End-of-Week In Memoriam (7/8/16): RIP Steven Russell

Steven Russell, the man behind Rite Publishing, passed away this week in a car accident.

A GoFundMe has been set up to support his family.

My deepest sympathies to Steven's family. He did an incredible job honoring the legacy of Amber DRPG and Erick Wujcik, another role-playing icon who was taken from us too soon.

Steven was kind enough to let me help edit portions of the Lords of Gossamer and Shadow core book and the Long Walk supplement. I'm honored to have done my small part in helping support Steven's vision for the future of diceless roleplaying.

May you rest in peace Steven, knowing that you brought joy and excitement to fellow gamers. May your adventures continue forever in worlds beyond this mortal realm.

End-of-Week Elmore (1/10/14)

The illo above makes me think about everybody's favorite series featuring immortal dimension-hopping royalty: the Amber books by Roger Zelazny!

 

And by extension, it makes me think about the successor to the Amber Diceless RPG throne, Lords of Gossamer & Shadow!

 

I'm going to make it a point to delve into the Lords of Gossamer & Shadow rulebook and start doing a read-through, and will start posting about the game here on the old blog. Stay tuned!

An Early Christmas Gift from across the Multiverse

The Bumble and fuzzy reindeer approve!

Christmas arrived a bit early this weekend, because I received my copy of Lords of Gossamer & Shadow! This is a diceless game that was built on the foundation of the Amber Diceless Roleplaying game, which was created by Erick Wujcik in the early 1990's.

 

I was a supporter of the Kickstarter, and it's great to finally have the gorgeous hardcover in my grasp!

 

As I've said before on this blog, I was a huge fan of Amber Diceless RPG back in the 90's. A few friends and I had "graduated" from Dungeons & Dragons and were looking for a more "adult" RPG. Ironically, it was those mysterious and cryptic ads for Amber Diceless RPG in Dragon magazine that alerted us to its existence.

 

My friends and I got some copies of Amber DRPG, as well as the Roger Zelazny novels on which the game was based. If you haven't read the Amber novels, you really should check them out when you get a chance. I don't think you'll be disappointed.

 

Anyway, we immersed ourselves in Zelazny's mythology and the larger-than-life godlike characters that inhabit it. And from there, we created characters that were the children of those beings, and made the universe our playground. It was a glorious time in my roleplaying career, matched only by the early years that were consumed entirely by D&D.
 

I, of course, still have my Amber rulebook from back in the day. Here's a shot of that old tome with its "spiritual successor" next to it:

 

Steven Russell and the folks at Rite Publishing have, in my humble opinion, crafted not only a gorgeous book, but also a thoughtful and deep book that pays homage to its "source code." Sure, the game has "stripped away" the Amber mythology, but I think it's very cool what Rite has constructed in its place. They've made the system "setting neutral" in a way, even though there is technically a setting of sorts. Ultimately, you don't have to be steeped in Amber lore to get into this new version.

 

ANYway, I can't wait to get some time to read through LoG&S. If you're interested, check it out through DriveThru RPG.

 

Mr. Russell, during the final stages of the creation of LoG&S, asked backers if they'd like to volunteer to proofread the book. I leapt at the chance, and sure enough he sent me some pages. I'm proud and honored to be listed as one of the proofreaders in the credits of the book, as well as a backer. Thanks again, Steven!

 

It's really cool to have been a part of this "resurrection" of the late Erick Wujcik's game, bringing it back into print via this new form. It's the least I could do for a game that brought me so much happiness and roleplaying goodness.

Lords of Gossamer & Shadow

 

There's something wonderful happening.

 

Well, I suppose it's wonderful for fans of Amber Diceless Roleplaying Game (ADRPG). Then again, what's happening should actually be wonderful for newcomers to diceless roleplaying as well.

 

I know, there are a lot of gamers out there that balk at the concept of diceless roleplaying. How could that possibly work, right?

 

Well, the short answer is, it does work. It can work. It's just different from traditional dice-based games. Not better or worse...just different. I would suggest giving it a look. I'll elaborate when I can and defend the statements above when I get some more time to do so. I promise.

 

The ADRPG was released in 1991, and was supported by what I would call a relatively small but very devoted fan-base. It still is played and supported by gamers who fell in love with it those many years ago. But the game fell out of print sometime in the early 2000's and has languished in limbo...until now.

 

The ADRPG rules are being resurrected as Lords of Gossamer & Shadow. Please do yourself a favor and take a look at the Kickstarter. As one of those rabid devotees who were ensorcelled by the original rules back in their heyday, I'm very excited about this new game based on ADRPG. I'm in for $50 for the Kickstarter. If you read up on the new game and find it interesting, I encourage you to contribute as well.

 

I don't have time right now to write more about ADRPG or LoG&S. But, I'm long overdue when it comes to elaborating on my history with ADRPG and a discussion of the rules themselves, given that, along with D&D, ADRPG was one of the biggest influences on my roleplaying career. D&D and ADRPG were the games I played the most and enjoyed the most back in my younger years.

 

It's time that ADRPG had its day dawn once more.