Hi folks! Fred here, President of the Hat.
Tax time is always a big reminder to us that we need to keep our inventory under control. See, the Tax Man looks at the value of the inventory you’re holding each, vs. what it was valued at the prior year, and counts any gains there as taxable income.
This is all well and good when your inventory is flowing out at the same rate it’s coming in, but every now and then you’ll put out a game and print … well, a lot more copies than folks actually want. The ultimate fate of such surpluses is usually the recycling bin. It’s often more expensive for a company to hold on to inventory that isn’t moving than it is to jettison the excess.
As a publisher this is heartbreaking — there’s nothing we’ve published that we haven’t been in love with! But tax time has come around again, and with the associated reminder, we’ve had to sit down and really look at the stuff that simply isn’t moving. Rather than get rid of all of it right away, we’ve decided to give y’all one last chance to grab copies of these games at a steeply discounted rate:
Everything on our clearance list (30 titles!) is now priced at $10 or less.
Head on over to our webstore now to see what’s available!
All of these items will be going away before the end of this year — probably November at the latest — so don’t delay if you’ve been on the fence about picking some of these up. November will be upon you before you know it, and we can’t predict when some of the lower-stocked items will be gone.
(And, yes, alas, our webstore only ships inside of the United States. One of the sad realities of how international shipping costs have massively ballooned in the past decade.)
With that said, I’m going to turn the microphone over to Sophie Lagacé for a tour of all that we have on offer in this sale. Take it away, Sophie!
What’s so good about…?
Hi there! Fred has told you all about a series of games which Evil Hat Productions has priced down to reduce inventory. These are all, in my opinion, good games, each offering something nifty and unique, and I wanted to share my thoughts on why I think those are well worth picking up at this discounted price.
Disclaimer: I was involved with the production of three of the role-playing games, two of them towards the tail end. In truth, the only one I was heavily involved with is War of Ashes: Fate of Agaptus.
— Sophie Lagacé
Board Games
Race to Adventure! and the Dinocalypse/Hollow Earth Expansion
Race to Adventure! was Evil Hat Productions’ first board game release. In it, heroes of the Century Club race on a world-wide scavenger hunt. Based on the pulp setting of Evil Hat’s popular role-playing game Spirit of the Century, the game is fun, easy to learn, and quick to play so it makes a good way to fill the time with one to four friends while waiting for the rest of your role-playing group to arrive. It’s also a nice introduction to board games for young players, and more fun for the adults at the table than yet another round of Monopoly…
The Dinocalypse and Hollow Earth expansions, packaged together, add new locations and events for increased replayability.
Designed by Evan Denbaum, E.K. Lytle, and Chris Ruggiero.
Zeppelin Attack and the Doomsday Weapons expansion
Another game set in the pulp world of Evil Hat Productions’ Spirit of the Century, Zeppelin Attack lets you play magnificent masterminds in their flying machines, bent on world domination. This card game is more complex than Race to Adventure!, but still fairly easy to learn and quick to play. However, there is plenty of strategy involved and all characters have different strengths.
The Doomsday Weapons expansion provide even more variety. Even with only two players it’s still fun to play so it makes a very good pocket game for impromptu play.
Designed by Eric B. Vogel.
Don’t Turn Your Back
Of all the board and card games published by Evil Hat, Don’t Turn Your Back is my favourite. Just like the role-playing game it shares a nightmare setting with, Don’t Rest Your Head, this card-based board game has been consistently underestimated by the gaming community. Yet the game is suspenseful and very atmospheric, filled with creatures of nightmare but never gory.
Designed by Eric Vogel who also created the rules for Evil Hat’s better-known Dresden Files Cooperative Card Game.
Role-Playing
Young Centurions
Extending the pulp setting of Spirit of the Century back in time, Young Centurions features teen heroes of the Century Club during the 1910s, and is aimed at tween or young teen players. It makes use of the streamlined Fate Accelerated version of the Fate Core rules, putting in the gamemaster’s hands a slimmer, more easily managed tome than the original version of the setting. All the heroes and villains are included, with stat blocks representing their younger versions. The book also provides a collection of story hooks complete with locations and NPCs to help the GM launch an adventure. Finally, the art and layout are delightful.
Steal these rule options: Campaign ratings, mentors, Century stunts, and stunt packages for easy character creation. In truth, you could also use the book to run a Spirit of the Century campaign updated to the most recent version of Fate.
Written by Carrie Harris, who also penned the adventure of Young Centurion Sally Slick and her friends.
Do: Fate of the Flying Temple
Another connected setting and another game aimed at younger players, Do: Fate of the Flying Temple is the role-playing version of Daniel Solis’s celebrated story game Do: Pilgrims of the Flying Temple. The Monks of the Flying Temple in the center of the sky receive letters from residents of the Many Worlds who need their help. Players take on the roles of teenage pilgrims sent from the Flying Temple to provide this help, who discover upon their return that the monks have disappeared. The only clue left behind is a dragon egg, which soon hatches and imprints on the young pilgrims. Will they find out what happened to the Flying Temple, protect it from evildoers, and help those in need, all without creating too much chaos in the process? Feels like The Little Prince meets Avatar: The Last Airbender.
Steal these rule options: This game contains mechanics by which every player character contributes to the dragon’s personality and influences its development. The PCs’ actions shape the dragon’s evolving aspects. You could use this mechanic in any game where an NPC takes strong behavioral and moral cues from the group of protagonists. For example. You could model The Android in a game based on the television series Dark Matter, or Not Enrique in the series Trollhunters.
Written by veteran designer Mark Diaz Truman, editor and publisher of the Fate Codex magazine.
Kaiju Inc RPG
In Kaiju Inc. RPG, like in it the Kaiju Inc. card game, you play employees of the world’s biggest multinational Kaiju-conglomerates, rebuilding the world after giant monster attacks. I think of it as a combination of the rebuilding companies in Astro City, LexCorp from DC Comics, and Hannibal Chau’s monster organ harvesting business in Pacific Rim.
Steal these rule options: Crew creation; hybrid aspects and stunts for more-than-human characters; kaiju creation; running kaiju attacks by the numbers; ready-made kaiju and NPCs.
Written by RPG designer Rob Wieland.
War of Ashes: Fate of Agaptus
I wrote this one and I’m still very proud of it. War of Ashes: Fate of Agaptus was commissioned by ZombieSmith, publishers of the miniatures games War of Ashes: Shieldwall and War of Ashes: Shieldbash, as a tie-in RPG. The thumbnail description was “The Illiad played by muppets,” and the internal mandate was to create rules to use miniatures with Fate. We did these things. While the setting is both tongue-and-cheek and deadly, you could also play it as straight-up fantasy if you preferred. The art from ZombieSmith is plentiful and fun, and you can get War of Ashes miniatures.
Steal these rule options: The new rules (added to the Fate SRD) include rules for miniatures in conflict, equipment-based stunts, one-page adventure creation, divine intervention, magic rituals, creating wonders from lost civilizations, and re-scaling a campaign. In addition, found in the book but not in the SRD is a collection of locations with descriptions and story seeds, usable in many other fantasy settings.
Written by Sophie Lagacé, Fate line developer for Evil Hat.
Atomic Robo RPG and the Majestic 12 supplement
Based on the popular comic book series of the same name, Atomic Robo RPG lets you play two-fisted science adventure as the action scientists of Tesladyne Industries, through the decades from the late 19th century to the present. Included are a plethora of player and non-player characters from various eras in the series, making it easy to run one-off games, for example at conventions. The Majestic 12 sourcebook offers half-a-dozen additional super-science and secret organizations for your PCs to belong to, and characters to interact with.
Steal these rule options: Streamlined mode-based character creation, mega stunts, weird modes, brainstorms, invention, flashbacks, and conspiracies. I have robbed all of these and used them in very different Fate games. For example, the brainstorm rules are useful for making investigation scenes more exciting when your group is made up of more action-oriented players; and mega stunts are great for superheroic characters. Finally, a lot of the material in the book can be re-skinned for other high-action super-science pulp, such as Hellboy or Eureka.
Majestic 12 provides rules for creating missions and a collection of ready-made missions.
Written by Mike Olson (Fate Accelerated, Kerberos Club), and Brian Clevinger and Scott Wegener (Atomic Robo comic book series).
Strange Tales of the Century
Strange Tales of the Century is a meaty setting and rules expansion for Spirit of the Century and also contains rules and information compatible with Fate Core. In it you will find stories and plot hooks that bridge the decades from the original Spirit of the Century, circa 1920 to 1935, through the upheavals of the 1930s and 40s, to 1951. You will see the continuing adventures of your heroes and villains, a detailed world-wide gazetteer for the era, a collection of new characters, and a bevy of new stunts.
Steal these rule options: Conversion tips between Spirit of the Century and Fate Core, over 50 new character archetypes, 50 new stunts, and dozens of plots to plunder. Useful for running a wide variety of flavors of pulp adventure.
Written by Jess Nevins, known for his encyclopedic knowledge of pulp and victoriana literature, author of Heroes & Monsters: The Unofficial Companion to the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Fate World: Red Planet, and Stagecoach Mary.
Spirit of the Season
Spirit of the Season is a holiday-themed adventure starter for high-pulp or low-level superheroic hijinx, dual-statted for the Spirit of the Century (Fate 3.0) and Truth & Justice (PDQ) systems. It’s a fun book provides a sizeable collection of heroes and villains as well as pitches for a dozen adventures.
Steal these rule options: For Spirit of the Century: new stunts, artifacts, and revised rules for companions. For Truth & Justice: designing pulp-level characters.
Written by Fred Hicks (Spirit of the Century, Don’t Rest Your Head) and Chad Underkoffler (Truth & Justice, Dead Inside).
Swashbucklers of the 7 Skies
In Swashbucklers of the 7 Skies you get to ride skyships and play pirates, spies, diplomats, mystics, musketeers, and more, using a tweaked version of the PDQ system called PDQ# (“PDQ sharp.”) The setting includes rich detail on the 7 Skies, floating island-nations, religions, mystical arts, and factions.
Steal these rule options: The PDQ# basics are available as a free download, but advanced elements such as vehicle challenges and duels, or the various mystical arts, are found only in Swashbucklers of the 7 Skies.
Written by Chad Underkoffler, creator of the PDQ system and many games it powers such as Truth & Justice and The Zorcerer of Zo.
>> Grab it from the store!
This one is particularly low in stock. While supplies last!
Fate Worlds
Evil Hat Productions has published over 40 Fate Worlds, distinctive settings that include everything needed to run an impromptu adventure and the seeds of follow-up stories. In addition, each offers some special rules options you can add to customize the game to this setting’s flavor — or to borrow for use elsewhere. They are all available on a pay-what-you-want basis from DriveThru.rpg but a dozen or so were also produced in print and are currently on sale.
Fate Worlds: Aether Sea
A thousand years of war on Homeworld left it a magically-blighted wasteland, so the elves and dwarves stopped fighting for five minutes and figured out how to leave it behind. Soon everyone took to the vast, empty aether sea. The Royal Hegemony keeps a tight rein on the Spellcaster’s Union, and the magic that makes aether travel possible. Play the crew of a little aethercraft out in the deep sea, despite the enemies you have made and the debts you owe.
Feels like: Spelljammer meets Dark Matter by way of Firefly.
Steal these rule options: New species creation, a new magic system, and aethercraft creation, manoeuvering, and combat.
Written by Edward Turner (By the Author of Lady Windermere’s Fan, Fate Horror Toolkit.)
Fate Worlds: Romance in the Air
In the skies over a fin de siècle Europe that never was, the aristocracy of Romance in the Air mingles in elegant comfort upon balloon-borne sky-salons and aerial lounges, dallying in an endless round of parties and excursions. But the winds of war are rising, and ambitious nobles rub elbows with scheming spymasters to decide the succession of a key Central European province. Romance meets high-stakes political intrigue as the affections of a young countess sway the fate of nations, while down below earthbound commoners look to the skies and dream of flight.
Feels like: a crossover between Downton Abbey, Castle Falkenstein, and Lady Blackbird.
Steal these rule options: New skills and stunts; airship systems, stunts, and pre-gens; gazetteer for an alternate Europe and Mediterranean region; map-based travel system with random event generation so that no two trips are exactly the same.
Written by Bill White, author of Ganakagok and the upcoming Fate Space Toolkit.
Fate Worlds: Save Game
A vicious computer virus threatens to corrupt the entire internet, and the only ones standing in its way are the characters from your video games. In Save Game, 8-bit heroes battle monsters and corrupted files—it’s Wreck-It Ralph meets Lord of the Rings in a fight for the fate of the world.
Steal these rule options: Random character generation, rules for emulating digital games, and new Fate point hacks. Even if you want a game that is more like Tron and less like Super Mario Bros., these rules are well worth looking at.
Written by Rob Wieland, RPG author and contributor to Geek & Sundry.
Fate Worlds Rise Up
This hardback collection contains:
- Masters of Umdaar (David Joria): The fallen world of Umdaar is home to cyborg insects, merciless warlords, and lasers—lots and lots of lasers. Quest for long-lost artifacts of power and return hope to your people. THE game to play high-fantasy and super-science 1980s Saturday morning cartoons. And don’t forget to check the author’s site for the ample bonus content.
- Nest (David S. Goodwin): There is a place where children go to slay dragons, solve riddles, and learn magic, only to grow up and forget these fantasies. Protect your past from something terrible and very, very real. Feels like Pan’s Labyrinth + Narnia + Hook.
- Psychedemia (Paul Stefko): Students at a psionic academy are caught in a struggle between their new alien friends and the school faculty. Bring your psychic powers to bear to protect your friends and broker peace. Feels like Starfleet Academy meets Hogwarts while Paprika is visiting.
- Behind the Walls (John Adamus): Being in prison is bad enough, but when the world outside goes silent post-nuclear attack, it’s hard to know what to think. Find a way to survive the cell block chaos, because it just might be safer behind the walls. Feels like OZ meets Fallout.
Steal these rule options: Random sci-fi/fantasy characters generation; cliffhanger rules; escalating aspects; beast generator, traps, and artifacts; talismans; alternate advancement and regression system; new uses for boosts and fate points; encounter escalation; enemy locations; psychic abilities; alien species; alternate dimensions; new types of stunts; secrets; gangs and group conflicts.
Fate Worlds Take Flight
This hardback collection contains:
- The Three Rocketeers (PK Sullivan): Journey through the Holy Roman Stellar Empire and the worlds of Britannica Solaria. A laser-sharp blade and even sharper wits will serve you well as interstellar powers play the game of puppets and shadows.
- Frontier Spirit (Nick Pilon): Eke out your existence on a colony world. Natural disasters, storms, subsistence, and even basic survival are all much harder when the world really is out to get you.
- Sails Full of Stars (Don Bisdorf): In 1850, three empires struggle for control of the solar system: the weakening Ottomans, the Chinese rheoship pioneers, and the French alchemical masters. Track down pirates, brave the stars, and mount shipboard battles.
- Gods and Monsters (Chris Longhurst): Are you a god, or has power warped you into a monster? Perform mythic acts, skirmish with rival pantheons, and walk the line between power and control.
Steal these rule options: No-skills swashbuckling, leveraging aspects to do more; creating and using conspiracies; alternate skills and their stunts; immanence, a deep connection with another level of reality; otherworldly spirits; using natural disasters in your games; ships as characters, their crew, and ship combat; co-operative world creation; world-changing characters; creating gods, using divine intention, and becoming a monster; world evolution in response to the unfolding epic.
Fiction
To be honest, I am generally suspicious of fiction based on game lines; I have seen a lot of bad fiction published that way. But the Evil Hat fiction was written by professional authors who already had a lot of page-turners to their names, like Stephen Blackmoore, Harry Connolly, Carrie Harris, C.E. Murphy, and Chuck Wendig.
Dinocalypse Now and Beyond Dinocalypse
Two full-length Spirit of the Century novels, with psychic dinosaurs taking over Manhattan, time travel, a nightmarish alternate future, and desperate pulp action. Written by Chuck Wendig (Blackbirds, Zeroes, The Blue Blazes).
Dinocalypse Forever
A time portal, Gorilla Khan, Atlantis, psychic dinosaur armies, and a brain in a jar. Another Spirit of the Century tie-in novel and the third in the Dinocalypse trilogy, written by Carrie Harris (Demon Derby, Bad Taste in Boys, Illegal Alien).
Don’t Read This Book
A collection of short stories set in the Mad City, the nightmare setting of the RPG Don’t Rest Your Head and the board game Don’t Turn Your Back. Edited by Chuck Wendig, with stories from Stephen Blackmoore, Harry Connolly, Rich Dansky, Matt Forbeck, Laura Anne Gilman, Will Hindmarch, Mur Lafferty, Robin D. Laws, Ryan Macklin, C. E. Murphy, Josh Roby, Greg Stolze, and Monica Valentinelli.
Khan of Mars
Professor Khan and Bulls-Eye Gutierrez are zapped away on a one-way trip to Mars, where they are thrown into a world in chaos. Another Spirit of the Century tie-in novel and a spin-off adventure from the Dinocalypse Trilogy, written by Stephen Blackmoore (Dead Things, City of the Lost, Mythbreaker).
King Khan
Professor Khan, learned ape, has traveled through time, fought psychic dinosaurs and shark-men, visited Atlantis, and battled across the sands of Mars. He has seen it all-—until an arrow shooting out of the sky sends him to the strangest place yet… Hollywood! Another Spirit of the Century tie-in novel, written by Harry Connolly (Child of Fire, Circle of Enemies, The Way Into Chaos).
Sally Slick & the Steel Syndicate, Sally Slick & the Miniature Menace
Follow the adventures of a very young Sally Slick and her friend Jet Black as they face mobsters, robots, cultists, a circus, aeroplanes, and more. Two young adult prequel novels for Spirit of the Century, written by Carrie Harris.
Stone’s Throe
An over-the-top adventure as adventurer Amelia Stone rights decades-old wrongs and faces her nemesis. Another Spirit of the Century tie-in novel, written by C.E. Murphy (Urban Shaman, Raven Calls, Heart of Stone).
The Pharaoh of Hong Kong
Benjamin Hu, assisted by his bodyguard (and cook) Clayton and computational agent Dr. Fang Mei, faces a mysterious cult and the heritage of Dr. Methuselah in a high-pulp weird science adventure. Another Spirit of the Century tie-in novel, written by Matthew Cody (The Loch Ness Lock-In, The Piper’s Apprentice) and Brian Clevinger (Atomic Robo, Nuklear Age).
