The next product to come out will be the new Galactic Underground 2. The artwork is finished, and layout is mostly complete. We are doing some last minute edits and adjustments to layout before it goes to the printer. We received a lot of useful playtest feedback on the changes to some of the races, like the Ikrini and Gemini.

We released the first draft of Engage to a select set of playtesters. We have gotten a lot of useful feedback on it, and a second draft is in the works. Eventually we will post the Engage playtest material to all playtesters.

Work has begun on the new version of Uncle Ernie’s Minions of Doom. A lot of work is going into revising the stat block for each creature to make it easier to use.

The work on the Revised Battlelords core rulebook is still progressing. There was a LOT of feedback form the initial playtest packets, and it became clear that I needed to give the playtesters a complete packet instead of several disjointed files. There was just too much bleed. Combat bled into primary stats, which bled into skills, and on and on.

This brings up playtesting. The way we are handling this now is playtesters are invited to join a private mailing list that has a file archive. Once the invitation is accepted you gain access to the files and can post questions and feedback to the mailing list. All that is required to get a playtester invite is signed NDA. More playtesters means a better product, so you are interested contact me.

An entertaining thread has started on our forums.  People are telling the story of the most memorable critical success (01) or critical failure (00).  Check it out: http://www.ssdc.com/cgi-bin/yabb2/YaBB.pl?num=1229546041

On another note, we have been selling matrix cards for some time now. We are considering adding the ability to pick and choose the exact matrix cards you want, and purchase only those, instead of the entire pack. You would be charged based on how many cards you purchase; perhaps $1/card. As an extension to this idea is an idea to put the Lock-N-Load catalog of weapons, equipment, armor, etc. online. This would be a service that you could access via our web site (perhaps formatted for mobile access). There would be a monthly or annual charge for the service. Please post any comments below.

Finally, a Battlelords Facebook application is in the works.  It is in alpha stage, but you can follow this link (http://www.facebook.com/apps/application.php?id=33236843272) to keep tabs on the progress, become a fan of the app, and add the application to your Facebook.

http://www.rpg-awards.com/2007/supplement_of_year.shtml

• Since the start of the year we have ditched the old one-way mailing list, combining it with the Battlelords Yahoo! Group.  This consolidation will allow two-way discussion, sharing of photos and files, and on a selfish side, is much easier for us.  Just a reminder that you can change your membership status to digest so when the emails are flying you will not be overwhelmed.
• Thanks to Chris Amidon the card list, tournament rules, FAQ, and complete rulebook for the Battlelords CCG are now available on our wiki.
• Battlelords is now available for sale on Indie Press Revolution.  This is a great site for all manner of indie games.  We would really appreciate it if you rated or reviewed our products, and while you are they check out some of the other great games they offer.
• Insert here another shameless cry for help.  Thanks to Bluerazor we now have a Battlelords List on Amazon.  Please go here to rate and review our products.
• Now that we have pleaded for your help, we give you the new and expanded Kizanti Displacement skill taken directly from the revised Galactic Underground.

That’s it for now.  Expect to see more frequent updates via this new blog.

Amulet of Preservation

A golden pendant or locket with amazing yet limited abilities. So far the only one known to have been found was by an amateur archeologist and when he was suddenly murdered the amulet was lost, supposedly taken by the murderer. The object looks as if it is made out of pure gold but it is as tough as flex steel and rumors have it that the metal doesn’t grow cold or hot no matter if it is burned or frozen, a fact that leaves many armor designers scratching their heads and wanting a look at the amulet. The chain on which the pendant hangs is also made out of this amazing metal and has a property that allows it to exapand or contract the links to fit any size class except for the extremes of size class 1 and 8.

Of course these are just rumors and a drop in the bucket compared to what else this amulet can do:

• The individual wearing the amulet is protected against all but the strongest poisons, hindering the effects of the poison 5d6 seconds after exposure to the poison, including once it is ingested.
• Stops all bleeding 1d10 seconds after it begins, clotting gaping wounds making them look days old. The damage iteslef is not healed. The amulet boosts the bodies clotting agents, however the severity of Plasma weapons double the time for clotting. On top of this, though the amulet doesn’t appear to have been able to regenerate the body, it can restore 1 BP for every 10 seconds once the wearer falls below zero BPs. The body is restored, keeping it from bleeding so it can recover on its own. Of course this is useless once the person is dead.
• The last suspected ability of the amulet is that it preserves the corpse of whoever wore it, limiting decay from starting for almost a week. After a week the body decays at twice the speed, and if the amulet is removed from the corpse decay is doubled whether the week had passed or not.

Rock Gun

This gun is considered tech level 7. Some suspect this is really a Sheustron weapon. Only one has been found with a power pack nearby, something not even the top scientists of the Alliance could figure out. The weapon is a laser that uses an unknown mechanism that baffles even the famed Prunella “Granny” Frump and her crack team. It is a pistol sized gun but with the power of a normal sized impact laser, but so far nothing the Alliance or Sheutron have can mimic the power supply and so there is no way to recharge it.

(BM note: Sheustron technology might be able to adapt a less refined power pack but the consequences are unknown.)

We are now offering our books in PDF format—as our first PDF product, Galactic Underground is now on sale as a PDF. We have also added a packaged special so you can purchase both the print and PDF version of Galactic Underground at a discount. Let us know what products you want to see as PDFs and we will choose the most popular as our next PDF product!

For more details:
http://www.ssdc.com/Catalog/GalacticUndergroundPDF.php
http://www.ssdc.com/Catalog/Specials.php#GUCombo