Zekiran quick play guide - need some help

Shard · Post by **Shard** » Fri Sep 07, 2007 11:54 am

Hey kids.

I've got a request for some help here.

I finally got my act together and started throwing down my World of Zekira book into a smaller quick-play booklet (to 65 pages down from 460) and got a cheapo PDF maker to put it into a pdf format.

Thing is, obviously, it loads fine for me because I've got everything that went into it on my computer. What I *don't* know is whether it imbedded all the fonts properly. There may be upwards of a dozen in it, even I had to search around for them on the net for my original program to open the old file properly.

What I need is for folks to download the pdf - it's 3.6-ish megs - and see if there are any problems like, "did not find x font some text may not appear correctly" errors. That'll tell me I need to work on formatting the pdf properly. Of course, if everyone *happens* to have all the fonts I'll never know lol.

http://droppin-the-fork.com/zekira/WOZ- ... T-test.pdf

That's the link, plus it's my game rules in a nutshell. It's got *none* of the society stuff in it, it's just the charts and rules for combat and some other brief things. As I got it down to that size, I can have it printed from a company much more cheaply as a perfect-bound tpb would be bound (trade paperback, if you don't know the term). This will mean I can free up other portions of the game book and split them down into more reasonable chunks. (The world maps, the 'Status Handbooks', etc.) And instead of one massive freaking huge book you could kill someone with, it'd be in about 3 or 4 smaller booklets of reasonable size to print cheaply. (.... lol. cheaply. I'm still looking at losing at least 5k on this, but hey, it's my rpg. I don't expect anyone to actually *play* it...)(... well I DO but ... it's never, ever, actually been playtested with all the rules intact. The online rpg doesn't much count because a) it never got anywhere and b) it was really loosely based on the rules, and not strict.)

So please if you would, download the pdf and see if you get any errors, and if you could please tell me *specifically* what those errors are if you do. That'll really, really help. This is NOT the final version, since I need to put a MUCH nicer version of the character sheet (the good one) in there (and get the back page not to lean quite so much... as it's a scan of the ORIGINAL one, print and all...).

Xenoqueen · Post by **Xenoqueen** » Fri Sep 07, 2007 12:07 pm

No errors for me.

Post by **StarFyre** » Fri Sep 07, 2007 12:23 pm

I'm not having any issues reading it.

On the thought of actually running a Zekiran game and playtesting it in real life... I've got a near perfect opportunity here at college, as I'm part of the SGS (Strategic Games Society). If I can round up a few people who might be interested in fooling around with something like this, I'm sure we can try our best to break it in every manner possible. ^.^

Shard · Post by **Shard** » Fri Sep 07, 2007 1:17 pm

SWEET.

That's why I'm working on these books right now. I've stripped the text from the Publisher file (which cannot be converted to a PDF no matter how hard I try and using every program at my disposal) and am moving the charts carefully. I'm also doing some editing, as my opinions on things may have changed over the last 25 years since starting the project...

But yeah, any input would be great, and having someone *who is not me* running something like this would be great.

I'm probably going to have the world book up first, because it's got the easiest stuff in it to transfer - and has the most pretty pictures

Character rules and creation are separate, and essentially flesh out most of that Quick Play guide (though the World book has the Steeds info and animals in it).

To this end too: Anyone who would like to contribute art, now would be a great time to jump on. I've already got a couple Fuzzy pieces in it, but other than those and a couple I swiped from folks in the Ferilon Farm group, I have *nothing but my own art*. Which is ... sooo freaking vain lol.

I particularly am in need of architecture, items (weapons, gambling things, money, etc), steed-based art (tack, carriages, and other such things - carriages only for grounded steeds, but tack for flying ones). Indeed, anything that it might inspire would be *great*.

The website linked in it has more social info, and some variations on how to create a character (mainly for the web to simplify it).

I'll also be putting out the Ferilon Guidebook like this too, because at least now I have a lot more solid artwork for it, and since I know the pdf program works, I can finally get that out

Trademarks here I come o.0

Post by **StarFyre** » Fri Sep 07, 2007 1:36 pm

This is a friend of Starfyre, who also happens to be the president of SGS and one of the organizers of a convention we run every year (Egyptian Campaign).

I've looked over what you linked, and I'm liking what I see.

As Starfyre said, it's very likely that we can beg/sweet-talk/coerce several people to try this system over a period of time. Another idea that comes to mind is running a one-shot using this setting/system at our spring convention, that and having a book or two (if they'll be printed by then) for prizes. Or you could possibly come out here next spring (terms to be figured out, of course) as a guest or to run a game.

If you'd like to chat more privately about any of this, you can reach me at egyptiancampaign@gmail.com or sgsprez@gmail.com.

Our website is http://www.egyptiancampaign.com

--Joseph Lenox
President, Strategic Games Society
Co-Chairman, Egyptian Campaign 2008

Shard · Post by **Shard** » Fri Sep 07, 2007 1:58 pm

I love you.

Shard · Post by **Shard** » Thu Sep 13, 2007 11:33 am

Updated:

There is a new version with some tweaks and additions.

http://droppin-the-fork.com/zekira/WOZ- ... T-9-12.pdf

Post by **StarFyre** » Fri Sep 14, 2007 1:17 pm

Mmm.. new version...

You don't mind if I print a copy or two out as hard copy reference, do you? I'm going to be bringing this topic up at the SGS meeting tomorrow, so I'll probably be having a game running soon.

With that in mind, as you get more of the material finished, I'll incorporate it into the game as I go. Is there any method of contacting you that you'd prefer if my group comes across rules or whatnot that we need clarified?

Shard · Post by **Shard** » Fri Sep 14, 2007 3:34 pm

Oh please do, that's why I made them in PDF.

I also have slightly better versions of the character sheets but they're Publisher files, not .docs and are thus harder to get into pdf.

If you need any info, please email my main addy
lethe.gray @ sbcglobal.net and put the subect Zekira so I know.

Shard · Post by **Shard** » Fri Sep 14, 2007 7:04 pm

Here's the specific page for the character sheet. It took me forever to get it to actually load the right things, I don't know why all of a sudden it's not working for ME, but for whatever reason, it's decided it only likes type 0 fonts embedded, or whatever. Again, if you're having ANY trouble with the fonts, tell me which one it falters on...

Hell, I can't even read the print2pdf manual.pdf because... it can't find Verdana of all things. :/ Maybe it's because I have like 9 thousand fonts loaded or something.

http://droppin-the-fork.com/zekira/woz-charsheet4.1.pdf

And for the rest of the social info, and all (almost all) the Mutation, Psionic and stuff info (for changes to stats) the world of zekira website:

http://www.geocities.com/world_of_zekira/

indyana · Post by **indyana** » Sat Sep 15, 2007 7:39 am

*takes a peak* Everything seems to load fine for me, and I'm running the linux version of things...

Shard · Post by **Shard** » Sat Sep 15, 2007 11:56 am

Oh good.

I had to fiddle with all kinds of settings, for saving it. I'm half convinced it's also my adobe reader that's screwing with it, too, because... well Adobe and I don't get along very well. Makes me wonder, if I print it from the web, will it show up properly, because half the time I would be able to view it properly freshly made but on my compy, but then load it to the web and it was all "nothin showing".

I've been working working working.

By the way StarFyre, I do have a 'startup' adventure, with semi-pregenerated characters and a setting, if you want I can try getting that into this format too. It could lead characters way beyond what I've written for the adventure, in terms of trading, steeds, parties, etc. I dunno, I haven't re-done anything with that particular piece in about 12 years. o.o Plus I'm working on a steed-based adventure hook with characters that have turned out to be just so much fun to make

And, I'm in contact with a guy who made this gorgeous 'radial city generator' thing for some game mod, and it's just beautiful, so hopefully he'll make me a 'flat' city generator so making my towns and layouts will be much easier. Instant roadmap.

Post by **StarFyre** » Sat Sep 15, 2007 4:42 pm

Yes, please on the startup adventure. =P the character sheet works fine for me.

Shard · Post by **Shard** » Sat Sep 15, 2007 6:33 pm

Cool.

I'll try and get that done as soon as I can, however some of the art's going to be crappy because it was all done on Publisher, and this pdf machine does NOT take well to anything copied directly from that

I'll extract it and see what it does in word, and then go from there. wheeee!

Shard · Post by **Shard** » Sat Sep 15, 2007 11:58 pm

Adventure!

Adden's Estate: a big sale, complete with missing persons, the potential to Free one of the characters, get ahold of some beautiful statuary, or be accosted by Breeders for your genes.

http://droppin-the-fork.com/zekira/woz-addengame.pdf

Should all work nicely, this time. I don't know why futzing with the controls makes everything harder :O

Shard · Post by **Shard** » Sun Sep 30, 2007 3:49 pm

Aaaand, book 1 (full version) the World of Zekira Social Systems Guide.

http://droppin-the-fork.com/zekira/WOZ- ... -30-07.pdf

It's a 12 meg file, so be warned

I put 'placeholder images' where there will be pictures needed - there are probably a few others I forgot (I saw one right when I was checking it out, of course) which will be added later. Any placeholers that I don't already own will be either bought or removed/changed by the time it gets anywhere important.

This covers all the aspects of social life on Zekira *except* steeds. How each of the Status interact, what's expected of certain Breeding levels, etc.

I added *a lot* to this since it started, surprising myself in the process actually. I outright changed one character generation roll (Budak are now far more likely to have been 3rd Degree Bred).

Up next.... I think I need to do the Character Generation book, which is the *expanded* version of the Quickstart guide. It'll be weird going back over everything again in expanded mode. Similar format, this book will contain the powers, mutations, rolls, combat info and other die-rolling info rather than the talkity-talk of this social systems book.

As always if there's something that seems to be confusing, left out, or not working right just tell me, that's why I'm posting it. And thanks everyone again.

I've been working really hard on this (sometimes until wee hours of the morning getting information to read the right way). It's been proofread and spell checked (oh how that hurts the poor program, really, because every other word's something it's never seen before).