A roleplaying game of mystery and hardboiled action in a city that never sleeps. I woke with a start, my mouth tasting like an old glove and my head pounding from the events of the previous evening, though I wasn't sure if it was the beating from Benny's boys or the half bottle of drugstore whiskey that had done the most damage. I lifted my eyelids like stubborn blinds to find my gaze fall on a dame with a hundred-dollar purse in one hand and a cheap bean-shooter in the other. I groaned and cursed myself for ever getting involved in this mess... In Hard City, character creation is swift and simple, generating competent yet flawed individuals and focusing on what sets them apart as they walk the fine line between right and wrong. Fast action resolution places the emphasis on the momentum of the plot, while the sandbox setting provides evocative hooks for adventures - fight crooks, rescue the innocent, thwart blackmail plots (or start them!), or uncover corruption in the Mayor's office. Stalk the mean streets of a world filled with two-bit thugs, hard-nosed gumshoes, intrepid reporters, gangsters, and femme fatales, all doing what they must to survive in the concrete jungle. With trouble around every corner, a secret on every lip, and a gun in every pocket, danger is never far away in the hard city.

Based on the hit card game that has sold millions of copies around the world, the Unlock! Escape Adventure Puzzle Book provides a new way to enjoy the popular Unlock! Escape Adventure series. Immerse yourself in this colourful escape-room experience, which can be enjoyed either at home on your own or with a group. There are three adventures for you to challenge yourself against, each with their own charming narrative: Enter a secret underground lab to recover a mysterious and important serum that has the potential to drastically change the world! The dastardly Professor NoSide has trapped you in his lair! With the help of a friendly mouse, can you free yourself in time to foil his evil plans? Your friend Professor Tempus has disappeared, just as you arrived to experiment with his time machine. Can you solve the mystery before our timeline is damaged forever? Are you up to the challenge? You will have to use all of your wits, logic and skill to solve these puzzles, escape and SAVE THE WORLD!

2093, Neo York. A dystopian technological marvel, where concrete high-rises brim with holographic neon, as gilded mob bosses, flashy CEOs, and famous vid-stars all strive to consolidate their power over the masses. And while the rain reflects the neon, it never washes away the grime and filth of the streets. Welcome to a world of synth-jazz and cybernetics, where the status quo grinds down the hard-working man and vat-grown clone alike. Whether you're the redemption-seeking gangster, the one good cop in a corrupt system, or the gene-modded musician trying to make it big, you'll be trying to get by in a city that just doesn't care. Epic fight scenes take centre stage in this game of stylised, high-octane bloodshed. Jump straight into the action with a unique ruleset designed to deliver a cinematic, neon-noir experience, as the spotlight focuses on the brutal showdowns that will define you - or leave you face-down in the dirt. So get ready to give them hell, as the sultry notes of the saxophone build into a crescendo of violence.

The genius and artistry behind Superbrothers and the making of an indie video game, from inception to its highly anticipated launch. Superbrothers: Sword & Sworcery was released in 2011 at the forefront of an exciting era of "indie games" - with the aesthetic of punk rock and the edge of modernist fiction, indie games pushed gaming into the realm of the avant-garde. Superbrothers (Craig D. Adams) was hailed as a visionary in the video game world. Now, his long-awaited follow-up, JETT: The Far Shore, has been released for Sony PlayStation and Epic Games Store. In the decade from inception to launch, Adams brought author Adam Hammond along for the ride, allowing unprecedented insight into the complicated genesis of Jett. The Far Shore offers a portrait of the enigmatic Adams and his team, the genius and artistry, the successes and setbacks, that went into building the world of JETT, in which you're tasked with scouting a new home for a humanoid people after they've decimated their planet. To provide context, Hammond recounts the history of indie games and how their trajectory has followed that of independent art and literature. A riveting insider's look at one of our most popular art forms.

Presented for the first time ever, the 3 volume set of The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Library enclosed in a deluxe slipcase. For the first time, the collected texts from the critically and commercially acclaimed fantasy video game The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim are bound together in three exciting volumes. Lavishly illustrated and produced, these titles are straight out of the world of Skyrim - and a must for any wandering adventurer. Delve deeper into the lore behind one of the most successful and critically acclaimed fantasy games of all time, Skyrim. Featuring in-game texts on factions, landscapes, creatures, heroes, and dragons.

Cosplay lets you step out of your own skin and into someone else's shoes (or boots, or paws...). This beginner's guide helps you walk that walk with confidence in an awesome costume of your own creation.

True to the cosplay spirit of collaboration, Cosplay Crash Course shares favorite tricks and techniques from some of the community's most imaginative artists. Step by step, you'll learn how to turn ordinary fabrics, inexpensive toys, easy-to-manipulate thermoplastics, wigs and other humble materials into original costumes you'll wear with pride. Whether you're making fabulous feathers, metallic armor, wicked horns, lifelike claws or form-fitting boots, this book puts it all within your reach. You'll even learn awesome hair and makeup effects to complete the look.

Use this inside advice to fast-forward through years of trial and error; learn to select the best fabrics and adhesives and to make practical choices for comfort and wearability. Armed with the know-how in these pages and a spirit of adventure, who will you become?

Everything you need to dress your part!

• 25+ step-by-step projects for creating authentic-looking props, costumes and accessories
• Easy techniques and clever shortcuts from nine international cosplay artists
• How to manipulate wigs, extensions and your own hair to create unique and expressive looks
• Awesome makeup effects, from tattoos and zombie bites to tricks for making faces appear more feminine or masculine
• Bonus tips for striking a pose and snapping dynamic, in-character photos

Get in the game and start building your dream team Millions of people worldwide play fantasy football, and you can join the fun with Fantasy Football For Dummies. We'll teach you the basics and give you the skills you need to create and manage your ultimate fantasy team. Learn how to scout and draft players, use the best strategies to compete against other fantasy owners, and win your fantasy league championship. You can easily manage your team and stay up to date on player stats with the how-tos and insider tips in this book. Check out this fun and entertaining guide to fantasy football and you'll be on your way to becoming a successful fantasy team owner, manager, and coach. Understand how fantasy football works Learn about the various fantasy league options Draft and manage your fantasy team, and change your roster effectively week to week Maximize your chances of winning with effective tips and strategies This Dummies guide--updated with the latest apps and rule changes--is for the millions of people who are already playing fantasy football today and want to improve their fantasy league performance, and it's perfect for beginners interested in joining a league and learning the basics. Yes--that means you!

Computer role-playing games (CRPGs) are a special genre of computer games that bring the tabletop role-playing experience of games such as Dungeons & Dragons to the computer screen. Thisnew edition inlcudes two new chapters: The Modern Age, and a chapter on Indies and Mobile CRPGs. The new modern age chapter will cover, among other topics, Kickstarter/FIG crowdfunded projects such as Torment: Tides of Numenera and Pillars of Eternity. It'll also bring the book up to date with major games such as Dragon Age, Witcher, Skyrim. Expanded info in first chapter about educational potential of CRPGs. Color figures will be introduced for the first time. Key Features gives reviews of hundreds of games across many platforms. comprehensive book covering the history of computer RPGs. comprehensive index at the back, letting you quickly look up your favourite titles

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...

In a galaxy torn apart by the Last War, vast pirate fleets roam from system to system, robbing, extorting, and enslaving. Amidst this chaos, thousands of independent operators - smugglers, relic hunters, freedom fighters, and mercenaries - roam the dead stars in small ships, scratching out a living any way they can. In Stargrave, players take on the role of one of these independent operators, choosing from a range of backgrounds each with their own strengths, weaknesses, and associated powers. Next, players must hire a crew for their ship, recruiting a lieutenant with a unique skill-set and a handful of soldiers, mechanics, hackers, and other specialists. Some captains may even recruit strange alien lifeforms with abilities no humanoid could ever possess. Once the players' crews are assembled, they are ready to dive into a campaign. Over a series of games, their crews will have the chance to carry out a variety of missions - recovering lost technology, stealing data, freeing slaves, and fighting back against the pirate fleets. In time, as the crews gain experience, they will become more powerful and hire more talented specialists. The more they grow, however, the more likely it is that a pirate fleet will take note of their activities and come after them!

This handbook collects, for the first time, the state of research on role-playing games (RPGs) across disciplines, cultures, and media in a single, accessible volume. Collaboratively authored by more than 50 key scholars, it traces the history of RPGs, from wargaming precursors to tabletop RPGs like Dungeons & Dragons to the rise of live action role-play and contemporary computer RPG and massively multiplayer online RPG franchises, like Fallout and World of Warcraft. Individual chapters survey the perspectives, concepts, and findings on RPGs from key disciplines, like performance studies, sociology, psychology, education, economics, game design, literary studies, and more. Other chapters integrate insights from RPG studies around broadly significant topics, like transmedia worldbuilding, immersion, transgressive play, or player-character relations. Each chapter includes definitions of key terms and recommended readings to help fans, students, and scholars new to RPG studies find their way into this new interdisciplinary field.

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 Zaharets, the land between the Vori Wastes and the Plains of Aeco, is well-known as the Land of Risings. Dominated by the rising city-states of Ameena Noani and Sentem, facing each other along the great War Road, the Zaharets has always been home to powerful civilizations. Beastmen ruins dot the landscape, a constant reminder of the Kingdom of Sin and the fragility of the Law of Men. Even older are the great ruins of the Hulathi, the legendary sea peoples, and the Hannic mansions sealed beneath the mountains, awaiting those who would seek out the Lost Folk. Scars abound from the wars between ruined Keta in the north and Gerwa in the south. And, far to the east, the legends of Muadah still beckon occultists and Jackals who seek to plunder its corrupted ruins. Inspired by the myths, cultures, and history of the Ancient Near East, and by such ancient texts as the Iliad, the Epic of Gilgamesh, and the Old Testament, Jackals is a Sword & Sorcery roleplaying game set in a Fantasy Bronze Age. With mechanics based on the popular OpenQuest system, the game places players in the role of Jackals - adventurers, explorers, sellswords, and scavengers - and sends them out into the peril-filled land of the Zaharets to make their fortune... or perhaps fulfill a greater destiny...

In 1939, Germany shattered the peace of Europe with a lightning-fast strike against Poland. The next year, it captured Denmark and Norway, before launching its famous Blitzkrieg against France, Belgium and The Netherlands. In less than two years of fighting, Nazi Germany became the master of mainland Europe. This new Theatre Book for Bolt Action allows players to command armies of German tanks driving across the continent or to lead the desperate defense of the outgunned Allied armies. New scenarios, special rules and units give players everything they need to recreate the devastating battles and campaigns of the early war in Europe, including the fall of Poland, the breaking of the Maginot Line and the dramatic retreat to Dunkirk.

Even before the original Frostgrave rulebook landed in players' hands, its artwork, previewed in the run-up to release, attracted widespread attention and acclaim. Today, some eight volumes, two novels, and multiple boxed sets of plastic miniatures later, Dmitry and Kate Burmak have produced more than 85 illustrations, guided by the concepts developed by Frostgrave creator Joseph A. McCullough. Together, these three have breathed life into the Frozen City, depicting the wizards, warriors, and creatures that call it home. With behind-the-scenes content, including concepts, sketches, work-in-progress shots, and commentary from the creators, this lavish volume features all the artwork produced for Frostgrave - from the rulebook that started it all to the Perilous Dark supplement.

This classic study still provides one of the most acute descriptions available of an often misunderstood subculture: that of fantasy role playing games like "Dungeons & Dragons." Gary Alan Fine immerses himself in several different gaming systems, offering insightful details on the nature of the games and the patterns of interaction among players--as well as their reasons for playing.

Computer role-playing games (CRPGs) are a special genre of computer games that bring the tabletop role-playing experience of games such as Dungeons & Dragons to the computer screen. Thisnew edition inlcudes two new chapters: The Modern Age, and a chapter on Indies and Mobile CRPGs. The new modern age chapter will cover, among other topics, Kickstarter/FIG crowdfunded projects such as Torment: Tides of Numenera and Pillars of Eternity. It'll also bring the book up to date with major games such as Dragon Age, Witcher, Skyrim. Expanded info in first chapter about educational potential of CRPGs. Color figures will be introduced for the first time. Key Features gives reviews of hundreds of games across many platforms. comprehensive book covering the history of computer RPGs. comprehensive index at the back, letting you quickly look up your favourite titles

One of the most infamous and decisive battles of the Second World War, Stalingrad was a turning point of the Eastern Front, showing that the German juggernaut was not invincible. This Campaign Book for Bolt Action allows players to refight the fierce Battle of Stalingrad, from the actions of the surrounding area and within the city itself, to the encirclement, concerted relief efforts, and the final attempted breakout. New, linked scenarios, rules, troop types, and Theatre Selectors provide plenty of options for both novice and veteran players alike.

THE ULTIMATE CHRISTMAS GIFT FOR WANNABE SPIES: AN INTERACTIVE PUZZLE BOOK FROM THE CREATOR OF THE BESTSELLING CULT PHENOMENON, JOURNAL 29! In this brain-bending interactive game, you'll solve puzzles on every page, and obtain keys to move forward by submitting answers online. To solve each puzzle, you'll need to think outside the book. You are an agent of CY.P.H.E.R., the secret international agency working on 'unsolvable' code-based cases. Called upon to investigate cryptic clues discovered in the wake of a series of mysterious disappearances, the clock is ticking to crack the codes before it's too late. To escape this book, you must write, draw, search, fold and cut pages, explore virtual escape rooms and think laterally to identify the perpetrator and solve the mystery. All you need to play is a pencil, a pair of scissors, an internet connection, and a curious mind.

Number of players: 2-4 Ages: 14+ Playing time: 30-60 minutes Components: 6 unique miniatures, 30+ cards Across the Wildlands the word is spreading - the dead are rising, swords in hand. Drawn to the life-giving power of the crystal shards, a gang of undead nightmares have taken to the battlefield. This ghoulish team can replace one of the existing factions, with the unique mechanic of shared activation offering an aggressive new playstyle, or they can be played using the new 'Encounter' rules as monstrosities that can be controlled by any player, flooding the board as the battle rages. Requires a copy of Wildlands to play.

Players: 2-4 Ages: 14+ Playing Time: 30-60 minutes Contents: 20 Unique Miniatures, 20 Character Cards, 120 Action Cards, 42 Battlefield Cards, Double-Sided Playing Board, Counters & Tokens The great Darkness has fallen, and the Empire with it. The arcane crystals which once powered entire cities were shattered, and the darkness was destroyed by the magics unleashed. All that remains are the lawless ruins known as the Wildlands, and the shards of the crystals that have been strewn across them. Now a few souls, the brave and the desperate, seek the shards to harness their power for their own ends. Take control of one of four factions, from the spell-slinging Mages' Guild or the nimble Gnomads to the versatile Lawbringers or the hard-hitting Pit Fighters. Each brings their own playstyle, with unique decks of action cards determining their abilities on the battlefield, so plan your tactics carefully. Dash through the ruins to grab the crystals you so desperately desire or focus your efforts on taking out the opposition - but take care, danger may be lurking in the darkness... In the Wildlands, opportunity awaits... if you fight for it.

Re-fight some of the bloodiest battles of the ancient and medieval worlds! Seasoned wargamer and author Neil Thomas brings historical perspective to the hobby with a description and interpretation of significant military developments from 3,000BC to AD1500. Wargaming is the simulation of accurate historical battles using miniature figures to fight over three dimensional terrain, their movement and combat being regulated by clearly defined rules. Neil Thomas' new book provides specific coverage of ancient and medieval wargaming, thanks to its division into biblical, classical, Dark Age and medieval sections. Each section has its own set of rules and much expanded army lists. The wargamer gains additional perspective from data panels containing facts about weaponry, personalities and chroniclers, and quotations from original document sources. Useful suggestions for further reading are also included, while battle reports in each section provide tactical insights for both novice and veteran wargamers.