Article: RPG News for Thursday, 10 January, 2013

[Morrus]

[h=3]Dungeons & Dragons News[/h]

• 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.
• Chris Perkins asks what one word best describes your DMing style?
• D&D at Winter Fantasy -- Winter Fantasy is January 2th-27th in Fort Wayne, Indiana. There will be some exclusive first looks at:
  • The very first public playtest of A0: Danger at Darkshelf Quarry, a brand new D&D Next prequel adventure written by Skip Williams, which debuts with June's Against the Slave Lords release. "Darkshelf Quarry holds more than limestone and granite. Whispered rumors abound that the quarry’s dwarf overseer isn’t really a dwarf at all, and that he makes most of his money selling slaves, not stone. Investigation is the only way to learn the truth, but beware! The quarry is well defended, and danger lurks within its dark tunnels and hidden chambers."
  • An exclusive preview of a D&D Next class that has not yet appeared in the D&D Next public playtest.
  • The very first adventure module published by TSR, G1: The Steading of the Hill Giant Chief, will be available for play using the D&D Next rules.
• The D&D 4th Edition and D&D Next Collectors' Guides have been reformatted to make browsing them easier.

[h=3]Pathfinder News[/h]

• The ZEITGEIST: The Gears of Revolution adventure path is now available at the d20pfsrd.com store.
• New fiction by Richard Lee Byers on the Paizo blog. In Red Rune Canyon, Chapter One: A Difference of Opinion.

[h=3]Roleplaying Game News[/h]

• The Guild of Blades Publishing Group has released the Dark Realms Epic Adventure Game: Creature Compendium I in PDF at RPGNow for $3.99 or in print at their own website.
• Deadlands Reloaded: Trail Guides, Volume 1 from Pinnacle Entertainment is now available at RPGNow. "Take a tour of the less-traveled Weird West with your Epitaph correspondent Phineas P. Gage for the first three Deadlands Trail Guides, now compiled into one volume for ease of reference."
• Yesterday Forbes covered the Pathfinder MMO with Ryan Dancey. Today it covers the video game version of Monte Cook's Numenera.
• Sean Patrick Fannon discusses the plans for his new RPG company Evil Beagle in 2013.
• Evil Hat Productions -- "Friday. Magic System Toolkit. 5 systems from @rdonoghue plus excellent advice on how to think about making magic systems."
• The FATE Core Kickstarter has a new stretch goal - Young Centurions. "Young Centurions takes the Spirit of the Century setting into the realm of young-adult-fiction-inspired roleplaying -- a great way to bring your family and friends along into a world of pulp adventure and Fate-driven roleplaying." The project is over 8000% funded with a quarter-million dollars (they asked for $3000).
• Keith Baker talks about the Kobold Guide to Worldbuilding, to which he contributed two essays. You can also read some words from the editor's desk.
• A slightly-later-than-everyone-else's Year in Review from Silver Gryphon Games.
• Only War and the Only War Game Master’s Kit are now on sale via download at drivethrurpg.com and rpgnow.com! Only War is a standalone Warhammer 40,000 roleplaying game that puts players in the boots of a Guardsman, a member of the innumerable masses of the Imperial Guard. Meanwhile, the Game Master’s Kit includes a useful reference of stats and other information, plus a complete adventure to get you started!

[h=3]Community News[/h]

• EN World columnist Kamikaze Midget talks Metaphor and Meta-Game in his latest column.
• Things do not go well in this episode of Dungeon Bastard's Ask the Bastard.
• Gnome Stew takes a look at gaming charters and social contracts. These include hygiene, providing your fair share of snacks, tidying up the game space when you leave, call if you'll be late or absent; plus things like whether players are expected to learn the system, and more.
• Check out this 13th Age session on Google Hangouts.
• Talking of 13th Age, this article - Escalating Your 13th Age Combats - discuses 4E-izing the game a little with stunts and achievements. "13th Age tends to end up doing more “we stand toe and toe and smack each other with swords until someone drops”. It’s by no means as bad as 3.x and since the fights tend to be mercifully shorter than 3.x or 4E it’s not a big problem, but the tendency to static combat still kinda irks me from time to time."

[h=3]Other News[/h]

• ROFL! is the result of a team-up between John Kovalic and Cryptozoic Entertainment. It's a party game of mixed-communications, where players try to condense well-known phrases. “Between texting and instant messaging, people are always condensing words and phrase. ROFL! is perfect for today, because it takes what we already do and turns it into a hilarious and competitive game.”
• It seems that Christopher Tolkien is no fan of the Hobbit and LotR movies by Peter Jackson.