Pathfinder Online: A Fantasy Sandbox MMO Kickstarter

After Goblinworks showed the first footage of the Pathfinder Online technology demo, they now proceed to launch another Kickstarter campaign with a hefty $1.000.000 goal.

Support the Pathfinder Online Kickstarter here.

TSR is back !

There's been a lot of buzz in the community with the news leaking of a new gaming magazine called Gygax magazine, published by TSR. Forums were swamped by posts about intellectual property, the Gygax estate, legal issues and so on.

With the demise of Kobold Quarterly, I was quite happy to hear of a new gaming magazine, especially when I heard the names involved with the magazine were Luke Gygax, Ernie Gygax, and Tim Kask to name a few.

So what's all this buzz about ? On Dragonsfoot Tim Kask talks about Gygax magazine, stating the magazine's first issue will be released in December 2012, both in print and pdf format. The magazine will cover a wide variety of RPGs and strategy games, focusing on the games of today while preserving the traditions and history of the industry. The TSR trademark was registered in 2011 and refers to a new company, not associated with the old TSR of Wizards of the Coast.

On Gamers and Grognards Tim Kask reveals some of the contents of Gygax magazine stating the magazine will cover current independent and major publisher games such as Pathfinder, Savage Worlds, The One Ring, Shadowrun, Godlike, Labyrinth Lord, Marvel Heroic Roleplaying, Warhammer 40k Roleplay, Traveller, and others, as well as classic out-of-print games with a modern following, like AD&D, Top Secret, and Gamma World. He furthermore adds more names as contributors to the magazine : Phil Foglio, Jim Wampler, Jim Ward, Dennis Sustare, and many more.

Loremaster also has an interview with Luke Gygax about Gygax magazine in which Luke speaks of Gary's legacy.

A part of the buzz was also created by Gail Gygax distancing herself from Gygax magazine in a note on Enworld. Hopefully this will be something that can be worked out in the future.

You can click here to be notified of news about Gygax magazine.

Gygax and Arneson collections fetch high prices on ebay

On the 23rd of September, a number of items from the Dave Arneson collection were put on ebay. The items come from an abandonned storage locker that once had belonged to Dave Arneson. The Dave Arneson collection was announced on The Collector's Trove.

On the 23rd of October, a new batch of items from the Gary Gygax collection were auctioned on ebay. The Collector's Trove has been authorized by Gary's widow, Gail Gygax to auction items that Gary has accumulated over his five decades of amateur and professional involvement with chess, miniature wargames, strategy games, board games, card games, and role-playing games, including several years spent as the head of TSR Inc. the company that founded the role-playing game industry. Previous auctions of Gygax's items took place in December 2010, March 2011, June 2011, November 2011, and December 2011.

Gary Gygax Collection

• Lost Tamoachan is a tournament module that was originally published for Origins 79 and was later published by TSR as C1 Hidden Shrine of Tamoachan. Next to 300 numbered copies, also 50 dungeon master copies and 25 staff copies were printed. This is the first 'Complementary copy' to surface. Ex-TSR employee Frank Mentzer commented at the Acaeum that he had never seen a complementary copy before. This copy sold for $9.100.

• Lost Caverns of Tsojconth was the second D&D module ever written and was released as a tournament module at Wintercon V in 1976. It was later also released by TSR as S4 Lost Caverns of Tsojcanth. An estimated 300 copies were printed. Gary's copy sold for $5.655.

• TSR D&D Player & Endless Quest Reader Profile Study 84 is a detailed demographic study of the players of D&D game books and of such players in general. It includes tables of data from a survey of thousands of individuals. The study sold for $1.225

• TSR World of Greyhawk Gord Saga of Old City Poster 1985 is a poster used to promote the TSR book of the same name as well as the Gord the Rogue series of novels set in the World of Greyhawk. The poster sold for $1.009

Dave Arneson Collection

• The Domesday Book was a newsletter founded by Gary Gygax and published by the Castle & Crusade Society as of 1968. 13 issues of this newsletter were distributed, while issue 14 was produced but never distributed. As the society at its peak had about 80 members, you can imagine how rare these newsletter are.
  
  
  • Domesday Book #13 (July 1972) - First mention of Dave Arneson's Blackmoor campaign : $4.355
  • Domesday Book #5 (July 1970) - Contains the LGTSA Miniatures Rules, the foundation of Chainmail, a precursor of D&D : $4.203
  • Domesday Book #7 (September 1970) - Whose Rules are These? by Gary Gygax, more foundations for Chainmail : $3.706
  • Domesday Book #8 (late 1970) : $3.673
  • Domesday Book #12 (June 1972) : $3.156,65
  • Domesday Book #10 (April 1971) : $3.050
  
  
  
  

For more information on these items, please visit the Acaeum.

Shadows of Esteren : Book 0 - Prologue Kickstarter

After a succesful kickstarter for their Book 1 - Universe, the Forgesonges Collective and Studio 2 Publishing are back for the release of Book 0 - Prologue.

Book 0 will be an introduction to the Universe of Shadows of Esteren, contain a summary of the game system, 6 sample characters, and 3 adventures. And it will feature beautiful artwork.

Sure this is a dark and gritty low fantasy setting, full of gothic horror and Cthulhu influences, what really drew me into supporting the first kickstarter was the incredibly beautiful artwork.

I met author Nelyhann and illustrators Gawaine and Chris at Spiel Essen this year and they are incredibly nice people with a genuine love for the game. They've worked really hard on getting these books out in English and I for one, will support their work.

Please support the Shadows of Esteren Book 0 - Prologue Kickstarter

Spiel Essen 2012 (1)

I traveled to Spiel 2012 in Essen, Germany today. It's a yearly tradition to visit Europe's biggest gaming fair and even though many people are saying it gets less interesting every year, I still manage to find nice deals.

I've only visited Hall 6 which is where the RPG goodies lie in wait. Below an overview of my loot for the day.

Malcolm's booth is one of the reasons why I go to Essen every year. I knew beforehand that he had bought a big Call of Cthulhu collection and he was kind enough to send me a list of all the goodies so I could check what was interesting. While I was going through the boxes of Cthulhu books, he just kept piling up one boxed set after another. "Oh Ralph, I also have the 2nd edition boxed set, ah yeah and also the Gaslight boxed set. Oh and here's another stack. You can't make a choice until you have seen all of it..."

• PAG5004 - A guide to the Cthulhu cult (1998)
• Necronomicon Press - A history of the Necronomicon (6th print 1992)
• CHA2324 - Call of Cthulhu 4th edition (1989)
• CHA3302 - H.P. Lovecraft's Dreamlands (1988)
• CHA2312 - Alone against the dark (1985)
• CHA2344 - Keeper's Compendium (1993)
• CHA2346 - Investigator's Compendium Volume 2 (1994)
• CHA8804 - H.P. Lovecraft's Kingsport (2003)
• CHA2377 - Before the fall (1998)
• CHA2373 - Dead Reckonings (1998)
• CHA2361 - The Complete Masks of Nyarlathotep Hardcover (2006)
• CHA2314-X - Cthulhu by Gaslight (1986)
• CHA2009-X - Call of Cthulhu 1st edition, 2nd printing (1982)
• CHA2301-X - Call of Cthulhu 2nd edition (1983)
• TRIAD0003 - Whispers in the dark (1993)
• CHA2317-H/004411 - Call of Cthulhu 3rd edition (1986)
• 178301 - Call of Cthulhe 2nd edition (1983)

I picked up some Pathfinder books I was still missing. I didn't get the biggest of discounts but it still beats the regular prices at the FLGS.

• PZO1002 - Rise of the Runelords Anniversary edition (2012)
• PZO1114 - Game Mastery Guide (2010)
• PZO1115 - Advanced Player's Guide (2010)
• PZO1118 - Ultimate Combat (2011)
• PZO9407 - Cheliax, Empire of Devils (2009)
• PZO9413 - Orcs of Golarion (2010)

I happened upon a booth where I saw a number of cheap books and scenery all stacked in boxes. Then suddenly my eye fell upon a rack of novels with a 1 euro tag on it. 1 euro for hardcover novels is too good to pass up on.

• TSR 8483 - The Dark Elf Trilogy Book 3 - Sojourn (1991)
• TSR 21799 - Songs & Sword Book 3 - Silver Shadows
• WOTC 177590000 - The Hunter's Blade Trilogy Book 3 - The two swords (2004)
• WOTC 886250000 - War of the Spider Queen Book 3 - Condemnation (2003)
• WOTC 177260000 - War of the Spider Queen Book 6 - Resurrection (2005)
• WOTC 888520000 - The Legend of Drizzt Book 2 - Exile (2004)
• WOTC 963620000 - The Legend of Drizzt Book 3 - Sojourn (2004)
• WOTC 950167200 - The Legend of Drizzt Book 6 - The Halfling's Gem (2005)
• WOTC 955497200 - The Legend of Drizzt Book 9 - Siege of Darkness (2006)
• WOTC 959237200 - The Legend of Drizzt Book 10 - Passage of Dawn (2007)

Here's some more 'bin' material. The D20 stuff came from a 3 euro bin, the 4E Power cards were 1 euro per pack so I just got a full display case. The Shadows of Esteren book obviously doesn't fall under the category 'bin material'. I supported their kickstarter and got the limited edition of their Book 1 - Universe that way. I picked up the regular version at their booth.

• WOTC 251080000 - Arcane Power Power Cards Display (2009)
• WOTC 242960000 - Player's Handbook 2 Power Cards Display (2009)
• AEG 8506 - River of Blood (2002)
• MYG 0201 - Arcane Mysteries - Blight Magic (2002)
• WW16003 - Sword & Sorcery - Beyond all reason (2002)
• WW16142 - Sword & Sorcery - Arcana Unearthed - DM's Screen and Player's Guide (2003)
• AGA10001 - Shadows of Esteren - Book 1, Universe (2012)

I also got a Shadows of Esteren t-shirt through the kickstarter and since that's the only gaming related shirt I have, I decided to wear it to Spiel. When I showed up at the Esteren booth, Nellyhann, one of the authors, immediately greeted me and asked if I had brought my book so they could sign it. He introduced me to illustrators Chris and Gawain and we had a chat about the game. This is Chris' piece in my limited edition version of the book. Nellyhann was kind enough to personalise it as well.

When I returned to pick up my limited edition, I also bought a copy of the regular version and Nellyhann insisted it should be signed too. Gawain took care of the illustration in this book and while he was drawing, Nellyhann and another volunteer went through my Cthulhu purchases together. The Esteren staff was as excited as me about the Cthulhu boxed sets. I can recommend this game to everyone. The book are filled with stunning artwork and these guys are incredibly kind, thankful for the support they get, and big fans of roleplaying games.