Steve Jackson's Blog, page 304

August 15, 2017: Grognard: Loren Wiseman's Editorials

Loren is no longer with us, but his writings live on. I hope you'll support Marc Miller's Kickstarter project for a book collecting his editorials from JTAS, with ruminations about Traveller , game design, being a gamer, and more or less everything else under the sun. There are over 400 essays here, totaling about a quarter-million words, from a very perceptive observer who helped shape our hobby.



I have written an introduction, and Marc wrote the Afterword. It's available in both hardcopy and digital format. There's some good writing here - you want this. Read the samples linked from the project page and you'll see what I mean.



– Steve Jackson



Warehouse 23 News: Friends, Romans, Munchkins … Lend Me Your Ears!



Alert ye countrymen - the Munchkin Shakespeare Pre-Order Bundle is available during Gen Con for, well, pre-order. Included are these six bard-themed items: Munchkin Shakespeare Deluxe, Kill-o-Meter, Flowerspeare Pawns, Spykespeare Pawns, Drama Dice, and S taged Demo. To pre-order or not to pre-order, that is the question. We know the answer – pre-order one for thine home right now at Warehouse 23.  

August 14, 2017: Play Our Games At Gen Con In Hall C!

Our play area in Hall C (near the HQ/Registration Desk) is the perfect place to experience a full session of a game you saw demoed at our booth (#1413), learn to play a new game, or scratch your competitive itch. You can register ahead of time, or bring generic tickets in case we have open slots at the event. 
 
Learn to play all our latest games, including Munchkin Shakespeare,  Batman: The Animated Series Dice Game,  Bill and Ted's Excellent Boardgame,  Simon's Cat Card Game,  Port Royal,  Dungeon Fantasy RPG, Zombie Dice Horde Edition ,  as well as classics like Munchkin and Ogre !
 
We also have competitive play, where you can test your skills against players around the country (and possibly the world)! Follow the links below to find tickets for events. 


Fight future wars with !


Dare to descend to deadly depths in a Munchkin Dungeon Delve! Every newly discovered Dungeon card means a different dose of dastardly drama!


Immerse your mind in the madness of Munchkin Mayhem! 


Battle other bruisers in an all-out Munchkin Brawl!


Win an exclusive playmat in  or compete to be the last zombie standing with in our Survivor series competitions! 
There will be prizes for winners and swag for all participants, so come out and play in Hall C at Gen Con! 



– Andreas Stein



Warehouse 23 News: Harness The Powers Of The Mind



Psionics is more than just awesome powers; it's also important to know how to use them. With GURPS Psionic Campaigns , you'll get history, advice, insight, and campaign ideas about psionic abilities. Opening your mind is just a download away, thanks to Warehouse 23!

August 13, 2017: Crowdfunding Focus - A Song Of Ice & Fire: Tabletop Miniatures Game

It's Sunday, and for many people (myself included), that means a new Game of Thrones episode is on. However, I'll also be watching a different game: Cool Mini or Not's A Song of Ice & Fire: Tabletop Miniatures Game on Kickstarter. It's made over a million dollars, and still climbing, but there are some amazing models yet to be unlocked. 

The game is based on the novels by George R.R. Martin, so you may notice the artwork has a bit more of a painted style versus the television series. However, even if you eschewed the books for the show, many of your favorite characters will take the field . . . or work behind the scenes. One of the unique elements of the game is its use of Non-Combat Units, on their own intrigue board. This board will provide your forces with additional powers and strategies, and gives players a way to utilize characters whose lack of combat prowess makes them hard to translate onto a battlefield.



Ultimately, though, the miniatures are what you're here for, and there are a ton. I mean, it's in the company name, right? Starks, Lannisters, mercenaries, and even 3-D terrain and playmats adorn the campaign, through pledges or add-ons.



If you're interested in pledging, back soon, because it ends shortly. Watch their video for a bit more detail on how to play if you need some convincing. 



Just remember; in the game of thrones, you win or you die. 



– Hunter Shelburne



Warehouse 23 News: The GURPS Supplement With The Most Class?



The school year is around the corner . . . a perfect time for adventure! With GURPS Social Engineering: Back to School, learning comes to life, whether you're looking at campaigns set in classrooms or at universities, or just making downtime and improvement more interesting. Your education begins with a download, only at Warehouse 23!

August 12, 2017: Come See Andrew This Weekend!

I'm going to be a special guest commentator for the Unrivaled regional Munchkin tournament being held on Saturday at Dragon's Lair in Austin. The fun starts early and goes all day, so if you're in the neighborhood, swing by! I'll be the guy trying not to embarrass myself in front of a microphone.



If you can't make it, check out the live Twitch stream and join in the fun!



– Andrew Hackard



Warehouse 23 News: Book Passage Aboard The Future Of Yesteryear!



Attention, steampunk travelers! Over 30 forms of transportation are ready for boarding, thanks to GURPS Vehicles: Steampunk Conveyances . Whether you're looking for the humble hansom cab, an exotic submersible, or the impossible interplanetary solar steamer, this guide has something you can use. Your ticket to adventure is just a download away . . . exclusively at Warehouse 23!

August 11, 2017: Gen Con Is . . . NEXT WEEK!

The biggest show of the year is closing in, and we're ready for it! Gen Con 50 is happening in Indianapolis, IN, August 17-20, and SJ Games will be gaming all day, every day, at booth 1413. And boy, we have a stacked schedule! 



At the booth, we'll demo our upcoming releases, like Port Royal , Muertoons , Dungeon Fantasy RPG , and Munchkin Shakespeare Deluxe . We'll even have a small number of Port Royal and Muertoons for sale (get there early)! We'll have some Ogre features as well, like the free "Bad Timing" handout, featuring a fully playable Ogre scenario on one sheet! Ogre fans will also get a sneak peek of Ogre Miniatures Set 1 , as well as the Ogre Video Game with a short teaser trailer. Speaking of sneak peeks, we are making a few announcements at the convention for some highly anticipated releases, so keep an eye on our glass case to catch a glimpse!



For our Munchkin fans, you need to be at the Munchkin Tavern, our nightly convention after-party, with some exclusive swag and guest appearances. Tavern runs Thursday, Friday, and Saturday night, from 4 p.m. until 10 p.m., and features the amazing food and drinks of Tavern on South. Bring your Munchkin swag, or get some of the Munchkin Tavern merch, and get it signed by our guests from 7:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Artist John Kovalic, Munchkin Czar Andrew Hackard, and Steve Jackson will all be joining us throughout the event; find the full schedule on the Munchkin Tavern site. We even have a limited number of our special Tavern Take-Home ​Box , full of Munchkin loot and an item signed by Steve Jackson, so make sure you visit the Munchkin Tavern on opening night, if you can! You can get a first look at some of the Tavern swag on our Facebook live stream; check it out!



If scheduled events and tournaments are your bag, check out our Organized Play area in Hall C! We've still got tickets for a few events, like the


And for those of you that aren't lucky enough to attend the convention, we'll still be running contests all week on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram! Follow us on each so you don't miss your chance to win some #GenCant prizes. We'll also be sharing our Gen Con announcements on social media the day the show opens, so keep a close watch for an early look at our hottest upcoming stuff! 



Don't forget - Steve is part of a panel discussing the history of Gen Con. If you're interested in that, or want to find out what Steve is up to at the convention, he shared his schedule earlier this week. 



Help us celebrate Gen Con's 50th at their biggest show ever! See you next week at booth 1413!



– Hunter Shelburne



Warehouse 23 News: Bringing New Meaning To Movie Magic



Sometimes magic looks tailor-made for the big screen. Bring that eldritch excitement to your gaming table with Pyramid #3/105: Cinematic Magic . Become a cinematic sorcerer, take to the rooftops with martial-arts marvels, harness the power of dead gods, and more. Download it individually, or subscribe today for this and many more months of marvels . . . only from Warehouse 23!

August 10, 2017: Ogrezine Is Live On Kickstarter!

I'm developing a new addiction: checking Kickstarter-status updates. Our latest Kickstarter, Ogrezine , went live this morning. I checked in to write an Ogre News update, and it hit its funding goal while I was writing. I literally had to update the draft prior to posting. And now, as I'm writing a Daily Illuminator post, it is about to pass our second stretch goal. I'll probably need to update this draft before I'm done. (Editor's Note: We did pass it, and have unlocked all of our stretch goals!)
 
As excited as I am to see the success of this project, that doesn't hold a candle to how I feel about what I know is to come. Curating and editing this upcoming magazine will be a blast and it is all thanks to you, our dedicated Ogre fans.
 
I can't say I'm surprised, however. I've read so many amazing posts on the forums that I absolutely knew the talent was out there and our fans would be appreciative of a collection of this fine work. Through Ogrezine, we all can share the many stories and scenarios that slip past on the forums.
 
So, more work to do. But that's a good thing!
 



-- Drew Metzger



Warehouse 23 News: A Munchkin Star Is Born!



Star Munchkin Guest Artist Edition  , featuring the incredible illustrations of Len Peralta, lets you join Captain Quirk and other characters in this take on the original  Munchkin . Enjoy all the monsters, swindling, and killing you've come to love, in an entirely new universe. Make it your own now, at Warehouse 23.

August 9, 2017: The Discworld Roleplaying Game: Moving Along

The  Discworld Roleplaying Game  has been out for half a year now, and the recent release of the PDF version offers an excuse to add a few notes about the book. To start with, anyone still wondering what's inside might like to read some of the (at least) four, gratifyingly positive, reviews published online:



Just Roll 3d6


Bell of Lost Souls


One Yard Hex


Let the Dice Fall Where They May
Between the compilation of the book – and especially its bibliography – and its actual appearance, the corpus of Discworld literature expanded a little. Sadly, we gained only one more adult novel,  Raising Steam , before the tragic death of the creator of the Disc himself – but that novel added a whole new set of options for games by moving the Disc into its very own Steam Age. I'm personally obliged to point out here that steam power offers a whole load of possibilities to roleplaying games; I can also say from personal experience of running convention demo games that steam trains offer lots of options for the GM, by making it easy to move characters around significant parts of the Disc quickly and conveniently. Also, that novel inspired the publication of another bit of Discworld ephemera,  Mrs Bradshaw's Handbook , which describes various locations along those railway tracks – some of them replete with possible scenario hooks.



Perhaps even more broadly useful to Discworld gamers, though, is the appearance of The Compleat Discworld Atlas, which expands on the already invaluable Discworld Mapp (the way a frog expands on a tadpole). GMs skimming through the book, and finding countless notes on previously undocumented areas of the Disc, might even miss the actual point of the exercise - the huge and gorgeous douple-sided map of the whole Disc, folded up and tucked in the sleeve at the back, complete with supplementary thumbnail maps covering things like climate and magic levels.



And last, some seriously game-specific stuff: I've done my best to add a few extra post-publication notes to the book - initially on the Steve Jackson Games discussion boards, but for convenience, I've also collated them as PDFs. Mostly, this is material that was squeezed out of the book itself: more Occupational Templates, more example spells, and full stats for more characters from the books, along with a look "Under the Bonnet" at how these rules were derived from the full  GURPS  ruleset and hence how the two versions relate. But in tribute to the next big  GURPS  launch, I also brewed up "Discworld, Dungeonworld" – for using the Disc as "The World" in  GURPS Dungeon Fantasy  games. Oh, and readers who use  GURPS Character Assistant  might like to know that we now have a GCA version of the Discworld character sheet (which even calculates Magic Points for you when necessary); I've worked up a full Discworld data file for GCA.



-- Phil Masters



Warehouse 23 News: Procure Costumed Kid's Confections!



You're a ghost. You crave candy – copious amounts of candy. How can you make this happen? Just scare trick-or-treaters out of their sugary goodies. The ghost with the most candy wins. Ghosts Love Candy is a fast game, frighteningly fun for three to six phantasmal friends. Have a copy spirited to your home today from Warehouse 23.

August 8, 2017: New Weightless Hardcovers?!

The impossible has become commonplace. Thanks to the digital sorcery of Warehouse 23, two of our recent hardcovers are now available as downloadable PDFs – rendering them without weight or even physical substance!



The Discworld Roleplaying Game is a complete roleplaying experience, bringing Sir Terry Pratchett's incredible Discworld setting to your gaming table. At over 400 pages of gaming goodness, the Discworld Roleplaying Game is the largest single hardcover we've ever done . . . and now this flat world – brimming with adventure and antics – is ready to be stuffed into your tablet or added to your digital library of GURPS Fourth Edition-compatible supplements.



Or perhaps your imagination is leading you to defend the Earth . . . or conquer it!  GURPS Mars Attacks  brings the backdrop of the Mars Attacks trading cards from Topps to life, with history, secrets, GURPS templates, tech, and campaign insight that let you fight for humanity . . . or the Martians!



Pick up either of these great PDF editions today . . . only from Warehouse 23!



– Steven Marsh



Warehouse 23 News: Magnificent Merchants Make The Most Money!



Do you have the goods to become the richest, most notorious merchant in Port Royal ? Hire the best to grow your shipping empire, and press your luck to collect major dividends. Know when to stop, though, or you'll be staring at an empty cargo hold. Pre-order now at Warehouse 23 .  

August 7, 2017: Gen Con 50 - Indianapolis, IN - August 17-20, 2017

I expect to be at all four days of Gen Con this year. We'll have a booth and I will be doing a panel on Saturday at noon. (It's a historical panel about early Gen Cons: "In the Shadow of the Castle." Check out all the historical panels and lists of featured guests.)



We will be running the Munchkin Tavern again, and I'll do a signing there on Saturday night. I'll probably be around at other times, too. As usual, it is at the Tavern on South, 423 W. South Street.



I expect to be doing a podcast with Pegasus Games. There's also going to be a They Might Be Giants concert . . .



-- Steve Jackson



Warehouse 23 News: Grab Gold, Put A Pal On The Plank, Speak Like A Swashbuckler!



Munchkin Booty Guest Artist Edition puts an eye patch on the original Munchkin game. Try out that French Buccaneer accent you've been working on while marauding across the deep sea. Plunder your own … or, wait - order yours now at Warehouse 23.

August 6, 2017: The Best Little Movie Show On YouTube

If gaming is my first love, then cinema is a very close second. I'm a movie and pop-culture fiend; studied it in college and ingest as much as I can, as regularly as I can. That includes a mountain of content creators on YouTube and social media. 



Since its inception, Movies With Mikey (created by Mikey Neumann) is the top of that mountain for me. I anticipate new episodes like one might wait for their favorite network TV show. Why? Well, his videos dive into deeper and more interesting elements of movies than anyone else I'm subscribed to. He's got miles of style, and he takes on all types of movies, from blockbusters like Star Wars and Mad Max: Fury Road , down to maligned flicks or cult classics like Ladyhawke , or one of my favorites, Sunshine . These are deep cuts, and he approaches each movie like the artistic achievement it is, big or small. 



He has a substantial backlog of content, and is currently making videos full-time for the channel, so subscribe and check it out. Plus, it's not every day I can recommend an Emmy-nominated YouTube channel. I suggest starting with a movie you have an interest in or really enjoy, and go from there. If you're into movies, give Mikey's stuff a shot; you won't be disappointed. You can also subscribe to the main channel, Chainsawsuit Originals, which is full of awesome shows. 



– Hunter Shelburne



Warehouse 23 News: Add A Splash Of Deadpool!



Marvel's mutated rogue brings along his inimitable humor with 35 new cards in an expansion for  Munchkin: X-Men Edition . It's all the creature killing, gold snatching, and friend deceiving you love in this hilarious anti-hero. Pick up your copy of Munchkin Deadpool – Just Deadpool  now at Warehouse 23.