There has over the last couple of years been a resurgence of various “Old School” games to hit the market. We have companies dedicated to giving us the feel of the first time we have gamed with newer rulesets, companies that give us updates on old rulesets, and companies again that publish supplements for older games. The fact that these companies can co-exist in this market must mean there is at least enough financial interest to give this resurgence some credibility.

Review by Timothy Brannan

Suffer Not the Witch To Live

With words of power and forbidden wisdom, they unlock the doors of reality. But when those doors are unlocked, anything is free to slip through. Too often, these sorcerers call up what they cannot put down. Against the devastation of unleashed horrors and unchained magic, one must be vigilant.

A Character Book for Hunter: The Vigil

Witch Finders is available in print at Amazon.com and in eBook format at the Flames Rising RPGNow Shop.

Jaleigh Johnson’s second Forgotten Realms novel, Mistshore, opens with a letter from a grandfather to his infant granddaughter. “Someday,” the letter concludes, “you will go forth into the world and find your own adventure waiting. I want this for you, above all things, granddaughter. The world is spread out before you, and life is meant to be lived. Be well, and be happy…”

Mistshore tells the story of the granddaughter, Icelin, as she flees into Mistshore, a district of Waterdeep built upon the wreckage of sunken ships, warped planks, and violent crime. Mistshore is, as Ed Greenwood, the creator of the Forgotten Realms, says in his introduction to the book, “a corner of Waterdeep much whispered about by the fearful, who believe all manner of sinister half-sea-monsters, half-humans lurk in its sagging riggings and rotten cabins. Creatures with webbed fingers, gills hidden under high-collared robes, and sly, stealthy tentacles waiting to throttle or snatch.”

Interview by Jeremy Jones

Crafty Games LLC has reached an agreement with popular fantasy writer and author of the final volume of the Wheel of Time, Brandon Sanderson, to publish a roleplaying game based on his epic fantasy trilogy Mistborn. The game will arrive in 2009 and let players create their own exciting adventures in the Final Empire.

“Mistborn is an enchanting and innovative dark-fantasy series that’s tailor-made for gaming,” said Crafty Games partner Alex Flagg. “We’re thrilled at the opportunity to work with Brandon to create a product capturing the unique magic, action, and intrigue that’s made Mistborn such a hit with fantasy fans across the world.”

This is a supplement to the role playing game created by Evil Hat called Don’t Rest Your Head. It is a game that has more than a few horror aspects to it. If you are unfamiliar with the game you can read a review of it -here-.

WARNING! This is an adult game and this supplement is a VERY adult book. If you decide to check it out someday you should know that. Adult language and adult themes are prevalent in this book. If you are easily offended or squeamish, it may not be the right one for you. Just felt like I should warn you.

We now return to your regularly scheduled broadcast.

Review by Stacey Chancellor

MDC owners of the RPG Host Network are upgrading their entire network (200k monthly users) and consolidating many of its resources and features into one mega RPG social site called:

RPG Life (www.rpglife.com)

Now, today is your lucky day as we have more FREE PDFs for you all!

Epic Words (www.epicwords.com) is a new, FREE RPG Campaign Tools website. It was built by players, for players, and is currently looking for new users, and their feedback, while in its Beta release. The site is compatible with all RPG’s.

Epic Words is a great way to keep players involved in-between games with blogs, wikis, and a host of other tools. It provides a place to take care of campaign housekeeping so your game time is really your game time. Some GM’s are even incenting their players with experience point rewards for participation, and enjoying the creativity of the resulting posts.

Permuted Press proudly presents a brand new serial novel by James Melzer: The Zombie Chronicles. The Zombie Chronicles will be serialized free in both text and podcast (audio book) formats.

Read or listen to episode one now on the official site: www.thezombiechronicles.net

Freelance writer Monica Valentinelli likes to play around with ideas, forms, rules, words… and just about anything else that can be thrown into a creative stew pot. She blends a love of history and philosophy with a love of dark fantasy and horror to create startling and exciting fiction and games.

“Monica possesses a genuine passion for creating and a sharply self-critical eye, both of which are essential for someone to grow as a writer,” said James Lowder, author and editor, whose most recent anthology, Worlds of Their Own was released last month. “She has lots of good ideas and the discipline to develop them in interesting, genre-expanding ways.”

I’ll start this with a confession. Witchblade Volume 5 is the first example of the Witchblade universe that I’ve had the pleasure of reading. I wasn’t completely ignorant of the series. I wrote a profile of artist Mike Choi a few years ago which required some research, but Witchblade is one title that’s never screamed, “Read me!” Why does this matter? Because this review will split everyone into one of three camps – Those of you who, like me, have never read the series, Witchblade fans curious to read a rookie’s perspective, or Witchblade fans who angrily utter the word, “Duh!” over the next few minutes more times than is ever appropriate. The value you get out of this review will depend squarely on where you decide to camp.

Review by Jason Thorson

The Dead Matter: Cemetery Gates, the long-awaited follow-up to The 13th Hour, arrives just in time for the Halloween season. Inspired by the themes of vampirism, living dead, and occult relics explored in the upcoming The Dead Matter movie, the new CD was created in the style of Midnight Syndicate’s other releases, taking listeners on a musical journey of their own creation.

“The themes from The Dead Matter movie were a perfect match,” says Gavin Goszka. “They allowed us to expand on familiar territory as well as explore new musical ground and add to our instrumental palette.”

New Mage Bundle available at RPGNow!

After the Fall of Atlantis, mages wandered as exiles in the wilderness, forced to eke a living without the protection of their grand city. With new eyes, they explored the world they had so long ignored, unhindered by Atlantean creed. They discovered that magic was not born in Atlantis — it had always existed, hidden in the land itself.

These materials normally retail for $53.98, but in PDF form for the next seven days, you can acquire both Mage supplements for $20.99 (USD).

This is the final book of the Genesis of Shannara trilogy. Since I am a huge fan of the Shannara books, I will try to be as unbiased as possible. Although I doubt I can. Things have come to a head in the world.

Angel Perez, a Knight of the Word, lies wounded and recovering from her battle with a ferocious demon. Kirisin and Simralin (elf brother and sister) make the difficult decision to leave Angel to heal and take the Elfstones and Loden stone back to the elvish city of Arborlon.

Also a demon army has approached the elvish city and is on the verge of attacking it. Findo Gas, the highest ranking demon leads this army and he is determined to crush them.
Review by Stacey Chancellor

Bod is an unusual boy who inhabits an unusual place-he’s the only living resident of a graveyard. Raised from infancy by the ghosts, werewolves, and other cemetery denizens, Bod has learned the antiquated customs of his guardians’ time as well as their timely ghostly teachings-like the ability to Fade.

Can a boy raised by ghosts face the wonders and terrors of the worlds of both the living and the dead? And then there are things like ghouls that aren’t really one thing or the other.

Pre-Order The Graveyard Book at Amazon.com.

The newest CD from Spirit Creek, A Culture of Unaccountability, is the much anticipated CD release from them for several years. After a too long sabbatical from the band, they appeared out of nowhere on the scene again in Milwaukee, bringing with them their original lead guitar, Drew Ingle, and new bassist, Mike Jakubiak, as well as a brand new sound. Taking inspiration from Pearl Jam, Lacuna Coil, and The Cure, A Culture of Unaccountability has breathed new life into the Spirit Creek lineup.

After the introduction, The Black Co. bursts into the speakers, driving home the concept behind the album title.

Review by Crystal Mazur

Elaine Cunningham writes character-driven fantasy stories that are rich with humor, complexity, and action. She could very well be speaking of her own fiction when she describes “a satisfying story” as “both surprising and logical.”

Since 1991, Cunningham has written extensively in the Forgotten Realms, co-authored a novel with Ed Greenwood, ventured into the Star Wars Expanded Universe, and produced a steady flow of short fiction.

Interview by Jeremy Jones

Book two of the series starts where the first one left off.

Hawk and his girlfriend Tessa had been pushed off the building for crimes against the compound. Only to disappear in a bright light.

Knight of the Word, Logan Tom has found they gypsy morph (Hawk), but he cannot get to him before he is pushed toward what could be his death. He is left with the Ghosts (the small street gang that Hawk led) and they begin a search to find the young man.

Review by Stacey Chancellor

Show your true black-and-red colors by picking something up from our Flames Rising Cafepress shop. We’ve updated our merchandise to reflect the new Flames Rising logo; check out our new women’s and men’s t-shirts, environmentally-friendly canvas bags for only $13.99 and more! Remember, Halloween is rapidly approaching — what better way to say “I love […]

Wizards of the Coast, Inc. a subsidiary of Hasbro, Inc. and a leader in entertaining the lifestyle gamer today announced the unveiling of Magic: The Gathering – Duels of the Planeswalkers, a video game extension of the successful Magic: The Gathering franchise for Xbox LIVE(r) Arcade. Scheduled for official release in Spring 2009, this year’s Penny Arcade Expo (PAX) attendees can demo the game at Wizards of the Coast’s booth (No. 1123) during the show taking place at the Washington State Convention and Trade Center in Seattle August 29-31.

“We’re excited to bring the Magic brand to new platforms and give gamers new ways to experience this great property,” said Jared Gustafson, Brand Director for Magic: The Gathering at Wizards of the Coast. “The game successfully brings Magic’s inherent strategic game play to the Xbox LIVE community.

To be honest, I’m not really a comic book fan. There are only a couple select comics I’ve ever gotten into. This comic was pitched to me by David as Gilmore Girls meets Call of Cthulhu. He was selling 3 of the comics, issues 1,2 and 5, and an accompanying activity and coloring book for $15. His hook was great, and he grabbed me with the coloring and activity book.

Overall the art is really fitting for the story. It is more aimed for a more mature audience, so the artwork is on the revealing side. It is a cross between the classic American superhero art style and hints of anime thrown in. It is dark and trashy, and utterly fitting.

Review by Crystal Mazur