Tabletop Gaming News for Thursday, 18 April, 2013

Morrus · Apr 18, 2013

[h=3]Super Twitter Contest[/h]

On Sunday, I will randomly choose one Twitter follower and send them (for free, free shipping anywhere in the world) their choice between a 700+ page hardback copy of the compiled War of the Burning Sky adventure path (D&D 3.5) OR the first five ZEITGEIST adventures in colour softcover format (Pathfinder OR D&D 4E). I will DM the lucky winner on Twitter; if I don't get a response by Monday, I'll keep going one each day until I get a response. So follow me here for a chance to win.

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

Two well-publicized "meltdowns" of RPG companies in the last few years have been the Guardians of Order collapse (which left creditors and freelancers unpaid) and the failure of Nicolas Logue to produce Razor Coast, a product which had been pre-ordered by many customers (and has since been successfully resurrected by Frog God Games). RPG Geek has an article entitled "Where are they now? A pair of troubled RPG publishers resurface".
Razor Coast is here! So, yeah, Razor Coast for Pathfinder from Frog God Games is NOW AVAILABLE! You can get the PDF right now (that's $40) or pre-order the hardcover for $99 (and get the PDF immediately). Razor Coast is the long anticipated Caribe-Polynesian flavored, Age of Sail swashbuckling RPG campaign envisioned and designed by Nicolas Logue.
Steve Jackson Games has posted its 2013 report to stakeholders (by "stakeholders" they mean shareholders, employees, distributors, retailers, and customers.) Interesting that OGRE, while being a massive Kickstarter success isn't necessarily a win - in some senses, he calls it a failure since it reduced attention to the core business. Additionally, he summarises 2012 for the industry.
Fans of Green Ronin's Dragon Age will be interested here that they've posted a preview of the Rogue for the upcoming set.
Latest press releases:

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

In this week's D&D Next Q&A, Rodney talks about immunities, two-weapon fighting and signature abilities.
Imroad Gaskulyn, Gnome Locketmaker by Ed Greenwood -- "The gnome Imroad Gaskulyn has his hand in quite a few unexpected things. Come see how this locketmaker helps folk hide away things (and more!)."
Epic Campain: Storm Over Neverwinter by Aaron Williams -- "In this episode of the new season, the party braves the Storm Over Neverwinter: "I don't care how good Helm's Hold psychiatric care is supposed to be. Apart from the odd bit of chaotic god, my mental state is solid. Put someone else in a straight jacket, Mort."

[h=3]Community News[/h]

Without a Net: Improv & Your Game is an essay by Kamikaze Midget. "Consider this article the first step toward a D&D you can play without any prep." Ambitious words!
How do you handle downtime? Rel discusses the subject in Experience Point: Downtime.
Game Knight Reviews asks where you find your artistic inspiration.
Kobold Press discusses character backgrounds again - this time from the GM's point of view, and how a GM can use them in-game.
Roleplayers Chronicle has a recent article about game turns -- "...my boredom was because all games, including RPGs, are dependent on the order of turns."
Yesterday was Swords & Wizardry Appreciation Day, in which 140 blogs participated.

[h=3]Boardgaming & Other News[/h]

FFG has a game play overview of Letters From Whitechapel. Players are chasing after Jack the Ripper. One player is Jack and the rest are officers of the law attempting to catch him over the course of four nights. The more we learn the more it sounds like a version of Scotland Yard with a couple of twists, which is not entirely a bad thing.
Palladium has just launched a Kickstarter for Robotech RPG Tactics, "a fast paced strategy battle game that expands on the popular Palladium role playing game." Launched today, it's already $3100 towards its $70,000 goal.
The Dungeons & Dragons Anthology: The Master Collection packages 6 of the most beloved classic RPG video games of the Dungeons & Dragons franchise and their expansions into a single edition – for just a few dollars. DRM free! The bundle includes: Baldur's Gate 1 & 2 + Expansions, Icewind Dale 1 & 2 + expansions, Planescape: Torment, and The Temple of Elelental Evil.
The first trailer for the MUNCHKIN XBOX game is now live!

[video=youtube;AnWr5riaNLY]https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=AnWr5riaNLY[/video]