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Monday, October 15, 2018

D.A.M.N. Spring/Summer 2018 is released!

Greetings,

If you've been following the Kickstarter over here:

you know that we have delivered (finally) the physical books to backers. And now the book is released into the wild!

There are two versions of the book -- the contents are *exactly* the same -- but the covers are different. We were lucky enough to get both David Fisher and Stefan Poag to do covers for this issue.

You can find the Fisher cover here:

And the Poag cover here:

This issue of D.A.M.N. Magazine features the following DCC RPG goodness:

  • The Balmorphos Dungeon: The Demon Snake of Balmorphos: First part of a multi-part mega-dungeon by Daniel Bishop! 
  • Portal to the Plane of Probability: First published adventure by Cory Gahsman!
  • Cannibal Tiger-Women of Tsaru: The spiritual successor to the God-Seed Awakens! by Paul Wolfe. Why am I using so many exclamation points?!
  • Badass gaming articles by Eric Hoffman, Lee Murphy, Ari-Matti Piippo, and Daniel Vance. 
  • The very first DCC RPG comic, The DAMNed, by Jason Sholtis! 
  • Artist Spotlight: Feliks RK Pyron
  • Third Party Spotlight: Thick Skull Adventures and Divinities and Cults by Dan Osarchuk! 
  • And all the regular features. 
You can pick up this issue of D.A.M.N. Magazine over at your favorite OBS site: 

















And as always, let us know what you think! 

Monday, April 09, 2018

D.A.M.N. Spring 2018 Issue -- Kickstarter

Hello my fellow DAMNed. This year we're taking a different approach to publishing DAMN magazine -- we're crowdfunding each issue. We managed to get two issues out last year -- if you haven't picked them up, head on over there ---->

And click the appropriate link.

The Kickstarter is Live and here: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/277618407/damn-magazine-dcc-rpg-magazine-and-news


But, for the new issue, take a gander at this super exciting pitch video:


DAMN that sh*t is dope.


The big news for this issue is that we're trying to get a couple of different covers. David Fisher has agreed to come back for Cover A. If I can make the second stretch goal, I can afford Stefan Poag for Cover B. The two lower level tiers get a choice of covers (if we make that all important stretch goal) and the highest tier (the Reaver) gets BOTH covers.

Why are we doing two covers? Well, I really want to get Stefan on the cover of a DAMN magazine, is the short answer.

I have some other ideas, as well, for other stretch goals -- but, I'll keep those under my hat for the moment. I'd really like to hear from you guys.

Look, if you love this community and you love this community magazine, I really hope you'll support us.




Making the magazine better every issue is my ultimate goal. So I hope you guys agree.


So take it from Mammon: Coins for Souls. Come on. You know you want to.
(Art by Ari-Matti Pippo)





Thursday, November 30, 2017

D.A.M.N. Autumn 2017 -- Web Enhancement

Hey kids,

In case you didn't hear, the Autumn 2017 issue of D.A.M.N. Magazine (that's right, DCC Adventure Magazine and News....Magazine) has been published. If you haven't picked it up yet, it's over at OBS:

D.A.M.N. -- Autumn 2017

Take a look at the Table of Contents and Editorial.

This post is about the overflow. We had some great stuff in this issue, but, inevitably, there're things that wouldn't fit or were otherwise better delivered via a separate document. So, enjoy the D.A.M.N. Autumn 2017 Web Enhancement....Supplement...Thing. FOR FREE! With all new content by me (Paths of Ketsuin Character Generation and general info), +SGT Dave (Patron spells for Nalfeshnee!), +Marc Bruner (Character sheet mask and a DIY Build-your-Own Karmic Rod), and +Bob Brinkman (Giant Beavers of the Toronto Ruins!). In addition, we have all the maps from the issue for ease of reference/printing and the Flammable Hospital Crowdfunding Preview!

Check it out and let us know what you think.

Further, here are Marc's fully masked character sheets by class, which may be more useful that re-doing it yourself for While the Gods Laugh.


Friday, March 17, 2017

A Beginner's Guide to GaryCon

I was having a conversation with some friends last night, and they mentioned that there should be a "newbie's" guide to the major gaming conventions -- we were talking about the DCC RPG community because we always have great representation at the various cons. And since I thought it was a great idea (thanks +SGT Dave ) I'm going to share my experiences with the cons that I've managed to attend over the last few years (namely North Texas RPG Con and GaryCon). Since GaryCon is next week, I figure this will be timely for all the folks that are making the trek to the great white north for the first time.

Overview

GaryCon takes place in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, birthplace of D&D (or at least one of them). It's a convention that Gary Gygax' sons put together to honor their father and they invited the whole damned gaming community!

There are literally hundreds of games going on simultaneously. I'll let you peruse the schedule yourself to figure out what you want to play. Everything from the oldest of the old school (they have at least one sand table) to the newest (lots of story games representation) and the most popular (both D&D and Pathfinder organized play have a sizable presence). The vendor space is smallish, but vibrant.


Travel and Logistics

There are few things to consider with the location that might not be apparent to the first time convention goer: Getting there, the weather, where to stay, and where to eat...

First and foremost -- there is no major airport in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin. The closest airports are in Milwaukee (about an hour north) or Chicago (about an hour south). So, unless you have someone willing to schlep your butt to LG, you'll have to rent a car. I don't know if Uber can get you there...or if it would be cost effective. We travel from Austin every year (this will be the third year I'm attending). We flew the first year and rented a car -- and it was good, if a little more expensive than I wanted it to be. Good to have transportation -- the town of Lake Geneva is a nice little resort town. Last year and (planning) this year, we drove from Austin, Texas. It's a hump, but much cheaper than flying my whole gaming clan up there and renting a vehicle big enough to haul them all over the place.

Weather -- If you think: Well, it's late March, the worst of the winter should be over right? That means you live somewhere in the same latitude. In Austin, we're already in the 80's with birds chirping outside and leaves already fully on the trees. In Lake Geneva, however, winter generally still has a stranglehold. This is speaking from two years experience -- the lake was solidly frozen over both years while we were there. Though last year it was starting to melt off. Looking at the forecast this year, it's going to be a balmy high 50's during the day and mid 40's at night, so maybe not too bad this year. But, Rain/Snow Showers are predicted for Thursday (March 30th). Seriously -- if you're from my neck of the woods, that's winter! So, pack accordingly.



Where to Stay -- Looking at it today, there are still rooms available in the Grand Geneva Resort, where the con takes place, though not at the con rate (right now, from Wednesday to Sunday will run you $1000!). We have always stayed offsite. Year 1, we stayed in downtown Lake Geneva at a pretty little resort hotel at a good rate. Last year and this year, we booked an AirBnB at much nicer rate. Of course, you'll need transportation, but I like to actually leave the con and do other stuff, so it's a bonus for me.

Where to Eat -- The food at the Grand Geneva is pretty good -- they always have a Con menu for quick food. But, Lake Geneva has some great little restaurants. There are a few about half-a-mile from the con. Otherwise, you'll need to drive into town (still not that far). My advice: Don't eat every meal at the Con. Take a break, grab some friends, and go hit Sprecher's (German restaurant), Rosati's (cheap pizza joint nearby), or out to Anthony's Steakhouse (expensive, but really good).


Gaming, Gaming, Gaming

Yes, like I said, there's gaming. More gaming than you could possibly participate in. So you have to make your choices count. The big draw for GaryCon, at least for the old school players, is the presence of the "old masters" -- meaning those folks that were around when D&D was in its infancy. Frank Mentzer (of the Mentzer basic set), Tim Kask, Diesel LaForce, and Jeff Dee all generally run games in the old D&D mode. But, there's also a ton of other big names new and old.

My quick and dirty advice for the first-time old school gamer at GaryCon is thus:

Gaming with Uncle Frank is always a pleasure. 
  • Get in a game with one of the old masters, just to get that out of the way. 
  • Get into a tournament game -- doesn't matter what it is (I prefer DCC RPG). You can generally jump in without registration and play for half the day, have a blast. I'm running two tournament games -- one with +Reid San Filippo and +Jarrett Crader (Crawling Under a Broken Moon) and one (off book) with +Eric Hoffman and +Jason Hobbs (Black Powder, Black Magic). 
  • Get at least one session with a game that you played in your youth that you loved, but lost track of. For me that was Star Frontiers, but maybe you played Top Secret, Traveller or Call of Cthulhu, and haven't played for a while. It's great to re-connect with these games of our youth. 
  • Try something new! This is the place to do it. You'll have an enthusiastic game master and players all committed to having a good time. I did this my first year with Shadow of the Demon Lord. It was so new that +Robert Schwalb was still in the midst of the Kickstarter. The damn game funded *while* I was at the table playing it.
  • Play off-book -- There are tons of "unofficial" games going on all the time. We usually cluster in the bar and play successive games of Cults Across America (thank you again +James MacGeorge for introducing that game to me). There's a free-to-play boardgame room and groups getting together for impromptu roleplaying sessions everywhere, all the time. These have been some of the best games I've played.
  • Go meet the aritsts! There are several artists that come to GaryCon to sell prints and originals of their RPG (and other) work. Go meet them! Pick up a print of your favorite cover. Support these folks -- they keep our hobby alive as much as the writers and gaming companies. 
  • Don't schedule yourself games every minute of every day. You'll burn out by the middle of day two and you just won't enjoy yourself. Take a few hours to wander around and meet folks. Go into town and have lunch or dinner. Visit the vendor booths. 

Socialize

Don't think that just because you paid so much and came all this way that you have to spend every minute of every day at a gaming table. I made this mistake at my first gaming convention, and I'll never do it again. There are some fun people at these conventions and everyone seems to be there to have a good time. The Grand Geneva has a small dance club on site, but you can also go into town and visit the local nightlife. It's a small town, so it's not what I would call vibrant, but plenty of places to grab a few new friends and hang out for a couple hours.


My Pitch: The Cultural Exchange

Last year I started a thing I call the Cultural Exchange. On Saturday night, as games are winding down, we gather on the second floor and occupy a few tables. Everyone must bring some food/drink items of their people. We have people from all over the country and the world. It's great to try beers, food, candy, whatever, that I've never encountered before. I prefer to bring some craft/local beers from Austin, but other folks bring Grape Nehi and Moonpies. Either way, we sit around and socialize, talk about the con, and scheme out our next gaming things. Join us there, and bring the foods of your people. I hope this becomes a tradition, because I think it was a big hit last year. 


Wrap up

Anyway -- most of all have fun. You're there to game, but you'll find that you develop a second family if you go to enough of these cons. For my part, I schedule only one or two games these days. Most of my time is spent hanging with my friends and playing off-book. If you see me there, hit me up. We will find something for you to play. 

Tuesday, February 28, 2017

The Journey Truly Begins

Just over a month ago, +Daniel Bishop and +David Fisher came to me and asked if my little publishing collective could take over publishing DCC Adventure Magazine and News. This was a project we collaborated on a few years ago with another publisher and managed to get the first issue produced -- though only in PDF form. I think all three of us looked at that experience as a good one, overall, and I know for my part, I really liked the art and content that we put together for it.

Well, in short order, we turned around an reprint of the first issue, with much expanded content, some new art and layout, and more importantly, a different focus. Or maybe, a truer focus. Yes, the magazine has Adventures. But, it also now has NEWS. And it's news about the community -- third party publishers, local DCC RPG groups, and new products either here or coming soon. And we have some great non-adventure gaming articles specifically focused on the great things about DCC -- Spellburn, classes, monsters, spells, and random tables galore.

All that to say... It's here. It looks great. And it's available to purchase in PDF or Print on RPGNow/DrivethruRPG.

Go get it, if you want to see what the first step in a true DCC community news and adventure magazine run is going to look like. If you already bought the PDF way back when, you'll be surprised by the new content (76 pages of content in an 84 page book).

And we have a lot more coming, but I'll talk about that in another post.


Friday, February 17, 2017

D.A.M.N. Winter 2017 Issue -- Table of Contents and Submission Guidelines

Greetings,

Our first issue of D.A.M.N. magazine is in the can and getting set up for print. While we're waiting, the table of contents page and the submission guidelines are shared below.

Overall, I'm excited about the tone we're setting -- It's third-party publisher/author/fans from cover-to-cover. Got an interview with +Terra Frank about Dungeon Lord, a sneak-peek at +Thorin Thompson's Sky ov Crimson Flame, something exciting coming from +Reid San Filippo, and some general community news. Add to that an adventure and two articles by +Daniel Bishop, two articles by +Stephen Newton, an article by +Julian Bernick, and classic content from the original first issue from me, +Godric McKellan and +Garett Oliver. Wrapped up all nice and pretty with +David Fisher's excellent art.

I may have Stockholm Syndrome, but I think it looks pretty darn good (I resisted).

Submissions for the Spring 2017 Issue -- I'm looking to have all written content in by end of March and all art by April 15th.

I want to reiterate: We need your content. We commission longer pieces, but all the rest (~3,000 words and less) come from you, the community. We also need art! +David Fisher is our principal artist, but we want to feature art from our great community artists (and give David a break -- he's working on like four books right now). Read the submission guidelines closely, and let's get the Spring 2017 issue filled up with great content quickly.

Stay DAMNed,
Paul




Monday, February 06, 2017

It's About DAMNed Time!

Greetings from deep inside the secure Mystic Bull Games facility where we are hard at work with our newest toy -- the DCC Time Machine. Remember back in the halcyon days before you were waiting patiently by the door for your 4th Printing of the DCC Core Rules like a retriever with a bladder infection? Back in that time, there was a mythical adventure magazine for DCC girls, boys and transgenders of all stripes. Oftentimes they would get spanked for even talking about it. Not because it was particularly evil, it's just that their Moms thought they were cussing at the dinner table when they talked about...


That's right kids. Put on your 2013 fashions and rock out to your favorite music from the Obama era, because that da'gone DAMN magazine is back.

Here's the initial plan (which is pretty solid) and the next steps (which are pretty solid) and the future of DAMN magazine (which entirely depends on you).

DAMN Issue 1:: Back in Time Edition

ETA: Mid-March

The first issue of DAMN magazine was released in PDF, but never made it to print. Well, we're going to change all that. We're releasing DAMN #1 with expanded content (see below), an all-new layout, and, more importantly, new FOCUS: We want to report on, support, and publish from 3rd Party DCC RPG publishers, authors, and fans. For this first issue, we give you a taste of that, which hopefully much more to come. 

Table of Contents

  • The Mysterious Valley -- By Daniel J. Bishop -- Travel to the wizard Harhasan's secret valley where he bred monsters from men and animals. And run from these creations! 
  • Forsaken Reavers of Praeder Peak -- by Paul Wolfe -- Drawn to the hellish jungles of Praeder Island by the soul of Skal Silverhand, northron hero and basket case, your party seeks to release his restless dead companions to their final reward. 
  • It's All Greek to Me! Mythical Monsters from a Future Age-- by Daniel J. Bishop -- ***New Content*** In the far future, it's no longer a simple matter to tell magic from science. And these "magical" monsters look a lot like those from Greek legend! 
  • The Snow Queen -- by Garett Oliver -- A Queen of the Elves has lived much longer than even elves should live. And it's really cold here.
  • Articles by Daniel J. Bishop, Godric McKellan, and new content by Stephen "Snake" Newton, Paul Wolfe and the DAMNed Fine News Staff. 
  • All new art by David Fisher! 
  • And other Surprises! 


DAMN Issue 2 :: Ain't No Party Like a Third-Party Party

ETA: Mid-May

This is where we really get focused on our core -- we have a line-up of third-party DCC authors and fans that's going to knock you for a DAMNed loop (never gets old). Expect something along these lines: 
  • Interview with a third-party DCC publisher, author, podcaster, or super-fan
  • DCC News -- Third-party products, crowdfunding announcements and news, Con reports, and the like. 
  • DCC Talk -- That's right, a letters section, so stay tuned for a place to send them. We're going to publish fan letters, answer questions about rules, adventures, and other DCC-related fun. 
  • At least two "long form" adventures (similar to issue 1)
  • Three to five "short form" adventures/encounters (think In the Prison of the Squid Sorcerer). 
  • Art, ART, A R T! 
  • And tons of gameable content. 

The DAMN Future :: Or... It's All in Your Hands

The future of DAMN Magazine is up to you guys. Do you want a regular adventure and news magazine covering this game that we all love? If you do, then there will be a subscription drive and a submission drive -- We need to have the best content and we need to get that content in the hands of every DCC player out there -- and convert a few on on the way. 

Your feedback is always desired -- feel free to leave a comment about DAMN and what you'd like to see in a community magazine.