A Role Playing Games Blog
Archive for December, 2009
Open Game Table Vol. 2 is coming!
2December 7, 2009
Wahoo! This is great news! Jonathan Jacobs has decided that he wants to go forward with OGT Vol. 2 for Summer 2010. This time, the OGT will be released simultaneously as an ebook and retail print version via Studio2Publishing.
But of course he still needs a) a peer review panel and b) nominations for blog posts. If you want to sign up for the peer review panel, you can submit your information here. In the case, you want to nominate worthy blog posts, you can submit up to 5 URLs at a time here.
I would be more than honored if anyone would nominate some of my posts. Since the nomination phase for OGT Vol. 1 I have written quite a few popular posts, and it would be great if another of my posts found their way into the second volume as well. Thanks in advance! And if this isn’t a good time to dig the archives of you favorite RPG blogs, I don’t know what is. 
On a related note, Jonathan has decided to start blogging again, so head over to his blog “The Core Mechanic” and check out his latest posts!
Lazy Friday Video Post: Game Geeks #124 Fantasy Craft
0December 4, 2009
Sorry for posting another Game Geeks video, but I had good reasons for doing so: a) the video is a review of the awesome d20 based Fantasy Craft game and b) the video comes with a 20% discount code for anyone who orders the Fantasy Craft PDF on DriveThruRPG!
RPG News for December 4th 2009
2December 4, 2009
I found a few newsworthy items I want to share with you guys:
- Diaspora discount
Perhaps you remember my post about Diaspora, the FATE-powered Hard-SF game. Fred Hicks now posted on his blog Deadly Fredly, that the game is finally back on Lulu and that every customer gets a 10% discount on Diaspora until end of December!
So, what are your waiting for? The coupon code for the 10% discount is DIASPORA. Check out Fred’s blog or the publisher’s site for more details. - Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay 2nd Edition support material
Yesterday I read on Purple Pawn about FFG removing all support material for Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay 2nd Edition as of today. I still could download everything (aside from the designer diaries and two preview PDFs, that didn’t interest me), and if you are still playing the 2nd edition, you should consider doing so, too, before the files are gone. I try to contact FFG and ask if they allow me to mirror the files on my site. If they give me permission, I will let you know. - Diaspora SRD
Ok, this is actually not news, but I just found out about it: The authors of Diaspora have made their version of the FATE rules available as a System Reference Document. This allows you to create derivative material based on the Hard-SF game Diaspora that is powered by FATE. Alas the SRD is available in HTML only, but I am sure someone will create a more printer-friendly SRD in PDF sooner or later.
You can access the SRD here.
Ask The Readers: Sex in Gaming
12December 2, 2009
A lot of RPG books contain artwork of lightly clad females, the chainmail biki is a common trope of most fantasy games and especially a lot of game book covers were obviously made with the sentence “sex sells” in mind. But aside from the artwork roleplaying games usually don’t deal with sexual themes. In most cases the artwork is just a clever ploy to make the mostly male audience interested open their wallets. I have to admit, as long as it’s tasteful and not too blatant, I don’t mind that much.
But when it comes to eroticism or even sex in actual gameplay, we are talking about a totally different beast. The games I run (and have played in) don’t usually deal with such matters. I don’t think I am a prude but in my opinion these topics don’t belong into roleplaying games. It’s just not what I want out of a roleplaying game. Your mileage may vary of course. And that’s actually what I wanted to find out. What are your thoughts on sex in gaming?
As with all “Ask The Readers” posts I want to know more about your thoughts on the matter at hand. So, please don’t be shy and post your opinion in the comments below! Every comment is much appreciated!
Sex Advice from D&D players
0December 2, 2009
Recently I stumbled upon an article that gives sex advice written by D&D gamers. The article is a bit unclear on who has asked the questions and who were the person (or persons) answering, but it’s a funny read nevertheless. But I would have loved to read more about the background to that post. Here’s one of my favorite pieces of advice:
My girlfriend and I have been together five years, and things are getting a little boring. We’ve been thinking about role-playing to spice things up. Is this a good idea?
If we’re talking about the intersection of D&D and sex, it is my firm opinion that that kind of role-playing has no place in the bedroom. Leave Arakos the Dragonslayer at the table. Also, dice in bed would probably be a bit like walking on legos; those d4s are basically caltrops. On the other hand, if you leave the DM’s Guide on the shelf and break out the skimpy costumes, you could be in for a good time. If you play D&D, you have great experience for getting in character — but you can’t rely on rolling a twenty for a good performance. Sorry. You have to do the work yourself.
To get more advice, head over to nerve and check out “Sex Advice From Dungeons & Dragons Players”.
This reminds me of a running gag in Phil Foglio’s “What’s New?” comic:
By the way, you can read all about the adventures of Phil and Dixie online now. Check this site out! Enjoy!
[Blog Carnival] A look back at my goals for 2009
3December 1, 2009
On January 9th 2009 I wrote a post called “Goals for 2009” as part of that month’s blog carnival. It was about what things I wanted to achieve in 2009, both in gaming, blogging and personal life. In this months blog carnival hosted by Jeffrey from The Bone Scroll we look back at our lofty goals from earlier that year. Is it a look back in shame? Or did we achieve our goals?
Ok, let’s look at my goals from January 2009:
Gaming:
- Dark Heresy
I initially planned to turn our New Year’s Eve game of DH into a full campaign. But this never happened. I still don’t know why we never even finished the adventure, but perhaps it was just not our cup of tea at that time. But I might be interested in playing in a Rogue Trader campaign. Let’s see, what the next year brings.
- Call of Cthulhu
For over a year we tried to find a solution to keep our CoC game running. But the fact that our GM moved to Munich combined with the fact that he now is working on his doctoral thesis doesn’t make things easier. So, I didn’t achieve that goal either.
- Pirates of the Spanish Main
My plan to turn our PotSM campaign into a sandbox game didn’t work out as planned. I am not sure what happened, but in the end we decided to play something else. At least we kept playing Savage Worlds. - D&D 4th Edition
I really tried to like this game, I tried so hard, but in the end I just had to realize that it just was not the game I was hoping for. It took me several months to finally realize what has bothered me all the time. And it was not the fact that I was not a Warlock guy as I put it back in January. - Other Systems
I mentioned a couple of games I wanted to finally play but as will all my other gaming goals, I didn’t even achieve this. But I ran several old-school D&D games, a short campaign using the PDQ system, and a series of Dungeonslayers adventures.
Real Life:
- Weight reduction
Don’t get me started. I held the weight I had, but I didn’t even lose a pound in the long run. Ok, perhaps next year! *sigh* - Turn my cave into a proper home
We had a lot of plans regarding my home, like cleaning out some old furniture, redecorating the walls, etc. but we didn’t come as far as we planned. It seems there’s always something coming in our way. But at least I got a great wall unit for my living room that has enough space for all my DVDs, roleplaying games and board games. And the best of it: it was free. - Move together with my significant other
This is still on the agenda, but it will probably take us a bit longer to achieve that goal.
Blogging/Writing:
- Overcoming the blogger’s/writer’s block
At least something that worked out. For most of the year I managed to post at least once per workday. That’s quite an achievement! Sometimes I have to force myself to write something, but that’s ok, too. Recently I celebrated my blog’s 400th post and when I am not mistaken, this should be the 430th post so far! Yay! - More advertisement
My plan was to do some advertisement for my blog. I am not actually sure how I accomplished it, but I actually managed to get more people interested in what I write. Part of that success is probably Twitter, because I started posting all blog updates to Twitter (and Facebook) approx. a year ago. I also recently created a Facebook page for Stargazer’s World. But the best advertisement for any blog is a) good posts and b) a regular posting schedule. And I hope I’ve achieved both. - Asecia
Alas I never started working on my Asecia steam-fantasy setting again. I still love the idea, but I was probably too busy working on other projects, like the Ad Astra campaign and my detective roleplaying game “Thrilling Noir Stories”. - SF roleplaying setting
I am quite happy with how Ad Astra, my SF campaign setting, turned out. I even ran a short series of adventures using PDQ rules and released an updated version of my campaign primer document recently. As soon as I have some more free time, I plan to give Ad Astra some more love.
So, 2009 turned quite different than I expected. I didn’t achieve most of my goals, but when I look back I am not dissatisfied at all with how things turned out. Instead of fulfilling the lofty goals I had in January I achieved things I never had even dreamed of. And that’s a good thing!
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