NETHER REGIONZ: THE LOST ISSUE

The year is 1998 -- Furbies were the rage, your aunt had seen Titanic in theaters 11 times, and the pen & paper role playing game world was abuzz about the resurgence of Nether Regionz! The game had reached new heights in popularity and the primary source of updates on the sword & planet tabletop classic was Nether Regionz Magazine. Month after month, issue after issue flew off of comic book and hobby shop shelves. Until the incident. 

I think we're all familiar with the tragic series of maritime disasters that resulted in the early 1998 heavily anticipated issue 158 of Nether Regionz Magazine never showing up in mailboxes or on store shelves, so I won't bore you with those details, but needless to say disappointment rang out through the gaming community and the financial fallout was devastating, circulation was never quite the same. Worse still, the issue itself remained lost, unnerded, in the murky depths of the Puerto Rico Trench... or so we thought until the printer finally cleaned out that back room and found a few cases. Netherheadz can FINALLY fill that gap in their display cases and discover all the cool shit that could have been in their 1998 games. 

The Nether Regionz campaign setting is a time-warped homage to early 80s sword and planet franchises such as ThunderCats, Thundarr the Barbarian, and most especially Filmation's He-Man and the Masters of the Universe, and late 90s gaming and culture magazines. The rules contained in the magazine are by some miracle of time dilation, 5E compatible with modifications inspired by the setting, earlier editions of D & D, and others 80s games, like Palladium Book's Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Other Strangeness. 

The heavily illustrated issues includes introductions to the campaign world, detailed maps, 15+ pages of COMICS, 20+ articles, 10 guest artists, and one haiku! Playable content includes Nether Regionz unique take on plant and fungus-persons. There are also rules for fantastic technology and a deep dive into unique Nether Regionz locales to inspire your games. There are parody letters from readers, parody ads, real ads, reviews and previews of other games and media seemingly from the late 90s. Guest contributors include Bill Ward (Black Gate Magazine, Tales From the Magician's Skull Online) writing about the influence of genre fiction like Jack Vance's Planet of Adventure and Michael Moorcock's Elric series on tabletop roleplaying games. Illustrations and comics from Tom O'Halloren (Shark McGill, Sugarplum Chronicles), Melvin Jarvis (Dungeon Crawlers), Michael Bracco (The Creators, Adam Wreck), and Kata Kane (Altar Girl, Ana and the Cosmic Race). There is an excerpt from Neon Barbarian, a comic by David Crispino (Ancient Noise, Taft Sturgeon) and Tony Gregori (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Rick & Morty), cartoons by Jonny Wags (Be Gentle I'm Stupid), and me, Mike Riley (I Taste Sound, Irregulordz). 

 There will be one very small run of these, unless I blow through them in a few weeks, then maybe there are more in the back of the warehouse and a recovery operation could be funded via Kickstarter Nether Regionz Magazine: The Lost Issue.  

TOMEBOUND

 TomeBound is a fast-paced, spell-slinging dueling game by Lothar Bacher. Disrupt your foe with a deluge of wind and water, build and demolish with powerful earth spells, and reduce your enemy to ashes with an onslaught of fire and lightning. TomeBound is a game of planning, timing, clever counter play, and epic battle magic! A deckless deckbuilder that approaches the classic concept of dueling wizards from a new and unique perspective!

"Intuitive, strategic, and an all around blast to play. TomeBound hits all the notes and just feels right. Easily the new top pick for 2 player games in my collection." 

- Jeremy Peggins, The Game Haven

"The concept of ‘easy to learn, hard to master’ is such an overdone cliché, but there are few better ways to describe TomeBound. You think you get it early, but you keep learning dozens of games in. It’s the simplest deckbuilder I’ve ever played, but deep enough that the counterplay keeps the game seriously interesting for a long time. I will play this with my mom and with my gaming group." 

- Chris Cook, Director Super Smash Con

"The first time I played a game with Matt it was obvious he was a naturally gifted game designer. He intuitively grasped structures, intelligently prioritized decisions, and enjoyed meaningful choices and counterplay. His work in TomeBound is a perfect example of bringing that tight balance between investment and payoff into an exciting two player card game. I've had the opportunity to see him develop this game from a rough paper prototype into this beautiful spell slinging treasure - back it now! You'll have a fantastic game to share with a friend and will be investing in the future of a great game designer." 

- Dorian Newcomb, Oxide Games