Atomic Array, Episode 009, is out!

Featured Product: Kobold Quarterly 007
The Pick: The City of Lost Children
The Rant: 'My Driveway'

1ks give-away wrap-up.
KQ give-away begins.

Listen Now! Comments and link love welcome.

Want to learn more about Kobold Quarterly Issue 7? Read on...

- KQ7 Editorial: Fair Games or Fun Ones?
- Dungeon Mastering.com: What everybody ought to know about rogues
- Jonathan Drain's d20 Source: Powder Burn: Firearms in Dungeons & Dragons
- Gnome Stew: Troy's Crock Pot: At Full Gallop at the KQ Carnival
- Ogre Cave: Interview: Stan!
- Musings of the Chatty DM: Adventure Prep: Of Airships, Feys and Player Input
- Atomic Array: Episode 009: Kobold Quarterly 007

Drop by Kobold Quarterly.com to pick up your copy today!

We just released issue #6 of Kobold Quarterly. While uploading the files to the KQ store, I had to input the table of contents. Wow! I didn't realize how many great articles we had until I looked at them as a group. Here are some highlights:

'The Truth About Tieflings' by David "Zeb" Cook: As the man who created the tiefling, Zeb's got a unique perspective on their crooked past.

'Retreat into the East' with Monte Cook: KQ's getting Cook'd alright. Monte's a hobby game pioneer. Don't miss this interview.

'Secret Messages' by Tim Connors: I love the idea of enigmas and riddles and... secret messages. Tim's got the experience to back this article up, and it shows.

'Blood Magic' by Phillip Larwood: Ever since I played my first adventure in Rokugan, I've been obsessed with blood magic. You will be too, after reading this article.

BTW, if you're attending GenCon this week, make sure to drop by Booth 2515 and say hi. I'll be hiding next to all the Green Ronin minions...

Take the Poll: Which edition of D&D should Kobold Quarterly support?

I'm back in the States - at least for now. Wolfgang (the_monkey_king) picked me up from SeaTac, and sitting on his dash was a pristine copy of the latest issue of Kobold Quarterly.

It's beautiful... so purdy.

One thing you'll notice is that, with Issue #4, we've switched from saddle stitch to perfect binding. There are some great letters in this issue as well - my favorite being the one we received from Afghanistan.

Every issue gets better and better, with solid content and increased production values. Have any of you had a chance to pick it up? What was your favorite article? Any requests for future features? Anything we can improve?

Side Note: Kobold Sage, Skip Williams, recently spoke with the crew at Pulp Gamer. Inside Track, Episode 042 was released today. Have a listen.

Kobold Quarterly has a new advertising client...

Yes!

Kobold-in-Chief, Wolfgang Baur (the_monkey_king), has been invited to be the guest of honor at Wordsmith Hall. Don't be alarmed, loyal minions, thinking you won't be able to attend. Wordsmith Hall is not located in a real-life town; it's a location in Second Life.

Date: 03 February 2008
Time: 3:30 PM (PST)

What is Second Life?
Second Life is a 3-D virtual world entirely created by its Residents. One of those residents is New York Times Bestselling author Michael A. Stackpole. He hosts writing groups and other events at ThirdLife Books and Wordsmith Hall.

What is ThirdLife Books?
ThirdLife Books is the hub of a community of like-minded individual interested in creativity and exploring their full potential across a variety of media and areas of interest. It's a home for readers of fantastic fiction, for writers both beginning and accomplished, gamers, podcasters and anyone else who enjoys intellectual stimulation, is curious and just enjoys hanging out with a lively group of thier peers. ThirdLife offers classes, writers' groups, contests, meet the author events and a plethora of other reasons to get together.

How to attend.
If you would like to attend this event, you must first sign up for a free account at Second Life, then download and install the SL software on your computer. Once you have an account, fire up the software and click on this link, or the Wordsmith Hall image above, and you will be taken to the castle.

Everyone attending this event will have the opportunity to join the Second Life Kobold Army, and receive a special (FREE) t-shirt only available during the event.

Web Exclusive from Kobold Quarterly
The D&D Monster Manual states that the organisation of liches is solitary or a troupe (assisted by vampires). But what happens if love truly conquers all? Could two evil spellcasters decide that life without each other is simply impossible?

Here are two scenarios between entangled lovers in the mortal world, Kith and his lover Leptonia. Both are accomplished spellcasters who wish for the immortality of lichdom. Kith has already attained his undeath, and his lover wishes only one act to precede joining him – their marriage. Shortly thereafter, Leptonia becomes a willing participant in the ceremony to become a lich.

This lich's tale expands on the material of the "Ecology of the Lich," written by Richard Pett, and published in Kobold Quarterly #3.

Read this article, now.

If you've been thinking about subscribing to Kobold Quarterly, but haven't pulled the trigger yet, now's the time.

While supplies last, each new paper + PDF subscriber will receive a FREE set dice from Q-Workshop. I've held them in my hand, and these aren't cheap hunks of plastic. They're really nice dice.

But forget about the promotion for a moment, because KQ is getting bigger and better all the time. The January issue clocks in at 56 pages, with offerings from Keith Baker, Ed Greenwood, Ari Marmell, Wolfgang Baur, and more. You can't get this kind of gaming content anywhere.

Arbeyach, Lord of the Locusts by Ari Marmell
Buzzzz! The master of famine, decay, and bureaucracy strikes down his foes like a plague. Or possibly a swarm. Is there a plague template?

Star & Shadow Magic
The secret school of Zobeck magic, found nowhere else! The heavens part, the stars descend, and we reveal the secrets of this uniquely Zobeckian form of magery.

SUBSCRIBE NOW!

Great gaming content!

From great authors!

At a great price!

I've been working on a new website for Kobold Quarterly all evening. Actually, I've been doing it off and on for the better part of the last couple months. The creative juices are flowing, and I find myself thinking about:

What do people want from their gaming magazine's website?
Do they just want a place to get information on the magazine? Do they really want yet another set of forums to go to? What about information on related topics--new releases, conventions, etc.?

What do people want from their gaming magazine?
I know, we all want great articles about GMing, playing, etc. We all want new fluff to drop into our games. We all like a solid bite of crunch to gnaw on. But what else? What about an article on snacks for gamers (Hershey Kyusses™, anyone?)? What about one on how to build a gaming room ("Pimp My GameRoom")?

How much advertising is too much?
If you could have the same amount and quality of content, would you rather pay extra so that you didn't have to look at ads? Where's the breaking point?

What kind of cool promotions could we run?
Subscriber swag? What?

See? I play with a website, and look what happens to me!