Steve's the Man! (Thanks!!!!!)

Pretty sure I've covered this aspect of my personal life before, but in case I didn't....I travel for work. Not really a road-warrior, but still more than a fair bit. The nature of my business travel is a bit on the odd side as I'm usually gone for a two-week stretch, sometimes a solid month, at a time. There are obvious up & downsides, but as far as gaming goes....well I'm grateful to be in an online group.

This weekend I'm in the middle of a two-weeker only a state away from my home base, so I was allowed to drive. This made it possible to drive to the "big city" for a whirlwind 48 hour "vacation". It really wasn't a vacay, but I spent enough money that the only reason I'm not fretting about that fact is because I'm mentally checked out vacation-wise.....and I know it was a helluva lot cheaper than it would be if I had gone to GenCon instead.

Last night was my bi-weekly online game which I played from my hotel room, which was kind of odd for me because the entire group was, for once, in the same city during the game. It would've been the perfect time to trash and stink up the GM's house like we try to trash and stink up his game......

I did briefly get to visit with my GM and then one of my fellow players...and here's a shout-out to Steve, 'cause he's the man, which will be evident really damn soon. Note to anyone everyone: Steve better not be paying for any drinks at NTRPG Con next year or I'll have to kick my own ass.

So Steve reads this blog I think everyday, not even something I'll admit to, and he read about my wonderful foray into not getting a decent copy of the Deities & Demigods. So what does Steve do? He pretty much loads up one of every 1st edition hardcover and drives out of his way to my hotel to gift it to me! Oh and he makes sure to add the very Deities & Demigods edition I was eyeballing at that other place! The story I got was that he's trying to downsize his collection and these are like 3rd or 4th copies of stuff.

Pic for attention...

Sure it is Steve, sure it is. Actually I believe him, but he makes it sound like I'm doing him a favor, which is almost laughable. Well I'm going to make sure he gets a little care package of some bottles that I need to "downsize" from my collection....and I do actually have a "collection", so I'm not just making that up (version 1.0 of my home bar pictured to the right). Luckily for me his favorite liquor is also mine, and he didn't mention liking the one type that I only have six bottles of 'cause it's not made anymore and I could only get every bottle that remained in Idaho. That stuff has to last me the rest of my life.....

Clearly I'm joking a bit 'cause I'd cough up one of *those* for this extremely generous OSR gift. I have digital copies of about half of them and a couple hardcovers in "meh" shape, but to be able to have my very own copies of just about everything.

Now I know I'll still be out & about at the used bookstore looking for earlier printings, holes in my collection, and just stuff in general, but that's because I really enjoy...well, the hunt, as it was. While I'm specifically thinking of OSR materials now, I just enjoy finding other things I know friends and family collects or thing I think they'll like. You never know when you'll come across a real gem and it is fun, at least for me, to find a great gift for a friend. I'm going to go out on a limb and hope that Steve enjoys the hunt as well, and honestly you might too.

Now if you don't mind, I have a little bit of light reading to do about the Cthulhu mythos....

Not Really a Missed Opportunity to Grab a Book I Wanted....

I know this is late in the day and truth be told it's a bit later than I would like it to be, but I had to do a bit of travelling and some of the logistics took longer than expected.

Today started out with a bunch of promise and I was really hoping to be able to post pics of one of a new acquisition for my RPG collection: a 1st Printing of Deities & Demigods. Someone in my gaming group gave me a head's up that there was a decent copy in Denton, TX and although I had to wait a painful week before I'd be driving by Denton, today was the day.

The good news is that they had three copies of the Deities & Demigods book, but they were from the 2nd/3rd printing. Now I am not 100% sure if this checks out (I'm sure someone here will set me straight if I'm wrong), but it has been explained to me that the 1st printing had the Cthulhu mythos in it, with no "Thanks Chaosium" statement in it. The 2nd printing did have a thanks statement and the 3rd just removed the Cthulhu mythos altogether. 

I think that's well documented enough, but what I heard, and could be 110% bullshit, is that the 2nd and 3rd printings are really the same print run. Somewhere along the line of the second printing they basically stopped the presses and inserted (however that happens) the new whatever-it-was-they used (plates?) and started the presses up again. It was all one print run, just broken up what was actually printed and shipped.

Anyway, this store had two of the 2nd edition(?) and one 3rd. One looked pretty good, but they actually penciled in the price on the front leaf page. WTF, who does that? I get it in some rinky-dink mom & pop booth at an antique mall, but a bookstore with a no-shit "rare book" section that's not only locked but you need a fricken escort? The other one had a huge ugly ownership label badly glued to the inside cover. The real problem was that they wanted $170 each for what was at best a Very Fine (and I doubt they'd actually make that grade) copy.

That was way overpriced for what they had, enough that I wasn't even willing to bother to see if they'd come down. IIRC that value was more than a Near Mint copy.

I did end up finding a Endless Quest D&D book I didn't have and a couple Blu-Ray/4K movies, but the hunt for a 1st printing Deities & Demigods continues on for another day.....

Kickstarter - Archive: Historical People, Places, and Events for RPGs (System Neutral)

In the way back, before I was a blogger, before I was a cop, before I worked retail - I was a college student. Not thinking so clearly back in the fall of 85 I decided to defer my major and just take the core requirements and classes that interested me. Lo and behold, come my Junior Year (as college credits are tallied, not by years spent) the computer wouldn't let me register without a major. Reflecting on the classes I had taken prior, t appeared to me that I had self selected History - Sociology was nearly tied, but what does one do with Sociology. Come to think of it, what does one do with History? ;)

Where does all of this lead us? Right to the Archive Kickstarter. If you dig history, if you love RPGs, you'll love the Reeses Peanut Butter Cup that's been put together for you.

Archive is a collection of adventure sites, NPCs, and events ripped right out of history and perfect for your campaign. It’s a 265-page book with 80 subjects. All have everything you need to make them come alive at your table: sights, smells, history, local color, and even plot hooks and ideas to help you adapt them to your campaign setting. 

Need a villain? Throw your PCs against Ching Shih, the notorious pirate queen, presented with the tactics and schemes she used to wreak havoc across coastal China! Need a random encounter during travel? Recreate the 1861 encounter of the French corvette Alecton with a dying giant squid, and the social consequences that followed. Need an adventure site? Why not Fort Jefferson, complete with real historical secrets for your PCs to uncover?

I actually have an advance copy of the PDF. 260 some odd pages, suffice to say I have not read it all. But what I HAVE read appeals to me as both a gamer and a history buff. It scratches both itches and it does it well.

10 bucks for the PDF is a steal. Seriously. 30 for the book plus PDF which is also damn good.

I'm going to do something I rarely if ever do, mostly because I don't have a product to review in order to do so - The Tavern is endorsing the Archive Kickstarter. the PDF exists, I have it and backers get their PDF in June - next month.

Additionally, Tristan Zimmerman of Molten Sulfur Press reached out to me in the right way. Seriously. He hit all of the notes - polite, respectful, explained the project, included a sample (well, the whole book) and ended with the following: "There’s an advance reader’s copy of the book attached. If you happen to glance at it and you like what you see, I’d sure be grateful if you’d mention it, but no pressure. Whether you tell anybody or not, we really hope you enjoy the book, and thank you for your time."

Kickstarter creators, take notes. There is a right way and a wrong way to get attention. Maybe reach out to Tristan if you need to refine your skills.