Monday, May 31, 2010

Obsidian Twilight - A Place Beyond Hell moving to stage one...

Since Obsidian Twilight is now in the home stretch I want to start work on the "sequel", A Place Beyond Hell.  All I will say this this is an add-on to the Obsidian Twilight world and is inspired by Cthulhu mythos so you can guess where this is going.  I hope to have this up and completed by Halloween.  The one big business and marketing difference between Obsidian Twilight and A Place Beyond Hell is that A Place Beyond Hell is going to be funded complete via Kickstarter.  Since this is a special niche type of RPG project, this seems like a logical step.  So start saving up your money to donate and we will announce when this all start and how you can donate.  But here is the breakdown of what you will get WHEN you donate.  Talk to you later...


Pledge $1 or more
                    My thanks and gratitude. (Come on, it is only a buck what did you think you’re going to get.)

Pledge $5 or more
                    We add you to the list of patrons in the final PDF and book.

Pledge $10 or more
                    We add you to the list of patrons in the final PDF and book.
                    You will receive one .pdf copy of the final book.

Pledge $25 or more
                    We add you to the list of patrons in the final PDF and book.
                    You will receive one .pdf copy of the final book.
                    You will see exclusive previews, design essays, and playtest materials that are unavailable to non-patrons.

Pledge $50 or more (Limited to 30)
                    We add you to the list of patrons in the final PDF and book.
                    You will receive one free PDF copy of the final book.
                    You will see exclusive previews, design essays, and playtest materials that are unavailable to non-patrons.
                    You will receive one free B&W copy of the final book from Lulu.com.

Pledge $100 or more (Limited to 20)
                    We add you to the list of patrons in the final PDF and book.
                    You will receive one free PDF copy of the final book.
                    You will see exclusive previews, design essays, and playtest materials that are unavailable to non-patrons.
                    You will receive one free B&W copy of the final book from Lulu.com, which Louis Porter Jr. will personally sign.

Pledge $150 or more (Limited to 15)
                    We add you to the list of patrons in the final PDF and book.
                    You will receive one free PDF copy of the final book.
                    You will see exclusive previews, design essays, and playtest materials that are unavailable to non-patrons.
                    You get to submit one (1) monster to the project that LPJ Design will develop and actually place in the final PDFs and books.
                    You will receive one free softcover color edition of the final book from Lulu.com, which Louis Porter Jr. will personally sign. There will be a limited amount of color editions made.

Pledge $200 or more (Limited to 10)
                    We add you to the list of patrons in the final PDF and book.
                    You will receive one free PDF copy of the final book.
                    You will see exclusive previews, design essays, and playtest materials that are unavailable to non-patrons.
                    You will receive one free softcover color edition of the final book from Lulu.com, which Louis Porter Jr. will personally sign. There will be a limited amount of color editions made.
                    You get to submit one (1) minor NPC to the project that LPJ Design will develop and actually place in the final PDFs and books.

Pledge $250 or more (Limited to 8)
                    We add you to the list of patrons in the final PDF and book.
                    You will receive one free PDF copy of the final book.
                    You will see exclusive previews, design essays, and playtest materials that are unavailable to non-patrons.
                    You will receive one free softcover color edition of the final book from Lulu.com, which Louis Porter Jr. will personally sign. There will be a limited amount of color editions made.
                    You get to submit one (1) major NPC to the project that LPJ Design will develop and actually place in the final PDFs and books.

Pledge $500 or more (Limited to 4)
                    We add you to the list of patrons in the final PDF and book.
                    You will receive one free PDF copy of the final book.
                    You will see exclusive previews, design essays, and playtest materials that are unavailable to non-patrons.
                    You will receive one free softcover color edition of the final book from Lulu.com, which Louis Porter Jr. will personally sign. There will be a limited amount of color editions made.
                    You get to submit one (1) major NPC to the project that LPJ Design will develop and actually place in the final PDFs and books.
                    You will receive an original piece of artwork of the major NPC that you created drawn by Claudio Pozas.

Sunday, May 30, 2010

What if I changed Pirates of the Bronze Sky inspiration from the American Revolution to the Cold War…

As of late I have been thinking of changing the inspiration of Pirates of the Bronze Sky from the American Revolution to the US & Soviet old War.  I originally planned for this to be a British vs. France vs. Spain set up. But after thinking about it for a while I thought it was boring and kind of dull.  Visually I didn't think there was enough different from them to make it as interested as I would have liked.  So I though about another period of conflict in US history and I came up with the Cold War.  It has a lot of the cool ideas that I think would work well with Pirates of the Bronze Sky plus there is a game mechanic from AEG's Spycraft 1960s sourcebook that I think would work great with what I have planned to keep the "espionage factor" quite high. So instead of the British vs. France vs. Spain it is going to be British vs. Russian vs. China.  I can't wait to think up all kinds of exotic race to place in with the Russian and Chinese factions.  This will be a lot of fun.  Can't wait to see the artwork.  Talk to you later...  

Saturday, May 29, 2010

Want to see the Table of Contents for Obsidian Twilight...

You have waited, and waited but now time is ticking down to the end.  Hope you enjoy because I sure enjoyed working on it.  Talk to you later...

Friday, May 28, 2010

How much money do I lose (or make) by not going in retail stores…

When I sell PDFs at RPGNow.com they take 35%.  When I sell at Paizo.com they take 25%. When I sell to retail stores using Studio 2 Publishing they take 18% (I think) after I sell the product to retailer stores who get a 50% discount off the cover price of the product.  Even when I sell direct to customer through Lulu.com, they get roughly 25%. What does tall this mean? I have a lot of people who have their “hand in my pocket” when I sell something.  Worst off that means I am missing out on that money. While like any capitalist business person I don’t want to share my money with ANYONE, I do understand that I need to do that some times.  So let’s do a quick price breakdown:

If a product cost $10, When I sell it I get…
  • Paizo: $7.50
  • Direct to customer (Lulu):  $7.50
  • RPGNow: $6.50
  • Studio 2 Publishing: $5.00 (from retailer); $4.10 (minus their cut) 

On pure math, Paizo and Lulu are the winners, but here is something you don’t know: I sell roughly 10 times at RPGNow then I do at Paizo and Lulu.

 But with that said (and using Fred Hick’s retail sale numbers and a “guesstimate”) I can see that I might be able to sell 60 units a quarter of an individual RPG product to retail locations. So let say this $10 product you are selling, will cost you $2.50 to product it you will see a profit of $1.60 per each product, for a total per book per quarter of $96 ($32 a month).  Now that is nothing to write home about, BUT you multiply that by 17 products (currently the amount of books I currently have available in Print-On-Demand format selling direct to customers) that becomes $544.  Nothing AMAZING, but it is enough to hire some freelance writers and put them to work making more products.  If you use the $544 you could get a freelancer to write at a rate of 1 to 3 cents a word meaning 18K to 51K words or 36 to 102 pages of work. 

So with all this said, what is the best way and place to sell your products?  As How to Make Webcomics says: All of them of course!  Talk to you later…

Be a fan of LPJ Design on Facebook, get a free copy of the Airship / Skyship combat rules for Pirates of the Bronze Sky

I just got the first draft rules for Airship / Skyship combat and I have decided to do something a little different with them. The writer of these rules and I agree that we should place these rules out there let the fans playtest them and gives us their comments back (A la Paizo). So what we are goind to do is if you become a fan of Louis Porter Jr. Design on Facebook when we release the first draft rules, you will recieve a free copy of the first draft rules for Airship / Skyship combat. Playtest them. Rip them apart. Go crazy. But tell us what you like and don't like here or at the LPJ Design's blog or even on our Facebook page. So if you are interested in Pirates of the Bronze Sky and you are a fan of Pathfinder, come check us out and get a free copy of the first draft rules. Thanks for your support.

Thursday, May 27, 2010

Facebook Storefonts?!?!?! ... Did you know about this?

Just another reason why you should subscribe to Webcomics.com, but did you know about Facebook Storefonts? I am going to tell you about them here? NO.  Like I said, just another reason to subscribe to Webcomics.com  Talk to you later...

Wednesday, May 26, 2010

What if you did the Brick & Mortar PDF Guarantee but only for “elite level” of retail stores?

After all the controversy of yesterday’s post, The Brick & Mortar PDF Guarantee by Evil Hat and Rogue Games is a bad idea and here is why…, I decided to take another look and this post and make some more comment on it.  While we comments about the topic directly in our comment area, we also go great comments from Gary Ray of Black Diamond Game had this blog comment on the whole topic, Dale McCoy Jr made some comments on his blog post and even Richard Iorio seemed to take it as a personal attack, which is wasn’t.  I am sorry if it came off that way to you. 

Pushing boundary of what we do as RPG publishers is what interests me and is what I am about and I found the Brick & Mortar PDF Guarantee as an interesting boundary to push.   So after reading all of these blogs, emails and other posts of the subject, I thought of another spin on the the Brick & Mortar PDF Guarantee.  What if you did the same as before, but instead of sell through Alliance or another like distributor, you as a RPG publisher find the top 5% elite of retail RPG stores and sell your product line exclusively to them.  Think of it as what Mac did with the iPhone, you could buy one but you had to get an account with AT&T and if you didn’t then you were not getting an iPhone.  I think as a retailer this would give you a little incentive to carry the product knowing that people can’t find it all over town and does make your store a little more “elite” with a good unique product.  Many companies have placed themselves in the “higher end” market by using this same or similar business marketing tactic of exclusivity. Apple. Tiffney’s. In-and-Out Burger. Blue Bell Ice Cream. Could this work for your company and better yet does it make the Brick & Mortar PDF Guarantee even more “elite” by doing this?  Something to think about.  Talk to you later…

DC COMICS Jumps Into $3.99 Regular Length Comic Pricing ... AKA better known as the kiss of death!

Just read this over at Newsarama, and I will be quick about this and say, this is a DUMB ASS idea.  32 pages for $3.99 (23 of them are actual story the rest are ads) NOT a good comic book price point.  I have said this a million times, "How is a mother of 3 kids going to think spending $12 on three comic books is a good thing?" Just plain stupid.  Talk to you later...

[Devil’s Workshop] Undefeatable 20 for The Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Released

Louis Porter Jr. Design, in association with Devil’s Workshop, has released its all new product for use with The Pathfinder Roleplaying Game called Undefeatable at RPGNow.com and DriveThruRPG.com.  Here is information on this product:

Undefeatable is the new supplement line for fans of The Pathfinder Roleplaying Game who are looking to add more interesting a different feats to their gaming sessions.  Undefeatable 20 which focuses on Shadowdancer has over 25 feats including Dance of Shadows and Mystery, Legendary Shadow Master, Master of Light and Shadow, Shadowdancer’s Familiar, Spawn of the Shadows and Summon Twin Shadows  that are perfect to be used in any game setting. This 6 page PDF is just the sort of thing needed for GMs to add depth to any great Pathfinder Roleplaying Game gaming session. Written by Michael R. Kimmel. 

Pathfinder and associated marks and logos are trademarks of Paizo Publishing, LLC, and are used under license. See paizo.com/pathfinderRPG for more information on the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game.

Tuesday, May 25, 2010

The Brick & Mortar PDF Guarantee by Evil Hat and Rogue Games is a bad idea and here is why…

I have been reading a lot of forums of late of people talking about how Evil Hat’s Brick & Mortar PDF Guarantee  and Rogue Games Brick & Mortar PDF Guarantee is a great idea. Retailers love it.  The first thought that came to my mind was, “Of course they love it! You are providing a free service to their customers that they can’t and in most cases don’t want to do.” Retail stores don’t want their customers to go digital with PDFs.  That scares most of them to death.  The mantra I hear the most from retailers is, “If they buy PDfs, then they won’t by from my store.” Well if you give them a reason to buy may be they will buy from you.  For all you retailers that don’t understand what I mean and know what to do, let me direct you to Tates Comics in Lauderhill, FL winner of the Will Eisner Spirit of Comics Retailing award.  They might give you some ideas how to do you business better.  Don’t get me wrong, I think the idea of offering the PDF for free if you buy the hard copy is a good idea.  I just think you don’t need to do that on a retailer level.  You could do the same thing by using Lulu.com to do you printing, placing a code on the table of content page, keep a bigger percentage of each sale (by not having to split the money with the distributor and/or retailer) and gaining even more fan loyalty.  If the product is good, people will hear about it.

But back to the digital arena, As a PDF publisher, follower of Seth GodinGuy Kawasaki, and Robert Kiyosaki. I think a PDF company needs to service their customers directly and not through a third part source like a retailer.  They are your customers; you should provide them the best service yourself.  To me, Evil Hat and Rogue Games look at the PDFs as an afterthought, something they can toss to the fans as a “nice gesture” as a RPG publisher.  They think their “big money” is with the retailers.  I, of course, don’t think it is the case.  PDF publishing has proven itself not just to be viable but an actual way to build your successful business from the grass roots level.  You need to build your customer base.  Malhavoc Press proved that. Open Design proved that. Paizo proved that. Green Ronin even proved that. Stop looking for retailers to do your work, and sell yourself to your customers. Talk to you later…

Monday, May 24, 2010

The financial mathematic of making a profitable RPG product for FREE…

So a few weeks ago I spoke about Monte Cook’ DungeonADay.com site and How to do it if it was free.  So I  have been crunching the actual numbers and this is what I have come up with to do my own version of DungeonADay.com with a little spin on it:

Writing focus & Writing Cost: Unlike DungeonADay.com which is a daily updated traffic site, we are looking to do updates to this website twice a week (Monday & Thursday) or three times a week (Monday, Wednesday & Friday).  Also unlike, DungeonADay.com we are using the Adventure Path structure as our focus and basis for this new website.  We plan for our Adventure Paths to last only for 13 weeks. Each day that we do and update will be an encounter that links into the larger story the website is telling. We are planning for each of the encounter updates to be 1,500 words in length with a one cent a word rate.  So that comes to either $30 or $45 a week for this project.  Figure it out for the full 13 weeks and you get a total price of either $390 or $585

The web hosting: SubHub is exactly what I would be looking for.  After joining DungeonADay.com and looking around it for all the great stuff it has inside for gaming fans (and there is a lot of great stuff inside) I think this will fit me nicely.  The price breakdown that SubHub provides is somewhat reasonable at $97 a month.  $97 a month comes out to $22.55 per week for a 13 week total of $293.15.

Artwork: Stock art which I have TONS of it so no issue there.

Cartography: After experimenting with my Fantasyscape line I decided that I will be handling that myself so I save cost on that.

So the total to do this little project for 13 weeks would be $683.15 (for twice a week) or $878.15 (for three times a week). 

Now, the BIG difference between this site and DungeonADay.com is that we are giving this site and content away COMPLETELY FOR FREE.  If I am doing this for free, how will this site make any money?  Now it is time to think like our friends at Webcomics.com and what I have read in How To Make Webcomics

First off, I have to know what is the minimum amount of money I need to generate per day to make this whole idea profitable.  So for twice a week version we will need to make $7.51 a day; while the three time a week version we will need to make $9.65 a day.  When you break it down like that it does not really seem like a lot of money.  How will I be making that money?  Let’s see…

Advertising: There will be ads from Project Wonderful where I will do a two skyscraper ads (160 x600 pixels) that will cost $1.50 a day to advertise on each ($3 total); one letterbox ad (728 x 90 pixels) that will cost $2 a day; six half banner ads (234 x 60 pixels) that will cost $0.50 a day to advertise on each ($3 total)

RPGNow Affiliate Store: I have an affiliate store that was created by RPGNow.com and I am able to sell my products (and other RPG companies products).  RPGNow.com gives me 10% of whatever I sales that I generate at that site. So if I wanted to make $4 a day from the affiliate site I would need to sell $40 worth of product a day.  With all the traffic I would be generating from the interest in this site, I do think that would be an issue. 

And with those two little things I could generate a whopping $12 a day which would come out over 13 weeks to be $1,092.  Subtract the $683.15 (for twice a week) or $878.15 (for three times a week) and you get $408.85 (twice a week) or $213.85 (three times a week). Proving this could be a profitable venture. 

Now here is the fun part that many of you have not even thought of yet.  I could collect all the content we have written (39K words for twice a week or 59K words for three times a week) and make a PDF version and sell it at RPGNow.com for $7 or $9 each.  Better yet, I can go Print on Demand with Lulu.com and sell them for $18.99 or $21.99 each. Since we covered the cost of the site with the advertising and affiliate store, all the rest is PURE PROFIT!!!!  Once again, all of it is PURE PROFIT!!!!!  Who would have thought you could make all that money giving stuff away for free?  Looks like I have some work to do.  Talk to you later…

Sunday, May 23, 2010

128 pages of Obsidian Twilight completed...

I cam finally see the end of this whole adventure and it looks good.  Just need to do the "easy pages" and get about 10 pieces of art and we will be done.  I can wait to see the finished cover.  Talk to you later...

Saturday, May 22, 2010

[Devil’s Workshop] Undefeatable 19 for The Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Released

Louis Porter Jr. Design, in association with Devil’s Workshop, has released its all new product for use with The Pathfinder Roleplaying Game called Undefeatable at RPGNow.com and DriveThruRPG.com.  Here is information on this product:

Undefeatable is the new supplement line for fans of The Pathfinder Roleplaying Game who are looking to add more interesting a different feats to their gaming sessions.  Undefeatable 19 which focuses on Pathfinder Chronicler has nearly 25 feats including Chronicler’s Scroll, Enspelling Script, Inspire Multiple Actions, Legends Between the Lines and Secret Tongue that are perfect to be used in any game setting. This 6 page PDF is just the sort of thing needed for GMs to add depth to any great Pathfinder Roleplaying Game gaming session. Written by Michael R. Kimmel. Available at RPGNow.com here!!!

Pathfinder and associated marks and logos are trademarks of Paizo Publishing, LLC, and are used under license. See paizo.com/pathfinderRPG for more information on the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game.

Obsidian Twilight News - Page Count & Release Date

Over the last week I have been focusing on the layout work on Obsidian Twilight and I have some good news to announce.  I am about 80% done with the initial layout and it looks like the Obsidian Twilight source book will be about 120-ish pages in length.  I will not know the exact page count until I get some more artwork pieces back bat that seem like a realistic number.  Also with this you can expect to see the PDF and actual print-on-demand book version will be released THE SAME DAY most likely in mid to Late June!!!  Just in time for summer for those long days of gaming.  Once again, thanks for your support with this incredibly fantastic and rewarding project.  Talk to you later...

PS: Here is the NEW mock up of the cover...

Friday, May 21, 2010

McG and Tero Ojanperä on Entertainment's 5th Screen: Your Environment

Pathfinder Fantasy Writer Needed

Louis Porter Jr. Design and Devil’s Workshop (http://www.lpjdesign.com) is looking for writers to contribute to its Pathfinder Role Playing Game Fantasy PDF gaming lines. The qualifications for the freelance writer positions are that the writers must have an advanced understanding of the Pathfinder Role Playing Game rules as stated in the PRD.  You can be an experienced long term writer or a first rookie, it does not matter to us.  We just want people who are looking to do great work.  If you would like to gain employment with LPJDesign or Devil’s Workshop please send samples, resume and/or your references via e-mail or a website to Louis Porter Jr. at LMPjr007 at aol (dot) com. If you would receive additional info please see the web site at www.lpjdesign.com

Thursday, May 20, 2010

Google Unveils Google TV


I hope TV networks have a plan to deal with Google TV, because I see a LOT of custom small budget programs going to be produced for this.  How about a NeoExodus: A House Divided show, or an Obsidian Twilight show or a Mercury Men show? Talk about transmedia.  Talk to you later...

Wednesday, May 19, 2010

[Devil’s Workshop] Undefeatable 18 for The Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Released

Louis Porter Jr. Design, in association with Devil’s Workshop, has released its all new product for use with The Pathfinder Roleplaying Game called Undefeatable at RPGNow.com and DriveThruRPG.com.  Here is information on this product:

Undefeatable is the new supplement line for fans of The Pathfinder Roleplaying Game who are looking to add more interesting a different feats to their gaming sessions.  Undefeatable 18 which focuses on Mystic Theurge has nearly 25 feats including Channel Arcane Energies, Divine Truths of the Arcane, Master Mystic’s Combined Spells, Mystical Epiphany, Natural Mystic and Versatile Spell Energy that are perfect to be used in any game setting. This 6 page PDF is just the sort of thing needed for GMs to add depth to any great Pathfinder Roleplaying Game gaming session. Written by Michael R. Kimmel. Available at RPGNow.com here!!!

Pathfinder and associated marks and logos are trademarks of Paizo Publishing, LLC, and are used under license. See paizo.com/pathfinderRPG for more information on the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game.

Tuesday, May 18, 2010

Why the new Ford Fiesta will save your ass from the zombie apocalypse...

Congrats you got new positions at WOTC...how long until you are downsized?

At EN World on Monday May 17th news update, they announced that James Wyatt, Rodney Thompson and Mike Mearls all have new position at WOTC.  And the first thing that came to my mind was, should I start a "Death Pool" for how long they will keep their jobs? Because to me it seems not a matter of IT the will get fired / let go / downsized or whatever they call it it is a matter of WHEN it will happen.  Just something to think about. Talk to you later...

Gritty Superhero Reboot


Monday, May 17, 2010

How many new editions can you make until people stop buying?

The news of the week has bee Green Ronin's success of getting the DC Comics license so they can make the Mutants & Masterminds with DC Comic Characters.  Now this is HUGE.  That was good work by Green Ronin and they deserve congratulations on getting the license.  But then a few day later, ICv2 had this little article,"Mutants and Masterminds Third Edition" and then I thought, "They are doing ANOTHER edition of Mutants & Masterminds?!?!?!

Now before we get in this I have to make a few confessions:
1) I used to produce products under Green Ronin's M&M Superlink license and the 1st edition of the Mutants and Mastermind game for a few years.  During that time I was one of the most prolific publishers of M&M Superlink material (I had nearly 90 products for their line).

2) I came out and PUBLICLY told people that LPJ Design was NOT going to support 2nd Edition of Mutants and Mastermind and a little while later I was banned by Green Ronin from making any more M&M Superlink products. (I always thought I got banned was because the relationship between Green Ronin and Phil Reed's Ronin Arts PDF company. Phil and I were "enemies" back then and at each other throats making M&M Superlink products. 2002 - 2005 was like the Wild West in the PDF market. But who knows for real?)

3) In my opinion, the reason there was a need for a Mutants & Masterminds 2nd Edition is that Osseum Entertaiment had stolen all the money from Green Ronin's print run of the Mutant & Masterminds first edition print run.  After three years of stealing, you can figure Osseum stole somewhere in the six figure dollar range from Green Ronin.

But now with this new announcement, Green Ronin is making ANOTHER edition of Mutants and Masterminds.  Three editions in 8 years.  Does that seem like a lot to you?  (Funny thing is WOTC & Paizo kind of did the same thing with OGL 3.0 and 3.5 and Paizo's Pathfinder RPG but at least that was two different companies.) It seems to me that the only business model some of these companies that keep RE-RELEASING edition of their game is to get their "hardcore" fan base to keep buying the editions over and OVER again.  How do you tell someone who supported you the first time you came out with the 1st edition of your product line and bought add-on products for it, and bought your second edition of your product line and bought add-on products for it, that you need them to buy a THIRD edition now?

While this is the basic business structure that video game companies use at least in their defense technology changes every few years (see Moore's Law) so for them there is a little understanding.  But we are talking about niche products with a niche and shrinking fan base.  And let's not even talk about price creep on the products. So here comes the question again: How many new editions can you make until people stop buying?  Talk to you later...

Sunday, May 16, 2010

2nd Teaser Trailer for Nazi Sci-Fi -- Iron Sky!!!

What ONE thing would you do to change the Comic and/or RPG industry?

This one is a tough one for other people, but for me it is very easy.  On the comics side I would create three tiers/level for comic books that would focus on three specific areas. Tier/Level One would be for kids ages 6 to 10 and cost only 99 cents to purchase; Tier/Level Two would be for the ages of 12 to 18 and cost only $1.99; Tier/Level Three would be for 18 and up and cost $2.99 and up. Three different types of books for three different types of customers and cost that are reasonable to those willing to purchase.  On the gaming side it would be the maximum cost on RPG core books and sourcebooks.  Core rule books couldn't cost more than $25 and sourcebooks could cast more than $20. Rising retail cost on both comics and RPGs are going to do MORE HARM to the industry as a whole then anything else.  Products have be affordable to those who want to purchase them. With retail cost $3.99 for 22 - 23 pages of comic story OR $29.99 for 160 pages for RPGs it is no wonder people are leaving to find something else to entertain them.  Don't you make the same mistake as a business.  The movie, Glengarry Glenross said it best: "They're sitting out there waiting to give you their money. Are you gonna take it? Are you man enough to take it?"  Talk to you later...

Saturday, May 15, 2010

Can Kobold Quarterly keep up being Dragon Magazine, while Pathfinder acts like Dungeon Magazine?

So far, Kobold Quarterly has proven it self to be the new Dragon Magazine, while Pathfinder has proven itself to be the Dungeon Magazine of the time.  With all this goodness going on, I still worry if Kobold Quarterly will be able to keep up the production quality that so many are used to if it goes from quarterly to a monthly product.  The quarterly nature of Kobold Quarterly directly affects the amount of cash flow the magazine can make and as a long term goal making it a monthly book only seem logical.  Plus you have other project like Paizo Fans United Wayfinder that could grow stronger and stronger focusing on harness the power of crowdsourcing to go from a small twice a year book to a very good six times a year.  Better yet will something else disrupt the concept of print magazines with some new device or system?  Only time will tell.  Talk to you later...

Friday, May 14, 2010

Pirates of the Bronze Sky Sketches

Just a little something to make your weekend a little more exciting. Our newest artist is finishing up the newest artwork he has sent to me and I thought you fans might enjoy seeing what goes on behind the scenes in the area of artwork.  Enjoy!  Talk to you later...

Paizocon 2010 Event page is updated with events!!!

Check it out here.  I am sad to say that LPJ Design will not be attending this year due to 1st baby birth.  But I am ALREADY planning what we we be doing for PaizoCon 2011.   To everyone going, Have a great time!

Thursday, May 13, 2010

Why the Ennie Awards, Origins Awards and basically ALL AWARDS are a waste of time…

I don’t really care about awards and award events. Ennie Awards. Origins Awards. All of them. It is not my things. To me, awards are basically high school popularity contest. Everyone makes this big deal about them and how important they are. “People” vote on them and a winner is picked. Normally what happens is you see the same old people voting for these awards and the same old people keep winning awards. Once in a while something wins that no one expects should win, but more often the person who is expected to win, wins. In the RPG industry it is even worse, because it is amazing how many of these companies win the Ennie Awards or Origins Awards on ONE product in a product line and then they never put out more products for that product line. In some even crazier cases, the winner is never heard from or seen again. WTF?!?!?!??!? It is like the Best New Artist award in the Grammys.

I understand why people like them and in some cases need them. But for me, WASTE OF TIME!!! Instead of wasting time on seeing if you can get an award, how about making better products? How about you focus on building you fan base or expanding your Tribe as Seth Godin suggested. You think Tony Hsieh of Zappos.com according to the company, the core value is to "deliver 'wow' through service. Talk about an award you give to your customers. Work on getting your customer the best products they can purchase and you will win the best prize of them all: Freedom to run your RPG Hobby company as a full time profitable business. No little award will do that, but a dedicated fan base will. The only award I want is success and I work very hard everyday to win it. How about you? Talk to you later…

Save money when printing Transcontinental after you join Webcomics.com

This one is simple, join Webcomics.com and you will get a 10% discount on orders from Transcontinental.  This one is simple, $30 to get TONS of great info to help your business AND and extra 10% off printing.  Talk to you later...

I Hit It With My Axe: Episode Nine: Making Choices About Which Goblin To Hit

Tuesday, May 11, 2010

Square will change how you do buisness OR at least pay for it...

First watch this:


Then go here and read this: Square Brings Credit Card Swiping to the Mobile Masses, Starting Today! Then Read this: The Future of Money: It’s Flexible, Frictionless and (Almost) Free. This might be as revolutionary as Paypal was (or still is).  Just something to think about when you are wondering how can you get paid.

[Devil’s Workshop] Undefeatable 17 for The Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Released

Louis Porter Jr. Design, in association with Devil’s Workshop, has released its all new product for use with The Pathfinder Roleplaying Game called Undefeatable at RPGNow.com and DriveThruRPG.com.  Here is information on this product:

Undefeatable is the new supplement line for fans of The Pathfinder Roleplaying Game who are looking to add more interesting a different feats to their gaming sessions.  Undefeatable 16 which focuses on Loremaster has 25 feats including Diverse Mastery, Focused Resistance, Imbue Lore, Lore of Creation, Mastery of Divination Metamagic and Weapon Lore that are perfect to be used in any game setting. This 6 page PDF is just the sort of thing needed for GMs to add depth to any great Pathfinder Roleplaying Game gaming session. Written by Michael R. Kimmel.  Available at RPGNow.com here!

Pathfinder and associated marks and logos are trademarks of Paizo Publishing, LLC, and are used under license. See paizo.com/pathfinderRPG for more information on the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game.

Monday, May 10, 2010

More Layoff at WOTC!!!

It seems that Andy Collins, Torah Cottrill and Jesse Decker have suffered a layoff from WOTC. I hope everything turns out for the best. I wonder how long until Paizo picks them up for work?

Transmedia is the future of business, EXCEPT for these two huge issues…

Last week, Gareth had three excellent posts on Transmedia (see post 1post 2and post 3) and if you are thinking of ways to expand what you do and how you do it, YOU MUST READ THEM!!! (Yes they are that good).

BUT……….while I do agree with 95% of what he said, I do have a few things that need to be covered to really make this what I would consider “fair and balanced”.  So here are my two issues that may stop your transmedia empire:

MONEY: This is the biggest one.  To do a lot of the things that were suggested, you need to have money.  And sometimes you are going to need A LOT OF MONEY to do some of these ideas.  So if you got the money, then go for it.  If you don’t, well instead of thinking about the next fantasy world or setting you are going to create, you might what to think about that.  I would also suggest you pick up a copy of Robert Kiyosaki’s book: Rich Dad Poor Dad, Cashflow Quadrent and Rich Dad’s Success Stories.

TRAFFIC AND CONNECTIONS: People have to know about you.  And not a few people, A LOT OF PEOPLE! CWF+RTB=$$$ (Connection With Fans plus Reason To Buy equals Business Model) is the basis of the argument of doing transmedia and making a lot of money.  This formula sounds great as long as you use a well known artist LIKE Trent Reznor and show what here did. See the video here:

But here is the problem for all you starting from zero or in some cases less than zero: No one knows of you.  No one.  So first you have to build fans and how long will that take?  Who knows.  Even worst, you might do everything right and still get NO FANS. Don’t get me wrong, I think it is great Trent Reznor did so well with this, but if his was Trent Reznor of Jacksonhole, Wyoming playing music in his garage with no major record label contracts would he have done so well and made so much money? I going to say no.  The formula really should be CWF/APF+RTB-POCWFI=$$$ (Connection With Fans divided by Amount of Potential Fans plus Reason To Buy minus the Popularity of Other Connection With Fans Items equals Business Model).  Sometimes one plus one doesn’t equal two. 

Now after all this is said, if you are ever confused about Transmedia and what you company should “look like” when you are successful and done, just look at George Lucas and his Star War franchise. Now that is REAL transmedia.  Talk to you later…

Sunday, May 9, 2010

[LPJ Design] FREE Races of Pirates of the Bronze Sky - Kaylethon (PRPG) Preview released

Louis Porter Jr. Design, has released a preview for the upcoming gunpowder steampulp fantasy setting, Pirates of the Bronze Sky for the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game.  Here is information on the Races of Pirates of the Bronze Sky: Kaylethon (PRPG) Preview:

Solidly built, four-armed giants, the Kaylethon resemble nothing so much as hoary skinned rhinoceroses. Powerful, broad, squat and strong the Kaylethon are built – in temperament as well as physique – for the life of warriors and they have a fearsome reputation as such, tempestuous, strong, and unwavering, bound up in a system of honor that can make them quick to turn in anger to defend their reputations and the status of their clans. More surprising, given their status as ‘primitive’ warriors, the Kaylethon have a natural talent for crafts and technology. This is not so much a result of their intelligence, which is notoriously brutish and simplistic, but more down to an innate instinct for mechanism and device, a simple, bone-deep knowledge of how to put things together, to work stone and metal and shape it to create the forms that come to their minds, inspired by the materials they have to hand and their immediate need. Written by Written by James Desborough with Louis Porter Jr. Available Here!!!

Pathfinder and associated marks and logos are trademarks of Paizo Publishing, LLC, and are used under license. See paizo.com/pathfinderRPG for more information on the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game.

Saturday, May 8, 2010

Introducing Lucas Manuel Porter...

For those that were interested, everything went well with his delivery and he came out 7 pounds 18 inches.  Gamer and comic geek in the making.

Monday, May 3, 2010

LPJ Design will be closed from May 4 – 9 Due to Baby Birth but we have a surprise for you…

As the title says, my first son, Lucas Manuel is being born so the LPJ Design office will be closed. But just so you will not miss us at LPJ Design, we are having a The Birth of Lucas Manuel First Born One Dollar Sale. Starting May 4, just about all of our products at RPGNow.com will be on sale for only ONE DOLLAR!!!!!! So if you have been waiting to get some or even try out some of our products for the first time, NOW IS THE TIME!!! Save money on product and celebrate my first child all at the same time. I call this a Win-Win. See you in a few days! Talk to you later…

Saturday, May 1, 2010

[Devil’s Workshop] Undefeatable 16 for The Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Released

Louis Porter Jr. Design, in association with Devil’s Workshop, has released its all new product for use with The Pathfinder Roleplaying Game called Undefeatable at RPGNow.com and DriveThruRPG.com. Here is information on this product:

Undefeatable is the new supplement line for fans of The Pathfinder Roleplaying Game who are looking to add more interesting a different feats to their gaming sessions. Undefeatable 16 which focuses on Eldritch Knight has nearly 30 feats including Arcane Battle Summoner, Eldritch Slayer, Greater Spell Storing Bond, Knight’s Focus, Spell Penetrating Strike and Unstoppable Spell that are perfect to be used in any game setting. This 6 page PDF is just the sort of thing needed for GMs to add depth to any great Pathfinder Roleplaying Game gaming session. Written by Michael R. Kimmel.

Available at RPGNow.com here: http://lpjdesign.rpgnow.com/product_info.php?products_id=80941
Pathfinder and associated marks and logos are trademarks of Paizo Publishing, LLC, and are used under license. See paizo.com/pathfinderRPG for more information on the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game.