Cairn of the Skeleton King 2nd Printing Available!

PPP has 60 copies of CAS1, Cairn of the Skeleton King available for order, first come first serve.

ALSO: I have listed some special items for sale here.

Enjoy!

Tower of Blood (CAS2) should be available in 1-2 weeks.

Two Likely DMs (Old Codgers)

I came across this old pict of myself and EGG taken at Milwaukee GameFest many years ago. He was in a wheelchair and I was recovering from a broken leg and was using a cane. We were great together, like Laurel and Hardy. We went on to give Peter Bradley and Dungeon Delver and their compatriots a very hard time (well, we TPKed the lot, actually, but not because we wanted to...) in an adventure set on the Yggsburgh outdoor. I'm always fondly reminded of the old codger in so many ways, almost daily.

Greyhawk Castle Levels (Poll)

As many are aware I am about ordering he Six levels out of the many I have for publication through PPP. A design question has come up in lieu of maintaining the flavor of the originals: How detailed would DMs want these to be in relation to what they actually were? I have polarized here between fully re-fleshing each and every encounter area as opposed to lightly expanding on the notes/ideas as originally presented. I favor the latter, as my skills are generally excellent in separating the wheat from the chaff, anyway.

The very first level will set the tone for the rest; and, oppositely, the more detail that is added, the longer these will take to get to publication and the lengthier the work.

So, what do fans favor: A light approach that details salient parts? Or fully fleshed portrayals, which would be more than was actually there to begin with (i.e., expanding content beyond the original conceptual range)?

RPGCON #1

And there will be many more to come.

This was the best organized convention I have been to, thanks to Doug and Mike and crew. Everyone had a blast.

Lance Hawvermale's thief died a true 1st Edition death while playing in the first adventure into my Castle El Raja Key: missed his climb check while in a deep pit, a nearby PC (Jeff Imrie's spider-climbing mage) grabbed for him, missed, he fell while grabbing for two already secured ropes, missed those, and landed in a spider web in the depths below, where after a failed attempt to rescue him he was bitten by the giant spider inhabitant, paralyzed, and of course devoured at the spider's leisure... Lance was all smiles of course...

The second adventure Saturday evening was very chaotic to the point that the usually reserved Paul Jaquays finally took charge as the party leader, but not until after the mage played by Andrew? had tossed a dead body of a drow down a trap door where, "unbeknownst" to him, a fellow party member was climbing upwards at the time. Head almost through the hole, the priest was met by the hurled body and fell to his death with the drow body atop him. Not as exciting as Lance's PC's death, but pretty hilarious (and not caused by myself as the DM, heh).

The convention saw tours (as mentioned by Allan in his post) lots of raffles (Dragon #1 went to Brian Kawano) and Chris Finch won $300.00 and other prizes. The BBQ was also great, though the mage (Andrew) sprayed me with some pool water (I reminded him of this act as he was adventuring later that evening, heh...).

I will have some more commentary later, but all in all it was a great event with high energy, non-stop action and, as noted, very well organized. Highly recommended for those who have any qualms about attending next year, as this Con will grow fast.

North Texas RPG Con - a great show!

I'm back from spending the weekend with ~50 other gamers from The Acaeum, Knights & Knaves Alehouse, and Dragonsfoot, at the North Texas RPG Con.

I got very little sleep at the show, and for most of last week, so here are some quick highlights before I crash:

• meeting many folks whom I've only known online, from the various boards: it's always great to put faces to names, and spend time communicating without a keyboard!: getting to meet some folks whom I've known online for several years---including Adrian "TSR Archive" Newman, Matt "Mythmere" Finch, Jason "Philotomy Jurament" Cone, Matt "Center Stage Miniatures" Solarz, Jason "Index Greyhawkiana" Zavoda, and many others---was a special treat!
  
• catching up with Rob Kuntz, Paul Jaquays, Frank Mentzer, Dennis Sustare, and Tim Kask; I'd not met Paul or Dennis before in person, and it's always a pleasure to spend time with Rob, Frank, and Tim
  
• I DM'd 10 players (including Paul Jaquays) through my version of Castle Greyhawk, in a scenario that I apparently needed to make a bit more deadly since no single PC was killed, despite me dropping 7th-8th level characters into the 14th level of the dungeons (which included a 19 HD titan as a wandering monster!)
• A wonderful tour of the Reaper Miniatures warehouse and production facilities, arranged by Gus Landt, and lead by Matt Clark (Reaper production director); I also got to meet Ron Hawkins, the art director and his two cute sons
  

The convention thread @ the Acaeum has some highlights, starting on page 25, and I'm sure that additional stories will be forthcoming soon.

And a final shout-out to Doug "RPGMarketplace" Rhea (he runs _the_ alternative to eBay for OOP RPGs) and to Mike "Badmike Books" Badolato, for putting on such a great convention (especially noteworthy as first-time convention organizers!). I'm already looking forward to next year's show!

As Summer Approaches

I will be in a warmer Texas come Friday, but leave you with the speed and vitality that only an approaching summer can imbue us with. Life, just like D&D is an adventure. And there can be no better a time when summer streaks in upon us with its so many colors and forms, beckoning us to partake of life again in all of its nuances.

Summer...

What Are You Reading These Days?

OK, I will end this as I have a very long list.

Opened Comments To All

After some deliberation I decided to open posting for all readers here who have a Google account.

Please respect the nature and professional tenor of this Blog and its contributors.

Have Fun while I'm in Texas, the 5th-7th.

Rob

On The Near Horizon

Part of what I have been busy with, a special project. I will let the picture speak for itself.

RJK

Been Busy

I apologize to the followers here for my recent absence. With company business, writing, my daughter's recent college graduation, my upcoming trip to Texas and preparations for that, I have been in a word swamped.

I will no doubt get back on track after my return from Texas. I encourage authors here to post when they can. I am also thinking of making the blog open to all. The main point being: professional acumen. I have no reserve at all for deleting posts that are inflammatory or derisive of others here. Opinions about eventually doing this--opening comments for all--would bve appreciated by the current authors.

Enjoy our great weather.

Rob Kuntz

D&D Archival and Paper Collections

I need your help. I need to locate archival collections related to Dungeons and Dragons, or perhaps papers donated by individuals involved with the game (in any era). Does anyone know if Gygax, Arneson, or others, donated their personal papers to a local, state, or university archive? I am aware that R.A. Salvatore donated his papers to Fitchburg State College (MA), but I need to find additional collections. WotC must have a corporate archive too, I'm guessing. Our initial database searches haven't turned up much. I thought perhaps a call within the LotGD community might bear more fruit. Thank you in advance.

PPP @ North Texas RPG Con: 5-7 June, 2009 (DFW area)

Rob Kuntz and Allan Grohe will be appearing at the first annual North Texas RPG Convention, in Bedford, TX (between Dallas and Fort Worth), on Friday 5 June through Sunday 7 June.

Rob will be running two events for 1st-2nd level PCs, on both Friday and Saturday nights. Allan will be running one event on Saturday morning for 7th to 8th level PCs.

Convention details and event registration are available at http://ntrpgcon.com/ (convention admission is free).

Skeleton attack! Eeeek!

Ship of Fools Contest

I'll be announcing the Ship of Fools contest started earlier this month in about a week. I've had several interesting submissions but not a huge run. If you are feeling creative, give it a go.

Etretat in Dinnsenchas

Burning crows in amber dawn,
Shattered waves shine through gold
In arcs of drops and silvery foam
As years fade in childish games of old.

Beaches and cliffs dancing in half-light,
Sea gulls flirting with rain and cloud,
My heart beats and shivers with delight
As my soul cries memories so loud.

Sacred groves and blessed hawthorns,
Venerable oaks and hidden thorns,
Ancient oaths and promises fade away
As gentle spines lead my lonely way.

Glorious battle born from an alliance
Covered the grass with tender crimson.
Salty tears and memories kill vengeance
As mothers' mourns ramble in off-season.

Dream-like birds and kites in dawn
Recalls a forbidden childhood
For which today I quietly moan,
Creating verses for our brotherhood.

Burning crows in amber dawn,
Shattered waves breaking in rays of gold,
Arcs of pearls shine in silvery foam
As years fade in childish games of old.

Note : Composed according to the Irish Dinnsenchas. Etretat is well-known in France for its cliffs and beaches. It is located in Normandy, where I used to live when I was a child. The "Glorious battle born from an alliance" evokes of course memories of D-Day. I thought the Lord of the Green Dragons could use a few of my own verses. Please let me know what you think.