Order Trailblazer online here…

The journey isn’t over… It’s just beginning.

Bad Axe Games peels back the outer layers of the 3.5 rules and reveals the inner workings for all to see. Within this book, you’ll find the keys to decoding the d20 rules and gain new insight into the mechanics of your game. Copious design notes detail the thought process behind every design change.

• Detailed introductory analysis of the “The Spine” of the 3.5 system
• Fixes for the most common 3.5 complaints
• Rebalanced classes, races, skills, feats and multiclassed spellcasters
• Streamlined combat and movement rules, including Combat Reactions
• Quick and easy Encounter Budgeting
• Elite and Solo templates to create memorable monsters
• Intuitive, streamlined rules for iterative attacks, grappling, wild shape, polymorph, summoned creatures, turn undead, familiars, and more!

TRAILBLAZER is an indispensable resource for gamemasters looking to breathe new life into their 3rd edition game and restore a sense of excitement and wonder to their players.

Here’s what people are saying about the Trailblazer PDF:

• “I am profoundly impressed. The mathematical analyses were very enlightening, and the revisions based on those analyses were right on the money.”
• “This is the best $4.95 I have ever spent on a gaming product.”
• “This is exactly what a 3.75 ruleset should look like. If you really want to stick with a 3.5-based system, I think Trailblazer is the way to go.”
• “Some of the changes are bold to say the least, and I don’t agree with everything, but I really like the analytic approach.”
• “The solution to multiclassed spellcasters is so elegant and effective that it should probably be adopted by all d20 games.”
• “Even if you don’t use stuff directly, just being in touch with the dicussion at this level is guaranteed to make your games better. This is a triumph in writing about game design and system adjustment.”

August 16, 2009 (Providence, RI) — Trailblazer, your 3rd Edition “system optimizer,” is now available for download in PDFformat.

Inside this work, you will find:

• A detailed analysis of The Spine of the d20 system
• Action Points
• 10-Minute Rest Mechanic
• Multiclass Spellcasters
• Character Class Rebalance
• Skill Consolidation
• New Feats
• Combat Reactions
• Customizing Monsters
• Elite and Solo Creatures
• Encounter Budgeting
• Treasure Parcels

Trailblazer includes generous design notes through the body of the work to call attention to items that have changed-and explain why.

Get Trailblazer (via RPGnow)

The print version of Trailblazer will be available through Amazon.com (September 2009).

Here’s what people are saying:

Brought to you by the designers of the award-winning Grim Tales, Trailblazer is designed to be fully customizable and compatible with your existing library of 3rd edition settings and supplements. Each section of the work addresses a specific complaint or problem with the ruleset, proposes a solution to the problem, and explains how to integrate each sub-system into your game. Copious designer notes help you fully understand the philosophy behind each change, and empowers you, the DM, to make your own tweaks and changes to get your game running at peak performance.

Trailblazer does not present “change for change’s sake.” Every change is a direct response to real problems raised by players in our own games and by the larger gaming community. Trailblazer tackles problems big and small:

1. the power curve, the “accident of math,” and the “sweet spot”
2. DM prep time
3. CR/EL/XP and encounter design
4. smoother, faster combat resolution
5. class balance
6. multiclass spellcasters
7. overhauling the skill system
8. annoyances like grappling, turn undead, 1-2-1 movement, and attacks of opportunity
9. “The 15-Minute Adventuring Day”

Trailblazer will be published under the OGL and will be available in both PDF and print format.

Sept 2, 2004 (North Providence, RI) — Bad Axe Games is extremely pleased at the recognition awarded to Grim Tales by our fellow d20 designers. Although we would like to thank our fans, our freelancers, and our staff for a job well done, we are especially grateful to the many designers and contributors of Open Content whose work appears within the pages of Grim Tales. We share this award with all of you.

EN World Peer Award

Due to last-minute confusion, the EN World Peer Awards were accidentally left out of the awards ceremony at GenCon. Now, at last, we are happy to announce the Silver and Gold Award winners on EN World. First, a revision of the speech this year’s Peer Award coordinator Will Hindmarch wrote for the presentation of the Peer Award at Gen Con Indy 2004:

The Peer Award is determined through direct voting by a wide selection of d20 System game designers and authors. The process involves no nomination process: each invited participant simply votes for his or her favorite d20 System products from the last year (May 31, 2003 through May 30, 2004) and the products with the most votes are recognized with an honorary ENnie for their contribution to the library of products at large.

The spirit of the award is this: d20 System designers are fans, too, but sometimes measure the success of a product differently than the fan community at large. These products, therefore, are those which excited us as designers–or made us jealous. These are products we admire and appreciate, even if they weren’t included in the formal nominations of the EN World Awards.

No trophy is given for these products. Instead, we announce them here, in good company, as a pat on the back or a tip of the glass. If you haven’t given these books a chance, please do so. Each is an exceptional example of d20 System design at work, whether it bravely attempts something new or masterfully realizes a favorite old concept. If you’re a d20 System designer (and all you DMs are to some extent), study these books and learn. Then, when you see their creators at a convention somewhere, buy them a drink, throw the goat, or do whatever it is you do to recognize quality work.

It’s been my pleasure to conduct this year’s voting and be witness to the respect and generous praise each voter cast upon his or her peers. Better still, this year’s votes left us with ties in both the Silver and Gold Award Categories, so we get to share the good feelings with many talented designers and honor four stellar products today! They are, in no discernable order:

SILVER AWARD WINNERS:

• Grim Tales (Benjamin Durbin, for Bad Axe Games)
• Draconomicon (Andy Collins, James Wyatt, Skip Williams, for Wizards of the Coast)

GOLD AWARD WINNERS:

• Arcana Unearthed (Monte Cook, Malhavoc Press)
• Grimm (Robert J. Schwalb, Robert Vaughn, for Fantasy Flight Games)

Visit the Grim Tales product page for more information.

The Section 15 for Grim Tales has been updated and will remain available for download at www.badaxegames.com.

The complete, updated Section 15 for Grim Tales reads as follows:

15. COPYRIGHT NOTICE

Open Game License v 1.0a Copyright 2000, Wizards of the Coast, Inc.

System Reference Document Copyright 2000, Wizards of the Coast, Inc.; Authors Jonathan Tweet, Monte Cook, Skip Williams, based on original material by E. Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson;

Modern System Reference Document Copyright 2002, Wizards of the Coast, Inc.; Authors Bill Slavicsek, Jeff Grubb, Rich Redman, Charles Ryan, based on material by Jonathan Tweet, Monte Cook, Skip Williams, Richard Baker, Peter Adkison, Bruce R. Cordell, John Tynes, Andy Collins, and JD Wiker.

System Reference Document Copyright 2000-2003, Wizards of the Coast, Inc.; Authors Jonathan Tweet, Monte Cook, Skip Williams, Rich baker, Andy Collins, David noonan, Rich Redman, Bruce R. Cordell, based on original material by E. Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson.

CORE Explanatory Notice, copyright 2003, Benjamin R. Durbin.

Spycraft Copyright 2002, Alderac Entertainment Group.

Swords of Our Fathers Copyright 2003, The Game Mechanics.

Mutants and Masterminds Copyright 2002, Green Ronin Publishing.

Unearthed Arcana Copyright 2004, Wizards of the Coast, Inc.; Andy Collins, Jesse Decker, David Noonan, Rich Redman.

Ultramodern Firearms d20, Copyright 2002, Charles McManus Ryan.

Modern Player’s Companion, Copyright 2003, The Game Mechanics, Inc.; Author: Stan!

Challenging Challenge Ratings: Immortals Handbook, Copyright 2003, Craig Cochrane.

Encountering Encounter Levels: Immortals Handbook, Copyright 2003, Craig Cochrane.

Design Parameters: Immortals Handbook, Copyright 2003, Craig Cochrane.

A Magical Medieval Society: Western Europe Copyright 2003, Expeditious Retreat Press; authors Suzi Yee and Joseph Browning.

Monster’s Handbook Copyright 2002, Fantasy Flight Publishing, Inc.

Monte Cook’s Arcana Unearthed, Copyright 2003, Monte J. Cook. All rights reserved.

Possessors: Children of the Outer Gods Copyright 2003, Philip Reed and Christopher Shy, www.philipjreed.com and www.studioronin.com.

Vilstrak from the Tome of Horrors, Copyright 2002, Necromancer Games., Inc.; Author Scott Greene, based on original material by Gary Gygax.

Grim Tales, Spellcasting game mechanics; Copyright 2003, Benjamin R. Durbin, published by Bad Axe Games, LLC.

Grim Tales, Horror game mechanics; Copyright 2003, Benjamin R. Durbin, published by Bad Axe Games, LLC.

Grim Tales, Firearms game mechanics; Copyright 2003, Benjamin R. Durbin, published by Bad Axe Games, LLC.

Grim Tales, Vehicle game mechanics; Copyright 2003, Benjamin R. Durbin, published by Bad Axe Games, LLC.

Grim Tales, Cyberware game mechanics; Copyright 2003, Benjamin R. Durbin, published by Bad Axe Games, LLC.

Grim Tales, Copyright 2004, Benjamin R. Durbin, published by Bad Axe Games, LLC.

Visit the Grim Tales product page for more information.

Grim Tales is the high adventure, low magic campaign sourcebook for fantastic roleplaying in your favorite pulp genres, from the dawn of Atlantis to the apocalyptic future of a dying planet. Players will enjoy near limitless combinations of classes, feats, skills, and talents to create their characters, while GMs can pick and choose from a wide variety of design mechanics, variant rules, and campaign trappings to create exactly the setting he wants to challenge and entertain his players. Grim Tales is a complete toolkit, designed to be completely compatible with your existing library of d20 products, allowing you to use characters, equipment, spells, monsters, and even entire settings from nearly any source.

Visit the Grim Tales product page for more information.

This notice will be posted on the Bad Axe Games, Philip J. Reed, and Ronin Arts websites, and submitted to the Open Gaming Foundation lists and top d20 news sites.

A revised OGL, with correct Section 15 Copyright attributions, is available in PDF format in our download section and at www.philipjreed.com and www.roninarts.com. Copyright holders are encouraged to contact Bad Axe Games with any questions.

GMs looking for new and interesting ways to reward their players will find literally hundreds of items within the pages of this single collection, illustrated by Christopher Shy. A single table organizes the entries according to value, enabling the GM to substitute any of these items for an equivalent amount of random gold, gems, or artwork.

Ask for THE BOOK OF UNUSUAL TREASURES at your friendly local game store today!

In keeping with the theme of this series, Halflings explores halflings and new rules for their favored class, rogues. The book was extensively overhauled to be compatible with the 3.5 revision.

In addition to the usual new feats and 10 rogue multi-class prestige classes, the book has many new rules and options, including:

• Lashworking
  You’d be amazed what nimble fingers can do with a few sticks and a bit of twine
• Bluffs and Feints
  A selection of bluffs for those who long for more than simply “The target is denied his Dex bonus…” (We particularly like The Angry Penguin…)
• Dirty Fighting
  Do something with your sneak attack dice besides killing
• Ropemaking
  Fire-proof, water-proof, grease-proof, noose-proof, saw-cord, incendiary fuses… and a bit of box twine
• Halfling Graffiti
  The code of tramps and vagabonds everywhere; add a little “everyday magic” to your halfling
• Trapmaking
  From Granny’s Tonic to the Dirty Knobber, a selection of traps you can build with everyday items and set up in 10 minutes or less! 
• “Jellija For Sale”
  A short introductory adventure for a solo halfling rogue.

We are extremely happy with this, our fourth book in the Heroes of High Favor series. Thanks to the inspired writing of co-author Jeremy Baldridge and the skills of Bad Axe Games’ ENnie nominated design team, we feel this is the most flavorful and visually appealing book of the series so far.

Heroes of High Favor: Halflings should be available within a few weeks.

“The quantity and quality of third party d20 publications has increased dramatically in the short time since Wizards of the Coast opened the playing field. As a new publisher still in our first year of business, we are extremely gratified to be nominated from among so many other fantastic products,” said company founder and author of Elves, Benjamin Durbin. “It is especially touching for me personally, as I have been a member of the EN World community since before there was a Bad Axe Games. It was the enthusiasm of EN World that encouraged me to begin publishing in the first place, so I am extremely humbled and honored to be selected as one of this year’s nominees by my fellow gamers at EN World.”

Bad Axe Games was founded in 2002 by Benjamin Durbin, along with collaborators Brad Kelley and Andrew Hale, whose combined illustration and graphic design work earned them the nomination for Best Art (Cover). Skilled professionals and game enthusiasts, such as pre-press production coordinator Bob Iliff and attorney D. Keith Pogue, round out the company’s roles as needed. Heroes of High Favor: Elves is Bad Axe Games’ third publication, but it marked their most ambitious project to date, increasing quality and value of the series and continuing to boldly push the boundaries of d20 rules design.

The ENnies were created in 2001 as an annual fan-based award ceremony, hosted by the leading D&D/d20 system fan site, EN World, in partnership with Eric Noah’s Unofficial D&D 3rd Edition News. Originally conceived as an internet-based establishment, and recognized by the many publishers of d20 system products, the ENnies are presented live at Gen Con. This year is the third year of the ENnies, and the second year that they have taken place in partnership with Gen Con.