Preview
Preview of Locations
09/23/2012 01:53 Filed in: Colonial Gothic | News
Ok, art school is done.
The death in my family rocked me for most of the month. Now that things have settled, work is picking up and I am fast at work on laying out Colonial Gothic: Locations.
Really.
Take a look:
Note that this is still a work in progress, but as you can see, the layout is coming along. I am shooting for this to be out the door sometime next week. All goes well, the preorder will go live and the books will be in your hands in no time.
This week, the info page will go up.
Things are moving, and I am finally at the end of the tunnel. I thank you for your patience.
The death in my family rocked me for most of the month. Now that things have settled, work is picking up and I am fast at work on laying out Colonial Gothic: Locations.
Really.
Take a look:
Note that this is still a work in progress, but as you can see, the layout is coming along. I am shooting for this to be out the door sometime next week. All goes well, the preorder will go live and the books will be in your hands in no time.
This week, the info page will go up.
Things are moving, and I am finally at the end of the tunnel. I thank you for your patience.
Comments
Sample of Colonial Gothic: The French and Indian War
03/14/2012 11:13 Filed in: Colonial Gothic
We’re one week away from the preorder of Colonial Gothic: The French and Indian War going live. I know the arrival of this book has taken some time, but I hope the wait is going to be worth it.
To give you a sample of what is too come, here is one of the chapters for you to preview.
Colonial Gothic: The French and Indian War (sample)
To give you a sample of what is too come, here is one of the chapters for you to preview.
Colonial Gothic: The French and Indian War (sample)
Preview of SS&S Threats: The Medusa
01/23/2012 08:49 Filed in: SS&S
Work on Shadow, Sword & Spell: Threats is moving along really quickly. The art has all come in, the text is going through one more editing phase, and I am working up the layout of the book. I want this book to be a good one, and I am glad that I took the time to get it right.
There are a lot of cool monsters, animals and “stuff” in this book. There are enough choices in it that a gamemaster will have a lot of options on the type of threats they pit against their players. One of the key things I wanted to do with this book, was to have a wide range of power levels. There are some very lower powered threats, and there are some very powerful threats contained in the book. This is good, because GMs should have choices.
One of my favorite threats is the one below. The art is done by Freddy Lopez Jr. (who has done a lot of nice work for the book), and the creature is one that is inspired by H.P. Lovecraft.
“Medusa’s Coil,” by H. P. Lovecraft and Zealia Bishop was published two years after his death in January 1939 in Weird Tales.
The story is one that I have always liked and though it is not my favorite Lovecraft story, there is a lot to like about it. The key to this story, I feel, is how Lovecraft takes a simple creature from myth, and puts a new spin on it. Though the story starts off a bit archaic, the slow build to the end is one that I always felt worked. I also like how the reveal to what Marceline’s true nature is. This different take on a standard creature is something that effected me greatly, and it is something I try to do in all my games.
Anyway, here is a preview of the Medusa, and you will find it in the forthcoming Shadow, Sword & Spell: Threats.
Brawn 5, Quickness 9, Toughness 9, Wits 11, Will 15, Resolve 65, Vitality 35
Skills: Brawl [+9], Diplomacy [+12], Empathy [+11], Intimidation [+12], Observe [+11], Spell – Arcane (Geas +12)
Traits:
Medusas (or gorgons if male) are creatures who appear human, but in fact are not. They are always pale, and have long black hair which reaches the knees. This hair is a living thing which acts on behalf of the medusa as well as on its own. The hair lives on if the medusa is killed, and it pulls itself away from the medusa to attack her killers. The hair is able to live for a number of weeks equal to the medusa’s Will, and it slithers like a snake while it seeks its revenge.
There are a lot of cool monsters, animals and “stuff” in this book. There are enough choices in it that a gamemaster will have a lot of options on the type of threats they pit against their players. One of the key things I wanted to do with this book, was to have a wide range of power levels. There are some very lower powered threats, and there are some very powerful threats contained in the book. This is good, because GMs should have choices.
One of my favorite threats is the one below. The art is done by Freddy Lopez Jr. (who has done a lot of nice work for the book), and the creature is one that is inspired by H.P. Lovecraft.
“Medusa’s Coil,” by H. P. Lovecraft and Zealia Bishop was published two years after his death in January 1939 in Weird Tales.
The story is one that I have always liked and though it is not my favorite Lovecraft story, there is a lot to like about it. The key to this story, I feel, is how Lovecraft takes a simple creature from myth, and puts a new spin on it. Though the story starts off a bit archaic, the slow build to the end is one that I always felt worked. I also like how the reveal to what Marceline’s true nature is. This different take on a standard creature is something that effected me greatly, and it is something I try to do in all my games.
Anyway, here is a preview of the Medusa, and you will find it in the forthcoming Shadow, Sword & Spell: Threats.
Medusa
Brawn 5, Quickness 9, Toughness 9, Wits 11, Will 15, Resolve 65, Vitality 35
Skills: Brawl [+9], Diplomacy [+12], Empathy [+11], Intimidation [+12], Observe [+11], Spell – Arcane (Geas +12)
Traits:
- Drain: Those who are caught in the hair of a medusa lose 5 Vitality each round they are trapped.
• Spellcaster
• Squeeze: The hair of a medusa is able to grab and squeeze opponents. In order to use this ability, the medusa must make a successful Brawl Test to grab its opponent. Those trapped can try to break out by making a successful Brawn Test. For every round trapped by the medusa, the opponent suffers a cumulative -1 to the Test. For example, if the opponent has been squeezed for 3 Rounds he would suffer a -3 to the Test. The damage from this ability is equal to the creature’s Brawn + Toughness.
Medusas (or gorgons if male) are creatures who appear human, but in fact are not. They are always pale, and have long black hair which reaches the knees. This hair is a living thing which acts on behalf of the medusa as well as on its own. The hair lives on if the medusa is killed, and it pulls itself away from the medusa to attack her killers. The hair is able to live for a number of weeks equal to the medusa’s Will, and it slithers like a snake while it seeks its revenge.
Cover of Colonial Gothic The Templars
01/13/2012 01:19 Filed in: Colonial Gothic
Preview of Colonial Gothic Organizations: Templars
01/12/2012 07:25 Filed in: Colonial Gothic
Layout for Colonial Gothic Organizations: The Templars is done. The book will be uploaded to the printer this weekend, and thanks to techno wizard of POD, the book will be ready to print within a week. Come this weekend, the preorder will be up as well. I really like the look of this book, and the layout is very clean. I should have the cover done tomorrow, but in the meantime, here is a preview of the interiors. Take a look and enjoy.
Preview of Colonial Gothic Organizations: Templars
This is a tight little book, and even more, as the proofreader Michael Wolf pointed out to me, this is book, even if you do not play Colonial Gothic, that it “…should be an interesting resource even for people who don’t play Colonial Gothic.” Graeme really has written a tight work that covers this important historical group.
Preview of Colonial Gothic Organizations: Templars
This is a tight little book, and even more, as the proofreader Michael Wolf pointed out to me, this is book, even if you do not play Colonial Gothic, that it “…should be an interesting resource even for people who don’t play Colonial Gothic.” Graeme really has written a tight work that covers this important historical group.
A preivew of one of the threats found in Shadow, Sword & Spell: Threats
11/04/2011 11:30 Filed in: SS&S
Work on Shadow, Sword & Spell: Threats is winding down, at least on my end. It goes into editing this weekend, and the book will be ready for pre-order no later than the end of January 2012. Art is being worked on, and in many ways, this is going to be a book that turns out to be far better than I ever thought. I always felt Threats was a good idea, but I hit the wall, creatively with it over the summer, and I almost decided to kill it (that is a story for another day). Long and the short of it, I am glad I came to my sense.
Just to wet your apiece for the threats to be found in the book, here is a preview of one of the creatures. Threats is going to be book filled with a lot of threats. Some of these threats are monsters from myth and classic fantasy. Some of these monsters will be from, and inspired by, the The Writers Three, who influenced the game. A lot will be original. This one is an example of one of the original ones found within the book.
Brawn 7, Quickness 11, Toughness 7, Wits 3, Will 3, Resolve ??, Vitality ??
Skills: Brawl [+10], Dodge [+10]
Traits:
Just to wet your apiece for the threats to be found in the book, here is a preview of one of the creatures. Threats is going to be book filled with a lot of threats. Some of these threats are monsters from myth and classic fantasy. Some of these monsters will be from, and inspired by, the The Writers Three, who influenced the game. A lot will be original. This one is an example of one of the original ones found within the book.
Slime
Brawn 7, Quickness 11, Toughness 7, Wits 3, Will 3, Resolve ??, Vitality ??
Skills: Brawl [+10], Dodge [+10]
Traits:
- Damage Reduction: Edge weapons, blunt weapons, cold, water and electricity cause slime only 1 point of damage.
• Drain: Every Round a slime engulfs a creature, they loose 5 Vitality and 1 Toughness. This continues until the creature is freed or dead.
• Elasticity: Slime is able to bend and twist its body in unnatural ways, allowing it to squeeze into and through very tight spaces. Consequently, slime squeezes through an opening or passage one-fifth as wide and tall as its height, in inches, although it does so very slowly compared to its normal movement rate.
• Hug: Slime is able to damage an opponent by engulfing the Hero and contracting its form to cause damage. In order to use this ability, the slime must make a successful Brawl Test to grab its opponent. Those trapped can try to break out by making a successful Brawn Test. For every round trapped in the slime, the opponent suffers a cumulative -1 to the Test. For example, if the opponent has been in the hug for 3 Rounds he would suffer a -3 to the Test. The damage from this ability is equal to the creature’s Brawn + Toughness.
• Poison: The slime’s touch is poisonous, and those touched, suffer 2 Damage every round for 10 Rounds, and a −1 to all Tests.
• Spawn: Draining all Vitality and Toughness from a creature creates a new Slime.
• Stench: Slime has a terrible odor, and it is so powerful that it makes contact with the creature troublesome. Any within hand-to-hand range of the creature suffer a -1 to all Tests.
• Weakness–Fire: Slimes are susceptible to fire, and fire causes double damage to them.
Thousand Suns Revised Preview
09/18/2011 10:09 Filed in: News
So we’ve been quiet when it comes to Thousand Suns Revised. It is not because we did not want to talk about it, but it was due to us working on it. James, along with Adam Jury, have really been putting in a lot of hours to make sure the book is well worth the wait. As you can see below, I think you will agree, it will be worth the wait.
Preorders for this should be ready no later than next week, maybe sooner.
Enjoy the look, and James will be posting about the revision some more.
Thousand Suns Revised Preview
So, what do you think? Looks good huh?
Preorders for this should be ready no later than next week, maybe sooner.
Enjoy the look, and James will be posting about the revision some more.
Thousand Suns Revised Preview
So, what do you think? Looks good huh?
Under Pashuvanam's Lush Preview
Yesterday I mentioned that we are getting ready to release a new adventure/sourcebook Under Pashuvanam's Lush.
Said release is an experiment of sorts, in that it will be our first full color release.
As of this morning, I have posted a small preview of the book. You can see it here, or below:
Shadow, Sword & Spell: Under Pashuvanam's Lush (Preview)
Said release is an experiment of sorts, in that it will be our first full color release.
As of this morning, I have posted a small preview of the book. You can see it here, or below:
Shadow, Sword & Spell: Under Pashuvanam's Lush (Preview)
Shadow, Sword & Spell: Expert -- The Preview
03/03/2011 07:45
After what seems like a lifetime, the end is in sight for the work on Shadow, Sword & Spell. This is a game that has been with me, in one form, or the other, for a long time. Work on the game has taken place over a three year period, and now Expert is in the final stages of layout. Want a peak, here you go.
It is bittersweet to be reaching the end.
Why?
This book has been a large part of my life for the past three years. The work in here, to put it simply, is work I am the most proud of. Everything I wanted to say about the “end game” is here. A lot of long conversations went into this with James, as well as a lot of writing, rewriting, rewriting, and rewriting on my part. There is so much in this book, and what is in here, is what I have been using in my games.
So I am happy with this book, but I am sad. Why? It has filled my life for so long, that I now no longer have it to work on. I have a ton of other projects, but the book is done, and now I wait to see what other have to say.
Shadow, Sword & Spell Expert -- Preview It is bittersweet to be reaching the end.
Why?
This book has been a large part of my life for the past three years. The work in here, to put it simply, is work I am the most proud of. Everything I wanted to say about the “end game” is here. A lot of long conversations went into this with James, as well as a lot of writing, rewriting, rewriting, and rewriting on my part. There is so much in this book, and what is in here, is what I have been using in my games.
So I am happy with this book, but I am sad. Why? It has filled my life for so long, that I now no longer have it to work on. I have a ton of other projects, but the book is done, and now I wait to see what other have to say.