Release Date: September 7, 2010! Pre-Order yours now!

The Essential Dungeons & Dragons Starter
BY: Mike Mearls, Bill Slavicsek and James Wyatt

The best way to start playing the 4th Edition Dungeons & Dragons Fantasy Roleplaying Game.

Designed for 1–5 players, this boxed game contains everything needed to start playing the Dungeons & Dragons Fantasy Roleplaying Game, including rules for creating heroes, advice for playing the Dungeon Master, a solo play adventure, and group-play adventure content. Learning the game has never been so easy!

Several different character races (dwarf, elf, halfling, and human) and classes (cleric, fighter, rogue, and wizard) are presented, along with powers for each race and class.

Game components:

• 32-page book for players, with rules for character creation and a solo adventure


• 64-page book for Dungeon Masters, with the rules of the game, advice on how to run the game, and adventure content


• 2 sheets of die-cut tokens for characters and monsters


• Cardstock character sheets and power cards


• Double-sided dungeon map


• 6 polyhedral dice

Item Details

• Item Code: 244660000


• Release Date: September 7, 2010


• Format: Box


• Price: $19.99 C$23.99


• ISBN: 978-0-7869-5629-6

This fantastic new box set comes with High Elves & Skaven!

This is Warhammer in a box! Complete and playable Skaven and High Elf armies, rulebook, dice, templated and everyting you need to play but a table!

There are 74 miniatures in the new set, including a Griffon, an Elf Mage, two Rat Ogres and a Skaven Warlord!

There’s a ‘Getting Started’ booklet for tips on painting, modelling and battling! It’s a great resource for anyone new to Warhammer and is full of maps and bits of background! There’s also a small-format rulebook with all the rules you’ll need to play Warhammer Fantasy and is ideal to take to tournaments and events!

Get your pre-order in early!

Dynamite Entertainment will launch a six-issue miniseries spun off from The Boys in August. The Boys: Highland Laddie will tell Hughie’s origin story as he returns to the Scottish seaside town where he grew up.

Highland Laddie will be written by Garth Ennis, with art by John McCrea (Herogasm), and cover by Darick Robertson. It’s a 32-page comic with a $3.99 cover price.

A setting of gothic horror is the theme for a new board game coming from Wizards of the Coast in August: the Castle Ravenloft Board Game. Drawing on themes and characters from the Dungeons & Dragons setting, the board game will pit the players against the evil master of the haunted caste.

Castle Ravenloft will be a cooperative game for one to five players. Multiple scenarios are included to keep the game challenging for multiple plays. The game was designed by Bill Slavicsek and Mike Mearls.

The box will contain 40 plastic miniature heroes and monsters, 13 sheets of dungeon tiles, 200 playing cards, a scenario book, and a 20-sided die. Suggested retail price will be $64.95.

WizKids/Neca has announced the August release of Marvel HeroClix: Web of Spider-Man Expansion for the Marvel HeroClix Collectible Miniatures Game. Everyone’s favorite neighborhood wall-crawler returns in this first ever Marvel HeroClix set dedicated to Marvel’s most popular character. The Marvel HeroClix: Web of Spider-Man Expansion includes 64 new HeroClix figures (56 new sculpts) including characters from throughout Spider-Man’s career.

The new expansion also includes subthemes from Marvel’s key Dark Reign and Siege crossover events. Also, once again WizKids has created a “Buy It By the Brick” promotion that provides consumers with a way to earn the exclusive Spider-Man: First Appearance HeroClix Figure that recreates the cover to Amazing Fantasy #15, the first appearance of the legendary webslinger.

Organized play kits will be available to comic book and hobby stores who order Marvel HeroClix: Web of Spider-Man from either Diamond Comic Distributors or Alliance Game Distributors.

Green Ronin Publishing has announced the upcoming release of a new sourcebook combining the popular Freeport campaign setting with the Pathfinder game system. Titled Freeport Companion: Pathfinder RPG Edition, this 160-page softcover book is scheduled for release in July, 2010.

Freeport is celebrating its tenth anniversary this year. The pirate-themed fantasy setting has proven popular with gamers, spawning multiple editions and titles. This sourcebook provides all the rules needed to run campaigns in the Freeport setting using the Pathfinder RPG system from Paizo Publishing. Pathfinder has quickly risen to be the #2 RPG system (see “Top Q4 2009 Roleplaying Games”) since its launch last summer.

The Freeport Companion features game stats for the setting’s major characters, new core classes and prestige classes, new magic items and spells, and rules for character insanity. An introductory adventure is also included.

Freeport Companion: Pathfinder RPG Edition will have a suggested retail price of $27.95.

Mongoose Publishing has announced the August publication of a fully updated and revised (for RuneQuest II) Elric of Melnibone Role-Playing Game Core Rulebook ($39.99). Based on the sword and sorcery novels of Michael Moorcock, the 256-page hardcover, which is written by Lawrence Whitaker, kicks off Mongoose’s new Eternal Champion line. It transports players to the Young Kingdoms, an eldritch setting providing a wealth of strange places, deadly foes, and potent spells. A copy of the RuneQuest II rulebook is required.

Mongoose is also releasing the Elric of Melnibone Game Master’s Screen ($14.99). Constructed from heavy card stock, the boldly illustrated screen comes with every vital chart and table for the Elric RPG, and is the perfect complement to a well-run Young Kingdoms campaign

Fantasy Flight Games has announced the upcoming release of The Winds of Magic, a supplement for the Warhammer Fantasy RPG. FFG plans to release The Winds of Magic this summer.

The new supplement will provide players of the Warhammer RPG with key background information on the College of Magic, along with new rules and tools for wizards, dozens of new spells across all eight College Orders, plus suggestions and guidance for playing wizard characters.

For Game Masters The Winds of Magic introduces the Ruinous Power Tzeentch, his demonic minions, and insights into the Great Conspirator’s fiendish schemes. The supplement also includes a complete adventure that GMs can use to challenge players with a diabolical plot unfolding in the heart of the Empire.

At the Gama Trade Show ICv2 talked with designers from Dust Games who have created two card games, Mad Zeppelin and The Island that will be released in the U.S. this August by the Alderac Entertainment Group.

Mad Zeppelin is a fast-paced game of sabotage that takes place on the Nostria, an armored zeppelin of the imperial fleet. The game takes place at the height of the industrial revolution just as the Great Empire is about to take delivery of many secret crates from its colonies. Players have to infiltrate the crew and passengers of the Nostria with traitors who attempt to dump the secret cargo overboard before it falls into the hands of the Empire. The player who destroys the most cargo wins the game, but bribing the guards is of key importance in order to carry out the mission.

Mad Zeppelin is easy to learn and play. The game comes with 14 Traitor cards, 100 cargo cards, 10 Journey cards, 3 special dice, and 30 tokens representing gold pieces.

The Island, which is also a card game, takes place on an island containing a number of warring city states. Players begin with their own city, which comes complete with an army that can be augmented by mercenaries and also by conquering other cities and absorbing their forces. Some cards also add a magical component that can be used to augment a player’s forces in battle or to strengthen the defenses of a city. The player who conquers the most cities is the winner.

Flying Frog Productions, publisher of the popular zombie game Last Night on Earth, is adding science fiction to its line-up with two games featuring alien invasions planned for this year: Invasion from Outer Space and Conquest of Planet Earth.

Up first, at Gen Con, is Invasion from Outer Space. Players assume the roles of common circus performers such as the Strongman, the Bearded Lady, or the Dancing Bear, or take charge of the invading Martian hordes. The game includes 28 detailed plastic miniatures, cards, modular gameboard, and multiple scenarios for greater replay value.

Invasion from Outer Space uses the same game system as Last Night on Earth, allowing players to combine both games together. Like LNOE, it includes photographic artwork and a CD soundtrack.

• Stock number: FFP0301.


• Suggested retail price: $59.95.

The game can be played cooperatively, with the players working together against the powerful defenders, or competitively with the players struggling to be the most successful invasion force. Includes 25 plastic miniatures, a CD soundtrack, and modular gameboard.

• Stock number: FFP0401


• Suggested retail price: $49.95

For more information, check out this article on Catan.com!