The Heretic Cycle: Hunted News: I’ve published the first part of my new fantasy serial, The Heretic Cycle. Follow the saga of an immortal villain in a world of dark magic and corrupt mortals! Available on Amazon (for Kindle) and on Smashwords (for all other ebook formats).

Killsplosion: First Edition is out! The ransom model player vs player RPG you supported is now available as a free PDF download here. More content will be coming this year.

I was a guest on the Drunk and Ugly podcast to answer some questions on game design.

Synopsis: Wild Talents is a great One Roll Engine superhero RPG developed by Greg Stolze and we give the game a deep analysis in this episode. Tom and I discuss our experiences with it. Tom compares it to Mutants and Masterminds and learning the system.

I also interviewed the game’s designer, Greg Stolze, about Wild Talents; its origins, running and playing it and the Progenitor setting. We also talk about his fiction and latest ransom projects.Be sure to look at Greg’s fiction and his new ransom project, a short story called Falling.

Tom has a letter, and we have shout outs and an anecdote.

Shout Outs

  • Brick: Great and unique neo-noir film. A must see.
  • The Killing: Kubrick’s first film and a film noir classic.
  • Liminal States: An upcoming sci-fi novel spanning three eras, 1874, 1951 and 2006.
  • Rebuild 2: A new flash zombie apocalypse strategy game.
  • Titanic Adventures Out of Time: An adventure game with some unusual narrative choices.
  • Claybourne: A free sci-fi radio drama from New Zealand. Great production values.

Music: Liminal States Soundtrack from Conelrad.

Pacing is vital to form of storytelling, yet it seems to be overlooked in role playing games. After running a dozen games at Gencon and Dragoncon this year, I realized how important a proper pace is for a RPG. Tom and I discuss the importance of pacing, how to improve pacing in a game and what kind of mistakes a GM should avoid when running a game. Plus, a new letter from Tom, anecdotes and a favorite forum thread.

If you’re a fan of RPPR’s Actual Plays, please consider donating to the AP Feed ransom. 🙂

Please note that the Goblin Hulk is being delayed but it will come out. Check out a preview of the cover in this RPPR forums thread. Also check out the best question ever asked in our forums.

Shout-Outs

  • Alpha-Omega: The Encountered – crazy post-apocalyptic monsters. Great art and plenty of adventure fodder for sci-fi and horror games.
  • The Devil’s Tomb: a bad horror movie, a shameful path. Also: Henry Rollins.
  • Kerberos Club and This Favored Land – Awesome historical superhero campaign settings for Wild Talents but enough material for use with any superhero games.
  • Dead Man’s Shoes: UK thriller about a former SAS soldier terrorizing small town drug dealers. Fairly grim.
  • Shark Tank: A reality TV show about haggling and bargaining. Watch it to better roleplay your next negotiation scene.
  • Hoarders: This is the true face of insanity. Tragic, creepy and horrifying

Music: War Against the Robots by Ben Base.

We’re back from Gencon and we’ve gathered our thoughts. It was an exhausting, exhilarating and expensive four days but well worth it. We cover everything from the trip to Indy, hotels, to the actual games we played or ran and our purchases. Tom tried out a few official games while I ran seven games, including an after hours Call of Cthulhu game. Of course the big news is that we played in a 2 part, 12 hour WW1 CoC scenario run by Adam Scott Glancy of Pagan Publishing. It was suitably epic. On top of that, we have some tips for all you con-goers including a few of my hints on running games at a con.

Shout-Outs

Eclipse Phase: Transhumanist Sci-Fi Horror Rpg. Very awesome, very pretty and well worth a look.
Mecha & Manga: Mutants and Masterminds Animu setting book. If you want school girl ninjas and giant robots in M&M, try this.
Shotgun Diaries: John Wick’s zombie survival horror rules-lite rpg. No link because there’s no website for the game.
Shard: High-concept fantasy furry rpg.
Zombie Cinema: A story game about zombies, sold in a VHS box. Very cool.
Hills Rise Wild: Pagan Publishing’s Cthulhu Mythos board game.
Mysteries of Mesoamerica: A Call of Cthulhu 1920s sourcebook for central america and has 4 scenarios.
Hobocon: A documentary about some gamers trying to survive Gencon with no cash and no plan.
Dragon Magazine Annual 2009: A collection of some of WOTC’s best stuff from Dragon magazine. Great material on kobolds and more
Grim Wars: A new setting for Wild Talents written by Greg Stolze and Ken Hite.
Damnation City: A nWoD sourcebook for cities – building your own, pulling the strings and so on.
America the Audiobook: Hilarious audiobook from the Daily Show.
I’m America and So Can You: Another funny audiobook, this one from Stephen Colbert.

Music: Untitled song from Click Clack Kaboom.