You know what really chaps my business? When people report about the OGL as if “OGL” means “that system that WotC released under the OGL and makes available under additional rules as the D20 System.” The OGL is just a set of terms! Under which anyone can distribute content! Get
Author: Mike Sugarbaker
Human Head ups the Academy
Lo those many months ago we reported that Human Head Studios, the video game company that brought you Rune, was starting a paper-games division to be led by Matt Forbeck. Their first product, The Redhurst Academy of Magic, has been announced for a July release. It’s a fat hardcover and
Eden gets Army of Darkness license
The press release says the license covers roleplaying and card games, and then says “the game” will come out in October, without saying which one. I suppose this means the RPG, although the card game appears to be another Abduction clone like HACK, so maybe they’ll bust it out pretty
End of a bubblicious era: WotC loses Pokemon license
The open letter to fans from Wizards CEO Chuck Huebner says that WotC’s proposal “to manufacture and distribute the Ruby & Sapphire releases was not accepted.” (Ruby and Sapphire are the two latest versions of the original Pokémon game for the Game Boy.) Three already-booked expansions will hit this year,
More Star Wars cards that don’t suck quite so much
The new-model WotC Star Wars TCG, that launched so auspiciously with box shots of Anakin and freakin’ Jar Jar, got better with the New Hope expansion. In the blessed absence of Episode 3, it stands to get much better by the end of the year with the Battle of Yavin
One of those times we link to a web game
Hey, look! A free game that’s as good a simple, turn-based board game as you’ll find online! Yeah, it’s all a big Lego advertisement, but whatever. If they’re supporting game development that’s this smart, I’ll go out and buy a little. Do watch your billable hours if you go to
Elmore recovering nicely after heart attack last week
As a friend put it in an IM: “Dude, Elmore almost ate it.” That might be a little strong, but GamingReport says the painter and illustrator Larry Elmore, whose name is almost synonymous with Dungeons & Dragons artwork, had to be flown to a Louisville hospital after collapsing during his
Monte’s big adventure: Arcana Unearthed
By some miracle we haven’t reported on this yet – probably because the title Arcana Unearthed: The Malhavoc Handbook kinda “buries the lead,” as they say in our country. ‘Cause, see, what it really is, is much more interesting than it sounds. It’s essentially the Player’s Handbook, OGL-happy and free
The inevitable return of Macho Women with Guns
Mongoose will release a D20 Modern take on the old Macho Women With Guns RPG in time for Gen Con (click “Read more” for the details). I remember always wondering over this one on the Games of Berkeley shelves back when I was a kid. Of course, I didn’t ever
Look, a monkey! I mean a helicopter!
First preview (that I’m aware of) of the MechWarrior aerial expansion Death From Above. I doubt we will post too many of the huge volume of DFA previews with which we will no doubt be buffeted between now and June, so if your sole connection to the world is OgreCave,
Spongebob CCG details, sort of
Upper Deck’s SpongeBob SquarePants CCG will debut in April, and expansions are already planned for June and October. It’s alleged that the game will likely appeal to older fans of the show as well as kids, and Lord knows, Gregory Horror Show points to UD’s skills at simple and elegant
Delta Green d20 finally surfaces
… insert Deep One joke here. At a price point of $35 in April. Hardbound? Doesn’t say. Given the supply problems with the CoC d20 core book, will this still do well (meaning, will it stand alone from the core book sufficiently to make it as a d20 worldbook)? [UPDATE:
‘Elric Saga’ optioned by Universal
On the other hand, this story serves to remind us that most big-studio options are never produced, and we’ll be seeing a lot of crappy bandwagon-jumping sword-and-sorcery pics soon.
MechWarrior soon to be a medium-to-major motion picture?
It’s currently the top item, dated 3-27-03 for some reason, on this news page from one of the producers of last year’s deliberately campy CGI-fest Eight Legged Freaks. “I’m crazy about the material and this is a real passion project for me,” says Dean Devlin in an annoying Flash-text page
Mongoose releases book of vile secretions
Mongoose Publishing‘s Encyclopaedia Arcane: Nymphology has been released on what it seems to be using as the industry’s equivalent to straight-to-video, RPGNow. Written by the author of the Slayer’s Guide to Rules Lawyers and Female Gamers, this eldritch tome promises rules for prestige classes including “Mystic Pimp, Seduction Mage and,