Steve Jackson's Blog, page 56

April 26, 2024: Character Playlists

One of my favorite aspects of TTRPGs is character creation. I freely admit to being one of those players that puts a lot of effort into developing characters with detailed backstories and fleshed-out personalities. Part of that process is creating character playlists – a soundtrack that can stay static or evolve as the campaign goes on. They're a bit like the mixtapes I used to make for friends (remember those?) and feature songs whose tone or lyrics fit the overall mood of the person I'm playing at the table. I thought that character playlists were a particular quirk of mine, born from my love of music and inspired by my admiration for film composers. But as it turns out, I'm far from the only person who uses music to help them get to the heart of their tabletop hero. As I've become involved in more virtual tabletop games, I've learned that many of my friends have playlists dedicated to their characters and create them for the same reasons I do – to help explore their creation's inner life, to aid in discerning an overall tone, and to provide a cinema-style soundtrack for them in between gaming sessions. It makes me wonder how many other TTRPG enthusiasts are out there doing the same thing. I love to your thoughts on our forum!

– Katie Duffy

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!

April 25, 2024: Confessions Of A Munchkin Fan: How This Game Created An Obsession

All my life, I have enjoyed playing board games. My earliest memories are playing Mouse Trap , Monopoly , chess, and Cathedral with my family. One Saturday in college, a friend purchased Munchkin and introduced it to myself and another friend. What was this game, and why did I love it so much? It was funny, complex, and so different from anything I had played before. I was instantly hooked.  Instead of weekend parties, which was par for the course amongst my classmates, my friends and I dedicated hours upon hours to playing this hilarious game. Each Saturday, we would gather at the family home of my friend Alex and begin playing around noon. But we didn't just play one game of Munchkin;  we played over and over again all day and into the night. John Kovalic was suddenly my favorite illustrator. After a month or so, it became evident we were playing so much that we needed to add some expansions. Our next choice was Super Munchkin , followed by Star Munchkin . Then one day, the  Epic Munchkin rules, which added hours of fun to our games. (You can download it here for free!) If you are unfamiliar with it, Epic Munchkin includes special rules to take your game to level 20. However, if you combine it with Munchkin Bites and draw the card Mine Goes to Eleven, you can extend it to level 22! Suffice it to say there were tons of Doritos, countless bottles of Gatorade, and many, many meals from Taco Bell consumed as we played mega-sessions from noon until 2:00 am. When I moved 1,200 miles away for graduate school to a state where I knew no one, I found my new friends after seeing their game club on Board Game Geek. Now I had an entire group with which to play this amazing game! I soon discovered an entire world of gaming: Worker placement, pick-up and deliver, press your luck, and deck building soon became a part of my lexicon. My eyes had been opened to an entirely new future: one of adventure, social deduction, mystery, and humor. But most importantly, gaming camaraderie. Thursday nights became the best night of the week, as we met in a local Target cafe. A year into living in my new home, my parents visited and I showed them my new-found hobby. They fell in love with these unique and complex games, and they now have a collection rivaling my own. Some cool accessories I have enjoyed pairing with Munchkin are the Colossal Munchkin Level Die , the Munchkin Steampunk Kill-O-Meter , the Munchkin Dice Bag: Duck of Doom , and the completely free-to-download Munchkin Mask . Grab it on Warehouse 23 – you won't regret it! Over 15 years later, Munchkin remains not only my intro into gaming but also my all-time favorite game. I own over 20 stand-alone sets and more expansions than I can easily count. I have completely run out of shelf space for my massive collection of games, and I know I'm not the only one! Pro tip: the best shelves are the Kallex from Ikea! I could never have imagined that a college obsession would one day lead me to work for Steve Jackson Games!  I hope you have tons of fun with your  Munchkin games. And remember: Never pick up a duck in a dungeon! (Are you a mega- Munchkin fan? If so, you'll want to make sure you check out Munchkin Big Box !)

– Michelle Richardson

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!

April 24, 2024: Easy Encounter Idea: The Hook

Here's a quick tip for anyone who crafts encounters for The Fantasy Trip or GURPS (or any other RPGs, if one could envision such a thing): Come up with a hook.

It sounds easy, but it's trivial to forget . . . or, at least, I tend to forget it. Keep it short, simple, and maybe a little wild. Brainstorm a handful. Then see what sounds interesting or that fits what's already happened in the campaign. Here are some ideas to get you started.

• A fight where gravity is weird.
• A battle on a time limit.
• An encounter where the heroes want to get hit.
• An encounter where the PCs need to protect something breakable.
• An encounter where the PCs need to break something protected.
• A combat on a moving location.
• A situation (possibly combat?) told via flashback.
• A fight where the enemies are in disguise.
• A fight where the heroes are in disguise.
• An encounter that sparks because of a mistaken identity.

I typed those ideas without thinking too hard about them. They may not make much sense on their own (although they're at least readable, because the inimitable Editor Extraordinaire Nikki Vrtis usually hits my writing with a hammer before it goes live). They're certainly not applicable to every encounter in every campaigns. But all you need at any given time is one that sparks something within you: "Hmm . . . The heroes are in disguise? Why would they be in disguise? What if that's an idea proposed by the Commander to infiltrate the hidden base to steal the plans? That could work! Hmm . . ."

Regardless, having a ready stash of easy-to-compose hooks can help you come up with something cool or interesting for the heroes to do, or something at least memorable for the players. And that's what you're looking for!

– 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!

April 23, 2024: App Recommendation: Exit: The Game Apps

I make no secret regarding my love of escape-room-type games. I must've played them all, from Soho down to Brighton (well, from Indianapolis to Muncie, at least). Our household also has played our fair share of tabletop escape games as well, to much enjoyment. One of the game series in this vein is the Exit: The Game games, by Thames & Kosmos. We like those boxed games, but that's not what this post is about.

Rather, this post is about the two Exit: The Game video games, available via iOS (how I played it), Google Play, Steam, and quite possibly other platforms I'm missing. Those links are for the first game they released: EXIT: The Curse of Ophir . There's a second one called Trial of the Griffin . I liked them both.

For those who've played a number of point-and-click or adventure-type games, these will feel familiar. They are not. At least, not exactly. In particular, the puzzles are much more brain-scratching than their LucasArts counterparts. Sometimes they don't play fair. I'm hesitant to say more, for fear of spoilers. However, if you've played escape-room-type games and want a digital version, I can heartily recommend these, especially for a few hours of on-the-go fun. And don't feel bad if you need a hint or two (which the game happily provides); there's a lot of sneaky subterfuge going on with these.

– 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!

April 22, 2024: Join The Munchkin Big Box Bandwagon

Hold onto your dungeons! Munchkin Big Box has arrived on BackerKit! In celebration of nearly 25 years of the classic game Munchkin , we are releasing Munchkin Big Box , the ultimate collector's edition! Designed by Steve Jackson Games and first released in 2001, Munchkin has become a massively popular, fan-favorite game.  So, what's in Munchkin Big Box ? The core set includes: A big, big box that can hold over 2,000 cards plus your favorite game accessoriesMore than 650 cards, all illustrated by John Kovalic, with lots of new ones added. We will tell you more details about those soon!14 Illustrated Card DividersA Game BoardSix Dice in Different ColorsA Side BoardTwo Kill-O-MetersA Redesigned, Consolidated Rulebook12 Colored Standies (six male, six female)Two Sets of Colored Standie BasesA Playable, Commemorative BookmarkA Collector's Edition Spyke Enamel Pin Munchkin Stickers  Munchkin Big Box launched April 18th on BackerKit, and it's safe to say that fans are excited. The project was fully funded in just under five minutes, and hit a quarter of a million dollars in less than an hour! What does that mean for you? Tons of unlocked stretch goals, including: BackerKit Exclusive: Enamel Pin20 Promo Card Reprints Added to Big Box BackerKit Exclusive: Loaded DieWooden Meeples Added to Big Box (replaces cardboard standies)BackerKit Exclusive: Munchkin LanyardFour More Bookmarks Added to Big Box BackerKit Exclusive: Munchkin Challenge CoinJumbo (25mm) d6 Dice Added to Big Box (replaces standard d6s) Note: Thanks to your comments, we are rethinking these 25mm dice. Stay tuned for more!BackerKit Exclusive: 3" Canvas Munchkin PatchBackerKit Exclusive: Munchkin Dice Tray Are you excited? Are you ready for hundreds of cards and extra bonuses? Are you excited for even more stretch goals? Are you ready to back this amazing project?  If you answered yes to all of the above, then now is the best time to head over to the Munchkin Big Box page on BackerKit and make your pledge. The campaign runs until May 16th, so treat yourself to a copy today!

– Michelle Richardson

 

P.S. As this Daily Illuminator goes to print, the campaign stands at almost 4,500 backers with total pledges of over $630,000. Thank you!

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!

April 21, 2024: The Book Of Uncommon Beings

To celebrate the release of the official Bestiary for The Fantasy Trip , Shadekeep is releasing T he Book of Uncommon Beings as a free PDF!. A print-on-demand version is also available for purchase. This 48-page illustrated guide by Howard A. Kistler, with excellent art by Michela Da Sacco, contains rare and unusual creatures and intelligent races. All are complete with attributes, descriptions, and player character guidelines to help you bring these uncommon beings into your campaign.

– 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!

April 19, 2024: Have You Seen Senet?

Senet is an attractive and well-edited magazine about games and game design, in an era that is not friendly to physical magazines. Yet . . . here is Senet ! It's worth a look. Subscribe, or buy single copies, at www.senetmagazine.com.

An article in the Winter 2023 issue (#13) discusses the history of microgames, from their origin at Metagaming to the current flowering of micro-titles. Yr. Humble Servant is interviewed about Ogre .

There are reviews, previews, interviews, "so I played this!" articles . . . really, everything you could want from a game magazine, and with modern graphics too. I like it.

– Steve Jackson

Warehouse 23 News: Why Is The Darkness Blinking?

They're trapped between the realm of the living and the dead . . . and they're not too pleased about it. The Book of Unlife adds 44 unliving monsters to your The Fantasy Trip campaigns, along with a complete adventure setting. Live like there's too many tomorrows thanks to Warehouse 23!

April 20, 2024: Sounds From Elsewhere: Fun And Famous Movie Soundtracks

Some of the most iconic film scores come from fantasy and science fiction films. From the soaring bombast of John Williams to the experimental sounds of Hans Zimmer, there are many movies where the music makes a huge impact. Here are some of our favorites: 1. The Lord of the Rings trilogy has one of the most fantastical scores ever composed, one that is beloved by film fans and classical music aficionados alike. (It was voted the best soundtrack of all time by Classic FM readers six years in a row.) We can thank Howard Shore for creating these evocative melodies that brought Middle Earth to life. Two of the scores most famous tracks are "Concerning Hobbits" from The Fellowship of the Ring and "Helm's Deep" from The Two Towers.  2. Did you know that Hans Zimmer, perhaps best known for his work on the Academy Award-winning films The Lion King and The Pirates of the Caribbean, composed the score for Denis Villeneuve's latest epic? Based on the sci-fi classic by Frank Herbert, Dune follows the story of Paul Atreides, a young nobleman with mysterious powers, as he meets a nomadic people known as the Fremen and seeks revenge against the Harkonnens, his family's sworn enemies. Check out the "Main Theme (Suite)"! Perhaps the coolest part is how Zimmer created sounds we have never heard before by using newly-made instruments and existing instruments in new ways. 3. "What's this, what's this?" Jack Skellington asks in Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas, a Disney cult classic. Danny Elfman composed the soundtracks for Beetlejuice, The Simpsons, Edward Scissorhands, Batman (1989 version), and dozens more. In The Nightmare Before Christmas, he created haunting melodies and songs for many characters, including "Jack's Lament" and "Sally's Song." (Fun fact: Elfman not only wrote the music, but he was also the singing voice of Jack! Chris Sarandon provided Jack's speaking voice.)  4. Michael Giacchino is a prolific film composer. His Disney scores include The Incredibles, UP, Inside Out, Ratatouille, and several others. Another of his notable works in the soundtrack for the 2009 J. J. Abrams movie Star Trek, along with the sequel Star Trek Into Darkness. The epic and exciting music, especially the "Original Theme," brings this cinematic adventure to life, while "Spock Goes Spelunking" brings a feeling of terror to the audience.  5. This list would not be complete without Star Wars. Composed mostly by John Williams, these scores have some of the most recognizable music in pop culture. The "Main Theme" is so recognizable that many people can recognize it from the first note. What makes it extra special is how Williams introduced a new practice in the film genre: leitmotif. The concept of leitmotif was popularized by the classical opera composer Richard Wagner in the 1800s. Fragments of music such as rhythms, melodies, or simple chords identify characters throughout the work, even when they are not on-screen. Examples in Star Wars include "Princess Leia's Theme" (A New Hope), the sublime "Rey's Theme" (The Force Awakens), and of course, "The Imperial March," which was introduced in The Empire Strikes Back to indicate the presence of Darth Vader and the Empire. We hope you'll get to enjoy these scores and more through Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube, vinyl, or even a CD!

– Michelle Richardson

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!

April 18, 2024: Stakeholders Report For 2023

The Stakeholder Report for 2023 is up! 

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!

April 17, 2024: Join The Campaign For Saethor's Bane

Saethor's Bane , an introductory programmed adventure for the Dungeon Fantasy Roleplaying Game , funded on Backerkit on March 9 after reaching the goal to upgrade all the art to full color. The campaign is – for a few more days – accepting late pledges, which includes a limited number of Dungeon Fantasy RPG box sets.

The adventure is ideal for learning GURPS via the Dungeon Fantasy RPG . It rapidly pushes four characters from "competent new heroes" at 112 points to well over 250-300 points by the time the adventure is over . . . perfect to start an ongoing Dungeon Fantasy RPG career. It gives new players – and experienced ones! – a great overview of the capabilities and growth pathways for the professions.

It also fully supports – and extends – the Delvers to Grow model of modular character generation, which has been used at home tables and conventions to create new characters in 30 minutes or less, even for brand-new players. The hardest part of point-buy character generation can be getting to the table, and between the ready-to-go solo adventure and Delvers to Grow , you can be there in less than an hour.

The late pledge phase ends Saturday, April 20.

– Douglas Cole

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!