Saturday, April 27, 2013

The Codex Celtarum is Now in Print and Going Out This Week!









After spending two decades playtesting and designing what became the Codex Celtarum, with scores of players and rule reinventions and updates, the project is over...for now! The 1st edition of this massive 174 page book is now printed and the PDF is being sent out to those who purchased it on the Kickstarter! So far the comments have been all superb and everyone is amazed by it on so many levels. Hopefully I will receive some full reviews soon, once I have them I will post them on here.



I do have, already, the changes for the 2nd edition in mind that will propel this book into farther places of being a gaming classic, but until then it is time to see the book in all of its wild Celtic glory, with its tribes, strange faery races and abilities, traditions, and more in it. I have defined the intangible, Faery or the Celtic Otherworld, in this project where no one else had before. I delved deep into the myths and lore obsessively trying to translate them into not only gaming terms, but comprehensible ones in general as well. 



My hope is that I can also supply an additional book for it on the underworld of Annwn with a more detailed atlas for players. This would allow players and GMs a more comprehensive setting that can be referred to rather than the condensed one I gave in the second chapter due to space restrictions. One particular thing I want to detail are the 33 cities of post-Roman Britain where the Britons still dwell in the path of the westward Saxon invasion.



The 150 Faery abilities also function as a spell list as well, giving the player more to use, and this realm of magic is counted as a part of the druidic, giving druids their legendary powers once attributed in early Celtic myths (who were seen as almost god-like). This won't put the game out of balance however since the GM is responsible for handling those issues in his or her game in general, it is meant to add an ever-changing range of wondrous options that give color and depth to the setting, and can be simply used only by the GM for the NPCs if needed - the possibilities are quite huge.



I didn't manage to place a pronunciation guide in the codex unfortunately, it was just one more small detail that had to be overlooked in the frantic completion of this, once never quite finished, project last year. Celtic languages are difficult for people with a single language background, or mainly an English speaking one and being able to differentiate Welsh from Cornish or Breton, or Irish Gaelic from Scottish or Manx will be impossible for most, especially since I have them in use all over Faery without any logic (but that is Faery and how it works). 



If you have any questions about this Codex, send them my way, either on my author page or by Facebook and I can reply to them as they come, dim problem! Now get out there and game in the Otherworld! 


8 comments:

  1. Just started reading it between tasks today. Very readable Brian, and I appreciate your candor at the beginning when you say that it's virtually impossible to present something authoritative. Enjoying the tone and feel, well written and system neutral so far. When I'm trough I'll be sure to write a review.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Diolch and it is true, because there is so little in the most important places, it is completely impossible to present it as it once would have been, so I had to creatively fill those gaps using a Celtic idiom and thinking. Give me your review when you can, I will be eager to read it all and take it in mind when we do a new edition!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Very interested in checking this out, and I haven't bought any new RPG books in over a year! I've run two Celtic themed games before, one based on the 2000AD comic Slaine, and this is the best looking Celtic RPG supplement I've seen. Gonna grab the pdf soon!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Slaine is a nice take on the mythology but it is a little over-the-top and loses its hold on the subject matter after a while. I hope you like it! This book took me a LOT of playtesting and evolution to make. It is original and yet accurate to the sources (where given). We still game it after twenty years with something new everytime. Tell me what you think about it Eodrid! Diolch!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Just got the pdf and I'm really liking it so far. So many rpg supplements about fey are based on "what feels like a fairy tale", but with this you can tell that the real myths and legends were the inspiration. Makes a big difference.

    ReplyDelete
  6. I hope you like it! Tell me what you think of the whole thing, if you want. It has some editing errors and a few other little issues that slipped through the final editing steps somehow, but for a first edition I am very happy with it.

    ReplyDelete
  7. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Hey Brian!

    I was wondering if you were or knew who the artist of the 'Selkie reflection' illustration was so I can as their permission to use their work. I want it as a tattoo and the tattoo artist agreed I should try to get in contact with the artist first if I can find them

    ReplyDelete