Daily Illuminator

February 9, 2012: The Sparkly Good Fairy Is Still Flitting About

We've had a few questions over at the Steve Jackson Games forums about the Sparkly Good Fairy's visit to Warehouse 23. The Munchkin Fairy Dust Bag of Holding is popular, but we still have bags left if you want to get in on the offer. There was also a little bit of confusion regarding the date. The Official Munchkin Bookmark of Sparkly Good Monster Mayhem will be inserted starting with orders placed on February 1. So, if you ordered some Cthulhu Bandz or a Zombie Dice T-shirt on January 31, you just missed out on some Sparkly Goodness.

For more details, visit Warehouse 23!

-- Monica Valentinelli

February 8, 2012: Cthulhu Gets Around

Not only is the Elder God popping up in the Infestation 2: Transformers comic book series, he's also proudly displayed on a box of Cthulhu mints and can be worn as Cthulhu finger tentacles. Good thing our own plush tentacle will be shipping soon, otherwise there won't be much of Cthulhu left!

-- Monica Valentinelli

February 7, 2012: Random Axe Of . . . Kindness?!?

That's not very Munchkinly at all. But it is the name of our newest promotional bookmark. It will be available first in GTM #145, on store shelves very soon. Later this year, Warehouse 23, SJ Games staff at conventions, and your friendly local Man In Black will have copies as well.

For the past couple of years, our friends at Alliance have sponsored a charity auction with one prize being an appearance on a Munchkin bookmark. This year, the winning bidder was Thompson Productions LLC, with a bid of $752, who asked (after winning!) if they could use their bookmark to honor a long-time supporter, Jeremy Carty, who is a ginormous fan of both Axe Cop and Munchkin. Of course, we agreed. (Jeremy's the one not wearing a cop hat.)

Steve Jackson Games thanks Alliance for sponsoring the auction, Thompson Productions for being so generous, Ethan Nicolle for donating the art, and of course Jeremy for being such an awesome fan that he deserved his own bookmark.

-- Andrew Hackard

February 6, 2012: If You Go Down To The Woods Today, You're Sure To Get Mauled To Death

A fantasy campaign without bloodthirsty monsters is like a picnic with bloodthirsty monsters. It's just no fun! Fortunately, GURPS Classic: Fantasy Bestiary is here to help.

With over 250 fantasy beasts and plants based on folklore and legends, this volume can add "run for your life" excitement to any fantastic-minded campaign. Everything has stats for GURPS Third Edition, and the meticulously researched lore and insightful ideas should prove inspirational for any campaign.

Make no mistake: GURPS Classic: Fantasy Bestiary will surely spice up your magically minded world, and it definitely won't be a picnic for the heroes. Unless, of course, their picnics are routinely disrupted by giant owls, gullet snakes, manticores . . .

--Steven Marsh

February 5, 2012: I Scream "Social"!

I spend a lot of time poring over numbers at e23, and it's always a treat when one catches my eye. Such is the case with GURPS Social Engineering. As best I can determine, William H. Stoddard's masterpiece has been the fastest-selling e23-original supplement since its release last October. (GURPS Low-Tech sold a smidge more in the same period, but since we planned it as a hardcover, we always expected it to do well.)

Given how integral (and fun!) the use of interpersonal abilities are in most RPGs, it's not surprising that this supplement has sold as well as it has. We've gotten lots of comments from folks about how it opened up new possibilities for having adversaries who could be intimidated/charmed/seduced/tricked/blackmailed.

If you haven't checked out GURPS Social Engineering, I'm now using my persuasion skills to encourage you to do so. Plus, to see a great worked example of this supplement in action, check out Pyramid #3/39: Steampunk; it features a Stoddard-written article that shows how the social structure of real-world Victorian England maps to the Social Engineering rules. (And notice how skillfully I'm "Giving Information," per p. 28 of Social Engineering . . .)

--Steven Marsh

February 4, 2012: SJ Visits Owlcon Today

To define terms:

"SJ" is me.

"Today" is Saturday, February 4.

And "Owlcon" is a really excellent game convention at my alma mater, Rice University.

I'll be there from 11am to dark, give or take. Several of the Houston-area Men In Black will be there too. We'll demonstrate games, show off some new prototypes (Castellan, anyone?), and take our best shot at general awesomeness. If you're in the Houston area, come see me!

-- Steve Jackson

February 3, 2012: Munchkin News Summary: January 2012

Y'all may not be aware that Munchkin has its own news page. In case you've missed it, here is a quick summary of the news from January:

After the picking (and eating) of many brave playtester brains, Munchkin Zombies 3 is now in production, and we'll be talking about it a lot more as the release gets closer.

We've also started layout on Munchkin Skullkickers, the booster that brings all the looting and monster-bashing of Edwin Huang and Jim Zub's hit Image comic to our little game of . . . looting and monster-bashing. (Hey, at least we know they're a good match.)

We have some internal changes going on as well. Andrew moved across the building into a bigger office and picked up a new hireling at nearly the same time, accomplishing two important milestones toward his New Year's resolution of becoming an evil overlord. [Andrew interjects: Eviller overlord, please.] He's looking forward to subjecting his new minion to every horrible Munchkin card pun he can imagine.

On the most recent of our MunchkinTV uStream chats this past Monday, Andrew also revealed a ton of super secret tidbits about upcoming products: Munchkin 8 - Half Horse, Will Travel, Munchkin Zombies Meat Lockers, and The Good, the Bad, and the Munchkin 2 - Beating a Dead Horse, just to name a few. You can see the recording on our uStream site, but it's even more fun to catch it live, participate in the chat with other Munchkin fans, and pile questions on Andrew until he runs out of breath.

To get announcements of future chats and to find all the latest news from the World of Munchkin, remember to check out our aptly named website.

See you in a month!

-- Leonard Balsera

February 2, 2012: Meet Lenny!

Hello, everyone. My name's Lenny Balsera, and for the past couple of weeks I've been working as Andrew's new Munchkin Hireling. That means it's my job to carry the extra treasure, follow him around dungeons, and polish his stuff after he kills monsters.

I've been doing freelance RPG development since 2003. I've worked with Evil Hat Productions on two hit RPGs -- Spirit of the Century and The Dresden Files RPG -- and have also contributed to Pelgrane Press' GUMSHOE games. You'll see my name on a few more things from Evil Hat that I'm writing while Andrew searches for secret doors and traps.

My hiring at Steve Jackson Games followed the best tradition of gaming -- a result of total, blind luck. I moved to Austin in November and had barely settled in when a friend pointed me at a tweet announcing a job opening at SJ Games. I thought I was interviewing for a customer service job, but Angie sniped that. Fortunately, that left an opening on Andrew's team. It didn't even bother me that much when I saw how much loot he expected me to carry into my first dungeon. Sure, I routinely have to soak my back in Epsom salt, and I've already come close to losing limbs a couple of times, but it's all in the name of killing monsters and taking their stuff.

How could any gamer say "no" to that?

-- Leonard Balsera

February 1, 2012: The Sparkly Good Fairy And Warehouse 23

The Sparkly Good Fairy has dropped by Warehouse 23 -- just in time for Valentine's Day! There are two ways you'll be visited by the fairy featured in Munchkin Fairy Dust.

Starting today, we'll include The Official Munchkin Bookmark of Sparkly Good Monster Mayhem with each order while supplies last. Limit one bookmark per order.

Next, any customer who places an order of $75 or more will get a Munchkin Fairy Dust Handbag of Holding added to the shipment. Be sure to look inside the Handbag for the special (and very pink) rule!

To give you a feel for what constitutes $75, you could place an order for:

Munchkin Quest and Looking For Trouble OR
Four, adorable sanity-blasting Chibithulhus OR
Thirteen copies of the Sparkly Pink Cthulhu Dice!

Both offers are while supplies last and you are not required to buy anything specific to participate. Happy Valentine's Day from Warehouse 23!

-- Monica Valentinelli

January 31, 2012: How's Liegh? She'll Manage.

Wow. It has been a wild ride over the last year-and-change. I started with SJ Games back in November 2010 as assistant to Phil Reed, COO. Now I am managing Warehouse 23.

Before coming to SJ Games, I considered myself an MMO’er. World of Warcraft, EverQuest, Star Wars Galaxies: if it was an MMO, I played it. My knowledge of board games was limited to the well known – Monopoly, Sorry, and LIFE – with a few geeky ones like Talisman and HeroQuest. The first time I ever played Munchkin was in my first week with the company at the playtest for Munchkin Zombies. Oh boy! I had so much fun that I immediately got Munchkin and Munchkin Booty and proceeded to turn my family into huge fans as well. Yay, Munchkin!

Fourteen lightning-quick months later, I am having as much fun as, if not more than, I was when I started. Here’s to maintaining the momentum.

Hit me up if you have any questions. I am always here to help!

-- Liegh Hegedus

January 30, 2012: In Space, No One Can Hear . . . Wait! Argh! (Glub Glub Glub)

A trip to space has a lot in common with a visit underwater: Both are challenging environments that have wide-open areas where it's a bad idea to step outside for a smoke. GURPS Traveller Classic: Planetary Survey 5 - Tobibak -- just released on e23 -- combines two great tastes into one wet world.

This guidebook for Tobibak has the titular planet's history (past and recent), a look at how it fits into the larger Traveller universe, a GURPS guide for those who live there or are just visiting, and a discussion of adventuring possibilities tied to the savage sea.

Whether you want to just visit Tobibak or plan on setting up watery roots, Planetary Survey 5: Tobibak has what you need to really let you stretch your legs. Or fins, tentacles, pseudopods . . .

--Steven Marsh

January 29, 2012: At The Halloween Show With Gum And Camera

Phil and I are at the Halloween Expo in Houston this weekend, ably assisting, and being assisted by, Paul Chapman (former SJ Games, now PSI), Justin De Witt (former SJ Games a couple of times, now Fireside Games), and Megan Hinterman, of PSI. You will, of course, recall that PSI is our fulfillment house; whether you buy Munchkin from Target or from Scary Eddy's Game Van, PSI helps to get them there. So we definitely have our first team at this show, and we're going to show them that they really need games in their Halloween stores!

We hope.

It went well for the first day. Met a lot of people, some of whom recognized us. Answered a lot of questions; talked to other, more experienced exhibitors, and many mighty views were exchanged. Most of the folks here are quite friendly to the new kids.

We will be here until Tuesday, learning about the growing Halloween seasonal market and trying to convince it that its life has been empty and bare without Zombie Dice and perhaps Cthulhu Dice. This whole "we can show you the game in five minutes" is an awful lot of fun.

And after the show, we ate at Bombay Pizza, and it was excellent. Rumor has it that an Austin location is in the offing. We approve; we officially approve! Also, at least one terrible idea erupted from my fevered mind, and I got to playtest a couple of new games, including one from Justin.

Time to write up a couple more Munchkin Apocalypse monsters and go to bed. 8am comes too soon.

-- Steve Jackson