Well folks Here is the proposed cover for Legends of Steel- "Savage Worlds" edition.

The art is by Jeremy Mohler. The layout is by me with a lot of help from friends (you know who you are).

Any similarity to the classic Marvel comics of the 70's is purely intentional.

Just the art itself minus the graphics.

Legends of Steel- Savage Worlds Edition.
The art is paid for!
The map and cover are done!
Playtest reports have been reviewed and are favorable!

So where the hell is it?

I need to come up with a couple of one shot adventures (we used the adventures from Broadsword during the playtest).
And I want to beef up a couple of Nation and region descriptions.

But the thing that really got me thinking is whether or not I want to invest in my own site and sell it through there or go through RPGNow.

After the release of World of Broadsword I ended up getting a return of about 30% after all was said and done. Which was okay. But my investment so far in LoS has been quite a bit more than it was for Broadsword. And while I don't have any illusions about getting rich, I would like to be able to recoup some of the money I put into LoS in order to fund future efforts like Hador, Mission: Adventure! and Aurora.

Would having my own storefront be a better way to go?
is it a hassle or a cost efficient option?
first off I'm gonna need a better website, my current one sucks eggs.

the possible tax things don't bother me as it's my intention to file as a sole proprietorship in '09 anyway.

My customer base is small enough that I'm pretty sure I can rely on word of mouth, blog and forum posts and hopefully good reviews to get as much exposure as I need.

So that's what I'm struggling with now - the risk and hassle vs. the rewards of having my own storefront.

Keith Curtis has delivered a fantastic rendition of Erisa. I couldn't be more pleased with the finished product. I hope you all are as well. Students of the Sword & Sorcery Genre may recognize some of the names of places and regions, a loving tribute if you will. I'm having a great deal of fun with this and I'm very excited. New areas were added, as were new cities and nations. All of the new stuff will be addressed in the gazetteer section of the Legends of Steel Campaign Book -Savage Worlds Edition.
Work on the cover is going strong, I recieved some rough drafts from Jeremy, and provided him with feedback. Everyone here who has seen the drafts loved them. I Spoke with James at Heyoka Studios and we are really hoping for a late October release.
Back to work!

I always said that Broadsword was a "Light" version of Legends of Steel. To this end I have asked Keith to add a few new details to the map of Erisa (Formerly known as the world of Broadsword). Several cities, nations and geographic features will be added to the new map being developed. Correspondingly, I have more writing to do on these new areas. I not only have to try and develop a unique personality for each entry but also make sure that they fit into the overall canvas that was created with the release of World of Broadsword.

When I saw the very first proof that Keith did of just a small section of Erisa, I kid you not, I got chills. I have been working on and playing in Erisa for almost 20 years, and to see it rendered so beautifully on a map is just so cool. I can imagine at least a smidgen of what Gary Gygax or Ed Greenwood felt, the first time they ever saw a finished map of Oerth or Toril. What kept running through my head was "this world is mine." I created it and populated it with all of my favorite tropes, clichés, and things that I just thought were cool.

I read a story that featured wagon peoples- they're there.

There was an issue of Marvel Premier that featured Man-Wolf sneaking into a floating castle- its there.

I read a Forgotten realms book set in the jungles of Chult, where dinosaurs still roamed I loved that visual- It's there.

The influences of Robert E. Howard, Fritz Leiber, David Gemmell, John Norman, Robert Adams, Brian Daley, Talbot Mundy, Harold Lamb, Barry Sadler, Harryhausen, Frazetta, Vallejo, Marvel, DC, Atlas, Charlton, Warren, TSR, Saturday morning cartoons and Saturday night "Creature Feature"- all there.

Every person has their influences. And for Erisa, those and dozens more are mine.

I should have had this done years ago. If you have a "homebrew" world that you've been playing in for any length of time I really suggest having it rendered professionally. It's a great feeling.

Even though the map I did for World of Broadsword got the job done and admittedly had a bit "Old School" flavor I really wanted something with a more professional look. Here is my version on Hexmapper:



Keith just sent me a rough proof of the style he will be using for Erisa.



Wow.
What a difference.
The decision to go with a professionally rendered map was a right one. So was the choice of Cartographer.

Color me happy.

Writing, writing, writing
I have been working steadily on not only "Legends of Steel-Savage Edition", but also on "The Lost World of Hador" and "Mission: Adventure!" Legends of Steel- Savage Edition will be the first release, but sometimes I run out of fuel for one specific genre which is when I switch out and start working on another. It helps me keep things fresh. I have about an hour a day at work, and maybe two hours at night for writing- not much but with work, family, etc. It's all I can afford. I would love to be doing this full time but until the book deals and movie offers start coming in…

The great thing is that the news of the Savage Worlds open license has given me a real boost of energy to get these projects out the door. If all goes as planned, I should be able to release at least three different lines of adventures in a short period of time, after those three are released I have a few more on the drawing board to get ready. I'm finding that switching everything over to the Savage Worlds system isn't exactly a cake walk. It's doable, but there are rules and conventions that need to be adhered to.

Map Maker, Map Maker, make me a map
Professional Illustrator Keith Curtis will be assuming chief cartographer duties for Legends of Steel. Keith is an experienced illustrator in the gaming market and has worked for everyone from WOTC to Hero Games. He will be taking the World of Broadsword map that I created and buffing it up considerably. The finished world will be known as "Erisa" and serve as the "official" campaign map for both The World of Broadsword and Legends of Steel.

Creating covers
Jeremy Mohler is currently working on several concept covers for Legends of Steel. I should have some sketches this week that incorporate some of the ideas he and I have been kicking around.