Steve Jackson's Blog, page 11

July 13, 2025: So? I've Given Lots Of Chickens Degrees . . . 350 At A Time

If you like to get lost in the darker corners of Wikipedia – and perhaps, like myself, you're thinking of some out-of-this-world dogs lately – you might enjoy this list of animals awarded human credentials. It includes a cat with an MBA, a dog with a medical degree, and another dog with an American travel visa.

The article also contains one of my favorite Wikipedia subheads of all time: "Myrtle (chicken, parachutist)"

– Steven Marsh

Warehouse 23 News: The City Never Sleeps Because Of All The Action

There are a million stories in the city, and they're all exciting! GURPS Action 9: The City shows how you can add GURPS City Stats to your GURPS Action campaigns. It also features six sample cities to use with your own action-packed adventures. Download it today from Warehouse 23!

July 12, 2025: And It Was Game Night!

One of the things that lured me to Atlanta was the prospect of living near more gamers. We finally had our first Game Night here at the new house. 

We started with 8-Legged Peacock , a fairly new one from Brexwerx. It's about the Maratus jumping spiders, which are beautifully colored; the males dance – really! – to attract mates. You're collecting cards to build the right dance. Absent from the game is the real-world consequence of a bad dance (nom nom nom). But no cannibalism is required to make it a great game-night opener. The rules could have used a soundtrack suggestion (Crab Rave, anybody?), and you should absolutely look up the Maratus videos on YouTube. PS: I won this one. Best line: "Yay! I get to mate with a green spider!"



Then we got to the main event: Free Ride , or Frei Fahrt in the original German, designed by Friedemann Friese. This has been cruelly described as "What if Ticket   to Ride were good?" I happen to think TTR is quick fun, but Free Ride  definitely has the same vibes and is a couple of steps up in its demand for planning. A lovely board is made less useful by teeny type on the cities, making it very hard to see where you might want to go. Irene got out her label maker and fixed that, so we could play without peering. She also demolished us, scoring more than twice the second-place rail baron. I concentrated on laying track; she concentrated on carrying passengers; we saw which was better.

– Steve Jackson

Warehouse 23 News: The City Never Sleeps Because Of All The Action

There are a million stories in the city, and they're all exciting! GURPS Action 9: The City shows how you can add GURPS City Stats to your GURPS Action campaigns. It also features six sample cities to use with your own action-packed adventures. Download it today from Warehouse 23!

July 11, 2025: The GURPS Summer Sale Continues!

A few days ago we proudly announced the launch of the Pyramid V3 – First Collection at Bundle of Holding, collecting the first 60 issues of the PDF era of Pyramid at an unbeatable price.

We also mentioned that you might want to follow us on our other social media platforms for more cutting-edge GURPS news – including info on the Pyramid V3 – Second Collection that launched on Wednesday.

Well, if you heeded our suggestion, you already know about the GURPS Summer Sale currently going on over at Warehouse 23!



We're timing this sale to coincide with the Pyramid Bundle of Holding offers. As fans know, for over a decade, Pyramid provided top-notch GURPS support from many of your favorite GURPS authors. But perhaps you're a new fan of Pyramid – or even of  GURPS , having taken advantage of the GURPS 4E Essentials bundle as well.

Maybe you've started looking through the thousands of pages of Pyramid and have seen support for dozens – if not hundreds – of GURPS supplements. What if you're inspired to check out those other supplements?

Well, that's exactly what we want you to do!

For the next few weeks, we've got some special short-term GURPS sales, designed to help you navigate just some of the wonders that Pyramid has to offer. (It ran for 122 issues! We can't shine a spotlight on everything awesome we did.)



Until July 13, we've put nearly all of the core GURPS PDFs on sale at 15% off. Have you been eying GURPS Magic ? GURPS Horror ? Perhaps GURPS Space ? They're 15% off!

But wait! Starting Monday and continuing for the next two weeks, we'll have a series of one-day flash sales each weekday, Monday through Friday! For example, on July 14, we'll have a one-day sale on the GURPS Action series. Make the most of your new Pyramid issues devoted to Cliffhangers, Action Adventures, Action, Gunplay, Combat, Cops and Lawyers, Combat II, and Action II with the GURPS Action line – only on sale on Monday!

And what's on sale Tuesday? Or the rest of the week? You'll just have to check out the Warehouse 23 sale page or follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and/or Bluesky!

A new GURPS sale, every day?! Two different Pyramid Bundles, and an Essentials bundle?! This is the hottest GURPS summer in ages!

– Steven Marsh

Warehouse 23 News: The City Never Sleeps Because Of All The Action

There are a million stories in the city, and they're all exciting! GURPS Action 9: The City shows how you can add GURPS City Stats to your GURPS Action campaigns. It also features six sample cities to use with your own action-packed adventures. Download it today from Warehouse 23!

July 10, 2025: Behind The Scenes: Last Train To Bremen. Vote Now!

The proverbial train is barreling to the end of the line as Last Train to Bremen approaches its final weeks of crowdfunding on BackerKit. We've had a great first half, with over $55,000 in funding and nearly 1,000 backers With two weeks left, there is plenty more time to hop on at our next stop!

Caro Asercion, the designer of Last Train to Bremen , has offered to give backers a peek behind the curtain! For our next campaign update, we want your input! Help us decide what "Behind the Scenes" look at Last Train to Bremen you'd like to see:

• Meet the Band: A look at initial touchstones, inspiration, and the four main characters.
• Rules and Mechanics: Designing the game and the playtesting process.
• A Sight for Sore Eyes: Illustration, layout, and visual design.

Help us choose which update we dive into first. No pledge required – only a BackerKit account!

The poll will close at 9:00 am tomorrow. Hurry! Vote now!

– Darryll

Warehouse 23 News: The City Never Sleeps Because Of All The Action

There are a million stories in the city, and they're all exciting! GURPS Action 9: The City shows how you can add GURPS City Stats to your GURPS Action campaigns. It also features six sample cities to use with your own action-packed adventures. Download it today from Warehouse 23!

July 9, 2025: Time Is Money . . . Literally?

Stumbling across the various STL options we have available for 3D printers and those who use them (which would . . . um . . . also make them "3D printers"), I thought of a half-baked idea that might be of use for gamers out there – especially the GURPS players.

With 3D printing, I've found that the biggest stumbling block to getting what you want – outside of the expense of the raw material, the files, etc. – is time. If you want (say) a gargantuan octopus army or a fleet of Car Wars vehicles, you'd better get started printing more than a couple of hours before game time.

Why not steal that idea for a tabletop RPG?

Let the heroes have as much equipment as they want (from their tech options of choice, and within the confines of the campaign). But have the adventure be on a timetable. Thus, for example, maybe the Do-Gooder Organization the heroes work for can provide up to $1,000 every hour in stuff. But the time the heroes take to get stuff gives the bad guys more options or more time to accomplish the Big Evil Deed. Give the players enough info to make informed choices, but not so much info they can formulate an exact budget. (The precise mechanism that's being used to turn time into money – 3D printer, magic, efficient shoppers, etc. – is left to the GM's imagination.)

Obviously, the specific dollar amounts and timetables involved depend on the setting and the adventure, but the broad balancing act between time and money seems like it should offer both freedom and tension for the players: "Hmmm . . . the jetpack will be done 'printing' in a couple of hours, but you can leave in 15 minutes if we're willing to settle for rollerskates . . ."

– Steven Marsh

Warehouse 23 News: The City Never Sleeps Because Of All The Action

There are a million stories in the city, and they're all exciting! GURPS Action 9: The City shows how you can add GURPS City Stats to your GURPS Action campaigns. It also features six sample cities to use with your own action-packed adventures. Download it today from Warehouse 23!

July 8, 2025: Pyramid Volume 3 At Bundle Of Holding!

For over 10 years, the third volume of Pyramid magazine delighted fans each month with a new PDF of gaming goodness, perfect for GURPS – and with lots of useful material for other games.

Now, thanks to the Bundle of Holding, that whole era is available at a previously unheard-of bargain price.

Through July 28, the Pyramid V3 – First Collection – bundling the first 60 issues – is available for a mere $49.95!

From magic to martial arts to thaumatology to steampunk to military sci-fi – and much, much more – this collection is sure to have something of interest to just about every gamer.

But wait! The First Collection bundle also comes with the two volumes of Kenneth Hite's Suppressed Transmission , the beloved column taken from the second volume of Pyramid!





Over 2,300 pages of Pyramid goodness plus two big volumes of all-purpose weirdness – does it get any better than that?

Yes! Starting Wednesday, the Pyramid V3 – Second Collection will be available at the Bundle of Holding. It will assemble the remaining 62 issues.

If you were to buy each PDF in the first bundle individually, it'd cost $558. The Pyramid V3 – First Collection represents over a 90% savings over buying them one at a time!

Since so many Pyramid issues provide support for GURPS Fourth Edition, the Bundle of Holding is also resurrecting the GURPS 4E Essentials bundle. For $19.95, you can get the GURPS Basic Set , GURPS Adaptations , How to Be a GURPS GM , and other goodies. If you "level up" your purchase, you can add in the most-essential tech books!

Pumping up your GURPS digital library has never been easier. But hurry! Pyramid V3 – First Collection will be going away on July 28. Get it before it's gone . . .

– Steven Marsh

P.S. To be among the first to learn about the launch of the Second Collection bundle and other exciting GURPS news this month, we heartily recommend following us on Facebook, Instagram, and/or Bluesky. (Yes, this is a not-so-subtle hint . . .)

Warehouse 23 News: The City Never Sleeps Because Of All The Action

There are a million stories in the city, and they're all exciting! GURPS Action 9: The City shows how you can add GURPS City Stats to your GURPS Action campaigns. It also features six sample cities to use with your own action-packed adventures. Download it today from Warehouse 23!

July 7, 2025: Covers I Love – Nikki Vrtis Edition

I recently recounted my love of a couple of past game covers from the company. Nikki Vrtis and I got to chatting about which images sprang to mind for her:

* * *

Two covers that I immediately thought of when Steven popped this question to me were  The Fantasy Trip: In the Labyrinth and the Dungeon Fantasy Companion .

In the Labyrinth depicts a classic combination of crypt-crawling characters, one that reminds me of many fun roleplaying sessions at Gen Con. With Dungeon Fantasy Companion , I adore Brandon Moore's art style – especially how the glowing parts add dimension and energy to the image.

* * *

If these recollections have sparked memories or joy with you, I again extend the invitation to send me an email or chat about your own favorite covers on the forums!

– Nikki Vrtis (and Steven Marsh)

Warehouse 23 News: The City Never Sleeps Because Of All The Action

There are a million stories in the city, and they're all exciting! GURPS Action 9: The City shows how you can add GURPS City Stats to your GURPS Action campaigns. It also features six sample cities to use with your own action-packed adventures. Download it today from Warehouse 23!

July 6, 2025: Scott Haring

Scott Haring, for many years a member of our staff (most notably as the Car Wars line editor in its most glorious days), passed away on July 1 from complications of pneumonia. He was 67.

Scott was always fun to be around. His desk was covered with toys and baseball paraphernalia (as Andrew was to football, so Scott was to baseball). He also had a great singing voice, a talent which rarely crossed over with game design. Too bad office karaoke was not a thing back then! But when he put on the editor hat, he was one of the few people I would trust, without checking, to write or edit good copy. He was a pro.

The memorial gathering and reception for Scott will be held on Saturday, July 12th, at 11:00 am at Memorial Drive United Methodist Church (12955 Memorial Dr. Houston, TX 77079) in the Friendship Court.

– Steve Jackson

Warehouse 23 News: The City Never Sleeps Because Of All The Action

There are a million stories in the city, and they're all exciting! GURPS Action 9: The City shows how you can add GURPS City Stats to your GURPS Action campaigns. It also features six sample cities to use with your own action-packed adventures. Download it today from Warehouse 23!

July 5, 2025: Surveillance Bytes

=== BEGIN TRANSMISSION FROM SECRET MASTERS ===

Electronic Frontier Foundation: "How Cops Can Get Your Private Online Data"

Know your rights.

=== END TRANSMISSION ===

Warehouse 23 News: The City Never Sleeps Because Of All The Action

There are a million stories in the city, and they're all exciting! GURPS Action 9: The City shows how you can add GURPS City Stats to your GURPS Action campaigns. It also features six sample cities to use with your own action-packed adventures. Download it today from Warehouse 23!

July 4, 2025: Wind Down Your Radios, Dementites And Dementoids

A bit of sadness perhaps best expressed with a kazoo: Radio host Dr. Demento (also known as "Barret Hansen" for those who prefer more mundane nomenclature) has announced his retirement after 55 years of hosting The Dr. Demento Show. His radio program was the nexus of all things musically geeky for fans of a certain generation . . . or two, or three. Among other achievements – both academic and weird – the good Doctor is largely credited with bringing "Weird Al" Yankovic to a larger audience.

The article offers more information, including details on various retrospectives leading to the final episode in the fall. You can learn about this occasion and find out how to buy streaming access to a large chunk of the program's history on the official Dr. Demento website.

Speaking personally, I vividly remember, as a youth in the 1980s, staying up late to record episodes using the lousiest cassette recorder ever, playing tapes over and over until they warbled in their overstretched pain. To this day, certain novelty songs don't "sound right" to me if they're not immediately followed by another song that was on my well-abused recordings. In addition to the entertainment value and helping forge my sense of humor, Dr. Demento's program also gave me some joy in my youth knowing that I wasn't alone in being on the weirder side.

There are still some new shows left to enjoy, so feel free to revisit (or join for the first time). The end is nigh . . . but it'll still be demented.

– Steven Marsh

Warehouse 23 News: The City Never Sleeps Because Of All The Action

There are a million stories in the city, and they're all exciting! GURPS Action 9: The City shows how you can add GURPS City Stats to your GURPS Action campaigns. It also features six sample cities to use with your own action-packed adventures. Download it today from Warehouse 23!