Oh, my beloved Tomas!
Can you ever, possibly, in a thousand years forgive me? I had not meant to fall apart as I did the day you faced Lady Shara. I swore to myself a dozen times over that I would be strong for you, as you were being brave for me. A solemn pledge that no matter what happened, I would not leave your side. Even if you should fall, I would take you in my arms, my hands in yours, and stay with you until the very end.
And yet, at the critical moment, my heart failed me...
(Read more at the HotB Design Blog!)
I got a subscription to Kobold Quarterly at last year's GenCon. I had never heard of the magazine before the night before when Wolfgang Baur won the Diana Jones Award. I loved the idea behind Open Content and put my money where I thought it deserved to be. Later, when I got home, I read through a few of the columns. I'm not the biggest fan of d20, but the choices of articles reminded me of working at Shadis. They were diverse, well-selected and really fun. I contacted Wolfgang and asked him if he'd be interested in a series of articles--much in the vein of Play Dirty--something to stir up the pot, so to speak. He said he was interested, but wanted to know what I would be writing about.
"Not GM advice," I told him. "I've already done that."
"Well, what then?"
I thought about it. Thought about it some more. Then, I said, "Let me get back to you."
ONE YEAR LATER...
"Hey Wolf, remember me?"
"Yeah," he said. "What's up?"
"I've got an idea. See, I always loved those 'Ecology of..." articles in Dragon. Remember those?"
"Of course I do!"
"Well, I'd like to do something like that. Except, I want to do them 'John Wick Style.'"
"What does that mean?"
"I want to do the 'Wicked Version' of the traditional D&D races. Elves, dwarves, halflings."
"Hm..." he said. "That could be very interesting."
"It'd be a completely different take on them. Using the cliches we all know and love, but doing something really different."
"Okay. Why don't you send me the first one and we'll go from there."
So, I sat down and thought about what race I'd want to tackle first. But before I got that far, I decided I'd need some help. Not being the biggest d20 fan in the world, I needed someone who had a mind for d20 like no other. Someone who could look at a rule set and manipulate it beyond the original designer's dreams. Someone creative, brilliant and absolutely original.
I had no choice. I had to contact Jess Heinig.
I showed him what I was working on and said, "I want the first race to do this."
Jess took one look at what I suggested and said, "No, you don't." He said, "You want them to do this."
And I smiled and nodded. That's exactly why I picked Jess.
Our first effort will be appearing in Kobold Quarterly #10 in just a few days. Subsequent efforts will be appearing in both the magazine and the website. Go over to Kobold Quarterly and get your subscription now.
You won't believe what Jess and I have done.
Cubicle 7 Entertainment and John Wick are pleased to announce they have signed a publishing agreement. This partnership will see Cubicle 7 bring award-winning author and game designer John Wick’s games to a wider audience through distribution and retail stores.
“I’ve enjoyed John’s games ever since he designed 7th Sea and Legend of the Five Rings for Alderac Entertainment,” said Angus Abranson of Cubicle 7 “I carried on following him when he left the mainstream industry, set up his own company – Wicked Dead Brewing Company – and produced some fantastic games such as Cat and Thirty. It’s an honour to now be able to work alongside John and help bring some of his newer, and future, games to the wider audience they deserve.”
HOUSES OF THE BLOODED is the first book to be published through Cubicle 7: a game of Ambition, Lust and Revenge. Thousands of years ago, the ven ruled the world. They were a passionate people, obsessed with Romance and Revenge, opera and theater, and all the forbidden delights their decadent culture provided. In the end, that which made them beautiful was also the key to their own destruction. Houses of the Blooded is a game about tragic obsession. Set in the fantastic world of ven myth and legend, players take the roles of powerful characters bent on conquering their world, destroying their enemies and possessing all they desire.
“I'm very excited,” said John Wick. "My end goal has always been to get as many people playing my games as possible. My partnership with Cubicle 7 will help make that happen."
About Cubicle 7 Entertainment Ltd
Founded in 2006 Cubicle 7 Entertainment was set up by Angus Abranson and Dominic McDowall-Thomas, two gaming entrepreneurs who wanted to create a games publisher fostering some truly iconic brands. Since then the company has published role playing games from a growing list of properties including Victoriana, SLA Industries, Starblazer Adventures (based on DC Thomson’s 80’s Starblazer comic series), 7th Circle’s Chinese fantasy Qin and is releasing Doctor Who: Adventures in Time and Space, under licensed from the BBC, in October . In June 2009 Cubicle 7 announced it had joined the Rebellion Group. You can find out more at www.cubicle7.co.uk
About John Wick
John Wick is the co-creator of Legend of the Five Rings and 7th Sea, both of which have won Origins Awards for both Best Roleplaying Game and Best Collectible Card Game. He founded the Wicked Dead Brewing Company with Jared Sorensen and recently started John Wick Presents! as a company devoted to creating games for adults, children and families. You can find out more about John and his games at www.johnwickpresents.com.
Two-thirds of Republicans want Palin, the party's vice presidential nominee in 2008, to be "a major national political figure" in the future.
________
Republicans: The Party of Stupid.
![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small}
jesshartley for the heads up.Having worked in the customer service industry for three years now, and at the same time, having worked in the de-humanizing, radioactive waste that is corporate America, I have much sympathy for this song.
Angry Monkey Say: don't piss off creative people with audiences.
A crime.
In the spirit of this new law, I would like to make a few blasphemous statements.
- Jesus Christ was the son of God. (Article of faith in many Christian relgions, but blasphemous to practitioners of the Jewish and Islamic faiths.)
- There is only one God and Mohammed is his prophet. (Article of faith in Islam, but blasphemous to practitioners of the Jewish and Christian faiths.)
- The True Messiah has yet to come. (Article of faith in Judiaism, but blasphemous to practitioners of the Christian faith.)
- Jerusalem belongs to the Jews. (Article of faith in Judiaism, but blasphemous to practitioners of Islam.)
- Jersualem belongs to Islam. (Article of faith in Islam, but blasphemous to practitioners of Judiaism.)
- The Torah/New Testament/Quoran is the God's only true Word. (Do I need to spell this one out?)
Oh, I could go on and on and on. And I haven't even included non-Abrahamic faiths!
As a practicing Discordian, I find all three religions equally blasphemous. In fact, everything the Pope says is blasphemous. Lock him up! Lock him up for life!
Yeah, go on Ireland. Pass your law.
I double dog dare you.
At the time of this posting, Curse of the Yellow Sign: Digging for a Dead God is the #1 best-seller on both IPR and DriveThru RPG!
A lot credit for the session's success goes to the people involved. The scenario needs at least six people (you can have seven). I had seven really good players. And when I was done, I realized that ninety percent of what was happening was because of decisions and improvisations I was making.
Reminded me of a time long ago when we were first developing the L5R RPG. John Zinser read a draft and came into my office. "I don't see it," he told me. "I don't see how to run this."
I said, "That's because I haven't written the GM chapter yet."
He shook his head. "I want to play it," he told me.
So, I organized a session and ran the game. Most of the mechanics weren't fleshed out just yet, but we had an incredible time anyway. Afterward, John asked me, "How do we get you in the book?"
I told him, "I haven't written the GM chapter yet."
For Act 1, almost eighty percent of the scenario is just GM advice. Putting me in the book.
I honestly don't know how to put me into this one. This is gonna be hard.
Ismene Yvarai,
You will not recognize my hand. Your brother, Tomas, asked me to write to you regarding his condition after the duel. He is still too weak to rise from the bed and too weak to write you himself, so I have tasked myself to write in his stead. I hope this does not come as a surprise to you--seeing that I am using your brother's stationary and mark--but I also hope this letter finds you well. I saw that you fled the field in the midst of the duel. I daresay, the tears were something you could not hide. I may also dare to say that you should not feel so ashamed by tears. Seeing a beloved sibling in such pain is a good cause for such emotion. Standing as you did for so long, concealing your emotions as you did, was a testament to your courage. I, myself, felt the cold hand of fear on my heart. As I owe so much to your brother now, and as close as I feel to him, I can only imagine the terror that must have been in your own Blood. It easily eclipsed my own.
But forgive me, as I have not properly introduced myself. My name is Shajar Thorne...
(read the rest at the HotB Design Blog)
The feedback (there and elsewhere) has been amazing. And the sales equally so.
Woot!
Wicked Fantasy is a series of articles I'm co-writing with Jess (
trekhead ) Heinig. It's a different look at the classic D&D races. Elves, dwarves, halflings, etc. all done "John Wick Style."The series begins in Kobold Quarterly #11.
It's been a lot of fun writing with Jess. I handle about 90% of the concept and Jess tackles about 90% of the mechanics. This means, I tell Jess, "I want it to work like this," and Jess says, "No you don't; you want it to work like this," and the suggestion he makes is 90% better than what I wanted. Jess also throws little ideas in with his mechanics that I have to find room for in the write-up.
And I can hear you asking now... what race will John and Jess tackle first?
Let's just say, I hope to make Jared a very happy man.
(Logo provided by the ever-amazing Aaron Acevedo.)
In May of 1939, somewhere in the jungles of Africa, a small band of soldiers have stumbled across something ancient. Something terrible.
And they are about to suffer the consequences.
Curse of the Yellow Sign: Digging for a Dead God is a one-night, one-shot Call of Cthulhu scenario (licensed and approved by Chaosium) for up to six players.
It contains two maps, six pre-generated characters and enough advice and nasty tricks to scare the pants off even the most seasoned CoC players.
PDF for $5.
Print edition coming soon.
Click here (or the image above) to get yours now.
In May of 1939, somewhere in the jungles of Africa, a small band of soldiers have stumbled across something ancient. Something terrible.
And they are about to suffer the consequences.
Curse of the Yellow Sign: Digging for a Dead God is a one-night, one-shot Call of Cthulhu scenario (licensed and approved by Chaosium) for up to six players.
It contains two maps, six pre-generated characters and enough advice and nasty tricks to scare the pants off even the most seasoned CoC players.
PDF for $5.
Print edition coming soon.
Click here (or the image above) to get yours now.
Now, this is probably just fanciful fantasy from the pens of imaginative ven writers...
But damn! Airships?
(Rules coming soon.)
What a fortunate sister I am, to have such a loyal and loving brother! But you must not, you cannot die in my place. How am I to live the rest of my life with such a burden on my conscience? My dearest Tomas, though we have not seen each other in years (save that one instance when you elected to dress as dirt), I could not bear the thought of a world without you in it.
Of course, my dear brother, I shall indeed be in attendance. How could I abandon you? There is no way for you to fail, no way that you cannot overcome Shara. You are, without a doubt, the best duelist in Shan'ri. She is but a pretender. Do not speak to me of last requests and secrets in shirt pockets, as if she will be the victor. We know that cannot happen, that must not happen. The Sua'ven love us too much to see us out of the world so soon.
As for the Count... fear not, dear brother. The poison has already been brewed by my own hands. A small dose of fine powder, hidden within one of my rings. We need only to plot a way to get it to him. Together, we shall toast both your victory over Lady Shara and the demise of our treacherous Count. Together, we shall take his lands for our own, and assume the place which has been ours by rights since we were old enough to understand the difference between a Baron and a Count. Together, as it should always have been.
As for your third request... I must, I fear, make a confession. I discovered your protege's identity, and could not help myself. This was before I received your letter, and was convinced I was soon to die. I had to behold this youth. Ah! Tomas! Now I understand why you worked so hard to keep from him. Why, I believed, as I looked on him from afar, that I was again in the presence of my lost, fallen Falcon. His hair is almost the exact same shade, and he wears it in almost the exact same style. How could I resist?
I have not yet bedded him, dear brother. Why, I have not even spoken to him! I am content simply to watch him, for now. He is as you have said, pure and naive. I even wonder if he has ever bedded a woman! But he is clever. I could tell that simply by watching him. And with his looks... he could be a dangerous man, my brother. You do him a disservice, I think, in trying to keep him from politics and intrigue. Despite your best interests, dear brother, it will eventually find him. Your debt would be better served if you taught him the ways and means of what it truly means to be a ven. And what better teacher than your own dear sister, who has been a deft manipulatrix for years, since no doubt when this boy was in baby bunting?
But now, dear brother, I must leave off my writing and oversee the packing for the journey ahead. I wonder if I might even find you before this letter does.
When next we meet, it shall be over Lady Shara's corpse.
Your adoring sister,
Ismene Yvarai
Blooded of the Fox
Baroness Sha'av
P.S. Well done on finally winning the attention of your Green Woman. Alas, my recent issues with Lady Shara have left me quite alone, and I have not yet encountered a man able to take the place of dear lost Lord Voxilaven. I know you shall forbid me the young man, but I do not know how long I shall be able to resist his utterly delicious charms.
(Approved by the Shanri Research Institute.)
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