* Frequently Asked Questions* *General Questions FAQ* *Last Modified: April 8, 2001* Welcome to the Shadowfist General FAQ! We've broken our FAQ into several smaller documents, since we've found that folks have distinct interests and don't necessarily need everything in one place. This FAQ is dedicated to the Shadowfist fan who doesn't have access to the Internet - it covers general questions and repeats some of the details of special programs found on the website. If you've been to the website, you probably don't need to read this document. We refer you to the website anyway in a couple of places for stuff like art and previews that we can't include here. If you find an error in this document, have a suggestion for an addition, or just want to say hi, you can contact us by mail at *Z-Man Games, Inc. PO Box 98 Eastchester, NY 10709* Please enclose a self-addressed, stamped envelope if you'd like a reply. You can also reach us by email at zmangames@shadowfist.com. Compiled by Stefan Vincent. Copyright 2001, Z-Man Games, Inc. All rights reserved. This document may be reproduced and distributed provided that no fee is charged for such reproduction and distribution, and that it is transmitted in its entirety, including this disclaimer. For all other uses, please contact Z-Man Games, Inc. for terms. Questions about the Z-Man edition of Shadowfist *Are the new sets out yet? When will they be available?* Throne War and Year of the Dragon were released in August 2000 and are available now. Netherworld 2: Back Through the Portals is expected to hit store shelves in April 2001, and we're already working on the next set, expected by late summer of 2001. *No, really. When will they be available?* Of course we're running a lot later than we'd like with Netherworld 2, but it's all done, and will ship as soon as the printer's done with it. *Are the new cards usable with the old ones?* The new Z-Man cards are compatible with the old Daedalus cards. The new cards are cut to the same size and have the same back design, although some players have said that our printer cut slightly more rounded corners than Daedalus' printers' did. *Where are the gold foil stamps?* The gold foil is gone because it's really expensive. If lots of people want the foil back, we'll consider it for the future, but for now assume the gold foil is gone for regular print runs. *Where can I get the new cards?* Most major distributors are already carrying both Throne War and Year of the Dragon. Contact your local retailer, or send us their contact information and we can hook them up with a distributor that carries Shadowfist. We will also have a limited amount of product for sale direct from our website, but we encourage you to support your local retailer - after all, they're the ones providing you with free gaming space, not us. *Will there be more expansion sets? More starters?* Yes to both. We're planning to do two or three booster-only expansion sets each year. We're also planning to do more fixed, tuned starters like Year of the Dragon, but haven't decided exactly when. *Getting Involved* *Can I become a playtester?* We like to add a few new playtest groups for each new card set. A few weeks before the set is ready to test, we'll put an open call for playtesters on our website with all the details. At least one person in your group must have Internet and email access to playtest for us. *Can I send you card ideas?* Yes, but we don't pay for card ideas other than putting your name in the credits list if we use your idea. Sometimes we get duplicate ideas from different people; in that case we give credit to the first person who submits a particular idea. Keep in mind that we have several thousand card ideas already in the database (Shadowfist fans are very productive. :) Email your card ideas directly to Zev Shlasinger at theunspokenname@shadowfist.com, or write to him at the company address. For details, please read the legal disclaimer that's on our website at http://www.shadowfist.com/company/fair.shtml (basically, all card ideas become the property of Z-Man Games whether we use them or not). If you send email, please include a copy of the legal disclaimer. If you are writing in, please write that you agree to the terms of the disclaimer (of course, you should read the whole disclaimer before you agree to it. Just send us a self-addressed, stamped envelope and we'll mail you a copy). Also remember to include your full name so we can give you proper credit if we use your ideas. Are you looking for strategy articles? deck suggestions? Shadowfist fiction? At the moment, no, but we will be soon. Our website is moving to a new host in the near future, and we'll be starting publication of the newsletter for the Secret War Society in the spring of 2001. Both of these mean that we'll be looking for Shadowfist fans to write articles and fiction. We'll post a notice on the website (and update this FAQ) when we're ready to accept submissions. I'm an artist, and I'd like to do some card art for you. Who do I contact? Please contact our Art Director, Ed Beard, Jr., at 1-800-887-5772. You can also reach Ed by mail at: *Shadowfist Art Director PO Box 622 Coventry, RI, 02816* or by email at destini@ids.net. We like to get new talent involved in the industry, so don't hesitate to contact us if you haven't been published before (or haven't been published in a card game). We have a wide range of scenes to portray, but we tend to need action/motion more than anything else. *Are there tournament rules?* Yes. You can get all the details here. We'll also have printed copies of these documents available at larger conventions, or you can send us a self-addressed, stamped envelope and we'll mail a copy to you. *How do I run a sanctioned tournament?* Sanctioned tournaments are run by Silver Band members. You'll need to locate a Silver Band member in your area, or join up yourself, to run a sanctioned tournament. See the section on the Silver Band later in this FAQ for details. *Why do I care if a tournament is sanctioned or not?* A sanctioned tournament gets you two things: guaranteed prize support from Z-Man Games, and ranking points for Secret War Society members. If you don't care about those things, then it's not important whether the tournament is sanctioned or not. *How do I get prize support for my tournament?* Silver Band members can request prize support as described in the info package they get when they sign up. If you're not running a sanctioned tournament, we may or may not be able to support you, depending on what goodies we have on hand at the time. It doesn't hurt to ask - send email to buttkicking@shadowfist.com, or write to us at the company address (very important: please include a phone number so we can contact you) and give us a good run-down of your event. We'll do our best to support you, but we can't guarantee anything. And remember to give us several weeks of warning, especially if you're writing in. We need to mail out the prizes and we don't want to miss your event. *Will you come to my local convention / show / game store?* We attend the "big 3" conventions in the US: DragonCon (Atlanta, GA), Origins (Columbus, Ohio), and GenCon (Milwaukee, WI). We also attend the international toy and game show in Essen, Germany. We attend as many other events as we can - if you know of a show that needs a Shadowfist appearance, please tell us. Even if we can't make it ourselves, we'll do our best to get a Silver Band team there to run demos and tournaments. *Use of Card Art and Logos* *Can I use card art on my website?* Maybe. It's a fairly complicated issue because Z-Man Games doesn't own any of the art, we license it from the individual artists, so you'll have to contact the artists. The full details can be found on the Fair Use portion of the site. If you wish to contact an artist directly to ask permission to post their art, one place to start is our artist directory. *Ok, what about the Shadowfist logo? Can I use that on my website?* Yes, and the faction symbols too. But you must follow the terms of use. *Special Programs* Z-Man Games offers a couple of programs that you may not be aware of if you can't visit our website. The Silver Band is Internet-only, but the rest of these programs are available by regular mail for those of you without Internet access. Check these out: *Power for Promos* Did you notice the Year of the Dragon and Throne War packaging has numbers in the diamonds that look like the Power Generation stats from Feng Shui Sites? Well, they are, sort of. Each starter package or booster wrapper has a number printed on it; that's the amount of "Power" that wrapper is worth. You can spend this Power at our website in the "Power for Promos" program, getting nifty promo stuff (while supplies last, of course). Each Throne War booster is worth 2 Power (clip the "2" in the diamond on the back of the wrapper) and each Year of the Dragon starter is worth 5 Power (clip the "5" in the diamond on the box flap). Send your Power along with a self-addressed, stamped envelope (for players outside the U.S., please send the appropriate number of International Reply Coupons for airmail) and anything you'd like to protect your item to: *Power for Promos Z-Man Games, Inc. PO Box 98 Eastchester, NY 10709* The stuff we offer for redemption will change over time. We'll update the list in this FAQ whenever we update the FAQ. At the moment, you can get a White Ninja promo card, an Open a Can of Whupass promo card, or the nifty faction-specific power counters made by Flying Tricycle. *White Ninja:* 90 Power for general public. 80 Power for Secret War Society members. *Open a Can of Whupass:* 90 Power for general public. 80 Power for Secret War Society members. 70 Power for SWS registered "Dragon" players. The cool guys at Flying Tricycle have made plastic tokens in the shape and color of the faction symbols to be used for damage, Power, etc. They come in packages of 25 tokens of a single faction. Secret War Society members may redeem their Power for unlimited bags, but non-SWS members are limited to one bag per faction. Our supplies are limited, but if you want more, you can buy them direct from Flying Tricycle. *Faction tokens, per bag of 25, single faction:* 100 Power for general public. 80 Power for Secret War Society members. 70 Power for the faction tokens of your registered faction. (i.e., if you're a registered Ascended player, it only costs you 70 power per bag of Ascended tokens) *Errata Card Trade-In:* Several cards in Year of the Dragon were reprinted with errata relative to the original Daedalus edition of Shadowfist. Veteran players will recognize many of the changes as just putting into print the errata list from the Daedalus Players' Guide, but some of the changes you won't recognize. These are cards that we felt should work differently, and now that there's been a critical shift, they do! We realize that this can be confusing for players using the old cards, and especially for new players playing against them, so we're offering a card trade-in policy for those of you with old cards who would like to have the correct versions but don't want to buy tons and tons of new product just to get more (of course, we certainly encourage you to buy tons and tons of product. :) There's also a list of errata in the Year of the Dragon rulebook for those who don't want to make the exchange. Here's the deal: if you have a card from Limited, Standard, Netherworld, or Flashpoint that appears on the list below, you can send us any number of those cards, and we'll send you back the same number of cards with the corrected text. You must include a self-addressed, stamped envelope (or a box with appropriate postage if you're sending that many cards. :), and any protection you'd like for shipping (plastic sleeves, bubblewrap, etc.). This offer is good while supplies last. Send to: *Card Replacement Offer Z-Man Games, Inc. PO Box 98 Eastchester, NY 10709* We originally limited this offer to 5 of each card per person since we wanted everyone to have a chance. We figure six months is enough time, so now there's no limit (except our supply) to the number you can exchange. If you already exchanged your 5, you are welcome to exchange more now if you wish. Again, this offer is good while supplies last; if we run out of a particular card we will return your original cards to you unless you explicitly tell us otherwise. As we run out, we'll keep a list on our website and we'll update the list in this FAQ, so you'll know what's available and what's not. *Errata cards (and where you can find them in Year of the Dragon)* Amulet of the Turtle - Lotus deck Covert Operation - Ascended deck Dangerous Experiment - Architects deck Eunuch Underling - Lotus deck Evil Twin - Lotus deck, and Throne War uncommon Explosives - Ascended deck Fox Pass - Lotus deck Friends of the Dragon - Dragons deck Hands Without Shadow - Hand deck Infernal Temple - Lotus deck Kinoshita House - Ascended deck Mole Network - Ascended deck Pocket Demon - Lotus deck, and Throne War common Pump-Action Shotgun - Ascended and Dragons decks Red Monk - Hand deck Rigorous Discipline - Hand deck The Hungry - Lotus deck Violet Meditation - Hand deck, and Throne War common Vivisector - Architects deck There is one errata that we did not print replacement cards for: Darkness Priestess. We corrected the typo in her subtitle, and since a lot of people hadn't even noticed, we figured we didn't need to make replacement cards for her. *Secret War Society* The Secret War Society is the official fan organization for Shadowfist. Get the latest scoop on Shadowfist news, promotional items, and plans for the future! Your membership includes: * Promotional cards made available to members months before the general public. When you join today, you'll receive the Once and Future Champion card, and we expect to send at least 3 more new promo cards in 2001! * Special offers and discounts in the Power for Promos program. * A newsletter chock full of Shadowfist stuff, including strategy, advance looks at new products, and fiction. The first issue of the newsletter is scheduled for the spring of 2001, and if you're interested in contributing, please contact us at zmangames@shadowfist.com. Eventually we'd like the newsletter to be filled with articles written by Society members, and there's no better time to start than today! * Worldwide ranking in sanctioned tournament play. You'll accumulate points as you play in sanctioned tournaments, advancing up the ladder in your chosen faction. When you reach particular ranks, you'll be rewarded with Shadowfist goodies like uncut sheets, alternate art promo cards and more! All of this for only US$15 per year for residents of the US and Canada (US$20 for everybody else). The sign-up form is in the Year of the Dragon rulebook. Clip it, photocopy it, or just write all that information on a piece of paper and send it along with your check or money order (in US dollars only, please) to: *Secret War Society Z-Man Games, Inc. PO Box 98 Eastchester, NY 10709* And for those of you who like to brag about your ranking but don't want the extra stuff, we are offering a free limited membership in the Society. We'll keep track of your ranking points, but you won't get any of the other nifty stuff that comes with membership (which means you won't get any of the gratuitous goodies for advancing to particular ranks, either). Just fill out the regular form and write "ranking only" on it, then send it to the same address above. *Silver Band* The Silver Band is the demonstration and tournament team for the Shadowfist TCG. Silver Band members teach at their local hobby shops, game clubs and conventions. You must have Internet access and an email account to join the Silver Band. If you're interested, visit the Silver Band portion of the website, read all the details and complete the form. We'll be in touch. Shadowfist General FAQ v1 Copyright 2001 Z-Man Games, Inc. *Silver Band* The Silver Band is the demonstration and tournament team for the Shadowfist TCG. Silver Band members teach at their local hobby shops, game clubs and conventions. You must have Internet access and an email account to join the Silver Band. If you're interested, go to our website at http://www.shadowfist.com/community/silverband.shtml, read all the details and complete the form. We'll be in touch. Shadowfist General FAQ v1 Copyright 2001 Z-Man Games, Inc.