Groknard - A Retrospective of Star Trek RPGs and More

43

2009-09-08T12:18:00.000-07:00

It was 43 years ago today when Star Trek was born, or at least when it aired its first episode on NBC. Since that time Star Trek has been through a lot with ups and downs along the way. Today we take a trip down memory lane, counting the years since Star Trek was new...Check out today's fantastic look back at the 43 years of Star Trek -- in text, rare pictures and video -- over at TrekMovie

TrekRPGNet Forum 10th Anniversary

2009-08-26T21:32:00.000-07:00

As posted this week over in the TrekRPGnet Forums:10 years and still flying On August 24th 1999 did Don Mappin open the doors to this forum. Within 2 days had the number of members reached 50, some still active.TrekRPGNet itself, as an independent repository for Star Trek roleplaying material, was created the year before. The site itself will become 11 year old in just 10 days.Happy Anniversary

Space: The New Black in RPGs

2009-08-13T16:45:00.000-07:00

I don't know if it's Gen Con, the peak of the Perseid meteor shower or the confluence of the two, but this sure seems to be a banner month for science fiction RPGs in general. The genre is still overshadowed by fantasy setting releases such as Paizo's Pathfinder and Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay Unaffordable Edition, but there does seem to be plenty of renewed interest in SFRPGs.Here's a sample,

Geekdo - The Way of the (RPG) Geek

2009-08-12T18:45:00.001-07:00

During the wife's tradeshow, I kept myself amused on her "insanely great" iPhone 3Gs. I'm not even a Mac or iAnything head, and I couldn't stop being amazed by what I could do with it. I may have to give in and trade in my current phone (left).One place I spent a lot of quality time at is the new Geekdō RPG Geek site, from the folks who brought us the wonderful BoardGameGeek. Geekdō is now the "

Re-emerging

2009-08-12T10:28:00.000-07:00

What a crazy few weeks! Had a big job that had to be finished last Friday, then off for 4 days to help my wife Barbe with her big wholesalers' tradeshow, the San Francisco International Gift Fair. That was a huge success (for her), but EXHAUSTING!So today is the day I catch up on e-mails and other online happenings, and should have a new post here by the end of the day.

Gone Underground

2009-08-02T12:16:00.000-07:00

Just felt that I needed to post an update since I've been MIA for a week or so now. Just overwhelmed with Real Life™ commitments last week and for the coming week as well (pays the bills!). Wish I could say I was busy prepping for Gen Con, but that's not it at all either (since I'm not going, wah).My absence may have seemed ominous in light of a post I made a few weeks ago, but its nothing to do

Star Trek II - New and Expanded Soundtrack Released!

2009-07-20T14:58:00.000-07:00

I usually don't snatch and repeat news published elsewhere, but this came from out of the blue and is just too exciting not to share.As reported today at TrekMovie, Film Score Monthly and Screen Archives Entertainment have released a newly expanded and remastered soundtrack to James Horner’s 1982 score for Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan! What was 9 tracks and 40-some minutes is now 23 tracks and

One Small Step Toward the Final Frontier

2009-07-20T04:00:00.000-07:00

A tip of the hat to the real heroes amongst us...

Trek and The Great RPG Debate

2009-07-18T09:22:00.000-07:00

I had no intention whatsoever on weighing in on this week's Great RPG Industry Debate (short version: "The RPG Industry is Dying and the Enemy is Us" vs "No, You're Just Full of Shit") for two reasons. First, it seems like this comes up every year. Is it always right before Gen Con? Second, I'm annoyed that all of this seems to have sprung from a discussion about Poor Editing in RPGs, and the

Regarding Groknard's Auction of the Week

2009-07-16T20:31:00.000-07:00

So I just realized that something may have gotten lost or misunderstood over the course of time regarding my "Auction of the Week". I'm a bit embarrassed now that I've realized it.AotW is not something I've won. Ghod knows, I don't need much more of anything!AotW is for you, the readers. It's a current running auction (when I post it) and I try only to list things that have at least 4 days left.

Trek RPG Auction of the Week - 7/15/09

2009-07-15T08:49:00.000-07:00

This week we've got a FASA Star Trek The Role Playing Game 2nd Edition lot, most from around 1987, that looks like the perfect way to jump whole-hog into the system. Starts off with the 2E box set (2001D) that includes the three core rulebooks and the Star Trek Starship Tactical Combat Simulator (rules, master control book, map and counters). Looks like it's got everything except the dice (two 20

Star Trek TOS, Storytelling and Timelessness

2009-07-14T09:35:00.000-07:00

Wonderful post over on James Maliszewski's GROGNARDIA today about why Star Trek TOS still holds up today, in large part due to its approach to storytelling:"Watching Star Trek, I am continually struck by the fact that it's never about itself. Each episode is simply a science fiction adventure story, with little or no connection to anything that comes before or after."His post comes at a perfect

This Bud's for Them - 6 Months

2009-07-09T18:56:00.000-07:00

Today marks the 6-month anniversary of Groknard, and according to my stats I'm about to hit Unique Visitor #10,000. 25% of you come back again and again, and average visits per day have gone from about 20 in January to 100 last month. I expected it to take a dip after the premiere of the film in May, but that hasn't happened yet.The most popular pages have been about turning a keychain into new

Trek RPG Auction of the Week - 7/8/09

2009-07-08T00:32:00.000-07:00

This could be a killer deal for someone. 10 of Last Unicorn Games' Star Trek The Roleplaying Game books, currently at $5.50 (plus lots of shipping!).- Star Trek: The Next Generation - Core Game Book (LUG 25000, 1998)- Star Trek: The Next Generation - Narrator's Toolkit (LUG 25001, 1998)- Star Trek: The Next Generation - Player's Guide (LUG 25002, 1999)- The Price of Freedom - The United

New Enterprise MSD - Almost Done

2009-07-05T16:34:00.000-07:00

...getting there. Its been a productive holiday weekend!

David R. Deitrick Follow-up

2009-07-03T12:22:00.000-07:00

The series is complete!Here's my rough attempt to assemble the Star Trek II: Wrath of Khan series triptych of the special retailers' incentive version with art by David R. Deitrick, as covered here last month. Issue #3 was released July 1st, so if you want to get them, grab them soon (link to Things from Another World, or click the image above). This series with David's artwork and April's movie

Star Trek Lives... at Origins 2009!

2009-07-02T22:13:00.000-07:00

First off, if I'd had half a brain in my head these past few weeks, this should have been a post previewing the Origins Game Fair held last week (June 24-28) in my hometown of Columbus, OH at the Greater Columbus Convention Center. As it happens, it never occurred to me to even check the schedule until it was over, probably because I was bummed that I couldn't afford to go (and Gen Con still

OT: I have entered BIZARRO WORLD

2009-06-30T20:05:00.000-07:00

"It am an international crisis! Quick, Bizarro President! Go to sleep!"In BIZARRO WORLD, California native Robert "Groknard" Saint John stays home during the weekend of July 23-26. His wife, Barbe, goes to the completely sold-out San Diego Comic-Con. It must be BIZARRO WORLD (or the Mirror Universe), because in our universe, Barbe hates comics, science fiction, movies, Star Trek, San Diego,

Trek RPG Auction of the Week - 6/29/09

2009-06-29T21:35:00.000-07:00

This week's auction is a nice collection of FASA books specifically related to the Star Trek Technical Combat Simulator. No counters, dice or maps, but would make a handy set of reference tools if you plan on playing STCS online with Rob Carignan's excellent VASSAL STCS module or the amazing ST:STCS Computer Version.Included in the auction are:- Star Trek Starship Tactical Combat Simulator (FASA

Looking Back 10 Years Ago

2009-06-28T08:37:00.000-07:00

Just a quick entry here, because the meat is elsewhere. I ran across an entry from the SF Gaming column of RPGnet, a June 1999 interview that James Maliszewski (of Rogue Games and Grognardia fame) did with Ross A. Isaacs, author, designer and line editor of so much of the Last Unicorn Games and Decipher Star Trek role-playing games. I think Ross is at Eden Studios these days. I think. Actually,

A Miniature Crew of Your Own

2009-06-27T18:21:00.000-07:00

It was about 2 1/2 years ago that I "re-discovered" The Hobby. Actually, I hadn't forgotten it, but I'd stopped following it on the Internets back in '99 because I felt they were sucking the fun out of it. Anyway, the reason I "came home" was due in big part to Star Trek and its long legacy of gaming, much of which I'd missed during my exile.One of the first things I started looking for was the

Star Trek: Big in Japan!

2009-06-25T15:06:00.000-07:00

If you haven't noticed, I have a passion for many things Japanese, including Japanese things related to Star Trek (or, as the original series was called over there, 宇宙大作戦 (Space Operation)). Probably a result of the years I spent immersed in kaiju eiga and tokusatsu fandom... that's a fancy way of saying Godzilla, Gamera and Ultraman, heh.Thanks to Eric, my wonderful online friend and Trek RPG

Trek RPG Auction of the Week - 6/25/09

2009-06-25T07:36:00.000-07:00

I'm a little confused about what makes up this week's auction, so you may want to message the seller in advance for clarification. It's listed as DS9 RPG, the Next Gen RPG, The narrators guide, and the box set of The romulan Expansion, "the Path of D'ehra".Based on the photos, I'm pretty sure it's Last Unicorn's 1999 releases of Star Trek Deep Space Nine Roleplaying Game, the DS9 Narrator's

Farewell Startrek-games.com and Post Rescue

2009-06-24T13:08:00.000-07:00

As you may have seen or read elsewhere, IGN has decided to shut down a number of sites it hosted, including Chessmess' wonderful, long-lived Star Trek Games site. Although the focus over the past decade had primarily been Trek-themed PC and videogames, Chess was just beginning to expand into other areas such as tabletop gaming and online sims. I had made a few contributions recently and was

I'm Not Dead Yet

2009-06-23T19:34:00.001-07:00

Apologies for the extreme slow-down in posts. I've taken on some extra work in real life and we just brought in a new chihuahua puppy to foster. Last week was a sleepless mess, but everything's slowly getting back into some kind of rhythm. Should be back to normal posting by the end of the week.In the meantime, I have been working on some Trek stuff, specifically the schematics that I mentioned