Tabletop News Round-up April 27 - May 2

I was catching up on some of my favorite companies last night when I noticed that some of the news was completely missed in other sources. So I gathered it all up and threw it together. I've got round ups for Dungeons and Dragons, Paizo, Goodman Games, Privateer Press, Green Ronin, Pinnacle Entertainment, AEG, and Palladium!

Dungeons and Dragons

In this week's Legends and Lore column, The Art of War, Mike Mearls discusses the new Battlesystem for Dungeons and Dragons. It's essentially a substitution of numbers game where one figure represents ten, or twenty, or however many you need. I think that if Wizards of the Coast is going to encourage the Battlesystem in a meaningful way, though, that they're going to need more than just the Attack Wing game from WizKids.

This week also saw WizKids release a lot of information about the actual products that will come in the Dungeons and Dragons Attack Wing game that releases in October 2014. You can read everything I've found out, along with seeing actual products, by reading WizKids Dungeons and Dragons Attack Wing News, with Pictures.

Jason Thompson, who draws the Mockman webcomic, has released two new walk-through maps for G1: Steading of the Hillgiant Chief. These walk-through maps continue to be one of the better things that Wizards of the Coast have put out on their website in recent years and I hope they keep Jason working through their archives as I've really enjoyed everything he's done on their website over the last two years.

The newest encounters season, Dreams of the Red Wizards: Dead in Thay, has been released as a PDF only product on the Dungeons and Dragons Classics storefront for $17.99. Dead in Thay was written by Scott Fitzgerald Gray, who's previous works include the two re-imaginings of the Tomb of Horrors that were released with Fourth Edition, and is an homage to the great killer dungeons of old. The program will launch May 10-11, 2014 and will focus on the ever increasing threat of Szass Tam, the lich lord of Thay, and the destruction of the "Bloodgate."  

Wizards of the Coast has a job opening for a position titled Senior Art Director Dungeons and Dragons Worldbuilding. ". . . The Senior Art Director Dungeons & Dragons Worldbuilding is responsible for forging an innovative, contemporary look for new and classic D&D characters, monsters, and places . . ." (job listing). Since the position was posted there have been several rumors going around that Wizards of the Coast has begun to gear up for the relaunch of their 'key' settings (read 97% is Still Failing 3% of the Time for more on this topic).

This week Ed Greenwood continues to flesh out the Forgotten Realms in his Forging the Realms column. This week's The Cleft Coin focuses on one of the powers behind the scenes in the Realms, House Melander. For Realms fans this column continues to be a major draw to the Wizards' Dungeons and Dragons website; for me, however, it continues to illustrate why I play in Greyhawk instead of the Realms. 

In other Ed Greenwood news this week saw the free preview of his latest book, The Herald. This book is significant on several fronts as it marks the end of the Sundering Novel series and it is the penultimate product on the Wizards of the Coast's product catalog for this year. Only R. A. Salvatore's Rise of the King novel is left. This brings up the question, how much longer can Wizards of the Coast go without announcing the publication dates for the new edition?

Wizards of the Coast has released the cover of the Sentinel as their latest addition to their free wallpaper archives. This makes the second wallpaper release this year and the 42 wallpaper they've released since 2008.

The final news coming out of Wizards this week was that this week's episode of the  Scourge of the Sword Coast on Twitch would be the last for the series. I rooted for a total party kill, how about you?

Goodman Games

The Metamorphosis Alpha Kickstarter fully funded and was able to hit all 14 of the project's stretch goals, raising a total of $83,264. This kickstater has been run by one of the best companies in gaming so I fully expect this project to not only be completed, but to be exceptionally well done.

Privateer Press

This year's exclusive Lock & Load Gamefest 2014 shirt design has been released and it's a beast of a shirt. The shirt is not available for shipping and can only be picked up at the Lock and Load event when you register. So if you're looking to be in Bellevue, WA between June 6 and June 8, 2014 this is a shirt you should definitely consider picking up. 

The Privateer Insider discusses the creation of the Feral Warpwolf pin and has some work-in-progress pictures. Not a bad read for those of you interested in pin collecting.

Green Ronin

This week Green Ronin discussed their use of crowd sourcing to help retool their Wealth Holding rules for the upcoming supplement Out of Strife, Prosperity which is for its Chronicle System (the game system that is used for the popular A Song of Fire and Ice Roleplaying Game). The company opened up their playtesting of the materials from their small group of dedicated fans to the entirety of their Chronicle System community to great success. If you've interest in helping them in future projects then you should join their community today.

On Wednesday the company released two PDFs: Atlas of Earth Prime: Canada for the Mutant and Masterminds game ($1.99), and Out of Strife, Prosperity ($4.99) for the Chronicle System.

On Friday Green Ronin released a PDF preview of Gadget Guides for Mutant and Masterminds.

Pinnacle Entertainment

The Third War short story ($2.99) has been released and concludes the second season of the Wendigo Tales. These stories take place in the Necessary Evil setting for the Savage Worlds System. In this setting an alien invasion decimated the world's super heroes and has left its fate in the hands of the villains.

X-Box Wire announced that it is currently developing a series based on the Deadlands setting published by Pinnacle. As of yet no information has been released on who will be involved with the project

Pinnacle Entertainment has become a Premier Event Group at GenCon this year. This provides Pinnacle with better placement and more space in the on-site booklets at the convention. 

Paizo

The Emerald Spire Superdungeon is now available for pre-order. It's designed to take your characters from level 1 - 13. Lots of encouraging names attached to this project including Wolfgang Baur, Frank Mentzer, Erik Mona, and Sean K. Reynolds. Here's the pitch: "Discover the ancient secrets of the Emerald Spire, a gigantic dungeon brimming with incredible danger and phenomenal mysteries! With 16 levels designed by a who’s-who of gaming legends—including best-selling author Ed Greenwood, gaming icon Frank Mentzer, and Paizo’s most prominent veterans—the Emerald Spire takes players on a deadly delve into the depths of this mysterious dungeon, its ancient levels each impaled by a mysterious green crystal. Starting at 1st level, novice adventures will rise from facing goblins and deadly traps to high-level battles with the clockwork soldiers of a lost empire and even a forgotten master of creation. Designed to be a complete dungeon-delving campaign, Pathfinder Module: The Emerald Spire Superdungeon features seven new monsters, a detailed description of the nearby settlement of Fort Inevitable, and the history of the Spire and the surrounding territory, which features prominently in the new Pathfinder Online massively multiplayer online game . . ." (Pathfinder Module: The Emerald Spire Superdungeon). 

Alderac Entertainment Group

This week marked the finale of Robert Denton's Sins of the Father series, Sins of the Father: Shadows of Our Past. It's a good read and I wish that I had been with it from the beginning.

We've just finished week two of the Coming of the Storm Draft Kit Contest. To enter you'll have to head over to your favorite Friendly Local Game Store and see if they'd be interested in you hosting an event. Then you submit and wait for the drawing on May 27, 2014.

Brian Reese, Lead designer for the Legend of the Five Rings Collectable Card Game, discusses the way that AEG has refocused the Legend of the Five Rings card game back around its roots. Really an interesting read and I particularly enjoyed his explanations of the clans and how certain aspects of each of them affect the game.

The storyline for this year's organized play of the Legend of the Five Rings collectable card game has been announced and will begin at Origins 2014. ". . . The two sons of the Divine Empress are within the Colonies, and those who follow each man have become increasingly belligerent with followers of the other. Despite that the heirs have indicated no wish to see bloodshed among those loyal to them, the mood within the Colonies is increasingly hostile, and many believe that bloodshed is in fact inevitable. In the summer months, when the temperature soars and tempers run short, the first taste of blood will be had . . ." (2014 Origins: The First Taste of Blood).

Palladium Books 

After numerous delays in the production of Rifts World Book 34: Northern Gun Two is finally being released. According to Kevin Siembiedia, publisher of Palladium Books, the softcover version of Northern Gun Two will be available to the public between May 20 and May 23, 2014. The book is to be both "sewn" and perfect bound to ensure that the 256 page volume is of a quality level that fans of Palladium Books have come to expect. The hardcover version of the book, available to Megaverse Insiders, will be shipped between June 9 and June 12, 2014. The softcover volume will be priced at $26.95; however, you should be aware that the company has used a smaller font size to pack more content per page then would normally appear. You can directly pre-order the softcover book from Palladium Books here. 

The house magazine, Rifter, will be publishing its 66th issue this month and is scheduled for release on May 21, 2014. Included in this volume is the Heroes Unlimited adventure Bite of the Snake-Men by Glen Evans; a Splicers Bestiary by Edward Sauerland; source material for the Rifts Black Market; Space Pirates for Phase World and the Three Galaxies; and a short story by Brett Caron. You can directly pre-order the magazine from Palladium Books here.    

Five months after its estimated delivery date of December 3, 2013 the highly successful Robotech RPG Tactics Kickstarter project continues to face delays in its release. Currently the problems appear to center around an issue the with sprue layout on the manufacturing front and a delay in receiving the product back from the manufacturer. There appears to be tension developing with the backers of this project as there is a feeling that Palladium Books has neglected their Kickstarter obligations as they continue to publish their regular content.

". . . I would like to try to clear up what seems like a misunderstanding by some people. Robotech® RPG Tactics™ has not been delayed because Palladium Books is continuing to produce role-playing products or putting our efforts elsewhere. In fact, it is the other way around; many of the RPG products we had planned for 2013 release were delayed until this year and they are only now just starting to be released in 2014. That’s because we have been devoting so much time to Robotech® RPG Tactics™. The Robotech® Kickstarter has been our top priority since day one.

"The manufacturer is NOT waiting on Palladium, we are waiting on them. When we get prototypes for approval we jump on reviewing them, making any necessary adjustments and contacting Ninja Division to pass them on to the manufacturer. We are every bit as dismayed and frustrated as you when it comes to why there have been so many delays and why EVERYTHING seems to be taking so long. It has been driving us absolutely bonkers, so we understand exactly how you feel. It was Palladium Books’ honest and sincere expectation that Robotech® RPG Tactics™ would be released last November or December, and then in the Spring. We've been waiting weeks now – since the GAMA Trade Show – to get the prototypes and final sprue layout for the iconic and pivotal Valkyries. Apparently, there were delays and problems getting the molds broken down into sprues and done right. We've only been getting final sprue layouts in recent weeks . . ." (Regult and Glaug Command Pack Sprues, and a Message from the Publisher)

Empire by AEG

It’s as though Mike was so frustrated with the idea of a book about building an empire in a fantasy adventure game that he couldn’t stand it, but needed the paycheck

I picked up Empire, by Alderic Entertainment Group (AEG), last Sunday at McKay’s Used Bookstore for less than two dollars in trade. After my experiences with Dragons by AEG you might expect that I would be more hesitant to waste my time on their products, but this one was written my Mike Mearls; and I have been so impressed by Mike over the last couple of years that I decided to give this a try.

The introduction to this book belies a certain futility to the whole endeavor. At the start of the chapter is a quote attributed to Milton, “To sit in darkness here, hatching vain empires” (Paradise Lost, Book 2, Line 377).  I like the quote, but it really strikes me as an odd way to begin the book; it’s as though Mike was so frustrated with the idea of a book about building an empire in a fantasy adventure game that he couldn’t stand it, but needed the paycheck. Anyway, according to the introduction of this book it was designed to give players a new avenue to explore when attempting to play the game: rulership. The book is supposed to provide rules and guidelines that will help players and Dungeon Masters alike through this process.

I had high hopes, but that quote makes me wonder . . .

Chapter 1: Rules of Power

It seems like a more strategic version of Risk only without the fun

This chapter reads like the rules to a board game. It's boring and only half as interesting as Settlers of Catan, which is a fantastic board game if you're into resource management systems. Anyway, turns are divided by seasons and you have to manage your resources, peoples, and money. It seems like a more strategic version of Risk only without the fun of having a single unit defend the Congo against all comers for five hours straight. I don't know, this section is pretty lackluster.

Highlights: 

• The spell, Greater Animate Dead (pg 14) is nifty though only useful if you have a necromancer in your group. If you have a necromancer as an NPC you don't need an exact spell - remember, you're the Dungeon Master.
• The Loyalty system (pg 15) would be an interesting port for Hirelings in your game. It's simplistic and could provide a better mechanic for determining the actions of your Hirelings. As it is in the book it's completely useless.

Chapter 2: The Art of War

Don't get me wrong; there are times when I want to have a book that provides me with complex rules and detailed management systems, and when those happen I remember to take my medicine and wait for the moment to pass.

The number of times that I have thrown this book across the room has steadily increased throughout this chapter. Don't get me wrong; there are times when I want to have a book that provides me with complex rules and detailed management systems, and when those happen I remember to take my medicine and wait for the moment to pass. The combat rules in this chapter are clunky and while they are well thought out you'd be far better off with yanking the basic rules from Warhammer and using the Mass Combat Feats (pg 55 - 56)  from this book. You can basically port the races over and run the wars without too much effort. Or if that sounds like too much work and money you could pick up a copy of the long since out of print Chainmail by searching on Google and downloading the damned thing for free. Or ask Chirine about how he would run a mass combat game because the guy is freaking cool as hell. But for god's sake don't waste your fucking time with this chapter! It is clunky and labor intensive with a very minimal payoff. 

Chapter 3: Dogs of War

Pretty fucking useless unless you decide to waste your time with the mass combat rules presented in this book. Otherwise move on.

Chapter 4: Characters and Rulership

Another wasted chapter. I don't know what I want here, perhaps a chapter that brought in some new classes that are better designed for rulership roles and for roles within an empire's political structure. Instead what I got were some bullshit archetypes for the base classes as rulers that you're supposed to pigeon hole your players into and an NPC class that can be found in the Dungeon Master's Guide. 

Chapter 5: The Empire Campaign

This chapter is so dependent on the rest of the book that I found it incredibly difficult to wade through. There are ideas here that might be interesting if you're playing with these bullshit rules but for the most part you might as well ignore this chapter too. Honestly I've been so disappointed with the book that this chapter was a complete waste on me and just felt like too little too late. 

Overall Review

If I had actually paid money instead of trade for Empire I would have been pissed.

This book was such a disappointment for me. I do not regret reading it because Mike Mearls is still pretty groovy in spite of this fucked book but if I had actually paid money instead of trade for it I would have been pissed. There is so little worth keeping in this book and I am just thoroughly disappointed. 

Rating: 1 out of 10

Dragons by AEG

Dragons by Alderac Entertainment Group (AEG) begins with the statement that this book is designed as ". . . a handbook for hunters . . ." (pg 4) and as a resource for Dungeon Masters committed to the idea of running encounters with dragons in their campaigns. As a goal in an accessory book this is admirable; though the mixed goals should be separated into different books so that each could narrow its focus eliminating the glut of material that is essentially useless to both groups.

Section One: From Whence the Legend Comes

Such triteness is just a disservice to us as consumers and as active participants in our hobby.

This section of the book begins with a short bit of fiction designed to put the reader in the proper mindset of the book. I would like to tell you that this is carried out with the sort of expertise practiced by Games Workshop or even with the steady hand of Wizards of the Coast. Unfortunately the story comes across as a poor man's version of an Ursula K. Le Guin novel only without the originality and beauty of her prose. It's a disappointing introduction to the book and sets a poor tone for the overall product.

As I worked my way through this section I found myself thinking - and not for the first time - that Dungeons and Dragons is stifled by generations of bad ideas and games. Think of the things that have become standard in your game. Are dwarves scottish or drunks? Do elves and dwarves hate each other? Are hobbits (halflings) fat and mostly lazy? Are gnomes foolish little things? Do orcs kill because they're orcs? Are ogres dumb brutes used as much for comic relief as a challenge? Do the NPCs in your campaign dominate the story?

Such triteness is just a disservice to us as consumers and as active participants in our hobby.

Anyway, there is very little worth salvaging from this section of the book.

• The Legend of Grelig Shevik (pg 10) is an interesting touch on the idea of an eternal guardian and should be used in a different way than how it is presented in this book as it is wasted here. 
• The red dragon Apertis (pg 14, game information on pg. 156) is interesting more as an exercise in the trope than as an original idea in and of itself but there is enough meat on its bones that it's worth mentioning. 
• The bronze dragon Kahstyllan (pg 15), Castilian is how I would pronounce it, is a neat concept that is a bit derivative of Fizban from the Dragonlance, War of the Lance Cycle but I like how AEG was able to put this one together.

Section Two: To Touch the Sky

When was the last time you ran across a monster that had a cold?

The section is the beginning of the product's attempt at providing an extension of existing rules and the creation of its own. This is started with an attempt at expanding ten skills to provide a more 'useful' skill set for the player. I really wish that I could tell you that they succeeded in a way that made the game far better than it was before, but I can't. The way in which these skills are adjusted is mostly superfluous and the only useful idea out of the retooling is the idea that you can use Decipher Script to create a cipher. I like that idea as it creates a situation where players can actually do something really useful for themselves.

Of the new feats presented in Dragons there are only two worth incorporating into your game: Contortionist (pg 29) and Taunt (pg 32). The rest are either dependent on the pseudo narrative created in the book or are just so fundamentally useless that there's no point in wasting a feat slot on their inclusion.

When it comes to prestige classes I've always held that unless you're running a one shot there has to be a feasible way to work the class into the game otherwise there's no point in using damned thing. And the prestige classes found in Dragon (pg 32 - 44) are the worst sort of example of useless, page consuming, trite additions to the game. They are almost impossible to work into an existing narrative without convoluted intellectual contortions and would make the player who received the prestige so much more powerful than his companions that you run the risk of them dominating the other players simply because there is nothing they can do to stop them.

The new items are worthless and some of them are so poorly designed that there's no way I would allow them in my game. Take Kanegor's Bitter Pill (pg 44) which contains ". . . a small cloth bundle that holds a specially formulated mixture of chemicals that almost every living creature hideous to both taste and smell . . ." (pg 44). Now this little gem is supposed to be designed to fight dragons - a creature that it has been emphasized has heightened senses throughout the book - but what fucking dragon is going to fall for that trick? One with a cold?

When was the last time you ever ran across a monster that had a cold?

It is not until we come to Dragon Alchemy (pg 49 - 61) that there is anything really useful to be said about this book. This section alone makes up for so much disappointment with this product as it provides you with a frame work for using portions of the dragon in spells, potions, and all manner of alchemical goodness. Now is this section perfect? By no means; but it does provide you with a frame work that will allow you to create a better set of uses for the dragon and its by-products than this book ever dreamed possible.

After having waded through so much triteness with this book I have to say that I was pleasantly surprised by the Dragon Magic section (pg. 69 - 77). Of the twenty-five spells presented six are actually worth using: Death Curse (pg. 71), Drought of Eternity's Well (pg. 72), Hibernation (pg. 73), Scour the Earth (pg. 75), Secret of the Grave (pg. 75), and Smother Magic (pg. 76). Hell, three of them (Drought of Eternity's Well, Hibernation, and Secret of the Grave) are so cool that I actually found myself wondering why this sort of creativity isn't present throughout the rest of the book.

Seriously, if you're capable of coming up with Dragon Alchemy and those six spells then why is this book so bad?

Section 3: What Lies Beyond

When you start dropping in automated dragons that are roving across the battlefield like flying tanks fed on hate and nightmares you're going to get my attention.

This section is by and large a waste of time. The new dragons are barely worth mentioning and a lot of opportunity to come up with inventive opponents for players is wasted. They came close with the Dragon Golem (pg 93) but would have been so much better off by creating a Clockwork Dragon or some other form of mechanized dragon that would have inspired so many new questions and challenges for the players. After all, we've all seen and fought golems, but when you start dropping in automated dragons that are roving across the battlefield like flying tanks fed on hate and nightmares you're going to get my attention.

The book follows up this disappointing section by giving the dragons character classes (pg 130 - 144) because obviously dragons aren't enough by themselves so you need to beef them up. No. If the dragons you're throwing at your players aren't challenging the problem lies with you not with the fucking dragon.

Be a better Dungeon Master.

The only part of this section that even comes close to presenting a good idea is A World Lit Only By Dragon Fire (pg 145 - 149). This section has a few kernels of goodness but really falls short of some real greatness as was expressed in Dragonlance and far short of the perfection that can be found in the Dark Sun setting. If you want to see how to run a game where the dragons are in charge do yourself a favor and pick up either the second edition Dark Sun game or the fourth edition Dark Sun game (which is actually really good).

Section Four: From Bone to Sinew

For me this section would have been a far better introduction to the book than for a final wind down. It's better written, though that isn't saying much, than Section One and provides a better foundation for Section Two and Three. It isn't that heavy mechanically and it has a bit of good crunch.

There really isn't that much here.

Overall Review

The art in this book is mostly crap so if you're looking for some cool pictures to inspire your imagination you might as well move on. The writing is mostly passable but nothing to get excited about. There are few ideas and spells worth reading but on the whole the book is utterly forgettable and a waste of your time.

Score: 3 out of 10