One of the things Rising Phoenix Games is planning to do in 2018 is to step away from social media.
Maybe our approach hasn’t been right, but we haven’t seen much interaction or sales coming off Twitter, Facebook, or Google+. I’ll keep those channels open, but we’ll be focusing more on making great games. We’ll keep in contact with you through this blog and our email newsletter.
Marketing is important, and using social media to reach customers is useful, but I don’t need to compete with all the other businesses trying to take your hard-earned cash. This is also why our email and blog efforts are going to be more useful, filled with content you can use, rather than the hard sell.
The Patreon Controversy
I’m also looking at starting up a Patreon page, specifically to fund the projects that Bob Storrar and I know will be well received. Our University of Scarthey line, including our Choose Your Destiny solo adventures line, both launched this year, and have been well received. We’d like to give them the attention they deserve.
To be clear, our adoption of Patreon, if we do go that route, is not about people giving us money. It’s about fans being able to pay for the things they love and want. It’s a business, not a request for handouts.
What patron tier rewards would you like to see from us? Let us know in the comments below.
New Store—Coming Soon
You might notice that we’re working on our very own online store. We’re aiming to make it as easy as possible for you to get our games, and those of our affiliates, right here, on RisingPhoenixGames.com. The new store will launch sometime in the new year, around the same time that we announce our Patreon plans.
Here’s a little game I play at home over the December holidays. I call it…
Santa’s Spy
Santa has a man on the inside, and it’s your job to coordinate his mission. A day or so after your Christmas tree goes up, he’ll deploy in the field, and just before it’s time to clean away the decorations, he’ll return to base with his valuable intel.
“They’ll never spot me behind these giant balls!” Photo credit: TJ Holowaychuk
The Operative
I use a 12 inch action figure or, for smaller trees, plastic ninjas, like those plastic army men.
Deployment
One night, just after your tree goes up, and while the rest of the house is asleep, sneak over to the tree and hide your operative inside. The goal is for him to remain unseen, so hide him well.
And don’t tell anyone he’s there, because that would be like M saying, “hey everyone, James Bond is a spy.”
Winning
You win the game if you safely extract the operative before all the decorations get packed away and no one has spotted him.
Losing
“Daddy, daddy, there’s a ninja in the tree!” Sorry bud, you lose.
Bonus
Up the difficulty by hiding your operatives gear inside Christmas tree decorations. Do this some time after deployment and be sure to remove it when you extract your operative.
Have fun.
Do you have any games you play over the holidays? Let us know in the comments below.
Christmas is coming, but for a lot of people around the world Christmas isn’t a time of happiness and presents. When you’re struggling to feed your family, Christmas is just another day.
This season, we’re calling on gamers to help us collect rice and upper-cut hunger in the face, at least for the season. Our goal is to collect 1 million grains of rice by Christmas, and we can only do it with your help.
To help, join us on FreeRice.com, answer some questions, and boom! You’ve made a difference.
All it takes is a little of your time, and you can leave the game running in a tab, for whenever you’ve got a free moment.
Till next time, Tell Thrilling Tales.
Have a great weekend and a happy Thanksgiving to our US friends.
Here’s a telling screen capture from a recent Google search.
Where does it snow in Africa?
If you’re wondering, it doesn’t snow in Africa. Kilimanjaro, which is often cited as an example of something African with snow on top, is completely snow free. The mountain, which is probably in every picture of Africa, ever — even the pictures with the pyramids and the sphinx, if you squint hard enough — is toasty warm, year round.
The white, snow like stuff is made up of frozen water molecules trying very hard to look like snow.
Do they have snow in New Zealand?
No, New Zealand gets zero snowfall.
For the filming of the Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit they had to fly in boxes of Rice Krispies, bleach them, then grate them over the film’s many, many mountain locations. It took several orcs and the cast of Flight of the Conchords many days of back-breaking work to achieve the desired effect.
And if you don’t believe me, maybe try googling it.
Rising Phoenix Games has some new, exciting titles for you.
Climb into the Praetor or Vindicator Class Kaiju-Hunter mecha and take the battle to the stars.
Mecha—A Field Guide introduces two new mecha along with all the rules for operating, customizing, and combat with these iron giants, all fully compatible with the Starfinder Roleplaying Game. Three powered armor suits, new weapons, and armor upgrades expand your ironclad arsenal.
Forest of Secrets is the newest installment in the Choose Your Destiny series of solo and 1-on-1 adventures, compatible with fifth edition fantasy. Written by David N. Ross, it includes a useful forest generator for use in your games. Can you survive the Forest of Secrets?
Death Queen and the Life Stone kicks off the Choose Your Destiny series with an undead queen attempting to rise again. Can you escape her trapped temple and stop her, before it’s too late?
Get the most out of Death Queen and Forest of Secrets with Welcome to Scarthey, your guide to the world of arcane studies.
Inside you’ll find details of the University of Scarthey, introductions to key NPCs, and plenty of player options.
Last up, Gear Heart is an encounter involving agents of the University of Scarthey attempting to uncover the secrets of a mysterious tower.
A short adventure for a party of 4 characters between level 1 and 5, compatible with the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game.
Have a great adventure Rodney Sloan Rising Phoenix Games
We are sort of on YouTube, but you can expect to see this little Rising Phoenix Games Logo Reveal clip at the front of more of our stuff in the future.
The Rising Phoenix Games Logo Reveal was created by my brother, Donovan Sloan, who does excellent illustration, animation, and graphic work.
The Stone of Ashirai—said to contain power over life itself—is rumored to lie within the tomb of the goddess Ashirai, the Death Queen. Can you be the first to reach her tomb, find the stone, and survive to tell the tale?
Character Class: Cleric or Fighter Character Level: 1st Play Mode: Solo / 1-on-1 System: fifth edition fantasy Setting: Scarthey, the University of the Arcane
This is our latest cover, a piece for our first product in a new line of solo / 1-on-1 adventures.
Bob Storrar did the art and layout, and you need to see inside this, because it’s beautifully done. The guy has real talent.
So, who is she and why does she matter?
Ashirai was once a fair and beautiful queen, who turned to necromancy to secure her power. That power came at a price, as she slowly lost her famed beauty to the corrupting energy of her magic. She took to wearing a cobra hooded mask carved to resemble her as she once was, and became known as the Death Queen, a powerful ruler with legions at her command.
From J. K. Rowling’s Hogwarts to Terry Pratchett’s Unseen University, magic schools and universities abound with fantastic adventures. Now you can join the adventure and enroll at Scarthey, University of the Arcane. Live and breathe the magic, wander the halls alongside wise wizards, discover hidden secrets, and battle fearsome foes.
Welcome to Scarthey — University of the Arcane is the ultimate student’s guide to the University of Scarthey, including everything you need for fantastic adventures in the exciting and unpredictable world of magical studies. Compatible with the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game, this 66 page book includes:
An exploration of the tumultuous history of the University of Scarthey.
An introduction to the staff and faculties of the University.
A look at the four Houses of Scarthey, including campaign traits for each House.
A map of the University and descriptions of all the major locations around Scarthey’s campus.
A guide to the surrounding town of Scartheyton.
A practical guide to the gruesome sport of cackleball and the competitive sport of dragon boat racing.
Both a Single Page Spread PDFand a Double Page Spread PDF, stunningly illustrated, for your viewing pleasure.
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What a month.
I’ve got this personal vendetta against distraction, but March had me against the ropes.
Getting sick is no fun, but I did learn a lot from it.
For one, working in the games industry means I get to help others relax, have fun, and spend time with friends. March showed me just how important that can be — there were some bleak moments when escaping into game and time with gaming friends was very uplifting.
Secondly, I recommitted myself to the three pillars of my work:
Coding
Game design
Writing
Eventually I’d like to be doing what I do for the tabletop for online games. The coding side has been something I haven’t given proper time to of late, but you can expect some interesting things from me in the future.
New Products — Contagion’s Kiss
“O true apothecary, thy drugs are quick. Thus with a kiss I die.” — Romeo, in Romeo and Juliet, by William Shakespeare
When the city’s water supply is threatened by extortionists, the heroes are called on to infiltrate the fortress of a powerful outsider. Can they get in, get even, and get out, before it’s too late?
Contagion’s Kiss is an adventure for a party of 4th level characters. It can be used in any fantasy city or town where wells or cisterns are the main source of water. The Pathfinder Roleplaying Game GameMastery Guide and Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Bestiary are required for play. This adventure includes creatures detailed in Chilling Curiosities — A Field Guide.
This adventure includes a full scale, printable poster sized map of the adventure.
We’ve been hard at work on a number of products. Here they are, in no particular order:
Today I handed over the final draft to Bob Greyvenstein for layout for our new setting, Scarthey, which our Field Guides are a part of. More on this soon.
Also for Scarthey we’ve got a bunch of adventures in the works, from both new and experienced writers. I’ll talk about that, too, soon.
We received the final draft for a new, fast paced modern spec ops game by Basil Koufos, designer of Might. We’re very excited to be publishing his latest creation and absolutely love the system and all that it stands for.
The Nightscape RPG for the Nightscape Series and Imperiad Entertainment is off to a good start. We’ve defined much of the core mechanics and have some interesting things we’re looking forward to trying.
Steampunk Musha rolls on with a number of books in and out of editing. As the line editor I’ve been learning a lot from the talented individuals who make up the team at Fat Goblin Games — they’ve got some great stuff in the works.
I did some editing work for best selling Dungeon Master’s Guild author M.T. Black. If you’re a Dungeons and Dragons fan then check out his great collection of adventures, such as the Complete Adventures of M.T. Black Vol. I.
So all in all, a great month.
March 21st
On a more sombre note, March 21st is Human Rights Day in South Africa, a day of remembrance for the Sharpeville Massacre of 1960 and the suffering caused during the Apartheid era.
To me, the most important thing is remembering that we all share this planet. We all have a right to life, dignity, and respect. Let us all strive for mutual understanding — therein lies peace and happiness for all.
