A couple of different people let me know that N. Robin Crosby, creator of Hârn, died on July 23. The note from his former publishing partner Tom Dagliesh appears below.
I never knew Robin, but I appreciated his work. Hârn was one of the first attempts at creating a non-traditional fantasy world for gaming, and it won many fans over the years.
In the last week or two, Wizards has made it clear that they wish to refocus their efforts on just Dungeons & Dragons and Magic: The Gathering. First, they cut a number of novels, including their entire Discoveries line. Then they announced that Gleemax will end in September. Now, they’ve put out a press release that states it clearly, at least as far as their novels are concerned.
I’m interested to see how this will affect the entire company. It’s not unusual to see a business contract like this in more challenging economic times. I suspect the new president of Wizards, originally from Hasbro, is putting on the brakes here. He may even be wondering why Wizards does anything other than publish Magic and D&D. Here’s hoping the wonderful creators at Wizards (seriously, I have an immense amount of respect for them and their work) can come up with excellent answers for them.
At Comic-Con last weekend, the IAMTW announced the winners of its second annual Scribes Awards. See below for the list of nominees and winners in each category.
I served on the Young Adult jury this year, and I enjoyed every one of the books I read. Every volunteer job should be so pleasurable.
Congratulations to all the winners, especially to my friend and fellow Eberron scribe Paul Crilley for picking up the inaugural Best Game-Related Original award!
Hey, look what showed up in my mailbox today? Two teaser images from the Brave New World proof-of-concept short that Reactor 88 Studios shot last summer. The first one is of Natalie Victoria playing Lisa, the girl from the opening few pages of the Brave New World Roleplaying Game.
The second is of Chuck Wagner playing Patriot, the leader of the Defiants. When I saw Chuck on location last year, it was like Patriot had stepped off the page to shake my hand. I can’t wait to see more of this.
Gen Con is already shaping up to be a busy week. If you want to see me, this is your best chance all year. It’s the only official convention appearance I have planned, and I seem to be making up for that by trying to cram as much into the Four Best Days in Gaming as I can.
At the moment, my schedule includes:
My friend Keith Baker of Eberron fame is running a huge event at Gen Con called “The Tower of Gygax.” It’s a monstrous AD&D game filled with random rooms that runs for 80 hours straight.
Keith’s looking for three kinds of people for this event:
I’m going to pitch in with a room and a DM slot myself. If you’re interested in helping on out that side, head over to Keith’s site and drop him a note. If you want to play, register for the event with Gen Con, and you should be good to go.
I’m heading out soon for a quick trip to San Diego (and possibly LA) and then back home. At the moment, I plan on being at Comic-Con from Wednesday afternoon through Friday morning, but that LA side-trip could change everything at the last moment.
I don’t have any scheduled appearances, although I hope to show up at the Boom! Studios gathering on Thursday night. I also have an invitation to the IDW party, which I plan to be at the same night.
If you want to say hi and catch up, just grab me in the hall if you spot me–or drop me a line or give me a call if you want to be more sure than trying to find me among 150,000 people. While this show is mostly business for me, I’m always happy to see friends.
Flying Pen Press announces an anthology of short stories by professional game industry people, titled: Of Dice and Pen. The anthology is due out August 1st and will be sold at GenCon, at the ICE booth.
Authors include:
Gary Gygax and K.R.Bourgoine, A Wizard’s Thief (Gary’s last Gord story)
Rick Loomis, Xavier’s Story
Andrew Looney, Message in a Bottle, Delusions of Hunger, and The Emperor Must Die
Matt Forbeck, Prometheus Unwound*
Elizabeth T. Danforth, Imp Possible Situations
Chris Clark, A Christmas Story, Bad Day At The Office, Beauracracy, and Sweet Silence of Solitude
Lisa Steenson, Space 28
Curt Covert, PSY_JACK
Catherine G. Thomson, The Book Sorter
Graeme Thomson, Under the Tuscan Snow
Jason S. Walters, Lefty Sanchez Reporting
Andy Vetromile, Fear of Success
Carey Grayson, The Vegetarian
David Wainio, A Homecoming, and Legend of Santa Claus
James L. Cambias, Murder in Messidor
Tim Pelzel, The Sweetness of Suffering
Thomas Rafalski, A Taint Upon the Kingdom
Lee Kamberos, The DarkSide Of Choice
Patrick Matthews, The Queen’s Gambit
My latest essay is up at Storytellers Unplugged. When you click over to read it, be sure to check out the website’s snazzy and modern new look too.
This time around, I comment a bit more about the cancelation of my next novel from Wizards of the Coast. Now that it’s a few days later, I can honestly say I’m not all that bugged by it, and the essay might help to explain why.
Hobby Games: The 100 Best is up for an ENnie Award for Best Regalia (a “product used to complement role playing game play”). My pal Jim Lowder edited this book of 100 essays written by many of the best designers about the many of the best games, and my friends at Green Ronin published it. I have a single essay in the book myself, so I’d take home less than 1% of the award. Still, I think it’s worth a vote, and if you’re so inclined you can enter your ballot starting tomorrow.
Either way, be sure to check out the ENnie Awards. Even if you don’t vote, they make for an excellent guide to some of the finest things that came out for roleplaying games last year. Congratulations to all the nominees, and good luck to them all in the finals!