So John Haward came to me with a cool proposal: start exploring the Minor Factions and the primitive leviathans and technology they’d be fielding. I thought it was a very cool idea, and so he and I are slowly kicking it around and seeing what we can come up with. (He’s doing most of the leg work and then he sits around waiting for me to review and comment…)
Now in the Leviathans Primer we discuss what Minor Powers have what ships…but it’s only in the broadest terms. Instead there’s a lot of fun potential to explore there if we start to flesh this area out.
For example I’m looking at a cool spreadsheet that John’s put together for his proposal on how to break things down.
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Sky Admiral Bills May 10th, 2010
Leviathans |
4 Comments
It’s been a long few weeks since I posted a development blog of any kind. For any unaware yet of the situation, Catalyst has been going through some upheavals; business mistakes were made and I’ve had to focus all of my attention on fixing those errors and laying the ground work of new processes to prevent it from happening again. It can’t be done overnight, but we’ve made amazing strides in the last month and half and will continue to march forward, every day better than the last as the ground work we’ve laid begins to catch momentum.
We’ve reached a place, however, where I can start looking around some and getting back to various other work put on hold. I spent most of a year updating MITS.com almost weekly, so it felt odd to have to go so long with only occasional fiction posts…but hopefully this is a sign of me getting back to regular posts.
“Okay, okay, but what about Leviathans?!” That’s really what you want to know, right?
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Sky Admiral Bills May 3rd, 2010
Leviathans |
2 Comments
25 October 1908
To: Commandant Gaston Dulet, École d’Aérien
From: Capitaine Jean DeGual, Officer Commanding, Cruiser Olympus
Subject: Cadet Citations for Actions on and after 10 September 1908
My dear old friend,
I extend to you my heartfelt greetings and salutations. This letter is to apprise you of the performance of three of your cadets during their fall cadet cruise aboard my vessel. I believe you will find that these young men behaved in a manner that reflects only the best of the École d’Eérien and our branch of the service.
On 10 September we were moving parallel with a hurricane storm front from the south to north Atlantic. This hurricane was of moderate strength with winds of 175 kph. Under the best of circumstances, navigation and control of the ship was difficult in such a storm.
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Sky Admiral Bills April 26th, 2010
Leviathans,
Sourcebook Fiction |
2 Comments
by Jim Rapkins
House of Commons
Parliament House
London, Great Britain
12 February 1909
He let the commotion in the chamber wash over him as he leaned back, allowing his fellow backbenchers to support Ryan’s words. Form over substance—it was the modus operandi of these Parliamentary sittings. The Speaker would bang his gavel, both sides would yell at each other, the newspapers would get some good copy. But the real deals, the real power, lay in the backrooms of Parliament. Spencer didn’t understand that. He thought he did, but that was why they had approached Devon, and not Spencer.
He thought about the oath he had sworn almost immediately prior to this sitting, its words still lingering in his ears.
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Sky Admiral Bills April 16th, 2010
Leviathans,
Story Fiction |
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Leviathans is a steampunk game that simulates combat between warships that have taken to the air in an alternate history 1910. The king leviathans, battleships, are the largest vessels. Maneuvering in support are light cruisers, destroyers and other vessels. Will you captain your fleet for king and country, expanding your nation’s power and becoming legend? Or will you fall from the sky, forgotten?
You determine the outcome!
The British Printable Fleet allows players to print out and fold-up ship playing pieces that showcases images for 5 sides of the ship: Bow, Starboard, Stern, Port and top-down. The PDF includes playing pieces for the following ships: HML Beagle (James’ Fighting Leviathans), HML Raven (Lieutenant’s Manual), HML Hertfordshire (Lieutenant’s Manual), HML Courser (James’ Fighting Leviathans). HML Charger (James’ Fighting Leviathans II), HML Evesham (James’ Fighting Leviathans II).
The PDF also includes a map for printing on four 11×17 sheets of paper, with the standard 1.5″ (corner to corner) hex grid that will appear on the standard map boards that will be found in the Core Box Set (in place of the smaller hexes found on the Lieutenant’s Manual mapsheet). The larger scale map (and larger ship counters) will give players the best taste yet of clashing leviathans!
Buy From Catalyst’s BattleShop
Buy From DriveThruRPG
The French Printable Fleet allows players to print out and fold-up ship playing pieces that showcases images for 5 sides of the ship: Bow, Starboard, Stern, Port and top-down. The PDF includes playing pieces for the following ships: Pelletier (James’ Fighting Leviathans), Montcalm (Lieutenant’s Manual), Pontbriand (Lieutenant’s Manual), Ardent (James’ Fighting Leviathans), Aigle (James’ Fighting Leviathans II), Philip II Augustus (James’ Fighting Leviathans II).
The PDF also includes a map for printing on four 11×17 sheets of paper, with the standard 1.5″ (corner to corner) hex grid that will appear on the standard map boards that will be found in the Core Box Set (in place of the smaller hexes found on the Lieutenant’s Manual mapsheet). The larger scale map (and larger ship counters) will give players the best taste yet of clashing leviathans!
Buy From Catalyst’s BattleShop
Buy From DriveThruRPG
Sky Admiral Bills April 13th, 2010
Leviathans |
1 Comment
Leviathans is a steampunk game that simulates combat between warships that have taken to the air in an alternate history 1910. The king leviathans, battleships, are the largest vessels. Maneuvering in support are light cruisers, destroyers and other vessels. Will you captain your fleet for king and country, expanding your nation’s power and becoming legend? Or will you fall from the sky, forgotten?
You determine the outcome!
The Leviathans Introduction PDF is a great, free way to leap into Leviathans! It offers a quick 8 page review of the universe, game and art that compromises this immersive universe. With this great sneak preview you’ll be able to decide if you want to try and tackle the other PDFs released to date, exploring the game through the Lieutenant’s Manual, more of the universe through the Leviathans’ Primer For New Airmen and more!
The Development Journal is a free compilation PDF of development blogs written by Randall N. Bills and posted to www.monstersinthesky.com across roughly six months. It covers the development of the game mechanics as presented in the Lieutenant’s Manual, providing a detailed, behind-the-scenes view of the creation of a new game and the universe to go with it!
Sky Admiral Bills April 13th, 2010
Leviathans |
No Comments
Engineering Report, Cruiser Olympus
12 September 1908
Summary of Observations Aboard USS Richmond, 10 September 1908
Cadet Sous-Lieutenant aérien Alexander Ducrocq
At the behest of Lieutenant aérien Vuillet, I am submitting my observations of the American vessel USS Richmond.
I was assigned to the engineering boarding party sent aboard the American ship on 10 September 1908. The fact that we even found the ship in the middle of the hurricane, let alone tied alongside of her, was impressive.
When we came aboard the American ship, we were met by her Capitaine, Sky Captain Martin Hart, and her Chief Engineer, named Peterson (rank unknown). We were told that they had been hit several times by lightning and it had led to a burst fitting in her electroid balancing pump. The rupture had forced the forward engineering crews to abandon their posts when the electroid flooded the compartments. In the process, two of their boilers had gone out. The loss of power led to a loss of electrical charge, which was causing the ship to lose altitude. We were at 1,000 meters and at her current rate of decline, aided by the hurricane winds, we had less than two hours before she hit the Atlantic.
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Sky Admiral Bills March 20th, 2010
Leviathans |
3 Comments
Leviathans is a steampunk game that simulates combat between warships that have taken to the air in an alternate history 1910. The king leviathans, battleships, are the largest vessels. Maneuvering in support are light cruisers, destroyers and other vessels. Will you captain your fleet for king and country, expanding your nation’s power and becoming legend? Or will you fall from the sky, forgotten?
You determine the outcome!
James’ Fighting Leviathans: Excerpt From 1910 Edition Part Two is an 13-page PDF that includes four more ships (two each for the British and French fleets) ready-to-play with the Lieutenant’s Manual, including unveiling Type 3 Ships. The PDF includes full-color illustrations and histories of all 4 ships, Ship Cards and cut-outs for putting these leviathans into play on your gaming table. Also included are two ready-to-play scenarios for instantly fielding these ships (and others), including rules for Steering Gear and turrets! Add these vessels to your growing fleet to experience more of the fun of Leviathans!
Sky Admiral Bills March 16th, 2010
Leviathans |
No Comments
While we’ve only shown Type 1 and Type 2 Ships to date, you’ve already seen that on the Type 2 ships it usually requires entering 2 hexes before a turn. ‘What about Type 3 or 4 Ships,’ I’m sure you’re thinking…’those have to be higher?’ And in general they are. How do you get around that?
Well, there’s two options. The first is a general Commander’s Rule that applies to any vessel. If a ship does not spend any MPs to enter a new hex during a turn (provided it has at least 1 undamaged Engine Slot), it can always spend its entire movement to change 1 or 2 hexsides; it can never change more than 2 hexsides in this fashion.
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Sky Admiral Bills March 10th, 2010
Leviathans |
1 Comment
by Jim Rapkins
House of Commons
Parliament House
London, Great Britain
12 February 1909
“The Germans!” Spittle flew from the rotund man’s lips as he spat out the words, as if they did him physical harm. His outburst did not go unnoticed. Parliament was more full than it had been in weeks, evidence of the anticipation—and dread—that many of the MPs were feeling as to how Jackie Fisher would extricate himself from this one.
“Order! The Member for Stoke-on-Trent will resume his seat or be removed from the chamber!” The gavel accompanying the Speaker’s words was lost in the cacophony of voices that exploded in contest. The Member for Stoke-on-Trent Central, the Right Honourable Kelvin Harris, MP, waved the newspaper in his hand menacingly at the man seated opposite the chamber before the Speaker grudgingly acknowledged him.
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Sky Admiral Bills March 5th, 2010
Leviathans,
Story Fiction |
2 Comments
