Take the fight to the enemy with this new theatre book for Bolt Action. From the D-Day landings to the final battle for Berlin, this volume gives players everything they need to focus their gaming on these final campaigns in the European Theatre of Operations. Scenarios and special rules offer something for all Bolt Action players, regardless of the armies they collect.

The heroes travel to Absalom Station to warn the Pact Worlds government of a fast-approaching threat from beyond the stars! But before they are fully prepared, the titanic spacecraft arrives and shuts down the fabled Starstone Reactor, plunging the station into chaos. The heroes must find a way to bring the power back online, while rescuing citizens and dealing with Azlanti spies, angry outsiders, and confused spirits. Can they save the heart of the Pact Worlds and take the fight to the strange alien vessel? "The Starstone Blockade" is a Starfinder Roleplaying Game adventure for four 16th-level characters. This adventure continues The Devastation Ark Adventure Path, a three-part, monthly campaign in which the players stop the threat of an ancient alien civilization in Starfinder's first high-level adventures! This volume also includes an examination of the church of Eloritu-the god of history, magic, and secrets-as well as a selection of ghastly new aliens! Each monthly full-color softcover Starfinder Adventure Path volume contains a new installment of a series of interconnected science-fantasy quests that together create a fully developed plot of sweeping scale and epic challenges. Each 64-page volume of the Starfinder Adventure Path also contains in-depth articles that detail and expand the Starfinder campaign setting and provide new rules, a host of exciting new monsters and alien races, a new planet to explore and starship to pilot, and more!

Unlock the mysteries and magic within League of Legends, one of the world's most popular video games, in this encyclopedic and collectible companion book that explores the game's epic lore. Embark on a journey through the realms of Runeterra in this first-ever collectible companion book, published to celebrate the game's tenth anniversary. Spanning the farthest reaches of this universe and venturing into uncharted territory, this encyclopedic compendium connects players to the rich storytelling that inspires all the action. Inside, you'll find: - An expedition through eleven regions, chronicling conflicts, entrenched rivalries, and covert alliances - Hundreds of illustrations, including never-before-seen maps and artwork - Insights into the heroes, flora, fauna, architecture, politics, and technologies from all corners of this world - Original narratives that bring the cultures of Runeterra to life League of Legends is an online game played by millions of people around the world, offering endless engagement with an expanding roster of champions, frequent updates, and a thriving esports scene. This volume is an essential reference for fans everywhere.

The second supplement for Stargrave offers a host of new scenarios and rules for gaining political backing as you fight across the ravaged galaxy. The Dahlgren Belt was once a vast asteroid mining operation that supplied the entire sector with rare metals and various elemental fuels. However, the isolation of the last war caused the corporation to wither, and the various outposts and colonies were eventually left to look after themselves. Some became true collectives, or limited democracies, while others have fallen to the rule of gangsters, warlords, and despots. In all cases, the limited resources of air and organic material has made life difficult. In this supplement for Stargrave, the crews must travel from asteroid-to-asteroid, and even down to the system's single, barely inhabitable planet, searching for a man who claims to have discovered a 'big score'. During their journey, players will fight through numerous different environments - including asteroid mines, zero gravity, and even hellish jungle. Captains must curry favour with the various small political factions that hold power in the Belt. Only through a combination of wits, diplomacy, and weapons can players hope to reach the last prospector and gain a share of his claim...

Last Days: Zombie Apocalypse is a skirmish-scale miniatures game of survival horror. It pits players against each other in a nightmarish near-future where the dead have returned to life and are feasting on the living.

Players build their own factions, representing desperate civilians, military personnel, or hardened survivors, and must explore, scavenge, and fight in order to survive another day. Rival gangs are only one of the dangers they face - mindless zombies wander the streets, driven by insatiable hunger and drawn by the sound of combat!

A gang's ability to scavenge is as vital as their combat ability, and players must ensure that they have the resources to survive in this hostile world. Scenarios and campaigns allow you to develop your gang, gain experience and recruit new henchmen to build up your strength or replace the inevitable casualties of the zombie apocalypse.

Through classroom activities, wizard rock concerts and organizations like the Harry Potter Alliance, Harry Potter fans are using creativity to positively impact the world. This collection of essays and interviews examines how playful fandom - from fanfiction to Muggle quidditch, cosplay, role-playing games and even Harry Potter burlesque - not only re-imagines the canon but also challenges consumerism, questions notions of identity and fosters participatory culture. The contributors explore issues applicable to fan studies and performance studies at large, such as the role of performance, the nature of community, and questions of representation and ownership in the digital age. Presented in three sections, the essays discuss discrepancies between sanctioned versions of Harry Potter and fan creations, the reenactment and reinterpretation of the original narrative in fan performance, and collaborative and participatory performances that break down the boundaries between actors and audiences.

Now a "New York Times" bestseller
Fantasy football, fantasy baseball, fantasy basketball, even fantasy sumo wrestling: the world of fantasy sports is huge, and still growing. Today, more than 35 million people in the United States and Canada spend hours upon hours each week on their fantasy sports teams. And as the Senior Fantasy Sports Analyst for ESPN, Matthew Berry is on the front lines of what has grown from a niche subculture into a national pastime.
In "Fantasy Life," Berry celebrates every aspect of the fantasy sports world. Brilliant trash talk. Unbelievable trophies. Insane draft day locations. Shake-your-head-in-disbelief punishments. Ingenious attempts at cheating. And surprisingly uplifting stories that remind us why we play these games in the first place.
Written with the same award-winning style that has made Berry one of the most popular columnists on ESPN.com, " Fantasy Life" is a book for both hard-core fantasy players and people who have never played before. Between tales of love and hate, birth and death, tattoos and furry animal costumes, the White House Situation Room and a 126-pound golden pelican, Matthew chronicles his journey from a fourteen-year-old fantasy player to the face of fantasy sports for the largest sports media company in the world.
Fantasy will save your life. Fantasy will set you free. And fantasy life is most definitely better than real life. You'll see.

This ethnography of a live action role-playing (LARP) community examines the structure of play, how new participants are introduced and apprenticed into the culture, player expectations and motivations, and games as they are designed and as they are performed. The main focus is on LARP's affordance for learning across a variety of disciplines and interests. The book is intended for LARP participants, academics interested in play or in collaborative development, those interested in new uses of familiar learning environments, and game developers with an interest in creating games with highly interactive narratives and co-creative play experiences in which the role of designer and player is blurred.

Set in a mirror of our own world, Sigil & Shadow is a roleplaying game of urban fantasy and occult horror in which players take on the roles of illuminated heroes and shadowed monsters to face the rising tide of supernatural forces. Ancient nightmares lurk behind the closed doors of board rooms, entities from beyond time prowl the city streets, forgotten rituals are reborn as viral memes. Do you take a stand against the encroaching shadows? Or do you seek their power for yourself? Powered by the highly accessible d00Lite system, Sigil & Shadow focuses squarely on the story rather than the mechanics - who the characters are and what they do, not how they do it. Easy to adopt to any mythos, campaigns can be built around a wide range of plots, with players taking the role of anything from paranormal investigators and monster hunters to members of occult cabals or secret societies. The setting offered sees a modern world buffeted by the tides of supernatural power, where beings of myth wake from their slumber while modern cults sacrifice to pop-culture gods and ancient cabals pursue their age-old schemes into the digital age.

The Roman Empire rules the civilised world with an iron fist, seemingly all-powerful and limitless. And yet, the power of Rome is secured not by its mighty legions, but by small bands of warriors and agents fighting a secret war. Tasked by the Emperor to explore ancient temples, forgotten labyrinths and beast-haunted caverns, they seek out artefacts hidden by the gods themselves, hunt creatures of myth and face enemies that would use dark magic against the empire. Broken Legions is a set of fantasy skirmish rules for a war unknown to history, fought in the shadows of the Roman Empire. Various factions recruit small warbands to fight in tight, scenario-driven battles that could secure the mystical power to defend - or crush - Rome. A points system allows factions to easily build a warband, and mercenaries and free agents may also be hired to bolster a force. Heroes and leaders may possess a range of skills, traits and magical abilities, but a henchman's blade can be just as sharp, and a campaign can see even the lowliest henchman become a hero of renown.

Ramp up your role-playing game (RPG) and make your character your own with this fun, interactive workbook-an essential addition to any player's gaming kit. You've chosen your class, bought your weapons, and rolled for your stats, and you're now the proud owner of your own RPG (role-playing game) avatar. But before you begin your adventure, there's so much more you can do with your character to make him or her your own! Just how evil is she? What does his dating profile look like? Where did she get that scar? What does he want for his birthday? With fill-in-the blank narratives, prompts, and fun activities to help you customize your character at the start of the game, or build out your backstory as you play, The Ultimate RPG Character Backstory Book will help you fully imagine your character and bring them to life for the ultimate gaming experience!

This collection of all-new essays approaches the topic of immersion as a product of social and media relations in the 21st century. Examining the premises and aesthetics of live-action and tabletop role-playing games, reality television, social media apps and first-person shooters, the essays take both game rules and the media discourse that games produce as serious objects of study. Scholars of social psychology, sociology, role-playing theory, game studies, and television studies all examine games and game-like environments like reality shows as interdependent sites of social friction and power negotiation. The ten essays articulate the importance of game rules in our analyses of contemporary media products, and demonstrate methods that allow us to see those game rules in action during the contested process of play.

In the days of ancient Felstad, vampires kept to the shadows, their small numbers no match for the power of the city's wizards. But when the cataclysm struck, the wizards were destroyed, while the deathless vampires went into a frozen hibernation. Now, as the city thaws, so too do its undead inhabitants. The masters of the night are rising again: reoccupying their hidden strongholds, reforming their old cabals, and finding new victims to serve as their thralls. The destruction of the old city has brought one other boon to the vampires - giant's blood. While giants used to live out of reach to the far north, in the intervening millennium, they have descended on the city in large numbers. Their blood is like an elixir to the vampires, filling them with strength and magical power. A new war is forming between these two ancient races, and once again, the wizards of Frostgrave are caught in the middle. This supplement for Frostgrave: Fantasy Wargames in the Frozen City presents greatly expanded information about the vampires and the giants that occupy the frozen ruins, including rules for vampiric magic and a breakdown of the different tribes of giants. Also included are rules for a new type of soldier, the giant-blooded. These huge men and women have the blood of giants running through their veins, granting them great strength unseen in normal men. Finally, the book contains a section on playing Frostgrave with high-level wizards and includes two mini-campaigns to challenge these experienced spellcasters.

The ultimate guide to the blockbuster Assassin's Creed game franchise. This richly illustrated guide is the definitive guide to the blockbuster Assassin's Creed game series. Packed with information on characters, technology, locations, historical settings, storylines, organisations, and backstory, this guide encompasses the whole franchise to date and is essential reading for fans and newcomers alike.

Death is not the end! In a world filled with undead, resurrection, and beings from beyond the mortal plane, long-dead mistakes can still cause problems for the living-or provide opportunity. Pathfinder Player Companion: Haunted Heroes Handbook takes aim at possessing forces of all sorts, from worldly magic to spirits of the dead, and provides you with options to rid yourself of that influence, take back control, or profit by cunning bargains with forces in need of a mortal vessel. This handbook also provides valuable information on the places, organizations, and faiths especially concerned with spirits, hauntings, and possession, and how any of these can affect your outlook and abilities. Each monthly 32-page Pathfinder Player Companion contains several player-focused articles exploring the volume's theme as well as short articles with innovative new rules for all types of characters, as well as traits to better anchor the player to the campaign.

From the late Revolutionary Wars and Egyptian campaign, to the battles of Austerlitz, Borodino, Leipzig, and Waterloo, Absolute Emperor is a mass battle wargame that provides all the rules needed to play during this period of grand armies and sweeping campaigns. Players' armies are composed of multiple corps, with command and control being of the utmost importance, all influenced by the elan of your general. Do you follow in the footsteps of Napoleon and be crowned the Absolute Emperor or stand against tyranny as Wellington and Blucher?

With videogames now one of the world's most popular diversions, the virtual world has increasing psychological influence on real-world players. This book examines the relationships between virtual and non-virtual identity in visual role-playing games. Utilizing James Gee's theoretical constructs of real-world identity, virtual-world identity, and projective identity, this research shows dynamic, varying and complex relationships between the virtual avatar and the players sense of self and makes recommendations of terminology for future identity researchers. Features 15 photographs of videogame screens, bibliography, and an appendix of sample videogame transcription data.

Normandy, 6 June 1944. The Allies undertake the largest and most ambitious amphibious landings in history to return the fight to Western Europe. This new Campaign Book for Bolt Action allows players to take command of both Allied forces assaulting the beaches and inland defences and those of the axis manning such fortifications. New, linked scenarios, rules, troop types, and Theatre Selectors provide plenty of options for novice and veteran players alike.

Since Dracula's rise to power a shadow has swept across the nation, but nowhere is it darker than in the Deep South. Throughout the plantations, swamps, and cities, rumours abound of grotesque rituals, hooded figures, and bizarre creatures. Most terrifying of all, however, are the whispers of ancient magic - unspeakable arcane rituals and occult powers that can lead those who wield them towards mystical supremacy. or reduce them to gibbering wrecks.

This new supplement for Dracula's America: Shadows of the West introduces two new factions: the corrupt cultists of the Church of Dagon and the Salem Sisterhood, occult practitioners whose history dates back to the early Colonies. New stealth rules allow for all manner of sneaky and underhanded tactics, while expanded rules for arcane powers offer glory but could cost you your sanity. Alongside these are a host of new scenarios, Hired Guns, monsters, skills, and gear to challenge or assist those who dare venture into the Deep South of Dracula's America.

Eternal Night of Lockwood is an adventure book, filled with intrigue, mystery, and horror, Powered by Zweihander RPG. RAGE AGAINST THE DYING OF THE LIGHT Five days ago, a starless and moonless night fell over the Lockwood forest and pioneer town of Ertol. The sawmills have gone quiet, and the lumberjacks have begun to revolt. The Eternal Night has come, and all of Ertol is in the grips of panic and fear. But where there's darkness, there's opportunity. As citizens of Ertol, you'll find yourselves drawn into a pitch-black web of urban conspiracy and rural horror, spanning the gloom of the six boroughs and into the ancient Lockwood. Will you rise to the occasion as a light in the darkness, or will you succumb to the Eternal Night? This ZWEIHAENDER RPG book is a campaign-length adventure, taking characters from Basic to Advanced Tier. Its adventure can also be broken up into ten individual quests to suit your gaming group's needs. Intended to be used by both players and gamemasters, this book provides a host of new character options, expanded bestiary, and customizable adventure difficulty settings to accommodate higher Tier adventures.

Many of today's hottest selling games--both non-electronic and electronic--focus on such elements as shooting up as many bad guys as one can (Duke Nuk'em), beating the toughest level (Mortal Kombat), collecting all the cards (Pokemon), and scoring the most points (Tetris). Fantasy role-playing games (Dungeons & Dragons, Rolemaster, GURPS), while they may involve some of those aforementioned elements, rarely focus on them. Instead, playing a fantasy role-playing game is much like acting out a scene from a play, movie or book, only without a predefined script. Players take on such roles as wise wizards, noble knights, roguish sellswords, crafty hobbits, greedy dwarves, and anything else one can imagine and the referee allows. The players don't exactly compete; instead, they interact with each other and with the fantasy setting. The game is played orally with no game board, and although the referee usually has a storyline planned for a game, much of the action is impromptu. Performance is a major part of role-playing, and role-playing games as a performing art is the subject of this book, which attempts to introduce an appreciation for the performance aesthetics of such games. The author provides the framework for a critical model useful in understanding the art--especially in terms of aesthetics--of role-playing games. The book also serves as a contribution to the beginnings of a body of criticism, theory, and aesthetics analysis of a mostly unrecognized and newly developing art form. There are four parts: the cultural structure, the extent to which the game relates to outside cultural elements; the formal structure, or the rules of the game; the social structure, which encompasses the degree and quality of social interaction among players; and the aesthetic structure, concerned with the emergence of role-playing as an art form.

Taking one of the most pivotal and famous episodes in British history, this book gives a wargamer's perspective of the dramatic events of 1066 and the Norman conquest that followed and advice on how to recreate these on the gaming table. Advice is given on factors to consider when choosing an appropriate set of commercially available rules, or devising your own, to best suit the scale and style of battle you want and capture the flavour of the period. Relevant ranges of figures, along with painting advice, are also included. Analysis of the forces involved, organization, tactics and strategies will help with building your armies and period specific scenarios are included. Whether this is a new period for you, or you are looking to refresh your existing interest in the period, this handy guide is sure to hold much of interest.

With Duel in the Sun, players can take command of the doughty Desert Rats of Montgomery's 8th Army, the fast-moving and hard-hitting raiders of the Long Range Desert Army (LRDG), or Rommel's mighty Afrika Korps, to recreate some of the most iconic battles of World War II - Operations Compass, Crusader and Torch, Tobruk, and Alamein, amongst others. Offering scenarios, special rules and new troop types, this Theatre Book for Bolt Action also takes players across the Mediterranean from North Africa, where they can follow the Italian Campaign from the invasion of Sicily, through the battles for Anzio and Cassino, to the final assaults on the Gothic Line.