Creeeeeeeeeeeeeeak!

Welcome kiddies to the Modern/Horror Issue of Shark Bytes! We have tales of suspense, historical intrigue, and fantastic locations to both terrify and delight you!

The ghoulish undead at 12 to Midnight have provided four horrific tales to keep you awake at nights, and Reality Blurs brings you the creature-killing Creep Squad for Ravaged Earth.

The action never stops as you can relive an organzied bank heist and ensuing gunfight with the authorities. "Say hello to my little friend!"

Let's not forget our lessons of the past, however, with Welcome to the 'Nam and the attempted assassination of Leon Trotsky.

The dead rise in the old West and a shadowy figure from the future appears from nowhere.

Not to fear too much, as the friendly monster squad will aid you in the dark streets of chilly, coastal Raven's Peak.

So until next time...this has been your humble cryptkeeper and guide to the inner sanctum that is Shark Bytes!

HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA!

Lord Inar

Here it is! The Long-Awaited Shark Bytes Fantasy Issue!

We have 37 pages of Player goodness packed into this issue, including lots of upcoming licensee information!

How much would you pay for such a treat?

Don't answer yet!

We also have six pages of Showdown cards to go with the scenarios and a ten page index of everything previous in Shark Bytes!

But wait! As a special television bonus we will also throw in 36 pages of GM goodness!

An additional 36 pages for GM's eyes only, with six additional pages of character demo cards.

Now how much would you pay?

Before you answer, if you reply to this offer in the next fifteen minutes, you will get, absoluetly free, a 21 page standalone fantasy setting and adventure, "The Secrets of Goblin Gorge." Oooooh. Scary!

Yes indeed, that is over 110 pages of Savage Goodness (not counting covers) for your enjoyment, but only if you act soon!

Call now! (or better yet, just get them anytime in the Downloads section.

Things are about to change.

Due to my new job as a Pinnacle freelancer, my continuing day job, and my fatherly duties (my lovely wife and I are expecting twins in September), this issue marks the end of my tenure as Editor-in-Chief. It's been a fun time, a wild ride, and a lot of work...and I'd do it all over again.

Taking the reins as Editor-in-Chief is Marc "Lord Inar" Gacy, our indefatigable layout man extraordinaire. He'll handle incoming submissions, distribute work to the Contributing Editors, and generally ensure that the issues keep coming. Congratulations, Marc!

Also joining our staff as a Contributing Editor is Norm ("No relation") Hensley, Jr., known as "boldfist" on the PEG boards. When Evil Mike and Chaos Steve need their pregen stats checked for accuracy, they send 'em to Norm. Now Norm's going to put his talent for stat blocks to work for us, making sure all the crunchy bits are done just right. Welcome, Norm!

As for me, I'll remain a Contributing Editor and provide final proofreading for issues as they're ready to go. I'll also submit the odd piece here and there as time allows. But Shark Bytes belongs to all the Savages, and no one should run it forever. As Thomas Jefferson famously said of the American Revolution, “God forbid we should ever be twenty years without such a rebellion. The people cannot be all, and always, well informed.” The same is true for editors.

We hope you enjoy the Necessary Evil issue, NOW AVAILABLE in the Downloads section. Special thanks go out to Storn Cook for his amazing cover image and interior art, as well as Clint Black, Wiggy Wade-Williams, and all the contributors for their generous submissions. It feels like a new era has begun for the ‘zine—make sure you stick around to see what happens next!

Best wishes for your continued Savagehood,
Cutter

A while back I promised the rootin'est, tootin'est, weirdest, foulest, funnest Deadlands: Reloaded issue ever. I mentioned you'd meet up with that new issue before October's three-quarters done. I suppose that would be last October.

Ahem.

Well, who cares what I said, partner? The important thing is that the new Deadlands issue is now available! Look for it in the Downloads section, under Fanzines. Extras? We got 'em -- there's some high-res versions of the Rusty Glenn graphics to go along with the issue, in a separate download.

What's up next? The Necessary Evil issue, of course. And you'll be seeing it in exactly...

Er, as soon as....

Well...why don't we just say you'll see that issue a little farther on down the trail, eh, partner? Until then, enjoy a spicy taste of the Weird West.

Best,
Cutter

All right, loyal readers, we've got lots of news to share!

Let's give a hearty thanks to Dave "grubman" Bezio for allowing us to host his Erth 3000 setting. It's headed for release in another form, so departs our fair shores, but we wish it and its creator the very best! We hope it's not "101 days" until we see more Savage goodness from the indomitable grubman...

As one departs, another arrives! Join me in welcoming our newest Contributing Editor, Marc "Lord Inar" Gacy. I trust you'll find his enthusiasm contagious, because he's pulling together submissions for the rootin'est, tootin'est, weirdest, foulest, funnest Deadlands: Reloaded issue ever. Keep ridin' on down the trail, pardner, and you'll meet up with that new issue before October's three-quarters done.

Want to see your work in Shark Bytes? Send a Word doc, or a high-resolution file of your original artwork, to Mr. Gacy (look for him on the Contacts page).

Cutter

The intrepid Lord Skudley is back, this time with a cool new set of Bullet Counters for your game (see Game Aids). Just print out the sheet you need, cut out the counters, and let the lead fly! We've also got a few handy Excel generators from Lord S, one for random names and the other for random rumors. Try 'em out!

In other sad news, it's not looking like there will be an issue of Shark Bytes until late August or September at the earliest. I've waited a few months for submissions to pile up...but three submissions does not a pile make. If you're interested in seeing your work in print, download the newly-updated Writer's Guidelines (under Errata & FAQ) and show us how Savage you can be!

In related news, my hope that Shark Bytes could go quarterly has turned out to be quite fanciful. Rest assured that Shark Bytes is not dead, but due to the vagaries of 'zinedom will be published on an intermittent schedule as enough material becomes available.

Stay cool, kick back, and keep rolling those dice.

Cutter