Privateer Press Announces Escalation, the first expansion to the industry's hottest new tabletop miniatures game, WarMachine
Seattle, WA — Privateer Press, publishers of the award winning Iron Kingdoms D20 RPG supplement and the newly popular tabletop miniatures game, WarMachine, announced the first expansion product for the WarMachine game line: Escalation. Scheduled to launch second quarter of 2004, Escalation takes the battle experience of WarMachine to new levels, adding new characters, new designs for warjacks (the 12-ton stars of the Iron Kingdoms setting), and new unit types, including support weapons and battlefield engineers! Escalation propels the Iron Kingdoms storyline towards an environment of increased conflict, introducing new mercenaries to fight alongside existing armies, new warcasters to lead them, and a quick, streamlined system for campaign play.
WarMachine: Escalation brings back the talents of the Privateer Press art team of Brian Snoddy and Matt Wilson, along with the newest artist to visualize the Iron Kingdoms world, Chippy Dugan. Fans will also be pleased to see the return of writer Bryan Steele, responsible for much of the fiction from the original rulebook, WarMachine:Prime, as well as the latest wordsmith to add his talents to WarMachine: Edward Bolme, noted novelist and game author, with credits including Wizards of the Coast's novel The Forgotten Realms: The Alabaster Staff and Legend of the Five Rings: The Steel Throne.
Escalation is planned as a 120-page book supplement, including stats and rules for dozens of new additions to WarMachine armies, storyline fiction, and a full color feature from the renowned 3D department of Privateer Press, Rivet Head Studios. A host of new pictures featuring the latest sculpts from Mike McVey, John Winter, Paul Muller, Jerzy Montwill, Roy Eastland, and several more brilliant RHS contributors are showcased in glorious detail, photographed on detailed terrain sets created by award-winning model maker, Todd Gamble. Also included are the talents and tutorials of Rivet Head's amazing star painter, Allison McVey. A preview of the concept art for the upcoming models featured in the Escalation product line is available now at the official WarMachine web site, ikwarmachine.com.
In WarMachine, players control fantastic armies led by powerful battle wizards known as warcasters. Commanding forces of magical, steam-powered warjacks and a host of soldiers equipped with ancient and arcane weaponry, the warcasters engage in battle on an apocalyptic scale, played out on the tables of players, with custom built and painted metal miniatures kits.
Privateer Press was founded in December 2000 by game industry veterans Brian Snoddy, Matt Staroscik, and Matt Wilson, and joined shortly after by painting and sculpting talent, Mike McVey. The company's first product was the D20 adventure The Witchfire Trilogy Part 1: The Longest Night, launching an award-winning series of RPG books—set in the Iron Kingdoms fantasy campaign setting — including the widely popular Monsternomicon. In March of 2003, Privateer launched their second product line, WarMachine, entering the company into a new arena as the manufacturer of tabletop miniatures games and set in the same world of the Iron Kingdoms. WarMachine has enjoyed rapid growth, spreading to all corners of the globe, and by early 2004 will be distributed in four languages and dozens of countries.
Sherry Yeary is the president of Privateer Press and can be reached at sherry@privateerpress.com or (425) 562-0259.