Just discovered your site, a few questions

[joereynolds]

Soooo, these games look like the sort of RPG's I would actually enjoy playing, I came across you guys from a youtube review of 'Orcs of the High Mountain'. Interested, I had a look at your free samples and at some other products and have a few questions;

. I understand (I think) that each game can progress onto another. I.e. you can play crown of kings and then carry your character onto Island of lost spells, but is there a specific order in which the games need to be played? If there are any prerequisites for games, I recommend you list them

. What do the games contain? There's not much information on the main site of what is in that box.

. What happened to the sorcerors manor? I just downloaded the free sample, I haven't played it yet (It's 1AM) but by the looks of it, I'm going to want to buy it, but WHERE IS IT

. Are all the games RPG's?

. Are all the games solo play, multiplayer or both?

. Do you ship to the UK? ;D

[mister frau blucher]

Hello, Joe, and welcome to the boards!

Marco's video reviews of Orcs of the High Mountains, The Dark Vale, Gates to the Underworld, Void Station 57, and Sewers of Redpoint have generated a lot of interest for us! He is a hero here!

Answers:

Each adventure is designed for a particular "power level" of a party of adventurers. These are noted in the blurbs on our main website. Beginning characters are usually 32 points and 4 skills, but the individual adventures specify how powerful your characters should be.

Absolutely the games can be played in succession - that is the fun of a campaign! Given the number of adventures we have out now, there are a number of paths you can take. This is discussed in detail in the thread "Adventure Order" in the DCG General thread. Here is the direct link:

darkcitygames.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=dcgag&action=display&thread=6


Each game comes with three components: the adventure gamebook (with the system rules an integral part); a map for conducting the combats; and counters to represent the party and the enemies (and allies) encountered. The picture of each game on our website shows, in addition to the cover, part of the map and some of the counters.

The Sorcerer's Manor - that is it! It is a shorter, 50 paragraph adventure, totally self contained. Our other adventures are between 200-300 paragraphs. But this one is designed to get people thinking tactically. You will outnumber your opponents in most cases, and it is a great way to try out the rules, particularly concepts like Dodge and Counterattack, and using terrain (columns, tables, stairs) to your advantage. There are about a dozen encounters, between the manor and several plot threads that are developed after the adventure. It should take you a few hours to go through. We hope you enjoy it as much as most who played it have!

RPG's - as much as you want. It is a "Tactical RPG" in that the tabletop action is the prime component, the main way you interact with the adventure. But in the longer adventures, like The Dark Vale, The Oracle's Breath, and particularly Raid on Cygnosa, there are many opportunities to interact with the NPC's. This is always a tricky thing, as when you are reading a gamebook your interactions are to a certain extent limited (obviously with a game master the opportunities to role play open up), but there are a number of people you can talk to, and help and get help from.

Games are for solo play, or multiplayer against the gamebook, or they can be run by a gamemaster who has read/played through. A GM could run it on the fly, as well.

Shipping to UK - I think so, but let me get George to answer definitively. I know we have sent some overseas, but I am not sure about the rates and other issues.

OK, Joe, I hope this answers most of your questions (shipping question pending), but if not, or you have more, ask away!

Welcome again!

Bret

[mister frau blucher]

Hey, Joe,

George informs me that it costs 16.95 to send up to 10 games via priority mail.

That is the extent of my knowledge, so you may want to discuss things with him further. You can reach him directly via the email machine:

admin at darkcitygames dot com

Joe, thanks for your interest, and feel free to ask anything!

Bret

[joereynolds]

I've had a reply about the shipping, I'll post it up for other UK'ers to see

Dark said:

The cost is: $12.95 per game, plus $16.95 for shipping up to 10 games.

So for three games, it would be:

3* 12.95 = $38.85 for games; + $16.95 for shipping =

Grand total : $55.80

Currently making my way through the sorcerors manor (This is my first ever RPG )
But I can see myself wanting some more in the very near future, shipping isn't half as bad as I was expecting

[lazareth]

Just found my way here, I think it was fate. These kinds of games interest me quite a bit and I'm always looking for great solo board/card games. Marco's review of Void Station 57 lead me here. I was checking out old games like Star Smuggler and here I am.

The shipping seems a bit high for just one game so it looks like I'll be needing to build up a little cash to make a larger order to balance it out a bit. I shall return..

[mister frau blucher]

Hello, lazareth, and welcome to the boards!

I'm glad Marco brought you here. His candid and thorough examinations of our games have brought in quite a few new friends.

Star Smuggler! What a great game. As we go through life, some of our possessions disappear, and that is one I really miss.

That shipping figure quoted above was for mail to the UK. From what I understand, the USPS is about to raise their international rates again - very sorry about that! And I can certainly understand the need for building up a bit of cash.

We shall be looking for your return...

Bret

[lazareth]

UK shipping, oops. I thought that was for US shipping. I apologize. What's the average cost of shipping for a game here in the states?

I've read more into your games and the game system and I must say I really like what I'm seeing. Reading a good story, making decisions within that story, and having a map to work with. I only wish I had found you guys sooner.

My next game purchases will be from you. I think I'll start with the sci-fi world of games. Now to get that money. haha

[mister frau blucher]

Hey lazareth,

I am a little embarrassed to say I am not positive about shipping. I have some compromising pictures of George so he always sends me my copies for free.

But I went by darkcitygames.com and put a game into a shopping cart, and there was a button under the game to calculate shipping. I put a couple of different zipcodes in from the continental US and they all came back at $2.50. I only did this with a sinlge game, but you can put multiple copies into your shopping cart and hit the calculate button and see what it will cost you - all before hitting the buy button, so you will know up front.

Hope that helps!

Thank you very much for the kind words - they are greatly appreciated! And we sincerely appreciate your doing business with us!

Bret

[lazareth]

Thanks for looking into that a bit Bret. That shipping cost sounds more reasonable. I wonder how high the postal rates will go up...often seems they are too high as it is but what can you do?

I'll plan to buy as many as I can at one time. Oh I'm an addict for cool stuff like this. haha

Have a great weekend!

[terry]

I just found your site. Yahoo. My first roleplaying experience was TFT. I look forward to playing your products.

[mister frau blucher]

Hey, terry, welcome to the boards!

We really hope you enjoy our adventures, and look forward to hearing your thoughts on them! Thank you very much for your business.

Bret