I'm afraid I myself don't know much about the specifics of making PDF accessible, I've just seen good ones and bad. Kelestia's products are, on the whole, pretty good. I do wish I could read the maps though, but that's another story entirely. :)
It is possible to produce accessible versions of KP products.
In addition to tables, lists can also be an issue. Ideally a PDF document needs quite a bit to make into an accessible version but it is possible (PDF itself isn't inherently accessible).
Word documents are easier and if you have well designed templates that are created correctly it is very easy to ensure documents are accessible. Pdfs created from accessible word templates are pretty reasonable as well. I have been working in this area quite a bit of late. I am happy to assist if I can.
Hi,
Thanks for getting back in touch. :) Either format should be quite reasonable, whatever would be easiest for you guys to produce. The help is very much appreciated.
Thanks much,
Zack.
There are no published "canned" adventures set on Chel island that I know of, although it is possible that there is fanon that I don't know about.
KP is working on one adventure module chiefly set in Chelemby City, but I can't guess on its eventual publication date.
Absent that, the best sources for Chelemby adventure ideas are the folklore sections in the Chelemby City publication as well as the Chelemby Kingdom, Evanekin and Koladis publications. Chelemby City also has a section related to the city watch which would also be very useful in this regard.
Zack, Would tables in MS Word files serve, or is Excel easier for you to work with? I don't have access to the original source documents, but the Word vs. Excel issue may affect how easily it would be for KP to provide accessible tables.
Hi,
Thanks so much for the reply. I figured that was the general idea behind those tables, but was unable to make sense of my rolls due to the way Jaws presented them. The largest issue is that the PDF's "table" element only seems to encompass a portion of the actual contents of the table. Unfortunately, it's somewhat hard to explain how this sounds when read aloud, but it isn't comprehensible.
Jaws has a demo which can be found at www.freedomscientific.com, if you're interested in hearing how it reads. Note that this would require a bit of familiarity with the table navigation functions.
FOr now, I don't suppose it would be possible to get the tables in an alternate format? Something like an Excel spreadsheet would be ideal, as there wouldn't be any problem with PDF elements. The occupation and complection tables are merely two of the worst examples, this problem isn't specific to them alone.
THanks again for your help,
Zack.
Zack, Which screen reader are you using? I'm trying to use the Acrobat screen reader on that page but can only get bits and pieces of the content read out loud.
Anyway, there are 10 columns on the occupation table. The first 7 columns are labeled according to the cultural background of the character, presumably determined by the setting of one's fantasy campaign. You roll the d1000 and go down the appropriate column to find the matching numbers. Then go across to columns 8 and 9 to find the social status and occupation that match the roll. Finally, in column 10 is a percentage indicating the likelihood that the character lives in an urban situation.
For example, if I was rolling up a character from Kaldor or Chybisa or Melderyn, I would select the "Feudal" column. I get a good d1000 roll and come up with a 715. Going down the column I find "708-722" and then reading from there over to the right, I find that character's (parental) occupation is "hunter/trapper" and that there is only a 10% chance that he is "urban". I say "a good roll" because the table is set up to realistically generate a lot of farmers and other peasants.
The long dashes which appear in the first seven columns just mean that the occupation listed for the particular row over in column 9 is not appropriate to that culture. So for example, you are not going to randomly generate a Sinai (elven) thrall or slave.
The complexion table is set up similarly. There are 7 columns indicating racial background (5 of them for humans from differing climate regions). Roll d100 in the appropriate column and then read over to the skin coloring listed in column 8. Again, a long dash means that a particular complexion is not appropriate to that background.
What I liked on the new maps are the three major magic focal areas, and their embedding into henge sites and remnants of old cultures - in the hinterland of the "civilized" Emelrene.
The depiction of the "free Eméla" as first noted in the (free) "Clans of Emelrene" together with the map makes sense to me. The mix of these free Clans and the traditional manorial society probably makes Emelrene unique, and I am looking forward to learn more about their interaction. It seems that Emelrene has some very magic heavy areas and the clans probably have a better connection to these phenomena then their more civilized cousins - I would expect most of the truly great mages of the kingdom to have clan-roots rather then feudal.
While I will buy probably any stuff, I would be very interested in a publication covering a barony (eg Gyte Trev) and a Clan range (eg Quandas Aren Esal), highlighting typical social groups and their interactions (who funds & feeds the Gardians, how to the Emela react on curious research parties, how are magic/psionic talents handled within the Clans or Feudal society, are there tensions between magical factions, subcultures or "Barbarians" within the clans...). The traditional trip from civilization into the wilderness (and back?) as an adventure background would imho offer a good way to combine intesting sites, places and people.
On the maps I would prefer prominent coastal areas to come first, for most groups will pass the shores first. I would prefer the coast of Shorkyne before the hinterland of Emelrene - unless there are more publications that give a deeper insight into these places.
I assume the large ports and densely settled areas make a ton of work, though, so perhaps some sparsely settled areas can help to keep the pace of map-publishing to the current standard.
I do like Ârgonel very much. It is a part of Kethira of which I have read a few informations in Hârnworld article. So I was very pleased to see a part, just a small part, come to a map of this quality.
Thank you.
In the Ârgonel pdf I have found a small information i have missed in in other AKs. The magic. Allthough I didnot know i Missed it. I see Hârnworld as a magic rich world though littel magic is used by man. The Kelsheôr-Lællyn Elemental Zone is an information I mean. In other part of the AK ther have been just very few of such informations.
OK, as an GM i can fill these "magic" as I like, but you and the other guys of Kelestia know Kethira better than me. And with this information you have given me an idea to make Hârnworld a little more a home for my game(again Thank you).
Even if you have to go into Trierzon.
For me it would be a place to play and a sure buy. (Allthough I have bought all maps you have bring out in AK ;-))
The new one J4, I like the entry "Wyvern" on the map.(*evil grin*)
My players threw me a loop and decided to winter in Cherafir and Ikoshire, taking ship in spring to make their rendezvous at the Kald Estuary. (I had anticipated that they would winter in Burzyn or Lerenil) This couldn't be a more welcome publication, and it comes as a telling mirror (of my players' tale at the kitchen table) that whispers of how if Harn is to live and grow, it must become the whole flesh of Kelestia.
TL;DR: a useful piece of paper for connecting Cherafir (the hub of access to Harn) to Chelemby (the hub of access to all things on the Shokyne map)
Fástred omitted some routes chiefly due to clutter, esp. some shorter ones. I'd expect the bulk of the trade to Nurisel or Karveth is via Cherafir and so not particularly long range.
If I were GM-ing I would personally treat Hâltinan as more of a navigational point than a trading stop. But yes, the AK issue does describe some trading happening there, esp. of information. If you'd like to write up a local module, we'll see if we can scare up an artist and a cartographer. :)
Nice resource, thanks!
I will surely hand one out once my current group reaches the sea and learns of naval trade.
Nurisel and Karveth do not draw long range traffic? I assume both the Melderyni as the Ports of Emelrene will have local port-hoppers who simply do not show up here.
It also seems that Haltinan plays a major part as a stopover for long distance travel between Melderyn and Harbaal/Chelemby. With the map already published, it imho cries out for a small local module on the trading post in the archipel. Any plans? Perhaps in conjunction with your rumoured maritime module?
Allan, Balesir, It was magic, and the spell was cast by the famed viriahn Fastred na Berema. Please note that because of issues pertaining to your two accounts that this spell will have to be re-cast each time KP publishes another revised map from the Chel-Gelt folio. You may have to e-mail customer service to provide a gentle reminder to do so.
Complexity's no problem. If you have an idea for an Ederwyn adventure and more than a partial outline, contact Jeremy. He's the resident Emelrene guru and full of complex ideas. :) There's a possibility that the idea could be fit into an existing framework for an adventure series.
Cities of Shorkyne could be a tough one. As you say, a ton of text for any given locale is not really an issue, as KP could provide just 8-12 pages per town and then let GMs do the rest. The big problem is the limited number of people who have the skills to create the map in the appropriate style. Nevertheless, doing individual short(er) town articles remains viable. Karemus is obviously the leading candidate for such treatment.
Interactive map is easy to use, but the file is quite large and unwieldy, especially on a portable device like a tablet, which really can't handle it. So I thought to export a high-resolution image from the interactive map, but there doesn't seem to be any way to do this using the tools I have available (Adobe Reader, Adobe Photoshop Pro, Adobe Acrobat Pro). The closest I could manage is to import the Map into Photoshop, then output it. Which works, but I can't add the layers I want (I'd like to have the hex map overlay it, as well as other versions with tribes, cults, etc...). Any suggestions on how I can accomplish such?
The material in Great Clans of Emelrene just scratches the surface. I've considered writing an article on one of the islands in the Gulf of Ederwyn, but Given the fascnating interactions between the Free Ehmela, Chantries, Primacies, and the crown, I'm hesitant to make something that could lack the depth that this complex relationship could bring.
A product on Emelrene would compliment those on Harn nicely, as Melderyn has a shadily detailed shared past with the Last Kingdom of the Jarind, and most Shek-Pvar and Followers of Save-K'nor are likely to have made it to Berema at some point in their lifetime. It seems like something on the subject might already be underway, and I'd foot cash to see it done.
And on another note
Given that Robin apparently had some maps made up for a city in Hurisea, I'd surmise that there may be an existing framework to flesh out a Cties of Shorkyne (the grid square) module. While there are many more towns to approach than in CoH, (Tower Hills Reckons 24 'major settlements') a good bibliography directing the reader to Flemish and French towns might supplement an incomplete catalog. CoH has proved to be a highly extensible module (by fans, the other company, longer ago with Son Of) and given that Kelestia seems focused on developing the Shorkyne grid, this could be an excellent next step. A further asset recommending it is that the work could be distributed across multiple authors.
And a final note
Hero Games has had remarkable success using the Kickstarter method to fund a project. While there's a sacrfice of creative control that might not sit easily with Kelestians, I'd be interested to hear what y'all think of that prospect.
Hello,
It appears I purchased the Folio in 2010, but I could not see the revised version.
Is this the only one that has been revised for the Folio's maps?
Cyrion, The map was drawn by Robin, so it's been in the archive for quite some time. KP has a fair amount of Alagon background material developed, but I'm not aware that any of the contributors are actively working on Karemus city text. If a fresh writer willing to tackle it were to contact Jeremy about it, perhaps that would move things along. No need to propose a mega-project like Chelemby City turned out.
Covers the whole region of northwestern Lýthia, including history, culture, economics, law, military, and religion, as well as descriptions of over 60 realms.
And now that things have expanded to the east, what do people think?
Hi
I'm working on an XLS file of the Occupation Tables. Should have it done over this weekend.
Hopefully this will address this issue.
Regards
Jeremy
I'm afraid I myself don't know much about the specifics of making PDF accessible, I've just seen good ones and bad. Kelestia's products are, on the whole, pretty good. I do wish I could read the maps though, but that's another story entirely. :)
It is possible to produce accessible versions of KP products.
In addition to tables, lists can also be an issue. Ideally a PDF document needs quite a bit to make into an accessible version but it is possible (PDF itself isn't inherently accessible).
Word documents are easier and if you have well designed templates that are created correctly it is very easy to ensure documents are accessible. Pdfs created from accessible word templates are pretty reasonable as well. I have been working in this area quite a bit of late. I am happy to assist if I can.
Hi,
Thanks for getting back in touch. :) Either format should be quite reasonable, whatever would be easiest for you guys to produce. The help is very much appreciated.
Thanks much,
Zack.
There are no published "canned" adventures set on Chel island that I know of, although it is possible that there is fanon that I don't know about.
KP is working on one adventure module chiefly set in Chelemby City, but I can't guess on its eventual publication date.
Absent that, the best sources for Chelemby adventure ideas are the folklore sections in the Chelemby City publication as well as the Chelemby Kingdom, Evanekin and Koladis publications. Chelemby City also has a section related to the city watch which would also be very useful in this regard.
Zack, Would tables in MS Word files serve, or is Excel easier for you to work with? I don't have access to the original source documents, but the Word vs. Excel issue may affect how easily it would be for KP to provide accessible tables.
Hi,
Thanks so much for the reply. I figured that was the general idea behind those tables, but was unable to make sense of my rolls due to the way Jaws presented them. The largest issue is that the PDF's "table" element only seems to encompass a portion of the actual contents of the table. Unfortunately, it's somewhat hard to explain how this sounds when read aloud, but it isn't comprehensible.
Jaws has a demo which can be found at www.freedomscientific.com, if you're interested in hearing how it reads. Note that this would require a bit of familiarity with the table navigation functions.
FOr now, I don't suppose it would be possible to get the tables in an alternate format? Something like an Excel spreadsheet would be ideal, as there wouldn't be any problem with PDF elements. The occupation and complection tables are merely two of the worst examples, this problem isn't specific to them alone.
THanks again for your help,
Zack.
Zack, Which screen reader are you using? I'm trying to use the Acrobat screen reader on that page but can only get bits and pieces of the content read out loud.
Anyway, there are 10 columns on the occupation table. The first 7 columns are labeled according to the cultural background of the character, presumably determined by the setting of one's fantasy campaign. You roll the d1000 and go down the appropriate column to find the matching numbers. Then go across to columns 8 and 9 to find the social status and occupation that match the roll. Finally, in column 10 is a percentage indicating the likelihood that the character lives in an urban situation.
For example, if I was rolling up a character from Kaldor or Chybisa or Melderyn, I would select the "Feudal" column. I get a good d1000 roll and come up with a 715. Going down the column I find "708-722" and then reading from there over to the right, I find that character's (parental) occupation is "hunter/trapper" and that there is only a 10% chance that he is "urban". I say "a good roll" because the table is set up to realistically generate a lot of farmers and other peasants.
The long dashes which appear in the first seven columns just mean that the occupation listed for the particular row over in column 9 is not appropriate to that culture. So for example, you are not going to randomly generate a Sinai (elven) thrall or slave.
The complexion table is set up similarly. There are 7 columns indicating racial background (5 of them for humans from differing climate regions). Roll d100 in the appropriate column and then read over to the skin coloring listed in column 8. Again, a long dash means that a particular complexion is not appropriate to that background.
What I liked on the new maps are the three major magic focal areas, and their embedding into henge sites and remnants of old cultures - in the hinterland of the "civilized" Emelrene.
The depiction of the "free Eméla" as first noted in the (free) "Clans of Emelrene" together with the map makes sense to me. The mix of these free Clans and the traditional manorial society probably makes Emelrene unique, and I am looking forward to learn more about their interaction. It seems that Emelrene has some very magic heavy areas and the clans probably have a better connection to these phenomena then their more civilized cousins - I would expect most of the truly great mages of the kingdom to have clan-roots rather then feudal.
While I will buy probably any stuff, I would be very interested in a publication covering a barony (eg Gyte Trev) and a Clan range (eg Quandas Aren Esal), highlighting typical social groups and their interactions (who funds & feeds the Gardians, how to the Emela react on curious research parties, how are magic/psionic talents handled within the Clans or Feudal society, are there tensions between magical factions, subcultures or "Barbarians" within the clans...). The traditional trip from civilization into the wilderness (and back?) as an adventure background would imho offer a good way to combine intesting sites, places and people.
On the maps I would prefer prominent coastal areas to come first, for most groups will pass the shores first. I would prefer the coast of Shorkyne before the hinterland of Emelrene - unless there are more publications that give a deeper insight into these places.
I assume the large ports and densely settled areas make a ton of work, though, so perhaps some sparsely settled areas can help to keep the pace of map-publishing to the current standard.
Hello Jeremy
I do like Ârgonel very much. It is a part of Kethira of which I have read a few informations in Hârnworld article. So I was very pleased to see a part, just a small part, come to a map of this quality.
Thank you.
In the Ârgonel pdf I have found a small information i have missed in in other AKs. The magic. Allthough I didnot know i Missed it. I see Hârnworld as a magic rich world though littel magic is used by man. The Kelsheôr-Lællyn Elemental Zone is an information I mean. In other part of the AK ther have been just very few of such informations.
OK, as an GM i can fill these "magic" as I like, but you and the other guys of Kelestia know Kethira better than me. And with this information you have given me an idea to make Hârnworld a little more a home for my game(again Thank you).
I like to see the whole Emélrenè to be mapped:
Shkn BX, CX, DX; Trzn A1-A3,
B1-B3, C2-C3, D1-D3, E1-E3+
Even if you have to go into Trierzon.
For me it would be a place to play and a sure buy. (Allthough I have bought all maps you have bring out in AK ;-))
The new one J4, I like the entry "Wyvern" on the map.(*evil grin*)
My players threw me a loop and decided to winter in Cherafir and Ikoshire, taking ship in spring to make their rendezvous at the Kald Estuary. (I had anticipated that they would winter in Burzyn or Lerenil) This couldn't be a more welcome publication, and it comes as a telling mirror (of my players' tale at the kitchen table) that whispers of how if Harn is to live and grow, it must become the whole flesh of Kelestia.
TL;DR: a useful piece of paper for connecting Cherafir (the hub of access to Harn) to Chelemby (the hub of access to all things on the Shokyne map)
Thanks for that! I'll try to remember to give a "nudge" next time around.
Fástred omitted some routes chiefly due to clutter, esp. some shorter ones. I'd expect the bulk of the trade to Nurisel or Karveth is via Cherafir and so not particularly long range.
If I were GM-ing I would personally treat Hâltinan as more of a navigational point than a trading stop. But yes, the AK issue does describe some trading happening there, esp. of information. If you'd like to write up a local module, we'll see if we can scare up an artist and a cartographer. :)
Nice resource, thanks!
I will surely hand one out once my current group reaches the sea and learns of naval trade.
Nurisel and Karveth do not draw long range traffic? I assume both the Melderyni as the Ports of Emelrene will have local port-hoppers who simply do not show up here.
It also seems that Haltinan plays a major part as a stopover for long distance travel between Melderyn and Harbaal/Chelemby. With the map already published, it imho cries out for a small local module on the trading post in the archipel. Any plans? Perhaps in conjunction with your rumoured maritime module?
Hopefully :-)
Allan, Balesir, It was magic, and the spell was cast by the famed viriahn Fastred na Berema. Please note that because of issues pertaining to your two accounts that this spell will have to be re-cast each time KP publishes another revised map from the Chel-Gelt folio. You may have to e-mail customer service to provide a gentle reminder to do so.
Complexity's no problem. If you have an idea for an Ederwyn adventure and more than a partial outline, contact Jeremy. He's the resident Emelrene guru and full of complex ideas. :) There's a possibility that the idea could be fit into an existing framework for an adventure series.
Cities of Shorkyne could be a tough one. As you say, a ton of text for any given locale is not really an issue, as KP could provide just 8-12 pages per town and then let GMs do the rest. The big problem is the limited number of people who have the skills to create the map in the appropriate style. Nevertheless, doing individual short(er) town articles remains viable. Karemus is obviously the leading candidate for such treatment.
Yes they magically turned up.
Thanks to the fairies of Kelestia, now I just need to run a game with them.
Allan
I'm not seeing them, either, in my files list. Could someone check the status, maybe? What should we be seeing, exactly?
Edit: OK, I got them, now - Allan, has that fixed yours, too?
Interactive map is easy to use, but the file is quite large and unwieldy, especially on a portable device like a tablet, which really can't handle it. So I thought to export a high-resolution image from the interactive map, but there doesn't seem to be any way to do this using the tools I have available (Adobe Reader, Adobe Photoshop Pro, Adobe Acrobat Pro). The closest I could manage is to import the Map into Photoshop, then output it. Which works, but I can't add the layers I want (I'd like to have the hex map overlay it, as well as other versions with tribes, cults, etc...). Any suggestions on how I can accomplish such?
The material in Great Clans of Emelrene just scratches the surface. I've considered writing an article on one of the islands in the Gulf of Ederwyn, but Given the fascnating interactions between the Free Ehmela, Chantries, Primacies, and the crown, I'm hesitant to make something that could lack the depth that this complex relationship could bring.
A product on Emelrene would compliment those on Harn nicely, as Melderyn has a shadily detailed shared past with the Last Kingdom of the Jarind, and most Shek-Pvar and Followers of Save-K'nor are likely to have made it to Berema at some point in their lifetime. It seems like something on the subject might already be underway, and I'd foot cash to see it done.
And on another note
Given that Robin apparently had some maps made up for a city in Hurisea, I'd surmise that there may be an existing framework to flesh out a Cties of Shorkyne (the grid square) module. While there are many more towns to approach than in CoH, (Tower Hills Reckons 24 'major settlements') a good bibliography directing the reader to Flemish and French towns might supplement an incomplete catalog. CoH has proved to be a highly extensible module (by fans, the other company, longer ago with Son Of) and given that Kelestia seems focused on developing the Shorkyne grid, this could be an excellent next step. A further asset recommending it is that the work could be distributed across multiple authors.
And a final note
Hero Games has had remarkable success using the Kickstarter method to fund a project. While there's a sacrfice of creative control that might not sit easily with Kelestians, I'd be interested to hear what y'all think of that prospect.
Only three of the squares have been revised so far. H5, E6 and F6. You should see downloads for all three individual squares in your account.
We're working on the rest, but we're trying to balance demand for finishing them against calls for a couple other locations.
Hello,
It appears I purchased the Folio in 2010, but I could not see the revised version.
Is this the only one that has been revised for the Folio's maps?
Allan
I will have to wait for the players decision, whether they will join the quest or not, but I am confident that they will take care of it.
Cyrion, The map was drawn by Robin, so it's been in the archive for quite some time. KP has a fair amount of Alagon background material developed, but I'm not aware that any of the contributors are actively working on Karemus city text. If a fresh writer willing to tackle it were to contact Jeremy about it, perhaps that would move things along. No need to propose a mega-project like Chelemby City turned out.