Blogging A to Z Guest Post: Did I Survive?

This is a Guest Post I am posting today over at the Blogging A to Z Challenge.
IF you are a regular reader here then I do want to hear from you.  What would make the month of April more interesting for you?

Hello everyone. My name is Tim Brannan. I blog over at The Other Side where I primarily talk about games, RPGs and horror.  I am a game author so I use my blog as a platform to talk about my books, but also to share with others in my blogging community to sorts of things I like to write about.

I have been writing material for games nearly as long as I have been playing them.  I started in 1979 and my first "custom class" was a Healer. And....I am not afraid to admit my first new monster I ever wrote up was a "Smurf". Yeah. I was 10.  My first witch class was written sometime between 1985 and 1986.

This was my fourth year of doing the A to Z Challenge on the Other Side. I have also done it one year on my Atheism blog, The Freedom of Nonbelief and another years at Red Sonja She-devil with a Sword, a shared blog dedicated to the comic book character Red Sonja.  Plus I have guest-posted here before on how to use the A to Z challenge in your own writing efforts and the importance of having a theme to your posts.

One would have thought I would have been more prepared this year!

At some point in February I was still planning on doing an A to Z theme on Vampires.  I had started the posts last year when I did Demons. I had an idea for a book about vampires and I thought it would have been a good way to do some research.  It was. Till I shifted midstream.

My newest book is now at Kickstarter to get funding for art and printing.  "Strange Brew: The Ultimate Witch & Warlock" is, well, the most complete guide to playing a witch in the Pathfinder game.  A bit of background.  Back in 2000 the 3rd edition of Dungeons & Dragons hit the shelves with the "Open Gaming Licence" which briefly meant 3rd party authors could make their own books for D&D and not get sued or anything like that.  If you followed the admittedly simple rules of the Open Game Licence then you could do it.  Well I did and in 2003 I released "Liber Mysterium: The Book of Witches & Warlocks".  A friend of mine released a similar book for witched called "Way of the Witch". We liked each other books and we happy.  2013 rolls around and this friend, Christina, decides it is time we mixed our books together with the newest version of the D&D 3rd edition game, Pathfinder (it's not exactly, but close enough).  We added in the Pathfinder witch and some others and decided to kick start it as a project.
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/962794554/strange-brew-pathfinder-the-ultimate-witch-and-war

So far things are going great!  But my extra writing time was taking a solid hit.  I have 13 years worth and 1,000s of pages of notes and material to go through.

So to save some time I switched over to the A to Z of Witches.

It was a good idea.  Go through notes, post ideas as they come to me.  I only managed to stay about 10 days ahead of schedule and that was no where near enough.  So much for my own advice about theme and planning!

I got a lot of great posts up and in fact have enough for another couple months of solid witch postings.
I got to participate in a "mini-hop" of people doing supernatural creatures during the A to Z as well and that was the best!  I have to give very special thanks to Tasha (Tasha's Thinkings) and Sophie (Sophie's Thoughts and Fumbles) for helping me with the idea and then doing all the heavy lifting afterwards.  THEY, and everyone in the Supernatureal mini-hop, really made this A to Z special for me.

If you look at my May 5th post I state I survived the A to Z challenge.  Survived is the right word. Not beat, not won, but survived.  Yes I posted everyday and still got in some of my other posts. Yes I visited my neighbor blogs, but didn't always comment on them.  Yes the material I wrote will find a home somewhere in Strange Brew.

But, I didn't get to interact with other bloggers as much as I wanted. I didn't visit every blog on the list like I have in years past.  And while I noticed that I was getting a good amount of traffic from the Supernatural A to Z and from the A to Z site itself, my regular readers dropped off.  So in that respect I didn't do as well as I would have liked.

I write about games.  That is who I am and what my readers want.  I tried to keep the topics I posted very relevant to gamers, but also to the non-gamers.  Most people in the world don't care if some beastie has 5 HD or 15 HD, you just want to know how tough it is. To gamers that is a big deal. It's a big deal to me.

I love doing the A to Z and I am taking my own advice to heart and starting my 2015 posts this summer.  I am still considering doing vampires. So to make it work there needs to be plenty of material for gamers (what we in the RPG biz call "crunch") and plenty of narrative material enjoyed by everyone else (what we call "fluff").

So what is my plan?

• Start my post writing early.  Crunch takes longer to write than Fluff. I'll need the time.
• Keep enough crunch to keep my regular readers happy. Especially if it something new.
• Keep the fluffy interesting to keep the A to Zers coming back.
• Visit and interact with more of the bloggers in the A to Z. If I write all my posts this should be easier.
• I would LOVE to participate in another mini-hop like I did this year. That was awesome.

Looking forward to it!

About the Author 
Timothy S. Brannan is the author of The Other Side blog, http://timbrannan.blogspot.com/
He has worked on a number of games including the "Buffy the Vampire Slayer RPG", and is the author of “The Ghosts of Albion RPG”, “The Witch”, “Eldritch Witchery” and the upcoming “Strange Brew” which is currently in a Kickstarter Campaign. Please stop by and see if this is something you would like to support.

Is Dungeons & Dragons a Cult? and other Friday Questions.

Two recent articles have come out reflecting on the past of Dungeons & Dragons and the rumors of satanic involvement in the 1980s.

http://blogs.villagevoice.com/runninscared/2014/04/are_dungeons_dragons_players_in_a_cult.php

http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-26328105

While today it is easy, and expected, to laugh at these ideas back then we were embroiled in a war, excuse me, I meant WAR!, against Satan and his chief tools to corrupt were Heavy Metal music and Dungeons & Dragons.

To get something of an idea of what this was all like back then here is a bit of the infamous 1985 60 Minutes feature on it.



If that doesn't work here is the link, http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=445_1232224067

I have to admit I did a lot of searching and while I wanted to find some sites that were still up in arms about D&D I mostly found sites and forums on "I played D&D and I am still a good Christian" and "How D&D Taught me morality".  So much for my "Atheist Agenda".
Though to be fair they might not care for Carcosa. But I don't care for Carcosa either, so that is not an indictment.

I was going to ask if you ever still feel pressure from religious groups about D&D.  But let's be honest. 90% of feel more pressure about playing from our spouses who would rather we be out doing yard work.

So here is a better question.

We live in a time where we have unprecedented access to games. Many really good ones that are even free.  Geek culture has never been more accepted than it is now. We have access to players around the world, not just in our own neighborhoods.  Even our former critics has been silenced and time has shown them to be the fools we knew them for.

Are we in a new Golden Age of RPGs?




And don't forget my Kickstarter! over 50% funded in under 3 days.
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/962794554/strange-brew-pathfinder-the-ultimate-witch-and-war?ref=card

Witch items from other blogs

Not so much of a post today and more of a "hey lets share my research notes".  Here are a list of blogs, many of which you all know, and some items they have posted over the last few years on witches.  Some of these I use in game, others I have adapted to make them work better with my witches. But all I found interesting enough to save them in an unpublished till now post.

Do you know anymore?  If you do share them! I love reading other people's takes on witches, magic and everything like that.

A Paladin in Citadel
Um, I was promised Witches?
http://apaladinincitadel.blogspot.com/2011/04/um-i-was-promised-witches.html

Alien Shores
Mirror Demon
http://knightsky-alienshores.blogspot.com/2013/10/monster-monday-mirror-demon.html

Asshat Paladins
Edith the Harpy Witch
http://asshatpaladins.blogspot.com/2010/01/labyrinth-lord-npc-edith-witch.html

Beyond the Black Gate
Baba Yaga's Hut
http://beyondtheblackgate.blogspot.com/2010/08/baba-yagas-hut.html

Hathras, City of Dreams
http://beyondtheblackgate.blogspot.com/2010/09/omegea-atlas-hathras-city-of-dreams.html

B/X Blackrazor
His B/X Witch Class
http://bxblackrazor.blogspot.com/2011/05/bx-witch.html

Cross Planes
Witch Doves
http://crossplanes.blogspot.com/2014/04/a-to-z-challenge-w-is-for-witch-dove.html

D&D Next Witches
Maiden, Mother, and Crone

Dangerous Brian
Zama: The Drune
http://dangerousbrian.blogspot.com/2011/04/z-of-zama-drune.html

The Houri, Part 1 and Part 2
http://dangerousbrian.blogspot.com/2010/11/new-osric-class-houri-part-i.html
http://dangerousbrian.blogspot.com/2010/11/new-character-class-houri-part-ii.html

Dreams of the Lich House
Mythic Monday: The Witch
http://dreamsinthelichhouse.blogspot.com/2011/01/mythic-monday-witch.html

Any of the Gothic Greyhawk posts
http://dreamsinthelichhouse.blogspot.com/search/label/Gothic%20Greyhawk

Elfmaids & Octopi
d100 Witches
http://elfmaidsandoctopi.blogspot.com/2014/01/d100-witches.html

Greyhawk Grognard
Darker Paths II: The Witch
http://greyhawkgrognard.blogspot.com/2011/10/now-available-witch.html

Witch Preview #3: Familiar Names
http://greyhawkgrognard.blogspot.com/2008/07/witch-preview-3-familiar-names.html

Witch Class Preview: Evil Eye
http://greyhawkgrognard.blogspot.com/2008/07/witch-class-preview-evil-eye.html

Jaron's RANTs and RAVEs
[DND] Character Concept - WAR D&D: Witch Elf
http://jaron95.blogspot.com/2010/03/dnd-character-concept-war-d-witch-elf.html
Based on the WoW Witch Elf, they a close to what I would call a War Witch.

Realms of Chirak
B/X D&D Month XIV: Terragia, the Witch of Galitath
http://realmsofchirak.blogspot.com/2014/04/bx-d-month-xiv-terragia-witch-of.html

Steve's Gamer Blog
Witches & Warlocks (4e)
http://stevesgamerblog.blogspot.com/2011/10/witches-warlocks.html

Scarecrows Part 1 and Part 2

Heroes of the Feywild Preview: Pixie and Witch
http://stevesgamerblog.blogspot.com/2011/10/heroes-of-feywild-preview-pixie-and.html

Strange Magic
Witch for B/X D&D
http://strangemagic.robertsongames.com/2012/03/witch-for-bx-d.html

Tower of the Archmage
New magic Item: Summoner's Candles
http://towerofthearchmage.blogspot.com/2014/03/new-magic-item-summoners-candles.html

New Monster: Fear Gorta
http://towerofthearchmage.blogspot.com/2014/03/new-monster-fear-gorta.html

Venger's old school gaming blog
D&D Ouija or RPG Witch-Board
http://vengersatanis.blogspot.com/2013/11/d-ouija-or-rpg-witch-board.html
Not really playing a witch, but a cool idea if you have a lot of supernatural characters in the mix.

What a Horrible Night to Have a Curse
Beast of the Week: Witch
http://lordgwydion.blogspot.com/2012/11/beast-of-week-witch.html

Updates:

Playing D&D With Porn Stars
D100 Witch Traits
http://dndwithpornstars.blogspot.com/2014/08/d100-witch-traits.html

Rachel Bonuses
Fey-touched Background for 5e
http://rachelghoulgamestuff.blogspot.com/2014/08/in-which-5e-background-is-introduced.html

From the Sorcerer's Skull
Witches of Ix
http://sorcerersskull.blogspot.com/2014/08/witches-of-ix.html

The Manor #6 is out

What happens when +Tim Shorts of Gothridge Manor and The Manor books mixes my witches with Dylan Hartwell's Big Book of Spiders and one of +matt jackson's maps?

You get one creepy ass adventure!

Witches of the Dark Moon is a low level adventure featured in The Manor #6, the latest in the Manor series.

I have not read it all yet, but the adventure looks fun, creepy as all heck and some really awesome takes on my witch class. I love seeing this sort of stuff.   And no worries, if you do not own a copy of The Witch (buy why not!?) you can still use the witches here.

Of course there is more material in this issue than the adventure, but I just got it so it will have to wait for a proper review.

But I can say this.  Go out and get this now!

All Star RPG Q&A #2

Tonight I am participating in Dan Davenport's All Star RPG Q&A #2.
Check his blog for a list of who is participating,
http://gmshoe.wordpress.com/2014/04/29/all-star-qa-2-lineup/

It will be tonight 7pm to 10pm Central time.
If you want to come by to ask me or anyone else questions then I would love to see you there.
http://tinyurl.com/rpgnet-audience

If you come by I am sure to say something about old school gaming, but I am also going to talk about horror games, Ghosts of Albion and Victorian games in general.

The last one I did was supposed to go for an hour and the questions kept me on for 3 instead!

So come on by!

An Interesting thing happened in the Theme Reveal

So an interesting thing happened today in the Blogging A to Z Theme Reveal.
I was clicking through some links and noticed that this one blog was doing an A to Z of Vampires, which is what I had been thinking of doing myself.  Her sister is doing A to Z of Ghosts. And another is do Supernatural creatures.

So we all have decided to get together and do a mini-hop inside the larger one of Supernatural A to Z posts.
Really we are not doing anything extra here, but helping increase the attention of like minded blogs.

So here are the links I have now. I'll add more.

Tasha's Thinkings, A to Z of Vampires
Sophie's Thoughts, A to Z of Ghosts
A Creative Mind, A to Z of Supernatural Creatures.

Here are the topics I am planning to cover in my A to Z of Witches.  Links are not live yet. They are set to be posted at 5:00am Central time.

4/1	A	Aradia	a-to-z-of-witches-a.html
4/2	B	Baba Yaga	a-to-z-of-witches-b.html
4/3	C	Coven, Circe	a-to-z-of-witches-c.html
4/4	D	Dianna	a-to-z-of-witches-d.html
4/5	E	Enchantment	a-to-z-of-witches-e.html
4/7	F	Familiar	a-to-z-of-witches-f.html
4/8	G	Gris Gris	a-to-z-of-witches-g.html
4/9	H	Hex	a-to-z-of-witches-h.html
4/10	I	Incantatrix / Imbolc Mage	a-to-z-of-witches-i.html
4/11	J	Ju-ju	a-to-z-of-witches-j.html
4/12	K	Kiki / Kikimora	a-to-z-of-witches-k.html
4/14	L	Lilith	a-to-z-of-witches-l.html
4/15	M	Morgan Le Fey	a-to-z-of-witches-m.html
4/16	N	Nox / Nicks	a-to-z-of-witches-n.html
4/17	O	Obeah	a-to-z-of-witches-o.html
4/18	P	Prue, Piper, Phoebe and Paige	a-to-z-of-witches-p.html
4/19	Q	Queen of Witches	a-to-z-of-witches-q.html
4/21	R	Rachel Morgan	a-to-z-of-witches-r.html
4/22	S	Shaman	a-to-z-of-witches-s.html
4/23	T	Tarot	a-to-z-of-witches-t.html
4/24	U	Underworld	a-to-z-of-witches-u.html
4/25	V	Voodoo	a-to-z-of-witches-v.html
4/26	W	Warlock	a-to-z-of-witches-w.html
4/28	X	Xothia	a-to-z-of-witches-x.html
4/29	Y	Yama-uba	a-to-z-of-witches-y.html
4/30	Z	Zatanna	a-to-z-of-witches-z.html

Here is the Sign-up list for the Supernatural A to Z. Sign up for this only if you are already doing the A to Z Challenge.  Hope to see more!

Ten Favorite RPG Products of All Time

This started over at Dyvers blog and has now spread to others:
http://dyverscampaign.blogspot.com/2014/03/my-ten-favorite-rpg-products-of-all-time.html
http://realmsofchirak.blogspot.com/2014/03/death-bats-top-ten-favorite-rpg-books.html
http://ongoingcampaign.blogspot.com/2014/03/top-10-gaming-products.html

Not sure if this is a thing yet or not.  And many of us have answered these questions in some form or another over the years I am sure.  But it is still fun to read and do.

In no particular order and sometimes the entries are representative of a larger collection.

10. AD&D Monster Manual
The first RPG product I ever held or read.  It grabbed my attention in such a profound way that it is still, 35 years later, to fully quantify.  It fueled a life-time of fun and adventure.
Special Mention: AD&D Dungeon Master's Guide.
Nearly it's equal in effect but a superior book.  It just didn't get to my hands first.
Read more at: 1st Ed, D&D

9. Moldvay D&D Basic Set
A lot of people talk about "the Red Box". My Red Box was magenta and had Erol Otis on the cover.  For me this was the start of what became "my" D&D. Not someone else's game, but my own. I got my first set of dice in the box. I read and reread that book at least hundred times.
Special Mention: Cook/Marsh D&D Expert Set
Again, it might even superior to the Basic box just for everything it added.  But Basic comes first.
Read more at: D&D, Basic

8. Chill
Chill. I have talked about Chill so much and with good reason. This is the mid-west, monster fighting, "bumping back the things that go bump in the night", game where average Joes and Janes can stand against the darkness and walk away at the end.   While I have a special place in my heart for the Mayfair version, it is the 1st edition Pacesetter version that I think back too.
Special Mention: Chill Vampires
If I can only ever have one vampire hunting book then let it be this one.
Read more at: Chill, Vampires

7. Mage the Sorcerer's Crusade
"The Old Ways are Lost".  I love the the Renaissance; the idea of the world waking up out of darkness and ignorance to bring science and learning to all.  Ok. It didn't happen like that, but it can in a game and this if the best of the lot.  Plus it is old school magic versus new world science.  It takes what is great about Mage and makes so much more cooler.
Special Mention: Vampire the Masquerade
You can't have the Sorcerer's Crusade without Mage and you can't have Mage without Vampire the Masquerade.  VtM changed gaming in the 90s and it's effects can still seen today even far beyond gaming.
Read more at:  World of Darkness

6. Ravenloft Boxed Set
I loved the Ravenloft Module I6.  The boxed set Realms of Terror was just the thing I needed for my 2nd Ed games.  I loved horror, vampires, witches and this seemed like the perfect mix for me.  In fact I played so much Ravenloft that it is difficult for me to tease it apart from 2e.  They are the same for me really.
Special Mention:  Ravenloft Masque of the Red Death
What is the only way to improve Ravenloft?  Stick it on 19th century Earth and throw Dracula at the players.  There are many places where this game doesn't work, but I loved it all the same.
Read more at: Ravenloft, Victorian

5. Nightmares of Mine
This handy little guide is everything you need to run every sort of horror game. Straight up horror, survival horror, personal horror, comedy horror. You name it, this book covers it. It is small, but not cheap.
Special Mention: GURPS Horror
I have often complained that GURPS, as a game, has no soul, but the supplements can't be beat.  GURPS Horror is one of my favorites. Like Nightmares of Mine it covers how to play a number of different types of horror games.
Read more at: Horror

4. Call of Cthulhu
THE horror game.  I have always enjoyed the works of Lovecraft and in many ways CoC is not just the first horror game but also the first RPG based on a property.  The system itself, the Basic-Roleplaying System, also gave such fun games as RuneQuest and Elric/Stormbringer.
Special Mention: Cthulhu by Gaslight
As much as I love the cosmic horror of Lovecraft, Gothic horror is one of my first loves.  This is a great mix of both.
Read more at: Call of Cthulhu, BRP, Lovecraft

3. Role-Aids Witches
How could I not put this one up?  I have always rather liked Mayfair and their Role-Aids books.  The quality varies with some being quite bad.  But this one is great.  I had already been working on my own witch for a number of years when this one came out, but seeing it on the shelves made me happy. I knew I was working on something that at least one company liked.  Witches didn't invent the idea of Traditions, but it did help define it a little bit better.  Though I am still not a fan of the Deryni Witch.  Partly because I didn't think their concept worked as a witch and mostly because I had just left an OD&D game where we played Deryni as a race.  But in any case this is still one of my favorite third-part supplements to D&D.
Special Mention: Dragon #114
Most gamers of my generation remember this as the witch issue.  There is a lot to like about it, but what keeps this one around for me is the witch class.
Read more at: Witch

2. Astonishing Swordsmen & Sorcerers of Hyperborea
I have gone on and on (and on) about my love of this game. To me it really is the pinnacle of what the OSR could do.  Plus it has such a great feel to it and honestly it combines every that has been on this list so far.  D&D, horror soaked lands, monsters and things from beyond. All in a red box!
Special Mention: Basic Fantasy
Basic Fantasy to me represents the best DIY spirit of OSR and the community. It also happens to be a gret set of rules and is almost exactly how we played our Basic/Advanced D&D mashups back in the 80s.
Read more at: AS&SH, OSR, Basic

1.  C.J. Carella's WitchCraft
There has only been one game ever that has come close to displacing D&D in my heart and that is C.J. Carella's WitchCraft.  For me this game has everything I wanted in a modern game with a great back story, fantastic art and a magic system that really is second to none.
Special Mention: Ghosts of Albion
I know. Totally cheesy mentioning your own game, but it is true. Ghosts of Albion is not only my favorite Victorian game, but also my 256 page love letter to WitchCraft. 
Read more at: Witch, Unisystem, Ghosts of Albion

Building a Shared World

There are so many cool projects and products out now that fly under the loose banner of OSR.

It occurs to me that there might be enough to fill an entire campaign world.

For locations there is Dolmvay, Gamington, The Shrine of St. Aleena, Dunsmouth (and more from LotFP), Blackmarsh, Castle of the Mad Archmage, Dyson Delves I and II, The Majestic Wilderlands, Verloren, and  Vornheim,

For monsters (important to give the world a nice unique feel) we have, The Big book of Spiders, The Cartographer's Guide to the Creatures of Eira, Realms of Crawling Chaos, Teratic Tome,

There are even campaign worlds with built in rules (visa-versa) like Astonishing Swordsmen & Sorcerers of Hyperborea and Adventurer Conqueror King System.

Plus all the material from James Mishler Games and others.

This is just the stuff I know about.  What else is out there?
Has there been enough published "OSR" material to populate an entire campaign guide ala the Forgotten Realms or Greyhawk?

Has anyone tried fitting it all together?

March Madness OSR Challenge! Part 2

I want to thank Tomb of Tedankhamen for hosting this.

Here is part 2 of my list.  Hope you enjoy!

9 What superhero RPG have you enjoyed most? Why?
Mutants and Masterminds is one of my favorites. I also enjoyed Villains and Vigilantes and Superbabes.
I just liked the way M&M worked to be honest.
Back in the day we used to take our D&D characters and drop them right into V&V.  It was the 80s things like that were allowed.

10 What science fiction RPG have you enjoyed most? Give details.
Doctor Who Adventures in Time and Space is my current favorite sci-fi game.  I like it's flexibility and it's openness.  Plus being a big fan of Doctor Who doesn't hurt.  But in all seriousness it is just a really fun game and really forces you to think about how to do things other than fighting all the time.

11 What post-apocalyptic RPG have you enjoyed most? Why?
Gamma World or Armageddon. I am not a huge fan of post-apoc games to be honest, but I have had fun with them in the past.  Gamma World is gonzo fun and Armageddon is a nice addition to the WitchCraft line.

12 What humorous RPG have you enjoyed most? Give details.
Army of Darkness. I think counts. It has a solid humor element. Same with Ghostbusters. Witch Girls Adventures also has a humor to it that I like.  I like to inject all my games with a bit of humor. Temper the darkness a bit.

13 What horror RPG have you enjoyed most? Why?
Too many to count really.  Chill, Call of Cthulhu, GURPS, WitchCraft, Buffy, Army of Darkness, Vampire, Mage, Ghosts of Albion, Kult, Monsterhearts, Wraith and lots more. I love horror games. I even run my D&D games as horror games.

14 What historical or cultural RPG have you enjoyed most? Give details.
Not sure what this one is asking. I like anything Victorian.  But outside of that Mage the Sorcerers' Crusade for playing in the Renaissance. For a purely historical RPG, Victoria is one of my favorites.

15 What pseudo or alternate history RPG have you enjoyed most? Why?
Castle Falkenstein is one of my favorite alt-history games.  Victoriana is another good one. And Space: 1899.  Anything in the Victorian period really.

March Madness OSR Challenge! Part 1

I have bitten off more than I can chew this month.
New month is the big April A to Z blog challenge and this month I need get some more done for work and my witch book.

Plus I am still sick.

So....I am going to have to do this in chunks.
I want to thank Tomb of Tedankhamen for hosting this.

1 What was the first roleplaying game other than D&D you played? Was it before or after you had played D&D?
It was over 30 years ago so it was either Traveller or Chill 1st Ed. This was all after D&D.

2 What was the first character you played in an RPG other than D&D? How was playing it different from playing a D&D character?
I ran Chill. My first character I played in another game was "Zaphod" in Traveller.  The skill system was a new idea for me and I liked it.  Plus the D&D mode of "kill things and take their stuff" doesn't work in most games.

3 Which game had the least or most enjoyable character generation?
In my mind the character creation for Traveller gave me the most trouble.  The easiest is anything for Unisystem. I can pretty much create a character for Unisystem in my sleep.

4 What other roleplaying author besides Gygax impressed you with their writing?
Easy.  C. J. Carella. His WitchCraft game is a work of art. He created the Unisystem game system and the Cinematic Unisystem.  I was fortunate enough to be working on the Buffy the Vampire Slayer RPG when it was in development.

5 What other old school game should have become as big as D&D but didn’t? Why do you think so?
Chill. It lived in the shadow of Call of Cthulhu. Of course Chill is seeing some new light from Goblinoid Games in the guise of Rotworld,  Majus and Cryptworld.

6 What non-D&D monster do you think is as iconic as D&D ones like hook horrors or flumphs, and why do you think so?
I am not sure that flumphs are as iconic as say beholders or mind flayers, but that is a discussion for later. For other games  I always liked shoggoths and gugs from Call of Cthulhu.  The "Mean Old Neighbor Lady" from Chill is also fairly iconic for that game.

7 What fantasy RPG other than D&D have you enjoyed most? Why?
Runequest. I liked it because of it's connection the the Chaosism's BRP system which meant I could add in things from the Elric/Stormbringer/Hawkmoon games and Call of Cthulhu as I liked.

8 What spy RPG have you enjoyed most? Give details.
None. Not my cup of tea really.  I liked how Spycraft was put together, but I never played it.

D&D40 Bloghop: Day 21

Day 21: First time you sold some of your D&D books--for whatever reason.

Not sure when the first time was.  I do recall though a great 2nd ed purge around 1997 or 1998.  I had a ton of books and I wanted to get things down to the bare essentials.  This also corresponds to the time I was getting out of D&D.

I remember selling some items at the local Game Plus Auction, but I also sold a more significant amount on Ebay.

This was right before the Dragon magazine archive went for sale so I unloaded my old Dragons for a decent price. I sold all my 2e splat books.  My best sell was a near mint Complete Book of Necromancers. I had bought it for $15.00 and it was then being sold at $18.00  I made $83.00 on it.

I almost always regret selling my games and have often bought them back.  I have owned over the years 3 different copies of Chill and Quest of the Ancients, two copies each of BESM, Vampire, Mage and various Star Trek games. There are more.  Interestingly enough I recently picked up a copy of the Complete Book of Necromancers at Half-Price books for $9.00.  That is the same price as the PDF.

Social Media applet

Did a quick and dirty social media contact widget to the right (and below).

    
    

Now you can see what I am doing all over the web.  Just click on the icons.

I'll add more as they become relevant to me.

D&D40 Bloghop: Day 19

Day 19: First gamer who just annoyed the hell out of you.

There have been a few.

I have had "the unwashed guy", the "creepy guy" and the "angry guy" all in my groups at one point.

But the one that I have to admit who annoys me the most is also one of the first I ever ran into, he is the "You're Doing it WRONG guy".

This is the guy who has been playing for a while and has decided, for whatever reason that your brand of fun is somehow wrong or deficient in some matter.

I would run into him when I was playing Basic/Expert D&D and he was playing AD&D. I ran into him while playing Chill and he was playing Call of Cthulhu.  I run into him all the time on internet.

Of course by "him" I mean a metaphorical "him", but I have never run into a woman gamer that did this.  Most times they are older than me (which is now thankfully rarer) but sometimes younger.

I look at this guy the same way I do Edition Wars. Ignore him and continue with my fun.

D&D40 Bloghop: Day 17

Day 17: First time you heard D&D was somehow "evil."

I started gaming in the late 70s, early 80s.  So hearing D&D was "satanic" was part and parcel of the gaming experience then.  Especially in the ultra-religious town I grew up in.

I remember hearing it from one friend that his mom would not let him play because D&D was "from the devil".  And me being, well, me, told him how there is no devil in D&D...we killed him a few adventures ago.

Back in the early 80s we even had our own little satanic panic scare in town.  Someone had discovered "an altar" out in a cornfield near the high school.  Sent the school into a tizzy. People started wearing these inverted crosses with red line through them, Satan Busters. Like the Ghostbusters symbol.
Everyone was scared.  I thought it was hilarious.   I was a pretty hard core atheist already so I was fascinated by how panicked everyone was.  I DO remember being told not to bring my D&D books for a while.

I also had a copy of Jack Chick's infamous Dark Dungeons tract and I also did this, MST3k: Dark Dungeons.

D&D40 Bloghop: Day 15

Day 15: What was the first edition you didn't enjoy. Why?

Hmm. Generally speaking I have enjoyed every single edition. Sure for different reasons, but in truth as long as I am throwing dice with friends or family then I am happy.

Though I will admit I was getting burned out on AD&D 2nd ed by the mid 90s and when the Skills and Powers books came out I was pretty much done.

I felt the Skills & Powers books were overkill and took D&D into deep munchkin territory.
Picking up the new 3rd Ed Players Handbook in 2000 was the only thing that won me back to D&D to be honest.

Also at this point I was playing more WitchCraft RPG and branching out to other games more.  The AD&D Skill system was by then horribly dated.

A to Z Challenge Ambassador

I am signed up for the A to Z blog Challenge again for this April.

Not only that, I am once again one of the "Ambassadors" for the challenge. Basically this means I am a cheerleader. It will be my job to go through the sites in the challenge and give them encouragement.  I am once again working with Master Blogger Arlee Bird over at Tossing It Out.
In addition to the list of sites that my group will monitor I am also going to be hitting all RPG sites in the hop.

I think this is a great outreach opportunity. My hits increase by 300% and some of those stay on.  It is my version of evangelism.  If you are part of my regular set of readers and you are going to do this let me know!  I will make sure I add you to my list.

I mentioned here and here that this year I am doing an A to Z of Vampires.  This hopefully will support two different projects I am working on.  These projects are still in draft phase now, in fact one is not even in that yet.  But Vampires are something I have always enjoyed.  In fact in most circles before I was "the witch guy" I was "the vampire guy".

Like last year there will be plenty of RPG stuff, but there will also be more general horror posts too.  Trying to please all my audiences.

Hope to see you in the Challenge!

LiveChat and Kickstarter shares

I wanted to remind you all that I will be participating in the live #RPGNet Q&A Series tonight (Friday 2/7) at 8:00pm Central time (GMT -6:00).

http://tinyurl.com/rpgnetchat

I will be talking about Ghosts of Albion, my upcoming work for Gaslight and of course the Strange Brew kickstarter.

I also wanted to let you know about two other Kickstarters that I have been following.

Fall of Man came up around the same time we were getting ready for ours. It is also Pathfinder but in a post-apoc world.   It looks like it could be a of fun.  It reminds me a bit of the cool post-apoc games of the late 80s.
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/2033407677/fall-of-man-a-post-apocalyptic-gothic-horror-fanta?ref=live

Flip Flash is a new family card game from Naomi Tripi that looks like a lot of fun.  I am always looking for a new family game that can learned and played quickly.  This one looks fantastic.
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/296612146/flip-flash-a-super-fast-new-card-game-from-tripi-g

So please check these out!

D&D40 Bloghop: Day 4

Day 4: First dragon you slew (or some other powerful monster)

I will be honest with you. I can't remember the first dragon I killed.
I am pretty sure it was a blue one, but outside of that I can't recall.

Now I do remember what was one of the most powerful monsters I killed.

It was Jr. High and I was in a game with my friend Jon Cook, from posting #1.
His older sister was running us through a dungeon crawl one summer night and I remember we ran into a Lich.  
This was big deal because I had been mostly playing this odd collection of AD&D and D&D (B/X) and had not run into a Lich yet.  Plus Mary was your typical Chaotic Evil DM. So this Lich kept jumping in and out of the Ethereal plane and she ruled I couldn't turn it since it wasn't on my sheet.

We, that is Johan and Sneaker the thief, managed to kill it with best weapon we had.  We burned down the building it was in.

Still love throwing Liches at players.  It brings out the CE DM in me as well.

D&D40 Bloghop: Day 3

Day 3: First dungeon you explored as a PC or ran as a DM.

Another one I have to really think about.
I think it is very likely that first dungeon I ever went through was a home brew on.  I remember a lot graph paper maps back in those days.

But I do know that the first dungeon I ever took anyone through was a home made one.  I remember writing parts of it in class at school and then adding to it later in the summer sitting on my front porch.  Yes I am sure I was drink a class of sweet tea.  Summer time in Southern Illinois.

I am pretty sure I have no idea where that adventure is.  I have some maps from around that time still, but not that one.

D&D40 Bloghop: Day 2

Day 2:  First person YOU introduced you to D&D. Which edition? Their first character?

This one is easy.  The first person I introduced was my younger brother Brian.
The edition most certainly was Moldvay Basic / Cook/Marsh Expert.

I am nearly certain that his first character was an Elf. He liked the idea of the character doing magic and being able to fight at the same time.

When I was in Jr. High and High School most everyone that was going to ever play already did.
But since then I have introduced dozens more.  Most notably my own kids.

Text Versions of Questions:

The D&D 40th Anniversary Blog Hop Challenge Day 1: First person who introduced you to D&D? Which edition? Your first Character? Day 2: First person YOU introduced to D&D? Which edition? THEIR first character? Day 3: First dungeon you explored as a PC or ran as a DM. Day 4: First dragon you slew (or some other powerful monster). Day 5: First character to go from 1st level to 20th level (or highest possible level in a given edition). Day 6: First character death. How did you handle it? Day 7: First D&D Product you ever bought. Do you still have it? Day 8: First set of polyhedral dice you owned. Do you still use them? Day 9: First campaign setting (homebrew or published) you played in. Day 10: First gaming magazine you ever bought (Dragon, Dungeon, White Dwarf, etc.). Day 11: First splatbook you begged your DM to approve. Day 12: First store where you bought your gaming supplies. Does it still exist? Day 13: First miniature(s) you used for D&D. Day 14: Did you meet your significant other while playing D&D? Does he or she still play? (Or just post a randomly generated monster in protest of Valentine's Day). Day 15: What was the first edition you didn't enjoy. Why? Day 16: Do you remember your first edition war? Did you win? ;) Day 17: First time you heard D&D was somehow "evil." Day 18: First gaming convention you ever attended. Day 19: First gamer who just annoyed the hell out of you. Day 20: First non-D&D RPG you played. Day 21: First time you sold some of your D&D books--for whatever reason. Day 22: First D&D-based novel you ever read (Dragonlance Trilogy, Realms novels, etc.) Day 23: First song that comes to mind that you associate with D&D. Why? Day 24: First movie that comes to mind that you associate with D&D. Why? Day 25: Longest running campaign/gaming group you've been in. Day 26: Do you still game with the people who introduced you to the hobby? Day 27: If you had to do it all over again, would you do anything different when you first started gaming? Day 28: What is the single most important lesson you've learned from playing Dungeons & Dragons? Feburary 2014, d20darkages.blogspot.com