I was sorry to read the newspaper and find out that Bioware, makers of such Dungeons & Dragons computer games as Baldur's Gate and Neverwinter Nights, has been bought out by EA. In theory, it could mean more money to develop a better RPG for the computer, but that's just a theory at this point. I wish them luck.
Unfortunately, I don't expect much. Neverwinter Nights is now with Obsidian and Atari in the form of Neverwinter Nights 2. I have it, but I don't have the computer capability to play it. Another thing I hate about these companies. They seem to make games for these super systems that they have, but many people don't.
RPG's will live on in the computer game world. Fact is, they are big business. Do some number crunching, and you realize just how much money they make. What made Bioware special was they put out quality products. BG kicked the door open, but NWN rearranged the place. Suddenly, you had these persistent worlds on the net that you didn't have to pay a monthly fee to be a part of.
There was a lot of creativity out there too. Before I played the game that came with NWN, I actually downloaded somebody's version of Palace of the Silver Princess (The old B3 Mod for Basic D&D). Good stuff there.
They guys at Bioware just had a big payday, I would suppose. Congratulations to them for that. But, EA does not impress me with their tactics. I'll spare you the political rhetoric, but they did make a mess out of the online Sim Racing community by getting exclusive rights to the NASCAR license.
If they had made the game right, I suppose it would not have mattered. As it was, they ran the company that did make it the right way out of business by getting the exclusive rights. Then, they released what many consider a pile of crap called NASCAR Sim Racing. In less than a year, the landscape changed because of that, and not for the better. And, no, the community did NOT embrace that game.
Instead they went in a different direction with a more attractive game that's harder on the computer. Had EA not come in and screwed that up, the company that was doing it the right way could have continued their progression and continued to make the community happy as they had been. EA wasn't content to be one license holder for NASCAR, hey had to monopolize things, and do it half ass to boot.
They basically killed it for me as far as being involved. In a way, they did me a favor, but it a way I'm still pissed off at them.
Nothing EA does would surprise me. Could they suddenly want to tack a crack at the D&D license? I'm not familiar enough with this to know for sure, but it wouldn't surprise me. I know Wizards has D&D 4.0 coming out and has not made any licensing deals for it yet, or so developers have recently said. With that in mind, anything is possible. Considering what EA has done to Sim Racing, I can only imagine the huge dump they would take on role playing games if given that chance.
Friday, October 12, 2007
Sunday, October 7, 2007
The Hero's Chronicle Issue 1
It's on the shelves... er, um, I mean, it's available for free download. Get it HERE.
A few notes on this issue:
1-I have no artist and I am no artist. I am looking for one, but the pay won't be that great. If you are looking for a place to get started, I'd be happy to give your art a try. Until then, I use clip art from my publisher's program.
2-I may move this and my version of Dungeon Squad over to Lulu at some point. I haven't yet as I am monitoring downloads of the Basic Charts Edition of Heroes of the Dungeon Crawl and don't want other downloads there. If bandwidth becomes at issue, I may have to.
3-This issue looks at the early history of Heroes of the Dungeon Crawl and adjustments I made, why I did some of the things I did, the first test session of the game, some posts from the Dragonsfoot thread that led to Labyrinth Lord being announced and the Gary Gygax-Dave Arneson debate.
4-There is nothing in the book that you can find by weeding through the blog. The reason I am doing this it for an easier reference to the HotDC creative process for those coming late to this project.
I don't claim to be doing anything revolutionary. I'm just a guy trying to put a basic game together and trying to offer something to the hobby for those who feel the way I do. The Hero's Chronicle will feature blog posts in its early run, but original material will appear as well. Eventually, it will contain mainly original material.
5-Anybody wanting to get published is welcome to submit material. I am covering mainly basic type games like HotDC, Labyrinth Lord, Dungeon Squad, Tunnels & Trolls and games of that nature. I believe the big boys of gaming have their stuff covered, but I may include stuff occasionally if I find it relevent.
Anyway, I hope you can gain at least a little insight into HotDC through this issue.
A few notes on this issue:1-I have no artist and I am no artist. I am looking for one, but the pay won't be that great. If you are looking for a place to get started, I'd be happy to give your art a try. Until then, I use clip art from my publisher's program.
2-I may move this and my version of Dungeon Squad over to Lulu at some point. I haven't yet as I am monitoring downloads of the Basic Charts Edition of Heroes of the Dungeon Crawl and don't want other downloads there. If bandwidth becomes at issue, I may have to.
3-This issue looks at the early history of Heroes of the Dungeon Crawl and adjustments I made, why I did some of the things I did, the first test session of the game, some posts from the Dragonsfoot thread that led to Labyrinth Lord being announced and the Gary Gygax-Dave Arneson debate.
4-There is nothing in the book that you can find by weeding through the blog. The reason I am doing this it for an easier reference to the HotDC creative process for those coming late to this project.
I don't claim to be doing anything revolutionary. I'm just a guy trying to put a basic game together and trying to offer something to the hobby for those who feel the way I do. The Hero's Chronicle will feature blog posts in its early run, but original material will appear as well. Eventually, it will contain mainly original material.
5-Anybody wanting to get published is welcome to submit material. I am covering mainly basic type games like HotDC, Labyrinth Lord, Dungeon Squad, Tunnels & Trolls and games of that nature. I believe the big boys of gaming have their stuff covered, but I may include stuff occasionally if I find it relevent.
Anyway, I hope you can gain at least a little insight into HotDC through this issue.
Saturday, October 6, 2007
The "To Do" List Keeps Getting Bigger
First, I'm keeping this bumped for easy access.
The Heroes of the Dungeon Crawl Basic Charts Edition is on Lulu for book or free download HERE
I did my own version of Dungeon Squad that you can get for free HERE
The HotDC Quick Start Charts Lulu Page has been hit 75 times and downloaded for free 11 times. I have begun to put it out there a little bit more, and I'm sure that has helped. I'm just happy it's being noticed. There's still much to do, but the game is playable at this point.
Now, there seems to be a growing list of things to do, but nothing has been finished. I hate when that happens.
1-The Hero's Chronicle
2-Danger in the Dwarven Dungeon
3-A Labyrinth Lord Module tentatively titled Quest For The Ancient Tome
4-A non game related book that I need to finish
5-HotDC First Edition Rule Book
6-A non game related book I plan to start working on in 2008
.
I mentioned in a previous post that I had laid this magazine out already. The content is written and consists largely or early blog posts. The pdf will be free. A book may be offered for only a small fee to any who want it.
I have given thought to the second issue, and here are a few thoughts on that one. I may be debuting content in that book not previously posted here. Of course, that's the future of the magazine, but I have some stuff I want to put into the first few issues that document the early days of HotDC creation and my Gencon 2007 experience. Here are three ideas I have for issue two.
1-Stupid Things We Did At The Table - This will debut in the magazine at this point, though it may be posted here after that issue is released. It documents my early days of playing and the things we did that would be frowned upon by the game makers.
2-Another Look At HotDC Combat - This one will look specifically at the Armor Level System, raise some OGL questions that may or may not have been addressed by the OSRIC guys and offer my take. What makes the old red book's combat system unique to it? Well, that's what this column will be about.
3-An Adventure For HotDC - This will be the small Quest For The Emerald Gem dungeon that was used as the first HotDC test. It's already been written, so why the heck not?
The third thought came to me while I was out walking around today. These are things I would like to do in the second issue, but I need to get the first issue done. I plan to work on that a little bit more tonight.
The Heroes of the Dungeon Crawl Basic Charts Edition is on Lulu for book or free download HERE
I did my own version of Dungeon Squad that you can get for free HERE
The HotDC Quick Start Charts Lulu Page has been hit 75 times and downloaded for free 11 times. I have begun to put it out there a little bit more, and I'm sure that has helped. I'm just happy it's being noticed. There's still much to do, but the game is playable at this point.
Now, there seems to be a growing list of things to do, but nothing has been finished. I hate when that happens.
1-The Hero's Chronicle
2-Danger in the Dwarven Dungeon
3-A Labyrinth Lord Module tentatively titled Quest For The Ancient Tome
4-A non game related book that I need to finish
5-HotDC First Edition Rule Book
6-A non game related book I plan to start working on in 2008
.
The Hero's Chronicle
I mentioned in a previous post that I had laid this magazine out already. The content is written and consists largely or early blog posts. The pdf will be free. A book may be offered for only a small fee to any who want it.
I have given thought to the second issue, and here are a few thoughts on that one. I may be debuting content in that book not previously posted here. Of course, that's the future of the magazine, but I have some stuff I want to put into the first few issues that document the early days of HotDC creation and my Gencon 2007 experience. Here are three ideas I have for issue two.
1-Stupid Things We Did At The Table - This will debut in the magazine at this point, though it may be posted here after that issue is released. It documents my early days of playing and the things we did that would be frowned upon by the game makers.
2-Another Look At HotDC Combat - This one will look specifically at the Armor Level System, raise some OGL questions that may or may not have been addressed by the OSRIC guys and offer my take. What makes the old red book's combat system unique to it? Well, that's what this column will be about.
3-An Adventure For HotDC - This will be the small Quest For The Emerald Gem dungeon that was used as the first HotDC test. It's already been written, so why the heck not?
The third thought came to me while I was out walking around today. These are things I would like to do in the second issue, but I need to get the first issue done. I plan to work on that a little bit more tonight.
Danger in the Dwarven Dungeon
.
This one has had work done to it, believe it or not. I have created a back story for the dungeon, Pradius Stoutheart and his comrades and the town of Dragon Vale. A main plot has been outlined, and many of the rooms of the first two levels have been assigned encounters or whatever. Level 3 needs a little work, but maps for all three levels have been drawn up. Some typing has been done, but there's more to be done.
.
Labyrinth Lord
.
We've had quite a bit of excitement over on the Labyrinth Lord forum. There have been discussions about the future, ideas have been shared, the first products have been created and people are getting more familiar with each other. What's not to be excited about.? Daniel Proctor has brought the old game of our youth back to light and given us a canvas to paint upon again. Some are already worried it isn't going fast enough, but there's no reason to panic. Things are right on schedule.
.
I pick up my copy of LL at Barnes & Noble, hopefully, early next week. When I get it, I will be looking at my idea for a first LL Module, set near Dolmvay at an old and abandoned Wizard's School. I call it Quest for the Ancient Tome. I already have many notes and an overall outline of where the buildings are and what creatures are there. If I feel comfortable with it, I will proceed.
.
Everything Else
.
The first book is already written. I had a pdf for it, but it needed work. I need to put the Table Of Contents in it, possibly rename it, make sure the cover and layout are set and put it out there. It's not game related, but I doubt it will take long to finish, perhaps a day or two. I worked on this book over the course of a few years and finished it last year. I hesitated to do anything with it, but it will be published.
.
I'm not trying to overwhelm myself here, and I generally won't allow myself to spend too many hours staring at the computer. The Labyrinth Lord stuff probably shouldn't be in the top three right now, but I'm excited about this game and want to support it as it gets going. Though I played around with Dungeon Squad a little bit, I doubt I will have time for any games other than HotDC and LL for the time being.
.
There's enough on my plate to keep me busy for a while. Hopefully, The Hero's Chronicle will be released within the week. That's all for now. Stay Tuned for more in the days ahead.
Wednesday, October 3, 2007
A Few Updates, the D&D Petition & other Stuff
As mentioned in the previous post, I did my own version of Dungeon Squad that you can get for free HERE
The Heroes of the Dungeon Crawl Basic Charts Edition is on Lulu for book or free download HERE
Sorry for the gratuitous plugs, but I want to keep this stuff bumped.
I have drawn the maps for the three levels of Danger in the Dwarven Dungeon. Most of the first level encounters are set along with many of the second. The third has a few. I would say I may be 40% done, if that. Just wanted to give the update. I plan to get back to work on making the book version of that map and Three Kings Island soon.
Labyrinth Lord is now available at Barnes & Noble for purchase. You can actually order it through a physical store and buy it there.
I have done just that. I hope to pick it up within the next week. Once I do that, I will begin to sketch ideas for a Module compatible with LL. I have actually started jotting ideas down, but there's NOTHING like having a rulebook to go through without having to stare at a computer. More details will surface in the weeks ahead.
Well, okay, I have a working title for it. I'm tentatively calling it Quest for the Sacred Tome. I'm setting it at an Abandoned Wizard's School near Dolmvay in The Known Lands setting. That's what I have at the moment, but it can all change. I post along with others at the Goblinoid Games Forum if you want to see what's happening in that community.
For the time being, the Three Kings Island stuff for HotDC and my LL stuff will be separate. I feel it's important to do it this way at this time. Danger in the Dwarven Dungeon and The Hero's Chronicle are the main two projects on the drawing board for Basic Old School Games.
Anyway, I wanted to point out two things from the Wizards of the Coast community.
I don't claim to have started this thread, but I joined in on it late. It is the petition to get old D&D books back into print. My post late in the thread talks about Print on Demand as an option. The thread, which has nearly 5500 views as of this writing, has over 100 signatures. I know, because I counted. Will it matter? Who knows, but it couldn't hurt. View the thread HERE.
The second one is about the 4.0 version of Basic D&D. I'm curious what is going on with this deal. Since talking to Chris Perkins at Gencon, I've seem nothing written about it on the web. I want to know what is going on with it, so I started a thread on their forum HERE.
The Heroes of the Dungeon Crawl Basic Charts Edition is on Lulu for book or free download HERE
Sorry for the gratuitous plugs, but I want to keep this stuff bumped.
I have drawn the maps for the three levels of Danger in the Dwarven Dungeon. Most of the first level encounters are set along with many of the second. The third has a few. I would say I may be 40% done, if that. Just wanted to give the update. I plan to get back to work on making the book version of that map and Three Kings Island soon.
Labyrinth Lord is now available at Barnes & Noble for purchase. You can actually order it through a physical store and buy it there.
I have done just that. I hope to pick it up within the next week. Once I do that, I will begin to sketch ideas for a Module compatible with LL. I have actually started jotting ideas down, but there's NOTHING like having a rulebook to go through without having to stare at a computer. More details will surface in the weeks ahead.
Well, okay, I have a working title for it. I'm tentatively calling it Quest for the Sacred Tome. I'm setting it at an Abandoned Wizard's School near Dolmvay in The Known Lands setting. That's what I have at the moment, but it can all change. I post along with others at the Goblinoid Games Forum if you want to see what's happening in that community.
For the time being, the Three Kings Island stuff for HotDC and my LL stuff will be separate. I feel it's important to do it this way at this time. Danger in the Dwarven Dungeon and The Hero's Chronicle are the main two projects on the drawing board for Basic Old School Games.
Anyway, I wanted to point out two things from the Wizards of the Coast community.
I don't claim to have started this thread, but I joined in on it late. It is the petition to get old D&D books back into print. My post late in the thread talks about Print on Demand as an option. The thread, which has nearly 5500 views as of this writing, has over 100 signatures. I know, because I counted. Will it matter? Who knows, but it couldn't hurt. View the thread HERE.
The second one is about the 4.0 version of Basic D&D. I'm curious what is going on with this deal. Since talking to Chris Perkins at Gencon, I've seem nothing written about it on the web. I want to know what is going on with it, so I started a thread on their forum HERE.
Monday, October 1, 2007
Dungeon Squad Version 1.5
I have attempted to play with Dungeon Squad with what I call Version 1.5, which you can get by clicking HERE.
I am considering a few other touches, mainly an Adventure and Character Sheet, inspired by what Shathros did. However, I wanted to put this one out there now.
It is 20 Pages, but this is mainly because I laid it out differently, enlarged the print to 20 font and added the Creative Common License in the back. I also added page numbers if anybody wants to print it.
I considered putting it up on Lulu for free download and print at no profit option, but I didn't think that was within the spirit of the license. The Foreword section of the book explains what else I did. I hope you like it.
I am considering a few other touches, mainly an Adventure and Character Sheet, inspired by what Shathros did. However, I wanted to put this one out there now.
It is 20 Pages, but this is mainly because I laid it out differently, enlarged the print to 20 font and added the Creative Common License in the back. I also added page numbers if anybody wants to print it.
I considered putting it up on Lulu for free download and print at no profit option, but I didn't think that was within the spirit of the license. The Foreword section of the book explains what else I did. I hope you like it.
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