ThrowiGames News and Updates


Current and Future News

November 25th, 2024

2024 Plans

After a pretty good year of Kickstarter projects and a successful ShireCon, I'm evaluating my list of projects, both new and unfinished, and ideas for new material...

I enjoyed writing a lot of small adventures this year. I produced several and some have done well financially. Most result in a financial "break even" result though. While I plan to continue to write these small adventures, I think I'm going to change my strategy somewhat for 2024...

As of this writing, I plan to release one more Shadowdark adventure (The Dreaming City), Back to BasiX #13 and Gamma Zine #4, and a ShireCon exclusive. I was planning to release more, but it's time to finish a long standing project or two (see the next section)...

I'm putting most everything else on hold to finish the Desolantia RPG in 2024 - players may not get the boxed set, but I'll release the three core books at least.

A 2nd leg of the Desolantia project, code name "TBG", is also targeted for late 2024. More on this project next year.

All Things Desolantia

I've been working on Desolantia the RPG for several years - I think seven years now - and it's nearly time to get it in the hands of players. I initially intended on producing a boxed set on Kickstarter, but that may be a big bite to take from the start.

I think I'll instead release the booklets one by one on Lulu,com, starting with the Player's Guide (the most important book of the 3-4). I hope to have it ready on Q1 of 2024.

What is Desolantia the RPG? It's a post-apocalyptic fantasy RPG built around three primary and three secondary attributes, and nearly 100 skills. Action resolution uses a binary mechap>nic (0 or 1) with pooled dice based on experience and skill ranks. Dice are cast with a target value required to succeed. The game is old school in that the damage points of characters are low and the monsters are far more deadly than the heroes.

More details for this game system will coming soon in the form of videos, podcasts, and interviews. Stay tuned!


Older News

After adding the latest news, I'll use this section to keep older news and information.

June and July...

We've started to ramp up for ShireCon 2023, opening up event badges and beginning our local advertising. Game submissions are right around the corner.

The draft for the new ShireCon exclusive adventure is nearly done. "Prayer Quest" (working title) is a single-player adventure for a mid-level Cleric. Chet Minton (a special guest of ShireCon) is the cover and interior artist for the new book. Attendees at ShireCon will get first crack at the book - remaining copies will be sold after the convention.

I'm fulfilling the Back to BasiX Kickstarter (issue #12) - I've delivered all the PDF rewards, but I'm waiting on the PoD test to return clean before I send out any print-on-demand rewards. Looks like July for those rewards.

I'm planning to release two books straight to DriveThruRPG next month: "You Should Never Have Come Here" for B/X and "Prison-Pit of the Agelast King" for Shadowdark RPG. Check the full product list page for more details and links in the coming month.

2023 Announcement

A belated Happy New Year to all my customers, co-conspirators, and friends! May 2023 be your best year yet!

This announcement’s release was planned for mid-January, but with the rollercoaster ride of Wizard of the Coast’s OGL news dominating the internet, I decided to hold off until the dust settled.

And settle, it did! Indie publishers throughout the land rejoiced when the news dropped that our precious OGL 1.0a was snatched back from the dumpster fire that had been encircling it in previous weeks. Those of us worried about producing work for our beloved game systems of yesteryear no longer needed to fret about our futures – we could continue to make zines, adventures, and supplements for the old games we love. This announcement makes it easy to reveal the ThrowiGames line-up for the first half of 2023 – everything is back on the schedule!

Read the FULL ANNOUNCEMENT HERE.

March Project Statuses

There is a lot on my plate this month and although it's going to be busy, there will be several long-standing things wrapped up.

I've just submitted the completed Epilogue to Trouble at Mill Manor to my editor for his review. This was a hard thing to complete since the Kickstarter didn't even break even - the epilogue just costs more money. But the goal was met and so it will be added. Another 100 encounters, bringing the book up to 555 encounters!

Jeff Madding continues to work on smaller illustrations (spot pieces) for Trouble at Mill Manor. I'm hoping he can complete another 4-5 before we close the door on artwork. There are going to be some blank half and quarter pages (that were intended to be filled with artwork) but since the goals weren't met, we skipped the many extra we had planned.

I have three parts left to complete Back to BasiX #12 (new monster, and two adventure reviews). I initially was going to release it on DriveThruRPG, but now I'm considering Kickstarter to test the add-on feature (issues 1-11 in PDF and 1-10 in PoD). I'll decide once I complete the work and get it off to the editor.

This month marks the start of ShireCon 5 work - talking with hotels and private schools in the area, and setting up the TableTop Events site for the con. This year, we're adding an extra session on Friday night to get 4 total sessions. Much more new on SHireCon to come.

Trouble at Mill Manor KICKSTARTER!

We’ll start February off with a choose-your-own-adventure-style book called Trouble at Mill Manor. This book is the first in what will likely be a new series called Seize Your Destiny. Using my free-to-download CHAOS system, this solo adventure book takes the reader through the grounds of an abandoned manor in search of missing family members.

An excerpt from the book’s introduction:

“On the outskirts of town stands a decrepit and abandoned mill, once owned by the now-missing Ulbrecht family. Most would steer clear of its ominous facade, but a reward in silver awaits the brave soul who can disentangle the mystery that lurks behind its doors. You've heard stories of the family's rumored connections to travelers both strange and grotesque. You could use the bounty, but you can't help but ponder the real cost of accepting this tenebrous task. What will await you within the shadowy halls of Mill Manor?”

Trouble at Mill Manor will launch on Kickstarter on February 6th and will run for two full weeks (ending February 20th).

Where Do We Go From Here?

While we all knew that supply shortages were going to hit the U.S., many of us indie publishers didn't see paper and cardboard shortages until early 2021 and then subsequently felt the pain of these shortages late 2021 and into 2022. Many of our projects have been paused while the world tries to get back to producing the supplies we need.

Many of us have shifted to primarily digital rewards while others have put their production on hold. I've slowed down my work to avoid failure in delivery (print or print-on-demand), choosing only to produce smaller works or pieces that I know will sell well digitally. I'm concerned about several key projects for mid-year and will have to re-evaluate my options as each week passes.

I'll continue to create work, stashing it away for the future or shifting it to third parties. I'm trying to avoid the headaches of trying to find printers who can reliably access paper to print books. For now, I'm happy rebuilding my private stash of completed work.

Mork Borg Kickstarter - CANCELED

Well, I thought I could pull this one off. Three completed, full-color, hardcover books for Mork Borg for a fairly reasonable price. But after several days, I was still short of the $1,000 goal. I'm still not sure why this one did so poorly. Even other contributors, those that I trust to tell me the truth, were perplexed about the stagnancy of the project.

I followed my model of fully completed work *before* I launched the project. Those that follow my work know that I complete books before I launch. Yet, this for some reason wasn't enough. On the last day before I canceled the project, I had six straight backer reversals. I was and remain perplexed.

I have a few ideas of what to do next. I'm going to rethink the project and retry it in a month or two. Hopefully, I'll figure out where the sweet spot is the next time.

What's in Store for 2022?

There is so much exciting news for 2022 and beyond! First and foremost, my flag ship system should launch this year: Desolatia is a post-apocalyptic fantasy RPG. I'm planning to release the three core books as PDFs first with printed books and a boxed set to follow. Additionally, a Patreon site that fully supports the new system will launch in early 2022 to provide more Desolantia content for fans.

What else? Well, I'm nearly finished with two hard cover Mork Borg adventures. Instead of launching them on Kickstarter, I'm going to probably going to push them straight to DriveThruRPG. Look for these in February or March.

An eleventh issue of Back to BasiX is nearly ready! I hope to have the PDFs out in January and print-on-demands in February/March. These will also be available on DriveThruRPG.

A large North Texas exclusive adventure will be out in print in June. "Beyond the Lost City" takes over where Moldvay left off, and content from myself and Charley Phipps should produce an 80-96 page book! It will be in the typical tribute style of monochrome adventures we've made for NTX in years past. If you want a copy, you'll need to get yourself to that con in June!

Lastly, work continues on two website applications. A collector site I've been working on for a few years (on and off) is nearing completion. 2022 looks to be the year for its release. Additionally, a secret project is about 50% completed and may sneak into the end of 2022. It depends if I have enough time to do it all!

2021 Wrap-up

We had so much planned for 2021 (and 2020, for that matter). Obviously, a pandemic got in the way of a lot of that. Not from a creative persepective - I used my time wisely and got a lot done - but from a supply chain point of view. With paper and cardboard getting tougher and tougher to get, costs rising, and publishing schedules drifting to0 far out, I made the call to hold several big projects indefinietely.

So, what did I actually get done and publish this year? I dipped my toe into new systems (Five Torches Deep and Mork Borg), publishing three adventures for the former and preparing two for the latter. I wrote a massive adventure for Pacesetter that funded on Kickstarter in the end of 2020 that is starting to get delivered now. My most successful Kickstarter project funded and was delivered in 2021 as well: the Back to BasiX Compilation hard cover!

Work continued on projects that were supposed to launch this year - refinements and additions to existing work, mostly. I'm trying to set up 2022 (or maybe, 2023) in a huge way!

2020 NTX Books Printed

I picked up the two NTX books from the local printer today and they look great! I numbered and signed each copy tonight and will begin prepping them for mailing tomorrow and Thursday. I'm guessing I'll be able to start mailing them after the holiday but a few may sneak before the weekend.

There are only a few left over from the print run (more of the Gamma World than the Desolantia book). I'll hold on to those for a while before selling them later. I'll probably open up the PDFs on DriveThruRPG late next week. The print-on-demand books will probably be a late July or August offering.

Lost Lands World Anvil Subscriptions

I have been asked to provide an adventure each month for the first 12 months of the Level 3 Subscription for World Anvil - Lost Lands. The subscription service just went live last week and new subscribers should get the first book in the initial 6 book series right away. I'm currently writing the 5th book for this subscription level - I'm way ahead to ensure backers gets books every month!

For more information, visit the Frog God Games website!

20200620 Updates

I've finally closed down the pre-order links for the two NTX books, and have sent the file to my local printer. They have them on their list to print this week, likely by Friday. I should have them in my hands by the 30th and will begin mailing them after the July 4th holiday.

I'm not sure when I'll open up the PDF and PoD sales on DriveThruRPG for these books. Probably July for the PDF and later in the summer for the PoDs. Stay tuned!

Preorder Update (20200605)

NTX 2020 Preorders are finally available! Both books, "Last Vestige of Hope" and "Into the Charred Maw" are digest-sized books for Gamma World and Desolantia (new system from ThrowiGames later this year). Both will be available as print-on-demand books but are being offered here first, as signed and numbered premium prints.

These two books, offered in a premium print run, will only be available for a short time. You can find them HERE.

Preorders (20200524)

Although the North Texas RPG Con is moving toward a virtual event, it hasn't stopped my production of physical books for the show. I'll be taking preorders for two small, b&w digest books soon: "Last Vestige of Hope" (1E Gamma World) and "Inot the Charred Maw" (Desolantia, TG house system) are both through edit and awaiting final illustrations.

I'll post a link to the preorder page in the coming days.

ShireCon 2020 News (20200523)

More conventions, now including GameHoleCon 8, are canceling with mass gathering and social distancing rules continuing to prevent the gathering of gamers in large settings. Regardless of what you believe about the pandemic, the reality is that large gatherings can be dangerous. With most conventions of any size cancelnig their in-person events, caution dictates that we may have to follow suit.

I have questions out to the town and venue about gathering in Spetember. Their response will likely determine our status sooner than later. Stay tuned.

ShireCon News (20190731)

I have not been as diligent as I should be in updating the website on progress - I've been so busy! But here is a quick rundown of how things look... Eighteen events are approved and scheduled - there are no outstanding submissions at this time. There are no more 1pm slots but a couple of 9am slots remain. Also, the evening has lots of room for scheduled and pickup games. I've ordered a test print of two t-shirts - they arrive in the first week of August. The special con dice are in the mold now. We should se what they look like soon! Finally, I've begun ordering supplies - badge holders, lanyards, drawing tickets, and table covers. Next week, I'll order the new banner and roadsigns, and put up the t-shirts and dice for sale (I hope). Progress!

We added our fourth and final special guest: Tim Callahan! A prolific writer for several systems, Tim will be around to sign books and run a DCC Lankhmar game in the 1pm slot.

ShireCon News (20190615)

I've added two more events to the calendar in TableTop Events - one for my evening B/X game and the other for the Role Initiative, a great organization that runs D&D Adventurer League events. They will bring the first 5E game to ShireCon! We're still looking for more events (I know of two more GMs that have to submit games) - please consider running a game in the adternoon and/or evening slots!

I hope to complete the attendee bags in the next two weeks, and begin work on the exclusive adventure for the convention. I'll begin roughing out the con program soon, finishing it when we get closer to September and all the games have been submitted. The con is still 3 months away but as we all know, time flies - September 21st will be here in no time!

NTRPGCon News (20190514)

I should finish the NTX 2019 exclusive adventure tomorrow and have it off to the printer by the end of the week. This has been a bit of roller coaster, with content and art coming in later than I originally wanted. But, the folks I've worked with know that it's important to meet the deadline to have this book available for the convention. I'm hoping the last piece of art comes in today or tomorrow. All layout, edits and maps are 100% complete. All but a few pieces of interior art are placed and ready. Just looking for the final bits to fall into place in the next day or two.

I'll be running this exclusive adventure on Wednesday night (June 5th). I might even have one to give away to my players. They should have a few hundred for sale at the con for those looking to get this exclusive. I believe they'll have last year's reprinted again too.

ShireCon News (20190513)

Now that I'm through the heavy work for NTX, I've returned to ShireCon II planning and activity. I'm hoping to upgrade my "Thank You" coins this year - I'm talking with a craftsman about some really nice designs. The bags and logos have come in but I need a half day to put those together. I'm hoping for a couple of more cool little items for the swag bag, just have to finalize a couple of ideas first.

We're up to 40 badges, that's more than half of last year's total. I'm hoping we reach 100 participants this year! If you haven't purchased your badge yet, you can do so here.

New ShireCon Logo (20190421)

We're close to opening up event submission - probably in the next day or so. Watch for news here for the announcement. The biggest change to event submission this year is that we will only be accepting RPGs - no board games as scheduled events. There will still be tables for open gaming for board games but we'll reserve tables for RPGs. If we get close to the con date and there are still open slots, I may open them up for any submission. But for starters, RPGS only.

I'll also be listing t-shirts on the site for sale this week. I'm going to price them at $20 for Small to XL, and $30 fo 2X and up. You'll be able to find the t-shirts in the Merch section of TableTop.

Spring Cleaning Bundle (20190407)

**UPDATE: Offer has expired.** I'm offering a limited time only bundle of ThrowiGames books to try to clear the shelves for new stock in 2019. Three different bundle sizes are available, ranging from $15 to $45 for US locations only.

New ShireCon Logo (20190403)

Travis Hanson, an artist you may have seen in my Back to BasiX fanzine and Excursions covers, has just finished the new logo for this year's ShireCon. You can find it on the ShireCon II page. We'll be putting this logo on shirts, banners and programs.

I completed/published TWO fanzines in March - check out Back to BasiX and Gamma Zine at DriveThruRPG.com!

ShireCon 2 Badges Open! (20190324)

ith the website completed, I've announced that ShireCon badges are open for purchase. There are sponsorship, vendor, special guest, and attendee badges available here! I'll open event submission in the next 2-3 weeks - keep your eyes and ears open for that news.

New Website Live (20190323)

I've finally completedt the vast majority of the website, getting all but a couple of pages in working order. My goal was to get the ShireCon and home pages updated first - this has been accomplished. Next, I'll tackle the smaller pages, focusing on product details, last year's ShireCon and convention news. More to come!

New Website Work Begins (20190318)

I'm more than 75% done, adding product info and links throughout the site. The most important pages are done - both the home and the ShireCon II (2019) pages are ready to go. The timeline may move up to the end of this week. I'm anxious to get this done so that I can move on to other work.

A completely new website is under construction. It's not like I disliked the old one but it was time for something new, something fresh, something updated. I've found a style I like so I've begun changing it entirely. I hope to have it ready by the end of March.