Best Reads of the Week April 27 - May 2, 2014

After a far too long sabbatical I'm back with the Best Reads of the Week! I scour the 300 blogs on my reading list, the thousand or so posted on the Google+ Pen and Paper Bloggers group, and every source in between for the best blog posts covering the wide gamut of topics out there in this hobby of ours. This week we've got Do-it-yourself projects, metaphysical questions answered, reviews, thought experiments, and some things you should never bring to the table!

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 by giving the post a +1, a like, or a comment!

Best Reads of the Week

City Building New Campaign Jam by +Lowell Francis, from the blog Age of Ravens: If you've been exploring the blogging landscape for any amount of time then you're run across the fascinating and well written Age of Ravens blog. City Building New Campaign Jam shows a fantasy city being built that I would personally spend years happily exploring and reading how Lowell Francis works his way through the process is both an encouraging and fantastic read. 

Making a Tarrahook Bat (Part 1) by Jim, from the blog Carjacked Seraphim: In a world where so many of us would rather just buy new than repair, and where building something from scratch is looked at as a dying art, it is incredibly refreshing to watch a man go out on a limb and start building his own miniature. I love that Jim's doing this and can't wait to see where he goes from here.

What Does a Product Owe You? by +John Arendt, from the blog Dreams of the Lich House: As is so often the case with articles from John Arendt, What Does a Product Owe You provides an interesting inspection of what sort of elements we have grown accustomed to receiving in our gaming products and whether we need them at all. A really thoughtful and well written article. 

Four D&D Magic Items I Never Handed Out by +Peter V. Dell'Orto, from the blog Dungeon Fantastic: So often in this hobby we find ourselves talking about how we do this or that in broad strokes, but it's rare to find someone so articulately talking about official items that he refused to use and why. Really a great article and I wish I had thought of the topic first.

DL-1 Dragons of Despair - Review by +Gus L, from the blog Dungeon of Signs: While I would never have expected Gus L to enjoy this module I deeply enjoyed reading his dissection and assessments. Well worth reading for anyone thinking about reviewing a product in the future because this is really how they should be done.

If I Owned Greyhawk by +Joseph Bloch, from the blog Greyhawk Grognard: There are few people out there that have proven themselves to be as industrious and clever as Joseph Bloch when it comes to the Greyhawk setting. His thoughts on how to reinvigorate the fan base and the market for the world of Greyhawk are really good and would be a great blueprint for any setting.

Internet Archive Alert by mwschmeer, from the blog Rended Press: If you have been posting resources on your blog, or on any of the role-playing forums, then you need to read this.  

Missing Players in an Ongoing Campaign by Blacksteel, from the blog Tower of Zenopus: You're going to have players miss your games - it just happens - but how do you deal with it? Blacksteel has some great thoughts on the subject. 

Best Post from Dyvers this Week

Forget for a While How Small You Are, and Remember that We Are Mighty: I have a lot of young kids who read my blog and life sucks when you're in High School. It gets better even if you can't imagine it's ever going to turn around.