The Pen is Mighty

Gifts of the Elder Gods

Sat, 19 Nov 2011 09:48:15 -0500

Gifts of the Elder Gods:

A duellist in a dying city facing a weapon of fiery death, not to mention temptation.

Two fur trappers hunted by a spirit of hate that feeds on the very fear it engenders.

An arrogant…

Gifts of the Elder Gods

Sat, 19 Nov 2011 00:32:42 -0500

Gifts of the Elder Gods:

Cross-posted from Sword’s Edge Publishing:

A duellist in a dying city facing a weapon of fiery death, not to mention temptation.

Two fur trappers hunted by a spirit of hate that feeds…

Thinking Of The Children

Wed, 16 Nov 2011 10:54:24 -0500

Thinking Of The Children:

Excuse me while I get personal for a moment (in case you haven’t noticed, this blog is moving away from its e-zine roots to truly become my blog). I’m part of a single income family. I am lucky…

History: Not Just for Breakfast Any More

Sat, 12 Nov 2011 16:02:52 -0500

History: Not Just for Breakfast Any More:

I love history. There are some specific places and periods that have my particular devotion: Rome during the Principate, Scotland during the Wars of Independence, Korea during Koryo, and the…

Why Are You Writing RPGs?

Sun, 06 Nov 2011 23:16:42 -0500

Why Are You Writing RPGs?:

As opposed to firing them off? Oh, the other kind of RPGs.

A lot of my creative energies recently have been focused on RPGs rather than writing fiction. I’ve been asked why. It’s not something for…

Apropos of Nothing: Smoke Got In My . . . Nose

Wed, 02 Nov 2011 02:47:24 -0400

Apropos of Nothing: Smoke Got In My . . . Nose:

I have a regular meeting every Tuesday morning which is in a building about 30 minutes from where I work. I walk there, even in the winter. There’s a great fair trade coffee place along the way that…

Episode 65: Mecha

Mon, 31 Oct 2011 20:15:20 -0400

Episode 65: Mecha:

WARNING: Instances of very strong language may offend some listeners.

Chris and Rob are drinking Innis & Gunn Rum Cask.
John is drinking Maker’s Mark Kentucky Bourbon.
Our guest,…

Sword Noir: Character Sheet

Fri, 21 Oct 2011 18:12:31 -0400

Sword Noir: Character Sheet:

There is a character sheet included with Sword Noir: a Role-playing Game of Hardboiled Sword & Sorcery, but here is one that is designed as a form and so can be filled in. It doesn’t do anything…

Episode 64: Howard Andrew Jones

Fri, 21 Oct 2011 10:08:47 -0400

Episode 64: Howard Andrew Jones:

WARNING: Instances of very strong language may offend some listeners.

Episode 64: Howard Andrew Jones

* Did he say coke?
* John’s drinking Rolling Rock
* Fraser’s imbibing Amsterdam
…

Unscheduled Strange

Fri, 21 Oct 2011 06:48:06 -0400

Unscheduled Strange:

Word on the street is that we can expect a Doctor Strange movie in the near future (as in 2012/13). That’s from Marvel itself. No other information—no director, star, budget, or actual…

Dogs is Out, Kheufer is In

Thu, 26 May 2011 18:39:43 -0400

Dogs is Out, Kheufer is In:

The adventure for Sword Noir on which I have been working under the title Scroll Dogs is now titled the Kheufer Scrolls. The adventure is done, maps are done, and I thus I thought the manuscript…

“A Pound of Dead Flesh” in Black Gate

Wed, 25 May 2011 20:51:17 -0400

“A Pound of Dead Flesh” in Black Gate:

Holy *expletive deleted* I’m in Black Gate!

Listen, there are very few professional venues for heroic fiction, let alone something like Sword Noir fiction, so when John O’Neill—Black…

Gutting Mooks in Sword Noir

Fri, 20 May 2011 04:29:05 -0400

Gutting Mooks in Sword Noir:

Eloy Cintron had a few questions about the combat system in Sword Noir, and he agreed to allow me to share them.

If you haven’t purchased your copy of Sword Noir: A Role-playing Game of…

Episode 61 - Rewards

Fri, 06 May 2011 13:27:49 -0400

Episode 61 - Rewards:

WARNING: Instances of very strong language may offend some listeners.

Episode 61: Rewards

Things of Which We Speak
* Sword Noir, a Role-Playing Game of Hardboiled Sword & Sorcery.

Where Be Dragons? Beasties and Sword Noir

Thu, 05 May 2011 14:05:36 -0400

Where Be Dragons? Beasties and Sword Noir:

Curt Meyer had an interesting comment about Sword Noir that I wanted to answer here.

Curt said: “My only complaint is no bestiary. Conan and the Grey Mouser both battle weird creatures…

Monthly Sales for April

Mon, 02 May 2011 08:25:39 -0400

Monthly Sales for April:

Wow, what a month. We added Sword Noir on 3 April and we’ve sold 106 copies by 30 April. Considering that makes it our third highest selling product (not counting free stuff), that’s a heck of a…

Updated Multiple Opponents Rules – An Example

Sun, 17 Apr 2011 17:14:50 -0400

Updated Multiple Opponents Rules – An Example:

I previously put up a combat example to help give an idea of Sword Noir’s combat system. Since updating the Multiple Opponents rules, I wanted to re-do the example. Nothing would have…

Financing Sword Noir

Sun, 17 Apr 2011 03:16:40 -0400

Financing Sword Noir:

I mentioned on Twitter that I’d do a post about how Sword Noir was financed, and this is that post. If the business end of the RPG industry doesn’t interest you, move along. Nothing to see…

Updating Sword Noir

Fri, 15 Apr 2011 21:41:52 -0400

Updating Sword Noir:

It is very educational releasing a game system. I have never done so before. Sword Noir was the first system I ever released. It was play-tested, and the editor—Chris Groff from the…

Improving Sword Noir

Wed, 13 Apr 2011 23:41:16 -0400

Improving Sword Noir:

I got a two-star review for Sword Noir over at RPG Now/Drive-thru RPG which brought up some very salient points. It’s unfortunate that Sword Noir didn’t work for this individual, and with the…