17 January 2015

Sample WIP pages from Knights' Quest

Like it says in the title, here are a couple of pages from the Knights' Quest rulebook. I have endeavoured to strike the right balance between a strong medieval, illuminated manuscript theme, and modern readability. Do let me know if you think I've got it right!



Obviously page references for later in the rules aren't finalised yet and will depend on how I finalise arrangement of example diagrams for Combat and Shooting, and the image has been resized to be slightly shorter and wider than it really is, giving it a squatter feel than it really has, but you get the idea.

The page size is 189mm by 246mm (crown quarto) and the font is P22 Morris Troy, a digital version of that used by William Morris when printing some of his beautiful faux-medieval books like the Kelmscott Chaucer during the 1890s. The illuminations are digitally hand drawn using a Ugee M708 graphics tablet, and the rougher font used in the title is a slightly tweaked version of Worn Manuscript Rough.

Feedback always welcome,

Rab
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16 comments:

  1. Hetairoi17 January 2015 at 15:13

    Absolutely lovely! :-D

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  2. Jeff Mc17 January 2015 at 15:27

    Rab, this is really coming together well. Keep up to good work1

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    1. Rab17 January 2015 at 20:26

      Thanks, I think it is coming together now - each hour I spend on it gives real progress.

      Delete
  3. Asslessman17 January 2015 at 15:46

    Nothing to add really, it's all good !

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  4. DeanM17 January 2015 at 18:31

    Looking very nice - professional production quality.

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    1. Rab17 January 2015 at 20:27

      I'm delighted to hear that, Dean, I get so used to seeing it on my screen that I sometimes wonder if it's anywhere near good enough to publish.

      Delete
  5. Gareth17 January 2015 at 18:44

    That looks great! It's surprising how little thought/effort many designers put into their rule sets. Although a good set of rules is a good set of rules regardless of presentation, it cannot be denied that a bit of effort in this direction can significantly impart or enhance atmosphere and thus immersion.

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    1. Rab17 January 2015 at 20:28

      Thanks Gareth :) Atmosphere and immersion are definitely what I want for this game.

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    2. Gareth18 January 2015 at 10:20

      I also like the paper size you've chosen and the amount of text to a page. Wargaming/rpg rules can be quite overwhelming and breaking the text into manageable chunks like you have is not only aesthetically pleasing, but also practical.

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    3. Rab18 January 2015 at 17:06

      Excellent - all that time looking up bizarre ways to perfectly align the text in a medieval manuscript have paid off, then!

      Delete
  6. Tiny Basement Wars17 January 2015 at 22:13

    I know you've been pushing hard to get a medieval look to the rule book - and you've certainly hit the mark!

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    1. Rab18 January 2015 at 17:09

      Thanks, TB. It was amazing how it suddenly looked "right" after I discovered something called Tschichold's Canon of Page Construction (surely a d1000 table magic item if ever I heard of one) which is how to position the text block and balance it against the surrounding blank areas.

      Delete
  7. Mightyeroc19 January 2015 at 02:16

    I love calling the GM a Minstrel! Can't wait to see the finished product.

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