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Game News

Paizo Launches Pathfinder Novel Line

Posted in by Kenneth Newquist on Sun, 02/28/2010 - 6:30am

Paizo Publishing is launching a fiction line to support the Pathfinder RPG and Pathfinder Campaign Setting. TSR/Wizards of the Coast had good luck with this strategy, and it only makes sense that Paizo would give it a try.

The first two books on the schedule are:

  • Winter Witch by Elaine Cunningham (September 2010)
  • Prince of Wolves by Dave Gross by Dave Gross (October 2010)

These will be "300-page mass market paperback novels", to be sold through hobby shops and book stores for $9.99, but you'll also be able to subscribe through Paizo.com. As is the case with the Pathfinder adventure paths, those who subscribe will get free digital copies of the books.

Aside from Dragonlance, I've never been one for game-related fiction and I'm still on a big science fiction kick right now. As such, I'm more likely to want to pick up one of Paizo's Planet Stories books, but I am curious to see how this new fantasy line shakes out.

Fantasy Flight Games Announces Deathwatch RPG

Posted in by Kenneth Newquist on Sat, 02/27/2010 - 9:34am

Fantasy Flight Games has announced the Deathwatch Role-Playing Game, the much-anticipated third core rule book for Warhammer 40k. Players take on the role of Deathwatch Marines fighting a desperate war to restore Imperial oversight of the Jericho Reach. Space Marines are one of the most iconic aspects of the 40K universe, and I know a lot of people have been eager to get their hands on this sort of source book.

The book will use the same ruleset as Dark Heresy and Rogue Trader (so no Warhammer 3rd Edition-style-boxed sets here). It looks to be a more focused game; everyone plays some sort of Space Marine, each an elite warrior drawn from the ranks of Space Marine chapters across the galaxy.

I'm reading through Rogue Trader now, and while I think I prefer its mercantile mix of all-or-nothing trade gambles, utterly self-confident crew, and deep space horrors, Deathwatch may be a game I need to add to my library. If nothing else, I'm sure I could get my gaming group to play a one shot or two.

The Griffin's Crier Re-launched

Posted in by Kenneth Newquist on Fri, 02/26/2010 - 11:53am

The redesigned version of the Griffin's Crier, my gaming group's web site, is now up and running -- you can check it out at www.griffcrier.com. The GriffCrier has been around for more than a decade; our Blackrazor Guild gaming group first launched the site in 1998 as an archive for our World of Greyhawk campaign. Over time, our gaming group's evolved and added new web apps -- we now have a dedicated forum for in and out of game conversations, the archival D&D content has been moved to a Greyhawk wiki, and we've spawned several additional blogs and wikis in support of the other RPGs we play

Over time, the role of the Griffin's Crier diminished, and it was time to bring it back. Four of us are blogging now, and even more are using Twitter. We've got two campaign blogs and two corresponding wikis, all of which are producing RSS. In recent years, the home page of the Crier had been static as content was updated elsewhere; I wanted to change that by pulling in headlines from across the Blackrazor blogosphere.

Exploring D&D Battlefields with Microsoft Surface

Posted in by Kenneth Newquist on Tue, 02/23/2010 - 4:31pm

Ever since Chewbacca defeated R2-D2 in holochess, geeks have wanted a virtual table top for their games. Things have taken a major step in that direction with SurfaceScapes, a proof-of-concept app for Microsoft surface created by students at Carnegie Mellon University. It's based on the D&D 4th Edition rules, and those who've seen it are suitably impressed:

For those who haven't seen it before, Microsoft Surface is a sort of digital coffee table; it's got a large, flat touch sensitive screen (kind of like an upsized and hard-to-move iPhone. SurfaceScapes puts an interactive map on the Surface, which you can interact with by moving around specially designed miniatures. All of the rules you need to run the game (e.g. movement, powers, etc.) are built into the game, and you can interact with your character through a handheld device (e.g. an iPod touch or smart phone).

Gamer Traveler: Games & Travel Blog Carnival Roundup

Posted in by Kenneth Newquist on Wed, 02/17/2010 - 7:28am

Games & Travel Blog CarnivalThe Gamer Traveler has posted a round up of the "Games & Travel" blog carnival from January 2010. This was a cool topic, and one I wish I'd taken the time to participate in (perhaps I will, retroactively).

While I think many campaigns tend to hand-wave away travel (perhaps after one too many random wilderness encounters during their Advanced Dungeons & Dragons days) it can make for some great adventures. Heck, one of our most memorable Star Wars campaign arcs involved our heroes bouncing out of hyperspace into a proto-star nebula. They barely escaped the nebula with their lives, the ship's outer hull having been melted into what we're now calling "star forged armor".

Star Wars Roundup: Saga Edition Cancelled, Sniper Feat, Travel in Star Wars

Posted in by Kenneth Newquist on Wed, 02/03/2010 - 5:07pm

Without a doubt, the big news Star Wars this month is the announcement that Wizards of the Coast is not renewing its Star Wars license and is ending the Star Wars: Saga Edition RPG and Star Wars Miniatures product lines. It's a sad day for Star Wars gamers but I suspect that the game will continue to have a small but fierce following in coming years, just like West End's d6 Star Wars does.

In happier news, Galaxy of Intrigue was released in late January, and we have one more source book -- The Unknown Regions -- before the end of the line

Thoughts on the end of Star Wars: Saga Edition

Posted in by Kenneth Newquist on Sun, 01/31/2010 - 11:22am

Some suspected it, but now it's official: Wizards of the Coast is dropping the Star Wars license, and with it, the Star Wars: Saga Edition role-playing game and its counterpart, the Star Wars Miniatures Game.

It seemed likely that this would happen sooner or later once D&D 4E was released; I'm sure it's difficult for Wizards of the Coast to justify continued research and development on two rule sets (namely Star Wars and Dungeons & Dragons 4th Edition). Saga Edition was a useful testbed for Wizards when they were trying out new ideas for 4E, but its clear that they've decided to go in a very different direction with D&D and future RPGs.

Star Wars just wasn't part of the picture. As a result, Galaxy of Intrigue and The Unknown Regions will be the last two books in the series.

Gamers Helping Haiti

Posted in by Kenneth Newquist on Fri, 01/29/2010 - 7:27am

OneBookShelf, the company that runs the virtual RPG storefronts DriveThruRPG and RPGNow, is offering a $20 mega bundle as a fundraiser to help the survivors of the Haiti earthquake. Donate $20 to Doctors without Borders through the web site, and you'll receive $1,500+ worth of PDFs. View complete list of products in the bundle, broken down by company. The bundle sale ends January 31, 2010.

Download a Free Issue of Kobold Quarterly Through Jan. 31

Posted in by Kenneth Newquist on Sun, 01/24/2010 - 12:48pm

If you've ever wanted to try out Kobold Quarterly, but didn't want to put down the change for a single issue PDF or subscription, here's your chance. Open Design is making issue #10 available as a free download ... but only until the end of January. Here's the official word:

Some sneaky rogue stole the keys to the kobold’s vault! While our minions frantically scramble to change the locks, you can take advantage of our misfortune and download a FREE issue of Kobold Quarterly magazine. Go to the KQ Store, add issue #10 to your cart, and enter the coupon code KQ10Free at checkout to snatch a PDF copy from our shelves. In its pages you’ll find:

  • Jason Bulmahn on the Pathfinder RPG
  • Ed Greenwood’s Dwarven Goddess
  • Ecology of the Hill Giant
  • Wicked Fantasy: the Haffun
  • Secrets of the Halberd
  • Monte Cook’s Game Theories
  • Rampant Elf Lust
  • And so much more!

Visit the Kobold Quarterly web site for complete details. By way of endorsement, I'll say that if ever run a fantasy game again, it will be because of Kobold Quarterly. I've got a print subscription, and each issue makes me nostalgic for my old Greyhawk campaign... and gets me thinking about how I might return to it.

The Feed: Gearbox Software Reflects On Borderlands And What's Next

Posted in by Kenneth Newquist on Fri, 01/22/2010 - 6:49pm

G4TV's The Feed interviews the developers at Gearbox Software about Borderlands, including their decision to ditch the realistic graphics in favor of cell-shading and the "Diablo for Guns" game mechanic. It's a good read for fans of the game, and offers some nice insights into the risks and payoffs in this surprise hit.