Roll20 in Google+ Hangouts

A long while back I'd asked if anybody had tips for using Google+ Hangouts for gaming.  Looks like the folks from Roll20 have put together a pretty bitchin' integration to use Google Hangouts for gaming.  Anybody had a chance to use it yet?  Any advice?

Ed Greenwood has an adventure hook

Three wizards walk into a bar...  No, it's better than that.  My gaming hero Ed Greenwood has posted what he refers to as the Lone Wizard adventure hook.  Check it out.  I can't do it as much justice as he - it's a great idea for a one-on-one campaign (like old school O2: Blade of Vengeance) it's a wizard against the world set up.  (Granted O2 was really an Elf versus the World, but let's face it, it was the spells that made Basic D&D elves badass...)

Steve Jackson Games continuing to give back to the hobby - an open letter to game designers to acquire their firms and IP.

This one's a tricky subject.  Is a mid-sized gaming company offering to acquire others:

• a way of giving back to the hobby, by keeping some smaller scale games/intellectual property going?
• RPG colonialism?
• or an effort to make a beachhead against larger firms?

Gotta say, ever since GURPS Cyberpunk, I've had a soft spot for Steve Jackson Games as a provider of high-quality games with an anti-authority (read: anti-elves) edge.  Any game designer whose hot rulebook of the day cited The Cure and Neuromancer as influences sold me.  But, curious to see what others think of SJG putting out a cattle call to acquire other firms.

Green Ronin's Freeport Kickstarter a huge success!

I have been fortunate enough to be a playtester for Green Ronin over the years, playtesting some of their "Advanced" 3.5E titles, one of their Freeport upgraded editions, the original Game of Thrones RPG and the Dragon Age RPG. As a happy hanger-on, I'm proud of the work they've done to adapt-to/adopt different systems over the years. In case you missed it, their Kickstarter to convert their Freeport mega-city campaign to the Pathfinder game system was a HUGE success. 146% funded. Nice job, folks! More details, here.

The Dungeons & Dragons cartoon in gaming terms

Admittedly, I haven't watched the whole 15 minutes, but having an episode of the old Dungeons & Dragons cartoon acted out with dice rolls is pretty classic...

Holy Smokes! WotC to re-release ALL Dungeons & Dragons Material electronically!

GenCon/Enworld Scoop: The Future of D&D

The highlight for me - aside from making campaigns "Living" again, albeit with a lower case L, is the electronic back catalog.

Undermountain again - second verse, same as the first.

As each edition comes to a close, WotC/TSR seem to have released an Undermountain product.  Undermountain is by no means the "baddest" of the classic dungeons, but perhaps one of the most extensive.  Ed Greenwood's house dungeon for his Forgotten Realms campaign was cool in a lot of regards.  It was entered through a tavern (meme upon meme!), the initial release was partially mapped - resulting in a product that a dungeonmaster got to really make their own, and it had a "boss" that served as a plot device - making it more than "kill the baddies; take their treasure." 

EnWorld.org has a review of the new 4th Edition work on their site, today.  Undermountain, Underdark, and other old classics seem to be the great last push done every time a campaign/rules-set are coming to a close.  I'm not sure why.  Maybe it's the realization that there's only one last shot to capitalize on all of that intellectual property.  Maybe we're all just still scared of the dark.

Wizards of the Cost to do a limited re-release of the original AD&D books

As seen on Troll in the Corner, Wizards of the Coast is going to re-release the original AD&D core 3 books (Player's Handbook, Dungeonmaster's Guide, and Monster Manual) in special commemorative editions, to raise money for the Gary Gygax Memorial.  This will be a limited re-release.

Part of me has to wonder if there's an added benefit of this to head off some of the OAD&D resurgence with something that has a Wizards seal of approval on it.

Surprise, Surprise, Surprise! D&D 5th Edition

To me the biggest news of the morning isn't the announcement about the 5th Edition of Dungeons & Dragons (that's been rumored, wishlisted quite well, and expected since 4th Edition turned into the least playable thing to happen to gaming since the DC Comics RPG by Mayfair {Bazinga!}), no it was the circular reference between The New York Times covering the R&D that's going into D&D, linking to an article on the D&D website which in turn links back to the same NY Times article.  (Beware folks, it's turtles stacked upon themselves all the way down from here on out...) 

My unnecessary observation aside, I'm stoked about Wizards of the Coast moving away from 4th Edition (perhaps the least playable and least enjoyable RPG that I sunk money into over the years), and - according to the early speculation assumed from the blogosphere - moving towards something that should allow for the old-school Dungeon Masters to draw a graph paper map and populate it with monsters, or run a mock-up of World of Warcraft with powers and abilities.  (The left and right brain of nerddom, if you will.)

Morrus of Enworld.org fame was flown to Renton, WA to meet with the Wizards staff and unveil the plans for the new edition.  He has a great article to read, here. 

Yes, I'm a glutton for punishment.  I've already signed up for the playtests on the Wizards site, and am looking forward to this. 

I am also kicking myself that I neglected to list all of my 4th Edition books on ebay before it was too late.

The Escapist's Musings on The Past, Present and Future of Dungeons and Dragons

Those of you into gaming may well be aware of The Escapist online magazine, which profiles nerddom in all its stripes and obsessions.  A rather comprehensive end-of-the-year review of the history and trajectory of Dungeons and Dragons was just released.  Links to the Dickensian Past, Present and Future installments are here:

Past: http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/features/9292-The-Ghosts-of-D-D-Past
Present: http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/features/9293-The-State-of-D-D-Present
Future: http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/features/9294-The-State-of-Dungeons-Dragons-Future

The interviews and much of the analysis is quite good, although I think there are some broad strokes with the knowledge base (assumptions about the reader's knowledge of certain game designers, primarily) and market influences (a bit more emphasis is placed on the Open Gaming License than I think a retrospective of all editions merited).  Still well worth the read.