Hi Reader,

Welcome! Please, come in, have a seat. The snow is finally starting to melt around here. On the table, we have a tin of shortbread cookies, and in the kitchen, your choice of tea, coffee or hot cocoa.

So hey, a few weeks ago I got a little preachy about promises and contracts. Although I wasn’t talking mainly about Jay Dragon, I did imply she'd done some things, or failed to, based on conclusions I drew from the Rascal article I mentioned.

I was too hasty. The Rascal piece was more a portrait of several people's discontents, not a thorough account of the facts. Rascal even recorded a podcast episode about their frustrations in reporting the story.

My advice still holds: Treat people fairly, uphold your promises, make a contract for all the stuff you hope won't happen. But, as far as I can tell, Possum Creek Games didn't fall down on any of that.

Happy to talk about it more if you like. I just thought I should speak judiciously in our tiny scene.

With that out of the way! Let's talk about Defy the Gods.

The books left Hong Kong harbor on Friday the 6th!

And this week, I mailed all the dice, enamel pins and patches to Plus One Exp in Philly. Once the books arrive, they'll have everything they need to start fulfillment except the people to do it. The books should go out to backers in May—it's a slow boat!

Not to mention, I got a booth graphic for GAMA Expo. It shows Thalie's amazing illustration eight feet high!

My big goal while I'm there is to collect pre-orders from retailers. I also want to support the new batch of Horizons Fellows, including Faye, whom I mentioned last time.

Unrelated, inconveniently so:

Despite my best intentions, I've started getting an idea for a Philip K. Dick-themed game, using Robin D. Laws' GUMSHOE system. I don't know if it'll turn into something, but I hope it does.

I love Philip K. Dick—stories like A Scanner Darkly, Time Out of Joint, The Man in the High Castle, The Minority Report, We Can Remember It for You Wholesale, and of course Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?

A Scanner Darkly was based on his own life. He wrote—and believed—that the world we see was a thin scrim covering reality. That there's an upside-down world where you're a different person playing for much higher stakes. And if you pay attention, you can suss out the real story from clues in the seeming world. Little inconsistencies. Slip-ups. Tells.

These days, I wish our reality were different. I wish I could believe what Dick believed. It's deliriously, delightfully enticing. If only this were all just a simulation!

He's right, but in reverse: This is the reality some people want to ignore, pretend it doesn't exist. This is where the stakes are high. And our roles here are crucial.

The game I want to make highlights the dangers of sticking our heads in the sand. While you work to unravel the mystery of the constructed world, dangerous people are closing in on you. The longer you believe the comforting lie, the harder it is to grapple with the truth.

Plus there's androids.

Ideas like this are why I need a Patreon. Otherwise, this just goes into cold storage. I'll set one up after Defy the Gods lands. I hope you'll join me there.

In the meantime, I'll keep working. And I'll stay in touch.

Take care—

Chrys

P.S. In two and a half weeks, I'll be at GAMA Expo with this amazing display! I'm in Paizo's armpit at Booth 673.
If you don't go, I'll let you know how it goes. If you go, come say hi!