CRYSTAL RAIN is the debut novel by author Tobias S. Buckell about John deBrun, a fisherman who had lost his memories, who becomes embroiled in a conflict to save Nanaganda against the bloodthirsty Azteca.

I have to admit that I wasn’t sure what to expect when I picked this up, because the title and the cover art totally threw me. Billed as science fiction, I was surprised to see a swashbuckling guy with a hook holding a gun on an airship. Then I started reading CRYSTAL RAIN, and I was immediately hooked. In my mind, CRYSTAL RAIN accomplishes what I like the most about the science fiction genre. CRYSTAL RAIN explores the consequences of advancements in technology on both the environment and the culture, but it does it in a way that’s integrated with the story, the world and the characters.

After a brief short story demonstrating how a diverse group of different backgrounds might come together and meet foes known to at least one of them, this work dives straight in to present some new magical traditions. These traditions incorporate the underlying philosophy that a magic user might study, different ways of thinking about magic, and suggest the sorts of ritual practices suitable for a student of that tradition.

The first one is the Egyptian tradition. Magic users raised in this tradition base their beliefs on those of Ancient Egypt, using imagery and items from that period, scribing hieroglyphs and visualising their powers as emanating from an appropriate deity of the Ancient Egyptian pantheon.

Super Genius Games brings us another piece of Lovecraftian horror with After Lovecraft: The Horror at Red Hook. Lovecraft’s creations have been responsible for a tremendous amount of gaming material. The After Lovecraft project takes an innovative approach to Lovecraft’s work. This line transforms Lovecraft’s writing into in-game materials. Since many of Lovecraft’s tales come from the First Person perspective, they make wonderful “diaries.”

You can even download the source material at supergeniusgames.com should you or your players need it (or you want to trick it out as an in-game prop). Because awesome people work at Super Genius Games you can also find a copy within the game as a handout.

Premium Ticket with Exclusive Access and Offerings!

Officials of the Chicago Comic & Entertainment Expo (C2E2) have announced that VIP tickets will go on sale November 19, 2010 at 12 noon Eastern / 11:00am Central. There will be a total of 500 VIP packages available at $200 per package. “We want to make our VIP program simple and straightforward so the fan knows exactly what they are getting when they buy this awesome ticket,” notes Lance Fensterman, who oversees C2E2 and is Vice President of the Reed Exhibitions Pop Culture Group. “We are offering one package which includes some terrific benefits and provides great value for the customer who is seeking a truly special and unique experience at our show.” C2E2 is a new pop culture convention which is being launched by the organizers of New York Comic Con (NYCC). It will take place April 16 – 18, 2010 at Chicago’s McCormick Place Convention Center.

I’ve been hearing about this Mayan predicted apocalypse flick called 2012 for months now. The barrage of commercials on TV and in the movie house and all the controversy on the news concerning the accuracy of the Mayan calendar has stirred up a lot of publicity… and another guaranteed box office hit in Director Roland Emmerich’s back pocket. But what I get from all this is something much more terrifying than Mayan predictions; it meant another trip to the movies with my natural disaster film obsessive wifey.

You see, I’m not a fan of all these natural disaster films that keep cropping up. In my book, if you’ve seen one, you’ve seen ‘em all. And yet my gal can’t get enough of ‘em! Back in our “young love” days I learned early on about her second love; natural disaster films. I once had a “stay at home” date at her apartment and during a conversation I confessed that I’d never watched Armageddon.

Super Genius Games (SGG) is proud to announce the addition of a new Genius to the team! Starting immediately Owen K.C. Stephens will be the Pathfinder RPG Development Manager for SGG. Owen’s role-playing contributions are legion, having contributed to the 3rd and 4th editions of Dungeons & Dragons, d20 Modern, The Black Company, EverQuest, Song of Ice and Fire, and Wheel of Time role-playing games, as well as the Pathfinder Chronicles Campaign setting. Owen is also author of the Advanced Gamemaster’s Guide from Green Ronin, the Guide to Absalom released by Paizo Publishing, and was co-author of Star Wars Saga Edition from Wizards of the Coast.

There are two ways to go about writing a super hero RPG. The first is to focus on the Heroes, such as with Marvel Super Heroes, DC Heroes, or Godlike. These games are interested in the setting and world view. They have rules, but aren’t really dictated by them. The second way is to study the philosophy of Super Heroics and then apply some mechanics to it. It is here that we find games like Capes, Truth and Justice, and eCollapse. Here we find ourselves asking questions like “what does it mean to be a hero” or “what kind of choices can I live with.” Both roads can lead to some excellent gaming, but I usually find myself playing the former and reading the latter.

In Unknown Armies, something called the Swap Meet exists. It was one of those mystical places where you buy the memory of the date you never had in exchange for the memory of watching your first child being born. While Goblin Markets doesn’t come across quite as harshly as the former example, the theme of the book is caveat emptor. The reason why I’m bringing up both games is to illustrate how wickedly cool and troublesome such a place can become. These places are hard to get into and so much more difficult to escape. Oh, you may leave the market easily enough. It’s just the choices made while midst the vendors that will haunt you. These places allow for once-in-a-lifetime meetings between characters, a look at what the characters really want, and enough subplots to seed an entire campaign.

Three Glories of the Most High PDFs available now!

The Exalts of the Unconquered Sun, Luna, and the Maidens of Destiny have always known that the Incarnae have had an interest in them, but what is really known about the Incarnae themselves? The “Glories of the Most High” series reveals many secrets of these higher powers, and a slew of new materials to use in your Exalted series.

A PDF-Exclusive Series Book for Exalted

The Glories of the Most High eBooks are available at the Flames Rising RPGNow Shop.

FIRST LORD’S FURY, Book Six of the Codex Alera series by Jim Butcher, is the final chapter in an epic fantasy tale about the desperate final acts of Alera against the Vord. This deadly, insect-like foe is battled by the Canim, Marat, Icemen and Alerans in order to save the continent from imminent destruction.

This particular book is very combat-intensive and is a bit more linear than other books in the series like PRINCEPS FURY or CURSOR’S FURY. Many of the subplots presented earlier in the series are not as heavily present here as they are in the other novels; subplots that are resolved come in spurts, with the exception of the deadly Lady Aquitaine who had (if you remember) been given “life” by the Vord Queen.