The Inside Scoop on Gaming

Places to Go, People to Be (PTG, PTB) http://ptgptb.humbug.org.au

(Disclaimer: I felt slightly iffy about writing this review because I've written for PTG, PTB in the past and I might not be considered completely impartial. On the other hand, it's not like it pays or I created it; I'm not Sandy Petersen reviewing Doom in Dragon magazine here. If I'm real lucky I might score some freebies. On the other hand don't trust anything I say about Pyramid magazine, as they are promising to pay me in shiny new GURPS dollars. On with the review.)

Gaming magazines have a tendency to either aim themselves at too many people and only wind up being occasionally useful (like Arcane or Valkyrie), or aim at a niche market who, though dedicated, can't pay the bills (like Interactive Fantasy or game-specific zines a la Warpstone and Mythic Perspectives). PTG, PTB treads closer to generic than specific, but still manages to be useful more often than not.

Regular stuff

You got your links (it's traditional) to gaming sites or sites that could inspire gaming, forum for letters (again, traditional) and news column or 'Highlights.' I love this highlights column. See, buried under all the news about new editions and bankrupt companies there's normally a hidden gem of The Onion-style goodness, a story about the drop of the Karameikos dollar or a White Wolf player getting hot in her cloak. This is indicative of the tone of the whole zine. If PTG, PTB were a person, it would be that one cool English teacher who kept telling anecdotes during class and going off on amusing tangents and who couldn't keep a straight face. And if it were a tree, it would be . . .

Irregular stuff

Once Upon a Time is a column where gamers relive their entry into the hobby, just like that First Quest thing in Dragon, only good. The History of Gaming was a series, now complete, written by the editor Steve Darlington, otherwise known as Astinus, Steve D or just the Man. It's required reading for anyone who's played a game other than D&D.

The good Dr Rotwang writes irregular articles, I could tell you what he writes about but that would be missing the point. Let me quote instead:

". . . I often have to entertain The Pope. He comes over and sits down and talks a lot and I just kinda nod, but when he falls asleep I take his big goofy hat and hide it somewhere in the house. Then he has to go looking for it. I think I'm going to hell."

The guy's just goddamn hilarious. He has this rambling South Park style filled with characters from forgotten sitcoms of decades gone by, if you've spent much time on the RPG Net forums you've probably been blessed enough to read some of his posts.

Darren McLennan has a column, a recent innovation called Twisted Tales. It breaks slightly with the generic feel to present scenario ideas of singular strangeness, so far inspired by Village of the Damned, Monty Python and John Tynes. They're not tied down to a set game system or even setting, though most of the suggestions cover modern-horror or fantasy, but it still helps reduce the generic feel that reading the archives can give you. At least one is working its way into my next Warhammer Roleplay campaign as a machination of Tzeentch.

There have also been a couple of pieces by Andrew Rilstone of Interactive Fantasy and Arcane fame reprinted from his website. I'm one of those people by whom Rilstone can do no wrong. He's witty and literate and he knows what he's talking about and if anybody tries to inject some class into gaming it should be him. Some (especially in Arcane) were less impressed by his opinions on RPGs as art or playing more mundane characters, but I for one hope that his influence over the tone of PTG, PTB remains. And if Steve D could get some reprints of Rilstone's published columns before they are lost to the sands of time, I would be in heaven.

Conclusion

Unless the idea of articles about game theory rather than NPC stats and game specific scenarios really doesn't float your boat you really should be reading PTG, PTB. And even so, amongst the pieces on plot structure, scenario-writing, whether computer games can really be RPGs, improvisation techniques and how to craft riddles for your players, I found one called "I Dwarf." It tells you how to play dwarf characters in AD&D and Warhammer, it must have slipped through the cracks, or a time-warp from an old White Dwarf. I'm sure there will be more like this, and I'm kind of glad.

And before I forget, you should all subscribe to Pyramid magazine, I hear there's going to be this great Over the Edge article coming up.

Style: 4 (Classy and well done)
Substance: 5 (Excellent!)

Places to Go, People to Be
Author: Edited by Steve Darlington Category: Magazine Company/Publisher: Places to Go, People to Be Line: n/a Capsule Review by Jody Macgregor on 11/27/00. Genre tags:	Places to Go, People to Be (PTG, PTB) http://ptgptb.humbug.org.au (Disclaimer: I felt slightly iffy about writing this review because I've written for PTG, PTB in the past and I might not be considered completely impartial. On the other hand, it's not like it pays or I created it; I'm not Sandy Petersen reviewing Doom in Dragon magazine here. If I'm real lucky I might score some freebies. On the other hand don't trust anything I say about Pyramid magazine, as they are promising to pay me in shiny new GURPS dollars. On with the review.) Gaming magazines have a tendency to either aim themselves at too many people and only wind up being occasionally useful (like Arcane or Valkyrie), or aim at a niche market who, though dedicated, can't pay the bills (like Interactive Fantasy or game-specific zines a la Warpstone and Mythic Perspectives). PTG, PTB treads closer to generic than specific, but still manages to be useful more often than not. Regular stuff You got your links (it's traditional) to gaming sites or sites that could inspire gaming, forum for letters (again, traditional) and news column or 'Highlights.' I love this highlights column. See, buried under all the news about new editions and bankrupt companies there's normally a hidden gem of The Onion-style goodness, a story about the drop of the Karameikos dollar or a White Wolf player getting hot in her cloak. This is indicative of the tone of the whole zine. If PTG, PTB were a person, it would be that one cool English teacher who kept telling anecdotes during class and going off on amusing tangents and who couldn't keep a straight face. And if it were a tree, it would be . . . Irregular stuff Once Upon a Time is a column where gamers relive their entry into the hobby, just like that First Quest thing in Dragon, only good. The History of Gaming was a series, now complete, written by the editor Steve Darlington, otherwise known as Astinus, Steve D or just the Man. It's required reading for anyone who's played a game other than D&D. The good Dr Rotwang writes irregular articles, I could tell you what he writes about but that would be missing the point. Let me quote instead: ". . . I often have to entertain The Pope. He comes over and sits down and talks a lot and I just kinda nod, but when he falls asleep I take his big goofy hat and hide it somewhere in the house. Then he has to go looking for it. I think I'm going to hell." The guy's just goddamn hilarious. He has this rambling South Park style filled with characters from forgotten sitcoms of decades gone by, if you've spent much time on the RPG Net forums you've probably been blessed enough to read some of his posts. Darren McLennan has a column, a recent innovation called Twisted Tales. It breaks slightly with the generic feel to present scenario ideas of singular strangeness, so far inspired by Village of the Damned, Monty Python and John Tynes. They're not tied down to a set game system or even setting, though most of the suggestions cover modern-horror or fantasy, but it still helps reduce the generic feel that reading the archives can give you. At least one is working its way into my next Warhammer Roleplay campaign as a machination of Tzeentch. There have also been a couple of pieces by Andrew Rilstone of Interactive Fantasy and Arcane fame reprinted from his website. I'm one of those people by whom Rilstone can do no wrong. He's witty and literate and he knows what he's talking about and if anybody tries to inject some class into gaming it should be him. Some (especially in Arcane) were less impressed by his opinions on RPGs as art or playing more mundane characters, but I for one hope that his influence over the tone of PTG, PTB remains. And if Steve D could get some reprints of Rilstone's published columns before they are lost to the sands of time, I would be in heaven. Conclusion Unless the idea of articles about game theory rather than NPC stats and game specific scenarios really doesn't float your boat you really should be reading PTG, PTB. And even so, amongst the pieces on plot structure, scenario-writing, whether computer games can really be RPGs, improvisation techniques and how to craft riddles for your players, I found one called "I Dwarf." It tells you how to play dwarf characters in AD&D and Warhammer, it must have slipped through the cracks, or a time-warp from an old White Dwarf. I'm sure there will be more like this, and I'm kind of glad. And before I forget, you should all subscribe to Pyramid magazine, I hear there's going to be this great Over the Edge article coming up. Style: 4 (Classy and well done) Substance: 5 (Excellent!)