Buffy The Vampire Slayer

EDEN STUDIOS REANIMATES BENSON’S AND GOLDEN’S

GHOSTS OF ALBION AS ROLEPLAYING GAME

Albany, New York (March 14, 2004) - Eden Studios is delighted to announce an agreement with Amber Benson and Christopher Golden for the design, production, and distribution of the first ever Ghosts of Albion roleplaying game. Currently in development, the game is slated to hit shelves in 2004.

"There are things in this world that do not belong here-evil things. Supernatural creatures that are neither myth nor legend. They are, in fact, quite real.

"These Enemies of Humanity would like to claim the world for themselves. Yet, in every corner of the globe, there are those who stand in their way-mystical guardians who protect the primeval essence of the Earth."

 From the Journal of Tamara Swift, Protector of Albion

Created and written by Benson and Golden, and directed by Benson, Ghosts of Albion originally launched on BBC online last March as a series of original twelve-minute animated chapters, and featured vocal talents such as Emma Samms and Anthony Daniels. The online series became a cult favorite, listed by USA Today as a "Hot Site," and went on to generate an equally popular sequel, the original online novella Astray.

Set at the dawn of the Victorian age, Ghosts of Albion roleplayers fight to keep the ever-present forces of evil at bay. Players can join the fight as normal humans, ghosts, or mysterious faeries. They can even wield the magic of the Protectors themselves. The Ghosts of Albion roleplaying game includes new material from the creators themselves, a variety of character options, full Unisystem rules, details from the current Ghosts of Albion storylines, and a complete, ready-to-run adventure.

Along with the roleplaying game and on-line stories, the Ghosts of Albion brand will be featured in a series of novels under a newly announced license agreement between Benson, Golden, and Del Rey Books. 2004 should prove a banner year for Ghosts of Albion.

"With Amber’s amazing TV work, and Christopher’s quality writing (including the foreword for Eden’s Buffy the Vampire Slayer roleplaying game), we’re huge fans here at Eden," explains George Vasilakos, President of Eden Studios. "The Ghosts of Albion storyline is a terrific collaboration between two wonderful talents. We are excited to be working with both Amber and Christopher and look forward to producing a great roleplaying game together."

"Working with Chris on Ghosts of Albion thus far has been a great experience," added Amber Benson. "The fan support for Legacy and Astray [the stories on the BBCi web site] has been tremendous. Now with the new series of novels and the roleplaying game agreement settled, I’m really looking forward to sharing more Ghosts of Albion stories. We’ve created this world with infinite possibilities, and I’m thrilled to start exploring them further. We have so many ideas that we can’t wait to get to. Some will be in the form of online material, others in the novels, and even more in the roleplaying game. Ghosts of Albion as a concept covers every region of the world and thousands of years of history. It’s a big playground, with some very cool toys."

Christopher Golden matched Amber’s enthusiasm. "Everyone knows Amber’s a fantastic actress and those familiar with her film Chance know she’s also a wonderful writer and director. Creating and writing Ghosts of Albion with her has been a great experience, but we’re just getting started. We have huge plans for this world, and Eden’s a big part of that. Eden Studios has consistently published great, and great-looking games. Their work on the Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel roleplaying games was brilliant. Amber and I are thrilled to have them on board producing a roleplaying game based on Ghosts of Albion. From the beginning, they’ve asked that Amber and I be intimately involved in the production process. Obviously they don’t know us very well, or they’d realize that they couldn’t keep us out of the process if they wanted to. [Insert evil laugh here.]"

EDEN STUDIOS makes cool games. Their latest hits, the Angel roleplaying game and the Buffy the Vampire Slayer roleplaying game, continue to delight fans of the show and gaming. All Flesh Must Be Eaten, the premier zombie survivor horror roleplaying game, is currently on its fourth printing. Eden also produces CJ Carella’s WitchCraft, the roleplaying game of dark secrets and magic, Conspiracy X, the roleplaying game of aliens and government cover-ups, and the Eden Odyssey line of d20 system game products. On the lighter side, Eden Studios offers HACK!, a humorous card game based on the Knights of the Dinner Table™ comic book by Kenzer and Company, and Abduction, the fast and furious game of alien abduction. Check out all the Eden Studios products at www.edenstudios.net.

AMBER BENSON was born in Birmingham, Alabama where she enjoyed an imaginative childhood before moving to California to pursue a career as an actor, writer and director for film and television. Though best known for her three seasons portraying the white witch "Tara" on the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer, she also appeared on television as Brian Dennehy’s daughter in a trio of Jack Reed tele-films. Among her film credits are The Crush, Bye Bye Love, Imaginary Crimes, Latter Days and Steven Soderbergh’s King Of The Hill. In addition to her acting roles, Ms. Benson wrote, directed and produced the romantic comedy Chance, in which she also stars, and is the co-writer and director of Ghosts of Albion: Legacy, an hour-long animated BBC serial. Ms. Benson lives in Los Angeles with her family.

CHRISTOPHER GOLDEN is the author of such novels as The Boys Are Back in Town, The Ferryman, Strangewood, Of Saints and Shadows, and the Body of Evidence series of teen thrillers, and co-author of the youth fantasy series OutCast. He has also written or co-written a great many books, comic books, and video games related to the TV series Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel. In the comic book field, he has written tales of Batman, Spider-Man, Doctor Fate, and Hellboy. Please visit him at www.christophergolden.com

The BBC’s Ghosts of Albion site is http://www.bbc.co.uk/cult/ghosts