Tome of Tomes

The next in the series...

The Flowers of Fenton Fields
Author: Luely Mutch
Race: Human
Dimensions: 16x16x2
Weight: 10 lbs.
Materials: Leather-bound, woodboard, parchment
Rarity: Uncommon or very rare
Fields of Study: Flora
Special Knowledge Categories: Flowers
Value: 100 gp; with actual pressed flowers 850 gp

There are over 250 different flowers to be found among the plants covering Fenton Fields. The great battle fought there generations ago is long past, but the blood and magic unleashed in that small area has had results more dramatic than either opposing forces could have ever imagined. Luely Mutch spent his entire life upon the fields, gathering each individual flower as it bloomed; some of which bloom only every decade or so. There are two versions of this text, one using painted illustrations of the blooms and one that includes actual pressed flowers. The pressed flower version is very rare, while the painted one is merely uncommon.

Tome of Tomes

Another in the series of books for your game.

Legends and Myths of the Dralmont Elves
Author: Monycordis Thraw
Race: Human
Dimensions: 8x8x1
Weight: 8 lbs.
Materials: Leather-bound, woodboard, parchment
Rarity: Uncommon
Fields of Study: Demi-humankind
Special Knowledge Categories: Legends & folklore, theology & myth
Value: 25 gp

The elves of the great Dralmont are one of the oldest tribes known to sages and bards, and the time spent there by the renowned bard, Monycordis Thraw is recorded within this tome. Monycordis was known for his quick temper, but his ability to coax the often verbal-only histories and stories from his subjects was remarkable. The elves of Drawlmont even adopted Thraw, giving him the proper name of Dramorion (he who often explodes). Although the work is accurate, it covers only the most common of the legends and myths of the Dralmont Elves and much was left unrecorded.

The Riddle of Anadi in 2nd editing

Just sent The Riddle of Anadi Suzi's way for second editing. The way we do it here is that after receiving a manuscript, I do a read through and determine if its something I'd like to publish. After that, I pay the author (which is very unusual for this business wherein the author is usually paid several months after his work is published, allowing the publisher to pull from the revenue stream the work created to cover costs) and then I do first round editing. After editing I lay the work out in InDesign and then ship an editing PDF to Suzi. She edits it and then back to me it goes. I then commission art for the adventure. Once I get the art, the art goes in and the publication is finished.

We try to solicit the material to distributors 3 months earlier than we expect to have the finished work. The delay time in the print business isn't very congruent with the speed in which we can turn a product around (I can get a module done in a month - including art), so we often have several products kinda just sitting around for the distributor "street date" to roll around. Right now I have 3, I believe.

This is one of the reasons why I'm doing the smaller PDFs for Sorcery & Super Science! over more standard print releases. I really like the immediacy of the process from start to finish.

Formula Folio

Here's the next in line of 1st level cleric spell scroll inks.

Create Water
For the ink required to scribe a clerical create water scroll

1 oz. of giant octopus ink
1 oz. of holy water
1 minum of purified water
1 dram of freshwater moss
1 small malachite, powdered
1 gallon of freshwater

In a cast iron cauldron, mix the various waters and the moss and bring to a boil. When reduced to 2 oz., transfer to a blessed silver vessel upon the holy altar. Introduce the octopus ink and the powdered malachite and pray over the mixture for 4 hours. Makes enough ink for 2 scrolls. Any special quill is suitable.

Sleep, Blessed Sleep

I slept for 12 hour today. I feel wonderful. :) 'Course, now it's noon and I ain't done jack, but them's the breaks. I'm beginning the layout for Advanced Adventure #20: The Riddle of Anadi today. It's another good one from James Boney. Other than that, not much going on here at XRP land.

Tome of Tomes - 50th Post

So here's number 50 of the series. All in all, I'm pleased with the idea and execution so far. It feels like serial small things like this fit very well with the blog concept.

The Great Astral Chart
Author: Kalbalim Mbulu
Race: Unknown
Dimensions: 16x16x5
Weight: 25 lbs.
Materials: Shedu hide bound, woodboard, vellum, silver corners and clasps
Rarity: Very rare
Fields of Study: Supernatural & unusual
Special Knowledge Categories: Planes (astral)
Value: 3,250 gp

The Great Astral Chart is a tremendously valuable manual of the astral plane. Within its hundreds of pages lurk mathemagical formulas detailing the flows and moods of that most strange plane, the astral. Understanding the chart requires at least an 18 Intelligence, a14 Wisdom, and a month’s time of detailed study. Those will lower abilities will never grasp the wonders the chart allows. Using The Great Astral Chart when traveling the plane allows the chartmaster and companions to move at one and half times faster than normal, results in only one encounter check per trip (as opposed to the normal three), and also reduces the chance of encountering a psychic wind by half.

Advanced Adventures #19: The Secret of the Callair Hills

Just finished the layout for AA 19 and off it goes to Suzi for 2nd editing run. It's the first adventure from Geoff Gander and I think its a good one for 3-5th levelers. It's pretty open and wide, allowing for a lot of customization if the GM wants to do such. After 2nd editing, art direction.

Listening to Gogol Bordello right now - some gypsy punk for all of you...

It's semi-autobiographical story of the lead singer who, after fleeing the Chernobyl meltdown, spent several years in a refugee camp before finally being able to enter the US as a political refugee.

"But since the early age
I broke out of the cage
And learned how to make marching drum from fish can
And I knew I'd run away
So without further delay
I said, 'Two tears in a bucket, motherfuck it!'

And it seems like I ran and ran
Through the garbage and quicksand
And after getting checked for fleas
And barricades of embassies,
I never, never, never wanna be young again!"

Creatures Below the Shattered Moon - Volume 4 on sale!

The 4th volume of critters for your S&SS game has just rolled off the digital presses here at XRP headquarters in gloomy, cloudy, cold, Ohio. :) This volume has 18 critters and there as to be at least one in the bunch that should make a seasoned adventurer shiver.

You can buy the $3 PDF at Your Games Now or at rpgnow.com. It will be shortly available at Paizo and e23 as well.

Sorcery & Super Science play session

Big Bad over at There's a Bugbear in my Kitchen! blogged about playing a session of Sorcery & Super Science with his group yesterday. Fun was had by all, even though his group is composed of at least one pyromaniac. :) I'm glad to see someone using The House of Blue men as an introduction to the game. I think it does just that admirably.

Jellyhive

IMO, this is a great little fungus monster from Malevolent & Benign. Beyond being odd and unusual, it also provides somewhat of a reason for the proliferation and transfer of the various jellies, oozes, and slimes in the dungeon. Art by Jeff Womack.

JELLYHIVE

SIZE: Large (7 ft. wide)
MOVE: 60 ft.
ARMOR CLASS: 4
HIT DICE: 6
ATTACKS: 1
DAMAGE: 1-4
SPECIAL ATTACKS: Ooze dart
SPECIAL DEFENSES: Regeneration
MAGIC RESISTANCE: Standard
RARITY: Very rare
NO. ENCOUNTERED: 1
LAIR PROBABILITY: 10%
TREASURE: None
INTELLIGENCE: None
ALIGNMENT: Neutral
LEVEL/X.P.: 5 / 370 + 6/hp

General information: The jellyhive is one of the stranger creatures of the subterranean world, specifically noted for its eating habits. The shelled fungus uses its probiscus to feed on various oozes, jellies, gelatinous cubes, puddings, and slimes, easily stalking and ingesting this foul quarry. When not hunting or feeding, it waits patiently or hangs from a cavern ceiling. It can climb at 60 ft. per round.

Not only does the jellyhive consume these sloppy creatures, it also cultivates them for future meals. Every time the jellyhive consumes an ooze, it saves a little portion and stores the tiny bit in a flesh-sac for the future. If ever the jellyhive finds an animal or other creature coming close, several sacs split open and shoot a few of the tiny oozes nearby. This method works out splendidly for the fungus; the oozes will devour whatever creatures they can, thereby growing larger to become new meals for the jellyhive to enjoy. If the little jellies, oozes, or puddings happen to escape, they will likely get larger on their own, and the jellyhive will probably hunt them down later.

When faced with a non-ooze opponent, jellyhives launch their wee oozes like darts to a range of 20 feet. A jellyhive has 12-22 ooze sacs, each one containing a wee ooze. These are most typically ochre jellies (their favorite food), but they can be any type of ooze, jelly, or pudding. Each ooze dart causes 1-4 points of damage upon impact. The resulting tiny ooze has 4 hp and does 1 hp of acid damage until killed or scraped off of the target. A jellyhive can launch 3 ooze darts per round, at multiple opponents if necessary. After darting all of their oozes, jellyhives will resort to biting if necessary, but fleeing is a more typical result. Jellyhives are immune to any mind-based and polymorphic magics, as well as sleep, charm, and hold. Jellyhives cannot be surprised, as they sense disturbances in the ground and air.

Two rounds after taking damage, a jellyhive begins to regenerate 2 hit points per round. Jellyhives are immune to acid damage, and there is no known ooze, pudding, or jelly that can harm them. They suffer under fire however, and are unable to regenerate fire damage.

Physical description: A jellyhive is a wide stalk covered with a dome-shaped shell and several fleshy sacs. Protruding from under the shell are several fat legs and a toothy proboscus used to suck up their prey or deliver a small bite. They have a variety of colors, ranging from dark orange to dark purple.

Snow!

It lightly snowed all day yesterday and much of the night ending up with about 5 inches of accumulation. Just finished shoveling the snow from behind the garage and down the ally. Took about an hour.

I spent most of my growing up years in Texas and when gaming I remember the unrealistic view I had of snow as a hazard (or cold, more appropriately) and how much snow slows one down. Even something as thin as 6 inches slows one down and once you get a foot or more it starts to be like walking on a very sandy beach. More than that (several feet) and it can be a serious obstacle. So today, think about snow in your game and how much a pain the butt the pretty whiteness can be.

Up Early

Way too early. The benefit of this job is being able to sleep in, but apparently my brain disagrees on that subject today. Finished Creatures Below the Shattered Moon - Volume 4 yesterday and going to start editing today. Need to work more on the object and character line for S&SS, but I've been feeling more adversarial recently and the monster ideas are coming a lot faster than other ideas.

Stonestrider

Something fantastic for underground transport and war from Malevolent & Benign... Art by John Bingham

STONESTRIDER

SIZE: Large (8 ft. wide)
MOVE: 30 ft.
ARMOR CLASS: 2
HIT DICE: 4
ATTACKS: 1
DAMAGE: 2-8
SPECIAL ATTACKS: Ethereal push
SPECIAL DEFENSES: None
MAGIC RESISTANCE: None
RARITY: Very rare
NO. ENCOUNTERED: 2-5
LAIR PROBABILITY: 5%
TREASURE: None
INTELLIGENCE: Semi
ALIGNMENT: Neutral
LEVEL/X.P.: 3 / 135 + 3/hp

General information: Stonestriders are unusual elementals that travel through the subterranean world, seldom attacking anything but fighting back if threatened. Any creature hit by one of the legs of a stonestrider, is pushed into the ethereal plane for 1-4 rounds, during which it is are unable to interact with the material world. Stonestriders can move back and forth at will between the ethereal and material planes and, if greatly angered, a stonestrider may follow the target into the ethereal plane, where a hit from one of its legs causes triple damage.

Stonestriders get their name from their ability to move through stone as if it were not there, yet still treat it as a surface to rest their weight upon. This allows stonestriders unlimited directional movement underground, as hanging from ceilings is no different than standing on floors for these elementals. Stonestriders are occasionally used by elite dwarven cavalry. How these dwarven clans have “tamed” stonestriders is a closely guarded secret.

Stonestriders are not ridden like normal mounts but flow their semi-malleable bodies around a trusted rider. The stonestrider can initiate or end this ability in one round. While enveloped, the rider gains a +4 bonus to armor class. An attack that misses the rider within the margin provided by cover instead hits the stonestrider, provided that the attack roll is at least equal to the stonestriders armor class. The rider must depend on the stonestrider for movement just as if riding a more conventional mount, but needs no saddle. When carrying a rider, stonestriders are unable to enter the ethereal plane. Stonestriders are often used to ferry messengers or undertake scouting missions though dangerous areas, especially those in danger of collapsing. When in combat, dwarves riding stonestriders try to meld into stone and wait for a chance to strike at the leader of their foes. They often set ambushes at strange angles, dropping on foes from above, appearing suddenly out of cliff faces or reaching up from a featureless cavern floor.

The stonestrider’s strange legs allow it to navigate narrow areas as if it were a medium-sized creature (the approximate size of its ovoid body) in the rare instances when it cannot simply meld into stone or turn ethereal.

Languages: Stonestriders have a primitive telepathic ability, allowing them to communicate very limited concepts with any creature within 10 feet that has language. They have unusual minds, and any creature telepathically communicating for more than 2 turns becomes dumbfounded and unable to perform any actions for 5 rounds before regaining normal cognizance. Dwarves that continually ride stonestriders can double this duration and halve the consequences, but are inevitably considered “odd” by their peers - yet, some of the greatest dwarven leaps of genius come from those minds most touched by the unusual stonestriders.

Physical description: A stonestrider looks much like a four-legged stone spider with one featureless, ovoid body section. Although it can navigate in any direction with ease, it generally keeps the long axis of its body oriented “forward”. A stonestrider has no head, mouth, or other appreciable features, although some specimens appear pitted and worn down. The top of a stonestrider’s body stands about five feet off the ground, but its five-jointed legs arch up an additional foot or so.

Oblique

Winter's always a busy time for me as getting out of the house is less an appealing option than during summer. Summer has great weather and a garden providing endless opportunities to while away an hour or so. Winter? Winter has snow and dead birds dragged in by the crows. :)

So with that cheery thought in mind, lets have a necromantic spirit for Sorcery & Super Science!

Oblique
Necromantic spirit (Basic) 2
C2 A2 S0 F2 R1 I2 W4: Ego 18: Health 12: Fortune 13
Movement 5/44

Description & Information: The most common of all necromantic spirits, obliques are more commonly known by the average mutie as shadow people. These are the shades of people who simply do not want to die, or who are unaware that they are dead. They come in as many different shapes and sizes as do all muties, but they seem to be made of solid shadow when made flesh. Unlike other spirits, obliques can be seen by all muties, not just sorcerers - although only during the night and only in peripheral vison. Such is why sorcerers call them obliques: one can never seem to see them straight-on.

Intrinsic Powers
• Can be seen by non-sorcerers while in spirit form during the night. Detecting an oblique requires a successful rank 8 sense conflict.
• Ignores all damage resistances or immunities when attacking. Any creature touched by an oblique suffers 5 points of Ego damage and must succeed on a rank 5 Willpower conflict or flee the area, being unable to return for 5 minutes. Obliques may attack while in spirit form, but will not pursue beyond their home location.

Limited Use Powers
• Self Manifest (1 per day): Obliques can make themselves flesh for one minute per day. They typically do such to rearrange their home location, moving furniture, closing doors, etc.

Work, Little Monkey, Work

Got a lot of things to do today. Editing, layout, art direction, writing, map making, reading. Whew! I'm nearly done with Scourge of the Mall Rats and hope to have Suzi editing it shortly. I've gotten a few e-mails concerning being at the OSR booth and encourage more. If you've got a product or two that's part of the OSR, we'd love to have as many things there as possible to represent the resurgence of that style of play.

OSR booth - Jam packed with goodies

Ok, so far at the Old-School Renaissance Group booth at Gen Con it looks like we're going to have over 80 OSR products. 80+. Holy carp, Batman! I think there's going to be a lot of stunned, surprised, and very happy people at the convention this year. :)

IMO, it's going to be amazing to see all in one place. Simply awesome.

Tome of Tomes & Formula Folio

The blog's been a bit short on content lately, what with all the hubbub about GenCon, so here's both a tome and a formula. :)

The Art of Relent Plume
Author: Relent Plume
Race: ½ Elf
Dimensions: 16x4x1
Weight: 3 lbs.
Materials: Leather-bound, woodboard, vellum
Rarity: Very rare
Fields of Study: Demi-humankind
Special Knowledge Categories: Art & music
Value: 2,650 gp

The evocative art of Relent Plume (real name unknown) has been lost to history, but a few rare copies of this work (4 are known) have survived in which, through the use of eldritch dweomers, the art is captured upon its pages in exquisite detail. Sages speculate the art is at least several hundreds of years old, but placing the phantasmagorical illustrations firmly upon the timeline has proven impossible. Relent Plume’s name lives on as a great artist, although his art is all but destroyed. The value listed here is for a known copy and the discovery of a new copy could bring up to 50% more than the listed value.


Command
For the ink required to scribe a clerical command scroll

1 oz. of giant squid sepia
1 oz. of holy water
1 oz. of tin, powdered
1 small beryl, powdered
A thread from the garment of a holy man

In a blessed copper vessel, mix all ingredients during a high holy day. Transfer to a white ceramic container and bring to a boil. Place in a plain glass bottle and bury in holy ground for 1 month. Makes enough ink for 2 scrolls. Any special quill is suitable.

The OSR wants you!

at GenCon. :)

I've already been contacted by a few people concerning product placement at the OSR booth and want to remind everyone that we'd like to have as many products from as many different people as possible at the booth. The OSR is the result of many independent people doing their own thing, and we'd like to be able to show that off at Gen Con. So if you've published an OSR product or two, please don't hesitate to contact me at josephbrowning@gmail.com and I'll get the details of the booth to you so you can make a decision.

The OSR has a booth at Gen Con 2011!

This is the news that I couldn't say earlier. There will a booth at Gen Con featuring Old-School products from at least 7 OSR companies; Black Blade Publishing, Brave Halfling Publishing, Expeditious Retreat Press, Frog God Games, Goblinoid Games, Pacesetter Games & Simulations, and all the way from Finland,  Lamentations of the Flame Princess. Suzi and I will be running the booth at the convention. The Old-School Renaissance Group has arrived and the OSR will be in force at Gen Con this year! I'm tremendously excited by this next step in the OSR.

Hopefully the booth will act as the hub for the OSR community at Gen Con. I'd like to have a "master list" of all the Old-School gaming going on at the convention at the booth to help direct people towards those games.

I also want to let the entire OSR community know that the booth is open to everyone's products as long as we have space. That means if you've published an OSR product you can have your product for sale at Gen Con 2011 with all of the other awesome OSR products already committed to the booth. Much of the strength of the OSR comes from individuals and we want to have the community there in as great a capacity as possible.

So if you're interested in having products at the booth, contact me at josephbrowning@gmail.com for the details.

1 on 1 Adventures #15: Cipactli's Maw update

I'm doing the first editing run on Cipactli's Maw for our Pathfinder adventure series today. After that, I've got maps to make and then the final editing run. Once that's done the PDF will go up for sale and the print files to the printer. For those who don't know, our 1 on 1 Adventures are designed for one player and one GM. Suzi and I came up with the idea when we were in the Himalayas during the winter of 2004/2005. We figured that there were others who only had the smallest of groups and the line's been going slowly, but steadily, since then.

And the ZZZ Quick Guide to North America is now up at Paizo and E23. Sorry for the delay on that.

And I'm listening to The Sword. Great fantasy/sci-fi oriented retro/stoner/metal band.

The Scourge of the Mall Rats

I'm putting the finishing touches on the Sorcery & Super Science adventure right now. Have to give the significant NPCs items and that's pretty much it. Then on to editing, preliminary layout, and art direction. Overall, I'm quite pleased with it. I think it should give enough direction, while also providing the "sandbox approach" that I'm trying to have in all the S&SS products. On a scale of [adventure -- adventure/setting -- setting] I think it falls between adventure and adventure/setting.

It's Confirmed

What "it" is I still can't say, but it's going to happen. Hopefully I'll be able to make a public announcement within a few days. I'm as happy as a clam at high tide.

Now, back to work.

Baking Your Own Bread

One of the nice things Suzi does when winter rolls around is start baking our own bread. She makes one mean sourdough rustic loaf, which is our staple bread until it warms back up, and she also makes a very nice French baguette on occasion. Today is just such an occasion.

The making of the sourdough loaves (she does 2 at a time) is a common occurrence, perhaps once every 5 days or so. The French loaf, however, is a special treat. For it means one thing - French Toast the next morning. If you have never had homemade French bread sliced and dried overnight, then dredged in an eggy custard and fried, and then served with maple syrup over it, you have missed one of life's great pleasures.

I heartily recommend to all to try your hand at baking. We started with a book called Knead It, Punch It, Bake It. It's a book about baking with children, but it was a perfect introduction to baking for those who had not done it before. Now, back to work with visions of French Toast dancing in my head... :)

I Can't Say Anything

Grrrrr.... I have some very cool news and I can't say anything yet because it's not finalized and may even not occur. I think it will happen, but I'm not sure. I need to put the old nose to the grindstone and put a cap on my excitement. :)

Song Sprites

It's been more than two weeks since a new Sorcery & Super Science monster appeared at the blog, so here's a take on the traditional "tiny female faerie" so common in popular culture.

Song Sprites
Fairy (Basic)
C1 A6 S-1 F2 R1 I1 W2: Ego 12: Health 16: Fortune 12
Movement 2.5/22 (fly at 10/88)

Description & Information: Song sprites are tiny, naked females with beautiful butterfly wings. They have unearthly voices and their songs can enchant or damn. They are capricious and flighty creatures, never keeping promises even while making them hourly. They have a fondness for honey mead and honey cakes.

Intrinsic Powers
• Song sprites are extraordinarily hard to spot, requiring a rank 12 extraordinary sense check. This ability stops working if the song sprite sings. It returns 1 minute after the song ceases. At will, song sprites can drop this effect, allowing any creature, or only a particular creature, to see them.

Limited Use Powers
• Enchanting Song (2 per day): This lilting tune causes all creatures within 50 feet to become enamored to the singing sprite, believing it to be a best friend and being completely unwilling to injure or harm the lovely little singer. Resisting this effect requires a successful rank 6 Willpower conflict. The song sprite can choose what creatures in range are affected.
• Damning Song (2 per day): This mournful dirge causes all creatures within 50 feet to become morose and even suicidal. Resisting the effect requires a successful rank 6 Willpower conflict. Those failing the conflict fall to the ground, crying, unable to attack in any manner. Those failing by a minimum roll (those who failed because they rolled the minimum possible for them to roll on the conflict check) become suicidal and attack themselves, dealing 5 Health damage (ignoring armor) per turn. This song lasts as long as the song sprite keeps singing, but all targets may make a new conflict roll every two turns. The song sprite can choose what creatures in range are affected.

I Like Rolling Hit Points for Monsters

So, I'm working on Down the Shadowvein right now and I've got a room with 20 critters in it - 8 of one type and 12 of another. They're from Malevolent & Benign, so I grab my copy from my desk drawer to see their stats.

As I do this, I realize that I'm smiling a little bit. I'm looking forward to rolling up the creatures' hit points. I'm having fun just looking forward to rolling some dice and letting them fall as they may. The critter may have 1 hp, it may have 8 - the outcome doesn't matter - that's what the critter has - that's what is. I love this type of discovery. I think that love of "what is, is" is at the heart of old-school play.

Tome of Tomes

I've been mostly working on Sorcery & Super Science lately so lets have another tome of tomes. :p

The Weather of the Driftwood Isles
Author: Targed Curn
Race: Human
Dimensions: 16x4x1
Weight: 3 lbs.
Materials: Leather-bound, woodboard, parchment
Rarity: Very rare
Fields of Study: Physical universe, flora
Special Knowledge Categories: Meteorology & climatology, grasses & grains
Value: 150 gp

The windswept Driftwood Isles are home to the barbaric natives among which Targed Curn lived for over 20 years. A shipwrecked sailor, Targed learned the language of the natives and convinced them into helping with his work on the weather and cultivated grains. How exactly he managed to do this given the traditional animosity among the many tribes of the extensive island chain is unknown, but his work is the most complete for that isolated geographical location.

Tome of Tomes

So I've got about 50 of these books now and I'm thinking about compiling them into a PDF product once I hit 100. Should be sometime this year, I imagine. I think it would be a cool little product and give me a business-reason to keep doing it. When you do what you like, it's much easier to get things done. The best thing, IMO, about doing a pdf product would be that I'd classify all the books according to fields of study and special knowledge areas. I think that would make it quite useful at the table.

The Birds of the Central Sea
Author: Chass Buntling
Race: Human
Dimensions: 16x16x2
Weight: 10 lbs.
Materials: Leather-bound, woodboard, parchment
Rarity: Uncommon
Fields of Study: Fauna
Special Knowledge Categories: Avians
Value: 150 gp

A lavishly illuminated work, the birds dwelling in the areas around the Central Sea (including the islands) are carefully recorded in this work. Chass Buntling was a renowned Druid intimately familiar with all of the flora and fauna of the area, but chose only to record his love of birds in a format accessible to those outside the order. Although a through work, many of the more rare birds of the Central Sea are missing from the work. Some speculate that is by choice, as it is hard to believe otherwise.

Tome of Tomes

There's got to be some reason for that music, right? :)

In the Hall of the Mountain King
Author: Dorvir Grimbeard
Dimensions: 16x16x2
Weight: 10 lbs.
Materials: Leather-bound, woodboard, parchment
Rarity: Very rare
Fields of Study: Humanoids and giantkind
Special Knowledge Categories: History, law & customs
Value: 550 gp

This rare volume is the recorded knowledge of Dorvir Grimbeard, held captive in the Hall of the Mountain King for over 50 years as a translator for the Mountain King himself. Within Dorvir describes the Mountain King, a terrible three-headed giant troll, the history of the kingdom and its laws and customs. Additionally, Dorvir, a talented musician, includes several of barbaric songs he bore witness to during his long captivity.

Ridden by a Night Hag

Ever had a night where you feel like you're being ridden by a night hag? It kinda feels like I lost a point of Constitution. But we're up to 52 followers now, so that put a smile on my face. :)

Coming in 2011

Since I did a summation of 2010, I thought a "wishful thinking" list of 2011 XRP print products would be pretty cool as well.

The first category is "things that I'd really like to have out, but are just damn hard to do" and in that category are the two Magical Society books I'm working on right now - A Magical Society Castles and A Magical Society India. Both of these two works are just butt-kickingly tough to write. The castle book is the easier, but my heart is drawn (as it always seems to be) towards India. Watched the Kerela No Destinations show last night and the food and the people and the sublime madness that is India made me want to hop a  plane and take another 3 month trip. Both of these books I would love to see out in 2011, but I don't know if that's more than just a wish right now.

The Advanced Adventures line, however, is a lot more concrete. As of this writing, I have 5 more Advanced Adventures in various stages of publication. 2 are completely finished, 2 are edited, and 1 is being written. I also have at least 1 of our writers working on another. This means that there could be up to 6 Advanced Adventures in 2011, but I more realistically expect 4 or 5.

Our 1 on 1 Adventures line for Pathfinder slowed down a bit and we're hoping to ramp that back up. We've got 1 in the final editing stage, 1 being worked on by an author and 4 outlined. Best case scenario there would be 6 1 on 1 Adventures in 2011. I suspect, however, that 4 is a more realistic number.

Sorcery & Super Science continues with 3 planned released next year - The ZZZ Quick Guide to North America, The Vulture Men of Waukegan and The Scourge of the Mall Rats. The Vulture Men is a gazetteer-type product for that area below the shattered moon and Mall Rats is an adventure. Mall rats is about 75% done and Vulture Men about 10%, but I think it better to get Vulture Men out first, so it will be several months before that shows up. The ZZZ Quick Guide is out in PDF as of the 1st and it will follow in print at the speed distribution normally proceeds.

So that brings us to a maximum of 16 possible printed products with a more realistic number of 11 for 2011. In PDF, I'll continue with the smaller Sorcery & Super Science products as featured on the right column of this blog.

The ZZZ Quick Guide PDF is for sale!

Let's start the new year out right with a new product. As the reader's here know, I've been working on the ZZZ Quick guide for a while and I think it came together nicely. It should be a gigantic sandbox within which any number of Sorcery & Super Science! games can be played. So pick up a digital copy today for only $5 and enjoy North America under the shattered moon.

Available at Your Games Now and Rpgnow. It will be be available at Paizo and e23 as well. Happy new years all and I hope you enjoy reading about the world as much as I enjoyed exploring/creating it.

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year from Suzi and Me! Hope everyone has a better one this year that last and that such pattern continues into the future.