Did you miss the 2010 Ennie Awards? Well you can see the companies and products that won the awards. Taking a quick glance I noticed that Pathfinder took a majority of the votes. I cannot say I know the Pathfinder line of products well. I have seen them in store, took a glance but maybe it should be looked at more then that. But congrats to Paizo for their hard work.
For those who have missed this bit of older news, Green Ronin has released the quickstart for their DC Adventures RPG. I took a look at this and there is something about super hero games set in Marvel or DC Universe that bother me and that’s the ability to play an iconic character. I think that it’s ok to have their stats for NPC purposes but the true focus should be individuality and having an intriguing identity. Also when you get a quickstart I think most gaming groups have at least 1 DM / GM and 4 people on average and thus should accomodate a larger group. It’s not like the characters are dependant upon each other much in these adventures.
To this day I think one of the best quickstarts was for Dark Matter and the Alternity System. I know I still have my handout.
After having the license for two years and not really getting the chance to use it, Steve Jackson Games (makers of GURPS) have returned the license for Heavy Gear back to the setting’s creator: Dream Pod 9.
So we’ve done the logical thing, and handed the Heavy Gear RPG back to DP9. It’s too bad that we can’t be involved, but the setting deserves the attention that DP9 can give it. Sometimes you just have to let someone else play with those cool toys, and be satisfied with your own.
More details from the Illuminator here.
Now this is just cool. Some publishers and retailers are joining forces to grant you free PDF copies of the print books you buy.
The past several years have seen growth in consumer acceptance of PDFs and eBooks. With an eye on using this to drive customers to their friendly local game stores, a coalition of publishers have formed Bits and Mortar, a pro-retailer, pro-brick-and-mortar, pro-PDF, pro-eBook initiative.
Bits and Mortar uses simple methods and existing technology to allow retailers the ability to quickly and easily offer their customers PDF versions of the physical games they purchase in store at no additional charge.
Read more here.
Well this is a bit personal but falls under the realm of geeky yet potentially interesting. Do you believe in spooks, spectres or ghosts? Well I do and I don’t particularly affiliate myself with a particular religious belief system. I simply believe that spirits exists and open minded about other paranormal phenomena. I was always fascinated as a child about the ramifications of the existence of such a thing. You have the geeky side of you thats like ‘COOL!!’ and then it opens the door to what else is out there that we do not understand. So follow me on my little journey.
It was about five years ago and my wife’s parents passed away in a tragic car accident a week or two after I spent christmas at their home. They left behind three children. Obviously the moment was full of raw emotions on all sides. The impact that is hard to comprehend or put into words unless you experience it yourself. However during this time the family was searching for meaning into it all. One of my wife’s brothers almost went with her parents, her parents almost took the van but it would not start that particular day for no apparent reason yet it worked when we needed to drive it. Coincidences…
However a few days after the events my wife and I were settling in for the night in bed with the cat all curled up. I am not sure if anyone has ever experienced a house where someone has passed away but there is a palpable weight. That particular night though as we settled in bed, a heavy feeling came over myself. It was a feeling that something was not right. Nerves perhaps. I was doing my best at the time to fill a certain emotional void. Maybe it was stress but I wasn’t feeling stressed. It was simply unsettling.
Suddenly the cat stared at the doorway to the room and fixated there. She was ready to run from something. My wife mentioned how odd it was and then noted the same thing that I felt. A heavy feeling to the room. It was sudden. The cat indeed bolted out of the room and you could almost feel the heavy feeling move along in the room. We were just scared because we both felt something was there.
Years pass and we move into our current home with our son who is only a few months old. We managed to settle in and life was good. Our son would play with his toys and act like any baby. However we started noticing something strange. Sometimes our son would lay on his back and start giggling or cooing as if being tickled and interacted with. We knew it from our interactions with him but it just happened. It happened only on a few occasions that he would do this. We questioned if it was just natural or maybe someone was checking in on him.
Now two years old our son is running around, speaking more and growing very fast. But we still have the same odd experiences. Since our son has a small set of vocabualrly to go with he talks and talks with what he has. When we put him to bed his gabs to himself. But sometimes he talks to ‘something’. There is his typical playful talking but again it’s like he is interacting with someone.
A week ago as we were in bed we suddenly hear a bang coming from the bathroom of the toilet seat closing. We wondered what happened. Was it a cat or our dog. The dog was in our room, the cats were downstairs. Going into the bathroom I find a candle we keep on top of the toilet as decoration turned upside down near the end of the closed seat. Looking at it I could not understand how it could happen. The candle would have rolled off the seat or if it somehow landed flush would have been more to the rear.
Today my son looks to a picture we keep of my wife’s parents. We showed it to him maybe twice before but today he looks at it and says grandma. We found it odd but pass it off as maybe he just connected it with that previous time somehow. Sometimes kids bring up the strangest things right. Then we are all sitting at the table for dinner and our son turns around and says grandpa gone while pointing.
Finally two nights ago my wife is sleeping and I have the annoying habit of waking her up as I slip into bed after watching a movie or The Daily Show. So we both curl up and try to get some sleep when my wife suddenly lets out a loud Ahhhh!! while shifting to my side. I was just about to doze off when this startled me awake. I was a tad annoyed about almost being asleep and waking up and also concerned. I asked her what was wrong and she turned to me and said something had grabed her foot.
Believe what you will of course and mind you all these things could be explained but coincidences, false perceptions and emotional distress however these are indeed odd occurences. I cannot help but simply wonder. Being a fan of gothic horror, horror, mystery, etc rpg settings I cannot help but be intrigued by it while at the same time somewhat fearful of the unknown. What lurks in the space between? Do we want to know? Will we end up there?
Do you have any experiences?
The Ennies are only a short time away and voting has ended. Have you taking the time yet to see what has been voted? Is your favorite product there? I see lot’s of love for Warhammer, Shadowrun, Pathfinder and many others. I am always interested in what is voted best rules as it’s always new things to really try out. But go check it out and stay tuned for the results.
There seem’s to have been a few Dungeons & Dragons comics over the years and once again a new one is born. It is indeed entitled Dungeons & Dragons which is very straight forward and from the meager 4 page preview you it get’s right to the point. So check the preview out at Newsarama
I am waiting for more info if possible on DC Adventures on how good it is before jumping at it but for those who are all into buying it already then Green Ronin has you covered. You can now pre-order it through their online store.
Tucked in a small doorway, leading up some questionable stairs and to a somewhat duck-taped door lies a small little gem in the Toronto Area that is the Hairy Tarantula.
I decided on a recent trip to visit this strange and mysterious location which was highly recommended by Curt. All I knew was that it was somewhat tricky to find and that the entrance was rather terrifying. There are three Hairy Tarantula locations, mind you, so to be clear I went to the 354 Yonge Street one. We almost passed it too, as the number 354 was only visible on top of a tattoo shop. My wife, however, pointed out the stairs. The stairs leading to the the second floor is a bit deceiving. It’s small, dim, dirty and plastered with posters (posters are ok, just not dirty everywhere else. The duck-taped door was also a bit of a put off but once you entered, it was a magical kingdom.
At first sight the inside seems very small and cramped. It really does seem like an apartment at one time converted into a shop as the room layout would suggest. I can’t say it carried a lot of Wizards of the Coast books as I saw a meagre 4th edition selection which were 20% off that weekend but they also had some 3rd edition books too. In fact there was probably more 3rd edition than 4th edition, which is a bit odd when operating a gaming store.
Their specialty, as Curt told me, is indie companies and smaller publishers. He was right about that too as I saw things there that I didn’t even hear of. In fact their main display had lots of Savage Worlds books, some Chaosium, Fantasy Flight’s Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay and a few other indie games. Comparable to other places I have been where you see a wall of Wizards of the Coast it makes a difference to find new things outside of the big publishers.
The shop itself, as mentioned, is like a former apartment. It’s configuration is used for various sections. Your entrance has your new RPG books and off to the right you have a pretty massive used book section. Dare I even say the used section is bigger than your main section of books. You can find comic books in the used section as well. It’s a veritable library of used material. In fact it was a bit daunting. Where to start? I wished there was maybe some markers to help find what you were looking for. The books were organized by company but still a marker would have been cool.
They also have some trading card game material as all shops tend to as well as Manga books and comics. Boardgames are also prevalent in the location as they tend to be placed up high all around. Literally they use every nook and cranny to place material. For instance, there is a stairway leading to a closed off second floor however there is a small book case somehow fitted along it’s wall on the bottom with books, as well as things placed on the stairs themselves.
There were two rooms I missed as I was not sure if it was simply storage and off limits or not. Actually one of those sections was a miniatures section for Warhammer and the like that I only noticed on the way to pay for my item. The staff that day were very nice and helpful. Two offered to help me and my wife find things even though we mentioned we were just looking but it was still kind of them to ask.
A rather welcoming feature are the two cats that make their home there. You can find them sleeping on the floor, sitting by the cash or even lying down on some used books. They too are friendly and accustomed to people, as my wife was able to pet one by the cash. If you have allergies to cats though this can actually ruin your experience so yes I would give this place an allergy warning for cats.
I highly recommend this store for anybody in the downtown Toronto area. It’s a small step away from the Eaton Centre and worth your RPG dollars to support. So go check it out!
Hairy Tarantula Official Website
Well we have another trip lined up for us RPG Hub staffers and this time it’s a little different. We will be geeking our geek on at the Distant World: Music from Final Fantasy concert in the Toronto, Ontario region this November 27th which is the only Canadian listing. What’s with the Canadian snub guys? At any rate it will be loads of fun and there are a few US tour dates so check it out.
Distant Worlds: Music from Final Fantasy Official Website