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Illuminated Site of the Week
March 31, 2006: Illuminated Site of the Week: Stream A Little Dream
It's a dream come true. All the relaxation offered you by a good night's sleep, now available just by sticking your head in between two different frequencies. At least, that's one layman's interpretation of a page title like SBaGen - Binaural Beat Brain Wave Experimenter's Lab. Here they let you customize your state of mind by mimicking different states of sleep. Crank up the notes, find your center, turn on, tune in, and drop a few hours trying to hash out all the tech-talk.
-- Suggested by Paul McCann
Sent to relieve a garrison stationed at a monitoring station on the third moon of planet Selvache, the small group of rookie Mobile Infantry troopers had no idea what they were in for. No idea of the horrors they would see or the trials that they would overcome. No idea that they were to be the key players in Starship Troopers: The Selvache Incident.
It's fun watching the top e23 products reach milestones . . . and we hit some more. The downloadable GURPS Character Assistant hit 900 a few days ago, and is already well past that . . . it will be our first thousand-seller soon, and there will be much rejoicing. GURPS Mysteries passed 700. Singapore Sling and Polyhymnia made it into the 200 club, and both Robin's Laws of Good Game Mastering and In Nomine Superiors: Lilith are about to. And going down a bit, my own Game Design Volume 1: Theory and Practice has hit exactly 100.
We recently changed the e23 What's Hot page to show 20 items rather than 10, because showing just the top 10 was neglecting some good stuff. At some point we'll have to find a way to feature more without being spammy.
And more of that good stuff is coming, including . . . REAL soon now . . . Doc Cross' unholy blending of Toon and Munchkin, creatively titled Toon Munchkin. That's not a link because it's not up yet. But REAL soon now.
-- Steve Jackson
There was a book 1, so there has to be a book 2. We're pretty sure it's Newton's 32nd Law. Or something like that. Anyway, pick up a copy of ps238: To the Cafeteria... FOR JUSTICE!. Because of physics. And stuff.
It's big enough that the flyer I just proofread had to use very tiny type to get very short descriptions of all the Munchkin products onto one page.
That's kind of cool for a little game that I drew up the cards for while on a flight to Phoenix. You just never know what will happen.
And just wait till you see what we're working on NOW. You may imagine a giggle here. Imagine it as trying to be sinister but just coming out silly. Because what we're doing now is. Silly, I mean.
-- Steve Jackson
Warehouse 23 News: Big XP, Small Monster
The Big Eyes, Small Mouth d20: Monstrous Manual is a veritable smorgasbord of things your team of dungeon-diving, mecha-driving, brain-meltingly cute adventurers can kill.
It is our gleeful pleasure to announce that Munchkin will soon be available in yet another language: Portuguese! The publisher will be our Brazilian friends at Devir Livraria Ltda., who have already released Portuguese versions of GURPS and several of our other titles. Closer, ever closer, draws the day when the world will belong to the munchkins!
Have you the bravery, the will, the guts, and (most importantly) the disposable income to order a set of Leaf Steel/Gold dice?
March 27, 2006: Top Ten Strangest Lego Creations
I've already pointed to a couple of the items on this list . . . but that leaves eight, plus a couple of honorable mentions, that were new to me, and maybe they'll be new to you too. It's at Techeblog.
-- Steve Jackson
Warehouse 23 News: Things That Go Slosh In The Night
Certain environments call for certain monsters. After all, you wouldn't see a frost wyrm smack dab in the middle of the Sahara, would you? Of course not! (But if you ever do, take my advice and disbelieve.) The next time you find you need a monster for your players' trip through the bayou, crack open a copy of Monster Geographica: Marsh & Aquatic.
So. Chris and I have returned from the Game Developers Conference, alive and reasonably intact. No, we did not get acquired, acquire anybody, or in fact sign any Big Deals at all. But there were some interesting discussions, and I have a stack of business cards that is, no kidding, an inch tall.
A blow-by-blow account would involve way too many blows, so here are a few snapshots:
- The conference needs more space, or fewer people, or more alternate events, or all of the above. I didn't get into Will Wright's talk; the line wrapped nearly all the way around the block. I fled the "suite night" event Thursday . . . the rooms had apparently been inundated by a starving horde as soon as they opened, and by the time I got there, the whole floor was nearly too packed to move, and far too noisy to talk.
- But every one of the presentations that I attended was good, and some were very good indeed. One highlight was the Three Rings presentation, which discussed both Puzzle Pirates and their upcoming Bang! Howdy . . . and, as is their subversive custom, revealed not only how much money they are making and spending, but where it's going.
- As at any trade show, a lot of junk was being given away. I have too much STUFF already, and tend to leave most of the swag behind, but there's always a standout or two. The gift that earned the greatest goodwill was from IBM . . . which thoughtfully stuffed the attendee packages with simple, invaluable note pads. Mine was about half full before the show was over! The best TOY was definitely the sticky darts that GameDev.net was giving away (usually by throwing them).
-- Steve Jackson
Warehouse 23 News: State Of The Art Of War
Need a BattleMech with a little more . . . "oopmh"? Optional rules, amazing technologies, and very, very big bangs are the name of the game in Classic BattleTech: Technical Readout 3055 Upgrade. Remember: it's not "overkill." It's "definitively solving the problem."
The PDF version of GURPS Banestorm has been posted to e23 – 240+ full-color pages of fantasy goodness for Fourth Edition GURPS!
GURPS Banestorm updates the original Yrth of GURPS Third Edition Fantasy and Fantasy Adventures. It provides GMs with a complete world background – history, religion, culture, politics, races, and a bonus collection of 16 detailed, full-color maps from throughout the book - everything needed to start a GURPS campaign. Phil Masters (GURPS Discworld and Hellboy RPG RPGs) and Jonathan Woodward (Hellboy RPG and GURPS Ogre) have added new peoples, places, and plots, as well as lots more on magic and mysticism, all of which conforms to the just-released GURPS Fantasy and GURPS Magic.
Oh, and for those who missed it in all the GAMA Trade Show rush (okay, maybe I was the only one . . .), GURPS Infinite Worlds, the Origins nominee by Ken Hite, has been posted as well.
-- Paul Chapman
Even the most jaded adventures need the occasional divine intervention . . . or insane cult to slay. City Quarters: Temple Quarter contains more temples and religious orders than you can shake a stick at. Well. Okay, you could shake a stick at them, but you'd probably get pretty tired after a while, and is that really what you want out of life?
March 24, 2006: Illuminated Site of the Week: Take My Legs, Take My Land . . .
Kermit and company have covered other great works - Treasure Island, A Christmas Carol - but aren't there other genres and media they could be covering? Until the big-budget version of "Pigs in Space" comes out, there's Seremuppety. -- Suggested by Mike
Warehouse 23 News: Frightening Fiction For Fearless Fans
Call of Cthulhu: The Tsathoggua Cycle. Try sayin' that one three times fast. Actually, don't. The risk of us getting sued because someone exploded their tongue is too great.
March 23, 2006: Stop Telling Me About The Magnificent Lego Aircraft Carrier
. . . before you bring down the net all across central Texas!
But my, isn't it wonderful?
Now if only it were crewed by pirates.
Pirates with dirigibles.
-- Steve Jackson
Warehouse 23 News: Honor. Loyalty. Duty. Bumpy Foreheads.
Sure, Prime Directive d20: Klingons is a great sourcebook for Prime Directive d20, but who hasn't dreamt of screaming "Qapla!" while diving a good dungeon? Dahjaj' oH QaQ jajghet!
We drove to the airport and got on the plane, and unless something really unplanned and legitimately ironic happened, Chris and I are there now, at the Game Developers Convention. We are actually having (I hope "had" is the right word by the time you read this) our first GDC meeting in the Austin airport before getting onto the plane . . . that was the way the schedules worked out . . .)
The GAMA Trade Show crew got back alive and reasonably well, and the baton of Keeping The Office Open was passed back to them. Aren't we just a bunch of globetrotters?
-- Steve Jackson
Warehouse 23 News: What's Better Than Robots?
Magic robots. No fantasy game is complete without at least a few thousand robots. Don't want to be less than complete, do you? Didn't think so. But where does one go to find the pertinent information to handle this fantasy genre staple? Look no further than Iron Kingdoms: Liber Mechanika!
And it might strike pretty hard. It would appear that researchers at our own University of Texas are developing artificial muscles a hundred times as strong as natural ones, powered by alcohol and hydrogen. But we read about it at the BBC.
Warehouse 23 News: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle. Or Else
A stark warning of the dangers of industrial waste, the Godzilla Origins: Plush Mini Hedorah is a great way to show youngsters that if they litter now, in a few years a giant smog monster will destroy us all. Think about that the next time you toss garbage out your car window.
March 20, 2006: Explore The Infinite Worlds On $20 A Year
Pyramid Magazine is proud to introduce our newest column: "Infinite Crossroads," by Paul Drye (co-author of GURPS Traveller: Interstellar Wars and GURPS Traveller: Sword Worlds).
This tour of the GURPS Infinite Worlds setting introduces a new hot spot each month. This month's installment - "Jincheng" - is a passport to amazing adventure, with a Chinese-settled San Francisco destined to be devastated by the most powerful earthquake it's ever known. What will Infinity do? What can Infinity do?
While you're waiting for next month's feature, be sure to check out last month's "Space Station Peregrine," a world-hopping orbital base. And for even more Infinite Worlds material crafted by Paul Drye, comb through the archives.
This new feature is for Pyramid subscribers only, so don't miss out - subscribe today!
- Steven Marsh
Editor of Pyramid Magazine
Warehouse 23 News: Superheroes: Now With Extra Angst!
Puberty is tough enough without having a death-ray wielding megalomaniac breathing down your neck. Add some immaturity to your super roleplaying with Champions: Teen Champions. And buck up, kid. At least it's really easy to keep up a secret identity when nobody understands you anyway.
Dennis Mize, one of Ral Partha's first sculptors and unquestionably one of our hobby's great talents, died at his home a few days ago. He lived alone, and the exact time and cause of death are not known. He was only 49.
In addition to Ral Partha, Dennis also sculpted for Dark Sword Miniatures and Reaper Miniatures. Dennis was probably best known for his fantasy interpretations of the female form divine, but I was equally fond of his incredible dinosaurs!
The
Dark Sword Miniatures site has a memorial page showing many of his sculptures.
-- Steve Jackson
Warehouse 23 News: Another Day, Another Dungeon
Dungeon Crawl Classics #2: The Lost Vault of Tsathzar Rho has everything you have come to expect from a rough-and-tumble, down-and-dirty, shake-and-bake dungeon crawl for first level characters. Ancient evil, a dank cave, and lots 'n lots of kobolds.
The next Munchkin stand-alone game will be . . . Munchkin Impossible. Hit the link for more info.
We played it in the office earlier this week . . . fun was had. Yet more stupid Munchkiny goodness, with lots of really dumb jokes and lots of chances to backstab (backshoot?) the other players. So hit me . . . I like doing these . . . and I still like playing.
-- Steve Jackson
Warehouse 23 News: Never Too Young To Traumatize
The younger they are when you scare the ever-loving heck out of them, the deeper the emotional scars will run. Thus, we recommend the Here Be Monsters: Plush Demon to give your babies years of severe psychological impairment. (We're kidding. This is a joke. We're just trying to sell a toy. Don't scare babies, no matter how fun it may seem!)
March 17, 2006: Illuminated Site of the Week: On Your Jugular, That's Where
Where does Great Cthulhu stand on the issues? How can you contribute to his campaign? How can you add to his diet? And with strange eons, are we going to pare down that "death and taxes" thing? Educate yourself at Cthulhu For President. -- Suggested by Bruce Morton
Warehouse 23 News: A Munchkin's Book Of Shadows
Wondering what spells are a waste of precious gray matter, which feats will double your damage output, which strategies will obliterate a balrog in 4 rounds? The Power Gamer's 3.5 Wizard Strategy Guide does all that nasty thinking for you and lays out the most efficient forms of magical mayhem your spellcasters can lay down on a twenty-sided battlefield.
The original UltraCorps design was massive . . . hundreds of players in a single game. But we now have a two- to six-player version in open alpha. Come give it a try. You can create a PUB (Private Universe Battle) game and invite friends to join - or check in the game lobby for existing games that are looking for players. Game speeds range from daily turns to "blitz."
Pyramid subscribers can get in instantly . . . otherwise, if you don't have a SJ Games account, we'll ask you to register . . . but this is an alpha test, and it's free. Just go to the UltraCorps page and follow the "PLAY NOW" link. If you're new to the game, the "Create Solo Game" feature in the lobby is the best way to learn the rules and the interface.
-- Steve Jackson
Warehouse 23 News: Roller Coasters. Love Sold Separately.
Life has its ups and downs. As it turns out, so do roller coasters. So, obviously Scream Machine is a metaphor for life. And if that doesn't justify its purchase, what will?
March 15, 2006: Would Even A Shredder Be Enough?
Here's the story of a fellow who decided to test whether a torn-up and taped credit card application would be accepted.
Spoiler: Of course it was accepted, otherwise this wouldn't be much of a story, would it? But you can read about it here.
For me, the very best part was noticing all the credit-card-application ads that Google Ads served to his page. Wonder if they get clicked?
-- Steve Jackson
Warehouse 23 News: Read. For Great Justice!
Are you a bad enough dude to read Nodwick #29? Buy one, will ya!
Or, to be more precise, two cool things that Earth is doing with respect to Mars:
(1) The Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. It's made it into Mars orbit; the hard part is over. This will give us not only direct imaging, spectrometry, radar, and more, but a communications link for surface Mars probes.
(2) Google Mars. Really. Just look.
-- Steve Jackson
Sanctuary has seen more than its fair share of fell deeds, which makes it the perfect place to get your players in a whole mess of trouble. Thieves' World: Murder at the Vulgar Unicorn is a great springboard for that trouble . . . provided your players can make it through the night in the nastiest town this side of Mos Eisley.
I was occupied on and off throughout the past week in page-proofing GURPS Bio-Tech, by David Pulver and David Morgan-Mar. I don't mean to be hyperbolic, but this is going to be an amazing book. I can easily see it being used as source material by science fiction writers. This is one that I will be especially proud of.
-- Steve Jackson
Warehouse 23 News: A Few Winners, A Whole Lot Of Losers
Any two-bit MechWarrior has heard of units like Wolf's Dragoons or the Northwind Highlanders. But what about the . . . shall we say, "less popular" mercenary units? Classic BattleTech: Mercenaries Supplemental II pulls the dregs of the mercenary world into the light and shows you what it's like to be a mercenary when your name isn't Morgan Kell.
March 12, 2006: And On Top Of Everything Else . . .
Our new office came with a beautiful flagpole in front, and the previous occupants kindly left the flags. And it's lighted at night, so normally they fly all the time. But earlier this week we noticed that the Texas flag was a bit ragged on the end . . . and when we hauled the flags down, the halyard broke!
So now we are flagless, and we need to do a bit of research and find out who you call to re-string a halyard. Rent a cherry-picker? Hire somebody to shinny up? Learn to fly?
-- Steve Jackson
Warehouse 23 News: The Itty-Bitty Battle For The Fate Of Humankind
Just because a battle is small doesn't mean it's not important. After all, it isn't size that counts. It's whether or not you can send those stinkin' bugs back to the rock they crawled out from, one bullet at a time. Everything you need to get started can be found in Starship Troopers: The Miniatures Game. Everything but guts, soldier.
Next week is the GAMA Trade Show, our industry's largest place for publishers to spend some quality time with the owners and operators of your Friendly Local Game Store. Held at the Riviera Hotel in Las Vegas, this week-long event puts the leaders from each of the distribution tiers in the same room, all for the purpose of educating retailers and providing direct feedback to the game companies.
This year, Steve Jackson Games will be pressing the flesh and answering the questions beside Atlas Games, Dork Storm Press, White Wolf, and many, many others. It's always a good time, and we're really looking forward to getting the word out on our upcoming schedule.
Rumors that we go for the cheap booze are completely . . . um, look over there!
-- Paul Chapman
Jaws not your scene? Don't like Star Wars? Don't believe in Peter Pan, Frankenstein, or Superman? Maybe you should give Breakaway Rider a try.
March 10, 2006: Illuminated Site of the Week: Tesla Coils Can Be Found On Another Website
Movie camp meets Martha Stewart. If you want to live the fantasy, call Creative Home Engineering and have them put an old-fashioned secret passage in your home. Go classic with the "pull the right book on the bookshelf" bit, or the gothic route with twisting candle sconces, but in any case you can add decidedly modern touches like eye scanners. Oh, sure, you could end up on the cover of Architectural Digest . . . if the definition of "secret" is lost on you. -- Suggested by Michael
Sobek, god of crocodiles and fertility, was worshiped by ancient Egyptians. While we know there were many engravings of the god, we're pretty sure they didn't have any plush renditions. Lucky for you (and any remaining Sobek worshipers) Toy Vault has seen fit to release a Plush Sobek. It's hard to snuggle up with a large slab of rock, after all.
Steve Henderson, one of the authors of RuneQuest and Superworld, died the morning of March 8 of a massive stroke. He is survived by his wife, Gigi, and their son, Alexander.
Steve was also a partner in DunDraCon, and one of the founders of the Society for Creative Anachronism, where he was known as Sir Steven MacEanruig.
Warehouse 23 News: A Prism Of Paranoia
Greetings, worthless human filth! Your friend The Computer has decided that your life is too dull. Specifically, that your measly Red level security clearance is not mind-blisteringly dangerous enough. You deserve more excitement. Paranoia XP: Extreme Paranoia grants you access to security levels Orange, Violet, and everything in between. Try to look grateful.
It doesn't matter whether the glass is half full or half empty, as long as there's still some in the bottle.
Hey, we take our enlightenment where we get it . . .
-- Steve Jackson
Warehouse 23 News: A Thoroughly Unfair Game
Life isn't fair. Games usually are, but The Great Dalmuti knows better than to move against the currents of life. It accepts them, embraces them, and generally makes for a darn fun time. Provided your fellow players aren't prone to fits of homicidal rage.
Most of my planned work for today got set aside, because a whole new batch of UltraCorps functionality suddenly got ready for initial testing, and that also meant documentation had to be created.
Woot. Progress.
More detailed announcement when it's ready to show the whole world. But that should be soon.
I barely got to stick my nose outside today, but spring has definitely hit Austin. Iris and hyacinth are blooming in my front border. Of course, even as I enjoy the wonderful warm spring, I wonder what this means for July.
-- Steve Jackson
March 6, 2006: Another Webcomic Post, But Game Related This Time
Woo. Serious character development taking place in Girl Genius . . .
Yes, Kaja is still working away on the gamebook. Progress is being made. We don't yet have a playtest-starting date. When we do, you'll read about it here first, unless of course Kaja's blog beats me to it.
-- Steve Jackson
Warehouse 23 News: Magic Minus Memetics
Need a magic system for d20 that doesn't revolve around daily reminders for the spell casting crew of your party? Dungeons & Dragons: Magic of Incarnum is for you! Incarnum is a mystical energy that gives mages their power. It surrounds us, penetrates us, binds the univer- eh, you've probably heard this all before.
March 5, 2006: It Has Nothing To Do With Gaming . . .
but I'm going to recommend it anyway. I have been reading J. Jacques' Questionable Content for the past few months, and I'm really enjoying it.
This, despite the fact that it's a modern-day romantic comedy whose only bow to science fiction is that the obligatory "talking animal" character is a robot. Despite the fact that occasional strips depend entirely on indie music references, and I think I may have recognized all of three of the bands they mentioned. (And if I recall correctly, all three were being mocked by the characters.) Despite the fact that reading it is sometimes way too much like watching my real-life friends do stupid things.
It's just a good story, that's all. The characters are believable (yeah, even Hannelore), and we care what happens to them and don't want to see them mess each other up. And there are punchlines.
Check it out. Warning: the current strip as I write this (#569, for those late to the party) will look like pure soap opera to those who haven't been following the plot. "Faye, I'm so sorry about all of this. Can we still be friends?" "Do you still want to date Marty?" And in the last panel, the punchline veers into complete nonworksafeness. I know that now you're going to start with #569 no matter WHAT I say . . . but then go back to the beginning of the archives and read the story.
-- Steve Jackson
High Medieval. It's all the fun of a renaissance festival without that annoying "going outside" part.
The GTS will be in Las Vegas in just a couple of weeks. Attending for us this year will be Director of Sales Ross Jepson, Marketing Director Paul Chapman, Warehouse 23 Manager Shadlyn Westrich, and several others. Steve won't be making it this year . . . he gets to sit home and work on the new Munchkin release.
We really value GTS as a chance to meet our retailers . . . if you own a store, we hope you're going to the show, and we hope you'll come see us.
Warehouse 23 News: The Best Version Of Rifts. Ever.
Seriously. It says so right in the name. Rifts Ultimate Edition. There's no two ways around it, this is the edition to end all editions of the Rifts core rules. If you're looking for a way to break into Rifts, why not get the biggest pickaxe you can find?
March 3, 2006: Illuminated Site of the Week: I Don't Feel Any Different
The Difference Engine is finally finished. No, not the one at the Science Museum in London . . . that's old news . . . the LEGO Difference Engine. This one is made of the ubiquitous building blocks in some guy's house, and is accompanied by enough background, math, and explanation to make your eyes bleed. -- Suggested by Jellyfish_Green and syberghost
Warehouse 23 News: Heh-Heh, Fire Fire Fire!
Dungeon Crawl Classics #19: The Volcano Caves is not exactly the ideal vacation paradise, but it does have lots of monsters and a fair bit of treasure to loot. A word of caution, however: lay off the pork and beans before you head into the fiery caves. Unless you want a very uncomfortable, single-use "breath" weapon . . .
March 2, 2006: Now Shipping: GURPS Traveller: Interstellar Wars
This is the latest release from Steve Jackson Games, now on the shelves of a game store near you:
GURPS Traveller: Interstellar Wars
The transition between the First Imperium, governed by the Vilani, and the
Rule of Man, led by the Terran Confederation, has always been a pivotal era in
Marc Miller's Traveller universe. Now, for the first time in any game system, Traveller players can explore this rich setting.
GURPS Traveller: Interstellar Wars covers 200 years of war and change as the ancient Vilani Imperium falls to the upstart Terrans. In this time of conflict, the opportunities for adventure are more exciting than ever before! Forge new trade routes within the Imperium itself. Defend the homeworld from invaders during the Siege of Terra. Make first contact with alien races.
Help guide the Terran Confederation in its expansion from a single planet to a star-spanning empire.
GURPS Traveller: Interstellar Wars is an official GURPS Fourth Edition sourcebook for the Traveller universe. It includes a detailed timeline, along with rules for starship design, interstellar trade, exploration, ship-to-ship combat, and tailoring characters to the last days of the First Imperium.
240 pages. Full color. Hardback. Stock #01-2401, ISBN 1-55634-746-4. $39.95.
Warehouse 23 News: It Just Keeps Haunting, And Haunting, And Haunting . . .
The Book of Unremitting Horror follows through on the title's promise of being full of things horrifying, terrifying, and other scary words that end in "ing." The jury's still out on the "unremitting" bit, however.
One of the high points of my visit to OwlCon was seeing this great custom-made Dork Tower set created by Andrea Little and David O. Little.
The tower was created from a Hirst Arts plaster-molding kit called The Octagon Tower. It's customized with sun and moon charms from Hobby Lobby.
The small cities are wedding placecard holders, also from Hobby Lobby. The playing pieces are the Dork Tower Miniatures set (and yes, they're still available). The board is foamcore, with the map painted on; the trees are Christmas decorations, the water is made from scrapbooking stickers, the mountains are built from Sculpy and painted, and the graphics are blown-up copies from the original game map.
And Z'Mendrick is the Stikfas Phantom.
-- Steve Jackson
Warehouse 23 News: Vampires, Prophecies, Finals
Into every rulebook, errata is born. It alone will stand against the typos, the rule- . . . okay, maybe that's a bit melodramatic. Sharpen your stakes and grab your report on global economics, Slayer, because the Buffy the Vampire Slayer Revised Corebook is your 288-page ticket to the Hellmouth.
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