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Gaming News Update podcast – Free RPG Day (KublaCon 2012)

Friday, June 8th, 2012

We’re getting the last bits of KublaCon 2012 out of our system at OgreCave by posting a podcast episode about Free RPG Day 2012. Since it’s coming up in just over a week on Saturday, June 16, you may be wondering what to expect from the annual event (now in its sixth year!). In this Gaming News Update interview, Aldo Ghiozzi of Impressions Advertising & Marketing (and Free RPG Day) talks about the influence of Kickstarter on this year’s giveaway offerings, how Queen of the Demonweb Pits nearly got reprinted, melting candy dice, and more. Nearly twenty companies – from Catalyst Game Labs and Fantasy Flight Games, to Goodman Games, Paizo Publishing, and Wizards of the Coast – are contributing free goodies this year. Wouldn’t you like to hear more?

Free RPG offerings Don’t forget to visit OgreCave’s Facebook page to check out our KublaCon 2012 image gallery, and while you’re there, become a fan of OgreCave to hear everything that echoes forth from the Cave. Also, we’ve been podcasting off and on for quite a while now – check out our other KublaCon interviews, or scroll back to even older episodes we barely even remember anymore.

Posted in Conventions, Dungeons & Dragons, Geek Culture, Industry, Interviews, LARP, Pathfinder, Roleplaying Games | No Comments »

2012 Origins Award winners announced

Monday, June 4th, 2012

Gamers lucky enough to attend the 2012 Origins Game Fair this past Saturday got to see the winners in person (and apparently some chair balancing and other mischief from James Ernest). From all accounts, there was much celebrating and revelry in Columbus, OH, and the Calliope statue went home with many deserving companies. Our congrats to all of this year’s winners! (listed below)

The 38th Annual Origins Awards Nominees and Winners

Best Roleplaying Game
Abney Park’s Airship Pirates – Cubicle 7 Entertainment – “Captain” Robert Brown, Peter Cakebread, Andrew Peregrine, Ian Sturrock, Ken Walton
Arcanis – Paradigm Concepts – Eric Wiener, Pedro Barrenechea, and Henry Lopez
Ashen Stars – Pelgrane Press – Robin D. Laws
Leverage: The RPG – Margaret Weis Productions – Cam Banks, Rob Donoghue, and Clark Valentine
The One Ring – Cubicle 7 Entertainment – Amado Angulo, Marco Maggi, Dominic McDowall-Thomas, Francesco Nepitello
WINNER: Arcanis – Paradigm Concepts

Best Roleplaying Supplement or Adventure
Bookhounds of London (Trail of Cthulhu) – Pelgrane Press – Kenneth H. Hite
Dragon Age, Set 2 (Dragon Age) – Green Ronin Publishing – Steve Kenson, T.S. Luikart, Chris Pramas, and Jeff Tidball
The Great Clans (L5R 4th Edition) – AEG – Shawn Carman, Rob Hobart, Brian Yoon
Monster Vault (D&D 4E) – Wizards of the Coast – Rodney Thompson, Logan Bonner, & Matthew Sernett
Shadows over Scotland (Call of Cthulhu) – Cubicle 7 Entertainment – Stuart Boon
WINNER: Shadows over Scotland (Call of Cthulhu) – Cubicle 7 Entertainment

Best Board Game
Conquest of Nerath – Wizards of the Coast – Richard Baker, Mons Johnson, & Peter Lee
Automobile – Mayfair Games – Martin Wallace
Hibernia – Closet Nerd – Eric Vogel
High Noon Saloon – Slugfest Games – Cliff Bohm & Geoff Bottone
Pastiche – Gryphon Games – Sean D. MacDonald
WINNER: Conquest of Nerath – Wizards of the Coast

Best Traditional Card Game
Cthulhu Gloom – Atlas Games – Keith Baker
NUTS! – Wildfire LLC – Matthew Grau
Red Dragon Inn 3 – Slugfest Games – Geoff Bottone, Jeff Morrow, and Cliff Bohm
Star Trek Deck Building Game – BANDAI – Alex Bykov
Struggle for Catan – Mayfair Games – Klaus Teuber
WINNER: NUTS! – Wildfire LLC

Best Family, Party or Children’s Game
BEARS! – Fireside Games – Anne-Marie De Witt
Faux-Cabulary – Out of the Box Publishing – Matthew Nuccio
Get Bit! – Mayday Games – Dave Chalker
Scavengers – Zombie State Games – John Werner
Space Mission – Schmidt Spiele – Matthew Worden
WINNER: Get Bit! – Mayday Games

Best Miniatures Figure or Line
Forge Father Huscarl – Mantic
Giant Sized X-Men Heroclix – Wizkids/NECA
St. Luke – Dark Age
Storm Strider – Privateer Press
Zombie Wedding Party – Studio Miniatures
WINNER: Storm Strider – Privateer Press

Best Miniatures Rules or Expansion
Battletech: The Wars of Reaving – Catalyst Game Labs – Ben H. Rome, Herbert A. Beas, Paul Sjardijn
Carnevale: The Miniatures Game – Vesper-on Games – David Esbri
Light Bikes – Glory Games – J. P. Trostle
Street Fighter Starter Set – Wizkids/NECA – Wizkids/NECA
Tomorrow’s War – Osprey Publishing/Ambush Alley Games – Shawn Carpenter, Robby Carpenter
Warmachine: Wrath – Privateer Press – David Carl, Bryan Cutler, Doug Seacat, Jason Soles, Matt Wilson
WINNER: Battletech: The Wars of Reaving – Catalyst Game Labs

Best Collectible Card Game or Expansion
Legend of the Five Rings: Second City – AEG
Magic the Gathering : Innistrad – Wizards of the Coast
Pokemon Black & White: Emerging Powers – Nintendo
World of Warcraft: Dungeon Decks – Cryptozoic Entertainment
World of Warcraft: The Throne of Tides – Cryptozoic Entertainment
WINNER: Magic the Gathering : Innistrad – Wizards of the Coast

Best Game Accessory
Dungeon Tiles: The Witchlight Fens – Wizards of the Coast – Peter Lee & Jason Engle
Dice Earrings – GameScience – GameScience
Dungeon Masters Keep – Gale Force Nine – Gale Force Nine
Munchkin Zombies 2: Armed & Dangerous – Steve Jackson Games – Steve Jackson
Shadowrun Runner’s Toolkit – Catalyst Game Labs – Elissa Carey, Rusty Childers, Cole Davidson, Mark Dynna, Adam Jury, Robyn King-Nitschke, Adam Large, Drew Littell, Elizabeth Nold, Brandie Tarvin, Peter Taylor, Malik Toms, Michael Wich, Russell Zimmerman
WINNER: Shadowrun Runner’s Toolkit – Catalyst Game Labs

Best Game-Related Publication
Cliffourd the Big Red God – Atlas Games – Kenneth H. Hite & Andy Hopp
The Kobold Guide to Board Game Design – Open Design LLC – Mike Selinker with Rob Daviau, James Ernest, Matt Forbeck, Richard Garfield, Dave Howell, Steve Jackson, John Kovalic, Richard C. Levy, Andrew Looney, Michelle Nephew, Paul Peterson, Lisa Steenson, Jeff Tidball, Teeuwynn Woodruff, and Dale Yu
Designers & Dragons – Mongoose Publishing – Shannon Appelcline
Untold Adventures – Wizards of the Coast – Alan Dean Foster, Mike Resnick, Kevin J. Anderson, John Shirley, Jay Lake, Sarah Zettel, and many more.
Everything I Need to Know I Learned From Dungeons & Dragons – Wizards of the Coast – Shelley Mazzanoble
WINNER: The Kobold Guide to Board Game Design – Open Design LLC

Best Historical Board Game
Strike of the Eagle – Academy Games -Brian Bennett, Uwe Eickert, Robert Zak
Test of Fire: Bull Run 1861 – Mayfair Games – Martin Wallace
Band of Brothers: Screaming Eagles – Worthington Games – Jim Krohn
Lost Battles – Fifth Column Games – Philip Sabin
No Retreat! The Russian Front – GMT – Carl Paradis
World War II Barbarossa 1941 – Zvesda – Konstantin Krivenko
WINNER: Strike of the Eagle – Academy Games

Best Historical Miniatures Rules or Expansion
SAGA – Gripping Beast – Studio Tomahawk
Waterloo – Warhammer Historical – Mark Latham
Flames of War: Cassino – Battlefront Miniatures Ltd. – Battlefront Miniatures Ltd.
Command Combat: Civil War 1861 – Bandwagon Books – Jeff McArthur
Force on Force, 2nd Edition – Osprey Publishing/Ambush Alley Games – Shawn Carpenter, Robby Carpenter
Hail Caesar! – Warlord Games – Rick Priestley
WINNER: Flames of War: Cassino – Battlefront Miniatures Ltd.

Best Historical Miniatures Figure or Line
Bolt Action WW2 – Warlord Games
Italian Wars – Wargames Foundry
Sudan 1881-1885 – Perry Miniatures
Napoleon at War – Man at War
Tropic Lightning Vietnam War – Battlefront Miniatures Ltd.
Anglo Zulu War – Empress Miniatures
WINNER: Bolt Action WW2 – Warlord Games

Best Play by Mail or Correspondance Game
Continental Rails – Production R Danard – John Van De Graaf
Hyborian War – Reality Simulations Inc -Edward Schoonover
Phoenix: Beyond the Stellar Empire – KJC Games
Cruenti Dei – Sardarthion Press – Thom Ryng
Heroic Fantasy – Flying Buffalo Inc – Rick Loomis and Steve MacGregor
WINNER: Heroic Fantasy – Flying Buffalo Inc

Posted in Board Games, Card Games, Dungeons & Dragons, Game Design, Geek Culture, Industry, Miniatures Games, Pathfinder, Roleplaying Games | 1 Comment »

A few Kickstarters to kick at

Wednesday, April 11th, 2012

These days, everyone’s trying to fund their game projects with Kickstarter. Heck, it’s the hottest topic of discussion on the convention seminar circuit: take your project to the masses and let them decide if you’ll be able to publish it. Well, masses – here’s a few items that have come up on our radar:

Metamorphosis Alpha Roleplaying Game by Signal Fire Studios. Though we originally heard MA would return as a D&D4E setting, the new plan is to release a standalone 160-page RPG to relaunch the classic property. With 17 days left, this project is almost 50% of the way toward its $10k goal, so if you’re interested, check it out.
Got It! by Tom Jolly: a fun, sometimes frantic math game he’s trying to get back in print. We reviewed it here a while back. Got It! is nearly 30% funded with 24 days left, and with a modest goal of $3k, we’re hoping it succeeds.
Zpocalypse: An Epic Zombie Survival Board Game by Greenbrier Games. This detailed board game will have plastic figures, an interchangeable board, and is already nearly 400% funded! Jump in if you want to lend a hand (or get some backer rewards).
Dwimmermount: An Old School Fantasy RPG Megadungeon by James Maliszewski. Already 350% funded, backers of this epic dungeon crawl are continuing to unlock designer notes, an additional level to explore, and more. The challenging dungeon, long hinted at on Grognardia, will be available in versions compatible with Labyrinth Lord or the Adventurer Conqueror King System, both descended from the original fantasy RPG. This drive ends this weekend, so if you want in, climb aboard now.

Posted in Board Games, Card Games, Dungeons & Dragons, Roleplaying Games | 5 Comments »

2012 Origins Awards nominees announced

Thursday, March 22nd, 2012

Retailer attendees at last week’s GAMA Trade Show made their choices, and now we’ve received word: the 2012 Origins Award nominees are officially up. As usual, the awards ceremony will be announced during the 2012 Origins Game Fair, Saturday, June 2, 2012 in Columbus, OH, and Origins attendees will vote for the winners. And now, on with the list!

The 38th Annual Origins Awards Nominees

Posted in Board Games, Card Games, Conventions, Dungeons & Dragons, Geek Culture, Industry, Miniatures Games, Pathfinder, Roleplaying Games, Uncategorized | No Comments »

So I guess there’s also gonna be an old D&D

Friday, January 20th, 2012

Yesterday Wizards announced they’ll be reprinting the 1st Edition AD&D core books in new collectible (in the pre-Magic sense of the word, thanks) editions this April. We can only assume that the choice of reprinting this particular edition, rather than the white box or something else you can’t readily find in free boxes on the curb, was chosen for reasons of rights and convenience on Wizards’ part. It would certainly speak volumes about the supposed commitment to embracing all editions in D&D Next if some other reprints got the same treatment.

EDIT Mike is a jerk: it makes a certain amount of sense that this is a reprint of the last major edition of D&D that Gary Gygax was personally invested in, since the books are a benefit for the Gygax Memorial Fund. Okay then.

Posted in Dungeons & Dragons, Uncategorized | 5 Comments »

So I guess there’s gonna be a new D&D or something

Monday, January 9th, 2012

Taste the excitement. For those who missed, D&D Next (that’s all they’re calling it thus far) has been announced, and an open playtest set to begin in the spring can be yours if you go click on one of a selection of shiny red buttons. Here’s what I had to say on the Twits:

I don’t envy WotC right now. They can’t possibly do it right for most people, and most people will say so.
All WotC’s horses and all WotC’s men want to put the fractured play base together again. (4E didn’t start the breaks, but did worsen ’em.)
And amazingly, they have something resembling clear messaging about just that! It’s all over this Mearls interview.
The danger now lies in how that openness comes across. 4E’s strength was you could come in totally cold and actually have a successful game.
A D&D-for-everyone has a hard job if it wants to be that accessible. (As I’ve written lately, I think Risk Legacy can be a guide here.)

On the “D&D Next” topic: this is significant. Everyone on Twitter, and I’m sure other places as well, is screaming about “5E” but no one at Wizards is saying the number 5. That’s because (turn back now if you fear rampant speculation) Wizards wants “editions” to go away. They create confusion amongst consumers. Wizards doesn’t much care about our nerdfights – there will always be nerdfights – but once it got so bad that Pathfinder actually made a dent in the consciousness of consumers outside the nerd bubble, that got their attention. By and large, the mass of D&D players (the ones who get it at Walmart-or-whatever) don’t even notice independent games, and certainly not fantasy ones; Wizards would like it very much if those folks never notice those games again.

And as far as listening to your fans… it can be done right, and it can be done wrong. For now, I’ll call it a good thing that it’s going to be done at all.

Posted in Dungeons & Dragons, Industry, Pathfinder, Roleplaying Games | 3 Comments »

OgreCave reviews: ScrumBrawl, D&D Shadow Plague

Tuesday, September 6th, 2011

To welcome you back from the long weekend, we’ve posted two new reviews today. First, Dennis has taken a look at a new take on “fantasy sports” in the form of VicTim Games’ ScrumBrawl. This fast-paced arena sport board game pits fantasy beasts against each other in such a deadly game, the ball might even explode! Then Daron clues us in to the first graphic novel reviewed at the Cave, Dungeons & Dragons: Shadow Plague, Volume 1. Though the comic brings certain clichés back to the table, Daron still thought we should know what Shadow Plague has to offer. Have a look – we’ll have more reviews dished up shortly, so check back early and often.

Posted in Board Games, Dungeons & Dragons, Reviews, Roleplaying Games | 1 Comment »

2011 ENnie Award winners announced

Saturday, August 6th, 2011

Marking the midpoint of Gen Con Indy for the past several years, the ENnie Awards were held again last night at the convention. For the second time in a row, Paizo Publishing swept the awards, coming away with nine gold awards, including Best Production Values, Best Setting, Best Supplement, Best Adventure, Fan’s Choice for Best Publisher (Wizards of the Coast took the silver), and Product of the Year (for the Pathfinder: Advanced Player’s Guide). This year’s winners also included multiple nods to The Dresden Files RPG, which won for Best Writing, Best Rules, Best New Game, and Best Game, and took second for Product of the Year. Wizards of the Coast grabbed a gold award as well, for its Castle Ravenloft Boardgame, and a few silvers. As always, OgreCave congratulates all the winners and nominees – merely appearing on a list of such formidable products is quite an achievement.

Posted in Dungeons & Dragons, Game Design, Geek Culture, Industry, Pathfinder, Roleplaying Games | No Comments »

History repeats and expands itself at RPG.net

Thursday, August 4th, 2011

There’s an item of interest over at RPGnet, and it brings attention to a massive research project many gamers will be interested in. Shannon Applecline’s Designers & Dragons: The Column launched today, bringing back his detailed histories of various game companies – from Atlas Games to Wizards of the Coast – that first appeared in his A Brief History of Game columns. Obviously the new column is primarily timed to give some love to Designers & Dragons, Shannon’s book coming soon from Mongoose Publishing, which compiles and greatly expands his old columns. However, in the months ahead the new column will expand its historical coverage to encompass a wider range of companies. Keep an eye out for these – it’s often surprising to hear how your favorite publishers got their starts, or how they faded away.

Posted in Board Games, Card Games, Dungeons & Dragons, Game Design, Industry, Miniatures Games, Roleplaying Games | No Comments »

2011 Origins Award winners announced

Monday, June 27th, 2011

As is the way of such things, the 37th Annual Origins Award winners were announced this weekend at the Origins Game Fair in Columbus, OH. As many roleplayers expected, Evil Hat’s Dresden Files RPG did very well this year, winning both Best RPG and Best RPG Supplement. Wizards of the Coast’s Castle Ravenloft took the prize as Best Board Game, while Back to the Future: The Card Game from Looney Labs won the Best Traditional Card Game category, and Zombie Dice by Steve Jackson Games won Best Family, Party or Children’s Game. Click through to the full list of winners below for more details.

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Posted in Board Games, Card Games, Conventions, Dungeons & Dragons, Geek Culture, Industry, Miniatures Games, Roleplaying Games | 3 Comments »

Gaming News Update – KublaCon 2011 with Paizo Publishing and Free RPG Day

Friday, June 17th, 2011

At long last, we’ve posted our two interviews from KublaCon 2011. Now you can listen to each Gaming News Update episode in glorious… um, audio. First up is Jason Bulmahn of Paizo Publishing – the master of Pathfinder tells us all about the newly-released Ultimate Magic, the upcoming Ultimate Combat, and mentions other projects, including the recently announced Pathfinder prepainted miniatures from WizKids.

Next, you’d better get pumped up for Free RPG Day, because the fifth anniversary of the event is tomorrow! To that end, Aldo Ghiozzi of Impressions and Free RPG Day tells us about this year’s goodies, the best ways to support and enjoy the event, and a tie-in with this year’s Origins Game Fair (next week!).

Be sure to visit OgreCave’s Facebook page to check out our KublaCon image gallery. While you’re there, become a fan – we’ll be giving away a few prizes this summer, but if you’re not a fan, you get nuthin’.

Posted in Board Games, Card Games, Contests, Conventions, Dungeons & Dragons, Geek Culture, Industry, Interviews, Miniatures Games, Pathfinder, Roleplaying Games | No Comments »

WizKids to produce pre-painted Pathfinder miniatures

Wednesday, May 25th, 2011

Paizo Publishing and WizKids Games made the announcement today that WizKids will create a set of pre-painted miniatures for use with Paizo’s Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Beginner Box, due October 2011. Whether this experiment will lead to more pre-painted figures remains to be seen. Many gamers feel this partnership is just in time to pick up where Wizards of the Coast left off, after the Dungeons & Dragons publisher decided to discontinue its D&D Miniatures sets.
[UPDATE: New press release copied below, with FAQ]

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Posted in Dungeons & Dragons, Miniatures Games, Roleplaying Games | No Comments »

2011 Origins Award nominees announced

Thursday, April 14th, 2011

It’s that time again: this year’s Origins Award nominees have been announced. The shortlists in categories that range from Best RPG and Best Board Game to Best Miniatures Rules are posted, and feature many of the past year’s most popular game releases. The winners will be decided by attendees at this year’s Origins Game Fair (June 22-26), but until then we can look over the lists (below) and make our own selections.
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Posted in Board Games, Card Games, Dungeons & Dragons, Game Design, Industry, Miniatures Games, Roleplaying Games | No Comments »

Former TSR Art Director Jim Roslof dies at 64

Sunday, March 20th, 2011

Yesterday the world lost another major influence on Dungeons & Dragons as we know it: Jim Roslof, former Art Director for TSR. In the early 1980s, Roslof, then a staff artist at TSR alongside Erol Otus, was promoted to Art Director. He then set a new course for the look & feel of D&D products by seeking out and hiring now-legendary fantasy artists including Clyde Caldwell, Jeff Easley, Larry Elmore, Jim Holloway, and Keith Parkinson. However, Roslof is probably best known for creating the cover art of Keep on the Borderlands (pictured here), the famed adventure module included with the Dungeons & Dragons Basic Set. For many roleplayers, this module (which sold over one million copies) was their first taste of a wonderful new hobby.

The crew of OgreCave wishes the best to the Roslof family.

Posted in Dungeons & Dragons, Geek Culture, Industry, Roleplaying Games | 1 Comment »

NBC's Community takes D&D for a joyride

Saturday, February 5th, 2011

If you haven’t experienced NBC’s Community, now’s the time to glue your eyes to some streaming video and meet the students of Greendale Community College. If you act soon (you’ve got a few weeks, don’t panic), you can drop by the NBC site and watch this week’s new episode, , wherein the show’s characters all take part some old school D&D. Don’t worry – knowing the characters is unnecessary. Just jump in and watch comedian Joel McHale as the wisecracking Jeff, and Chevy Chase as… well, a power-gaming cheater. It should be apparent how painfully amusing the episode’s D&D bashing will get from Troy’s quote early on: “Shouldn’t there be a board, or some pieces, or something to Jenga?” A great, hilarious episode for role-players and non-gamers alike (though possibly not for kids – fair warning).

Posted in Dungeons & Dragons, Geek Culture, Roleplaying Games | 4 Comments »