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The fact that the new version will be based on the Classic Traveller ruleset is a good thing....as is the fact that much the revised system will be released as OGC. The idea of the Traveller Logo License (TLL) also sounds promising. Hopefully we will see some good third-party content for the...

Moorcock has publicly acknowledged the influence of Poul Anderson's 1954 novel, The Broken Sword on many elements of his work. One of the best short novels in modern fantasy, this work features the Tyrfing in a significant role...

IMHO, the treatment of Celestials in early D&D seems to owe a lot to late Platonism. Large chunks of the celestial hierarchy is drawn from late classical literature, especially Plotinus, Porphyry, and Iambilichus (e.g. Solars, Planetars, Archons). The same sources influenced early Christian...

Don't forget that Robert E. Howard wrote a lot more than just Conan! Make sure that you check out some of his historical stories...especially those set in the Middle East during the Crusades. Some of these are at least as good as his Conan tales - but are nowhere near as well-known as his...

Interesting that almost every single thread on 4e has indicated that the existing fan-base don't want WoTC to go down this path. Many people obviously believe that the emphasis placed on miniatures in v3.5 was a mistake. Do we really think that the folks at WoTC haven't noticed this fact...

I'd love to see the game weighted back towards low to mid-level play....just like it was in both 1e and 2e. The experience progression should be tweaked to encourage this. The notion that characters should go up a level every 13 encounters is just plain wrong -- the number of encounters required...

I'd like to see a wider range of base classes that represent classic fantasy archetypes. In addition to the existing classes from the PHB, this would include the swashbuckler, the assassin, the warlock, and stuff like that. If a class isn't built around an archetype strong enough to sustain a...

Agreed...but IMHO traditional D&D has always been about more than just dungeon crawls. I suppose that I'd like to see a move away from the 'dungeonpunk' look and feel that has come to define the game over the past few years. That stuff definitely has a place in the D&D multiverse...but it's...

I would love to see the 4e combat system split into two separate chapters - a basic combat chapter for those who want a more streamlined experience and a tactical combat chapter for those that want a more 'crunchy' experience. Ideally, the basic combat rules wouldn't require the use of...

Personally, I've always loved Dave A. Trampier's work. IMHO, he was one of the finest artists to work on any edition of D&D. It's such a pity that he has dropped out of sight and wants nothing more to do with RPGs. Last that I heard, he was driving a taxi for a living. I also loved the work...

Hey Matt, Do you have any thoughts on why the hobby seems to be booming in Europe at the same time that it is shrinking in the US? Is this phenomenon evenly distributed across the whole of Europe, or is it largely restricted to the UK? Are there specific areas of the hobby (such as Fantasy...

I'm expecting Diaglo to show up any moment now. I love Castles & Crusades, but most of the game stores down here don't carry it. A staff member at one store told me that the reason they don't stock it is that it's 'just another d20 knock-off'. Sigh.

Personally, I was looking forward to the d20 version of Ex Machina. It's sad to see them go.

This is sad news indeed. GoO published some great stuff. Last year, the Game of Thrones RPG stood out as one of the best products on the market. I also loved Ex Machina and I am truly disappointed that we will never see the d20 version now. And before that there was BESM.... *sigh* Best of...

I think that it may be time for WoTC to start concentrating on fluff rather than crunch. This means fleshing out the various settings (ands possibly reviving some old settings) rather than churning out rules more supplements. I suspect that there may be a natural life cycle to each edition of...

I have recently been reading Eric Raymond's The Art of Unix Programming and it strikes me that many of the principles of good programming that he expresses could also be applied to RPG design. Based upon his work, I would like to propose the following 'laws' of RPG design. I'm sure that not...

Agreed. But isn't there a 'sweet spot' on the curve where it is possible to achieve a high degree of elegance with the minimal additional complexity? Personally, I think that a truly elegant system is one that makes the inevitable trade-offs between complexity, playability, and flavour in a...

I'm the IT manager for a medical research institute attached to a major hospital in Sydney, Australia. Like many ENWorlders, I have an degree in History...although I've recently gone back to University part-time to do a Master's degree in Network Security.

I was in a Ravenloft game once where a really bad DM gave out a Deck of Many Things. In the end, the campaign was so godawful that the whole party sat down and played a hand of poker with the cards... The look on the DM's face was truly priceless. :lol:

I'm an Australian who lives in the Blue Mountains to the west of Sydney - not far from Jenolan Caves - and I can vouch for the quality of the food at the restaurant. (Incidentally, the Jenolan Caves pretty amazing. I'm sure there's a passage into the Underdark down there somewhere :p )...