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Post by tacojohn4547 on Jan 19, 2010 23:20:25 GMT -6
Mythmere Games and Black Blade Publishing are pleased to announce the release of an all new Swords & Sorcery adventure: Ice Tower of the Salka Sixty years ago, a mysterious flood of glacial ice utterly buried the tower stronghold of the Salka, a powerful and evil sorceress known throughout the land. Now, fissuring of the deep ice has revealed the rooftop of this lost tower. The secrets and treasurers of the Salka lie within, awaiting a band of powerful adventurers to explore the depths of her ice-entombed stronghold. Written by James C. Boney, this Swords & Wizardry adventure is for PC levels 8-12 and is 20 pages long. The print version is saddle stitched and sells for $11.00 US. The e-book version sells for $5.00 US. Both versions are available now through the Black Blade Publishing online store: www.black-blade-publishing.com/Store.aspx
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Post by tacojohn4547 on Jan 11, 2010 0:32:54 GMT -6
[S&W Backlist] Tomb of the Iron God Reprint Available Matt Finch’s introductory module Tomb of the Iron God, written primarily for Swords & Wizardry (and OD&D) but easily usable for First Edition AD&D (and OSRIC) or Basic/Expert (Labyrinth Lord) games, has been reprinted and is now available from Black Blade Publishing. Brief synopsis: The Monastery of the Iron God has been destroyed by divine wrath, and its treasure-laden catacombs are ripe for the picking by an enterprising young group of adventurers. The adventure is suitable for character levels 1-2. Here is a nice (positive) review of Tomb of the Iron God: greengrunt2.livejournal.com/11780.html
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Post by tacojohn4547 on Jan 1, 2010 12:52:02 GMT -6
Black Blade to carry S&W Quick Start, Ref Sheets Ye Olde Games and Black Blade Publishing are pleased to announce that, effective January 1, 2010, the Swords & Wizardry Quick Start book and the Swords & Wizardry Core Rules Reference Sheets booklet, developed by Michael E. (“chgowiz”) Shorten and produced by Ye Olde Games, are now available through the Black Blade Publishing online store. The Swords & Wizardry Quick Start book will get you started in a fantastic world of adventure and danger using the Swords & Wizardry Core Rules. The Quick Start is meant for first level play only and is a fantastic way to introduce someone new to role-playing or the "old school way" of playing fantasy role-playing games. It contains everything you need to play: -- Character creation -- Play and combat rules -- Game Referee Guidance -- A complete adventure - The Dungeon of Akban The Swords & Wizardry Quick Start book is available in e-book format (pdf) for free through the Black Blade Publishing online store: www.black-blade-publishing.com/Store.aspxThe Swords & Wizardry Quick Start book is also available in print for $6.95 through Lulu.com: www.lulu.com/content/paperback-book/swords-wizardry---quick-start-module-%28print%29/7400534The Swords & Wizardry Quick Start book has been very well received by the old school gaming community. Here are two view links for the Quick Start: www.creativeanomalies.com/blog/2009/07/21/swords-and-wizardry-quick-start-review/swordsandwizardry.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=2104The Swords & Wizardry Core Rules Reference Sheets provide ready access to the charts, tables and summary information for a Game Referee to run wilderness and dungeon adventures. No need to flip through a rulebook when you can have all the information you need in an easy to use digest format! These sheets, formatted for convent digest printing on 8.5x11 (US letter) paper, combine existing Open Game Content from Swords & Wizardry Core Rules - 3rd printing, David Bowman's Monster by CL lists, and brand new content for wilderness encounters and revamped Treasure Generation tables. The PDF also includes basic booklet printing instructions. This accessory is inspired by the set of Reference Sheets that came with the original 1974 fantasy role-playing game. List of tables included: -- Class Info/Statistics up to 10th level -- Attack Rolls for Characters and Monsters -- Basic Equipment List (including weapons/armor) -- Movement Info -- Turning Undead -- Cleric Spells -- Magic User Spells -- Hirelings -- Monsters (all from Core Rules plus a couple of new monsters) -- XP Values by CL -- Monster Dungeon Encounters -- Monsters by CL Levels -- Wilderness Encounters (new content) -- Wilderness Encounter Types and subtables (new content) -- Treasure Tables and Generation (revamped/simplified/clarified) The Swords & Wizardry Core Rules Reference Sheets are available in e-book format (pdf) and in printed format through the Black Blade Publishing online store: www.black-blade-publishing.com/Store.aspxThe Swords & Wizardry Core Rules Reference Sheets are also available in printed format through Michael Shorten’s online blog: oldguyrpg.blogspot.com/The Swords & Wizardry Core Rules Reference Sheets are also available in e-book format through RPGNow.com: www.rpgnow.com/product_info.php?products_id=64455&affiliate_id=237867Here are a couple of review links for Reference Sheets mojobob.com/roleplay/swordsandwizardry/review-referencesheets.htmlwww.stargazersworld.com/category/other-systems/swords-wizardry/
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Post by tacojohn4547 on Dec 27, 2009 7:28:38 GMT -6
The latest S&W backlist title to become available in print on the Black Blade Publishing online store is Eldritch Weirdness 3 to 1. EW 3-1 is now in stock and ready for ordering.
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Post by tacojohn4547 on Dec 23, 2009 4:20:17 GMT -6
PRESS RELEASE NOBLE KNIGHT GAMES JOINS FORCES WITH SWORDS & WIZARDRY December 22, 2009 – Noble Knight Games and Black Blade Publishing are pleased to announce an agreement under which Noble Knight Games is to become a Medallion Retailer of the ENnie-award winning Swords & Wizardry game. As a Medallion Retailer, NKG customers will have access to the entire Swords & Wizardry product line including a number of S&W products not available in brick and mortar locations. Swords & Wizardry is a “retro-clone” of the original 1974-1978 rules for the world’s most popular fantasy roleplaying game. “A lot of our customers have asked us if we plan on selling some of the new material being published for use with out-of-print rules,” says Aaron Leeder, president of Noble Knight Games. “Swords & Wizardry is the powerhouse game for older editions, since it’s compatible with Original Dungeons & Dragons, it’s got an ENnie Award under its belt, and it’s got a full product line of modules and other supplements. This agreement with Black Blade Publishing lets us provide our customers with a wide array of the newer materials. It’s not only a great game, but it has the potential to expand the base of players who will be interested in our main product line of out-of-print gaming materials. Getting started with a copy of the Original D&D rules isn’t cheap these days, but now you can start playing the game for less than $25. That’s good for the hobby and good for our customers.” “Noble Knight Games is unquestionably the premier seller of out-of-print gaming materials,” said Matt Finch, author of Swords & Wizardry. “It’s an honor to be their chosen partner for an expansion into in-print retro-gaming. If you want to buy several out of print items, you can either spend a year combing ebay, or you can buy everything all at once from Noble Knight. That’s where we want Swords & Wizardry to be available – alongside the older material, not isolated as a separate phenomenon.” Founded in 2008 by Matthew J. Finch, Mythmere Games is best known for the Swords & Wizardry fantasy role-playing game, the award-winning retro-clone of the original 1974 edition of the world’s most popular fantasy game, and for Knockspell Magazine, the voice of out-of-print and retro-clone gaming. For additional information, visit www.swordsandwizardry.com or www.black-blade-publishing.com. Formed in 2009 by Jon Hershberger and Allan Grohe, Black Blade Publishing publishes the Swords & Wizardry Core Rulebook under license from Mythmere Games. For additional information, visit www.black-blade-publishing.com. Noble Knight Games has been serving the games hobby industry for more than 12 years, serving game publishers and collectors alike with a special emphasis on out of print, older edition games. For additional information, visit www.nobleknight.com.
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Post by tacojohn4547 on Dec 9, 2009 0:48:37 GMT -6
The newly printed Swords & Wizardry Core Rules softcover rulebooks arrived from the printer last week and have been shipping for about a week.
Additionally, marketing copies and promotional information has been provided to our distribution partner, Studio 2, marking the next big step in getting Swords & Wizardry into the distribution chain and ultimately into retail stores. The Core Rules have been entered into the distribution solicitation cycle with a planned retail release of March, 2010.
Studio 2 works with a number of distributors, including ACD Distribution, Alliance, Alladin Distributors and Premier Hobbies Distribution for US distribution. Retail stores buying through any of these distributors should be able to order and stock Swords & Wizardry Core Rules.
Jon Hershberger Black Blade Publishing
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Post by tacojohn4547 on Dec 9, 2009 0:39:24 GMT -6
This is very exciting. Wish I could speak Spanish (or French or Italian, for that matter).
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Post by tacojohn4547 on Dec 6, 2009 14:28:21 GMT -6
John, there was a slight mess-up with myth's layout guy for issue #1, and our map and a few illustrations that were supposed to accompany _Charnel Crypt of the Sightless Serpent_ were inadvertently lost. If your plan calls for newly laying out these earlier issues, please let me know and I will forward you the map by Claren and a few illustrations by Baggley. Best of luck! Cheers, Jeff T. Hey Jeff, Good to 'hear' from you, man. 'Been a while. Regarding Knockspell #1 and 2 going 'back' into print, we aren't revisiting the layouts, other than to split off the covers from the interior booklet. Whereas Lulu reqired imbedded covers in their print-ready files, our current printers prefer to have the covers as separate files. So, we'll have to manage with your hand-drawn maps for Charnel Crypt of the Sightless Serpent for the time being. Incidentally, when you get a chance, please email or PM me your mailing address. I have something to send to you. Think of it as an early Christmas present. Jon "tacojohn" Hershberger
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Post by tacojohn4547 on Dec 5, 2009 1:49:26 GMT -6
Great news. Can I safely assume that we will see all that we have before in print at some time? Yeah, I'm pretty excited about the Knockspell back issues. We've received inquiries about those being available in print, and I convinced Matt to turn some of those files around this week (honestly, it wasn't too hard to convince him of that). Knockspell #1 pre-press files have been sent to the printer. The other S&W print titles, like Eldritch Weirdness 3 to 1, City Encounters and Tomb of the Iron God, will be migrated off of Lulu and over to the Black Blade web store as time and capital ($$$) allow us to have print runs done. Spire of Iron and Crystal has already been printed and is available through Black Blade. The print quality of the new printing of Spire is really very good. The S&W Monster Book is another title Allan and I would like to see become available thru Black Blade. But, there are some other lingering questions about that book, such as how much more art is really needed and such, that need to be answered before that one will be coming out. But I think it's only a matter of time (and money, of course).
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Post by tacojohn4547 on Dec 1, 2009 1:59:41 GMT -6
Any chance of the back issues seeing print? We're starting down this road, Julian. The KS 1 & 2 content is all there and the interior book formatting is still good, naturally. But we have to retoool the covers for commercial printing, and then sort the scheduling with our commercial printer. But these are being queued up for printing very soon.
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Post by tacojohn4547 on Nov 21, 2009 21:39:38 GMT -6
Knockspell #3 approaching sellout!
After having been available for just barely four weeks, Knosckspell #3, the magazine of old-school fantasy gaming, is approaching sellout of the first printing! There are still copies available through Black Blade Publishing, but the remaining stock will likely be sold within the next week or so.
And so that there isn't any confusion about whether orders placed to date will be filled, all paid orders placed to date have now been shipped.
Jon Hershberger Black Blade Publishing
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Post by tacojohn4547 on Nov 21, 2009 21:35:13 GMT -6
Knockspell #3 approaching sellout!
After having been available for just barely four weeks, Knosckspell #3, the magazine of old-school fantasy gaming, is approaching sellout of the first printing! There are still copies available through Black Blade Publishing, but the remaining stock will likely be sold within the next week or so.
And so that there isn't any confusion about whether orders placed to date will be filled, all paid orders placed to date have now been shipped.
Jon Hershberger Black Blade Publishing
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Post by tacojohn4547 on Nov 12, 2009 2:21:32 GMT -6
Sales of Knockspell #3 continue to roll in and orders of the dead tree version are shipping. I still have a backlog of orders, but will likely be caught up by the weekend.
Sales of back issues of Knockspell (pdf version) also continue to roll in, which is suggestive of new readers since those first two issues have been out in circulation for a while.
Jon Hershberger Black Blade Publishing
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Post by tacojohn4547 on Oct 29, 2009 21:02:53 GMT -6
Knockspell #3, the magazine of old-school fantasy gaming, is now available for purchase through the Black Blade Publishing online store. This issue is chock full of articles and fiddly bits that you can use in your old-school game immediately. Here's a preview of the Table of Contents from Issue # 3:
Outnumbered but Tough: Musings of a Girl Gamer by “Spike” From Kuroth’s Quill #3 by Allan T. Grohe, Jr. Pulp Heroes and the Colors of Magic by “Akrasia” Chariot Racing by John Vogel Blame it on the Players: an Editorial by Tim Kask Swords & Wizardry: Silver ENnie Award Winner Black Armour, Black Heart: the Anti-Paladin by Scot Hoover The Font of Glee by Jason Sholtis The City of Vultures by Gabor Lux Random Wilderness Events by Joshua James Gervais Contest Details Random Ruin Generator by Robert Lionheart Labyrinth Tomb of the Minotaur Lord by R. Lawrence Blake The Planes: Playgrounds of the Rich and Powerful by Jon Hershberger New Tricks and Traps New Magic Items Beginner’s Bestiary by Andrew Trent New Monsters The Tower of Mouths by Matt Finch
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Post by tacojohn4547 on Oct 26, 2009 23:30:48 GMT -6
Beginning Tuesday, October 27, and for the next week, all S&W pdfs available thru the Black Blade Publishing online store will be discounted 10% off.
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Post by tacojohn4547 on Oct 26, 2009 23:17:26 GMT -6
PRESS RELEASE Black Blade Publishing to become Exclusive Publisher of the Swords & Wizardry Core Rules and Knockspell Magazine October 27, 2009 – Mythmere Games, developer and publisher of the ENnie-award winning Swords & Wizardry fantasy role-playing game, is pleased to announce an exclusive agreement with Black Blade Publishing to publish the Swords & Wizardry Core Rules and Knockspell magazine, and to lead the charge to get Swords & Wizardry into retail distribution. The first print releases under this agreement will be a softcover version of the 124-page Swords & Wizardry Core Rulebook and Knockspell #3. Working with Studio 2 Publishing as its distribution partner, Black Blade Publishing expects the Swords & Wizardry Core Rulebook to start hitting the shelves of brick and mortar game stores by February of 2010. In addition, the in-print version of the Swords & Wizardry Core Rulebook will be available for purchase directly from Black Blade Publishing or through select retailers by late-October, 2009. Electronic copies of the Swords & Wizardry Core Rulebook will be available immediately directly from Black Blade Publishing, and will be available very soon directly from Studio 2 Publishing, DrivethruRPG, RPGNow and YourGamesNow. Print versions of Knockspell #3 are available for purchase directly from Black Blade Publishing, and issue #4 may be distributed to stores around February of 2010, at the same time as the core rules. Electronic copies of Knockspell #3 are now available from Black Blade Publishing, and will be available very soon directly from Studio 2 Publishing, DrivethruRPG, RPGNow or YourGamesNow. “The Swords & Wizardry fantasy role-playing game is about a lot more than a return to the way these games used to be played. Swords & Wizardry unapologetically throws off 30 years of re-imagining and so-called ‘fixing’ of the original rules, returning to the wonder and mystery of “free-form” fantasy gaming without complicated rules and long rulebooks. Black Blade Publishing is very excited to be publishing the key Swords & Wizardry titles from Mythmere Games. The quality of new products being introduced in the old school gaming community is amazing, and we are really excited to be a part of it.” -- Jon Hershberger, co-founder of Black Blade Publishing Founded in 2008 by Matthew J. Finch, Mythmere Games is best known for the Swords & Wizardry fantasy role-playing game, the award-winning retro-clone of the original 1974 edition of the world’s most popular fantasy game. For additional information, visit www.swordsandwizardry.com. Formed in 2009 by Jon Hershberger and Allan Grohe, Black Blade Publishing will begin publishing the Swords & Wizardry Core Rulebook in October 2009 under license from Mythmere Games. For additional information, visit www.black-blade-publishing.com. Studio 2 Publishing has been serving the games hobby industry since 2004, serving game designers and publishers as a sales and marketing organization as well as providing fulfillment and inventory management services. For additional information, visit www.studio2publishing.com.
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Post by tacojohn4547 on Oct 26, 2009 23:02:54 GMT -6
I see Knockspell #3 is listed there, too. I guess that means the new ones won't be through Lulu anymore? Chgowiz scooped the announcement - that's coming any day now - and directed the followers of his blog to our newly updated website and semi-operational on-line Store. As I found out today, there are still a few kinks to work out with the Black Blade Store, but products can be ordered from the site. Knockspell #3 will be available in print from Black Blade and will not be available thru Lulu. The finished products from Lulu were, in my opinion, entirely acceptible. But, as I understand it, Lulu kept the lion's share of the sales price for printed products. And their shipping rates are among the highest of any online rpg shop, particularly so for overseas orders. One note about our overseas shipping - the shipping rate table on the website needs some refinement, so please don't be shocked at the international shipping rates. That will get addressed in the next day or two, as time allows.
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Post by tacojohn4547 on Oct 2, 2009 22:19:53 GMT -6
Chgowiz's S&W Reference Sheets are great! I bought the pdf when it came out and promptly printed off a set for a quick read. Fantastic idea Chgowiz, and super execution.
My only misgiving is that my group is so died-in-the-wool AD&D that I probably won't be able to put the S&W Reference Sheets to good use any time soon. But I've got them handy, nonetheless!
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Post by tacojohn4547 on Oct 1, 2009 13:48:19 GMT -6
Black Blade Publishing is somehow connected to Goodman Games, I think. I read somewhere that 4E publishers weren't allowed to support older edition games, and this meant that Goodman had to create a new label for their old school stuff. Apologies if I'm wrong about this. I'm not positive about my info. Black Blade Publishing is the new, independant publishing company that myself (Jon Hershberger) and Allan Grohe (a/k/a grodog) set up earlier this year. Our goal is to publish adventures and other supporting game products for the OOP games and retro-clone games that we enjoy playing. Black Blade is currently licensing IP from Goodman Games, certain Dungeon Crawl Classics IP in particular, which we are then converting from D&D 3.x/d20 to First Edition AD&D and releasing as First Edition Dungeon Crawls. Our first release came out in June and we have two more releases in the pipeline for 2009. My affiliation with Goodman Games goes back to 2006 when I did the 3.x/d20 to AD&D conversion on DCC # 12.5 The Iron Crypt of the Heretics that was released as a special Gen Con adventure module that year. I've been involved with most of the Goodman Games DCC conversion modules (3.x/d20 to AD&D) since 2006. The need for Goodman Games to cease doing the AD&D conversions was initially driven by the highly restrictive GSL that Wizards released in concert with the 4th Edition of D&D. With future DCCs for AD&D in question, I presented Goodman Games with a proposal that would allow me to do the conversions and release the modules on my own. We worked through layout alternatives and contract terms in late 2008, and in early 2009 Black Blade Publishing was born. Allan's been a member of my local gaming group since 2006, and I asked him to be involved with Black Blade because of his hands-on experience with game publishing and because of his involvement with the OSR in general. And we make a pretty good team. And there's no need to apologize. Your information was mostly right.
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Post by tacojohn4547 on Sept 30, 2009 22:26:47 GMT -6
Later in October, Noble Knight Games will begin carrying gaming publications from Black Blade Publishing for the old school gaming community. The first release, First Edition Dungeon Crawls: DCC #7 The Secret of Smugglers Cove, should be available for purchase within a couple of weeks. Future adventure modules, including the AD&D conversions of the popular DCC adventures, and other gaming publications from Black Blade Publishing will also become available through Noble Knight Games as those releases also become available directly from Black Blade Publishing.
Noble Knight Games has been one of my preferred retailers for years. Their customer service is great and I’ve recommended NKG to many of my gamer friends. We hope that Black Blade Publishing’s first small step into a retail outlet gives fans of the out of print games and the new retro-clones another avenue for buying new adventure modules and other supporting products from Black Blade Publishing.
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Post by tacojohn4547 on Jul 30, 2009 14:19:03 GMT -6
This is awesome- Congrats to Jon and Allan! Thanks for the kudos! Incidentally, Goodman Games will have copies of this d20 to AD&D conversion adventure module available in limited quantities at their booth at Gen Con this year. -- Jon
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