide!

The correct answer is neither. They live to fight and fight to live. For the Orc there is no better embrace of life than when you face death and accept the brutality of life. This mindset is displayed by a new image from artist Mansen Lin and his new image of the Orc Warrior doing what Orcs do best...burning down villages. I'm sure this entire scene was just a misunderstanding about land ownership claims.

Anyways check out the new image of the Orc here and see the bigger image here.

Mansen's Orc also marks a slight change in the Red Ash Website to support multiple images in the species section.

Artist Mansen Lin is Back!

And he has been kind enough to bring a lovely gift for Red Ash that shows his hard work and dedication to his artist craft. Mansen Lin emailed a really cool image of a Centaur Warrior. Posed in dramatic fashion in what looks like the end of a charge where he has scored first blood! So stop in and take a look at the new Centaur image or checkout the big image in Mansen's Red Ash Gallery.


Once you are done, head over to his website and have a look at some of commercial work. http://www.mansenlin.com/



Combat Sim....on hold for now.

I put the combat sim on hold for now as I have taken a short break to recharge my batteries. My code just was not up to the level I wanted it to be and so it needs to be redesigned.

In the mean time I have been beginning to outline a module and a setting for Red Ash. Its very early but I will try to keep every one informed when I am further along.

I also have been thinking about a finally writing a few pdf guides targeting different users, namely; world builders, game masters and of course players. The module will be first though so I can use that to collect feedback on the system and how its received by gamers. Something that has been suggested to me on a few occasions.