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Illuminated Site of the Week
November 30, 2008: It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like . . . Chibithulhu
The Christmas Chibithulhus are on their way, and should hit Warehouse 23 next week.
Preorder now, and you'll be one more gift closer to being done with holiday shopping.
-- Paul Chapman
Warehouse 23 News: Tired Of Hearing About The Sale Yet?
Well, consider all the people who've been out, seeing family, traveling, and otherwise unable to visit this website. What about them? They deserve to know about the 10%-off sale (and attached giveaway!) that Warehouse 23 has going on. What kind of holiday spirit would it be to exclude people? And besides, this is the last day to get in on the offer. You'll never hear about this amazing, mind-blowing, jaw-dropping sale again, because this is your only chance to get in on the great deals and neato giveaways. But, you know . . . No pressure.
The Vorkosigan Saga Sourcebook and Roleplaying Game, several years in the making, has been the focus of a lot of work over the past few weeks as we work on the final stages of layout. In fact, we're so close to done that the bibliography is now online. Just a little longer and this book will be finished and ready to go to the printer. At which point we get to move to the next project; we've got some reprints and more new games in the pipeline.
-- Phil Reed
Warehouse 23 News: Is That Sale Still On?
Sure is! It's running all weekend, not just Black Friday itself. But act fast, buy now, and all those other platitudes, because come the morning of December 1st, the sale will evaporate like so many unfulfilled dreams of saving money. Is this a good time to buy gifts for the gamer in your life? No. This is the best time.
Last weekend was BoardGameGeekCon, and we got back to Austin late Sunday night. I can safely say I've never been to an event like it before, but I'm looking forward to doing it again, next year.
I'd especially like to thank Vickie, Tim, and Jeff for the taking great care of all the vendors, and Derk and Aldie for putting the whole shebang together. But most of all, the attendees were fantastic -- friendly, excited, and best of all, eager to game.
Given that attendance is capped at 750, you'll need to be quick to get registered next year. But in the meantime, BoardGameGeek is a fabulous resource for all gamers, be your "flavor" board or card, casual or hard core.
-- Paul Chapman
Warehouse 23 News: But More Than Just A Sale . . .
The sale Warehouse 23 has going on right now is more than just a store-wide discount. It's also a giveaway. There's some pretty cool stuff to be had, all of which you can see here, but one prize stands above the rest. If you're willing to do all your holiday gift-shopping here, you might just walk away with something signed by He Who Has No Name (But We Call Him Steve Jackson Anyway).
In the finest of retail traditions, Warehouse 23 is discounting everything in the store by 10% for Black Friday – and the whole weekend!
That’s right, between now and 9am (CST) on December 1, 2008, everything in Warehouse 23 has been marked down!
But that’s not good enough for our customers – nope; to add a little icing to that delicious discount cake we will be including free gifts for customers who go the extra mile and spend the extra dollars! We are offering free gifts for purchases of $50, $100, $250, and $500. Spend $500 and you get a free copy of the popular Munchkin Quest, signed by Steve Jackson. Take a look at the other gifts, details, and restrictions.
-Marsy
P.S. Remember that both the Steve Jackson Games offices and Warehouse 23 are closed this Thursday and Friday (that's November 27th and 28th) in observance of the Thanksgiving holiday! We'll all be back bright and early on Monday, December 1st, but please bear with us if responses are a bit slow as we catch up from the long weekend.
Warehouse 23 News: Giving Thanks For Fantastic Savings!
Warehouse 23, not one to be above exploiting an holiday to make a buck, has a sale going on! Everything in the store - absolutely everything - is 10% off. Is now the best time to save a couple bucks on the much awaited, much acclaimed, and much pushed Munchkin Quest? Mmmmmm, could be. Proceed thee to yon hyperlink for details.
Beneath the trees, where nobody sees, they'll hide and seek as long as they please. Today? The day the Chibithulhus had their picnic.
I'd love to tell you that we painstakingly set up this shot. Checked lighting, gathered props, braved uncooperative weather, and all those expected things. Instead, I'm going to speak honestly with you folks. I will tell you the Elder God's Honest Truth: we found them like this. Out behind the building, just . . . chillin'.
No, I'm not sure what they were preparing to eat. You know what? I don't want to know. I'll sleep better not knowing. But you? You'll sleep better with one of these in your bedroom!
. . . Yeah, you saw what I did there, didn't you? Hey, if Paul wanted subtlety, he shouldn't have asked me to write this one. Besides, it's not like buying one of these little plush guys (quandary: do they have gender?) is going to kill you. I think. That certainly sounds right, anyway . . .
-- Fox Barrett
Did we mentioned that the Ogre Miniatures: Combine Laser Tower is back in stock? No? Whoopsie . . . So, uh, yeah, the Combine Laser Tower is back! Part resin, part metal, all trouble for enemy Ogres. (Pew-pew sounds not included.)
That's a glow-in-the-dark Munchkin Quest pawn. It does, indeed, glow in the dark. It is very, very cool . . . too cool, in fact, not to share.
(The glowing part, that is. The product that this piece will be included in -- that's staying a secret for now.)
-- Paul Chapman
Warehouse 23 News: If You Like To Play Games In Rhyme
Then this will one ensure you have a good time. Killer Bunnies and the Journey to Jupiter! Truly, there is no game . . . super-er? Okay, so, the entire game isn't in rhyme (and, now, neither is this advertisement). But there's plenty of wordplay going on. Indeed, the puns come on a bit thick. One might even say the game is im-pun-etrable! Get it? Im-pun-etrable. (Have him killed. -Ed.)
Of the games that we've sold out of in the last few years, SPANC has to be one of the most requested reprints. And since we love Phil Foglio's catgirls as much as the next guy . . . Well, that isn't strictly true, as I'm currently sitting next to Fade, who designed the game, and I'm pretty sure she loves it more than most.
When I first wrote up this entry, SPANC was on the boat, heading to our warehouse. Then, many interesting things happened, like GURPS Thaumatology, Munchkin Quest, and Munchkin 7 arriving. Now, it appears SPANC has arrived at our warehouse, and will be shipping out to distributors, and then on to retailers, ASAP.
Watch for the return of Space Pirate Amazon Ninja Catgirls in the next few weeks.
-- Paul Chapman
Ah, no, not quite. Ars Magica: Hedge Magic is not for your garden. It's more about magical traditions outside the Order of Hermes. You . . . could certainly cast some of the spells in here on plants, but . . . that's not really what Atlas is getting at.
November 23, 2008: Illuminated Site of the Week: Cuttin' And Scratchin' Are Aspects Of Their Game
Ever played one of those games where you try to out-Google each other, coming up with a word combination that appears most often in a search engine? Now you've got musical and video accompaniment as DJ Battle adds imagery to an animated DJ-bot based on your choices.
-- Suggested by Gavin Coughlan
Broooom-vroom-room! Buuuuuuurrr-byruuuuuur-vurrrrrr - screeeech! Vrooom, vroom vrooom! Byuuuuuur-byooooooor-byaaaaaaaaa! Woo! Huh? Oh, sorry. Formula D. Dignity-schmignity, pushing cars around is fun. Let no one tell you differently.
By the time you read this, we'll be hip deep in the Mecca of boardgaming -- BoardGameGeekCon, organized by the founders of BoardGameGeek.com. We'll be rolling dice and moving meeples with the hardest of the hardcore gamers.
We'll be taking Munchkin Quest, the prototype of Munchkin Quest 2 -- Looking for Trouble, Revolution, and a couple of others we've got in the pipe. We'll be teaching Munchkin to anyone who will sit still for it, and we'll be looking to play some new games from around the world. (Personally, I'm looking forward to a multi-set track of Pitch Car.)
We'll also be setting up a booth, which is something of a rarity for us these days. The tables will be stocked with the entire Munchkin line, including Chibithulhu -- both the green and pink varieties.
We may have pictures or further updates (at least on Twitter) as the weekend progresses. If you're attending, stop by the vendor area between games and say hello!
-- Paul Chapman
The downturn out economy has taken seems to have even affected ninja. No longer able to find pirates to dismember, they have resorted to Ninja Versus Ninja. Still, at least this way it's a fair fight, and it will give the pirate population a chance to breed back up to a reasonable number.
As foretold by our Daily Illuminator announcement from November 7, the old version of Pyramid has closed its doors. Although it was a decision mandated by fiscal reality, it was no less difficult to say good-bye to the decade-old format. However, we believe that Pyramid's new direction gives us the best shot at fulfilling its goal of bringing readers the best in roleplaying-game goodness.
Starting today (well, late yesterday), the latest incarnation of Pyramid has begun. Each month, a new issue of Pyramid will be available as a PDF from e23.
Each issue of the new Pyramid is devoted to a theme. Our inaugural issue is entitled Pyramid #3/1: Tools of the Trade - Wizards. It features new articles from Sean Punch (GURPS Line Editor and best-selling author), Stefan Jones ("GURPS Unnight and GURPS MacGuffin Alphabet), Matt Riggsby (GURPS Locations: Tower of Octavius), and more.
Thanks, once again, to the readers of the past, present, and future incarnations of Pyramid. If you enjoyed the previous version of Pyramid, we hope you like our new approach. If you haven't tried us out before, or if it's been a while and you want to see how we've changed, we hope the new format has made it easier than ever to get just the material you want. And if you can't get enough Pyramid -- which we hope is the case! -- we also have subscriptions in three-month, six-month, and twelve-month flavors.
If you were a paid subscriber to the old version when we made the announcement on November 7, and you didn't request a refund, you should already have the first issue in your account. Log into e23, click on Account, then go to your File List. Your issue should be waiting for you! (And if you make sure your e-mail address is current, you should get notification when new issues are available.)
-- Steven Marsh
Editor of Pyramid Magazine
Find your life too safe and uncomplicated? Find you trust your friends and relatives absolutely and without question? We have a cure for that. Just play Battlestar Galactica: The Board Game. Don't get us wrong; the game is absolutely the most fun you can have before government regulation kicks in. It will, however, cause you to develop paranoid delusions before the night is out. Guaranteed. Play it often enough and you'll be accusing your dog of treachery.
This week was what we in the industry call "the street date" for Munchkin Quest. That's the day when, if everything goes right, all retailers should have the game on their shelves.
So . . . go! Buy! Play!
-- Paul Chapman
Warehouse 23 News: They Won't Really Make You Go Crazy
We got in some new Official Call of Cthulhu Dice Sets. One is beige with black markings, the other green with glow-in-the-dark markings. We're at least 99% certain that looking at them will not actually drive you to insanity. We're pretty sure that's all just a bunch of advertising hokum. Pretty sure.
Yep, we've joined the 21st century and opened a Twitter account. You can see the feed on our front page, right between the Warehouse 23 news and the search box. If you have a Twitter account, you can follow us by clicking here.
Don't worry about the stereotypical "I'm bored" posts, though. There are so many cool things going on right now that we'll be lucky to have a single moment of boredom for the next year. We'll tweet from BoardgamegeekCon this week, from playtest sessions, from that glorious moment when we open the proof copy of Munchkin Quest 2 . . .
Various staffers will be posting from wherever they are (I so wish we'd gotten everything set up before Phil and SJ went to Essen!), each with their own voices. We'll sign each entry, so you know who to look for when you read "Anybody else standing in the Convention X registration line?" or who to blame for a particularly painful pun.
-- Paul Chapman
Warehouse 23 News: On The "Offensive"
Keyrings are important. They hold keys, after all, and where would we be without our keys? Well yes, "keyless," for one. But "locked out of all our stuff" is really what we're going for. So how do you keep some unscrupulous rogue from making off with your precious door openers? Simply attach them to the Swearbears: Classic Keychain. Now anyone who maliciously grabs your keys will be accosted by such a terrible manner of vile expletives that they will be forced to abandon their key-stealing plans.
Want an early Christmas present? We're auctioning off our proof copy of the Christmas Chibithulhu. But act fast -- the bidding ends Tuesday November 18, around 3pm Central time.
If you miss out on the auction, don't worry! Warehouse 23 is taking preorders on them right now, and will be shipping them out in time to give as holiday gifts.
-- Paul Chapman
Warehouse 23 News: We Got Kobolds! This Is Not A Drill!
Wait, false alarm. It's just Kobold Quarterly. Sorry, folks, you'll have to put the ballista back in the closet. No kobold skeet today. Oooo, but these articles aren't half bad. That should help abate our bloodlust, for a time.
Last week, the digital shelves of e23 saw not one, but two giant-sized releases.
First, Fantasy Set 8 - Giants from the Cardboard Heroes series features . . . you guessed it: giants! 15 towering humanoids to fee your foe fum, if you will.
Second, perhaps not a literal giant, but certainly one that dominates its particular niche of our hobby: GURPS Classic: Traveller. This is the book that launched the GURPS Traveller line for GURPS Third Edition. In addition to more mechanics than you can shake a stick at, these 179 pages contain one of the best primers on the Traveller history and mythology ever published. Whether you're a Traveller grognard or just a space opera junkie, this book is a must have.
-- Paul Chapman
This is a blatant and unapologetic attempt to get you to purchase a copy of Monty Python: Pythonopoly. You certainly don't need the game, but we would really like it if you would purchase a copy regardless. In fact, we haven't even played the game. It could come with a free bag of The Plague for all we know. Still, we hope you find that the honesty of this statement entices you into the purchase.
Frag Gold Edition
Game starts. Enemy in sight . . . Frag him! Grab his stuff! Run! Get a bigger gun! Grab some armor! There he is again! Frag him! Run . . . you're hit! You're down. Respawn! Grab a weapon! Start again!
Frag is a computer game without a computer -- a "first-person shooter" on a tabletop. Move your fighter and frag your foes. Draw cards for weapons, armor, and gadgets. Move through the blood spatters to restore your own health! If you die, you respawn and come back shooting!
The new Gold Edition offers upgraded components: a two-sided solid gameboard, plastic figures, erasable character cards, and 18 (!!) dice, to roll really BIG attacks.
Boxed game with 112 cards, six plastic pawns, 18 dice, six erasable character cards, one dry erase marker, and a two-sided color gameboard. Stock #1901, ISBN 978-1-55634-774-0. $49.95.
-- Paul Chapman
Warehouse 23 News: It's A Robot! It's A Plane!
No, it's some sort of robo-plane thingy! Robotech, the world's premier source of robotechnology, has a roleplaying game. The Macross Saga Sourcebook covers what is, without a doubt, the coolest part of the series. How can we say that with such certainty? Easy. The hero of the story passes over the youthful, bubbly, pop superstar for the smart, mature, career-minded military woman. Gotta love a story with a happy ending! Oh, and jet-bots.
A semi-common question from those who have seen Chibithulhu has been "Where did you get those?"
The surprising answer: Our orchard, seen here.
The green Chibithulhu crop was great, and the fruits are available through friendly local game stores everywhere. The pink harvest was quite small -- the sugar and spice we used as fertilizer on those trees didn't interact well with the soil. As a result, we only had enough Pink Chibithulhu for Warehouse 23.
These plushes were our first experiment with PNA (Plushonucleic Acid) manipulations. Although the fruits are excellent, the trees seem to be growing in non-Euclidean directions. So get 'em while they're available -- they're great Christmas gifts!
(And speaking of Christmas . . . we've discovered that if you freeze these fruits, they turn an adorable white. We happen to have a subzero containment center, and should have a batch of these holiday-theme plushes ready for Warehouse 23 near the end of the month.
-- Paul Chapman
They're just written that way. The villainous folks featured in Star Hero: Scourges of the Galaxy probably all have very good reasons for blowing up orphanages. You really shouldn't let that stop you from punching them in the face, however.
We are closing in on a final schedule for 2009, and Ogre 6th Edition is not on it.
This makes me very unhappy, but I agree with the decision. There are two problems:
First and worst, we set a very high goal for the quantity and quality of boards and pieces. Think of it as the Designer's Edition . . . We'd have to compromise on this goal in order to bring the game in at a reasonable price, and right now printing costs are going up, not down. We will keep working on it, but we're not going to leave the game on the schedule when we don't know yet how we can do it. (This approach may work for GM on the Volt car, and we wish them lots of luck, but we're not going there. And remember, we made more money last year than GM did.)
Second, we are understaffed on the admin side. Until we can hire at least one more experienced game editor, print buyer, or development manager, we'll continue to generate ideas faster than we can get them to you.
-- Steve Jackson
Warehouse 23 News: e23: Less Think, More Buy
Well, what do we have here? Legend Quest - Gold Edition, eh? "Gold" sounds nice. Sounds shiny and glittery. Very shiny. In fact, you feel yourself drawn - no, compelled beyond all reason to acquire it for yourself. Shiny, shiny. Yummy shiny. Wait, no! Don't consult your budget! Stop! Argh. Next time . . . the shiny will not be denied! (This game is a digital product available for download through e23.)
If you've ever wondered "just who are all these people, anyway?" then we've got a treat for you. Our brand-new Staff Profiles page gives you a peek into the personal tastes and backgrounds of those fine folks who put together the games you enjoy.
Reading through the entries, it's like a core sample of geekdom. Writers and editors? Check. IT professionals? Yep. Lead pushers and minis painters? Four of those. Roleplayers and board/card game addicts? Unsurprisingly, yes. Video games? Of course, and even a shout-out to a VIC-20 for extra geek points.
-- Paul Chapman
PS from SJ: Checking posted photos: pirates 3, ninja 0. Go pirates. Arrrr.
Warehouse 23 News: e23: Roleplay With Yourself
Mythic Role Playing is a little different. Usually, you need some sort of screen-wielding overlord to keep the bloodthirsty mob known as "players" in line. Not so, with Mythic! Heck, you don't even need other players. In fact, left on its own, we're pretty sure the game plays itself. You gotta love a game that's as cool as it is spooky. (This game is a digital product available for download through e23.)
One main battery: $87 bazillion.
Two secondaries: $37 zillion.
One missile rack, with four internal missiles, and two external missiles: $497 bajillion.
ECM powerful enough that attackers cannot combine fire unless they're attacking from an adjacent hex: Priceless.*
* Technically, the Ogre Ninja is only $14, and the newly revised and recently released Ogre Miniatures is only $9.95. So while not "priceless," they're a heck of a lot easier on the wallet than actual cybertank weaponry. Or my credit card bill, even.
Plus, if you already have a copy of Ogre Miniatures, all you need is the Ogre Miniatures Update, which is free -- so that's getting closer to "without price."
-- Paul Chapman
Warehouse 23 News: e23: Whoops, We Overshot The Future
We're not sure how we managed it, but we seem to have bypassed ourselves on the timeline again. That is, according to Space: 1889 we've been to Mars. In fact, we go there quite a lot. You wouldn't think we would, as the natives don't seem to appreciate having their airspace violated by our spaceblimps. But hey, who knew that Mars would be such a warlike planet, right? So buy a book (or two; they're cheap) today. You've got 100 years to catch up on. (This game is a digital product available for download through e23.)
Munchkin Quest has rooms, and doors, and monsters, and gold, and all kind of STUFF. We created it as a game, but we realize now it's a high-quality Dungeon Crawl Kit.
So . . . what can you do with it? We had a lot of ideas, but you know what? We're not telling. We're not even going to give you a hint. We don't want our ideas to get in the way of yours. We started off calling this a "scenario contest," but no . . . you might come up with a neat idea that's not a scenario. Let your imagination go crazy.
What kind of vaguely gamelike thing can you do with your Dungeon Crawl Kit?
It can use all, some, or none of the MQ rules. The only limitation is: you must restrict your components to what's in the Munchkin Quest core set, plus the things everyone has around the house (pencil, paper, kiwi fruit, Van de Graaf generators, and so on).
Send them to greatunknown@sjgames.com. We'll read through them and find our favorites. If we use your idea you'll get credit and a copy of the product. The entries that make us laugh the most, regardless of actual usability, will get recognition, and their creators will be showered with appropriately themed gifts.
All submissions become property of Steve Jackson Games. Entries must be submitted before January 5, 2009. Please use a Rich Text Format (.rtf) for any attachments.
No, you don't need to use the title "The Great Unknown" -- feel free to come up with any title you'd like. (Although it is an awesome title.)
-- Paul Chapman
Warehouse 23 News: There's A Card Game, Too!
Long before Munchkin was the massively successful multimedia super-franchise (or "board game") we know today, there was a card game. It was what birthed all this. And, believe it or not, there's still support for it! We decided that the card game could use some more cards, so here's Munchkin 7 - More Good Cards.
Nothing to do with the California gold rush of 1849, but GURPS Thaumatology: Age of Gold does sparkle. Written by the author of GURPS Thaumatology (now shipping!), Age of Gold is a campaign setting filled with pulp alchemists, cowled crime fighters, and two-fisted men of adventure, with strange magics and their wielders roaming the shadows.
Phil Masters has taken many of the options and rules from Thaumatology and build a world around them, mixing Golden Age supers with pulp action into a frothy brew of magic and mayhem. Whether you're looking for your next campaign, or a worked example of Thaumatology's various magical systems, Age of Gold is the potion you need.
-- Paul Chapman
Got Munchkin Quest yet? 'Cause, y'know . . . we've still got a few copies. And, y'know, we heard . . . y'know, people might be, like . . . a teeny bit interested.
Have we mentioned that we'll be at BoardGameGeekCon this month? Seems like we have, but the mists of time occlude my vision. (Yes, you mentioned it back in May. Get glasses - ed.)
As the hour approaches, it behoves us to remind you, gentle reader, that despite its name, BoardGameGeekCon does not restrict itself to boardgames. Yes, we'll have Munchkin Quest in the house, as the kids are saying these days. And we'll have prototypes of Revolution, The Stars Are Right, and [FNORD] available for playing and commenting on. But there will be card games like Munchkin, there will be games of dexterity like Pitch Car (an office favorite), and there will be games which defy description -- carnivals of chits and cards and dice and counter boards.
There will also be a certain retail element to the show. Our part of said element will include copies of Munchkin Quest and perhaps Munchkin Quest 2 -- Looking for Trouble -- we'll see -- but assuredly big stacks of those card games we love so much, like Deluxe Illuminati and Chez Geek.
Stop by and visit us!
-- Paul Chapman
Warehouse 23 News: It's Not Stealing If They're All Dead
It's a good thing that all civilizations eventually collapse and leave sprawling, labyrinthine, treasure-filled ruins for future generations to pilfer. If not, what would we do with our time? Nothing worth writing epics about, that's for sure. So it's a good thing we have books like Glorantha: Ruins of Glorantha, lest we all be very boring heroes.
We've sold out of our first shipment of Munchkin Quest. All 15,000 copies have arrived, been counted, and were shipped right back out to distributors and retailers.
Now, we're not "out" out -- we have another shipment arriving in a week or so. And you should be able to run out and buy a copy, as the folks we sold them to are putting them on the shelves of their stores Real Soon Now.
But . . . wow.
-- Paul Chapman
Warehouse 23 News: More Fun Than Is Probably Legal
For a game about arguably the most famous serial killer in history, Mr. Jack features surprisingly few dead people. It also features a surprisingly large amount of fun. What's most surprising, however, is that they somehow made an amazing game yet more amazinger. Possibly even "amazingest." They did so by releasing the Mr. Jack Expansion. A simple name for a simple game that is simply the most fun two people can have without involving things we're not allowed to talk about on this site.
This year, Pyramid turned 15 years old. When it started in 1993, Pyramid was a bimonthly print magazine. We were proud of it. It offered a wide variety of articles covering the entire gaming industry, it had a lot of loyal readers, and it won awards. Over time, buying habits changed, and printing costs rose. A print magazine was no longer economical, so after 30 print issues, Pyramid shifted to a weekly subscription access website, complete with archives, newsgroups, and a chat room.
And that was good . . . for a while. Times have changed again.
With more and more content of all kinds available free on the web, subscription sales slumped. We hoped that subscribers would be willing to pay for extra quality. In trying to reach that goal, we made Pyramid SUCH a good deal, in terms of price per word, that all our effort on it earned very little money. The obvious conclusion was to either kill the magazine completely, or bring it in line with other products with similar budgets. We didn't want to kill it, so we reinvented it again.
The new Pyramid will be released monthly in PDF format. Each issue will contain four times the word count of the weekly Pyramid, and will be priced at $7.95 -- in line with our other PDFs of similar size. Each issue will have a specific theme. The first issue -- Tools of the Trade: Wizards -- will upload on Friday, November 21.
We know that some people will drop away because of the increased price, and we're sorry, but this is economic reality. We hope the new format will attract new readers to offset the loss . . . both regulars, and one-shot buyers interested in an issue's specific theme. If not, well, we tried -- this may not work, but the old way wasn't working, so a change was necessary.
- Today's issue -- Friday, November 7 -- is the final issue.
- The newsgroups will be closed down. Their functions have been taken over by our forums -- including one especially for Pyramid! We recognize that some readers feel attached to the old NNTP format; however, the web forums are the current standard for message boards, and we need to serve the broader audience.
- The archives will no longer freely accessible. We will collect the best of the online Pyramid's weekly run for a series of monthly "Pyramid Vault" releases, each on a specific theme.
- Of course, current Pyramid subscribers will be tempted to go through the archives, downloading their favorite articles, or pulling those they didn't have time to get to. We're a step ahead of you; we've compiled the entire archive and zipped the HTML files by year. Grab the year you want -- or all of them! -- and the articles are yours.
What happens to your current subscription?
- If you have a current Pyramid subscription, and you'd like to try the new format, it's easy! We'll automatically convert your current subscription, at full value, into a PDF subscription, at a significant discount off the cover price. Your subscription to the HTML version will convert over to six months of Pyramid PDF releases -- a $47 value. Yes, even if you only have one week left, and you let the subscription roll over, you'll get the full six months of the PDF.
- If you have a current Pyramid subscription, and you don't want to try the new format, please email pyramidrefunds@sjgames.com before November 21. We'll pro-rate your subscription for the amount of time it's been active since your last payment, and refund that amount. For example, if three months have elapsed since your last renewal, we will refund the remaining 9 months. Remember to include a mailing address. Please allow a few weeks for processing.
We'd like to thank everyone who subscribed to both earlier versions of Pyramid, and all the creators who submitted articles over the years. Looking back, we've already had a run to be proud of. Looking forward, we've got a good shot at many more years of quality articles.
Pyramid is dead (again)! Long live Pyramid!
-- Steven Marsh
Editor of Pyramid Magazine
Warehouse 23 News: More Than The Sum Of . . . Something
The Black Goat of the Woods is more than just an expansion for Arkham Horror. Perhaps not . . . much more, but we stand by our assessment nonetheless.
As announced earlier this week, and can be seen here, Munchkin Quest has arrived both in our warehouse and in Warehouse 23.
As terrifying and painful as the process was at times -- and believe me, it was painful -- the end result is very fulfilling. I was talking with Steve this morning and mentioned how seeing the stacks and stacks of copies of the game really nailed home the point that "We're done." This is the largest board game that I've ever worked on and I'm proud of our accomplishment. Thank you, John, Will, Randy, Alex -- and everyone who helped playtest the game and put up with us during the design and production process -- for your efforts. Together, we've created a great game that we are all proud of.
And thank you, Steve, for bringing in the spark that we built on to create Munchkin Quest. Your initial concepts, and guidance during the process, helped make it possible to go from "that's a neat idea" to "that's a big stack of boxes."
-- Phil Reed
Note: Last week's Game Day was moved to Friday, November 7 -- tomorrow. So please be patient; we'll be busy playing games, and may let many messages slide until Monday.
Warehouse 23 News: So What If You Already Have The Core Books?
Well, like we said, we've got supplementy stuff to push on you. Perhaps we could interest you in a canned adventure? We've got Dungeons & Dragons: P1 - King of the Trollhaunt Warren, hot off the . . . thing that . . . puts adventures into cans? Adventure cannery? Anyway, it's here, and it's hot! Buy it. Or, if you're more inclined towards game aids, maybe DU2 - Streets of Shadow Dungeon Tiles is your speed. It features . . . flatness on both sides and . . . art!
Just before taking off for Essen, I spent a half-day at the Maker Faire in Austin. It was fun; I'll go again next year.
You do have to thread your way among food booths, more food booths, SCREAMING battle-bot announcers, displays of fourteen kinds of junky "thing on a string" jewelry, and assorted science fair projects. It's worth it. Among the very best things I saw:
• An assortment of Robot Group displays, including a huuuuuuge Thing that flashed lights, went up 20 feet in the air, and fired ping-pong balls.
• These very, very cool mad science alphabet blocks. I arrived just too late to get a set with all the letters. Fine. They sell online, as you saw if you followed that link. I shall order more than one set, because I really can't spell enough with only one.
• A dome tent blowing upside-down through the air, fully inflated and looking almost as though it was supposed to be up there . . . until it hit their power lines. Flash BANG. That was not part of the scheduled entertainment.
• The tuned Tesla coils presented by Arc Attack, and, yes, they actually make music. Loud, rough, uncomplicated music, but real music, full of energy (so to speak) and with its own distinct character. The display is part of the experience - it's a modern calliope!
I didn't expect a lot from this event, because the pre-event web page was frankly pathetic. I was pleasantly surprised, and perhaps next year the organizers will put some effort into a web presence worthy of the exhibitors they draw. But it doesn't matter to me now - I'll go again, because now I know.
-- Steve Jackson
Warehouse 23 News: If You're Gonna Consume . . .
. . . then, by the gods, you may as well do it conspicuously! We've got the deluxe Dungeons & Dragons core books, in all their shiny foil splendor! They're like the regular versions but . . . more . . . neater! So go for broke! Just don't, uh, go broke. We've got supplements to sell you, too.
The following items were received into the warehouse, and have been shipped off to various distributors. Your friendly local game store should be seeing them any day now!
Munchkin 7 - More Good Cards
You Asked for It!
A munchkin can never have enough good cards . . . so we bring you . . . More Good Cards!
In this small but mighty expansion, you'll find the cards that you, yes, YOU, asked for in our online survey.
- More Wandering Monsters! The best from Munchkin Blender, with new art, along with the brand new . . . And Its Little Friends.
- More Monster Enhancers! New ways to beef up the critters your opponent is facing.
- More Cheats! More copies of the classic Cheat!, plus the TRULY abusive Cheat With Both Hands and Cheat Like There's No Tomorrow!
- More Curses! Don't Call Me Shirley from Blender, and two all-new cards, diabolic and hilarious!
- More Wishing Rings! Actually, just one. We wouldn't want to spoil too many of those Curses, would we?
Plus potions, items, and item enhancers! Shuffle them all in, or just add your favorites.
Munchkin 7 -- More Good Cards is an expansion for the classic Munchkin set.
56 cards and a rulesheet, in a tuckbox. Stock #1460, ISBN 978-1-55634-786-3. $9.95.
Munchkin Quest
Kill the monster, grab the treasure, stab your buddy. That's what it's all about. Now, Munchkin comes to the boardgame.
Cooperate with the whole group, adventure with a partner, or strike out on your own. You don't know what's behind a door until you open it . . . then another room is added to the dungeon. Battle monsters for power and treasure, or send them after your friends. Reach Level 10, and then get out alive if you can!
Designed by Steve Jackson and illustrated by John Kovalic, this boardgame doesn't take itself seriously. Except for the loot - munchkins are always serious about the loot!
Now shipping to a store near you!
11.75" x 11.75" x 3.5" box, with two dozen 3.5" square heavy cardstock room tiles, dozens of link connectors, 200 full-color cards, over three dozen monster standies, dice, rulesheet, and enough tokens, level counters, and sculpted plastic pawns for four players. Stock #1470, ISBN 978-1-55634-767-2. $49.95.
GURPS Thaumatology
Feel the Power!
Fantasy settings are defined by their magic . . . so different worlds need different magic systems. GURPS Thaumatology has GURPS Fourth Edition updates of the best Third Edition magic variants, plus many all-new options. This mighty tome includes:
- Minor tweaks for the spell-based magic of the Basic Set: restructuring prerequisites and colleges, modifying Magery and mana, new magical energy sources, adapting spells on the fly, and more.
- Radical revisions of spell-based magic, including detailed versions of the clerical and ritual magic options hinted at in the Basic Set, and the return of that Third Edition classic, "unlimited mana."
- Traditional alternatives to spells, such as ceremonial, spirit-mediated, and runic magic.
- World-shaking freeform magic.
- Magic as inherent powers.
- An in-depth look at material magic, with new alchemy, herbalism, and enchantment options; rules for free-willed items and magical gadgets; and guidelines for "the stuff of raw magic."
- Notes on adapting real-world occult concepts – such as the Laws of Magic, astrology, and traditional material components – to any magic system.
- Guidelines for running magic-oriented games, advice on combining magic systems, and detailed outlines for four distinctly different fantastic campaigns.
GURPS Thaumatology requires the GURPS Basic Set, Fourth Edition. GURPS Magic is recommended but not required. The discussions of different magical styles would enhance any game that features magic.
272 pages. Hardcover. Stock #01-0107, ISBN 978-1-55634-758-0. $39.95.
-- Paul Chapman
Warehouse 23 News: Invincibility Guaranteed!*
Got a back? Of course you do! You also probably have a lot of stuff, too. So why bring up these two seemingly unrelated things? Well, believe it or not, there's a device that you can wear on your back that lets you carry lots and lots of your stuff! Incredible! What is this marvelous invention? Why, it's the Monty Python: Black Knight Backpack! Buy one today! Unless you have several backs! Then buy several! Then go see a doctor! (*Invincibility not guaranteed.)
November 3, 2008: More Creatures And A Call For Playtesters
The darkness lurks, waiting, under the sea. It hides in riverbeds and lakes, judging its victims. Even the streets of civilization are not safe from perilous forces that pervert the expected. Beware.
Given that lead-in, what else could it be but a new installment of Creatures of the Night? This series combines mysterious beasts with rock-solid game stats, held together with large doses of adventure seeds, and Volume 5 continues the tradition. Whether in urban street or rural pond, no campaign is safe.
And for more traditional opponents, Cardboard Heroes: Fantasy Set 6 has printable armies of golems, blobs, insect men, hobgoblins, gargoyles, imps, and even a cockatrice!
And on more mental matters:
We are looking for playtesters for a new e23 supplement: GURPS Psionic Powers. Beyond new abilities, this book will unify existing, optional rules for psi into a cohesive system -- one that brings back power level and skill, along with a healthy dose of flavor:
- Multiple levels of power for almost every ability, making customization a breeze.
- Exciting new Psi Techniques, which let you bend the rules . . . if you can pull of the skill rolls.
- Dozens of new psionic perks. Add an entirely new (minor) ability to your psi for a mere character point.
- A single set of rules for psionic skill modifiers and the results of the roll.
- Rules for detecting psi, whether you're looking next door or inside someone's mind.
- And much more, including new modifiers and four additional power groups for those who need even more options!
Playtesters will need access to and familiarity with GURPS Powers as well as the Basic Set in general and a Pyramid subscription current through the end of playtest period (approximately the end of November).
Prospective playtesters please e-mail jwilson@io.com with [PPPT] (for "Psionic Powers PlayTest") in the subject, and include your preferred e-mail address for the closed playtest mailing list message, correct spelling of your name as it may appear in print, your Pyramid login name, and a few words about your qualifications, experience, and current gaming group(s).
Lack of experience with GURPS and playtesting in general will not disqualify you. Newer players' impressions are very important, and we encourage first-time playtesters to apply for a reserved portion of slots available, as well as those with professional or other real-life experience with the subject matter.
-- Paul Chapman
Warehouse 23 News: Let's Get This Party Started!
Heh heh, see, it's the Dungeons & Dragons Starter Set. "Started." "Party." There's a party of adventurers, and this is the . . . Look, people, it was either this or a joke about the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty and we'd like to see you try and use nuclear disarmament to sell a dungeon crawler. Your average group of adventurers has enough destructive force to put a Davy Crockett to shame.
We’re not sure what a "crad" is, either. But 56 of them will fit into a little tiny box.
When we checked the prototypes for Munchkin 7 -- More Good Cards, we found that a typo had crawled into the text on the hang-tab on top. It reads, in all its glory: "56 More Crads For Munchkin!"
We could have fixed it, of course. But it wasn’t on a game component. And it was so very stupid that it cracked us up when we saw it.
So we saved a bunch of trees and $3,500 by NOT reprinting the boxes.
However, we WILL fix it on the next printing. So please, please, please, if you are a compulsive collector, get one of these now, because we WILL NOT print any more on purpose. We still get mail asking us to reprint the Clerical Errata set, and no, we’re not going to! It was a goof, darn it!
And so is this. Though personally, I think that "crads" ought to be kind of like crabs, only meaner. Radioactive crabs, that’s it! Little flat square-cornered glow-in-the-dark crabs!
Munchkin 7 does NOT contain 56 of those.
As far as we know.
-- Steve Jackson
Munchkin 7 -- More Good Cards has arrived at our warehouse, and should begin shipping out to distributors next week. Watch for it to arrive on shelves mid-November.
Warehouse 23 News: So There Is Still Fun To Be Had?
The Greatest Holiday That Ever There Was has made its yearly voyage through our lives, and as we stand on the pier, waving and drying our tears, it's time to remember that we can still have fun during the next 365 day cycle. Somehow. A good place to start would be the Mr. Jack Expansion. Sure, you need the core game to actually use it, but hey, we sell that too. We're so helpful.
November 1, 2008: Job Opportunity: Warehouse 23 Clerk
Duncan Wright is leaving the Warehouse 23 staff, moving onward and upward. He will be missed, and he leaves behind him an immediate opening in our Austin warehouse.
This is a full-time, entry-level position. Among other duties, the Warehouse 23 clerk is responsible for picking and shipping orders, customer service, and maintaining our website.
If this job sounds like it might appeal to you, please see the full job listing for details.
-- Shadlyn Wolfe
But . . . but we still have Cthulhu Rising! Halloween can't be . . . but . . . then that means . . . awwwww maaaaan.
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