Archived News - July, 2001

GURU Update & Now Free

010731 - Aquarius Creations has released version 1.1 of its GURPS utility GURU.  The most impressive change is that the program is now free!

Green Ronin Update

010727 - Chris Pramas of Green Ronin Publishing sent me a nice e-mail to let me know that two new products will be shipping from the printer next week. The products are Hell in Freeport, an 88-page d20 System adventure for 10th level characters (with 8 page full color map inserts), and Green Ronin's D20 System Character Record Folio--a 15 page character sheet for campaign play.

And this month's Focus on Freeport has a web enhancement--a .pdf featuring four new prestige classes--for its Legions of Hell.

At the Printers: BoH Adventure Book 1

010726 - Pulsar Games has sent Blood of Heroes: Adventure Book 1, a book of six adventures for the company's RPG of super-heroes and super-villains, to the printers. Pulsar hopes to have it back in time for GenCon.

AutoRealm Update

010726 - Version 1.14 of the freeware mapping program AutoRealm has been released. New features include picture preview panes, JPEG handling, new symbols for the symbol libraries, and support for transparent bitmaps.

Privateer Contest

010725 - Privateer Press is having a contest, and to the winner will go the spoils--a Privateer Press t-shirt. The details can be found here.

Malhovoc Mugs, Etc.

010725 - Malhovoc Press has jumped on the Cafe Press bandwagon.  That means you can now get shirts, mugs, mouse pads, etc. with the Malhovoc logo.  Look here if you're interested.

New Koplow Products

010725 - Koplow Games is now offering what they call Satin Dice and Mini Double Dice.

Guy Williams Fund Raiser

010724 - Gold Rush Games is trying to raise money to get Guy Williams' (of Zorro and Lost in Space fame) his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.   Details can be found here.

Free d20 Adventure from Fiery Dragon

010724 - Fiery Dragon is offering Himrak War Party, a D20 System adventure, free for the download.

Deck Plan 5

010724 - Steve Jackson Games has shipped the fifth in its line of deck plans for use with GURPS Traveller. This latest release is GURPS Traveller Deck Plan 5: Sulieman-class Scout/Courier.

Atlas launches Coriolis

010723 - Atlas Games is starting a new publishing imprint--Coriolis--to be used for crossover adventures between d20 and various Atlas systems. The first product under the new name will be Burning Shaolin, a d20/Feng Shui adventure.

The Andwan Legacy

010723 - Italian company 0one Roleplaying Games is now selling The Andwan Legacy. Described as "a generic adventure localized in a small town", this downloadable .pdf adventure goes for about $4.  It looks gorgeous, but I don't have a color printer that would handle it...

Lejends Magazine

010723 - I've had this one for a while, but I was waiting for third-party confirmation, which I've finally received. Lejends Magazine is the official magazine for players of Gary Gygax's Lejendary Adventures (or here) RPG.  It is a monthly magazine devoted to source material, game news, and all matters LA-related. The majority of the content comes from Gary himself, but reader input and submissions are gladly welcomed.  There are two versions are available: a letter-sized paper version for $52/year, or a .PDF electronic version sent by e-mail for $36/year.  For more information e-mail LoreCollege@aol.com.

PDabble Games

010717 - PDabble Games, the latest in the long string of electronic d20 System publishers, is offering two adventures--one free and one pay.  The company's web site also has a fair amount of freely downloadable material for its World of Gwent.

GURPS Deadlands in Playtest

010717 - Steve Jackson Games has placed GURPS Deadlands: Weird West into playtest.

In the trivia department, it looks like Deadlands and Traveller are the first two games be available as their own system, a GURPS system, and a d20 system.

HackMaster Character Sheet

010717 - Kenzer & Co. has posted a .pdf of the HackMaster character sheet.  You can find the link of the company's main page.

Budget Battlefield and Cheap Folks releases

010717 - MicroTactix has released some new Army Packs for Budget Battlefield, and a new set of Cheap Folks.

The Budget Battlefield releases are the Steel Dragons Mercenary Troop, a B&W SF set, and Fantasy Filler #1 Army Pack, with lots of special units like Centaurs and Ogres. Fantasy Filler Pack #1 is available in both black and white and color versions.

The Cheap Folks release is Fantasy Heroes #1, containing player characters of many professions and fantasy races.

Malhavoc signs with Swords & Sorcery

010717 - Sword & Sorcery announced the addition of Monte Cook's Malhavoc Press to its stable of fantasy role-playing studios. Cook is well known and regarded for his contributions to role-playing games, including co-creating the 3rd edition of Dungeons & Dragons and writing the 3rd edition Dungeons & Dragons Dungeon Master's Guide.

Malhavoc Press's first release under the Sword & Sorcery line will be The Book of Eldritch Might, a sourcebook featuring 11 feats, three prestige classes, some spells and a magic items. It is scheduled for a November 2001 release.

If you're impatient, you can buy the .pdf version now from Malhavoc for only $5.  The only difference appears to be 2 feats...

Jade Dragons and Hungry Ghosts

010717 - Green Ronin Publishing has announced plans for a September release for Jade Dragons & Hungry Ghosts: Monsters from the East for the d20 System.  The book will feature   more than 50 fully-illustrated monsters from the legends of Japan, China, Burma, Vietnam, and Malaysia, brought to life by such renowned artists as rk post, Quinton Hoover, Michael Phillipi, and Tony DiTerlizzi . Authors include ex-Dragon editor and TSR designer Wolfgang Baur, Dragon Fist designer Chris Pramas, Greyhawk guru Erik Mona, and Forgotten Realms stalwart Steven E. Schend.

The book also boasts a special introduction and featured monster by original Oriental Adventures designer David "Zeb" Cook.

SJG Seeks Resin Manufacturer

010717 - Steve Jackson Games is looking for a company with the capacity to produce high quality resin figures for its larger projects. Interested (and qualified) parties should contact paul@sjgames.com.

WoTC to Release Harry Potter Card Game

010716 - While we're talking about card games, Wizards of the Coast announced plans for the Harry Potter trading card game. Based on Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone the new game will include a total of 116 fully illustrated cards with all-new artwork that captures favorite characters, potions, spells, creatures and situations from the book. The game is scheduled to appear in stores in early August.

In the game, each player acts as a wizard from the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and, through a series of turns, attempts to make his or her opponent run out of cards. Six different types of cards will be introduced in the base set: Characters, Spells, Creatures, Items, Adventures and Lessons. The first player to make his or her opponent’s cards "disappear" wins.

You can read the full press release here.

KoDT HACK! Rulebook available online

010716 - Eden Studios has made the KoDT: HACK! rulebook available online as a pdf download, even though the game has yet to be released.  The company has also updated the HACK Card Gallery with final images from the game.

RPG Gazette Reviews are Coming

010716 - Ok, you have spoken.  RPG Gazette will be carrying reviews in the near future.  Look for a new poll question today or tomorrow.

RPG Index opens Forums

010716 - I received an e-mail from Sebastian Dietz who says "The International RPG Index   has opened forums for each and every game in the database. This means there are over 1300 forums for big and small role playing games online. These forums provide basic features but will be improved over the next few weeks. Just drop in, find your favorite game and write a few lines."

GURPS Blue Planet

010716 - Steve Jackson Games has signed a licensing deal to produce GURPS Blue Planet, an adaptation of Fantasy Flight Games' RPG Blue Planet.

Fractal Mapper v6.0

010713 - NBOS Software announced its plans to release version 6.0 of The Fractal Mapper at this year's GenCon Game Fair.

DragonWizards Update

010712 - I received a nice e-mail from Jason & Lana Hughes of DragonWizards.   They say that they have upgraded their site and it now features an upgraded free graphic card pack consisting of 52 RPG game cards; the addition of a Viewer to place cards into allowing players to randomly draw card on computer screen; the addition of a Graphic dice program that allows players to roll graphic dice (d6,d8,d10,d20); more Original Monsters added to the catalogue; and fifteen player characters posted with short stories.

Deadlands D20 Released

010711 - Pinnacle Entertainment Group released its Deadlands D20 RPG.  The company has already released some errata.

OpenRPG 0.9.4a

010711 - Version 0.9.4a of OpenRPG, the last free online RPG utility, has been released.

GURPS Limited Edition Hardbacks

010711 - Steve Jackson Games is releasing a line of limited edition, signed, hardcover books for the company's GURPS line.  The first release is to be GURPS Steampunk followed by GURPS Low-Tech and then GURPS Atlantis.   Strangely enough, the books are signed by Steve Jackson, not the authors.  I get the impression that the books will only be available through the company's store, and not through your local retailer.

In other GURPS news, both GURPS Cliffhangers, 2nd Edition and GURPS Age of Napoleon are in playtest.

Forbidden Kingdoms--d20 Pulp

010710 - OtherWorld Creations is working on a pulp adventures type game for the d20 System.  The game is called Forbidden Kingdoms.   Follow the link for insight on the product!

Pocket Universe RPG

010710 - UNIgames' compact role-playing game system Pocket Universe will be officially released at Origins. The games was designed by Jeff Dee and 'Manda, the co-creators of TWERPS. The book measures 4 1/4" by 7" and contains 16 pages of relatively small print with a glossy full-color cover. An 8 1/2" x 11" insert provides a character sheet and a complete introductory adventure set in the world of Jeff Dee's customizable board game WarChest. Housed in a protective ziplock baggie, the entire package retails for $4.95.

Star Wars RPG Errata

010707 - Wizards of the Coast has updated the errata listing for its Star Wars RPG.

2000 Origins Awards Winners

010707 - The winners for the 2000 Origins Awards have been announced.   The RPG related winners are:

RPG Gazette extends its heartfelt congratulations to all the winners!

Steve Jackson Lay Offs

010707 - Citing negative cash flow and uncertain financials, Steve Jackson Games has laid off 13 employees.  RPG Gazette wishes a quick financial recovery to those employees and to the company itself.

Torg Summer Sale

010706 - West End Games is having a huge sale on all Torg products: the box set is $10, the Drama Deck is $3, and all other novels and supplements are $2 each!

In Production: Knuckleduster Cowtown Creator

010706 - Knuckleduster Publications is working on a volume called the Knuckleduster Cowtown Creator.  It's a complete guidebook for making "Old West" style towns for any gaming system.  This is exactly what I was looking for a couple weeks ago when I was preparing a western one-shot adventure.  The book is currently scheduled to be released in October.

Shipping: Shinobi: Shadows of Nihon for Sengoku

010705 - Gold Rush Games is also shipping Shinobi: Shadows of Nihon for its Sengoku RPG.  Shinobi deals with the infamous ninja.

Gold Rush's home page also has a free .pdf preview of this supplement.

Shipping: The Legacy of Zorro

010705 - Gold Rush Games is now shipping The Legacy of Zorro.

Shipping: Revanche for Tribe 8

010705 - Dream Pod 9 is also shipping Revanche for Tribe 8.

Shipping: Raids & Raiders for Heavy Gear

010705 - Dream Pod 9 has shipped Raids & Raiders for Heavy Gear.

RPG Dice Roller 1.2

010705 - Tony Moller sent me another e-mail to let me know that his RPG Dice Roller has been updated to version 1.2.  The new version includes, at the request of Dominion Games, a dice roller for Dominion Rules. As always, Tony is looking for your comments and suggestions!

KODT Hack Card Game

010704 - I generally don't cover card games, but I'm a big Knights of the Dinner Table fan, so...

Eden Studios has announced that the KODT Hack! non-collectable card game is now at the printers. If all goes well, it should ship in August.

All Flesh Demo

010704 - There's now a playable demo with quick-start rules and characters that you can download for free from the All Flesh Must Be Eaten website.

Powered by GURPS: Prime Directive RPG

010703 - Steve Jackson Games and Amarillo Design Bureau announced an agreement today that allows ADB to use the GURPS role-playing system in their new edition of Prime Directive, a role-playing game set in the science-fiction world of the original Star Trek television series, up to but not including the first theatrical movie.

The first release in the new Prime Directive, 2nd Edition line is scheduled for late in the year.

"Powered by GURPS" is a new label for role-playing lines that use the GURPS game system but are more than just GURPS supplements. Prime Directive, 2nd Edition will be the first game published by a company other than SJ Games to carry the "Powered by GURPS" logo.

Perrin to Write Monster Slayer's for Green Ronin

010703 - Game designer Steve Perrin has signed on with Green Ronin Publishing to write the Monster Slayer's Handbook for the d20 System. Perrin is best known for his work on the classic Runequest RPG, but he's no stranger to D&D having written for the Forgotten Realms and Planescape lines.

The Monster Slayer's Handbook will be the first of Green Ronin's Classbooks. It will introduce a new core class to the d20 System, plus a bevy of new equipment, prestige classes, and organizations.

Look for the Monster Slayer's Handbook in early 2002.

WebRPG now Charging

010703 - WebRPG, once a free tool for playing pen-and-paper RPGs online has now started charging for the use of its service.

My take on this?  I don't see any problem with someone asking for some compensation for the work they've done, but at the price they're charging, I have to wonder if they're not out of their minds.  The charge is a hefty $40 per year and per player.  So, for a GM and four players running a campaign over a two year period, the charge would be a whopping $400!

In contrast, GRiP charges the GM a one-time fee of $35 to register the GM version of the program, and players can download the player version for free.

Of course, if you don't mind applications written in Java (they always run painfully slow on my machine... admittedly an older machine, but it's all I have), you can still use OpenRPG for free!

Disclaimer: It's only fair that I disclose that QuikLink Interactive, the maker of GRiP, is the official sponsor of the RPG Gazette.  That does not change any of the facts I listed above, but I may have a subconscious bias.   I don't think I do, but I think it's only fair that you know all the facts.

Stormbringer Ships

010702 - Chaosium has shipped the Stormbringer 5th Edition RPG. It should be on the local game store's shelf next week.

101 Starships

010702 - British Isles Traveller Support (a.k.a. BITS) has made version 6 of its freely downloadable 101 Starships for GURPS Traveller available for download from the company's archive page.

Arthur Items Shipping

010701 - Green Knight Publishing is now shipping the following:

The Arthurian Companion, 2nd Edition is an updated an expanded edition of Phyllis Ann Karr's reference work of the King Arthur myth. It contains over one thousand entries of the people, places, things and events which occur throughout Arthurian literature.

Tales of the Spectre Kings is a collection of six adventures for the King Arthur Pendragon RPG. Originally published in 1991 as The Spectre King by Chaosium, this edition includes the new tale, "The Adventure of the White Horror," a 29-page sequel to the original Spectre King adventure.

Kuntz, Gygax, and Gygax Sign with Troll Lords

010701 - Troll Lord Games announced an agreement with Rob Kuntz to publish a series of hardcover fantasy role-playing sourcebooks under the d20 System and Open Gaming Licenses.  The first volume in the Myths & Legends series will be Codex Germania: Northern Gods, Heroes, and Monsters.  The targeted release date for the 200+ page book detailing the Norse Mythos is December.

The company also announced today its agreement to publish a series of  d20 System adventures by Ernie and Luke Gygax.  The first adventure in the series, The Lost City of Gaxmoor, is targeted for a September release. The 96+ page adventure will be set in The World of Erde, Troll Lord Games' official fantasy campaign setting as detailed in the forthcoming Codex of Erde.

Eden Odyssey Ships

010701 - Eden Studios shipped Akrasia: Thief of Time and Wonders Out of Time, the first two releases for the Eden Odyssey d20 product line. They should be in your local store soon!

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