Behind the Scenes of San Diego Comic-Con 2013 - Pre-Con

Over on the Geek & Sundry YouTube channel, they recently upload a video of James "Tigermonkey" Issacs and Amy Dallen doing a bit of pre-con wandering prior to the opening of San Diego Comic-Con 2013. Is it just me or should the floorplan for the convention center be made into a starship layout? Enjoy!

Welcome to the Dungeon: Working Trailer

There is a "working trailer" available on YouTube for the documentary "Welcome to the Dungeon," a film that will highlight Stefan Pokorny and his efforts to draw people away from their video monitors and back to tabletop gaming.  Enjoy!

Gandalf and Saruman Bakshi LotR Cel on eBay

For you collectors, there is not much time left to garner a Gandalf and Saruman Bakshi LotR Cel on eBay. See more here!

Gary Gygax Day 2013 - A Visit with Ernie

A spoke with Ernie earlier in the day and he told me about his fire-ravaged Alexander game, one of his father's favorites.

Of the two copies he had, one was completely destroyed by the fire and the other, pictured here, had a great deal of damage.

The box is in particularly bad shape.

Within was an envelope with some of his father's original rules, though additional correspondence was destroyed with the other box.

The tables still smelled of smoke.

But were in decent shape along with the map boards and newer rules.

Also damaged by the fire but salvaged nonetheless was a copy of Moose Quest.

A fun game by Tom Wham though it is well beyond playable.

And Ernie's early copy of Castles & Crusades Collectors Edition Boxed Set was damaged (along with countless other games).

But, we decided it is a day for gaming so we broke out San Juan and toasted his father Gary for the many years of gaming he inspired in us.

And Ernie handily won!

Gary Gygax Day July 27, 2013

Today is a day to remember Gary Gygax and celebrate his life through gaming.  Roll some dice and revel in the joy he has helped bring to millions.  See more here!

Nothing to Prove from Geek Girls & The Doubleclicks

There is a great message in this new video titled "Nothing to Prove" from Geek Girls & The Doubleclicks. Enjoy!

The Collector's Trove "Darlene" Auctions

Famed TSR artist "Darlene" has a lifetime of created and collected artwork available now through The Collector's Trove.  See more here!

OSR Con Early August in Toronto

If you are free in early August, looking to game, and able to get to Toronto, you might consider spending some time at OSR Con.  It's a tight little convention with less than 200 folks and you might get to game with the likes of Ed Greenwood or Frank Mentzer.  See more here!

Gary Gygax Day - July 27th

This Saturday, set aside a little time to remember the guy who got the whole thing started. Gary Gygax Day is Saturday, July 27.  Roll some dice!

Ex-WotC Employees

Russell "Morrus" Morrisey of EN World has created a wiki page on his website to keep track of former WotC employees and their current projects.  See more here!

Numenera for Educators

One of the stretch goals for Monte Cook's successful Kickstarter project Numenera was that he's set aside 300 copies for teachers and librarians.  Get the details here!

Gen Con Badge Giveaway from Mayfair Games!

Over on their Facebook page, Mayfair Games is giving away 20 Gen Con full badges.  Check it out here!

(Full disclosure - I just won one of the 20 badges yesterday, but I had this post scheduled to run already, so it's just a bit of luck for me and good word of mouth for them.)

Gen Con: Behind the Screen - Episode 1

Peter Adkison's Hostile Work Environment has released episode one of the Gen Con: Behind the Screen series on their YouTube channel.  Enjoy!

Dragon Skull on England's Shore

According to WinterIsComing.net. the huge surprise for some of our Brit friends is "a promotion by blinkbox to celebrate the arrival of Game of Thrones season 3 to their streaming video service, they have placed a huge dragon skull on a popular beach in Dorset, England." There is even a "making of" video on the BlinkBoxLive YouTube channel.  Read more here and see some extra pics here!

2013 ENnie Awards Nominees

Congrats to all of the 2013 ENnie Awards Nominees which you can see here!

KingCon Kickstarter

Jason Hurst, who worked with Gary Gygax in the later years and who helped with the Gygax Memorial Fund, has a Kickstarter set up for a Georgia gaming convention called KingCon.  Check it out here!

David Bradley Pictured Portraying the First Doctor

Over on BBC.co.uk, they revealed a pictured late last week of David Bradley portraying the first Doctor for the 50th Anniversary Special of Doctor Who.  Read more here!

Peter Jackson Reveals 'The Hobbit' Features

Earlier this week it was reported that Peter Jackson spilled the beans over the various features that will be found on the extended DVD and Bluray versions of The Hobbit.  Read more here!

HBO Plans 6 Seasons Of Neil Gaiman’s ‘American Gods’

It had been reported some time back on ScreenRant.com that "HBO Plans 6 Seasons Of Neil Gaiman’s ‘American Gods’" and some more recent updates have been gathered earlier this year on HBOWatch.com here!

Fall 2013 Gaming Hoopla Dates Announced

The dates and some details have just been announced for the Fall 2013 Gaming Hoopla, the best three days in board gaming in the Midwest, including the return of Lee Maile's excellent Gen Con Games Library.  See more here!

NYC Nikola Tesla Exhibit Opens Today!

Just in time for his 157th B-Day, the NYC Nikola Tesla Exhibit Opens today. Read more here!

Outbreak: A Post-Apocalyptic Tabletop RPG Source Book Kickstarter

A fairly new Kickstarter for Outbreak: A Post-Apocalyptic Tabletop RPG Source Book is underway. See more here!

Oculus Rift - Virtual Reality Headset

This virtual reality device, the Oculus Rift, is under development and the company is currently hiring.  See more here!

Pre-Order the New Frazetta Tome

There is a new hardcover book on one of our favorite artists, Frank Frazetta: Art and Remembrances by Frank Frazetta, Jr., now available for pre-order. See more here!

The 15 Best D&D Modules Of All Time

Morrus of EN World ran a poll and put together a results video for "The 15 Best D&D Modules Of All Time." Enjoy!

Highest Grossing Movie Franchises

Over on BuzzFeed.com, there is a recently published, most-excellent graphic and brief article on the "Highest Grossing Movie Franchises." See more here!

PACT the Professional Artist-Client Toolkit

Artists have been garnering less and less in the RPG Industry over recent years and some enterprising fellows have joined together to do a little something about it through PACT, the Professional Artist-Client Toolkit. See more here!

Free RPG Day Goodies

I was fortunate enough to receive these Free RPG Day books from Games Plus in Mount Prospect, IL via Curt "thalmin" Duval with an identical set going to Ernest Gary Gygax Jr. Thanks, Curt! I meant to post about this fine gifting a bit sooner but between the move and the subsequent difficulties of last week, this posting got a bit away from me. Nevertheless, in all their glory, here are the three products I received -

On the right is Cosmic Patrol Quick-Start Rules: The Eiger Agenda from Catalyst Game Labs. This 24 page, digest-sized booklet appears to have everything needed to understand the rules, setting, and even to get a multi-mission adventure going. It looks like a fun little game with a nice sense of humor reminiscent, perhaps, of science fiction in the same vein as the first Heavy Metal movie.  It can be had for free on RPGNow.com here!

On the left, one of the first things I noticed about this offering for Lamentations of the Flame Princess, Better Than Any Man, is the red circle with an 18+ explicit content warning.  But I also noticed the loose cover, due to a full-page color map gracing the interior of the front and back cover.  The map includes some page number references to help negotiate through the 96 page digest-sized booklet.  James Edward Raggi IV, the author and LotFP guru, pulls no punches, gives no quarter, suffers no fools, and brings the goods.  This offering is jam-packed with material, illustrations, maps, setting locations, and adventure.  Even at a glance, one can tell this is a labor of love.  I look forward to delving further and finding a group with the right sensibilities for this material.

In the center is Hall of Bones, a Swords & Wizardry adventure from Frog God Games and Bill Webb.  With just enough of a Rules Overview to make sure the reader is on the same page as any Old School Gamer needs to be, this full size 20-pager is well developed and presented, as one would expect from a group with a pedigree like that of Frog God Games.  All three of these tomes are of top-notch quality and I was very lucky to get my hands on them!

I might also mention that over on EN World there is a thread, here, where "Walking Dad" and others are keeping a list of where one might find legal electronic versions of many of the Free RPG Day books.  I hope everyone had as satisfying a day as I had, makes good use of everything they garnered, and further supports the publishers who went above and beyond to make this another great year for RPGing.

EN World Chicago Gameday 35 Sign-Up Thread LIVE!

If you are unaware, please make note that the EN World Chicago Gameday 35 Signup thread is now live!  Lots of cool games are in the offing and there are plenty of seats left for the gameday which takes place on Saturday, July 13th.  See more here!

Meet Boba Fett: Initial 1978 Boba Fett Costume Screentest

Recently posted on the Star Wars YouTube channel is a video titled "Meet Boba Fett: Initial 1978 Boba Fett Costume Screentest." Enjoy!