KhorasForum

I would encourage you to finish your game when you find time. I, for one, would love to see it.

As for the wider industry, let things unfold as they will. I'm not really even concerning myself with where the industry is going. I've looked at a lot of games and explored what I like and don't like. I agree the industry seems to be changing every year. And maybe my game will be seen as outdated and old-fashioned and won't connect with younger gamers today. And that's fine with me. I think the audience for my RPG will be quite small, but hopefully fervent.

Certainly! 

I haven't been doing much work on my own game for a few years due to increased school commitments—I should finally finish my undergrad next spring, and am spending this summer reading something like 3,000–4,000 pages of self-assigned texts for my Departmental Honors—but I understand completely your frustrations with D&D and excitement about your own game. I look forward to seeing what you've come up with once it's where you're happy with it!

I will say that, personally, I was somewhat concerned that any chance for my game to sell even slightly would dry up once the next edition/ruleset of D&D dropped, but honestly, with the way that Hasbro and Wizards have fumbled their IP, I'm much less concerned. But I do like to keep an eye on some of what's going on in the wider industry, both in terms of the major publishers and the indies. I figure it can't hurt to know the landscape in which players will be encountering my game. Glad you found some interest, if not amusement, in the video. 

Gah, fucking copyright trolls.

But yes, I concur; having ironclad sourcing for everything on the site is a best practice, and will save you the worry if something like this happens again.

So this is a weird one. I got an email from Copytrack the other night saying that their "client" claimed I was using a photo on the Khoras website without permission. They said to resolve the legal dispute, I would have to take down the photo and pay them about 400 euro. Oh, this was apparently in the courts of Germany.

Copytrack is real company, but the whole thing smelled of a scam. I did a little research and found a Reddit page where people were saying the same thing happened to them. Claims of copyright infringement of a photo, same client, same claim that it was under the rules and courts of Germany, etc. Most of the people in the Reddit discussion were saying the same thing... "it's a scam, fuck 'em".

That made me feel a little better, but I was still wary. The photos on the site have come from many sources. Some of them I took myself. Some are Photoshop work or AI generated. Some were given to me by friends from their vacations abroad. I've purchased many of the images at stock image libraries like iStockPhoto. As far as I know, every single photo on this website is legit and legal. However, I haven't done a great job of TRACKING where I got all the photos. This whole incident got me thinking that I should start getting organized and track the source of every photo on the site. And that's just what I've started doing.

This will be a long project, but in just a few nights, I've successfully tracked more than half the photos. iStockPhoto luckily tracks all your past downloads.

And it turns out, the very photo I was accused of stealing by Copytrack and their client was in the list. I have ironclad proof that I legally purchased that specific photo from iStockPhoto. So, yeah, fuck 'em. It is a scam. I think they probably do this to many websites hoping to scare the webmaster into paying them 400 euro or whatever they are claiming.

Despite having put this to rest, I'm going to finish this project. I'm going to slowly track down the source of every photo used on this site. It'll probably take months. Those that I can't track down, I'll replace with a new photo. But eventually, I want to have detailed notes on where every single photo came from. I don't ever again what to be accused of copyright infringement.

I watched the video and, yeah, pretty much matched my expectations. They absolutely were trying to make 4e feel and function like a video game. And that's precisely why I dislike 4th Edition.

I don't really have anything good to say about Mike Mearls or the last two editions of D&D so I'm just going to keep my mouth shut and go back to work on my own game.

Yes, I have been building my own table top RPG for the last 3 1/2 years. I probably have another year or two to go. We did a lot of playtesting in 2023 and 2024. I'm pretty proud of everything I've built so far. It is very different from D&D. It shares a couple of similar rules, but departs from D&D dramatically in several key areas. I can't wait to unveil it to the world.

I don't expect it sell like hotcakes. I'm going to publish it on this website and on DrivethruRPG and maybe some other sites. If I manage to sell a few copies, I'll be happy. The point is that I'm building the game I've always wanted to play. And when all is said and done, that's all that matters.

To be honest, I don't play D&D anymore. I haven't played in several years. I am playing my new game exclusively. Really excited to finish it up and put it out into the world and see what people think. As I get closer to release, I will probably post more about it on the site here.

Also, that's why there has been so little development on the Khoras website the last couple years. Most of my focus has been on this new RPG. But the website is benefiting from some of the medieval research I've done for the game. I want the two to be fairly in-sync.

Anyway, thanks for posting the video link. It was interesting.

So, here's just a short little video with an interview with Mike Mearls: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bGFHTAe-wnc

There are a number of interesting points, but one in particular amused me, and I thought I'd point it out: 4th Edition was, in fact, absolutely intended to make D&D more like World of Warcraft.

Anyway, just thought it was worth a watch, and I'd love to hear any thoughts anyone else has.

Indeed, lol.

A large portion of my free time consists of just such information consumption. I'd say research, but... it's really more like sticking a dry sponge in a filled tub and then letting it drip all over the house.

As for the game, take your time, obviously, but I'll be here ready and waiting for the buzz when it comes.

I appreciate that I've got at least ONE fan who pops in to the forum from time to time. I really do appreciate that, Tanis!

I remember Dr. Capwell from the Arrows vs Armor project (I absolutely loved that series) and I like him alot. He has been in several of Todd's videos. Also, I am familiar with Schola Gladiatoria and have seen some of his videos. I should watch more of them. Not familiar with Sandrhoman, but I'll check it out. I am always looking for new information channels. I do want to branch out more.

Thank goodness for YouTube and, more broadly, the whole of the internet. There is SO MUCH good information out there. I can't say enough good things about Modern History TV, Todd's Workshop, Schola Gladiatoria and others... they have all been so helpful.

Once I publish the game, I will be very interested in comments and feedback. Absolutely. I think it may drive a surge of activity here on the site as well and in the forum.

From time to time, I'll comment here in the forum about how things are going with the game.

Also, it's worth mentioning that I periodically check the forum, even when I don't have anything to say, so I at least will continue to be around whenever someone pops their head back in to say something. No worries on the slowness of posts, I just keep the tab open until something happens.

That's too bad. 

I agree, it's weird how the internet connects us through our words with likeminded strangers. R.I.P. Sid6.7.