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Illuminated Site of the Week
July 31, 2005: Mad Science Gone Horribly, Horribly Right
Mass production of sharks in test tubes. Sounds like something from your favorite mad science webcomic. But it's real. And it's even in a good cause. See the CNN story.
July 30, 2005: Next Up: Bigfoot Is Your Daddy
In the words of Dave Barry: We are not making this up.
We're just thinking about what they'll do with the info once they have it.
Warehouse 23 News: Who's Who In Mega-City One
What roleplaying game based on an established property is complete without a list of stats for all the prominent characters from the license? None, we dare say! Judge Dredd: Mega-City One's Most Wanted is a whole book dedicated to statting out major players of the Judge Dredd universe. How handy!
July 29, 2005: Illuminated Site of the Week: Fill That Hol In Your Life With Some Istic
Radiesthesia and Rosicrucian manifestos go hand in hand at Life Technology. Holistic is the only way to live. Use crystals and Beta Clear CDs. Try the Tesla Energy Shield, or the Kabbalah Manifesting Capsule. What's the difference? Well, duh . . . one's red, one's purple, right? -- Suggested by Tom Bolenbaugh
Warehouse 23 News: Purchase Is Mandatory
Your friend, The Computer, would like you to know that Paranoia: Flashbacks is without a doubt the greatest book of roleplaying adventures of all time. You will buy this book and enjoy these adventures, and not just because they're very good, but because your friend, The Computer, will be sad if you do not. A sad Computer is a homicidal Computer. Do not make The Computer sad.
The building we looked at today DID have a piranha tank! We'd need to cover it . . . an open piranha tank probably drives up your insurance . . . but of course a trap door is easy to add.
It's probably out of our price range, but we'll put in an offer.
-- Steve Jackson
Warehouse 23 News: And On Your Left, The Grand Hall Of Justice
There's more to the Justice Department than the domineering, blue-suited thugs (or "Judges," if you prefer) that patrol the streets of Mega-City One. Judge Dredd: The Rookie's Guide to the Justice Department is an inside look at how the Justice Department works, why it works, what it's working towards, and what it uses to get the work done.
(cheers, applause, thanks)
Warehouse 23 News: Dream A Little Dream
Tri-Stat: Dreaming Cities is a little bit urban, a little bit country, and a whole lot Tri-Stat. A sample world is included, but the system can be adapted to just about any fantastic modern-day setting you can pluck from the depths of your psyche. Go ahead. Pluck away. This book has got you covered.
The sale of our current site is scheduled to become final this Thursday.
We have visited a number of potential new offices; several have looked pretty good, but none were perfect. Today we found one that - no, it's still not perfect, for it lacks both a helipad and a piranha tank, but so far it looks pretty darn good overall. Now the negotiations start. We have five months to get moved.
Interesting times!
-- Steve Jackson
Warehouse 23 News: Blood, Swords, And Tiny Loincloths
What would Conan the Barbarian be without barbarians? Conan the Regular Guy? Doesn't have the same exciting ring to it. To celebrate the utter coolness of barbarians, Conan: Hyboria's Fiercest was written.
I went last year. I did not go this year, not for lack of interest, but because I am even more desperately busy than usual
- getting GURPS Banestorm out and working on the next few things
- looking for a new office
- scheming about computer game stuff.
But from all reports it was most excellent. And of all reports I have seen so far, Phil Foglio's was the best, so go read it.
-- Steve Jackson
We've posted another free game aid for GURPS Basic Set Fourth Edition on e23!
GURPS Skill Categories is a handy little document that lists the hundreds of skills listed in the GURPS Basic Set Fourth Edition by the various character types that might use them (Animal, Military, Combat, Scholarly, Spy, etc.).
The alphabetical skill list in the GURPS Basic Set Fourth Edition is ideal for looking up specific skills by name . . . but not so handy when you're trying to create a character or a template, and want to select a small handful of suitable skills from among the hundreds of options in the Basic Set. This document sorts skills into categories that coincide with likely career paths for adventurers.
A big round of applause goes out to Eric Smith, who compiled these for us!
Warehouse 23 News: Thugs, Mugs, Mooks, And Mob Bosses
Without the scum-sucking lowlifes running around making a mess of the city, Judges wouldn't have much to do. And the last thing you want on your hands is a bored Judge. Judge Dredd: The Rookie's Guide to Criminal Organisations is packed with enough rules and suggestions for perps to keep any Judge busy yelling "Freeze, perp!" for a long, long time.
Have you seen the new Serenity trailer? Shiny!
Stories most cute, with rhymes to boot, and occasional allegories. From Madame M's most twisted pen, it's Eerie Little Bedtime Stories. With ghosts and ghouls and many fools and rhymes that entertain, these tales are funny and right on the money, so you'll read them again and again.
July 22, 2005: Illuminated Site of the Week: That Feeding The Masses Thing Sounds Fishy, Too
Looks like everyone needs a ghost writer these days. Those unafraid to confront the pen names "Moses" and "Jesus" can find William Edward Hunt expounding at length on his view that The Bible is a Hoax. If you're not up for discussions of why God (who was selected accidentally) is really pulling double duty as the Devil, you might want to tune in next week for holistic healing instead. -- Suggested by Jason Kottler
Warehouse 23 News: Hope's Final Port Of Call
In Midnight, the cities of Eredane are covered by the Shadow. The city of Baden's Bluff, however, holds a burning torch of hope beneath the dark shroud. Journey there and find out what it takes to stand Under the Shadow.
This is the latest release from Steve Jackson Games, now on its way to distributors everywhere and soon to be on the shelves of a game store near you:
Super Munchkin
Fly through the city. Smash the villains. Backstab your teammates and grab their gadgets.
Munchkin
has parodied the classic dungeon, the kung-fu warrior, the space epic,
and the creatures of the night. Now it’s the superheroes’ turn!
Be a Mutant, an Exotic, a Mystic, or a Techno. The higher your Level,
the more Powers you can have. Battle dastardly masterminds, devastating
monsters, and invading aliens from the next dimension – from the wimpy
Bucketman all the way up to Big Ol' Planet Eater Guy himself – and TAKE
THEIR STUFF! With the Electro-Mento-Hat, the Telezapinator, and the
(jet-powered) Pogo Stick, no foe can stand before you!
Super Munchkin is a stand-alone game, which (of course) can be combined with other Munchkin games. Designed by Steve Jackson and illustrated by John Kovalic, this one is destined to RULE THE WORLD! Mwahahaha!
Boxed game with 168 cards, rules, and die
Stock #1440,
ISBN 1-55634-745-6.
$24.95.
Super Munchkin "Momentous Unmasking" Shirt
Every hero needs a costume! *
This high-quality four-color shirt depicts the highly collectible and completely non-existent "Origin Issue" of Super Munchkin.
It gives a special in-game benefit . . . the wearer can avoid Traps!
*Bath towel tied around your neck is optional.
Full-color on a light blue t-shirt.
Stock #9138,
$21.95.
Warehouse 23 News: Celebrating 22 Issues Of Stuff!
Signs & Portents #22 gives you just the sort of thing you've come to expect: adventures, rules, and commentary for the many products Mongoose Publishing offers.
Websnark is good.
I am more and more a fan of Eric Burns' writing. He slides from the academic to the absurd in a way that I really enjoy.
And I quote: "Perseus was honored enough to be given the very tools of the Gods (Athena's shield, Hades's helm, Hermes's winged sandals) but never succumbs to the temptation to think of himself as a God. And in reward for his actions, Perseus, Andromeda, and even Perseus's mother in law Cassiopeia were placed in the heavens as constellations. Also, if the movies are to be believed, he had a robot owl."
And he just taught me a new word.
Apophenia -- Seeing connections in meaningless or unconnected data.
That one makes it into the next Illuminati set! Thanks, Eric . . .
-- Steve Jackson
PS: I fear that he will burn in Grammar Hell for making possessives of names ending in S by adding an apostrophe and another S, which is irony for you. I know some authorities say that construction is permissible. They'll burn hotter than Eric burns.
Warehouse 23 News: An Entire City In One Box
No, we aren't talking about a drastic new measure to curb urban blight. We're talking about Messantia - City of Riches. It's a Conan supplement. Really. Pay no attention to the men building that fence over there.
Are these things neat, or what?
As we hunt for a new office, I'm finding out how useful, as well as fun, this feature can be. Week before last we visited several sites. I didn't really know where they were; I wasn't behind the wheel. But I wanted to revisit one of them, and I knew roughly where it was. So I got the street map, went back and forth between that and the satellite map, worked my way down the highway, started recognizing landmarks . . . and found it.
And then, by studying the satellite and road maps in alternation, I learned the path well enough that I was just able to drive there.
Woot.
-- Steve Jackson
Warehouse 23 News: An Epidemic Of Global Proportions
Increase awareness of the catgirl overpopulation situation. Buy a Something Positive: Spay Your Catgirl Poster today and let the world know that we need to stop these creatures before they breed.
This is our latest release, soon to be on the shelves of a game store near you:
GURPS Character Assistant
GURPS Fourth Edition lets roleplayers create any character they can imagine, from any time or place. They can be customized with hundreds of advantages, disadvantages, and skills, not to mention magic spells, psionic powers, martial arts moves, superpowers, and equipment from pitchforks to starships.
And yes . . . it can all get a little complicated. If only there was some sort of super-smart machine that could remember all the rules for creating characters, recall them instantly, memorize characters after you made them without ever forgetting, do all the math without making a mistake . . . but that would take some kind of computer or something . . .
Introducing GURPS Character Assistant, created by Armin Sykes! This new CD-ROM from Steve Jackson Games has every character creation rule from the Fourth Edition GURPS Basic Set. You can create and save any character, and print it out on an official Fourth Edition character sheet. GURPS Character Assistant will also let you save and share character files with other players who have GCA. Templates are also fully supported – the program will let you create, modify and share them with others.
So now that you've brought your GURPS game up to Fourth Edition, it's time to bring your characters into the computer age, with GURPS Character Assistant!
GURPS Character Assistant requires a computer running Windows ME (or more recent) and at least a Pentium II processor, 64 MB RAM, and 5MB free disk space. For better performance, use a faster processor and more RAM. GURPS Character Assistant will also be available by direct download.
A computer program on CD-ROM in a case.
Stock #01-4001,
ISBN 1-55634-740-5.
$19.95.
Warehouse 23 News: And You Thought Mid-Terms Were Tough
Fifteen years of blood, sweat, and tears are behind you. Ahead of you sits a long and promising career as a judge, bringing justice to the streets of Mega-City One. All that stands between you and your Full Eagle Day is Judge Dredd. No problem. . . right?
Yesterday's announcement of the November release of GURPS Space - for no good reason - mentioned only one of the authors! It has been fixed now, but for those who read it early in the day: the other author of GURPS Space is James L. Cambias, who has written or co-written a number of GURPS books. In particular, James was the author of the excellent GURPS Mars, GURPS Planet Krishna, and GURPS Planet of Adventure.
-- Steve Jackson
Warehouse 23 News: So That's Where He Got Those Wonderful Toys
Add a little zip to your zipline, a little punch to your electro-gauntlets. Mutants & Masterminds: Gimmick's Guide to Gadgets tosses silly things like sanity to the wind and presents you with a plethora of gadgets that would make even the most jaded mad scientist weep with joy.
Steve Jackson Games announces the following releases for November, 2005:
Munchkin Christmas Shirt
O Munchkin Shirt, O Munchkin Shirt,
How lovely are your powers!
O Munchkin Shirt, O Munchkin Shirt,
How lovely are your powers!
You get more cards in starting hand;
For giving gifts, bonuses grand.
O Munchkin Shirt, O Munchkin Shirt,
How lovely are your powers.
(With apologies to carolers everywhere)
This high-quality four-color shirt combines the classic Munchkin with the icon of gift-giving: the Christmas tree! Wearers of the shirt can give an item away for its bonus, even if they couldn’t normally benefit from it.
‘Tis the season . . . for Munchkin-ing!
Full-color T-shirt.
Stock #9139,
$21.95.
GURPS Space
The Future Is Yours!
Now updated for GURPS Fourth Edition, this is the ultimate toolkit for any campaign between the stars. Explore options for space travel and technology, from the realistic to the miraculous. Design alien races and monsters. Create campaigns of every style, from science fantasy to space opera to star merchants. Build worlds, from asteroids to Dyson spheres.
With this book, you can create anything from a single alien beast to a whole galaxy of civilizations and star systems . . . quickly and randomly, or with a detailed step-by-step process that's true to biology and astrophysics as we understand them today.
GURPS Space is written by two experienced GURPS creators: Jon Zeigler (author of GURPS Traveller: Interstellar Wars and GURPS Traveller: First In), and James Cambias (author of GURPS Mars, GURPS Planet Krishna, and GURPS Planet of Adventure.
Hardback, full color, 240 pages.
Stock #01-1002,
ISBN 1-55634-245-4.
$34.95.
Warehouse 23 News: Water: Wettest Of The Four Elements
Despite being an island, Santiago has something of a water problem. It seems the local plantations need it to grow crops. The Canal Overseer also needs something. Incentive to send the water towards your plantation. You know, his pocketbook has been awfully light lately . . .
July 15, 2005: Illuminated Site of the Week: But No Tractor Beams?
Okay, so it's part puppetry and part screed, but it's all natural. The Organic Trade Association warns against the tyranny of farm-raised veggies in Grocery Store Wars, a story of good and evil in the pumpkin patch. -- Suggested by Scott Haring
Warehouse 23 News: Barbarian Kings And Their Barbarian Things
Any kingdom that is ruled over by someone as awesome as Conan must be worth visiting. Such a kingdom would easily be worthy of a book. A book with 200 pages, perhaps. And a hard cover. And gobs of information about this kingdom. A book like, say, Conan: Aquilonia - Flower of the West.
GURPS Banestorm indexing finished. If anybody wants to know how long it takes to mark up a 240-page book for indexing, transcribe everything, alphabetize, and format: Seven hours, assuming one is already very, very, very familiar with the contents.
-- Steve Jackson
The Big Eyes, Small Mouth Anime Card Game is a lot like Hearts, except when it's not. When it's not, it's a wild, twisting vortex of insane animated characters shooting around like protons in a particle accelerator. Otherwise, it's like Hearts. The art is nice, too.
Not only can Alex, the gray parrot, count; he has a concept of "zero." Read the Science Daily story.
When they aren't getting drunk or starting arguments with elves, dwarves like to dig. Preferably for some precious metal, like gold. Generally, everyone grabs a pickaxe and gets along just fine. Sometimes, these digs are struck by a Saboteur. Who's the culprit? No one knows. A little advice, though: if it's you, don't get caught. Dwarves aren't known for even tempers.
July 12, 2005: We'll Bridge That Cross When We Come To It
While the rest of the world has been playing vampire games, FizerPharm has been doing serious research. We'll all no doubt be much better off - or at least, those in the upper income brackets will - when the Homo sapiens vampiris genotype is resurrected as our savant servants. I was personally quite proud to hear about the Texas penal system's participation in the experimental program, and I'm going to call my broker about FizerPharm stock tomorrow!
-- Steve Jackson
Who has the right to be judge, jury, and executioner? Well, you, as it turns out. The Judge Dredd Roleplaying Game drops you into the harsh, dystopian world of Mega-City One. It's you against 400,000,000 potential criminals. Hope you brought a spare magazine for that Lawgiver.
A brief status report:
- No further word from Scott; we are hoping that in this case no news is good news.
- I am up to my neck in GURPS Banestorm indexing. In the perfect world, I don't have to do the indexes myself, but the world is not perfect at the moment. However, this will be a darned good book.
- The job-shuffle of several weeks ago seems, so far, to have been successful!
- We continue to look at possible new office spaces.
- Over the weekend we tried a "blitz" UltraCorps game - ten turns in a few hours. It worked surprisingly well.
- If you expected to get this in your mail, and didn't, don't be concerned. This Illuminator and yesterday's were both posted after midnight, which means the auto-mail could not catch them. My bad.
-- Steve Jackson
We have just confirmed that I'll be a guest at Conclave, New Zealand's 27th national SF and fantasy convention, in 2006.
Dates are June 2-6; exact venue TBA. Don't know exactly what I'll be doing, but I'll have to make it especially neat to thank them for flying me around the world . . .
This is something I'll look forward to!
-- Steve Jackson
July 9, 2005: Illuminated Site of the Week: "Kibble . . . Kiii-Buuul!"
They don't want your brains, they just want to know what smells like bacon. The Safar Center for Resuscitation Research has revivified our animal companions. Can a practical application in horror movies be far off? Fox has the story. -- Suggested by Shawn Fisher
Warehouse 23 News: Sanity Is For The Sane
Worlds of Cthulhu #2 is another heapin' helpin' of insanity, debauchery, and all around general nastiness served up Cthulhu Mythos style. Inside you'll find many fun and exciting ways to bring your characters to a horrible, screaming end.
So . . . the murderous thugs have done it again.
I don't think the English will be pushed around, though. I doubt they'll all go out and buy magnetic ribbons for their cars, and I really don't think they'll express their rage by renaming snack foods. But I won't be in the least surprised if, at street level, they are both angrier and more sensible about July 7 than we were about September 11. After all, the British have been bombed by a mass murderer before. They survived. They took the fight to the enemy. Other nations had the privilege of helping, but in England the free world made its stand, and came back to win. The murdering madman and his sycophants and his hirelings and his bombs and his poison gas and his mass graves are gone, and in their place is a decent nation that doesn't murder its own people or invade its neighbors.
But it cost the free nations a lot of blood. Who can expect this war to be any different?
-- Steve Jackson
The cover for GURPS Faerie has been lauded by critics all over the world as "really cool," "neato," and "totally awesome." Now you can purchase a GURPS Faerie Cover Poster and appreciate the art without all those silly words over it.
July 7, 2005: Scott Haring In Tragic Accident
We're very sorry to report that Scott Haring, our e23 editor, was in a serious traffic accident while returning home after July 4. His youngest boy was killed, and Scott required immediate surgery. Our thoughts are with Scott and his whole family right now. When we have more information, we'll share it.
Yesterday I mentioned a Mad Science webcomic that I may have mentioned a couple of times before. Today I want to point you to a Mad Science webcomic that I have NOT mentioned before . . . not in that context.
Girl Genius, by Phil and Kaja Foglio, has been around for a while as a print comic. It spawned a great little card game by James Ernest, and yes, a GURPS version is in the works. But the original comic will exist no more, except in trade paperback collections, because the Foglios took it online.
This is somewhat the reverse of the normal pattern . . . many comics start out online and their makers consider print to be something of a Holy Grail. But it doesn't have to work that way. So it is with Girl Genius . . . the Foglios are now bypassing pulp for the original appearance of each strip, and going straight to electrons. A full-color page of Girl Genius is posted every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. And you should read it. Great art, wonderful coloring, intelligent dialog, humor, tragedy, humorous tragedy, characters, plot . . . and MAD SCIENCE!
It's located at www.girlgeniusonline.com. Pass that URL around.
-- Steve Jackson
Warehouse 23 News: Four Square . . . Of The Gods
It's not every day you find yourself playing a game of four square in another dimension, the match being presided over by manifestations of Order and Chaos. Well, unless you attend ps238. Grab a copy of ps238 #11 to find out what the heck we're talking about.
July 5, 2005: We Can Help You With Your Nemesis Problem
This is thoroughly wonderful. I found out about Brooklyn Superhero Supply in Jon Kilgannon's blog, where he gives much more actual data than you can find on the store's official page. So follow the first link first.
Jon, of course, is the writer of A Miracle of Science, which just came off hiatus and is now Making Me Happy again.
-- Steve Jackson
Warehouse 23 News: The Summer Blockbuster Of The Millennium
Cutting edge special effects. A-list actors. Hollywood's finest directing. Exotic location shots. An unforgettable story. This is the stuff of cinematic dreams. Unfortunately, all we can offer you at the moment is Demon Hunters: Dead Camper Lake.
If you're in an urban area, please . . . Lights good, fireworks bad, four-alarm fires REALLY bad.
The SJ Games office will be closed July 4. We'll be back, and Warehouse 23 will be shipping orders again, on Tuesday the 5th.
The Gamers contains scenes of intense humor, slapstick situations, and silly language. Not recommended for those without a sense of humor. Player discretion is advised.
Yes, GURPS Powers has moved. Doubtless our more eagle-eyed fans have already spotted the move from August to "Farther Out."
Remember our cry of angst a few weeks ago about the things that happen with big books? Yes, here we go again. We have now brought the book in-house for the last stage of editing. It's not a hard edit . . . no manuscript created by Sean Punch and Phil Masters is going to be anything but a pleasure to work on . . . but it's a 240-page book. And it's going to be a longer 240-pager than usual, if that makes any sense . . . the original manuscript came in significantly over length, and the material was all good enough that rather than cut it down by 10% or more, we're going to use all those words and have less art. (A number of fans have given us "More words, less art" feedback; we'll try it with this one and see if we get static from a heretofore silent "We demand art" constituency.)
Warehouse 23 News: The Other Fair Folk
Yes, they have pointy ears. Yes, they live in the woods. Yes, they're magic beings. No, they're not elves. They're the fey. They're like elves, only less tree-hugging. Well, except for the dryads. Look, just buy The Complete Guide to Fey. It'll clear things up nicely.
July 2, 2005: Illuminated Site of the Week: I Can See My House From Here
Maybe you're a fan of travel. Perhaps you're starting a Special Ops game. Then again, you may want that long-sought proof that They are watching you. Or, conversely, you could be . . . well, we'd rather not know. But go Google Sightseeing. -- Suggested by Damon Muma
Warehouse 23 News: Warehouse 23 Top Ten
Check out Warehouse 23's top selling items for June at the new Warehouse 23 Top 10 page.
The winners of the 2005 Origins Awards were announced yesterday at, appropriately, the Origins International Game Expo in Columbus, Ohio. In the Best Nonfiction Publication category, Pyramid Magazine and editor Steven Marsh were recognized. In the Best Game Accessory category, we won for Cardboard Heroes Castles, designed by John Hollis.
The good folks of Atlas Games also picked up two awards: Cthulhu 500 was named Best Traditional Card Game or Expansion, and Ars Magica: 5th Edition was named Best Role-Playing Game.
And since we are always delighted just to be nominated, we'll point out that four other Steve Jackson Games products also got the nod:
Congratulations to all the winners and nominees! For a complete list of winners and nominees, check out the Academy's website.
Warehouse 23 News: Bored? Start A War!
Imagine, for a moment, what it would be like to live in a city so dull that you have to start a war to experience any meaningful stimuli in your life. Now imagine trying to write a set of d20 rules for those wars. Smoke coming out the ears yet? Save those synapses and buy a copy of Judge Dredd: The Rookie's Guide to Block Wars.
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