July 22, 2003: Back! And Now Shipping . . .

First: Yes, indeed, the zine newsgroups may still be down as you read this. If they are, we're working on it.

Second: I'm back. It was a heck of a show, and I mean that in the good way. There will be a report tomorrow. Not today, because today is the day for:

New Release Announcements!

Look for all these in a game store near you in the very near future:

GURPS Character Builder 3.0
The newest version of the official character-creation program for GURPS. The GURPS Character Builder lets you design, optimize, store, modify, and print out characters in all the most popular genres. All the system's standard advantages, disadvantages, and skills are supported, with complete character creation rules from the GURPS Basic Set and GURPS Compendium I, as well as GURPS Magic, GURPS Grimoire, GURPS Psionics, GURPS Martial Arts, GURPS Supers, GURPS Wizards, GURPS Warriors, and even GURPS Fantasy Folk! Lots of extras, including a die roller, round out this package . . . and Version 3.0 adds a Template Builder function to make custom character creation even easier. (For Windows only. Sorry, Mac fans.)

CD-ROM in DVD case. Stock #5401, ISBN 1-55634-024-9. $24.95.

GURPS Shapeshifters
Shapeshifting . . . changing from one form to another . . . is a classic element of fantastic fiction. It might be caused by magic or by an alien biology . . . or by some wondrous gadget!

Here are complete rules for creating shapeshifter characters in GURPS, tying together material from several previous books. Many examples are included, from powerful individuals to whole races of shapeshifters that are the stars (or the villains) of their own campaign settings.

Create shapeshifter heroes, or fight body-switching menaces. From the traditional werewolf to the modern anime "house pet that becomes a giant robot," here are rules and creatures that every campaign can use.

128 pages. Stock #6533, ISBN 1-55634-452-X. $22.95.

Transhuman Space: High Frontier
"One giant leap for mankind . . ."

In the year 2100, Earth-Lunar space is the most densely populated area of the solar system outside Earth itself. Come visit:

• Earth orbit, buzzing with busy factories and bustling spaceports, under the watchful eye of rival orbital weapons platforms. But the biggest danger is not the threat of war but the ravages of 150 years of space junk, moving at 25,000 miles per hour!
• Lagrange 4, where giant cities in space glitter like jewels in the night, presided over by the massive O'Neill colony Islandia.
• Lagrange 5, the ghetto of the solar system, colonized by dreamers, ideologues and undercapitalized entrepreneurs. Sometimes a dream and a prayer aren't enough.
• The Moon. We're back, and this time with bulldozers. Luna is the solar system's industrial park, with Helium-3 mines that feed the fusion reactors on Earth, and more cybershell robots than people. But it's not all machines: the north and south poles are home to the pleasure domes of Moonshadow and thriving transhumanist Luna City. And on Luna's farside, a massive telescope array unravels the mysteries of the cosmos . . .

144 pages. Stock #6704, ISBN 1-55634-709-X. $24.95.

Share this post!