In June, 2k Games released Duke Nukem Forever.
In July, George R.R. Martin finally published A Dance With Dragons.
Since it seems to be the season for projects trapped in the quagmire of Valve time, I figured it was time to release one more: Legends & Labyrinths has, at long last, arrived and is now available for sale through an 8-Bit Funding project.
WHAT IS LEGENDS & LABYRINTHS?
For those of you unfamiliar with Legends & Labyrinths, it’s a fantasy RPG that was first announced in June 2008 and then got stuck in development hell for three years.
Legends & Labyrinths takes 3rd Edition and strips it down to its most basic components. It removes everything non-essential, leaving behind a simple, fast-and-loose, easy-to-use system.
Legends & Labyrinths is based on a simple belief: Not only is 3rd Edition the most popular gaming system on the plant, it’s also one of the best. Its designers created a small, elegant set of core mechanics, resulting in an extremely flexible system. They then used those core mechanics to implement a wide array of carefully researched and thoroughly playtested guidelines and supplementary rules. The result was possibly the most robust and detailed system ever created.
Legends & Labyrinths, on the other hand, was created with a simple methodology: If it’s not a core mechanic, it’s not in the game.
The result is a slick, tight, elegant system that doesn’t get bogged down in the details. Legends & Labyrinths jettisons the rules and guidelines which make 3rd Edition so robust, but it leaves behind the simply and flexible game which lies at the system’s core.
For experienced gamers, Legends & Labyrinths is a fast-and-easy game that jettisons the baggage of 3rd Edition. For new gamers, Legends & Labyrinths serves as the perfect introduction to roleplaying games — simple enough to learn in an afternoon, but also a complete game that can be played for years without ever needing another supplement or rulebook.
One of my playtesters recently explained the appeal of Legends & Labyrinths like this: “Plenty of games have tried to add stuff on TOP of 3rd Edition. But Legends & Labyrinths comes UNDER 3rd Edition.”
Have you ever thought that 3rd Edition was too complicated? Had too many details? Was too time-consuming to prep? Then Legends & Labyrinths is exactly the game you’ve been waiting for.
100% COMPATIBLE WITH 3rd EDITION
What really makes Legends & Labyrinths special is that it is 100% compatible with 3rd Edition.
What does that mean? It means that any stat block or mechanic usable in 3rd Edition can be used in Legends & Labyrinths without conversion. It also means that any character created in Legends & Labyrinths can be used in a 3rd Edition game without conversion.
Got a 3rd Edition adventure? It can be run in Legends & Labyrinths as-is. Got a book full of monsters? It can be used in Legends & Labyrinths. Got a supplement of new spells? They can be cast in Legends & Labyrinths.
You can also incorporate core mechanics from 3rd Edition into your Legends & Labyrinths games without any difficulty. For example, Legends & Labyrinths features a stripped-down combat system. But if you really like some or all of the detailed combat rules from 3rd Edition? Well, all you have to do is use ’em. Legends & Labyrinths is 100% compatible with 3rd Edition.
On the other hand, what if you really like all the different character creation tools 3rd Edition gives you (allowing you to tweak your character just the way you like it), but you feel the complexity of the rest of the system chokes the life out of your roleplaying? Well, all you have to do is use the full character creation rules to create your PCs and then play them using Legends & Labyrinths. The game is 100% compatible with 3rd Edition.
In other words, you can think of Legends & Labyrinths as being the streamlined foundation of the game: It’s a complete game all by itself, but you can also add whatever additional functionality you want whenever you want (and however you want).
WHY 8-BIT FUNDING?
Legends & Labyrinths is being initially released through an 8-Bit Funding project. Basically, I think it’s a spiffy game. I’m willing to bet that you’ll think so too. And spiffy games, in my opinion, should also look spiffy.
I’m looking to raise enough capital through this funding project to pay top-of-the-line artists to provide top-of-the-line illustrations. I want to see wandering mercenaries marching through the purple dunes of the Arcano Deserts and twisted caverns of silver-veined stone filled with smoky torchlight. Imagine dragonriders racing between the half-shattered towers of the Bassanen Empire and elven detectives scouring the back alleys of the grotto megapoli.
Basically, I’m treating the 8-Bit Funding project as a preorder-with-perks program to raise the funds necessary to make the final rulebook as awesome as possible.
WHAT IS THE BLACK BOOK BETA?
The Black Book Beta rulebook is being released to fulfill two functions:
First, it will allow those sponsoring Legends & Labyrinths early access to the game while we wait for the artists to finish their commissions.
Second, it basically gives us a public beta testing period in which sponsors and their gaming groups will be able to give me a final round of feedback which can be incorporated into the rulebook.
The Black Book Beta rulebook is fully playable, but not complete. What does that mean? Basically, the Black Book Beta rulebook is missing:
(1) Spells
(2) Monsters
(3) Magic Items
These items are missing primarily because the layout of these sections of the rulebook will depend heavily on the art which we’ll be able to commission following the funding drive.
Don’t you need spells, monsters, and magic items to play the game? Yes. But, remember, Legends & Labyrinths is 100% compatible with 3rd Edition: Until the final rulebook is completed, you’ll be able to pull spells, monsters, and magic items from any online SRD (or your existing 3rd Edition rulebooks and supplements).
(The Black Book Beta rulebook will also include L&L’s super-simple monster creation system, so you can whip out playable stat blocks for any creature you can imagine in seconds.)
To be perfectly honest with all of you, given the long and painful development process for this project, I also felt very strongly that the game needed to be in a completed state before I offered it for any kind of sale. The Black Book Beta rulebook allows me to accomplish that while also working to ensure that the final version of the rulebook is the best it can be for you: Even if I keeled over from a heart attack tomorrow, Legends & Labyrinths is in a completed state. It has been written. It has been laid out. It even includes temporary, public domain art. About the only thing missing at this point are a few “page XXX” references that still need to be filled in.
I could, if I wanted to, simply publish the rulebook as it exists today and nobody would blink an eye at it. (Well, the lack of art in the bestiary would probably annoy.) But I’d rather make this final, extra effort to push it over the top. I hope you’ll agree with me and help to make that dream a reality.
If not, just wait a few months and the final version of the rulebook will be on sale.
CLIMB INTO YOUR LABYRINTH AND FORGE YOUR LEGEND TODAY!
Why did you choose 8-Bit over Kickstarter? I became an 8-Bit member to support L&L, but I don’t know of other tabletop roleplaying games using this crowd-funding mechanism. The Kickstarter we did for Adventurer Conqueror King was wildly successful in part because there is a community of people there who watch for new pen-and-paper game projects; I spoke to a couple at Gen Con who heard about our game just because it was on Kickstarter, and they probably represent a larger proportion of our 246 backers.
Also: when I click on the ‘claim this perk’ button at your link it says project not found, and the site search function also can’t find it.
Oh and also: Google Chrome thinks I didn’t answer the security question, I had to use Firefox to comment.
Congratulations on getting this to a more complete stage!
How long is the book, page-count wise? Generally, doesn’t have to be precise.
What is your overall timeline? If you are looking to contract artists, get their work in, and incorporate them, I would expect it would be a long wait. What do you think?
I second the question re: 8-Bit over Kickstarter, and relatedly, can we increase our initial donation later to get a higher reward? I’m happy to donate $12 now but if I like the look of the rules I’d gladly increase to $30 or $35 for a physical copy. (I know you can usually do this on Kickstarter but I’ve never used 8-Bit Funding before.)
You say that you need artists. Does that include a cartographer? I happen to make maps, & I’ve liked your projects for some time now. I’d like to help out, if I could. If you need to see my work, just check out my deviantArt account.
The “Registered Adventurer” level says “You’ll also receive a PDF copy of the Black Book Beta rulebook which will be given to all sponsors as soon our deadline is met” , so does that mean we have to wait 33 days until your funding drive ends to recieve the Beta PDF?
Also, regarding the use of 8-bit vs. Kickstarter, I haven’t used Kickstarter before, but it appears 8-bit only takes paypal… which I have no interest in signing up for (I get enough ‘Paypal’ phishing email through the spam filters that I don’t want to have actually consider it might be legit).
If you’re looking for artists, you might check out what this game developer did.
http://errantgame.blogspot.com
He worked with a bunch of deviantart artists and got some really top notch art for games he’s distributing for free.
@Tavis: Kickstarter rejected my project proposal. Since they refuse to explain why they reject projects, I can’t really offer any explanation about that. (My original plan was to announce this a couple of weeks ago; but the Kickstarter rejection delayed that.)
@Andrew: The Black Book Beta rulebook is 120 pages (not including table of contents, etc.). I’m anticipating that the final rulebook will be 180-200 pages.
In terms of timeline, it depends on whether I end up spreading the work around or concentrating it in a smaller number of artists. And that also depends on the artists involved. Based on similar projects in the past, I would anticipate roughly 3 months. Possibly slightly longer; possibly quicker.
My intention is to anticipate the end of the funding drive and begin contacting artists as soon as I know that I can afford them, which should speed things up on the back end. This is also another reason for the Black Book Beta rulebook: It’ll give you a fully playable version of the rules ASAP to tide you over.
@circadianwolf: I don’t know the answer to that, but I’ll try to figure it out.
@The Wanderer: The latest the Black Book Beta will be delivered is the end of the funding project. I’m currently working with 8-Bit Funding to see if I can get the information necessary to deliver the beta rulebooks before the project deadline.
@Keith Davies: Although the site uses Paypal as a payment platform, you do NOT need to create a Paypal account in order to make a contribution. You should be able to make direct credit card payments.
Hurry up and contribute so I can get my PDF.
Do it now!
Hi Justin,
apparently I can’t — I’m given options of “Have a PayPal account?” and “Create a PayPal account”.
No matter, I ended up having to create one for another reason so it’s cool. I *think* I’m funding (Prowler) but can’t see any kind of feedback at 8bit that says so… and I haven’t gotten a receipt by email. Is there any way you can check?
This might be the reason Kickstarter rejected your proposal:
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/georgestrayton/legends-and-labyrinthstm-rulebook
@Justin: In case you’re having your aforementioned heart attack right now, you don’t have to worry about your title. George must have had to change his when he tried to publish. A quick search will verify.
@Akiyama: Why link someone else’s game in a blogger’s post announcing his own game?
@Justin: OK, why not Indie Go Go? I do think the name overlap with George’s Legends & Labyrinths was likely the problem with Kickstarter; they don’t know he’s decided to publish under another name.
At the Kickstarter panel at PAX East this year, a number of people who’d used it successfully gave away their beta rules for free and then got backers to support their professional publication. If you can’t contact backers through 8 Bit, you might consider just posting the beta rules for public download with a link in the text directing people to the crowdfunding effort.
@Hudax
Why shouldn’t I? I thought Justin would want to know.
Although George Strayton has changed the name of his game to “The Secret Fire”, he has trademarked the name “Legends & Labyrinths” and has said on his blog that once he has the registered trademark he will be obliged by law to issue a cease and desist order against Justin – see the comments here:
http://legendsandlabyrinths.com/2011/07/19/the-true-name-of-the-game-revealed-soon/
So it seems that Justin might have to change the name of his game. To be honest, I think “Legends & Labyrinths” is a bit forgettable anyway, and too similar to Labyrinth Lord.
Oh Joy. As if we needed any more IP issues in our lives.
Justin, regardless of what this project is called, I’m psyched for it! I’m a HUGE fan of your essays on the d20 rules and D&D in general, so I already know it’s going to be something worthwhile.
Keep up the great work!
Hey folks. I am aware of George Strayton’s attempt to register in January 2011 a trademark that has been in continuous, documented, global use by someone else since June 2008. It is unfortunate for everyone involved that he didn’t do his homework.
That’s really all I can say on the matter at this time. I encourage anyone with further curiosity on the matter to read up on trademark law in the U.S.
Thanks.
How close are you to a “for sale” release?
I missed out on the 8-Bit project and would really like to get myself a copy.
Hi, I’m just coming out of the video interview with Baron de Ropp concerning your latest book and I was wondering if there is still any way to get this? The link to the black book beta is broken for me.