What I’m Reading Now, May 2004 Edition

Master and Commander by Patrick O’Brian: Historical naval fiction set in the waning years of the 18th century, this novel follows the adventures of Captain Jack Aubrey and his enlightened ship’s surgeon, Doctor Stephen Maturin as they wages war against foes of the British Empire. This book inspired half of last year’s movie Master & … Read more

WISH 93: Enough and Too Much

Wish 93 (Internet Archive) delves into an interesting subject: how do you deal with a campaign that has a long-running and detailed history? Here’s what Ginger asked: “Does joining a game with a lot of background thrill or intimidate you? What do you do to try to learn the background, or to compensate for not … Read more

Thoughts on the end of Shadowforce Archer

Recently, Alderac announced they were ending the Shadowforce Archer campaign setting (Internet Archive) for their Spycraft d20 espionage game. Naturally, fans of the setting were shocked and upset by this, but personally, I was happy about the news. When Spycraft first launched, I was excited — here was a game in the spirit of James … Read more

WISH 91: Appropriating From Fiction

In Wish 91: Appropriating From Fiction (Internet Archive), Ginger asks: How often do you appropriate bits from books, movies, comics, and other sources as a player or GM? Do you like to steal names or flavor or go more whole-hog? Is there a difference between stealing for background and stealing for in-game use? I remember … Read more

Wish 90: System Updates

In Wish 90 (Internet Archive), Ginger asks: What do you think about system updates (Paranoia XP, Amber 2.0, DnD 3.0/3.5) and conversions (d20 Silver Age Sentinels, GURPS Traveller)? What about world/setting updates that result in system reboots (the end of the Age of Darkness)? Do you buy them, run them, or use them for resources? … Read more

Thoughts on Fluid’s Dundjinni Mapper

I just saw an ad for Fluid’s new mapping/adventure creator program, Dundjinni, on the back of Dungeon Magazine yesterday. I’ve got mixed feelings about this. On the one hand, the Character Creator that shipped with the PHB 3.0 was probably the best such tool I ever used. On the other, eTools was … disappointing. It … Read more

System Lords Spawns New Threats Against Stargate Command

The Goa’uld are vile, parasitical worms who take human hosts, command extremely advanced technology, and are obsessed with galactic domination. They’re also the chief enemies of Stargate Command, the branch of the U.S. military dedicated to protecting Earth from interstellar attacks while simultaneously exploring the universe through a series of inter-connected stargates. Living Gods is … Read more

A Two-Game Console Home

Microsoft formally announced today that it’s dropping the price of its Xbox game console to $150, from $180. The price will go into effect on Tuesday, and with any luck, I’ll be buying an Xbox sometime soon. A few years back, when I picked up my PlayStation 2, I never expected to buy an Xbox. … Read more