Steve Jackson's Blog, page 122

July 23, 2022: GURPS Adaptations Now Available On Demand!

Have you ever had a favorite fictional setting and wished that there was a GURPS version? We can't get every license, but we can do the next best thing, and give you the tools to do it yourself. To that end, may we humbly suggest GURPS Adaptations ? It's now available in print, for the first time, thanks to the popular On Demand program!

Written by the inimitable William H. Stoddard (author of the award-winning GURPS Social Engineering , also recently offered in print), this supplement guides you through how to bring other settings to the gaming table, with insight into getting the big picture right; adapting descriptions of people, places, and things for use in games; and crafting suitable adventure possibilities. The supplement does so through six worked examples, demonstrating how you might add some GURPS -y goodness to the Odyssey, Dracula, and other classics.

With Adaptations , bringing worlds alive is easier than ever. Get it as you like it, in print, on demand!

– Steven Marsh

Warehouse 23 News: Beware The Power Of The Tower

Sometimes heroes for The Fantasy Trip need a diversion from their main quest. And sometimes, those diversions can be plenty dangerous all on their own. Tower of the Moon is a horrific side quest that pits the investigators against the titular tower. Get it today from Warehouse 23!

July 22, 2022: Munchkin Flower Shirt For Charity

Steve alluded in a previous post about Roe v. Wade about a shirt for charity being in the works, and that shirt is now available! The Flower 'Our Bodies, Our Choice' shirt is now listed on our RedBubble store. In addition to shirts in various sizes and styles, the design is also available on stickers, mugs, and more. All proceeds from the shirt sales will be going to the Lilith Fund for reproductive equality in Texas. 

An enormous thanks to Sabrina and our production team as well as artist Katie Cook for their work on this design. It's nice having a way to provide folks with a cool design featuring Flower, the most iconic woman in Munchkin , and an outlet to help support a worthy cause. If you're feeling even more charitable, the Munchkin Ukraine shirt is still available as well, with proceeds going to World Central Kitchen in aid of Ukraine. Thanks to everyone for supporting these charitable causes! 

– Hunter Shelburne

Warehouse 23 News: And So You're Back . . . In Outer Space

The Grissom system lost contact with the rest of the cosmos a long time ago. Now they're back . . . but there's more to the story. Mysteries await intrepid spacefaring heroes who dare to delve into GURPS Space Atlas: Grissom – available to download from Warehouse 23!

July 21, 2022: Steve Jackson Games T-Shirts Now Available

We're often asked: "Do you have t-shirts?"

Yes. We do! You can visit our Redbubble shop to see the current designs. Many of these were created thanks to a successful Kickstarter campaign back in 2020, and we have a wave of new designs in the works that we'll take to Kickstarter later this year. If that project is successful, we'll later add the new designs to the catalog of shirts currently available at Redbubble.

New shirts are later. For now, you can find our current shirt designs right here.

– Phil Reed

Warehouse 23 News: Renaissance Reconnaissance

GURPS Renaissance Venice: Spies of Venice expands on the information found in GURPS Hot Spots: Renaissance Venice to give you insight into . . . well, we can't say. (Pssst! It's spies!) More mysterious mayhem from Matt Riggsby awaits a download from Warehouse 23!

July 20, 2022: Eric Flint

We are very sorry to report that Eric Flint, creator (among many other things) of the Ring of Fire series, died July 17 from complications of pneumonia. He was 75.

I didn't know Eric well enough to write the obit he deserves. I met him at LibertyCon and liked him immediately. He liked to play at being a "crusty old man," but dropped it immediately when something interesting came around . . . and Eric was interested in everything. As an author of hundreds of thousands of words of alternate history, he had a use for any piece of info that came his way. I had really looked forward to getting better acquainted as the GURPS Ring of Fire project progressed, and now that won't happen. (We definitely intend to move forward with GURPS Ring of Fire ; I'm just sorry he won't be around to see it.)

The thing that impressed me most about Eric was his commitment to helping other writers. He came into the field late in his life, as a winner of the "Writers of the Future" project, and he wanted to give others the same kind of chance. Faced with a torrent of fan response – and fanfic! – for his bestselling 1632 series, he didn't close his door. Instead, he innovated! His Grantville Gazette e-zine and anthology series has introduced a number of new writers to print . . . while paying them a competitive rate and turning a profit, guaranteeing that it can continue.

People want to write, and people need to read! Eric knew that. All honor to him.

– Steve Jackson

Warehouse 23 News: Osiris Awaits

Egypt! One of the oldest civilizations on this Earth echoes across all reality. GURPS Infinite Worlds: The Osiris Worlds presents some interesting alternate Earths with the Egyptian empire as its focus, including in-depth details on three of them. Worlds await a download from Warehouse 23!

July 19, 2022: Pathfinder Revolution! Live On Kickstarter

The long-awaited return is here: Pathfinder Revolution! is now live on Kickstarter! This collaboration with Paizo brings the world of Pathfinder RPG to our classic Revolution! boardgame in a beautiful new package that combines the best of both worlds. Compete for control over the city of Korvosa, a place full of intrigue and subterfuge. Players secretly bid gold, blackmail, or force to influence powerful factions and other forces within the city, gaining more support than their opponents to win. 

Fans of the original Revolution! may recognize the similarities, because this is a redevelopment of that classic game, one of our favorites around the office. We took the best elements from the base game and the two follow-up expansions, plus new ideas from years of playtesting and development, and combined them to create what we consider the ultimate Revolution! experience. We're very fortunate to have an amazing partner in Paizo, who provided their beautiful Pathfinder  art, allowing us to set the game in the lush fantasy city of Korvosa. The base board plays up to 4 players, like our original, but if we can unlock our stretch goal (only one to unlock!), then we'll be able to add the 5-6 player board. That means you'll have all the relevant components for a 4-5 player game or a 5-6 player game, all in one box! 

The Kickstarter campaign runs until August 4, and we'll have livestreams every Thursday at 2 p.m. Central on our Twitch, Youtube, and Facebook, so swing by if you want a close-up look. You can also check out our friends at Kidsplaining, Tantrum House, Dice For 60 Seconds, or Grant Lyons for their overviews as well. As a fan of  Revolution!  myself,  Pathfinder Revolution!  is now my preferred way to play; I can't wait for everyone to get a chance to check it out. 

– Hunter Shelburne

Warehouse 23 News: Seas The Day!

GURPS The Green Madonna is an adventure for swashbuckling heroes that pits them against spies, an inquisitor, and other piratical problems as they search for a treasure that defies imagination. Set sail for adventure with a download from Warehouse 23!

July 18, 2022: Kickstarter Reports, July 2022 Update

We are currently working through five active Kickstarter campaigns, two of which are in the fulfillment stage, two that are printing, and one that is waiting for the warehouse team to pack and ship rewards. Those two that are at print are smaller jobs and expected to reach our warehouse before the close of the month. Additonally, the Pathfinder Revolution! project is scheduled to launch later today and we're ready to start printing just as soon as we know whether or not there's enough interest to justify producing the game and, if so, whether we have enough support to add the upgrade for five- and six-player games.

In other Kickstarter news that is not Steve Jackson Games news, I officially joined the Kickstarter Advisory Council last month, an honor and an opportunity to advocate for tools and features that I believe will help Kickstater creators better manage their campaigns. 

Please follow us on Kickstarter – Steve Jackson Games and Warehouse 23 – to receive notice when we launch new campaigns.

Pathfinder Revolution! by Steve Jackson GamesJuly 18 to August 4Launching later today, this new edition of Revolution! is set in the Pathfinder world and incorporates our favorite mechanics and ideas from the Revolution! expansions into the core game. The project has only a single stretch goal that, if unlocked, adds components and rules to cover 5 and 6 players. You can learn more at the project's Kickstarter page!Steve Jackson Games' One Roll Chronicles RPG AdventureJune 30 to July 111,038 backers and on scheduleWe released the One Roll Quest roleplaying game earlier this year and now, thanks to your support, the first pre-crafted adventure for the game is at print. (US printer, so we should see the finished books in the warehouse next month.) Once the adventure ships to the backers, we will review the final numbers and decide whether or not we create a second adventure for the game. If you missed the Kickstarter campaign, you can still join in by pre-ordering the adventure. (United States only.) Nanogames: Dragons & Jack-o'-Lanterns by Steve Jackson June 20 to June 23261 backers and on schedule.This "Quickstarter" project ran for only a few days, closed successfully, and the game is already at print. (And it is expected to reach our warehouse before the end of this month.) The Official Munchkin Bookmarks Campaign of "Ocean" Dice June 6 to June 13304 backers and ahead of scheduleThe new bookmarks have reached our warehouse. The new dice have landed in our primary warehouse in Georgia. We will try to ship the rewards in August, which is ahead of the September 2022 estimated delivery date. Steve Jackson's Munchkin® Presents BATMAN™ March 1 to March 183,550 backers and ahead of scheduleThe games have reached our primary fulfillment warehouse. Shipping is in the works. (The international rewards are proving to be as challenging as ever to process/ship, but we think we have things on that front under control.) US backers should see their rewards before the end of August. International backers will see their rewards . . . well, we wish we knew for sure. Everything will be shipped, but then it will take whatever time the world decides it wants for packages to move across borders.  Car Wars Sixth Edition by Steve Jackson Games November 29 (2019) to January 6 (2020)3,936 backers, behind scheduleUS fulfillment was completed before the close of 2021. The EU and UK shipments have mailed out to (and reached several) individual backers. The games destined for Australia are still making their way across the world to the Australian fulfillment warehouse. Yet again, global freight problems plague our operations. There are several more projects in various stages of preparation. In many instances, we try to complete as much of the work as possible before going to Kickstarter. This is so that we can minimize the time between the close of a campaign and the delivery date of the rewards. That allows us to complete projects and put the games in your hands faster than if we were to hold the creative work until after a Kickstarter project closes.

We do not yet have exact launch dates for our upcoming projects, so please follow both Steve Jackson Games and Warehouse 23 on Kickstarter so that you don't miss anything.

– Phil Reed

Warehouse 23 News: Your Home Away From . . . Dungeon

Find a relative refuge away from crypts and critters with GURPS Dungeon Fantasy Encounters 4: Ring Fort . This location includes a description of the fort, details on its occupants, and a map. Our most a-fort-able supplement is available to download from Warehouse 23!

July 17, 2022: International Shipping Is More Expensive Than Ever

We recently announced that we were eliminating the option for international shipping in our crowdfunding campaigns. We've tried several things over the years, but nothing has worked well in balancing costs, times, and frustration.

Our last Kickstarter campaign to offer international shipping – Steve Jackson's Munchkin Presents Batman – set the shipping costs higher than we would have liked. Backers in the EU, for example, were charged $32 for shipping their $50 reward. Worse still, that $32 did not include local taxes or fees; that was the raw cost of prepping and sending the game to the EU.

Not surprisingly, many were disgusted by the cost of shipping relative to the cost of the game, but that was a reality we had to face. Little did we know, though, that even that price wasn't enough to truly cover the cost of shipping the game to another nation.

As the warehouse in Georgia packs and ships the international Kickstarter rewards, we're left with a fulfillment bill that exceeds what we charged for shipping the game to international backers.

Our average cost per package for the games sent to Canada, the EU, and the UK, is roughly $40. And this is working through the best rates our primary warehouse – a fulfillment service that ships tens of thousands of games every month – could secure.

Making matters even more terrible for everyone involved, that $40/package does not include any local fees. So when our project supporters in other countries receive their rewards, they'll have to pay a percentage of the overall cost (the game plus shipping) to receive their game.

Combine this with the downturn in orders from international distributors, and we have a recipe for a very unfun frustrating experience for those outside of the United States who would like to play our games.

We hope to see things change for the better soon, but all signs point to harsher, rougher times ahead when it comes to selling our titles to gamers outside of the United States.

– Phil Reed

Warehouse 23 News: Twisted Action!

GURPS Action 8: Twists helps you spice up your GURPS Action games with a few innovations from the mind of Sean Punch. Add a smidge of the supernatural, social interactions, or escapades away from society. Your inspiration for adventure awaits your download from Warehouse 23!

July 16, 2022: Dice For War!

If you're a military wargamer in need of more six-sided dice, we have two sets that are great for games based on 20th-century conflicts.  Army Men d6 Dice Set - A dozen dice, six each of two different colors, styled after the classic plastic toy army men that are still found today. (For those of you who need even more dice, this bagged set should cover your dice desires . . . for the moment.) Bullet Dice - This pack of six double-injection six-sided dice is unlike most of the dice you're likely to see at your next wargame session. Shaped to resemble bullets, these are barrel dice that include a hexagonal brake element so that the dice don't roll forever. If you need more of these and also want a game, our Z-Shot dice game includes a dozen of these custom dice and all of the rules needed to play the game.Of course, you can use whatever dice you like. The Kitten d6 Dice Set or Unicorn Dice would be one way to set yourself apart at your next wargaming event. If you dare . . .

– Phil Reed

Warehouse 23 News: Super-Size Your Dungeons!

GURPS Dungeon Fantasy 21: Megadungeons is your guide to designing really big areas for GURPS Dungeon Fantasy . Make reasonable megadungeons, make them alive, and make them dangerous! Your guide to greatness is a download away from Warehouse 23!

July 15, 2022: Loooking For A Coder With Brraaaaiiiiinnnns

Long story short: we are working with The Last Gameboard (lastgameboard.com). They have an amazing game device, and already have Ogre on it, via sublicense through Auroch. I'm expecting a Gameboard of my own, any day now, to try things out.

We'd like to get Zombie Dice on there. As you know if you are the person this is aimed at, it is a (very good) iOS app already.

To go on Gameboard, it would need to be implemented in the Unity or Unreal engine. So we are looking for a person or small studio intimately familiar with one of those engines, capable of porting or reimplementing the iOS code, using the assets we already have, and working with the Gameboard SDK to get zombies onto the Gameboard.

If that might be you, drop a line directly to me, at sj@sjgames.com, and talk will ensue.

– Steve Jackson

Warehouse 23 News: Putting The "Pain" In "Painting"

GURPS Horror: Beyond the Pale shows that struggling for your art can be more literal than the investigators realize. Download this adventure for GURPS Horror from Warehouse 23 . . . if you dare!

July 14, 2022: Paper! A Cautionary Tale

I'm not saying buy all the GURPS books ever . . . but I'm not not saying that. Let me explain. Sure, I'd love it if you bought every supplement your heart desires. But I recognize that you can't get everything you want at any given time. However, I wanted to make note of one reality of publishing, so you can make informed decisions.

As many of you have no doubt noticed, many things have gotten more expensive in recent years. One such item you may not have noticed is paper. Paper is one of those elements that you don't think about too much until there's increased demand due to a recovering global pandemic, forthcoming holiday publishing needs, and global unrest. And so it's quite likely that paper will get more expensive at some point soon.

For you (our amazing fans), the element that most concerns me with this possibility is our popular On Demand offerings. This program makes available many items that are long out of print, such as ( GURPS Thaumatology or the Discworld Roleplaying Game ) as well as many items that have never been available in print previously, such as GURPS Adaptations , GURPS Social Engineering , and Dungeon Fantasy Companion 3 .

If the price of paper goes up considerably, we have to look at the prices of our On Demand offerings. While we prefer not to raise them, we work with the economic realities of what we have. (In particular, it's challenging to make the numbers work on small books, such as GURPS Template Toolkit 1: Characters , and color books, such as the color version of GURPS Goblins .)

To be clear, we don't have any immediate plans to raise prices. However, things can happen quickly in our "boat gets stuck and global trade grinds to a halt" world. I imagine some of you would appreciate more notice of a possible future event so you can plan accordingly, rather than learning that 100+ books are about to become more expensive all at once.

(As an aside, the title is meant to be read in the style of a 1950s educational short voiceover. I probably watch too much Mystery Science Theater 3000.)

– Steven Marsh

(Steven is not wrong. We've been hit by paper shortages and rising paper costs this year. Most recently, the One Roll Chronicles adventure for Steve's One Roll Quest rules-lite RPG ended up costing more to manufacture than it would have cost us only two months ago. For us. the paper challenges are less of an issue for offset, traditional books, but even those are likely to climb in price if the paper issues are not resolved soon. If there's a print-on-demand book you want in your library, now is the best time to act. We have no idea what the future may bring. – Phil Reed)

Warehouse 23 News: Smash Faster!

Starting with the Delvers to Grow: Core Book is an intelligent decision to make heroes quickly for the Dungeon Fantasy Roleplaying Game . You can ramp up the cleverness with Smart Delvers . Make wizards, clerics, bards, and druids quickly and easily. Getting this one from Warehouse 23 is a no-brainer!