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Post by tacojohn4547 on Apr 1, 2012 14:06:28 GMT -6
Any tips on where we can find Green Martians / Thark figures? I think that this thread has some stuff on it. I haven't ordered any yet, but they look so cool... There are three primary minis manufacturers that are making Thark minis these days (there may be others, these are the ones I'm familiar with): Tin Man Miniatures (http://tinminis.com/TinManCatalog.htm) Bronze Age Miniatures (http://www.bronzeagemin.com/miniatures_html/32MM/SCI-FI/sci-fi28mm.htm) and Bob Charette's Parroom Station Miniatures (http://www.parroom.net/PSM_catalog/PSCat_GPH.html) The Tharks from Bronze Age are head and shoulders more impressive physically than the other two lines of Tharks. Bronze Age's Tharks (and their white apes, too) are BIG minis with a lot of fantastic detail scuplted into the figures. I'm mounting them on 42 mm metal hexagon bases from Iron Wind Metals as those are the only bases (other than rectangular ones) that are large enough and heavy enough to support the Bronze Age Thark figs. The Tharks in the pictures up above, including the one whose painting is almost complete, are all Tin Man Miniatures Tharks. The attention to detail on these Tin Man Miniatures is also fantastic, but the scale of the figures isn't as impressive as it is with those from Bronze Age.
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Post by tacojohn4547 on Mar 31, 2012 14:49:23 GMT -6
Thanks for the kind words, guys. It was a lot of fun to play through the Barsoom scenarios I'd been working on off and on since last Fall. Most of the time was spent on the minis, of which you're seeing only a small fraction that I acquired over the winter.
Improvision was the order of the day for the scenario depicted in the pictures that WSmith took as I had not envisioned that the PCs would try to ambush renegade flyers, assault the Jedak's palace in the broad daylight, and throw themsleves into the palace penthouse suite - quite literally - while the stolen flyers hovered just outside the penthouse windows. They got bonus XP for their brave and daring rescue of the pricess!
Marv, I sent you some files this afternoon.
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Post by tacojohn4547 on Mar 12, 2012 16:42:41 GMT -6
My GAWD, Jeff - that's one pulpy cover!! And gorgeous, too! Can't wait to snag a copy or three!
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Post by tacojohn4547 on Jan 31, 2012 2:37:14 GMT -6
Hey, Thanks, Matt. Somehow I wasn't seeing the resources page. Now I've got it!
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Post by tacojohn4547 on Jan 29, 2012 21:48:45 GMT -6
What's become of this little gem of a supplement? I lost my downloaded copy to a thumb-drive that has quit working and I can't for the life of me find the copy that I printed off last fall. I'd like to re-obtain a copy of this pdf if it's at all possible.
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Post by tacojohn4547 on Oct 18, 2011 23:16:42 GMT -6
This project sounds very exciting! Congratulations to all involved!
Unfortunately, I wasn't really aware of this project's development and the kickstarter funding effort until it was essentially over. (RL has been brutal for me in '11.) It looks like you are still accepting patronage funding via kickstarter, though, from the website. Is that still the case? If so, I'm pretty interested in securing or preordering one of the hardbacks. Should I just do that via the kickstarter page, or should I reach out to your sales connection?
Thanks, and good luck on your continued endeavors!
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Post by tacojohn4547 on Oct 18, 2011 22:46:14 GMT -6
I'm working up some scenarios for a Warriors of Mars setting that I'll be running in 2012. Rules-wise, I'm going to riff off of Doc's house rules a bit, but will probably use AD&D as a jumping off point instead of OD&D since I play the former on a regular basis. But I like the monster workups in the OD&D Barsoom supplement. Having that close at hand saves quite a bit of work.
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Post by tacojohn4547 on Oct 18, 2011 22:38:08 GMT -6
The Dragons at Dawn hardback (with supplement I material) is on my next Lulu order. Looking forward to getting it!
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Post by tacojohn4547 on Oct 18, 2011 22:11:42 GMT -6
I think Stefan originally took the Mines of Kunamar pdf down as he was starting to finish it and polish it up for commercial publication and he didn't want to have a free copy up and available when the for-sale version came out.
Black Blade Publishing had explored a publishing project with Stefan for Mines of Kunamar some time back, but due to a number of constraints (time, other competing projects on the schedule, etc.) we were not able to move forward to bring Kunamar into print with Stefan.
At this point, I don't know whether Stefan is pursuing a self-publishing approach or working toward a publishing venture with another publisher. Regardless of which approach is used, it is one of the real gems to come out of the old school gaming community.
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Post by tacojohn4547 on Aug 21, 2011 20:30:41 GMT -6
I dunno...that so-called Green Man of mars looks sort of like a distant cousin of Jar Jar Binks!!!
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Post by tacojohn4547 on Aug 4, 2011 21:32:44 GMT -6
Awsome, BLBlake! Old time games and old time prices. Pick up any FO! stuff? What did you get from other folks? Yes, I bought the Fight On! Compilation +4, and the Roll the Bones book. I already own the PDFs, but the hardcopies look great! The Fight On book is a massive tome. Great job! I also picked up my advance copy of Adventurer, Conqueror, King from Autarch, OSRIC & Monsters of Myth from Black Blade, again nice looking meaty books. I rounded out my purchases with various adventures from Expeditious Retreat Press, and Pacesetter Games. My messenger bag weighed a ton after I finished shopping. I had a great time shopping there, hopefully I'll have a chance to stop back by before the convention is over. This is a great thing for the OSR! Joe Browning is really carrying the old school banner well at Gen Con! Thank you for supporing Black Blade, Expeditious Retreat Press, Pacesetter Games, and the other OSRG publishers! Jon Hershberger Black Blade Publishing
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Post by tacojohn4547 on Jan 6, 2011 22:05:06 GMT -6
Wichita, Kansas
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Post by tacojohn4547 on Oct 8, 2010 17:49:32 GMT -6
Press Release - For Immediate Release BLACK BLADE TO PUBLISH ROB KUNTZ’S LAKE GENEVA CASTLE & CAMPAIGN™ PRODUCT LINE 08 OCTOBER 2010 WICHITA, KANSAS Black Blade Publishing is proud to announce an agreement with Robert J. Kuntz to publish his Lake Geneva Castle & Campaign™ (LGCC) dungeon levels. Jon Hershberger, President of Black Blade, said, “It is a privilege to publish these Lake Geneva Castle and Campaign™ dungeon levels in partnership with Rob Kuntz. Their historical value dating back to the origins of the RPG hobby is significant. Rob's distinctive adventure modules are very creative and serve as both challenging settings for veteran gamers and as inspiration for future game designers.” The agreement includes the publication and distribution of: • Six original Lake Geneva Castle dungeon levels, including The Machine Level, The Boreal Level, and four additional levels that feature such famous and infamous encounters as the Giants Pool Hall, the prototypical set-piece encounter for The Garden of the Plantmaster, and connections to several other planes of existence for off-world adventuring. Each dungeon level will be published upon completion by Mr. Kuntz, beginning this winter with The Machine Level, which will be 32 to 36 pages in length. • .PDF editions of Kuntz’s out-of-print adventure modules CAS1 Cairn of the Skeleton King and CAS2 Tower of Blood, with additional titles to follow as their print runs sell through (including RJK1 Bottle City). • The .pdf edition of the adventure module Ice Grave (originally published in Troll Magazine #1 in 1997), the proceeds from which Kuntz will use as a special fund to be awarded on a recurring basis to excellent up-and-coming RPG game designers. Future publications will release the full scope of Kuntz’s massive original manuscript collection that spans the history of the development of the first fantasy role-playing game, as played in the Lake Geneva campaigns. These publications will primarily be issued in .pdf format, with select titles also targeted for in-print releases. Robert J. Kuntz said, “Black Blade was my first choice as a publishing partner due to their commitment to producing high-quality, printed books. I can trust them to reproduce my manuscripts with the respect, fidelity and attention to detail that reflects their historical value and context.” Allan Grohe, co-founder, project manager and editor for Black Blade, will manage the Lake Geneva Castle & Campaign™ product line. Grohe said, “Rob Kuntz’s designs stand out across the history of RPG publishing for their originality in design and challenge to player skill. It’s a pleasure to continue my long-standing publishing relationship with Rob under the auspices of Black Blade.” About Robert J. Kuntz One of the founding fathers of the RPG industry, Robert J. Kuntz helped to design, playtest, and expand the original Dungeons & Dragons game with Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson from 1972 to 1975. Mr. Kuntz co-authored Greyhawk: Supplement I, created Kalibruhn—the third RPG campaign setting, and one of the first RPG worlds created from the top down—and co-DM'd the famous Greyhawk campaign with Gary Gygax for many years. He also co-wrote the classic Gods, Demigods & Heroes with Jim Ward, which was later revised and expanded as Deities & Demigods in 1980. His game designs have been published through 12 companies world wide, including TSR, Paizo Publishing and Hobby Japan. His articles, interviews and fiction have appeared in 10 magazines, including Dragon and Dungeon. Mr. Kuntz founded Creations Unlimited in 1986 to publish the "Maze of Zayene" series and Garden of the Plantmaster. Mr. Kuntz has republished and updated his classic Creations Unlimited adventures, and has also designed several board games, including King of the Table Top, Magus, and Kings & Things (which won the Charles Roberts Award for Best Fantasy/Science Fiction Game of 1986; and re-released 2010 through Z-Man Games). Mr. Kuntz was honored with the 2005 Gold ENnie Award for his design of the super-adventure "Maure Castle" (published in Dungeon Magazine's 30th Anniversary Celebration issue #112 by Paizo Publishing). In 2006 he founded Pied Piper Publishing which has to date printed 10 titles, including his recently released novella, “Black Festival”. His creative interests extend to writing novels, short stories, screenplays, non-fiction essays and his personal memoirs about the founding of the RPG industry. About Black Blade Publishing Black Blade is the publisher of Robert J. Kuntz’s Lake Geneva Castle & Campaign™ dungeon levels. Under license from Goodman Games, Black Blade also publishes First Edition Dungeon Crawls, conversions of Dungeon Crawl Classics adventure modules. For additional information, please visit www.black-blade-publishing.com. Black Blade Publishing and the Black Blade sword logo are trademarks of Black Blade Publishing, LLC. All other trademarks, service marks, registered trademarks, or registered service marks are the property of their respective owners.
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Post by tacojohn4547 on Jul 1, 2010 20:10:18 GMT -6
I'm glad we got that figured out so you can sell them. Now if only I could get you to spell my frakkin' name right ;D Chog-wiz... sounds like something from Tekumel. Which is awesome in its own right. Doh! Sorry about that there, Chogwiz...er...Hogawiz...er...Chicagowiz! ;D Yeah, I'm excited to be able to make these booklets available again. They are a fantastic resource to the beleaguered DM who's trying to thin down the amount of stuff to use when running games. And with that thought in mind, the Swords & Wizardry: Core Rules Reference Sheets are once again available through the Black Blade Publishing online store! For the time being, the Reference Sheets will be identical to the previous version that Chcagowiz released and which we sold earlier in the year. As soon as is practical, I'll be making a few cosmetic changes to the cover - principally adding the Black Blade Publishing Logo to the front cover - and tweaking the legal page a little bit. But the tables and lists that Chcagowiz compiled will in all likelihood remain unaltered. They ain't broke, so they don't need fixin'!
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Post by tacojohn4547 on Jun 21, 2010 23:44:31 GMT -6
Mythmere Games and Black Blade Publishing are please to announce the release of Mythmere’s Adventure Design Deskbook Volume Two – Monsters. This isn’t your grandpa’s old ‘how-to’ book on random monster creation. This invaluable resource on monster creation includes eighty-six tables that deal with numerous attributes, traits and characteristics of new, soon to be thought-up creatures for use in your fantasy campaigns. It is designed to tap a deeper creative wellspring than a mere monster book that only lists chapter after chapter of familiar monsters and beasts of a more mundane nature. Rather, the tables contained in this volume are akin to a skeleton key which can be used to unlock the passageways of your imagination, helping you to unveil the strange and bizarre inhabitants of your PCs’ nightmares. This second volume of the Mythmere’s Adventure Design Deskbook series turns your attention to one of the hobby’s most appealing aspects – the creation of new and unfamiliar monsters which may be used to challenge your players and their PCs as they pursue fortune and glory in the midst of your fantasy campaigns. This volume walks you through two entirely different alternate methods of creating a new monster using a host of detailed tables, one method focusing on the monster type, and the other focusing on the monster’s fighting characteristics. Written by Matt Finch Cover art by Kenneth Seward Illustrated by Brian DeClercq and Matt Finch 64 pages, perfect bound. $14.00 US The print version of Mythmere’s Adventure Design Deskbook Volume Two can be ordered here: www.black-blade-publishing.com/Store.aspxThe ebook version sells for $6.00 US and is now available through Black Blade Publishing's online store here: black-blade-publishing.com/Store/tabid/65/pid/32/Mythmeres-Adventure-Design-Deskbook-Vol-2-pdf-.aspx
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Post by tacojohn4547 on Jun 16, 2010 23:27:56 GMT -6
Just been looking to download the quickstart but it seems to have disappeared. Was it withdrawn along with the rest of chgowiz's stuff? Yes, at chgowiz's request, all of these titles have been pulled from the Black Blade store and are no longer available for sale or free download. It's too bad as the Ref Sheets are a great tool for running games. I'm hopeful that chgowiz might change his mind and make these titles available again, someday. Fear not, OD&D-ites! Although we still have some things to sort through, we've reached an agreement in principle with Chogwiz for Black Blade Publishing to again be able to offer the Swords & Wizardry: Core Rules Reference Sheets through our online store. This agreement could be completed as soon as the end of the month, removing any barriers to Black Blade being able to once again sell the Swords & Wizardry: Core Rules Reference Sheets.
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Post by tacojohn4547 on Jun 16, 2010 23:19:57 GMT -6
Thanks Fin! I'm still kind of new at this (or so it would seem...).
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Post by tacojohn4547 on Jun 15, 2010 23:32:34 GMT -6
Black Blade Publishing is pleased to announce that our Swords & Wizardry product line will be available at the Origins Game Fair June 23rd thru June 27th at the Greater Columbus Convention Center in Columbus, Ohio. Our good friends at Table Top Adventures will be carrying the full Swords & Wizardry product line for us in booth # 422, along with their own line of great gaming products. In addition, our Swords & Wizardry Core Rules will be available at Origins at the Studio 2 Publishing booth, which is booth # 523. Studio 2 Publishing is our distributor representative for the games and hobby industry. If you attending Origins this year, please stop by the Table Top Adventures booth ( booth # 422) and the Studio 2 Publishing booth ( booth # 523) and check out all the Swords & Wizardry titles currently available. Thank you for your interest! Jon Hershberger Black Blade Publishing www.black-blade-publishing.com
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Post by tacojohn4547 on May 14, 2010 1:09:26 GMT -6
Just been looking to download the quickstart but it seems to have disappeared. Was it withdrawn along with the rest of chgowiz's stuff? Yes, at chgowiz's request, all of these titles have been pulled from the Black Blade store and are no longer available for sale or free download. It's too bad as the Ref Sheets are a great tool for running games. I'm hopeful that chgowiz might change his mind and make these titles available again, someday.
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Post by tacojohn4547 on May 11, 2010 21:29:12 GMT -6
Got my Knockspells and The Secret of Smuggler's Cove! I actually enquired way back when about getting Smuggler's Cove direct from you but the postage to the UK put me off so it's great to be able to buy it here in the UK!! I've got to say Smuggler's Cove really is superb...of all the many OSR supplements and adventures I've got it is...by far...the best quality. In fact, superior, even, to the original DCCs. Any plans for more first edition DCC adventures? Hey, that's great to hear! I'm really excited to have a retail partner in the UK (and one in Germany)! That opens up lots of possibilities for us going forward. I do remember you contacting us about a UK order, way back when. I've learned a little more about shipping overseas since then, and have found that it can be done cheaper than what our internatinoal shipping model was originally set up for. But, having a game store in London that's carrying our books is a far better option for customers and potential customers in the UK. Thank you for the kind words about Smuggler's Cove. Despite the critics' issues with some of the monster conversions, and to be fair their issues were generally reasonable, I really felt like we poured some of our heart and soul into that one. Jason Braun really nailed the cover illustrations and cover layout, and the crisp interior layout complete with AD&D stats really turned out well. And the center spread b&w illo that came over from the original DCC turned out great. Andreas Claren's maps are a beauty to behold, and IMHO the double cardstock cover really set this adventure apart from the crowd. We do indeed have plans for more first edition DCC adventures. The next one has taken a long, long time to come together, but it is coming along. The next First Edition Dungeon Crawl we're doing is DCC #32 The Golden Palace of Zahadran, a high level, desert-themed adventure. It's been through a playtest and the AD&D conversion is still under refinement. The cover art is complete and the cover layout is all but done. Andreas's maps are also complete and await final review once the conversion manuscript is complete. Once the pre-press files go to the printer, you can be assured there'll be an announcement!
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Post by tacojohn4547 on Apr 22, 2010 1:09:40 GMT -6
TacoJohn4557, both cover art and table of contents for Knockspell #4 look excellent and I don't mean to cut short well earned lather, but what say you regards submissions for Knockspell #5? We are accepting content submissions (articles, mini-dungeons, useful DM stuff) for both issue #5 and issue #6 of Knockspell. The submissions guidlines may be found on the Swords & Wizardry forums, under the Knockspell sub-forums: www.swordsandwizardry.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=12&t=1245Best of luck to you!
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Post by tacojohn4547 on Apr 22, 2010 1:03:09 GMT -6
Happy Birthday Coleston!
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Post by tacojohn4547 on Apr 20, 2010 21:28:59 GMT -6
For all of you Swords & Wizardry fans across the pond, you may be pleased to hear that S&W is headed into London. Though rumor has it that the Volcanic Gods are doing what they can to impede this new retail arrangement, I have it on pretty solid grounding that Swords & Wizardry products published by Black Blade Publishing will be available at Leisure Games in London as soon as the sky clears. Leasure Games is located at 100 Ballards Lane, Finchley. Here is some other pertinent information: Tel: +44 (0) 20 8346 2327 Fax: +44 (0) 20 8343 3888 They are open : Monday to Friday: 9.30am to 6.00pm Saturday : 9.00am to 5.30pm And, their virtual store can be accessed via the interweb at: www.leisuregames.com Happy shopping!
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Post by tacojohn4547 on Apr 18, 2010 22:06:05 GMT -6
Thanks, verhaden! Random: You know I'm the LL-kinda-guy, so I have played S&W twice, while playing LL on a regular basis since I first downloaded it, when it was published as a PDF. Still I think it's important to support all the OSR writers and publishers, so I think I own everything that has officially been published since... ...ever! And we salute you for your dedicated support! Thank you glgnfz! I don't know that I personally have a copy of everything that's been released for all of the relevent versions of retro-clones and related games, but I'm pretty close, for exactly the same reason (my regular gaming group plays AD&D most of the time).
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Post by tacojohn4547 on Apr 14, 2010 0:18:22 GMT -6
Knockspell: The quarterly resource for old school gaming!Knockspell Issue #4 contains a veritable cornucopia of gaming content for your retro-clone or out-of-print fantasy campaign! Here's a preview of the table of contents: From Kuroth’s Quill Allan T. Grohe, Jr.Beneath the Crossroads: an Adventure Joshua James GerviasArtist Interview: Christopher BurdettMegadungeon Adventuring Tactics Matt FinchIsles on an Emerald Sea 3: An Adventure Gabor LuxRandom Tavern Generator Robert LionheartArtifact Type & Attributes Scot HooverSpell Interval System John StaterOnline Roleplaying: A Quick Overview Marcelo Frossard PaschoalinRats in the Walls: an Adventure by Jeffrey P. TalanianStealing the Histories Michael CurtisFree-Form Rules as a Referee’s Toolbox Al KrombachRolling Along: Wheeled Magic Items James BobbWeird Weather and other Unexplanable Phenomena J Shoultis, J Larrey, J HartlebReview: The Dungeon Alphabet Allan T. Grohe, Jr.Weapon Generator J.R. ConeNew Magic Items James BobbKnockspell #4 is now available in both print and pdf versions from Black Blade Publishing: black-blade-publishing.com/Store.aspx
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Post by tacojohn4547 on Mar 21, 2010 12:13:54 GMT -6
I began playing RPGs at the tender age of five with the Expert Set of Original D&D. It has been a while since I have played any of the oldschool games (though I still read them for pleasure from time to time). I am getting ready to start dungeon mastering a game of Swords and Wizardry and I was wondering about the degree of direct compatibility between S&W, OD&D, OSRIC, Basic Fantasy Role Playing and Labyrinth Lord. From my perusal it seems there is a lot of ease of conversion, as all are pretty rules-lite and similar. But to what degree can I just pull supplements and adventures from one to the other, and are there any quick-guides to converting the 'important' differences? I know S&W has some rules about converting between it and OSRIC, and I guess that's the sort of thing I am asking about. Mainly OD&D and S&W, since I have tons of OD&D modules I want to run my players through, but also the other Old-School Clones, as many of them have appealing resource materials. - Thanks, Ricky The rules systems you mention, [Basic &]Expert Set D&D, OD&D, OSRIC, Basic FRPG, Labyrinth Lord (and I would argue even 1st Edition AD&D) are all more or less compatible with one another with a few minor tweaks or modifications. You should be able to use most published adventures that were written specifically for any of those systems with any of the other systems on that list, and merely substitute the monster or NPC stats from the system you want to use for the ones presented in the adventure. There isn't, to my knowledge, a conversion guide that crosses those rules systems because of the high degree of compatibility across those systems. There hasn't been a need for a formal guide to conversion because there isn't any meaningful conversion necessary. These systems all use virtually the same language, in virtually the same way, so anything presented for one of them should be immediately recognizable by anyone that 'knows the language', so to speak. One thing to remember about the pre-2E editions is that there is a gradual, but nonetheless real, increase in the power curve as you go from OD&D and S&W >>> to Basic/Expert D&D and Labyrinth Lord >>> to 1st Edition AD&D and OSRIC. Variable hit dice by classes for hit points and variable damage dice for weapons are one example of this creeping power curve. The older rules systems (and their modern clones) are a lot more elastic than those of the later editions, such that they're more able to take the adding and deletiing of game elements (new/fewer classes, new/fewer races, more spells, etc.) without having the game itself come apart.
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Post by tacojohn4547 on Mar 7, 2010 2:58:10 GMT -6
Blade Blade? Is that like two blades in one? "Two great games that taste great together!" ;D Could be, could be: if you like Stormbringer and Mournblade, or perhaps you prefer Blackrazor and the Sword of Kas, or... Or perhaps if you prefer Anglachel or Gurthang....
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Post by tacojohn4547 on Jan 23, 2010 9:45:31 GMT -6
Congratulations, Jonh! That is a good run on a OS product.
I failed to get my order placed again (doh!). Are you still doing the follow-up printing in the fall for the S&W: WB White Box? If so, I'll have to be quicker next time around.
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Post by tacojohn4547 on Jan 23, 2010 7:41:33 GMT -6
Mythmere Games and Black Blade Publishing are pleased to announce the release of a new adventure designer resource: Mythmere’s Adventure Design Deskbook Volume No. 1: Principles and Starting PointsThis isn't your granddaddy's book of random generation tables. Oh no. It's much, much more. The thirty-seven tables in this book are designed to access the deep levels of your creativity, delving into the strange and often bizarre word of the subconscious where fantasy lies. As a tool for masterpiece adventure-design, these tables aren't about putting a few elements of fantasy adventuring into a chart for convenient dice-rolling. Instead, they focus on creating completely new roads and avenues into the dark forests and unknown reaches of the imagination. Of course, they can also be used to whip up adventure ideas on the fly, but when you sit down to create something truly unusual - this is the book with which to start. This first volume of Mythmere's Adventure Design Deskbook focuses on the first step of the adventure-writing process - the initial creative spark. Volume One contains tables for generating locations, missions, and villainous plots, the three most common starting points for writing an adventure. The fourth common starting point, an unusual monster, will be covered in the second volume of this series. Written by Matt Finch Cover art by Kenneth Seward Illustrated by Jeff Preston and Matt Finch 44 pages, saddle-stitched. $12.00 US Mythmere’s Adventure Design Deskbook Volume No.1 can be ordered here: www.black-blade-publishing.com/Store.aspx
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Post by tacojohn4547 on Jan 23, 2010 7:12:24 GMT -6
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