Feed aggregator

I have written about Psi*Run before. My most detailed description of it can be found here from 2018. It is my favorite one-session pick-up game.

I originally discovered it as an Ashcan edition that I played at Gen Con back in 2007, and it completely fascinated me. I have run it with my regular weekly group more than once and brought it to the Puerto Rico Role Players Geeknics a few times as well.

The core idea, psychics (or supers, if you prefer) waking up after an accident with amnesia, running to escape from their captors while exploring their powers, and trying to piece together their past, is incredibly compelling. I have run it in a modern city, in a steampunk setting, right here in Puerto Rico, and even on a spaceship! I love the concept and the system. Honestly, I am sincerely surprised I haven’t run it more.

Now, there is a Kickstarter campaign for a 2nd Edition! Check out the campaign here: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1179631078/psirun-second-edition

According to the campaign page, here is a breakdown of what to expect:

What’s Changing?

The focus for this edition is on refinement rather than a complete overhaul. The creator is taking 15 years of play feedback to heart, specifically focusing on:

• Clarified Rules: The text is getting an expansion to answer common questions and address the edge cases that have popped up over the last decade and a half.
• Polished Mechanics: Expect some tightening of the existing systems. The core “Otherkind” dice pool, where you balance your goals, your memories, and the encroaching danger, remains the engine. You are still rolling that handful of dice and making those classic, agonizing decisions on the Risk Sheet. You can read about the “Otherkind” dice poll rules here.
• New Visuals: The aesthetic is getting completely refreshed with all-new art and cartography.

Sketch by  Jabari Weathers shared on the Kickstarter page.

The Stretch Goals

The campaign is also looking to expand the game’s utility, particularly for modern play. If they hit their higher funding targets, there will be a write-up for playing Psi*Run online. Specifically, it will feature an experimental format designed for social media platforms like Bluesky, where you play the Runner while others take on the role of the world around you. I would absolutely love to see this in action.

I am already a backer and wholeheartedly recommend this game. Go check it out!

Happy late June, all! Summer is officially underway, and it's time for another Crochet and Catch Up with Moogly. We'll chat about all the crochet goodness on Moogly, from new patterns and projects to upcoming events and favorite finds. I'll be live on YouTube and Facebook, sharing updates, answering questions, and showing off a few […]

The post Crochet and Catch Up with Moogly - June 24, 2026 appeared first on moogly. Please visit www.mooglyblog.com for this post.

0

I'm reading DC Comics' output from January 1980 (cover date) to the end of Crisis! This week, I read the comics on sale on June 27, 1985.

Detective Comics #554: The cover by Janson actually goes with the backup story by Cavalieri and Moore/Patterson. It proclaims this is the debut of the new Black Canary costume "the first time anywhere," but as I've mentioned is this series, it has appeared in both Who's Who and Crisis prior to this.  
Following the events of last issue, Black Canary searches for the reason she froze in the battle with Bonfire and comes to believe it was imprinted memories of her mother's fear when she fought a villain named Pyra. Deciding that the only way conquer her fear is to break with the past, Dinah designs a new Black Canary costume for herself, then goes out looking for Bonfire. After a difficult battle she defeats the villain with her canary cry--something her mother couldn't do. She and the late-arriving Green Arrow take Bonfire into custody and discover the fire marshal Ollie was sure was corrupt was doing his job all along.
The main story is an unexceptional but well-crafted action/crime piece by Moench and Janson. Batman, Robin, and Bullock team-up to deal with an ocean liner from Sicily that is being held in Gotham Harbor under suspicion of smuggling. Forces on the liner are trying to get the police cordon opened with a scuba diver with a bomb. Batman and friends win the day, and it's discovered the whole plot was for nothing. The plan was not to smuggle anything in but to smuggle a person out--a person ordered deported on that ocean liner.
We also see an ad in this issue for Outsiders that explains that that group will be getting the same treatment as the Teen Titans and the Legion and receiving a direct market book on better paper, too. No mention of why Batman is no longer in the title, though.

Action Comics #571: Great cover by Bolland for a mediocre issue. The editorial note at the beginning of this story by Maggin and Saviuk/Hunt helpfully tells us that this story takes place before the "Clark Kent--Fired" storyline appearing in Superman. It starts by paralleling a robotic alien scientist on another world with an Earth genius, both of whom are attempting a breakthrough to benefit their people. The robot scientist winds up coming to Earth to find an essential element to save his people, and it turns out to be in the formula the other scientist invented. Meanwhile, the Earth scientist is embittered by her perception that she was snubbed for the Nobel Prize and winds up causing havoc. There's also a subplot about a robot appearing on TV to fill-in for Clark Kent which is where the cover comes from.

Ambush Bug #4: Giffen, Fleming, and Oksner bring this series to an end with some goofing on Thriller facilitated by an appearance by Scabbard. When Scabbard storms off, embarrassed to have been in the wrong book, the creative team is forced to improvise, giving us some one-page gags. Then, we get a second story, one of the most amusing in the series, where Ambush Bug must face the villainous singlet sock in a metal mask, Argh!yle. Finally, Ambush Bug gets his long-promised confrontation with Darkseid--an inflatable Darkseid that he just deflates. 
Rereading the series, I think it holds up today in that it's still amusing. I do think 4 issues might be a bit much, but maybe that's an artifact of how many of these old comics I have to read week after week. Regardless, I think a one-shot might have been the right amount.

Arion Lord of Atlantis #35: Kupperberg and Duursema continue the story from last issue. After Arion was engulfed by the shadow bat, the evil sorcerer, Rhajeem, wastes no time in declaring himself king of Atlantis. He's counted Arion out too soon, though. He comes bursting out of the shadow being and two again engage in magical combat until Rhajeem casts Arion through a portal. He begins to declare himself ruler in front of the populace, but no, Arion is back again this time being followed by a monster from the other realm. It gobbles up Rhajeem before Arion banishes it. With the threat ended, the conclave selects D'Tilluh's recently returned son M'Zalle as the next king.
The last page reveals the next issue (coming in two months) is the double-sized conclusion of the series. It seems likely this came as something of a surprise to the creative team as they were steadily introducing new characters and subplots up to the end.

All-Star Squadron #48: Dr. Occult makes an appearance for the first time since 1938. Like the All-Stars, he's a captive of Wotan. Wotan is in league with Hitler and unleashes the Shining Knight and his Camelot robots on British troops. Hourman and Blackhawk manage to snap Shining Knight out of it by waving a Union Jack at the right moment. 

World's Finest #319: Cavalieri and Delbo/Alcala have Superman seeking help from Batman as his sleep is continuously disrupted by disturbing dreams. Using a Kryptonian device, Batman enters Superman's dreams and finds out the culprit is Rem who looks like the evil cousin of Rainbow Brite and sneakily quotes a lot of stuff in his dialog, including Shakespeare, the Beatles, Eurythmics, and Catch-22. Rem has a plan to drop a bunch of psychedelics in the Metropolis reservoir so he can get control of the populace's dreams too, and the issues cliffhanger has him dropping Batman into the reservoir from the airplane, as well! Meanwhile, the surviving members of the Network have the feeling that Cathode is still alive within them somehow, and a shadowy figure called the Powerbroker (not the Marvel one) makes his move.

Batman and the Outsiders Annual #2: Barr and Ross/Adkins invite us to the wedding of Rex Mason and Sapphire Stagg. The cover had me a little worried, but it's just a tease. Sapphire isn't killed and the wedding goes on. Things don't go smooth, though. Before the ceremony, the venue is attacked by a power-stealing android on a mission for a Maxwell Tremayne, an old foe of Simon Stagg. Sapphire is kidnapped, and our heroes must pursue. The other Outsiders and Batman do battle with the Masters of Disaster (last seen in issue 10) while Metamorpho rescues his fiancée. 

V #8: I've never seen this issue, but I remembered the ads DC ran promoting it with the tagline "I could have had a V 8!" which I suppose they thought was too good to pass up. The actual story involves a group of our protagonists making contact with a printing facility in a rural area that went from printing comics to churning out resistance literature. Unfortunately, it's got a problem with Visitor infiltrators. The team has to flush them all out before they can sabotage the presses. 
The editorial addresses fan concerns that NBC might cancel the TV series. It reassures us the series will finish the storyline whether  there's a TV show or not. As it turns out, the show had already aired its last episode on March 22.

Vigilante Annual #1: My brother and I had this issue as kids. It was our first introduction to the character. Kupperberg and Cown/Maygar tell an untold story of "times past" before the current craziness in the ongoing title. This is a bit more grounded in style that that series and uses detective fiction inspired first-person narration like Miller would do in Dark Knight Returns and Batman: Year One. That and Cowan's artwork make Vigilante seem a more "realistic" Batman without the gestures at meditations on vigilantism and the psychological breakdown of the main character like in the series.
When a college friend of Marcia's is arrested for the murder of a neighbor, Chase helps out by investigating as Vigilante. He discovers it was a mob hit, and must race against time to stop another crime boss from mistakenly having an assassin hit Marcia's friend in jail as reprisal.

Wonder Woman #327: This is the second ever Crisis crossover, but the tie-in is pretty weak.  Newell and Heck just use the red skies and cosmic storm as a convenient explanation for why Wonder Woman loses control of her plane and somehow ends up in the Central American jungle where Tezcatlipoca is. In some weird either other dimension or timeless realm, she and a group of pre-Columbian Indians witness the "death" of Keith Griggs three times, as the god demonstrates his power to create a time loop for some reason. Wonder Woman manages to break the loop and free herself and her three friends from Tezcatlipoca's grasp. Meanwhile, on Paradise Island, the Amazons begin debating whether or not to choose a new queen.

The post Video of the Day – The Whoniverse Show, 2026 appeared first on Blogtor Who.

 I have known Agile Monk for a long time, and we have talked a lot over the years about my work and the OSR in general. Recently, he and his team at Fantasy Companion Workshops launched a crowdfunding campaign to fund two books designed as expert-level gaming resources. The Kickstarter is due to end in two days, on June 25th at 4 pm Eastern Daylight Time.

Wonderous & Dangerous Consortiums & Xendria World/Lore Book Kickstarter

The first book, Wondrous and Dangerous Consortiums, focuses on worldbuilding and helps the referee design organizations, societies, clubs, guilds, and similar groups for their campaigns.

The second book is Xendria, a fantasy setting designed by the FCW team. The book is system-agnostic, but includes adventures and support material for Castles & Crusades, ShadowDark, D&D 5e, and Nimble 2e.

I hope you take a look at what Agile Monk and the Fantasy Companion Workshops team are doing and consider supporting their efforts to bring these projects to life for the rest of us to use and enjoy.

Wonderous & Dangerous Consortiums & Xendria World/Lore Book Kickstarter

 To truly capture the planetary romance aesthetic, a Martian megadungeon shouldn't look like a standard fantasy stone cellar. It needs towering, oxidized metal struts, glowing chemical vats, ancient stasis chambers, and subterranean canal networks. This picks right up from Building The Red Planet Empire - Mixing Warriors of the Red Planet (WotRP) with the Domain-level Architecture of Needleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11243274667834930867noreply@blogger.com0

In May my friend and fellow contributor to this blog, Sunglar, posted about how he discovered Awkward GM Corbin‘s “About Me: Tabletop” template and also provided us with his filled out template and explanation why he chose the games that he picked. This sounds like a fun thing to do, so here comes the Stargazer Edition:

Favorite Game: Mutant Year Zero

That was a tough one. I have played and enjoyed a lot of TTRPGs but Mutant Year Zero has a special place in my heart. I played in a long-running campaign which we unfortunately never finished but I experienced some of the best roleplaying and the most dramatic scenes in this campaign. Of course this was in no small part because of the other players and the GM, but in my opinion the mechanics and setting were crucial for this outcome. I can highly recommend all games by Free League Publishing, but Mutant Year Zero is definitely my favorite!

Best Lore: Werewolf – The Apocalypse

It didn’t take long to decide which game I would pick for this category. Even to this day I have fond memories of the original World of Darkness. One aspect of these games that I tremendously enjoyed was the deep lore. The whole mythology and history of the setting were extremely interesting to me and one reason I kept playing these games was to find out more about how this world worked. The WoD jargon we had to learn back in the day, had quickly become second nature and I still remember most of it today. I picked Werewolf and not Mage or Vampire since I especially liked the lore they came up with for the Garou and the cosmic conflict between the Wyrm, the Weaver and the Wyld. Great stuff!

Best Art: The Electric State

This was another tough one. There are so many great-looking roleplaying game books out there. But in my opinion the roleplayng games based on the art by Simon Stålenhag are on another level. His art is realistic and otherworldly at the same time. His images evoke nostalgia but also grant a glimpse into an alternate reality. Even if you don’t intend to run or play them, the games based on his artbooks: Tales from the Loop, Things from the Flood and The Electric State are worth a buy just for the art alone.

Best Mechanics: Numenera

From a game master’s standpoint Numenera had the best mechanics of any game I ran so far. What I enjoyed the most was that it makes it incredibly easy to improvise. A NPC is basically defined by its level and perhaps a special ability. The rules are extremely easy and instead of explaing rules to players or looking up stuff I could focus on what’s really important. I also love the fact that all rolls are player-facing. I found this extremely refreshing. In 2014 I wrote a post about the game called “Numenera: One of the best games I’ve ever ran!” and that still holds true.

Biggest Personal Impact: Night’s Black Agents: Solo-Ops

In 2020 my friend Ralf ran Night’s Black Agents: Solo-Ops for me and it was the most intense and rewarding roleplaying experience I ever had. Period. I just reread my post I wrote back about the experience and unfortunately it didn’t give it justice. One-on-one roleplaying can be a very intense experience. As a player you’re under constant pressure, you don’t have other players to rely on. You’re the one who has to make decisions all the time and you have to suffer the consequences alone. The mechanics are quite brilliant and really helped to support the narrative. Playing Leyla Khan, the protagonist of the game, was a very interesting experience and gave me new perspectives. I highly recommend anyone to check this game out!

Overhated: D&D 4th Edition

I fully agree with Roberto here. D&D 4th Edition is still hated by a lot of D&D fans but it’s not a bad game. Personally the game didn’t click for me when I first tried it but I like many of the things the designers tried to achieve back in the day. Compared to 5th Edition I think it might even be the better game in many regards. It had a bold vision and tried to kill too many sacred cows in the process which didn’t sit well with most fans. With the right kind of players I might even run it again.

Underrated: The Fantasy Trip

The Fantasy Trip is a classic roleplaying game that was held back mostly by the fact that it was out-of-print for about 40 years. In 2017 Steve Jackson – it’s author – reacquired the rights and released an updated version in 2019. The Fantasy Trip is a very easy to learn system for tactical battles between fantasy characters on a hex grid which becomes a full TTRPG with the inclusion of the rules from “Into The Labyrinth”. Much like the more well-known GURPS it just uses three stats, has a 3d6 roll under mechanic and is basically level- and classless. But unlike GURPS it’s much easier but almost as versatile. People have used TFT to run anything from high fantasy to far-future space opera. If it hadn’t been gone for so long, I am sure more people would sing its praises. But unfortunately aside from a few die-hard fans it’s mostly disregarded and overlooked by the players.

Overrated: D&D 5th Edition

Don’t get me wrong: I don’t hate 5th Edition. I actually had a lot of fun playing it. But having said that it’s neither the best D&D edition ever, nor the best fantasy RPG out there. After the disastrous fan reaction of 4E it was a return to a more familiar D&D but it also reintroduced elements which should have better be buried long time ago. While 4th Edition was too bold for its time (and fan base), 5th Edition was not bold enough. 5th Edition has neither the tactical combat of 4th Edition nor is it as easy as B/X. But 5th Edition seems to have hit a nerve and for many players who left for Pathfinder during the 4E era returned, so it was probably the right game at the time, but it’s just not THE BEST fantasy roleplaying game as it is hailed by many.

Criminally Overlooked: Colonial Gothic

In my opinion the games from Rogue Games are among the most criminally overlooked games out there and Colonial Gothic especially so. Colonial Gothic is a supernatural horror game set during the American Revolution. It uses an original d12-based system which is pretty easy to learn and fun to play. I would have overlooked this game myself if I hadn’t met its author Richard Iorio at GenCon in 2010 since the American Revolution is not a topic I naturally steered towards. But if you choose to overlook Colonial Gothic you miss a very well researched game with a lot of background material which is not only fun to play but also might teach you a thing or two about the American Revolution. If the subject matter is not your cup of tea I can also highly recommend Shadow, Sword & Spell, his take on Sword & Sorcery using the same system.

Has Aged Well: Alternity (TSR)

Alternity is a scifi roleplaying game that was unfortunately doomed from the start. It could have been to scifi was D&D was to fantasy. But after TSR had been bought by Wizards of the Coast, the company didn’t want it to be a direct competitor to its new d20 System, so they cancelled the line way before its time. When I had another look at Alternity just a couple of weeks ago I was surprised how well everything has aged. Sure, it has its quirks, but overall Alternity held up pretty well and could easily be used to run games inspired by contemporay fiction. I love the roll-under task resolution mechanics with its detailed degrees of success which is both surprisngly easy and still offers a lot of depth. Unfortunately you can’t buy it digitally anywhere aside from a couple of sourcebooks hidden away in the d20 Modern section on DriveThruRPG.

Needs a New Edition: RIFTS

Again, I am agreeing with Roberto on this: RIFTS need a new edition. RIFTS has a lot going for it: great art, an exciting setting where everything is possible, intriguing character oprions. Unfortunately the rules suck. The Palladium system is basically an AD&D heartbreaker that hasn’t really aged well. Savage RIFTS might be an option to some, but I don’t think the Savage Worlds system really works for RIFTS. If there’s a game that needs a reboot it’s RIFTS!

Not Usually My Thing, But … Pathfinder 1st Edition

Over the years I have stated multiple times that I prefer rules-light to rules-medium games. Regardless I am having a blast playing in a Pathfinder 1st Edition campaign with my friends. Sure, I running it would probably make my head explode and without the help of PCGen I wouldn’t have been able to play my character all this time, but during these many months I really grew to love this game. If my current GM would offer to run another Pathfinder campaign after this one, I wouldn’t hesitate to join.

Current Game: ShadowDark

ShadowDark is a game I just very recently picked up and fell in love with. I don’t think I need to sing the praises here, since everyone is already pretty much enamoured with this game already. I am kinda late to the party. So what do I love about this game? It’s OSR-ish but still includes some modern ideas. It’s rules-light and extremely light to homebrew for. It’s perfect if you want something that feels like original D&D while being much more streamlined and way less clunky. If you are even remotely interested in dungeon crawling you owe it to yourself to check it out! I am currently planning a one-on-one campaign with my wife using ShadowDark and a sandbox campaign which I plan to run for a group of friends. I haven’t actually run it, yet, but I am sure this could actually become my go-to game in the future.

First Game: TORG

The first TTRPG I ever played was actually the original TORG from West End Games. Back in the early 90’s I went to a local con interested in finally being able to try out these tabletop roleplaying games I’ve heard so much about. Back in these days RPGs weren’t really that well known in Germany even in the nerdier circles. But I was already a huge computer roleplaying game fan at this point. I don’t remember why I chose to play TORG at this day, but I had a lot of fun even though I also made my first contact with “that guy”. I don’t actually remember what the adventure was actually about other than that we fought zombies in the jungle of Borneo and that I played a private detective from the Nile Empire. But even though the rules were clunky and one of the players was a bit problematic, it didn’t deter me from becoming the huge TTRPG fan I am today.

Game Everyone Should Play:

Dungeons & Dragons. Period. If you are serious about roleplaying game you should have played it at least once. Give it a try just to find out what it is about. Most people would probably recommend a recent edition but I think you shouldn’t dismiss Basic D&D. Sure it’s a bit old, but it held up pretty well. Old-School Essentials is a great choice if you want authentic rules but with a better layout and overall legibility. If you want a more “authentic” experience you can still pick up the “Red Box” on DriveThruRPG for a few bucks. D&D is such an important part of our hobby, that you owe it to yourself to at least play it once.

So what are your thoughts on my picks? Do you agree? Do you disagree? Do you think I am totally out of my mind? Please share your comments below!

It doesn’t matter if this is your first Gen Con, your last, or if you’re a veteran; there is something here for you. Lisa and I are well-seasoned veterans of not just Gen Con but many conventions, thanks to our volunteer and judging experience. I have been attending Gen Con since 2002, and Lisa hasn’t missed since 2018. Which has positioned us to be your travel advisors, well, not really, but we can certainly share a lot of information from packing to the return trip home that we have learned over the last twenty years.

One of the first things I would say you might want to look at is your budget. This is something I learned the hard way. I used to travel blindly (not just to Gen Con) with extra Magic the Gathering cards to pay for my way and hopefully not have any out of pocket expenses – that I didn’t have money for. I was foolish. I hope I can give you a lot of wisdom with this. I have learned to look at conventions the same way I was taught to look at survival – food, water, and shelter. If you take those three things to heart, your Gen Con experience will be much more enjoyable. Of the three, water and food are the two easiest to take care of, especially if you drive to the show as we do. Even if you are flying, you can pack enough snacks and protein that you can survive. Shelter is a big expense and could be difficult to obtain. With that said, I have never used the room draw, and we usually manage to stay out by the airport or within twenty minutes.

If you take water with you, it will help you save money and it will make you feel much better mentally and will help with those aches and pains. Dehydration is probably a gamer’s biggest demon; it sneaks up on you, fogs your brain, makes you ache, changes your blood flow, and much more. I try to drink 20 oz. or more of water every hour when I am as active as I am at a convention. The fact is, Gen Con is as much work as it is a vacation for me. It is often hot, I drink, and I am physically. All of which help set me up to be dehydrated. So please, pack yourself one water bottle or refill one at the water stations that are all over the convention center. This also saves you space – one water bottle over a case is a lot less to pack. Bonus Drip Drop hydration packets go a long way to keep you hydrated and alert

Food is a much bigger monster to tackle because there is so much to consider. It comes down to what you are interested in: food trucks, local restaurants, or cooking in the room. I will speak a lot more on food in the future, but we think that balance is a good thing. Lisa and I really try to maintain a budget when we travel. One of the best ways we do that is with what we eat. For us, the first thing we look for is a Hotel with breakfast, preferably a hot one. I can’t tell you how important this meal is for me at a convention. If I don’t eat a good breakfast, I get tired fast. We almost always complement our hotel breakfast with a protein shake. If you can’t get a hotel with breakfast, make sure you get a microwave. You can always hit a grocery store and cook your own eggs – just make sure you pack the needed utensils. If you’re staying downtown, there is a Whole Foods a couple of blocks from the Indiana Convention Center. After that, we pack our lunches – we almost never pay for our lunch. In most of our travels, we ate out of cans, usually tuna or salmon and canned vegetables, but we are evolving, and now we do prepare everything from meat and cheese boards to chicken pesto salads. It doesn’t stop there, we reward ourselves every night with dinner. We only eat out two times over our six days at Gen Con. On the other nights, I cook us a relaxing meal in the room. This year or hotel menu is going to include Mediterranean power bowls, black bean and and corn quesadillas, and a stir fry. I know those aren’t all easy to do in a microwave, and I am not only going to use a microwave this year. I got an induction burner for Father’s Day this year, and it’s a perfect hotel cooker. There are a million things you can cook in your room if you are responsible with your time, like chilis and stews. If any of you want tips or ideas for your hotel room meals – just ask. The only thing I didn’t touch on is snacks. We pack protein bars, Epic bars, a high-protein trail mix with nuts and dried fruit, and usually some pork rinds.

It doesn’t matter if you are walking to your hotel, driving, or getting a cab, it’s important that you learn the area. I highly suggest you get a local map of the downtown area. I don’t trust GPS in the city of Indiana. I can’t tell you how many appointments I missed because my GPS couldn’t find me. If you are walking, know how much time it takes to walk from A to b and plan for extra time just in case something goes wrong. If you are traveling at night, pay attention, and if possible, use the buddy system.

When packing, before you leave for Indy, consider your comfort. A good pair of shoes is a key to success. I buy fresh socks and underwear for every show I attend. I bring a rice pack and a heating pad. If you are flying and need a special pillow, then by all means bring it, these things make your mental health well healthy. Whenever I travel, I take two extra pairs of socks and underwear, a t shirt for everyday, at least one button down shirt, and one extra pair of pants. Beyond that, I bring along all of the standard hygiene stuff. Please, make sure you shower. You may not always be alone in the space that you call yours. Besides, I find that a nice shower to end the day is often relaxing. With that said, if you are worried about germs, I find the restrooms outside of the convention center to be less crowded and therefore more likely to have less germs.

Up to this point everything has been about what to pack, but once you arrive at Gen Con, I suggest you explore. Every year I arrive on Wednesday and walk my trail. That is, I take may schedule and walk it from each event, and interview that is on my schedule so I have an idea of where I need to be. This does two things for me: one, it allows me to take in some of the surroundings before I really start, for example, I may stumble across a tournament area that I was thinking was elsewhere. Two, it allows me to scout, take notes, and pictures of things I may want to do. In other words, explore, stop and listen to one of the performers, check out some miniature terrain, participate in paint and take, and parous Authors Alley. Gen Con is so big, and it is really easy to put the blinders on. I know from experience it is really easy to miss something I wish I had seen – I do it almost every year.

A trip to Gen Con wouldn’t be complete without a trip to the Vendors Hall. Here is what every attendee should know. One, they no longer allow carts/dollies in the hall except for special needs. Two, use the map to scout your targets before the show and plan you entry points. If you come in the wrong door, it can add five or even ten minutes to your trip. Three, respect the space of others. I shouldn’t have to say this, but every year I see something happen, like cutting people off, or not paying attention, and knocking something out of a booth. Remember, everyone is there to have fun.

If you are going to try and see the entire exhibitors hall there are a few things that I think should never be over looked. Entrepreneurs Avenue is where the newest game companies can be found. And if you move through it on Sunday, you might just stumble across that crazy deal. While moving through and playing the demos, don’t forget about the coupon book – some really good deals. Keep in mind the hall is broken down into blocks like the family fun zone and the RPG aisle. If you play every demo and check out every booth, you can make the exhibitors hall a four-day trek.

I hope this brings some basic principles, like food, shelter, and water, to the forefront of not just your Gen Con travels but all of your travels. If I have given you ideas about food for your trips, I would love to hear about them. Again, if you want some ideas about lunches and/or hotel dinners, just reach out.

Matt Lemke

The post Video of the Day – Blue Peter, 2006 appeared first on Blogtor Who.

 To inject the Arduinian "Techno" class into the mechanically precise framework of ACKS II, we must translate a character who relies on high-tech gadgets, firearms, and cybernetics into the game's 4-point Class Construction system.  This blog post picks right up from Integrating Adventurer Conqueror King System II (ACKS II) with the legendary, chaotic, and maximum-gonzo DNA of DaveNeedleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11243274667834930867noreply@blogger.com0

SLG Publishing, the iconic independent comics label known for championing alternative voices and groundbreaking creators producing such titles as GloomCookie and Jhonen Vasquez’ Johnny The Homicidal Maniac continues the celebration…

Alex Maleev WARBIRD #1 Cover Art IF IT RIDES, FLIES OR FLOATS, COLE CAN DRIVE IT. AND DEREK KOLSTAD & ROBERT VENDITTI CAN WRECK IT! WARBIRD is barrel-rolling into comic shops…

PORTLAND, Ore. 06/22/2026 — The bestselling, Eisner Award winning creative duo behind Little Bird and Precious Metal—Darcy Van Poelgeest and Ian Bertram—reunite for an all-new, dark fantasy epic in, The Karman…

Doctor Who: The Peter Davison Collection brings two classic novelisations to vinyl

Demon Records celebrates Peter Davison’s fresh-faced and energetic incarnation of the famous Time Lord, 45 years after he first appeared on BBC TV screens. It’s the latest in their Vinyl Who collection with two classic Fifth Doctor novelisations across four records. Kinda and Warriors of the Deep are both read by the Doctor himself, Peter Davison. The package also includes archive interviews and radio appearances by the Doctor Who actor on the likes of the Graham Norton Radio Show. There’s also a 12″ photo print and, of course, the four discs themselves on 140g translucent red and purple vinyl.

These two classic Target Books are both adapted by iconic writer Terrance Dicks.

Kinda relates the Doctor’s unnerving encounter with the mind-possessing Mara. Meanwhile, Warriors of the Deep tells of future conflict between humanity and the Earth’s original reptilian masters, the Silurians and Sea Devils. Extra features include Davison’s appearance at Longleat House in 1983, alongside Janet Fielding and John Nathan-Turner. There are also interview extracts from 30 Years, View from the Boundary and Graham Norton.

The frameable photographic print features Davison in front of the TARDIS. Plus there’s a a full colour booklet with cast, credits and tracklist information.

Accompanied by the BBC Radiophonic Workshop’s familiar Doctor Who theme, the Peter Davison Collection is a fitting tribute to the charming, witty and endearingly youthful Fifth Doctor.

You can pre-order the set now from all good retailers, ahead of its release on the 25th of September.

 

Doctor Who: The Fifth Doctor Collection on vinyl (c) Demon Records Track Listings Disc 1

1 Kinda Part One
2 Kinda Part Two
3 The Ed Stewart Show Extract

Disc 2

1 Kinda Part Three
2 Kinda Part Four
3 30 Years Extract

Disc: 3

1 Warriors of the Deep Part One
2 Warriors of the Deep Part Two
3 View from the Boundary Extract

Disc: 4

1 Warriors of the Deep Part Three
2 Warriors of the Deep Part Four
3 Graham Norton Extract

 

The post Doctor Who: Peter Davison Collection on Vinyl appeared first on Blogtor Who.

Title: Phantom of the Opera # 4 Publisher: Image Comics Writer: Tyler Boss Artist: Martin Simmonds Letterer: Becca Carey Cover: Martin Simmonds Variant Covers: Martin Simmonds, Ryan Sook, Anwita Citriya,…

Two best friends. A man and his ape against the world. PORTLAND, Ore. 06/22/2026 — Rising stars Eliot Rahal (Bleed Them Dry, Cult Classic) and Mattia Monaco (Eat Your Young, Knock…

    Missoula, MT (06/22/2026) – Vault is thrilled to announce Project Perseus, an epic new cryptid science-fiction comic book series. Written by break out writer Jack Mulqueen, drawn by…

The series is currently being developed by FX for a drama series PORTLAND, Ore. 06/22/2026 — Bestselling neo-noir Western That Texas Blood by Chris Condon (News from the Fallout) and Jacob…

In the last few years Shadowdark has conquered the hearts and minds of many TTRPG fans by storm. I am pretty sure it even pushed Old-School Essentials of its throne. Everyone is talking about it, writing material and having a lot of fun. But for some reason I dismissed the game pretty early. Looking back I don’t really understand why I didn’t give it a chance. I actually don’t even remember why I dismissed it. Was it the random character creation? Was the massive hype driving me away? Was it because I had invested a lot of money in OSE already?

It was probably a combination of all of this. But eventually I gave it another chance. Why? That’s kind of a funny story. From time to time I get the urge to dabble in game design. One of the white whales which I keep hunting is a D&D variant of my own. Over the years I have looked at countless retro-clones and none of the games out there had everything I wanted from my “perfect” old-school D&D game. There was always at least something missing. So I started working on my own. Since I like milestone levelling and 5th Edition’s advantage/disadvantage mechanic, I looked at 5th Edition as a basis and started removing and rewriting stuff to make it as simple as Basic D&D. In the beginning I still had a skill system, but I quickly realised that it wasn’t a good fit for what I wanted to achieve. So I decided to use broad “backgrounds” which fulfill a similar role. I also wanted to get rid of Vancian magic and eventually I decided a roll-to-cast system would be a great fit for an OSR-adjacent system. Since I prefer theatre-of-the-mind I replaced ranges in feet with more abstract range bands: Close, Near, Far. And without realising it, I had reinvented Shadowdark.

At some point, I had doubts this amalgamation of ideas would actually work, so I looked at similar games for inspiration: Vagabond, Nimble, and eventually Shadowdark. The more I learned about Shadowdark (I hadn’t read the full rules at this point), the more I realized that my ideas were so close to Shadowdark that it would be easier to write a couple of house rules for Shadowdark instead of basically reinventing it.

There’s one caveat: I haven’t run or played Shadowdark yet. But I plan to do remedy this in the near future. My wife agreed to give a one-on-one campaign a try and I think ShadowRim (which is basically The Elder Scrolls: Skyrim with the serial numbers filed off) might be the perfect setting for us. Alternatively I have a couple of ideas for a sandbox campaign about a cursed estate somewhere in the borderlands. Whatever we end up playing I am pretty excited at this point!

What are your thoughts on Shadowdark? When did you first discover it and why do you like (or dislike it)? Please share your thoughts below.

Title: Elric: The Sleeping Sorceress # 2 Publisher: Titan Comics Adapted by: Julien Blondel & Jean-Luc Cano Based on the novels by: Michael Moorcock Story and Dialogue by: Julien Blondel…