Vanished Lands: Storyteller Archive Vol. 1

This 100 page gaming supplement to the Vanished Lands role playing game contains within it a hundred pages of stories of adversities, dangers, and wonders that adventuerers of the Vanished Lands encounter with frightening regularity. Written from the perspective of the characters who live there, this supplement is a must read for players and storytellers alike, filled with ideas for your own Vanished Lands Adventure.

And the best part is, you can order it right now! It is available at several online book sellers including both Amazon.com and Barnes & Noble.com. Grab one. Tell you’re friends. This isn’t a book you’ll want to skip on when completing your Vanished Lands collection!

It’s not really day1. Day 1 was a while ago. But I haven’t had time or paper handy to write anything down since day one, and I have no idea what day–or month–or even year it is anymore. Too many things don’t make sense, and I still wake up every day hoping it was all a dream. It isn’t though, and it looks like I’m gonna be where I am for a while yet.  And I want to write it all down before I forget.

Day one was a sunny day. Chance of showers was 30% in the afternoon. I remember seeing that on my phone before Mom dropped me off at school. It’s funny the things you remember. School was normal that day, and like normal, I skipped out after 3rd period to meet up with some of my friends. It was on my way to the car that I noticed something was wrong. A highway practically ran through our school’s backyard, and a tanker truck, along with a minivan and two mid-sized sedans, picked that time to leave the road and slam into the ground. The truck was, unfortunately for me, filled with gasoline, or something similar, and exploded shortly after it hit the ground. The blast knocked me back a good distance and slammed me against a wall.

I woke up (what must have been) hours later. I was still lying on the ground where I had fallen.
The fire from the truck accident was still burning. I had been passed out for a while, and while it took a minute to sink in, I remember thinking, “Where are the fire trucks and ambulances, and where are my parents?”

None of those things ever came. I waited for a little while, long enough to to determine that I didn’t have any real injuries, and then I headed for my car. My car was a wreck. Thinking back on it, it was still in a drivable condition, but at the time, I didn’t think so. Then I looked around for help. That’s when I really started to notice how bad things were. The burning tanker truck, with the twisted metal of the cars it had crushed and burned, was only one of many disastrous scenes that I could see. There were car wrecks everywhere, a few fires in the streets, and several shattered windows. I saw people running around, some looting, some just running. Some people I saw were just walking aimlessly or standing around. The background noise finally came to my attention. It was a steady drone of sirens, an occasional scream or yell, and sometimes an explosion or crash of some kind.

I was raised Christian, so my first thought when I took everything in was that the End Times had come. That the Book of Revelation was happened and that, soon, Jesus would appear and start judging us. I knelt down next to my car then and started praying. Eventually, I got up again and decided that, while it was the end times, the rapture itself might not be happening right now. I thought of my parents, and I started walking home. Home was not close to my school.

That walk was probably the most harrowing experience of my life. Even some of my days during the Hard Times don’t compare. Imagine, if you can, wandering through a city three times the size of Rivertowne. Half the city seems to be on fire, but the fire isn’t concentrated anywhere. Cars, or horseless carriages for those of you too young to remember cars, run rampant and randomly through the streets. Every person you see, you don’t know, and you don’t trust. It’s hard to explain really–it’s just the most horrible loneliness and hopeless feeling you could ever feel, and on top of that everywhere you look, some disaster has happened or atrocity is taking place.

I couldn’t reach my house by nightfall. The dark didn’t deter me, as the fires lit the city fairly well, and the lights were still on in parts of the city. But it started raining. I ended up having to take shelter in a small street corner diner. I think I had been there once in my life. It was deserted–at least it was when I went into it.

It was in the dinner that I figured out that I was hungry. The power was out so I couldn’t cook anything. They still had ice cream though, and that made me feel worlds better. I can still taste that ice cream sometimes when I think back on it. I think I started crying while I was eating the ice cream, but I was so hungry it didn’t matter. Afterwards, I really did cry.

Three people came into the dinner after me, seeking shelter from the rain. I was in the back and was able to hide before they saw me. I don’t remember the conversation exactly, but they talked about everything that had happened that day. That’s the first I heard of the Vanishing. The reports were still coming in, but the people said that almost half of everyone had disappeared into thin air. Just up and gone. There was a lady with them. She was crying too. I remember that made me feel better. Although, I can’t tell you why. She talked about how her husband was just standing next to her one minute, she blinked, and then he was gone. Completely vanished. I remember being cold, wet, and terrible feeling, but eventually I fell asleep to the sound of the three people talking.

We will be premiering this new era in the Ruminant Production website with the Hard Times Diaries! The Hard Time Diaries is a literary work set in the world of Vanished Lands. Taking place right after the Vanishing, the Hard Times Daries will focus on an intrepid heroin, Jane, as she chronicles the fall of society.

Other content, along with the Diaries will be posted regularly on the website, so keep an eye on your feeds and make sure to come visit us now and again. We’re looking at releasing encounters and adventures for your Vanished Lands D20 games, as well as other useful supplements and props that will help you tell great stories with your friends. Best part about it is, it’ll all be free and easily findable here at RuminantProductions.com.

Also keep your eyes peeled on other parts of the site. You might find goodies for you to take back to your own computer here in the near future.

We like to think that.

But then there are these guys. These guys who contribute their time and skills towards making our products even better! As if they could help fix perfection right? Right? Guys?

In all seriousness I’d like to announce the Ruminant Productions Contributor’s Page. This page highlights the people and companies who have helped get Ruminant Productions where it is today. We’re glad to have had their help in the past and hopefully in the future as well.

So now you’ve taken a look at the page and gone. “Wow. Those guys are kinda cool. I want be up there on the list too.” Well in the near future we’ll be rolling out a contributions page telling you exactly how you can help us to make some awesome games. In the mean time though you can do your part by telling your friends about us and Vanished Lands and participate in our contest!

Yes I said Contest! Ruminant Productions has rolled out its first contest. Entrants who take this survey are entered to win one of our awesome books for free. The contest runs until March 14th so take the survey soon!

Just a quick update. I know there may be some advertisements out there that may hint that our new book Vanished Lands: Storyteller Archive Vol. 1 is already out, but those advertisements are not correct. We tried to rein them in but they unfortunately distracted our Manager with cookies and they got out before he could stop them. That guy REALLY likes cookies. Anyways, our book is off to the presses but it won’t be out to buy yet for just a little bit.

In the mean time….You can take our new survey! And possibly win one of the new books, or a copy of the Vanished Lands book if you prefer. It’s your choice if you win. So head to the contest page here and check it out :)

- Pat

Also this year will be having a new GM and a brand new adventure. I’m actually working on the pre-generated characters as you read this! (Unless its 4am CST, and then I am likely asleep!) We’re looking forward to seeing you at the convention.

Remember Aggiecon is not on the Texas A&M campus this year but is instead in the Hilton. You can find directions here.

Thanks for hanging with us for so long and waiting for this next book. I think you will all be pleasantly surprised with what it turned out to be. We’ve got a book here that covers many of the dangers in the Vanished Lands such as The Mists, Ferals, Demons, the Sea, Poisons, and Diseases and gives everyone a little look into one of the possible Vanished Lands timeline. The book is going through final review now and should be out and about in February, but don’t worry, we’ll warn you about it’s debut here first!

For now, here’s a sneak peak at the opening section…

- Pat

The Council was concerned that if we forgot our past, we would become more and more like the Ferals . . .something truly abhorrent. The Council handpicked a group of twelve young Mailmen to travel the world gathering what information they could about the Hard Times and the days preceding the Vanishing. I was one of the chosen. It was an honor never matched in my life. Not even the day I was elevated to colonel was I filled with so much pride. Of course, if I had known the hardship that would follow I would have been less cheery, but no less honored.

Yes Vanished Lands fans, that means you can pick up the current copy of Vanished Lands D20 for a whopping $25 dollars!

Don’t you think your gift giving this year should include cowboys, demons, magic, and no corpses whatsoever? So do we! But the code only lasts until December 31st so get to ordering quick! Enjoy!