Author: Gareth

Just an update for those who have been following the “saga.”

The asshat that I’ve bitched about in a couple of posts?

Today, RPGNow kicked him off the site for trademark, copyright, license and business ethics violations.

So, last night I decided to check back to see what I had written on LJ last year, which was amusing. Switching to my pre-LJ days, I also checked back to 2003, and back in the misty eons lost to time, the entry from 2002, as well.

That last one was interesting. It’s where I decided to give up my prejudices over the format and run Adamant Entertainment as a PDF publishing operation. Looking back, it’s funny to note that I said:

” It is certainly do-able, however, for this to be a nice side-line…”

…and here we are, 3 years later, and not only is it still running, but it’s successful enough to be my full-time gig. All traceable back to that moment when I decided to go ahead with it.

So, what have I got up my sleeve for Adamant in the coming year?

A bunch of stuff, obviously. But I’ll talk about some of the things that I’m most jazzed about:

• First off, Adamant Entertainment products will soon be available in your local game store, instead of just in PDF. RPGNow has initiated a program where they’re repping print versions of top-selling PDF product via the top 4 distributors in the industry, which means that your local store can order them, with the products beginning to ship in February. Adamant Entertainment’s CORSAIR: The Definitive D20 Guide to Ships has been chosen as one of the flagship releases. I’m pretty excited about that. Among other things, it means that I’ll be going to the GAMA Trade Show in Vegas in March, to pimp the product to retailers.
• I just received the final drafts via email last night for a big 2006 release: We’re doing a book called MARS, which can be run as either a D20-Modern-based game, or as a campaign world for standard fantasy D20 (in other words, D&D, but of course we can’t market it like that). It’s set in the ‘Planetary Romance’ genre of Edgar Rice Burroughs, et. al., and was written for Adamant Entertainment by Lizard, the author of the “Iron Lords of Jupiter” mini-game that appeared in Polyhedron magazine. In fact, Wizards of the Coast has given us permission to re-use some of the material that first appeared in that minigame (feats and such). Swords flashing, radium guns blasting, Sky-corsair battling, Martian action. Can’t wait.
• We’re steaming right along with Thrilling Tales, of course. Got some nice plans underway, including a special mp3 podcast featuring an original “radio” adventure serial, in the style of the classic shows of the 30s and 40s! We’re also going to branching the line out a bit….we’re looking at releasing some Lovecraftian horror adventures (they were pulp after all), and my “Heroes of the New Wave” concept of 1980s Neo-pulp (Buckaroo Banzai, Remo Williams, the A-Team, Knightrider, etc.).
• I’ve dusted off my notes for a project that I haven’t touched in about two years or so….but I plan on releasing this in 2006: The Dao of Wuxia will be a supplement on running wuxia fantasy using D20. (Something tells me might be interested in playtesting this one….)

There’s more, of course (continued support for Northern Crown, some officially-licensed Freeport adventures, the kick-off of our new line of superhero products released under the M&M Superlink license, among other things), but this entry is already way longer than I had intended, so you’ll just have to keep your eyes open for future updates.

Another story that I can’t believe isn’t getting much more press….

Woman to be arraigned for failing to provide ID to Feds on a public bus.

Deborah Davis was riding the city bus to work in Denver, when, as part of its regular route, it stopped in Denver’s federal government office park. A security guard boarded and asked to see everyone’s ID.

She refused, and officers with the Federal Protective Service removed her from the bus, handcuffed her, put her in the back of a patrol car and took her to a federal police station within the Federal Center, where she was held and ticketed. Ms. Davis is to be arraigned on Dec. 9 in US District Court.

There’s a website detailing her case in addition to the news story linked above.

I urge everyone reading this to write a letter to the Editor of your local paper, and to the news departments of your local TV and Radio stations. This kind of stuff needs to be beamed directly into the brains of the American people, and maybe…..just maybe, they’ll start to wake up and realize that this is not the sort of thing that is supposed to be happening in this country.