Better Than Expected (Companion Quick Update)

Wow…I just might pull this off.

I’ve got a full third of the monsters written up (twenty-five) and the formatted page count is just a paragraph over 5. That means probably 16-17 pages total for monsters after editing, intro stuff and a few (small) illustrations. And I may leave some of the monsters on the cutting room floor, anyway (do I really need a one-eyed-one-horned-flying-purple-people-eater, or “Oeohflyppe” as I was calling it? No, there is a line to be drawn at “delightful whimsy”).

That being said, the editing is already pretty tight…and I don’t want the formatting to be so small as to be difficult to read.

Still and all, 64 pages definitely looks do-able, even with the (assumed) illustrations added. Right now, the B/X Companion table of contents is shaping up like this:

- Cover page and forward – 2 pages
- Part 1: Introduction – 1 page
- Part 2: Player Character Information – 3 pages
- Part 3: Spells – 10 pages
- Part 4: The Adventure – 4 pages (this might be wishful thinking)
- Part 5: The Encounter – 8 pages (including mass combat)
- Part 6: Monsters – 16 pages
- Part 7: Treasure – 10 pages (may leave off the B/X treasure tables)
- Part 8: DM Information – 7 pages (including Dominion rules; no wandering monster tables)
- Part 9: Special Adventures – 2 pages (may cut down to 1)

Total page count: 63, giving me the choice of adding an extra page to Monsters (more illos!) or adding in a re-worked treasure lists (don’t want to infringe on any copyrights!).

By the way…checked out the old list of WotC product identity to make sure I know which toes NOT to step on. Pleasantly surprised to see the term “DM” isn’t there even if “Dungeon Master” is. I guess DM can stand for a lot of things: from Dimension Master to Demon Master.

I suppose in my game it will be “DRAGON MASTER.” You heard it here first! Copyright JBeazie, MY product identity.

Of the monsters listed as "product identity," none are any I’m particularly worried about. My naga are more like yuan-ti than the naga as presented in the MM, and I’m semi-considering leaving my CHUD-like umberhulks out all together. But I can do without beholders, mind flayers, and gith (I don’t have space for psionics), and the carrion crawler and displacer beast are already in B and X respectively.

Oh…and I have no idea what a “gauth,” “tanar’ri,” or “baatezu” are. Actually I think I had tanari chicken at the Indian restaurant last week…and isn’t there a batsu sauce used in some sorts of Japanese tempura? Some kind of food monsters, apparently (WotC: eating YOUR money).

Just so folks know, I have a busy weekend planned with the following priorities: sleep, wife, and writing. Blarging is not on the list, and I have moved my day off from Monday to Friday starting this week, so don’t expect my usual 5-10 Monday posts. Frankly, I’m most excited for my little project's completion…hopefully, I’ll have completed the rough draft in the next few days so that I can polish it up over next weekend when I head back to Montana for Labor Day (probably WILL go to a used bookstore while there, though not THE used book store of my childhood; THAT one is in Missoula (if it still exists) and I will be up in Polson; my grandmother has a cabin on Flathead Lake). Montana is wonderful and I always find it relaxing and rejuvenating (well, less so since we started taking the beagles…there’s no fenced yard!), and I am almost as excited about the trip as I am about completing my game.

Hmmm…’course I should probably get some WORK work done before I go. All right, that’s enough for now!