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Here is what I envision this project creating:
INDOMITUS RULEBOOK
This will be a collection of all of the rules we create as part of Stage 1. This might be a living rulebook concept where later rules expansions are added to the rulebook (because it's a pain in the keester having to refer to multiple references when you're trying to find that rule about X).
CAMPAING/MISSION BOOKS
We're starting off with the update of the 2nd edition missions/campaigns for our initial campaign book, but I'm really hoping that there is enough sustained interest that we see other campaigns created over time (ideally focusing on a wide variety of Chapters). The campaign books will all be crafted in a manner similar to the official Mission book available in the game, providing background and information on the characters involved (though we're not necessarily going to go into as much depth). I'd also like to see individual missions created [that aren't part of larger campaigns], and these might be combined into books.
In addition, each mission, including those that are part of campaigns, will be available as a separate download. These mission downloads will be limited to maps and mission information, omitting any background/storyline/character stuff. These will basically be one page apiece.
All of this stuff will be an extension of the Legio Imprint, an ongoing mini-series within the larger series of publications that the Bolter & Chainsword will develop and provide. So "Indomitus" is the branding for this mini-series.
Now everything will be available in multiple versions. The intent here is to allow for players with different resources to download and print a suitable version. The content will remain identical across the different versions, but the appearance will be slightly different. There will be at least two versions - a "full" (or "deluxe" or "high-res") and a "basic" (or "lite" or "low-res"). These will be .pdfs that everyone should be able to download, view, and print. If there is enough interest and either no additional software requirements or requirements for software that is freely available, we might also develop versions for different e-readers and tablets.
The "full" version will be in color, though not necessarily entirely in color, while the "basic" version will be in grayscale. Not everyone has access to full color printers, and color ink is expensive so some players might not want to print full color versions, so having a grayscale version provides players with options.
My intent is to develop a basic format and branding that will remain consistent across the various Indomitus products that we develop. I've been playing with a basic logo. This is just conceptual at the moment - there's a chance that we'll go with something different, and I'll tell you about some alternatives I've been considering after I show you the first batch of logos that I've developed. Note that these images have a transparent background as I'm developing them based around them printing on white paper; since most members are viewing the site using the default skin I've also put the different images inside of white header bars so that you can see what they look like on a proper background without having the dark text blending into the screen background color.
The distinguishing factor about the version below is that the normal black outline of the skull and crossed bones is transparent over the text, so only the parts between letters show the dark outline.
The version below has the dark outline in front of the text.
The version below puts the bones behind the "D" and "M" while the skull and crossed bones are in front of the "O."
The use of the B&C skull over the "O" is to provide the Bolter & Chainsword branding to the project. It also gives a little touch of distinction to what would otherwise be a logo comprised of colored/textured text without any strong imagery.
My original concept was to use a skull with a laurel worn as a crown in place of the B&C skull, and I'll probably draw that up later if people would like to see it. The standard B&C skull and crossed bones was readily available, though, so I used that for the first batch to test the concept. I've also considered replacing the "O" with one of the stylized Terminator shields, either the current version worn on the chest/shoulder or the old school storm shield. The shield would also have the skull. And for the Chaos Space Marines, whenever we get that done, an alternative branding would replace the standard skull with a fanged skull that is over the sign of Chaos Undivided. Or for the Chaos Space Marine campaigns/missions we might have a subset of the Indomitus series entitled "The Long War" or something similar, using the Chaos skull over the "O" in "Long."
Note that I'm not married to the font, colors, or texture you can see in the images agove. I used the red shades that madscuzzy used in the Chaos Space Marines banner currently at the top of the site (if we've changed it by the time you're reading this, you can see it at http://scuzworks.com...haos-banner.jpg), but the use of transparency and other filtering makes that difficult to tell. Red, black, and white are the standard B&C colors, so I used them here. I also want to avoid a font and texture/filtering that is too close to what GW used for the various editions of Space Hulk. I explored a few more decorative fonts, but decided that something simpler would be better.
Now that I think of it, I'm going to have to add a tagline at the bottom describing how the Indomitus line is an unofficial supplement for Space Hulk.
So the Rulebook will have the Indomitus logo at the top (whatever it ends up being) and "Rulebook" at the bottom, with some sort of imagery taking up the rest of the page; campaign books will have the Indomitus logo at the top with the name of the campaign immediately below that, "Mission Book" at the bottom, and some sort of imagery taking up the rest of the page; and non-campaign mission books will have the Indomitus logo at the top with "Mission Pack [#]" immediately below that, "Mission Book" at the bottom, and some sort of imagery taking up the rest of the page. You can see a mock up below:
The mock up was whipped up in about seven minutes in Microsoft Word, then converted via screenshot into a .png via Adobe Photoshop, so consider it as nothing more than a concept a the moment. The Legio Imprint and B&C logos (images at the top) might shrink in the final version. The text I used for the campaign name ("Spawn of Execration") and the book type ("Mission Book") is the same font I used for the initial Indomitus logo - Plakette-Heavy. That, too, might change when we finalize the format.
I imagine that the "pretty picture" will be something appropriate to the terminator force involved, or, for mission packs, something generic to Terminators or Genestealers. So if we create a campaign featuring the Firedrake Terminators of the Salamanders Chapter, we'll have some imagery that evokes the sons of Vulkan, whereas a campaign featuring the Red Corsairs would have some imagery appropriate to those piratical renegades. Such imagery might be Chapter badges or similar logos, or they might be Terminators in appropriate colors. A "low tech" solution might simply be to use the Space Marine Painter images as either part of or the entire image that we use (perhaps adding them to Chapter badges or embellishing them with technical and background information).
The inside cover will be copyright/intellectual property information (all the legal stuff that will keep us out of trouble with GW) and basic Bolter & Chainsword information (advertising the site). The rear cover will provide a basic description of the campaign, some imagery, some quote from the lore, and basic information (e.g., "This is not a complete game - you must have Space Hulk and the Indomitus Rulebook in order to use the contents of this book."). The inside rear cover will (hopefully) have images of a game in progress, taken as if representing the events of the actual campaign.
Also note that these products probably won't be huge. If each mission takes up two pages and we add in some background/character stuff, we might see some mission books reach around 48 pages, though I suspect that most will be fewer than that. Ideally I'd like to include pictures of Terminators in the appropriate colors as well as a visual guide to the Chapter featured in the campaign. The miniatures part will show a decently painted army while the visual guide will provide players with ideas (but not anything binding or prescriptive). We might also feature background on the unit involved - whether it is generic information on the Salamanders Firedrakes or a 1st Company force under Captain Invictus of the Ultramarines or whatever. The one thing that we will definitely have is information on the campaign, both in terms of background (setting the stage) and the prosecution of the campaign itself (i.e., how the "real" campaign happened).
The purpose of this discussion is two-fold. First, for those of you that may have been watching this project and not noticed any forward momentum over the last few days, you can see part of what I've been working on (I won't show you the maps until later - I disliked the first batch and have begun them completely anew). Second, for those that are inclined to help out in this area or who have opinions, I'm soliciting input. These books aren't intended to be identical, so we don't have to use every thing that we come up with in every book. Having a basic format and a stable of ideas that we might choose from will make things easier, though. And I guess there is a third purpose - to identify to members what I'm looking for and what you might do in order to help (i.e., it would be great if people came up with lots of pictures of Terminators that we could show). Keep in mind that all contributors will be identified in the books (whether by your real name or your nom du geek/B&C display name - your choice).
Just keep in mind that the basic intent is to make these relatively easy to produce while remaining visually attractive. I'm not looking to have extravagant images or backgrounds (though some nice visual touches would definitely be good). I'm not totally averse to some fancy images, but we're not going to let a lack of them keep us from producing these things. We can always go back later and revise books if we have suitable imagery submitted later.
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