After seeing the photos from Dallas Comic Con 2011, where over 10,000 attended, I got to thinking. What’s the coolest costume for the least cost when attending a comic book, anime or gaming convention? I think the person who did the Lego Head must be the winner in this department.

A “Lego Guy” costume just needs the head, probably composed of a hat, layered with duct tape and cardboard and some sort of bright cloth. Best of all, you could just take off the head when you want, and instantly revert to “Normal Guy” when at a table actually playing a game.

I am very excited about the upcoming Fall release of The One Ring.

I know that there is not a lot that has been announced about the product yet, but I thought I’d take the opportunity to mention some of the things which I believe would help spread its adoption by the gaming community:

1) Multiple adventure modules

I hope there are multiple scenarios/adventure modules or whatever you want to call them available soon for the product. Many good systems are released but months go by with no commercial adventure modules being available for the system. For busy GMs such as myself, this can be very limiting. Having adventures hooks or 1 sheet adventures (like Savage Worlds) from either Cubicle 7 or third parties is pretty key to success in my opinion.

2) Limited ‘community use’ content

I like what Paizo has done with Pathfinder:

http://paizo.com/communityuse/package

Since so much of gaming these days involves Blogs, Portals, Play-By-Post forums, VTTs, etc., having some limited things players can do with game content without risk of getting sued really aids getting the game ‘out there’ on the internet.

3) Third-party publishing opportunities

I know with a licensed setting this can be a challenge. But to the extent you can let folks have some guidelines which, when followed, let them publish content to expand or aid in your system, this is really important. I like what Savage Worlds has done with their two licensing systems for example:

http://www.peginc.com/Licensing.html

Ideally there would be both Fan (not-for-profit) and a Licensed (for-profit) options for publishing.

Here’s one way I think this could work given the licensed setting restrictions from the Tolkien IP holders.

In the U.S. at least, the laws are such that you can publish materials that are ‘compatible with ______’ on the Label. You can be a Third Party and create a light bulb that is ‘compatible with GE light fixtures’ without violating GE’s trademark in making that statement. So there are so many aspects of Middle-Earth (Orcs, Trolls, Elves, etc.) which are not trade-marked or under IP restrictions, seems like third parties could put out stuff which supports the core product. It would really be cool to have a web site with a dozen or two free or cheap adventures which are ‘compatible with The One Ring’ which would allow people to plug into the Tolkien setting. So long as you tell people what they can and can’t do and give them a path to create companion products, it can really aid the adoption of this new system to the gaming community.

Anyway, just wanted to add my two cents on this topic, and I’m really hoping for success for The One Ring RPG!

What drives indie RPG publishers to create products? Matt Finch, Swords & Wizardry creator, said this:

When you post up something on the internet, whether it’s a free resource or not, there will be several types of responses. Many people will type “Cool!” whether they’ve read it or not. These people, god love ‘em, are wonderful even though you know that they’re supporting you for what you’re doing, not for the quality of that particular resource. You can’t draw any particular conclusion from “Cool!” but without these guys I believe there wouldn’t be any free old-school gaming resources on the internet at all. The reward for producing a free resource is entirely ego-driven; you want people to see your work and enjoy it, and if there is no response to it you will assume that nobody read it, or perhaps that they did, and didn’t like it. Almost certainly, if you get a zero-reaction, you’re not going to bother to do all that work a second time. Source

Matt Finch goes on to say:

This, I think, is one of the major arguments in favor of for-profit publishing. The money might not be financially significant, but it’s psychologically invaluable as feedback. I definitely think it keeps people producing more resources than they would if they relied solely on the internet for the pats on the back that are so vital to a writer’s continued willingness to put pen to paper. Source

Rachelle Gardner, a Literary Agent, had this to say about writers wanting validation for their work:

It’s perfectly natural to want validation for your work. We all want our words to be read, and we want some kind of proof that what we wrote isn’t dreck. We know it’s subjective, but still, we crave the affirmation. Musicians want people to connect with their music. Painters want their work appreciated and enjoyed—and purchased. Those of us who write blogs want validation through our hit counts and comments. And most people who write books want that stamp of legitimacy that a traditional publisher brings.

I hope you don’t feel apologetic for admitting you want the validation. I think most writers, past and present, want this. Great writers like Hemingway and Steinbeck seem to have craved it. Most present-day successful authors admit to it. If you care deeply about your craft, your words, the message you’re sharing with the world, how can you not care about the world’s validation?

The method of getting validation is probably going to change over the next few years. For some, it won’t come through a traditional publishing deal but perhaps through more direct means—people buying your books and responding to them. For now it’s still reasonable to hope for a traditional publishing experience, but I also think it’s helpful and important to recognize your need for validation and begin to explore your assumptions about how to attain it. Source

So it seems to me that indie RPG publishers want affirmation for their creativity. We’re social creatures by nature, and publishing is one way to gain that affirmation we seek of our creative work.

I spend a lot of time editing text as I prepare for gaming sessions. Focuswriter is a great, theme-able text editor which allows you to do your RPG writing in a stylish way.

FocusWriter is a fullscreen, distraction-free word processor designed to immerse you as much as possible in your work. It runs on Windows, Mac or Linux. The program autosaves your progress, and reloads the last files you had open to make it easy to jump back in during your next writing session, and has many other features that make it such that only one thing matters: your writing. FocusWriter utilizes a hide-away interface: simply throw your mouse to the top, bottom, or right side of the screen to gain access to a number of customizable options and useful information, then flick it aside when you’re no longer interested.

Some themes for FocusWriter I like are Brown Paper and Renaissance.

Download FocusWriter here.

I ran across this iPad app called Battle Map which helps you to quickly and easily create high quality maps for your pen & paper RPGs — and travel through them as your group adventures! Some features they tout:

• Make Beautiful Maps. Draw by simply dragging your finger – Battle Map will take care of the rest and complete the edges to make your map look amazing.
• Create Your Adventure. Choose from a library of objects to add to your maps, such as monsters to fight, treasure to find, hidden traps, and openable doors.
• See Like a Character. Battle Map can display the map bit by bit as players explore, and reveal tiles based on line of sight and illumination.
• Connect to a Projector. You can connect your iPad to an external projector or monitor to make your adventures even more thrilling.

Learn more about this product here.