GenCon Adventure is a wrap

So, I just finished my draft of our 2nd annual Blood and Relics Gen Con adventure today. We're also going to be running a Darwin's World adventure again. We'd love for you to stop by and join us or just say hey.

RPG00872 Darwin's World 2007 Gen Con Adventure 8/18/07 10:00 AM

RPG00873 Darwin's World 2007 Gen Con Adventure 8/18/07 2:00 PM

RPGObject's 3rd annual Darwin's World Gen Con adventure. Explore the d20 systems most popular post-apocalyptic setting in this radioactive scenario.

RPG00867 The Blutfahne 6 8/17/07 10:00 AM

RPG00868 The Blutfahne 6 8/17/07 2:00 PM

It is the Blutfahne, a Nazi flag stained with Aryan blood and one of the party's most revered relics. What is not widely known is that some of that blood belongs to Hitler himself. The mystic order of the Teutonic Knights has conducted blood sacrifices to strengthen the bond between Hitler and the flag. In the years since, Hitler has survived one assassination attempt after another. As long as the Blutfahne exists, he cannot die.

I write letters...

So, as part of being a shut-in, errr freelance writer, I'm always at keyboard working (ok, almost always).

One of the things I like to do while working is listen to podcasts, as I've noted several times before. And since podcasts try to be all internet-y and interactive-y, they almost always have mail addresses asking for feedback.

I'm big on this. In fact, it's become a hobby of mine to let folks know what I'm thinking.

Well this has been a big couple of weeks for me and my letters, so if you ever find yourself curious about the sorts of things I blather, err, provide feedback about, you have a couple of opportunities.

First, there's the 6-26-2007 episode of the Hotspot, where I provide a dissenting opinion about the banning of Manhunt 2. I'm easy to spot here, because they identify me as "Charles Rice" when reading the email, which was a bit surprising.

Then, on this week's D&D podcast (7-13-2007) they have their "Mailbag" episode, specifically to respond to reader feedback, and mine is the first they read, they identify me as "Chuck from Holyoke" which again should be easy to puzzle out. Here my comment is about the hate directed at Wizards and their staffers over the cancellation of Dragon and Dungeon.

So if you want to hear what I think about two of my favorite podcasts, enjoy.

So, I did a book for an X-Box 360 game

I've hinted about this here on the blog a bit but now the story can be told:

Press - RPGObjects Pens Tabletop Two Worlds RPG

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RPGObjects Pens Tabletop Two Worlds RPG

72-Page Rulebook To Be Included With Two Worlds Collectors Edition For PC and Xbox 360

Minneapolis, MN - July 10, 2007 - RPGObjects is pleased to announce it has completed a tabletop version of the upcoming role-playing game, Two Worlds for Windows and Xbox 360^TM video game and entertainment system from Microsoft. This OGL based tabletop RPG will be included in the Collectors Edition of Two Worlds.

Chris Davis, RPGObjects owner said, "Doing a pen and paper adaptation of a computer game was something I've always wanted to try. I hope when people aren't playing Two Worlds either by themselves or online, they can enjoy a tabletop game with their friends."

The Two Worlds tabletop RPG was adapted by veteran OGL designer Charles Rice.

"The chance to introduce players who love Two Worlds on Xbox 360 or Windows to the joys of using their imagination as their game engine was a challenge and a distinct pleasure." Said Rice. "For those new to tabletop gaming, I hope this adaptation will convince them to give it a try. For the veteran role-players out there who pick this up, I hope they find the book a worthy addition to the games they already play."

Two Worlds is being developed by Reality Pump Studios and Topware Interactive, and will be published by SouthPeak Games.

A Two Worlds homepage where you can find out more information on the tabletop version of Two Worlds can be found at http://www.rpgobjects.com/index.php?page=2w.

About RPGObjects
RPGObjects has been designing and publishing tabletop role playing games and software since 2001, including such acclaimed games as Darwin's World, Blood and Fists, and Legends of Excalibur.

About SouthPeak Interactive
SouthPeak Interactive, LLC has been publishing and distributing entertainment software since 1996. Recognizing the market need for an independent publisher, SouthPeak is focusing on marketing games from top-notch developers for all popular game platforms. Leveraging its outstanding distribution experience and retail strength, SouthPeak is currently launching new game titles in Europe and North America.

The game I did is a d20/OGL adaptation of the Two Worlds X-Box 360 game. It's pretty neat if I say so myself. It's a complete OGL fantasy game in 72 small pages (I was told the book would be the size of an X-Box 360 case).

Basically I took the d20 system flipped it, slapped it and rubbed it down, while giving it all the feel of the Two Worlds game (which looks awesome) that I could.

Player's Introduction to upcoming GenCon Adventure

Work has begun on RPGobjects' yearly adventure for GenCon. It's a Blood and Relics adventure set during WWII. I thought I'd give you guys a taste:

You sit in a briefing room with a group of strangers. Why you have been summoned to this quiet British theater while war rages across Europe you do not know. An American in a military uniform steps to the front of the room, the grim expression on his face reinforcing the apparent seriousness of the occasion, “Good evening and thank you all for arriving so quickly. I know this isn’t where any of us wanted to be so let’s make the best of it. My name is Captain Peterson. Please remember that this meeting is a state secret. Sharing anything you learned here today could result in serious consequences, not just for you but for the entire war effort”.

The lights dim and a projector flickers to life, showing a scene that unfortunately has become all too familiar to you: a Nazi party rally, the crowd being whipped into a frenzy by the increasingly manic rhythm of the speaker, Adolf Hitler. Behind you, Captain Peterson speaks, “This is Berlin, four days ago. Uncle Adolf working the masses into a frenzy, despite the fact that we’re pushing him back from Italy and France, with the Russians closing in East. Urging his workers to greater production, his soldiers to fight to the end to protect the Fatherland.”

Suddenly, an enormous explosion breaks up the maddening pace of the speech. After a moment the smoke clears and the crowd is once again visible, staring in stunned silence at the ruined, smoldering wreck that was the stage. “We’re fairly certain that the bomb was planted by someone within the military or bureaucracy, one of the forces that believe if Hitler is removed from the equation the Nazis can negotiate a separate peace with America and Britain and concentrate all their efforts on the hated Russians. Of course… wait, here it is. Watch closely.”

Suddenly the rubble moves, shifting. Hitler emerges from the heap, one arm missing, the entire left side of his face devoid of flesh, bare bone visible. How anyone could have survived such trauma is a mystery, much less how he could move. Then the man sinks to one knee, the crowd drawing back, perhaps in revulsion, perhaps out of respect as they watch their leader gasp out his final breaths. Time seems to stand still as the bleeding stops from Hitler’s shoulder, surely a sign that the heart has stopped and the madman lives no more. Except he does live. Straightening up to stand, he looks out at the crowd, his face completely healed. The shoulder healed over as well. The crowd explodes, some cheering, some crying, a few retching.

“It continues for about twenty minutes after this. By the end the arm has completely regrown. Hitler goes back and freshens up, then delivers a different speech than the one that was interrupted by the assassins’ bomb. He says bombs have been planted in his bunkers, that his aircraft have been blown out of the sky and that he has been shot by lone assassins attempting to trade their lives for his. He says he has survived all these because he cannot die. That he has been chosen to lead the Reich for a thousand years.

Now I don’t know if this is the greatest propaganda film of all time. We told the newsmen who got hold of it that it was a fake but our boys at the lab say they think it’s legit. Intelligence can also confirm many of the assassination attempts he mentions. We thought he was just lucky to escape again and again. But if this gets out, if it’s true, it would be a crushing blow to our morale. Not to mention, we don’t know how he’s doing it or if anyone else in the regime is unkillable. We have to find out. You folks have been chosen for just that purpose. You’re going to go into Nazi Germany, find out if this is true and if so, you’re going to find a way to kill him.

Make no mistake, there’s very little chance of coming back from this mission. But as long as Hitler lives this war will not be over. We need to find out the source of this… this power, this invincibility and eliminate it. And when I say we, I mean you.”

Raise a glass for Marcus

Stop all the clocks, cut off the telephone,
Prevent the dog from barking with a juicy bone,
Silence the pianos and with muffled drum
Bring out the coffin, let the mourners come.

Let aeroplanes circle moaning overhead
Scribbling on the sky the message He Is Dead,
Put crepe bows round the white necks of the public doves,
Let the traffic policemen wear black cotton gloves.

He was my North, my South, my East and West,
My working week and my Sunday rest,
My noon, my midnight, my talk, my song;
I thought that love would last for ever: I was wrong.

The stars are not wanted now: put out every one;
Pack up the moon and dismantle the sun;
Pour away the ocean and sweep up the wood.
For nothing now can ever come to any good.

My younger brother Marcus. Taken too soon.

Developers shifting resources from X-Box 360 and PS3 to Wii

In a move that should come as a surprise to exactly no one:

According to a report from Variety Asia, Japan's top three third-party publishers are ramping up development for Nintendo's Wii and DS systems, at the expense of rivals Sony and Microsoft. Namco Bandai will reportedly increase Nintendo hardware development by 109 percent to 115 titles, Sega will up its titles by 96 percent to 49, and Capcom titles will rise by 5 percent to 20.

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The report also states that another Japanese software giant, Square Enix, does not plan to develop any new titles for the PlayStation 3 until the console's installed base rises enough to make increased next-gen development costs worthwhile.

Huh, so the Wii is selling better than the PS3 and 360 and it's cheaper to develop games for? Why are these backstabbing companies abandoning poor little Sony and Microsoft?!?!

Backstabbers.

(That's to keep anyone from calling me a "gloating Nintendo fanboy")

Nintendo is worth more than Sony

How crazy is that. And yeah, even though it only passed Sony on the Nikkei for like a couple of hours, I don't even care. The fact that Nintendo is even CLOSE is mind-boggling to me.

Bananas. Fully Bananas.