Polyg lot ™ Volume #4

Issue #16
The language of gaming

Wizards of the Coast not to renew Star Wars® License

There have been several questions lately regarding the future of the Star Wars
Miniatures and Roleplaying Game and until now I haven’t had definitive answers
to give you. After a lengthy evaluation, Wizards of the Coast has decided not to
renew the Star Wars license with Lucasfilm. We’ve had a long and fantastic run,
but with the economic downturn, we have made the tough decision to discontinue
our Star Wars lines.
The license officially ends in May this year, with WotC product available
through August. In the meantime, we have awesome new products still coming
your way. This week, we released The Dark Times minis and Galaxy of Intrigue
RPG. We’ll have more coming with Masters of the Force minis in April, which
will have some of your most favorite characters along with rare creatures from the
Dejarik Holochess game that have never appeared in our game. We’ll also release
The Unknown Regions RPG in April, which includes entirely new planets and
mini-adventures for each world.
We are finishing the line with a bang so look for special programs at your
local game store to stock up on favorite sets before they go into the vault. We will
continue to support our Star Wars forums on the Wizards Community site so you
can reach out and chat with us and other fans.
While I know the news is disappointing, we wanted to make this announcement as soon as possible and thank you for being such
great fans. It’s been a fantastic ride with the Star Wars community and working with Lucasfilm. We hope you enjoy the next several
months of great products. You never know when we may circle back again!

Greg Yahn

Director of Marketing, Wizards of the Coast

WotC not to renew Star Wars license_____________________________________________ 1
Cubicle 7 and Sophisticated Games to develop LorR RPG_____________________________2
DTRPG customers donate $178K to MSF_ ________________________________________ 3
UDE ends dispute with Konami_ _______________________________________________4
Newest Pulp Figure releases available_ ___________________________________________4
GHQ new web site specials____________________________________________________ 5
WotC continues with Stainless Games_ __________________________________________6
News from I.C.E._ __________________________________________________________ 7
N.B.M. in Spring____________________________________________________________8
Crime Network released in PDF________________________________________________9
Tabletop Adventures — Valentine Sale_ __________________________________________9
Gorilla Games to release Bot Wars for Battlestations_________________________________9
Signs & Porterns free download_ ______________________________________________ 10
News from Flying Buffalo____________________________________________________ 11
Printing and design tips_ ____________________________________________________ 12
Newest featured reviews from DriveThruComics.com_______________________________ 13
New Traveller releases_______________________________________________________ 16
News from SPAN__________________________________________________________ 17
Tips from About.com_______________________________________________________ 18
More featured reviews from OneBookShelp______________________________________ 19
Hârn News_______________________________________________________________ 23
Catalyst Game Labs press release_ _____________________________________________ 24
Librairie Drawn & Quarterly April news_________________________________________ 25
Call for GMs______________________________________________________________ 26
Deus Vult________________________________________________________________ 26
Forgeworld_______________________________________________________________ 27
Hex Games releases The Pytheas Club_ _________________________________________ 28
Old Country______________________________________________________________ 29
Avalanche Press_ __________________________________________________________ 29
Gamers Guide to Feudal Japan________________________________________________ 30
My Magic contest results_____________________________________________________ 31
Onsidian Portal_ __________________________________________________________ 32
Traveller Open Day May 1____________________________________________________ 33
0one Games______________________________________________________________ 34
Traveller, Earthdawn and Paranoia_ ____________________________________________ 35
Combat Mission: Afghanistan_________________________________________________ 36
Oregon Convention Center adopts new technology_________________________________ 37
Alien Monster Bowling League________________________________________________ 38
ZDnet_ _________________________________________________________________ 39
GameIndustry.com_________________________________________________________40
Legal Notice______________________________________________________________ 41

A free publication by Polymancer® Studios, Inc..

20 Weredale Park, Westmount QC, H3Z 1Y6 CANADA
(514) 667-1585 (Canada) • Skype: Polymancer • Twitter: Polymancer
polyglot@polymancerstudios.com, www.polymancer.com

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Cubicle 7 Entertainment and Sophisticated Games
announce that they are developing The One Ring: The Lord
of the Rings® Role Playing Game.
Cubicle 7 Entertainment and Sophisticated Games are proud to announce that they are jointly developing The One
Ring: The Lord of the Rings® Role-playing Game. ™
“We’re tremendously excited about The One Ring,” said Dominic McDowall-Thomas, Cubicle 7 Director. “Our
aim is to give our audience an authentic Middle-earth gaming experience, one that really captures the feel of Tolkien’s
world.”
The designer and lead writer of this project, Francesco Nepitello, is a games industry veteran, best known for the
hugely successful and critically acclaimed War of the Ring strategy board game, which he designed with The One Ring
co-designer Marco Maggi and Roberto di Meglio. A recipient of the International Gamers Award, *War of the Ring*
is recognised by many ‘Lord of the Rings’ enthusiasts and hobby gamers alike as one of the most engaging recreations
of the world-renowned fantasy saga by J.R.R. Tolkien. Francesco and Marco are the designers of other immersive
board game titles like Marvel Super Heroes and Age of Conan, but started their game-designing careers creating Lex Arcana, the most
successful and popular fantasy role-playing game published in Italy.
Francesco has designed the new LOTR RPG game system to make sure that players are completely immersed in Middle-earth from
the moment they begin creating their characters. As an experienced designer of games based on JRR Tolkien, as well as being a lifelong
devotee of the Tolkien works, Francesco brings a dimension -and a depth- to this RPG which has probably never been seen before in a
LOTR game.
Robert Hyde, head of Cambridge (UK) based Sophisticated Games said, “When we first acquired the rights from Tolkien Enterprises
to publish this RPG - as part of our wider LOTR book based board game license- we had no hesitation in approaching Francesco to
conceive a completely fresh LOTR and The Hobbit RPG, and for him to be the writer. We knew that he possessed both these skills and
that the game would be in very safe hands. His presentation of Middle-earth, along with stunning artwork from John Howe and others,
brings this incredibly evocative and exciting world to life.”
“We also approached Cubicle 7 to be our publishing partners on the new The One Ring RPG because we loved the quality of their
previous publications and felt that Dominic and Angus (Abranson) had both the experience, and with the creation of Cubicle 7, the role
playing game resources, to bring LOTR and The Hobbit to a very wide audience.”
For more information on The One Ring: The Lord of the Rings® Role-playing Game please contact Cubicle 7 on info@cubicle7.
co.uk
The One Ring: The Lord of the Rings® Role-playing Game will be published in the second half of 2010.

About Cubicle 7 Entertainment Limited*

Cubicle 7 Entertainment is a British-based publisher and events company, specialising in the games industry. Founded in 2006, by
Angus Abranson and Dominic McDowall-Thomas, the company has published role-playing games from a list of licensed and home-
grown properties including Victoriana, Starblazer Adventure (based on DC Thomson’s 80’s Starblazer comic series), SLA Industries,
Qin: The Warring States and the recent Doctor Who: Adventures in Time and Space (licensed from the BBC). In June 2009 Cubicle 7
announced it had joined the Rebellion Group.
Cubicle 7 Entertainment: http://www.cubicle7.co.uk

About Sophisticated Games*

Sophisticated Games is an international board game publisher, specialising in book based Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit games.
It is also the publisher of Reiner Knizia’s Ingenious and Callisto, and has recently done Ken Follett’s Pillars of the Earth, Shakespeare
and a Horrible Histories game. Sophisticated Games is based in Cambridge UK.
Sophisticated Games: http://www.sophisticated-games.com
The One Ring, Middle-earth, The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, and the characters, items, events and places therein are trademarks or registered trademarks of the Saul Zaentz Company d/b/a Middle-
earth Enterprises f/k/a Tolkien Enterprises and are used under license by Sophisticated Games Ltd and their licensees.

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DriveThruRPG's Customers Donate $178,900.00 to Doctors
Without Borders for Haiti Relief
(Atlanta, GA) — DriveThruRPG, an online marketplace for traditional
dice-and-paper roleplaying games, recently conducted a fund-raising program
in the wake of the devastating earthquake that affected Haiti. The effort
resulted in an amount of $178,900.00 being wired to the international relief ™
organization, Doctors Without Borders.
“Nothing like this has ever happened in our community,” said Sean
Patrick Fannon, Marketing Manager for DriveThruRPG. “The response of the publishers
and the gaming community has been nothing short of miraculous. I am extremely
proud of what we've all done here. It can't take away the misery and tragedy faced
by the people of Haiti, but we are hopeful that our efforts can bring some relief
and recovery to them.”
DriveThruRPG chose Doctors Without Borders because of their flawless
reputation for bringing medical and humanitarian aid to those in need without
any partisan or philosophical agenda attached. Already on the ground when the
earthquake struck, Doctors Without Borders is perfectly positioned to make immediate and efficient use of the funds collected.
"We are extremely grateful to DriveThruRPG and the roleplaying game community for choosing to contribute to Doctors Without
Borders. Their generosity will help provide lifesaving and urgently needed humanitarian assistance to the victims of the recent earthquake
in Haiti," said Jennifer Tierney, Director of Development for Doctors Without Borders-USA. "As Doctors Without Borders provides
surgery for victims of the earthquake, as well as post-operative care, mental health support, and other medical care, this contribution will
make a real difference in Haiti."
Reports from Doctors Without Borders indicate that over 11,000 have been treated by them, with over 1,300 surgeries performed
(most of them major). The money donated by DriveThruRPG will go directly to helping rebuild their supplies and expanding their
operations during the recovery of the Haitian nation.
“This is just the beginning,” said Steve Wieck, CEOof DriveThruRPG. “We've tapped into a real power for positive social change
and charitable good here, and we're looking ahead to future opportunities to use our technology to help game publishers and game fans
network to provide assistance to those in need.”

About DriveThruRPG

DriveThruRPG.com is the world's largest source of roleplaying game products available for download. It is an industry leader in
modern business and technology developments for the tabletop gaming fan. For more information, contact Sean Patrick Fannon (sean@
onebookshelf.com, 614-946-9371).

About Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières

Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) is an international medical humanitarian organization working in
nearly 70 countries to assist people whose survival is threatened by violence, neglect, or catastrophe. For more information, contact Emily
Linendoll, Press Officer (emily.linendoll@newyork.msf.org, 212-763-5764).

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Upper Deck Ends Dispute with Konami
Favorable outcome for the trading card giant
Carlsbad, CA — Upper Deck is pleased to announce that it has come to a successful resolution with Konami over their year-long
dispute regarding Yu-Gi-Oh!® trading cards. On the eve of trial, the court issued several rulings in Upper Deck’s favor which eliminated
and gravely threatened many of Konami’s monetary claims requests. These rulings sent Konami and its attorneys into retreat as Konami’s
™
case was disintegrating. These events, and these events alone, provided the framework for the case to be resolved after opening statements
were presented to the jury.
"Upper Deck is extremely pleased with the cooperative resolution with Konami. Sometimes it simply takes a courtroom, the presence
of a jury, and the start of a trial for a party like Konami to finally recognize that it will be unable to live up to its pre-trial rhetoric," said
Richard K. Howell, a partner at Rutan & Tucker in Costa Mesa, California.
Upper Deck had a long history with Yu-Gi-Oh! and is proud to have been such a vital part of the brands success in North America
and Europe over the past six years. By creating a top notch organized play program and spending tens of millions of dollars on marketing
and television broadcast, Upper Deck built a solid foundation on which Yu-Gi-Oh! will benefit for years to come.
“Though we are delighted that Konami was finally forced to see the light regarding its claims, there is, of course, a bittersweet side to
the ending of this dispute,” added Richard McWilliam, Upper Deck CEO. “During the six years we spent building the Yu-Gi-Oh! brand
we formed strong ties to the playing community, and, in the end, they are the ones that suffered most because of this lawsuit. Instead of
focusing on the merits of the case, Konami focused its efforts on pursuing exaggerated claims and damages which it could not establish
in the courtroom.”

About Upper Deck

Upper Deck is the leading sports and entertainment trading card and collectibles company. For more information on Upper Deck
and its products please visit www.upperdeck.com.

MEDIA CONTACT:

Terry Melia, Public Relations Mgr., Upper Deck

760-929-3055
terry_melia@upperdeck.com

Newest Pulp Figure Releases Available

Please drop in for a look at the newest sets;

•  PHP-18 Rugged Sons of the Empire

•  PSS-7 Merchant Seamen Gun Crews
•  PSS-8 Light Deck Weapons (2ea)

Bob Murch,

www.pulpfigures.com

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GHQ New Web Site Specials!!
We have recently changed the specials on our website. These special offers are only available on orders that are placed through our
secure web site, and will only be available for a limited time. If you see something that you want, ACT NOW, these won't be here for
long!

R-1 T-34/76 Model

1941
Was $9.95, now only
$7.80, save 22%!! http://www.ghqmodels. ™
com/store/r1.html

R-33 BT-8 Was $9.95, now only

http://www.ghqmodels.
$7.80, save 22%!!
com/store/r33.html

R-3 KV-1 Was $9.95, now only

http://www.ghqmodels.
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com/store/r3.html

W-35 BMP-2 Was $9.95, now only

$7.80, save 22%!! http://www.ghqmodels.
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W-2 PT-76 Was $9.95, now only

$7.80, save 22%!! http://www.ghqmodels.
com/store/w2.html

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P o l y g l o t
SUN-1 BB Was $13.50, now only http://www.ghqmodels.
Oktyabrskaya $10.15, save 25%!! com/store/sun1.html
Revolutsiya

SUN-3 CA Kirov Was $9.95, now only

http://www.ghqmodels.
$7.80, save 22%!!
com/store/sun3.html ™

While you are on our web site, you may want to check out what everyone has to say on our online forum, or take a look at our newsletter
archive.

Thank you for your support,

GHQ

Wizards of the Coast Continues With Stainless Games

RENTON, Wash.— Wizards of the Coast LLC, a subsidiary of Hasbro, Inc. (NYSE: HAS), today announced a new business deal
signed with UK developer Stainless Games, Ltd. following the success of Magic: The Gathering – Duels of the Planeswalkers on Xbox
LIVE Arcade.
“We are thrilled with the work that Stainless Games has done on Duels of the Planeswalkers and look forward to our future
endeavors,” said Simon Blackwell, VP of Digital Games at Wizards of the Coast.
"Stainless is delighted to be continuing and extending our relationship with Wizards of the Coast,” said Patrick Buckland, CEO of
Stainless Games. “There can be few properties anywhere in the world that can compete with those within the Wizards stable. Being able
to be a big part of the push to bring these fantastic brands into the digital domain is a dream come true for us."
Duels of the Planeswalkers continues to be one of the most downloaded games on Xbox LIVE Arcade, and has been a consistent
Top 10 title since its launch in June 2009. Duels of the Planeswalkers lets players simulate the Magic: The Gathering Trading Card
Game through an interactive digital experience. Players take on the role of a Planeswalker, a powerful wizard who battles others for glory,
knowledge and conquest. Each Planeswalker has an arsenal of spells and creatures showcased by virtual cards. Players can either choose
to battle against the computer or compete online against real life opponents using Microsoft’s Xbox LIVE service offerings.
About Magic: The Gathering

Magic: The Gathering is the first and most widely played trading card game. Players take on the role of Planeswalkers – powerful mages who battle others for glory, knowledge and conquest. Their weapons include spells,
creatures, and artifacts gathered from a vast multiverse of unique fantasy worlds. With over 10,000 different cards available, Magic offers an unrivaled depth of game play with many levels of choice and customization for its
players. The cards feature unique illustrations by top fantasy artists inspired by familiar elements of myth and legend. These elements weave together to provide a strategically rich and satisfying game play experience.

About Wizards

Wizards of the Coast is the leader in entertaining the lifestyle gamer. The company holds an exclusive patent on trading card games (TCGs) and their method of play and produces the premier trading card game, MAGIC:
THE GATHERING®, among many other trading card games and family card and board games. Wizards is also a leading publisher of roleplaying games, such as DUNGEONS & DRAGONS®, and publisher of fantasy series
fiction with numerous New York Times best-sellers. For more information, visit the Wizards of the Coast website at www.wizards.com.

About Stainless Games

Stainless Games is a privately owned company based on the South Coast of the UK. Although best known for the creation of the multi-million selling Carmageddon franchise, the company has most recently become
recognized as one of the world’s leading companies in the burgeoning Console Download market. For more information visit the Stainless Games website at www.stainlessgames.com.

Magic: The Gathering, Magic, Duels of the Planeswalkers and Dungeons & Dragons are trademarks of Wizards of the Coast LLC in the U.S.A. and other countries.

© 2010 Wizards

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News from I.C.E.
Fan Sites! Each backdrop gives a full description of one location of
the Great City, with NPCs, detailed maps, and illustrations. This
It has come to ICE's attention that there are some ICE fans product is a perfect tool for a GM wanting to use an urban location
out there whose ISP doesn't give them the freedom to setup their as an adventure place.
website in the manner that they want.
ICE has come up with a solution - Fan Sites. For a small ™
The Dungeon Under the Mountain: Level 10 – Virtual Boxed
monthly fee, we provide you with unlimited space and unlimited Set
bandwidth for you to use as you see fit, so long as you follow the
guidelines. The Dungeon Under the Mountain: Level 10 – Virtual Boxed
To get more information, click here. Set© is a deluxe edition of the The Dungeon Under the Mountain:
Level 10, containing extra material you will not find in the original
Updated Online IP Rules product.
Contains Level 10 of Dungeon under the mountain, 123 new
We have recently gone through and updated our rules room templates, 8 new dungeon sublevels, and 3 new dungeon
regarding the usage of ICE's material on websites by fans. We have flavor tables! And all but Level 10 is exclusive to this product!!
actually gone ahead and specifically defined what ICE considers to
be Fair Use. The Dungeon Under the Mountain: Level 10
Please review the new guidelines – here – and please make sure
that if you have a website, that it adheres to these new policies. The level 10 is also known as the “staircase level” as it features
many large rooms with stone spiral staircases. These staircase are
Rolemaster: Rome, Rolemaster Classic goes Classical rumoured to lead in smaller (but not les dangerous) sublevels.
The Dungeon Under The Mountain is a massive dungeon you
Rolemaster: Rome brings can locate anywhere in your campaign world. Each level contains
you everything you need to hundreds of rooms ready to be filled with the critters of your choice
run your Rolemaster Classic and with the devious traps you prefer.
game in the greatest Empire
the world has ever seen: The Woodland Glades
Roman Empire. This brand
new book provides a wealth Four gorgeous maps for you to enhance your wilderness
of setting detail as well as encounters. Set your deadly traps in the orcs’ encampment, place
new rules to give you a whole your spectral undead in the ruined manor, challenge your players
new world of adventure for with the enigmatic lake hermit or let them face the cultists in the
Rolemaster. monolith glade.
Play as a noble Patrician, Contains the Hermit’s Hut, the Ruined Manor, the Orc
a sturdy Centurion, a ferocious Camp, and the Monolith.
Gladiator or a feared Curse-
Seller. Battle Gauls, Pirates Great City Player’s Guide
and even terrifying creatures
from Mythology as you make your names in the most powerful The sourcebook contains new races, residences in the Great
city in the world: Rome. City, taxation, religion, azindralean tongs, organizations, new core
classes, new prestige classes, professions, feats, spells, Great City
The Great City: Backdrops specific equipment, gaslight technology, weather and climate,
calendar and days of the week, constellations and Auspicious signs
This compilation contains the five original and more.
Great City Blueprints Backdrops pieces, with shiny The Great City is rife with excitement, intrigue and adventure;
new Pathfinder stat-blocks, and a streamlined, dare your characters make it their home?
simplified format. The backdrops were revised by
Tim Hitchcock to match the rules presented in The
Great City Player’s Guide.

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N.B.M. in Spring
Currently being solicited for arrival in comics shops in April, 2010:

A HOME FOR MR. EASTER — Brooke A. Allen

You will love this crazy energetic book by a refreshing new talent! Tesana has never ™
really fit into anything before but her daydreams. But when making an attempt to connect to
her peers by joining in a pep rally planning committee she suddenly discovers a little white
rabbit that lays brightly colored eggs. Realizing that she may have found the real life Easter
bunny, Tesana embarks on an epic quest in an effort to get him back to his natural habitat
and into safe hands. However as she progresses on her fanciful journey she gains more and
more undesired attention until the quest becomes an increasingly madcap race to stay ahead
of greedy pursuers and find a safe place for her new friend…wherever that place may be. It’s
Tesana against the world!
•  6×9, 208pp, B&W, trade pb, $13.99, ISBN 978-1-56163-580-1 
•  For previews of this amazing book: http://www.nbmpub.com/comicslit/easter/easter/
pre1.html

And from NBM/EUROTICA in April: 

GREAT MOVES — Robert Edison Sandiford, With art by Geof Isherwood

3 engrossing and salacious stories. In the title story, a traveler in a bar is accosted by a very
horny young woman who bewitches him with unseen circumstances! Then, a photographer
is asked by her best friends to tape them having sex—only to have the camera turned on her.
Finally, as he lies dying, an old woman reflects on the passionate life she has led with her husband.
From a variety of female viewpoints, Great Moves by Robert Edison Sandiford
(Attractive Forces, Steamy Mirrors) and Geof Isherwood (Conan, Suicide Squad, Dr.
Strange, Lani the Leopard Queen) tells the stories of Caribbean people in love and lust.
8 1/2 x 11, 48pp., B&W trade pb.: $9.99, ISBN 978-1-56163-584-9

+ We’re also bringing back Sandiford’s first 2 books which have been out of print: Attractive
Forces and Stray Moonbeams. SEE MORE in Eurotica (you need to be over 18), click on
the April Coming Up banner.

For further information, please contact our publicist, Marc Mason:

marcmasonnbm@gmail.com. Please send us clippings and links to your articles.

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Crime Network released in PDF
Bedrock Games releases Crime Network: Cosa Nostra in PDF
Crime Network PDF Includes:

Bedrock Games brings mobsters and

mayhem to your gaming table in Crime Network: ™
•  Detailed city and map
Cosa Nostra. Work your way through the ranks
of the family by bringing in the dough, taking out •  Eight crime families to choose from
the competition, and not getting whacked in the
•  Sample adventure
process. Experience the thrill of an anti-heroic
adventure; it's a crazy and deadly way of life. Get •  Complete rules system
ready for an intense gaming experience in the
spirit of the best mob movies. •  New skills
Part of the Network Game line: simple, gritty
and intense. •  Mafia movie tropes and adventure seeds

Tabletop Adventures — Valentine Sale

Shards of the Heart is on sale, just in time for complete 3.5 Ed. character sheets, plus introductory
Valentine's Day! Tabletop Adventures announces a
narratives, plot hooks and modifications for one or
sale of 20% off on this useful NPC product. Written
with the possibility of romantic relationships in two additional levels, to give real flexibility in using
mind, this product contains 20+ answers to the
these NPCs.
problem of lonely PCs.
These fully-detailed characters are suitable Shards of the Heart is on sale through
for romantic diversions or liaisons. However, they
February 15th at RPGNow and DriveThruRPG.
could also be anything from bit players to major
personages in your campaign. This product includes Buy it Today, Play it Tonight!

Gorilla Games to release "Bot Wars" for "Battlestations"

Gorilla Games is proud to announce the publication of Jeff
Siadek's "Bot Wars" campaign supplement for Battlestations in
May of 2010.
"Bot Wars" is an 8.5"x11" 48 page book with a color cover
and black and white interior containing a complete campaign
about the fight against the evil bots as well as rules for player
character bots and lots of cool new stuff like gas grenades, new
needler ammo and bot ship configurations.
Everybody thought the crystal planet upgrades would make life easier
but some times the machines get the wrong idea.
You must have the Battlestations basic game for use with
this product. This product is similar in size, scope and scale to the
"Planet of Dr. Moreau" campaign supplement.
Product code ooc1001
MSRP $14.95 U.S.
View the cover art here: http://battlestations.info/art/
botwarscover.jpg
For further information, contact: Jeff Siadek, 310 994-5189,
jeff@siadek.com

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Signs & Portents 77 – Free Download
We have some exciting articles for you in the latest issue of our house magazine, Signs & Portents. You can download all Signs &
Portents issues for free at http://www.mongoosepublishing.com/home/series.php?qsSeries=13

Conan

The Bloodling – a new and exotic monster ™

from the East.

Lone Wolf

The second part of our look at the city of

Holmgard.

Traveller

The Conditioned Soldier and Information

Warfare Specialist – two focussed careers for
Traveller.

Strontium Dog

Review to a Kill – Lawerence Whitaker's new

scenario which sees the players hunting down the
worst scum in the galaxy. Art critics.

RuneQuest II

Pete nash looks at how to get the best out of

Combat Styles in the new game.

Judge Dredd

A Perfect Woman – a complete investigation

for your judges centred on a robotics genius.

Matthew Sprange

Mongoose Publishing
Tel: +44 (0)1793 434488 Fax:+44 (0)1793
497999 Mob: +44 (0)7891 624298
http://www.mongoosepublishing.com

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News from Flying Buffalo
I told you last month that 2010 is Flying Buffalo's 40th Anniversary.
In celebration, we have created a special limited edition anniversary tshirt.
You can see it at http://www.flyingbuffalo.com/tshirt.htm It is a tan shirt
with black printing. It is $14.95 plus the usual shipping charge. And
if you wear one of these shirts and visit our booth/table at any game
convention, I will give you a free 6-sider die. ™
Speaking of dice, a friend of mine had a really cool idea for
a die. You roll it to determine who goes first in the game you
are about to play. Pop over to http://www.flyingbuffalo.com/
dice.htm to see pictures of the prototype. We are releasing it
at Origins this coming June, but you can preorder it now.
Two new Hobby Japan books will be available the end
of February. They are Queen's Gate: Kasumi from Dead or
Alive and Cham Cham from Samurai Shodown. You can
see pictures of them at http://www.flyingbuffalo.com/
queensgate.htm and you can preorder them now.
The next convention I will be attending is Dundracon
in San Ramon, California in February this coming weekend.
Come by my table and tell me you read this email, and get a free gift. (And yes, you can buy the
anniversary tshirt mentioned above, at Dundracon, then go put it on, and come back and get a
second free gift!) Also, it looks like I will be in Texas the end of May (the week before Kubla Con).
Watch this space for details about Texicon. Ken St Andre will be at Dundracon this year, running
T&T games.
During 2010 I am also offering a bargain special on two of my play by mail/email games. See
http://www.flyingbuffalo.com/pbmnews.htm for details on how you can play Starweb for less
than 1/4 the usual price.
RPG Now has some more new Flying Buffalo products available as pdf documents. Click on
this link http://rpg.drivethrustuff.com/index.php?affiliate_id=193885 to buy them. Or you
can go to our home page and click on the link on the bottom of the page. They now have the
Complete Dungeon of the Bear (a gamemaster adventure for T&T); and three more solitaire
adventures: Caravan to Tiern and Labyrinth for T&T, and Jade Jaguar, a solo for MSPE.
The third annual T&T convention and the 38th annual Flying Buffalo PBM convention
is going to be July 22-25, 2010. Probably at the Holiday Inn in Scottsdale. Note that this will
be Flying Buffalo's 40th Anniversary, so we are going to try to make it special. If you have ever
attended one of our conventions before, please consider attending this year. If you've come
before, I'll give you a special award of some kind! More details at http://www.flyingbuffalo.
com/tntconv.htm
Privacy notice: This is our (approximately) monthly email sent only to our customers
who we believe have asked us to put them on the list. If you are no longer interested, please
reply with "No longer interested". I keep the mailing lists by hand, and personally take care
of all remove requests. We do NOT buy lists from other people, and do not share our lists
with anyone else. Email is a GREAT way to keep in touch with all of our customers, but the
scrofulous spammers have screwed it up for all of us!

Rick

Flying Buffalo Inc www.flyingbuffalo.com

PO Box 8467, Scottsdale, AZ 85252

11
P o l y g l o t
Printing & Design Tips
Brought to you by the Printing Industry Exchange: Connecting Print
Buyers with Printing Companies
Written by Steve Waxman*
IMAGE PERSONALIZATION
The very first goal of advertising is to grab the attention of your
audience. Increasingly, everywhere you look, images compete with
each other. There's sound, color, movement. An ad has to stand out,
whether it's on a billboard or a direct marketing piece that arrives
in your US mail. It has only a few seconds, or less, to do its job.
Personalization has been the most recent approach to gaining
attention in a visual sea of noise. From Amazon's suggestions
as to what you might like to buy based on your recent purchase
history to the direct mail piece with your name inserted multiple
times throughout the ad copy, this advertising tactic is growing
exponentially. Even digitally printed--and Internet provided--
newsletters can be tailored by the advertiser to reflect your unique
interests and values.
While effective, such personalization has nevertheless become
ubiquitous. So the problem remains: How can you stand out to
your audience?
One of the newest flavors of "variable-data-printing" (VDP)
is image personalization. And it's amazingly powerful in a deeply
visceral way. Software now exists that will allow the advertiser to
insert your name into a photo in a realistic manner. For example,
your name can be typed into a database field below a photo of a
bartender serving up a frosty beer, and upon your pressing "enter,"
your name appears wrapped around the mug of beer as though it
had been traced there by hand on the frosty condensation.
This is powerful and emotionally engaging--the prime
ingredients of a successful ad. I recently received a calendar from a
financial advisor, and every one of the twelve photos had my name
placed strategically somewhere in the image on each calendar page.
One image had me appearing in Las Vegas singing with Ringo
Star. Another showed my name created out of patterns of balloons
floating in the sky. In all cases, my name seemed to be part of the
overall image--in an organic way, not just typed onto the page like
an afterthought.
I did some research, and found that this process is called image
personalization. Others call it dynamic imaging. Having worked
extensively with Photoshop, I could envision the time needed to
blend images and words. I could even imagine the patience needed
to skew the type and warp it, such that it takes on the perspective
of the background image.
What I didn't expect was the website I soon found offering
a myriad of background images with a field below the photo in
12
which to type my name. Within seconds of doing so, I saw my
Steven Waxman is a printing consultant. He teaches corporations how to save money buying printing, brokers printing services, and teaches prepress techniques. Steven has been in the printing industry
™
name in the photos. It was the combination of the immediacy,
the naturalness of the image and type (no feeling of something
pasted on), and the "Wow" factor that grabbed my attention. The
process is now automatically programmed. There's no further need
to struggle with Photoshop.
Direct imaging or image personalization is very new. A
few vendors are providing this service to marketing clients, and
software like Direct Smile and Adobe Graphics Server are also
available to blend text with Illustrator and Photoshop files in a
"batch-processing" approach. Images or portions of images can
be turned into fonts (coffee beans distributed in patterns to spell
out names, for instance). What's interesting is not that this can be
done--it has been possible in Photoshop for a long time with filters
and transformations--but that it's so immediate and accessible
at the touch of a key. This XML-driven operation marries the
for thirty-three years working as a writer, editor, print buyer, photographer, graphic designer, art director, and production manager.
database with the image, just as VDP has--up until now--married
the database with words.
It's also exciting because it looks "real." Perspective (the ability
to curve the name around a spherical surface), lighting effects
(shadows within the letters of the names, making your name look
like it was actually chiseled into stone, with all the natural lighting
effects that would be present if this were actually so), even opacity
(depending on the intended design, you can even see through your
name to the objects below)--all of these are now available.
Just as "Mail Merge" used to take your address database and
merge it into your text-based marketing letter, this new technology
automatically merges your database of names into the Photoshop
file prior to output on a digital press. And, of course, for cross-
media marketing initiatives this can be done for Internet-based
products as well--such as PURL's, e-mails, etc.
You'll find that the formats are the ones you're already used to:
Input types for text include Excel, Access, XML, and CSV. Input
types for images include JPG, EPS, PDF, and TIF. You can use
TrueType, OpenType, or PostScript fonts, and you can build your
designs in InDesign.
In advertising, it's the "Wow" factor that grabs your attention,
engages you emotionally, holds onto your interest, and drives the
sale. This new technology really works. Stay tuned.
P o l y g l o t
Newest Featured Reviews From DriveThruComics.com
Dragon Age: The Stolen Throne With “Dragon Age: The Stolen Throne,” writer David Gaider adds another level of depth
by Tor Books to the world that he helped create for the “Dragon Age: Origins” video game.
http://comics.drivethrustuff.com/ “The Stolen Throne” is set approximately thirty years before the events of the “Dragon Age:
product_info.php?products_ Origins” game. The nation of Ferelden has been invaded and taken over by the Orlesian Empire,
whose only major resistance is a group of rebels led by the former Queen Moira Theirin. When
id=76934&it=1&SRC=polyglot
Price: $13.49 ™
the Rebel Queen is killed, her son Maric escapes and ends up meeting a group of outlaws. With
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars (from Brian the Orlesians on his trail, Maric and an outlaw named Loghain Mac Tir escape into the wilds
LeTendre) and eventually meet up with the remaining rebels. Maric then reluctantly takes up his mother's
Review from www. cause and embarks on a mission with Loghain and his betrothed Rowan to try and gather an
secretidentitypodcast.com army to overthrow the Orlesians. Love triangles, spies,
Darkspawn and epic battles area all part of Maric's
journey to the throne of Ferelden.
By setting this tale well before the events of the game, Gaider is able to focus on the history
of Ferelden and some of it's most storied characters and events. While Maric is the lead character,
this is Loghain's story as well, and he is a much different character here than the one players
will encounter in the game. Reading this book could definitely impact how players approach
Loghain in “Dragon Age: Origins.” This story also adds a lot of depth to the world of “Dragon
Age,” particularly Ferelden. Locations from across Ferelden are explored in detail, and Gaider
continuously imparts bits of each place's history to the reader, making Ferelden feel like much
more than just the backdrop to video game.
If you're not planning on picking up the game and are just looking for a good fantasy tale,
“The Stolen Throne” can certainly stand on its own. While it's clearly inspired by most of the
other pillars of the fantasy genre, the characters are interesting enough to make the story feel
unique.
Overall, “Dragon Age: The Stolen Throne” is a good fantasy tale that is highly recommended
for anyone interested in the world of “Dragon Age.”

Killing Pickman #2 Writer Jason Becker and artist Jon Rea are back
by Archaia Studio Press with the second twisted issue of their series Killing
http://comics.drivethrustuff.com/ Pickman. Slower paced and more convoluted than
product_info.php?products_ issue 1, this issue dives deeper into the origins of
id=54753&it=1&SRC=polyglot Dick Pickman’s monstrous deeds.
Price: $0.99 As Detective Zhu makes his way to Herbert
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars (from Jason West Memorial Hospital to finish the job he started
Thorson) in issue one, the act of killing Pickman, Mr. Pickman
waxes insane to a hospital psychologist about his
transformation into a malicious child killer. When
Zhu arrives outside the door to Pickman’s room, gun in hand, he’s confronted by Detective
Raimi. Flash forward two months and we find out that this case hasn’t been very kind to those
involved with investigating and cleaning out the Pickman house. Detective Zhu is the only
one who understands the literally monstrous nature of the case and he has a plan, but can he
pull it off while also looking out for the best interests of his wife and their child?
Becker’s story hit the ground running in issue one. I’m talking Olympic-level-sprinting.
It gained momentum immediately which it sustained throughout by decidedly avoiding
exposition. Because there was such a lack of back story in issue one it comes as no surprise
that issue two is almost entirely comprised of exposition. Having now had the opportunity
to explore both approaches, it’s clear that this series would be best served striking a balance

13
P o l y g l o t
between the two. Becker’s writing is just as interesting, but plotting comes to a screeching halt this issue.
Killing Pickman is chock full of references to the great horror flicks of the late ‘70s and early ‘80s. Becker’s reverence for those stories
comes through in his writing. Like those films do so well, Becker establishes an ominous tone in which dread is thick enough to hack up
with a machete and a collision course with that which is evil, twisted, and horrible is inevitable. This inevitability pushes us through his
world with our nerves scraped raw so that the resulting tension is palpable, even when there isn’t much happening.
Rea’s artwork is multifaceted and unique. Once again, he composes pages that visually represent the noire tone of the story as well
as the derangement of the story’s subject matter. He tends to blur the lines, both figuratively and literally, that separate the panels from
the pages, the illustrations from the text, and in some cases the pages from reality. There are panels that are drawn to appear as if they are
taped onto the page and there are pages that are drawn as if the panels are mounted on the game of Sudoku being played by the character
represented in the panels. ™
The most interesting element of the artwork is the diagrams, notes, and quotes found throughout that provide a literal subtext to the
already complex and multilayered story. Some of these are funny, some of these are deranged, and all of them are enlightening. By blurring
the lines between written elements and graphic elements, story and reality, writer and reader, and artwork and media Rea provides readers
a creatively meta-fictional and fully immersive experience.
Killing Pickman issue 2 is another successful example of the quality indie storytellers and artists can attain. This issue has a little less
going for it with regard to plot and pace than its predecessor does, but it’s well-written, well-drawn and well-executed nonetheless. I see
no signs of a third issue which is unfortunate because Jason Becker, Jon Rea, and the rest of their crew at Archaia Studio Press have a
potential blockbuster on their hands.

Kaiju Rising This track gradually moves from a airy

by Bailey Records beginning to slow drums with mysterious (and
http://comics.drivethrustuff.com/ repetitive) electronic tones, and then erupts into
product_info.php?products_ the driving, percussive core of the track. For
id=77935&it=1&SRC=polyglot some reason, I feel that I should like this track
Price: $0.99 more than I do. The "static" effects in the track
Rating: 3 out of 5 stars (from are what put me off, I think; it almost sounds like
Christopher Heard) a flatulent electrical socket is one of the primary
instruments in the heart of the song. I suppose
if your three-headed monster breathes lightning,
you might appreciate those sound effects. The track is skillfully executed, but I find it to be
mismatched with the tone I personally want to set at the gaming table. Then again, I usually
play fantasy, not mecha/kaiju games, and that could account for the genre mismatch.

Grim Crew Presents: Dead Future In an era when comic books have the same relationship with zombies as ESPN has with
#1 football, it’s difficult to find something fresh about the living dead, no pun intended. However,
by Grim Crew Grim Crew’s Dead Future Issue 1 is an anthology comprised of three zombie apocalypse stories
http://comics.drivethrustuff.com/ all of which offer an element of originality in this otherwise predictable comic book niche.
product_info.php?products_ The first story, Real Monsters, written by Martin Brandt II and Illustrated by Paul Petyo
id=64482&it=1&SRC=polyglot is a tale of day-to-day urban survival in a world overrun by zombies. This segment has all the
Price: $0.99 trappings of the archetypal zombie paradigm as well as a few unique wrinkles. One of these is
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars (from Jason that the living can go about their business among the living dead provided they don’t upset the
Thorson) zombies’ routines and that these excursions take place during the day time. The most interesting
and original aspect of Real Monsters is Paul Petyo’s approach to the illustrations. The panels are
essentially photographs in which actors play the characters on various sets. These photographs
have been digitally manipulated both to achieve a consistent aesthetic and to realize the details of the world in which Real Monsters
takes place. The result is a creepy and realistic post apocalyptic cityscape come to life.
The second story, Major Tom, written by Martin Brandt II and illustrated by Martinho Abreu is a conventionally composed comic
book narrative the strength of which is its concept. Major Tom and his crew are aboard a space station awaiting word from mission
control regarding the launch of a resupply ship. With only 10 days of supplies remaining on the station, time is ticking when the
launch mission gets canceled with no reasonable explanation. As the days count down, the dire situation reveals itself to Major Tom.

14
P o l y g l o t
A zombie plague has spread quickly across the globe and mankind is doomed to
extinction. Tom and his crew are the only hope for the human race as they orbit
the world awaiting the arrival of one last unmanned supply ship. This story drips
out exposition and fills in the blanks at a nice pace, with a couple twists to boot.
Abreu’s artwork is solid and utilitarian. The pages feature conventionally shaped
panels of uniform size containing relatively basic grayscale pencil drawings that
clearly convey Brandt’s story.
The last story, Non Mortuus, written and illustrated by Roberto Macedo Alves
takes place in old world Europe during the 16th century. In an original take on the
zombie plague mythos, Alves introduces us to Pope Innocent VIII who becomes ™
power mad and a good deal crazy in general. When years of debauchery take its
toll on the pope’s health he turns to witchcraft to stave off his impending death.
His quest for immortality goes horribly wrong killing everyone involved with the
spell, save for the witch. When the pope and his spell’s two sacrificial victims all
return from the grave a zombie apocalypse burns across Europe. After the story’s
peripheral narrator waxes optimistic regarding his own future it becomes clear that
Pope Innocent’s inadvertent apocalypse will have huge implications on the way the
history of the world unfolds, history books be damned!
Dead Future Issue 1 offers everything a comic book of the highest quality
should offer. It features superior writing, impressive and various artwork, and most
importantly it offers unique and compelling zombie stories proving there’s still some
fight left in that old carcass. Aside from a few careless typos there are no glaring
negatives to be found. How long the Dead Future series can deliver this level of
storytelling is anybody’s guess, but issue 1 is a monster….no pun intended.

15
P o l y g l o t
New Traveller Releases – Marches Map Pack and 1,001
Characters
Within the next few days two new releases for Traveller will be hitting the shelves of your local games stores - the long-awaited
Spinward Marches Map Pack and the giant 1,001 Characters.

Supplement 7: 1,001 Characters ™

A referee's treasure trove, 1,001 Characters provides a quick and easy reference to over a thousand non-
player characters, ready for play! Divided into easy-to-use sections, a referee will quickly be able to find the
appropriate alien bounty hunter, starport administrator or backwater hunter easily. Each character comes with
name, equipment, skills and background, giving them life and personality right from the page.

Spinward Marches Map Pack

The Spinward Marches awaits your exploration in this huge poster map, featuring every system, trade link
and starbase in the sector. Beautifully illustrated in full
colour, this map is the first in a series that will allow you
to explore the entire Third Imperium and beyond, joining
posters together to form one gigantic map! Includes a full
key to aid navigation.

For more information on both releases, visit http://

w w w. m o n g o o s e p u b l i s h i n g . c o m / h o m e / s e r i e s .
php?qsSeries=51

Matthew Sprange
Mongoose Publishing
Tel: +44 (0)1793 434488 Fax:+44 (0)1793 497999
Mob: +44 (0)7891 624298
http://www.mongoosepublishing.com

16
P o l y g l o t
New from SPAN’s Executive Director
Small Publishers Association of North America
The Amazon Price War Continues
When the history of publishing in the 21st Century is written,
the story of how the free market set e-book prices will be one of
the pivotal chapters.
I use "free market" loosely, since e-book prices are being set,
not by the interplay of millions of consumers interacting with the
thousands of publishing companies, but by fewer than 10 giant
corporations jockeying for control and profits of a huge industry.
Last weekend ( January 30), news broke that Macmillan
Publishing Company told Amazon they wanted to change the
pricing model for their e-books. Put simply, Macmillan told
Amazon they wanted to set their own price and Amazon would
get a cut.
Amazon responded by removing Macmillan's "Buy" buttons
from the Amazon Bookstore. Macmillan held firm and by the end
of the weekend, Amazon had reversed their decision to remove the
buttons and was in discussions with Macmillan.
We will only know the details of the corporate and personal
motivations in future "tell all" celebrity histories or in business
text books, but many reporters speculate Macmillan's move was
predicated by their pricing agreements with Apple to provide
content for the new iPad. I have put together several links with
more details on this breaking and potentially huge issue for
publishers and authors.
Scott Flora, SPAN Executive Director
Publisher Wins Fight With Amazon Over E-Books — By
Motoko Rick and Brad Stone, New York Times, January 31, 2010
The New York Times reports, "After a weekend of
brinksmanship, Amazon.com on Sunday surrendered to a publisher
and agreed to raise prices on some electronic books."
Read on at the NYT.
Amazon's Kindle vs. Apple's iPpad
ZDNet has one of the best overviews of the e-book battle
between Amazon's Kindle and Apple's iPad. Last week, Steve Jobs
introduced the iPad with typical Apple media flair and the book
publishing world took another giant step into the 21st Century.
Larry Dignan, Editor in Chief at ZDNet gives good insight.
ABA Winter Institute (WI5) Blasts Amazon
17
Earlier this week, the American Booksellers Association
keynoters at their Winter Institute (WI5) attacked Amazon and
lauded Macmillan for standing up to the giant e-tailer.
Read "Talking Digital at WI5" at Publishers Weekly.
™
More on Amazon E-Book Pricing in the SPANnet Forum
There is an interesting discussion of the Amazon Price War
going on in the SPANnet Forum.
Go to the discussion.
Book Industry Environmental Council Design Competition
Submission Deadline – March 1, 2010 Cash Prize – $500.00
The book industry environmental Council needs a new
logo system to reward three progressive levels of environmental
achievement in publishing. The winning line art design will grace
many levels of communication, inspiring others in the industry to
adopt sustainable practices throughout their operations.
For more information visit www.bookcouncil.org
Announcements
SPANnet Online Community — Join Now for Free!
Now's the time to join "The Worlds Best Online Community
for Authors and Publishers" and communicate, collaborate, and get
educated.
Join today!
Join SPANpro and get access to our premium content.
Improve your marketing success with Webinar recordings,
SPAN Conference audios, SPAN's Marketing Plan Workbook,
and much more.
We guarantee your membership will make you a more
successful author or publisher.
New low rates:
Regular new membership $89 (Regularly $115)
Partner Org. Membership $60 (Regularly $80)
(both new and renewal)
Join SPANpro at: www.spanpro.org/why-join.
P o l y g l o t
Tips from About.com
Business
Mompreneurs Shake Up the Mitzvah Planning Marke
These days, there are more and more "mom.com" businesses
popping up. An exceptional one is MitzvahMarket.com. Co-
founder Sheri Lapidus is former a public relations executive who
has worked at NBC-TV,... Read more
5 Steps to Better Advertising ROI
If you think that, because your business is small, you can
advertise without having a defined marketing strategy, Ed Yeaker
disagrees with you. "In the acting business, there are no small...
Read more
Share Your Story: Strategies for Small Business Financing
Have you raised capital for your business? Whether you've
done the bootstrapping route, friends and family, credit cards,
angel funding or venture capital, About.com wants to hear from
you. Why... Read more
Famous Entrepreneurs
From Benjamin Franklin to Ben & Jerry, William Penn to Bill
Gates, Eli Whitney to Oprah Winfrey, famous entrepreneurs, both
historical and contemporary, offer insight and inspiration through
their stories.
10 Best Practices of Business Networking
Business networking forms the basis of business relationships.
Small businesses rely heavily upon effective networking practices
to win important investors, customers and partners. Your ability to
network well is one of the factors that may not only differentiate
your business but also ensure its survival. It is easier than ever
to network, especially if you keep the following best practices in
mind.
Does Your Business Card Pass the Trash Test?
Your business card is often the first impression a potential
client has with your company. The business card design and
message will ultimately determine whether it gets thrown in the
trash or filed for contact later. Reach in your wallet and pull out
your business card. Your Small Business Information guide has put
together the business card test. Learn if your business card will pass
or be trashed.
Peer Business Advisor Groups
A peer advisory group is a group of small business owners from
diverse industries who get together on a monthly basis to solve
problems, share best practices and offer each other peer support.
18
Web Design
Wireframes are a great planning tool
Web wireframes can be very complicated and complex, but
when you’re planning a new website, a paper wireframe is all you
™
need to get started.
Has the favicon changed?
Modern browsers now have a way to display identity information
on sites that are sent through secure (https) connections. The way
that some browsers display it makes some people think that the
change is to the favicon, but it really isn’t. This tutorial shows how
the different browsers display site identity information and points
you to some resources so that your site can have that information
displayed as well.
Don’t want to pay for an SSL certificate?
You can use a self-signed certificate on your Web server to
create https pages that are secure. But it’s not a good idea. Find
out when I think a self-signed SSL certificate is okay in my FAQ
Can I Use a Free SSL Certificate for my HTTPs Pages? And
find out what other About.com readers think of self-signed SSL
certificates and share your own thoughts. Plus, I’ve got a new
list of several Certificate Authorities where you can get signed
certificates.
Legal Pages Can Protect Your Business
Legal pages on web sites are things like privacy policies,
copyright notices and T&C documents. In most countries they
are not required, but it is a good idea to include a couple of them,
especially if your site accepts user submitted content like blog
comments, forums, or chats.
Desktop Publishing
Graphics for Everyone on the Mac
While Photoshop may be a top contender for the pros, if
you’re a more casual user who can’t swing its hefty pricetag, what
are you using for graphics editing? If it’s one of the finalists in the
Mac Consumer Image Editor category, give it your vote. If not, you
may find a new favorite among. these choices.
Hands and Legs Are a Photo-editing Minefield
Oops. Someone didn’t proof that picture very well did they?
Funny for us to look at now but not so funny for the client. How
do YOU prevent such blunders?
P o l y g l o t
Newest Featured Reviews from DriveThruRPG.com
Tendril's Oak Inn Even if you already own some other miniatures-scale tavern map, as I do, you still might
by Encompass find Tendril's Oak Inn to be a good purchase if, like me, you don't want every inn or tavern your
http://rpg.drivethrustuff.com/ PCs visit to look the same! . As the product description and the cover illustration show, Tendril's
product_info.php?products_ Oak Inn sits along a road running alongside a
wood—a classic fantasy trope useful in almost
id=59857&it=1&SRC=polyglot
Price: $6.95 any fantasy RPG campaign. ™
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars (from The artwork depicting the inn is very
Christopher Heard) nice and seems to have been created using
Campaign Cartographer (or a similar tool).
The product includes several different types
of maps—battlemaps (in black and white, color, or color with a white background),
overview maps, and "scratch maps" suitable for adding DM or player notes—though
I'm not quite sure why Encompass found it necessary to distribute so many different
PDFs; I can't see any good reason, for example, why the scratch maps come in four one-
page PDFs instead of one four-page PDF. (Personally, I also don't like having animals
depicted statically on the maps. I can just hear it now: "We'll hide our loot under the
third pig on the left. He never moves.")
If all you want is a good map of a woodland inn, this product will serve you well.
But the author goes beyond that, and supplies a key to the inn's layout as well as notes
on NPCs, plot hooks, and so on, all of which the DM can use or ignore as desired.
Tendril's Oak Inn was my first experience with the Encompass line, and I certainly
like it well enough to check out other offerings in the series.

0 HR: Sailing Ships As a DM running a campaign

by Ki Ryn Studios based on a sailing ship, I was very
http://rpg.drivethrustuff.com/ excited to receive a review copy of
product_info.php?products_ these printable miniatures-scale
id=76432&it=1&SRC=polyglot sailing ship maps.! I already have a
Price: $3.95 miniatures-scale map for the PCs'
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars (from ship, and I use ship tiles from other
Christopher Heard) manufacturers (SkeletonKey Games
and Wizards of the Coast), but this
product adds depth and variety to my
collection of ship maps and gives me quite a few more options than I had
before.
The artwork on these maps is quite attractive. To be sure, the various stock
element objects get reused quite a bit, but it doesn't really hamper the battlemap
if all the coiled ropes are just iterations of a single rope object. I appreciated
the attention given to lighting on these maps; the gradual darkening as stairs
descend, for example, is a very nice touch. The maps do, however, have a very
noticeable case of "the jaggies," especially evident on long curving lines like
the ships' outer hulls. Other DMs might consider that a relatively minor thing,
but I found the "jaggies" quite noticeable. More importantly, I do wish that
publishers of ship tiles, including but by no means limited to Ki Ryn, would
stop illustrating small launches right on the main decks or even suspended
beside the main decks of ships, and would instead draw that space empty and
provide a small boat map elsewhere that could be cut out and used separately. (I

19
P o l y g l o t
further wish that Ki Ryn had spelled "dingh! y" correctly in this product.) It gets a bit annoying during a game to have to remind players,
"No, that dinghy isn't really there; you pitched it overboard in round 2 of the fighting." I'd much rather be able to remove a dedicated
tile stacked on top of the main tiles. A little launch map separate from the main map would also be useful when PCs themselves use
such a vessel.
One great strength of this product, and its advantage over similar offerings from other publishers (as far as I know), is its versatility.
SkeletonKey Games's High Seas Dragon Ship and High Seas Warship look great on the gaming table, for example, but it's hard to
"shrink" those ships without compromising the layout. With the Zero Hour Sailing Ships, you can choose between a 100-foot ship, a
50-foot ship, and a 30-foot sailboat, with varying numbers of decks. I personally won't use the cannon variants in this product (at least,
not in my current D&D campaign), but GMs running games where such weapons are appropriate will appreciate having that option.
™
This variety sets Sailing Ships apart from any other product that I know about at this time. I also benefited from the writeups about each
ship layout as well as the side view diagrams.
Finally, I should add that in addition to being system-neutral (as most maps are), this particular set is largely genre-neutral as well.
There's nothing in the maps that requires a fantasy setting.

Mech Tech 'n' bot: Fighters and
Small Ships
by Jon Brazer Enterprises
http://rpg.drivethrustuff.com/
product_info.php?products_
id=65879&it=1&SRC=polyglot
Price: $6.99
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars (from
Shannon Appelcline)
Fighters and Small ! Craft is a very good book of small craft for
Traveller despite its stylistic issues. It's biggest obstacle will probably
be that Mongoose has already produced a lot of small craft designs
in its own Supplement 2--though these new designs could surely
complement the ones already in print. This summary is drawn from
a more complete review available at RPGnet: http://www.rpg.net/
reviews/archive/14/14676.phtml

Restless Souls (PFRPG) The oldest conundrum in fantasy role-playing games is what to do about a player-character
by Rite Publishing that’s just bit the dust. Is resurrection quick and easy, making death more of a speed bump than
http://rpg.drivethrustuff.com/ a major event? Or is death final and irrevocable, leading to a player who then has to spend the
product_info.php?products_ rest of the session sitting out (often while rolling up a new character)? There’s no good answer
id=78479&it=1&SRC=polyglot to these questions, and for decades different DMs, groups, and games have gone back and forth
Price: $! 3.75 between the two extremes. Rite Publishing, however, says that you can have your cake and eat
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars (from Shane it too with their Restless Soul supplement for the Pathfinder RPG – a supplement that lets you
O'Connor) keep playing your character after they die.
Notwithstanding the covers, Restless Souls is a book that’s entirely in black and white, with
many shades of grey in between; very apropos for a book of this nature. The product page notes
it as being seventeen pages, which is the length of the PDF file, but also lists thirteen – this is the pages that deal with actual content,
and so doesn’t count the covers, the credits page, or the OGL. The pages are all surrounded with an opulent border on every side, giving
the product a rather opulent look. Two full-page interior illustrations show what a typical restless soul looks like, and there are several
smaller illustrations that show some very disturbing-looking monsters. There’s no printer-friendly version, but given not only the relative
brevity of the product, and the caliber of these pictures, you probably won’t need one anyway.
In regards to the product itself, it opens with a first-person description of a restless soul; told by a restless soul herself, in fact. I was
of two minds about this introduction. The character’s voice comes through very clearly, and does a great job of evoking a feel for her.
Likewise, the actual descriptions are very nicely constructed, such as not giving too specific a reason for why some dead people come back
as restless souls (was it a need to fulfill a quest? Would no afterlife have them? Or something else altogether?). The part I didn’t like was
the continued references to the city of Questhaven.
For those who don’t know, Questhaven is the setting in which pretty much all of Rite Publishing’s Pathfinder material is set. The
problem (at least for me) is that this means that all of their products refer to Questhaven in the flavor text. The narrator for the first part
of Restless Souls talks about the history of her kind in Questhaven, how people there react to them, where they congregate, etc. While
some people may appreciate the added background, particularly if you want to tie it in with other Rite Publishing products, I found it to
be a bit of a burden, since it’s continually referring to things I don’t know about (and can’t know about, since there’s no campaign book
as of yet). So personally, I could have done without that.
Beyond that is the actual mechanics of how you can play a dead person. For this, Rite Publishing wisely takes a “simple is best”

20
P o l y g l o t
attitude. “Restless soul” is a template that can be applied to pretty
much any living creature, letting you come back as your own
incarnate soul.
There’s surprisingly little to it. You’re an outsider, not an undead
creature, though (despite not listing the extraplanar subtype as one
you gain) you’re now native to the plane that’s the afterlife for you.
I cringed a bit at this, since it means that smart villains will know
to use a banishment or similar spell to send you back – that’s a
pretty cheap but effective way of making a PC irrelevant for the
rest of the session; I’d have made them native outsiders myself. ™
And that’s about it. There are a few other, minor adjustments,
but by and large you’re pretty much playing the same character you
were before you died. Of course, coming back to life isn’t quite a
clean break, as you suffer the same penalties as if you’d been subject
to a raise dead spell (that is, prepare for two permanent negative
levels). While I heard some people grumble over this, I think it was
the right decision, since coming back from the dead without any
penalty is the province of very high-level magic, and coming back
as your own returned soul should be somewhat traumatic.
Of course, being dead doesn’t have to mean that you’re still
(almost) exactly the same as you were when you were alive. There are
a number of new feats here, almost all of which can only be taken
by a restless soul (the sole exception being one that guarantees that
you will become a restless soul when you die). I liked most of these,
but wondered if some were perhaps too powerful – you only need
to be 3rd level to use a once-per-day ethereal jaunt, for example.
Likewise, most require that you spend components on a special
ritual to take the feat, but what this ritual is and why you need to
take it isn’t expounded upon.
Ten new spells, levels 0-9, round out the book. While these
aren’t directly tied to restless souls (and, in fact, I seemed to recognize them from other sourcebooks), they all had some thematic
connection (even if that was thin sometimes).
Overall, this book is a terrific answer for what to do in the event of a character dying, and you want to keep playing them when
resurrection isn’t available. The flavor and mechanics for playing a dead character are simple and innovative, while still colorful and
evocative at the same time. I didn’t care for the Questhaven material, and the spells seemed like a bit of a stretch, but the former didn’t
bother me too much, while the latter was a nice addition. Even so, together those make the product feel a bit less than fully focused,
and that’s why I gave it four out of five stars. Beyond that, the next time your PC dies, have their soul be restless and keep them in the
game.

Game Geek Issue #1
by Avalon Game Company
http://rpg.drivethrustuff.com/
product_info.php?products_
id=76439&it=1&SRC=polyglot
Price: $1.00
Rating: 3 out of 5 stars (from Megan
Robertson)
in future issues of this magazine. The Coral Thrown is a fantasy novel, and while it is a bit reminiscent of work done in a creative writing
Initial impressions are a delightful ramble through a fellow gamer's head... starting with a
muse from Robert Hemminger about the start of his gaming obsession (somewhere about the
same time I began role-playing), and moving on to talking about the history of the micro-game
concept beginning with things like Ogre and Melee (oddly enough I picked said games up in
the past week, the originals having long vanished!).
Next is what's promised to be the first 'Map of the Month' - a fine tower just waiting for a
wizard to move in. Unfortunately, while it looks good the 'map' is just a cut-away sketch, if you
need an actual floorplan of the place you will have to make it for yourself. This is followed by a
comic strip called 'Junkyard Wars' - not quite sure what that's all about.
Things look up a bit then with the opening of a story which it is intended will be serialised

21
P o l y g l o t
class, it has sufficient appeal that I'd like to know what happens next. No
author is credited, alas.
Next, continuing the theme of a collection of material about games
of all sorts, comes a battle report from an S&G miniatures skirmish. A
well-detailed one, following the action play-by-play, lacking in analysis
but describing what transpired clearly.
Sometimes it's a bit unclear what is article and what is advertisement
- the next page explains how PaperMakeiT's onscreen map generation
program works, but I think it's a ad from them rather than an article
about them. You see, next comes some equally detailed explanations of ™
a new character card for Battle Axe, the Avalon Game Company's table
top skirmish game, but the main clue that this is an article rather than
an advertisement is by checking who publishes this journal!
Next comes a piece about another Avalon Game Company product,
the Arcana Fantasy RPG World... which would be easier to follow if not
written in white on a very pale background. Even my usual trick with a
spot of inverse video doesn't get further than eye-strain, an improvement
on illegible but not by much. Pity, it seems to be a nice cavern system
to explore... This is followed (in black type on a darker background of
course) by a good review of a miniatures skirmish game from Wyrd
Miniatures, best known for making miniatures but making a successful
foray into game design, and an article about podcasts in true pulp style
from the Canadian group Decoder Ring Theatre - quality productions
with good voice talent and scripts.
Next is a rundown on new and forthcoming product from Avalon
Game Company, chiefly the Arcana Fantasy World and a new minigame
- monster steam-powered 'land ships' to send out to do battle... sounds
fun! There's also some clip art, Orcs for Battle Axe and a couple of rather good-sounding books about fantasy sailing ships. Just in case
you are still bored, there's also a solo game Armageddon Hour where you play a mutant-hunter prowling a complex looking for a mutant
about to set off a mutation-inducing bomb, with one hour and minimal equipement to get the job done... and more, a board game where
aspiring mages set their own victory conditions and attempt to achieve them to win the game.
Ahhh... and now comes what was mysteriously labelled 'Free Section' on the contents page. Bigger and better copies of maps
shown earlier - including better pictures of that wizard's tower (although still no floor plan!), the map for the cavern-exploring Arcana
adventure, and a Goblin Fetish Maker for Battle Axe complete with several cards for the items he can supply to your troops. The whole
thing ends with a comprehensive round-up of Avalon Game Company product lines, which should help you decide which are of interest
depending on your gaming tastes.
A (mostly) well-presented and visually appealing mix of personal reflection and company brochure, with enough to hold the interest,
several goodies if you already play their games and sufficient to let you decide if you want to play the ones you haven't tried yet. Promising
start, keep it up...

22
P o l y g l o t
Hârn News
Flat Rate Shipping Sale — $5 Flat Rate worldwide. Valid Prior Harn releases (2009)
through Monday February 15th.

New HârnQuest releases (each sold separately) Shostim Castle (classic)

Shostim castle has been the primary seat of the kings of
Hunted ™
Rethem since the foundation of the kingdom nearly a century ago.
Shostim is one of the largest settlements in the kingdom, second
only... Click to read more.

Hyen Keep (classic)

Hyen is an imposing keep on Rethem's border with Kanday,
Hyen is held by the Order of the Copper Hook, an Agrikan
fighting order. Hyen... Click to read more.
Seals
lthiko Castle (classic)
Ithiko castle in Rethem's Hohnamshire is the seat of Earl
Herrin Barzak. The earl is a loyal supporter of the king and a
staunch enemy of the Earl of Tormau to his north. Ithiko was
originally... Click to read more.

Tormau Castle (classic)

Tormau castle in northwestern Rethem is the principal seat of
Earl Denyl Lynnaeus, the most powerful of the kingdom's three
Irreproachable Order tenants-in-chief and the most... Click to read more.

Order of Mamaka, Master of Steel

The Order of Mamaka, Master of Steel, is the most politically
powerful clerical order in the Hârnic church of Agrik. The Order
reveres weaponcrafting and alchemy... Click to read more.

Warriors of Mameka
The Warriors of Mameka are a wealthy and disciplined fighting
order in the church of Agrik. From their base at Bedenes Keep in
the Kingdom of Rethem, the Warriors plunder the riches of the
Peran wilderness... Click to read more.

The Druken Hake Tawedog

The "Old Ones of the Forest" are one of the most elusive and
mysterious of the sentient species of the Misty Isle of Hârn. They
once ranged throughout... Click to read more.

Peran (wilderness region)

Peran is an extensive wilderness in northwestern Hârn.
Primeval forests cloak this land of mysteries so densely that the
ill-prepared may be... Click to read more.

Tribes of the Kubora

The Kubora are the tribal people who inhabit the Peran

23
P o l y g l o t
wilderness of northwestern Hârn. This article adds to the Kubora Search for harn or Columbia Games.
article in HarnMaster Barbarians with details about the fractured
tribal nation and its varied people. Click to read more. Character Generator 3.01

Afarezir Islands (wilderness region)
The Afarezir Islands are desolate, windswept, rainy islands off
the northwest coast of Hârn. The rocky shores of the wide eastern
bays of these rugged islands are... Click to read more.
A new edition of this popular software has been released
A 3.01 update has just been issued (free update).
Upgrade price and bundle pricing available.

REMINDERS
™
http://www.columbiagames.com/cgi-bin/query/
cfg/harnsubcategory2-software.cfg

PDF Hârn Modules Build a Bundle for Hârn — expanded with more items by popular
You can now buy PDF versions of many Hârn products. demand.
Visit:
Select three different items for your bundle. Choose from
•  DriveThru many different items and save approximately 25% on them all.
•  RPG Now
Then click add to cart.
•  And also now available at Paizo.com (http://paizo.com/store/
byCompany/c/columbiaGames) Click here for details.

Catalyst Game Labs Press Release

Catalyst Game Labs recently completed a detailed financial
review of the company. We learned that over the past several years
the company has achieved dramatic growth in terms of demand,
increased total revenues and strong sales with an increasing market
share in the gaming industry, despite a lackluster economy. We
are thrilled by that news and are eager to move forward with our
upcoming original game Leviathans, along with our other new
casual games. We also remain committed to plans for our beloved
licensed games: Shadowrun, BattleTech, Eclipse Phase, and
CthuluTech.
While we wish the review had only uncovered positive news,
we also discovered our accounting procedures had not been
updated as the company continued to grow. The result was that
business funds had been co-mingled with the personal funds of
one of the owners. We believe the missing funds were the result of continue to restructure as needed. We are in discussions with our
bad habits that began alongside the creation of the company, which partners and freelancers to remedy any back payments that may
was initially a small hobby group. Upon further investigation, in also be due as a result of this review.
which the owner has willingly participated, the owner in question We are embarrassed that this situation did occur but we hope
now owes the company a significant balance and is working to help our eagerness to make these changes, along with our reputation
rectify the situation. for making great games, will encourage you to stand by us. We
The current group of owners was presented with this understand that for a few employees the news was too stressful
information on Monday. Administrative organization for the and we wish them all the best in their new endeavors. However,
company is under review, and accounting procedures have been the majority of the team remains and will continue to bring great
restructured, to correct the situation and provide more stringent entertainment to you all. We appreciate the support our friends,
oversight. We feel the management team at Catalyst did the freelancers, and fans have provided us in the past and look forward
responsible thing by seeking this financial review and we will to a successful future.

24
P o l y g l o t
Librairie Drawn & Quarterly – April News
Events in April
All take place at the Drawn & Quarterly Bookstore
211 Bernard West, Montreal, QC. 514-279-2224.
For more store news, visit our regularly-updated blog!
http://www.drawnandquarterly.com/211bernard/
Friday April 23rd at 7pm — Book Launch for Grow Great Grub
and Special Event with Gayla Trail!
Gayla Trail (author and blogger of You Grow Girl ) graces us with her
green thumb presence in order to launch her new book Grow Great Grub.
Gayla will be helping us plant a little garden out front of the Librairie as
well as giving a talk on growing in small places.
Taking off from her new book and over a decade of experience
growing edibles on her city rooftop, Gayla shows inspiring and practical
ways to grow organic food in small and difficult spaces.
Rachel Zolf ’s Neighbour Procedure is a virtuoso polyvocal
correspondence with the daily news, ancient scripture and contemporary
theory that puts the ongoing conflict in Israel/Palestine firmly in its
crosshairs.
American philosopher and academic Judith Butler says, ‘This is an
extraordinary collection of poems ... a courageous and moving work that
feels like the struggle of a lifetime condensed into potent lines.’ And the
Poetry Project Newsletter calls the book ‘a bold challenge both to those
who would claim poetry cannot be socially or politically invaluable and to
a world that ... does not believe responsibility can be taken for civil rights
beyond national borders.’
Zolf will read from Neighbour Procedure with Simone de Beauvoir
Institute faculty member Trish Salah, and the two will discuss Zolf ’s
newest collection following the readings.
Tuesday April 27th at 7pm — Book Launch for Avi Friedman’s A
Place in Mind
A Place in Mind The Search for Authenticity is the result of Avi
Friedman’s worldwide quest for successful environments where people
congregate and feel comfortable. Whether he writes of the conviviality
of a teahouse in Istanbul; the public art of Nunavut’s capital, Iqaluit;
the serenity of Assisi; or the architectural harmony of neighbourhoods
in London and Amsterdam, Avi Friedman conveys his excitement at
discovering people-friendly places—antidotes to social isolation. In each
instance, the question is asked: why do these places work?
Dr. Avi Friedman is the co-founder of the Affordable Homes
Program at the McGill School of Architecture, where he is a Professor.
The recipient of several research and design awards, Avi Friedman has
published extensively in both academic and trade publications. Wallpaper
Magazine included Avi Friedman in its list of ten people “most likely to
change the way we live.”
Thursday April 29th at 7pm — Book Launch for four new titles
published by Gaspereau and Véhicule Press
A Short History of Forgetting par Paul Tyler est un recueil de poèmes
25
sur les différentes émotions que l’on peut rattacher à
des lieux. Le livre est empli de questionnements
quand à ce que l’on rencontre sur notre chemin
— des courtes histoires sur le désir d’être là où l’on
est déjà.
™
Paul Tyler’s A Short History of Forgetting is
a collection of poems that announce themselves as
a kind of abstract cataloguing of emotion affiliated with
place. These poems are guesses at things encountered along the way, short
histories of a desire to be where one already is.
The poems in Johanna Skibsrud’s new collection, I Do Not Think
that I Could Love a Human Being, employ the tentative and uncertain
characteristics of language to their advantage. The author sees the
collection as one long love poem, her most accurate and honestly-felt love
poem written so far.
Michael Harris’ Circus recreates the mystique of the centre ring with
enough peek-behind-the-curtain moments to ground this secret society in
the nitty-gritty of marriage, parenthood and old age.
Susan Briscoe’s The Crow’s Vow is a moving book-length sequence
that follows the story of a marriage come undone. Organized into four
seasons, the details of the faltering relationship are distilled through the
physical processes of nature, the buzzing life of wildflowers and birds that
the speaker, a wife and mother, studies daily for clues on happiness.
A small flat sits unoccupied above Henry’s café. When a woman
comes to rent the room, Henry’s world begins to shift. As their friendship
intensifies the city itself begins to dismantle, Henry is left wondering if
he is a victim of his own senility or if the transformations slowly closing
in on him have something to do with the new tenant. L is the story of a
nameless town where two lives intertwinea story of annihilation.
Orti’s prose are subtle, evoking the best magic realism. His style is
reminiscent of Anosh Irani. He is the author of The Olive and the Dawn
(Snare Books). He is a columnist for Matrix Magazine and his work has
appeared Filling Station, The Toronto Quarterly and VICE Magazine. He
has six fingers.
An event not to be missed in May!
Thursday, May 20th at 7pm — Book Launch for Miguel Syjuco’s
Ilustrado
We are beyond excited to launch Ilustrado, Miguel Syjuco’s much
anticipated and award-winning debut novel! The book opens with Crispin
Salvador, lion of Philippine letters, dead in the Hudson River. His young
student, Miguel, sets out to investigate the author’s fatal departure from his
encroaching obscurity and the suspicious disappearance of an unfinished
manuscript - a work that had been planned to not just return the once-
great author to fame, but to expose the corruption behind rich families
who have ruled the Philippines for generations. In this astonishingly
inventive and bold novel, Syjuco explores fatherhood, regret, revolution,
and the mysteries of lives lived and abandoned.
P o l y g l o t
Call for GMs for the May 8th Game-a-thon, and Game Voting
The next Game-a-thon is coming up on Saturday, May 8th.
We are looking for people to GM. We would also like to know
what games would entice you to attend.
We had a gentleman show up at the April Thon; it was his very
first SWA event. He's planning on coming back, and he sent us a
whole bunch of games he'd like to try:
•  Twilight Imperium
•  Last Night On Earth
•  Mystery of The Abbey
•  Descent
•  Arkham Horror
•  Small World.
Can anyone help make a brand new SWA member welcome?
We also had an old timer send in a request for:
•  Race for the Galaxy.
Deus Vult – New Novel Available
You can now pick up the first novel set in
the world of Deus Vult, Sister Devout, from
DrivethruRPG.com. Simply click on;
http://rpg.drivethrustuff.com/product_
info.php?products_id=80622
Sister Devout
A young and devout girl, Kaelyn Bright
is inducted into a secret order of the Catholic
Church in the 13th Century. Charged with
defending the ordinary man against the
supernatural, she will be aided by two other
members of the Order - Tranter and Ember. Her
personal feelings towards both of them become
increasingly confused as they join forces to battle
corruption within the Church of Rouen, and
26
On the other side of the coin, Paul McCarthy would like to
run one of the following:
1. Here I Stand
2. History of the World
3. Twilight Struggle
™
He's looking for feedback on which would be most popular
for May 8th. If you'd like to play any of these (probably in the
11am slot), please "reply" to this message with your choice and
help Paul decide which to bring.
You can sign up to run a game using this form:
http://www.swa-gaming.org/gameathoneventregistration
Or, you can request a game to be run here:
http://www.swa-gaming.org/gameathonsuggestion
Please sign up by April 25 or earlier. That way we can get the
word out in plenty of time for the Thon.
the true nature of her duties become apparent.
Headed by the Archbishop of Rouen, once a
knight in the Crusades, a coven is seeking to
claim power throughout Europe by raising an
army of pure evil, an act in contravention of all
laws of God.
Provided in both PDF and ePub formats,
Sister Devout features some of the characters
detailed in the Deus Vult RPG.
Matthew Sprange
Mongoose Publishing
Tel: +44 (0)1793 434488 Fax:+44 (0)1793
497999 Mob: +44 (0)7891 624298
http://www.mongoosepublishing.com
P o l y g l o t
News from Forgeworld
Ork Kustom Stompa
StompaThere are some Mek Bosses who
are well-supplied enough to be able to
kustom-build a Stompa as a bespoke
project for a particularly wealthy
Warboss, extra spikes,
additional weapons and
ornate bosspoles are
common additions. The
weapon arms usually seen on
these war machines are replaced with
energy weapons capable of tossing huge
tanks across the battlefield with devastating
results, or giant rippa klaws to rend enemy war machines apart at
close quarters - all the better to claim the choicest scrap for future
projekts.
The Meks also delight in diverting the power of the Stompas
roaring engines into enormous and unpredictable force beam
generators, built into the head of this gigantic idol to Gork (or
possibly Mork). Such devastating power can tear even the mighty
Titans of the Adeptus Mechanicus asunder in a storm of energy,
and regardless of design are commonly known as the Gaze of
Mork (or possibly Gork). Some firepower-obsessed Meks even
replace the internal transport capacity of a Stompa with a huge-
bore Kannon, usually called a Belly Gun in typical Orky fashion.
The unstable gait of the war machine makes such a weapon
even more inaccurate, but this is seen as a suitable trade for the
overwhelming noise of the gun and the size of the explosions made
by its gargantuan shells.
These monstrous resin upgrade kits for the plastic Stompa,
designed by Stuart Williamson, allow you to add a wide variety
of weapon options to the plastic Stompa kit. The resin conversion
kits are available to order here for dispatch during the week
commencing April 26th, and can also be purchased as a complete
resin and plastic kit:
The Complete Ork Stompa contains the Head, Klaw and
Lifta-Droppa arms, and a plastic Stompa kit. The forthcoming
Imperial Armour 8: Raid on Kastorel-Novem will feature technical
information, background and full rules for a Kustom Stompa.
Tau XV-9-01 with Fusion Cascades
XV9-1 Fusion CascadeThe first of our
XV-9 variants, this advanced Battlesuit,
designed by Daren Parrwood, mounts
cutting-edge fusion gun variants that can
be used with the high-tech systems of the
XV-9, and the Fusion Cascade engulfs its
27
target in powerful melta energy. It fires in bursts, meaning that
despite each charge being less powerful than an Imperial equivalent,
it can overwhelm its target through weight of fire.
Tau XV-9-04 with Phased Ion Guns
™
XV-9-4 PHased Ion
CannonsThe XV-9-04 wields
Phased Ion Guns - these
experimental weapons seek to
develop the rapid-firing technology of
the Cyclic Ion blaster and vehicle mounted
Ion Cannon into a stable battlesuit system.
The long accelerators of the Phased
Ion Gun allow the pilot to engage
the enemy at range with a storm of
projectiles that react explosively on an
atomic level, decimating heavily armoured infantry and vehicles.
Tau Shas'o R'alai and Drones
Shaso RalaiThe Shas'vre assigned to
pilot the XV-9 Battlesuit armour are combat
veterans, each a survivor of the
deadliest battles against the
Greater Good's most savage
foes. The Fire Caste of Ke'lshan
has mastered the use of the XV-9,
and within this cadre of solemn and
determined warriors Shas'o R'alai is
a paragon amongst veterans; his skills
have been rewarded with the most
advanced weapons and equipment produced
by the Earth Caste.
Full rules and background for the XV-9, XV-9-01 and XV-9-
04 can be found in Imperial Armour Apocalypse II. Full rules and
background for Shas'o R'alai will be available to download from
the Forge World website in the coming months.
All three of these resin kits, designed by Daren Parrwood, are
available to order here for dispatch during the week commencing
April 26th.
Space Wolves Transfer Sheet
Space Wolves TransfersThis A4 colour transfer sheet contains
a huge range of decals that can be used to add variety to your Space
Wolves infantry and vehicles - roughly 400 individual transfers are
supplied on the sheet. Each of the twelve Great Companies of the
Chapter are represented, many for the first time, and the sheet
P o l y g l o t
also allows you to identify all types of Space Marine vehicles as
belonging to Grey Hunter, Blood Claw or Long Fang packs. You
can order this fantastic transfer sheet here, and you can also see
examples of how you can use these decals on your Space Wolves
infantry and vehicles.
Forge World Events News - Salute 2010 and Forthcoming
Shows
New Catalogue
Our new 2010 catalogue is available now. If you would like a
free copy of the Forge World 2010 catalogue, please send an e-mail
with your name and full postal address to forgeworldcatreq@
games-workshop.co.uk
Alternatively, you can request a catalogue by telephone. Just
call 0115 916 8177 from the UK; 011 44 115 916 8177 from the

Forge World will be attending Salute on April 24th at the ™

United States or Canada; or 00 44 115 916 8177 from much of
Europe, and our Customer Service team will be happy to take your
Excel Centre in London - more details for this show can be found details.
here. Forge World
We are now taking reservations for Salute - just send an
Games Workshop Ltd
e-mail to ForgeworldReservations@games-workshop.co.uk
Willow Road, Lenton
including your name and a list of everything you'd like to reserve,
Nottingham, NG7 2WS
and title your e-mail "Salute Reservation". We must receive Salute
Registered in England & Wales Company Registration
reservations by April 19th.
You can also place a reservation order by telephone - just call Number 01467092
0115 916 8177 if you live within the UK; 00 44 115 916 8177 from Phone: 0115 916 8177
much of Europe or 011 44 916 8177 from the US and Canada. Fax: 0115 916 8044
Forge World will also be attending Games Day Spain on July Web site: http://www.forgeworld.co.uk/
4th, and Games Day Baltimore on August 21st - as always we will Copyright © Games Workshop Limited 2000-2010. Games Workshop, the Games Workshop logo,
be taking reservation orders over the coming months, so keep an GW, Forge World, the Forge World logo, Warhammer, the Warhammer logo, Warhammer 40,000, the
Warhammer 40,000 logo, the Aquila logo, 40K, Citadel, the Citadel Device, and all associated marks, logos,
eye out for future newsletters for more information about these names, places, characters, creatures, races and race insignia, illustrations and images are either ®, TM and/or
© Games Workshop Ltd 2000-2010, variably registered in the UK and other countries around the world. All
exciting shows. Rights Reserved.

Hex Games Releases The Pytheas Club

Hex Games has just released on gentlemen’s clubs, Whist, and other
The Pytheas Club, a game of thrilling vital aspects of the Victorian era.
Victorian adventure. The Pytheas Club–as well as the
The year is 1877, and you are one of QAGS rulebook, Mars and Venus at
the Pytheans, an elite group of British War, Waxman’s Warriors, and more-
gentleman adventurers doing their part -can be purchased in PDF form at
to advance the cause of Crown and www.hexgames.com and at the finer
Empire. No matter what the challenge, PDF sales sites for just $5.99.
no matter what the opposition, you For those who would like to
must and will keep a stiff upper lip and sample QAGS before they buy it,
see the mission through. The Empire is the QAGS Qik Start Rules, which
counting on you. include everything you need to play
The Pytheas Club is designed for The Pytheas Club, are available for
use with the QAGS Second Edition download at www.hexgames.com,
rules. It includes the history of the absolutely free.
Pytheas Club; a description of the The Pytheas Club is written by
club building, officers, and staff; rules noted Anglophile Mr. Ian Engle, with
for character creation; sample PCs; a stunning cover by the illustrious Mr.
guidelines for creating adventures; a Jeffrey Johnson.
sample adventure, “The Pytheas Club Save the Empire. Play the Game.
vs. the Big Bird”; and appendices Have more fun!
containing indispensable information

28
P o l y g l o t
Old Country, A Crime Network Module, Released in PDF
Old Country, an exciting new adventure for
Crime Network (The Mafia RPG) is available in
PDF: Old Country
Dominic Russo is a rat. A deal gone wrong
landed his pals in jail-and Russo in the witness
protection program. While his buddies got old and
angry in the pen, Russo spent five years relaxing on
the beach.
But now, his number's come up. Russo's beach is
located in Conaca, a small city on the western coast
of Sicily. The family he turned his back on knows this
- and they've got people they can count on to make
sure Russo gets what he deserves.
In Old Country, a module for the Crime Network
role-playing system, players travel far from home to
take care of a traitor, and find themselves embroiled
in a city-wide manhunt. Russo's connections in his
™
Italy are stronger than ever, and the network that
protects him is as old as the island itself.
Far from their America, in a mob paradise where
they have no foothold, players will be forced to rely
on their wits to accomplish this mission, and every
last drop of their mettle to determine how far they'll
go for mob justice.

News from Avalanche Press

Games Are Shipping You asked for them, and they're finally back! Plastic trays
designed to fit in your game boxes and hold those pesky little
We've finally got new pieces in place. Just $4.99 each!
stuff pouring out the door:
Infantry Attacks: August
1914 and Second World
War at Sea: Spice Islands.
Order now and we'll ship
them right out to you!
Buy Two, Get a Third
FREE and Gold Club discounts apply!

Infantry Attacks: August 1914

The first in our series of tactical combat in the First World
War, based on Panzer Grenadier (maps are inter-changeable!), is
getting ready for shipping. German and Russian armies clash in
East Prussia in 40 scenarios drawn from the battles of Gumbinnen,
Tannenberg and the Masurian Lakes. Just $49.99 for 40 scenarios,
six maps and 483 pieces.

Second World War at Sea: Spice Islands

The Royal Netherlands Navy fought courageously to defend
the Dutch East Indies in 1942, but were astronomically outgunned
by the Japanese. Yet the Netherlands could have provided far greater
resources to defend her colonies. This 10-scenario supplement looks
at how the fleet the Dutch admirals desired might have performed
in the opening months of the Great Pacific War. Pieces are die-cut
and mounted just like those in our boxed games: 70 "long" ship
counters, 140 standard-sized pieces.
Counter Trays
Tiger, Tiger Burning Bright
Tiger of Malaya is a great game, but it's nearing the end of its
shelf life and so we're closing it out for good. From now until April
30, this $60 game sells for just $29.99. On that date, we drag any
remaining copies behind the warehouse and dispose of them in an
eco-friendly manner (or set them on fire if Ducky isn't watching).
Spare this fine, fine game from such a fate -- Gold Club discounts
and Buy Two Get a Third FREE apply.
Visit us soon at www.avalanchepress.com.

29
 P o l y g l o t
Different Worlds Presents
Gamers Guide to Feudal Japan
Daimyo of 1867
Samurai Warlords of Shogun Japan
By Tadashi Ehara ™
Travel through a country more alien and more exotic than you have ever experienced before, yet one that actually existed. Daimyo of
1867 provides a comprehensive catalog of samurai warlords in feudal Japan. Included are detailed information on every one of the 277
daimyo clans in the year 1867, towards the end of the samurai era.
Every daimyo is listed with the image of the mon “family crest,” han “fief ” name, revenue size, rank at the Shogun’s castle in Edo,
prior ancestry, and other clan information. Many clan domain descriptions are embellished with photos of their castles, history of notable
ancestors, and information about any branch families. Maps of castles and their surroundings are provided wherever possible.
The information is organized as an handbook for creating more realistic backgrounds for role-playing games, boardgames, miniatures
games, and computer games. It is also useful for those writing historical novels, screenplays, graphic novels, comic books, animé, and
other creative works.
Background information includes geography, history, major roads, social structure, religion, monetary system, and government
structure. A gamers guide is provided with suggestions for scenarios, descriptions of martial arts training, ronin, vengeance, the use
of ninja, and the naming of a daimyo’s son at a coming-of-age ceremony. There is also a special section with lists of samurai-themed
games.
Among the daimyo you will find:
Asano Naganori, the daimyo whose seppuku led to the revenge
of the 47 ronin
•  Kudo Suketsuné, who sparked the famous vendetta of the Soga
Brothers, which took 18 years to complete
•  Ooka Tadasuké, a minor judge with legendary wisdom, who
eventually became daimyo
•  Yagyu Munenori, the Shogun’s sensei for swordsmanship, a
hatamoto who became daimyo
•  Oda Nobunaga, a minor daimyo who began the final unification of
Japan after a century of civil war, and who is the inspiration for the
video game series Nobunaga’s Ambition
•  Tokugawa Ieyasu, a minor daimyo who became Shogun, and
established a dynasty that would rule the Land of the Rising Sun for
two-and-a-half centuries, until the end of the samurai era.
•  Profusely illuminated with hundreds of photos and images of maps,
woodcut prints, and paintings.
•  Suggested for mature readers.

Published April 2010

346 pages
DWP-4001
ISBN 978-0-9753999-3-4
$59.99
Tadashi Ehara
Publisher
Different Worlds Publications
www.diffworlds.com

30
 P o l y g l o t
Wizards of the Coast Highlights Magic: The Gathering
Community Members for Stories of Passion and Perseverance
‘My Magic’ contest illustrates how their most cherished game has impacted
their lives and those around
™ them
Renton, Wash. — Wizards of the
Coast today announced that Dan Alpers
of Cedar Rapids, Iowa and Travis Hall
of Northport, Alabama are the first and
second prize winners of the recently
concluded ‘My Magic’ contest. Over the
past month, Wizards of the Coast has been collecting stories from
the Magic: The Gathering community as part of the contest. With
nearly 100 entries, the two finalists were selected based on their
creativity, relevancy and uniqueness of their entries. Both winners
have won a trip to one of the most anticipated Magic events of the
year: Pro Tour San Juan, Puerto Rico at the end of May.
The ‘My Magic’ contest challenged players to think beyond
a typical contest with Wizards asking “Do you have the greatest
Magic story?” What was discovered through all of the entries was
that at the heart of the Magic: The Gathering game is a community
of players who are passionately impacting the way the game they
love is played.
Dan Alpers, the first prize winner from Cedar Rapids, Iowa
says that Magic helped shape him into the man he is today - a
caring father, pillar of his community and founder and president
of Central Corridor Gamers in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Dan began
playing Magic: The Gathering at a pivotal point in his life, and in
the years that followed he forged some lifelong friendships and
partnerships with Magic players he met. Dan has also founded
Games for Troops, a nationally recognized initiative that collects
donations of video games, card and tabletop games and sends them
to American troops overseas to help them stay entertained and
31
connected with their communities back
home.
Travis Hall, the runner-up from
Northport, Alabama, shared a touching
story about how Magic has played a pivotal
role throughout his life. The game and
surrounding community have helped him create strong, lifelong
relationships that have helped him through both the good times
and bad. When his infant son was diagnosed with a terminal illness,
Travis made sure he shared the game he loved with him before his
passing and even dedicated his favorite card to his son’s memory.
These two Magic fans demonstrate a core respect and belief
in the community that surrounds Magic as well as giving back
not only to your community of fellow players, but the greater
communities surrounding us all.
About Wizards of the Coast
Wizards of the Coast LLC, a subsidiary of Hasbro, Inc.
(NYSE:HAS), is the leader in entertaining the lifestyle gamer. The
company holds an exclusive patent on trading card games (TCGs)
and their method of play and produces the premier trading card
game, Magic: The Gathering®, among many other trading card
games and family card and board games. Wizards is also a leading
publisher of role-playing games, such as Dungeons & Dragons®,
and publisher of fantasy series fiction with numerous New York
Times best-sellers. For more information, visit the Wizards of the
Coast Web site at www.wizards.com.
P o l y g l o t
Latest News from Obsidian Portal — Campaign backups,
embeddable videos, and more
Offline Campaign Backups Obsidian Portal is Sponsoring the Dungeon Master Guys

Some of you have expressed some worry that if Obsidian Portal

™
Podcast!

were to disappear in smoke and fire, all your carefully constructed The Dungeon
campaigns would perish in the flames. Well, we're sympathetic to Master Guys podcast is
that, so now we're offering offline campaign backups. You can get a half-hour long focused
an archive copy of your campaign to keep safe in the extremely monthly podcast made
unlikely event that the site implodes or you want to take your data by DMs, for DMs,
somewhere else. to help you improve
Want to know more? Read the blog post to get a little more your roleplaying game
background as well as instructions on how to download a backup. sessions and campaigns.
Plus, we're offering a reward to someone in the community who is Hosted by popular
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DM, Newbie DM, and
Embeddable Videos Dave the Game, the
Dungeon Master Guys
Some of our featured campaigns have gone above and beyond are here to hone your
the call, creating intro videos or cool trailers to represent their game mastering skills.
campaigns. Wouldn't it be awesome to be able to put those videos Come and see why on day one, it was the #1 podcast in its category
right in your campaign? Well, now you can! You can embed videos on iTunes! Listen, learn, and love with us, won’t you? Tune in at
from YouTube, Vimeo, or several other sources directly in your http://thedmguys.net
Obsidian Portal wiki pages and Adventure Log posts. It couldn't
be easier. Just click the button, put in the URL to the video's page, 15 Day Free Ascendant Member Trial!
and you're all set.
All new Ascendant Memberships are eligible for a 15 day
free trial! Simply choose the length of subscription you'd like
and checkout with Amazon. If you don't like your Ascendant
Membership, cancel any time before the trial runs out and you
won't be charged a cent! Sign up today!

Steaming Ahead

This feature came directly from user requests. We love your As you can see, we never sit still and we're always moving
ideas and we're listening. forward. We've got more stuff planned for the future, and we'll see
you next month with more to report!
Google Analytics
See you at the gaming table,
Do you toss and turn in bed late at night wondering if anyone
is reading your campaign or following your Obsidian Portal links? The Obsidian Portal Team
Wonder no more! We've added support for Google Analytics (GA) http://www.obsidianportal.com
tracking of campaigns for Ascendant Members. This will allow
Ascendant Members to see how many people visit their campaign,
which pages are the most popular, where people are coming from,
and all kinds of other statistics. Are you a stats junkie? Then
checkout our Google Analytics getting started tutorial.

32
P o l y g l o t
Traveller Open Day — May 1st
On Saturday May 1st, Mongoose is throwing
open its doors for fans of Traveller. Taking place
at our offices in Swindon, it is completely free to
attend, and everyone is welcome, whether you
have played Traveller before or not!
Doors open at 9:00, and games begin at
9:30am, finishing at 6pm - and we have some
special games lined up for you!
District 268
At the southern edge of the Spinward
Marches you're not in the Imperium and you're
not in the Sword Worlds but you are in the
no-man's land in between. The Redemption is
old, so old that her papers don't go back to her
launch and it's only will-power, speed tape and
the handiwork of various engineers of various
abilities over the years that holds her together,
well that and a crew with nothing to lose. That's
where you come in. The crew of the Redemption,
like the passengers, only board her because they
have no other option. Bad debts, death sentences,
paternity suits, deep-felt shame - all of these are
reasons to run from your life.
Fires of Rebellion
Coming out of cold storage after light years
of travel on board the Costaguana, the Colonial
Marines arrive at a colony world under rebellion,
and will have to defend Earth's interests from
the rebels. However, after their first victory,
matters rapidly become more complicated as it
becomes clear that this colony is threatened by
more than just unhappy colonists.
Storm Warning
Quiet times require quiet missions and this
one looked easy. Jumping into an interdicted
system owned by your employers with two
passengers and some cargo can only be easy,
right? There's a storm coming and only the crew
of the Angels Share can stop it...
The House on the Hill
On the planet Tivid lies a secret few could
have guess existed, but for the crew of the
Angels Share it's simply about getting their
latest passengers safely to port. With a virtually
desolate planet, a few extreme sports nutters
and a mysterious group of aliens, it should be a
relatively simple ride... ™ addition, somewhere under that atmosphere, in
Judge Dredd: Simpson
Another day on the streets. A bus load
of Tex-Cit tourists has gotten lost (presumed
hijacked), a shootout at the Meg One Bank
and the Juves Without a Block were causing
trouble again. Then the call came in, 99 Red,
Judge Simpson in trouble. A senior street judge,
a thirty year man, Simpson was a tough judge
but one willing to share time with younger street
jocks. Just the other day he was regaling you
with a tale of criminal ineptitude where he had
gotten a call where some would be ARV artists
had phoned ahead to a bank and told them to
have their cash ready for their withdrawal ten
minutes later. And now he is in trouble and you
are the closest unit to his last known location.
Hammer Slammers: The Rangoon Incident
It was supposed to be a simple job. A
small force sent to rattle sabres in some distant
territory of some backwater government on a
backwater world. No combat expected, a perfect
low fee job, allowing the newest recruits to be
slowly brought up to speed with the unit's SOPs.
Your small section was sent to guard a tiny
mining facility, unfortunately your employers
had misjudged their opposition and you found
yourselves cut off from the rest of the unit when
the tanks rolled over the border and headed
towards the region's capital. Now you have to
get back to your own unit unless you want to
find yourselves prisoners and out of a job on
your first time out.
The Three Faces of God
System Defence in the remote Penelope
system (Spinward Marches/Five Sisters 0533)
have received a garbled distress message from
Penelope D, a large moon orbiting one of the
33
system's three gas giants. You are being sent to
investigate and carry out a rescue if necessary.
But this is no ordinary moon. Its atmospheric
properties are unique and formidable. In
a subterranean complex, is an esoteric religious
sect with a unique transcendent apocalyptic
doctrine. Who sent the message and why? Can
you find out in time and what should you do?
Strontium Dog: Southern Fried Dog
A Termination Warrant has been issued for
the retirement of one Colonel James Timeson-
Richmond, a mass serial killer and sociopath
responsible for the death of over 450 people
across 3 star systems. Enter you, the Strontium
Dogs, the ugliest, tallest most downright Muppet
looking bunch this side of the Mississippi. Word
is Timeson has holed up somewhere in the river
delta of the old Missie and hooked up with some
old gang members and he ain't entertaining
guests! Time to go huntin'.
As always, the Mongoose store will be
open all day, giving you the chance to pick up
the latest goodies for Traveller and our other
games (and for Cubicle 7 games too!).
Directions to Mongoose's offices can be
found at;
http://www.mongoosepublishing.
com/pdf/officemap.pdf
See you there!
Matthew Sprange
Mongoose Publishing
Tel: +44 (0)1793 434488 Fax:+44
(0)1793 497999 Mob: +44 (0)7891
624298
h t t p : / / w w w .
mongoosepublishing.com
P o l y g l o t
From 0one Games
The Great City: Urban Creatures & Lairs

This product features descriptions and stat-blocks for twenty urban-based

monsters using the rules presented in the Pathfinder Bestiary. In addition, each
entry contains further information for how to use the creature in an encounter,
encounter ideas, and for most of the entries, a fully detailed lair which you can ™
simply drop into an adventure as a plug-and-play mini-adventure or encounter.
While you might get a few less monsters than in a typical bestiary, our goal was to
give you very usable monsters, and of course showcase 0one’s exquisite maps.
This product is also available in print HERE
[more]

The Great City: Urban Creatures & Lairs Preview: The Harvestman

Download for FREE a fully usable monster from the Urban Creatures &
Lairs!
Download
---NEWS

Celebrate Ten years of

Zero One games with us!

With this achievement

0one Games proves to be one of the most stable and solid PDF company on the
market.
0one Games was the first company to sell a d20 products in PDF form (The
Legend of the Steel General), introduced the unique Battlemaps, was the first
company to make an intensive use of layered pdf (Dungeon Tile Designer, the
whole Blueprints line, Customizable Battlemaps), are the creators of the Virtual
Boxed Sets and publisher of the critically acclaimed Urban Adventures line.
Starting this month we will run a big promotion lasting until December 2010.
Discover More HERE

34
P o l y g l o t
Traveller, Earthdawn and Paranoia
hot from the presses, there are three new releases from on the verge of civil war…
Mongoose - for Traveller, Earthdawn and Paranoia For more information, please visit;
http://www.mongoosepublishing.com/home/detail.php?qsID=1792
Reign of Discordia

Reign of Discordia is the ™

core setting book in line of the
same name by the celebrated
game designer Darrin
Drader and Reality Deviant
Publications. RoD gives
you what you need to know
about the galactic civilization
following the fall of the Stellar
Imperium. Future sourcebooks
and adventures will further add
to the dynamic space opera
setting presented in this core
setting book.
Within the pages of
Reign of Discordia, you can
fight against the R'Tillek and
their crusade of extermination against the known species, fight to
protect the independence of dozens of worlds, participate in the
cold war between Earth and Lamog, haul cargo to the Frontier
Systems, involve yourself in the various crime syndicates, work for
one of the interplanetary conglomerates and engage in corporate
sabotage, play a role in the advancement of one of the interplanetary
organizations, salvage starships, and engage in a number of other
activities that will bring danger and adventure. Mr Bubbles
For more information, please visit;
http://www.mongoosepublishing.com/home/detail.php?qsID=1793 The classic (by which we mean, from
the last edition) mission returns! Dan Curtis
Nations of Barsaive 1: Throal Johnson's epic tale of Troubleshooters, scrubbots
and spam returns for the 25th Anniversary
The kingdom of Throal is the heart of Barsaive, the center of edition. From the initial briefing and its (heh)
culture, commerce and knowledge. The dwarfs united the people explosive revelation to the wonderful chance
of Barsive and threw off the yoke of oppression; now traders and to participate in a hit HPD&MC show to all
adventurers from the dwarf kingdom travel across the land, bringing sorts of exciting commercial offers, Mr. Bubbles
prosperity and liberty to every town and village. But the end of is mandatory fun for your players.
those peaceful days is looming on the horizon, and the nations of For more information, please visit;
Barsaive struggle to survive the great war that seems inevitable. http://www.mongoosepublishing.com/home/detail.php?qsID=1789
The return of the Therans and the brutal assassination of
Throal's greatest king have thrown the province off-balance. The Matthew Sprange
only heir to the throne, King Neden, turned out to be a hot-headed
youth who began his reign with a military assault against the hated Mongoose Publishing
Therans. He failed, and soon realized that the Denairastas of Iopos Tel: +44 (0)1793 434488 Fax:+44 (0)1793 497999
have played a deadly political game to put the dwarf kingdom and Mob: +44 (0)7891 624298
the Theran Empire at each other's throats and Throal's population http://www.mongoosepublishing.com

35
 Combat Mission: Afghanistan announced!
Battlefront.com, a leading independent wargame publisher
and developer on the net, and Snowball, a leading Russian software
publisher and developer, are proudly introducing COMBAT
MISSION AFGHANISTAN!
Combat Mission Afghanistan is the first collaboration
between Battlefront and a third party studio to create a completely
new game in the Combat Mission series. CM Afghanistan is a
standalone game and not an expansion, and does not require any of
the other games to play!
CM Afghanistan covers two periods of the Russian-Afghan
wars - the initial phase 1980-1982, and the later years of highest
activity 1985-1987 - in two campaigns and ten standalone missions.
CM Afghanistan is not just a mission pack: based on the latest CM engine in development, the game includes not only all new artwork,
terrain, new units, new weapons, and new nations, but also introduces some completely new game features, such as exit objective zones
and more! Players are able to take command of Soviet or DRA (Democratic Republic of Afghanistan) Army units as well as mujahedeen
guerilla forces.
CM Afghanistan is currently in development and is expected to be ready for release in Q2 this year, 2010. It will be available in retail
throughout Eastern Europe directly from Snowball, and in an english version worldwide only from www.battlefront.com/afghanistan!

Click here to jump directly to the CM Afghanistan web page

36
 Oregon Convention Center Adopts New Technology
VANCOUVER, BC, CANADA — RoomVista, the latest
in iMap Multimedia's suite of specialized online multimedia
applications, has been chosen by the Oregon Convention
Center in Portland, Oregon (OCC), to help them increase
the speed and accuracy of locating and displaying ideal event
space for their customer base. RoomVista, a database driven
multimedia web application, empowers meeting planners and
event organizers to quickly search, locate and view venue space
that meets their pre-selected criteria, in a matter of seconds.
"RoomVista is an excellent application that drives business
by ways of simplifying the venue selection process and ensuring
that our customers receive detailed and highly visual information
on our meeting facilities", says Matt Pizzuti, Director of Sales
and Marketing for the Oregon Convention Center.
The implementation of iMap's brand new application was
specifically designed to assist large convention centers such as
the Oregon Convention Center, to make it easier to find venue
space using highly intuitive online technology. Through a quick About iMap Multimedia Inc.
"search and find" approach, RoomVista presents the user with the
space that best meets the customer's requirements and needs. An iMap Multimedia Inc., a privately held corporation, provides
image or photo of the space will then be displayed for maximum application development solutions with a focus on delivering
impact. state-of-the-art, interactive, 2D and 3D floor plans and mapping
Says Robert Van Ginkel, President of iMap Multimedia,: "The solutions that seamlessly integrate within clients branding strategies
application makes it very easy for busy planners and sales executives and technologies. iMap Multimedia combines technical expertise,
alike to speed up time spent for research and increase their success professional service, and a vast amount of sales, marketing and
rate, shortening sales cycles and improve the client experience and branding strategy experience to deliver proven applications that
service. We are very pleased that the Oregon Convention Center help clients to succeed in a rapidly changing and highly competitive
decided to make RoomVista an important part of their online business environment. For more information on iMap Multimedia
marketing toolkit". Inc. visit their web site at: http://www.imapmultimedia.com
To improve its user-friendliness and allow for mobility,
RoomVista was developed to run on any hand-held or WiFi device. CONTACT
For more information on The Oregon Convention Center, visit
their web site at http://www.oregoncc.org, or view their RoomVista Giulietta van der Meer Mohr
implementation at http://www.oregoncc.org/spacefinder Director Marketing and Communications
Phone: 1-800-881-4662
About RoomVista Email: giulietta@imapmultimedia.com

RoomVista, developed and powered by iMap Multimedia, ORGANIZATION

is a database drive online application that quickly searches, finds iMap Multimedia inc.
and displays venue space according to the input of certain criteria. Robert Van Ginkel
A central repository organizes and prepares a vast amount of President
marketing data that can be presented online when needed. For Email: robert@imapmultimedia.com
more information about RoomVista visit their website at: http:// Phone: 1-800-881-4627
www.roomvista.com

37
 TGC brings the Alien Monster Bowling League to Europe
The intergalactic bowling fun for the whole family on Wii™ with
realistic physics and diversified game modes
Berlin — You might be the best bowler in the world, but are you the best bowler in the Galaxy? Find out this
spring! TGC – The Games Company is proud to release Alien Monster Bowling League – or
in short AMBL, the interstellar bowling game for Wii™ in Q2 2010 across Europe.
Compete against humans, aliens and monsters in a bowling competition
unlike anything you’ve ever seen. It takes more than a good hook shot to compete
in the AMBL: Power Moves, Special Balls and Whammies bring a whole new
dimension to the lanes for a bowling experience that is out of this world!
Challenge the mighty count Dracula, the fearless Marsian in his huge
robot or wily Kendra with her sexy outfit and many other diversified enemies.
Beat them all despite their individual skills and special moves to reach
the winner of the interracial, international and interstellar Alien Monster
Bowling League.
Beside a thrilling single player mode you can tempt human friends to
encounter the highly motivating multiplayer mode for a fast paced split screen duel. Face your buddies and enter diversified bowling
lanes spread around the galaxy.
The multilingual Alien Monster Bowling League will be released in a mid price segment in Q2 2010 exclusively on Wii™ in
English, French, Italian, Spanish and German language.

About TGC – The Games Company Worldwide GmbH

TGC – The Games Company is an internationally focused publisher of computer and video games, situated in Berlin, Germany.
TGC has its own in-house development studio, realizing any kind of interactive entertainment software from high-quality full-price
games to commissioned productions for all next-generation game consoles, mobile phones and PC. Since its foundation in 2006, TGC
– The Games Company has been publishing licensed products as well as commissioned and proprietary productions, mainly in the
full-price segment. An ambitious team with long-time experience in the games industry, an innovative corporate concept, and a strong
network of global partners are TGC’s great advantages. For more information, please see www.the-games-company.com
Trademarks are property of their respective owners. Wii is a trademark of Nintendo

Ingo Horn

International PR Manager
tel.: +49 30 526853 300
fax: +49 30 526853 004
ingo.horn@the-games-company.com
TGC - The Games Company Worldwide GmbH
Ehrenbergstraße 19
10245 Berlin
Germany
http://www.the-games-company.com/

38
 Tech News from ZDnet
IBM integrates Salesforce.com, UPS and Skype with
LotusLive
IBM will layer in new services from the likes of UPS, Skype
and Salesforce.com into its LotusLive cloud services lineup. by
Larry Dignan
READ FULL STORY
Apple's iPad vs. Amazon's Kindle: It's not zero sum
Amazon provided its most detailed figures on
sales of its Kindle put the units in the marketplace
in the millions. The big questions: How long can
Amazon can defend its turf vs. Apple's iPad?
READ FULL STORY
•  ZDNet Special Report: Complete analysis of the iPad
An organic transistor that mimics a brain synapse
For the first time, nanotechnology researchers in France have
developed a hybrid nanoparticle-organic transistor that can mimic
the main functionalities of a synapse. by Chris Jablonski
READ FULL STORY
Google Chrome steals usage share from IE/Firefox, Win 7
breaks 10%
New data shows that Google’s Chrome browser has managed
to snatch usage share from Internet Explorer and Firefox.
READ FULL STORY
Steve Jobs calls Adobe ‘lazy’, says Google can’t ‘kill the
iPhone’
Apple CEO Steve Jobs isn’t holding back with how he really
feels about Google and Adobe - at least according to Wired and
some anonymous sources. by Rachel King
READ FULL STORY
Microsoft delivers beta of ‘Xdrive’ tool for moving Windows
apps to the Azure cloud
Microsoft is making available to testers a beta of Windows
Azure Drive formerly known as XDrive, which will allow them to
create automatic backups of Windows applications that they may
want to move to the Azure cloud. by Mary Jo Foley
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READ FULL STORY
Steal this social security number: why it’s easier than ever
An expert in Social Security Numbers and the social impact of
IT says it’s too easy to figure out a number that should be private.
READ FULL STORY
Why is cyberbullying different?
Bullying, unfortunately, is nothing new. Neither, for that matter,
is cyberbullying. It’s simply a term that parents and politicians
bandy about as they talk about “the dangers of the Internet,” right?
Or maybe not.
READ FULL STORY
Will Bill Gates’ $10 billion vaccine pledge make an impact?
SmartPlanet: A World Health Organization immunization
expert talks about the impact of the Gates Foundation
contribution.
READ FULL STORY
Yikes! Is Google really tapping the NSA for network security
help?
Google is tapping the NSA for help in defending against
future cyber attacks, but turning to the government creates a whole
other set of concerns. by Sam Diaz
READ FULL STORY
How to shoot photos around bright lights indoors and
during nighttime
Having a lot of light is typically good for
photography, but sometimes you have to be wary of
it. Too much light can wash out subjects in a photo.
Here...
READ THE REVIEW
RIM: BlackBerry sales on solid footing
While there is some concern about Research in Motion’s
roadmap for its BlackBerry device, sales appear to be chugging
along at a healthy clip, according to an analyst. by Larry Dignan
READ FULL STORY
 News from GameIndustry.com
Nominate Your Favorite Games Today!

The GiN Game of the Year awards has started, and the fate of your favorite games rests in your capable hands. Every year we let our
readers choose what games deserve top honors, and if you're reading this, then congratulations, you're a member of the academy of voters.
It all starts with the nominations. Show the companies that entertained you in 2009 some love! And may the best games win.
http://www.gameindustry.com/goty/nominate.asp

Reviews

9 (movie)
The movie 9 sort of bridges the gap between a video game-like world and the movies, and looks
amazing while doing it. But the plot is pretty much par for the course. Still, if you are looking for a way to
really get some fun out of your Blu-ray player, 9 could be the answer.
http://www.gameindustry.com/review/item.asp?id=1166

Dragon Ball: Revenge of King Piccolo

The original Dragon Ball game heads over to the Wii console with the
release of Dragon Ball: Revenge of King Piccolo, with enhanced Wii-fu
fighting. And while it's a fun game, it's more suited for those just starting
out in the series than for hardcore vets.
http://www.gameindustry.com/review/item.asp?id=1165

Podcasts: Going On The DL

Downloaded Content packs, or DLCs, are rapidly becoming the kings of gaming. From The Zombie
Island of Dr. Ned in Borderlands to thousands of songs for Rock Band and Guitar Hero, there's something
for everyone (and cheap) online. If only every DLC were as high quality as some of the great ones out
there.
http://www.gameindustry.com/podcast/item.asp?id=52

GiN Hardcore: The 2010 Hardcore Bowl

For the past seven years, Hargosh has predicted the outcome of the Super Bowl using Madden Football and an Xbox 360. Will his
streak hold? Find out if the Saints or Colts will go all the way this year.
http://www.gameindustry.com/editorial/item.asp?id=458

Stock Market: No love here!

The GiNdex jumps off the roof this week with an almost 400 point loss! Not happy times in GiNland I can tell you that!
http://www.gameindustry.com/gindex/default.asp
Copyright Game Industry News 2010. Game Industry News and GIN, plus the entire contents of this newsletter are copyright Noble Order Press Enterprises. No part of this newsletter may be reproduced
without express written permission from the publisher, Nate Wooley. publisher@gameindustry.com www.gameindustry.com

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