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Dispatches:
News from Atlas Games
ArM5 Mailing List Closing
I've decided to close the ArM5 mailing list. I created it just after the Ars Magica Fifth Edition came out, when a lot of the discussion on the existing mailing list was about the differences between Fourth Edition and Fifth Edition. ArM5 was a place for discussing the new edition on its own terms.
A year later, the fan community has generally embraced Fifth Edition, and the extra mailing list is redundant, and gets very little use; most people use the BerkList or the Atlas forums. It served its purpose, and now it's time to put it to sleep.
Chickenfoot
We've been getting a lot of notes and things along with the envelopes for John's Birthday Presents. But this one I just had to share with everyone, since it really made our whole day. Ty Bannerman writes: "Dear John, Happy Birthday! I'm not a D-20 player, really I prefer Ars Magica, but if it'll help you celebrate your birthday to send me free stuff, well, it would be downright rude of me not to allow you to do so. Thanks! Happy 36-ness, Ty Bannerman." Then, down at the bottom, Ty adds, "P.S. Here's a drawing of my character:"
The Army of Darkness action figures we got from another fan were nifty, too. ;)
Dynasties & Demagogues Review
Steve Creech just let us know about a new review up for our ENnie Award Gold Winner
Dynasties & Demagogues (D20). Dynasties & Demagogues is a sourcebook dealing with political-oriented campaigns, and is "the best treatment I've read on the subject in a long time," says the reviewer. You can check out the review at
d20 Magazine Rack.
Ars Magica Metacreator
We just received this note from our friends at Alter Ego Software about their new release of Metacreator v.3.8.6, which includes updates for
Ars Magica:
Metacreator, the universal RPG character generator by Alter Ego Software, supports new sourcebooks for Unisystem (by Eden Studios) and Ars Magica (by Atlas Games) in the v.3.8.6 release. The Unisystem template now includes data for Terra Primate and enhancements to character sheets. This template also supports character creation data including Attributes, Qualities, Drawbacks, Skills and Metaphysics powers for All Flesh Must Be Eaten and CJ Carella's Witchcraft and Armageddon. The update is free to current owners of this software.
For Ars Magica 5th Edition, we now offer the True Lineages/Guardians of the Forests supplement which contains all Virtues, Flaws, spells, NPCs, creatures and laboratory activities from the first two Fifth-Edition Ars Magica supplements. This supplement to the Ars Magica template sells for $4.95.
Free updates to v.3.8.6 are also available for the rest of the Metacreator templates: 3.5 and 3rd Ed. System Reference Document, Savage Worlds, Call of Cthulhu, Fudge and CORPS. Metacreator v3.8.6, including the free demo version, is now available for shipping and on-line orders.
Visit
www.alteregosoftware.com for more information.
The Method Behind John's Madness
NOW I see the point of John's uncharacteristic altruism in offering free d20 books to everyone ... it was all a clever ploy to get a whole bunch of fan mail telling him how fantastic he is. ;)
Not that I disagree, I just thought someone should wish him HAPPY BIRTHDAY on the blog, too. And I wanted to be sure to tell everyone who sent well wishes, thank you!
The Ice Witch has Left the Building...
Well, I worked a 16-hour day yesterday, and then came back for more work today, but the result is that all the
Dungeoneer orders have been filled, sending
Realm of the Ice Witch and the reprint of
Vault of the Fiends off toward the four corners of the Earth.
I also got word from Jeff that the copies we had sent directly to him in LA arrived safely, so you'll be able to see both sets at Gen Con So Cal -- you'll be able to find them in the Atlas Games booth (operated by our pals at Adventure Retail Ltd.), as well as at Thomas Denmark's art table. Check it out!
Arrival of the Ice Witch
Just as the first snow of the season is being promised to us here in Minnesota, what should we receive on our loading dock today but
Dungeoneer: Realm of the Ice Witch, the latest masterpiece from
Thomas Denmark; as well as the reprint of
Vault of the Fiends. I was able to ship some non-US distributor orders today; tonight I'll be working late to pack a lot more for shipping tomorrow. Watch for it soon in your local game store (probably in the next 1-2 weeks around the USA)!
New Over the Edge Downloads!
To celebrate having Over the Edge back in print, we've just put up a BUNCH of Over the Edge downloads, including an overview of the game, rules briefs, a character sheet, and a character log. You can find them all on the
Over the Edge line page. I've also updated the price of the core book on the
Over the Edge product page.
Other updates include adding the Warehouse23 preorder button to the NEW
Dungeoneer: Realm of the Ice Witch game and
Dungeoneer: Vault of the Fiends reprint, and the RPGnow download button for
Ancestral Vault. Click the links to get yours now!
And, thanks for Atsushi Moriike, we now have the rules for
Once Upon a Time: Dark Tales expansion available in Japanese.
New on RPGNow: Ancestral Vault
Our latest PDF is now available for download from RPGNow.com:
Ancestral Vault, the sourcebook of African-themed treasures and magic items for
Nyambe: African Adventures or any d20 System fantasy game. This supplement is still available in print, so if you prefer the dead tree edition, be sure to look for it at your
your local game store (or
Warehouse 23).
A Birthday Present: FREE GAMES!
Next Thursday, November 17, I will turn 36. This past summer, Atlas turned 15. Traditionally I am a total grump about birthdays, but this year I'd like to celebrate these milestones by
giving a whole lot of birthday presents. It's been a very prosperous year for Atlas, and all of us here at Atlas want to thank the fans who have supported us for 15 years and made all our success possible.
Here's the deal. If you send me a self-addressed, stamped envelope, I will stuff it full of FREE d20 System roleplaying books and mail it back to you.
There are some limitations and details, which I need to set in order to make this manageable (since I'll be the one preparing and sending all of these gifts!):
This is only available to folks in the USA – I'm sorry but I can't figure out an easy way to offer this to people elsewhere. If you live outside the US but can arrange for a friend or relative in the US to send in the SASE and then forward the gift to you, that's OK – I just can't set aside the time for filling out a bazillion customs forms.
The self-addressed, stamped envelope you send me should be at least 10” x 13”; it's your choice if you want to use a plain envelope, a padded/bubble mailer, etc. I can't be responsible for damage that may occur in transit.
You you need to attach $2.26 in US postage. This is enough for me to send you up to 3 pounds by Media Mail within the United States.
I must limit this to one gift package per name or address. I reserve the right to reject requests that I deem, in my sole judgement, to be abusive of our generosity.
Your request must be postmarked no later than my birthday – November 17, 2005.
If you like, you may include a list of Atlas d20 titles you already own, and I'll try to send you items you don't already own, if possible – but I can't promise any specific titles, and what I send is ultimately up to my personal whim. I am the birthday boy, and this is my party!
Please be patient in waiting for delivery. Besides the fact that media mail is slow (but cheap), filling these requests will have to take a lower priority than other tasks on my to-do list (such as making sales calls and shipping goods to distributors), and I have no idea how many people will respond to this invitation.
Send your SASE to:
Atlas Games
attn: John's Birthday Presents
885 Pierce Butler Route
Saint Paul, MN 55104
If you enjoy the books you receive, please consider visiting your local game store (or Warehouse 23) to pick up more Atlas Games titles. (Yes, this is a shameless marketing effort as well as a gift!)
Thanks again to all of our customers who have made this job fun and engrossing for more than 15 years!
Status Reports
Dungeoneer Order Deadline
As previously announced, November brings us two stocking-fulls of early Christmas cheer: the reprint of
Vault of the Fiends (AG1242, $19.95) and a new double deck
Dungeoneer set,
Realm of the Ice Witch(AG1246, $19.95). We've given distributors a deadline of Monday, Nov. 14th to turn in orders, so that we can ship them out next week and have them on the shelves of most stores before "black Friday" (the day after Thanksgiving in the US, traditionally the biggest holiday shopping day). We are also very optimistic about having some copies in our booth at Gen Con So Cal (drop by to say "hi" to Jeff and Jerry if you're in attendance), assuming the games ship from the printer as expected late this week.
The next
Ars Magica sourcebook,
The Mysteries Revised (AG0279, $29.95), is running very late -- obviously it missed its intended October release date. We are expecting to combine its printing with the next
Ars book,
Covenants (AG0280, $29.95), and release both in the second half of January.
We have a bunch of new projects in the works for 2006, in addition to quarterly sourcebooks for Ars Magica. Some of them involve production overseas, however, and after our experiences with unpredictable shipping on Gloom, we're trying to be cautious in announcing ship dates. The result may be that our schedule looks a little light in the first quarter right now, but do not fear ... 2005 is looking like it may be our best year for gross sales in a decade, and it may well be our most profitable year ever. We're quietly laying the groundwork for 2006 to be even better.
OUAT Rules in Japanese
I've just posted the
Japanese translation of the rules to the
Once Upon a Time web page. Our thanks to Atsushi Moriike.
Also, I updated the
Cthulhu 500 FAQ. Worth a look!
Let's Kill Review
We just received a note from Angus Abranson that he's posted a review of Let's Kill on his LiveJournal. Check it out at
http://www.livejournal.com/users/angusabranson/400270.html!
Kinks All Worked Out (?)
I think we've got all the kinks worked out of the Atlas web site now. If you hit any problems, please email me at michelle@atlas-games.com . If you sent us an email yesterday or today and don't get a reply in the next few days, you might try resending since we switched over all our emails, as well.
I'm also happy to unveil our new SELF-HOSTED forums. You can visit them NOW at www.atlas-games.com/forum . I'll be changing the link on the front page in the next few days, can closing down the old forums in the next week or so. We think the new forums will be much easier for our fans to navigate, and we like the lack of advertisements, too. :)
Atlas-games.com Switching Hosts
We're swiching to a new website host. Please bear with us if you encounter any troubles in the next few days.
Stilt-Walker for Nyambe
Discover the Stilt-Walker prestige class an a host of related wondrous items in the
Walking with the Orisha PDF, an out-take from
Ancestral Vault for
Nyambe D20. This is the last of the recently re-discovered bonus Nyambe material that we've been slowly doling out, so enjoy!
Remember, too, that Nyambe is the African analogue used in
Northern Crown D20, the setting of magic and adventure in the colonial New World.
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