Ask Jeffrey Quinn

[Harley Stroh]

This isn't the author's official thread, but I thought I'd give it a shot.

Jeff!

I'm a big fan of your work, and am eagerly looking forward to the Wizards Cabal release.

Can you tell us anything more about the book? Is it really coming out in May? What will the cover look like?

[Black Knight]

Jeff!

I'm a big fan of your work, and am eagerly looking forward to the Wizards Cabal release.

Thanks! I really like your short stories too.

Can you tell us anything more about the book?

I can tell you that it rocks. So much great stuff is packed into these pages that someone is going to have a seriously difficult time deciding what goes in.

Is it really coming out in May?

Ask Joseph and Dustin. I have nothing to do with the schedule.

What will the cover look like?

I have no idea. I only work on the writing side of things, but I can venture a guess that it will be as fantastic as every other Blackmoor cover.

[Guest]

Somebody tie that Freelance Monkey down ...

How about some teasers? Can you give us a sense of what went into the book? Even a ToC?

What are your current projects?

[Black Knight]

Somebody tie that Freelance Monkey down ...

TMI... but that's the wife's job.

How about some teasers?

"Your mother was a goat and your father smelled of eldeberries..." Oh! You mean a teaser for Dave Arneson's Blackmoor: The Wizards' Cabal book. My bad. Well, the Cabal is a super organization in the world of Blackmoor and this is a campaign suppliment book that delves into their secrets, laws, and everything else a Blackmoor player or GM would like to know about them.

Harley Stroh's A Night in Maus mini-serial is a good glimpse into what will be presented within this volume's pages. Writers/designers include myself, Dustin Clingman, and Chris Reed (recently appointed as the new Blackmoor Line Developer for Zeitgeist Games). Executive producers are Dave Arneson and Dustin Clingman.

Dave and/or Dustin will have to give clearance for a more detailed teaser than this (sorry, NDAs are a real pain in the butt).

Can you give us a sense of what went into the book? Even a ToC?

I'll need clearance from the Master Computer (sorry, Paranoia reference there).

What are your current projects?

Other current projects? Those I can mention are:

• I've decided to "get back to my roots" and have signed a deal with The Explorer's Guild to do two books based in the Bluffside: City on the Edge world. For those that know anything about my writing and design career, Bluffside and Interludes: Brief Expeditions to Bluffside were my first game design credits over 4 years ago. I decided to return there to rediscover myself. Both books are slated for Fall/Winter 2005 (PDF, I believe).
• I'm still working on a few projects for Joseph and Goodman Games. Of these, one is something that many of my long time fans have been clamouring for for the last two years. And it's time that I take a trip back through memory lane and revisit some tried and true things there (Joseph may or may not give more info on this).
• Explorer's Almanac: The Forbidden Jungle jungle sourcebook with Code Monkey Publishing. I am not the only designer on that title, but it will definitely be worth looking into. Jump over to their site and ask for more details there.
• Between Blackmoor, The Redwood Scar, and The Wizards' Cabal books, people don't think I have the time for more DAB goodness. Well, I recently signed on to help out with the Blackmoor MMRPG. Go ahead and scoot over to www.dablackmoor.com to see what they are up to.
• I was recently named an "Apex Game Master Candidate" by GhostOrb (an online RPG platform). An Apex GM Candidate scored in the top 2% of a professional GM's survey on GhostOrb's site. Check them out at www.ghostorb.com
• And last, but certainly not least, is my career making or breaking work on a new RPG. It has been in the design and development stages for over 2 years and has had over 100 playtesters along its route. Those who know me well know I am speaking of my nearly psychotic obsession with the Demon Hunter RPG (a d20 post-appocolypse setting, but that small descriptor leaves out way too much of the flavor).

Keep the questions rolling in, and I'll do my best to answer everything you ask.

[Guest]

BK,

Thanks for taking the time out from your crazy schedule to answer questions! And we all appreciate what you have to say about NDAs ...

I'm still working on a few projects for Joseph and Goodman Games. Of these, one is something that many of my long time fans have been clamouring for for the last two years. And it's time that I take a trip back through memory lane and revisit some tried and true things there (Joseph may or may not give more info on this).

Yipes! Perhaps a sequel to the module that started all?! (Dare we hope? Dare we dream?!)

Between Blackmoor, The Redwood Scar, and The Wizards' Cabal books, people don't think I have the time for more DAB goodness. Well, I recently signed on to help out with the Blackmoor MMRPG. Go ahead and scoot over to www.dablackmoor.com to see what they are up to.

Will you be writing episodes? Is there any chance we will be able to play a Quinn episode at Gen Con? What is it like working with the man that started it all? I mean, wow!

And last, but certainly not least, is my career making or breaking work on a new RPG. It has been in the design and development stages for over 2 years and has had over 100 playtesters along its route. Those who know me well know I am speaking of my nearly psychotic obsession with the Demon Hunter RPG (a d20 post-appocolypse setting, but that small descriptor leaves out way too much of the flavor).

Now....here is some good meat! Will it be a Goodman Games production, or are you going it alone? Any sense of a release date?

Thank you again!

[Toby]

• What work are you most proud of?
• What work (by another author) are you most fond of?

Thank you.

[Black Knight]

Will you be writing episodes?

Yup.

Is there any chance we will be able to play a Quinn episode at Gen Con?

I'm not sure of the turn around time from rough manuscript to "play at the table" for these events yet. Better to ask Dawn Coakley or Dustin Clingman about that stuff. But it is still a bit early to tell.

What is it like working with the man that started it all? I mean, wow!

Dave is a great guy. He's almost got a precognitive quality to how he speaks. At the moment he tells you some info or describes a background you think "I have no idea why I need this info, but it's cool." And then a month or two down the road a situation arises that you need the info and you already have it. It's occasionally very creepy.

Dave is also one of the funniest guys I have ever met. I don't mean puns and outright jokes, but in a subtle way. He drops one-liners when you least expect it and you have to do a double take to make sure you really heard it. All the while he's got that little secret Santa Claus smile.

As an odd note, when I had Dave sign my Blackmoor book he signed it with "May all your treasures be tripled." This was at GenCon Indy 04. In October of '04 my wife and I discovered we were pregnant with our third child. My gaming group finds this to be about the funniest thing ever.

Now....here is some good meat! Will it be a Goodman Games production, or are you going it alone?

I don't currently have a publisher for Demon Hunter, but I am looking. If need be I will go it alone, but I am aiming for a much larger distribution chain than just PDF (don't get me wrong, the PDF market is great, but the first 4 books are beasts in their respective rights and just screen viewing won't do them justice).

Any sense of a release date?

• The Demon Hunter: Prelude to Oblivion series of sourcebook/adventures will be ready soon. Though I am thinking they won't be released until all of them are complete (so mid-summer), even if I do have to do them as a PDF self-published deal.
• The Demon Hunter: Demon War adventure trilogy will be set to go for Origins 2006.
• The Demon Hunter RPG will be set to go for GenCon Indy 2006. The first four sourcebooks are the Demon Hunter Campaign Guide, Hero's Handbook, Game Master's Guide, and the Creature Collection.

Note: all of these dates are subject to change if a) I can't find a publisher and I have to go it alone, b) my work schedule gets too full, c) the market dries up and blows away.

Prelude to Oblivion and Demon War are both preludes to the actual campaign setting. Giving you the ability to play in both the very beginning (the Prelude series) and 50 years later (the Demon War trilogy). Both of these ramp up to another 60-70 years later for when the campaign book begins. I like options like that so players and GMs have the full story and make it feel like they are a part of history.

What work are you most proud of?

That's hard to say. It's kinda like asking me which of my kids I favor most. But I do have a place in my heart for the following "BIG 3!"

• Dungeon Crawl Classics #1: Idylls of the Rat King (published by Goodman Games) - I love to do retro style stuff, escpecially adventures. This one made me laugh so hard I cried every playtest session.
• Dave Arneson's Blackmoor (published by Goodman Games/Zeitgeist Games) - All of the books I've worked on in this line have been an honor and a privaledge that many other writers would have strung me up and drained my blood for. Dave is a gem (see above) and Dustin is one of the best guys I have ever worked for. I view the ZG team more as friends I work with than bosses.
• I can't do a Top 3 list without mentioning my maiden cruise as a game designer, Interludes: Brief Expeditions to Bluffside (published by Thunderhead Games/Mystic Eye Games). I had dreams about that book while I was writing it. I would get up in the middle of the night and start to scribble. Though I was still VERY new and rough around the edges, everyone seemed to like it.

What work (by another author) are you most fond of?

To answer this, I must first give my caveat: "I avoid reading other's works so my ideas remain untainted by their ideas."

However, I do have a few favorites: Ed Greenwood, Mike Mearls, Sean Reynolds, Keith Baker, Steve Creech, Harley Stroh, and Ari Marmell. These guys are the tops on my list.

[Tody]

• The Demon Hunter: Prelude to Oblivion series of sourcebook/adventures will be ready soon. Though I am thinking they won't be released until all of them are complete (so mid-summer), even if I do have to do them as a PDF self-published deal.
• The Demon Hunter: Demon War adventure trilogy will be set to go for Origins 2006.
• The Demon Hunter RPG will be set to go for GenCon Indy 2006. The first four sourcebooks are the Demon Hunter Campaign Guide, Hero's Handbook, Game Master's Guide, and the Creature Collection.

Holy coffee powered robot!

The setting sounds very interesting. Where should we go for official updates?

And what a great story about "tripling treasures"! It's wonderful to hear about good fathers/great gamers. [/b]

[Black Knight]

Holy coffee powered robot!

The setting sounds very interesting. Where should we go for official updates?

You can always ask me here about stuff or go over to my forums at http://jpquinn.hyperboards2.com/index.cgi

[Toby]

1.So let's just say a fan was trying to collect the entire JQ catalog. What would that look like?

2. I assume you're accustomed to creating your own crunch, and would prefer not to work in someone else's world. What was the procedure like for working on the Blackmoor material? That game has been running (d20 or not!) for the last 30 years. How do you write Blackmoor material and not step on DA's toes?

[Tower of Psychobabble]

Tell us a little bit more, if you can, about Demon Hunter. What's the world premise? It must be spectacular to merit so much attention.

[Guest]

Toby ... check out JQ's sig links. There you can find:

Products by Jeffrey Quinn

Bastion Press

Torn Asunder: Critical Hits
I submitting some things to an open call that Bastion Press had for this product, and I was accepted. Here's the product info, right off their website: Torn Asunder pulls no punches; it provides a realistic and effective injury system for d20, covering all creatures, anatomies, and body types. Included as well are rules for natural healing, scarification, and herbal treatments. Torn Asunder also provides a wide variety of resources allowing characters to take advantage of the new system, from quick and precise prestige classes to devastating weapons to powerful and essential magical devices. Don't just beat your opponents into submission, tear them limb from limb. Compatible with 3.5 Edition rules.
d20 Sourcebook (96 pages, Print)
July 2003

Dire Kobold

Treasure Hunters #1: Crypt of the Beast Lord
A great little adventure for low level dungeon crawlers. This is the first adventure in a multiple adventure series called Treasure Hunters for Dire Kobold's Xenogenic Adventure System.



Crypt of the Beast Lord contains the following all new D&D 3E source material:

New Monsters:

Crypt Rager (undead berserker)

Kollini (half-elf/half-dwarf monster that can also be used as a PC race)

New Organization:

The Treasure Hunters' Guild

Notable NPCs (Heroes and Villains):

Lanenys Mane (leader of the Treasure Hunters' Guild)

Krennin Vorst (the Beast Lord)

Korrvat Morton (half-orc ghast seer)

d20 Adventure (21 page, PDF)
Available Now

Gaming Frontiers/United Playtest

Gaming Frontiers, Vol. 1
I teamed up with Hal Greenberg of Thunderhead Games to do the Treasure Chest article entitled "Incoming!" about missile weapons. Along with miscellaneous text and editing, I created the arrow of entanglement, bead of rust, caltrop of grease, gauntlet of fire, and the hawk hachette.
d20 Magazine (print)
Available Now


Gaming Frontiers, Vol. 2
I returned to team up with Hal Greenberg and Andrew Troman of Thunderhead Games to do the second Treasure Chest article entitled "One Man's Trash is Another Monster's Treasure" about monstrous magical items. Along with editing the article, I also created the incense of demonic dreams and the mask of demons.
d20 Magazine (print)
Available Now


Gaming Frontiers, Vol. 3
In this one, I have teamed up with Andrew Troman, Hal Greenberg and Stefon Mears to do the article "Places of Interest" detailing new areas for use in the Bluffside and Dragonstar campaign settings. Other than miscellaneous text and editing, my area was Gilbraut's Orphanage.
d20 Magazine (print)
Available Now


Goodman Games

Dungeon Crawl Classics #1: Idylls of the Rat King
The first in the Dungeon Crawl Classics d20 fantasy adventure series line. Great for low level dungeon crawling with that old Original Dungeons & Dragons feel and flare (even the cover and maps look like the old Basic modules!).
Here's a comment from one reviewer at RPGNow:

"With crisp, clean artwork and layout, plus an engaging story, Idylls of the Rat King is one of the best D&D adventures I've seen in a while. Goodman Games has managed to resurrect all the good qualities of first-edition D&D here, while leaving all the dross behind. No pretention; no dead-weight detail -- just straight-ahead, sword-and-sorcery fun.
I give it my highest recommendation."

~ Malcolm MacDonald


Honorable Mention

Best Adventure

d20 Adventure (32 pages, print)
Available Now

Complete Guide to Drow
I went hog-wild on creating new and interesting drow stuff. Just call this my generous "head-turning, page-flipping, critically-acclaimed" contribution the 2002-2003's "Year of the Drow".
Update - It looks like the drow are not counted out of the ring yet! Stay tuned for some cool developments! (Update to the update - CGtD has been updated for the 3.5E rules set with a new cover image and new material between the pages.)

d20 Sourcebook (44 pages - POD, or 56 pages - PDF)
Available Now


Dungeon Crawl Classics #8: Mysteries of the Drow
I had the best time of my life designing and testing this game. I tried to think of everything that made the old D&D modules of yore special and exciting to play. Sure they had difficult encounters, but they also had puzzles that were truly interactive and more than enough adventure for any one person to enjoy. I know this one will be more than fun for most of you.
This adventure is specially designed for play by drow characters, but can be used with any adventuring party. Pregenerated drow characters are included. The characters are commissioned by a drow housemistress to acquire a mysterious weapon known to be in the hands of her enemies. Locating, identifying, and acquiring the magical weapon leads them on a great trek across the underdeep, where they must battle svirfneblin, a powerful lich, and enemy drow.

Dungeon Crawl Classics can be integrated easily with any fantasy setting. If you enjoy this adventure, you might also enjoy the rest of the Dungeon Crawl Classics series.

Features:

Four separate episodes with almost 60 keyed encounter areas that send the PCs against a variety of opponents.
Stats for two new underdeep monsters, plus new information on svirfneblin and their strange firearms.
A variety of player handouts, including a special prop (the first for the DCC series) to be constructed by the DM prior to the PCs' encountering one of the lich's devious puzzles.
Complete stats for 6 pregenerated drow characters, including a recap of drow special abilities should the DM wish to run this adventure with drow PCs.
This module was first run as a 3-round convention tournament event at Running GAGG: Psi Phi Nut in Geneseo, NY, February 2003. For more information on the convention, visit http://gagg.geneseo.edu/.

(A special thank you to all of my playtesters at the con and at home. Because of all of you, this adventure is definitely in a class of its own.)

d20 Adventure (48 pages, print)
June 2004


Mongoose Publishing

The Ultimate Campaign Trilogy
Not much that I can currently talk about with this project. Just let it be known that it's a monster of a campaign trilogy and an absolute dream to work with "da Mongoose".
d20 Campaign (size TBA, print)
Release TBA


Mystic Eye Games/Thunderhead Games

Bluffside: City on the Edge
I was the contributing author of numerous spells, feats, magical items, and the location in the city known as Sordadon.
A great update, Bluffside got an Ennie 2002 nomination for Best Setting Supplement.

d20 Sourcebook (144 pages, print)
Available Now


Interludes: Brief Expeditions to Bluffside
I wrote the adventure and most of the source material. Monte Cook wrote the Blood Guardian prestige class, my wife wrote the Sisterhood of Mercy, with additional fiction material from Becky Glenn.
A great update here as well, Interludes got an Ennie 2002 nomination for Best Adventure.

d20 Adventure/Sourcebook (64 pages, print and PDF)
Available Now


Interludes: Sands of Pain
I wrote this entire module, and all of its source material.
d20 Adventure/Sourcebook (64 pages, print)
Available Now


Nightmares and Dreams II
I contributed the monster (the breas) to the book.
d20 Sourcebook (72 pages, print)
Available Now


Of Places Most Foul
I wrote two additional vignettes (The Terror of Taverns and Mansion of Blood) for this book that are now downloadable as free stuff from Mystic Eye Games.
d20 Adventure Anthology (96 pages, print)
Available Now

Monkey God Enterprises

Muck and Mire: The Explorer's Guide to Swamps
Great project, great company! This one is a treat and a half to work on. When this book, part of MGE's Explorer's Guide series, is released I will definitely have an awfully large feather in my cap. Compatible with 3.5 Edition rules.
d20 Sourcebook (200+, print)
Release TBA


Sword & Sorcery Studios

Advanced Players Guide
I finally got to work with some of the industry's most visionary writers on this great project. I wrote Chapter 1 (Character Options). The book looks fantastic. I think this has to be some of my best source material writing yet.
d20 Sourcebook (print)
Available Now


Zeitgeist Games

Dave Arneson's Blackmoor: d20 Campaign Sourcebook
Working with Dave Arneson and Dustin Clingman of Zeitgeist Games is an absolute dream. And bringing the very first fantasy campaign setting back from the archives of history for d20 is great! More information coming soon about this product. Compatible with 3.5 Edition rules.
d20 Blackmoor Sourcebook (200+, print)
Sept 2004


The Redwood Scar
Not much that I can currently talk about with this project. Currently in playtest.
d20 Blackmoor Adventure (size TBA, print)
Oct/Nov 2004


The Wizards' Cabal
Not much that I can currently talk about with this project.
d20 Blackmoor Sourcebook (size TBA, print)
Nov/Dec 2004

[Black Knight]

1.So let's just say a fan was trying to collect the entire JQ catalog. What would that look like?

Well, only a portion of my books (either entirely mine or as a part of a wider project) are available in print. The rest are PDFs. Here is a list with links to where you can purchase them:

Print Books

• Advanced Players Guide (publisher: Sword & Sorcery Studios) - Find it here!
• Bluffside: City on the Edge (publsher: Mystic Eye Games) - Out of print, now only available as a PDF (as far as I know) avaiable here!
• Complete Guide to Drow (publisher: Goodman Games) - Available here!
• Dave Arneson's Blackmoor (publisher: Goodman Games/Zeitgeist Games) - Available here!
• Dave Arneson's Blackmoor Adventures: The Redwood Scar (publisher: Goodman Games/Zeitgeist Games) - Available here!
• Dungeon Crawl Classics #1: Idylls of the Rat King (publsher: Goodman Games) - Available here!
• Dungeon Crawl Classics #3.5: The Haunted Lighthouse (publisher: Goodman Games) - GenCon Indy 2003 special (available only by public auction on Ebay and other auction sites)
• Dungeon Crawl Classics #8: Mysteries of the Drow (publisher: Goodman Games) - Available here!
• Dungeon Crawl Classics #13: Crypt of the Devil Lich (publisher: Goodman Games) - Available here!
• Interludes: Brief Expedition to Bluffside (publisher: Mystic Eye Games) - Out of print, only available as a PDF (as far as I know) here!
• Interludes: Sands of Pain (publisher: Mystic Eye Games) - Out of print, only available as a PDF (as far as I know) here!
• Nightmares & Dreams II (publisher: Mystic Eye Games) - Find it here!
• Of Places Most Foul (publisher: Mystic Eye Games) - Out of print.
• Star Wars: Geonosis and the Outer Rim Worlds - (publisher: Wizards of the Coast) - Find it here! Though my stuff and name was cut from the final copy.
• Torn Asunder: Critical Hits (publisher: Bastion Press) - Available here!

PDFs

• Treasure Hunters #1: Crypt of the Beast Lord (publisher: DireKobold.com) - Contact me and I'll get you a copy.

Magazine Articles

• Incoming! (publisher: United Playtest) - Gaming Frontiers,Vol 1 - Out of print.
• One Man's Trash is Another Monster's Treasure (publisher: United Playtest) - Gaming Frontiers,Vol 2 - Out of print.
• Places of Interest (publisher: United Playtest) - Gaming Frontiers,Vol 3 - Out of print.
• GM's Perspective: Players and Game Masters in Roleplaying Games (publisher: d20 Magazine Rack) - Check it out here!

2. I assume you're accustomed to creating your own crunch, and would prefer not to work in someone else's world. What was the procedure like for working on the Blackmoor material? That game has been running (d20 or not!) for the last 30 years. How do you write Blackmoor material and not step on DA's toes?

It was much easier to do than some might think. Dave had final say on everything, and he guided all of the designers, editors, and writers in a very specific direction. I had regular communication with him during the almost 2 years of development and he was a great inspiration. And I don't see it as me writing Blackmoor, but more or less being the "spectacles for Dave's vision of Blackmoor".

Tell us a little bit more, if you can, about Demon Hunter. What's the world premise? It must be spectacular to merit so much attention.

Well, the campaign picks up in the early years of the 22nd century of Earth. A war has plagued the world since a gateway to hell ripped open 100 years before in the guise of a "super volcano" located under Yellowstone National Park in the USA. Demons poured through the gate and enslaved much of the initial survivors in an attempt to locate a creature (whom they consider to be an elder demon of horrible power) that crashed on Earth many thousands of years before (causing the extinction of the dinosaurs). Note: This is the time of the "Prelude to Oblivion" line of adventure/sourcebooks.

50 years after the gate opened, angels from Heaven come to Earth to help establish a resistance movement, bringing the eternal Heaven/Hell conflict to a head that releases many of the humans from demonic service. Note: This is the time of the "Demon War" trilogy of adventures.

The humans now scour the universe for their missing relatives that fled Earth when the demons were first discovered. The trials and tribulations they go through are chronicled in epic format with battles raging on Earth and well off into the stars (and even into the realms of Heaven and Hell!!!). Characters can be freedom fighters, space explorers, scientists, or have any number of strange backgrounds and adventures (like freeing the moon's space dock from a demonic infestation and saving a group of crashed humans on a remote asteroid that circles Saturn).

Teasers
Demon Hunter provides a host of new species to play:

• Humans: The bread and butter of the campaign, more than 95% of all characters are generic "pure-blooded" humans.
• Hybrids: Choose between six distinct hybrid species created by some of the Earth's most notorious genetic powerhouses.
• Mutants: Be a "lost human" from the American mid-west badlands or the Russian core that suffers from generations of nuclear radiation exposure.
• Sidhe: Long have the legends of Atlantis and the Celtic faeries tormented man's memory, now those ancients return as the Sidhe!

Plus, you get a great variety of character classes that are customizable. No more "cookie-cutter" PCs when you play one of these classes:

• Soldier: Whether securty agent, kung fu master, or veteran military grunt, the soldier is the person to call when the demons need to be knocked down a few pegs.
• Infiltrator: B&E specialist, con man, computer hacker, or pckpocket, they all fall under the infiltrator class.
• Engineer: Make, repair, and create as many items as you can to aid humanity against its foes.
• Medic: Be a doctor in a hospital or a military field medic jumping on board a light cruiser for your tour of duty.
• Scholar: Scientist or poet, anthropologist or cryptozoologist, keep the world's history alive at all costs!!
• Arcanist: Harness the chaotic flow of magic released into the world with the coming of the demons.
• Psychic: The powers of the mind are at your command.
• Priest: Be a part of one of the seven secret societies of the Vatican, or play one of the 16 other religious organizations that hold the faith of the world intact.

And with all of that you get:

• A new magic system that eliminates the psionics vs. static magic debate that has raged on for years. Demon Hunter magic and psychic abilities use the same dynamic system, and its as easy to learn as your own character's name!
• Backgrounds that actually affect your character.
• Advances and drawbacks to add extra depth to your character.
• Prestige classes, organizations, and secret socieites that work for both humanity and those wishing to bring its downfall.
• Some favorite monsters get a rebuild to make them gassed up and ready to go in any flavor campaign.
• Demon Hunter allows for a unique play style, depending on the GM's whim and the play group. Play in a Road Warrior style badlands game; a space opera; explore the ruins of Berlin, Chicago, and Paris; monster hunt in the Black Forest; take an undersea adventure to Tokyo; defend the city-states of New York, Boston, and Atlanta; attempt to seal the Caldera Gate; board a Sidhe starcruiser and set off for space battles with the ancents; pilot a mech into combat against demon borgs; have a kung fu throw down in Bangkok against the criminal underworld; perform a hostile corporate takeover; jump through the gate and explore Hell or Heaven; do all of these at once or come up with your own! Demon Hunter can take what your group can dish out!

Demon Hunter is a game of horror, adventure, struggle, and freedom. It's vary nature expresses that and tries to get players and GMs to break normal gaming walls and enter a brave new world of gaming. I hope that answers what everyone wants to know about Demon Hunter. I can't get into too much more detail without giving it all away (and there's a lot more I haven't even begun to touch on).

[Save Vs. Death Ray]

Just here to say ........... Jeff Quinn rocks!

Love his material ........ love it!

[Black Knight]

Wow!

Quite a few of you have been emailing me to ask the same questions: "So, what 'cha workin' on?" and "Is there a third book in the Rat King saga?"

Getting back into the swing of things after taking a few months off has been a wonderful breath of fresh air. So, as the holidays arrive and I take a look back over the eventful year, let me tell you what I'm working on (as far as NDAs allow):

Dungeon Crawl Classics #X & #X2: I am putting the final touches on the rough drafts of two different DCCs (New Year's present for Joe's inbox, and "no" the Rat King trilogy module is not either of these). After those are done I'm taking a small break before I start on possibly another in March.

Daemon Hunter RPG: It is finally done!!! Just awaiting artwork and final layout. Still haven't found a publisher for it and may have to go it alone (first as a pdf and then as a print product). We'll see what the new year brings.

EN Critters: I am working on a supplement for the EN Critters line. Rob Lajoie is a great guy to work with. We have even been bouncing some ideas around for a fantasy campaign (inspired by the EN Critter volume I'm working on) that will definitely turn d20 fantasy on its ear!!! (Tone = horror meets rebellion meets new rules for advanced gamers!!!!!) Expect to see this volume out in the next few months.

EN Guilds: I am also working on a volume for the EN Guilds series. As I'm touching up the final document, I'm amazed with how my writing style has matured over the years. Expect to see this one in the next few months.

0one Games: An interesting new product from the "Grandfather of Dungeon Crawls" (thanks Harley for the nickname, it stuck) and the creators of some of the best RPG maps out there.

"The Secret Module": OK, due to a super air-tight NDA and a pile of evil lawyer elves, all I can say is that the "Secret Module" for the "Ultimately Private Game Company" is complete and sent to the editor. I'd assume that more can be said about this some time in the second quarter of '06.

The Novel & Comic Books: The novel I've been slaving over for more than a year is finally done and being edited as I type this. The series of comic books that I wrote is finished and awaiting artwork (more than 20 episodes in the series).

During the gaming season over the holidays I am catching up on the Blackmoor modules for the MMRPG. They are pretty good! I have been playing in a play-by-post Blackmoor game over at www.dablackmoor.com and things are going really well there.

My daily life is finally smoothing over. The baby is fantastic, I got a promotion at work, turned down a second promotion (which would have had me move this week over 4 hours away), the presents are wrapped and under the tree, and I'm finally able to sit down and enjoy a little time to myself (aka - writing like a possessed caffine-powered demon).

OH! And for those of you out there interested, nominations have opened for GameWyrd's 2005 Weird GameWyrd Game Awards. Jump over there and nominate your favorite authors, artists, publishers, and games!
http://www.gamewyrd.com/awards/nominate.php

Have a safe and happy holiday season everyone! I'll see you all again in 2006!!