When I tweeted about working on this during the weekend my friend Daniel Perez recommended I write down the 10 most important points of the campaign and allow the rest to flow through the game. I think he called it his less is more philosophy. That is some great advice but like I told him, I used to write 40+ pages introductions to games, so these shorter introductions ARE my less is more.

I typically write introductions to my campaigns, in a way I think my players expect it. Of course they are terrific at writing their own stories based on what I write and adding their own details to the tapestry. I got a great group of players!

Here is the official timeline of the world, the facts known to the general population, not the secret history of the Kindred and other supernatural creatures. I’ll share that on a future post. Hope you like it. I think it can be the timeline for a cyberpunk game without vampire. I think it goes on without saying this is all fictional and expresses no political agendas nor do I desire any harm to befall any real world figures mentioned here, this is just fiction. We don’t need authorities monitoring the blog!

Without further ado, The Story of New Uruk

US Economic collapse (2013-2016)

The US economy suffers a downturn, India, Brazil, the Republic of Ireland and the four Asian Tigers (Hong Kong, Singapore, South Korea and Taiwan) emerge as economic superpowers.

The breaking of the EU and the creation of the EIBC (2016)

The Republic of Ireland abandons the European Union, causing fractures and dissension in the organization and plunging the economy of Europe into a tailspin. Ireland joins the Eire-India-Brazil Cooperative Consortium (EIBC).

The African Wars (2017)

President Romney is visiting the African Initiative Industrial Center in the city of Wilmington, Delaware. Built as part of his re-industrialization of America initiative, African natural resources are brought over to the United States of America for processing and manufacture. International conglomerates are perceived as exploiting Africans with the help of its governments. A series of bombs by African rebels and sympathizers cause widespread destruction in the city and President Romney is injured, dying soon after. Vice President Gingrich is sworn in as President and declares war on the rebels. Thus begins the Africa Wars.

The Mexico-Venezuela War (2019)

With more and more US troops deployed in Africa and a worsening oil crisis, oil tankers flying the Mexican flag are detained in Venezuela accused of buying oil illegally. Mexican Special Forces liberate the ships but soon Venezuela declares war on Mexico, dragging most of Central America into the conflict. Aggressions escalate over seven months and after the Venezuelan carpet bombing of Mexico City a Coalition of Mexican, US, Brazilian and Argentinean armed forces invade Venezuela and depose its president. The invading forces remain in the country to assure a peaceful transition, but are accused of exploiting the oil resources of Venezuela. The United Nations does nothing to Intervene and many countries leave the organization.

The first female US President and the Race to Mars (2020)

New York State Governor Yolanda Newman runs a campaign promising to restore the US economy and end the African Wars, winning by a landslide.

The EIBC Space Agency (EIBC-SP) announces their plan to establish a permanent Moon colony as a stepping stone for the eventual exploration of Mars within the next twenty years.

The end of the African Wars and the NYC Pandemic (2021)

Yolanda Newman is sworn in as President of the United States and fulfills her promise of ending the African Wars. By the end of the year as the last POW return home after the armistice the US economy shows signs of recovery and Americans look with optimism at the decade ahead. Then the Pandemic of 2012 begins in New York City. Panic grows and the city is placed under martial law and quarantined by the end of the year. Other US metropolitan areas are quarantined but the infection is controlled quickly in America and Europe.

The year of the Red Plague (2022)

Mexico and Canada are the only other two counties in America which suffer major outbreaks. As tensions grown in quarantined New York unidentified terrorist strike, they release a biological weapon, thought to be the cause of the initial Pandemic outbreak, killing 96% of the remaining population of the quarantined zone. Called the Red Plague because victims hemorrhage massively before dying, it decimates New York City and surrounding areas, millions die, and authorities declare the zone a biological hazard, condemning the city and abandoning it. The economy of the state and its neighbors collapses, causing mass migration and widespread fear.

The Pandemic hits Asia the hardest, with China the most affected, millions die and Chinese prosperity is dealt a devastating blow.

The reconstruction… (2023-2045)

President Newman refuses to let these events define her presidency and launches a massive reconstruction initiative. Wilmington, Delaware is reconstructed and former New York, Connecticut, Long Island and New Jersey residents are all granted incentives to relocate.

The city is rebuilt via a massive federal funds influx, the architecture a mixture of classic and cutting edge, led by the Wilmington Reconstruction Endeavour Director, famed architect of mixed Iraqi and Jewish ancestry, Hassid Rosenberg.

The New York Stock Exchange officially relocates to the rebuilt city, and it becomes a melting pot of many cultures, with a growing Muslim and Jewish community. Following a citizen’s referendum Wilmington is renames New Uruk.

The crash of 2046 and its aftermath… (2046-2060)

The EIBC-SP Moon Base is fully functional and plans for the Mars Mission begin…

Despite the best effort of President Newman and those that followed her, regional conflict across the globe, worsening climate change, a ravaged ecosystem and economic instability bring about an economic collapse that reverberates across the globe. The poor become poorer while the rich become entrenched in the towers of privilege. Many projects in New Uruk remain unfinished and the decay of the world infiltrates the new city. Such in the world of 2060!

Ok that’s the timeline… What you think? I look forward to your input and opinions.

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2. Hacking in Cyberpunk games
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In all sincerity I knew what the quote was about, I remember hearing it back then. The link to Wikipedia above explains that the origin of the “thousand points of light” is from the Magician’s Apprentice by CS Lewis. But the D&D points of light campaign is another matter entirely. When I first read of the concept in the run up to D&D 4th edition I was intrigued. But I have a long running campaign and the idea of the points of light style game really did not mesh well with the world I had created over 20+ years.

Every edition change entails some mechanical changes in ongoing campaigns. If you consider my world was first played in D&D Basic, and then went on to be adapted in AD&D 1st and 2nd editions, D&D 3rd edition and 3.5, you’ll see I’m no stranger to change. However I don’t like hand waving stuff that is an integral part of the campaigns consistency. If dwarves could not be magic users before, why can they be now?

So I like to create in game rationales for this type of changes. The change from AD&D 2nd edition to D&D 3rd edition was easy since the games where set in the same world but in distant continents. Still I created in game explanation for many changes. When D&D 4th was coming out I was fully on board and while I was unsure how the whole points of light concept would carry though I was ready for other changes, tieflings were already in my campaign since 2nd edition, they looked different but that was not a problem per se. Dragonborn where another matter, so even before I made the rule change I began to work a rationale of where the race would come from. I was set! All that was left was for D&D 4th ed to come out.

And then I read the books. Don’t get me wrong I liked D&D 4th edition, I still do. It’s a game with a clear purpose, delivers well what it’s intended to be, and it certainly dared to sacrifice some sacred cows I thought they’d never touch. But I could tell this was a different game, that its feel and game play would be different from what I was used to, so I decided NOT to jump in into my campaign right away and instead do a trial run using the points of light idea.

That turned into our 7+ month D&D 4th edition campaign. We played weekly during that time and went all through the heroic tier and into paragon. Those where some turbulent months, with rebellions at the table over the system, some players disliking it so much they quit the game they have been playing with me for decades, exploring the tools the system provided, and telling a pretty entertaining story along the way. Ultimately we decided the system was not for us and moved on to Pathfinder.

With D&D Next coming up I’m suddenly thinking about adaptations all over again, I am not sure I will switch my campaign if I play it. IF I get to participate in the playtest (WotC pick me, pick me! I only bash you semi-regularly!) I will most thatn likely create a mini-campaign just like I did for 4th edition.

This all gets back to MY points of light eventually… My ruminations on the matter made me dig out the little document I created as an introduction to the campaign when we started playing D&D 4th edition. Coming from a game where I handed out a LOT of long documents and complex handouts I tried to keep it short and simple, asked each player for a two sentence description of their character and to bring an image to the game. I then handed each of them a piece of paper with a secret their character knew. Nice and simple…

Here is the text of the handout I gave to the players that fateful night in 2008. I’m not reproducing it exactly as I gave it to them since back the I used some art I found out there in the Internet and I have NO idea who the artists are. But there is a small old-school map I made for the game. Hope you enjoy it and find it useful, or at least fun. Let me know what you think…

The Town of New Crosspointe

The town of New Crosspointe was founded upon the ruins of the old town of Cross Point on the 84th year of the rule of the Osterios Family, settled by missionaries from the Temple of Dawn on a crusade to retake the northern half of the valley from the goblin and orc tribes that controlled it since the Autumn of No Crops. The walled town sits north of the Aumvell Forest; bordered on the north-west by the Istir River, over sixty miles north of the ruined Wall of Forts that once demarcated the northern border of the Duke’s Holdings.

Built upon the ruins of the old settlement, it receives its name from the large bronze plaque set by the cross roads near the old market square, marking the place where two ancient roads of empires long past meet. The remains of these roads still form part of market road and hunter’s way the two main streets in town. The plaque itself is round and some 15 hands across. Carved upon its old faded surface is what seems to be an astrolabe and runes of unknown origin or meaning. Some four paces from the plaque there is a pedestal, overgrown with ivy, weatherworn and cracked, traces of a statue remain, a leg and pieces of a foot, and a lonely single inscription in Draconic. Those that read the language say it simply says “Cross Point”.

New Crosspointe has thrived and over the last 28 years it has grown as many pious pilgrims, those who seek their fortune, and those who want to leave their past behind, move to the frontier of the civilization in the valley. Brisk trade with the elven hunters from the Aumvell and solitary trappers further north has benefited the town. Most goods are traded with the various Halfling families who dare the dangers of the lower Istir River and the occasional merchant caravan from south of the valley.

The recent establishing of the Dougren Forge and Ironworks in town, by descendants of one of the clans that ruled over Griffon’s Cliff before the goblins took control of the fortress city, has been a boon for New Crosspointe. Loggers have recently been attacked and some have disappeared, causing great concern. The lord mayor has sent emissaries escorted by his men and some elven scouts into the deep Aumvell to negotiate with the eladrin of the Fey Pool and has assured the Town Council no further incidents shall be tolerated.

The northwestern part of town sits upon a small cliff overlooking the Istir River and flanked by two ancient towers dating from the original settlement of Cross Point. Upon the cliff as well stands the Temple of the Dawn rebuilt to its original glory. The town slowly slopes down to the south east towards the more populated districts and the Temple of Dusk where the original town cemetery still stands.

The town’s defenses are an amalgam of old and new stone walls connected by wooden walls covering the areas were the old walls crumbled, or where new construction has yet to begin. The southeast wall is itself composed of smaller wooden portions connected with wooden watchtowers, as the broken terrain in this area has made the construction of more permanent battlements difficult. The lord mayor keeps his dwelling, as well as the barracks for most of his men in a fort with its own wooden walls built upon the face of the southwestern wall.

Environs of New Crosspointe

A small branch of the Istir veers off south towards the cliffs of the town and forms a small bog there. Most halfling families traveling the river berth here when trading in town. Beyond the Istir River to the north various farms dot the landscape slowly giving way to the wild. There are some old manors from the time of the original settlement and further upriver a large riverside tower with diverse buildings around it in various stages of decay. According to legend and rumor the tower has been the seat to local lords, home to dark cults and hideaway to bandits at various stages in its history.

To the south, beyond the Hunter’s Gate, hunter’s road becomes the Duke’s Way, bordering the Aumvell Forest and descending into the south of the valley. The road is dangerous and fraught with peril. Many bandits and brigands plague this area. West are the wilds were goblins and other dangers still abound while east the wild gives way to the Ice Peak Mountains that surround the valley and the other myriad dangers that lurk there.

People of New Crosspointe

The population of New Crosspointe is composed mostly of humans; dwarves and halflings are present in considerable numbers, many living permanently in town. Elves from the Aumvell Forest trade often in town and some have settle for some years. While they seldom stay for long, a few of their offspring, half elves, can still be found in town. Two families of tieflings, related by blood to the Airenai, one of the five remaining bloodlines of the Seven Lords who support the Duke, live in town. One family is dedicated to the mystic arts, masters of Cilder Tower, renowned arcanists and seers. The other family is heavily involved in commerce and trade.

No dragonborn lives in town, one renowned member of the Duke’s Cresthelm Guard retired some years ago to a cabin half a day northeast of town. He frequently travels to town to trade on market day. While he always comes alone, rumors abound of others of his kind visiting, or training with this old warrior. Eladrin are seldom seen in town but loggers in the Aumvell Forest have seen them and on some full moons, when it is said that the Fey Pool can be found by all who seek it, some eladrin wanderer have left the Feywild and come to town.

Faith and the Pious

While all benevolent faiths are worshipped in New Crosspointe, only two large temples are present in town. The Temple of Dawn, whose missionaries resettled the town, is located north in the small cliffs. There the faithful of Pelor, Bahamut and Moradin gather to honor their deities. The Temple of Dusk is an older temple, still not completely restored to its former glory, which stands in the same grounds as the old town’s cemetery. Originally dedicated to the Raven Queen, it now has altars to Ioun and Erathis as well. It is not as well manned or attended as the Temple of Dawn, a fact that has not escaped the Lord Mayor who worships here.

A stone shrine, much more ancient than old Cross Point, is southeast of town, beyond the walls and overlooked by Cilder Tower. The shrine is dedicated to Avandara, Corellon and Sehanine, and many who travel into the forest stop here for a prayer. The dragonborn living near town is said to be a devout follower of Kord and willing to share his knowledge with the pious and brave.

The Tenedal Valley

The Tenedal Valley, usually simply called the valley by its inhabitants, has been the ancestral holding of the Osterios family for over two hundred years. Located in the northern regions of the Norath Empire in what used to be considered the frontier. At one time or another, the region was claimed by the empire of Bael Turath, the dragonborn of Arkhosia, and other older empires. The valley is surrounded by the Ice Peak Mountains, with only two viable accesses, Ghost Wail pass to the west and the Raven Hills to the south. While there are other routes these are small, inaccessible, or both. There are tales of tunnels running from Griffon’s Cliff beyond the Ice Peak Mountains, but if they exist, they are in control of the goblins who rule the former dwarven stronghold.

The valley was once covered in wild forests but was slowly cleared by logging and farming in the southern half. The north was less populated and remained inaccessible for many years until the headway made by the establishment of New Crosspointe and others that have followed. In the north reaches of the Ice Peak Mountains an active volcano bellows dark foreboding smoke and has in recent memory trembled twice, the tremors felt as far south as New Crosspointe.

The Sual’Li who live in the desert south of the valley have reestablished trade with the Duke after his father’s actions almost cost the valley their sole remaining ally beyond the mountains. To the west of the valley by the Boiling Lake there are still ruins of a dark ancient empire whose name no one seems willing to acknowledge, except to speak of its follies and the dangers that lurk in the ruins they left behind. Beyond that little is known, some merchants arrive to the Duke’s seat with tales both grandiose and often contradictory, and if rumor is to be believed, as dangerous as the valley may be, beyond the mountains things seem to be much worse.

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3. Hinterland

Despite being primarily a Game Master during my years gaming, I was never a Storyteller for a Vampire game. One of the things I enjoy the most is playing my homebrewed world, and at this time we were playing AD&D 2^nd edition. If this was the golden age for Vampire and the World of Darnkess, it was not for AD&D. I worked at a FLGS and whenever I talked about my AD&D game with some RPG fans I got this weird condescending look, as if I was still playing child’s games instead of engaging in immersive storytelling. I felt disdain for the game I played. I don’t know what your experience was but I felt a lot of World of Darkness gamers were snobs, their game was better than anyone else’s.

This turned me off somewhat. Still my close friends and acquaintances were not like that; they continued to play my AD&D 2^nd edition game and invited me to a few Vampire games. The one I probably enjoyed the most was a short lived chronicle run by my friend Karlo, who based the game here in Puerto Rico, and I got to play this bloodthirsty Gangrel biker. Great fun!

The other Storyteller I knew that played a regular chronicle was Ray. He was a very popular WoD Storyteller. Everybody wanted to play with him and that was a problem. His sessions had hundreds of players! Ok that’s an exaggeration, it might have been ten or twelve, or at least it seemed that many. And Ray was a great Storyteller, giving each player time in the spotlight, his games allowed people to explore the plotlines that interested them BUT there were just too many people playing. I once spent an entire night with the group and only got to play for about 30 minutes.

The other thing I did not like was plethora of WoD characters. The group had Vampires, Werewolves, Mages, even a Highlander-like character from some supplement I can’t remember. With such a diverse group motivating all this disparate characters, some that hated each other, was a daunting task. I really did not stick around for the chronicle.

Despite all this stumbling blocks I still had the desire to run the game. What was my biggest deterrent? The metaplot! Most of the people I knew who wanted to play were HEAVILY invested in the game, knew all the plots, read all the books. Of course you’ll say “It’s your game, ignore what you want, make it your game!” But this is easier said than done, to many of these people part of the fun WAS the metaplot and jettisoning it a turn off. This is not a problem exclusive to the WoD, it can be just as hard to play with Forgotten Realms hardcore fans who know every NPC ever published.

So I put away my plans for a Vampire game and went on with my gaming life… I got the New World of Darkness books and kept abreast of the changes in the game, I just never ran it.

Then last year they announced the anniversary edition of Vampire the Masquerade and my desire to run a World of Darkness game came back.  The Vampire as a literary and cultural icon intrigues me. I am a fan of Bram Stoker and while I am NOT a fan of Anne Rice (I can hear the cry of heretic and the mob with torches and pitchforks at my doors), I do like the mythology White Wolf established in the Masquerade. While I really liked Werewolf back in the day, Vampire was always a better fit for my style of play, intricate plots with lots of politics and backstabbing. I resisted the urge to get the collector’s edition due to the price, but when the PDF became available I jumped at the opportunity.

I loved it; it was a wave of nostalgia packed into an awesome product. Well worth the price even if it was steep for a PDF (like Michael pointed out in his post about VtM20). I considered finally running a Vampire game, and some of my players like the idea.  But I knew that with just the PDF it would not be feasible to run the game (or at least that was the excuse in my head) so I caved in an ordered the POD version. The full color, two volume one; the books are not yet in my hands, I just got the notification that they shipped, but the gears are already turning.

When I think about it long and hard, our group has a lot of games in the backburner. Our current Mutants & Masterminds Dawn of a New Age campaign, returning to our Pathfinder RPG swashbuckling campaign, an unnamed sci-fi game using Savage Worlds… Add to that Vampire the Masquerade. Yet I conceive of the Vampire game as a short campaign, perhaps eight to twelve sessions long, taking no more than 3 months.

From what I learned in all those WoD games long ago, here is how I will do things:

• The players will only play vampires. This is easy since only the Masquerade has been updated, but there is always the temptation to go and pick a Garou or a Mage. It’s challenging enough to get vampires form different clans working together, so no characters from other books. All characters will be vampires or vampire related characters, ghouls for example.
• The players must have some pre-game connection. They don’t all have to be friends but they must know at least two other characters in the game. Be it friendship, a relationship, a common mentor, the connection can even be one of friendly competition but not animosity or rivalry.
• Keep the group manageable. There are currently seven official players at my table (one misses a lot of games for personal reasons and another one arrives late due to work sometimes) but more often than not there are seven people playing. This may seem like a lot to some of you, but we already do a lot of role-playing and manage time so that everybody feels included so I think the group can manage. I just can’t add another player to the mix. (Or my players will kill me!)
• Jettison the metaplot. With experience and more confidence as a GM I can bring myself to say the heck with it and be done. With time people are not as invested in the books and stories they knew and I believe will embrace (pun intended) my concepts.

Not on that list, since I don’t think it’s a decision that would make or break a campaign, but it’s a personal choice, I will only use the Camarilla. I know many people adore the Sabbat but the secrecy and politicking of the Camarilla seem more interesting to me. I’m not saying the Sabbat will not exist, only that at the beginning all characters are in the Camarilla.

I will also advance the timeline a couple of years into the near future,  making it still recognizable, but getting rid of some real world pre-conceptions ,and giving it just a little cyberpunk/Blade Runner edge without making it sci-fi. Here is my pitch for a future Vampire the Masquerade game:

In 2020 after the last POWs of the Africa Wars had returned home and the celebration of President Yolanda Newman’s inauguration the United States looked with optimism to the new decade. This was not to be… The plague struck in New York and soon panic grew. Fearing a pandemic the city was placed under martial law and quarantined. Other major metropolitan areas were also quarantined but the infection was controlled quickly. Not so in New York. Millions were trapped inside the quarantine zone. Riots erupted, chaos ensued, more and more people died, and then the terrorist struck. A bacteriological weapon, believed to be the original cause of the plague, was released in the city and killed 96% of the people inside the quarantine zone. The city was declared a hazard, condemned and abandoned.

The plague was soon controlled and Mexico and Canada where the only countries with significant outbreaks. The US economy suffered a great setback, but President Newman’s initiative to rebuild the city of Wilmington in Delaware after the bombing of 2017 was a success. Soon the New York Stock Exchange moved to the rechristened Wilmington and the once almost dead city became New Ubar.

What the people don’t know, not even some of its leaders, is that the events leading up to the destruction of New York, the plague and the raise of a new metropolis in the eastern seaboard of the US were all the machinations of the Kindred. Specifically a member of the Camarilla, he created the plague, that did kill many humans, but also decimated many Sabbat gathered in New York through his machinations. The Cainites  have driven back the Garou who fight to save a dying world. The Mages have disappeared, but whether this is the action of their enemies or a sign of impending doom is unclear.

Come to the new city built by the triumphant Camarilla as they plot to impose their rule upon all the children of Caine… But in the bowels of the shinning new city a man stirs, he cannot remember his name, but his return foretells of dark time ahead.

That’s the gist of it; this would be the beginning of a short chronicle. I realize that this is my second post about a possible campaign, one after the other. I won’t bore you with further details, if there is interest in reading more about the planes for the game let me know, I may just follow up with another post.

PS- I fear there is some vitriol in this post, WoD fans as snob, dismissing Anne Rice… None of it is meant to insult everybody, I am not saying EVERY WoD fan is a snob, I just ran into some of them, just like I know hardcore D&D 4^th edition fans… But those have no excuse!

I kid my friends, all in good fun; enjoy the game, whichever one you play!

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The Compact

The children played near the long wooden tables where the villagers had dinned not long ago. Sundown was coming and they ran down the field towards the crops. The celebration meant that harvest was drawing near and many of these children would soon have little time to play. Their cries of joy were suddenly silenced when they saw the old man. He stood a few feet from them, seeming to have come out of the corn, his beard wild and unkempt, and his frame thin and frail, tanned by the sun. But it was his eyes that scared the children. They seemed to dart to and fro, always looking at things unseen. His laughter crackled and one of the younger boys sobbed.

The older children had been taught to respect the elders and some of them picked up the younger scared ones and tried to leave but the old man would have nothing of this. “No, stay children, stay… Come sit here in a circle, now in a circle… Let me tell you a story, a story of the time before the valley, before the community, before the war.”

Despite the hesitation and the fear gossip might have installed on the children, none of them could pass up such a story. It was rare indeed for any of the adults to speak of this. Even the scared ones wiped away their tears and sat in a circle around the old man. The sun was setting beyond the corn fields, beyond the mountains ringing the valley, and it painted the sky red as the old man began his tale…

“I remember the time, the time before the war. We lived in villages of glass and steel, much larger than the eighty odd houses huddled around the town hall and the great house, and there were many more of us. Well not all were like us. Some looked different, spoke differently or believed in different things. Not only where there horseless wagons dancing around the houses of glass and steel, but great metal birds made by man flew across the sky and travelled beyond the clouds to the stars.

And then there was war, the skies were sundered and the seas burned. The great villages of men were torn down and the survivors killed each other for the scraps. And there were worse dangers, things we had forgotten about…”

The old man suddenly fell silent, night had come and the children were all mesmerized. Under the moon the old man’s eyes and hair seemed to glow. He mumbled something, sat down among the children and snapped out of his daze. “The cold came soon, and the darkness that would not lift. The founders all came together and decided to leave it all behind. To seek refuge in the wild, the forgotten lands, and came here to the valley. We all gathered and signed the compact, agreed to come together in the great house and select those amongst us best suited to lead. We plowed the fields mined the hills beyond the swamp and in the end reaped what we sowed…”

He rose with a jump, startling the children. Agitated he began to speak faster and faster, almost incoherently. “We tried to hide, to leave it behind but they would not stay away and then they were tempted and the compact, the compact was broken and remade, sad, and the light the blue light…” The distant night sky flared up, blue as if lightning was coming from beyond the mountains and the old man began to laugh. But the laugh was tainted with sadness and desperation, and a few of the children though they saw his tears as he ran back into the corn fields.

The idea behind this campaign is a little different; it’s less Mad Max and more The Village. The players are the younger members of a community of survivors that hid in a valley and created a sheltered community. They cultivate the fields; make ethanol fuel to run simple generators, make gunpowder for the weapons they manufacture and the leaders of the community enforce order under the authority given to them by the compact, a document signed by the community founders. All is not well, for reasons unknown to the players some families left the compact some time ago and took over the far side of the valley, taking control of the mines. But something has happened to them and they are spoken of only in hushed tones.

There are limited medical supplies and the community relies on a healer whose craft he or she passes down to their apprentice in secret; the sick are treated in the great house in the utmost secrecy. The great house is also the place where the elder members of the community gather around the book of the compact and make the decisions for the village.

This is my basic concept for the game, it still needs to be fleshed out, establish some specifics, but that’s what I‘ve got so far. What do you think? Have any suggestions? I hope to post more about it soon…

Related posts:

1. More details on my new campaign
2. Campaign Inspiration
3. Campaign Primer Ideas! Part 1

See, I’ve had a couple of rough weeks and we had to cancel our weekly game twice (sacrilege I know!), so we planned this as a way to catch up, see each other and spend some quality time together. Needless to say at dinner with gamers I had to bring up the topic everyone’s been talking about in recent days D&D Next/5th edition…

I wanted to get their take on the news of the development of a fresh version of Dungeons & Dragons. Here in the blog we recently posted our thoughts, but we are bloggers, keep abreast of news and interact with a different community of gamers than some of the gamers I was sitting with. The reaction was interesting, mostly predictable if you know the group, but telling considering this quote from Monte Cook:

“I’m the lead designer of a project that will likely evolve into a new iteration of the Dungeons & Dragons ruleset. It’s meant to be a set of rules that unites all the previous editions, and the players of those editions.  It’s a big project, and we plan on involving all comers to playtest and voice their opinions, because really, what’s the point of designing a game no one wants to play? And who knows better what D&D players want than, well, D&D players.”

(Thanks to EN World for collecting this and other quotes and information on the development in their D&D 5^th edition info page!)

What did they say? Read on…

This is a varied group, running the gamut from their mid-twenties to forties, all longtime role-players and as a whole we’ve all played D&D, some of us more than others, but we all cut our teeth on the game. Some of them have played at my table for nineteen years, and for the longest time all I ran was D&D. Many where there when we switched from AD&D 2^nd edition to 3^rd edition, and later when I dragged them (some kicking and screaming) to D&D 4^th edition, some even ran the game, so we’ve all experienced edition change.

In the midst of a conversation about movies, critical hits and the selection in the buffet I dropped the bomb, “So what do you think about the fact they are developing a new edition of D&D?” My favorite response was, “What?” There was actually someone at the table who had no idea. It’s been days since the announcement, this is not a person who lives under a rock, he uses the internet, but obviously despite WotC’s attempts and all the media coverage this was the first he had heard of it.

The general consensus seemed to be disinterest. One of the most vocal haters of D&D 4^th edition in my group actually threatened to hit me with the book if I “wasted” (that’s what he called it) my money on a new edition. More moderate voices insisted they were happy with the fantasy RPG they have, Pathfinder, and that it would have to be a pretty amazing system to get them to go back to D&D.

When someone pointed out that planning for sessions is an intense experience for a Game Master, I made the faux pas of actually defending 4^th edition and singing its praises, such as ease of prep time for Game Masters, and the GMs around the table insisted they have the same ease of prep with Pathfinder. And while I agree Pathfinder made many strides in these regards, and making it easy when creating NPCs, specifically by providing short cuts and samples of them, I believe there are still some issues with high-level play, but nothing that bothers me. I can navigate this hurdles and I think the other GMs at the table have mastered the system and thus feel very comfortable with the game.

I think this may be the biggest obstacle Wizards of the Coast faces when they try to attract lapse players back to the fold, they feel that when WotC published 4^th edition they were left behind (no pun intended!) and that they have moved on, they have found other games that fit their style. Another of my players never played 4^th edition and did not understand the vitriolic reaction against D&D 4^th edition, but also felt Pathfinder fulfilled her needs for fantasy gaming and has no desire to change systems.

The most surprising reaction came from one of my oldest friends, he works at a FLGS and is the only player at my table who still actively plays D&D 4^th edition (albeit not with us). He said he has NO interest in a new game, that he would continue playing D&D 4^th edition and Pathfinder. He distrusts (I don’t recall his word choice exactly, but this was the impression I got) WotC’s corporate policies and had little hope on what they plan to do, he was also underwhelmed by the design team. He admitted he was excited about 4^th edition, not so this time around.

I remain positively optimistic. I want to see where this goes, look forward to the open play test, which I believe is a step in the right direction, and think the stated design goals are laudable. From this conversation I know there is NO interest among my players to playtest the game. Since writing the last post on the subject I’ve decided I DO want to play the game as part of the playtest and know people who are interested, so I hope I can cajole some members of Puerto Rico Role Players to try this out.

All this is anecdotal; still I wonder how much of this type of attitude is out there… Is it too late? Has the ship sailed? I certainly hope not. I want to see what the next version of D&D is all about, I want the granddaddy of games to thrive, whether I end up playing it or not. So I invite you dear reader to keep an open mind, I really think it’s too early to say what the game will be like. Don’t write it off, if it ends up not being what you want to play, other will. Let’s all be more tolerant of what other people want to play, we are all gamers, no matter under which system we roll our dice! It’s those diceless heathens we need to worry about! I’m joking, no hate mail please…

I apologize in advance if I misinterpreted or misquoted anyone on this post, know that these are my interpretations of the opinions I heard. Thanks Enith, José F, Luis A, Fernan, Luis L, Pierre, Sara, José D and Nilda for a wonderful evening!

PS- Yes, we are going back to out regularly scheduled Tuesday game this week, there is nothing to fear!

Related posts:

1. Dungeonslayers review @ “Here Be Gamers”
2. Ask The Readers: Web comics for gamers?
3. Gamers Help Haiti Product Bundle @ DriveThruRPG

Even though we have held lots of activities we rarely do purely social activities. With the exception of a movie night all other group activities have centered on gaming. You’d figure since the group centers around role-playing games that’s a given, BUT I really appreciate the friendships I’ve made through the group and I want to spend some time with them away from the game… Is that an oxymoron?

We originally had planned to meet in the Old City of San Juan, but we missed one small detail. Yanni (yeah, Yanni at the Acropolis, Yanni) was holding a concert at the San Felipe del Morro Castle so we did a last minute change of venue and settled on The Office Traditional Irish Pub (yes there is one on Puerto Rico). We gathered there last Saturday and had a terrific get together. Great beer was drunk, I met up with old friends, made new ones, someone dressed in a kilt and someone else hustled games of magic for free beers. What can I say, geeks do it better!

Looking back I realize I am grateful for a lot of things this year. The highlights include the growth of Puerto Rico Role Players, my participating here in the blog, going to Gen Con and meeting so many new friends, the people I’ve met through Stargazer’s World and social media. The year also had some difficult times, the health of elderly family members took a turn for the worse, I worked too much and rested too little, suffered for it and found myself not spending time with my loved ones and doing the things I love. But as this year closes I have a new job, the support of my loved ones and I once again have time to do what I love!

So looking back I want to thank everybody who was part of this year in my life. To all those who read my posts, whether we met in person or virtually, thank you. The gaming community is truly a wonderful place. Here is looking forward to the upcoming year. No matter how, or IF, you celebrate the season, happy holidays everybody, thanks for reading!

I’ll finish this post with my affirmation for the upcoming year: Being a Geek is my lifestyle choice… I am proud to be part of the Greater Geek Nation!

Related posts:

1. Confessions of a Gamer: In the Beginning
2. RPG Blogging 101: Let’s start at the beginning
3. Happy Holidays from Stargazer’s World!

But sometimes there are times when deleting a comment is necessary. I delete everything that looks like spam or that could be considered illegal. I don’t tolerate racism, hate speech or misogyny. And if you think you need to attack one of your fellow commenters or the author of the article of the post without adding anything meaningful to the discussion, you don’t have to be surprised when I delete your comment.

If you can’t accept these simple rules, it’s perhaps best you refrain from commenting here. Everyone else is welcome to share his or her thoughts. The community around Stargazer’s World has always been a nice and open one and I hope this is not going to change in the future, even if there’s some controversial topic to argue about.

Related posts:

1. RPG Anthology, blog comments and Creative Commons
2. A word on our Alternity April Fool’s post
3. Canned Meat

The second available dice roller widget was created for White Wolf’s World of Darkness. Again you can choose the title of the widget. But in addition to that the widget lets you set the needed target number, if 10s are allowed to explode, you can toggle whether 1s cancel successes or not, and you can even colorize results. Very nice indeed.

My blog’s widget area is already a bit overcrowded, so I doubt I will include these dice rollers on my own blog, but they could come in handy for anyone interested in running or playing games online.

And if you need an all-encompassing solution, Awesome Dice has something for you, too. The Gaming Dice Roller let’s you roll any number of dice from d4s to d%. It doesn’t have the added functionality of the WoD Dice Roller, but is probably your best choice if you play neither D&D nor WoD.

All three widgets are available as plugins from WordPress.org (I included the links in the text above).

If you want to see the widgets in action, check out the Awesome Dice blog.

Related posts:

1. Rock’n'Roll
2. iPhone app “Mach Dice”
3. Review: Printed Dice

I know there are a lot of people who dislike Facebook, their policies and what not. Some have migrating to other social media like Twitter, Diaspora or Google+, but I’m still there. Somewhere (and I just can’t find the source right now) there was a report that said we Puerto Ricans still predominantly use Facebook over other social media options.  So my staying makes sense. I keep in contact with a lot of friends, and there is an active community of my fellow islanders in said service.

Facebook has also served the group well; we went from almost disappearing about three or four years ago to a group with over 370 members. Still there are limitations to what can be done there and we’ve begun to take the first tentative steps into the broader social media landscape.

We have created a Puerto Rico Role Players page in Google+, in an attempt to share information about upcoming activities and other important RPG news with our circle of followers, which is still small but hopefully will grow in the coming days and weeks. We also have a Gmail account for the group, prroleplayers@gmail.com where we can be contacted.

I don’t think I have mentioned it before but we also have a presence on Twitter, @PRroleplayers that account is run by none other than our Boricua in exile Daniel Perez, also known as @Highmoon, who was instrumental in the creation of spaces where gamers in Puerto Rico could communicate and for that we owe him and continue this journey.

We’ll also soon be re-launching a website a fellow Puerto Rico Role Players member created which is undergoing some modifications, so I’ll make sure to write another post when that happens.

Are we leaving Facebook? No! I think it has been, and for the foreseeable future, will remain our main contact point. But now there are other options to reach those Puerto Rican role-playing game fans that may not be in Facebook.

Dear reader, I have one request to make of you… If you know of a role-player from Puerto Rico who may have not heard of us will you be so kind and point them our way? We will appreciate it!

Related posts:

1. Puerto Rico Role Players GM Workshop
2. The State of the Game: Puerto Rico
3. Ask the Readers: Do you know of any gaming supplements where Puerto Rico is mentioned?

“To everything – turn, turn, turn

There is a season – turn, turn, turn”

From the song by The Byrds, by way of another book

 I’ve written some pretty personal posts here in the past, some have been therapeutic; others cathartic; and today his is one of those posts where I share some if my thoughts with you. This will be tangentially related to games so bear with me…

It’s been over a month since my last post. Despite certain personal complications I meant to return to a more regular posting schedule. Of course my intentions were foiled by said complications and I found myself with little time to post, or do much related to gaming at all.  Now that some of the complications are sorting themselves out and I feel a little respite, enough to attempt a return to the blog, I’ve been doing some soul searching and realized how much I miss gaming.

After my return from Gen Con I felt a little overwhelmed with games, these past few years have really changed my relation with role-playing games. It went from something I did on my spare time to something more meaningful, working with other like minded folk to promote gaming in Puerto Rico; and participating here in the blog has really put me in contact with a much larger gaming community. For a moment there it felt like a whirlwind. And then real life snuck in! These complications I speak off seemed hell bent to take me away from my love of gaming, and in many ways I accepted it.

After all, it is only a game! In the past few months I’ve had to cancel more of my regular gaming sessions than ever, I practically stopped posting and disappeared from social media (I’ve had some presence in Facebook, but have not really been active in Twitter or Google+).  And you know what? That’s ok too! I had things to take care of, both family and work related.

I wish I could game the rest of my life, and I plan on continuing as long as I can. But this lull has made me realize that there may come a time when I may need to take a break. I’ve been able to play a regular weekly game because of my line of work and the fact that my responsibilities allow me to take the time off to prepare and actually play, but there may be a time when I can’t. Perhaps the arrival of a child, work, or family, who knows, one thing I have really enjoyed is knowing that all the people I’ve made through gaming are not just my gaming friends, they are my friends, and will continue to be so even when we are not gaming.

Don’t worry, this is not a goodbye letter, or more correctly a post, on the contrary, it’s my hopeful return to a more active presence in the game related bloging community. And I have no plans to quit my weekly game. On the contrary, the outlook seems good that sessions will return to normal and I may even game twice this week. But these past weeks have given me some perspective. It is only a game, a game I enjoy incredibly and hope to be playing for a long time, but when the time comes when I need to take a break, or scale back, I think I may be better prepared for it because of recent events.

Is that cryptic enough? I hope some of you understand what I mean… Thank you all for reading, It’s good to be back, you dear reader are great, to you my gratitude!

PS- I just noticed Michael’s post count reached 900, congratulations to the Stargazer! May he long game and post…

Related posts:

1. Dungeoncraft: Winds Of Change
2. Gears: The only constant is change!
3. A great opportunity and a good cause!

Dear Michael/Stargazer,
My question for you sir, is this? How should one go about starting an RPG blog? I have some ideas for content but my technology-fu is pretty weak. Some folks recommend Blogger to me and others WordPress. I was wondering if you have any tips for getting a blog up and running and then maintaining it?
Thanks!

Best regards,

Matt

Luckily that’s a topic I have already written a lot about. Some of you might actually remember my RPG Blogging 101 series, that I have written back in early 2011. If you are looking into starting your own blog, it wouldn’t hurt if you check out these posts first. But let’s have a deeper look on Matt’s question first.

Matt is currently deciding whether he should use WordPress or Blogger as his platform of choice. I have to admit that’s not the easiest choice to make. Both platforms offer a lot of great features and are totally free to use. But from what I’ve seen in the last few months Blogger is actually winning on almost all accounts, especially when it comes to the number of features available to bloggers. And especially if you already use a lot of Google Services aleady, it’s probably best to stick with Google for blogging, too.

If you are tech-savvy enough I would recommend using a self-hosted WordPress blog, but when you don’t want to worry about all that tech stuff, use Blogger.

You might also want to check out the following posts about blogging in general and RPG blogging in particular:

• RPG Blogging 101: Primer
• RPG Blogging 101: Let’s start at the beginning
• RPG Blogging 101: Writing posts
• RPG Blogging 101: Attracting Readers
• RPG Blogging 101: Be different!
• RPG Blogging 101: You need to have a thick skin!

I hope I could help you with your question, Matt! Feel free to add more questions on the topic below!

By the way, if you have a question you want to ask the Stargazer, send an email to askthestargazer@stargazersworld.com!

Related posts:

1. Stargazer’s World is “Best Gaming Blog” according to RPG Blog 2
2. “Blog of a new RPGer” interview
3. RPG Blog II says “Thank You” to its readers

The Polish-language site releases free to use RPG adventure ideas on a regular basis. At this moment about 100 adventures are freely available for RPG fans to download and use for their games.

They now decided to make the switch to English in order to provide their material to a much broader audience. But in order to do so they need to raise enough money to pay for professional translators to keep up the quality.

Supporters will not only get satisfaction that they supported the RPG fan community but also all ebooks currently published by the Ancient Scroll for free! Don’t worry, these are already in English. In addition to that you’ll get your name and link in their partners section.

If you want to learn more about this, please check out the official campaign page.

Related posts:

1. [German RPGs] “Das Schwarze Auge” 1st Edition in English
2. What’s new with Dungeonslayers?
3. Dungeonslayers 3.5 released

This past Sunday Puerto Rico Role Players held its very first GM Workshop. We’ve had some other activities before, Geeknics, miniature painting workshops, model building, but a friend and fellow member suggested we needed to do something to help Game Masters. So new people get excited about running games, newer GMs can learn from others that have been at it for a longer time, and even those that have GMed for some time learn from others. Thus the GM Workshop was born.

We had to reschedule it once (mea culpa!) but we eventually made it to a local burger joint in the Guaynabo area called John Doe’s, had some burgers, some sodas, some beer, and talked about games. About 26 people made it out to the workshop and we had a semi- formal plan with a group of GMs chiming in about topics such as how to put together a group, whether to use pre-packaged settings or creating your own, and even round robin GMing.

We had a nice mix, a younger newer GM, some old farts; I mean experienced GMs, and everything in between. I hope we get more newbies next time; the more GMs there are the more groups get created and the game community keeps growing. And now you know my nefarious plan!

I was amazed at all the good ideas; I shared some of my experiences and was really excited about all the new strategies and tools I heard about. Some I will use in my game tonight! I would like to thank all the friends, old and new, that made it. The group keeps growing, we are at over 350 members already, and I look forward to future activities together. We have more activities planned, the next Geeknic, a possible Christmas dinner, and people have suggested another minis paining activity, maybe even a terrain building seminar. So many games so little time!

I encourage you to try it in your neck of the woods, get together, exchange ideas and help other GMs become better at what they do. I know I certainly will be thanks to all my fellow GMs who participated in the GM workshop.

Related posts:

1. Puerto Rico Role Players: spreading our wings… And our horizons!
2. The State of the Game: Puerto Rico
3. Ask the Readers: Do you know of any gaming supplements where Puerto Rico is mentioned?

When I first read about the Speak Out with your Geek Out I was intrigued. As I wrote recently I am a big proponent of sharing my love of the role-playing hobby, showing other people how to play, and supporting gaming groups locally. For these reasons we have a local group called Puerto Rico Role Players and through posting in this blog I feel ever closer to the greater gaming community.

So to the question at hand, why do I love role-playing games?

As a kid I used to watch TV programs and fantasize about how I would do things differently if I was the protagonist.  Eventually I began turning off the TV before the program ended and playing out my version of the ending.

See I have always loved stories. I am lucky because my family read to me constantly as a child even before I was able to hold a book. In kindergarten I had a Star Wars picture book that I took with me to school every day. I could not read and my 5 year old mind could not recall every detail about the movie, so I would use the book to tell a different story every day with the same characters. Every time I opened the book the characters were having a new adventure.

Back then I developed a love of telling stories. I would keep telling stories to my friends and neighbors through the years. My family and teachers fostered my love of writing and I discovered another way to share what I imagined with my friends. I remember the thrill of seeing someone enjoy the stories I told them or what I wrote. I also distinctly remember wishing I could share the thrill of creating the story with them. Maybe not is so many words but I remember wishing they were not passive observers but active participants in the story.

That is why discovering role-playing was such a turning point in my life. I could create stories like the ones I loved to watch or read about, and then share them with my friends. They could be the protagonists of their own adventures, the heroes on their own tale.

I still feel the thrill of telling a story every time I get together with my friends, even after twenty plus years at it. I love imagining situations and challenges to present to my players. I love when they surprise me with an unexpected plan or become so involved with the action that we forget these are just characters and think they are real, if even just for a few minutes.

If you have ever wanted to tell your own stories with your friends, if you have ever screamed at the protagonist of a book or movie not to do that, and you are sure you could do better, if you want to go beyond a scripted computer or console game, the mission of an MMO and want to explore the outer limits of your imagination, role-playing games might be for you.

On the odd chance this is the very first time you hear about role-playing games, there are plenty of resources out there that can show you what RPGs are about. Search for them. This blog can help you. Me, my fellow writers and the greater community formed by our contributors and readers are here to help. Try out a game tonight. You just might like it!

To our regular readers, I have said it before and I’ll say it again. Share your love about games with others. Do what you can to support your local gaming community. One great way is the Speak Out with your Geek Out campaign. Follow the link and participate in the initiative, no matter what your geeky pastime is, or how you do it. Speak out, I dare you, I double dare you!

PS – Thanks to all our readers, especially to those who commented on the Caught Unaware post, I paraphrased some of your ideas while writing this post.

Related posts:

1. Gen Con 2011, a retrospective… Part 1: Role Playing Games
2. Five Great Blogs About Role-Playing Games @ GeekDad
3. “A rose by any other name…” Poetry and Role Playing Games

I am not a closet gamer! By that I mean I do not hide my love for role-playing games. If you follow me on Facebook or Twitter you know I regularly post about RPGs and other assorted geek interests. I actively support my local gaming community as much as I can. Heck I blog about it!

People around me know about role-playing. Coworkers and acquaintances know that I play “the game” on Tuesdays and know about the “geek picnics” I get involved in periodically. I talk about RPGs to my non-gaming friends (which there are not many of since most of my friends actively game or have gamed with me at some point in their life) when they ask about it. I am not pushy and try not to force my hobby on the uninterested.

However this past Friday something odd happened to me. I was out with my girlfriend’s sister celebrating her birthday, as the night progressed I had consumed a pitcher of sangria, various screwdrivers, I was chilling to the music when someone asked me, “What is this game you play and you keep writing about on Facebook?”

I was not ready for this question. I held my drink and look flabbergasted for a moment. As I was speechless they proceeded to discuss what they thought the game was. Obviously they had talked about this. They had no idea what the game was; someone thought it was something like Second Life (which admittedly I know little about), some sort of online game where I had an avatar.

I regained my composure and attempted to explain what the role-playing games I played were. I told them it was not a computer game, that it was a social activity where people got together to tell a story. They asked about the maps and miniatures and I told them we did not use them all the time, that we used them only during conflict or situations where the specific location of participants was important. I also explained that the game was somewhat like playing cops and robbers when we were kids and that dice were used solve conflict and avoid discussions like the ones we had when we were kids… “I shoot you!” “No I shot you first!”

They seemed genuinely interested, and thought it was much cooler than they had originally conceived. Someone actually asked me to invite her to the next geeknic, she wants to experience what RPGs are firsthand. I am happy with the outcome. However I know I was not as eloquent as I could have been. Alcohol had something to do, but the unexpectedness of the situation caught me off guard.

So I ask you, when someone asks what a role-playing game is, what do you say? What is your short description, your elevator pitch? Just in case I get caught unaware again…

Related posts:

1. Fighting the good fight…
2. Gen Con 2011, a retrospective… Part 3: On to other stuff…
3. My Gen Con plans…

Well the fates be dammed! I intend to finish this thing even if it’s the last thing I do. (If Michael sees the readership number plummeting and you see my name stricken from the authors list you’ll know what did me in!) I’ve covered RPGs, other games, “stuff” (t-shirts, artists, authors, et al) but this last post is about the most important reason I went to  Gen Con. What was it? Read on…

Friends! I wanted to go to Gen Con to spend time with my friends. Role playing games have been a great way to make friends. My longest lasting and dearest friendship have been forged around a table, rolling dice and telling adventures, and making it to the biggest gaming convention meant seeing friends old and new, as well as forging new friendships.

You’d be surprised to know how many Boricuas where at Gen Con this year. Besides your truly there were people playing card games, miniature games, some that I knew and didn’t get to see (its strange to believe that you can know people and not see them during the WHOLE convention, it is that crazy) some that I knew but had no idea they were there until we ran into them at a nearby food court. Then there were the people I knew were going to be there and I had plans to see. Like they say in pageant shows, in no particular order, they were…

Daniel Perez (@Highmon): Talk about making friends through gaming! I met Daniel back when I worked at Metro Comics (the local FLGS and comic shop), he worked at another store (the first proper FLGS locally and owned by a good friend) and we forged our friendship back then, Talking about games, and sharing some personal experiences I don’t think should be discussed here. (I’ll take bribes on PayPal!) When he moved to the states we lost touch, I knew about him though common friends, but we did not speak for years. Then during Gen Con 2007 we ran into each other the very last day! Thankfully we’ve kept in contact since. He’s a good friend and has been instrumental in a lot of things I have done in recent years relating to gaming. He was pivotal to the creation of Puerto Rico Role Players, motivated me to get involved with the group and continues supporting us even if he’s not here in the island. I’ve told the story before, so suffice it to say he’s half the reason I began blogging (the other being Mr. Stargazer himself).

When I arrived at Indianapolis Wednesday night he was one of the first people I called. And despite it being late, and him being tired, he walked over to my hotel and went to have late (really late) dinner with me at The Ram. We met a couple of more times, including a late night toast before I came back. It’s always good to see Daniel, and I only hope we get to do this again real soon.

Rouka, Jesús, Chino and Cass: Then there were some newer friends I’ve made through Puerto Rico Role Players. I may have known them for a shorter time than Daniel (I think they are too young to have been hanging out when we were!) but they are great friends who adopted me into their group, kept me company and kept this old foggy gamer safe from the lures of overspending! Jesús and Rouka were kind enough to join Daniel and me for dinner at The Ram when I came in and the next day with Chino and Cass all five of us returned for lunch in the same venue.

I may sound like an old fart but it warm my heart to see this younger generation of gamers picking up the mantle. I love the gusto with which they embrace gaming and LAPRing and all aspects of our hobby. They are an integral part of the success of Puerto Rico Role Players and going to Gen Con with them was among the highlights of my trip. We ate together, wandered the exhibit hall, I did not get to LAPR with them but their love for it is contagious and they have made me consider actually doing it, when some years ago I would not have thought of it. I would love to go to Gen Con with all of them again and this time around I’ll do the Nero thing.

PJ (@luniticus): Another good friend who’s far away. PJ is one of those people I knew through a lot of other people (a one degree of separation kind of thing) but when I finally meet him in person immediately liked the guy! I’ve had the pleasure sitting at the table as a fellow player and have him play when I’ve GMed. His daughter is also one of the bravest, smartest young ladies I have met!

While he was also among those I called as soon as I got to Indy, we could not meet for dinner that first evening but we made up for it later on the weekend. He gave me the grand tour of the minis gaming room, which I had managed to miss enthralled by all things RPG. I also got to meet his friends from Virginia who had made the trek with him to the con; and one of them had been discharged from the hospital and come straight to Gen Con, that is dedication my friend! Big shout out to the World’s Best Comics crew (click on that link to check out their Facebook page).

Yamir and Gaby: I read an article on the newspaper the other day that said that social media was just a waste of time (no wonder a newspaper is saying this) and that most people only do stupid mindless things while logged in to places like Facebook. Well I beg to differ! Though social media, including Twitter and now Google+ I’ve met so many wonderful people, forged new REAL friendships, case and point Yamir. If I remember my details correctly (and the involved parties are welcome to correct me) Daniel, who he met on the Green Ronin forums, told Yamir about Puerto Rico Role Players where we got in contact. He eventually visited one time during one of our game nights and shortly after we invited him to join us.

Yamir is a terrific player, always ready to give constructive criticism, and an even better friend. Sadly he moved away and is no longer gaming with us, and I really miss him. He has a wonderful girlfriend, well that’s not exactly right; she WAS his girlfriend when we met. Gaby and Yamir were set to get married the weekend of Gen Con. They called me to invite me to the wedding and I said I had plans to go to Gen Con. They wanted to come too but had forgotten about the date. Gaby agreed to CHANGE the wedding date, moving it to the weekend before, just so they could take the road trip and come to Gen Con as part of their Honeymoon. Yes Gaby is one of the best wives EVER!

They are an amazing couple. We spent time catching up which we really needed to do. As an aside, we did go to Harry and Izzy’s where we had an AMAZING steak dinner and I enjoyed their St. Elmo’s Shrimp Cocktail. Well let’s just say it’s one of the most delicious and hot foods I have ever tasted it. I cried, but they were tears of joy! But, back to the point of this post…

Gen Con was not just about existing friends, I wanted to meet many of the new acquaintances I’ve made online through the blog and on Twitter. Let’s say I was less successful on this area. They were just too many I wanted to see. But I did manage to run into a few of you…

David A. Miller (@LodestoneDavid): I met David in Twitter and he is a friend of Daniel (do you see the pattern here). One of my goals at Gen Con was to play some Savage Worlds and David generously offered to run a game. I mentioned the game on my very first post from Gen Con. Just to reiterate, the adventure was awesome, reinforced my desire to run a Savage Worlds campaign and helped me get a better grasp for the rules in action. Besides Scott who I met at the table, and who happened to be a great guy, Yamir, PJ and I were the other players; When Scott had to leave due to the game running late, Gaby joined in and ran his character for the final two parts of the adventure. Again thank you for your time and the game David, meeting you was another big highlight of the con. We originally had another person who was going to join us, however he ran a little late, when he finally arrived I made the acquaintance of…

Chris Helton (@dorkland): Chris is one of those people I knew about before I knew him. I had read his Dorkland! blog and enjoyed his take on gaming and other subject matter that interests him. We met at David’s Savage Worlds game and although he did not stay till the end we did talk and eventually ran into each other (I think) two days later. He joined us for dinner and we got to spend some time talking and philosophizing. We wondered how we had connected on Twitter where we had interacted before the con and although we had theories, we could not pinpoint it.

I had an awesome time with Chris and wished we could have spent more time talking. He may not be a Babylon5 fan (as per our conversation over Twitter of my obsessive love of the series), but no one is perfect (I kid you Chris) but I do wish we’ll get to do something together in the near future and keep in touch. Thanks for all the insight and the good times!

There were other more casual and shorter meetings during the con. I ran into Phil Vecchione (@DNAphil) on a corridor while on the way to dinner with Chris, Yamir, Gaby, Jesús, Rouka and PJ and instantly recognized him. Phil in an awesome dude with a contagious positive attitude, he was with Patrick Benson (@sinisterforces) who I met briefly there but who I also look forward to keeping in contact with. Both write for Gnome Stew so be sure to check them out there as well.

I also recognized Newbie DM (@newbiedm) on the floor and got to see him again during the aforementioned late night toast with Daniel Perez. On my first retrospective post I mentioned Gareth Michael Skarka, but I neglected to mention that he had received the recognition of being named an honorary Boricua by Daniel and me. I know he will have great success with his upcoming Far West project. Make sure you visit and support the kickstarter project, it closes very soon. I get a feeling this will be BIG and this is a chance to be there from the very beginning.

It’s easy to make friend at Gen Con, even before getting there! I met the creators of the new RPG Genesys on the flight and at the airport when I arrived in Indianapolis. The system and the premise looks promising and intriguing, and I hope to get more information on it and hopefully interview the creators (once real life stops beating me senseless) so I can share what I learn with all our readers.

Looking back there were LOTS of people I missed seeing at Gen Con. The people from #rpgchat in Twitter, Mad Brew of Mad Brew Labs, and MANY others I have had the honor of meeting in Stargazer’s World. If I meet you during Gen Con and forgot to mention it I’m sorry, this post has rambled on for far too long. Just know that the best thing about Gen Con was seeing old friend and making new ones.

If you’ve been to Gen Con you know what I’m talking about. If you haven’t gone to Gen Con yet, don’t put it off. It is even better than I, or any other blogger or reporter, makes it sound. It is truly the best four days in gaming. Gen Con 2012 will be held august 12^th to the 16^th, mark you calendars and start planning, I hope to see you there!

Related posts:

1. Gen Con 2011, a retrospective… Part 3: On to other stuff…
2. Gen Con 2011, a retrospective… Part 1: Role Playing Games
3. Gen Con 2011, a retrospective… Part 2: Other games and minis too!

The Off World Designs booth had the official Gen Con t-shirt for sale so I stopped there and got two for friends (including the esteemed creator of this blog to whom I am yet to ship his shirt, shame on me!) and while there I picked up their Boba Fettish t-shirt for a friend. While I love their designs, and just browse their webpage to see some great ideas, in my circles they are probably the best known geek shirts purveyors, so I get to see their shirts on friends… I wanted something different!

That’s when I discovered TSHIRTBORDELLO! I must admit I had never seen their shirts and I loved them immediately. For me it was not a matter of deciding what to get, but sadly realizing I didn’t have money to get one of everything. I found their shirts to be witty, funny, irreverent and terrific! The picture at the beginning of the post is me wearing one of their shirts, Zombie eat flesh. I got two others, their Soylent Green one and their Miskatonic University tee (go pods!) because you can’t go wrong with Cthulhu. The staff at the booth were nice and friendly, gave me some of their terrific posters and as I was paying I saw they had a Bates Motel keychain, snatched myself one of those and its currently holding all my keys together. After having worn them and washing them I can vouch for the quality of the t-shirts.

There was another t-shirt booth I was looking for specifically, one I had visited on my previous visit to Gen Con and I knew they had shirts I wanted. The thing is I did not remember their name. I just knew they had some of my favorite t-shirts of all time, two I still kept around, even if I did no longer wear them out in public. And these are four year old t-shirts, so we are talking excellent quality products. Imagine my excitement when I found them. Now I know they are sighco.com and I can replenish my dark themed t-shirt supplies whenever I want!

What did I get form them, well I got two shirts I had before, their Evil Lager one, and my current favorite t-shirt Sin like you mean it! And in keeping with the alcoholic beverage theme and my love for the undead I also picked up their Zombie Vodka shirt. Their shirts are irreverent, probably offensive to some folk, and I love the look people give me when I wear one of their shirts. They were also incredibly friendly and helpful. Kudos to them and much continued success, they will be getting some more of my money soon!

And what else was there to do at Gen Con? Well I’m glad you asked! The artists’ area was full of talented folk, painters, writers; I just wish I had places to display some of the art I saw there. (I doubt my GF would appreciate me hanging the chainmail bikini clad babe art in the living room). I still got some stuff, like signed copies of Larry Elmore’s art that adorned the D&D Basic, Expert, Companion and Master boxed sets. I also got a DVD copy of the Night of the Living Dead Reanimated with a print by one of the contributors. He also did paintings of you as a zombie, I wanted one, but again I doubt the girl-friend would be ok with putting that on display!

I also met Ed Greenwood! He of the famous beard, creator of the Forgotten Realms, and occasional but of my lame jokes here in the blog… (Just see the image on this post. Lame I know!) I got a signed copy of Elminster Must Die and got my picture taken with the man. He is friendly, affable, much taller than I expected, and a good sport after I told him I occasionally poke fun at him here in the blog.

I also got my picture taken with Sean K. Reynolds, one of my favorite designers for D&D 3^rd edition and currently for Pathfinder. If you’ll allow a digression here for a moment, my geek shyness was not as bad as it was the last time around (as I mentioned on this post) but I was still star struck with many of these folk. I think the term used by my friends was “giddy as a school girl”. Ok back to the post…

On and there in the middle of the con I had a furniture related nerdgasm! Geek Chick makes beautiful and functional furniture for the discriminating geek, and having lots of money helps too. They had some incredible pieces, some with interactive screens, which warmed my greedy little geek heart. Alas I don’t have tens of thousands of dollars for the one I longed for, The Sultan! But I can still dream…

There was fighting with foam weapons, which I knew little about last time I was at Gen Con, but could appreciate better this time around as I now know people who play it. I delivered a gift from a friend here in Puerto Rico to the fine folk at Forged Foam, who had some gorgeous pieces there! I saw armor, clothes for cosplay, props, lots of steampunk themed stuff. And then there were LAPRs…

I participated in True Dungeon the last time I was at Gen Con, but this time I did not get tickets ahead of time and I was not looking forward to running thought it with strangers so I passed. Still I hear it was a lot of fun. Some of my friend (big shout out to Rouka, Jesús, Chino and Cass) participated in Nero LARP Live Adventure Games. I had no previous knowledge of this organization, but it seemed like fun and they certainly seen to have enjoyed it!

There were lots of other things at the con as well… Webcomics (the Looking for Group guys were hilarious and incredibly friendly even if I did not spend a penny at their booth), terrain building materials, maps (the Gale Force Nine had some terrific stuff), new social media sites for gamers, like Infrno (I just activated the account I created in Gen Con while writing this post), I got some gifts at The Warstore (an online store I have purchased form before, and I recommend them) and of course dice! What self respecting gaming geek can resist the lure of dice? I got some dice at Q-Workshop, they have some gorgeous pieces, even if they can often be hard to read. But so pretty to look at!

I was impressed by the amount of children and family friendly activities there. It makes sense; games come in all shapes, sizes, ages and family configurations. When I have children I would LOVE to bring them to Gen Con. Someday…

Oh and before I forget this guy was at Gen Con. Funny… Enjoy

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c4I8TRaG1Ss

Related posts:

1. Gen Con 2011, a retrospective… Part 4!
2. Gen Con 2011, a retrospective… Part 1: Role Playing Games
3. Gen Con 2011, a retrospective… Part 2: Other games and minis too!

I am primarily a role-player, while I dabble in the occasional board game and played some CCGs back in the day, there is nothing I would rather do that chuck dice and tell a story among friends. So you can imagine role-playing games were my primary draw at Gen Con. I did not even visit the wargaming and board games area until Saturday. I did not see the card games at all (sorry CCG fans). However I did see some very interesting games of the strictly non-rpg variety in the exhibit hall and got to demo a couple of them.

Fantasy Flight Games was there, talk about beautiful games. The number of FFG bags around the convention was outstanding. I was particularly impressed by their Dust Tactics demos. I just watched but the miniatures and terrain that drew me in seemed to be part of a fun game that made me want to play.

WizKids was there, with their HeroClix minis, and the preview of Paizo’s heroes set. There was the announcement that they will be doing collectible pre-painted miniatures, Pathfinder Battles (must fight the lure of plastic crack), they had a set of LotR Miniatures I knew nothing off (goes to show you what I know!), but what impressed me the most was Star Trek Feet Captains. The game looked incredibly entertaining and the miniatures were gorgeous.  And there is a Munchkin Conan expansion coming out… How cool is that? ‘Nuff said!

But these were games or companies I knew about to an extent. There were some nice new discoveries during the convention…

Super Dungeon Explorer from Soda Pop Miniatures was a fun romp, reminiscent of 8-Bit games of old. They were running demos and you could pre-order the game at Gen Con. True that the miniatures I played with were painted and the terrain was constructed for the demo. As I understood the game comes with a two dimensional board and some of the minis we played with were form a future expansion, still this was fun!

All you need to know about your character is in a card (I played a sexy purple haired super-deformed sorceress), the game uses custom colored coded dice and as you gain treasure they are coded so as they are placed around the character card. The game ran smoothly and I could hear myself humming the theme of games like Zelda and Dragon Knight. The company was demoing other games as well, but alas I did not get to play.

I don’t paint miniatures but I saw some incredibly detailed miniatures, many painted beautifully. I was impressed by Enigma Miniatures, the Cool Mini or Not booth had some terrific miniatures and some great pieces. They were doing some Sedition Wars demos that looked intriguing, alas I did not get to play!

Wyrd Games has their Malifaux game miniatures. My friend PJ (@luniticus) had told me about them and while I have not played it I did get to see the Puppet Wars game he purchased which looked like a lot of fun. And then there were the Terraclips by World Works Games… Modular buildings that require no arts and crafts skills to put together. Despite salivating over them all weekend I ended up NOT getting them and I am sorry I did not. When all the sets are put together they look amazing.

Fat Dragon Games was displaying their sets. They even had a terrain set with a cliff that included slots for miniature bases to simulate climbing. I am always tempted but know that I have little skill or patience to put them together. And they seem easy enough, but I will not devote the time or effort necessary, easy as they may be. My lazy ass needs Dwarven Forge! Just like the last time around I must have gawked at their sets for a while. Getting them at Gen Con was impractical in terms of transporting them back home. I visit their site every so often and fantasize (no not that kind of fantasy get your mind out of the gutter) but have never ordered any.

Last but not least, there was a Redakai game, I had NO idea what it was but the figures (action figures?) they had on display looked pretty so I had to take a picture…

Well I think I have rambled enough about games and minis. There were other things that caught my interest and that I ended up buying during the convention, but I’ll save the details of that for my next post. Got to hold something back to keep you coming for more, see you in a couple of days!

Related posts:

1. Gen Con 2011, a retrospective… Part 1: Role Playing Games
2. Gen Con 2011, a retrospective… Part 4!
3. Gen Con 2011, a retrospective… Part 3: On to other stuff…

First I got home to a work week of unforeseen dimensions, then the con-crud hit! The combination kept me down for two days. Then last night when I finally sat down to write my laptop crashed, and apparently my smart phone followed in a sign of support. I had about half of my pictures and a smattering of videos on the smart phone. I restored the laptop and solved that problem, the smart phone proved another matter. I lost pictures and videos, never to be recovered. So if I took your picture at Gen Con and you never see it, I apologize.

But you didn’t come here for the sob stories; you came here to read about games, specifically role-playing games which are the main topic of this blog. You’ve probably read about some  of the big news which I’ll link to in case you only read this gaming blog (and we can’t fault you for your impeccable taste!). Margaret Weiss Productions announced their deal to produce a Marvel superheroes RPG. Sounds like a well planned project, and while I am not currently on the market for a new supers game (more on this later) I will take a look.

Fantasy Flight Games actually announced they have the Star Wars license for board games, card games and role-playing games just before Gen Con. They were running demos of their card game and X-Wing games at Gen Con both seemed interesting and I spent some time looking at people play. However I am mainly a role-player, while I dabble in the occasional board game, I would rather spend my time role playing. Will I buy a new Star Wars game? My knee jerk reaction is no, I have D6, and Saga, but the Warhammer 40K RPGs have tempted me, I’m just not that big of a 40K fan. Star Wars is another matter. I just might…

Wizards of the Coast had their Neverwinter campaign, D&D Encounters and a contest both at Gen Con and for those playing in encounters. The promo video looks really cool, and some of my friend interested in D&D 4^th edition seem stoked about it. Since I don’t play 4^th edition and I never played any of the Neverwinter computer games I was not terribly interested. I feel little bad that I can’t bring you more news about this but there is plenty of reports out there and while I was covering the convention for the blog I did want to focus in things that would be of interest to me. I hope there is some commonality with our reader. So what did I go for?

There were a few things I knew I was getting. Savage Worlds Deluxe was big on my list! I posted about the book and the pre-order, which I took advantage of and picked up at Gen Con, along with the Action and Adventure Decks. I had downloaded the PDF version that came with the bundle and printed it out, so I had “seen” the book before actually getting it, but even that did not take away from the sheer joy of holding the book in my hands. It is a beautiful thing, gorgeous to look at and sturdy. I ended up getting the official bennies as well as I am decided to run this game.

As I try to learn to better run Savage Worlds that was one of the games I wanted to play during Gen Con and thanks to my good friend David I did. I mentioned it on my previous Gen Con post, we played what was supposed to be a short game for over four hours and I got to experience firsthand how the game flows. I have a debt with David for showing me the way, thank you sir!

I got some other Savage Worlds books while in Indianapolis. From what I read of Suzerain it is a supplement to play deity-like characters using the Savage Worlds system. It gave me and Amber (the books, not the game) vibe and I couldn’t resist. Another book I was not looking for but discovered at Gen Con was The Day After Ragnarok. I had read about it but was not interested until someone talked to me about it, I held the book in my hands and I could not put it down. It’s a delicious blend of pulp and post apocalyptic goodness in the middle of the 20^th century that fired my imagination.

I also got another book by Ragnarok’s author Kenneth Hite, Cthulhu 101. While not strictly a role-playing game, who can say no to Cthulhu? Certainly not me! I got both books while on my way to the Green Ronin booth, as it seemed they were sharing the space. I was there to get some Mutants & Mastermind goodness. The system powers my weekly game and I wanted a copy of the 3^rd edition rules of the game, the new DC Adventures Heroes & Villains Vol. 1 book and the GM Kit. Getting to meet Steve Kenson (who I interviewed for the blog when ICONS came out) and having him sign the book was just the cherry on the sundae. I just love this system; it has become my favorite superhero game and the reason why I said earlier I am not really looking for a new game of this genre.

My other must get book was Ultimate Combat by Paizo. It is a terrific book, with a new class that uses the firearms rules in the book, the Samurai and Ninja as well as options for all combat classes, a truckload of feats and even some spells. The book continues the tradition of great books for Pathfinder and it fuels the fire of my desire to go back to playing Pathfinder. Getting the PDF copy of the book for just $5 was just a bonus. I think the PDF copies at $10 are priced just right point and being able to pick it up for half the price was a big win.

Pelgrane Press had Ashen Stars and the Esoterrorists, both using the Gumshoe system. Michael had told me so much about Ashen Star that I snatched it up and have not been disappointed. It is a beautiful book and the system is so elegant. The big surprise was Esoterrorist, I had read about it and was intrigued but I like it so much I have put down Ashen Star and I’m currently devouring this dark modern game, I highly recommend it! To me it’s not so much about the conceit behind Gumshoe and making investigation adventures easy, but simply such an entertaining read.

The Cubicle 7 booth was busy, busy, busy! They had The One Ring, and I got to meet Gareth Michael Skarka there. He is a terrific guy and I’m sorry I did not get to spend more time talking to him. They had a lot of the Adamant books there, I got what I want form them already, the already have my money, and I am glad they do.

I got some other goodies for my games, like the products of Dark Platypus Studios, including their magna maps, effect markers, pillars, clings, initiative tracker… Well let’s just say my biggest purchase at the con was from them! I got another customizable GM screen from another vendor, I already own two, but they had magnetic receptive inserts and I can do so much with them, not necessarily use them in the traditional screen function. The last thing I got was Gaming Paper’s Mega Dungeon and accompanying adventure. Amidst all the post con reading I have NOT gotten to the adventure but the map is MASSIVE and it just tickled my geek fancy!

There were plenty of other things I saw, demoed and almost purchased, but as it was I returned with over 50 pounds (about 23kg to you metric folk) in extra weight in my luggage (which I suspect made the airline very happy) so I could not get everything. So let me tell you about the other games. Amaranthine by Machine Age Productions seemed intriguing, a game of immortals and social interaction, right up my alley. As far as my players go, well not so much… Still the production quality was terrific and it was hard for me to put it down.

The idea of Dungeon Decks, sets of cards to create old school type adventures intrigued me. They are a cool way to generate ideas and get your creative juices flowing. WEGS Old Skool seemed like a tribute to old school gaming but integrating elements like cards into the game to make it more accessible for newer games. It looked simple and fun and I almost got it. This is one I am sorry I did not go back to the booth to get. I may yet order this.

The booth for tiltfactor was play testing a zombies in the office game which seemed promising if a little rough around the edges. Their Pox board game caught my eye specifically because they have lessons plans to use it in the classroom. But these are not strictly role-playing games and I am going off topic here. I hope to tackle other types of games and other goodies I found at Gen con on my next post…

See you then!

Related posts:

1. Gen Con 2011, a retrospective… Part 2: Other games and minis too!
2. Time to Speak Out with my Geek Out… Role-Playing Games in my case!
3. Five Great Blogs About Role-Playing Games @ GeekDad

After my last first time here four years ago, I came to the con with a different attitude, and it has worked. I have spent time with friends from the island who travelled here from back home as well as those that live stateside. I have also met with friends I had only contacted through social media. It’s a strange thing to meet people you’ve only seen in avatars and profile pictures.

As far as Gen Con goes, well what can I add? It’s a massive event no gamer should miss. No matter how far away you are it’s a pilgrimage worth making, and I am sure once you’ve been here you’ll want to return. Today I concentrated on the Exhibitors Room, foolishly believing I could see all I wanted to see. I visited booths, talked to some professionals I had never thought I would exchange words with and learned about all sorts of interesting games. Some are already being talked about in the blogosphere and internet new sites. Also I went to some smaller companies and saw some really interesting things, especially in areas I typically don’t follow, like miniature games and board games.

I spent far too much money and already have the books I wanted and a few more. I will write more extensively later on specifics as I am simply just too tired to write much more. I finished the night playing a game of Savage Worlds with David (@LodestoneDavid) from Purple Pawn who was kind enough to run three loud Puerto Ricans (me, my friend Yamir and @luniticus) as well as our new friend Scott, through an excellent pulp adventure. It helped me better understand the system as well as show me how to put together all the rule components more efficiently. Kudos to David!

And I cannot sign off today without thanking the Gen Con staff who facilitated my being there, were helpful and all around swell people. Covering the con for the blog has been a blast. I will write more next week about the experience and specifics, so this is just the beginning. Thank you all for reading!

PS – Remember that This Just In from… Gen Con! Is also covering the con and they are doing podcasts about it…

Related posts:

1. The stars are right… For a winner! The results of the Realms of Cthulhu Giveaway Contest
2. Happy Holidays from Stargazer’s World!
3. Gen Con 2011, a retrospective… Part 4!

I also plan to cover Gen Con for the blog. The how is still taking form. I’ll be taking lots of pictures and talking to whoever will indulge me, to know what fun things publishers big and small are planning and unveiling at the con. In this day and age there is so much information and coverage (like the fine folk at This Just in from Gen Con) that I don’t aspire to bring you every bit of news, just what I think will be of interest to our readers. I hope to post in some form from Gen Con, let’s see if the Exhibit Hall and random games don’t kill me…

What’s my plan? Well it’s fluid… At first I began filling up a log schedule and after a while I realized I would be running from one place to the other with little time to just ENJOY being there. So I scrapped it and decided to play it by ear. Here is the (very) rough outline:

• I should be leaving Puerto Rico Wednesday afternoon and arriving at Indianapolis late Wednesday night.
• I’ll be staying at the Crowne Plaza at Union Station where I will most likely crash for the night, unless there are any nearby convenience stores where I can stock up on some snacks (really have no idea how far they may be or the hours they keep)
• Thursday morning I plan to get up REALLY early and get my press badge and then it’s on to the (drum roll please)…
• EXHIBIT HALL! Cave of treasures, den of temptation, and bane of my bank account… I expect to spend the majority of the day there, meeting with some friends, visiting the creators I’ve read about so much and yet have never met. I also hope to meet some of our readers in the floor. (Here is a handy map, thanks Mad Brew Labs for sharing)
• Thursday night I play a game with some friends and hopefully write a post about the day for the blog (unless I just keep playing thought the night!)
• Friday I would like to get a chance to talk to more people, go to some seminars and hopefully play a pickup game here and there.
• Then Friday night I become conflicted! I want to go eat with other Puerto Ricans at the con, but there are the ENnies and Knights of the Dinner Table Live Reading! All on the same night. Decision, decisions… (and of course try to blog, let’s see if I keep this promise)
• Saturday I want to get chance to pick up a couple of gifts, game some more and maybe, just maybe if I manage to pull something together actually run a game. Not sure about this yet.
• Then Sunday its breakfast, a walk around and then off to the airport. I should be back home in the early evening, tired and happy.

There are some things I’m looking forward, like getting my Savage Worlds Deluxe copy, trying to get a copy of Ultimate Combat, getting a copy of e20, even if it’s an electronic one. I am even bringing some gifts a friend sent to some of his friends who will be exhibitors. I also plan to bring some rum and a coffee for a Puerto Rican who misses his Yaucono. I also plan to meet the #RPGchat crew at one of their planned meet ups. Good times ahead…

If you are going to Gen Con I’d love to meet you and chat. You can find me in Twitter as @Sunglar, on Facebook as sunglar@hotmail.com, Google+ as sunglar@gmail.com. Be sure to reach out if you feel like taking for a bit and saying hi! If all goes to according to plan I’ll be there very soon…

The biggest hurdles to my plan so far? Well they start at home! I had a video camera for the convention and found out last night the battery is not working properly so I am scrambling to get a replacement. If I manage to you may see some video, if not, well it’s all going be still pictures. Second, well its nature! A tropical storm, that may or may not become a hurricane, is on its way to Puerto Rico. Who knows what could happen… I just hope it doesn’t play havoc with plane schedules and I manage to arrive in Indianapolis as planned. See you there!

PS – If you see the gamer on the pictures at Gen Con, be sure to throw him a bone!

Related posts:

1. My GenCon plans
2. My Plans for NaGa DeMon
3. Gaming-related plans for 2010

So little by little I have balanced my use of Twitter and Facebook. These days most updates I do on Twitter and they appear on Facebook. Oftentimes I will post in English in Twitter, where the majority of my followers are English speakers, and do my occasional update in Spanish in Facebook, where I have a LOT of Spanish speaking friends.

One thing I had NEVER done was participate in a large scale real time discussion with lots of other people. I get hashtags; I had just never tried it. Some time ago I had seen the #RPGchat discussions and lurked, fascinated by all the ideas floating about. So last week I saw they were discussing Gen Con this week and decided to join in. I used my iPhone with the Twitter app and was able to follow and participate so easily.

The people participating in the discussion where friendly, helpful and so much fun and I won a prize they were giving away! It was the most fun I’ve had in Twitter. Shout out to all the fine folk there, it was a pleasure to meet you. I will definitely be joining them again.

I did embrace Google+ early one so worry not I’m keeping up to day.

Just in case, if you are interested, in Facebook you can find me as sunglar@hotmail.com, in Google+ as sunglar@gmail.com (you can see a pattern emerging here) and in Twitter as @Sunglar. I’d love to get to know you all better!

Related posts:

1. Twitter
2. Twitter Trouble!
3. 10 RPG geeks you should follow on Twitter

But especially the anonymity of the internet seems to bring out the worst in people. Especially when it comes to controversial topics you might attract what we usually call “a troll”.

Even without actual trolling, people might have heated discussion on your blog, post nasty things about you or your articles on Twitter, Facebook, Google+ or any other social network. Especially if your blog is getting some popularity this is most likely bound to happen sooner or later. So what can you do to defend against these attacks?

Of course you can try to avoid controversial topics like the D&D Edition Wars for example. But even your totally harmless post about the use of the knitting skill might attract the haters. Sometimes people just thinks its fun to ridicule you. And more often than not these attacks might get personal.

The only thing you actually can do is to have a thick skin. Moderating the comments of your blog might help, but in some cases this might even encourage the trolls. When you start to blog publicly you always have to steel yourself against attacks. Be prepared that it will happen some day and don’t let the attacks get to you. There’s an old saying: “If you can’t stand the heat, stay out of the kitchen”.

This may sound harsh but alas that’s the best advice anyone can give you. As soon as you start blogging you make yourself a potential target. This is something you have to keep in the back of your head when you make the decision to start a RPG blog.

Luckily I haven’t had that many (if any) situations in my blogging career where I had to fend of the trolls. There were some heated discussions especially when D&D 4th Edition was concerned, but aside from that things have been pretty civil here at Stargazer’s World.

But I am sure some of my readers have a few stories to share. Aside from trying to grow a thick skin what would you advise? Are there any experiences you can share with us? Please post your comments below, every advice is highly appreciated.

Related posts:

1. RPG Blogging 101: Attracting Readers
2. RPG Blogging 101: Primer
3. RPG Blogging 101: Be different!

And aside from a few minor hiccups everything worked great so far. But one of the issues is that the RPGBA Announcements from the official forums don’t appear in the feed yet. That’s why I use my blog to share some tips and advice with you. I’ll put this post into the forums later, also.

So, let’s get to business:

• Site logo
  You definitely should create at least two logos for your blog: a 80×80 pixels one that is shown with your posts at the RPGBA main page and a 150×50 pixels one that is shown in the banner rotation on the right of the RPGBA site. If the sizes are a bit off, the site software automatically makes sure the logo fits, but sometimes this leads to weird results.
• Sign up at the forums
  We have decided to use the RPG Table Talk forums for the official RPGBA forums. Registering there is not mandatory for members of the RPGBA, but it’s highly recommended. You can not only discuss with other RPGBA members there, but it’s also the place where you can post your tech support requests or ideas how we can improve the site.
• Link back from your site to the RPGBA
  Support the RPGBA and your fellow members by linking back from your blog to the RPGBA main site. If you wish, you can make use of the official RPGBA logo we created for that purpose.
• Follow @RPGBlogAlliance on Twitter
  If you are on Twitter, you can subscribe to the RPGBA feed by following us on Twitter. All the new posts from member blogs will be announced there.
• Get involved in the community
  In my opinion a blog community shall be more than just a glorified RSS aggregator. Check out your fellow members’ blogs, follow them on Twitter, start discussions with them on the official forums and be an active part of the community. Again, I cannot force anyone to do so, but trust me, it really helps you and your blog. Making friends in the RPG blog community is one of the best ways to attract new readers and isn’t there anything better than sharing your hobby with friends all over the world?

By the way, we have set up a wiki which is meant as a place where you can share blog and podcasting advice. If you have the time, make sure you check it out. The wiki is still under construction, so some things may be a bit rough around the edges, but there’s already some great information there if you want to start a new blog/podcast or learn a few new tricks.

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So what sets the RPGBA apart from similar services? Check out the full text of the official announcement after the break…

Greetings Fellow Bloggers and Podcasters,

I’m happy to announce the official opening of the RPG Blog Alliance. The RPGBA is the start of new Blog Community for RPG related Blogs and Podcasts. Like many such communities, at it’s core it provides an RSS Aggregation Feed. So what set’s the RPGBA apart from other such services you may ask? I think the following are some things that set us apart from other services.

• User Profile, which can be updated by user
• Ability for Users to Hide Posts From being shown in Feed
• Email Verification of New Users
• New Blogger and Podcaster Help via Wiki

Even with these features, some will ask why this even required, as there are similar sites out there. To which we say, Yes there are. The issue for me has always been that they just didn’t seem like a community. We wanted to start a community. I wanted something that users could edit their own profile information without an administrator. I wanted simple to use administrator functions. We think we done that. We should note that we do not believe that the RPGBA is a replacement for any such site. For us, it is just simply a new community that we would like you to join.

We want you to help the community grow. We want the RPG Blog Alliance to be thriving thing. We want to hear your comments, we want to try to create new features based on user feedback. Basically, we want you involved. We look forward to seeing you join our community.

To join simply to go to RPG Blog Alliance, and click join us.

Any tabletop RPG-related blogs and podcasts are welcome! If you have any questions regarding the RPGBA don’t hesitate to ask!

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2. Some advice for the new RPGBA members
3. Stargazer’s World is “Best Gaming Blog” according to RPG Blog 2