Monsters is Nominated for an Ennie
over 6 years ago – Wed, Jul 11, 2018 at 05:03:40 PM

Greetings! The Ennie Awards are upon us once again, and once again, Chill has a nomination (we were nominated a couple of years ago in Best Free Product for the Chill Quickstart, Good Fences Make Good Neighbors).

This year, Monsters is nominated for Best Writing.

Obviously I’m very proud to have been nominated, especially in writing. I wrote Monsters myself, and I’m happy with the way it turned out. It’s nice to have that validation.

That said, I’m not going to ask you to vote for Monsters. I’m going to ask you to vote for Harlem Unbound.

Harlem Unbound, if you don’t know, takes the Lovecraftian Cthulhu Mythos into the Harlem Renaissance. That’s innovative on a number of levels, and it’s hard to say that about anything Mythos-related. The book presents the setting in several different systems (Call of Cthulhu, GUMSHOE) and asks the players to take on African-American characters rather than the (usually white) investigative protagonists of a Mythos-style game.

Awards have a tendency to be purely self-congratulatory, but I always feel that an award is a chance to recognize achievement, innovation, and, hopefully, the future and trajectory of what it’s celebrating. I’m very happy that Monsters got a nom for writing and I’m honored…but I think the award should go to Chris Spivey.

The voting link is here, and I would very much like you to vote for Harlem Unbound in the first slot.

Listen to your heart for the other slots. If you felt like voting for Monsters in slot 2, well, I would very much appreciate that.

Not All Creatures are Monsters - The Undead are Coming!
about 7 years ago – Mon, Oct 09, 2017 at 07:26:59 PM

Greetings, envoys! I just wanted to make folks aware (those who haven't seen the updates elsewhere) that our next Chill sourcebook, Undead, is now funding on Kickstarter. We're just shy of $9000, meaning that we're only about $6K from our goal with three weeks to go. There are a bunch of fun limited backer levels remaining - contribute a pregen character (SAVE Recruiter), add a creature of the Unknown (Traitor!), or even have a custom game written and run for you at one of several different conventions (Regional Coordinator). 

Also, we've unlocked two free cases (by Chris Spivey and Sarah Richardson), and we're only 58 backers from unlocking the third one, by Steve Kenson! 

Give Undead a look if you haven't, and, as always, thank you for your support!

Caught Up With Monsters
about 7 years ago – Thu, Sep 21, 2017 at 08:17:38 PM

Or have they caught up with us? *gaps*

Anyway, as of this writing, all of the Monsters rewards have been shipped. The final free case - Dead Hearts, written by Morgan A. McLaughlin McFarland, longtime Chill contributor, editor of Monsters, and one heck of a karaoke singer, has been added to the Growling Door site (download it here!)

That pretty much puts Monsters to bed! Our next Chill project will be Undead, and the Kickstarter for said project launches Tuesday, October 3rd, at 12:00 noon Eastern time. We've been putting up a blog post per week over at growlingdoorgames.com, gearing up for the Undead launch, and we'd love to have your support when the dead come shambling out of the graves. 

If you don't get your Monsters rewards, or if there are any problems with them, please contact me and we'll get it sorted out! 

As always, envoys, thank you for your support, and please enjoy Monsters!

Wrapping Up
over 7 years ago – Tue, Aug 15, 2017 at 12:12:53 PM

Greetings, envoys!

I heard from Derrick at Magpie Games (they're doing fulfillment for us) yesterday. Here's the shipping status. 

Packages

All but about 11 packages are shipped. Those 11 were delayed because Magpie ran out of CM screens (either he miscounted or I did), but I shipped more out to him and they should have arrived yesterday, giving him enough time to ship them out. Worst case scenario, they'll get shipped next week after GenCon. 

Tracking

I have tracking numbers for US backers (we're not able to get tracking for non-US, sorry), so if you want yours, PM me and I'll look it up. 

GenCon

If you've arranged to pick up your stuff at GenCon, remember you can do that at ICC 239 any time Thursday-Sunday, 10-6PM (4PM on Sunday). I'll be in that room from about 2PM to midnight-ish on Thursday, so if you want to chat about the book or have me sign it, I'm available, just ask the folks at the HQ table where I am.

The Future is Dead

Undead, anyway. Our Kickstarter for our next Chill book opens on Tuesday, October 3rd. We're doing a blog post a week from the authors of the book over on the Growling Door Games site. You can join our mailing list at that site and get news about the Kickstarter, Chill cases, and other Growling Door projects on that site, too!

Final Thoughts on Monsters

I've seen some folks posting pictures of their newly-arrived copies of Monsters, which is always heartwarming. I would love to see some reviews or ratings over on DriveThru RPG, if y'all have time and inclination. Monsters is the first book I've written solo in a while, and it felt good - I'm really happy with how it turned out, both as far as content and with the work that Thomas did with the layout (it was tricky!) and that Alessandro, Gennifer, Jenna, Kiva, and Len did with the artwork. I also have the acknowledge Morgan for her stellar editing work, including keeping voices consistent between Ruby Garrett and Mafuz El-Hasham. 

If you have thoughts on the book that you'd like to share, I'd love to hear them. That goes double for any actual play reports for Chill, or questions you have about rules (one thing we're gonna do this year is work up an errata/FAQ for the core book). You can find us at our G+ community, the Chill Facebook page, the Growling Door Games Facebook page, or over on RPG.net (just tag me; I'm BlackHat_Matt over there).

As always, thank you for your support, and hopefully I'll see you at GenCon!

Shipping! GenCon!
over 7 years ago – Sat, Jul 29, 2017 at 12:46:14 PM

Greetings! As you may have seen, shipping for Monsters will commence this week. Hopefully everything will get shipped out before GenCon (I will update on that score when I know more). Here's what you need to know:

If you have filled out your Backerkit and been charged for shipping...

...all is well. Kick back and enjoy a beverage of your preference and await your rewards. 

If you have contacted me about picking up your rewards at GenCon and gotten a response...

...come to ICC 239 (the Indie Game Developer HQ) in the convention center anytime between 10AM-6PM, Thursday-Saturday. Tell the folks at that table you're there to pick up your copy of Monsters. Show them your badge or ID, and get your stuff!

Now, this is important: If someone is picking up your rewards on your behalf, you must tell me. The HQ staff will not give out rewards to someone other than the names I've provided, so if your buddy is going to pick up your copy of Monsters, you must tell me said buddy's name in advance. 

I will actually be in room ICC 239 Thursday from about 2PM on (with perhaps a brief absence around 6PM for dinner), so if you want your book signed or you just want to say "hi," ask the folks at the desk where I am. 

If you have filled out BackerKit, but have not been charged or made GenCon arrangements...

...go fill out your BackerKit. (This applies to exactly three people, and I emailed them earlier today.)

If you've gotten "your credit card was declined" notices from BackerKit...

...go fix that, or we won't ship you anything (this applies to exactly two people, and I've emailed them). 

Everybody!

Check out our blog for weekly posts about Chill, horror, and related topics leading up to the launch of the Undead Kickstarter on October 3rd!