Benjamin Baugh’s Savaged edition of The Kerberos Club is one of the more imaginative settings I’ve seen for the engine in awhile. The setting couples super heroes with Victorian England. It’s really a game for fans of Alan Moore’s The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (the comic of course, not the movie). Beginning in 1860, superhumans begin cropping up (or flying about in this case). The public is understandably weary of such, so factions quickly form. The superhumans come in all flavors. There are mystically created heroes, Mystery Men of Science, and more. The 300-page corebook, while meaty, still requires both the Savage Worlds corebook and Savage Worlds Superpowers Companion to play.

FlamesRising.com is pleased to present you with a look at how the fictional small town of Pinebox, Texas celebrates Halloween. Dubbed “Fall Fest,” find out how these residents get into the spirit of the season. For more about Pinebox and the games and stories that take place there, visit 12 to Midnight.

Fall Fest in Pinebox, Texas

While East Texas lakes lure hordes of sport fishermen every Summer, most travelers find Autumn the best time to visit the region. By October, one or more cold fronts have swept through the lower states and pushed out the high humidity and higher temperatures. Temperate weather makes it easier to enjoy the beautiful piney woods, the lakes, and “local flavor.”

What do you give the Savage Worlds’ character who has everything? In an earlier review, I suggested Suzerain, which permits players to take their characters to the demigod level and opens up, well, all the other game books on the bookshelf at home. This is becoming quite the trend as massive gaming collections fail to the get love they deserve. Eden’s under-appreciated Odyssey Prime tried this (with D20 and Unisystem no less). John Wick has an interesting take on it with his Flux game while Suzerain tries to work from one system (Savage Worlds) to make all the setting fit into place. The designers at Savage Mojo could have stopped with the core book, leaving readers to fend for themselves; however, they instead have created a series of settings intended for demigod powerhouses. To paraphrase the game, fighting a few vampires is good work for a hero. Fighting an army of vampires is what you get when you attain Suzerain status.

Throughout Cthulhu Week we’ve discussed Mythos tomes in comic books, fiction, movies and more. We’ve even offered up a Campaign Frame for the Trail of Cthulhu RPG and vivisected elements of the Call of Cthulhu RPG as well.

Yet there is another Mythos RPG and game designer Sean Preston is here to tell us about his dark work on the game called Realms of Cthulhu…

Deconstructing Realms of Cthulhu

Hello there. I’m Sean Preston, and I’m a game designer, writer, editor, publisher, and an avid gamer as well. I like to talk and write about games (when not playing them) as much as most of us in this industry, but before we get going let’s have a compact. Since we’ll be talking about Lovecraft, it’s only natural that blood enters the scene, so let’s make it a blood compact. Shall we? My digital blood is being spilled before you, pixel by pixel. I trust you’ll smear some about at some point or other, so the compact is made. What I’ll be talking about is the philosophy of writing Lovecraftian horror for games. I shall not deviate. If I do, I pray the Hounds of Tindalos find a lovely angle from which to spring upon me in the dead of night. As for you, if you enjoy the article, share it about. Fair enough? Good. Now, let’s get started in earnest. The clock is ticking.

Before I dive into this review, let me point out that it reads differently. I think a good review should not only weigh a product’s pros and cons. No, they should also speak to previous tastes and biases. Comparisons. Rather than dwell here, let’s dive right into the Hellfrost: Bestiary review.

Hellfrost: Bestiary (Triple Ace Games; 132 Pages) is a massive collection of fantasy monsters for the Hellfrost setting and Savage Worlds’ game engine. The book covers all manner of vile creature from the evil deer (page 20) to truly loathsome Dread Liche (page 84). These antagonists also offer many variations of trouble for PCs. There are “tanks” with toughness of 23, psionics, pesky swarms, and mystical adversaries. Trouble. Loads of trouble.

There are some games I appreciate for their simplicity. Between a day job, two kids, nurturing a media addiction, and writing, I still like to squeeze a game into my schedule. Saddle Sore is a game that can help make things fit a bit easier for Marshals with hectic timelines. This tidy 34 page book is chock full of adventures that happen “between adventures.” It’s a nifty little idea I’ve seen before in an article, Game Chef entry, or indie-rpg (I think the title was “Something Happened on the Way.” I’d love to know the answer to this mystery if anyone can help).

People like to play games and be things they aren’t. Sometimes it means playing an elf; sometimes it means playing a gangster. Games like Mob Justice, Haven: City of Violence, and even oddities like World of Darkness: Mafia or Marvel Super Heroes’ Deluxe City boxed set strived to bring various criminal elements to gaming. There are many more examples out there (some good and some, uh, not so good), but today we’re looking at the Wellstone City setting, which works with the Savage Worlds game engine. Get out your handgun, make sure you don’t hold it sideways (there are rules on why you don’t do this), and take a walk on the wrong side of the tracks as we see how a Savaged Mobster (or other gritty urbanite) looks.

Kevin M. Rohan wore many hats during the creation of this game. It’s a fact I found impressive, especially since he did such a solid job under each one.

I reviewed the Savage Worlds edition of The Day After Ragnarok a few months back. As a fan of bleak settings, Kenneth Hite’s dark little world is a contender. Atomic Overmind Press now releases Serpent Scales, which are meaty bits that focus on a specific (and I mean specific) aspect of that world. In this review, Hite takes on the British Sten Gun, which may be most deadly to its user.

I’m going to combine layout and artwork today. I mostly liked the layout with the exception of a sidebar on page two. The sidebar could have been a bit darker for readers.

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.

People often say that there are no such things as monsters. They are wrong. Vampires, werewolves, ghosts, and other un-namable horrors co-exist with us. Watching us. Using us. Preying upon us.

Welcome to Pinebox, a sleepy little East Texas town with a lot more than its share of trouble. Whether it’s the haunted diner luring weary travelers, the unexplained ‘alligator attacks”, or the crone who just might be hexing neighborhood kids, trouble always seems to be hidden just below the surface. Buried, but not forgotten.

In Buried Tales of Pinebox, Texas, a dozen horror authors and game designers have gotten together to write tales set in Pinebox, Texas. This sleepy little East Texas town definitely has a lot more going on than the occasional bar fight.

The e-book version of Buried Tales of Pinebox, Texas is available now at DriveThruHorror.com and the paperback version is available through Amazon.com.

FlamesRising.com is pleased to present a preview of a few stories in this horror anthology.

After years of creating great gaming titles under the name ‘Talisman Studios’, we’ve decided that it’s time our real name… Savage Mojo… became known in its own right. After all, we focus on the Savage Worlds and Mojo Rules! roleplay systems, so it makes sense to use the name we gave the company.

The Talisman Studios name was originally created in 2003 when the company was an art and design studio to the adventure games industry, the brainchild of master artists Jason Engle and Aaron Acevedo. Since then it has expanded, is an Origins Award Winner (for Deadlands Reloaded), and two times Semi-Finalist (for Suzerain and Shaintar). These days Savage Mojo creates more than just roleplaying games, adding the Gamescapes line of gaming accessories, graphical fiction and art prints to our portfolio.

Say what you will about the Savage Worlds setting, but I find it possesses one of the more engaging mass combat systems. I’ve been guilty of not using it to its highest potential in some of my campaigns; however, that’s another story altogether. Blood of the Innocent links directly to the Tour of Darkness (‘Nam setting) for Savage Worlds (though only the core book is required to play this adventure).

This deadly little jungle romp comes in two flavors, which are “War is Hell” and “Life is Good.”

Howdy, gamers! If you’re a horror gamer, or if you’re just looking for a special one-shot to run for Halloween, now is the perfect time to check us out. We at 12 to Midnight are having our annual Halloween sale. All our modern horror titles for d20 Modern and Savage Worlds are 50% off!

We are also offering an insane deal on our horror anthology Buried Tales of Pinebox, Texas. You can pick up this tome of terror by leading RPG designers like JD Wiker, Chuck Rice, Jess Hartley, and Shane Lacey Hensley, plus horror novelists David Wellington and Derek Gunn… all for $0.99!

I’d wager that most people feel a kinship with one time period or another. Some love the Renaissance so deeply that they model their weddings around the era. For me, I’ve always held a deep appreciation for the Victorian Era. Despite the difficulty historians have attributing a date to it, I fall in line with the generalized trends and historical high points of that period. There is a rather rich environment of Victorian Era gaming; each seems to fill its own niche. Castle Falkenstein has little in common with Ghosts of Albion; however, both are fine games. One writing staple of the era is using ten words when one would do. Charles Dickens, a known abuser of this “sin,” could actually write around all the flowery language. I mention this because the title is a bit wordy and I’m going to refer to this game as Gaslight for the remainder of the review.

It’s a world where jetpack-toting heroes combat Fly-By-Nights (a combination of toad, bat, and gorilla). It’s a world where a 200-foot tall tidal wave decimated the North American East Coast. It’s a pulp setting full of Communists, Klansmen, Norse myth, and much more. It’s a world that comes from the twisted mind of Kenneth Hite, and it’s worth staking out. The Day After Ragnarok (DAR from here on out) is a new savage setting for Savage Worlds that takes place in a world where the line between World War II and Norse myth blur, permitting Jörmungander, the Midgard Serpent, entrance to our reality.

DAR’s layout proves Spartan. Cleanliness lends to divinity though in that the finished product looks smart. Instead of the usual two-column format, DAR primarily favors a single column. Neatly placed sidebars work to make an exception to this.

Super Genius Games unveils a little G. I. Joe spirit with Strike Force 7. This brief supplement (71 pages) introduces the game’s namesake as an international anti-terrorist organization. They combat terrorists both real (Al-Quida) and imagined (Skorpion). While it may seem like an odd choice for a Flames Rising review, you’ll find my speculation stretching beyond the confines of the book. First, let’s take a look at the material itself.

The layout of Strike Force 7 fits its genre as each interior page’s design mimics a dossier. Each exterior top or bottom corner has a cropped photo of three Strike Force 7 agents. I felt like this image could have been reserved for the chapter introductions as it becomes a little tiresome.

12 to Midnight is having a treasure hunt contest to celebrate the new book, Buried Tales of Pinebox, Texas. This book contains 12 tales of Modern Horror by Shane Hensley, Jason Blair, Derek Gunn, Jess Hartley, Charles Rice, Monica Valentinelli, David Wellington, Filamena Young, JD Wiker and others. You can purchase Buried Tales (dead tree version) from many sites, or you can get the pdf or the kindle edition.

Rules: Scour the websites:

www.12toMidnight.com
www.buriedtales.12tomidnight.com
www.TheRavensReport.com

Scour the Buried Tales Stories to dig up the answers to earn the treasure.

Answer the questions found at www.12toMidnight.com and look for weekly clues posted on our website to help you with your search.

Recently, we had the chance to sit down with industry veteran Kenneth Hite, who is a horror game designer, author and columnist. You may have read some of Ken Hite’s columns through Weird Tales or Out of the Box at Indie Press Revolution. In this interview, we talk a little bit about the Origins-award winning title Tour de Lovecraft and the recent release of The Day After Ragnarok, horror as a genre versus mood, the Windy City, his upcoming projects and much, much more!

People often say that there are no such things as monsters. They are wrong. Vampires, werewolves, ghosts, and other unnamable horrors co-exist with us. Watching us. Using us. Preying upon us.

Welcome to Pinebox, a sleepy little East Texas town with a lot more than its share of trouble. Whether it’s the haunted diner luring weary travelers, the unexplained ‘alligator attacks”, or the crone who just might be hexing neighborhood kids, trouble always seems to be hidden just below the surface. Buried, but not forgotten.

Buried Tales of Pinebox, Texas is available at Amazon.com (print) and on the Kindle.

There is also an eBook format available at DriveThruHorror.com for $4.99.

Ed’s Midnight Tales (TWL0032) gives fans of Savage Worlds and Pine Box, Texas another forty-two pages of information ultra-helpful for both. As the title suggests, this is a brief collection of scenarios (mostly one-shots). The stories do not need to be interwoven, but could easily be fused together in a long-running campaign. The book is broken up into an introduction and five chapters, each progressive chapter offering a more detailed storyline for players.

Finishing out the book is a special edition of the Pinebox News, complete with strange articles and story seeds. The PDF comes in two versions, a typical version and a printer-friendly version.

While 12 to Midnight tends to focus on supernatural horror in modern settings, this collection doesn’t always include supernatural threats. Forest creatures and gang-bangers fill out of the ranks of things to fear.