Kingbeast's Lair

Growling about the RPG industry and my gaming life. RPG and anime reviews from a passionate fan. (Formerly John's Hero HQ.)
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Archive for the ‘Growlings’

My Gaming Kit: Part 3 – The Cottage

August 12, 2011 By: John Taber Category: Games, Growlings, Product Reviews

Summary

Welcome to part 3 of my 3 part series on My Gaming Kit. In this article I’ll cover the place where I hold all of my games…the Cottage! The Cottage is a free standing structure that sits behind my house. (It was initially designed as a “Mother In Law” for the main house.) As the structure is completely free standing games can get pretty loud before anyone complains. 😉

Amenities

Here are the things that make the Cottage a GREAT place to game. (If you are reading this on my blog then you can click on the thumbnails to open high resolution versions that point out the various aspects of the Cottage. 😉 )

    Kitchen Area And Pin Board

  • Kitchen – The Cottage includes a sink, microwave, mini-fridge for beer…I mean beverages, and a gas stove top. It is really nice having all of this separate from the main house.
  • Bathroom – It has it’s own bathroom so smelly gamers will not pollute the main house.
  • Octagonal Table – Sermin’s Dad conveniently decided he did not want his old octagonal poker table. By adding a restaurant pillar to the center I ended up with a fantastic table for gaming. I have really come to like the octagonal shape. The square edges allow one to pull up a chair and the overall round shape really focuses the players in on the action.
  • Office Chairs – I have office chairs without arms for everyone except the GM. The GM gets a fancy high backed office chair with arms…one of the GM perks in my “RPG Man Cave”. 🙂
  • Joshua At The Table

  • White Board and Pin Board – One wall has a white board and another has a pin board. The white board is really valuable for fast sketches and the pin board is nice for rule cheat sheets, pizza coupons, and Dork Tower comics.
  • Shelves – Immediately behind the GM chair and under the white board my Dad made a set of short shelves. These act as a small desk for the GM and allow him to easily access books or other gaming materials.
  • AC and Heat – The Cottage has a window AC unit and a wall heater. (See below for comments on the AC.)

Current Issues

The Cottage is still a work in progress. Here are some things that I would like to see improved.

  • AC – Dad and I installed a window AC but it cannot keep up with 6 gamers on a hot summer day. I may want to consider a second window AC or maybe a larger one. It is also really loud. 🙁
  • Rainy Season – During the rainy season the carpet near the doors gets wet. Turns out that the room has no sub-floor (i.e. it is built straight on a concrete slab). Thus water can sheet under the door during a heavy rain. 🙁

If there are things in your gaming room that I do not have I would LOVE to hear about it! Post a comment on this blog post with your suggestions. My players can post too if there is something that they would like to see. 😉

Hope you enjoyed the My Gaming Kit series! 😀

2011 ENnie Award Winners

August 06, 2011 By: John Taber Category: Games, Growlings, Product Reviews

Here the winners in gold and silver color. I’ll put my picks in italics.

Best Adventure

Delta Green: Targets of Opportunity (Arc Dream Publishing/Pagan Publishing)
Monsters and Other Childish Things: Road Trip (Cubicle 7/Arc Dream Publishing)
Pathfinder Adventure Path #43: The Haunting of Harrowstone (Paizo Publishing)
Perils of the Surface World: Miracle Stone of the Amazon (Exile Game Studio)
Saturday Night Delves #1: Revenge of the Iron Lich (Save Versus Death)
Honorable Mention: The Dance in the Blood (Pelgrane Press/Graham Walmsley)

Best Aid/Accessory

D&D Essentials: Dungeon Tiles Master Set – The Dungeon (Wizards of the Coast)
Eclipse Phase Gamemaster Pack (Posthuman Studios)
Gaming Paper Adventure Maps (Gaming Paper)
Hero Lab (Lone Wolf Development)
The Unspeakable Oath (Arc Dream Publishing)
Honorable Mention: Vornheim: The Complete City Kit (Lamentations of the Flame Princess)

John’s Comments

Bummed that UO did not win…as you read the winners you can see a theme…Pathfinder.

Best Art, Cover

A Song of Ice and Fire Campaign Guide (Green Ronin Publishing)
Eoris Essence (Visions of Essence LLC)
Mutants & Masterminds Hero’s Handbook (Green Ronin Publishing)
Shadowrun: Attitude (Catalyst Game Labs)
The Laundry (Cubicle 7)
Honorable Mention: The Danse Macabre (White Wolf Publishing)

Best Art, Interior

Dark Sun Campaign Setting (Wizards of the Coast)
DC Adventures Hero’s Handbook (Green Ronin Publishing)
Eoris Essence (Visions of Essence LLC)
Legend of the Five Rings, Fourth Edition (Alderac Entertainment Group)
Pathfinder Campaign Setting: Inner Sea World Guide (Paizo Publishing)

Best Blog

At-Will
Critical Hits
Gnome Stew
Sarah Darkmagic
Thistle Games

Best Cartography

Bookhounds of London (Pelgrane Press)
Deep Vistas Map Set I – III (Maps of Mastery)
Gaming Paper Adventure Maps (Gaming Paper)
Heavenring Village – Virtual Boxed Set (0One Games)
Pathfinder Campaign Setting: Inner Sea Poster Map Folio (Paizo Publishing)
Honorable Mention: Shadowrun: Sixth World Almanac (Catalyst Game Labs)

John’s Comments

Glad Bookhounds took this category. Congrats Pelgrane! 🙂

Best Electronic Book

Cerulean Seas Campaign Setting (Alluria Publishing)
Continuity (Posthuman Studios)
Shanghai Vampocalypse (Savage Mojo)
Temporal Probability Agency: To Predict and Serve (Apathy Games)
The Running Death (Terminal Studios)

Best Free Product

A Time of War: The BattleTech RPG Quick-Start Rules (Catalyst Game Labs)
Hell for Leather – Free Edition (Cobweb Games)
Old School Hack – Basic Game (Kirin Robinson)
Saturday Night Delves #1: Revenge of the Iron Lich (Save Versus Death)
The Running Death (Terminal Studios)
Honorable Mention: Ultimate Combat Playtesting PDF (Paizo Publishing)

Best Game

Happy Birthday, Robot! (Evil Hat Productions)
Icons Superpowered Roleplaying (Adamant Entertainment/Cubicle 7)
Legends of Anglerre (Cubicle 7)
Mutants & Masterminds Hero’s Handbook (Green Ronin Publishing)
The Dresden Files RPG (Evil Hat Productions )
Honorable Mention: The Laundry (Cubicle 7)

John’s Comments

Very cool…Evil Hat really deserves this one. 🙂

Best Miniatures Product

BattleTech 25th Anniversary Introductory Boxed Set (Catalyst Game Labs)
Deep Vistas Map Set I – III (Maps of Mastery)
Mousling Heroes (Reaper Miniatures)
USCR – Commissar (MERCS Miniatures)
WARMACHINE Khador Gun Carriage (Privateer Press)
Honorable Mention: Gaming Paper Adventure Maps (Gaming Paper)

Best Monster/Adversary

Doctor Who: Aliens & Creatures (Cubicle 7)
Fey Folio: Clans of the Fey (Alluria Publishing)
Monster Vault (Wizards of the Coast)
Mythic Menagerie: The Kingdom of Graves (Super Genius Games)
Pathfinder Roleplaying Game: Bestiary 2 (Paizo Publishing)

Best New Game (published for the first time ever)

A Taste for Murder (Graham Walmsley)
Happy Birthday, Robot! (Evil Hat Productions)
Icons Superpowered Roleplaying (Adamant Entertainment/Cubicle 7)
The Dresden Files RPG (Evil Hat Productions )
The Laundry (Cubicle 7)
Honorable Mention: Stars Without Number (Sine Nominee Publishing)

Best Podcast

Atomic Array
Chronicles: Pathfinder Podcast
Flagons and Dragons
The Dungeon Master Guys Podcast
Yog-Sothoth
Honorable Mention: Kicked In The DiceBags

Best Production Values

Gatecrashing (Posthuman Studios)
Happy Birthday, Robot! (Evil Hat Productions)
Legend of the Five Rings, Fourth Edition (Alderac Entertainment Group)
Pathfinder Roleplaying Game: Bestiary 2 (Paizo Publishing)
The Dresden Files RPG (Evil Hat Productions )

John’s Comments

Bummed that Happy Birthday, Robot! didn’t win anything. I thought this is the award they really deserved. 🙁

Best RPG Related Product

BattleTech 25th Anniversary Introductory Boxed Set (Catalyst Game Labs)
Castle Ravenloft Boardgame (Wizards of the Coast)
Hamlet’s Hit Points (Gamplaywright Press)
Tall Pencil Strap Dragon Chow Dice Bag (Dragon Chow Dice Bags)
The Bones – Us and Our Dice (Gameplaywright Press/Atomic Overmind Press)

Best Rules

D&D Rules Compendium (Wizards of the Coast)
Icons Superpowered Roleplaying (Adamant Entertainment/Cubicle 7)
Legends of Anglerre (Cubicle 7)
Mutants & Masterminds Hero’s Handbook (Green Ronin Publishing)
The Dresden Files RPG (Evil Hat Productions )
Honorable Mention: D&D Gamma World Roleplaying Game (Wizards of the Coast)

Best Setting

A Song of Ice and Fire Campaign Guide (Green Ronin Publishing)
Dark Sun Campaign Setting (Wizards of the Coast)
Pathfinder Campaign Setting: Inner Sea World Guide (Paizo Publishing)
Progenitor (Arc Dream Publishing)
Space 1889: Red Sands (Savage Worlds) (Pinnacle Entertainment Group)
Honorable Mention: Bookhounds of London (Pelgrane Press)

Best Supplement

Block by Bloody Block (Print Version) (White Wolf Publishing)
Gatecrashing (Posthuman Studios)
Pathfinder Roleplaying Game: Advanced Player’s Guide (Paizo Publishing)
Shadowrun: Attitude (Catalyst Game Labs)
Space 1889: Red Sands (Savage Worlds) (Pinnacle Entertainment Group)
Honorable Mention: The Danse Macabre (White Wolf Publishing)

John’s Comments

Really surprised that Red Sands took this award. Awesome! 😀

Best Website

d20pfsrd.com
Obsidian Portal
RPG Geek
The Escapist
UK Role Players

John’s Comments

I really thought RPG Geek deserved this one. Ah well.

Best Writing

The Danse Macabre (White Wolf Publishing)
Delta Green: Targets of Opportunity (Arc Dream Publishing/Pagan Publishing)
Gatecrashing (Posthuman Studios)
The Dance in the Blood (Pelgrane Press/Graham Walmsley)
The Dresden Files RPG (Evil Hat Productions )

Product of the Year

A Song of Ice and Fire Campaign Guide (Green Ronin Publishing)
DC Adventures Hero’s Handbook (Green Ronin Publishing)
D&D Gamma World Roleplaying Game (Wizards of the Coast)
Gatecrashing (Posthuman Studios)
Happy Birthday, Robot! (Evil Hat Productions)
Legend of the Five Rings, Fourth Edition (Alderac Entertainment Group)
Pathfinder Roleplaying Game: Advanced Player’s Guide (Paizo Publishing)
Pathfinder Campaign Setting: Inner Sea World Guide (Paizo Publishing)
The Dresden Files RPG (Evil Hat Productions )
The Stork (DreamPunk Productions)
Honorable Mention:Legends of Anglerre (Cubicle 7)

John’s Comments

My pick took the silver. Congrats Evil Hat! 😀

John’s Comments On The 2011 ENnie Award Nominees

July 08, 2011 By: John Taber Category: Games, Growlings, Product Reviews, Site Recommendations

ENnie Award 2011 LogoThe ENnie Award Nominees for 2011 got posted today and I wanted to make some comments on what was chosen and what I think is missing. The entries in italics are ones I actually own or have enjoyed.

Best Adventure

Delta Green: Targets of Opportunity (Arc Dream Publishing/Pagan Publishing)
Monsters and Other Childish Things: Road Trip (Cubicle 7/Arc Dream Publishing)
Pathfinder Adventure Path #43: The Haunting of Harrowstone (Paizo Publishing)
Perils of the Surface World: Miracle Stone of the Amazon (Exile Game Studio)
Saturday Night Delves #1: Revenge of the Iron Lich (Save Versus Death)
Honorable Mention: The Dance in the Blood (Pelgrane Press/Graham Walmsley)

John’s Comments

My only comment on this category is that Graham Walmsley has put out some great products this year. Check out his set of Trail Of Cthulhu adventures…they are very nice. 🙂

Best Aid/Accessory

D&D Essentials: Dungeon Tiles Master Set – The Dungeon (Wizards of the Coast)
Eclipse Phase Gamemaster Pack (Posthuman Studios)
Gaming Paper Adventure Maps (Gaming Paper)
Hero Lab (Lone Wolf Development)
The Unspeakable Oath (Arc Dream Publishing)
Honorable Mention: Vornheim: The Complete City Kit (Lamentations of the Flame Princess)

John’s Comments

The return of Unspeakable Oath has been great. This mag is as good…if not better…than the original. It has some fantastic contributors and product reviews. Highly recommended. Cthulhu demands that I vote for Unspeakable Oath.

Best Art, Cover

A Song of Ice and Fire Campaign Guide (Green Ronin Publishing)
Eoris Essence (Visions of Essence LLC)
Mutants & Masterminds Hero’s Handbook (Green Ronin Publishing)
Shadowrun: Attitude (Catalyst Game Labs)
The Laundry (Cubicle 7)
Honorable Mention: The Danse Macabre (White Wolf Publishing)

Best Art, Interior

Dark Sun Campaign Setting (Wizards of the Coast)
DC Adventures Hero’s Handbook (Green Ronin Publishing)
Eoris Essence (Visions of Essence LLC)
Legend of the Five Rings, Fourth Edition (Alderac Entertainment Group)
Pathfinder Campaign Setting: Inner Sea World Guide (Paizo Publishing)

Best Blog

At-Will
Critical Hits
Gnome Stew
Sarah Darkmagic
Thistle Games

John’s Comments

I follow MANY RPG blogs. Out of the selected ENnie Nominees I think Gnome Stew will get my vote. I’m really disappointed that Rob Donahue’s blog, Some Space To Think, is not on the list. His blog is really wonderful. I always jolt upright when my blog catcher fields one of his insightful posts.

Best Cartography

Bookhounds of London (Pelgrane Press)
Deep Vistas Map Set I – III (Maps of Mastery)
Gaming Paper Adventure Maps (Gaming Paper)
Heavenring Village – Virtual Boxed Set (0One Games)
Pathfinder Campaign Setting: Inner Sea Poster Map Folio (Paizo Publishing)
Honorable Mention: Shadowrun: Sixth World Almanac (Catalyst Game Labs)

Best Electronic Book

Cerulean Seas Campaign Setting (Alluria Publishing)
Continuity (Posthuman Studios)
Shanghai Vampocalypse (Savage Mojo)
Temporal Probability Agency: To Predict and Serve (Apathy Games)
The Running Death (Terminal Studios)

Best Free Product

A Time of War: The BattleTech RPG Quick-Start Rules (Catalyst Game Labs)
Hell for Leather – Free Edition (Cobweb Games)
Old School Hack – Basic Game (Kirin Robinson)
Saturday Night Delves #1: Revenge of the Iron Lich (Save Versus Death)
The Running Death (Terminal Studios)
Honorable Mention: Ultimate Combat Playtesting PDF (Paizo Publishing)

Best Game

Happy Birthday, Robot! (Evil Hat Productions)
Icons Superpowered Roleplaying (Adamant Entertainment/Cubicle 7)
Legends of Anglerre (Cubicle 7)
Mutants & Masterminds Hero’s Handbook (Green Ronin Publishing)
The Dresden Files RPG (Evil Hat Productions )
Honorable Mention: The Laundry (Cubicle 7)

John’s Comments

Boy there are some fantastic choices here. Happy Birthday, Robot by Daniel Solis is wonderful in design and execution. Dresden is an overwhelming and deserving hit with its brilliant implementation of the source material. My vote will go for Dresden in this category.

I do see a couple of omissions here. I would have really have liked to see Smallville or Leverage get a mention in this category. Those are some pretty kick butt projects with some talented folks that did not get any recognition…well there ya go…have some RPG love! 😀

Best Miniatures Product

BattleTech 25th Anniversary Introductory Boxed Set (Catalyst Game Labs)
Deep Vistas Map Set I – III (Maps of Mastery)
Mousling Heroes (Reaper Miniatures)
USCR – Commissar (MERCS Miniatures)
WARMACHINE Khador Gun Carriage (Privateer Press)
Honorable Mention: Gaming Paper Adventure Maps (Gaming Paper)

Best Monster/Adversary

Doctor Who: Aliens & Creatures (Cubicle 7)
Fey Folio: Clans of the Fey (Alluria Publishing)
Monster Vault (Wizards of the Coast)
Mythic Menagerie: The Kingdom of Graves (Super Genius Games)
Pathfinder Roleplaying Game: Bestiary 2 (Paizo Publishing)

Best New Game (published for the first time ever)

A Taste for Murder (Graham Walmsley)
Happy Birthday, Robot! (Evil Hat Productions)
Icons Superpowered Roleplaying (Adamant Entertainment/Cubicle 7)
The Dresden Files RPG (Evil Hat Productions )
The Laundry (Cubicle 7)
Honorable Mention: Stars Without Number (Sine Nominee Publishing)

John’s Comments

Dresden and Icon are “new” but I think I will give the nod here to Happy Birthday, Robot! Happy Birthday, Robot! really defines the category “Best New Game” better than the other selections IMHO. 😀

Best Podcast

Atomic Array
Chronicles: Pathfinder Podcast
Flagons and Dragons
The Dungeon Master Guys Podcast
Yog-Sothoth
Honorable Mention: Kicked In The DiceBags

John’s Comments

I am a huge podcast fan but surprisingly many of my favorites are not mentioned this year. I really think Fear The Boot and 2d6 Feet In A Random Direction are my favorites.

Best Production Values

Gatecrashing (Posthuman Studios)
Happy Birthday, Robot! (Evil Hat Productions)
Legend of the Five Rings, Fourth Edition (Alderac Entertainment Group)
Pathfinder Roleplaying Game: Bestiary 2 (Paizo Publishing)
The Dresden Files RPG (Evil Hat Productions )

John’s Comments

Daniel Solis is an art director and it really shows in his product Happy Birthday, Robot! He also did a video on how the book was designed that is really wonderful. Daniel gets my vote.

Best RPG Related Product

BattleTech 25th Anniversary Introductory Boxed Set (Catalyst Game Labs)
Castle Ravenloft Boardgame (Wizards of the Coast)
Hamlet’s Hit Points (Gamplaywright Press)
Tall Pencil Strap Dragon Chow Dice Bag (Dragon Chow Dice Bags)
The Bones – Us and Our Dice (Gameplaywright Press/Atomic Overmind Press)

John’s Comments

I read Hamlet’s Hit Points when Robin Laws posted them on his blog and REALLY enjoyed them. The Bones is currently on my “buy next” list. 😉 Hamlet gets the vote.

Best Rules

D&D Rules Compendium (Wizards of the Coast)
Icons Superpowered Roleplaying (Adamant Entertainment/Cubicle 7)
Legends of Anglerre (Cubicle 7)
Mutants & Masterminds Hero’s Handbook (Green Ronin Publishing)
The Dresden Files RPG (Evil Hat Productions )
Honorable Mention: D&D Gamma World Roleplaying Game (Wizards of the Coast)

John’s Comments

This one is tough. A couple of these are based on FATE and others are D&D 4e based. I guess Dresden will get my vote as the FATE implementation has really been tweaked for perfect delivery of the source material.

Best Setting

A Song of Ice and Fire Campaign Guide (Green Ronin Publishing)
Dark Sun Campaign Setting (Wizards of the Coast)
Pathfinder Campaign Setting: Inner Sea World Guide (Paizo Publishing)
Progenitor (Arc Dream Publishing)
Space 1889: Red Sands (Savage Worlds) (Pinnacle Entertainment Group)
Honorable Mention: Bookhounds of London (Pelgrane Press)

John’s Comments

Um…I can’t vote for my favorite…Bookhounds Of London. Very bummed that Ken Hite did not get a full nomination…a travesty actually. 🙁

Best Supplement

Block by Bloody Block (Print Version) (White Wolf Publishing)
Gatecrashing (Posthuman Studios)
Pathfinder Roleplaying Game: Advanced Player’s Guide (Paizo Publishing)
Shadowrun: Attitude (Catalyst Game Labs)
Space 1889: Red Sands (Savage Worlds) (Pinnacle Entertainment Group)
Honorable Mention: The Danse Macabre (White Wolf Publishing)

Best Website

d20pfsrd.com
Obsidian Portal
RPG Geek
The Escapist
UK Role Players

John’s Comments

I’ve recently become enamored with RPG Geek. Initially I wanted a way to track my RPG collection. After some research I found that RPG Geek would do the job brilliantly. After I got hooked I started entering product corrections, adding new products, uploading product images, leaving session posts, posting reviews, and…having a TON of fun. A definite vote for RPG Geek here.

Best Writing

The Danse Macabre (White Wolf Publishing)
Delta Green: Targets of Opportunity (Arc Dream Publishing/Pagan Publishing)
Gatecrashing (Posthuman Studios)
The Dance in the Blood (Pelgrane Press/Graham Walmsley)
The Dresden Files RPG (Evil Hat Productions )

John’s Comments

I really need to get The Dance In The Blood as I like Walmsley’s work but I think this year my vote is easy…The Dresden Files. The Evil Hat crew really did a bang up job on Dresden…it was worth the wait. 🙂

Product of the Year

A Song of Ice and Fire Campaign Guide (Green Ronin Publishing)
DC Adventures Hero’s Handbook (Green Ronin Publishing)
D&D Gamma World Roleplaying Game (Wizards of the Coast)
Gatecrashing (Posthuman Studios)
Happy Birthday, Robot! (Evil Hat Productions)
Legend of the Five Rings, Fourth Edition (Alderac Entertainment Group)
Pathfinder Roleplaying Game: Advanced Player’s Guide (Paizo Publishing)
Pathfinder Campaign Setting: Inner Sea World Guide (Paizo Publishing)
The Dresden Files RPG (Evil Hat Productions )
The Stork (DreamPunk Productions)
Honorable Mention:Legends of Anglerre (Cubicle 7)

John’s Comments

Drum roll please! My vote is for The Dresden Files. The beautiful artwork, stunning layout, and terrific writing make my vote for Product Of The Year easy.