Green Ronin and The Game Mechanics Team Up

[Nikchick]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

GREEN RONIN TO PUBLISH THE GAME MECHANICS

March 14, 2003—SEATTLE, WA: Green Ronin and The Game Mechanics are proud to announce a publishing agreement that will bring the Game Mechanics' books to print. Green Ronin will publish a series of high quality d20 sourcebooks designed and previously web published by The Game Mechanics. The first of these, Artifacts of the Ages: Swords and Staves, debuts in July.

"We're delighted to add these books to our catalog," said Green Ronin President Chris Pramas. "I worked with all The Game Mechanics at Wizards of the Coast and they are top notch designers. What d20 publisher wouldn't want the designers of the Star Wars RPG and d20 Modern on his roster?"

"Having worked with Chris at Wizards, and knowing Green Ronin's deserved reputation for producing quality games, we are only too happy to partner with Green Ronin Publishing for the print versions of our PDF game products," said JD Wiker, president of The Game Mechanics, and co-author of Artifacts of the Ages: Swords and Staves. "Green Ronin will be a great fit for The Game Mechanics; we share similar philosophies on design, innovation, and quality."

Artifacts of the Ages: Swords & Staves is an 80-page sourcebook that compiles Swords of Our Fathers and Staves of Ascendance. Look for the next Game Mechanics book from Green Ronin this Fall.

Product Details:

Artifacts of the Ages: Swords & Staves
Written by JD Wiker and Rich Redman
MSRP: $16.95
GRR 1022
ISBN: 1-932442-01-4

Ancestral magic swords whose names fill the pages of history, handed down through generations of heroes ... arcane staves of power, crafted by legendary mystics and passed from master to apprentice ... These are staples of fantasy literature—but difficult to recreate in the d20 System. Artifacts of the Ages provides rules for introducing legendary swords and staves that grow in power as their wielders advance in level. Special "scion" prestige classes ensure that the heroes only unlock an item's full power when the campaign is ready for it—helping to ensure that the game stays balanced. The book also presents over two dozen unique and interesting legendary magic items, with accurate d20 stats, detailed histories, and adventure hooks. Are you worthy to bear the Artifacts of the Ages?



Company Information:

Green Ronin Publishing is a d20 System pioneer. Its adventure Death in Freeport was released on the same day as the 3E Player's Handbook and went on to win the Origins Award for Best Roleplaying Adventure of 2000. Since then Green Ronin has led the pack of d20 companies, with acclaimed products such as Legions of Hell and the Book of the Righteous, and blazed the OGL trail with its hit superhero RPG Mutants & Masterminds. Point your browser to www.greenronin.com for more info.

The Game Mechanics formed in late 2002 to pool the creative talents of veteran d20 System designers JD Wiker, Rich Redman, and Stan! Combining years of both design and play experience with innovative rules systems, The Game Mechanics strives to create game products that players find indispensable, and, because they're offered as low-cost PDF documents, affordable as well. Artifacts of the Ages: Swords & Staves collects two of those PDF products—Swords of Our Fathers, by JD Wiker, and Staves of Ascendance, by Rich Redman—together into one volume. Point your browser to www.thegamemechanics.com for more info.

Green Ronin Media Contact
Nicole Lindroos
nicole@greenronin.com

Game Mechanics Media Contact
JD Wiker
jdwiker@thegamemechanics.com

 

[Flyspeck23]

Just what I wanted to hear.

And I´ve heard it on EN World first, and not TGM´s own board... strange...

 

[Nikchick]

Just what I wanted to hear.

And I´ve heard it on EN World first, and not TGM´s own board... strange...

I have an itchy trigger finger today. I had the release ready to go nanoseconds after we had the information finalized.

(Not that I'm excited about working with Rich and JD and Stan! or anything...)

Nicole

 

[Y.O.Morales]

Artifacts of the Ages: Swords & Staves is an 80-page sourcebook that compiles Swords of Our Fathers and Staves of Ascendance.

What about new content and/or artwork?

 

[MEG Hal]

Congrats again...man no wonder you guys have been quiet, worried about slipping up on a secret.

 

[Pramas]

Congrats again...man no wonder you guys have been quiet, worried about slipping up on a secret.

Well, that publishing books thing takes up some time too.

 

[Ranger REG]

Cool!

I can't wait for the Modern Player's Companion (for d20 Modern) to come out on the shelves of my FLGS.

 

[JoeGKushner]

I'm hoping we'll see some minor tweaks to these books.

I'd like to see some game mechanics to help members of the PrC recover their weapons. Minor special abilities like detect weapon and eventualy the ability to summon it to them ala Elric and Stormbringer.

I'd also like to see a ritual adapted from Relics and Rituals (ala the Witches Handbook) to repair or restore destroyed items.

I'd like to see the article on making your own weapons (as a GM not player) added to the book as well as the other web content.

I also hope that because the differences between the prestige classes from both books are so minor, that they'll be combined in some way. "Legacy's Heris" or something along those lines. I don't think we need to see Battleblade and Battlestaf Scions both listed out when the only differences are the bonus feat (Weapon Specialization vs. Two Weapon Fighting) one gets with the PrC.

I'm also hoping that we'll get something like an "Attunement" feat. While the idea of these PrCs is great, there are many PrCs out on the market that look like they'd be perfect for these items. For example, the Slayer PrC from AEG's Mercenaries is a specialized killer. In my mind, there's little reason why Asajjana the Twisted Blade would want such an individual to give up his potential power in said PrC to become normal fighter with the link. (And yes, I've already added such a feat to my own game.) When the blade is general in nature, sure, the PrCs make sense but if the blade is 'made' for something specific, like rangers or paladins, why punish them by making them go into a PrC that doesnt' advance their base abilities?

The feat would allow 'themed' or 'special' PrCs to use said blades, perhaps at a -2 levels so that they could never gain the full abilities or benefits but still allow the 'fit' to match.

Well, looking forward to seeing these books in print and hoping that we'll get even more great stuff from the Game Mechanics soon. (Anyone handling bodyparts? I've love to see a Corum tribute with the whole Hand and Eye bit.)

 

[JoeGKushner]

Just had some more 'wish' list things to go into the print version.

Psionics. With some added support from psionics from Malhavok now out and future publications from Green Ronin itself, this missing core class could be a 'fifth' scion if you will, perhaps detailed in an appendix with an item or two for each type?

Epic Progression: Of course it couldnt' be called 'epic' but perhaps something to allow these weapons to compete with the epic weapons on the market? Some do already in my opinion, but if its not an even distribution, then you still get the same problem. "Farewell old Samadhi, Staff of Transfiguration, you just weren't epic enough!" Maybe this could be handled by an extra 5 levels in the PrCs with special abilities that allow the user to customize the item due to his close bond? Taking damage for the item, for instance or something along those lines.

 

[JoeGKushner]

Another wish list addition!

Backward engineering the minor artifacts/powerful weapons from the DMG like the Hammer of Thunderbolts. Provie the GM a few examples of how to do it and what powers to add and bam, another useful tool.