Author Archives: BRW Games

Books Ahoy!

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All right!

The stars have aligned, the omens are favorable, and the proofs look good. So today the Adventures Dark and Deep Bestiary will start going out to the Kickstarter backers! (FIVE MONTHS ahead of the originally planned date, I might add!)

Copies of the books are on their way to the backers (pdf codes were sent out, and orders for the hard copies are being entered even now).

The book is also available for sale for folks who didn’t get in on the Kickstarter. Spread the word, let your friends know, and thanks again for helping make this book look great. We honestly couldn’t have done it without you.

Softcover Bestiary Proof!

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The softcover proof for the Adventures Dark and Deep arrived today. Thusfar I don’t see any real showstoppers, but I haven’t gone through it in detail. The cover is a little darker than I was expecting, but I want to see how it looks on the hardcover before I start fiddling with settings. That said, this thing is a monster of a book (450 pages) and it is a joy to actually feel its heft in my hands. The art looks gorgeous, and in every way it exceeds my own expectations. The hardcover should come in a week or so – there was an issue with the cover file that caused it to be delayed.

Adventures Dark and Deep at GenCon!

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If you’re at GenCon this week, be sure to stop by the OSR Booth (#2033). There you’ll be able to pick up all of the Adventures Dark and Deep books currently available:

  • Players Manual
  • Game Masters Toolkit
  • A Curious Volume of Forgotten Lore (for folks who are already playing another game, and want to bring in the ADD material as a supplement to add to your game)

They’ll have both the hardcover and softcover versions available, and if you send a picture of you holding the book to admin@brwgames.com, or a receipt showing you bought it, you’ll get a free pdf version. Enjoy!

Bestiary art milestone

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I’ve been been wanting to do an update on the Bestiary for the last few days, but have been holding off as I’ve been watching the numbers on the artwork tick up and up towards one of those “significant numbers”. And lo! and behold it has happened.

We have now gotten 75% of the artwork completed. Less than a hundred pieces to go.

Stop and think about that. Since June 9, when the first batches of art were sent out to the artists, we’ve gotten nearly 300 finished, gorgeous, pieces of art in, in just nine weeks. That is, frankly, a lot quicker than I expected (and it’s a good kind of surprise!).

If we keep up this breakneck pace (and who knows, with summer vacations and the like, if we’ll be able to), all of the art should be in hand around the beginning of September. I’ve already gotten about half of the edits from our illustrious editor, and should hopefully have the rest in a couple of weeks. Then it’s just a matter of final tweaks to the book itself, doing the final layout adjustments, and off we go to the printer for proofs.

I am… very unofficially and informally… estimating we should have books in hand by Thanksgiving if all goes well. Woo-hoo! Beats the heck out of next March.

And, as always, let me thank the Kickstarter backers for your incredible support of this project. Without you guys, it simply would not have been possible. You guys are awesome.

In the meantime, here are a few more pieces from our awesome group of artists. Enjoy!

Behir…

Allosaurus…

 And, finally, a demon who needs no introduction…

Character Sheets Now Available

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As of this morning, a two-page pdf of the official Adventures Dark and Deep character sheet became available on our webstore. There are places to record not just the basic stats of your character, but also skills, combat information, magic items, and much more. It’s a free download, of course. Enjoy!

BRW Games to Publish Castle of the Mad Archmage

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BRW Games is pleased to announce that it will be offering the megadungeon adventure module Castle of the Mad Archmage™ as a published adventure in both print and pdf formats.

Castle of the Mad Archmage™ was first serialized as a series of free pdf downloads on the Greyhawk Grognard blog from January 2009 through July 2010, and was an attempt to capture some of the feel of the original Castle Greyhawk, as well as a playable extension of the now-defunct Castle Zagyg line of role-playing aids.

The new Castle of the Mad Archmage™ will continue to have the classic “funhouse” megadungeon feel, but will be presented as a complete whole, from the surface ruins through the lowest level of the dungeons, and will be integrated into BRW Games’ forthcoming Fallen Eria Fantasy Setting™, rather than being linked to Greyhawk or another campaign world. (It will still be possible to drop the megadungeon into your own campaign with little, if any, trouble.) It will be published using the Adventures Dark and Deep™ rules, which means it will be compatible with most OSR-type rules with little or no modification needed. It will also feature extensive annotations to aid the game master in running the sprawling, ever-changing ruins and helping him to get the most out of each level.

Castle of the Mad Archmage™ is expected to be available in early 2014. It will be available in pdf, softcover, and hardcover. More details to come!

Halfway There!

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Tonight marks a momentous milestone in the Bestiary project. As of right now, more than half of the art has been turned in by the artists. That’s not sketches, that’s final pieces. Plus, I heard from our esteemed editrix that she will be sending me the first half of her corrections and suggestions tomorrow.

Woo, and might I add, hoo!

If we continue at the present rate, that means all of the art will be completed by the end of August, and I should receive the remaining edits by then as well. Obviously, I have no idea if the art will continue to come in at such a prodigious rate, and until I get a-goin’ on applying the edits to the master file, no idea how long that particular part of the process will take.

But the takeaway is, we’re way ahead of schedule. If… and I must emphasize if… all proceeds according to current projections, we’re looking at an October or November release (so, four or five months ahead of schedule). That’s not official, that’s a best-case scenario. But damn the book is coming together nicely!

And, of course, I have a few pieces of art for your perusal. The horned devil, the mimic, and the necrophidius. Enjoy!

Meckwick’s Challenge Now Available

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I’m pleased to report that the first-ever adventure module written by a third party that is specifically compatible with Adventures Dark and Deep™ is now available from Random Wizard at RPGNow.com. (It is of course also compatible with most other OSR-type rules.)

Meckwick’s Challenge is only $2 for a 46 page pdf with color cover and neat interior cartography, plus some really neat cut-and-make dice for random dungeon maps and encounters. Do check it out!

From the blurb:

Arson, Murder, Kidnapping, Theft; A string of crime has beset the area. The ruling council has tasked a mysterious wizard to hire adventurers to find a solution to the problem. The reward is great, the danger greater still. Can your party of adventurers track down and outwit six deadly villains? Or will you succumb to dangers posed by Meckwick’s Challenge?

An adventure for 5-8 characters of levels 4-7. Compatible with Adventures Dark & Deep and easily used with other OSR games and products.