September Update!
3 days ago
– Mon, Sep 14, 2026 at 11:43:38 AM
Greetings Chosen!
It's mid-September, and I'm in the grind to the finish line. I thought I would go ahead and reach out to you all, though.
Game Update
Progress is steady. I wish it were faster, but a one-man studio can only do so much in a day. I still find that hard to accept lol. Also, I did get sick over GrandCon weekend (Sept. 4th-6th), so I was out of commission for a good part of the week after I returned. I'm back at it, though. I would still like to finish the game by Gamehole Con. I can't guarantee a finished product by next month, but I plan to pull as much desk time as I can manage to try to make that happen. I want physical copies so badly I can taste them, and I know you guys are ready for them too. Thank you, again, for your patience.
GrandCon News
For those who would like to hear about the GrandCon session, I must say it was awesome. Chosen saw another excellent table of players. This time, a couple of them had very little TTRPG experience, which honestly gave the session a more exploratory feel. They wanted to try all sorts of things, which is exactly what makes convention games so fun for me. It's always a thrill to see tables try things no other table has done.
That said, a big shout-out to Kylie, MacKenzie, and Laura from GrandCon. Laura went all in on the game's alchemy and suggested we have a village alchemist create drinkable concoctions for the team. We did this twice. First, we drank an "Ash Cocktail" made from the ash floating in the air, as we had rolled a special weather event.
Later, we escorted an Eldritch creature back to its home plane, as Kylie played the Eldritch Shepherd character path. She narrated what it was like and said the dimensional transition left a pile of blue powder, the same color as the grass in the Eldritch's home realm. We took this powder back to the alchemist, had them make another concoction, and drank it. This was similar to the cannibalism mechanic, so it caused each of us to gain a magical ability normally possessed by Eldritch creatures. Needless to say, it was a blast.
To close the update, I would like to acknowledge all those family and friends lost on September 11, 2001. Some events forever change a country. I know my generation has lived through multiple. Remember to keep your loved ones close, and enjoy each day. Life has a strange way of throwing us curveballs when we least expect it.
I wish you all the best, and I look forward to next month's update.
Stay safe and happy gaming,
Joe
August Update!
24 days ago
– Mon, Aug 24, 2026 at 10:44:40 AM
Hey Everyone!
It's update time again! I'll keep this brief.
As it stands, I'm still aiming to finish the game by Gamehole Con in October. I want to thank all my players at Gen Con! It was great to meet new people and see Chosen make a few new fans. Out of the ten attendees who played the game, five were curious about buying it, which is exciting!
Also, thanks to my Gen Con tables, the game has received its first player request to be run at another convention. Shout-out to the table with Rebecca, Kylie, Ethan, and the player who was to my left (I think she took her name card with her, but I do remember giving her Tylenol lol). My other tables were great as well, but sometimes certain tables just make an impression because of their chemistry. Having a good con is always important for building hype and momentum to get work done. I think my players at Gen Con really helped make that happen.
I will say I hit a bit of a speed bump two weeks ago, when adverse weather damaged the area where I live. I was without power for four and a half days, and it sort of stole my momentum. Once the power came back on, it took me a few days, but I feel like I've gotten back on track and am looking forward to what the next month churns out. I can't wait to wrap this up and get it in your hands.
Until next time, stay safe and happy gaming!
Sincerely,
Joe
July Update!!!
2 months ago
– Thu, Jul 16, 2026 at 04:58:24 PM
Hey Everyone!
I hope everyone has had a good month. I have a brief announcement, then I'll get right to it.
I don't know how many of you (if any) have visited the Advent Chaos website since backing the game. It's been in limbo, pretty much since 2024. I've decided to shut down the website I was building and have someone design an official site for me, hopefully to go live in 2027. I will retain the domain name, so once the new site is completed, adventchaos.com will live again.
Now, the game manuscript....
I've got good news and bad news. I like to end on a positive note, so bad news first.
The valuable work time that I lost over the past two months caught up with me, but it was unavoidable. That said, I don't think the manuscript will be finished before Gen Con. Most recently, I had to backtrack on the Encounter Tables being finished. I had to spend more time on them again this month. After not looking at them for over a week, I was scrolling past them and realized I had overused the "torn page" graphic (yay...graphic design). It came off like the graphic was just used in some places for its own sake, rather than contributing to an organic feel for the book (not what you want when you're looking for flow). The font was also a little hard to read in places, so I had to fix those things.
I took some time earlier today for an "official" assessment of what's left. My goal was to get a more accurate idea of when I'll be able to get this game printed and to you guys. Given where I'm at in development, how long it's taking to get through some of these things, and knowing I have one convention a month for the second half of the year, I'm adjusting my completion timeline to sometime in September.
The good news is that Chosen now has a convention guide! I postponed working on it until last week. It's taking a little longer than anticipated to create, but that's just how it goes sometimes. I was looking at it a few minutes ago, and it only needs a few more things. This was definitely needed for conventions moving forward, so that's time well spent.
If something unforeseen comes up, I feel like the worst-case scenario is that the Chosen finished product debuts at Gamehole Con. In the grand scheme of things, that's not a huge change. Like I've said from day one, when you finally get this book in your hands, I want it to be a quality product.
We're just about there, folks. As always, thank you for your support!
Stay safe and happy gaming!
Joe
June Update!
3 months ago
– Sun, Jun 21, 2026 at 11:21:48 AM
Hey Everyone!
Happy Father's Day to those dads out there!
I hope the past month has been good to you all, or as good as it could be! Other than the tornadoes affecting my region, it's been decent here. This week was a little strange, as it was the first time in three years that I didn't attend Origins Fair. I will say that having a kid out on Summer Break and a wife unable to drive herself around, due to recovery from major surgery, makes for too many distractions!
In any case, progress continues. Writing/Layout for the Exploration, Season, and Weather tables is complete, along with other miscellaneous changes. Seasons are optional, but they also add extra depth to your travels, with each season offering its own benefits and risks. The mechanic for seasons works as follows:
- The player or group rolls for a starting season on the Season Table at the beginning of play (1D6)
- Seasons then rotate through the chart in numerical order (2-5), with each season lasting 12 in-game weeks
- At the beginning of each new season, make a 1D6 roll. If the roll is a 1 or 6, Winds of Ash (1) or Evernight (6) is active for 1D6 weeks. At the conclusion of these exceptions, the regularly scheduled season is active for the remainder of the 12 weeks
Now, as far as the timeline goes, I still think getting the game to the editor by the end of Summer is a viable goal. Next week, I will take some time to create a document to help a colleague learn how to play the game, since they want to run it at Gen Con.
Essentially, that means the game will have an unofficial quickstart. Maybe after the game is published, I will add to that and turn it into an official Chosen Quickstart or Chaos Engine system guide, so players can use Chosen's system in other games. Time will tell, but my main focus is completing the game's manuscript for now.
That's all I've got at the moment, but I'm looking forward to next month's update! Hopefully, we'll be able to celebrate the completion of Chosen's development not long after!
Until next time,
Stay safe and happy gaming!
May Update!
4 months ago
– Mon, May 25, 2026 at 03:58:04 PM
Greetings Chosen!
First, let me say Happy Memorial Day to all of those who have lost a family member in military service or know someone who has. I thank them for their service!
Now, the game...
Considering that there are only six days left in May, I'm going to miss my soft deadline of June 1st. However, as I mentioned in the last update, I'm not worried about taking development into the Summer. I don't foresee a reason it will continue into the Fall convention season.
Some things have become clearer over the past few weeks. I said I would know a more accurate page count by the end of May, and I way undershot when I suggested it could be 130 pages. One reason is that the book size is both a friend and a foe to my Encounter Table. It's great that the page size is perfect for keeping prompts at a good length. Prompts need enough variation to maintain replay value, and each entry includes a variable for whether the encounter occurs during the day or at night. However, the variations that provide depth to the prompts result in one entry per page.
I don't consider that a setback, but it was unforeseen. I would rather have one entry per page and do the game justice than give you guys bland encounters that get boring. That said, the book will definitely be 150+ pages. How far over 150 it goes, I'll keep you updated.
Also, a colleague has indicated they want to run Chosen at Gen Con, which is a first for the game. That will be the first convention session of Chosen not facilitated by me. That's exciting! I'm looking forward to more people experiencing the game.
That's really all I have at the moment. I'll update you guys again soon.
Stay safe and happy gaming!
