Commentary & Review Of Adventure Writing Like A F*ck*ng Boss II By Venger Satanis From Kort'thalis Publishing

"This is the much-anticipated sequel to best seller Adventure Writing Like A Fucking Boss.  Part II has even more advice for the amateur and professional author - secrets which only a select few are even aware.  Or maybe it just seems that way because I keep seeing the same mistakes over and over and over again. "


Adventure Writing Like A Fucking Boss II is one in a long line of 'how to' books from Venger Satanis. This book clocks in at twenty four pages & puts the focus on the other side of the screen namely the writer trying his hand at writing for an rpg company or to get their latest rpg system off the ground. So let's hit the ground running here, I want this cover artwork on this book to go on an actual adventure not a book about adventure publishing! Sorry, I had to get that off my chest folks. The cover art by Lucas Graciano is very well done but has little to do with the contents of Adventure Writing Like A Fucking Boss II. The interior art by Bojan Sucevic & David Miller range from decent to sheer Lovecraftian but mostly seem to match the cover in a Sword & Sorcery motif. The artwork is good & solid reflecting the author's vision.
This book focuses on many of the author's own experiences in the rpg publishing industry from behind the keyboard. Venger has written it in a no nonsense style that hits the high notes & some of the low notes of the behind the industry stuff. The author takes his  experiences  in stereo style instruction to rpg & adventure design that takes a step by step process approach.
On the whole its a very straight forward book that has Venger's usual wit & weirdness throw in without a constant running bit of sleaze. Sure there's some T&A after all this is Venger but this is one of his more down to Earth books and that doesn't mean boring. The artwork & layout here is solid and well done by Glynn Seal of MonkeyBlood Design. The advise here is well rounded and I have to mention Venger's stance on rail roading in adventures;
"If you can apply any of the following to something  you've written, take it behind the woodshed and
shoot it between the eyes.
A The PCs have to do…
A The PCs can't rescue…
A The PCs always fail at…
A The PCs never…
A There's no way the PCs can…
A The PCs will…
Sure, there are exceptions to the rule. For instance,
"the PCs have to offer the bounty hunters a substantial reward if they want to hire them for this
job." That's fine because "hire" is specific, but not the only way to get things done. Maybe a PC tries
to seduce one of the bounty hunters or blackmails him into tracking down their prey. However, if you write "the PCs have to get into a fight with the bounty hunters in order for them to get captured  by Ambassador Kehaan," that's just wrong."

All too often I've seen this exact sort of theme that runs through many old school & even modern OSR products. Don't rail road because its only going to harm the product & Venger continues with this approach. The book is simple & directly down to Earth without being preachy that was one of the short falls I found in many White Wolf products. This one avoids the preachy & pretentious voice. In other words the book does a good job of laying out its voices for writing, publishing, & advise without talking down to its audience.
For years I've been telling Venger that he's a good writer & he doesn't need the sleaze gimmick  to engage his reading audience. Adventure Writing Like A Fucking Boss II proves that fact in spades & lays the gauntlet on the table for writing more books of this quality. But is Adventure Writing Like A Fucking Boss II a good book? Well, yes for the person whose looking to get into the garage band end of table top rpg's such as the OSR scene.

Are there problems with Adventure Writing Like A Fucking Boss II? Well yes & no, because their small but the book in some ways states the obvious but then if your experienced with small time rpg table top publishing why are you reading Adventure Writing Like A Fucking Boss II?
This book takes the beginning author & walks him or her through the entire behind the scenes aspects of rpg publishing from inception to completion in only twenty four pages with the author's insights, commentary, & humor take on the rpg business. Its actually a pretty solid read for a book with more then slightly ridiculous title. Here everyone needs a hook to grab the buyer's attention and its held. The book's title assures that die hard Venger Satanis fans will be grabbing this book. I'd give this one a four out of five. Grab Adventure Writing Like A Fucking Boss II if you want a no holds bar tour of the rpg publishing world with out breaking the bank!
You Can grab Adventure Writing Like A Fucking Boss II Here!