Tenkar's Tavern: Amazon Kindle 2

Monday, June 1, 2009

Amazon Kindle 2

Why is the first gadget I post one that has little to do with RPGs? Because it is quite possibly the best e-book reader out there. Yes, there are many choices, and Sony has a nice contender, but no other reader offers instant gratification. Download the latest novel in the never ending fantasy series you've been following - you can buy it wirelessly from your Kindle. Go to the Baen website and download free (and legal) SciFi and Fantasy novels in Kindle (and other formats). Its truly an amazing device.

What doesn't it do? It doesn't do cheap. $359 (no cover - add 40 bucks or so for one of those)

It doesn't do PDFs - at least not in a manner that serves the purpose of gamers. To use a PDF on the Kindle or Kindle 2 you need to have Amazon convert it. Tables don't survive the conversion process, making nearly every RPG PDF horribly crippled.

Still, the Kindle is an amazing device despite its short comings.

(The Kindle DX promises to do PDFs natively and has a 9.7" screen, compared to the 6" on the earlier Kindles - approximately 2 1/2 times the viewing surface - not cheap at $489 plus the cover)

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Why "Swords & Wizardry?"

Believe me when I say I have them all in dead tree format. I have OSRIC in full size, trade paperback and the Player's Guide. I have LL and the AEC (and somewhere OEC, but I can't find it at the moment). Obviously I have Basic Fantasy RPG. Actually, I have the whole available line in print. Way too much Castles & Crusades. We all know my love for the DCC RPG. I even have Dark Dungeons in print, the Delving Deeper boxed set, Astonishing Swordsmen & Sorcerers of Hyperborea. BOTH editions of LotFP's Weird Fantasy and some dead tree copies of the Greyhawk Grognards Adventures Dark & Deep

I am so deep in the OSR when I come up for breath it's for the OSR's cousin, Tunnels & Trolls

So, out of all that, why Swords & Wizardry? Why, when I have been running a AD&D 1e / OSRIC campaign in Rappan Athuk am I using Swords & Wizardry and it's variant, Crypts & Things, for the second campaign? (Actually, now running a S&W Complete campaign, soon to be with multiple groups)

Because the shit works.

It's easy for lapsed gamers to pick up and feel like they haven't lost a step. I can house rule it and it doesn't break. It plays so close to the AD&D of my youth and college years (S&W Complete especially) that it continually surprises me. Just much less rules hopping than I remember. (my God but I can run it nearly without the book)

I grab and pick and steal from just about all OSR and Original resources. They seem to fit into S&W with little fuss. It may be the same with LL and the rest, but for me the ease of use fit's my expectations with S&W.

Even the single saving throw. That took me longer to adjust to, but even that seems like a natural to me now. Don't ask me why, it just does. Maybe it's the simplicity of it. At 45 52, simplicity and flexibility while remaining true to the feel of the original is an OSR hat trick for me ;)

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Monday, June 1, 2009

Amazon Kindle 2

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