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Dispatches:
News from Atlas Games
Order of the Stick
My office mate Dave showed me this a few weeks ago ... guaranteed to tickle any over-worked D20 editor's funny bone.
http://www.giantitp.com/cgi-bin/GiantITP/ootscript?SK=1
Hong Kong News Update
To further build up your knowledge of Hong Kong before the release of
Blowing Up Hong Kong, I offer you more news from HK:
Why not attend classes at Shaolin High? (Not really, but you can go and study traditional Shaolin practices at the new culture center in 2005.)
Summer Spots and Autumn Ads
As we wrap up the summer, I thought I'd do a quick summary of the places you've seen Atlas products ...
Dragon, full-page Beer Money ad in May
Dragon, full-page Dungeoneer ad in July
Dragon, full-page Cthulhu 500 ad in August
ACD Newsletter cover, Dark Tales
Game Trade, Cthulhu 500 promo cards and ad<
And where you'll likely see them this fall ...
Game Buyer, Dungeoneer write-up in September
Undefeated, Gloom review
Dragon, full-page Gloom ad in October
Game Trade, Gloom promo cards in October
ACD Newsletter, Gloom overview in October
Dragon, full-page Ars Magica 5th Edition ad in December
Ars Magica 5th Edition poster map available this fall
So keep your eyes peeled!
Everything's Selling Out!
We've had a flurry of things selling out recently. Happily, numerous reprints are now in progress.
Unknown Armies 2nd Edition and
Feng Shui core rulebooks: I placed the reprint orders for both of these essential titles right before Gen Con. We should have both back in stock by the last week of September.
Lunch Money and
Lunch Money: Sticks & Stones: Last week the last of our Lunch Money stash was snatched up by distributors. Most distributors still have the game in stock (and are probably good for 1-2 months' supply), but our warehouse is empty! Sticks & Stones of course sold out back in March, but we've been helping shift around the stock that's out in the channels from those who had a lot to those who had little. This week I'll be placing the reprint order for both, with delivery expected in the second half of October. With luck, the temporary unavailability won't even be noticeable to stores or at least to consumers. If you run a store and your regular source has sold out of either of these titles, be sure to check with your secondary or tertiary distributor, since they may still have some.
Playtesters Mean a Lot to Us, Even If We Forget to List Their Names
We'd like to thank Sara Hanson and Andrew MacLennan with their help on Seven Serpents. They did some excellent playtesting on the Tithe Bend chapter by Richard Canning. Thanks!
Ars Magica 5 Update
A new grog character for the iconic covenant, Semita Errabunda, is up today.
Go and download Paul, ensorcelled husband to last week's character, Anne. Enjoy!
Gen Con and Hong Kong
I'm finally getting back into the swing of things after Gen Con. It was a pleasure meeting a slew of new
Feng Shui players and getting to chat about the game. Plus, I love any excuse to play
Dungeoneer or, now,
Cthulhu 500. Some day soon I hope to actually
win a game of
Cthulhu 500, no less.
For those of you who didn't get a chance to attend, you missed one heck of a venue for the Ennie Award ceremony this year:
Here we get (from left) John Nephew, Michelle Nephew, and
Cthulhu 500 designer Jeff Tidball just moments after the ENnie win for
Crime & Punishment.
Crime & Punishment, you'll recall, was written by Keith Baker. Here he is on the exhibitor floor. Normally Keith gets pictures of people with his cow, Bossy, but this year I turned the tables on him. I swear he's striking the same pose I did last year.
A special thanks must go out to all of you who sat in on
Feng Shui games (beyond capacity) and recharged my batteries after the life-absorbing final week of work on
Blowing Up Hong Kong (not to be confused with
Bowling Up Hong Kong, which I have sadly been forced to remove from the schedule because it's not "relevant" or "a book," in John's words). I'm delighted to report that
Blowing Up Hong Kong is off to press and is expected to be available sometime in September. Therefore, I'll be sharing with you all a few Hong Kong-related news items I've gotten in the habit of looking for every day or so.
The first, which many of you have probably already read about, I share not because it's a fine microcosmic view of the truth of the HK experience, but because it includes the phrase
"drunk as a monkey". Please note that we at Atlas Games are not affiliated with any of the media outlets which I may link to; these were all yanked from the internet. I cannot and will not endorse or support the veracity of such reports. I may think they're funny or magnificently strange.
Lastly, I'll remind all you
Feng Shui fans that the American theatrical release of Jet Li's
Hero begins today. On my birthday. I'll hope that's a good sign.
Post Gen Con
Wow, I'm tired. Gen Con was amazing. Our booth is run by Adventure Retail Ltd (better known to Twin Citians as
The Source Comics & Games); it's actually a combined booth for Atlas Games,
Steve Jackson Games and
Dork Storm Press. I took inventory today of the product that came back, and it looks like Atlas sales more than doubled compared to last year's Gen Con. Knowing that the overall Adventure Retail booth receipts were up by a huge percentage too, I'm sure our colleagues also saw jaw-droppingly good sales figures.
Cthulhu 500, our big release of the show (and focus of our booth design, with racing flags and whatnot) was extremely well received. It was being demoed constantly, and a huge percentage of those demos and brief explanations turned into sales. Veteran
Special Ops agent Paul Tevis relates the tale of one consumer who asked what the game was about; Paul began by saying "Elder Gods and Fast Cars," and was about to elaborate when a $20 bill was thrust in his hands with the comment, "You had me at elder gods."
Beer Money is several months old now, but continues to sell like crazy. We also had some advance copies of the
Beer Money Greeting Cards ($9.99 for a set of 8 different designs), which were selling briskly. Lots of
Once Upon A Time expansions were selling, and people were delighted to hear about our
Ars Magica 5th Edition plans.
We were bummed that we didn't get some copies of the new
Dungeoneer expansions (
The Haunted Wood of Malthorin and
Den of the Wererats) in time for the show, but they should be showing up at the warehouse this week and keeping me busy packing boxes.
Our "secret" of the show was the mock-up of
Gloom that Michelle and I were showing around to some folks. It was "off-message" (since the booth was really focused on the launch of
Cthulhu 500, and we did not want to distract from that focus with a very cool product that we could not actually exchange on the spot for cash), but seems to have generated a lot of buzz, which pleases us immensely.
We wouldn't have been able to get out of the booth and meet with people to show them the secret prototype if it weren't for the Adventure Retail crew and our incredible Special Ops volunteers. Without their skill and hard work, it would have been really hard for us to get as much out-of-the-booth business done as we did (meetings with translators, distributors, retailers, game designers, etc.) ... or, for that matter, make as great a splash and sell as much product. Every time I work a show with the gang I'm reminded of how valuable professional retailers are to this industry, and my appreciation for all the retailers worldwide, at conventions and in their own shops every day, is renewed.
Winning ENnies Makes Michelle Even Happier Than Just Getting Nominations!
Atlas Games is pleased to announce that two of our products have won ENnie awards at GenCon 2004! Those are:
Crime and Punishment (Penumbra D20) by Keith Baker, Gold ENnie for Best D20 Rules Supplement
To Go (Unknown Armies) Greg Stolze, Silver ENnie for Best Non-D20 Setting or Setting Sourcebook
Congratulations to Keith, Greg, and to Unknown Armies' Line Developer, John Tynes, for this recognition of all their hard work!
Start Your Engines
For all those race fans picking up their nifty checkered flags with their Cthulhu500 purchase at GenCon this weekend, we have the OFFICIAL rules for them:
Anytime it is your turn, you may play a checkered flag to gain one free, additional action; a particular checkered flag may only be used once during a game. At the end of the game, the winner of the game collects all the checkered flags so used during the game, to use in future games or to lord over the other players.
Enjoy!
Ars Magica Fifth Edition Press Release
Atlas Games
885 Pierce Butler Route - Saint Paul, Minnesota 55104 - USA
Phone 651-638-0077 - Fax 651-638-0084 - Email john@atlas-games.com
For Immediate Release
August 19, 2004
Atlas Games Announces
Ars Magica(tm) Fifth Edition
Atlas Games is pleased to announce details of the long-awaited Fifth Edition of Ars Magica.
Ars Magica ("The Art of Magic") is the award-winning roleplaying game by Jonathan Tweet and Mark Rein·Hagen that focuses on wizards who are as powerful as those we know from legend and literature; in the land of Mythic Europe, those legends are real. The rules encourage players to develop their characters over long periods of time, and make the covenant -- the home base of the characters -- central to the stories. Troupe-style roleplaying allows players to take on the roles of multiple characters, so that the players have equal access to power even though the characters do not.
This new edition is rewritten to improve the rules for existing players, and to be more attractive and accessible to new audiences. It features all-new graphic design, two-color interior printing, hardcover binding, and a special introductory price.
Line Developer David Chart has been working on the new edition for the past two years. It has gone through extensive playtesting over the past year; this has easily been the most playtesting any edition of the game has received before publication. Playtest groups have included seasoned Ars Magica veterans as well as players who had no previous experience with the game. We are confident, from the feedback we've been getting, that the game will appeal to both.
Promotional Plans
Here are just a few ways that Ars Magica 5th Edition is being promoted:
- The free PDF version of Ars Magica 4th Edition, available at rpgnow.com, has increased awareness of the Ars Magica property and lowered the barrier for newcomers to start playing the game. As of today, it has been downloaded more than 18,600 times. We do not plan to make 5th Edition available as a free download; we will continue to offer the 4th Edition PDF for free, and encourage players to "upgrade" to the new and improved paper version at their local game store.
- Special pricing through the end of the year through all sales channels will promote rapid acceptance of the new edition. (More on this below.)
- An all-new color poster map of Mythic Europe, the setting of Ars Magica, will double as a promotional brochure giveaway to advertise the new edition.
- At least one full-color, full-page ad will appear in Dragon magazine (the November issue).
- Our web page will feature previews and teasers to talk up the new edition before release, and energize the base of existing fans to purchase the game for themselves and to encourage their fellow players to upgrade. Point your browser at http://www.atlas-games.com/arm5/ and watch that space for additional material in the coming months.
$25 Introductory Price
Ars Magica Fifth Edition will be hardcover, 240 pages, with two-color interior printing, and from the release in November until the end of 2004 we will be selling it at the special introductory price of $25.00 (US).
Our primary goal is to encourage existing, active players to upgrade to the new edition immediately. These players and their ongoing games are an important source of future new players (and purchasers), and a vital market for the supplements that will follow the new edition. Secondarily, many people who have downloaded the free 4th Edition have told us they are awaiting the new edition; we want a price that will encourage them to follow through (and to do so before they miss out on the special price).
Changes to the Game
Veteran Ars Magica players are clamoring to know what is new and different about 5th Edition. Here are some of the rules change highlights:
- Magic resistance has been changed so that the Parma Magica is actually the defense it's always been said to be.
- The Laboratory rules have been streamlined and unified around a single core mechanic -- the spell invention mechanic from earlier editions.
- The spell guidelines have been cleaned up, clarified, and made as consistent as possible.
- The combat rules have been completely rewritten so that armor and shield grogs are more useful.
- The introduction to Mythic Europe has been rewritten to provide information that's immediately useful in play.
- Character creation has been revised to create characters, including magi, at any age, and to create characters of similar power to those advanced through play.
Supplements & Support
There is already an enormous library of Ars Magica supplements in our catalog, and we will continue to sell them. As a rule, we expect older sourcebooks to be usable with the new edition, and we expect them to continue to sell (just as many 3rd edition books remained strong sellers throughout the life of 4th Edition). It will be some years before there are 5th Edition replacements for many of these books.
Roughly speaking, we plan to release four major supplements per year for Ars Magica. Most of the first year of support for Fifth Edition is already written and in playtesting or editing. Here are some of the books in development.
The Fallen Fane (Already Available): This is a systemless Live Action scenario booklet, but its trade dress conforms to 5th Edition.
The Broken Covenant of Calebais (Revised) (November 2004): This updated version of the original Ars Magica scenario will be available for sale simultaneously with the release of 5th Edition.
Guardians of the Forest: The Rhine Tribunal (expected January 2005): This book describes the heartland of the Order of Hermes, home to the covenant where it all began. More importantly, it is intended as a guide to running sagas in Mythic Europe -- where Calebais is a model for the adventure, Guardians of the Forest will be a model for the game as played over many sessions, and months or years of real time.
Houses of Hermes: True Lineages (expected April 2005): The book Houses of Hermes, published by Wizards of the Coast, has been one of the game's top selling supplements as long as we've owned it, but it will soon be out of print. Since the Order of Hermes is at the heart of the game, we need to replace it, but we want to offer players something meatier. We are thus planning a series of Hermetic sourcebooks for players, each one focusing on several houses with a common theme. The first, True Lineages, covers houses Guernicus, Mercere, Tremere, and Bonisagus.
The Divine (title not yet determined): Our intention is to publish one Realm book each year, covering one of the major powers of Mythic Europe -- the Divine, the Infernal, Magic, and Faerie. First up will be the Divine -- the most powerful force in Mythic Europe -- covering such topics as saints, angels, miracles, holy powers, relics, and much more.
The Mysteries (Revised): The Mysteries was one of the most popular books we published for 4th Edition, and is being revised for the 5th Edition.
Ars Magica 5th Edition Vital Statistics
Stock Number: AG0205, ISBN: 1-58978-070-1, MSRP: $25.00 (US) - through Dec. 31, 2004, Format: 240 pages, hardcover binding, two-color interior printing, Release: November 2004
For Additional Information Contact: John Nephew, President, Atlas Games
telephone 651-638-0077, e-mail
john@atlas-games.com
We're Off to See the Wiz ... err, Gamers?
John and I will be in the office until about 3 pm today, then off to Indianapolis for GenCon. Will and the guys from the Source already left this morning. Scott has graciously volunteered to man the phones at the office this week, but the rest of us likely won't be in the office again until next Tuesday. Wish us lots of sales!
PS John wants everyone to know that Cthulhu500 has shipped, and should be hitting stores any time now!
We're Just So Darn Productive ...
Cthulhu500 just arrived from the printer today, and it looks great! As a result, Jerry has PLANS for GenCon ... BIG PLANS. Look for the booth with the checkered racing flags and the banner that says "WELCOME RACING FANS!" He's even contemplating handing out free mini-flags with each purchase of Cthulhu500!
Our book printer also tells us that the
Beer Money greeting cards will likely be arriving tomorrow, and we're just about to ship THREE (count them, THREE) books off them them this afternoon:
Blowing Up Hong Kong,
Seven Civilizations, and The Broken Covenant of Calebais.
That's how good we are. ;)
Ennies Voting is Open!
Go to www.enworld.org/voting to cast your vote for your favorite Atlas Games products ... Dork20, Penumbra Fantasy Bestiary, Crime & Punishment, Friends of the Dragon, To Go, and Black Monks of Glastonbury. Quick! GenCon is NEXT WEEK!
It is Finished
I've just finished my final edits on Ars Magica Fifth Edition, and sent the files to Atlas HQ for final proofreading and layout.
I'm free!
I've been working on this project for about two years now, and I'm very glad to see it brought to what I think is a successful conclusion, on schedule.
Of course, I don't get to relax and do nothing now. Oh no. I have another ArM5 book to get into playtest, and then there'll be revisions on the book that went into playtest a little while ago, and, of course, final commissioning on the next ArM5 book. But the Fifth Edition itself is now done.
I hope you like it.
Update: Haunted Woods and Den of the Wererats
Our printer estimates that they will be done with the two new single-deck
Dungeoneer expansions late during the week of
Gen Con. I don't know if we'll be able to get any for our booth at the show, but we are expecting to have them arriving at our warehouse soon after we return from Indianapolis.
Cthulhu 500 Suffers False Start
Well, it turns out our printer was rather exaggerating when they told us they were shipping
Cthulhu 500 on July 30th. I haven't been told why the delay, but apparently it just shipped from the factory today, so we should at last be shipping to distributors by the end of this week.
See The Fallen Fane
You asked for it, so here it is:
Two preview pages from The Fallen Fane, by
Ars Magica honcho David Chart. I've selected a couple of pages from the introduction, so you can get a better idea just what this book is. Please note that these pages, while indicative of what's inside
The Fallen Fane, may not represent the look we'll settle on in the end for all
Ars Magica products following the release of the 5th Edition later this year.
Godwalker Hits the Occult Underground
UA co-creator Greg Stolze passed along word today that his
Unknown Armies novel,
Godwalker, is now printed and
available directly from him. Click the link, and order yourself a copy, all you bibliomancers!
ArM5-X1
Want to get a look at a work in progress? The new
Ars Magica title,
The Fallen Fane sports a prototype of the cover design for
Ars Magica 5th Edition products. Inside this stand-alone live-action scenario is also a prototype of the new edition's graphic design, too.
For a look at that cover,
click here.
ENnie Nominations Make Michelle Happy
We were thrilled to come in to work this morning and see that the ENnies nominations had been posted. Atlas Games products have been nominated for the following categories:
Best Aid or Accessory:
Dork20
Best Graphic Design & Layout:
Penumbra Fantasy Bestiary (Honorable Mention)
Best Rules Supplement:
Crime & Punishment
Best Monster Supplement:
Penumbra Fantasy Bestiary
Best Non-D20 Supplement:
Friends of the Dragon (Feng Shui)
Best Non-D20 Setting or Setting Sourcebook:
To Go (Unknown Armies)
Best Non-D20 Adventure:
Black Monks of Glastonbury (Ars Magica/D20)
Best Non-D20 Adventure:
To Go (Unknown Armies)
Best Licensed Product:
Dork20 (Honorable Mention)
Thanks to the ENnies Awards committee, and congratulations to all our designers, whose hard work made this possible. Voting will begin in just a few days, so be sure to visit www.enworld.org!
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