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    Tabletop Gaming News for Thursday, 16 May, 2013 [new SANTIAGO website; Plus previews of Fangwood Keep and Gnome Stew's Odyssey!] 


    [top]EN World News

    • In addition to our new websites for ZEITGEIST and War of the Burning Sky, we now have a brand new site for the SANTIAGO: A Myth of the Far Future adventure path which is coming this year. SANTIAGO is a far-future adventure path for the PATHFINDER RPG and D&D 4th Edition, in which the PCs play bounty hunters on the trail of a legendary outlaw in a hunt which spans worlds. It's based on the novel by the multiple award-winning Mike Resnick and produced under license.
    • If there is one thing bad about PDFs, it is that there can be so many good ones coming out, all clamoring for my money. This is one of those weeks. Also this week in Pretty Darn Fun (A Look at New PDFs) we get a good look at how much the PDF marketplace can change, both in how it sells PDFs and in how it integrates technology. We are living in the days of change and the landscape of RPGs, and the mediums it uses, is in transition.
    • In this week's boardgaming column Do Not Pass Go, Fiddleback claims that Games Make You Better. The next time someone gives you a hard time about playing games as an adult, feel free to trot out this article and show them why they form an important part of your healthy, happy life.
    • Rel wants to know: What are you celebrating? Holidays and calendars in your game worlds can add to the verisimilitude (darn, I used that word!)
    • We have a new review of the Durance RPG! Convicts and colonists on a hellhole prison planet - what more could you want?
    • And Kamikaze Midget discusses Playing With Fear. What does your character fear? What anxieties keep them up at night, staring in to the dancing campfire? What insecurities do they have? What are they worried about? And how do they exhibit this in play? Plus an example of a fear mechanic for D&D 4E.

    [top]Pathfinder RPG News

    [top]Dungeons & Dragons News

    • The Lost Crown of Athalantar by Ed Greenwood"The lore of a crown, as well as the actual crown, can provide you with all manner of options in your game. Come see what Ed has to say about the Lost Crown of Athalantar and how you can use such an item in your game."
    • A Lineage in Art by Bart Carroll "The 2nd Edition reprints are about to release, and so what better time to look back through the art of these books? In this D&D Alumni article, we do just that—but instead of taking the broader view of the entire forest, we'll consider two of its trees (or treants) in particular..."

    [top]Roleplaying Games News

    [top]Community News

    [top]Boardgaming & Other News

    • Rusty Axe Games has produced some token packs that you download and print - a six-pack costs you $1.99. The first set is six dwarves.
    • Fantasy Flight Games has the latest preview up for the Game Of Thrones Card Game. The Captain's Command chapter pack once again focuses on the new Naval mechanic by adding more ships, locations, and naval related characters. The Captain's Command should be available for pre-order now.
    • FFG also has a discussion of the various difficulty modes available for The Lord of the Rings Card Game. Including the newly introduced easy mode, the article discusses how all three modes of play work and why you might be interested in them. A free PDF explains the rules of easy mode and is available for download.

    Tabletop Gaming News for Tueday, 14 May, 2013 [New websites for adventure paths; and more on sexism in D&D Next? Plus big OSR sale!] 


    [top]New Websites for War of the Burning Sky and ZEITGEIST

    We have brand new websites for our two adventure paths:

    Both sites contain free intro packs, trailers, and resources.

    [top]Dungeons & Dragons News

    • Demonic Cults by James Wyatt -- "James presents three cults and asks you some questions about them. Come read up on Demogorgon, Baphomet, and Graz'zt."
    • D&D Next Q&A -- "You've got questions—we've got answers! Here's how it works—each week, our Community Manager scours all available sources to find whatever D&D Next questions you're asking. This week: Subclass Basics, Subclass Customizing & Non-Vancian Subclass Options."
    • Gen Con Registration -- "Event Registration for Gen Con opens May 19th at Noon (Eastern). In advance of registration, we wanted to offer an early look at the D&D events, seminars and gaming taking place at the con!"

    [top]Community News

    [top]Other News

    • Storyteller Cards is a Kickstarter for "a playing deck to inspire creativity". "Storyteller Cards are a creative toolkit in the form of a deck of 54 playing cards. Each card features many elements to push your imaginary limits. There is an illustration of a character, doing an action, with an item, in a location. If that's not enough there are icons on all of the corners featuring moods and seasons (to set or modify the tone), letters (to help with naming), and rank/suit (to play standard card games). "
    • DriveThruRPG is running an Old School Rules/Revival/Rennaissance (depending who you ask) promotion with a discount on many titles. For 15% off, use coupon code OSRF711F2.

    Tabletop Gaming News for Monday, 13 May, 2013 [Daughters of Lear wins $1000 contest! Plus ENORMOUS Pathfinder release list for Gen Con and Sean K Rynolds files off the serial numbers!] 


    [top]And the Winner Is....

    EN World's $1000 7-Day RPG Contest is over! About 40 people entered, and the winner was darkcyril, who has won $1000 with his Daughters of Lear game.

    Daughters of Lear is the storytelling roleplaying game in the tradition of games like Fiasco. Drawing on the timeless themes and traditions of playwrights like Shakespeare, Daughters of Lear puts you and your friends in the roles of the principle actors of your very own play, utilizing a simple dice system to keep things fair and balanced as well as expendable resources to heighten the drama and give your character an edge in reaching his own goals in the scenario you've chosen. [Download]

    Some of the runners-up, in order, were:

    1. Daughters of Lear
    2. Follow the Leader
    3. Dragon-Slayers of the Rio Grande
    4. Eight-Sided Quest
    5. PET: Pet Extra Terrestrial
    6. Men of Power
    7. The Hope
    8. The Token System

    [top]EN World News

    • Game Design 109 takes a look at the importance of items.
    • We have a board game review of Smash Up & Awesome Level 9000 by AEG. "With digital corners for every element of fandom, whether you think that Pirates are better than Ninjas or Aliens could take on Robots with no issue, there's always a place for you. Unfortunately, there's no actual way of proving your preferred faction is better than anyone else... until now, of course. Thanks to the medium of games, you can now discover exactly who is the most awesome in AEG's Smash Up."
    • This week's Gamehackery is a quick roundup of some ideas to experiment with or incorporate into your game - Gumshoe style skills, Interludes from Savage Worlds, and Zones (as seen in multiple games).

    [top]Pathfinder RPG News

    • Paizo editor Ryan Macklin talks about the crunch to get new Pathfinder goodies to the printer in time for Gen Con Indy. "The last six weeks have been quite a slog for the development and editorial pits here at Paizo. We worked day and night, and most weekends, getting over two dozen products scheduled for Gen Con ready to go." The list is quite enormous:


    • Kobolds of Golarion
    • Quests & Campaigns
    • Dragonslayer's Handbook
    • Pathfinder Society Primer
    • Faiths & Philosophies
    • Demon Hunter's Handbook
    • Castles of the Inner Sea
    • Dragons Unleashed
    • The Worldwound
    • Demons Revisited
    • The Dragon's Demand
    • Pathfinder Adventure Path #71: Rasputin Must Die!
    • Pathfinder Adventure Path #72: The Witch Queen's Revenge
    • Wrath of the Righteous Pathfinder Adventure Path #73: The Worldwound Incursion
    • Pathfinder Tales: The Wizard's Mask
    • Map Packs Forest Trails & Evil Ruins)
    • Flip-Mats Arcane Dungeons & Thieves' Guild
    • Card sets Animal Allies Face Cards, Dragon's Demand Campaign Cards, and Iconic Equipment and Wrath of the Righteous Item Cards
    • Pathfinder Adventure Card Game: Rise of the Runelords Base Set
    • PFACG Character Add-On Deck
    • Pathfinder Roleplaying Game: Mythic Adventures
    • Visions of WAR: The Art of Wayne Reynolds

    [top]Roleplaying Game News

    • NeuroSpasta, Dias Ex Machina's cyberpunk setting, is now available for Pathfinder. 305 pages of new rules.
    • Gold Piece Publications is Kickstarting a set of Savage Worlds character sheets.
    • File Off The Serial Numbers is a Pathfinder book by Sean K. Reynolds, who says "If you're curious about what sort of info is presented in this PDF, take a look at some of my old livejournal #monster posts, as I doled these out over several months a while back. File Off the Serial Numbers presents this information in a different format, but it's the same idea."

    File Off the Serial Numbers is a Pathfinder Roleplaying Game-compatible sourcebook giving advice and examples for using existing monster stat blocks in new "roles" as NPCs. For example:

    • Use a young black dragon's stat block as a CR 7 lizardfolk sorcerer
    • Use a dark creeper's stat block as a CR 2 rogue
    • Use a succubus's stat block as a CR 7 enchanter
    • Use a xill's stat block as a CR 6 monk or rogue
    • Use a yeti's stat block as a CR 3 barbarian

    This PDF gives over 80 examples of how to use existing monster stat blocks as humanoid NPCs, explains how to quickly swap or ignore irrelevant monster abilities, and includes tables quickly summarizing roles by CR, class, and creature size. The point of File Off the Serial Numbers is to get more use out of the monster stat blocks you already have, and save you time when you quickly need an NPC or adversary when the PCs take an unexpected turn

    [top]Community News

    • This week The Kyngdoms' weekly article on their City of Blackfen series takes a look at the important subject of the military and the city guard. With war raging, these organizations play a hugely important role in city life and are essential to its survival.
    • Sly Flourish offers a piece of dungeon-mastering advice in Relax.
    • The Tome Show's latest podcast episode, being released out of order, features Tom Lommel aka Bill Cavalier aka The Dungeon Bastard with "advice on how to make your D&D game more EXTREME!"
    • Kobold Press is holding a Magical Wonders art contest -- "First, think of something that is tied to magic that you simply must illustrate and then illustrate it. We’re making the overall focus of this contest very broad so that you have room to play." The prize is an interview, a cover commission from Kobold Press, and a gift certificate. All entries become property of Open Design LLC.
    • Gnome Stew talks about the TV show The Americans - a spy show about a pair of KGB deep cover operatives in the US - and looks for elements to use in your games. (Incidentally, congrats to Gnome Stew on its 5-year birthday!)

    [top]Boardgaming & Other News

    • The DC Deck-Building Game contains some common deckbuilder mechanics, but it is set in the DC Universe. You must defeat Super Villains and gain cards to score more points than your opponents.
    • The Great Heartland Hauling Co. is a pick-up and deliver card game. You must make more money than your opponents to win this game.

    Tabletop Gaming News for Friday, 10 May, 2013 [Warner Bros D&D movie not such a dead cert; PLUS Ultimate Campaign Preview] 


    [top]Dungeons & Dragons News

    • 2nd Edition [podcast] -- "In this episode, we look back at the creation of 2nd Edition Advanced Dungeons & Dragons—and who better to enlighten us than R&D's Steve Winter! We ask Steve to share his stories behind 2E's development, including what classes were selected, the philosophy of campaign settings, and the ankheg's mysterious name change."
    • Epic Campain: Storm Over Neverwinter by Aaron Williams -- "In this episode of the season, the party braves the Storm Over Neverwinter: "One of the "Little Rats" street urchins leads our heroes to another band of dark-cloaked people..."
    • The Cargo that Bites Back by Ed Greenwood -- "Caravan wagons en route from A to B can be full of food, textiles, furniture, books—and far more surprising cargoes."

    [top]Warner Bros D&D Movie Not Such A Dead Cert

    It turns out that that Warner Bros D&D movie reported on earlier in the week isn't quite as clear-cut as it appeared. According to Deadline, Hasbro says it has the rights, and has a project with Universal. "Not so fast, says Hasbro, which claims that it owns the rights to D&D, and that the toymaker company has set up the project at Universal to be developed as a directing vehicle by Chris Morgan, the scribe behind the last five films in The Fast And The Furious franchise (including the upcoming Fast 6) and 47 Ronin."

    [top]Pathfinder RPG News

    • Part three of the Ultimate Campaign preview series by Jason Bulmahn is posted. "This week, we are taking a look at Chapter 3, which is absolutely packed with new systems for GMs to use in their game. Each one of these sections is designed around one theme and they are easily added to any existing campaign when the story calls for that particular theme." The chapter contains 15 subsystems - including alignment shifting, making contacts, developing relationships, and retraining.T

    [top]Boardgaming News

    • Everybody wants a deck building game. Even Privateer Press is getting in on the hottest trend in gaming with High Command, a deck building game set in their Warmachine universe. For 2 - 4 players the game is expected to retail for about $45.
    • Announced earlier this year, The Key and the Gate deluxe expansion for Fantasy Flight's Call of Cthulhu card game. Head to your FLGS to grab it. In the meantime, you can check out the card list.
    4 Comments

    Tabletop Gaming News for Thursday, 9 May, 2013 [Monsters & Magic: A New OSR Game; Shadowrun 5th Edition; and a Dragon Age preview] 


    [top]EN World News

    • I've cleaned up and redesigned EN World's FAQ. Let me know if there's anything obvious missing or wrong!
    • Don't forget to vote in the $1000 7-Day RPG Compeition! Three days left!
    • Rel's latest article, That Which Is Measured Improves, discusses feedback.
    • We have a review of The Fires of Heaven (a sci-fi setting for the Hero System) -- "Overall, The Fires of Heaven is a hefty and pretty complete space opera setting for Star Hero/Hero System, and one that will likely have appeal to a wide range of science-fiction role-players. The author definitely accomplished his goal of creating a setting that was “hard” science-fiction in all the right areas, yet had room for the fantastic and wondrous in a few key places."
    • Dungeon Survival Horror is Kamikaze Midget's subject of choice this week. He discussesit three main elements (limited resources, isolation, and the avoidance of encounters).

    [top]Dungeons & Dragons News

    [top]Roleplaying Games News

    • The Monsters & Magic Roleplaying Game is a new fantasy RPG coming in June 2013 from Mindjammer Press. It's an OSR (Old School Rennaissance) game "specifically designed to be used with classic fantasy supplements and adventures with little or no conversion... Pick up your favourite old school campaigns, adventures, wilderness maps and encounter tables, those bestiaries, spellbooks, and gazetteers, and revisit them with this new set of rules." You can see more information plus some character sheets on the official web page.
    • Check out this monster art preview from 13 True Ways (for 13th Age) - murder pixies!
    • The Mage is a preview of Green Ronin' Dragon Age set 3. "Our Dragon Age Set 3 Class Previews come to a close with the Mage. By higher levels, Mages in Dragon Age possess vast mystical power capable of destroying hordes of lesser foes. Where Warriors use martial skill and physical power and Rogues rely on finesse and stealth, the Mage uses their knowledge and will to bend magic to their will and fight off the dangers of the Fade. "
    • Wise Turtle Publishing is Kickstarting an OVA anime RPG. "Become your favorite characters from the diverse worlds of Japanese animation in this easy to learn role-playing game."
    • There's a brand new preview for Shadowrun 5th Edition focusing on the setting and featured on Roleplayer's Chronicle.
    • Kobold Press' Midgard Bestiary is now available for Hero Lab.
    • There's another interview with Victoriana 3rd Edition line developer Walt Ciechanowski, this time about the "Sorcery and Steam" section.
    • Odyssey: The Complete Game Master's Guide to Campaign Management, written by award-winning authors Phil Vecchione and Walt Ciechanowski, the fourth book from Gnome Stew and Engine Publishing is coming in July. "200 pages of system-neutral advice on starting, managing, and ending campaigns for game masters of all stripes and experience levels."

    [top]Community News

    • The latest article on Blackfen from The Kyngdoms takes a look at the many guilds that operate in the city, what they do for their members, and the impact they have.
    • Gnome Stew takes a second look at The Hidden World, a "world that seems much like our own, but that's just an illusion. However, the "modern world" isn't what it seems... for some reason."
    • Campaign Mastery discusses The Gap in Reality: Immersion in an RPG Environment.

    [top]Boardgaming News

    • Fantasy Flight Games continues to preview Letters from Whitechapel, their Jack-the-Ripper hunting game. This preview is all about the optional rules available to make the game, harder, easier, or just plain trickier for the players.
    • FFG has also announced that The Lord of the Rings: The Confrontation will be back in print. Designed by Reiner Knizia the game is like Stratego, but different enough to be regarded as significantly better. It is scheduled for 3rd Quarter 2013.
    • Privateer Press has posted photos of their new Trollkin Warders for Hordes. The plastic minis come 5 to a box and should retail at about $45.

    Tabletop Gaming News for Wednesday, 8 May, 2013 [A New D&D Movie; PLUS preview art from ULTIMATE CAMPAIGN and ENnies LAST WARNING!] 


    [top]ENnies: Last Day To Enter!

    This is it - today is the last day to submit your products to the 2013 ENnies. Any package with a postmark past May 8th, 2013, will not be accepted. Any e-submission received after May 8th, 2013, will also not be accepted. Get those submissions in so you have a chance and good luck to all! Nominees will be announced on July 14.

    [top]Warner Bros. to Make a New D&D Movie

    Warner Bros has acquired rights to make a Dungeons & Dragons movie. The script, initially called Chainmail (the tabletop wargame upon which D&D was based in the 1970s) was written by David Leslie Johnson (Wrath of the Titans, Red Riding Hood) and is now being rejiggered to take advantage of the newly acquired license. The production team includes Courtney Solomon - who directed the unpopular 2000 D&D movie starring Jeremy Irons.

    [top]Pathfinder RPG News

    • Art Director Sarah Robinson gives a sneak peek at some of the awesome new art from Ultimate Campaign.




    Kingdom-building rules allow PCs to control their own country—or be the power behind the throne.


    A character's lineage is a chain of characters linking a PC to the history of the campaign setting.

    [top]Dungeons & Dragons News

    • Imagining the World by Jon Schindehette -- Let’s take a step back from the details of D&D races and monsters (and more) in favor of seeing the larger picture: the scenic and awe-inspiring elements of the world of Faerűn. Jon starts us on our exploration of the world with a few images and several words.

    [top]Boardgaming News

    • On June 15th, Mongoose Publishing is throwing open its doors to hold Star Fleet's Finest 2013, an official tournament for A Call to Arms: Star Fleet. Star Fleet's Finest is a yearly Star Fleet event that pits players against one another in a series of games to decide who is the greatest admiral in the known galaxy!
    • Fantasy Flight Games has announced the availability (for retailers) of their Season 2 Game Night Kits for any of 7 popular game lines. The kit's will feature special promotional bits and extras and should be available for your FLGS to order...now.

    [top]Community News

    • Player responsibilities - What do you expect from your group? What responsibilities do you expect, or at least feel, players should take on? That's the question Gnome Stew is asking today.
    • Kobold Press presents the Tribal Chieftain template for Pathfinder.
    • Sarah Darkmagic takes a look at middle-ages life expectancy.
    • Four Things You've Never Heard of That Make Encounters Not Suck is the lengthy title of an article by The Angry DM.
    • The Journeyman GM tells us why every campaign should plan for an end. "In my opinion, no campaign should begin without an end in mind. This may sound somewhat strange to gamers who are accustomed to playing games that continue on and on. But I think that without a planned ending, the campaign itself becomes weaker."
    4 Comments

    Tabletop Gaming News for Tuesday, 7 May, 2013 [Kobolds' Community Usage, Forbes on Pathfinder, Neverwinter review!] 


    [top]EN World News

    • Lots of gaming stuff going on at EN World over the weekend! Here goes:
    • Don't forget to vote in the $1000 7-Day RPG Compeition!
    • If you're a fan of our Online Generic Randomizer Engine (O.G.R.E.) which allows you to create and share random tables and generators, you'll be pleased to know it got some improvements last week. You can now rate generators, comment on them, and view a list of top-rated generators. Coming soon is the ability to mark a list of favourites, accept user-input as variables, and then we start work on the API for the mobile app which will take the whole thing to a new level.
    • This week in Pretty Darn Fun (a look at new PDFs) there is a wide range of different systems covered. It's good to see such variety in the marketplace, as one thing I've learned through the years is that gamers are themselves a very diverse crowd. The Spotlight of the Week is also a unique offering, something I have never seen before from a marketing standpoint. Again, we have a good selection of PDFs to check out for any gamer.
    • Southern Oracle discusses Life, Liberty, and the Puruit of Happiness.
    • Game Design 108 deals with Realism vs. Fun.
    • We have a (glowing!) board game review of FFG's Battlestar Galactica game.
    • Radiating Gnome takes a look at self-publising in print, digital, and audible formats.

    [top]Dungeons & Dragons News

    • No Legends & Lore this week! WotC's Trevor Kidd says: Hey gang, I just found out that we won't have a Legends & Lore next week, Mike was busy fending off a horde of kobolds we found in the basement. L&L should return the week after however.
    • Monsters of Many Names by James Wyatt -- "Some creatures have had many names in D&D, and James is here to talk about a few of them—yugoloths and gehreleths. Or daemons and demodands. Come take a look and give us your feedback regarding what you read here today!"
    • Dungeons of Dread Illos -- "For DMs looking to run brave bands of adventurers through the Dungeons of Dread, we're also including the illustrations booklets."

    [top]Pathfinder RPG News

    • There are new Pathfinder Society rewards for reading Pathfinder Tales. Basically, you get something called a Chronicle Sheet which gets signed by a GM when you attend a Pathfinder Society event with one of the novels on the sheet; and that gets you a "boon" for one of your PCs.
    • Forbes Magazine reviewed the Pathfinder Beginner Box (if you can get past the popups and interstitials). "The Pathfinder Beginner Box is a great introduction to Paizo’s roleplaying game and to d20 tabletop gaming."
    • There are some out-of-print classic Pathfinder books available on Paizo's site -- "We've raided their stash (don't worry, clerics and oracles were on hand to heal damage) and have restocked our shelves with classics like the original Pathfinder Chronicles: Campaign Setting, Goblins of Golarion, even the hard-to-find Cheliax, Empire of Devils! New classics like our the Rise of the Runelords Anniversary Edition Hardcover, the Pathfinder RPG hardcovers, and the entire Kingmaker Adventure Path are available, but we can't guarantee these will stay in stock". You can see the whole selection here.
    • Erik Mona previews some more Pathfinder Battles miniatures from the Skull & Shackles set.
    • There's a software developer position open at Paizo in Redmond, Seattle.

    [top]Roleplaying Games

    • Black Chicken Studios, inc., has partnered with Tin Man Games to create a Kickstarter for "...seriously old school adventure gamebook, set in the deep Dwarven caverns beneath the surface world. We're joining Tin Man Games in breathing new life into the glorious, but fading, gamebook genre." It's called Holdfast: A Gamebook of Dwarven Vengeance.
    • Theres a family-oriented RPG being Kickstarted by Eden Studios - it's called Adventure Maximus! and is designed with kids in mind. "Adventure Maximus! is a game where kids can easily create a character, plan and run adventures, find treasures and be heroes of their imagination. Adventure Maximus! inspires creativity, problem solving and provides quality face time with other human beings rather than staring into computer screens all with the help of dice and cards (by using dice and cards it gives the kids that extra toy value to keep them at the table)."
    • Kobold Press Community Use Policy -- Kobold Press has announced a new Community Use Policy. Using this policy, fans can create free fan works for use with the Midgard Campaign setting (and other Kobold Press material). This will also include packages of art which fans can use, such as the initial ten full-color Midgard NPCs.


    The Midgard Campaign Setting fan community is growing faster than an ill-advised alchemy experiment in Maillon! It's an active, vibrant community, full of people who want to take what we've created and run with it in exciting and fun directions. So we thought, why not make it easier for them?

    To encourage fan sites and free fan-created projects using Midgard and other Kobold Press IP, we've just launched the     Kobold Press Community Use Policy. This policy covers free, fan-created material only; if you want to do a commercial project, check out our Freelancer Guidelines.

    Along with guidelines on what fans can use and how, we're also offering the first Kobold Press     Community Use Package of resources. This first package contains 10 of the Midgard setting's most iconic characters -- and we'll be adding new packages over time.

    Tell us what you think in the comments! And if you have a Midgard fan project underway, or if this inspires you to start one, please let us know. We'd love to see it.

    [top]Community News

    • Sly Flourish has written an article about the recently released Dungeons of Dread collection of AD&D 1E modules from WotC - speciifically running White Plume Mountain using the D&D Next playtest rules.
    • Sarah Darkmagic writes about gender discrimination in the D&D Next deities section.
    • Kobold Press presents The Chemist, a class compatible with either Swords & Wizardry or Labyrinth Lord core rules.
    • Guest writer John Fredericks on Gnome Stew has an idea for using "letters from home" received by PCs (the contents of which are determined by the PCs) as a way to enhance the game.
    • The news of the cancellation of the Marvel Heroic RPG (understandably) disappointed Christopher Hackler of Gaming Tonic, who asks: What Now?
    • Game Knight Reviews has reviewed Blackstar Studios' Shadowlands: The Gates of Tarina (an adventure for the Pathfinder RPG).
    • Check out this giant, detailed review of Neverwinter, the new D&D MMO.

    [top]Boardgaming News

    • I've mentioned it before, but Palladium has a Kickstarter for its Robotech RPG Tactics game. It's now at about half a million dollars, and has two weeks to go (it ends on May 20th). "Robotech® RPG Tactics™ is a fast-paced, tabletop combat game that captures the action and adventure of the Robotech® anime. Two or more players can engage in small squad skirmishes or scale up to massive battles. Relive the clashes of the First Robotech War, engage in stand-alone tactical games or use the dynamic game pieces to enhance your Robotech® RPG experience. Or simply collect your favorite mecha from an expanding range of top notch game pieces, including some Kickstarter exclusives."
    • Jason at Play Board Games has decided to update his list of his top ten cooperative (or semi-cooperative) games. Like his other top ten lists, this list only includes games he has played.
    • Fantasy Flight has previewed an expansion for Elder Sign. Called Unseen Forces, the expansion features new mechanics, new monsters and new adventures all intended to help you go mad in the Cthulhu-verse.
    • FFG also dropped some news on the next X-wing Expansion on May the 4th. Ships featured in the expansion are the Lambda-class Shuttle, the B-wing, the TIE Bomber, and Kyle Katarn's (from the Star Wars: Dark Forces series of games) HWK-290.
    • Fantasy Flight has a preview of the deluxe expansion for Android: Netrunner. This preview of Creation and Control focuses on Hass-Bioroid and some of the upgraded units they've produced like Heimdal 2.0.
    • The ladies of Starlit Citadel review Fleet Admiral, a Sci-fi game where players start as captains but upgrade ships and crew until they become admirals. See the video below!



    2 Comments

    The $1000 7-Day RPG Competition -- Voting is Open! 


    It's a sunny May bank holiday here in the UK, so I won't be doing much by way of work today. However, the voting booth for the EN World $1000 7-Day RPG Competition is now open! I had over 40 entries, ranging from 1-2 page systems to 200+ page books, and covering fantasy, sci-fi, horror, modern, and more!

    I encourage you to read as many of these as you can. Some are just a page long; others are over 200 pages! Most are in PDF format, but you'll see some RTF, .txt, and others here. And please do comment on and discuss these entries - I'm sure the authors will thank you for it! And hey, at worst - you get 40 free RPGs!

    The voting booth will remain open for one week from the time I hit "Submit" on this post. Contestants are welcome to campaign for and encourage votes; however, any contestant found encouraging anybody to cast more than one vote each for their entry will be disqualified.

    You can vote for up to THREE entries. Voting totals will remain hidden until the voting period is complete.

    Tabletop Gaming News for Friday, 3 May, 2013 [RPGs have no relation with satanism! Woohoo!; plus Ultimate Campaign preview from Paizo] 


    [top]EN World News

    • There's just two days left to get your entries in for the EN World $1000 7-Day RPG Contest. Don't miss your chance!
    • Don't forget to let me know your opinion on the "Coming Soon" column on the right-side of the news page - keep or ditch? (See yesterdays news).

    [top]Pathfinder RPG News

    • New rules for stuff to do during your game's downtime, in part 2 of Jason Bulmahn's Ultimate Campaign preview. Ultimate Campaign, a 256-page hardcover, should be hitting shelves in about 3 weeks. This preview takes a look at the character downtime system -- "This versatile system allows a character to undertake a number of different tasks to improve himself or build his standing within the town he lives in." And it has stats for a bath.
    • Jim Zub, creator of the Pathfinder Comic, got his "contributor's copy" of the graphic novel in the mail today.

    [top]Dungeons & Dragons News

    • Walkthrough Map: Tsojcanth by Jason Thompson -- "Daoud's Magical Lanthorn! The Demonomicon! Treasures of unimaginable worth! It's long past time some brave adventurers plundered the buried riches of the Archmage Iggwilv!" In great celebration of the S series of adventures, we'd like to offer the following cartoon -- considering the Lost Caverns of Tsojcanth!

    [top]Roleplaying Games News

    [top]Community News

    • Campaign Mastery has had numerous articles on campaign planning in the past. The latest article discusses tailoring those techniques to the different tones of various campaigns.
    • An article on Gaming Tonic posits that "Character Generation Is Harder Than I Remember".
    • Kobold Press features The Broken Tower, a "short, divisional encounter".
    • Gnome Stew has an article about campaign, scene, and story framing.
    • Sarah Darkmagic writes about sexual discrimination in the dwarf description of the D&D Next rules.

    [top]Boardgaming News

    • Have you got enough free time on your hands to do some extensive play testing? If so, Soda Pop Miniatures would like to hear from you so they can play test Super Dungeon Explore. To see their requirements and contact info, head to their Facebook Page.
    • Maxmini has a small selection of what it is calling Rocket Pigs. No, I don't know why, but if you need them, here they are.
    • Humanity's Shadow, the fourth data pack for FFG's Android: Netrunner Card Game, should now be available in stores. The press release on FFG's site has a sample deck you can build and use that incorporates many of the cards in the data pack.
    • Neil Gaiman's "A Study in Emerald" will soon be a Board Game thanks to Martin Wallace. Wallace recently sat down to talk to The Esoteric Order of Gamers about the game and it's associated Kickstarter Campaign as well as any influences the Great Old Ones might have had on the design.
    • Fantasy Flight Games has handed off another game line. This time it is Dust Tactics and Dust Warfare which will now be published by Battlefront Miniatures of New Zealand starting June 1st. More on the hand over and a quick FAQ can be found at FFG's website.

    [top]RPGs Are No Longer Evil

    A couple of days ago I reported on a Brazilian newspaper which claimed that RPGs led to satanism and murder. I'm pleased to report that the newspaper in question has retracted its position, clearly acknowledged that "RPGs have no relation with satanism" and published a short article to focus on the positive side of gaming.


    Thanks again to Claudio Pozas for the translation:

    RPG has no relation to satanism

    After a special report ran in yesterday's A Tribuna, internet users rallied in social networks to clarify that Role Playing Games, better known as RPGs, have is unrelated to satanism, nor does it encourage suicides.

    In A Tribuna's Facebook page, Emily Caetano said she has been playing RPGs for a long time, and likened it to children's games. “A child playing house or pretending to be a superhero, develops a story and places herself in it, which stimulates her imagination, without society condemning her. Much like I didn't throw myself off the roof when pretending to be Wonder Woman, I don't go around killing people when I play an RPG”, Emily wrote.

    Victor Beligote is a 26-year-old engineer, and has been playing RPGs since age 13. According to Victor, the game is a hobby that has brought him only positive things. “RPG encouraged me to read much more and research History in order to better understand the backdropg of our games”, he said.

    Psicologist Patrícia Rocco agrees with Victor. According to her, RPGs encourages creativity and strategic thinking, in addition to fostering an identification between the player and his character, with positive effects. “Sometimes players see in the characters traits they have, and sometimes they see traits they wish they had, which stimulates them to also develop these traits”, Patricia explains.

    Victor knows one such gamer. “I play with a young man who was very shy and stuttered a lot. He worked on those issues in order to play RPGs better, and now is a great orator”, he relates.
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    Tabletop Gaming News for Thursday, 2 May, 2013 [Spell Compendium Review; and a QUESTION! Plus GenCon Industry Guests & Fake Doctor Who Minis] 


    [top]EN World News

    • We have a review of the Premium Spell Compendium v3.5 from WotC. "It’s next to impossible to find much fault with the Premium Spell Compendium 3.5, being a “faithful” reproduction of the original with all the errata added in, and bearing an awesome looking cover. If you play D&D 3.5 or d20 variant thereof, I can honestly say this is one of those “must-have” products to keep at the gaming table just to help the session run smoother by having at the ready, a complete and easily referenced compendium of all types of spells."
    • Rel talks about how we are what we choose to be or do, and how that applies to an RPG in Act How You Want To Be.
    • Steal This Rule: Trust; an article from Kamikaze Midget which describes one of the best in-game reputation systems he's ever seen. Enjoy! "Relevant, effective, and granular without being overly detailed, this system does more than measure how well-liked a given party is in a region: it helps the DM to sprinkle plot lines, to get an idea of a party’s direction, and even to track time and the changes that the party can bring to an area. "
    • On the right hand side of EN World's home page (lower down) is a "Coming Soon" sidebar. It's been there for a while (before that it wasn't there for a while, and before that it was there for years). I'm trying to decide whether to keep it - it simply lists WotC's and Paizo's major upcoming releases over the next few months. While I appreciate that that info, like everything else on this page and most of the web, can be found also elsewhere, my question is this: is it useful to you? Do you use it? Please let me know in the comments, as I'm trying to decide whether to keep it or not.

    [top]Dungeons & Dragons News

    • Beholders: Comparative Analysis -- In this preview of the 2nd Edition re-release of the Monster Manual, we consider one of the game's most celebrated creatures: the beholder!
    • Epic Campain: Storm Over Neverwinter by Aaron Williams -- In this episode of the season, the party braves the Storm Over Neverwinter: "If Lord Neverember had offered a ten grand reward for that guy in the devil mask before, we might have tried harder to keep him from escaping.
    • The Talkative Tavernmaster by Ed Greenwood -- Creating a quick cast of nonplayer characters is something DMs have to do from time to time. This week, Ed provides you with a way to do this that allows you to add more flavor to your campaign—and he does so with an extended example that you can immediately use in your game.

    [top]Gen Con Industry Guests of Honor

    Every year Gen Con invites the gaming industry to apply to be an "Industry Guest of Honor". These guests host seminars and panels, and consist of the following illustrious people; for more info on them, see GenCon's page.

    [top]Community News

    • Game Knight Reviews talks about the roll of Art Director on an RPG publication.
    • The Hidden World is the topic today at Gnome Stew. The hidden world setting is often a world that begins by modeling the world around us, but adds a concealed truth.
    • If you're a fan of gnolls, head on over to Kobold Press and read Gnasty Gnolls: Lore and Adventures.
    • CLASSics: Figher, Part 2 is a a new Tale from the Gazebo from Roleplayers Chronicle.
    • The Kyngdoms have released the May issue of their monthly e-zine, the Zinedoms. This month they take a look at the Longstaff Wizards, a powerful and secretive group of arcane wizards who control much of the magic trade throughout the world.
    • Steve Kenson has a gust spot on the Blog of Games blog, where he talks about Game of Thrones s3e2 and the Song of Ice & Fire RPG.

    [top]Boardgaming & Other News






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