The Tao of Zen Nihilism
Ven literature is filled with books, scrolls and other reading materials from the unspeakable ones. These Artifacts not only provide the ven with Rituals but also knowledge of the times before the Great Ruin.
Forbidden Tomes art Artifacts. Ven characters find them in Ruins, hidden libraries and elsewhere in Shanri. Yes, this also means they have Doom! Points spent on a Forbidden Tome can go toward the following benefits…
You can find out more at the HotB Design Blog.
Houses of the Blooded. FIVE BUCKS.
The four hundred and thirty-eight page Houses of the Blooded PDF is FIVE BUCKS.
Did I mention you can download the PDF of my newest book for FIVE BUCKS?
You know why?
Because I want you playing my game!
FIVE BUCKS. Seriously. FIVE BUCKS.
Not because I’m desperate (the book is selling like hot cakes — seriously starting to rival Cat sales), but because I want MORE PEOPLE playing my game.
Drop FIVE BUCKS and discover why people are ranting and raving about Houses of the Blooded.
(Black Hat Matt said if he had discovered this game in the ’90’s, his crew wouldn’t be playing Vampire, they’d be playing Houses of the Blooded.)
It’s a limited time offer. I’m not telling you when I’m taking it back.
FIVE BUCKS. Four hundred and thirty-eight pages of Machiavellian Goodness.
Hey, L5R Fans! "What if the whole world was the Scorpion Clan?" Find out in Houses of the Blooded for only FIVE BUCKS!
Hey, 7th Sea Fans! Wanna see what Vodacce originally looked like? The original vision for 7th Sea? FIVE BUCKS!
FIVE BUCKS.
My gift to you.
Enjoy it while you can.
D’Valesh gets mentioned in more than a few works–I found it in The Great and Terrible Life of Shara Yvarai–that takes advantages of the amazing ven metabolic system and their inbred sense of cruelty.
What you need are two contestants, six throwing knives and two large targets…
Learn more about this bloody and dangerous "garden game" at the HotB Design Blog.
Shipping Update
The books arrived on Friday and IPR starts shipping them on Monday.
THANK YOU to everyone who waited so patiently. Let me explain what happened.
First, the printer shipped books to me rather than IPR. This means it took an extra week for the books to show up. Not only that, but they showed up while I was at Gencon, meaning it took another week to get to IPR.
I had to re-label and send the books off–twenty-one boxes worth–on my own dime to IPR. I nearly threw my back out shlepping all the books to the PO. (For those who don’t know, I have a permanent back injury from a car accident in 1998.)
Then, the US Post Office shipped the books to the wrong address. Or I gave them the wrong address. Or something. I don’t think the second option is correct because the books eventually arrived at IPR (on Friday). So, the book arrived. Late, but they got there.
Also, I’ve been overwhelmed by book orders. I had to print another 120 books to keep up with you guys. Hopefully, by the end of the month, I’ll have to print 120 more.
What this means is the Brewery is gonna go through some changes. I’ve already talked to Jared and we’re going to have an announcement soon.
Website
The HotB Website (http://www.housesoftheblooded.net) is up and running! And boy-oh-boy are the forums steaming! FAQ, Actual Play, General Discussion, OOC and IC Forums. Go join up and enjoy!
Blog
I’ve moved most of the design stuff I’m working on over to the HotB website. I’ve already posted about a new Fox Blessing. I’ll have a new Wolf and Bear Blessing soon as well as a new game the ven nobles play. A damn bloody game, at that.
Forums
Like I said, the forums are up and running and we already have a bunch of very enthusiastic players making posts. Rules clarifications, a player-designed character sheet, and new research materials for Shanri research enthusiasts!
It appears the books arrived at IPR last night. We’re still trying to confirm. I’ll keep everyone updated as things move along.
I hate this part of the business.
First, the printer was supposed to ship boxes to IPR, but they shipped them to me by mistake, adding a week on the shipping time to customers. So, I lug the books down to the Post Office and ship them off to IPR myself. About 20 boxes, each at least 17 pounds. 100 Limited Editions and 150 Standard Editions.
Now, it looks like the Post Office may have lost them.
I can’t get in contact with any living beings at the Post Office until this afternoon. (My work hours are 6 AM – 6 PM.) And when I arrive, they’ll probably tell me the same thing: we don’t know where they are.
At least I bought insurance.
If you ordered books from IPR, I apologize for the delay. I’ll find a way to make it up to you.
(originally posted at the HotB Forums at www.housesoftheblooded.net/forums)
This is a brief introduction on the standards we expect at the Shanri Research Institute. Please follow these guidelines for the best chance of having your research verified.
Cite Your Sources
This is the most important step. If you look through the introduction of the core book, you’ll see all the sources I used. I’ll give you an example of the kind of citation I’m looking for.
For example, let’s look at Marcus Fledderjohn’s Virtues: The Complete Yvarai Text.
The Fledderjohn Text was translated from primary documents. The work is very old, held at the Institute, and available for viewing by special permission.
Virtues was a very important book to the ven. It presented moral and ethical dilemmas in the form of plays. Different versions of Virtues contained different versions of the plays, or in some cases, different plays all together. Each House kept its own version–each claiming it had the definitive version, of course–with alternate interpretations of the plays. The Burghe Version emphasized Strength, the Steele Version emphasized Cunning, etc, the Mwrr Version emphasized Wisdom, etc.
The Fledderjohn Text is one of the only complete copies of Virtues we have. It is also the only version translated directly from the original ven. Other texts exist, but are less trustworthy, less complete.
This is one of the sources I listed in the main book. Before we start using sources, new members should give a detailed account of their own sources for approval by the Institute. Some texts are more and less reliable than others. We just want to make sure we’re using the best possible sources and identify poorer sources so we can give the material the proper scrutiny.
Findings
After your sources have been approved by the Institute, you are free to list findings in those sources. Again, the Institute will review all research and make comments (and corrections) where necessary. While the Institute does maintain the final voice of authority on all matters regarding Shanri and the ven, we are open to different interpretations of text. We can be wrong. and there are cases where multiple interpretations are be valid–even if they contradict each other.
If you have any questions regarding research, please post them here. One question per post, please!
A few notes…
Limited Edition
The LE books will be sent to Indie Press Revolution on Monday. Everyone who ordered the book will get a confirmation e-mail as well as the location of a secret website to download the bonus CD. That will be up next week before I leave for Gen Con.
Speaking of which…
Bonus CD
I planned on having the Bonus CD with me at Gen Con, but that’s not going to be possible. (Damn last second details.) Instead, I’ll have a double secret probation download page available for folks to download the .pdf and other bonus stuff. The CD contains everything the above disc contains except the three bonus tracks.
Again, folks who orderd the Limited Edition get this for free. You can purchase the download at Gen Con for $15. I’ll make the disc available to the general public after Gen Con.
Books
I will have Standard Edition books for folks who want them. If you ordered the Standard Edition, e-mail me and let me know. I’ll have your book for you. Books will be selling for $45.
Demos
I will be running demos, but I don’t know when. I’m playing all of this on the fly and I have no idea what the booth looks like, etc. Probably small demos on request.
New Website!
A new website is on the way. Isn’t quite finished yet. You can go to www.housesoftheblooded.net/forums to sign up for the forums. There’s a FAQ forum, a forum for each House and some other goodies as well. Check it out.
New Blog
I’ll be moving all my HotB information to the new website as soon as it’s ready. I’ll cross-post here, but everything should be up and running after Gen Con.
If you have any questions about the information above, just post them below.
I can’t wait to see all of you at Gen Con!
I will be at Gen Con!
I’ll be at the Abstract Nova/Flames Rising booth #2115.
I’ll have 100 copies of Houses of the Blooded for sale.
If you already ordered a copy, let me know via e-mail. I’ll bring a list and you can pick it up there.
I’ll also have… other goodies. You’ll have to wait to see.
has posted her second installment of the Houses of the Blooded game she’s running (and I’m playing in!).
Reflections
One of the first (if not the first) supplements I’ll be doing for the game is a little book called Blood & Tears. It’ll be the full PVP/LARP rules. Playing the game as someone who’s seen at least half a dozen groups abuse the system, I’ve learned a lot of tricks. I’ve even come up with a few of my own. The PVP system will have to limit the way people use Wisdom/Cunning risks as well as Style Points to add details to other PCs.
For example, when we walked into the Baronness’ home, I spend a Style Point and said, “I contact my spy in this house.” Just that easy. Now, I want my character to have spies in every house in Shanri, but imagine forty people walking into your home, spending a SP and saying the same thing. Not good for game play.
Making vetos cheap/easy encourages players to come up with cool things for your character: adding nifty details to your spouse/house/staff. I could also reverse the SP process. If you come up with a cool idea for one of my NPCs, I give you a Style Point. That may work. I’ll test it in the forthcoming playtest sessions.
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