An Amazing Kickstarter - It Must Be Fate - FATE Core That Is!

I've liked the Fate System ever since I stumbled across it in Spirit of the Century a few years back. I've always thought it had the potential for some really fun campaigns  but there's been one thing holding me back over the years - I've never quite understood the rules.

Sounds silly, don't it? Liking a system you don't grok. Maybe it's more of a "potential like".

I also own The Dresden Files, which in many ways is a precursor to Apocalypse World - lets see how confusing we can make the system as we present it in this uber hip way. Yeah, Dresden didn't help me much.

So, now Evil Hat has released their Fate Core System Kickstarter. Funding has been open for 2 days thus far, and the goal of $3,000 has been surpassed and had hit $64,950  $65,070  $65,304 as I write this.

Holy shit! FASA, see what can happend when you put together a Kickstarter in the "right way"?

Evil Hat claims the new Fate Core will be easy to understand. I'm going to have to see if they are right.

$10 gets you access to the Fate Core Draft, and all expansions that get funded via the Kickstater.

$30 gets you the above and a hard cover book.

I'll be in for $30...

(edit - a pledge of $1 or more gets you immediate access to the current Fate Core draft - it's 304 pages)

An Updated Look at Recent Kickstarters That Won't Fund (Disclaimer - Unless Hell Freezes Over)

Remember Iron Age: FRP? Those fine fucks are at $177 of $5,550. It's the assholes that spammed the comments section of this blog (and others) to get the word out on their Indiegogo turd.

Great job fuckos, as I don't think you've raised a cent since then. BTW, your Paypal issue sounds fishy to me. Great news though, apparently they are now asking for Credit Card info:

Still, it can't take much work to be "lead campaigner" on this project:

But hey, what about the "Big Boys"? Let's look how FASA is doing with it's 1879 RPG, Miniatures and App Kickstarter that we peeked at last Thursday:

Shit - that has to hurt. About $150 in 5 days time. $30 bucks a day. They want $325,00. Now worries, in just over 10,000 days it will be funded...

Guys, pull the plug now before you hurt yourselves.

Intelligent Swords in AD&D 1e - What's With the Ego Trip?

While designing / building / hacking together a campaign for AD&D 1e, I find myself digging out rules that I didn't use my first time playing, or used and then discarded. Sword Ego was one of the second type of rules.

I see where the roots of Sword Ego comes from - it's 100% Strombringer.

From my perspective - intelligent swords are cool in very small numbers, and swords that are stubborn or jealous or have other personality traits can be a nice tool for a campaign, but I don't think Sword Ego is appropriate for most D&D campaigns.

My issue with Sword Ego is the whole Swords Versus Characters conflict:

When a sword possesses unusual charactiristics it has a personality which is rated by combining its intelligence and ego scores. The sword will, of course, be absolutely true to its alignment, and if the character who possesses the sword is not, personality conflict will result, i.e. sword versus character. Similarly, any sword with an ego of 19 or higher will always consider itself superior to any character, and a personality conflict will result if the possessor does not always agree with the sword's dictums.

The personality strength of a character is: INTELLIGENCE + CHARISMA + LEVEL OF EXPERIENCE. Note level is reduced by 1 for every group of hit points of damage taken equal to the character's average number of points per hit die for total levels of experience (rangers, for example, getting 2 dice at 1st level). Example: A fighter of 7th level has 53 hit points: 53 + 7 = 7.6 - for every 8 points of damage he or she takes, his or her personality strength will be lowered by 1.

Whenever personality conflict occurs, the sword will resist the character's desires and demand concessions such as:

-removal of associates, henchmen, hirelings, or creatures of alignment or personality distasteful to the sword

-the character divesting himself or herself of all other magic weapons

-obedience from the character so that the sword can lead the expedition for its purposes

-immediate seeking out and slaying of creatures hateful to the sword

-encrustation of gems on pommel, hilt, scabbard, baldric, or belt and a special container for its safekeeping likewise of precious substances

-magical protections and devices to protect it from molestation when not in use

-that the character pay it handsomely for  a11 abilities and powers the sword is called upon to exercise in behalf of its possessor

-that the character always take it along on all occasions

-that the character relinquish the sword in favor of a more suitable person due to alignment differences and/or conduct 

At any time that the personality score of a sword exceeds the personality score of the character who possesses it, the sword will dominate its possessor, and it can force any or all of the above demands or actually cause any of the following actions:
1. force its possessor into combat
2. refuse to strike opponents
3. strike at its wielder or his or her associates
4. force its possessor to surrender to an opponent
5. cause itself to drop from the character's grasp

Most of the above takes choice out of the hands of the player. Nothing above adds to the game, unless the campaign style is one "fuck the PC". Also, tracking the PC's "personality strength  with the up and down of HPs.

I don't have issues with intelligent magic items, but they should be played more like an NPC it's own wants and desires, not solely there to screw the players.

What were your experiences, if any, with Swords with ego?

Interesting Kickstarter - Agents of Change: The Time Travel RPG

I find different Kickstarters "interesting" for different reasons.

Let me start by saying this: I have no idea if Agents of Change: The Time Travel RPG is going to be a great game, or even a good game, but it's an intelligent Kickstarter.

Why? William Maldonado set his funding goal low - just $500.

Why does he want funding? To afford a professional editor and cover artist.

It's stretch goals are realistic and won't delay the release of the project:

$1000 - At this level, we will be able to hire a graphic designer from Createspace to give us a custom layout. We are prepared to work on this ourselves, but having a professional handle it will save us time and get this game in your hands quicker and with flair. Additionally, we may be able to create and start up a webspace for this and future games my team works on. 

$1250 - With a little bit more, we'll reach this level and will be able to afford marketing services such as posters featuring the cover art that will be featured in stores or sent out to donators or interested parties.

I really don't care about the different factions that are the driving force behind the "time travel" theme. I'm just happy to see "the little guy" setting a reachable funding goal and hitting it (did I mention it's funded and a bit more with 3 days to go?)

Did I mention he seems to have set realistic estimated shipping goals for the different reward levels?

Apparently, the rules haven't even hit beta yet, but I'm willing to put $15 down to see how this goes.

I bet he comes damn close to hitting his ship dates ;)

Weapon Speed - Do I Need it in AD&D 1e?

As I prepare myself to run a (mostly) AD&D 1e campaign, have any of you actually used the rules quotes below for "weapon speed"?

Weapon Speed Factor: This number is indicative of the wieldiness of any
particular weapon, how long it takes to ready the weapon against an
opponent, or how long it takes to recover and move it in its attack mode. A
pike, for example, is a 13, as it must be lowered, grasped, and then
held/thrust firmly. Such a weapon is not usable in dungeon settings, or
anywhere else without masses of other pikes to support it. In the latter
case, an opponent surviving the first attack from the bearer of the pike will
likely be able to strike several times before recovery of the pike for a
second thrust. This is further detailed below. A two-handed sword, with a
10 speed factor, likewise requires lengthy readying time and recovery
period after its attack due to its size and weight. 

When weapon speed factor is the determinont of which opponent strikes
first in a melee round, there is a chance that one opponent will be entitled
to multiple attacks Compare the scare of the lower-factored weapon with
that of the higher. If the difference is at least twice the factor of the lower,or 5 or more factors in any case, the opponent with the lower factoredweapon is entitled to 2 attacks before the opponent with the higherweapon factor is entitled to any attack whatsoever. If the difference is 10or greater, the opponent with the lower-factored weapon is entitled to 2attacks before the opponent is allowed to attack, and 1 further attack at thesame time the opponent with the higher-speed-factored weopon finally isallowed to attack. Note that such speed factor considerations are not applicable
when either closing or chorging to melee, but after on initial
round of combat, or in cases where closing/charging was not necessary,
the speed factor considerations are applicable.

I seem to recall ignoring these little tidbits in the past, and I see no good reason to worry about them now, but I'm sure there is a Grognard or two available to argue otherwise ;)

Adding Another "Gift" to the DCC RPG Holiday Contest - Santa Claws as a DCC Patron!

I'm adding another dead tree "gift" to the DCC RPG Holiday Contest - Santa Claws as a DCC Patron! (go to the link to enter)

It appears I bid on two copies of The Dungeoneer Compendium of Issues 1-6 from Judges Guild. I won both and only need one, so I'm adding one to the gift pile. Heck, it's still in its cellophane so you'll have something to unwrap ;)

My Dwarven Adventurers Boxed Set Has Arrived!

Too Much Flash?

I'll be the first person to admit I don't know how to take pictures of minis, let alone unpainted ones, so forgive the quasi focus ;)

I am very happy with my set of dwarves. The level of detail is quite excellent.

I have a crapload of flash to trim, but that was to be expected and I'm okay with that. I love the amount of modability one has with all the extra pieces. Not that I'm skilled at modding - I'd probably f' the whole piece up, but it's nice to have the option. I can always build a Dwarven Flesh Golem of sorts.

I do wonder why the dwarven tombstone is slotted for use with a base. It's not like its going to move around, and if I saw off the slow it will stand just fine. I think I'll trim flash and mold lines in my spare time ;)

Not Enough Flash?

The first piece I want to paint is the brewmaster (this is a Tavern, isn't it?) but I'm going to wait for my Reaper miniatures to show up before I start delving into it all. Shit, and a pair of bifocals - my eyes are 45 years old and not getting any younger.

The Feed Was Dead. Long Live the Feed!

When I had to nuke the old site, and rebuild it via the new site, I forgot to fix "the Feed".

No one told me it was broken either, go figure.

Well, it's fixed now, so if you prefer the feed, or just like surfing thru feeds to find the posts you like, the feed is now up.

Alright, back to opening the goodies that came in the mail today ;)

A Nightmare of a Kickstarter (for the backers) - They Became Flesh: A game of God, Humanity, and the Fallen

You know what? I may bitch and complain about late Kickstarter projects I've supported, but not one has figuratively given a big "Fuck You!" to those that funded it. From what I've read about They Became Flesh: A game of God, Humanity, and the Fallen, the creators have basically done so.

Here's the 30 second summary:

The project was funded on 12/12/2011. It raised over $7,400 with a goal of $1,500 and an estimated shipping date of January, 2012.

The game released this past summer at GenCon, but the supporters of the Kickstarter didn't get their copies. They were supposed to get theirs before it released to the public.

Random delays, prior and after GenCon.

This little announcement back in October should have brought the drama to an end:

But, as you can see from the latest comments by those that funded the project, this was a load of shit (I'm actually surprised they allow any comments to be seen by the public).

It's released to distributors apparently. It's on game store bookshelves on both sides of the pond. Backers ain't got shit.

Here's the link to the RPGnet thread   Over 170 posts and still going strong.

This is a project creator to avoid at all costs going forward. I'm glad I don't have my money tied up in this nightmare.

LotFP is Running a 1/2 Off Sale - It's Grindhouse Time!

James Raggi is running a sale on his PDFs (and some print products).

50% off all PDFs over at RPGNow

50% off the 2011 items still in print over at the LotFP Store (Grindhouse, Carcosa, Isle of the Unknown print editions)

(it would have been nice if James has included links in his post over at LotFP - so I'll do it myself ;)

My picks would be:

LotFP Grindhouse Edition - print or PDF - the price is definitely right - $8.88 in PDF

Death Frost Doom - a steal at $2.50 in PDF

The Grinding Gear - a barely possible to survive "Tomb of Horrors" for $3.00

Tower of the Stargazer - can't beat $1.63

Green Devil Face #5 - $0.63 for 12 pages of old school charts and tables

(As James can almost pass for a certain female xxxxxx, I was trying to find the nearly naked pic of James lying in bed for this post, but my Google-fu failed. Probably for the best - James nearly naked wasn't a pleasant sight ;)

Correcting an RPG Kickstarter Perception - Most of Mine Are Late, But No Failures - Yet

There is a thread going on over at TheRPGSite dealing with Kickstarters. Actually, I don't think that was the thread's initial topic or direction, but Stuart Marshall (P&P) linked to my Kickstarter posts when he mentioned how he felt Kickstarters were going to be detrimental to the hobby.

I agree with him to a point, as many publishers / would be publishers / one man bands seem to see it as a quick and easy way to raise money for projects that are little beyond the conception phase in many cases. That being said, I personally have yet to support a project that I feel will totally crap out ("e20, which I suspect is virtually dead, was not supported by me).

Are some projects unconscionably late? Yes.

Far West, The Quantum RPG, The ACKS Player's Companion, Dwimmermount, Appendix N, Myth & Magic Player's Guide and Champions of Zed are small sampling of projects that are taking way to long to complete when you look at the initial estimates. Do I think any of these will completely fail to deliver? No. But their lack of timeliness is certainly a disappointment.

Still, Stuart's post is a bit disconcerting to me, as he is either following a different list of crowd source funded RPG projects, or he's misinterpreting my list (he links to The Tavern here), or something in between:

I hate the amount of money buyers are being charged; and I hate the default-to-kickstarter mentality where you sell a promise and collect the profit before you start work (and then, more than half the time, fail to deliver); and I hate that formerly-thriving free products, like Footprints on Dragonsfoot, are shutting down and closing up shop. None of that was what I intended and I view it with a frown. (emphasis mine)

It's not a failure to deliver. It's a failure to deliver in the promised time frame. Sometimes long after the promised time frame. It's unprofessional, especially when the people behind the projects "go dark" and fail to update their customers on progress.

Kickstarters in our hobby tend to not deliver on time. I'm doing what little I can do to draw attention to that fact and have it corrected in the future. There aren't too many total failures (I can possibly think of one beyond e20).

BTW, I don't post to theRPGSite. The atmosphere is a bit too "caustic" at times to my taste. I'm more than willing to take criticism on my own blog (which others in the blogosphere are apparently no longer willing to do, even when valid) but I have no need nor desire to post on a board "generally unfriendly" to outsiders. It can be a good read tho ;)

Mini Review - Starships & Spacemen (LL / Star Trek Mashup)

Starships & Spacemen is Goblinoid Games' Star Trek / Labyrinth Lord mash-up. In theory S&S is a 2nd edition, it's previous edition having been printed in 1978. The reality is it's a new game, building upon the LL chasis but using the tropes and setting from the original game.

I have some mixed opinions of the game. It's not bad at all, as the LL chasis is a good one to build off of. You could easily gather your own Star Trek type command crew and have them adventuring in no time. Assuming you can get past the typos. They are there and they are many.

The typos aren't a game killer, but they are annoying when they are giving the average C&C rulebook from the early printings a run for the money. I got my softcover copy via the Indiegogo funding. $25 for the print and PDF.

As it currently stands, there is no print on demand copy of the rulebook available on RPGNow - the PDF is $6.45.

Personally, I wouldn't purchase a print version (when they become available) until they clean it up. At least with the PDF version, you get an updated copy if / when they get around to it.

It's a fairly thin set of rules coming in around 94 pages, and 5 pages are wasted on drawings of "Forehead Aliens" (can we say "filler"?)

I want to really like S&S. There is a lot to like but it also feels like there is much missing. Maybe there is a plan to add an "Expanded Missions" sourcebook or the like. The amount of support this gets will certainly effect it's long term worth.

God, I'm really waffling on this. I like it "but" is about the best endorsement I can give it at this time.

From the blurb:        

Boldly explore the galaxy in search of alien civilizations! You take the role of a Military Officer, Technical Officer, Science Officer, or Enlisted Man in the Galactic Confederation. Travel in a starship under your command, on missions of first contact, rescue, exploration, and more in a galaxy full of hostile aliens. Try to maintain the tenuous truce with the militaristic Zangid, and fight the Videni who may look like your Tauran allies, but do not adhere to a philosophy of peace and logic.

Design alien humanoids with either "original series" or "next generation" sensibilites, or blend the two approaches! There are 100 forehead shapes that may be randomly rolled when a new alien race is encountered.

This book contains:

Eight player races

Three main classes, with several subclasses

Rules for spaceships and exploration

many alien creatures

...and more!

Interesting Concept For a Kickstarter - One Hell of a Failure to Execute - Wargame Tables, Table-tops, and dice trays!

Remember the high end gaming table that was offered as part of the Dwimmermount Kickstarter? It was $10k and no one jumped in at that price - awesome, amazing product that just wasn't affordable.

The Wargame Tables, Table-tops, and dice trays! Kickstarter is the average Joe's response to the luxury table. It's the Ford Pinto trying to knock off the Cadillac Escalad. If all you want is a car to go from point A to point B, the bling and all the extra fade away when you compare prices.

This Ford Pinto is going for $150 for a 3' x 5' table or $500 for s large as a 4' x 8' table. The Ford Pinto certainly scores points on price alone.

Here's a pic of the Sultan gaming table:

and here's a pic of the Ford Pinto:

Not only don't they compare, the Ford Pinto doesn't even look as nice as a real Ford Pinto!

Eh, maybe I complain too much. Throw a blanket over it and it could double as an altar with my gaming goodies stored haphazardly beneath it.

Maybe if I could find the place in my house for a single use gaming only table, I'd take the plunge on this.

Gee, not even a choice for 98% of the country (pulling this number purely out of my ass).

This one ain't funding.

Nice concept, unattractive table and extremely limited customer base due to geographical limitations.

What Movie Best Represents "Dungeons & Dragons" in Your Eyes?

This question came up in last night's / this morning's game session. Yeah, we are pretty good at derailing game sessions, even those that are not rail roadie in the least ;)

In any case, for me it was Hawk the Slayer. Cheesy as all shit, but it was nice to see a true Crossbow of Speed in action. Maybe I'm still looking at it with the eyes of a teenager, but it rocked back in the day.

Besides, it has Jack Palance - need I say more?

So, what movie best represents D&D to you and why?

Updated 12/1 - Here's The "Where The F' Are They?" List of (Mostly) Overdue RPG Kickstarters I've Supported

The below list is of RPG Related Kickstarters that were estimated to ship (I am using the ship date for the physical item, not the PDF if there is one) December 2012 or earlier.  I was going to add Indiegogo projects to the list, but they are so few (and this list got so long) I'll summarize as follows: LotFP stuff that I supported over the summer has not shipped, but Indiegogo doesn't force an estimated shipping date . Barrowmaze II shipped on time!


Colors for Actual Ship Date are as follows:

Red: Hasn't shipped and is (or will be based on new estimates) significantly overdue. This includes projects that have been shipping in dribs and drabs for months. If all backers dont have what they pledged for, it's in red.

Orange: Late but shipped, or recently missed a shipping date and hasn't shipped

Green: Shipped on time. Holy Shit!

DungeonMorph Dice
Goal: $5,000     Total: $20,620     Funded: May 22, 2011
Estimated Ship Date: July, 2011     Actual Ship Date: December, 2011

Adventurer Conqueror King System
Goal: $4,000     Total: $11,648     Funded: August 6, 2011
Estimated Ship Date: November, 2011     Actual Ship Date: April, 2012

Far West
Goal: $5,000     Total: $49,324     Funded: August 25, 2011
Estimated Ship Date: December, 2011     Actual Ship Date: Not Shipped (and has missed interim ship dates)

Far West - last update 11/19 (over 2 weeks ago)- updates approximately monthly -  First the main / lead artist flaked out in the middle of the job (and claimed to have finished work he hadn't completed), then Gareth got sick, "Far West" as a title will now be cropping up in unrelated media, making marketing a pain I suspect - If this hits ONLY the one year late mark, I'll be impressed. Backer portraits were due about a week after the update - haven't seen it yet. Cubiclde 7 has gotten involved in the process, so the new guarantee of Dec 2012 for the PDF is hopeful, but I'm not sold on it. Note - this project will be AT LEAST one year late.

C&C Classic Monsters
Goal: $4,000     Total: $9,108     Funded: December 2, 2011
Estimated Ship Date: January, 2012     Actual Ship Date: May, 2012

Quantum Roleplaying Game
Goal: $13,000     Total: $47,747     Funded: December 30, 2011
Estimated Ship Date: April, 2012     Actual Ship Date: Not Yet Shipped

Quantum RPG - last update 11/30 - recent updates have been for the new setting book for the as yet unreleased RPG - I don't care how you spin it, but kicking off a new Kickstarter without releasing the final product of the first annoys me. Invest more into something I don't yet have? Boggles the mind. Even better, the second Kickstarter failed ($7,751 out of $30,000 raised - it failed on 10/18). Gee, think it failed because no one has the first Kickstarter in hand yet? beta is now over - time to actully set the rules in stone - To be honest, I'm no longer excited about this project. I suspect when it ships it's going straight to the bookshelf. Still no new estimated completion date

Astonishing Swordsmen & Sorcerers of Hyperborea
Goal: $6,000     Total: $13,216     Funded: January 15, 2012
Estimated Ship Date: April, 2012     Actual Ship date: July, 2012 and still ongoing completed I believe

Adventurer Conqueror King System Player's Companion
Goal:: $4,000     Total: $20,622     Funded: March 16, 2012
Estimated Ship Date: July, 2012     Actual Ship Date: Not Yet Shipped  

ACKS Player's Companion - last Update 11/25 - Updates approximately monthly. Updated ship date 1/13 -feedback from early release PDF has been applied and the contents revised - Updates average one per month at this stage. 

Story Forge
Goal: $12,000    Total: $21,736     Funded: March 20, 2012
Estimated Ship Date: July, 2012     Actual Ship Date: July, 2012

Dwimmermount
Goal: $10,000     Total: $48,756     Funded: April 14, 2012
Estimated Ship Date: August 2012     Actual Ship Date: Not Yet Shipped (New Estimate 4/26/13 2013)

Dwimmermount - Last Update 11/30 - Updates Weekly. Absolutely the best thing Travis (and James) have done is give weekly updates. In the Way Way Back, where updates were few and rumors were many, folks were getting might uppity, and with good reason. There was certainly a loss of some goodwill during the Way Way Back Times, and Travis is putting the effort in now, but things would have been so much simpler if updates had been weekly from the start, especially with the wide margin the ship date is being missed by.  BTW, the Progress Graph is annoying and tells me little except to remind me of how late this project already is. Strangely enough, this seems more late that Far West even though it isnt - I suspect that is due to all of the initial hype

King For a Day
Goal: $800     Total: $4,844     Funded: May 1, 2012
Estimated Ship Date: September 2012     Actual Ship Date: Not Yet Shipped (new estimate - December 2012) 

King For a Day - Last update 11/25 - Updates Approximately twice a month. I'm still somewhat doubtful of the December 12 ship date, but I'm willing to be surprised 

Artisan Dice
Goal: $300     Total: $91,542     Funded: April 7, 2012
Estimated Ship Date: April, 2012     Actual Ship date: May, 2012 and still ongoing completed now I do believe - this suffered from overwhelming response. If you are going to be late, let it be because you have too many customers ;)

Adventures Dark & Deep
Goal: $2,500     Total: $7,459     Funded: April 15, 2012
Estimated Ship Date: July, 2012     Actual Ship Date: Shipped September, 2012 - I was only in at the PDF level, but congrats for hitting the ship date ;)

Myth & Magic Player's Guide
Goal: $5,000     Total: $24,076     Funded: May 7, 2012
Estimated Ship Date: August 2012     Actual Ship Date: Not Yet Shipped

Myth & Magic Player's Guide - Last update on 9/29 was in relation to it's sister project. PDF released to the wild, no hard copies yet. Last update related to this project was 9/21, about 6 weeks ago. Not the way to remain in contact with your customers. TWO MONTHS NO UPDATES!

Appendix N
Goal: $1,000     Total: $18,893     Funded: July2, 2012
Estimated Ship Date: July, 2012     Actual Ship Date: Not Yet Shipped (New Estimate Late September  November December ? 2012)

Appendix N - Last Update 11/29 - Updates about once a week - Brave Halfling is like your cousin who is always late to appointments - whether it's a Kickstarter or a pre-order, the quality has so far been excellent, the timeliness has been poor. PDF versions of the releases look to be on time or close to it going forward - physical products is going to be a wait n see in my opinion.

Nystul's Infinite Dungeon
Goal: $2,000     Total: $16,017     Funded: June 3, 2012
Estimated Ship Date: September 2012 (New Estimate October November  2012? for PDF)
Nystul's Infinite Dungeon - no longer updates - Last update 11/6 - Estimate for physical delivery is November 2012. greatly expanded offering from initial description.

Dwarven Adventurers Boxed Set

Goal: $1,250     Total: $136,487     Funded: July 25, 2012

Estimated Ship Date: September 2012 (New Estimate November 2012)

Dwarven Adventurers - last update 11/28 - updates weekly - blew away it's goal and added so many miniatures to the set that missing the estimated ship goal was a given before the funding even completed. If you are going to ship late, this is the reason. Currently in process of shipping 1,400 orders. I'll post mine when it arrives.

CHAMPIONS OF ZED: Zero Edition Dungeoneering

Goal: $4,600     Total: $8,077     Funded: June 16, 2012
Estimated Ship Date: August, 2012     Actual Ship Date: Not Shipped

Champions of Zed - last update 11/5 - once this project started running late, the updates stopped. Maybe there is info at the forums, but is it too much to ask for an update via Kickstarter every two weeks?  2 months between updates, but project is now in layout. No new estimates completion date. Someone remind me why I backed this project...

Tabletop Forge
Goal: $5,000     Total: $44,413     Funded: July 9, 2012
Estimated Release Date: August, 2012      Actual Release Date: Not Yet Released

Tabletop Forge - Updates approximately every 2 weeks - last update 10/29. Its software. Software doesn't play nice. Updated software looks to be a huge improvement. Still, no update for over a month. I like the guys involved in the project, but are regular updates too much to ask?

Race To Adventure
Goal: $40,000     Total: $52,117     Funded: July 24, 2012
Estimated Release Date: Dec, 2012     Actual Release Date: Early 2013 (New Estimate)

Race To Adventure - Last update 11/14 -Updates about once a month - Board Game - Blame the delays on European vacations. No, really -"wouldn't you know it, August turns out to be a time when a lot of folks in our field are off on a vacation. But we're not talking about GenCon here -- we're talking about Europe, where we're going to be having the game manufactured. This sort of nations-wide month long vacation is super, uh, foreign to USA-based folks like us, so we simply had no idea it was coming." BTW, why bother linking digital expansions for us to download when we don't even have the core product yet? It's almost like pouring salt in the wounds

Fantastiqa
Goal: $10,000     Total: $23,580     Funded: August 9, 2012
Estimated Release Date: Oct, 2012      Actual Ship Date: November 2012

I need to find time to play this with my family. Box weighs a ton and a half ;)

Axes & Anvils
Goal: $1,000     Total: $35,000     Funded: August 11, 2012
Estimated Release Date: November, 2012     Actual Release Date: ?

Axes & Anvils - Last update November 16, 2012. It just went past due date. My guess? Jan / Feb  2013

Swords & Wizardry
Goal: $10,000     Total: $78,000     Funded: September 4, 2012
Estimated Release Date: November, 2012     Actual Release Date: ?

Swords & Wizardry - Last update November 21, 2012. Updates 3 times a months or so. It just went past due date. My guess? Dec 12 / Jan 13

If I missed any I'll post them, then add here for the next update.

Swords & Wizardry: The Actual 1st Edition Roleplaying Rules (Due this month)

My Countertop of Games - Pictured and Then Disbursed ;)

Remember how this month started? Hurricane Sandy and mandatory overtime for your humble barkeep? Well, I spent a small fraction of that overtime on gaming material - some to collect, some to read, some to use. Oh, and 25 issues of KotDT at a buck a pop. really, I couldnt go wrong :)

I had this spaced out and scattered, but decided to pile it up and see what it amounted to.

After the pic I just as quickly dispersed the pile into many smaller ones, less the wife catch on ;)

Lets see: Dungeon Dwellers was a set with the T&T Black box. The price was a steal. It's my second T&T Black Box. I love the cover. I'll display one in the end. Dungeon Dwellers itself? Eh

Albedo I grabbed in a thrift shop last weekend.

Power & Perils I snagged on Amazon as well as the Lejendary Adventure stuff.

Next is a bunch of Dungeoneers. Sone nice Old School bathroom reading material.

The OSRIC Players Guide, the small sized OSRIC and ASE2-3 were grabbed at 30% off on Lulu

Lords of Creation stuff was Ebay as was the T&T Orange Box. Same art as the Black Box. Great condition. A missing piece to my collection.

High Fantasy will go on a shelf, although the adventures may be converted for standard use.

Barrowmaze 1 was a splurge - but well worth it.

Up near the top are those KotDT issues. I stopped reading over two years ago, but at this price I'll catch up ;)

DCC RPG Holiday Contest - Santa Claws as a DCC Patron!

Life is slowly turning back to normal in my neck of the woods. Work is mostly sane. That means it's time for the next DCC RPG Contest:

Santa Claws designed by all of you to be a DCC Patron!

I've actually had this idea kicking around inside my head for a few weeks, but after exchanging some emails with Sean Conners today (and getting a sneak peak of the Angles, Daemons, & Beings Between patron book earlier today) it helped cement what I want to do.

I don't think I need to describe Santa Claws to you in great detail, as it's best to let your imagination fill in the gaps. Santa Claws is Naughty AND Nice. He knows if you've been Naughty or Nice. He brings gifts to those he deems worthy and inflicts punishment on those he feels deserves it. He's also insane, or at least, that's how the rest of the world sees him.

I'll be asking for entries that are:

(Examples are yoked from AD&BB, King Halgaz Bekur)

Invoke Patron Checks - (rolled randomly)

-The insight of the King reaches through the veil of unlife to touch his servant. The touch of the King increases the caster’s Intelligence by 1d6 points for 1d4 hours; however, the caster loses one point of Sta permanently. (good and bad) -The King sends an emissary to treat with his servant’s enemies. A wraith knight appears and attacks the caster’s enemies. The wraith knight remains for 1d3 turns; afterwards, it is free to act on its own. (probably good) Patron Taint - Those entering into the Service of Santa Claws are entrusting themselves to a most judgmental being whose decisions can seem almost random and capricious. One rarely gets what one asks for. (rolled randomly) - The caster’s despairing visage frightens all that cross its sight. The first time this result is rolled, the caster’s face changes to that of a fearful wraith – skin blackens and becomes translucent and eyes burn with a blue-white fire. This occurs for 1d3 turns after casting any spell and all those that view the caster’s face must make a Will save DC 8 or flee for 1d3 rounds. The second time this result is rolled, the caster suffers the condition 1d3 random times per day, in addition to each time a spell is cast. The third time this result is rolled the condition is permanent - The caster avenges even the most innocent slight. The first time this result is rolled, each time the caster casts a spell, he or she is consumed with feelings of raging vengeance. One randomly determined creature is the subject of the caster’s ire and the caster will do anything to exact his revenge on an imagined slight. The condition lasts for 1d3 turns. The second time this result is rolled, the caster suffers from the condition as described above, however, the state of vengeance lasts for 1d3 hours. At the end of this time, the caster receives a Will save DC 10. On a failure, the condition lasts for another 1d3 hours. The third time this result is rolled, the caster suffers from the condition each time he or she casts a spell, and the condition lasts until the caster has sufficiently exacted his or her revenge on the subject (i.e. the duration is indefinite). You can enter one or the other, one of each, multiple times, whatever - it's up to you. No more than one gift per person no matter how awesome your entries. A panel will be chosen to decide whose entries are so awesome they should be gifted. Be advised, entries may be reproduced elsewhere (like an issue of Crawl! or a freely released PDF).  My goal would be to get this put together, fully written with spells and such and distributed freely to the DCC Community in PDF. With luck, it would be ready for Christmas in July of 2013 ;) Ah, yes, what are the gifts? A current issue of Crawl!, donated by Rev Dak DCC #69: The Emerald Enchanter, generously donated by a reader of this blog (Print Copy) AL 3: Through the Cotillion of Hours, donated by Purple Duck Games (Print Copy) Attack of the Frawgs, donated by Thick Skull Adventures (Print Copy) A Tenkar's Tavern Beer Stein, donated by me (Drinking Copy) (edit) A copy of The Dungeoneer Compendium of Issues 1-6 from Judges Guild donated by me (Print Copy) Knowledge Illuminates donated by Tim Shorts of the Gothridge Manor Blog Possibly a shirt or two bearing the Tavern's Banner art and the caption "My Party Got Wasted at Tenkar's Tavern!" if I get that hooked up before the contest is over. Notice that all of the above is stuff that will need to be mailed (mostly by me)? Good, because the contest will run until December 20th  25th, 2012. Get your entries in by midnight that night, NYC time. I'll look to announce winners on the 23rd or the 24th 27th or so and mail the goodies out in the week after Christmas. Enter and enter often ;) So, have you been naughty or nice?

What the Hell is "Con Crud"?

"Con Crud" seems to be the most used (abused) excuse when someone's Kickstarter Projects is running late:

"Just got back from the con circuit and con crud has left me useless"

"Here's my list of five excuses... oh, and Con Crud."

Is "Con Crud the "mono" of the RPG Con circuit?

Or is it simply "I'm tired from a weekend of gaming, my voice is hoarse and I have jet lag".

Would it keep you from doing a real job if your weren't going to get paid for the days of work you miss due to "Con Crud"?

Would you have your doc put "Con Crud" on your sick note?

Is there an accepted definition of "Con Crud", or is it another bullshit term thrown around instead of saying "I feel run down from partying"?

Kickstarters That Make You Ask - "Are They Smoking Crack!?!" - 1879 RPG, Miniatures and App

Remember that Reaper Miniatures Kickstarter? That shit was like the Elvis of Kickstarters. (Goal of $30k, hit over 3.4 million)

The Dwarven Adventurers did mighty well too, but it stayed in the stratosphere. (Goal of just over $1.2k, hit over $136k)

So, a goal of a mere $325k for 1879 RPG, Miniatures and App by FASA is right in the ballpark, right?

What the fuck were they smoking? It wasn't reefer, as they would have sobered up and realized they were fucking high. Crack, crank - maybe their doing speedballs like their going out of style. Their on something.

I'm serious, someone over at FASA (is this old FASA, a reborn FASA, is RedBrick now FASA - edit: Old FASA trying to publish for the first time in a decade) must have been stoned when they thought up this Kickstarter.

Why?

Let me count the ways:

1 - The Reaper goal was 30k - this one is nearly 11x that amount. Enjoy the high, because you're going to come down shortly and it's going to hurt

2 - It's Steampunk / Stargate - that's cool, but not $325,000 cool

3 - It's an RPG we're developing, oh, and miniatures, and apps, a computer game, and a miniature wargame. Pick ONE.

4 - Someone thinks Kickstarter is a ATM that kicks out free money - again, someone is high

5 - Simply put, it aint going to happen. Lower you goal by about, say 90%, work on the RPG and work the rest of the stuff in later.

6 - Who uses 15mm miniatures in RPGs these days? 25-28mm is norm

7 - $325,000 goal.  $2,191 raised over 3 days - 27 days to go - You guys are sober now (I hope). Do the math. Shut down and reboot with a reasonable goal. Your market is speaking to you. Or maybe it's the voices in your head. Listen to them, because all you're going to do at this point is waste the next 27 days on a project that won't fund.

But hey, lets get some of their selling points:

“Spare us a shilling, Guv?” Our funding goal is $325,000. That sounds like a lot (it is) (no, it sounds fucking insane), but this isn’t your normal project. It encompasses miniatures, roleplaying, and a computer game. That amount feeds our artists, writers, editors, coders, and designers while they labor on this unique take on expansionism in the British Empire (it's not my job to feed these people - work on ONE part at a time - wait, you can't, because the new FASA is part of the old FASA and now has computer programers at a traditional RPG company). New products include core rule books, force books, campaigns, and adventures. A full range of 15mm miniatures and our electronic gaming app round out the product range. For an up-to-date list and descriptions, follow our web site at 1879.fasagames.com. (How about just writing the CORE RPG book for now, and a much lower goal?)

First Stretch Goal  $400,000:  all backers at $10 or more will also receive a 22" x 33" folded color game line poster. (do any of us really need a folded poster at our age?)

I'm declaring this dead before it's truly started. Interesting concept, horrible execution. Excellent example of not understanding the Kickstarter market.

Tunnels & Trolls - Rumors, Updates and a Hopeless Redemption Attempt

It's a new edition, and it's in French!

It's been a while since I've posted anything substantial about Tunnels & Trolls. It's not that I'm not still collecting the pieces I still need for my collection, but I haven't been playing the solos and I haven't been playing in or running any T&T stuff online. I really should at some point, but I need to work in some LL and Blood & Treasure before we even get to that (let alone my regular AD&D campaign that is starting up soon).

Now there is word of a future edition of T&T - T&T Deluxe which may go the Kickstarter route. As Rick Loomis actually posted this back in July and we are almost in December, I'm going to assume he wants everything nearly done before kicking off the kickstarter:

Hi, folks. I try to avoid forums, as I find if I get involved in them I spend way too much time on them, and time is my most limited resource. Ken, Liz, Steve, Bear, and I are going to use kickstarter to create the newest edition of T&T. If you have strong opinions about the direction of the game, join the kickstarter and your opinion will definitely be heard. (You will be able to join for as little as one dollar, and you can cancel your participation the day before it ends!) We haven't started the kickstarter yet because we are still working on the presentation and the video. Nothing is "written in stone" yet - as the kickstarter proceeds we will determine what goes into the Deluxe Edition. Note that I am a firm believer in staying as close to 5.0 as possible. Ken likes to tinker. We'll work out a compromise. For those who want "more support for 5.0" please keep in mind that everything we produce is supposed to be usable with all editions. That's my insistence. If you want to stick with 5.0 -- I want you to be able to use all the new stuff. (And if there is demand, I may very well make a print on demand version of 5.0 or 5.5) 

Now as to the French edition. Patrice wanted to do a version in French, (with our permission) just for his own personal satisfaction. He got Ken to write some new stuff, and Steve Crompton to lay it out, and Liz to put up some new art. It came out so beautiful that now that I have run out of 5.5, I am not satisfied to just reprint 5.5. I wanted to have a deluxe edition even better than the French one. (Competition is what drives us to be better!) But keep in mind Flying Buffalo is a very (very very) small company. I don't even have enough $$ to just tell the printer "Print me up another 2000 copies of 5.5". Happy Day -- I have discovered Kickstarter. We'll use that to finance the new edition of T&T.
As for support for older editions: one of the things we definitely hope to do is create great new maps of Trollworld. Those will obviously be usable with any edition.  

Also - Patrice put out a French version of my solo adventure, Buffalo Castle. He got me to rewrite some of the paragraphs and make it better, so now I plan to print a new and better English version of Buffalo Castle!

This is part of Ken St. Andre's post from July:

I thought I would take a moment to tell you that serious work has begun on the next edition of Tunnels and Trolls. There is a 5 person nuclear team at work on the project right now consisting of Rick Loomis, Liz Danforth, Steve Crompton, Bear Peters, and Ken St. Andre. We’re doing this for several reasons which I will be sharing with you all later, but a big one is that we have run out of copies of T & T 5.5 and 7.5. Since a reprint is needed, why not make it bigger and better than ever before. Also, I have some new ideas I want to share with you all. Also, I believe a game needs to keep evolving in order to stay alive.

Yeah, I totally missed this. My personal preference would be something closer to 5.5 than 7.5 as far as rules, but closer to 7.5 as far as presentation.

There is a current attempt to by some members over at Trollhalla to facilitate a... it's not a healing, it's certainly not a mending, maybe a forgiving of James Shipman and all the ill will he has generated with some mighty underhanded stuff.

There is a reason that T&T went from 5.5e to 7e, as James had published the unofficial 6e that had been floating around. Judging from the current peek at James' site, they will need to skip 8e, as he's already published one that he's already gotten copyrighted: "Since it contains many rule changes, our Library of Congress Registered Copyright has been approved!" Strangely enough, James has 5.5 and 7.5 in stock. In the case of 7.5, its the rule book alone (it was always sold as a boxed set) and in the case of 5.5 it's spiral bound (FBI did not publish it recently in a spiral binding as far as I know). Personally, I don't seem James taking any steps to mend fences, right any wrongs or play by the rules. He's aslo reprinting the Corgi 5e version of the rules, 4e, 1e - the list goes on. The shame is that James has lots of cool stuff at his site, and no rights to publish any of them. How he could be forgiven and trusted after all this time, I don't know. I do know his site is like the Devil's treasure chest for T&T gamers, and the idea of removing the taint of evil from it is mighty tempting, I just don't think it can be done.

It does make one wonder how Shippy can make a profit of of old rulesets and Flying Buffalo can't figure out how to do the same. It's only recently that FBI put T&T 4e up on RPGNow in PDF. If FBI just spent the time to get their stuff in PDF and print on demand, you would lessen by far the business that goes to Outlaw Press.

Ah well. I really like T&T. I hope they stick to a 5e base with lots of options with the new edition. I also hope they have Ken's manuscript in hand before the Kickstarter starts. I'd hate to have to put them on my "Overdue Kickstarter List" ;)