Friday Updates

First a couple updates about the new book (COMES CHAOS): people are buying it (thanks to all my customers) so hopefully there will be a review or two in the near future. Some folks have had issues opening the original file, but this only seems to be the case when using the latest Adobe Acrobat...no idea why. However, I've updated the product at DriveThru so that the purchase includes a cover-less PDF, and that has (so far) opened fine in ALL formats.

***EDIT: It appears the cover issues have been fixed.***

New Book...Fun!

I've been asked a couple times now about a print version of the book. That's in the works, but I don't have a release date yet. I wanted to get the book out and available so that folks would have it in time for any Halloween gaming escapades (it does have some "horror" elements)...but mainly it's been sitting on the hard drive so long, I just wanted to get the thing out and into the world. 

More biz updates (hopefully) in the next couple/few days.

[some folks might be curious why I'm bothering to publish/promote a B/X-based supplement when...for the last many moons...I've been writing fairly exclusively about AD&D and how it's the "truest" form of Dungeons & Dragons. There are multiple reasons, not the least of which are: the book was already written, B/X is still the system I'm most comfortable designing for, B/X is still an edition that is "worthy" of being played...AND I understand that for plenty of folks B/X is their preferred system (because it's streamlined, because it's quicker/easier, because it's a sensible, mostly complete game, etc.). Still, the main reason is: it was a nice piece of writing, and I want to be known as a dude who writes for this game, not just some balthering idiot with a blog. It makes my ego feel better to have published something]

Regarding our Blood Bowl World Cup: it is still on-going, but one team has its spot in the finals (Bubblegum Dynamite), and the other semi-final game is halfway done (we plan on finishing the 2nd half today). It's tough finding time to play full games with our busy schedule, but we're close, and will probably have a champion crowned by Sunday. The orcs punched their ticket to Cup game by demolishing the Amazons 1-0 (not a high scoring affair, but only five of the 'Ladies were left on the pitch by the end of the game). Unfortunately, their thrower was killed two games back and they will be forced to go with their "ground game" against a high scoring team, regardless of the outcome (the halftime score of our other semifinal? 3-2. And we're expecting more TDs in the second half of this classic shootout). Rough.

Of course, there are parallels to be drawn with the Seahawks losing their quarterback in last night's fiasco. Not that this concerns me over-much. I mean Gino Smith isn't Russell Wilson, no, but this season the quarterback isn't the problem. The defense is the problem. And the problem with the defense is f'ing Jamal Adams. You cannot build a proper orky defense around a goblin, and that is what Adams is. Well, in Blood Bowl terms. Watching him get erased by Cooper Kupp (a wide receiver with...as one analyst described...the size and physique of a dentist) to spring a 29 yard run is at least as egregious as watching him give up 68 yard receptions and get beat like a drum in the endzone by a middle-of-the road tight end. In NFL terms, he's garbage...currently ranked the #70 safety in the league, per Pro Football Focus.

[for non-football fans: there are 32 NFL teams, and each has two starting safeties. Being outside the top 64 would mean sitting on the bench...and yet the Seahawks made him the highest paid safety in the game. Crap. Tastic.]

I blogged earlier that I'd softened my stance on Adams. Okay, yeah, no. No more. The book is out on him around the League: he is the pigeon of the defense. The skaven...er, Rams...simplified their offense immensely in the 2nd half of last night's game: just go after Adams. In the run game. In the passing game. Doesn't matter. Where's #33? There he is. Call the play that attacks his position. For a guy who wanted to be paid more than B-Wags? An All Pro who will be in the Hall of Fame one day? No. Current BB stats:

#33 Goblin : MA 7 ST 2 AG 3 AV 8 Skills: Dauntless, Dodge, Right Stuff, Stunty, Thick Skull

He's still a better-than-average goblin (his line has four advances in the stat line), but he can't cover, he can't block, he can't tackle, he gets stood up by gutter runners...just sad. Damn, Seahawks. Losing at home...again. To the Rams...again.

Ah, well. MY orc team is built around solid defense. Yes, they have a goblin...he never saw the field in the semi-final. He is a last ditch, act-of-desperation player. Not the centerpiece to a defense. Good thing...the Seahawks are giving up 450 yards per game on defense this year. We'll see if they can fix it. In my opinion, they can't until they cut bait with Adams.

All right, that's enough bitchin-moaning. It's Friday for goodness sakes! And I've got a new book out (probably why I'm not as bitter, resentful as I might be...YES, I am actually in a good mood at the moment!). And lots of soccer to watch! Halleluja!

Have a great weekend, folks. Seriously. I fully intend to. At least I know my Sunday won't be wrecked by a dumpster-fire Seahawks game.

; )

Burn that uniform, gobbo.

Comes Chaos (for B/X)

SO...completely unrelated to anything I've written over the last few weeks, the new book (at least in electronic form) is finished.  That is to say: the PDF is available for purchase...or will be, once it's been vetted over at DriveThruRPG.

It's called COMES CHAOS. It is a campaign setting supplement for B/X. It is 64 pages long and features artwork by Kelvin Green. For the background/story of this work (started back in 2016...when I was still in Paraguay!) you can check out this old post on the subject.

Here's the marketing copy:

COMES CHAOS is a campaign setting designed for use with the B/X fantasy adventure game (and compatible retro-clones). It contains the information needed to transform your home campaign into a chaotic hellscape populated with mutants and demons, dark sorcery and depraved cultists. 

The book contains new ways to use old character classes. It contains dozens of spells of dark sorcery. More than 100 mutations and "gifts" of the dark powers. New combat options. Scores of monstrous foes and demons. More than 50 unholy magic items. Rules for creating chaotic wastelands, rules for corrupting player characters, rules for demons and cultists and for running a setting of ever encroaching chaos and the heroes that struggle against its rising tide. Information on running a villainous campaign for aspiring champions of evil, as well as guidelines for redeeming those who fall to darkness.

A 64 page book, illustrated by Kelvin Green. Whether you're looking for a unifying theme for your fantasy adventure game, or simply want to spice up your campaign with demonic possession and vile enchantments, COMES CHAOS has plenty of demented ideas for your enjoyment.

Available as a PDF from DriveThruRPG. 

Cheers, folks. Happy Thursday!

: )

Money for WotC

Much as it pains me to admit it, I have just now...this very minute...transferred some of my hard earned ducats to Wizards of the Coast via DriveThruRPG. Yes, as a publisher of DTRPG, I realize that not ALL of the money will go to WotC, but even funding them in a minor fashion raises a bit of bile to mouth.

Still, it can't be helped. I needed a copy of the B/X Expert Rulebook for reference and my copy is 7000 miles northwest of my current location. $4.99 was a small (if irritating) price to pay to add the PDF to my hard drive, considering that I honestly have zero idea when will be the next time I make it back to Seattle. Hopefully before July, but I won't hold my breath.

Should have brought my copy to Paraguay.

Some might (perhaps) be wondering what was so immediately necessary that I needed to get my hands on a copy of the book. What could be so all-fired important? Welllll...as I mentioned last Friday, there is this little B/X Campaign Challenge thing going on and, well, I've got an idea for an offering. No, it's not a great idea, but it's an idea, and I'm in the mood to nurture such a project at the moment. Tuesdays are still poor days for me to actually do any writing, but at least I can download the reference materials I need (I already have my copy of Moldvay with me...I refuse to travel anywhere without it...), and start working up an outline.

But really, really, truly...I don't plan on spending too much time on this project. "6.4 months" seems waaaay too long to devote to something that's only supposed to be 64 pages long (assuming it includes random tables and empty spaces for illustrations). 64 days is probably a better timeline for me...I mean, I should be able to write more than a page a day. That would give me a hard deadline of March 29th, or March 30th if I start my count tomorrow. Hell, if I throw out Leap Year, I suppose I could just give myself till the end of March...that seems easy enough.

Sure. End of March.

Updates will follow, of course. Hmmm...maybe I'll do my own illustrations for a change. That should be...well, terrible. But, hey: New Year, new challenges, right?

Sure...why not?
; )

Bullshit

This morning's post on the newly released 5th Edition of Dungeons & Dragons AKA D&D Next AKA The Basic Rules for D&D drew a lot of interest and at least a little ire. Here's the gist: I said that the free PDF ain't a game, despite what WotC is marketing. People who commented felt that I'm off-base, that WotC is not marketing the Basic Rules as a complete game, that they have been forthcoming that it is a work in progress, that there is no impetus to mislead folks about the fact that you require other products in order to make use of the game.

Sorry, folks...I'm going to have to call bullshit.

Here are the news items I found for Wizards of the Coast since the release July 3rd:

Kotaku Australia

Tech Times

io9

GameSided

The Mary Sue

The Escapist

Gamenguide

The Outhouse

Of these, only The Escapist mentions that additional material is needed to actually play the game of Dungeons & Dragons using "The Basic Rules."

[The Outhouse does say, "Sadly, no monsters" but fails to mention everything else that is missing]

But maybe WotC didn't actually release any kind of press release on the thing. Maybe these are just fanboys posting to web pages and forgetting to mention the missing bits in the slobberyness of their enthusiasm.  So what does WotC itself say?

Here's what their latest news posting (7/3) states:

As Mike Mearls explained in Legends & Lore: The Basic Rules for Dungeons & Dragons is a PDF (over 100 pages, in fact) that covers the core of the game. It runs from levels 1 to 20 and covers the cleric, fighter, rogue, and wizard, presenting what we view as the essential subclass for each. It also provides the dwarf, elf, halfling, and human as race options; in addition, the rules contain 120 spells, 5 backgrounds, and character sheets. 

But the best part? The Basic Rules is a free PDF. Anyone can download it from our website. We want to put D&D in as many hands as possible, and a free, digital file is the best way to do that.

This tells me it covers "the core" of the game. It references Mike Mearls earlier post (5/27) in which he writes the following, specifically with regard to Basic D&D:

Basic D&D is a PDF that covers the core of the game. It’s the equivalent of the old D&D Rules Cyclopedia, though it doesn’t have quite the same scope (for example, it won’t go into detail on a setting). It runs from levels 1 to 20 and covers the cleric, fighter, rogue, and wizard, presenting what we view as the essential subclass for each. It also provides the dwarf, elf, halfling, and human as race options. 

But the best part? Basic D&D is a free PDF. Anyone can download it from our website. We want to put D&D in as many hands as possible, and a free, digital file is the best way to do that. 

If Basic D&D is the equivalent of the classic Rules Cyclopedia, then the three core rulebooks are analogous to Advanced Dungeons & Dragons. Want more character options? Pick up a Player’s Handbook. Looking for more critters for your campaign? The Monster Manual has you covered. Want to sculpt a unique campaign? Pick up the Dungeon Master’s Guide. Still, Basic D&D is the true heart of the game and could easily provide a lifetime of gaming.

See, the way I read that is Basic D&D covers the core of the game, the equivalent of the D&D Rules Cyclopedia (for those who missed this back in the day, the RC was a standalone game that compiled the BECM of Mentzer's BECMI series into a single book, plus additional material from the Mystarra Gazeteers, including "skills," plus appendixes like the Mystarra world setting and "how to convert characters between D&D and AD&D). The way I read this, I'd expect the soon-to-be-forthcoming core rulebooks (the Player's Handbook, Monster Manual, and Dungeon Master's Guide) to be the equivalent of the AD&D (1st and 2nd edition) game which was mainly compiled into three books with similar titles. The way I read this, the "Basic D&D" rules does not require any of these core books (just as the RC did not require AD&D books) because it is the true heard of the game and has the potential to easily provide a lifetime of gaming...just without a detailed setting like Mystarra.

The reason I infer this is because that's what it fucking well says.

But let's just look at the WotC web site. Oh look...here's a button marked "New to D&D." Let's pretend I am because, you know, maybe someone who's never played will have heard of this thing and want to try it out. It has four sections: 

• What is D&D?
• What to Buy?
• Learn to Play
• Find a Game

Great! Let's get started!

The first section gives a nice paragraph or two on what is role-playing. Okay, since I'm new I'll just sign off on the assumption they know what they're talking about. Clear and concise.

The second section (what to buy) lists Basic Rules for Dungeons & Dragons (with the exact same press release) as its first product. Hell, if I didn't know better, I'd think Basic Rules for D&D is the core of the game and everything you need for a new DM "to jump into tabletop RPG play." Because that's what Mearls says it is:

Basic D&D makes it easier than ever for new players and DMs to jump into tabletop RPG play. We’re involved in the greatest gaming hobby ever invented. It’s time to bring that hobby to everyone who wants to take part.

Yes, there's a bit that says:

As we introduce new storylines like Tyranny of Dragons, we’ll also make available free PDFs that provide all the rules and stats missing from Basic D&D needed to run the adventures tied into the story. The adventures released as part of Tyranny of Dragons are playable without requiring any of the core rulebooks or the Starter Set. With just the Basic Dungeons & Dragonsrules, you can play D&D for years.

But that makes it sound like Tyranny of Dragons is going to have rules and stats that are missing from Basic D&D...things like monsters unique to the storyline, unique treasures, etc that are needed to run adventures tied to the story. Not the basic rules needed for creating and running adventures in general. I infer from Mearls post that you can play D&D for years with just the Basic Dungeons & Dragons rules. Probably because that's what he says.

Finally I come to the REAL section I need: the Learn to Play section. 'Cause, you know, right now I'm stuck in Asuncion for a year and the only people I'm going to be playing with are American ex-pats who don't know how to play (in other words, the "Find a Game" section's not going to help). Here's what it says:

To play the D&D Roleplaying Game, you need a Dungeon Master (DM) to present challenges, adjudicate the rules, and narrate the adventure. 

You also need players to run heroic characters, an adventure (one you may have created on your own, or a premade adventure), and dice. 

A character is a player’s interface with the world of D&D. Like the hero of a novel or the star of a movie, the player characters (PCs) are at the center of the action. But there’s no script to follow—the course of every adventure is determined through the actions the players take. And each character grows and improves as the game goes on. 

Basic Rules for Dungeons & Dragons 

The Basic Rules for Dungeons & Dragons is a PDF that covers the core of the game. It runs from levels 1 to 20 and covers the cleric, fighter, rogue, and wizard, presenting what we view as the essential subclass for each. It also provides the dwarf, elf, halfling, and human as race options; in addition, the rules contain 120 spells, 5 backgrounds, and character sheets. 

But the best part? The Basic Rules is a free PDF. Anyone can download it from our website. We want to put D&D in as many hands as possible, and a free, digital file is the best way to do that.

It then includes a link to the exact same section first referenced above.

It does not say you need additional material. It does not say the thing is incomplete. WotC tries to pass off Basic D&D as all you need to learn to play the game...a complete game, in other words, and one that is available for free! How can you beat that?

Well, half a game is just as good as no game, folks. At least if you're "new to D&D." 

So, hey, sorry to piss all over your Basic D&D Rules that everyone is loving (I guess it's a good thing I'm not going to Montevideo with my wife next week; The RPG Pundit will never let me into his game now!). I realize that D&D...in any form...isn't a "new" thing to MY readers. But as a game designer, I've chosen to write my games in a way that's accessible to even folks from "outside the fold" of the gaming community. Newbies and such. And 5E is a jab in the eye to people without an assumed amount of gaming experience. Despite saying they want to bring new folks into the D&D fold, I can't help but see this as WotC trying nothing more than to "win back" once-loyal customers who've turned away from their brand. The same aging, dwindling community.

Pretty lame, in my opinion.

Okay, that's all the time I really want to devote to this subject. I really, really doubt that I'll be paying $$ for the D&D Starter set (or any of the new, "core" books) anytime soon, but I'll probably follow the future developments of 5E...if only to see if anyone else is willing to call the Emperor on his nakedness.

In the meantime, I'm starting to think I really need to offer a free product or two to people myself. Seriously...I almost considered knocking down the cost of the 5AK PDFs, but I didn't think that would be fair to the folks who already paid full price (maybe offer them a discount on a soon-to-be-released PDF? If only I could figure out how to do "coupons" on Drive-Thru RPG).

Five Ancient Kingdoms: PDFs Available!

All three volumes of Five Ancient Kingdoms are now available, as is the introductory adventure. You can purchase them at DriveThruRPG:

Volume 1: Men and Mettle
Volume 2: Magic and Monsters
Volume 3: Dragon Master Secrets
Sorcerer Island (introductory adventure)

Thanks to everyone who encouraged me with kind words and cold, hard cash...especially the latter. Your monetary support finances my future publications and I really, really, really wouldn't be able to do it without that.

There will be more 5AK updates in the future (as I develop some on-line support mechanisms), but for right now I'm just satisfied that there are a couple different mediums for people to acquire the product. And, yes, I'm a little relieved to know I won't have to field questions about "when's the PDF going to be available?" over the next several months.

Happy reading! Please email me any thoughts, questions, or comments you have. If you write a review somewhere, let me know so I can take a look! Thanks again!

A Little Late News

As some folks have already realized (judging by the purchases), two of the PDFs for Five Ancient Kingdoms went live yesterday (August 21). I would have let folks know sooner than this, but I was busy spending quality type with my child, eating pizza and watching episodes of American Ninja Warrior before the bath and bedtime ritual. You know how it is.

Anyway, better late than never.

Volume 1: Men and Mettle is available for $4.99. That's a pretty low buy-in to see if the system looks like something that piques your interest. Volume 2: Magic and Monsters provides the info on the magic system (a bit different from Vance...as with combat, I went back to CHAINMAIL as a foundational base) as well as the requisite "bestiary" for a game of this type. Of course, I bothered to provide a Monster Cosmology to explain why we have the monsters listed (spoiler alert: not based on Tolkien). Volume 2 is the same price in PDF as Volume 1 ($4.99). Between the two, you'll have everything you need to participate in the game as a player (the third book provides the info referees need to run the game).

Personally, my preference is that people will order the print copy of the game rather than download the PDFs...they are, after all, designed to be used at the table in-play. I realize that some people are simply purchasing these as a matter of "curiosity;" a look at one man's version of D&D Mine. Fine and dandy: this whole project was started due to my frustration with the stupid-ass-ness of "D&D Next" and the belief that ANYone could write "a new version of Dungeons & Dragons." Despite the use of Chainmail, despite the specific setting, despite the lack of "armor class," most folks should easily recognize many familiar parts of their favorite fantasy game...in fact, some parts of it may be more recognizable than what you find in the latest editions of D&D. Other things, well...

Look, folks, this is not my personal attempt to conquer the fantasy gaming market from the power players. I wanted to show what could be done, given a little work, some public domain art, and MS Word. If people play it, I'll be elated...that's the reason it's in the format it is. That's the reason I sell it in print with dice. But if people will only use it to inspire themselves and write their own game rather than sit around waiting for Hasbro to gouge them with D&D Next followed by editions 6th, 7th, and 8th...if you'll just do that with my little game, then I'll be well and truly satisfied by the exercise.

One person folks; I'm just one person. The thing turned out pretty good for just one guy (and a couple-three proof readers). And I'm not the first or only person to go this road.

Links posted below.

BOOK 1

BOOK 2

Five Ancient Kingdoms: PDFs Updates

Just a quick FYI:

My recent ocular injury prevented me from getting the PDFs for 5AK uploaded to DriveThruRPG this weekend (as was the original plan). Fortunately, I had time this morning to rectify the situation.

The PDFs are currently being reviewed. Once they're available for sale, I will post an announcement (with links) on this web site.

Later, Gators!
; )