[HOE] Androids/Clones book[PEG staff, please!]

[Joey Fanning <wraith530@comcast.net>]

    Well, I guess at least a couple of you guys over at PEG have taken a
look at some of my posts on the listserv and said to yourselves, "what the
hell does he think he's doing?"  Well, it's time for the big explanation.
<back story>
 as you can tell from the header, is Joey Fanning.  I am, in my opinion, a
huge fan of the Hell on Earth setting.  A few years ago, I began work at
Gameboard Warehouse, a distributor of roleplaying games.  At around that
time I was introduced to Hell on Earth, the first roleplaying game I ever
got into.  To this day the Deadlands world has been my favorite setting.  In
the past couple of years I've marshalled a party through The Unity and
written a story which has drawn dozens of people(maybe more, if the hit
counter's telling me the truth) into the world of Deadlands.  I've played
Wierd West with Jeff, one of the best GMs i've had the privelage to play
under, and I've joined dozens on the listserv in eagerly awaiting the
release of Lost Colony.  Still, though, Hell on Earth remains my first love,
which took me by the hand and showed me the joy of creating an amazing story
that is all your own.  Put quite simply, I am a fanatic.
    To hear that there would be no more sourcebooks was a crushing blow to
me.  Many of the members of the group that I've roleplayed with, which has
fluctuated from Gameboard employees to a group of 6 girls and myself, to all
my friends, to the group i have now, agree, and hate to see the setting live
on only in the epitaph.  So after weeks of thinking and mulling over the
situation, I decided to DO something about it.  So I thought some more.  I
threw around dozens of ideas of ways to expand the universe of Hell on
Earth.  But eventually I realized that the answer was sitting right in front
of me, and amazingly enough, it began with a typo in your book.
    The first book I read from the HOE series was The Junkman Cometh, an
amazing book full of source and my favorite character class--The junker.  My
first character, Brian Lance, was a junker, and had a familiar.  Reading
that a familiar was size 4, I decided to make his familiar a little girl
that followed him around.  Due to the actions of my GM, Tim, Nix rebuilt
herself into what would become an android.  Sadly, Tim moved away before he
could make the class himself.  I continued his work and recently posted the
android edge on the listserv.
    The second class comes from my current roommate, Kenneth Branner, who
got slightly frustrated when his first character, Raivyn, bit the bullet.
He decided that the best course of action would be to copy the character
sheet and put a "II" by the name.  I think you see where that went.
    Once I fleshed out the two backgrounds, I set myself to typing out
source material.  A few weeks later, I had my first draft, complete with
cover, which rests on my site.  I put it out to recieve some criticism and
got mostly positive feedback, which has only strengthened my resolve.
</back story>
    Now my book is but a few thousand words(minus an adventure) from
completion, and I'm using all my skill in typing to come before you guys to
ask counsel.  I've already got a couple dozen people supporting me from the
listserv alone, and have discussed two options for the book.  The first is
that the book is published under the toxic green cover that everyone loves.
I had at first abandoned this route, with the logic that you'd sue me until
I was living in a small cardboard box.  But nearly everyone supporting the
book has expressed a desire to see it in print.  The second route is as an
e-book, which I could produce from my apartment, and would include any
features possible, such as hell's atlas.  Before I'm confronted with a
barrage of legalese, let me first express that before I do anything:
1:I'll ask you guys.
2:I will not, under any circumstances barring your permission, copy any of
your material.
3:I will not market it as a licenced Pinnacle product, unless of course you
guys want it.
4:I will agree to any conditions you set for me, including 100% royalty if
it comes down to it.  I'm not doing this for any money, I'm doing it out of
love for the setting you guys created.

My only hope at this point is that one of the wonderful folks at pinnacle
happens to read this, and possibly reply.  I'd be more than happy to answer
any questions you might have.

Your Biggest Fan,
Joseph Richard "Wraith" Fanning

"How could you be afraid of lighting?  The sky is never as beautiful as when
it's alive with electricity!"
-Brian Lance