R.I.P. Judy Gleason, 1944-2004

Though I only had the pleasure of meeting my good friend Marty's parents on a small handful of occassions, I can say that Pat and Judy were some of the most earnest, pleasant, and passionate people I've ever met. Though cancer took Judy's life, as well as her husband's, it never robbed her of her wonderful spirit. We are worse off for your being gone, Fleurette, but know that you are better off for the trip. Send good thoughts/karma/prayers/donations to cancer research towards Marty and Tony - they've had a rough year and a half.

Biography
Clayton Oliver is my new biographer. The book will be titled From Russia with Nerd: the Alex Flagg Story and will be published by Random House next fall. Here's an excerpt:

"Actually, Alex is a rogue Soviet experiment melding android physiology with bio-engineered pheromones who was raised to adolescence on a steady diet of early-Cold War Americana. The result was a tireless pop-culture-obsessed sex-and-writing machine with a yearning for free expression who escaped his Kamchatka compound in early 1992 and stowed away on a FedEx flight to Boise."

And it's all TRUE!

Shaun of the Dead
A-frikkin'-mazing. Easily the best movie I've seen in the theatre all year, and certainly in the top 3 of my 2004 viewings. Genuinely funny jokes and sublime sense of humor, excellent knowlege of the genre (with plenty of homages), and written with characters you actually care about. Find a local theater in your area and make an effort to see it - this movie is the definitive zombie love comedy of our time. Go.

Dark Inheritance is Out!
That's right, kids - the infamous DI has hit the stands, and is ready to fill all your Spycraft 'weird stuff' needs. I'm pretty proud of the result - there's just more book there.

For those of you who have 1st edition Dark Inheritance (back when it was using that other modern d20 system), the changes are tangible at all levels: the binding, paper and production values are much higher; the art is clearer and better distributed; the index is tighter; the information is better presented, edited, and organized; there are more classes, races, rules and things you can do with the game; the magic system is awesome; the titans make more sense; et cetera, et cetera. This is simply a better book, and well worth your $35. Check out the previews on the new Dark Inheritance website.

I think those of you looking to blend in or convert more standard d20 stuff(particularly critters and spells) for your campaign will find this a quintessential resource. For SFA fans, it provides you a new world where mysticism, espionage, and the supernatural touch. For the completionist, it provides upgraded classes of nearly all the SFA base classes, the long-lost Edgemaster class and accompanying feats, and new and cleaned up mysticism rules. It's got a lot of potential, and a lot of attention from all of us here on the Design Team.

Do yourself the favor and get it. You know you want to.

My next Weird Campaign Idea of the Month (should probably become "...of the Quarter" at this rate") will feature Dark Inheritance in some way or another. I've got quite a few ideas to share...