Aha, you've clicked on the About page. That means you'd like to know more about us (or you're looking for the email address to make a complaint and thought it would be here - it's at the bottom of the page). EMERALD PRESS PDF PUBLISHING (or EP) is an online publisher of material for roleplaying games. We currently support Dungeons & Dragons 3rd (3e or d20) and 4th edition (4e) with plans to expand into other product lines and our own creations. As it stands, EP consists of pretty much myself, Todd Crapper, and an assortment of aspiring individuals with the same passion for RPG design. We're always on the lookout for any new talent, so check out our Plots and Schemes section below to see if our vision matches your ideas.

History

Emerald Press PDF Publishing began in 2003 as an offshoot of Emerald Night, a d20 fan-based site created and maintained by Shane Garvey. Initially providing free d20 material without a membership, Shane decided to sell PDFs during the beginning phases of 3rd party publishers (3pps) and online publishing. Emerald Press began with Campaign Options: Mazes and Campaign Options: Wilderness Masters in the pipe and started work on the Emerald Nights campaign setting, a collaborative setting created through polls and open submissions.

I initially started with EP as the lead designer for Campaign Options: Mazes, which was my first freelance RPG writing job. As we all went through the process of designing, editing, layout, and marketing, roles began to change hands and the future of EP and Emerald Nights went through many discussions. By the time Mazes released, I had taken over as Head Honcho (my title - anything else just seems too formal for me) of EP while Shane conducted affairs at Emerald Night.

All through the early years of d20 and the revisions of 3.5, Emerald Press kept its presence with such lines as Campaign Options, Combat Options (including Combat Options: Improvised Weapons, which remains on the top 15 free downloads on RPGNow to this day), and Character Options. Each PDF provided unique, quirky additions to the game which are commonly overlooked and this is something I strive for today.

Over the years, I've picked up a lot about publishing, online sales, and gaming in general. Since taking the reigns, I've graduated from the Print Media program at Algonquin College in Ottawa (that's Canada, eh?) as a print and design technician. We did slow down in this time, but it's all about stepping up my skills to allow Emerald Press to become something great that I can look back and be proud of.

Plots and Schemes

The problem with roleplaying games is that it turns on a switch in your head that can never be turned off. It requires imagination and creativity - there are few players I've ever heard of who cannot fathom the idea of just making up something new to fit the vision in your head. That being said, there are always numerous concepts and branches of any system which can be divided and explored in new directions.

That's what we like to offer here: fresh ideas for new directions of exisitng material. Combat Advantage offers alternative ideas for 4e from optional methods of power selection to new monsters, races, and paragon paths; Dark Emerald explores the darker side of your campaign world by populating the orc tribes, back alleys, and insidious villains of the D&D world; and our line of Treasure Hunter products for d20 Modern glimpse into the modern world of magic and ancient treasures with a pistol and GPS in tow.

I'm looking to branch out and take EP up a few notches over the next five years. As one of the early supporters of 4e, we will make our presence known, particularly with Combat Advantage and Dark Emerald product lines to offer a grimmer take on the adventuring party. I'm also looking into supporting Pathfinder, True20, and other available systems along with developing a new system to hopefully release by 2012. I'm always open to something a little different, off the beaten path, and strong on storytelling so send me a line at warden@emeraldpresspdf.com and let me know what you have.

Contact Us

If you're looking to submit articles, send adventure proposals, offer suggestions or just share the love, use one of the emails below and give us a shout. No long term phone contracts, please.

Submissions - submissions@emeraldpresspdf.com
Please use the title of your proposal/submission in the header of your email. If you are submitting for a particular product line (e.g. Dark Emerald, EONS), please place it in brackets. This will help us keep track of everything and get back to you faster. All submissions should be .rtf or Word files. Remember that using proper layout and easy-to-read text helps your submission but we are willing to work with newcomers seeking to break into the business.

Social Media Access

Our latest means of communicating between our fans, The Emerald Forum is available on your computer and on your iPhone. Costs nothing to sign up and chat away.

Then there's this Facebook thing all the teenagers use. Actually, they're all on Twitter now so it's all clear for us to finally use it. Catch updates to Emerald Press and get access to previews before anyone else. C'mon, it's all for the sake of a popularity contest. You don't want to be left out... do you?