Flames Rising » Contest

Extreme Zombies Give-A-Way!

Flames — Tue, 26 Mar 2013 14:49:00 +0000

It’s too late! The living dead have already taken over the world. Your brains have been devoured. Nothing is left but spasms of ravenous need—an obscene hunger for even more zombie fiction.

Forget the metaphors and the mildly scary. You want shock, you want grue, you want disturbing, gut-wrenching, skull-crunching zombie stories that take you over the edge and go splat. You want the bloody best of the ultimate undead. You have no choice. . . you. . . must. . . have. . . Extreme Zombies!

Extreme Zombies is edited by Paula Guran and published by Prime Books. To celebrate this release, FlamesRising.com is hosting a give-a-way for two signed copies in the U.S. from one of the authors, Monica Valentinelli!

Comment below! Say something witty about zombies for your chance to win a physical copy of this collection! This contest will end in a week, so hurry up and zombify us already!

“Charlie’s Hole” by Jesse Bullington
“At First Only Darkness” by Nancy A. Collins
“The Blood Kiss” by Dennis Etchison
“We Will Rebuild” by Cody Goodfellow
“Dead Giveaway” by Brian Hodge
“Zombies for Jesus” by Nina Kiriki Hoffman
“An Unfortunate Incident at the Slaughterhouse” by Harper Hull
“Captive Heart” by Brian Keene
“Going Down” by Nancy Kilpatrick
“On the Far Side of the Cadillac Desert With Dead Folks” by Joe R. Lansdale
“Susan” by Robin D. Laws
“Makak” by Edward Lee
“The Traumatized Generation” by Murray Leeder
“Meathouse Man” by George R.R. Martin
“Abed” by Elizabeth Massie
“For the Good of All” by Yvonne Navarro
“Home” by David Moody
“Jerry’s Kids Meet Wormboy” by David J. Schow
“Aftertaste” by John Shirley
“Viva Las Vegas” by Thomas Roche
“In Beauty, Like the Night” by Norman Partridge
“Romero’s Children” by David A. Riley
“Tomorrow’s Precious Lambs” by Monica Valentinelli
“Provider” by Tim Waggoner
“Chuy and the Fish” by David Wellington

Contest Details

Flames Rising will be giving away two physical copies of Extreme Zombies. Please read the fine print below to find out how you can win!

1. One Entry Per Person – We ask that you post one entry per person, so that your fellow readers can have an equal chance of winning a prize.
2. Entries That Will/Won’t Be Considered – By keeping these simple guidelines in mind, you will increase your chance of winning.

What Will Be Considered – Say something witty about zombies! Only entries posted by midnight CST on Tuesday, April 2nd, 2013 will be eligible to win. This contest is for U.S.-based residents ONLY.
What Won’t Be Considered – Entries that are full of harsh or foul language, overly graphic/sexual depictions or discriminatory/slang comments will not be posted and may be deleted.

Good luck!

Furiously Writing Your Novel? Celebrate NaNoWriMo with a Contest!

Flames — Sat, 03 Nov 2012 15:26:28 +0000

This month, aspiring (and existing) novelists everywhere begin their 50,000 word jaunt for National Novel Writing Month, otherwise known as NaNoWriMo. 50,000 words, or the equivalent of half a standard novel, translates to writing roughly 1,666 words every day. For writers with a full-time or even a part-time job, furiously scribbling five to seven pages of text can seem rather daunting — especially if you’re not sure how (or what) to write. Not sure if the snowflake method is best? Or if your dialogue techniques are up to par?

Flames Rising and DriveThruFiction can help!

In honor of novelists everywhere, we’re offering a contest to receive $10 gift certificates to DriveThruFiction.com!

Some of the excellent writing advice and how-to guides for authors at DriveThruFiction include:

On Writing Horror
2012 Horror Writer’s Market
Bullies, Bastards, and Bitches: How To Write The Bad Guys Of Fiction
The Guide to Writing Fantasy and Science Fiction
The Art of War for Writers
20 Master Plots and How to Build Them
Writing the Paranormal Novel
Eighth Day Genesis: A Worldbuilding Codex
Worldbuilding For Writers, Gamers and Other Creators
Formatting and Selling eBooks

To enter is extremely simple: all you have to do is give your fellow Flames Rising readers your best snippet of writing advice in the comments below by the end of November. There’s three chances to win, so if you need help with your novel? Consider entering our contest!

Contest Details

Flames Rising will be giving away three $10 gift certificates from DriveThruFiction.com. Please read the fine print below to find out how you can win!

What Will Be Considered – Give us your favorite piece of writing advice in the comments below. Only entries posted by midnight CST on Thursday, November 15th 2012 will be eligible to win.
What Won’t Be Considered – Entries that are full of harsh or foul language, overly graphic/sexual depictions or discriminatory/slang comments will not be posted.

Good luck!

Enter to Win a Spooky Contest from Tor Books

Flames — Mon, 01 Oct 2012 18:27:21 +0000

It’s no secret we, at FR Press, love a good ghost story. Not only did we publish Haunted: 11 Tales of Ghostly Horror last year, but we also enjoying playing games like Wraith: the Oblivion or watching films like The Others, Sixth Sense, and The Haunting in Connecticut.

If you like ghosts as much as we do, then you’ll want to float over to Tor Books today. From now through midnight on Halloween, you can enter to win not one, but ten books, ranging from anthologies to novels. Stories include: Wide Open by Deborah Coates, Haunted Legends edited by Ellen Datlow and Nick Mamatas, The Secret of Crickley Hall by James Herbert, Eyes to See by Joseph Nassise, and many more.

The contest is only open to U.S. residents and the winner will receive print editions of ten books. Entrants will be automatically subscribed to their newsletter; the e-mail covers featured books and points out blog posts found on Tor.com.

To enter this spooky contest, click here for the Ghost Collection Sweepstakes. Let us know if you win!

Plague Town Pandemic Tour: Stop 8

Flames — Thu, 19 Apr 2012 16:45:07 +0000

A zombie virus of guest articles, Q&As and excerpts from new urban fantasy novel, Plague Town, will be infecting websites, blogs and social media accounts across the globe to offer readers the chance to win a signed copy of Plague Town and have a character named after them in the next novel in the series!

Flames Rising is the 8th stop on the ‘Plague Town Pandemic Tour’.

Collect the 8th word hidden in CAPS at the end of this article along with a sequence of eight others on blogs and websites outlined in the link below; tweet the sentence you’ve discovered to @TitanBooks and @zhadi1 with #PlagueTown before April 23rd.

Happy Hunting.

***

CHAPTER FOUR

“Mmmm, baby, you smell so good.”

I giggled as Matt nuzzled against me, sniffing up and down my neck and shoulders. It tickled, and he sounded like a Saint Bernard with asthma. Disgusting and cute at the same time.

I thought I heard a rustling sound, and jumped. Pushing Matt away, I ignored his pout, pulled my sweater back down and jeans back up, scanning for any passerby’s wandering the woods behind campus after dark. Not too likely, really, especially when the weather was chilly and overcast. Plus the grove of redwoods where we’d spread our blanket was pretty much private.

So I turned and shot him my sweetest smile, hoping to salve his bruised male ego.

“Pass the champagne, ‘kay?”

Matt still pouted a little, but filled a little glass flute with some Italian bubbly.

“It’s Prosecco, not champagne, Ash,” he said with a light air of condescension. “It’s not champagne—”

“—Unless it comes from Champagne,” I finished for him. “I know, I know.” I didn’t have the heart to tell him that my ex had exposed me to top quality wine back in the day. I didn’t complain about Matt’s enthusiasm, though. I got to taste some prime stuff without suffering through the cheap white zins of the world.

Yeah, all in all, I’d rather be seduced with sparkling wine than Pabst Blue Ribbon.

Right on cue, Matt decided he’d sulked long enough and shot me his winning grin.

“Enjoying the picnic, Ash?”

I nodded. How could I not? I mean, how many college guys took the time to pack full-on picnics? We’re not talking a bucket of KFC and a six-pack. Nope, roast chicken, bread, brie, and bubbly. Bread knife, cutting board, and cloth napkins. He’d even brought a small camp lantern, but had turned it down in order to be less conspicuous. My ex had never gone to this much trouble.

I wonder what Gabriel serves his dates, I mused somewhat guiltily. Soy wine? I took another sip and used my free hand to hide a delicate little belch that bubbled out of nowhere.

Bubbly burp, I thought, and I started giggling.

Whoa, tipsy much? I probably should have had more of the food before diving straight into the alcohol.

Matt didn’t mind.

“What’s so funny?” he asked, not really expecting an answer. Good thing, ‘cause I couldn’t stop giggling now that I’d started.

He started nuzzling my neck again, making low growling noises that vibrated pleasantly against the sensitive skin, both tickling me and turning me on. One thing led to another and we were soon happily back where we’d left off.

Then he added something new to the repertoire. It was a weird, low, moaning sound—but not the usual “Oh, baby” and “You’re turning me on.” No, this noise was strange enough to break through my lust-and-alcohol haze.

I stopped in mid-kiss.

“What was that?”

“What was what?” The sound had stopped, and it was pretty obvious Matt that hadn’t heard a thing. He continued stroking my hips, insinuating his hand between my thighs, stroking me through the denim. I squirmed with pleasure even as my ears strained to pick up anything out of the ordinary.

Nothing except the cracking of ancient redwood branches. The forest gave off an almost-sour loamy smell tonight, causing me to wrinkle my nose a bit.

Giving a mental shrug, I turned my attention back to my boy toy, specifically the bulge beneath his jeans. I teased him, rubbing one hand along the outline of his erection while nibbling gently on his neck in a way I knew he liked. His free hand caressed my breasts, first one, and then the other, thumb softly flicking against the nipples, a move guaranteed to drive me wild.

We were both moaning with desire at this point, all panting with eagerness to take things to the next level… when suddenly his hand squeezed my left breast way too hard.

“Ow! That hurt!” I smacked him on the shoulder, hard.

“Huh?” Matt lifted his mouth from my earlobe. “What the hell did you do that for?”

But he squeezed again, nails digging in this time. A rattling moan sounded close to my ear. The ear not next to Matt’s mouth.

Suddenly the forest smelled rank.

“What the fuck?” I said. “Get off me!” I shoved Matt and rolled away from the moaning. The hand on my breast stayed there, accompanied by a nasty tearing noise, like the sound of a drumstick being ripped off a whole chicken.

Matt grabbed the lantern and flicked turned it up. I looked down and gasped in grossed-out disbelief. The glow revealed a rotted hand clutching my 34-C, ragged nails digging into the flesh. Even worse, said hand was attached to an equally gross arm….

And nothing else.

“Omigod, that’s disgusting!” I suppressed the urge to hurl the contents of my stomach.

“Jeez, babe, what is your damage?” Matt sat up, sounding mortally offended.

I didn’t have time to deal with his petulance. I was too busy dislodging what looked like a cheap Halloween prop from my boob. It didn’t take much effort; the thing seemed to have lost all of its oomph.

As Matt lifted the lantern, I found out why.

The top half of what was once a young woman squirmed on the mossy ground next to our blanket. Her torso trailed off into strings of intestines and other bits of unidentifiable organs. Chunks of flesh were missing from her face and neck.

Two spooky, milky-white eyes stared at me from above a bloody hole, chewed gristle sticking out where her nose used to be. Her mouth opened and closed hungrily as she used her remaining arm to pull herself onto the blanket.

I choked back a definitely hysterical laugh as I wondered if this counted as a lesbian encounter. Then my stomach twisted in serious knots, and I threw up.

“Holy shit!” Matt got a good look at our visitor as she pulled herself slowly, relentlessly towards us. “Holy shit! What the fuck is that?”

I shook my head, holding back my own “holy shits” through a sheer force of willpower.

“I don’t know,” I said, trying to stay calm. “But it’s ugly and it felt me up and I think it’s trying to eat us.” I fumbled in the picnic basket and grabbed the bread knife.

“What are you doing, Ash?” Matt’s voice rose an octave as I turned back to what had to be the grossest picnic crasher ever.

I didn’t say anything, though. I just brought the knife down as hard as I could into one of Miss Thang’s ears, shoving with all of my strength to push the serrated blade deep into whatever was left of her brain… and hoped that the movies didn’t lie.

Kill the brain, kill the zombie.

And it worked. She… it… stopped wriggling and chomping, like a really gross mechanical doll with the batteries removed.

Matt stared at me as though he didn’t know who I was.

“What did you just do?”

I shrugged, my body still thrumming with adrenaline. I felt oddly detached from reality, possibly because reality had just received a new and totally fucked-up definition.

“I think I just killed a zombie.” Yeah, that definitely didn’t sound like something I would say.

“There’s no such thing as zombies!” Matt’s voice was unnaturally high, as if he’d regressed.

“Well, what the hell would you call this?” I added emphasis with another shove of the bread knife. Matt winced. He opened his mouth to answer, but suddenly the night was filled with a moaning chorus.

This could not be good.

****

CODE WORD 8: UP

For full details of the tour and terms and conditions visit:

TitanBooks.com/plaguetown

Plague Town by Dana Fredsti is published by Titan Books and is available now at Amazon.com.

Heroes of Neverwinter Interview and Giveaway!

Flames — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 18:08:47 +0000

FlamesRising.com is pleased to present an interview with the developers of Atari’s Heroes of Neverwinter Facebook game and a giveaway! We would like to thank Peter Banks, the Director of Product Marketing for Atari, for sponsoring several Explorer Packs for fans of this game set in the Forgotten Realms and for providing us with this great interview!

What is Dungeons and Dragons: Heroes of Neverwinter about?

Dungeons & Dragons: Heroes of Neverwinter brings the Dungeons & Dragons experience to Facebook. It’s deep, authentic turn-based RPG gaming that brings the feel and rules of fourth edition D&D to the Facebook platform. The game is set in the Sword Coast region of the Forgotten Realms, and ties in the latest lore and intrigues of the region as introduced by Wizards in their recent Forgotten Realms campaign setting. It’s about 100 years after Neverwinter Nights and lots of cataclysmic effects have occurred in the North to change the layout and the players in that region. New characters have sprung up and the city of Neverwinter has been torn apart. Now monsters walk within the city. We’re using all the same characters, locations, and factions that WotC has introduced this year for Neverwinter.

For fans who are keeping up with the fiction we made sure that we were in line with everything WotC was doing so that we could be additive. For newcomers they will get a taste and feel for the new Neverwinter but we were equally careful not overwhelm with lore that wouldn’t have a bearing on the game they were playing. The great part of this is that it’s a whole new storyline straight from Wizards of the Coast so you don’t need to know the history of Neverwinter to dive in.

Why did you release a Beta version of the game on Facebook?

As with many Facebook games, MMO’s and even connected console games, Heroes of Neverwinter is a rapidly changing and evolving game that needs feedback and input from our users to deliver the best possible gaming experience. By releasing a “Beta” version of the game we are able to experiment and test game functionality to best fit with our core user. We want users to understand that the game will be changing and evolving through the Beta period. That said, we do feel confident that the iteration of the game we released was above and beyond the quality and fun factor of any competitive game on the platform.

What design challenges did you face translating tabletop gameplay to a shorter, online play style?

Fourth edition is great. If anything it makes our lives easier. This version of D&D is closer to a video game than any previous version so bringing it to Facebook was much easier than previous rulesets. That said, one of the big challenges was figuring the best way to work monetization into the game structure. We really wanted to make a game that anyone could play and we felt strongly that that meant making it free to play rather than charging for it up front. As a result we have to put in ways that the player can chip in to support the ongoing development of the title. It’s different from how D&D players are used to working so that’s been a challenge.

The way I see it, this is the first time that D&D players as a whole have been given a voice in the ongoing development of a D&D game. Think of it like an indie title that asks you to donate if you liked the game. So, we try to provide positive value added options for the player to spend money in support of the title (like buying things) and we use that money to continue development. It’s a great cycle that feels like a conversation. I think the number one challenge we’ve had is getting players to understand that and really use all the power they have to make the game they want to play.

There are a lot of fun items, monsters, and places to explore in this game. Which ones are your favorites and why?

An adventurer in Heroes of Neverwinter will experience a huge variety of locations, enemies, challenges and great items. One pretty cool chunk of content were the Halloween-specific quests and items we introduced. We added some very cool-looking masks that changed the look of user avatars and added in neat mechanical functions as well. There were some creepy quests that users had to face to get to the best rewards, across a variety of levels.

Where can we go to find updates, news, and add comments for the developers?

The best place for the latest info is our Heroes of Neverwinter Facebook page. That’s where we post the latest updates, assets and in-game notification. For users looking for more in-depth conversation, we also have a pretty core community having more nitty-gritty conversations on the official forums these are at http://forums.atari.com/forumdisplay.php?f=689.

Giveaway! Comment Below for a free Explorer Pack!

Want to win a *free* Explorer Bundle to buff up your character in Heroes of Neverwinter Nights on Facebook? We have several codes to giveaway, so we’ll make it easy for you.

Tell us what your favorite Dungeons & Dragons villain or monster is by midnight CST on Friday, December 22nd. Make sure you leave a valid e-mail in the appropriate comment field so we can contact you! Winners will be chosen at random. We’ll be sending out the e-mails to redeem your free code by Christmas.

Explorer Pack Item	Effect	Description
Cleansing Salve	+5 to saving throws for 1 turn.	A thick beige salve that helps to alleviate afflictions.
Glyph of Tyranny	Daze, -3 to attack rolls.	This Azhmadhi glyph radiates with malevolent power. It invokes a ranged attack that dazes the target and reduces it’s chance to hit.
Knock Scroll	Unlock one door or locked chest.	A magic scroll handy for use when you forgot to bring a thief.
Neverwinter Spider Stew	+5 resist poison	It’s best not to look too closely when eating this brownish-green slurry. Those who partake gain a temporary resistance to poison. Its effects last the entirety of the Adventure during which it is consumed.

What are you waiting for? Comment away!

Skullkickers Comic Caption Contest

Flames — Mon, 06 Jun 2011 16:45:00 +0000

FlamesRising.com is pleased to announce a fun comic caption contest for Skullkickers, an action fantasy comic drawn by Jim Zubkavich that debuted with image comics last fall. We will be giving away a signed copy of the first hardcover collected trade dubbed Skullkickers: 1000 Opas and a Dead Body with an introduction by Robin D. Laws. For those of you who follow Jim’s work, you may recall his artistic and writing style from the popular series of Exalted comics, which are available from UDON.

Skullkickers follows the action adventures of two iconic heroes. One of them is an unruly dwarf with red hair named Shorty; the other a warrior with a little more common sense named Baldy. Up until Issue Number 7 that is…

Without further adieu, contest details and rules follow below. Have fun!

Contest Details

FlamesRising.com will be giving away one hardcover edition of the Skullkickers comic. Please read the fine print below to find out how you can win!

1. One Entry Per Person – We ask that you post one entry per person, so that your fellow comic fans can have an equal chance of winning a prize.
2. Entries That Will/Won’t Be Considered – By keeping these simple guidelines in mind, you will increase your chance of winning.

What Will Be Considered – Take a peek at the comic panel below and fill out the bubbles in a comment below this article. Hint: the barbarian on the left is named Shorty; the bald warrior is named Baldy. Only entries posted by midnight CST on Friday, June 10th 2011 will be eligible to win.
What Won’t Be Considered – Entries that are full of harsh or foul language, overly graphic/sexual depictions or discriminatory/slang comments will not be posted.

3. Valid Email Address Required – When you post your comment, there’s a field to enter your email address. In order for us to notify winners, we ask that you please include a valid email address. This email address will not be posted publicly. We will not use your email address for any other reason other than to notify you if you’ve won.
4. Valid U.S. Mailing Address Required – Once we’ve contacted you, we will need a valid U.S. mailing address to send you your prize. We will pick up the cost of shipping. If you are located outside of the U.S. and still wish to enter the contest, we will make arrangements for an alternate prize that can be delivered digitally.
5. Prizes and Notification – FlamesRising.com will provide one hardcover edition of the Skullkickers Volume 1 comic to one, lucky winner. Based on the number of entries, we may award random prizes for digital comics as well. Contest winners will be notified via email within one week after the contest ends.

Good luck! Here’s your panel!

Tell Peter Straub Your Worst Nightmare to Win a Copy of A DARK MATTER

Flames — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 16:23:22 +0000

Over the past few weeks, FlamesRising.com has been pleased to present you with an interview with Peter Straub, a review of A DARK MATTER and the chance to ask Peter Straub a question about his new novel. To celebrate the release of A DARK MATTER, FlamesRising.com is teaming up with Doubleday for a terror-ific contest.

Before we get to the contest details, we’d like to share with you Peter’s answers to your questions.

FlamesRising.com Reader Questions

In a previous post, we offered readers the chance to ask Peter Straub a question. Here are his responses:

If there is one story/novel that you wish you were the one to have written it, what would it be?

If I could be the author of one book I have not written… Gatsby? Absalom, Absalom? No, let’s be even more grandiose and say, MADAME BOVARY. I can’t believe I just said that.

Did you have to do a lot of research for this book?

No, no research at all, really. I remembered the Madison of my college years pretty well, and invented what I had to invent.

Do you ever get so engrossed in the plot and the characters that you find them “following” you into the real world?

This happens very rarely. I once saw two dear characters from KOKO in a Village jazz club, Michael Poole and Maggie Lah, and I just sat there staring at them, in love all over again.

FlamesRising.com would like to extend it’s deepest thanks to Peter Straub for taking the time to answer our questions. To keep up-to-date with news about Peter’s work, we encourage you to visit the official Peter Straub Facebook fan page or his website located at www.peterstraub.net.

Time for a Nightmarishly Good Contest!

Are you afraid of a scary clown? Do bats frighten you? To celebrate the release of Peter Straub’s new book, A DARK MATTER, we’re teaming up with Doubleday for a fun contest! Simply, post your worst nightmare in the comments below for your chance to win a free copy of A DARK MATTER mailed right to your door!

Contest runs through midnight, February 15th so be sure to enter today! We have several books we can give away, so don’t be afraid to tell a friend, too!

Contest Details

1. One Entry Per Person – We ask that you post one entry per person, so that your fellow horror fans can have an equal chance of winning a copy of A DARK MATTER.
2. Entries That Will/Won’t Be Considered – By keeping these simple guidelines in mind, you will increase your chance of winning.

What Will Be Considered – Entries of at least one sentence in length that are geared toward a public audience have the best chance of winning. Only entries posted by midnight, February 15th will be eligible to win.

What Won’t Be Considered – Entries that are full of harsh or foul language, overly graphic/sexual depictions or discriminatory/slang comments will not be posted.

Contest winners will be notified via email within one week after the contest ends. Good luck!

The Great 12 to Midnight Buried Tales Treasure Contest!

Flames — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 15:00:35 +0000

12 to Midnight is having a treasure hunt contest to celebrate the new book, Buried Tales of Pinebox, Texas. This book contains 12 tales of Modern Horror by Shane Hensley, Jason Blair, Derek Gunn, Jess Hartley, Charles Rice, Monica Valentinelli, David Wellington, Filamena Young, JD Wiker and others. You can purchase Buried Tales (dead tree version) from many sites, or you can get the pdf or the kindle edition.

Contest information is below:

Rules: Scour the websites:

www.12toMidnight.com
www.buriedtales.12tomidnight.com
www.TheRavensReport.com

Scour the Buried Tales Stories to dig up the answers to earn the treasure.

Answer the questions found at www.12toMidnight.com and look for weekly clues posted on our website to help you with your search.

Send your answers to Admin@12toMidnight.com by Sept. 1st, 2009.

Up to three entries will be chosen at random to win the prize package of Treasure. The winning entries must have the correct answers to the Treasure Hunt to be placed in the hat for the random drawing. In other words, if only one entry has all the correct answers, that entry will win by default, so get cracking! One of three will be named the Grand Prize Winner and also receive signed copies of Last Rites of the Black Guard and Skinwalker.

The Treasure:
Every pdf title written or owned by 12 to Midnight for both the Savage Worlds and OGL burned to cd and mailed to your home. AND…an autographed dead tree copy of Fear Effects, Last Rites, and the upcoming Skinwalker. That’s over $400.00 in value.

So get started on the challenge and win it all!

12 to Midnight
www.12toMidnight.com

Send a Friend to Gen Con Indy 2009!

Matt-M-McElroy — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 19:09:16 +0000

[UPDATE: The Contest is closed and winners have been contacted. Thank You to our sponsors and everyone who submitted entries. Stay tuned for more contests later this year. See you at GenCon!]

In its 42nd year, Gen Con: Indy will be a convention to remember. Perfect for fans of anime, science fiction, gaming and a whole lot more, be sure to check out the GenCon: Indy 2009 Events to see why this is one of the country’s best conventions!

Flames Rising has been attending Gen Con for several years and we’ve always had a great time. Last year, Flames Rising won a 2008 ENnie Award, too! Now we want to share the fun with our friends.

This year, Flames Rising is pleased to announce we’re hosting a Gen Con Indy 2009 contest to celebrate this year’s event. We have a very cool prize pack that includes a free, 4-Day pass to the convention and some gaming gear from some awesome publishers.

Since Gen Con is centered on friendship and fun, we want you to recommend a winner for our contest!

That’s right, this time it is all about sending your friend to the show. Simply tell us who you think needs to win a ticket to Gen Con Indy 2009 and why. We have a full 4-Day badge coupon for Gen Con Indy 2009 and think someone out there deserves it, it is up to you to tell who that person is. Please read below for details on the prize pack and how to enter. Good luck!

GenCon: Indy 2009 Prize Pack

We have graciously been offered items (games, music, books, etc.) from publishers and authors around the industry. Prizes include RPGs, eBooks, Posters, T-Shirts and more! Winners will be chosen from the best entries by Flames Rising staff and contacted via e-mail.

The Grand Prize winner will get a 4-Day Badge Coupon for Gen Con Indy and a bundle of other prizes from our generous sponsors including:

Shadows Over Filmland from Pelgrane Press
Darklore Manor CD from Nox Arcana
Exquisite Replicas from Abstract Nova
Fear Effects from 12 to Midnight
Grants Pass Anthology from Jennifer Brozek
Blood Groove from Alex Bledsoe
…and more!

Other winners will receive free books, music and other goodies. These secondary prizes are made possible by the generous sponsors listed at the end of this post. These winners will also be contacted via e-mail at the end of the contest.

Note: Neither Flames Rising nor the sponsors of this giveaway will provide transportation or hotel. We are only offering the 4-Day Gen Con Indy 2009 badge coupon and a selection of books, music and other prizes. The winner of the coupon is responsible for their own transportation and lodging during the convention.

Guidelines

Send us your recommendation via our Flames Rising contact form. Let us know who you are and who you are nominating for the prize. We’d like to know why they should win the Gen Con Indy badge coupon. We recommend no more than 500 words per entry, but that is just a guideline.

Depending upon the number of entries we receive, we may post the top five entries in a follow-up post. If we do that, we will not post your email address publicly nor will we include your last name.

Deadline

The deadline for this contest is midnight, Wednesday, June 24th.

Rules

We need to dust out a few cobwebs with these disclaimers:

(1) Must be 18 years of age or older.

(2) Limit one entry per person, not per email address. If we find out you used multiple email addresses, we will ban you from this contest, and every future contest we plan on having.

(3) Please provide a valid email address as part of your contact info. This information will be considered “private” and will only be used for contest purposes, unless you specify otherwise. Remember, since you’re recommending someone else for the contest, make sure that they have a valid email address or a way we can mail their prize to them.

(4) If you wish to recommend a winner anonymously (meaning you don’t want the person to know you recommended them), please submit your entry via the Flames Rising contact form and note that in your entry. We will not reveal to the winner that you had recommended them.

(5) All decisions of the judges at Flames Rising are final. We reserve the right to reject any entry, including those that fail to follow the contest guidelines.

(6) Entries must be submitted to us via the Flames Rising contact form. Any other entry that submitted to us by any other means will be disregarded.

(7) The winner will be announced no later than June 30th, 2009. Prizes will be postmarked within one week after the announcement of the winners, pending clear communication with the winners and a valid US mailing address.

(8) Flames Rising will be responsible for all US shipping costs related to the prize winnings.

(9) Flames Rising reserves the right to revise and/or update these rules and/or the overall Contest at any time and for any reason. (Changes usually happen because of new sponsors are added or legal counsel suggestion).

About Gen Con

Gen Con Indy is the original, longest running, best attended, gaming convention in the world. For over 40 years, Gen Con Indy has been setting the trend and breaking records. Last year, more than 28,000 unique attendees experienced Gen Con Indy. The biggest complaint we hear is that there is simply too much to do, see, and experience. Get lost in a phantasm of art exhibits. Stare at jaw-dropping costumes, or better yet, wear one of your own. Meet the movers and the shakers in the gaming industry. Check out the newest games and get a sneak peek at the latest editions. Visit www.gencon.com for more information.

Halloween Secret Surprise [Updated]

Flames — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 13:39:45 +0000

Flames Rising got a sneak peak at an upcoming Halloween surprise release from one of our small press publisher fiends, but we’re not going to tell you what the game is…yet. We have uncovered a few teaser images from artist extraordinaire Jeff Preston hinting at this new, spooky RPG product just in time to scare your friends.

In the true spirit of trick-or-treating, this small press publisher has a copy of this brand new horror RPG sitting on their desk for one of you, our loyal fans and followers of Flames Rising to celebrate the product’s release.

What is this scary, Halloween surprise? Why is it shrouded in mystery? What system does it use? Which small press publisher is crazy enough to give away a copy?

To earn a copy of this horrific RPG product, this one small press publisher has teamed up with Flames Rising to ask you to play a little game. Simply, see if you can guess what this new horror RPG product is all about by piecing together clues in this post with the images provided.

Don’t hide under your mother’s skirt! Here are a few questions to help you avoid instant death:

How do these images fit together?
Is there a pattern to this gory madness?
What kind of a setting would this RPG take place in?
Could it be some kind of monster or new type of horror?
Is that skull glowing?

Flames Rising will work with the small press publisher to randomly select one winner from the comments listed in this post. So be sure to leave a valid e-mail address when you post your guess. Extra points will be given to the lucky horror RPG fan who can guess the system and the publisher’s name.

The winner will be announced on Halloween which is this Friday, October 31st, just in time to reveal the new horror RPG product.

This contest all in good fun, so toss out a guess and tell four of your friends. Take a shot in the dark and tell us what you think the Halloween Secret Surprise is based on these images and a few clues, hidden carefully in this post.

So forget what you know about those nasty tricks and leave your rotten eggs behind. Post your guess below for a chance to win this brand new horror RPG product!

Update! – Its seems she just couldn’t wait for Halloween, The Death-Mother has emerged from the Shroud to spread a little more evil into the world…

The Contest has ended and the winner has been sent a free copy of the Horrors of the Shroud: The Death-Mother from the folks at One Bad Egg.

Favorite Horror Game Contest Wrap-up

Matt-M-McElroy — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 14:59:13 +0000

The Flames Rising Favorite Horror Game Contest wrapped up on the 15th and our special guest judge, Jason Blair (author of Little Fears and The Long Count), helped us sort through all of the great entries.

Don’t Rest Your Head, Chill and Kult were the top mentioned games. Great Cthulhu made a variety of appearances ranging from Arkham Horror to Cthulhu Live 3rd Edition. other games mentioned include Vampire: the Masquerade, Silent Hill, All Flesh Must Be Eaten and a|state.

Our amazing sponsors offered so many cool prizes that everyone who entered the contest was rewarded with at least one cool item. The judges awarded a few entries with extra prizes for creativity and content. E-mails have been sent and prizes shipped to those lucky folks. When you get the chance check out the Contest Prizes Spotlight to see what was offered to the lucky contestants.

Favorite Horror Game Contest Ends Today!

Matt-M-McElroy — Sat, 15 Mar 2008 15:37:56 +0000

Today is your last chance to get your entry posted in the Flames Rising Favorite Horror Game Contest!

In one paragraph (250 words) or less, tell us what your favorite horror game is and “why.” By “game” we mean role-playing game, card game, computer/video game, or board game. It may also be alternative platforms like a “Flash”-based game or MMORPG.

Prizes include a variety of products from Abstract Nova, Apophis Consortium, Bob Goat Press, Cubicle 7 Entertainment, Eden Studios, Evil Hat Productions, Monolith Graphics, Neoplastic Press, Rogue Games, Snarling Badger Games, Talisman Studios and 12 to Midnight.

Visit the Contest Page for more details!

Contest Prizes Spotlight!

Flames — Wed, 27 Feb 2008 13:28:42 +0000

Have you entered the Flames Rising Favorite Horror Game Contest?

Well, if you’ve been following the recent Flash Fire Mini-Reviews, you’ve just seen a small glimpse of what we have to give away. So far, in Contest Edition and Contest Edition 2 we’ve highlighted new games, like Thousand Suns and supplements like All Tomorrow’s Zombies. With over 12 publishers sponsoring our contest, our prize pool is getting so huge we just had to blog about more of the great prizes that are perfect for any horror fan.

Here are just a few of the great prizes available in the Flames Rising Favorite Horror Game Contest.

Aletheia from Abstract Nova

The Seven Dogs Society investigates the weirdness at reality’s fringe. They believe a single truth underpins the unexplained and paranormal. By understanding such phenomena, they hope to discover the true nature of reality.

In Aletheia, each player portrays a member of the Seven Dogs Society. They investigate the anomalous phenomena and impossible occurrences that defy logic and commonsense. This includes conducting eyewitness interviews, on-site analysis and observation, and forming hypotheses – all in an attempt to answer the big questions at the heart of the game.

Visit the Abstract Nova website for more information.

Wastelands from Apophis Consortium

This supplement takes the characters outside of the Zone’s protection and into the relentless ravages that is the Wasteland. If surviving the confines of the Zone seemed perilous, try to test fate in the unforgiving Wastelands, where Daemons roam wild and kultists are freed from the ever-vigilant eyes of the Law. Each town struggles to survive political rifts, famine, scavenging raids, and of course the Daemonic armies of the nearby Terraformations. The Wasteland is an everchanging landscape catered specifically for the toughest of inhabitants. So whether they are from the Zone on a corporate expedition or they are exiles trying to survive, life is fast and definitely dangerous in the Wasteland.

Visit the Apophis Consortium website for more information.

Conspiracy of Shadows: Betrayal from Bob Goat Press

There is a war going on beneath the streets of Borva. Brave men fight for their people and their home against an all powerful occupying force, donning masks as symbols of their defiance. But what happens when there is a traitor in their midsts? How will these men of honor, these freedom fighters, react?

Conspiracy of Shadows: Betrayal is a tense drama set in Polian, the world of the Conspiracy of Shadows role-playing game. It is a story of men of honor, loyalty, and the forces at work to destroy them.

Visit the Bob Goat Press website for more information.

Hunter Sheets from Cubicle 7 Entertainment

Hunter Sheets. A quick opportunity for wealth and fame. Or an even quicker death…

This first collection of Sheets gives info on 20 subversives that SLA Industries wants terminated with extreme prejudice. From DarkNight Contract Killer Brad ‘Bar’ Sinister to rogue Vevaphon Seraph, these are targets that will test operatives’ skills (and LAD accounts) to their limits.

Visit the Cubicle 7 Entertainment website for more information.

Angel RPG from Eden Studios

Bright eyes, beautiful people, and broken promises fill the fabulous parties and elegant conference rooms. Loneliness, despair, and hunger haunt the city streets and tenement apartments. In Los Angeles, the facade makes the heartache all the more bitter.

Worse still, the shadows hide more than human misery. Vampires stalk alleys and boardrooms; demons linger over murders and plan conquest; evil lawyers cover tracks, set up schemes, and bring expensive brainpower to the diabolical. Over it all, the end of existence looms.

How can one person stand up for the helpless while warding off the apocalypse?

Visit the Eden Studios website for more information.

Don’t Rest Your Head from Evil Hat Productions

Stay Awake. Don’t Rest Your Head.

Don’t Rest Your Head is a sleek, dangerous little game, where your players are all insomniac protagonists with superpowers, fighting — and using — exhaustion and madness to stay alive, and awake for just one more night, in a reality gone way wrong called the Mad City. It features its own system, and is contained entirely within one book.

Visit the Evil Hat Productions website for more information.

Posters, Prints and more by Joseph Vargo from Monolith Graphics

Vampires who dwell deep within forbidden crypts, lost souls who wander mist-shrouded cemeteries, and gargoyles of living stone… Enter the world of this modern master of the macabre.

The powerful and captivating artwork of Joseph Vargo opens a gateway to the darkside and dares the viewer to venture within. While his work is dominated by an immense and memorable array of ominous and often nightmarish entities, his timeless images are also permeated with tremendous beauty, grace and symmetry. His art has achieved a resonance and popularity partially because of this ability to shed light on the inner demons that lurk in the shadows of the mind, while also not forgetting the sometimes majestic grandeur that resides there as well.

Visit the Monolith Graphics website for more information.

Dread: The First Book of Pandemonium from Neoplastic Press

Dread: The First Book of Pandemonium is a tabletop role-playing game of supernatural action. Originally released in 2002, the game has been completely revised and updated. Dread features over 80 nerve-wracking spells, including Hemophage, Bile, Caliban, and Wormwood, and over 40 demons, such as the pyrokinetic Gatterag, the seductive Laradina, and the brutal Vouzire.

Visit the Neoplastic Press website for more information.

Colonial Gothic from Rogue Games

It is the dawn of the American Revolution. Forces are at work that will shake the very fabric of the fragile Colonies. While England deploys troops to the Colonies to put an end to the rebellion, darker forces are at work that are using these events to unleash their pent up rage. Plots are afoot, events are taking place behind the scenes, and agents with their own agenda are lurking in the shadows.

Everything you need to run adventures and create heroes during the American Revolution is found in this book. Colonial Gothic is a supernatural historical horror roleplaying game set during the dawn of the American Revolution.

Visit the Rogue Games website for more information.

Zombie Rally from Snarling Badger Games

Unbeknownst to most living humans, zombies enjoy the competitive atmosphere of racing. Frequently shown in movies as masses of undead seeking norishment, these zombies actually depict a group participating in a no-holds-barred zombie marathon. At other times, it’s just another example of humans intruding in a private sporting event at a local graveyard – just a couple of zombies trying to improve themselves by reaching the ghoul-line. After all, what self-respecting zombie doesn’t dream of becoming a ghoul?

Zombie Rally depicts zombies at their competitive best.

Visit the Snarling Badger Games website for more information.

Suzerain from Talisman Studios

Suzerain (n): 1) an ancient word meaning ‘master’ or ‘overlord’. 2) Talisman Studios’ new role-playing system and universe.
Whether you want to play a Viking berserker, a cyberpunk, or Zeus himself… these rules let you do it all with ease. Our book contains 48 pages of basic rules for quick start play and advanced rules for gamers who want something a little meatier. So gather your friends and set off for uncharted space or the deepest unknown. All you need to pack is your copy of Suzerain and your imagination.

Visit the Talisman Studios website for more information.

Last Rites from 12 to Midnight

Last Rites of the Black Guard is a modern-day ghost-hunting adventure using the Savage Worlds game system.

Your characters find themselves the only ones willing to help a single mother deal with the terrifying hauntings tormenting her family. But before you can put them to an end, you’ll have to investigate their origins by spending an evening in the house yourselves. If you dare.

Last Rites is a 48 page, thoroughly-bookmarked PDF complete with color cover and illustrations, maps, player handouts, and helpful sidebars throughout.

Visit the 12 to Midnight website for more information.

Enter Now!

Be sure to get your entry posted on the Flames Rising Favorite Horror Game Contest page today!

Flash Fire Mini-Reviews! (Contest Edition 2)

Flames — Fri, 22 Feb 2008 13:47:36 +0000

Welcome to the second set of “Contest Edition” Mini-Reviews.

These are just some of the products offered by the sponsors of the Flames Rising Favorite Horror Game Contest. This week we sci-fi adventure mixed with medieval horror, zombies, pirates and more!

If you missed out on the first “Contest Edition” from last week, be sure to check out that mix of great games from other sponsors.

Conspiracy of Shadows Revised

Why does every question you ask lead to more questions?

Are you prepared to lose everything that you hold dear?

How far are you willing to go to learn the truth?

Conspiracy of Shadows is a game of dark truths, hidden agendas, and a plan larger than the imagination. Just as many hands work towards both hiding and revealing the truth, gameplay encourages the whole group to create the action… No one knows for certain the full truth… until they play.

Imagine X-Files or Supernatural in the Dark Ages. Those are just some of the cool ideas you can explore in Conspiracy of Shadows. The fictional setting of Polian has a lot of Medieval European elements, but there is also plenty of room to customize it for your game. I’ve added new villages and a few monsters of my own design in past games.

For a look at the world of Conspiracy of Shadows be sure to check out Betrayal, a dark comic book set in Polian featuring art by Keith Senkowski. We have some Conspiracy of Shadows fiction here on Flames Rising by Monica Valentinelli and Mike Holmes that is worth checking out as well. Visit the Fiction Page to read up on Sacrifice and Danel’s Blood.

Conspiracy of Shadows is available at Lulu.com

Thousand Suns

Strap on your blaster pistol, grab your space suit, and get ready to journey into the future as imagined by the greatest writers of the Golden Age of Science Fiction.

Thousand Suns is a science fiction roleplaying game that includes all the rules needed to play. In addition, it describes the Thousand Suns setting, detailing its worlds, alien races, and conflicts.

The setting provides not only lots of detail but plenty of options as well, allowing Game Masters to tailor it to suit their needs. Everything from world building to starship combat to alien species creation is here, so that nothing stands in way of creating the ultimate science fiction adventure.

Thousand Suns is latest release from Rogue Games and uses a modified version of the “12 Degrees” system found in Colonial Gothic. This is the game that sci-fi fans have been waiting for. There are a ton of cool ideas, story hooks and a lot of options for great sci-fi adventure. The system is easy to learn, even for folks not used to sci-fi games. Character creation is pretty quick, a big plus for me (I can’t stand games that take forever just to build the characters).

If you have been to the Rogue Games website recently, it is worth stopping by to check out the Thousand Suns Design Notes written by James Maliszewski.

Thousand Suns is available at RPGNow.com

Zombie Rally

Unbeknownst to most living humans, zombies enjoy the competitive atmosphere of racing.

Frequently shown in movies as masses of undead seeking nourishment, these zombies actually depict a group participating in a no-holds-barred zombie marathon. At other times, it’s just another example of humans intruding in the private sporting event at a local graveyard – just a couple of zombies trying to improve themselves by reaching the ghoul-line. After all, what self-respecting zombie doesn’t dream of becoming a ghoul?

Zombie Rally depicts zombies at their competitive best.

I first had the chance to play Zombie Rally at a fun little convention called OshCon two years ago. This card game is easy to learn and funny as hell. Snarling Badger Games runs some pretty fun demos too, so if you see these guys at GenCon or another convention ask them to run a game or two for you. Of course, nothing beats the Live-Action version of Zombie Rally.

Zombie Rally is available at RPGNow.com

Suzerain

Suzerain (n): 1) an ancient word meaning ‘master’ or ‘overlord’. 2) Talisman Studios’ new role-playing system and universe.

Whether you want to play a Viking berserker, a cyberpunk, or Zeus himself… these rules let you do it all with ease. Our book contains 48 pages of basic rules for quick start play and advanced rules for gamers who want something a little meatier. So gather your friends and set off for uncharted space or the deepest unknown. All you need to pack is your copy of Suzerain and your imagination.

Our recent interview with Talisman Studios gives some insight into the creation and game-play of Suzerain. I think Martin says it best, “We mixed pirates and monsters because we’d been playing that world (Untamed Empires is its name) for a while and wanted to share it. It’s a way for players to see that Suzerain’s genre-mixing works. That, and pirates are cool. And sea monsters are cool.” Which just about sums up how cool Suzerain is as a game.

Suzerain is available at RPGNow.com

The Beast Within: Savaged edition

When an strange auto accident leads to a murder investigation, it’s up to the heroes to uncover the true culprit. What is the connection between a college student and the stranger’s van in which he was found? Was there someone else on that lonely stretch of highway? As the heroes follow the clues, they’d better watch their step. They are not the only hunters in Pinebox.

The Beast Within is a modern horror adventure designed for four novice heroes and using the Savage Worlds game system. This adventure features equal parts investigation and deadly action, and is an excellent way to kick off your campaign in our free setting–Pinebox, Texas.

I have a review of 12 to Midnight‘s Bloodlines from a couple of years ago. These are some great horror adventures. Most of the them are released in both d20 and Savage Worlds formats. I much prefer Savage Worlds over d20 and The Beast Within did not let me down. Detailed NPCs, plenty of character hooks and lots of action. There are some quality maps and player handouts too. The Beast Within is a great adventure that can be wrapped up in a night, or used as a starting point for a longer game.

The Beast Within is available at RPGNow.com

Dousing the fire…

The end of another round of Mini-Reviews. Don’t forget to stop by the Horror Game Contest for a chance to win some of these great prizes (and several others).

Next week we’ve got more games, some new fiction and maybe a movie or two in the line-up.

Flash Fire Mini-Reviews! (Contest Edition)

Matt-M-McElroy — Fri, 15 Feb 2008 15:22:50 +0000

Welcome to another collection of Mini-Reviews here on Flames Rising!

This week we are going to focus on some of the cool products published by some of the sponsors of the “Favorite Horror Game Contest” and the creative games they have released. Next week will be a few more of sponsors’ products. Including amazing art and funny cards.

So sit back and enjoy this collection of zombies, cannibals, strange creatures and nightmare cities…

Noumenon

Noumenon is a role-playing game of mystery and abstraction. Players assume the roles of the Sarcophagi, strange insect-like creatures trapped within the Silhouette Rouge. During their adventures, players will encounter bizarre entities and explore strange locations. The Silhouette Rouge, Noumenon’s setting, is detailed enough to spark the imagination yet open enough to allow customization. In Noumenon, player cooperation is key. Noumenon uses a domino-based task resolution system that enables players to build upon each other’s successes.

Transcendence or damnation? The Silhouette Rouge beckons.

Noumenon is a bit of a strange game from Abstract Nova. Admittedly, I didn’t like it much at first. It was just too weird, with all of the different setting elements, odd design and dominoes?

Then, I read the book again and played a short demo. Noumenon is a game about a mystery, solving the mystery is only part of the fun, exploring the Silhouette Rouge is an adventure on its own. There is a free preview -here- that allows you to take a peek into the game. Full of cool and strange art from Jennifer Rodgers, Eric Lofgren and others…Noumenon is one of the oddest, coolest and best games I’ve seen in a long time.

Noumenon is available at Key20.com

Shadow Nations

The world has ended.

Humanity continues in its death throes. Pockets of civilization fight to regain control, taking land and power away from Daemons and nightmares.

It is the year 2299. Europe.

God’s chosen soldiers fight to loosen Hell’s grip, battling kultist minions and daemonic half-breeds. Both ancient and the naive struggle in the battle to control the Earth plane. The Roman Army and the Vatican have joined forces to regain command over the European nations. Unfortunately, corruption spreads deeps, and the other nations pledge allegiance only to themselves.

I’ve been playing Obsidian for years. A great blend of Sci-Fi and Horror gaming with potential for characters to get mixed up in just about any kind of plot you can imagine. I explored the Wastelands, wrote a LARP version of the main book and helped playtest a few products over the years.

Shadow Nations takes Obsidian and jumps to a new setting. Fans of the game finally get to explore Europe and see what happened after the portals opened. Some of my favorite elements of the previous game make the cut, others have been replaced with new character options and plenty of twisted details. The Mystics in particular have been hanged in new and interesting ways. There is a ton of potential for long-term campaigns (assuming your characters live that long). This new book from Apophis Consortium is full of stunning artwork and is a great read, the story elements alone are worth the investment.

Shadow Nations is available at RPGNow.com

Cannibal Sector 1

A Tide of Darkness

A Realm without Light

The Failure of SLA Industries

Outside the walls of Mort city is an environment that nothing should be able to survive in and yet it does, from the cannibals and carrien, to the manchines and the scavs, some of the greatest threats to SLA industries lie just outside its walls.

The latest book for SLA industries covers all the things that operatives are likely to find within CS1, the most dangerous of all the sectors.

A setting book for SLA Industries from Cubicle 7 Entertainment, CS1 is full of new material to keep things interesting. I picked this book up at GenCon last year, but honestly had not been able to sit down and read it for a while. That was a mistake. CS1 is a creepy sourcebook with all kinds of messed up locations, cannibal clans, great advice on running a horror game and other nasties to keep your game going.

Cannibal Sector 1 is available at RPGNow.com

All Tomorrow’s Zombies

“My God, these things are dead! They’re already dead!”

Noise erupted directly into Jamie’s brain from every channel of her transmitter-a cacophony of blaster fire squeals, frantic cries of terror, and inhuman groans. She screamed one name after the other into her comlink, to no avail. Suddenly, just behind, rose a wet smack. It was right on top of her . . .

Welcome to flesh-eating sci-fi. It doesn’t get more intense than this!

All Tomorrow’s Zombies is a supplement for the All Flesh Must Be Eaten roleplaying game, adding the undead to various styles of science fiction, and featuring the most dangerous zombies ever!

The long-awaited Sci-Fi book for AFMBE from Eden Studios, ATZ is full of new and updated material for the Unisystem. Information on Cybernetics, Psionics, Starships and plenty of advice on building and running your own Sci-fi settings. ATZ also offers up some ready-to-play Deadworlds with new Archetypes and lots of zombies. I combined some of the material presented in ATZ with the Spacefarers & Prairie Folk section of ESP #1 for game based on a certain short-lived show by Joss Whedon.

All Tomorrow’s Zombies is available at RPGNow.com

Don’t Rest Your Head

You can’t sleep. It started like that for all of us, back when we were garden variety insomniacs. Maybe you had nightmares (God knows we all do now), or maybe you just had problems that wouldn’t let you sleep. Hell, maybe you were just over-caffienated. But then something clicked.

That was when you took a long walk down the streets of the Mad City, stopped being a Sleeper, and started being Awake. But that click you heard wasn’t from the secret world snapping into place. It was the sound of the Nightmares flicking off the safety and pointing a gun at your head.

They can smell you. The Paper Boys are closing in, and you’d better pray you don’t become a headline. You’re chum in the water, my friend, and it’s time you got ready for it… before the clock chimes thirteen again. Now that you’re one of us, there’s just one simple rule left that must dominate your life.

Stay Awake. Don’t Rest Your Head.

A game about insomnia…something I happen to know a little about.

Don’t Rest Your Head from Evil Hat Productions has quickly become one of my all-time favorite horror games. The Mad City is a great setting with plenty of Nightmares and locations to explore (my favorite being the Bizarre Bazaar). I always think of Neil Gaiman’s Neverwhere when exploring Don’t Rest Your Head because of the strange locations, odd personalities and almost-but-not-quite reality feel of the setting. (and Neverwhere is listed as a source of inspiration).

Don’t Rest Your Head is available at RPGNow.com

Dousing the fire…

This Contest Edition of the Flash Fire Mini-Reviews has come to a close. Some of my favorite Horror & Dark Fantasy games are listed above, but I’d like to hear about yours. So drop by the Favorite Horror Game Contest Thread and post a comment telling us about your favorite game.

Flames Rising Favorite Horror Game Contest!

Flames — Thu, 14 Feb 2008 18:49:59 +0000

We’re proud to announce the first Flames Rising Fan Appreciation contest. Some of you may remember that Flames Rising hasn’t always been a horror and dark fantasy webzine; it started out as a Live Action Role-Playing Site devoted to those dark and brooding vampire clans from White Wolf’s Mind’s Eye Theatre system. Through a love for gaming and other things that go bump in the night, Flames has evolved to its current incarnation, a horror webzine that shines the spotlight on up-and-coming authors, horror artists, game designers, and more!

To celebrate the new site launch, we want to show our appreciation to the fans who make Flames Rising possible by returning to our dice pool and pencils. Prizes include a variety of products from Abstract Nova, Apophis Consortium, Bob Goat Press, Cubicle 7 Entertainment, Eden Studios, Evil Hat Productions, Monolith Graphics, Neoplastic Press, Rogue Games, Snarling Badger Games, Talisman Studios and 12 to Midnight.

Tell Us About your Favorite Horror Game

In one paragraph (250 words) or less, tell us what your favorite horror game is and “why.” By “game” we mean role-playing game, card game, computer/video game, or board game. It may also be alternative platforms like a “Flash”-based game or MMORPG. Contest entries must be written in the comments for this post.

Guidelines and Format

We are looking for a bit of thought behind your post. We recommend the following:

Clearly state the name of the game, who published it, and what kind of horror it is. (i.e. horror comedy, dark fantasy, etc.)
Refrain from cursing, as this will automatically disqualify your entry.
Don’t “tell us about your character,” sell us on the merits of your favorite game.
This may be a game you worked on, but if you did please disclose that in your post.
You may provide a link to your game.

To ensure your entry is read correctly, feel free to use the following format:

Your Name & Location Lucifer Jones, USA
Game Title Horror Hounds from Hell
Publisher Scary Publishing
Type of Game RPG
Contest Entry 250 word post

Prizes

We have graciously been offered items (games, CDs, books, etc.) from publishers around the industry. Prizes will be chosen from the best entries in the comments of this post and winners will be contacted via e-mail. Prizes include RPGs, eBooks, Posters, T-Shirts and more!

Deadline

The deadline for this contest is midnight, Saturday, March 15th.

Rules

We need to dust out a few cobwebs with these disclaimers:

(1) Must be 18 years of age or older.

(2) Limit one entry per person, not per email address. If we find out you used multiple email addresses, we will ban you from this contest, and every future contest we plan on having.

(3) Please provide a valid email address as part of your comments. This information will be considered “private” and will only be used for contest purposes, unless you specify otherwise.

(4) All decisions of the judges at Flames Rising are final. We reserve the right to reject any entry, including those that fail to follow the contest guidelines.

(5) Entries must be posted in the comments of this post. Any other entry that is emailed to us directly or through the contact form will be disregarded.

(6) The winners will be announced no later than March 31st, 2007. Prizes will be postmarked within one week after the announcement of the winners, pending clear communication with the winners and a valid US mailing address.

(7) Flames Rising will be responsible for all US shipping costs related to the prize winnings.

Flames Rising » Contest

Extreme Zombies Give-A-Way!

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Contest Details

Enter to Win a Spooky Contest from Tor Books

Plague Town Pandemic Tour: Stop 8

Heroes of Neverwinter Interview and Giveaway!

What is Dungeons and Dragons: Heroes of Neverwinter about?

Why did you release a Beta version of the game on Facebook?

What design challenges did you face translating tabletop gameplay to a shorter, online play style?

There are a lot of fun items, monsters, and places to explore in this game. Which ones are your favorites and why?

Where can we go to find updates, news, and add comments for the developers?

Giveaway! Comment Below for a free Explorer Pack!

Skullkickers Comic Caption Contest

Contest Details

Tell Peter Straub Your Worst Nightmare to Win a Copy of A DARK MATTER

FlamesRising.com Reader Questions

If there is one story/novel that you wish you were the one to have written it, what would it be?

Did you have to do a lot of research for this book?

Do you ever get so engrossed in the plot and the characters that you find them “following” you into the real world?

Time for a Nightmarishly Good Contest!

The Great 12 to Midnight Buried Tales Treasure Contest!

Send a Friend to Gen Con Indy 2009!

GenCon: Indy 2009 Prize Pack

Guidelines

Deadline

Rules

Sponsors

About Gen Con

Halloween Secret Surprise [Updated]

Favorite Horror Game Contest Wrap-up

Favorite Horror Game Contest Ends Today!

Contest Prizes Spotlight!

Aletheia from Abstract Nova

Wastelands from Apophis Consortium

Conspiracy of Shadows: Betrayal from Bob Goat Press

Hunter Sheets from Cubicle 7 Entertainment

Angel RPG from Eden Studios

Don’t Rest Your Head from Evil Hat Productions

Posters, Prints and more by Joseph Vargo from Monolith Graphics

Dread: The First Book of Pandemonium from Neoplastic Press

Colonial Gothic from Rogue Games

Suzerain from Talisman Studios

Last Rites from 12 to Midnight

Enter Now!

Flash Fire Mini-Reviews! (Contest Edition 2)

Conspiracy of Shadows Revised

Thousand Suns

Zombie Rally

Suzerain

The Beast Within: Savaged edition

Dousing the fire…

Flash Fire Mini-Reviews! (Contest Edition)

Noumenon

Shadow Nations

Cannibal Sector 1

All Tomorrow’s Zombies

Don’t Rest Your Head

Dousing the fire…

Flames Rising Favorite Horror Game Contest!

Tell Us About your Favorite Horror Game

Guidelines and Format

Prizes

Deadline

Rules

Sponsors