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 Zombie Pirates Sets Sail September 1!
Zombie Pirates, a new computer game by Shane Hensley, Simon Lucas, and Dust Devil Studios, releases Wednesday, September 1st! Here's a message directly from Shane himself:
"This is classic Pinnacle-style goodness. There are big heroes and heroines, a savage world to explore, and more zombies than you can shake Davey Jones' cutlass at! I'd GREATLY appreciate all the Pinnacle fans checking it out, and if you like it, helping us spread the word to every forum or newsite you know. We're hoping the formation of this studio allows us to produce games based on the Pinnacle properties, so a little support from you guys and gals could go a LONG way to making that happen. Head to the Dust Devils site for a list of all the portals currently carrying our game."
The rest of us here at Pinnacle wish Shane, Simon, and the gang GREAT success with Zombie Pirates, and urge everyone who's ever been a fan of Deadlands or any of our other properties to give it a try and support Dust Devil Studios' first product.
 Zombie Pirates of the Spanish Main?
Have we got a deal for you! We want to bring our pen-and-paper and video game fans together, so for a limited time, Pinnacle Entertainment Group and Drive-Thru RPG / RPGNOW are proud to offer an exclusive Zombie Pirates promotion: Buy Zombie Pirates at Drive-Thru and you’ll receive the Savage Worlds: Pirates of the Spanish Main PDF absolutely free!
This offer will only last a few weeks...so claim your booty now, mateys!
 Evernight Returns!
Wydawnictwo Gramel has updated the Pinnacle classic Evernight, reformatted it into digest size, and made it available on their web site. The only catch—it's in Polish.
Don't worry. They're translating the updates to help us produce an Evernight: Explorer's Edition in English. Timing for that project is still unsettled, but it will probably come faster than a sudden mastery of Polish.
 Space 1889: Red Sands Preorder Bundle
Since Thomas Edison first explored the worlds with the help of his marvelous ether propeller, the British Empire has grown to include the red plains and stately canals of Mars, the steaming, dinosaur-infested swamps of Venus, and even a remote outpost in the twilight zone of Mercury. In 1889, the sun truly never sets on the British Empire! But deep inside the Empire, a core of revolt festers and grows. Martian cults cry out for the Earthling's expulsion. Britain teeters at the edge of war with the Oenotrian Empire. In the midst of seething turmoil, the being known only as Kronos siezes the technology of a forgotten race to threaten the very future of mankind!
Space 1889: Red Sands brings Frank Chadwick's classic Space 1889 setting to the popular Savage Worlds system in a 192-page full-color hardback Plot Point Campaign packed with all the flavor of the original game and the ease of play and quick preparation of the Savage Worlds system. And it's (somewhat) available right now.
The Space 1889 Preorder Bundle is available now on our web store. You get the PDF immediately and will have the printed book shipped to you when it's available for distribution (targeted for October).  And you'll get all that at a discount over buying the book and the PDF separately. But bundling isn't your only option. You can buy the Space 1889 PDF or the Space 1889 Player's Guide PDF immediately. For the first time from Pinnacle, you can also preorder Space 1889: Red Sands (just the book, no bundle).
And if that's not enough for you, the Space 1889 Bennies are also available on our web store for immediate purchase. These are available in very limited quantities right now, so you may want to act fast. Check out our other custom bennies and Fate Chips while you're there, too.
 "Howdy" and "Adios" to the
Deadlands Player's Guide
The Deadlands Player's Guide has arrived and is now available on our web store. Better game stores near you and smart folks who got the Deadlands Player's Guide Preorder Bundle may even have their copies in their hands right now!
Like the other preorder bundles before it, the Deadlands Player's Guide Preorder Bundle will be discontued now that the book is available. Don't fret overmuch—we'll leave it on the web store until 10:00 pm (Back East Time) to give you one last chance to round up the Deadlands Player's Guide PDF at half-price with the book, so you best be quick on the draw.
 Gun Metal Games Releases Interface Zero
Gun Metal Games, one of our newest licensees, proudly releases Interface Zero. The year is 2088, and secrets aren't the only things people are hiding. Men are meat, metal, and machine. Car and computer crashes are equally deadly. "Human" is increasingly ill-defined.
Interface Zero welcomes all sorts: men, AI 'bots, vat-grown simulacra, genetic hybrids, or any what-have-you with enough cash. The massive 300-page PDF volume brings everything you need in this shadowy transhumanist future, from cybernetics to NUTRIpaste. Hopefully you'll survive both, but watch out for the "everything in between!"
 Summer Smiling Jack's
The new summer episode of Smiling Jack's Bar & Grill podcast came out Monday. Special guest Kevin Rohan talks about Silver Gryphon's current and future Savage offerings (and a little bit about himself—wily interviewers...), the contest for a copy of Savage Foes of Kane is resolved with an unexpected bonus prize twist, two new reviews and reviewers are presented, and the whole crew talks about big convention games.
And if you like Smiling Jack's, now's the time to get involved. Ron's calling for public input on the future of Smiling Jack's. Drop on by the Pinnacle forums and toss in your two cents.
 Savage Worlds Staffers and Licensees on The Gamer's Haven
The Gamer's Haven podcast's Gen Con coverage featured a number of familiar names from the Savage Worlds crew. The August 14 episode featured Clint Black, our Core Rules Brand Manager, and Sean Preston, founder of Reality Blurs. The August 15 episode features Jodi Black, frequent Pinnacle editor and proprietress of Beautiful Brains Books & Games, and Reality Blurs' Dave Olson and Stacy Young.
Even if you weren't able to make it to Gen Con, these interviews from the floor of the dealer's room can give you a feel for the show while you get caught up with some of the Savage Worlds die-hards.
Deadlands Player's Guide Coming Next Week, Preorder Bundle Going Away
It's a great day, amigos! Our shipment of Deadlands Player's Guides made it across the wasted plains of the West without any hijackin', thievery, misplacement, or excessive interference from Kang's pesky customs crews. Final delivery was faster and easier than a spring-loaded baby!
The Deadlands Player's Guide will be available in stores and for direct order next week, and the Deadlands Player's Guide Preorder Bundle will go away when the books are normally available. You'll have until next Tuesday's update (August 24) to get the bundle, which includes the Deadlands Player's Guide PDF at half-price.
 Handfuls of Hope and Horror
Reality Blurs is releasing their Realms of Cthulhu custom bennies that debuted at Gen Con. Such powerful tokens may be your only hope against the maddening denizens of the Realms of Cthulhu, yet the images of madness themselves are imprinted deep upon them. Dare you use such talismans? Dare you not?
Be sure to check out all the custom bennies available for Savage Worlds settings.
 Gen Con Retrospective
The booths are all back in their warehouses, everyone's home, and life is getting back to normal.
The Pinnacle booth was a busy place to be. Evil Mike and Chaos Steve ran demos nearly non-stop for the whole show, and it was wonderful watching new players turn into Savage Worlds fans right in front of our eyes. We also had Shane Hensley, Clint Black, Jodi Black (one of our editors), and Joel Kinstle (that's me) in the booth answering questions, talking product, and meeting the fans.
Space 1889: Red Sands and the new printing of the Deadlands rulebooks (the Player's Guide and Marshal's Handbook) were well-received, and the Savage Worlds Starter Kit flew off the shelves! Our starter kit opening stocks were gone in two hours, and the restock on Thursday vanished even faster!
As nice as it is to see the booth busy, it's even better to see everyone. Introducing new people to Savage Worlds, getting faces to match to folks you've met online, and catching up with members of the ever-increasing "old gang" was great. I hope everyone had as good a time as I did, and I look forward to Gen Con 2011 and all the cons in between.
 It Was the Best of Times...
Savage Saturday Night at Gen Con was a huge hit this year with an unprecedented turn-out. With roughly 150 players and GMs at the tables, it was our biggest Savage Saturday Night ever, and a great way to wrap up a Saturday night.
Unfortunately, it was an unprecedented turn-out. The combination of high attendance and a different arrangement with Gen Con for handling the event itself led to some chaos at the outset and scrambling to arrange for games, tables, and players to be accommodated, and we lost some attendees during that initial confusion.
 We've learned our lesson. Savage Saturday Night (at least at Gen Con) is something that we can no longer run as a loose, informal grouping of pick-up games as it has always been in the past. While we will definitely improve our organization and communication for next year's event, we'd love to get your input on making our Savage Saturday Night the best it can be. Drop by our forums and give us your insights at this thread on improving Savage Saturday Night.
Thanks for your understanding, your patience, and your input. We hope to see you again next year and at all the other conventions that are lucky enough to have a Savage Saturday Night.
 Deadlands Map Madness!
The Weird West of Deadlands is chock-full of wide open spaces, odd waystops, twisted trails, and strange locales. Sometimes the road can be dark and forbidding. Well, pardner, we'd rather light a candle than curse your darkness...
The new map of The Weird West is now widely available. There's a poster-sized printed map in the new Deadlands Marshal's Handbook, the map is the inside cover pages in both the new Marshal's Handbook and Player's Guide, and a smaller version is available from our Downloads page. The Deadlands Marshal's Handbook PDFs have also been recently updated to include the map. If you've already bought the PDF, you should be able to re-download it to get the map.
Now when you're roaming the prairie and some cowpoke sidles on up to you singin' "Do You Know the Way to San Jose?" you can give him directions. Or shoot him. I wouldn't trust nobody singin' on the High Plains, neither.
 On the Road Again...
By the time you read this, the trucks will be heading to Gen Con, and a slew of staffers will be making their final arrangements to follow. If you'll be there, too, drop by and see us. All our Gen Con plans are detailed below.
If you're not coming to Gen Con, you can expect delayed responses from most of the Pinnacle staff until it's over. Sorry, but we hope you'll understand.
Pinnacle at Gen Con 2010
Are you going to Gen Con this year? Pinnacle certainly is, and we'd love to see you!
Since there's always so much to see and do at Gen Con, we wanted to make sure you knew where we are, when we'll be there, and what we've got in store. Check out the list below, make your plans, and catch us* in Indy!
*Why do I suddenly feel like a Pokemon?
Exciting Pinnacle Products
   Prerelease Products: Want to buy something so new it won't be in stores for weeks or months? Need something with that factory-fresh smell? We've got you covered. Gen Con will mark the first public appearance of the Savage Worlds version of a Frank Chadwick classic — Space 1889: Red Sands. The new Deadlands Reloaded rulebooks (the Player's Guide and the Marshal's Handbook) will also be available. All three of these books are limited prerelease quantities—when they're gone, they're gone, so don't dawdle!
Sorry, but convention prerelease books cannot be used to fill preorder bundle orders.
 Savage Worlds Starter Kit: Have you ever wished you could get everything you need to play Savage Worlds in one handy box? Well, now you can. The Savage Worlds Starter Kit comes in a handsome simulated wooden box (a unique import from our Polish-language licensee Wydawnictwo Gramel) and contains a Savage Worlds: Explorer's Edition, the oversized Savage Worlds Action Deck, a set of polyhedral dice, a custom Wild Die (from the Deadlands Dice Set), a set of mini poker chips (for indicators, bennies, or Deadlands Fate Chips), and cut-and-use templates—a $40 value for only $20! We have a limited number of these box sets—first come, first served.
- Space 1889 and Other Custom Bennies: Be the first to see the brand-new Space 1889 Bennies designed to complement any Space 1889: Red Sands game. You can also find all our other custom bennies and Fate Chips at our booth. These products are only available at the show or directly from the Pinnacle web store at Studio 2 Publishing.
Clarification: Space 1889 Bennies will not be available on the web site until at least the Space 1889 Preorder Bundle is available.
Exciting Pinnacle People and Events
 Exhibitor Hall Booth and Demos: Drop by and see us in the Exhibitor Hall at Booth 320. We'll have the full line of Pinnacle products available, including all the newest releases. We'll have Pinnacle staffers and contributors dropping in and out all the time, so this may be your big chance to meet and talk to Shane Hensley, Clint Black, Chaos Steve, Evil Mike, Jodi Black, or Joel Kinstle. Chaos Steve and Evil Mike will be running Savage Worlds demos through the whole show, so if you're new to the game or need something clarified, be sure to stop in. Exhibitor Hall hours are Thursday 10:00am–6:00pm (9:00am–6:00pm for Press and VIGs), Friday and Saturday 10:00am–6:00pm, and Sunday 10:00am–4:00pm.
- Pinnacle Seminar: Our annual Gen Con Pinnacle Seminar (in which we discuss what's up with Pinnacle, the licensees, and Savage Worlds in general) will be held Saturday, 3:00–4:00pm, in the Marriott's Indiana Ballroom B. We were exciting enough at Origins for one of our fans (Ogma from the Pinnacle Forum) to videotape the whole thing. Imagine how exciting it will be at Gen Con...
- Savage Saturday Night: Savage Saturday Night is 8:00pm–12:00 midnight in the Hyatt Network room. The schedule says we're sold out—apparently four hours of concentrated Savage Worlds is a popular concept—but don't let that stop you. We'll take all comers, and you don't even need tickets. If you bought tickets, be sure to bring them for a secret special bonus. If you're interested in running a game at Savage Saturday Night, you still can, and we'd be happy to have you. Drop Evil Mike or Chaos Steve a note and let them know what you're up to and what table would be best. Otherwise, just show up and have fun!
 Shane and the Zombie Pirates!
Our own Shane Hensley has just finished a brand new computer game called Zombie Pirates. (That just sounds like a Shane game, doesn’t it?) Shane will be showing the game at the Pinnacle/Studio2 booth at GenCon and handing out an awesome Zombie Pirates comic book, written by Shane with art by Richard Clark. Shane and the Dust Devils will also be at PAX in Seattle in September.
So what’s the game about? Shane says, "Zombie Pirates features the adventures of Captain Smilin' Jack O'Hurlihan and his friends, Esmeralda and Dr. Theopolis. (Like I wouldn’t have a mad scientist in there?) A terrible event gave rise to 'Gruesome George,' who is scouring the Shimmering Seas looking for his lost love, giving rise to all manner of monsters in his wake. But there’s an even worse scourge out there—the Red Widow! What is her secret? Can you survive the Great Hurlpool? Will Smilin’ Jack realize he first has to save the world to keep plundering it?"
You can find out more about Zombie Pirates at Dust Devil Studios' web site!
 Deadlands Marshal's Handbook Available at Gen Con—Preorder Bundle and PDF Available Now!
There will be a limited supply of prerelease copies of the Deadlands Reloaded Marshal's Handbook available at Origins and Gen Con. This new printing of Deadlands Reloaded has all the GM-related information collected into its own separate book—players don't have to pay for the extra material, and they can't go pokin' their noses where they don't belong. Advance copies of the Deadlands Player's Guide will also be available at Gen Con, so you can get the whole set!
Can't make it to Gen Con? You might want to pick up the Deadlands Reloaded Marshal's Handbook Preorder Bundle. You get the PDF immediately, the printed book (sent to you as soon as full stocks are available), and $10.00 discount! Full stocks are expected in October. As with all our preorder bundles, the new edition of the Deadlands Reloaded Marshal's Handbook PDF is also available now.
Don't forget, the Deadlands Reloaded Player's Guide Preorder Bundle and the Deadlands Reloaded Player's Guide PDF are also both available.
Sorry, but convention prerelease books cannot be used to fill preorder bundle orders.
 Clint Black on Troll in the Corner!
The fine folks at Troll in the Corner seem to have gone Savage Worlds-crazy lately, and that's just fine with us. They've added an interview with our own Clint Black, Core Rules Brand Manager to their overview and review of Savage Worlds. Keep it comin'.
 ENnie Awards Savage Worlds Nominees
As you might've noticed on our forums, the ENnie Awards nominations are out, and there's joy to be had in the Savage world:
ENnies voting opens July 16, and I strongly encourage you all to vote for your favorites.
 Deadlands Update Materials
Wonder what's been changed in the Deadlands: Reloaded second printing? Have Classic Deadlands materials you want to use? Well, you've come to the right Tuesday Update, pardner! Read on for the details.
- Second Printing Additions: If you've got the first printing of Deadlands: Reloaded, you probably want to know what's changed in the second printing. Aside from splitting it into two separate books to help save you some dinero, not a whole whoppin' lot. What has changed, though, is detailed in the Deadlands: Reloaded Additions PDF, available free from our Downloads page. While we'd be happy to sell you a couple more books, all you need to keep current with your existing Deadlands: Reloaded book is this handy free PDF.
- Deadlands Conversion Notes: Two more sets of John Billings' conversion notes are out so you can use your existing Deadlands Classic materials in your current Deadlands: Reloaded game. Visit our Downloads page for conversion notes for Ghostriders in the Sky and Independence Day.
Savage Worlds Gets Another Blog Highlight
Troll in the Corner published an overview and review of Savage Worlds today, along with lots of expanded coverage from Origins. While it's always nice to be featured, it's especially nice to featured so favorably in a site that covers such a wide range of games!
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