Along with the release of four new Chronicles this year, Kevin will be working on the re-fit of the first two, adding some more content, and spicing things up a little bit. The gist of the adventures will stay the same, but we’re hoping to get new maps through our partnership with Fabled Environments, and we will update the Savage Worlds rules to be in line with Savage Worlds Deluxe, which was released this past summer. Those who bought copies of the adventure previously will receive a coupon for fresh copies of the applicable adventures they have previously purchased.

It should be a good year for Wellstone City, with more Chronicles, refitting the first two adventures, and a few other surprises!

Though it’s been pretty quiet out here in Gryphon territory, we’re starting to really ramp up the production on 2012′s releases. Eiridia is getting ever closer to completion; with the manuscript almost completely written and all of the existing writing edited, it falls to me to finish it off with art, layout, and graphical goodness. We’re not quite ready to unveil the logo yet, but I thought I’d throw out a bit of a teaser – a work-in-progress shot of the front cover!

The beautiful lineart was done by Michael Mayne, the artist behind the comic book Bonnie Lass. I gave him a description evocative of Cthulhu and Conan, and he really delivered in spades. I’ve taken over now and begun the color work. I’m hoping to have it finished in the next week or two, along with a few black-and-white monster pieces.

Without further adieu, here it is:

Kevin and Ben will be busily adding product as they are able, and the store prices will reflect our on-going Christmas sale!

We are in the middle of re-tooling our store, and if it is not technically impossible to do so, we will also be revamping our prices at our store as well! Again, we’re going through a webpage change and selecting a more user-friendly storefront for our electronic store, so bear with us as we go through this!

This sale only comes once a year, so take advantage of the reduction of our normal prices while you can!

DriveThru RPG

The Silver Gryphon Store

In the mean time browse the site, hit the forums, and check out the store as they stand! The data from our current store and forum will be ported over, so every change, order, and entry you make will be there long into the future!

Nigerians don’t take on freelancers, prisoners, or ransoms. They are violent to the extreme, and anything in their way gets taken out. They trade in drugs, people, and guns. The organization of the Nigerians has yet to be determined, but it is thought that there is a shadowy king-pin at work behind the scenes, and judging from courier traffic, this king-pin is in Little Haiti. Most of the Nigerian targets seem to be centered in the Warrens, and it is unknown if they are simply preying on the easy targets or it they are trying to muscle in on some territory.

Running their operations is bringing in tons of cash, and those who try to climb the ladder to quickly make themselves targets for law-enforcement. The syndicate has no qualms with letting the cops thin their herd; it saves them the trouble of removing the weakest links, and it seems to be strengthening those who can learn from their lessons. It’s been called the Darwinism of the Criminal Syndicate. The Nigerians don’t have a lot of internal loyalty, they follow the cash and the cause, but they don’t bail their members out of jail, and they don’t hire good defense attourneys. That’s the way they have adopted in Wellstone: get smart and keep your head down, and if you get caught, shut your mouth. They are linked with the gangs in the prison system just well enough that snitches get burned down, and burned bad.

We’re rapidly approaching the Christmas season, or maybe it started in August if you believe some of the larger retailers. It’s finally snowing here at the Silver Gryphon head quarters and it’s about time! We love winter; gathering around with friends and family, sipping hot chocolate or apple cider, and throwing some dice!

We’ve got a lot of stuff moving in the pipe, and with the launch of our Panzer Reich Crash Test, Kevin has a lot of his time spent working with future releases for that, including the Panzer Reich setting book which will be released on December 22nd, 2012….because it’s a post-apocalyptic setting…

Ben is also diligently working on Eiridia, getting it primed for a March 2012 launch. He’s busily rounding up artists and working with support authors and various other folks to get the final touches put on it. Kevin’s been helping him as well, but it’s Ben’s baby and we’re all on the edge of our seats to see this one come to fruition!

We have more people working behind the scenes now as well, which frees up some time for Ben and Kevin to do what they do best. We’re hitting things hard heading into this season and we know 2011 has been one of our best years yet, and we’re chomping at the bit to get started with 2012!

Gryphon Mastiffs are the largest of all of the gryphon sub-species. They are thought to be the progenitor of the various gryphon breeds, but that is the subject for academics, not for those that hunt or train them. Mastiffs stand 16 feet tall at the front shoulder, and can easily peak in up to 4th story windows if standing on their hind legs. They have a wing span of nearly 100 feet, and their powerfully muscled leonine bodies can weigh in upwards of 4000 pounds.

Gryphon Mastiffs need to consume huge amounts of meat and are often seen along the coasts near their mountainous homes hunting killer whales, pods of dolphins, or even deeper at see hunting huge fish such as blue-fin tuna. They do not discriminate in their prey, and while they prefer to leave men alone, they will feast upon them if the opportunity presents itself. They have an extreme fondness for eating the flesh of horses and larger Gryphon Mastiffs will eat a whole horse in a day.

Mastiff cubs are kicked out of the nest as soon as they are able to fly and hunt on their own. If more than one Mastiff is found at a time, it is usually a mother teaching her cub to hunt or it is a mating pair. Like all gryphons, Mastiffs mate for life, but will only be seen in pairs during rutting season.

In combat, Mastiffs are horrifying against small numbers of troops. They prefer to strike from the air, snatching with their claws and flying up, dropping any prey that puts up too much of a fight. They will go after horse-mounted cavalry without fear. Often times, the Mastiffs will circle their quarry like sharks, scoping it out and analyzing it with a canny intellect. Most often it will attack with both of its front claws and then its bite an a round if in close combat. Otherwise it will fly by, attacking with a paw trying to snatch up smaller targets. They can perform a Slam attack, but doing so is risky. If taking most of a round (two move actions) to dive on a target, they can make a single attack and hit with all four claws, effectively landing on the target hard, and dealing 4 attacks for 3d8 simultaneously. When they do this, they are prone for their next action as they recover from the shock of falling out of the air onto a soft target. The victim is also knocked prone and remains so until the gryphon moves, even if the attack itself scored no damage.

The entrance to the Steeple is unknown, and those who find it usually end up in a dumpster fire for their efforts. Only the most trusted aquaintences and allies of the rich who attend the Steeple are allowed to accompany the upper eschelons of society. It is an unofficial neutral zone of the city, though violence in particularly trying times is not unheard of. Everyone who is there is armed, most people are wearing Lexington Suits, and everyone has body guards. The politeness of the venue hinges on the same ideals of the Cold War: mutually assured destruction.

For those who want to gain entrance, they must be introduced by someone major, and they must expect to place a bet of at least $100,000. It’s chump-change for the elite, it could be the life-savings of a player from the streets. Anything less is an insult to the Steeple and to those who frequent it, and insults of that magnitude are never taken lightly in Wellstone City.

Stay tuned, hit the forum and introduce yourself, sit back, and enjoy!