Silicon Phoenix Gaming

Welcome

If this is your first time here, head over to the "about" section. Once you've done that, if you like what you see, then bookmark the site, look around, email me at siliconphoenix@earthlink.net, and check back regularly.

News

1/16/05: Hello world wide web! After a long interim SiliconPhoenix's website has an updated look Don't worry, this project has certainly not died, we simply lost our "voice" for awhile.

8/23/03: Having taken over as webmaster I am currently revamping the entre site. Presently I am reformating the structure so that I can use CustomStyleSheets to give you a much snazzer look. For the time being I am keeping the original layout, but for short periods of time expect the site to change drastically and have a number of errors as experimentaton occurs. If this happens return in five minutes or so and the site should be back to normal. You can expect the new layout to show up within the next two weeks.
14days and countng.

8/30/02:  This update doesn't directly pertain to either of our projects, though work on both of them is continuing.  However, enough miscellaneous news has accumulated that I figured it was time for an update.  First, obviously, the site hasn't moved.  The arrangements I had made for ad-free hosting fell through, so we have to stay here for at least a little while longer.  Second, I do now have a non web-based email, which means that it will get checked much more often.  The new address is siliconphoenix@earthlink.net.  Finally, my entry of an NPC writeup for one of my favorite campaign settings, Arcanis, has been chosen as the winner of an NPC contest they are doing there.  If you want to check out a sample of my game-related writings, go to www.paradigmconcepts.com and download Albrecht of Lustia. (take a look at the rest of the site while you're there of course.)

5/30/02: After several weeks of working out the details, we can finally announce our second project to enter development, Philosophies and Falsehoods. It is written by Jacob Driscoll, who some of you may recognize from his work at PS3E.

No two paladins hold to the exact same pillars of truth and justice. No demon fights for the same reasons and motivations as its accursed brethren. No character has an alignment, or worships a god, or even takes a class, without a fundamental reason shaping their choices. Philosophies and Falsehoods is designed to help you determine that reason. It contains a full ruleset on how to design and place your own original belief systems, as well as a number of already-detailed beliefs modular enough to fit into any campaign and complete with mechanics specific to those who hold to them. Philosophies and Falsehoods will grant you tools you can use to find the answer to the question of "Why?" Beliefs shape the way your character behaves. So only one question remains: What does your character believe in?

5/28/02: We're back from Kublacon, and the demo adventure was a partial success. We weren't able to get it into the program and had to rely on flyers to get the word out, but we did run one table, and it went very well. As soon as we finish up the art for it, we will be posting it here so you can download it and try out some of the material.

5/16/02: We are working on a demo mini-adventure for Steam-trains & Sorcery that we will be running for a few groups of lucky gamers at Kublacon in Oakland over Memorial Day weekend. The adventure will take about 4 hours to run, and will provide characters of about 8th level, including the basic information needed to play them. After the convention, we will be posting it as a free way to let players try out some of the material we have created.

4/23/02: The days of all-too infrequent updates are soon to be over. I have finally found a way to have this site hosted both without advertisements, and on a server that is much easier to update. We will be moving to the new server soon, so watch this space for the new URL. In making the update today, I have added a feedback section with a couple of polls to get some preliminary market research. As we have questions that need answers from our patrons, more polls will be added. I have also added a section with short biographies about the people who make up SPG. Finally, although Steam-trains & Sorcery is still our top priority, I have changed the Projects page to show an under consideration area with other ideas that we have considered tackling.

1/15/02: Well, between the holidays and computer troubles, it's been too long since I've updated this site. However, the good news is that the lack of updates doesn't mean that there has been a lack of progress. I would like to officially announce that we have made a partnership with Korey MacVittie, formerly of Gnomeworks Press, to continue the work of Steam-trains & Sorcery. We have been collaborating on the writing, and it is coming along, although not as quickly as we would like, of course. The first major addition is the use of a Medic base class, representing the advancement of scientific medical techniques combined with military skill. However, beyond that, the addition of another contributor to help come up with gadgets, feats, etc. will help the end result be a much richer product. I've learned from some of the previous delays and setbacks that setting dates that I am not absolutely sure of is a bad idea, but rest assured that progress is being made, and you will hear more from us soon.

12/12/01: Things have been quiet lately, but that doesn't mean we've gone away. We are still hard at work, though other commitments have kept us from devoting as much time as we would like to writing. The preview of Steam-trains & Sorcery has been delayed, as we are currently making arrangements to collaborate with someone else who was working on a project in the same vein. Rather than having two incompatible systems on the market, there will now be only one, with the maximum amount of input from different sources. We will post full details on the deal as soon as it is finalized, and the preview will be put up when we have hashed out the basis of the combined system. In the meantime, I have received drafts of some artwork by our own Eddie Gavidia and have put them up. The first is the new logo that you have probably already noticed by now, and the second is this sketch of the cover art for S&S, though it had to be cut down a bit to save file size. As always, feel free to contact me with any comments or concerns.

11/13/01: The response since we were mentioned in the news section of EN world has been gratifying, with a number of people writing to express interest or ideas. The writing process for Steam-trains & Sorcery is continuing apace, and if all goes well, we will have the preview up by the beginning of next week, as well as short bios for all of our members. In addition, I have formed a yahoogroup here for discussion of our projects.

11/2/01: I added a counter to the bottom of this page. We're still going through the hassles of getting a company set up, and figuring out our plans, though it isn't as bad as it might be, since we don't have to worry about financing. (I guess working for free has some advantages after all.) The plans for Steam-trains & Sorcery are really beginning to take shape now, and we should have a preview and some artwork up within the next week or two. If you'd like to discuss the project, or have an idea for it, you can either email me directly, or check out this thread on the ENworld forums.