News, Entertainment and Free Stuff for Pathfinder RPG,  13th Age, and  D&D

Dear

,

Deep Magic shipped in print and PDF, thanks to our wonderful backers. I could not be happier to see the response it has gotten: 9 reviews so far, the book added to the Paizo office library, and (most of all) people taking the book and PDF to their weekly games.

(Breaking news: I just learned that Deep Magic is currently the #1 Pathfinder RPG product at DriveThruRPG and the top-selling non-Paizo product at the Paizo Store!) 

In addition, we shipped the Kobold Guide to Magic (Amazon), and a set of Glyphs, Seals, and Wizard Marks (Paizo).

We're also very pleased to say that these books are out at Friendly Local Game Stores, though they don't seem to last on the shelf for long (per our retail backers, below).   

Happy gaming!

Wolfgang Baur,

Kobold-in-Chief

Kobold Press, Twitter, Facebook, Google+  

Deep Magic Now Available

Unlimited spellpower is yours to command! The biggest release ever from Kobold Press is a massive tome of magic. 

Deep Magic is here at last as a 376-page, full-color tome bound in the hide of an unknown planar being who materialized at Kobold World Headquarters, gave a piteous squawk, and died on the carpet. 

It contains some of the strangest, most wondrous, and most powerful arcane and divine magic ever devised, ready for use in any Pathfinder Roleplaying Game campaign.

Deep Magic is an essential volume for any spellcaster's library, from antipaladin to cleric to summoner to wizard. Get it now at the Kobold Store, Paizo, and DriveThruRPG!

Warhammer Cosplay

Gamers in the Czech Republic rented a castle for their day of Warhammer cosplay. The work in costuming and organization is awe-inspiring--and then you realize that they went and staged a mock battle in the mud!

We salute both the Imperial and Chaos forces of this Warhammer LARP, and we desperately wish that we could rent a castle half as cool as this one. Sadly, not to be found in the greater Seattle area. 

Hat tip to Kotaku.

Glyphs, Seals, and Wizard Marks Now Available

Symbols of Power! Create memorable player handout with 82 mysterious and evocative magical symbols.

Deep Magic: Glyphs, Seals and Wizard Marks includes aboleth glyphs (with translations), angelic seals, demonic seals, and wizard marks.

Use them to create:

• Dire warnings on dungeon walls
• Potent seals on treasure chests
• Powerful spells and curses in ancient scrolls
• Mysterious tattoos on NPCs (living or dead)
• Etched symbols on magic items
• Omens and portents in dreams, stone, smoke or stars

Let your imagination run wild! This PDF is a great companion to Deep Magic, or any game where the supernatural is a force to be reckoned with. Craft some glyphs and runes today at Paizo or at DriveThruRPG!

Art of Ray Harryhausen

Swordfighting skeletons! Lumbering cyclops! Cowboys lassoing dinosaurs! The kraken! Special effects titan Ray Harryhausen is best remembered for his fantasy films, but this collection of art and sketches is worth a look. 

A few of those sketches are sure familiar to any viewer of his films. And if you aren't familiar with the magic of Harryhausen, they're a great introduction.

Makes us want to run a "Mysterious Island" (AKA Isle of Dread) adventure sometime very soon.

Art of Ray Harryhausen

Friendly Local Game Stores Carrying Deep Magic

One of the nice things about Kickstarter is that sometimes, the best of the hobby stores decide to back the sort of book they want to stock for their regulars.

Here's a few of the places that backed Deep Magic and deserve your patronage. Though as the folks at North Coast Role Playing in Eureka, CA, noted, "After 3 days, this is the LAST COPY we have left in the store!" 

Stores that the kobolds recommend:

Black Diamond Games (Concord, CA) 

Tyche's Games (Athens, GA)

North Coast Role Playing (Eureka, CA)

GrandLAN Gaming Center (Grand Rapids, MI)

Card Kingdom (Seattle, WA)

Why do retailers love Kobold Press? Sean at Tyche's Games said ""We have been consistently impressed with Kobold Press' products and our customers have been too."  Always great to hear.

Fiction Contest Winner: "A Place Without Time" 

David Amburgey is the author of the winning story, "A Place Without Time", which was chosen by the voters in a tight-fought contest. 

Kobold Press is very pleased to offer Mr. Amburgey a contract to continue the tale of these characters in the Midgard Campaign Setting, or to write a new story. More on that as it develops.

Thanks also to our judges and to all the contestants and voters who participated. We do hope to run another fiction contest and to publish more stories soon.

Read "A Place Without Time" and all the other finalists.

Kobold Guide to Magic Now Available

The newest volume in our-award-winner series of game design guides goes deep into a single topic: the burning, shimmering, prismatic heart of fantasy itself...  

What makes a fantasy fantastic? Magic, of course! Whether it's unearthly beasts, scheming sorcerers, legendary swords or locales that defy logic and physics, a compelling fantasy story needs magical elements.

The tricky part is that in order for the story to work, you have to get your reader or player to believe the unbelievable. The Kobold Guide to Magic takes you behind the scenes to learn the secrets of writing about magic from 20 top fantasy authors and game designers. It's like going to wizard school, and Ed Greenwood is the headmaster. 

This essential companion for fantasy gamers and readers alike features essays such as: 

• Explicable vs. Inexplicable Magic by Clinton J. Boomer 
• Do Not Call Up What You Cannot Put Down by James Jacobs 
• Staff and Moon: Gender-Based Magic in Fantasy by Amber E. Scott 
• Invisible Colleges: Magical Societies, Secret and Otherwise by Kenneth Hite 
• Selling Your Soul: A Guide by F. Wesley Schneider 

...and many more! 

This latest volume in the best-selling and award-winning series of Kobold Guides tackles the mystery at the heart of the fantasy genre. Conjure your copy today at the Kobold Store, DriveThruRPG, Paizo, Amazon, and Kindle.

Travel Across the Game of Thrones Map 

Are you a fan of Tyrion Lannister, Arya Stark, or Daenerys Targaryen? Now their journeys are mapped out--and spoiler-proof! 

It's a great little sign of the power of the Game of Thrones fandom that this tool exists. Choose your favorite character and how many chapters or episodes you want to include, and off you go at quartermaester.info!

TSR Historical Images

Ernie Gygax, Jr recently shared some gaming materials from the TSR Games of the 1970s. We've come a long way, baby.

To see the full set, check out this photo link--but you've been warned, it's art and graphics from the Dawn of Gaming!

Kickstarters We Like: 

Mythic Mania

Kobold Press is partnering up with Legendary Games to expand on the mythic content from Deep Magic (currently spells and 1 mythic path) and New Paths Compendium. Because Mythic gives everything that little extra kick at the table!

The project is already funded, and the design team is strong. However, this project closes in 1 week, so if you want more mythic monsters, character options, and spells, back it now! 

Dice Story Winner

Dice have a powerful connection to fate and destiny. We got a lot of cheerful stories and some amazing pictures in the contest entries. Here's the winning die (right) and a runner-up picture.

The story behind that rather ordinary die is what put it ahead of the pack. 

"I used to play D6 Star Wars by West End Games. Well, sadly one of our best players committed suicide on a cancelled game night. For whatever reason, the session before, he left one of his six-sided dice at my house." 

"From that point forward, that die was the "wild die" in an ongoing campaign that lasted 12 YEARS. We would yell out his name in homage whenever a six popped up on that die. RIP John K."

Contestant David Patterson wins a $30 dice shopping spree at the Kobold Press store. And a tip of the kobold hat for sharing the story -- we've made a donation in honor of his friend John to the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention.

Bonus dice pic from the runner-up. Looks elvish, no?

 Reviews

The natural order of things is that the kobolds print games and adventures, and people sometimes review them.

Deep Magic is our biggest release ever, so we're going to make this an all-Deep Magic review roundup!

Steve writes: "Overall, this book is a great product. It is overflowing with information and is full of art by very talented individuals. If you are big fan of magic-users and want to play something out of the ordinary or never seen before, this is the book for you. It does not matter if your character is good or evil, there is something for every arcane class. Pick it up, you will not be disappointed."

Read the full review at Skyland Games.

Joe writes: "When I play Pathfinder or Dungeons & Dragons, I tend to gravitate towards the big questionably human fighter swinging a great axe or war hammer. Deep Magic has definitely got me considering trying out a wizard as my next character. This book is full of so many new options for players and game masters, that at a minimum there's no way my next campaign won't feature its use. If I was running a campaign currently I'd even allow players to pull material from it.

"There's so much well-written inspiring material contained inside this hefty tome you will not be disappointed by picking yourself up a copy of Deep Magic. So, if you're playing a spell caster, if you thinking about playing a spell caster, if you're running a game currently, or if you're even thinking about running a game in the future, pick yourself up a copy today. 

"Deep Magic gets a full 5d20s on my inspiration scale. It's fun, inspiring, and a good read."

Read the full review at Trunk Force 7.

What they're saying at Paizo.com:

cat dragon writes: "Over all I am very satisfied with my purchase and I love the book. Highly recommended. It gets the creative juices flowing!"

Raiderrpg writes: "I've never been so happy with a group of non-core magic rules since the Tome of Magic, and if you knew how many Anima Mages, Binders, Incarnum-users, Bards and Wizards I've played- well, let's just say it's been a lot." 

Doug Bailey writes: "If Wolfgang is involved in the product you can trust that it is going to be top quality. Deep Magic observes this rule in spades. ...Deep Magic is a masterpiece that will certainly influence my gaming sessions for years to come." 

silverhair2008 writes: "After a quick read through I can say I think this rates right up with the Midgard Campaign Setting in my opinion."

What they're saying at DriveThruRPG: 

Chris K. writes: "This is one of the best products Kobold Press has ever published. Seriously, the chapter on new spells alone would be enough to fill at least two other books! My only negative comment about it...it's going to take me a looooong time to read and process all the new toys i have to play with." 

Chris F. writes: "Deep Magic is an amazingly innovative beast of a sourcebook. Deep Magic boasts almost 400 pages of extremely thorough content, including hundreds of new spells, dozens of new ways of wielding magic, several innovative new schools and subschools of magic, as well as pre-generated spellbooks you can toss into your campaign as treasure. Kobold Press has always had really high production values, but the art in this PDF is among the best I've ever seen, from them or any other company." 

If you have reviewed a Kobold Press release, let us know! 

Gaming Treasures from the Blog 

Options, inspirations, and salutes to fantasy gaming you might have missed.

Further Expanding the Paladin

The paladin is one of those classes that everyone loves to tinker with, and we can't resist either. Hunter Royall is examining the roots of the class and reinventing it in this series.

Theurge Class for 13th Age RPG

The new class from the New Paths Compendium gets a 13th Age version. 

Alchemist's Lodestone

Some treasures have a tale to tell. Like this one.

Collections to Speed Design

Kobold editor Miranda Horner offers some inspiring things found in the Sarcophagus, the Forgotten Family Plot, and the Overlarge Bird's Nest. 

Book Reviews
Cape Rust reviews the new Pathfinder novel The Dagger of Trust  and also the new Forgotten Realms novel by Troy Denning, The Sentinel.

 Project Updates

Everything is coming together very nicely for more big releases in May and June.

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