Small/Self-Publishing Panel Audio - NTRPGCon 2015

I had chance to host a Small/Self-Publishing Panel at the most recent NTRPGCon. Even for an 8 a.m. session, we had a great audience turnout, which proves to me that plenty of folks out there in RPG-land are interested in putting out their own material, and more importantly, learning lessons from those that have come before.

I do want to thank all of the panelists again. I know many of them passed up drinking on Friday night in order to be there for the early start time on Saturday morning, and I just wanted to express again how greatly appreciated their presence was. This panel could not have happened without their valuable input and insight.

Panelists:
Richard LeBlanc - Save Vs. Dragon (blog) / New Big Dragon Games Unlimited (moderator)
Eric Hoffman - Stormlord Publishing
Trey Causey - From the Sorcerer's Scroll (blog) / Hydra Collective
Chris Kutalik - Hill Cantons (blog) / Hydra Collective
Jeff Talanian North Wind Adventures
Zach Glazar - Lesser Gnome Games
Robert Parker - Hydra Collective
Matt Finch – Mythmere Games

Directly following the audio player is a breakdown of the entire panel discussion with time notes so you can skip around to listen (or re-listen) to the parts you'd like.
Click here if you'd prefer to download the entire MP4 file (68M).

Introductions
00:00:00 Introduction to Panel (Richard LeBlanc)
00:01:22 Eric Hoffman introduction
00:02:03 Trey Causey introduction
00:02:40 Chris Kutalik introduction
00:03.58 Jeff Talanian introduction
00:06:18 Zach Glazar introduction
00:07:18 Richard LeBlanc introduction
00:08:45 Robert Parker introduction
00:09:15 Why publish? (Zach Glazar)
00:10:55 Matt Finch introduction

Kickstarter Discussion
00:15:05 Kickstarter Introduction
00:15:55 Kickstarter Advice (Robert Parker)
00:17:50 Kickstarter Experience (Trey Causey)
00:18:54 Why Kickstarter (Eric Hoffman)
00:20:30 Kickstarter Skepticism, Preparation and Lessons (Chris Kutalik)
00:23:47 Kickstarter Complexity—Research, Preparation and Backer Transparency (Zach Glazar)
00:26:10 Kickstarter Transparency with Backers, Kickstarter Fees, Shipping Costs (Jeff Talanian)
00:29:51 Kickstarter Shipping Costs (Zach Glazar)
00:30:46 Kickstarter Preparation & Kickstarter Backer Response (Matt Finch)

Getting Started as a Self/Small Publisher
00:32:40 Starting Small as a Self/Small Publisher (Richard LeBlanc)
00:34:27 Starting Small, Taking Next Steps, Getting Help (Eric Hoffman)
00:36:12 Getting Help (Richard LeBlanc)

Sales & Marketing
00:36:37 Question from Audience (Jim): Sales Ceilings
00:37:10 Sales Ceilings (Eric Hoffman)
00:37:57 Sales Ceilings, Sales Curves, Sales Strategies (Trey Causey)
00:39:22 Long Tail Marketing, Value of Bloggers/Google+, Marketing a Product, Value of Outside Input (Richard LeBlanc)
00:43:30 Product Development & Sharing that the Community (Jeff Talanian)
00:45:27 Importance of Word-of-Mouth Marketing vs. Sales Ceiling (Matt Finch)
00:48:30 Building an Audience/Customer Base, Value of Reviews (Richard LeBlanc)

Print Resources
00:50:05 Question from Audience: Print Resources
00:50:14 Print Resources, Lulu Issues (Richard LeBlanc)
00:51:30 Matt Finch Leaves
00:52:25 Print Resources, Lulu Issues, cont. (Richard LeBlanc)
00:53:26 Working with Box Suppliers (Zach Glazar, Jeff Talanian, Eric Hoffman)
00:57:04 Under/Over on Vendor Orders vs. On-demand Vendors (Richard LeBlanc)

Product Bootlegging/DMCA Take Down Notices/Legal Issues
00:57:26 PDF Bootlegging, Filing DMCA Take Down Notices (Richard LeBlanc, Jeff Talanian, Robert Parker, Trey Causey)
00:57:56 Bootlegging Experience, Cost of Product vs. "Free" Bootlegs (Jeff Talanian)
01:00:03 Unintentional Promotional Consequences of Bootleg PDFs (Robert Parker)
01:00:34 Cost of Product vs. "Free" Bootlegs, DMCA Take Down Process (Richard LeBlanc)
01:03:15 Unlicensed Use of Artwork from Product (Trey Causey)
01:04:02 Bootleg Anecdote (Jeff Talanian)
01:04:22 Secondary Problems with Friends Sharing Products (Richard LeBlanc)

Production Issues: Expenses (Art/Printing), Layout/Typography
01:05:00 Opening the Floor for Questions (Richard LeBlanc)
01:05:41 Question from Floor: Expenses (Justin)
01:05:54 Expenses Answers (Trey Causey, Eric Hoffman)
01:06:30 Importance of Good Production Values/Layout & Typography(Jeff Talanian)
01:07:34 Subtleties of Layout/Typesetting (Richard LeBlanc)
01:12:10 10,000 hours of Experience (Zach Glazar, Richard LeBlanc)
01:12:40 Value of YouTube Tutorials (Jeff Talanian, Richard LeBlanc)
01:31:32 Value of Purchasing Fonts (Trey Causey, RIchard LeBlanc)

Seeking Outside Assistance (Value/Cost)
01:14:53 Question from Floor: Value of Outside Assistance
01:15:26 Value of Proofreading (Zach Glazar)
01:17:03 Copy Editing/Line Editing (Chris Kutalik)
01:18:38 Editing (Trey Causey)
01:19:06 Value of Exterior Input (Richard LeBlanc)
01:21:01 Kickstarter Backer Input (Zach Glazar)
01:22:18 Value of Exterior Input, cont. (Richard LeBlanc)
01:2328 Robert Parker Offers His Assistance
01:23:47 The Black Shirt Conspiracy

Flexibility of Digital and POD Formats
01:24:07 Comment From Floor: Digital Format Flexibility/Speed of Updates (Justin)
01:24:33 Updating Petty Gods/Flexibility of Digital and POD Formats (Richard LeBlanc)

Wrap-Up
01:25:42 Wrap-up (Richard LeBlanc)

1$ gets you: a new character class, a starter level adventure, over 2 dozen NPC encounters, 3 magic items, and more!

... BUT ONLY UNTIL TOMORROW (Thursday, June 18, 2014)!

Right now, the PDF of issue #2 of the The Dragon Horde zine is on sale for $1 at RPGNow.

Those of you lucky enough to attend the NTRPG Con know that I had print copies of The Dragon Horde zine #1 and The Dragon Horde #1 a week and a half ago. Well, now issue #2 is available to the general public in both PDF (from RPGNow) and in print (through the New Big Dragon Marketplace). Unfortunately, I'm still working out international shipping, so print sales are limited to domestic (US) shipping only. (But give me a couple of weeks, and I think I'll have the international thing worked out). Issue #1 has been available as a PWYW PDF for quite some time, but it is now available in print (also at the New Big Dragon Marketplace).

And as usual, when you buy through the marketplace, I'll send you a coupon for a complimentary PDF copy from RPGNow (to the email address you use at the marketplace).

So what's inside this Nordic-themed issue of The Dragon Horde?

• The Monster Roster: Linnorms (Oe/BX/1e information for 6 types)

• The Long and Short of the Viking Longhouse (with several sample maps)

• Here's the Thing... (folkmotes and fitting them into your adventures)

• The Völva: A New NPC Character Class - including several new spells
(part seer, part shaman, part wanderer... all woman)

• Vifillmein: An Adventure for Characters Levels 1-3

• Dealing with Level Drain (a host of alternatives to "by the book" level drain)

• The Houses of the Mark: NPC Encounters Adapted from
William Morris's The House of the Wolfings (NPC encounters for nearly
2 dozen tribes and their most important members)

• A Trio of Norse-inspired Magic Items

And because it's a half-legal size, that means you get about 25% more content than a digest-sized zine with the same page count. Just check it out for yourself...

Dragon Horde Zine #2 Now Available in Print & PDF

Those of you lucky enough to attend the NTRPG Con know that I had print copies of The Dragon Horde zine #1 and The Dragon Horde #1 a week and a half ago. Well, now issue #2 is available to the general public in both PDF (from RPGNow) and in print (through the New Big Dragon Marketplace). Unfortunately, I'm still working out international shipping, so print sales are limited to domestic (US) shipping only. (But give me a couple of weeks, and I think I'll have the international thing worked out). Issue #1 has been available as a PWYW PDF for quite some time, but it is now available in print (also at the New Big Dragon Marketplace).

And as usual, when you buy through the marketplace, I'll send you a coupon for a complimentary PDF copy from RPGNow (to the email address you use at the marketplace).

So what's inside this Nordic-themed issue of The Dragon Horde?

• The Monster Roster: Linnorms (Oe/BX/1e information for 6 types)

• The Long and Short of the Viking Longhouse (with several sample maps)

• Here's the Thing... (folkmotes and fitting them into your adventures)

• The Völva: A New NPC Character Class - including several new spells
(part seer, part shaman, part wanderer... all woman)

• Vifillmein: An Adventure for Characters Levels 1-3

• Dealing with Level Drain (a host of alternatives to "by the book" level drain)

• The Houses of the Mark: NPC Encounters Adapted from
William Morris's The House of the Wolfings (NPC encounters for nearly
2 dozen tribes and their most important members)

• A Trio of Norse-inspired Magic Items

And because it's a half-legal size, that means you get about 25% more content than a digest-sized zine with the same page count. Just check it out for yourself...

A Recap of My Time at the NTRPG Con

My time at this year's con actually started nearly a week before. I was doing things like getting print copies together of Dragon Horde zines #1 and #2 (BTW, #2 will be available this coming Monday at RPGNow, and print will be available on both starting the same day), picking up the 2nd print run of the d30 Sandbox Companion from the printer (I do these in batches of 50), getting my sign from FastSigns, etc.

Wednesday night, I trucked it over for the pre-con events. There was some sort of HP event finishing up at the hotel, so instead of being in the atrium, the pre-con events were relegated to wherever space could be found. Our game of Battle Royal (under the direction of Frank Mentzer) took place in the bar (which was about as noisy as you'd expect, being full of patrons, and what with the Hewlett Packard karaoke festivities echoing from the nearby ballroom). But we did our best. Battle Royal is a sort of mix of traditional wargaming and RPGs. Each team was an identical group of D&D PCs which battle it out in an ever-changing arena until you capture the ring and return it to your starting pit, or you kill the other team (whichever comes first). We got a late start (several of the special guests inbound flights were delayed, including Frank's), I was not staying in the hotel that night, and had a 45 minute drive home, so I cut out about 12:30. They didn't go much longer after I left. Although the battle didn't finish, the arena was in a position such that everyone was trapped/blocked from where they needed to be (and who knows how long it would have been until the walls moved to allow passage).

Thursday morning started with me loading up the truck and heading back across town just around lunch time to get my table set up. I got to spend a good part of the afternoon at the table, meeting folks and hawking my wares. Then, Thursday night meant Part I of "Night's Dark Terror" with Steve Winter. It's always a slow start at con games, as all the players get the feel for each other. And "Night's Dark Terror" started simply and slowly enough, but had a nice rhythm by the end of the night, to be continued with Part II on Saturday morning.

Friday morning was my obligatory Metamorphosis Alpha game with Jim Ward. If you recall the events of last year, I died in one Jim Ward game, and survived in the other. It was the shame of surviving like a chicken last year that sparked my thought for this year's game... I would alternate;y be brave and cowardly (I wrote it off to a split personality). This allowed me to have fun doing stupid stuff (remember, Jim doesn't kill characters, characters kill themselves) and still have a chance of surviving. It was a blast, and I survived (though barely). I know take a moment of silence to remember my fellow coming-of-age tribesmen who perished in the attempt to prove themselves worthy as adults in the tribe.

Friday night was easily my most anticipated game of the con this year... Frank Mentzer's 1974 OD&D game. We relived the experience of the dawn of D&D, including monsters we had not memorized from the Monster Manual, the inclusion of hobbits before they were an intellectual property concern, and character classes that did not include the thief. Long story short, we investigated a small cave/dungeon complex with hobgoblins and goblins, and faced a final battle with an animated table (yes, an animated table). Earlier in the game, my magic user had found a diagram of the table with notes in a strange language. And when I discovered the diagram in a book, the conversation went something like this...

Me (to other characters): "Should I use my read languages spell now or later?"
Frank (smiling, astounded): "You actually chose read languages?

Look, the spell wouldn't have been on the spell list, even way back then, if it didn't get used. 2-out-of-3 of the adventures I write almost require the ability to read languages. It's a good back pocket spell, even if your 2nd-level magic user only gets 2 spells (the other was a sleep spell that was pretty much necessary). So I did actually choose read languages, and I showed my character sheet to prove it. Turns out, that was the saving grace for our party. When we met the table (and it started attacking, doing up to 4 strikes per round), and I read the diagram, Frank pulled me aside to let me know that all I could make out was that the table was possessed by elemental evil. I related that to the party and we attacked accordingly. Once we saw what the cleric's holy water did, and one of the fighter's oil/torch attack, getting the air (from a small device we retrieved earlier) and dirt (scraped from a couple of boots) returned the table to being just... well... a table. The "Table of the Elements." (Yes! That's the goofiness that, to me, is woven through the earliest days of D&D). Easily one of the coolest experiences I've ever had gaming. And it's got me jonesing to run a White Box game or two.

Saturday morning was Part II of "Night's Dark Terror" with Steve Winter again. No need to go into details here. It was a good game, and the module is very cool, has some great plot points, and some very interesting encounters. When I got home from the con to find out this is the inspiration for the starter adventure for D&D5, it does not surprise me.

Saturday afternoon was the auction and presentation of the Three Castles award (which I am still overwhelmed with having won). Saturday night was to be Shiverwhen with Michael Curtis. But only about half the group showed up, and we were all pretty beat. So we mutually agreed to forego the gaming. The activity moved to the bar with Welbo, Eric Tenkar, Erik's wife Rachel, James Aulds and myself having beers and shooting the shit and relaxing.

No Sunday morning gaming for me, but I did get to sit at the table with my wife Terri, and meet a few more folks, sell a few additional copies of Valley of the Five Fires, and then pack up and head home (after lunch at my wife's favorite Tex-Mex place as a "thank you" for her time helping me at the con").

Among the notable conversations I had while sitting at the table... Steve Marsh and J. Eric Holmes's son Chris. Both very cool. Plenty of time talking with others as well, though I wish I'd gotten to game with Tim Snider.

Okay, that's about all I've got for now, except that I left the con with a couple of new project ideas. More to come as they may/may not develop.

Prepping for NTRPG Con& Dragon Horde Zine #2

I'm assuming that a few of you are wondering what's been going on with all the radio silence around this blog for the past couple of weeks. Long story short, I've been spending most of my time prepping for the North Texas RPG Con which starts next week. The majority of that work has been in wrapping up the 2nd issue of the Dragon Horde zine, which will premier at the con. There are just a handful of edits that need to be made, and one article that needs an overhaul. Time permitting, this should mostly be put to bed by late tonight, which allows me to get into the printing tomorrow night. The picture here is a copy of issue 1, and a test print of issue 2 (thus the "X" in the corner that tells me not to mix it up with the final issues, when printed).

So here's what's inside issue 2:

• The Monster Roster: Linnorms - Oe/BX/1e info for 6 types
• The Long and Short of the Viking Longhouse - includes an overview and sample map
• Here's the Thing - an intro to using things/folkmoots in your adventures
• The Volva: A New NPC Character Class - part seer, part shaman, all woman
• Viffilmein - a beetle-infested adventure for characters levels 1-3
• Dealing With Level Drain - guidelines for 10+ variants on monsters' level drain
• The Houses of the Mark - an abundance of NPC encounters adapted from William Morris's The House of the Wolfings
• A Trio of Norse-inspired Magic Items

The print copies of the 2nd issue will probably not be available at the New Big Dragon storefront until the con is over, and the PDF copies on RPGNow will be available the same day as the print copies. The print copies of the 1st issue will be available then as well.

NTRPGCon Recap: Michael Curtis's Shiverwhen

NOTE: The image above is not from any specific Shiverwhen-related materials, is only loosely tied
to the events described below, and is meant only for flavor/reference because I like having pics on my posts.

At this past weekend's North Texas RPG Con, I had a chance to playtest Michael Curtis's in-development RPG Shiverwhen. Michael himself admitted he's still working on the elevator pitch for the game, but at the end of the playtest evening, he seemed to be very close with a newly minted description of "Victorian Shadowrun" (which grew from his early elevator pitch of "slow-apocalyptic, fantastical, alternate Earth"). I will say that "Victorian Shadowrun" actually comes pretty close to describing the experience I had, but only points to the tip of an iceberg that is richly developed and understood with only the most modest of elements; with little more than the character classes and some setting history, you get a rich view of the entire world as it was, as it is, and as it will become in the future. Please understand the following is my take on Shiverwhen and is not meant to replace Michael's description of the setting prior to the game session (which I cannot recall well enough to repeat accurately).

In Shiverwhen, preternatural gunslingers (ballisturgists), brickhouse melee fighters (combatants), psychically-gifted divination empaths (uncannies), reality-flexing writers (scriveners), balladeer bard folkmen (sorsingers, sp?), tinkering electricians (gimcrackers), fate-influencing theurgists (esotericists), and energy-shaping caretakers (kindlers) work side-by-side in a place where and conspiracy and intrigue are interwoven with gothic shadows, menacing horrors, and fading technologies rubber-banded together by ingenuity and magic.

When you consider the history of Shiverwhen (the place within the game), its previous epochs (Springwhen and Summerwhen, if I recall correctly) point to the theme of the lost Utopia—an Earthly eden that's slowly decaying (a "slow apocalypse") into a dark place where even simple technologies (think gaslights and steamboats) work best in the places where people and industry are densely gathered (cities) and tend to "fade" in places where populations are thin and nature abides (the rural countrysides). The dystopia is mild in Shiverwhen (the game and the place). There is some elitism and awareness of social class, but it seems to be "organic"; that is, there isn't some ruling class that enforces its will on others, but there is a mild and "unofficial" caste system that separates those born to higher stations in life (or those that have achieved it) from the lower (i.e., "poorer") rungs on that social ladder.

We played the part of a group of come-of-agers striking out to make our name in a world where we held positions of general disfavor. The characters were pre-gen as Michael had sought to balance the party for the adventure before us based on the number of players and save the time of character generation. Considering I tend toward playing magically-endowed characters, I welcomed the opportunity to take up the role of the gunslinger. Understand though, that in one way or another, classed characters in Shiverwhen are able to tap into magical "embers," which makes them all magical in some way (some more than others).

Just in case any of you find yourself at a future con (or possible future gaming group) engaged in the introductory adventure ("The Perils of the Book Trade"), I won't give too much away in terms of plot. What I will say is that it started off immediately with a test of the combat mechanics before unfolding into a string of investigational discoveries, capped off by a final showdown. It became obvious quickly that my role as the gunslinger was profoundly important to the party in eliminating our enemies during the combat encounters; but that really seems to be the role of the gunslinger character. Guns seem to be the most effective combat weapon in Shiverwhen (place and game). Keep in mind, however, in Shiverwhen's cities, guns are ridiculously illegal; that means the gunslinger is the one character that can easily end up in jail for simply doing his job (in the context of a mixed-class party of PCs).

The mechanics of the game are simple, smooth, and effective. The character skills grow congruously from the classes; I think there's some leeway in choice during character creation, but it's hard to tell with pre-gens. The skill checks (including attacks) are percentile-based and fair, including rushed/reactionary "second" actions, and the armor mechanic is elegant and seamless. Armor types tend toward the unassuming (e.g., the long leather coat worn by my ballisturgist and the heavy coats worn by many of my comrades), but it suits the setting to a tee. There's also room for the uncommon armor types as well (like a robed, hooded figure wearing a metal breastplate). Without giving too much away (hopefully), armor works like a saving throw against damage, either mitigating it or eliminating it altogether. This armor mechanic seems to be something that went over well in Michael's playtest of the game back in February at TotalCon as well as it did in our game. More than that, the mechanic has an understated "narrative" effect during play as well; what I mean is, even though the use of armor was experienced as a die roll and wasn't expressly phrased in prose, I could almost imagine reading in a pulp novel about that moment where a piece of armor does or doesn't do what it was meant to. I think I remember somebody likening it to a timeslice from Guy Ritchie's Sherlock Holmes movies; that's kind of what it's like.

As for non-combat gaming mode, I have to say that we as investigators played things too cagily. Michael himself said we "kind of came at things bass ackwards." That's our fault, not Michael's (who is a really great GM, BTW). Ironically, our bass ackward investigation style seemed to allow us to try out some of the games talents and skills that are meant to be used outside of combat... and it's the character types, their talents and skills, and how they require the player to get involved, which really breed the game's flavor. Take, for example, the kindler—a sort of "shaper" of the characters' preternatural energies, able to "borrow" this energy, "multiply" it, then lend larger amounts back to them. Or the scrivener, whose player is actually required to write small stories off-the-cuff at the gaming table in order to effect the character's abilities.

I'm definitely looking forward to where this game goes, and how quickly it gets there. I know Michael is still tweaking the character classes and the skills list, and I'm sure there's probably plenty of playtesting yet to be done, but I'd hate to think I'd have to wait for it too long before the final game (or at least a beta version) is ready. Intuition tells me this will likely find its way to becoming a Kickstarter at some point in the not terribly distant future (and one I'll be backing for sure). Worst case scenario, I get to play again at a future con in the meantime.

(BTW, Michael, if you read this and I've gotten anything wrong, please correct me. I took only the most minimal of notes during the game, and am going 98% from memory.)

ADDENDUM: I noticed that Michael wrote a new Shiverwhen post last night after I'd already drafted this one and schedule it in blogger. Hopefully I haven't said too much about anything he wants to hold close to the vest while the game is in development. Click here to read that post >>

NTRPGCon Recap: How Jim Ward Killed Me

Among the many great moments I had at this past weekend's North Texas RPG Con, it was an absolute privilege to not only play in a Jim Ward session, but to play in TWO Jim Ward sessions. Like many others, I now have my own version of "How Jim Ward Killed Me." But I'm also lucky enough to now also have a "How I Survived Jim Ward" story. Wait! Let me back up a moment...

Instead of writing what Jim said at the beginning of BOTH games (Friday's new setting Metamorphosis Alpha "Dark Visitor" adventure, and Saturday's old setting Metamorphosis Alpha adventure set aboard The Warden), let me share a quote from a post by Tim Snider at The Savage Afterworld from his post about last year's GaryCon (especially because it was pretty much EXACTLY- like word-for-word exactly- the same thing Jim said before both games this weekend):

Now, I have a rather undeserved reputation for Total Party Kills," he said. "I want to make it clear that **I** rarely kill a player off. The players usually kill themselves off." Jim made the following offer:

"Even though I enjoy signing things for people, I never give anyone a personalized signature. I never have done it in the many years I've done this. However, here at Gary Con, if you get through the next 3 hours of my game and LIVE, I will give you a one-of-a-kind personalized James Ward autograph. So far at the convention, I've given away two. Will there be a third? You just gotta survive. That's it.

Only, instead of offering the personalized autograph (a la Tim Snider's post), Jim's offer was an autographed Spellfire card featuring his picture.

Friday's Dark Visitor Session
(Wherein I Died)

I'll cut to the chase on this one. Jim was right. We pretty much owe our deaths to one player's "loose cannon" use of his EMP disruptor... which, needless to say, disrupted everything around him... leaving most everyone in the party but him without the use of the wonderful and effective equipment we'd spent all kinds of time thinking up and inventing before the game and taking on the ship with us.

Fast forward through many sequential player deaths... this same player was the only survivor of the party with only 10 minutes left to complete the session, and possibly survive the game and claim his card! But instead of playing it cautiously, he rushed back to our scout ship (from the alien spacecraft), forgetting that he had previously been breathing via a "conditional generator" of mine that was providing us atmosphere, and that gold threads were already forming around the scout ship before we entered the alien spacecraft. So... yes, he died too, with 9 minutes left in the gaming session. (And, as I understand, was talking about how "unfair" this was for the remainder of the con.)

What happens when you die in a Jim Ward game? He rips up your record sheet. Quite possibly my favorite moment from the entire con. Yes, dying in a Jim Ward game was an absolute privilege.

Saturday's "Tribal Test" Session (Wherein I Lived!)

One of the things that made Saturday's session cool (in addition to The Warden, of course) was the player group. Directly to my right were Jim Wampler and Michael Curtis. Across the far corner of the table from me was Justin Davis; I've followed his Field Guide to Doomsday blog for a while and the con was a chance to meet in person. Finally, Welbo (you know, the guy that helps me edit/copy write for things like the d30 DM Companion) had come out to watch and Jim let him join the game.

So Jim introduced the game pretty much as outlined above (with the "players kill each other" warning, and the offer of autographed Spellfire cards for survivors), and we struck out... a primitive group of tribal come-of-agers tasked with spending 20 days away from the tribe and returning with "something the tribe had never seen before"... or the tribe would kill us!

The party never really reached a cohesive whole, especially in terms of which direction to go and when. But I'm sorry... when you see a portal surrounded by skulls (mostly human), you just DON'T go into that portal. I think this bought us a little bit of time and prolonged the inevitable. But we still faced some giant centipedes and shooting pods and some acid spitting slugs and some razor grass (you know, classic old-school mutant creature stuff). With ten minutes to go, and all but one of us alive (sorry Justin), Jim looked down behind his DM screen and I could see the look in his eyes saying, "What can I do in ten minutes to allow these players to kill each other?" Instead, what happened shocked me.

He stopped the game, pulled out his Spellfire cards and begin to sign them, accompanied by a statement something to the effect of, "For those who say Jim Ward kills all his players, this will give them something to talk about on Facebook and Twitter," or something like that. I think he did it so it would get back to Friday's near-survivor and chap his hide. But that's just speculation.


(Yes, that is Frank Mentzer in the background.)

Thank you Mr. Ward! I had a blast, both dying and surviving!

Pics from last night's Knights of Camelot game at the North Texas RPG Con

... moderated by Steve Winter, with Erol Otus and last-minute addition Dennis Sustare in attendance.
When I left the game, most of the 8 or 9 knights were dead, and mine was languishing in prison.




Don't forget... find me at the con and get your free button!

And, of course, follow me on Twitter and you might win a copy of The Valley of the Five Fires!

Find me at NTRPGCon and get one of these!

It's the newest New Big Dragon button! Like the yellow buttons I gave out back in February. And the d30 buttons I gave out last May. So find me at the North Texas RPG Con this weekend (if you're there), and ask for yours! Sorry, no mail-outs on this one! Don't worry, though; I'll probably do another d30 button with the release of the d30 Sandbox Companion.

If you're looking for me tonight (Wed. June 5), I'll be playing Knights of Camelot with Steve Winter and Erol Otus. How cool is that?!

Win It Before You Can Buy It: Valley of the Five Fires

I'm almost done with Valley of the Five Fires.

I gots me a twitter account.

Follow me on Twitter: twitter.com/NewBigDragon1
(PLEASE NOTE THE "1" AT THE END!;
some jackleg got my "@" before me, so twitter added the "1".)

I will be tweeting from the North Texas RPG Con.

Some time on Sunday, after the con is over, I will randomly choose one lucky twitter follower to receive a PDF and print copy of Valley of the Five Fires; also, 2 randomly-selected runners up will receive PDF copies.

The winners will be sent their copies when the book is released mid-to-late next week.

Any questions?

NTRPGCon Sked

I wasn't sure my schedule was going to allow it this year, but I'm happy to say I'll be attending this year's North Texas RPG Con. However, I am upset that I'll be missing Saturday evening (that's the one part of the schedule I just couldn't work out; my brother would have never let me live down missing my oldest niece's recital with the Dallas Ballet Center). Ironically, it would have been super-tough for me to choose which Saturday night game I would want to join. I'll still probably make it out that Saturday night, just not early enough to join any pre-scheduled sessions.

I hope Jim Ward won't think I'm stalking him...
...but I'm signed up for his Eldritch RPG sci-fi game on Friday morning and his Metamorphosis Alpha session on Saturday morning. The only other thing I'm registered for right now is a playtest session of Michael Curtis's Shiverwhen RPG on Friday evening.

Any attendees up for Citadel of Blood?
Something else I was thinking about doing on either Thursday night or Friday afternoon (between the Eldritch and Shiverwhen sessions) was getting up a game of Citadel of Blood, but going ahead and "pre-designing" the dungeon and then GM'ing it (as opposed to developing it on the fly w/out a GM, the way the game was designed), and throw in some additional traps, spells, monsters, and what not, that aren't already in the existing rules. If you read my blog post about it, this is something I've been wanting to do for a while. If any of you are going, let me know if you're up for this. BTW, if I do this, the characters will probably be pre-gens (either from the existing game, or some I've created based on my "expansion" ideas for the game).

NTRPGCon Artist's Panel Live Stream

I'm very disappointed to be missing this year's North Texas RPG Con, especially considering it pretty much in my backyard. But with a trip last weekend to 'Nawlins, my wife's birthday tomorrow, and some work commitments, it just wasn't in the cards (or is that dice?) for this year.

However, I was stoked to find out they're doing some live streaming this year, including this afternoon's artist panel with Erol, Jennell, Jeff, Diesel and Jason!