Flames Rising is an online resource for fans of Horror and Dark Fantasy entertainment. This horror fanzine offers reviews of Games, Fiction, Movies and more ranging from Top-Selling authors to the coolest Small Press and “indie” publishers. The popular Interviews at Flames Rising include Horror authors, artists and other creators of dark entertainment. Stay tuned to the Flames Rising news feed for the latest news on upcoming products, genre conventions and industry developments.
Flames Rising continues to add new Features and expand the Fiction and Articles sections of the site with topics of interest to Horror and Dark Fantasy fans the world over.
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.
White Wolf has made a new PDF bundle offer. This week we celebrate our ENnie-award winning “Product of the Year”, Changeling: The Lost and it’s companion SAS, The Fearmaker’s Promise, which won the silver ENnie for best electronic book.
A Storytelling Game of Beautiful Madness – Taken from your home, transformed by the power of Faerie, kept as the Others’ slave or pet — but you never forgot where you came from. Now you have found your way back through the Thorns, to a home that is no longer yours. You are Lost. Find yourself.
SLA Industries is somewhat different. It posits, in the typically dour, rain-swept and pessimistic style it has achieved, a contest between the players and the monsters – er, a series of psychopathic serial killers – which may or may not be equal or fair in nature. The conceit is that the players take the role of quasi-official operatives who may accept contracts to eliminate undesirable presences on the mean city streets, returning if successful with evidence of the kill (ears, perhaps, in the Mongolian style or some other previously agreed token). There are twenty such ‘Hunter Sheets’ provided in this supplement, which runs to a length of 77 pages in a PDF item. As well as initial and concluding fluff – sorry, intensely-wrought and crafted flavour pieces (there is a reason why publishers are so reluctant to pay for fluff) – the twenty serial killers are presented one at a time, first with information for players and then the same for the GM. The first would be presented to the player group, depending on how much choice the GM is prepared to offer them, while the second is reserved for subsequent use. Some clues are presented for working the individual killers into play but, inevitably, too many of these in a row will make game play feel a little repetitive. Perhaps they may be reserved for occasional interludes when a campaign reaches a natural break or when an impromptu game breaks out for one reason or another.
This week we have new D&D 4th Edition – Adventurer’s Vault – Arms & Equipment and the Forgotten Realms Player’s Guide. Also from WotC is the Force Unleashed Campaign Guide. Other hot items include Clanbook Gangrel for Vampire and several new Goodman Games modules. The long awaited Conflict of Heroes – Awakening the Bear wargame is in from Academy Games.
“There in the narrow hall, outside the bolted door with the covered keyhole, I often heard sounds which filled me with an indefinable dread-the dread of vague wonder and brooding mystery.” -HP Lovecraft, The Music of Erich Zann
What better to set the tone of your Trail of Cthulhu game than some superbly crafted music? Talented musician James Semple has created four tracks specially for Pelgrane Press to enhance your horror roleplaying experience.
Four Shadows: Music for Trail of Cthulhu and more Gumshoe products are available at the Flames Rising RPGNow Shop.
New Music from Nox Arcana! Hearken ye pirates and black-hearted sea dogs. Nox Arcana beckons ye to set sail upon the haunted seas where ghost ships prowl the misty dead of night and ancient treasure lies buried far below the endless waves. This epic soundscape explores the mysteries of the deep with dynamic orchestrations, ghostly […]
For most people, the world appears to be a relatively safe place, filled with the usual problems associated with day to day living. There are no monsters beneath the bed, nothing waiting in the darkness…
But for others, there is the maddening truth; unimaginable horrors lurk in dark places beyond the world we know, horrific things who regard humanity as little more than cattle; insignificant creatures to be used and cast aside at their whim. Ever watchful, they seek to pry open the gates to this realm, to reclaim that which was once theirs.
As with the previous edition the tactic with Exalted in this addition appears to be the release of ‘uber’ splatbooks. Apparently a successful model as it’s one that’s spread across various of the larger companies now in selling their products. While you have some fill-in material to use to play the various high-powered factions in Exalted they only come into their own with these larger splatbooks where they’re properly filled out, given access to all their powers and secrets and become a force in their own right.
This splatbook – or ‘Manual of Exalted Power’ – (a touch unwieldy as a name in my opinion) addresses the Abyssal Exalted, after the Dragon Blooded perhaps the most persistent enemy of the Solar Exalted, their twisted ‘undead’ antithesis.
The first trailer to the The Dead Matter movie is now online at www.T3nTh1rtyOne.com, a Halloween website hosted by Hot Topic. The site features the trailer, production stills from the movie, music from Midnight Syndicate’s new The Dead Matter: Cemetery Gates CD, and a The Dead Matter Flyaway Contest sponsored by Midnight Syndicate Films and Hot Topic.
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.
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.
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.”
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.
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:
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.
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.
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.
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.
