NOD 12 – Just in time for 2011!

NOD 12 is ready to go. You can buy the electronic version HERE now – I’ll put the print version up for sale as soon as I get a proof copy and make sure it isn’t totally screwed up. What do you get in 144 pages?

Welcome Back to Hell – The southern portion of the Glooms, Acheron and the first two rings of Hell.

Pandaemonium V – Stats for Asmodee, Barbatos and Naamah.

Deep Denizens II – Drow, duergar, notac-ichat and svirfneblin as playable races. Art by Jon Kaufman.

The Gourmand – The PC class that takes a bite out of … no – I can’t do that bit here.

Exotic Dining – Random tables for generating bizarre feasts.

Hero vs. Villain – A new article series that presents one original villain and one rejuvenated Golden Age hero for Mystery Men! This inaugural article presents the villainous Shatter and the heroic Madame Strange. Art by Stefan Grambart.

Mutant Truckers – A mini-game using Target 10 depicting the highways of post-apocalyptic America and the truckers who drive them. Art by Bradley K. McDevitt and Chris Huth.

Hope everyone enjoys it. The projects up ahead for me – today I try to finish putting together a glimpse of the next hex crawl, the savannah of Pwenet and jungle of Cush, for Fight On! because I’ve owed them an article for the better part of a year and because part of it might relate to a project somebody else is writing for Frog God Games set in NOD (blows my mind).

The weekend will be spent converting a few more levels of Rappan Athuk to Swords and Wizardry. After that, my focus is on NOD 13, Blood and Treasure and Space Princess.

So little to do, so much time. Wait – scratch that and reverse it.

NOD 11 – Just in Time for Halloween

Just in time for Halloween, NOD 11 arrives with the beginning of a five part hex crawl set in the scariest place in creation – HELL! Also, four new races for your underground adventures, a sinister new class – the demonologist, four new demon lords to bedevil your players and some tips on sprucing up the most under appreciated mega-monsters in gaming, the titans.

Compatible with most old school rules

140 pages

PDF is $3.50

Print version not on sale until I get a proof copy

Well, what are you waiting for? GO BUY IT MAN!

NOD 12 (coming in December) will feature the next installment of Hell, a write-up of a hero and villain for Mystery Men!, the first part of the “shades of …” dragon articles, four more underground races (drow, duergar, svirfneblin and notac-ichat) and, finally, the Mutant Truckers mini-campaign.

Hex Crawls & Horn Tooting

Just an FYI for those who are interested, it looks like the first two Hex Crawl Chronicles that I wrote for the Frog God are now available for sale as PDF or soft-cover book. The hex crawls are produced in two versions – one for Swords and Wizardry and the other for Pathfinder. Obviously, if you would like to buy a copy of each for their historical significance, I won’t complain.

HCC1 – Valley of the Hawks
The Valley of Hawks is a wooded river valley that cuts across a verdant prairie. It is named for the giant specimen of hawks that hunt along its banks and, during the Spring, blacken its skies. In the days of myth and legend, the Valley of the Hawks was inhabited by a race of giants who carved their likenesses in stone and hunted monstrous creatures using the giant hawks as their ardent companions and helpers. In the shadow of the giants dwelled the trouping elves and their erstwhile goblin enemies, fighting and feasting and making sport of life. The coming of the golden men from the west sent the proud elves and vicious goblins into hiding, for they commanded powerful magics and built a grand city of metal and crystal. But the reach of the golden men exceeded their grasp, and within a few generations their city had fallen and sent its children into the valley as orphans, and the elves and goblins worked their vengeance on them until only a few bands of the golden men, as wild and savage as the beasts, still roam the Valley. And so our adventurers arrive in the Valley of the Hawks seeking fame and fortune. Perhaps they come from northern lands or southern lands or perhaps they were born in the Valley and seek to learn its secrets and use its wealth to found a new city in the manner of the long gone golden men, a city that shines and terrifies and engraves their names forever in the stories of elves and men.

Price: pdf 4.99, pdf and softcover module $9.99

HCC2 – The Winter Woods
When the northern men came into this land they thought they had discovered a place of limitless possibilities – sparkling streams, fertile valleys and endless acres of rich timber. They didn’t realize they would have to contend with giant beasts, rapacious lycanthropes and the mysterious black arcs that visited the land from beyond the Black Water. Strike out into this land of dire wolves and giant badgers – bring news and trade to the isolated colonies of the northern men or fight through the lands of the wolfmen to find the palace of the mythical Queen of the Winter Wind.

Estimated Price: pdf 4.99, pdf and softcover module $9.99

Status Report – May ’11

What a busy month! Finally got NOD 8 published early in May (and late – God how that galls me) and Mystery Men! is now a reality – at least electronically. I haven’t yet received my print copy from Lulu.com, and I’m just a wee bit worried about how it will look in black and white, so I’m holding off on making it available for sale as a print book until I can see it with my own eyes.

Sales were pretty good in May – I think NOD 8 has moved faster than most previous issues of NOD. Page views on the blog seem to have moved into the “usually more than 300 a day, sometimes more than 400 a day” territory, which is nice. Total page views for May were 12,084.

Most popular May posts – in case you missed them – were …

Looking for Castle Floor Plans?

Megacrawl 3000 – Episode 7

Best D-n-D Movie Ever?

Mystery Men! Now Available As Free PDF

Ten Uncommon Coins

My favorite pic on DeviantArt in May was a tie between Ron Salas’ Ben Grimm 6×6 and Paul Renaud’s Dejah Thoris.

So – working on NOD 9 and another Hex Crawl Chronicle (the new name, I think). Have fun on the internet!

Status Report – April

Turns out I didn’t do a status report last month – the days just fly by. So …

I shifted 21 units in April and had 244 free downloads. Page views for April were 10,418, with a nice boost coming from a link from Zak.

Most popular April posts – in case you missed them – were …

I Like This!

Did you see the picture of Conan fighting our hero…

Weird Asia Contest

Happy Happy Hexcrawl Joy Joy!

Schrodinger – New Villain for Mystery Men!

Also, I managed to forget my blog anniversary in March – thankfully I do better remembering my wedding anniversary. Thanks for a year of page views and comments (keep ’em coming).

Favorite pic on DeviantArt in April was Joel Carroll’s inks on a Wieringo Batgirl pic.

Oh – and before I forget – NOD 8 goes on sale tonight if Lulu cooperates (and she hasn’t so far today). In either event, it’s at least finished. Mystery Men! is almost completed – I’m just writing up the encounter areas for the sample adventure. I hope to get it out there in one or two weeks.

NOD 7 – On Sale Now

Well, a couple days late – not too bad for a one man operation. NOD 7 is 80 pages and includes:

* St. Valentinus – The saint and his knightly order in NOD

* Antigoon, City of the Sun – A slice of the theatrical, mercantile city-state of Antigoon

* Dress to Impress – Giving characters a reason to take a bath and put on decent clothes

* Blackpoort, City of Thieves – A wicked little city on the shores of Blackmere

* Pandaemonium – Two demon lords for NOD

* Lyoness, the Gleaming City – A city-state of knights and dames

* Cyclopeans – New race/class for PARS FORTUNA plus a mini-dungeon, the Cyclopean Redoubt

* Phantastes – Three more chapters of this classic work of fantasy

E-Book for $3.50
Print Book for $9.00

NOD 7 Cover – Reader Choice

Two nice pieces of medieval art to choose from, though to be honest, I don’t this one is much of a contest …

Vote in the comments – Demons vs. Cityscape.

NOD 7 should be out February 14th – and if there’s somebody in your life who would actually want it for Valentine’s Day, you are probably a lucky gamer.

Contents should include …

Antigoon, City of the Sun
Blackpoort, City of Thieves
Lyonesse, the Gleaming City
Cyclopeans – new race/class for PARS FORTUNA + a mini-dungeon
Dress for Success – hygiene and costume in fantasy games
Order of the Flowery Skull – a religious order of bardic knights and their patron, St. Valentinus
Pandaemonium – two demon princes for your edification and enjoyment
Phantastes – another chapter or two

I’m thinking it will be in the neighborhood of 80 pages

Mystery Men! Gamma Release

No, not a release focusing on emerald-hued radiation accidents that just want to be left alone, but the follow up to the gamma release. I’ve put in the beta errata and made some other big changes to ability score generation, rolling feats and the monster stats – also added the ever lovin’ blue-eyed Tarrasque and a little sample artwork that will appear in the finished product. When I find time (HA!) I’m going to go back through past MM! posts and update the stats to the Gamma edition rules and maybe re-run the combats where old procedures clash with new procedures. I also still need to update the character sheet. All in good time. So – enjoy the gamma release, give it a try, and don’t hesitate to comment here or email me with your suggestions and errata. Roll up a character and have him fight a vampire or two, or pit an amazon princess up against a titan, or place a terrific trio over a pit containing a black pudding and let me know how it comes out.

Illustration of Fantome by and copyright 2011 Joel Carroll.

Mystery Men! Anyone?

Well, I’ve finished my draft of the Mystery Men! Beta Document and put it on the free downloads page. Here’s what you in the studio audience can do to help me produce a free/cheap superhero game that everyone can enjoy:

* If you read it, please let me know what you like and what you dislike and any errors that you notice.

* If you play it, please let me know what works and what doesn’t, and when you email me include your name and the names of other play-testers so I can credit you in the finished product.

I’m going to initiate some play-testing myself, but I really value the opinions of people outside my little circle of friends. In the coming weeks, I’m going to put some stats for the heroes and villains that will appear in the final product up for people to use as they see fit. In the meantime, make some heroes and villains and have a fight or two. Enjoy!