Sunday, April 19, 2009

PulpLite20

I had heard much about the Microlite20 rules (and I had even downloaded them at one point) but I never really looked at them that closely. Now that I have, I really like what I am seeing. Enough that I've started working on PulpLite20, my own beefed up take on the ruleset that is focused on pulp gaming (all sorts of pulp gaming I might add).

The core (which I am currently developing) will have all of the rules for play and then the two supplements for it that I've got in my head will cover Modern Occult and Science Fantasy genres. Eventually, there might even be more...depends on my mood and how things are received I guess.

My goals with creating PulpLite20 is to build a ruleset that handles cinematic action in a simple manner with a minimum of stat blocks. I've always like the underlying simplicity of the OGL Fantasy rules (and you know what I'm talking about) but not as much the layers of complexity that have been tacked onto it. Microlite has given me a foundation that I can build upon in the direction that I want.

This is going to be a heavier ruleset than the baseline Microlite but still much, much, much lighter than other OGL Fantasy/Modern alternatives out there. If you're familiar with my Open Core Quick rules, I would like to think that I am developing something similar (maybe a little lighter) to those rules on the heaviness spectrum.

Now, I know that gamers are an impatient lot. I want people to realize that just because I am starting this blog and talking about PulpLite20 that doesn't mean that it is ready to be released out to you. This is just how my thought processes work. This blog just gives a starting point for discussion.

Friday, April 17, 2009

DC Comics Present: Wednesday Comics

The brainchild of DC Comics Art Director Mark Chiarello, WEDNESDAY COMICS is a unique and groundbreaking storytelling method — 16 pages, printed on broadsheet-size newsprint, featuring weekly stories by the best and brightest creators out there. It’s gotta look great, right?


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!

Thursday, April 16, 2009

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.

Thursday, April 09, 2009

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.

Wednesday, April 08, 2009

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.

Tuesday, April 07, 2009

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.

Sunday, April 05, 2009

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.

Friday, April 03, 2009

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.