Gathering of Fools Recap

Amazingly enough, Army of Darkness was NOT on the list of things to do or watch.  No idea how that fell thru the cracks.

We did however, watch The Hunt for Gollum.  Very well done, especially considering it is a fan movie.  Better then most of the made for SciFy Channel stuff in any case. 

Family Guy, bad Heavy Metal videos, classic arcade games like Gauntlet 2 on the PS3... plus beer, chips and beef jerky.  Classic Fools Fare.  Oh, and some Krod Mandoon.  My god but that show left little to the imagination.

In the end I gave everyone copies of Dark Dungeon, and they got to do a last man standing with generic level 1 fighters for a copy of the collectible Swords & Wizardry Whitebox boxed set (a copy of the S&W Quickstart rules went to the three eliminated).  Probably the first time I had the classic group rolling dice in a meaningful manner in 13 years... it was a blast.  Think I've hooked 'em, no to reel them in ;)

I Looted the Birthday Beast

and all I got was a lousy t-shirt.  Not!  heh

I feel truly blessed, as I received presents way beyond what I deserved.  I'll be hitting Amazon pretty hard in the next couple of days and will need to hit Microcenter soon to spend my new gift card.  Got some new Teva sandals which will be worn at the Gathering of Fools in lieu of socks ;)  Even got a handly dandy Apple Keyboard and Stand for my iPad.  Most excellent.  Oh, and of course Monty Python's Holy Grail  ceramic goblet.  Good one.

Number one b-day loot?  I Hate Your Guts, by comedian Jimmy Norton (also a regular on the Opie and Anthony Satellite Radio Show).  This book was delivered to my Kindle app on my iPad thanks to my son Chris, who figured out the prefect gift without any help from me (i just said get me an iTunes gift card).  I'm a real proud poppa.

Of course, his other idea was to put money on my Paypal account so i could by some of those silly RPGs at RPGNow.  He really knows me well ;)

I get to give gifts out in about 3 hrs at the Gathering of Fools.  Awesome vacation so far.  Heh

Pending Gathering of Fools

Today is my birthday.  I have hit the grand old age of 43, an age I never would have imagined people actively roleplayed at when I was 13.  Go figure.

More importantly tomorrow is the seasonal (more or less) Gathering of Fools.  The core of my old High School / College / Life Before our own Families and Responsibilities Group gets together every few months to shoot the shit, have a few beers for old fiends we've lost, watch Army of Darkness for the 27th time, eat lots of beef jerky and basically act like we did 25 years ago.

I like to bear gifts when possible during these gatherings.  Castles & Crusades books, OSRIC, Labyrinth Lord, Swords & Wizardry... I've given them all out.


Tomorrow I get to give out copies of Dark Dungeons, some Swords and Wizardry Quickstarts and a single copy of the Swords & Wizardry Whitebox Edition in the collectible box.  Think I'll run a mock combat with the S&W rules, last man standing gets the boxed set.  Should be a blast.

Posting may be light the rest of the weekend.  Or not.  One never knows what may spark a post ;)

Warrior, Rogue & Mage

Warrior, Rogue & Mage from Stargazer Games is a free, lightweight fantasy RPG.  Its a complete game in all of 40 pages, including setting.

In this game, the classic class names from fantasy RPGs are instead your attributes.  Once you wrap your head around that a few times you'll be fine.

In simplest terms, Warrior defines your combat abilities,  Rogue your stealth and Mage your academic / magical abilities.  Add in skills (that are linked to your attributes) and talents and you've pretty much defined your character.

Simple games can be a lot of fun, but they take the correct group.  A 40 page PDF is not going to cover all possibilities, so common sense and GM fiat may be needed at times.  Still, for a quick and easy system Warrior, Rogue & Mage reminds me in ways of Ancient Odysseys - both games are easy to pick up and get gaming with pretty quickly.

Decent layout and nice enough artwork makes this a keeper.  Warrior, Rogue & Mage is released under the Creative Commons BY-NC-SA license.

LotFP - Weird Fantasy in Hand

Gotta give props to Jim and the Finnish mail service.  I got my copy of Weird Fantasy this afternoon, the 28 of July - Jim shipped o the 26th.

Lots of goodies jammed in the box.  Its a tasty box too, or at least my cat thinks so.  She was nibbling on the edge.

The first parts I plan to read are the Tutorial (to see how well it might actually explain role playing to those outside the hobby), and the two included adventures:  Tower of the Stargazer and Weird New World.  Need to step away from my iPad for a bit it seems ;)

Heck, the dice may be small but they look to be decent quality.

I'll give a review after I read thru everything.

Dungeon Demon - Mapping for this Dummy

I have spent years trying to use a computer program for my dungeon mapping.  Campaign Cartographer is an amazing program in the right hands - those hands are not mine.  Dundjinni is another excellent mapping program.  I came closer to success with this one, but still far from pleasing, and it takes me forever.

I stumbled across Dungeon Demon from Rusty Axe Games last nite, a surprisingly intuitive mapping program for the mapping impaired.  I was able to put a no frills 4 room dungeon together in about 10 minutes, suitable for my online Virtual Table Top of choice, Fantasy Grounds (tho iTabletop may be knocking on that door soon).  I figure if I spend another 20 minutes making it all pretty I'll be pretty well set.

It won't overwhelm you with options, and will probably be seen as a mapping program with training wheels for the mapping masters out there, but I need the training wheels :)

This is a first for me.  I'm actually kind of excited.  Another excuse for not running a game removed from me.  Going to need to get off my ass and DM soon it seems.

If I get anywhere near passable I'll post some on the blog, just don't hold your breath ;)

No More Core 4e Books?

Found this linked on Louis Porter's Facebook page. Will be interesting to see how this plays out if accurate.

ManaNation has received a tip that Wizards of the Coast has decided to end the print run of the Dungeons and Dragons 4th Edition Core Handbooks, instead aiming to turn the game in the direction of “Dungeons and Dragons Essentials”, a product to be released later this year. The first product for the Essentials line is starting with the ‘Dungeons & Dragons Fantasy Roleplaying Game’ also being called ‘the Red Box’ and is due to be released on Sept. 7th, 2010.

It is our understanding that they are not going to be reprinting any of the three main books, the Players Handbook, Dungeon Master Guide and Monster Manual from this point on to allow them to be phased out. No other books have been mentioned.

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Location:No More Core 4e Books?

EGG's Lejendary Adventures - Quick Start

Lejendary Adventures was Gary Gygax's most recent game system.  Somewhere in my piles and shelves and closets of gaming goodness, I have both the full sized paperback books and the boxed set published by the Troll Lords.

These days it is out of print.  As Gygax Games has yet to decide what to do with the property, it may be out of print for a while.  That being said, DragonsFoot has a decent amount of material for use in the game.  More to the point, they have the PDF version of the Lejendary Adventures Quickstart available for download.

On the day we remember the man who did much to bring about this hobby of ours, why don't you download a copy of the Lejendary Adventures Quickstart.  Designed by the man.  Played by the man.

Heck, I'm gonna download another copy myself.  So I can give it a good reading.  I never got to play on the man's porch, but I've gotten the chance to spend many a year with his creations.

Roll them dice lads and ladies.

edit:  fixed the damn "G" for "J" deallie - Gary's f'n with me from above I tell you! ;)

Encounters Mag - Aussie for Classic Gaming

The lads down under have been putting out a free PDF magazine called Encounters.  There is a nice amount of material to borrow or steal for your D&D, LL, S&W, or other assorted old school styled gaming.

Very high production values and a decent page count, this quarterly magazine would have me subscribing if it offered such, but it's free, so I'll need to remember to track it down very few months.

Issue 2 of Encounters was just released.  Do yourself, and your gaming group a favor, and grab a copy.

Quick Start Rules - The Listing - Part the Seventh

Yep, the Quick Starts just keep rolling along.  Seventh posting and no where done.  Free is fun ;)

HELLAS: Quick Start Rules - Hellas is an exciting fusion of high drama, action-adventure, romance, mythology-infused space opera and science fiction - all that seems to be missing is the kitchen sink.

S.A.V.A.G.E. Essentials Rulebook - (Survival and Victory after Global Extinction) - Stripped down core rules for free.  When the author says "for experienced gamers only", I lean toward beleiving him.  Still, mightbe some stuff stealable for your Mutant Future game.

Promethean: The Created Demo - Promethean: The Created Promo -  Think Frankenstein and Golems.  Its set in White Wolf's World of Darkness.  Hell, with of of the WoD quickstarts, you could game for months and not spend a cent.

SLA Industries FREE Rulebook - Not a quickstart, as the quickstart's link appears to be dead.  Instead, its the full core rulebook.  Spies, espionage, magic, biogenetics and more.  Over 300 pages.  Full game.  'Nuff said.

Destination Now Known

Christian over at the Destination Unknown blog has gotten back to the zine business. The latest can be downloaded directly from his site, or for the lucky few a paper copy will be arriving in the mail.

I'd link it up for ya, but still haven,t figured how to do that from the iPad. ;)

I'll edit this tonight for linkability.


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edit:  Got mine in my snail-mail box today.  Woot!

Weekend Bits N Pieces

Lets see.  I've been getting a bunch of hits on the blog today from Germany.  It appears a German RPG Forum linked my BRP Classic Fantasy review.  Of course, I haven't taken a German class in over 16 years, and even when I was taking it in college I sucked at it.  I'd love to post a comment on their end, but I'm probably safer not doing so ;)

I just realized yesterday that Netflix on Demand has many of the Mystery Science Theater 3000 movies for instant viewing.  Some great Scifi and Fantasy cheese to watch.  Of course, my all time favorite Mitchel isn't available for instant viewing... I might have to pick that one up on DVD (not a gamer movie, but oh god, its great in its badness).

The Smallville RPG just hit RPGNow.  I don't think I've watched more then an episode or two, but I have friends that watch it religiously.  I have access to a reviewer's copy, so I might have to check this out.  Alot of folks like the Cortex System, so it should be fun to see how good a fit it is.

Oh, and I'm still going to bitch about the heat we've had in NYC.  Last year I didn't need to run my AC at night until August - but then again, last summer was unseasonably cool.

Last bit - open to suggestions for a new wireless router.  Mine is "okay", but I'm looking for some extra range and perhaps better support for wireless gaming.

Thanks for listening.  Should have some more Quickstarts listed in a day or so.

Fantasy Hero 6th ed- The Beast

I'm referring to Fantasy Hero 6 as The Beast because the sucker comes in at nearly 500 pages, and you still need the Core Hero Rules to use it.  It is an impressive PDF to behold, although it is of limited use to those that do not use the Hero System.

I tend to beg, borrow and steal from many sources when I run a game, and good ideas don't need to share the same rule system.  There is much here that is not specific to the Hero system.  The sections Elements of Fantasy, Fantasy Sub-genres, and crossing fantasy with other genres could stand on their own as generic advice for anyone about to begin a new Fantasy game with any set of rules.

Other Chapters, such as Beyond the Fields we Know:  Fantasy Worlds and Races and Wonders of the Imagination: Gamemastering Fantasy Hero stand pretty well on their own too.  The ideas and advice presented could easily be published as a systemless supplement, and I strongly suggest that Hero Games, or whatever the company is called these days, consider publishing these chapters to an audience outside of the Hero Game circle.  I suspect they would do well.

As for the bulk of the book?  Its been ages since I've run anything Hero / Champions - wise, so I am far from the person to be counted on for a definitive judgement, but even with my time away from the game I could see myself creating a Fantasy Hero character.  I don't have the day and a half available to do so at the moment ;)

On a more technical note, there is an excellent use of bookmarks in Fantasy Hero, something that is unappreciated until you start using them.  At that point, they become priceless.

The Lonely Coast Campaign Setting

Raging Swan Press (now THAT'S a company name) has released a mini-campaign setting called The Lonely Coast for free.  Its about 30 pages long and made for the Pathfinder RPG, but as we all know the easiest thing to convert from one rules set to another is a campaign setting (at least ones that don't include lots of optional rules).  As such, you could easily convert this to any Old School game on the fly.

The setting details a small area that can fit into just about any campaign world.  It's designed to fit on the outskirts of a kingdom, and doesn't cover a huge area, so it shouldn't disrupt much if you drop it into a world you already plan to use.

Five wandering encounters are included to help the DM hit the ground rolling.

You can grab The Lonely Coast here and visit the Raging Swan Press' website here.

Raging Swan has also released an adventure named Retribution for 1st level PCs, that can be used with The Lonely Coast or not.  It's also for Pathfinder and would required some conversion to use it with other rule sets.  I'll give my thoughts on it when I finish reading it.

Fantasy Games Unlimited Seems Limitless

Foolish me.  Here's I thought the 10 notifications I received last night that FGU had uploaded some of its classic library to RPGNow meant that is was a new thing.  Apparently there is a crapload of FGU stuff to be found in PDF format.

There are 26 adventures and supplements for Villains and Vigilantes along.  I assume that they are pretty compatible to the new release of V&V, but maybe someone can confirm or deny that for me.

The title that caught most of my attention last night was Swordbearer.  It was one of the first non-AD&D RPGs that I purchased.  Never played it, not even sure if I understood how all the rules would have worked in game play, but I loved that boxed set.  Come to think of it, games in boxes were generally more exciting then book format.  It's kinda like opening a present every time you play.

I did use the Swordbearer adventure Dwarven Halls in my AD&D campaign back in the day.  Wish I could remember how well it played, but time has stolen the details from me.

Anyhow, FGU appears to be participating in the Christmas in July promo on RPGNow.  25% off aint bad.

FGU Classic Releases on RPGNow

Last night I received numerous emails informing me of Fantasy Games Unlimited releasing classic titles from it's library on RPGNow. It included some V&V titles, some Aftermath and Space Opera supplements and even the Swordbearer rules (of which I have the original box packed away somewhere).

Over the weekend I'll take a closer look at the releases. I figured I'd let y'all know now, as there are some FGU fans out there ;)

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And The Winners Are...

Yep, giving away THREE PDFs thanks to the generosity of RPGNow and the publishers of the books being offered.

Still haven't figured out a better method than rolling dice by hand, although I'm sure there is a better method.


Forty-three peeps registered via Google Friends Connect.  I'm going to be lazy and just roll percentile dice and disregard any results over 43.  Breaking out the pink crystal dice inked in black (which I SWORE were red when I ordered them online).

Ashley the Feline will be our dice rolling witness.  Hopefully she will refrain from playing with the dice until after the winners are chosen.

And the rolls are:

18 - JimLotFP - Fantasy Craft - (go figure - he can read it at RopeCon)

 95 - ignored roll

36 - Le Bâtard - Karma Roleplaying System

42 - Marcelo - Fat Dragon's Dragonshire Deluxe 

  The winners should be receiving an email to their gmail shortly with a link and coupon code. 

Congrats to all. 

Just think, we get to do it again at 50 - just need to check the prize closet and make note of what we have ;)

Breaking Out the Dice Tonight

We, I have three items to give away from June, and I'd hate to see them expire and go to waste, so everyone that is on the Tavern's Google Friends list by 7 pm NYC time tonight is entered. Raffling off PDF copies of:

Fantasy Craft Karma Roleplaying System Fat Dragon Deluxe Set

Should be fun ;)

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My ENnie Choices - Atomic Highway

Is there anything better then a nuclear, chemical and biological agent wasteland to adventure in?  The Road Warrior showed us the fun potential of a world gone to shit.  Atomic Highway puts that holocaust world in your hands.

Even the cover plays homage to the Road Warrior series of movies.

This book is a blast (nuclear?) to read.  Simple rules (as in not too crunch heavy), nice setting rules (so you can customize your own setting) and a well done sample adventure.  Haven't yet put the rules to a playtest, but I suspect they would be quickly picked up by the average gaming group.  All that and a solid 5 star rating on RPGNow.

Now, for a free alternative post holocaust RPG (more on the side of Gamma World then Road Warrior) you can check out Mutant Future.

Or just read them both and make your own future. 

The 40th Person Just Stepped up to the Bar

Thanks to bliss_infinite, the Tavern now has its 40th regular.  Kinda like Cheers, but with RPGs and BYOB.

Tomorrow night I'll do the random rolling to determine the winner of a PDF copy of Fantasy Craft, compliments of RPGNow.  Actually, I'm leaning on giving more then one prize away, as the codes are from June and I'd hate for them to expire ;)

Best of luck to all.

Bits n Pieces

Over the next few days I'll be posting some short reviews of my picks from the ENnies list. I figure most of them are independent publishers and might have flown under some folks radars.

I also need to complete another Tales of the Blue Knight installment. Let's see how far I can get on that.

Another week in the 90s here in NYC. Saturday will be gunning for 98. Did I mention I hate the heat?

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Eenie, Meenie, More ENnies....

Alright, the rest of my Ennies pick list... so you can all stop waiting on it (not like you were).

Best Production Values
Eclipse Phase (Catalyst Game Labs & Posthuman Studios) - 'cause its a damn good book
Pathfinder Core Rulebook (Paizo Publishing) - Paizo outdid their already high standards on this one
Warhammer Fantasy RPG (Fantasy Flight Games)- Holy Shit!  Open the box and be left in awe!

Best Regalia
I'm not even sure what this means

Best Rules
Atomic Highway (Cubicle 7 & Radioactive Ape Designs) - a most excellent post nuke the world game
Diaspora (VSCA) - FATE system rules rule

Best Setting
Day After Ragnarok (Atomic Overmind Press) - If I were to play in a pulp setting, this would be it... excellent read, even w/o getting to play it

Best Supplement
eh, I refuse to vote for Player's Handbook 3

Best Website
Obsidian Portal - if you want a site that will help you run your game between sessions, this is it

Best Writing
Eclipse Phase (Catalyst Game Labs & Posthuman Studios) - like i said before, its a damn good book
FantasyCraft (Crafty Games) - i like the book, even if i know i will never use it

Product of the Year
Pathfinder (Paizo Publishing)  - why?  because this one goes to ELEVEN!  or 3.75, or the alternate 4e

Closing the Pandoren Box

Something I think I forgot to mention about iTabletop Pandoren is that is uses Silverlight or some such (I'm doing this from my iPad so I'm just gonna roll with it). There is nothing to download. Everything is saved server side, even the application.

Which can be good or bad, depending on the future health of the company. In the hear and now it is awesome. Log in on any computer that can access the Internet and your account, your resources, everything you have saved game-wise is there.

Alright, closing the Pandoren box for now. I'm sure I'll have more after I give it a bit of a workout in the coming weeks.

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Opening the Pandoren Box

iTabletop... I mean iTabletop Pandoren, has come a long way since I first stumbled across the v1.0 software nearly 2 years ago.  It was Easter Sunday of 2009 that I took the plunge and invested 200 bucks in a Lifetime Membership with 11 floating licenses.  I liked the potential I saw.  And I waited.  And waited...

For a brief time I was a volunteer mod on the site, it was at a point where v1.0 was no longer being worked on, and v2.0 wasn't even in pre-beta.  Like any real growth, it was a rough spot.  So I walked away.  Not proud of it, but I was hoping to get my own fairly regular game running, and iTabletop wasn't ready for prime time.  I turned my attention back to Fantasy Grounds 2, no slouch in the Virtual Table Top field, but with a decent learning curve if you wanted to run a game with it.

I never completely walked away from iTabletop Pandoren (which I assume is a play on Pandora's box), as the stream of emails updaying threads I was following on the forums could attest to.

At the moment they are offering $25 Lifetime memberships, good for one person, with all the bells and whistles.  Crap, that's right, the bells and whistles that set iTabletop Pandoren apart from the others:  Video and voice built into the platform.  Which is damn nice, as my group is in NYC, Texas and Washington State... and everyone wants to make faces and crack jokes.  Hard to do that via the chat log in Fantasy Grounds 2.

You can also share sounds for events, video clips, PDFs (tho the last part is a bit touchy, as copyrights can be involved).  Suffice to say it is far enough along that I can now stumble my way thru the idea of getting a game running with it.

At the very least my group with use this for the 4 time a year Gathering of Fools... so  that those in distant lands (Texas and Washington) can enjoy and participate in the foolishness.

Eenie, Meenie, ENnies....

Its that time of the year again, where all good publishers hope to get their products the recognition that an ENnie awards gives.  So, on that note, I'll be highlighting my favs from the list of nominations:

Best Adventure
The Grinding Gear (Lamentations of the Flame Princess)

Best Aid or Accessory
er, don't know, don't rightly care 

Best Art, Cover
Eclipse Phase (Catalyst Game Labs & Posthuman Studios)  
Pathfinder Bestiary (Paizo Publishing)
Rogue Trader Core Rulebook (Fantasy Flight Games)

Best Art, Interior
Pathfinder Core Rulebook (Paizo Publishing)  
Rogue Trader Core Rulebook (Fantasy Flight Games)

 Best Blog
guess i dont read the big ones 

Best Cartography
and don't now much about the final picks  

Best Electronic Book
not one of the finalists are on my digital bookshelf... sigh  

Best Free Product
amazingly enough, I don't know anything off this list either... and I LOVE free

Best Game
Pathfinder (Paizo Publishing)
HM: Labyrinth Lord (Goblinoid Games) Honorable mention isnt bad, but I'd have preferred a vote ;)

Best Miniature Product
I dont really do minis these days  

Best Monster/Adversary
Pathfinder Bestiary (Paizo Publishing)  
Pathfinder: Classic Horrors Revisited (Paizo Publishing) 

Best Podcast
I listen to like 4 podcasts a year, so my vote doesn't count  

eh, there's more, but I'll post it later tonight

Quick Start Rules - The Listing - Part the Sixth

The never ending list... well, it will end, or slow down, but not yet.

Misguided Ambitions - An Introduction to Earthdawn Third Edition - My experience with Earthdawn is limited to the harcover published by FASA back in my early days of gaming.  This cover to the new edition's quickstart reminds me of little in that old book, which is a good thing.

Mage: The Awakening Demo Part 1 and Part 2 - ENnie Nominated for best free product or web enhancement.  Can anyone tell me what the difference is between the Ascension and Awakening line for Mage?

City of Heroes RPG Quickplay Pack - Based on the MMORPG of the same name, it appears the full system was never released.  If this weren't a PDF, it would be a collectible. 

A Players Guide to Castlemourn - Not so much a quick start as an intro to the setting with enough rules (for use with 3.5e) to allow a player to create a character for use. Includes original fiction from Ed Greenwood, which by itself means it deserves a gander, especially for free.  Castlemourn Quickstart for the Cortex System here.

The Osmond Family RPG

No, don't go looking for a link or bother doing a google  search.  There isn't one (my God I HOPE there isn't one).  It's just that as I sit here in the Poconos, watching my hives appear even fuller (but the discomfort is almost all gone, go figure) I have Donnie and Marie Osmond bouncing around the nether region of my mind.  The Dark Side, if you will.

That damn stupid ass song:  I'm a little bit Country... I'm a little bit Rock n Roll!

I'm a little bit OSR, I'm a little bit 3E.  And a smidgen Rolemaster, MERP, BRP, CoC, FATE, Rifts, peanut butter and chocolate...

Just imagine if I HAD been drinking.  This could have been a whole lot worse, but the point is labels dont mean shit except from a marketing perspective.

Talking about marketing, I wonder if one could pull off an Osmond Family RPG.  I mean, TSR did publish a Dallas boardgame.  I actually owned that train wreck in my youth.

Pendragon - The Once and Current King

Pendragon 5.1 was just released in PDF format on RPGNow.  I don't know how it differs from 5.0, as the Wikipedia entry hasn't been updated to include the release of 5.1.

Pendragon is one of the great games that I never played.  I have the 1st edition boxed set and the 3rd edition soft covered book (there was no 2nd, and i missed the 4th and 5.0).  I've read them repeatedly, cover to cover, over the years as they are great King Arthur  resources unto themselves and make for nice reading (my BA is in History, so I may be biased).

The new PDF is 238 pages from end to end, and I'm starting at the begining and moving directly forward.  It's not the only thing on my plate, so its going to take some time before I can give a full (or even partial) review, but if it stays true to form it should be excellent.

Maybe I'll finally get to play with the rules this time.

Room for Another Mag?

D-Infinity is a new gaming magazine in the pipe, with a scheduled release at this summer's Gen Con.  While most gaming mags these days seem to go for a focused approach (OSR, C&C, 4e, 3.5) D-Infinity is painting with a much broader brush.  With nine publishers backing it, the opportunity to cover a large swath of gaming material certainly is there. 

In addition to covering many different RPGs, the plans include coverage of tabletop and live action gaming.  It should be interesting to see how this plays out.

Issue Zero, a 16 page preview, is available for free as a download from RPGNow here.

Life Sucks - Then You Blog

So, my sinus attack became a nice hive (welts / rash) attack!  Joy oh joys!  The fix?  Time and Allegra.  Crap.  The soles of my feet are in pain damn it!  And I still went to work!  I'm an ass!  heh

It's one hell of a distraction.  I'm sure its a D&D spell already, but damn I'm ready to write one from experience.

On a positive note, despite all the noise James managed to raise recently, his Weird Fantasy game is ready for preorders.  I'm in for one.  He may be a loud mouth, but he is an extremely talented loudmouth.  I have high expectations for it.  I'll review it when I receive it.

It aint cheap, but damn thats alot stuff!

Optimal Salacious Review - OSR

I am beginning to get a stiff neck bouncing back and fourth with all the OSR posting going on these days.  Jim probably started the scuffle, the green dragons responding and the hobby goes in a tizzy.

Truth of the matter is it served its purpose.  It drove traffic to Jim's site, just as Weird Fantasy is getting set to release.  Who will be the main buyer's of Jim's game?  People that are interested enough in this corner of the hobby to read blogs about this crap... me, you maybe?

I personally didn't like Jim's telling people what they should be called, making people a part of the OSR based on his word alone.  If I read a book by a Communist, am I now a Commie?  If I read the Bible do I now have to "witness" for everyone, or whatever the heck it is they do when they knock on my door and try to save me?

I'm fine at defining myself.  I might game mostly in what is defined loosely as OSR, but I have no products to push, no game to publish.  As someone else said... this is my hobby, and lets leave it as such.

Greyhawk Grognard: Marketing the OSR

Greyhawk Grognard: Marketing the OSR, Part 2 of 4: Innovation

GG has put forward two really great posts on the OSR. Do yourself a favor and check them out.

I'd Make a Horrible PC

My sinuses and the accompanying post nasal drip are driving me out of my mind. I blame the wonderful NYC weather.

I could never survive as a PC, getting my ass beat on a daily basis, sleeping outdoors or in a dungeon.

Sinuses knock me down ;)

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Another Twofer Tuesday

Today we have two new freebies for your collection.

First up is Oil Pressure, a module for Villains and Vigilantes.  Coming in at 16 pages, it should give you an evening of entertainment and a nice sample module for you V&V game.

Our second freebie is also the second part of a series of adventures.

Campaign 1: Secrets of the Ancients from Mongoose Games for Traveller.  There are three separate download links on the page.  The campaign intro, part 1 and part 2.  Enjoy

Waiting is the Hardest Part

Alright, consider this a parental blog entry.

So, The Kid is at a birthday party tonight.  He's 17, stubborn, likes to show he is independent.  Got a whole lot of: "and you know you don't have to text me every five minutes."  "You DON'T need to know everything."  Normal adolescent spreading of wings.

All I asked was: "When you know what time it is wrapping up, send me a text"."

The independent lad needed 5 bucks for a MetroCard (NYC Subway) and has already texted me that: "It wraps up at 10 and if I feel lazy I may need a ride."  That's my boy... you can spread those wings as far as you want, but your father will always be there for you.

So, what am I doing in my spare time this evening?  Watching the Dungeons & Dragons: The Complete Animated Series... cause if the lad were home he'd probably laugh me outa the house ;)

 Alright, its a little dated, and the putz shares my name (Cavalier named Erik... sheesh, what a tool) but its still D&D, its still fun, and it makes me feel years younger.  It can't be all that bad ;)

Looking For a Good First RPG

I started a thread pretty much asking for the same on ENWorld.

I'm looking for a good RPG to introduce a first time player to roleplaying. They want something they can read first, so it shouldn't be too huge and should include an easy to follow sample of play.

The vast majority of my 30 years of game collecting assumes prior knowledge of roleplaying games. I'd like to hear some suggestions if y'all if possible.

Thanks :)

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

And the Winner is...

I need to figure out a better way to do this.  It's not that I don't like rolling dice, but when it comes to online media, an online solution would probably fit better.  I guess I could do it via Fantasy Grounds or iTabletop in the future, but I'd have to make sure others log in to witness.  Grrrrrr...

In any case, we have 5 entries.  In order of their posting it is:
    1-2 Greg
    3-4 Mikemonaco
    5-6 James
    7-8 dogrodeo
    9-0 Tim Shorts

Can we have a drum roll please?

Taking a randomly chosen 10-sided die from my desk drawer.  Witnessed by Ashley, the 4 y/o feline... we have rolled a 5.

Woot!  James wins a PDF copy of Dragon Warriors courtesy of RPGNow.

 James, check your email.

Still Six Hours Left...

Six Hours left to tell us about your favorite Big Bad Evil Guy.  Easy chance to win yourself a PDF copy of Dragon Warriors (I remember this being advertised as a paperback series of RPG books in Dragon Magazine back in the 80s).

Your comment must be in by 6 pm today, Eastern time.  Just Do It! :)

Quick Start Rules - The Listing - Part the Fifth

Woot!  Post 300!

There is still time to add your favorite BBEG to the thread here and have a chance to win a PDF copy of Dragon Warriors.  Comments must be added by 6 pm Eastern Time July 11, 2010.  Operators are standing by. 

Anyhow, back to the Quickstarts:

FFGs quick starts for its Warhammer 40k line of RPGs is available at the following links:
     Deathwatch               Rouge Trader               Dark Heresy
Actually, lots of free goodies at those links... enjoy

StarSiege from Troll Lord Games- Cross Castles & Crusades' engine with sci-fi and this is the result.  My son gave me this as a Christmas gift when it came out.  He rocks!

PDQ Sharp! from Atomic Sock Monkey - The game engine behind Jaws of the Six Serpents, Zorceror of Zo, and many others.

 PDQ - For an ever more streamlined version of the above.  In case you don't like Swashbucklers and such ;)

Lazy Saturday Afternoon

( Don't forget to add your post to the Tell us About Your Favorite BBEG thread.  One lucky poster gets a free PDF copy of Dragon Warriors courtesy of RPGNow - post before 6pm Eastern Time July 11, 2010 to be counted)

So far today I have played some Star Trek Online, read the latest Knights of the Dinner Table, surfed the web, played with the iPad... I've really missed the Do Nothing of Importance type of Saturday.  I think I need to schedule these more often ;)

Oh, and we are getting some rain here in NYC.  Woot!  About friggin time.

Anyhow, when I motivate my lazy ass I'll put up the next installment of the Quick Start collection.  I expect that should be sometime this evening.

K, back to blowing shit up in STO.

Tell us About Your Favorite BBEG

Big Bad Evil Guys... or Gals.  We all have our favorites, whether it is Darth Vader, Sauron or Lex Luthor.  The media may change, but we all have our favorite baddies.  Here's your chance to share your favorite with others.  It could be from movies, fiction, comics, a game module or a campaign you played in.  I wanna know.  Tell us why he rocks.

Besides, everyone that posts gets a chance to  a single copy of Dragon Warriors RPG from RPGNow. 

Yep, I have a copy to give away, and one lucky random poster will get it.

Get your posts in by 6pm eastern time Sunday, July 11, 2010.  The winner will be announced by 6pm on July 12th, and probably a lot sooner.

The ongoing contest is still in effect.  When we hit 40 Google Connect Friends, one lucky random friend gets a PDF copy of Fantasy Craft.  Prizes at 50 and 60 friends also.

So, who is your favorite baddie anyhow?

Warhammer 40k Quickstarts gone from RPGNow

Apparently Fantasy Flight Games has removed the assorted quick starts for their Warhammer 40k RPG lines from RPGNow. They are still available if you dig through the FFG website, although you will need to sign up on their site to download anything.

I noticed this as I was preparing the next installment of the Quickstart Collection posts. In any case, any previous links I may have posted for these are dead. I'll try to get the new links up this weekend. (posting links with the iPad is a PITA... Heh)

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July Specials at RPGNow

Here's July's RPGNow participating publishers in the 20% off monthly special.  You will need to use the following coupon code to get your savings:    

                    JulyDriveThruBlogPod2010

 

Simon Burley Productions

Team Frog