Happy book birthday!

[scarlettina]

I have so many things I want to write about, but I need to acknowledge a cool thing. Today is the official release day of The Kobold Guide to Combat, edited by yours truly. The book examines combat in role-playing games and, to a lesser extent, in fiction. I'm pretty pleased with this project. It features work by a lot of terrific writers whom I respect and admire and just really dig as people. Every one of these writers is a rock star in their own right in their fields and I'm delighted they're in the book. You can get it directly from Kobold Press at the link above in print and PDF, or from your preferred store (Barnes & Noble | Amazon).

It also turns out that our publisher (and contributor) Wolfgang Baur was interviewed for The Tome Show, talking about the book. You can hear that podcast here. Wolf starts talking about 00:50.

And if you're in the Seattle area tomorrow night (Wednesday, 11/5/14), you should drop by University Bookstore. I'll be joined by six of the contributors for a panel discussion and book signing at at 7 PM.



Here's the complete table of contents:

Entering the Fray by Janna Silverstein

THE BIG PICTURE
Why We Fight: Combat as Communication by Jeff Grubb
Tactics for Tyrants by Chris Pramas
Military Systems at War by Steve Winter
The Importance of Tension and Raising the Stakes by Diana Pharaoh Francis
Gaming the Novel by Keith R.A. DeCandido
Speed of Combat by Wolfgang Baur
Scratching the Surface: 10 Things Fiction and Film Get Wrong about Violence by Rory Miller

ENVIRONMENTS
Fighting in a Real Fantasy World by Ed Greenwood
Through the Looking Glass by Colin McComb
Tossing Kegs and Smashing Chairs: How to Stage a Great Barroom Brawl by Steven Robert

ARM YOURSELF
A Note on Anatomy by Richard Pett
Combining Magic and Arms in the Field by Aaron Rosenberg
Taking Aim: The Role of Archery in Gaming by Miranda Horner
Siege Engines and War Machines in Fantasy by Wolfgang Baur
Inspiring Words: A Warlord’s Field Guide to Battle Cries by Mario Podeschi

THE RIGHT CHARACTER FOR THE JOB
Reconnaissance and Scouting by John A. Pitts and Ken Scholes
Combat from the Shadows by Carlos Ovalle
Healing Heroes: Combat Medicine and Magic by Elizabeth Ann Scarborough
Monsters: The Pointy End of Fun by Rob Heinsoo
On Being the Target by Wolfgang Baur

ONE MORE THING
The Illusion of Conflict: Spoiler-Alerts & Combo-Moves by Clinton J. Boomer

PS--I can't think of a better use for my "blood, love and rhetoric" icon than with this post. Truly, it applies here more literally than many other icons I could use.

Comments

[scarlettina.livejournal.com]

Just discovered that, back in July, the cover artist posted the image to his blog (http://emile-denis.blogspot.com/2014/08/kobold-guide-to-combat.html). He's French, and he introduced it this way: On continue avec le thème "Héroïc -fantasy- nains- madame sexy- epée-combat-etc". I am entertained.