After a PR disaster has activists and media storming the Admiralty gates, First Lord Dix Harangay sends Minnow out on a makework patrol. Inspector Mako Ireson goes with them to investigate what’s really going on. Mako has never been on a starship before. He can’t tell port from starboard, doesn’t know what the 0-G sign means at freefall hatchways, and may need to change his underwear after the launch.Nobody is expecting that the “mission zero” they've been sent on will turn into a real operation. When it does, the Minnow’s crew has to rise to the challenge and justify their skipper’s faith in them.This is the first mission of the legendary Fourth Fleet Irregulars, the unit you send for when you need a miracle.For Mako Ireson, it will be the adventure of a lifetime.

    Five years after a tragic fire and spate of brutal murders, the people of Sandpoint eagerly anticipate the Swallowtail Festival to commemorate the consecration of the town's new temple. At the height of the ceremony, disaster strikes!In the days that follow, a sinister shadow settles over Sandpoint. Rumors of goblin armies and wrathful monsters in forgotten ruins have set the populace on edge. As Sandpoint's newest heroes, the PCs must deal with treachery, goblins, and the rising threat of a forgotten empire whose cruel and despotic rulers might not be as dead as history records.This volume of Pathfinder Adventure Path launches the Rise of the Runelords Adventure Path and includes:- "Burnt Offerings," and adventure for 1st-level characters by James Jacobs.- An exploration of your PCs' new hometown of Sandpoint, by James Jacobs.- A history of the ancient empire of Thassilon, by Wolfgang Baur.- The first installment of the Pathfinder's Journal, by Erik Mona.- Six new monsters by James Jacobs, Richard Pett, and F. Wesley Schneider.Cover art by Wayne Reynolds

    Who are they, and why have they come? The survivors soon discover the aliens are here for the one resource they cannot find elsewhere in the solar system- surface biomass. Life itself. The survivors are left to fight a guerrilla war against their technologically superior adversaries in the vain hope of driving them off before they can strip the world of life. But they may be doomed to fail unless they can find a way to strike directly against the aliens, unassailable in their fortress-mothership orbiting high above the earth. With memorable characters, packed with action and bleeding-edge technology ‘Rage of Angels’ is a fresh, up to date and frighteningly plausible addition to the alien invasion genre.

    Trevor Stone has survived the invasion of alien armies and creatures, cut off their conduits to Earth, and built a small Empire that has turned the tide of the war, but victory has come at a high personal cost. When Nina Forest disappears, Trevor makes the reckless decision to personally lead a rescue team. What follows is a trip down the proverbial rabbit-hole, one that brings him face to face with the most terrifying monster in a changed world: himself. Parallels is a mature journey to a place where inhibitions are stripped, desires indulged, and where Trevor Stone may be eclipsed by the darkness within.

    E. van Vogt was one of the giants of the Golden Age of classic SF, the 1940s. Of his masterpieces, The World of Null-A is perhaps most influential. It was the first major trade SF hardcover ever, in 1949, and has been in print ever since. The careers of Philip K. Dick, Keith Laumer, Alfred Bester, Charles Harness, and Philip Jose Farmer were created or influenced by The World of Null-A. It is required reading for anyone who wishes to know the canon of SF classics.And so John C. Wright was inspired to write a sequel to the two novels of Null-A (the second was The Players of Null-A). To do this, he trained himself to write in the pulp style and manner of van Vogt. So return again to the Null-A future, in which the superhuman amnesiac with a double brain, Gilbert Gosseyn, must pit his wits once more against the remorseless galactic dictator Enro the Red and the mysterious shadow-being known as The Follower, while he is hurled headlong through unimaginable distances in space and in time and through alternate eternities to fend off the death, and complete the rebirth, of the Universe itself!

    Horrifying deeds and dangerous sorcery dog those who attempt to unravel the fate of the Carlyle Expedition. The non-linear narrative keeps players baffled and on their toes. This new edition is reset and corrected, and features many new illustrations, four new episodes, added keeper support material, and a new version of the lost Australia chapter.

    The Pathfinder Chronicles campaign setting provides classic adventuring style and cutting-edge game design perfectly suitable for the world’s most popular roleplaying game!Note: Pathfinder Campaign Setting: The Inner Sea World Guide has replaced this volume as the main Pathfinder campaign setting book. The newer volume has been expanded and updated, and is designed for use with the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game. And the PDF is cheaper, too!Cover art by Wayne Reynolds

    The prophecies of Gehenna were true. The world teeters on the brink of an undead apocalypse, the night when the progenitors of the vampire race rise to consume their childer amid a rain of blood and fire. As the fated Armageddon for the Kindred arises, what can they do? FOR THE DAMNED Drawing the Vampire Line to a close, GEHENNA brings about the conclusion of Vampire's World of Darkness. Featuring a sliding scale which Storytellers can custom-tailer the events of The End to their own chronicles, this book places the final accounting for the curse of Cain in the hands of the players' characters. Part of the Time of Judgement series. Hardcover. See also: Vampire: Gehenna, The Final Night (ISBN 1588468550).

    Only she knows different… Amber lives in a world full of lies. Within the great city of Olympus, so-called gods and goddesses reside, praised and worshipped by those deemed beneath them. The Children of the Prime, as they’re called, are blessed with wondrous and mysterious powers. Powers that, Amber knows, originate from a very human source… One day, during the collection ceremony, Amber’s world turns upside own. With her heresy revealed, and her younger sister, Lilly, taken, Amber finds herself on a journey that will change her world forever. Alongside her best friend Jude, she ventures into the heart of the lie, searching for the truth. A truth that might just destroy her, and everything she holds dear… The Chosen is the first in a planned series, set within a dystopian future that is unlike anything you’ve read before. For fans of Suzanne Collins, Bella Forrest, and Veronica Roth, prepare to lose yourself in a fantastical world where nothing is quite as it seems.

    Cast out from their heavenly domain, the gods of the Forgotten Realms wander the land as mortals-extremely powerful mortals, to be certain, but mortal nonetheless. They seek the lost Tablets of Fate, key to their return. But as the good and evil gods for the Realms bring their fight down to earth, the people and lands are caught in between. Nature itself revolts; strange creatures stalk the countryside, and even magic becomes unpredictable. When a band of adventurers are hired by a young apprentice to rescue her sorceress-mentor, little do they realize the size of the stakes they will soon be playing for. Caught up in a power struggle that will determine the fate of the Realms themselves, the first step is to find the only mortal who may know what's going on-the legendary sage Elminster. And that means going to Shadowdale. Shadowdale is the first of a three-part series of modules for the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 2nd Edition roleplaying game. Set in the popular Forgotten Realms game world, this module features the same settings and many of the same characters of the first novel of the Avatar Trilogy, Shadowdale, by Richard Awlinson.

    

    At the urging of Whorl’s religious leader, Patera Silk, the people left the ship for an uncertain future on Blue – a world already inhabited by the inhumi, blood-drinking aliens who take human form.Now The Book of the Short Sun carries the story forward to the years after the great exodus, to let Horn, narrator of the earlier work, tell his own story.Horn and his family have made a decent life for themselves on Blue, though crime, pollution and poverty have become so rampant in the city of New Viron that he is called upon to find Patera Silk. Horn must go to the still-orbiting Whorl and convince his old friend and mentor to return to Blue, for the legendary hero is the only one who can restore order and lead them to prosperity. But Horn isn’t even sure Silk still lives.Setting sail in a small boat, the aging Horn embarks on a long and difficult journey across the planet, trying to get to the Whorl. With the undine Seawrack, his adopted inhumi son, Krait, and his eldest son, Sinew, Horn makes it to the last working lander – only to be highjacked to the jungles of Green, where the inhumi imprison the passengers as slaves. There, he encounters the mysterious alien Neighbors who were once native to Blue, but whom the inhumi have all but exterminated. Horn joins their fight for freedom, is fatally wounded… and finds himself on another world, wearing a different body.As his inability to find Silk weighs heavily on his mind, Horn is further tormented by the fact that his new body bears a striking resemblance to the lost Caldé. In the end, he will have to answer a troubling question: has he truly failed in his sworn task, or has he become the very man he sought?Includes:On Blue's WatersIn Green's JunglesReturn To The Whorl

    This 128-page accessory gives you all the information you need to role-play exotic ninja, lone wolf operatives, and other character types - new character kits, special rules, and descriptions of the ninja's unique weapons and equipment. The Complete Ninja's Handbook brings life to these shadowy figures of myth and legend.

    Especially when the person who’s supposed to be keeping an eye out for the bad guys is stuck in his own 15-year-old body. And it’s 1964: when you’re both 15 and your parents don’t want you spending time alone, how are you going to save your lives? SFRevu called this story “one of the most enjoyable reads I’ve had in a long time.”In four interlinked short stories, Temporal Interventionists Tom and Pam meet cute, then work together to solve some of history’s greatest mysteries. Discover the real origin of the Spanish Flu. Learn why a massive and mysterious explosion in 1908 happened to occur in the world’s least-inhabited region. Consider the possibility that the development of ironclad warships by both the South and the North at the exact same time during the American Civil War might have been more than coincidence. And why don’t we know exactly who fired the Shot Heard Round the World, the lone gunshot that started the American Revolution?In “Joan,” Kate is a time-traveling researcher who’s gotten a little too close to Joan of Arc both in time and emotionally. With no distance, scientific or otherwise, what will happen when she has a chance to rescue Joan from being burnt at the stake? Our journey through time concludes with “Crow’s Feat,” when a skeptical writer goes back to Elizabethan England to discover the true author of Shakespeare’s plays.BORROWED TIME is the second in a series of short story collections from Jack Campbell.

    But, as his ship decimates planet after planet, he finds his sympathies swinging toward their defeated enemies. Sergeant Anki Paro, a Luthian Marine, has been anxiously awaiting the call to deploy. As the last line of defense against the crushing Greshian forces, she hopes the time has finally come for her world to stand against tyranny. However, as her society prepares for imminent destruction, questions of misplaced loyalties lead Anki to wonder if the world she is trying to save has any real intentions of surviving. As Brendle's and Anki's worlds collide, they find themselves in an unlikely alliance to try to stop the full might of the Greshian Empire before there's nothing left to fight for. A stolen ship, a mission on the line, enemies at every turn... After four months in hiding, Brendle Quin can't delay his mission any longer. His ship, the Replicade, is held together with failing patches, and he needs to make repairs in a port. Unfortunately, the nearest world with proper facilities is situated deep in Greshian-owned enemy territory. The Greshian colony of Farax is a safe hold for piracy in the region, and none is more vile than Crase Tuin, a man known for trafficking people and weapons across the Alorian Galaxy. He has a reputation as the only pirate never to lose a ship--with the exception of the Replicade. When Crase finds the Replicade, he vows to claim the lives of those who stole her. But Brendle won't go down without a fight. Nothing has stopped the Greshian Empire's expanse, but all hope isn't lost... The illusion of peace shrouds a hidden darkness. Just as the crew of the Replicade are getting settled on a seemingly tranquil world, they encounter a young girl with special abilities--and she's being hunted by a secret, powerful organization that will stop at nothing to have her. When Anki and Brendle intervene to help the girl, they are caught in the organization's crosshairs. The crew must make a decision: give into the looming threat of the organization, or die fighting to protect her. Meanwhile, Lieutenant Commander Ilium Gyl has taken command of a Greshian scout ship. A breach in protocol raises questions of his loyalty to the Greshian Empire, leading to a power struggle as a rebellion sparks in a distant sector of the Alorian Galaxy. His ambitions may cripple the Greshian Fleet, or he might just be the empire's savior. The Alorian Wars is a space opera series, filled with political intrigue and shrouded in mystery, is sure to please fans of "The Expanse", "Dark Matter", "Firefly", and "Killjoys". Join the war today!