Okay, I critically failed my roll to keep everyone updated on 12 to Midnight’s plans. Exactly one month ago when I announced the Last Rites print edition, I said I’d be back in a week to tell you about the following release. Before I knew it, the holidays had jumped out from behind a dumpster, knocked me out, and took my wallet. Well I’m finally back, with part 2 of our plans for 2009.

In April we’ll be releasing a special print edition of Fear Effects for Savage Worlds. Fear Effects is exactly what it sounds like– a set of fear rules. The nice thing about Fear Effects is that it doesn’t require a sanity score or additional record-keeping. If you fail your Guts roll, you make a roll on our fear chart rather than the standard table found in the Savage Worlds rulebook. Did I mention that our chart has 100 possible outcomes, versus the standard 10?

The original Fear Effects was conceived as a santiy toolbox. Ed wrote the rules with several variants and options that you could choose based on the kind of horror campaign you were running. It was a great idea, but we got some feedback from you that all those choices led to deadlock. With this version we decided to streamline things and give you a single set of rules to play by. Don’t worry though; all those options and variants will go into a free download from Midnight Cellar.

We had another reason for streamlining the rules. We really wanted it all to fit onto 5 pages plus a cover. Why? Because we’re releasing Fear Effects in a handy GM-screen format! Fear Effects, like Last Rites before it, will be 6×9 folded. That’s just a little bit more narrow than your Savage Worlds Explorer’s Edition book, which should mean that you’ll be able to slip it between the pages and carry it everywhere you carry your rulebook. However, it unfolds to 3 panels per side, giving you a compact GM screen with the entire 100 item Fear Effects chart on one side and the rules summary on the other.

All of this for only $4.99! At that price, you can buy two and give one to a friend! The item number is TWL1002, and you should be able to pre-order this item online or in game stores in another month or so. Speaking of preorders, don’t forget that you can preorder Last Rites of the Black Guard at your FLGS. Just ask for TWL1001.

Other than the Midnight Charity Project and a random release here and there, I know from the outside it may seem like 12 to Midnight has gone dormant. From the inside, I can tell you nothing is further from the truth. In fact, we have several exciting releases scheduled for 2009, so rather than summarize them I thought it would be more fun to give each release its own moment to shine.

First, the big stuff. In 2009 you’ll be able to find print editions of 12 to Midnight Games in your friendly local game store. The first of those is Last Rites of the Black Guard, the very first game we published and still one of our spookiest, most popular adventures. This will be an all-new edition in released for the Savage Worlds system in 6×9 softcover. That is almost exactly the same size as the Savage Worlds Explorer’s Edition, so they’ll look great on your shelf together. Last Rites is getting a new introduction, new layout, new artwork, notes for alternate endings, Fear Effects notations, and more. It’s also being officially moved from Rosetta, TX to Pinebox, TX to fit right in with our other adventures–oh the benefit of hindsight!

The new print edition of Last Rites of the Black Guard will be hitting game stores in early March, and some online stores are already taking preorders. If you’d rather order it from your store, the item ID is TWL1001. The book is set with a retail price of $16.99, but the stores taking preorders are selling it at 20% off. The price is higher than we would have liked to set it, but this being our first release we weren’t sure how many copies we’d sell and we needed to make sure we at least broke even. This is where you come in. If you want to see more 12 to Midnight releases, and see them cheaper, please order this book. Order it for your friends, order it for your GM, order it for anyone who is a fan of horror. Once we have an idea of how many of you want our games in print, we’ll be able to adjust the price to be as affordable as we can manage.

Incidentally, if you want to own an autographed copy as soon as they’re available, we’re auctioning off a single copy for the Midnight Charity Project beginning December 12.

So, that’s our March release. What’s next? You’ll have to tune in next week, when I reveal our April print release.

Modern Floorplans, the top-notch series of RPG-ready modern maps, returns with a new floorplan you’re sure to want. Pick up An Average Victorian Style Mansion and let the good times roll. Use this two-story, 10,000 square foot mansion as the crime lord’s retreat, the Mayor’s house, the scene of a deadly hostage crisis, the target for some risky breaking and entering, or, if you’re really luck, your heroes’ base of operations!

Embellishments on this floorplan include a grand staircase, library, maid’s quarters, swimming pool, landscaping details, and even a hidden room! Pick up this modern Victorian-style Mansion floorplan today and start your adventure tonight!

Available at the 12 to Midnight store Midnight Cellar, as well as at RPGNow and DriveThruRPG.

Hurricane Ike may have tried to take a swipe at the crew from 12 to Midnight, but we’re still alive and well! In fact, in celebration of Talk Like a Pirate Day, we’ll be rockin’ like pirates! Set your jib and sail into the harbor at MidnightCellar.com and you’ll see what we mean. There, you’ll find genuine pirate songs set to a rock beat by Captain Cutthroat & the Scourge of the Sea. Not sure if that’s your cup o’ grog? Check out the 30 second samples of each song first!

Download Captain Cutthroat today and celebrate Talk Like a Pirate Day in style!

Originally posted on July 30.

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After a nice vacation last week (albeit slightly disrupted by Hurricane Dolly), it’s time for another weekly ETU: Degrees of Horror update.

First, horror website Flames Rising recently invited us to write an essay on the creative process behind writing horror games. The essay was posted last Friday, so check it out. While you’re there, check out some of their other interviews, essays, and reviews. If you like horror (and if you don’t, why are you reading this thread?), you’ll feel like a kid in a candystore.

Next, an update on the writing. On my side, the vacation really derailed my writing routine. All of last week was pretty much a wash. If you read my blog you’ll see that I lament the need to restore some writing discipline. I wrote this morning’s post yesterday (using the magic of post-dating), and last night I did in fact work on the plot points. Tonight is my “writing night”– the one night a week I leave the wife and kids at home, power up the laptop in a coffee shop, and hammer away for a few relatively uninterrupted hours. I’m not a night owl, so I’m a lot more productive at these sessions than when I’m putting the kids to bed and firing up the computer at 9 pm. I guess the point of all this is that I am still pushing forward, and I think once I build some writing momentum again then it won’t take long to finish the plot points. The rest of the book is essentially written.

Now that you’ve had a progress update, let me tell you about the game. I’ve talked about character creation, lingering over the parts unique to college such as majors, activities, final exams, and wealth. Now let’s talk about the adventures.

The less said about the plot points, the better. Generally speaking, the plot points are keyed to time: “When you reach this point in the semester, kick off this plot point”. In between the plot points, you can play Midnight Tales (renamed Savage Tales). Ed has written Midnight Tales based on your class (Freshman, Sophomore, etc.), your major (Agriculture, Engineering, etc.), extra-curricular activity (fraternity, ROTC, etc.) and location (History building, student center, etc.). He has written an insane number of Midnight Tales. (I should say we’ve also had some excellent contributions from Mike “Bloodshadows” Dukes.) The result is a campaign that is very customized to your group. While I (modestly) think that the plot point campaign is very cool, we’re giving you enough material that you could have a great campaign without ever touching them. Most likely, you could play Degrees of Horror three times without playing the same Midnight Tale twice.

Speaking of great material, I haven’t even touched on the other way to come up with an adventure– Ed’s adventure generator. I’ll save that for next week’s update since that probably deserves a post of its own.