Archived News - June, 2001
Tunnels & Trolls, 6th edition?
010628 - Ken St. Andre, creator of Tunnels & Trolls, yesterday said that he is working on a 6th edition of that classic RPG. Whether or not it will be published is another story...
In other T&T news, X-Factor Studios is producing a computer RPG based on the game. It looks like the game is tentatively entitled Tunnels & Trolls: Lost Worlds.
Planetary Survey 4: Glisten
010628 - Steve Jackson Games is also now shipping Planetary Survey 4: Glisten.
What I find myself curious about is this: Why does SJG market its Deck Plans as "for Traveller" and its Planetary Surveys as "for GURPS Traveller"?
GURPS Spirits
010628 - Steve Jackson Games has shipped GURPS Spirits.
HackMaster Released--sort of
010627 - The Hacklopedia of Beasts, Volume 1, the first volume for Kenzer & Co.'s much anticipated HackMaster RPG, is available in stores now.
I said "now." Why are you still reading this? :)
For those who don't know, HackMaster is a licensed form of the first edition AD&D rules, heavily modified to fit the games we've seen glimpses of in the Knights of the Dinner Table comic.
Zorro at Printers
010626 - The good folks at Gold Rush Games say that The Legacy of Zorro Introductory Adventure Game is at the printer and will be shipping soon!
Science Fiction Army Packs for Budget Battlefield
010626 - MicroTactix Games released its first science fiction Army Packs for Budget Battlefield.
Harn Fenlanders
010626 - There's a new article posted on Harn.com. This one is Fenlanders, and it describes those who occupy the marshy fens in Kythlim Hundred in Vemionshire and Rethelsyne Hundred in Thelshire.
Fast-Play Star Wars
010625 - Wizards of the Coast is now offering Smugglers of Naboo, a set of fast-play rules for its Star Wars RPG, as a free .pdf download.
Alien Menace wants Play Testers--Not
010621 (updated 010625) - Citing the fact that the rules just didn't work, Alien Menace has pulled the the plug on the play testing. The original story is here for the sake of completeness:
Alien Menace is looking for play testers for a combat system engine designed for use in a couple of its titles. (Note: the company is looking for people will to play test the combat system, not the game itself).
Alien Menace screens all of its play testers by getting to know them a little bit before it starts soliciting opinions. The company is looking for "people who are sincerely interested in play testing, have something to add to the development process, can communicate coherently in a written form, and seem to be generally the kind of folks that we would like to work with."
If you think you might be interested, check out its website and send an e-mail!
Fool's Errand
010625 - Privateer Press follows in the same footsteps and is offering Fool's Errand, a D20 adventure, for purchase as a .pdf file.
San Angelo: The Dragon's Gate
010625 - Hero Games is making San Angelo: The Dragon's Gate, the Chinatown supplement for San Angelo, available for purchase as a .pdf file.
"Delta 3 is Down" Ships
010625 - British Isles Traveller Support (a.k.a. BITS) is now shipping its latest Traveller adventure: Delta 3 is Down.
GURPS Horror GM Screen Ships
010625 - Also shipping from Steve Jackson Games is the GURPS Horror GM's Screen. The name says it all, eh?
Deck Plan 4 Ships
010625 - Steve Jackson Games has shipped Deck Plan 4: Assault Cutter for use with GURPS Traveller.
GURPS Deadlands Conversion Rules in Playtest
010625 - Steve Jackson Games has placed a draft of the Deadlands to GURPS character conversion rules into playtest.
Win an Elmore
010622 - Games Unplugged magazine is giving away an original Larry Elmore painting. The painting is "Impending Danger," a 36"x24" oil-on-canvas painting set in the DragonLance setting. Full details can be found here.
Dragon Generator
010621 - Wizards of the Coast has posted an online and downloadable dragon generation tool. You can find it here.
Diomin Maps
010621 - Otherworld Creations has posted four new maps for use with their Diomin world. You can find them on the company's supplements page.
Traps & Treachery at the Printers
010621 - Fantasy Flight Games has sent it's Traps & Treachery supplement for D20 to the printers. Look for it at the end of July.
This will probably make a wonder supplement to my collection of Flying Buffalo's classic (and still available) Grimtooth line.
Crouching Wizard, Smashing Hammer
010621 - Atlas Games announced that Crouching Wizard, Smashing Hammer would be available this August. The company describes the product as a "plot encounter sequence" for Rune. Sounds like an adventure to me!
Free Seeker
010620 - The Seeker, the in-house magazine of Troll Lord Games, is now available for free. Copies may be obtained either printed or as a pdf. All you have to do is email seeker@trolllord.com and request a copy in the format they prefer, or download the issue from the Web. Troll Lord Games will cover all mailing costs for those wanting a printed issue. Subscriptions for future issues are also free.
GURPS goes Hardback
010620 - Steve Jackson Games is retiring the paperback version of the GURPS Basic Set. From now on the book will only be available as a hardback. From the announcement, it sounds like the new hardback now has a glossy cover.
Call for Submissions: Penumbra
010619 - Atlas Games is looking for submissions for its Penumbra line. Be sure to read the submissions guidelines before sending anything in.
SnarfQuest Card Game
010619 - Okay, so its not an RPG. Still, Agents of Gaming has started to reveal more information of its upcoming SnarfQuest card game.
Sample Fuzion License
010618 - R. Talsorian Games has posted a .pdf of a sample license for using Fuzion in your RPG. Depending on what you want to do with it (and how much you're willing to pay), it's either more restrictive than or not as restrictive as the D20 license. In any case, you give up ownership of any additions to develop under the license.
Personally, if I were going to develop an RPG and wanted to use a licensed engine, I would use the Fudge license. Unless I was going for mass market appeal, in which case I would use the D20 license.
Mage & Warrior
010618 - As if C&S wasn't enough, the folks at Gamestuff and Through the Looking Glass have combined 1980's Mage with 1981's Warrior (both originally published by Archaeron Games). With a little editing by original designer Wilf K. Backhaus, the resulting e-text is entitled Mage & Warrior and is available as a free .pdf download. As with C&S, the only "catch" is that you can not print the volume without paying a $10 fee.
Chivalry & Sorcery
010618 - I've recently come across the offerings of Gamestuff and Through the Looking Glass. Until the first week of July the companies are offering the original Chivalry & Sorcery Red Book as a free .pdf download! The only "catch" is that the product can not be printed unless you pay $10.
Even better, the typeface has been increased from the original meager 5-point to something that's actually readable by mere mortals. This increased the page count from 128 to 338 pages!
If, like me, you're a fan of old RPG's, then do NOT pass this one up! There's only about 2 weeks left before this 1977 RPG is no longer a free download.
Rune Jump Start
010618 - Atlas Games has posted an 8-page set of Jump Start Rules for their Rune RPG. You can get it from the newly redesigned Rune web page.
Harn Sale
010614 - Columbia Games is now offering a whopping 30% off all online orders placed between now and June 17th! Here's a chance to buy some Harn stuff at a great discount!
En Route Announced
010614 - Atlas Games announced En Route, a collection of short D20 System encounters for GMs to insert into longer adventures of their own design, or use as transitions between published modules. The current plan calls for a 128 page softcover to be released in September.
D20 Traveller (T20) News
010613 - The folks at RPG Realms gave me a special "behind-the-scenes" glimpse at a very early draft of their upcoming D20 version of Traveller (they call it T20). I'm not allowed to say much about it, but I like what I've seen so far. The team has managed to keep the classic feel of Traveller while incorporating the D20 mechanic!
Dragonstar Announcement
010613 - Fantasy Flight Games announced the upcoming launch of Dragonstar, a new space-fantasy RPG setting for use with the d20 System. The company says that "Dragonstar is a universe of magic and machine, science and sorcery, a universe where dragons rule a galactic empire and humans, elves, dwarves, and the other major races struggle with an ancient and terrible legacy..."
Dragonstar is scheduled for release on October 15, 2001 with the publication of two hardcover core books: the Starfarer’s Handbook and the Galaxy Guide.
You can read the full press release here.
The Caveman's Club Book
010613 - If the Wingnut Games website is to be believed (and I don't see why it shouldn't be), The Complete Caveman's Club Book (a supplement for its Land of Og RPG) should be available now.
GURPS Alpha Centuri enters Playtest
010613 - Steve Jackson Games announced that GURPS Alpha Centuri, based on Sid Meier's computer game, is now in playtest.
Deadlands D20 goes to Printer
010612 - Pinacle Games announced that it has sent Deadlands D20 to the printer.
Gygax goes D20
010611 - Troll Lord Games announced that it has reached agreement with none other than Gary Gygax to publish a series of hardcover fantasy role-playing sourcebooks under the d20 System and Open Gaming Licenses. The targeted release date for the initial 175+ page book in the series is November 1, 2001.
Tentatively titled The Canting Crew, the first book in the series is the definitive guide to the underworld in a fantasy, quasi-medieval city. The book will be valuable to players and DMs alike. It will contain rules and ideas that players can incorporate into their roguish characters, including prestige classes, feats, skills, equipment, and a comprehensive guide to cant and signing. DMs will discover invaluable source material regarding the criminal underclass, and details on a fantasy city populated by them.
Each book in the series will also contain rules appendices for use with Gary Gygax’s Legendary Adventure role-playing system published by Hekaforge Productions.
You can read the full press release here.
D.E.O. Agent Manual
010611 - West End Games announced that it will release the D.E.O. Agent Manual (for the DC Universe Roleplaying Game) in late June. The full press release can be found here.
PalmOS Dice Roller
010611 - Hexcode Software is offering a free polyhedral dice roller for your PalmOS handheld computer.
Risus 1.5 Released
010610 - S. John Ross as Cumberland Games announced the release of version 1.5 of Risus: The Anything RPG, a free, universal comedy RPG. I said it before, and I'll say it again--I love free games!
Spaceship Zero - Coming Soon
010610 - Green Ronin is starting to post teaser info for its upcoming Spaceship Zero RPG.
Gear Krieg RPG Available
010610 - Dream Pod 9 has shipped its Gear Krieg Roleplaying Game. The game should already be at your local gaming store.
New HarnMaster Mage Spells
010610 - The folks at Harn.com have posted a series of HarnMaster Mage Spells interpreted from the D20 spells.
More Frosted Dice
010610 - Chessex has decided to re-issue its line of Frosted dice. As if that wasn't good enough, the company is adding six new pastel colors. The company has also increased from price from $5.95 to $6.95 for the polyhedral sets and the 16mm d6 Dice Blocks.
More Rune Errata
010610 - Atlas Games has posted more errata on its Rune RPG.
RPGD20.com
010610 - The folks at RPG Host continue to send me badly formatted HTML e-mail. This time is was almost readable, so I'll post it...
It seems that these folks are trying to create a clearinghouse for D20 information released under the Open Gaming License at RPGD20.com. What that means is it's just a web-site full of links to other web-sites of companies offering D20 or SRD products. And, I am told, the site doesn't work with Netscape Navigator.
Help Wanted at SJG
010610 - Steve Jackson Games is looking for some on-site employees, if you're willing to move to Austin (and, of course, if you're qualified). The listings can be found here.
The Gods of Forgotten Realms
010610 - Wizards of the Coast has a downloadable .pdf outlining the gods of the Forgotten Realms campaign setting that were not in the book. Download it from this page.
It must be "Marketing"
010606 (Updated 010610) - Chessex ran into problems and some of their Battlemat-size (23½" x 26") vinyl mats were cut to 20" square. In a classic case of making lemonade, the company is now offering "Minimats", marked with a 1" square grid.
As an interesting side note: the company's web site has been updated, and the story of the accidental sizing has been replaced with the statement "We decided to create a new trial product, the 1" Square Minimat..."
Well someone decided, that's for sure. :)
Hogshead Update
010606 - Hogshead Publishing is now shipping the hardback SLA Industries rulebook. The company has also sent Doomstones 3: The Heart of Chaos off to the printers.
What I found most interesting, though, is a work in progress called The Contract Directory. The company claims that this book "explores every facet of a Contract Killer's life..." I would love to know how they did the research for that one! Seriously, it does sound quite good...
Color Covers for Hero's .pdf's
010606 - Hero Games has made available the full color covers and images that were removed from their PDF format e-books. You can get them here.
T20 Character Classes
010604 - QuikLink Interactive, publisher of the D20 version of Traveller, has posted information about the new game's character classes.
On a related note, the company also announced that it has signed Martin J. Dougherty to write the T20 core book. Martin has previously worked on the GURPS Traveller line as well as a number of fiction books and stories.
Forgotten Realms Released
010604 - Wizards of the Coast has officially released their Forgotten Realms campaign, so maybe the company will finally tone done all that pre-press publicity. This product is something I'm somewhat perplexed about. I've never been one for pre-made campaign settings, so I can't say I'm the least bit excited about this one...
Stories older than this are in the RPG Gazette Archives.
