e23 News Archive: February 2009

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February 28, 2009: Of Gods And Devils

Specifically, of War of the Psychic Gods, Set 1, and Demon Wars, Set 1. Which means I suppose I could have shortened that to just "Of Wars," what with the propensity for the word "war" to appear in those titles. But I'm getting off track! I'm supposed to be telling you how great these games are. That's my job and stuff.

So how great are they? Well, I'll tell you how great they are! They're . . . they're great! Really great. Just . . . really . . . great. No, I'm not stalling! Like I said, this is my job. Why would I stall? No sir, I'm just  . . . telling you how great the games are. And they are great. Greatly great. Yup. Great.

. . . I do not have writer's block. At least, you can't prove I do. So there.

-- Fox Barrett

February 27, 2009: It's Also About Spies, By The Way

The temptation to take a cheap shot with a fat joke is, I will admit, a bit overwhelming here. The book is called GURPS Lair of the Fat Man, it's about this really fat guy who's kinda crazy, and, well . . . there's even a big fat silhouette right there on the cover!

But I won't do it! I won't! I won't say that this book is so fat that we had to send the entire Dungeon Fantasy line in behind it to get it through the pipeline. Wait, no! I didn't mean to say that! Must . . . be . . . strong.

I knew I shouldn't have taken Compulsive Behavior. But I had to pay for that five points I spent on Beam Weapons. (Which I'm certain will come in handy. Any day now.)

-- Fox Barrett

February 26, 2009: Daddy, Where Do Gnolls Come From?

Um . . .

Er . . .

Here. Read A Brief History of Gnolls. I don't think I'm equipped to field that one just yet.

February 25, 2009: Double The "Star," Double The Fun

Majestic Twelve Games. They make Starmada. They make Iron Stars. Both are about space. Both are pretty neat. So why not mix the two?

Why not indeed.

The aptly named Starmada: Iron Stars is that very product. It takes all the H. G. Wellian steampunkery of Iron Stars and puts it behind the wheel of the Starmada ruleset. And yes, that's precisely as cool as it sounds. Have some, won't you?

-- Fox Barrett

February 24, 2009: Bundle Up

For some, the old d20 rules have come and gone. Indeed, we had to discontinue quite a few products when December 31st, 2008 rolled around. But the spunky little system yet lives, if Skirmisher has anything to say about it. And they have a lot to say.

An example? How about the Skirmisher OGL Bundle. It's seven books about a myriad topics, from magic to Mars, but that's not the incredible part. No, the incredible part is what they've decided to price the thing at. And that's a paltry $29.93.

Go on. Click through the link. See what all seven of those books cost individually. Thirty bucks isn't a deal, it's not even a steal. It's grand theft roleplaying. Take advantage of their generosity, folks. I'm sure they won't mind.

February 23, 2009: On The Tip Of My Tongue . . .

I was going to write something . . . and it was about Dungeon Crawl Classics #58: The Forgotten Portal. I just can't, for the life of me, recall what it was. I think it was about . . . maybe swords? I mean, dungeon crawls have swords, right? Or maybe it was wizards. 

Ah well. I'm sure it'll come to me, if it's really that important.

(Cheap joke? Perhaps. I'm just gonna blame sun spots and keep on driving. I sleep better that way.)

-- Fox Barrett

February 22, 2009: Going Cheap: One Earth (Used)

Got a heck of an offer for you today, folks. It's planet Earth! Oh sure, she's seen better days. Yes, her sun has, ah . . . cooled a bit. But she's still got a few years left in her! . . . Probably. Okay, so maybe it's not so much a Fix-Er-Upper Earth as it is a Dying Earth. But that just means we can pass the savings on to you!

From now until April 1st (no, I'm not kidding, the timing just worked out that way) all Dying Earth products are half-off. Every last one. Yes, that means the core book itself is a mere five simoleons. After that, you'll never see these books this cheap again. Because, well, you won't see these books again. They'll go going away for good, I'm afraid.

Does that mean you should "order now" and "act fast" and all that? I wouldn't sweat it too much. You've got the month of March to decide. But you can't deny, it's one heck of a deal.

-- Fox Barrett

February 21, 2009: More Magical Mayhem

Yesterday, I wrote about a magically marvelous new book from That Kromm Guy. Today? We'll be sticking with that thread. (Added bonus, Sean Punch worked on this one too.)

For today, I write of Pyramid #3/4: Magic on the Battlefield. This month, the hivemind has pushed together articles about what happens when wizards toss the pointy hats and put on helmets. Rules for magic-ing up your defenses, a sample group of battlefield spell-slingers, magic as it relates to sea warfare. There's just a lotta good stuff in here, folks. Get a copy today and go Gandalf on some unsuspecting horde of slavering miscreants.

Because it's not just a kind of magic. It's the best kind of magic.

-- Fox Barrett

February 20, 2009: The "In" Crowd

You are who you know. The more powerful your friends, the more powerful you are in turn. And if you're looking for powerful friends, it's hard to get much more powerful than wizards. You know, what with the whole "rearranging the cosmos on a whim" thing.

So how do you break into the clique? Be seen at the right parties (i.e. the one that just slew the Torbonxox the Dracolich), wear the right clothes (i.e. robe, pointy hat), and most important of all . . . buy GURPS books.

GURPS Thaumatology: Magical Styles would be a good place to start, since it covers that very topic.

-- Fox Barrett

February 19, 2009: I'm Probably Confused

With businesses dissolving over-night, thousands of people losing their jobs, the very idea of the dollar looking to implode and take all our hopes, dreams, and stuff with it . . . y'know, things are looking a little glum.

So to cheer things up, I recommend checking out a shiny little gem we recently got from 93 Games Studio. It's a game called Twilight: 2013. It's sort of an updated and revised take on the venerable Twilight: 2000 of yesteryear. Now, I'm not actually familiar with the game, but I'm certain it must present players with an idyllic vision of the world four years from now, where all troubles are behind us and humankind is moving forward in a new era of peace, cooperation, and enlightenment.

Yes, I'm sure this will be just what I need to lift my spirits and give me hope for the future!

-- Fox Barrett

February 18, 2009: Ducks?

Yeah, that's Quactica, all right. Ducks. Ducks running around in armor beating people up. Pig-people, mostly.

No, I'm not making this up. Yes, we want money for it.

Look, here's a free sample. Turn it over in your head a bit and then come back to that product link up there. I'm sure you'll see the light.

February 17, 2009: The Classy Dead

Who says Necromancers have no class? Not Secrets of Necromancy! 'Cause, y'see, it's a . . . it's a class book for . . .

Sorry.

Look, it was either that or another one of my lame "shhh, I can't tell you what's in this book, because it says 'secrets' in the title" jokes. And let's be honest, nobody wants that. Just go see the book. It's 60-some pages about just one class. Not too shabby for only three bucks, eh?

February 16, 2009: Because Harsh Language Never Works

Fact: Everything is better if it's from space. "Space cowboy" is superior to "cowboy." "Space-age" is better than "age." "Pigs in space" are far superior to "pigs."

Fact: Marines eat danger and poo screaming death.

Therefor: Space Marines are quite possibly the Coolest Thing Ever. Which is probably why someone wrote USSMC FM 7-22: Space Boarding Operation, a semi-fictional field manual for the Coolest Thing Ever. I say semi-fictional, because an honest-to-goodness Army colonel wrote it. An Army colonel who's job is writing manuals about being awesome. The spaceship bits may be fakey, but otherwise? This is as close as it gets.

February 15, 2009: Does This Bug You? I'm Not Touching You!

In our fantasies, we trod through the forest, slay the dragon, rescue the distressed princess, return for the reward, and have songs written about us by bards.

In reality, our boots gets stuck in the mud, the dragon kills half the party (brutally scarring the rest), the princess was long-ago sacrificed to summon a demon, there is no reward ("yeah, sorry, the vizier is always trying to kill people"), and we end up sharing a cold alley with a bard because neither of us has enough cash to stay at the inn.

Okay, so maybe it isn't that bleak, but surely your swords 'n sorcery could use a little down-to-earth spicing up. Enter, Nuisances: Director's Cut.

February 14, 2009: H.G. Wells: Father Of . . . Wargaming?

'Tis true. Though better known for time travel, three-legged extra-terrestrials, and see-through psychopaths, sci-fi pioneer H.G. Wells was also something of a wargamer. In fact, you could say he wrote the book on it. Because he did. (Two books, technically.)

Skirmisher Publishing has done a little time travelling of their own and now brings Wells' classics to the digital age. Both Little Wars and Floor Games are available for purchase at your friendly local e23. They've even expanded on the original works a bit with their own take, Little Orc Wars.

And if that sounds good, how's saving a little money sound? Because there's also a bundle right over here that shaves a bit off the price.

-- Fox Barrett

February 13, 2009: Triskaidekaphillia!

Fear of the number 13 always struck me as me as a bit of a silly phobia. I get spiders. They bite you, and have more legs than is natural. I get heights. Things that go up have a nasty tendency to go down at 9.8 meters per second per second. But poor old 13? "Bah," says I. If this week's release is any sign, Friday the 13th is a victim of lucky 13.

What leads me to saying such a thing is a little PDF called GURPS Loadouts: Monster-Hunters. Now that's cool enough as it is, but for me personally this book is quite enticing. And I know, my job is to sit here and tell you how each and every PDF on this site will cure cancer, fix the economy, and make you breakfast, but this time I honestly mean it. See, the first GURPS game I ever ran - indeed, the first GURPS character I ever made - was all about monster hunting. It was kinda like Pokemon, only with shotguns and hover-bikes.

So this pushes the right nostalgia button for me. Lucky for you, it also happens to push a really cool one. Show Friday the 13th you ain't got nothin' to be a'skeered of. (Not from this side of that TL7 stake-firing modified grenade launcher, anyway.)

-- Fox Barrett

February 12, 2009: Rice? Yummy. (Also Mars!)

Mars. It's out there. Similarly, Edgar Rice Burroughs’ Mars: Shadows of a Dying World is out there. Like, way out there, man.

Though our measly earth-bound forms can not yet reach that spinning red ball of dust, dirt, and mysteriously large faces of indeterminate origin (which may, in fact, just be a trick of light and shadow (though we're certainly not telling)), we can send our minds there. We can picture and postulate and dream the craziest dreams.

Ol' Eddie Burroughs was a dreamer, and he certainly didn't slouch in the crazy department, either. Wondering where I'm going with all this? Just click that little blue line of text up there. Because, frankly, if you don't already know about Burroughs and his good friend John Carter . . . well, I know I can't do it justice. Go see for yourself.

-- Fox Barrett

February 11, 2009: Designer's Note: GURPS Banestorm: Abydos

GURPS Banestorm: Abydos had one of the longest gestations in GURPS history. It first saw print as my short article for Lee Graham's GURPS fanzine All of the Above in 1994. This introduced Abydos, City of Shadows, ruled for centuries by an eccentric sorceress who slowly shaped a society built around black magic, where zombie labor was part of daily life and Christianity was warped into a doctrine promoting necromancy in the name of God. I also hinted at an even darker side, like the Flesh Library where spells were tattooed on the bodies of slaves, and an order of vampire monks who purged the blood of sinners.

One contributor to All of the Above was Thad Blanchette, employed by Brazilian publisher Devir Livraria. Thad urged me to develop Abydos for their licensed GURPS range, telling me Brazilian fans desired a dark, erotic, and somewhat heretical tone. The first draft was finished in 1996, but financial crisis in Brazil led to Devir scaling back their GURPS line. Abydos remained buried for years . . . until GURPS Banestorm reopened Yrth's door and e23 made publishing shorter books possible. So, in 2008, Abydos rose from the grave, fully updated for GURPS Fourth Edition.

-David Pulver

February 10, 2009: Meanwhile . . .

So yesterday I broached the topic of playing as animals. Today? It's a bit more adversarial.

Critter Cache: Animals & Beasts is a treatment of the mundane fauna of the world as truly dangerous threats to your party. Which, if you've ever been on the other side of a really grumpy tiger, you know is not exactly a stretch. And even if your players scoff at the idea of a mere "rhino" attacking the party, well, it also provides variants for each animal. "Ape" not big enough? Okay. Bring out the "Dire Ape."

Me? I'll be bringing out the Dire Ape. Oh yes. And he will have barrels. It's about time my players learned how hard it is to jump in full plate.

-- Fox Barrett

February 9, 2009: If I Could Roll Dice With The Animals . . .

Human, elves, dwarves, half-elves, halflings, half-orcs, half-and-half. Getting a little tired of the same ol' fantasy races? The Noble Wild has an alternative for you, and it might not be quite what you expect. (It certainly caught me flat-footed.)

It's a self-styled "Animal Player's Handbook." Yes, animals as player characters. Some sixty or so critters get the full treatment, from attribute adjustments, to bonus languages, to favored classes. But it doesn't just dump you in a dog's life and call it a day. There's also new rules for spells, new classes, campaign guidelines and ideas, and just all kinds of great supplementary material. In fact, there's so much that it spilled out into some other products. (Most of which are free, by the way!)

So c'mon. Take a walk on the wild side.

-- Fox Barrett

February 8, 2009: Getting With The Times

Got a bunch of old Dungeon Crawl Classics sitting around with all those great monsters in 'em? Really wishing those stats were the fourth edition of D&D instead of 3.5? It's okay. I understand. I do, too.

And so does friend-to-dungeoneers-everywhere Blackdirge! He was kind enough to gather together over 140-pages worth of DCC baddies and bring them up to speed on how to ruin the party's day, 4E style. It's a little book called Blackdirge's Dungeon Denizens.

How thoughtful of him! I don't know about you, but I can sure think of a way to show our gratitude.

-- Fox Barrett

February 7, 2009: Lost, Afraid, Running, Plop

That's about how any game involving the Cthulhu Mythos goes, right? Well, now you can enjoy all the blubbering, twitching, screaming, and brain-melting excitement of Cthulhu in living color!

Cthulhu Live 3rd Edition takes the nihilistic doom-and-gloom of everyone's favorite Old Ones and brings them to your living room! Or convention hall! Or nearest convenient steam tunnel! (I'm kidding. Seriously, stay out of the steam tunnels. I'm too poor to sue.) A GM with a spooooooky voice is one thing. But when you're face-to-paper-maché-face with the eldritch terrors of a cold and uncaring universe, well . . . Let's just say it's a teeny bit harder to pull a "I bravely toss myself into its gaping maw, dynamite in hand, and save the day" on the Keeper.

Especially since you'll break that awesome paper-maché monster head the event staff made.

-- Fox Barrett

February 6, 2009: I, Robot (You, Stain In A Crater)

Roleplaying is, at its heart, a power fantasy. We imagine ourselves as broad-chested, sword-swinging, defenders of the realm because here in Boring Reality we work in retail. Well I say, if you're going to go for it, you may as well go for broke. Why settle for a gun when you have have a really, really, really big gun?

In fact . . . why not just be, in essence, a gigantic living gun?

Ladies? Gents? GURPS Classic:Ogre. Because anything worth doing is worth overdoing.

-- Fox Barrett

February 5, 2009: Moor Or Less

Mud. Flies. Mud. Vines. Mud. And mud. It may not be Grandiousia, the Silver City of The Five Elven Lords That Has Indoor Plumbing, but when a swamp is where the adventure is, then a swamp is where adventurer's go.

Of course, if the only settings you have on hand are places like Ye Olde Dwarfe Caverne, then you're kind of up the creek. (Or, I guess, you aren't up the creek, since there's no underground creek. The creek is more likely to be in the swamp, really. But I think I'm getting off track here . . .) You can decreek yourself quite readily though the purchase of Lands of Darkness #4: The Swamp of Timbermoor.

Just, ah, make sure to bring rubber boots. Mother Nature isn't known for sweeping up after herself, if you catch my drift.

-- Fox Barrett

February 4, 2009: The Good, The Bad, And The Mini

e23 is something of a one-stop-shop for all things generic and universal when it comes to roleplaying. But what about miniatures? Sure, we never released a certain system that shall not be named, but that doesn't mean someone else hasn't stepped up to the plate in the big baseball game of making generic minis rules.

Take A Fistfull of Miniatures. (Figuratively and literally.) It's designed so that you can scale it to whatever size force you like, so that you can arm your troops how you wish, and enjoy it with the level of complexity you enjoy. At its heart is a system that lets you throw every tiny metal man you've got at every tiny metal man your friends have. The result is about as awesome as you might expect. (How awesome? So awesome.)

Better still, one book wasn't enough to contain all this awesomeness. There's a second volume going around calling itself For a Few Miniatures More. Do your optional rules need optional rules? Perfect. Here's your book.

-- Fox Barrett

February 3, 2009: Come For The Samurai . . .

. . . stay for the ninja.

What's this I have here? Why, what I've got is a file full 'o Asian-inspired minis, and its name is Paper Miniatures: Orientals II. It's you're key to all the ninja mooks you could ever need for whatever game you're running. You want? Well, all it takes is a bit o' quid pro quo. You've got money, right? We'd love to have just a little, teeny, tiny, itty-bitty bit more money in our Illuminator coffers. You want the file, we want some cash . . .

I'm sure we could work something out, yes?

-- Fox Barrett

February 2, 2009: Monkeys, Space, But No Space Monkeys

Hey, nothings perfect. But the Mini-Games are trying, gosh darn it, and you can't fault 'em that!

So what am I talking about this time around? A pair of 3's: Zero-G, Set 3 and Warriors of the Four Circles, Set 3. As these are both the third sets in their respective lines, it's very likely you've seen me write about these lines before. In which case, you're probably already familiar enough with 'em to make a mutually beneficial purchasing decision that I think we can all live with.

But if you're not familiar? Well what the heck are you doing here on the e23 news? Click those links! They've got neat-o preview files. I've just got mindless rhetoric. (There's a reason they aren't trying to sell me on this site, after all.)

-- Fox Barrett

February 1, 2009: Well Hi There, Skirmisher!

If you've been keeping up with our What's New page at all, you've probably noticed that we've been steadily bringing online quite a few products from the good people at Skirmisher Publishing. There's a very good reason for that. No, it doesn't involve those ever-pesky aliens and their ever-pesky alien interference. It's because Skirmisher has quite a few quality books out there on the electronic highway of planet Earth.

I'll start with Cooper's Compendium of Corrected Creatures, their latest and greatest. (So latest, in fact, that it's being released today!)  This delightfully monster-filled tome has love for more than just the letter C. It's an A to D guide to the world of critters from the SRD. (Gotta save the other 22 letters for the next volumes, of course.) But it's more than a simple reprinting of what you're already getting elsewhere. These grizzly beasties are reorganized, revamped, and re-everything-ed to make them more reasonable, reliable, and re- . . . neat-o.

Point is, the book is cool. But what else does Skirmisher have that's cool? Oh, don't you worry your pretty little head about that. I'll be pointing you towards their Many and Varied soon enough.

-- Fox Barrett

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