It all started with me writing a post about wanting to play Vampire: The Masquerade again and why. It then turned into a love letter to that game. And from there it erupted into a series of (ongoing) posts exploring how I would rebuild a game about vampires to tackle the essential themes I felt Vampire touched upon but didn’t press hard enough. And thus I’m now Rebuilding Vampire.

That tag will link you to all the posts so far in the series, with the most recent at the top. Feel free to read through and comment if so inclined (I love feedback!).

Is this for eventual publication? I’m operating on the principle of: let me get the game done first and then we’ll see what happens with it. Enjoy the ride.

From March 3rd to 8th, all our products are on sale for 25% off!

RPGnow: Highmoon Games Storefront

Be sure to also check out the amazing number of sales going on as well by browsing the main sales page.

To all the gamemasters out there, thanks for running awesome games for us players.

Rich, dude, this one’s for you for Lady Blackbird. 

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 charity which will be the recipient 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.

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.

In general, things at Highmoon Games have been slow, as predicted in June. The personal issue I was dealing with, the ailment and death of my mother, pretty much took all my time, energy and desire to create so very little got done. That said, two things happened that helped give Highmoon Games a push and re-energize the company (and me).

In October, Highmoon Games became the new owner of One Bad Egg, the D&D 4th Edition publishing suit founded by Fred Hicks & Rob Donoghue (Evil Hat Productions), Justin Jacobson (Blue Devil Games) and Chris Hanrahan (Endgame). The Eggs decided to close the company but wanted to keep the products available to the public, so they approached me, something I am still very honored about. One Bad Egg’s products are top notch and have become our best sellers by far, giving Highmoon Games a much-needed sales push that has allowed other projects to be funded. Far more important to me, though, is that these fantastic game aids continue to be available for fans of D&D 4e to enjoy.

After almost a year of trying to get things squared away, in early December we announced that Hal Mangold (Green Ronin Publishing, Atomic Overmind Press) had been brought on-board to do the layout for (the very very late) True20 Ancients: Rome. Matthew Kaiser and Spike Y Jones did an amazing job with the words part, and it had been on hold for far too long waiting for the graphic treatment. Bringing Hal in means that book will look like the fantastic tome it is, and I know True20 fans will be delighted once they have it in their hands. It is still too early to announce a release date, but I know we’re all shooting for a 1st Quarter 2010 date.

Not to be overlooked, Highmoon Media Productions (of which Highmoon Games is part of) celebrated its 5th anniversary in October 2009, something that amazes and humbles me, for I could not have made it this far without the support and patronage of great friends, colleagues and customers like you.

In looking to 2010, expect Highmoon Games to remain a bit quiet; I am going back to university to begin a degree in Nursing, so that will take most of my time and effort. Nevertheless, we will have stuff coming out during the year, like the aforementioned True20 Ancients: Rome (via Green Ronin Publishing), more conversions to Pathfinder of our Liber Sodalitas line, and at least one new issue of Targum Magazine. One of the beauties of running such a small company is that I don’t have to set my schedule months in advance, so new projects could show up by surprise. I guess you’ll just have to keep an eye on us.

It’s time to look to the future. Bring it on, 2010.

As a parting gift, take a look at these illustrations from Shawn Gaston, destined to grace the Pathfinder editions of two Liber Sodalitas products. Enjoy!

The text is identical to the previously-available version; the one thing that changed was the removal of the d20 License and logos, which prompted a small layout rearranging.

Customers who previously purchased the adventure were sent an update download link. Everyone else, here’s your chance for a way into the lands of Testament.

Now Available: No Other Gods (An Adventure for Testament)

Get your copy today!

Hal Mangold, layout guru for Green Ronin Publishing and El Jefe over at Atomic Overmind Press, has signed on to do the layout for True20 Ancients: Rome. Given how Hal created the look for True20 to begin with, I think we can expect this book to be a treat for the eyes (as well as a treat for the table with all those awesome True20 rules by Matthew Kaiser under the editing stylings of Spike Y Jones).

Personally, I am both relieved that this book is finally getting some love after the hiatus it found itself in this year, and downright ecstatic to finally have a chance to work with Hal.

It will still be a bit longer before there’s samples to show you and we can announce a release date. Thanks for your patience and support.

This is a paid gig: $50 for the batch, plus copies of all the products when released for Pathfinder (and honestly, if there’s something else from my catalog that you’d like, I’d be happy to throw it in as well).

Let me stress this again: I need an ace in Pathfinder. I want these products to work with Pathfinder because they were rebuilt with it in mind, not just because they are 3.5 and thus compatible.

If you are interested, reply to this thread and tell me a bit about why you’d be awesome for this gig.

(Originally posted to the Role Play Media Network)

It’s been a fun-filled ride, I have to say. Though our last year has been not the greatest, it is looking up by the day. Welcoming One Bad Egg to the Highmoon Games family has been like a breath of fresh air, and I hope to have some good news regarding some projects that had to be put on hold for a while.

The only major change to be announced is the official cancellation of The Digital Front Podcast, though that won’t be a surprise to anyone. Still, it was fun while it lasted and I thank everyone for the support they gave the show during its lifetime. A post/podcast episode on TheDigitalFront.com will go up soon.

Thanks to you, the fans and customers, because you’ve kept us going all this time. Here’s to 5 years, and here’s to 5 years more (at least!).

And what the heck, take 50% OFF our RPGnow catalog until Sunday, Oct 18!

You can find the OBE products on our vendor page at RPGnow.com and DriveThruRPG under the following categories:

Over the next month we’ll be working behind the scenes on completing the transfer process, including Highmoon Games joining Indie Press Revolution, and everything related to OneBadEgg.com and the One Bad Egg Bookshelf. Please be patient during this transition period, and if you have any questions, feel free to use the Contact form on this site or leave a comment below.

We wish our friends from OBE all the best in their endeavors (and boy, do they have them!) and promise to uphold the good name of One Bad Egg.

I am thrilled and honored to have been approached by OBE to continue their legacy, and I hope to do well by them and the fans. Details will continue to come out during the month, so keep an eye here and at One Bad Egg.

Find our products at RPGNow.com – http://www.rpgnow.com/index.php?manufacturers_id=63?affiliate_id=17008

Below are the unedited answers to David’s questions; feel free to leave a comment if you’d like to discuss anything further.

• What is your goal with the Liber Sodalitas series?

The Liber Sodalitas products were originally released for the d20 System over the past few years. I’ve chosen to updated them to the Pathfinder RPG rules for two reasons:

1- Pathfinder represents the new face of the 3.5 fantasy RPG rules system. Frankly, the unofficial name of 3.75 carries a lot of truth to it. Pathfinder sleeks out the rules in line with developments seen in both official and 3rd-party releases over this decade, breathing new life to that system. I don’t think 3.5 fantasy, as a whole, was broken, but it certainly had a few spots that needed major work and a general revision was overdue. When you looked at the 3.5 SRD and what was coming out of the home office in Renton, WA, sometimes you had to ask yourself, is this the same game we’re playing? Pathfinder levels the field, and being released through the OGL, it guarantees that any evolution that may come can be incorporated into any game product without a problem.

And to be clear, at least to me this has nothing to do with 3.5/3.75e vs. 4e. The rules systems were created to deliver very specific and different play experiences, and each does what it’s supposed to do well. It’s a matter of taste, not an absolute.

2- Updating to Pathfinder makes perfect business sense. Fans of the type of game experience 3.5 fantasy delivered now have a new banner under which to rally and that is an exciting development in our opinion. We want to be a part of this new surge, and a quick entry into that wave was the updating of our existing material. We’re actually updating so that the product matches the rules in the Pathfinder Core Rulebook, even if the game is backwards compatible with 3.5 fantasy. In some cases, the 3.5 and the Pathfinder version will differ more than just a bit, so it won’t be like you’re buying the same product twice. I can’t say we’ll update all of our previous releases, but all the existing Liber Sodalitas releases will get the treatment. We’ll also release new, original material specifically for Pathfinder a bit down the road (I can say we have at least one new Liber Sodalitas in the works as well as an adventure).

Though often seen as a priestly order, the dream healers follow no set god. For them, the power of healing lies within the patient and their dreams. Able to enter another’s dreams, they guide their patients through past events, allowing them to relive them and heal many wounds that other healers cannot touch. The journey is not without risk, for the world within a dream becomes a new reality, and death there comes just as easily as in the waking world.

The Dream Healers is a 10-page ebook detailing a drop-in organization for your Pathfinder game, complete with history, tenets, organizational structures, ways of joining, and ready-to-use NPCs. It also includes the dream healer prestige class and two new magical items.

Written by: Lonnie Ezell, with James Gabrielsen, Mark Gedak & Daniel M. Perez
Artwork by: Anthony Cournoyer

Now available from RPGnow.com.

Just a quick post to let all our customers know that we are now supporting the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game, published by Paizo Publishing.

We at Highmoon Games are big fans of the 3.5 edition of the d20 System and are happy to see that Pathfinder now carries that torch high and proud, taking the system presented in the SRD into bold new directions that are innovative and yet remain faithful to the core of the system we all know and love.

We will begin by updating some of our 3rd Fantasy (3.5 Fantasy) products to the Pathfinder rules, and later we’ll follow with new material.

We hope you enjoy the new and updated products.

Since we won’t be going to Gen Con this year, we decided to have a little party along with all those not going as well.

From Wednesday 8/12 thru Monday 8/17, all Highmoon Games products are on sale at 50% Off at RPGnow.com & DriveThruRPG.com.

Grab some games and play along at home in the spirit of the Best Four Days in Gaming.

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.

Find our products at RPGNow.com – http://www.rpgnow.com/index.php?manufacturers_id=63?affiliate_id=17008