Even though Steamworks‘ release is only about a week away, we just couldn’t keep it to ourselves any longer. That’s why we’ve released a 1 page PDF showing off the Clockwork Steed, which is just one cool device among more than 160 you’ll find in Steamworks.

Download the free Steamworks: Clockwork Steed PDF today for a taste of things to come. Be prepared to give your fantasy campaign a shot of adrenaline (item number 33, incidentally)!

We would have said something sooner, but we only got the schedule on Friday. 12 to Midnight will be at AggieCon in College Station, Texas this coming weekend– Friday, March 28 and Saturday, March 29. We are currently scheduled for 3 panels.

• Friday:  3 pm - Archetypes vs. Stereotypes
• Saturday: 12 pm - Breaking into the RPG Business
• Saturday: 2 pm - Elements of Horror

If you live in Texas and want to hang out, this is the perfect opportunity. We haven’t committed to running any demos this time, so that means we have lots of time to hang out. In attendance will be Ed Wetterman, Jerry Blakemore, TC Largent, and Preston DuBose.

We are still making like busy bees and working on our first plot point setting book. I’d estimate the 1st draft of the book is about 70% complete. This is an exciting time for us as we hope to have the 1st draft off to the editors by early May. This will be followed by a 2nd round of writing, rewrites, additions, and sidebars, then another pass by the editors. We will then do a final rewrite, a final edit, and then go into layout. We are hoping to have it laid out with all art by early spring 2009. Of course it will then have to be approved by Pinnacle and then be printed before it will actually be available for distribution, but it is our primary goal as a company to make certain this happens.

The good news is that once the editors have the copy, we can finish some other outstanding work such as the 12 Hours adventure series, The Prodigal, and House on Dale Island.

So far we have playtested ETU for approximately 35 gaming hours and the heroes have reached about 22 experience points, making them Sophomores and enabling them to finally have a wild die of d4. Everyone has had a great time and we have some extremely cool, scary moments. IMHO, we have successfully captured the flavor of attending college, albeit a very weird one. Check out the writeups in our forums for more on the details of the playtesting.

The basic experience point system we have used is 3 xp for a plot point or published adventure (such as Last Rites), 2xp for completing a tale, and 1xp for each generated adventure. Generated adventures take on special importance, since Research adventures apply to increasing a student’s Studying bonus which is in turn necessary to passing final exams each semester. This has worked very well and controlled character growth and story pacing.

Finally, I’d like to report that Mike Dukes, (Bloodshadows on the forums) is writing some tales for ETU. After his work on Bites of Midnight, I can’t wait to see what he comes up with.

In celebration of our first new release under the Silven Crossroads brand, we’re offering a 10% discount when pre-ordering Steamworks.

If you’ve been living in a cave, or at least haven’t been following our website, Steamworks is a comprehensive guide for introducing elements of technology into traditional fantasy campaigns. And when we say comprehensive, we mean it! Weighing in at more than 160 pages, Steamworks introduces two new classes, more than three dozen feats, several dozen unique devices, new spells and powers, and much more. We think Steamworks offers all the building blocks a GM or player needs to incorporate as much, or as little, technology into a fantasy campaign as wanted. Whether you want to play an absent-minded inventor or let your player characters explore the ruins of a long-dead civilization for strange and wonderful artifacts, Steamworks is your ultimate guide.

When released, Steamworks will be available for $15.50. By pre-ordering now, you can download the Steamworks PDF on the day it’s released and only pay $13.95. This pre-order offer is available exclusively through our store, Midnight Cellar.

As you hopefully remember, we’ve been writing about Steamworks since December. If not, Steamworks is our first new title under the Silven Crossroads fantasy brand, and it’s a doozy! This 150+ page fantasy supplement for the d20 system is a complete guidebook to introducing technology to your fantasy setting. Whether you want to introduce strange, clockwork artifacts in the tomb of a long-dead race, or play as an adventuring inventor, Steamworks is your comprehensive guide.

To give you a small taste of what is to come, here is just one of the cool gadgets found in Chapter 8: Technological Items.

Goggles of Echolocation: This pair of goggles has dark lenses, with a conical attachment on either side. While wearing these goggles, the wearer has blindsight to a distance of 20 feet. These goggles do not function in areas affected by magical silence.

Faint energy; SL 5th; Build General Item; Price 18,000 gp; Weight 1 lb.

Be on the lookout for more sneak peeks, including items and artwork, in the coming days. Also be on the lookout for a contest announcement, coming soon!