Shadow World novel Loremaster Legacy is out now!
Terry K. Amthor’s Shadowstone Chronicles Book 1: Loremaster Legacy is available now in pdf, kindle and ebook formats at Drivethrufiction or in kindle format directly from Amazon for just $5.99. Get your copy now.
The young nobleman Kalen Avanir, accompanied by his cousin Jad, journeys from his war-torn homeland of Rhakhaan in the north to the canal city of Sel-kai across the sea. On his journey, he discovers a mysterious artifact with strange powers: an amulet with a phoenix symbol, the emblem of his kingdom. Soon, forces for good and evil are drawn to him… and to the amulet. While seeking to understand the powers of the item he carries—and his own place in this tangled net of intrigue, Kalen finds plots everywhere in Sel-kai, and the terrifying agents of the Iron Wind from the north are closing in. Meanwhile, other factions from the Loremasters to the Dragonlords are seeking the amulet and other ancient artifacts with increasing urgency. Kalen must master the phoenix—and his own fledgling magical powers—before it is too late.
Loremaster Legacy is set on the Shadow World, where magic competes against brute force of arms, where political intrigue can be found within every realm, and where warfare between neighbor countries is commonplace.
A few fight against the chaos, led by the Loremasters. Meanwhile, other forces encourage a descent into darkness. Counted among these are the terrifying Priests and Messengers of the Iron Wind.
Then there are the Navigators, who aid in travel and exploration across the treacherous planet. But some believe these guides really only seek the artifacts of the ancient Essaence Lords, the long-extinct race who predate the current inhabitants of this world. It is said that the Lords possessed magic far greater than the mightiest sorcerers of the current day… and something else: technology. Certain groups of the Elves have been experimenting with technology of their own, building mechanical devices and vehicles that fly in the air. Others call this meddling with machines to be dangerous blasphemy, and that it was the cause of the fall of the Essaence Lords.
But perhaps the greatest threat of all to the Shadow World is the very energy that grants the gift of magic; the inhabitants call the manifestations of this the Flows of Essaence. When these flows build up to a critical point, they burst into storms that not only disrupt mundane weather and the powers of those using magic, but also rip open portals to other places and other planes, allowing unspeakable creatures to enter.
Struggling to save their world are a few survivors of the ancient race, and a handful of young men and women just discovering their unusual gifts, and a heavy legacy laid upon them, the Legacy of the Loremasters.
Buy your copy now for just $5.99 from Drivethrufiction or Amazon.
Loremaster Legacy out now!
Iron Crown Enterprises’ Newsletter – July 2013
Following last month’s release of HARP Martial Law and AutoHARP Fantasy and AutoHARP-SF, This month we have released the eagerly anticipated HARP College of Magics which is available now for only $4.99 for a limited time only.
**BREAKING NEWS** Guild Companion Publications has been nominated for an ENnie!
Catch up on what you’ve missed with this month’s Director’s Briefing and the HARP College of Magics briefing.
ROLEMASTER
As I’m sure you’re all aware (if not, read more HERE), the Beta test of the new Rolemaster system is now in full swing. So far we’ve had some really great feedback.
You may have noticed that the playtest discussions have been put on hold on the forum. This is because we’re currently working on putting together the next version of the Beta test, taking into account all the feedback we’ve had so far. If you’re already in the middle of a game or if you have any feedback, please feel free to still post on the forum, we just wanted people to be aware that the new versions will be coming soon.
So where are the new versions?
Editorial comments on Arms Law have been returned to the writers for incorporation into their next draft, and a set of comments on Character Law will be released to the team shortly. The next in line for editorial review is Spell Law. The updated versions will receive a minimal format before we release them to get your thoughts.
HARP
Wow! What a flurry of activity HARP has seen in the past few months!
This month we released HARP College of Magics which is available now for only $4.99 for a limited time only.
College of Magics expands the depth and breadth of HARP magic. Among the topics that the book covers are:
What is magic and how does it work
New types of magic
Rules for creating and designing new spells
New HARP spells
New professions
In addition to all this, a quartet of artists have provided a wonderful collection of new, inspiring and relevant illustrations which we’re sure you will enjoy.
You can buy the College of Magics pdf at $4.99 by following THIS LINK
SETTINGS
We have just had word that Terry K. Amthor’s Shadow World novel Loremaster Legacy should be released by the end of the month through DriveThru fiction and Amazon. Obviously we’ll let you know the second it is released so that you can go out and get your copy.
Not content with working on just one huge project, Terry has a whole host of other things on the way. The new Emer III is currently in editing, and though there isn’t a timeline in place for its launch yet, it will be the next wholly new Shadow World release. Meanwhile Terry is planning revisions on Jaiman and Eidolon. We’ll bring you more news as we get it.
PARTNERS
After the success of their recently released Sherlock Holmes 2 – The Black River Emerald “gamebook” app, our friends over at Appendix are carrying on their good work.
They’re currently working on Sherlock Holmes 3 – Death at Appledore Towers which promises to be just as good as their previous Sherlock Holmes gamebook apps which, this month alone have received the following accolades:
Sherlock Holmes 1 – #1 Dice Game – Brazil
Sherlock Holmes 2 – #1 Dice Game – Italy
Sherlock Holmes 2 – #1 Dice Game – France
If you haven’t bought it yet we highly recommend you take a look at Sherlock Holmes 2 – The Black River Emerald “gamebook” app.
To get the monthly newsletter direct to your inbox, sign up to our mailing list now.
HARP Fantasy College of Magics available NOW!
As promised in the July Briefing, this is the unscheduled but anticipated Briefing to announce the release of College of Magics in pdf form. As this is an enhanced version, not a new edition, we are offering it at a special introductory discount price of 4.99 USD for one month only.
What has changed in College of Magics?
The changes from the original version of College of Magics are as follows:
1. The Necromancer’s Favored categories were rebalanced;
2. Minor modifications to the Song, Music and Trance casting styles were made;
3. Significant revisions to the spell creation system were implemented, namely the addition of new Aspects and deletion of some duplicate Aspects, the costs of Attributes now vary according to the spell type (Elemental, Attack or Utility), the costing system for spells with multiple effects has been simplified, the PP costs for scaling options also now vary according to the spell type making Utility spells more effective for fewer PP, and some scaling options have been recosted;
4. The Development Point costs of the new talents were rebalanced with the Potency talent and Inner Strength talents being rewritten;
5. A rule for variable RR and OB bonus from potions, runes, and circles has been added;
6. Alchemy, Charmcraft and Ritual Magic were revised to conform to the revised spell creation system;
7. The monetary costs for making Alchemy and Charmcraft items were rebalanced;
8. All spells were revised to conform to the revised spell creation system;
9. The set of Clean, Dry and Repair cantrips have been revised with some deleted and new cantrips added.
In addition to these content changes, a quartet of artists have provided a wonderful collection of new, inspiring and relevant illustrations which we hope you will enjoy, and the layout has been upgraded to make the book easier to use.
Getting the Discount
You can buy the College of Magics pdf at 4.99 USD by following THIS LINK
The full price is 15 USD, so take advantage of this offer to upgrade your HARP collection at a bargain price. There really is no reason not to buy now. Get your GM to buy now; get your players to buy right now.
You may wonder why the discount price is 4.99 USD. During the next month, we will be putting College of Magics on a general promotional sale through OneBookShelf and they reliably inform me that a one cent difference will be a tipping point for some potential impulse-buy customers.
As always, if you find any residual errata that evaded the independent proofreaders, post a note on the ICE forums so we can get it corrected quickly and get College of Magics into print-on-demand. Enough from me – time to let you buy the pdf.
Best wishes,
Nicholas HM Caldwell
Director, Guild Companion Publications Ltd.
HARP Martial Law $5.00 offer ends this Wednesday!
Get HARP Martial Law for just $5.00!
Act quickly, offer ends this Wednesday!
The offer period for the newly released HARP Martial Law is nearly at an end. If you haven’t already got your copy, buy it now by using the discount link below to get your copy for just $5.00.
Get HARP Martial Law for just $5.00!
In addition, we’re proud to announce the release of AutoHARP Fantasy: Martial Law which is also available for $5.00 for a limited time only. See below for more details.
HARP Martial Law
– The new road to high adventure!
How do monsters and magic affect weapons, armor, and fighting styles?
Martial Law breaks new ground in the field of fantasy role playing combat rules. Martial Law expands the fast, dramatic combat of HARP (High Adventure Role Playing) Fantasy to include detailed hit location criticals.
Martial Law also includes a section on creating and playing warriors in fantasy settings and cool new moves and equipment for fighters.
Drawing upon years of actual play from the fan base, HARP Martial Law is an enhanced version of the original HARP supplement published in 2004.
AutoHARP Fantasy: Martial Law
For those of you who bought the recent AutoHARP Fantasy software there’s now a new add-on…
AutoHARP Fantasy: Martial Law
It is available now from the OneBookShelf Network for just $5.00 along with AutoHARP Fantasy and AutoHARP-SF (both of which cost $10.00).
The database file includes new combat rules, combat actions, new skills, weapons, armor, combat styles and martial art styles, new talents and new items. Players can now use Martial Law combat in the Combat Tracker which includes new critical tables and attacks by location. There are also new rules for social classes which include random starting money for the character based on their social class. Additional armor information from Martial Law is also included: new armor pieces, armor quality and armor material.
The software works under Windows and most Linux distributions. Use the exe file for Windows and the jar files for Windows or Linux – note the jar files require the Java Runtime Environment.
Director’s Briefing – July 2013
Welcome to the twenty-fourth Director’s Briefing and the seventh scheduled for this year. Rather than delay this Briefing, expect to see a short unscheduled Briefing to announce the release of HARP College of Magics in the next few days.
HARP Martial Law and AutoHARP Reminder
In case you have not heard, HARP Martial Law is available in pdf but the discount coupon enabling you to buy it at 5 USD rather than the normal price of 12 USD will only be valid until 10th July. The coupon link is HERE so don’t delay.
We have made some adjustments to the example style to darken it and are applying some residual errata corrections. I will send a note through the OneBookShelf system to let purchasers know when they can redownload the pdf – so you should check your settings to ensure that you can receive notes from Guild Companion Publications. The master print files will then be uploaded into the OneBookShelf system so HARP Martial Law ought to be available in print as both softcover and hardcover by the end of the month. The extra content that we added to the enhanced version combined with the different OneBookShelf binding specifications means that this version will be perfect-bound. No more staples!
Also speaking of introductory prices, AutoHARP Fantasy and AutoHARP SF will also come off their introductory prices, so if you want to snap up two more bargains, follow these links:
AutoHARP-Fantasy
and
AutoHARP-SF
Corporate Update
As this is the halfway point of the calendar year, this is as good a time as any to report that our accountant has crunched the 2012 income and expenditure figures and calculated the final outcomes. GCP Ltd. made a sound profit in 2012 and we have duly paid our corporation tax. As always, Aurigas and all our freelancers continue to be paid in full and on time. The company’s profits are fully reinvested in the business, ensuring that we have the financial reserves to fund the design and development of new products across all of the game lines. The GCP business model is therefore continuing to work successfully, and we are typically in the top 2% of active publishers on OneBookShelf in any given month.
We are, however, still in the process of restoring the game lines to their former greatness in terms of sales because it’s sales that make everything possible. When GCP took over the management of the lines, all of the product lines could be considered to be in a critical condition to use a medical analogy. I think it is fair to say that HARP Fantasy/HARP SF and Shadow World have moved out of intensive care and are now in a stable condition. For Shadow World, the early editions, Emer 3, and third-party sourcebooks to come, the prognosis for a full recovery looks good. For HARP, we have ongoing work on the Bestiary and I have been rebuilding relationships with freelance writers, who have legitimate grievances with the previous incarnations of ICE, and I am hopeful that this will lead to new HARP sourcebooks. Indeed, getting HARP back to a place where I am no longer named as the lead writer on every project is a positive indicator that HARP will also make a full recovery. Cyradon is receiving significant care and attention so that we can create a flow of supporting products – releasing the base book followed by nothing would simply put it back in intensive care. Which brings us to Rolemaster, which has not yet completed its RMU beta treatment.
The reason for that is simple – lack of time. No one who works for Aurigas or GCP is full-time. Everyone is essentially freelance with day jobs, and that includes me. So there are only so many hours in the commute, the evening or the weekend that I or anyone else can work on the products. This unfortunate reality is a direct consequence of the low level of sales that we inherited from the previous licensee, and until we get the sales back to preMjolnir era levels (say RMSS levels), the situation is unlikely to change. I’ve had to ruthlessly prioritise my GCP time to get each of the other lines into a better state and have stayed with those lines to ensure that they don’t have a relapse.
The good news is that I have the RMU manuscripts on my tablet PC and that due to a new job, I now have two hours on a train every weekday that can be used for GCP work. I’m looking forward to getting Rolemaster out of intensive care.
Until next time
Expect an unscheduled Director’s Briefing for the special discount for HARP College of Magics.
Best wishes,
Nicholas
Director, Guild Companion Publications Ltd.
Iron Crown Enterprises’ Newsletter – June 2013
June has been a very HARP heavy month so far at ICE HQ. Don't be fooled however, in addition to the release of HARP Martial Law and AutoHARP Fantasy and AutoHARP-SF, we've& been working on a myriad of other projects in the background.
Catch up on what you've missed with this month's Director's Briefing.
ROLEMASTER
We have now drawn our Rolemaster's 30th anniversary competitions to a close. We have seen some great entrants. The decision has been taken that we will wait until the release of the beta versions of the unified Rolemaster's Creature and Treasure Law before we continue with those areas of the contest.
In the meantime, we will be drawing overall winners in each of the areas we have covered (Character Law, Spell Law and Arms Law) and then pick an overall overall winner from them.
Keep an eye on our forum as we'll be announcing the winners soon.
HARP
It has been a very busy month for HARP and there is yet more to come. This month saw the release of HARP Martial Law which is available now for only $5.00 for a limited time only.
In addition to this, June has seen the release of both AutoHARP Fantasy and AutoHARP-SF. AutoHARP software combines a Character Creator and a Combat Tracker, both of which are fully compatible with HARP Fantasy/HARP-SF.
We are now patiently awaiting the release of HARP College of Magics which should be ready for release early next month. Keep an eye on our website and we'll let you know as soon as it's available.
SETTINGS
After the release of the brilliant Shadow World: Cloudlords of Tanara in hardcover and softcover color last month, this month we have been continuing in our work on Shadow World.
We have a number of new products and rereleases in the pipeline. One of the main ones being Emer III which may end up being the biggest Shadow World book ever (not including the atlases). In addition to this, Terry Amthor is working on a new NE Jaiman book in the spirit of the very popular Xa'ar module (this however is quite a long way down the pipeline as work has only just begun on it).
As well as all the stellar work he has done/is doing for ICE, Terry will soon be releasing a Shadow World novel, Loremaster Legacy, the first in a series, which will have a lot of tie-ins with Shadow World and Rolemaster gaming. Keep an eye on the website and we'll let you know the second it becomes available.
PARTNERS
Our friends over at AppEndix have just released: Sherlock Holmes 2 – The Black River Emerald “gamebook” app which is available now from the AppStore!
Sherlock Holmes 2 – The Black river Emerald is both: a book and an interactive app, in which you attempt to uncover the mysterious theft of the famous Black River emerald from the once-exclusive Belton School for boys in Shropshire. Theft, blackmail and attempted murder are not yet part of the curriculum! And if mystery and danger abound, can Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson be far behind?
Featuring a fully interactive interface with dice rolls, character sheet, sound effects, atmospheric music dynamically adapting to the story and more, this unique app for iPhone and iP ad is now available on the AppStore for just $1.99!
Sherlock Holmes 2 is the second of eight Sherlock Holmes Solo Mysteries gamebooks by Iron Crown Enterprises to be published as interactive apps, including one title which was never available in English before.
To get the monthly newsletter direct to your inbox, sign up to our mailing list now.
HARP College of Magics – Coming Soon!
Are you excited about the upcoming release of HARP College of Magics?
You should be, here’s a brief look at what’s new:
- The Necromancer’s Favored categories were rebalanced
- Minor modifications to the Song, Music and Trance casting styles
- Significant revisions to the spell creation system, namely addition of new Aspects and deletion of some duplicate Aspects, costs of Attributes now varies according to the spell type (Elemental, Attack or Utility), simpler and cheaper costing system for spells with multiple effects, PP costs for scaling options also now varies according to the spell type making Utility spells more effective for fewer PP, and some scaling options have been recosted
- The Development Point costs of the new talents were rebalanced with the Potency talent and Inner Strength talents being rewritten
- A rule for variable RR and OB bonus from potions, runes, and circles has been added
- Alchemy, Charmcraft and Ritual Magic were revised to conform to the revised spell creation system
- The monetary costs for making Alchemy and Charmcraft items were rebalanced
- All spells were revised to conform to the revised spell creation system
- The set of Clean, Dry and Repair cantrips have been revised with some deleted and new cantrips added
For more information on HARP and it’s available products, see our recent blog post or visit the HARP Page on our website.
HARP
It has been a very big month for HARP so far with the release of HARP Martial Law which is available now for only $5.00, the release of AutoHARP Fantasy, AutoHARP-SF and the upcoming release of HARP College of Magics, so we thought we’d take some time to introduce those of you who haven’t played it yet to High Adventure Role Playing (HARP).
Are your fantasy role-playing games epic in scope and focused on a grand struggle against evil? Do you want all the excitement of high adventure role playing without the subtle details and unneeded complexity? If your answer is “Yes”, then HARP fantasy is for you. HARP includes Iron Crown’s exciting inventions of critical hits, the extraordinary results of open-ended dice rolls and the full flexibility of a skills-based system but in a faster paced, simpler and more 
flexible system.
HARP Fantasy
HARP Fantasy is a complete set of core rules in a single book, with comprehensive yet swift, “high adventure” play, supported by mechanics such as fate points, a scalable spell system and story-driven character advancement.
HARP is designed for players and Game Masters looking for clear core rules combined with guidelines that provide advice for the resolution of any action.
HARP Fantasy is available now from the OneBookShelf network in softcover, hardcover and pdf.
HARP-SF
The roleplaying game of the future has arrived
Whether your game focuses on events on a single inhabited world in the near future or is a galaxy-spanning epic set millennia hence in the far future, HARP SF is the right choice for you.
HARP SF retains all the simplicity and flexibility of the original HARP Fantasy game but expands its reach to a whole new universe of infinite possibilities.
HARP-SF is available now in softcover, hardcover and pdf from the OneBookShelf Network.
HARP Martial Law
The new road to High Adventure
How do monsters and magic affect weapons, armor, and fighting styles?
Martial Law breaks new ground in the field of fantasy role playing combat rules. Martial Law expands the fast, dramatic combat of HARP (High Adventure Role Playing) Fantasy to include detailed hit location criticals.
Martial Law also includes a section on creating and playing warriors in fantasy settings and cool new moves and equipment for fighters.
HARP Martial Law is available now for ONLY $5.00 for a limited time only.
HARP-SF Xtreme
Take your HARP SF game to the next level of excitement!
HARP SF Xtreme expands the HARP SF system with: A complete set of vehicular rules for both slower-than-light and faster-than-light travel, whether you fly at the speed of plot or like to crunch the numbers; An extensive catalogue of land, marine, air, space and hybrid vehicles to get your heroes from Alpha Centauri to Betelgeuse and everywhere else; Deck plans of the featured starships and interplanetary craft; Vehicle combat rules that scale from starfighter dogfights to epic battles between mighty dreadnoughts that will engage the entire party in the action.
HARP SF Xtreme is one giant leap for your HARP SF gaming!
AutoHARP Fantasy and AutoHARP-SF
AutoHARP software combines a Character Creator and a Combat Tracker, both of which are fully compatible with HARP Fantasy or HARP-SF.
The download contains the HARP Fantasy/HARP-SF database and for convenience, a copy of the executable software application. The software works under Windows and most Linux distributions. Use the exe files for Windows and the jar files for Windows or Linux – note the jar files require the Java Runtime Environment. Note that updated versions of the executable are available via the developer’s Sourceforge page.
AutoHARP Fantasy and AutoHARP-SF are available now for just $10.00 (50% off the normal retail price.
Friends and Rivals
Bring your campaign to life with Friends and Rivals: A Character Collection for HARP. A compilation of twenty-four highly individual and comprehensively described characters. Each is revealed in terms of physical description, background, and possessions, both mundane and magical. Where appropriate, further notes detail special aspects of the character, such as spell sphere listings for clerics. Each writeup is also illustrated by a splendid black & white portrait.
All 24 characters have also been fully implemented as HARP characters, consistent with and fully compliant with the HARP rules as published in HARP. Each character is represented in statistical terms by ten spreadsheets, one for each level from 1st to 10th. Five characters (the Gryx Ranger, the Halfling Rogue, the Human Cleric (Combat), the Human Elementalist and the Human Warrior Mage) are in Open Office format; all others are in Excel format.
The Guild Adventurer
The first issue of The Guild Adventurer has arrived. The Guild Adventurer is a compilation of original adventures and adventure-related material for Rolemaster, Shadow World, Spacemaster, and HARP. Our all-star cast of contributors have created the following rich and diverse set of scenarios to put the adventure back into your games.
The Guild Adventurer #1, The Guild Adventurer #2 and The Guild Adventurer #3 are available now as pdfs from the OneBookShelf Network.
AppEndix releases Sherlock Holmes 2 – The Black River Emerald
Our friends over at AppEndix have just released: Sherlock Holmes 2 – The Black River Emerald “gamebook” app which is available now from the AppStore!
Sherlock Holmes 2 – The Black river Emerald is both: a book and an interactive app, in which you attempt to uncover the mysterious theft of the famous Black River emerald from the once-exclusive Belton School for boys in Shropshire. Theft, blackmail and attempted murder are not yet part of the curriculum! And if mystery and danger abound, can Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson be far behind?
Featuring a fully interactive interface with dice rolls, character sheet, sound effects, atmospheric music dynamically adapting to the story and more, this unique app for iPhone and iPad is now available on the AppStore for just $1.99!
Sherlock Holmes 2 is the second of eight Sherlock Holmes Solo Mysteries gamebooks by Iron Crown Enterprises to be published as interactive apps, including one title which was never available in English before. The app is universal (iPad/iPhone) and multi-language.
Buy it now!
AutoHARP available now!
In addition to the recently released Martial Law (which you can now buy from the OneBookShelf network for only $5.00 for a limited time only), we now have two software releases to support HARP, namely AutoHARP Fantasy and AutoHARP SF.
AutoHARP Fantasy software combines a Character Creator and a Combat Tracker, both of which are fully compatible with HARP Fantasy.
The Character Creator has:
- Full Wizard for creating new characters. Hybrid race creation included as well as full support for human based characters and clerical based characters. Full support for Adolescence and profession rank selection, cleric base spell lists and talent selection for certain professions.
- Easy access to character traits, offenses, defenses, skills, talents, magic, statistics, and equipment
- Ability to print full character sheet with avatar, frequently used skills, RR information, Initiative information, BMR information, offensive attacks: both melee and missile, skills, spells, and equipment.
- Fully customized database written in XML allows the user to easily adjust information as specific worlds or house rules.
The Combat Tracker has the ability to:
- Create, edit, open and save encounters
- Create, edit, import or duplicate characters which make up an encounter.
- Customize the character’s level, hit points, power points, Stamina, BMR, Armor, talent and shield DB, size, focus item, casting penalty as well as create a character that doesn’t take stun, penalties or bleeding criticals.
- Keep track of all spells, attacks, maneuvers, initiatives, character statuses, etc.
As a special introductory offer, we will be offering both products at half-price, so 10 USD instead of 20 USD. Again this is a strictly limited offer, so follow the links below –
AutoHARP Fantasy
and
AutoHARP-SF