Maybe Spot or Fluffy are getting a little long in the tooth? Never fear! Get a brand new puppy or kitten that is an exact duplicate!
Clonaid® has a unique service to offer: they will clone you, your spouse, or your pet. Well, for legal reasons, they will start with pets. But once they get their lab built on some Caribbean island where human cloning isn't illegal, you too can be cloned for only $200,000.
This is a venture of The Raëlian Movement, a religion based on the idea that extraterrestrials (the Elohim of the Old Testament) genetically-engineered humans in the distant past.
Submitted by J. Campbell
His web page on the Formerly Known as Wired War, has been updated with the latest developments.
-- Steve Jackson
This is not a review, for I have not played the game yet. This is just a "heads up." It was great fun to read; it looks like it might be fun to play, with the right crowd. Despite the light approach, I can tell that this will not be an easy game to play well. It is also, despite the Baron's claim (or, as he is sure to correct me, the claim of his publisher, for the Baron never lies) not a roleplaying game in any generally-understood sense; it's a game about making up stories and, in your turn, harassing other storytellers. Now, these are skills that are useful in roleplaying, too, but that doesn't make this an RPG.
No harm; I'd rather see something new (which this is) than Yet Another Set of Roleplaying Rules. If I can round up three or four congenial loonies who are willing to try it, I'll essay a game and write a review for Pyramid.
-- Steve Jackson
Our East Coast MIBs have risen to the occasion. NE Regional Director Steve Fritz is taking charge, ably assisted by Baltimore cell leader Seth Cohen and Bronx/Manhattan cell leader Matt Lee, and various other henchmen, ne'er-do-wells and Suspicious Characters. Gaming will happen, there will be a convention booth complete with Worldcon specials and (knock on wood) GURPS Discworld.
-- Steve Jackson
PS: The "Altoids" link at the top of the above referenced page is naughty. If you are under 18 years old, you should be a responsible net user and not look at it. Just bookmark it until you reach the government-approved age for naughty. On the other hand, if you are 18 or over and of an experimental turn of mind, remember: Techniques gleaned from a humor site might not have the exact effect that the humorist led you to expect. In other words, this just might be another Game That Should Not Be Played. I don't think I want to be much more explicit.
-- Evil Stevie
Melissa Brunson has just joined us as Print Buyer. She recently graduated from SWT with a degree in commercial art.Her hobbies include gaming (tabletop, LARP, or online) . . . though she comments, "I gave up on Call of Cthulhu years ago after I was ALWAYS the first to die or go insane." She also enjoys reading sci-fi/fantasy authors such as Anne McCaffrey and Madeline L'Engle, and writing her own short stories.
Melissa was a military brat; she's lived in Texas, Utah, Maryland and Labrador, Canada. She's also visited Pennsylvania, New York, Virginia, and Washington.
As for
So it will PROBABLY still make it to the stores by mid-September; we now need for the printer not to have any problems, because we have used up our slack. Watch this space for updates.
Big thanks to everybody who made this come out: print buyers Monica Stephens and Melissa Brunson pressed into service as proofreaders, copiers and indexers, Alain Dawson slamming the art in there, author Loren Wiseman tweaking (or adding) sidebars until the very last moment, and most of all Jack Elmy and Gene Seabolt, doing Quark layout with one side of the brain and editing with the other. We couldn't have done it without you. Shoot, we wouldn't be US without you . . .
-- Steve Jackson
This Christmas season, The Discovery Channel/Nature Co. will feature Dino Hunt in its line of specialty stores.
We're very excited about the game being introduced to the shopping-mall retail environment. Check out your local The Nature Co. store in October.
-- Gene Seabolt
![[ GURPS Egypt ]](/gurps/books/Egypt/img/cover-sm.jpg)
Now the GURPS Traveller death march can start in earnest . . .
And, since the GURPS Basic Set is up for reprint in a few months, we'll run some hardbacks of that one, too. Again, no details yet . . . this is just an early warning.
West End Games Press Release
For General Release
7/21/98
West End Games and DC Comics have jointly decided to suspend the DC Universe RPG project. We regret any disappointment this may cause the many fans of the DC line.
Al Koenig created these lovely INWO montages for use as desktop wallpaper. There's an 800x600 version as well as a 1024x768 version. Thanks, Al!
Of course, invariably there's turnover - people move on, get too busy, etc. We recently had two new volunteers join us; Emily Dresner is the new In Nomine web editor, and Greg Henle is our new GURPS web editor.
Karen Friesen, our Dino Hunt web editor, and Sam Falco, our Knightmare Chess web editor, have had to step down, and now we're seeking volunteers to help with those sites. If you're interested, check out the Online Editors page to see what you're getting into, and send mail to Kira.
An online review of Cyber Rights is currently viewable at Salon Magazine – drop by and read for yourself!
-- Steve Jackson
Is there anything that your conspiracy needs? Well, Loompanics, Unlimited probably has a book to tell you how to get it, how to do it, how to make sure no one sees you do it, and if they do see you what to do about it. They publish and sell an enormous variety of books on such topics as fake identification, the underground economy, revenge, home weapon and bomb manufacture, torture, Anarchism, drug manufacture, lockpicking, surveillance, prison survival, and Big Brother.
Hmmm, is there anything I'm missing? Oh, yes. Reality Creation.
After too many years out of print, Killer will be reprinted for a September release. I'm deciding now what to add to the new printing. Comments, anyone? If you've added your own weapons, scenarios, or whatever to Killer, how about telling me about them?
-- Steve Jackson
He promises an update to his page Real Soon Now. Good luck, Walter . . .
Christopher Weuve also points out "It might also be worth noting that WJW is a former game designer himself, with FGU's Privateers and Gentlemen and its companion, the Hearts of Oak miniatures rules, to his credit."
-- Steve Jackson
Walter Jon Williams is a very talented SF writer (and also, in person, one of the Good Guys). Among other things, he was one of the group that created the Wild Cards series. More than a decade ago, Walter wrote Hardwired, one of the definitive "cyberpunk" novels. We wanted to do a GURPS Hardwired worldbook, but R. Talsorian beat us to the license, and their Hardwired supplement was a fine piece of work.At any rate, Walter has been having a little trouble (okay, a LOT of trouble) with Wired Magazine. As he tells it, they killed a computer game deal for Hardwired by sending a legal threat to the company that was going to publish it. Recently, he set up a web page to tell the story. Apparently this got the attention of the magazine's lawyers in a way that no earlier negotiations had achieved :-)
Cheers for Walter. I'm a firm believer in going public when you can't settle a problem in private. Governments and big corporations don't LIKE having their dirty laundry dragged out. They think it's horribly unfair that they can't push people around in a dark, quiet place of their own choosing. Well, welcome to the Nineties. Welcome to the Web. Word gets out . . .
I have enjoyed Wired for years, and, ironically, they were part of the newsblitz that dragged the Secret Service out into the light. But it really seems that something has gone wrong there . . . somebody at Wired may be having just a little too much fun being a Big Rich Company. Walter wrote Hardwired (and licensed it in the game biz) YEARS before Wired magazine appeared, and if anybody has a pre-emptive trademark right here, it's not the magazine . . .
So check out Walter's page and see what YOU think. If you support him, tell him . . . and tell Wired, too. They read their e-mail.
If the Y2K problem, the release of Armageddon, and the predictions of the Church of the SubGenius weren't enough spice for your Millenium Fever, this might satisfy.
At the beginning of August, I'll be arriving in Austin, to take a staff position here at Steve Jackson Games. Working with Gene Seabolt, I'll be part of the New Media Department. My primary job will be production work on the eagerly awaited GURPS CD-ROM, with planned sidelines including some much-needed archiving, and work with the many shareware and freeware authors who've created programs for use with our games. The upshot of all of this will be more cool toys for your computer, both from us and from the fans!
Outside the office, I'll still be writing games, including GURPS, of course: GURPS Black Magic is on my plate even now . . . Watch this space, and my own site (The Blue Room), for details.
-- S. John Ross
It wasn't easy, but GURPS Discworld went to the printer this weekend. Special thanks to all who put in extra hours to get the project done -- Celeste Hollister, Monica Stephens, Gene Seabolt, Steve Jackson and especially Jack "King of the All-Nighters" Elmy.It's been a while since I've been this proud of one of our books. Discworld absolutely rocks, with great writing from Phil Masters, Mike Ford and Terry Pratchett himself, and tons of amazing art from Paul Kidby. This is a big book, too -- 240 pages, including a complete copy of GURPS Lite in the back -- making GURPS Discworld a complete, stand-alone roleplaying game!
GURPS Discworld will ship to distributors in mid-August, and will be available shortly thereafter in stores everywhere.
-- Scott Haring
The first draft of Behind the Claw: the Spinward Marches Sourcebook (the first supplemental product for GURPS Traveller) is now in playtest. Pyramid subscribers can access the playtest files here. If you're not already a subscriber, join today!Let the playtest commence!
EagleNet: Citizens Against the New World Order – that's the title of this mega-mall of conspiracy sites. Illuminati, Area 51, Earthquake Projectors, Clinton murders, alien abductions, the Gathering of Zion, solar engineering, faces on Mars; just about any modern conspiracy you want. They also have a mailing list for the latest breaking conspiracy news. Lots of pictures, lots of content, lots of conspiracies.
"We believe that this [New World Order] agenda, which seeks the overthrow of the U.S. CONSTITUTION, the DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE and the BILL OF RIGHTS is being carried out by a collaborative alien-human military force based in the Neu Schwabia region of Antarctica." – from the EagleNet web page.
– Submitted by SeanMike Whipkey
We're bringing an old favorite back into print . . . GURPS Arabian Nights went to the printer a few days ago and will be out by the end of July.Kudos to Monica Stephens for fixing all the errata and spiffing up the graphic design the old-fashioned way -- with a waxer, light table and X-Acto knife! Sometimes we depend too heavily on modern technology . . .
-- Scott Haring
See the Wired story on what did and didn't happen.
You can buy our INWO SubGenius game anyway. It still works. And I still have MY slack, thanks to "Bob"! Fnord.
-- Steve Jackson
The Origins Awards were announced Friday night, and we were pleased to be honored by the voters and the Academy of Adventure Gaming Arts & Design in several categories.In Nomine was honored as the Best Graphic Presentation of a Roleplaying Game, Adventure, or Supplement of 1997. Congratulations to Derek Pearcy, Jeff Koke and Dan Smith for their excellent work.
In addition, two products with SJ Games connections were named to the Adventure Gaming Hall of Fame. Illuminati Play-by-Mail, designed by Draper Kauffman and based on our Illuminati, made the Hall, and so did the wargame magazine Fire & Movement, which we published back in the '80s and was subsequently published by several other companies.
You can read the complete list of winners in this Pyramid news story.
-- Scott Haring
I refer, of course, to the apocalyptic predictions of the Church of the SubGenius, which teaches us quite clearly that the world will be invaded and destroyed by aliens on July 5, 1998. Now, personally, I have enough faith in "Bob" that I think he just might be able to cut some kind of last-minute deal with the Powers that Be to give us a little bit more time. But I'm no fool; my Church membership card is safely in my wallet, where it will act as a beacon to the Pleasure Saucers that will be picking up the faithful of the Church and carrying them to unimaginable hedonistic bliss just ahead of the holocaust.
If you want a quick rant which may or may not explain a bit more about the Church of the SubGenius, be my guest . . .
-- Steve Jackson
Read all the details in the Pyramid news story, if you're a subscriber, that is.
-- Scott Haring
Reinforcing the overworked staff in our warehouse is Melissa Dotson, who will split time between Shipping and our Direct Mail department.If Melissa's name, face or voice seems familiar to you, it's because she comes to us after a long tenure over at Illuminati Online. Welcome aboard!
-- Scott Haring
The Knights Templar are mentioned in almost as many conspiracies as the Illuminati. What was their relationship to the Masons? Did they worship Satan in the form of the demon Baphomet? Why was their order destroyed by Philip the Fair? Or maybe you just want to know what their nifty uniforms looked like for your next SCA persona.
These questions and many more are answered at
the History And Mythos Of The Knights Templar site.
I had a great time. With the help of the Houston and Austin cells of the Men In Black, I ran the Pirate Game (Still no pirate game page to link to. Soon, though, I promise.) Got to hear the Sinister Sirens play. Got to watch a very unusual martial arts demo. Good convention. They've asked me back, and if next year's dates don't conflict with anything, I just might go. So if you're anywhere near Houston, watch for it.
So now I'm back. And now I'm gone again. Off to Indianapolis, to InConJunction.. This is a big, old, general interest SF con with a strong gaming track. The featured guests are Mike Resnick and Vincent DiFate! (Guess I'd better take some things to get autographed . . . ) I'm going to be running a 6-hour multiplayer Ogre game Friday night. Sunday, of couse, is the end of the world according to the Church of the SubGenius, so if you're anywhere nearby, come by and see me . . . in case it's your last chance!
-- Steve Jackson
Let the trumpets blow! (But not all of them . . .) Book IV of The Revelations Cycle, Fall of the Malakim has gone to the printer.Fall of the Malakim takes place in Los Angeles (and includes tons of adventure ideas for your own campaign that can be played out in the mis-named City of Angels). A Malakite of David has earned his wrath, and to teach him a lesson, David has sent him to demon-dominated L.A. with instructions to observe and report only -- not to attack, not to destroy. It's against his nature, but the pain caused will be a useful lesson . . . besides, David figures, Malakim can't Fall, so there's no real danger, right?
Right?
Fall of the Malakim will be in stores in late July.
-- Scott Haring
