Joseph A. McCullough – författare

Empires have fallen, and the land is broken. The great oathmarks that once stood as testaments to the allegiances and might of nations have crumbled into ruin. In this lost age, fealty and loyalty are as valuable as gold and as deadly as cold iron, and war is ever-presentOathmark: Second Edition is a revised and expanded version of the popular mass-battle fantasy wargame, Oathmark. Featuring new and expanded rules, units types, and a whole host of other revisions from years of player feedback. Command the fantasy army you’ve always wanted in Oathmark: Second Edition, whether a company of stalwart dwarves or a mixed force with proud elves, noble men, and wild goblins standing shoulder-to-shoulder in the battle-line.Fight through an integrated campaign system and develop your realms from battle to battle, adding new territories, recruiting new troop types, and growing to eclipse your rivals… ...or lose what you fought so hard to gain and fall as so many would-be emperors before you.

This new edition of the multi-award-winning fantasy skirmish wargame offers improved rules based on years of player feedback, a revised spell list, and a host of brand-new scenarios. It remains fully compatible with all previously published Frostgrave supplements, allowing players to revisit past adventures as well as face new challenges. Choose a wizard from one of ten schools of magic, and select from a list of eighty spells. Hire a warband filled with soldiers, from lowly thugs and thieves to mighty knights and barbarians, then lead your men into the frozen ruins of the magic city of Frostgrave on the hunt for ancient treasures and the secrets of lost magic. Be warned – it is a deadly place, filled with rival wizards, wandering monsters, animated constructs, and demonic entities. Do you dare enter the Frozen City one more time?

This supplement for Frostgrave provides players with new tools to build, animate, field, and face constructs in their games.In the glory days of Ancient Felstad, artisans competed to produce the most beautiful, the most functional, and the most enduring constructs. These living works of art could be seen everywhere in the city, fulfilling many of the day-to-day tasks that kept the magical metropolis running. They provided transportation and security, worked on construction and cleaning, exterminated vermin, butchered animals, and tended furnaces. Then came the cataclysm. The ice and snow not only buried and destroyed most of the constructs active in the city, but nearly wiped out the knowledge of their creation. Certainly, the constructs animated by the explorers of the Frozen City are crude in both form and function compared to what once existed.This supplement for Frostgrave: Fantasy Wargames in the Frozen City provides a study of constructs, offering expanded rules for their creation, modification, and even re-animation. It examines enchanters' workshops, detailing new magic items and base modifications that aid in the animation process, and also includes a bestiary full of new constructs. Of course, much of the knowledge that was once lost still exists in the frozen ruins, so the book also features several scenarios set in the once-great factories where the art of construct creation reached its pinnacle.

In a galaxy torn apart by the Last War, vast pirate fleets roam from system to system, robbing, extorting, and enslaving. Amidst this chaos, thousands of independent operators – smugglers, relic hunters, freedom fighters, and mercenaries – roam the dead stars in small ships, scratching out a living any way they can.In Stargrave, players take on the role of one of these independent operators, choosing from a range of backgrounds each with their own strengths, weaknesses, and associated powers. Next, players must hire a crew for their ship, recruiting a lieutenant with a unique skill-set and a handful of soldiers, mechanics, hackers, and other specialists. Some captains may even recruit strange alien lifeforms with abilities no humanoid could ever possess. Once the players’ crews are assembled, they are ready to dive into a campaign. Over a series of games, their crews will have the chance to carry out a variety of missions – recovering lost technology, stealing data, freeing slaves, and fighting back against the pirate fleets. In time, as the crews gain experience, they will become more powerful and hire more talented specialists. The more they grow, however, the more likely it is that a pirate fleet will take note of their activities and come after them!

Empires have fallen, and the land is broken. The great oathmarks that once stood as testaments to the allegiances and might of nations have crumbled into ruin. In this lost age, fealty and loyalty are as valuable as gold and as deadly as cold iron, and war is ever-present.Created by Joseph A. McCullough, designer of Frostgrave and Frostgrave: Ghost Archipelago, Oathmark is a mass-battle fantasy wargame that puts you in command of the fantasy army you’ve always wanted, whether a company of stalwart dwarves or a mixed force with proud elves, noble men, and wild goblins standing shoulder-to-shoulder in the battle-line. Fight through an integrated campaign system and develop your realms from battle to battle, adding new territories, recruiting new troop types, and growing to eclipse your rivals… or lose what you fought so hard to gain and fall as so many would-be emperors before you.

A solo/cooperative skirmish wargame of heroism and adventure in the realms of Greek myth.In an age of monsters, humanity is besieged, sheltering in isolated city states as the forces of destruction ravage the land. There is a spark of hope, however – the demigods. These heroes, born of the gods and granted some of the power of their divine parents, stand fast against the chaos. Explorers, warriors, and diplomats, they sail the wine-dark sea, seeking adventure, battling horrific creatures, and protecting the helpless.Warriors of Athena can be played in three ways: solo, with one brave hero leading their crew into the unknown; cooperatively, with heroes banding together for a great expedition; or with one player taking on the role of Oracle, scripting scenarios and presenting challenges for the heroes to overcome.This Heroes book contains all the core rules needed to play Warriors of Athena. With simple D20-based mechanics, the rules are quick to pick up, while an extensive range of character options, from arms and armour to divine origins, abilities, and treasures to discover, makes your heroes your own. Create your demigod, assemble their loyal crew, and set out into the perilous Aegean to forge a legend!Players will also need the rules for scenarios and adversaries found in Warriors of Athena: Quests to make full use of this book.

A solo/cooperative skirmish wargame of heroism and adventure in the realms of Greek myth.In an age of monsters, humanity is besieged, sheltering in isolated city states as the forces of destruction ravage the land. There is a spark of hope, however – the demigods. These heroes, born of the gods and granted some of the power of their divine parents, stand fast against the chaos. Explorers, warriors, and diplomats, they sail the wine-dark sea, seeking adventure, battling horrific creatures, and protecting the helpless.Warriors of Athena can be played in three ways: solo, with one brave hero leading their crew into the unknown; cooperatively, with heroes banding together for a great expedition; or with one player taking on the role of Oracle, scripting scenarios and presenting challenges for the heroes to overcome.This Quests book contains the rules needed to adventure in the world of Warriors of Athena, including an extensive bestiary of gods, monsters, and other adversaries. Advice for players looking to build their own solo, cooperative, or Oracle-plotted adventures is also provided, while four multi-scenario campaigns allow them to dive straight into the action!Players will also need the rules for play, creating Heroes, and assembling warbands found in Warriors of Athena: Heroes to make full use of this book.

There are many tales of the Frozen City, and not all of them tell of battles between rival wizards. Often, the greatest adventures are those that pit a wizard and his trusty warband against the myriad perils found amidst the ruins of Felstad.This new supplement for Frostgrave presents rules for playing solo and cooperative games in which the focus shifts from the feuds of wizards to exploring the city, unlocking its mysteries… and surviving what is discovered. With guidelines for scaling game difficulty, dungeon crawls, monster generation, and more, as well as ten scenarios demonstrating these options, this volume offers players everything they need to venture alone – or with allies – into Frostgrave. Why should wizards fight amongst themselves? There is plenty of treasure for all and the Frozen City is enemy enough!

The Frostgrave Folio is the complete collection of all previously released Frostgrave mini-ebook supplements in one printed volume. This includes Hunt for the Golem, a three-scenario campaign in which the warbands hunt down a rogue golem, Sellsword, which introduces rules for experience-gaining captains to help lead warbands, Dark Alchemy, which expands the rules for potions and potion brewing, and Arcane Locations which gives additional options for bases and base upgrades. The book also includes a completely new mini-supplement, The Ravages of Time. Collecting nearly two years' worth of Frostgrave material, this collection is a necessary addition to any wizard’s library.

Enhance your Frostgrave campaigns with recurring villains that grow more powerful over time and give your wizards somewhere to hide with expanded rules for bases.On the violent and deadly streets of the Frozen City, feuds and vendettas are commonplace. Wizards may start out focused on discovery and exploration, fighting when necessary for survival or to win possession of some long-lost artefact or grimoire, but such battles can swiftly become intensely personal. Competitors become adversaries and, as the cycle of violence continues, some wizards lose sight of their original goals and focus their efforts on the elimination of their hated foes – their mortal enemies.This supplement for Frostgrave: Fantasy Wargames in the Frozen City presents rules for creating recurring villains in both competitive and solo campaigns. These characters are unique individuals who return over the course of a campaign to plague the players’ wizards, gaining experience, recruiting allies, and becoming more deadly with each appearance. Against such threats, a wizard’s base becomes as much hideout as headquarters, and an expanded range of options for enhancing bases is provided, as are rules for defending your own... and attacking those of your rivals!

In the days of ancient Felstad, vampires kept to the shadows, their small numbers no match for the power of the city’s wizards. But when the cataclysm struck, the wizards were destroyed, while the deathless vampires went into a frozen hibernation. Now, as the city thaws, so too do its undead inhabitants. The masters of the night are rising again: reoccupying their hidden strongholds, reforming their old cabals, and finding new victims to serve as their thralls. The destruction of the old city has brought one other boon to the vampires – giant’s blood. While giants used to live out of reach to the far north, in the intervening millennium, they have descended on the city in large numbers. Their blood is like an elixir to the vampires, filling them with strength and magical power. A new war is forming between these two ancient races, and once again, the wizards of Frostgrave are caught in the middle.This supplement for Frostgrave: Fantasy Wargames in the Frozen City presents greatly expanded information about the vampires and the giants that occupy the frozen ruins, including rules for vampiric magic and a breakdown of the different tribes of giants. Also included are rules for a new type of soldier, the giant-blooded. These huge men and women have the blood of giants running through their veins, granting them great strength unseen in normal men. Finally, the book contains a section on playing Frostgrave with high-level wizards and includes two mini-campaigns to challenge these experienced spellcasters.

When it was commissioned, Imperial Research Station 37 was home to nearly 10,000 scientists and researchers working on a vast array of biological and chemical projects. Then, six months before the outbreak of the war, Station 37 went dark. No escape pods were launched and all attempts at communication went unanswered. Only a solitary, repeating broadcast filled the silence: “This station is under quarantine – do not approach”. When the war came, the station was forgotten, left to drift lifelessly in its empty system. Now, in the aftermath of the Last War, Station 37 has been rediscovered and its broadcast heard once more…Quarantine 37 is a supplement for Stargrave in which players lead their crews into an abandoned space station, hunting for lost technology, unique research, and forgotten experiments. Compete with your opponents for these valuable resources across two competitive mini-campaigns, or venture into the vast maze of corridors and laboratories alone in the first Stargrave solo campaign. Also included are six new soldier types, new backgrounds and powers, terrifying additions to the bestiary, and a new advanced technology table packed with loot to help you in your adventures in the ravaged galaxy.

The second supplement for Stargrave offers a host of new scenarios and rules for gaining political backing as you fight across the ravaged galaxy.The Dahlgren Belt was once a vast asteroid mining operation that supplied the entire sector with rare metals and various elemental fuels. However, the isolation of the last war caused the corporation to wither, and the various outposts and colonies were eventually left to look after themselves. Some became true collectives, or limited democracies, while others have fallen to the rule of gangsters, warlords, and despots. In all cases, the limited resources of air and organic material has made life difficult.In this supplement for Stargrave, the crews must travel from asteroid-to-asteroid, and even down to the system’s single, barely inhabitable planet, searching for a man who claims to have discovered a ‘big score’. During their journey, players will fight through numerous different environments – including asteroid mines, zero gravity, and even hellish jungle. Captains must curry favour with the various small political factions that hold power in the Belt. Only through a combination of wits, diplomacy, and weapons can players hope to reach the last prospector and gain a share of his claim…

Take on the pirate fleets in this campaign for Stargrave, featuring full rules for playing the game solo or cooperatively.Since the end of the Last War, the great pirate fleets have roamed the ruins of the galaxy, pillaging, extorting, and enslaving. No one has had the power to stand against them, and the desperate few who have tried, have been quickly and brutally crushed. However, when the independent crews are hired for a simple hostage rescue, it leads to a dangerous opportunity to strike a blow against tyranny. Two of the largest and most vicious pirate fleets are meeting for a parlay near the ruins of an ancient research station... one that once experimented with ‘supernova-level events’. If the crews can locate the station, slip past the pirates, and infiltrate the facility, it might be possible to release such an event just as the fleets have gathered…Hope Eternal is a solo and cooperative expansion for Stargrave. Along with full rules for playing the game in this new style, the book contains an intricate campaign of connected scenarios. Whether you brave the perils of the campaign alone, or enlist the aid of another independent crew, this is your chance to bring back a little hope to the ravaged galaxy!

A Stargrave supplement devoted to generating and running solo scenarios in which players hunt bounties across the Ravaged Galaxy… or perhaps become hunted themselves!It’s hard to live with a price on your head, especially in the Ravaged Galaxy, where bounty hunters can be found on every planet. Most are amateurs, folk with a gun and an eye for a payday, but some are deadly professionals. A few aren’t even motivated by the reward, but by vengeance, redemption, some notion of justice, or the pure thrill of the hunt. They’re the truly dangerous ones. No matter what drives them, once a new bounty is posted, the hounds take up the chase and, more often than not, it all ends in violence…Dead or Alive gives Stargrave players all the tools they need to generate solo bounty-hunting scenarios, including a variety of different settings and locations, a host of complications to be faced, and, of course, a large rogues’ gallery of unique outlaws. With the random scenario generators in this volume, players can set up a great number of games of Stargrave with no two being the same… all without an opponent!

A 40-card deck of special missions, plots, and objectives from which players can draw to add extra intrigue to their games.The goal for most of the independent crews operating throughout the Ravaged Galaxy is that one big score that will set them up for life. Such scores are few and far between, so crews typically find themselves taking whatever jobs they can scrounge – anything for a quick credit. Anyone can sell an alien artefact or a set of neural-fuses, but smart captains know that there are myriad ways to turn a profit…This expansion for Stargrave consists of 40 Side Hustle cards – missions, plots, and tasks that add variety, depth, and new tactical challenges to wargames in the Ravaged Galaxy. Each card presents a specific objective… and the rewards for achieving it. Some of these missions must be revealed, while others are kept secret. Is your crew attempting to insert a data virus into a key system? Locate a political prisoner? Uncover evidence of a secret scientific cabal? Every crew is out to grab some loot, but what’s your captain’s side hustle?

A Stargrave supplement of exploration and adventure, full of strange and wonderful alien worlds, species, and technologies.Just beyond the rim of what was once ‘civilized space’ lies the vast, colourful expanse of the Crokoan Nebula. Seeking their fortunes, bold independent crews press deep into this largely unexplored sector. But the Ravaged Galaxy is a dangerous place, and the threats that crews face are not limited to those found on a planet’s surface. In fact, more independent crews meet their ends in the dark void of space than are wiped out in gunfights. Black holes, asteroid fields, and even the legendary space kraken can all destroy a ship and its crew. It takes a deft hand on the controls, a sharp eye on navigation, and a bit of wizardry with the engines to fly between the stars.This supplement for­ Stargrave focuses on the ships that serve as the crews’ transports, strategic headquarters, and homes, including new upgrades, a damage system, and rules for crew assignments such as piloting, gunnery, and navigation. New powers, soldiers, technology, and backgrounds for captains and first mates help reinforce crews, while rules for space encounters – dangerous, interesting, and potentially profitable incidents – and five new scenarios bring them face to face with strange alien species and other terrifying dangers in weird and wonderful locations, from unexplored planets to the depths of space.­

A supplement for Stargrave that explores the ideas of artificial intelligence run amok, soulless cyborg killers, and cyberpunk hacking.Welcome to the Outlaw Technology Sector, a vast region of space cut off from the rest of the Ravaged Galaxy. Once a haven to criminals, political dissidents, and rogue scientists, it was overrun by an artificial intelligence intent on wiping out all organic life. Only through the combined might of the pre-Last War great empires was this menace brought down, and their retribution was terrible. Now the Outlaw Technology Sector is a dead place, a nightmare place. Navigational systems refuse to chart a course there, calling such paths ‘death vectors’. But the independent crews survive by going where others fear to tread, and the Sector contains technology not found anywhere else…Death Vector is a supplement for Stargrave, containing 8 new scenarios set inside the Outlaw Technology Sector. Instead of the pirate fleets, the players contend with the legions of cyborg automatons that still prowl the region, hunting organic life. Paired with these scenarios is a new campaign element, ‘The Network’, which brings cyberpunk hacking into the game. This book also includes a new space encounters table to be used for adventures in the OTS, a new advanced technology table, and a bestiary filled with cybernetic horrors.

Recruit new soldiers, face new foes, and explore the mysteries of the Carpathian Mountains in two new campaigns, one competitive and one for solo or cooperative play.High in the Carpathian Mountains stands the crumbling Castle Fier. Once home to a powerful warlord, the castle cast a dark shadow across the nearby villages, until crusaders attacked with sword and flame to put an end to its menace. Though history passed into folklore, the ruins of Castle Fier remained shunned by all as a cursed site. Now, horrors have been seen moving at night. An army gathers. Something has awoken in the ruins. With the political situation in the surrounding region becoming increasingly unstable, France, Prussia, Britain, and the other powers have dispatched their best agents to investigate the ruins, eliminate any threats, and acquire any treasures that could prove useful in the ongoing fight against the harvestmen… and each other.The Carpathians: Castle Fier is a supplement for The Silver Bayonet: A Wargame of Napoleonic Gothic Horror, in which the special units must fight their way through the ruins of a menacing haunted castle. It features two campaigns – one competitive and one for solo or cooperative play – as well as new monsters to fight, soldiers to recruit, and treasure to unearth.

With this new supplement for Frostgrave, players can lead their warbands into the vast network of catacombs, sewers, and dungeons that run underneath the Frozen City. It was in these dark confines that the ancient wizards known as Beastcrafters experimented on living creatures, creating strange hybrids and deadly monsters, many of which still roam the forgotten passageways. Along with a host of new scenarios, treasures, soldiers, and creatures, the book also contains rules for the traps and secret passages that are often found in the dungeons. With wonderful and rare magical treasures to be discovered, will players risk taking their warbands down into the Breeding Pits?

Expand your spellbook with Advanced Spellcraft, featuring new options for wizards and a ten-scenario competitive campaign.While today's wizards are not as gifted as those who ruled Felstad, the recent discovery of the fabled Bibliosepulchre promises to change all that. It was in this great library-crypt that ancient librarians were interred, each clutching a rare grimoire. Who knows what strange energies have seeped from those tomes over the centuries or what shadows and ghosts stalk the dark catacombs? Only those truly obsessed with magic and the power it offers would dare to find out!Advanced Spellcraft offers numerous new rules and ideas that bring more spellcasting possibilities to games of Frostgrave. Critical successes and failures for each basic spell are introduced, as are spell-specific flourishes that can be learned to enhance your magic. Create a Furious Quill that leaps from target to target, cast a Draining Word that affects an entire school of magic, or ensnare multiple zombies with Control Undead. Such flourishes take their toll, however, and to even learn such secrets will require you to venture into the Bibliosepulchre itself in a ten-scenario competitive campaign.With hundreds of new tricks for wizards to learn, Advanced Spellcraft is the largest supplement to date, and is presented in celebration of Frostgrave's 10th anniversary.

With its fiery breath, scaly armour, and baleful, malevolent stare, the dragon became the ultimate symbol of evil and corruption in European folklore and mythology. Often serving as a stand-in for Satan, or the power of evil gods, dragons spread death and hopelessness throughout the land. Only heroes of uncommon valour, courageousness, and purity could hope to battle these monsters and emerge victorious. Those that did became legends. They became dragonslayers. The list of dragonslayers is small, but it is filled with great and legendary names. Hercules, Beowulf, Sigfried, and Saint George all battled to the death with dragons. Other heroes such as Cadmus, founder of the city of Thebes, Dieudonné de Gozon, the Knight of Rhodes, and the Russian warrior Dobrynya Nikitch might be less well known to western readers, but also fought and defeated dragons. This book retells the greatest legends of this select group of warriors, while examining the myth of the dragonslayer in a historical, mythological, and even theological context.

With its fiery breath, scaly armour, and baleful, malevolent stare, the dragon became the ultimate symbol of evil and corruption in European folklore and mythology. Often serving as a stand-in for Satan, or the power of evil gods, dragons spread death and hopelessness throughout the land. Only heroes of uncommon valour, courageousness, and purity could hope to battle these monsters and emerge victorious. Those that did became legends. They became dragonslayers. The list of dragonslayers is small, but it is filled with great and legendary names. Hercules, Beowulf, Sigfried, and Saint George all battled to the death with dragons. Other heroes such as Cadmus, founder of the city of Thebes, Dieudonné de Gozon, the Knight of Rhodes, and the Russian warrior Dobrynya Nikitch might be less well known to western readers, but also fought and defeated dragons. This book retells the greatest legends of this select group of warriors, while examining the myth of the dragonslayer in a historical, mythological, and even theological context.

The perfect Christmas gift, this beautiful book explains how the bearded, red clad, big bellied, reindeer driving jovial gent came to be the face of Christmas, and reveals the historical origins of Saint Nicholas over seventeen hundred years ago in the Eastern Roman Empire.In a winding, magical tale filled with mystery and good will towards all men, Joseph McCullough travels across Europe (and the North Pole… of course) to uncover the exploits of Santa in a book that is sure to fill even the most jaded scrooges with a little bit of Christmas magic. And for any nervous parents out there – don''t worry, there are no Father Christmas ''spoilers'' between the pages of this book – ensuring the wonderous children''s whisperings of Santa will continue… for another couple of years at least!

The perfect Christmas gift, this beautiful book explains how the bearded, red clad, big bellied, reindeer driving jovial gent came to be the face of Christmas, and reveals the historical origins of Saint Nicholas over seventeen hundred years ago in the Eastern Roman Empire.In a winding, magical tale filled with mystery and good will towards all men, Joseph McCullough travels across Europe (and the North Pole… of course) to uncover the exploits of Santa in a book that is sure to fill even the most jaded scrooges with a little bit of Christmas magic. And for any nervous parents out there – don''t worry, there are no Father Christmas ''spoilers'' between the pages of this book – ensuring the wonderous children''s whisperings of Santa will continue… for another couple of years at least!

Between 1887 and 1895, the British art student Miles Vandercroft travelled around the world, sketching and painting the soldiers of the countries through which he passed. In this age of dramatic technological advancement, Vandercroft was fascinated by how the rise of steam technology at the start of the American Civil War had transformed warfare and the role of the fighting man. This volume collects all of Vandercroft''s surviving paintings, along with his associated commentary on the specific military units he encountered. It is a unique pictorial guide to the last great era of bright and colourful uniforms, as well as an important historical study of the variety of steam-powered weaponry and equipment that abounded in the days before the Great War of the Worlds.

Between 1887 and 1895, the British art student Miles Vandercroft travelled around the world, sketching and painting the soldiers of the countries through which he passed. In this age of dramatic technological advancement, Vandercroft was fascinated by how the rise of steam technology at the start of the American Civil War had transformed warfare and the role of the fighting man. This volume collects all of Vandercroft''s surviving paintings, along with his associated commentary on the specific military units he encountered. It is a unique pictorial guide to the last great era of bright and colourful uniforms, as well as an important historical study of the variety of steam-powered weaponry and equipment that abounded in the days before the Great War of the Worlds.

A quiz book containing over 1,000 questions about the classics of science-fiction and fantasy drawn from all media.In J. R. R. Tolkien''s The Fellowship of the Ring, what is the name of Tom Bombadil''s wife? Which character does Scarlett Johansson play in the 2012 film The Avengers? Who is the protagonist of the video game The Legend of Zelda? Which barbarian hero carried a sword called “Graywand”?How well do you know the who, where, what, when and how of science fiction and fantasy? Do you dare face the ultimate test of knowledge drawn from the greatest novels, movies, comic books, video games and televisions shows in the history of these genres?Complete with questions ranging from easy to mind-bogglingly hard and including true or false, multiple choice, short answer, and match-up sections, this fun-filled book is the perfect gift for all lovers of science fiction and fantasy.

A quiz book containing over 1,000 questions about the classics of science-fiction and fantasy drawn from all media.In J. R. R. Tolkien''s The Fellowship of the Ring, what is the name of Tom Bombadil''s wife? Which character does Scarlett Johansson play in the 2012 film The Avengers? Who is the protagonist of the video game The Legend of Zelda? Which barbarian hero carried a sword called “Graywand”?How well do you know the who, where, what, when and how of science fiction and fantasy? Do you dare face the ultimate test of knowledge drawn from the greatest novels, movies, comic books, video games and televisions shows in the history of these genres?Complete with questions ranging from easy to mind-bogglingly hard and including true or false, multiple choice, short answer, and match-up sections, this fun-filled book is the perfect gift for all lovers of science fiction and fantasy.