Gamebook Friday: Fully Booked

Spring is here and summer is on its way, which means that you can expect to see me at a number of events over the coming months.

First up, next month, is Fully Booked. Billed as 'A Book Festival in a Day!' it is taking place on Saturday 15th April 2023, from 10:00am - 3:00pm, at Taunton Central Library, in Taunton*, and entry is FREE! 

I will be there with my ACE Gamebooks, so, if you're in the area, why not come along and say hello, or, even better, buy a book?

* Funnily enough.

Lion El’Jonson, Primarch of the Dark Angels

Ideally this would have been posted on Warhammer Wednesday, but the news only dropped five hours ago (as of writing). If you've not seen the reveal from Games Workshop yet, the big new - HUGE news, in fact - is that the Lion has returned!

Why do I mention this on my blog? Because it was I, under the guidance of game design legend Jervis Johnson, who wrote the Dark Angels background for the original Codex: Angels of Death, the last paragraph of which revealed that the body of Lion El'Jonson was hidden deep with the Rock, the Dark Angels' base of operations and all that was left of their devastated homeworld Caliban. So to see the Primarch enter Warhammer 40,000 some 27 years later is really quite cool.

Gamebook Friday: Extra! Extra!

Ever since I crowdfunded the first ACE Gamebook, Alice's Nightmare in Wonderland, back in 2015, I have tried to offer backers on Kickstarter something extra. In the case of Alice, this was my first deck of themed playing cards (which, along with bespoke dice, went on to become a feature of the series), and the first themed All Rolled Up*.

The Wicked Wizard of Oz had bookmarks that allowed you to play as different characters, including two bonus characters - the Wicked Witch of the West and the Wizard himself.

NEVERLAND - Here Be Monsters! had some rather cool extras, if I do say so myself. Not only was there a cloth map of Neverland, there was also a soundtrack album, of sorts.

I upped the ante with Beowulf Beastslayer, offering backers miniatures of Beowulf and Grendel, who have been joined by Grendel's Mother, since the Heorot RPG also funded on Kickstarter.

'TWAS - The Krampus Night Before Christmas offered backers the chance to purchase some Krampus Kards, rather than the traditional Christmas cards.

High level backers of the Dracula: Curse of the Vampire Kickstarter received their books in a wooden coffin, along with a stake pencil, wrapped in black tissue paper bearing the seal of the House of Dracula.

My most recent ACE Gamebooks Kickstarter, that funded production of RONIN 47, gave people the chance to buy some posters of Neil Googe's awesome artwork (coloured by Len O'Grady), as well as the usual art prints.

I'm still deliberating as to what the next ACE Gamebook will be, but rest assured that I will look for some unusual angle when it comes to what rewards I can offer to those people who support my crowdfunding projects.

* The last project to feature one of these was TWAS - The Krampus Night Before Christmas.

Gamebook Friday: New Kickstarters for fans of gamebooks and RPGs

As regular readers of this blog will know, I am often encouraging people to check out my various crowdfunding campaigns to help get some cool projects off the ground. But today I want to let you know about two Kickstarters that are currently funding that will appeal to fans of ACE Gamebooks and ACE RPGs.

DestinyQuest: The Wrath of Ragnarok, by Michael J Ward

Book 2 in 'The Sands of Time' trilogy - an epic solo role-playing experience that takes gamebooks to the next level. To find out more, click this link.

WOAD: Stone to Stone, by Arklin

Forge your own path through Mythic Cymru: a beautiful custom tarot deck is your guide to Welsh mythology in this solo journalling game. To find out more, click this link.

GM's Day on DriveThruRPG

The GM's Day* sale is now on until 14th March over on DriveThruRPG.

What this means for fans of ACE Gamebooks and ACE Gamebooks Roleplay is that you can get everything for 30% off. So head over to DriveThruRPG and fill the gaps in your collection today!

* I don't know why it's a day, it's more like two weeks.

Gamebook Friday: Dracula in Deutschland

It's been a long time coming, thanks to issues affecting the worldwide publishing community in 2022, but I'm delighted to report that Dracula: Interaktiver Horror-Roman is now available in hardback from Mantikore-Verlag.

„BLUT IST LEBEN“ 1897. Der Nervenarzt Dr. Seward ist fasziniert von seinem neuen Patienten, dem ehemaligen Anwalt Mr. Renfield. Dieser kehrte kürzlich von einer Reise nach Transsylvanien zurück und leidet seitdem an Wahnvorstellungen. Renfields Nachfolger, Jonathan Harker, wird entsandt, den Auftrag zu Ende zu bringen. Seine Reise führt ihn in eine unwegsame, von Wölfen heimgesuchte Gegend und zu einem abgelegenen Schloss, das von dem mysteriösen Grafen Dracula bewohnt wird. Was Jonathan dort erlebt, treibt ihn an den Rand des Wahnsinns... In diesem Gothic-Horror-Spielbuch schlüpfst Du in die Rolle eines Vampirjägers oder in die Rolle des Grafen Dracula höchstpersönlich. Begib dich auf eine Reise durch das finstere Transsylvanien oder durchstreife das nächtliche London. Bewaffne dich mit Weihwasser, Kreuz und Knoblauch und kämpfe gegen Dämonen, Werwölfe und Vampire. Doch sei wach-sam, denn die Toten reiten schnell … Interaktiver Vampir-Roman aus der Feder von „Alice im Düsterland“-Autor Jonathan Green.

"THE BLOOD IS LIFE" 1897. The neurologist Dr. Seward is intrigued by his new patient, former attorney Mr. Renfield. He recently returned from a trip to Transylvania and has been suffering from delusions ever since. Renfield's replacement, Jonathan Harker, is sent to complete the job. His journey takes him to a remote region infested with wolves and to an isolated castle inhabited by the mysterious Count Dracula. What Jonathan experiences there drives him to the brink of madness... In this gothic horror gamebook you slip into the role of a vampire hunter or the role of Count Dracula himself. Embark on a journey through dark Transylvania or roam through London at night. Arm yourself with holy water, cross and garlic and fight against demons, werewolves and vampires. But beware, for the dead travel fast... An interactive vampire novel penned by Alice's Nightmare in Wonderland author Jonathan Green.

This is the second foreign language edition of Dracula: Curse of the Vampire. The German edition was supposed to have come out in time for Halloween last year but was delayed, which allowed the Polish edition from Muduko to pip it to the publication post in November.

In other news, the Czech edition of Beowulf Beastslayer will be coming to retailers in Czechia and elsewhere soon, courtesy of Mytago! Here's the cover.