ENnies are up ... Again?

Saurus called it. If you voted before today, you'll need to head back and vote again. 

//H

ENnies are up!

Made the Deadline

Coming soon to a gaming convention near you (if you are near Indianapolis in 17 days):

The 4E version of the best-selling 3.5 DM tool. Added some new touches for the harried DM.


The last character sheet you will ever need (at least, until your PC dies). Folks complain about 4E being all about combat, but this folio disproves the haters, with room for more backstory than you can shake a stick at.

But for folks that *really* don't like 4E, we have two special old school treats from my friend and conversion editor, TacoJon:

Whew. Back to writing. This year's release schedule year doesn't culminate at Gen Con, it begins there.  

//H 

Hi, My Name is Harley Stroh and I am ...
... surrounded by incredibly accomplished people that make me look good.

Wow. Just, wow.

//H

On the Internet no one Can Hear You Scream ...

...but they can all hear you sound like an idiot on a podcast interview. 

Or not. We'll see. Jeff from the Tome Show was a great interviewer, so I only have myself to blame if I sound like --- you know --- Harley. I'll post the link when the show airs so you can mock me here and not make Jeff feel bad. 

//H

Gen Con: Bring the Noise

It looks like we might cross the finish line after all. With all the 4E releases coming out for Gen Con, it will be an interesting time for sure. You can find our booth by heading towards the Wizards booth. We're the little guys across the aisle.

If you've been by the Goodman website, you already know to expect: 

• DCC #53: Sellswords of Punjar
• DCC #54: Forges of the Mountain King
• DCC #55: Isle of the Sea Drake
• Master Dungeons M1: Dragora's Dungeon
  

Of course, these have been in the works for months now. We also have several late additions, but I'll wait for those to be officially announced before addressing them here.

A little Monkey Love

And while you won't find them at the Goodman booth, if you swing by Code Monkey Publishing they'll have copies of Temple of the Frog and City of the Gods to satisfy your cravings for ye olde 3.5. (In a high point of audacity last year, I signed my name below Arneson's on a 3.5 version of Temple.)  

ENnies

Today was supposed to be the first day for voting but it looks like their software is down. I'll let you know when the page is back up. 

//H

S. D. F.

Just found out this morning that two people I consider dear friends had their novels cancelled. In at least one of the cases, the novel was completed. And since they were work-for-hire joints, written for shared worlds, there is about a 0% chance of retooling the work for sale with another publisher. 

There really aren't words for this sort of news. Nothing to offer in way of consolation. When you write a novel, it takes time away from a finite life. Hours that could be spent with loved ones are instead poured into the book. Conversations, thoughts, loves – they all get dumped into the novel hopper, and hopefully a decent read comes out the other side. 

So when a novel gets cancelled, that not unlike the loss of a dear friend. It's a difference in scale, not kind. There's a grieving process that needs to take place, when something you were so certain was going to come to fruition is brought to an end with a simple email.  

Has it happened to lots of authors? Of course. 

Will it happen to many more? Absolutely. 

The good writers keep at it, in spite of the setbacks. And I'm certain both my friends will keep writing. But that doesn't make it any easier to stomach in the moment. 

//H 

That time of year again...

Goodman Games is back in the ENnies this year, with two DCCs: Castle Whiterock (best adventure, best cartography) and Vault of the Iron Overlord (best adventure). While Jeff and I did contribute a bit to Whiterock, it was Adrian Pommier, Chris Doyle, Ken Hart, and Aeryn "Blackdirge" Rudel who were the heavy lifters on this one. And by heavy, I mean something in the realm of 800 pages of dungeon crawling. 

And as for Vault, it was written by some guy by the name of Monte. 

Anyhow, voting begins on the 21st. I'd tell you to vote often, but that'd be cheating, so just vote. >:)

In other gaming related news, the kind folks of the Denver Gaming Association have invited me back for another tour, so I'll be running events down at Tacticon at the end of August. I don't believe you can sign up for events yet, but I'll let you know when you can and when the schedule comes out. I'll be running a little Goodman Games 4E number we'll have released earlier at Gen Con. 

As for all the hubub of 4E, it's been a wild ride the last couple months, and if we manage to get all these to print in time for the big show it will be just short of miraculous. Five, maybe 7 adventures, 2 gaming aids, and at least a couple sourcebooks. 

Nose, back to the grindstone. I'll try to check in early next week when I can say that they're all off and done. Till then, drink some coffee for me, will ya? That or sell me your adrenal glands ...

Deather Shout-Out

Go and give some love to Jaleigh Johnson, who celebrated her one-year anniversary earlier this week. Everything that woman touches turns into literary gold so try to rub up against her if you get the chance. Baring that, buy a copy of one of her books. 

//H