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Russ Morrissey

Morrus is the owner of EN World and EN Publishing, creator of the ENnies, creator of the What's OLD is NEW (WOIN) and Simply6 game systems, and co-host of the weekly Morrus' Unofficial Tabletop RPG Talk podcast. He has been a game publisher and RPG community administrator for over 20 years, and has been reporting on D&D news for two decades.

Boardgame Review: Eclipse by Touko Tahkokallio

Jan 12

Taken from the Noble History of The Terran Directorate: “The Terran Directorate had spent centuries peacefully coexisting in their own little corner of the galaxy. Though their empire was small, they were a self sufficient race that was content to keep to their own. Some small exploration once in a while brought about expansion and new blood to the Directorate, but beyond their borders something was stirring that would change history forever…”

A (Typewritten) D&D Review from 1974 by Arnold Hendrick

Jan 12

"In general, the concept and imagination involved is stunning. However, much more work, refinement, and especially regulation and simplification is necessary before the game is manageable. The scope is just too grand, while the referee is expected to do too much in relation to the players. If you need ideas to help you along into your own fantasy adventure games, these booklets will be of use; otherwise your ten dollars will be wasted. I do not suggest these to the average wargamer." - Arnold Hendrick.

Interview with Dave Arneson

Jan 12

Article: The Ultimate Interview with Dave Arneson This interview was conducted by Ciro Alessandro Sacco of www.dungeons.it. It is presented here with his permission. INTRODUCTION David (Dave) Arneson is one of the most important figures in gaming, because he was co author of Dungeons & Dragons, that little game who spawned an entire industry (or two, if we count videogames). Despite...

RPG News for Friday, 11 Jan, 2013

Jan 11

Pathfinder News A few weeks ago, Paizo held a competition to stat up characters from Dave Gross' Pathfinder Tales. Here are some of his favourites. I was fortunate enough to be able to ask Goblinworks' Ryan Dancey (Eve Online, Dungeons & Dragons) and Mark Kalmes (City of Heroes, World of Darkness) about their PATHFINDER ONLINE Kickstarter. One thing I didn't realise - and that may have...

Pathfinder MMO: A Chat with Ryan Dancey and Mark Kalmes of Goblinworks

Jan 11

I was fortunate enough to be able to ask Goblinworks' Ryan Dancey (Eve Online, Dungeons & Dragons) and Mark Kalmes (City of Heroes, World of Darkness) about their PATHFINDER ONLINE Kickstarter. One thing I didn't realise - and that may have just been me being slow on the uptake - is that the Kickstarter isn't to fund the game; it's already funded. The $1,000,000 Kickstarter is to accelerate...

RPG News for Thursday, 10 January, 2013

Jan 10

Dungeons & Dragons News A new round of D&D Next surveys are heading out right now. Make sure to check your mail and spam filters over the next few days! In this week's D&D Next Q&A, Rodney talks about two-weapon defense, monster customization & character conversion. A reminder - don't forget the D&D Next Google Hangout tomorrow (Friday) with Mike Mearls and Jeremy Crawford at 11.30am PT...

Boardgame Review: Small World by Days of Wonder

Jan 05

Born from another of his designs, Phillipe Keyaerts’ most notable game has something of a pedigree. The original version of the game, Vinci, was first released back in 1999 and still has a decent following today as players battled to seize control of Europe over the span of centuries. It wasn’t until 2009 that Days of Wonder released the streamlined, updated Small World and the game really hit...

RPG News for Friday, 4 Jan, 2013

Jan 04

http://www.enworld.org/newsimages/lotr_python.jpgPathfinder RPG News What better way to close out 2012, the 5th anniversary of Pathfinder and the 10th anniversary of Paizo than a chat with Paizo CEO Lisa Stevens in the Know Direction Podcast? The Emerald Spire Superdungeon expands with the addition of Jordan Weisman and Michael J. Stackpole to the line-up of authors and designers. I will...

RPG News for Wednesday, 2 January, 2013

Jan 02

Welcome back, and welcome to 2013! Before I delve into the news, why not see how well you remember 2012? Or test your memory of classic TSR module artwork? Those two links may make it clear that I've managed to restore EN Word's quiz functionality; that's one more rebuilding task off the list! Soon to be restored are much of the campaign manager functionality (the journal, NPCs, images...

RPG News & "State of EN World" for NYE, Monday, 31 Dec, 2012

Dec 31

Happy New Year, everybody! This is my last news post of 2012. The next one will be on Wednesday, the 2nd of January. Scroll down for a "state of EN World" at the end! Dungeons & Dragons News In these final days of the year, we look back the game's most nightmarish monsters: the undead! So, how did these creatures evolve in the game? Read on to find out! Defenders of Midgard, a player's...

Boardgame Review: Lords of Waterdeep from WotC

Dec 29

Welcome to Waterdeep, the City of Splendours! A place beloved of many a D&D player who has thrown themselves at the mercy of a Forgotten Realms campaign, it’s little surprise that Wizards of the Coast decided to use it as a backdrop for their first venture into a very different sort of game. Sure, WotC have done plenty over recent years in order to expand the line with the Adventure System...

New Hobby Game Releases UK

Dec 29

New Releases for 24th/31st December 2012. This is Angus Abranson's regular list. The below will have hit some stores last week and will probably hit the rest this coming week due to the Christmas holidays. For further information please contact your usual suppliers.

RPG News for Friday, 28 December, 2012

Dec 28

Pathfinder RPG News Award-winning fantasy and SF editor Lou Anders gives a glowing review of the Pathfinder Tales novel Death's Heretic. As a holiday present to gamers everywhere, Super Genius Games presents a collection of a trio of Pathfinder house rules, Houserule Footnotes: Stocking Stuffers, for free. 29 different publishers have contributed 42 different PDFs to make up a PDF Superpack...

RPG News for Wednesday, 26 December, 2012

Dec 26

I hope that everybody had a great Christmas, and got plenty of excellent gaming loot! If you have a quick spare second, "liking", "tweeting", or "Google+ing" EN World using the buttons at the top right of this page would be a fantastic little Xmas gift for which I'd be very grateful! Dungeons & Dragons News WotC has created a Random Inn Generator. I just rolled up the False Tanner, with 8...

RPG News for Monday, 24 Dec, 2012

Dec 24

Announcing the Winner of Battle of the Bards 2012http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6k2PiQh5YYE Community News EN World columnist Challenger RPG asks Fed up of Rolling Dice for High Level Players? followed by a discussion on Winterizing Your RPGs. Check out this awesome hand-made tile set. It's not strictly gaming news, but game designer Monte Cook's and Jen Page's web series Geek Seekers...

RPG News for Friday, 21st Dec, 2012

Dec 21

Pathfinder News Today's Daily Deal over at the Pathfinder Kickstarter is an Old One Idol. Each Daily Deal is an in-game item that will give your character a little extra. The voting is now underway for RPG Superstar 2013 and the twist this year is that the fans vote for Round One. F. Wesley Schneider talks about Blood of the Night for the Pathfinder RPG - what type of vampire is right for...

RPG News for Thursday, 20 Dec, 2012

Dec 20

Pathfinder News http://paizo.com/image/product/catalog/PZO/PZO9252_180.jpegPaizo's site is having problems. I know exactly how that feels. Anyway, they say: "We're having issues with the Internets office-wide and are working on getting it back up and running asap. Stay tuned, and thanks for your patience!" Update - back up and running! Paizo says "The Land Rush is ON over at the...

RPG News for Wednesday, 19 Dec, 2012

Dec 19

Pathfinder RPG News Super Genius Games has acquired the Pathfinder post-apocalyptic setting Warlords of the Apocalypse from Adamant Entertainment. It was announced in 2010 but ran into problems. Garth-Michael Skarka says "We’re very glad ... that we were able to come to an agreement that honors not only WOTA, but the existing pre-order customers". Pre-order customers will now see their...

RPG News for Tuesday, 18 Dec, 2012

Dec 18

D&D News If you don't have it already, you can download yesterday's new D&D Next Playtest package. The forum discussion for it is here. Another tiny tidbit from Mike Mearls (see yesterday's news for some more): "Dead levels in [D&D Next] are a work in progress. We have some stuff - a save or die mechanic for the fighter - that we're working on." Take a look at golems and how they're...

New Hobby Game Releases UK

Dec 16

The following will be hitting UK stores this week. For further information please contact your usual suppliers for details. This list was compiled by Angus Abranson.