If you or any of your friends have been looking for a way to learn DCC RPG, we've got a week of educational fun ahead of you! We're about to kick off DCC Demo Week!
On the new release front, we've just opened up purchasing Fantasy Grounds keys for both The Dungeon Alphabet and The Monster Alphabet on our online store. We've also updated our PDF store to make things easier for you to find. And it's the final weekend for the Bundles of Holding featuring DCC RPG and DCC Lankhmar!
Fans of 5E will love hearing that Dungeon Con Online will now feature a new Team Tournament, The Prism of Redemption! Sign up for it is now open!
We round out the week with a profile of legendary Flash Gordon artist and creator Alex Raymond and the sword and sorcery tales of Keith Taylor's Bard.
Let's get to it!
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SIGN UP FOR DCC DEMO WEEK |
Looking for something to do this weekend? Or maybe next week? We’d like to offer the opportunity to learn Dungeon Crawl Classics from one of our experienced Judges—and it all starts tomorrow, Saturday, May 8.
We call it DCC Demo Week, and it’s our way to help folks looking to learn Dungeon Crawl Classics do so with our experienced team of Judges. And getting involved is easy! All you have to do is navigate over to our Events Page and look for the DCC Demo Week banners. Click on the one for the date that works best for you and follow the sign-up instructions. It’s that easy!
There are a total of ten options for you to choose from, spanning seven full days of gaming fun. Spaces are limited, however, so don’t delay! We expect the slots to fill up fast.
Here’s the schedule of events so you can find the day that works best for you:
Saturday, May 8
Sunday, May 9
Monday, May 10
Tuesday, May 11
Wednesday, May 12
Thursday, May 13
Friday, May 14
So be sure to join us starting tomorrow as we take you into the realms of DCC RPG! Our Judges are ready to roll some dice, and we’ve got a seat prepped at the table! All that’s missing is YOU!
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NEW IN THE ONLINE STORE: FANTASY GROUNDS KEYS FOR DUNGEON ALPHABET AND MONSTER ALPHABET |
We’ve got some fantastic news for you no matter what system you use for your role-playing game: both The Dungeon Alphabet and The Monster Alphabet are available for Fantasy Grounds through our online store!
Both of these books are—as the name implies—alphabetical guides to help you craft a more rounded role-playing experience for you and your players. Each provides charts and guides designed to detail individual parts of your campaign and add flavor and inspiration.
Let’s take a closer look!
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The Dungeon Alphabet compiles inspirational tables on classic dungeon design elements to assist the game master in creating subterranean challenges.
A is for Altar, B is for Books, and C is for Caves: The Dungeon Alphabet has advice, hints, and randomized tables that bring new life to your adventures.
The entries are accompanied by outstanding art from classic fantasy illustrators and are compatible with all fantasy role-playing games. This printing features art by Russ Nicholson, Jeff Easley, Jim Holloway, Peter Mullen, Michael Wilson, and Brad McDevitt.
NOTE: This version of The Dungeon Alphabet is a product key for Fantasy Grounds. This purchase will provide a license key for use on their site.
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Designing monsters is as easy as A, B, C!
What foul beasts slosh and gibber in the furthest reaches of your skull? Unleash your demons with The Monster Alphabet, a compilation of monster design elements keyed to letters of the alphabet.
A is for Android, B is for Breath Weapon, C is for Crossbreed! Game masters of any rule system will find inspiration for creating strange, new abominations: random tables of traits, powers, and lore; awe-inspiring illustrations by your favorite fantasy artists old and new; and rolling handfuls of dice directly on monster generation diagrams.
The entries are accompanied by fantastic art from classic fantasy illustrators and are compatible with all fantasy role-playing games.
Featuring a foreword by noted designer Frank Mentzer!
NOTE: This version of The Monster Alphabet is a product key for Fantasy Grounds. This purchase will provide a license key for use on their site.
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BUNDLE OF HOLDING ENDS THIS WEEKEND! |
If you want to save and save big, you need to head over and grab our latest Bundle of Holding while you can! Sunday is the last day for the big deal offering massive grab bag bundles of DCC and DCC Lankhmar ebooks and e-modules, with enough bonuses to provide you with years worth of gaming! But you don’t have a lot of time left! If you are on the fence, you need to fall on over and grab these bundles today, because time is running out!
Not only will you get some amazing product at a spectacular price, but ten percent of your payment (after payment gateway fees) for these two Dungeon Crawl Classics offers will be donated to our chosen charity, the San Francisco-Marin Food Bank.
Let’s take a look!
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For just $14.95 you get all four titles in this offer’s Starter Collection (retail value $52) as DRM-free PDF ebooks, including the complete 506-page DCC RPG Core Rulebook, the Gen Con tournament module The Black Heart of Thakulon the Undying, the 0-level funnel module Sailors on the Starless Sea, and the DCC Judge’s Screen.
And if you pay more than this offer’s threshold price of $29.97, you’ll level up and also get this offer’s entire Bonus Collection with six complete modules (for character levels 1-6) worth an additional $42, including The Queen of Elfland’s Son, Moon-Slaves of the Cannibal Kingdom, The Star Wound of Abaddon, Emirikol Was Framed, Beyond the Black Gate, and Imprisoned in the God-Skull.
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The DCC Lankhmar Bundle presents the Lankhmar campaign setting for Dungeon Crawl Classics. Authorized by the estate of master fantasist Fritz Leiber, the Lankhmar line expands the DCC RPG rules to match the tone of Leiber’s classic sword-and-sorcery stories. Explore the City of Seven-Score Thousand Smokes, Lankhmar, and follow in the footsteps of Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser across the fantastic realm of Nehwon.
For just $14.95 you get both titles in this offer’s Starter Collection (retail value $47) as DRM-free PDF ebooks, including the massive DCC Lankhmar Boxed Set (plus the free DCC Quick Start Rules) and the introductory adventure Gang Lords of Lankhmar.
And if you pay more than this offer’s threshold price of $25.16, you’ll level up and also get this offer’s entire Bonus Collection with eight supplements and modules worth an additional $56, including The Land of Eight Cities, A Dozen Lankhmar Locations, The Fence’s Fortuitous Folly, Acting Up in Lankhmar, Grave Matters, Rats of Ilthmar, Violence for Votishal, and Blasphemy and Larceny in Lankhmar.
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Sunday is the final day of this deal! This bargain will be gone before you know it. So head on over to the Bundle of Holding site and grab both of them today! Not only will you be getting some amazing role-playing material, but you’ll be helping out some hungry folks in the process.
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Sometimes it’s not about the handsome hardcover on the bookshelf, but the electronic file when and where you want it. For quick reference, limitless storage, and super-portability the humble PDF file has been a friend to RPGers for years now, and they’ve always proved to be a popular option in our Online Store.
Recently we’ve redesigned the way our PDF store content is organized to make it a better and more intuitive experience for our customers. No matter if you are looking for something specific, or just want to discover new books while browsing, we wanted to give you the tools to do just that. So, not only is our PDF landing page divided into useful categories for shopping, we’ve also just added a new drop down menu at the top of the page — just click ‘PDF Store Menu‘ in the menu bar at the top of the store page to get a slew of helpful sub-categories that let you browse by game system or product group.
That means it’s now possible to see a whole lot of related PDFs you might be interested in with just a few clicks, without having to know exactly what titles you’re looking for when you enter the store. Easy and convenient — just like PDFs themselves!
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THE SHELF FILE OF HOLDING KICKSTARTER IS LIVE! |
We’re calling it The Shelf File of Holding…for now. Or maybe The Adventure Organizer. Or maybe something else. We actually ran a contest to name this thing, but the winner hasn’t been decided yet.
No matter what name it ends up with, our brand new Kickstarter funds a custom-printed shelf file designed for holding adventure modules, hardcover RPG books, and boxed sets. And this gorgeous container features four exterior panels with new hand-painted art by Doug Kovacs!
The shelf file has a 3” wide spine, which is thick enough to fit two big hardbacks, about 25 “skinny modules,” or one to two RPG boxed sets—and it also fits board games that are in letter-sized dimensions. It comes with preprinted spine labels you can use to identify the contents.
In other words, it’s amazingly useful! And the perfect way to keep your games organized on the shelf. Hence the name! …or lack thereof. In fact, we’re going to make naming this thing a part of the Kickstarter!
Every day we will change the title of this project to a new prospective name. Over the course of the project, you will see two dozen possible names! Once the project ends, all backers will be given a chance to vote. May the best name win!
And there’s much more to learn about the campaign! Including add-ons (a whole bunch of modules to fill your Shelfie, for example), bonus items, and more! Head on over to the Kickstarter page and read all about it.
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ANNOUNCING THE PRISM OF REDEMPTION 5E TEAM TOURNAMENT |
We love team tournaments. A group of PCs running through a dungeon crafted to test their skills and teamwork just does something for our hearts. And we’ve got a special event at the upcoming Dungeon Con Online that checks all of the boxes.
And it’s time to sign up to play! Event registration is open for our first-ever team tournament for Dungeon Con Online. Four teams will battle it out for a chance to be one of two finalists competing not only for the title but also for Goodman Games online store credit!
Let’s look at the details!
THE PRISM OF REDEMPTION
Goodman Games is proud to present the 1st Annual 5E Team Tournament. Your team has been summoned to the estate of Lady Leda Adelhorn, a fallen celestial seeking to redeem herself to her deity and return to her rightful place at his side in the Celestial Heavens. She needs your band to plane hop through a series of magic mirrors to gain three famed stones to complete the Rod of Celestia. Armed with the rod, Lady Adelhorn can confront the dragon Zamyra and reclaim her standing among the heavenly hosts. This is a two-round event. The top two scoring teams will participate in the final round (Sunday at 1:00 p.m. EST). Each player on the winning team will get a $50 Goodman Games online store credit! Pre-Generated 12th level characters will be provided.
Team Size: 4 players per team minimum; 5 to 6 players preferred.
Tournament Schedule:
Round 1 (4 Hour slot):
Round 2 (4 Hour slot):
- Sunday from 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. EST: Judge Ray Franklin
- Sunday from 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. EST: Judge Mihailo Tesic
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A PROFILE OF LEGENDARY ILLUSTRATOR ALEX RAYMOND
by Joshua LH Burnett
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Few people have influenced American comics as much as Alex Raymond. While “Jungle Jim” and “Rip Carson” may not be household names, Raymond’s most famous creation, Flash Gordon, is so ingrained into American pop culture that simply his name can be used as shorthand for a specific type of heroic, romantic science fiction. Alex Raymond’s career was short, and his death came far too soon, but his art and influence are immortal.
Alexander Gillespie Raymond Jr was born in 1909 to Beatrice and Alexander Raymond in New Rochelle, NY. Alex’s father was a civil engineer, who supported his son’s artistic interests. Sadly, the elder Raymond died when his son was 12, and Alex Jr. decided against going into art as a career. Instead, Raymond went to Iona Preparatory School on an athletic scholarship and pursued a career in finance. He briefly worked in a brokerage office on Wall Street, but the financial crash of 1929 ended that career path. Returning to his earlier ambitions, Raymond enrolled in the Grand Central School of Art in New York City, a storied institution that would count artists such as Normal Rockwell, Charles Addams, and Bob Kane among its alumni...
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UNDER THE SPELL OF KEITH TAYLOR'S BARD SONGS
by Brian Murphy
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A characteristic of good sword-and-sorcery is earthiness; even if not set in some ancient age of our own earth, sword-and-sorcery nevertheless is typically gritty, even grimy, in its realism. Joseph McCullough once described sword-and-sorcery with the terse, pithy, “fantasy with dirt.” That works for me.
Over this layer of grit, which serves to ground the reader somewhere recognizable and to spare overly tedious worldbuilding, the skilled sword-and-sorcery writer adds in the fantastic, in small doses. Weird monsters and dark sorcery that feels alien, and dangerous, and when it appears casts its spell upon the reader...
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NOW AVAILABLE FOR PRE-ORDER: TALES FROM THE MAGICIAN'S SKULL #6 |
It is time to return to Lankhmar in the pages of Tales From The Magician’s Skull #6!
Issue #6 of Tales From The Magician’s Skull is now available for pre-order! This exciting issue is currently in layout and scheduled to ship in June. It contains an amazing array of sword-and-sorcery fiction that will thrill the reader, and begins our new series of Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser stories! As we previously announced, we reached an agreement with the estate of Fritz Leiber to publish new authorized stories set in the lands of Nehwon! Over the coming years, Tales From The Magician’s Skull will support the city of Lankhmar and its most famous residents with a series of new stories and novellas that faithfully expands upon the legendary tales originally told by Fritz Leiber—and it begins right now.
Author Nathan Long has written a new short story starring Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser that appears in Tales From the Magician’s Skull #6. This entertaining tale finds the twain engaged in somewhat honest employment in the theatre trade, in order to pursue somewhat dishonest aims involving the sorcerer’s guild, with a somewhat incomplete plan that only Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser could devise.
Of course, that duo is far from alone in the pages of the newest issue. We’ve got some amazing stories that will thrill and entertain from a blockbuster roster of talent.
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STORIES
Calicask’s Woman by John Hocking
A TALE OF THE KING’S BLADE • “I can’t hold them back for long,” gasped the apprentice. His face had gone pallid and sweat dripped from his chin. “Stand by the opening and try to take them one at a time. Perhaps we can… where are you going?!”
The Feathered Shroud by Howard Andrew Jones
A TALE OF HANUVAR • The water behind the soldier erupted, and Hanuvar lunged past him to jam the pitchfork at a shovel-shaped reptilian head. The tines bit deep, and the dark water reddened.
Guilty Creatures by Nathan Long
A TALE OF FAFHRD AND THE GRAY MOUSER • In the circle, Mouser stared cross-eyed at the tip of Kalphin’s blade, knowing death was coming to him at last.
Shadows of a Forgotten Queen by Greg Mele
I’ve seen a maiden’s veins opened as she is led through the fields, watering the new crops with her life’s blood in honor of Majawl, Our Lady of Maize, and lit my own father’s funeral pyre. But what manner of man owned books made of human flesh?
Cold in Blood by James Enge
A STORY OF MORLOCK AMBROSIUS • She moved with a lithe, muscular dancer’s grace as she walked around him to enter the room. Her hair was a waterfall of starless night. Her eyes were the stars, shining with tears. Morlock had seen a more beautiful woman, but not recently.
Isle of Fog by Violette Malan
Dhulyn judged from the way his mouth moved now that he was screaming. That was easy to fix, she thought, as she brought her sword up and sent the head bouncing and rolling across the tiled floor.
ARTICLES
A Profile of Fritz Leiber by Michael Curtis
Any writer who encountered Adventure magazine between 1917 and the early 1930s would have had Harold Lamb’s work readily at hand, because he was one of the magazine’s most popular writers and appeared there with great frequency. Probably the most important of those who saw him, though, was a Texan named Robert E. Howard…
The Monster Pit by Terry Olson
Enter the monster pit! Down here in the pit, we provide tabletop RPG fans with playable DCC RPG game statistics for the creatures in this issue of Tales From The Magician’s Skull.
The Skull Speaks by The Skull Himself
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TEMPLE OF ELEMENTAL EVIL PRINTER PROOFS APPROVED |
We’re pleased to announce that OAR #6: Temple of Elemental Evil is progressing well at the printer! In fact, we just approved the printer proofs, which means that we’re ready to move on to the next step in the printing process.
And the best news: everything is on track for an August release.
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OAR #6: Temple of Elemental Evil is a huge two-volume set contained in a custom-printed slipcase, gathering together the original printed material and a brand-new 5E translation. In the photo above, you can see the covers for the two hardcovers that are included inside the slipcase, as well as select pages from inside—including Doug Kovacs’ all-new endsheet art!
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