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Welcome to
Charke
Publishing
Charke
Publishing creates roleplaying game
manuals in PDF format which can be purchased on the
RPGnow and DriveThruRPG websites. We currently have
books for the 3.5 system and plan to release books for
the 4th Edition Dungeons and Dragons system. Our main
series are Broken: The Memory of Solaris,
expansions, and the massive stand alone manual on time
travel; Chronomancer: Time Travel for Everyone.
May 16th 2011
I'm currently working for Dark Skull
Studios, doing the layout for the Bloodfire Territories
and later a number of other books. I've also made two
new suits of armor, both out of the common heaviest
leather 16oz, one for my character Torch, and another
for a friend of mine Matt.
Charke's Leatherworking
December 28th 2010
What have I been doing? I've been leather
working! I've added a number of new photos of everything
I've been working on. I'm also prepared to start taking
commissions. In fact I'm plugging away at a commission
right now - an entire suit for CSA fighting.
Charke's Leatherworking
August 24th 2010
The site problems are solved. I'm still alive and
intend to publish more books. I've just got to find that
mythical element that is so hard to get - time.
July 12 2010
I've really got to get back in the game here.
Actually I'm just updating the site to say that the site
is about to go down... ...and it's not my fault. Since
the last time I paid for the site, my credit card has
changed. Today my credit card has been "compromised" and
the bill for the site just came in. So until I receive
my new card, I can't pay the bill so they're probably
going to pull the plug for a few days.
May 6th 2010
What is Charke Publishing doing? Well it's that
hard time. The company has been struggling along for a
year now and all that hard work and excitement have paid
off exactly as a new company should expect. I think I've
almost broken even. That isn't the greatest incentive
but it's reality. I find it far too easy to get
distracted with other projects, especially LARPing these
days but I continue to pick at the work. I plan to get
some more books finished here.
April 11th 2010
Legend of the Guardians; The Owls
of Ga'Hoole
Time for another great movie.
March 1st 2010 And the Olympics are Over
I thought that the Olympics would be a slow time
here in the Vancouver Area where citizens duck their
heads and try to stay out of the stampedes. It wasn't.
It was a lot of fun. I saw a few concerts. I watched a
lot of Olympics. I didn't get much writing done but I
really got a lot of leatherworking done, my newest
hobby, and constructed a new suit of leather armor for
LARPing.
I watch them pack up the Ozone, memories of
Canada's hockey victory still fresh in my head and it
seems sad. It was a rollercoaster for two weeks and now
it's quiet, the venues are coming down and people are
cleaning up the trash and returning the streets to
normal.
Well, back to work.
An artist is someone who keeps making mistakes
and fixing them until the work is perfect.
February 14th 2010 Happy Valentine's Day
It's the nicest Valentine's day I've seen
in years. The sun is out and the skies are clear. It's
bright and blue. I'm working my fingers to the bone on a
leather working project this early afternoon. I should
be writing but I've got to get outside sometime.
January 1st 2010 Happy New Year Tricksters!
Charke Publishing is proud to release
Second Look: Arcane Trickster. It's been a long bumpy
road getting this particular work to press but I am
extremely happy with it. I hope you enjoy it too!
I just turned on the product at RPGnow. It
always gives me goosebumps to hit that button that makes
a product go live, jump over to their homepage and see
it at the top of the list. It means a lot of work is
done and then you make a short prayer and hope
everything works right, the page isn't corrupted with
HTML problems and the downloads work right. RPGnow is a
really solid site though. With their new upload software
I have not had any problems with the last couple of
books.
Buy Second Look: Arcane Trickster at RPGnow.com
December 18th 2009
Avatar
It's simple; This is the greatest movie ever made.
It is a new KIND of movie.
One could argue that Titanic was a movie of
this kind. It wasn't. It shares a lot of elements but
Titanic was merely a template for what James Cameron has
achieved here. How he does it is amazing.
Nothing in this movie is new. It's
all been done before. Elements of great movies and
stories we already know are twist through the dense
jungle, the incredible dialogue and the winding plot.
It's just NEVER been told this way before. Cameron dips
his paint brush into well known and vivid colors to
produce not only a unique masterpiece but a new genre of
story telling.
We are given nothing familiar, a landscape and
people completely alien to us. In our journey through
this epic, we are immersed in this foreign culture. For
three hours, our world becomes theirs. When this movie
finishes it's course, when you leave the theatre, you
feel as if you are leaving home.
December 5th 2009 Exhaustion Magic
Looking up from the novel I realize
it's December already and I didn't put out a book for
November. Well, the novel is going very well but that's
not helping Charke Publishing so I'll take a little
break and give another d20 book to the world.
October 22nd 2009
Broken: Exhaustion Magic released!
Only 3 classes use what
takes up the greatest portion of the rules in 3rd Edition; the spells. In this
short 4 page document, a new way of using those spells is introduced by
employing the little used spell failure mechanic and taking it to new extremes.
There is a drawback to the system. You must be able to add percentages together.
You will be doing it often, every time you cast a spell in fact. Eventually you
won't be able to cast any more spells. Welcome to Exhaustion Magic. This product
contains a single new class variant of the wizard. It's a short product but the
price is right. It's free! Enjoy this little add-on to Broken: The Memory of
Solaris or use it for your own campaign setting.
October 21st 2009 Sick can be good
I went up north in British
Columbia to do some survey work but became rather ill
and returned home. Not returning to my regular work and
still sick, a large amount of time has fallen into my
lap and I'm using it to catch up. I've got a couple of
books about to be booted out the door and I'm making
some much needed updates to the website.
Second Look: Fallen,
for example, finally has a link.
I whipped up a short book
which will be released for free, Broken: Exhaustion
Magic. I'm almost finished the layout on Arcane
Trickster but I want a little more writing in the book
and I've got to get the art in so it'll be a little
longer.
September 11th 2009 Lots of Things
It's a day to remember and
I'm trying to dig up old projects and get them finished.
I've looked back into an old book of mine Kobolds of
Frostwind Forest and I'm dusting that off for
publication. The art for Arcane Trickster is coming
along and hopefully will be finished soon. I've also got
another book, Grom's Alliance that I'm starting to think
about. So lots of work to do. My novel is approaching
the home stretch. I'm doing as much editing as writing.
August 30th 2009 Fall Approaching
Fall is fast approaching and I'm
gearing up for the new season. The artwork for Arcane
Trickster is trickling in and is almost finished. I'm
editing my first 4th edition book on Druids. And of
course, I'm still hammering away at the novel. I missed
Gencon this month, for the first time in four years. I
missed going, moreso when people returned with stories
about the con. I was planning to go to PAX instead but
they sold out of tickets, cry. I was helping out
with NaWtIE-con this year, a local LARP convention,
working on their website. Unfortunately they have
postponed that event.
August 3rd 2009: A little too
Quiet
The website has been
quiet for too long. That's my fault but it's a good
thing. I've been writing a novel. Every spare minute has
been tapping on a keyboard or researching some detail. I
take a Blackberry Storm and portable keyboard with me to
work and in-between stuffing my face during lunch I'm
out there in the park working the fingers across the
keyboard.
I've got some
more d20 books in the pipeline. The art coming in for
Arcane Trickster is just fantastic. I've been very bad
about Second Look: Fallen which has been release. I've
got to get the adds up for that. I've also got to get
another project polished up for next month! So yes,
falling a little behind but I'm working as hard as ever.
Gotta give a big
thumbs up to Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince. I
though the 6th book was a little contrived. Here's a big
apology to Rowling but the 6th book was my least
favourite out of a much loved series. However, for
whatever reason, the movie was just fantastic.
Orphan was too
predictable. Hurt Locker was amazing. Transformers:
Revenge of the Fallen wasn't as good as the first one
but it was still well done. Up was unbelievable.
...so, yes I've had
time to see every other movie in the theatre but I
haven't got my next book done. That's a little
embarrassing but I'm working hard and I need my
inspiration. I've also received 4 invitations to
weddings. It seems everyone my age is getting married,
most of them this summer. And I've become addicted to
LARPing. (Life Action Roleplaying - what were you
thinking?). I'm busy, busy but Second Look: Arcane
Trickster is on it's way!
May 2nd 2009: Future Warfare: Cloning and
Genetic Manipulation
Charke Publishing is proud
to release our first d20 Modern and Future
book; Cloning and Genetic Manipulation. This 60
page manual gives you everything you need to clone your
character but the photocopier for your character sheet.
The genetic manipulation, especially the re-sequencing
options for existing characters, offers an array of
permanent changes you can make to your character using
this technology.
April 22nd 2009:
EARTH - Happy Earth
Day!
Amazing just amazing. I can't say this
movie made me want to run out and join Greenpeace, but
it shows you a breathtaking look at just what kind of
life is out there.
http://disney.go.com/index
April 14th 2009
BRAID
Check this game out. It is a platform
puzzle game that uses time effects in unbelievable ways
as you navigate your way through the maze in 5th
dimensions. As a time travel buff, I love this game. It
takes Prince of Persia: Sands of Time and puts a whole
new twist on using temporal mechanics to achieve game
goals.
R.I.P. David Lance Arneson
April 9th 2009
The gaming world has lost another of it's cofounders.
Dave Arneson, co-creator of Dungeons & Dragons,
passed away last night at the age of 61.
While not as
famous as
Gary Gygax,
who
passed away
in March of
last year,
Arneson
was a
driving
force behind
D&D's
creation and
his
contribution
to the world
of adventure
gaming
should not
be
underestimated.
It was
Arneson's
spark that
transformed
Gygax's game
Chainmail
into the
first
edition of
D&D,
and begat
everything
that
followed.
Arneson had
to fight to
get credit
for his
contributions,
filing
multiple
lawsuits
(later
resolved
out-of-court)
against
Gygax over
crediting
and
royalties.
He
nonetheless
did return
to TSR in
the mid-'80s
to work with
Gygax again.
Following
that, he
began a
second
career as an
educator,
working in
several
schools with
a particular
focus on how
to use
gaming as an
instructional
tool.
Arneson
suffered a
stroke in
2002 and was
soon after
diagnosed
with cancer.
He finally
lost his
battle with
cancer
last night,
surrounded
by his
family, in
St. Paul,
Minnesota.
Gamers
everywhere
owe him a
certain debt
of gratitude
for his
work.
I met
Dave
Arnenson at
Gencon in
2005. I had
no idea who
he was and
while we
were talking
at the
Goodman
Games booth,
I had to
finally ask
him why all
these people
kept coming
up to him
and asking
him for his
signature.
It left me
sorry that
he never
achieved the
recognition
that Gary
had that I
could chat
with him for
so long but
not realize
who he was.
- Mark
Charke
March 31st 2009
Second Look: Barbarians!
We've just released Second Look:
Barbarians. This book greatly expands on the 3.5 system
barbarian, adding to it war cries, superstitions, new
classes and prestige classes and a host of new feats!
You can pick it up at
RPGnow, Drive Thru RPG or En World!
March 20th 2009 Series Final
Charke Publishing bids a fond farewell to
one of the greatest television shows to grace the
airwaves! It happened before. May it happen again!
5.95 at RPGnow!
March 10th 2009 Barbarians on the Horizon
I've gotten very busy at work and I'm
working on a novel so the next release has been a little
slow. I'm still waiting for my 4th Edition license
confirmation card so I'm going to shuffle Second Look:
Barbarians to the top of the pile and I'm just breaking
into the layout so that will be the next release.
January 31st 2009 Pipedream for sale!
Broken: The Pipedream has been released for
sale! You can pick it up at
RPGnow or
DriveThruRPG.
Only 1.00$ at RPGnow!
Free at RPGnow!
January 27th 2009 Layout Done
The layout for the Pipedream is finished.
(Hurray!) It came out to a glorious 82 pages making it
the largest expansion for Broken to date! I'm sorry
you'll have to wait a few more days before you have have
it in your hands. I've got to finish the print version,
upload everything and post the press releases that I
have already scribbled up.
 January 25 2009 Worn Fingers
I just finished the text for Broken: The
Pipedream. There were many little things to polish off
before I was happy with this manuscript but I am happy
with it now. Like Gurclup's Gate Generator I started the
layout some time ago. Now I can finish it in a
relatively short time. I really look forward to
unleashing devices into the world.
Notice any layout changes to the website? Well,
they are almost invisible. I've started using SSI - Side
Server Includes. It allows me to create one set of menus
(the ones on the left and right sides) and use them for
all the pages in the site. I only have to change one
file instead of altering every page.
Also, look for my new add on Facebook for Broken
(Is your campaign Broken yet?)
January 3rd 2009 Nose to the Grindstone
Broken: The Pipedream, scheduled for
December is running a little late and will be released
this January. Classic Classes: Druid will also be
released later this month. For those of you who applied
for the open call for Classic Classes #2, I decided to
postpone the decision until after the holidays and it
will be resolved shortly.
I have released Broken: The White Ghost
for free on RPGnow! This is a short Christmas adventure
with a Norse theme!
- Mark Charke
Charke Publishing
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