Rulebook and Request

Trent has forwarded me a proof of the core rulebook. Later this month, I will be editing this proof. I cannot guarantee I will have something for you by January's game. February should be doable.

To that end, I would like to officially request that any remaining copies of the old rules be destroyed.

Several people have copies of previous rules, some of which are upwards of five years old. These rules not only no longer apply to Kingdom Come, but the new rules that are out are different enough that it could almost be considered a completely new system.

I ask this of you because making reference to previously printed copies of old rules that have changed, for the most part, quite a bit, is causing problems in Providence. It's causing problems for players, who sometimes advise each other as to how the 'old system' worked, and it's causing problems for the Storyguide.

I don't know, for instance, which version of outdated rules you have. So I can't tell you the ways in which the rules have changed. And rather than learning three or four different rules system, I would like to ask that you destroy any previous editions of rules you might have.

It is difficult, I understand, for some people to play the game without knowing all the rules. However, it is much more difficult to play the game using rules that are no longer used, or which have changed enough that they may in some cases be completely different.

For instance, a player at the last game attempted to use their Technique in a way in which it does not function. It may have done in a previous version of the rules, but that has changed, and in this case, significantly. I understand there are players who've played KC for *years* under *multiple* sets of rules, and they have legitimate questions about how things work now. In fact, some of the players who were involved in the *very first game* of KC have mentioned that they have no idea how certain things function currently, and they ask to see the rules at the games when needed. It's an unwieldy system at the moment, to be sure. But it would really help in the long run, I think, if those old rules were simply discarded.

What's coming out in February (with a final publication date in June, AFAIK) will be significantly different in all respects, and the old verisons are causing more problems than they are helping clarify issues.

So please, if you *do* have an old copy of the rules, or parts of the rules, in print or on disc or in PDF, please destroy them.

I'd appreciate it, and so would Trent.

My understanding is that the book coming out in February will be a bare bones version that just has the rules in it. Is this correct, and if it is, when can players have access yo afull rulebook that includes things like explanations on what reckonings are like, IC history, and other setting info.

One of my more frustrating moments in this game came after crucifying Oliver and finding out that it was done "wrong". I was able to come up with IC reasons for doing something, that my character would have known not to do but it still felt really frustrating.

Game mechanics (including things like Crucifixions) are all in the core rules.

The setting information, history, etc.. will be coming out on my birthday (June 11th), if I have my druthers.

I will be pushing *very* hard to have this book published this summer.

Will there be a "preliminary" version of the setting stuff at games for people to read?

I'm not sure, Dave.

Here's my schedule:
I currently have a preliminary PDF of the core rulebook. I will be completing the edits, hopefully in January/February, and you should have the core rulebook by the end of February. The core rulebook *does* include the Secular System, but not the Setting.

As in, it doesn't include the descriptions of the Embodiments, the history of Fallen and their society, the Codex and how it works and what it means, and the Introduction.

The Core Rulebook will inclue the following, from what I understand right now:
Character Creation (which you've seen the preliminary version of, at January's game)
System (which you've seen the preliminary verion of at January's game)
Techniques (which you've seen a preliminary version of at January's game)
Trauma/Secular System/Cinematic Points
Transgressions/Preeminences/Vices (which you've seen a preliminary version of at January's game)

The background stuff and history stuff won't be available until the book is published this summer. It also will not have any of the Storyguide Section nor the Appendices (where stats for NPCs are currently contained). Also, you won't have the Best Index in the Known Universe. Until the book comes out in the summer.

Okay, so Trent said he'd still entertain suggestions and feedback, but as the publication date grows closer, necessarily things have to just be finalised.

I'd say that probably April would be the latest time to send feedback and suggestions. That will give us some time to get a feel for the core rules while work continues on the Setting, background and Storyguide section.

I am going to put a final post in this topic, and it is a direct request from Trent, the game's designer.

Trent has been working on this game for nearly ten years. He has put an incredible amount of work and passion into Kingdom Come, and as most creators, code monkeys, and game designers know, a draft is just that - a draft. There can be significant changes from one draft to the next. Or from one version to the next. You might save previous versions to see what's changed, but you don't release them.

With game design, there is a certain period of playtesting, and we are now in the final phase of, basically, beta-testing Kingdom Come. Trent is still open to suggestions until April, but as we near a publication date, he knows there's only so much time in which any final changes can be made. And, as publication draws near, all previous drafts should be either returned to the creator (Trent) or destroyed.

Most of the PDFs and rulebooks out there are unauthorised copies, and Trent has requested as well that if you have any respect for him (he has to field questions like "in my rulebook, you say X", as well, which is *infinitely* more frustrating for him than it is for me), and for all the work he's done and is doing on this game, you'll destroy any old versions of the game.

I know it's taken a long time for these to come out. And I know it's frustrating that we're playing a game for which you cannot have a source to look up the rules. I ask that you also consider that it is frustrating for the game designer to know that there are unauthorised versions of old rules that he has discarded or changed. The fact that there are so many copies of the old rulebooks out there is one of the major reasons I cannot distribute them. I have respected Trent's copyright and have been working with him to ensure that you *do* get authorised copies of the rules within the next month.

So yeah. Trent has also asked that you remove any KC PDFs from your hard drive, and destroy any books or discs that you may have. His request has gone out to everyone who's played the game, not just to the Regina players.

And I certainly did not mean to single anyone out or sound like I was attacking or criticising people who've had previoulsy authorised copies of the book. They're now unauthorised and should be destroyed. Any publisher will tell you that bound and unbound galleys and digital proofs should be returned to the publisher or shredded. I think that since copyright still remains with the author, it's more than just a sign of respect.

So. Please forgive me if I sound preachy or intolerant or impatient or any of those things. I certainly don't mean to. I am trying to make an ernest and sincere request, on behalf of Trent, for you to please destroy old versions of the rules.

Okay. If you have anything further you'd like to say, please email me privately.