New Releases

March was a light month for new releases. Nevertheless, several still caught my eye. Benjamin Baugh released his Monsters and Other Chilidish Things and the premise sounds great. What kid wouldn't jump at the chance of having a powerful monster? On another horror note, Margaret Weis Productions released the Demon Hunters RPG, based on the work of Dead Gentlemen Productions. Finally, Leonard Balsera's Profane Miracles, an adventure for Esoterrorists, was published through Pelgrane Press. Well respected for his work with FATE and Spirit of the Century, Leonard's adventure promises to give the GUMSHOE system a thorough workout.

On The Net

Rodney Thompson provided an interesting blog post on The Economy of Actions and the importance of this concept to the development of Star Wars Saga and the future of D&D. It's an interesting read, especially when one considers the variety of games that either sharply limit actions (one action per turn) or provide mechanics for gaining many actions. Note also that Rodney is using Gleemax, as are many Wizards employees, to share his thoughts. Some other folk have been musing over the future of Gleemax, including Gleemax Volunteers who came to RPGnet in March to ask for feedback and recommendations for the site. Unfortunately, Gleemax seems to be getting little support from either Wizards or the greater online community and many are questioning the digital initiative in general.

Paizo announced the Pathfinder RPG, a continuation of the current d20 system and considered to be a 3.75 by some. While the game is a long ways off, it's interesting that Paizo has decided to go this route instead of immediately supporting Fourth Edition. Part of this may be due to the slow release of the GSL, the next generation licensing agreement for Fourth Edition, but on the other hand it seems reasonable to assume that many gamers will stick with Third Edition for quite some time (if not indefinitely). Unlike where Second Edition was when Third was announced, Fourth Edition is more of a reinvisioning than an updating of a cumbersome rules system. If many folk do decide to stick with Third Edition then this may be an excellent decision for Paizo.

March was a month of meta-discussion about the social dynamics of our hobby. At RPGnet we received Women Gamers and Mechanics: Oil and Water which contained an interesting mix of useful feedback and drama. I know the topic, in general, left me thinking about sexism within the RPG hobby again. I've come across it with some regularity over time, both online and off, and it bothers me. Especially considering how otherwise open and tolerant the gaming community presents itself as. Speaking of a tolerant community, zenten asked Why do so many gamers have poor social skills? It's a good question, and a lot of interesting answers were provided.

Finally, March saw the passing away of one of D&D's founders - Gary Gygax. Gary was a symbol to many people, but he was also a part of the online RPG community which mourned his passing.

My Take

What can I say, it's my soapbox so I'm going to plug my reviews! But before I do that, take a look at RPGnet's Actual Play Week which occurred this month. We had some awesome reviews submitted, and if you're looking for a new game to play then be sure to start there. Once again Evil Hat and Blue Devil Games supported our event - thanks guys! For my own participation in this event I submitted a review of Qin: The Warring States. Qin provides the reader with an easy to understand game system for playing in a mystical ancient China, and is a fine choice for anyone interested in some martial arts action and adventure.

White Wolf gave me the opportunity to review Autumn Nightmares and Winter Masques, two fantastic supplement for Changeling that succeed at exactly what they set out to do. Autumn Nightmares throws out a variety of additional adversaries while Winter Masques provides Story Tellers and players with new character and campaign options. While these are both great, my favorite recent product from White Wolf is easily Requiem for Rome, which I reviewed here., provides the perfect setting for roleplaying vampires. I was always a fan of the Dark Ages line and the more intense situations living in the Dark Ages often created, and I find Rome to be an even better option for the brutal and potlical drama that vampires are so often known for.

Until next month, happy gaming!