Hot on the heels of the release of the second edition of Eidolon: City in the Sky, Iron Crown Enterprise are pleased to announce the release of yet another brilliant new product! Ladies and Gentlemen, Boys and Girls, we give you ERA for Shadow World (RMC) and ERA for Shadow World (RMSS/RMFRP)!
These products are additional modules for the FREE Electronic Roleplaying Assistant (ERA) e-support package.
This feature package is the ultimate Shadow World addition for ERA.
It provides 68 races, as presented in Shadow World Master Atlas 4th Edition. Each race impacts stat and resistance bonus, body and power point progression, initial languages, number of talent points, everyman and restricted 
skills, and includes the complete detail of description and special characteristics.
It also provides 14 cultures, to match with the races as suggested in the Shadow World Master Atlas 4th Edition. For campaigns which require it, any combination can be picked. So why not try creating a Kuluku raised in the underground, or even in the city!
Also, any future Shadow World content developed for ERA will be included in these packages.
Buy ERA for Shadow World (RMC) >>
Buy ERA for Shadow World (RMSS/RMFRP) >>
80 fantasy plants for your next role playing adventure
As I was mooching around the internet I came across the great graphic on Geek Native. Made by the good folks from AvasFlowers it depicts 80 great fantasy plants with a short explanation of each. Great for giving you inspiration if you’re looking to introduce some more interesting plants into your next roleplaying adventure.
Eidolon: City in the Sky out now!
Iron Crown Enterprises are thrilled to announce the publication in pdf of the enhanced version of Eidolon for Shadow World.
Eidolon: City in the Sky
The palace-city of Eidolon floats in the sky above the northern coast of the great continent of Emer. This city is a place of magic and wealth: a beautiful marble, crystal and glass metropolis which is the capital of the powerful economic city-state of Sel-kai. It is also the haven and hub to legendary skyships: vessels which sail the winds.
But there are new dangers to Eidolon and her sister city of Sel-kai below: nearby nations threaten war, and mysterious powers have arisen, coveting the wealth and power of Eidolon.
This second edition sourcebook retains all the great features of the first (which saw it receive a 4-star glowing review in Dragon back in the day) and adds a hundred pages of new fantastic material including:
- A complete layout revision with new material added throughout the book. 100 more pages in all!
- A timeline advanced several years, including crucial new events.
- Many new Adventures, set in Sel-kai & Eidolon.
- New skyship and watercraft info, including ship plans.
- New details about the inner workings of Eidolon and Sel-kai: society, celebrities, and scandals!
- NPC stats for RM2/Classic and RMSS/RMFRP.
Dual-statted for Rolemaster Classic and RMSS/FRP, Eidolon: City in the Sky has everything you need for you next adventure in Shadow World.
Until the end of October the pdf of Eidolon will be available at the special introductory offer price of $10. To take advantage of this discount, please use the following link:
Buy Eidolon: City in the Sky for just $10 >>
We are now working towards making Eidolon available in softcover and hardcover editions in November and will have copies available for sale at the Dragonmeet convention in December.
Director’s Briefing – October 2015
Welcome to the fifty-third Briefing and the tenth scheduled Briefing for 2015. The less said about the real-world deluge of academic, research and admin tasks that swept away my September the better. So onward to gaming matters.
Guild Companion Bicentennial Issue
Congratulations to the Guild Companion magazine on reaching two hundred issues. That is a landmark that I did not foresee occurring when we established the webzine back in 1998 as a reaction to the folding of the Portals print fanzine.
My successor as General Editor, Peter Mork, continues to ensure that the Guild Companion remains an independent voice and source of gaming material for all the family of ICE games. My thanks to him and all the volunteer staff, writers and artists, present and past, who have made the Guild Companion such a great success over the years.
As of this bicentennial issue, GCP will be submitting previews and excerpts from upcoming products to TGC. This month, it is an article covering the Ghost Overlay from the upcoming HARP Bestiary.
Shadow World
We are very pleased to announce the publication in pdf of the enhanced version of Eidolon. Covering the floating city of Eidolon and the sprawling Sel-kai metropolis, this sourcebook retains all the great features of the first edition (which saw it receive a 4-star glowing review in Dragon back in the day) and adds a hundred pages of new fantastic material. You will find new adventures, new skyship and watercraft information (including deck plans), more insider gossip on celebrities and scandals to enrich your campaigns, and dual-statting for Rolemaster Classic and RMSS/FRP.
For one month only, the pdf of Eidolon will be available at the special introductory offer price of 10 USD. If you want to take advantage of this discount, use the following link:
Buy Eidolon now >>
All being well, Eidolon will be available in printed glorious softcover and hardcover editions in November and we will have copies available for sale at the Dragonmeet convention.
RMU
There’s been some discussion on the ICE forums regarding the target audience for RMU – is it aimed at the existing player and GM base, or new customers, or both? And there have been various interesting comments spurred by the topic.
Perhaps the first comment is “We don’t need RMU”. By that, I mean there are GMs and players who have invested time and money in a particular edition of Rolemaster and customised it with options and house rules to be perfect for them. Obviously adopting RMU may pose issues for those fans and customers as they will inevitably have to make compromises or houserules to achieve an RMU that is perfect for them. The follow-on comment is “ICE needs RMU”.
As we all know, Rolemaster is divided into two editions. In the case of RM2, while the core is available through Rolemaster Classic, most of the Companion material is still locked in copyright limbo. In the case of RMSS/FRP, we have most of the material but only in pdf as the archives are not in a fit state to create new print books without huge effort. And then comes the even bigger issue of what can be published for a divided system. Essentially we can publish adventures, settings, and certain types of sourcebooks, but we cannot sensibly produce rules-heavy products that work for both systems. Trying to maintain both versions as completely supported systems will not be feasible. But the evidence suggests that the active Rolemaster fan and customer base is split down the middle, so picking one over the other essentially halves the target audience.
The only solution as we have stated before is a new version of Rolemaster that provides a fresh start for Rolemaster fans. So the target audience for RMU is initially RM2 and RMSS fans because they are the easiest for us to reach. It is not only existing fans, but it is also new fans that we are interested in attracting to the game. Of course, Rolemaster is and always will be a game with options, detail, and the verisimilitude of realism, so those new fans will be people who match that profile. Gamers who like very rules-lite systems or cannot abide detail are unlikely to play any edition of Rolemaster.
Balancing the competing interests of RM2, RMSS/FRP and new players is a difficult task. My key responsibility at this stage of RMU is to be alert to any issue that could be classed as a dealbreaker for too many people, i.e. a rule or rules subsystem that would prevent you from buying into RMU. If there is an issue that you feel is a dealbreaker, then email me at director@guildcompanion dot com, and I will consider it. It may already on be on my list. Anything that I deem a dealbreaker will be fixed before RMU is finalised.
In addition, we are creating two new boards for the playtest as we push RMU towards the completion. The first Playtesting Feedback is to be used by playtesters to post specific issues or ask specific questions of the developers. The only people who can respond to a thread on this board will be the original poster or developers. It is intended for highly focused issue and response – and the response may be simply “Comment noted” – not wide-ranging debate. The existing boards already cover that. The second new board, Solutions Support, is for developers to ask playtesters for comments and feedback on a specific proposed rules change. Only developers can open threads on this board.
HARP Bestiary
Thanks to the afore-mentioned deluge, I did not get the Elementals finished, much to my great annoyance.
However, Joel Lovell has been quietly filling one of my corporate DropBox folders with text, plans and illustrations for The Poseidon Gambit, a HARP SF adventure module. I have firm instructions from Joel that this is not the complete draft, so will await the word from him before looking at it with my editing hat on.
Until next time
The next Briefing will be in November.
Best wishes,
Nicholas
Director, Guild Companion Publications Ltd.
If you would like to receive the Director’s Briefing straight to your inbox each month, you can sign up to our mailing list HERE.
ERA for Rolemaster updated
We are thrilled to announce that we have updated and improved all ERA for Rolemaster products with a range of bug fixes and new features.
ERA (Electronic Roleplaying Assistant) is the ultimate companion for Rolemaster campaigns. Just by running this free application players can create their characters using a step by step wizard, then level them up and configure all details in stats, skills and special abilities, even overriding the automatic calculations. Afterwards, they can be added to a running campaign in the adventuring module. From there, the game master can control all aspects of the game: resolve maneuvers, resistances, resting, and of course, spell casting and combat.
The ERA e-support package is now even better thanks to a number an update which has now been released.
The changes are as follows:
- Races now include the number of background options (RMC) and talent points (RMFRP). This improves the usability of the background purchasing step during character creation.
- Combat skills fumbles can now be specified on a per skill basis, instead of relying on the attack table fumble. The default fumble value will be offered during character creation, but it can be changed during the combat skills step, also adjusted in the character sheet, or while adventuring.
- Fixed the hobby rank cost restriction. It is now 40 DP as indicated in RMFRP Character Law.
- Fixed RMC minimum temporary roll validation. Rolls of 20 are now allowed.
- Improved support for new skills categories and groups. The cost is fixed at 0 for all professions if not specified, and can be later adjusted per character.
- When resolving maneuvers, the table related to the skill will be offered, but it can now be changed to a movement/percentage resolution when required.
- RMFRP Body and power point progression are now stored in the character sheet. This means that they can be edited (although it requires manually opening the character XML).
- Character size category and combat skills size adjustment are presented. These won’t mean much to RMC and RMFRP users, but they are an important step in preparing ERA to support RMU.
In addition to these fixes and improvements, there are a number of brand new features including:
- Exhaustion Points. They are computed according to the corresponding Character Law, and presented during adventures in the character profile. Both total and remaining points can be manually adjusted. No additional computation is provided (this means they are not spent when fighting/casting spells, and they are not recovered when resting).
- Rules Customization. Some house ruling and ruleset mixing can now be accomplished using options that are opened from the About dialog.
- Stat bonus computation: RM2 smooth stat bonus from Companion I are included!
- Development point computation: including some fixed DP options.Advanced configuration allows even more flexibility.
- Power computation: RMC automatic or by skill development.
- Exhaustion points: RMC, RMFRP, or nothing (removes it from the adventuring screen).
- Skill development: this is dangerous, use with care!
- Printed character sheet skills: choose what to show when printing the character.
- Hours per day: important for Shadow World users who use the Travel Module.
- Secondary skill development points in RMC: fixed number and percentage.
If you haven’t already, you can test ERA for Rolemaster by downloading the free web app from RPGNow. In addition you can buy all the database files for RMC Arms Law, RMC Spell Law and RMC Character Law as well as RMFRP Core and Character Law, RMFRP Spell Law and RMFRP Arms Law.
If you already have ERA, you can update your version by re-downloading the files from RPGNow.
What I thought of… Exploding Kittens
Just over a year ago I discovered kickstarter. In the initial month or so I backed a lot of projects. I would like to say that when they were all funded, made and delivered, that I loved them all and we lived happily ever after. I didn’t, but this isn’t the place for that discussion. This is the place to discuss what I thought of the world’s most successful kickstarter ever – Exploding Kittens.
Exploding Kittens
Created by Elan Lee (Xbox, ARGs), Matthew Inman (The Oatmeal), and Shane Small (Xbox, Marvel), Exploding Kittens describes itself as a highly-strategic, kitty-powered version of Russian Roulette. It is a card game where players continually draw from a deck of cards hoping not to get ‘exploded’ by an exploding kitten. There are various other cards which can help you (or hinder your fellow players) and the winner is the last person standing.
Having been funded, made, shipped and delivered through kickstarter, Exploding Kittens is now available for general purchase through Amazon and (coming soon) through the Exploding Kittens website.
My thoughts
Exploding Kittens is one of very few of my kickstarter purchases that actually arrived when it said it would. In terms of the campaign it was very well run. They kept us informed, the updates were interesting and most importantly, they delivered a brilliant game which was everything that it said it would be.
Putting the kickstarter campaign aside, I’ll now focus on the actual game (I promise). The game play is delightfully simple. After a few minutes explanation and a “learn by playing” attitude, I had non-gamers understanding all the rules and enjoying the game pretty much straight off the bat. For me that is one of the best and most important things. This game can be played with anyone. My players had no experience of card games or gaming in general and no prior knowledge of the Oatmeal (though a number said they planned to look it up). They all picked up the game quickly and most importantly, enjoyed playing it.
The most striking thing about the game (and my favourite thing about it) is the imagery and text on the cards. Created by Matthew Inman from the Oatmeal, the images and text are brilliant and hilarious (not to mention fantastically weird). My players loved the artwork and we often had to pause the game while people read their cards and laughed at the insanity of it all.
It would have been very easy for this game to fall into the trap of having amazing and hilarious cards that, once the novelty wore off, were never played with again. Luckily I don’t think this will happen. It is true that if I play enough I’m sure the original magic of “Feast upon a unicorn enchilada and gain its enchilada powers” will be lost slightly, but the game behind the cards is more than enough to keep me coming back to Exploding Kittens, especially if I have some non-gamer friends that I’m trying to entertain.
Final thoughts
I love this game. It is quick, simple and beautifully made. A real alternative to playing UNO or snap on a rainy day.
Rating
9/10 – Just because I don’t want to give anything a 10 so early on in my reviewing life.
Star Wars timeline
With the upcoming release of Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens and with Disney having changed what is considered canon across the Star Wars universe, the good people at Outerplaces.com have put together this revised Star Wars canon timeline to help clear things up:
Bladestorm tabletop game
Our friends over at Metal Express have been hard at work this past year, working away on refreshing old products, creating new artwork, even getting a brand new logo. Now all the hard work has finally paid off… Bladestorm is back!
Bladestorm is a classic fantasy “skirmish-style” miniatures game. Simple and fast-paced, it’s a raw, hard-edged game with an emphasis on action and color. Use the Bladestorm rules to fight miniatures battles set in virtually any fantasy world you desire.
Fun and easy to play, Bladestorm captures a dangerous, chaotic, unexplored quality to tabletop miniature battles and offers a lot of bang for your buck.
Bladestorm is a stand alone product and doesn’t require any knowledge of any other gaming system or products.
Bladestorm ‘Box Set’
The cornerstone of Metal Express’ new releases is the Bladestorm ‘Box Set’. The box set offers everything you need to set up and play a game of Bladestorm.
Available as a pdf download for just $20, the ‘box set’ contains all the book material from the original box set with reworked rules, layout and artwork. This includes:
- A rulebook containing simple, concise introductory guidelines, as well as a host of standard and optional rules which are perfect for full-blown battles.
- The Bladelands Sourcebook containing everything you need to know about the Warring Holds, the setting for the scenarios. You also get 26 scenarios, so you can jump right into battle.
- A color Guidebook containing 18 color plates, a miniatures painting guide, photos of scenario dioramas and full color banners.
- A scenario Book containing blank forms, ready-to-play scenarios, and cut-out terrain forms and markers.
- Eight pages of color maps ideal for constructing new scenarios and campaigns.
- A terrain and painting building manual.
In addition to the bladestorm ‘box set’, Metal express have released the Bladestorm bestiary, Bladestorm calculator, Bladestorm combatant and unit templates and the Bladestorm quick-start rules.
If you haven’t ever played Bladestorm, we highly recommend you download the free quick-start rules and test it out with some friends.
Download the FREE Bladestorm quick-start rules >>
Shadow World Master Atlas 4th edition now a silver pick on RPGNow
Hot on the heels of Quellbourne becoming a copper pick on RPGNow, another Shadow World product has received the online RPG stockist’s acclaim and this time it is a SILVER pick product. Ladies and gentlemen, we are incredible pleased to announce that Shadow World Master Atlas 4th edition has now become a silver pick product on RPGNow.
You can get Shadow World Master Atlas 4th edition as a pdf for just $20 at RPGNow.
Shadow World Master Atlas 4th edition
…A planet hangs on the threshold between Order and Chaos, a focus of strange powers and portals to alien dimensions. Sorcery clashes with ancient technology while capricious deities make war and the Dragonlords walk as men. Against them all rises the Unlife, a force whose dark servants seek the destruction of all that lives…
Return to the Shadow World, home of Dragonlords and Loremasters, mysterious ancient civilizations and Navigators who ride the magical Flows of Essænce.
Some Highlights of the Fourth Edition:
- Complete race listings and statistics to include RMFRP stats.
- Greatly expanded history, updated to 6054 Third Era of Ire.
- Geopolitical overview of the entire Western Hemisphere.
- Info on the major good and evil deities
- Stats on selected Loremasters, Navigators and other NPCs.
- Color map of the western hemisphere.
- Black & white map of The Bay of Izar
A huge thanks to everyone who has bought and supported Shadow World products through the years and helped to make the Shadow World Master Atlas 4th edition a silver pick product on RPGNow.
Director’s Briefing – September 2015
Welcome to the fifty-second Briefing and the ninth scheduled Briefing for 2015. September this year for me means being overwhelmed by research consultancy work bids and degree revalidations at the same time as my due diligence on a new module and module updates. So if you get a very succinct answer to a query from me, it just means that I am answering emails on the train or on a short break.
Rulebooks in Colour or Black & White?
At some undisclosed point, I will feel comfortable that regardless of any additional improvements to be made to RMU, it is in a position where we can start commissioning artwork. As you have undoubtedly noticed, all of our enhanced Shadow World sourcebooks have had colour interior art and have only been available in colour print editions. Conversely, all three enhanced HARP Fantasy books and HARP SF were only available in black&white, with HARP SF Xtreme trialling premium color in order to better support the vehicles and vehicle combat chapters, but also available in black&white.
Printing in premium color via OneBookShelf / Lightning Source costs ten US cents per page, printing in standard color costs 3 cents per page, while printing in black and white is 2 cents per page. Premium color is therefore not sensible for most folks’ budgets, but the differential between black&white and standard color is modest.
We are minded that RMU should have standard colour interiors for its rulebooks. What do you think?
What about HARP? Should future HARP supplements such as HARP Folkways, HARP Bestiary and so forth embrace colour? Should we colorize the existing HARP and HARP SF books in the future, perhaps at the same time as performing an errata cleanup?
I realise that there is a significant fraction of our fan base who only buy rpg products as pdfs and ebooks now. Would you prefer colour interiors?
Tell us what you think on the forums.
HARP Bestiary
I have written all the Undead text and Overlay mechanics for HARP Bestiary. I still need to generate example instantiations for each type of Undead, i.e. apply the Skeleton Lord overlay to a standard Fighter, a Lament overlay to a Harper, a Sorcerous Head overlay to a low-level mage. The complete set of Undead to appear in Bestiary are as follows: Apparitions, Blue Men, Corpse Candle, Gaunt, Ghost, Ghoul, Lament, Lich, Mummy, Phantom, Sandspirit, Skeleton, Skeleton Lord, Sorcerous Head, Spectre, Vampire, Wight, Wraith, and Zombie. I have been inflicting various of these on my players in my Cyradon playtest campaign.
I have also made substantial progress on the Elemental chapter, adjusting text to fit in its new home of Bestiary rather than the original Something Wicked chapter. My remaining tasks are rejigging the Elementals themselves, and subsequently modifying the Elemental Heritage and introducing generic Elemental Overlay mechanics. I intend to donate the Elemental Creatures to my coauthors for use in non-Elemental forms and chapters.
Until next time
Despite my real-world deluge, I hope to sneak some time on the train for Elemental writing amongst other editing and organisational tasks. The next Briefing will be in October.
Best wishes,
Nicholas
Director, Guild Companion Publications Ltd.
If you would like to receive the Director’s Briefing straight to your inbox each month, you can sign up to our mailing list HERE.