All posts by Ed Jowett

Meet the Beast! – The Oracle

Don’t be taken in by their initially adorable appearances. These masters of subtlety have evolved a menacing set of skills and a “take no prisoners” attitude. Grown men have been reduced to sweaty tear streaked blubbery messes after a confrontation with the… WERERABBIT!

See the story Rabbits by Moonlight if you have no idea what I’m talking about!

I’ll do my best to get you more details next week but take this image with you during long walks in open fields to help identify the miniscule monsters. Just doing my part to spread the word and keep you all safe!

Until next week!

– The Oracle

Marked For Death New Art – The Oracle

It’s almost here. We’re putting on some spit and polish, waiting for a few things to come through and once the game creator is freed up we will officially announce the Marked For Death Kickstarter! I spoke with Ed who gave me a complex run down of all the things that still need to happen for this game. I won’t bore you with all the specifics and the minutia of the process but, when it’s all said and done it looks like you can expect to see this coming out by the end of the month. Just in time for the full summer holiday to begin! By then you’ll have a bit of a tan already and be looking for something entertaining to do indoors.

Our fabulous artist, Keith, has been hard at work creating some new graphics for this game and I’m happy to let you know that you can take a sneak peak at it on the Marked For Death site. You’ll notice we now have a slick looking title GIF… it’s sizzling, it’s smoking and it’s oh-so-cool. Check it out and if you like that, we’ve got more coming for the Kickstarter. Keep tuned and I’ll let you know just as soon as this is released!

There’s only one more bit of news for today and it’s a good one. Ed is in talks with the creator of Order of the Link, the game that smashed through its Kickstarter, to build a full rulebook! I can’t give you anything definite yet but Ed is really optimistic that we can bring more adventure and fun to all you great fans who are looking for it. I’ll let you know more the minute I’ve got news.

See you next week!

– The Oracle

Did someone ask for more Era: The Consortium? – The Oracle

Big announcement today! I was just told by Ed that he’s officially decided to create at least one expansion to the Era: The Consortium universe. Ring the bells, shout it from the rooftops, wake the neighbors and dance with your cat. Here’s what I know so far…

The Secret War is set right after the events of the rulebook end, sometime in 447CE. There will be new stories that are going to feature some of the characters you know from the rulebook as well as a few brand new faces. I can’t tell you what will happen in this Consortium future but you can probably expect to be fighting with some new weapons, equipment, implants and perhaps even get to ride around in a new vehicle. It’s like Christmas came early!

Along with the new stories we’re also going to work up at least a few new playable sessions. This expansion, which focuses on a group of special operatives, will be written and created by the original team who worked on the first Era: The Consortium rulebook. So you know what that means right? Amazing art, stories that pull you into the game and a completely expansive time-line to get you hooked.

I can’t tell you much more than that right now but I will tell you we’ve got more plans in the works for further expansion content so keep watching here for more news.

In rulebook updates; I’m delighted to tell you that so many people loved Era: The Consortium we’ve run out of paperback rulebooks! Ed has already put in another order so we can have them on-hand at our next convention. Never fear, we will try to keep a number of them handy should anyone want a copy.

Our hardcover edition has seen a lot of love as well and we’re completely sold out, even before the shipment arrives to Ed! He’s not completely opposed to another hardcover print run if we get enough interest. So I encourage…no, I implore you, to join me in letting him know there are more folks who would love to get a hardcover edition. You can send us a message through the contact form or Shades of Vengeance Facebook and if enough of us make some noise we might just be able to convince him!

Last item for today; a big congratulations go out to everyone who backed and worked on Counting Down From One. All of the rewards have been fulfilled and sent out. Another successful Kickstarter! Thanks so much to the fans and the followers who helped to push our indie comic ahead. We couldn’t have made it without you. For those that didn’t get a chance at the Kickstarter I want to let you know that we’re looking into printing the comic. We plan to have a bit of stock on-hand and for sale at the next conventions we go to. All great news!

Until next time!

– The Oracle

Taking a Break… Sort of…

Hi everyone!

I’m able to take a little bit of a break this week! Makes a change…

I only have to wait for the prints I’ve ordered to arrive (should be next week, I think), run a playtest for Era: The Empowered tomorrow, and deal with a couple of ongoing things like the Era: The Empowered logo, writing for the Era: Lyres Deluxe edition, the traveller’s guide and the Consortium expansions I’m working on!

No, really, that’s a quiet week for me!

– Ed

Did you miss us? – The Oracle

I know what you’re thinking. All those photos from MCM London look fabulous and you wish you could have made it but… your apartment was attacked by ninjas… you were forced to rescue a gaggle of old women from a sinking ship… a meteor struck your car just the moment before you were going to get in. Yeah, we totally understand, sometimes you just have a bad day.

Well, if you’ve got those or any other amazing excuse for not seeing us at MCM rest assured you will get another chance. Ed has been searching the countryside for other conventions we can drop in to. These won’t be quite as big and flashy as the London Comicon but we’re looking to spread the love a bit and hopefully catch some of our fans in those outlying towns. So, keep your ears tuned and your eyes peeled for more information because this is where you’ll hear it first.

We love running games and we plan on bringing as much fun, comics, rulebooks and adventure as we can shove into a rolling suitcase. I hope you’ll be there with us!

Until next time!

– A

Empowered Meet and Greet – The Oracle

If you didn’t get a chance to see us at MCM Comicon then you probably don’t know about our special session of Era: The Empowered. Ed and the team offered a session during the Comicon which featured several prominent characters of the Empowered universe. Those that got a chance to play it loved the game.

The session is a great introduction to the universe and we’ll be offering it again at our next convention so don’t you worry there’s plenty of time to get in on this. Game design, art and stories are all in the works and I’ll be keeping you up to date as I know more.

I’ll send you off with a teaser for today. Here’s an image of our team doing their best against an impressive foe. We have; “The Immovable Object”, “Umbra”, “Lightning”, “Gateway”, “Shifter”, “Drift” and “Gearhead”. This is just a small sample of what we have planned!

See you next week!

– A

Dice and Stuff – Last Stand of Stiletto Unit Interviews

Hi everyone!

No Dice and Stuff podcast this week, but they did some interviews with some of the people who played at Animé North, and a video of those is up on their site now!

If you’ve ever been on the fence about whether to try Era: The Consortium, then I recommend watching this, it’s a whole bunch of people who had never heard of the game before, played it and loved it!

– Ed

New Story Day! – The Oracle

It’s new story day! It’s new story day!

Excuse me while I pull myself down from the chandeliers. I love it when we get a chance to post one of our stories. Today is especially fabulous because this is a bit of a sneak peak into our deluxe edition. This is the only story we’re going to post online for everyone to see.

If you weren’t one of our backers on Kickstarter then you’re going to miss out on the rest of the special content. We love giving our supporters more than they expect and we’ve done it with nearly all our games this far. Next time we run a special Kickstarter event I hope you’ll jump in there with us.

So, slide your seat back and get comfy for a little slice of the Lyres universe. What does a Lyre do when a plan falls apart? Improvise!

Rabbits by Moonlight

– A

The Birth of a New Idea – The Oracle

Our time at MCM Comicon was fabulous. We got a chance to show off so many of our great games, including Amazing Space Adventures and Order of the Link. We also got a chance to meet with fledgling game designers who want to put their ideas down and make their dreams a reality.

One of those designers has decided to explore how Shades of Vengeance can help their journey through the rigorous process of creation. This new game will be based around a really interesting premise and up to this point we haven’t had anything quite like it.

It will be set in a historical age, approximately the 1800’s. In this new vision the world is coming to a point where magic, which was once useful and integral in society, is now being replaced by new technology such as muskets and cannons. It’s the end of a magical era and you get to take part! I like it already and can’t wait to hear more information from Ed.

In other game news; Marked for Death is heading towards Kickstarter! I know I’ve been saying this for weeks and you’re probably thinking, “stop getting me all jazzed up and just tell me when it’s coming out!” Well, I’d love to but we don’t have a solid date just yet. Now that MCM is done and dusted we’re going to be able to focus on putting the finishing splashes on this event and just as soon as I know when it’s going to happen I’ll let you guys know. So…keep on your toes and very shortly I’ll be able to give you some good news.

Does all this new game stuff make you itch to jump in the pool with everyone? Our team has a load of fun creating RPGs and we want you to join us! If you’ve got an idea for a game, even if it’s something that’s been rattling around in your brain and you’re not sure if it’s good enough to produce…throw us a line! We’ll tell you honestly what you can expect and how to proceed with creating your game. We now have a direct link for designers so please check us out here at imaginerpg.com.

See you next week!

– A

Where do we go from here? – The Oracle

Things are coming along nicely in the world of the Consortium. Ed and the team ran Consortium games during MCM Comicon where they sold out of all rulebook copies and everyone there said they loved the game. If you got a chance to stop by; thanks for coming down and supporting us. If you didn’t; we’ve only just started the convention season and we’re planning to get to as many as possible so keep checking here to find out where you can meet us!

Rulebook news. As you know, the Hardcover edition was recently received by Ed and has now been approved! Once he receives the entire shipment he will be packing them up again and sending them all out to you wonderful backers. These special editions are really well done and I know you’re going to enjoy them! Take a look at Ed’s post from Friday to catch a glimpse.

Moving across the ocean. The U.S. version proof will be with our North American editor shortly where he will take a look at it for final approval before it too will be making its way to all our stateside backers. I can’t believe this is it! We’re getting so close to the end of this Kickstarter adventure that we started out on together. Thank you for joining us!

It makes me wonder where we’re going from here. I know I’ve mentioned before that we are thinking of ways to expand and add on to this great experience we’ve created with The Consortium universe. We’re not the only ones who want to forge ahead, we’ve also had loads of requests from fans and players. People want to see more of this world so Ed is tossing around the idea of creating some of those Stretch Goals we hadn’t quite achieved during the Kickstarter event. I don’t have any firm confirmation but I can tell you with reasonable authority that if you stick with us you’re going to see us develop more.

We can’t help it! We love games and we love The Consortium. I hope you’ll hang around with us after you’ve received your rulebook to find out what we come up with next.

Until next week!

– A

Consortium Hardbacks!

Hi everyone!

The Consortium Hardback proof arrived a few minutes ago. This is the beginning of the end of the Era: The Consortium Kickstarter run, which is great!

Here are some images for all you people who have waited so long!

Every Hardcover rulebook will be numbered – there are 25 in the print run. So there will be a few left over, because a small number of books will remain. Here’s my own copy (!), signed and numbered. You can expect it inside the front cover, in the bottom right like this:

You can buy them from us at conventions, or contact us if you want one sent to you! I will get pictures up as soon as I have them.

What’s next for me? I’m working on the Era: Lyres Traveller’s Guide to Yarnolth, should be done soon. I’m working on a few expansions for Era: The Consortium with the same team of writers and artists. I plan to make those available as soon as possible!

And the Marked For Death Kickstarter is coming soon now… be ready.

Finally, I am speaking with several new people who would like to make games with us!

– Ed

We Survived MCM – The Oracle

The dice have stopped rolling, the cosplay is over and all the Tokyo toys have been packed away. Welcome back!

Ed and the team had an amazing time at London’s MCM Comicon and from the photos it looks like everyone else did as well. There was a good deal of fun being had and I was told that the amazing Felicia Day autographed something for Ed and she was given a copy of Lyres to take home. I don’t know how they managed it but honestly, you can’t ask for a better day than that!

The team was lucky enough to meet with some of our amazing fans over all three days and got a chance to show off our games to a huge number of new players. The Shades of Vengeance gaming table was busting busy from opening day to closing time; running games, selling rulebooks and comics as well as chatting with all our new friends. I hope you got a chance to say hello.

Throughout the event the crowd loved our games and we got rave compliments. In fact, we sold out of Era: The Consortium entirely! Folks really enjoyed the posters, the comics and our basic Lyres rulebook which sold like face masks in a dust storm. For all of you who are new to Shades of Vengeance, who bought a rulebook and are about to embark on some fabulous RPG adventures… welcome, we’re happy to have you! Thank you to everyone who took the time and stopped by to play a game with us or just talk, you helped make the day fantastic!

Adam and the crew from Dice and Stuff had a fun time as well. They ran games during Anime North and even though they were pressed for time, still managed to get in several good sessions. Welcome to all of you from Anime North who might be joining us. We’re a fun group of people, just ask us!

That’s it for this week’s updates. I’ll catch up with you next time on more Shades of Vengeance news.

Until then!

– A

Our Next Big Game is Powerful! – The Oracle

We’ve traveled to the future with Era: The Consortium and slain dragons with Era: Lyres. What could possibly be next… walking through walls?

Have you ever wished that one day you’d wake up and suddenly be able to fly, speak with the spirits or meld with the shadows? Well that’s exactly what this game is going to deliver, and so much more!

We are happy to announce the development of our latest game: “Era: The Empowered”! It will be set in the style of the 1990’s Marvel TV series that you know and love. We’re hard at work on it and so far everything looks amazing.

If you’re one of the lucky ones who visited us over the weekend then you may have had the chance to play it at MCM Comicon, where Ed (who created this one, too!) and the group ran some demo games for fans. Era: The Empowered is our next full-length game, similar to The Consortium in size and scope, featuring characters with special abilities or powers.

But like any of our games, the true measure isn’t just on the surface. There’s plenty of room for intrigue, manipulation and, of course, character development. You’re also going to have a chance to play a dynasty of superheroes over a sweeping scope of time: each character more powerful than the last!

Just like the Consortium, our characters are very multidimensional. After all, not everything a villainous person does is bad and not everything a hero does is good… right?

You’ll be getting more information on this brand new game as development continues!

Until next time!

– A

Played at MCM

Hi everyone!

I have taken over from Amy for just this occasion to talk about Era: Lyres at MCM.

We gave our first public demos and offered people the standard edition rulebook.

Every group who played the game at MCM Comicon in London with us bought a copy! This game has been a massive success and those that played it enjoyed it very much.

As anyone who attended the panel with Felicia Day will know, we also gave her a copy of this game. We hope she enjoys it!

I’m really proud of what Era: Lyres has managed to achieve and I can’t wait to be sending this out to everyone who backed us, as well as offering it on our store.

Amy will be back next week with a new Lyres update and, I believe, a new story, written for the Deluxe version.

– Ed

Final Hours of MCM – The Oracle

This is it, today is your last chance to see us at MCM! The fun is winding down and in a few hours everything will be packed away but until then we’ll still be running games. We’ve got copies of Amazing Space Adventures and Order of the Link just waiting for you. This is also the last chance for you to stop in and have a face to face meeting with Ed. Don’t be shy, we would love to hear about your new idea for a game!

Now that MCM is wrapping up we’ll be starting to get down to business on the Marked for Death Kickstarter. I know everyone is eager to get their hands on this game and we don’t want to keep people waiting any longer than we have to. We’ve already started prep and I think you’re really going to be happy with what we’ve come up with. We have plans to do a few different things with this one so keep your eyes peeled for news!

That’s about it for this week. If you stopped by our table during MCM we hope you had a great time and we’d love to hear about your experience; drop us a line or shout out to us in the comments.

Until next time!

– A

Play a game with us at MCM – The Oracle

Are you going to MCM Comicon today? Ed and the team are there right now running games, selling merchandise and answering all your questions. So, get yourself down to table #1333 and say hello! We’ve got plenty of time to show you around all the amazing games we’ve produced and anyone from the team would love to take the time to chat with you. Adam from Dice and Stuff is doing the same thing at Anime North.

In rulebook news; the U.S. edition of the full rulebook has been submitted to the printer and we should get a proof back from them shortly for approval. Everyone not in the U.S. should already have theirs and we’ve gotten some great feedback from folks who say they really enjoy it. I’d love to hear more from you guys. What do you think, is the rulebook what you expected…better? Shout out to us. We love to hear from folks who are playing our games.

Not far behind this newest delivery will be the Hardcover copies. All of this edition will be going through Ed who will personally package and mail them out to you, sending them off with a little extra care and some added good ju-ju. He’ll number this hardcover first print run to make them even more special. Because we care.

Also new this week; Ed received some good info about the Character Creation application. He was told that an early stage prototype will be ready to look at very soon. From there we’ll see how it looks and move forward. So, when he knows he’ll let me know and when I know…I’ll let you know!

Now that we’re nearing the completion of our Era: The Consortium publishing run we’ve thought long and hard about where to go from here. This rulebook covers the first 500 years of the Consortium but we’re not stopping there…no siree! There’s so much more to discover and there’s so much more we want to share. Keep watching this site for more information as time goes on.

That’s it for me, until next week!

– A

MCM Booth!

Hi everyone!

Amy already promised that I’d give some photos of what the booth looks like at the end of setup today.

So here they are!

Someone (who will remain nameless!) forgot one of the black tablecloths, so there’s a wooden table there. I’ll bring it with me tomorrow, so you’ll see a black table there, probably with some books on, unless we have sold out by the time you reach us!

I hope to see you at the convention, or that you make Animé North if you can’t make MCM.

On a side note, if there’s a convention you’d like us to attend, leave us a message in the comments and we’ll look into it! 😀

– Ed

Tomorow’s the Big Day! – The Oracle

It’s finally here and my excitement-o-meter is pinging off the charts! Ed is all packed. Our GM’s are on standby. The rulebooks, comics, and posters are stowed and ready to go!

Friday is the first day of MCM Comicon and there’s still plenty of tickets left for this one of a kind event. I completely understand if you’ve left this for the last minute because I myself am a horrible procrastinator. But there’s no time left! Grab seven of your best friends and get yourselves down to MCM Comicon!

You don’t want to miss out on all the great things happening. We will have copies of Amazing Space Adventures, Order of the Link, Era: The Consortium and Era: Lyres. We’ll have comics, rulebooks, primers and posters for sale. And the games? Oh, we’ll be playing some games!

You’ll have a chance to run through the Consortium’s Last Stand of Stiletto Unit scenario as well as a brand new scenario taken from our latest comic; Counting Down From One. You can come down and get some roll time with our GM’s on these scenarios as well as a totally new game. We’re going to launch our newest Era title shortly after MCM but those of you who attend the Comicon will get a sneak peak!

Don’t forget that we actively encourage folks who are interested in creating their own games to come and chat with us. We’re going to have our marketing guru, one of our game developers as well as our lead creator and head honcho, Ed Jowett, available for questions. Ed loves talking game development and I know he’d be eager to chat with you about your ideas.

There are still tickets available for Friday and Sunday, but it’s getting limited so you’d better hustle! Ed will post photos of the table setup on Friday’s news so be sure to check in and see how things are coming along. If you happen to snap a photo while you’re visiting with us, please tag us so we can share back with you. We’re also going to keep Twitter and Facebook current with any and all photos, info and details for those of us who can only live vicariously.

Which reminds me, don’t forget that for you folks in the Americas you should be heading to Anime North. Adam will be there from Dice and Stuff, where he will be running games and have rulebooks, primers and comics for sale. There is a limited number so first one to get there will have their pick so get there early!

That’s it for me. Next week I’ll try to get you all the nitty gritty from the event.

See you next time!

– A

Dice and Stuff Episode 31: DISARMed

Hi Everyone!

Dice and Stuff’s latest podcast, DISARMed, is out now.

Featuring a magical mystery grenade and Lancier!

Don’t forget the Dice and Stuff GM, Adam, will be out at Anime North in Toronto running Era: The Consortium games! Seek him out if you are there, it is well worth it…

Dice and Stuff are promising more content in the near future – keep an eye out here for the latest on that!

– Ed

Beasts Are Coming! – The Oracle

Do you worry about Orc invasions? Do you lie awake at night wondering if your home is troll proof and do you know how best to defend yourself against a sandworm?

Well, if you’re one of the lucky Kickstarter backers to get our deluxe edition of the Lyre’s rulebook then you just may find out. Writing has now wrapped up and the art is finalized on our Bestiary! This Era:Lyres supplement is going to be chock full of details about some of the nasties that might be roaming the hills and swamps of our universe. It could just save your life…or at the very least entertain you.

Armed with all the knowledge of when and where to look for the best monsters you can then take your time to explore the lands surrounding Yarnolth using our Travelers Guide. This special Kickstarter add-on is underway and we’re working hard to include lots of fun details. We’re also in the process of getting those extra stories written so that your experience with Lyres is top notch!

I hope this sounds good to you because I’m pretty excited about all the extra content being created for Lyres. It’s a fun game and I love knowing that it’s going to be supported by all this additional material. If you missed out on the Kickstarter and you’re wondering when’s the next chance you’ll have to get a copy…we’ve got you covered. Just get yourself a ticket for MCM Comicon in London, coming up May 22^nd, and come see us. We’ll be selling the basic Lyre’s rulebook as well as a limited number of posters so get there early!

Until next time!

– A

Across the Board – The Oracle

You might think that with everything we’ve got going on lately we wouldn’t be making much progress. I mean, there’s the Lyres Kickstarter we just wrapped and are working on extra content, the Consortium rulebooks to send out and the big MCM Comicon convention to get ready for! Well, even with all that going on we’re still working hard at all our other games. The creators are excited to get these out to you and some have been putting in a lot of overtime to make that happen.

All across the board we’ve got games that are making headway. Each one has a unique creator and a unique vision which means they’re all going to run at different times. We do our best to accommodate and assist each creator with their game. Some of them have a good deal of availability while others have to sneak away bits of time. Either way, they’re all working hard so we are too. Here’s a lineup of where they’re all at!

Marked for Death will be gearing up for its own Kickstarter launch after we get back from MCM Comicon. It’s going to calm down a bit around here after MCM so with that small amount of peace, quite and zen we will really focus on giving Marked for Death the attention it deserves. Get yourself ready to grab a copy of this game when it comes out!

Frontier will be putting on its finishing touches through the months of May and June. Frankly I was shocked when Ed told me this. Wasn’t it just a few news posts ago when I announced we started work on Frontier? It seemed fast to me and I’m excited to see this game getting ready to play. It’s being created by a pair of University students who have been working hard during all their holiday hours to really polish this game before it gets to Kickstarter. See, they could have been partying or taking a holiday on some tropical beach but instead they’ve been laying down rules, writing content and approving art for their game…now that’s dedication!

Defend the Planet is really starting to get it’s legs. The creator is up to his elbows in decisions on what content to write, who’s going to write it, as well as what he’d like to see for art. I’d love to see some new images of this game so I hope we can get a sneak peak real soon. The game is making some real progress and I hope to get you even more news in the coming weeks.

Last but of course not least…MCM Comicon! We will be taking Amazing Space Adventures and Order of the Link with us to the convention on May 22^nd so please stop by and take a look at these great games. There will be plenty of opportunities to meet our game designers, pour through some of our games and even walk away with a rulebook or a few posters! Bring your questions for Ed about starting a new game; he loves to talk about making your idea for a game come to life.

Until next time!

– A

Prepare Yourself For The Arrival! – The Oracle

Have you got a special place on your bookshelf all dusted off and ready? Today is a great time to plan for some days off of work, gather up a big group of friends and have a “new game” party. Costumes and fireworks are entirely optional.

The Consortium rulebooks arrived at Ed’s place just a few days ago and he’s already sent them off to all our non U.S. Backers. Hardback editions will be arriving after this because we still need to print them with a slightly revised cover to fit the larger book. Ed’s bringing the remaining copies from this print run to sell at MCM Comicon. If you missed the Kickstarter, this will be your first chance to get your mitts on a physical copy! You can look and you can touch but drooling over them will be out of the question.

We apologize for the delay to our U.S. Backers. We haven’t forgotten you and we’re working double time to try and get these out. Now, I’m generally a glass half full kind of person but I can see how you might feel disappointed… believe me, I’m one of those US folks who’s going to be waiting at the door for my copy!

However, I can tell you that I’ve seen the work Keith’s done compared to the old design and it is even better than we had originally expected. We really want this book to blow you away and I think you’ll be happy with what he’s come up with. The design is being finalized now and will be ready for submission to the printer within the next couple of weeks. Hang in there folks, we’re in the home stretch!

In other news: all the art from Counting Down From One is finished! Hurrah and job well done to our amazing artist, the writers and everyone who worked on it. By the time you read this post, the last few pages of lettering will be wrapping up and that’ll be it. You’ll be able to read in its entirety all about the time traveling unit sent to assassinate Benjamin Hayden, just promise me you won’t spoil the ending until I get my copy!

Digital copies should be in the hands of all our beautiful backers by the time we sit down at MCM Comicon on May 22^nd. It’s been a great ride and we’re really thrilled to have gone through this with all our friends and fans.

In case you were wondering, we do plan to have physical copies available at all of our convention gatherings after May. I really wish we could get some ready by next week but the time just isn’t there. So… you’ll just have to come see us again later this year!

That about wraps it up for me. Until next time!

– A

Convention Prep!

Hi everyone!

I am going to apologise in advance: I won’t be posting at this time next week, because I will be at MCM Comicon in London, running Era: The Consortium and Era: The Empowered games for everyone!

It’s been really busy here.

So many deliveries:

Consortium Rulebooks
Lyres Rulebooks
Order of the Link Rulebooks
Posters for the Backdrop
Laminated maps for the Last Stand of Stiletto Unit session
Posters for sale

… Lots to carry!

I hope at least some of you guys will come see us at MCM.

Also, I’ve been working on the Bestiary (which is written) and the stories with Amy for the Era: Lyres Deluxe version. I’ve got Keith working on the US Letter Consortium Core Rulebook. It’s been a very busy time!

All of these Kickstarters are coming towards the delivery of their rewards now… It’s also an exciting time.

– Ed

Join Us For A Game! – The Oracle

We’re now only about a week away from our first big convention of the year. We have the games ready to play, the gear is getting packed up and we can’t wait to sit down with everyone! Just arrived this week are new laminated maps for the Last Stand of Stiletto Unit scenario, for use by our GM’s during the event. Ed’s place has been flooded with all the new gear we’re bringing.

Last week he received a shipment of game posters that we’ll have available for sale and due to a printing error we will have more than we planned. Our limited edition prints just got less…limited! That doesn’t mean you should sit back and wait to grab one, we’ll still run out pretty fast! We’ve just recently received the backdrop posters for Era: Lyres and Era: The Empowered (The new working title for the Superheroes game). We even got some new dice just for the occasion. What all this means is that we’re bringing everything we can think of to make this event fantastic!

So, are you ready to come play a game with us? There’s still plenty of time to get your tickets. Stop in for one day or all three, we’ll be there to talk you through all your questions and show you around our favorite games. We will have copies of the Era: The Consortium Standard rulebook (the same as was sent out earlier this week!) as well as the standard edition of Era: Lyres for purchase. We won’t have the deluxe Lyres available because that was a Kickstarter special so your first change to get a copy of this one is to visit us during MCM Comicon!

If you aren’t planning to attend MCM with us I hope you’ll stop by Anime North and say hello to our friends at Dice and Stuff. Adam and the gang will be running Era: The Consortium games during the event and if you’ve been keeping up with their podcasts you’ll know that they have some pretty good times. Congratulations to everyone at Dice and Stuff for just recently passing their 30^th episode of Era: The Consortium! We can’t wait to see where Claymore is going to go from here.

One quick mention before I leave you. Order of the Link was sent out last week to all of our U.K. Backers. Thanks again for believing in this game, we truly could not have done it without you!

See you next time!

– A

Dice and Stuff Episode 30 out now!

Hi everyone!

The next episode of Dice and Stuff is out now and available here.

In this episode, we learn the value of preparation… one character has apparently carried an item since episode 1, waiting for the best opportunity!

– Ed

Sneak Peak! (Pun Intended) – The Oracle

Orcs and trolls and manticores, oh my! The new bestiary content is well underway and we’ve got some great things planned for you. I’m not allowed to give away any secrets but I will tell you that we plan to
include some old favorites as well as a few more unusual creatures to get your imagination burning. Here’s an image by the amazing Sofia Michailidou of a manticore. She did a fantastic job and I can’t wait to see everything she comes up with!

We’re also working on the Travelers Guide and filling out the lands surrounding Yarnolth. It’s a lot like redecorating your apartment…should we put a desert to the north of the city or would a swamp look better there? Should the mountain be East, West, North or South? It’s coming along great and we’re very happy with everything so far.

Until next week!

– A

Unboxing Day! – The Oracle

Don’t you just love it when a package comes for you in the mail? We do! That’s because it usually means we’ve got a new game ready to play. Order of the Link rulebooks have made it safely into Ed’s hands. He is busy wrapping, re-packing and sending them out to all of our fabulous Kickstarter backers. For those of you waiting to receive your copy I thought I’d send out a bunch of pictures to show you what you’ll be getting.

Enjoy!

– A

The Consortium – A History in Profiles: Ixitixl – The Oracle

In the list of The Consortium’s unsung heroes there is one figure who stands above the rest: Ixitixl, the Ximian commander behind the Resistance fighting force, Stiletto Unit.

This crafty Ximian is responsible for engineering the daring missions that made Stiletto unit a legend. It was his brilliant command which led the team to their recognition in the Resistance but when the honors are handed out, it somehow always seems to fall short of this underestimated figure of history.

Ixitixl came from a position of obscurity on Verbeia where he lived a quiet life. Like most Ximians, he had a plethora of brothers and sisters but he formed a special bond with one brother in particular. Itshtaxeko and Ixitixl were close as any two brothers could be.

During a routine visit by Smertios Security one of the living domes collapsed due to an accidental release of toxins. Nearly 100 Ximians perished in the ensuing weeks of the deadly chemicals release. Though some survived, Itshtaxeko was fatally exposed to the toxin.

Itshtaxeko confessed to Ixitixl that he had seen something suspicious shortly before the collapse. Something which made him question everything he thought he knew about the Consortium. Ixitixl vowed to investigate the accident further upon his brother’s death.

What he found convinced him that Itshtaxeko had been right. It was planned genocide. The word burned in his blood. Fueled by the discovery of betrayal by the Big Seven and anger at his brother’s death, Ixitixl joined the Resistance where he found that his talents as a Ximian Politician were highly sought after.

Once he joined the Resistance, he was quickly assigned as the Unit Commander for Stilleto Unit – he directed their activities for years, until their fateful mission to destroy the Caladbolg weapon. Check out our comic, Last Stand of Stiletto Unit to experience the action of that memorable event (and a glimpse of Ixitixl himself when he recruits Styxtirian!). His leadership may have been overshadowed by the heroism of his crew but we will not forget his part in this historic moment of the Resistance.

Until next week!
– A

Order of the Link and Era: Lyres!

Hi everyone!

If you’re wondering what I’ve been working on today, it’s in the title.

I’ve sent out all of the Order of the Link books for non-US, most of the Artwork Prints (working on the rest now) and am just finishing up that Kicktsarter with John Serembe.

I’ve also been working hard with Stefan, Amy and Sophia on the Bestiary, the new stories and the Traveller’s Guide.

The last through preparations for MCM May are being finished off, my books and posters are arriving over the next week or so.

The prototype of the Consortium Character Creator is coming along nicely…

…and I’m looking into a webpage redesign for my Game Creator page!

That enough to be getting on with? I think so!

– Ed

Lyres Finished Kickstarter over 250% Funded

Making dreams come true has never been this much fun. The Era: Lyres Kickstarter finished up at 267% funded! We couldn’t be more pleased with the turn out for this game and the way that our collaborative effort with its backers has built the Lyres rulebook into something more comprehensive than when we first started.

As a thank you to all our great backers for their support, their hard work at passing along the Kickstarter information as well helping to contribute new ideas, Ed has decided to go above and beyond what we promised and give you all something extra. We’re going to boost the content of the rulebook to include more great Lyres stories as well as develop a bestiary to give you some kind of idea about the nasty baddies you could find in this universe. You believed in this game and we want to give you more than you were hoping to get with it.

Don’t forget that we’ve also got some add-ons. In the days ahead our backers will receive a survey and this is where you can choose which add-on you’d like. We’ll have; Era: The Consortium rulebooks, printed cloth maps of Yarnolth as well as a Travelers Guide to the area around our Lyre’s home town. We know that with everything you’re getting for this game you’re going to love it just as much as we do!

Moving on to convention news. We’re currently ramping up, gearing up and getting down to MCM convention time! Ed and his group of faithful playtesters have been locking themselves away for hours at a time to nail down game play specifics. You might not realize it but before you ever get a chance to play one of our games at a convention we’ve already gone through it many times before to make sure everything runs smoothly.

Last weekend, Ed’s group ran a practice session with our new Superheroes game and this coming weekend his group will practice the second Consortium session. They locked down all the loose edges on Era: Superheroes and it looks like this will be a fantastic introduction to the game. We’re going to have 7 characters available to play who might just end up meeting some of our more infamous figures in the Superheroes universe. We put in a great deal of time to make sure that when you play a game with us you’re experience is top notch!

So, now it’s time for my final bit of news for this week. I can confirm that Dice and Stuff will be bringing copies of Era: The Consortium Full Rulebook as well as the Primer to the Anime North convention! Head on over to their table at Anime North any day from May 22^nd to 24^th and you can pick up a copy. They will also be running games for anyone who would like to sit in and have some fun. Check out their Era: The Consortium game podcasts to see what Claymore unit is up to.

That’s it for this week!

– A