Watch Me Do Art on Twitch

Hey faithful Greyhawkers. I'm gonna try out something new: live streaming art and map making. I've been into Twitch lately (you may have seen my interview on the Green Dragon Inn) so I'm going to try and bridge some of my audience, namely streamers and Greyhawk fans. Be sure to check me out and follow. I'll most likely be tying alot of my Greyhawkery and Castle Greyhawk comic content into this channel with the added bonus that you can chat Greyhawk and stuff with me live! Hope to see you then, enjoy!

Update 06/24/2021: I'll leave this up here guys, but no I am not cut out for solo streams. Being on LordGosumba's Greyhawk channel doing Legends & Lore with Anna Meyer is plenty satisfying.

Mike Mearls Interview at ENWorld

Hey Greyhawk fans, GenCon is nearly a week old already. Time flies, but the news and recaps keep rolling in from that wonderful convention. One that I nearly missed is an interview of Wizards head-honcho Mike Mearls by Christopher Hackler over at ENWorld. Check it out because Christopher asks some good questions about the future of D&D I haven't seen elsewhere and Mearls' opinions carry a lot of weight obviously. Here is some pertinent parts:

"...Are the plans for either Dragon or Dungeon Magazines?"
"Right now, we don’t have anything to announce. Part of the reason we moved the magazines to an online format was the dramatic drop in the subscription base over the last few years. Bringing a digital magazine out on a regular basis is no small undertaking, either. So, we’re taking our time to make sure we have a good plan that puts material out there that people want and that makes sense from a business stand point."

There's probably no sane reason for them to continue with the full magazine format anymore. The D&DI format of online magazines even seemed to stall during the 4e era so they went to breaking up the monthly slate into separately released articles (with non-essential content made free to read). Gygax Magazine showed (albeit quarterly) that people still care about classic printed game magazines, but their production and delays to get out is a headache that I can't see Wizards wanting in the digital age. Now a yearly collected "best of Dragon/Dungeon" would be smart and might even make a nice printed product, perhaps a GenCon exclusive if they wanted.

"...are there any plans for which setting might be updated and revisited next? If not, and it was your decision alone, which setting would be the next to be supported and why?"
"We don’t have any specific plans we can talk about now. When we look at setting support, we’re looking at more than just products. The various D&D settings have acquired robust, active communities over the years. It doesn’t make sense to simply bring a setting back into print unless you can also find a way to support that community and making it a vibrant, living thing.

Personally, I’d love to see a big, Greyhawk hardcover sourcebook. The fifth edition rules system would work very well with Greyhawk. You wouldn’t need a lot of new class options, but the background system would be very handy for drawing out the differences between different regions. It would also be cool to get an in-depth treatment of the Free City of Greyhawk and the surrounding region. The original City of Greyhawk boxed set powered many of my campaigns in high school."

Mearls is messing with my heart here, but this shows he is definitely in our camp so the chance definitely exists for a new Greyhawk launch. The key part of his answer is about supporting the community and making it vibrant. To bring Greyhawk back would require a Living Greyhawk type revival (Greyhawk Reborn anyone?) or a spin-off of their current version the Adventurer's League. Yeah it's not enough to put out a couple splatbooks and call it a day anymore. Wizards wants to drive a whole theme of stuff around it now (Tyranny of Dragons). The World of Greyhawk setting can more than provide this kind of an extravaganza.

"...Are there any plans to perhaps update some of the classic earlier adventures to the fifth edition? If the decision was entirely yours what classic adventure would you like to see updated first?"
"We definitely knew that people like having the option to update their favorite adventures. We’ll have some guidelines on converting material from prior editions in the fall. In terms of updates we publish, it’s a bit too early to talk about that. We know that classic adventures are a big part of what has made D&D great, and we want to embrace that going forward.
My personal preference would be a deluxe update of the Saltmarsh series. It’s a fun trilogy that includes a nice variety of challenges and a nifty final dungeon against a band of sahuagin. It might not be an adventure that sits at the top of most gamers’ lists, but I’ve always had a fondness for it."

More Greyhawk on Mearls' mind. I think converting previously published Greyhawk material to fifth will be a hot item this time around compared to fourth. Stay tuned this Fall!

Again, check out the full interview HERE.

Gygax #4 Cover: Denis Beauvais

Just when I think Gygax Magazine (quarterly) has been too quiet, I see that issue #4 will feature a new cover done by my all-time favorite Dragon Magazine cover artist, Den Beauvais.

Beauvais has done illustrations for many games, books and cards over the years. I particularly like his cover for DA2: Temple of the Frog. In Gygax Magazine, he yet again revisits his famous chess board theme:

I for one can't wait for this issue to come in the mail. I feel like I'm back in school again. I'm not sure when the issue will be available, but I am sure by the time Gencon rolls around in August it'll be ready for the public. It'd be fantastic if Mr. Beauvais could be there in artist row as well.

Update 6/12/2014: I missed a press release by GM from a couple days ago concerning their delayed issue. Evidently subscribers are supposed to get an email to a free PDF download. I haven't got mine so far. Hrm.

Gygax Magazine #3

Well most have heard about the official release of D&DNext by now so I won't cover that. Speculation is also beginning to swirl about the fate of Dragon and Dungeon Magazines, currently finishing it's run on 4e content. All the while there is an actual print magazine out there that's picking up momentum albeit in a quarterly fashion.

Gygax Magazine #3 recently made it to my mailbox and it continues to strike a chord with my nostalgic heart. Much like in the "old days" I don't necessarily need or want to use any of the content, but the magazine as a whole makes it worth reading cover to cover. Heck even the ads interest me again. I never got that page turning excitement with 3e-era Dragon and online content was even easier to cherry pick. Mind you those magazines sometimes had Greyhawk content as well, so that's saying a lot. Yes, if you want a periodical with a mixed bag of articles from different genres, this is your magazine folks. Here is a selection of my favorite articles from issue #3:

First off, the cover is by the illustrious Clyde Caldwell whose works can be found in countless RPG products and of course classic Dragon mags. For this cover illustration he brings us a pulpy sci-fi scene with flying ships and laser guns. What's not to love?

The Airlancer by Jayson Elliot is a new fighter-type class for AD&D. Like the name implies, this is a class that is tailored for riding flying mounts, specifically hippogriffs and griffons. Like you'd expect from AD&D there is many charts to go along with the class including Level titles and a handy guide on how quickly airlancers can overcome the effects of intoxication. Great stuff.

Artifacts to Impart Ancient Lore by Michael Curtis is another clever article. This piece introduces a series of magical "repositories" which contain vital knowledge that once activated, can be useful to an adventurer. Mr. Curtis manages to adapt all these items to rules for 1st, 2nd, 3.5/Pathfinder and Basic D&D rules. Impressive.

They All Died at the International Space Station is a new Metamorphosis Alpha adventure by the renowned James M. Ward. Set in the year 2031 this is a prequel of sorts for the futuristic spacefaring RPG. The introduction covers some interesting history about the ISS that leads up to the player's mission onto this orbiting station. This module has everything you'd want in a sci-fi thriller.

The Marmoreal Tomb of Garn Pat-Uul is an amazingly classic dungeon crawl by Ernest Gary Gygax Jr. and Benoist Poire. It is a 1st edition compatible module for levels 1-3. The players are there to search the remains of a dwarven mining expedition that met an untimely end once they uncovered the tomb of an ancient giant lord. This adventure has a gorgeous full-color fold out map and the interior art is by one of my favorite illustrators of all time, Jim Holloway. Excellent work!

That's all for now. Check it out. I can't wait to see what Gygax Magazine has in store for next season.

Mortellan's Gencon Recap

 

Crosslinked from the Canonfire Crier blog, here is a summary of some items from Gencon 2013 that may be of interest to the Greyhawk community. Enjoy!

Reading: Gygax Magazine #1

Well folks, I finally got issue one in the mail of the quarterly Gygax Magazine. And it's a print issue to boot! As you can see from the pic to the left, Gygax Magazine is a throwback to the old days of Dragon Magazine and boy does it show! From the tone of the cover art and logo to the interior fonts and table of content layout, this magazine makes you nostalgic from the get-go.

Not only does Luke and Ernest Gygax get articles spotlighted inside there is a good mix of classic authors featured such as Tim Kask, Lenard Lakofka, Dennis Sustare and James M. Ward. Sprinkled inbetween is a cavalcade of new faces and current industry leaders like Steve Kenson and Wolfgang Baur. All the articles are supported by traditional black and white illustrations, some by artists you'd expect to see in a Dragon Magazine clone like Jeff Dee, Diesel and Tom Wham. And of course, what D&D magazine would be complete without a trio of full color comics? Rich Burlew (Order of the Stick), Jim Wampler (Marvin the Mage) and Phil Foglio (What's New? with Phil and Dixie) all offer up their best at the end of this magazine.

The content of the articles themselves varies from reminiscing about the early days of D&D to your typical insights on bridging the gaps of D&D editions and gamer generations. There's no word whether they'll be allowed to use official D&D settings yet, with this lineup one can only hope someday. There is useable game offerings in this issue though for current systems like Pathfinder. So hopefully there's bound to be something in here for everyone. You'll have to buy a copy yourself to see. ;)

What impressed me most about the issue however, was that I read it from cover to cover. Not just the articles but the game ads, the credits, the artwork. It may have been the newness factor, but I once relished getting Dragon in the mail just like this and would immediately pour over every inch of it. That is till around the end of 2nd and the beginning of 3rd edition, then something changed in the tone of the magazine. I can't put my finger on it but here was no heart I think. I started to cherry pick articles to read (no pseudo-Greyhawk related material in Gygax #1 btw) that would apply to the game I run and then ignore the rest. It also may have been an overwhelming focus on crunch and full color art that assaulted my brain back then. With Gygax Magazine I think they found that old school formula again. My only complaint is I have to wait three months for the next issue!

Update 05/13/2021: I am not sure of the status of this outfit. I do know they aren't publishing anymore, and the last issue I paid for (#4? #5?) was never delivered, so...meh!

Good Time To Be Old School

Just a quick post today to reflect on all that's going on. I must say, it's a good time for old school D&D! We got Gygax Magazine releasing this week, we got Wizards of the Coast re-releasing their PDFs of which the best selling are the classics, and badge registration starts for Gencon Indy 2013 on Sunday. I expect this year will be a banner year for the old school crowd at Gencon what with the new magazine and D&D's 180 toward revisiting classic D&D products. Be it PDFs or reprints of classic hardbacks or creating a new edition that harkens back (or tries) to the earlier versions of D&D, I haven't been this jazzed about D&D news since Pathfinder first came out. 

Beyond all this, it's full steam ahead on Greyhawk community material as usual. And who knows? Maybe our fanbase will once again have a day in the sun someday soon.

Update 05/09/2021: Changed link to DMsGuild. You can find most all OOP Greyhawk material on this site.