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Illuminated Site of the Week
We've had a number of interesting board and card game submissions recently . . . playtest nights have been busy! We're hearing from new designers, and new artists as well. This weekend I've been working on a memo that attempts to list the strong and weak points of each one, and it's got more than 20 items on it. I think the odds are pretty good that you'll see a few of them in the next year.
-- Steve Jackson
Fans of the art in our recent release, King's Blood, may want to check out our wallpaper page. Ekatarina, Fawn, Hecato, and Helious are featured, along with one featuring the logo. This is gorgeous art, and is bound to draw some attention.
And if manga isn't your thing, we have a selection of wallpapers from Munchkin, Illuminati (a couple of those are cheerfully creepy!), and a couple of Alex Fernandez's pieces -- the covers of GURPS Shapeshifters and GURPS Dragons specifically.
This way, if your computer background is boring, it isn't our fault.
-- Paul Chapman
Munchkin 4 - The Need for Steed is more than just an expansion for what is, without a doubt, the most awesomest card game that ever there was. It's also a way for Munchies out there to cruise the dungeon in style. Remember: hoofing it is for losers and roleplayers.
April 28, 2006: Illuminated Site of the Week: Would You Care To Float Outside?
Why on (or off) Earth would they call it Extra-Vehicular Activity Research if they're already sitting on the prototype? Well, that's how it looks anyway. The team at MIT's Man Vehicle Laboratory is convinced they've got the next generation of spacesuit, and it does away with those bulky and unfashionable models that scream "1969." Form-fitting and oh-so-flattering, you'll solve the mysteries of the cosmos and look good doing it. -- Suggested by Elizabeth McCoy
We here at Warehouse 23, in an effort to convince the management that we need access to the Super Strength Serum, invite you to order a copy of Descent: Journeys in the Dark. Laden with the weight of hours of quality gaming and eye-bulgingly cool components, this board game has a nasty habit of crushing unwary clerks.
Kira and I have continued to hammer on UltraCorps, with the help of a lot of dedicated playtesters. We'd hoped to have things feature-complete for launch right now, and make the new game the beta test. Well, not quite. But rather than leave the fan base with nothing to play, we're starting the next game, Kilroy. You can join now, and the first tick is Friday night. If you haven't checked it out, this is a good time.
If you'd like to play, you'll need to register on our site (Pyramid subscribers are already registered, of course), and before you can join Kilroy, you'll need to complete one solo game to show you have some vague idea how to build units and command fleets.
-- Steve Jackson
Warehouse 23 News: It's Not Barbaric. It's Educational.
Admittedly, the thought of famous warriors, leaders, and other well-knowns from the ever-popular annals of history pulverizing each other in gladitorial combat is . . . somewhat violent. But you also (might) learn a lot! So grab Anachronism: Peter the Great vs. Brian Boru - 2-Player Starter Game today (and as always, check out all the cool warrior packs too)!
We are advised that the Hebrew edition of Munchkin, from Silver Stars Publishing, is on the shelves in Israel, though we have not yet seen a copy. Woot!
-- Steve Jackson
Warehouse 23 News: Bundles You Couldn't Beat With A Stick
While we work on a better joke for this ad, feel free to check out The Complete Guide Bundle Pack and the Wanderers Guild Bundle Pack. Both are great deals on a set of helpful d20 critter references. We'll be here when you get back. Bundles . . . stick . . . hooo-brother . . .
If you love those airport signs that warn you not to joke (about anything, apparently) under penalty of Heaven Knows What, you'll want to send all your friends this . . .
-- Steve Jackson
Warehouse 23 News: Beyond Good And Evil. Sorta.
Tired of having to make the choice between saving the doddering old fool in the hope you might be rewarded or just snuffing him for the brief but very alluring moment of satisfaction that would bring? Eat your homicidal cake and have it too with The Doctor Lucky Ambivalence Pack.
Well, they've finally knocked our old building down. Nothing there now but a flat spot amid the spring greenery.
We'll try to get you some Before and After pictures.
-- Steve Jackson
Warehouse 23 News: You Know It, You Love It
Or the odds are good you do, at any rate. In the event of a power outage, World of Warcraft: The Board Game may just stave off the cravings long enough to keep players from screaming "For the Horde!" and gutting one another. Speaking of massivly multiplayer timesinks, to anyone who has lost a loved one to digital bliss, have we got a shirt for you.
The ones at Letterhead Fonts are especially so. We haven't used any of them yet, but surely it's only a matter of time.
-- Steve Jackson
Based on the comic of the same name by Tony Wong, Weapons of the Gods spins the usual fantasy conventions around, gives them a swift boot out the door, and offers you a setting unlike any other. Okay, not every convention. What would a fantasy RPG be without a little gratuitous violence?
April 22, 2006: Illuminated Site of the Week: The Secretary Of The Interior Has Two Heads
You can use statistics to prove just about anything, but now you can point to an official website that categorically proves your point. Just pump the numbers you need into eSolutions Data and challenge your detractors to show you're wrong. For example, did you know that squirrels are transparent? It's true. -- Suggested by Jason Arons
Warehouse 23 News: The Vast Expanse Just Got Vaster
Runebound may take you from one side of an epic land to the other, but like everything except time and human folly, it is finite. You can only adventure so much. Before the repetition sets in, it may be worth your while to check out some expansions.
One of the oldest roleplaying publishers of them all is in a bad way right now, and asking for fan support. Palladium Books, publisher of the classic Rifts, reports that serious theft from within has left them unable to continue business without assistance. Read Kevin Siembieda's open letter and think about how you can help. We were in an equally dire situation after the Secret Service raid, so they have all our sympathy.
-- Steve Jackson
And withdraw some entrails at the Vault of the Fiends. This Dungeoneer set gives you a great way to get in on the slaughter or to enhance any sets you already own. Either way, you're in for a hackin', slashin', mashin' good time. Oh, uh, and there's honor and glory or something, too.
One of the finer features of GURPS Traveller Interstellar Wars is Chapter Ten: Starship Combat. But where do I find hexagonal counters decorated with silhouettes of Interstellar Wars Era ships?
As of today, I search no more! GURPS Traveller Interstellar Wars Combat Counters are now available for download on e23 – and they're absolutely FREE!
Ten pages of counters with all the ships, missiles, gravity hexes, worlds, small bodies, and disabled markers you need. Everything from 10-dton fighters to the 30,000-dton Indomitable, from the 200-dton Hero-class to the Sharurshid 10,000-dton line freighter.
Now, to grab a big sheet of blank hexes...
(And on a related note, Paul Drye, one of authors of GURPS Traveller Interstellar Wars, has a column in Pyramid Magazine, called Infinite Crossroads. He'll be discussing it tomorrow, Friday 21 April at 7pm CST. Subscribe now for the chat, the column, and much, much more!)
-- Paul Chapman
Warehouse 23 News: Good. Bad. We're The Store With The Book.
Specifically, the Army of Darkness Roleplaying Game. Who hasn't envied Ash's memorable journey back through time where he is beaten, burned, bitten, bruised, and otherwise accosted by all manner of undead and otherwise smelly people? Wait, come back!
I spent Tuesday evening as a judge at the Game Court, a game design contest sponsored by the UT-Austin Science, Technology, and Society program and the UT Electronic Game Developers Society. Verrrry interesting!
There were five presentations, one of which I honestly think could be commercial pretty much as described, and another of which could easily be kicked into shape. And all of them had interesting ideas . . . though I will note that "Yes, that would be hard" is not the right answer to give when the judges ask about implementing your key concept . . .
Electronic games are turning into a recognized academic field - one that actually spawns undergraduate courses - in a way that paper games never did. Wonder why? Couldn't be the two-orders-of-magnitude-greater sales . . .
Oh, yes it could. But I'm glad to see the trend.
-- Steve Jackson
We play with blocks when we're young. It probably helps build our concept of spatial relationships or something. But mostly, it's just fun. Rumis is, perhaps, a little more complicated than alphabet blocks, but it's exponentially funner. Really. We did the math.
Can anybody help me get in touch with:
- Rook Steel Storage, manufacturer of metal card boxes? Yes, I know about their nice website at myrook.com, but e-mail to the address there gets no answer . . . neither do messages left on the phone number listed in the site. I'm hoping they are still in business and the "You've Got Mail" light is burned out on their phone, or something.
- Jason Jones, formerly (and possibly still) of Lockhart, Texas?
- W. Peter Miller, author of the AADA Road Atlas 2?
- James Hurst, author of Chaos in Kansas?
Thanks!
-- Steve Jackson
Warehouse 23 News: Thrust! Parry! Retort!
Guns are so sloppy, what with the bullets and the shell casings and the big wound channel and all that kinetic energy. Plus, a gunfight is much too loud and far too fast to allow for a wry remark about your opponent. True romance is found in the elegant and flashy killing of people with swords. En Garde!
Of the "let's get this Chaos organized" type. The Chaos Machine will be at Penguicon this upcoming weekend, wrangled by Schlock Mercenary's Howard Tayler. There was, however, a lot of repackaging to do in order to make it safer in transport and easier to set up and break down at the remote site. So there has been a great deal of box-building, and I am pretty sure that I got enough experience to go up a level in Hot Glue Gun. If you are anywhere near Detroit and have not planned to go to Penguicon this weekend, you should change your plans! (And not JUST for the machine! Their Gaming GoHs this year are Andy, Kristin, and Alison Looney of Looney Labs. Great people. Go see them.)
And I'll be taking the Machine to Worldcon August 23-27 in Los Angeles . . . see you there, I hope!
-- Steve Jackson
Warehouse 23 News: Now With 50% Less Star
Wars: Battlefront was once described as "a supplement for Wars that contains additional rules and setting information, giving players a deeper look into the solar system of 2391." Well, now it's twice been described like that.
Our Las Vegas warehouse is closed, and most of its contents have been shipped to distributors or returned to Austin.
It was a noble experiment, but it didn't work out.
At least we no longer have to charge Nevada sales tax to Warehouse 23 customers.
-- Steve Jackson
Warehouse 23 News: A Party Moves On Its Bloodlust
Let's face it, if it's fantasy roleplaying, it's probably centered around the wholesale slaughter of things that go "ARGH!" in the night. A Magical Society: Beast Builder keeps your rampaging players satiated with all manner of custom-built baddies.
I never know, when I write an Illuminator, what will draw lots of comments and what won't. This one did . . . thanks to everyone who commisserated with me on the painting. Thanks in particular to the three of you who pointed out that when a toilet is completely drained, sewer gas can make its way up the U-trap and into the room. Yep, that would have been annoying. The issue is now dealt with . . .
And the last of the shelves are painted. I finally realized why a normally restful job was getting on my nerves. Normally when I do something like that, it gives me a chance to think about the current creative project, mull over ideas, and so on . . . but this time it went on long enough that I was rehashing the same ideas and getting frustrated because I'm not executing them. But that's over and I'm now doing the Burst of Creative Energy Woo Hoo thing.
Best line from the whole thing: "I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. And now that I have some light, I can see the tunnel needs painting too."
-- Steve Jackson
Okay, so tuberculosis isn't a virus, but it is pretty cute when you blow it up to a million times its usual size and make it out of a soft, fuzzy material. The GIANTmicrobes: Plush Tuberculosis is just such a product.
April 14, 2006: GURPS Thaumatology Playtesters Needed!
GURPS Thaumatology is the complete GURPS Fourth Edition guide to magic systems, compiled by Phil Masters. A mixture of updated Third Edition material and all-new Fourth Edition rules, Thaumatology explores variations on the basic magic system described in GURPS Magic and presents several alternative systems -- including ritual magic, clerical magic, threshold-based magic (known to Third Edition players as "Unlimited Mana"), and high ceremonial magic (the "ritual magic" system from Third Edition). It also provides extensive guidelines for the GM who wishes to tweak or even completely rethink the game's basic assumptions about magical advantages (Magery, Magic Resistance, etc.), mana, spell colleges, energy sources, rituals, magic items, alchemy, and herbalism. In short, it is to magical skills what GURPS Powers is to superhuman powers . . . and it includes a healthy dose of powers, too!
We will conduct the Thaumatology playtest on a closed mailing list. Only Pyramid subscribers are eligible to participate, and list membership is limited to 40 people. Interested parties should write to Sean Punch (please use this link) by no later than April 21, 2006. Applications should be brief -- just your name and Pyramid user ID, plus a sentence or two on your experience with GURPS. Preference will go to applicants conversant with the entire body of Third Edition magic systems as well as all Fourth Edition material to date, as the primary goal here is to playtest many, many rules . . . but we also intend to choose a few gamers who started playing GURPS as of its Fourth Edition, as it's important that the book makes sense to all GURPS players, not just those with years of experience. Please note that as we anticipate many replies, we cannot respond to individual applications.
Interested but not a Pyramid subscriber?
Subscribe today!
-- Sean Punch
Just because you're sitting inside the thing that makes you feel safest of all doesn't mean that rocketing down a back road in the middle of the night at 100 mph isn't a recipe for Brain Inside-Out Cake. If you find yourself with a need for speed, put down the keys and pick up Street Illegal. Your various, squishy body parts will thank you.
April 14, 2006: Illuminated Site of the Week: Weighty Subjects
Einstein seems to have lowballed General Relativity, to the tune of 100 million trillion. The European Space Agency General Studies Programme has (super)conducted three years worth of experiments and believes it could be on its way to the quantum theory of gravity. What does that mean for science? All manner of new applications, not least space travel. What does it mean for us? Well, it's usually new novels and TV shows, but hope springs eternal. -- Suggested by syberghost
It's out, it's out, and Warehouse 23 has it . . . here's the order link. We're very pleased and complimented to have an actual "Dummies" book for GURPS . . . and it's good. Sean Punch consulted extensively as it was being produced; this is sort of like a GURPS Lite that's big enough to use for a doorstop.
That's the good news. The better news is: we're offering it at considerably less than cover price. Warehouse 23 doesn't usually discount, especially not our own products . . . that would make it hard on the brick-and-mortar retailers. But our distributors tell us this book won't be in the hobby chains much, just because the big book chains and online booksellers are ALREADY discounting. So . . . just this once, we get to beat the online booksellers' prices . . . we're offering it for $13.99. Buy from us, woo hoo!
Warehouse 23 News: Always Bet On Black
The Black Knight Casino is the perfect place for your modern-age d20 characters to relax, unwind, and lose every last cent they have playing roulette. Or they could, you know, do something that's actually interesting. Like rob the place. And isn't a good heist really what roleplaying is all about?
Da! Munchkin is now in Russian! The samples just arrived, and look good, albeit very, very Cyrillic. The Russian publisher is Smart, Ltd. . . . they will be releasing Unnatural Axe and Clerical Errors in Russian, too. 
-- Steve Jackson
Warehouse 23 News: The City Of Adventure Times 3.5
Revised, collected, and expanded, Freeport: The Freeport Trilogy is an epic adventure for piddling heroes. At the beginning, at least. They get stronger, of course. If they survive. Muh-heh. Mua-hah. Mua ha ha ha hah!
We have now posted an opening for Warehouse 23 Troubleshooter. Trouble around here does not USUALLY shoot back, but sometimes it takes a full magazine to get it to lie down. Page down on our Job Openings page.
Warehouse 23 News: The Power Is Yours
In keeping with the spirit of being generic and universal, GURPS Powers offers you a wide variety of rules, guidelines, suggestions, and commandments to govern the otherworldly abilities of just about any character your squishy human brain can imagine.
sand scrape paint fill sand sand sand repaint . . .
My current effort has eaten far more of my time than originally planned, and all the people who want me to finish various writing projects can justifiably grump at me for getting involved in a building task. So it goes.
My new office came with an "executive washroom" - a private half-bath with sink, carpeted (!!!??), and big enough for wheelchair access. Okay . . . I do not need a private facility when the regular one is just down the hall. But I could certainly use a walk-in file closet / wet bar.
So . . . I've drained and shut off the toilet, and built an enclosure to cover and hide it; the enclosure is grossly overengineered and will easily support my little fridge. And along the back wall there's room for a lot of shelving . . . a bit more than 5 1/2 feet long, and because the ceilings in this office are very high, the top shelf can be at 8 feet. That will keep a great deal of Stuff organized, close at hand, and out of the way.
So where's the painting come in? Well, rather than go buy expensive and flimsy shelves, or VERY expensive and solid shelves, I decided to build cinder-block shelving, which will support anything up to and including medium-sized anvils. Most of the blocks, and all the shelf boards, were salvaged from the old offices, both because I'm so incredibly cheap and because I like the idea of keeping some of the old place around.
But . . . it needed paint. I wasn't going to put crummy old boards and cinder blocks in my nice new office, not even in the closet. So I picked out a paint color that went with the wallpaper in there, and got to work. Well, except the boards needed a bit of sanding first. And some filling. And if I was going to paint anything, I was going to do it right, with a primer coat and two coats to finish. And I got rather involved in the detail of it all. OCD Man strikes again!
For a while it was . . . not "fun" exactly, but something to keep my hands busy while I thought about other things. The zen of physical labor; don't knock it. But I have gotten to the point where I need that storage space, now. So the pace had to accelerate to the point where it was officially Not Especially Fun.
But it's almost done now (48 blocks, 12 shelf planks), and that closet is going to be very nice and useful, and the work will last as long as we have this building, if not longer. And, as a useful side effect, I'm now really looking forward to getting to some admin tasks that normally I'd dread . . .
-- Steve Jackson
Warehouse 23 News: Have Fun Storming The Castle
Y'see, 'cause it's Dungeon Crawl Classics #21: Assault on Stormbringer Castle. Storm! Castle! Get it? Funny, right? Ow, stop hitting!
April 9, 2006: Illuminated Site of the Week: Go For The Cold
Enough of this petty bickering. We can raise bickering to a whole new level. Make your voice heard as we attempt to secure a bid with the Olympic Games Committee to bring the 2014 Winter Olympics to the ice planet Hoth. The power to destroy a planet is insignificant compared to the power to market one. (Actually, the end result is probably about the same.) They've already got the snow, the Imperial probes can broadcast all the action, and no terrorist would dare try to breach the shields. -- Suggested by Avram R. Shannon
Warehouse 23 News: Rogues. In. Spaaaaace!
Prime Directive d20: Romulans provides the world of roleplaying with the one thing it's been lacking all these years: a book about Romulans as seen through the polyhedral eyes of d20. Keep 'em in space or drop them in a dungeon. Either way, hilarity is bound to ensue.
Those of you who follow the stirring debates carried out on America's back bumpers are well aware of the Darwin Fish.
Okay, now they've found its fossil. For real. Linking to CNN for the full story.
When rocks fell out of the sky, most of the cities got very flat very quickly. Not the appropriately named city of Edge, however. No sir, this city is now the world's premiere trading post. Pretty much by default, in fact . . . anyway, if you're playing DragonMech, you need the skinny on DragonMech: The Last City.
The first Schlock Mercenary book is available for pre-orders right here. This is NOT a Warehouse 23 or Steve Jackson Games release . . . you can only get it from the author, Howard Tayler. I'm plugging it because I love the strip; if you like intelligent SF humor, you want this book.
-- Steve Jackson
Warehouse 23 News: Sit. Stay. Disembowel.
Part dog, part xenomorph, the Alien Dog Chestburster Plush Replica is the cuddliest way to tell friends and loved ones "our dog was impregnated by an evil monster from outer space and I'm not afraid to harbor its young, caring for it until it grows eight feet tall and brutally slays us all."
Toon Munchkin is the best of two great games that go great together - Toon and Munchkin! All the crazy characters, silly spells, troublesome traps, mirthful monsters, wondrous weapons, and terrific treasures from the Munchkin card game are now yours to play in Toon, the funnest roleplaying game ever.
This is the first PDF support we've done for Toon, and we're very excited about it. We're certainly open to doing more, if sales are encouraging and the crazy ideas keep on coming!
The whole idea behind the Munchkin card game is to venture into dark dungeons, slay monsters, take their stuff and then, when the time is right, slay your fellow munchkins and take their stuff. As you may have noticed, this sounds suspiciously like not only a session of Dungeons and Toons, but most other fantasy roleplaying games. The big difference is that most roleplaying games tell you this is a bad thing, while Munchkin and Dungeons and Toons reward it.
Please note that Toon Munchkin is not a complete game. You will need the basic Toon rules and the Dungeons and Toons rules from the Tooniversal Tour Guide – now both available from e23! – to play.
-- Scott Haring
Reminder! Server downtime is scheduled for Friday 7 April, from 1 a.m. (or thereabouts) to 7 a.m. (or thereabouts). Our site (including, but not limited to, Warehouse 23, e23, and Pyramid) will be unreachable.
Warehouse 23 News: Because Utopia Would Be Boring
Let's face it, the only towns worth adventuring in are the ones where a tourist's life expectancy is measured in minutes. Dungeon Crawl Classics #20: Shadows in Freeport recognizes this, exploits it, and gives your characters something to do besides weaving baskets in the peaceful elven city of Snoozeville.
has been a staple of science fiction - and SF characters' diets - for decades. But if this CTV story is to be believed, the real thing may be on the horizon . . .
April 4, 2006: Job Opening: Building Manager
The details are here.
We'll be posting at least one more opening at the Austin office, and maybe more than one, within a few days.
Warehouse 23 News: Look! A Creepy Shirt!
Beautiful, yet mysterious, the Memento T-Shirt is another in The Mountain's line of fantasy-themed t-shirts.
Michael Cule, in the latest Alarums and Excursions, raises an interesting point: "The odd thing [about Yrth] is not that the world has the same length of year; it's that it counts the months and years according to the modern Gregorian calendar."
Got me. That is indeed odd.
So I'll pass the challenge on to our GURPS Banestorm players: Explain why this is so. For extra points, embody the explanation in an adventure set in the period when Yrth adopted the Gregorian calendar.
For discussion, I've created a forum topic in the GURPS area.
-- Steve Jackson
What's a magician without magic? An "ian"? No good. Blackmoor fans, get yourself Blackmoor: The Wizards' Cabal. Your fellow ians will thank you.
(1) You can quit looking now.
(2) Yes, there will be a Report to the Stakeholders soon; the only piece missing is my time to finish it.
(3) Server downtime is scheduled for next Friday, from 1 a.m. (or thereabouts) to 7 a.m. (or thereabouts). Our site will be unreachable. I expect we'll be reminding you of this again on Wednesday and Thursday . . .
-- Steve Jackson
April 1, 2006: A Winner - He Saw The Fnord!
The winner of the secret GURPS contest is Alessandro Vila Paredes, of Curitiba, Brazil. Alessandro spotted the F-N-O-R-D in the initial letters of five paragraphs in the GURPS Basic Set, Fourth Edition . . . he decoded the instructions and carried them out . . . and he wins one copy of everything we release for GURPS for the rest of his life, or as long as we're in business . . . may these both be a long, long time . . .
We would thank you all for playing, but it wasn't that kind of game. Of course, you can play now, but Alessandro already won. Fnord.
-- Steve Jackson
Lethargic Lad #3. It's . . . pretty funny. You should buy it. Or not. Whatever.
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