The Plan, then

One of the final card designs.

So for the last month, I've been more or less silent. What you need to know is that Chariot isn't dead, far from it. We have a Plan.


First up, the game itself is being collated and written. Feedback from my trusted claque of People Who Care has been tremendously helpful, and the game systems and the setting have a shape now, a form.

The artwork for the accompanying Tarot deck is six cards from the finish.

First up comes the private playtest. Then, maybe, a public playtest. Experience in games writing has proved that open development is not, however, the way to go. Whatever happens, we'll iron out some kinks.

The game will be finished, laid out, proofread and (using the card art) illustrated. A little while after that, and not before, well, then comes the crowdfunder. And only then.

So why crowdfund it? For the game's future.

Nine of Swords, on the sketchpad. Be kind. It isn't finished.

Let me explain.

Everyone who funds the crowdfunder for more than about £4 gets a PDF copy of the book, very shortly afterwards. I'm investigating ways to expedite this.

If they fund it for more than... an amount I'm going to have to work out depending on how long the book is and format and everything, but probably somewhere between £10 and £20... they get the PDF, and then, after the crowdfunder has closed and I've worked out how many print copies I'm going to need, I get DriveThruRPG to print up a bundle of copies and they get the book. That'll happen within a month of the crowdfunder.

Meanwhile, pre-orders for the Tarot deck (which will also be complete and ready to print) will run concurrently with the crowdfunder. That too will be sent out when the pre-order run has finished.

The target for the crowdfunder is not likely to be much more than maybe £100. It's modest. Whatever happens, no one goes away empty handed.

But here's the thing. The more people contribute, the more likely it is that the rulebook will not be end. Look. I know that it's not going to set the world on fire. It's deeply unfashionable to make a game like this right now, particularly one that demands you use a Tarot deck, but then if I wanted to make a million, I wouldn't be doing this in the first place.

But you never know, right?

Each of the Suits has a different colour border, for added clarity.

So if I make more than maybe a thousand out of it, I get some of my Showbiz Game Designer Mates to write more stuff for it. Malcolm Sheppard is first up, a guy who's been writing amazing fantasy and science fiction role-playing games since the 90s. He's good people, and he's been a big supporter of this game.

If enough people like it, boom, they unlock more material. If they don't, if I only get a couple dozen people who love it, well, that's a couple dozen people who love it, and that's fine by me. But then, that's the thing with personal projects, isn't it?