Wizards of the Coast Print on Demand

The biggest news in the D&D corners of the Internet is Wizards of the Coast and OneBookShelf are now starting some Print on Demand services for classic D&D products.

This isn't terribly new, WotC had been providing some PoD services for some of their new D&D 5 materials.  What is new that we are seeing some classic products out now and should expect to see more each week.

I picked up a copy of The Shady Dragon Inn.  It was cheap, and I never owned a copy before. It is also something I can use in pretty much any version of the game I play.
I suppose in truth I should have grabbed something like The Secret of Bone Hill or Castle Amber; something I still have a physical copy of and can compare.   Actually I should get a new copy of the 3.5 Draconomicon.  My son used to take that with him to pre-school to read (and read and read) and my copy is really worn out.

This is the start of a new era for Wizards.  D&D can now be perpetually in-print.  This will also really kill the after-market book sales now.  Oh sure, collectors will still want good original copies, but there will be plenty that will want playable copies too.  I might pick up I10: Ravenloft II: The House on Gryphon Hill just so I don't wear my copy out anymore.

Imagine if all of the TSR and WotC back catalog was available for print on demand like this?  This could open up older versions of the game in ways never before possible.  Play a game at a convention and then hand a QR code on a card or send a link so people can get their own copies.
I do have a fear that this might hurt our local game stores though.

The Future of the Swords & Wizardry Witch

Yesterday saw the release of the Witch class for Swords & Wizardry Light.  +Erik Tenkar put together a nice set of rules and I had to do something to support it.
So far I am pretty pleased with the sales.  The natural question now is "What's next?"

Well, I have some plans!

Swords & Wizardry is not a game I embraced at first.  Sure it is fun, but I didn't see why people kept calling it an OD&D clone.  It has some design elements similar to OD&D but it is still pretty far removed from my memories of actually playing OD&D.   In truth, Spellcraft & Swordplay is much, much closer to OD&D than Swords & Wizardry is.

That all being said I stopped worrying about what Swords & Wizardry wasn't and focused on what it is.  What it is is a surprisingly fun, easy and fast game that still feels like D&D.   You can thank White Star for that really.

What does this mean for you and my work?

There will be witch books for Swords & Wizardry.

The first is for Swords & Wizardry Whitebox.  I am going to focus on rebuilding the witch class from the ground up to fit S&W.  There will be plenty of new material; I want this to be worth my time in doing it and your money in buying it. I also want it to be compatible with my Basic Witch class, so that they can be used together.

There will be overlap between this new book, the Witch and Eldritch Witchery.  The new book will feature a new Witch Tradition, appropriately called "The White Witch Tradition" and have new spells and magic items.  I have not decided whether or not this book should include monsters.

Next will be another book for +James Spahn's  The Hero's Journey Fantasy Roleplaying Game.  This book will be very, very similar to the Whitebox witch. I won't lie, this book will be about 90% the same as the White Box Witch.  It will have its own Tradition as well, the "Hedge Witch".

Finally, I'll pull everything together from everything I have ever written and put that into a "Complete Witch" for Swords & Wizardry Complete.  This will contain all the spells, magic items, powers and Traditions of all my books.  In particular, I want this to be used with the +Stacy Dellorfano led 3rd printing of S&W Complete.  Plus using my witch in +Elizabeth Chaipraditkul's S&W

My plan is to bundle these together so that anyone that really, really wants all these books can get them at a reasonable price.   I also want to make it so that if you choose to buy only one book you have a set of complete rules and something unique the other books do not have.

I have other projects that NEED to be finished first, though, so don't expect these books in the next few weeks or even months.

I am very conscious of the fact that this feels like I am "going back to the same well" too many times.  But this is something I need to write, for me. If you enjoy it too, then fantastic. I would love it if you enjoyed it too.

So let me know what you think below.
Is there something you want to see in these books?
Is there something you DON'T want to see in these books?

The Witch for Swords & Wizardry Light

Swords & Wizardry Light is then newest little OSR game on the market thanks to the great work by +Erik Tenkar.   Run over to The Tavern and grab yourself a copy.

The philosophy behind the game is simple; create a game that fits on a folder that can be run at convention games or given away for free.

So to support that goal I would like to present to you The Witch for Swords & Wizardry Light.

This 2-page class is based on, and roughly compatible with, my Basic-era Witch class.
It details levels 1 to 3 for the S&W Light rules with notes on expansion to level 5.

Now one might naturally ask what this means in terms of support of S&W from the Other Side.
Yes, there will be new witch books for both S&W White Box and S&W Complete.  I have a few other projects to finish first.

So have a look, if you like it it is PWYW.  Money from this will go to buy new art for my next S&W products.

New Movie: The Witching

Al Bruno over at Al Buno III's Internet Tomfoolery just posted this trailer for a new movie that caught my eye.

Check out his post here: http://albruno3.blogspot.com/2016/11/and-now-trailer-for-witching.html

Love that poster.  Not as catching as "The Witch", but still really cool.
The movie came out last week and IMDB currently has it at 3.7 out of 10.  Not a good sign really, but hey I have seen worse.

If nothing else head on over to Al's blog. He has some great stuff!

Dungeons & Dragons in Toy Hall of Fame

The big news in the RPG world is of course, the introduction of Dungeons & Dragons into the National Toy Hall of Fame.

You can read what they said about D&D here:
http://www.toyhalloffame.org/toys/dungeons-dragons

Some people are commenting, and maybe rightly so, that the pictures show the wrong box.  But I disagree in one respect.

Moldvay Basic, a game I have very fond memories of, was D&D for many gamers my age.  Yes, we all love White Box even with all it's weird idiosyncracies, Moldvay Basic (and Expert) really opened the rules up to so many; many that did not have that wargaming background.  This was the edition that was made for D&D players first.  Ok...so what Holmes (which I also love) this was something new.

My wife says it was included in the Toy Hall of Fame this year in part due to Stranger Things.  I agree, but D&D also has had a pretty successful couple of years.  D&D 5 is doing great, the 40th anniversary was a huge success, and gamers of the 80s are now the successful adults of today. So there is that.

So congrats D&D!  Well earned.

Here is another interesting thought.  How many of you that started with Moldvay Basic/Cook & Marsh Expert ALSO had that Fisher Price Little People Barnyard toy as a kid?  I think every kid in the 70s was issued one.

DIY Swords & Wizardry Light Folder + Something new

(Ugh. That election.  But I am not going to sully this blog with talk of our new national nightmare.)

+Erik Tenkar's Sword & Wizardry Light is out. More or less.  It's a great idea and has endless utility.

I played around with the file some to get something I could print out and use.  So I decided to do this.

A touch unwieldy sure, but still very useful to have.  Works as a GM screen or a folder.

Now if I only had something to put inside...

Oh.  Yeah. That looks good.

Have some editing and some checking to do, but stay tuned!

Election Day

It's Election Day in the US.

Don't sit at home and complaining about the election, the people in it or the people voting.
Get out and vote.

Seriously. You can read blogs tomorrow.