Continuing Saga of Free RPG Day

Each year I look forward to Free RPG Day. It's just a cool concept and it gets me into the gaming store. My problem continues to be the gaming store. Each year they find a way to be annoying or go straight to be assholes. This year it was more annoying. First off, they allowed me to chose one thing from the box. I'm not sure how other stores do it. Maybe that's standard. But I was hoping to pick up a couple things minimum. 

The other thing that I find annoying about them is they have a lot of old, used gaming stuff in the basement. Had it there for years. I asked if I could take a look at the boxes. No. They were doing a computerized list of items and going to sell them on-line, but the person who was going to do that left last year...  So you have someone standing in front of you with cash in hand and... 

While I left with Vaginas Are Magic and bought an interesting Pathfinder: Occult Bestiary, going to that game store reminds me why I order most of my books on-line. The one game store that is closer and much more friendly, unfortunately, did not participate. I would have probably set up shop there for a while, bought some books and ran a game or two. 

Maybe next year. My friend and I were talking and may invite the owner to participate and we would help with the cost. That way the local folks where I live can check it out, have a friendly atmosphere to play and get some cool ass games. 

Free RPG Day Giveaway

Yesterday was free RPG Day.  I got some loot.  I got some duplicate loot and here is some of the loot I am going to give away.  It seems I have 3 copies of Better Than Any Man.  I think I got one when it came out, another very generous person sent me free RPG stuff last year when I didn't get attend Free RPG Day and I picked up a copy yesterday.  It's probably one of the best offerings from Free RPG Day that I remember.  Well I got 3 of them and I only plan to keep 1.  So I am offering two for the giveaway.  Here's what you have to do...comment.  I'll ship to where ever you live.  Postage is on me.

Those that live outside the US please put that in your comment because I know you guys and gals don't get free RPG Day so your comments are going to count as two.  For once, living outside the US in these giveaways, is going to be an advantage.

I might have a few other things to throw into the giveaway pool later in the week.  I need to do some reorganization.  These gaming products need a good home.  I should have made a video Sarah McLachlan song playing the background.

Happy Father's Day to those who have the honor of such a title.

 ADDITION: I'll determine the winners at 9pm EST tonight.

Free RPG Day, One and Done

Last year I passed on Free RPG Day because the two stores that were participating in the area just annoy the shit out of me.  This year I decided to return to one and give it a try and I'm glad I did.  First thing, in the past they only allowed you one thing from the box.  This year they allowed me to select three things.  I dragged the wife along to get a few more additional items.  Two, the guy who runs the gaming session is one I'm not a fan of and is the dipshit feature in this post.  However, this year he was friendly and I actually had a conversation with him.  The other cool thing is that they had stuff from the previous years to pick from. 

So here's what I got. 

I grabbed two Goodman Games products, the DCC GM's Screen.  I thought this was an excellent idea for the DCC folks.  Then I grabbed a 5th edition adventure Into the Dragon's Maw.  I've been playing in a 5e game on and off and I go back and forth about writing an adventure specifically for the system. 

Heirs of Olympus was a 2008 Free RPG Day offering.  I liked the look of this one.  or layout purposes.  I am attempting to educate myself on layout and improving what I produce in the future.  I grabbed this to check it out for layout purposes. 

A Nightmare at Hill Manor was a 2011 offering.  I got this because of my interest in Esoterrorists.  I thought I could mine it for ideas.  It looks like a well put together product and I think it'll be a fun read.

Better Than Any Man, that was two years ago.  Probably one of the better items produced for RPGDay.  I grabbed a copy of this one because I know folks overseas don't get a chance at these items so I basically got it to give it away to someone.  I'll post the giveaway here in a day or two. 

The final two products I got were Pathfinder books.  The first book is Dungeons of Golarion.  It's a book of short adventures.  Not much more to say.  heh.  And the last book is Battle of Bloodmarch Hill, book 1 of 6 of the Giantslayer adventure path.  I grabbed it because it was the first in the series and those seem the most difficult to get.

Overall, a good day for RPGs.  I didn't get a chance to play, but I'm cool with that.  Hit the bookstore after wards and got a little writing done.  Hope your Free RPG Day went well also.

Why I Didn't Participate in Free RPG Day

I've been a huge fan of Free RPG Day since 2009.  I thought it was a great idea, and it was one of the things that drew me back into playing d20 games.  I looked forward to every year.  Last year I think I finally had had enough.

In previous years I'd done well with getting freebies and scoring some loot on top of it.  But, it seemed every year I had problems with the shop owners.  For me there is no F in FLGS.  There are two in my area that generally participate.  Neither is a favorite of mine.  The primary store I go to, the staff are all super friendly except the guy who is in charge of the gaming section.  For some reason he must live by the philosophy that if he is arrogant enough people will believe all the crap that spews out of his mouth.  I just don't like the dude.  In previous years I was willing to chance him being there (ironically he was rarely there on Free RPG Day), but not this year.

The second store I rarely visit because the owner latches onto me and he feels the need to show me every bit of stock he has in store, hoping I'll buy half of it.  Last year I dropped nearly $100 in his till on Free RPG Day.  I scored a lot of good stuff, but he got mad at me when I declined to run a game.  "You got all that free stuff, the least you could do is run a game."  Yeah, I did get free stuff, but I'd also purchased a few pricey items I could have gotten a fuck load cheaper on-line.  I had plans with the wife to go out of town and enjoy the day.  Sitting in a room with him for 4 hours was not in any of my plans in any of the multi-universes I may exist. 

So this year I read about Free RPG Day and thought about going.  Looked at the page, targeted a few pieces I'd like to score, but the day came and went and I didn't go.  Here's the reason I didn't go.  All of the above that I've written and the fact I think I only visited each store once during the past year.  I didn't want to have to deal with either of them.  Wasn't worth it.

I'm sorry I missed out on it.  Really I am, cause I do enjoy the day.  Next year I'm going to have to just take a road trip to a gaming store I've never been to before.  Grab some free stuff and see what kind of gaming books they have on the shelves.  That's not too bad of a thing.

Plus, a lot of independent publishers are jumping on the bandwagon and produced free items for the day also.  I got quite a bit from what was offered on-line.

I'm going to throw this out there, particularly in +Erik Tenkar direction because he's a sucker to do this kind of thing.  Have an OSR Day.  Have folks offer up samples of their wares just like Free RPG Day, but it focuses on our neck of the woods.  I don't know if it's a good idea or me finding another reason not to go mow the lawn.

Free RPG Day Score & More

Is that a beautiful picture or what?  So I hit two stores today for Free RPG Day.  First was Gold Star Anime.  I got there before they opened.  For Free RPG Day I get a self set, small allowance to blow on gaming stuff while I collect the free stuff.  At Gold Star I picked up a copy of Dungeons of Dread.  I've been wanting to get this since its release.  S1 is the dungeon I grew up on.  Then I got a pay of over sized d20s and a pack of Gamemastery, Chase Cards.  Mine has a different front.  I like these decks.  They are very well done and sometimes I bring them out just to work them in.  After purchasing them I got to pick from pretty much everything.  I got a copy of Cosmic Patrol Quick Start, Reap the Whirlwind, XCrawl Dungeon Crawl Classics, Pathfinder's We Be Goblins, and my two favorite, Hall of Bones by Frog God Games and the winner of the day, James Raggi's Better Than Any Man.

I haven't scored that much in several Free RPG Days.  The owner asked me to run an adventure, but time is not something I had this day.  Although I may schedule to run something there in the future.  On to Erie, Book Galore awaited me and more RPG Day trinkets to be had.

 I had a dual purpose on going to Book Galore today.  I've been tinkering about getting back into comic books, but as someone who hasn't bought one since 1979 the selection is overwhelming.  So many different one and so many different story lines for a superhero.  I remember Fantastic Four had two different comic types.  I never understood why, but I like the art better in the one story line, but liked the story better in the other.  Then of course Thing had his Marvel Two-In-Ones.  Thing was my favorite.  I always thought he got a raw deal a lot of times.

So I go in there and gamer guy is not there.  My good mojo continued.  I spoke to the one guy who seemed to know his comics well and I asked him about the New 52.  I was interested in seeing what it was all about.  Batman's story interested me so I ended up getting Batman, The Court of the Owls Vol. 1 and a copy of Batman, Zero Year.  Super psyched to read them.  The other thing I picked up was Pazio's Giant's Revisited.  They have a bunch of these books and I haven't been disappointed with them yet.  Plus I got it for 40% off.  I got to select three Free RPG Day items.  Alas, no dice.  Crap.  There I picked up C&C's A Pot of Broken Bones, T&T's Preview Pack and a second copy of Hall of Bones.  Rob was at Origins today and I wasn't sure if he'd have time to pick up a copy. 

My day continued on.  I picked up three micro notebooks I plan to use to write down ideas I have during the day and can never remember them when I get home.  I always used to do this when I wrote fiction, but for some reason I stopped.  I picked up a Piccadilly notebook because they are great and I got it for a good price.  And lastly at the bookstore I also got a free issue of a Superman comic at the check out. 

I came home, got a pizza and felt the weight of all the bags of great stuff I had as I brought them into the house.  Spread them out on a table, took a picture then wrote this blog.  Now I'm going to go read it.  I've got my gamer buzz going. 

Free RPG Day and a Flashback

 

Free RPG Day is tomorrow.  With Origins and 3E going on I think it's getting overshadowed by these big boys.  I will always have an appreciation for this day because it was one of the events that directly affected me into exploring my old games again.  It looks like two of our local stores are participating.  The one store mainly sells MtG cards and  tons of weird anime shit, but they've got dice and host all kind of games.  Then the regular store I go to is participating again.  That's the store I have problems with.  I'll repost what happen two years ago. 

I'll only be allowed to select one item from the one store because I'm not a member.  *shrug*  I rarely go there much.  Too much of a battle.  So I'm thinking I'll probably be able to get one item from each.  My first choice is Hall of Bones from Frog God Games.  Second choice is I'll pick up Better Than Any Man from LotFP.  I think I have two copies of We Be Goblins!  They've been giving that one out for a couple of years I think.  Of course what I would really love to score the d6 Free RPG Day commemorative die.  And I'm always curious about the Tunnels and Trolls offering. 

If you can only get one thing tomorrow which one would it be?

and now you hear the harp music accompanied by the scene going all wiggly and fading out as we go back in time two years ago for RPG Day when I encounter the gaming guy.  And I don't remember what was going on with the blogs at the time.  Must have been some nonsense firestorm.

So here it is Free RPG Day, I was not feeling all that enthusiastic about it to begin with, but damn it I wasn't going to miss it.  I wanted to get my commemorative d6.  And who knows I might actually meet a cool gamer or two.  So into the game store I go (I won't mention the name because I am not going to be too nice here in a few) and at the counter is the gaming guy.  This store is mainly a book store, but it has a decent gaming section and he is in charge of it.  This gaming guy is about as irritating as they come.  He's one of those I have an opinion on everything especially about the things I don't know about.  If you've been to the moon, he's been there twice.

He's talking to two other gamers.  "Goodman Games DCC is crap.  He's trying to be all 'old school'"  He did that little finger quote thing when he said old school.  "The OSR is such lame shit."

Ya know, I try to be a nice guy.  I really do, but sometimes things just don't work out.  So I ask gamer guy, "Have you ever played any of the old school games or the clones?"

Without a beat "No.  Don't see the point.  If they were any good WotC would still be publishing them."

Now there are so many things wrong with that statement I stood there for a second hoping he would laugh or give me the gotcha sign or something.  Nope.  Dead serious.  Now, like this recent fray on the blogs, I knew speaking with gamer guy would be like going into a deep mineshaft without a lantern.  No chance of changing his mind.  So instead I addressed the two gamers.

"If you guys are interested at all in playing some old school style gaming you can download the rules for free.  *gave them S&W, LL, and Osric were the ones I could remember*  There is a game just south of here we play twice a month, your welcome to join in any time you feel like it.  It's a great time.  If you don't like it it won't cost ya a thing."  Also gave them my email if they had any questions.

The two guys were interested, gave them some gaming blogs to read.  I am not sure if that was the best thing considering the rants of late.  The gamer guy actually tried to grab the paper I gave them.  WTF  Luckily the goof has the dexterity of a dog turd and nearly fell down.  The two other guys laughed at him and left.  Said they would give it a look.

So now I am alone with gamer guy.  He's pissed and I still didn't get to pick any of my free stuff yet.  This was going to go well.  I am thinking, I'm going to get arrested today.  And to tell you the truth, I was in a mood where I was okay with that. 

Fast forward ten minutes after looking at some other gaming stuff.  I ended up buying Pazio's Misfit Monsters.  They always do a great job.  Luckily for me and my arrest record gamer guy's shift was over and the owner lady took over.  I didn't say anything about what happened to the owner because the gamer guy is her nephew.  I ended up getting the Dragon Age quick start and Goodman Games DCC.  What I failed to get. and one of the main things I wanted was a commemorative d6 for this year's Free RPG day.  I'd gotten one for the past four years. 

Sleestak Father's Day

The sleestak don't care that's its Father's Day Marshal.  Stay in the light or your ass is theirs.    Happy Father's Day and here's your fricking tie.

So Free RPG Day was yesterday and I've seen a bunch of posts of who got what.  Now while I'm thankful for a local (some what local I have to drive 35 minutes) gaming store to participate they tend to find a way to screw it up.  At least this year there was no dickhead behind the counter.  Actually the guy was pretty cool and helpful.  He even looked for the 6d commemorative die, but he couldn't find any.

We are permitted to pick one item.  One.  Despite the fact each year they have a bunch of them left over.  Unless you are a member then you get to pick two.  Fair enough.  I can see allowing members a little extra.  While the guy behind the counter was a good guy he wasn't a gamer and wouldn't know an AD&D Player's Handbook from one of the eighteen 4th edition PHBs.

One of my goals after scoring a couple free items was to pick up the DDC core rulebook.  They didn't have any.  They had one copy for the day.  You're participating in Free RPG Day, but you don't carry the newest and most interesting things so people can buy them?  This is what irks me about the place.  It is more about the comic books there.  Which is cool.  I've been reading so much about comics lately I decided to pick up one of those fat books of comics.  But, its RPG Day, maybe order a few extra. 

Mulling over the big, fat comics I decided on the Fantastic Four.  They were my favorite comic when I was a kid and The Thing my favorite superhero.  Don't get me started on those crap movies they made.  They made Dr. Doom boring.  Anyway, I go the Marvel Masterworks version because it was in color.  The Essential was all in black and white.  If I'm reading a comic I want it in all its gaudy colors.

So when I got home from my trip I order DCC online.  As much as I would like to support the store and have tried to they make it very difficult for me.  And there are so many options online so and they have what I want so they get the money.  I also order the Peter Mullen box from Brave Halfling Publishing to store all the zines I've been collecting lately.  One of my brilliant readers suggested it.

As far as Free RPG Day I did get two items.  But I'm sending them out to unaware readers of mine who couldn't attend or they have no local store that participates.  Because sometimes its just cool to get random gifts.

Friday Question

Tomorrow is Free RPG Day.  What do you plan to get? 

Strategy for Free RPG Day

Free RPG Day is nearly upon us.  While it may not stack up against free comic book day, it's the one that counts for me.  And about four years ago, was a large factor in my return to gaming.  Hold your boos until the end of the post.

So after mapping the gaming the store, checking the weather then selecting the proper footwear and clothing it time to get your people.  Yes, people.  Hopefully, non-gamers.  Why?  This answer is two-fold.  One, if they aren't gamers then you can tell them which free stuff you want.  Maybe get a little something extra you weren't expecting.  At the gaming shop I go to you can select one item.  If you are a member you get to select two.  I'm not a member because the gamer guy up there is a dick.  The second fold in this answer is, if they aren't a gamer maybe they will be after checking out all the different stuff offered and there are enough quick starts to get someone interested.

I plan on taking Ivy.  That way I can get two items.  While I love getting the commemorative d6, the store keeps them and hands them out to the special customers.  Which I can understand, but I'll still try to get one.  Plus they are only getting four per box.  I think in years past they got 6.

My choices will be to get Goodman Games Quickstart for DCC.  And while I'm at the store I plan on picking up the big fat rulebook.  Then I'll either get the Harn map or one of the several Pathfinder adventures.  While I've never played Pathfinder I like reading their stuff.

So plan your Free RPG Day accordingly.  Plan ahead.  You're less likely to pull a muscle or come way with a nasty scratch from the dice display.  So let's be careful out there.

New Computer or Where the Hell Are All My Product Codes?

I got my new computer on Friday.  It's got an I7 processor, 10 gig of RAM, 1.5 terabyte harddrive, Blu-Ray Player, and a 1 gig Vid Card.  But the best thing about it is its quiet.  The recent computers I've had sound like one of those Everglade fan boats.  Loud.  This one I can't even tell that its running.  Now Ivy wants one.

With a new computer comes a little game I like to play called, Where the hell are all my product codes.  Absolutely love this game.  In the past the main reason I got a new computer because my old one took a dirt nap.  And guess where all those codes are at?  At least this time I was able to get some of the codes from the old computer, but the rest I had to scramble to websites I forgot about and passwords I had no chance of remembering.  But I got skype running, Fantasy Grounds going (but not completely up dated), my Xara program, GURPS character assist, and iTunes.  There is still a lot of work to be done, but I happy with the results so far.

With my new computer I plopped down a few c-notes for MS Professional Office to get Publisher.  I thought about waiting for the new version release later this fall, but that's later this fall and I need it now.  I think it will be a huge help with the projects I've got boiling in the stew.

Because of this computer switch I fell behind a little on a couple of things I promised for other people.  I apologize and plan on hitting your projects next.  I hope I didn't inconvenience anyone. 

Meanwhile, I am gearing up for Free RPG Day this Saturday.  I hope it will go better than last year.  Ivy has the day off so that means I'll get a second item.  I'm planning on picking up a new copy of DCC.  I've heard so much about it, playtested it and bought the fan zine so Goodman Games has hit from every side.  Might as well and get it. 

Off to search my other computer for a few more files.

It's Been One Crap Ass Week

I won't go into all the arguments that have occurred in the past couple of weeks.  Seems like things are settling down and of course when one of these dust ups occurs nothing changes and no one changes their mind.  Just happens.  Happens in all sections of life.  Work, home and here on the blogosphere people get irritated and pissy.

So here it is Free RPG Day, I was not feeling all that enthusiastic about it to begin with, but damn it I wasn't going to miss it.  I wanted to get my commemorative d6.  And who knows I might actually meet a cool gamer or two.  So into the game store I go (I won't mention the name because I am not going to be too nice here in a few) and at the counter is the gaming guy.  This store is mainly a book store, but it has a decent gaming section and he is in charge of it.  This gaming guy is about as irritating as they come.  He's one of those I have an opinion on everything especially about the things I don't know about.  If you've been to the moon, he's been there twice.

He's talking to two other gamers.  "Goodman Games DCC is crap.  He's trying to be all 'old school'"  He did that little finger quote thing when he said old school.  "The OSR is such lame shit."

Ya know, I try to be a nice guy.  I really do, but sometimes things just don't work out.  So I ask gamer guy, "Have you ever played any of the old school games or the clones?"

Without a beat "No.  Don't see the point.  If they were any good WotC would still be publishing them."

Now there are so many things wrong with that statement I stood there for a second hoping he would laugh or give me the gotcha sign or something.  Nope.  Dead serious.  Now, like this recent fray on the blogs, I knew speaking with gamer guy would be like going into a deep mineshaft without a lantern.  No chance of changing his mind.  So instead I addressed the two gamers.

"If you guys are interested at all in playing some old school style gaming you can download the rules for free.  *gave them S&W, LL, and Osric were the ones I could remember*  There is a game just south of here we play twice a month, your welcome to join in any time you feel like it.  It's a great time.  If you don't like it it won't cost ya a thing."  Also gave them my email if they had any questions.

The two guys were interested, gave them some gaming blogs to read.  I am not sure if that was the best thing considering the rants of late.  The gamer guy actually tried to grab the paper I gave them.  WTF  Luckily the goof has the dexterity of a dog turd and nearly fell down.  The two other guys laughed at him and left.  Said they would give it a look.

So now I am alone with gamer guy.  He's pissed and I still didn't get to pick any of my free stuff yet.  This was going to go well.  I am thinking, I'm going to get arrested today.  And to tell you the truth, I was in a mood where I was okay with that. 

Fast forward ten minutes after looking at some other gaming stuff.  I ended up buying Pazio's Misfit Monsters.  They always do a great job.  Luckily for me and my arrest record gamer guy's shift was over and the owner lady took over.  I didn't say anything about what happened to the owner because the gamer guy is her nephew.  I ended up getting the Dragon Age quick start and Goodman Games DCC.  What I failed to get. and one of the main things I wanted was a commemorative d6 for this year's Free RPG day.  I'd gotten one for the past four years. 

So as I end this I will make a small plea to my readers who may have gotten an extra d6, if you would like to trade for it or get a copy of something I wrote or you just want a little RPGNow credit I would love to trade for that elusive d6.

So with that, I am going to turn this week around damn it.  I have the rest of the day off, I need to get ready for the start of a new campaign I am GMing and Netflix is brimming with stuff I could watch until my bones turn to dust.

Free RPG Day 2011

It's that time again.  Free RPG Day is coming this Saturday the 18th so make sure you check out the website and see which stores are active.  To be honest though this is the first time in past three or four years that I'm not planning my attack.  Not that excited to see what I can score.  Free RPG Day was one of the reason I came back to gaming and the join in on all the OSR goodness.  So I am hoping that I get more in the mode closer to game time.

Each year I manage to score a quick-start of this game or that and then I've always gotten the commemorative 6-sided die.  This year I'll probably go for Goodman's DCC or Pazio's Pathfinder.  I'll bring Ivy along so I can have her pick up an extra item for me.  And if you have children I encourage you to use them also. 

It's a good way to get out to your game store and maybe pick up a few items.  I usually pick up something, but with Origins the next week I need to save some money, but who knows I may still pick up a set of dice.

Knowledge Illuminates is #1

Thanks to Tenkar for alerting me to this.  Last night I was browsing through and was happy to see my adventure had  cracked the top 100 coming in at 69.  This is very cool and thanks to everyone for supporting it.  I had to wait till I got home from work to see it because the internet was down. 

Pilgrimage to the Warzone

Saturday, Rob (Bat in the Attic) and I went travelled to the mysterious city-state of Eerie, built upon the shores of a massive lake from which the city-state took its name. Knowing the reputation of Eerie of allowing the undead to roam the streets unfettered, we slipped into the southern edge of the city where the merchants gathered. Disguised as locals we found our first stop, Books Galore. We'd heard the merchants were giving away wares. And so they were. I managed to get a six sided die with the engravings of the event on one side and also obtained information left behind by a Pathfinder to warn us of the Master of the Fallen Fortress. The merchant became suspicious when we did respond to a praise given to the local gods. Luckily, others seeking the merchant's wares allowed us to sneak out of the merchant quarters and slip out of the city-state.

The next leg of our quest to us the brutal barony of Cleave Land. There we traversed the well worn roads of the barbaric land until we reached the infamous cave called the Warzone Matrix. It had been nearly a year since we last found the notorious cave and amazed by the treasure inside. Although we came away with our favorites last time, this time we were prepared to explore thoroughly. Again. there were so many treasures, but our backs could carry only so much.

The first trinket I collected was tome of Dark Folk unveiling the secrets of the foot soldiers of evil. Then high upon a shelf, among the thick dust I uncovered a sheaf of pages that describe various Country Sites where creatures could be found and conquered. I quickly slid it into my bag and continued to search the mounds of tomes. A soft bound, peculiar looking book, I swear its cover is made of kobold skin, tells of Sages & Specialists. There were three such books so I took the least worn. The final volume was expansive, one I owned, but needed a cleaner more concise version of A Magical Medieval Society: Western Europe.

We'd spent too much time searching the cave and the native ogres awakened from the deeper sections to begin their night's hunt. After two close calls, Rob and I managed to escape once again, although Rob suffered a minor wound. He tried to reason with one and learned never to attempt to speak with a hungry ogre. Our trip out of Cleave Land needed to be quick. Our time on this quest was quickly depleting.

The third leg of our journey found us at the Temple of the Golden Star. There Rob and I were able to relax and with some of the silver remaining in my pouch I decided to purchase a few more interesting items. I'd heard much of the Swords & Wizardry book and Adventure Design Deskbook, both exquisite copies to add to my collection. After the purchasing the wares, Rob entertained us with a story about adventurers, bandits, orcs and a lost elven village. When the fires burned low we parted ways promising to return.

The last leg of our journey returned us home. Exhausted and satisfied, arms heavy with our treasures we parted ways. The day, the quest had been a success. Though it was good to explore the strange realms it is always best when I return home and share the stories over a warm meal with my wife.

Free RPG Day

Free RPG Day is coming around next Saturday, June 19th. I've been a big fan of this since two years back when it got me reinvolved in gmaing again. This year I haven't heard much about it yet so I hope that isn't because of lack of interest. There are 15 sponsers slated to participate on the website. That's up from 12 sponsers from last year.

Please click the link and check it out and see if there is a store participating near you.

There seems to be a lot of good stuff to choose from this year. I'm looking over the list and not sure what I will be targeting. And yes, I will bring my wife with me so we can grab one or two more items. Then I may buy her those dice.

Free RPG Tomorrow

A call to all the gamers to check out which stores are supporting Free RPG Day and get out there in force. Grab a few freebies,meet a few gamers, and start up a game. It's always good to expand the gaming goodie shelf even if it is about to burst. Here is a list of the participants:

Chessex Manufacturing, they are putting out commemorative dice. Check out the cool dice these guys make.

Claymore Entertainment is putting out a Hero's Bane quickstart.

Exile Game Studios is offering a Hollow Earth Expedition Adventure.

Fantasy Flight Games is presenting a Rogue Trader Adventure.

Goodman Games is donating two items, Hero's Handbook and Amethyst: Hearts of Chaos.

Lone Wolf Development donated a Hero's Lab demo with unique files.

Mongoose Publishing is the champion of giveaway by offering three items, The Troubleshooter Reference Manual, Introduction to Dragon Warriors and Grab the Cache.

Q-Workshop built unique dice.

Paizo Publishing contributed a Pathfinder Bonus Bestiary.

Troll Lord Games has a Castle & Crusades quickstart adventure.

White Wolf Publishing has a Geist quickstart.

And finally Wizards of the Coast presents Khyber's Harvest, a 4E Eberron Adventure and a tile bundle.

I'm not sure how each store allows you to choose. My store allows two items per person so it's going to be a tough choice for me. There is a ton of good stuff being offered. And don't forget to thank your gaming store for participating in Free RPG Day. Let them know you appreciate them supporting your gaming habit. Even better support them by buying a few new releases being offered and grab a few from the used bin. The only way we are going to get the gaming stores to support us is if we support them.

*bows, steps off soapbox, exits stage left*

Free RPG Day

This time last year I return to the gaming community. Rob Conley got me involved in a few products he was working on, 4th edition of D&D was ready to hit the shelves and the 1st issue of Fight On! had been released. There was a lot of buzz and excitement going on. Then on a Saturday I visited a used book store I like to visit and one of the few stores (if not the only) that sold RPGs. Outside the bookstore was this weird sign, Free RPG Day. What the hell was that? I went inside and asked. The clerk explained that if I came in the next week they were giving away free RPG products. Holy shit, I love free stuff. I love gaming stuff. I penned in a visit for next Saturday.

The next Saturday I pulled up to the book store and expected a crowd, but there wasn't one. I thought maybe it got cancelled. I went inside and the clerk said nope it was still going on and I was welcome to choose 2 things. Hmm. There were so many to choose from. Then the clerk told me if I bought a membership I could choose 3 things. Okay, ya got me. Sign me up. I selected Iron Heroes, Bloodwood, Revenge of the Kolbold King by Pathfinder and then Field of Daises from Harnworld. Every single one of these was excellent. And my favorite, Field of Daises I thought was exceptional. (The first two are still free PDFs. Field of Daises is now $16.99. yowch.)

Using my gamer's keen strategic mind I sent my wife inside to select two more things. I carefully described which ones I wanted and scored two more freebies. This time I felt generous and got some dungeon tiles for Rob in case he didn't make it up for Free RPG Day. Then I thought of Rob, man, if he made it up here he had a wife and two kids. Good god he could score eight things. Later I found out he did not use his family for freebies. Rookie mistake.

But, I was not done. I came up with another plan. I waited for the shift change. Bam, four more. I rule. I nearly got one of everything except the miniature and dice. Got another tile set for Rob. I also bought a handful of other supplements they had for sale. It was nice to see a change on my gaming bookshelf. It had remained unchanged for years. With the influx of new items it got me excited about gaming again. I was impressed with the quality of every item.

Next Saturday Free RPG Day returns. It looks like there are 12 participants. I was interested to see what Flying Buffalo was going to put out, but instead they pulled out. Most look to be quick start adventures. The forerunners of favorites look to be the Troll Lord and Pazio offering.

This simple little thing, this Free RPG Day, is really what sparked me into buying new gaming items, exploring different systems and hell I even gave 4th edition D&D a go. I've been pumping a lot of money into the gaming community since then. I hope everyone out there has a participating store nearby to take advantage of the offerings. Support your gaming store. Let them know that 45 copies of Stephen King's The Stand on the shelves is fine, but to make a little room for few RPG adventures.

And before I sign off this blog I want to give my thanks to Books Galore in Erie, PA for participating in Free RPG Day. I'll see you next Saturday. I'll be the guy with the fake mustache, the dark sunglasses, the wife and two fake kids.