The skills for Mythos are done. The convoluted path I took to arrive at this system weaves through a forest of influences, silly notions, and useable details from clunky earlier systems. The basic goals: to use the D12; to change the feel of using a skill inside combat versus out; to include the “trained” and “untrained” concept of breaking down what actions everyone can do with a skill versus what only specially trained characters can (rather confusingly handled in 3.0/3.5/4E) in a way that would not require consulting the rulebook every time the player wants to try something. The MAR is still one of my favorite inventions.
There are 12 skills everyone can use on a basic level. To do specialized stuff, you’ll need to spend xp to get a specialty, and each skill has around 4 of these. Learning a specialty makes you better at the basic skill. For example, taking the Paramedic specialty not only allows you to resuscitate, it also makes you better at doing basic Medic Skill stuff anyone can do, like first aid. So there are about 50 specialties, which is a lot, but they’re categorized under the 12 general skills, and on the character sheet each only requires a checkmark because you use the general skill’s modifier to perform any specialties you know, so it would look something like this (except that I forgot to include a space for MAR):
The first panel of Residue took a long time. The second is taking slightly less time. I’ll keep speeding up until I’m going so fast I finish before I started and I expect I’ll be published by two months ago.
Also relearning javascript in anticipation of the epic fre-fab-engine modding I’ll be doing to remake Renegade Heroes.
The 36 page rough draft for the first issue of Residue is done. I’d like to say something about a more widespread incorporation of genre tropes but I fly into a punching frenzy whenever anyone uses the word genre to describe a story, and it’s common knowledge that anyone who uses the word tropes is guaranteed to be a pretentious asshole, so I’ll instead say that I developed a more concrete view of the setting during this draft that was informed by previous works of creators I admire.
Actual pages will begin appearing soon.
The second first issue of the First Issue Project is done and online! Side Passage 1 was assembled from panels taken from 5 previous (incomplete) versions of itself, with some newly drawn panels to connect the different ideas. It’s a frankencomic. The styles vary, panels don’t always fit, there are inconsistencies in the characters’ looks and costumes. Still: I told a story! That’s what I’m going for here. Maybe one day I’ll want to publish Side Passage, at which point I’ll clean it up a little.
Issues 2-4 will also be shambling frankencomics, all assembled from early ideas and versions of issue one. Yeah. I redrew the first issue so many times I’m making 4 comics out of it. Issue 5 will be the original issue 2 almost panel for panel. That comic is still one of my favorite single issues I’ve ever drawn. And then, issue 6! The first ALL NEW Side Passage comic in 4 years! In which we meet…
ARCHWIZARD STEVE -EVE -Eve -eve (echo)
Anyway, this took so long because I was doing it intermittently, on breaks from this other project that I’ve been struggling with. Once that monster is punched in the face the comics will be flowing like Del.
This took a while. But we are getting closer to pages that are already done. I just have a couple more groundwork laying D&D jokes and we are on to the orc-slaying fiasco that started the original version. Also, want to know something fun? Page 10 ties into the final issue. You may have to wait a few years before that becomes clear.
Updated page 7, if you’re using Safari you may have to hit refresh when you view that page again, because Safari is a jackass. Vaugn just wasn’t getting enough time to introduce himself, and it occurred to me the mage written exam is the perfect device to give a run down of his basic capabilities. Also, pages 8 and 9 are done!
The very first version of Side Passage started with the fight with the orcs. Back then I didn’t really know the characters beyond the personality traits they derived from the D&D players upon whom they were based. After 4 issues I got a better feel for them and decided they each needed a few pages of introduction before they ran out and started slaying 1 HD monsters. Does the comic suffer from not starting off with a fireball? I’m sure Vaugn would think so.
Also, it’s nice to have a friend who doesn’t really read comics to tell me when she has no idea what’s going on. Details, for the purpose of clarity, have been incorporated into page 5, and added to pages 6 and 7, which are now all up on the webs.
Cliffhangers!
Monsters!
Jokes!
Boobs!
Boobjokes!
Page 1!
When I looked back over all the revisions of this goddamn comic, I found the original to be the most entertaining. I don’t know why I felt the need to revise it to death. Insecurity I guess. Anyway the final version is extremely true to the original. It’s a fantasy action sex comedy. And this is its star.
So let’s do an issue of Side Passage between each of the First Issues. The first four issues of SP are basically done anyway.