DCC Reviews

For you Dungeon Crawl Classics authors (I know you're out there), someone is reading through the entire run and reviewing as they go. Now, I guess you should take these with a grain of salt as they're located at rpg.net (where d20 is not always lauded) but it might still be interesting perusing: http://forum.rpg.net/showthread.php?t=429837

2008 in Review...

...JibJab.com style that is. Go check out their always entertaining take on the previous year. '08 wasn't up to the '07 review but that's OK it's still worth a couple minutes of your surfing time.

Too Little Time

So why not try BtS: Time Stop at koboldquarterly.com here: http://www.koboldquarterly.com/k/article139.php

But really, there's just not enough time to post on this blog, the TO blog, and now I'm tweeting on twitter (under trickyowlbear). Quite a lot I'd like to get accomplished in the new year on the writing front--more BtS, BtM, a Traveller introductory adventure, an OSRIC adventure, and a straight 3.5/OGL adventure featuring the Dark Creepers & Stalkers which are the next BtM topic.

So, anyone have any exciting New Years plans? If you've been following my blog, you know I'm no fan of celebrating this "holiday" but tonight the group and I are heading out for midnight bowling in Reading. Should be amusing as I haven't bowled in many years. We haven't gamed at all in December so it'll be good to see the gang. Hopefully much gaming will commence in '09. Whatever your plans, be safe and happy!

Merry Christmas!

Although the holiday is officially 4 minutes past, I didn't want the day to go by without note on the blog here. I hope everyone who celebrates this joyous holiday had a great one. I personally had a good time both giving and receiving presents and spending time with the family. Tomorrow its back to work!

BtS: Darkness review

And here's another review, this one the first for Darkness: http://grandwiki.wikidot.com/rm2

Edit: If you swing by the Grand OGL Wiki above, I've arranged to have a discount coupon there for those who check out the review. Through that site, you can save 25 cents on this newest Behind the Spells release!

Compendium Review

Not sure who runs Apathy Blogs, but they seemed to enjoy BtS: Compendium: http://www.apathyblogs.com/2008/12/22/behind-the-spells-compendium/

BtS: Magic Aura at KQ

http://www.koboldquarterly.com/k/article128.php

The story and related research for this one came rather easily. It was the spell secret that proved difficult--how do you tweak a spell who's sole function is to show an illusion to someone who is actually looking for it? Find out through the link!

Compendium Review

New customer review over at Paizo for BtS: Compendium: http://paizo.com/store/byCompany/t/trickyOwlbearPublishing/behindTheSpells/v5748btpy83z0

Kind Words for BtS

Looks like BtS at Kobold Quarterly is getting some kind attention from various folks. Monte Cook wrote on Wolfgang's Open Design LJ: "It's pretty cool." For a more wordy opinion, see Robert Emerson's blog post here: http://emersonsbookshelf.blogspot.com/2008/12/kobold-quarterlys-behind-spells.html

The KQ Connection

If you had told me two weeks ago that I'd be writing for Kobold Quarterly, only the preeminent magazine who is more than capable of taking the place of poor deceased (print) Dragon, I'd have laughed. But, here we are. As I mentioned at the Tricky Owlbear blog, we're now producing smaller BtS issues exclusively for the KQ website. All thanks is due to Ed Healy, KQ's ad manager and host of the Atomic Array podcast (and an all-around nice guy). Check out Color Spray here: http://www.koboldquarterly.com/k/article117.php

In other news, Linda and I were out Xmas shopping yesterday and I got a surprising amount of presents bought (using no credit cards I might add!). It was 4 solid hours of shopping though and I was more than happy to come home and rest. :)

Still 6 Months Away But...

...let the Trek-gasm begin!!!

http://www.apple.com/trailers/paramount/startrek/

Compendium Review

Here's the latest words of critical praise, this time from Rpg-resource: http://www.rpg-resource.org.uk/index.php?article=3954&visual=4

Busy Busy

Before I launch into what's been going on, I feel I most post this review link to the BtS: Compendium for those of you who feel (rightly so too) that the Tricky Owlbear blog isn't worth checking on too often: http://paizo.com/store/byCompany/t/trickyOwlbearPublishing/behindTheSpells/v5748btpy83z0

"So how's the job going?" is a phrase I hear often. Well, it's going pretty damned well. I currently have two routes a day. The first is from 10am to 1pm and runs from the Pottsville area to Fleetwood and then returning to Muhlenburg. Then I have a little time to myself to grab some lunch and rest before heading out to be in Schulykill Haven by 3:30pm. From here I journey to Cressona, Pottsville again, and then north into what feels like the frontier of civilization (just northern Schuylkill Cty but that's close enough!) before returning to Muhlenburg between 6 and 6:30pm. All told, including travel to and from the start/end points, I work an 8-hour day; just happens to be split into two sections.

Last week was a bit rough as I was fighting the flu and some light-headedness but most of that seems to be done with. The money is good for my work and they even through me a Sat. route every other week for some extra bucks. Even with the upkeep to the car and the gas needed, the $$ is still worth my while. And a good thing too since I just got the bill for my ankle MRI (yikes!). At least that one was still under the insurance before I lost it.

Thanks to everyone who wished me well since it seems to be helping. Here's looking forward to many months of uneventful and financially fruitful driving.

New Job!

I love driving. Love it. I've always wanted to use my own vehicle to do courier work. Easy, high-paying, and no annoying people to deal with (except perhaps a brief road encounter in traffic). Well, my dream job has finally come. I was out doing some orientation for a company today and I'm one of 80+ independent contractors doing work out of the company's Muhlenburg hub. For the time being, I'll be making double what I've made in the past (before taxes, but still good!). The work could not be easier--picking up bank slips across Schuylkill County and transporting them either back to the warehouse or very close to the starting point in the evening. The hours are a bit longer than I'm used to (10am to 6:30-7pm) but the work is so easy who cares?! Driving is also a great time to get inspired through either the scenery (I'm driving through some very beautiful areas) or via music you're listening to. Should be some great brainstorming time for my writing projects and I'm getting paid for it to boot. Life is good.

Tendonitis

That's the official diagnosis of my left ankle problem. The treatment is to wear a foot wrap, take 2 Aleve a day for 2 weeks, and do an exercise once a day until I see the doc again in a month. All in all, much better than I could have hoped for really. Much preferable to surgery. The whole process was actually pretty smooth. EIP (the extremity place where the MRI was performed) was especially friendly and fast and got the results to my local doc within a few hours. According to the technician there, EIP's pay program should bill me for my out-of-network cost even if my health plan doesn't recognize the facility. Not a bad deal.

Today is a rather dreary day so I'm hoping to get some writing done--specifically on BtS: Darkness which will be a kind of lead-in to BtM: Creeper.

Was in Atlantic City Wed with Linda and we gambled many hours away. Before the losing of money began, we hit some of the outlet shops across from the casinos. Believe it or not, the places were quite reasonable. I got three shirts for my sister's youngest, a reusable shopping bad for her, and two sheets of Disney stickers for her middle child all for $7! We had a great day even if we didn't come home ahead.

Links Note: If you travel to Mike Ferguson's blog from here, please don't be alarmed when my link here points to his new site: Emerald Lich! Here's wishing Mike many happy years at his new location.

Happy Autumnal Equinox 2008

It's that magical time of year when the leaves change, night begins to outpace the day, and harvest festivals of all types swing into gear. It's my absolute favorite time of year and there's plenty of activities to keep my interest. Hiking can increase in frequency as spider and their &#^$& webs are out cold so it's a great time to take advantage of "bush-whacking" wherein you can go off-trail to explore.

Also up for this month is Celticfest held in Bethlehem, PA this coming weekend. Not sure which day I'll get out there but one of them for sure. I usually buy my sister's birthday/Xmas present there as she's also into the Celtic seen. Unfortunately, for non-drinkers like myself you have to be cautious when to attend for nights are when many come out to eat, DRINK, and be merry. Still, even fighting through stinky crowds is worth it for the festival's vendors.

New to this fall season is me getting an MRI on my ankle tomorrow morning. Seems I likely aggravated an old injury sometime either late last year or early this year (can't point to a specific incident) and now it hurts me at various times during the day--most frequently when I'm barefoot (showers are flat and hard!). Thank goodness my health insurance is intact until month's end. Speaking of that, I've only just begun job-searching with any regularity. Not too concerned. The universe will provide.

Back on topic--enjoy your cool autumn season, whatever you do!

Now Selling On Ebay

See here for a list of my current auctions: http://search.ebay.com/_W0QQsassZvantas1

Among the more notables are the Rappan Athuk trilogy of adventures from Necromancer Games and a quite rare Three Days to Kill adventure from Atlas Games. Why rare? Well, this is the limited edition (#107 of 500) module printed and collated by hand to be ready in time for GenCon 2000 and was, in fact, the very first d20 product for sale.

Compendium Podcast

Our first product-specific podcast commentary is now available for Behind the Spells: Compendium which you can listen to/download here:
http://www.trickyowlbear.com/podcast/description/bts-compendium.php

Entering the World of Podcasts

Whether the roleplaying public is ready or not, Scot and I have delved into the wide world of podcasts! I sketched out an outline in about half an hour and then Scot and I just recorded an off the cuff "Podcast Zero" for Tricky Owlbear here: http://www.trickyowlbear.com/podcast/description/ep00.php

We're great fans of the Car Talk show for NPR (which you can find at http://www.cartalk.com/ ) so we left most of the laughs in! You can hear me utter the awkward phrase: "We would like to read people's emails..." and near the end of the show we pretty much have a breakdown. Thank goodness is was over by that point! In any case, we had great fun and hope you do as well. :)

Kudos

Here's some kind words posted for the Compendium from the man we hired to do layout for the book--the extremely talented Stephen Wark: http://www.chirographum.com/weblog/?p=3681

Compendium Reviewed!

In case you don't check out the Tricky Owlbear blog very often, here's a note to say that the Behind the Spells: Compendium has gotten its first official review! Not too shabby: http://www.rpgnow.com/product_reviews_info.php?&reviews_id=18174&products_id=56664

Lord Soth original art for sale

AS the layoff continues, I'm combing through my collection of D&D stuff to see what might make some $$ if offered up for sale. One item I'm willing to part with (reluctantly) is this original ink drawing from Valerie Valusek featuring everyone's favorite death knight: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=130249814978&ssPageName=STRK:MESE:IT&ih=003

Consider giving this artwork a good home.

Movies of the Week

Scot and I decided to do a double feature this week in the form of Clone Wars and Mummy 3. Since we went from one theater into the next directly (taking time only to stop for more popcorn), I had to really pee til all was said and done. Were the flicks worth urinary disruption? Let's find out.

Clone Wars was, hmm, I can't really say I was highly anticipating it. It's always fun to revisit the Star Wars universe but the animation style I saw in the previews did not overwhelm me. Still, the movie turned out to be not bad at all. The action is pretty much constant which is good since the dialogue is still Lucas-cringeworthy as it has been with the prequels. The basic plot is OK (Republic wanting to gain shipping lanes through the outer rim) but when that plot hinges on Jabba the Hutt's son then you have to inwardly groan. If you haven't seen it, I won't spoil you by describing the Huttling itself but both my brother and I were surprised by its..ah..cuteness. Another cool little scene (yes, I said cool) was when Anakin and Asohka were trying to get the Huttling and themselves into the Republic ship. When the ship dropped its shields and a few droid ships kamakazied into the hanger before the heroes it was very unexpected! All in all, though, a mindless romp through the SW playground with the faces you know and the combat you love. Go see it with no expectations and you'll do fine.

As for Mummy, I wasn't sure what to expect. The previews lead you astray in that you think the gang will fight yetis...not so much. Quite the opposite in fact, which annoyed me slightly. The plot was even more simple than the earlier two flicks in the trilogy and the movie seemed to move a little to quickly from plot point to plot point. Yes, they didn't need to take much time to reintriduce Rick, Eve, and the gang, but some more character time would have been nice. I missed Rachel Weisz but welcomed back the actor who potrays Jonathan with open arms (he opened a nightclub named Imhoteps--classic!). At the end, my brother and I both agreed that we actually preferred Clone Wars to Mummy 3.

Faux Pas for McCain

Grabbed from Elaine Cunningham's LJ...

"An excerpt from a post by Michael Goldfarb on the blog of John McCain's official website:

'It may be typical of the pro-Obama Dungeons & Dragons crowd to disparage a fellow countryman's memory of war from the comfort of mom's basement, but most Americans have the humility and gratitude to respect and learn from the memories of men who suffered on behalf of others.'

Excuse me? It's a little unnerving to see this sort of sneering, dismissive, cheap-shot cliche employed on the blog of a presidential candidate. Insulting ANY portion of the electorate is bad politics, and employing shallow, silly generalizations is bad writing.Another thing that bothers me about this? The men and women in uniform who play D&D and read game-related novels--and there are quite a few of them--deserve better.Over the years I've heard from many servicemen who are a long, long way from home. I've mailed signed books, and donated novels and gaming supplies to base libraries.

For a couple of years, I exchanged emails with a young serviceman stationed in South Korea. He organized a yearly fundraiser at his base, collecting signed items the others might want to purchase and donating the proceeds to a local orphanage. I've talked to quite a few gamers at cons who have served in the military. And I've noticed that book signings near military bases generally have a stronger turn-out. (Submarine bases in particular--those guys like to stock up.) In short, it is my observation that "the D&D crowd" includes quite a few people who have shown themselves willing to suffer on behalf of others. Those I'm been privleged to meet, both in person and online, are exemplary young men. I'm guessing any one of them could teach Mr. Goldfarb a few things about the art of showing respect."

Ebay

Before I forget and the auctions are over, I'm purging some unwanted Grenadier figs here: http://search.ebay.com/_W0QQsassZvantas1

I'll be sorting through my collection of stuff to see what else I can sell since my wallet's on life support for the time being.

And Now For Something...

...well you know the rest. Seems I'm going to have more free time to devote to writing as I was laid off indefinitely from my lab job this past Friday. The manager didn't want to do it to me in particular but things are so slow at the moment that, I think, some 15 of us are off on the unemployment train. Still, what with unemployment being extended to like 39 weeks and the pay (I hope) being enough to cover my monthly bills, it's a good thing. I picked up the Traveller core book and downloaded Mongoose's publisher developer pack. Now I can buckle down and crank out some Traveller goodness for Tricky Owlbear as we definitely need a new direction to go with our products.

In campaign news, my "Stop 4th Edition!" story arc has hit a unique landmark in that next session will see the integration of two adventuring parties into one mega-story! The planar PCs, who are the main PCs, are assaulting a land base of the evil chidahn, dragonfly-men from a foreign dimension. The chidahn are generating some kind of magical field around a gigantic artifact in orbit of a planet which is keeping their brethren in a prison pocket-dimension. When the artifact dies, it will loose its bond with the glyph gates which currently "caps" the prison demiplane. Unfortunately, the artifact's other function is to keep energy flows between the gates steady and, when it dies, the backlash of chaotic power will explode violently through each glyph gate in the multiverse--forever changing the realms they are on in ways impossible to predict (i.e. cause 4th edition). Now, if somehow the artifact can be destroyed on purpose instead of letting it die, the sudden collapse will actually "plug" the stream of power it controls--forever sealing the chidahn's prison while keeping the gate's from overloading. But how does one destroy an artifact the size of a small moon?

Enter the previous campaign's story arc involving Orcus and his meteor-thrower. While the planar PCs gear up to assault the shield-making chidahn base inside a dormany volcano, the Protectorate will make contact with the previous campaign's PCs since they are the ones most experienced with the doomsday weapon still in orbit of Toril. Will those PCs agree to help? Why wouldn't they, it's what adventurers do after all--save the multiverse! I hope everyone who's gamed in either campaign can make it next time for a Return of the Jedi-ish finale of epic proportions. One party takes down the shield while the other takes out the artifact. Simple enough, right? Mwahahaha! I'm looking forward to seeing how one group of players handles two PCs apiece as we switch back and forth between groups. One thing is certain--it will not be boring!

Star Trek XI

Like most geeks, I'm keeping tabs on what's going on with the new Star Trek movie coming out in May 2009. Looks like someone from AICN got a brief preview of two scenes and chats about it here: http://www.aintitcool.com/node/37648

But it is this line in particular that stood out to me: I can't emphasise how real they look. They all use models, no super shiny pure CGI like in Nemesis.

That just does my heart a world of good. The models are what made the ship scenes for me. They're much more real than the plethora of CGI thrown at movie-goers today (I'm looking at you, Lucas, and those insipid Indy IV prairie dogs). Star Trek XI just keeps sounding better and better.

"The 11th Hour" Review

This was a pdf I wrote a couple years back featuring a unique (well, unique among rpgs anyway) twist and no suggested combat encounters. Frequent reviewer of all things, Chris Gath, has kindly posted a review of The 11th Hour pdf on his enworld blog: http://www.enworld.org/forum/blog.php?b=546

Shadowbred

I just finished this first novel in a new trilogy from WotC by Paul Kemp and, let me tell you, it was damned good! Sembian political maneuvering, Shadovar machinations, a jail break inside a magic-dead zone--this book keeps you reading happily until the cliffhanger ending. I know this title has been available for awhile but I'm trying to read these gradually since there's such a break in between the novel's release dates. Hate to read book one only to forget what's going on by the time book two comes out the following year. You know what I'm talking about.

Still, there's something about title character Cale which just doesn't sit right with me. Maybe I've read to many Drizzit novels, but I'm weary of the bad dude trying to make good routine. Granted, Cale is more "dark" than everyone's favorite dark elf but...I can't really put my finger on it. The fact that Cale gives in to his dark side once in awhile is more realistic...eh, I've never been good at book reports. I say go read it (and the other Cale books) and judge for yourselves. Good stuff, all the same.

Tricky Owlbear Store

We just set up our own little corner of cafepress here: http://www.cafepress.com/trickyowlbear

Our wonderful logo by Rick Hershey is the only image on the items for now but we're brainstorming new images so keep watching!

Podcasts

One of my web-buddies, Ed Healy, started up a podcast recently here: http://www.atomicarray.com/

It's good stuff! They spoke with Richard Iorio of Rogue Games about his cool-sounding game Colonial Gothic. I know Ed through Kobold Quarterly, but he's far busier than being involved with one magazine. See his info here: http://www.linkedin.com/in/ephealy

So what podcasts do you listen to? I can't say there's one in particular that I go to again and again (can't seem to find the time).

Vacation Thoughts

My long vacation is at an end and tomorrow it's back to work. So what did I do with my time off? The first portion--last Thursday thru the weekend--was a blur of preparing and unleashing the planar adventure. Entitled "The End of Days, part I" the module saw the unfolding of my "Stop 4th Edition!" story arc. As you may or may not know, the planar campaign is based in Sigil where the party belongs to an organization called the Protectorate. This power group runs missions through Starg--er, I mean glyph gates that are scattered throughout the multiverse. For this story arc, there is a nemesis called the chidahn, a militant race of humanoid dragonfly-men from another dimension bent on the annihilation of our multiverse. Apparently, the chidahn invaded millennia ago but were stopped by the gatebuilders. The PCs learned that the gatebuilders used an artifact to capture the chidahn and trap them in a special demi-plane; the artifact sending some kind of magical wave outward through all glyph gates. Some of the chidahn escaped imprisonment and went into a kind of coccoon-like stasis.

But now that artifact is nearly spent (or, as referred to in the module, "is dying") and the glyph gates are coughing up chidahn at random places. Unless the PCs can fix the problem, the artifact will be spent and a massive shockwave of power will explode through the gates, wreaking havoc on any world they are on and unleash the chidahn from imprisonment (some of this info will be revealed next game). Should be fun!

After Sunday, my last week was spent going in day trips: hiking, Atlantic City, and, perhaps my favorite trip this week, going to the Princeton Record Exchange in NJ. The place isn't huge but it's got a lot of music and dvds. And by music I mean everthing from cds to vinyl. Most items are used and the prices are thus quite good. I picked up 2 cds, the special edition of Highlander and 2 seasons of JAG that Scot, Zlaty and I have been watching. Friday was a stay at home day. Sat saw an outing to Red Robin and back-to-back mini-golfing sessions with Scot, Zlaty, and the Cuthberts. Much fun was had. Today was the customary cleaning and relaxing.

Tomorrow marks the first anniversary of Tricky Owlbear's existence and we'll have a special announcement about a certain product everyone's been waiting for.

Celebrate Your Independence

Although you probably think this is a 4th of July post, it is not. (All the same--Happy 4th!!) What this post is, however, is a call to cherish the gaming legacy we pave everyday. What the heck am I talking about? How often do you get a slight feeling of guilt or shyness when you admit to a stranger that you roleplay (be it D&D or whatever)? I thought about this the other day and realized--there is no reason for shame! Gamers of my age and older who are still playing are actually blazing a trail for everyone behind us. There is no basis of comparison or standard by which gamers of our generation can be judged since we are the first. We shall determine at what age it is "socially acceptable" to game.

I'm not espousing that gaming be equated to "coolness" but we have the opportunity to make it less awkward at the very least. If we unite in our common response of, "I'm gaming this weekend," then soon it will be just like saying, "I'm fishing" or "I'm golfing." Hmm, maybe we can get some bumper stickers made:" Gone Gaming'"

So this 4th of July, revel in your gaming independence and, like this country's founding fathers, be a beacon of hope for all roleplayers to follow.

"Free iPod with Braces"

I saw this little gem of an ad on the way home from Delaware today and had to snicker. But on reflection, why the heck doesn't this dentist just forgo the ipod and reduce the price of braces? It's not like the kids are paying for them anyway, right? Besides, a kid still can't sing in public to his new ipod sporting those braces without risking public humiliation. :)

Moving on, today is Day 1 of my extended holiday from work. There's a mandatory shutdown all next week plus the option of not coming in today or tomorrow. Guess which option I exercised? That's right, 10 more days of vacation--woot! Okay, so it's not all sunshine as not all of those days are with pay (one of them to be precise). But I'm hoping to make some of that lost money up when Linda and I do the Borgata in Atlantic City next Wed. You never know!

Weekend Happenings and the GSL

Blogger ate my previous post where I addressed the GSL but we'll see if I can sum it up here: I don't care for it one bit. It's a moot point, I suppose, since I don't plan on jumping into 4e anyway (either as a roleplayer or as a publisher) but you have to admit that the "we can revoke this at will" clause is a bit disturbing. Not to mention the fact that if you convert a current 3.5/OGL product to 4e then it can never go back. "Bah," I say, "To hell with that crap." It's been nice adventuring with D&D's owners over the last 25 years (give or take) but now I'll be stepping off the bus, thank you.

Elsewhere in RPG news, Joe Goodman contacted me on Friday. He was interested in my freelancing schedule and, although it pained me to say it, I had to bow out of the request for writing. I loved working with Goodman Games but 4e (as noted above) is not something I'll be participating in and that is, understandably, Goodman's push for now. On the brighter side, when I mentioned needing most of my time to devote to Tricky Owlbear, Joe said he thought out "Behind the..." lines were a great idea. Nice to see other publishers (especially one so noteworthy) liking our stuff!

On to other things. It was "Free RPG Day" this past Saturday and did you get out there to peruse the offered goodies? I sure did, along with Scot and Zlaty. We each nabbed, among other things, Mongoose's Traveller-0 booklet and Goodman's Punjar primer and the sweet looking Paizo adventure. We went to a little place called Cyborg One, located in Doyelstown, PA. They were nice enough to let each of us pick up multiple titles. I bought some of the new D&D minis out of courtesy and Scot bought one of the White Wolf Mage books for a few % off.

Sat. night the three of us along with Greg and Heather took the RISK--Star Wars Classic edition out for a test drive after having purchased it last Wed. Good stuff even though we did not finish the game before folks had to scurry home around midnight (are we getting too old or what?!).

Sunday saw some room cleaning (bought a new rug Friday night--6'x9' for only $40 from Pier 1) and then a trip with my parents to Delaware Park. It must have been my day as I turned $180 into $352.50. Not bad for 2 hours work.

This week will be spent in module prep as the planar PCs delve further into the mystery surrounding my "Stop 4th Edition!" story arc.

Birthday Treats

Today I turn a venerable 33 years old. Decided to take a vacation day from work and Linda and I are headed for a fun-filled day to Atlantic City. I received a very nice card from my grandmother (containing some money) as well as a $50 gift card to Borders from the parents. Not bad so far! Here's hoping AC delivers something nice. Wish us luck!

IJ: KotCS

Oh, where to begin reviewing this Indiana Jones sequel? Don't expect the following discussion to be spoiler free...

Aliens: At first, I thought I'd have a problem with aliens in the movie. But as the "story" unfolded, it wasn't that bad. I mean, the movie was true to the era it depicted, right? So, aliens as subject matter...okay. But how about that look? Did it seem to anyone else that the crystal skull seemed to be a miniaturized version of the critters from Cameron's Aliens? I had no problem with their supposed purpose on Earth as archaeologists (and while they're here, why not teach the locals of the time farming, etc.?). So...aliens not terrible.

Russians: Couldn't Indy fight, oh I don't know, Russians that sound like Russians? With Ms. Blanchett as Colonel Doctor Spunky, it's like casting Tim Curry as a Russian (oh yeah, they did that in Congo but at least his accent was passable). As a whole, these baddies were just bland. I mean, how did they not only grab a convoy of American vehicles but also gain access to the location of Area 51? And apparently their accuracy is on par with that of stormtroopers since they couldn't hit Jones at a mere 10 feet distance. Just, blech. Next time, flush the Russians and bring back the Nazis (perhaps in the form of Oddessa).

Jones: Harrison still looked good as Indy but man did he manage to mumble alot of his lines. Uh, Mr. Ford, could you please pay attention to what you're doing?

Plot: There's really too much to go over in one blog post. Let's just say that what plot there was was strung together loosely by minor characters and Indy was just along for the ride. He stumbled from plot point to plot point like a drunken sailor. It was good to see Marian again but she was pretty much useless except to (repeatedly) reinforce the fact that Shia's character Mutt was Indy's son. By the end, their marraige just had no emotional impact on me. It's been too long since we've seen her and it's not as if any of the characters were in danger throughout the movie anyway. Between the overly long jungle chase/fight, the waterfall drops, and their immunity to Russian bullets, any sense of jeopardy was shifted to whether or not the theater's popcorn was too salty.

Music: At the very least, I was expecting a decent Williams soundtrack. Bzzz! Wrong again. Between the snippets I've heard online and what I could hear in the theater, I'm not impressed. It was nice to hear the Ark theme, Last Crusade father/son theme, and Marion's theme again but any new material was simply phoned in by the composer. The skull's theme and action cues were brief and uninspired.

The Good?: There were a couple brief authentic chuckles for me. First was when Indy and Mutt slid through the library and the student asked a question of Jones. And then again when the kid was told not to stay in the library for real archaeology. Second was when Indy rocketed the jungle shredder and, after the CGI had dissipated, John Hurt's Ox repeated his mantra, "Henry Jones Jr." Another soft giggle came when Indy began to insist that Mutt finish school after he found out the kid was his son. Although that joke was visited too many times.

Final Thought: The true measure of a movie for me is whether I plan on adding it to my dvd collection. Sadly, the answer here is "no." I will not tell anyone, despite what I've noted above, not to go see KotCS. It is, after all, and Indiana Jones flick. Just don't expect it to be as good as the others. Indy's good years are gone as a franchise. Unfortunately, they had to make just one more movie in order to figure that out.

Holiday Weekend

Been awhile! How's everyone doing? Not too much planned here for the 3-day weekend but I'll find something to occupy my time. There's scant work to do yet to finish BtS: Feather Fall so that's one goal. I'll probably finish my re-read of Dragons of Spring Dawning (I was going through these and splicing in the new Lost Chronicles trilogy by Weis & Hickman but with the recent report that the final book will not be published, I figured I'd just better finish reading the original trilogy and move on). I started Paul Kemp's Shadowbred but am not terribly far into yet. Yeah, I know it's been out for awhile but trilogys take so long to come out that I didn't want to rush jumping into it lest I forget what happened in the book before the one that is most recently released.

As you can see from the Tricky Owlbear blog, the print version of BtS: Compendium is coming along well. There's a long thread on the Paizo board where I'm hawking it to the folks there who don't appear to have any knowledge of the series (gasp!). Come on over and join the fun here: http://paizo.com/paizo/messageboards/community/gaming/dnd/behindTheSpellsCompendiumPrintUpdate

In other news, one of my co-workers died suddenly this week and I attended his memorial service yesterday with about 15 other co-workers in Reading, PA. Robert "Buz" Wrenn was a good man who I spoke with every day, sometimes at length, as I made my way through the plant. He was only 47 and the cause of death is not yet known (to me anyway--rumor is blood clot). Tragic...he leaves behind numerous children and a wife who not long ago lost her first husband. :(

This is a weekend to remember fallen military men and women but don't stop there in your remembrances. Take a little time to recall the good times with all lost friends and relatives...and cherish the lives of those you can still spend time with. Have a great weekend!

I Am Iron Man...

...the last words of this really good movie which I saw last night. There was excitement aplenty and a couple good laughs (by good, I mean which make me do so out loud and not just chuckle at). I know nothing about Iron Man's comic history and I don't feel like I missed a thing in my ignorance. Go see this flick if you enjoy superhero movies in general (also got to see IJ: KotCS and The Dark Knight previews = good).

And this must be the weekend for good things as more GSL details shake loose. Looks like companies can now produce OGL and 4e products as long as they are on a product line basis--meaning a company can publish for both rules sets but not in the same line. I couldn't do a Behind the Spells 4e upgrade unless I somehow created a whole new way of going about it. But, to be honest, the rules I've seen as of now still haven't convinced me that I'll be dabbling in the 4e sandbox anyway so that's OK. I can always change my mind down the line and jump in at any time.

I'm working this weekend on completing BtS: Feather Fall in an effort to stick to Tricky Owlbear's release schedule. BtM: Gargoyle is in layout with Scot now. Looks dreary out today anyway so I say it's a good day to work inside.

In other news, my sister Katy arrived safely with her family in Hawaii yesterday. Her husband is in the Army and was just reposted there from Arizona. Katy is expecting her 3rd child within a month's time so I'm glad they're situated for awhile. Er, well, they're in a hotel room until more permanent accomodations are procured for them but at least the military doesn't let you in the street. :)

GSL = Ugh

While not officially released as of this moment (or even finished yet, for all I know), the OGL replacement--GSL (Game System License)--looks to be about as appealing as a trip to the proctologist. If you haven't yet read the newest gossip (including comments from WotC folk), please see the front page of ENWorld...all done? Okay, good.

So, why do you suppose WotC wants to put the genie back in the bottle? And by the genie I mean the third party support started and nurtured by the OGL back in 2000. Is it to keep some of their market share from splintering into 3rd party pockets? Perhaps, but Hasbro is a juggernaut and I doubt the loss of a few bucks would prompt the horrendous way they're handling the GSL's formation and release. And I mean horrendous in every sense of the word--from the early $5K fee to jerking those truly interested companies around who would have plunked down that outrageous fee, to delaying, to backtracking on what was said before, to now, 49 days before 4e's release, still not knowing what the hell they're doing.

Oh, what's that Scott Rouse, you're still listening to what people are saying on the messageboards so you can continue to nudge the GSL's language appropriately. Dear Lord, people, make a fucking decision. You're not going to please everyone so stop trying. Of course, pleasing people isn't apparently a goal considering today's revelation that not only will the former d20 logo have to be filed off all third-party products by year's end but also that a company will not be able to release 3e products and 4e products--choose the fate of your company!

Do you know what all this is telling me? That the decision makers at WotC are scared. Scared that their precious new golden game cannot stand on its own two feet. Scared that fans who are willing to buy the core books will then flee in terror back to 3e supporters after they see what the company has wrought. Why else force third-parties to make the choice (again, nothing is set in stone but this looks like the way it's headed)?

For the record, I'm very glad that I had Tricky Owlbear produce products only under the OGL umbrella. Before 4e's announcement, I knew the logo might cause a problem down the road and thought it best to leave it off our stuff. We can sell the pdfs just fine without it, thank you very much. Consumers are savvy enough to know what "v3.5/OGL compatible" means.

In any case, it'll be very interesting to see what eventually shakes out of WotC with the GSL but I won't be surprised to hear more fan and company disapproval before it's all said and done. Viva la 3.5!

Good Game!

The planar campaign's recent installment--"Calamar"--went according to plan. An island prison accessed only by a carefully controlled glyph gate was the dumping ground for the more dangerous criminals of the gnome-dominated Fendaris Imperium (hah, did you hear that WotC, gnomes will crush you!). Not long before the PCs arrival, another team from the Protectorate was sent on a standard recon mission (note: the campaign, if you haven't been keeping track, is essentially a Stargate rip-off without goa'uld) and they are overdue to report back. When the PCs arrive, it seems the prisoners are loose and the guards are dead (wouldn't much of an adventure without that, eh?). Seems the Imperium enjoyed implanting mind flayer tadpoles into inmates to make them very susceptible to suggestion (thereafter being productive, if docile, members of society). But now, they decided to implant those creatures into the resident trio of chuul (thus making uchuulon from the Stormwrack supplement) and then all hell broke loose. To make this long story short, one member of the other team was recovered (just barely avoiding implantation) and the PCs recovered the piece of the glyph gate needed to make it function and return home.

On A Lighter Note

Looks like we're playing a planar campaign adventure tomorrow by yours truly. Scot recently ran an adventure that nearly ended in a TPK. Only my ninja and our spiker fighter survived the Steel Dragons' assault (a FR power group Scot made up). The centaur and paladin were either slain and then taken away or simply stolen away by the force, our PCs weren't sure. That little thread will be played out under Scot's able DMing another time while the rest of the characters (with spikey Ahre and sneaky Silfaan having time to recover now) are off on another mission for the Protectorate.

For this adventure, which I'm calling "Calamar," the trip might be one-way. But what they cannot expect is a reunion with a PC who went MIA during the season premiere. Should be an exciting adventure!

Bitchy People

How many of you know/are related to/work with this type of person? These are the folks who, it seems, nothing pleases them. Sometimes they seem happy but, oh my, don't get on their bad side or they'll snipe you while your back is turned something fierce. What happened to their smile? Why do they turn on their fellow human beings like rabid animals at the drop of a hat? I'd suggest doing a study if only they were safe enough to be near for any amount of time. Unfortunately, when you do work with these people, it affects you negatively as well. Can't be helped...you start turning into one of them and only until you realize and admit it can you start to pull away. I say if you have a problem with someone, take it to them face to face.

We've only got one turn on this earth here so why not make the best of it? Smile and be cordial to your fellow man. If more of us did this, than maybe the world would be a better place.

(Nothing recent prompted this post...just felt like venting as it was stewing inside me for a long time)

Sanctuary

It's been awhile since the last release, but I'm still slowly writing the Behind the Spells series. This time it's Sanctuary that comes under my edition-spanning magnifier. Even after 38 releases now, it's fun to come up alternate ideas and histories for these classic spells. See the Tricky Owlbear blog for links to this latest product.

Okay, my last Gygax tribute link

I told myself I wouldn't post another link about the great DM's passing, but this article is simply too excellent not to pass along: http://www.wired.com/gaming/virtualworlds/news/2008/03/ff_gygax?currentPage=all#

I appreciate that you get insight from both Gygax and Arneson, as I'd never really understood the rift between the two. It's a shame no one knows the terms of the settlement with Arneson suing TSR.

New Dog!

Although still in mourning for Veronica, a situation arose that we could not turn a blind eye to. A pure-bred cocker spaniel, of slightly darker coloring than Veronica, was being given away by a woman Linda and Kristi know. After discussing it with them, my family agreed the 8-week old female sounded very promising. Kristi brought the pup (named Princess by the other family) to her place so my mom and I could go have a look. Well, we were certain she'd be coming home with us before we even got there. Sure enough, this puppy is too cute and has a spunky personality to boot! Since the other family wanted nothing for the pup except that she get a nice home, we took her home as our own. En route, I suggested the name Jasmine since none of us were happy with Princess (although it went with the Princess theme and this is my favorite Disney animated princess--er, as much as a grown man can have one of those :-)).

We're keeping Jasmine in the laundry room for now to sleep and, now on night #2, she appears to be taking it in stride. We're all happy to have her as a member of the family and hope she gives us as many or more happy years as Veronica.

Good Gygax Obit

By the NY Times no less: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/05/arts/05gygax.html?_r=2&ref=arts&oref=slogin&oref=slogin

And, for a bit of fun: http://www.woot.com/Blog/BlogEntry.aspx?BlogEntryId=4118

On the rpg.net thread I took this link from, a witty poster remarked, "I just hope someone took his stuff." Priceless! :-)

Vantage Point

Caught this movie last night with Scot and Zlaty. It was pretty good. The story comes at you from several different--you guessed--vantages and that works well enough as a story-telling device (although I sure wouldn't want it with every movie). Dennis Quaid and the gang show up with decent performances all but nothing that wowed me. I caught most of the plot twists before they happened so, while my movie watching has been at an all-time low of late, I'm not too rusty yet. There's a good car chase and the President tries to kick some terrorist ass as well*. Overall, I'd give it an 8 out of 10. Has this been out for awhile? There were only 3 other people in the theater aside from our trio.

*For the best in terrorist ass-kicking from a U.S. President, make sure to watch Air Force One with Harrison Ford and Gary Oldman; definitely a nail-biter worth your time.

RIP E. Gary Gygax

http://www.scifi.com/scifiwire/index.php?category=0&id=49750

His was a name that will forever be mingled with my formative years. I wouldn't be published today without Gary and the inspiring creation that is Dungeons & Dragons.

4E and Me

I look at information like this and it looks like gobbledy-gook to me: http://www.enworld.org/showthread.php?t=220481

Okay, I shouldn't make snap judgements against a game that isn't off the assembly line yet. But I can tell you this--4E may be a fine game, but it is not Dungeons & Dragons.

Powerball!

Played $20 tonight and won $100. Not too shabby. One white ball shy of paying off my credit card debt. Maybe next time. :)

RIP Veronica

My golden-haired cocker spaniel of some 16-odd years was put down today. In her waning years, age had robbed most of her vision and hearing as well as endowing her with a generous amount of arthritis. Still, when my dad took her to the vet I had no idea they were possibly thinking to make it her last trip. When I returned home from having supper and Veronica wasn't seen lying in the next room, I knew the time had come. I was upset more that I didn't have the chance to say goodbye. Was it probably for the best, given the vet said he gave her 6 months to a year at this visit? I guess, but it's still very tough to loose a family member--even a furry one.

Danger on the Highway

When driving, my motto is: Always assume the other driver is going to do something stupid. Now, this motto is normally applied to drivers at intersections but yesterday I discovered I have to assume this everywhere. While coming home on the interstate yesterday, I was pleasantly surprised to find that the highway was merely wet and a bit slushy at spots (we have had some moderate snows and ice over the last couple days). So, here I am passing an 18-wheeler at casual highway speed when I notice the truck start to drift into my lane. This kind of thing happens when windy so I at first assumed this was the case here. Not so! Apparently, the driver didn't notice I was next to him and was bringing his rig into my lane. There was little to do except brake and try to squeeze into the space between the passing lane and the concrete median.

Unfortunately, given the recent snows, that space I was entering was a packed nightmare of snow, gravel, and who knows what else. Of course, my braking only caused me to lose control of the car and I began to slide toward the concrete median with little hope of correcting my course. When I did hit something, it turned out to be the snow packed there which diverted me back toward the passing lane. But my braking was now causing some fish-tailing action and I suddenly remembered that you were supposed to pump the brakes while sliding. My foot came off the brake and I immediately had more control. By this time, the trucker realized what had happened and was already parking off the highway ahead to the right. After coasting a bit for a van to pass by me, I regained solid road and, after determining that the car was still driving OK, proceeded home. The trucker was stopped and looking out his window but I didn't want to tempt the fates by stopping and chatting along the busy interstate so I passed him by.

There was a bit of shimmying going on with the front driver side wheel but I made it home without further incident. Looking at the tire, I noticed that my run-in with the snow pack had sheared a thin 2-inch area off right above the hubcap. To make sure all was well, I went immediately to a local tire place to have them check it out. The guy there said that, often with vehicles forced off the road into snow or mud, material is shoved under the wheel well and affects the tire balance. That's probably what happened and was easily corrected. Twenty dollars and less than 10 minutes later I was back in action with just that little scar as a reminder that you really must expect other drivers are going to do something stupid.

Indiana Jones teaser

See it here now: http://www.indianajones.com/site/index.html

Looks darned good!

Old Books Die Hard

Got some cleaning in this weekend and devoured some Star Wars fiction--Tim Zahn style. I just love this guy's style and interwoven plots. After finishing Allegiance yesterday I couldn't help but pick Heir to the Empire off my shelf and start rereading it (and plan to go through that trilogy in its entirety). Grand Admiral Thrawn was definitely one of my literary idols in the 90s. Such a cool calculating villain you just can't help but root for him.

Is it just me or do y0u never hear about people rereading favorite books? Sure, there's always new stuff to read that is possibly as good or better than favorite books of the past but why not revisit the old goodies when in the mood? It's the same as popping in a dvd of a favorite movie...which I suspect folks do with some frequency. Could be the time requirement, I suppose. A dvd only requires a couple hours of your time and can be combined with socializing when necessary while books require solitude and many hours of time.

But maybe nostalgic longing for certain books is a trait reinforced by D&D culture itself. The shared experience inherent in the hobby's infancy and a longing for it is evident when you look at WotC's recent Expedition to... adventures, Goodman's DCCs, and even Necro Games' "1st edition feel." Every gamer around in the 70s & 80s would give his eye teeth to grab the wonder and excitement of those early days. So why not help out that nostalgia gland by re-experiencing one of your personal "classic" novels? It might just reignite some lost gaming passion.

No News...

...is good news? Apologies for my lack of posting but there isn't much going on I can speak about. I'm happy to have SG: Atlantis back on for my viewing pleasure as well as Psych on USA. Been doing some gambling this week, mostly at Delaware Park (avoid Mohegan Sun/Pocono Downs if you like your money!). All in all, I came out just $45 behind. Not bad for 4 trips in one week. Today I'm devoting the afternoon to cleaning and end of year paperwork filing (a few weeks late but yeah well).

Should finish up BtS: Sanctuary today and start on either Feather Fall or BtM: Gargoyle this week. Also plotting out an adventure involving dark creepers and stalkers called When Heroes Fall.

My Bro

After quite some time without blogging (I even removed him from the blogroll), my brother Scot is back on the scene. Check out his rambling here: http://zoomquick.blogspot.com/

What Have They Done to You?

Here's a look at the Realms through D&D Insider's most recent article (written app. a century after when the 4e Realms will take place): http://www.therpgsite.com/forums/showthread.php?t=8810

Why not just call the Spellplague "Wild Magic, part II" and be done with it? And no more Unther? Although I didn't use the country every game, I still liked having it down there. Don't care for more draconic races so I'm not inclined to use 4e's dragonborn anywhere (especially in my Realms). And the Netherese only managed to take over Sembia in 100 years?! They're clearly not as badass as I thought. 4e Realms just continues to get less and less appealing.

More eBay

Decided to part with my spare copy of Rappan Athuk: Reloaded box set #304! See it and a couple other items here: http://search.ebay.com/_W0QQsassZvantas1

Jones'in for Jones?

Have a look: http://www.vanityfair.com/culture/features/2008/02/indianajones200802

Not sure how I feel about the sci-fi overtones but I trust these guys to make a damned good movie.

Thoughts for 2008

Hope everyone had a safe and happy holiday season. I know I did. But that's all in the past now and we must look ahead to the new year. What's on deck? Let's ponder...

On the freelancing front, we have Domains of Adventure which I'm (supposed to be) writing for Highmoon. We did get the first one out the door: http://www.rpgnow.com/product_info.php?products_id=50939 I'm due to pen the second locale any time now (sorry Daniel, you know how this time of year is). I think that's it for freelancing.

Tricky Owlbear has consumed the bulk of my writing time of late and deservedly so. I finished BtM: Skeleton and Scot has it for layout. Shortly to be finished is BtS: Sanctuary and then I think I'm moving onto BtM: Gargoyle and, as mentioned above, the next locale for Highmoon. The Owlbear's plans have changed since 4th edition's announcement and, quite frankly, aren't in any kind of finalized state yet. I'd like to keep supporting 3.x edition if there are any buyers (at the moment such consumers are in hiding it seems). There won't be any Campaign Theme Packs as mentioned in the TO blog but I'd still like to pen an OSRIC adventure or two to test those waters.

Speaking of adventures, I'm thinking of re-tooling the Invasion: Freeport outline for a neutral city and 3.x adventure but am unsure it would come together before 4th edition PR really grabs people and holds onto their wallets tightly. Just too many uncertainties for the pdf biz right now. And what do I think of 4e, you ask? Not sure. There are many things I don't like the look of right now (Realms changes and wacky spellcasting being the biggies) but any of them could change until the game is released. Will Tricky Owlbear support 4e? I'm not saying yet but would be foolish to not do so if it proves as popular as 3e.

In non-rpg news, my new job as a lab tech at a pharmaceutical company is still not going badly. Do I see myself there for an extended period of time? Nah, but it's a good stepping stone to greater things. I'm even keeping my foot in the drug store, having worked for David the Sat. before Christmas and doing so again this Sat. morning. It was nice seeing some of the customers again and seeing what's been changed in the store itself. Am I still glad I left? You bet.

Now it's time to get back to relaxing on this New Year's Day. I'm reading some Timothy Zahn Allegiance, his newest Star Wars offering set between Ep IV and V. Even before starting this book, I've had a hankering to reread the Heir to the Empire trilogy and maybe even Margaret Weis' Star of the Guardians books. Guess I'll pile those on the growing "to do" list for '08. :)

Merry Christmas!

Been awhile since the last post so now's a good a time as any to update the 'ol blog. Was finally out for a good hike yesterday around Hamburg's reservoir and the Appalachian Trail. I snapped some pics with my camera phone and hope to start a little hiking log with pics once I get them uploaded to my hard drive.

My sister, her husband, and two nephews are home from Arizona and staying in our basement until around the 3rd of Jan. It's a little hectic at times but it's very good to see them all again. Gift-giving was fun and profitable (meaning plenty of $$ for rpg buying or, more likely, a casino trip or two!). More importantly, everyone was happy, safe, and together--what the holidays are all about. Here's hoping you all have the same.

Ebay Sale!

I've decided to sell off some of my d20 collection. What does that mean? Well, cheap books for you if the titles appeal to you. More may be added in the coming days, but I've got about 40 items up now here: http://search.ebay.com/_W0QQsassZvantas1

PDF Sales AP Article

Perhaps there's money in pdfs after all... http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5g4aOK0HuId1Q6oWOGzIM5h9Rtf_QD8TARQMG2

December Already?

Where does the time go? Yesterday it went to cleaning my room--11am to 8pm of reorganizing, Pledge-ing, and vacuuming. I had to get back to work today to rest!

The group has a throw-together module on Sat. since Brad realized at the last minute that he couldn't make it. That left me quickly cobbling together the plot for an adventure for our planar PCs. I knew early on in the campaign, while doodling notes for possible future adventures, that I wanted these PCs to come across a world already ravaged by Orcus' meteor throwing weapon (as seen in the finale of the previous high-level campaign found somewhere in the murky history of this blog).

I knew I wanted the group to fight spellstitched ghasts (from MMII) in waves, be "rescued" by a mind flayer in need of armed allies, and eventually save a band of survivors by taking them back to Sigil. All of that happened, thanks in no small part to lifting a monster (lava creeps--CR2 my ass) and a small wizard tower from Goodman's DCC #8. After guided to safety by the mind flayer, they are led to the refugee camp. When the mind flayer speaks of a teleportation ring mentioned by fleeing drow, the PCs concoct a plan to use it to take everyone back to the glyph gate. With luck, they could escape with minimal casualties (as the gate was last seen under heavy undead guard, not the least of which included a dracolich!).

There were 3 near-PC-deaths and every refugee (including the mind flayer, separated from his colony during the meteor bombardment) survived, so it was a good game. Doesn't look like we'll be playing next weekend so perhaps that time can be spent Xmas shopping.

Green Ronin Mega-Huge Sale-a-thon!

Until Dec. 12, GR is practically giving away their outstanding catalog of books. As I understand it, they were having the sale through their distributor only, meaning if you wanted to take advantage of the fantastic prices ($2, $5, etc.), you had to go to your FLGS and order the books. I'm guessing that online fan outcry was such that Paizo configured a way to get these cheap titles to fans via their web store. The proof for this theory is here: http://paizo.com/store/sale/greenRonin

Happy shopping!

Thanksgivaway!

OBS is offering up pdfs for free this week as donated by some nice publishers over there. One of which happens to be BtS: Vampiric Touch on Wednesday. If you still haven't checked out my signature series, now is the perfect time! Check out the free pdfs here: http://enworld.rpgnow.com/thanksgiveaway.php?&src=ThanksGiveAway

Goodbye d20

For those who may not have heard yet, Scott Rouse (the D&D manager at this time) has said: "There will be the OGL and Wizards D&D products period. No d20 STL (tiered or otherwise) to be even more clear." Check out this thread for more: http://www.enworld.org/showthread.php?t=211378&page=1&pp=30

On one hand, I'm a bit sorry to see it go, but on the other hand, did it stand for quality anymore? People have enough "d20" product to last until the end of time. Now, d20 publishers will have to somehoe distinguish their products from the pack if they still want to be paired in the consumer's mind with D&D (unless, as Scott mentions in that thread, WotC does include a usable compatibility phrase with the OGL). Eh, in any case, I'm glad that I kept the d20 logo off of Tricky Owlbear products so far. :)

Two New Releases & Happy Halloween

If all goes as planned, two new pdfs with my scribblings should be released Thursday. The first is my contribution to Axel Carlsson's Behind the Monsters: Barghest and the second is the first in a line of pdfs for Highmoon. The piece is called "The Museum of Infamous Heroism" and the line of products is called Domains of Adventure. If the line proves popular, I think I'm going to be penning most (if not all) of them. Ah, to be busy. And then, of course, there's continuing Behind the Spells (I know, I'm bad for letting them go this long) and the occasional BtM solo (such as Skeleton and Gargoyle coming up).

And a Happy Halloween to everyone out there (with a special birthday greetings for my nephew Aiden who is 6 today--already a fan of Transformers, thanks to yours truly). So what Halloween traditions do I have? At 32, I'm a tad old for trick-or-treating (although not that old in spirit). Oddly enough, I'll be popping in the second season Halloween episode of the much-missed series Millennium. That episode and the Xmas ep in that same season are what quality TV is all about (mmm, the latter more than the former, but both still good). Actually, pretty much all of MM's season 2 was fantastic but that's a post for another day. Until then, enjoy your spooktastic holiday!

New Job

For those who might have seen my first "New Job" post some weeks back, well, I deleted that one as the job did not come to pass (long story, but I gained some inside info which made me quit before I officially started). Today was my third day working for a small pharmaceutical company called PPS in Shartlesville, PA. The people seem nice enough so that's a plus. My official title is Lab Tech which I'm told encompasses a few jobs. At the moment, I'm training to take samples of raw materials (they make skin products there) and then testing them for contaminents. The whole thing was rather daunting at first but in just these three days I learned what to do and actually prepared a few samples on my own today. I'm told they want me trained on lab machines they currently have consultants come in to work. That's fine by me because then I'll be the only one who has in depth knowledge of those machines (special knowledge = more $$ right?). For now, the job seems like a keeper as I can feel good growth coming in the future once their current restructuring is complete.

A New Publisher & Open Call

Generic Universe Publishing just announced its entrance into our world. The company is headed up by noted author/editor/developer Patrick Lawinger and can be found here: http://www.genericuniverse.com/writingRPGs.html

Actually, this is a link to Patrick's discussion of writing for RPGs (always useful) but you can easily surf the rest of the site from there. Don't forget to check the News section if you're looking for work as there is an Open Call for writers right now. I'd like to submit something but my Tricky Owlbear obligations might eat up too much time. We'll see. It would be neat to submit to a start-up the same theme/type of submission that launched my own freelancing career (the Urban Blight contest creating city locales for Mystic Eye--here's hoping GUP surpasses the fame and longevity of that company!). I met Patrick briefly during my GenCon trip in '04 (I think it was that year) and he was very nice and, from his various message board posts, certainly knows what he's doing in terms of the RPG world. I suspect working for Patrick can, at the very least, lead to a good learning experience.

AE: Waterskin

I see Mark at Skortched 'Urf has released my latest contribution to his Adventurer Essentials line of products. Have a look and don't forget to listen to the neat little audio commentary as well: http://www.rpgnow.com/product_info.php?products_id=50743

Random Acts of Knowledge

If you're anything like me, you just love to gather up and store useless bits of knowledge. Now, instead of googling for something interesting, you can use everyone's favorite ever-evolving online encyclopedia--wikipedia! I think I saw this trick mentioned on lifehacker.com. You just hit the "Random Article" link and...voila! On my first hit, I got something which turned out to be good reading: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Pellew%2C_1st_Viscount_Exmouth

Good luck and let me know what interesting things you stumble across!

Campaign Souvenirs

When groups game, campaigns come and go but how many groups create some type of keepsake for really good campaigns? I've done this on three occasions:
1) A notebook for each player which kept the "campaign log."
2) A cassette soundtrack featuring liner notes describing the modules/event each track was played during.
3) Personalized pencils with the adventuring group's name.
4) As #2 but in cd form.

To be honest, I'm probably the only one that's really enjoyed these (especially the music collections) over the years but I maintain that years from now one of the players will stumble across one of these items and be blessed with a hit of nostalgia, saying to him/herself, "Good times." That's what keepsakes are all about, right? Maybe I'm just an oddball but has anyone done anything similar?

Dragonlance Movie Song

Here's a brief clip of the "Qualinesti Hymn" from the upcoming Dragons of Autumn Twilight film. Looks like its release form (direct to DVD or cinema) is still unknown at this time. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=54Ure_45SSw

Review-BtS: Dispel Magic

In this week's Digital Front podcast, Behind the Spells: Dispel Magic gets a long awaited review. Surf on over to thedigitalfront.com and have a listen!

Here Comes Autumn...

...and thank God! Yesterday was the first since summer began that I was seen wearing long pants. Today is no different. A crisp wave of cool air has moved into our section of the country and boy does it feel refreshing. When my parents return from an errand later today I will most certainly be getting out onto the mountain. It's been a day shy of 2 weeks that I've been hiking and that's way too long.

My grandmother is recovering nicely (if a bit slowly--but for 84 years old it's good progress), to the point of walking around on her own (albeit only on the floor her bedroom is on). Hopefully she'll get out of her sleepwear today and then she might start to feel normal again. Physical therapy comes tomorrow and that can only increase her recovery speed.

On the job front, I still have nothing solid to report but have found a couple promising leads I'll follow up on tomorrow. With life settling down again on the homefront, I'm finally starting to enjoy my time off so if a job doesn't manifest for another 2 weeks (or more), that's OK with me.

And how about some rpg chatter on here? Well, I'm slowly working on BtS: Sanctuary (with Feather Fall soon to follow). Daniel at Highmoon Media mentioned on a forum that my locale "series" for him will be see its first release in October (I say "series" because I wasn't really certain that I was still writing more than one locale given the 8 or 9 months since I turned in that first one and that I now have a corporation to oversee, but we'll see what happens). And speaking of Daniel, those interested in listening to news of the pdf market should head on over to http://thedigitalfront.com/ where podcast interviews with industry folk are being posted. This is Daniel's new venture and I wish him much success with it!

Welcome Home

Today, after a harrowing two weeks, we brought mom-mom home from the hospital. Even the doctor's are amazed at her progress (not to mention us!). She is in good spirits and can resume activities with no restrictions (although we're keeping her off the stairs for awhile). She'll have physical therapy at the house a few times a week but I bet that won't last longer than a month. We're glad to welcome her back home again.

Friday Update & How I (Almost) Met Michael Palin

Well, the gourmet food run didn't work out...in fact, it didn't even start! I overheard a phone conversation the boss was having with another person interested in the job. When the boss mentioned there was no salary, all commission-based, I turned and fled (after the obligatory "oh, that's how it is; well I'm not comfortable" response to him). Another job seems promising but cannot give full-time hours/pay for 2 to 3 months after a part-time trail (the part-time pay is $300/week but that's cutting it too close for me especially if the job isn't my thing). The search continues.

My grandmother is doing extremely well and is ready to be moved from the ICU. One small problem--no beds! Folks in the ER need beds and there aren't enough to go around so mom-mom may have to stay in the ICU until she's ready to go home. I was with her an hour yesterday after my aborted job run and she was in pretty good shape--a little dementia yet but at least she was sitting in a chair instead of lying in bed. I might make the run out there today with my mom later.

Game on for tomorrow! By request, the planar campaign gets its next installment. The PCs have had some down time and now their approx. 8th-level selves will have an adventure like no other (or is that just a good catch phrase?)! I came up with a plot before bed so it might not hold up well under scrutiny as I work on the adventure today.

And now to Michael Palin--one member of the astoundingly funny and famous Monte Python's Flying Circus group. On the way home from the hospital yesterday, I heard an interview with the man on Philadelphia station 90.9 FM. He was touring for his new book Michael Palin Diaries: 1969-1979, the Python Years. After they played the Lumberjack song at the end of the program (which is about all I heard, coming in late to that station), they mentioned he would be having a talk and signing at the Free Phila. Library on Vine St. @ 7pm that evening. I gathered Scot & Zlaty (after not being able to reach the Cuthberts, admitted Python fans) and headed down. We arrived in a more or less timely fashion but parking was hard to come by. We parked very near the art museum and hoofed it 2 blocks or so. By the time we arrived, security was letting no one else into the building because it was too full--even the standing room was taken! Drat! Probably a couple hundred feet away was a comedy legend I couldn't see. And that's how I (almost) met Michael Palin.

Good News

My grandmother, although still in the ICU, has been successfully removed from the ventilator and she is all but tube-free, talking and more or less coherent. She's a remarkable lady and I hope they can get her out of the ICU soon. It's amazing that it's only been a week since she went in for her mini-stroke symptoms.

On the job search front, I called a company today who needs someone immediately. It has to do, apparently, with gourmet food/delivery and sales. Although I'm not enamored with the "sales" aspect of it, I agreed to go on a no-obligation run with the boss on Thurs. morning. Wish me luck!

Job Hunt

Got my results back from the postal exam yesterday and my score was 77.10. That doesn't sound particularly good to me since I think it's out of 100 but oh well the letter said I'm eligible and on the register for the next 2 years so that's a good thing. In the meantime, Shirley from the herb shop next to the drug store gave me the card of a sales rep who's looking for help. Turns out he's a published author who was on Oprah so just for that reason alone I'll have to open a dialogue with him. :) Good things are rolling in and it's only day 1 of my "extended vacation."

Grandma Update

Last night things looked grim. Mom called us at the Cuthbert's where we were trying to relax during some gaming. It looked like mom-mom was bleeding again but they did not know from where. So instead of waiting to resume surgery Sunday (today), they had to go back in last night. My mom said the doctor didn't sound hopeful so we all congregated at LVH again and feared the worst. Not terribly long after we were there, the same surgeon as last time emerged to give us...a good report! They could find nothing that indicated mom-mom was bleeding again (very odd but good!) and after checking everything thoroughly (liver is viable and healthy), they sewed her back up. Over the next few days they'll work on taking her off the various machines and see about getting her into shape to come home. Better news we could not have gotten.

Edit: Turns out the anamolous bleeding came from her abdominal wall but all is OK.

Highs and Lows

Much like the temperatures over the last couple days and those forecasted for the weekend, the events of this week(end) are up and down. On the positive front, tomorrow is my last day at work. It'll be very nice to have a break for awhile from a routine (or rut, in this case). On the low side, my grandmother was taken to the hospital on Tues for symptoms which appear to have been a "mini-stroke". All seemed okay until today when a persisent stomach pain was worsened by incredibly low blood pressure. A cat scan (done today to investigate a possible aneurism area in the brain) revealed fresh blood in her abdomen. Two cups of blood turned into 2+ liters in a couple hours time by the time she was operated on.

I went to stay with my mom and a couple of her friends at Lehigh Valley Hospital tonight while word was waited on from the surgeon. Fortunately, the procedure didn't take as long as expected and we were briefed--one of mom-mom's arteries going to her liver had somehow ruptured and she had a large hematoma (sp?) between it and the stomach. The surgeon described how he had to physically move her stomach and whatnot around to find the leak. When it was discovered, he literally pinched it closed with his hand while it was sewn off. She had to be given 4 liters of blood after receiving 2 earlier in the day.

She's been through a lot already this week and she must rest up for more. They had to leave her "open" with packing for more surgery is required on Sunday. The liver appeared in good shape for now and hopefully another artery running to the liver will take over where the ruptured one failed. After that, we were told it will be a long recovery as mom-mom is weaned off the various machines she is now on. Perhaps the most amazing thing that happened tonight was that, although heavily sedated in an induced coma, she opened her eyes while the lot of us were speaking at the foot of her bed. The nurse said, "Oh my God, she opened her eyes!" There was no eye movement, but my mom is sure she heard us. As you can imagine, the whole thing was very emotional. But I have faith that she'll eventually get home because the area # she is in matches out house number--260! I'll take that as a sign from above.

Bulging Shelves

I suppose with 4e now officially on the way, I can justify clearing off some shelf space. Just how many rpg (mostly d20) books did I think I needed anyway? Well, for those interested (and with more shelf space than I), I'm starting some auctions: http://search.ebay.com/_W0QQsassZvantas1

Wed. edit: Added some more items including a signed HC copy of Blackmoor!

Planar Campaign Revs Up for Second Season

As I've mentioned before here, my campaigns are run like TV seasons--10 adventures to a season. Yesterday, we began season 2 with the PCs in "Vecna-verse", the alternate universe they stumbled into last time (where Vecna won his bid for power in Die! Vecna! Die!). Now in the Realms, the PCs are given a possible route home by the god Azuth (the gods were cast down by Ao just before Vecna's transformational wave restructured the universe and destroyed all other deities). The location of the group's salvation was named, appropriately enough, Gate...this is an actual locale mentioned in a couple Realms products (The North box set and FR5: The Savage Frontier).

Both sources mentioned that the place was inhabited by a smallish beholder calling itself "the keeper" and it was served by superior bugbears. Also mentioned was that the portals here took the form of many different colored stone slabs inside a large black-stoned chamber. Hmm, not much to work with there. Naturally, I was curious as to why someone would build such portals and devised a little Realms-specific background--a Netherese wizard (one of the principal architects behind that empire's floating cities) fled north following that empire's destruction and continued his experiments concerning gravity (the force that binds the multiverse together--ah-ah! the perfect theme for Gate, I thought).

So, now I had a bad guy and some minions (bugbears from the MM as well as a couple classed versions I found in Mongoose's NPC book) but I needed more monsters and a dungeon map. Oh, the dreaded dungeon map. I'd rather stock a dungeon than create one myself. Fortunately, there are a plethora of products out there with wonderful maps. Some I find useful are those from the new Rappan Athuk box by Necromancer Games and indeed anything by map-master Ed Bourelle (also check out his book of maps from Green Ronin, featuring "themed" maps without fluff attachment). Another go-to source of dungeon maps is the 2e Ruins of Undermountain box. Not only does this box have four big poster maps of nothing but dungeons, it has very large areas that were left featureless. This weekend's adventure was not the first time I lifted a chunk of map to mold into what I needed.

How about monsters, though? Time was short for my prep and I went, as I often do, to some 3rd party d20 books in an effort to give my players something fresh and new to fight. Two books saw use aside from the MM yesterday--Denizens of Avadnu and Tome of Horrors III. I was particularly pleased with the latter's gravity elemental. That thing was nasty when combined with a spiked ceiling. ;) I think the other critters were also well received (except perhaps the boneneedle spiders whose poison regrettably never came into play). Two new monsters each from these sources, a large water elemental, and a couple traps later, I had a working adventure! Unfortunately, I had to make up the "smallish beholder" en route, backing its Hit Dice off to 8 (the party's avg. level was 5th) and dumbing down its eye rays.

I also ran out of time to actually plan how one opens these many-colored slab-portals. Whoops! On the drive over to the game barn, I decided it would have something to do with one of my favorite techno-magical cop-outs--control crystals. Found in the Netherese wizard's chambers, these crystals would need to be stuck into the appropriate slots in the portal room's control consoles to activate the portals. However, you needed to stick the correct rod into the correct hole to open a portal. Fortunately, Scot's PC picked up the wizard's gravity workbook and he and Chuck's PC deduced which crystal would open a portal to alternate worlds.

The PCs were told last module that a blast of raw power would be needed to adjust the open portal so that it would access their home reality. Although Mike was at GenCon, his PC Kytor still provided that service (NPC style) and the PCs made it home even as bugbear reinforcements poured into the portal chamber. Chuck's PC, however, needed to heroically stay behind to keep the gate open for everyone else (the beholder intentionally damaged the console before it was slain). That character's fate remains a mystery.

Hmm, that long post was part recap and part "behind the scenes" adventure design. In any case, much fun was had and everyone will be leveling up for next time. If this first adventure is any indication, the campaign's 2nd season will prove to be quite exciting! I'll be bringing back the PCs chief nemesis--the jaguar-folk--as well as scratching the surface perhaps of who or what constructed the glyph gates (the normal portals the Protectorate uses to explore the multiverse from a base in Sigil).

4e/OGL Matters

According to Scott Rouse, D&D Brand Manager, it appears that there will be no fee involved with 3rd party use of the 4e SRD. 4e will definitely be supporting the OGL and a new SRD will be released. The question is, will 3rd party publishers have access to such a document before the new core books will be released. It'd be nice, I say, but not necessary. Publishers will just have to take a page from WotC's book and release fluff-tastic products before the new edition emerges to the public.

Star Trek's Braga Answers Questions

Check out this link: http://trekmovie.com/2007/08/12/vegascon-07-braga-reflects-on-a-life-with-trek/

Brannon Braga was at a convention answering questions about his 15 years of Trek writing and producing and I learned some interesting things. He's always been a favorite writer of mine back from the TNG days. Even more interesting, is that he started to visit this site and answer questions in the comments section. Neat! I couldn't resist making a comment of my own. We'll see if I get a response. I sneak in at comment #182.

Edit: Woohoo, a response!
Bret -
You rock! Thank you so much for the thoughtful comments. “Deadlock” was one of my faves, too.

4th Edition

Wether you think it's too soon or not (I do!), get ready for the 4th Edition of D&D. Apparently, in addition to WotC's site having a big "4DVENTURE" default page instead of their normal site at the moment, this new forum was leaked too early over there: http://www.enworld.org/showpost.php?p=3702448&postcount=217

Early word has it that 4e will not be open to all via OGL unless some kind of licensing fee is paid by prospective 3rd party publishers. This means that freelancing can be kept alive (assuming I even buy the 4e stuff) but what this means for Tricky Owlbear is anyone's guess. :(

Traveller Returns

Interesting: http://www.mongoosepublishing.com/news/news_item.php?pkid_news=166

Perhaps the OGL ruleset for this can fill in the sci-fi longing I have for Tricky Owlbear.

Mallyate Finally Reviewed!

After a couple years, my pdf Mallyate, originally written for Ronin Arts, has been reviewed (and favorably I might add): http://www.rpgnow.com/product_reviews_info.php?reviews_id=16370

It should be interesting to see if a review spurs more sales of this older product.

Cone of Cold review

Chris Gath continues to review the Behind the Spells series with the newest review: http://www.enworld.org/reviews.php?do=review&reviewid=3650209

In writing news, I finally finished the short story for the Crown setting. I'm happy with the plot and the structure but I'm not sure the protagonist really came into his own. Ah well.

Wild West Kobolds

I was just struck by an image of a kobold wielding an Old West style revolver. Could this idea blossom into the first support material I write for Temporality? Perhaps a writeup of these techno-enhanced kobolds and a mini-adventure are in order.

Vampiric Touch

Since I'm still writing them, I'll keep announcing here when the Behind the Spells pdfs are released. Now for sale is Vampiric Touch--the first pdf offered for sale by the Tricky Owlbear. Grab it here: http://www.rpgnow.com/product_info.php?products_id=22456

The Owlbear Lives!

Head on over to http://www.trickyowlbear.com/ to see what my brother has brought forth from the primordial ooze of cyberspace. And for the official press release, go here: http://www.enworld.org/showthread.php?t=200823

Happy 4th!

Sorry about the lack of posts but this week I'm dog/house sitting while busily prepping things for Tricky Owlbear's launch this Sat. I think I'm going to celebrate the holiday by taking a quick trip to Phila. Park for a spot of slots. :)

We Named the Dog Indiana

Indiana Jones is back in the saddle: http://www.indianajones.com/community/news/news20070621.html

Pirates!

This seemed to be the theme for the weekend. Yesterday I DM'd our high level Realms characters against a threat most of them had encountered before--neogi! These "spider-snake" privateers once again went up against the Defenders of Cormyr and suffered defeat. The highlight for me had to be when the commander neogi led the PCs aboard the disabled craft to "get hidden treasure" to barter with for its life. Instead, the sneaky little devil activated the ship's magical self-destruct!!! Brad's monk PC throttled the beast but it was too late. Fortunately, everyone survived the detonations and they were able to return later and sift through the rubble for some great treasure. Hmm, another good part would have been when an umber hulk tried to charge through a steel door and got its ass handed to it. Okay, there were many good moments. :)

Today, after a farewell get-together for my sister and her kids, Scot and Zlaty and I went to see the latest in the Pirates of the Carribean movies. Was it any good? Eh, it wasn't terrible. The acting was good and the movie looked great. Hans Zimmer delivered a good score at the beginning for the film's Singapore opening but quickly fell back into original Pirates material for the climactic battle (at least it sounded that way in my opinion). And then there's the plot. I'm pleased that everything was wrapped up but there were too many new elements introduced in order to do so. I guess, though, when you have to clean up the wretched second film's mess, that's a tall order for any writer (much less the pair of writers given credit here). At the end, I was hoping they'd crank out another Pirates if only to see a good adventure involving the fountain of youth. To hope a movie spawns (yet another) sequel pretty much tells you that this one couldn't have been too bad at all.

Willi Weekend

This weekend saw the spring open house of Willi Singleton (see www.willisingleton.com for details). Willi is a famed potter and just all-around nice guy who fires up his handmade kiln twice a year and then has two shows at his home for local buyers. Let me tell you, it's worth the trip if you're anywhere in the Hawk Mtn. area. I usually grab something every time I go because of the appreciation value and because the stuff's so damned cool. I've got close to a dozen pieces now from little bowls to coffee mugs and now a little plate I nabbed yesterday. Linda had never been to a Willi show so I took her and my mom up there today (after being there yesterday with Katy).

Naturally, we all found something to buy (the two girls having two items apiece). When I handed over my bowl for purchase, Willi (who personally checks out everyone and gives little info tidbits about the pieces), wrapped it in paper and handed it back to me saying, "This is for you for bringing everyone up here." Wow, I was floored. It's true that I spread the word of his work and then shuttled my family members up there but never expected a reward for it. Too cool and it saved me $22.

Hoards Reviews

Not sure how I missed these, but there are 2 favorable reviews of Hoards over at gamingreport.com. The first is from Feb: http://www.gamingreport.com/modules.php?op=modload&name=Reviews&file=index&req=showcontent&id=2279

The second from April: http://www.gamingreport.com/modules.php?op=modload&name=Reviews&file=index&req=showcontent&id=2291

Don't Spoil It!

I'm an avid Stargate and the SG: Atlantis spinoff watcher. With Star Trek off the tube (as far as new episodes go), the SGs are the only really good sci-fi fun left on tv (year, BG is okay but they've got like 10 months in between seasons and now I just saw that the next one is their last). In any case, there is a difference in how I watch the Stargates from how I used to watch the last Star Trek incarnation (Enterprise)--spoilers. I used surf on over to trektoday.com regularly to see what was coming up for Enterprise. As a result, when interesting things did happen on the show, the emotional impact was lessened--I already knew that X was going to happen to Y. With the Stargates, I just watch them as they come. My non-spoiler approach led to a real response when a character on SG: Atlantis kicked the bucket. After that, I went online just to see the whys of the decision to kill off that character. What I found was a website already in place to bring the character back. WTF, I thought. Turns out, the leak for this death had been out for some time but since I didn't look for such info, I never ran across it. Turned out to be some damned fine tv watching so the moral of my tale is: Don't Spoil It; you'll gain that much greater viewing satisfaction.

In other news, we played some good Spycraft last Saturday in which the outcome is war between the US and a Pan-American Alliance primarily fueled by Venezuela. Should be much fun for the games ahead! Heather was back at the table after her successful bout against the evil bloot clots. We're all happy to have her gaming and healthy again.