Labyrinth Lord And Patience

I've been watching for a while now as the old school community debates the issues regarding "retro clone" games such as Labyrinth Lord. Never mind the fact that this game was created with old schoolers in mind. If you've still got your red book, then rock on and keep playing, but what if you don't?

People can debate whether it is right or wrong to even do what Goblinoid Games did by making LL, but there are two facts staring the critics in the face. It's here and available, and if the Wizards don't have a problem with it, what's the big damn deal?

Fact is, I have been impressed with the way LL has been handled since day one. Dan Proctor has calculated every move with this game since the announcement that it was being created. He also hasn't been working on a big budget. We're still talking $100's invested on a working man's salary, but we're also talking about thought going into it to get more bang for the buck.

Dan probably didn't consider back lash from the very community he's pitching this to, but maybe he did. There are those who want their old books and have other objections to LL. Fair enough. The problem is that you can't let those critics prevent you from trying to reach those in the old school crowd who would be interested.

Dan has been very level headed and has projected a good image on the net. This is another thing I respect about how he has handled things. It could be very easy to fall into that trap of getting negative, but he's had none of that. One of the important places to reach people about LL on the net is Dragonsfoot. It was a key place in the announcement of LL, Basic Fantasy and other games.

Where do you post about it, though? The General section isn't appropriate. Classic D&D would seem a good place, but some traditionalists don't like LL or OSRIC. That left the Other RPG's section. Dan used that section to announce LL. Problem is not everybody at the forum would know to look there. This was addressed recently when Basic Fantasy creator Chris Gonnerman and Skathros (don't know his name), two mods at Dragonsfoot, helped get a new section established.

The section is called Simulacrum Games. A witty name, I suppose. I'm not thrilled about it, because there are people who may be interested in what is there, but they won't look. They won't "get" what the name means. I would have preferred this to be a sub section of the Classic section with a name more to the point of what it's about. But, at least it has been created.

Baby steps, that's what it takes. Dan knows this, so Goblinoid Games is doing what it has to do. Labyrinth Lord is just one of GG's titles. There are a few others as well. What Dan has done is made announcements every few weeks to get the interest up. LL debuted a new cover for those who didn't like the old one a few weeks ago. Not long ago, Dan debuted a Monster Stat book for LL. Keep the word out and work within the budget.

When the Goblinoid Games forum was created, there was much excitement. Some good books have been created already. The Phoenix Barony campaign setting book, which I assisted in editing, was offered up by David Bezio. There are other books out there and more coming, but the initial excitement has died down. I've even heard some disappointment that more money wasn't generated yet.

Patience. It will take patience. If you are doing this as an independent, you can't expect big money over night. You've got to give it time. For instance, Dan has said he will wait a year or two to judge success or failure. In the meantime, he finds ways to keep putting the word out. This is what it takes. I know some have spent money on art work. If you are not putting this in a store, how important is art work, really? You spend how much to get it? Plus, are the players running through that dungeon even going to see the art in that book? Is the art needed if the cost is high enough?

This is a fair question. Why spend a couple hundred dollars on art if you don't have the outlet to recoup that money in a reasonable time? Are you looking to make enough money to take the wife out to dinner within a few weeks of the release of the book? Well, you need to consider how much money needs to be invested, Also, look around for art. There is public domain art and probably some artists willing to work with a person just trying to get started.

The work will be the thing. How is that dungeon or campaign setting? Have you created some new monsters that can challenge the group? Work on your writing and polish it until it shines. If you have created something that the player wants to play, it will sell. I know the pictures and that stuff look nice, but when you sit down at the table, the players are gonna roll the dice and play the game. If you wrote something fun and challenging, they will come back for more. Use clip art and that sort of stuff to make the book prettier.

But, most importantly and the reason for my post, be patient. It will take time for the word to spread. Go to the forums and spread the word. The more places you can get to, the better. Also, a free pdf sample of what you did can't hurt. If they don't know what you can do, why will they buy the book? I'm a big fan of Labyrinth Lord and what this game offers, but anybody creating mods for it needs to follow Dan's example and be patient.