Wednesday, yeah baby!

Lets do this thing!

I have all the software.
All I need is a game.
If any of you guys want to join in and get something going with this Savage Worlds online thingamajig let me know.

Motivational Monday

H/T to Last of the few

Lazy Sunday Photo dump (Mother's day edition)

First off, a shout out to all those very special Mom's on Mother's Day. You know who they are. We all had one. Whether they were the single mom next door who always needed her lawn mowed, your buddies mom who never quite dressed her age, your girlfriend's mom who was a hell of a lot more interesting than your girlfriend, or the highly involved "Team Mom". They stoked the fires of imagination in many a young lads dreams.







And now back to our regularly scheduled Photodump...

The Iron Man Movie Kicks Ass!

In my opinion the Iron Man Movie is the BEST Screen adaption of any of the Marvel Heroes.
Robert Downey Jr. nailed the character of Tony Stark.
Nuff said.

Would you like to play a game? - Savage Worlds Online

Savage Worlds is one of the top ten games I would love to play but never have.
A combination of personal issues and lack of like minded folks interested in the system has kept SW in the wings for months.

Recently a group of Savage World enthusiasts have started Savage Worlds Online. SWO hopes to gather SW players via the Internet and the Fantasy Grounds online gaming software. I purchased FGII a few months ago but never really put it to the test. However, now that it looks like it will be featuring strong support for the SW system I'm going to give it a shot and see if I can get in on a game or two.

GM'ing is a bit much for me at the moment especially since I'm not familiar with the system in actual play but I really would love to get into a Pulp or S&S game as a player. Who knows, if it works out I may be able to use this as a play tester for future WoB scenarios or the Lost Worlds pulp source book I'm currently working on. Any one else out there interested in SW or the online project?

Hope y'all had a great Wednesday!

WoB & LoS

The April numbers for World of Broadsword are in it looks like I’ve sold about 100+ through RPGNow and Precis Intermedia. The reviews are really positive. The most recent one by the Chatty DM was an especially solid critique He applauded the use of the SWOT analysis used in the nations section and felt WoB had applications beyond the Broadsword RPG. I was happy to see that, WoB is designed for the Broadsword game I really want people to realize that it can be used for any type of low magic fantasy setting.

This last week I’ve been working on another gazetteer / adventure in the same vein as WoB but this one will be focusing on the classic pulp genre of the “Lost World” adventure. The supplement will have additional information specific to the Dime Heroes setting from Deep7 but it will also have much of the material in a generic format so as to be adaptable to just about any pulp adventure rule set.

I’m currently working to commission a cover for the Legends of Steel game with artist Jeremy Mohler. Thanks to the success of WoB I will be able get the snazziest cover I can afford. I’ll be using the characters I created with Jeff Hebert as the subjects on the cover.


Here is the last of the core characters I'll be using in the game. He has no name yet. Right now I'm calling him "Barbarian guy" - But I'll work on something better.

Motivational Monday

We made it to $100.00!

It was a great celebration. I wish you all could have been there (Hell, I wish I could have been there!).
Thanks to all of you that helped in my little quest.
Now to see if these ad guys are gonna pay up eh?

A couple of snippets from Legends of Steel

Grim and gritty or Sunswords and somersaults?
Within the genre of Swords & Sorcery there are varying types. Among them are the grim and gritty tales of Frank Frazetta’s “Death Dealer”, the action packed and sometimes campy tales of television’s “Xena: Warrior Princess”, or the techno-sorcery post apocalyptic world of the “Thundarr the Barbarian” cartoon. All of these variations of the genre are equally enjoyable in their own rights, but there is the possibility that when the GM says “I’m going to run a Sword & Sorcery adventure”, he may be thinking- King Kull while the players are thinking “Army of Darkness”. So before getting started on the character sheets, make sure that everyone playing is on the same page regarding the tone of the game.

Sword & Sorcery doesn't always have to mean "Barbarian"
When people mention Sword & Sorcery the first image that usually pops into ones head is the brawny bare-chested barbarian carrying a great big axe or sword. The fact is that while the barbarian warrior is the most popular character type in the Sword & Sorcery genre it’s not the only one. Heroes in Sword & Sorcery tales include kings, thieves, sailors, soldiers, farmers, and sorcerers. For example in Ray Harryhausen’s Sinbad trilogy, the hero is a merchant sailor who travels the known world on epic quests. In the Lankhmar stories of Fritz Leiber, The Grey Mouser is a city-bred thief with a thirst for adventure and a love of the good life. Jirel of Joiry, by C.L. Moore, is a warrior queen who faces off against supernatural foes that threaten her kingdom. When you are creating characters for Legends of Steel, try to think “outside of the box” in terms of Sword & Sorcery characters. Don’t limit yourself to the barbarian warrior stereotype. The advantages and skills presented in LoS allow for an endless combination of character types. By exploring all the options and combinations found in the genre, your gaming experience with LoS will be truly memorable.

Free Comic Book Day!

Tomorrow is Free Comic Book Day! Head to your local comic store for some great freebies.

Pulp Thursday

This fall "Solomon Kane" is scheduled to debut as a five-issue miniseries from Dark horse.






The acclaimed Sword & Sorcery writer Charles Saunders has a new website


New Indy toys and a coupon!
Check em out at the Hasbro site

But before you buy check out some reviews at Mike Crawfords website

Happy Wednesday "Girl next door" Edition -not next door to me unfortunately...

By the way, we are at $98.00!

Click, my friends. Click like the wind!

Fight On! - A Review

Fight on! Is a brand new fanzine from a group of dedicated gamers who saw a need for a magazine that will try and recapture some of the wonder and adventure that many of us experienced back in the early days of gaming.

As an “Old School” gamer myself, I get it. I see what they are trying to accomplish. Though I’m not sure everyone will. It’s one of those things you have to experience- to live through, in order to understand. Fortunately for the creators of Fight on! They hit the mark with a bull’s-eye.

Flipping through issue #1 of the magazine I began to happily reminisce about the early days of Dragon magazine (by early I mean the first 100 or so issues). Fight On! Has everything I loved about the early issues of Dragon-the tables and charts, the cartoony illustrations, the optional races, and most importantly the free mini modules.

The highlights for me in this first issue were:

The Swanmay- I had simply forgotten all about the Swanmay. What a great character. I loved Poul Anderson’s “Three hearts and three lions”. And “The Broken Sword” just blew me away the first time I read it. I firmly believe that Poul Anderson never got the accolades he deserved in the gaming world, his elves kick ass all over the usual namby-pamby soft lens hermaphrodites you find in most fantasy games- but I digress.

Flexible sorcery- I loved the spontaneous magic piece. What a great concept. There are tons of possibilities with this variant and it’s perfect for the player who likes his Mage to be so much more than a walking bazooka and magic detector.

The Ruined Monastery – Ahh, memories of the DMG. The Ruined Monastery is a little mini-adventure perfect for an evenings play. It’s ready to go with just a quick read over.

The Tomb complex of Ymmu M’Kursa - Another adventure, another dungeon crawl, I’m loving it! Wandering monsters, traps, undead, yellow mold- No multi faceted, angst- filled story adventures here. Just a hack and slash dungeon reminiscent of an old Judges Guild module-“grab me a Mountain Dew while your up.”

Setting up your sandbox- is an article about letting your players take the reins of the campaign and direct the course of the game (within reason). It’s a good article and I hope it’s the first in a series.

Puissant Priestly Powers – is a listing of blessings and powers to make your Priest more than just the team’s combat medic. And as with all the articles featured in Fight On! The stats are generic and any DM, GM, or Referee worth his salt can fit them into the rules set of his choice.

There is much more crammed in the thirty pages that comprise Fight on! Additionally you’ll find magic items, new monsters, personality tables, and campaign seeds.

Fight on! delivers on its promise. The work has a rough charm and you can tell that the guys really care about the genre and the feeling they are trying to recapture. A little stock art wouldn’t hurt, but then again maybe it’s okay as is.

For reasons I don't know, they decided to go through Lulu for publication.
After shipping my total was almost $10.00 and for me that was fine, I feel I got my monies worth and I’m a supporter of these types of efforts. But for the sake of keeping this venture alive I hope they consider a PDF format and a more popular vendor. This effort is worthy of all the exposure it can get and I don’t think Lulu is the best venue for it. In any case I will be back for issue 2 and issue 3 and hopefully for their special double issue 100!

One last thing.
Fight On! Has a great submissions policy:
“our authors and artists own their own work. Fight On! only asks for the right to print your work in the issue it’s originally published in, in that form, in perpetuity. Authors and artists own all other rights and may re-use and re-sell their work to anyone else as they see fit.”

So aspiring authors AND artists here is a chance to get published in a real printed magazine. I know for a fact that there are several artists who visit the Lair here. So toss a few snazzy pieces of art their way. It’s good Karma. Support the effort my friends.

Motivational Monday

Lazy Sunday photo dump

The State of the Lair and more (a S.W.O.T analysis)

This picture has nothing to do with the topic on this post, I just think it's cool.

The SWOT analysis gimmick that I use in World of Broadsword is a favorite of most purchasers I’ve talked to. So I figured I’d do a SWOT of myself, the Lair and EDM Productions.

Strengths
The Lair is popular and has a decent following. I attribute this to keeping it light, trying to be informative, and of course posting hot chicks on a regular basis.
If you stumble upon the Lair during a Google search you either move on or you stick around. A lot of you have stuck around, which is very cool-so thanks.

World of Broadsword (WoB) has proven to be a success/ I’ve released a product that people like and I can be proud of.

The popularity of both the Lair and WoB has given me quite a boost of self confidence. I crossed that invisible line from a talker to a doer. As my buddy Karl put it “I’m just glad to see on of my slacker gaming buddies get off their ass and do something with the hobby.”


Weaknesses
The Lair takes up a bit of time. Even though the content isn’t text heavy I find myself falling behind from time to time. The returns on my effort have lessened in my eyes in comparison to those of actually creating a product and having people enjoy it.

EDM Productions is new and I don’t have a lot of content out there to dazzle people with.
My website is extremely amateur. It gets the job done for now, but it’s far from the professional snazzy looking website I know it could be, if all the stuff in my head was out there for people to see.

I’m a chronic procrastinator (case in point: Legends of Steel). I’m also one of those guys who are always regarded as very intelligent, but lazy. I’ve always been full of unrealized potential. To quote every teacher I’ve had from kinder to college- “Jeff is such a bright young man. It’s a shame he doesn’t apply himself.”


Opportunities
The Lair has given me a great deal of exposure in our little corner of the geek multiverse. I have made friends and networked with folks I would have never met in day to day life. For good or ill my name is out there and I have a sliver of presence.

World of Broadsword has proven that if I try I can put some interesting thoughts on paper. I have been approached on several fronts to do reviews, articles and more supplements similar to WoB. No screenplays or movie deals, but it’s a start!

This may sound weird but I currently have an ailment that is keeping me off work for a couple of weeks, nothing life threatening thank God, but still I have a regimen of medications and tests that I have to attend to and the doctor doesn’t want me working during that time (Hey, who am I to argue with a doctor?). So for the next few weeks I’m home. While I’m here I have the perfect opportunity to get some serious writing done.
I’m always bitching about not having enough time for Legends of Steel or some of the other projects I’ve had on slow cook for the longest time. So here is an opportunity to get some shit done.


Threats
The internets- that thing I enjoy so much- THAT is the biggest threat to my success with all of these ventures. Sure, posting a link to a new pulp game or putting up a picture of some dream girl in a thong doesn’t take a lot of time, but the time spent surfing to find that thong girl pic is what takes up time. A few clicks here and there start to add up, minutes become hours and then I look at the clock and it’s time to get to the doctor or pick up the kids. And I realize I just pissed away the whole morning cruising the gaming message boards, reading about the same old debates, the same old “tell me of ---gaming system”, or whether 4th edition will suck or not. This has happened to me before and I know it will again.


It’s a discipline thing. I have got to try to break that cycle of failure. I’ve just had the tiniest taste of how cool it is to have something published and thought well of.
That’s some heady nectar my friend.
So posting at the Lair is going to be scarce for a while, my presence on the boards is going to be severely curtailed. It’s not about being “burned out” or hating the hobby. I just want to be one of those guys who actually does something more than say “you know, one of these days…”

I have a cache of stuff saved up so I'll still be posting, and when I do have something to write about I will. But I'm going to be refocusing for a bit, so if it gets slow around here you all know why.

Wednesday - Featuring the rare and elusive Redhead

Motivational Monday

Lazy Sunday Photo Dump

This n That

If you enjoy Heroscape, you might want to get to your nearest Target. they have the campaign box on sale for $19.99- At least they do in Sacramento.





I'm not gonna do a review of Return of the Sword, mainly cause everyone who has a blog dealing with Pulp, Sword & Sorcery, or any of the related genre stuff has already done a review- and they have all been resoundingly positive. As would my review.

All I'm going to say is I bought it and I loved it. My buddy Nate Meyer's story did not disappoint (despite a fundamental flaw regarding a Lucerne Hammer) and EE Knights writing tips had me digging through my notebooks of old story ideas with a "Yes I can" attitude. His blog is Kinda cool too.
Buy the book. Just buy the book.


I'm just a few clicks away from $100.00







There's a network called the American Life TV network. lots of old shows that I would have killed to see back in the 70's.
Rat Patrol
Time Tunnel
The Green Hornet (AKA the Kato show)
Combat!
Land of the Giants
Lost in Space
Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea
Mission Impossible and more!

A new venture for a cool Jeff

Jeff Rients from Jeffs gameblog has a great new venture going on. "Fight On!" is:
A new magazine for fantasy roleplaying in a broadly old-school style. Features content by Jeff Rients, Paul Czege, Stefan Poag, Gabor Lux, James Maliszewski, Calithena, Andrew Reyes, and many more! Packed with monsters, magic, new rules and character options, four FULL adventures, and much much more! Come unlock your imagination, and keep Fighting On!

I KNOW it's gonna be good. And that not just cause Jeff's a Jeff, I've been a fan of his gameblog since the beginning and I know the man has mondo gaming cred!
I ordered mine, order yours today!

Pulp Thursday

A new website with a cool premise. Borderkingdom will be offering glances of Hyborian life, some with Conan some without.



From Publishers Weekly
Starred Review. Martinez (In the Company of Ogres) tickles the funny bone in this delightful, fast-paced mishmash of SF and hard-boiled detective story. Mack Megaton drives a cab in the mutant-infested technotopia of Empire City. It's a step down for a massive killing machine created for world domination, but kindhearted Megaton has bucked his programming, and when his secretive neighbors, the Bleakers, go missing, he begins a search. Young Holt Bleaker has something in his mutant blood that makes him valuable to aliens poised to invade Empire City, and only a giant robot—a robot like Mack Megaton—can break him out of the fortress where he's held prisoner. Soon plans go awry when sinister psychic Grey subverts Megaton's programming, but he finds an unlikely ally in Lucia Napier, an outrageously beautiful and talented media star and roboticist. Eccentric characters, all of whom are clever twists on stereotypes, populate a smart, rocket-fast read with a clever, twisty plot that comes to a satisfying conclusion. (Feb.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.



I know I'm way late to the party with this. But I would be remiss for not posting it. It's very cool.







I found these over at Grim Reviews


I have got to find some of these (like I need more stuff to buy).

It's Wednesday!

Motivational Monday