I’ve received samples of the artwork for the book, and things are looking really good. I’m trying to find out from the artist if I can post one or two of them here so you can get a sneak peek at what’s in the book.

And now, some publication info: if everything goes the way I expect it to, The Cross, the Crescent and the Seal will be published in the second quarter of 2007. However, I have been considering splitting it into two books (one for d20 and one for HERO System). If this is the way we end up going, the d20 one would be published first, and the HERO System version a couple of months later, once the HERO version has been approved by DOJ, Inc.

Once things are finalized, the specifics will be posted here.

I’ve decided to take the time to outline the plan for the Kolrath line of books. There will be two core books: a Player’s Guide, and a GM’s Guide. The Player’s Guide will contain all the information you will need to create a character in the world of Kolrath. The GM’s Guide will contain information about the campaign world, including expanded information on the deities of Kolrath and a few NPC races.

In addition to the core books, there will be a series of Secrets of… books. There will be one book for each race and nation, with possible additional topics such as magic and religion. The Secrets of… books will contain more history and information about the race or nation, including sample dwellings and language information. The Secrets of… books are supplemental books, and not required to play in the world of Kolrath.

There will also be at least one adventure published for the Kolrath setting. That work has not yet been assigned, and won’t be until the core books are completed.

The books will be for the D20 system, but whether it will be OGL or D20 has yet to be decided.

I’m almost finished the races chapter for Kolrath Player’s Guide. There are seven new races in Kolrath (the standard races from D&D 3.5 do not exist in Kolrath): the Gallua, Kellari, Oketare, Pricari, Thayar, Vessek and Yemara. Of course, these names may change before the book ends up being published.

I received an update two days ago from Matthew Gregory, the freelancer who is writing the two fantasy genre Kandris Seal books for HFP. The manuscript for the first of the two books, entitled The Cross, the Crescent and the Kandris Seal is due in October. I have to say I’m rather excited about this book. Matthew has come up with a lot of really cool ideas. The phrase “Nile crocodiles subverted by the taint that are now rampaging monsters evocative of dragons” made me cackle with glee.

As he’s writing, he’s working alongside two artists, developing the artwork for the book as they go. I’ll be receiving some samples of the artwork over this coming weekend, and I’ll post some snippets of my favorites next week.

For what has become the Core Book for the Kandris Seal line, work progresses on that. All the text from the original manuscript has been reviewed, and we’re now working on just the new material. We will be adding in stats (and maps) for the main Chapter House of the Thaumaturgia, among other things. Once this is done, the manuscript will have to be submitted to Hero Games for review and approval. Providing there are no problems, the book will be released two months after that.

At the very least, the Kandris Seal line will be sold in pdf format. I am, however, exploring the options of getting them all published in hard copy.