Monday, January 30, 2012

Advanced Adventures #22: Stonepick Crossing for Sale!

Advanced Adventures #22: Stonepick Crossing has just arrived here at the Browning/Yee casa and it's now up for sale. It's our first OSRIC/1e adventure for levels 1-3 and the first adventure for us by Mark Morrison. I think it's a good fit with the line and should provide some fun and challenges for lower-level characters.

The tiny town of Stonepick Crossing sits on top of an old dwarven dam holding built some 500 years ago to end a long war. Recognizing the futility of direct assault, the dwarves built the dam to flood the goblin caves, flushing the foul creatures out of their caves and into the slaughter of honest combat. Now 500 years later, the dwarves have moved on and a small thorp has sprung up.

Mystery surrounds the protected town and rumors abound: locals disappearing in the middle of the night, strange noises from underneath the dam and even rumors of a monster in the lake percolate through the community. Which rumors are true and which are the ale-addled ramblings of old men fearful of their own shadows?

For the first time, we're releasing print copies at Lulu right when they become available from the Expeditious Retreat Press. We listened to what customers wanted and the print products are now available at both locations. Additionally, we have PDF products available at Your Games Now, RPGnow, and Lulu.

Last Friday's Game

In my 1e game last Friday, the player's framed their murder of a stone giant emissary to the player's enemies on their enemies, killed a giant slug, and found out that one of the pillars in the structure guarding the Goremont Grim has an illusion upon it hiding a passage of some sort. Out from behind the illusion came 3 gargoyles which the party handily dispatched. After putting a glyph of warding (blind) upon the area the left to rest and came back to find they had apparently blinded a beholder. The mu/thief invised and snuck up behind the beholder for a backstab, but almost got himself killed as it was a gas spore.

Fun was had by all, and we're on again for this Friday (weather permitting).

Sunday, January 29, 2012

The Joker is Tom Waits?

Listen to this early interview of Tom Waits and close your eyes and you'll believe it's Heath Ledger's Joker doing the talking. Particular bits are at 0:40 and at 2:50. Makes you wonder if it's coincidence or if there's a connection.


Wednesday, January 25, 2012

Formula Folio

Pass Without Trace
For the ink required to scribe a druidical pass without trace scroll

1 oz. of giant squid sepia
1 oz. of holly berry juice
A sprig of pine or evergreen
A leaf of mistletoe

During a full moon, burn the leaf of mistletoe, powder the ashes, and add to the sepia. In a pine or evergreen container, mix the sepia and the holly berry juice. Place the spring over the container and let rest for one day. Remove the sprig, decant into a wooden vial, and let rest for one moon. Makes enough ink for 2 scrolls. Any special quill is suitable.

Tuesday, January 24, 2012

Tome of Tomes

The Ebon Book
Author: Unknown
Race: Unknown
Dimensions: 14x12x2.5
Weight: 9 lbs.
Materials: Bound in ebony, parchment
Rarity: Very rare
Fields of Study: Supernatural & unusual
Special Knowledge Categories: Dweomercraft, planes (outer)
Value: 2575 gp

This rare and dangerous book is bound in purest ebony and written in elven with terse brushwork. Within the covers are the names of hundreds of lesser demons and devils and their histories. The work is at least 450 years old, and contains all the details and information required by adept magic users for the creation of powerful magics dealing with demons and devils. A magic user with this tome will spend but half of the normal expenses when researching a new spell concerning the above infernal creatures.

Saturday, January 21, 2012

Weekend of No Gaming

*sigh* I was supposed to play our weekly 1e AD&D game this Friday and play a day-long, double board game of Axis and Allies, but the weather has conspired against me. Instead of gaming, I'm working. Oh well, there's stuff I need to catch up on.

Here's hoping next weekend isn't so icetastic.

Monday, January 16, 2012

Even More XRP Products at Lulu

I continue the slow process of adding the XRP catalog to Lulu with the below four products:

The Verdant Vault of Malakum
Stonesky Delve
Under Shattered Mountain
The Frozen Wave Satsuma

This is going to take quite a bit a time, but I'll chip away at it an hour here and an hour there. Thanks for your patience.

Thursday, January 12, 2012

More XRP Products at Lulu

After the result of the poll last month, I've listened to you and am in the process of adding the Expeditious Retreat Press catalog to Lulu. So far, I've added a handful of Advanced Adventures so those looking for print copies who prefer Lulu as a sales site will be able to purchase them there. Below are those currently available and their level range. I'll be adding more today.

The Pod-Caverns of Sinister Shroom by Matthew Finch 2-4 
The Red Mausoleum by James Boney 12-15
The Curse of the Witch Head by James Boney 6-10
The Prison of Meneptah by Alphonso Warden 8-10
The Flaming Footprints of Jilanth by Andrew Hind 3-5
The Chasm of the Damned by James Boney 6-10
The Sarcophagus Legion by Andrew Hind 2-4
The Seven Shrines of Nav’k-Qar by James Boney 8-12 
The Lost Pyramid of Imhotep by Alphonso Warden 4-7

I should also point out that Lulu's running a buy-one-get-one-at-50% sale. The code advertised on their front page is SECONDHALF.

Monday, January 9, 2012

5th Edition Dungeons & Dragons is Here

From the NY Times...

Unsurprising, IMO. I've also received confirmation that the announcement could have happened up to a year ago which is, according to my memory, when rumors really started among fellow publishers.

And Dungeons & Dragons’ designers are also planning to undertake an exceedingly rare effort for the gaming industry over the next few months: asking hundreds of thousands of fans to tell them how exactly they should reboot the franchise

In other words, WotC is taking a page from Paizo's playbook. Paizo's taken the reins away from WotC. And honestly, good on them. WotC's development of a new game expressly for the reason of IP protection (because of the OGL) was ill-advised, ill-planned, and ill-executed, IMO.

Finally, the plug (which is what it is - there is no article-based reason for the mention) for the other gaming system mentioned in the article is transparent when you know that the developer of that game and the author are friends and shared the same booth with yours truly last year.


UPDATE:
According to WotC there will be a first-draft of the new rules available for attendees of the Jan 2012 D&D Experience. Another point of confirmation regarding the duration of 5e development.

Saturday, January 7, 2012

Formula Folio

Locate Animals
For the ink required to scribe a druidical locate animals scroll

1 oz. of giant squid sepia
1 oz. of holly berry juice
A dowsing fork of oak wood
A fallen leaf of an oak tree

During the longest night of the year, draw a series of concentric circles upon the fallen leaf using the dowsing fork and the sepia. Crush leaf into an oaken bowl and add remaining ingredients. Decant into a silver container and let sit until the longest day of the year. Makes enough ink for 2 scrolls. Use a quill made from an egg-laying hen.

Friday, January 6, 2012

Tome of Tomes

Bone Knitting
Author: Capyl Benshaw
Race: Human
Dimensions: 6x5x1
Weight: 1 lbs.
Materials: Leather-bound, woodboard, parchment
Rarity: Common
Fields of Study: Supernatural & unusual
Special Knowledge Categories: Medicine
Value: 65 gp

A small treatise on the art of medical immobilization, Bone Knitting is not only useful to the prospective medical student, but to the traveling itinerant who risks injury. Written in clear, easy-to-understand common and appropriately illustrated, the work is a valuable to all.

Thursday, January 5, 2012

If Youth is Wasted on the Young..


make sure that you don't waste your Old Age as well. :)

Formula Folio

Invisibility to Animals
For the ink required to scribe a druidical invisibility to animals scroll

1 oz. of giant squid sepia
1 oz. of holly berry juice
1 oz. of catnip
A drop of skunk stink
A small piece of fresh red meat
10 oz. of spring water

In a stone container, mix the sepia, berry juice, catnip and skunk stink. In a stoppered silver container, pour mix over the red meat. Let sit in the warm sun for as many days as it takes for the meat to liquefy. Remove and let air for several days until solidified. Place in an iron container, add spring water and boil over a cedar fire until the ink congeals. Store ink in a silver container.  Makes enough ink for 4 scrolls. Any special quill is suitable.

Wednesday, January 4, 2012

On To Bigger Things...

Having just finished the first draft of Worlds Apart, I now get to go through the mental switch to working on a different system. I'm jumping over to Pathfinder to work on an even bigger project than Worlds Apart (I've already got about 65k words on it and I still have a lot to do). These sudden switches I find more and more difficult after long stints in a particular system. I seem to spend a good half hour or so going "Wuh?" before my brain settles down and starts reconnecting with the system methodology. I suspect it's just a fun side-effect of getting older.  :)

But the alternative is a lot worse!

Tuesday, January 3, 2012

Lyart Subsector Map - World's Apart

Finished the Lyart Subsector Map for World's Apart yesterday. I'm using a mapping style similar, but not exactly, to Mongoose's OGL Traveller. I'm putting more information on the map itself, although there will still be an island roster showing all the details of each location. I'm pretty pleased with it.


Monday, January 2, 2012

Another Lulu Sale & Thanks!

I suspect that if you wanted something from Lulu you've already picked it up, but they're running a 25% off sale using the coupon code ONEMORETHING305 until Jan 6. So if you haven't, there you go.

Thanks to everyone who responded to the poll! It looks like I need to get more printed versions of our products up at Lulu.

Sunday, January 1, 2012

Cry Havoc! and let loose the dogs of Accounting!

With the new year comes the accounting of the old. Easiest to track is hours worked (yep, I log 'em) in comparison with previous years. I started tracking my hours 3 years ago as I wanted to see the relationship with our income vrs. the amount of time I spend working. So far, any correlations have yet to manifest, but I'll keep plugging away. What that says to me is that as a small business owner in the creative business, working smarter is more effective than working harder. Not surprised to much on that, but I'll keep looking at it.

Happy New Years to you all, may 2012 be better than 2011.

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