Fight On! Issue 3 Now Available!

[calithena]

The premier fanzine for the old-school renaissance comes out swinging with a +5 vorpal claymore of disintegration! All 148 pages of issue #3 are released in honor of the late Bob Bledsaw and in cooperation with the Judges Guild, and feature the following legacy articles:

• Wilderlands Map 19: The Wild North by Robert S. Conley, detailing the lands north of Valon and west, by many folks' reckoning anyway, of much-fabled Blackmoor!
  
• Haghill by James Mishler of Adventure Games Publications, detailing the legendary village near the City-State of the Invincible Overlord and the communities monstrous and mundane that surround it!
  
• Inferno: The Fifth Circle by Geoffrey O. Dale, author of the original Inferno, taking you farther and deeper into Hell than gamers have ever trod before!
  

You can also learn intriguing tidbits about the history of Judges Guild from Bob Bledsaw II and Bill Owen, the Guild's co-founder, and read a stirring tribute to Bledsaw and the early days of gaming from Bill Webb, co-founder of Necromancer Games! But it's not just the glorious of yesteryear to be found in our pages. David Bowman's contest-winning Spawning Grounds of the Crab-Men and Diana Jones/Indie RPG Award double winner Jason Morningstar's first honorable mention Khas Fara give you two tough new adventures to tackle, the latter of which can be played with traditional fantasy games or with The Shadow of Yesterday. Gabor Lux, the Hungarian Prince of Swords & Sorcery, takes you inside his Fomalhaut Campaign. Our front cover was penned by Len Cain of Berkeley gaming legend. Baz Blatt brings you new demons for Empire of the Petal Throne, while Max Davenport gives us some terrible and zany monsters for Mutant Future! And Fight On! stalwarts and newcomers Jeff Rients, Steve Zieser, Kevin Mayle, Lee Barber, Patrick Farley, Del Beaudry, Vincent Baker, Kesher, John Miskimen, Age of Fable, Calithena, and many more are back and ready to rock your game with the newest tables, tricks, sorcery, monsters, and mayhem their deviant minds can devise!

Whether you started in 1974 or 2008, you won't want to miss this fall's issue! Buy it now from lulu at

www.lulu.com/content/4886315

and be sure to pick up the first two issues as well if you haven't already. Happy gaming, and Fight On!

[coffee]

I just ordered mine.

I'd just like to make a comparison: The original AD&D Player's Handbook was only 128 pages, 20 shorter than this issue...

[cadriel]

I got my copy today. It's astonishing how quickly this magazine has grown, and while I've barely even scratched the surface as content goes for this issue yet, I sincerely hope that we continue to see this size and this quality of magazine. I'll post more thoughts soon.

[calithena]

Whoa! Awesome, Cadriel. You don't happen to live near Michigan do you?

Please let me know if you catch anything glaringly off. I think it's a cool issue.

[cadriel]

Nov 19, 2008 19:00:38 GMT -6 calithena said:

Whoa! Awesome, Cadriel. You don't happen to live near Michigan do you?

Please let me know if you catch anything glaringly off. I think it's a cool issue.

No, I live in New Jersey - I ordered the issue as soon as it was up and decided not to worry about waiting for the proof.

I've just flipped through the entire thing, and the only problem I have is that the hex numbers for the "Wild North" are indistinct to the point of being totally illegible. I thought they were missing entirely at first glance, to be honest, but when I looked closer I saw that they were very indistinct light gray. I'll probably order a larger copy of the map for reference's sake.

For practical reasons I tend to prefer the articles that can be slotted directly into my games - the charts, the monsters, the magic items etc., and I was very happy to see plenty of articles in that vein. I'll be mining the longer articles for material, but I definitely think the short pieces are more likely to be of immediate value. The "Ready Ref Sheets" feature is awesome, and I'm hoping we can see more in that vein in future installments. (I use the original Ready Ref Sheets in my games and can always use more.)

I appreciated the addition of a reviews feature - definitely something worth following up in future issues. Not so much on the fiction. I understand that it's sort of traditional, but I haven't had much use for game fiction since I stopped reading Dragonlance books in high school.

[calithena]

I added a two-page version of the map at the end (pps. 147-8) in the revised version. It's weird, the one-page is too small, but I had to convert to postscript and then back to make the final PDF, and I think that 'greyed it out' a little more than would be ideal.

I like that story but it's a bit long and it starts a little slow. (I wouldn't call it 'game fiction' though.) Fiction will be case by case, if something really wows me then I'll consider it. I think though that in the future I'd like fiction if we have it to be accompanied by maps, house rules, some kind of gamable content that goes with it.

I can't use the 'ready ref sheets' logo in general but we'll continue to have Tables for Fables and I know we've got some additional charts ready to go for issue 4.

Glad it looks good! They just shipped mine in the last couple hours. Keep them opinions coming!

[calithena]

Well, those numbers are hard to read even on the two-page PDF map. I just spent a while fiddling but there was no easy way to fix it. Ah well, the downloaded big ones are free.

[robertsconley]

I also got my copy. The issues great! Good job all around.

But I noticed not just my maps but other pages to be faded as well while others are not.

It should be a simple matter of leaving blank pages in the original document and replace them with the TIFF or PDF I sent. You shouldn't have to convert to Postscript.

What PDF software are you using?

If you are not using Acrobat I recommend using any profits to buy a copy as it will make your job infinitely easier.

If you can't get Acrobat then I have it. For future issues I will be glad to take the file and insert any full page maps,graphics in it using Acrobat. It is very simple for me to do. You don't even have to stop putting the full page stuff. It would be better to have it as there would makes I put the right graphic in the right location.

Rob

[calithena]

I'm pretty sure the fading came from the postscript conversion.

I upgraded from Acrobat 5-6 to Acrobat 9 and it's the 9 that's giving me problems. I need to change the default distiller settings on Word is actually what it is - I think that will allow me to eliminate the postscript step that's producing the slight fading.

I'm glad it looks good but it would be cool to get this fixed. I'll go back to work on the Word file ASAP and see if I can make it a little better. Again, I think it's good now or I wouldn't have released the issue, but it would be nice if we could brighten it up a little.

[robertsconley]

Nov 20, 2008 9:04:12 GMT -6 calithena said:

I'm pretty sure the fading came from the postscript conversion.

I upgraded from Acrobat 5-6 to Acrobat 9 and it's the 9 that's giving me problems. I need to change the default distiller settings on Word is actually what it is - I think that will allow me to eliminate the postscript step that's producing the slight fading.

I'm glad it looks good but it would be cool to get this fixed. I'll go back to work on the Word file ASAP and see if I can make it a little better. Again, I think it's good now or I wouldn't have released the issue, but it would be nice if we could brighten it up a little.

If you have Acrobat 9 don't rely on the distiller use Acrobat to import full page graphics in direct replacing blank pages. I learned this the hard way on the three Judges Guild Modules I laid out for Goodman. Plus you can use TIFF files directly which gives the best results for color/greyscale control.

In Acrobat 8 replace page is under the Documents menu.

[Melan]

What do you know, Lulu shipped my copy. And since it is coming from Spain, I should get it real soon.

[calithena]

I can fix the fading with a little time. This is why I like to wait for proof copies...but as Rob and Cadriel said it still basically looks good as is.

[calithena]

OK, I have all the files prepped without the fading except the modified ones on my home computer. I will fix those when I get home and then upload the revised version this afternoon.'

I apologize for this, profusely. I was having serious software issues and the magazine was a month behind schedule due to its size! The right final version will be up this afternoon. That said, the ones people have been buying already are good, it's just that they'll be even better in a few hours.

[sham]

My order is still classified as 'paid'. It sounds like Lulu is churning them out fairly quickly, so it shouldn't be terribly long before I get my copy. Looking forward to spending time over the upcoming long holiday weekend reading all 148 pages.

[calithena]

OK. I have fixed the file once and for all, pending any other news of weirdness. Hopefully most of the people who ordered since this all got started will get this file!

This is why I always want to proof before advertising - hopefully we won't be late again and this won't be an issue.

[ant]

Ordered! Now the long wait ...

[calithena]

I got the proof copy of the very first version today. I'm happy to say it's acceptable! Even Rob's map, the hardest thing to read, can be barely made out. (I wish I'd had the bright idea of putting the blow-up in there though, but things emerged very organically with the massive amount of content, and I'm a one-man show. But I did make it a free download at least!)

The current version is indeed slightly prettier and has Rob's map included blown up at the end for no additional cost, but I don't think people who ordered early have gotten screwed or anything. So I'm very relieved about that, and hope the others like me who did order early feel the same way!

[grodog]

So do you expect to need to make any other changes, Sean, given what you saw in the proof? If not, expect my order on the morrow

[calithena]

No, no more changes unless someone gets on here and tells me their copy sucks. But based on what I've seen it should be fine. I'm ordering another for myself!

[kesher]

Just ordered mine! Woot!

I about choked when it looked like the cheapest shipping available was USPS Priority for $9.16; however, on the last screen, though I had to look for it rather too hard, I was able to change it to Media Mail for a much more acceptable $5~something.

I woulda paid the $9, though...

[greyharp]

How frustrating, I've just had my first bad experience with Lulu. I ordered #3 the day it was released and when I hadn't received a shipping email 10 days later, I contacted them to ask why my account still said "Fulfilling". They wrote back and told me about a glitch in the system, which they'd look into. And now I've just received an email to say the magazine has only just been shipped today. Going by past experience, it will be about another 3 weeks before it arrives in my letter box.

The only positive note is that I ordered before calithena had made any changes, but now I'll have a corrected copy. Oh well, all's well that ends well.

[Random]

That stinks, greyharp.
I usually get my lulu orders swiftly and without issue.

I did get the pre-fixed copy of FO!#3, but the blurry hex # don't bother me that much. I can just count over and down (or pencil them in).

[stonetoflesh]

My copy arrived this morning, heavily laden with old-school awesomeness. I can't wait for the long weekend to arrive so I can sit down and really peruse it at my leisure. My thanks to everyone involved for such a great mag!

[coffee]

I'm hoping I get mine tomorrow, so I'll have the long weekend also. I won't be working Friday, and I always have such things shipped to me at work -- it's just more reliable than having them shipped to my home. (Plus, I get them earlier in the day!)

[kevinmayle]

I ordered it this morning and I was notified that it had been shipped by this afternoon.
That is extremely quick!!!!

[coffee]

Got mine this morning, so I'll have the whole weekend to read it.

Unfortunately, I'm at work right now, so I can't even get started until lunchtime...

[greyharp]

I just received my copy in the mail and if I thought I was angry with Lulu before for taking so long, I'm absolutely fuming now.

To my great surprise, it was both printed and published here in Australia, and yet Lulu still charged me 14.91 USD postage ($22.75 AUS) for a book that would've cost them 1.80 USD ($2.75 AUS) to post, assuming they don't get a cheaper business rate with Australia Post. So I've been overcharged $20.

What adds insult to injury is that while googling this whole thing, I came across an article entitled "Lulu expands reach with printer operation in Australia", in which Andrew Pate, the "vice president for global fulfillment at Lulu.com" said:

With this outstanding printer joining the Lulu printing network, customers in this area no longer have to pay more for shipping than they often did for the book

Well that would be fine if I "the customer" was actually given that choice.

I've written to them of course, so we'll wait and see what happens. If they're decent sorts, they'll credit me the extra charge, which of course I'll put towards #4. ;D

As for the magazine itself, it looks absolutely fantastic and I can't wait to bury my nose in it. Well done calithena and all concerned.

ant - as a fellow Aussie, it'll be interesting to see if you have the same experience.

[Melan]

I've been reading my copy - arrived surprisingly fast! - for a few days now. Fight on! might as well be retitled 'The Magazine of COOL'. Some of the material in this issue just plain blows the mind -- like Geoffrey O' Dale's Inferno, which shows that special layer of excellence which indicates the author has thought long about it; or Rob Conley's Wilderlands region, very much in spirit of JG's products; or Spawning Grounds of the Crab-men; or the little vignettes like The Table of Despair, or... there is just so much, it will take more time to read the whole of it.

Some old school products lately have given a whole lot of value for the money; Fight on! is definitely that sort of product. If you haven't ordered your copy yet, you probably should; not because Lulu will run out of copies, but because you are missing out if you don't.

[ant]

Nov 27, 2008 20:55:17 GMT -6 Greyharp said:

ant - as a fellow Aussie, it'll be interesting to see if you have the same experience.

Thanks for the heads up, greyharp. There certainly wasn't any indication that my copy would be printed in Australia. I guess I'll just have to wait and see.

Regardless, the anticipation of receiving Issue #3 is almost palpable!

[calithena]

Lulu is great when it works, but unfortunately they seem to screw up in one way or another about 5% of the time.

They are very convenient but if someone finds a similar business that works better we're well open to it.