All,

The revised Book of the Esate is now available for download on DriveThru RPG. It is the second in our series of three project meant to align the Books of the Entourage, Estate and Warlord into a more seamless and consistent system. The revisions are significant and we strongly recommend all purchasers of the earlier versions to go grab this important update. We will be following this shortly with the updated Book of the Warlord in the very near future.

We've worked very hard on this update, in collaboration with some of the members of this community, most notably the redoubtable Morien, whose knowledge of the game, medieval history, and mathematics all manifest in one indefatigable package of awesomeness that has helped us take these books to the next level.

If you've been waiting to buy Estate, now's a really good time to add this one to the collection! We will have new versions (sporting a revised green and gold cover to match King Uther's coat of arms) of the Print-on-Demand versions up soon — we're just waiting for proofs to come back. Give us another 2-3 weeks to have those available.

By that time, we'll also be issuing the revised version of Warlord, and then forcing all of our efforts on the much-anticipated Book of Uther.


Best,


T.

In August of 2014 I posted some questions and feedback about Book of the Estate. (http://nocturnal-media.com/forum/index.php?topic=2445.0). In summary, I liked the concept, but felt it didn't quite live up to its potential. I highlighted thee items in particular for my "wishlist" for this book:


A clear explanation of the foundations of the Economy. This could be as simple as a price sheet. This is what I meant from a "bottom up" approach to building the economy. I'd even be OK if the price sheet was listed as a percentage of total income, so long as it is consistently applied so that I can scale it across estates of any size.
Any "rules" or "exceptions" that should be followed need to be explained. The sample estates are *fantastic* and make my life as a GM much easier, but when my PK asks why estate #1 has a Steward and estate #2 doesn't, I need to be able to explain it.
A summary of the rules in "rules format" (rather than essay format) would be useful. My background is primarily with board games and computer strategy games. I've played a few role playing games over the years so I realize the need for more flexibility in the role playing rule set, but I think a simple rules summary (in one place!) could help players realize how easy and fast this system really is.


I had the opportunity to read this book in detail and am pleased to say that the majority of my concerns have been addressed in the revision.


The first issue is addressed in table 3:5 on page 43. I can easily see how many personnel my players should have at a glance. Even better, the economics are all consistent now, and even match up with Book of the Warlord.
The second issue is addressed in the sample estate ledgers on pages 38-42. You can easily see how everything scales up and there are guidelines on what is most important so a GM can tailor the experience to the complexity his group desires.
My last request wasn't addressed, you still need to read through the whole book to get a good understanding. That being said, now that the examples make sense it is much, much easier to comprehend. Obviously I can't go into this "fresh" a second time, but I believe I could give this book to any GM and they would be able to have a workable understanding of how to use this material.


Previously I did not consider this a "must have" supplement and was sort of lukewarm about the book. I loved the concept but not the execution. As of version 1.3 I can wholeheartedly recommend this to any play group that enjoys adding a "base building" style mini-game to their campaigns. Even if you don't want to play with the rules themselves, the materials are so useful for describing life on a medieval estate it is useful as a "fluff" supplement as well. It has an authentic "feel" and helps bring estates to life.

My big misgivings about the Book of the Estate were similar to luckythirteen's, also expressed on the same thread he quotes.

The new version 1.3 does fix the economy to my liking. So much so that I switched to using BotE in our campaigns.

BotE v1.3 also fixes the errors and inconsistencies that were present in the previous version, as well as clarifies how the rules are supposed to work. I believe this makes it much more readable and usable to gamemasters out there.

In short, most of the things I had an issue with regarding BotE v1.2 are gone, leaving behind a much improved and usable supplement. It forms the basis of the landholding economy in KAP and is easily scalable from one manor up to a dozen (and even more). I wholeheartedly concur with luckythirteen's recommendation of this book for all those who like base-building, or just more detail in their landholdings than what KAP 5.1 provides. It might not be a MUST-HAVE in the same way as the basic rulebook and GPC are, but I'd personally pick this book up as the third one.

Ditto on the review.

Personally, my players prefer Entourage to start with and only switched when they realized they needed more income to keep up with the Sir Jones.

The newest version I am still incorporating, but I think it will make it much more seamless in running things.

Will it be available for PoD soon?

Yes. We're just waiting for proofs to come back. As soon as they're reviewed and approved, we'll make them available. Should be this month.


T.

Concerning the Book of the Estate and the free download if one has already purchased it before, how does one go about doing that? I've been in contact with DTRPG about this, and they said (as I've purchased the HB, blue version of the Book of the Estate before) I needed a code for that, and that I should ask Nocturnal for that. But is that right, and if so, where can I ask for that code? Thanks in advance for replies. Erik.

Sir Ouroboros,

The new PDF is automatically available free if you previously purchased the PDF. That's just the way digital files work on DTRPG. If you purchased the POD only, then correct, we'll need to make special arrangements to get the updated PDF into your hands. Considering the degree of updating here, we're happy to offer the PDF alone for the usually "add-on" cost of $10. Alternately, you can buy the updated POD (now available) for about the same $10 plus shipping. Your choice. Or heck, both if you wish.

Send me an email at info [at] nocturnal-media [dot] com and we'll get this fixed for you.

Sir Ouroboros,

The new PDF is automatically available free if you previously purchased the PDF. That's just the way digital files work on DTRPG. If you purchased the POD only, then correct, we'll need to make special arrangements to get the updated PDF into your hands. Considering the degree of updating here, we're happy to offer the PDF alone for the usually "add-on" cost of $10. Alternately, you can buy the updated POD (now available) for about the same $10 plus shipping. Your choice. Or heck, both if you wish.

Send me an email at info [at] nocturnal-media [dot] com and we'll get this fixed for you.


Ok, it sounds a bit strange to me paying further for the PDF, considering the HB version of the Book of the Estate costs a lot more that the PDF version. That's like punishing me for purchasing the paper version instead of the PDF. Sure, as you stated "That's just the way digital files work on DTRPG", but it is still strange IMHO. /Erik.

It is not at all unusual to charge higher price for a PDF and HB "bundle". If you buy one version and defer the other, the other is usually made available for the difference of the price of the bundle (more or less, YMMV). You're getting more value for having both versions, and it costs Nocturnal money to produce and maintain both. In my experience this is the normal model for these kinds of things. Some publisher's may provide the PDF for free if you buy the HB, but the cost is probably baked into the HB. There are too many factors at play here to easily work out an apple-to-apples comparison.

Best,


T.

It is not at all unusual to charge higher price for a PDF and HB "bundle". If you buy one version and defer the other, the other is usually made available for the difference of the price of the bundle (more or less, YMMV). You're getting more value for having both versions, and it costs Nocturnal money to produce and maintain both. In my experience this is the normal model for these kinds of things. Some publisher's may provide the PDF for free if you buy the HB, but the cost is probably baked into the HB. There are too many factors at play here to easily work out an apple-to-apples comparison.

Best,


T.


I totally understand that it's a lot of expenditure and hard work making all these products. But, first of all the announcement that people who had bought the Book of the Estate could get the update free didn't expressly state that only the ones buying a PDF version of it, or where it was part of a bundle, could get it for free - not the ones buying a physical copy. The text on the announcement only stated "This v1.3 is available FREE to past purchasers" which I think only can be understood as anyone customer who had bought it in whatever version. Now, that is all of a sudden not true. Ok, sure I'll probably lay $10 dollars on this anyway, but I feel it's quite frankly unfair.

So, I have an older PoD version of Estate. How can I get my hands on a "fixed", errata PDF update?

So, I have an older PoD version of Estate. How can I get my hands on a "fixed", errata PDF update?


This seems like the same question Sir Ouroboros had earlier, so I'd point you to stewart's answer a couple of replies up in this thread:



Sir Ouroboros,

The new PDF is automatically available free if you previously purchased the PDF. That's just the way digital files work on DTRPG. If you purchased the POD only, then correct, we'll need to make special arrangements to get the updated PDF into your hands. Considering the degree of updating here, we're happy to offer the PDF alone for the usually "add-on" cost of $10. Alternately, you can buy the updated POD (now available) for about the same $10 plus shipping. Your choice. Or heck, both if you wish.

Send me an email at info [at] nocturnal-media [dot] com and we'll get this fixed for you.