Best Reads of the Week! December 14 - 20

With the coming of the holidays we're seeing several blogs taking a break till the start of the New Year; but don't let that discourage you as there was such a prodigious amount of great ideas put out this week - so much so that it often felt like I was linking to everyone who updated! So get ready, because this week we've got some major cross-blog projects going on for GURPS and a great project for those forgotten games we all love, the official launch date for the new edition of Dungeons and Dragons was announced, fantastic monsters, outstanding bits of short fiction, and some amazing new gaming scenarios that will make you long to play in them.

As always, these guys and gals spend a lot of time working on their blogs and if you like one of the posts these fine authors have published be sure and let them know.

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Action X is dead . . . Long live Grit and Vigor by John Mathew Stater, from the blog Land of Nod: While it's easy to lament the death of anything from the mind of John Mathew Stater this new suplement sounds like it's going to be one hell of a good time.

Calling All Bloggers: GURPS 101 and Melee Academy by Douglas Cole, from the blog Gaming Ballistic: Do you know the GURPS game? Then it's time to join the call to arms and start selling that game to the masses. Join Mr. Cole and his friends as they help build a GURPS community.

Compulsive goblin carolers by the Great Acorn, from the blog the Acorn Afloat: While there is a certain amount of seasonal compunction about this article, you shouldn't hold that against it. The author - whose name isn't actually listed so I called them the Great Acorn - has come up with a fantastic disease that could be dropped into your campaign regardless of the time of year and that can easily be modified to suit your purposes. Really a great idea put out in the wilds in a fantastic way.  

D&D Next "Summer Release" Date Announced by Morris, from EN World: There are many questions that have arisen from the announcement and Morris does a good job of answering some of them. 

Escape from the Gladiator Pits of the Yoblin Kings pt 2 by Arnold K., from the blog Goblin Punch: If you're looking for a great place to stretch your creative legs this series from Arnold will really get you motivated. Read it and be better for it. 

Holiday Traditions by Jim White, from the blog Wombat's Den of Gaming Iniquity: Do you ever consider using holidays in your games? You really should, and this great article by Jim White is a prime place to start thinking about them in your games. 

If You Love Somebody, Set them Free by Patrick Stuart, from the blog False Machine: Patrick is donating one hell of a storied character to the wilds of the internet for use in your games and in your worlds. Take this fantastic character and run with it. Push it to new horizons and make it's journey as wild and weird as you can. Fantastic character.

Living Statues are not Golems by Beedo from the blog Dreams in the Lich House: An interesting look at the Living Statues and Golems from AD&D and Basic/Expert. It's got me inspired to use the living statues in my own games.

More Participants Signed Up for the Obsolete Simulations Roundup on Dec. 29 by Tim Snyder from the blog The Savage Afterworld: If you're not down with this fantastic idea by Tim Snyder then I don't know what to tell you son. Get on board today, pull out your favorite obsolete game, and get ready to sell us all on it!

On What a Devil is? by Courtney Campbell, from the blog Hack and Slash: This is one of the best things I've read this week. A great bit of set up for a campaign I can't wait to see take off. Really looking forward to more.

Parading Villains are Now a Problem? by Nick Wright, from the blog Lawful Indifferent: Do you think it's a problem when villains are powerful and players stupidly engage them in a fight? This insightful article from Nick Wright challenges the assumption that every villain should be an appropriate challenge level for your players and that a player character's death is meaningless as both a life lesson and a game lesson.

Playing Dungeons and Dragons is Math without a Calculator by Digital Orc, from the blog Digital Orc: A simple little love letter to the game we all enjoy so much. Really enjoyed this article.

random unusual steeds for low-level characters by paul, from the blog Bag of Holding: Are you tired of using the same old tired mounts that every other corn gobbler is using? Well this article by paul is a fantastic place to start thinking about new mounts that can be brought into your home games.

Simplified Old-School Play Instructions by Rodger, from the blog A Life Full of Adventure: You don't need to buy magazines, books, or how-to guides to figure out how to play the Old-School way. Instead, just read this simple primer and be better for it.

Some Thoughts on Veils and Lines by Andreas Davour, from the blog The Omnipotent Eye: There are lines in the sand for each of us, and in this insightful article by Andreas you'll find yourself rexamining your reluctance to confront those lines. Not everyone will be able to do so, but after reading this article you might just be tempted to press against them. 

Steve Perrin Interview by Random Wizard, from the blog Random Wizard: Steve Perrin is one heck of a cool guy, and after reading this great little interview by Random Wizard I'm more convinced than ever of that fact.

Summoning Up the Courage by Jeff Russel, from the blog Blessings of the Dice Gods: A clever and fantastic reworking of the Summoning Spell that rocks my world. I'm stealing the idea and reworking it for my own games so that they're better. 

The Lich is Away from its Lair by jasons, from the blog The Dungeon Dozen: Like so many of the wonderful d12 tables that jasons creates this one has a fair bit of humor to it but with enough teeth to send any group of wondering adventurers into nightmarish fits of anxiety. Not a bad answer on the table. 

Miscellany and Iambic Doggerel by Tom Fitzgerald, from the blog Middenmurk: This great article from Tom is one of many reasons why I'm really loving this blog. It starts out with an assessment of the blog-o-sphere and its impact on the author, then moves to his difficulty with writing a dungeon for his setting, and then deviates into a great little poem. If you're not already reading this blog readily then you're missing out.

The Point of Narrative Interpretation by Arnold K. from the blog Goblin Punch: Have you ever wondered why you sessions seem to bog down during combat? Does this sound familiar: you rolled an eighteen? That fails. John, what did you roll to hit? Quit being boring and read this fantastic article from Arnold that will make your combats more dynamic and improve the way you run as a whole.

The Spindles: Origin Story II by John Till, from the blog FATE SF: Are you looking for a weird encounter that will spook your players and leave them wondering what the hell they just encountered? Then just read this short introduction to the Spindles for the sort of inspiration you've been looking for.

Troll World by Pearce Shea, from the blog Games with Others: If this article doesn't make you want to play this game then I've got nothing for you. The set up is ripe with brilliant ideas and the whole thing just screams that this game will rock. I am both enthralled with the ideas in this article and jealous of the people playing in it. Fantastic.

When Dungeons and Dragons Turns 40 by Jon Peterson, from the blog Playing at the World: In this insightful and well researched article Jon attempts to define the actual release date for the game we've all be playing for so long. After reading this article I have to ask, what will you be doing to celebrate the game? 

The Best from Dyvers this Week

If You're Going to Be Evil A series of eight posts detailing a single night's wild and mad rush through an evil campaign. Lots death, lots of theft, and at least three inter-party plots going on at the same time.