Talisman Studios – the home of Gamescapes, Shaintar and Suzerain.

In this interview Martin Klimes and Aaron Acevedo tell us how the studio came together, give us a peek into their gaming habits and share some of the design ideas that they’ve used to create the Talisman Studios products.

There is a lot of creative energy coming out of Talisman Studios. With products ranging from Suzerain to Shaintar: Immortal Legends you can find amazing art, great writing and a lot of talent. It looks like these games are going to even more interesting from here on out: Talisman Studios Adds Industry Veterans Talisman Studios […]

I was one of the lucky few, thanks to the sharp attention of the wife and her amazing persuasive abilities, to pick up an early release volume of The Savage World of Solomon Kane by Pinnacle Entertainment. Like a great many other game designers I am afflicted with a great love of the pulps and related ‘trash’ forms of fiction such as B-movies, exploitation cinema and so forth. Alas for us game designers the appeal that these genres have for us don’t often translate into good sales or successful games, with the notable exceptions of Mongoose’s Conan and, perhaps, Spirit of the Century (which has plenty of industry kudos but I’m not so certain on their sales).

Bloodlines is a handy pdf for d20 Modern from the folks at 12 to Midnight. This adventure is written with 5th Level characters in mind, but is not a requirement. With a little prep, a GM can do just about anything with this material. Bloodlines uses the OGL Horror magic system from Mongoose Publishing, but has everything you need included. Coming in both “Printer-Friendly” and “Full versions as a set. The Full version is packed with handouts, bookmarks and is one of the best looking pdfs I’ve seen on the market.

The combination of Horror and Westerns does take a little getting used to. The Foreword to this volume, written by Joe Lansdale, explains the appeal of both genres and how they might work when mixed together. Deadlands explores these themes, mixing elements from TV shows, movies and comic books in a bizarre, but workable, adventure. The fiction in this volume explores the living and the dead, good and evil, drama and humor.