New Releases by Keith Baker

An alligator feels different things from time to time, but they are all okay.

A source book for play and exploration across the mysterious Eberron continent of Xen''drik, this first in-depth book into the subject includes specific locations of interest, new information on the secretive drow of Xen''drik, adventure seeds, and more.

You belong to one of the great dynastic houses of commerce, and you bear an arcane symbol of your house''s power on your skin. This dragonmark makes you special. It grants you access to arcane powers. Whether it''s a gift of the great dragon Eberron or a sign of the draconic Prophecy, no one knows. However, one thing is certain: Those who possess dragonmarks have a destiny, the exact nature of which has yet to be revealed.... This supplement explores each of the thirteen dragonmarked houses in detail and presents advice for playing dragonmarked characters within a house or house guild. In addition, the book introduces exciting new options for dragonmarked characters, including prestige classes, feats, and spells. Finally, it discusses aberrant dragonmarks and their role in the campaign. Book jacket.

Mr. and Mrs. Green, a loving alligator couple, try their hand at detective work, a gumball-guessing contest, and the town talent show.

Creatures of Freeport is an innovative collection of monsters inspired by Green Ronin''s Freeport setting but at home in any world. While there are many bestiaries on the market, there are none like Creatures of Freeport. These monsters are more than simple stat blocks. Each entry also includes Knowledge (what a character knows about a creature from Knowledge skills, Bardic Lore and other sources of information), Uses (details on parts that can be harvested and used by alchemists, spellcasters and others), and Adventure Hooks, many of which come with fully statted NPCs to make the GMs job even easier. With a cover by fan-favorite Wayne Reynolds and interior illustrations by the cream of Green Ronin''s artistic roster, Creatures of Freeport is a stunning addition to any collection.

Provides guidance and fresh angles to the Dungeons & dragons game Eberron.

Seven ducklings take a rhyming look at addition.

Law is one of the defining elements of civilization. But it''s too often overlooked in a fantasy setting. In a world where high-level characters can single-handedly defeat armies, how can any powerful individual be captured or imprisoned?Just as Dynasties and Demagogues deals with political intrigue, Crime and Punishment takes an in-depth look at campaigns that focus on the forces of the law. Using this sourcebook, players can now take the roles of bounty hunters tracking down mystical renegades, justicars seeking to restore order in a cesspool of corruption and crime, mage hunters, itinerant justices, the local sheriffÕs men, or even spies for the crown. And consider that even an innocent adventurer may find himself hunted by the law if he doesn''t know what to watch out for. If the characters are on the wrong side of the law, this book provides information on what they may be up against, including new magical methods of law enforcement and imprisonment. Crime and Punishment includes:Extensive rules on conducting investigations, including new uses for old skills, new forensic spells, and specialized equipment. Plus new classes for agents of the law and those who work against them. A detailed look at different systems of justice, from common law to divine law, with an emphasis on how such systems can provide opportunities and challenges for adventurers. Information on running campaigns based on the law, showing players how to bring together a party of bounty hunters, a royal justice and his entourage, or a group of investigators solving crimes in a gritty metropolis. Descriptions for a variety of prisons, ranging from an extraplanar cell, to a stone garden filled with petrified prisoners, to a full-fledged mystical fortress.

Big Fat Hen counts to ten with her friends and all their chicks.

Massachusetts is one of only nine states in the country to require bilingual education in all school districts where there is a sufficient number of limited-English-proficient (LEP) students. Moreover, Massachusetts has set the lowest threshold for mandatory bilingual education in the country. Observations of actual classroom practice demonstrates that these students are not all receiving the same style of education. Generally, only Spanish-speaking students are taught to read & write in their native language, while also receiving some native language instruction in other academic subjects, as existing law requires. Students from virtually all other groups, though enrolled in "bilingual education," receive instruction almost exclusively in English, with at most a few hours per week of enrichment in their native languages & cultures. Twenty-five years after passage of the bilingual education law in Massachusetts, there is still no proof that the mandated approach to teaching works better than other approaches, such as intensive English instruction. Not only is there no proof from Massachusetts, but there is none from the many studies that have been conducted in other states. If one can draw any conclusion, it is that teaching a LEP student in their native language is at least marginally detrimental to their acquisition of English. To order contact: Pioneer Institute, 85 Devonshire Street, 8th Floor, Boston, MA 02109. (617) 723-2277.

How did the French Revolution become thinkable? Keith Michael Baker, a leading authority on the ideological origins of the French Revolution, explores this question in his wide-ranging collection of essays. Analyzing the new politics of contestation that transformed the traditional political culture of the Old Regime during its last decades, Baker revises our historical map of the political space in which the French Revolution took form. Some essays study the ways in which the revolutionaries'' break with the past was prepared by competition between agents and critics of absolute monarchy to control the cultural resources and political meanings of French history; by the contending political vocabularies in which the French sought before 1789 to reconstitute their body politic; and by the invention of "public opinion" as a new form of political authority displacing absolute rule. Others trace to the conceptual improvisation of revolutionary notions of "representation", "constitution", "sovereignty" -- and of "the French Revolution" itself -- the ambiguities, tensions, and contradictions that were to drive the revolutionary dynamic in subsequent years. The result is a substantial and unified set of studies, stimulating renewed reflection on one of the central themes in modern European history.