Steve Jackson's Blog, page 81

August 31, 2023: Take Flight With GURPS Fantasy Folk: Winged Folk

The world of the fantastic just branched in a new direction, literally, with GURPS Fantasy Folk: Winged Folk . This supplement continues the expansion of the Fantastic Folk line seen in recent months with Goblins and Hobgoblins and Kobolds (along with the appropriately longer-lived Elves ).

Winged Folk takes you under its wing to give you the complete rundown on the world of these elusive people. From culture and history (including some secrets) to insights about their language and religious beliefs, their soaring possibilities are brought down to earth for gaming groups. On the adventuring side, their core GURPS template is provided (of course) along with five professional templates, two magical styles, gear, and other goodies for gamers.

You'll also get advice about incorporating these high-minded individuals into campaigns and fantasy realms, including the possibility of GURPS Dungeon Fantasy exploits. With Winged Folk , the sky's the limit! Download it today, only from Warehouse 23!

– 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!

August 30, 2023: Dragon Con!

Once again, the team boldly goes to Dragon Con, braving the scorching Atlanta heat. You can see Steve, Irene, and Jean on panels, in the game room, or in line for the elevators.

Here are our scheduled panels:

Steve Jackson Video Games
Panelists: Steve Jackson, Bobby Blackwolf
Friday 2:30pm, Augusta E-H Westin

Indie Games
Panelists: Eloy Lasanta, Kenneth Hite, Steve Jackson, Logan Jenkins, Irene Zielinski
Friday 4pm, Augusta 1-2 Westin

What's New With Steve Jackson Games
Panelists: Steve Jackson, Jean McGuire, Irene Zielinski
Sunday 11:30am, Augusta 1-2 Westin
(We'll be streaming this one live on our TikTok page! Get notified by signing up for the Live Event here.)

The Munchkin Panel!
Panelists: Steve Jackson (And a surprise interviewer!)
Sunday 2:30pm, Augusta 3 Westin

Master Game Master
Panelists: Eloy Lasanta, Steve Jackson, Amanda Hamon, Devon M Chulick
Sunday 7pm, Augusta 1-2 Westin

Car Warriors: Autoduel Chronicles
Panelists: William Joseph Roberts, S. M. Stirling, Jody Lynn Nye, Steve Jackson, Irene Zielinski
Monday 2:30pm, Embassy AB Hyatt

You'll also find us in Board Gaming, on the first floor of AmericasMart 3:

Wiz-War
10am Friday, Saturday, Sunday, and Monday

Car Wars
6pm Friday and Saturday

Groo: The Game
6pm & 7:30pm Friday and Saturday
2pm Saturday
5pm Sunday

And don't forget to bid on the unique misprinted giant Munchkin die in the Charity Auction in the Hyatt Grand Hall C at 11am on Monday!

Hope to see you there!

– Irene Zielinski

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!

August 29, 2023: SJ Games Heads To San Japan

East meets Southwest at San-Japan in San Antonio, and SJ Games is going to be there! Join us Labor Day weekend, September 1-3, for some game demos at this growing convention. Philip and Jimmie will be at the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center (in the tabletop section), demoing Steve Jackson's Munchkin Presents Batman , Gelatinous , Hack & Slash , and more. You can find the full schedule on their website. 

We're excited to see some of the more local gamers; come out and say hi to the crew, play a game, and grab some promo swag! 

– Hunter Shelburne

 

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!

August 28, 2023: Be Kind!

Yesterday I gave everyone permission to sketch poorly in service of their characters and games. (If anyone gives guff in regard to your efforts, send 'em to me!) The other side of that coin is – as the audience – to be kind to those doing sketches. Sure, if a sketch looks (ahem) sketchy, there's often an inclination to make a joke about it. I encourage anyone who is so inclined to tamp down that impulse. (And I say this as a natural smart aleck, for whom sarcasm is my primary language . . .)

As a player or GM, being in a roleplaying game can be an experience that's surprisingly intimate (for lack of a better word). You're trying to come up with little stories on the spot to convey unusual ideas for characters who are possibly little like yourself, and may even be radically different in outlook, age, gender, etc. A lot of times, you're putting your heart out there. That takes a fair amount of trust . . . which can be scuffed or broken by ill-considered quips from other players.

So if someone tries to make the game better by doing a quick sketch to get a point across, accept it in the spirit it's offered, even if the picture itself is less than ideal. Focus on what that sketch is showing you about the character or situation. Find something nice to say about it. (I note that some groups are just fine with good-natured ribbing, but realize that even "funny" comments among friends can sometimes hit a toxic point. Genuine expressions of appreciation and admiration amid jokes go a long way toward keeping kindness central to the gaming relationship.)

But above all, keep having fun! When it comes to good gaming, even a bad draw can mean a good win.

– 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!

August 27, 2023: You Have Permission To Sketch Poorly

One mind-blowing experience with West End Games' Star Wars: The Roleplaying Game  last millenium, if I remember correctly, was a sample script between a GM and players in which the eager heroes exclaim, "We attack the Star Destroyer!" The GM attempts to make sure they understand what they're undertaking and draws a large triangle taking up most of a sheet of paper. "This is the Star Destroyer," the GM says, "and this . . ." – adding a tiny dot next to the giant triangle – ". . . is your ship." The players immediately respond along the lines of, "Evasive maneuvers! Let's get out of here!"

As a GM or player in an RPG, I'm often acutely aware of my own artistic failures. I have the keenly honed drawing abilities of someone who decided the smartest path was to devote his life to writing. Still, I'm more than willing to use my lackluster artistic skills to convey what I can. And I encourage you to do so, too.

Sketches (even poor ones) can convey scale: is a character smaller or larger than average? They can help players understand a default emotional state; if the initial sketch of Queen Evokateve has her with a large smile (or maybe a frown with the "angry eyebrows" instead), then the others at the gaming table can quickly understand her apparent mood without asking. Similarly, a player whose PC is portrayed with a giant sword is probably trying to emphasize an important aspect of that hero.

You might even surprise yourself when you make a quick sketch. Once, when trying to denote a prince to my players, the first thing I drew was the crown. This was primarily to get the rest of the face right. But I realized, after a moment: "Does this mean that the sign of his regal power is the most visually striking and important element of him?" And, in that moment, I decided: Yes. Yes it was.

Sure, your efforts may be little more than glorified "stick figures" (or even not-so-glorified), but they're still useful as visual elements. In a world where evocative visions are trying to be conjured with numbers and words, a little bit of visual pizzazz often improves the experience.

My penchant for verbosity means that I have more to say about this, but my editor is encouraging me to split this into two posts. Until then, keep sketching, no matter how less-than-professional your efforts may be.

– 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!

August 26, 2023: Car Warriors: The Autoduel Chronicles Funding On Kickstarter

You may recall the recently released Burning Roads: Dead Man's Run , the first book in The Autoduel Chronicles published by Three Ravens Publishing. (If you haven't seen it yet, you should check it out!) Well, they're back and reloaded, ready to tackle more stories in The Autoduel Chronicles with a brand-new Kickstarter! In addition to Dead Man's Run, readers can back at various levels to get early access and printed editions of the upcoming books 72 Hours To Graceland and Marathon Of Madness. Those with deeper pockets (or maybe some amazing autoduel sponsorships!) can back for additional swag like signed bookplates, private chat groups with the authors, and even the honor of being written into the story with your own epic death scene. You, too, can be a streak on the pavement in your favorite car-battling universe!

There are also affordable digital tiers, so even the lowly pit crew can dice into The Autoduel Chronicles universe. The campaign will run until September 15, so strap in and gun it over to Kickstarter! 

– Hunter Shelburne

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!

August 25, 2023: Introducing Cat Webling, Amazon Marketing Manager

Hi! I'm Cat, and I'm the new Amazon Marketing Manager for Steve Jackson Games. What I do is essentially engage in a battle of wits with the almighty Amazon monolith on a daily basis to make sure that the SJ Games storefront is as cool as it can possibly be and that people are seeing all the fun stuff we make when they shop. I'm excited to work with such a fun and passionate group of folks with a lot of the same interests as me, and I hope you'll be excited to see what I've been working on! I've been working in the gaming world for three years, and playing in it for way longer than that. I'm an editor and contributor for SUPERJUMP Magazine, an Australian, award-winning publication all about the human aspect of gaming that I absolutely love. I've written about tons of different tabletop gaming topics including building a character sheet and running a session zero, all based on the experiences I've had playing with my friends. I've worked with Reflect Studios on the game Scrutinized , and with Fantasy Topics, writing all about Stardew Valley (yes, I definitely have too many hours in the game, and no, I will not be stopping any time soon).

 On my own time, I'm a sci-fi-fantasy writer and a poet. I'm currently working on a fun sci-fi horror novel about a monster on a space station. When I'm not writing, working, or gaming, you can usually find me snuggling one of my furbabies or playing with my son, often with a hot mug of builder's tea by my side. You can find more about me on my website.

 

– Cat Weblin

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!

August 24, 2023: Follow SJ Games On Threads

We know, we know. Another social media platform. But we have to stay in the loop, and a lot of our fans are trying to find new places to congregate on the web, so we've started an account over on Threads. We're still getting used to the site, but follow us there for more posts, updates on new releases, sales, Kickstarters, and much more. Come threading (is that right? Am I doing that right?) with us! 

– Hunter Shelburne

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!

August 23, 2023: Go Koboldly Where No One's Gone Before, With GURPS Fantasy Folk: Kobolds

You've learned the secrets of goblins and hobgoblins recently. But what other fantastic secrets await your discovery? Perhaps you might ask . . . their cousins? GURPS Fantasy Folk: Kobolds is a short-and-sweet supplement – from the magnificent mind of Phil Masters – that brings you insight into these pokey-toothed persons.

Once you uncover the origins of kobolds, you can use the included templates, professions, gear, and rules to add them to your campaign. Whether you need a threat that might be deadly or not-so-serious, interesting folks you can add to the wilds or underworld, or an unorthodox heroic option, Kobolds is the guide that provides. Download this bite-sized supplement today, only from Warehouse 23!

– 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!

August 22, 2023: The Tremendous Tome Is Out!

I know I have already humblebragged about being included in the amazing Tremendous Tome of Epic Dungeons. For those who missed it: this is a lovely coffee-table book featuring miniature dungeons and figures, marvelously painted and photographed.

Well, the Tome is out, and it's just as beautiful as expected. Kickstarter supporters have already received their copies. If you didn't support . . . well, you are NOT out of luck. We supported at the retail level, so we have five copies to sell in Warehouse 23. Feel free to take one off our hands!

Our chapter features miniatures painted by Ben Williams, Irene Zielinski, and Jean McGuire, on our as-yet-almost-unreleased Hexscape scenery, with photography by Phil Reed and Your Humble Servant. Many of those miniatures, including the dragon protagonist, are from the Foes 2 set that we'll Kickstart before the end of the year.

– 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!