GENCON--Here I come!

The table banner...and Buster

That's right! I will be in Author's Alley in Indianapolis August 16-19th for GENCON 2012, introducing my product and the Realm of Ashenclaw to the masses. And I am dragging my son along as well. Of course, he wants to go to get his newest R.A. Salvatore book signed by the man himself as well as to help his old man, but I'll take it! I am hoping to run into many of you there, and if we have corresponded on social media, please stop by and introduce yourself! I am already planning on meeting some people there and am so excited to get together and chat with folks.

my paperbacks

I am also excited to not only be surrounded by that many gamers, but also to be around other independent authors, artists and creative people that will no doubt be there selling and talking about their own projects. And I cannot wait to see the tables of swords, armor, gaming products and whatever else they are preparing this year. The room last year was about the size of a city block!

This is just one of several pics of the vendor room.

I very much look forward to meeting and speaking with you all there and hope that you stop by to say hello! Please feel free to comment on this post and tell me if you are going!

See you in Indy!

 Please join me and the other amazingly talented authors over @ Skulldust Circle where we have formed a Writer's Circle that must be seen--a collection of brilliant, up & coming independently published speculative fiction authors with much to give both now and in the future!

All of my work can be found on AMAZON -- Kindle versions here

See you in Wothlondia! Cheers!

Please visit MY HOME PAGE to enjoy an extended reading experience, see direct links to purchase my full length novel, Covenant of the Faceless Knights, the short stories: Wothlondia Rising, and to see what else Ashenclaw Studios, LLC has in store in the future!

All maps, names and content copyright Ashenclaw Studios 2012 unless otherwise noted.

Realm of Ashenclaw 4e D&D RPG Supplement

Continuing our weekly theme regarding the many talents of William Kenney, I wanted to inform my readers—especially the gamers—that we have a Realm of Ashenclaw 4th edition Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game supplement available in PDF form. We are also working on a print version which should be available shortly. They can be found on RPGNOW with both Quick and Full Size Previews!

William did all of the artwork within and most of it can be seen here on my ART PAGE. More of Williams’s artwork can be seen on his Deviant Art Page.

High Council Members: Nimaira, Rolin & Tiyarnon

Myself, Nicholas and Elizabeth Titano and Tom Sallustio worked very hard on this supplement and I hope it is received well. It includes 2  NEW CLASSES in the Heroic Tier as well as 5 NEW THEMES! It is only listed for a measly $5.99 (an absolute steal!) and includes a map, all of the artwork and descriptions of every main region in Wothlondia, including the fabled 5 cities! It is 90 pages of brand new material, with each city or feature having an ‘At a Glance’ feature with which any DM can use to spur on a storyline. We encourage any gamers to check it out, regardless of what version of the game you play just to take advantage of the story hubs that may result from the Atlas of Wothlondia chapter.

We will be doing updates here and on my website in the future if anyone wants more information and will also be tackling a 5th edition supplement as time and licensing permit. With that being said, please enjoy the supplement and as always, I would love comments and feedback!

See you in Wothlondia! Cheers!

Please visit MY HOME PAGE to enjoy an extended reading experience, see direct links to purchase my full length novel, Covenant of the Faceless Knights, the short stories: Wothlondia Rising, and to see what else Ashenclaw Studios, LLC has in store in the future!

All artwork provided by William Kenney

All maps, names and content copyright Ashenclaw Studios 2012 unless otherwise noted.

Pushing Forward with the RPG Supplement

Since 5e D&D is not coming out anytime soon, late 2013 at the earliest is our guess, I am announcing that Ashenclaw Studios is still going to release the 4e adaptation of my Realm of Ashenclaw RPG supplement. Instead of giving the people a full-fledged brand new and complete character class though, we are intending to give the already completed Heroic Tier versions of the Hermetic Warrior (the name has not changed; 4e striker class design) and the Forrester (an essentials Ranger-Defender build).

Play testing is still going on and we have a few new monsters that we think everyone will absolutely love. The supplement will include a map, brief descriptions of a good portion of the land, new monsters, new themes, a few new feats and the two above mentioned classes. It will also have some fantastic sketches inside! I have an artist on board that is just blowing us away with his interpretations. The supplement is going to be available mostly as a download, but I am looking into possibly doing a print version, but have not decided for sure yet. We think that we have something really cool to share with the gamers @a very fair price (still undecided exactly, but under $10.00) and have provided enough information to allow any gaming group to run with the ideas and interact with the landscape!

See you in Wothlondia! Cheers!

Please visit MY HOME PAGE to enjoy an extended reading experience, see direct links to purchase Covenant of the Faceless Knights and to see what else Ashenclaw Studios, LLC has in store in the future!

Photo from Stock.xchng.

All maps, names and content copyright Ashenclaw Studios, LLC 2011 unless otherwise noted.

D&D 5th Edition is Lurking…

How does that make you feel?

Me vs. Troll...

D&D is in another state of flux. What is this I am talking about? See the official announcement here on the WOTC site. The message boards have been filled with rumors, players that are annoyed, upset, and even those that welcome the new changes, whatever they may be. According to Mike Mearls, the head of Dungeons & Dragons development, this statement and many others were made and will hopefully be adhered to as a promise moving forward. Only time will tell. Here are his comments regarding the current edition:

“The announcement of a new D&D doesn't mean that 4th edition is now a lame duck. Wizards recognizes that the game still has a very loyal following, and pledges to continue supporting 4th edition during the testing cycle of the new edition and beyond. "We plan to continue offering people access to tools like the D&D Character Builder and the D&D Monster Builder to support 4th edition," Mearls said. "We're also exploring ideas for conversion tools so that some of the 4th edition characters and content will be playable with the next edition." In other words, Wizards vows it's not replacing 4th edition, but merely adding another layer of rules that will cater to the people unhappy with the latest edition's changes.”

The whole article can be found HERE on Escapist Magazine.com.


Everyone has been talking about this on message boards, including a very good Forgotten Realms author you may want to get to know named Erik Scott De Bie. On his blog, he spoke of the ways he would go about implementing a ‘new system. If you missed that, it can be found here on his BLOG.

I really love Erik's ideas and feel that he has given it a ton of thought. My feeling echoes pretty much everything he stated, including more novels per year AND most importantly, making the new edition be a building block on top of the current 4e rule set. Perhaps additional rules that simplify combat for those who want to speed it up and even retro-fit some of the realm-specific ideas in so that one could convert the current version to any edition of the game. Asking a lot? Maybe, but in this fast-paced video–game age, any RPG is going to need a shot in the arm in order to compete.

Can you please all of the gamers? I highly doubt it, but I would love to see them try. That's all for now. We all have a ton on information to absorb. In closing, I hope that it brings gamers together to enjoy a more broad-based, loose-fitting system that everyone can enjoy.

See you in Wothlondia! Cheers!

Please visit MY HOME PAGE to enjoy an extended reading experience, see direct links to purchase Covenant of the Faceless Knights and to see what else Ashenclaw Studios, LLC has in store in the future!

Class-Naming Contest for D&D RPG Supplement!

Elec by William Kenney

In the Realm of Ashenclaw novels, Elec Stormwhisper is a high elf with a mastery of alchemical skills. He transmutes plants and herbs into medicinal balms, healing elixirs and for the most part, combat-augmenting potions! In the stories, he quaffs them, one after the other, adding one effect after the other. He has spent years studying them and has perfected the combinations, taking them as far as he can. He uses them to add artificial and temporary boosts to his strength and speed, compensating a bit for his lack of natural raw martial prowess. He also uses the healing mixtures as a preemptive tactic, downing certain combinations that allow him to effectively begin the healing process from the inside out.

Elec by Justine Babcock

When naming the class, we came up with several different tentative names. He is a striker class that uses alchemical potions to enhance his combat and grant him certain effects. His alchemical unions grant him either a speed or strength augmentation as a class in 4th edition D&D.

The first working name was a simple one called the Alchemical Warrior. Then the Alchemic Warrior followed. After a brief research into alchemy, we were using another one called the Hermetic Warrior, based on the definition of hermetic: of, pertaining to, or characteristic of occult science, especially alchemy. Then there was the name Alchemystic, which was thrown about as well. Some of us liked some names, others likes different ones. 

What would you name this class if it was yours?

First off, let me know if you like one of the names listed above.

If we decide to use your suggestion, you will be given credit in the supplement; you will receive a signed hardcover of Covenant of the Faceless Knights and be given a free copy of the RPG supplement once it becomes available!


Good luck and I am really looking forward to seeing some creativity here! Let the naming begin!

 See you in Wothlondia! Cheers!

Please visit MY HOME PAGE to enjoy an extended reading experience, see direct links to purchase Covenant of the Faceless Knights and to see what else Ashenclaw Studios, LLC has in store in the future!

Photo from Stock.xchng.

All maps, names and content copyright Ashenclaw Studios, LLC 2011 unless otherwise noted.

Photo by Alexandre Jaeger Vendruscolo.  Elec sketches by William Kenney and Justine Babcock.