Highmoon's Ponderings

DriveThruRPG took an amazing initiative last week by offering $5 donation and $10 donation options for Haiti relief which would be matched dollar for dollar by OneBookShelf. Wanting to find a way to help out as well, publishers asked OBS what they could do, and the result is something that can only be called inspiring.

As of today, and for the rest of January, DriveThruRPG and a multitude of publisher partners, are offering the Gamers Helping Haiti $20 Donation Bundle. When you “purchase” this product, you donate $20 to Doctors Without Borders, the recipient charity of all donations collected via DriveThruRPG. As a gift, you get a bundle of products worth over $1400.

Click here to purchase the Gamers Helping Haiti $20 Donation bundle.

This is a win-win situation, as you help out a worthy cause and get some amazing RPG products for your collection. You have until January 31 to get it, so don’t let it pass.

My company, Highmoon Games, is proud to have included four products in the bundle for all those who help out:

1. Liber Sodalitas: The Dream Healers (Pathfinder)
2. Shrouded Agendas: The Purifiers (D&D 4e)
3. From Stone to Steel (OGL 3.5 Fantasy)
4. Frost & Fur (OGL 3.5 Fantasy)

The last two will only be available via the bundle and will go back to being “out of print” at the end of January.

Let’s all be a part of Gamers Helping Haiti.

Wow, you blink and a month has gone by since the last roundup. It’s been a busy month so let’s get to it.

Highmoon Games

• Egg-citing News! (9/11/09)
• Highmoon Games Welcomes One Bad Egg (10/1/09)

The Gamer Traveler

• The Greatest Lesson From Travel: Awe (9/8/09)
• Win a Trip on the Orient-Express at the Ticket to Ride World Championship (9/23/09)
• Geeky Clean Soaps Perfect For All Gamer Travelers (9/25/09)

Miami Metblog

• No More Bike Miami? (9/8/09)
• Autumn Sky (9/30/09)

Slow Bike Miami

• Sunday Afternoon Ride (9/7/09)
• The Time To Upgrade Has Come (9/8/09)
• Bike Miami No More? (9/9/09)
• My Bike Miami Wish List (9/10/09)
• Shopping For A New Bike – The Dutch Bikes (9/11/09)
• Biking to Synagogue: Shabbat Edition (9/13/09)
• Slow Bicycle Blogs (9/14/09)
• Bike Miami’s Back For September And October (9/15/09)
• My First Flat Tire (9/16/09)
• The Final Miami Bicycle Summit (9/17/09)
• I (Bike) Miami Shirts (9/18/09)
• New Year, New Look, New Logo (9/18/09)
• Miami Cyclists: Please Be Nice (9/21/09)
• A Cycling Webcomic: Yehuda Moon & The Kickstand Cyclery (9/22/09)
• Shopping For A New Bike – Test-Riding the Electra Townie (9/23/09)
• The Practical Pedal, A Free Magazine for the Slow Bicyclist (9/25/09)
• Bike Miami Ride: Upper East Side (9/29/09)
• Shopping For A New Bike – A Latecomer & A Decision(?) (10/1/09)
• Shopping For A New Bike – And The Winner Is (10/2/09)
• [SBM Bicycle TV] Down the Bridge (10/5/09)
• Dreaming of Bicycle Boulevards in Miami Beach (10/7/09)
  

I’m starting a new feature on my blog called the Project Roundup.

I keep a handful of blogs on different subjects. Before, I would have them syndicate that content here into this blog as a way of making Highmoon’s Pondering an all-things-me clearing house. Problem is, I find that tactic ends up diluting this blog’s content. The Roundup is a way of keeping this blog a central info place for all the stuff I’m doing without the clutter of syndicated posts.

The Project Roundup will be done on a weekly to bi-weekly basis, depending on how much content there is on the other blogs.

Highmoon Games

• Now Supporting Pathfinder (8/23/09)
• Liber Sodalitas: The Dream Healers (Pathfinder edition) now available (8/24/09)
• Thoughts on Pathfinder (8/27/09)

The Gamer Traveler

• The Gamer Traveler Website Gets A Facelift (8/5/09)
• Not Going to #GenCon, But Still Almost There (8/8/09)

Miami Metblog

• Miami 21 – Round 2 (9/3/09)
• Miami 21 Passes First Reading! (9/6/09)
  

Slow Bike Miami

• We’re Now SlowBikeMiami.com (8/27/09)
• BikeTown Miami (8/27/09)
• New Bike Store in Miami Beach: Federal Bike Depot (8/30/09)
• Two Awesome Bicycle T-Shirts (9/1/09)
• Copenhagenize vs Amsterdamize Slow Bicycle Race (9/3/09)
• What Is Slow Bicycling? (9/6/09)

I had intended to write a more thorough post on the state of the company back in March, but things have continued to transpire which have both kept me from doing that and made anything I was going to write at the moment very much invalid at this point.

As we near the end of June, and thus the first half of 2009, Highmoon Games remains in, essentially, hiatus from publishing. It has not been a good year (so far) for Highmoon Games, partly due to slumping sales and partly due to personal issues dominating my time. We were able to publish Jeremy Puckett’s Ronin: Oriental Adventures in Tokugawa Japan in its d20-compatible format but that has been it on the game supplement front. We do have other projects caught in various stages of production, including other versions of Ronin (True20 and Savage Worlds have been explored), a couple more issues of Heroic Moments, Issue 5 of Targum Magazine, a FATE/Spirit of the Century-compatible mini-setting, and True20 Ancients: Rome (this last one is done and in layout). There is also a secret project being done in conjunction with another gaming company that has not been announced yet.

On the podcast side of things, The Digital Front remains on hiatus since the beginning of the year, and as much as I want to cover certain events happening in the field of tabletop e-distribution, it has not been possible to do so. The Gamer Traveler, however, has been going very well; since turning into a blog as well as a podcast, I have been able to ramp up the number of stories published significantly, mainly because I don’t have to wait for a chance to record an episode to get them out. Episodes of the podcast have been released, but now they form an audio companion rather than the sole medium for my travel & gaming niche.

So what does the second half of 2009 hold in store? Frankly, I don’t know. The personal issue that has kept things on hold so far continues to be a major factor, so effectively Highmoon Games is to remain on hiatus until further notice. As I am able to work on some projects and bring them to fruition I’ll release them, but take those, if/when they happen, as happy surprises, not something to be expected. I am, however, not closing the company nor declaring any of the podfading any of the podcasts; I very much want to return to this endeavor once life returns to normalcy, whenever that is.

To all our customers, colleagues, supporters and friends, thank you so much for caring and inquiring and sending many well wishes.

Welcome to Ronin: Oriental Adventures in Tokugawa Japan, a world of honor and steel at the edge of the modern age.

Ronin brings you to Japan during the Edo Period, characterized by the rule of the Tokugawa Shogunate (1600-1868). This is the height of samurai culture, when feudal lords commanded fearsome warriors and ruled vast lands, when the mysticism of the past clashed blades with the coming of the modern age. Will you be a samurai beholden to a master or a free-ranging ronin? Will you follow the way of the sword or call upon the arcane spirits? Will you explore high society or delve into the commoner’s world? A world on the edge of turmoil awaits you.

Ronin gives players and Game Masters will find invaluable information to bring the rich historical era of the Edo Period to their games, including:

• An introduction to Tokugawa Japan, covering topics such as geography, culture, daily life, nobility, commoners, outsiders and outcasts, magic and mysticism.
• A primer on samurai culture.
• New Rules systems, such as the all-important Honor, as well as Flaws.
• New Basic Classes, such as the courtier, shudoshi (Zen seekers), and vagabond.
• New Prestige Classes, such as the blade saint, blind swordman, hedge witch, medium, merchant, and shinobi.
• New Feats, 16 in total.
• New Magic, including 12 new spells.
• A Bestiary of menaces from the natural, magical and ghostly realms.

Ronin: Oriental Adventures in Tokugawa Japan is a sourcebook in the 3rd Fantasy line, compatible with the 3.5 edition of the world’s most popular fantasy roleplaying game.

Written by: Jeremy Puckett
Art by: Zach Ashmore (Cover), public domain Japanese artwork.
Layout by: Mark Reed
Developed by: Daniel M. Perez

Now Available from RPGNow.com!

Fans of Targum Magazine will have a field day with History Channel’s new series, Battles BC. Here’s the blurb from HistoryChannel.com:

Their feats are legendary. Serving as a blueprint for warfare thousands of years later, the strategic military prowess of ancient warriors are still analyzed today. The new HISTORY™ series, BATTLES BC, uses a stunning graphic style comparable to 300, the hit feature film, to show leaders from the ancient world in some of the greatest conflicts in history. The eight episode series premieres Monday, March 9th at 9pm ET/PT on HISTORY.

These are the tales of historic battles and bloodshed. Now, with cutting edge animation techniques, and the expertise of military historians—BATTLES BC explores the strategies, tactics and weapons used by ancient commanders such as Hannibal, David, Caesar and Alexander. The truths and myths behind these heroes and villains are brought to life, in dramatic and epic proportions.

BATTLES BC provides fresh insight into the icons and events that helped shape the course of ancient history.

The series plays new episodes Mondays at 9 PM on the History Channel (check your local listing) and each episode gets replayed a few times during the week. You can even head over to the Battles BCerbium doped fiber amplifier website and see a full episode, Hannibal the Annihilator.

Gamer fans of the Ancient World will find plenty of inspiration in this series. I know I am absolutely loving it so far.