GAMA was good to me this year.

I talked to a lot of industry people that I only get to see maybe once or twice a year, I talked face to face with a few distributors, and I made a few connections and strengthened some old ones.

The distributors were all impressed with the mock up of HELLAS I presented and said they could sell it easily. This is good news since it will be the biggest and most expensive project that I have ever put together. I’m now putting together the promotional stuff for retailers and the info packs that I have to send out.

Jason Valore at Key20 is going to be a big help with HELLAS and is onboard to make this thing a success.

I talked to my printer while there and we hammered out the details of what he book will look like and the logistics of printing it. Things look good.

I hung out with my friends Jason and Jeff Siadek from Gorilla Games and Brennan Taylor, Fred Hicks and Leonard Balsera over at the IPR Booth. Ooops I better picks those up, I just drops a whole lot of names.

Overall the show was a success for me.

I let everyone know what was coming up.

Everyone seems impressed by the book and anxious to get it

And the logistics are in place to make it happen.

I feel good today

Jerry-

Hellas

Hel: Sun

Las: Stone

Energy and substance

Stars and their planets

The idea and the reality

The hype of a book and the physical book

The book becomes more real everyday. At GAMA yesterday I spoke directly with the company printing the book and we ironed out the spec. The book will be roughly 300 pages, color, done in a landscape format.

A few friends at the convention suggested that I go with my idea of doing a box set but I ultimately decided not to. The money I save on a box I can use in a few of the future projects.

I also talked to a few distributors and industry folk about HELLAS and everyone I showed the mock up to seemed impressed and enthusiastic. I’m a poor judge of character sometime and don’t know if I was getting the shine on or sincerity. I didn’t bother with an actual booth this year because my books (GODSEND Agenda) are represented through a few different fulfillment houses. Not being tied down allowed me to float around and talk to people I normally have to catch as they're leaving.

Most of the things I have planned I hesitate to talk about for fear they become more Hel (creative energy and thought) rather than Las (Physical substance and realization of physical product).

I’ll share one idea-

The HELLAS Dramatic Hook deck. A deck of cards that could be used while playing HELLAS. It would be a lot like the Booster Deck for GODSEND Agenda. The card idea is nothing new and was inspired by the TORG deck. The HELLAS deck would have more utility because I would put stuff on the cards that could be used to randomly generate plots, villains, plot twist as well as player tools.

The money I would save on a box I could put towards this idea.

No promises. I don’t want a piece of Vaporware

One thing I want and will start working towards soon is creating a community here. The advantage I have as a small publisher is that I can interact directly with the consumer. I want to build a game that is as much the consumers as it is mine.

I want this game to live.

I believe that an active, thriving community can make this game so much better than the words between the pages. Every site/forum I visit I find creative people with ideas so much cooler than my own. I want to make this game a creative outlet for their ideas. HELLAS will start the adventure and I’m looking forward to the players to drag me along with their comments, suggestions and ideas.

Maybe that’s just a flowery way of saying I’m lazy. I’m not sure. What I know is that this game can be a lot bigger if people vibe off of what I cook up and run with it. I look forward to seeing how this game is received when complete.

I think I’m starting to ramble so I’ll shut up now.

• Characters in HELLAS are the heroes who move and shape the world.
• Characters in HELLAS have ambitions and do deeds to gain glory.
• Characters in HELLAS have destinies to achieve or Fates to succumb to.

Without the player characters nothing changes or happens.

In HELLAS there is a system called Metousia which mechanically allows players to change aspects of the worlds they interact with.

Metousia allows the players to add an aspect to the story by spending points

Let’s say the heroes overthrow a despotic senator of Theban dyson rings. At the end of the adventure they may spend points to change aspects of that world to show that they have had some sort of effect. Perhaps they made the world safer or a bit more law abiding through their actions.

This concept was originally pioneered by Ray Winniger in the RPG Underworld.

Heroes in HELLAS are the favored of the gods. The hero of the story and ultimately the bearers of their own dynastic line. Heroes in HELLAS don’t live forever and when they die a bit of their Glory is bestowed upon their family. This allows a player to make a character related to his first who shares some of his common history. Over the course of a campaign the player might play the great grandson of his original character and have history, glory, and deeds that follow him and his family.

“I am Atrocles, son of Telemicus, slayer of Bydelles the Zoran, and keeper of the spear of Kalador”

What do characters do in HELLAS?

They save the universe and are immortalized among the stars and in the songs and legends of the Hellenes

Jerry-

Everything.

-MLF