My Descent Adventure

VA60.jpgWhile I was at Gen Con, I saw a preview copy of a book for which I wrote a small bit: Descent: Quest Compendium. This is an all-star jam book of 16 brand-new quests for Descent: Journeys Into the Dark from Fantasy Flight Games. Descent, for those who don’t know it, is a monstrous board game that comes in a massive box and plays like Dungeons & Dragons with all pretensions of roleplaying stripped clean out.

For this book, developer Will Hindmarch gathered together a host of top game designers, including Keith Baker, Monte Cook, Ken Hite, John Kovalic, Chris Pramas, Phil Reed, Mike Selinker, Jeff Tidball, J. D. Wiker, Kevin Wilson, Ray Winninger, Teeuwynn Woodruff, and–ah–me.

My quest is called “Pinball Wizard,” which allowed me to combine my love of the Who and Indiana Jones and blend it into a high-octane cocktail with old-style, “kick down the door, kill the monster, and take its stuff” gaming, garnished with a heaping helping of rolling boulders. I’m looking forward to checking out what everyone else chipped into the book and how they each gave the game their own unique spin too.

Guild Wars Novel Panel at PAX on YouTube

The savvy souls at ArenaNet managed to capture many of the panels the held at PAX on video. Better yet, they posted them on YouTube!

They recorded one panel I was on with Will McDermott and Eric Flannum, speaking about my upcoming novel based on Guild Wars 2. It’s in two parts, and you can see each below. This took place at 1:30 PM Pacific Time on September 5, 2009. Considering the long night before and the fact I was starting to fall ill that morning, I think I managed to be mostly articulate.

Check them out here, or go to YouTube to see Part 1 and Part 2 larger and in HD.

Geek.Kon Guest

After that last post, it might have seemed that I was all conned out for the year. Just when I think I’m free, though, they pull me back in!

The fine folks at Geek.Kon, a new geek culture convention in Madison, Wisconsin, have asked me to be one of their guests this year. I’m slated for a couple panels and will join in at the mass autographing sessions too. I hope to see you there!

PAX, the Flu, and Delays

I had a fantastic time at PAX (the Penny Arcade Expo) last weekend. Unfortunately, since then I’ve been laid up with some evil con crud, and that’s substantially changed a few things in my schedule.

Allow me to explain.

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Guild Wars at PAX

foacover.jpgThe friendly folks at ArenaNet have posted their booth schedule for PAX (the Penny Arcade Expo), which takes place this weekend in Seattle. I’ll be there at the booth all three days, for a half-hour at a time, answering questions about my upcoming Guild Wars novel. If you’re there, please come by and say hi!

Specifically, I’ll be there Friday at 11:30 and 2:30, Saturday at 1:30, and Sunday at 10:30. Other times, I’ll either be wandering the floor, plotting for some future project, or holed up in my hotel room and trying to catch up with my deadlines.

Note that there are a lot of other events at the booth, including Q&As, giveaways of The Art of Guild Wars 2 book, and signings by the people who made that book possible. You’ll also be able to see the fantastic new trailer for Guild Wars 2 running there all weekend.

Meanwhile, feast your eyes on the cover of the novel. It showed up on the same page as the booth schedule. Sharp-eyed people might have seen it at the Simon & Schuster booth at Comic-Con, but as far as I know it’s the first time it’s been shown on the internet.

Hope to see you in Seattle!

Brave New World RPG by PDF

During Gen Con or thereabouts, to help celebrate the debut of the Brave New World: Revolutions film proof of concept, AEG and DriveThruRPG released the entire catalog of books from my Brave New World Roleplaying Game as PDFs. Though the game has been long out of print, you can now download all nine books (everything but the GM’s screen) instantly, all at substantial discounts off their original printed price. The core rulebook, for instance, is only $18.

If you’ve ever been interested in the game or the background behind the film, here’s your chance to get it without having to scour eBay for printed books. It’s been 10 years since the game first saw print. It’s great to have it back in circulation again.

Next Con Up: PAX

My calendar reminds me that I don’t have that long here at home before I’m off again. I’ll be at PAX (the Penny Arcade Expo) this year, helping ArenaNet stalwarts Jeff Grubb and Will McDermott push my upcoming Guild Wars/Guild Wars 2 novel, Fall of Ascalon. Other than my schedule below, I’m free, so expect to see me running around, catching up with friends, and enjoying the show.

It’s been 20 years since I’ve been to Seattle. In 1989, my brother and two other guys from Ann Arbor drove straight through the night to make it to the NCAA Final Four and watch Michigan take it’s one and only basketball championship ever–in double overtime.

Now I can’t wait to get back. If you’re there too, be sure to grab me and say hi.

[Note: Schedule updated, 8/26]

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Fear the Boot Interview

I’m still digging myself out from under the ramifications of only being home for 6 days out of the last 30. Regular posts should resume soon. In the meantime, here’s a short interview I did with the fine fellows at FearTheBoot.com, right before the Brave New World event at Gen Con.

At the moment, I’d already been up until 4:30 AM the previous two days in a row, but I was riding so high on adrenaline for event that I managed to keep talking. Afterward, the adrenaline lasted me until Sunday night, all the way home.

Gen Con, BNW: Revolution, and Parties

I’m prepping for Gen Con, which starts on Thursday, although I’ll be there on Wednesday for the Diana Jones Award party. I have a busy schedule lined up for myself, which includes my Industry Insider Guest of Honor panels, plus some events to promote the release of the Brave New World: Revolution proof-of-concept video.

The big event, of course, is the debut of that video, along with a concert by Makeshift Prodigy. This happens Friday at 4 PM in the Westin’s Grand Ballrooms 2 & 3. For a preview of this, be sure to check out the new trailer.

Also, Reactor 88 Studios and Makeshift Prodigy are throwing an afterparty to celebrate the release of the Brave New World: Revolution proof-of-concept. We’ll be at the Subterra Lounge (250 S. Meridian), blowing off steam and listening to the sounds of DJ Marcelo. This is a reservation-only event. Be sure to contact rsvp@r88s.com to join us.

In any case, if you’re going to be at Gen Con, do say hi. I love chatting with gamers and fans of all kinds, and I hope to see you there!

A New (Free!) D & D Adventure

Perhaps not coincidentally, the latest issue of Game Trade Magazine features the first D&D material I’ve written in years. “Inn Peril” is an introductory adventure for five 1st-level 4E players, illustrated by the terribly talented team of Jeff Preston and Tom Martin.

Pick up a copy of the magazine if you get a chance. They’re often handed out for free at Gen Con. Or you can read about the adventure on the GTM website and even scroll down that page to download the entire 8-page PDF for free.

(And, yes, you might now be able to guess what I’ll be running for the first adventure for Marty and his friends.)