Kingbeast's Lair

The 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.

Summary

Welcome to part 2 of my 3 part series on My Gaming Kit. In this article I’ll cover my hardware and software setup. About 4 years ago I switched over from a binder to running from a laptop. Last year I purchased a netbook just for gaming. It has been a really fun toy! 😀

Hardware

The netbook that I have selected to use for my gaming is the Toshiba Mini Notebook MB305-N440BL. It has an Intel Atom Processor N455, 2 GB RAM (I upgraded the RAM from 1 GB), 250 GB HD, WiFi, and a Webcam. It is running Microsoft Window 7 Home Premium. I really love this little netbook for a couple of reasons:

• Size Factor – The low profile of the netbook means that it can fit entirely behind my LANDSCAPE GM screen (see accompanying screen shot) and does not obstruct vision to the players. The small size and weight also means that I can easily slip it into my laptop backpack and cart it along with me to gaming session and conventions. Last DunDraCon I had it on my lap during several of the seminars to take notes. It worked great. 🙂
• Battery Life – One of the main reasons I chose the Toshiba MB305 is the battery life. This little sucker can go 8 hours on a single charge! I am NOT using an aggressive power saving setup and I have never had it run out of power during a session. Not needing a power cable also means less clutter around my GM station which is great.
• No Cables Needed – As I don’t need cables for a mouse, power, or network my GM area is very clean. I can also easily pick up the little netbook and flip it around to show my players various artwork and such.
• Webcam – The webcam means that if a player cannot attend a session in person they can attend over Skype or I can record the session. A nice plus. 😉

Software

It was important to me to find a solution that could run Windows. There are several software packages that are critical for me to have access to while creating the session and during the session (see below). The decision to purchase a device that runs Windows ruled out nearly all of the current tablets. Here is the list of software the I currently utilize for gaming on my netbook:

• The Keep Under Dropbox For Managing Campaign Materials – This combination is the star of my GM software kit. It allows easy access to all of my campaign materials across devices while providing internal and external references. This is a really nice combo. For details check out a more detailed review of this that I did in March 2010 at this URL.
• Fractal Mapper 8 And Dundjinni – These are two great mapping programs that I use when I want a campaign map or special encounter. Fractal Mapper 8 is really simple to use and I find it works very well for campaign level maps. Dundjinni works great for combat level maps. You can create really nice maps in a flash with Dundjinni. Unfortunately I am not sure how much support is available for Dundjinni at the moment. 🙁 Here is a link to where you can purchase Fractal Mapper 8 on DriveThruRPG.com. Here is a link to the main Dundjinni site.
• Hero Designer – Hero Designer is essentially a must have for any Hero GM. It is so amazingly powerful that every time I use it for a new campaign I find some feature that I did not know existed. The campaign customization is very nice as it allows source data used by Hero Designer to be modified so that it fits your Hero campaign perfectly. Great stuff. Here is a link to a 2 year license agreement on the Hero site.
• Everchanging Book Of Names (EBoN) – EBoN is hands down my favorite random name generator. There are a lot of options like generating many names in a list that are really wonderful. For a very paltry donation you can get access to all of the fantastic libraries of names. Like The Keep I installed it to Dropbox. BOOM! Killer combo. 😀 Here is a link to the site where you can find EBoN.
• GIMP – GIMP is a freeware paint program with so many features that it is really mind boggling. I really need to buy a book about GIMP so that I can learn all of the features of this powerhouse tool. Normally I would not mention a generic utility like this but GIMP is really nice for slight image changes that GM may need to make. You can download it for free at this URL.
• Acrobat For Those Game Book PDF – Acrobat is a must. It really offloads the need to carry any books with you on the road. As I am a Hero GM that means roughly 50 pounds or so! Ok fine…maybe not 50 pounds but you get the idea. I also love being able to add comments and redlines to PDF modules using the registered copy of Acrobat. This way I can alter description texts, add notes related to my players, etc. Oh yeah…all the PDF go on Dropbox so I can get at them on any machine. Awesome jam on kick fanny toast. 🙂

Next up…My Gaming Kit: Part 3 – The Cottage! 😀

-== What is it? ==-

Magic Items is a supplement for Fantasy Hero (1st Edition) that was published by Iron Crown Enterprises (I.C.E.). The authors include David Berge, Barry A. Wilson, and Andrew Robinson. Magic Items was released in November of 1987…yeah this sucker is old. 😉

The book has a color cover and an entirely black and white interior. Magic Items is 8.5” x 11” and is 48 pages in length. I am reviewing a print copy that I purchased.

-== What I Like ==-

Magic Items has a lot of very nice ideas. The presented items are for the most part creative and intriguing. Having an intriguing RPG supplement can be a difficult thing to achieve especially for Hero equipment books which can come off as extremely dry. I enjoyed reading the book cover-to-cover.

I liked the length of each magic item listing. Each Magic Items entry consists of a small supporting paragraph and the necessary rule details. The supporting text evokes the story of the item so that it can be worked into a campaign. Often the text also allows GMs to easily conjure up adventure hooks centered around the item.

The layout in Magic Items is not normal for Hero supplements.. The authors tried to save page space by combining common Advantages and Limitations in a top section on each listing. Below the common modifiers are details on each power in the item and any additional modifiers that may apply to the power only. At times this works well but it can make the book difficult to read in my opinion. I actually appreciate this concept of condensing common information and think it could be used to save space in several modern Hero products.

The cover art by Walter Velez is great. I love the central figures and the way that the header text pops. The interior art in Magic Items is by Jason Waltrip and it does not disappoint. It is above average or better in my opinion. 🙂

-== What I Don’t Like ==-

The second introductory section of Magic Items is called Changes To The FH Magic Rules. It contains a set of rule changes that the authors claim should be considered official errata to the Fantasy Hero game book. They then suggest that it will be used in all future supplements. It is a very strange section especially for a simple product supplement about magic items.

Magic Items is short. I would have liked to see more items.

All of items are unique which may seem like strength but it is also nice to have some standard items. A brief section on simple items like healing potions, magical armor, and basic magical swords would be well received.

There is a nice opening section on Items In Your Campaign but short of this Magic Items does not include supporting material on alchemists/potions, item creation, item related creatures, etc. This type of support material is a real strength of current DOJ products.

-== Summary ==-

I can guess what many of you are thinking after reading this review, “Come on John…do you really think it is fair to review a 24 year old supplement as if it were a modern RPG product?!?” My take is simple…I want to rate a product on whether it will be useful to CURRENT gamers. Fair shmair I say! 😀 Saying that I really think Magic Items is a valuable book for Fantasy Hero GMs even with this mediocre rating.

Magic Items is by far easiest to purchase on eBay. Even some of my go to sites for older products (aka Noble Knight Games, etc) don’t list this book. Today when I logged into eBay I could bid on a copy for $0.99 and buy one for $7.95! 😉

I give it 5 out of 10 paws.