Green Ronin News Archive for January 2004

January 28, 2004

Martial Arts Mayhem Web Enhancement

Here's a Web Enhancement by Rich Redman for Martial Arts Mayhem. The Seven Sacred Mountains School of martial arts is faith-based: only those capable of casting divine spells can grasp its most powerful secrets.

>> Martial Arts Mayhem Web Enhancement <<

January 25, 2004

Blue Rose RPG Added to Catalog

We've just launched the official product page for our upcoming Blue Rose RPG. Blue Rose is a roleplaying game of romantic fantasy, inspired by novelists like Mercedes Lackey, Diane Duane, and Tamora Pierce. On the product page you'll find more information, along with a beautiful Blue Rose desktop image by Stephanie Pui-Mun Law for your computer.

>> Blue Rose Product Page <<

January 22, 2004

Black Company Campaign Setting

At long last, we're able to announce that we have licensed Glen Cook's Black Company world for a d20 System campaign setting.

The Black Company is a hard-bitten band of mercenaries, last of the fabled Free Companies of Khatovar. The ten-book series, beginning with the titular Black Company and ending with Soldiers Live, takes the Black Company from the frozen north to jungles of the south and on to unknown Khatovar itself. Along the way they fight to discover their own mysterious origins, which have been lost in the mists of time.

Green Ronin will publish The Black Company Campaign Setting this Fall. The book will be the definitive game guide to the world and characters of The Black Company and draw on the entirety of the ten book series.

>> Read the Black Company press release <<

>> More about the Black Company <<

January 21, 2004

Book of Fiends PDF Preview

Today we present a PDF preview of the Book of Fiends, the definitive d20 System sourcebook for devils, demons, and daemons. This preview features Abigor, Grand Duke of War; Abigor's steeds; and the akop, which are creepy, ghostly, tentacled, insane things from hell. What fun--download it today!

>> Book of Fiends PDF Preview <<

January 20, 2004

Title Changes: Medieval Player's Manual and Advanced Player's Manual

At the request of Wizards of the Coast, we are changing the titles of the Medieval Player's Handbook and the Advanced Player's Handbook. The new titles are the Medieval Player's Manual and the Advanced Player's Manual. These are title changes only--all other information about these products remains the same.

January 19, 2004

Two New M&M Products

Foes of Freedom

This new sourcebook introduces several new villains to Freedom City.

>> Foes of Freedom product page <<

January 17, 2004

Martial Arts Mayhem PDF Preview

Today we present a PDF preview of Martial Arts Mayhem, brought to you by The Game Mechanics and Green Ronin Publishing. Inside you'll find information on several martial arts schools.

>> Martial Arts Mayhem PDF Preview <<

January 16, 2004

Psychic's Handbook PDF Preview: Psychic Skills

We've posted a PDF preview of our upcoming Master Class sourcebook, Psychic's Handbook by Steve Kenson. This preview features descriptions of several psychic skills, from Adaptation through Domination.

>> Psychic's Handbook PDF Preview <<

We have at least two more previews this week, but the Webmaster and his wife just introduced the newest little Ronin into the world, and everything takes a little longer for sleep-deprived new daddies. Happy Birthday, Zoey Amber Sass! Look for more product preview and update announcements here over the next few days.

January 8, 2004

Testament and Torches & Pitchforks Nominated in the InQuest Gamer Fan Awards!

We're proud that Testament: Roleplaying in the Biblical Era and Torches & Pitchforks, the Card Game of Monster Movie Mayhem, have been nominated in the InQuest Gamer Fan Awards.

Why not cast your vote and pass the word along to your friends and family? You know your mom wants to GM a Testament campaign, and everyone loves brandishing Torches & Pitchforks in some good old fashioned mob-versus-monster warfare.

>> Vote today--sleep easier tonight! <<

January 6, 2004

Looking Ahead at 2004

First let me say happy New Year from everyone at Green Ronin. 2003 was a pretty exciting year for us, but rather than dwell on that I'd like instead to look at the year ahead.

If I could sum up 2004 in one word it would be diversity. This partly reflects my own gaming proclivities (I play and enjoy RPGs, card games, board games, war games, minis games, etc.) and partly reflects the current game market.

We have been known as a "d20 company" and we are of course proud of daring to take a chance on d20 while others took a wait and see attitude. We were also one of the first companies to do OGL products, proving you can have a hit like Mutants & Masterminds without using the d20 license. In the coming year you will see books that take both approaches. We'll be publishing the Advanced d20 Rulebooks and continuing to support our established d20 lines, but we'll also be experimenting more with the OGL. This summer, for instance, we'll be launching the Blue Rose RPG. This is an OGL game of "Romantic Fantasy" that is solidly based on the d20 core rules but uses the Mutants & Masterminds damage mechanic.

Speaking of Mutants & Masterminds, it will receive increased support in 2004. The M&M Annual should be heading to print shortly, and the Nocturnals book will follow soon thereafter. In May Steve Kenson and Steven E. Schend delve deeper into Freedom City with Foes of Freedom, a villain book for the ENnie Award-winning campaign setting. We also have a special product in the works for San Diego Comic Con and an M&M sourcebook being written by Mike Mearls. You should also see many M&M Superlink products by other publishers, so this year should be a great one for supers fans.

We'll be rounding out our roleplaying lines with several licensed game books. In addition to the Nocturnals, we've already announced an agreement with Archangel Studios to do a d20 campaign setting book based on their amazing Red Star comic. We also recently inked a deal for a literary license that is very exciting. This is a series of fantasy novels I started reading in 1984, and I couldn't be happier to be bringing the setting into the RPG world. Look for an official announcement later this month.

The licenses point to another key for Green Ronin's 2004: partnerships. We made a deal in 2003 to publish books by the Game Mechanics, and that has been great for both companies. They have provided us with excellent books and have allowed us to develop a robust line of d20 Modern support. Don't be surprised to see us announcing more partnerships and licenses as the year goes by.

All of which leads to the last part of our 2004 plans, board and card games. We did our first non-RPG product, Torches & Pitchforks, last October, and it has gone over very well indeed. As I mentioned above, I love games of all sorts, so it makes perfect sense for us to expand our horizons. If all goes well you'll see a Green Ronin board game this year, and hopefully another card game, too.

As you can see, we have some pretty ambitious plans for this year. We always do our best to publish games of the highest quality and we hope they've given you endless hours of fun. We deeply appreciate all the support you've given us over the years. We know that ultimately we wouldn't be here if you, the gamers, didn't trust the Green Ronin logo. And if you like what we do, there's an easy way to show it. Go to your local retailer and tell them what books of ours you'd like them to stock. I know that may sound funny. When I was a young gamer in the early 80s, it never occurred to me to do such a thing. I just assumed that if I went to a game store, they'd carry everything. Well, those days are long gone. There are a huge number of new game products, and especially d20 books, coming out each month. Retailers have to pick and choose which companies and products to support. If you let your local store know that you are a part of the "GR Army," it sends all the right signals.

Thanks again for all your support. We hope you stay with us in 2004. This is going to be a good one!

Chris Pramas
President
Green Ronin Publishing
January 5, 2004