In 2011 the team of Stargazer’s World has posted over 300 times. Considering that we usually don’t publish posts on the weekend this is quite an achievement. But the holiday season is usually used as a time to look back on what you’ve done and to relax. And trust me, especially my creative batteries are almost dead, so some days without thinking about what to post next are in order. But fret not, we’ll be back in January 2012!

Until then the team of Stargazer’s World wishes you happy holidays and a happy new year!

Related posts:

1. Taking a short break
2. Here is to 1,000 more!
3. Tips to Break Writers Block

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!

Hello,
I’m Mr. Joe Sixpack And Would like to know if you sell Game Table and
what types of the Game Table  do you offer for sale..Also what types
of payment do you accept?Thank you and reply ASAP.
Best regards,

Joe Sixpack

Is this some weird kind of spam? Or is someone confusing the Open Game Table which I contributed to with an actual physical table? I actually answered that question and told Mr. Sixpack that I don’t sell anything. I haven’t heard from him since…

By the way, if you have any serious questions for the Stargazer and his crew, feel free to email us via askthestargazer@stargazersworld.com!

Related posts:

1. Ask The Stargazer: “How should one go about starting an rpg blog?”
2. Best of Stargazer’s World
3. Ask The Stargazer: “What is the one RPG that you have never run, but have always wanted to?”

Let’s look at the most obvious ones. I read a whole lot more because of gaming. I was already an avid reader before discovering rpgs, but the games introduced me to all sorts of different authors and influences I might not have discovered where it not for the game. I became a better storyteller and developed both my oral and written communication skills due to the game, during face to face interactions as part of the game or when I sat down to write a handout or other game related document.

I can’t say I learned English because of games, I already had a pretty decent grasp of the language, but I know many friends who improved their language skills thanks to gaming. On a recent discussion in the Puerto Rico Role Players group we were talking about how being a good Game Master had much in common with being a good teacher and how that has helped me in my line of work. I really believe that my interpersonal skills, something I rely on daily in my line of work, are better because of the game.

Then there is the ongoing learning… I find myself researching ideas and concepts for my writing (game related and otherwise) all the time. My creative endeavors (and role-playing games is a big chunk of that) mean I am constantly searching for ways to learn more, and more effectively. Readying articles on Wikipedia still seems odd to some people (probably the same ones who thought it was odd to read the encyclopedia for fun!), but recently I have been using the Kahn Academy more and more.

The Kahn Academy is a non-for profit that has existed for a while now (and you can read all about it on this Wikipedia page), and while I knew about it, I had not really used it that much. Then I ended up going to it to look at the Brain Teasers videos thinking I could use some of them for my games, but ended up watching many more videos, and it the process learning about many new things, some I had little interest before.

There are a lot of math and science videos, but even those can be useful for a gamer, specially if you are working on a sci-fi game, I particularly like their History section, great for giving context for historical games for your history-challenged player who might know the timeline of Krynn but might not know if the Wall Street Crash of 1929 happened before or after the Vietnam War. And that anecdotes my friends really happened!

So that’s a recent tool I’ve used to brush up my knowledge, much being applied to my current and future campaigns, such as the Cosmology and Astronomy area for my upcoming sci-fi game. What tools do you use for research when you game?

Related posts:

1. Learning to say no…
2. Fighting the good fight…
3. It’s a good time to be a supers fan!

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.

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

I have talked about food in games before, but this is a different situation, the master of the Gordopletas© needs to loose weight. And I am not remotely thinking that the junk food I eat once night a week is responsible for my unhealthy eating habits. I need to exercise more, eat more responsibly. But in past experiences, and lets face it many of us have been there, I can pinpoint that I keep my diet for most of the week and then come game night I drink too much soda, eat too much chips and candy.

So I come to you dead reader, how do you do it? What tricks have worked for you? I plan on getting back on the healthy eating wagon and I’d sure like to plan ahead.

Related posts:

1. Ask the Readers: What do you eat at the gaming table?
2. Ask The Readers: Netbook at the gaming table
3. Food & Games

Of course they took some artistic liberties and even before I saw the first footage I was pretty sure that Disney wouldn’t let Dejah Thoris run around half-naked as she did in the book.

By the way, is there actually an “official” Barsoom RPG? I am sure the world would make an interesting background for a roleplaying game. And the planetary romance genre is not as overdone as some other genres out there.

Related posts:

1. Lazy Friday Video Post: JourneyQuest trailer
2. Lazy Friday Video Post: “John Madden: Dungeon Master”
3. Lazy Friday Video Post: The Wild Hunt

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?

What was
Sunglar has been very busy in the last few weeks which has had a great impact on his post frequency. Yesterday he posted about his hopeful return to a more active presence in the game community. He also reminded me that I’ve written my 900th post recently. I wouldn’t have noticed if he hadn’t reminded me, oops.

This is a good segue into the next thing I want to talk about. As you all may know I had a great idea for NaGa DeMon that is much harder to design than I anticipated. And since the end of November is drawing closer I doubt it will be finished in time. But I don’t want to abandon the project entirely. I want to continue to work on it and I think I will try to get some more help and advice from the community. Later this week I will start sharing what I have done so far here on the blog.

Our new feature “Ask The Stargazer!” started last week and I hope I can answer another of your questions later this week. And if you haven’t done so feel free to send in your question. Details on how to contact us are in the sidebar to the right!

What is
A lot of my free time is currently occupied by both Minecraft and The Elder Scrolls: Skyrim. As some of you may already know I am running my own Minecraft server. A few days ago I moved the server to a new host. We used that opportunity to start a new world. Minecraft recently left beta status behind and the release version brings a host of new features I have to try out ASAP. Interestingly enough Minecraft turns more and more into a sandbox RPG, which I like a lot. Aside from mining and building, you can fight monsters, get XP, craft potions and even enchant your items. Cool stuff!

And when I am not trying to get my Minecraft server running I am playing Skyrim. I have always been a fan of the Elder Scrolls series and Skyrim is in my opinion the best game of the series so far. The new classless system is a lot of fun and my current character is some kind of battlemage fighting in heavy armor and using a bound sword in one hand and a spell in the other. In addition to that I love the crafting system. Hopefully I can get my smithing skill high enough to be able to create Deadric armor soon.

While playing the game I have been wondering several times if an Elder Scrolls pen & paper game would work. I am actually surprised that the creators of the series never released one themselves. The world of Tamriel is highly detailed and is much more unique as most people think. And from what I’ve seen it should even be possible to transfer the rules system used in the game almost 1:1 to the game table. On the other hand Tamriel would probably work with most game systems. Savage Worlds, Runequest or even FATE might be a good fit. The skill perks in Skyrim are mechanically not that much different from FATE’s stunts. When I find the time, I might actually work on an Elder Scrolls pen & paper project if my players are interested in such a game.

What will be
Some time ago Robert from Ancient Scroll offered to write guest posts for Stargazer’s World. He already sent me a couple adventure ideas that I’ll publish over the next weeks. The adventure ideas will be for various genres and with no particular setting or rules system in mind. We hope you will enjoy them.

Aside from that I still have a few reviews in the pipeline. As you probably know from the Doctor Who RPG unboxing video I posted a while ago, this is one of the games on my list. The other one is The One Ring. Both games by Cubicle 7 look awesome and as soon as I have the time I will post my reviews here on the blog.

I think that concludes my official “State of the Union” … eh … “State of the Blog” speech for this month. If you have any questions, comments or ideas, feel free to post them below!

No related posts.

Before I had a smart phone I had downloaded and listened to the odd podcast, mainly something featured in an internet post, and the first gaming podcast I ever listened to was Fear the Boot and it was their first Ryan Dancey interview. I downloaded a few more episodes, but listening to them on the laptop didn’t work for me, I always had something else to listen to. When I got my smart phone I began to explore the podcasting options out there.

The first one that really got me was The Lost Podcast with Jay and Jack. I was really into it for a while, but with the bad taste the end of the series left in my mouth (let this be a lesson to you, never lick your TV, no matter how good the series is!) I quickly stopped listening, they have some other themed podcasts but they never caught my fancy.

Then I dipped my toe into gaming podcasts when I joined a gym and once again began to listen to Fear the Boot. Alas going to the gym didn’t last too long, and neither did my podcast listening days! Flash-forward a couple of years and in the middle of the hectic year I’m having podcasts have made it back into my life.

The first tentative steps were taken with This Just In… From Gen Con. But recently I’ve been traveling a lot for work, spending almost two hours on the road (yeah it’s a LOT to me, that’s island living for you!) every day; after a couple of days talk radio seemed to be regurgitating the same topics so I decided to dive back into podcasts, and I am so glad I did. 

Since I’ve been writing for the blog I’ve discovered many fine podcasts and through the blog and social media I have been lucky enough to interact with some of the fine podcasters out there.  In a way it’s a different perspective…. So what have I been listening to? Glad you asked!

Related posts:

1. DMs Should Join Other Games
2. Listen to this blog!
3. Stargazer’s RPG podcast recommendations

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…

True many of us (well at least in similar age groups and from similar cultures) may share some references we throw around at the table. Like brushing off a terrible critical as “just a flesh wound”, calling a particularly deadly weapon the “holy hand grenade of Antioch” or calling any mysterious chivalrous order the “Knights who say Ni”… Thank you Monty Python, we are in debt to you! But this is not the type of patois I’m thinking about. I’m referring to the words, phrases and concepts that form around a tight knit group of friends over a period of time.

I began to think about this after writing my post on “puerco papers”. This is a concept that I associate with my immediate group of gamers and I know that when I have used it outside that group I have always had to explain what I’m referring to. Daniel (@Highmoon) left a comment on how I was introducing our very own terminology into the greater gaming community, and that got me thinking. I asked around my friends and players for suggestions, and began to compile the words and phrases we have come to use over the years in our groups. Let me share some with you…

An important warning, many of these phrases use a mixture of English and Spanish, lovingly called Spanglish. As I wrote before, I live in a predominately Spanish speaking country and we game in a mix of both languages. This will be evident in the following list; I’ll try to translate them as best as I can.

1. Chiclán: Used when dice are improperly rolled, land unevenly or fall from the table. Usually uttered when a particular roll is not valid.

Where it originates – This is probably the oldest term in the list. To the best of my recollection it was coined by my friend Luis Miranda in our old AD&D 1^st edition games. Luis was among the second group of people I actively gamed with, my friends from school (the first group being my neighbors with whom I gamed for the very first time) and we played for days on end. Some summers we played almost every day. What about the word, what does it mean? Well Google showed me there is a place called El Chiclán in Nuevo León, Mexico, but that’s not what the word means for me. I am not sure if this is the generally accepted term in Puerto Rico, but to me it means a male with just one testicle. What does it have to do with dice? No idea! But it stuck and continues to be used over twenty years later.

2. Chuklin: Used when a roll is ineffectual, no matter the bonus that will be applied to it. For example the player may say, “My first level fighter will use his bow and arrow to shoot the dragon thru the nostril and into the brain for an instant kill.” To which the GM replies, without waiting for the dice to even stop rolling, “Chuklin! You fail…”

I know who came up with this word, or at least from whom I heard it first. My friend Sammy, who I have known for a long time (he used to have a gaming store and sold me my very first RIFTS game books, back when he used to have hair) but did not get to game with until a few years ago. He was infamous for using it at his table when he Game Mastered. I quickly adapted the word, and when we went to Gen Con in 2007 I had a set of D6 made with the word chuklin on all sides. That way you can’t be accused of at least not rolling for it.

3. Gimme, Gimme, fried chicken: Used when a player suffers a particularly spectacular, preferably gory, end.

This refers to the avariel PC of my friend Pierre (who will appear in this list again) who was obliterated when he failed two saves while wearing a Helm of Brilliance in an old AD&D 2^nd edition game. I wrote about it in the blog before, on a post about character deaths, so I will not rehash the story. Needless to say, when someone dies a horrible death someone has to use the phrase.

4. ¡El obelisco! (The obelisk): Typically a reference to a non-existent plot point or misinterpreted clue.

This one also goes out to my friend Pierre. I run pretty complex campaigns. I’ve been accused of having flowcharts to keep track of plots (guilty!) and players needing them to keep track of them (at least one tried). Pierre is a dear friend and great player but he sometimes gets lost on the plot. One night while arguing the finer points of a difficult situation in the game he asked, “But where’s the obelisk?” Players and GM alike gave him befuddled looks. There was no obelisk, none had even been mentioned. So whenever someone just doesn’t get a plot or gets confused about what’s happening, we ask them if they know where the obelisk is.

5. Camallo: Any mount or beast of burden available to the characters

Camallo is a mix of two words “caballo”, horse, and “camello” camel. The PCs were about to embark on a overland trip into the desert and I asked them if they wanted to get camallos. That’s a common problem for me, I speak too fast and in my excitement I mix up some words. Strangely this one stuck! Now every time they are going to buy some ridding animals someone has to mention the option of getting a camallo.

6. Anchorcha: Synonym for “antorcha” (torch)

This one was just a mistake, another example of speaking too quickly. It also stuck and I get reminded of it often.

7. Thoulian!: Uttered when a character falls for an easy rouse.

This one needs a little context. Thoulians are nomadic tribesmen in one region of my campaign world. My friend Piwie was playing a character from these tribes and the party was fleeing over the rooftops from enemies giving them chase. They split up and as Piwie’s character was making his escape and his pursuers could not find him one of them shouted out “Thoulian!” Piwie heard it and had his character stop and look back to see who was calling. Needless to say his pursuers pushed their advantage. Now Thoulian is code word for when a character is easily tricked or bamboozled.

8. Tempus be praised: Spontaneous praise to the god of war of Faerun whenever a drink or other liquid is spilled at the table.

My friend Emilio always spilled his drink at the table. Well his or anyone else’s. It was almost tradition to have your character sheet, or GM notes, baptized by Emilio. For a while he played a cleric of Tempus and whenever he would cause one of his accidents we’d say “Tempus be praised!” He moved away and no longer plays with us but his memory lives on whenever someone spills a soda.

9. “Fuerza magnífica” (Magnificent Strength): Used to refer to an extraordinary power or ability.

This is also of my doing. We were playing a Heroes Unlimited campaign and my friend Pierre was playing a character with super strength, I think it’s called enhanced strength in the game if memory serves. We had visitors that night, our friends Ray and Colo were watching while we played;  in the middle of the session the boat the players were traveling on was sinking. I meant to ask Pierre if he was using his super strength to keep the boat afloat but for the love of me could not utter the words. So I asked him, “¿Vas a usar tu fuerza magnífica?” (Are you using your magnificent strength?) He looked at me with a look of complete confusion (he was probably wondering where the obelisk was) and I just remember Ray laughing his ass off! And thus was “fuerza magnífica” born.

10. “Mono Calcricho” (Calcrichian Monkey!?): Any strange dangerous creature you cannot identify.

This one is all Lao! My friend Lao was the first person I heard using the term, it’s most useful when the players ask the GM, “What is that monster?” The GM rolls or determines they have NO idea what it is so the GM replies, “It’s a Mono Calchicho!” Shorthand really, plain and simple…

Those are just a few example of role-player’s cant around my table. I hope I remember all these stories correctly. It’s been some time. If not those involved are welcome to refresh my memory.

Now what I’d like to know is what special words or phrases you use with your gaming group. Feel free to leave a comment…

Related posts:

1. Player Advice: Make your character come alive!
2. Powerless player
3. What kind of player are you?

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!

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

Don’t worry everybody is alright. My lull in posting had nothing to do with getting hurt, it’s all work and real life responsibilities keeping me away, but vacations are approaching and I hope to make up during that time. But I know you are not here to read about my life, you are here to know what happened at the geeknic? Well let me tell you…

One of the wonders of living in a tropical island is the weather. It’s usually beautiful and sunny year round, BUT every so often we get torrential rain (and don’t get me started about hurricanes) that was the case last weekend. It rained all weekend, but when Sunday rolled along, despite some drizzle, it seemed like the sun was coming out, so I made my way to the park where the geeknic was going to be held and met up with my fellow early birds. We set up and then the rain came… We began moving stuff to a dry place and there was when the first mishap occurred.

A friend slipped and suffered a concussion. He lost consciousness and we had to call for an ambulance. I followed in my car to make sure he was alright. Thankfully he was, but as I was leaving the hospital I got a call from those still at the park, the rain was not abating and the place was flooding. So I started calling people, telling them the geeknic was cancelled, posting it online, trying to drive back to the park, and I drove straight into a flooded street. I had cars behind me so I drove through, and when I was about to leave the flood, the car stalled and died…

Needless to say this was NOT the best of days. I look in my rearview mirror and I see a small car stuck with water up to middle of the car door. So my Good Samaritan mode kicks in. I exit my car, wade through the water that was up to my knees, yell to the driver to shift the car into neutral and pushed him out of the water. What happened next really baffled me… With the car out of the water the guy manages to turn it on, waves thanks and drives away. Needless to say I vas peeved.

Right there and then I thought this was pretty much the worst day, and then my friends proved me wrong. They first started calling to see how they could help me, some tried to make it to me but the flooding was too bad. Eventually someone got to me, pushed my car to the side, stayed with me, and when he was pushing my SUV to the nearest gas station, the car came to live! Back at the park the rest of the group picked things up, ate the Gordopleta^© I hadprepared (and which I did not get to taste by the way!) and made sure everybody knew that activity was cancelled.

The geekcnic might have been a bust, but everything that happened reinforced my idea that role-playing games are a great way to make friends. I look around and some of my closest, best friends I met through gaming, and many of my older friends I gamed with, so it is something we have in common. So if your friends are the family you choose, then my family is made up of gamers! The person who slipped and fell is safe and sound, my car is fine, and everybody else was fine, if only a little wetter. I hear a lot of people say that they game with acquaintances, and while that may be true, give people a chance, get to know them, true lasting friendships are forged around the table.

I want to thank all my friends, old and new, in Puerto Rico Role Players. A special thanks to PJ (he’s posted here in the blog as @luniticus), Julianna, Jesús, Edwin, Misael, Misael Jr., Luis A., José Fernando, Pierre, Fernan, Luis L., Carlos, and particularly to Jaime and his wife Carmen. Jaime pushed my car, helped me through all the day’s hardships and stuck with me until the end.

So dear reader, forgive me if I wondered off into personal anecdotes, but the best thing about my games are my friends, and every now and then you need to tell them. Back to posts about gaming… thanks for reading.

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1. Life and times of a RPG industry freelancer
2. Come to me my jungle friends!
3. RPGbomb

For over a year a group of RPG fans from Puerto Rico has been gathering to share our love of gaming, food and camaraderie in different places across the island. The group was formed over two years ago and after forging an electronic community and doing some demos at local conventions we finally decided to hold a social activity to get to know each other better. We settled on getting together on a park or other public place and someone suggested the idea of calling it a geeknic. He actually got the idea from geeknic.org, everybody loved the idea and we ran with it.

So far we’ve held five successful geeknics and we just keep growing! The geeknics are typically what we call “fiesta del sorullo plus” which roughly translates to a bring what you’ll eat and drink and a little extra to share! This upcoming 6^th geeknic, which in keeping with previous naming conventions we have called the Undiscovered Geeknic, will not be the exception. I’m preparing my famous (and artery clogging) Gordopleta© (my very own version of Tripleta) for participants, but usually it goes pretty fast so if you want a taste you better get there early.

There are games already planned, some Dark Heresy, some Pathfinder, and even a mysterious game the GM is being tight lipped about. Usually someone brings along a board game, Three Dragon Ante and Munchkin have been pretty popular, some people just sit back and share game stories, not that gamers do that. So we’ll have something for everybody.

I realize that probably most of our readers in Puerto Rico are also members of Puerto Rico Role Players, but on the odd chance you are from the island and did not know about us, are visiting this upcoming weekend, or have friends, families or acquaintances in Puerto Rico who may be interested in learning more about RPGs, playing a game or just hanging out with fellow geeks, pass it on. We’ll be meeting at the Luis Muñoz Rivera Park, Sunday July 3^rd from 9 AM to 6 PM. Be there for the greatest geeknic on earth!

I hope if nothing, this inspires to get together with a couple of friends and share your love of gaming with others. Thanks to the folk at geeknic.org for such a wonderful idea. Here is the link for the event in Facebook… Thanks for reading and have a great day!

Related posts:

1. Geeknic II: The Revenge!
2. Dying Earth is back with a vengeance!
3. Crazy Campaign Chronicles: Defenders of the Earth Redux or a Very Pulpy Future!

We all gathered together and travelled from sunny Puerto Rico to that mysterious land called Indiana. I loved going, it was fun, exciting and I spent far too much money! Since we went as a large group we spent most of our time together, I played little and had very little interaction with other convention goers. Amazingly for a gaming convention I only played a couple of encounters at the Wizards of the Coast room and some demos at booths, but that was it. My fellow travelers played some CCGs but that’s not my thing so I roamed the Exhibitors Hall and took a LOT of pictures.

When we left we all said “We are coming back!” And we meant it, but real life happens and putting together a trip where all of us can coordinate our schedules becomes harder and harder. Then I began writing for the blog, and last year when Michael said he was going I wanted to go to Gen Con and meet the Stargazer (i.e. Mr. Rock Star). Sadly work and other situations kept me from going, 2010 was not the year for me.

By the end of Gen Con 2010, seeing all the fun Michael had, I was convinced I just HAD to go this year. I had hoped Michael could make it back, but sadly it looks like I will be the sole representative of Stargazer’s World  at the convention this year (unless some of the other regular contributors is going, in which case I apologize for the mistake). The crew that went to Gen Con in 2007 tried to get together and go again this year but plans fell through. Still friends from Puerto Rico Role Players were going, and other friends living in the states as well, so I knew that if I went I would have people to hang with.

Knowing this I pre-registered and eventually got around to buy some airfare. A friend who was getting married that weekend actually changed the date of his wedding and will be traveling to Gen Con (Yamir you rock!) so everything was set. Then the complications started. I took on more responsibilities at work, new project started coming up and I began to question whether I would actually make it. In this uncertainty I put off getting a hotel reservation while things sorted themselves out.

Two weeks ago it looked like I would have to cancel and accept I would NOT be going to Gen Con Indy. But I negotiated, bartered, cajoled and I finally this week got the confirmation that I could take those days off. First thing I did was go online searching for a room. I knew it could be difficult to get a good room nearby this late in the game but I was willing to spend some money for the right place. Amazingly I managed to get a room at the Crowne Plaza Hotel Downtown at Union Station that from what I read is right next to the convention center!

So I’m all set, pre-registered, airfare and hotel. I’ll be arriving Wednesday August 3^rd at night and leave Sunday the 7^th at noon. What would I do different this time around? First what I don’t want to do.

1. Not buy so much! I am not complaining, last time around I had the disposable income to get pretty much whatever I wanted, but there is stuff I got back them I still have not used. I want to spend less time in the exhibitor’s hall.

What else… Ok on to the things I WANT to do!

1. Play more! This time I want to try and join some game (if I’m not too late and someone will have me) and maybe even Gm a game myself. I have a hotel room to myself so I can host and I would like to put it to good use.
2. Meet up with my friends from Puerto Rico and rock Gen Con Boricua style… I am trying to get in contact with all the fellow Puerto Rico gamers going so we can plan something. I’m looking forward to seeing Daniel, who will be working with This Just In From Gen Con. Last time we ran unto each other the LAST day of the con. I hope to correct that mistake this time around.
3. Meet some of the virtual friends I’ve made through the blog. Writing here I’ve met some amazing people, writers, publishers and readers who I keep in contact with here, in Facebook and Twitter. So I look forward to meet you! If you are interested drop me a line here, on Twitter (@Sunglar) or via email sunglat@hotmail.com, I’d love to talk in person.
4. Report for the blog. I’d like to use the time I’ll have in Gen Con to report on what’s going on, interview writers and publishers, and generally share my experience at the convention with our readers, like Michael did last year.

So it looks I have a full plate and it’s a pretty ambitions list. If I get to do a little bit of each I’ll be happy. Anything I’m missing, anything you would like to suggest? I’d sure want to know. So for now all I can say is see you at Gen Con!

PS – Here is a link to a video of Tavin Pumarejo, el Hígado de Ganso, a singer of “typical” Puerto Rican music. I used the cover of one of his old LPs for the last image in this post.

Related posts:

1. Twitter and me!
2. Gen Con 2011, a retrospective… Part 3: On to other stuff…
3. Gen Con 2011, a retrospective… Part 4!

I had a lot of toys as a kid. I was never into toy cars, model kits or sports paraphernalia. I liked board games, later electronic games, but my favorites where action figures. Most people my age remember the Star Wars Action Figures, GI Joe, He-Man and the Masters of the Universe, Transformer and the myriad other toys of that golden age of action figure and TV show synergy called the 80s. But I am old enough to remember some older toys, like the larger GI Joes and the Mego dolls (yes boys played with dolls!). In that transitional period from the larger doll type action toys and the supremacy of the smaller action figure there were one set of toys I was particularly fond of, the Fisher Price Adventure Series.

These were toys, according to the promotional sheet that is the first illustration on this post, designed for the growing child from three years of age into the early grades. They were play sets of real life professions, adventurers and other exciting activities. There was a safari set, ambulance, scuba divers and motorcyclists among others. Real life adventure heroes! Typically they had vehicles with two or more action figures with only 5 points of articulation. They were simple and fun and I spent hours playing with them, eventually amassing a large collection of Adventure Series figures and vehicles.

By now you may be thinking, what is this guy doing writing about toys in a role-playing blog? Well amazingly many of the games and storylines I played as a child have inspired me later in life either as themes for stories I have written, games plots or even entire campaigns. Others are still undeveloped waiting for the right time to become a campaign. This is the story of a weird little hybrid experience and how the toys of my youth inspired me. If you want the story of how I imagined this read on. If you just want to go to the details of the actual game scroll down the page, I’ll be sure to let you know when we are back on topic! (See this is almost like a “choose your own adventure” but only in post form).

BACKGROUND STORY (full of childhood reminiscing but no actual gaming involved)

The metaplot of the Adventure Series

The storyteller in me was active from an early age, even if I had no concept of what RPGs were or truly understand my love of telling a good yarn. This disparate set of Adventure Series action figures became a large group of interrelated people, with familial ties, relationships and antagonists (the effects of too many Latin American soap opera on a young impressionable mind!). At first my favorite was the Safari Set and the father of the group (I assumed he was the father, the woman dressed in yellow his wife and the others their kids) my “hero”. He was the protagonists of the stories and he and his family were usually aided in their adventures by the characters from the other sets. That’s how I eventually decided the two divers in green swimsuits were related to the safari family. The blond diver was their older daughter and the guy her boyfriend. The other two divers (actually a recolor of the same two diver figures, but with yellow swimsuits and the woman had brown hair) were the sister and husband of the safari mom.

But my adventures took an unexpected twist when during an outing to Kentucky Fried Chicken (back when it was not simply KFC and they only served chicken) I dropped the safari dad action figure and an employee sweeping the floor put him in the trash. I was devastated; I had no hero, what was to become of my Fisher Price adventures?

(Small aside here, I didn’t manage to replace safari dad for years, it wasn’t until much later when I managed to buy the toy in single card, and by then I had stopped playing with these toys much. But I did take them out to play out the return of the long lost father. But I’m getting ahead of myself, back to the story…)

I played around with my Adventure Series toys for a while and eventually found my new protagonists, the motorcycle guy. What made him the hero? Well besides the fact that he rode a motorcycle (which to me seemed like the coolest thing back then), he had two extra points of articulation, he could bend his knees! I soon renamed him Frank (again the name seemed cool to my young impressionable mind), he was an orphan who became a champion motorcycle driver that fell in love with the safari family’s older diver daughter, who left her boyfriend for him and all the animals the safari family had captured in their trips became Frank’s pets.(Does that mean as a child I wanted to be a motorcycle ridding guy with lions and other wild animals as pets? Back to the post…) The Action Series crew became a troubleshooting team lead by Frank. I eventually got other sets like a space shuttle and green robot figures so the group traveled all over the world, even to space.

The island of Rodan!

(SPOILER ALERT, read no further unless you want Christmas ruined!) At this age I would await the arrival of the big store Christmas catalogs with gusto. At five I had figured Santa Claus and the Three Kings, the major gift givers in the Puerto Rico holiday season mythology, did not exists and all the loot came from family members. So when the catalogs arrived I would flip to the toy section and begin circling all the toys I wanted. That Christmas while perusing one of the catalogs I came upon a mysterious toy… (END OF SPOILERS, safe to go back to reading!)

I discovered a Rodan toy and I wanted it! You can see the picture in this post. Which self respecting child would NOT want that red pterodactyl like creature perched on his arm? (The kid on the picture further down looks a little disturbed I know, but I did not get that subtlety back them). I had no idea who Rodan was, not having seen the “classic” Japanese movies, but I knew it was cool. So it went to the top of my Christmas loot list and the waiting began.

With some months to go I could not stop thinking about Rodan. I wanted to play with the toy, but since I could not I did the next best thing; I worked him into my stories. Frank and his Action Series crew were soon contacted to explore this mysterious island out in the middle of the ocean. When they arrived they discovered they were trapped, just like others before them. The island was populated by many other people (i.e. other toys) who had travelled there, and just like Frank and his team, were unable to leave. They also discovered the island travelled though time and to other worlds, so unless they found a way home soon they might never be able to leave. (This may sound strangely like LOST, but I was a big fan of Verne’s The Mysterious Island which my grandmother had read to me and the Mystery Island TV show, so those may be seen as more appropriate inspirations)

Frank and his crew began to investigate the island and learned about a mysterious being called Rodan. He lived in a volcano in the middle of the island and he was responsible for keeping everybody trapped. So Frank being the adventuresome fellow that he is gathers his crew and begins the trek across the islands jungles, mountains and rivers, to find this Rodan and escape. In their journey they met other people (again different toys) some that helped them and others that tried to stop them, one of the robots (yes there where Action Series robots) was corrupted and became a spy for those working to protect Rodan, some in the team decided Frank was not helping them escape but instead putting them in more danger and some even decided to stay and sabotaged Frank’s goals.

Months passed and Christmas was around the corner, by then Frank and his team, along with some allies they had picked along the way, where close to the volcano. They approached it the day before Christmas. I was ready for the next morning when I would open up the box, take Rodan out and play out the final confrontation. To my great disappointment the Rodan in the box had a broken wing… So my grandfather explained to me the toy would have to be sent back and I would eventually get a replacement. I was devastated, I had other gifts and it did NOT ruin my holyday season, but I wanted to keep playing with my then favorite toys, and I had been doing all this build up for nothing…

The best laid plans…

So I improvised. When Frank, his friends and allies enter the volcano they found a giant statue of Rodan but not the creature itself. Instead they faced and were captured by an evil scientist (the action figure of Doctor Hans Reinhardt from the Black Hole movie), as any good villain will oft do he explained his evil plans. Like all the others he had arrived in the island and become trapped, puzzled by the islands effect he travelled to the volcano and discovered machines that caused the islands erratic traveling across space and time. This apparently was a side effect, as the machines had been created to trap Rodan inside the volcano.

The evil scientist deciphered how the machines caused the islands traveling and took control of them; he made the island appear where he wanted to gather the specimens he desired for his experiments. And he was also Frank’s father! (Cue dramatic music… Too much soap operas I tell you!)

The group escaped, hid from evil scientist absentee dad (if you psychoanalyze me through play I’m sure this all would be telling) and plotted to stop his scheme and destroy the machines. This was all a delaying tactic on my part. I was just bidding my time until the replacement Rodan arrived.

When it did I was ready to finish this month long adventure. Frank and his friends defeated evil scientist dad and destroyed the machines causing the island to reappear on earth. As they were getting ready to leave the volcano begins to erupt. From the bowels of its lava prison emerged that terrible creature RODAN! They fought the beast, defeat it but it escapes the island and Frank’s team remains together to hunt and stop the destruction caused by releasing Rodan upon an unsuspecting world.

Looking back that seems like an awfully complex storyline for a child’s game, and I am sure in putting it in adult terms I have made it seem more mature than it was, but I had a vivid imagination and my family played with me a lot so I got their input and help as I played; and the ending? What a downer… I’m pretty sure my players will tell you thats the beginning of my obsession with endings where the good guys never truly win.

Back TO GAMING (or something nominally related…)

Inspired by my childhood games

Years later, when in college I wanted to play a modern game with a twist, a game were players would begin the as regular folk and them be thrown into an unexplained and dangerous situation. At the time I played a lot of Palladium games (Robotech, RIFTS, Heroes Unlimited, Ninjas & Superspies, TMNT, you name it!) so it seemed like the logical fit for my game.

Round 1…

I actually had two aborted starts to this game. In both instances I asked the players to create “normal” people, scientist, soldiers, and law enforcement officers and put them in weird situations. The first time around I attempted my adaptation of my childhood games with two players. I think one was an FBI agent and another police detective, both working the scene of a terrible train wreck. They were few survivors, but when they begin to investigate they realize the survivors were NOT passengers on the train. In included many famously disappeared people, including the crew of the Mary Celeste and some supposedly dead persons such as Christa McAuliffe, the teacher that died in the explosion of the Challenger Space Shuttle.

(A very important caveat, by using her as an NPC I meant no disrespect on her memory. It was a reference I knew both players would immediately get and be shocking, that’s all, sorry of anybody finds that disturbing. It was NOT my intention!)

When they interview the presumed dead teacher they learn the crew of the Challenger did NOT die in the explosion. They instead found themselves transported somewhere else. There they joined other people who seemed to be likewise taken from Earth and other places. They fought evil and secretive overlords that kept them isolated in different regions of a larger landmass, each region separated by nearly insurmountable mountains. These overlords would pit one group against another through manipulation and deception. The people that arrived in the train wreck were a group of rebels who used a portal to escape.

When the PCs examine the devices the escapees from this “other world” brought along with them they discover they are emitting a signal in a hitherto unknown frequency (yes I know how implausible that sounds, but it is after all a game!). Soon after an island appears in the middle of the Atlantic, the media begins to call it Atlantis and the players were in route to investigate, and that was that. We never played that game again. They were supposed to get there and get lost in an island travelling through space and time.

Round 2…

I tried the idea a second time, with a larger group including the same two players that had participated on the first version of the campaign. Again I used the Palladium system, but this time around I planned a little more. I asked each player to create a real world person, any profession, but someone who would be one of the top people in his or her own field. I also asked them not to create loners, I wanted fully fleshed out persons with families and responsibilities. All the better to tie them to their real lives and motivate them to try to return once they became trapped in the island.

They were all gathered by the US Government and flown to a ship in the Pacific Ocean. There they were briefed on the sudden appearance of an island in the middle of the ocean. The island had appeared 72 hours earlier and while satellites confirmed its existence they could NOT gather any data as they went haywire over the landmass. The team had been put together to go in and explore, determine where it came from and if it posed any danger.

There were a couple of wrenches thrown into the mix, one of the NPCs was a supposed psychic who had predicted the islands arrival, but he was in fact a psychopath serial killer contacted by the island’s mysterious masters to bring people to the island. Also the military team providing support for the exploration team had been infiltrated by an agent of the island’s masters.

The teams arrived on the island by boat and soon discovered the jungles were populated by dinosaurs (a nod to Jurassic Park, it was BIG back then). After capturing a few specimens and making camp the team got to testing them. The military support noticing movement out in the jungle deployed out only to be betrayed by the mole and ambushed. So the team was left without their military back up and soon was under attack from bipedal evolved dinosaurs commanding cybernetic velociraptors.

This was another game idea we never played after the initial session. Some of the players were not excited about the execution other simply were uninterested. I had planned for them to meet the evolved dinosaur men who would be the antagonists during the first few session, they would learn that they were trapped in the island, about the secret masters and find the first clues that would take them to other regions in the island. In a way it would have been a multi genre game, like TORG or RIFTS, except the rationale behind WHY all this disparate genres would be meshed together would have been different

Final thoughts

I still have hopes of running this game. I think as a campaign it has a lot of possibilities. I think the system I chose back then was a bad fit. Something more conductive to storytelling, perhaps Fudge or FATE, or even Savage Worlds which I think my players might prefer over those other two. So this is a crazy campaign I hope to tackle some day, maybe at the old role –player’s home.

Like I said before this may sound a lot like the LOST TV show but it all happened long before the show was aired. I’m not claiming I created LOST before there was LOST, like many things we create we are burrowing ideas and tropes from those that created before us. A lost land, filled with wonder from which you cannot escape has been the subject of many stories before and will likely be again.

There are many other sources of inspiration to this campaign idea, some more obvious than others besides my childhood games. The Riverworld series by Philip José Farmer and the Dungeon series of books, my love of Jules Verne, and some other stories like those of Burroughs, all jumbled in with my childhood games. But ultimately the idea for the campaign is for a group of people trapped in another place, doing their best to escape and return to their normal lives. I hope I can play it someday…

PS – I do not have ANY pictures of the toys I talked about above, all the images were scoured form across the internet, I hold no rights or ownership over any of them and use them to merely illustrate the posts, and hopefully mildly amuse you with the captions.

Related posts:

1. Crazy Campaign Chronicles: Defenders of the Earth Redux or a Very Pulpy Future!
2. Mad Ramblings of a Crazy GM
3. Chronicles of the Four Dragons

I figured I had a pretty diverse set of miniatures from these two games. True the Battle Masters minis had unit bases with various miniatures grouped together, but I solved this by getting some foam board, cutting out bases and inserting the miniature on the base. I packed them on some craft supplies boxes and I was set. I told myself I needed no more minis.

See, I had friends who owned a LOT of minis. I had played some Battletech and Epic but always with their miniatures, and I had seen the obsession with these little then lead, and later pewter, figurines. I had flirted with the idea of painting them, actually ordering a set of dwarves and skavens and trying my hand at painting them… Let’s just say the results were less than flattering. Unpainted miniatures looked so, unattractive that I was uninterested in them, so I figured that with no natural talent I was immune to the lure of miniatures.

So for the first couple of months I was happy with my box of HeroQuest minis and the game proceeded along nicely. It took me a while to get used to the miniatures at the table but I came to embrace them. Then WizKids started making the pre-painted Mage Knight miniatures and I told myself “I can get a couple of those sets and supplement my minis collection”. And so I started down a slippery slope…

Then Wizards of the Coast put out the D&D miniatures, little plastic pre-painted representations of the heroes and monsters of my favorite game. I tried to be casual about it, told myself “I am only getting a box to see them and that’s that”. Back home I stared at them in awe, they had removed my main obstacle for collecting miniatures, I did not have to paint them. I could take them out of the box and use them. I was hooked.

For some timer I would buy cases of every set they put out, and get all the special miniatures they put out, and then came the Star Wars minis game, and the Star Wars Starship Battles.  You get the idea, I was addicted. I had been bitten by the Plastic Crack bug. My friend José was the first one who told me about the term and it was true. I craved these plastic miniatures; I had to have them all!

Eventually I realized I had enough, and not enough place to store them, so I became more selective, getting only the occasional booster and some individual minis in the secondary market. I still got the dragons, the AT-AT, the recent Beholders set and of course, Orcus! But slowly, little by little, I got away from my addiction and for a very long time I kept away from plastic crack.

And then I recently fell off the wagon. José, the very same friend who introduced me to the plastic crack term, got back into Warhammer 40K and started telling me about some great deals on Rackham miniatures on eBay. I had always like the miniatures, and they had made some nice plastic pre-painted one, I just had to look. Soon after I was buying a set and watching a couple more, I was off the wagon and craving my plastic miniatures!

So imagine my rejoicing when I heard about the upcoming Pathfinder miniatures by WizKids. I’m really looking forward to this set. It feels like I’m coming full circle. I want to get me some of those miniatures, and there is a couple of other Rackham sets I’m keeping my eyes on.

What’s your experience with minis? Do you use them? Do you paint them?

PS – And just in case you don’t get the reference in the title, here is the video where it comes from:

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ytJpZguSy2U

PS2 – (Shameless plug) If you live in Puerto Rico, or will be here soon, on June 4^th the Puerto Rico Role Players group will be hosting a miniature painting day where we will share tips and ideas on how to get the most of your minis. We’d love to see you there!

Related posts:

1. Free Stuff Friday: One Monk Miniatures
2. D&D 4th Edition without miniatures
3. My Orcus & Me!

When I first got into gaming the first place I remember seeing RPG related books and boxed sets was a small quirky book store in Old San Juan, The Book Store. The owner sat behind the cashier and knew almost all his clients, they had a small sci-fi section in the back and under the shelves holding these books were some baskets holding the aforementioned books and boxed sets along with several assorted war games.

When my mom brought me the red box Basic Set I got it at this place. I remember it being dimly lit and musty smelling, which added to the mystique of getting the game. Later I learned that a local hobby shop which mostly carried models had a shelf with RPG modules and books piles together haphazardly in the back. Likewise the local K-Bee Toy Store had a bunch of books there hidden among the board games. I was soon rifling through these stacks to get my grubby little hands on them. And then I discovered the gaming sections in B. Dalton Booksellers and Bell, Book and Candle (a local book store) with their organized well stocked gaming sections. I was in nerdvana!

And for the longest time these were my main sources of games. I went there every month to get my Dragon magazine, and in the back of that fine publication were ads for game catalogs. They promised access to games I had never seen, so I sent out for the catalogs. A couple came in and I devoured them, and then came the granddaddy of them all. Printed in newsprint it read like the classified ads peppered with the black and white small image of a cover or miniature. The Wargames West (click on that link to see I’m not the only one who remembers them fondly, and see some nice pictures of the catalog itself)  catalog changed my life. It was there that I read about the Robotech RPG for the first time, or Mega Traveller, and where I got the games I could not get in the local book stores.

Every time the Wargames West catalog would come in I would sit down and examine it. I would circle every game and miniature I wanted and then add it up, realizing my allowance would never cover the hundreds of dollars I wanted I would be forced to trim down. I remember sending in my orders and waiting with bated breath for the package. It was then that I discovered the hellish nuances of shipping, especially if it came via UPS. My relationship with UPS has improved and now they are greatly efficient, but back then it would be impossible to get the package delivered properly.

So went my life for the longest time, until comic store and game stores began to pop up in Puerto Rico. Soon I was ordering my games at the same place where I got my comics. I loved comics so much that I was soon working at a comic and games store. These were dark times for my income. I was the perfect employee, the kind who would get his paycheck and give it right back buying stuff. It was a wolf watching the sheep situation, but I was the sheep!

Back then I got most of my games at the store I worked, and even after I quit working there I was a faithful client. All through this time whenever I would travel to the United States one of the first things I would do was look for the yellow pages and search for game stores, make a list and try to see how many I could visit. I would use these opportunities to get games I could not get back home.

Somehow that happened less and less often. Distribution got better, I could get most games locally, and after the arrivals of big chain book stores games were even more accessible. As this was happening I was also becoming more and more comfortable with online purchases and embracing the idea of digital books. That last step was totally embraced when carrying the books around became viable, first with laptops and now with readers and smart phones. I had gone from the thrill of searching for the unknown in small mysterious book stores, to embracing the idea that getting a book in PDF is almost just as good as getting the real thing. It’s been a fun ride; I wonder where we’ll go next?

These days I get lots of books in digital format, get most of my RPG related books via online stores or retailers, and buy miniatures from specialist sites or even e-bay. Sometimes if I have a coupon and they have the book I want I may get it at a large chain bookstore. Occasionally I get game books at my friendly local gaming store, I still believe in supporting them, but mostly big releases from major brands. They seldom carry the independent or small press stuff and I understand why.  There is a proliferation of smaller local stores catering to the CCG crowd, but branching out into games. I feel the desire to support them and help the local market grow so I’ll be visiting them soon to try to put some of my money where my mouth is and hell the local gaming scene grow. I’ll let you know how it goes…

So now it’s my term to ask, how do you get your games? How did you use to? Has your experience been similar to mine? I look forward to your comments…

Related posts:

1. Games I was sad to see go away…
2. Gen Con 2011, a retrospective… Part 1: Role Playing Games
3. Time to Speak Out with my Geek Out… Role-Playing Games in my case!

We have cons, but they are a different affair. For the longest time they would be dealers of collectibles gathered in one location, it would be purely commercial. Then they became affairs where they would bring some famous (or semi famous guests) to draw people in and there would be a dealer room. Things have evolved and currently we have at last three established cons, two are really centered round cosplay, anime and manga. Including dance routines, skits and competitions, with various other hobbies represented in the mix, from CCGs, to model builders, Star Wars and historical re-enactors, and now role-playing enthusiasts. There is another convention more centered on comics and media (movies and TV) but I have never participated as a presenter.

This past weekend the latest Kaisen convention, Kaisen: Infinity, was held, the eighth the organizers have put together. I have gone to five of those, and on the last two the Puerto Rico Role Players Facebook group has participated.  I have written about the group before, and specifically about one of the games we played this week. One of the things we do is spread the word about just what RPGs are and encourage people to game. This weekend was no exception, we ran two demos games, Sailor Moon (yes we did, I guess it was the right venue for it) and a Weird West game. I had also planned a Resolute, Adventurer & Genius game I did not get to run due to time constrains.

We showed newbies what an RPG is; some have joined the group afterwards. We also told people what RPGs are even if they did not sit down and play. It was refreshing to talk with parents of kids there to play CCGs who had never heard of role-playing, and to meet people who had not played since high school. It felt like time well spent.

And it’s not easy on your weekend taking a day to man a booth, talk to people and run games. Mind you I was not alone! I had some of the Puerto Rico Role Players crew with me, kudos to them. Despite the hard work I would do it again in a heartbeat. So, after this entire ramble, on to the title of this post, what are the pros of conventions?

You get to meet new people. No matter how big or small your gaming community you can’t know everybody. A booth or table at a con, specially a con NOT geared exclusively to games lets you educate people about RPGs. There is always the concern of running into people, who disapprove of games, but the crowd at these cons is pretty accepting and I am yet to run into any negative reaction.

But handing out information is not enough, you need to show just what an RPG is and there is no better way than actually sitting down and playing. We have tried running Pathfinder, D&D 4^th edition, with some success, but these games a little more complex. I really think simple, pickup games lend themselves better to learn what the game is and picking it up quickly. MicroLite, Weird West, Warrior, Rogue & Mage have been excellent games to play at cons. Sailor Moon were a great choice for the crowd. I may not know what Sailor Moon was about never having seen it, but people playing it certainly knew all the details and nuances and they had great fun.

And the best part of cons? Well it’s the gaming of course! Once upon a time I dreaded the prospect of playing with strangers, not anymore! There are people I only game with at conventions (or the Geeknics we put together), friends who don’t sit regularly at my table who I get to play with. And then there are new gamers. I just love the look on a newbies eyes when they “get it”.

So I would publicly like to thank the organizers of Kaisen for giving us a place to game, looking forward to the next Kaisen, and come June we will also be participating at the Central Fan Fest. So if you live in Puerto Rico, are planning to come down this way, join us and let’s roll some dice.

I tweeted something like this the other day, if every role-player shows at least one person how to game, we would double the fan base. Simple mathematics! It’s a little tongue in cheek but I mean it… So in closing and I have made this point before, spread the word. Share your love for RPGs with whoever will listen. A convention is a great opportunity, but it could be a local library, hosting a game in your FLGS. Go other there and game!

Related posts:

1. Post Christmas Gaming Loot!
2. Breaking the d20 Paradigm
3. Come one, come all, to the greatest geeknic on earth!

PRESS RELEASE

Wolf-Micheri Ltd. Publishing

Löhnberg, Germany

San Juan, Puerto Rico

editorinchief@wmltdpub.com

April 1^st, 2011

The much beloved sci-fi game Alternity is back with a vengeance! The RPG originally published by Wizards of the Coast in the late 90s continues to have a huge fan base online, long after the line was discontinued by its publisher. The fans have clamored for a new edition and we listened. The newly formed Wolf-Micheri Ltd. Publishing has acquired the rights to publish Alternity materials.

The publishers have confirmed they are working on a second edition of the game integrating years of fan developments. They also intend to integrate the best innovations in game design theory that has developed since the line’s cancellation.

The stated purpose is for all past Alternity products to be partially compatible with the new edition with minor conversions. The new books, to be published in electronic form first and via major POD services in the coming months, will continue to be developed around the core two books; one aimed at players, the other at game masters.

The development team is composed of the best and brightest game developers in the blogosphere and Mr. Micheri has confirmed the new edition of Alternity will integrate elements modern gamers have come to expect: tactical combat rules, rules for the use of miniatures in the games, an upcoming miniature line, random collectable cards for skills, psionics, bionics and special equipment. The publisher went on to say, “Just because we criticize others for doing, doesn’t mean we won’t milk this baby for all its worth!”

Stay tuned to the blog for the launch of the official website coming soon.

Be ready for a new, exciting Alternity RPG. Not your father’s sci-fi game!

Have a great first day of April…

Related posts:

1. A word on our Alternity April Fool’s post
2. Review: Alternity
3. Alternity memories…