http://blog.obsidianportal.com The Official Blog of Obsidian Portal Tue, 14 Feb 2012 06:25:19 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 All the latest and greatest news and cool stuff in the tabletop RPG industry, in less time than it takes you to set up for combat. Obsidian Portal clean Obsidian Portal biz@obsidianportal.com biz@obsidianportal.com (Obsidian Portal) ©2011 AisleTen, LLC Haste: The Official Obsidian Portal Podcast gaming, rpg, dnd, dungeons, dragons, roleplaying, d20, dice, gencon, http://www.obsidianportal.com/images/logo.png http://blog.obsidianportal.com TV-G The Internet! Weekly http://blog.obsidianportal.com/haste-podcast-story-forge-enworld-presents-iron-kingdoms-rpg-news-and-more/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=haste-podcast-story-forge-enworld-presents-iron-kingdoms-rpg-news-and-more http://blog.obsidianportal.com/haste-podcast-story-forge-enworld-presents-iron-kingdoms-rpg-news-and-more/#comments Mon, 13 Feb 2012 17:20:07 +0000 Jerry http://blog.obsidianportal.com/?p=2075 Posted in Haste Podcast

 [Episode 34] Announcements Our character contest has just wrapped up, congrats to our winning characters Shank and Miner! We’ve also got a fresh d20Monkey caption contest up, so go check it out! Story Forge Kickstarter There’s a really cool kickstarter up for a … #LINK#]]> http://blog.obsidianportal.com/haste-podcast-story-forge-enworld-presents-iron-kingdoms-rpg-news-and-more/feed/ 3  [Episode 34] Announcements Our character contest has just wrapped up, congrats to our winning characters Shank and Miner! We've also got a fresh d20Monkey caption contest up, so go check it out! Story Forge Kickstarter  [Episode 34] Announcements Our character contest has just wrapped up, congrats to our winning characters Shank and Miner! We've also got a fresh d20Monkey caption contest up, so go check it out! Story Forge Kickstarter There's a really cool kickstarter up for a writers utility called Story Forge, they basically appear to work like Tarot cards for writers. These could be used by DM's, novelists, or basically writers of any kind. 25$ is the entry level to score a deck if the kickstarter succeeds. Micah and I discuss! ENWorld Presents Short weekly casts are all the rage! ENWorld is bringing you RPG news in about 5 minutes or less in video format with host Matt James. Micah and I discuss and hope for more episodes in the near future. Iron Kingdoms RPG News! Privateer press has finally given us some more tasty tidbits about the upcoming Iron Kingdoms RPG on their blog. They discuss the feel of the game mechanics as well as outline the first 3 books coming down the pipe. The rules are very familiar to hordes/warmachines so far, good thing or bad? Tip Corner Don’t just use OP to track games you’ve already started, there’s a reason why campaigns have the “In planning” option. Use it to organize your thoughts on your game and collaborate with your players before you ever even sit down to roll dice or make characters! Twitter Question @SaveVersusDeath asks: What do you feel the role of bloggers and podcasters is/should be in this transition period for D&D? Listen to find out! Music Credits | Intro: "Prelude" ~ LukHash | Outro: "Stande Alone" ~ LukHash | Obsidian Portal clean 20:57 http://blog.obsidianportal.com/d20monkey-caption-contest-for-february/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=d20monkey-caption-contest-for-february http://blog.obsidianportal.com/d20monkey-caption-contest-for-february/#comments Mon, 13 Feb 2012 15:58:04 +0000 Jerry http://blog.obsidianportal.com/?p=2071 Posted in Contests, Prizes & GiveawaysFeatured

So. Many. Words. What’s going on with MC Wolfmaster Flex? Where did his pants go? What are these two guys doing out here? What are their tabards all about? The possibilities are endless. It’s all up to your crazy twisted … #LINK#]]> http://blog.obsidianportal.com/d20monkey-caption-contest-for-february/feed/ 78 http://blog.obsidianportal.com/haste-podcast-monster-stand-ins-kickstarter-wisdom-from-daniel-solis-and-are-flgs-deaths-self-inflicted/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=haste-podcast-monster-stand-ins-kickstarter-wisdom-from-daniel-solis-and-are-flgs-deaths-self-inflicted http://blog.obsidianportal.com/haste-podcast-monster-stand-ins-kickstarter-wisdom-from-daniel-solis-and-are-flgs-deaths-self-inflicted/#comments Mon, 06 Feb 2012 14:00:39 +0000 Jerry http://blog.obsidianportal.com/?p=2065 Posted in Haste Podcast

 [Episode 33] Announcements Our character and comic contests just wrapped up, winners will be announced shortly, and be sure to check out Legacy of the Realms – February’s Campaign of the Month! Also, Kobold Quarterly is giving away a free … #LINK#]]> http://blog.obsidianportal.com/haste-podcast-monster-stand-ins-kickstarter-wisdom-from-daniel-solis-and-are-flgs-deaths-self-inflicted/feed/ 0 amazon,FLGS,kickstarter,minis,stand ups,writers dice  [Episode 33] Announcements Our character and comic contests just wrapped up, winners will be announced shortly, and be sure to check out Legacy of the Realms - February's Campaign of the Month! Also, Kobold Quarterly is giving away a free issue so ...  [Episode 33] Announcements Our character and comic contests just wrapped up, winners will be announced shortly, and be sure to check out Legacy of the Realms - February's Campaign of the Month! Also, Kobold Quarterly is giving away a free issue so go and snatch it up before you wind up broken hearted (offer ends Feb 14th). Monster Stand Ins Like minis but not into how expensive/random they are? Check out Monster Stand Ins, a huge assortment of plastic stand ups for use in your games. You also get a printable PDF of the stand ups so you can print your own as well. Need 50 kobolds? No problem! This kickstarter is going to end shortly so if you'd like to get in on the awesomeness you better act fast! Update: The stand ins have been cancelled but there is a new project that is just as good! A Lesson In Kickstarter Speaking of Kickstarter, Daniel Solis (Writers Dice, Do: Pilgrims of the flying temple) has a great post up on his blog about some of the financial ins and outs of funding kickstarter projects. There's also some good wisdom in the comments as well, definitely worth checking out for any of you entrepreneurs out there! FLGS Deaths Self Inflicted? Stargazers world has a post up about FLGS's closing down, is it always the economy? Poor customer service and downright unprofessional staff seem to plague some game shops. Micah and I discuss how this may be true, but there is also a much bigger picture affecting local game shops (and other niche businesses) these days aside from just poor customer service. Tip Corner Got a new player coming? Update your campaign homepage with a basic runthrough of your campaign. Don’t expect them to read each and every adventure log and wiki page, but maybe they’ll read the basics of the campaign. Twitter Question @Toperatl asks: Tips to get players re-engaged with a long running campaign? Listen to find out! Music Credits | Intro: "Prelude" ~ LukHash | Outro: "Stande Alone" ~ LukHash | Obsidian Portal clean 18:19 http://blog.obsidianportal.com/legacy-of-the-realms-februarys-campaign-of-the-month/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=legacy-of-the-realms-februarys-campaign-of-the-month http://blog.obsidianportal.com/legacy-of-the-realms-februarys-campaign-of-the-month/#comments Mon, 06 Feb 2012 05:25:10 +0000 Jerry http://blog.obsidianportal.com/?p=2066 Posted in Campaign of the MonthFeatured

Today we’re here with GM RRouillard talking to him about his awesome game Legacy of the Realms. There is a lot of gaming history here, and a really great wiki, be sure to read through the whole interview for some very … #LINK#]]> http://blog.obsidianportal.com/legacy-of-the-realms-februarys-campaign-of-the-month/feed/ 2 http://blog.obsidianportal.com/haste-video-podcast-live-from-ddxp/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=haste-video-podcast-live-from-ddxp http://blog.obsidianportal.com/haste-video-podcast-live-from-ddxp/#comments Tue, 31 Jan 2012 18:32:37 +0000 Jerry http://blog.obsidianportal.com/?p=2061 Posted in Haste PodcastIndustry News

[Episode 32] Announcements None today other than yelling at you all to hit up the d20Monkey caption contest! I’m joined by Matt Dukes (@DireFlail) and Tracy (@Rolling20s) and we’re getting straight to business here! An Edition for All Editions We … #LINK#]]> http://blog.obsidianportal.com/haste-video-podcast-live-from-ddxp/feed/ 3 DDXP,design,dnd,dndnext,lords of waterdeep,news,seminars [Episode 32] Announcements None today other than yelling at you all to hit up the d20Monkey caption contest! I'm joined by Matt Dukes (@DireFlail) and Tracy (@Rolling20s) and we're getting straight to business here! An Edition for All Editions [Episode 32] Announcements None today other than yelling at you all to hit up the d20Monkey caption contest! I'm joined by Matt Dukes (@DireFlail) and Tracy (@Rolling20s) and we're getting straight to business here! An Edition for All Editions We explore the first seminar that talks about the 3 pillars of D&D: Combat, Exploration, and Roleplaying. We also talk about what this upcoming edition means in terms of modularity and where exactly it is in terms of completion. Hint: Pre-Alpha Class Design  Baseline complexity, Vancian magic, modularity and a ton of other elements were discussed during this seminar. We all discuss, be sure to check out our video of this seminar if you get a chance. Future D&D Products The future products seminar was full of goodies for all walks of D&D fans it seems, we talk about the upcoming board game Lords of Waterdeep (pic), Ed Greenwood's Forgotten Realms, Dungeon Command, and more. Be sure to check the video of the product seminar for all the nitty gritty! But Wait, There's More! After our recording there was still one more seminar to go: Reimagining Skills & Ability Scores for D&DNExt. Be sure to check it out if you haven't yet. Not only was it the best recording of the bunch, but some of the most stimulating of the bunch regarding game design. Hope you enjoyed all of our DDXP coverage and our very D&D specific, exclusive podcast straight from the convention. Next week we're back to our regularly scheduled non-D&D saturated audio-only podcast. See you then! Music Credits | Intro: "Prelude" ~ LukHash | Outro: "Stande Alone" ~ LukHash | Obsidian Portal clean 14:40 http://blog.obsidianportal.com/ddxp2012/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=ddxp2012 http://blog.obsidianportal.com/ddxp2012/#comments Thu, 26 Jan 2012 17:46:37 +0000 Jerry http://blog.obsidianportal.com/?p=2057 Posted in GeneralIndustry NewsNews & Announcements

Once the seminars begin we will be live blogging coverage via google docs! Each seminar will get it’s own seperate google doc and links are provided below, as well as videos of each seminar and our quick Expeditious Interviews! Enjoy! … #LINK#]]> http://blog.obsidianportal.com/ddxp2012/feed/ 4 http://blog.obsidianportal.com/haste-podcast-wotc-to-reprint-add-books-cavemaster-rpg-the-future-of-digital-dd/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=haste-podcast-wotc-to-reprint-add-books-cavemaster-rpg-the-future-of-digital-dd http://blog.obsidianportal.com/haste-podcast-wotc-to-reprint-add-books-cavemaster-rpg-the-future-of-digital-dd/#comments Mon, 23 Jan 2012 18:00:14 +0000 Jerry http://blog.obsidianportal.com/?p=2054 Posted in Haste Podcast

 [Episode 31] Announcements Tonight we’re joined by GM Steve Wollet, winner of January’s Campaign of the Month acting as co-host. He gives us some cool tidbits from his game and discusses lots more with us. Also be sure to hit … #LINK#]]> http://blog.obsidianportal.com/haste-podcast-wotc-to-reprint-add-books-cavemaster-rpg-the-future-of-digital-dd/feed/ 3 adnd,api,cavemaster,community,cotm,digital tools,dnd,dndnext,minis,reprints,tokens  [Episode 31] Announcements Tonight we're joined by GM Steve Wollet, winner of January's Campaign of the Month acting as co-host. He gives us some cool tidbits from his game and discusses lots more with us.  [Episode 31] Announcements Tonight we're joined by GM Steve Wollet, winner of January's Campaign of the Month acting as co-host. He gives us some cool tidbits from his game and discusses lots more with us. Also be sure to hit up our Tell Us About Your Character contest, as well as the d20Monkey caption contest! We're also going to DDXP this week so be sure to tell us what you'd like to see while we're there! WotC Reprints AD&D Books For Charity Yes, this is true. It looks as if the AD&D PHP, MM, and DMG will be reprinted by WotC to benefit the Gygax Memorial fund. With D&DNext approaching WotC is touting 1e playstyle to be possible once again, so perhaps these may serve a bit more than just nostalic purposes? These high quality hardbacks will have limited availability and new artwork so be sure to keep an eye on them if this interests you! Cavemaster RPG Kickstarter Cavemaster is an RPG being created by Jeff Dee (ex TSR artist, among many other credits) which is actually an rpg that cave men would have played. It is a Stonepunk style game set in an alternate history and looks very, very cool. Go check it out and be sure to watch the video if you get a chance, lots of cool goodies for backers too! Recompiling Digital D&D Matt Dukes (aka @Direflail / Vanir) over at Critical-Hits talks about the next iteration of D&D and how to get the digital tools for the game right this time around. Explains the parallels of modular D&D and the modular software that should accompany it. Bringing suggestions of new platforms to build upon in order to insure that all types of devices and OS's are able to access and use the content, and to allow the community to interface more directly this time around. Tip Corner Don’t just use OP (and especially the campaign forum) just for in-game stuff, use it for campaign meta-game discussion, talk about what you can do to make your game more fun. Heck use it to help decide what food to order, remember OP is here to make your game better in any way we possibly can! Twitter Question @DelayedSession asks: tokens vs. plastic miniatures? Listen to find out! Music Credits | Intro: "Prelude" ~ LukHash | Outro: "Stande Alone" ~ LukHash | Obsidian Portal clean 19:26 http://blog.obsidianportal.com/fsf-old-school-hack/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=fsf-old-school-hack http://blog.obsidianportal.com/fsf-old-school-hack/#comments Fri, 20 Jan 2012 14:00:24 +0000 Jerry http://blog.obsidianportal.com/?p=2037 Posted in Free Sysem Friday

Pen, Paper, and Paupers Oh yes, it’s time for another Free System Friday, I bet you all thought that I’d forgotten. Ha! Cheapskates like me never forget about cool, free games, are you crazy? Today I bring to your attention … #LINK#]]> http://blog.obsidianportal.com/fsf-old-school-hack/feed/ 3 http://blog.obsidianportal.com/server-downtime-for-data-migration/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=server-downtime-for-data-migration http://blog.obsidianportal.com/server-downtime-for-data-migration/#comments Thu, 19 Jan 2012 23:12:45 +0000 Micah http://blog.obsidianportal.com/?p=2052 Posted in News & Announcements

Our host is moving our servers to a new datacenter, and this means we will have some down time during the migration. It could be as fast as one hour, but conservatively we’re guessing it will be on the order … #LINK#]]> http://blog.obsidianportal.com/server-downtime-for-data-migration/feed/ 2 http://blog.obsidianportal.com/tell-us-about-your-character-contest/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=tell-us-about-your-character-contest http://blog.obsidianportal.com/tell-us-about-your-character-contest/#comments Thu, 19 Jan 2012 14:00:10 +0000 Jerry http://blog.obsidianportal.com/?p=2047 Posted in Contests, Prizes & Giveaways

No Really, Tell Us! We all love to tell stories about our characters, don’t’ we? Too bad no one ever really likes to hear them though, and while this is true most of the time – this is not one … #LINK#]]> http://blog.obsidianportal.com/tell-us-about-your-character-contest/feed/ 112