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FFG Rants Archive — Older RantsWhen the FFG Rants page gets too full the excess is dumped here to rot. After fermenting for a while the updates will be rendered down to their component letters and recycled. Files will be transferred to the Archives at random intervals, whenever we remember to do it. 2/28 – John McG It is two weeks until the GAMA Trade Show. Vegas, baby! It will be my first trade show with FFG and I keep getting the image of Vince Vaughn from Swingers standing in the diner booth screaming, “Look who’s all grows up! Baby’s all grows up!” except instead of Vince Vaughn it’s John Grams and I’m the one on the other side of the booth trying to hide under copies of Arkham Horror and Ingenious. Of course, there is also the nightmare I have that it doesn’t go well and the retailers and distributors are all Shaun of the Dead zombies swarming the FFG booth and all I have to defend myself are Doom miniatures and a water balloon slingshot. It is also the 100th Anniversary of Las Vegas, so I think it is safe to say that I am looking forward to this trip. For years now, I have asked Tod and other FFG employees heading to GAMA, as well as any friends of mine going to Vegas or Graceland to bring me back a picture of themselves with an Elvis impersonator so that I might create a shrine of Friends with Elvis. It’s a strange art project. And after 6 years of this bizarre quest, I have 1 picture of 1 friend with Elvis. One. 3 Vegas weddings, 4 professional gamblers, 16 random trips to Vegas, and one friend who lived near of Graceland for 4 years and all I have is one picture and 25+ excuses. So now it is up to me. Six of us are making the trek to GAMA. But six photos will not be enough. If you are going to GAMA, find an Elvis impersonator, get your photo taken and bring that photo to me at the FFG booth. Together we can overcome the failures of all those who have gone before us. And if you are an Elvis impersonator, please stop by and play some of the new games we will be exhibiting. Gaming, Elvis, Showgirls, Gaming, Gambling, Free Stuff, Buffets and even more Gaming. Vegas, Baby! Sin City is back!
2/24 – Michelle
Let me explain: I share an office with whoever happens to be the Marketing Assistant this week. Okay, so that is a bit of an exaggeration, but in the last about 8 months, I have shared an office with Lord Bobo/ Rob J., John M, Andrew and now Dan. Is there something about me that frightens them all away or are they really just moving on to better things? Maybe a clue… In Dan’s 2/14 rant he makes reference to fitting in because he:
I’m nice enough. I think they should stick around for more than an average of two months. For the most part they aren’t even leaving the company, just me. :@( But seriously, I’m only half as bitter as I sound!
2/24 - Tod
Right now we’re busy getting everything ready for the GAMA Trade Show in Las Vegas a couple of weeks from now. That’s where we’ll be unveiling several cool new top secret games that will be coming your way later this year. If you are a retailer who will be attending the show, be sure to stop by the booth to get the inside scoop. There is a new werewolf movie coming out this weekend: Cursed. It stars Christina Ricci, which gives me some hope for the quality. (But not too much!) Current fave CDs:
2/23 - Scott
I am currently working on probably the biggest, coolest release this year. I can’t tell you anything about it 'cause it is super-cool and super-secret. Um, my wife and I are gonna have a brand-new baby in June - June 5th, to be exact. Um, well, as exact as you can get with babies. I just finished the first round of graphics for Island of Dread; it is going to be a very cool game. Soon it will be headed to the printer - after they finish up the rules. Finally, I think I have a huge crush on the Rant Betty.
2/14 - Dan
I am, however, slowly adjusting. I already fit the facial-hair specs for Fantasy Flight, so that was no problem. I am also, evidently, tall enough to get by. Freakish plastic monstrosities aren’t really anything new, although this one clutches a “RANT!” sign between feet and hands and that’s kinda strange. No, the real stumbling blocks here are the little things. Things like fried cheese curds and saying “Grey Duck” when you clearly and demonstrably mean “Goose.” Things like the biting wind chill and the unbearable flatness and the way Garrison Keillor is enshrined as a local deity. Things like the very generous definition of what constitutes a lake (I think Minnesota is really stretching to live up to their 10,000 lakes appellation). I also have to clamp down on fanboy-glee moments whenever I see someone actively engaged in designing a game. Whether it’s something as simple as watching Andrew study the old map for Midnight and plan how to make it look cooler, or something as not-that-simple as overhearing Chris discussing nuances of rules for a game that doesn’t yet exist, I find myself prone to moments of delirious head-swimming unreality. Granted, I had to move halfway across the country and putz around for six months at another job, and granted it was really just a happy conjunction of circumstances (coincidence doesn’t begin to cover it), but here I am. I am Living the Geek Dream. I am working for the very same company that designs some of my favorite games, and my job is pretty much to talk to other fans of these games. What’s next? My beloved Red Sox winning the Superbowl?* How can things get any better? Well, we’ll see. I’ll keep you posted. *I’m a geek, not a sports fan.
2/11 - Darrell
2/7 - Pat
Where is Grams? Oh, that's right. He's in Germany, at the Nuremberg Toy Fair. So have John McGuinness rant. He never rants.
So I guess it's down to me. Again. Rant rant rant. Rant. Ahem. Ranty ranty rant rant. I, er, I've been playing Resident Evil 4. I've been trying to catch up on my back issues of The Nation. I'm excited about the Cozumel vacation coming up. Hm. Ah. Rant. Rant rant. Sigh. It's no good. Without the comforting, supportive presence of Eruza Ranthilby, I can't summon up the necessary enthusiasm. This awful plastic sea monkey thing, with its plasticine grin and stiff, barely articulatable limbs simply isn't the same. By the way, I know some of you out there have expressed concern about Ranthilby, so let me assure everyone that he's doing just fine. In fact, after his epic going-away party, he has retired to my apartment, where he currently spends his time hanging out with my girlfriend's other fuzzy anthropomorphic creatures, sipping margaritas and catching up on all the episodes of Doctor Who he never had time to watch during his indentured servitude here at FFG. Yes, it's a good life for young Ranthilby. I hear he's even contemplating writing his memoirs. Oh Ranthilby, if I had even a fraction of your abundant inspiration.
2/3 - Tod
This winter sucks. Current fave CDs:
2/1 - Brian
As others have mentioned, we are hard at work, deep in the game mines, extracting boxes of fun for you and your friends. Currently I am putting the finishing touches on a new edition of Through the Desert (now featuring rules in Greek!), a new card game of making movies called Hollywood, and the new Deeeeeluxe Lord of the Rings: Confrontation. And that’s just the beginning. We have so much gaming pleasure coming at you in 2005 that we’ve had to expand the art department with an additional person, Andrew Navaro. Andrew is not only a courteous and helpful Customer Relations trooper, but he is also a talented graphics guy and will be moving from FFG’s sales department into the design ghetto shortly after FFG’s Mexican Siesta.
1/31 – Dan and Andrew
So here I am, learning the ropes of the job and the basics of both the company and the industry. I am now that guy who sends out the materials for CCG tournaments and braves the depths of the warehouse (if possible colder, bleaker, and less hospitable than Minnesota in general) in search of a missing game piece. When people ask me, “So, what do you do?” I can smoothly and suavely tell them: “I work in game design.” And then change the subject before they ask for specifics. Don’t ask me for any specifics – I don’t know anything yet. For that you have to go to Andrew. Hey, Andrew? Yes. I’m here. That is correct. Dan will be filling the shoes I’ve left vacant at FFG by moving into the newly created graphic design position. In a few weeks (specifically when everyone gets back from Mexico) I’ll begin work on the next A Game of Thrones CCG expansion, then Midnight 2nd Edition, and then an avalanche of other products after that. I’m really looking forward to getting to work and to being a part of the creative team here at FFG. When the time comes for my next rant, I’m sure I’ll be hard at work at some project or another, so I’ll see you then!
1/27 – Michelle
FFG’s good friend Ranthilby has retired and has been replaced by a demented plastic chick. I didn’t even know he was retiring. I’m not really sure what she is supposed to be – Where do people come up with these toys? I will have to ask Pat. Eventually, I am sure someone will post a picture of her, so you can all see. She is hard to describe. She frightens me… but that is not a difficult task. Sorry, wish I had more to say, but my head hurts and I really don’t!
1/26 - Darrell
If you haven’t seen this trick before, here’s a recap. I pop over to Boardgamegeek.com, click on “Games by Mechanic,” randomly pick one of the listed mechanics, then make up a game based on that mechanic – in about 10 minutes. Got it? Good. Here we go…. (Clatter of a die roll.) Hmmm… “Area-Impulse.” What does that even mean? Let’s see some examples. (Clicking around the site for a minute.) Oh, here’s a definition. Basically, it means you activate a space on the board to activate your units in that space – it’s mostly a wargame thing. (Ponders for a full minute and a half.) I was thinking of making a non-wargaming game, but… Eh, forget it. I’ve only got two minutes left. Here’s the game: You’ve got a board with 50-100 spaces on it. Maybe it’s a grid, maybe it’s hexes. Each player starts with a number of units (let’s say 10) spread evenly on his or her side of the board. On your turn, you can activate one space occupied by one or more of your units. When you activate it, you can do a couple different things:
Each unit can only be activated once per round. You cannot activate a space with an activated unit in it. (I recommend flipping units over to show that they’ve been activated this round.) The players alternate taking turns until one passes or all spaces that can activate have activated. Then comes combat: If you have units in a space also occupied by enemy units, remove both players’ units on a one-for-one basis until only one player (or none) has units there. The winner is the player who controls the most victory points on the board (or something like that). What do the cards do? Cool things. Like extra moves, extra units, bonus stats for your units, etc. You know… Cool things. The “point” of the game is the dynamic tension (thanks to Eric and Kevin for the pretentious terminology) between either doing a lot of things (by keeping a minimal number of units in each space) or doing a few things very well (by clumping a bunch of units into few spaces). At least, that’s the theory. I’d make a prototype and test it, but I’m already over my 10-minute limit and have to get back to work. Happy gaming!
1/25 - Thor
Guess it is my turn to rant again. See what I get for being sick.
Well, first thing is, that for the last week we have been cleaning the warehouse, making room for TI3. I just hope we have enough room. And as I'm sure all of you have seen from the main page, the Night's Watch and Servitor kits are in the online store now! Oh, for those of you who are worried about Ranthilby being in the cold warehouse with a sick person, don't worry. Before Ranthilby was allowed to come back into the cold warehouse, he put on his biohazard suit to ensure that he did not get sick and infect the rest of the office. I guess that's it from me this time. Though I'm sure there was something else I was going to say... But what was it... Oh, I got it! Gray Duck!!
1/24 - Pat
Really.
Okay, that was a lie. But we do have an excellent excuse for missing all these rants. Sadly, the chip the KGB implanted in my head won't let me share it. Moving right along. What's been up lately? I've been playing a lot of Call of Cthulhu CCG, though not enough to beat Casey with any regularity. I have a lot to do before I can hold my head up high in our new CCG Office League. I'm also gearing up to start running Chaosium's big Masks of Nyarlathotep campaign for my play group. Anybody who's successfully GM'd this monster, please feel free to email me with tips, logistical suggestions, etc.
On another note, the diabolic spells that keep John McGuinness's wizened cadaver animated have held out for yet another year! Birthday well-wishes can be sent to the terrible old man here, but shh, don't tell him I told you.
Till next time, love & shoggoths,
1/21 - John McG
There are rumors floating around the office that Chris has worked out the television rights with Fox and this is a combination of Survivor and The Apprentice. I have to admit, I think we would design much more interesting challenges than the Donald. Sell ice cream? Create ads for luxury airplanes? No way. Fight dragons and wrestle trolls. Invade neighboring villages or use your resources to build a castle. I think we’ll have a hit on our hands. I do think we will need to include the TI3 pallet relay.
1/20 - Tony
Well, here it is a New Year and my first rant of 2005. Maybe I will be able to come up with something clever this year. On a posative note, I have all year to think of something.
So here in Minnesota things are nice and frozen and our warehouse really falls under the catagory of Cold Storage. My fingers are numb - can't seem to type very well. Keep having to back up and fix miskeys. Not sure, but I think Ranthilby has hit a new shade of blue since being back here. May need to get him a scarf. Heaven knows anytime anybody form the office ventures back here they either have a scarf on or their coat, and are always complaining about the cold. They're all just a bunch of wimps.
Email me with your answers, and in my next rant I will give my reasons and findings about this so-called survey.
Thanks, and Happy Geekdom,
1/14 - Tod
In the meantime...
I think these are my top 5 CDs from 2004:
Other notable releases include: Client – ‘City’, [:S.I.T.D:] – ‘Stronghold’,
Seabound – ‘Beyond Flatline’, Radio 4 – ‘The Stealing of A Nation’, And One – ‘Agressor’, !!! – ‘Louden Up Now’, Mindless Faith – ‘Momentum’, Curve – ‘the Way of Curve’, the Killers – ‘Hot Fuss’
12/24 - Brian S
A. Name a favorite D&D monster
B. Name a favorite fantasy weapon
C. A place
D. A adjective that is also a curse word
E. Verb which results in blood loss
F. Worst D&D character class ever
G. How much will you pay me to stop writing rants?
"Merry ___________ (D) Christmas!!" said the ___________(A) as it _____________(E) horribly and stomped about the _____________(C). It flung its Christmas stocking across the room.
"I wanted a ___________(B), so I could _________________(E) and ____________(D) __________(E) that silly elf in the red suit who entered my lair! Instead I got this ____________(D), which even a __________(F) wouldn't want!"
12/21 - John McG
I am in the process of moving into the Sales department, but no one wants to hear about sales. They want to hear from the developers, with their insights and secrets. Well, I have secrets, too. I just can’t share them.
Though Tod and I have known each other for 15 years, I don’t have a cool top ten list of music I am listening to. I share an office with Pat and John (J.G.) Grams, so we spend the time listening to each other's music. I’m not complaining, 'cause it makes my music selection much larger. I can’t do cool graphics like Schomburg, or bribe Schomburg to do cool graphics for me like Tony.
It’s the holiday season and we are incredibly busy, but in a “we got games you want to buy” kind of way, so it’s all good. But it means that I am sitting at home with my laptop, ranting to you while Kevin is still at the office playtesting Arkham Horror. (See, someone else doing something you’d rather hear about). I promise, that if you give me a chance, I’ll become interesting, too. I mean, this place has to rub off on me eventually, right?
12/17 - Andrew
For those of you outside of the company, I’m the new Marketing Assistant here at FFG.
I’ve spent my first few days here shuffling through piles of missing piece requests, Gold Dragon and Sanity point redemptions, fulfilling prize support for our dedicated Servitors and Night’s Watch by the boatload, and reorganizing my corner of the office to better suit my anal retentive tendencies. I’ve been having a great time, though. FFG is a paradise compared to most offices. It’s small, littered with games and everyone here is busy doing important work. There aren’t any managers, assistant managers, admin assistants or other such personnel who spend as much time surfing the internet as they do actually working. Every person here fills an important role, and most of them are gamers to boot! It’s like a dream come true, for lack of a better cliché. The time seems to evaporate every day because I’m so busy. In my other office experiences, I’d start clockwatching by one in the afternoon if not earlier. Whenever I look at the clock here, I’m always shocked by how much time as passed. This is a very good thing.
I had planned on introducing myself to the CCG community by posting on the message boards today as well, but, as has been the case every day, I’ve run out of time.
Maybe by the next time I rant I’ll actually rant about something, but I doubt it. Instead I’ll share some bits of information about myself... in list form!
That’s all I’ve got for now. I know, it’s quite inspiring.
Until next time,
12/2 - Alfredo
Give me a few months, when the excitement of spending my day working on games wears off, or when I really want to include a nice bit but the budget interferes, or when I have a pressing deadline and I am the ranteur du jour. Until then, I have nothing to rant about (at least work-related).
If you haven’t figured it out yet, I am the new guy (as of December 1, 2004) at FFG. I’m not new to the industry, tho’: I started with wargames back in 1986, moved to RPGs, went back to wargames, moved to European-style family games, and while I have dabbled with RPGs, wargames, and collectable games just this year, I am still firmly in the Euro-style game camp. I’ve written reviews, strategy articles, and interviews for different magazines since 2000, and I have worked the games retail beat around a year (three holiday seasons -- by far the busiest time at the store).
I love games, and working with games every day is a dream come true. You’ll have to wait for a real rant...
Next, you can see that investigators don't all start at the Train Station
anymore. Monterey, for instance, has arrived at the Curiositie Shoppe in
Arkham to start off his adventure. In addition, characters have both fixed
and random possessions. Fixed possessions are usually things like money, clue tokens (yeah, investigators do a lot more investigating this time
around), or specific items for flavor. After all, what would an adventuring
archaeologist be without a bull whip? Random items are extra items that the
investigator has just kind of picked up here and there, and they add some
uniqueness to each setup.
Monterey also has the special ability "Archaeology." His ability makes him
a lot more likely to find the unique items (items have been divided into
"common" and "unique" items so you aren't picking up the Necronomicon at
the general store) he wants, such as the ever-precious Elder Signs needed
to seal the dimensional gates in Arkham for good.
Finally, the really wacky part of his investigator sheet - the skill pairs.
As you can see, the skills have been paired off into 3 pairs. Each of these
skill pairs contains two skills that are at odds with each other, such as
speed and sneak (You can be fast, or you can be sneaky, but you can't be
both). At the start of the game, the players place a 'skill slider' on each
of their 3 skill pairs, setting their skills for the first turn. (For
example, I probably want to cover some ground on the first turn, so I
decide to put one of my skill sliders on the Speed 4/Sneak 0 setting on the
far right of the Speed/Sneak skill pair). Each turn, players can adjust
their skill sliders a bit during the upkeep phase. This is limited by the
investigator's focus rating, just above the skills. Monterey has a focus of
2, so his skill sliders can be adjusted by two 'spaces' each turn (so I
could move Speed/Sneak two spaces left to 2/2 if I felt I was going to need
to be sneakier this turn).
This system addresses an issue I've always had with adventure quest games
in the past, which is having too little control over your character, and
too little strategy in the game play. With skill pairs, you choose your
strengths and weaknesses each turn, based on the information you have on
what monsters are nearby, where you want to go, and what the other players
are doing. Working Speed into the skill pairs also allowed me to remove the
roll and move mechanic of the 1st edition. Of course, if you've played the
original, you might be wondering just how much things have slowed down,
since Monterey has a top speed of 4, where you used to roll 2d6 for
movement. But as you'll see later on, the board has also gotten a
substantial facelift and new set of mechanics as well.
Anyhow, that's all for now, I've got to get back to bringing the Horror to
Arkham.
8/27 - Rob V
8/16 - Pat
8/12 - Scott
Just watched about the worst travel video on Hawai'i I have ever seen. Now I don't know why any one would want to go after watching these; looks like the only thing to do is shop, sit on the beach with an umbrella drink and watch really cheesy Hawai'ian dances. The dancers had this smile on their faces that seemed to scream SUCKER. I really hope my trip to Hawai'i is nothing like that.
Update on the "Get Healthy for Surfing" program: I have increased my morning run to 1.75 miles and gone from 175ish pounds to 163ish pounds. I hope I don't get picked up by some pro surf sponsor down there and have to quit my job and live the life of "Endless Summer."
Still pounding away on DOOM®. Just got the custom dice in, and they look great. Today I am putting together a demo table of the game for our booth at GenCon. Come to see the excellent minis and the great game. See ya there.
8/10 - Rob J
Today, as a short bit of refreshery, I wish to introduce, re-acquaint, or inflict on y’all one of my favorite authors. He be also my main inspiration whenever I drift into writing stories meself...
Robert E. Howard
The man took up the pen at the age of 15 (1921), published several stories at the age of 18 in Weird Tales, and then continued to write “as if possessed by every muse known to man.” During a span of 12 years REH wrote OVER 700 stories, short stories, novellas, and novels , in such genres as western, fantasy, sports, horror, comedy, modern war, detective, and the just plain odd.
He also penned numerous poems and many plays. Check out his biography here! Looking at his vibrant creative life, and the sheer daunting volume of his published work, makes my last 12 years of life seem a boring wasteland devoid of even the smallest creative accomplishment. I feel downright inspired to curl up on a couch with cocoa & quilt to drown my sorrows of non-accomplishment in one of his rousing yarns.
For a quick view into the mind of REH, and to garner many chuckles, check out this short work.
Cheers,
8/6 - Darrell
Running an ongoing campaign was easy enough in high school, when we had nothing better to do. Even in college, when by all rights my geek friends and I should have been out killing brain cells and engaging in random mayhem, we more often than not spent our weekends safely sequestered in the dusty dorm basement, rolling dice and chomping Doritos.
But now? We’ve got families, jobs, and other commitments that make it nearly impossible to get the same group of players together on a regular basis in an ongoing fashion. We’ve started dozens of campaigns, only to have them wither and die after four or five sessions. Other, less-committed gamers would have quit gaming altogether; I chose the lesser of two evils and merely dedicated my GMing to one-shots and short adventures that could be wrapped up in a session or two.
I’m starting a “Castle Falkenstein” campaign in September.
I ran a short-lived campaign a while ago (looking at my notes, I see it was *eight years ago* and suddenly I feel very old) and everyone had a blast. There’s just something about the setting that brings out the courage, heroism, and melodrama in everyone who plays it. Re-reading the books, I realize I’ve forgotten (over the past *eight years*) what a great game it is and how much fun we had playing it. I think that’s the key to Falkenstein: everything about it is just FUN.
Why the change of heart? Why start a new campaign? Partially because we missed campaigns. It’s very cool to watch your character – and the game world – grow and develop over a long period of time.
Another reason for me, as our group’s primary GM, to run a campaign is comfort. I don’t have to think about what game to run next week, or what kind of characters the players should have. It’s comfortable for my players as well, because they keep the same characters from one session to the next and don’t have to learn new systems. (Their grumbling whenever they have to make new characters is nothing compared to the deafening howl of protest whenever they have to learn a new system.)
To keep this from being nothing more than a self-indulgent ramble, I’d like to share a couple ideas for anyone who, like me, has given up on any long-term roleplaying campaigns. Here’s what I’m doing to try and ensure that this campaign doesn’t peter out like so many have in the past. Will it work? Guess we’ll find out.
Get committed: Discuss schedules, the game, and commitments with your players. Find a time that works – most of the time – and schedule your game for then, with the understanding that not everyone will be able to make it all the time. Make sure everyone knows they’re in for a long haul; if one of your players can’t commit to it, he or she shouldn’t play, or should have a character who can disappear for long periods of time.
Have an end in mind: This doesn’t have to be the end of the whole campaign, but the end of a “season,” giving players a good point to enter or leave the campaign, and giving the GM a point towards which to push the game. With our busy schedules, it’s not unusual to go weeks or even months between sessions. A definite “goal” for the GM helps keep the game on track and keep it from drifting amidst the “what were we doing again?”
Have contingencies: Again, with our schedules, players WILL miss games. What will you do? A lot of this depends on the game and the character, but it’s something you’ll want to keep in mind. Can you run that player’s character as an NPC for a session? Can another player do the same? Can that character realistically “vanish” for a session? And as a rule, avoid dungeon crawls that last more than a session unless you KNOW everyone will be back next session.
8/3 - Tony
But until then - need to get back to it. Lots more Cthulhu to ship. Take care, and happy gaming.
Tony D.
8/2 - John
Long time no chat. Things have been crazy here with Origins, getting ready for GenCon, working on the international printings of A Game of Thrones Board Game, and the amazing upcoming DOOM! board game.
What is driving us mad immediately, however, is CTHULHU! He is here. They are here. It is here. I helped run the World Premiere of the Call of Cthulhu CCG this weekend at the Radisson hotel. We had a great time. The game went over really well. Those who weren't gibbering and drooling in the corners (after looking at their cards) competed in a sealed deck tournament. I did quite well, going 3 and 1. My only loss was to Chris. Since he is the boss, Tim Sturm and Brian Wood advised me to take one for the team and let him win. Who was I to argue?
You should be able to go crazy with the game this weekend as it should be in stores this Friday.
Till next time.
7/27 - Michelle
Warning: this is just a short rant to introduce myself, so... DON”T GET YOUR HOPES UP!!!
I have worked at FFG now for about a month and a half. One might ask oneself, how did I end up working for a gaming company? For me, it was definitely a combination of things:
Need to get back to work – Busy, Busy, Busy!!!
See, I told you it would be short.
7/26 - Pat
The Cthulhu CCG cards will be arriving in our warehouse this week, and should be available in stores by the second week of August or so. Eric Lang is already deeply into the design process for the first expansion, Unspeakable Tales, and it's looking great! I'm very pleased that Eric allowed me to sneak a minor Robert E. Howard character into the set.
This week will be given largely over to packing boxes and moving to the new apartment, and then it's all GenCon prep, baby. Bobo, Eric Lang and I will be running the CCG hall, so all you AGOT and COC CCG fans, drop on by!
7/22 - Brian S
The problem is that season three isn’t out on DVD yet (not until September!) and I can’t even purchase a VHS copy of that season off eBay (mostly because that’s illegal!). Since season four isn’t supposed to start until mid-season, likely January 2005, I could wait for the DVD of season 3. But I don’t think I can.
So if any of you Alias fans out there could make me a copy of your VHS tapes of season three, I would make it worth your time. I’ll pay for postage, blank tapes, snacks while you do the actual coping, whatever. Please drop me an email and we can work out the details. I really need the whole season though. As any fan of the show would know, the plots and storylines are so tight that there really aren’t filler episodes and I need to know what up with those damn Rambaldi artifacts!
Thanks in advance for any assistance you can offer. Email me here.
7/21 - Kevin
7/20 - Tod
I have friends coming from the UK in a couple of weeks. I haven’t seen them in a couple of years, so I’m really looking forward to it. And then in the beginning of September, I have another friend coming from the UK! Crazy, huh? This kinda makes up for the fact that I’m not going to be able to make it over to the UK myself this year. I was hoping to get over there for a bit of vacation but I’ll have to wait another year. Too much to do, not enough time and money!
Scott and I have been playing lacrosse again this summer. It’s pretty much just a bunch of guys playing pickup games. Nothing too organized. Depending on how busy I get next spring, I might join one of the local teams.
There is now an Ikea store here in town. I was dragged down there opening night to help a friend haul a bed back to her apartment. Ikea is pretty cool, despite the cattle-like masses filling every aisle. Nice affordable furnishings. I bought some decent coffee there, too.
Mmm... coffee.
What I’ve been listening to lately:
7/20 - Rob J
This could be me working my way through Mordor \:-)
“‘Why do dungeons remind me of working my way through booths at a Con??’”
Since my rant is more of a ramble, let me jump topics to my Origins experience. It was the very first convention for me where I worked as an EXHIBITOR. Kinda heady stuff... We showed up with our big truck, and began to unload several pallets of ‘Booth Fixings.’ As I worked my way through the vast, cavernous exhibit hall I watched literally hundreds of booths being built up, stocked with product, loaded with furnishings, and draped with advertising. I basked in a carnival-like atmosphere of watching a Circus going up in an afternoon. While I rolled our heavy pallet, mountainous with boxes, through the booth-stuffed exhibit hall, Chris grinned at me and said, “The booths get taken down a whole lot faster than they go up – like magic. Just watch." And watch I did! Tired, bone-weary, I watched in wonder as the whole exhibit hall seemed to melt into vapor on Sunday after 4pm.
“The Day is Done,”
The day is done, and the darkness
I see the lights of the village
A feeling of sadness and longing,
And the night shall be filled with music
Booths or tents, exhibitors or Arabs... –Shrug- They all seemed the same to my exhausted synapses...
***I cannot WAIT to work a Convention again \:-)***
7/16 - Greg
LEVIATHAN (PART II)
“And a beer,” he added. The bartender shook his head, but he pulled another bottle out of the cooler. As long as he made with the booze, Fischetti didn’t really care what he thought.
For the last three and a half years, Fischetti had been a soldier. Now that he wasn’t anymore, he discovered that he really had no idea who he was, or what he should do. When in doubt, he figured, have another drink.
Back in high school, before he’d become a soldier, his few friends had called him Coz. In the army, where no one ever used first names, even diminutives, he’d been Fish. Now he was just plain-old Constantino Fischetti again, the name on his birth certificate, his ID, and his dishonorable discharge. Unlike Coz, Constantino Fischetti had no friends. Unlike Fish, Constantino Fischetti wasn’t a soldier. The fact was, Constantino Fischetti was nobody.
Fischetti drank tequila and chased it with beer and tried to figure out where it went wrong. The better question was, he realized, when had it ever gone right?
He hadn’t been too successful as a son. He never knew his father, and his mother had died when he was thirteen—mainly from chronic indifference, as far as he could tell. Her last words to him had been, “I’m sorry I could never love you.” It was a hell of a thing for a mother to say to her son, especially on the way out, but Fischetti had never mustered a whole lot of feeling for her either.
Nor had Fischetti ever made much of a student. The only subject he liked was history, and even then he didn’t have much use for the homework and the tests. He liked reading about other times and places, but that never seemed to translate into any grade higher than a C.
For a short time, he thought he’d found his place in the army. He was a model soldier in every respect, except one: He couldn’t follow orders worth a damn. He listened to the sergeants, because they usually had a clue. He couldn’t stand the officers, though. As if a college degree and “leadership skills” meant you knew anything at all about soldiering. He’d been busted down in rank three times for insubordination. When he got drunk and assaulted a second lieutenant, they kicked him out. The NCOs in his unit stepped up for him, and that was the only thing that kept him out of a court martial.
The basketball game on the set over the bar was interrupted with a breaking news bulletin. Fischetti couldn’t hear the talking head, but from the pictures, it looked like another incident in London. For months now, all kinds of crazy, tabloid shit had been coming out of London. Except this stuff wasn’t just in the tabloids—it was in the Times and on CNN. Last week, during the full moon (of course), it had been wolves killing kids in Hyde Park. Then it had been three poor bastards spontaneously combusting, all at exactly the same time, on the subway, or the tube, or whatever they called their trains over there.
This time, Fischetti wasn’t sure. There was video of an old black woman in handcuffs being led out of a rundown house. The brightly colored muumuu and headscarf made her look Caribbean to Fischetti’s untrained eye—Haitian, maybe, or Jamaican. She was grinning, or laughing, even though she didn’t look to have any teeth left. Then the video cut to the interior of the shack, and Fischetti saw blood on the floor and what looked to him like a dead goat.
Then they cut to a still shot, taken someplace else, Fischetti thought. It was a crime scene, and there was a body bag being loaded into an ambulance. Across the bottom of the picture was the headline, “Black Magic Murder?”
Then the woman was back on the screen, but there weren’t any cops or police cars around, and there wasn’t any crime-scene tape fencing the small yard. In fact, the whole street was deserted and dark. The woman was standing on the sidewalk, looking at him, at him, and she was laughing. He saw the necklace she wore, a necklace that looked like it was crafted of finger bones, and he remembered seeing it once before, long, long ago…
Ciarnafex had loved Taheret since the first time he dreamed of her. When both he and the world were young, he’d watched the building of the gleaming pyramids of Atlantis, and she was in his dreams. When he spent a human lifetime in the Summer Court of King Oberyceum in Arcadia, she was in his dreams. They would not find each other, that first time, until after the Atlanteans had come to the valley of the River Kem and built a new empire there to rival the one they had left, the one doomed to drown in the ending of that world. When he did find her, at long last, he saved her life, and also his own.
Beautiful, elemental Taheret, wild and reckless daughter of Tiahmet, she whose love of life and experience always surpassed any sense of caution or restraint. When the sorceress called her with blood and black magic, she had come, like a cat to milk, and been bound in darkness below the sand-swept streets of Nezer. The sorceress was a spirit even older than dragons. She clad herself in Kehebet flesh and bejeweled herself with human bones. She lusted for the magic that flowed in Taheret’s veins, the magic that might make her a god. But Ciarnafex also heard the call, he heard Taheret’s pain and fury in his dreams, and he followed.
Ciarnafex found her in the darkness below a ruined temple, so old that it was already ancient when the Atlanteans came to Keheb. The pit oozed taint, like black blood from an infected wound, and the corrupted magic pressed in on his mind until there was nothing left of him but rage, and hate, and the desperate love that burned in his maddened soul like the heart of the sun.
Ciarnafex would not remember in the long years that followed any details of the battle. But that night, the Old Quarter of Nezer burned, too.
Fischetti blinked the tears out of his eyes. The basketball game was back on the TV, but he thought he could still see the old witch’s face, like an afterimage burned onto the screen. He tossed a couple bills on the bar and walked out to the street. He hailed a cab and realized that he finally knew what he had to do, where he was supposed to go. He’d heard the call, and just like before, he would follow. A taxi pulled up and he slid into the back seat.
“Where to?” asked the driver.
“Airport, British Airways. I’m going to London.”
7/15 - Scott
I am sure you are wondering, "Aloha! Surf...? - is Nicely hitting the crack pipe again?" Well indeed, that crack don't smoke itself, but alas no, I am not high. Aloha! Surfing! is my new mantra. You see, my mind is currently filled to overflowing with two things: DOOM: the Board Game, and the wife's and my vacation to Hawaii. Now for those of you in the know, I was a big time SK8R and aggro Rollerblader in my younger, more fit, days and one of the things that I promised myself I would do before I die is surf. So now I get my chance. I am off in Sept. to the tropical island of Kauai for 7 days of surfing, snorkeling, kayaking, and hiking. I started a workout and diet program so that I'll be in tip-top shape for all this stuff. So far I have lost around 2 pds and am currently increasing my weights for lifting and the distance that I run (1.25 miles) every other day. I'll keep ya posted. Oh, and DOOM: the Board Game is awesome.
Oh, I almost forgot. I would like to take this opportunity to give my acceptance speech for my Origins Award, which I received for Best Graphic Design: Board Game, for the A Game of Thrones Board Game. First I must thank the Academy for nominating me and granting me this Industry Honor. Also I must thank Chris Petersen for creating a great game and George Martin for making such a fascinating world. But most of all I must thank two people without whom I would not even have this opportunity: Darrell Hardy for remembering, while he was teaching me Vortex at a con, that I just happened to mention that I was a graphic artist and calling me in for the interview; and finally, my wife Krista, who supported me when I told her that I was going to leave my nice well-paying, cushy corporate graphics job to work in the game industry for some game company I had never heard of until two years ago. Thanks Moo, and I love you! Thanks again, everyone. We'll see ya up here next year!!!! (Steps down from podium, pumping arms in the air with a smile on his face and a tear in his eye.)
7/9 - Rob V
Uhh. I'm gonna stop babbling now. Look! Shiny monkey!
7/8 - Brian S
Go see Spider-Man 2! NOW! City of Heroes still ROCKS! My wife and I now have separate accounts so we can fight crime together. We are currently play "Thing 1" and "Thing 2" (from the Cat in the Hat books) on the Champion server, so look us up if you are around. Also, if any other COH players out there know how I can set my character to auto-combat jump, FOR THE LOVE OF GOD PLEASE WRITE ME. I need this information. I’ll pay COH currency (Influence) to anyone who can tell me how to do this! And finally, yes, someday I will bore you with the “exciting” conclusion to my “What The?” comic strip. But not today, certainly not next week.
7/7 - Darrell
“It’s been weeks,” he sobs silently. “You’ve let me down, Darrell. Time and again, I visit your desk and await your wit and wisdom, but find only your mocking silence.”
It’s not my fault! I’ve been busy – terribly busy, horribly busy, so busy I sometimes forget to go home, forget to shower, forget to eat and forget to sleep. My lovely wife has to call in pretending to be our printer in order to get me to talk to her. My 2-year-old daughter has to draw Game of Thrones artwork to get my attention. (“This isn’t good enough! Rejected! But I still love you, honey.”)
But now Valyrian is gone, and Ranthilby has moved in to fill the void with his piercing black eyes.
“Sorry, man,” I tell him. “I got nothing. Try back next week. There might be a free five-minute game in it for you.”
7/7 - Chris
It has been an arduous journey over the last five months or so, and my vision for TI3 have had its own journey of trials and tribulations. Yet, with this brief rant, I have the opportunity to give you all an update of the current state of the project. So (drum-roll please) Here is where TI3 is currently at:
The Game Engine
The Box
All the ten known TI Races are represented on the cover. Starting from the upper left: Sardakk N’orr, Xxcha, Naalu, Jol-Nar, Hacan, Sol, Letnev, Yssaril, Mentak, and finally (in the lower right) the L1z1x. You will also notice the massive War Sun and the impressive PDS cannon (behind the Sol soldiers). I absolutely love this new piece! It truly defines and improves my vision for how the races look, and it projects the epic feeling that I feel TI is all about. Great work Scott!! (FYI, the actual box logo/text etc have not been finalized, and are just placed here for reference).
The Ships
The Other Components
I am going to save the juicy details of the system for a future rant. As I am actually writing the rules for TI3 right now, perhaps I will actually post the new rules in their entirety within the next 4 weeks or so. Until then, here are some (shocking I hope) spoilers:
So, where is the game at, and when will it be ready?
TI will be a BIG game, in all senses of the word. The ships will be big, the box will be big, the hexes will be big, the components will be numerous (in the extreme), and the new game-play will be a big change. The suggested retail for the game is now set at $79.95 (it’ll be worth every penny!). As I am not expecting the game to go to the printer before the first week of August, the expected release date has now been pushed back to November. So yes, alas, this means that we will have no copies at GEN CON as I had hoped… but we will be showcasing and doing demo’s of TI3 at our booth and in the board-game hall, so please stop by!
Pax Magnifica!
6/25 - Greg
6/14 - Pat
This will be my first GenCon, and I'm looking forward to it, especially the possibility of meeting the Beastmaster himself. I hope he brings along Kodo and Podo!
By the way, Minnesota folks might want to check out the new Fringe show being put on by Joe Scrimshaw, sometime FFG warehouse monkey and all-around bon vivant. Anyone who saw last year's The Worst Show in the Fringe knows Joe gives great show.
What else, Ranthilby? A list? Another Tod-style list? All right, then.
Things I'm currently enjoying:
So I am sure you are all chomping at the bit to know who the big winner is of last rant's puzzler. Well, without further ado, the answer:
Johnny, having just learned the Pythagorean Theorem, came up with a brilliant idea. Now he knew that the Pythagorean Theorem would not do much about the vampires, but he knew that if he bought or asked for a box that was 3 feet by 4 feet he would be able to fit the rod in the box diagonally, thus giving him an object that complies to all of the city's ordinances and allowing him on the bus.
So Tony, could you please hand me one of the correct answers from the mailbag... Tony... um Tony... TONY! STOP STUDYING THAT RISK BOARD! YOU KNOW SCHOMBURG HAS US BEAT! GET OVER HERE AND DRAW THE WINNER!
Um hum, and the winner is:
6/9 - Kevin
First is a nice link page. Readers may be particularly interested in the text adventure authoring guide mentioned on there. As far as I know, more people have read this than anything else I've written, including Spycraft. Weird, I know.
Next up is a webzine I founded back in the day, called SPAG. It's basically a review magazine to help you find games you'll like.
Another good getting started site is here.
Click on Best of IF for a bit of hand-holding on how to get these weird games to run.
I'd send you over to the Annual IF Competition, which I also helped found
back in the day, but the website seems to be down right now. As you read
some of these other pages, you may stumble across it anyhow, so no worries.
Finally, there's the Interactive Fiction Archive. If you point around on there, you can find all sorts of stuff. I'll leave that as an exercise for the reader, though.
Anyhow, that's all I've got time for now, so enjoy!
6/8 - Tod
I have been watching a cool new anime called Wolf’s Rain. Very, very cool. It’s kinda like Princess Mononoke crossed with Akira. Well OK, not really - but if you aren’t very familiar with anime, that will do. It’s set in what looks like a post-apocalyptic future and revolves around a pack of wolves who survive by disguising themselves as humans.
Wolf’s Rain is produced by some of the same folks who brought us Cowboy Bebop. I highly recommend it! I’ve also recently watched the entire Star Wars: Clone Wars series. Lucas should really just stop and let someone else take over. The Clone Wars series proves that somebody else can easily do a much better job at Star Wars now.
Yesterday, you were introduced to Robert J, our new marketing manager. His photo makes him look a little like Grizzly Adams but don’t worry, he’s a top-notch geek like the rest of us.
And by the way, Darrell actually is a LARP-playin’ anti-munchkin.
What I’m listening to today:
Oh, and the latest Killing Joke album, too!
6/7 - Rob J
Greetings y'all! I be the brand-spanking, shiny, new FFG employee "Rob J," AKA "LordBoBo." Walking into these hallowed halls of gaming geekdom sent my spirit soaring back to other memorable first-time events: my first D&D character striding from my 12-year-old imagination into the Keep on the Borderlands; the first time I played something other than D&D as a youth and lost sanity in Call of Cthulhu (FUN); crushing my opponents in Illuminati as the Gnomes; seeing a brand-new card game being played at GenCon (MTG) and watching CCGs explode on the scene; reading George R. R. Martin for the first time and not being able to stop until the sun rose to scorch my vision. \:-)
-Big Grin-
I have a lot of work ahead of me, a steep learning curve, and some impossibly big shoes to fill in this new postion. BUT when working in the gaming industry is a life's dream and you are surrounded by fantastic co-workers, it becomes an effort that leaves one grateful to be blessed with such luck.
A very little about me: born in Gary, Indiana and raised north of Grand Marais, MN. Gaming is in my blood, games are in my soul, and to be called a geek is the highest honor.
Like I said, "A very little." -heh-
Books bein' read:
I am presently listening to Ween's Quebec, but have lined up the Hulk soundtrack, Garmarna, and the Pixies.
Ciao fer Niao,
PS: check this out.
5/4 - Rob V
What does this have to do with you? Why, because you get to cheer for your favorite FFG employee, of course! Upon our return, I'll post a list of the employees and their "kills." If you were right, well... you get to tell everyone you were right!
6/3 - Brian S
6/2 - Darrell
Not roleplaying games, mind you, but just the systems that drive them. Am I crazy? Am I drunk? Am I a snobbish LARP-playing anti-munchkin who would turn up his nose at a +12 anything just on principle?
Nah. I’m just old and lazy. As I gaze longingly at my bookcase full of RPGs I’ve yet to play, I get worn out just thinking about learning all those new systems. As if it weren’t enough work to read the books and explain the worlds to my players, I would have to learn what zany words the game designers use for “Dexterity” and “hit points,” then wrap my head around their innovative new dice mechanic.
So I’m giving up.
Like many middle-aged family men who also game, I’ve got my own homebrew system. It’s simple. It’s adaptable. And my players seem to like it. (If anyone cares, you can e-mail me and I’ll post it for a rant some time.) So from now on, it’s all I’m using.
Until Fireborn comes out.
5/27 -Scott
What's that you say, Tony?... Oh yes, I suppose it is time for this week's puzzler...
Johnny is shopping at his local game/hobby store. Johnny has mad, mad modeling skills. Having just purchased a unit of way-cool pikemen for a way-cool fantasy steampunk miniatures game, he has come to buy a much-needed item. See, the pikes for said pikemen are bending and breaking, so Johnny has decided to replace the shafts of the pikes with brass rods. Now the store only sells brass rod in 5-foot lengths. So Johnny happily purchases his brass and heads to the bus stop to go home. As he is getting on the bus, the driver stops him.
"Hey kid, how long is that tube?"
"Five feet," replies Johnny.
"Oh, I am sorry, but city ordinances don't allow anything longer than four feet on the bus. Safety reasons, you know."
"Oh," sighed Johnny, getting off the bus. Now Johnny lives way too far to walk home, and besides it will be dark soon, and everyone knows that is when the vampires come out, and Johnny sure doesn't want to be turned into some blood-sucking vampire. So Johnny goes back to the game/hobby store and asks to have or buy something. Once he has this thing from the game/hobby store he is able to get on the bus with his brass rod and not be turned into a blood-sucking vampire.
So the question is: what did Johnny get at the game/hobby store that let him get on the bus with the brass rod? Now I will tell you that he did not alter the brass rod in any way. He didn't cut it or bend it.
So if you think you have the answer, write it down on a card with all your personal information and tape that card to the back of a box of Privateer Press Doom Reavers and send it to:
Fantasy Flight Puzzler
(Or email me.)
Good luck, and see ya in two weeks with the answer.
5/26 - Kevin
Well, my tale begins last Origins. I had some time to kill, and I wandered by a really cool-looking board game setup in the breezeway. After a moment of staring at it and taking it in, I realized that it was a giant-sized version of Arkham Horror, a classic board game that I'd heard about but never actually seen before. There was room for another player, so I jumped in and started kicking Mythos butt. Eventually, I came to understand that the gentleman running the game was its designer, Richard Launius. We talked for a bit about the game, and in the end, I left my card with him, not really certain of the status of the game, Richard's plans for it, etc, etc. But hey, I thought, what the heck, stranger things have happened.
Well, fast-forward through our decision to do the Call of Cthulhu CCG, discussions with Skotos and Chaosium, and guess what? The stars were right. We're going to be publishing a new edition of the Arkham Horror board game, and we're gonna do it up in style. The game will be receiving an extensive facelift from our graphics department and we'll be including Richard's advanced Arkham Horror rules with the new edition to make sure that each investigator has his/her own unique feel. Keep an eye out for towards the end of the year.
Hee hee... the thing's ripping off the car's roof. I never even noticed that before. Sweet.
If you can't tell, I'm truly excited about this game. So anyhow, now that I've gotten to announce it, I'm just gonna lean back and bask in it for about 20 seconds before I get back to work on Doom®.
Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh....
5/26 - John
This is probably old news by now on the rant page, but Runebound is finally here! This is a game that we have been trying to release since I came to work in the office. It has been a long time in coming, but I think everyone will say it was worth the wait. It is shipping out to distributors now. That means this weekend it should be in stores. This game was very well received at the GAMA tradeshow.
Right now Darrell, Chris, and John G. (the other John G. - a former employee) are playtesting the Runebound expansion. I promise, this one won't take a year and a half to release.
For my part, I am currently writing up contracts for foreign editions of the A Game of Thrones Board Game. Soon it will be available in German, French, Italian, Spanish, Dutch, and Greek. YAY!!! The prospect is exciting! The contracts are not.
5/25 - Tod
Origins is just around the corner. I’m starting to get everything ready for the show. Unfortunately, we are going to have to cancel the Origins Call of Cthulhu CCG tournaments. We were hoping to have an advance release at Origins but it appears that the cards will not be ready now. We will still be running demos, however. If you have any questions regarding any of our events at Origins or GenCon, for that matter, please drop me an email.
My current fave CDs:
4/21 - Rob
So, if anyone wants to send him cookies or somesuch as a wedding gift, feel free to send them to us here, and we'll make sure he gets them!
Meanwhile, to keep you entertained for the weekend, I provide this link. You'll get to see, on an hour-by-hour basis, what lovely weather we're enduring in the name of friendship. You can use this to point, laugh, empathize, or take any other action of your choice.
Also, Mechamorphosis is going to the printer today! Huzzah! I'll let everyone in on a little secret: I'm an artist. Yep, and a dang fine one, too. Why, I even painted the color cover for the book. It depicts Vorpal, the evil leader of the Tyrant mechamorphs, who morphs into a huge destructo-sword! He's one nasty 'bot. Here's a shot of the cover...
Okay, okay, I lied. That pic is a very heartfelt but admittiedly terrible sketch I did for an artist, so he'd know where I thought Mr. Vorpal's various parts should go in his sword vs. bot forms. Pretty lovely, eh? Makes me feel like I'm three again!
Here's a shot of the REAL cover.
5/20 - Brian S
5/17 - Brian W
5/17 - Greg
LEVIATHAN (PART I)
The dragon’s massive chest heaved, shaking, and his nostrils filled with the stench of decay and corruption. The Gray One approached, gaunt and pallid, and Ciarnafex felt bile rise in his ruined throat and hatred stir in his ancient veins. The thing wore the flesh and raiment of a Naualli warlord, but the dragon could sense the taint that crawled like maggots in the stolen meat.
“Your broodmates are all dead, dragon. I killed the last of them—your female—myself.” The Gray One drew a curved obsidian knife from its belt and showed Ciarnafex the thick blood still wet on its blade. A mottled, impossibly long tongue snaked out of the thing’s mouth and licked along the edge of the dagger. The dragon heard a hungry sound, like the mewling of a cat, deep in its throat.
“I took her honor before I cut out her heart, though I admit she may have been too far gone to appreciate the experience.”
The dragon struggled weakly, searching his once-powerful body for some last reserve of strength and his ancient spirit for some last spark of magic.
The Gray One laughed. “Oh, not in this absurd body—perish the thought! I borrowed one of the priests’ pet demons for the task, once I had overcome its objections. There was something of the goat and serpent in it, though it’s hard to be entirely certain with its ilk.” The Gray One began circling Ciarnafex, still at a respectful distance, absently running the flat of the blade back and forth across the too-smooth flesh of its palm.
“Your efforts were valiant, I’ll grant you that, though undoubtedly more courageous than wise. I will never understand what drove you to sacrifice so much—everything, really—for what, in the end, is so little. Can you tell me, dragon?” The Gray One stopped and cocked its head, waiting. “No, I suppose not. No matter. I will admit, even I was concerned that, this time, the priests had gone too far. We both know there are some pits into which mortal men simply should not stick their greedy little hands.”
The Gray One burst into motion, almost too fast for Ciarnafex’s fading vision to follow. The dragon felt the taint flower like a malignant tumor in his spirit even before the blade pierced his body. The dagger split the tough, membranous flesh of the dragon’s wing—an insult more than a real wound, and Ciarnafex realized that the Gray One meant to take its time.
“Oh, but it was glorious! Can you feel it, dragon? Can you taste it, as I taste it?” The thing knelt, scooping up a handful of bloody earth and pressing it to its lips and nose. Ciarnafex saw the Gray One shiver with pleasure. “The land is pregnant with it! The air is choked with it! The world writhes with the poison in its veins!”
“Too much,” Ciarnafex whispered.
“What? Too much, dragon? It is never too much!” The Gray One giggled, and it sounded like rats in the walls.
“Too much,” Ciarnafex repeated. “The world can’t bear it. The magic is draining out of this broken well—the pure and the tainted. Soon there will be nothing left for us to drink, and all like us will perish from the earth.”
An almost comic look of surprise crossed the Gray One’s features as it absorbed the dragon’s words. It cocked its head to the side again, as if listening for some far-off sound. It felt the taint, the wrongness on which it thrived, every bit as thick and putrid as it had claimed. But it also felt something else, a fading, as if it were sealed in some lightless prison and the air was slowly leaking away.
A hot wind began to blow and dark clouds rolled across the sky overhead, impossibly fast. The earth began to shudder, then to shake. Unnatural lightning slashed the heavens and illuminated the clouds in ominous hues from within.
The Gray One staggered and fell to its knees. It suddenly felt unwelcome in its stolen flesh. It was choking, burning, withering. The Gray One screamed, but the sound of ragged claws on slate was swallowed up by the groans of a dying world.
4/13 - Scott
*Whisper... whisper... mumble*
Well, I see. Apparently the puzzler was too hard, because Tony says that we only got one correct answer. So without further ado, the winner is:
Joe Czapski, from Arlington, MA
So this shiny mini-Pippin bust will shortly be whisking its way through our great postal system to his house. Stay tuned, boys and girls, for another puzzler.
4/11 - Tony
*Sigh.* Wish that's all I had to put, but Ranthilby says I need more. And to make it interesting... hmmm... How about if I share this silly Name Generator my friend sent me:
The following is an excerpt from the children's book Captain
Underpants and the Perilous Plot of Professor Poopypants, by Dave Pilkey.
The evil Professor forces everyone to assume new names:
Use the third letter of your first name to determine your new first name:
a = poopsie
Use the second letter of your last name to determine the first half of your new last name:
a = apple
Use the fourth letter of your last name to determine the second half
of your new last name:
a = head
Thus, for example, George W. Bush's new name is Goober Chickenshorts. And my new name is Tootie Bubblebiscuits, or Zippy Bubblebiscuits, depending on whether I choose to use Anthony or Tony.
Well, back to work I must go. Hope you all enjoy this.
Bye for now,
4/10 - Pat
So what's up? Well, as some of you may have noticed if you tried to send us an email or surf our site over the last few days, we've been having some problems switching over to the new server. With some luck, these will all be sorted out today, and I can manage to get a few things done, like upload this rant, for instance.
The Call of Cthulhu CCG is shaping up nicely. We appreciate everyone who's expressed an interest in playtesting, and we'll be letting you know very soon, server problems permitting.
The Call of Cthulhu RPG haunted house scenario I've been running is progressing less well, sorry to say, with scheduling problems having scuttled the last two sessions. I put the blame mostly on John Grams, who won't give up his weekly tanning/Swedish massage sessions no matter how much I plead with him.
What I'm reading these days:
5/7 - Rob
5/6 - Brian S
The web site assure me that the monkeys love harvesting tea: “Best of all, the monkeys enjoy their work. Picking tea is a family business for most of these resourceful little simians, as their parents before them were usually in the tea picking trade too. And let's face it, scurrying around in the great outdoors harvesting Asia's favourite drink is a far more dignified way to earn a living than prancing around on a barrel-organ in a grubby, ill-fitting clown's suit.” However, this stuff seems very expensive for a product harvested by animals! You would think having a huge labor force that self-replicates (no need for pontential employee resumes) would drive costs down.
A quick search though urban legends sites cannot confirm or deny this crazy drink, so I am relying on you, reader, to find the truth. Please email me if you know anything, or better still, if you have seen these tea-picking wonders in action. For extra credit, look up the incredibly rare coffee made from beans that have been eaten and then regurgitated by Vietnamese weasels. Oh yeah.
5/5 - John
In Senator, players take on the role of statesmen in the Senate during the Roman Republic. The game is played in three rounds, with the goal of being the senator with the most agendas at the end. Each round, several agendas are taken at random from the forum to be debated on. In addition, there are two Consulships that are up for bid. There are six different kinds of agendas: Trade, Rebellion, Public Works, Taxes, War, and Imperial. These agendas represent, in an abstract way, some of the major issues facing the Roman Republic.
Each player has a hand of seven cards. These cards represent the influence each senator has to spend every round. The card distribution for each player is the same: one card of 5 influence, three cards of 2 influence, two cards of 1 influence, and an assassin card. One player determines which item will be debated on and plays a number of his influence cards or passes. The play goes around the table with senators having to top the bid or pass. Whoever lays down the most influence wins the agenda and loses those cards s/he played for the rest of the round. All other players put the influence cards they bid back into their hands.
If at any time during the debate a player lays down their assassin card, the debate immediately ends. The agenda, or consul, is returned face down to the forum and all players lose their influence cards.
When an agenda is won it is placed in front of the scroll marker in front of the winning player. Each agenda has a special power that can be activated when it is won. Here are the abilities of each agenda:
If you have a veto token you can block a player forcing an agenda on you.
As you can see, your agendas are very vulnerable (with the exception of the Imperial agendas, which are automatically safe and are placed behind the scroll marker). Here is where the consuls come into play. If you successfully win a consulship, all agendas in front of your scroll are placed behind the scroll and are thus safe for the rest of the game.
After all agendas and consuls have been debated or returned to the forum, the next round begins.
But wait! There is more. There is also an event card deck. Each round has an event card that changes some of the rules. Here is the list with their effects (titles are in Latin):
Till next time.
4/29 - Scott
4/29 - Darrell
He has no choice, really. He’s putting together hundreds of Cthulhu cards, and his machine, sadly, just isn’t up to the task. And so I’ve been banished from my own office and forced to forage for a computer like some white-collar postmodern nomad. Lucky for me, Eric’s computer is beefy enough to run Word, and so here I am.
I had a game for you. It was terribly clever, involving coin flipping and a resource pool, but it’s gone now. I think Eric deleted it to make room for his ever-growing Cthulhu files. I could try to reconstruct it, but perhaps we’re all better off with the Platonic ideal of the game, rather than the game itself. Please join me as I close my eyes and dream of the perfect game. Beautiful, isn’t it?
Runebound, since the game is scheduled to ship in the next week or two.
First, I should point out that rules are online now. (If Pat’s feeling generous, he will put a link to them here. If not, you can find them on the Runebound web page.)
Next, how about an overview of the game. Yeah, I know you could just read the rules, but you’re a busy person with cats to feed, dogs to walk, and niche DVDs to rent, so you don’t have time for much more than a website blurb. Allow me, then, to provide you with that blurb:
In Runebound, you play one of 12 different characters, each with its own stats and special abilities. You move around the board using special movement dice that tell you what kind of terrain you can move into. (For instance, you might roll two plains, a swamp, and a road.)
Scattered strategically around the board are a number of color-coded adventure spaces (red is the hardest, green is the easiest, blue and yellow are in between). When you end your movement in an adventure space, you can draw a card of the appropriate color to discover a strange and wonderful new encounter that will probably try to kill you. When you beat a challenge, you get gold and experience points. You can spend gold in town to buy equipment and hire followers. You can spend experience points to get permanent stat bonuses.
The object of the game? Ah, now that’s the beauty of Runebound. The object is variable, because the entire game is modular. The object can be anything! The adventure decks can contain anything! The game is really a framework; you can make it whatever you want it to be!
Okay. Deep breath.
The object in the main game is to kill the big bad guy, who is lurking somewhere in the deck of red adventures. But in the next adventure (which I’m working on right now) the object is to become king of the realm through bribery, treasure-hunting, or gladiatorial combat. And there’s nothing stopping you from making up your own adventures with your own personal victory conditions (“The first one to kill Eric’s character three times wins!”). Heck, you could even run it like a roleplaying campaign, using the same character over several adventures and building up your stats to godlike proportions. (Hmm… that’s pretty cool. I should write that one down.)
Oops. Eric’s back. And he’s growling. Better give him his computer back and see if I can get back onto mine.
Next time…. A new game!
4/27 - Chris
It's another blighted Tuesday, and Ranthilby is smirking at me with his fuzzy-demonish grin.
I don't have too much time to rant today, just a few notes:
Development for the CALL OF CTHULHU CCG is rocking, and the game will be simply GORGEOUS... check out the new site here. We hope to have this game out in the stores just about on the 4th of July.
Best wishes to you all.
Christian
4/26 - Pat
What's new? Hm, I'm having a great time playing the demo decks of the Call of Cthulhu CCG that Eric's put together. I've completely fallen in love with the Blackwood File Clerk. Is that wrong of me? Ranthilby is shaking his head sadly.
Other exciting news: This upcoming weekend, while Tod and Chris will be whooping it up in exotic Hamilton, Ontario, at the Great Canadian BayCon, I'll be painting the town red with Wood, John and Eric at the A Crown of Suns world premiere. This will be my first World Premiere, and I'm looking forward to it. I may even bring along an AGOT deck or two, so I can get thoroughly trounced by real players.
I went on something of a CD buying spree this last weekend, so I'll take a page out of Tod's book and let you in on what I’ve been listening to lately:
To pave the way for the upcoming Fury of Shadow Midnight boxed set, we're taking submissions for a Midnight adventure to premiere at Origins. The guidelines are as follows:
And, about the rewards . . .
FIRST, if your adventure is selected, you get 150 FFG bucks, redeemable for $150 worth of FFG products.
May the best dark lord win : ).
-Rob
4/22 - Brian S
4/20 - Tod
This Thursday is Earth Day, so you should all do something nice for the environment: plant a tree, pick up trash, make a donation to a worthy environmental charity, ride your bike to work or at least carpool, etc.
What I’ve been listening to lately:
4/19 - Brian W
Oh well. Much excitement about Cthulhu going on. Just had the meeting about the prelaunch web site and we're hoping to get it up on Friday. There'll be tentacles.
No More Years!
4/16 - Rob
[Hand raises in back]"Uhh, Rob, what's this Fireborn you guys keep talking about in vague terms and without much detail at all?"
Excellent question. We've been reticent to spill any beans because it's so big, we don't want to do it injustice. But for the nonce, here are some bullet points and a bit of a game summary for ya:
This dual-campaign mode allows the game to switch from Matrix-style cinematic modern action in the streets of London, complete with claw-wielding, gun-fu-fighting, spell-slinging combatants, to epic mythic age battles between dragons, titans, beasts, and legions of arcane warriors.
Here's bit o' art from the game. Enjoy!
4/15 - Scott
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Oh right. McGuinness is just a fiction we maintain to convince people that there's more than just John Grams in the Sales department. No wonder this office always seems so empty.
In other news, the baby graphic on the back of our boxes is changing! As it turns out, the formerly red-colored baby head featured on the box is not a legal unless it is colored black. I am excited to announce that this change will be happening on all the upcoming boxes. I sincerely apologize to all of our customers who purchased our earlier games, overlooked the red baby head, and then watched their two-year-old devour their entire fleet of Delta V rockets. It won’t happen again.
So what can I tell you....
12/1 - Kevin
Did he say “Victory Point” cards?
...the call went something like this: "BoBo, would you like to join the FFG family as the new Marketing Manager???"
Sorry I can’t devote more time to my rant today, but we have games to make. Speaking of games, those of you are looking for a way to make the Runebound adventure board game a little scarier, feast your peepers on the card to the right. Print and cut out the picture, glue to one of those sissy dragonlord cards, and watch the madness begin.
Oh right, I should tell them what the prize is first. Well, the lucky person with the right answer, and having it drawn at random from all the other correct answers, will get the special Wizard promo tile for Reiner Knizia's Kingdoms, and the Drakon ghost, which you can figure out what to do with yourself.
So without further ado...
Now granted, this news was already quietly announced in Game Trade Monthly #51, so I've lost a bit of my thunder there. In order to make it up, I'm clearly going to have to bring out the big guns. So, here, for the first time ever, is the cover art for the new edition of Arkham Horror, done up in Anders Finer's marvelous style:
In City of Heroes, players create a superhero identity and fight crime in Paragon City. You can do a wide range of heroic acts, from stopping a mugging to taking on an alien invasion. Maybe I am just the biggest comic goob ever, but this game is nothing but fun and the graphics are awesome. If you like comic books or beating people up (or both) check this game out.
Fellow heroes of Paragon City, let me know if you want to join forces to combat evil. I’ve made several characters but I find myself playing Miss Behave - a level 6 Mutant Controller - the most. She is on the Triumph server. I also have a level 2 magic scrapper, The Computer Bug, on the Champion server, who has potential. Drop me a 
Well, you can see by the picture to the right that the answer to the picture puzzler was that great 80's pop culture icon Kool-Aid Man. Now Tony, could you please bring in that huge mailbag full of correct answers? what... um... Tony, where is the huge mailbag full of correct answers?
Hello all! Today is very busy, so I bring you the all-new "when I can't think of anything to say or do for my rant" puzzler. All you have to do is guess what the close-up picture to the left is.
Yes people, there is a prize involved. The winner, who will be chosen at random from all the correct answers we receive, will get their very own Pippen mini bust. Here are the rules: email your answer to me 
Hi All,
Development for TWILIGHT IMPERIUM is moving into its last stages, and I will be hitting the core development and playtesting hard in the next 5 weeks. Here is an early rendering of the new TI cover. Did I tell you that the new TI will be absolutely HUGE (selling for $79.95 U.S) and that it will be packed to the brim with cardboard, cards (more than 400), and gorgeous over-size plastic space ships? More on this in the next few weeks. The box of TI will be an enormous 'wide screen' box (put togther two copies of our LORD OF THE RINGS and/or WARCRAFT games and you will know how large the box will be). TI3 is expected to hit stores sometime in late September, but I hope to have about 100 copies at GEN CON.
In the spirit of ending the month of April, one of my favorite months of the year, I am attaching the classic cute 'My Head Hurts' Easter Postcard. Many of you may have seen it before (I circulated it to the office last year), but I still think that it is funny as heck.
The key to these remembrances are flashbacks, returns to a mythic age where the players, as dragons, reign supreme. Yet they are opposed by fate as conjurers make pacts with dark beings and threaten the world in their mad schemes for power, a clan of titans vies with dragons for the worship and adoration of mankind, and whole empires are seduced into causing their own destruction.