Gamer's Haven Podcast

Ethan has had the chance to talk to the Lone Wolf Development guys before, but at Gen Con 2011, they were showcasing their new campaign management tool, Realmworks.  Lone Wolf Development, of course, is the creators of the award-winning Hero Lab. This is another installment in a series of short interviews from the floor of Gen Con 2011. About Lone Wolf Development Lone Wolf Development specializes in creating innovative digital tools for the tabletop gaming industry, allowing players to streamline game preparation, eliminate errors, and spend more time playing the games they love. With an ever-growing suite of tools, including the award-winning Army Builder and Hero Lab products, Lone Wolf’s digital tools are the industry standard and are in regular use by tens of thousands of gamers, from miniatures games to role-playing games. Find out more about Lone Wolf Development by visiting our web site atwww.wolflair.com. [flgallery id=2 /]

Ethan had the chance to sit in on an interesting seminar about the paranormal and culture’s ideas and interpretations thereof. This is another installment in a series of seminar recordings from Gen Con 2011. [flgallery id=2 /]

Ethan and Tracy (from Troll in the Corner) were meandering around the convention floor at Gen Con 2011, and had a happenstance run-in with Forgotten Realms creator and author Ed Greenwood.  What follows is a recording of a fantastic conversation the two of them had with this legend in the D&D universe. This is another installment in a series of short interviews from the floor of Gen Con 2011. About Ed Greenwood Ed Greenwood (born 1959) is a Canadian writer and editor who created the Forgotten Realms. He invented the Forgotten Realms as a child, as a fantasy world in which to set the stories he imagined, and later used this world as a campaign setting for his own personal Dungeons & Dragons playing group. He began writing articles about the Forgotten Realms for Dragon magazine beginning in 1979, and he sold the rights to the setting to TSR in 1986. Greenwood has written many more articles andD&D game supplement books for the setting, and has written Forgotten Realms novels as a freelance author. About Troll in the Corner Our aim is to provide a fun, vibrant community for folks like us.  Who are we you might ask? We’re gamers.  We love RPGs, board games, video games, CCGs, dice games, games where you juggle live hedgehogs.  You name it, we love it.  We’re figuring you do as well or you wouldn’t be here. We’re comic book readers.  Give us a cover where someone is wearing a cape or a nice example of Onomatopoeia and we’re in heaven.  Who needs sunlight when there are stacks to read, sort and box up? We’re SF/F fans.  Elves and of course Trolls rock.  Give them a beam weapon and the ability to hack SSL certs on a distributed network of proto-AIs and we’re talking good times. Recently TC has taken an interest in independent (and I guess dependent) films.  There’s a whole world of interesting short and feature length films out there that don’t necessarily play in the megaplexes.  Huge Hollywood productions have their appeals but smaller films have people who will talk to the likes of us. Please, make yourself at home, loosen up and be who you really are while you spend time in this community.  We’re all a little different and we ask that you accept these differences rather than harp on them so that we can all feel free to indulge in our love of gaming. [flgallery id=2 /]

Ethan had the pleasure to speak with Ivan Van Norman of Hunters Books, publishers of the hit role-playing game Outbreak Undead (who Ethan interviewed a while back in September 2010).  Since then, Outbreak Undead has become a huge hit, and Hunters Books had a few things to announce this year, besides being distributed through Studio 2 Publishing. This is another installment in a series of short interviews from the floor of Gen Con 2011. About Hunters Books Hunters Books and Apparel, In 1999 the Hunter, Vincent St.Clair, came to the United States and was appalled at the lack of preparedness against evil forces. He wanted to make a change in the public knowledge of these threats. With that goal in mind, he and his team of Hunters have developed Outbreak Undead, a Zombie Survival Role-Playing Game with the tag “Your Zombie Survival Plan Will Fail!” and challenges players to prove them wrong. Learn more about our game and visit the “SPEW-AI” stations, where you can create yourself as a character, at our booth. In the days of Facebook, Twitter, and Wikipedia, information is power, and these men reek of it. While working on the book, they still continue their hunter life, and stalk the shadows of the unknown to this day. About Outbreak Undead “Outbreak Undead” is a Zombie Survival Simulation RPG that is not only fun, but an essential step in surviving the Undead. We at Hunters Books have provided the most dramatic, effective, and above all realistic means in which to (safely) simulate the events of a zombie uprising and try your chances at survival! Included in Outbreak Undead, players will find: • A simple and unique percentile based combat system • Everyday items that can be used as weapons! You’ll soon find that anything and everything can be used to destroy the undead. • Endless scenario types, with the ability to form missions from any and all existing zombie lore and fan-fiction • Easy-to-use charts that can be used to customize outbreak scenarios for players of all levels of experience • Dynamic rule-sets, designed to turn the game into a simulation, including realistic factors such as “Panic,” “Pain,” and “Empathy” • Character templates for all survivor archetypes, such as firemen, military personnel, and civilians. The core rulebook of Outbreak Undead consists of a player’s guide, a game-master’s guide, and a zombie guide. Everything you need to play is contained in one place. The convenience of three books in one! [flgallery id=2 /]

While at Gen Con 2011, Ethan made it to the Crafty Games Seminar, detailing what Crafty Games has up its sleeve for the foreseeable future.  Hot on the heels of announcing that they are putting out a role-playing game based on Brian Sanderson’s Mistborn, Crafty Games has a slew of new stuff they’re working on. This is first in a series of seminar recordings from Gen Con 2011. About Crafty Games Crafty Games was founded in 2005 but its roots date back to 2002, with the release of the award-winning Spycraft RPG (now referred to as Classic Spycraft). Alderac Entertainment Group gave three ambitious lunatics with keyboards and a dream the chance to produce a d20-based espionage roleplaying game and the world was never the same. Blending elegant, balanced rules with thrilling, original settings, Spycraft and its many derivatives landed on the gaming scene like a neutron bomb. Sales charts burst into flames, players took to the streets with graffiti campaigns to spread the word, and the designers were pelted with ridiculous gilded awards in the shape of Ursula Andress in that awesome bikini from Dr. No. Well, that last part might be a bit of an exaggeration, but so far no one’s disproved it in a court of law so we’re sticking to the facts as we know them. Shortly after the release of the game’s second edition, Spycraft 2.0, AEG discontinued most of its RPG lines. This left Spycraft without a home and gave its creators an opportunity to steal it away and make with the happy, happy fun time (read: global domination). Back room deals were brokered and sacrifices were made, and here we are: a band of merry maniacs and a growing army of the coolest, most dedicated fans in the biz, scheming from the shadows. The Blueprint for Tomorrow ™ is here and soon, yes, very soon, there will be trembling. Could be the world, or more likely us, but trembling will be had. And it will be mighty indeed. [flgallery id=2 /]

Ethan had the pleasure to run into Christopher Badell of Greater Than Games, publishers of Sentinels of the Multiverse, a cooperative superhero card game at Gen Con 2011. By happenstance, Greater Than Games is currently located right here in Kansas City! This is the third installment in a series of short interviews from the floor of Gen Con 2011. About Greater Than Games Greater Than Games, aka >G, is all about making the games that we have always wanted to play.  We love playing games, and we love our ridiculous process of game creation.  The most important thing to us is making the sorts of games we want to play available to everyone. Our first product here at >G is Sentinels of the Multiverse, a cooperative card game in which 3 to 5 players control a team of super powered heroes battling a dastardly villain.  Sentinels of the Multiverse, or SotM, provides players with an innovative, streamlined game play experience that is easy to learn but requires strategic, team-based thinking.  The game comes with ten different heroes, allowing players to build myriad hero teams and find new ways to challenge the villains.  There are four different villains, each with unique mechanics and challenges, and four dynamic environments in which the battles take place.  This flexibility adds enormous replay value and ensures that no two SotM games will play the same. [flgallery id=2 /]

Ethan had the chance to talk with Brian Kowalski, head of Blue Kabuto Games, publishers of Cookie Fu and Grandmaster Chi Battles, at Gen Con 2011. This is the second installment in a series of short interviews from the floor of Gen Con 2011. About Blue Kabuto Games Blue Kabuto Games is a small game design company located in Albany, NY. Founded by Brian Kowalski, Blue Kabuto Games strives to produce quality games that have a unique style and are fun to play. Blue Kabuto Games games posses simple mechanics, ease of playability and a high fun factor. By keeping production costs low, Blue Kabuto Games is able to focus more on creative design and content. To view a list of current games in development, visit the games page for more information. [flgallery id=2 /]

    While walking the floor of Gen Con 2011, Ethan had the chance to stop off at Battle Bunker Games, publishers of Dice of the Dead, Please Stand By, and Adventurer’s Tiles. This is the first in a series of short interviews from Gen Con 2011. About Battle Bunker Games Battle Bunker Games was founded by Dan Hinkle in 2004 as a retail game and hobby store. In 2006 BBG closed its store front location and moved to online sales and underwent a business restructuring as Dan joined the U.S. Navy, serving four years in Maritime Expeditionary Security Squadron Four. BBG is now a small publisher and game design studio. [flgallery id=2 /]

Ethan had the chance to finally sit down with Jim Butcher, author of the Dresden Files and Codex Alera books series, and talk with him about gaming, world creation, and, of course, the latest addition to the Dresden universe, Ghost Story. About Jim Butcher Jim Butcher (born in Independence, Missouri, United States, on October 26, 1971) is a New York Times Best Selling author most known for his contemporaryfantasy book series The Dresden Files. He also wrote the Codex Alera series. Butcher grew up as the only son of his parents, and has two older sisters. He currently lives in Independence with his wife, Shannon K. Butcher (an author of romance novels), one son, and his guard dog, F. D. M. Butcher. About the Dresden Files The Dresden Files is a series of fantasy/mystery novels written by Jim Butcher. He provides a first person narrative of each story from the point of view of the main character, private investigator and wizard Harry Dresden, as he recounts investigations into supernatural disturbances in modern-day Chicago. Butcher’s original proposed title for the first novel was “Semiautomagic”, which sums up the series’ balance of fantasy and hard-boiled detective fiction. In 2007, a television series based on the novels aired for one season on the American Sci-Fi Channel. About Ghost Story Ghost Story is the 13th book in The Dresden Files, Jim Butcher‘s continuing series about wizard detective Harry Blackstone Copperfield Dresden. Initially, the story was to have been titled Dead, but this title was rejected and Butcher went with Ghost Story. Buy Ghost Story from the Gamer’s Haven Amazon Store [flgallery id=2 /]

As with last year, Jeremy and Ethan take to the podium to dole out the awards for KantCon 2011! [flgallery id=2 /]

It’s that time of year, again, and KantCon is nigh.  We take time out of our busy schedules to talk a bit about KantCon this year, and what you can expect to see. We also talk a bit about those who supported KantCon this year!   In the Three Parter, Nathan talks a bit about what he’s into with Hollow Earth Expedition and Slipstream, while Jeremy reviews the Minecraft beta.  Ethan wraps things up with a usual shameless plug. Running time on this episode is 131 minutes. About Hollow Earth Expedition Explore one of the world’s greatest and most dangerous secrets: the Hollow Earth, a savage land filled with dinosaurs, lost civilizations, and ferocious savages! Players take on the roles of two-fisted adventurers, eager academics and intrepid journalists investigating the mysteries of the Hollow Earth. Meanwhile, on the surface, world powers and secret societies vie for control of what may be the most important discovery in all of human history. Set in the tense and tumultuous 1930s, the action-filled Hollow Earth Expedition is inspired by the literary works of genre giants Edgar Rice Burroughs, Jules Verne, and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. The subterranean action is powered by Ubiquity, an innovative roleplaying system that emphasizes storytelling and cinematic action. About Slipstream Beyond the black holes lies the Slipstream, a pocket universe of shattered worlds, desperate aliens, and savage monsters. Ruling over the shattered isles is the diabolical Queen Anathraxa, who some say is close to finding a way to escape this interstellar prison. Strap on your rocket pack, charge your ray gun, and prepare to blast off into the the most wild and exotic Savage Setting yet—the Slipstream! Slipstream is a pulp science fiction Plot Point™ setting for the award-winningSavage Worlds Roleplaying Game™ in the style of Flash Gordon, Buck Rogers, and the rocketeering heroes of space opera. About Minecraft Minecraft is a sandbox building indie video game written in Java originally by Swedish creator Markus “Notch” Persson and now by his company, Mojang, formed from the proceeds of the game. It was released on May 17, 2009, with a Beta on December 20, 2010. Official releases for iOS and Android are currently in development to be released later in 2011 along with a full version of the game; the Android release will be temporarily exclusive to the Xperia Play. A version of the game for the Xbox 360 with Kinect support is under development by 4J Studios. The game is focused on creativity and building, allowing players to build constructions out of textured cubes in a 3D world. The game has two variants – free Classic and paid Beta – where Classic is focused entirely on construction with unlimited material supply, whereas Beta requires players to acquire resources themselves, and contains mobs, player health, and additional features and items. The gameplay is heavily inspired by Infiniminer by Zachtronics Industries, Dwarf Fortress byBay 12 Games and Dungeon Keeper by Bullfrog Productions. The game is currently in development and Beta is the only continuously updated version of the game. Minecraft was developed for about a week before its public release on May 17, 2009, on the TIGSource forums, where it gained a considerable level of popularity. It has been continually updated and patched since then, and while it was still in alpha release, it garnered several hundred thousand sales and received critical notice and acclaim from many reviewers. It passed a million units sold on January 12, 2011, less than a month after reaching Beta. By June 13, 2011, the game had sold 2.5 million units. About KantCon KantCon is a new gaming convention for tabletop hobby gamers in the Kansas City area, created by tabletop hobby gamers in the Kansas City area. The only available gaming conventions and large gatherings of gamers in the Kansas City area are limited to the beginning of the year, and the end of the year, in March and November,[...]

Lamentations of the Flame Princess In this episode, we sit down and talk some religion … in your game, that is.  We talk about how you can use religion, both as an abstract, and as a direct motivator, including religious organizations.  We touch on using religion in a fantasy setting, and in a contemporary or futuristic setting.  In the Three Parter, Nathan reviews Lamentations of the Flame Princess, while Jeremy has a rant on his latest bout with AT&T, and Ethan gives us a shameless plug. Total Running Time on this Episode is 104 minutes. About Lamentations of the Flame Princess Beyond the borders of civilization, beyond the influence of manipulating politicians, greedy merchants, iron-handed clergy, and the broken masses that toil for their benefit, the ruins of ancient civilizations call to those bold enough, and desperate enough, to escape the oppression of mundane life. Treasure and glory await those courageous enough to wrest it from the darkness. But the danger is great, for lurking in the forgotten shadows are forces far more corrupt than even civilization. The price for freedom might be paid in souls. Buy Lamentations of the Flame Princess from RPGNow [flgallery id=2 /]

Vornheim Jeremy had the chance to sit down and take a look at the Vornheim book from Lamentations of the Flame Princess. About Vornheim: The Complete City Kit We asked Zak S., the game master of I Hit With My Axe, to make a little book full of the notes he had when running city adventures – and everything he wished he had. He gave us not only a sourcebook detailing key rules, tables, monsters and places in Vornheim – the city at the center of the Axe campaign – but also a treasure chest of resources for running adventures in any city. Need to know how to get from here to there even if neither here nor there are listed on a map? Even if there is no map? Need a random encounter? Need instant stats for that random encounter? Need to know why there was a random encounter? This book was designed to help you make a city happen now. In addition to details on Vornheim, adventure locations, and player commentary from the I Hit It With My Axe girls, every single surface below this jacket – including the back of the jacket, the book covers underneath, and the inside covers – has been crammed full of tools to help you build and run a city in a First, Second, Third, or Fourth Edition game. Buy Vornheim from RPGNow [flgallery id=2 /]

We welcome a special guest in this episode when we talk about using music in your game for a short time, then move on to the important stuff, and talk with our guest, the Lone Gunman!  Then, in the Three Parter, Nathan talks a little about what he’s into with Diablo II, while Ethan reviews a handful of the Mutants & Masterminds Threat Report PDFs and the Mutants & Masterminds GM’s Kit, both from Green Ronin Publishing, and Jeremy gets all shadowy when he wraps things up with a double review of the Wizards of the Coast products Player’s Option: Heroes of Shadow and Shadowfell: Gloomwrought and Beyond.  We then wrap up the episode with a nice bow with a few random encounters … Total running time on this episode is 133 minutes. The Lone Gunman About The Lone Gunman Kansas City area Filk artist, TheLoneGunman (Alex Boyd), is going to be on hand at KantCon 2011 to play his assortment of oddball, geek-related, acoustic music during the breaks between gaming slots. Alex is a local musician who has a love for all things geeky, nerdy, silly, science fiction, the people that love that stuff too and his love for folk music. So come on down to KantCon 2011, and enjoy some local music at the same time you’re enjoying hours of great gameplay! “My music is simple, stemming from the fact that I spend all my time practicing drums and not guitar and my love for the Ramones. The songs are about whatever it is I feel like singing about, from silly songs with no point whats so ever, to epic stories where the tunes are like chapters in a book and everything in between.” The Lone Gunman has new CDs coming out on May 28, 2011.  You can learn more about The Lone Gunman by visiting his website where you can listen to some of his tracks. The Lone Gunman will be performing in Kansas City in two upcoming performances: May 20, 2011 at 31st Century Game and Hobby located at 2113 E 151st St # B, Olathe, KS 66062-2931.  Call them at (913) 397-7706 June 10, 2011 at Borders located at 15350 West 119th Street, Olathe, KS 60062 for a “Hunger Games” show.  Call them at (913) 764-0336. And, of course, The Lone Gunman will be performing live at KantCon 2011, so what are you waiting for?  Pre-Register to attend KantCon 2011! Diablo II About Diablo II Diablo II is a dark fantasy/horror-themed hack and slash, with elements of the role playing game and dungeon crawl genres. It was released for Windows and Mac OS in 2000 by Blizzard Entertainment, and was developed by Blizzard North. It is a direct sequel to the 1996 hit PC game, Diablo. Diablo II was one of the most popular games of 2000. Major factors that contributed to Diablo II’s success include its continuation of popular fantasy themes from the previous game, and its access to the free online play service, Battle.net. The game was conceptualized and designed by David Brevik and Erich Schaefer, who with Max Schaefer acted as Project Leads on the game. The main production roles were handled by Matthew Householder and Bill Roper. An expansion to Diablo II, Diablo II: Lord of Destruction, was released in 2001, and is currently at version 1.13c. A sequel, Diablo III, was announced in 2008. Buy Diablo II from the Gamer’s Haven Amazon Store ($14.99) Buy Diablo II from Noble Knight Games ($10.00) About the Mutants & Masterminds Threat Reports The Threat Report is formatted as an update from AEGIS, the American Elite Government Intervention Service, the government agency in the World of Freedom tasked with handling super-powered menaces. In particular, initial Threat Reports deal with increased activity coming out of Emerald City on the west coast, to tie-in with the forthcoming Heroes Journey adventure series, also set in Emerald City. Things are happening in the city, and your heroes need to know! The report is introduced by an AEGIS field agent and includes a complete character sheet with M&M Third Edition game i[...]

Product Review: Monster Vault for D&D Essentials In this episode, we try out some new theme music courtesy of TheLoneGunman.  Please let us know if you like it or not, as it is a grand experiment! On to the meat of the episode, we all talk about implementing house rules in your game, and talk a bit about the house rules we’ve run into, and even the house rules we use ourselves. In the Three Parter, Jeremy takes a look at the D&D Essentials Monster Vault, while Nathan talks a bit about what he’s into, and Ethan wraps things up with a spot of news that he found entertaining. Total running time of this episode is 93 minutes. About D&D Essentials Monster Vault This essential product for Dungeon Masters collects the most iconic monsters of the Dungeons & Dragons world in one handy box and presents all-new variants, including new spins on such beloved monsters as dragons, orcs, and vampires. The monsters described herein are designed to be easy for Dungeon Masters to use and fun for players to fight. In addition to combat statistics, each monster entry comes with story information to help DMs incorporate the monsters into their adventures and campaigns. Buy Monster Vault from the Gamer’s Haven Amazon Store ($19.79) Buy Monster Vault from Noble Knight Games ($21.56) [flgallery id=2 /]