Revised - Being Inclusive Doesn't Mean Including Hate

The other day I wrote a post called "Inclusive Means Everyone" where I talked about some people having trouble with the new and inclusive language included in the Basic Rules PDF that Wizards of the Coast has put out for the new edition of Dungeons & Dragons.

I went on to say that those people who are bashing gays using this text don't have a place in this hobby. I was told (and you can see some of the comments that I quoted and the responses that my post received in the above link) that I was being a bigot for saying that, or that I was only saying it to "score brownie points."

I stand by what I said. This is the 21st century, if you're going to hate people because of who they love, or want to have sex with, or because they are a trans* person, or because of the color of their skin that makes you a bad person in my book and I don't want to game with you. I'm not saying this to impress anyone, or because I'm pressured to by some "agenda." I am saying this because this is what good people think.

If you are going to try to troll me for this, well...I'm not going to engage you. You aren't worth the time, and in fact I'll just say in advance that it is more than a little sad. Let me give you my response in advance to any potential trolls out there:

I wouldn't think that I would have to keep repeating myself on this subject, but some people can't seem to get it through their heads that the rest of the world has moved on about these things, and have embraced the differences in people. I don't want a hobby that is just full of all of the same people, because that wouldn't even reflect the gaming groups that I am lucky to have been a part of over my last 30+ years of being a gamer.

Yes, I do think that there is a group that should be excluded: those who spew hate. I'm not going to apologize for that.

Update: Since I know that not everyone will be able to see G+ comments generated by this post, I wanted to add a comment by +David Rollins (with his permission) to the post:

It's strange that people seem to think they have a right to hate. Like it's OK to hate some people and if we refuse to tolerate the presence of these haters they say we are just hating on them.

But hate is the exception to the rules we hold most dear. Freedom of speech or expression do not protect hate speech. Hate speech is still a crime.

RPGs cover a large area of ideas and concepts. There is room for nearly everyone here, but if you think it's OK to hate on people for who they are then there's no place for you at my table.

Munchkin? It's My Bag, Baby...

The nice folks at Steve Jackson Games sent one of their brand new Munchkin Messenger Bags to me this week. Interestingly, it is available through Amazon rather than the Steve Jackson Games people directly.

It isn't cheap, but Amazon Prime users will get the free shipping on it. In addition to a study and functional bag that can carry two Munchkin boxes you also get four exclusive Munchkin cards (which in fine Munchkin form must be used in the game in conjunction with the messenger bag) and a special, over-sized six-sided die. The bag will also carry pens, paper, and other sundry supplies.

The Super Villain Handbook

There is a new supplementary book in the works for supers system ICONS -- The Super Villain Handbook (tentative) by Fainting Goat Games. The book is still in development and Fainting Goat Games are actively seeking feedback on the material over at the book's Facebook group. There you can find all sorts of information and preview material.

The Super Villain Handbook will feature 40 different super villain archetypes. Depending on the version of the book (standard or deluxe) the archetypes will also feature either just a general stat block or fully developed villain, art and all. One good side to these villains is that they will be apart of the public domain. While The Super Villain Handbook is being written for Steve Kenson's ICONS, there may be a version for the Supers! RPG as well.

So, once again, if you would like to know more, see more, and provide feedback to the developers be sure to check out their Facebook group.

Heebie Jeebies - A Game Of Unsettling Notions On Kickstarter

One of the fun things about being a blogger is that I sometimes get to see things before they come out, or in early/beta versions. People either want critiques of their stuff, ideas for direction of their game, or just to help generate some buzz. It makes the work that I do as a blogger feel worthwhile.

So, one day a prototype of this strange little card game called Heebie Jebbies showed up in my mail box. I will openly admit that I don't play many party games, of any type, but flipping through the cards made me interested. The cards are funny without being hurtful, and without trying to be edgy (protip: trying to be edgy on purpose rarely works). It looked fun to me.

Over the 4th of July weekend, I took the game out for a spin. The rules are easy to explain, and easy to play. A player draws four cards and lays them out on a numbered board. The player decides which of the cards gives them the most "Heebie Jeebies" and then reads all for of the cards out loud. The other players have Voting Cards, numbered 1-4. They play the voting card of the number that they think is the card most likely to give the player the "Heebie Jeebies." The correct votes get points. Rotate to the next player and repeat. The person  who reaches 10 points first wins.

Not in the rules, but from actual play experience, I would suggest that adult beverages improve the quality of play. This is probably more of a house rule.

So, right now, Heebie Jeebies is on Kickstarter, trying to raise the money to fund the production of the game and get it into distribution. I think it is a worthy goal and you should definitely check the Kickstarter out and throw them a few dollars. The game play was fun and easy, I'm not sure how family friendly the game would be, and definitely converted this non-party game player to the cause. The campaign is in its last 10 days (at the time of posting) and could definitely deserve some love. Let's see more independent creators get into distribution with their games.

Dorkland Scores An ENnie Nomination

The nominees for the ENnies came out this morning, and I was shocked and surprised to see that the Dorkland! blog was on the list of nominees for Best Blog.

I'm not going to lie, there are some great blogs on that list. However, I think that Dorkland! definitely belongs on that list of contenders. I also think that we deserve to win. Which, I'm sure everyone on that list thinks as well.

I never believed in pigeon-holing things for this blog, since I made my first post back in September 2013. The thing that has kept this blog live and active for more than ten years now is the fact that I talk about a lot of different things from gaming to comics to music to movies and more. Gaming doesn't occur in some vacuum. As gamers we are the sum of our inspirations, and that, if anything, is the mission statement of this blog: talk about the things that inspire and influence us...even if they don't come from out of a gaming book.

There have been some great interviews on this blog, from +Helen Yanolatos talking with Max Brooks about his comics, to my interviews with Pat Mills and Erin Evans, to the many, many interviews that +Josh Thompson has conducted with creators about their Kickstarters. This tradition goes back to my Dorkland Roundtable interviews on YouTube and further back. Putting a face and a voice to so many creators has been a goal of the blog for a while now.

And, yes, we don't shy away from opinions here at the Dorkland! blog either. It is important to have informed opinions and be able to defend them. Whether it is as simple as the review of a game or talking about inclusiveness in gaming, being able to state and defend opinions are important.

It was also my work on this blog that lead to my writing for the Bleeding Cool site, which is allowing me to bring gaming to a new, and much larger, audience as well.

Thank you all for reading all of these years, and I hope that when the voting goes live on the 20th of July that you will consider voting for the blog. We're rough around the edges, but we like it that way. Also, if you would consider making a donation to our crowdfunding page to help with the expenses of this year's Gen Con coverage, that would be great too.

I will be at the ENnies this year, win or lose. Hopefully I will see some of you there.

I would also like to thank all of the people coming here for the first time because of the links from the ENnies site and over at EN World. I hope that you like what you see and stick around a little while.

Thank you for reading the blog.

Inclusive Means Everyone

File under things that you think we wouldn't have to talk about in the 21st century is this quote from the D&D Basic Rules PDF that just came out from Wizards of the Coast.

I see this paragraph and think, excellent. It can always be phrased better, but the intent is there and it is a genuinely good thing to want to make gaming more inclusive. There's been a number of people with whom I have gamed over the years who would appreciate it as well.

Of course geeks being contrary, can't agree with the idea that being inclusive is a good thing:

And what could possibly be more authentically faux medieval than that?

or

If I were more cynical, I’d say that Wyatt’s comment betrays yet another flailing attempt by WoTC to regain the industry dominance they ceded to Paizo by brazenly copying the insufferable PC propagandizing that infected Pathfinder years ago.

or

GLBTQETC?

I have to ask: is that for real? Or are you making a parody? I just cannot tell any more. The last time I saw the acronym for the perverts it was only four letters; then it was five. Now it is how many, and who knows what they stand for?

Seriously? Perverts? I'm not going to link to this site, to justify it or to waste my time mocking this people. It makes me sad to see people who think they are so right and so logical be so wrong. Yes, the hobby needs fewer people like this. It needs no people like this in it at all. And yet, instead of going after people like this some feel the need to instead make shit up about people. Priorities.

My idea of inclusiveness is that everyone gets to join in, playing the games that they want to play, without fear of being called out from anyone, or being told that they shouldn't belong or are "doing it wrong."

Oh, and here's a good thing from comic writer Jim Zub, just to wash the taste of the earlier comments out of my mouth:

Pathfinder is easily the most inclusive tabletop RPG setting on the market. Strong characters of both sexes, characters of color and characters of different sexual orientations are all positively represented in many of the game supplements Paizo has released over the years. It’s a robust fantasy world that incorporates classic themes and tropes while allowing including progressive elements at the same time. It’s one of the many things I really like about Pathfinder when compared to a lot of the white-washed and stereotype-ridden fantasy settings of old. It’s something the developers at Paizo paid special attention to and I think it’s one of the many reasons why their game has sold so well around the world.

Some Magic Items For Your Gaming Pleasure

Here are a few magic items that I've been mulling over for the last few days. They aren't system specific, so it should be easy enough to work them out in your system of choice. My goal was more odd than useful in all of the examples, going for more of a weird magic vibe.

The Warlock's Face

Made from the flayed face of a warlock killed by an Inquisition, this mask is snug and nearly form-fitting against the wearer's face. Cloth straps affixed to either side of the mask must be tied before the object's magic takes effect.

The Warlock's Face has two main powers:

• The wearer is shapeshifted into an exact duplicate of the person that had previously belong to the Warlock's Face. Each detail, even the voice, is perfectly duplicated. This lasts for as long as the person wants to wear the mask, or until it is dispelled by magical means.
• Once per day, the wearer can teleport unerringly to the location last recalled in the warlock's last memory, just before death.

There can be more than one Warlock's Face in a world, but they would obviously be made of the faces of different warlocks.

A Cage
This small cage fits into the palm of a person's hand. When physically opened, a swarm of insects fly out of the cage to attack a target. The target's name is whispered by the wielder as the cage is opened. If no name is mentioned the insects attack the wielder. Death sometimes occurs from the multitude of bites and stings. Description of the swarm is up the the GM, but having it be a variety of insects is the best idea.

Eyeball

No one is certain any longer who the Eyeball originally belonged to, or if its matching number still exists or not. It is believed to be at least hundreds of years old, and is known to have been in the possession of one very rich family for three generations. When held in the user's mouth, it allows them to pierce all illusions, however their mouth tastes and smells of death for a week afterwards. The Eyeball itself is still gelatinous and and viscous, despite its age.

Swallowing the Eyeball causes intense, debilitating hallucinations until the Eyeball finally passes through their system. The Eyeball is nontoxic and cannot be digested.

The Paranoid Skull
Made of a highly polished, yet exotic, dark wood, with a smell of deep, lush rainforests that never seem to fade, this elaborately carved skull is roughly the size of an average human's skull. When held, it allows the wielder to "hear" the nearby thoughts of others, but only those thoughts directly about the wielder.

The more surface contact between the wielder and the skull, the clearer sounding the thoughts.

The Keeper's Key
Carved from the single finger bone of some unknown creature, with intricate and esoteric lettering and runes worked into the surface, this key is about eight inches in length. With this key, any manacles and padlocks can be opened.

Constantine And Flash Pilots Leaked To The Internet

So, this week the pilot episodes for the upcoming The Flash and Constantine series were leaked to the internet. They are easy enough to find, if you are so inclined. This post is going to talk about these pilots, so if you don't want to know anything until they air...click away now.

ICONS Superpowered Roleplaying: The Assembled Edition Is Up For Preorder

The new edition of Steve Kenson's ICONS Superpowered Roleplaying is up for preorder over at the Green Ronin website.

While the previous edition suffered from some controversy and late/cancelled titles with the previous publisher, rights have returned to Kenson and he is publishing this new, definitive, edition through his Ad Infinitum Adventures imprint, with distribution via Green Ronin.

From Kenson's website, here are some of the differences in this new edition:

• Adjectives (from Weak to Supreme) see a bit more use in talking about abilities on the scale.
• Actions characters can perform during their panel are better defined. Supplemental actions are gone; as feedback indicated they were confusing and folks tended not to use them or the associated modifiers. Instead, characters get an Action, a Move, and a number of opportunities to React and Interact.
• The Benchmarks Table from Great Power is included.
• The term “Determination Points” (DP) is used to differentiate the resource players spend from the Determination ability level.
• The default die rolling method is: Effort (Acting Ability + d6) – Difficulty (Opposing Ability/Level + d6) = Outcome. The math is the same, it just equalizes the die-rolling equation so there isn’t a need to “reverse” all the action formulae when its GM characters acting rather than heroes, or vice versa. The original d6-d6 method (along with a couple of others) are optional rules.
• There is a marginal degree of success, allowing for one of seven degrees of outcome: Massive, Major, and Moderate Failure, and Marginal, Moderate, Major, and Massive Success.
• The Combined Effort rules are more broadly applied for “stacking” instances.
• Pyramid Tests (which first appeared in Sidereal Schemes of Dr. Zodiac) are in the Basics chapter, along with all the Pyramid Test modifiers and variations from Team-Up.
• Challenges are consolidated into qualities, and the baseline number of qualities is reduced to three to start. Qualities are activated both to create advantage and to cause trouble for characters.
• The Qualities section has expanded information on creating and learning qualities, removing temporary qualities, and activating qualities through maneuvers and tactics as well as spending Determination Points.
• Determined Effort is replaced by a simpler Improved Effort that is just a flat +2 bonus, dropping the various requirements that no one really used anyway. Focused Effort is folded in the stunt mechanics (substituting one level for another in a test or effect), a Push Ability option is added.
• Trouble caused by activating qualities includes Challenge, Compulsion, Disability, Increased Difficulty, and Lost Panel. I may write at some point about the notion of “Editorial Interference” as trouble, but that concept didn’t make the cut (too meta and, frankly, rooting in comics fan cynicism).
• The Stunts section has expanded to include using superhuman (level 7+) abilities and Master Specialties for stunts, as well as powers.
• The Damage section include options for minions, more lethal damage, lasting injuries, and different damage effects (from the standard Slam, Stun, and Kill effects).
• There are two expanded examples of play, one in the Basics chapter and one in the Taking Action chapter.
• The random Power Type table is tweaked slightly to change the probabilities of generating certain powers (mainly making Movement Powers more common than Mental Powers).
• There is an optional table for randomly rolling Specialties (if you want, otherwise you just choose them as before).
• Powers have generally been brought in-line with the material in Great Power and make more reference to qualities for modifiers. The focus is on the “core” powers, with condensed descriptions, leaving the more detailed descriptions, extra and limit lists, and “reskinned” powers for Great Power to cover.
• Extras and limits from Great Power are included.
• Power descriptions are now all listed in alphabetical order, for easier reference.
• A condensed version of the Devices from Great Power is included, with lots of sample equipment.
• A simple initiative system is included (Coordination test, highest outcome goes first).
• Actions are broken out by different types (Movement, Action, Reaction, Interaction) and more clearly detailed.
• An option for Interludes (narrative based scenes that activate qualities and award DP, which can be saved or spent immediately for insight, retcons, or recovery) is in the Game Mastering chapter.
• Some expanded and cleaned-up Game Master advice.
• A system of Achievements & Changes for character development.
• The villain creation system from Villainomicon is included.
• A slightly updated version of the Universe Creation system from Team-Up is included.
• Nine sample heroes and nine sample villains are included. There is no sample adventure (as I’m not a big fan of sample adventures in the core rulebook itself). I might look at revising the four-page Wages of Sin from the original Icons book as a free downloadable sample adventure.
• A glossary of terms is included at the end.
• And, of course, the Assembled Edition benefits from new art and new layout by Dan Houser and Daniel Solis, very much in the style of Great Power.

You can also find some sample characters in the new edition over on Kenson's site as well. Currently, the new edition is scheduled for a Gen Con release. If you are a fan of light and flexible super-hero RPGs, and for some reason you haven't checked out ICONS yet, this is your chance. Kenson is one of the great designers and he has an understanding of the super-hero genre unlike few designers. If you miss out on this game you will regret that.

Drinking Quest: Trilogy Kickstarter Interview with Jason Anarchy

The Kickstarter for Drinking Quest: Trilogy Edition, the game that mixes tabletop RPGs and drinking, is in its final few days. The project has already cleared its funding goal and several stretch goals. We here at Dorkland had a chance to sit down with Jason Anarchy, creator of Drinking Quest, to interview him about the project.

Dorkland!: How has the Kickstarter experience been for you so far? What have you learned that might help other new Kickstarters?

Jason Anarchy: No matter how good your plan is, you can’t plan enough. Also it’s a ton of work, it should be a very busy 30 days of your life.

And don’t get greedy, put your product out there at the lowest cost you can offer it.

DL: Why the shift from 3D6 to D4, D6, D8, apart from added complexity? Is added complexity good for a drinking game?

JA: Added complexity and range WITHOUT adding a single new rule or anything that the players need to think about. I was always very careful what rules and features make it into the game and what don’t. This is a great change that makes for more interesting battles and weapons trees.

DL: How much bigger are the new cards than the older ones? Why the change there?

JA: About 25%. I wanted a bit more room for art and text. Every Drinking Quest card is loaded with content and honestly I needed the space.

Every card has original art, a scenario for the player and a ridiculous narration from the cards (which act as the GM). Plus there are no duplicates. It’s looking good for the stretch goals so it would be 216 full colour cards, with hilarious artwork and story with no repeats.

DL: What are some of the 'smaller improvements'?

JA: Things like combinability. That was always requested with previous games and it could be one unofficially. Now if you want you can do a mash-up game and have up to 12 players.

I’ve also streamlined it in a way where all 12 heroes can be playable in any of the three games so there is even more variation there.

The Instructions are now colour and a lot nicer. (It was just a black and white insert before)

And then the new box and character sheets are much better as well.

DL: How much drinking is there in this drinking game? How much of the game is actual gaming?

JA: It plays like a stripped down Dungeons and Dragons. You have a character sheet, you roll dice, you fight monsters, you find treasure… but when your character dies in the game you have to chug your drink!

Each game has four “quests” with the cards acting as the GM. They start off easier and get harder as the game goes on.

You’ll encounter different monsters and Saving Throw events. When you pick up a monster card the person to your right controls the monster and it’s a one-on-one FIGHT TO THE DEATH.  If you win, you get the coins and points and move on and if you lose you chug your drink immediately.

Now HOW MUCH drinking is in the game? A pretty reasonable amount. There is a one chug per quest limit which stops everything from turning into a pass-out-ten-minutes kind of drinking game. (If you have to chug a second time per quest, you do 3 swigs as an acceptable substitute)

So playing a full game (going through all four quests in one of the games) averages about 2 or 3 chugs over 2 or 3 hours (per person).

If you’re not drinking there are also alternate rules to accommodate you.

And it is an actual game, the person at the end who has the most points wins. The person with the least amount of points loses (but they also chugged the most so they’re probably not having a bad time)

It’s 100% gaming with a occasional chugs to add to the tension of the gameplay.

DL: You mention non-drinking rules also being included -- what does DQ hold for people who are not drinkers? Why should they be buying the game?

JA: The Drinking meets RPG feature could be a pretty shallow gimmick. The plan was to incorporate that well and combine the genres as best I could. So that’s the hook that gets people playing.

From there the reason they keep playing is that it’s a really strong comedy RPG. There really isn’t anything that plays like it on the market.

It’s a really fun story that’s told in loose puzzle pieces like Lost or Pulp Fiction. Each quest is always randomized so you figure different story pieces out at different times.

Also the humour is a little smarter and more layered than most people expect. It’s more Arrested Development than Two and a Half Men.

DL: What is an experience that you've had while playing DQ that has really highlighted the game and the reason to play it? What is so great about it that people should be buying it and playing it?

JA: First of all, it delivers on the promise. It combines the genres well. The gameplay isn’t a super deep weekend filling experience… it’s casual, easy to learn and extremely fun!

There have been multiple nights where I’ve been with a group trying a brand new game and we spent the whole night learning the rules but didn’t play the game!

With Drinking Quest it’s super fast to get going particularly if you have a working knowledge of RPG basics already.

I’ve been designing games since childhood and into adulthood. Gaming with your friends and having a few drinks is great social lubricant and an even better way to keep groups of friends together as an adult.

I would always design game systems that took the broad strokes from bigger RPGs and cut out all of the micromanaging so you could just have a good time.

I also wanted to have a game where players could drop in and out… keep the same group of adults showing up once a week is a tough thing to do!

I’ve spent 10,000+ hours designing and testing game systems and with Drinking Quest I wanted to bring my flavour of casual, funny and rules-light role-playing to the masses.

The first three games have been hits and I’m pushing the new Trilogy Edition as much as possible to get the best version out there I can make.

We here at Dorkland! would like to thank Jason for his time in answering our questions and wish him the best with the project. If you would like to know more about Drinking Quest be sure to check out its website, twitter, Facebook or Kickstarter page.