Ken St. Andre responds to James Shipman

Long time readers here know of the whole James Shipman debacle.  Briefly he stole art and content and is selling it as his own.  Here are some links to bring you up to speed.

http://timbrannan.blogspot.com/2009/12/outlaw-press-uses-stolen-art-and.html
http://timbrannan.blogspot.com/2010/01/more-from-outlaw-press.html
http://timbrannan.blogspot.com/2010/06/outlaw-press-is-back-and-still-stealing.html

Well there is new movement on this front, none other than Tunnels and Trolls' own Ken St. Andre.

Ken has posted and open letter to RPGNet

An open letter to James Shipman from Ken St. Andre:

James,

I received your package yesterday with some surprise. Received six copies of the revised Gristlegrim Dungeon. This dismays me, as I told you to quit publishing it back in January of this year when I broke with you. If this parcel was an attempt at a reconciliation between us, then I appreciate the effort you took, but I reject it. Our friendship and partnership is broken and done forever. I do not wish to collaborate on Gristlegrim or any other project with you. Not now! Not ever again! You had no right to add your material to my work. You have no right to continue publishing and selling it. Please stop!

James, you no longer have any right to publish or sell my works. We have no written contracts. We have no formal accounting of royalties. Your habit of sending money and or copies of the items is no longer good enough. Any informal agreements we may have made in 2009 and earlier are terminated on my side of the deal. I no longer wish to associate with you, either professionally or informally.

Find some other outlet for your creativity. Leave me, and leave Tunnels and Trolls, alone. I am rejecting any further association with you.

I hope this is clearly understood. Do not publish anything with my name on it as author. Do not presume to collaborate with me on my projects. Do not keep attempting to infiltrate trollhalla.com under false names--you are banned and unwelcome on that site. Do not attempt to rewrite the history of Tunnels and Trolls on Wikipedia or any other online sources. Do not send me money. Do not send me product. I do not want it from you. However, I am under no legal obligation to send back things that arrive unsolicited in the mail. I won't waste the money or the effort to send them back. I am not interested in theatrical gestures. I simply wish to terminate our association and to move on with other things in life.

I hereby reclaim my rights to anything I ever gave you to publish. In particular, I assert my right to the novel Griffin Feathers which consists entirely of my own work with some input in the short sections of the book from the members of Trollhalla.

I am forwarding the "royalties" that you sent me to Jeff Freels, the artist whose work you have re-used to illustrate this version of Gristlegrim. He deserves compensation for his work.

James, I am not angry at you, and I do not hate you. I simply will not associate with you ever again. For several years we were, I thought, very good friends. Outlaw Press did a lot for Tunnels and Trolls. You know why that time has ended. Let it go. Move on.

James, I will be publishing this letter in open forums on the internet, so that all the world can see how I feel, and how I react to what I can only believe are attempts to manipulate me and to gain control of Tunnels and Trolls. If you have no ulterior intentions, then forgive me for being suspicious, but I no longer feel that I can trust you.

James, you have your own unique style of creativity. Please go and do your own thing, and stop messing with me and with Tunnels and Trolls.


Sincerely,
Ken St. Andre

He also posted it over on the Big Purple, http://forum.rpg.net/showthread.php?p=12781787#post12781787

I need a Dracula Chess set

“So be it that he has gone elsewhere. Good! It has given us opportunity to cry `check' in some ways in this chess game, which we play for the stake of human souls.”
 -Van Helsing in Bram Stoker’s Dracula

So I have started to re-read Dracula again.  Something I like to do every so often. Inevitably I get back to something I have always wanted, a Dracula themed chess set.
What I want is the Franklin Mint to come out with one so I can agonize about it for years and finally find one on eBay.  But to my knowledge they never have made one.  The closest I have seen is a Scooby-Doo chess set.  So I want something nice, a show-off piece.

So far it doesn't look like anything like this exists.  I have found one ancient blog posting about it, but that is it.
Plus, when it comes right down to it, I am not a chess junkie.  I enjoy the game. I know it's importance in the communities I frequent (education, psychology and gamers), but I don't play very often and when I do play I do it only causally.

But this is something I'd still like to have.
I would make it a traditional chess set (no alternate rules) and I have had the pieces in mind for years.
Black
King - Dracula (obviously)
Queen - Lucy in her vampire or "Bloufer lady" form.
Bishops - Dracula's other brides (yeah missing one)
Knights - his gypsy henchmen
Rooks - Castle Dracula
Pawns - Wolves (with bats maybe)

White
King - Van Helsing (again an obvious choice)
Queen  - Mina Harker
Queen's Bishop - Jonathan Harker
Kin's Bishop - Dr. Seward
Knights -  Quincey Morris and Arthur Holmwood
Rooks - Seward's Sanitarium
Pawns - Holmwood's dogs.

I like how these fill out honestly.  Though I do need a place for Reinfield.  Maybe as one of the black Knights

I might have enough D&D minis to do this with, at least on Dracula's side of things, but not really for Van Helsing's side.

I guess my search goes on.

.

Labor Day

It's Labor Day here in the US.

Hope everyone here enjoys the long weekend.

The Dragon and the Phoenix: Episode 2

Episode 2: The Dead of Night

Episode 2: Dead of Night by ~WebWarlock on deviantART

November 13, 2002 Wednesday 
A group of necromancers (the Order of Six) is using zombies of people killed by the cast, including Ben/Glory, and a shape shifting spirit to try and unlock a portal to Leviathan’s plane.
Story Arc and Game Design elements: Monster of the week (mostly). Necromancy rules for Cinematic Unisystem. Establishes that Tara keeps a Journal that she writes in religiously. Also introduces the Codex Albius and the first of many cults.

Notes and Comments: This adventure was written by Garner Johnson based on a draft he was doing for a story. It was designed as our playtests of "Monster Smackdown".
We featured a weak shape shifter as our first among many jabs at “The First”, but mostly we wanted to deal with some glaring issues, such as why some people get do all the killing of normal humans they like and never be held accountable for it (Spike, Buffy), while others are treated like pariahs (Faith, Willow).
We also wanted to do a “zombie” episode since we were all getting into AFMBE by this time and really just wanted a monster of the week one. The title was my idea and Garner objected, but he saw it my way after spending a week trying to come up with something better.
The episode itself doesn't advance the arc much save for the fact that we established that others are going to be interested in what is going on here.  This was part of my "your characters do not live in a vacuum" philosophy.  This was stage building.
The idea was to have the characters have to deal with the deaths, accidental or otherwise, that they have caused, but it didn't quite work out like that.  The players saw zombies and zombies had to be destroyed.

Tara's journal writing was one of those things that seem to come out of several different places at once. Lisa (our Tara) and Sass (our Willow) both talked about it. Later on it was reinforced when we began work on Ghosts of Albion and Tamara Swift also kept a journal. In fact the Journals of Tamara Swift became magical tomes in their own right, as did the Journal of Megan Maclay would in the next season.

Yes. I know there is a typo in the cover. I have been meaning to fix it for years.

Those Meddling Kids, Part 2

So I have some links to share!

Allyson Brooks the author of MK sent me some character sheets to share with you all!
Character Sheet
Wild Card Sheet

Reader Bruce Hill sent me a link that includes both the Character sheet and a second adventure.
http://www.kidzworld.com/article/4962-meddling-kids-introductory-role-playing-game-review

There is some good life in this game still!

Thanks Allyson and Bruce for the links.

Those Meddling Kids!

I wanted to talk some about super heroes this week.  Really I did.
But I got sidetracked by the boxed set of D&D4. And what is it about an RPG in a box? When box sets were in vogue all I wanted were hard cover books.  Boxes of soft cover books were for kids!

Well in that vein I ended up with another "new" (new to me) RPG that honestly I am a little surprised I didn't know about; Meddling Kids.

I guess it was out in 2004, but somehow I missed it in the tsunami of d20 books.  But it is now at DriveThruRPG so I picked up a copy.  The company is still around, but they don't support the product that much.  I am still searching for more information (I'd love a character sheet) but until then I am on my own.

So what is Meddling Kids?  Well it is an introductory RPG for "kids of all ages" but recomended for ages 7 and up.  The writing is very clear and concise and frankly one of the better "intro" games I have seen.  It is designed as an intro game and is listed as "Stage 1 of the Starter System". I don't know if other stages were produced or not, but the feel here is one of "this is your first game so have some fun, and when you are ready we will have more for you".  As with most starter sets there is lot the seasoned (or grizzled in my case) player can ignore, but it was still a very fun, light and fluffy read.
The premise is simple.  You create a teenage mystery-solver who belongs to a clique of other liked minded teens.  Like in the TV show that this is so obviously taken from, different teens of various social standing and family incomes mix together well in a group united by their love of solving a mystery.  Or maybe it's the talking dog. Or dune buggy. Or chimp. Or genie. Or...you get the idea.  If you grew up in the 70s-80s then you know what I mean.

Character creation is simple.  You create a background for your character, then are given points for Stats and  Abilities.  Pretty simple.  Since we are talking about cartoons your Teen is put into an Archetype.  So think Jock, Brain, Fluff, Goof and so on.
The system is a simple one of Stat  plus a roll based on Abilities plus a d6.  Compare to a Target Number or resist the roll of something else.

What sets MK apart though is the use of the "Wild Card" character.  This is a character, usually an animal, that hangs with the clique and is run by the GM.  Not an NPC or even GMPC (though very close).  The Wild Card is the one that helps in the adventure/mystery.  So yeah, think Scooby Doo, or even Jabber Jaw or Captain Caveman.  It is a fairly clever idea really and one of the only games I have read that encourages a GMPC like character.

The book is small, less than 100 pages with pretty clear large fonts, so this is not a hefty tome to learn, it is a simple game that does exactly what it sets out to do and it does it rather well.  It is a great game to teach the little guys how to play using something that both parents and kids will know all about.

There are a lot of comparisons that could be made between this and Cartoon Action hour or even BASH (which has a similar feel to it).  But MK really does it's thing rather well.

So obviously a game using this based around the Hex Girls makes a lot of sense.  Though there is no magic system really, though the Wild Cards have some magic like abilities.  Plus the game is aimed a teen characters, not really young adult.  But fortunately there is a good solution.  I can do a "Season 0" or pre-season, and deal with the adventures the girls had before they discovered their magic.  I would cheat a little and give the girls each one of the magical Wild Card abilities, but under only under special circumstances, say once per "scene" or something like that.  It would be hard to do with a group that has played the Witch Girls Adventures, Unisystem or Cortex versions first though.  It could also be a link in my life-span development chain, put it in between Little Fears but before Witch Girls.  Truthfully it should go after Witch Girls, but in WGA the characters would develop their powers.

So what would be a Intro Season or a Season 0 of Hex Girls be like?
Well lets go with the mythology set up so far.  We know the girls know about magic (from "The Witch's Ghost") and Thorn has some (can read a spell at least).   So.  Let's start at the begging.  They are not big stars yet, they are touring around local clubs and solving mysteries.  These will be of the Scooby-Doo variety; a haunted house, a spooky amusement park, sightings of a ghostly pirate ship.  No overall story arc or main bad guy, but a string of Monster of the Week episodes.  And nor more than 6 total.  After that I think most kids will be ready for other games.

What are the girls like?  Well younger. Let's make them all teens.  Thorn is 18, Luna is 19 and Dusk is 16.  This would be right about the time that Thorn and Luna formed the HG and brought Dusk in as their second drummer (all great bands have had at least two drummers).  So this might even be a bit before TWG.  So much for continuity...I'll say it is right after since that make the next thing make more sense.

Who is our Wild Card?  That is easy.  I am going to rob from myself (and Charmed) and say the Wild Card character is the ghost of Thorn's Great-great-grandmother.  She is here to guide the girls to their magical destiny.  She can only rarely interact with others and only the girls can see her.  So in Meddling Kids terms she has "Ken" with their "clique".
So the game takes place right after The Witches Ghost and was the basis for the Hex Girls song, "Those Meddling Kids".  Sure. Why not.

Thorn
Archetype: The Fluff  (she is the center of attention)
Strength: 5
Moves: 7
Smarts: 6
Health:  6

Free Ability: Flirt

Intuition (8 pts) Smarts+1d6

Leadership (5 pts) Health+3

Monster Mind (6 pts) Smarts+3
Musician, strings (4 pts) Smarts+1d6
Singer (4 pts) Health+1d6
Weirdness Magnet (3 pts)

Luna
Archetype: The Brain (to cover all her music knowledge)

Strength: 5

Moves: 6

Smarts: 8

Health:  5

Free Ability: Bookworm

Level-Headed (3 pts) Health+3
Musician, string, electronic (8 pts) Smarts+1d6
Popular (8 pts) Health+2
Steel Memory (3 pts) Smarts+3
The Whiz (music) (4 pts) Smarts+3

Dusk
Archetype: The Temper (fits well with the image I have of her)

Strength: 7

Moves: 7

Smarts: 5

Health:  5

Free Ability: Stir the Pot

Fearless (6pts) Smarts+1d6
Intimidate (7 pts) Strength+3
Musician, drums (4 pts) Smarts+1d6
Rich (7 pts) Health+3 (though she keeps this hidden)
Hip (3 pts) Smarts+2

Gram
Archetype: Wild Card (Ghost)

Strength: 4

Moves: 7

Smarts: 9

Health:  4

Quirk - Speaks and acts like she did in the 17th Century.  Has all the girls call her "Gram", she calls them "dearie".  Likes the girls' music, but thinks it is too loud.

Call to All

Ken (2 pts) no roll

Specter (16 pts) no roll

- Fade

- Super Fly

- Transform

Telekinetic (8 pts) Smarts +7

Again, I like these builds. I think they work out nicely for starting characters and players which is exactly the point of "Meddling Kids".  Gram needs to be better defined obviously.

D&D Red Box, I have it and Post 300

So something special today for Post 300.  I picked up the new D&D4 "Red Box" starter rules and I like it.

As you can see it fits in nice with the other boxed sets I have picked up over the years.  But how does it stack up to these worthy predecessors?  After all that "magenta" Basic Box with the Erol Otus cover is the box that got everything going for most people my age (not so much the "other" Red Box, which I don't own).  I suppose I had better make some distinctions so we are all talking about the same things.
There are a lot of games called "Basic D&D" and a few of those are even red in color.  Here is how The Acaeum breaks it down.

D&D Basic Set (blue box) edited by J. Eric Holmes and cover art by David Sutherland, 1977-1979, also called "Holmes Basic" or sometimes "Blue Box Basic". That is edition on the far left of the screen. Packaged with module B1 and dice.

D&D Basic Set (magenta box) edited by Tom Moldvay and cover art by Erol Otus, 1981-1983, also called "Moldvay Basic" or "B/X". The book inside is red. Package with Module B2 and dice. In the center of the picture.

D&D Basic Rules Set 1 (red box) edited by Frank Mentzer and cover art by Larry Elmore, 1983-1989, also called "Mentzer Basic" or "BECMI". Comes with Player's and and DM's books, dice and no separate adventure. (not pictured above).

There were more, like the D&D 3.0 one up there and one for D&D 3.5 that came with a softcover of the PHB.

Now we have this one for D&D 4.

Unpacking the box is like that of unpacking the old Mentzer Basic, which this one owes a lot of homage too.

Inside there is a Player's book (32 pages), a DM's book (64 pages), 4 color character sheets on heavier paper, 6 dice (d4, d6, d8, d10, d12 and d20), a poster map, power cards (lots) and tokens (repalce minis).

A few things are obvious from the start here.
1. This game assumes you have never played D&D in your life. This is a starter set.
2. The game is still D&D 4.  The wailing and gnashing of teeth can stop now.  This is not 4.5, 4.1 or even 4.0.1, it is still the same game from 2 years ago.  Things have been simplified to make learning and getting right into playing faster.
3. Wizard's knows the Grognards are out there.  This game might not appeal to them, but it might to their kids.

Ok what is actually here?  Well let's start with the Player's guide since it has a big "Read Me First" label on it.
The Player's Guide sets the stage on what is D&D and RPGs in general, and it gets you right into thinking about your character.  Not what your powers are, but what you want to be in the game. I liked this.  The rest of the book is dedicated to a pre-programed adventure (yuck) but I can see where this is god for a newbie or a solo player.    As you go through this adventure you are introduced to your abilities, skills, spells, feats and other powers.
The DM's guide is similar.  It gets you up and running fast and explains things along the way.  Obviously lots of room for future books here, OR you could take this game and mover right into the D&D 4 hardcovers proper.

The adventure is nothing great.  It will not ever measure up to the epic quest of Keep on the Borderlands or even In Search of the Unknown.  I played it at Gen Con with my kids.  They had fun.  It is a good mix of combat, skill challenges and role-playing.  Yes. I said role-playing while talking about a D&D4 product.  there is a coupon inside to let you download another adventure for it for free, The Witchlight Fens (which does not seem to be up yet).

The tokens are nice.  Cheaper than figs and certainly have more utility.  Bloodied? Flip it over, same picture now with a red border.  While this will make it easier to stock up on all sorts of characters and monsters, I see a third-party market of blank tokens and instructions on how to print out and glue on your monsters, characters and the like.

The dice are nothing special, but look like they won't chip like the old marbleized dice from the old basic sets.

The redesigned character sheets are really nice.  Heavier paper and full color the skills are now listed under their associated ability.  Visually it makes skills seem like a sub-set of ability checks.  Maybe they are going after the Grognards?

So who is this for?
Well obviously it is designed with the new player in mind.  If you are reading this on my blog then chances are that is not you.  If on you are reading on Facebook, and you have never played but are interested, then this might be a great start.

I like D&D4, should I buy this?
Well....There is nothing new here.  I got it for playing with my boys.  I am sure you can get the tiles elsewhere.  Unless you are a completist, or teaching the game to someone new (I am a little of both) then this is a good buy.

I hate D&D4 should I buy this?
Can't help you there.  I like D&D4, but like I said there is nothing here that is 100% new.  If you hate D&D4 you will hate this too I think.  But in truth the rules are streamlined now and this is a much better "D&D" than 3.0 was.  Hell, when we played at Gen Con we were one character death away from a TPK; so yeah it felt old-school.

I have 20 bucks, is this a good buy?
Yes.

I have some friends that have never played, is this a good buy?
Yes. You can't go wrong with this.

Nitpicks
Well.  The adventure is not great and there is something up with the paint/ink on the books that is giving me a huge headache; before I use them I am going to air them out a bit.
I was hoping for something new (not just revised or tweaked); but I think that is just me and not a fault with the game itself.

Overall
I like it.  I'll catch grief from my D&D4-hating friends, but it is going to do exactly what I need it for and rarely can I say that about a game.