Roleplaying Games
Well, they've done it... the complete compiled issues for June's Dragon and Dungeon magazines online have been posted. I'll confess, I had begun to think that the online magazines would fail completely given the lack of attention they had been getting. I am pleased to report that the current issues are not only complete, but that the content is half decent.
There are a few articles that really would be better suited to being free online web enhancements, but for the most part the content was reasonably good. While I was pleased overall with Dragon, Dungeon was somewhat lacking... I miss Campaign Workbook articles and the Dungeoncraft articles they have posted before are frankly a little too basic for me. Hopefully the Campaign Workbook articles will make a return soon.
In positive news, not only are the compilations posted (yes, I know, they hid them in the table of contents rather than listing them in some sort of logical fashion... I wish the listing was in a more intuitive place, but at least it's there), but the editorial for the next issue is already posted. Also, they will be starting an Adventure Path next issue... there's a high bar set for those, given Paizo's excellent work, but I'm willing to give them a chance.
So I've had a few weeks to observe the new Dungeons & Dragons 4th edition... part of which was to be a suite of tools gleefully promised to us months ago. It seems the edition is going to start without the tools, however, since none of them were ready at launch. Nearing a full month since the release, only the Compendium (a fairly helpful if relatively plain tool that allows the user to search the rules) has been released. The interface is very plain at present, boring and utilitarian, which suggests it was perhaps rushed out the door to show that they intend on releasing the tools.
Wizards of the Coast doesn't have a stellar record when it comes to electronic tools for the D&D game, so I can see why they might think their userbase a bit skittish. Frankly, we are. I don't trust WotC with electronic tools at all and am very skeptical about the subscription Dungeons & Dragons Insider service. They've had months to wow me and they've failed completely - not even bothering to compile their electronic files for the magazines into a complete issue. The content for the intervening issues between the end of the Paizo run of the magazines and the release of 4e was an opportunity that Wizards of the Coast squandered.
So have I given up? Ever the optomist, I've been continuing to try to keep an open mind. While the Compendium is not particularly elegant, it is up now and it works, after a fashion. The magazines in their new online format have had some fairly regular updates and articles have been going up a few times a week. I'll confess, I haven't read them all, but the article of illusionist powers for the wizard was actually quite decent, and brings a return to the Class Acts section, which was one of my favorite Paizo additions to Dragon magazine.
I have had less time to look over the Dungeon articles, and here I believe Wizards squandered another chance. I would have loved to have seen a really good entry level adventure that addressed many of the criticisms of the new edition in the magazine this month. Instead, we have some side-treks for the published adventure and two adventures for the middle part of the heroic teir (1-10th level... the adventures are for 4th and 8th level). I've made some use of the side-treks, which were decent but more appropriate for a web enhancement than part of Dungeon. I'm going to hold my blistering critique for next month... the game has few adventures out and needs options beyond the published Keep on the Shadowfell as an entry point. I'm hoping that I'll see one next month.
I am not a WotC apologist... they've messed up a lot in the months leading to the release, especially with regards to Dungeons & Dragons Insider, but at least this month they have posted something. We'll see if they promptly post the compilation and if the full table of contents gets posted. If both of those things happen, the DDI might still have a chance.
Today is June 21, 2008 - Free RPG Day - which is great for a cheap old queen like me, since it means plenty of free swag is available at my friendly local gaming store. What kind of swag? Adventure modules, quick start guides, the kind of stuff that might make you take a look and say, "Hey, I've never played Pathfinder and this Revenge of the Kobold King adventure looks really cool!" Okay, so I'm a Paizo fanboi, but for 4e fanatics, especially those complaining about the lack of a low level adventure in the Dungeons and Dragons Insider version of Dungeon magazine this month, there is also a Wizards of the Coast adventure.
The giveaways look pretty cool and include everything from miniatures (another WotC offering) to dice from Chessex and Q-workshop and even more adventures and quickstart guides - Harn, Traveller, Tunnels & Trolls and several others are represented. The stuff is free only at participating local gaming stores, so take a look at the Free RPG Day website and check their list of retailers... maybe you'll find that cool new system you were looking for (or get a chance to check out something from 4e for free). Maybe you'll even discover a nearby gaming store you didn't know was quite so nearby.
I'm a big advocate of supporting the friendly local gaming store because they offer something most online retailers can't: a real community, a means to find games and players and try out things you aren't sure if you want to buy yet. For those who find it usually more worthwhile to order things from Amazon, this is a chance for an even better deal. Get to your FLGS today!
One of my favourite internet people, Lore Sjöberg--you may know him from The Brunching Shuttlecocks, The Book of Ratings or even the Björk Song--just posted an opinion piece on Wired and damn is it funny.
Killjoy Cooking With the Dungeons & Dragons Crowd thinks about what it might be like if people treated new cookbooks the same way they treated new RPG books. Totally brightened my day.
Posted: 12:15 a.m. by LordOrcus I'm so mad that there's a new edition of The Better Joy Cookbook out. Thanks for making my old copy obsolete, you greedy hacks! For five years now, my friends have been coming over for my eggplant Parmesan, and now I'm never going to be able serve it again unless I shell out 35 bucks for the latest version.
Posted: 12:42 a.m. by KathraxisHey, I have a question! When you preheat the oven, can you start it before you measure out the ingredients, or do you have to do it afterward? Please answer quickly, my friends and I have been arguing about it for four hours and we're getting pretty hungry.
The newest R'lyeh Report contains a whole bunch of Chaosium news. Some highlights:
• A fiction book, The Strange Cases of Rudolph Pearson: Horripilating Tales of the Cthulhu Mythos, is in stores now and is advertised as being a good introduction to the Mythos for people who want their friends & loved ones to witness the horror of the universe.
• The Basic Roleplaying RPG is expected to be in stores in the last week of the month.
• Secrets of Morocco--this is a new Call of Cthulhu sourcebook expected in July, 20s and 30s era, and the Secrets series are usually top-notch.
• Pulp Cthulhu--the sourcebook for "reckless adventures in the 1930's" is nearly done and expected in August (and at Gen Con)!
• Of course there will be tons of Call of Cthulhu events at Origins, and a Chaosium booth at Gen Con!
Christie's, apparently, in 2003 sold a beautiful Ancient Roman green glass d20 (what, you thought we invented them?) , with a distinct and different symbol on each face. Scholars don't know what game it was used for, but we do.
Of course, it's XVMMCMXXV (17925) dollars, but this is the ulimate gamer bling and I'm sure there's at least one gamer who's filthy rich out there who snatched it up.
...Right? It had to be a gamer. Or else I might cry.
[Via: BoingBoing]
Gamasutra has just posted a really interesting 7-page article which takes the oft-complained about idea of D&D 4E borrowing from video games (MMORPGs in particular) and turns it around by considering what video games in the future could learn from the new edition of Dungeons & Dragons.
As mentioned, video games have been taking ideas from tabletop RPGs for years--there's no reason why that idea flow should stop. Yet any sign of a backwash seems to be seen as universally disgusting as its namesake. Some have pointed out that every edition of D&D takes the best mechanics of the games around them in that generation and makes them better (2E and the crazy-tables-flavour that was so popular in the 80s, for example)--is it only natural that D&D 4E seems to be partly inspired by MMORPGs, the most popular version of RPG right now (and, for that matter, ever)?
Whether grognards like myself like or hate the new edition (and there seems to be quite the mix), the fact remains that Wizards of the Coast is the big fish in the small pond of the role playing game industry. The flagship rpg product, the one everyone knows and everyone recognizes, is Dungeons & Dragons. As I mentioned in my last entry, I tried the game this past weekend with the introductory adventure and quickstart rules, having only the Players Handbook in hand. I'll discuss that experience later and in some detail because I think there are probably a lot of gaymers who are still in the process of making a decision on 4e.
Today I surrendered and bought the books - cancelling my online order (it was delayed in shipping until at least July 10th) - and buying the books from my friendly local gaming store (which, as I've said before, is not all that friendly, though at least the cashier is a hot little number). They kindly gave me a substantial discount as a longtime customer, for which I'm grateful, since the cost of the books is hurdle to starting in the new system. For what it's worth, while I always support my local gaming stores when I can, you can probably already find cheap copies on Ebay. Why? Because while I rather like a lot of aspects of the new edition... most particularly that I think my players have more fun playing it than 3.5... many others who had high hopes have not.
So if so many people hated it, why am I making it the game of the week? Because there must be some balance. For every person who has told me they hate 4e, I've also had someone tell me why they love it. It's not perfect, and thanks to Paizo, it doesn't need to be. Those who want to continue with the 3.5 system and rules that flow from that system can continue with Paizo's Pathfinder system, or just use 3.5 as is or with Monte Cook's book of his own house rules (which I featured here some time ago). For those who need the official system, who must have only what is endorsed by Wizards of the Coast - congratulations. I pronounce the system somewhat sound, playable, and fun. It may not be perfect, substituting streamlining of effects for flexibility in places, but it has its own qualities to recommend it, which I'll discuss in depth in the coming weeks in a new feature that will replace Scrying the 4e Crystal Ball.
This game will not be D&D for everyone. It slays sacred cows (magic missile can miss, and yes that just feels wrong to me, too), and it changes many aspects of the game. Wizards seem more playable at low levels than they were, fighters seem more playable at high levels than they were. Much of the game is now about the team rather than the character, and you'll have to work at making your character unique, because the rules will not do it for you. But I think, despite great early trepidation, that the game is a good one. Try it out if you can. If 3.5 is definitely your choice... think about trying Pathfinder. I'm still reading the alpha release of their rules, but they look like they're doing something interesting over at Paizo too.
With 4th edition of the new D&D game out, I felt a need this weekend to take the new rules for a spin, and not just because of World D&D Game Day on Saturday. Unfortunately, despite its participation in the day on an official level, no 4e gaming was going on at the nearest FLGS and the better one (which is slightly further away, hey gimme a break, gas is $4 a gallon) was full by the time I cornered the manager of the nearby game store to find out that indeed no 4e gaming was going to take place.
Fortunately, my regular gaming group meets on Sundays and agreed to do a test. I purchased Keep on Shadowfell just after its release and my gaming group (sans one player) gave it go. That gave us a group of five players, which is conveniently what the rules recommend (and also the number of pre-gens available). Saved from trying to figure out character creation over the weekend, I focused on learning the rules. Many of the changes came as no surprise, I have, after all, been reporting what little we've been able to learn for the past six months. I have a controversial opinion, I know, but frankly, while I love 3e and 3.5e, I think this game (so far) plays better for my group.
I'll give a full review tomorrow, but I think it's safe to say that 4e is D&D, but not necessarily the flavor of D&D that is right for everyone. I'll explain those sentiments tomorrow.
Today, June 7th, is the Worldwide Dungeons & Dragons Game Day! Hundreds of Friendly Local Gaming Stores all over the world (and even locations set up in Iraq and Afghanistan for serving military personnel) have a big action-packed day to celebrate the release of Dungeons & Dragons 4th Edition, so if you have a chance to drop by you'll probably have a blast.
I'm certainly picking up my own copy of the game sometime this weekend, and I'm still very optimistic. In not too long, we'll have a big VelvetDiceBag weigh-in post where we air out our opinions and you post yours!
In the past eight months or so (can you believe it's been that long?), I hope I've showcased a big variety of RPGs, showing that there was more to the hobby than D&D--tons and tons of games by small presses, medium-sized presses and even no presses at all that are well worth your attention and maybe even perfectly suited to your group. Nevertheless, D&D has a special place in my heart as my first RPG and I'm very excited--I hope some of that excitement rubs off on you guys!
*rub rub*
Hunter: The Reckoning wasn't... a well-liked game, let's say. It's certainly the black sheep of the old World of Darkness family (more so even than Changeling: the Dreaming, I'd argue, because Changeling had the advantage of being, well, really good).
With the announcement of Hunter: the Vigil, many are intrigued to see whether White Wolf can make up for the previous incarnation of the game. Yet my group was a bit iconoclastic from the beginning, since we really enjoyed Hunter: the Reckoning and probably played it more than any other old World of Darkness game since it allowed us to, better than any other, recreate the feel of some of our favourite movies and video games. This is why it pleases me that White Wolf has just published an article detailing the inspirations from all kinds of media for their new Hunter game, and another article concerning the themes and moods they're trying to aim for--much more mystery-focused than before, which again I'm happy with because by far the best Hunter session I ever had was at 3:00 a.m. in my friends house, trying to decipher a bizarre coded note left in-game by a suspected vampire in the basement of a seemingly abandoned church. Good stuff.
The inspirations in question? They range from books like the Mothman Prophecies and It to comics like Hellblazer and The Walking Dead to films like Frailty, National Treasure and Children of Men to TV shows like Torchwood and Supernatural to video games like Alone in the Dark, Silent Hill, Half Life 1&2, Jericho and Undying. I'd say they're off to a pretty good start!
Okay, maybe it's not as easy as all that (though Chaosium is certainly making it sound that way), but in celebration of the release of the Basic RolePlaying system book, they've announced a contest in which entries of 5000-7000 word BRP adventures can be published in a future monograph and win cool stuff! Since many people don't have the book yet, the due date is July 31st, 2008, and you're encouraged to start writing now and add all the rules-bits in later.
Contest Rules
Each entry must be an original BRP adventure between 5,000 - 7,000 words. Text files or word documents only. Don't submit PDF's, quark files, etc. Don't worry, 5,000 words is much shorter than it sounds!
Entries must be turned in before August first, 2008.
One entry per individual.
Adventures can be set in any genre you desire (except Call of Cthulhu/Lovecraftian) so long as the adventure is original.
Adventures must utilize Chaosium's BRP system and no other game system.
All entries become the property of Chaosium Inc.
All entries must be in English.
Any images or maps that accompany your adventure must be copyright free. Art isn't required.
Entries must be emailed to dustin@chaosium.com.
Entries must be submitted along with your name, email address, preferred T-shirt size, and and shipping address.
In the unlikely event that we don't receive enough winning entries to print the BRP adventure monograph, the winners will instead receive copies of all the winning adventures as well as one copy of a different monograph.
Chaosium reserves the right to change these rules as often as we like, with no warning. You can count on the fact that we probably will. Come to think of it, maybe we have already. It's best not to dwell on these things.
And girls who like girls who like breastplates!
Game of the Week
Are you the werewolf?
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