LotFP: RPG: Edition Wars

I've got other things going on for a week or two so posting will be light. But when something must be said...

This post here bemoans Tim Kask's editorial in the newly-released Knockspell. More specifically, it complains about Kask's antagonistic tone.

Readers can guess how much sympathy I have for that complaint.

Antagonism is a completely natural, and perhaps unavoidable, when it comes to the 'Old School Renaissance' (or as I like to think of it, 'The Age of the Return to Reason,' to continue the antagonism). For several reasons.

Thanks to the power of technology...

I can blog from my cell phone!

Edit: It doesn't give the post a title, but this is nice because it means that I can add micro-blogging directly to Dorkland!

Ron Edwards Too Good For Indie Press Revolution

Its a bit of old news, but it isn't something that I would have caught the first time around. Since distribution models in the RPG "biz" are of a selfish interest to me I read about these things when they pop up.

Is it going to make any sort of a difference in the grand scheme of things?

Ah, the RPG community. No difference is too small to be an excuse to fragment it further!

Edit: A couple of related threads here and here that might also be of further interest, from the same time period.

Dave Arneson R.I.P.

David Lance Arneson (Oct 1, 1947 - Apr 7, 2009) was a game player, game designer, and game entrepreneur. He was also a true gentleman and a dear friend. As one of the co-designers of the Dungeons and Dragons game, he started something that is much bigger than all of us. It was not only a new game, but a new KIND of game and it spawned an entire industry. Without Dave, it never would have happened. He taught, lectured, designed games, and started at least three companies. He won several awards, including the Academy of Adventure Gaming Arts & Design's Hall of Fame (Origins) in 1984. In 1984 he married Frankie Ann Morneau and they had one daughter, Malia. In addition to Dungeons & Dragons, games or scenarios he wrote or co-authored include Don't Give Up The Ship, Blackmoor, Dungeon Master's Index, First Fantasy Campaign, Adventures in Fantasy, Robert Aspirin's Thieves World, Citybook II, DNA/DOA, Case of the Pacific Clipper, and more. We are all much better off for his time on earth, but the world is less than it was, with him gone. I never knew him to be rude to a fan, or turn down a friend in need. In fact, I believe his last words to me were 'Let me know if there's anything I can do for you.' I wish there was something I could do for you, my friend. Good bye, and may God bless you. -- Rick Loomis

Here are some further obituaries from more mainstream media:

LA Times
Pioneer Press
New York Times

From the Pioneer Press piece:

Dave Arneson was a master dreamer.

His daughter thought every girl grew up with dragons and fairies.

His father couldn't figure out why the college kids in his St. Paul basement weren't raiding the liquor cabinet.

But Arneson — who in 1974 co-created Dungeons & Dragons, the best-known and best-selling role-playing game of all time — molded fantasy in such a way that many lament him as the "unsung hero" of the gaming industry.

iHero Entertainment

Superheroes predate comic books by decades. They existed on radio, in pulp novels, in movie serials, and they were not originally intended for children. Our award-winning magazine, Cyber Age Adventures, took a giant leap forward in that fine tradition and gave you the most ground-breaking, thought-provoking fiction you’ve ever read in a superhero setting. Because the single most important thing you need to realize about superheroes is that they’re not a 'genre.' They’re a setting, like deep space, or underwater. As long as you obey the rules of that setting you can tell any kind of story you want. Action, adventure, mystery, romance, tragedy, comedy… anything.

Wizards of the Coast Sues Eight

Yes, because it is the fault of the sites selling PDFs that people repost them to torrents. Why not go after the stores that sell people books that are scanned and then redistributed through torrents? By that logic those stores are just as culpable as the online PDF stores. Congratulations, Wizards of the Coast, for slowly stepping backwards out of the 21st century.

So, how have those RIAA lawsuits against these sites being doing for getting illegal material off of the internet anyway?

Wizards of the Coast has filed three lawsuits in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington against eight defendants located in the United States, Poland and the Philippines alleging copyright infringement of its recently released Dungeons & Dragons Player’s Handbook 2. The lawsuit contends that the defendants illegally distributed the Player’s Handbook 2 via free file-sharing Websites, and that these uploads resulted in a substantial number of lost sales and revenue for Wizards of the Coast.

WotC President Greg Leeds commented: “Violations of our copyrights and piracy of our products hurt not only Wizards of the Coast’s financial health but also the health of whole gaming community including retailers and players. We have brought these suits to stop the illegal activities of these defendants, and to deter future unauthorized and unlawful file-sharing.

Author and Designer Aaron Allston in the Hospital

We just heard word today that Del Rey Outcast author Aaron Allston underwent bypass surgery yesterday, and is currently in recovery in the hospital.

Aaron’s family has set up a blood donation sponsorship. If anyone in the Dallas area would like to donate blood, you can go to the National Blood Exchange or Carter BloodCare. Say that you are donating blood for Aaron Allston, patient of Carter Blood Care in Bedford, TX, and give his sponsor number: SPON 047786.

Kore Dice 5 - Interview with Seraphim Guard’s Creative Director, Chris Helton

Perhaps a little self-aggrandizing to post this, but the podcast featuring my interview by Walt Snider went live (and I wasn't paying attention either). Hear the secrets of Seraphim Guard, upcoming products and my ideas on game design.

Just don't comment on my voice.

Fundraising Conference Takes on a 'Second Life'

Grizzard Communications Group recently held a conference, Winning Strategies in Challenging Times, focusing on effective and efficient ways of communicating to donors during difficult economic times. The conference was held February 24th - 26th and featured a live panel discussion presented in the online virtual world of Second Life. Major George Hood, National Community Relations Secretary of The Salvation Army, along with other IT communications associates from Alexandria, VA and Reston, PA participated in a panel discussion as animated 'Avatars.'

Cully Hamner Signs DC Exclusive & Talks The Question

As DC Comics’ June solicitations served as the de facto announcement, one of the new co-features coming in June will appear in Detective Comics beginning in June, and starring The Question. Written by Greg Rucka (who’s also writing the rest of Detective, which stars Batwoman), The Question co-feature will be illustrated by Cully Hamner, who’s also recently signed an exclusive contract with DC.