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Ashy's page
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Best-selling FATE Developer Joins Revolutionary Game Designers To Forge A Whole New Line Of Products
Huntsville, Alabama, USA (November 8, 2010) — Revolutionary game designers and creators of the new card-based role-playing game (CBRPG ™), Untold, announced today that Mike McConnell, crafter of the best-selling Strands of Fate rulebook would be joining their ranks as the Line Developer for a whole series of new FATE-based products. These new products will build on McConnell’s phenomenal and ground-breaking work in Strands and take the line to another level entirely.
"We're delighted to be working with Mike to forge ahead into the future of FATE and WMS”, exclaimed Wandering Men Studios Co-founder, Brannon Hollingsworth. “The moment we read Strands, we knew two things distinctly: first, that it was destined to become *THE* Standard for FATE-based games to come and second, that in Mike, we had a kindred spirit. We’ve since been exceedingly blessed to meet and get to know Mike and we can safely say that both of our initial impressions where dead on. We thank God for his providence and will in bringing us together and look forward to the months and years ahead! "
“This is an exciting opportunity for Void Star and Strands of Fate!”, said Mike McConnell, lead designer and owner of Void Star Games. “Strands has been a huge success for us and this partnership with Wandering Men Studios will provide a strong foundation for an entire Strands of Fate game line. We’re all very exited about the road ahead!”
The new Strands of Fate line will be available online, at http://www.untoldthegame.com, via RPGNOW.com, as well as select card shops, book and comic retailers starting in the new year . The first release will be Strands of Power: Heroic Advantages, the first in the Strands of Power series. Wandering Men Studios plans to release several new genre-specific products, building on the almost implied synergy between Strands of Fate and their own ground-breaking game, Untold. Each of these products is focused on expanding the already massive options that both Strands of Fate and Untold offer RPG fans.
Strands of Fate is a standalone core rulebook for the FATE game system. It provides the Game Master with all the tools he needs to get any campaign, of any genre or power level, off the ground and running in minutes. Whether it’s classic fantasy, urban mystery, dashing super heroes, or far future action, this book is your guide.
Untold is a revolutionary new role-playing game (RPG) from Wandering Men Studios designed to combine all the best elements of Role Playing Games (RPG's) and Collectible Card Games (CCG's) and toss the rest. Untold is a CBRPG (™): Card-Based Role Playing Game. It is exactly the same as any other RPG, but the primary physical "tools" of the game are different. Instead of rulebooks and character sheets, the only "tools" you need in Untold are cards! Untold was created to be fast, flexible, furious, and fun. The underlying task of Untold's designers has been to take the toil out of playing RPGs and put the fun back in. As such, every single thing the guys over at Wandering Men Studios have done during the development of Untold has been driven by this maxim.
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About Wandering Men Studios
Wandering Men Studios developed Untold because we weren't satisfied with what is currently available in the world of RPG's. We wanted to return gaming to its roots: where fun, imagination and creativity are ''KING'' (not suits, bottom lines and profit margins) and where gamers are not forced to buy a new set of rulebooks every year or a new load of cards every week.
The Wandering Men are game designers, authors, artists, explorers, and a whole load of other things. Our founding principle is "Wandering Inspires Creativity". We've created fiction and designed games for several D20 publishers including: Paizo Publishing, Sword & Sorcery Studios, Green Ronin Press, Bastion Press, Sovereign Press, Necromancer Games, Atlas Games, Fantasy Flight Games, Eden Studios, Skeleton Key Games, Dark Quest Games, Ambient, Inc., and Citizen Games. We've also been published in several industry periodicals such as Dragon Magazine, Gaming Frontiers, and The EN World Player's Journal; written a fantasy novel entitled Skein of Shadows (currently in its second printing, through Dark Quest Publishing), and are working on its sequel, as well as many, many other projects.
For more information on Untold and Wandering Men Studios, please visit: http://www.untoldthegame.com.
About Void Star
Void Star Games’ first release was the popular Strands of Fate core rulebook. We saw the potential in the FATE game system, but also the desperate need to break the rules away from a specific setting. In doing so we also created the tools necessary to allow you to run any sort of game using FATE in a matter of minutes instead of hours, reducing the prep time required to get you to the game table.
The Strands of Fate product line will consist of a number of “toolkit” books designed to utilize and reinforce the core Strands of Fate book. In addition to providing you with more tools to craft your own personal FATE campaigns, these new products will show you what you can build with the tools you already have.
For more information on Void Star, visit http://voidstar.squarespace.com/.
Congrats, Neil! Way to keep on keepin' on!
Oh and it was a pleasure sitting on panels with you this year at ConCarolinas. ;)
We have a similar mechanic in Untold called "Swapping". Basically, swapping is the mechanic that allows you to put a card into, or take a card out of play. There are four Swap types, but the primary one is a "Story Swap" and it allows you to change (Downgrade or UPgrade) a card based on the story you tell.
This actually dovetails with the card mechanics and can make certain cards more (or less, depending on the change) effective in the game; thus making your character more (or less) effective at what they were trying to do!
An instant and easy in-game, mechanics "reward" for roleplaying! :D
Mairkurion {tm} wrote: Ashy wrote:
LOL - yea, I'm pretty much the only one of the four of us who posts over here, and only three of us currently reside in Alabama (one is originally from AL, but currently lives in MS; and one of us is not originally from AL, but anywho...). Currently, we're working on marketing and spreading the word of our new CBRPG, Untold (http://untoldthegame.com). :D
Feel free to ask as many questions as ya like! :D
Okay, Ashy. I'm at a resting point in grading, and I'm kicking back a Guinness/vanilla ice cream float. I went and poked around your site a little.
So, you guys have published/are publishing some novels, and are publishing a new RPG that is also a card game. I have only looked at card games from afar. What can you say to someone who looks at this combo and says, "Huh. Huh?"
Also, allow me to make a recommendation: you guys ought to try and go on Atomic Array, the best RPG podcast in Human History, and talk about your stuff. That's a great way for folks to raise awareness of your products. LOL - sorry, haven't had much time to reply this week, what with all the site updates (http://www.untoldthegame.com) and getting ready for Mobicon this weekend. Suffice it to say (for now - longer explanation coming) that we don't do anything like anybody else. We're ALWAYS redefining paradigms - it's one of the things we do best. Untold's a prime example of that. :D
Urizen wrote: Ashy wrote: If you get it from Amazon or Barnes and Nobel, it won't be autographed, if you get it from us, it will be however. :)
It was a 'used' book and (re-)seller made claims it was autographed. I just look upon that as an added bonus as the price was just right for the taking. :) Cool - let me know if it is; I'd love to know! Thanks and enjoy! :D
erian_7 wrote: Ashy wrote: Excellent! Please drop me an email: ashy [at symbol] untoldthegame [dot symbol] com and we'll arrange it! :D Headed your way...
Oh, and that should be Savage Worlds rather than Savage Tide...after running that AP for so many years it's stuck in my brain! NP... :D
erian_7 wrote: Ashy wrote: erian_7 wrote: Hold up. There's some Alabama folks putting out gaming material and they haven't come by a meeting of the Birmingham Area D&D Meet-Up yet? Seriously? Go there now!
(I'm Eric, the supposed organizer, although a 4-month old has been curtailing my duties there and Glenn has been picking up my slack...)
Awesome, Erian! I did not know this place even existed! One of our number lives in B'ham, so we'll definitely be hooking up with you guys! Are you all going to be at Imagicon next weekend? We're guests there!
http://www.untoldthegame.com/con-schedule
http://imagicon.org/imagine2010/index.php?option=com_content&view=categ ory&layout=blog&id=117&Itemid=275 I'm, sure we'll have lots of members at the con--I may be able to attend but am not sure just yet...
We love to have publishing folks pop in and demo stuff, so definitely let's get something going there. And of course, anyone can pop in any time for a game! Although it is ostensibly the "D&D" meet-up, we have everything from Savage Tide to Traveller to CoC running on any given meeting. Once I get back to regular attendance, I'll be holding the fort for regular PRPG games... Excellent! Please drop me an email: ashy [at symbol] untoldthegame [dot symbol] com and we'll arrange it! :D
Mairkurion {tm} wrote: What a day. Rest your head, wearied from exploding.
Hopefully, Ashy will wander back tomorrow to answer some of my pressing questions. Maybe even his fellows will find their way back with him.
Aye - I can poke my head in over here in the evenings; paizo's blocked from work... :(
Urizen wrote: Mairkurion {tm} wrote: Hey, Ashy! Pardon me just one moment.
{HA-HA! In yo FACE Urizen! I have succeeded!}
Ahem.
Just wanted to see if I knew you guys from Paizo, thanks for responding, Ashy. Are you the only member of the quadrumvirate that posts over here?
What all are you Alabama boys up to? Writing fantasy? Gaming material? I noticed you weren't in the Pathfinder Compatibility Registry.
{ The real question is: 1) Did he 'wander' (ha!) to this thread out of coincidence? or 2) Did he happen to see the link I posted to their wall on FB and graced you with his presence? ;) } Actually, my Google-Fu aided me; I've got a subscription that pulls out any reference to "wandering men" or "untold" or "untold the game" and lets me know who's chatting about us on the interwebs; so I moseyed on over. :D
Mairkurion {tm} wrote: Hey, Ashy! Pardon me just one moment.
{HA-HA! In yo FACE Urizen! I have succeeded!}
Ahem.
Just wanted to see if I knew you guys from Paizo, thanks for responding, Ashy. Are you the only member of the quadrumvirate that posts over here?
What all are you Alabama boys up to? Writing fantasy? Gaming material? I noticed you weren't in the Pathfinder Compatibility Registry.
LOL - yea, I'm pretty much the only one of the four of us who posts over here, and only three of us currently reside in Alabama (one is originally from AL, but currently lives in MS; and one of us is not originally from AL, but anywho...). Currently, we're working on marketing and spreading the word of our new CBRPG, Untold (http://untoldthegame.com). :D
Feel free to ask as many questions as ya like! :D
Ashy here, from the Wandering Men! Just trying to make friends. :) What's up, folks?
Smerg wrote: In 1996 Susan Van Camp launched Dragon Storm a card based RPG.
http://www.dragonstorm.com/
You know you're old when you played and remember these things.
Glad to see Untold make their debut. Good luck with your release!
LOL - yea, thanks, Smerg - we discovered Dragonstorm while doing our marketing research for Untold (called "Project Epic") way back then (2+ years ago). I think you'll find that Untold is quite different from Dragonstorm, however. :)
Thanks for the kudos and well-wishes - nab a deck or three - you won't be sorry! :D
Wandering Men Studios is proud to announce the official launch of their revolutionary new RPG, Untold. Untold is an RPG unlike any you’ve ever played – it’s a CBRPG ™, a Card-Based Role-Playing Game; there are no books, no character sheets; the rules are on the cards and all you need is a deck and a die ™. Untold is your familiar old RPG with a ton of cool, new, easy-to-learn features and mechanics that make creating characters uber-easy (you can create any level character in minutes) and learn to play the game in no time at all.
Untold utilizes awesome, new card design and printing technologies that allow us to offer not only dual-sided cards, but also quad-cards (with 4 active playing areas) that integrate our unique Swapping and Downgrading mechanics – not to mention, it gives you 2x (or 4x) the amount of cards for your purchasing dollar. Also, when you purchase a deck of Untold cards, you know exactly what you’re getting – our deck listings are online BEFORE you buy and on every package as well – no more blind packaging and NO RANDOMIZATION.
And, if that weren’t enough, you can also use the exact same Untold cards to play a hard-hitting, head-to-head fighting version of Untold called Untold: Battle ™. So whether RPG’s are the thing you love or you yearn for visceral card-based combat, Untold is for you.
Please join us on our newly re-designed website to: learn how to play with our free online Primer or download the rules for free; absorb the tons of free campaign setting information (ecologies, characters, races, regions, fiction and much more); check out our Untold: Battle factions; join our ever-growing community (over 250 strong); find out about our Untold Demo Program (the Untold Boost Team); subscribe to our RSS feed and monthly newsletter and so much more through our weekly site updates.
Interested yet? Unlock your Untold potential now @ http://www.untoldthegame.com!
James Jacobs wrote: Ashy wrote: Vic Wertz wrote: Ashy wrote: Looking at the license, it seems that it only covers game products; I'm assuming things like Pathfinder novels would not be included under this license? You are correct—this license doesn't let you use any of the content we've specified as Product Identity except foe the Compatibility Logo itself. If a professional publisher wants to use any of our other Product Identity, they'll need to acquire a specific license. (And we're planning to do our own Pathfinder novels, so unless you're a book publishing giant, we're probably not interested in licensing that out.)
If you're asking about non-commercial use, though, check out our Community Use Policy. Thanks, Vic. What if you're interested in working on some of those novels? Or pitching a novel idea to Paizo? :D We don't have our fiction line up and running yet... but until we do, we're not looking for novel pitches. We'll be assigning/hiring authors to write the first few, I suspect. If the line takes off and is successful, then everything changes, but at the start... the best way to get one of those novels is to do the following:
1) Establish yourself as a bankable author with several published books under your belt, or have worked with Paizo on other projects for several years already.
2) Be willing to write in a shared world (not all authors are keen on the work-for-hire stuff).
Again, opportunities to write Pathfinder novels might open up in the future, but that future is still a few years away at the least. w00t! #'s 1 and 2 - done!
Great - thanks for the reply James - sorry about the hijack!
Vic Wertz wrote: Ashy wrote: Looking at the license, it seems that it only covers game products; I'm assuming things like Pathfinder novels would not be included under this license? You are correct—this license doesn't let you use any of the content we've specified as Product Identity except foe the Compatibility Logo itself. If a professional publisher wants to use any of our other Product Identity, they'll need to acquire a specific license. (And we're planning to do our own Pathfinder novels, so unless you're a book publishing giant, we're probably not interested in licensing that out.)
If you're asking about non-commercial use, though, check out our Community Use Policy. Thanks, Vic. What if you're interested in working on some of those novels? Or pitching a novel idea to Paizo? :D
Looking at the license, it seems that it only covers game products; I'm assuming things like Pathfinder novels would not be included under this license?
All Aboard for Chattacon!
Thursday, 24 January 2008
ALL ABOARD!
The Wandering Men are packing up and heading out - towards Chattanooga, Tennessee - for Chattacon! This will be our first time attending this convention and I have to say that we're all pretty "stoked" about it! [more...]
AND...
Transmog Released (Men: the Wandering Cards - Set II)!
Wednesday, 24 October 2007
"I'm telling you - something happened to us on that ship - something terrible! I have no doubt now that it was tied to the relic, but what it did to us I still cannot fathom... Somehow, it changed us, morphed us - it made us into something far less than we were to begin with! I feel thin and shallow, like watery little ink, scratched upon the flat surface of parchment!"
- Tenet, beginning to realize the True Horror of Transmog
Behold the next edition of our Men: the Wandering cards - just in time for our trip to Chattacon! [more...]
Now that Christmas is getting closer - the Wandering Men are giving out gifts! HO HO HO!
That's right, Wandering Guys and Gals! The grand prize in the latest Wandering Men contest is precisely that - an Ipod Shuffle! The world's smallest digital music player can be yours - 1 GB of glorious musical pleasure! Not only that, but the winner of this contest will also receive a beautiful "Triple F" T-shirt, and a full color, glossy 8x12 poster (literally suitable for framing) of ONE of the Skein of Shadows heroes of your choice!
So, what's the catch, you ask? What does one have to do to win such a fabulous and monumentally awesome prize? Sell one's soul? Nah. Give us one's firstborn to a small guy with a hard-to-pronounce name? Of course not! It's actually quite simple... One might say deceptively simple...
Get all the info, rules, and details here...
Looks like it was "Media Exposure Week" at The Wandering Men Camp! Why do we say that? Check out all the buzz below!
The Wandering Men are back from an awesome trip to head to Con on the Cob, books are in, and pre-sales are over! There's a ton going on at the website, too!
This was the last full week before The Wandering Men head out for Con on the Cob, and we really tried to out-do ourselves with several days of double-updates!
The Wandering Men are gearing up to head to Con on the Cob, so there's lots of posts centered around that this week, but not all: a new contest, a novella excerpt, and our novel (with forward by Keith Baker) goes into pre-sales!
Lots of folks on several other boards wanted a bit more explanation of these round-up posts, so I thought I'd post it over here as well. Maybe this will shed a bit more light about the hyperlinks above. :) Feel free to ask me anything about 'em!
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Axiomatic Anarchy is a on-going piece of serialized fiction set in the world of Crown that details the struggles of a lost oltreggan (a new race from the Crown Campaign Setting) as he battles his way out of a subterranean prison/arena and tries to find his way home.
Fiend Fighter is a novella published by Dark Quest Games (again, set in the Crown campaign setting) and we're making excerpts available - the story centers around a bone-weary dwarven gladiator who is an expert in fighting fiends, but he soon finds that he's being manipulated by one and sets out to gain his vengeance!
Into the Bayou is part of the Wandering Men's Fort Exploring series. The Wandering Men is a group of adventuring authors - we seek to do the things we write about, which we feel lends an air of realism and truth to our writing. Into the Bayou is a story about us heading out into the swamps of Louisiana in search of a ruined Civil War Battery! :)
Bishop's Mitre is a serialized fiction short story about a Scottish solider in WWII struggling to survive and still maintain his faith and his humanity in the midst of the horror and chaos of war.
Uncommon Evil is a pet project of one of the Wandering Men - he likes to take what are often "under used or utilized" monsters from the Monster Manuals and give them what it takes to truly be a formidable and evil opponent - this week - phase spiders! :)
This week @ The Wandering Men website - a free excerpt of Fiend Fighter, part five of Axiomatic Anarchy, an evil approach to phase spiders and more! Check it all out:
This week @ The Wandering Men webiste - a preview of a new race, a free novella excerpt, a fully statted NPC with tons of goodies and much, much more! Check it all out:
This week: a FREE 20+ page Player's Primer, free fiction, our first contest winner and more!
Check out what's been going on @ the Wandering Men's website over the past week!
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