Since event registration for Gen Con Indy opens this Monday at noon
Pacific, I thought I'd send along another heads-up. For those who are
interested in playin some Treasure Hunter, there'll be adventures
running at 8:00 am, noon and 4:00 pm on Thursday and Friday.

-Nate

Greetings all!

Things have been quiet around here for a while, but I think business
is about to pick up again.

The second and third adventures for Treasure Hunter, "Spoils of War"
and "Nemesis," are still in the works, but right now I'm looking for
some input regarding the next project on the drawing boards. We're
looking at putting together a large adventure trilogy/rules
supplement, and I'd like to know all of your thoughts. What kinds of
things do you think should be in it? What rules, options and anything
else isn't in the main book that should be included in a supplement?

-Nate

Just a heads-up regarding a minor update--I've added a new link, one
for the online encyclopedia Wikipedia. Recently I've been researching a
number of adventures, and this has proven to be a useful quick source
for information.

-Nate

Greetings!

I'm pleased to announce that the first adventure in the Quest of the
Ancients series, "The Mystery and the Tomb," is now available from
Emerald Press.

-Nate

Greetings!

I thought I'd give everybody a heads-up regarding the
Treasure Hunter adventures that I'm planning to run at
Gen Con this year. As most of you already know, I'm
working on a series of scenarios that I call the Quest
of the Ancients Campaign. For those who are
interested, players may create and use the same
character throughout the series, either at home or at
conventions where the adventures are being run.

The schedule for Gen Con 2005 looks like this:

Thursday, 8/18, 8:00 am
QA-01: “The Mystery and the Tomb”
During a visit to Greece the heroes become embroiled
in the search for the lost tomb of the first apostle,
Andrew. Others seek the same goal, however, and don’t
intend to let the heroes stand in their way.

Thursday, 8/18, noon
QA-02: “Spoils of War”
A relaxing journey by ship across the Mediterranean is
disturbed when the heroes stumble across evidence of a
priceless historical treasure, and a conspiracy to
steal it from its rightful owners.

Friday, 8/19, 8:00 am
QA-03: “Nemesis”
It is a time of celebration throughout Greece
following the Olympic Games’ return to their ancient
home. Yet there is a dark plot afoot, and only the
heroes can prevent an international tragedy.

Friday, 8/19, noon
QA-04: “The Death Mask of Hatshepsut”
According to legend, an ancient Egyptian treasure was
lost with the sinking of the Ocean Liner Titanic. Now
one treasure hunter believes he has found a clue to
its location, and has arranged a competition to claim
the prize.

Saturday, 8/20, 8:00 am
QA-05: “The Caribbean Caper”
Strange invitations lead the heroes into the search
for a missing person and the lost legacy for which he
was hunting.

Saturday, 8/20, noon
QA-06: “A Shot at Redemption”
A New Age society has arisen in southern Louisiana,
claiming to possess secrets of mystical enlightenment.
Naturally the heroes are asked to investigate the
matter.

-Nate



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Greetings all!

About a week ago I came across the first review that I've seen for
Treasure Hunter; all in all I was quite pleased.

Here it is.

Reviewer: Crothian

"In the modern era the idea of treasure hunters is seems to have
lessoned. At the turn of the ninetieth century there were more people
and more stories of people exploring the Egyptian Pyramids and the
dark continent of Africa. Now with communication lines open world
wide, the little mysteries have seemingly fallen to the side. But of
course that does not have to be the case in the role playing games.
Treasure Hunters is a new book that brings back the mysteries of tomb
raiding and getting the priceless artifacts before the bad guys. It
uses d20 Modern and it has some options for greater amounts of magic
in the world if that is what is desired.

"Modern Campaign Options: Treasure Hunter is a new book by Emerald
Press. These one hundred and eighty pages are written by Nathanael
Christen. Emerald Press has put out a few very interesting books of
those I enjoy their book on Labyrinths best. This PDF comes in two
versions one for one screen viewing and one for printing out. The one
screen version is full color though not with much art. The lay out is
good and the book is well book marked.

"Treasure Hunter starts strong, has some really great things in it,
but I found too much of it reprinted from elsewhere. I do like the
feel of the book and I am part of the target audience for this book.
If I were to run a modern d20 game it would be of the same feel and
direction of this book. It could have gone a little more Pulp for me
as it does have plenty of the same foundation that pulp games do.
That is a short version of this book, now to look at it a little more
in depth.

"The first six chapters are pretty much all about new characters
options. They include six new advanced classes, advice for using some
of the advanced classes from d20 Modern in this setting, a couple new
occupations, information on skills, some new feats as well as many
reprinted ones, and a chapter on alliances, contacts and relations.
The Retrieval Specialist a.k.a. tomb robber is probably my favorite
of the new advanced classes. The items in these first few chapters
really do a nice job of setting the theme with the characters and
giving options that support it all.

"The book continues on with more DM oriented material though the
players can get use out of it to. The new tools are nice like ice
climbing equipment and multi tools. The book has some simple ideas
for chases and traveling the globe as these types of games can easily
include both. There are some nice occupational hazards like the
classic quicksand, avalanches, and frigid water.

T"he magic section has some good ideas for magic in the modern world.
Many of the spells though are reprints form D&D although they did a
nice job of including ones that make sense for the setting. There are
also two types of spells one for a much lower magical setting that
they referred to Discreet and more obvious ones referred to as
Vulgar. Magic items include the options from the DMG that make sense
of the setting, but it is the artifacts that really are a great part
of the book. There is a nice variety of items from myth and history.
One could easily have a book on these sorts of items and I would
really like to see someone actually do that. But until that day this
section serves to offer some great ancient artifacts that many
players will recognize.

"There are some really good animal write ups of gorillas, snakes,
bears, and other creatures. With the artifacts and mystical locations
presented here I was surprised to not see anything on mythical
beasts. But the Mythical Locations are another great area and another
topic that would make a great individual book. Mythical Beast for the
modern era complete with backgrounds would also make a great book.
But I digress. The locations offered here are many of the famous and
not so famous places. There are over two dozen places from the real
world mentioned here and each is provided with a nice plot hook.

"The book does a great job of capturing the Treasure Hunter and this
type of campaign. The reprinted material is a difficult thing for a
publisher to decide to do as there are many reasons to include it and
to not to. I really enjoy the mystical locations and artifacts. This
is a great book for anyone wanting the pulp feel for a modern game."


My question, for those of you who've had a chance to take a look at
it, is what do you all think?

-Nate

At long last, Modern Campaign Options: Treasure Hunter is now
available at RPGNow.com.

-Nate

Greetings all!

At long last I'd like to announce that the Web teaser for Treasure
Hunter, Black Caesar's Cache, is now available for download at
<www.emeraldpress.net/treasure.html>. In addition, the company is now
accepting pre-orders for the finished product.

I'd like to say "Thanks!" once again to everyone on this list who
offered input and support.

-Nate

Greetings all!

I hope the new year is treating everyone well; I, for one, am quite
excited.

The teaser for Treasure Hunter, "Black Caesar's Cache," is very
nearly finished and should appear on the Emerald Press website soon.
Production is moving steadily on the main book, with just a few small
details to be finished. As soon as it is available, I also have the
first adventure in the Quest of the Ancients series--"The Mystery and
the Tomb." Although the waiting is killing me, it should be over
before long.

-Nate

Greetings all.

I thought I'd send out a little note to mention that Treasure Hunter
is going through layout as we speak; as a little teaser, I have a
link to a commercial available on the Emerald Press website.

http://www.emeraldpress.net/TreasureHunter.wmv

-Nate

Greetings all!

The process of publication continues; I've just sent off my revisions
to the final edit of the core rulebook, and should finish the
revisions to the introductory teaser later tonight.

I hope everyone has a relaxing and satisfying Thanksgiving holiday.

-Nate

All-

Well, I've just sent off the Treasure Hunter teaser for the Emerald
Press website; hopefully it'll be appearing online soon.

-Nate

Greetings all!

I've updated the Links section of the group with a few that I find
useful; if anyone else has useful sites in mind, recommendations are
most welcome.

-Nate

As a bit of a follow-up to my recommendation of MODERNIZED issue 1:

I've been looking at the alternate non-lethal damage rules presented
in the article on page 27, and I like them; what I'm thinking of
doing is adopting them as an official house rule for my Quest of the
Ancients campaign. What do you all think?

-Nate

I'm glad to see your enthusiasm!

As it looks right now, Treasure Hunter should be
released some time in November. Because of that, I'm
holding off with the release of the first adventure
until the middle of December. (That also gives me a
little time to polish up the first three and start
working on the next few.)

There shouldn't be many major changes to the book.
What I did change was:
-New rules for using Reputation to gain access to
restricted archaeological sites
-Complete descriptions of any spells and feats not
from the D20 Modern core rules
-Guidelines for haggling over prices
-A few new equipment items
-More artifacts and relics
-Adventure hooks for the exotic locations
-Expanded guidelines for designing adventures and
campaigns
-Rules for traps

I can give you the blurbs for the first three
adventures, taken from the Gen Con catalog:

QA-01: “The Mystery and the Tomb”
During a visit to Greece the heroes become embroiled
in the search for the lost tomb of the first apostle,
Andrew. Others seek the same goal, however, and don’t
intend to let the heroes stand in their way.

QA-02: “Spoils of War”
A relaxing journey by ship across the Mediterranean is
disturbed when the heroes stumble across evidence of a
priceless historical treasure, and a conspiracy to
steal it from its rightful owners.

QA-03: “Nemesis”
It is a time of celebration throughout Greece as the
Olympic Games return to their ancient home. Yet there
is a dark plot afoot, and only the heroes can prevent
an international tragedy.

All in all the adventures went better that I had
hoped. All three sold out, and I ended up running the
first one a second time as a pick-up round because
some of the players who'd missed it wanted to play
catch-up. I think I'll be offering at least four next
year.

--- mserabian <malcolm.serabian@...>
wrote:
> I'm interested to hear how the adventures went at
> Gen Con. I'm VERY
> excited to get a look at these advenures. Your idea
> for a series of
> linked senarios a la the Living games sounds great!
> When can we get
> a hold of them?
>
> I've been following this group since its beginings
> and I've been
> anticipating your products release for some time.
> Any idea when
> we'll see the final PDF? Can you give us any hints
> as to how things
> have changed since you had posted the original file
> here a long time
> ago?



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Nate

I'm interested to hear how the adventures went at Gen Con. I'm VERY
excited to get a look at these advenures. Your idea for a series of
linked senarios a la the Living games sounds great! When can we get
a hold of them?

I've been following this group since its beginings and I've been
anticipating your products release for some time. Any idea when
we'll see the final PDF? Can you give us any hints as to how things
have changed since you had posted the original file here a long time
ago?

Again looking forward to the adventures and the final product - and
to hearing back from you!

mal

D'oh!

And the link for the first issue is:

<http://www.intrepidheroes.com/modernized.htm>

-Nate

--- nmchrist_2000 <nmchrist_2000@...> wrote:
> For the interest of anyone here who might be
> running/playing
> in/working on/thinking about a D20 Modern campaign,
> I thought I'd
> recommend the new "MODERNIZED," a free e-zine which
> looks like it'll
> be providing some solid material for the system.



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Greetings all.

For the interest of anyone here who might be running/playing
in/working on/thinking about a D20 Modern campaign, I thought I'd
recommend the new "MODERNIZED," a free e-zine which looks like it'll
be providing some solid material for the system.

-Nate

Greetings all!

As you've no doubt noticed, I've added a couple of documents to the
Files section of the list-serv. One is the character creation rules
for the ongoing series of adventures on which I'm working; the other
is the record sheet for character activity. This series of adventures
is intended to be rather like the RPGA's Living campaigns--people can
play the same character throughout the scenarios, gaining experience
and other benefits throughout the series. As I've mentioned before,
I'm running the first three of these adventures at Gen Con Indy, and
they'll be available by request through this list starting in
December.

If anyone is interested, I'd love to hear what people think about the
rules that I've posted.

-Nate

Hello,

This email message is a notification to let you know that
a file has been uploaded to the Files area of the D20ModernTreasureHunter
group.

   File        : /Campaign Adventure Record.doc
   Uploaded by : nmchrist_2000 <nmchrist_2000@...>
   Description :

You can access this file at the URL:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/D20ModernTreasureHunter/files/Campaign%20Adventure\
%20Record.doc

To learn more about file sharing for your group, please visit:
http://help.yahoo.com/help/us/groups/files

Regards,

nmchrist_2000 <nmchrist_2000@...>

Hello,

This email message is a notification to let you know that
a file has been uploaded to the Files area of the D20ModernTreasureHunter
group.

   File        : /Quest of the Ancients Campaign Guide.doc
   Uploaded by : nmchrist_2000 <nmchrist_2000@...>
   Description : Quest of the Ancients Campaign Guide

You can access this file at the URL:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/D20ModernTreasureHunter/files/Quest%20of%20the%20A\
ncients%20Campaign%20Guide.doc

To learn more about file sharing for your group, please visit:
http://help.yahoo.com/help/us/groups/files

Regards,

nmchrist_2000 <nmchrist_2000@...>

Greetings all!

I know the board has been quiet for a while now; we're still in the
editing process, but hopefully we'll be finished for an August
release.

On the subject of August--one thing I've mentioned before is that
I'll be running three Treasure Hunter scenarios at Gen Con Indy.
There are still open spots in two of the three rounds; for anyone
who's interested, you can find them by running a search for D20
Modern scenarios. (The titles are "The Mystery and the Tomb," "Spoils
of War" and "Nemesis.")

Beyond that I'm looking for some input regarding upcoming projects.
In addition to the series of adventures that I have planned, I'm
kicking around ideas for additional supplemental material. The things
I have in mind so far include:

*Adventurer's Chronicles--a series of sourcebooks detailing specific
parts of the world, such as Greece and Germany
*The Enemies & Allies Anthology--a collection of NPC's for the
campaign
*The Cartography Compendium--a collection of maps of common locations
in the modern setting, along the lines of what Paizo Publishing had
been including in Polyhedron

My question for you all is, are there any other types of supplements
that you think would be particularly handy for players and/or GMs?

Once again, thanks for all your input.

-Nate

Greetings all!

I'm excited to announce that we've reached the playtesting phase for
Treasure Hunter; would anyone here be interested in running a
playtest session of the adventure that will be included with it?

-Nate

Greetings all!

I hope life is treating you all well.

For those who are planning to attend Gen Con in
Indianapolis this August, I wanted to let you know
that I will be running three Treasure Hunter
adventures--"The Mystery and the Tomb," "Spoils of
War" and "Nemesis." They should be listed under D20
Modern games once the event registration begins. If
you're planning on going and are interested in
playing, I'd love the chance to meet people face to
face.

Yours,
Nate

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Some very nice guidelinds for writing, John. I particularly liked the
suggestions for non-linear encounters that keep the action moving; I
know I've run some investigative adventures before where the heroes
miss a single clue and the gaming session is bogged down for a good
hour. One interesting encounter that gives them a prod in the right
direction would take care of that.

-Nate

--- In D20ModernTreasureHunter@yahoogroups.com, "John McMullen"
<jhmcmullen@y...> wrote:
> These are the notes I had written regarding plotting adventures.
> Etc.

These are the notes I had written regarding plotting adventures.

PLOT

Sometimes the best description of these adventures is,
"One damn thing after another."

Most movies and adventures of this type consist of a
number of setpieces, of cool events or settings that
are strung together in a fairly linear fashion; this
overview of an adventure can easily be constructed in
a flowchart model. (In fact, that's how Raiders of the
Lost Ark was written--a bunch of cool setpieces were
strung together very well.)

Let's say that you have a couple of ideas for a pyramid
in Belize (and the half-starved jaguars that come with
it) and an abandoned mine in the Mojave desert. It's
easy enough to connect them: the characters will
discover something in the pyramid (a corpse?) that
will lead them to the mine. In the mine, they'll find
the clue that will lead them to the next location.

The individual setpieces don't have to be linear.
All you care about is that the characters can get
what they need to move to the next location, and that
the players have fun doing it.

Even though moving from the encounter in the pyramid
in Belize to the abandoned mine in the Mojave desert
is linear, the actual encounter in the pyramid or
mine might be quite open -- more of a non-linear
structure. (The d20 CoC rulebook refers to these as
linear and non-linear; the DM Guide discusses event
versus site-based adventures.)

It can often work out that each evening's session has
its own location. The pyramid in Belize might take an
entire evening (or longer)--but it can also end swiftly
when the players hire a helicopter to take them
directly to the pyramid, and they descend using rope ladders.

Bear in mind the "cool factor" -- what do you want to
happen that's cool?  Most players want something interesting
in the evening's play.

Will it be an outrageous trap (the giant rolling
boulder, the pit full of snakes), an unexpected opponent
(an animated statue, a guardian mummy), a race in a cool
setting (down the streets of Madrid in a stolen hearse,
complete with a coffin filled with a mystic corpse),
or a devious puzzle?

Sometimes, of course, the players will totally miss the cool
part.  They will decide to enter the tomb in the best manner
of Giovanni Belzoni, using dynamite instead of stealth,
and thereby miss all of the cool dart-throwing niches in the
wall.  More power to them, but if this leads the game in
directions where you don't want it to go-- Well.  The powers
behind some of the major artifacts often have ways of
showing their displeasure.

This is not to say you should railroad them, but there is
precedent in the source material for the guiding hand of the
god or gods. However, use this sparingly.

TRADING THE MCGUFFIN

One of the interesting things in both Raiders of the
Lost Ark and Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade is that
both have a treasured item that gets swapped back and forth
between sides. In Raiders, it's the ark itself; in Last
Crusade, it's the Grail diary. This kind of exchange has
a couple of good points to observe and some things to
be wary of.

The good thing is that it keeps players motivated: they
have to get the dingus back. The bad thing is that players
*hate* being defeated, even if it provides them the chance
for an exciting escape and retrieval. Out of game, the
best way to deal with this is to have players who
understand that the type of game you're playing calls for those
reversals, that the characters must keep struggling.

SETPIECES

Some of the best ideas can come from true stories of adventure
travelers. For example, the Iman's Rock Palace in Yemen consists
of twelve stories and deep wells that are regarded with
superstition as a dwelling of djinns, deep in the ground.
Perhaps the wells lead to underground caverns; perhaps there
*really* are djinns of some form or another, guarding the
treasure, and the only way to get to them is to rappel down
the well while no one is watching.

Odd facts--that snowmobiles can travel on water, if they start
at full speed to start--might trigger things for you.

TRAPS

Traps are, frankly, a lot of fun for the GM. But they do
lead (for me) to the question of historical accuracy.


HISTORICAL ACCURACY

You may choose to be historically accurate, but be warned
that this will shut off a lot of options. The Americas never
used the wheel (except for a small toy), which means that their
traps and treasures are not guarded by anything with hinges
or pulleys; they in fact didn't have doors. (There's a reason
their tombs are usually closed by piles of rubble.)

Don't let the quest for historical accuracy control everything;
the main goal is to have fun, and certainly the models for a
Treasure Hunter game don't let facts interfere with the story.
(The sand Indy picks up at the beginning of Raiders of the Lost
Ark could never weigh as much as the idol.)

Greetings all.

I should mention that, while Treasure Hunter has entered the editing
process, my editor intends to allow me a good deal of input. This
means that, if you still have comments to make, I'd still love to
hear them.

If all goes well, the core rules and introductory adventure are
scheduled for release in May.

This brings me to my next business, future supplements and adventures
for the campaign setting. I have already begun work on a number of
location-based supplements, tentatively named the "Adventurer's
Chronicles." The first three of these would deal with North America,
Greece & the Mediterranean and Germany, no necessarily in that order.
My other envisioned project is a series of Treasure Hunter
adventures, somewhat in the vein of the RPGA's Living campaigns.
These would be various scenarios, some following an overarcing
storyline and others independent of it.

Whether these projects would be published by Emerald Press or handled
independently I do not know; nevertheless, would people be intrested
in contributing to them?

-Nate

John-

I for one would still like to see what you've written.

-Nate

--- John McMullen <jhmcmullen@...> wrote:
> Darn it, I just wrote a page or two of suggestions
> for plotting
> a treasure hunter campaign. Ah, well...you snooze,
> you lose.
> I might put it up here anyway for folks to comment
> on.

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--- Nathanael Christen <nmchrist_2000@...> wrote:
> First of all, I hope the new year is treating everyone
> well.
>
> I'm pleased to note that I've sent my final draft of
> "Treasure Hunter" to my editor--now the waiting period
> begins. In the meantime, I'd like to have full names
> for everyone who offered commentary so that I can
> include you in the credits page; if you could e-mail
> me, I'd appreciate it.

Darn it, I just wrote a page or two of suggestions for plotting
a treasure hunter campaign. Ah, well...you snooze, you lose.
I might put it up here anyway for folks to comment on.

Congrats for getting it off; I know they'll be anxious to get
it to market in time for the fourth Indiana Jones movie.

John McMullen



=====
John McMullen (Dilettante and malcontent)
jhmcmullen@...

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