Steve Jackson's Blog, page 143

December 27, 2021: Brass Skeletons In The Fantasy Trip

In the deepest part of a labyrinth, or guarding the lair of an especially powerful mage or warlord, you might see skeletons that seem to be made, not of bone, but of living metal that gleams and glints in the torchlight. These are Brass Skeletons. To create a Brass Skeleton, a mage must start with the intact skeleton of a humanoid warrior. However, rather than the Zombie spell, the skeleton is enchanted using Greater Magic Item Creation. The skeleton costs whatever it costs; often it is the former property of an unlucky adventurer. The mage will also need $100 worth of brass in small shavings, no less than $65 per week in common ingredients which include strong acids, and a seven-foot-long ceramic vat in which to prepare the skeleton. A wizard who can make a Brass Skeleton would need 40 weeks, spending 175 ST per day, and would charge at least $50,000. Once it is finished, all the original material is gone and only animated brass remains. It is not undead, but similar in some ways to a golem. It has no personality, but it does have reasoning ability. It has ST 1d+16 (due to uncertainties in the process, some are significantly stronger than others), DX 12, IQ 8, and MA 10. However, it disbelieves illusions with the IQ of its current owner, so record that stat as well. It can use any weapon for which its creator, or the person who provided the skeleton, had the skill. A Brass Skeleton begins as the servant of its creator, who can see through its eyes and hear through its ears as for a regular skeleton. The creator may give it to another, who may give it to another, and so on; it will only follow the orders of its current owner. It will follow voice orders in any language its creator knew. It will follow mental orders if the owner can see the skeleton. A change of ownership breaks the telepathic bond, though, and only its creator will ever be able to use the skeleton's senses remotely. If the owner of a Brass Skeleton dies, the skeleton will continue to carry out its last orders. If it completes the orders it had been given, it becomes quiescent, standing motionless. However, if attacked or moved, it will fight until it or its attacker(s) are dead. There is no known way for someone else to take control of an unowned Skeleton. In combat, a Brass Skeleton is immune to arrows, as well as spears, javelins, and other long pointy missiles. Its resilient brass material gives it 4 points of "toughness," and it can wear other armor as well. It cannot be destroyed, as a regular Skeleton can, by a single heavy blow. It takes only half damage (calculate after damage reduction, and round down) from attacks based on flame, lightning, cold, or water, and is not de-enchanted by lightning. It does not breathe and is completely immune to gas attacks unless they are corrosive in nature. A Brass Skeleton does not age or decay at all. When "killed," a Brass Skeleton remains a battered skeleton made of corroded brass, but all its unnatural life has left it and it cannot be repaired. However, a Brass Skeleton with even a single point of HT left will draw energy from the universal mana field and "heal" at one point every local midnight until it is at full HT. The owner of a Brass Skeleton may bejewel it, gild it, solder on horns or fangs, and otherwise enhance it for the sake of appearance. This does not affect its combat ability but may confuse opponents. Likewise, an occasional Brass Skeleton is whitewashed to mislead its master's foes into thinking it is an ordinary skeleton. A single Brass Skeleton might be found leading a group of regular Skeletons, since it has its own IQ of 8. It cannot speak unless it has been additionally enchanted (e.g, with Proxy), but it can command them mentally. 

Brass Skeletons on the Tabletop Start with a regular skeleton miniature and use a dark primer. Then go to town with your metallic paints. A light red-orange ink wash will help define the bones and enhance the brassy appearance; you may also want to indicate some highlights. Weapons may be normally colored, but might also be brass-painted to match the skeleton if that is what their evil master (i.e., you) prefers. Get your own miniature to represent a Brass Skeleton on our Kickstarter campaign for The Fantasy Trip Foes, ending on January 4! 

Warehouse 23 News: Unicorn . . .

. . . dice? These  Unicorn Dice  are just like you imagined they should be! They're a deep, rich pink. They have glitter. Duh. And the pips are tiny unicorn hoofprints! Add some whimsy to any game that calls for d6 dice with these three 16mm beauties. Order now on Warehouse 23!

December 26, 2021: The Munchkin Dice Tray Of Desperate Terror

Released earlier this year and offered through crowdfunding, The Munchkin Dice Tray of Desperate Terror is now at Warehouse 23 for all of you who have been asking, "When can I get that?"

This custom double-sided tray has all your favorite Munchkin monsters on the back, while the front features an old scroll motif with monster silhouettes. Oh, and the rule. (Of course there's a rule!) The Munchkin Dice Tray of Desperate Terror measures 8.6 inches square and has a thick fabric cover over heavy-duty rubber with plastic snaps at the corners.

For those Illuminati players in the audience, we have also released an Illuminati Dice Tray featuring the classic Pocket Box edition cover artwork.

We showed them both off while doing demos at Origins, and they were a huge hit!

– Phil Reed

Warehouse 23 News: Storing Your Dice!

This  GURPS  dice bag joins our ever-expanding selection of classic (and classy!) dice bags. It's a 7" x 7" satin-lined drawstring bag, big enough to hold over 100 dice, and it comes with three 16mm black pearlized dice with white ink just to get you started! Order the  GURPS 4th Edition Dice Bag now on Warehouse 23!

December 25, 2021: Merry Christmas From SJ Games

To everyone who celebrates, we hope you have a happy Christmas. And no matter what you celebrate, we wish you a peaceful holiday season. Hope your holiday is full of games, friends, laughter, and love.

And, if you roll dice . . . Merry Critmas from all of us here at SJ Games!

– Hunter Shelburne

Warehouse 23 News: Did You Forget Someone? Get Them Just What They Always Wanted . . .

. . . with a Gift Certificate from Warehouse 23. It's fast, it's easy, and it's always the right color! Choose your amount and provide us with the email address of the recipient. Our elves will make your gift magically appear in their inbox. Today!

You'll thank us, and they'll thank you! Merry Christmas!

December 24, 2021: Prices Increasing January 1 On Various PDFs

Prices for PDFs have remained pretty consistent for a loooooooong time, with few price adjustments in my time managing our downloadable supplements for the past decade-plus. Sadly, the forces of inflation have proven too much, and we need to nudge up our prices on some of those releases.

Come January 1, 2022, prices on many of our PDFs will be increasing. We've tried to keep this as modest as possible — just $1 per item.

This increase affects: GURPS downloadable originals (including Pyramid magazine) GURPS Classic (Third Edition and earlier) supplements In Nomine booksVarious oddball items, such as Roleplayer , Suppressed Transmission , etc.At this time, we're not increasing the prices of GURPS Fourth Edition books that began as print items: the Basic Set , GURPS Banestorm , GURPS Infinite Worlds , etc. We're also not increasing the prices on bundles . . . so if you want (say) the complete Pyramid Volume 3 bundle or the Pyramid Classic Bundle, they'll technically be an even better deal next year.

We're also taking the opportunity come January 1 to unify our PDF prices across the board. Prices that previously ended in .95 or .99 will be rounded up to .00 — which will hopefully make things easier for our fans and business office alike.

If you've been on the fence about buying some of our fine downloadable offerings and want to save a few bucks, consider doing so before midnight, December 31. (And if, by January 2, you see an item that seems like it should have had its price adjusted but wasn't, feel free to drop me a line.)

– Steven Marsh

Warehouse 23 News: The Condo Out Of Space

Prepare for an encounter with the most sanity-blasting entities in all the dimensions . . . your roommates.  Chez Cthulhu  brings the horror of Lovecraft's Mythos right into your apartment . . . as if the leftovers from the Pizza with Absolutely Everything weren't bad enough. Order now on Warehouse 23!

December 23, 2021: Visit Your Favorite Local Game Store Today!

As the holiday season overwhelms many of us, we're down to the wire on buying gifts and recommend you visit your favorite local game store today if you're still searching for the right present for your friends and family. No doubt you already know about the ones closest to you, but it would be wrong if we didn't remind you to check our game store finder . . . especially if you're traveling and currently nowhere near your own home.

The absolute best place to learn about new games — and get a close look at them before making a final choice — is your local game store. Whether you need a new card game, more dice, the latest supplement to your favorite RPG, or simply want to discover something unexpected, the Friendly Local Game Store is the place to find what you need. 

And if your local store isn't currently listed in our store finder, please ask them to submit their info to retailers@sjgames.com and we'll help get them added to the database.

Happy shopping, gang!

– Phil Reed

Warehouse 23 News: The Weather Outside May Be Frightful

So here's advice insightful: If your car plows into snow banks . . . drive some tanks, drive some tanks, drive some tanks! With Car Wars Tanks , that is; perfect for the Car Wars Classic driver who has everything. Download it today from Warehouse 23!

December 22, 2021: Have You Questioned Directions With Dice?

Roleplaying games are a creative exercise for many, especially those gamemasters who prefer to jump into the action with as few notes as possible and focus on improvisation over strict adherence to notes, outlines, maps, pre-crafted NPCs, and detailed plotlines. For GMs who enjoy letting the dice guide the action, we have two custom six-siders that will come in handy as you let the dice fall where they may. Question Die - But WHY? A very good question, but one you must answer for yourself. Because all this die can do is ask more questions!  Direction Die - Which way should we go? Where is that noise coming from? What is that missing symbol on the map? Roll the die and find out!You can find these and lots more at our online store, Warehouse 23. Check out our selection of dice (and dice bags) today!

– Phil Reed

Warehouse 23 News: One Size Fits All!

If you're looking for a last-minute gift idea, look no further! With a Gift Certificate from W23, you get to stay home and drink eggnog while your gift is being sent to any email you designate! Choose the amount you want to give and we'll do the rest. Note: Gift Certificates do expire in one year.

 

December 21, 2021: Fulfill Your Stocking Stuffer Fantasy (Trip)

The Fantasy Trip is a vast, ever-expanding world of adventures, but getting started isn't hard at all, and it fits perfectly inside a Christmas stocking! Melee and Wizard are the building blocks of the game in small boxes, but don't mistake their modest size for a lack of content. You still get lots of tokens, a map sheet, and dice to start your quest.

Melee will get you fighting, taking your heroes and matching them against monsters, or each other, while teaching the basics of the easy-to-grasp combat system. You can get it as our gift to you via a free PDF download on Warehouse 23! And you can learn the ways of the magic system with Wizard . Take control of a spellcaster with a similarly-packed box of fantasy fun.

You can find Melee   and Wizard (as well as lots more Fantasy Trip goodies) on Warehouse 23 and at your local game store. Both of these games are packed with content, but are easy to learn and sized perfectly for stockings. Almost too perfectly . . . I wonder if Santa would play a wizard or a fighter?

– Hunter Shelburne

Postscript from SJ: Santa travels quickly, slides down chimneys, and eats your cookies. I'm thinking "rogue."

Warehouse 23 News: A Bundle Of Pyramid Fun!

Over 4,000 pages of gaming goodness, in an amazing bundle, at an unforgettable price . . . behold, the Pyramid Volume 3 Bundle. Your GURPS Fourth Edition games will sparkle with new rules, options, campaign ideas, and more. Download all 122 issues at an unbelievable price, from Warehouse 23!

December 20, 2021: Unnatural Axe Delayed

Early this year, we ran a preorder for the Munchkin Foam Unnatural Axe , a very limited run for a cosplay or collector product based on this iconic weapon. While Gargoyle Studios is hard at work getting those preorders filled, the axe has been delayed due to supply chain issues with some of the finishing pieces used to make the axes. 

It's a stark reminder that the global supply issue is affecting even domestic suppliers, and is still causing problems for all of us. In the meantime, Gargoyle Studios has provided some work-in-progress shots to see how these replicas look before the color is applied. Enjoy!

– Hunter Shelburne

Warehouse 23 News: The City Needs Heroes

Bring the bright lights of city life to your GURPS Action games with GURPS Action 9: The City. This supplement lets you add the power of GURPS City Stats without slowing down the game. Your passport to adventure begins with a download from Warehouse 23!

December 19, 2021: No, Not That New Metaverse Thing

"Metaverse" seems to be a hot word right now. This is not a bad thing.

Many years ago, we claimed the site metaverse.net and registered the trademark for games. Though we are not known primarily as a digital game company, we do have a number of entries in that field, and that's where you can see a guide to them all.

If all the new foofaraw about "metaverses" drives some more traffic our way, we'll take it. More players, yay!

– Steve Jackson

Warehouse 23 News: A Bundle Of Fantasy Fun

If you missed the early Hexagram issues, rejoice! You can now download a bundle of the first eight issues all in one spot. Hexagram #1-8 Bundle is a trove of treasures for The Fantasy Trip , with hundreds of pages and dozens of articles. It's more like a Hexakilogram, and you can get it from Warehouse 23!

December 18, 2021: (Re)Introducing Hunter Shelburne, Marketing Director

Is there an echo in here or is it just me? You may have seen my name adorning many tweets and Daily Illuminator posts over the past two years, and even more dating back to my original start back in 2016, but that was technically as Community Manager. None of that will change going forward, but now I get to call myself a Marketing Director! Since the promotion a little while back I've been working on a variety of new projects, but generally I'll be working to keep growing our social media and marketing presence, and I'll still be livestreaming over on Twitch, Facebook, and YouTube. You can't get rid of me that easily!

So for you, no changes. For me, looking at my project checklist, lots of exciting changes. Keep an eye out for a lot of really cool projects coming up in 2022 and beyond — we've got quite a bit planned!

– Hunter Shelburne

Warehouse 23 News: Store Your Dice In Style!

Only a munchkin would bring more than a couple sets of dice to a game day. Fortunately, we cater to munchkins! This fancy, satin-lined, 7-inch square  Munchkin Dice Bag  will hold all the dice you need for every possible situation: good dice, bad dice, probationary dice one fumble away from being thrown into the resin caster for your next artsy paperweight . . . or maybe that's just us. Order this Munchkin Dice Bag  now on Warehouse 23!