2 September, 2008 by The Healer.

My wife and I live within spitting distance of Philadelphia. And as any of you who have read my About Us section probably know I am a molecular biologist by trade. More specifically, I am a geneticist that specializes in reproduction and evolution. So its not particularly hard to guess that I was excited when I heard the Philadelphia Academy of Natural Sciences would be hosting a display of the artifacts of Gregor Mendel, the father of genetics. So last weekend my wife and I took the train in to Philly and went to see this exhibition. Unfortunately, they did not allow use of cameras in the show so all the pictures below are from the rest of the museum. But other than not being able to take pictures I thought the exhibition was a lot of fun and very interesting. A large array of personal artifacts are on display from his personal gardening tools to his copy of On the Origin of Species. For the children, or the immature like yours truly, there is a number of interactive stations where you learn about Mendel’s experiments and genetics in general. The exhibition is also interspersed with a collection of art inspired by genetics and genes. All and all it was an enjoyable trip that I would recommend to anyone who has an interest in the history of genetics or who has a child that loves science.

~Chris Baldi “The Healer”~
~September 1, 2008~

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2 August, 2008 by The Healer.

4th Edition was released at the beginning of June and the new GSL license has been out now for some time. We here at Healing Fireball Publications have had a chance to examine both the core books to this new edition and the license regarding its use. So I thought it was about time to answer the question that the community has been in such a tizzy over asking there favorite companies - what are your plans for 4th Edition and what does this mean for my favorite 3.X lines?

In short the answer to this question is at present is that Healing Fireball Publications has no plans to update any of its lines to the new 4th Edition rules or to launch any new lines that focus on this new system. Of course in the case of our generic lines we will strive as always to make them compatible with as wide a range of games as possible including the new 4th Edition rules.

This rather large decision comes not as a result of lack of ideas for this new line but as a direct result of our understanding of the new GSL. As with the OGL before it, it fell to me to examine this new legal document, the GSL, and its accompanying SRD documentation to determine how the license could be used by our company and what kind of products we could make with it. After thoroughly reading both the GSL and SRD through several times and picking over several details I presented my information to the rest of the company And after much debate we decided that several legal issues with the license kept us from making the decision to make new products for the 4th Edition system. Below I have outlined our legal reasons for not moving to 4th Edition:

1. After careful review of the GSL and legal consultation we have found that this new GSL license fails to provide the security Open Game Content provided in the OGL. For a small company like ours it is a major concern that without the open game content safety net other larger companies might chose to sue us if we develop a game mechanic that is similar to theirs.

2. The limitations found in the SRD and GSL about what we can publish appear to be extremely stifling and would prevent us from releasing several of our initial ideas. Plus the lack of being able to redefine any rule that Wizards has already defined or even reprint the definition for easy quick reference would lead to products that would in our opinion cheat the purchaser as they would just receive a book of flavor text and cross-references. These restrictions have already led to much debate about whether a publisher could even publish a quick reference stat block for an NPC or monster.

3. Finally the stringent conversion close would force us to remove the already successful OGL versions of products if we wish to make new 4th Edition versions of those items or even new 4th edition products in that product line. We here at Healing Fireball Publications feel that to remove these items from our catalog would be unfair to our previous customers who are staying with 3rd edition and would then be unable to obtain replacement copies or updated versions of these books.

And so for the reasons listed above we here at Healing Fireball Publications have put any ideas we have for 4th Edition products on the back burner. We do not rule out publishing in this system in the future as since its unveiling several discussions and companies have begun talking about work-arounds for the GSL and there is always the hope that the contract will be changed to be more community-friendly. But for now we will continue publishing and supporting our existing 3.X lines and watch the community closely to see the trends.

~Chris Baldi “The Healer”~
~August 1, 2008~

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10 July, 2008 by Carol.

Last week Chris and I went to see a very interesting band - Gandalf Murphy and the Slambovian Circus of Dreams. Awesome. I discovered this free event last week while poking around the Camden County events website. A cross between British invasion/rockabilly/classic rock/folk, plus a few other things, I’m sure. They’re definitely unclassifiable. I was a little disappointed that they didn’t get a chance to use the theremin that was one stage, at least not that I could see. Local noise ordinances being what they are, they weren’t allowed to give us the encore they wanted to, and I heard lead singer/songwriter Joziah Longo remark afterward that he’d be up all night because the set was too short to burn off all his energy. The venue, Haddon Lake Park, was surprisingly intimate and had a great sound. We did come home with a bunch of CDs, plus a few autographs. The only downside to a sunset concert? Bad pictures:

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10 June, 2008 by The Healer.

The show will go on. As I said in the previous post, the NJ Renaissance Kingdom and Faire opened on Saturday May 31. Regrettably, we opened to a thunderstorm and were forced to shut early. Last weekend we opened to stifling heat and underwhelming crowds but the show went on. Below are some pictures of the day. As I stated in my first teaser, this year we are doing a pirate-themed show called the Pirates of Tortuga in which the tensions between France and England boil over onto the port of Tortuga and into the court of the pirate king. So come on down and see us. The show runs weekends from to June 21 at South Mountain Reservation in West Orange.
           

~Chris Baldi “The Healer”~
         ~June 9, 2008~

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30 May, 2008 by The Healer.

After a long weekend last week of building and painting, the NJ Renaissance Kingdom and Faire is set to begin this Saturday May 31.  Me and my wife will be there as always working at the gift shop and this year our small shop will also be selling print copes of the original A Squire’s Guide To All Things Knightly, The Cabin Boy’s Pocket Pirate Handbook and the new Stakes, Crosses and Garlic: A Hunter’s Guide to Vampires.  We will also be selling an assortment of parchment bookmarks in both pirate and medieval designs that are perfect for gaming books.  I also hope to have a selection of other Healing Fireball products on hand for sale.  So come on over and see us.  The show runs weekends from May 31 to June 21 at South Mountain Reservation in West Orange.

~Chris Baldi “The Healer”~
       ~May 29, 2008~

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23 May, 2008 by Carol.

In an attempt to better ourselves through yarn reading, Chris and I journeyed into the city to visit the Philadelphia Book Fair at the Free Library last Sunday. We certainly did not go for the sole purpose of meeting the inimitable Yarn Harlot, who was there giving a talk and signing copies of her new book, if that’s what you’re thinking. (Chris tells me to keep the knitting-related news items to a minimum. I don’t understand why yarn and gaming have to be mutually exclusive, but whatever.) My apologies to the Yarn Harlot for the photo:

The library was very efficient with moving people, though, so I didn’t get to take a picture with the sock, alas.

While I was hanging out with the knitty people, Chris went to hear the discussion by the folks from LibraryThing. (Visit our Library!) They talked mostly about the implementation of interesting new features, and I have to say, it keeps getting better over there. I especially like that you can now label books with the Date Started and the Date Read, so I can finally keep track of that sort of thing. (As an aside, Chris nixed my idea of doing book reviews, unless they were gaming-related or themed. He didn’t think the geeks would like to hear about Atonement. Maybe I should take a survey).

At this point, it started raining. We putzed around, and it started to rain harder. So we jogged over to the nearby Franklin Institute (sorry, it’s “The Franklin” now, it seems) to purchase some appropriately dorky drip-free umbrellas. By that point, everything was beginning to close up and we headed home. Hopefully we’ll have better weather next year, and we can actually use the tote bags for new books we brought along.

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23 May, 2008 by Flash.

Greetings All,

This is Flash here, bringing you the up-to-date news from the Western Front. Healing Fireball Publications currently has a number of products being developed simultaneously and The Healer was kind enough to start the ball rolling, so I am here to tell you about some more of the products you can look forward to being released soon by HFP.

In the Curious Items line, work is being done on three separate products: “Gentlemen’s Magic Items” dealing with alternate magic items for socially oriented games; “Goggles and Eyewear” for all your enchanted optical needs; and “Scarves” because let’s face it, if your character isn’t rocking a scarf, he or she isn’t looking their best.

These three projects are closest to completion, but keep an eye out here for another update soon, including information on a new product line: Mythos.

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23 May, 2008 by The Healer.

Well, it has been a while since I have done one of these updates and I figure it’s about time. Let me start this by updating you on the status of the products I talked about in the first Current Projects post. As mentioned in that post, I was working on a new line of game aids called the Combat Cards. I am proud to report that this line has launched successfully and now has two products under its name - Combat Cards: Action Types, and Combat Cards: Special Tactics. As for the Just Add Dice products I was working on, the cargo series has been released with a total of four books in the set covering ship cargo in multiple types of worlds. Finally, we launched an offshoot of this line in the form of Two Bit Tables. This series of short tables, dedicated to a single topic but that were too small to be expanded into full Just Add Dice Products, currently has two forest-themed products for a mere 50¢ each.

Now on to my current projects. As I mentioned above, we have just launched the Two Bit Tables line and I am currently spending a lot of time polishing off some tables in this line on battle names and secret societies. In addition to this, I am in the process of rebranding two of our product lines with real logos and removing the D20 license from the products that will lose it in June. I am proud to say, however, that work continues on several Just Add Dice products, including the much anticipated drink and wine generator. Also, the vampire slayer’s guide is in the final stages of production and will be ready in time to sell at the NJ Renaissance Faire so come and check it out. Well, that’s about all I currently have on my plate. So until next time –
~Chris Baldi “The Healer”~
~May 22, 2008~

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22 May, 2008 by The Healer.

Where we live in New Jersey the fair season starts with the Mercer County Lions Club Fair in Mercer County Park.  There really is not much to this fair.  The grounds are a large open field in Mercer Park the stages are either the portable rollaway kind or areas that have been cordoned off with plastic fencing and cones.  The food is served out of a collection of grease trucks or from portable carts.  But the price is right at only $7 and the profits go to a good cause.  Plus the number of vendors has steadily grown every year and it provides a place to get costuming and equipment before the larger more organized fairs start.   

This year was no exception and we had a fine day with a clear sky and constant breeze when we went.  We are always glad when fair season starts as we get to see some friends that we only see at fairs and this time was no different. Our friends at Lusty Leather had a booth as normal and we spent some time talking to them and browsing their new products.  Round Table Jousting with our friends from Period Productions put on a fine jousting show and the local troop of musketeers put on several firing demonstrations.  All and all it was an enjoyable trip and a great way to start the fair season.

         
~Chris Baldi “The Healer”~
     ~May 21, 2008~

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8 May, 2008 by The Healer.

Hello and welcome to yet another installment of product previews.  Again I find that for this week’s prevue I must turn this column over to another of our resident guide writers - Alfred Sergeant, Loyal Man-At-Arms for Sir Owain, to explain his work.  Hail and well met, gentle reader.  As mentioned above, I am the loyal Man-At-Arms for Sir Owain, loyal knight to King Arthur of the New Jersey Renaissance Kingdom.  As such I have fought many battles and seen much of the knights’ ways.  So, when Healing Fireball Publications asked me to put pen to paper and record my knowledge so that it could help aspiring young squires, I readily agreed.  Below you will find a sample of this document to peruse and see its quality.  I thank you in advance for your time and hope you find my work enlightening.

A Squire’s Guide to All Things Knightly DEMO

Thanks, Alfred, for that introduction. If you liked what the Squires’ quite has to offer you can get the full guide for only $5.00 by clicking here.  The full guide is a whopping 43 pages of in-character knightly facts, including extensive descriptions of noble/church titles and their relationships, several historic/literary codes of chivalry/courtly love and large sections on the armor and weapons used by knights.  Each copy of the squires’ guide also comes with a gigantic 67-page role playing appendix chock full of advice for playing several different styles of knights, on designing a chivalric code and using honor, combat tactics used by knights, advice for game masters and much, much more.
~Chris Baldi “The Healer”~
       ~May 7, 2008~

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