#RPGaDay: Day Twenty-Three: Coolest Looking RPG Product/Book

For sheer style, visual impact, and bulk, I have to say that Monte Cook's Ptolus is probably the coolest-looking RPG product that I own. I picked it up in 2007, the year it won an ENnie for Product of the Year. If you've never seen it,it's a huge hardback tome that clocks in at 670 pages in length. Given its sheer immensity, it's a lot of information to take in all at once. It's an impressive product, both visually and conceptually.

There are plenty of other RPG products that look pretty darn cool. I'm not the sort to buy collector's editions/limited editions of games, though I did have a secret desire to own the original Dark Heresy collector's edition. I couldn't really justify the cost at the time, but it was such a cool book to look at. My friend Kate got one back in my Warhammer Online/Mythic days, otherwise I wouldn't have known what I was missing.

So far, I've been really impressed with the way The One Ring's products have looked. The layouts are clean and the art really meshes with the setting. Sure, I may be biased a great deal (I do keep bringing the game up, don't I?), but Cubicle 7 does such a good freaking of producing their products.

#RPGaDay: Day Sixteen - Game I Wish I Owned

Right now, at this moment, there are a few games I'd really like to have in my possession, but I'll narrow it down to the one I covet the most.

Fantasy Flight released copies of the Force & Destiny Beta at GenCon, and I've seen photographs of it on the social networks I frequent. I've become a big proponent of FFG's Star Wars RPGs over the past year or two, and I'd love to get a peek at what they're planning with F&D. I'll get my paws on it eventually, I'm sure, but for now I'm in total geek whiny mode about it.

Honorable mentions for games I wish I owned include the up-coming Star Wars Armada (fleet-level miniature space battles) and I'm really very curious about Dark Heresy 2nd edition (I did some work on the original, and I'd like to see what's new and different).

It's not just that I've done work for them lately, but Fantasy Flight has really become one of the companies whose products I anticipate the most.

ENnie Results for 2009

I didn't attend the ENnies last night. Most of the times I've gone to GenCon, I've attended them. I guess the pomp and circumstance has worn thin for me, but I still recognize the awards for what they are and appreciate what they do for the gaming industry.

Order 66 won Silver for Best Podcast. It's a well-deserved award for them. I'm biased, being as I've appeared on the show twice and they've always treated me well. I've also been fortunate to hang out (and play SW) with Chris and his d20 Radio friends, smoke some good tobacco, and chat about ... lots of things, not all of which are appropriate to discuss in polite company.

On a personal note, two of the books I worked on won Silver ENnies last night. The Clone Wars Campaign Guide took the silver for Best Supplement, and Scum & Villainy took Silver for Best Cartography. Dark Heresy took the Silver for Best Game, and even though I've got a writing credit on that title, I don't deserve much credit for that. Still, I guess it looks good on a resume.

I'm tickled about Scum & Villainy's ENnie, despite the fact that the cartographers, Jonathan Hill and Chris West, deserve all the credit. Many of the maps in S&V were based on the fevered pencil-and-graph paper maps I scanned and sent in with my final turnover. So even if they weren't particularly attractive, they were transformed into ENnie Award-winning maps by two very talented mapsmiths. Kudos and props to both Jonathan and Chris. You guys are awesome.

The surprise for me is the Clone Wars Campaign Guide. I didn't really expect it to win, especially given the competition that it was up against. I've got a lot of material in that book, so I'm pleasantly surprised that it won.

So that's the long and short of my ENnie commentary for the year. I'm going to get ready for the day. If you're in Indianapolis for GenCon, drop by and say hello to me at Mythic Entertainment's booth today or tomorrow.

I Now Have Grimm in Hand!

After an exciting trip to the UPS distribution center in Chantilly this morning, I have my copies of FFG's Grimm in hand. I had a chance to look the book over about a week ago at my FLGS, but that was more of a cursory examination than anything else.

Overall, it looks solid. I'm not sure when/if I'll have a chance to play it. Maybe I can get in on a game at Gen Con this year. Given my gaming track record in Indy for the past four years, though, I tend to doubt it.

It's been busy at work, and busy at home. I'm supposed to run the first of the Mythic Dark Heresy sessions tomorrow, but I haven't had a chance to work on the game, much less read any more of the rules. Plus, I've been sick (and that is largely under control now). I'm thinking I may have to postpone the game this time around, and hope I've got my kit together in two weeks.

That would be all, for now.

Oh, yeah: Happy New Year!!

The Son of Gaming at Mythic

The Mythic D&D game abruptly stopped a while ago. The reason was pretty simple, but I won't get into it. After several weeks of inactivity, I started the game back up again. That was the week before last, on 11/15.

In the time since, I've received Dark Heresy from Black Industries. Despite the fact that the game doesn't release until February of next year, it looks like contributor copies have already been sent out. Being as I'm surrounded by several dozen WH40k fans at work, many of whom are eagerly awaiting Dark Heresy, I was obliged to take it to work and lord it over them.

That was my first mistake, because now they want to play it. Nevermind the D&D game! Dark Heresy is the new hotness. They want to root out heretics and fight evil in the name of the Emperor. Given that the book is so damn fine, I can't say as I blame them one bit.

Truth be told, there's a small part of me who'd prefer running Dark Heresy to D&D. Just don't tell them I said that.