Here's a picture of our booth at GAMA. We thought it was kinda pretty . . .
The unrecognizably small figures, left to right, are Unknown Person With Back Turned, Super Munchkin, Paul Chapman, William Toporek, and Gene Seabolt.
No, really. Check it out.
-- Scott Haring
Voting in the final round of the Origins Awards is open to the public. You can either dow nload a PDF of the ballot and mail it in, or you can vote online. [It has been called to our attention that the online voting ballot is completely broken. We'll post an update if and when it's fixed, with instructions on what to do if you voted on the broken ballot.] The voting deadline is June 1, 2003.
And far be it from us to unduly influence your vote, but it is our duty to mention that a number of fine Steve Jackson Games products are on this year's ballot, including:
If you're worried about your health and the high cost of living, breathe easy. The Breatharian Institute of America can teach you how to live on air alone. And maybe some bottled water.
-- Suggested by Gerard Lamarck
Chez Grunt
Chez Geek joins the army! Chez Grunt marches in on the heels of the wildly successful Chez Geek and Chez Greek, proving that the search for slack is universal, no matter where you might be.
More fun than a 40-mile hike with full pack, Chez Grunt lets you hunt for slack, better food, choice assignments . . . and even Nookie . . . in the barracks! Chez Grunt is completely compatible, of course, with its famous predecessor, Chez Geek.
You're In The Army Now -- might as well get all the slack you can!
112 cards in a tuck box.
Stock #1353,
ISBN 1-55634-691-3.
$16.95.
Those of you already subscribed to Pyramid probably already know where to go. Those of you who aren't... why not subscribe today? You can get a preview of these products before they go to print, and even have a hand in shaping their final versions.
- Sage
Say hi to Scott Ginsberg. He's the one with the name tag -- the one he's been wearing for over two years.
-- Andrew Hackard, Managing Editor
Wee luk forewarred too hearring frum yew . . . or something to that effect.
-- Andrew Hackard, Managing Editor
It went well, indeed. Now wait till NEXT year!
-- Steve Jackson
Hostage takers are pretty quick to ask for a million dollars without considering the practicalities. How much does it weigh? How much space does it take up? Find out How Much Is Inside?And that's not all. How many ping-pong balls fit into a Chevy Trailblazer? How much blood does the human body hold? And if you never gotten around to squeezing out your toothpaste end-to-end, they've done the hard work for you.
-- Suggested by Jake Cotter
Munchkin Master's Guide
Munchkin. It's not just for players any more.
What can a Munchkin d20 GM do? Whatever he wants. Player annoys you? Kill him. Or change his sex. Or turn him into a Canada goose. Go all the way and turn him into a dead sex-changed Canada goose. No one can stop you.
When you're the GM, the rules are only suggestions. So the Munchkin Master's Guide is 48 pages of magic items, NPC classes, and a loaded 100-sided die's worth of dirty tricks . . .
It's GOOD to be the GM.
48 pages, hardcover.
Stock #3402,
ISBN 1-55634-668-9.
$14.95.
GURPS Rogues
Skullduggery made easy!
GURPS Rogues has everything you need to know about backstabbing, intrigue, and the seamy side of life. With 29 templates and over 100 sample characters for all kinds of settings, GURPS Rogues is a chest full of treasure for you to plunder!
GURPS Rogues follows (stealthily) in the footsteps of GURPS Warriors and GURPS Wizards, our two previous books of characters and templates.
128 pages.
Stock #6413,
ISBN 1-55634-398-1.
$22.95.
GURPS WWII: Frozen Hell
GURPS WWII: Frozen Hell covers the Finnish campaigns of World War II. Strap on your skis and scrounge for ammo to fight for young Finland's continued freedom, or join the Russian armies trying to secure their border from German attack.
Frozen Hell covers all of the Finnish involvement in WWII, from the struggles of the diplomats through the sacrifices of soldiers on both sides of the wars. It includes:
48 pages.
Stock #8008,
ISBN 1-55634-639-5.
$11.95.
Skeletons Miniatures
The dead walk . . . and they're coming for you!
The walking skeleton -- grinning malevolence and otherworldly evil -- is a staple of horror and fantasy gaming. Sculpted by the renowned Richard Kerr, Skeletons Miniatures gives you eight classic figures, with the heads and arms separate. Mix and match for the ultimate in variety, and create the skeleton army you want! Arms include everything from knives and swords to deadly modern-day hardware, and extras are provided.
So take a tour through our graveyard . . . Skeletons Miniatures are waiting!
Boxed set: eight skeleton bodies with separate heads and arms.
Stock #13-0200,
ISBN 1-55634-528-3.
$24.95.
Imperial Lunar Handbook: Volume 1
Volume 1 provides an overview of the Lunar Empire and the religion of the Red Goddess that holds it together. It contains character generation for all of the major Homelands of the Empire, as well as maps and details of two sample organizations, the Seeburn Association and Immanent Action Liberation. Future volumes will concentrate on the most important regions within the Empire, beginning with the Lunar Religion, and later including Dara Happa, Rinliddi, and Carmania.
72 pages.
Stock #ISS1302,
ISBN 1-929052-04-9.
$15.95.
Congratulations to the authors, artists, editors, and anyone else who had anything to do with all the nominees!
They've been criticized for wasting their time. I beg to disagree. The last thing I read about the House passing was a bill to outlaw all human cloning research. If that's what they do when they are "serious," I would FAR rather they occupy themselves by insulting the French.
Hmm, can I help?
Okay. French bread will now be Bush bread.
French kisses will now be Liberty Lip-Locks.
Plaster of Paris will continue to honor its source, but will now be Plaster of Parasites.
And French blue will now be "Condition: Secretary Ridge Says No Terrorists Under The Bed But Buy Duct Tape Anyway Blue."
Hope that helps, y'all. If you read this into the Congressional Record, be sure to spell my name right.
-- Steve Jackson
In this country, we're less likely to hide weapons of mass destruction and more inclined to build a website touting the fabulous power we have at our fingertips. Visit Sam Barros' PowerLabs and watch as he bends chemistry to his will and crushes full soda cans with nothing but a semiconductor. Make fun of him at your peril . . . he's also building a rail gun.
-- Suggested by Dan McCulley
Provided that the server holds up under the load, we are also hoping to move all of our Yahoo! Groups mailing lists back to our own server in the future.
As usual, contact me at webmaster@sjgames.com if you have any questions or concerns.
- Sage
This MSNBC.com story has the details -- and be sure to click on the slide show about halfway down the page. Incredible pictures.
Which gives us an excuse to plug the upcoming Transhuman Space: Deep Beyond, which covers Jupiter and its many moons, as well as the asteroid belt, Neptune, Saturn, and the rest of the outer solar system.
Elmore Productions
1314 Sunbeam Rd.
Leitchfield, KY 42754
Take it easy, Larry!
It's everything you ever wanted to know about UFOs, but were waiting for someone else to ask, arrange, and compile. The Why? Files looks for a few answers in the night skies.
-- Suggested by Geoff Richardson
Citizen (http://www.citizengames.com) is best known for its popular MasterScreen, a 3-fold vinyl GM screen that can be customized for any game -- and a 4-fold version is coming soon. It also publishes a series of d20 products, including the "1000 Faces" series of characters, and recently released the Dungeoneer card game.
Why are they going? For the mineral wealth, mostly. Just like in Transhuman Space. And for an additional gratuitous plug, remember that the Transhuman Space sourcebook on near-Earth orbit and the moon, Transhuman Space: High Frontier, is due out this summer.
The New Scientist has the story.
-- Scott Haring
And now Pioneer 10 is gone, its power plant too depleted and its signal too weak to send any more information back to Earth. Read the Science Daily story for all the details.
-- Scott Haring
Chez Geek 2/e
(Reprint)
Beer. Nookie. Roommates. Just another Friday night at Chez Geek, the fun new card game that lets you set up house with your friends -- for as long as you can stand them. Get a job at the beginning of the game, and spend money and time to accumulate Slack points. You can have a party, hang out with friends, dodge losers, and play with the cats. Borrow from your roomies so you can have snacks while you watch TV. What other game gives you points for sleeping? Just look out for the car alarm. Drink, party, and sleep late as you pursue Slack points to win the game.
Just remember, when your roommate and his S.O. keep you up all night: You can't throw them out. They live here.
110 cards in a tuck box.
Stock #1329,
ISBN 1-55634.
$16.95.
GURPS Character Builder 3.0
The newest version of the official character-creation program for GURPS. The GURPS Character Builder lets you design, optimize, store, modify, and print out characters in all the most popular genres. All the system's standard advantages, disadvantages, and skills are supported, with complete character creation rules from the GURPS Basic Set and GURPS Compendium I, as well as GURPS Magic, GURPS Grimoire, GURPS Psionics, GURPS Martial Arts, GURPS Supers, GURPS Wizards, GURPS Warriors, and even GURPS Fantasy Folk! Lots of extras, including a die roller, round out this package . . . and Version 3.0 adds a Template Builder function to make custom character creation even easier.
(For Windows only. Sorry, Mac fans.)
CD-ROM in DVD case.
Stock #5401,
ISBN 1-55634-708-1.
$24.95.
GURPS Psionics
(Reprint)
Spies and police who can read your thoughts. New Age mysticism merged with
ultra-technology. Psychic vampires. Mass minds of terrible power. Telepathic
computers. Gifted children killed or kidnapped by a power-mad government.
This is the world of GURPS Psionics.
Psionics is the ultimate sourcebook for psi powers. It includes a complete world background - and the GM can use it as a resource for campaigns in any background.
128 pages.
Stock #6040,
ISBN 1-55634-196-2.
$22.95.
GURPS Traveller: Starships
From launches to liners, from patrol boats to pirates, a starfaring
campaign requires ships. GURPS Traveller: Starships details
the "View from the Deck," the experience of being aboard a starship.
Passengers and pursers, bridge crews and black gang, owners and deckhands .
. . they're all here. Charters and salvage operations are included, spiced
up with encounters, adventure seeds and a cast of NPC owners, masters and
crew.
Much of the book is devoted to ship designs and design philosophy, with a selection of starships and smaller vessels -- the traders, lab ships, yachts and prospectors likely to be crewed by PCs. Each ship has its own detailed writeup and deck plans. Another section expands on the starship design rules in GURPS Traveller (including components for TL7-9, TL11, and TL13 designs). It collects all previously published components in one volume and offers new accessories and design options, as well as descriptions of the technology.
Ships detailed in GURPS Traveller: Starships include:
144 pages.
Stock #6613,
ISBN 1-55634-475-9.
$24.95.
Transhuman Space: High Frontier
"One giant leap for mankind . . ."
In the year 2100, Earth-Lunar space is the most densely populated area of the solar system outside Earth itself. Come visit:
144 pages.
Stock #6704,
ISBN 1-55634-709-X.
$24.95.
GURPS Planet of Adventure
Explore a world where aliens war on the surface, a mysterious race rules from the shadows, and humans brought from Earth millennia ago serve their alien masters. Welcome to Tschai.
GURPS Planet of Adventure is the roleplaying adaptation of Jack Vance's classic planetary romance. Follow in the footsteps of Adam Reith, a stranded Earth scout, as he makes his way across the planet in search of a ship to take him home. Along the way, meet the belligerent Chasch, the sleek and murderous Dirdir, the inscrutable Wanek, and the secretive Pnume -- as well as dozens of human subraces and bizarre monsters. Take your campaign through Pera, where humans make a stand against their alien masters; the Carabas, where great wealth lies literally at your feet, and the trick is surviving to enjoy it; and Sivishe, where barbaric customs and futuristic shipyards are everyday parts of life.
Are you ready for an experience like no other? GURPS Planet of Adventure delivers!
128 pages.
Stock #6716,
ISBN 1-55634-472-4.
$22.95.
GURPS WWII: Weird War II
You think you know about World War II -- but here are the stories they kept out of the history books. Nazi mystic archmages, SS super"human" troops, secret Antarctic bases, "foo fighters" -- and that's just what the Axis was up to! Now your characters can fight the occult Nazi menace as well. Race for the Ark of the Covenant, steal Nazi tomes and fight the Werewolves in this unique supplement to the GURPS WWII system.
144 pages.
Stock #8019,
ISBN 1-55634-661-1.
$24.95.
Spec Ops Miniatures
Knock, knock . . .
The six figures in this set, sculpted by Richard Kerr, represent the real-life entry teams of today's modern army and police forces. You get Command, Shooter, Entry, Breach, Rearguard, and a kneeling Sniper, a figure that's almost impossible to find!
These 28mm figures are perfect for modern-day gaming, from gritty urban warfare to anti-terrorism actions, espionage, and even superheroes. When these boys knock, you better answer the door . . .
Six 28mm miniatures in a video box.
Stock #13-0000,
ISBN 1-55634-710-3.
$24.95.
Chimney Smoke: The Art of Larry MacDougall
Long popular with White Wolf and FASA fans, Larry MacDougall's artwork has a deep, passionate, almost primitive feel. Chimney Smoke: The Art of Larry MacDougall collects some of Larry's finest work . . . including many selections, never before published, from his private sketchbooks! Fans of whimsical art owe it to themselves to add this fanciful tome to their library.
Hardcover, 64 full-color pages.
Stock #60-1010,
ISBN 1-55634-630-1.
$26.95.