Showing results by author "James Cook" in All Categories

When Kharos, the son of a feared enforcer, is swept into the deadly machinations of the empire’s underworld, he faces a choice: risk everything to save his father, or surrender his freedom for a chance at survival. To shield Kharos from a ruthless crime boss, his father calls in a favor from the enigmatic lord of the Ludus Magnus—the empire’s most prestigious gladiator academy. Bound to ten years of servitude, Kharos is thrust into a world where strength is currency and secrets are deadlier than swords.

Eric Riordan was once a wealthy man leading a comfortable, easy life. Until one day Gabriel, his oldest friend, Marine Corps veteran, and a former mercenary, told him how the world was going to end. He did his best to prepare. He thought he was ready for anything. He was wrong. As the dead rise up to devour the living, one man finds himself struggling to survive in the ruins of a shattered world. Alone, isolated, and facing starvation, his only chance is to flee to the Appalachians and join forces with Gabriel.

Since the collapse of civilization, the United States government has fought hard to hold together what little is left of the nation that once was. At their epicenter of power in Colorado Springs, those who hold the reins of government believe they are unassailable.

Gabriel Garrett has seen it all. War, hardship, and violence have chased him at every turn, but Gabriel has weathered every challenge. Now, however, he faces a battle far more dangerous than any he has endured. Kidnapped by a ruthless gang, Gabriel finds himself in a fight for survival. Using his hard-earned skills and iron will, he manages to break free - only to stumble upon a conspiracy that threatens everything he has fought to protect.

Eric Riordan doesn't look for trouble, but trouble has a way of finding him. Two years have passed since the Outbreak, and after joining forces with his friend Gabriel, he has managed to stay alive by fleeing to the peaks of the Appalachian Mountains. With supplies running low, and enemies gathering, the two survivors are forced to begin their journey west to Colorado. Along the way they will find unexpected allies, reunite with old friends, and make deadly new enemies.

There are many who do not wish for peace. As the Free Legion declares war on the survivors of Hollow Rock, Gabriel and Eric find themselves drawn ever deeper into the growing conflict. Aided by a fledgling militia, and a small contingent of federal operatives, the two warriors must find a way to defeat an unyielding enemy that threatens to destroy all they have grown to love.

Decades of GMing experience! Whether it’s advice from grognards who were running games at the dawn of RPGs, or suggestions from the new generation of game designers, these 21 essays by experts are here to help you improve your GMing skills and create fun, amazing, memorable campaigns that’ll be talked about for years. In this audiobook, master GMs and storytellers give you advice about solo campaigns, shy players, cell phones, and making rulings on the fly.

The Best Role in Roleplaying! Whether you're a new game master or a seasoned vet looking for a new angle to shake up your game, these 19 essays by expert game masters help construct your campaign from the ground up - and keep your players engaged until the dramatic conclusion. Complete with discussions on plotting, tone, branching storytelling, pacing, and crafting action scenes, you'll find all the tips and advice you need to take on the best role in role-playing - and become an expert game master, too!

When the world ends, some men find redemption in the ashes. Aiden Wyatt was a drug dealer, a thief, and a lost cause—until the System descended on Earth. Now, in a world where stats mean survival and monsters roam the wilderness, Aiden’s criminal past is his greatest weapon.

As the Midwest Alliance puts plans in motion to touch off a civil war, Eric and a group of elite warriors are recruited to stop them. To prevent disaster, they will venture into the heart of enemy territory on an assassination mission. To survive, Eric will have to call on all his training, willpower, and strength - because this fight will determine not only his future, but the fate of an entire nation.

Horror stalks the sideshow tents of the 40’s and runs a 70’s era dive bar steeped in murder… It preys from the frozen peaks of a small, 80’s Alaskan town and spills across the streets of modern-day New York City. From the Great Plains of Native America to war-torn North Korea and the cradle of civilization itself in ancient Mesopotamia, the Beast is out for blood but the werewolf hunter pursues and will not stop until the last drop of blood has fallen.

In this enchanting collection, the author recounts the delightful tales that emerged from Sunday evening storytelling sessions with his three children. One evening, as bedtime approached, a curious question sparked the imagination Are there any Australian Fairies, Father? With a playful nod, the author assured them, Why, yes! Whole tribes of them! Thus began a journey into the magical world of Australian fairies, bringing to life stories that blend wonder with the unique spirit of Australia. Join us as we explore these captivating tales that celebrate the magic of family and storytelling.

With the dark cloud of civil war gathering on the horizon, Gabriel Garrett struggles to protect his new home and the new life he has just begun. But as he soon learns, a man's past has a way of catching up with him, and Gabriel has more than his share of dark secrets. When his world is shattered, he will walk a path of vengeance across a land where the dead hold sway, and the living count their lives in seconds. His enemy is the deadliest he has ever faced, and in this battle, there is no justice, no redemption, and no mercy. There is only revenge.

For years, exiles from North Korea, China, and Russia have terrorized the Western Seaboard of post-Outbreak America. And, for years, the remnants of the US military have struggled to defeat them. No more. After US forces cripple the enemy's ability to wage war, the North Koreans and their allies make a last-ditch effort to save themselves by building internment camps where thousands of Americans are held hostage. The enemy thinks they are invulnerable. They think they have the ultimate leverage. They are wrong.

The battlefields of Iraq and Afghanistan, the CIA, several years as a mercenary, and the end of the world among them. But now he faces a challenge none of his training, expertise, or combat experience have prepared him for - fatherhood. With a new family and new responsibilities, Gabriel decides to leave Hollow Rock and start over in the growing city of Colorado Springs. It is here he believes he can finally leave behind the violence that has always followed him and begin a new chapter in his life.

For Caleb Hicks, survival means hiding in plain sight. Trained from a young age to be a super-soldier, he has worked hard to keep his abilities hidden. But after a disastrous mistake forces him into military service, hiding his skills becomes increasingly difficult. To maintain his cover, he isolates himself, rarely speaking and discussing his past with no one.

When James Cook's daughter was nearly one, he began to suspect that she wasn't simply a 'late bloomer', as he and his wife were telling friends and family. Emily was strongly taken by images and patterns around the house, had a marked response to music, but never pointed at anything, and hadn't crawled yet. At the age of two-and-a-half, after months of invasive tests, Emily was finally diagnosed with severe autism and everything changed.

During the Outbreak, like billions of others, a man finds himself infected with the Phage. Desperate to spare his family from watching him become a walking nightmare, he flees. Soon after, he is dead. Two years later, he wakes up. Not in the afterlife, but in his own body. Trapped, unable to control the monster that carries him, and forced to witness the horror of its existence.

Alexander Muir, a once-renowned professional fighter, has spent the last six years surviving the only way he knows how: on his own. In a land where the golden rule is to make allies or die, he has stayed alive against all odds. But now, his self-imposed exile is over. In other parts of the world, those who survived the outbreak have banded together to form militant groups with a single mission: to reclaim what is theirs. One intrepid band, the Third Colorado Volunteer Militia, has decided to challenge a place where even the bravest fear to tread - Phoenix, Arizona.

The world is still ruled by the dead, and the living still war against each other over resources and territory. After suffering wounds at the hands of the Storm Road Tribe, Alex has his doubts about the future of the mission he has signed on for: Liberating Phoenix from the undead. Making matters worse, the reinforcements - promised by what is left of the federal government - turn out to be only one man. Captain Caleb Hicks. The two men will discover a threat far greater than anything they expected, in a race against time, to destroy a monster that threatens humanity.