On Current Events

05.00 Unknown 0 Comments

• +Patrick Stuart has released a hard copy of A False Machine. Some of the writing in here is the most meaningful and important ideas regarding role playing today. It's about 15$ and has a beautiful cover by +Scrap Princess of Monster Manual Sewn from Pants. The discussion in this book is actually insightful and concretely useful when compared to the usual "What is role-playing, how do I get to be a good DM" sort of tripe that is usually published. It is well worth the cost for either the hard copy or the e-pub version. It is a collection of blog posts, however, leading to the usual pacing and variation in importance issues in any type of collection like this. (Note that this is not Veins of the Earth, which is currently seeking a publisher)
• Goblin Punch is on fire. Boss Mechanics, Familiars, Noise Wizards (Bard replacement), and the mind blowing Projectors -- Every day is better than the last. Best in the OSR.
• +James Young has some excellent thoughts on improving my critical tables.
• +PaoloGreco thinks Mysteries & Mystagogues is only worth 6$ for some reason. There's a print + pdf combo for 12$. I'm almost certain he makes these by hand, so that's madness. Which, I suppose, is the point. It's totally useful no matter which old school game you play, but also serves as an excellent setting and adventure guide for Adventure Fantasy Game, which is well worth your time.
• Another Fantasy RPG, Dungeonteller is nearing release! Do you have young gamers or perhaps a wife or girlfriend you'd like to introduce to gaming? Simple colorful rules, bright graphics and fast gameplay make me super interested in this. The Hero Pack is available for free, right now on drivethrurpg, with the full game coming soon.
• This is of relevant interest to all gamers. Transparent dice roll more randomly than opaque dice. Precision dice, excepting the sprue, roll the most randomly. Transparent dice, which are more expensive have to be processed and cooled slower, preventing them from having air bubbles. Their being subject to a polisher/edge remover can cause them to become egg shaped, favoring two sides over all others. Opaque dice are cheaper because they are cooled quickly, resulting in air bubbles. The air bubbles change the density distribution of the dice causing them to favor certain numbers over others. 
• The old defunct Necromancer Games forums have been .zipped up for download. You can get them here for a short time. 
• I forgot to mention the wonderful Dungeon Dozen book, by +Jason Sholtis is out!