Old School D&D Still Around(Repost)

I've been in a 2e AD&D mood lately so I thought I would repost this.

I was goofing on the internet, as I am too prone to do when I should be sleeping, and I found some interesting links. I've seen complaints about how WotC took down the links to the older edition products brought up on numerous message boards and blogs and when I stumbled upon this I thought I'd share it.

I don't know if this is a mistake or intentional, but I have tested a few of these links and they worked. I haven't had time to test them all so if some are broken, don't blame me. Perhaps WotC heard fan's cries and decided to be nice, or perhaps this is just some oversight on their part. I honestly don't know. Either way here are some AD&D links for your enjoyment, while they last.

Silver Princess: http://www.wizards.com/dnd/article.asp?x=dnd/dx20020121x7

http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/downloads

Forgotten Realms
Cormanthyr: Empire of the Elves: http://www.wizards.com/dnd/files/2/fr_downloads/tsr1165.zip

The Fall of Myth Drannor: http://www.wizards.com/dnd/files/2/fr_downloads/tsr9558.zip

The Horde: http://www.wizards.com/dnd/files/2/fr_downloads/tsr1055.zip

Lands of Intrigue: http://www.wizards.com/dnd/files/2/fr_downloads/tsr1159.zip

Savage Frontier: http://www.wizards.com/dnd/files/2/fr_downloads/tsr9233.zip

Gold and Glory: http://www.wizards.com/dnd/files/2/fr_downloads/tsr9373.zip

Elminster's Ecologies I: http://www.wizards.com/dnd/files/2/fr_downloads/tsr9489.zip

Elminster's Ecologies II: http://www.wizards.com/dnd/files/2/fr_downloads/tsr9490.zip

Four from Cormyr: http://www.wizards.com/dnd/files/2/fr_downloads/tsr9531.zip

Castle Spulzeer: http://www.wizards.com/dnd/files/2/fr_downloads/tsr9544.zip

Cult of the Dragon: http://www.wizards.com/dnd/files/2/fr_downloads/tsr9547.zip

For Duty and Deity: http://www.wizards.com/dnd/files/2/fr_downloads/tsr9574.zip

City of Raven's Bluff: http://www.wizards.com/dnd/files/2/fr_downloads/tsr9575.zip

Calimport: http://www.wizards.com/dnd/files/2/fr_downloads/tsr9589.zip

Arcane Age: Nethretil - Empire of Magic: http://www.wizards.com/dnd/files/2/fr_downloads/tsr1147.zip

Volo's Guide to the North: http://www.wizards.com/dnd/files/2/fr_downloads/tsr9393.zip

Marco Volo: Departure: http://www.wizards.com/dnd/files/2/fr_downloads/tsr9444.zip

Marco Volo: Journey: http://www.wizards.com/dnd/files/2/fr_downloads/tsr9450.zip

Marco Volo: Arrival: http://www.wizards.com/dnd/files/2/fr_downloads/tsr9455.zip

Volo's Guide to Cormyr: http://www.wizards.com/dnd/files/2/fr_downloads/tsr9486.zip

Vilhon Reach: http://www.wizards.com/dnd/files/2/fr_downloads/tsr9520.zip

Volo's Guide to All Things Magical: http://www.wizards.com/dnd/files/2/fr_downloads/tsr9535.zip

Villain's Lorebook: http://www.wizards.com/dnd/files/2/fr_downloads/tsr9552.zip
The Fall of Myth Drannor: http://www.wizards.com/dnd/files/2/fr_downloads/tsr9558.zip

How the Mighty are Fallen: http://www.wizards.com/dnd/files/2/fr_downloads/tsr9541.zip

Undermountain I: The Lost Level: http://www.wizards.com/dnd/files/2/fr_downloads/tsr9511.zip

Undermountain II: Maddgoth's Castle: http://www.wizards.com/dnd/files/2/fr_downloads/tsr9522.zip

Undermountain III: Stardock: http://www.wizards.com/dnd/files/2/fr_downloads/tsr9538.zip

The North: Guide to the Savage Frontier: http://www.wizards.com/forgottenrealms/thenorth.asp

Endless Armies (FMA2): http://www.wizards.com/dnd/files/tsr9340.pdf

Birthright
Blood Spawn: Creatures of Light and Shadow: http://www.wizards.com/dnd/files/Blood%20Spawn2.pdf

Player's Secrets of Hogunmark: http://www.wizards.com/dnd/files/Hogunmark.pdf

Player's Secrets of Muden: http://www.wizards.com/dnd/files/Muden.pdf

The Book of Regency: http://www.wizards.com/dnd/files/BookofRegency.pdf

The Legacy of Kings: http://www.wizards.com/dnd/files/BoardGame.zip

The Falcon and the Wolf: http://www.wizards.com/dnd/files/FalconWolfsingles.pdf

Some other Birthright stuff: http://www.wizards.com/dnd/article.asp?x=dnd/dx20020121x5

EX1 Dungeonland and EX2 The Land Beyond the Magic Mirror: http://www.wizards.com/dnd/article.asp?x=dnd/dx20020121x8

Al-Qadim
caravans: http://www.wizards.com/dnd/files/tsr9459caravans.zip

Corsairs of the Great Sea: http://www.wizards.com/dnd/files/tsr9449corsairs.zip

Legends & Lore, 2nd edition: http://www.wizards.com/dnd/files/LegendsAndLore.rtf

The Castle Guide (DMGR2): http://www.wizards.com/dnd/files/CASTLE.ZIP

Savage Coast Campaign Setting: http://www.wizards.com/dnd/files/campaignbook-rtf.zip

Ravenloft
NIGHT OF THE WALKING DEAD: http://www.wizards.com/dnd/files/notwd.pdf

Ravenloft II: http://www.wizards.com/dnd/article.asp?x=dnd/dx20020121x9:

Greyhawk
I11 Needle: http://www.wizards.com/dnd/files/i11.txt

Ivid the Undying: http://www.wizards.com/dnd/Greyhawk/Ividform.zip

Map #1 for Ivid the Undying [Dragon #204] http://www.wizards.com/dnd/Greyhawk/Ivid204.gif

Map #2 for Ivid the Undying [Dragon #206] http://www.wizards.com/dnd/Greyhawk/Ivid206.gif

Map #3 for Ivid the Undying [Dragon #208] http://www.wizards.com/dnd/Greyhawk/Ivid208.gif

Description: Ivid the Undying Maps http://www.wizards.com/dnd/Greyhawk/Ivid_Composite_Map.gif

L1: The Secret of Bone Hill by Len Lakofka
text http://www.wizards.com/dnd/files/l1.rtf

cover http://www.wizards.com/dnd/files/L1_cover.zip

interior maps http://www.wizards.com/dnd/files/L1_maps.zip

interior art http://www.wizards.com/dnd/files/L1_interior.zip

L2: The Assassin's Knot http://www.wizards.com/dnd/article.asp?x=dnd/dx20001229b

S1: Tomb of Horrors http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/oa/20051031a

S2: White Plume Mountain http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/oa/20051207a

Gamers that ruin it for the rest

I have been pondering for some time now what it is that has turned me away from RPG's. After thinking on it for several weeks I began to ask a few of the other players that have or do play RPG's with us. We came up with a list of annoying things that certain gamers do that have ruined it for us. For the most part this is just one player and we have stopped inviting him to play but it ran deep enough that even that did not save our love for RPG's

The first trait is always wanting to be in the spotlight. A good game and a good plan by the GM should let everyone have there time in the spotlight. Even then that is not good enough for some they want the spotlight in all situations. Even when it does not make sense like being a wizard and trying to show up the warrior in melee. At first as GM's we thought it added humor to the game but after time we grew tired of the antics. This resulted in a particular player either dying or being on the verge for several important battles.

This leads to trait number two - whinner. Nobody likes a whinner especially when you created you own problem by being dumb. They can cure a lot of things but being dumb is not one of them. You want to be a wizard that runs into melee evertime because you have used up your daily spells on the first monster then you deserve to die. The other area that really gets my blood pressure up is when the player comes up with a hair brained idea that has no chance of success and when the idea fails sits and whines that it is not fair. You want to do something that you have no skill in and it requires a roll of a 19 or 20 to succeed yet you try it anyways. I feel no sympathy when you could have crossed the crevice with the rope bridge instead of trying to climb higher up and jumping it. Don't whine at the GM or the other players when they leave your dead carcus on the bottom of the bottomless pit (not sure how that works). Why should the rest of the party have to climb down to drag you out because you are dumb.

Trait number three was hinted at above -- burning all your spell points and then thinking the whole party should stop to sleep so you get your spells back even though we just got up 2 hours ago. We tried to explain spell management but just got the blank stare and the response all I have left is one 1st level spell. Maybe you shouldn't have burned all your spells before you found out that the creature really couldn't hurt the melee guys so it was just a matter of time before they brought it down. Once again another blank stare.

Trait number four - psycho min / maxer. I will be upfront that I have no problem with most min maxers. Why not get the most out of your class / character. Since I am being honest some of my most memorable playing moments were not using skills I was great at but overcoming short comings in my character. Anyways back to the point. A psycho min/maxer is one that will search and search the rules for a loop hole to cheese out his character. Going back to some of the traits above it aids in being the one in the spotlight. You know the ones that use loop holes in the rules to become a charcter that can do anything with no weakness, that is fine, you can play the game by yourself (which by the way they are no doing, I do wonder how that is working out).

Trait number five - the guy who when things are not directly involving him he becomes a distraction. Here I am being the diplomat and getting us passage across a forbidden land. As negotiations are going on and going in my favor, the guy playing the 6 charisma, 8 Int, 10, wisdom fighter dwarf decides that he is bored with the negotiations so he decides it is a good time to let out the most obnoxious fart, followed by a roof rattleing belch, followed by another toxic fart that clears the room for the next 10 minutes. Once we finally get back in the room he starts to tell a story that about something that happened the week before, once we get back on task he brings up a this one time when I was playing an RPG story that took place 10 years earlier. Eventually the GM just grants us access to get things moving again in the right direction. Once again taking the spotlight from another character. Eventually the GM got fed up, had him arrested, thrown in jail, while the rest of us completed the quest. This lead to about 3 hours worth of whining and we sure did take our time get things completed. On top of that the GM kept secret talies of everything we looted and left it up to us to split it with him if we wanted. Even then it was not worth his hastle. Also in the category are those that really don't want to game just want to hang out. Sure that is a lot of the attraction to just hainging out, as we have gotten older we just don't do that anymore. I get that but that does not mean that you get to come in and take away the game from the rest of us, just because you have no interest in it.

Trait number six - the guy that only has one way to do things his way. Most of the time this comes up when we are trying to figure out a good plan of attack and God help us if we don't choose his plan. Even if it does not make any sense or completly goes against my characters morals. No as an 18th level paladin I am not going to dress up as a lady to try and distract the guards while he the multi class warrior that has 2 leveles of rogue tries to sneak by them. Which of course he just couldn't understand why I wouldnt do that and then on top of that his plan wanted me to dress as a muscular girl and try to intimidate them. Once again he didn't understand why as an 18th level paladin I was not maxed out on intimidate but was maxed out on diplomacy. Which by the way, I walked up to the guards and used diplomacy to get us in the castle.

Here are some traits that I like.

Rules Lawyer - yes I like them. As a GM I can't remember every rule and rely on those that have the rules memorized from cover to cover. As a player I like it as well, especially when we switch systems.

The guy who suprises you. I like being suprised by someone that hides a talent until it really is needed, and it leaves you with the "really you can do that, that is sweet". Especially when they respond, yea I got that two levels ago.

I am sure that everyone has there own horror stories and can expand on list. Due to this though I have become burnt out. Why is it that good gamers are hard to find?

Jason James
http://www.thenutgallery.com/

My lttle girl takes her first step towards becoming the geek I always hoped she would be and a useful site for most RPGs

After my last Pathfinder game had ended and the group had gone home, I was doing my session notes just as I usually do. My 12 year old daughter came in and took a seat at the table across from me, which is not uncommon. Then, out of the blue, she asked me to teach her to play. To say that I was filled with geek pride would be an understatement.

Given that she has never played a table top RPG I knew that 3rd edition and Pathfinder would probably be a bit overwhelming for her first time. Sure she's watched me and mom game for years and understands the basics, but I still wanted her first time at the table to be fun and not frustrating.

After telling her that I would love to teach her, while trying to hide my elation, I immediately began going through every RPG book and pdf that I own looking for a system that would 1) be easy enough for a beginner to learn 2) easy enough for me to modify quickly 3) something appropriate for her age (not too adult, not too childish) and 4)would also hold her attention.

Given her age I came up with several choices. Sword & Wizardry White Box, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Villains & Vigilantes, Truth & Justice, Pokethulhu and I even looked at running a game from the FATE or Savage World systems. I showed her the games I had picked and asked her which one she wanted to play. "I want to play D&D, because I want to be one of those dark elves", was her reply. There was nothing I could do or say to convince her that we could still do that with these other games, nope it had to be D&D.

Now, much like my gaming group she thinks there are only two kinds of D&D, 4th edition and Pathfinder/3e. If it doesn't have one of those name on it, then it isn't D&D according to them. As I've said before my group and I were not fans of 4e so the books have just been sitting on my shelf gathering dust, but after she said that I remembered that I had read a lot of positive reviews about the Essentials line. From what I have seen on various boards and blogs Essentials was much "easier" and better organized than the original core books (I am not fond of the original core books, at all). I was curious about the Essentials books anyway and they seemed to be designed for new gamers, so off to Amazon I went.

I was going to get the Red Box, but if the revisions to Essentials were as good as I had heard I wanted something more substantial. So I ordered the Rules Compendium and Heroes of the Fallen Lands. Let me just say it now, on record, I love these books. Yes, you heard(read) that correctly. This die-hard 3.x/Pathfinder player found something in 4e that made me excited to try the game again. The Rules Compendium is, from a DM's POV, the single best RPG book I own in terms of usefulness. It is just ridiculously easy to reference things on the fly with this book. Good job on that one WotC.

While Pathfinder will remain my fantasy RPG of choice for the foreseeable future, I have to say that the changes in the Essentials line, minor though they may be, make the game much more appealing to me. For the first time in a long time WotC has done something that I not only like, but am glad I bought. This will probably raise the ire of some die-hard 4e fans, but I want more digest sized Essentials books that are this well organized and reader friendly. If nothing else at least give me an Essentials Monster Manual. Not a boxed set like the soon to be released Monster Vault but an actual digest sized book to go along with the two I just bought and the Heroes of Forgotten Kingdoms book that I will be ordering when it is released.

Mike Mearls if you, or anyone else from WotC, are by chance reading this, I accepted the "olive branch" and am at least willing to bring 4e back to my gaming table, but I sincerely want my Essentials Monster Manual/Monster Catalog/Monster Compendium(whatever you want to call it). I do not, and I repeat do not want boxed sets of anything. I want easy to carry books that are well organized.

So this weekend I will be running a 4e game for my daughter, and probably my wife as well, using the Essentials books. Just thinking about her sitting there rolling a d20 and exploring dungeons with her "dark elf" is almost enough to bring a tear of joy to my eye. I'll let you know how it goes.


Now that that is out of the way I came across a site while prepping for this weekends 4e game that I think may prove quite useful. GoDeckYourself is a site with various types of customizable cards for various RPG needs.
I found blank 4e Power Cards, 4e & 3.5 Equipment Cards, Pathfinder Sorcerer Spell Cards, Initiative Cards and cards that I'm not even sure what they are for, yet.
You have the ability for minor customization of you cards (size, backing, and I think maybe even color)and when you are done the site generates a pdf for you to download and print.
The site says it is in beta at the moment, but there is more than enough on the site for nearly anyone to find something they can use in their game.

New Year, New Outlook

Happy New Year RPGBN!
After taking a break from the blogging world to reassess some things, I have decided to return to the fold. 

When I last posted I was aggravated and considered not only leaving the RPGBN but to close down this blog all together.Things that were happening here, in my personal life and in the comic and gaming industries were simply getting on my nerves. I took my dissatisfaction to heart and pretty much left this blog sitting cold. Looking back that was a bit of a drastic move to make.

I enjoy blogging, though I admit I'm not as active as many of the other member, and I do like writing about things which interest me. Namely comics, movies, books and of course gaming. So I figured it was about time for me to quit pouting and get to posting.

This year I'd like to try posting more than just reviews and opinion pieces, though those will still be posted just because I like them. I plan to post summaries of the games I run. Granted most of them will be Pathfinder, but I am going to try to fit in a few Mutants & Masterminds, Silver Age Sentinels, AD&D, Hollow Earth Expedition or Rifts adventures during 2010 as I try to coerce my group into genres other than straight fantasy as well as other systems. In a way everyone that reads my blog will be right there with me. Following my group through the ups and downs of our gaming experience. For some this may be helpful or to others it may just be humorous. Either way this will allow and hopefully encourage something I am very fond of, discussion.

You will see posts about adventure ideas I come up with, settings I am working on, how I try to convince my group to try a new system, whether it worked, and then how things went. If you have suggestions for my failed attempts, comments on my successes or even just wanna say hi, feel free to jump right in.  Everyone is welcome.


One thing I may explore this year is my experience trying to learn and relearn various systems. You see during my hiatus I went back and read many of my old game books. Doing so caused me to realize something, I don't know my favorite systems as well as I thought I did. I've been gaming for at least 20 years and honestly found out that I still have a few things to learn, even about old systems.

I've taken a great many of the things I know about my favorite games for granted. Assuming that I knew what I was talking about, until took the time to really read the books and found that sometimes my way of doing things wasn't exactly correct. I blame this on my tendency to throw out things I don't like upon first reading a rule book. Generally, as I've stated here before, I take the parts I like and run the game the way I want. So one of my goals this year, call it a resolution if you like, is to not only thoroughly learn some new systems but to relearn some many of my older games.

I've even decided to go back and relearn AD&D. Partially because of the old school resurgence, and partially out of nostalgia. Only one member of my group  has stuck around since or was even gaming when we made the switch from 2e to 3e nearly a decade ago. To the younger guys it will seem like a whole new system. I'll let you guys know how well I think the system held up or whether nostalgia has made me remember the game more fondly that it deserves.Plus I'll give you the new kids' opinion of the system. That should spark at least one good debate.

So for 2010 I'm going into this new year with a slightly different outlook on gaming and blogging. Hopefully it will be fun for all of us.


 Also I want to give special thanks to my friend Jason James from the Nut Gallery Review for his fill in posts over the past month.

Hero 5e Sale

From Dec. 10 - Dec. 24 Hero Games is offering their Hero 5th edition products at a 25% discount. If you are a 5e player who is still missing some books or even if you just want to try 5e this seems like a good deal. Especially if you buy the pdfs, some of which are around $13.

Check out the Hero Games store.

D&D in 3D

If you have not seen this yet you should take a second to look at it. Surfacescapes a new technology from Microsoft could change the way D&D and other role playing games are played and viewed. This might be the first time technology has really helped roleplaying. From the standpoint the online rpg games have taken people away from the game this could help bring them back. This is a step in the right direction for using Technology to make a roleplaying experience even better.

Image From Fantasy Clip Inks Spell Casters Set 1

Image courtesy of William McAusland and the gang over at Outland Arts.

New RPG "The World of Chronos Guidebook"

The World of Chronos gaming company is proud to announce the release of their newest role-playing game called, "The World of Chronos Guidebook". The guidebook, the first for the fledgling company, is sure to catch the attention of the gaming community because of its 100% character customization. Unlike other games in the RPG genre, the World of Chronos Guidebook doesn't utilize any set templates; instead, players choose abilities for their characters using a point system, allowing for every character to be completely unique from all others. The World of Chronos gaming company feels this game will re-invigorate the role-playing game genre and bring the company to the forefront of the gaming industry. For more information, visit the website at http://www.worldofchronos.com/.

Sounds like it could be fun, besides the company is right here in my home state.

Jason James
www.thenutgallery.com

Team Fortress 2 RPG

I just found an article that came out earlier this month in regards to a rpg being home brewed based on Team Fortress 2.

Not sure how many of you have seen it as I missed it the first time around.

http://tf2rpg.blogspot.com/

I Need a New Shop

Another comic book and hobby shop is closing the doors.

Between classes yesterday I had a little free time so I drove over to the comic book shop where I get my books. As I pulled into the parking lot I noticed all the lights were off. At first I though they might have changed their business hours and were now closed on Thursday, which seemed odd. I was just about to turn my car around and head back to class when I noticed the sign in the door. The shop was going out of business!

I've been going to Pulp Heroes for the better part of a decade and I've been happy buying my product there. Is it the greatest shop I've ever been in? No. It is a fairly small shop, in an old strip mall, right next door to a Mexican restaurant/grocery. They often had to special order books I wanted because the selection of books on the shelf was pretty much the most popular indie and mainstream books, but there was nothing wrong with that. My taste in reading material does not stray too far from the mainstream superhero books. When you compared my little shop to some of the larger, chain owned shops across the river, they may not have seemed so great. I have heard some customers complained it was too dark and cramped, but I never noticed. If anyting I liked the atmosphere of the shop and I liked the people.

They didn't carry a lot in the way of gaming material, mostly just comics and action figures, but I still found some great deals on RPG books, such as the Authority RPG I got for $5. They also carried Heroclix, Magic and Pokemon cards and that is pretty much it. Still I really liked my little shop and didn't want to go anywhere else.

In this economy and with stores closing all across the country I don't guess I should be surprised, but I most definitely was. There always seemed to be a small, but steady stream of customers going in and out, so I never considered they fact they would close. I guess you just never think it will happen to you.

I bought my books at Pulp Heroes for so long for several reasons. First it was convenient, it was really the closest shop I knew of, I went by it on my way home from work and they were always really nice to me. I've seen quite a few guys behind the counter over the years, most of whose names I honestly can't remember right now, but every time I walked in I was greeted with "Hi Mike." It was kind of like Cheers, everyone knew my name.

If I missed a book that should have been in my pull file, the owner, or one of his employees always made sure I got it. Even if they had to give me one of the higher priced variants at cover price. They would pull books for me that I didn't normally buy just because they thought I might like it, or it had an appearance by a character I really liked. I wasn't obligated to buy these extra issues, they put them in my file just in case I wanted them. They actually took the time to do that and I appreciated it.

So, stunned, I sat there in the parking lot trying to figure out how to get my comics. I considered all the shops across the river in Louisville. Then I thought about how much farther I would have to drive and quickly dismissed the idea. I figured I would just be stuck ordering my gaming and comic books online, beefing up my my mail subscriptions and even *gasp* buying more pdfs and subscribing to digital comics. I was not a happy camper but I had class in less than an hour, so decided to head back to campus.

On my way I suddenly remembered another shop that wasn't too far from my old shop. I had completely forgotten Empire Comics and hadn't been in that shop in years. So I drove around for a little bit, until I remembered where they were. They were open!

I went in, and was instantly struck by how many customers were inside. It was almost crowded. I met the owner, who was a really nice guy and he told me that he was picking up a lot of new business because of the closing of my old shop.

Now the comic selection was comparable to that of Pulp Heroes, but Empire also has a lot of gaming stuff. They run tournament games, I think only Magic and D&D, which means they have a game room for people to gather and play. Which means I may be able to get in on some games.

When I filled out the form to make sure my weekly comics were pulled, the owner described his program to me. Everything is pretty much computerized or automated in some way. He sends out weekly emails telling you what is coming out the following week. If you see something on the list that you want him to pull, email him back and let him know. He also sends out an excel spreadsheet letting you know what is in the Previews catalog. All you have to do is fill in what you want, send it back to him and he can order that stuff for you too. On top of that he sends out a Dungeons & Dragons newsletter. Did I mention he also has a website where you can order and a message board? Can't make it into the shop for a while? Call him, use your credit card and he will ship your books to you.

Needless to say I was shocked. I haven't seen this kind of attention and customer service in any shop I've ever visited. I honestly began to feel guilty. I was genuinely excited about the new shop and felt like I was betraying a friend by consorting with the competition, changing my allegience.

I sincerely will miss my old shop and have many fond memories of my time as a customer there. It is always sad to see an "old friend" go, and even more saddening to know that someone who was living most fanboys' dream, just saw that dream fall apart. I wish the PH crew the best of luck and hope to see the shop reopen sometime in the future.

Despite the tragic story of another shop disappearing, there is a bright side to this. Business just increased for another shop, meaning he will be in business that much longer. Hopefully, I'll be happy with my new shop and won't need to look for another new shop for many years to come.

Another Legend Passes

Dungeons & Dragons co-creator Dave Arneson dead at 61

Dave Arneson, born in 1947, an American game designer, teacher and entrepreneur and the co-creator of the seminal Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game, passed away on Tuesday, April 7, after a long battle with cancer. He is survived by his wife and daughter.

He met up with Gary Gygax at the second official Gencon. From there they decided to write Dungeons & Dragons. Since they were unable to find a publisher they started TSR and published the book themself.

It saddens me to see the founders of such a wonderful game and genre passing. Over the years greed, lack of leadership, and lack of concern of the product has driven fans away. Plus technical advances in society, video games, and tv have prevented new fans from flocking to the game. It is almost like living in a d&d world were the Gods have left us to fend for ourselves.

I send my best wishes to his wife and daughter

Jason James
www.thenutgallery.com

Who is the greatest warrior on Spike TV

Though this is not all rpg related it does have some cool aspects that go along with RPG's. Spike TV is doing a series called Who is the Deadliest Warrior?. This is going to air in april and is unscripted. It will give answers to who is the better fighter the samarui, vikings. It is going to see who is better between William Wallace and Zulu. Also facing off will be the Yukuza and the Mafia.

The first episode is April 7 at 10 PM eastern and will have a gladiator facing off with an Apache. Chuck Liddel from UFC is going to make a speical guest appearance to test his abilities against the fighters.

This seems like it could be a very good idea and could be very interesting. Hope it can live up to it

Which D&D Character Am I?

D&D Home Page - What Class Are You? - Build A Character - D&D Compendium

Sad Times Indeed....

The cancellation of gaming icons Dungeon Magazine and Dragon Magazine caused a bit of an uproar in the RPG community, but their demise was just the beginning. (I know they aren't officially gone, but moved to digital format. Since I refuse to subscribe to the farce that is DDI they are gone to me.) Inquest was another gaming magazine that got the axe. Now it seems that Electronic Gaming Monthly, one of my favorite video game magazines has been canceled recently and Scrye magazine will end in April.

The section of the magazine rack, small though it was, where gamers could find periodicals related to their interest has pretty much become non-existent. Sure there are a few video game magazines remaining for now, but I fear those too will soon be replaced by hunting and NASCAR magazines or another Cosmo clone. It seems that gamers and geeks will have to rely on the internet from now on.

I've expressed my disappointment over the death of print media for the past few years and though I am not a huge fan of pdf periodicals, however I do readily admit that some are quite good, it seems that's all we have left. It's a sad thing to see an industry with loyal fans die, but in these tough economic times I suppose ours is only the first of many.


On a side note I plan to have my completed review of Hollow Earth Expedition up next week. It seems that my life revolves around work, research projects and papers of late. There simply isn't enough hours in the day or days in the week to get everything done.

Min/Maxer - They ruined rpg's for me

We have all played with one of those players and many of us are this player. Yes the player that will spend months looking up the best way to cheese a character. They have to have the best combination of weapon, gear, skills, and will do whatever they have to, to get it. The character may be dumb as a box of rocks not meaning any offense towards the box of rocks but usually is uglier than a sack of puss. I have not actually ever seen a sack of puss but I am sure if I did it would be pretty ugly. Well for me most of the time these types of players ruin the game for me.

You might at this point be swearing at me and throwing sharp objects in my direction. It just has been to many times that I have had a game ruined by someone that feels that they need to be the do it all character. They have min / maxed to the point that things get off balance. Almost becomes like the cold war with everyone in the game trying to build the biggest arsenal.

I used to play RPG’s once a week but because of a few bad circumstances I am now down to about one per month. We couldn’t figure out why our groups kept falling apart. So I opened dialog with several of the players asking why they didn’t want to play anymore and they all had the same to say. Certain people and how they played were ruining their fun. Having fun is the base reason I play RPG’s. Having fun, hanging with friends, and escaping life for a few hours is what RPG’s are for.

Granted this can be fixed in a lot of ways by the GM. He can focus the role playing around the other characters, give them extra gear (adding to the arms race), talking to the player (didn’t help in my circumstance), and the player could be asked to not come back (hard to do when you are friends with the person outside of gameing).

The solution we found was to end the campaign and to move on. A first time GM stepped up and started to run a game but did not invite the problem player. Have any of you had similar problems and if so what kind of solutions did you use.

Guest Poster

I wanted to thank The Geek Gazette for allowing me to guest post once in a while on his blog. We have been friends now for several years are hope to in the near future collaborate on a couple of projects.

I am big into movies having just watched Gran Tarino over the weekend. All I can say is Clint Eastwood is the man, even if he is almost 80. He pulls no punches in this film and is the heroic character that we have come to expect from him. If you want to see more of my thoughts on movies check out my website www.thenutgallery.com

My other loves are rpgs, video games, comics, and wow. Rpg's right now I am in a Deadlands campaign using the Savage World rules. I am playing a straight up shooter that has roots with the Texas Rangers. The DM is a first time DM but he is very good. He has studied the rules and is very good at running things on the fly. Anyone who has ever DM'd knows that very little goes the way you think it will and thinking on your feet is very important.

Video games from last year that I played the most were NCAA Football and Lego Indiana Jones. Yes the Lego game is awesome and I don't care what anyone says. Did I mention I almost killed my brother over it. The (insert nasty word here) deleted my saved game and I only had one board left.

Finally I do play World of Warcraft. I have a lvl 66 Death Knight as my highest character. I can't wait to get him to 70 so I can enjoy the new areas of the game that came out with the expansion.

There you have my introduction in a nutshell.

You play too much D&D if…

Over the years I've seen this around the net several times, but a friend recently emailed it to me so I thought I would share. I have to admit to actually doing or knowing people who do/have done some of the things on the list. I'm particularly guilty of #'s 6(I don't do it every time, but have done it), 10, 16, 21(have done, but not regularly), 22 (though they call them my geek shirts because they aren't all about D&D), the rest of the list fits for the most part but some are common to most D&D players... or so I tell myself.

You play too much D&D if…
1. You see the following headline: “Abberration Splits Dog's Left Leg in Two” and wonder who let the illithids out to play.
2. You automatically attack someone when they pass through your threatened space
3. There is no such thing as too much D&D.
4. Most of the arguments you have with your S.O. involve things between your characters.
"You know I wanted that sword, but you took it. I can't believe you! You're sleeping under the stars tonight, get out of the tent!"
5. You wonder out loud during the movie whether Conan has more fighter or barbarian levels or what kind of enchantments Li Mu-bai's Green Destiny has.
6. You say +1 every time someone says something you really like.
7. Every time you pass by a gas station sign stating the price of gas you "attempt to disbelieve"...I always fail my will save
8. Every time someone mentions 'Santa's Elves' you correct them: 'technically, those are dwarves, or maybe even gnomes.'
9. You think that during the creation of the European Union and the Euro, Europe screwed up the chance to change their currency to the GP standard.
10. You love hobbits and hate kender - and know the difference.
11. You are driving on a State Road and think, "Wow, that's a high SR"
12. When you dream of hiring a Drow Raiding party to "deal" with every person who has ever wronged you in your life.
13. When you are watching Kung Fu the TV series and you say out loud, "Kane is definitely Lawful Good." and nobody knows what you are talking about.
14. When you watch Lord of the Rings and try to list each feat and skill levels of the members of the Fellowship.
15. When your ultimate fantasy is to have your wife/girlfriend dress up like Red Sonja.
16. You get offended when people make fun of the game and/or its players.
17. You set your monitor on fire to kill a forum troll.
18. You think Boeing should name their planes Astral, Celestial, Ethereal, etc instead of using numerical designation.
19. After you get a girl's phone number she immediately takes it back once you mention her failed Sense Motive check.
20. You have an irrational fear of rainbows.
21. When you see someone succeed, you bust out with a "they must have rolled a natural 20,eh?".
22. When you dress up for a meeting at work, your coworkers ask “What happened to your D&D shirts?”
23. When your ultimate fantasy is to have your husband/boyfriend dress up like Red Sonja.
24. You once hurt your back moving your D&D supplies to a different shelf. (done this)
25. You reorganize the D&D section at the book store because you think Complete Champion shouldn’t go next to Book of Vile Darkness. (done this)
26. You get into an argument and you take out your dice to make an intimidation check.
27. You call 5 ft 1 square
28. When you get confused while watching The Lord of the Rings and you see Gandalf wielding a sword.
29. "I am a level 20 Sorceror/Rogue" is actually not am empty threat to you
30. i'm not a nerd, i'm a level 8 dragon disciple
31. You don't get more dates even with an "18" charisma
32. When meeting new people, you ask what their THAC0 is.
33. When you hit another car you roll to determine the damage
34. You don't believe that you *can* play too much Dungeons and Dragons.
35. At work you wield a +4 "mop of scrubitude"
36. You can accurately describe all 7 effects of Prismatic Spray
37. You roll a d20 to see if you can eat breakfast
38. you've ever been attracted to your own character
39. you carry 20-side dice in your pocket
40. You watch an action movie and think "I wonder what was the d20 roll for that".
41. You *think* in Elvish
42. You argue with your friends and say "I cast Lv 15 STFU on you paladin!"
43. You know WHY Legolas can walk on snow.
44. Any exposure to sunlight gives sunburn
45. You automatically speak in third person
46. You have something made of 'mirthral' in your wardrobe
47. a 20-side dice is among your arsenal of weapons
48. All hail the almighty DM
49. you know what the 'draconomicon' is
50. You only move as far as the dice tell you
51. You have a D&D tattoo
52. You get really pissed because you can't have an illithid character
53. You go on blind dates acting uppity because you KNOW she's not even a level 1
54. You call it Dungeons and Dragons instead of D+D.
55. You hang out with the Keepers
56. Your secret pouch of spells is filled with urine.
57. You make a list of signs that you play too much Dungeons and Dragons.

Happy Holiday!

Just wanted to wish everyone a Merry Christmas/Happy Holidays and hope we all have a great New Year!

Not much time to game.

As some may have noticed my posting has been a bit slim this month and that is intentional. Gaming has had to take a back seat to work, Christmas shopping, finals and grad school preparation, I take the GRE today. A test on Christmas Eve!!!! Yup, it sucks.  

Anyway with all of that on my plate, I haven't done a whole lot of gaming this month. I have a stack of RPG books, adventures, magazines, comics and video games I haven't even looked at over the past few weeks. I've hardly had time to catch a hockey game, thank goodness for radio webcasts. (I'm listening to the Blues, my team, get stomped by the Red Wings as I type this.)

Anyway I will be posting more after the holidays are over. I still have plenty of new product reviews to get to, as well as some retro-reviews I've been wanting to do. There is just so much going on that I haven't been able to keep up, thankfully most of the gang on the RPGBloggers network have been doing a fantastic job of staying on top of things.

 

Gaming Christmas List

As an answer to the call for gamer Christmas list on RPG Blog II, I have compiled a list of the 5 gaming items I want for the holidays. Most of which I probably will never get without a Christmas miracle.

1. The Ultimate Gaming Table
2. The Ultimate DM Screen
3. Palladium System Pocket Guide
   
4. More Supplement books for Battlestar Galactica RPG.
   
5. A gaming only room. The dining room works well, but it would be nice to have a room just for gaming, so that I leave everything out for game nights.

On a more realistic level I want the following:

1. Rifts: Book of Magic
2. Freedom City Campaign Setting
   
3. A set of Amethyst Gaming Dice
4. 4e Draconomicon
   
5. PS3 (Video games count as gaming!)