Land of Phantoms

The Winter Home  has been updated. I added a Male Valiant and Female Hunter. So now all 5 pre-gens are available in male-female varieties. I've been busy proof-reading and editing the draft. Right now, I have completed 7 chapters. They are awaiting layout. I have either 7 or 8 left to go. As I've edited, I've added a few sections. Most of them try to clear up things that seemed less than clear such as: can a 0-Level clergyman turn unholy? I went back and added a section on Lifepaths. It's not as gonzo as Cyberpunk 2020. And not as detailed, deadly, or focused as Traveller. But it helps distinguish between a character that's 15 and one that's 50. Mostly it addresses the character's circle of friends and loved ones. As well as any good or bad things that may have happened to the character prior to the 0-Level Funnel. I also added a section to the CharGen chapter that should make the history buffs happy. And as a last bit, I went back and detai...

Draft is done. Working on proofreading and getting the Gamma out to the Gamma crew. Layout should start early next week.

The last, hugest piece I've been working on for Transylvanian Adventures  was what my wife and I have affectionately called the "Mad-Libs" section of the character sheet. And, as it turns out, that has been the most asked-about section of the character sheet since it was introduced with the updated Winter Home  pre-generated characters. For those who still have not ( warning: shameless plug )  picked up a copy of the Winter Home Introductory Adventure yet , the Mad-Libs section (titled "My Story" on the character sheet) looks like this... This section tells a player the pertinent facts about his character, while giving enough information for the player to roleplay that character immediately after reading it. Appearance, motivations, character flaws as well as what makes a character "heroic" are all represented in this section. All generated through random tables. It takes about 5 minutes and 4 dice to fill in that block. The tables deliver c...

Oftentimes, someone asks me a variation of the following question: It sounds like Ravenloft . What's the point? Why not just play Ravenloft ? Once I regain control of my beserker rage, I try my best to illustrate how Transylvanian Adventures  is so fundamentally different from every other attempt at a horror RPG I've ever seen. But I always fall a little short. Every other attempt at a horror-themed roleplaying game follows this kind of approach... Something weird happens You freak out and lose some important bits that means you'll... Freak out more! And then you die... But despite all best intentions, a competent Judge/GM and the most efficient, tight and infinitely enforceable testicle-vice mechanics, 80% or more of all horror roleplaying games play out like this... Something weird happens You freak out and lose some important bits that means you'll... Go find a shotgun! And then shoot it until it dies... Transylvanian Adventures  follows the...

It's been an exciting time. The Winter Home  has been updated and I'm still almost, kinda getting close to finished with the book. It should be going into layout mid-July -- which is good news. It will have the same sort of look as  The Winter Home . I'm not sure about the release date (yet) but I hope soon-ish is good enough. I'll be sure to give plenty of advance notice as it's getting closer. So what's been going on in TATG the last part of June? OLD NEWS ALERT: I updated The Winter Home . Wouldn't you know it? I found some typos and math errors on the character sheets (as well as a couple of curious omissions in the Equipment list). Expect another update in the not-too-distant future. I'm still trying to block off time to do those last two Examples (In-Between Adventures and Investigation). That's it, that's all, once those are done. I've got some interesting life activity coming up in the near-term so I'm hoping I have enoug...

This was the news I was hoping to be able to give sometime today. The Winter Home is back online . Updated version and all. Sorry for the mix up. Now go forth and be awesome. P.S. Alex Lucard has a  great review of The Winter Home over on diehardgamefan.com . It's awesome and please check it out.