I’m pleased to announce that The Noble Wild, one of the PDF products from my friends at Skirmisher Publishing, has been nominated for an ENnie Award for “Best Monster or Adversary.”
So… If you haven’t already, please vist the ENnie website and vote for The Noble Wild (and anything else for other categories; I won’t try to influence your votes there).
Our friends at Skirmisher Publishing have released Volume 4: Professional Places, of their City Builder series of PDF books.
These roleplaying books are systemless, but cover all your typical fantasy / medieval / Renaissance bases, with in-depth details and enough plot points to jump-start any number of sword-and-something adventures. Again, I didn’t actually work on them, but since I’m the company’s PDF Publications Manager, I figure I should should help get the word out.
Sorry for the radio silence.
With the GAMA Trade Show looming on the horizon, I’ve been keeping my head down over a half-dozen prototypes, surfacing maybe once a week to bleat, “Anyone want to help playtest this game? Hello?” then plunging back into it.
And for Easter, I was out of town.
(Not that being out of town provided any reprieve. I brought one prototype to work on, and another to playtest with my father-in-law. Progress was made on both fronts.)
I’ll try to be better with the posting this week.
To start the week off right, I’d like to point out the latest product I’ve uploaded for our friends at Skirmisher: the classic Floor Games by H.G. Wells. I read it while uploading it and found myself laughing as the author rails against the sorry state of toys, the shops that sell them, and the woefully uninformed uncles who purchase them. While the book isn’t as, er, rules heavy as its companion, Little Wars, it’s still an entertaining read and a glimpse into the mind that is credited with creating the modern war game.
…Or come for the swashbuckling, and stay for the princess. Either way, Edgar Rice Burroughs’ Mars: Shadows of a Dying World is heaping helping of d20 pulp goodness.
No, I didn’t do any writing on this one (though I wish I had!); I’m just handling the PDF logistics for our friends at Skirmisher. But as a fan of flashing blades, savage monsters, and weird alien planets, I feel it’s my duty to point this one out to my fellow fans.
I would be remiss in my duties as Skirmisher’s PDF editor if I didn’t point out that Skirmisher now has dedicated forums up and running. If you’re looking to discuss Cthulhu Live, Little Wars, or any of Skirmisher’s d20 productions, be sure to drop by and check it out. Tell ‘em I sent you, and that the password is, “I’m looking for a safehouse.”
As I mentioned to a couple friends at GenCon, this was the first time in probably ten years that I’ve had to think about what I was going to wear at the show. For the past decade or so, I’ve been in Fantasy Flight uniform – one-color t-shirts, the first few years, then full-color t-shirts, then fancy, long-sleeved, button-up-the-front, embroidered shirts the past couple years.
But now? Now I’m representing InnerWorkings and myself. So I decided to go with a shirt, tie, and slacks (to show I’m professional), with a pair of sneakers (partially to show that I’m still a fun gamer geek, and partially to avoid the blisters I got from my dress shoes at Expo). The uniform seemed to to do the trick, but it got a little hot outside the air-conditioned convention center.
My big release for the show was the New Gods’ Handbook, for the New Gods of Mankind RPG, published by Dark Skull Studios. I was one of a handful of writers on this book, so I got to spend some time in the booth, singing its praises to all who passed by.
I also spent some time working the booth for Skirmisher Publishing, for whom I serve as editor on their line of PDF products. They were running some awesome-sounding Cthulhu Live events which, like most years, I simply didn’t have time to play in. “Next year,” I promised myself, “I will schedule time one night to play.” I seem to recall making a similar promise last year.
Other highlights of the show for me include checking out Red Juggernaut, Jim Long’s new company, which is doing some great-looking boardgames and developing a sweet new IP (I’m a suck for property-driven games). Speaking of properties, I had a long talk with Sean from Reality Blurs about their dark fantasy RunePunk setting, a shorter talk about their upcoming Iron Dynasty world, and the possibilities for the future.
And then there was hanging out with Jim Pinto, graphic designer, art director, and fellow game designer. Jim’s been around a little longer than me, mostly with AEG, and we’ve known of each other for years, but never really hung out until now. Now that we’re both working independently (or as I prefer to call is, “Gone ronin”), we’re discussing projects where we can combine our talents for maximum synergy. Exciting stuff. I’ll keep you posted.
Ever get the urge to strap on some body armor, load up your plasma rifle, and stalk a pack of evil aliens through the darkened corridors of an abandoned spaceship?Yeah, me too.
And now we can! Skirmisher Publishing is proud to present USSMC FM 7-22: Space Boarding Operations - a military-style field manual designed to read like an actual U.S. Space Marine Corps guide to boarding hostile spacecraft in 2089.
No, I didn’t write it. I didn’t even edit it. But I did upload it to YourGamesNow.com, DriveThroughRPG.com, Paizo.com, and Armima.it — and that’s got to count for something.
Outside of wargamer circles, not many people realize that H. G. Wells, author of War of the Worlds, The Invisible Man, The Time Machine, and other sci-fi classics, also wrote one of the first miniatures rules sets: Little Wars.
As you can see by the link, my good friends at Skirmisher Publishing have released a new edition of that milestone work. And now they’re coating the whole thing in a savory glaze of fantasy sauce and releasing the new version as Little Orc Wars.
This is the introductory quick-play version. I actually didn’t do any writing, editing or layout on this, but I did read it while uploading it, so I can assure you it’s a fun game with a simple, yet strategic system.
And the image of the orc children in little sailor suits makes it worth looking at.
One of the many lines I have in the water (to revive my annoying fishing analogy) is managing and editing the new line of PDF products for Skirmisher Publishing.
My first contribution is The Old Man of Damascus, a new adventure for Cthulhu Live 3rd Edition. The adventure was written by the master of horror LARP, Robert McLaughlin, and his partner in darkness, Paul Janousek. I provided the editing, layout, and graphic design. (Fear my mad Photoshop skillz!)
Check it out: The adventure is set during the Crusades, in a French castle besieged by the armies of Saladin. Tempers flare, deals are made, and unseen horrors lurk about. Good times, good times.
