Posted on April 17, 2012 by Flames
April is National Child Abuse Prevention Month and RPGNow.com has partnered with several publishers to raise funds for the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children.
Check out the NCMEC Bundle with over $146 worth of RPG PDFs for only $25
A number of publishers including White Wolf, FunSizedGames, Skirmisher Publishing, Troll in the Corner, Tricky Owlbear Publishing, Melior Via and more have each donated some very cool products to this collection with all proceeds for the Bundle going to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children. This special fundraiser Bundle will only be available this month, so be sure to scoop up this great deal and support a cause while you get the chance.
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Posted on April 15, 2012 by Flames
At last the stars are almost right!
Soon Nyarlathotep’s plans will come to fruition. Then the world will be changed irrevocably — but not quite yet. Pesky human investigators have learned much. Now they must survive long enough to make sense of what they know, and take resolute action.
Masks of Nyarlathotep is a Lovecraftian exercise in horror and mystery. This Call of Cthulhu roleplaying classic is a series of linked adventures forming one long and unforgettable campaign. Horrifying deeds and dangerous sorcery dog those who dare attempt to unravel the fate of the Carlyle Expedition.
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Posted on April 14, 2012 by Flames
Writer Ron Marz has revitalized Witchblade and is the architect behind the acclaimed First Born and Broken Trinity crossover events. Now, joined by artist Lee Moder (First Born: Aftermath, Painkiller Jane), Marz debuts Dragon Prince, a five-part modern fantasy with equal doses of magic and martial arts mayhem.
Like a lot of teenagers, Aaron Chiang feels he’s never fit in, though he’s never known why. But all that changes when he learns the truth of his heritage: He is the Dragon Prince, last of his kind and heir to the bloodline of all dragons. Hunted to the brink of extinction by a secret society of wizards, dragonkind’s survival is now in Aaron’s hands.
The Dragon Prince series is now available at DriveThruComics.com!
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Posted on April 11, 2012 by Flames
Have you always wanted to include lupus Garou in your Forsaken game? Or perhaps the Hunters in Darkness into your Apocalypse game? This guide will help you translate the feel and core elements from each version of Werewolf into the other game system and background.
The Werewolf Translation Guide includes:
Translations of all of the tribes and auspices between versions of Werewolf
Conversions for the breed rules into the current World of Darkness rules, including lupus and metis
Guidelines for converting Gifts between systems
The Werewolf Translation Guide is now available in PDF and Print editions at the Flames Rising RPGNow Shop!
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Posted on April 4, 2012 by Flames
We know you are here, our brothers and sisters . . .
Pressia barely remembers the Detonations or much about life during the Before. In her sleeping cabinet behind the rubble of an old barbershop where she lives with her grandfather, she thinks about what is lost-how the world went from amusement parks, movie theaters, birthday parties, fathers and mothers . . . to ash and dust, scars, permanent burns, and fused, damaged bodies. And now, at an age when everyone is required to turn themselves over to the militia to either be trained as a soldier or, if they are too damaged and weak, to be used as live targets, Pressia can no longer pretend to be small. Pressia is on the run.
Burn a Pure and Breathe the Ash . . .
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Posted on April 3, 2012 by Billzilla
Chuck Wendig has been a mainstay of White Wolf Publishing for years, and one of their most popular authors. Having successfully branched out into non-World of Darkness fiction, Chuck continues to develop a strong following for his longer-form prose. Recently, Chuck and Evil Hat Productions announced a series of novels based on Evil Hat’s Spirit of the Century RPG. Chuck will be authoring a trilogy of short novels, the first of which, Dinocalypse Now!, is being released soon. Chuck and I recently spent some time chatting about this new series.
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Posted on March 27, 2012 by Flames
The crew of the delivery ship Haldis is en route to drop off a high-ranking politician on a remote world, but something isn’t right. Someone is sowing mistrust among the crew. The ship has been sabotaged. When Xax, the ship’s young medical intern, disappears, it’s clear the situation is serious. Can Marrl, the security chief with serious anger management issues, and Cass Leary, the cool cyborg captain, get to the bottom of this before it’s too late? Is Xax even still alive? Who’s behind all this, and what do they stand to gain?
This is a novella about conspiracy and paranoia in the space-lanes by Flames Rising‘s own Monica Valentinelli set in the shared science-fiction universe of Bulldogs!
The eBook (including PDF and ePub editions) of Redwing’s Gambit is available now at DriveThruFiction.com!
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Posted on March 21, 2012 by Flames
Welcome back to Golarion–the world of Krunzle the Quick, Isiem the wizard, and Alaeron the seeker of forbidden knowledge. Here you’ll find lands such as Cheliax, Numeria, Druma, and Nidel where greed, secrecy, and savagery await heroes and readers alike.
Below, the authors of three forthcoming Pathfinder Tales novels discuss how they came to the world of Golarion and what stories they found there.
Behold, Matthew Hughes (www.archonate.com) who writes science fiction, crime, and media-tie novels as Matthew Hughes, Matt Hughes, and Hugh Matthews. He is best known for his Archonate tales, including Template in the Planet Stories line, and his recent Hell and Black trilogy. His Pathfinder Tales novel Song of the Serpent is due out in 2012.
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Posted on March 16, 2012 by Flames
From the depths of R’lyeh come twenty-one brand-new, utterly terrifying, and thoroughly entertaining short stories of horror and the macabre!
Taking their inspiration from works by Lovecraft himself, prominent writers such as Caitlin R. Kiernan, Brian Stableford, Ramsey Campbell, Michael Shea, Darrell Schweitzer, Donald R. Burleson, and David J. Schow delve deep into the psyche, expanding on concepts H.P. Lovecraft created and taking them in new directions.
The result is stories that are wholly original, some even featuring Lovecraft himself as a character. Black Wings editor S.T. Joshi is the recognized authority on all things Lovecraftian, and is famous for his restorations of Lovecraft’s original works. He has assembled a star-studded line-up in a book that is essential for every horror library.
Flames Rising is pleased to present and exclusive excerpt from this new collection of Mythos tales which is published by Titan Books. Below is Usurped by William Browning Spencer.
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Posted on March 13, 2012 by Flames
The Worldwound weeps. The living tower looms overhead. The demon Yath and his minions spread throughout the southern kingdoms. Trying times call for unlikely heroes. In The Worldwound Gambit by Robin D. Laws, the charismatic con-man Gad pulls together a band of roguish adventurers— caustic Jerisa, gentle Tiberio, haunted Calliard, pragmatic Vitta, and the mad fire magician Hendregan–to head north to face Yath and make the world safe for thieves and miscreants once again.
Heroic fantasy, mystery, horror, comedy, and dashes of swashbuckling romance… Laws wraps it all around a heist. Yes, dear reader, The Worldwound Gambit is a heist novel and it is glorious!
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Posted on March 12, 2012 by Flames
DriveThruComics.com has partnered with over 30 comic book publishers to offer a $20 bundle of digital comics for charity. Proceeds of the charity bundle, which has a retail value of $95, will be donated to the Hero Initiative. Participating publishers include: Top Cow Productions, Archaia Entertainment, Moonstone Books, Dork Storm Press, and a number of creator-owned and small press publishers.
Filip Sablik, Top Cow’s publisher says, “Top Cow has been a proud supported of the Hero Initiative from the beginning, with Jim McLauchlin, the current director of the charity being a former editor-in-chief at the Cow. We’re always thrilled to support Hero in any way we can and it’s very cool to see DriveThruComics stepping up to participate in this way!”
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Posted on March 8, 2012 by Flames
Over the years, FlamesRising.com has played a number of Munchkin games including Munchkin Cthulhu, Munchkin Bites and Munchkin Bites 2: Pants Macabre, and Munchkin Zombies.
Today, we get to offer you a sneak peek at the latest expansion to classic Munchkin.
Dubbed Munchkin 8 – Half Horse, Will Travel, this is the first expansion in two years and it offers new types of cards for players to use in the game. You’ll find Centaurs and Lizard Guys, two classic fantasy races that finally get a full color Munchkin treatment. You’ll also receive brand new Race and Class Enhancers like the one pictured here!
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Posted on March 6, 2012 by Flames
In Plague of Shadows by Howard Andrew Jones, the half-elf Elyana and her companions must race across the ravaged land of Galt, scale the Five Kings Mountains, and scour the Vale of Shadows for the cure that will save the cursed Lord Stelan.
Prepare yourself, for Plague of Shadows, dear reader, is fast-paced, sword-and-sorcery at its best.
“Friendship and loyalty lie at the heart of Plague of Shadows,” said Jones. “In whom can you really place your trust, and what does friendship really mean? Not that I’m ever on a soapbox about it. But loyalties, choices, and friendship drive the plot.”
In the short form or long, Jones has been praised frequently for his lightning quick pacing and irresistible plotting—pacing that does not sacrifice character development but depends upon it. Indeed, as Jones says below, “plot is character.”
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Posted on March 2, 2012 by Flames
The Pathfinder Tales novel Winter Witch by Elaine Cunningham and Dave Gross tells the story of Declan, a magical mapmaker, and Ellasif, a diminutive barbarian from the Lands of the Linnorm Kinds.
“Some people are born knowing what they’re meant to be,” said Cunningham. “Ellasif is one of them, and from a very early age she was determined to become a fighter despite her apparent physical limitations.”
Together, Declan and Ellasif search for a missing child and in the process discover a lot about what it means to be a hero.
A veteran of shared world settings, Cunningham has written extensively in the Forgotten Realms. Her Realms work includes the Songs and Swords pentalogy, Starlight and Shadows trilogy, and the Counselors and Kings trilogy, as well as Evermeet: Island of Elves and City of Splendors: a Novel of Waterdeep (with Ed Greenwood). Her Realms stories were collected in The Best of the Realms, Book III: The Stories of Elaine Cunningham. She contributed Dark Journey to the New Jedi Order series set in the Star Wars Expanded Universe.
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Posted on February 29, 2012 by Matt-M-McElroy
When I first launched the Vampire Retrospective Project I had intended it to be a short run to the end of the year and that was it. The response has been very positive from fans, developers and freelancers that have worked on various editions of Vampire: the Masquerade and other RPGs over the years. I’ve also had a few people contact me that wished they could have taken part, but missed the deadline due to work or other conflicts.
So…I’m making the project an open-ended event here on Flames Rising. Especially now that Vampire: the Masquerade 20th Anniversary Edition is out and people are starting up games all over the world. If you missed out on sending in an essay, here is your chance, I’d love to hear about your experiences with Vampire (any and all editions or variants).
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Posted on February 27, 2012 by Flames
Welcome to part two of our talk with Dave Gross. If you missed part one, you may want to go check out Part One first.
Dave Gross continues the adventures of half-elven Pathfinder Varian Jeggare and his hellspawn bodyguard Radovan in Master of Devils. This time the oddly paired duo travel to the exotic land of Tian Xia, and Gross layers the storyline with a third narrative.
“Master of Devils is more about being trapped in a situation anathema to your desires,” said Gross. “What will it take to make you give up your pride or even your life?”
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Posted on February 24, 2012 by Flames
Recently White Wolf launched a Kickstarter project for the V20 Companion, which is a supplement to Vampire: The Masquerade 20th Anniversary Edition. This is the first Kickstarter project for White Wolf and it looks like the V20 Companion is going to be a very cool book. We wanted to know a little more about it and posted an open call to fans to submit their questions.
We’ve compiled the submitted questions and added a few of our own. Rich Thomas and Justin Achilli have taken the time to answer them for us here.
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Posted on February 21, 2012 by Flames
A “half-breed” protagonist past his prime and his hellspawn bodyguard must find a missing Pathfinder before it is too late. Sczarni, werewolves, and a very weird witch woman… With Prince of Wolves the first novel in the Pathfinder Tales Line, Dave Gross captures the pulpy grandeur of Golarion without burying the characters under mountains of world-building.
“In Prince of Wolves,” said Gross, “one big question is, How can you find something you never lost? It’s about searching for the wrong thing, or realizing that you had it all along. It’s also about finding the unexpected.”
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Posted on February 16, 2012 by Flames
Yesterday, White Wolf publishing launched a Kickstarter project for the V20 Companion, which is a supplement to Vampire: The Masquerade 20th Anniversary Edition.
Twenty-one years ago, Vampire: the Masquerade hit the tabletop RPG market like a black-clad bolt from Hell itself and changed the way games were played forever. It wasn’t just about playing a game; VtM changed people’s lives and defined a lifestyle. Last year, White Wolf created a deluxe 20th Anniversary Edition to celebrate all that Vampire: the Masquerade has meant to its creators and its fans and the response was astounding. It was clear to us that the players want more classic VtM, so we began work on the V20 Companion.
The Flames Rising crew wants to know more…We think you do, too. Here is your chance to help us interview Rich Thomas and Justin Achilli about the book.
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Posted on February 15, 2012 by mforbeck
Shotguns & Sorcery is a fantasy noir setting — think Lord of the Rings written by Raymond Chandler — I first developed as a roleplaying game setting back in 2001. It takes place in a massive city ruled over by a Dragon Emperor who protects the people from the ravenous hordes of undead monsters that mass against its walls. I’d originally licensed it to Mongoose Publishing and hoped to have it in stores in 2002.
And then my wife got pregnant with quadruplets.
That kicked Shotguns & Sorcery past the back burner, out the window, and into the backyard. Cut to ten years later. The kids are fine and healthy, and I’m ready now to dive back into that setting again — but this time as fiction.
I wrote the first Shotguns & Sorcery story last year for Robin D. Laws’s upcoming anthology The New Hero 2, from Stone Skin Press. I fell back in love with the world right away, and I returned to it for another story for Marc Tassin’s anthology Carnage & Consequences. Now I’m itching to write novels for it.
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