2014 was a great year. We managed to produce our 100th
issue of Acts of Villainy and are well on our way to the 100th issue
of AoV: Solo. We also released a great Free Comic Book Day module that spanned
a handful of universes and three systems. Overall, CD and I were pretty pleased
with 2014 and appreciate all of you who have purchased and used Acts of
Villainy books in your campaigns.
2015 will see the AoV lines continue, particularly AoV:
Solo. This weekend marked our in-house planning session where we discussed the
upcoming issues for this year. And, while everything isn’t set in stone, there
are some things that might interest a few of you coming up.
February 2015 marks our AoV: Teen Month. During this
month, all the villains will be teens that have turned to a life of villainy.
Kicking it off will be AoV: Team #6 – The Brain Trust! Gathered together for
evil, these teen mentalists will be a challenge even for some of the most
seasoned heroes. Along with this team will be two new Solo issues, each with a
teen villain to challenge your campaign’s heroes.
March 2015 brings March Mook Madness! Throughout the
month of March, the theme will be filled with those C-List villains that are
only marginally above minions. Among them, we may produce an AoV: Duo issue for
the event if we have time. We may also have something special for GM’s Day.
Our next big event will be in May, which brings back Hero
Month for 2015! This year, we’re hoping to detail a hero team, as well as a few
other Solo characters. This month will also feature a new Free Comic Book Day issue,
which will, in the spirit of the day, be another free issue which may or may
not feature an adventure.
June 2015 will bring a free RPG issue of AoV: Schemes to
the world. While the details aren’t exactly hammered out yet, it will be
released in conjunction with Free RPG Day and include at least one free
villain.
July 2015 will be Canadian Villain Appreciation Month,
with our first villain being featured on Canada Day. Each villain will be
Canadian in origin, with the potential of a team being released if there’s
enough time.
As with every October, 2015 will focus on the
supernatural and magical and introduce more creatures of the night and sinister
sorcerers to use in your campaigns. As of this writing, we’ve got at least a
Duo that we’re considering for the month.
Though we don’t have a release on this yet, we are
looking at potentially bringing back the Tribute Universe glossary in wiki
format or on this blog. We’d love to hear input from our fans on how useful
this would be as a tool for your campaigns.
In addition to the schedule, we’d like to hear how you’re
using the Acts of Villainy line in your campaign. So, starting in February, we’re
taking submissions for The Great Tales of Villainy contest! Write a paragraph
letting us know how the AoV villains have been used in your campaign and you’ll
be entered to win a full month of free AoV issues and be included in a future
issue! Please submit all entries to sketchpad.studio@gmail.com
by March 1st, 2015 at midnight. We’ll then read them over, along
with a few special guest judges, and announce the winner via our blog on GM’s
Day (3/4/15). Please keep in mind that all entries become the property of
Sketchpad Studio and will only be used for promotional purposes.
We’ve had a few people ask us about HeroLab and we’ve
been listening. Beginning this year, we’ll be starting to publish HeroLab
portfolio files along with the PDFs. However, we won’t be starting this until
after May, as we’re also working on the backlog of villains as well. In fact,
as time permits, we’ll be steadily updating the older files a bit to fit into
the format of current files. Please note: everyone who purchased an older
version of these files will receive an updated version free of charge.
2015 looks to be a great year for Acts of Villainy and
Acts of Heroism. Stay tuned to our social media pages and our blog for any news
or information that may be coming up. Until then, stay villainous!
