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Illuminated Site of the Week
This timeline's version of GURPS Infinite Worlds differs from most. Due to the actions of Centrum agents, the setting known as GURPS Infinite Worlds: Collegio Januari was omitted. However, thanks to the sacrifice of many agents, we now can offer it to you.
Written by Kenneth Hite, this 13-page campaign setting brings world-hopping to the traditional fantasy genre. It can be dropped into either a GURPS Infinite Worlds or GURPS Fantasy campaign, and can be easily adapted to any low-tech game featuring wizards and knights.
-- Paul Chapman
Wired's Alt Text gives us a look into an alternate reality where cookbooks are discussed like roleplaying games are here. This story has been over the industry mailing lists, so we thought we'd share.
As the cartoon says, "It's funny because it's true!"
-- Paul Chapman
I'm at Origins, hanging with the Adventure Retail crew. As you can see, the booth is clearly visible from miles away. What you can't see, and I can't show except in photographic series, is the sheer size of the blasted thing. It's 80 feet long and 20 feet wide, with more than a dozen publishers represented. There's plush figures, discount books, brand new releases, card games, board games, roleplaying games, zombie books, pirate books, Chtulhu books, Cthulhu statues, and more.
And, of course, the Exact Change Dance.
If you're in Columbus, stop on by. It'll only cost you $3 to get into the hall, and you'll get to browse dozens of booths (none as nifty as ours, but there are still some cool ones).
Plus, Will and Randy are running Munchkin Quest throughout the day.
-- Paul Chapman
June 27, 2008: Illuminated Site of the Week: And A Side Order Of "Huh?"
If you seek the answers, find Truth & Revelations, but bring a pocket calculator. You may not have to show all work, but the answers seem to be focused on numbers. Unlike many sites that delve into the deep questions, this one is pretty clean and skimps on the graphics. Very much like those sites, it skimps on grammar and spelling. But hey, non-profits have to cut costs somewhere, and subtracting those language arts lessons probably adds up to savings. -- Suggested by gido
June 26, 2008: Network Maintenance Friday Morning
Our ISP has informed us that they will be performing network maintenance on Friday morning. This means that you may be unable to reach our websites or send us email intermittently between the hours of 12:00 am and 6:00 am (CDT / GMT -6) on Friday, June 27. We are taking advantage of this window to do some router maintenance of our own, so downtime is more likely during the 12am - 1am part of that window. Thank you for bearing with us.
-- Jimmie Bragdon
For me, the best thing about the Star Wars prequels was the LEGO videogame version. In fact, the entire series, played out by mute brick-based figures, was simply awesome. Just watching can be hilarious, and the "Drop-In/Drop-Out Co-Op" feature let me play for a while, then wander away while the wife continued her search for the last 1% to clear the level.
Now Traveler's Tales is releasing LEGO Batman. An original storyline, classic villains like the Joker and Killer Croc, and unlockable characters (including Nightwing) -- sadly, it won't be out until September, so I'll have to just pre-order it for my birthday.
I did pick up LEGO Indiana Jones: The Original Adventures to scratch that itch for the moment. But can even LEGO make Temple of Doom fun? Oh, and now I need to get a second controler for the PS3. Woe is me!
-- Paul Chapman
Warehouse 23 News: Last Chance! (Mostly)
June is almost over! A few scant days stand between our current place in space-time and the end of the Warehouse 23 Summer Giveaway Extravaganzathon-O-Rama 2008. This is your last chance to get in on all that card-gamey goodness! Although, depending on when you read this, there may still be most of a week between now and the contest's end. In which case: this is your last chance before your other last chance! Don't wait for the last chance after that one!
I'm flying out today, heading to Columbus, Ohio, for Origins Game Fair. Tomorrow will be the grunt work of setting up our booth (312 -- take Gary Gygax Avenue from the entry doors to Redmond Simonson Avenue and turn left, and we're one aisle down on the left). Then comes four days of the carnival sideshow that is the Adventure Retail Experience.
If you're more interested in playing games than spending money, our MIBs will be out in force, running games of all types. Further, Will and Randy will be running playtests of games in development. They may also have an early look at a certain board game . . . you'll need to stop by the board game area to find out!
If you're in the Columbus area, but don't have time for the full convention experience, consider the "Fair-Only" pass. It gives you access to the Exhibit Hall (do your Christmas shopping early!), Art Room, and demo booths for a fraction of the One-Day price. Plus, if you see a game you must play, you can upgrade to the All-Access pass!
-- Paul Chapman
No, that's not a typo in the name of that board game. Those dragons are, in fact, Dragon Lairds. If they were dragon lords they probably wouldn't have to deftly apply diplomacy and cunningly manipulate the economy to twist the land to their whim. Nope, they'd probably just . . . y'know . . . breathe fire on everyone.
Back in the Roarin' Twenties, everybody was packing. The booze smugglers, running from the Prohibition agents; the trench-coated detectives, their breakfast of whiskey still on their breath; even the leggy dame who walks into your diner one foggy night with a sob story. But what kind of gun were they carrying?
Pulp Guns, Volume 1 has the answer. From police revolvers, large bore rifles for big game hunters, and the blazing automatics masked crime fighters used, this 35 page PDF catalogs personal firearms from the Pulp Era. Author Hans-Christian Vortisch (GURPS High-Tech, GURPS Martial Arts: Fairbairn Close Combat Systems) covers not just the game mechanics, but the history behind each weapon, and its notable weilders.
Pulp Guns, Volume 1 has the guns you need for GURPS Cliffhangers characters, or any game set in the 1920's or 1930's. For firearms of a more military focus -- including flamethrowers, cannon, and grenades -- watch for Pulp Guns, Volume 2, coming soon.
-- Paul Chapman
Edited to Note: As of this afternoon, our phones are misbehaving. Our toll-free line is down, as are two of our standard lines.
As I write this, our IT Manager is investigating the situation. In the meantime, we can be reached by e-mail or by phone: (512)447-7840. Please note - this is not a toll-free line, and the line may be busy.
Thank you for your patience!
Warehouse 23 News: Ham And Jam And Spam A Lot!
Shadows Over Camelot. The obvious jokes apply here, but we'll try to spare you. In fact, we've got five very good reasons why you should buy the game. It's very fun, it's quite nice to look at, and it's a great way to figure out who among your friends is the best liar. Er, three reasons. Aw, blast! Well, we tried, but the mighty grip of the Python is just too mighty.
Out of curiosity, and because it's useful information, I took our Munchkin Quest prototype to the W23 office and checked the weight on a scale. I'm very happy with the outcome.
After hundreds of hours of production work, and over a year of near-constant development, we're finally starting to see the final, printed game take shape. Just a few more revisions with the printer (the cards aren't heavy enough and the tile artwork didn't print exactly the way that we wanted it to) and the factory will start the final run. A month or so later and over 50 tons of Munchkin Quest will be on its way to store shelves.
-- Phil Reed
Warehouse 23 News: Holy Cow, Is That A Dragon?!
It is! There's a freaking huge dragon on the cover of Runequest: Dara Happa Stirs. Do you have any idea what that means? What? No, not "Let's go slay it!" It means "Run, run like your feet are strapped to rocket skates, because that dragon is troublingly big and it will eat you." Seriously, look at that thing!
June 21, 2008: Munchkin Booty Is At The Printer!
This week, Munchkin Booty went to the printer.
And there was much rejoicing!
-- Paul Chapman
When an RPG turns four, people have to take notice. It's monumental! It's a mark of incredible longevity! It . . . it . . . could also just mean that the first three attempts weren't that hot . . . Um, anyway! Munchkin Happy 4e Greeting Card is here as a cheap cash in wonderful way to announce your plans for the coming Fourth Edition Future to your gaming buddies.
June 20, 2008: Illuminated Site of the Week: Who's Gonna Clean Up This Mess?
The least an alien can do if he's going to kidnap hapless humans for bizarre experiments is have the decency to put them back where he found them once he's done with them. Should the abductors prove to be a bit absent-minded, a little reminder is in order. The Location Earth Dog Tags display graphical and mathematical information that remind one's host which planet he got these latest specimens from. -- Suggested by Freya
Splat. Thus is Falling.
June 19, 2008: Declare Your Relationship With 4e
Need to communicate your intentions regarding the use of the newly released Fourth Edition? Prefer to do it in greeting card format? Looking for a way to do so that would grant you a bonus in some other game, perhaps in a similar genre?
Congratulations! We've got just the thing! The Munchkin Happy 4e Greeting Card fits that bill exactly, and it's easily available from Warehouse 23.
Chose from a variety of options, letting your gaming group know how you feel about 4e, and get a different Munchkin bonus for each option.
-- Paul Chapman
Warehouse 23 News: How To Avoid Grievous Bodily Harrrrrm
Pirates. Composed of neither pies nor rats, these sword-swinging, rum-loving, body-mutilation fetishists are, in a word, "cool." We would all be pirates if we had our way about it. We would be, but most of us don't enjoy getting stabbed. We're funny that way. So it's up to fine products like Pirates of the Spanish Main to allow us to live out these buckle-swashing fantasies. Comes a lot cheaper than a parrot, too.
Looking for a way to prototype your 3D models quickly, but don't have a lot of room? Desktop Factory may have a solution for you, and for (just slightly) less than $5,000.
If you're going in the opposite direction -- physical to digital -- NextEngine will sell you a 3D object scanner for $2,500 or so.
So for less than ten grand, you can have a pretty complete prototyping rig, in just a few square feet. You could easily fit that into the trunk of a car, you were going for a long drive.
Or you could adapt it into a self-replicating robot . . . thingee. I'm sure their intentions are good, but didn't I see something like that on Stargate?
Thanks to Warren Okuma for the robo-links!
-- Paul Chapman
Warehouse 23 News: It's A Going Away Party!
Or that's the spin, anyway. When you're looking for a nice way to say "this stuff isn't selling anymore, so we're going to try and clear it out," you aren't picky. Then again, while we may not be thrilled that a product has outlived its popularity, you might just be in for a great deal. Take a look at our clearance page and enjoy some tasty discounts on misfit merchandise.
I'm going to Dallas on Saturday, June 21st, for gaming at the Dallas Games Marathon. Though this is primarily a "get away and have fun" road trip, it wouldn't be right for me to hit a small game convention without dragging along our first printer-produced Munchkin Quest prototype. Plastic munchkins. Linen finish chipboard tiles and components. Sample cards. In fact, I'll have everything needed to actually play Munchkin Quest.
If you're in Dallas on Saturday, and have time for fun, make sure to stop by the Dallas Games Marathon.
-- Phil Reed
Ticket To Ride: The Card Game! Holy cow! It's Ticket to Ride, but you play the whole thing with cards instead. That's such a fundamental shift to the paradigm that, quite frankly, we need to go lie down for a moment. Yes, it blew our minds so much that without a little rest our heads shall burst - burst - like overripe melons at a sledgehammer convention. And that's a mess that'll ruin your day.
I've decided that, barring hell or high water, I'll be at SPIEL in Essen this October. Not only did I have a great time there before (way too long ago) . . . but this year I'll have Munchkin Quest to show off! So if that's a show you normally make, see you there!
-- Steve Jackson
Although I love comics, I'm not a fan of the "comic strip." Telling a story in three to five panel blocks tends to force the creator to use punchlines, which makes a great funny comic, but a lousy dramatic one.
Warren Ellis' latest foray into webcomics completely dodges that bullet, by releasing the story in blocks of six full-sized comic pages each week. It's a format that I fully understand may not be possible for the casual creative, but it suits my tastes perfectly.
The story is set in a flooded London, and is populated by a mysterious group known as "FreakAngels." As Ellis is wont to do, the characters speak realistically, with frequent obscenities. There's also a bit of casual nudity. Not that I mind, but warnings are good for those who click on such links at their jobs.
Oh, right, the link: FreakAngels. If you like Ellis' writing style, Day of the Triffids, or Village of the Damned, check it out.
-- Paul Chapman
Warehouse 23 News: Aliens. Humans. The Obvious Outcome.
If we played nice with our intergalactic neighbors, most of the best science fiction out there wouldn't exist. Or would be really dull. Nobody would watch a movie called "Star Tea Party." Well . . . some would, but there's no accounting for taste. Anyway, we're here to push a game on you, a game about shooting the nasty offworlders. The name is Frontiers: Liberty or Death! Now then, go make with all that lovely violence!
I want to call it a "toy," but it's too large to really "play" with. Similarly, it doesn't do much, which moves it away from "gadget." But it's techie, it's cool, and it's strangely mesmerizing.
It's Festo's AirJelly. Part jellyfish, part robot, part cloud, there's also an aquatic version.
-- Paul Chapman
Warehouse 23 News: Must Be German For "Really Cool"
Whatever else it may mean aside, Gestalt is a super setting of heroic endevours, and comes in two flavors. There's the chewy, gooey Hero System version for the six-sider inclined. If you'd rather something tangier and fourteen sides bigger, you're after the Mutants & Masterminds version instead. Either way, you're in for a treat. And a tasty one, if this ad has anything to say about it.
June 13, 2008: Illuminated Site of the Week: Mail Man Of God
The end-time is going to be inconvenient in so many ways, not least because the postal service is going to blow (unless your mail carrier practices, say, Shintoism). The Post-Rapture Post is a surefire way to see that anyone you love who, sadly, did not accept Christ as his personal Lord and Savior, knows how you feel once you've ascended into Heaven. These nice, atheistic folks see that your letter is delivered. It seems premature to have testimonials at the site, but these people seem pretty pleased with the service so far. -- Suggested by Marcus Rowland
Changeling: The Lost - Lords of Summer was just released! And it just turned into summer (for those of us above that little equator doodad)! With synchronicity like that, how can you not buy this book?
We are officially changing our policy on submissions, at least for now, to "We will only consider submissions to e23 for roleplaying support in PDF form."
We have several very good games that have been in development for way too long. If they get delayed due to Munchkin stuff, okay, we'll accept that. But delaying games currently in the pipeline because the developers are looking at new submissions . . . That's just not cool.
And it would also not be cool to accept submissions knowing that they might sit unread for months and months.
When we need new submissions . . . or even when we "kinda sorta" need them and have time to evaluate them . . . we'll announce it. In the meantime, we're going to put the time into the long-anticipated and never-shipped Evil Ted and some others that you haven't heard about.
-- Steve Jackson
Warehouse 23 News: Brazen Advertising
You deftly spin words with wit and manipulative language to bend even the most stubborn sale to your will. At-Will. Arcane. Standard Action. Target: One creature. Attack: Charisma vs. Will. Effect: Target must act upon a compulsion to buy a number of products equal to your Charisma modifier, such as the newly released fourth edition Dungeons & Dragons books. Attacking the target not only ends the effect, but it will very likely get you sued.
Those of you who have burned up years of your life playing Car Wars will recall that the cars are electric, with a motor in every wheel.
I wrote that because I am a brilliant engineer and can see the future. Bzzzzzzt. No, actually, I wrote that because it justified a low-speed turning rule that was easy to explain and made the cars maneuverable and fun.
Nevertheless, real brilliant engineers have now built a car that works that way. And I bet it's maneuverable and fun. Can I have one?
-- Steve Jackson
Warehouse 23 News: Dead People Got No Reason To Live
And yet, as Exalted: The Underworld shows, they very clearly do not let their lack of a heartbeat stop them from walking around and bothering those of us still above room temperature. Oh well. You know what they say: if you can't beat 'em . . . Uh, y'know what? Maybe not in this case.
. . . creator of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles roleplaying game and the Amber Diceless RPG, died June 7 of pancreatic cancer, having outlived the doctors' expectations by several months. His good friend Kevin Siembieda has posted a very moving appreciation of Erick both as a person and a game designer.
-- Steve Jackson
We played the little tone thingie on the keyboard but, uh, then they kinda blew it up. And set everything on fire. Then they laughed. The aliens weren't very nice at all. But that's okay, because Earth has a perfectly ordinary, unremarkable, and totally superpowerless little boy to stop our betentacled aggressors. Hm. Y'know, ps238: Extraterrestrial Credit made the situation sound much better . . .
e23 has been busy, gradually uploading our back catalog, bit by bit.
Last week GURPS Classic: Places of Mystery was uploaded, filled with, well, mysterious places. It's one of those Third Edition books that works well with any system, especially if that "other system" is GURPS Fourth Edition.
Last month, we released Cardboard Heroes: Fantasy Set 1 -- Player Characters and Fantasy Set 2 -- Brigands, Orcs, and Goblins, both reprinting figures from the original paper miniatures collection. Buy once, own forever, print an army!
(Of course, we also released GURPS Power-Ups 1: Imbuements by Sean Punch, and Ogre Miniatures Lite (which is free!), but we were talking about our back catalog, and those are originals, so we'll skip them for the moment.)
-- Paul Chapman
And let slip the dogs of war! And the cats of war! And the horses, badgers, chickens, raccoons, rabbits, snakes, cows, seagulls, aardvarks, platypuses - uh, and so on. Nature of the Beast: Farm vs. Forest has all of these, some of these, none of these, and more!
Origins is only three weeks away. If you're going, stop by the booth -- we're number 312. When you enter the hall, take Gary Gygax Avenue to Redmond Simonson Avenue and turn left. We're one aisle down, on the left.
Yes, they named the aisles this year. I don't know if it'll ultimately prove useful, but it's definitely colorful.
-- Paul Chapman
Warehouse 23 News: Horrible, Perhaps, But Darn Fun
You don't save the world just because you have to. Deep down you know that risking life, limb, and your (admittedly tenuous) grip on reality is the best kick in the pants this side of naked skydiving. It's darn fun hunting down extra-dimensional beasties from beyond the stars. So don't get Call of Cthulhu: Arkham Horror - Kingsport Horror Expansion because you feel a duty to this little blue/green spheroid that houses your stuff. Do it for the brain-sucking aliens.
is a brand-new version of the old "Ogre Lite" reference sheet. It isn't really Ogre Miniatures on two sides of an 8.5" x 11" sheet, because if we could do that we wouldn't need the rest of the book, but it IS a great cheat-sheet for experienced players, and a perfect handout for newbies at a convention.
And it's a FREE download on e23. Riiiight . . . here!
That's all very well, you ask, but what about Ogre Miniatures itself? When will it be out in PDF?
Real . . . soon . . . now . . .
I decided to get the new Lite out of the way first, and it took longer than expected. Months longer. Don't ask. But now it IS out of the way, and I'll be looking at the actual Ogre Miniatures revisions again. They've been ALMOST done for those same months.
-- Steve Jackson
Warehouse 23 News: Tiny Guy, Big Name
Trigun: Large Plush Super-Deformed Vash the Stampede is a very cumbersome way of saying "cute." But that's okay. He's cute enough that we're willing to let it slide.
June 6, 2008: Illuminated Site of the Week: See A Penny, Pick It Up . . .
. . . the rest of the day, you'll have good luck. Or the first of the almost two trillion cents you'll need to fill the Empire State Building. Love them or hate them, pennies are everywhere (which seems to be why people love them or hate them), and The Megapenny Project tries to give a sense of scale to the little copper nuisances with a series of abstract exercises. Ostensibly a lesson for kids and math fans, it's another of those "What if" illustrations that may have less to do with science than it does with wish fulfillment. Go on - pretend you haven't wondered what all the pennies look like. -- Suggested by Rev. Pee Kitty
Warehouse 23 News: Zeal Is Its Own Excuse
Sick of all those filthy mutants and xenos messing up the glorious Emperor's galaxy? Of course you are! If you weren't, we'd have to kill you. And you don't want us to kill you, right? Right. So be the killer instead of the killee. Purchase Dark Heresy: Inquisitor's Handbook and Purge the Unclean. Okay, you'll still probably end up dead, but it is better to die for the Emperor than to live for yourself. At least, that's what they told us. (Over and over and over . . .)
was one of my favorite webcomics for years and years.* Okay, I suppose technically it never stopped being one of my favorites, but after Andy Weir got burned out and quit updating completely, I didn't read it nearly as often . . . though I do like his new strip, Cheshire Crossing.
But recently I found out, entirely by accident, that Andy had started updating Casey & Andy again. Yay. He's officially bringing the story to a close (so we're getting some interesting revelations), but that beats just stopping in the middle. Of course, stopping in the middle beats the heck out of continuing a comic that has become work . . . but as a fan, I'm glad he got his mojo back.
-- Steve Jackson
* Favorite enough that we published an official GURPS mini-worldbook, GURPS Casey & Andy. I suppose once the comic finishes its run we'll have to consider an update.
True20 Adventure Roleplaying wasn't quite true enough for Green Ronin. It seemed true enough on the surface, and they'd certainly never caught it in a lie, but deep down they knew there was room for more truth. This desire to increase the truism of the book led to a revised edition. So now it's back, and truer than ever! Truly, a monumental achievement.
June 4, 2008: Warehouse 23 Summer Giveaway Extravaganzathon-O-Rama 2008
Behold, mortals! Summer is upon us. This means it's now time to enjoy all that sunshine and blue sky the way you should: by sitting inside and playing games!
Wait, hear us out!
Warehouse 23 has a selection of games we want in your homes and on your gaming tables. And we're so darn desperate, we're willing to give them to you free! Well, mostly. See, we're running a little contest called The Warehouse 23 Summer Giveaway Extravaganzathon-O-Rama! It works like this:
Any customer purchasing product with a total retail value of over $10 may enter the contest. Every full $10 spent in your order qualifies you for an additional entry in the drawing.
To enter:
- Place an order with Warehouse 23 between now and Midnight (CST) on June 30st, 2008.
- In the "Special Shipping Instructions" field, include the following code to be automatically entered in the contest: giveaway
- Our system will automatically assign the appropriate amount of drawing entries based on the total product value of your order.
On July 1st, Warehouse 23 will randomly select one Grand Prize winner, who will receive the complete prize pack: 5 card games, with a retail value of over one hundred bucks! (Specifically: $103.90. But, come on, that's not nearly as exciting or marketable as a nice, round $100.)
Ten second-prize winners will also be selected. Each will receive one randomly selected game from the prize pack! Now go read all the boring legal stuff and fine print!
Warehouse 23 News: The Original Kung-Fu Pandas
Yeah, World of Warcraft: Dark Factions has info on stuff other than the Pandaren, but . . . who cares? You know why you want the book. Just give in to the awesomeness of it and you can safely consider your life complete.
This isn't quite the same, but it will tide me over until my next package arrives . . .
-- Paul Chapman
Warehouse 23 News: Warehouse 23 Top Ten
Warehouse 23 has posted an updated Top 10 Page for May. Check it out, and see what all the cool kids are buying . . .
How great is Sean "Dr. Kromm" Punch, the GURPS Line Editor? He's so great, when he sleeps, he will sometimes spontaneously generate GURPS material.
Witness, then, Power-Ups 1: Imbuements. Looking to design a character who channels his own power into any weapon he picks up? This is the expansion for you. Kromm has created new skills, somewhere between cinematic combat skills (like Breaking Blow) and magic spells, to give GURPS characters even more flexibility.
Flaming swords? No problem. Knocking down doors with any pistol you have on hand? Easy. Making thrown playing cards explode?
Well, you can do it, but that's just silly.
-- Paul Chapman
If you're into the whole "woe is me, I must now eat this dude and live forever" thing. The people featured in Vampire: The Requiem - Daeva: Kiss of the Succubus certainly are. In fact, they've honed it into an art. Or a science, maybe. Whatever. They're really good at it. So where better to learn than from the masters?
As reported earlier this month, Maker Faire is a gathering of hand-made gadgets, power tools perverted into performance art, and general geek glee. The attendance for the Bay Area event was over 65,000, with over 500 exhibitors. There's a few thousand images of the festivities on Flikr and YouTube.
And this October, it's coming to Austin. Oh, you know we've got to see this . . .
-- Paul Chapman
You may think that goes without saying when the book is called Demon Hunters, but we like to be explicit. Now that that's out of the way, Something Wicked awaits your righteous fury. Grab something pointy, work up a good grimace, and get crackin'.
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