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 :)

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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.