Indianapolis Ahoy!

(Photo courtesy of Shadow Caver, www.city-data.com)

It's time for the tea and cake to make it's way Stateside for the next week, as Cogs, Cakes & Swordsticks makes its debut at Gen Con, one of the biggest gaming coventions in the world.

We're very excited, as it's nearly two decades since I was last there with Nightfall Games and Wizards of the Coast. It may have moved cities, but I expect it to be just as hectic and entertaining as ever it was!

And don;t tell anyone, but there are rumours that the infamous tea-pot fez will also be making an appearance...

Sky High!

Never ones to rest on our laurels, we are very pleased to announce that the first supplement for Cogs, Cakes & Swordsticks is available from RPGNow.

Atlantis: City in the Clouds takes you to that marvellous miracle of the steam age, Her Majesty's Flying Steam City Atlantis. Hovering far above the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantis is the pride of the British Empire, ranked alongside India as one of Her Majesty's greatest treasures. Home to myriad businesses and personalities, Atlantis (better known as "The Cog" to its inhabitants), is the perfect place to explore new horizons and seek high* adventure.

The sourcebook contains:

• Insight into the history and construction of Brunel and Stephenson’s engineering marvel, HMFSC Atlantis
• Details on the layout of the city and its environs, including notable businesses and personalities
• A full-length adventure of sky-high intrigue set aboard The Cog
• Six pregenerated characters ready for you to pick up and play
• Even more Attributes to help build your own adventurers in the Empire of Steam
• Thrilling steampunk art by Kit Cox

So grab your Earl Grey - it's time for High Tea!*

 

*And when we sasy "high", we really mean it!

A Spot of Tiffin

Tomorrow should be a very interesting day for Cogs, Cakes and Swordsticks, as we're off to Hartlepool's Historic Quay for Tiffin on the Trinc!

Picture courtesy of IAIN, the International Association of Institutes of Navigation.

HMS Trincomalee is a beautiful old girl, with quite the history. A Leda-class frigate, she was actually obsolete by the time they'd finished building her, leading to her spending most of her life either mothballed or acting as a training ship. She is now the oldest British warship still afloat, thanks to her unusual teak construction (most warships of the time were made of oak).

Lovingly restored over the last twenty years or so by a charitable trust, you can imagine how excited we are to be running taster demo games on board this gorgeous ship, surrounded by fellow steampunks and probably quite a few bemused members of the public!

The historic quay opens at 10am, and Tiffin on the Trinc officially opens at midday, with legendary graphic novellist Bryan Talbot firing the noon-day gun. If you can make it along, we'd love to see you!

Time Flies...

It's been a busy old week here at the Cake Factory, with lots of social media promotion for the game, as well as the paper version making its debut on Modiphius Entertainment's stand at the UK Games Expo.

So far, there have been over a thousand downloads of our free preview version, and the full game was at No.6 in the download charts (I would make a Prisoner-themed joke, but it wouldn't quite work seeing as only the first full chapter of the game is free), and is currently sitting at No.33 in RPGNow's Top 100 games. Not bad after only a week, eh?

And last night, way after this humble author's usual bedtime, I was chatting to Dan and friends at the Harboiled GMshoe's Office about the game and its influences, the Victorian space race, dinosaurs as player characters, how to handle supernatural elements and whether or not you could play at superheroes with the system. Dan is a very gracious host, and asked some very challenging questions which I hope my sleep-addled brain managed to answer fully and coherently!

Drum Roll, Please!

If you're going to do something, it's best to make sure you do it properly. And I'm very pleased to announce that, after a few years of polishing, refining, and stalking some wonderful artists (in the friendliest way possible, of course), myself and Modiphius Entertainment are pleased to announce that Cogs, Cakes and Swordsticks is available for your delectation and delight from those fine purveyors of all things gamery: RPG Now (click on this to go straight to its sales page).

With lovely artwork by his High Tea-ness, Dr Geof, additional squiggles by my good husband, Mr. Richard Hardy, and beautifully laid out by that dedicated gent, Mr Michal Cross, we do hope that you'll find the game as much fun to play as it was to write and test.

I'd also like to thank everyone who helped with that testing and supported us during the early days - I think I managed to get all of your names into the Acknowledgements!

Our Friends in the North

Well, actually, a scone recipe from the Hairy Bikers, Si and Dave, who are from the North and seem very friendly to boot. And its got a Canadian theme (sort of) with lots of lovely maple syrup. I'm putting up the recipe as is, but do beware with the liquid quantities - it can all go a bit gooey, so you might want to go a bit careful when it comes to mixing the wet and dry ingredients.

Cup conversions are courtesy of Delia Smith, and this recipe should make you about 12 scones.

300g (2 cups) self-raising flour
100g (1 cup) rolled oats (oatmeal/porridge oats)
100g (approx 2/3 cup) wholemeal flour
50g (1/4 cup) caster sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
160g (aprox 3/4 cup) unsalted butter
100g (1 cup) chopped walnuts
125ml (1/2 cup) buttermilk
150ml (approx 2/3 cup) maple syrup

Preheat oven to gas mark 4 (350F, 180C)
Mix the self-raising flour, wholemeal flour, rolled oats, caster sugar, salt and baking powder in a bowl
Rub the butter into the flour mix until it resembles fine breadcrumbs
Fold in the chopped walnuts
Pour the buttermilk and maple syrup into a separate bowl and mix thoroughly
Slowly add the buttermilk & syrup mix to the dry mix to form a dough
Roll the dough into a log shape and cut into 3cm (1.25") rounds
OR
Roll out the dough onto a floured surface to a depth of 3cm (1.25") and cut out the scones
Place the scones onto a greased baking tray
Bake in the oven for 10-12 minutes, or until risen and golden brown

Eat warm with butter and a nice cup of tea (or coffee)

Enjoy!

Cogs and Cookies!

In celebration of the fact that I finally remembered my password for the blog, we'd like to share a rather lovely cookie recipe with you. It’s taken from the back of a packet of Dove's Farm Organic Spelt Flour, and its quick and tasty (and actually quite Romanesque, what with the honey, cinnamon and spelt). Perfect for dunking (if you like that kind of thing), do enjoy!

Dove's Honey and Cinnamon Cookies

200g wholegrain spelt flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
100g honey (we like Chain Bridge honey 'cos its good to support local suppliers)
100g sunflower oil

Preheat your oven to gas mark 5 (190°C or 375°F)
Place the spelt flour, baking powder, cinnamon, honey and oil all together in a bowl.
Mix until a dough is formed
Place teaspoonfuls of the dough onto an oiled baking tray. Make sure you leave room around each one for it to expand
Bake for 8-12 minutes, until golden brown