RPGBN Update
RPG Bloggers Network
Dave Chalker officially announced that the RPG Bloggers Network will be handed off to Duane O’Brien of A Terrible Idea. You can read the announcement at the RPGBN Google Group. The short of it is that Duane’s proposal was unanimously chosen and represented the best compromise between the submitted proposal.
What does this mean for RPGBN members? Probably nothing. I suspect it will be a seamless transition. With the exception of a few possible technical problems, it will be business as usual. Duane has yet to comment publicly on the details of his plan, but I imagine that will come soon enough.
Congrats to Duane for writing the winning proposal and I look forward to seeing the RPGBN continue to grow and evolve.
Listening to: Dethklok -Dethalbum II – Laser Cannon Deth Sentence
RPG Blogosphere Update
RPG Bloggers Network
If you read this blog, you are mostly likely aware that I belong to the RPG Bloggers Network, but you may not have been aware the operators of the network have decided to step down and possibly transfer ownership of the powerful feed aggregator.
If you’re an avid fan of the RPGBN, I wouldn’t worry about anything. Chris Tregenza of 6d6 Fireball is creating a proposal to submit to the soon to be defunct operators. Since his team is the only other proposal I was aware of (the other one having been withdrawn), it seems likely that 6d6 will be hosting the RPGBN soon. Even if the network just closes shop, there are many new feed aggregates popping up such as the Savage Bloggers Network (for Savage Worlds) and RPB Bloggers.
The withdrawn proposal was created by Berin Kinsman of UncleBear. I am going to assume that the RPGBN carried too much baggage (technologically & otherwise) for Berin to want to seriously invest anytime with. So instead, fresh off introducing a new social network for New Mexico fan communities, he has created the Role Play Media Network using the Ning platform.
The RPMN (always room for another acronym) targets podcasters, bloggers, publishers, and their audience and fans. While feeds can be found on the network, its job is not to be a feed aggregator. Its job is to serve as communication hub for RPG fans. So I recommend you go over there and sign up, it already has 220 or more members and growing fast.
Listening to: Rob Zombie - Hellbilly Deluxe 2: Noble Jackals, Penny Dreadfuls, & the Systematic Dehumanization of Cool - Sick Bubble-Gun
Blogosphere Projects of Interest
Yesterday, I mentioned a few of the contests that had caught my eye (most notably because of the awesome prizes that could be won). Today I want to mention some really cool projects, that aren’t contests, being initiated by my fellow bloggers.
4etopia Forums
Quinn Murphy, perhaps better known as gamefiend from At-Will, has created the 4etopia forums dedicated to constructive discussion about 4e. The goals of 4etopia are probably best summed up by Quinn himself:
Why forums? I wanted a dedicated spot to talk 4th edition, pure and simple. I wanted a place where there wasn’t a lot of time wasted defending why we play (edition warriors please stay out!) and where the community could get right to the point of discussing the game.
Also I wanted dedicated space to discuss specific aspects of 4e that I feel don’t get enough attention. 4etopia has forums for discussing encounter design, and skill challenges, things that just don’t get enough love. There are places to chat about DPR, rules discussions, etc. I love to talk about all these things as well, but there are places you can go for that already. I certainly don’t want to duplicate anyone’s efforts! 4etopia is here for frank discussion of how we engage (as players) and create engagement (as DMs). Most importantly, it’s a place that’s meant to be fun.
Visit the forums, start a thread, and enjoy! Can’t wait to see you there.
Green Devil Face
Green Devil Face is a magazine being produce by James Raggi IV, the (sometimes controversial but always in your face) old school advocate from Lamentations of the Flame Princess. I need to get my hands on these cheap (less than $3.50) hand-assembled magazines to see the crazy shit James and his contributors have cooked up. Oh and did I mention James is taking submissions? Once again, I’ll use the words of the creator to best describe the project:
Green Devil Face, the zine, is a community project. It is intended to provide traditional fantasy RPG referees with game material that can be inserted as-is into their games. Detail is encouraged to give the reader the exact sense of how the author would play the trap out in-game, and of course the referee reading it is free to use that or substitute his own ideas as appropriate.
If you have a particularly original or clever trap, room, item, or tricky situation that you’ve used in one of your games and that you would like to share, submit it for publication in a future issue of Green Devil Face. We can’t pay anything, but you keep the rights to your work, and you get to see your name in print. All contributors get a copy of the final finished printed product.
GDF is also in need of an original logo, plus it would be nice to feature original artwork in future issues, so budding artists out there are encouraged to submit material as well.
A new issues will be released whenever 28 pages of content are filled, so submit now, and submit often!
Megadungeon.net
I think Monte Cook’s Dungeon-A-Day megadungeon service jumpstarted James Maliszewski of Grognardia to kick of his free community-based megadungeon project. Megadungeon.net presents the ongoing creation of a massive dungeon of Urheim that exists beneath the ruined Monastery of St. Gaxyg. Of course, I’ll steal the words of the project manager to help fully describe the project:
In addition to detailing the dungeon, its inhabitants, mysteries, tricks, traps, and treasures, I plan to use this site to discuss the philosophy of building a megadungeon, otherwise known as a “campaign dungeon,” because its purpose is to be the focus of an entire campaign rather than the locale for a single adventure.
Megadungeon.net will grow slowly, adding new material on an irregular basis. Some weeks there may be lots of updates, while others may have none at all. The speed with which Urheim is detailed will depend on when I get good ideas or when I receive sufficient submissions from contributors. Anyone who wishes to contribute is welcome to do so. One of my goals is to make this as collaborative a project as I am able. What that means is that, if you have an idea, big or small, feel free to send it in and I’ll do my best to find a way to use it. This includes alternate takes on elements I’ve already described, since options are an important part of the old school approach to gaming I prefer. I’m interested in submissions of any type, including cartography and artwork. Guidelines for submission can be found here.
One more thing, almost the entirety of the contents on this website (artwork and cartography being the primary exceptions) are designated Open Game Content under the Open Game License. That means you can take things from Urheim and use them in your own published products provided you include the Copyright Notice from Section 15 in your own copy of the OGL.
RPGBN Community Forums
Michael Wolf, who goes by Stargazer from Stargazer’s World, resurrected Phil Menard’s (The ChattyDM) old cobweb collecting forums and rebranded it as the official RPG Bloggers Network Community Forums. There are boards for Blogging, Game Reports, Other Geek Topics, Play-by-Post games, and many more. If you are looking for a new general RPG forum to hang out on because your current haunt has become a haven of suck, then head over there!
RPGBN Shared Setting
Enrique Bertran, the NewbieDM, initiated the RPGBN shared setting project where bunches of our fellow bloggers are busy carving out some crazy, serious, and humorous pieces of the world (using a map I donated that has been nicely modified to include a hex grid!). This is a long term deal without a lot of pressure, but there are some interesting things being created over there, go check it out and send your encouragement to all the bloggers!
If I missed an exciting project out there, pipe up and let me know in the comments!
Listening to: Mudvayne – Lost and Found – Fall into Sleep
gamingRPGBNrpgroleplayingprojects
Plunder the RPG Blogosphere
Get Some Loot!
The loot is just pouring out of the RPG blogosphere this Spring. I see some really cool projects kicking off; all heralded (in my honest opinion) by the pioneering Open Game Table Anthology. We have several contests supported by the publishers. I hope it is the beginning of a trend where we will see more of the publishers utilizing the blogging community to reach their target audience. It’s definitely a win-win situation.
Top 25 RPGs Contest
Zachary Houghton of the RPG Blog II finished collecting entries to determine the Top 25 RPGs yesterday. You know what the coolest part of this contest was? All you had to do was email Zachary with your picks for the best RPG and you didn’t even need to send 25! Some random winners will collect goodies donated by some really cool sponsors. Prizes include:
Crafty Games
-Spycraft 2.0 Rulebook
-Spycraft: World on Fire
RPG Objects
-Modern^20
-Darwin’s World 2: Survivor’s Handbook
-Blood and Space 2: Galactic Edition
-Blood and Fists: Master Edition
One Bad Egg/Evil Hat
-Swashbucklers of the 7 Skies
-One Bad Egg PDF Prize Pack (items to be determined)
Postmortem Studios
-RPG PDF Prize Pack (items to be determined)
6d6 Adventure Writing Competition
Hey, the Top 25 RPGs contest may be over, but there are still a couple of cool contests whose deadlines have not elapsed. A few weeks ago, 6d6 Fireball announced their Adventure Writing Competition. Chris & Rob are looking for a 3.5 D&D OGL compatible adventure that features bearded devils somewhere in the adventure (minimum 2000 words).
The prize for the competition is pretty slick, not only do you get credited for a published adventure and a copy, but you’ll get 100% of the profits. Yeah, ALL of the PROFITS. Hey you might make zero dollars or you might make a couple hundred, but you’ll get experience either way. The deadline for the 6d6 Adventure Writing Competition is May 12, so get writing now!
One Page Dungeon Contest
Chgowiz, of Chgowiz’s Old Guy RPG Blog, and the Chatty DM, of Musings of the Chatty DM have teamed together to present the One Page Dungeon Contest. New School & Old School collide to jam on creating the best one page dungeon! They even provide a template to put your dungeon on.
The deadline for this contest is May 14th and the prizes are too many to list here so go over to either of the blogs and check out the details. I will mention the sponsors though:
- Brave Halfling Publishings
- DungeonADay
- Fight On Magazine
- Goblinoid Games
- Goodman Games
- Mythmere Games
- Necromancer Games
- NeonCon
- Obsidian Portal
- Open Design
- Otherworld Miniatures
- Smiteworks
- Tabletop Adventure
Listening to: Danzig - Danzig IV - Little Whip
gamingTop 25 RPGsd20rpgroleplayingcontests
Cast Your Votes for the Top 25 RPGs
Zachary, over at the RPB Blog II, has built a mighty big list of roleplayer’s favortite RPGs. You’ve seen (if you haven’t, you should) his Great RPG Tournament, where the best RPG (Hackmaster) was determined by the roll of dice. But now you, the reader, can proclaim your favortie roleplaying game and cast your votes to determine which RPGs are the Top 25 of All Time.
As far as how each RPG gets scored, I’ll post the words of Zachary himself:
I’m looking for people’s lists of the RPGs that have had the brought the most influence, entertainment, and fun to their experience in the gaming hobby. You can rank up to 25 games, but if you don’t want to do that many or don’t have that many, please rank at least 10. I will be tabulating points wherein a 1st-place vote gets 25 points, a 2nd- place vote gets 24, on down to a 25th-place vote getting 1 point (not unlike the AP Football poll).
The poll goes live today and will remain open for two weeks. Head over there now and put in a good word for your favorite RPG. It is an excellent opportunity to introduce and discuss some roleplaying games that may be flying under the radar or forgotten in the sands of time.
Here is my list:
1. D&D 3.0/3.5
2. Original Dungeons & Dragons
3. Dungeons & Dragons 2nd Edition
4. Vampire: the Masquerade
5. New World of Darkness
6. Call of Cthulhu
7. Savage Worlds
8. Rolemaster
9. MERP
10. Rifts
11. d6 Star Wars
12. Mutants & Masterminds
13. Hero System/Champions
14. Alpha Omega
15. GURPS
16. Warhammer FRPG
17. Dark Heresy
18. Deadlands
19. Ars Magica
20. Pendragon
21. All Flesh Must Be Eaten
22. Castles & Crusades
23. Pathfinder RPG
24. Traveller
25. RuneQuest
Special Notes
Original Dungeons & Dragons: The most influential RPG in history, hands down. Because it was the first popular published RPG and has spawned 4 1/2 direct descedent editions of the RPG with the most market share. It’s where the whole hobby started, and for that we owe it some appreciation.
D&D 3.5: It gave use the OGL, and through the OGL a record number of supporting third party material. It is responsible for changing the publishing paradigm from closely guarded licensing to open source. And even with 4e in full swing, the 3.5 crowd still commands a surprising share of the hobby.
Call of Cthulhu: The most terrifying RPG in the history of table top. White Wolf may have broke into the mainstream with its gothic-punk brands, but Chaosium still owns the horror genre. CoC is responsible for bringing the horror of Lovecraft to many unsuspecting (and now insane) game tables.
Vampire: The Masquerade: VtM, and its sister settings, brought the ability to cast yourself as one of the hallmark monsters of horror. White Wolf also brought the play style of storytelling mainstream, regardless of the fact that the rules were actually a power gamer’s dream.
All Flesh Must Be Eaten: How can you not like a game where you become the meal of George Romero’s most popular antagonists? Possibly the flagship title of Eden Studio’s Unisystem, AFMBE is a landmark in the world of roleplaying.
