At this point, it doesn’t seem like WotC needs to reload and shoot their other foot, but they still could. We’ll see.
(Press releases copied below)
Text of Free League Publishing Press Release below:
Today, we can announce the development of two new Open Game Licenses (OGL). One is a rework of the Year Zero Engine OGL, the other a new license specifically designed for third-party modules for the upcoming Dragonbane fantasy RPG.
The work on these new licenses was initiated last year, but was intensified after the news regarding the update of Wizards of the Coasts’ OGL v1.0, on which the previous Year Zero Engine (YZE) license was based. The new YZE OGL will be fully our own.
The Year Zero Engine in various iterations has been used in most of our RPGs in recent years, including Mutant: Year Zero, Coriolis, Tales From the Loop, Forbidden Lands, ALIEN, Vaesen, Twilight: 2000, Blade Runner RPG, and the upcoming The Walking Dead Universe RPG. The YZE is an accessible, fast, and adaptable rules framework that encourages story-focused and player-driven playstyles.
The new Year Zero Engine OGL is designed to be easy to understand and use for creators. It will give creators an irrevocable, worldwide, and royalty-free right to use Year Zero Engine Standard Reference Document (YZE SRD) and freely publish their own roleplaying material based on it.
Alongside the new YZE OGL, the YZE SRD itself is being given a major overhaul and update, based on the developments of the Year Zero Engine in recent years. The new SRD will include more rules variants and add rules for chases, vehicles, travel, and magic.
Beside the YZE OGL, we will also release a third-party license for the upcoming Dragonbane RPG, which was successfully Kickstarted last year. This license allows creators to freely publish RPG supplements explicitly compatible with Dragonbane, and to place the special “A Module for Dragonbane” logo on the front cover.
The Dragonbane license is intended for third-party supplements for the game, not new standalone games, and thus does not have an SRD. This license is similar to the Free League Workshop community content program on DrivethruRPG, but allows creators to freely choose where to share or sell Dragonbane modules and without paying any royalties to anyone.
Both of our new OGLs will be released in the next few weeks.
Unrelated to the two new OGLs, we currently publishe two product lines for 5E using WotC’s v1.0 OGL: The Lord of the Rings Roleplaying (based on the original game The One Ring) and Ruins of Symbaroum (based on Symbaroum). Based on the latest announcement from WotC, it seems like these two game lines can continue largely unaffected even after their updated OGL, but we continue to monitor the situation as more information becomes available.
Text of Atlas Games Press Release below:
Atlas Games & ORC License, For the Horde!
Published by: John Nephew 01/13/2023
You’ve probably heard about the Open Game License controversy. In brief, after 23 years of consensus over what the OGL is and how it works, Wizards of the Coast appears to have planned to revoke and replace it with something else (an “OGL1.1”) going forward. Linda Codega at io9/Gizmodo broke the news, and they have been staying abreast of the story as it develops.
As we wrote in an update to Planegea backers, though Planegea is published under the OGL1.0a and the SRD5.1, we do not see this having any effect on our delivery of rewards for that campaign.
But suddenly a lot of people are anxious about what the OGL means, after relying on it for 23 years. In the face of this uncertainty, a group of publishers led by Paizo Publishing and Azora Law are working on the Open RPG Creative (ORC) License, designed to serve the needs of the RPG community and to be assigned to a non-profit entity rather than a single corporation and its potential future changes in ownership and agendas. We have great confidence in Azora Law (they handled our trademark registrations for Atlas Games® and Once Upon A Time®), and a long history of collaborating with many of the game companies involved.
Atlas Games supports the ORC. We have already released the WaRP System SRD under the OGL 1.0a, for Over the Edge; we expect to also release it under the ORC License as soon as it is finalized.
Going forward, we are considering other RPG rules and content that we can release under the ORC. We have long had internal discussions about how to open up licensing of Ars Magica. We will look closely at the ORC License as the means to do so. Nothing is firmly decided, but we intend to deliberate in public and in conversation with the game’s community as we move forward. And we will be looking to the community for help with the work of making it happen.
]]>A new edition of D&D was inevitable – as long as profits must be made, new books and revisions will come along every few years. Except, One D&D, the temporary title Wizards of the Coast has given the upcoming 6th Edition, sounds like it will be moving toward a subscription-based model, using D&D Beyond (ensuring its success is the entire reason WotC pulled all PDFs of their products from the internet a while back). Additionally, Hasbro, parent company of WotC, has decided the Dungeons and Dragons brand is undermonetized, and that seems to be the real source of trouble.
Last week, a new Open Game License – version 1.1, which Wizards has been working on to accompany One D&D – was leaked to Gizmodo. This new OGL has several troubling provisions third party publishers would be required to comply with in order to create One D&D products:
The OGL was originally designed by WotC in 2000, where Ryan Dancey, then a VP in charge of the D&D brand, hoped the OGL would take the support product load off WotC’s back. When Wizards acquired D&D, TSR (the original publisher of D&D) had been smothering and going bankrupt under the weight of all the products it was producing (among other issues). The hope was to encourage fans and other companies to create support products and build a larger community for the game – a task it succeeded in beyond anyone’s wildest dreams. (By the way, Dancey is still championing OGL 1.0a: As of this writing, Dancey has received over 11,000 signatures on a petition for WotC/Hasbro to publicly declare they will not revoke or impair the OGL 1.0a.)
Some parting thoughts:
This EFF article is making the rounds right now. It states the OGL is not necessary to publish D&D compatible books, and is just a list of rights to give up to WotC to avoid being sued.
For most users, accepting this license almost certainly means you have fewer rights to use elements of Dungeons and Dragons than you would otherwise. For example, absent this agreement, you have a legal right to create a work using noncopyrightable elements of D&D or making fair use of copyrightable elements and to say that that work is compatible with Dungeons and Dragons.
[…]
The primary benefit is that you know under what terms Wizards of the Coast will choose not to sue you, so you can avoid having to prove your fair use rights or engage in an expensive legal battle over copyrightability in court.
Many companies have reacted to WotC’s OGL 1.1 shenanigans by offering their own OGLs for their own games. Here’s just a few of them:
Reportedly, a flood of DnD Beyond users have canceled their subscriptions in protest, demanding a guarantee the OGL 1.0a will continue to be a “perpetual, worldwide, non-exclusive license”. Third party creators and influencers are driving this trend, and show no signs of backing down. Wizards has made a statement implying they have reconsidered, and only wanted the ability to protect against inappropriate use of their content (which they already had, but never mind). WotC also said the protestors will claim to have won, but that WotC also “won” by hearing from the fans – but until a final license is released, it’s anyone’s guess what those coastal wizards will do next.
]]>The Award committee also announced plans for the Diana Jones Emerging Designer Award starting next year, “intended to amplify the voices of up-and-coming designers.” The new award will include a free GenCon badge and hotel room, as well as help to showcase the winning designer’s work at the convention.
Scroll down for the full list of honorees, from the Diana Jones Award website.
Diana Jones Award 2020 Honorees
]]>The Diana Jones Award committee wishes to recognize the following individuals as excellent examples of this year’s award:
Omari Akil
Omari Akil is a North Carolina based game designer, content creator, and gaming community advocate. He is the lead designer and co-founder at Board Game Brothas, a contributor on the Tabletop Backer Party media team, and a leadership team member of the Pathways Fellowship (a support and mentoring program for marginalized game designers).Maurice Broaddus
With a dozen novels and nearly 100 short stories in print, his gaming work includes writing for the Marvel Super-Heroes, Leverage, and Firefly role-playing games and the Storium online game. He’s worked as a consultant for Watch Dogs 2 and Dungeons & Dragons. His tie-in fiction includes stories in Vampire 20th Anniversary Edition: The Dark Ages (Onyx Path), Pugmire (Onyx Path), Powered Up! (Green Ronin) and Knaves: A Blackguard (Outland Entertainment).Allie Bustion
Allie Bustion is an independent and freelance narrative and tabletop game designer, working for companies like Wizards of the Coast, Paizo, Guildhall Studios, and Green Ronin as well as their own projects. Much of their work touches on harder topics, such as marginalization, societal privilege, grief, and loss, while also shining a light on things that bring joy, like friends and family, community, and hope. Not everything has to stay dark forever.Tanya DePass
Tanya is the founder of the non-profit I Need Diverse Games, which sends marginalized developers to the Game Developers Conference, with passes provided by the GDC Scholarship program. She’s a former games journalist, partnered Twitch broadcaster, Diversity Liaison & Programming coordinator for OrcaCon and GaymerX. She’s also a RPG dev & editor, with credits at Monte Cook Games, Paizo, WotC and Green Ronin. She’s also a founding cast member and producer of Rivals of Waterdeep, an Actual Play stream on the WotC official Twitch channel. A recent accomplishment is that during the George Floyd protests, Tanya ran a charity stream that raised $140k for The Bail Project in a single day and led a team that raised almost $350K total for the cause.Jerry Grayson
Jerry D. Grayson, who is this Autobot, and what does he do?Jerry has designed and published games since 2002. Flattered that others find his small efforts amusing, his proudest industry works are GODSEND Agenda, HELLAS: Worlds of Sun and Stone, and ATLANTIS: The Second Age. When not creating games that have all uppercase letters in the title, Jerry works on becoming a better human being through acts of civility and kindness to others.
Shareef Jackson
Shareef Jackson is a founding member of Rivals of Waterdeep, an actual play D&D show that features an all POC cast and gives everyone a chance to be the dungeon master. He is an adjunct professor at University of Wisconsin – Whitewater, specializing in diversity in gaming and how it affects narrative. Shareef has also participated as a speaker at conferences such as PAX East, C2E2, and DragonCon.Cliff “CJ” Jones
CJ became a professional in the world of tabletop gaming as a co-founder of Wizards of the Coast and as one of the authors of its first publication, The Primal Order. CJ worked in technical support for WotC throughout the ’90s until Gen Con was acquired in 2001. At that time, CJ transferred to the new Gen Con LLC business, where he led the technical services department — most notably the registration system and website — for Gen Con until his passing in 2014. He is deeply missed.Eric Lang
Eric, the Game Director of CMON, has been designing games for the last 20 years. Games based on cool licenses such as Marvel Universe, Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, The Godfather, as well as original titles such as Blood Rage, Rising Sun, Arcadia Quest, Victorian Masterminds, Cthulhu: Death May Die and many more. After several years in tropical paradise in Singapore, he has returned to his home in Toronto Canada.Rich Lescouflair
Rich is a long-time tabletop gamer turned RPG designer, writer, and graphic artist. His work includes design for Wizards of the Coast and Green Ronin, writing and graphic design for several D&D Adventurers League titles, and is a founding member of the Dungeon Masters Guild Adepts. He is co-owner of Alligator Alley Entertainment, in which he’s creator and lead designer of Esper Genesis, the 5th Edition powered sci-fi RPG.Brandon O’Brien
Brandon O’Brien is a writer, performance poet, teaching artist and game designer from Trinidad and Tobago. His work has been shortlisted for the 2014 Alice Yard Prize for Art Writing and the 2014 and 2015 Small Axe Literary Competitions, and is published in Uncanny Magazine, Strange Horizons, Fireside Magazine, and New Worlds, Old Ways: Speculative Tales from the Caribbean, among others. He is also the poetry editor of FIYAH: A Magazine of Black Speculative Fiction.Cody Pondsmith
Cody Pondsmith joined R. Talsorian Games years ago, entering in the deep dark depth of the mail room and working his way up from the bottom all the way to the prestigious position of General Manager. Tutored by his father, Mike Pondsmith, Cody was well prepared when, at the age of 16, he traveled to Poland and made a pitch for The Witcher license. He won the day and since become the line developer and principal designer on the bestselling Witcher TRPG line.Mike Pondsmith
Appearing as a Mild Mannered Game Designer, Mike Pondsmith is in reality a Time Lord from the Far Future, here to warn all of us of a reality involving Giant Robots, cyber-enhanced Boostergangers, and an Invasion of Teenagers From Outer Space. When not involved in his day job of Saving The Future of Humanity, he can also be found in the nearest gravel pit, digging up million year old dead things with waaaay too many teeth and claws. He calls this relaxation.Marcus Ross & Cara Michele Ryan
Marcus Ross and Cara Michele Ryan are the design & illustration team behind Water Bear Games. The duo is best known for their absurd costumes, elaborate prototypes and knack at winning design competitions. The company’s goal is to make modern gateway games with themes that invite in a larger audience. It’s going well so far: their published catalog includes Discount Salmon, BEEEEES! and Letter GO!Laura Simpson
Laura Simpson (Sweet Potato Press) is an award winning game designer and the creator of Companions’ Tale, an ENnie nominated, Indie Groundbreaker Game of the Year winner. She has also designed Driving to Reunion, part of the IndiCade-nominated anthology #Feminism. Her next game, Distant Stars, will be released Fall 2020 in the The Ultimate Micro-RPG Book, published by Simon & Schuster.Chris Spivey
Chris Spivey is a veteran, writer, game designer, and developer who has a decades-old love of gaming, horror, and history, and a mission to create a more inclusive gaming world. His groundbreaking and critically acclaimed game Harlem Unbound won 3 Gold ENnie Awards and the IGDN Groundbreaker Award.Bryan Tillman
Bryan Tillman is a 20-year professional comic/game artist as well as an educator of the arts. He has conducted many panels and lectures for convention such as, AwesomeCon, MegaCon, GenCon, and San Diego Comic Con. During his tenure, Bryan has published three instructional books: Creative Character Design Vol.1 for Focal Press, Vol. 2 for CRC Press and The 30 Day Pitch Bible for Kaiser Studio Productions. Bryan also created and illustrated a tabletop RPG TCG, Dark Legacy, which was released by UpperDeck in late 2018.Allen Turner
A game designer, storyteller, artist, dancer, and author of Black/Lakota/Irish descent, Allen Turner believes in the power of play and story as fundamental, powerful medicines which shape our sense of self. Allen creates experiences pulling from the myths and folklore of indigenous and tribal peoples worldwide, while exploring allegorical battles with depression, solitude, identity, and erasure. He continues exploring the conversations initiated in Ehdrigohr on his blog via fiction, musings, photography, and introspective gaming.Aaron Trammell
Aaron Trammell is the Editor-in-Chief of the journal Analog Game Studies and an Assistant Professor of Informatics at UC Irvine. He has published seven co-edited collections, sixteen journal articles, and eleven book chapters on games and culture, including several critical essays about the representation of race, gender, and sexuality in Dungeons & Dragons. He is presently hard at work completing his book about the influence of hobbyists on geek identity today. To learn more about Aaron’s work, email him: trammell [at] uci [dot] edu.Jabari Weathers
Jabari Weathers is an illustrator and upcoming tabletop game designer and writer from Baltimore, Maryland. You may have seen their work on many indie RPGs from 7th Sea to Bluebeard’s Bride. They are unsure what project in particular they are being recognized for by the DJA beyond being black and in the industry—which shouldn’t be regarded as a project. #WeHaveAlwaysBeenHere #YouAreFinallyLookingTravis Williams
Travis Williams began his career in entertainment in 1990 as one of the co-creators of the “World of Darkness” (Vampire, Werewolf, Mage) roleplaying games from White Wolf. As a game producer, Travis has worked on popular fighting games (Street Fighter, X-Men Children of the Atom) to adventure games (Hell, Bureau 13, Sanitarium) to MMOs (The Matrix Online, Vanguard: Saga of Heroes, DC Universe) to sandbox gaming (PAIN) on the PlayStation. Travis is currently the Vice President of Digital Gaming at Lightstorm Entertainment where he is responsible for Titanic, Alita, and Avatar games across all media.Camdon Wright
Camdon Wright (He/Him) is a TTRPG designer, first-generation American, biracial Ethiopian, and co-owner of Unicorn Motorcycle Games. He serves as the Diversity Coordinator for the IGDN where he leads their yearly Diversity Sponsorship, mentorship program, and sits on the leadership team fighting for a future where a diverse spectrum of creators will be seen as more than their marginalizations. His games include the 200-word RPG Secret Person of Color and the recently released One Child’s Heart. Camdon has also written for Ulisses North America, Pinnacle Entertainment Group, Darker Hue Studios, and Gnome Stew.
Full Privateer press release is below.
Privateer Press Announces Kickstarter Campaign for New Hobby Miniatures Game Warcaster: Neo-Mechanika
February 19th, 2020
Woodinville, WA – Privateer Press has announced that it will soon launch a Kickstarter campaign for their new Hobby Miniatures Hobby Game, Warcaster: Neo-Mechanika. Warcaster is a fast-paced skirmish-level wargame, with a brand-new science-fiction setting, set 5,000 years in the future of the Iron Kingdoms setting previously popularized by their games WARMACHINE and HORDES. The new game casts players in the role of Warcasters, psychic heroes charged with leading the armies of their chosen factions. Using the power of Arcanesssence, players power up their squads of infantry, channel spells through wizard-like Weavers, and supercharge their multi-ton machines of war, the warjacks.
The first releases for the game are starter sets for the Marcher Worlds and Iron Star Alliance factions. The Marcher Worlds are a coalition of free worlds and territories who seek to carve their own path among the stars while the Iron Star Alliance are an imperialistic federation who seek to bring order and control to the chaotic nature of the Cyriss galaxy.
“Warcaster is a project we’ve wanted to bring to life for many years,” said Matthew D. Wilson, Chief Creative Officer and owner of Privateer Press. “It is the culmination of everything we have learned after 20 years of IP development, game design, miniatures production and publishing.”
“Warcaster: Neo-Mechanika embraces the idea of customization,” added Jason Soles, lead designer of Warcaster. “For the first time, players can customize which spells their Warcasters can use in battle and which weapons and abilities their warjacks possess.”
“We have developed an extensive, compelling universe that will allow plenty of room for the many future releases we have in the works,” said Wilson. “We hope our current audience as well as new players will look forward to making a leap with us to the stars.”
Warcaster: Neo-Mechanika launches within the next few weeks on Kickstarter and is expected to deliver its first wave of rewards in June of 2020. In addition to stretch goals and rewards for individual backers, the Warcaster Kickstarter will also include a pledge tier for retailers who would like to carry the game in their stores. Visit www.warcaster.com for a preview of the game, the universe, and the upcoming Kickstarter launch.
About Privateer Press, Inc.
Privateer Press, Inc., is a privately held producer of entertainment and hobby brands based in the Seattle area. Its products include the award-winning WARMACHINE and HORDES hobby miniatures games, the incredibly popular Riot Quest miniatures game, the award-winning Iron Kingdoms property and Iron Kingdoms Full Metal Fantasy Roleplaying Game, the Monsterpocalypse battle miniatures game, and the Formula P3 Hobby Line. To learn more about Privateer Press, visit www.privateerpress.com or contact the president, Sherry Yeary, at (425) 643-5900 or sherry@privateerpress.com.
]]>Talisman: Kingdom Hearts Edition reveals Sora, Kairi, Riku, King Mickey, Goofy, and other comrades as figures at the helm of an exciting and different way to play the tabletop classic. Inspired by the original Kingdom Hearts video game franchise, the 2- to 6-player game’s objective compels players to acquire the needed Strength and Magic to seal the Door to Darkness and keep Heartless from consuming the communal worlds.
An artful gameboard with three regions, custom marbleized six-sided dice, tokens, and cards maintain the beloved aspects and exploratory spirit of “The Magical Quest Game” while offering lighthearted Disney nostalgia. Memorable locations such as Never Land and Traverse Town, Munny-themed currency, Gummi Paths and more will comprise a brand new experience by incorporating much-loved characters, worlds, and details from the Kingdom Hearts universe, surprising and delighting fans everywhere.
And from the initial Talisman: Batman press release, I got this description…
Talisman: Batman Super-Villains Edition allows players to take on the role of Gotham City’s notorious evil-doers, sneaking and fighting their way through Arkham Asylum’s two floors and central tower to be the first to subdue Batman and successfully release its dangerous inmates.
The anti-heroic objective in this take on the classic fantasy tabletop game focuses on building the Health, Strength, and Cunning of the Caped Crusader’s enemies. The game suits 2-6 players ages 13 and up, and can be played cooperatively or against other foes before one winner can earn the reputation of King or Queen of the criminal underworld.
Witnesses also report a custom illustrated game board featuring artwork from the best-selling DC comic series “New 52” era, 13 plastic character figures, more than 100 Encounter cards, six-sided dice, and stat boards to monitor each character, easing traditional role-playing game elements into the hands of collectors eager to get in on Batman’s titular Talisman debut.
Do these sound like Talisman? Not exactly. Talisman was one of the first fantasy quest board games to capture the general feel of advancing your character, meeting strange creatures, killing them, and taking their stuff. Calling it a “fantasy quest” game was appropriate, as a full game session might take 1-2 hours, but more likely would take an entire afternoon – much like a D&D session. In fact, just getting through an entire game felt like a quest, and added to the feeling of victory if you were crowned the winner. These newer Talisman games sound suspiciously… new. Fans of any genre know the sense of dread that comes with seeing your favorite property – from games, to movies, to books, to comics, and any other fandom, really – treated in a way that doesn’t feel like it honors the original source. If not Talisman, there’s surely several things you can think of that bring up those feelings right now. There’s excitement about revisiting the property you love, for sure, but also fear of tainting its memory. Fans of The Dark Crystal are in the final stages of this fear as I write this, with the Netflix prequel The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance about to release. (Please be awesome… please be awesome…)
On the other hand, it seems only natural that games (and movies, and books) which inspire other successful imitations should have additional versions, as some portion of the gaming public clearly wants those variations. Monopoly has been adapted to many, many themes, and while I still argue Monopoly is a terrible game (see our review if you need convincing), it continues to be supremely popular and well known. Risk has had several mediocre variations, a few interesting ones (Risk: Godstorm – which may have lent at least one mechanics idea to Blood Rage – and Risk: 2210 AD come to mind), and a genre-defining innovation (Risk: Legacy, firmly establishing the Legacy style of game). Even games like Scrabble and Clue have had a variety of adaptations/mutations to other themes – some of them quite good. For example, give Harry Potter Clue a try: with its shifting secret passages and House Cup point earning, new rules evoke a strong feel of the early movies.
How far should developers take the lineage of a classic game, though? If the hereditary traits of the game’s family tree fade too much, it can become unrecognizable – for example, if Talisman were made into a dice game, would it still feel like Talisman? Maybe not.
That’s the point, though. For some gamers out there, for whatever reason, Talisman didn’t hit the mark. Creating six different colors of the same game won’t bring in new fans. But sometimes, there’s enough interest in a property that game developers can take more than one shot at the target, maybe striking where a different set of gamers can appreciate it. Innovating around the theme of a popular property doesn’t have to dilute the strength of it, but can refine the flavor for different palates. Yes, the brand name is being used to attract old school fans, and the core mechanics might still be supporting the overall structure of gameplay, but change is good and helps keep a game relevant. Evolve or die.
I hope to try Talisman: Kingdom Hearts and Talisman: Batman Super-Villains Edition soon, keeping in mind the new experiences they were designed to be. And I won’t blame them at all if they let me kill things and take their stuff – I’d consider that a bonus.
]]>His passing brings up memories for me, as I’m sure it does for many Chaosium fans. If you’ll permit me, I’ll share mine here.
For a while in the early 2000’s, I ran RPG.net for Skotos Tech. This meant overseeing the site’s forums, arranging and editing game reviews, coordinating with columnists, and reaching out to publishers for news or review products. My office was in a small, cold room at the back of a building that was once part of the Oakland army base, and had become occupied by Chaosium and Wizard’s Attic. In the same building were a handful of smaller game companies, like a small collective of publishers all huddled around Chaosium and the warehouse rooms for warmth (did I mention it was cold?). When I met Greg Stafford, he was running Issaries Inc., at the opposite side of the warehouse from my office, just past the kitchen and Green Knight Publishing.
In middle school, my classmates and I discovered cryptic gaming notes printed on the back of reams of donated computer paper (usually in non-copyable red or blue ink. It was a simpler time). These notes spoke of the Lunar Empire, of magic based on the red moon, and a behemoth bat-creature that served the Lunar Goddess. I was hooked. I took as many sheets of scratch paper from class as I could, and poured over them in my room at home, trying to decipher their meaning like I was an archeologist who’d found hidden hieroglyphics in an ancient tomb.
I eventually determined these notes were all early ideas from a still-developing fictional world of Glorantha, and Greg, the parent of a student a couple years ahead of me, had donated the glorious notes that hinted of fantasy adventure. I already knew and played Dungeons & Dragons, but this was a new flavor of awesome – bold, distinct, and thorough. In early high school, I was introduced to RuneQuest, and Glorantha, and it all made sense. A completist by nature, I bought all the RQ game products I could find, and Greg’s name was on most, if not all, of them. Glorantha, the campaign world he had designed for RQ, had blown my young mind with its imaginative twists on a medieval fantasy setting.
So when I was introduced to Greg in the little game company just past the warehouse kitchen, he was already a legend in my mind. I’m sure I gushed to him about how formative Glorantha had been for my own roleplaying campaigns. He could have dismissed me as a fanboy and gotten back to work, but he didn’t. He sat there and talked about all sorts of plans and plots, products that never came to be and others that had runaway success beyond his wildest dreams. And this didn’t just happen once – this happened the first day I met him, and many times thereafter when we each just needed a breather from the daily work routine.
Eventually, everyone left the Wizard’s Attic vicinity (to get clear of the wreckage, mostly – you can look up what happened to Wizard’s Attic yourself, it’s not relevant here), and the creative community of the “Chaosium Collective” dispersed to various parts of the San Francisco bay area, then even farther afield. I did my RPG.net job from home for a while, then moved on to other things.
I stopped seeing Greg at local conventions like DunDraCon (I took the picture above at DDC 2006), but I would run into him in downtown Berkeley from time to time, and he’d invite me to walk with him on each occasion. As he purposefully strode across town to the subway station (I always caught him on the way back from something), he would tell me all about the plans he envisioned for Glorantha and other creations of his to make a big comeback, his plans for travel with his family, and what he’d heard other members of the Collective were doing now. Over time, Greg moved away, and I stopped seeing him, but I’d hear about his plans through others, and heard that he’d returned to guiding Chaosium in 2015. Clearly, if you saw him accept the 2018 Silver ENnie Fan Award for Best Publisher on Chaosium’s behalf, Greg never stopped plotting and imagining, and many of us appreciated his efforts.
Thanks for everything, Greg. See you around.
]]>Meanwhile, if you still haven’t taken the plunge and tried the Pathfinder Adventure Card Game, you can find our review of the original PACG here. Happy to help.
]]>Considering how things ended with Last Unicorn Games’ Dune: Chronicles of the Imperium RPG in 2000, this is hopeful news. As the release date for Dune: Chronicles got close, LUG was struggling with debt. The company was bought out by Wizards of the Coast, who released a limited edition of Dune: Chronicles only available at Gen Con and Gen Con UK, never intended to keep it going – after all, that would be a threat to their impending Star Wars d20 RPG. WotC failed to get the Dune license for any other products (some say the Herbert Estate wasn’t really interested in talking with WotC about making a deal; others say the price was too high for WotC), and since then, no publisher of the same caliber has given Dune a go. The only Dune games in the last 18 years have been unofficial, free downloads.
If you want a glimpse of the long out-of-print Last Unicorn Games Dune RPG, head over to OgreCave’s Instagram feed. We’re happy to whet your appetite for the adventures on Arrakis this new license agreement could bring us. We have every confidence GF9 can create a new game that looks at least as great – probably even better. Here’s to hoping.
Click through for the full press release, below.
LEGENDARY ENTERTAINMENT AND THE FRANK HERBERT ESTATE AWARD GALE FORCE NINE MASTER TABLETOP GAMING LICENSE
Tabletop role-playing game planned for late 2019 release, with additional original tabletop games from Gale Force Nine and their sub-licensees to follow
BURBANK, CA – August 6, 2018 – Legendary Entertainment and Herbert Properties LLC have reached a multi-year licensing agreement with Gale Force Nine (GF9). The award-winning game publisher is now set to bring the beloved sci-fi franchise DUNE to the world of tabletop gaming.
“Gale Force Nine has consistently demonstrated a skill and passion for building successful tabletop game series alongside category leading partners and we are thrilled to announce this exciting addition to the Dune licensing program ,” said Jamie Kampel, Vice President of Licensing & Partnerships for Legendary. “Legendary looks forward to a fun and meaningful contribution to this revered legacy property.”
The agreement calls for Gale Force Nine to produce original tabletop games drawing from the full scope of the Dune franchise—spanning the many publications from Frank Herbert, Brian Herbert, and Kevin J. Anderson—along with multiple direct tie-ins with Legendary’s highly-anticipated film from director Denis Villeneuve.
“This is only the beginning of our big plans in tabletop for this captivating franchise,” says John-Paul Brisigotti, CEO of Gale Force Nine. “Dune is a rich and wonderful universe, and we expect to produce an equally expansive and inspired line of games for years to come.”
The full range of tabletop games, including board and miniatures games are slated to hit the market just prior to Legendary’s theatrical release of DUNE in 2020. In addition, GF9 plans to align with other game companies on numerous categories and formats in the future.
ABOUT LEGENDARY PICTURES
Legendary Entertainment is a leading media company with film (Legendary Pictures), television and digital (Legendary Television and Digital Media) and comics (Legendary Comics) divisions dedicated to owning, producing and delivering content to worldwide audiences. Legendary has built a library of marquee media properties and has established itself as a trusted brand which consistently delivers high-quality, commercial entertainment including some of the world’s most popular intellectual property. In aggregate, Legendary Pictures-associated productions have realized grosses of more than $16 billion worldwide at the box office. To learn more visit: www.legendary.com
ABOUT GALE FORCE NINE
Gale Force Nine, LLC (GF9) specializes in creating hobby board games with rich strategic play based on licenses from fan-favorite media properties such as Dungeons & Dragons, Star Trek, Firefly, and Dr. Who. Gale Force Nine is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Battlefront Group. Visit www.gf9.com for more information.
ABOUT GENUINE ENTERTAINMENT
Genuine Entertainment is an award-winning producer and paladin of premium content and consumer products. Specializing in strategic licensing for genre entertainment brands, Genuine creates scalable licensing programs that extend franchises into new markets and build worlds across numerous categories. Prioritizing passion and strategic planning in equal measure, it is their mission to drive business growth by genuinely connecting with consumers and delivering the quality and authenticity they deserve. To learn more, please visit: www.genuineent.com.
ABOUT HERBERT PROPERTIES LLC
Herbert Properties LLC is managed by the Herbert family, and is the copyright holder for the Dune series. The brilliant Frank Herbert first published his classic bestseller DUNE in novel form in 1965, and he wrote 5 popular sequels to it. After Frank’s death in 1986, his son Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson continued the series with 14 additional novels, extending the audience of the series with new international bestsellers. Brian Herbert, Byron Merritt, and Kim Herbert, officers of Herbert Properties LLC, are pleased to share in the exciting announcement of new games set in the fantastic Dune universe.
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]]>Heroes of the Grid will provide 2-5 players a set of ability cards for each Ranger, and miniatures in the appropriate colors. The core game will also include miniature figures and game stats for Bones, Rita Repulsa, Pudgy Pig, Madame Woe, and the ever-present Putty warriors the Power Rangers must guard against. Gameplay will last 45-60 minutes, wherein players will defend sections of Angel Grove against invading villains. The game was designed by Jonathan Ying, who worked on Star Wars: Imperial Assault, Warhammer 40k: Forbidden Stars, and DOOM: the Board Game.
Multiple expansions are built into the KS campaign, including Shattered Grid, which will have additional challengers from the BOOM Studios comic series, including the Ranger Slayer, Black Dragon, and Lord Drakkon himself. Another expansion, White Light, will bring in the White Ranger, increase the maximum players to 6, and call Lord Zedd to the fray. Added figures and component upgrades are planned as stretch goals, which are likely to be unlocked if the campaign maintains momentum.
If you’ve always wanted to be a Power Ranger and face down nasty foes from other dimensions, you owe it to yourself to give Power Rangers: Heroes of the Grid a look. The game is expected to release in Spring 2019.
(Why were the evil foot soldiers called “putty” anyway? I never got that. Were they squishy and soft? No, that can’t be right…)
]]>As always, congratulations to all the nominees. Here’s the winners:
Best Board Game, Fan Favorite, and Game of the Year:
Gloomhaven (Cephalofair)
Best Card Game:
Ex Libris (Renegade Game Studio)
Fan Favorite Card Game:
Hero Realms (White Wizard Games)
Best Miniatures Game & Fan Favorite:
Warhammer 40,000 8th Edition (Games Workshop)
Best Collectible Game & Fan Favorite:
Star Wars Destiny: Awakenings Booster (Fantasy Flight Games)
Best Family Game & Fan Favorite:
Azul (Plan B Games)
Best Game Accessory & Fan Favorite:
Terraforming Mars Organizer (The Broken Token)
Best Role-Playing Game Supplement & Fan Favorite:
Xanathar’s Guide to Everything (for Dungeons & Dragons) (Wizards of the Coast)
Best Role-Playing Game:
Adventures in Middle Earth (Cubicle 7)
Fan Favorite Role-Playing Game:
Starfinder (Paizo)
Surprised by anything? Outraged, even? Or completely happy and satisfied, maybe? Let us know in the comments.
]]>Let us know how that goes.