Technical Difficulties

As some of you may have noticed, we have not updated our web site lately. This is due to a mysterious malfunction with our web page editing software (MS FP 2000). We have attempted several repairs and work-arounds, but to no avail. The Deed of Last Resort (reinstalling the software) is at hand, but as fate would have it, the disk is missing. And so the site has sat statically while we searched. Unfortunately, we have met with no luck and we are considering giving up the search and springing for some new software (which it is high time for anyway).

Since we try to avoid impulsive business decisions, it’ll probably be a few weeks before we actually buy something new to make web pages with. Until then, we’ll post periodic updates and news here in this thread

Recent News about Bloodstone Press:
1. Since our last web-site update, we have released three war machines of super science, The Vimana, the Rat, and the HE-111-Z, for the 1948 Campaign Setting. A recent customer of The Vimana, gave it 4 stars and said "Impressively researched and solidly designed … This is the sort of product that's genuinely useful beyond its setting."
2. We recently released 1948: Top Secret Serums, which is a collection of 110 potion-like injections that temporarily turn characters into Mega-Men, Hybrids, and Super Soldiers.
3. We are currently in the midst of releasing the 1948: Training Manual series, which includes 4 titles; the Basic Training Manual (available now), the Elite Training Manual (coming very soon), The FX Training Manual (coming soon), and the Specialized Training Manual (coming later). These four titles will be bundled together as soon as the last one is released.
4. We are also working on a collections of Occupations for 1948, which will be released as a free bonus with the Training Manual Bundle. It will also be available for purchase as a stand alone product.
5. We are also working on 1948: Clandestine Weapons,a collection of top secret spy weapons from the 40s and 50s. The manuscript is already back from the editor and about half the artwork is done already. It will probably be out before mid January.
6. The new Bundle feature, recently added to RPGnow, has had a major impact on our product schedule. This new feature allows us to offer large collections of related material without actually spending the time laying it all out in one huge book. This savings in time can be passed on to consumers in the form of lower prices. With that in mind, we have the following to report about the Primal Codex.
7. The revised Primal Codex, which we’ve been promising for a long time, and planning for a release in December, will be released as a bundle collection rather than a single PDF. However, this will not happen in December. More news on this project will be included in our next posting.

Bloodstone Press said:

2. We recently released 1948: Top Secret Serums, which is a collection of 110 potion-like injections that temporarily turn characters into Mega-Men, Hybrids, and Super Soldiers.

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First I want to say I am sorry to hear about your website difficulties.

Are the injections chemical bonuses or minitemplates?

They temporarily alter the DNA of the user, so they provide "racial" bonuses. Though some are also unnamed bonuses. They are very similar to potions, but achieve their effects through physical changes rather than magical enhancement. They are not very much like mini-templates. The "Type" of the user doesn't change or anything.

Biochemical substances that cause permanent changes in subjects (templates) are also available in 1948, but they won't be detailed in a supplement for a few months yet. Only the Overman template, which appears in Hell on Earth, is available right now.

I bought it and am not very happy. How many serums are there actually, ignoring all the overlaps?

I'm sorry I wasn't clear enough about what to expect from this title. I've added a free demo, so other people can get a look at it before they buy. Here: http://www.bloodstone-press.com/1948/Serum-preview.pdf

It's purpose is to portray the 1948 world, not offer a lot of "new" game rules. As such it is largely a recasting of existing OGC. Much of it from the SRD. Some of it is from other OGC sources such as the Hero's Handbook.

There are about 45 different game mechanics in it, some based on spells, others based on feats. Most are repeated at least once under each section. For example, the Soviets and the Japanese both have a serum that offers a bonus to Hide skills. Mechanically, they are the same thing, but role-playing-wise they are different.

I've also spotted a few typos in it and fixed some of the bonus types, to bring them more in line with my comments above. The revision should be up on RPGnow tomorrow.

Is there anything else we can do for you? Do you own any other 1948 titles? I'd be happy to send you a comp. copy of the Templar Knights, the Vimana, or some other 1948 title, if you like.

Bloodstone Press said:

There are about 45 different game mechanics in it, some based on spells, others based on feats. Most are repeated at least once under each section. For example, the Soviets and the Japanese both have a serum that offers a bonus to Hide skills. Mechanically, they are the same thing, but role-playing-wise they are different.

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Okay, now we are getting somewhere. If the serums did different things along the same theme (say the strength serums gave bonuses to the ability (German), to overrun checks (Soviet- because of the bull DNA), and add a burrow speed (Japanese)) then I would find it a better product. Having so much overlap is why I am unhappy with it and simply means more work for me to adapt it to what I want it for.

Is there anything else we can do for you? Do you own any other 1948 titles? I'd be happy to send you a comp. copy of the Templar Knights, the Vimana, or some other 1948 title, if you like.

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No, thank you. I don't have any other 1948 products (so far) but I do own and am quite happy with several of your fantasy products (I wish you would get the rest of the classes for Primal Legends out but that is neither here nor there).

DMH said:

Having so much overlap is why I am unhappy with it and simply means more work for me to adapt it to what I want it for

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I see. I should have been more clear about what to expect. I started to explain about the overlap in my first post, then decided I was just talking too much (which I do sometimes on message boards)

DMH said:

I don't have any other 1948 products (so far) but I do own and am quite happy with several of your fantasy products (I wish you would get the rest of the classes for Primal Legends out but that is neither here nor there).

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We plan to get back on the Primal Legends classes as soon as we are done with the current round of 1948 products. I want to get two 1948 bundles together (the Training Manual Series and Spy Games, which will include all the spy-related 1948 titles)before we switch gears.