We’ve got a new monster to add to the Halloween Horror collection today from creator Joe Rixman.

Joe brings us a new twist on an existing creature, turning a dangerous predator into a fearsome monster…

Tear-Drop Rattler

Created by Joe Rixman

Tear-Drop Rattler: This creature is native to desert valleys where the sun’s heat is greatest. It appears as a rust colored, ten-foot long rattlesnake, with a diamond-shaped head, a cobra-like cloak that expands when it feels threatened and blood-red tear drop patterns that give this creature its name lining the entire length of the body. Its primary weapon is a pair of foot-long, venom-tipped, needle-sharp fangs that unfurl when it opens its jaws, but it has a secondary weapon that is much more dangerous to prey that might not want to get too close. Nature has given the tear-dropped rattler a wonderful way to adapt to those more cautious animals. Glands beneath its forked-tongue allow the beast to spit venom up to a distance of fifty feet. The venom acts as a paralytic acid and is absorbed through a victim’s skin where it collects in the muscles and forces them to lock up. The snake will attempt to get to its paralyzed victim before death occurs, however, as it usually prefers to eat its prey whole and, hopefully, still alive.

Talisman Studios has completed its project to bring all its roleplay books to print. All the main books of the Origins Award nominated Suzerain and Shaintar game lines are available as both PDF and print books via the website at www.talisman-studios.com with immediate effect.

“This is a great day for fans of Suzerain and Shaintar” said Martin Klimeš, Publisher at Talisman Studios, “Giving them the choice of print or PDF. Our next project is to go live with the stunning art prints we showcased at GenCon, including pre-printed map posters from our ever-popular map tiles sets. Watch this space.”

Today’s monster was sent in by freelance author Todd Cash (Ghosts of Albion, Exquisite Replicas).

Is Jimmy Sparks a malevolent ghost or something far, far worse?

Jimmy Sparks

Created by Todd Cash

Mason Reynolds propped up his digital camera and then double-checked its Internet connection to ensure his feed would be live. He roughly ran the sleeve of his fatigue jacket, a novelty item that knew no military service, across his sweaty forehead. With that gesture, he focused on the camera’s lens.

“My name is Mason Reynolds and I investigate hauntings, ghost stories, and urban legends out of Missoula, Washington. I’m currently investigating a case I believe centers around the forty-year-old murder of an African-American Blues musician named Jimmy Sparks. My two friends and I traveled down South to investigate two strange murders and over the course of this last week delved a great deal into a possible connection between the two men.”

October is a special month for The Dresden Files. Why you ask? Because Halloween happens to be the birthday of one Harry Blackstone Copperfield Dresden…i.e. everyone’s favorite magic-wielding, hard-boiled detective, and star of the much beloved Dresden Files series of novels by author Jim Butcher.

In celebration of that, and in recognition of the warm reception to the first Dabel Brothers *Dresden Files* original comic book series written by Butcher, Welcome to the Jungle, we are excited to declare October as Dresden Files month at Dabel Brothers Publishing! We have quite a few Dresden
things happening this month…

Paris at the end of the 19th century: a city of lights, music, excitement at the approach of the new century and aflame with the creative spirit of the Bohemian revolution. But for months the city has been locked in a state of fear as the brutal murderer known as the Raptor stalks the steep streets and narrow alleyways of the north-end hill neighborhood of Montmartre. Many refuse to leave their homes by night. Others frequent establishments such as “The Green Fairy,” an absinthe bar and popular meeting place for artists, actors, whores, criminals, and the well-to-do seeking to taste the thrills and pleasures of Montmartre. This evening, the patrons of “The Green Fairy” will be joined by a visitor beyond their darkest nightmares.

The Green Fairy is available at the Flames Rising RPGNow Shop for $6.99.

When I first heard about the Battlestar Galactica boardgame, earlier this year, I was interested in the game but not really dying to buy a copy. Sure, the Shadows Over Camelot-like approach to the game sounded fun, and the theme interested me, but I wasn’t so excited that I kept a close eye on rumors and new about the game. And when presented with an opportunity to buy the game at GenCon, I let is slip through my fingers (unlike The Black Goat of the Woods, which I immediately snagged). It wasn’t until I started hearing about the gameplay that I directed serious attention at the game.

Review by Philip Reed

The Monster Madness begins here at Flames Rising with a new creature from author E. E. Knight (Fall with Honor, Dragon Strike). Knight brings us a nasty little creature called Cob’s Ladder, quite the scary parasite.

Stay tuned for more monsters from your favorite creators everyday this month here at Flames Rising.

Cob’s Ladder

Created by E.E. Knight

This dreadful little body-snatcher starts out as a spore form resembling a dandelion tuft with jellyfish-like tendrils that look as though they’re made out of spider-web. It will float on a breeze until it lands on vegetation, then wait for something to pass beneath or eat it vegetation. It seeks out brain tissue and nerve ganglia for food and camouflage. Early in its development, it relies on gravity or wind to move and find a host. If the spore doesn’t find a host in two to three days, depending on moisture, it shrivels and dies.

Get your jack o’ lanterns ready and turn out your lights, Flames Rising has reached into the haunted minds of some very creative folk with monstrous results. We’re going to scare you, thrill you and chill you with a daily monster dose that ranges from E.E. Knight‘s Cob’s Ladder to Todd Cash’s Jimmy Sparks. Some […]

Homecoming is an original four issue miniseries by Patricia Briggs and Francis Tsai

Dabel Brothers Publishing is excited to premiere the first eleven pages of the much-anticipated Dabel Brothers project, Mercy Thompson: Homecoming. Artist Francis Tsai beautifully illustrates all the covers and interior pages to this series, with Briggs herself penning the original story. Place your orders today before the first issue ships this November.

Francis Tsai (Marvel Adventures, Impaler) is one of the few artists who can fully paint his interior pages and his style is a perfect fit for the project. As these first eleven pgs show, he’s done an amazing job and will continue to impress as the series goes on. Author and Mercy creator Patricia Briggs has been absolutely thrilled with the results so far.

Derek Gunn’s Vampire Apocalypse trilogy – second book released.

The second book in the Vampire Apocalypse trilogy from Irish author Derek Gunn, has been released by KHP Industries under their Black Death Books imprint. Descent into Chaos follows A World Torn Asunder, Derek’s debut novel (September 2006) which was widely praised on both sides of the Atlantic and is in development as a movie.

News from Nox Arcana: The German rapper, Anis Mohamed Ferchichi, who calls himself “Bushido” or “Sonny Black” is looking at international copyright infringement charges. Bushido is a rapper who is popular with neo-Nazis, having lyrical content that is banned in his own country. Bushido has also been arrested for disorderly conduct, and says he would […]

As the ancient Seal of Solomon has slowly faded over millennia, more denizens of the Invisible World slip once again into the world of man. Only the gifted ranks of Witch Hunters, amazing mortals that stand against the forces of the Adversary, are equipped to face terrors beyond mortal ken.

This invaluable guide to the fearsome monsters of the Invisible World provides everything needed by the Grand Masters to challenge cadres of intrepid Witch Hunters with the foulest minions of the Adversary.

The Grand Tome of Adversaries is available at the Flames Rising RPGNow Shop.

YOU DIDN’T SEE THIS ONE COMING! Hide in closets! Throw smoke bombs! Hurl shuriken-like foam objects at your friends! Make not a sound as you ninja about like… well… like a NINJA! Hot on the heels of our piratical sale comes “Quiet Like a Ninja Day,” with 20% off all your favorite ninja stuff (and […]

Zombie Cinema is a storytelling game of the Living Dead. It allows players to explore a world that they create based on the zombie classic Night of the Living Dead. The goal of the game is to tell a compelling story of your characters facing zombies. A compelling story will always win over a character making it out alive at the end of your movie.

The rules of the game are rather simple. There are 3 types of character cards that you choose from, but there is no limit to how many you can choose, as long as your character is compelling. You then flesh out a background for your character, and can go as in depth as you want it to be. Your characters start at their starting point, and the zombie marker starts at its place. A red marker is used to show who the director of the scene is. The director sets the scene and is the decision maker for any non-character conflicts that may arise. The director lets the characters set as much of their scene as they want.

Review by Crystal Mazur

Home Is Where The Heart Is

Eddy Webb, AP developer, and RPGNow have made a new PDF offering available today. This week we are focusing on Mage supplements centered around the places of power, after all – Home is where the Heart is. These materials normally retail for $33.98, but in PDF form for the next seven days, you can acquire them for $15.99.

The Home is Where the Heart Is bundle is available at the Flames Rising RPGNow Shop.

At the end of the world a handful of survivors banded together in a museum-turned-compound surrounded by the living dead. The community established rituals and rites of passage, customs to keep themselves sane, to help them integrate into their new existence. In a battle against a kingdom of savage prisoners, the survivors lost loved ones, they lost innocence, but still they coped and grew. They even found a strange peace with the undead.

Twelve years later the community has reclaimed more of the city and has settled into a fairly secure life in their compound. Zoey is a girl coming of age in this undead world, learning new roles–new sacrifices. But even bigger surprises lay in wait, for some of the walking dead are beginning to remember who they are, who they’ve lost, and, even worse, what they’ve done.

There are two other Shadowrealm Previews (Riven & Cael and Abelar Corrinthal) here on Flames Rising. We also have an interview with Paul S. Kemp that tells us a bit about the novel. Shadowrealm is book three of the Twilight War and is available for pre-order at Amazon.com.

Today we have another snippet from Paul Kemp for our readers to explore. This snippet Cale, Riven, Mags, and…someone else…

The name of the Wind is the first book in the Kingkiller Chronicles. The story revolves around an owner of a backwoods tavern named Kote. He is a man previously known as Kvothe, and for the most part he just wants to be left alone. Yet, Kvothe is a man of mystery and legend. A man that if some people knew where he was, would be killed. A man that has does extraordinary things. A man tracks him down and for the first time, Kvothe is willing to have his story told.

This is one of the better fantasy novels I have ever read and definitely the best I have read in quite some time. I can barely believe this is his first novel, since some people can go years and never write something this well. From the moment it started I was hooked into the story and the he told it. I am normally not a huge fan of stories told in first person, but this was masterfully done.

Review by Stacey Chancellor

Seemingly overnight the world transforms into a barren wasteland ravaged by plague and overrun by hordes of flesh-eating zombies. A small band of desperate men and women stand their ground in a fortified compound in what had been Queens, New York. They’ve named their sanctuary Eden.

Harris–the unusual honest man in this dead world–races against time to solve a murder while maintaining his own humanity. Because the danger posed by the dead and diseased mass clawing at Eden’s walls pales in comparison to the deceit and treachery Harris faces within.

Eden by Tony Monchinski is available at Amazon.com.

Alara was whole once. But that was millennia ago. Where once there was a plane, now there are five: the Shards. The plane of Alara was a world rich with mana, a world in balance… until the Sundering. In a cataclysm of unimaginable proportions, Alara was rent asunder into five separate worlds, each a refraction of the others.

We can’t tell you everything about the Shards of Alara set yet, but keep watching magicthegathering.com for more information as we release it, including three weeks of official card previews beginning Monday, September 8. In the meantime, keep checking the Visual Spoiler to see all of the Shards of Alara cards officially previewed anywhere.