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Wednesday, 13 September 2006
Sheesh?And I thought I was rusty!

OK so it has been a few weeks since I posted anything but hey…I am a busy guy. Plus…there are a total of two people reading these posts so there are not a lot of people slamming down my door trying to get me to type up a giant spiel about how I draw or what I draw.

The past few have been really good as not only have I been kept busy but new things are sprouting all the time. In my military career, thing shave taken off at break neck speed ( now that they have gotten the paperwork corrected). I walked in as the guy with "the lost paper’s" and now I am the soldier of the year for my unit. Go figure. I guess this old dog still has a few teeth left that he can sharpen on some one’s behind!

The next book in the Future Soldier line is out and it is a great product. What do you get for your hard earned credits when you buy Future Soldiers: Fast Movers, on PDF… You get Vacuum Rescue Troopers and fighter space craft and all sorts of Dog Fighter goodness. If you are a fan of the Battlestar Galactica series on the sci-fi channel then this is definitely the product for you. This product (put out by Steampower Publishing) is really a gorgeous product and packed with all the goodness to bring the treacherous nature of space battles to life. If you have to buy a product for your d20 Future game, this is really a must for any fan of the hard nosed dog fighter pilot.

In a surprised turn of events, Action! System guru and game designer extraordinaire Jamie Borg has relinquished his seat as captain of Power and Glory, a product of Super Powered goodness. Power and Glory was being put together by Jamie when life conspired against him and forced him to remove himself from the project. We at HAZARD have been asked to step into the gap and finish this product. I am really excited as the Super Hero Genre is one of my favorites. As the project unfolds we will post more about it and try and come up with some sort of goodies download that will preview what is in it and the best way to use it. Right now it would be best not to divulge too much of the project as this tidbit is probably too much said already. Still, this is a great opportunity to get the world of four color onto the page and into your games.

So my wife is due to come back from Basic Combat Training in the United States Army in December and I can’t wait. She is having fun doing all the training but the drill sergeants are very hard on her for some reason. Let me AT ‘EM! Filthy no good so and so’s. I know it is all part of the drill butt I still feel bad about my wife being screamed at every day. I should have told her to join the Coast Guard.

Regards,

Walt

Posted by kroh1 at 10:02 AM EDT
Wednesday, 23 August 2006

Oh Please Shoot me!

Ok…So my wife goes to Basic Training for the United States Army. Cool. She is going to be an MP. Cool. She leaves to go down to Fort Leonard Wood, and leaves a bit of herself behind. HER NASTY SINUS INFECTION!

Not cool.

So I am battling this raging demon inside my chest for control of my destiny while I am trying to get out some illustrations for Steampower Publishing's next product. Every time I try to ink down a line or two I cough or sneeze and send the pen careening across the page into my leg. What I wouldn’t give to have an off valve for my head.!

I received several letters from the wife about her adventures in Basic down in Missouri. From the sound of things she is not having a good time of it (then again I don’t think that anyone does). She is coping though and that is what the training there is all about in the beginning. Coping with stress and learning that you are an army of one ("You got ONE minute to get down here!" "You got one more chance before I put a boot in your backside!" "If you don’t get over here now you are going to have ONE less thing to worry about… BREATHING!")

Now before anyone gets testy (including the artists) I do have the illustrations for the bio pages ready to go. The problem is being in a vertical position long enough to do it. Between drugs and, well, drugs, I have not been able to put any time into the web site. Including the new Forums, which came out excellent if I do say so myself (lack of posting would indicate that I am the only one saying anything at this point.)

Our friendly neighborhood gaming superhero went back to work with a cybernetic leg and about two weeks worth of quality family time. Jeremy Peterson was injured with a "knee thang," that disrupted the balance of the universe and caused red heads everywhere to want to migrate to Michigan. The hooligans at HAZARD hope that Jeremy feels one hundred percent and that he can now get his Games going again. We have placed a concerned call to the Federal Emergency Management Agency regarding the displaced red heads but have received no responses yet.

On the gaming scene, The Blood and Vigilance Rules , that add Four color flavor to the d20 game, was recently re-released in version 1.1 along with a mystic supplement. They took the existing rules and covered them in more depth. This included a re-write of the Advanced Training Origin. Chuck from RPG Objects had said in the past that the class was a bit under powered when it came to putting it up against the other super classed origins. The second book that was released for the game was a mystic supplement entitled Mystic Arts. Both items are of superb quality and fantastically put together ( it’s RPG Objects…what do you expect?). If you have not checked these wonderful items out yet…please do so.

Also, stay tuned for the next installment of Project 13 as I am back from my stint with the Army (oh the pain) and have the rest of the month to get stuff done…

Regards,

Walt

Posted by kroh1 at 1:30 PM EDT
Monday, 7 August 2006

At least that is what I wish I was saying. I am up to my eyeballs in work and I can't seem to say no to anyone willing to pay for my pencil to wiggle (man did that come out crooked).

I have been very busy of late as I haven't really had the time to even post to my own blog ( there are truly times when I wonder if anyone reads this thing.) One of the main reasons for this is that my own project (Project 13)is eating up a lot of my time. When I start all these various delusions of grandeur, who would guess that they would be so time consuming? I usually figure that I can whack out a manuscript in no time flat and then have plenty of time for some Strawberry quick and a heavy does of video games. Not so this time. AS this is my project, everything has to come from me.

The other thing that I really can't do is to turn down work when it comes down the pipe. If I get an email saying that some one needs art...They are going to get their scribble as fast as I can get it to them. I have a business to run, after all. I have had several requests for character sketches ( if I don't have to ink them it usually costs about five bucks for me to do a line sketch in pencil). I put some word over one of the forums a few days ago that I am a cheap date and BAMMO! Suddenly I have an inbox full of requests. I apologized to a few of them wanting simple sketches and told them that after the major projects that I have going that I would finish the sketches off and send them out for free. That garnered a good response as they told me they would take the free sketches and ask for an additional character commission after that. Not too shabby. The money isn't great but at least people are starting to come to me to get artwork rather than me peddling it.

My wife finally arrived in Basic Combat Training for the US Army. That was a big relief as she didn't think she was going to ship on time (and she didn't think she was going to be able to pass the entrance Physical Fitness Test). She must have whacked it out of the park as she made it to training. She had a drill sergeant behind her when she made the call, which she told me she was safe and on the road to becoming a soldier. I am very proud of her and if anyone gets the chance you should email her with your well wishes and support (Send me the wishes and I will forward them to her account).

Some cool stuff to come down the pipe at the moment is that this week we are going to put up our artist page so that people can see who works for HAZARD and what they do. Also, Steampower Publishing wants to help with an upcoming product to be released soon. This is really a great gig as Andrew from Steampower is the consummate professional and a real great guy. I have been lucky so far as to keep working for quality people. Lastly, UKG publishing has released, Enochian Theurgy. This SFX: Skills supplement is for any d20 modern game and represents the light side of mysticism for your d20 modern game.

Peterson of SDC (petersonsdc@gmail.com) also needs your well wishes. He has recently hurt his knee and it would be cool if everyone sent him a little "Hey get better" note. Nothing big, and remember that flowers wilt through email so best to send positive thoughts (or cash!). ---That last piece was a joke. Don' send him money unless you want him to write something for you or you want to contribute to the SDC Retirement Fund for Wayward Gamers.

Lastly, if you get a chance, stop by our new forums and introduce yourself or post a little note about whatever comes to mind. We'd love to see you drop in and muddy up the place.

Regards,

Walt


Posted by kroh1 at 1:57 PM EDT
Updated: Monday, 7 August 2006 2:21 PM EDT
Wednesday, 14 June 2006
Scribble Scribble on the Wall...

This week sees the debut of Scattered Drop which is the newest supplement in Steam Power Publishing's Future Battlefield Soldier line. The new product is an adventure campaign in Adobe Acrobat format that details a great new adventure plot.

Scattered Drop is a mini-campaign following the fortunes of a group of marines as they take part in the infamous invasion of 12 Opiuchi, an invasion that goes horribly wrong thanks to an inept commander, corrupt corporations and cunning foes!

We did four illustrations for the product. The illustrations came out great and were extremely fun for me as I love the genre that we got to work in (military sci-fi…which we don’t see a lot of). I definitely look forward to working with the fine folks at Steam Power again as they were professional in every way. Great people producing great products...

Works for me…
Regards,
Walt


Just in case you missed the hint, you can get it here:

RPGNow!

EN World

Posted by kroh1 at 12:57 PM EDT
Wednesday, 7 June 2006
Guns, Green and Lots of RED TAPE...or as I like to say...Here we go again!
OK…so I had this epiphany the other day about life. I have a pretty good job that only takes me away from life in the morning. I have a fantastic woman that I recently married with our wonderful SIX children (two dogs and four cats…wife’s a vet-technician). I have my own fledgling company (for some reason saying fledgling grants some sort of street cred) and I haven’t slept more than four hours at a time since some time in the late 90’s.

Go figure I felt BoReD!

I just had that feeling as though I wasn’t doing what I was meant to be doing. So I went out and did what I swore I wouldn’t do again…I re-enlisted for the American Armed Service. Yeah…Yeah…I know….Everyone is telling me that I should stop smoking the Cheerio’s and work on something productive. I am getting harassed by loved ones asking me where I think I am going to get all this imaginary time from. They’re acting as though I had just severed off a leg at the neck.

I joined the National Guard for my state and I am only required to serve one weekend a month and two weeks a year for my requirement. I was able to sign up for a year and see how things shake out as well as get back into the swing of things. It wasn’t long before I was suited up and using the old lingo again as I reported into the new group and made the rounds to show my face. I was out for ten years but it felt as though I had never left. The first thing to hit me was the mountain of paper work and the fact that the Army National Guard is every bit the lumbering idiot that the active duty Army is. As was the case, the Guard lost my paperwork and forgot to enter me into their new high speed database. Loverly!

I did get to report in after I had re-enlisted and everyone that I met was pretty cool. I felt a little out of place as I am an Infantryman who is now assigned to a Combat MP unit. They told me that the only difference between what I use to do and what I do now is that I don’t have to walk everywhere...I get to ride. Not sure how I feel about that but then I think about hopping out of the truck and breaking down a door…life doesn’t seem that bad (unless I take one in the body armor).

On the Gaming Front, expect some news about the up and coming Project 13 that is being put together in conjunction with Sleep Dep Creations Wizard Jeremy Peterson. The project is coming along nicely and we will be releasing details about it shortly (don’t want to jump the gun!) Project 13 is a re-examining of a classic genre and will be a first for HAZARD Stds..

While we normally take comissions during any project that we are working on, The last few months have been a bit hectic and I am blasting through what I have. In order to make up for any inconvenience encountered for a drawing request being put on the back burner, we will be running a sale on requests. Any request made from June 9th untill June 30th will be discounted by 15 %.

The last bit of news for the HAZARD Team is that we will be placing an artist page up on the web site for our new commers, John Amore and Jason Tavares. Both are excellent artists and have a lot of drive. We hope to be milking these…I mean….We plan on giving these guys some stuff to keep them busy! Look for great things to come from these motivated artists!

More to come Soon…
Walt



Posted by kroh1 at 8:23 AM EDT
Updated: Wednesday, 7 June 2006 8:26 AM EDT
Friday, 28 April 2006
Chutes and Ladders
This week was definitely up and down. The highs were extremely high and the lows were definitely rock bottom. One of the highs of the week was that latest installment of MODERNIZED came out this week. Packed with all sorts of modern game goodness, the mag even has an article that I wrote. I had fun writing this article as it was for mystical weapons and equipment for use in a modern setting. The items were not so over the top that they couldn’t be used in “close to reality” games but had just enough “suspension of belief” to make them fun. It was interesting to write this as I have way more experience in games that are point based rather than the class based systems like d20. Still, it was an excersize in creativity and I take them whenever I can get my hands on them. I had one illustration appear for that article. The other illustrations that were done for the mag never made it in as the, chump (there I said it) that promised an article to the mag disappeared in a puff of internet based java-smoke.

The other good thing is that new comer Jason Tavares published two illustrations for the magazine that made it in. The illustrations accompanied an article for modern armors and features an ancient brute tackling a modern warrior decked out in the latest battle gear. Jason had dusted his skills off for this issue as he had been focusing on his career in the Rhode Island National Guard as a Sergeant First Class in the Recruiting Office. An author and actor, Jason has agreed to publish more work for HAZARD in the future by producing some art packs and possibly contributing to some projects down the line.

The down side to all this is that this was the last issue of MODERNIZED. The Magazine’s owner, David Gallant, has decided that due to a lack of outside interest (people seeking to publish articles), that he would close the doors and cover the presses. While I can respect Mr. Gallant’s wishes to invest his time in other lucrative areas, it is definitely a sad day for the RPG industry. MODERNIZED was a staple for many gamers, many of whom are not mourning quietly over the magazine’s demise. A small call to arms was posted over on the EN World web site with many people swearing to post articles to revive the mag (as well as David’s drive to publish it). In the end it all comes down to contributors. Without them, a magazine can’t function, despite whether or not it is free. If you want to check out what some people are doing, you can go to the thread on EN World that you can read it HERE.

On the other side of UP, my wife is excited as she has decided to expand her career options and join the Rhode Island National Guard (Guess where I saw SFC Tavares…)! She is stoked as she has never done anything like this before and has decided that this is a very positive move. They will give her a huge sign on bonus as well as allowing her to go to school at any state run institution for FREE! Plus she gets to run around the woods and yell, FREEZE MOTHER TRUCKER! Yep…you guessed it! She is going to be an MP. One of the most demanding jobs the Army has to offer women is right where my girl is going. I used to be in the service a log time ago (3-505th PIR, 82ND Airborne) and it was a blast while it lasted. While I think that she will hate the first few months, she will probably find duty in the National Guard rewarding as she can stay at home and go to school and blow stuff up on the weekends. And if she gets deployed…

I am probably going to have to suit up again and SHOOT SOMETHING!



The down side of this is she is going to be a way for six months training for her job. It will be tough without her but I think I will make it through it (where did I put the number for that cleaning service…?)

Look for the next issue of the Korranberg Chronicle to hit virtual stands next week and some big news is ready to bust! Tune in next week!

Pant...Pant...Pant...

Naptime,
Walt

Posted by kroh1 at 2:25 PM EDT
Updated: Friday, 28 April 2006 2:35 PM EDT
Thursday, 13 April 2006
One Contest down and one to go.
Well, I got the winners of the first ever, Ultimate Evil Contest up and placed on the page. Took me no time at all to draw these monstrosities and I had a lot of fun doing it. I am going to take another crack at the contest again this summer and see what comes of it.

The next contest (because I like doing them) is up and running and is a little something to celebrate HAZARD Stds. turning one! The HAZARDous Birthday Contest has been running for about a week and submissions are coming in slowly. Pretty much all you have to do is send in an email with you the above slogan in the subject line and... BAM!... you're entered. I figured a custom illustration by yours truely would do the trick and bring people to the site. Not only is the contest open to Joe Gammer but also to any publishers willing to take a chance on a random drawing for a...ahem... random drawing. Not so bad really, you get to make an acquaintance that could later help you produce something you have on the burner and at the same time you could win a free illustration of your choice. As it says on the web page...Win-Win all around!

Work continues on Project-13 and some of the stuff that is comming out with collaboration of Jeremy Peterson. Jeremy is one of those guys who even though he has a schedule that would rival most super models, he always makes time for a friend in need. As the gamming system around which Project-13 is based is not exactly home turf for me... it helps to have a rules wrangler in the wings when I get into trouble.

In any event...Tell your friends about the contest. Tell your neighbors. Hell, tell your neighbor's friends or your friend's neighbors! I look forward to hearing from you.

Regards,
Walt

Posted by kroh1 at 8:17 AM EDT
Wednesday, 5 April 2006
ONe year old and still BANGIN!
The web site turned one today (golf clap)and there was much rejoycing. I actualy didn't expect to get as far as I did or be in business as long as I have but hey...Stranger things have happened.

I am plugging along on the latest product from little ol' me and making a real go at it. The project which shall henceforth be known as Project 132219006543872418630 or Project 13 for short, has been creeping about the shadows trying to get a glimpse of the sun every now and again. I have been working on this in conjunction with Jeremy Peterson of SDC . Just don't tell Jeremey...I don't think he knows.

I will have yet to place the winners of the Ultimate Evil Contest up on the web space but I don't think the winners will begrudge me much. I did send out the Swag that accompanied the contest. Big prayers for small favors. Anyhoo...I am looking forward to holding the next Ultimate Evil Contest to see what people can come up with.

This week, the Korranberg Chronicle hits the stands and will be another rousing success I am sure. The one thing we always have to be careful of is to make sure the fans are still getting a great read that they can use across the boards in their Eberron Campaigns. I enjoy working on the Chronicle and my article is already posted and set to go (along with acompanying sketch). I am definately looking forward to seeing what the rest of the kids are doing.

For those of you who are just tuning in, take a peak at the web site if you haven't already. We have sported a new look to go with our one-th birthday and I hope that it works for everyone. I liked the old colors but I definately needed a change.

Hope everyone is hangin' tough and we'll see ya next time.

Regards,
Walt

Posted by kroh1 at 2:12 PM EDT
Monday, 27 March 2006
To INFINITY?and Beyo?.SMACK?.Stupid duck?.
OK…So the leg is healed…kinda. I am back to my old kung footing, sharp shooting self and I am making the most of it. Now that I feel better and am able to work out again I have plenty of inspiration to fire me back up again and get things moving.

Look for an article this month from yours truly in the pages of MODERNIZED! I will be doing an article on a few mystic creations to use with your modern arcane games. Got a Vampire in the closet (um…Broke Back Fangs?) Do you have a Werewolf in the microwave? What about a secret society of shadow people secretly trying to bring back the dark gods with heads that look like seafood? These items are for you. Granted, some people will get more mileage out of them than another but hey, different strokes for different folks.

The Korranberg Chronicle is set to launch at the end of this week and I am looking forward to seeing if we get some “audience” participation this time. I didn’t do that much for the paper on the last issue as I had about a dozen other things going on. This issue I should be illustrating again as well as putting in a few articles of my own. I can’t wait to see what other trouble we can get into around the Five Nations of Eberron.

This month’s contest is all wrapped up and we had a smashing good run. I will be posting the winning entries along with write ups by the end of the week. I had fun running the contest and then selecting the winners. For some reason, most of the entries that I received had their ultimate villain being well over nine feet tall. I guess they equated great evil with great stature. I wonder what else is in direct proportion to the size of some one’s evil!

See ya next time…
Walt

Posted by kroh1 at 12:59 PM EST
Updated: Monday, 27 March 2006 1:24 PM EST
Friday, 24 March 2006
WOW...And then I was 16 again....
OK so ever since I was a kid, nothing really captured my imagination more than pealing back the pages of a good comic book. Even to this day, although my taste in "spandex" has changed over the years, I have always had a soft spot in my heart for Marvel Comics.

Stories of the Avengers and especially the X-men really pulled my brains and my taste in fiction in certain directions. Gotta love the comics.

One of the best role playing experiences I had as a kid was playing the old FASERIP edition of Advanced Marvel Super Heroes from TSR. Nothing to tha point had captured the flavor of Comics like it had and nothing since has come through with it's easy of play and speed at which you learn the system. What a great game.

This game was way ahead of its time as it had everything you needed to play in the genre, plenty of supprt by way of supliments and adventures, and a HUGE fanbase of drooling idiots scrambling to get their hands on it. Too bad that the comic crash of the mid to late nineties caused a drop off in the sale of comics and a lack of interest in our favorite heroes.

Not to fear though as comic sales are on the rise again as is the interest in games like Mutants and Masterminds, HERO Games' Champions, and RPG Objects lood and Vigilance. While the style has changed from the incredible art of the 1980's, the new artists and story tellers have captured a style that is reinvigorating the genre.

I went on a nostalgia trip today looking for the Old FASRIP Marvel game and I came across a great resource for those looking to capture that old gaming feeling of before. The site is called Classic Marvel and is a resource for those who still play the old RPG. If you are looking to play a fun game ( not realistic...just fun ) with planety of support, this site could keep you in armor plated spandex for years to come.

To the guys who put together the site... Great job. I had fun trompsing around and seeing what you guys were all about. Very comprehensive and fun.

It felt good to be 16 again...even if it was only for about an hour...

Regards,
Walt

Posted by kroh1 at 1:11 PM EST
Tuesday, 14 March 2006
RANT AND ROLL!
What?s a guy to do?.

OK?so even though the contest wasn?t as big as I had hoped, I wanted to take a minute to announce that we have our three winners and will be posting the info in the next few days. I wanted to thank all who came out and submitted their most vile villains. Most of the time I was cleverly entertained but there were a few times when I had to run and grab my ?blanky? and cower. Some of the people out there that submitted have some serious issues.

So what does this contest mean for HAZARD Studio? This is the start of a great year. 2005 saw some real rough patches. The highlight was that I married my wife and pretty much became Mr. Happy guy. The down side had such instances as the ?Dojo Wars? and having to fight for every single contract I could get my hands on. Basically (and in some cases financially), 2005 sucked. But this all leads into a great year as there is no where else to go but up!

In 2006 I will be running the Hazardous Villainy Contest several more times as it was really fun and I had a great time doing it. I will probably do it once in the summer and then again in the fall. A great tradition like that is a great way to get our name out there while at the same time, issue a thank you to the fans for their support. Also in 2006, we should see the release of our first HAZARDous product in conjunction with several of the ?greats? who are making it possible for me to do this. In 2006, there are also several smaller projects that I would like to tackle such as producing a line of art packs as well as offering some ?free? goodies on the site to celebrate the fact that freelancers make a good portion of the RPG industry run.

Regrettably, as I want to increase the scope of HAZARD Studio, I must announce that I have to cut back on a lot of the projects that I do with donated time. A lot of the people that I work for now include the Korranberg Chronicle, MODERNIZED, the Eberron Bestiary, as well as some of the smaller PDF magazines about the RPG industry. The problem is that these fan run works always start off spectacular but then lag due to poor submissions and a less than stringent publishing schedule. The main problem here is money. Because no payment for services rendered is being exchanged, people feel they can hand in their stuff whenever they feel like it. In a real publication, you would loose your spot. No more writing or illustrating for you! Most of these papers come out and look professional but on many occasions the behind the scenes is anything but. A publisher spends a good majority of his time trying to hustle and hassle the contributors to get things in on time. In one instance, I had to write and illustrate 90% of the issue while pleading for some help. Sorry guys, but it is happening a little too often and it is time for me to cut back and concentrate on getting my own stuff out there.

In the past I have whispered into the ears of people I thought would get HAZARD where it needs to go. I wanted to be the ?go to guy? for the smaller publisher. I want to provide the industry with as much as my scribble as possible. Time to start whispering and turn the volume up to eleven! We have some great things poised to slap an unsuspecting world in the face. Time to stop talking and start shouting!

Regards,
Walt

Posted by kroh1 at 7:00 AM EST
Updated: Tuesday, 14 March 2006 7:32 AM EST
Thursday, 2 March 2006
Up...Up...and Awaaa.....ARGH CRAP! My Leg!
Ya ever have one of those days where ya feel like a superhero? THIS is not one of those days. The other day I did something stupid! I wrestled my wife. Now I know where your mind is going with this and really, it didn’t go there. My wife is an accomplished martial artist and she threw me a beat down. Just when I thought I had the upper hand on her, she reversed something I was doing and to get out of it I had to strain a bit. This is the part where I hurt my back and because of it haven’t been able to sit in anything resembling a normal human posture. This has also affected me going back to my martial arts class as I can’t fall, roll, tumble, or throw a punch faster than a crawl. To make matters worse, the back was feeling better yesterday until I tried to hop a guardrail in my apartment parking lot and smashed my leg. I chalked it up to having a bad beginning of the week until I got ready to leave this morning for work. Damn satanic feline ate my breakfast!

GRRRRR. OK…things are not without an upside. From my point of view, there is always an upside. I picked up some software yesterday that made my day. This was software that I had wanted for a while but had yet to pick up. I love it when something comes along to make my life easier. It doesn’t happen often but when it does, it feels damn good (or is that the rhythmic throbbing of my leg?). In any event, this program will help me with some of the online stuff that I do concerning HAZARD Studios. This is really a labor of love (Cuz God knows I’m not getting paid for any of it) but any chance to limit the labor part of it is a good thing.

Work is continuing on one of the SFX Skills line for SDC. I have managed to get several images done and plotted out and all I need now is to upload them and get them approved. Once I get the merry go ahead I should be all set. The SFX Skills line is a fun line to draw for because it pulls me out of my normal mode of thinking and has me sketching out a few areas that aren’t so normal. The first line (Diabolism) took me to the dark where I got to draw devilish symbols and lots of things that walk on this side of creepy. This next turn in the line has me drawing kind of light with symbolism that borders on the arcane. Mysticism derived from an angelic language. Not normally where I like to play but I will do it and be the better artist for it.

OK…So I am officially announcing a contest where the winning entry gets a free illustration. Since GM’s day has come, I will be running a contest to pick the worst villain you can create. GM’s, are you currently running a game where you have the Uber Villain that you can’t wait to throw at your players? Is this some one that you pulled out of your nightmares and thought, if this scares me, my players will be blown away! HAZARD Studio is conducting a contest for the nastiest Villains out there in the RPG-Scape. We want to hear what you think will scare, thrill, and chill your players. The winning entry will receive a custom illustration with your villain boldly displayed for all to fear. The winner will also have a web page for this villain displayed on the HAZARD Web site for thirty days. If that didn’t top the cake, the winning entry will also have their character and his most boldest quote emblazoned on a t-shirt that I will have printed and sent to the lucky number 1! There will also be a silver and bronze medal villain in the contest. Silver receives a custom black and white illustration and a stat-block on a web page to share with the bronze who receives a stat-block as well as a line illustration.

Don’t just send in your stats for your Vile NPC’s. Don’t forget to send in a blurb letting us know why he or she is the nastiest dog in the yard! Darth Vader wouldn’t have the same effect on some one if in his calmest demeanor he had missed the chance to lay some poor sucker out while saying, “I find your lack of faith disturbing…” What about Hannibal Lector saying, “Hello, Claris.” And let’s not forget that evil Santa in, A Christmas Story.

We will accept the first one hundred entries to get this in and judge based on that pool. The contest will run From March 1st to March 8th. All entries should be sent to kroh@hazardstudio.net. The winners will be notified by email and will have their dastardly masters put up in about a week. The Number 1 villain will receive his swag as soon as I can get it to them (God and UPS willing). Thanks for looking…

Regards,
Walt

Posted by kroh1 at 10:19 AM EST
Updated: Thursday, 2 March 2006 10:28 AM EST
Tuesday, 21 February 2006
Nothing in the World Like a ?


Ever have one of those weeks where the vultures are circling and you don’t think you are going to make it? I love those weeks, as I like to use those birds for target practice.

The Korranberg Chronicle came out this past Thursday to much fanfare. Despite my personal feelings on the matter, the Chronicle is going to a monthly format. I would prefer a biweekly commitment but hey, if the staff can’t hack it the staff can’t hack it. This was a crazy issue as it was 80% done by me. I did all the illustrations and wrote eleven articles. Of course they (the articles ) were riddled with mistakes but I guess that is what you get for having to do everyone else’s job (of course Ruben and John are exempt from this little rant but hey…no worries).

One of the big milestones to come out in the past week, MODERNIZED was re-released onto a suspecting public. They new it was coming out they just didn’t exactly know when as technical difficulties plagued the set. I have several illustrations that made the list but the one that I cranked out that I was most proud of didn’t make it for some reason. Oh well…it is on the books and will be ready for the next issue if needed. One of the things I like about MODERNIZED is that the mag features products from any game system as long as the content is applicable. Cover art was supplied by an art pack from Shinkei of UKG Publishing fame. The great thing about the art pack is that publishers can use the art contained within for products such as MODERNIZED or for any product they intend to publish without having to dole out royalties. Very cool.

I have recently finished upgrading all of the systems that I use on a day to day basis and the adjustment is taking a bit to get use to. A fast processor and a high resolution screen blasted onto the scene and is making things easier in some respects harder. The scanner that I have, which I absolutely love, is not supported by Windows XP and thus I have to keep switching from the new to the old when I have to scan something. Growl, Snarl, spit! I will just have to make due with it for now until I can find a scanner that I like. The great thing about the one that I have is that it can be used for either scanning pages or can be pulled out to scan from source. When it is time to trade up…Sniff... Sniff... we’ll miss you.

OK... So what should I do now that I have finally finished my blog for the week...

Regards,
Walt

Posted by kroh1 at 8:36 AM EST
Monday, 13 February 2006
Hello...Helooo....Is anyone out there
Some times I think the whole world has gone nuts and has become a pit of evil from which we will never recover. It is just after those moments that I realize...the world has always been that way, it's just that now, we have CNN.

A lot has been going on in the last week or so. The Chronicle is poised to come out again and as usual I was glued to my computer yesterday typing up the articles that no one wanted to type up (as in an entire issue's worth). The Chronicle has become one of those labors of love that I am not sure that I want to do anymore. I love writing and illustrating for the magazine but to do it all is just a pain in the but. Oh well, maybe I will take a break in this next issue. Or maybe I will just do the whole thing myself again. Can't wait to see what this next issue looks like.

The project that I have been working on for SDC has been put on hold so that we can come out with the next in the line for SFX Skills. The next product will be called Enochian Theurgy and will be mysticism based on the concept of weaving magic by tracing and drawing intricate magic symbols. This will be a sort of antithesis to the first product called Diabolism. Where as Diabolism was geared toward the enslavement of a being, Enochian Theurgy will be about protection. It is definitely good stuff. There has been some genuine interest about this product going out and it is in the production stage as of now. I was given the art requirement on Saturday and I am fairly confident that I can get it out on time. I should have loads for them to look at this week. I love being under the gun…

My martial arts continue to be a source of stress relief for me but I am getting the sense that my old instructor feels that I am some sort of betrayer that should be shunned by all those that are associated with the academy. Things just seemed strained during correspondence and although it is hard to get a sense of tone from email, I am definitely getting the feeling that I am personae non grata (don’t ask me…I don’t know how to spell it…).

I at one time wanted to do a martial arts publication online much like the FMA Digest or the one that Martial Talk has but I feel that any attempt to publish such a magazine would just be me rehashing the same old thing. Martial arts and strategy are about innovation and until I can come up with something that doesn’t feel like a re-run, I will be shelving this project. In lieu of this I will continue to update the online training journal I have and try to strive for articles and training elements from different instructors as posts (in addition to the random post from me). It is really kind of fun (and a great way to meet people) by contacting them and asking if I could have permission to post their material. Some people would call this networking but I think it is just good old fashioned people to people communication. So many people out there are trying to come up with the next great martial arts thing that they forget that there is already a wealth of info out there waiting to be explored.

Silly people…

Regards,
Walt

Posted by kroh1 at 7:28 AM EST
Thursday, 9 February 2006
When things look darkest?
OK...Soooo... For a minute there I started to go into panic mode. SDC is suffering growing pains and people are harder to get a hold of than an XBOX at Christmas. The Chronicle is suffering labor pains and no one is talking about anything. And I haven’t had a commission in about three or four weeks! What the hell is going on around here!

Things were looking grim. It felt like everything that I had just spent the last two years trying to put together was falling out the window. OK…this is the part of story where the hero takes a deep cleansing (and diharetic) breath and gets a hold of himself. FOR GOD’S SAKE MAN! Pull yourself together!

I took a couple of days off where I did absolutely nothing! That had nothing to do with the fact that my head was drooling from every orifice and I couldn’t get a deep enough breath to get out a full sentence. I am sure that my several days of rest and reflection (that’s what all the pretty movie stars call it when they go to rehab and throw up) was more than helpful to getting myself reorganized and ready for more action.

This week has been all about re-building. I have been working the martial arts to rebuild my body reading a lot to rebuild my mind (don’t you love those sappy romance novels…{{{shiver}}}. The cold is almost out of me now and all I have to do is keep ignoring it and I should be fine.

I jammed out some illustrations for MODERNIZED last weekend and basically took the last week and weekend to try and shake this vicious cold. The illustrations were done and well ahead of schedule for the release of the mag… we won’t talk about that at the moment. Several base illustrations are set to hit the pages and a coupe of groovy mecha ones should wow and pow the readers.

The super secret project I am working on behind the scenes took a back seat the last couple of weeks as I was getting my martial arts stuff together. Martial arts is a big part of my life and I try to keep the training as on the level as possible. The new martial art I started to study has some complexities that is taking some time to master. Like all Japanese Martial Arts, it is taught through a “blueprint” system much like the way we learn to read. Start with a form, learn to use the pieces independent of the form, and then learn to use them in a free form environment. It is nice to be learning in this atmosphere again as it helps with the stress of every day life and helps me to think. A sharp mind can cut through the common rabble to produce wonderful things in what would be normally an ordinary life. I’ll leave ordinary to the masses who are satisfied with mediocrity.

The only bad thing about trying to trip the life fantastic…you need to eventually sleep when that over riding exhaustion hits...




Regards,
Walt

Posted by kroh1 at 3:33 PM EST

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