The Familiar CRPG Industry Magazine Launches

The team at Beamdog let us know that they’ve launched a new digital magazine called The Familiar, which will focus articles, interviews, game content, fiction, and more for the increasingly popular CRPG industry. The first installment is available for free on both iOS and Android devices, and features a storyline for Schael Corwin, one of the new NPCs in the upcoming Baldur’s Gate: Siege of Dragonspear, new custom portraits for the Baldur’s Gate and Baldur’s Gate II Enhanced Editions, and more. Even better, the second installment will feature “cover-to-cover Siege of Dragonspear info”:

Today we’re pleased to present Beamdog’s first digital publication, The Familiar! We partnered with Dialect (creators of Dragon+) to develop this quarterly (or approximately quarterly) app with industry interviews, fiction, contests, Beamdog exclusives, and everything else you didn’t know you needed to know about the CRPG industry.

How much does all this incredible content cost, you ask? The answer is nothing! You can download The Familiar for FREE as an app from the iTunes App Store or GooglePlay.

Our inaugural issue is available right now and takes a look at the state of the CRPG industry, from our own Baldur’s Gate: Enhanced Edition to n-Space’s Sword Coast Legends. We also have a step-by-step guide for adding custom portraits to the Enhanced Edition games plus two beautiful free portraits. (The installation process is different for every platform, so if you’ve been wondering how to bring over your Drizzt portrait to your Galaxy S5, you’ll definitely want to take a look.)

Most excitingly (to me, at least, cause I wrote it) there’s a piece of original short fiction about Schael Corwin, one of the new NPCs in the upcoming Siege of Dragonspear. Oh, and check out the amazing cover art by Heather Hudson!

There’s a lot to love in this issue, too much really to talk about here. So I’ll stop trying. The app is free! Check it out and see for yourself!

The next issue of the Familiar is scheduled to release in late March with cover-to-cover Siege of Dragonspear info.