Hi all

This is the the premier issue of Goodman Games’ 4E GSL magazine Level Up. It's now available in both print and PDF.

Here’s a quick peek at what you’ll find in Level Up #1.

Roads to Adventure: Rift of the Hill Giant Thane

An exciting 7th level adventure written by Goodman Games’ Harley Stroh

Blackdirge’s Bestiary: Natural-Born Killer

Six new dinos…I mean behemoths for your 4E game.

Deities of Áereth: Gorhan

The first in a series of articles on the gods of Áereth, the setting for the popular DCC line; Deities of Áereth: Gorhan explores the worship of the god of war and valor. Includes new feats, magic items, and a paragon path for worshippers of Gorhan.

Azagar’s Advice for Adventurers: Choose Your Weapons Part I

The infamous hobgoblin warlord dispenses his own brand of curmudgeonly wisdom on the subject of choosing the proper weapon. Includes a dozen new feats that will help you choose the right weapon every time.

GM Gems: Fiendish Foes

Three new monster templates that allow DMs to make their monsters and NPCs a bit more “fiendish.” Includes the following templates: demon knight, hell beast, and hellfire adept.

PC Pearls: Weapon Focused Warriors

Three new paragon paths for martial characters focused on a particular weapon. The cudgel thug gives club-wielding rogues a real wallop; the crimson cleaver lets fighters bring the pain with the greataxe; and the arbalestier actually gives the ranger a reason to use the crossbow.

Plus:

• A Picture Tells 1,000 Words: Spurned
  
• Wizard’ Corner: Never Split the Party by Andy Collins
  
• Jack’s Ultrashort Reviews
  
• Dear Archmage Abby
  
• And much more!
  

For more information about Level Up, including subscriptions, visit us at: Goodman Games.

I think the print version price is wrong.

Oh, and...

I think the print version price is wrong.

Oh, and...

** spoiler omitted **

The prices are correct. We actually want folks to go into their local gaming store and pick up the magazine right of the rack, which is why the print price is so low. However, four bucks is still a pretty good deal for a 50+ page PDF. =]

And yes, Level Up magazine is exclusively 4E.

BD

Sharoth wrote:

I think the print version price is wrong.

Oh, and...

** spoiler omitted **

The prices are correct. We actually want folks to go into their local gaming store and pick up the magazine right of the rack, which is why the print price is so low. However, four bucks is still a pretty good deal for a 50+ page PDF. =]

And yes, Level Up magazine is exclusively 4E.

BD

Yep—cover price for the print edition is $1.99; the standard paizo.com 10% discount off retail brings it to $1.79.

I got this issue the other day. In my opinion, it's worth every penny. The weapon-themed feats and paragon paths/powers were well appreciated, and Gorhan seems like the perfect deity for a militant cleric or aggressive paladin. The Rift of the Hill Giant Thane adventure looks very tempting. Plus, how can you go wrong with dinosaurs?

A great job overall.

I agree, anyone not buying this is cheating themselves out of a great deal, both monetarily and content wise. I am looking forward to July!

I agree, anyone not buying this is cheating themselves out of a great deal, both monetarily and content wise. I am looking forward to July!

Thanks!

Speaking of July, here's a preview of issue two: Level Up #2

BD

Treebore the Ruby Lord wrote:

I agree, anyone not buying this is cheating themselves out of a great deal, both monetarily and content wise. I am looking forward to July!

Thanks!

Speaking of July, here's a preview of issue two: Level Up #2

BD

~sighs~ The cover is so good that I decided to pick it up, DESPITE me not wanting to play 4E after how WotC has handled things. ~holds up my hand~ No flame wars, please! I actually have no issues with the game itself. Just WotC. ~gets off my soap box~

BTW, thanks for doing this Blackdirge. I will probably pick up issue 2 once it comes out.

Out of curiosity, for those that have a print copy of this, what kind of binding does it use?

~sighs~ The cover is so good that I decided to pick it up, DESPITE me not wanting to play 4E after how WotC has handled things. ~holds up my hand~ No flame wars, please! I actually have no issues with the game itself. Just WotC. ~gets off my soap box~

BTW, thanks for doing this Blackdirge. I will probably pick up issue 2 once it comes out.

Thanks for giving it a shot, Sharoth. That’s all we can ask for. Even if you don't switch to 4E, hopefully you get at least 2 bucks worth of 3.5 compatible ideas from Level Up. =]

BD

Sharoth wrote:

~sighs~ The cover is so good that I decided to pick it up, DESPITE me not wanting to play 4E after how WotC has handled things. ~holds up my hand~ No flame wars, please! I actually have no issues with the game itself. Just WotC. ~gets off my soap box~

BTW, thanks for doing this Blackdirge. I will probably pick up issue 2 once it comes out.

Thanks for giving it a shot, Sharoth. That’s all we can ask for. Even if you don't switch to 4E, hopefully you get at least 2 bucks worth of 3.5 compatible ideas from Level Up. =]

BD

~laughter~ Hell, I LIKE your stuff, BD. I just can't get my mind off how badly WotC fumbled how they have handled the PR end of 4E. ~grins~ I will still keep the Players handbook.

Blackdirge wrote:

Sharoth wrote:

~sighs~ The cover is so good that I decided to pick it up, DESPITE me not wanting to play 4E after how WotC has handled things. ~holds up my hand~ No flame wars, please! I actually have no issues with the game itself. Just WotC. ~gets off my soap box~

BTW, thanks for doing this Blackdirge. I will probably pick up issue 2 once it comes out.

Thanks for giving it a shot, Sharoth. That’s all we can ask for. Even if you don't switch to 4E, hopefully you get at least 2 bucks worth of 3.5 compatible ideas from Level Up. =]

BD

~laughter~ Hell, I LIKE your stuff, BD. I just can't get my mind off how badly WotC fumbled how they have handled the PR end of 4E. ~grins~ I will still keep the Players handbook.

Heh, thanks and understood. Well, I hope that Goodman Games and Blackdirge Publishing can continue to improve your outlook on 4E in general. =]

BD

This is a great bundle of new stuff and the adventure made me giggle both with its tips of the hat to old-school (both in name and style) and the sheer nuttiness of it.

Thanks!

Speaking of July, here's a preview of issue two: Level Up #2

BD

Lovecraftian horror...sweet!

Out of curiosity, for those that have a print copy of this, what kind of binding does it use?

The two staples type of binding, whatever that is called.

Gene wrote:

Out of curiosity, for those that have a print copy of this, what kind of binding does it use?

The two staples type of binding, whatever that is called.

Alright, thanks much for the info.

I think I may order one of these for idea mining. You really can't beat the price! :D

Quick question,
Will this magazine ever expand to include other game systems, like Kobold Quarterly is doing? Or is this going to be 'all 4E all the time?'.

Gene wrote:

Out of curiosity, for those that have a print copy of this, what kind of binding does it use?

The two staples type of binding, whatever that is called.

Oddly, that's called "saddle stitching."

Quick question,

Will this magazine ever expand to include other game systems, like Kobold Quarterly is doing? Or is this going to be 'all 4E all the time?'.

pretty sure it's sticking with 4E:

Level up your 4E game! Level Up is the official 4E RPG magazine from Goodman Games. Covering all things 4E, Level Up includes adventures, character options, new monsters, Azagar’s Advice for Adventurers, and the endearing wisdom of Dear Archmage Abby.

will be interesting to see if Goodman provides support for its other game systems (i.e., Eldritch).

Patrick Curtin wrote:

Quick question,

Will this magazine ever expand to include other game systems, like Kobold Quarterly is doing? Or is this going to be 'all 4E all the time?'.

pretty sure it's sticking with 4E:

Level up your 4E game! Level Up is the official 4E RPG magazine from Goodman Games. Covering all things 4E, Level Up includes adventures, character options, new monsters, Azagar’s Advice for Adventurers, and the endearing wisdom of Dear Archmage Abby.

will be interesting to see if Goodman provides support for its other game systems (i.e., Eldritch).

Yeah, was just wondering if there were plans for broadening the gaming horizons or not, now that the GSL isn't an 'either or' proposition.

joela wrote:

Patrick Curtin wrote:

Quick question,

Will this magazine ever expand to include other game systems, like Kobold Quarterly is doing? Or is this going to be 'all 4E all the time?'.

pretty sure it's sticking with 4E:

Level up your 4E game! Level Up is the official 4E RPG magazine from Goodman Games. Covering all things 4E, Level Up includes adventures, character options, new monsters, Azagar’s Advice for Adventurers, and the endearing wisdom of Dear Archmage Abby.

will be interesting to see if Goodman provides support for its other game systems (i.e., Eldritch).

Yeah, was just wondering if there were plans for broadening the gaming horizons or not, now that the GSL isn't an 'either or' proposition.

understood. that's why i wondered about eldritch. GG will also be publishing Cthulhu stuff as well.

It would also be nice if Goodman Games would suppost the PF RPG as well. ~sighs~ Well, I can still dream, can't I?

It would also be nice if Goodman Games would suppost the PF RPG as well. ~sighs~ Well, I can still dream, can't I?

Yeah, that's what I was hoping too.

Quick question,

Will this magazine ever expand to include other game systems, like Kobold Quarterly is doing? Or is this going to be 'all 4E all the time?'.

Level Up is a 4E magazine. There may be a system neutral article from time to time, but the rules system for any article with "crunch" will be 4E.

BD

Patrick Curtin wrote:

Quick question,

Will this magazine ever expand to include other game systems, like Kobold Quarterly is doing? Or is this going to be 'all 4E all the time?'.

Level Up is a 4E magazine. There may be a system neutral article from time to time, but the rules system for any article with "crunch" will be 4E.

BD

Thanks for the reply BD.

Blackdirge wrote:

Patrick Curtin wrote:

Quick question,

Will this magazine ever expand to include other game systems, like Kobold Quarterly is doing? Or is this going to be 'all 4E all the time?'.

Level Up is a 4E magazine. There may be a system neutral article from time to time, but the rules system for any article with "crunch" will be 4E.

BD

Thanks for the reply BD.

No problem. Feel free to fire off any other questions you have about the magazine, and I'll answer them if I'm able. =]

BD

Robert Miller 55 wrote:

Gene wrote:

Out of curiosity, for those that have a print copy of this, what kind of binding does it use?

The two staples type of binding, whatever that is called.

Oddly, that's called "saddle stitching."

Yup, and not a saddle or a stitch in sight. =]

BD

Nope that's what I needed to know. Good luck with the new mag., looks like it will be a boon to the 4E players. :)

Vic Wertz wrote:

Robert Miller 55 wrote:

Gene wrote:

Out of curiosity, for those that have a print copy of this, what kind of binding does it use?

The two staples type of binding, whatever that is called.

Oddly, that's called "saddle stitching."

Yup, and not a saddle or a stitch in sight. =]

BD

For what's it worth, this is why it is called saddle stitching ...

The stitching part comes from the fact that, instead of staples (which is what most people think are used) a big "spool" of metal "thread" is used. Each complete, collated and folded group of pages that will make up the book, magazine etc. is places across a metal base which is shaped like an upside down V. The pages lay on this upside down V (which, if you can picture it, looks kind of like a metal saddle) so that the fold is at the top, or the point of the V. The machine then actually stitches the metal thread into the pages (traditionally 2 or 3 times on an 11 x 17 form which folds down to a standard 8.5 x 11 publication). As each set is stitched, the metal stitching is cut from underneath and folded under so that the end result looks like staples.

If this ever helps anyone win a million bucks on a game show, I hope you throw a couple bucks my way!