A Game Book for Charity – The Unconventional Dwarf
In a past life, I was one of the co-founders of a publishing company called Spectacle Media Publishing Group. We published a dozen novels and TWO game books. The first was The Darkest Age. The second was this gem – The Unconventional Dwarf. It was designed to be part of a series of SYSTEM-AGNOSTIC gaming supplements. Sady, SPMG lost much money due to the need for cover art and additional editing. It was money well spent, always, but brevity and all that. Marketing the books was an immense task. Full social coverage for one book was a months-long endeavor. Maintaining appropriate marketing for a dozen novels was a task simply too large for our small company. So, we folded.
A couple of artifacts survived – The Darkest Age and The Unconventional Dwarf. Now, re-incorporated as Runeworks Games, we have this game book, The Unconventional Dwarf, which was assembled by a crack team of writers – only a few of whom I can locate. Those few, however, have agreed that all proceeds should be donated until we can find all contributors. So that’s what I’m going to do.
I’m going to take all proceeds from the sale of this game book (The Unconventional Dwarf), which will go towards paying off student lunch debt in Madison schools (starting with Madison East), then on to others. It’s not a big deal, I’m simply going to take those profits, write a check to the school, and drive over, then drop it off. Nothing intense or insane. I will, of course, make sure the school needs the help.
Every month, I’ll look at total sales. A minimum of $100 will cause me to write a check and drop it off. Again, ALL PROFIT from sales of this lost book goes to kids’ lunches. It’s that simple. So – why wouldn’t you order one or five? Let’s look at the book.
Book Description:
The Unconventional Dwarf is the first in a series of books intended to bring roleplaying into the 21st century by taking it back to its roots and questioning its fundamental assumptions.
The Unconventional will show some of the ways to make a game unique, to re-ground fantasy in real-world myths and logical consistency, while also renewing that lost sense of wonder. Each of the dwarven societies presented herein has some familiar traits, but in new contexts, and they all overturn certain aspects of dwarves as you know them in favor of an original and consistent society inspired by everything from Ancient Sparta, Imperial Rome, and the Amazons to cave diving, celebrity culture, and even the naked mole rat.
Whether looking for a concept for the next character, working on developing a world for the next session, seeking inspiration for a game design project, or simply looking for a good read, we hope that these pages will inspire, amuse, and maybe even challenge you.
This book is 92 pages, available in Print and PDF.
