- Black Monastery goes on sale this week and is at the printer. This book is a hardcover, stitch-bound adventure that will take you back to the days of old. Written originally by my first dungeon master back in the 1970s, this one combines old-school sandbox dungeon crawl with modern style and format and is sure to satisfy. The book is hard bound and will remind you of the format of the 1st edition PHB. It also contains a 6 panel, fold-out map of the monastery for ease of reading those hundreds of small room numbers. Retail price will be $33.99, and the book will ship in early February 2012. PDFs will be priced at $15.99.
- Tsar 11 has been held up at the printer again…(sorry folks), and is shipping today to me. I apologize for the inconvenience and delays, but I wanted to make sure the module was spot on quality that you expect from us.
- Tsar 12 went to layout this morning (thanks to Chuck, who pulled another all-nighter to get monastery done and to the printer this morning!).
- Northland Saga 3 is at the printer—look for an early January release!
- Quantities of our early modules are getting very, very low. I will not reprint these guys, so if you ever want a copy of Strange Bedfellows, Ursined, Demonheart, Eamonvale or Splinters of Faith, now is the time. Tsar individual modules are down to
- Toad is selling well, and reviews are excellent. TOH is still available in limited quantities in both SW and Pathfinder formats.
- Tsar 13 is in editing, and we expect the whole to be done by end March 2012 and off to the printer. Paizo will have copies of the first edition book (with the bonus chapter, which will NOT be available as a pdf)), but ONLY direct sale copies will be signed by myself and Greg and numbered. Sales of the limited edition copies will be concluded two weeks after I get the last chapter!
- Remember, the Frogs are out of the country visiting their poison arrow cousins in Central America from Feb 10 to March 11—so no books will ship during these times!
- My aforementioned Ebay articles have not been listed yet—though they will be soon!
- Tsar shipping will be figured out soon. You will need to pay for shipping before I ship to you in May. It’s looking like priority mail is the best option (flat rate). Overseas folks can fit 2 copies in a box, or can fit several other books into the box as well. I am going to have to use large priority mail boxes I think—it “might” fit in a medium, but I am concerned about compression damage in that size container. More detail on this coming soon to all subscribers.
Monday, December 12, 2011
December 12, 2011
Updates this week include the following:
Friday, November 18, 2011
November 11, 2011
Here we are in November, and news for the month is as follows:
1. Slumbering Tsar 11 is out, and 12 is in final editing.
2. Northland Saga 2 is out, and 3 is in layout! Look for several more volumes of this soon.
3. TOAD arrives this week late to me, so will ship December 1. The pre-order price goes away as soon as I ship the first book--so act now and save $8!
4. Rappan Athuk is progressing, still slated for a July/August release.Oh yeah, its gonna have a textured faux leather cover.
5. Black Monastery is in final proofing. Pre-order sales will begin around December 1. Release in late January/early February. price will be $39.99 preorder, $44.99 after.
6. Tsar subscription orders will end the day after Tsar 14 releases. This book will cost a fortune to print, so I will not be making any extras. Paizo will have a (very) limited number for sale. I believe it will be the largest RPG book ever made. Shipping invoices will be mailed to subscribers as soon as I know the final weight, although I am trending to send it flat rate priority mail to everyone (probably a large box to make sure its heavily insulated from damage.
7. Several new SNS/ONS books are in various stages of work process....news on them a bit later.
8. SW softcover rulebooks will be for sale again in about 1 week, reprints will arrive soon.
9. I have received reprint copies of ONS 3 (Spire) and Fane of the Fallen--so they are for sale again.
10. The Frog Family will be visiting their poison arrow relatives in Costa Rica from Feb 10-March 15. No orders will be processed during that time, so please try to get everything in prior to Feb 5 or so so I can pack and ship before Mrs. Frog makes me get on an airplane!
11. My Ebay site will soon have a ton of old stuff listed (estimate 2-3 weeks). This will include hundreds of Warhammer miniatures (some were competition level models from when I used to play the world circuit---painted usually by GW staff), Traveller oops from the 1970s and 1980s, Forgotten Realms and Al Quadim books, and other stuff. I simply don't have room in my warehouse and office for the stuff anymore, so after filling 3 buildings up, I decided I had to get rid of some of it. The Gamelord's and JG stuff of course, is never going up for sale.
12. FGG will be attending North Texas RPG Con in Dallas in June, as well as PaizoCon in July. Look us up there. NTRPG is even going to make an exception and let Greg run a Pathfinder table. Matt and I will be running Mythus Tower almost continuously for 4 days, of course.
13. About 50 copies of SW Tome of Horrors are left--order now, or forever hold your peace. NTRPG will also have 50 copies for sale; but once these 100 are gone, that's all folks!
14. I still have no clue how to format this text (as should be obvious):) More news soon!
1. Slumbering Tsar 11 is out, and 12 is in final editing.
2. Northland Saga 2 is out, and 3 is in layout! Look for several more volumes of this soon.
3. TOAD arrives this week late to me, so will ship December 1. The pre-order price goes away as soon as I ship the first book--so act now and save $8!
4. Rappan Athuk is progressing, still slated for a July/August release.Oh yeah, its gonna have a textured faux leather cover.
5. Black Monastery is in final proofing. Pre-order sales will begin around December 1. Release in late January/early February. price will be $39.99 preorder, $44.99 after.
6. Tsar subscription orders will end the day after Tsar 14 releases. This book will cost a fortune to print, so I will not be making any extras. Paizo will have a (very) limited number for sale. I believe it will be the largest RPG book ever made. Shipping invoices will be mailed to subscribers as soon as I know the final weight, although I am trending to send it flat rate priority mail to everyone (probably a large box to make sure its heavily insulated from damage.
7. Several new SNS/ONS books are in various stages of work process....news on them a bit later.
8. SW softcover rulebooks will be for sale again in about 1 week, reprints will arrive soon.
9. I have received reprint copies of ONS 3 (Spire) and Fane of the Fallen--so they are for sale again.
10. The Frog Family will be visiting their poison arrow relatives in Costa Rica from Feb 10-March 15. No orders will be processed during that time, so please try to get everything in prior to Feb 5 or so so I can pack and ship before Mrs. Frog makes me get on an airplane!
11. My Ebay site will soon have a ton of old stuff listed (estimate 2-3 weeks). This will include hundreds of Warhammer miniatures (some were competition level models from when I used to play the world circuit---painted usually by GW staff), Traveller oops from the 1970s and 1980s, Forgotten Realms and Al Quadim books, and other stuff. I simply don't have room in my warehouse and office for the stuff anymore, so after filling 3 buildings up, I decided I had to get rid of some of it. The Gamelord's and JG stuff of course, is never going up for sale.
12. FGG will be attending North Texas RPG Con in Dallas in June, as well as PaizoCon in July. Look us up there. NTRPG is even going to make an exception and let Greg run a Pathfinder table. Matt and I will be running Mythus Tower almost continuously for 4 days, of course.
13. About 50 copies of SW Tome of Horrors are left--order now, or forever hold your peace. NTRPG will also have 50 copies for sale; but once these 100 are gone, that's all folks!
14. I still have no clue how to format this text (as should be obvious):) More news soon!
Monday, October 24, 2011
October 24, 2011
FGG-The Big Announcement
The background of the big announcement goes all the way back to1978, when I read a small book by Gary Gygax detailing the use of outdoor and wilderness adventures in D&D. This book, along with what has affectionately been termed the “Skull Dungeon” of John Holmes fame, formed the basis of my thinking when I began to write my own vast dungeon that I called Rappan Athuk.
A decade ago, I released the first few levels of Rappan Athuk as a book, which wasfollowed by a series of releases of different parts and pieces (29 levels in the first 3 books, andanother 7 or so later in Rappan Athuk Reloaded).
To my surprise, even though I expected it to be a success,Rappan Athuk turned out to be one of the major hits of the Third Edition decade. Even though it’s not the largest dungeon that was ever published (it might be this time!), it quickly picked up a reputation for being one of the deadliest, and if you haven’t heard, “Don’t go down the Well” or “Beware of Purple Worms,” you probably weren’t attending gaming conventions or reading the RPG internet during the Third Edition years.
Rappan Athuk Reloaded,which contained a lot more of the original dungeon, became an immediate collector’s item. With only 1000 copies ofRappan Athuk’s expanded version in existence, many players unfortunately could never get a copy. This was probably fortunate for a lot of player characters, but it means that many people who wanted to see the dungeon’s broader scope never got to see what they were missing.
Well, it’s been almost 10 years since I wrote the last few chapters of Rappan Athuk Reloaded. As you would expect, I haven’t been idle during that time. In fact, over the last few hundred gaming sessions I’ve run, I have continued to write up my notes from levels that were never published, and add new levels as adventurers continued to explore. Many of the mid-level areas have been fleshed out (the ultimate adversaries, of course, remained the same), and several new upper levels have been added as adventurers avoided “The Well” and “The Mausoleum” in attempts to delve deeper into Rappan Athuk’s depths. I have been mulling over what to do to get this monster out to all of you. So here goes…
Weighing in with over 50 dungeon levels and dozens of wilderness areas, Rappan Athuk will be released next summer as a hardbound, library-stitched book in both Pathfinder and Swords and Wizardry formats. The book contains 18 more levels even thanRappan Athuk Reloaded, as well as the outdoor adventures supporting them. I am also working on a leather cover (or faux leather) for thebinding.
This thing is truly the granddaddy of all dungeons. It represents years of play testing, years of adventure, and hundreds of player character deaths. Many parts of my campaign that have transpired over the years are included in its pagesfrom the dead remains of fallen heroes, to marks left on walls, to cryptic scribblings left by lost or dying adventurers.
Just like the dungeons of the early 1970s played by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson,Rappan Athukis like a living being, big enough to be used for thousands of hours of play. From the Goblin city of Greznek to the Hall of the Titan Cyclops, from the Well of Zelkor to the Mithril gates, and from the Well of Agamemnon to the Abyssal pocket-plain and to the throne of Orcus himself—this terrifying place will create memorable experiences for all players and Game Masters.
This Tome represents the completed manuscript, including the wilderness surrounding the dungeon, three villages nearby, and the dreaded Temple of Tsathogga, where the sinister, evil priests of the frog-demon seek dark secrets and dark powers lost when the army of light destroyed the temple of Orcus at the site.
This book will be available for pre-order in March or April 2012. Retail price and page count are still to be determined (though it will probably be about $125 and 1000 pages or so). The pre-ordered copies will contain bonus material as a pdf enhancement that were cut from the final manuscript and will not be available after the pre-order period ends.
So once again, in this new decade of gaming, we will have the chance to say, “Don’t go down the Well.”
The background of the big announcement goes all the way back to1978, when I read a small book by Gary Gygax detailing the use of outdoor and wilderness adventures in D&D. This book, along with what has affectionately been termed the “Skull Dungeon” of John Holmes fame, formed the basis of my thinking when I began to write my own vast dungeon that I called Rappan Athuk.
A decade ago, I released the first few levels of Rappan Athuk as a book, which wasfollowed by a series of releases of different parts and pieces (29 levels in the first 3 books, andanother 7 or so later in Rappan Athuk Reloaded).
To my surprise, even though I expected it to be a success,Rappan Athuk turned out to be one of the major hits of the Third Edition decade. Even though it’s not the largest dungeon that was ever published (it might be this time!), it quickly picked up a reputation for being one of the deadliest, and if you haven’t heard, “Don’t go down the Well” or “Beware of Purple Worms,” you probably weren’t attending gaming conventions or reading the RPG internet during the Third Edition years.
Rappan Athuk Reloaded,which contained a lot more of the original dungeon, became an immediate collector’s item. With only 1000 copies ofRappan Athuk’s expanded version in existence, many players unfortunately could never get a copy. This was probably fortunate for a lot of player characters, but it means that many people who wanted to see the dungeon’s broader scope never got to see what they were missing.
Well, it’s been almost 10 years since I wrote the last few chapters of Rappan Athuk Reloaded. As you would expect, I haven’t been idle during that time. In fact, over the last few hundred gaming sessions I’ve run, I have continued to write up my notes from levels that were never published, and add new levels as adventurers continued to explore. Many of the mid-level areas have been fleshed out (the ultimate adversaries, of course, remained the same), and several new upper levels have been added as adventurers avoided “The Well” and “The Mausoleum” in attempts to delve deeper into Rappan Athuk’s depths. I have been mulling over what to do to get this monster out to all of you. So here goes…
Weighing in with over 50 dungeon levels and dozens of wilderness areas, Rappan Athuk will be released next summer as a hardbound, library-stitched book in both Pathfinder and Swords and Wizardry formats. The book contains 18 more levels even thanRappan Athuk Reloaded, as well as the outdoor adventures supporting them. I am also working on a leather cover (or faux leather) for thebinding.
This thing is truly the granddaddy of all dungeons. It represents years of play testing, years of adventure, and hundreds of player character deaths. Many parts of my campaign that have transpired over the years are included in its pagesfrom the dead remains of fallen heroes, to marks left on walls, to cryptic scribblings left by lost or dying adventurers.
Just like the dungeons of the early 1970s played by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson,Rappan Athukis like a living being, big enough to be used for thousands of hours of play. From the Goblin city of Greznek to the Hall of the Titan Cyclops, from the Well of Zelkor to the Mithril gates, and from the Well of Agamemnon to the Abyssal pocket-plain and to the throne of Orcus himself—this terrifying place will create memorable experiences for all players and Game Masters.
This Tome represents the completed manuscript, including the wilderness surrounding the dungeon, three villages nearby, and the dreaded Temple of Tsathogga, where the sinister, evil priests of the frog-demon seek dark secrets and dark powers lost when the army of light destroyed the temple of Orcus at the site.
This book will be available for pre-order in March or April 2012. Retail price and page count are still to be determined (though it will probably be about $125 and 1000 pages or so). The pre-ordered copies will contain bonus material as a pdf enhancement that were cut from the final manuscript and will not be available after the pre-order period ends.
So once again, in this new decade of gaming, we will have the chance to say, “Don’t go down the Well.”
Thursday, September 29, 2011
September 29, 2011
All the Tome pre-orders have shipped out now, including the “weird
orders” (and you know who you are. I have corrected a few shipping
errors so far, but overall it looks like Dawn and I did pretty good on
minimizing mistakes. We still have about 70 copies of Swords and
Wizardry Tome fo Horrors for sale; but get one soon, they are going
fast!
I have held 50 copies of the SW Tome for exclusive sale at the North Texas RPG Con I Dallas next June (where Matt and I run a nearly continuous game for 4 days). Other than those (and you must be present to buy one), the remaining 70 are all I have left.
We have sold out of a few of our books (Pathfinder versions of Fane of the Fallen and Jungle Ruins of Madaro Shanti), so I have ordered small quantities of reprints on these. I was able to do so since the printer had extra covers made (about 30 of each), and did not have to pay a set-up fee to do small reprints.
Tome of Adventure Design is getting rave reviews all over the internet, and pre-orders will be taken through Thanksgiving or so (we are out of town that week; so no reason to cut them off while I am away). Get them while they last, the price goes up after the pre-order period ends.
Northland Saga 2 is at the printer and should arrive in 3 weeks or so. Tsar 10 should be here next week (and I will ship to you patient folks who ordered it early the day I get it). Tsar 11 is almost ready (art arrived Friday, beating Greg currently).
We are discussing a potential deal with HeroLab for the PFRPG for Tome of Horrors. News on that soon!
Finally, Black Monastery has all the component bits here and will be released in February or so, and we are still on track for a March/April delivery of the Slumbering Tsar hardcover.
Big news on the next big product will be coming soon.
Thanks to all of you for your patronage and kind words. You keep buying them, we’ll keep making them. We love this game, and are glad you all enjoy our products!
I have held 50 copies of the SW Tome for exclusive sale at the North Texas RPG Con I Dallas next June (where Matt and I run a nearly continuous game for 4 days). Other than those (and you must be present to buy one), the remaining 70 are all I have left.
We have sold out of a few of our books (Pathfinder versions of Fane of the Fallen and Jungle Ruins of Madaro Shanti), so I have ordered small quantities of reprints on these. I was able to do so since the printer had extra covers made (about 30 of each), and did not have to pay a set-up fee to do small reprints.
Tome of Adventure Design is getting rave reviews all over the internet, and pre-orders will be taken through Thanksgiving or so (we are out of town that week; so no reason to cut them off while I am away). Get them while they last, the price goes up after the pre-order period ends.
Northland Saga 2 is at the printer and should arrive in 3 weeks or so. Tsar 10 should be here next week (and I will ship to you patient folks who ordered it early the day I get it). Tsar 11 is almost ready (art arrived Friday, beating Greg currently).
We are discussing a potential deal with HeroLab for the PFRPG for Tome of Horrors. News on that soon!
Finally, Black Monastery has all the component bits here and will be released in February or so, and we are still on track for a March/April delivery of the Slumbering Tsar hardcover.
Big news on the next big product will be coming soon.
Thanks to all of you for your patronage and kind words. You keep buying them, we’ll keep making them. We love this game, and are glad you all enjoy our products!
Friday, September 23, 2011
September 23, 2011
TOME HAS SHIPPED!
We got all of them out except a few weird orders (6 or so left) I am still sorting through--I probably made a few mistakes; so let me know if I did. I know in at least one case I shipped a book to an old address (and then shipped on to the correct address the next day).
We got all of them out except a few weird orders (6 or so left) I am still sorting through--I probably made a few mistakes; so let me know if I did. I know in at least one case I shipped a book to an old address (and then shipped on to the correct address the next day).
Wednesday, September 7, 2011
September 7, 2011
8 Tons of books were loaded onto trucks today in Missouri...bound for my house! Tome will ship week of September 19!
Friday, August 26, 2011
August 26, 2011
FREE DOWNLOADS!!
To download the files, place cursor over the link, click right mouse and "Save Target As". Or you can open the file and print it immediately.
To download the files, place cursor over the link, click right mouse and "Save Target As". Or you can open the file and print it immediately.
The first is a compilation of the Lairs sections and weighs in at a hefty 127 pages (not bad for a free download). Lairs Download
The second is a treatment of all the Tome monsters by terrain type. Monsters Download
And finally, a free teaser download of selected sections of the
Ultimate Book of Adventure Design for your perusal. These downloads are
also posted at Paizo (free downloads) and the DTRPG (again, free
downloads). UBAD Download
Enjoy!
Tuesday, August 23, 2011
Monday, August 22, 2011
August 22, 2011
Lots of updates this week. First, Tome is at press and should be to me
in about 2 weeks. The proofs were gorgeous, and this book is going to be
the coolest thing I have ever been associated with. On that note, two
free downloads have been compiled by Chuck—the first is a compilation of
the lairs sections, and weighs in at a hefty 127 pages (not bad for a
free download). The second is a treatment of all the Tome monsters by
terrain type. These downloads will be posted here at our site, directly
into your order forms, at Paizo (free downloads) and at DTRPG (again,
free downloads) soon. Paizo still has limited quantities of Tome
Pathfinder and I will have a few extras (maybe 50 or so) of the Swords
and Wizardry versions. I will say it again—this book will not be
reprinted, so get them while they are still available.
Based on the cost to print large hardcovers, I will be taking pre-orders for UBAD (also known as the Ultimate Book of Adventure Design) very soon. Like any other large hardcover, we will limit the run to orders plus a few extras. It will be stitch bound (textbook style) and features perhaps Rowena’s coolest cover to date. I will put a description together (see below), but rather than take me at my word, we are providing a free teaser download of selected sections of the book for your perusal. MSRP is still being determined, but look for it in the 300-400 pages and $40-$50 range.
In other news, Tsar 10 will be posted in a day or so. We have had issues with the covers on Tsar 9 (again, sorry for the delay) in softcover, but I am assured we will have both Tsar 9 and 10 late next week to ship.
This week also, Splinters of Faith 9 and 10, Hex Crawl Chronicles 3, One Night Stands 2 – Death in Painted Canyon and One Night Stands 3 – The Spire of Iron and Crystal, all go on sale as both books and as pdfs. Descriptions of all are below. This completes the Splinters series, and I have set Jeff and Gary hard at work on a new series—no news yet, but it involves a strange demonic creature whose name begins with “N”.
Black Monastery is all edited and awaiting layout. It will likely be put up for pre-order sometime in November. This one is similar to UBAD, in that as it will be a stitch-bound hardcover, I am going to sell it by preorder only. With a fold-out map and the string, it is likely going to be in the $40 range.
Northlands Saga 2-3, as well as Hex Crawls 4 are in the works (next month I think), and should be ready for me to proof soon.
Thanks again for all your patronage over these past few months, we appreciate it, and we look forward to making a ton of cool books over the next several years!
New Book Descriptions:
UBAD
A fantasy adventure game, at its very heart, is about developing an open-ended “story” of the characters. The referee is in charge of the fantasy world, and the players direct the actions of their characters in that fantasy world. Neither the referee nor the group of players has complete control over what’s going to happen, and the result is an evolving set of surprises for both the referee and the players. Unlike the players, as the referee and creator of the game world, most of your “work” is done ahead of time. To some degree or other, you have to create the groundwork for the adventure before the game starts. Even though no battle plan survives contact with the enemy – and if you’re an experienced referee you know exactly what I mean – the game has to start … with a starting point. This might just be a vague set of ideas, or it might be as complex as a set of maps with a detailed key and well thought-out encounters for the players to run into.
The Ultimate Book of Adventure Design is organized as a series of “books,” each one providing resources at every step of the way. The vast majority of the content of each book is made up of random generation tables that I’ve created over a quarter of a century (sigh) for my own use. I should say up front that these are tables for deep design – in other words, most of them are too long, and contain too many unusual or contradictory entries, for use on the spot at the gaming table. There are already many excellent books of tables for use on the fly; the tables in these books are different. They work best as a tool for preparation beforehand, providing relatively vast creative resources for browsing and gathering, rather than quick-use tables designed to provide broad, fast brushstrokes. My shorter tables tend to deliver cryptic results designed to shock the reader’s creativity into filling in the gaps, whereas my longer tables are unusably vast for easy random generation, being designed to shock the reader’s creativity into operation by presenting a sea of possibilities.
Slumbering Tsar Part 10
Slumbering Tsar: The Hidden Citadel, Part 2 - Echoes of Despair
The player characters continue to plumb the true depths and echoing halls that are the Citadel of Orcus. Within they explore the Templar Garrison and Dungeons of Orcus and discover their profane occupant, remaining after all these years. They discover the Thrall Quarters and the Forges and the lingering horrors of the Magitect and the legacy of He Who Walks Before.
Hex Crawl Chronicles 3
Beyond the Black Water
Across the Black Water there is a dismal land of grey hills and eerie shadows, the home of the strange merchants of the black arcs and their weird masters. Travel to a place where sane men dare not tread and discover the secrets of an alien and unwholesome land. Demon-haunted highlands and living forests await your arrival – don’t let a lack of courage keep them waiting.
Splinters of Faith 9: Duel of Magic (Levels 10 through 14)
PCs journey from a temple of good magic to face a coven of evil witches where they must rescue an astral deva.
Splinters of Faith 10: Remorse of Life (Levels 13 and greater)
With the completed Scepter of Faiths, PCs must track down the evil Akruel Rathamon in the temple city of Al-Sifon before he consolidates his power and again sets out to conquer the land.
One Night Stands 3 - Spire of Iron and Crystal
Another of the Saturday Night Specials series, this module takes the players to a long lost tower. Deep in the wilderness stands the legendary Spire of Iron and Crystal, a bizarre structure of twisting iron and four enormous crystals that seem to grow from the very ground itself. The fabled riches of the Spire have never been plundered, for no entrances have ever been found.... Until now. Your party of adventurers has discovered the long-hidden secret of entering the Spire.
One Night Stands 2- Death in the Painted Canyonsis an adventure for 4-6 characters levels 5-6.
The party should include a mix of abilities, especially characters with investigative and survival skills. It would be helpful, but not necessary, if at least one PC has some knowledge of the Painted Canyons, or at least some experience with desert survival. Also, a PC or companion with the outdoor abilities would be helpful, but is not needed. If your party lacks investigative skills, there are clues as to the criminal conspiracy in the gnoll encampment, or you can just drop that aspect of the adventure and run it as a stand up fight. Parties lacking survival skills or desert experience can hire a guide at Salt Springs for 3 silver shekels (gp) a day. There is a hidden secret behind all the events of Death in the Painted Canyons; a great deal of combat can be expected, and those attempting this adventure should be prepared for a vicious battle before resolving the plot.
Based on the cost to print large hardcovers, I will be taking pre-orders for UBAD (also known as the Ultimate Book of Adventure Design) very soon. Like any other large hardcover, we will limit the run to orders plus a few extras. It will be stitch bound (textbook style) and features perhaps Rowena’s coolest cover to date. I will put a description together (see below), but rather than take me at my word, we are providing a free teaser download of selected sections of the book for your perusal. MSRP is still being determined, but look for it in the 300-400 pages and $40-$50 range.
In other news, Tsar 10 will be posted in a day or so. We have had issues with the covers on Tsar 9 (again, sorry for the delay) in softcover, but I am assured we will have both Tsar 9 and 10 late next week to ship.
This week also, Splinters of Faith 9 and 10, Hex Crawl Chronicles 3, One Night Stands 2 – Death in Painted Canyon and One Night Stands 3 – The Spire of Iron and Crystal, all go on sale as both books and as pdfs. Descriptions of all are below. This completes the Splinters series, and I have set Jeff and Gary hard at work on a new series—no news yet, but it involves a strange demonic creature whose name begins with “N”.
Black Monastery is all edited and awaiting layout. It will likely be put up for pre-order sometime in November. This one is similar to UBAD, in that as it will be a stitch-bound hardcover, I am going to sell it by preorder only. With a fold-out map and the string, it is likely going to be in the $40 range.
Northlands Saga 2-3, as well as Hex Crawls 4 are in the works (next month I think), and should be ready for me to proof soon.
Thanks again for all your patronage over these past few months, we appreciate it, and we look forward to making a ton of cool books over the next several years!
New Book Descriptions:
UBAD
A fantasy adventure game, at its very heart, is about developing an open-ended “story” of the characters. The referee is in charge of the fantasy world, and the players direct the actions of their characters in that fantasy world. Neither the referee nor the group of players has complete control over what’s going to happen, and the result is an evolving set of surprises for both the referee and the players. Unlike the players, as the referee and creator of the game world, most of your “work” is done ahead of time. To some degree or other, you have to create the groundwork for the adventure before the game starts. Even though no battle plan survives contact with the enemy – and if you’re an experienced referee you know exactly what I mean – the game has to start … with a starting point. This might just be a vague set of ideas, or it might be as complex as a set of maps with a detailed key and well thought-out encounters for the players to run into.
The Ultimate Book of Adventure Design is organized as a series of “books,” each one providing resources at every step of the way. The vast majority of the content of each book is made up of random generation tables that I’ve created over a quarter of a century (sigh) for my own use. I should say up front that these are tables for deep design – in other words, most of them are too long, and contain too many unusual or contradictory entries, for use on the spot at the gaming table. There are already many excellent books of tables for use on the fly; the tables in these books are different. They work best as a tool for preparation beforehand, providing relatively vast creative resources for browsing and gathering, rather than quick-use tables designed to provide broad, fast brushstrokes. My shorter tables tend to deliver cryptic results designed to shock the reader’s creativity into filling in the gaps, whereas my longer tables are unusably vast for easy random generation, being designed to shock the reader’s creativity into operation by presenting a sea of possibilities.
Slumbering Tsar Part 10
Slumbering Tsar: The Hidden Citadel, Part 2 - Echoes of Despair
The player characters continue to plumb the true depths and echoing halls that are the Citadel of Orcus. Within they explore the Templar Garrison and Dungeons of Orcus and discover their profane occupant, remaining after all these years. They discover the Thrall Quarters and the Forges and the lingering horrors of the Magitect and the legacy of He Who Walks Before.
Hex Crawl Chronicles 3
Beyond the Black Water
Across the Black Water there is a dismal land of grey hills and eerie shadows, the home of the strange merchants of the black arcs and their weird masters. Travel to a place where sane men dare not tread and discover the secrets of an alien and unwholesome land. Demon-haunted highlands and living forests await your arrival – don’t let a lack of courage keep them waiting.
Splinters of Faith 9: Duel of Magic (Levels 10 through 14)
PCs journey from a temple of good magic to face a coven of evil witches where they must rescue an astral deva.
Splinters of Faith 10: Remorse of Life (Levels 13 and greater)
With the completed Scepter of Faiths, PCs must track down the evil Akruel Rathamon in the temple city of Al-Sifon before he consolidates his power and again sets out to conquer the land.
One Night Stands 3 - Spire of Iron and Crystal
Another of the Saturday Night Specials series, this module takes the players to a long lost tower. Deep in the wilderness stands the legendary Spire of Iron and Crystal, a bizarre structure of twisting iron and four enormous crystals that seem to grow from the very ground itself. The fabled riches of the Spire have never been plundered, for no entrances have ever been found.... Until now. Your party of adventurers has discovered the long-hidden secret of entering the Spire.
One Night Stands 2- Death in the Painted Canyonsis an adventure for 4-6 characters levels 5-6.
The party should include a mix of abilities, especially characters with investigative and survival skills. It would be helpful, but not necessary, if at least one PC has some knowledge of the Painted Canyons, or at least some experience with desert survival. Also, a PC or companion with the outdoor abilities would be helpful, but is not needed. If your party lacks investigative skills, there are clues as to the criminal conspiracy in the gnoll encampment, or you can just drop that aspect of the adventure and run it as a stand up fight. Parties lacking survival skills or desert experience can hire a guide at Salt Springs for 3 silver shekels (gp) a day. There is a hidden secret behind all the events of Death in the Painted Canyons; a great deal of combat can be expected, and those attempting this adventure should be prepared for a vicious battle before resolving the plot.
Friday, August 12, 2011
August 12, 2011
From the printer to me this morning:
Below are the schedules we have put in place for the two Tome of
Horrors titles. If you have any questions, please let me know.
Proofs out: 8/15/11
Proofs back: 8/17/11
Ship Date: 9/3
We took an extra week or so to fix typos etc. identified in the pdfs by
some of you. The shipping to myself will take a week or so, then I'll
start shipping out to you guys at a rate of 50 or so books a day. Sorry
for the brief delay, but since a few errors were found, I wanted to fix
them!Thursday, August 4, 2011
August 4, 2011
Yeah!!! Tome of Horrors is up and out in pdf format at all sales
locations!!! We apologize for the technical issues associated with the
huge files, but I believe they are all resolved now. Books are at the
printer, and I expect a test copy late next week. Then they truck ship
(that's right) to me, and I mail to all of you. I am buying a back brace
soon!
Tsar 9 is still delayed (printer went to Gencon), but I understand I will receive Tsar 9, Spire of Iron and Crystal (ONS 3), Splinters 9-10, Hollow Mountain (ONS 2) and Hex Crawls 3 next week. These will go on sale as soon as I get them. Next up is the free download lair supplement for Tome, the Ultimate Book of Adventure Design (UBAD--don't miss out on this one) and Northlands 2, along with a couple new Saturday Night Specials releases, Saercoth (SNS 2). Black Monastery is just about ready to start layout, but we are resting Chuck for a few days to allow his carpel tunnel to repair itself following the heroic effort on Tome. As a side note--I am stitch binding all of our hardcovers from here on out, so prices will have to go up a bit (its >$3/unit added costs to do this). That being said, your books should last a lifetime that way.
Greg is at Gencon, if you are there, stop and say hello...he wil be at the Paizo booth most of the show. Paizo, Drive Thru RPG and the OSR (Joe Browning) booths all have FGG books for sale as well at the show. I think Joe even has SW versions of pre-release copies of ONS 2-3 and Splinters 9-10.
Thank you all again for being the game's greatest fans. We appreciate the support you give us, and the nice emails and reviews we have been getting on our products. None of us does this for the money, so the feedback and praise means a lot and keeps us going.
Tsar 9 is still delayed (printer went to Gencon), but I understand I will receive Tsar 9, Spire of Iron and Crystal (ONS 3), Splinters 9-10, Hollow Mountain (ONS 2) and Hex Crawls 3 next week. These will go on sale as soon as I get them. Next up is the free download lair supplement for Tome, the Ultimate Book of Adventure Design (UBAD--don't miss out on this one) and Northlands 2, along with a couple new Saturday Night Specials releases, Saercoth (SNS 2). Black Monastery is just about ready to start layout, but we are resting Chuck for a few days to allow his carpel tunnel to repair itself following the heroic effort on Tome. As a side note--I am stitch binding all of our hardcovers from here on out, so prices will have to go up a bit (its >$3/unit added costs to do this). That being said, your books should last a lifetime that way.
Greg is at Gencon, if you are there, stop and say hello...he wil be at the Paizo booth most of the show. Paizo, Drive Thru RPG and the OSR (Joe Browning) booths all have FGG books for sale as well at the show. I think Joe even has SW versions of pre-release copies of ONS 2-3 and Splinters 9-10.
Thank you all again for being the game's greatest fans. We appreciate the support you give us, and the nice emails and reviews we have been getting on our products. None of us does this for the money, so the feedback and praise means a lot and keeps us going.
Friday, July 15, 2011
July 2011
July 29, 2010
Several new bytes--Delays in print books (printer had mechanical issues) on Tsar 9. Tsar 10 is in editing, Tome pdfs are done, and will start being sold on Tuesday or so. I am all caught up on shipments (except Tsar 9 individual books, sorry), and 6 new books are at the printer. Tome should be back to me in late August, and I will start shipping it out as soon as I get it (be patient, I have a LOT of boxes to pack). In other news...I am pleased to announce for a late fall release:
Scott’s game contained many gems. In fact, I have a 48 inch by 48 inch framed watercolor map of his world on my wall as I write this. That being said, none of his work (and all those excellent adventures I played in in high school) has ever been published. Except one.
In 1981, with some help from a few of our friends and the kindhearted folks at the local newspaper, Scott and I laid out typeset text on wax paper (in the old days, you did layout this way) on lighted boards. Then Scott spent his meager savings to print maybe 20 copies of a 100 or so page book called “The Black Monestery(sic)”. Scott never could spell worth a darn. He sold a couple copies to the local Weird Pete (called Triple Alliance), and proceeded to join the Navy and disappear for a few years. We have loosely kept in touch over the last 25 years, but have not seen each other since about 1989 or so.
A few months ago, someone on the Acaeum website was talking about this “cool old school DIY published book” his brother in law’s brother (reminded me of the Conan 2 Movie “brother’s sister’s cousin” line) had given him. Imagine my surprise when I found out that Mark Shipley’s sister had married Scott’s brother and that Mark and I lived in the same town (along with Kevin Bacon I am beginning to think). I think Mark and I maybe have the only two surviving copies of the original. So we met for beers, called Scott and obtained permission to republish the work.
Mark frantically started rewriting (the spelling alone must have taken a week!), and I started making plans on how to give this baby the love it deserved. You must understand, I played (a lot) in this dungeon (haunted house really). It has special meaning to me as one of my earliest D&D experiences. Lord Bakar Yan my 18/53 (on 3d6 mind you, the only 18 I ever had on a character!) strength 5th level fighter was the sole survivor of the encounter in the crypt, I recall running in terror from the titan in the courtyard, and the mysterious Cimota I never quite figured out until I read the book.
So here you have it. The first book I ever helped publish back in 1981. The flavor of this thing is similar to Tegel Manor, on steroids. Originally written by the guy who taught me how to run a game, and rewritten by Mark Shipley to meet today’s standards. This book will include a large fold out map of the Monastery, and will be in limited edition Smythe-bound hardcover, as well as pdf and (later) softcover versions. Only the hardcover will include the fold out map.
I spent way too much on new art (Rowena did an amazing job), and Chuck has done a fantastic job making it a truly superior product. Robert’s maps are big, detailed and highly functional, and Skeeter and Matt did a great job making sure I got the rules right. Dawn will be editing the final, as will I, to ensure its as near perfect as we can get it. Just about the whole company contributed to the success of the “boss’s pet project”.
The Classic Style
The Black Monastery is presented in the spirit of fun typical of the classic, “old school” gaming style. It is an adventure in the classic style because it follows the design assumptions that were common in many publications and local campaigns during the early days of Dungeons and Dragons. In the classic era, the dungeon master was the final authority and was assumed to have complete control. Every event did not have to have a complete rationalization, formula or rules explanation. Mysterious phenomena, riddles and surprises were the norm. This module assumes that the dungeon master will take control and mold it to his campaign.
In a classic game, monsters might be stronger or weaker without having to figure out why. For unknown reasons, Flinds were the only creatures capable of wielding nunchaku. Qullan would die before revealing the special techniques for sharpening their broadswords. Piercers would wait most of their lives just to drop on adventurers and spend the next month crawling back up the wall after a miss. Skeletons always did 1d6 damage no matter what weapons they wielded. Rust monsters made sense. Orcs and gnolls would live next door to each other in dungeons that were essentially monster hotels and no one worried about why. In one of the classic modules by Judges Guild a single giant rat in a group of two dozen had 26 hit points because a typist made a mistake and that was okay – one of the rats was just really big.
Classic play usually assumed that monsters and player characters would follow standard archetypes. Magic-users always had white beards and pointy hats. Barbarians always wore rags and enormous fur boots. Paladins were noble and saintly. Fighters wore plate mail. Thieves climbed walls…a lot. Clerics were vaguely like Catholic priests gone bad, and they always chanted in Latin. All dwarves acted just like Gimli. All elves acted just like Legolas. Monsters were generally cheerful about their roles, including Norse berserkers who rated their own listing in the AD&D Monster Manual because they wandered around underground quite a bit, looking for player characters to fight.
In The Black Monastery, evil priests have left behind a large number of magical items and effects. They left poems and messages for intruders. They posted guardians that parade around chanting. They spawned ghostly effects that cannot be explained. Pictures are still hanging on walls. Dishes are rattling in the kitchen. Kobolds have decided a dungeon is a good place to roast a pig. Magic globes float in the air, waiting to explode. Statues perform strange, magical acts for no particular reason. Why? Who knows? All of that is okay. Explanations of these magical and monstrous events are provided from time to time, but they don’t really matter. The point is to have fun running about looting the place and trying to survive.
The Legend of the Black Monastery
Two centuries have passed since the terrible events associated with the hideous cult known as the Black Brotherhood. Only scholars and story-tellers remember now how the kingdom was nearly laid to waste and the Black Monastery rose to grandeur and fell into haunted ruins.
The Brothers first appeared as an order of benevolent priests and humble monks in black robes who followed a creed of kindness to the poor and service to the kingdom. Their rules called for humility and self denial. Other religious orders had no quarrel with their theology or their behavior. Their ranks grew as many commoners and nobles were drawn to the order by its good reputation.
The first headquarters for the order was a campsite, located in a forest near the edge of the realm. The Brothers said that their poverty and dedication to service allowed them no resources for more grand accommodations. Members of the Black Brotherhood built chapels in caves or constructed small temples on common land near villages. They said that these rustic shrines allowed them to be near the people they served. Services held by the Brothers at these locations attracted large numbers of common people, who supported the Black Brotherhood with alms.
Within 50 years of their first appearance, the Black Brotherhood had a number of larger temples and abbeys around the kingdom. Wealthy patrons endowed them with lands and buildings in order to buy favor and further the work of the Brothers. The lands they gained were slowly expanded as the order’s influence grew. Many merchants willed part of their fortunes to the Black Brotherhood, allowing the order to expand their work even further. The Brothers became bankers, loaning money and becoming partners in trade throughout the kingdom. Within 200 years of their founding, the order was wealthy and influential, with chapters throughout the kingdom and spreading into nearby realms.
With their order well-established, the Black Brotherhood received royal permission to build a grand monastery in the hill country north of the kingdom’s center. Their abbot, a cousin of the king, asked for the royal grant of a specific hilltop called the Hill of Mornay. This hill was already crowned by ancient ruins that the monks proposed to clear away. Because it was land not wanted for agriculture, the king was happy to grant the request. He even donated money to build the monastery and encouraged others to contribute. With funds from around the realm, the Brothers completed their new monastery within a decade. It was a grand, sprawling edifice built of black stone and called the Black Monastery.
From the very beginning, there were some who said that the Black Brotherhood was not what it seemed. There were always hints of corruption and moral lapses among the Brothers, but no more than any other religious order. There were some who told stories of greed, gluttony and depravity among the monks, but these tales did not weaken the order’s reputation during their early years. All of that changed with the construction of the Black Monastery.
Within two decades of the Black Monastery’s completion, locals began to speak of troubling events there. Sometimes, Brothers made strange demands. They began to cheat farmers of their crops. They loaned money at ruinous rates, taking the property of anyone who could not pay. They pressured or even threatened wealthy patrons, extorting money in larger and larger amounts. Everywhere, the Black Brotherhood grew stronger, prouder and more aggressive. And there was more…
People began to disappear. The farmers who worked the monastery lands reported that some people who went out at night, or who went off by themselves, did not return. It started with individuals…people without influential families…but soon the terror and loss spread to even to noble households. Some said that the people who disappeared had been taken into the Black Monastery, and the place slowly gained an evil reputation. Tenant farmers began moving away from the region, seeking safety at the loss of their fields.
Slowly, even the king began to sense that the night was full of new terrors. Across the kingdom, reports began to come in telling of hauntings and the depredations of monsters. Flocks of dead birds fell from clear skies, onto villages and city streets. Fish died by thousands in their streams. Citizens reported stillborn babies and monstrous births. Crops failed. Fields were full of stunted plants.
Crimes of all types grew common as incidents of madness spread everywhere. Word spread that the center of these dark portents was the Black Monastery, where many said the brothers practiced necromancy and human sacrifice. It was feared that the Black Brotherhood no longer worshipped gods of light and had turned to the service of the Dark God.
These terrors came to a head when the Black Brotherhood dared to threaten the king himself. Realizing his peril, the king moved to dispossess and disband the Black Brother hood. He ordered their shrines, abbeys and lands seized. He had Brothers arrested for real and imagined crimes. He also ordered investigations into the Black Monastery and the order’s highest ranking members.
The Black Brotherhood did not go quietly. Conflict between the order and the crown broke into violence when the Brothers incited their followers to riot across the kingdom. There were disturbances everywhere, including several attempts to assassinate the king by blades and by dark sorcery. It became clear to everyone that the Black Brotherhood was far more than just another religious order. Once knives were drawn, the conflict grew into open war between the crown and the Brothers.
The Black Brotherhood had exceeded their grasp. Their followers were crushed in the streets by mounted knights. Brothers were rounded up and arrested. Many of them were executed. Armed supporters of the Black Brotherhood, backed by arcane and divine magic, were defeated and slaughtered. The Brothers were driven back to their final hilltop fortress – the Black Monastery. They were besieged by the king’s army, trapped and waiting for the king’s forces to break in and end the war.
The final assault on the Black Monastery ended in victory and disaster. The king’s army took the hilltop, driving the last of the black-robed monks into the monastery itself. The soldiers were met by more than just men. There were monsters and fiends defending the monastery. There was a terrible slaughter on both sides. In many places the dead rose up to fight again. The battle continued from afternoon into night, lit by flames and magical energy.
The Black Monastery was never actually taken. The king’s forces drove the last of their foul enemies back inside the monastery gates. Battering rams and war machines were hauled up the hill to crush their way inside. But before the king’s men could take the final stronghold, the Black Brotherhood immolated themselves in magical fire.
Green flames roared up from the monastery, engulfing many of the king’s men as well. As survivors watched, the Black Monastery burned away, stones, gates, towers and all. There was a lurid green flare that lit the countryside. There was a scream of torment from a thousand human voices. There was a roar of falling masonry and splitting wood. Smoke and dust obscured the hilltop. The Black Monastery collapsed in upon itself and disappeared. Only ashes drifted down where the great structure had stood. All that was left of the Black Monastery was its foundations and debris-choked dungeons cut into the stones beneath. The war was over. The Black Brotherhood was destroyed.
But the Black Monastery was not gone forever. Over nearly two centuries since its destruction, the Black Monastery has returned from time to time to haunt the Hill of Mornay. Impossible as it seems, there have been at least five incidents in which witnesses have reported finding the Hill of Mornay once again crowned with black walls and slate-roofed towers. In every case, the manifestation of this revenant of the Black Monastery has been accompanied by widespread reports of madness, crime and social unrest in the kingdom. Sometimes, the monastery has appeared only for a night. The last two times, the monastery reappeared atop the hill for as long as three months…each appearance longer than the first.
There are tales of adventurers daring to enter the Black Monastery. Some went to look for treasure. Others went to battle whatever evil still lived inside. There are stories of lucky and brave explorers who have survived the horrors, returning with riches from the fabled hordes of the Black Brotherhood. It is enough to drive men mad with greed – enough to lure more each time to dare to enter the Black Monastery.
July 13, 2011
Tsar 9 has been loaded on the server and should be available very soon. I'll send an email tonite when it is. The Frog family is off to a wedding this weekend, so I will mail everything ordered by midnight tonite before we leave, and anything from then until Tuesday will be mailed next week. Thanks to all of you, this website is being revamped by a real web designer--not me or Mrs. Frog--so we will have a new and improved look that is easier to use soon! News on Gencon and new releases next week.
The Paizo Store will have limited quantities of the Pathfinder Tome of Horrors!!!
Three cheers for Lisa...Paizo just upped the print run a great deal. We are partnering on this (official news coming soon from Lisa and Jeff) on the Pathfinder version only. Lisa wanted to ensure that more people would have a shot at getting one--and she stepped up and helped make it happen.
It will still be a one time only print run, but the Paizo store will have copies of the Pathfinder version. To be clear, ONE PRINT RUN EVER, just printing a more copies for direct sale through Paizo. Essentially, Paizo placed an order for the books. Once again the company that saved our game steps up.
The SW version remains gone, gone, gone, and once the Paizo store is out, so are the Pathfinder versions.
Lisa and I discussed pricing, and my understanding is that she will honor the pre-order price and the pdf copy w/ orders as well.
I cannot say enough how much these guys do for the hobby.
July 6, 2011
Ok, Tome orders are closed out, and we are editing the R's now! Splinters 7-8 arrived last night, and will ship tomorrow. Tome pdfs will be up near the end of the month, and Splinters 9-10, HCC 3 and two new One Night Stands wil be announced soon (and should be out late July)!
July 5, 2011
This is the LAST DAY you can order Tome. If you have not emailed me with a special request to "hold one" you must order and purchase today. In other news, Splinters 7-8 shipped to me Friday, so those of you who have been patiently waiting should have your orders shipped in the next few days. Several new books to be announced soon, including Splinters 9-10 (yeah! Complete series 1) and Tsar 9. Tome pdfs will go on sale in about 3 weeks (and be available to all of you who pre-ordered); make sure you have adequate download speed, its big. We are down to limited copies of a number of books, including Ursined, Madaro Shanti and Fane of the Fallen (SW version, Pathfinder version is sold out). Thanks again for the patronage and patience, will post a major update on Black Monastery, UBAD and a couple other tidbits soon!
Several new bytes--Delays in print books (printer had mechanical issues) on Tsar 9. Tsar 10 is in editing, Tome pdfs are done, and will start being sold on Tuesday or so. I am all caught up on shipments (except Tsar 9 individual books, sorry), and 6 new books are at the printer. Tome should be back to me in late August, and I will start shipping it out as soon as I get it (be patient, I have a LOT of boxes to pack). In other news...I am pleased to announce for a late fall release:
THE BLACK MONASTERY
Way back in 1977, a bunch of the older kids I knew taught me how to
play Dungeons and Dragons. Quickly this evolved into myself and one
other guy, Scott Stabbert, being the primary DMs. Thus was born Rappan
Athuk (my main campaign hub, maps originally drawn by Scott), the
dungeon adventures from Demons and Devils, and many of the other
adventures I have published or planned to publish over the last 12
years.Scott’s game contained many gems. In fact, I have a 48 inch by 48 inch framed watercolor map of his world on my wall as I write this. That being said, none of his work (and all those excellent adventures I played in in high school) has ever been published. Except one.
In 1981, with some help from a few of our friends and the kindhearted folks at the local newspaper, Scott and I laid out typeset text on wax paper (in the old days, you did layout this way) on lighted boards. Then Scott spent his meager savings to print maybe 20 copies of a 100 or so page book called “The Black Monestery(sic)”. Scott never could spell worth a darn. He sold a couple copies to the local Weird Pete (called Triple Alliance), and proceeded to join the Navy and disappear for a few years. We have loosely kept in touch over the last 25 years, but have not seen each other since about 1989 or so.
A few months ago, someone on the Acaeum website was talking about this “cool old school DIY published book” his brother in law’s brother (reminded me of the Conan 2 Movie “brother’s sister’s cousin” line) had given him. Imagine my surprise when I found out that Mark Shipley’s sister had married Scott’s brother and that Mark and I lived in the same town (along with Kevin Bacon I am beginning to think). I think Mark and I maybe have the only two surviving copies of the original. So we met for beers, called Scott and obtained permission to republish the work.
Mark frantically started rewriting (the spelling alone must have taken a week!), and I started making plans on how to give this baby the love it deserved. You must understand, I played (a lot) in this dungeon (haunted house really). It has special meaning to me as one of my earliest D&D experiences. Lord Bakar Yan my 18/53 (on 3d6 mind you, the only 18 I ever had on a character!) strength 5th level fighter was the sole survivor of the encounter in the crypt, I recall running in terror from the titan in the courtyard, and the mysterious Cimota I never quite figured out until I read the book.
So here you have it. The first book I ever helped publish back in 1981. The flavor of this thing is similar to Tegel Manor, on steroids. Originally written by the guy who taught me how to run a game, and rewritten by Mark Shipley to meet today’s standards. This book will include a large fold out map of the Monastery, and will be in limited edition Smythe-bound hardcover, as well as pdf and (later) softcover versions. Only the hardcover will include the fold out map.
I spent way too much on new art (Rowena did an amazing job), and Chuck has done a fantastic job making it a truly superior product. Robert’s maps are big, detailed and highly functional, and Skeeter and Matt did a great job making sure I got the rules right. Dawn will be editing the final, as will I, to ensure its as near perfect as we can get it. Just about the whole company contributed to the success of the “boss’s pet project”.
The Classic Style
The Black Monastery is presented in the spirit of fun typical of the classic, “old school” gaming style. It is an adventure in the classic style because it follows the design assumptions that were common in many publications and local campaigns during the early days of Dungeons and Dragons. In the classic era, the dungeon master was the final authority and was assumed to have complete control. Every event did not have to have a complete rationalization, formula or rules explanation. Mysterious phenomena, riddles and surprises were the norm. This module assumes that the dungeon master will take control and mold it to his campaign.
In a classic game, monsters might be stronger or weaker without having to figure out why. For unknown reasons, Flinds were the only creatures capable of wielding nunchaku. Qullan would die before revealing the special techniques for sharpening their broadswords. Piercers would wait most of their lives just to drop on adventurers and spend the next month crawling back up the wall after a miss. Skeletons always did 1d6 damage no matter what weapons they wielded. Rust monsters made sense. Orcs and gnolls would live next door to each other in dungeons that were essentially monster hotels and no one worried about why. In one of the classic modules by Judges Guild a single giant rat in a group of two dozen had 26 hit points because a typist made a mistake and that was okay – one of the rats was just really big.
Classic play usually assumed that monsters and player characters would follow standard archetypes. Magic-users always had white beards and pointy hats. Barbarians always wore rags and enormous fur boots. Paladins were noble and saintly. Fighters wore plate mail. Thieves climbed walls…a lot. Clerics were vaguely like Catholic priests gone bad, and they always chanted in Latin. All dwarves acted just like Gimli. All elves acted just like Legolas. Monsters were generally cheerful about their roles, including Norse berserkers who rated their own listing in the AD&D Monster Manual because they wandered around underground quite a bit, looking for player characters to fight.
In The Black Monastery, evil priests have left behind a large number of magical items and effects. They left poems and messages for intruders. They posted guardians that parade around chanting. They spawned ghostly effects that cannot be explained. Pictures are still hanging on walls. Dishes are rattling in the kitchen. Kobolds have decided a dungeon is a good place to roast a pig. Magic globes float in the air, waiting to explode. Statues perform strange, magical acts for no particular reason. Why? Who knows? All of that is okay. Explanations of these magical and monstrous events are provided from time to time, but they don’t really matter. The point is to have fun running about looting the place and trying to survive.
The Legend of the Black Monastery
Two centuries have passed since the terrible events associated with the hideous cult known as the Black Brotherhood. Only scholars and story-tellers remember now how the kingdom was nearly laid to waste and the Black Monastery rose to grandeur and fell into haunted ruins.
The Brothers first appeared as an order of benevolent priests and humble monks in black robes who followed a creed of kindness to the poor and service to the kingdom. Their rules called for humility and self denial. Other religious orders had no quarrel with their theology or their behavior. Their ranks grew as many commoners and nobles were drawn to the order by its good reputation.
The first headquarters for the order was a campsite, located in a forest near the edge of the realm. The Brothers said that their poverty and dedication to service allowed them no resources for more grand accommodations. Members of the Black Brotherhood built chapels in caves or constructed small temples on common land near villages. They said that these rustic shrines allowed them to be near the people they served. Services held by the Brothers at these locations attracted large numbers of common people, who supported the Black Brotherhood with alms.
Within 50 years of their first appearance, the Black Brotherhood had a number of larger temples and abbeys around the kingdom. Wealthy patrons endowed them with lands and buildings in order to buy favor and further the work of the Brothers. The lands they gained were slowly expanded as the order’s influence grew. Many merchants willed part of their fortunes to the Black Brotherhood, allowing the order to expand their work even further. The Brothers became bankers, loaning money and becoming partners in trade throughout the kingdom. Within 200 years of their founding, the order was wealthy and influential, with chapters throughout the kingdom and spreading into nearby realms.
With their order well-established, the Black Brotherhood received royal permission to build a grand monastery in the hill country north of the kingdom’s center. Their abbot, a cousin of the king, asked for the royal grant of a specific hilltop called the Hill of Mornay. This hill was already crowned by ancient ruins that the monks proposed to clear away. Because it was land not wanted for agriculture, the king was happy to grant the request. He even donated money to build the monastery and encouraged others to contribute. With funds from around the realm, the Brothers completed their new monastery within a decade. It was a grand, sprawling edifice built of black stone and called the Black Monastery.
From the very beginning, there were some who said that the Black Brotherhood was not what it seemed. There were always hints of corruption and moral lapses among the Brothers, but no more than any other religious order. There were some who told stories of greed, gluttony and depravity among the monks, but these tales did not weaken the order’s reputation during their early years. All of that changed with the construction of the Black Monastery.
Within two decades of the Black Monastery’s completion, locals began to speak of troubling events there. Sometimes, Brothers made strange demands. They began to cheat farmers of their crops. They loaned money at ruinous rates, taking the property of anyone who could not pay. They pressured or even threatened wealthy patrons, extorting money in larger and larger amounts. Everywhere, the Black Brotherhood grew stronger, prouder and more aggressive. And there was more…
People began to disappear. The farmers who worked the monastery lands reported that some people who went out at night, or who went off by themselves, did not return. It started with individuals…people without influential families…but soon the terror and loss spread to even to noble households. Some said that the people who disappeared had been taken into the Black Monastery, and the place slowly gained an evil reputation. Tenant farmers began moving away from the region, seeking safety at the loss of their fields.
Slowly, even the king began to sense that the night was full of new terrors. Across the kingdom, reports began to come in telling of hauntings and the depredations of monsters. Flocks of dead birds fell from clear skies, onto villages and city streets. Fish died by thousands in their streams. Citizens reported stillborn babies and monstrous births. Crops failed. Fields were full of stunted plants.
Crimes of all types grew common as incidents of madness spread everywhere. Word spread that the center of these dark portents was the Black Monastery, where many said the brothers practiced necromancy and human sacrifice. It was feared that the Black Brotherhood no longer worshipped gods of light and had turned to the service of the Dark God.
These terrors came to a head when the Black Brotherhood dared to threaten the king himself. Realizing his peril, the king moved to dispossess and disband the Black Brother hood. He ordered their shrines, abbeys and lands seized. He had Brothers arrested for real and imagined crimes. He also ordered investigations into the Black Monastery and the order’s highest ranking members.
The Black Brotherhood did not go quietly. Conflict between the order and the crown broke into violence when the Brothers incited their followers to riot across the kingdom. There were disturbances everywhere, including several attempts to assassinate the king by blades and by dark sorcery. It became clear to everyone that the Black Brotherhood was far more than just another religious order. Once knives were drawn, the conflict grew into open war between the crown and the Brothers.
The Black Brotherhood had exceeded their grasp. Their followers were crushed in the streets by mounted knights. Brothers were rounded up and arrested. Many of them were executed. Armed supporters of the Black Brotherhood, backed by arcane and divine magic, were defeated and slaughtered. The Brothers were driven back to their final hilltop fortress – the Black Monastery. They were besieged by the king’s army, trapped and waiting for the king’s forces to break in and end the war.
The final assault on the Black Monastery ended in victory and disaster. The king’s army took the hilltop, driving the last of the black-robed monks into the monastery itself. The soldiers were met by more than just men. There were monsters and fiends defending the monastery. There was a terrible slaughter on both sides. In many places the dead rose up to fight again. The battle continued from afternoon into night, lit by flames and magical energy.
The Black Monastery was never actually taken. The king’s forces drove the last of their foul enemies back inside the monastery gates. Battering rams and war machines were hauled up the hill to crush their way inside. But before the king’s men could take the final stronghold, the Black Brotherhood immolated themselves in magical fire.
Green flames roared up from the monastery, engulfing many of the king’s men as well. As survivors watched, the Black Monastery burned away, stones, gates, towers and all. There was a lurid green flare that lit the countryside. There was a scream of torment from a thousand human voices. There was a roar of falling masonry and splitting wood. Smoke and dust obscured the hilltop. The Black Monastery collapsed in upon itself and disappeared. Only ashes drifted down where the great structure had stood. All that was left of the Black Monastery was its foundations and debris-choked dungeons cut into the stones beneath. The war was over. The Black Brotherhood was destroyed.
But the Black Monastery was not gone forever. Over nearly two centuries since its destruction, the Black Monastery has returned from time to time to haunt the Hill of Mornay. Impossible as it seems, there have been at least five incidents in which witnesses have reported finding the Hill of Mornay once again crowned with black walls and slate-roofed towers. In every case, the manifestation of this revenant of the Black Monastery has been accompanied by widespread reports of madness, crime and social unrest in the kingdom. Sometimes, the monastery has appeared only for a night. The last two times, the monastery reappeared atop the hill for as long as three months…each appearance longer than the first.
There are tales of adventurers daring to enter the Black Monastery. Some went to look for treasure. Others went to battle whatever evil still lived inside. There are stories of lucky and brave explorers who have survived the horrors, returning with riches from the fabled hordes of the Black Brotherhood. It is enough to drive men mad with greed – enough to lure more each time to dare to enter the Black Monastery.
July 13, 2011
Tsar 9 has been loaded on the server and should be available very soon. I'll send an email tonite when it is. The Frog family is off to a wedding this weekend, so I will mail everything ordered by midnight tonite before we leave, and anything from then until Tuesday will be mailed next week. Thanks to all of you, this website is being revamped by a real web designer--not me or Mrs. Frog--so we will have a new and improved look that is easier to use soon! News on Gencon and new releases next week.
The Paizo Store will have limited quantities of the Pathfinder Tome of Horrors!!!
Three cheers for Lisa...Paizo just upped the print run a great deal. We are partnering on this (official news coming soon from Lisa and Jeff) on the Pathfinder version only. Lisa wanted to ensure that more people would have a shot at getting one--and she stepped up and helped make it happen.
It will still be a one time only print run, but the Paizo store will have copies of the Pathfinder version. To be clear, ONE PRINT RUN EVER, just printing a more copies for direct sale through Paizo. Essentially, Paizo placed an order for the books. Once again the company that saved our game steps up.
The SW version remains gone, gone, gone, and once the Paizo store is out, so are the Pathfinder versions.
Lisa and I discussed pricing, and my understanding is that she will honor the pre-order price and the pdf copy w/ orders as well.
I cannot say enough how much these guys do for the hobby.
July 6, 2011
Ok, Tome orders are closed out, and we are editing the R's now! Splinters 7-8 arrived last night, and will ship tomorrow. Tome pdfs will be up near the end of the month, and Splinters 9-10, HCC 3 and two new One Night Stands wil be announced soon (and should be out late July)!
July 5, 2011
This is the LAST DAY you can order Tome. If you have not emailed me with a special request to "hold one" you must order and purchase today. In other news, Splinters 7-8 shipped to me Friday, so those of you who have been patiently waiting should have your orders shipped in the next few days. Several new books to be announced soon, including Splinters 9-10 (yeah! Complete series 1) and Tsar 9. Tome pdfs will go on sale in about 3 weeks (and be available to all of you who pre-ordered); make sure you have adequate download speed, its big. We are down to limited copies of a number of books, including Ursined, Madaro Shanti and Fane of the Fallen (SW version, Pathfinder version is sold out). Thanks again for the patronage and patience, will post a major update on Black Monastery, UBAD and a couple other tidbits soon!
Wednesday, June 1, 2011
June 2011
June 25, 2011
Time is running out on Tome orders! I will extend the order period through July 4 (I am not sending to the printer on the holiday), but that is all.
June 23, 2011
Talked with the printer yesterday, and Splinters 7-8 will be here next week. I expect several bnooks to arrive in the next 10 days, and apologize for shipping delays, but its coming soon.
In other news, most of you will notice that I have put up hundreds of books from my personal stash of Necromancer Games books. All of these are in limited supply, and will NEVER be reprinted in their original form. Not everything is available (Rappan Athuk 3, Tome 1 and Abysthor), but most are available below MSRP. The rares (like Reloaded, Judges Guild, and a few others) are set at market price (well above MSRP). This is probably the last stash of old NG books in the world (I bought out the remainder of the warehouses), so buy up, when they are gone they are gone!
June 14, 2011
Splinters 7 and 8 got lost in the printer process, and are going to be delayed a bit. Don't panic, its all set now, just a week or two delay.
MOST IMPORTANT!!! Tome of Horrors Complete is only for sale for 16 more days. I will only print this monster once, so order now, to get this tremendous piece of RPG history. This will be the LARGEST monster book ever made to date, weighing in at over 800 pages, and once its gone, its gone. I am pretty sure you could resell it on Ebay in 2 years for much more than it costs (not that you would want to), but since I have to arange printing, I am cutting it off as soon as it goes to press (estimated as the first week in July), and I am not printing extras. To reiterate:
Never before have all three volumes been updated to the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game in their entirety and released as a single, hardbound tome. Monsters from the aberrant to the yellow musk zombie appear in this book, and everything in between—that’s over 700 monsters. But that’s not all; the appendices bring just as much to the table from templates to hazards to a treatise on poison variations in nearly 50 types of venomous snakes. There are also new feats, planes of existence, strange beings beyond mortal ken, and plenty of charts dividing the compiled monsters by CR, type, and terrain.
But it’s more than just that, because the entire compilation has also been updated to the Swords & Wizardry rules for release as another version of the volume. And in this version, the space freed up by the smaller stat blocks is filled by sample monster lairs and encounters with the hundreds of different monster types featured in the tome. Never before has this massive selection of monsters been updated and brought with these resources all together in one place for use in your own game. And before any Pathfinder players cry foul over the monster lair additions in the Swords & Wizardry version of The Tome of Horrors Complete, this lair information will be available as a free download at the Frog God Games website talesofthefroggod.com for you to use as well.
So you’ve got the monsters—both from the original edition of the game and new,—the templates, the multiple appendices on rules, planes, and the n’gathau, and a truckload of sample encounters and lairs to throw at your players, all together in one easy-to-use book. That’s why we call it The Tome of Horrors Complete!
The Tome of Horrors Complete sample lairs will be included in the Swords and Wizardry volume and as a free download for the Pathfinder volume! This will be comprised of hex-style lairs by a writing team led by John Stater!
Order now at http://www.talesofthefroggod.com/index.php/products/the-tome-of-horrors
June 12, 2011
Got home late last night from PaizoCon, after a great weekend. Special thanks to the Reaper Miniatures folks, who not only taught my 6-year old to paint, but helped him paint 15 miniatures over a 14 hour period. I kept trying to take him back, but they insisted on keeping him. We had a great time running SW games all weekend, and a number of the staff played some Pathfinder as well. Lisa and Erik were gracious hosts as always, they are a total class act, and we all owe them a lot for keeping "real D&D" alive. I got to hang out some with Clark Peterson as well, it wqas great to see my old buddy, and I'll be plugging his stuff soon (you know it will be good).
I was able to pack up everything I could tonite and will ship tomorow. Those of you who ordered Splinters 7-9 will have to wait a bit longer, as the books are still at press. Rest assured I will ship them as soon as they arrive. Two cons in 10 days has me fried, but I am recovering well, and should feel healthy as a horse in no time flat.
June 7, 2011
Just got back from Dallas after a very successful North Texas RPG Con. Doug Rhea and the boyz should be congratulated on one of the best cons I have ever attended. Matt and I got to play all weekend with the likes of Dennis Sustare, Erol Otus and many other celebrities. Lots of you guys were there too, and the Mythus Tower room was rockin' with people all weekend. I am a litle behind on shipping again, but will try to get everything out this Friday that was ordered while I was away. Special thanks to Jon Hershberger and Alan Grohe for helping us out selling books at the show (BlackBlade), and to all the folks who put the Con together. We will be back for sure. If you ever want to hit a Con where old school gamers just play all day and night for 4 days, this is your show. We even had a few younger folks to complement the grognard patrol, including one very special little 11 year old girl who handled herself quite well (we had to cut off her doughnut supply to avoid the sugar high though). I played with 4 kids under the age of 15 at the show, and all were engaged, polite and quite intelligent. I am pretty tired, I have to admit--I DM'ed 3 8-10 hour sessions for as many as 15 players at a time; Matt did 4 sessions with as many as 18 at a time. It was crazy, but believe it or not, we stayed on task and got some very productive exploration done. Dennis Sustare got the "Saturday Night Special" magic item from me (a magic axe, +1/+4 vs undead, allows turning ability as a 4th level cleric) and John January got the big prize from Matt (+2 cloak of protection). Mythus Tower is the ongoing campaign run for 3 years now at the Con (and only at the Con), so folks character sheets were saved by Matt and we will take up where we left off next year!
Next up is PaizoCon, where Dawn, Skeeter and I will all be in attendance. Clark will be joining us this year to showcase his new material in preparation for release in 2012. Oh yeah, everyone welcome Dawn Fischer to the FGG team. Dawn will be making sure that all of us use correct grammar and spelling (we are not always the best at that), and helping improve quality of all the FGG products.
Ok, off to school camp, I shall return Friday and start packing books. Thanks again everyone for your patronage, patience, and making this a fun job. Its people like those I played with this weekend that are the reason I do this stuff.
Time is running out on Tome orders! I will extend the order period through July 4 (I am not sending to the printer on the holiday), but that is all.
June 23, 2011
Talked with the printer yesterday, and Splinters 7-8 will be here next week. I expect several bnooks to arrive in the next 10 days, and apologize for shipping delays, but its coming soon.
In other news, most of you will notice that I have put up hundreds of books from my personal stash of Necromancer Games books. All of these are in limited supply, and will NEVER be reprinted in their original form. Not everything is available (Rappan Athuk 3, Tome 1 and Abysthor), but most are available below MSRP. The rares (like Reloaded, Judges Guild, and a few others) are set at market price (well above MSRP). This is probably the last stash of old NG books in the world (I bought out the remainder of the warehouses), so buy up, when they are gone they are gone!
June 14, 2011
Splinters 7 and 8 got lost in the printer process, and are going to be delayed a bit. Don't panic, its all set now, just a week or two delay.
MOST IMPORTANT!!! Tome of Horrors Complete is only for sale for 16 more days. I will only print this monster once, so order now, to get this tremendous piece of RPG history. This will be the LARGEST monster book ever made to date, weighing in at over 800 pages, and once its gone, its gone. I am pretty sure you could resell it on Ebay in 2 years for much more than it costs (not that you would want to), but since I have to arange printing, I am cutting it off as soon as it goes to press (estimated as the first week in July), and I am not printing extras. To reiterate:
Never before have all three volumes been updated to the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game in their entirety and released as a single, hardbound tome. Monsters from the aberrant to the yellow musk zombie appear in this book, and everything in between—that’s over 700 monsters. But that’s not all; the appendices bring just as much to the table from templates to hazards to a treatise on poison variations in nearly 50 types of venomous snakes. There are also new feats, planes of existence, strange beings beyond mortal ken, and plenty of charts dividing the compiled monsters by CR, type, and terrain.
But it’s more than just that, because the entire compilation has also been updated to the Swords & Wizardry rules for release as another version of the volume. And in this version, the space freed up by the smaller stat blocks is filled by sample monster lairs and encounters with the hundreds of different monster types featured in the tome. Never before has this massive selection of monsters been updated and brought with these resources all together in one place for use in your own game. And before any Pathfinder players cry foul over the monster lair additions in the Swords & Wizardry version of The Tome of Horrors Complete, this lair information will be available as a free download at the Frog God Games website talesofthefroggod.com for you to use as well.
So you’ve got the monsters—both from the original edition of the game and new,—the templates, the multiple appendices on rules, planes, and the n’gathau, and a truckload of sample encounters and lairs to throw at your players, all together in one easy-to-use book. That’s why we call it The Tome of Horrors Complete!
The Tome of Horrors Complete sample lairs will be included in the Swords and Wizardry volume and as a free download for the Pathfinder volume! This will be comprised of hex-style lairs by a writing team led by John Stater!
Order now at http://www.talesofthefroggod.com/index.php/products/the-tome-of-horrors
June 12, 2011
Got home late last night from PaizoCon, after a great weekend. Special thanks to the Reaper Miniatures folks, who not only taught my 6-year old to paint, but helped him paint 15 miniatures over a 14 hour period. I kept trying to take him back, but they insisted on keeping him. We had a great time running SW games all weekend, and a number of the staff played some Pathfinder as well. Lisa and Erik were gracious hosts as always, they are a total class act, and we all owe them a lot for keeping "real D&D" alive. I got to hang out some with Clark Peterson as well, it wqas great to see my old buddy, and I'll be plugging his stuff soon (you know it will be good).
I was able to pack up everything I could tonite and will ship tomorow. Those of you who ordered Splinters 7-9 will have to wait a bit longer, as the books are still at press. Rest assured I will ship them as soon as they arrive. Two cons in 10 days has me fried, but I am recovering well, and should feel healthy as a horse in no time flat.
June 7, 2011
Just got back from Dallas after a very successful North Texas RPG Con. Doug Rhea and the boyz should be congratulated on one of the best cons I have ever attended. Matt and I got to play all weekend with the likes of Dennis Sustare, Erol Otus and many other celebrities. Lots of you guys were there too, and the Mythus Tower room was rockin' with people all weekend. I am a litle behind on shipping again, but will try to get everything out this Friday that was ordered while I was away. Special thanks to Jon Hershberger and Alan Grohe for helping us out selling books at the show (BlackBlade), and to all the folks who put the Con together. We will be back for sure. If you ever want to hit a Con where old school gamers just play all day and night for 4 days, this is your show. We even had a few younger folks to complement the grognard patrol, including one very special little 11 year old girl who handled herself quite well (we had to cut off her doughnut supply to avoid the sugar high though). I played with 4 kids under the age of 15 at the show, and all were engaged, polite and quite intelligent. I am pretty tired, I have to admit--I DM'ed 3 8-10 hour sessions for as many as 15 players at a time; Matt did 4 sessions with as many as 18 at a time. It was crazy, but believe it or not, we stayed on task and got some very productive exploration done. Dennis Sustare got the "Saturday Night Special" magic item from me (a magic axe, +1/+4 vs undead, allows turning ability as a 4th level cleric) and John January got the big prize from Matt (+2 cloak of protection). Mythus Tower is the ongoing campaign run for 3 years now at the Con (and only at the Con), so folks character sheets were saved by Matt and we will take up where we left off next year!
Next up is PaizoCon, where Dawn, Skeeter and I will all be in attendance. Clark will be joining us this year to showcase his new material in preparation for release in 2012. Oh yeah, everyone welcome Dawn Fischer to the FGG team. Dawn will be making sure that all of us use correct grammar and spelling (we are not always the best at that), and helping improve quality of all the FGG products.
Ok, off to school camp, I shall return Friday and start packing books. Thanks again everyone for your patronage, patience, and making this a fun job. Its people like those I played with this weekend that are the reason I do this stuff.
Monday, May 30, 2011
May 2011
May 30, 2011
Lots and lots of news today. Hex Crawl Chronicles part 1-2 go live this week! Splinters of Faith 6,7,and 8, as well as our first Saturday Night Special release- Hollow Mountain, arrive from the printer in the next two days. Greg is fresh back from ReaperCon, and Matt and I will be making a guest appearance at North Texas RPG Con this week. We look forward to seeing you all there! Tome is in layout, UBAD and Tsar 9 are next up, and us amphibians will have a ton of new releases all summer long to sate the appetites of our fans. Black Monastery is in its final stages of artwork, and is even cooler than I remembered 30 years ago:)!
I will also be attending PaizoCon later this month in Bellevue WA, and Skeeter Greene will be joining me. I'll be running SW games there as well.
Lots and lots of news today. Hex Crawl Chronicles part 1-2 go live this week! Splinters of Faith 6,7,and 8, as well as our first Saturday Night Special release- Hollow Mountain, arrive from the printer in the next two days. Greg is fresh back from ReaperCon, and Matt and I will be making a guest appearance at North Texas RPG Con this week. We look forward to seeing you all there! Tome is in layout, UBAD and Tsar 9 are next up, and us amphibians will have a ton of new releases all summer long to sate the appetites of our fans. Black Monastery is in its final stages of artwork, and is even cooler than I remembered 30 years ago:)!
I will also be attending PaizoCon later this month in Bellevue WA, and Skeeter Greene will be joining me. I'll be running SW games there as well.
Friday, April 1, 2011
April 2011
April 25, 2011
More books coming soon! Hex Crawls, Splinters 6 and Hollow Mountain are off to press, and UBAD is in editing. Tome SW is nearly complete, and Pathfinder should be ready to edit by May. I have an edit draft of Black Monastery, and Tsar 9, the first book of the final 3-volume epic, is being revised currently. I fell a little behind on shipping last week (Holy Week is a big deal in the Frog house), but now that Easter is passed I am back up and running and should mail all back orders this week. Thanks again for your patronage. See you all at PaizoCon and North Texas RPG Con!
April 4, 2011
Madaro Shanti is still yet to arrive (darn USPS), but all the rest of the books have arrived in last few days. Bear with me, I am shipping as fast as I can. The frogs set up a new network this weekend, slowing down an already slow process, but its up and running, and seems to be working well. I am changing the name of Hex Crawl Classics (I decided it was to close to Goodman's DCC's), so as soon as we have adifferent title (Old School Hex Crawls?), I'll post that up. Thanks again for your patience guys and gals, those hardcovers really derailed me. All should be back to normal soon. The bindings for the Tome and Tsar books are CONFIRMED as stitch bound (sewn), and should be very, very durable. I am not sure anyone has done a stitch bound book since the days of AD&D. It ain't cheap, but you all desrve the book to be bombproof. We only have about 30 of the flawed hardcovers left, and are down to just a few copies of Ursined, Tsar 1-2 and Splinters 1-2. Its unlikely we will reprint the short modules, so if you want them, get them soon. I'll post again as soon as the Madaro Shanti's arrive and ship.
More books coming soon! Hex Crawls, Splinters 6 and Hollow Mountain are off to press, and UBAD is in editing. Tome SW is nearly complete, and Pathfinder should be ready to edit by May. I have an edit draft of Black Monastery, and Tsar 9, the first book of the final 3-volume epic, is being revised currently. I fell a little behind on shipping last week (Holy Week is a big deal in the Frog house), but now that Easter is passed I am back up and running and should mail all back orders this week. Thanks again for your patronage. See you all at PaizoCon and North Texas RPG Con!
April 4, 2011
Madaro Shanti is still yet to arrive (darn USPS), but all the rest of the books have arrived in last few days. Bear with me, I am shipping as fast as I can. The frogs set up a new network this weekend, slowing down an already slow process, but its up and running, and seems to be working well. I am changing the name of Hex Crawl Classics (I decided it was to close to Goodman's DCC's), so as soon as we have adifferent title (Old School Hex Crawls?), I'll post that up. Thanks again for your patience guys and gals, those hardcovers really derailed me. All should be back to normal soon. The bindings for the Tome and Tsar books are CONFIRMED as stitch bound (sewn), and should be very, very durable. I am not sure anyone has done a stitch bound book since the days of AD&D. It ain't cheap, but you all desrve the book to be bombproof. We only have about 30 of the flawed hardcovers left, and are down to just a few copies of Ursined, Tsar 1-2 and Splinters 1-2. Its unlikely we will reprint the short modules, so if you want them, get them soon. I'll post again as soon as the Madaro Shanti's arrive and ship.
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
March 2011
March 28, 2011
Harcovers have been shipping out the past few days, and the new releases should ship this week (Madaro Shanti, etc.). I have mailed about 100 boxes in the last 4 days, so bear with me, its a slow process, but our Shipping and Receiving Dept (me) is working hard. I am alomst done with edits on three new books (Hollow Mountain, Castle Baldemor and Splinters 6) which should head off to the printer in 2 weeks or so. Hex crawls 1-2 will go about the same time...you guys are gonna like Hex Crawls.
March 15, 2011
Its the Ides of March, Hail Caeser! Several bits of news today; Matt has shipped me the limited edition hardcovers, which means I'll be firing up my signing pen and mailing them to you guys! I shipped out the flawed hardcovers today, only a few left...and the new books have been printed (Northland 1, ONS-Madaro Shanti, Splinters 5) and are shiping to me (and then to you) very soon. Tsar 8 is in printing, and I am final editing Hex Crawls 1. Hex Crawls is even better than I remembered when I read the draft. Next up are a couple short modules (One Night Stands and Sat Nite's), the Ultimate Book of Adventure Design, and another Hex Crawl (2) and finally Tsar 9...whew. We are getting extremely low on several modules (Ursined, Splinters 1-2, and Tsar 1-3), so if you want them, get them before they are gone. Same goes for the SW legacy products, there are very few copies left of these as well (
March 10, 2011
Tome buttons all fixed, you may now select SW pr Pathfinder versions!
March 8, 2011
Frog God Games is pleased to announce a number of updates for March. First, I want to let all of you patient patrons to know that the Swords and Wizardry hardcovers have shipped from the printer to Matt for signing, and that they will be to you in under three weeks. Thank you again for your patience, but we wanted top ensure that the book you received was of high quality and without flaw. These books have a matte finish, similar to the old 1st Edition D&D books. They are beautiful, and I hope you all judge that it was worth the wait.
On that note, I was able to obtain a limited quantity of flawed hardcovers (slight warp in the cover stock), and will be offering them at a steep discount ($20) to those of you who want a play copy of the hardcover rules. These books are really nice, but do have a slight outward pull on the covers, resulting in me rejecting them as our limited edition release. They are otherwise in perfect condition. Honestly, most companies would have just sold them as the limiteds, but we chose not to. These books have a high gloss finish to distinguish them from the limited editions.
I have completed price analysis and obtained printing quotes of Tome of Horrors Complete and am able to price the pre-order books at $89.99 and will end June 1, 2011. Non-pre-orders will be $99.99. This huge volume will encompass all three of the Necromancer Games Tome of Horrors books into one giant “Necronomican-like” Tome. It can be used as a weapon against players of all levels, either as an in-game tool or as a bludgeon (it will weigh several pounds). Page count is estimated at over 1000, and the book will be cloth stitch (Smythe) bound for durability. No other monster book ever produced has the “Thud factor” of this tome. Release date is estimated as August 1, 2011.
Other major releases this week include:
The Northland Saga
This series of adventures takes place in the frozen north, where men are men, beer is ale and monsters are, well, scary. Who has not loved the setting of the 13th Warrior or wished to relive the Frost Giant’s Daughter by R.E. Howard? Heroes will fight evil in the cold lands, sail the treacherous ice filled seas where sea monsters swallow ships and crews and feast in fire-lit halls with Vikings! Planned as a series of 10 modules, this series will begin in January (appropriately, due to the cold). More information will be added as it becomes available. Written by Ken Spencer, this series is sure to send shivers up even the bravest adventurer’s spine! It all begins this week with Part 1 –
Vengeance of the Long Serpent
Pull on your hauberk, ready your shield, and take up your axe, the tide is moving
out and it is time to set sail on a voyage of adventure. In Vengeance of the Long
Serpent the heroes sail north into a land of murder, savagery, and madness to face a reawakened dark god and his deadly cult.
One Night Stands
Remember when the world was a sandbox and you just inserted modules into your campaign whenever and wherever you wanted to? Remember when companies like Judges Guild and TSR produced short stand alone modules, not tied to any setting or campaign? Remember when the cost 5 bucks (ok we can’t do print books for 5 bucks anymore , but we can do that for the pdfs)? Remember when you directed the action independent of what the “world” rules said was there? We do, and in response we decided to fill the gap with our One Night Stands and Saturday Night Specials series.
These modules are designed to be played over the course of 1-2 nights. Each is a sandbox style short adventure (One Night Stands) or a short dungeon crawl (Saturday Night Specials). This series begins this week with the first one Night Stands Release –
The Jungle Ruins of Madaro-Shanti
Another of the One Night Stand Series, Jungle Ruins of Madaro-Shanti is an adventure for a party of 4-8 characters of fourth through seventh level. A century ago or more, when the town of Cholagadi was just a frontier fort on the coast, Madaro-Shanti was the most powerful city-state in the entire Ambicuaria Jungle. Its citizens were highly advanced in the arts of magic, and even retained some vestiges of magical quasi-technologies perhaps more ancient than humankind itself. Their prosperity made for jealous enemies, none more covetous than the powerful and sorcerous Kiengaa Tribe of the deep jungles. The Kiengaa plotted against Madaro-Shanti, making dark pacts with the monstrous ape-centaurs known as the Borsin, and with the monkey-faced, snake-like monsters known as the Hanu-Naga. Once this terrible, unnatural army was gathered, the Kiengaa and their allies laid siege to Madaro-Shanti itself.
As the walls of Madaro-Shanti fell, and the invaders swarmed into the city, the high priest of the city closed himself within the royal shrine, praying to all the gods for intervention. Yet none of the gods answered his prayers until the last – and that was Ojala, whom the people of Madaro-Shanti knew as a god of evil and treachery. A deadly bargain was struck that night, and true to his promise, Ojala caused a horrible wasting disease to strike the besieging army. But the full extent of the evil god’s treachery became clear when the surviving people of Madaro-Shanti themselves began to succumb to the same disease which had slain their enemies. Within a fortnight, all the people of Madaro-Shanti had either died of the plague or scattered into the depths of the predator-filled jungle.
In only a few years, the city was overgrown by the jungle and fell into ruin, but the magical disease was to have one final consequence. Not only did the contagion affect the Kiengaa and the Madaro-Shanti – it also infected the mind of a powerful nature-spirit that inhabited the surrounding jungles. The nature-spirit Cho-Odaa, driven mad by the disease and hungry for vengeance against all humankind, has discovered the means to exact a terrible reckoning.
Once again, I told you….DON’T GO DOWN THE WELL!
Our next release this week is the 5th installment of our Splinters of Faith series.
Splinters of Faith 5: Eclipse of the Hearth (Levels 5 through 7)
The pyramid Seraph, once a holy temple, now lies under the sway of darkness. Breaking into the temple is hard enough, but braving the sinister twists awaiting in the dark catacombs will test the strongest PCs. This one features some difficult puzzles, and is sure to test the brains of your players. The foolish will be dead, and the wise shall be richly rewarded!
Sell buttons etc. will all be up soon. The series books will ship in about 7 days. Next up and coming in early April will be Hex Crawl Classics Book 1- Valley of the Hawks, Splinters of Faith 6, Saturday Night Specials Castle Baldemor and Hollow Mountain, and last but not least the 9th installment of Slumbering Tsar!
Harcovers have been shipping out the past few days, and the new releases should ship this week (Madaro Shanti, etc.). I have mailed about 100 boxes in the last 4 days, so bear with me, its a slow process, but our Shipping and Receiving Dept (me) is working hard. I am alomst done with edits on three new books (Hollow Mountain, Castle Baldemor and Splinters 6) which should head off to the printer in 2 weeks or so. Hex crawls 1-2 will go about the same time...you guys are gonna like Hex Crawls.
March 15, 2011
Its the Ides of March, Hail Caeser! Several bits of news today; Matt has shipped me the limited edition hardcovers, which means I'll be firing up my signing pen and mailing them to you guys! I shipped out the flawed hardcovers today, only a few left...and the new books have been printed (Northland 1, ONS-Madaro Shanti, Splinters 5) and are shiping to me (and then to you) very soon. Tsar 8 is in printing, and I am final editing Hex Crawls 1. Hex Crawls is even better than I remembered when I read the draft. Next up are a couple short modules (One Night Stands and Sat Nite's), the Ultimate Book of Adventure Design, and another Hex Crawl (2) and finally Tsar 9...whew. We are getting extremely low on several modules (Ursined, Splinters 1-2, and Tsar 1-3), so if you want them, get them before they are gone. Same goes for the SW legacy products, there are very few copies left of these as well (
March 10, 2011
Tome buttons all fixed, you may now select SW pr Pathfinder versions!
March 8, 2011
Hello Friends of the Frog God!
This
is to let you know that a new chapter has been released for the
Slumbering Tsar Saga. Subscribers can download their new chapter at:
Your
user name is your email address that you ordered the book from, and
your password is…well, secret. If you have lost your initial email from
us, the password recovery utility can be used. Failing that, you can
contact tech support at support@bytesinteractive.com.
Your files are in the Ezine folder.
New
installments of One Night Stands and Splinters of Faith are uploaded
and ready to go. Pre-orders for Tome of Horrors will also start this
week.
Buttons should be up by Wednesday on the website!
Bill
March 6, 2011Frog God Games is pleased to announce a number of updates for March. First, I want to let all of you patient patrons to know that the Swords and Wizardry hardcovers have shipped from the printer to Matt for signing, and that they will be to you in under three weeks. Thank you again for your patience, but we wanted top ensure that the book you received was of high quality and without flaw. These books have a matte finish, similar to the old 1st Edition D&D books. They are beautiful, and I hope you all judge that it was worth the wait.
On that note, I was able to obtain a limited quantity of flawed hardcovers (slight warp in the cover stock), and will be offering them at a steep discount ($20) to those of you who want a play copy of the hardcover rules. These books are really nice, but do have a slight outward pull on the covers, resulting in me rejecting them as our limited edition release. They are otherwise in perfect condition. Honestly, most companies would have just sold them as the limiteds, but we chose not to. These books have a high gloss finish to distinguish them from the limited editions.
I have completed price analysis and obtained printing quotes of Tome of Horrors Complete and am able to price the pre-order books at $89.99 and will end June 1, 2011. Non-pre-orders will be $99.99. This huge volume will encompass all three of the Necromancer Games Tome of Horrors books into one giant “Necronomican-like” Tome. It can be used as a weapon against players of all levels, either as an in-game tool or as a bludgeon (it will weigh several pounds). Page count is estimated at over 1000, and the book will be cloth stitch (Smythe) bound for durability. No other monster book ever produced has the “Thud factor” of this tome. Release date is estimated as August 1, 2011.
Other major releases this week include:
The Northland Saga
This series of adventures takes place in the frozen north, where men are men, beer is ale and monsters are, well, scary. Who has not loved the setting of the 13th Warrior or wished to relive the Frost Giant’s Daughter by R.E. Howard? Heroes will fight evil in the cold lands, sail the treacherous ice filled seas where sea monsters swallow ships and crews and feast in fire-lit halls with Vikings! Planned as a series of 10 modules, this series will begin in January (appropriately, due to the cold). More information will be added as it becomes available. Written by Ken Spencer, this series is sure to send shivers up even the bravest adventurer’s spine! It all begins this week with Part 1 –
Vengeance of the Long Serpent
Pull on your hauberk, ready your shield, and take up your axe, the tide is moving
out and it is time to set sail on a voyage of adventure. In Vengeance of the Long
Serpent the heroes sail north into a land of murder, savagery, and madness to face a reawakened dark god and his deadly cult.
One Night Stands
Remember when the world was a sandbox and you just inserted modules into your campaign whenever and wherever you wanted to? Remember when companies like Judges Guild and TSR produced short stand alone modules, not tied to any setting or campaign? Remember when the cost 5 bucks (ok we can’t do print books for 5 bucks anymore , but we can do that for the pdfs)? Remember when you directed the action independent of what the “world” rules said was there? We do, and in response we decided to fill the gap with our One Night Stands and Saturday Night Specials series.
These modules are designed to be played over the course of 1-2 nights. Each is a sandbox style short adventure (One Night Stands) or a short dungeon crawl (Saturday Night Specials). This series begins this week with the first one Night Stands Release –
The Jungle Ruins of Madaro-Shanti
Another of the One Night Stand Series, Jungle Ruins of Madaro-Shanti is an adventure for a party of 4-8 characters of fourth through seventh level. A century ago or more, when the town of Cholagadi was just a frontier fort on the coast, Madaro-Shanti was the most powerful city-state in the entire Ambicuaria Jungle. Its citizens were highly advanced in the arts of magic, and even retained some vestiges of magical quasi-technologies perhaps more ancient than humankind itself. Their prosperity made for jealous enemies, none more covetous than the powerful and sorcerous Kiengaa Tribe of the deep jungles. The Kiengaa plotted against Madaro-Shanti, making dark pacts with the monstrous ape-centaurs known as the Borsin, and with the monkey-faced, snake-like monsters known as the Hanu-Naga. Once this terrible, unnatural army was gathered, the Kiengaa and their allies laid siege to Madaro-Shanti itself.
As the walls of Madaro-Shanti fell, and the invaders swarmed into the city, the high priest of the city closed himself within the royal shrine, praying to all the gods for intervention. Yet none of the gods answered his prayers until the last – and that was Ojala, whom the people of Madaro-Shanti knew as a god of evil and treachery. A deadly bargain was struck that night, and true to his promise, Ojala caused a horrible wasting disease to strike the besieging army. But the full extent of the evil god’s treachery became clear when the surviving people of Madaro-Shanti themselves began to succumb to the same disease which had slain their enemies. Within a fortnight, all the people of Madaro-Shanti had either died of the plague or scattered into the depths of the predator-filled jungle.
In only a few years, the city was overgrown by the jungle and fell into ruin, but the magical disease was to have one final consequence. Not only did the contagion affect the Kiengaa and the Madaro-Shanti – it also infected the mind of a powerful nature-spirit that inhabited the surrounding jungles. The nature-spirit Cho-Odaa, driven mad by the disease and hungry for vengeance against all humankind, has discovered the means to exact a terrible reckoning.
Once again, I told you….DON’T GO DOWN THE WELL!
Our next release this week is the 5th installment of our Splinters of Faith series.
Splinters of Faith 5: Eclipse of the Hearth (Levels 5 through 7)
The pyramid Seraph, once a holy temple, now lies under the sway of darkness. Breaking into the temple is hard enough, but braving the sinister twists awaiting in the dark catacombs will test the strongest PCs. This one features some difficult puzzles, and is sure to test the brains of your players. The foolish will be dead, and the wise shall be richly rewarded!
Sell buttons etc. will all be up soon. The series books will ship in about 7 days. Next up and coming in early April will be Hex Crawl Classics Book 1- Valley of the Hawks, Splinters of Faith 6, Saturday Night Specials Castle Baldemor and Hollow Mountain, and last but not least the 9th installment of Slumbering Tsar!
Saturday, January 1, 2011
January 2011
January 30, 2010
About 70 boxes shipping out tomorrow. Everything is fulfilled through last Thurs now except those pesky hardcover ruklebooks! I had to take the OSRIC link down, it kept whapping my anti-virus. Not sure if its really a problem, but I had to make sure. Thanks to Jason for the heads up!
January 27, 2010
Ursined and Bedfellows arrived today, and I am told that the hardcovers have shipped to Matt (finally). Hang in there guys and gals, I am packing books this weekend, and will get the hardcovers out same day I get them! In other news, Tsar 7 is downloading from my server to my desktop right now, and will be posted Saturday!
January 18, 2010
A couple updates for the day. As most of you are aware, the bindiings on the S&W Complete Rulebook covers were not acceptable on the test copies. Our printer (with my concurrence) rejected them, and they are (have been) redone. I am told they will ship to Matt late this week. We appreciate your patience, but i wanted to ensure that you guys all got a quality book. If I was on time, you will remember next week, if the book binding sucked, you will remember forever. In other news, Ursined and Strange Bedfellows will arrive to me this week and will ship as soon as I get them. Tsar 7 is almost done in layout, and will go to editing in the next week or so. More news soon!
January 11, 2011
Ursined Sealed and Delivered and Strange Bedfellows are live! Don't miss these two low level adventures. Ursined (http://www.talesofthefroggod.com/index.php/products/one-night-stands?start=4) features the art of legendary Paul Jaquays and was written by the old druid himself, Dennis Sustarre! Its a cold weather test of wits for players of all classes, but I can tell you that control temperature 10' radius is a most valuable spell!
Strange Bedfellows comes form the same twisted mind that gave us Family Affair. When Carla writes, you can always expect twists in the plot. Evil is not always motivated by evil...
In other news, FGG will begin offering legacy products of Mythmere Games. A list will be posted soon. Once these products are gone, they are gone, so collectors be advised that not all orders may get processed.
January 8, 2011
Ursined, Sealed and Delivered and Strange Bedfellows will arrive this week. I am putting both up for sale very soon! The S&W hardcovers have been bound and are in transit (first to Matt, tghen to me, then to you guys). Last short bit is I now have additional copies of the softcover again, so back orders will ship early next week. Thank you all for your patience!
January 3, 2011
Frog God games is pleased to announce Tome of Horrors Complete
This book will be released in 2 formats; Swords and Wizardry and Pathfinder. It will consist of a huge volume encompassing all three Necromancer Games Tome of Horror volumes. Release date is Summer 2011, and retail price is TBD. This will be hardcover release. This massive Tome will contain almost 1000 monsters retstatted and reworked for both game systems, all in one place.
This is the largest, most comprehensive monster book ever released. Each monster is individually illustrated.
Let the discussion begin!
Happy New Year (almost) !
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