Godsend Agenda Shipping

The brand-new, hardcover, d6 edition of Jerry Grayson’s Godsend Agenda roleplaying game is shipping to stores now. The game features an intricate backstory that weaves aliens, gods, and superheroes together into an epic story that spans millennia. (Those of you who remember the secret backstory behind my Brave New World RPG probably won’t wonder why this kind of thing pushes my buttons. If you don’t know about that, do a search on “Brave New World” on this site for all the details.)

Jerry asked me and a few other adventure game designers to give him a short take on how we’d each run a Godsend Agenda campaign, and I happily chipped in. It’s only a tiny fraction of the whole of course. I’m looking forward to seeing the whole book as much as anyone—except Jerry, of course.

Eberron-Dragon Story Contracted

I just signed the contracts for an Eberron story to appear in issue #330 of Dragon Magazine. This is a prequel to the events in my upcoming trilogy: The Lost Mark. The first book, Marked for Death, is due out in March. The story should hit stands soon after that. In the meantime, the Paizo site tells me that Dragon #329 just shipped out to subscribers and should hit stands February 22. That features an article I wrote about the novel and its characters, as well as how to incorporate some elements of it into a D&D campaign. Pick it up to whet your appetite!

Dark Sun Questions

It seems some people still remember Mind Lords of the Last Sea, a boxed set supplement for the now-defunct D&D world of Dark Sun. The fine folks at Athas.org (who keep that dark flame burning) asked me some questions about it. You can find the answers up on the Wizards of the Coast forums in this thread.

Freshening Up

I just went through all the static pages and updated them a bit. This includes new entries for “Current Projects” and “Upcoming Appearances.” I also posted a new picture of me and my family under “About Matt Forbeck.” Check it out if you want to see exactly why I do what I do.

GTS Ahoy!

As I mentioned before, the fine folks at GAMA have asked me to handle their freelancers seminar track at this year’s GAMA Trade Show. This is in Las Vegas from March 14 through 17. I’ll be moderating two seminars: Freelancing for Beginners and Advanced Freelancing. I’ve managed to wrangle some top-notch talent to help me out: Keith Baker, Kenneth Hite, Brian E. Lewis, and Aaron Rosenberg.

If you’re interested in learning more about freelancing in the adventure games industry, this is the place to be. Monday, March 14, is the big day, with six hours worth of seminars running the gamut. If you miss those, each of the two three-hour sessions will be repeated later on in the week.

While not running seminars, I’ll be wandering around the show. I’m not with a company this year, so catch me when you can. I hope to see you there.

Origins Awards Are Go!

Last summer, after the last GAMA elections, the new board hired me to lead a task force charged with reworking the Origins Awards. That job’s now done. As with most things where you get lots of different inputs and try to forge a consensus, I don’t think it’s perfect for anyone. Hopefully, though, most people will be happy with the results.

If you’re a game designer, you can sign up with the Academy (which runs the Origins Awards) for free now. If you want to support the Academy’s efforts, you can buy a supporting membership for $30. This also gets you a free badge to Origins, good seats at the award ceremony, and entrance to the post-awards party. (I got mine right away.)

If you created or published a gaming product in the last year, the Academy website is now open for submissions. The deadline is February 7, so be sure to get yours in now. Good luck!

Blast from the Past: Seven Cities

Spike Y. Jones just gave a kind review to my Seven Cities d20 sourcebook on RPG.net. Atlas Games published the book back in 2002, so it’s like a trip in the Way-Back Machine to read about it now. Still, Spike’s an excellent editor and notoriously demanding, so his praise means that much more, no matter when it might arrive.

Freelancer School

The fine folks at GAMA asked me to help out with the freelancers’ seminar track at this year’s trade show in Las Vegas. I lined up some premier talent for them: Ken Hite, Keith Baker, Aaron Rosenberg, and myself. If you want to know more about freelancing in the adventure game industry and how to do it well, you could do worse than to corner the members of this motley crew and pummel them with questions. If you show up at the GAMA Trade Show at the Riviera on March 14 (with repeats later in the week), you’ll get your chance.

King Blogging

I just found out that my old buddy Bill King (William King of Warhammer novels fame) has a blog. In it, he writes about the writing process and his upcoming stuff. To me, it’s like sitting in our flat and listening to him rant or rave about something again. It’s always brilliant. I recommend checking it out.