GZ character stat cards!

Some may have noticed that I'm doing my characters from A-Z with some special info. I've hinted at future use for these cards and I wasn't bluffing. These are the first GZ character stat cards. They are based on the formula I use for the role playing game. Yes, I said "role playing game". It's a ways of in the distance yet, but in the meanwhile, you can enjoy the amazing stats and info of these characters.

So what do the numbers mean? In the five stats STRength, ENDurance, SPEed, AGiLity, and MeNTality, you will note a number from 1-10. 1 is the level of a very average human being. 10 is godlike. So, the higher then number you see, the more powerful they are in that stat.

Above that, you see the minimum character level they would start at, their sex/race if applicable, and their alignment from good- evil with personality scale if applicable.

You can clearly read what powers they have and then see any equipment they carry. Don't worry to much about the numbers you see with the equipment. Suffice to say that a number with a + sign is for dealing damage and a number with a minus (-) sign is for reducing damage.

The info section gives you a little bit of insight to the character. There will be a lot of info from stories, so be sure to catch up on the stories of GZ if you haven't already.

Right now, I'm working on this in between other projects What's my current schedule, you ask?

This is my tentative schedule:

Kickstarter for board game (coming very very soon)
Chaos Rising (novel)
GZ Tales 2 (short stories)
GZ Tales game expansion cards
Chessmen 2 (novel)
GZ New York (game expansion with new board)
Wicked Ways (novel to follow Chaos Rising)
GZ Tales 3

That doesn't include the fact that I plan on being at Geekonomicon in December and then Southern Geek Fest next year.

I know you see a lot of reused artwork, but I assure you, I am working on new artwork too! There are definitely exciting days to come. I can hardly wait!

Boardgame Kickstarter Rewards by Level!

Here it is, folks! 8 levels of Kickstarter rewards so you can plan ahead! I just sent out the written agreement to TheGameCrafter and once they respond, it will be GO TIME! Till then, check out what you can get for each level. Everyone gets their name on a thank you list that will either be on the bottom of the box or back of the rulebook.

1: 10 Dollars:  I know not everyone can unload on this so there is just this little level. You get an 11x6 signed artwork. What pic will it be? Not totally sure yet. I'm thinking about conducting a vote.

2: 20 Dollars: This will net you the signed artwork mentioned above and a signed copy of the novel: Chessmen: Opening Moves. I know what people are really after though, and that's a copy of the game. Well, that's next.

3: 50 Dollars: You get the art and novel and of course a signed copy of the game itself! This is the sweet spot! But it does get better than this.

4: 75 Dollars: Now we add a magnet, book of short stories, and a PC expansion booster. The PC Expansion has 18 additional Player Characters that you can be at random for the game. Be an Assassin, Faerie, Superhuman, Minotaur and many others. Of course, the art, game and novel will be signed. I can sign the wrapper on the expansion cards if you want and I'm open to signing requests if you want certain items signed. The magnets are too small to sign but very colorful and cool!

5: 100 Dollars: All of the above and another expansion bonus. It's the Kickstarter Bonus Deck. It's packed with 36 cards to enhance the main deck for game play. Characters, beasts, artifacts, powers and more that you can't get any other way. This deck will not be available for sale past the kickstarter, while some cards may show up in future expansions.

6: 150 Dollars: All of the above and a signed mousepad with GZ artwork on it. Again, what art has yet to be decided. I assure you, everything will look sharp!

7: 200 Dollars: Again, you get the whole pile from above but there's a new addition. A custom Player Character card all your own! Limit of 50 custom cards! You can even send me your own artwork to put on it! Want to use your old DND character? No problem! Want your own homemade superhero? No problem! I don't want to get into copyright trouble though, so no copyrighted material unless it belongs to you personally.

8: 500 Dollars:  The final tier lands you with the books, cards, mousepad, game, and the rest with a very special final reward. With a limit of ten, I will make you an 18x25 acrylic painting of Galaxy Zento art. If you are wondering what kind of painter I am, just look at what I did to my son's dresser.

Naturally, 7 and 8 may have some time constraints to keep in mind. I won't be slow about it whatsoever, but still. So here you have it. I'm hoping to start things off within the next two weeks so be watching! Lots of coolness still to come! Thanks to everyone who has been sharing and following along!

Kickstarter Reward: 36 extra deck cards!

I've been working in fervor to get these ready for you happy gamers out there! I'm sure you'll love adding these to your game of Galaxy Zento! But what fun is keeping them a total secret? Check out some of the awesomeness you can get your hands on!

Artifacts are fun, fun, fun, but now there's an extra bit of zip. What if you find an artifact that belongs to a character specifically? Uh oh. Well, maybe he won't find out. Scratch that, he definitely will! When you successfully obtain the Axe of Arconia, King Falcon will come from where ever he is (discard, deck, or even from being another player's ally) to make you face him for it.

If you are of good alignment, you can recruit him (and have to in order to keep the ax). Yes, that means you might just steal KF away from another player! But if you can't do that, you have to fight him (no evading). And just check out his card!

So you beat KF in a fight (that won't be easy), there is a chance that he'll come back in a burst of flames to face you a second time. Good thing it only happens once!

Want a way to mess with your opponents? How about making them draw a new card if you don't want them to have that cool object they just revealed? You have to be close enough on the board to use it, but Luck Control will make messing with your opponents a fun reality. Once they reveal a card from the deck on their turn, you can decide that they have to draw a different card. Of course, it's very chancy. You don't know if you helped them or messed them up until that next card hits the table.

How about some mean beasties to fight or run from? This one is sure to please on both counts. Watch out for that acid spit! You lose an item when you are hit! All four beasts in this bonus set will set your game on its ear!

Whoops! Don't get caught! This is one unforgiving trap! If you don't escape the first time, you have to try again on your next turn! Just hope you are having good luck with your dice rolls!

What's this? An item you have to roll to obtain? Yes it is! But look at what it does for you. If you have the "obtain skill" or some achievement tokens, you'll have no trouble adding this to your game arsenal. It gives you the psychic ability. Nice!

Can't leave cool events out and this one is a major game changer. Hope you weren't feeling too comfortable with your player character, because it just changed on you. If the guy playing the Wizard was getting annoying, you may be glad to see this card hit the table.








Those are just a few examples of the cool reward that you will only be able to get through the Kickstarter. I'm still working on all the details, but I assure you, the rewards and bonuses will be more than worth the price of admission! So stay tuned faithful heroes! There's more to come!

Showcase story: Origin of Hate

It happened some time before he became the King of Arconia. Falconus and Kestrelius were lords of their houses and they had loved her since they were children. Lady Nightengale had a choice to make.

"Have I not been a worthy suitor?" Kestrel asked of her one starry evening. Two of the planets moons shown brightly on the flower filled courtyard.

"Of course you have." She said gently. "You both have and I love you both."

"But the time has come that you choose one of use. With me, you will be queen."

"And that is the difference between the two of you. Kestrelius, you are for power and glory. I am  not. It is not the throne and a position of rule that matters to me, but love alone."

Many heard the cry echo across the royal grounds and came running. Falconus was the first to arrive. Kestrel knelt with Nightengale in his arms. He laid her down gently and held up a glass vial.

"Poison!" He shouted as he dashed the vial on the ground. "She took her own life because she could not choose between us!" He pointed to Falconus. "I blame you!"

"Fool! Take her to the healer!" Falconus cried as he tried to go to her fallen form.

"It's no good! It's the venom of a dragonasp. There's no coming back from it!" Kestrel threw a surprise punch that tossed Falcon backwards and to the ground.  "I swear, you will pay for this with your life!"

Guards moved in quickly and separated them. They took the body of Lady Nightengale away to be examined. In the days to follow, they brought Lord Kestrel before the scales of justice.

"As you know, none may lie before the scales of justice. One side will rise or fall upon truth or tale." Lord Harp said to Kestrel. "Tell us now the way of her death."

"She died at her own hand." Kestrel said.

All the five lords were present that day with a court of witnesses. Audible gasps were heard as the scales didn't move at all.

"This is impossible." Lord Harp said. "It suggests that you neither speak truth or lie! Wait outside, Kestrelius. We have much to decide on you."

Kestrel stormed out and Harp turned to Falcon.

"We have already voted on this matter. I wanted you informed first." After the discussion they called for Kestrel's return and Harp continued. "Lord Kestrelius, we find this situation highly suspect. While no definite evidence can be brought against you, we have found this serious to take one significant action. As you know, our king has stepped down and the throne sits empty. Your house is up for its turn as the monarchy. Because of this highly suspect death and the results of the scales, we have voted. Your house will be skipped in the cycle of monarchy. Lord Falconus is now King Falconus and will be crowned so at the harvest."

"You can't do this!" Kestrel roared. "The throne is mine by right and cycle! This is an outrage!"

"It doesn't make any sense." Falcon said. "Why would she kill herself? She knew she was free to choose or not choose. No one would have forced her."

"I swear this, Falconus. We are friends no more, but bitterest enemies. I will make you pay." Kestrel dashed out of the court before anyone could respond, spread his fiery wings and flew away.

That is how Kestrel began the path would eventually see him trying to murder Falcon and go on to commit many an evil atrocity.

(I have a plan to write the Arconian Chronicles with the full story of these three people. Hope you enjoyed this touch of history)

Showcase story: The Fist of Allah

He didn't even wince as the ropes cut into his wrists. The occupants in the back of the truck were rocked back and forth by the merciless driving of their captors. He had already taken in the details of his fellow prisoners. Most of them were innocent villagers. One was an American soldier and the last an English journalist. He knew they were all innocent. The insurgents drove for an unknown location where he was sure they intended to behead them all. The butt of a rifle struck him across the cheek.

"Your eyes to the floor! Do not look around!" The insurgent guard shouted.

Amikam spit some blood on the floor between his boots. Rage surged in his chest but he clenched his teeth through it. It was not yet time.

"Why don't you just let us go?" The English journalist pleaded.

"Don't talk to him. It's not worth it." The soldier said.

"Both of you be silent or I shoot you here!" The guard moved to hit the woman but Amikam let his body fall forward with the rocking of the truck, falling in the guards path. "You clumsy idiot!"

The guard kicked him and them shoved him back onto the bench. His eyes met with those of the journalist. In that moment she realized he did that to protect her.

"Shhhh." Amikam hissed to her quietly and she nodded.

The truck finally jarred to halt and men shouted in Arabic outside. Rough hands grabbed the people on the back of the truck and threw them out of the truck like sacks of rice. They lined up their prisoners with Amikam, the journalist and the soldier in the middle. The desert sun shone hot and unyielding. A camera stood on a tripod ready to record their beheadings.

"I am Kaleeq Mohammad Alsad!" A man shouted from in front of them. "You are infidels and will be executed in accordance of Sharia law!"

Amikam almost smiled. This was the man he had been looking for.  "You are a fool!" He shouted and immediately a gunman struck him from behind.

"Bring that one forward!" Kaleeq shouted. "He will be my first example. After that, I will do the American."

Amikam was rousted and dragged before Kaleeq who held a long sharp machete. Amikam looked up from where he sat on his knees and smiled.

"I have a message for you before you kill me." Amikam said.

"Oh? What is that?"

Amikam considered the distance he was from the other prisoners. It looked like he was far enough away. He turned his face up toward the sky.

"ALLAH BE PRAISED!" Those near him had no chance of reaction as the explosion threw them in all directions. Those at a distance swore they saw a great lightning bolt strike from the heavens followed by and explosion of fire. Amikam was a regal looking man with a black beard and long black hair, but no one saw him that way now.

The man that stood as the flames dispersed had his face hidden in his red keffiyeh (Arabic headdress). He wore a white shirt that exposed some of a muscular and hairy chest. A red sash encircled his waist over his leather pants that lead to heavy leather boots. His hands commanded the most attention for each was armored in crimson metal gauntlets.

Panicking gunmen opened fire with AK-47s, but bullets merely bounced away. Amikam, who had become the legendary Fist of Allah, moved quickly. He snatched a gun away from one man and crushed it in his metal fist.

"You have no more need of this, my friend." He said as he backhanded the gunman to the ground.

He lifted a heavy crate of supplies like it weighed nothing, and threw it at another pair of men. Seeing that they couldn't harm him, the remainder ran or dropped their weapons.

"You cannot surrender to him!" Kaleeq half coughed half yelled as he stood up. "I will  show you, he is but a man!"

In three great strides, Amikam stood in front of Kaleeq. "Yes. Show them what I am."

Kaleeq swung his machete but Fist of Allah caught it and shattered the blade. He reached out and grabbed Kaleeq by the throat, lifting him into the air.

"I am here on behalf of the World Legion and Israeli Secret Service. They want you alive, though I can't imagine why."

As he stood there, the sound of helicopter blades could be heard and three Apache helicopters flew into view. American soldiers jumped out and ran to the prisoners. They also took Kaleeq and put him in handcuffs. A Captain walked up to Amikam.

"You said there would be a signal, but no one expected you to set off a George Lucas light show." The Captain said.

"It is the way of my calling." Amikam said. "Now you have your prisoner. What of the victims?"

"We've arranged to get that journalist out of here. Why not give the insurgents' truck to the other prisoners?"

"I will ride back with them to make sure they are safe."

"Thanks, er, Fist of Allah. You were more than a big help."

"It was my pleasure." Amikam turned and walked away to the other prisoners who were abducted from their homes in a nearby village. He would ride in the truck with them to return them all safely to their families. The mission seemed easy, but he knew that for each insurgent struck down, another would soon take his place. For that, the Fist of Allah would be ever vigilant.

It's time for a Spring drive!

It's time for a web traffic drive! Now I don't know all of the best ways to do that so I'm going to contact some friends and their friends and you! Amazing things are happening and not only could I use some input, but it's a great time to share. Here's the biz as it is for Spring! How many people can we inform about Galaxy Zento? How many people can we bring to the Facebook page (see links upper right). And don't forget that the books are still 99 cents for Kindle and Kindle App!

BOARD GAME UPDATE:
See that image? That's the official design of the board for Galaxy Zento the board game! But I only did the lay out and colors. It got a hot makeover from Kevin Woolfork, whom you might remember as a guest artist! Kevin did this out of the cool goodness of his  heart and there is a package going to go to him as soon as I have the materials (like a free copy of the board game all his own!). He helped me get the grid on the board too. Big thanks to Kevin!

WHO SHOULD I USE?  Help me out here folks. It's going to be time for a kickstarter or something, but I want to go with what people will actually support. If I get no answers, I'll still make my choice somehow. The plan is to break out the board game at Geekonomicon in December! We don't have our table yet, so it's on the list of needs. In order to make things really pop, I need to get some stuff together. Manufacturing on the board game gives us a discount at 250 copies, so keep that in mind. Here are the needs for the convention:

Table: 180.00 (covers two badges for the con)
Chessmen novel (20 copies):  85.00
Short stories book (20 copies): 60.00
Chaos Rising novel (20 copies): 100.00
100 magnets: 30.00
Rack card bookmarks to give away (200): 45.00
250 copies of the board game:  9,750.00

Total aim: 10,250.00

You'll note that hotel isn't listed. People who help will get some equivalent coolness of course! Game copies and more will be up for grabs. Some money will obviously have to go for that but I will be ordering some extras for special thanks on the small amounts.  So here are my options.

Patreon: Allows people to put in a monthly amount over any period of time. May be too slow for this,  and people haven't seemed to want to mess with it before.

Kickstarter: The one most people recommend. Money cannot be tapped into during the course of the drive. So if I need to send money for my table, I can't until the drive is over. But it's fair to work with and I may have two outside sources who will help me spread the word.

GoFundMe: Funds can be tapped into and essentially works as well as Kickstarter with less requirements.

Indiegogo: No major requirements. Not sure about ability to tap into funds before drive is finished. Not sure who has used it so input greatly appreciated.

It looks like there is a lot of competition between Kickstarter and Indiegogo. I doubt Patreon  will be of use except for long term. So, what do you fine folks think? Who should I go with?

FREEBIES? Here's a fun question! What would you like to see for freebies to give out for participation? Do you like keychains or is there something else you think would be cooler? Shoot me your ideas! So far I have had art printed on rack cards and postcards to give away and people have been pretty appreciative of those. I want to make sure I'm delivering a form of cool that my readers and players will love! You now have the opportunity to steer that!

I have to say, my readers are the best! Looking forward to your awesome input!

STORYTIME! While we are on ideas, what character would you like to see a blog story on? And I mean an action packed super short, right here on this blogspot! Post your votes!

MAD MEN OF MARCH! For this month only, you get the chance to pick any two characters to go toe to toe with each other and I'll draw it! The winner gets a print of the art! So post your votes for the Mad men of march and let's see who can pick the best fight!

That's all I have for now! Stay tune and stay posted and keep being the awesome heroes you are!

Homage to the ladies!

Yes, I do have female characters in GZ. Since it's International Women's Day, why not revisit them? The sad issue for me is that I don't draw them very well. Worse since my problems with MS, but that doesn't stop me as most of you know. So let's take a look at some of the best ladies from GZ.

During GZ Legends (coming out as Chaos Rising soon) I introduced a few cool lady characters.

Nightfall: She has the power to cause mental blackouts on physical contact. This also lets her read minds while her target is knocked out. As a member of the team, Calibur 5 she serves Galactic Interpol. She's also Anubis's girlfriend. If that's not a reason not to mess with her, I don't know what is. She's a dead shot with her blaster and a skilled martial artist too.







Gypsy: Spell weaving is her power. She can command magic to do almost anything she wants. She has mild precog abilities and can see the past of objects she touches. She's a teammate to Nightfall in Calibur 5. Her martial skill is equal to Nightfall and the two spar often for practice. She doesn't usually resort to firearms, but if her magic isn't cutting it, she's a crack shot.

Dreamseer: This Elven lady is a powerful psi. She can read minds, heal mental illness, and even cause some damage. She knows a small amount of Elven magic, but seldom uses it. She's a vegetarian and picks on her romantic interest, Atomizer for not being one. She's not bad in physical combat, but usually leaves heavy lifting to her stronger teammates. She's a member of the Strykeforce Guard for the Intergalactic Museum.

Traveller: This lady is Dreamseer's teammate and the main transporter for her team. Her ability to open portals can send teammates to any point in the universe. She's a powerful combatant with the fire staff of the High Druid (yes, he wants it back). She's a master martial artist with her staff and has cleaned up large numbers of opponents before.

All four of these characters are coming up in Chaos Rising. It's going to be an awesome tale of adventure!

In Chessmen 2 there are notable ladies coming up as well.

Lorelei: A Faerie of legendary status, she travels with the legendary Minotaur, Durgan of the Iron Fist. Never underestimate a Fae. She may be small but she wields powerful magics. Not only that, she can fly at high speeds and slice enemies down with her razorwing attack. She has an attitude a hundred times her size, but the next is even smaller and just as tough.

Lypsi: This little lady is an Althamite. They are a race of beings only a centimeter tall. Her power allows her to treat targets as if she were the same size. Did you ever see the cartoon with the little flea that could benchpress dogs? That's kind of what her power allows her to do. She's practically a living bullet.

So that's just a few for the sake of blog length. You can bet there will be more to come on these characters and so many more!