The Week In Gaming

RPGs

Game designer and podcaster Nathan Russellhas taken a spur from NaNoWriMo – National Novel Writing Month, in case you didn’t know, which is semi-organized each November – and proposed the complementary NaGa DeMon, or National Game Design Month for this November 2011. Russell proposes four simple rules for NaGa DeMon:

• Create the game in November.
• Finish the game in November.
• Play the game in November.
• Talk about your experience.

Should you care to see what others are doing or get involved yourself, a number of people have adopted the hashtag #NaGaDeMon on Twitter and are posting progress reports.

WotC has released the Dragon Collector’s Set, a limited edition boxed set which contains five of D&D’s most iconic dragons. Each box contains five non-random, pre-painted, durable plastic miniatures for use in the Dungeons & Dragons Roleplaying Game, and has a suggested retail price of $44.99.

Pathfinder fans can buy 101 new feats for 14 classes.

Darrin Drader, who has contributed to many products from various publishers including WotC and Paizo, has been working on a novel called Echoes of Olympus, which he describes as “Clash of the Titans meets HBO’s Rome by way of H.P. Lovecraft”. The full book isn’t yet available, but you can read the first 70 pages.

The new D & D Encounters season, Beyond the Crystal Cave starts November 16th. Check with your local game store to see if they are participating. While you are there you can check and make sure they will be offering the new Lair Assault, Talon of Umberlee which begins in December.

Rule of Three by Rich Baker once again answers your questions about player skill vs. character skill, the role of MMO’s and other games in the development of D&D, and lessons learned in game design since the release of 4th Edition.

Will Hindmarch to announced a free bit of DLC for the Dragon Age RPG. It’s Faces of Thedas: Tallis (PDF), featuring an exclusive interview with Felicia Day, writer and star of the web series, Dragon Age: Redemption, plus RPG stats for Tallis, Day’s character from the series and the Dragon Age II DLC, Mark of the Assassin!

Announcing PaizoCon 2012, the annual gathering of Paizo staff, special guests, Pathfinder RPG players, and members of their message board community! 2012’s event will take place on July 6–8 at the Marriot Redmond Town Center hotel in Redmond, Washington. In addition to the regular annual festivities, PaizoCon 2012 is a celebration of Paizo’s 10th anniversary, as well as 5 years of the Pathfinder Adventure Path! The entire Paizo staff as well as a community of Pathfinder gamers, artists, and designers will be on hand with special events created just for the show. If you’ve never had a chance to visit PaizoCon, 2012 is definitely the best year to start.

You can order your $40 three-day convention badge today. While you’re at it, be sure to pick up a ticket to the highly anticipated Pathfinder Preview Banquet, where they show off upcoming products and reveal secrets you won’t be able to learn anywhere else! The banquet has sold out every year they’ve held it, so it’s a good idea to pick up a ticket as soon as you’re sure you can make it to the convention.

This year they are pleased to announce a new location for PaizoCon: The Marriot Redmond Town Center hotel, a great facility situated along an outdoor shopping center with plenty of excellent options for local dining and quality shopping (including a game store and comic shop!). The hotel features more space for games and seminars than their previous location, an on-site bar and restaurant, and more rooms for attendees. The Marriott has extended a special offer of $85 per night for PaizoCon guests, available until June 13th. Make your hotel reservation by calling 1-425-498-4000, and don’t forget to mention PaizoCon to get the special room rate!

Stay tuned to the Paizo Blog in the coming weeks for more announcements about their Guests of Honor, special game industry guests, and events. In the meantime, please check out the PaizoCon FAQ, which answers a lot of commonly asked questions about the convention.

Please also visit paizo.com/paizocon, the official homepage of the convention, where they’ll post additional details as they become available.

Wargames

Preorder from Multi-Man Publishing. Festung Budapest is the eighth Historical ASL module, takes players to the western side of the Hungarian capital. Seventeen scenarios and three Campaign Games cover the fighting on the Buda side of the Danube just west of the Castle Hill area during the period from 1 January through 10 February while representing the bitter struggle for the heart of the city. Preorder Price: $97.50 (save $32.50).

Preorder from Multi-Man Publishing. Roads Through Rome is the eighth Action Pack for Advanced Squad Leader, focuses on the war in the Mediterranean and the Allied drive through Rome and up the Italian peninsula. From the first engagement of American and German armor in Tunisia, to the entry into the “Eternal City” and beyond. Features three maps and ten scenarios which require all ASL core modules. Preorder Price: $25.50 (save $8.50).

KickStarter Program offer from Collins Epic Wargames. Frontline General: Spearpoint 1943 Village and Defensive Line Map Expansion (CEW00005, MSRP $55) is a map-based expansion to our fast-paced WWII-themed card game, Frontline General: Spearpoint 1943. It also expands a future game in the Spearpoint line, Frontline General: Spearpoint 1943 Eastern Front. The map expansion featured here takes the basic Spearpoint 1943 card game to a new level of tactical enjoyment for our fan base. Immersion is the goal as you dive into fictional intros by author Mark H. Walker, realistic artwork by German artist Marc von Martial, and well-tested rules that seamlessly tie it all together with the original game and its components. This is a Kickstarter Funding Program offer where you sponsor the product release.

Coming up next from Against the Odds. Issue #34 featuring the insert game, Right Fierce and Terrible. This game covers the (naval) Battle of Sluys, which was one of the opening acts of the Hundred Years War in 1340. Along with the naval battle, land-based battles and melee combat tactics are also captured in Jeremy White’s innovative design. Subscribe now for 4 issues of Against the Odds Magazine to receive this release.

Boardgames

Tasty Minstrel Games‘ Michael Mindes is conducting a series of interviews on his blog and the TMG blog with designers, publishers and others in the game industry. Previous interview subjects (with interviews linked to their names) include Tom Lehmann, Ryan Laukat, Bruno Faidutti, Seth Jaffee, and most recently Phil Eklund.

The FallCon Gaming Society has awarded its annual Canadian Game Design Award to Matt Tolman’s Undermining, newly released from Z-Man Games. Valley Games flew in advance copies of the 2010 CGDA winner, Roberta Taylor’s Octopus’ Garden, for the 2011 FallCon convention, which means that game will likely be hitting retailers in the next couple of months.

Guidelines for the 2012 CGDA are online, with the deadline for rule set submission being Jan. 31, 2012.