Need to Clean House!

I have multitudes of shelves filled with books for a variety of different, pen and paper based, role playing games. I pretty much love them all for one reason or another. :)

But sometimes you come to realize the amount of gaming stuff you have, and how little of it you will actually use. I admit that I like a good deal and, because of when I started to game (back in the day), owning different systems to play many different genres or simply mechanical approaches was completely acceptable!

If I wanted to play a game in Middle Earth, it wasn't D&D that came to mind but rather MERP (Middle Earth Role Playing). Star Wars was Star Wars (ahem... there was only the West End Games d6 version), Shadowrun was Shadowrun, Traveller was Traveller, and Rifts was just messed up. You get the point. D&D (and forgive me if I lump all pre 3rd edition together here) was the game of choice as fantasy was my genre of choice. This was also before the 90's and TSR hadn't alienated me as a consumer yet. All I know was there were many games to be head all with their own systems and I had no qualms what-so-ever about checking them out and acuiring them if I happened to stumble upon them in a hobby shop.

Of course, the 90's kind of burnt me out on the whole D&D thing and while my interest was renewed with 3rd edition, aside from a small campaign I ran when it had just came out, I hadn't really touched it again till about 2005. In fact, I had hardly touched anything related to gaming in a period that lasted about a decade (between 1995 and 2005) and it was during this time where I parted with a couple of things. Unfortunately, when the interest got re-awakened again largely due to C&C and finally cementing a good gaming group, I came to regret a couple of these decisions and, in some cases, began tracking down things I had sold or given away as well as exploring other systems again.

To a degree, exploring other systems and older material in general became important to me for nothing else but because a lot of it was being 'washed away in a see of d20 OGL material'. At least this is what it certainly looked like when visiting my local hobby shop at the time.

I am older and a bit wiser now. It was initially an incident with my cat that shifted my decision to sell some of my gaming material a couple of years ago. And I did manage to sell a small chunk of the collection (which freed up about half a bookshelf). The money was welcome and helped with the bills but it felt oddly comforting to 'free myself' with material that I once loved but knew I wouldn't be using again. I've sold and traded a few things here and there, though nothing quite as substantial as the lot I sold then. For the curious: the lot was the majority of my TSR-era Forgotten Realms material (mostly 1st and early 2nd edition AD&D).

The unfortunate thing is that it can be a time consuming proposition to try and sell these online made more complicated when dealing with the realities of selling 'across borders' with the increased shipping rates it incurs. I have had about two crates of stuff ready to be sold for the better part of a year now and still a few items from a couple of years ago.

I also have a bunch of other stuff I haven't really thought much about and other stuff that I do have an attachment for but know in my mind, I won't touch. A few examples:

I enjoyed Shadowrun, and I have what I need to run a campaign (1st / 2nd edition). I have multiple rulebooks... 1 hardcover and a couple of softcovers as well as some key accessories for it.

I had a love for WEG's d6 Star Wars... I have a CRATE (30 or so books and around 10 of which are hardback) ready to go and that still leaves me with a bunch of that material to run Star Wars if Iwas so inclined.

I have a couple copies of Nephelim... a game which I thought was really cool but ultimately never took off.

I have the majority of the DCC run up to and including the Castle Whiterock. I am missing around 4 modules and considering which 4, it will likely remain incomplete. Even then... I love those products and I don't know if I can part with those.

As an example of some things I have parted with and then got again:

MERP... I had parted with the cool MERP box set I used to have with a few of the sourcebooks but, when Role Master Express was released, I got really nostaligic and just had to track down MERP once again. Fortunately in that case, I was able to get it without spending much money.

Anyway, the list can go on and on... Pendragon... Role Master... Rune Quest... Call of Cthulhu... Stormbringer... Twilight 2000... Twilight 2013... Traveller... Marvel Super Heroes... Rifts... TMNT... Tunnels & Trolls... etc etc etc

Add to that all that d20 material I have also collected in a short period of time and I think it's safe to say that my gaming collection is easily 5x larger than it once was and this was largely accomplished in the past 5 years.

I just need to break the collection down one piece at a time I guess. ;)

M

Kickstarters & Pre-Orders

I think kickstarters and pre-order specials can be neat even if they aren't exactly the same.

Both serve to help fund the project though some of the things that go through Kickstarter usually rely upon a certain amount of funds being raised in order for the project to come to fruition. When we had started putting together Victorious, we had planned to do some sort of pre-order to help offset the costs of our initial print run -- John and I had worked out approximate costs for publication for a run of 'X' copies with the larger balance headed straight into retail stores. All that was needed was to sell 'Y' number of copies. Anything left over from the initial print run would have either come out of our pockets and the extra money would have gone to cover previous expenses that the project incurred.

Aside from what didn't end up happening... Arcana Creation never went the Kickstarter / Pre-order route. The most I could see happening is a pre-order for something once it was in it's last stages prior to a physical production of the product in question and ONLY when Arcana Creations is back on track and regularly producing material.

As a consumer, I don't mind Pre-Ordering a variety of things (sometimes for the benefits of exclusives and other times to ensure I get a copy). I have seen some awesome Kickstarter efforts as well. One of the best in recent memory was TLG's Kickstarter for their 'Classic Monsters' book. Now TLG had made it clear that it was just using Kickstarter as a vehicle to help track and organize the pre-order efforts but I think they set a very nice example given prices and breakdown. They had seven levels of pledges -- lowest being a $1 donation and the highest being $100. In the last days of this 'pre-order' window, I opted for the $100 package.

This is what I'm getting in that package:

- A limited edition copy (includes colour plates) of the Classic Monsters book in Hardcover
- Hardcover copies of the PHB, M&T, and CKG
- Digital copies of all these books
- An adventure module (my choice)
- T-Shirt featuring cover artwork ofthe Classics Monsters book
- And finally, a collection of 20 promotional coins with pouch.

Definite value for my dollar in my books. Of course, other options cost far less and you got less material consequently. Then again, if you already had the other stuff, why spend as much right?

In my case, I had 'most' of the stuff but I didn't have a physical copy of the CKG and am behind with a couple of the modules. Given the typical cost of shipping to Canada and the inclusion of a T-Shirt, I'm still doing quite well and it's a 'break-even' proposition at the very least. The extra PHB and M&T will not be going to waste either... they could easily become gifts or simply extra reference copies at the gaming table. From the sounds of it, this package should be shipping out to me within the next couple of weeks.

Now while I did love their efforts with this, I was less taken with another effort which opened up within a couple of weeks of the last one. It just ended a day or two ago and while I took advantage of it to expressly pre-order the book, I didn't care so much for the other packages being offered. This time, TLG decided to run it off their own page and prices ranged from $1 to $175. Don't get me wrong, the $100 and $175 packages were neat and some of the lower ones interesting as well. I ultimately settled of $25 which is basically a signed copy of the book (softcover) plus a digital copy with the printed maps. It also gives me 5 more of those coins and my name goes in the acknowledgements. For $10 more, I could have named 'something' (the book is largely setting oriented) whether it be an NPC, town, river, etc. Decided the $10 could be better used elsewhere.

At $175, you got the accessory in whatever format you wished ... be it hardcover or boxset with single softcover or 3 booklets and the maps, a hardcover copy of the Monsters & Treasurs of Aihrde, the Winter Dark Setting Folio, a wooden box containing the carved wooden tiles of the runes featured in the new accessory, and a personalized PHB which contains the new class and game system specific information introducedin the accessory.

Some interesting value and some people did go for it (I think there were 6 available at the start of this but I don't know if all 6 were taken) but I didn't find the value matching the value from their first Kickstarter effort. That said, it is still in line with some of the things I have seen on Kickstarter.

While I support these sorts of 'funding' events, I have to say that the frequency between the first and second one that TLG did was probably too soon -- especially coming out of the holidays. I know I wouldn't have gone much higher ($50 included the book in hardcover but also included the folio which I already owned) but it was still nice to see that there was a good spread to choose from if you were so inclined.

Of course, money is not abundant so I haven't exactly been keeping up with some of the other interesting kickstarter efforts (for gaming product) but given the state of the gaming hobby and industry, it seems to be a growing trend.

M

From 2011 to 2012 - Part 3

Well now... Where does all of this leave me and why is it taking so long to be introspective?

Arcana Creations came to be largely because of my knowledge and love of roleplaying games. I was first approached by John (Brave Halfling Publishing) to head up the editing and technical proofreading for the first C&C module BHP published. This was the early digest version of the adventure entitled 'The Secret of Ronan Skerry'. When we decided to take the module into wider distribution, Arcana Creations was born. Shortly after, a C&C version of 'The Ruins of Ramat' was released in digest form followed by 'A Trick on the Tain'. Arcana Creations had been slowly growing even though sales had decreased overall. With this last module out, work had begun, stalled, restarted, and changed for Victorious. Despite the best of intentions we all had going into the project, unexpected challenges at the start of the project continued to plague it until the very end when the Agreement was dissolved. Personal and real life issues towards the last quarter of 2010 and the first couple months of 2011 only prolonged this nebulous period.

Things had started to turn around in 2011 as I realized a need to work on a few cool ideas I had floating in my head. I also began anew to reign in and sort out some lingering issues with Victorious. Of course being just one man, When I perceived that certain things with Victorious had begun to get back on track and resolved, my other efforts (namely Ballista) got shelved to ensure a Fall release of Victorious.

Things did not go to plan.

As elements of putting Victorious were coming together, other things did not. The details don't really matter but I was committed to having this released in the Fall. Ideally, it would have come out towards the end of November (before the new Holmes movie was released) and, if I was lucky, surprise some people with the first issue of Ballista. Managing the release of Victorious would have been a great success for Arcana Creations.

As it stands, 2011 was an abject failure for Arcana Creations. No single product was actually released last year. Even my own campaigns are on hold. But I choose to look on 2012 as opportunity.

Instead of just forging ahead and releasing what I had for Ballista since, Victorious was no longer on my plate, I decided to hold back the release of Ballista for a couple of reasons. One, I just needed a break and some time to think. Two, having suffered what I view was a significant setback, was beginning looking at releasing what I had envisioned for Ballista in different ways.

Working on Victorious had started as something I really wanted to do but towards the end, other concerns forced my hand and direction on that project. The reason I got into doing this in the first place was my love for the game and finely put together projects. Just looking at the first module we sent into distribution and then the second one (Skerry and then the Tain module), the quality in terms of layout, art use, maps, etc were significantly improved. That's not to say Skerry was bad -- in fact Skerry was AC's best selling project. But ultimately, I enjoyed doing these even if they each had their challenging moments in putting it together. The challenges I kept on coming up against with Victorious kept on taking away any pleasure I was getting from the endeavor. Now that I have a chance to think about it, I can honestly say what, while I was still giving it care and was doing my best to put out a product that *I* could be proud of, it certainly was something that was not giving me any more enjoyment.

Quite simply, I really need to have some fun with this again and still put out material I can be proud of. I need to put out my own projects as well as some stuff that others have submitted that, not only would I want to play, but I genuinely want a hand designing. I also want to go back to my roots a bit.

With WOTC reprinting AD&D and putting out 5th Edition, I decided to change how I'm putting out Ballista. I've decided to take the opportunity and compile that material intended to be a series of rules options and replacements meant to be compatible with a variety of games and put out a single 'Rules Companion'. The Ballista Rules Companion is just that, a companion book which can be used and adapted with your OSR game of choice (or the games that various OSR efforts derive from) or, used as it's own little system. It's not meant to 'compete' with the multitude of options that now exist but rather complement and to be used in conjunction with. Ballista was originally conceived as a periodical which included articles and adventures and perhaps this may happen still but will save to support the Ballista system as well as other compatible games.

However, with 5th Edition and the reprints coming out way, Ballista may also serve as a complement to these efforts as well. Or at least, one can only hope anyway. By the sounds of it, 5th Edition is looking kinda promising (though similar to other things we have seen published elsewhere).

I also will be doing some more C&C specific material -- I love the game and I love the fact that it can be readily used with other similar games. And who knows? Maybe I'll be able to wrap up my 'Zombie Siege' game since part of the design uses some of the concepts the Ballista system has in place.

Well... there we have it folks. I spent time figuring this out because part of me genuinely wanted to toss in the towel after 2011. I will be doing a lot of cleaning in my own personal collection and plan on getting rid of some of this stuff. Books I just don't use for games I don't really play anymore. I'm cleaning house and getting back to basics and it's probably about time.

Thanks for reading!

M

From 2011 to 2012 - Part 2

Ok, let's try this again...

Why does a new edition of D&D matter?

Well, the answer comes down to brand and brand recognition.  You see, when 4th Edition first came out, the game did pretty well.  It was the way the new game that was designed that caused sales to dry up quickly.  How they tried to address the problem with the Essentials line only served to frustrate and divde the existing 4th Edition customer/fan base.

Of course, a big thron in WOTC's side was it's previous edition which resulted in a very successful 'spinoff'.  Pathfinder gained may of the fans/customers who left D&D behind as the the 'new' D&D proved to be largely incompatible to its predecessors.  It wasn't an incorrect decision and, if the Pathfinder RPG had never been created, it could have worked.  However, the OGL gave rise to many other alternatives as well.  All of these, along with Pathfinder, have served to erode D&D's marktet share and Pathfinder now owns the larger market share in what happens to be a dwindling market.

Regardless of this, D&D is still the most recognizable brand when it comes to roleplaying games and generally the only one known to the uninitiated.  The decline of D&D is also a symptom of what has been happening with the hobby and not only due to the poor reception of 4th Edition.  Reasons for this are many and among these, Video Games and Computers are surely a factor.  For this reason, it is perhaps more important that D&D carries on, if only to act as a banner for potential new gamers to flock to.

For the rest of us, there are other reasons why a new edition matters.  While there are some of us involved in the hobby that don't care much beyond 2nd edition (if even that), we have been blessed with the OGL which gave rise to the style of games we might prefer.  Some of us are also comfortable with borrowing ideas and concepts from other systems.  There are even some that have borrowed from 4th Edition.  A new edition with perhaps a few new twists is not necessarily unwelcome, even if we won't play that game itself.  Like or not, it will be something that gamers will be taking a look at.  Besides, with a new edition being readied, things are certainly different this time around, and WOTC can ill afford to 'screw it up' though.  4th Edition strayed away from previous editions considerably and with OGL games flourishing, WOTC can ill afford to do he same with 5th Edition. 

D&D is a trendsetter for our hobby -- At best, success could mean a bit of growth in our hobby which hasn't been seen for a few years.

To be continued in Part 3...

M

From 2011 to 2012 - Part 1

I had been meaning to get to this for a few days now and we find ourselves on the 12th day of the new year. The past few weeks since around mid-November has been a period of reflection as I considered successes, failures, and whIch routes took me there.

Despite the regular periods of silence from me the past 18 months or so, one thing I have always done is to keep myself informed of what's been happening in our hobby and the industry. Of course, the latest buzz is the announcement of 5th edition D&D. The thing that amazes me but doesn't completely surprise me is the responses from the gaming community. There are a lot of sentiments like "I have all the D&D I need and it's called X" or "D&D hasn't really existed since Y edition" or "D&D? Oh, you mean Pathfinder...". There are other sentiments where people are hoping the WOTC will simply recreate what they feel is classic D&D (for them) if not simply reprint and repackage older iterations of the game.

Here is my thought. In whatever form it takes, the hobby needs this to happen. Even if none of us ever play it, it DOES matter.

My time is up for now... More to follow when time permits.

M
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