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Illuminated Site of the Week
Hasbro has announced that its Gleemax "social networking for gamers" site will be discontinued in September in order to free resources for other online projects.
At least we still have our squishy brain toys to remember them by.
Warehouse 23 News: And Something Blue
The Killer Bunnies: Blue Starter Deck is a deck for Killer Bunnies, it'll get you started, and it's blue. That's at least three good reasons to buy it right there. Sure, there are other selling points such as "comes in a box" and "is composed entirely of matter," but we really feel there's little more one can say after "is blue." Why, it practically sells itself at that point!
The creator of Hârn, N. Robin Crossby, died on July 23 of cancer. He was 54.
Hârn was a lovingly detailed and original fantasy setting, released to the public in a long series of books and maps starting in the mid-70s. The accompanying roleplaying system is called HârnMaster. Originally published by Columbia Games, the series has more recently been supported through Kelestia Productions, where tributes to Robin are linked from the home page.
-- Steve Jackson
Warehouse 23 News: Something Borrowed . . .
Humanity is a silly thing. Give a man a robot and his carpet will get vacuumed. Teach a man to build a robot and he'll have 12 planets worth of his species bombed out of existence. Then he hops in a spaceship and goes tromping about the galaxy looking for more of his kind to hang out with, because, y'know, this'll never happen again. Oh well. Enjoy folly? You'll enjoy the Battlestar Galactica Roleplaying Game.
July 29, 2008: Lost Works Of Genius, 5 Cents Each
Steven Marsh and I get into the darndest discussions on the PyraMOO. I really wish I'd saved the one that started out with a grumble about facile investment advice, and segued to his very keen analysis of whether it was better to call Superman or the Batman after you had fallen out a window. After which we debated which of the two would give better investment advice. (Not the Batman. Sure, he's rich, but he inherited it. And if he really were a good investor, he'd be putting at least some of the money to work in Gotham City, and we know he's not, because almost every business we see there is abandoned.)
But I digress.
Saturday night we started with a perfectly serious discussion of an industry issue. I pointed out something that would have made the story even more tragic. And suddenly SMarsh was possessed by his muse . . .
SMarsh . o O ( Something can always be made more tragic with the addition of
more blood. )
SJ [to SMarsh]: Not a blood bank!
SMarsh says, " 'The donors kept coming, and the volunteers kept accepting the
life-giving humour. Soon, the coolers were over-full, and the sacks of human
blood littered the hallways. Hundreds of nurses slipped on the sacks,
spewing red arterial spray on the walls, the popping of bags serving as the
soul-sickening aural counterpoint to the snapping of human necks.' "
You say, "Ohhh, NICE."
You say, "Then, drawn by the sick-sweet coppery tang, the first vampire bat
appeared. Soon the bloody halls were covered by a shifting carpet of leathery
wings. All too soon, the spilled bounty vanished down the needle-rimmed maws
of the chiropteran horrors. The corpses, too, were drained, lissome limbs
withering quickly to husks. Beady eyes locked on the survivors, crouching,
horrified, in corners . . ."
You say, "Bob was there too!"
SMarsh says, "See? There is nothing so hopeful, so joyous, so reaffirming
that it cannot be dragged into the pits, the futile echoing pleas drowned out
by the coming of endless vampire bats."
SMarsh says, "And, on that cheery note, I'm going to bed!"
I like working with this guy.
-- Steve Jackson
Warehouse 23 News: Something New . . .
Being a kid ain't easy. Being a kid with a monster is somewhat easier. Being a kid with a monster that eats mean people is great. Until about 20 seconds later when you realize that the monster just ate someone, and then things get less easy again. Monsters and Other Childish Things: a kinder, gentler sort of manslaughter.
Ingredients: The terrifying Overlord of Jupiter. Punch-card driven computers. The insidious menace of the Red Hive. The steaming swamps of Venus. The mighty Tesla Coil.
Directions: Stir ingredients together, and pour into a pan shaped from the science fiction of the '30s, '40s, and '50s, and bake in a campaign oven for a couple of hours.
Yields one GURPS Tales of the Solar Patrol, complete with templates and equipment, suitable for serving a nigh-infinite number of players.
From the kitchen of Lizard (GURPS Lands Out of Time).
-- Paul Chapman
Warehouse 23 News: Something Old . . .
Hunting Party is a board game that's actually a card game about saving the kingdom by working against one another to follow an incomplete prophecy. Which naturally means that it is totally awesome.
Today is the last day of the San Diego Comic-Con, which I'm attending for the first time. Unlike most normal attendees, I'm hoopin' and hollarin' as part of the Adventure Retail booth. Like most first-timers, I've learned some things.
- There's a lot of people here. No matter what programming is set up opposite the exhibit hall hours, there's always a mass of costumed fans wandering the aisles. This is good for business.
- People like to stop and look. Even in the middle of the aisle, directly in front of you, when you're urgently racing to the restroom after a six-hour Exact Change Dance marathon. It's important not to get frustrated.
- Flat panel monitors practically force you to stop and look. I'm walking quickly, with a specific target in mind and a short time-span to find it in. But wait! Is that Freakazoid? Hey, the new James Bond trailer! Wolverine and the X-Men? And suddenly, you're frozen, open-mouthed, watching.
- Bring your own food, like a camel. Eight dollars for a corndog? Maybe. $8 and a 20 minute wait in line? Wow.
- You meet the darnest people. Bumped into William Stoddard and chatted about his upcoming projects for e23, as well as the woman who handled marketing for SJ back in the mid-80's. Plus a metric ton of fantastic fans, from old hands who remember the pocket boxes to the new guys who are picking up their first Munchkin.
It's a huge show, and I'm constantly in danger of overstimulization. But I'd have no doubts about returning -- there's just too much fun to be had.
-- Paul Chapman
Warehouse 23 News: Low Class, High Caliber
The world of trailer park management is a dog-eat-dog, man-eat-man, dog-and-man-eat-something-not-readily-identifiable place. Or that's the picture Trailer Park Wars paints, anyway. Of course, we can't entirely say the game's painting an inaccurate picture. There are few problems the judicious use of high explosives can't solve. It's easy to attract tenants when all the other parks are, y'know, a smoldering ruin.
July 26, 2008: So What Did We Learn, Exactly?
Phil's gone on a brief vacation, and before he left, he saw the last of the Munchkin Quest components off to the printer. If nothing horrible happens, we are on track for an Essen release.
This has definitely been a learning experience. And one of the things we have said as we worked on MQ was "We've learned not to do this any more!"
But we were lying. Lying like a rug.
While our 2009 schedule isn't completely nailed down yet, we expect it to include several - like, at least three - new releases with significant amounts of spiffy die-cut cardboard.
Actually, I'm looking forward to it. Stay tuned.
-- Steve Jackson
Warehouse 23 News: He Is The Brute Squad
A small, squishy brute squad, but the Talking Fezzik Plush is nonetheless grade-A brute squad material. Oh, and the Talking Dread Pirate Roberts? Yeah, he's not moving. But don't worry. He's only mostly dead. (Sure, we could have been cleverer about this one, but the fish in that barrel were just too darn tempting.)
July 25, 2008: Illuminated Site of the Week: Dig This
Wiltshire is ready to give up its secrets. Long have people wondered about its mysterious site: Who built it? What is its purpose? What power lies beneath the unsuspecting populace's feet? Huh? Stonehenge? No, not that pile of rocks. The secret underground city built by the Ministry of Defence for the benefit of government officials. An entire city with miles of roads awaits.
An ancient calendar? Pfft . . . can it support 4,000 people? No, we didn't think so.
-- Suggested by Shawn Fisher
The Illuminati Birthday Card and Illuminati Greeting Card are, without a doubt, the most illuminated way to say "happy birthday" or "enjoy this gift" in the world. (Or, in this world, at any rate.) And that's the truth. Mostly because we've been steadily beaming it into your heads since you logged on. You're welcome!
I'm out of here until early August, since it's time for me to take a break. I'm happy to report that the last pieces of Munchkin Quest are at print (there's no way I could have left for vacation without that finished), along with a host of reprints, a few promo items, and a small selection of POD books for GenCon.
Where am I going? Philadelphia, to start, but I'll be staying in the Baltimore area. The plan is to play tourist in the area, visit DC (more tourist!), drive to Gettysburg, and simply try to have fun and relax. If I get really lucky, I'll find some cool bookstores and game stores while I'm on vacation. I always have room for more books and games.
-- Phil Reed
Warehouse 23 News: What's Worse Than Gnolls?
No, not "the smell." Demon gnolls! Gnolls under the sway of a terrible malevolent entity that grants them the fell magics of the deepest darknesses and vilest evils. That, stalwart travelers, is what you face in Dungeons & Dragons: H2 - Thunderspire Labyrinth. And . . . yes, okay, the smell. Burning dog hair isn't pleasant.
July 23, 2008: News From The 3-D Printer Front
I suppose I'm not surprised that it happened first in Japan - and not just anywhere in Japan, but in the Akihabara.
At a new storefront there, you'll be able to walk in with your own digital file, and walk out with a custom figure. The cost? 9,000 yen, or around $85 at today's exchange rate. Don't ask me about next week's exchange rate, grumble.
Now, it's a long way from there to home models. And with this kind of system the price isn't going to go down much for multiple copies. Still, it would now be feasible for a webstore to sell 3-D files which the user could then take to their friendly local output shop. Now, we just need a lot more of those more friendly local output shops, preferably including some in this hemisphere.
-- Steve Jackson
Warehouse 23 News: Want Two Torsos On Your Feet?
Who wouldn't! And they're Monty Python branded, to boot! (Whoops, a pun.) Buy Ye Olde Black Knight Slippers and experience the joy only tiny torsos can bring.
As previously mentioned, I'll be attending the San Diego Comic-Con. Well, I'll technically be at the show, but since I'll be entertaining the masses at the Adventure Retail booth with witty wordplay about my level of Munchkin Cthulhu expertise for most of the time, I don't know if that fully qualifies as "attending" in the traditional sense.
Hm. By the time you read this, I'll already be in San Diego. Stop by booth #5023 and say hi!
Unless I'm out looking for an autograph from the Venture Brothers crew . . .
-- Paul Chapman
Warehouse 23 News: Roll Bones Or Make Them
It's your choice, really. In fact, you could even do both. We certainly won't stop you from ordering the Dungeons & Dragons Premium Dice and Dungeons & Dragons: DU1 - Halls of the Giant Kings Dungeon Tiles. Y'know what? That's our official stance. Buy both. We have something of a vested interest, after all.
July 21, 2008: Penny Candy for Your Character!
It's catchy, but true: Perks are flavorful little bonuses for any character. Sure, they don't affect your rolls very much, but they only cost one point.
And now Sean "Dr. Kromm" Punch has gathered all the Perks from every published GURPS Fourth Edition release -- including combat perks from GURPS Martial Arts -- into one handy reference: GURPS Power-Ups 2: Perks. Already own the complete Fourth Edition line? Sean's got something for you, too! Actually, a couple dozen somethings, in the form of brand-new Perks, for a total of over 160 crammed into this PDF.
Perks. Because everybody likes a little something for (nearly) nothing.
-- Paul Chapman
Warehouse 23 News: Just So We're Clear About This . . .
The Wicked Munchkin Die (also available with snazzy matching bag) is more than a ten-sider with the Super Munchkin carved into each face illustrating your steady climb to godhood as you plunder. It's a ten-sider with the Super Munchkin carved into each face illustrating your steady climb to godhood as you plunder that grants you an extra level. Important difference, there. You know what to do.
July 20, 2008: Illuminated Site of the Week: Oh, Wait, You're Serious?
Well, this time, yeah. A lot of folks show off their technological, uhhh . . . we'll call them "innovations" . . . on the Internet, but occasionally it turns out someone's actually doing something that doesn't require timecubes or free energy or wombat blood. The Daily Ill has featured Sandia National Labs here and there for things that caught our fancy, but if you cast a wider net you see it's high time they were recognized for their bionic contact lenses, or their neutron scatter camera, or their lightweight, high-caliber, self-propelled cannon system, or . . . You know, on second thought, you could just get a job there. That'd be easier.
-- Suggested by John Evans
Warehouse 23 News: Magically Capricious
Without "magic," what is a "magi?" A crazy old man in a bathrobe, that's what. It holds, then, that a book like Ars Magica: Realms of Power - Magic would be fairly crucial to the magey types in your fantastical tales of Mythic Europe. Unless you're running a "geriatric ne'er-do-wells in sleepwear bothering the peasants" campaign. Wait . . . that might be really fun. Oh, but, um - buy the book anyway!
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.
-- Paul Chapman
Server Maintenance
We will be performing maintenance on our servers Saturday, July 19th, starting at 2:00pm (CDT, GMT -5:00). The maintenance window will be 2 hours. During this time, you may be unable to reach our websites, email, or DNS servers.
-- Jimmie Bragdon
Warehouse 23 News: Heterodyne Heritage
When you're the scion of a bloodline that's regarded as more of a force of nature than a collection of fleshy humanoid bipeds, you should really expect to run into trouble from time to time. Of course, if nobody told you this when you were growing up, well, the talking castle you inherited might come a little out of left field. Girl Genius Book Seven (or its hardcover cousin) has an idea of how this might go down for you.
So Joss Whedon has created a mini-movie. Right now, and I mean RIGHT now, you can watch the first two acts of Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog for free. And the last one will go up, also free, on Saturday. For a short time only, as they say. But you may very well want to pay money to have your very own copy, and he's good with that, too.
I liked this. It involved me very quickly. I didn't cry, and I didn't laugh out loud, but I did grin a lot, I really did tear up a bit, I did replay a couple of the duets, and I did clench my fists and shake my head and think "No, you idiot," when the Doctor . . . Well, you have to see it yourself.
-- Steve Jackson
Mage has very specific ladder requirements. The wooden ladder doesn't cut it. The aluminum ladder just isn't up to snuff. No, this looks like a job for The Silver Ladder alone. That's right, plastic ladder. Don't call us, we'll call you.
Will and I are back from Protospiel. We played several games, including a few upcoming SJGames releases that haven't been publicly announced, and had the chance to chat with several of the attendees about printing games, working in the game industry, and the game development process.
On Sunday afternoon, as the con was winding down, Alex Yeager of Mayfair Games showed us around Ann Arbor. We visited game stores (hey, we're gamers), a used bookstore, and enjoyed a quiet dinner. We also talked about games, game design, and the industry. Thanks, Alex, for a fun afternoon. It certainly beat sitting in our hotel room.
With the convention over, and life returning to the normal grind, I find myself dreaming of a similar con in Austin. If only I had the time . . .
-- Phil Reed
Warehouse 23 News: Lifestyles Of The Rich And The Magey
A covenant is more than just a gaggle of bearded old guys with pointy hats that you can bum alchemical components from. It's also the guys who have your back at the next arcane throw-down. That's what Ars Magica: Covenants is all about: your posse. Oh, and also some stuff about character development and story depth and societal issues and all sorts of touchy-feely stuff. We just sorta skimmed all that.
July 16, 2008: BioWare's Solution To Piracy
"That's ultimately the best, most successful path to prevent piracy. To have players that want your games, want to believe in them and think they're high-quality and realize they're going to get a lot of value out of them as platforms for long time afterwards." -- BioWare's co-CEO Ray Muzyka.
In other words, if you've got quality fans, and quality products, piracy really isn't a concern.
Except on Talk Like a Pirate Day, of course.
-- Paul Chapman
Warehouse 23 News: Perilous Pulpy Polyps From Pluto!
You don't have to be crazy to enjoy the powerfully pulpish adventures presented in Trail of Cthulhu: Stunning Eldritch Tales, but it helps! Well, okay, it's more of an unavoidable reality than a benefit to play, but you know what we mean. Unless you already are, in fact, crazy. In which case: foozle noodle boodle floop!
If you don't know what new film spawned the Buy n Large site, you won't find out from me. But it's worth a look. Here, we have clever, evil marketers being devastatingly parodied by . . . hmm. By clever, evil marketers, I think.
Way to go, guys.
-- Steve Jackson
July 14, 2008: Bringing Out The Big Guns of Pulp
Sure, detectives carried snub-nosed revolvers, and masked adventures blazed away with twin .45's. But what about the big guns?
GURPS High-Tech: Pulp Guns, Volume 2 brings the machine guns, the flamethrowers, and even the cannons from the pulp era. Perfect for military campaigns set before or during World War II, this catalog also includes just the sort of "boom" you'd need to, say, destroy a secret lab of cultists bent of raising an Elder God.
-- Paul Chapman
Rising gas prices increases shipping costs. Rising energy costs also make paper more expensive to make and ship, and that increases printing costs. And if you're printing a game, and having it shipped from the printer to your warehouse, you're getting double increases. The bid to ship Munchkin Quest from the printer -- just the shipping part - has gone up by $10,000 in the last month.
The scariest part is there is no sign of energy prices leveling off. Where is the ceiling? Is there a ceiling?
We've done our best to keep prices stable, despite the increased costs, but it's a losing battle. Unless energy costs drop soon - not just level off, but drop -- we'll have to do an across-the-board price hike. We don't know when, nor how much, but it's coming.
We'll keep you informed.
-- Paul Chapman
The pathfinding game Tsuro is a favorite around the office; on our recent game day Programmer Thomas was heard to cackle maniacally as he drove his opponent from the board.
GenCon Indy is getting closer and closer! We'll be there, hanging out with the Adventure Retail guys, at booth 1621.
Who's "we"? Not telling . . . yet.
-- Paul Chapman
Warehouse 23 News: What's In A Red Dragon?
Fun, according to Webmaster Fade: "Red Dragon Inn is fun, it's silly, and it's even better when you're drunk!" Reporters tried to reach Programmer Thomas for comment, but he was too busy playing.
July 11, 2008: Illuminated Site of the Week: Knock, Knock
We already showed you Entrances to Hell, a cautionary tale for those readers surrounded by the infernal in the UK, but if you're willing to travel further afield you'll find Darvaz has a door of its own. This passage in Russia leads straight to you-know-where, but it has something other portals don't: video. -- Suggested by Eric Newsom
Warehouse 23 News: And He Does This For A Living!
Randy, our Playtest Coordinator, says that Settlers of Catan is one of his most-played games - and he's paid to play games all day!
ComicCon, that is! I've never attended before, and while I will be spending the majority of my time doing the Exact Change Dance at the booth . . . hmm, this is usually the part of the post where I mention the booth number. I can't seem to find a map of ComicCon's exhibit hall. Oh well, I'm sure you'll be able to find us -- it's only 460,000 square feet!
Anywho, while I will be stuck to the booth for the majority of the show, I do hope to see some nifty media-like exhibits. I'm not much for the autographs, but I'm all about the sneak previews.
-- Paul Chapman
Warehouse 23 News: While The Comedian Is Away . . .
This week, our regular advertising comedian has taken a short vacation. In his absence, we'll be posting quotes from staff about their favorite games. First up, I'd like to throw out a plug for Atlas Games' Dungeoneer. That's all. . . We're out of space . . . Go buy something!
Will and I are attending Protospiel this week -- okay, technically this weekend -- where we plan to gather feedback on a few of the not-yet-released projects that have been eating up development time. (Have I mentioned our weekly -- or, if we're in a crunch, daily -- game development meetings? We find a comfortable place in the office to sit down and go over one or two games so that we can hammer out what's going well, what's going wrong, and whether or not we should add the word "Munchkin" to the title. Great fun!)
We'll also drag along the well-traveled copy of Munchkin Quest just in case anyone at the show wants a peek at the prototype.
-- Phil Reed
The Warehouse just had a few oddly marked crates come in from some place called Schlock Mercenary. While you're certainly welcome to order any of the fine products found within . . . we, uh . . . frankly, we keep hearing this really ominous . . . humming sound. From the crate. It's really spooky. On an unrelated note, we have an immediate opening in the Crate Logistics and Operations department.
The Great Office War proves that not everyone wastes time on slow work days by watching videos online.
Also, one of the greatest promotional videos for NERF I've ever seen. Must buy more darts!
-- Paul Chapman
We prefer our money scrupulously devoid of bodily fluids, but not HeroQuest. No, there it is not uncommon to find Blood Over Gold. You might want to bring a towel, in fact.
July 7, 2008: What Everyone Is Talking About
If you missed last Thursday's Daily Illuminator, you missed the upload of GURPS Thaumatology We're putting it up as a PDF, with the intention of correcting all the errata found by the GURPS-heads before we send the book to print.
Yes, this is new for us. No, we aren't making this our standard operating procedure -- we're always looking for new ways to improve quality, and the timing seemed right to try this one.
-- Paul Chapman
Warehouse 23 News: Buck Book Brings Blithe Bliss!
Buck Godot: PSmIth (also available in crunchy hardcover) is a book about a large, drunken, mustachioed man with a laser gun named Junior and a short fuse. In space. This means, of course, that it is without a doubt the single greatest book you'll read all year. Possibly ever.
During the month of June, Warehouse 23 ran a little promotion, and chose one Grand Prize Winner to take home five card games -- Munchkin Cthulhu, Dungeoneer: Tomb of the Lich Lord, Fluxx, Blue Moon, and B-Movie Card Games: Grave Robbers From Outer Space. Whew! That's going to be a hefty package of summery fun!
Ten other customers were also selected, each recieving one randomly selected game from the prize pack. In no particular order, these lucky folks (and their prize) are:
Eric B. Smith and Scott Haring (B-Movie Card Games: Grave Robbers From Outer Space)
Blazej Mazur and David Cunnius (Fluxx)
Michael Krueger and Sander Savelberg (Munchkin Cthulhu)
Mark Jones and Danny Dyer (Dungeoneer: Tomb of the Lich Lord)
Morten Due Jensen and Alan Nixon (Blue Moon)
And the Grand Prize winner, who will receive one copy of each game is . . .
Matthew Senkow! Congratulations to Matthew and all the winners!
-- Shadlyn Wolfe
Wow. That is scary! World of Darkness: Dogs of War stands to be, quite possibly, the single most terrifying book ever published in the horror genre of adventure gaming. Dogs are normally so . . . so . . . so darn cute. Could you imagine a world with dogs laying down covering fire and calling in air strikes?
July 5, 2008: Illuminated Site of the Week: Someone Had To Commission It
We may be building it, dreading it, or trying to prevent it, but Dezeen architecture and design magazine finds it cool and so should you. Whether anticipating the coming ecological disasters or trying to get above them, there's wonder and mystery to be had. And it won't hurt to make friends with one of the visionaries involved. Hey, that animal has another animal on its snout. -- Suggested by Tori Bergquist
Warehouse 23 News: Something Cool? Oh Yes. Very.
Shadows Over Camelot: A Company of Knights takes your usual SoC game and pushes it to the very peak of Neatodom. The peak! Look up. See anything? Of course not! This is the peak. "Why," you ask? Well, dear friends, simply click yon beckoning hyperlink and see for yourself.
Here in the States, it's the Fourth of July, which means we're all out enjoying grilled meats and fireworks. Or perhaps we're inside on the couch looking for that last 10% in Lego Indiana Jones. Whichever suits you best.
No matter the recreation of choice, we're not in the office. Feel free to leave a voice mail, or send us an email, but more than likely, we're not going to hear/see it until Monday, which will be a little crazier than the normal start of the week.
Sharp-eyed folks will have noticed that we weren't real responsive yesterday, either. We snuck in a Game Day, right before the long weekend. Who says game companies don't have time to play?
-- Paul Chapman
Warehouse 23 News: Catan And On And On
So what do you call the expansion for an expansion? An "expanansion?" An "extraspansion?" How about just "extension?" Yes, that rolls off Mr. Tongue quite nicely. If you need to make a big game of Settlers of Catan even bigger, pick up Cities & Knights 5-6 Player Extension and Seafarers 5-6 Player Extension.
July 3, 2008: GURPS Thaumatology PDF Now Available
Errata are the bane of a publisher's existence. No matter how many
editors and proofreaders go over a manuscript, words get misplaced or
misspelled. And in game books, the potential to misstate a rule, or to switch
two entries in a table, creates even more possible problems.
And when the book is over 270 pages long, with dozens of tables, the
"possibility" of errata grows into "probability."
Modern technology offers a solution: let the book out as a PDF a couple weeks before it is sent to print. The loyal fans will provide extra eyes to track down and stomp those annoying errors. Thus, we have released GURPS
Thaumatology.
(No, we're not the first publisher to do this. But as this is a first
for us, we figured we should mention it.)
If you're a retailer, and worried about the effect on sales, we
understand. However, we have had both digital and print versions of our
GURPS Fourth
Edition line available during the last year, and all the evidence indicates that digital sales do not significantly affect print sales. Basically,
customers who want PDF won't be satisfied with print, and those who need pages
in their hand aren't happy with electrons. If we thought this would slow the
sales of the print version, we wouldn't do it. We believe this will result in a
better book; that's why we're doing it.
If you're one of the aforementioned loyal fans, we'd like to send the
files to the printer in mid-July, so if you find errata, please submit it
before July 11. (We do, of course, want any errata you find after July 11, but we won't be able to incorporate it into the first print run.) And thank you!
(All errata will be corrected in the PDF as soon as possible, and registered purchasers can always re-download the file to get the most current version.)
This is an experiment, of course. We're testing the waters, and have no
immediate plans to make this our standard operating procedure. But if it works out well . . .
--
Paul Chapman
Need some dice for your Fudge games? Find pips revolting and just want a change for your six-siders? Never sure if you should add, subtract, or do nothing at all? The buddy, do we have the dice for you!
Forsooth, me hearties! Wait, I think I messed up the accent. Let me try again.
How y'all doin', landlubbers? Wait, wait . . . okay, wait . . .
Oh, yah, yo ho ho, donchaknow?
Oh, just forget it. I'm never gonna get this right. But you! You fine folks know how to get the pirate groove thing going. You're well versed in the swashing of buckles, the lockering of Davy Joneses, and the imbibing of copious bottles of distilled molasses. You, unlike my terminally ninja-oriented self, are ready, willing, and quite possibly even eager for a little something we like to call Munchkin Booty.
Well, sword-swinging ladies and hatch-battoning gentlemen, I'm pleased to announce that you can now preorder Munchkin Booty from the world's favorite not-at-all-local-but-nonetheless-friendly game store Warehouse 23. So go ye forth, and prove that you, unlike I, are cool and have good taste and are a suitable candidate for mating prospects! It awaits on the other side of that most hyper of links in yon paragraph above.
-- Fox Barrett
Warehouse 23 News: Now In Glorious 3D!
While not strictly new, the Munchkin Miniatures have returned from their long hiatus. While you could use them with a certain upcoming game or with the world's most generic RPG, we've heard there's been a recent upheaval in the fantasy gaming world. Who better than these guys to drop in for a visit?
Tom Smith has a badly messed-up leg and is in the hospital. Here are the gory details. It's going to get very expensive. You can help him (the man is a self-employed musician, for gosh sakes, and has no medical insurance) by donating here. As a thank-you, you'll be able to download a BUNCH of covers of his songs, donated by his filker friends.
When I typed that, I was assuming you know Tom. Hmm, maybe not. What can I say? Tom is not only a hugely talented singer and songwriter, but a really great guy. He likes GURPS, which is of course a sign of keen judgment and sterling character. He's the one we tapped to do the electronic music for the Fnordcast theme. Whenever I'm at a con with Tom, I'm easy to find . . . I'm the one near the front of the filk concert, laughing hysterically. Hmm, okay, that describes a lot of people, but I'm one of them. (One of my absolute finest all-time convention memories: the day Tom invited me up to the stage to "help" him perform Talk Like A Pirate Day. I put "help" in quotes because, well, Tom is a singer and I am not. But wow, it was great.
If everything goes according to plan, I'll get to see Tom early next year at Chattacon. By then he ought to be out of the wheelchair. And by the time you read this, I will have fed the donation kitty, and if you're a fan of Tom's, you should go do the same.
-- Steve Jackson
PS: If you love funny songs and are not yet a fan of Tom's, I kind of envy you, because it means that some really great pieces are going to be new to you. Where do I start? Superman Sex Life Boogie. Rocket Ride. I Want My Flying Car. Yeah, Yeah, Transitions. Destroyer of Worlds. Lars Needs Women. I Wanna Be Peter Lorre. Rock Me Amidala. Five Years. Sonuva. And dozens of others. And, of course, Talk Like A Pirate Day. Arrrr.
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