The concept of a group of people investigating contemporary strangeness and paranormal events is not a new one, but this book provides a coherent and well-considered approach to what is going on that makes it worth investigating.

It begins with a short Introduction that provides the obligatory “what is role-playing?” explanation and describes the core premise of the game: that the characters are members of a society dedicated to hunting out the truth. It also states that the following four chapters can be read by players and game masters alike, while the rest is best left to the game master alone. As with any game in which there are secrets to unearth, it’s best not to know those secrets in advance if you are one of the people trying to unearth them… but it does presuppose that only one member of your group wishes to game master at least for this system.

Abstract Nova products are now available at RPGNow.com.

The long-awaited Tales of the Seven Dogs Society fiction book is also available in pdf format for only $3.95.

Tales of the Seven Dogs Society is a collection of three self-contained novellas based on the Aletheia role-playing game. Monica Valentinelli, Jim Johnson and Matt McElroy present three separate mysteries, each featuring a different interpretation of the Society. Together, they paint a picture of a world filled with the unexplained… a world the Seven Dogs Society seeks to comprehend. Buy the book at DriveThruHorror.com or RPGNow.com.

Tales of the Seven Dogs Society is a collection of three short stories framed against the background of the Seven Dogs Society, the player group of Abstract Nova’s Aletheia RPG. If the game is unknown to you, I recommend taking a look at the reviews found at rpg.net, flamesrising.com and abstractnova.com, as they will reveal a great deal about the setting which I cannot go into here. The cover is one of Eric Lofgren’s typical pieces, showing an evil-looking man leering at the reader, with flames rising around him.

The short stories give some useful ideas for an Aletheia GM, and (if you don’t mind the spoilers), for some good ideas on how a PC can be integrated into the team – Matt McElroy’s narrator, a former private eye, for example, is recruited after getting a name for himself as a missing persons expert on ‘weird’ cases.

Review by Nick Lemming

The world is a strange and mysterious place. In Aletheia, each player portrays a member of the Seven Dogs Society. They investigate the anomalous phenomena and impossible occurrences that defy logic and commonsense. This includes conducting eyewitness interviews, on-site analysis and observation, and forming hypotheses – all in an attempt to answer the big questions […]

Tales of the Seven Dogs Society is a collection of three novellas by authors, Matt McElroy, Jim Johnson, and Monica Valentinelli, based on the Aletheia role playing game from Abstract Nova Entertainment.

The basic premise of this book as well as the game is that the Seven Dogs Society is a group of investigators comprised of seven people who possess psychic or paranormal abilities. Based in Seven Dogs, Alaska at a refurbished Victorian mansion with powers of its own, the Society investigates cases involving things such as alien abduction, crop circles, spontaneous combustion, and all other manner of other worldly and supernatural phenomena.

Review by Jason Thorson

Author, editor and game designer Monica Valentinelli (Tales of the Seven Dogs Society, Violet War) introduces us to a different kind of mummy with her entry in the Halloween Horror series here are Flames Rising.

Artist Brad McDevitt contributes to the mystery with a bit of his artwork.

Babylonian Mummy

Created by Monica Valentinelli
With Art from Brad McDevitt

Deep in the heart of the desert, a circle of seven ancient Babylonian temples weathered by sand, stand testament to a forgotten age. Great stone wings adorn falling archways, covered with an undecipherable combination of script and hieroglyphs. There are no living priests in this hallowed place, no servants to call upon the gods and goddesses waiting in the heart of each gilded temple. There is nothing but the wind and the sand, blowing through abandoned temples and the resting place of the Babylonian gods and goddesses.

Freelance writer Monica Valentinelli likes to play around with ideas, forms, rules, words… and just about anything else that can be thrown into a creative stew pot. She blends a love of history and philosophy with a love of dark fantasy and horror to create startling and exciting fiction and games.

“Monica possesses a genuine passion for creating and a sharply self-critical eye, both of which are essential for someone to grow as a writer,” said James Lowder, author and editor, whose most recent anthology, Worlds of Their Own was released last month. “She has lots of good ideas and the discipline to develop them in interesting, genre-expanding ways.”

We gave you a peek at the new cover art by Eric Lofgren and introduced you to the basics of Tales of the Seven Dogs Society last week.

Tales of the Seven Dogs Society is a collection of stories inspired by the Aletheia role-playing game published by Abstract Nova Entertainment. Each of these stories is a possible continuation of the events described in that book.

Today’s sneak preview is a small bit from Jim Johnson’s Lifting the Gingham Veil, which is the second story in the collection.

Tales of the Seven Dogs Society is a collection of stories inspired by the Aletheia role-playing game published by Abstract Nova Entertainment. Each of these stories is a possible continuation of the events described in that book.

In the Aletheia RPG, players are presented with a detailed history of the strange events that led to the formation of the Seven Dogs Society, including some interesting supernatural phenomena that to this day remain unexplained. The book also gives describes how the Society works and just what types of characters might be recruited to join up.