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, maps, links, files, etc.) and OGRE, our Online Generation Randomization Engine (or our "generator generator"). Stay tuned to this spot for more updates in EN World's rebuilding project, but for now feel free to take and/or make quizzes like there's no tomorrow!
[h=3]Dungeons & Dragons News[/h]
[h=3]Roleplaying Games News[/h]
[h=3]Community News[/h]
[h=3]Other News[/h]
[h=3]Dungeons & Dragons News[/h]
- Reimagining Kobolds -- "It’s time to take another look at kobolds. You know these creatures well, very probably. But take a step back, read what Jon has to say, and then let us know what YOU think about kobolds."
- Mike Mearls tweets his own 2012 recap. Along with some personal items, he mentions "the overwhelming turnout for d&d next. have to admit that I was worried no one would care. Thanks for proving me wrong."
- WotC has posted the table of contents for DRAGON #149:
- Editorial: The Fire-eyed Maid of Smoky War By Steve Winter -- When trumpets blare and crested banners flutter atop lances, it means war has come to your D&D campaign.
- Sentient Living Spells By Doug Hyatt and Robert J. Schwalb - They don’t eat; they don’t sleep; they don’t breathe. They are living spells, and they exist to destroy and consume. Visit the blighted Mournland and discover the inner workings of these sentient monstrosities.
- The First Wielders By Logan Bonner -- Some worship the gods, while others bow to devils or dragons. A few follow the Path of Steel, devoting themselves wholly to their weapons. Learn about these weapons and the people who choose this path.
- Winning Races: Hobgoblins By Jim Auwaerter -- Conquer the new year with a full racial write-up of these goblinoid bad boys. Being evil makes everything more fun, right?
- Winning Races: Bladelings By Claudio Pozas -- They slice, they dice, they shoot spikes out of their skin! Find out why many consider bladelings to be the ideal soldiers in this full racial write-up.
- Engines of War By Claudio Pozas --Killer treants? Deadly chariots? Equip your game with the engines of war to give player characters something to chew on.
- Eye on the Realms: Clan Harhund and Dead Dwarf Mine By Ed Greenwood -- A dwarf long ridiculed over his dogged quest for a lost mine has turned up with proof that the mine actually exists. The catch? The “lost” mine is actually just a few feet beneath the cellars of buildings in Saradush, and that information got the dogged dwarf murdered.
[h=3]Roleplaying Games News[/h]
- Pretty Darn Fun (A Look At News PDFs), EN World's weekly column by callinostross takes a look at another 12 excellent PDFs, 5 adventures and one killer Spotlight PDF. This column really has become one to watch.
- The Goblin Beat has reviewed Realms of Cthulhu, a Savage Worlds setting book.
- Torn World's Facebook page has plenty of updates about upcoming releases, including teasers for a March Kickstarter.
- Monte Cook, Skip Williams, Jonathan Tweet together for a Kickstarter - The Grande Temple of Jing. Go-Go-Gadget massively successful fundraiser! "The temple home of the trickster god Jing. You've seen other megadungeons, but this is the dungeon crawl that rules them ALL. "
[h=3]Community News[/h]
- In 3G: Gold, Gems, and Guilt, EN World columnist Southern Oracle discusses his campaign and the issue of treasure.
- More end-of-year summaries: Pinnacle Entertainment wishes you a Happy New Year. Savage Games looks at its favorite articles of the year. RPG.net has a year in review (which echoes much of the "RPG market is terrible" stuff we've been hearing).
- Kobold Press begins the new year with a Troolboon Teeth Trap (Pathfinder RPG). Even better is a great article called Treasure by the Pound, which discusses the value and weight of ingots, the solution to large quantities of coins.
- Matt James ruminates on the zero hit point condition.
- The Most Unread Blog on the Internet. Ever. (love the name!) has a Top 6 RPG products of 2012, which includes Little Fears Nightmare Edition, Marvel Heroic Roleplaying, The Mutant Epoch, Reclamation, Savage Worlds Deluxe Explorer's Edition, and tremulus. Each includes some solid reason on why you should buy it. And to top it all off, there's a big giveway at the end!
[h=3]Other News[/h]
- In September, Fantasy Flight Games announced the upcoming release of the second Saga Expansion for The Lord of the Rings: The Card Game, The Hobbit: On the Doorstep. Today, lead developer Caleb Grace explores how he worked to make the expansion’s three scenarios as innovative and replayable as possible.
- You Are The Hero, Jonathan Green's coffee table' book celebrating 30 years of Fighting Fantasy, the publishing phenomenon created by Steve Jackson and Ian Livingstone, has funded with 4 days still to go.
