Ok…first off I’m posting this update in three places so if you see the title more than once or go ‘wait a minute-I just read this’ you’ll know why.
Wow, long time no post…but that doesn’t mean I haven’t worn all the markings off my keyboard…again…
First, all the projects are cooking so I’m back to 20 hour days again. It has been a wild summer so far, re-entering the wargame scene with a vengeance (and a battle cry) and sorting out all the custom content for the Arkham Horror boardgame that is floating around the interwebs…and a word of warning-back up your backups and then make a back up of that back up…seriously…this Megaupload fiasco (which is BS like most nonsense these days-invalid search warrants, whole thing gets tossed anyway, never even slowed down the pirates and the communities that use file hosting legitimately have to suffer…f*** heads…) has managed to eat up the time I had slotted for getting the first major articles for Darkness over Dunwich finished. Now I have to stop what I’m doing and get re-focused on things that make your skin crawl after sweeping through the history of wargaming (wow...lots to catch up on).
And, speaking of wargaming, GMT games recent release of Red Winter is getting high marks. I brushed it off as a minor title to start with but after further study I must say they seem to have hit the target (pun? No pun?...whatever) with this one.
I am trying to bring my A-game with these first two outings of the journals. I have plenty of material…almost too much…it’s just getting everything right that drags things down. These are not intended as one-shot publications. As I believe I have mentioned I’m trying to do (for now) 3 of each a year on an alternating schedule. That leaves plenty of time for those ‘oh s***’ moments that are inevitable.
Still exploring Kickstarter for these projects but not quite decided yet. And then there is that pesky website to finish.
Anyway, I hope your gaming is going well this hot and messed up summer and look forward to fall when maybe everyone can take a minute and relax and just enjoy the simple entertainment that gaming is at its best.
More soon…
Thursday, July 26, 2012
Saturday, June 2, 2012
The End Is The Beginning
Ok...I have typed a dozen drafts of this post over the last days and I delete them or just limbo them in draft hell.
This whole D&D fiasco has grown so old and I'm burned out as it is and swore I was taking a break but I always feel compelled to sit back down and get back to it.
Like this post:
http://www.neuroglyphgames.com/marletts-musings-dnd-next-laments
Not only is the material presented as fact so wrong that I will not spend the hours it would take to shoot them all down WITH FACTS but I'm to the point of not caring anymore.
I have watched a community go from a healthy happy group of gamers of all ages into a rage war over editions and the complete ignorance of the actual demographics behind gaming and the changing market place.
There are more people playing rpgs than have played in many years, the numbers are out there. Yet all I read is how we are losing players to these other activities which have existed (for the most part) for some time now. If they were going to kill off tabletop I wouldn't be typing this.
The 'aging population' bit is also one of the major fallacies that drives me insane. Yes, young people are turning away from INDUSTRY gaming but they are tabletop gaming nonetheless.
I have read and logged over 10,000 blogs over the last 2 years on the subject of Non-Industry gaming. That would include the OSR, OSS,etc and I'm not even including the resurgence in wargaming and miniatures collecting.
Without big numbers to show off to shareholders the Industry leaders wring their hands and proclaim the end is nigh.
Thank God.
I hope they are right. I hope the Industry collapses, I hope the masses go away. I hope that we recognize once again that not all role playing games are supposed to be for children. That TRPGs are not dog food or paper towels to be turned out on an assembly line and tuned to the ultimate blandness to reach the largest target market.
I pray every night that the world just forgets about us. That D&D is finally put to rest as a commercial product and that new games rise to take its place. That D&D becomes the cornerstone in the foundation of a greater gaming period than gaming has ever known.
My hope is that people continue to be excited by learning that the key to great gaming doesn't lie in a book of rules but within us, from the primal need to be story tellers to the ability to act out plays of imagination on a stage that is as large as our dreams with players from around the world and, one day, from other worlds (can you imagine playing in a session with players on the ISS, the Moon and even Mars?).
I know...I know...
But one can still dream...
This whole D&D fiasco has grown so old and I'm burned out as it is and swore I was taking a break but I always feel compelled to sit back down and get back to it.
Like this post:
http://www.neuroglyphgames.com/marletts-musings-dnd-next-laments
Not only is the material presented as fact so wrong that I will not spend the hours it would take to shoot them all down WITH FACTS but I'm to the point of not caring anymore.
I have watched a community go from a healthy happy group of gamers of all ages into a rage war over editions and the complete ignorance of the actual demographics behind gaming and the changing market place.
There are more people playing rpgs than have played in many years, the numbers are out there. Yet all I read is how we are losing players to these other activities which have existed (for the most part) for some time now. If they were going to kill off tabletop I wouldn't be typing this.
The 'aging population' bit is also one of the major fallacies that drives me insane. Yes, young people are turning away from INDUSTRY gaming but they are tabletop gaming nonetheless.
I have read and logged over 10,000 blogs over the last 2 years on the subject of Non-Industry gaming. That would include the OSR, OSS,etc and I'm not even including the resurgence in wargaming and miniatures collecting.
Without big numbers to show off to shareholders the Industry leaders wring their hands and proclaim the end is nigh.
Thank God.
I hope they are right. I hope the Industry collapses, I hope the masses go away. I hope that we recognize once again that not all role playing games are supposed to be for children. That TRPGs are not dog food or paper towels to be turned out on an assembly line and tuned to the ultimate blandness to reach the largest target market.
I pray every night that the world just forgets about us. That D&D is finally put to rest as a commercial product and that new games rise to take its place. That D&D becomes the cornerstone in the foundation of a greater gaming period than gaming has ever known.
My hope is that people continue to be excited by learning that the key to great gaming doesn't lie in a book of rules but within us, from the primal need to be story tellers to the ability to act out plays of imagination on a stage that is as large as our dreams with players from around the world and, one day, from other worlds (can you imagine playing in a session with players on the ISS, the Moon and even Mars?).
I know...I know...
But one can still dream...
Saturday, May 26, 2012
A Good Video, Interesting Observation On MMO vs Tabletop And A Proper Attitude In Gaming
I have typed several of these posts and deleted them because I just don't see a positive outcome to any of them.
But this guy makes some good points and ultimately a proper attitude to have as a gamer (no it's not HATER based).
Enjoy
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1GMeYPvJaMI
But this guy makes some good points and ultimately a proper attitude to have as a gamer (no it's not HATER based).
Enjoy
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1GMeYPvJaMI
Sunday, May 13, 2012
Success is where AD&D went all wrong
There's been a lot of discussion over the last year about turning points in the hobby and before history is allowed to warp what little reality is left in the subject, fwiw, here is a personal story.
Giants didn't kill AD&D. The rules didn't kill AD&D.
Success is what killed AD&D.
A company suddenly rife with success and capital coupled with coming onto the mainstream grid undermined the hobby causing knee-jerk reactions to everything from PR to R&D.
Satanic Panic played a large part in this to varying degrees at the time depending on where you lived. In the south forget about being banned as a game club in school. People were burning s*** in peoples yards who played or sold the game, scaring children and parents alike with their rhetoric of 'D&D is Satanism' remarks being printed in everything down to local newspapers. The Tom Hanks film became mandatory viewing in local schools where I lived.
The PR solutions, turning the concept into a Saturday morning children's program, lowering the age range on the actual product and pitching the game as a children's toy, etc and creating self-perpetuating product lines that gobbled money like a piranha on a fat water buffalo killed AD&D.
Even though the Red Box lays claim to the best selling single game product in the hobby it was AD&D, not D&D, that topped the sales charts, brought in people by the millions and created the legacy we know today as the D&D super brand.
And Dragonlance was the arrow in the heart of the gaming beast, now barely stirring in the water as more and more entered the feeding frenzy, causing the same type of overwhelming glut that occurred during the heyday of 3.0.
Past Basic and Expert most went on to play AD&D. That is where the estimated 25 million players came from that formed the base of the industry, now seen as a profitable commodity like toilet paper or dog food.
I understand that a lot of those vocal on the subject started with the Red Box and still connect with it to this day. But I also notice the ages of those who talk about it were 9, 10, 11 years old. You came at it from the perspective of the children that I mentioned earlier who had become part of the hobby in the early '80s. The age group who never seem represented are the young adults who started as teenagers with AD&D and were responsible for fueling the hobby with their own money from crappy jobs and later the same ones who would start companies and open stores and pay dearly for decisions made by major figures in the hobby at the time.
If you scrape at the paint a little too much you find the truth beneath the surface. Remember, truth is not fact but truth can lead one to the facts. And the white wash has been almost complete about that time period from 1977-1983.
Look at the marketing strategy at WotC even today. First a mock 'Red Box', then the reprint of the core AD&D books. Not the Original edition, nor B/X nor BECMI (or even Holmes which would be a great one shot money maker) but the hardest, largest core product to reproduce from the time period. Only one group know the true sales numbers from the brand and they have been slowly acting on those numbers.
Now, this is not to say that these other editions wouldn't see a reprint at some point, but marketing is based on numbers and AD&D was the 800lb gorilla of its time and even today remains the center of fiery discussions from both ends. Original edition players saw it as rules bloat and new school gamers see it as a jumbled mess that they use to point out everything that was wrong with gaming of the period and the thought of not only the reprints but bringing back parts of that system in 5e makes them want to puke.
I honestly don't see what WotC hopes to achieve with this FrankenGame approach. They have managed to alienate the very players they hoped to get back while turning current players against them. It is truly a no-win situation no matter what they do and I keep waiting for someone to stand up and say 'April Fools!' and then lay out the real strategy for bringing D&D back to the spotlight.
But I'm afraid this is a nightmare that we can't wake up from and soon another bloody mess will be pushed onto the stage with cattle prods to dance for people who throw things at it.
If you going to build off nostalgia then do so and show respect for that history. If you are going to build new then leave the past behind, rename the product and move on. Otherwise we get to watch the whole cycle repeat itself like a gaming version of the film Groundhog's Day.
EDIT: Sorry for the typo mess. It's been a bit hectic.
Giants didn't kill AD&D. The rules didn't kill AD&D.
Success is what killed AD&D.
A company suddenly rife with success and capital coupled with coming onto the mainstream grid undermined the hobby causing knee-jerk reactions to everything from PR to R&D.
Satanic Panic played a large part in this to varying degrees at the time depending on where you lived. In the south forget about being banned as a game club in school. People were burning s*** in peoples yards who played or sold the game, scaring children and parents alike with their rhetoric of 'D&D is Satanism' remarks being printed in everything down to local newspapers. The Tom Hanks film became mandatory viewing in local schools where I lived.
The PR solutions, turning the concept into a Saturday morning children's program, lowering the age range on the actual product and pitching the game as a children's toy, etc and creating self-perpetuating product lines that gobbled money like a piranha on a fat water buffalo killed AD&D.
Even though the Red Box lays claim to the best selling single game product in the hobby it was AD&D, not D&D, that topped the sales charts, brought in people by the millions and created the legacy we know today as the D&D super brand.
And Dragonlance was the arrow in the heart of the gaming beast, now barely stirring in the water as more and more entered the feeding frenzy, causing the same type of overwhelming glut that occurred during the heyday of 3.0.
Past Basic and Expert most went on to play AD&D. That is where the estimated 25 million players came from that formed the base of the industry, now seen as a profitable commodity like toilet paper or dog food.
I understand that a lot of those vocal on the subject started with the Red Box and still connect with it to this day. But I also notice the ages of those who talk about it were 9, 10, 11 years old. You came at it from the perspective of the children that I mentioned earlier who had become part of the hobby in the early '80s. The age group who never seem represented are the young adults who started as teenagers with AD&D and were responsible for fueling the hobby with their own money from crappy jobs and later the same ones who would start companies and open stores and pay dearly for decisions made by major figures in the hobby at the time.
If you scrape at the paint a little too much you find the truth beneath the surface. Remember, truth is not fact but truth can lead one to the facts. And the white wash has been almost complete about that time period from 1977-1983.
Look at the marketing strategy at WotC even today. First a mock 'Red Box', then the reprint of the core AD&D books. Not the Original edition, nor B/X nor BECMI (or even Holmes which would be a great one shot money maker) but the hardest, largest core product to reproduce from the time period. Only one group know the true sales numbers from the brand and they have been slowly acting on those numbers.
Now, this is not to say that these other editions wouldn't see a reprint at some point, but marketing is based on numbers and AD&D was the 800lb gorilla of its time and even today remains the center of fiery discussions from both ends. Original edition players saw it as rules bloat and new school gamers see it as a jumbled mess that they use to point out everything that was wrong with gaming of the period and the thought of not only the reprints but bringing back parts of that system in 5e makes them want to puke.
I honestly don't see what WotC hopes to achieve with this FrankenGame approach. They have managed to alienate the very players they hoped to get back while turning current players against them. It is truly a no-win situation no matter what they do and I keep waiting for someone to stand up and say 'April Fools!' and then lay out the real strategy for bringing D&D back to the spotlight.
But I'm afraid this is a nightmare that we can't wake up from and soon another bloody mess will be pushed onto the stage with cattle prods to dance for people who throw things at it.
If you going to build off nostalgia then do so and show respect for that history. If you are going to build new then leave the past behind, rename the product and move on. Otherwise we get to watch the whole cycle repeat itself like a gaming version of the film Groundhog's Day.
EDIT: Sorry for the typo mess. It's been a bit hectic.
Thursday, May 10, 2012
Thoughts On Carcosa
Just had to share this because I think this sums up D&D as my group played it back in the early 80's
"Carcosa is Thundarr the Barbarian reimagined by Lovecraft, Moorcock, and R.E. Howard, drawn by the 1970s staff of Heavy Metal, and put to motion by Ralph Bakshi."
-Gaming All Over The Place: Carcosa: Initial Thoughts
http://gamingallover.blogspot.com/2011/12/carcosa-initial-thoughts.html
At least all the source quotes are right :)
"Carcosa is Thundarr the Barbarian reimagined by Lovecraft, Moorcock, and R.E. Howard, drawn by the 1970s staff of Heavy Metal, and put to motion by Ralph Bakshi."
-Gaming All Over The Place: Carcosa: Initial Thoughts
http://gamingallover.blogspot.com/2011/12/carcosa-initial-thoughts.html
At least all the source quotes are right :)
Thursday, May 3, 2012
S*** On My Mind
Or what is left of it...
First, glad to see that 'people who Goggle might actually listen to' have started bitchin' about being forced into G+.
Second, I have solved the dilemma of the new D&D and am now ready to unveil the master plan where Pinky and I will...oh...wrong...anyway...
Say Hello To:
DUNGEONS & DIMWITS 50XT
Complete with 4 exciting new classes:
Robot
Stoopid Guy
Hot Chick
Hobit
The entire game must be made up on the spot. If someone doesn't finally say 'Are you just pulling this out of your ass or what' then you are doing it wrong.
All weapons do 1 point of damage except crossbows and you have to ricochet the bolt off a wall to do 3 points of damage.
All spells require a success roll of a natural 20 to work or they fail and a roll is made on the fail chart for the bad result, like getting turned into a chicken.
At least part of the rules must be in a foreign language that no one speaks so as to give it a true 'old skool' feel and something for fanboys to argue over on forums.
Monsters Will Include:
Tree Stump-Special Attack: Stumble
Bumble Bees-Special Attack: Stings like a mutha
Drunken Dwarf-Special Attack: Urine
Broken Beer Bottle:See Drunken Dwarf
And last but not least, Abominable Joesky, the Barbarian (watch out for that loin cloth-Save vs Death if you get within smelling range)
That's about my 15% for now, but we will be play testing this at the Shady Hills Rest Home at some point so stay tuned for exciting updates to the One Game!
First, glad to see that 'people who Goggle might actually listen to' have started bitchin' about being forced into G+.
Second, I have solved the dilemma of the new D&D and am now ready to unveil the master plan where Pinky and I will...oh...wrong...anyway...
Say Hello To:
DUNGEONS & DIMWITS 50XT
Complete with 4 exciting new classes:
Robot
Stoopid Guy
Hot Chick
Hobit
The entire game must be made up on the spot. If someone doesn't finally say 'Are you just pulling this out of your ass or what' then you are doing it wrong.
All weapons do 1 point of damage except crossbows and you have to ricochet the bolt off a wall to do 3 points of damage.
All spells require a success roll of a natural 20 to work or they fail and a roll is made on the fail chart for the bad result, like getting turned into a chicken.
At least part of the rules must be in a foreign language that no one speaks so as to give it a true 'old skool' feel and something for fanboys to argue over on forums.
Monsters Will Include:
Tree Stump-Special Attack: Stumble
Bumble Bees-Special Attack: Stings like a mutha
Drunken Dwarf-Special Attack: Urine
Broken Beer Bottle:See Drunken Dwarf
And last but not least, Abominable Joesky, the Barbarian (watch out for that loin cloth-Save vs Death if you get within smelling range)
That's about my 15% for now, but we will be play testing this at the Shady Hills Rest Home at some point so stay tuned for exciting updates to the One Game!
Sunday, April 22, 2012
Things I Be Mad Hatin'-Part 1
OH F***! NOW I SEE!
Here was my 'feedback' to Google upon attempting to create a post on their new Blogger interface which I will kindly call ASS:
This interface is awful. Now I understand why so many people have been complaining.
If you are really trying to run off all of your user base you are on the right track.
I give this a 0/10 and if I'm going to be forced to learn a new interface I will just go get a website and start coding my own pages again.
If this is about making all users into Google+ users I would like to be told so at this point. I have no interest in G+. If I wanted to be on a social network I would be on Facebook with 850 million other users. Blogging IS my social network.
I am now reverting back to the old interface. I hope you will continue to offer it as an option.
Contact them and register a complaint about the endless interface changes. Things suck bad enough already but I swear I am not going to try to sort out that PUKE just to make a post.
Here was my 'feedback' to Google upon attempting to create a post on their new Blogger interface which I will kindly call ASS:
This interface is awful. Now I understand why so many people have been complaining.
If you are really trying to run off all of your user base you are on the right track.
I give this a 0/10 and if I'm going to be forced to learn a new interface I will just go get a website and start coding my own pages again.
If this is about making all users into Google+ users I would like to be told so at this point. I have no interest in G+. If I wanted to be on a social network I would be on Facebook with 850 million other users. Blogging IS my social network.
I am now reverting back to the old interface. I hope you will continue to offer it as an option.
Contact them and register a complaint about the endless interface changes. Things suck bad enough already but I swear I am not going to try to sort out that PUKE just to make a post.
Sunday, April 15, 2012
More Of This Please - In God We Trust
(From The Website - http://www.quietearth.us/articles/2012/04/Environmental-collapse-and-exploding-heads-IN-GOD-WE-TRUST-trailer )
"In God We Trust" serves as a demonstration piece designed to attract the attention of Film Studios and potential investors utilising a "Look what we have created with no resources, imagine what we could do with a reasonable budget" approach.
Friday, April 13, 2012
That Does It - I'm Playing A Barbarian From Now On
I have seen the light!
https://joeskythedungeonbrawler.wordpress.com/2012/04/09/hears-your-stinkning-barbarian/
BEST POST ALL YEAR...maybe EVR...
(god I needed that... :)...stoopid f***** power supply...)
https://joeskythedungeonbrawler.wordpress.com/2012/04/09/hears-your-stinkning-barbarian/
BEST POST ALL YEAR...maybe EVR...
(god I needed that... :)...stoopid f***** power supply...)
Thursday, April 12, 2012
Ok, I can't even post anymore
Hey all...apologies for not keeping this place lit up but with so much going on right now (please get here soon Mr. power supply...puhleeeeez) it's been a rough start to the year.
My biggest problem with posting is that I can't seem to type anything that isn't going to start a fight. I'm sick of the whole environment surrounding RPGs right now. The blogs really reflect the powered down nature of what is going on and it has gotten to the point where I'm reading less and less blog posts. I'm not saying there hasn't been some excellent postings over the last three months but it certainly isn't what it was this time a year ago.
It's like the life has been sucked out of the whole scene. Between departures of heavy weights, Google + and 800lb (vaporware) guerrillas it just seems kind of vacant.
I remember last year it being almost overwhelming the amount of material coming out. Now...well...kinda quiet...
So here is hoping all are well in their endeavors wherever they may be and that the fire soon returns to this corner of the world we call home...
My biggest problem with posting is that I can't seem to type anything that isn't going to start a fight. I'm sick of the whole environment surrounding RPGs right now. The blogs really reflect the powered down nature of what is going on and it has gotten to the point where I'm reading less and less blog posts. I'm not saying there hasn't been some excellent postings over the last three months but it certainly isn't what it was this time a year ago.
It's like the life has been sucked out of the whole scene. Between departures of heavy weights, Google + and 800lb (vaporware) guerrillas it just seems kind of vacant.
I remember last year it being almost overwhelming the amount of material coming out. Now...well...kinda quiet...
So here is hoping all are well in their endeavors wherever they may be and that the fire soon returns to this corner of the world we call home...
Monday, April 2, 2012
Using Available Resources To Build A Game
I was reading a series of posts before all hell broke loose with my computers recently that postulated gaming with only certain resources. The AD&D Unearthed Arcana / Fiend Folio I thought was one of the better ideas I had run across lately and got me to thinking about what other 'mash ups' for want of a better word were possible with all the material out there.
So I pose this little mental gaming challenge:
Using only freely available material (OGC, Public Domain, etc) what items would you combine from any source to create a game.
(Extra points for how outrageous the combos are-Ninjas fighting Dinosaurs...high marks!)
Frankengame-It's not just for the big boys anymore :)
Post your weirdest in the comments! :)
(Here's the link about the unholy fusion I mention above: http://the-city-of-iron.blogspot.com/2012/03/fiend-folio-monsters-deities-unearthed.html)
So I pose this little mental gaming challenge:
Using only freely available material (OGC, Public Domain, etc) what items would you combine from any source to create a game.
(Extra points for how outrageous the combos are-Ninjas fighting Dinosaurs...high marks!)
Frankengame-It's not just for the big boys anymore :)
Post your weirdest in the comments! :)
(Here's the link about the unholy fusion I mention above: http://the-city-of-iron.blogspot.com/2012/03/fiend-folio-monsters-deities-unearthed.html)
Saturday, March 31, 2012
The Two Opposing Forces In D&D And Their Origins
Reading The Hickman Revolution and the Frustrated Novelist over at Monsters and Manuals got me to thinking about that dark time in the 80's when it was like someone had just switched off the light.
Speaking from being there when the double punch was delivered-Dragonlance and the Satanic Panic - it literally wiped me out...as a player, DM and shop owner.
Those who joined the hobby around that time are the direct ancestors to the modern gamer.
Folks get mad at me for saying so but it seems to be the best descriptions of both camps:
Old Schoolers bought things as inspiration, to be ripped apart and used piecemeal with individual additions and ideas.
New Schoolers are like baby birds who have to have their food chewed for them and deposited in their beaks. I suggested once to a 4e fan, mad about some rule that WotC had recently released in a book, and said 'why don't you just change the rule or not use it'...the response...'If I wanted to write my own f****** rules I wouldn't have bought the book'...and that's a quote.
Thank God I never looked for the 'perfect' game...I would have missed a lot of great gaming.
It is said that the early modules for D&D are the bane of gaming history because these items usually meant for tournament play were looked upon as the only proper way to play D&D...with TPK and Killer DMs around every corner.
But I say it was Dragonlance, the pre-generated characters riding the railroad, that brought us to where we are today, the end of the industry and the birth of the OSR.
Every subject that separates players today goes back to these fundamentally opposed philosophies.
The 'homebrewer' vs. the 'RAW'.
Speaking from being there when the double punch was delivered-Dragonlance and the Satanic Panic - it literally wiped me out...as a player, DM and shop owner.
Those who joined the hobby around that time are the direct ancestors to the modern gamer.
Folks get mad at me for saying so but it seems to be the best descriptions of both camps:
Old Schoolers bought things as inspiration, to be ripped apart and used piecemeal with individual additions and ideas.
New Schoolers are like baby birds who have to have their food chewed for them and deposited in their beaks. I suggested once to a 4e fan, mad about some rule that WotC had recently released in a book, and said 'why don't you just change the rule or not use it'...the response...'If I wanted to write my own f****** rules I wouldn't have bought the book'...and that's a quote.
Thank God I never looked for the 'perfect' game...I would have missed a lot of great gaming.
It is said that the early modules for D&D are the bane of gaming history because these items usually meant for tournament play were looked upon as the only proper way to play D&D...with TPK and Killer DMs around every corner.
But I say it was Dragonlance, the pre-generated characters riding the railroad, that brought us to where we are today, the end of the industry and the birth of the OSR.
Every subject that separates players today goes back to these fundamentally opposed philosophies.
The 'homebrewer' vs. the 'RAW'.
Friday, March 16, 2012
Updates For The CRoA Network
Ok, getting close to being back to square one.
Classic Realms of Adventure - The domain name should be resolving properly again:
I will be back posting there as soon as I finish a few more technical details.
The Eternal Keep - Is back up and running with a fair amount of linkage back in place. There are problems I know with some blogs that have been turned into ad platforms that will be deleted but I concentrated on getting out the dupes today to maximize the widget content in each widget. The next list will add 5 or 6 more widgets and I will start work on that this weekend. I might as well warn everyone ahead of time that I will be monetizing the blog in the near future. My wish is to put up a PayPal donate button and keep ads to a minimum, but the Keep is even more work now that things have to be broken up but the upside is with the next update it will have 3 times as many blogs to choose from with all the recent updaters easy to scroll through and the ability to show all the blogs in any given widget with just a click of a mouse for older posts.
CRoA: the ezine - I will start working on compiling the first issue of the ezine Classic Realms of Adventure once all the dust settles.
Darkness Over Dunwich - This blog needs updated but I was trying to wait to get through a play test of my alternate rules set for Elder Sign. I have notes for a 2 player head to head version of the game and also notes on integrating items from the Arkham Horror board game for use with ES. I'm also working on notes for an introduction book to the Arkham board game detailing getting started with the base set and adding expansions and their impact on play. I have considered starting a second ezine to join CRoA covering the HP Lovecraft inspired material I'm working on and then compiling the issues into a book down the road.
Forsaken Souls / Fiends & Fireballs (MX83) are being split into 2 separate projects. I was working on the idea of a Basic into Advanced type system, but the things I want to achieve with them are two completely different things. So I will let each follow its own path and find its own audience.
That's it for now. Next up: New videos on the Tumblr account..
Classic Realms of Adventure - The domain name should be resolving properly again:
I will be back posting there as soon as I finish a few more technical details.
The Eternal Keep - Is back up and running with a fair amount of linkage back in place. There are problems I know with some blogs that have been turned into ad platforms that will be deleted but I concentrated on getting out the dupes today to maximize the widget content in each widget. The next list will add 5 or 6 more widgets and I will start work on that this weekend. I might as well warn everyone ahead of time that I will be monetizing the blog in the near future. My wish is to put up a PayPal donate button and keep ads to a minimum, but the Keep is even more work now that things have to be broken up but the upside is with the next update it will have 3 times as many blogs to choose from with all the recent updaters easy to scroll through and the ability to show all the blogs in any given widget with just a click of a mouse for older posts.
CRoA: the ezine - I will start working on compiling the first issue of the ezine Classic Realms of Adventure once all the dust settles.
Darkness Over Dunwich - This blog needs updated but I was trying to wait to get through a play test of my alternate rules set for Elder Sign. I have notes for a 2 player head to head version of the game and also notes on integrating items from the Arkham Horror board game for use with ES. I'm also working on notes for an introduction book to the Arkham board game detailing getting started with the base set and adding expansions and their impact on play. I have considered starting a second ezine to join CRoA covering the HP Lovecraft inspired material I'm working on and then compiling the issues into a book down the road.
Forsaken Souls / Fiends & Fireballs (MX83) are being split into 2 separate projects. I was working on the idea of a Basic into Advanced type system, but the things I want to achieve with them are two completely different things. So I will let each follow its own path and find its own audience.
That's it for now. Next up: New videos on the Tumblr account..
Thursday, March 15, 2012
Damnit! Robin Has Done It Again
I hold him directly responsible for bringing me back to the game with Microlite 20. Haven't you done enough?!
But nooooooooo...now he has done something no other human being has ever been able to do in all my years of gaming-Robin Stacey has opened my eyes to what is great about D&D.
No, not the game, the edition...you know...5 boxes or one Cyclopedia.
I started with AD&D1e and I guess there is that something special about your first.
But I have read the D&D accolades, heard them shouted down from mountains high and still couldn't understand why in the hell would anyone want to play race as class?...36 levels? Jesus...
The list could go on...and it was a pure accident... I guess following his recent series on what the various editions have gotten right in the world of D&D (I think he may have a better understanding of the entire line than anyone I have encountered) is what got me to do a bit of paleo-blogging and read his '7 days' series:
http://greywulf.net/tag/cyclopedia/
A literal lightning bolt. I was in shock. It actually finally made sense to me. After digging through the Holmes edition (my first rpg purchase ever) all those many years ago and how I jumped ship with the meeting of my first AD&D DM.
Now I have to dig through boxes and boxes looking for all the bits and pieces I have collected and actually f****** read the damn thing!
Thanks! Thanks a lot you 18th level Stealer of Time!...I curse thee Robin Stacey!...
My reading pile is now stacked higher than my head where I sit typing this from the floor up...
Oh,thanks, I guess...damnit!...why! Why did it have to click now?!
(PLEASE NOTE: No disrespect intended to any of the fine writers whose blogs I have read with (evidently) closed eyes...until now...DAMNIT!...Now more reading...)
:)
But nooooooooo...now he has done something no other human being has ever been able to do in all my years of gaming-Robin Stacey has opened my eyes to what is great about D&D.
No, not the game, the edition...you know...5 boxes or one Cyclopedia.
I started with AD&D1e and I guess there is that something special about your first.
But I have read the D&D accolades, heard them shouted down from mountains high and still couldn't understand why in the hell would anyone want to play race as class?...36 levels? Jesus...
The list could go on...and it was a pure accident... I guess following his recent series on what the various editions have gotten right in the world of D&D (I think he may have a better understanding of the entire line than anyone I have encountered) is what got me to do a bit of paleo-blogging and read his '7 days' series:
http://greywulf.net/tag/cyclopedia/
A literal lightning bolt. I was in shock. It actually finally made sense to me. After digging through the Holmes edition (my first rpg purchase ever) all those many years ago and how I jumped ship with the meeting of my first AD&D DM.
Now I have to dig through boxes and boxes looking for all the bits and pieces I have collected and actually f****** read the damn thing!
Thanks! Thanks a lot you 18th level Stealer of Time!...I curse thee Robin Stacey!...
My reading pile is now stacked higher than my head where I sit typing this from the floor up...
Oh,thanks, I guess...damnit!...why! Why did it have to click now?!
(PLEASE NOTE: No disrespect intended to any of the fine writers whose blogs I have read with (evidently) closed eyes...until now...DAMNIT!...Now more reading...)
:)
Friday, March 9, 2012
I Tried-I Really Tried (Or The Saga Of WORDPRE$$ AND OTHER PAINS)
So yeah, I have returned to the Blogger world. After feeling like I was playing a slot machine I am abandoning the WORDPRE$$ experiment.
I haven't felt so nickel and dimed to death in my entire life. After wasting hours trying accomplish the simplest of tasks and finally learning those features were only available in the 'PRO' version I have decided to return to Blogger and bring four blogs back up to speed.
I will continue to incorporate the Tumblr acct into things but the four primary sites will now be:
The Eternal Keep
ADD Grognard
Darkness Over Dunwich
Classic Realms Of Adventure
They will all be receiving an overhaul of sorts, some major some minor, but I want to get back to work and that isn't possible trying to swim through the liquid concrete of WordPre$$.
To overcome the Eternal Keep problem of widget limitations I plan on consolidating all the news aggregators into specialized lists on the blog and adding more widgets as required.
ADD Grognard will stand as it has for thoughts and ruminations.
CRoA will now reflect its new job of covering projects like the resurrected journal form of CRoA, Fiends & Fireballs (The name for the MX83 project I have been compiling) and others as time permits me to work on them.
And last but not least the Darkness Over Dunwich blog will pick back up with the completion of my rules re-write of Elder Signs and the material I'm working up on Arkham Horror.
I have to admit, I don't see what people get out of the confusing mess that is WordPress. I wondered why it seemed like everyone who moved over just seemed to disappear and now I know why.
For what it's worth, I'm back....let's get to work...
I haven't felt so nickel and dimed to death in my entire life. After wasting hours trying accomplish the simplest of tasks and finally learning those features were only available in the 'PRO' version I have decided to return to Blogger and bring four blogs back up to speed.
I will continue to incorporate the Tumblr acct into things but the four primary sites will now be:
The Eternal Keep
ADD Grognard
Darkness Over Dunwich
Classic Realms Of Adventure
They will all be receiving an overhaul of sorts, some major some minor, but I want to get back to work and that isn't possible trying to swim through the liquid concrete of WordPre$$.
To overcome the Eternal Keep problem of widget limitations I plan on consolidating all the news aggregators into specialized lists on the blog and adding more widgets as required.
ADD Grognard will stand as it has for thoughts and ruminations.
CRoA will now reflect its new job of covering projects like the resurrected journal form of CRoA, Fiends & Fireballs (The name for the MX83 project I have been compiling) and others as time permits me to work on them.
And last but not least the Darkness Over Dunwich blog will pick back up with the completion of my rules re-write of Elder Signs and the material I'm working up on Arkham Horror.
I have to admit, I don't see what people get out of the confusing mess that is WordPress. I wondered why it seemed like everyone who moved over just seemed to disappear and now I know why.
For what it's worth, I'm back....let's get to work...
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