Deep, complex intrigue lies at the heart of A Song of Ice and Fire, and this adventure is jam-packed with it! Featuring a complex plot designed to cast the characters and their House in the worst possible light while advancing another fellow to high position in both his own House and the land, there is absolutely no chance for any character to sit on the sidelines and observe. A Royal Tournament is to be held in King’s Landing, a chance for young men of mettle to impress… while in the background nobles of all ages plot and connive for position no less fiercely.

The plot, albeit complex, is laid out very clearly for the GM in the Introduction, and a range of ideas are provided to get characters even more embroiled than they will be anyway including suggestions for mystical foreshadowing of events.

Midnight Syndicate Films has announced plans to release a special edition of The Dead Matter DVD that will include two bonus CDs by gothic Halloween music artists Midnight Syndicate. It will be available at all Hot Topic stores nationwide on July 30th. The specially-priced set will include The Dead Matter DVD, the Original Motion Picture Soundtrack CD by Midnight Syndicate, and a new Midnight Syndicate 13th Anniversary greatest hits CD entitled Halloween Music Collection. Midnight Syndicate Films has also released a new official trailer for The Dead Matter movie which can be viewed at the film’s revamped website, TheDeadMatter.com and YouTube.

So I decided to take a break from my normal routine here, and review a book that doesn’t fall under the realm of “zombie fiction” , I know dear readers- it’s a scary world out there when you decide to jump- but I if you can’t broaden your horizons, even just a little, you are doomed to a life of sedentary devotion, and well- I looked around and saw that the book had never been reviewed which is a shame because it’s fantastic, so might as well, right? Onward ho!

Albert Camus, the mid twentieth century writer and philosopher, who penned the fantastic piece of literary work called “The Stranger” along with the concept of “the absurd” in post modern, existential philosophy also released a book entitled “The Rebel” which was an essay on man in revolt, or at least that’s what the byline says.

A romantic tale of vampires and magic from award-winning author L.D. Harkrader

Flanders Lane is tired of being protected by her Uncle Anatole. After years of studying magic in the back of his bookshop, she’s ready for an adventure of her own. Then one day, strange things start happening. A burglar breaks into the butcher’s shop, stealing nothing, but leaving the floors sparkling clean. Soon the seamstress’s apprentice vanishes on her way home, leaving behind only a shoe still laced at the top. And then worst of all, Uncle Anatole disappears. That night, a young vampire hunter named Pascoe knocks urgently on the bookshop door. Pascoe insists there is a vampire lurking in nearby Blakely Hall. Flanders looks deep into Pascoe’s gorgeous eyes and finds herself agreeing to help him. As Flanders tracks the vampire, her feelings for Pascoe grow until she stumbles upon a secret that turns everything she thought she knew about Pascoe–and herself–upside down.

Flames Rising is pleased to present a preview of this new novel from Mirrorstone, which is available for pre-order at Amazon.com.

CCP, one of the world’s leading independent game developers, today launched EVE Online: Tyrannis, the 13th free expansion for PC Gamer’s 2010 MMO of the year, EVE Online. Tyrannis will usher in new levels of player control as the pilots of EVE have turned their attention to the celestial bodies around them, casting surface inhabitants into the shadows of their powerful ships and exploiting the planets for the materials and profits they need to fuel countless ambitions. EVE Gate, the new web frontend and social networking platform for EVE Online, is a leap forward in extending the universe outside of the client, allowing access to in-game mail and features and bringing the community closer than ever before.

The Armitage Files for the Trail of Cthuhlu line offers an old idea with a fresh approach. This smart-looking book centers around ten documents (authentic looking pieces ready for handing out to players) and how Keepers can use said documents in a campaign. I call this an old idea because in-game props are a tried and true staple of gaming. Even before LARPing was an acronym, game masters handed out handwritten notes, recorded messages, weapons, or something tangible for their players to enjoy.

It’s great to have something physical to link the real world to the fictional setting. Right? Those props usually end up not amounting to very much beyond cool memories. In this book, Laws tries to show Keepers how to get serious play from in-game props.

It’s 1954, and you’re a sailor or scientist aboard the USS Bairoko, an “escort carrier” detailed to support secret nuclear bomb tests in the Marshall Islands. The bomb goes off in the Bikini atoll, the ship gets a light dusting of radioactive fallout, and now the crew is acting crazy, distress calls are coming in from monitoring stations around the blast site, and strange blips are showing up on the radar screens. What do you do?

Castle Bravo is available at the Flames Rising RPGNow Shop.

In my previous review of Nosferatu: The Beast That Haunts the Blood for Vampire: the Requiem, I made the claim that Nosferatu was arguably the best clanbook of the series. I still stand by that claim, though Gangrel: Savage and Macabre is definitely a very close second.

Gangrel follows the same basic pattern as Nosferatu; a low-status vampire – probably a novice – is recruited to write a journal on the nature of the clan, along the way interviewing a number of clan members for their thoughts and insight. In this case, the book begins with a note that the author, Alice, has apparently gone AWOL. She eventually left this journal on the chest of a dead man, and as time goes on has been taking fewer and fewer pains to cover the tracks of her kills. She seems to be slipping deeper into the arms of the beast that afflicts all vampires – the thing that stirs within them, driving their animal impulses to hunt and kill without thought or care.

The Return of Randy Queen’s Darkchylde!

A new armor for Jackie Estacado, the bearer of The Darkness, and a new beginning for Ariel Chylde, the girl who can become creatures from her nightmares! Jackie intercepts a physic plea for help, and frees Ariel from a self imposed, seven-year exile. But what happens when these fan favorite monster makers encounter a new threat that can create anything? Guest starring Witchblade!

Also includes a bonus 8 page never-before-seen preview of Starfall, the highly anticipated sci-fi horror title from Randy and Sarah Queen!

There are many ways to tackle a horror game. What one finds in a Call of Cthulhu game isn’t what they find in Geist. Heck, What you find in Call of Cthulhu isn’t really what you find in Cthulhutech. This is a great thing. Some groups want to spend the night warding off hordes of zombified neighbors while others want to take on the personas of uberpowerful creatures of the night. I mention this because I will be putting Bogeyman (Sane Studios, 164 pages) into a box with other games of a Clive Barker feel.

The chief feature to Bogeyman is that it’s runs off a card-based mechanic rather than dice. In fact, each player needs their own deck while game masters require two (and you want to keep them separate). Beyond that, the typical gaming fare–character sheets, snacks, pens, paper–mostly fill out this game’s requirements. The only bit lacking are the “beads of sweat,” which I think is a terrifically named aspect. These little tokens have many uses, most of which are linked to impulses.

Happy 9th Birthday, Malhavoc Press!

Time to celebrate Malhavoc’s birthday and save!

It’s been NINE years since Malhavoc Press released The Book of Eldritch Might as a PDF. To celebrate, we’re discounting all of our eBooks 30% off or more for one week only, May 21 to 28, 2010. This is a great time to check out a book you passed on earlier or grab up the ones you’ve been meaning to get anyway – including big ticket titles like Ptolus or Arcana Evolved!

Time to stock up on those PDFs – for this week only you can buy many of our titles for less than five bucks each! Stop by and check them out on DriveThruRPG.com and RPGNow.com.

This book is aimed at the players of characters who look to the deities of their world for inspiration or power, and presents new ideas and options for any paladin, cleric, avenger or invoker character. The main part of the book consists of chapters for each class mentioned, giving new class features, builds, powers and paragon paths for each. The final chapter looks at divine domains with new feats, epic destinies and rituals available, and at deities in general.

First up, the avenger. Introduced in Player’s Handbook 2 he is an agent of divine justice with a mission to smite the enemies of his deity wherever they arise. There’s a new type who specializes in bringing his targets to justice through power of numbers, gaining strength from his allies. Lots of new ‘prayers’ of course, and some interesting sidebars about underlying motivation.

When the world of Armageddon is attacked by orks, the Black Templars Space Marine Chapter are amongst those sent to liberate it. Chaplain Grimaldus and a band of Black Templars are charged with the defence of Hive Helsreach from the xenos invaders in one of the many battlezones. But as the orks numbers grow and the Space Marines dwindle, Grimaldus faces a desperate last stand in an Imperial temple. Determined to sell their lives dearly, will the Black Templars hold on long enough to be reinforced, or will their sacrifice ultimately be in vain.

While I am familiar on a basic level with the Black Templars I don’t know all the details of the major characters, so walking in to this novel I’m almost a BT newbie.

Let’s start this one by taking a trip in the way back machine about several months ago. While hanging with a buddy of mine, I came across his just read copy of Urban Gothic by Brian Keene. I’d never read any of Keene’s work before, but after reading the back of the book and being given the thumbs up from my pal, I read it for myself. It was a blunt and gritty ride on the horror express that I dug mucho and vowed never to enter a vacant house again. It even became one of my earliest reviews posted here on da’ Flames. Since then I’ve gone on to collect and read a few more of his books and have become quite the little fan.

So when I listen to music I generally do it out of a need to write something and I generally do it out of another need to fill up the continual space between the silence of my day and the clicking of my keyboard, but it’s not normally music that I haven’t heard before, because I am getting old and the older we get the harder it seems to be to get into newer music. That’s why growing up kids is hard to do…because eventually you will find yourself at a club or a bar and hear a song that you really like, you’ll start to bob or nod your head a little and then it will hit you. From somewhere out of the corner of your eye you’ll see bright and fresh faced early twenty something’s that are just learning that “Yager Chasers” are the two deadliest words to have ever been combined in the English language. They will be mocking your prehistoric head movements and you will, I say the word will with emphatic surety; want to punch them in the face.

It’s a big year for Supernatural. The tv show has been renewed for an unexpected sixth season (the original story arc only called for five), they are flirting with the GhostFacers webisode series, novel tie-ins are seeing print, and the rpg license remains strong. The newest addition to the line, Supernatural: Guide to the Hunted, is one of those supplements players need to complete their series. The corebook possesses plenty of material for game masters; however, this book adds flavor for those wanting to run something straight from the television series. I’ll get back to this later in the review.

The layout and artwork to this book understandably follows the format of the corebook, which is a clever look matching John Winchester’s monster bible. The fake Post-It notes, sketches, photos, and scribbled notes make for an eye-catching read.

BOOM! Studios announced a brand new ongoing horror series, THE CALLING: CTHULHU CHRONICLES, debuting this July from writers Michael Alan Nelson (FALL OF CTHULHU, 28 DAYS LATER) and Johanna Stokes (DEATH VALLEY, SAVAGE BROTHERS.) An all-new ongoing Lovecraft-inspired supernatural horror series with a decidedly modern spin, THE CALLING: CTHULHU CHRONICLES marks the return to the Cthulhu mythos that BOOM! built its reputation on with bestselling titles like FALL OF CTHULHU and CTHULHU TALES.

“If you are a fan of Lovecraft, if you worship Cthulhu, if you love horror, don’t miss this book,” said BOOM! Studios Marketing Director Chip Mosher. “This is BOOM! at its best, returning to our horror roots with a great new title that is guaranteed to creep you out… and drive you mad!”

Dieter Lanz is a young recruit to the 3rd Hochland Swordsmen, otherwise known as ‘the Scarlets’. His regiment is called into battle when an orc army starts to rampage across the countryside, and when the Scarlets are defeated, Hochland is threatened with collapse. As a desperation measure, legendary general Ludwig Von Grahl is brought out of retirement – he is the last hope to stem the vicious green tide.

It wasn’t until I watched Star Wars, Episode One, The Phantom Menace when it dawned on me what bothered me about this novel.

When considering different candidates for the “Girls of Gore,” you can’t help but think of the women in BUFFY: THE VAMPIRE SLAYER. Although there was a movie that predated the popular television show, most people think of Sarah Michelle Gellar’s version of the blonde high school student who has a natural talent for killing vamps. With the help of her friends, Buffy overcomes evil time and time again.

Buffy is often at odds with herself, her friends and her family, because she is the reluctant heroine. She doesn’t want to be the slayer, but she does it anyway. She is a very “human” character, unlike some of the ever-so-perfect pulp heroes that seem to have it all. Buffy doesn’t have it all, because it’s difficult for her to find love while kicking all kinds of ass.

When I was in college there were a few things that I actually studied, apart from where the closest coffee shop was and where I could get a fresh pack of smokes.( authors note: don’t start kiddies, blah, blah, blah) Anyway- I also studied journalism and what, at the time, the institution called “mass communications.” Which is a really pathetic way to say that I studied the news, the media, and how it was all changing, so way, way back in the fall of 98 I was sitting in this really drab room in a really drab building and thought to myself, what am I doing? I missed my original opportunity and I can say that until as of late I have yet to make back up the ground I have lost since. But what I do remember from those years was that Journalism is and should always be the pursuit of one thing and one thing only: The truth. Which brings me to the original point of this review, a bold new horror novel from Orbit Books: Feed by Mira Grant.