Update: The project is fully  funded and the Gaming Paper Singles are on the way to the printers. I will do a write-up 0n them once I receive my batch. According to Gaming Paper, the paper  will be available at Gen Con 2010 in their booth.

Gaming Paper, producers of rolls of grid and hex paper for game mapping seeks Kickstart investors for their new product, 8.5 x 11 24 lb reams of Gaming Paper. Essentially it is 250 sheets of white paper with a blue grid pre-printed on them. For those not familiar with Kickstart, it allows you to pledge some amount of money towards a project. If the project meets its pledge goal (in this case $2500 by July 09, 08:47pm EDT), Kickstart bills your credit card. If they do not make the pledge threshold by the stated date, no money changes hands.

Gaming Paper is also throwing in some rewards for investors.  Here is the list.

The widget below displays the current status of the project. I am going to throw in a few bucks to get a ream of the stuff. I think it will have real utility.

Trask, The Last Tyromancer

The Hot War Transmission, Issue 1 in Print

We’re delighted to say the first issue of the (http://www.contestedground.co.uk/hottrans.html) Hot War Transmission, the new quarterly mini-supplement for Hot War, is now available in a lavish, full colour print version. Priced at £5 (plus P&P), this 36-page booklet contains a host of great Hot War game material.

Issue 1 focuses on the work of the late, great   Nigel Kneale, creator of the hugely influential Quatermass TV series and films. Inside the Transmission you’ll find a guide to Quartermass, with useful hints about incorporating situations and themes into your games, locations from the series and films, and a Kneale-esque game situation created by Scott Dorward. The game situation gives you background, antagonists, and four pre-generated characters, making ideal for convention play or for slotting in to your own games.

The booklet can be purchased direct from  our own online shop. It will also be available through  Indie Press Revolution in the next two to three weeks. You can also download the PDF of this first issue for free (future issues will be available through Drive-Thru RPG, priced at $4).

Importantly, this booklet uses environmentally friendly papers and printing products. The paper is Forest Stewardship Council Certified, which means it comes from recognised sustainable sources, providing a viable alternative to recycled paper, which is nice.

Details

Title: The Hot War Transmission, Volume 1, Issue 1

Authors: Malcolm Craig and Scott Dorward

Cover Artist: Paul Bourne

Price: £5 + P&P (print); FREE (PDF)

Hot War is a game of friends, enemies, secrets, and lies set in a post-apocalyptic 1960s London. You can find out more by visiting the Contested Ground website and (http://www.contestedground.co.uk/hotdown.html) downloading our free previews.

Great human empires still exist, but are often mere remnants of greater ancient empires and often teeter on the brink of oblivion. Elves and dwarves live apart from humans and every nation  distrusts each other. Hope is in short supply, while weapons are plentiful.

The new release is just a set of  “quick launch” rules to introduce people to the world and get the organized play rolling. A full campaign book comes out next year. Here is a shot of the cover.

This shot lists the various gods and a cleric doing what clerics do best; turning undead.

Take note of the section labeled “Elorii Deity.” “Elorii” is the Arcanis term for elves. They only have one god listed because the human gods betrayed, killed and devoured all the other elven gods! For some reason, elves now distrust humans…

Finally, a shot of a dwarf slinging some magic.

I am very anxious to check out the book and play a couple of sessions at Gen Con 2010 next week. I will let you know how it goes.

Trask, The Last Tyromancer

Another aspect of a deck-building games are options. I will explain this a bit more later, but there are many types of cards in the box, some of which are not used for every game. Players either decide which cards to use during the game or there is a random draw option, so neither player chooses their favorite cards. Unused cards stay out of play. This configuration change for every game keeps the game “fresh” and tends to stave off the “one good strategy” every player uses that kills many games.

Deck-building games (usually) are not collectible and have no random element. Supplements list their contents and what each card does. This pleases me because I despise the CCG business model

Which brings me to “Thunderstone.” AEG is known for their quality production values and “Thunderstone” is no exception. The box and cards are top-notch and the interior box organizer keeps the cards organized. Included oversized separator cards keep the various flavors of cards separate. As to the art, I thought the card art very good throughout and fed the dungeon-crawling theme nicely.

“Thunderstone’s” premise is that ages ago wizards sealed the “First Thunderstone” inside Grimhold Dungeon. Of course, endless evil minions infested the dungeon and the heroes must use all of their deck-building might to overcome them and recover the “Thunderstone.”

I ran my review game with only two players, but the game supports up to five players. Each player draws six cards and reveals them in turn. In the first round, you might have enough to fight a very small monster in the dungeon, but most likely you will buy something in the village. Some cards in your hand have a gold value on them, so you add up your gold for that round and see what you want and can afford in the village. The village is the four rows of cards below the “Dungeon Hall” board.

The village is essentially a big shopping mall for adventurers. Each turn players choose to either go to the village and purchase equipment and heroes for their deck or use experience points for hero upgrades. So, as a first turn you buy the “barkeep” and add him to the discard pile. After a reshuffle and a fresh draw, the “barkeep” is available for the player. Strategy comes from knowing what and when to buy something and you have only the gold in your current hand.

Once you have an adventuring party worthy of killing something, you head to the “Dungeon Hall.” Defeating a monster is quite simple; use your cards to generate more damage than the creature has hit points. In this, “Thunderstone” plays a bit like “Munchkin.” Problem is, you never really know what you will get on each draw. It is quite possible to get very little (or no) offensive firepower. Or the weapons are too heavy for your hero and you cannot use them. There is also the “light” mechanic. Depending on where the monster resides on the “Dungeon Hall,” there is a light penalty associated with that space. Mechanically it means you need either extra attack strength to destroy the monster or items that generate light to overcome the penalty. Early game, I found myself buying anything that threw light to remove this penalty. I was never so happy to have torches in my entire gaming life!

Defeat a monster and add him to your deck. You also receive experience point cards, useable in the village for hero upgrades/leveling. Beware! Some creatures give you diseases or other ongoing effects that definitely impact your long-term strategy, so stay alert for special powers.

As the monsters fall to the heroes, the monster draw deck shrinks until the “Thunderstone” appears. Once the stone reaches the first field of the “Dungeon Hall,” the game ends. It is possible to claim the stone for some extra victory points, but it is not required to end the game. Players go through their decks, add up the victory points listed on the cards and high score wins.

I liked “Thunderstone.” The game mechanics are clean, simple and straightforward. Most importantly, for me anyway, I got a kick out of the dungeon crawling theme. I am going to give it a run with my regular gaming group in-between RPG sessions.

As much as I enjoyed “Thunderstone,” I do have some advice for players. Because of the many types of cards, organization is key to long-term enjoyment. Never just throw the cards back in the box without sorting them! It just adds setup time on later games and with supplements coming out (Thunderstone: Wrath of the Elements) the card counts will continue to grow…

Remember game mechanics require very frequent deck shuffles. Card protectors are, in my opinion, required.

Have fun storming the dungeon!

Trask, The Last Tyromancer

Full Disclosure: I received a review copy of this game from AEG.

Trask, The Last Tyromancer

“The Book” is a tale in two parallel parts. The first part is a group of under-sexed, over-hormoned misfit early teens running a fantasy role-playing game. We learn a bit about each one of them and how truly pathetic and twisted they are, each in their own way.  This part is pretty standard and takes some shots at the usual gamer stereotypes, including a very annoying little sister.

The second part follows the PCs as they move through some standard adventures and a dungeon crawl.  Due to the intervention of a powerful magic item, the PCs know they are PCs! The poor bastards realize a group of adolescent losers control their entire universe and they want out of the game world and their freedom. My favorite of the group is a supporting character, the Vulcan elf. Yes, I said Star Trek Vulcan elf.

“The Book” is an odd novel because it is as much a 13-year old’s notebook as a conventional book.  There are character sheets to track the PC’s damage (HP loss and healing are an ongoing issue), strange, vaguely disturbing scrawls done during math class and the occasion bit of art. Erotic, of course.

It is a very short book and do not expect great literature or amazing character development. The Book is strictly for laughs and is a good way to kill an afternoon. I do need to mention besides the kinky title, there is a lot of very explicit, VERY adult material in this book.  But it is a tittering, adolescent sort of adult material. While graphic, it is not meant to be taken too seriously.  Though it does stray in to the…very unusual.

So, you are now informed and warned about “The Book.”

Trask, The Last Tyromancer

That said, I occasionally get contacted on a by aspiring game designers seeking my feedback. I give some comments to every one, but honestly none of the games  have seen the light of day yet.  These games only earn a mention on this site when I believe they have enough drive and skill to actually release a game in the near future.

That said, Platinum Lion’s pitch on kickstarter is quite good and  inspires confidence in me this project will take off.

Trask, The Last Tyromancer

Value is a vague term and I need to define it before continuing. Monetary value is only one measure of value, emotional investment is just as powerful. In fact, in some ways it is more powerful. You can always earn more money, but losing a long-term emotional investment in a player character on a bad die roll crushes the soul.  It is like an artist watching a favorite painting burn. No money was lost, but it still hurts and that gave the PC value to the player.

Gambling addiction is a well-document and recognized  affliction, but so far as I can find, no one has applied the same criteria to role-playing games. Odd, because it is clear that both involve reward and risk on a game of chance.

It is this risk that gives gambling its “rush.” I say rush because gambling plays with your brain chemistry and success, or even a near miss( I got a 19!), generates a cascade of chemicals that directly impact your brain.  It literally gets you high.  A fact elegantly demonstrated by some Parkinson’s Disease patients that became gambling addicts after  starting a new treatment.  After it altered their dopamine levels, patients continually sought the rush of gambling and suffered for it.

Long before I took up blogging, I spent a year running a small casino’s surveillance department. Not the most rewarding job in the world, but it was very informative, as I was the “eye-in-the-sky.” Gamblers fell into two groups; healthy and addicted. Healthy gamblers came in once per week, dropped $50.00 in their favorite slot machine, chatted up the cocktail waitress, got a free drink and left  after two hours.  They walked out happy because they lost money they would not miss and gambling was merely one facet of their lives.  Winning was just a cherry on top.

Addicted gamblers, and there were many, lived in the casino.  Gaming stretches of 24 hours or more were common and they never smiled.  Grim determination lay upon their faces and they kept playing, stopping only when their money ran out or exhaustion set it. Not to worry, though. They were back as soon as humanly possible, Gambling was not a fact of their lives, it was their life and winning an obsession.

I am not saying that all role-players are addicts, but over the years I met a few gamers that seemed…fanatical about RPGs.  I am not a psychologist and am in no way qualified to diagnose anyone, but in retrospect they looked addicted to the gambling aspect of the game. I make that distinction because there are, sadly, more than a few players  live and breathe RPGs because their real lives are so miserable and their social life non-existent.

No, there were a few that really loved the dice and seemed genuinely injured when fate brought them bad rolls. Even going so far as emotional outbursts and pouting during the game. Players with that same hungry look of my slot machine junkies. A 20 was more than a hit on a monster, it was a fix.

Assuming my thesis is true and there are role-players addicted to the gambling aspect of the games, then their personal lives suffer for it. A true gambling addiction damages individuals and families in a multitude of ways and often requires professional intervention. None of this is good for the gamer or the hobby.

I am just uncertain of the problem’s size.  Has anyone else noticed this type of behavior at games or conventions? Drop me a comment if you have any input.

Trask, The Last Tyromancer

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/11/magazine/11Jousting-t.html