Cancellations and Anniverseries at the Manor

A lull in the game scape at the Manor this week.  Last night's game was cancelled because one player had another commitment and I have been slammed at work the last few weeks and just needed to rest.  I spend my days talking to people all day at work and sometimes when I get home I don't want to say a word.  I was going to add a Whisk joke here, but I don't think she would find it funny and she would hit me when I wasn't expecting it.

Wednesday I had to cancel for Trey's Weird Adventures game because it is mine and Whisk's 8th Wedding Anniversery.  Very cool and looking forward to spending the day with her doing whatever.  So no gaming that night.  I'd hate to be castrated on my anniversery.  Any day for that matter. 

So what's going on?  Not all gaming activities have stopped.  The Manor is in its final leg.  Whisk is finishing a recipe and the final article I'm waiting for.  This is one instance I with I was doing a nice color zine to add one of her food pictures.  I plan on doing proofs this week.  Send copies to second readers than off to everyone in blog land.  Oh, and my mother wants a copy.  She won't understand a word of it, but she needs to have a copy of whatever I write. 

I recently cracked open my old Tunnels & Trolls.  Just to read.  I like randomly picking things off the shelf to read.  With Tenkar's gift I wanted to refresh myself on the rules.  I looked through the adventures that I bought from Ken St. Andre at Origins last year.  Fun stuff.

Lunch is over.  Time for me to return to the pepper mines.  The salt mines are so yesterday.

Cool Gaming Stuff

Yesterday I went to the mailbox and POW!  I got a double Tunnels and Trolls gut punch from Tenkar.  I was the fortunate soul who claimed victory in his drawing.  See picture above.  See picture below.  Both are mine now.  All mine. MUHAHAHA!  Seriously though, after lysoling them because Tenkar is contagious whether he admits it or not, these are great additions to my small, but very cool collection of T&T.

Then I hit the local gaming store.  It wasn't annoying it all.  The one game salesman was not there and that is a good thing.  But I felt like buying some new dice for myself.  I got more than enough dice, but I felt like adding to my small horde.

Green dice for the holiday.  I was looking for more of a frosted green, but they did not have them.

This one.  I guess its like a magic 8-ball.

And my favorite die I got and the coolest picture.  Love this one.  Ivy takes great pictures.

Newest Troll in Trollhalla

After meeting Ken St. Andre I had to join Trollhalla.  Not sure why I never did before since I've been a fan for...well since I had a full head of hair and I can tell you that has been years, decades ago.  So I also though I would show you what I got at the Flying Buffalo booth. 

First off I got this hit location die.  I have a twelve sider, but I like the pictures on this one.

Then here is my stash of books I got.  First off I got the 7th CityBook.  These are probably my favorite gaming supplements.  Still need to find number 6.  I got a T&T adventure from Free RPG day from 2008.  Tavern by the Sea, The Wizard's Test and Khara Khang's Random Rainbow Maze.  Ken signed the last three.

So this is what I got from the Flying Buffalo which is a true old school company.  As you can see I was not shy about buying stuff.  And why not?  I love everything I got and am enjoy reading it all.

Playing Tunnels and Trolls with Ken St. Andre

I was going to talk about all the cool stuff that I got at Origins, but that has taken a backseat.  First off, Rob and I must have stored up some good mojo for the trip.  Somehow, without the use of a flying machine we made it to Columbus in 3.25 hours instead of 4.  Rob and I are still wondering how we did that since I wasn't speeding and I don't have a vehicle that could speed if I wanted to.  Parking.  BAM!  Up front.  This was too easy.  Walking through the giant convention center was interesting since signs were sparse, but we found our way without too many missteps.

People we got to meet and talk with for a bit:

Lou Zocchi of the famous Game Science Dice, sharp enough to be considered a concealed weapon.  What a blast he was.  I scored my first set of Game Science dice, 11 dice set that included the new Zocchi dice.  How could I not.  In addition he had these old dice from the Armory, Alignment Dice.  Even though I don't use alignment I will buy any dice that are weird and something I don't have.

Tom Tullis of Fat Dragon was helping at at the Troll Lord Games booth.  Rob gave him a copy of Blackmarsh and the Majestic Wilderlands.  Tom apparently is a big fan of S&W and thrilled to have get them.  I told him to stop clogging up the top ten slots on RPGNow.  Here is a guy who is doing this for a living.  Doesn't use a CAD program, does the math in his head and uses a ruler and pencil.  I like that a lot.

Steven Chenault of Troll Lord Games.  I didn't have a chance to talk to him too long, but the booth next to Troll Lord Games was a Free RPG Day booth and he spoke briefly how he liked that idea.  I agreed as I selected two free items.

Jim & Debbie of Dungeon Decks and Dragon Tomes.  Not sure what their last names are, but this couple definitely has a passion for the hobby.  I bought a Dungeon Deck from them and I really like the idea.  It's fun and I think can be a great tool for a thrown together game or assist in prepping for an adventure in an ongoing campaign.  They are going to release a couple of other decks at Gen Con.  I know the Camp Deck was one.  When characters camp this deck can assist in making it a memorable experience.  They were a pleasure to talk to.

Steve Johansson of Kenzer Company.  I heard Jolly Blackburn was there also, but did not get the chance to meet him.  Hackmaster released two new modules for their HackMaster Basic and they gave away a copy of their new Hacklopedia.  And were also taking pre orders.  He asked me if I wanted a order a copy and no one to be shy about speaking my mind, "I would love to, but when I put down $60+ for the book I want the PDF for free not to be charged an additional $20."  Well, little did I know if I pre ordered it at Origins I got the copy of the PDF right there for free.  Bam!  Sold!

Last, and definately not least is Ken St. Andre, Mr. Tunnels and Trolls himself sitting at the Flying Buffalo booth with Rick Loomis.  Flying Buffalo is one of those companies that still maintains that old school feel that we all talk about, but they have maintained over all these years.  I bought a bunch of T&T books which Ken graciously signed and added his own humor to.  I got the last copy Tavern by the Sea at Origins.  So as he is signing Ken says, "I've been trying to get a game of Tunnels and Trolls going, but can't get anyone to play."  I told him I would be right back.  I found Rob, told him of Ken's offer and the two of us hurried back to Ken to let him know to trolls were present and willing to be subjected to his adventure.

That's right I got to play Tunnels and Trolls with Ken St. Andre.  That was a lot of fun.  Getting to meet, play and be privy to a few secrets within T&T.  My character started out as a 171 pound human and exited the adventure a 8550 pound dwarf.  Ken declared my dwarf the heaviest in the world.  A moniker I will wear proudly.  Without a doubt an unexpected surprise and the best part of my convention experience.

The Day of the Owlbear Started it All

Last week I had a glorious vacation and scored a ton of gaming stuff. To start off I got an email from Alex that I had a $15 voucher to Otherworld miniatures and I should contact Richard Scott (this is still left over goodness from the one page dungeon contest). I thought I'd just won the Rune Dice, but he said I had also won the voucher. So I ordered the very cool owlbear. Then I went to the post office and my third in the Kingmaker series was there, The Varhold Vanishing. A lich cyclops anyone? Great start to my vacation wouldn't you say?

Then I went to a game store I only get to visit once in a while and bought copies of Pathfinder's Monsters Revisited (This was the book my wife read while I shopped. She didn't know what a bugbear was and started reading more. That was the night I had her go through a few scenarios), I got the Gamemastery Treasure Chest and the box set of Tunnels and Trolls. The manager threw in a starter deck of the Batman Trading card game. Nice looking cards, they were free, but have no idea what to do with them.

Then when I thought I'd scored plenty I got a 40% coupon from Borders along with a $5 coupon off any item over $20. Well Borders has 4th edition D&D and that's pretty much it, but I'd been looking at the 2 DM Guide. Now hold on. Stop throwing things. It is really a pretty decent book. There are some stat blocks (which will make me put a book back on a shelf quicker that the plague) but, it focuses more on the different philosophies about build and adventure and building encounters. So far I've enjoyed it. That said I would have never bought it for the sticker price of $35. I got it for $16 something once all my coupons were totaled.

So as you can see I've been up to my eyeballs with new gaming stuff. Plus, Rob (Bat in the Attic) wanted to try out Runequest and last night we had an honest to goodness sit down around the table, roll real dice game with Dwayne who is in between moves. In his blog he goes into detail about what happened, but man that is one bloody game. Body parts were everywhere. It was a blast, but I doubt we will use that system again. Initially our enemies were supposed to be baboons and ducks. Really? Rob changed them into goblins and halflings.

Thanks to everyone who commented on my wife's blog. You made her day and it won't be the last you hear from her. We have standing plans to buy her, her own set of dice. Something preferably in an orange, yellow or pink. She is thinking of new gruesome recipes to use in game and I plan to use them somehow.

Interview with Bob Liddil : Part 1

I discovered Bob about 20 years ago when I bought Apothecary on the Street of Dreams. It's been a pleasure to learn about his history with gaming and his trials of publishing. Here is Part 1 of the interview with Bob. I hope you enjoy.

SHORTS: Everyone has an initiation or discovery story about how they got into gaming. How did you discover gaming?

LIDDIL: It literally happened on a “dark and stormy night” back in 1977 or so. My friend Jack Powers invited me over to his house for a “snow storm and popcorn party.” I was one of a party of 6 players he introduced to this neat new game called “Tunnels and Trolls.” It was the most fun I’d had in a really long time and it was a great intellectual exercise as well. That night, more than two feet of snow fell on Southeastern Ohio, paralyzing the roads, so basically we slaughtered Orcs until 3AM and then crashed on whatever furniture we could find.

At that point, having spent the entire night trying to keep Damian The Dangerous alive in the roadways and dungeons of “The World” I was totally hooked. Together, we wrote a classic fantasy adventure story, albeit orally, and for me, as an already budding writer, that was just the coolest thing ever.

Next morning, we were awakened by a car crashing into the side of Jack’s house that took out part of the back porch and kitchen. It skidded on the snow and came right into the building. Ironically, Damian had gotten himself trapped on a runaway wagon in the game the night before and almost got his 3x5 card torn in half. He and I both lived in perilous times


SHORTS: Independent publishing is prevalent in the gaming industry now, but back when you published “Griswald Grimm's Little Shop of Poisons and Potions” in 1988 what obstacles did you need to overcome?

LIDDIL:In the very beginning when Dimensions and Doors, Castles and Kingdoms and Demons and Notmen, my first three were published, only two kinds of typesetting existed. Professional typesetting was messy, expensive and cumbersome. Or one could use an IBM Selectric for the different type fonts of the day.

By the time LSPP came out, personal computer typesetting was coming of age and I was learning how to use PageMaker. Probably the biggest obstacle on the first book was just the physical process of assembling the book. To save money, Dallas Nillsen, my partner in Pandora’s Treasures, threw a “collating party” at her house in Logan, Utah. Once collated, the print shop wire bound them and they were ready to go. It really wasn’t much of a hassle for me, because she handled everything other than the actual typography and writing.

In the late 80’s the single most difficult obstacle to overcome had to be the cost of printing. Analog printing is inefficient on “short runs” and not cost effective at all. The cost of a single unit in a 1000 unit run was typically more than $5 per book. Since the wholesale price to a distributor typically seldom exceeded $6.00 the profit margin was usually a wash.

Only selling the book at retail at conventions allowed me to sell it at all. Distributors seldom bought more than 25 at a time so I would say that getting the finished product into the hands of the gamer was my biggest obstacle, that and the fact that Dragon Magazine wouldn’t let me advertise because of the title. TSR were in deep conflict with the Christian Right at the time and the words “Poisons and Potions” were so inflammatory that the book was actually banned by the Wizards of the North!

Coming up with the formulas was easy. I am a very irreverent game master and a great believer in “look before you touch.” I play tested the poisons and potions at a game convention in Salt Lake City in an “ancient apothecary dungeon” and killed virtually every gamer in attendance. The days of drink anything and watch what happens pretty much ended that weekend for those kids.

It still makes me laugh to remember that 13 hour-long game during which I must have signed five dozen “Certificates of Death,” a product of mine in the late 1980's.


SHORTS: Your products from 20 years ago reflect a lot of what's going on in gaming today, being self-published and system neutral supplements. What was the response then to your books being system neutral?

LIDDIL: System neutrality was a necessity during the decades of the 70’s thru 90’s. Gary Gygax and TSR would sue you where you stood for merely mentioning D&D compatibility specifically, where Rick Loomis encouraged T&T fans to “do their thing,” and Steve Jackson was cool as ice every time someone mentioned GURPS.

I always believed that the heart of role-playing was in the storytelling. That’s where my emphasis pointed. Also, having been introduced to T&T prior to D&D, I acquired that sort of “anti-establishment” rebellion attitude right off the bat.

System neutrality the way I published, with no real rule set and compatible with every single rule set was a scarcity. Most Kitchen Table Publishers of my era were broke, stayed broke or went broke.

Lou Zocchi and Gamescience were the obvious exception, and Steve Jackson as well.

You can find more information in Part 2 of the interview soon, but if you just can't wait head over to Digitropolis where Bob makes his home on the web.