Working on this release now.  Look for it soon.

I just posed our newest release to OBS: Epic Incantations…

This one has some really cool and powerful spells.  I especially love the Apocolypse Beast and Magic Missile Fullisade.

I did my taxes last night and it turns out I am gonna owe Uncle Sam a few more dollars than I thought.  Yikes!  I even owe a few bucks to the state.  Nothing drastic, but enough that it will hurt a bit to write the check.

[Subliminal Blog Message: Please buy some stuff from us!]

No update on the house-hunt.  Still waiting for some paperwork to come in the mail.  We have been checking listings online and it is truly a “buyers” market out there right now.

We played our Star Wars RPG campaign on Saturday.  Mission accomplished; we are now full-on 7th level Sith!  (But we didn’t get to kill the Bull Rancor and his two companions.)

Still no word on the GSL.  Patiently waiting.  Still.

I see that Gareth has started everyone reminiscing about their first comic book.  My introduction to comics is a bit different.  My older brother was really into comics before I was.  I can’t say I remember the first ones I ever read; but he would bring a stack of them home every few weeks, and I would go through them and read the ones that interested me.  But when I heard they were turning one of my long-time favorite toys into a comic; I began collecting with issue #1.  This was the first comic book title I ever collected:

From there it was mostly Marvel titles.  The only DC comic I ever really dug was Sgt. Rock.  On the indy front I was a mean Groo fan as well.  Loved the TMNT!  (Old school Black & White turtles, not those wimpy cartoon dudes.) Loved X-men and New Mutants. Deathlok had me going until they drew him sitting on a plane with a trench coat and hat.  A seven foot tall Cyborg with a half-metal face saunters past airport security (even pre 9-11)?  Come on, just give him a hover bike or a jet pack.  Sheesh!  One of my all-time favorite comics was the New Mutants Special Edition #1 written by Chris Claremont drawn by Arthur Adams. This comic really inspired me.  The artwork is just plain awesome.

*UPDATE* Publisher Audio Commentary added.

You can see the front and back covers below:

Front Cover

Back Cover

Check out the Flash Flip-Book preview of everything in between HERE! (With all the naughty bits blurred out, as this is a somewhat kid-friendly site!)

I am still editing the Publisher Audio Commentary, which should be done today. I hope to have this product uploaded to OBS and YGN later today.

*UPDATE* I uploaded the Publisher Audio Commentary this morning.  Feel free to listen to it by clicking on the player below.  The bookmarks on the PDF were giving me a few issues, so I am currently tweaking that and will post the product as soon as I can.  Look for it some time today.

Listen Now:

 Black Tokyo: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Still putting the finishing touches on this one; but I thought a peek at the new cover was in order:

Lots of stuff going on. We released the D7ACU Hollowpoint Monk yesterday. Now on sale at all the usual places!

I have also been hearing a lot about these two shootings in Colorado. Some disgruntled guy they wouldn’t let go on a Christian mission to Bosnia cuz he was hearing voices or some such. Apparently he shot a few folks at the missionary training centre and a few hours later showed up at a huge church with like four or five thousand people attending. (Now that’s a Mega-Church!) Dude rolls in with a rifle, two pistols, body armor and packing over five-hundred rounds of ammo intending to do some serious harm. Only to come face-to-face with three armed church-goers who ended the episode in seconds rather than minutes.

You will hear a lot about Jeanne Assam being the hero that ended the rampage, and rightfully so. The other two men had not returned fire when she killed the shooter. The point I really want to make is that these people were not the police, they were not even hired security guards for the church, they were members of the congregation using their own weapons in defense of themselves and others. Ms. Assam is rightfully credited with possibly saving hundreds of lives. (Remember; when seconds count the police are only minutes away!) But had she failed to stop the shooter, with only her pistol against a man with superior firepower, there were still other armed church-members on hand to help stop the rampage. There was even one man who was unarmed that tried to get in on the action only to be wounded by the shooter. (Remember, the first law of gun-fighting: Have a gun!) Tragically, two teenage girls were killed before Ms. Assam was able to put the shooter down, but her actions prevented these two souls from being joined by dozens or hundreds more. I wonder if VA Tech had had a few teachers packing heat as Ms. Assam was if Cho would have been able to kill as many as he did? I think it’s high time we as a country began to re-think gun-free zones sitting duck zones.

***UPDATE***

The AP just reported that the church gunman killed himself! The words above remain un-changed for good reason. Weather Ms. Assam ended his life or he shot himself really doesn’t matter. People involved in mass shootings are really just committing “Suicide By Cop” . The Columbine Shooters and Cho at VA Tech killed multiple victims until armed men (Cops) showed up and then they killed themselves. We can surmise that the Colorado Church shooter intended the same thing. But I bet he thought he would have five or ten minutes to commit murder before he did himself in. (Typical police response time.) Instead he was confronted by several armed church members. So he ate a bullet while he still had hundreds of rounds of un-fired ammunition on him. Score a win for the good guys.

Got another product-pitch from one of my regular contributors yesterday. I looked it over and am excited to publish it. All I can say at this point is that we really need some more Epic Level material out there!

I still don’t have my Christmas Tree up or any decorations out. Still haven’t done any Christmas Shopping. I’d better get started or I’ll end up at Wal-Mart on the 24th picking over whatever is left!

Will be working on more PDF releases tonight when I get home. (After my daughters Band Concert at her school. ) More info soon.

Adventuring can be dangerous. That’s why every treasure-hunter needs the proper equipment. With the introduction of our “Adventurer Essentials” line we will examine the items that every adventurer needs to ensure he makes it back alive for the next adventure. Time-tested, and proven by countless dungeon crawls and wilderness expeditions, these are the essentials you’ll need to survive the dangers ahead.

The next piece of essential gear covered in the “Adventurer Essentials” line is the humble Bedroll. What piece of equipment is more cherished than the thick blanket an adventurer curls up inside after a march through a frozen wasteland? For most wanderers, a good bed at an inn is a rarity, and home is a distant memory. Most nights are spent under the indifferent stars. In the summer, the adventurer tosses and turns, a campaign’s worth of sweat sticking to the armor he can’t safely remove in-country, because he knows that in his business, danger always comes at night. During the winter, the adventurer huddles before a pitiful fire, shivering in ragged blankets as his breath freezes the moment it passes his chattering lips. During the rainy season, he sleeps in cloying mud, and wakes filthy and only slightly less exhausted than when he passed out the night before.

It doesn’t matter though. For an adventurer, that ragged, straw filled bedroll and patched, mud-stained blanket is home, if only for one night. And if he is tired enough, the weary adventurer can convince himself that his sleeping rags are a sybarite’s palace.

In this PDF we look at the history and legends of sleeping gear when far from home and hearth. Additionally we look at several varients of mundane bedrolls and accessories such as the standard bedroll, various blanket weights, the Legionares Bed, the Elven Sia Aia (Cocoon in Elvish), the Springing Tent, Verminbane Sachet and waterproofing methods.

An adventurer might pay to have her sword enchanted to slay dragons, or to have her cloak glamoured with silence and invisibility, or her shield blessed by a cleric of her god, but what kind of adventurer enchants her bedroll?

A smart one.

This PDF details fourteen magical items related to sleeping and Bedrolls.

1. Bed of the Caravan
2. Bedroll of Reconsideration
3. Bedroll of Sleeping Serpents
4. Dead-speak-sleep
5. Diplomat’s Quilt
6. Dream of Plenty
7. Lace of the Merciful
8. Lone Emperor’s Palace
9. Mephit’s Hearth
10. Osmotic Bedroll
11. Prophetess’ Shawl
12. Pillow of Extremis
13. Prostitute’s Pillow
14. Roll o’ the Weavers

Coming very soon from Skortched Urf’ Studios…

“That’s a neat trick you can do…”

Many people are jealous of the powers displayed by the heroes and monsters that share the world with them. These larger-than-life figures command potent magic with a thought, and have mystic abilities as natural to them as their arms are to the common man. Yet most ordinary folk manage to put aside this petty envy and continue on with their lives. A small number of people, though, become obsessed with such thoughts, burning with jealousy that others are so gifted while they are denied. As their obsession takes them over, they learn the secrets of how the brain controls the supernatural aspects of the body just as it does the natural ones, and that by ingesting certain portions of a creature’s brain, they can steal these powers for themselves. These are the powerphages.

To view the Flash Flip-book preview of this PDF click HERE.

*UPDATE*

Audio Commentary Added

Listen Now:

 The Powerphage: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

**UPDATE**

I just finished recording the Audio Commentary and uploaded it.  To listen click on the player below the image.  I’ll post the PDF to all the usual places later tonight.

I finished up AE:Waterskin yesterday. I just need to do the audio commentary and it will be ready to publish. You can check out the flip-book o it by clicking the cover image below.

Listen Now:

 AE: Waterskin: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Part of the appeal of RPG’s is their linear nature. Rarely does a game “end” in the same sense as a board game or a card game. You continue to gain experience and progress until you reach higher levels. All the core classes top-out at 20th level, but if you wish to continue playing the same characters you then move into the Epic Level!

I really enjoy playing Epic level campaigns. Why play a fourth level Dwarf Cleric when you can play a 25th level Paragon Doppelganger! (Yes, I actually did play “Queen Dopplepopolous” in our Epic campaign!) Sometimes it’s great to put aside restrictions and notions of “balance” and let lose with some serious POWER GAMING!

Epic Feats & Familiars is designed to give players and GM’s more options when playing an Epic Campaign. Included in this PDF are 21 new Epic Feats and a section on Epic Familiars. Now instead of a small cat or a bird, you can have a Roc or an Elder Earth Elemental as your faitfull companion and servant! Or if you prefer, you can imbue that faithful familiar that has stuck with you for so many levels with new Epic abilities.
The New Feats presented in this title are:

ADDITIONAL ITERATIVE ATTACK
ANARCHIC STRIKE
AXIOMATIC STRIKE
DEATH ATTACK OF OPPORTUNITY
DEDICATED PRIEST
EIDETIC SPELLBOOK
ETERNAL YOUTH
EVERLASTING GOD-STOPPER
EXTREME HARDINESS
HOLISTIC DISCIPLE
INTENSIFY SPELL-LIKE ABILITY
LIMITLESS POTENTIAL
LORD OF BATTLE
MANIFEST AURA
MIGHTY LIFTING
NEGATIVE ENERGY AURA
SUDDEN INTENSIFY SPELL
UNPARALLELED SPELLCASTER
UNSTOPPABLE SPELLCASTER
SMITE CHAOS
SMITE LAW

The final section covers Epic Familiars. You may either choose from a list of powerful new familiars including a Succubus, various Daemons and Devils or even Elder Elementals, among others. You may also choose to imbue your existing familiar with the Epic abilities presented in this section if you prefer.

Listen Now:

 Epic Feats & Familiars: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download