The Twisting Stair #3 (Spring 2018)

*** UPDATE 20 March 2019:  TTS#3 has been reprinted, and is now available for mail order again ***

*** UPDATE 2 March 2019:  TTS#3 has been reprinted, but will not be available for mail order until 13 March 2019, after we return from GaryCon ***

*** UPDATE 6 Feburary 2019: TTS#3 is now out-of-print, and unavailable until after our return from GaryCon ***

After a longer delay than planned, Tony Rosten and I are happy to announce that the Spring 2018 third issue of The Twisting Stair is going to press this week, and will debut at GaryCon next week (8-11 March 2018, in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin)!

The Twisting Stair, issues 1-3

Like TTS#2, The Twisting Stair #3 is 20 pages long, is priced at $5, and is available in print format only.  

TTS#3 Contents

Here's the TOC for The Twisting Stair #3 (Spring 2018):

• From Kuroth’s Quill by Allan -- "Mega-Dungeon Mapping Strategies for Players" (in which Allan attempts to make mapping fun!)
• Mapping the Problem: An Introduction
• The Main Functions of a Map - Why to Map
• grodog's Three Mapping Modes - How to Map
• Replicated Maps - aka, the Ernie Gygax Method
• Descriptive Maps - The Captain's Log
• Trailing Maps - A Hybrid Approach
• grodog's Mapping Tips and Tricks
• Playing Mapping Tactics
• In-Character Mapping Tactics
• Critters and Glitters
• New monster - Fire Weird by Allan (a firey variation on Ernie Gygax's classic monster)
• New magic items - Ying’s Fantastic Fireworks by Tony (a collection of ten new one-shot magical devices)
• The Centerfold Mega-Dungeon Map by Tony and Allan -- The third 11"x17" level of The Twisting Stair dungeon
• Wandering Pairings by Tony -- Third-level wandering monsters
• Down the Twisting Stair by Tony -- Vertical Design in the Mega-Dungeon
• The Ups and Downs of Vertical Encounter Design
• Encounter:  "Will you climb into my Parlour?" said the Great Red Spider to the Fly
• Vertical Design Involving Multiple Encounters
• Encounter:  The Upside-Down Water Lock
• Vertical Design that Spans Multiple Dungeon Levels
• Stackable Geomorphs Add Verticality to Your Mega-Dungeon by Tony and Allan -- A new type of geomorph designed to increase vertical space in dungeon design
• 3 stackable base geomorphs
• 6 stackable geomorphs
• 3 blank stackable geomorphs

Ordering and Shipping Process, New Paypal Account

New orders can be placed by sending $4 for TTS#1 and $5 for TTS#2 or TTS#3 and using the above postage guidelines to calculate postage due.  You can submit payment via our new TTS Paypal account:  thetwistingstair@gmail.com. 

If you would like to buy more than 2 copies an issue of The Twisting Stair, please request a postage quote by emailing thetwistingstair@gmail.com, then Tony or Allan will get back to you.

FYI, if you're ordering just copies of TTS, Allan will ship those orders; if you're ordering copies of TTS as well as other Black Blade Publishing books, then Jon is happy to combine shipping for those orders, and you'll place the order and remit payment via his Black Blade email address tacojohndm@yahoo.com.  

USA DOMESTIC Shipping & Handling

• Envelope Only
• 1 copy @ 3.0 oz.: 1st class large envelope @ $2.50, Priority Flat Rate Envelope @ $8.00 
• 2 copies @ 5.2 oz.:  1st class large envelope @ $2.50, Priority Flat Rate Envelope @ $8.00 
• 3 copies @ 7.0 oz.:  1st class large envelope @ $3.50, Priority Flat Rate Envelope @ $8.00
• Envelope + Cardboard Backing
• 1 copy w/cardboard @ 5.1 oz:  1st class parcel @ $4.50, Priority Flat Rate Envelope @ $8.00 
• 2 copies w/cardboard @ 7.3 oz.:  1st class parcel @ $5.25, Priority Flat Rate Envelope @ $8.00 
• 3 copies w/cardboard @ 9.2 oz.:  1st class parcel @ $6.00, Priority Flat Rate Envelope @ $8.00  

INTERNATIONAL Shipping & Handling

• Envelope Only
• 1 copy @ 3.0 oz.:  1st class international large envelope @ $4.00 to CANADA, @ $5.50 to AUSTRALIA, GERMANY, HUNGARY, and the UK 
• 2 copies @ 5.2 oz.:  1st class international large envelope @ $4.50 to CANADA, @ $8.00 to AUSTRALIA, GERMANY, HUNGARY, and the UK 
• 3 copies @ 7.0 oz.:  1st class international large envelope @ $5.00 to CANADA, $9 to BRAZIL, @ $10.00 to AUSTRALIA, GERMANY, HUNGARY, and the UK 
• Envelope + Cardboard Backing
• 1 copy w/cardboard @ 5.1 oz:  1st class international parcel @ $11.00 to CANADA, @ $16.00 to AUSTRALIA, GERMANY, HUNGARY, and the UK
• 2 copies w/cardboard @ 7.3 oz.:  1st class international parcel @ $13.00 to CANADA, @ $17.00 to AUSTRALIA, GERMANY, HUNGARY, and the UK
• 3 copies @ 9.2 oz.:  1st class international parcel @ $18.00 to CANADA, @ $25.00 to AUSTRALIA, GERMANY, HUNGARY, and the UK 

Combined Shipping:  We're happy to combine shipping of copies of TTS#1 and #2, of course, as well as with existing Black Blade Publishing stock when possible. 

The Fine Print on Postage:  All prices are in United States Dollars (USD), and we may need to change them with issue #4 (which may be larger than the 20 pages in issue #3), or if I go to the post office and find that our due diligence didn't quite pan out for some reason.

Back Issues Availability, Subscriptions, Submissions, PDFs, and Other Questions

Copies of The Twisting Stair #1 (Spring 2017; $4) and The Twisting Stair #2 (Summer 2017; $5).  

At this time, we are not offering subscriptions to The Twisting Stair, but we are in the process of setting up freelance submissions.  If you are interested in contributing to TTS as a freelance author, cartographer, or artist, please email us at thetwistingstair@gmail.com.  We also only offer TTS in print at this time, no PDFs.  Those statuses may-well change in the future, but since The Twisting Stair is a new venture for both Tony and Allan, we're trying to keep things manageable while we get our sea legs. 

If you have any questions, suggestions, or comments, please post them here, or via The Twisting Stair Google+ community or The Twisting Stair Facebook Page or email us at thetwistingstair@gmail.com.

Thanks!

Allan.