RPGs: The Essential Reading List

https://fed.brid.gy/r/https://thealexandrian.net/wordpress/52329/roleplaying-games/rpgs-the-essential-reading-list

Amiga Future #172 Announced
#AmigaFuture #CommodoreAmiga #RetroComputing #AmigaOS #MorphOS #AROS #RetroGaming #AmigaGames #TaleofEvil #AmigaCommunity #AmigaFans #Space1889 #Dungeonette #NeonNoir #FastFoodDizzy #RPGHistory
https://theoasisbbs.com/amiga-future-172-announced/?feed_id=930&_unique_id=67740dc3e9863

"Roleplaying Methods in the Classroom" by Mark Chesler and Robert Fox (1966) has a great appendix on dealing with disruptive roleplayers.

It also addresses post-game and pre first game sessions

plus ça change

I have to say, having had cause to pull out the re-release of the 1979 Villains & Vigilantes 1E I just adore this explanation of the games history....

I've got a new blog post for you!

https://deigames.com/2023/11/a-brief-tour-of-1994-1995-audio-cd-box.html

In the mid-1990s TSR released a series of beginners modules and accessories designed to bring new folks into the game. These products came with a CD to inform the players and assist the DM.

Not new at this point, but a relatively extensive reflection on the history of the Warhammer 40,000 gamelines with respect to "satire" and fascist depiction.

Linked here for future reference.

https://timcolwill.com/40K.html

#FridayFaction: Judges Guild’s Bob & Bill – A Cautionary Tale—A review of the memoir by Bill Owen about his time with Judges Guild in the early years.

http://rlyehreviews.blogspot.com/2023/02/friday-faction-judges-guilds-bob-bill.html

#reviewsfromrlyeh #rpgreview #rpgreviews #rpg #RPGhistory #JudgesGuild #JG
#ttrpg #ttrpgs

I wrote a second article on the OGL crisis today, talking about the news of the last week and a half: leak confirmation, industry responses, new FRPGs, new licenses, and finally a totally inadequate response from Wizards of the Coast themselves.

https://www.rpg.net/columns/advanced-designers-and-dragons/advanced-designers-and-dragons75.phtml

Wow, first the D&D Beyond server crashed when word got out that unsubscribing was a good way to let WotC know of your extreme displeasure with their arrogant and grasping "OGL".

Now, Paizo's web site has collapsed following word that their working with third-party publishers on a new OGL called ORC.

If you need a metric that VAST numbers of people have been alienated by WotC's corpocratic turn, that's it.

A potentially shattering day for the RPG industry with alleged leaks suggesting that WotC is going to attempt what's been considered impossible: a revocation of the OGL.

I wrote a bit this morning on what it means, and why it's important to consider even if the leaks prove false.

https://www.patreon.com/posts/76837939

Every January 1st (or the Monday thereafter) I put together a report on what's been going on in the roleplaying industry in the last year. Here's 2022.

https://www.rpg.net/columns/advanced-designers-and-dragons/advanced-designers-and-dragons73.phtml

TL;DR: some regrettable passings; AI; COVID; increased megacorp vibes from WotC; a roleplaying legend is knighted; a kickstarter slowdown; more bad actors (and why it's important to talk about them); and the return of the 80s and revamp of the OSR. (Whew!)

Reviews from R’lyeh Post-Christmas Dozen 2022—The twelve choice games, RPGs, and game books selected from the last year.

http://rlyehreviews.blogspot.com/2023/01/reviews-from-rlyeh-post-christmas-dozen.html

#reviewsfromrlyeh #rpgreview #rpgreviews #rpg #UKrpg #RPGhistory
#TTRPG #TTRPGS

Word is that Kim Mohan passed this morning. He was the editor in chief of Dragon from #49 to #114, an era that many considered the Golden Age of the magazine and also edited crucial Golden-Age TSR products such as Gary Gygax's Unearthed Arcana and Saga of Old City. He also authored his own Wilderness Survival Guide.

After a brief stay at New Infinities he returned to TSR and Wizards and kept working in an editorial role through his retirement in 2013. Truly one of the giants.

I released a partial index of GDW's Challenge magazine today.

https://www.erzo.org/shannon/gaming/indices/traveller/challenge.html

My goal was to work through all the #Traveller material for my #RPGHistory on the game, but along the way I also indexed all the other GDW games except Twilight: 2000 (which was just too extensive).

Hope to finish it some day, but for now #Traveller, #2300AD, #Space1889, and #DarkConspiracy fans should find it useful.

Today I published a history & index of GDW's Imperial Lines newsletter (1992-1993), including the long-lost fifth issue.

It turned out to be not particularly useful for me for the purpose of working on my #Traveller #RPGHistory but there's some nice gaming content to make up for it.

Issues #1-2 are available on Far Future's MegaTraveller CD-ROM. I'd hope the other issues will become available someday too, but that's of course up to Far Future.

https://www.erzo.org/shannon/gaming/indices/traveller/imperiallinesv1.html

Friday Faction—Dice Men—A review of Dice Men: The Origin Story of Games Workshop by Sir Ian Livingstone and Steve Jackson, published by Unbound.

http://rlyehreviews.blogspot.com/2022/12/friday-factiondice-men.html

#reviewsfromrlyeh #rpgreview #rpgreviews #rpg #rpgHistory #UKrpg
#TTRPG #TTRPGS

State of the Company addresses feed #RPGHistory

Here's a look at the first for 2022, on the State of Mongoose:
https://forum.mongoosepublishing.com/threads/state-of-the-mongoose-2022.123719/

For me the intriguing bit was hearing how Matthew is working to transition the company into what sounds like a workers' collective.

Of course, I loved seeing the preview of #Traveller as well, since I'm working on a history of the Traveller RPG at the moment (for publication by Mongoose, of course).

H/t to @SteveG

@fedithom For sources on my history writing:

The most common source is interviews.

Designer notes, introductions, and forewords are also strong sources, though somewhat less common.

Industry news and reviews are sometimes sources as well.

Generally, the older the source, the better. Newer sources fill in gaps left by older sources. Questions to principles fill in gaps left by all sources.