Read featured content or participate in contests on Flames Rising horror and dark fantasy webzine.
Posted on by Matt-M-McElroy
The folks at White Wolf may be at GTS (GAMA Trade Show) but they still have a few surprises in store for the fans this week… The first one is the new logo for Hunter: The Vigil. Check it out -here-. While the logo is certainly interesting it was the flavor text that got me […]
[...more]
Posted on by Flames
Shadowmoor is the first set in a new block, a 301-card expansion with randomly inserted premium cards. It will be available in booster packs, tournament packs, theme decks and fat packs.
The Aurora has plunged Lorwyn into eternal night, transforming the once-idyllic plane into the eerie world of Shadowmoor. The gloom has transformed its denizens, too — creatures of fable have become monsters from dark fairytales. Races and characters introduced in Lorwyn are back, but with twisted allegiances and new powers.
Flames Rising is pleased to present two new Shadowmoor cards for Magic: the Gathering fans to preview!
[...more]
Posted on by Monica Valentinelli
If you go to your bookshelf and pick up your favorite gaming book, whether it’s from Apophis Consortium or Evil Hat Productions, reread the fiction or flavor text that’s used as chapter breaks or to enhance the setting. Now, check out your other books and see how many World of Warcraft-inspired novels or Forgotten Realms stories you have.
Do you remember what you liked about them? Disliked?
[...more]
Posted on by Flames
For the past, five years Flames Rising has been fortunate to publish content from some interesting folk. From musicians to up-and-coming authors or horror fans, our reviewers have come from all walks of life. Flames Rising review Lynne Thomas is no exception. Here Lynne opens up and describes her fascinating job as the Head of Rare Books and Special Collections at Northern Illinois University in DeKalb, IL, where she focuses on Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror literature.
Come take a look at this awesome day job, and learn how you can help preserve the science fiction, fantasy and horror books you love to read.
[...more]
Posted on by Matt-M-McElroy
The Ebonacht Trilogy by James Lowder.
Preview the cover (larger image below) with Art by Martin Hanford, and Pre-Order your copy of The Screaming Tower at the Elder Signs Press website.
Superstition shrouds the island of Thran and keeps the fear-plagued inhabitants subservient to the reclusive tyrant, Lord Ebonacht, and the denizens of the unseen Twilight Court. Only Janus, an orphan whose own mysterious past is discussed in frightened whispers, rails against the tales of the Strangerfolk and the other creatures that are rumored to stalk the night. His quest to prove the old stories false will bring him face to face with the prisoner of the Screaming Tower and reveal secrets about the world — and himself — far more terrible than those hinted at in the grimmest of legends.
[...more]
Posted on by Matt-M-McElroy
Posted on by Matt-M-McElroy
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 […]
[...more]
Posted on by Matt-M-McElroy
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 […]
[...more]
Posted on by Flames
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.
[...more]
Posted on by Flames
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.
[...more]
Posted on by Matt-M-McElroy
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…
[...more]
Posted on by Flames
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.
[...more]
Posted on by Monica Valentinelli
When Wizards first announced it’s new Open Game License (OGL) for publishers, a flurry of forum activity like this thread on RPGnet covered concerns from fans, contributors and publishers. Wizard of the Coast’s new OGL license for 4th Edition Rules hardly resembles the previous, free-flowing version, and while you may (or may not) agree with the way that Wizards has handled this aspect of their business, I still feel that it’s important to point out that this change could affect freelancers workflow and payment schedules.
[...more]
Posted on by Monica Valentinelli
Horror-genre lovers (like you and me) can’t resist sharing our love of the macabre. If we tell our friends about a dog of a film, they probably won’t go to see it. How then do we write a film review that finds the happy medium between gushing over the latest hit and bashing that worthless dud?
[...more]
Posted on by Monica Valentinelli
While the day may seem just like any other day, several people are hoping you’ll remember June 6, 2006, the so-called “number of the beast,” by doing something a little hellish, and maybe picking up an item or two along the way.
[...more]
Posted on by Flames
Not only did she play Tara on the Buffy: the Vampire Slayer series, she has also directed, written and created a variety of other products that range from comic books to role-playing games.
[...more]
Posted on by Monica Valentinelli
These days almost everyone with a home computer at some point or another wants to be a writer. As a consequence the fiction market has been flooded with new authors: some good, some bad. But what makes a piece of fiction “bad”? How does the average reader know what’s worthwhile to read and what isn’t?
[...more]
Posted on by Flames
The purpose of a review is to provide readers with enough information to decide whether they would like to spend their time or money on reading the book, watching the film or, in our case, playing the game. Whether or not the reviewer enjoys or is enthused by the game is of less importance. The reader must come first.
[...more]
Posted on by Flames
Plenty of articles deal with setting the mood for a horror RPG. As a result, I’m not going to tackle that topic. Instead, I’d like to talk about plot devices that, when in operation at a level of generality above specific mood elements, set the stage for creating a truly horrific RPG.
[...more]
Posted on by Flames
Have you ever noticed how some types of characters seem to lend themselves naturally to stereotype? In Vampire you can easily find multiple-personality Malkavians, limp-wristed über-goth Toreador, street-punk Brujah, and so on; in Changeling (which I play the most often) there’s big, dumb trolls and horny satyrs, and so on. Every clan or kith or tradition or group has a stereotype.
[...more]