FlamesRising.com is pleased to present you with an exclusive preview for a new supplement for SCION, published by White Wolf Publishing. Entitled Yazata: The Persian Gods, this supplement takes an in-depth look at the gods of ancient Persia. What’s in store for fans of SCION? New Boons, Knacks, Birthrights and Purviews, including a new general Purview called “Stars” which we have an exclusive sneak peek of right here at Flames Rising.

Yazata Developer Eddy Webb tells us “This is what’s great about fan-proposed products. Siavash sent in a proposal, and instantly we saw the potential of it. It took a while to find the right place for it in our schedule, but I think the work that he and Dean put into it is worth the wait.”

The Plane Below greatly expands on the Elemental Chaos, which is one of the fundamental planes of the Dungeons & Dragons 4th Edition cosmos. To be sure, this supplement is primarily intended for Dungeon Masters and is best suited for paragon and epic tier games. There is no doubt that the Elemental Chaos is aptly named, for although there are some relatively stable places to visit, much of the plane is filled with a roiling chaos of raw elements from which the rest of creation is derived. It is a hostile and alien place — just the sort of place to drop your players into unexpectedly to watch them squirm.

Billed as “the finest in frightening tales,” DARKNESS: TWO DECADES OF MODERN HORROR is a potpourri of short horror stories published over the last twenty-five years. Horror authors include names that every horror fan will recognize: Stephen King, Peter Straub, Thomas Ligotti, Clive Barker and Poppy Z. Brite. In addition to these authors, you’ll find stories written by Neil Gaiman, George R.R. Martin, Gene Wolfe, Dan Simmons and several others hailing from the horror, science fiction and fantasy genres.

FlamesRising.com is pleased to present you with the complete introduction to this exciting horror anthology. Written by the award-winning editor Ellen Datlow, the introduction provides you with a behind-the-scenes look of the idea behind this stunning anthology.

The Introduction opens with the comment that while there’s plenty been published about the Adversary, precious little has been produced – bar the core rules – to support Witch Hunters themselves. This book sets out to change all that, a tome designed to aid Witch Hunter characters, honing them into potent and effective forces for good. To put things in context, there’s a brief summary of the way things are – the war between the supernatural and the protectors of mankind, the Orders of Solomon and their operatives the Witch Hunters. A war now waged in secret, although once, in times of legend, more open.

Deadlands, a mix of classic Western, science fiction and alternate history, has gone through a few changes and several editions in its 14-year history. A miniatures battle game and a pen-and-paper RPG of the Deadlands setting – the Wild West with magic and the supernatural in an alternate history timeline – have both been popular and successful, and last year a new addition has been added to the fold: a board game of the Deadlands world, produced by Twilight Creations.

Deadlands: The Battle for Slaughter Gulch pits two to six players against each other in a struggle for control of a small town. Each player leads one of the factions in town: The Agency (think precursor to the Secret Service), The Texas Rangers, The Blessed (Missionaries bringing the Good Word to the uncharted West), Hucksters (spell-slinging dudes from back East), Shamans, and Mad Scientists.

I have to say that teaser comics are just unfair. When I got a hold of Tracker: First Look (from the publisher, in pdf format) I saw that it was a convention exclusive, and that it didn’t have its own number on it, but it didn’t occur to me that this meant I’d be getting a sneak peak into something I might not be seeing more of. And man oh man, does Tracker look like it’s going to be a series to follow.

In the preview, Alex O’Roarke is discovered as the single survivor of a massacre on a bus. Found by his FBI agent partner Jezebel Kendall, Alex should be dead — he’s been shredded and has suffered far too many wounds to still be breathing.

A Brief History of Gnolls is the first in a series of books planned by Skirmisher Publishing that explores the mythology surrounding classic fantasy monsters such as Orcs, Ogres, Goblins and Trolls. In this edition, Paul Haynie delves into the literary origins of the Gnoll, a creature born perhaps somewhat accidently within the last century. To be clear, this booklet is almost purely academic. So if you are looking for inspiration on using Gnolls in your game, this is likely not the product for you. If you’re interested in how this creature came to be added to our fantasy lexicon, however, this is an interesting, albeit short, read.

The PDF has two illuminating essays that detail the origin of the term “Gnoll” and the its path through the years — and various editions of Dungeons and Dragons and popular online games — to become the half-hyena creature that we all know so well today.

Have you ever discovered a game, but wish you found it earlier? Maybe your gaming group has changed and you miss a key player. Perhaps your group wished for a game about X, but no such game existed. Once the desire passed, out came game X. To a degree, that is how I feel about Suzerain. About five years ago, I started a campaign for two friends. They were excited about the premise; however, they were less than excited about the game engine–Savage Worlds in this case. Their problem (and mine too really) rested squarely on the advancement piece of the game. Characters in Savage Worlds feel pretty damn powerful after a few sessions.

Playing once a month for five years creates some incredibly potent characters with this system. I wrapped up that campaign last weekend, mere weeks after discovering this unique little game.