Posts from Stargazer’s World will be included in OGT2

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Category : Blogging, Open Game Table, RPG, Site News

OGT Vol. 1 I have known this for some time now, but I wanted to wait with this announcement, to give Jonathan Jacobs the chance to post it first: Several of my articles written for Stargazer’s World and one guest post I wrote for Philippe Ménard’s “Musings of the ChattyDM” (now part of Critical Hits) have been selected for the upcoming Open Game Table Vol. 2! I want to sincerly thank my readers, the peer reviewers and editorial board for considering my works as interesting and relevant enough to be included into the Open Game Table. And I can’t wait to get my hands on the final book.

For more information on the first volume of OGT and the upcoming Vol. 2, check out Jonathan’s blog “The Core Mechanic”. There’s also a complete list of all participating blogs. Congratulations to all bloggers who made it into that list. It’s an honor to be among such formidable folks!

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Open Game Table Vol. 2: Nominations!

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Category : News, Reviews & Culture, Open Game Table, RPG

OGT logo On Saturday Jonathan Jacobs posted the list of nominations for Open Game Table Vol. 2 on his blog “The Core Mechanic” and it seems a few of my posts made the list, too. Yay me!
There were 135 nominations for Volume 1 but this time, 375 blog posts have been nominated. I fear the reviewers will have a lot to do this year.

And I agree with Jonathan when he considers this a massive success. The high number of nominations shows that the interest in a RPG blog anthology is even higher than last year. Perhaps we can even start dreaming about a Volume 3. ;)
In my humble opinion, there are quite a few talented people out there in the RPG blogosphere and I am pretty sure Volume 2 of the OGT will be as good as Volume 1 if not better. Although I try to follow a lot of RPG blogs I always seem to miss a few of the true gems out there. But I am confident, that I’ll find a few of those great articles in the upcoming OGT. And while we are waiting for the reviewers to do their job, why not read a few of the articles that made it last year? If you haven’t done so already, you should really buy a copy of OGT Vol. 1 at Lulu. And if you already own a copy, why not give a copy away as a gift?

I am very happy that Jonathan decided to go ahead and create OGT Vol.2. By the way, if you have never heard of the Open Game Table before, check out this post to read about how it all started. And while you are at it, check out my favorite article from Volume 1: Berin Kinsman’s “Get Your Dice Off My Lawn!

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Open Game Table Vol. 2 is coming!

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Category : Blogging, News, Reviews & Culture, Open Game Table, RPG

Wahoo! This is great news! Jonathan Jacobs has decided that he wants to go forward with OGT Vol. 2 for Summer 2010. This time, the OGT will be released simultaneously as an ebook and retail print version via Studio2Publishing.

But of course he still needs a) a peer review panel and b) nominations for blog posts. If you want to sign up for the peer review panel, you can submit your information here. In the case, you want to nominate worthy blog posts, you can submit up to 5 URLs at a time here.

I would be more than honored  if anyone would nominate some of my posts. Since the nomination phase for OGT Vol. 1 I have written quite a few popular posts, and it would be great if another of my posts found their way into the second volume as well. Thanks in advance! And if this isn’t a good time to dig the archives of you favorite RPG blogs, I don’t know what is. ;)

On a related note, Jonathan has decided to start blogging again, so head over to his blog “The Core Mechanic” and check out his latest posts!

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Get the Open Game Table for $4.99 until November 30th

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Category : News, Reviews & Culture, Open Game Table, RPG

OGT cover Jonathan Jacobs has reduced the price of the PDF version of the Open Game Table: The Anthology of Roleplaying Game Blogs, Vol. 1 to just $4.99 until the end of the month! If you don’t own a copy, yet, this is your chance!

And if you don’t know what the OGT is about check out the product information from Amazon.com:

Open Game Table is aimed at bridging the gap between the RPG blogging community and the broader table-top gaming fan base by showcasing the best talent the community has to offer. Within these pages are 47 blog posts from 32 top-quality RPG blogs, plus a Foreword written by RPG luminary Wolfgang Baur.

Packed with juicy content and over 60 illustrations, this book is Pure Gold. The book chapters include:

1 – Play Style;
2 – Game Play;
3 – Characters & Players;
4 – Monsters & NPCs;
5 – Encounters, Settings, and Locations;
6 – Adventure Design;
7 – Campaign Setting Design;
8 – Classes, Action, and Equipment;
9 – RPG History & Commentary; and
10 – The RPG Toolbox.

This anthology is the result of the hard work of nearly 100 volunteers, authors, editors, judges, artists, and designers. A true grass roots effort; it is a tour de force of the RPG blogging universe.

This book contains the articles of many members of the RPG Bloggers Network including my very own post about Firearms in D&D 4th Edition. If you are still unsure, if you want to buy it, check out what WIRED Magazine wrote about the OGT:

The Open Game Table Anthology is a treasure trove. A tome worth slaying a few orcs for. Because it had such a diverse range of material to choose from it has been able to collate not just quality writing and ideas, but a real breadth of discussion that you don’t get as often as you would like in role playing materials. There are chapters for GMs and DMs on Play Stlyle, Monsters and NPCs and Campaign Setting Design. There are articles for players such as "Advice On Being A Good Player". My favorite chapter was Chapter 9 which details some great historical moments and commentary on how RPGs have become what they are today. Open Game Table has two clear strengths: content and content. The quality of the content and the breadth of the content make this anthology worth the money. The amount of ideas for GMs on how to handle player conflict, managing scenes, improving your role playing are well chosen and topical. In many ways, this book is like a continuous improvement handbook for RPG groups across the globe. It has ideas and tips throughout each article that can help you create better games and engage better as an RPG Group and ultimately have more fun – which is what it is all about, really. Braunstein I personally would buy the whole book for just the section on RPG History. The article that describes a young Dave Arneson taking all before him in "Braunstein" – the world’s first ever role playing game – is delightful. The passion with which the author, Ben Robbins encourages us all to talk to those who were at the beginning of it all, and to capture and learn from that history is what an anthology like this is all about…

Check out the full review here.

To get your discount, please use this link: http://is.gd/548Ox

Open Game Table now available as PDF

Category : News, Reviews & Culture, Open Game Table, RPG

Yesterday Jonathan Jacobs, editor of “Open Game Table: The Anthology of Roleplaying Game Blogs, Vol. 1”, and co-founder of Nevermet Press has let us know that the OGT is now finally available as PDF on Lulu (RPGNow will follow). So, if you haven’t ordered a copy yet, because you were waiting for a digital version, now is your chance.

The OGT is a compilation of the best roleplaying game blog articles of 2008 and if you ask me, every gamer should have at least one copy on his or her bookshelf! If you want to learn more about the OGT, why not check out my review?

UPDATE: It’s now available on RPGNow, too!

OGT available at Amazon.co.uk and Amazon.de

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Category : News, Reviews & Culture, Open Game Table, RPG

Open Game TableThis morning I noticed that the “Open Game Table” is finally available at Amazon.de and Amazon.co.uk! This is good news for us Europeans, since shipping from the US not only takes ages but also can be pretty expensive.
I’ve also posted my review I wrote for the Amazon.com product page on both sites as well. Perhaps this helps to increase the sales and we’ll see an OGT Volume 2 after all. :)

If you have no idea what the OGT actually is, check out my review.