Tricks, Treats, and Tactics!!

So, this is the last blog before Halloween. And honestly, I almost gave up on this one. The past few days at work have been tough, and I've got a splitting headache. But, this blog is important to me and I hope on some level, it's important to you too.

So, this weeks blog will be covering a number of different topics. First, we'll be discussing the new Triple Threat: Slugs and Steel that has just released (and I just received!!), and some fun things you can do with it. Second, we'll be talking about two of the fan created cards that are featured in this deck, to show you that yes, you can get a card made, and how the process goes. Finally, in honor of Halloween, we will be talking about the Untold Halloween Horrors: a special set of ecologies that are being released just for Halloween! Ok, that's a pretty big plate, so I hope you brought your Untold appetites, cause here we go!

Ok, so let's tackle Triple Threat: Slugs and Steel. This new deck features not just one but three different playable characters straight out of the box. The three characters out of this deck are Deep-6, Aquatic venturing klik tripod; Sgt. Skinner, NAU Sargeant; and Barnabus, IDF BELIEF soldier. Alright, so you're thinking to yourself, why do I need this deck? And yes, you NEED it. First off, it's got three pre-built HP characters with a variety cards, many of which you can't get in other decks. But there are more fun things you can do with this deck. One of the first ideas that comes to mind is playing out an adventure with just these three characters. On a limited UP setting, this could make for some interesting games; especially if your group is smaller (like mine). Not to mention, this deck could considerably boost your Untold card collection, as it has Race, Aspect, and Power cards, instead of just one type of card. It's also beneficial if you're a heavy Klik or Highbred player, this deck is perfect. Another reason for this deck will appeal more to Boost team members. If your demos have been anything like mine, there is always that one person who wants to play a Klik, but both Klik decks are taken. Or another Highbred, or in the case of ConCarolinas, I had three people who wanted to play Highbred. This deck is perfect. Just keep the handy Deck ID cards around, and you can quickly throw together a few more decks for demos.

Alright, so in Triple Threat: Slugs and Steel, there are two fan created cards. I created one of these cards, Tactical Prowess, and if you look at the bottom right hand corner you'll find where I was credited for it. The second fan created card is Chris Bradley's (MegaMagicMonkey or M3 on the forums) Verbose. Now, I'm going to go into a little discussion about the creation process and talk a little bit about these two awesome cards.

So, what do you to create an Untold card? Well first, you need to take your idea over to the Card Submission thread (http://www.untoldthegame.com/forum/untold-card-submissions). Make sure you follow all of the posting requirements. Secondly, if the Powers-That-Be like your card, then it will go through a stream-lining. Don't worry, the original concept and power will remain the same, but trust me when I say they make your idea better. And finally, there's your card!

Alright, so let's discuss the two cards. My card, Tactical Prowess, is made for the smart soldier. A story swap with an affordable UP, Tactical Prowess offers a Body and Mind Boost of 1. On top of that, it allows you to re-roll a combat roll or add the MAG of the card to a combat roll. Verbose is a hot swap that is for the situations that fighting can't fix. It requires the Diplomatic or Silver Tongued card to use and can quite literally talk you out of just about every situation, inflicting the DAZED Bane on a target.

Ok, so let's wrap this up with some treats...or tricks?...Honestly, I'm tired and it's a little difficult to tell at this moment. In the spirit of Halloween (my favorite holiday, btw), Untold is releasing a special set of ecologies meant specially for Halloween. These creatures are meant to be terrifying and frightful. I should know, both of the ones released so far are my creations...and one of them frightens me still (but there was a LOT of stuff I didn't put in the ecology)...Anyways, here they are:

The Flesh Ripper:
http://www.untoldthegame.com/splintered-serenity/ecology/flesh-ripper

The Apoc Scorpion:
http://www.untoldthegame.com/splintered-serenity/ecology/apoc-scorpion

Well, that's going to wrap it up for this week. If you'd like to purchase a Triple Threat: Slugs and Steel deck, you can find it here: http://www.untoldthegame.com/store/triple-threat-slugs-and-steel

Well, that does it kiddies. Happy Halloween!! See you next week!! Until then, thanks for reading and have fun!

Playing A Player

Ok...so...I'm a little out of it. The past few days have been kind of crazy. I was hired and now have a job. I had to go buy some professional clothes (which was an experience in and of itself, and my wife is a saint for putting up with me). Our wedding anniversary was Saturday, and it was a lot of fun. And my first day of work was today, and that was a lot of info. To top it all off, I'm now running an Untold Play-By-Post (PBP) over on the Untold forums. And for someone who went from having nothing to do to a whole lot to do, that's a pretty busy schedule. But, somehow, I'm managing to hammer out a blog for your enjoyment. I know, I'm a wonderful guy, right?

So this week, I'm getting back on schedule and tackling the issue of what happens when a GM wants to be a Player, and vice versa. With other RPGs making the transition from GM to Player isn't always easy, especially if you're in the middle of a campaign. A new campaign has to be assembled, new characters have to be created, etc. Untold, however, offers a unique solution to this problem.

Untold is a fast game, in the sense that it doesn't take very much time to learn how to play, or to set up a game. Since it's all card based, you can build a character in seconds or a campaign in minutes. Because of how easy it is to set up and break down, it's also easy for GMs to pause a campaign and step aside to allow another GM to step up. Untold is a very flexible system.

But what if your players are really into a game? Or you don't have another GM available to run a game and give you a break? Well, Untold has an answer for that too. Over on the Untold forums, there are two PBP games running, and hopefully more will take off soon. While it isn't exactly the same as playing a game in person, it is a lot of fun, and there are always people willing to play. Untold also has UPU's, Untold Player Unions, where players can contact other players in their state on the forums and find other play groups. A wonderful thing about Untold is it's community. Whether you're a new player still learning about Untold or a grizzled veteran, the Untold community is there for you.

Well, I think that's going to wrap it up for this week. I'm kind of tired...Anyways, not sure what I'll be tackling next week, but you'll be the first to know! Until then, thanks for reading, and have fun!

The Elite of the Elite

To me, Untold is the best RPG out there. And while it may not fill your every want and need at this moment, if you hang around long enough, Untold will eventually cover every possible setting. But it is still the best RPG out there because of the sheer potential it has. Untold is designed from the start to be flexible and accomodating to everyone and everything. You might even say it is an elite game. So, what if I told you there was an Elite within the Elite? Well, there is. Today, we're going to do a little plugging for the Wandering Men and Untold. We're going to talk about Untold: Elite and some of the new products that have been released.

Let's talk about the New Releases first. Three new decks have come out that should appeal to almost everyone. Lock'n'Load is a power deck packed to the prim with guns. Lots of guns. That do lots of things, BESIDES killing enemies. If you're a gun monkey, then definitely check out this deck.

Heavy Metal has released for Klik players, with a large number of tools for heavy lifting. However, don't think that this deck is for muscle alone. From what I've seen, this deck compliments the Clockwork Components deck very well, adding a much needed physical "bite" to Klik.

Primal Powers is incredibly impressive, and can appeal to just about everyone. A variety of powers that allow Players to everything from blow craters into the Earth to controlling wildlife. Want to conjure a hurricane? Then receive the blessing of the Storm and call down Nature's fury on your foes! Want to make some new friends? Then call up some wildlife and run with the wolves. Primal Powers is a great deck.

Finally, we have the brand spanking new Triple Threat: Slugs and Steel deck. This new line of decks has not just one but three pre-built Characters for you to use. Slugs and Steel has the Klik Tripod, Deep-6; the NAU Highbred Sgt. Skinner, and the IDF Highbred Barnabas. PLUS, Slugs and Steel features two fan created cards. You heard me, two cards in that deck are original fan concepts. I can claim one and our prestigious MegaMagicMonkey (M3 for short) can claim the other. Once I have this deck in hand, then I'll be discussing it, in particular the fan created cards.

Alright, so let's change gears a little and talk about the new Untold: Elite. Untold offers a lot to its fans. There dozens of free downloads, countless information about the Setting that is designed by fans (I should know), and even fan created cards. However, there is a section of Untold that only the Elite has access to. The Untold: Elite section offers a variety of benefits and bonuses to fans. Fans can learn about new releases before anyone else does, access to Card Libraries, and even beta-test new cards. It is entire secret section of the web site, and even has its own forum. I am one of the first Elite members, and I can honestly say it's worth it.

So here we are. I'm not sure what we'll be tackling next week, but I'll find something. I do want to offer congratulations to Untold Co-Creator and Wandering Nathan Ellsworth and his new bride, Megan Ellsworth! They were married this past weekend. We wish them all the best for their new life together!

Want to get those powers discussed earlier? Check out the Untold Store: http://www.untoldthegame.com/store.

Want to become an Untold Elite member? Easy! Go here: http://www.untoldthegame.com/store/untold-elite-access

Until next time, thanks for reading and have fun!

I'm on the inside and I'm looking out...

Gee, it's gotten dusty around here. Well, folks, I know it's been a while. Things got pretty busy round these parts, but it's all calmed down now. Since it's been so long, I decided I'm not going to stick to the old schedule but do something new. I asked what kind of blog I should do today and Ashy told me I should do one of an insider's perspective. A fan who received a huge honor by being allowed to actually help build up this game.





Well, let's get things started. I know I've told this story before, but I'm going to tell it again here because it's relevant to the blog. How did I get started in Untold? Well, my wife and I were at Mobicon two years ago. We were already fans of the Wandering Men and we made a bee line to their booth on the first day to say hi and catch up. Then we learned they were doing demo's a new RPG game. Jennifer ofcourse wanted to play, but I had made plans to compete in an L5R Kotei being held at the same time. Guess who won? Yeah...like I had a choice...





Anyways, so we demo'd the game and survived having Ashy as our GM. We liked it so much (Jennifer especially since she hated any other RPG I tried to introduce her to), that we came back and spent the entire next day demoing the game again with Raulston (Captain Blood on the forums), who was a great GM, if slightly intimidating...We loved the game. We bought t-shirts, and went home to share the game with everyone we knew.





It wasn't a week later that I pitched Ashy an idea about character, a L'na Twilight, with the body of a black tiger and bony spikes on his back. Ashy told me that I agreed to through on a scorpion tail, and write up a short backstory for him, then Ashy would find me the artwork. Three months later, sure enough, I had the initial sketches for Shadow, Lost Child of Ai. It was awesome.



It's been over a year since then, and what's it like now? Well, since then I have written dozens ecologies, short stories, and the like. From a purely technical standpoint, it's a good deal of work, including research, editing, and planning. What I do for Untold isn't just for me, but the entire Untold community, and I want to make sure that anything of mine that gets published the best work I can do. And I am really proud of the work I do. I love Shadow, and every creature I write an ecology for and every character that becomes of a Hebdomadal Persona.



From a personal standpoint, it's a real privilege. As both a fan and a developer, I can have fun and play the game, sharing cool combos and making up excellent stories. But as someone who contributes and helps build this awesome world, I can listen to what other fans are saying and try to incorporate what they want into Untold. The Wandering Men pride themselves on listening to their fans, but they are only four guys. They rely on fans like me, and the fan base as a whole, to come to them and tell them what we want.



So, what's new for someone like me? Besides doing ecologies, and the like, I am currently working on a great development team to help build up various areas of Apoc Earth! It really is a great team, with not only me, but MegaMagicMonkey, LumberKlik, and Melissa on there as well. And we really hope you enjoy what we have in store for Untold.



Well, that's it for this week. I know it's short. Next week, we're going to tackle an interesting topic that Untold has a unique solution for: What happens when a GM wants to be a Player and vice versa?