As Gen Con celebrates fifty years, Catalyst Game Labs is celebrating ten and we hope you’ll join us at booth 1611 for the festivities, including cake every day! (First come, first-serve basis.)

DEMOS, TOURNAMENTS AND GAMING
Of course we’ll be running our usual wall of demos, as well as massive events surrounding Shadowrun and BattleTech games. With the Shadowrun tournament, BattleTech Grinders, Shadowrun Anarchy games, BattleTech Alpha Strike games, and all manner of Shadowrun Missions and BattleTech scenarios being run, you can dive in throughout the con to find fun and adventure in some of the most exciting, enduring game settings of all time!

Our Shadowrun games are all being run in ICC 122-123, while our BattleTech games are being run in ICC Hall B.

NEW GAMES

In addition to our great catalog of existing games, the following brand new games will be available to play and purchase at the show!

Dragonfire: The Dungeons & Dragons Deckbuilder [$59.99]
Dragonfire is a 2 to 6 player deckbuilding game set in the world’s greatest roleplaying game, DUNGEONS & DRAGONS. Players choose from a number of races, from dwarf to elf, half-orc to human, while assuming the quintessential roles of Cleric, Rogue, Fighter, and Wizard. Equipped with weapons, spells, and magic items, players begin their adventure along the famed Sword Coast, then expand to other locales across the Forgotten Realms, such as Baldur’s Gate, Neverwinter, and Waterdeep, in future expansions. Along the way, players level up their characters, opening access to additional equipment, feats, and more. Join the quest, and build your own legend!

Come play in a demo and walk away with the free Gen Con promo Character screen!

Character Pack: Heroes of the Sword Coast [$24.99]
Character Pack: Heroes of the Sword Coast contains thirty-two additional Character screens, introducing the Druid, Bard, Ranger and Warlock Classes into Dungeons & Dragons Dragonfire. Additional races are also featured, including Rock Gnome, Tiefling, Lightfoot Halfing, and Gold Dwarf. Other screens bring Classes, genders and races together in a broad variety to fill out a sweeping range of adventuring parties. Finally, the pack includes dozens of sticker sheets, as well as twenty-seven new Market cards.

BattleTech: BattleMech Manual [$39.99]

• Standing from seven to sixteen meters tall, and weighing from twenty to one hundred tons
• Powered by an armored and shielded fusion reactor
• Skeleton of honeycombed, foamed aluminum core wrapped with stressed silicon carbide monofilament and sheathed by a rigid, titanium-steel shell
• Locomotion generated via bundles of polyacetylene-fiber myomer muscles
• Protected by aligned-crystal steel over a layer of boron nitride impregnated with diamond monofilaments Mounting a swath of powerful weapons from charged particle beams to lasers, missiles to rapid-fire autocannons
• All at the command of the noble elite, the MechWarriors

The modern BattleMech is the end result of more than three thousand years of battlefield technology development. Combining awesome destructive power and unparalleled maneuverability, the BattleMech is perhaps the most complex machine ever produced. The undisputed master of thirty-first century warfare, the BattleMech seems destined to reign supreme for centuries to come.

—Excerpts from a promotional pamphlet originally distributed by Defiance Industries of Hesperus, Lyran Commonwealth, 3007

Using the most up-to-date rules text, the BattleMech Manual has been designed from the ground up to cater to the BattleTech player wanting to engage in an all-’Mech battle. Includes a variety of optional rules, terrain and more.

Welcome to the most table-usage-friendly BattleTech rulebook ever published!

BattleTech: Technical Readout: Succession Wars [$29.99]
On February 5, 2439, the Mackie obliterated all opposition during its first combat trial, ushering in a new era of warfare. The BattleMech—King of the Battlefield—was born. BattleMechs reached their pinnacle during the golden age of the Star League. The fall of the Star League and the Succession Wars that raged for centuries afterward took their toll and by the Fourth Succession War, the technology employed on the battlefields was a mere shadow of what it once was. However, the discovery of the Helm Memory Core unlocked the technological potential to develop new BattleMechs and experimental technologies for the first time in centuries.

Technical Readout: Succession Wars is the perfect “first Technical Readout” companion to the BattleMech Manual. Combining the ’Mechs previously found in Technical Readout: 3039, Technical Readout: 3050 Upgrade, Technical Readout: 3058 Upgrade, and Technical Readout: 3075, this volume features some of the most common ’Mechs from the Age of War to the Succession Wars. Each machine is illustrated in detail, and accompanied by a description of its history, capabilities, game stats, along with their most famous pilots.

BattleTech: Legacy Anthology [$11.95]
A Draconis Combine warrior struggles with immoral orders in the First Succession War. A House Davion MechWarrior participates in a risky heist as part of Operation Guerrero. A history buff battles the Word of Blake during the Liberation of Terra. What do these MechWarriors have in common? Each one pilots the same BattleMech, a survivor that has been repaired and rebuilt countless times throughout its long and bloody 300-year lifespan.

The seventy-ton GHR-5H Grasshopper can outmaneuver and outlast some of the most fearsome enemy ’Mechs, making it an invaluable asset to battlefield commanders. Even an incapacitated Grasshopper will be rebuilt to fight another day, with a new pilot at its controls, because MechWarriors can be replaced, but ’Mechs cannot.

In BattleTech: Legacy, thirteen all-new stories chronicle the fortunes and tragedies of a single ’Mech across several tumultuous points in its wide-ranging combat history. Veteran BattleTech authors Kevin Killiany and Craig A. Reed, Jr. bookend this exciting collection, while other familiar names and new blood explore important moments in this ’Mech’s history of constant, unmitigated warfare that leaves no corner of the Inner Sphere untouched.

Shadowrun: The Complete Trog [$44.99]
They can call you a trog. Sure they can. Let ’em think it’s a smear. Let them show you what they don’t know. Let them ignore history, the great accomplishments orks and trolls have made in every field in the Sixth World, the homes and enclaves they’ve built out of nothing. There’s enough talent in the trog population to punch, hack, rig, charm, or enchant that smug smile right off their face. You know what you are. They’ll learn—fast, if they know what’s good for them.

The Complete Trog is the definitive guide for ork and troll characters in Shadowrun. With information on what it’s like to be an ork or troll in dozens of spots across the globe, details on working in corps as a trog (including in ork- and troll-dominated corps) and the heroes and enemies of trog culture, the book helps players add flavor and depth to their characters and the world around them. On top of that, it has gear, qualities, and life modules compatible with both Shadowrun, Fifth Edition and Shadowrun: Anarchy. Plunge into the rich culture of trogs and watch them turn that slur on its head.

Shadowrun: Sprawl Stories Vol. 1 Anthology [$11.95]
The Sixth World is a dangerous place, and nowhere is that more obvious than in Seattle, the so-called Emerald City. Surrounding its neon-drenched heart is kilometer after kilometer of Sprawl, where millions of people scratch out a living among hazardous, slowly decaying neighborhoods and even more dangerous neighbors.

Sprawl Stories contains four Shadowrun novellas that explore Seattle through the eyes of the people who live there every day. A burned-out mage detective tackles a missing person case that quickly threatens to spiral out of control. A reporter goes on the ride-along of her life with a high-octane DocWagon team, and uncovers a conspiracy on live triedeo. A young ex-wagesalve is caught between powerful forces while investigating his uncle’s death. And a shaman must deal with a serious injury that threatens his very way of life–but not before taking vengeance on those who double-crossed him.

So take a walk on the true wild side of the Seattle Sprawl If you’re good–and lucky–you might even come back out in one piece…

Shadowrun: Zero Day, a two-player card game [$19.99]
You’re the contagion. You are the fear. You are the thing that makes the megacorporations of the world tremble. In the world of Shadowrun, the corps think they have everyone and everything under their thumb, but they don’t have you–the hacker in the Matrix, the fly in the ointment. You know where the world’s deepest scariest are buried–and you have the weapons needed to fight to bring them out.

In Shadowrun: Zero Day, players hack into the megacorporations that rule the Sixth World. Whoever disables and bypasses the myriad countermeasures and scores the most assets wins!

Sixth World Tarot, Deluxe [$39.99]
Look Closer!

When you look at this tarot deck, what do you see? You can’t miss the 78 cards with gorgeous, original art by Echo Chernik, that adapt tarot arcana to Shadowrun’s Sixth World. But look closer. Examine the details. Explore connections. Do you see them? Are you catching everything the cards have to tell you?

Are you seeing enough?

The Sixth World Tarot is a complete deck of Shadowrun-themed tarot cards, useful as game props, plot hooks, or any other purpose tarot cards are for!

Master of Orion: Conquest, a dueling deckbuilder [$19.99]
Master of Orion: Conquest is a two-player dueling deck builder. Play as one of two species in the galaxy–the humans and the shape-changing, mimicking Darlocks–as you build and fighter your way to victory. Explore the galaxy to find new Planets to colonize and use their production to build your fleets. Destroy the enemy’s Home World and become the Master of Orion!

OUR USUAL TCHOTCHKES

We’ve also got our usual bevy of new t-shirts, pins, and dice, including these fabulous, all-new metal dice made from aircraft-grade aluminum, and the first ever BattleTech and Shadowrun poker chips!

AND SOME SURPRISES

If all of that weren’t great enough, come get a sneak peek at an avalanche of awesome games coming in the next 6 to 12 months from Catalyst Game Labs!

We hope to see you all within the week!

Team Catalyst

When you work for a game company, the phrase “Gen Con will be here before you know it” fills you with simultaneous excitement and dread. Because while Gen Con is an awesome experience of games and people and non-stop activity, it’s also a lot of work to prepare for it. Some of that preparation involves getting books ready to sell, and the good news for all of you out there is that we need them to be done before the con if we want to sell them there. Which means they’re done now and at the printing press. If they’re done, we see no reason why you shouldn’t have PDFs of them if you want, so get a jump on the big con by checking out the electronic versions of two new books!

First up is The Complete Trog (Catalyst shop, DriveThru), your guide to orks and trolls in the Sixth World, with lots of flavor about the ork and troll experience, as well as game mechanics and rules to enhance playing these characters. It works with both Shadowrun, Fifth Edition and Shadowrun: Anarchy! Here’s the full summary:

Big, Bad, and Awesome

They can call you a trog. Sure they can. Let ’em think it’s smear. Let them show you what they don’t know. Let them ignore history, the great accomplishments orks and trolls have made in every field in the Sixth World, the homes and enclaves they’ve built out of nothing. There’s enough talent in the trog population to punch, hack, rig, charm, or enchant that smug smile right off their face. You know what you are. They’ll learn—fast, if they know what’s good for them.

The Complete Trog is the definitive guide for ork and troll characters in Shadowrun. With information on what it’s like to be an ork or troll in dozens of spots across the globe, details on working in corps as a trog (including in ork- and troll-dominated corps) and the heroes and enemies of trog culture, the book helps players add flavor and depth to their characters and the world around them. On top of that, it has gear, qualities, and life modules compatible with both Shadowrun, Fifth Edition and Shadowrun: Anarchy. Plunge into the rich culture of trogs and watch them turn that slur on its head.

Next up is Ripping Reality, and adventure that completes a Denver trilogy following Serrated Edge and False Flag. Whether you’ve played those other adventures or not, Ripping Reality (Catalyst shop, DriveThru) will take you on a wild ride as a life-or-death conflict involving some of the Sixth World’s major powers drags shadowrunners into its wake–and gives them the chance to affect the outcome. Here’s some more info:

Chaos Rising

The Denver sprawl has always been a battleground, but lately it seems to be at war with reality. People are disappearing from the streets, never to be seen again. Strange creatures are materializing out of nowhere, and sometimes they bring entire landscapes with them. Something has gone desperately wrong, and the stakes are so high that two enemies who had been locked in combat are setting aside their fight to find out what is happening and why.

If investigations into bizarre occurrences need to happen, then there are shadowruns to be done. The right team will have the chance to bring in an impressive payday, but they’ll have to navigate their way past old grudges, tainted magic, and creatures of pure destructive power waiting to be turned loose on the sprawl.

Building on plot strands from the previous Denver adventures, Serrated Edge and False Flag, Ripping Reality sends players on a wild ride through a sprawl that seems to be tearing itself apart, giving them a chance to try to keep it together.

Ripping Reality is for use with Shadowrun, Fifth Edition.

Jump into these books and enjoy the fun!

Lots of new Shadowrun thrills and possibilities have erupted into the world today! Like an overcast fireball lighting up the hallways of some corp lab, a new advanced magic book called Forbidden Arcana is now available for PDF purchase at the Catalyst shop and DriveThruRPG.

Now, before we discuss the content of the book, eagle-eyed viewers of the above paragraph and the Catalyst shop may notice that there is, at the moment, no link for a print pre-order. Don’t worry–that doesn’t mean we have forsaken print books! With the new Catalyst web shop and the ongoing work to make our sales and distribution processes function as we’d like them to, at present pre-order will not occur until the book is in the warehouse, ready to be sent out. But we can assure you that Forbidden Arcana is at the printer now and will make its way to game stores and online ordering before long.

That said, let’s take a look at what’s in the book:

Hey, we’ve got a new Mission for all of you today, and we’re releasing it for free! And we’re here to tell you that it’s completely, totally normal in all possible ways. Yep. Nothing weird going on here. No, sir. The content? The characters? All totally normal. Certainly not the products of someone who clearly spent a lot of sick days watching too much television when they were young. Nope. Definitely not. It’s all just as it should be.

And it looks normal, too! Sure, it may not have been laid out by, you know, a professional layout person or anything, but there are words inside a PDF, so hey, it’s pretty much the same, right?

But the important thing is it’s free. Completely free. So even if it were a little weird or something–and it’s not! Definitely not!–it would be worth checking out for the price, right?

You can download the totally normal Mission right here: SMH 2017 Scene It All Before