Asymmetry in Roleplay - Part 3 - Encounters

Recent versions of D&D have sought to promote the idea that parties of characters should be presented with a formulaic series of encounters with challenge ratings that are balanced according to their level, plus or minus a little. Here I would like to discuss the value of asymmetric encounters, in which the party are faced with a challenge that is trivially easy for them, or else so difficult they have little or no hope of success.

In fairness, the concept of balanced encounters has been around since the early days when D&D modules were produced with specific level ranges in mind - though the suggested level ranges on many 1st edition modules were pretty broad (thereby suggesting that party asymmetry, which I discussed in my previous article, was an expected feature of the 1e landscape). Successive versions of the game have worked to engineer encounter balance with increasing sophistication, as if this was something that needed fixing; unfortunately, this has also given rise to an increasing sense of player entitlement where they have an expectation of what level of challenge they are likely to meet and what sort of reward they are to expect for overcoming it (even going so far in some groups that the DM will allow the players to decide what magical loot they find). Is this a bad thing? Well, it depend on your particular gaming priorities I guess. To me, it certainly detracts from the sense of a believable story set in a realistic world. When things get too damn convenient for the protagonists, it smacks of cheese.

People will actively avoid running into more trouble than they can handle

To an extent, in the same way that we might argue there are in-game reasons why someone assembling a party would take pains to get the right people for the job, we might also argue that those people will actively avoid running into more trouble than they can handle, or wasting their time on trivial fluff. And yet, if you spend a week travelling through a wilderness when you are 1st level and run into a few wolves, why is it that when you travel through the same wilderness a while later when you are 5th level you keep running into trolls, and then a bit later still, again in the same wilderness when you’re 8th level - you just happen to run into a behir.

I guess there are two ways you might respond to this:

The anthropic principle. In an infinite multiverse, some party somewhere will just happen to be fortunate enough to enjoy a career of ideally balanced encounters. Luckily, that party is you. If it weren’t you, then obviously you wouldn’t have had those encounters, but you did, so obviously you are that party, so quit complaining.Encounters that are unbalanced are not fun or (shudder) cool. My game is all about fun, cool encounters. This is fantasy, right? What does realism have to do with that? I’m a narrativist, not a simulationist. My 8th level characters would find wolves a bit boring to deal with, so - bring on the behir and naturalism be damned.

For me, with my desire for a balanced mix of simulationist grit and narrative enjoyment, the anthropic principle will only stretch so far. For me, a good story is an emergent thing that is born of a party-centric narrative which nevertheless isn't a railroad, but set in a simulationist, ‘built’ world with areas of varying challenge level that the party may or may not blunder into, and with events that the party may or may not have the misfortune to get tangled up in, and which allows for the possibility that sometimes, Shit May Happen that the party are not prepared for.

Reactions to this vary, but this approach hasn’t lost me many players so far, and they keep turning up for more, so I guess it’s working OK. Sometimes, new players to the group have trouble getting their heads around this concept that the entire world isn't designed around their expectations and convenience, but after a while they generally settle in to the immersive campaigning ethos. However, the fact that they are surprised to find themselves in a campaign where reality isn't bent to please them indicates how pervasive this sense of entitlement is in contemporary gaming culture.

Death is always a possibility, and the players know it

So, sometimes in my campaign the characters may end up fleeing from a situation that they can’t handle. Death is always a possibility, and the players know it - though it doesn't happen too frequently. I'll also say that if a party is sensible enough to turn tail and flee I'll usually be lenient on them when it comes to determining their chances of escaping.

But what about the other end of the spectrum - when the party runs into hostile creatures that pose them virtually no threat whatsoever? Well, I do like to throw these in occasionally, to add to the sense of realism and flavour. Running into a few bugbears is part of the scene setting in a wilderness trek, and they don’t have to immediately realise they are bugbears, either - the encounter can be introduced by saying that someone spots some movement nearby, build up the tension a little and then let them feel relief that it isn’t actually a behir after all but something they can handle quite easily.

Sometimes the party will have the means to simply avoid the encounter altogether. Other times, they will get stuck in and revel in the ease with which they deal with their opposition. I should add that I don’t insist on running every single trivial encounter a party might have - some I will simply describe, saying ‘you encounter nothing worse than a few goblins and wolves along the way which pose no threat to seasoned adventurers like yourselves’. Nevertheless, just throwing the odd one in once in a while as a set-piece encounter is a nice exercise.

The interesting thing I’ve found, in fact, is that characters/players tend to be more generous to their adversaries the more heavily they outclass them. Whereas at lower levels they will fight the evil hobgoblins to the death and take no prisoners, when the hobgoblins pose them virtually no threat at all they almost feel a bit guilty about killing them and are more likely to try to end the combat by non-violent means and then send them on their way (maybe even healing the injured ones to show there’s no hard feelings). I guess when you’ve faced undead horrors and abominations from the Abyss hobgoblins seem just too human to slaughter without mercy.

So, over to you, 'greners. Asymmetric encounters - good or bad?

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Bonded Realities Shows Off Its Beginnings

R P G A M E R   -   N E W S   B U L L E T I N

A new trailer has surfaced that shows off the opening scene of the upcoming Xbox LIVE Indie Games RPG Bonded Realities. This trailer doesn't show off as much of the game's strange setting and enemies as the previous trailer does, but it does give a good look at the game's humble beginnings and irreverent sense of humor.

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An Interview with Jay Little

Why a 3rd edition to WFRP? Why now? "Based on recent trends in the roleplaying market and numerous discussions between Games Workshop and Fantasy Flight Games, we determined the time was right to develop and introduce a new edition, attracting more fans to the Warhammer Fantasy setting made popular by Game Workshop's tabletop miniatures game." Read all about it in this interview with Jay Little, lead designer on Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay 3rd Edition.

How is WFRP3 different from the previous edition?

The new edition uses a completely redesigned ruleset. One of the more exciting and dynamic changes is how actions and tasks are resolved - the core mechanic has changed from a percentile system to a dice pool system.

The new system also takes advantage of a variety of full colour components and player aids to keep key information close at hand and make it easy for GMs and players to reference and manage the information they need during a game session.

We've also made a distinction between Wood Elves and High Elves. They are now their own unique playable races, allowing players to more easily incorporate these two popular races from the tabletop miniatures game into their campaigns.

During the design process, there was a concerted effort to develop the new system using the "toolbox" model - the rules and components provide a number of versatile tools to both GMs and players. They can use these tools to construct their own exciting adventures in the Warhammer Fantasy setting, and choose the proper tool for the task at hand. The rules help provide blueprints on how to use these tools - but creative GMs and players will find a lot of different ways to apply the tools to achieve the results that best suit their group and play style.

How is WFRP different from other fantasy RPGs, setting- and theme-wise?

Warhammer has long had a reputation for being grim, dark, and gritty. While that's certainly the case, there are also elements of dystopian society and dark humour woven into the fabric of the setting.

It's a harsh setting, a dangerous world, and a perilous time. There's an almost tangible sense of stress and tension... and the players' characters are thrust into this crucible, to either forge their own destiny, or crumble under the pressure.

As I am not overly familiar with WFRP history, what are the PCs like? For example, the PCs in D&D are heroes, in Shadowrun they are criminals and in Paranoia- troubleshooters. Is there a common way to describe the PCs in WFRP?

Players can explore the Warhammer Fantasy setting in a variety of ways. Some groups may choose to play the game in a more heroic, high fantasy mode where the characters know they are heroes and act out of altruism, pride, or the need to do what is right and just. Other groups may prefer a grittier, more desperate setting where the characters are only heros by virtue of the fact that the stories revolve around their actions. There is no "right" way or approach - it depends on the type of stories the GM and players want to tell.

What kind of adventures can players expect? What moods prevail in the Empire?

Over the course of their adventures, the player characters may find themselves fighting against daemons, greenskins, beastmen, or other dire threats - but there are a lot of other ways to experience the Warhammer Fantasy setting than violence and combat. Investigating Chaos cults, exploring ancient cairns, tracking down wanted criminals, unraveling mysteries... these are just a few of the challenges and encounters heroes may face.

The heroes may need to engage a local scholar in a test of wits. Or the party may find itself addressing rival barons in an attempt to broker peace between them, or treating with a High Elf ambassador to establish trade arrangements, or perhaps pleading their innocence before a Sigmarite priest... or one of numerous other exciting possible encounters.

Please explain the new dice mechanic.

The new dice pool mechanic is best explained with two of the more recent Designer Diaries I wrote, which discuss the new dice, the symbols, and how they are used to resolve tasks. These Designer Diary can be found on the FFG web site at:

Of Dice and Men - A look at the custom dice and core mechanics of WFRP

Rising to the Challenge - A look at challenges, misfortune, and modifiers in WFRP

Does WFRP have anything in common with Dark Heresy/Rogue Trader, other than the IP source?

The Warhammer 40k Roleplay system, which currently includes Dark Heresy and Rogue Trader, uses a distinct and different game engine from Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay, and will continue to do so. Other than the IP and a shared sense of tension, darkness, and grit, the two roleplay lines are quite distinct.

Does the WFRP core set provide advice, ideas, hooks or other ways to help a GM create a cool adventure/campaign? Please expound.

Absolutely. The core set includes a separate book for Game Masters, the Tome of Adventure. This book contains additional rules and information for the player who will be running the Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay sessions as the GM. It includes suggestions and guidelines on managing long-term campaigns, handling character development, and creating adventures. The book also contains background and statistics for a variety of enemies to pit the players' heroes against, as well as a complete introductory adventure

I understand the core set is limited to 3 player + GM. Why make that limitation? Doesn't it increase the barrier of entry to WFRP3 over and above the 100$ price tag?

The number of cards, dice, and components included in the core set are designed to easily accommodate a group of four players - one Game Master and three player characters. However, players can certainly still enjoy the Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay experience with a group that has more (or fewer) players.

Some groups may be able to easily manage five or six players using just the core set, depending on their playing style and setup. As with more traditional roleplaying games, players can also freely share components or information with each other to facilitate gameplay - just like they might share a sourcebook or set of dice in other games.

Additional dice and accessories will be available, allowing groups to add more dice or components to their game, if they wish.

What does the party sheet do and how does it enrich/change the play experience from other RPGs?

The party sheet is a way to help make the ties that bind a group of characters together a concrete, mechanical part of the game. It provides a focal point for the group -- each party sheet has a unique name, ability, selection of talent sockets, and a tension meter. These elements allow players to interact with the part in tangible ways -- by sharing talents and abilities with party members, for example.

Also, a group of similar characters with a different party sheet could have a different experience when wandering through a town, for example -- a party of rogues and scoundrels may get a different reception than a diplomatic entourage.

Some of these effects are story-driven and flavour effects. The players and the GM can use the party sheet as another resource to spark their creativity, fuel their story-telling, and help create a fun game experience.

What is the reasoning behind the "Draw 3 careers, choose one" mechanic? It seems to fly in the face of the trend in the last decade or so of RPGs having players choose their classes/careers as well as the rest of character creation being about choice, not randomness.

Previous editions of WFRP relied on random charts and tables for character generation. Allowing choice within a small random set of options created a good compromise between the heavily random approach of earlier editions and more direct player control. Coupled with the creation points, players have a lot of control and options at their disposal to help create a character that appeals to them and will be fun to play.

To me, the ability/need to interpret the result of die rolls to describe the occurrences in the game is reminiscent of "casting the bones" or other types of old future-telling. Was that intentional design? Does the GM book provide advice to the (beginning) GM to use the results on the description of the action?
The Tome of Adventure, the book for Game Masters included in the core set, provides several examples and some advice on how to interpret the dice. The colour-coding system and free-form narrative interpretation of dice results were important parts of the design. Dice used in WFRP offer the objective results (success/failure & magnitude of effect) while also delivering subjective results (the source of the various symbols informing narrative) allowing players to easily add a level of storytelling interpretation and immersion to task resolution if they wish.

"The Enemy Within" is an adventure series for WFRP widely considered to be one of the best adventures ever written (by RPG.net, for example). Have you considered updating and improving on it for the new edition?

We've recently announced the first campaign for the new edition of Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay, titled The Gathering Storm. I can't disclose our plans for future products, other than to say that we're committed to developing Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay and have a lot of exciting projects planned.

Will the use of episodes and acts be pronounced and explicit in The Gathering storm and future published WFRP material?

It's a great design framework for both GMs to use when creating material for their home campaigns and for freelance writers and developers to use to create adventures that are easy to read and prep for a session.

What plans are in place for future development of WFRP?

We've got a lot of really exciting things in store for WFRP. I'm most excited about the opportunity to develop supplements and content featuring areas and aspects of the Warhammer Fantasy setting in a way previous editions were unable to do. For example, I'm currently developing the project outlines for several boxed sets focused on exploring the cultures, motivations, and conflicts between ancient enemies in the setting.

Anything else important or cool that you want to mention about the game?

The graphic design and artwork turned out even better than I could have imagined. The FFG graphic design team did a superb job evoking the mood and atmosphere of the setting through the components and the book layouts. The artists produced exceptional work which really captures the look and feel of the people, places, and things that populate the setting. Players and GMs can get a real sense of the Warhammer Fantasy setting just by looking through the books and components.

When will it be out?

The Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay core set, The Adventurer's Toolkit and the Dice Accessory Packs are all scheduled to be released later this year. (Since the interview, the first two have come out).

Additional Comments

If you haven't already checked out the videos from GenCon, I'd recommend watching them. We videotaped one of the seminars I hosted at the convention, and made it available online.

Also, the official Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay FAQ has additional information, and will be updated regularly to address more questions as they come up. The FAQ can be downloaded from the ">WFRP Support page on the Fantasy Flight Games web site.

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Vox: Synchronicity, Too

On June 24, 2009 in Columbus, OH, aethereal FORGE will present the official release of the Vox RPG. This is an admittedly small affair in the grander scheme of things, but for me it represents the culmination of nearly three years of effort. Whether or not you are ultimately interested in Vox itself, the process by which Vox was created is -- at least in my opinion -- an interesting one, and filled with interesting coincidences and synchronicities. I firmly believe that Vox has been published precisely when it was meant to be.

Vox is a role-playing game in which each player ultimately controls a character with a voice in his head, and one of the other players controls that voice. It uses a variant of the PDQ system, which means that characters -- and their voices -- are constructed from Prose Descriptive Qualities rather than cold numeric Attributes and lists of Skills. The game presumes that a modern-day conspiracy type setting is likely, but the system itself is setting-neutral, allowing for games set in the far future, ancient Rome, fantastic alternate dimensions, prison cells, or anything else a GM might dream up. There's also a detailed (and somewhat mindbending) metaplot involved, which I won't reveal here. What I will share with you now is the story about how Vox was created... which may, in the end, very well have something to do with that plot.

The story of Vox really begins in September of 2003, when I moved to San Francisco at long last. I had thought about moving into "The City" from "The Peninsula," for a few years, and this seemed as good a time as any to do so. After settling in, I soon found myself wanting to find a gaming group, so I visited Gamescape -- the city's only "real" game store -- in March of 2004 and picked a "Looking for Players" index card off the bulletin board, pretty much at random. Within a week, there were four of us, first playing D&D 3rd Edition and then dabbling with Mage. Over the next few weeks, as things settled down, the group gained a few new faces, and lost a few. Finally, in late May a guy named Nick joined up. This was fortuitious in two respects. First, we ultimately switched gaming over to his house (because he had a dining table we could use). Secondly, and more importantly, he began GMing a different game in the winter of 2004/05. That game was called Unknown Armies.

UA had several novel concepts that I immediately fell in love with. The two most important (besides the amazing setting) are the fact that characters are composed of loosely-defined skills that you can name in any way you want (e.g., "Running Like the Devil"), and the system of Madness and Stress Checks, by which a character slowly comes to grips with an altered reality, or else crumbles in its wake, in either case being forever changed.

My character in this campaign was Murray Glassner, a washed-up old actor who was a Personamancer, able to take on different identities. Murray also had managed to get his hands on a mystical postcard that contained the essence of a terrorist hijacker (whom Murray had helped subdue) who was trying to elevate himself to a sort of godhood. The hijacker was not pleased that Murray had stymied him, and he began talking to Murray (and listening to him) through the postcard, occasionally influencing his life in irritating and often dangerous ways. Murray would change personas frequently, and not often in good ways. Many times, his personae would get the group in trouble; once, he personally ordered one of their deaths.

I'll add one completely irrelevant note here, which I've always found amusing. Every one of our UA characters was capable of killing bad guys, dealing with supernatural forces, and even wrestling the avatar of death himself, but we had one weakness: doors. Almost without exception, every time one of us tried to kick down a door or pick a lock, we would fail our rolls -- often critically. It got so that we would climb in and out of windows to avoid doors altogether.

But to get back on track: as we were just starting to play UA, I was also working on publishing and promoting a free gaming system called POW!, as well as a setting for that system, called Power Grrrl. On November 10, 2004, one Mr. Chad Underkoffler downloaded a free copy of the POW! Core Rules; I had known Chad's name, since he had been writing a column called "Let Me Tell You about My Character" on RPG.net at the same time that I was the Lead Columns Editor there. At the time he was just another columnist and I knew little about his work, but then synchronicity hit. Chad downloaded that document, and almost at the same time I began playing Unknown Armies, which had Chad in the credits. As I scanned the list of people who were checking out my free game system, his name jumped out at me, and on January 25, 2005, I emailed him and (re)introduced myself for no particular reason. We talked. I learned about his PDQ system, which like UA has characters that are defined by Prose Descriptive Qualities rather than specific Attributes and Skills. Chad ended up reviewing my Ninja Burger Handbook. And then, on July 26, 2005, I licensed Chad's PDQ Game Engine for use with the Ninja Burger 2nd Edition RPG.

I had an inspiration (my Voice-hearing UA character). I had a game engine (PDQ). I just didn't know I had Vox yet.

Vox was conceived at approximately 12:30 pm EDT on Friday, August 11, 2006 at Houlihan's Restaurant, 111 W Maryland St, Indianapolis, IN 46225 (they are awesome people -- they wore Ninja Burger t-shirts at the 2008 Gencon and they've always had great service and food). This was my first visit to Houlihan's, and I played it safe and ordered the chicken fingers and fries and a Diet Coke. While I waited for my food to arrive, I started noodling about and knocking ideas around. In my goodie bag beside me, I had a stack of Ninja Burger 2nd Edition RPGs, hot off the presses and laden with PDQ goodness. In the back of my head, drifting about somewhere in my subconscious, was my old UA campaign, and the idea of voices, and personas.

And so I jotted some notes down in my Moleskine, quite at random. Suddenly, with Murray Glassner as its father, and PDQ as its mother, Vox had begun to take shape.

As you can see from the scribbles, Vox was originally called Voci, and from the horrible sketch on the bottom of that page you can see a really bad drawing of a half-face, which I promptly scribbled out because I suck terribly at drawing (we'll come back to that image later, though). Almost nothing else on that page made it into the final product, and almost nothing else in that Moleskine ever came to pass (including my applying for a writing job with Cryptic, and getting Ninja Burger stickers in the Gencon SWAG bag). The circled "2006 Gencon" in the photo shown here, by the way, was added to the page a year later once it became clear to me that Vox was really going to happen. I wanted to remember exactly when it had first emerged into being.

Over the rest of that weekend, however, I was completely distracted. First of all, I had come to Gencon to pick up the brand new copies of Ninja Burger: The RPG 2nd Edition from the Key20 booth (which is where I first met Jerry Grayson). I was also at Gencon to attend the 2006 ENnie awards with Sean Frolich and Deborah Balsam of Dog Soul Publishing. I had recently written an electronic book for them called Folkloric: Baba Yaga, and it had been nominated for two ENnies. We didn't expect to win, and when the Best Writing award flew by we were resigned to being happy with our nominations. However, in the end we won Gold for Best Electronic Book, and needless to say I had little else on my mind for the next day or so. By Saturday morning I had completely forgotten about "Voci," occupied as I was with a side trip to visit an online friend, Milly Hacker (who would go on to write for Vox, as it turns out). In fact, Milly is the one who told me that Vox would be a better title than Voci, though I can't remember if it happened on that Saturday, or in the days that followed.

The next day, on the plane back home after Gencon, I started leafing through my Moleskine, and for some reason the idea of Vox really called out to me. For whatever reason I began to take other notes on Vox, and by the time the plane landed I had ten pages of ideas. When I got home, the notes got transcribed into a text document on my computer, and I started chatting online with Milly, fleshing out ideas. It took a while for most of the ideas to coalesce, but one thing was almost 100% designed by August 21, 2006: the cover, which depicts a face trying to emerge from inside the book. It is based (I firmly believe) on that horribly scribbled over half-face, that stupid doodle that I had tried to blot out with my own form of static noise, a personality trying to emerge from blackness. The image, which I found on sxc.hu, immediately ingrained itself into my psyche when I came across it. It had to be.

I also decided at that point that this cover would be the only recognizable human face in the entire book, an artistic direction that I stuck by even as many other things changed and morphed. Vox contains many photos, but the only "faces" in them are in the background, and even then only in photos or posters on the walls. Vox was about personalities, and changing them, and internal conflict, and it seemed disingenuous to fill the book with beefcake shots of people posing for the camera. The people are there, but only as observers of the shots -- presumably, the player characters.

By late August of that year I was confident that I could get Vox out within 15 months, and so I created an ad and stuck it on Livejournal. Two quotes about voices appear in the ad; the one on the top was the first one I found, and it's the only one that made it through to the final product. The release date would change, however, for shortly after posting this ad the company I was working for at the time began to have some stability issues, and I ultimately resigned and began to look elsewhere for work. While in-between jobs, I had a bit of time to myself, so a great deal of Vox was written in the month that followed.

By early October of 2006, when I had gotten myself some more writing work, I had lots of notes, including some quotes and thoughts lifted from actual UA gaming sessions that had occurred in the campaign the previous year. Although these quotes seem completely irrelevant now, composed mostly of out-of-character talk, in fact they became a great source of inspiration for Vox. It was from them that I came up with the idea of encouraging outside chatter to have an in-game role.

A great example of this is the "DETECTIVE Brodksy?" joke that only five people in the entire universe -- my gaming group -- will ever appreciate. The UA characters we were playing in my campaign had to find a way to infiltrate a warehouse full of bad guys, with an undercover detective (Brodksy) somewhere inside. While plotting our entry, someone came up with the brilliant idea of just calling and asking for Detective Brodksy. "DETECTIVE Brodksy?" said the GM, mimicking the voice of one of the bad guys. This was followed by gunfire as, presumably, poor Detective Brodksy was gunned down, his cover blown by a bunch of amateur Adepts.

Of course, we never followed through on this plan -- this was all OOC nonsense -- but it nevertheless subtly influenced our characters' decisions in the upcoming raid. The irrelevant voice chatter had an in-game impact. So, I thought a year later, if that sort of chatter happens all the time, why not just encourage and allow some of that in Vox, and tear down the wall between IC and OOC? After all, the chatter IS relevant to the game, and if the characters are hearing Voices in their heads, who's to say that they don't hear the players' voices too, somewhere back in the noise?

By October 23, 2006, I had an outline of the book. As with most books (and in particular, HELLAS: Worlds of Sun & Stone), the end result was far larger than I had originally anticipated, with the final product weighing in at 196 pages, rather than 108. One interesting note is the little mention of "Queen Vickie" in one tiny little corner of my outline. This was nothing but a random idea I had jotted down years earlier after a particularly vivid and nonsensical dream, wherein little Victorian rugrats were running around a muddy city chased by shadowy men who wanted to find a tween Queen Victoria. Here is the entirety of what I typed into my computer, bleary-eyed with sleep:

Queen Vickie. steampunk/dresden dolls feel. Underworld, everyone flees from city streets and night into underground, no electricity, for safety, some kids sneak out elsewhere, brave, one captured and turns traitor. Back home on train next day traitor is there like nothing happened. Badness ensues. weird quiet kid in grey, saves, speaks -- Vickie's boyfriend, he says. smiles. hero? turns out no. he betrays, turns her in. Other girl is now mute, didn't make it into the cache, saw horrifying things the other boy did, won't speak, afraid of him, she knows. Four main characters, thus: girl hero (Vickie), guy bad grey hero, guy who turned traitor, mute girl.

This nugget of stream-of-consciousness nonsense sat in a "random notes" document I keep on my computer for almost five years before I snatched it up and stuck it in Vox. Most of what's there is gibberish that didn't make it into the actual setting, but it did help to inspire the setting, as well as a supplement to Vox that I have planned -- if the book is at least a marginal success, that is.

Influences surround you when you're designing a game. No one creates in a vacuum; everything is tainted, however subtly, by something else, or many somethings. When I sat down to create a mockup of Vox based on my outline, I found myself scribbling random ideas and thoughts all over the pages of the proof. To name but a few: Dark Messiah and Prey were two PC games I had recently been playing, and each of them includes some element related to the "Voice in your head" concept; the film Stranger Than Fiction is all about a protagonist with a voice in his head; and the book The Brief History of the Dead by Kevin Brockmeier deals with similar themes, and came along at just the right time for me to work pieces of it into Vox.

The next official hint of Vox was jotted down in another Moleskine sometime around November 20, 2006. I know this because November 20 is when Jerry Grayson and I first decided on HELLAS: Worlds of Sun & Stone as the name of that RPG, and the opposite page contains me working out how the HELLAS subtitle would break down. On the other side, however, was a rough idea for a Vox logo that I tried, and then abandoned, and then in a way sort of brought back in the last month before publication. I knew that there was some relationship between the V and the X, some sort of mirroring effect, but I didn't know exactly what, back then.

Between December and March of 2007, I started to secure the assistance of other creative types I knew, for writing and photographic help; most notable among them are Will Reeves, Ryan Elliott, the aforementioned Milly Hacker, and Nievita Hartness. To one degree or another, they all helped shape what Vox became.

And then, as it often does, life intruded in an interesting way.

On March 16, 2007 at 10:35 AM, my car was totaled in an accident that could easily have taken my life, seeing as it happened at about 50 MPH on the freeway. A car two lanes over tried to rapidly merge into the lane to my left, causing a second car there to rapidly swerve into my lane, causing me to make a split second decision: do I hit the car in front of me (with children staring at me out the back window), or do I hit the wall? They say that in moments of intense stress, time can seem to slow down, and indeed, for a moment there I really felt I had plenty of time to make the choice, even though it was less than a second (this idea of "Entering the Zone" would make its way into Vox). In the end, I thought the wall was a better option.

But that's not the really interesting part. At the time I was working from home, but occasionally I would have to drive a short distance to my employer's office for meetings, which was about 15 minutes away. Today was one such day, so I checked my email one last time at 10:20 and then headed out the door. Literally moments after I left the house -- at 10:21 AM -- the person I was going to meet emailed me to cancel the meeting. If I had checked my email one minute later... Well, a lot of things would be different, especially Vox.

As it turned out, I didn't need a car anyway. Within three weeks of the accident, a friend of mine had managed to get me an interview with a game company called Perpetual Entertainment, and ultimately they decide to hire me on as a Quest Writer. Since San Francisco has excellent public transit, and parking downtown was an expensive proposition anyway, I decided that I would not replace the car, and for the next year I went without one for the first time in 17 years. The universe had taken my car from me just when I no longer needed it.

While this smacks of synchronicity (a major element of Vox), it also might seem somewhat tangential. However, a lot of unexpected factors slid into play thereafter, each of which helped build what Vox became. For example, I started riding the subway to work, and in mentioning that fact to my gaming friends, one of them mentioned the movie Kontroll, which became another thematic influence on Vox. Riding the subway also meant that I had plenty of time -- both walking around the city, and riding the subway -- to map the game out in my head, and take notes, and to observe strange people, eavesdrop on their conversations, and bring all that weirdness into the game.

By June of 2007, I had another writer helping out -- Michelle Elliott -- and I had a solid outline. By this point the page count had ballooned from 108 to 240 pages. Some of that is because the book itself was shrinking, however. I had started out, as most people do, with a standard 8.5x11 layout, but by the second week of July, 2007, I had enough text to start playing around with InDesign. The first real mockup was in 9x7 landscape format, because I though that would suit the photos I was using for the book much better. Though I was also working simultaneously on HELLAS, the idea to do a landscape layout for that book would not come until months later.

August arrived, and with it came the anniversary of Vox's humble birth. I attended Gencon, this time behind a booth, and ran ideas past Jerry Grayson and Milly Hacker. By the time we left Gencon, Milly was signed on to write one of the game's four settings. The book was well on its way to being finished and published by year's end, as I had originally envisioned.

And then, another complication: between September and November of 2007, Perpetual Entertainment went through some rough layoffs, and although I survived the first round I did not make it through the second. Few did. Gods & Heroes: Rome Rising was shelved, and Perpetual struggled to survive (eventually expiring a few months later). With its death, and my sudden need to look for a job, any hope of publishing Vox in 2007 died as well. I just had other things to worry about.

The layoff did however enable another big event to take place: moving to Seattle. Rather than looking for jobs here, I began to look for some elsewhere. My wife and I also began looking for houses in Seattle, and that whole process happened much faster than I thought it would. In December I flew up to interview with Sierra Online (unfortunately buried shortly thereafter, in the wake of the Activision-Blizzard merger), by February we had a house picked, and by mid-March we were making the move. Once again, the universe seemed to intervene: because of the particulars of our situation, we needed a second vehicle to make the trip, and as it turned out, some friends of ours were conveniently getting rid of their old car just at that moment. We transferred the title and tuned the car up just a few days before we drove to Seattle, in the nick of time.

Throughout the spring and summer of 2008, in between other writing assignments, I began to find snippets of time to work on Vox. I began experimenting with different layouts -- Crown Quarto, 8x8, 8.5x11 -- and to seek initial quotes from various printing companies. I also began to put the squeeze on my writers to get me the final copy, which I had let slide because of my own lack of focus, and made the decision to use some of the player characters from my old UA campaign in Vox. On August 11, 2008, I did a rough layout in 8.5x11 landscape, printed out three copies -- the first "complete" proofs to come off the printer -- and took them with me to Gencon. Two were for showing off and proofing, and one was for Chad Underkoffler to check out. My marked up copy after I got done thrashing it is shown here.

It was fortuitious that I gave that copy to Chad, because in September he sent me many helpful comments about it, and we began discussing his new game, Swashbucklers of the 7 Skies, as well as the new version of PDQ that he was using for the game, dubbed PDQ# (PDQ Sharp). He suggested that there were elements in PDQ# that I should consider using for Vox, and my attempts to wrestle PDQ# into Vox ultimately led to a spinoff version of PDQ that I helped write, called PDQ2 (which is basically PDQ# with the swashbuckling bits stripped out). PDQ2 was put in place, and at last the game was finished enough for playtesting, which occurred between October of 2008 and January of 2009, during which time Jen Schoonover also came aboard to finish up the final setting. It was difficult to find the time to finish Vox, however, because the game writing and design work I was doing at the time was getting in the way.

You can probably guess by now how the universe decided to "help me out."

By the end of January, the work I was doing suddenly hit a dry spell, and I made the decision that I would at last use this time to sit down and hammer out Vox. By March 19, I was finished enough to request an ad from Fred Hicks for the "back" of the book, and by March 27 -- when Jerry Grayson and I attended Gamestorm in Vancouver, WA -- I was even more finished, enough so to print out a new version to take with me. Again, three copies came along, one to be marked up, and two for others to take, peruse and comment on. I was certain by now that the book would be landscape, but I still wasn't sure of the size, or the exact presentation. I wanted the Player and GM sections to be reversed from one another, and so for this version I printed the Player's section on one side of every page, and the GM's section on the reverse of each page, upside-down. My friend Nievita gave me a different suggestion, however, and it's the layout that eventually made it into the final book.

One other interesting anecdote from Gamestorm: I sold a copy of Vox before I even had them printed, much less finished. A fan of Ninja Burger stopped by the booth, and I began idly discussing other PDQ-based games, mentioning in passing the forthcoming Vox. She informed me that she would be buying Vox when it came out, just based on my description and rough proof copy, and that she would be watching the web for the official release announcement.

Here it is!

In April I brought Jen Schoonover back on board to copyedit the book, and I began seeking new quotes from various companies. It's here that I hit my big problem, which was that most POD printers couldn't handle landscape format books very well. I discovered that everyone wanted me to get the book down to no more than 8.5" wide, if not 8", and I struggled to find a format that worked for my content. I tried going back to Crown Quarto (which more printers handled) and slapped a new layout together, doing a Lulu run on May 16, 2009 to see how it looked. The downside here was that Lulu could not print Crown Quarto in landscape format. They could, however, print 9x7 in landscape... which as it turned out was the first layout I had tried, almost 3 years earlier. It was meant to be.

On May 18, 2009, I uploaded the first sampler of the game and kicked the website into gear. A PDQ thread on RPG.net soon revealed another instance of synchronicity, and now it seems there may be followup to Vox with a fantasy setting. In late May I entered discussions with a few other POD printers, hoping to get a better price than what Lulu was offering me, but in each case they required that I get the book down to 8.5" wide, or thereabouts. Faced with the prospect of having to spend a few days readjusting the layout (with the very real possibility of accidentally creating a new error or three along the way), I eventually decided that the first printing would be through Lulu, just to play it safe. And so it was.

On June 24, 2009, Vox will premiere at the Origins Game Fair for the first time. Shortly upon my return, it will be available in PDF format online, probably followed by a full on second printing through an offset printer (or, if I continue to play it safe, through a POD printer). Whether or not Vox achieves indie success (which would mean sales of at least 1000 copies) remains to be seen. Regardless, it seems that it was meant to be, and what's more it was meant to be right now. At least, that's what the voice in my head says.

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WOTC Annual Layoff Extravaganza

No surprise to anyone by now: Wizards of the Coast has started another round of Christmas layoffs. This year, so far, Rob Heinsoo (D&D 4e Lead Designer), Logan Bonner (Adventurer's Vault), Chris Sims (4e Monster Manual and Dungeon Master's Guide) and Stephen Radney-McFarland have been cut.

Numerous sources have already broken the news. The most informative links are below.

http://www.enworld.org/forum/general-rpg-discussion/268912-wizards-coast-layoffs-rob-heinsoo-logan-bonner-chris-sims-2.html

http://nitessine.wordpress.com/2009/12/07/merry-christmas-wotcs-annual-layoffs-rpg-superstar-2010/

We covered the 2008 layoffs in this story - exactly 100 stories ago, and about exactly a year ago. Clockwork.

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Dissidia Duodecim Summons Forth Yuna

A recent issue of the Japanese Shonen Jump magazine has revealed that Yuna from Final Fantasy X and X-2 will be joining the cast of Dissidia Duodecim: Final Fantasy. It may be surprising for some, but Yuna will appear in the game as she was in Final Fantasy X, rather than as she did in the sequel. As such, she will function in the game as a summoner rather than as a gunner with a class change system.

According to Shonen Jump, Yuna will fight by summoning out Aeons to attack for her. She can summon out two Aeons at once who can attack as a team. One known example is attacking with both Ixion and Shiva at the same time. Her EX Burst attack involves summoning all of her Aeons to attack in succession.

In addition to announcing Yuna, the magazine also revealed information about a promotion Square Enix is running for the initial run of the game. Every copy of Dissidia Duodecim's initial Japanese print run will include a code for downloading a new costume for Tifa to use in the game, which will be a modified version of her Final Fantasy VII costume with a red skirt. It is still unknown whether this promotional code will be included in the North American release of the game.

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RPGCast - RPGCast

A short news week leads to a lot of wondering about what Nintendo's thinking with its new system's battery life. But don't despair, RPGs are still in the mix as we have a ton of details about Skyrim and then try to figure out Oblivion's leveling system.This special episode of the RPGCast gathers together the people who played all the games this year to answer the question, "What was best?" You'll also get to hear why Michael loves Sega so much.Mikel takes a break from enslaving young goats to capture Pok?mon for him in order to join us for the first RPGCast of the year. Torchlight, Cthulu, and even a new D&D game show up this to welcome us into 2011.We give you the bait and switch about a popular RPG coming to the PSN. Phil Willis also comes back from a long hiatus, just in time to give his expert opinion on Square Enix's financial prospects. But don't worry, the future is looking bright as the wraps have been taken off of a number of 2011 games.Pan media sensation Jackie Chan headlines this week's fantastic podcast. We also have the premiere of Roy "Rosestorm" Burnet, who helps us delve into such amazing issues as PlayStation Quests. It's also a big week for MMOs with Blizzard launching a new expansion and Square turning over all the leaders of the FFXIV team.While the creepy chocobo watched all the live stream viewers, we discussed NISA and Imageepoch, Infinity Blade and iPhone, and Ni no Kuni and large books. The real show stealer, of course, is the Harvest Moon news. You'll be blown away.The JRPG makes a triumphant return? Nintendo is starting up its own gaming event again? Inazuma Eleven is showing up in English? Nothing makes sense this week.Spike reveals the VGA nominees and we've got the expert analysis...oh who are we kidding, they suck. You're better off just paying attention to the awesome The Witcher 2 collector's edition details.It's a slow news week so we have to resort to Playstation Home to bring us some entertainment. But don't worry, Glenn comes on one hour in, so make sure to fast forward to that part.Yu Suzuki continues to torment us, Aksys wants give us more naughty Agarest Wars, and Tactics Ogre scores well in Japan. Then we learn Quin's secret kryptonite. Hint: it's Ys-y to do.Innocent Sin, a PlayStation Phone, and a game about personified game consoles may top the list of stuff we didn't expect to ever see. We've also the Extra Life drawing winners and some thing called Blizzcon?This week we have an update on the Extra Life totals, a recommendation for scary RPGs to play, and some news from Blizzcon. Then we go spend some quid at Game.Listen to the Extra Life 2010 edition of RPGCast and you get to hear Chris's epic battle against Dr. Eggman. But if you just want the news, we've got that too. How do signature editions, Tenacious D, FFXIV, and Pirates of the Carribean sound?RPGCast really gets into the thick of it this week. We debate the merits of a FFVII remake, the merits of physical vs. virtual, and the merits of turning into a sheep to fight enemies. Also we've only one week left until Extra Life, get those donations in!Nintendo opens the Kimono on 3DS launch details, Tales of the Abyss and Planescape Torment are back, Fable III has Stephen Fry, and Kirby shows off his Epic Wii. And remember, it's only two weeks till Extra Life, get those donations in.Americans are apparently too busy to notice the great things going on around them. So we point out some of the things they may be missing like GOG's hoax, 3DS's specs, Milo's sacking, Nomura's game announcements, and PC digital download sales.Is Sony bringing back backwards compatibility? Is Sega going to get a Phantasy Star Online renaissance with a sequel that's PC only? Do we really need a fourth Disgaea game? All these questions and more on this week's show, which has 100% more British.Foxworth, JCServant, Paws, Risingsuntzu, Sabin1001RPGamer was at PAX and we tell you everything we saw and loved. We also get into the week's news which seems to be dedicated to games Anna cares about. And to wrap it all up, Sarah Williams has an interview with Tony Oliver, voice director of the US voices of games like Magna Carta 2.Cryptic is giving us another chance to venture into the world of NeverWinter. Meanwhile, Square Enix is confusing the entire internet again. The biggest story of all is that Manny is getting his teeth pulled. These exclusives and more on this week's RPGCast.Bioware reveals the name of the Jedi newspaper, Tactics Ogre continues talk about its upcoming game show, and Peter Molyeneux is adding DLC to books. One of those is real, I leave it as an excercise to you to figure out which.We've got another week of RPGCast awesomeness for you all to take to your mommas. Nothing makes sense when Square Enix makes social RPGs, Pok?mon in musicals, and Odo and Wayne Newton star in a Fallout game. Beware the Zabrak!Cataclysm impressions, Dragon Quest IX multiplayer, and Mortal Kombat highlight this week's show. Mikel also gives you his Pok?mon trading rant.RPGCast finally jumps the shark when Anna recommends hidden object games. Starcraft II also makes large inroads in the conversation. But don't worry, we also have a long discussion on the history of Shin Megami Tensei games, in order to preserve our street cred.Phil tells about why his mad skills are too much for Dragon Quest IX to handle. Lee Gordon joins us once again and let's us know how good PSN's PSX classics are in Europe. Finally, Square Enix had some sort of announcement about Ogres.Dragon Quest IX is here! We talk all about its lack of gambling options as well as the NIS America press event. In addition, Cavia, Star Wars: The Old Republic, and Dragon Age make the headlines this week.We try not to fight about iPhones, Androids, and solo MMORPG content, but we fail. It's okay because Ni No Kuni is coming out here! There's also some Dragon Quest game coming out tomorrow.It sounds like Manny didn't exactly fit into Anime Expo. It sounds like Mikel and Chris didn't really jive with Puzzle Quest. It also sounds like Canada is attempting to invade the RPGCast again. But don't worry, at least Nintendo is sending out free figurines.Mikel and Chris play through the new Puzzle Quest 2 demo. Get a drink and play along through the demo to add to their commentary to your experience.We have some special guests this week as we cover a deluge of news while trying to finish in time to blow our vuvuzelas. Aya Brea's health issues, digital copies of Sora, and the Deathspank hotline are just a few of the strange topics we touch this week.Firemyst, JCServant, Risingsuntzu, Sabin1001The crew is wiped out from a great week at E3 but that doesn't stop them from telling you all about what they saw and played. In addition some news snuck by last week that we've managed to catch for you. Listen and find out about heroic Cthulu, Star Wars starships, and the Fallout MMO.Firemyst, Risingsuntzu, Sabin1001The Dreamcast is back, Yakuza is good again, Kojima is making a game for Square Enix, and the new Pok?mon professor is a GIRL. Yeah, it's definitely E3 time.Reviews from iTunes, disappointing games, and E3 predictions make up the meat of this show. Mmm...meat. I'm hungry, time for a sandwich.The podcast learns what a hipster is. The Witcher 2 teaches us how to appreciate our women better. And Glenn shows us the truth about Alpha Protocol reviews.We learn more about the day to day life of Team Rocket. We figure out how Star Ocean works. We even figure out what makes a collector's edition good. So much learning, it should be a G.I. Joe special.Firemyst, Risingsuntzu, Sabin1001, SeventhCircleThis week is heavy on the Pokemon as Team Rocket calls in, the cast makes their picks for new favorite starter Pokemon, and Mikel orders a $200 Pok?walker cover. Glenn also gives his reviews of Shiren and Mimana Iyar while the casts consoles him with hopes that one day he'll get to review a good game.What do Bumpy Trots, posses, Monster Hunters, and Gackt all have in common? They are what we talk about this week. Well that and Mass Effect DLC. You can never have enough $2 weapons for your Mass Effect character, that's what my grandpa always said.RPGamer shows you its poker face...not really. But we do show the love to Kirby, Castlevania, and Persona. Also, Moo cow.Breath of Death VII developer, Robert Boyd, joins us today to discuss his recent Xbox Indie hit. You can also hear as the panel gets addicted to Lord of Ultima (share your usernames in the thread and join our alliance).Ya! Come watch my new radio show! I have excellent coverage with the Demon's Souls, the Infinite Space, and the sausage. Get to the podcast!Pok?mon and skirts and horga'hn sum up the panel's goals today. Phil also returns to the show and proves that it really doesn't matter if you're Black or White, just don't try to sing the song.Chris gets distracted by his new iPad (*drink*), Anna is distracted by her roommate's Ditto, Nyx is distracted by her insignificant other, and Manny is wondering why he bothers.Atlus downloads a bad CD from torrent, BioWare decides to develop Mass Effect 3, and Nintendo figures that this handheld business may be worth pursuing with a new portable. Or I may have made all that up.Gotta listen to 'em all! We all gain levels in our pokewalkers while discussing the new Pok?mon releases. Mikel gives us the scoop on his new game and Reggie gives us some interesting quotes regarding PlayStation Move.It's a small panel but a big podcast! Final Fantasy dropped this week and it's obvious because it took over our feedback, news, and picks for the week. We go in depth with our impressions but try to lay off the spoilers.Firemyst, JCServant, Risingsuntzu, Paws, Sabin1001, SeventhCircleGlenn Wilson is on to discuss Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey. Sony had its own strangeness this week. And even Valve got into strange fun with its images hinting at Steam coming out on the Mac.Puffy, Finny, and Prinny all get into the cast this week. Perhaps they all wanted to celebrate the upcoming Level 5 US branch, or perhaps they just want a Nanaimo bar.Did you know you can get free release date shipping for games you buy on Amazon.com? Go there now to to preorder your copy of Final Fantasy XIII and get a free $10 Video Games Credit. Order today!Final thoughts on White Knight Chronicles, the recurring saga of Yakuza DLC, and a possible Demon's Souls sequel all should whet your appetite for this week's show. So sit down, take a load off, and prepare for a heaping helping of RPG. Pass the Fable III.Monster Hunter and White Knight Chronicles have trouble proving their worth. We've also got a big wrap up of Mass Effect 1 and some in depth discussion of 2. Lastly, it wouldn't be an RPG podcast if we didn't have more news about the lack of a FFVII remake.Wait 'til you hear about the pre-order bonuses we've got this week. We also have a bit more palatable Aion discussion and Chris's initial impressions of Mass Effect 2.My heat's out so I can't think right now. Listen to the show I recorded while bundled up in a camo fleece pullover and debated whether people would purchase a PS3 for FFXIII. I'm cold.JCServant, Risingsuntzu, Paws, Sabin1001My heat's out so I can't think right now. Listen to the show I recorded while bundled up in a camo fleece pullover and debated whether people would purchase a PS3 for FFXIII. I'm cold.The RPGCasters give you their picks of 2009 and predictions for 2010. We've also got plenty of news to kick off the new year including CES announcements and Square Enix plans.RPGamer welcomes you to the new year with open arms. News may be a bit sparse, but we do have hamburgers. Pass the ketchup.We make the mistake of looking at the list of upcoming 3D movies. But we get back on course with special editions, mac releases, Nier cutbacks, and Final Fantasy betas.WoW's got a new patch, Yakuza 3 is coming out here, Mass Effect 2 has Worf, and we're back on the air! Oh, you were happier with us not on the air? Okay, I'll just be over crying in the corner...Big news for 3D Dot Game Heroes, Lufia, and Star Trek Online makes us happy. Gyromancer makes us sad. Then Philip offers inexpensive revenge.Every episode of RPGCast is full of special features, but this one brings you an explanation of Star Trek's timeline, rehashes of stories from last week, and more Dragon Age content than you'd ever want. Only on RPGCast: The Collectors' Edition.RPGamer somehow managed to stop playing Dragon Age long enough to do a podcast. We talk about Star Trek and Zelda and Sakura Wars but mostly just want to get back to winning Morrigan's heart.RPGamer's team of crack investigative journalists dig into the Dragon Age Origins pre-order catastrophe to help get you the best deal possible. We've also got a contest, some 3D Dot Heroes release news, and a new DSi to help round out the show.This week Chris violates the terms of usage for his hat, Dungeons and Dragons gets the best port ever, and Mikel has a baby?We recorded live during the Extra Life marathon. See if you can count how many times Chris dies in Demon's Souls. Also let us know how Mikel and Anna do as segment hosts--ah crap. I don't even have the game in my PS3 right now and I think I just died again.Ethos, Firemyst, Kiro, Lusipurr, Risingsuntzu, Metaridley, Noodle, Paws, Sabin1001, SeventhCircle, UnpetitmaxThank you for supporting us for 100 episodes. We've gathered many of the members of RPGCast past and present for this momentus occasion. We've also got your calls and picks for best moments of the show so far. Oh, enjoy the opera.Chris is back from Japan and shares his stories of arcades and TGS. Manny takes a nap during another Aion debate. RPGamer also officially announces its involvement with Extra Life.The substitutes take over the RPGCast! Can they live up to the standards of the original cast?Clix, Firemyst, Kiro, Risingsuntzu, Noodle, Paws, Sabin1001Chris records a final podcast before his long absence. Everything's fair game and improvised in this live after dark on the edge full of modifier extravaganza.Gamescom and Blizzcon mean a ton of news for you. We've also got several people bargaining for Anna's time. And of course no week would be complete without a Fallout 3 story.To be honest, I don't even know what we talked about on this show. There was something regarding catgirls, some video games, and a giant arcade-card-action game mecha from Japan.It seems everyone's playing Little King Story except Chris. He's too busy filing his bunion down. But the panel ignores him and brings you the latest on Valkyria, the iPhone, and the PS3.We rag on PSX games, talk about good parts of bad games, and ease on down the RIZ-ZOAWD. Bah why am I wasting time writing this blurb when I could be posting the already late show for you all?Manny gives us the skinny on all the great stuff RPGamer got to see at Run to the Sun this year. Who has the best food? Is Square Enix's lobby really filled with Japanese developers grilling hot dogs? Did Manny truly open the secret midnight portal into Atlus? Will RPGamer be allowed back next year? Find out on this week's RPGCast.Kiro and Sabin talk monkeys while the rest of the crew plays their PSPs. Okay, so it isn't that bad, we do have another installment of Release Tracker as well as a bunch of NIS news.The crew took some time out this Fourth of July in order to bring you their thoughts of Aion and Dragonica. They also react to the latest PS3 emulation rumors, Fable 3, and Sony's recent retcon. Beware the Dire Lamb.MMO's have betas, FFVII had sales, companies had mergers, and Kiro's a girl. Then RPGamer was sued for not disclosing the hidden cost to your life from listening to RPGCast's bad jokes.It's the return of Random Encounters! But before all that, Chris goes emo on Dragon Age, Mikel tells us he did nothing, and Noodle speaks.Busy panel today with both Lee and Manny making guest appearances. They help make a slow news week go by a little quicker, though they don't make Chris's impressions any better. Help us out next week by submitting your Random Encounters questions to the message board thread.Anna, Mikel, and Chris recount their impressions and go through the news from this year's E3. Victor and newcomer Sarah come along for the ride and try to sell the audience on how awesome Final Fantasy XIV and Dragon Age will be, respectively. If you haven't yet, go watch Mikel's Kung Fu Fighting video on our E3 page.Manny and Glenn join us this week as we seek to insult every racial group on the planet. In a less inflamatory segement, we have big news about Half-Minute Hero, Fragile, and the PSP Go. Then we get back to angering fanboys by making our E3 predictions and speculations.We start out with an indepth look at the addictiveness of MMOs. Then Victor gives us his initial impressions of Free Realms. Finally, we react to the big news about Demon's Souls and Fallout 3.This is a week of perplexing new announcements. A Lunar remake and Might and Magic puzzle game have us wondering. What's next, a Punch Out MMO?We've got word of the new Nippon Ichi-Gust crossover game. Bioware also surprises nobody and announces troopers for its Star Wars MMO. And speaking of unsurprising, Bethesda releases another Fallout 3 add-on that doesn't work right.Motorcyles in Fallout, plants with zombies, mysterious game images, and a show title that isn't from the episode should give you an idea of the lack of theme we have this week. Just check it out and see if you can figure out why Arcanum stole our webpage design.Adriaan proposes the solution to all the issues with RPGamer reviews. Chris plays the same three games he always does. Hank Hill says, "Hi." Anna continues her PR campaign for Canadian game development. And finally, Mikel says everyone is an idiot and goes back to playing his favorite PSP game, Blade Dancer.You'll have to answer the question of whether Chris's new mic equipment makes him sound less like a nerd. Adriaan den Ouden guest stars this week as we answer your four minute questions and debate ferret themed censoring.Mikel marks the most significant progress he has ever made in an RPG. Meanwhile, Hellgate London is back in the news. I'm voting for the cat swords as the more profitable venture.What RPGs did you get stuck in when playing? What didn't Anna play this week? Why is horse armor now the best deal ever on Xbox Live? Will The Pitt ever work? Where is this week's news? The answers to these questions and more on this week's RPGCast!Impressions of The Last Remnant, a report from Midwest Gaming Classic, and a fan who appreciates Chris's beer recommendations make up this week's show. Don't forget the Zelda MEGATON from GDC.We spoil Dragon Quest for you this week on RPGCast. We even get new content staffer Victor Balbian to help! Find out what he thinks about Crimson Gem Saga, Alpha Protocol, Valkyrian DLC, and way too many old PC RPGs.Forbidden memory cards, lost pages, and bitter tears combine to form our first segment on your memory card stories of woe. And apparently there was some controversy over our Star Ocean 4 review, so we try to find out what the hubbub is about.Ethos, Firemyst, Paws, Sabin1001, SeventhCircleEthan Pipher says his farewell to the site and the podcast and we send him off and wish him well at his future cat parties. In RPG news, there's Virtual Console Ogre Battle action and Crystal Chronicles controversy. Good luck, Ethan!Puzzle Quest Galactrix came out this week and we've got our in-depth impressions about it. Find out if it's worth picking up and then listen to the normal news round-up. FFXIII demo, FFIV The After Years, and Avalon Code news should keep you busy between leapgate hacking.This week we've got tons of impressions, your worst boss battle moments, and Macstorm changing his shirt. Please suggest some new discussion topics in the forum thread.RPGCast shares the love with new panel member Glenn Wilson. We've got your top five lists of worst RPGs and give some of our own. Glenn also takes us through his review of Dragon Quest V. By the way, if the podcast doesn't make it clear, you should play Yggdra Union.Atlus has a deluge of news and announcements to drive our excitement way up. But then Bethesda, Blizzard, EA, Sega, and Square Enix put on the brakes to our good mood with a series of delays and cancelled plans. Oh well, at least we have Max's accent to pull us through.Sam Marchello makes her podcast debut and regales us with tales of fantasy farming and fantastical accent worship. It also seems like the news drought is over with stories about Crystal Chronicles and the best Dragon Quest IX accessory ever. And if that wasn't enough, our Best of 2008 awards are out and we break them all down for you.The francophones invade this week when Maxime and Anna Marie take over the podcast to talk about croissants. Chris responds by butchering their language as much as possible. A new RPG you can play in 30 seconds, FFXIII demo dates, and, best of all, more Megaman Starforce games are the top news items this week.Mikel, Tom, and Chris sit around and talk about Prinny dessert sets, pouting princesses, and royal Koopa intestines. That's right, it's a distinguished beginning for our live streamed podcasts.Just The Three Amigos today to give you what little news there is in the world of gaming and RPGs. A CES photo-rundown, Dragon Quest IX speculation, and a Final Fantasy XIII website are pretty much all we've got. Please, February, come and rescue us from this dearth of news.Firemyst, Green_Nu, Paws, Sabin1001RPGCast breaks the January news drought with a huge expos? of the Final Fantasy XI Return Home to Vana'diel program. Take notes, there'll be a test on the flow chart. Tom Goldman, our epic news writer, also makes his first podcast appearance. Welcome, Tom!Meet Mycroft, the silent friend of Lusipurr as he operates the computer that Oliver, Lusipurr, and Ethos speak together in front of. Enjoy this short and bitter audio treat.On this week's show, Lee exposes his flavored soap fetish. Unfortunately, candy flavor won't help sweeten the feelings of our listeners who found out that Lee really liked Chrono Trigger. After the news and an epic feedback section, the cast shares their best and worst games of the year.Firemyst, Macstorm, Metaridley, Paws, Sabin1001, Vortex566Michael Cunningham joins us this week to make sure we actually have accurate information. Solid Snake may have also dropped by a few times, but it's so hard to tell with the Octo-Camo. Jump Festa news, FFXIII details, and an Epic Recently Played section round out the show.Hopefully you won't be bored listening to Anna's impressions of Persona 4. If that doesn't do it we have a discussion about the validity of MMO talk on the podcast. Other than that though, all we have is a bunch of news about some series called "Dragon Quest," if you care for that sort of thing.Sorry for the tardiness this week! It shan't happen again. Accept my apologies by finding out who won the World of Warcraft contest, my early impressions of Shin Megami Tensei: Imagine Online, and where Paws is working.A shadow from the past makes a return all too soon as Lusipurr and Metaridley once again break into the RPGamer headquarters to bring you anything but RPG news. Chris really needs to keep his equipment under lock and key. Boing! Do you want a free copy of Wrath of the Lich King Collector's Edition? Find out how to win one by listening to this week's episode. We also get disappointed by The Last Remnant, impressed by Valkyria Chronicles, and befuddled by PAL and HDTV.Ethos, Firemyst, Metaridley, Paws, Sabin1001, Vortex566Ethan reveals himself as a true Britaku on this week's programme. This week's show really is the bee's knees as long time listener turned staffer Lee Gordon joins the panel. Highlights include Lee giving a dramatic reading and the Magic 8-Ball predicting whether Chris will finish his Valkyria Chronicles review. Also, Lee has an accent.So, there was plenty of news this week, but most of it put Oliver to sleep and made Mikel want to quit. Not really sure why as we have plenty of good stuff like Valkyria Chronicles' DLC, three Shin Megami Tensei games, and some FFVI love for Dissidia. Plus, the great beer debate of Seattle vs. Wisconsin continues.Now that Shawn's gone we can actually talk about Fable 2 freely without fear of getting fired. We've got impressions of that and Fallout 3 just for you. Then to wrap it all up, we've got what's either one of the most enterprising or depressing uses of an emulator ever. In my opinion, it should have said, "You're engaged! But you're still lonely."Did you know Canada won't allow Ethan to drink Mountain Dew Code Red? It's true. Other things that are true include zombie plagues in World of Warcraft, bugs in Fable II, and upgraded Vista Solitaire graphics.This week we say goodbye to Shawn "Lusipurr" Cooper as he leaves the podcast and the site to pursue his education. Our listeners have lots of good things to say about Shawn, Paul Koehler has lots of good things to say about TGS, and Shawn has lots of good things to say about Mother 3. We'll miss you, Shawn!TGS is over and we take a look at the big announcements and game demos. Star Ocean, White Knight Chronicles, and The Last Remnant all caught our attention. Fable 2 would have none of it, however, and attempted to recapture our hearts as it responded to last week's criticisms. Pata Pata Poooon!Get ready to hear the most heated argument over Dragon Quest IV's story that you'll find on the internet. But before that we cover DQIX's release window, news from the Nintendo press conference, and the sad news regarding Fable 2's Collector's Edition. Oh darn, they just cut the game disk from it too.We explore when Winter 2008 actually starts in order to try to determine when we'll get to play A Witch's Tale. We also dissect the particulars of squad based combat as it pertains to The Last Remnant. And don't forget the news of Sega's 7th Dragon and Level-5's five new games. Mystical Get~!Kingdom Hearts gets a new keychain, Suikoden DS gets details, and White Knight Story gets a release date. The panel, however, gets a ton of feedback from listeners in the first segment. See? We do care!Our 50th episode is an extravaganza filled with 80s rap stars ordering breakfast from McDonalds in alternate timelines. A new Phantasy Star game, an enhanced version of The Witcher, and a new MegaTen game aren't enough to calm this craziness. Ethan even pops in to share his thoughts on the upcoming Dragon Quest IV for DS. There ain't no stopping this train, 50 more episodes to come.But soft, what Magitek through yonder airship breaks? It's our first show after PAX, and we leave no game unturned. From Final Fantasy to Kingdom Hearts to Prinnies, no series escapes unscathed from our critical cynicism. Also, hear some of the stories of who we met at PAX.Umbrellas. Tea cozies. Lint. Plywood sheeting. Landscapes. These are some of the most boring things in existence, but they cannot compare with the sheer boredom present in this supplemental RPGCast. Lusipurr and Metaridley host this exercise in tedium whilst Firemyst, Paws, and Sabin enjoy the wonders of PAX. Warning: Listeners may experience intense head pains and diminished intellect. Proceed with caution.Ethos, Firemyst, Lusipurr, Paws, Sabin1001We had to wait a couple days to record due to some scheduling issues and it has our clocks all screwed up. Before we get into the Delorian hear us talk about Suikoden DS, Ys on Wii, Vesperia DLC, and an FFXI item you can buy with real money. It's your kids, Marty! They're at PAX!Did you know that the recorder was internet-enabled? Neither did Chris. The panel tackles the 18 hour fight in Final Fantasy XI, Dragon Quest IV, and the new Runic Games. Then Ethan unveals Lusipurr's Fountain of Perpetual Disappointment: The Game.This week David Chang and Andrew Fernandez from GamesCampus.com join us to talk about their unprecedented "Guaranteed Fun" promotion for Asda Story. Free zhevras, Tales collectibles, and future Fallouts round out the podcast.Special guest Ethan Pipher joins us this week on the RPGCast and tells us about the three hundred games he's playing. Then SquareEnix throws a party and resolves a lot of our mobile gaming complaints. Finally, Atlus announces another Devil Summoner and Ragnarok comes to a portable console machine thing.Firemyst, Lusipurr, Macstorm, Metaridley, Paws, Sabin1001This week we have the big news regarding the release date for Infinite Undiscovery. Oliver Motok responds to the claims that have been made against him. Finally, Too Human makes a splash on Xbox Live.The panel gives their views of the most important news to come out of E3. Mikel and Chris also share their top three RPGs of the show. Also, see if you can solve the mystery of Oliver's speech notes on this week's episode.Today was the last day of E3 and Mikel and Chris wrap up the show with one final podcast. Fallout 3, Harvest Moon: Tree of Tranquility, and Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood are some of the top titles they share their impressions of today.Mikel and Chris share their thoughts and impressions from all the interviews and demos on day two. They even have a live interview where they discover the best way to use a PSP to enhance a dating relationship.Mikel and Chris are at E3 this week and share their thoughts and impressions from all the press conferences and demos.The industry has decided to buck tradition and give us a bunch of news the week before E3. Prepare yourself with this week's deluge by reviewing all the awesome news of the last week with your friendly neighborhood RPGamers.Nintendo chooses a new mineral for the Pok?mon series, Sony pulls their long awaited update, and fans rebel against Diablo 3 having more than 256 colors on this week's show. Also, Oliver prepares himself for the impending backlash to come if he doesn't like Diablo 2.Sony loses a ton of money, Dungeon Runners offers Bling Gnomes, and Oliver teaches Chris how to play Tales games in this week's show. And don't forget Blizzard, who announced a tiny sequel called Diablo 3. The panel takes a look at the new features and classes.Jon-En?e Merriex joins us once again to talk about the new content coming to Sword of the New World: Granado Espada in its upcoming expansion Nocturnal Sonata. Also, we discuss rumors of a new Silicon Knights game and details of an exclusive Square-Enix party.Little Kings, Unions of Yggdras, and Prinnies each get their turn for discussion this week. Mikel also recounts his Dungeons and Dragons Game Day experience. Listen to see if he smacked some halflings or hawked any ten foot poles while he was there.Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood gets a trailer, Fallout 3 gets a clock, and Eternal Sonata gets the shaft. Plus, Chris shares his bad voice acting ability.New Lost Odyssey content, Square Enix websites, and a potential US release for ASH make up the headlines this week. Also, another company has left the ESA, what could it mean? And how did Chris do in Hello Kitty Online?We have Jack's reponse to our friend request. We also have Dragon Quest announcements and news about another developer leaving the ESA. Don't miss the rejection.Firemyst, Lusipurr, Metaridley, Paws, Sabin1001The Run to the Sun coverage continues with Anna Marie and Mikel's impressions from Aksys. We also discuss RPGamer's first Jack Thompson letter. Hooray, we're all growed up.We've got a special extra episode of the podcast this week. All our people out in Los Angeles are on the show to tell you about the latest games they've been seeing this week.We talk about the new crossover RPG Cross Edge, the impending release of Penny Arcade's game, and a marvellous merger involving XSEED. Then we find out that we're all losers and someone else's website is better. It's a great podcast!GTA IV did a good job killing most of the news this week, but we find a few things to talk about. Atlus has some disappointing delays, Diablo 3 might be coming soon, and Shawn Cooper has sold half his game collection. But if that's not enough we can always ramble on incessantly.If you've been waiting to try Persona 3, you have no excuse now that FES is out. In addition we have impressions on the latest Pok?mon title as well as some tales of woe from the Pirates of the Burning Sea economy. Yarr, what kind of Pok?mon do ye be?Everyone on the podcast is now playing a MMO, some have three, so naturally we cover a lot of MMO related items this week. But, we also have news about a FFIV followup and we delve into the mysteries of the ESRB ratings list.Anna Marie gives her impressions of Pirates of the Burning Sea, Oliver starts playing Final Fantasy XI, and Chris finishes nothing. All in a day's work for the RPGCast. Ollie is an Elvaan, dear Altana, why?Firemyst, Lusipurr, Metaridley, Paws, Sabin1001Highlights of this illustrious episode include examining in-game advertising coming to a popular MMO as well as a very japanese DS game that we'll probably never get. We also configure a Dell World of Warcraft laptop on the air. Atlus announcements, Crisis Core, and Jack Thompson make up the brunt of this week's show. Plus, someone sells a Miyamoto-signed Super Famicom. But all this pales to the fallout of Oliver's opinions of the Metroid series.You asked for it and so we deliver. This episode starts with the panel playing Super Smash Brothers Brawl and here's a hint: Chris doesn't do too well. Finally, we go over the big news like Persona 4 and the Two Worlds sequel.RPGamer is ten years old and we have an interview with the man who's been here for the whole time. The panel also discusses their Brawl experiences. Oh and they talk about RPG news too.Shawn Cooper keeps us up to date on Super Smash Bros. Brawl's release date. Then the panel discusses whether Blizzard is good or bad for game genres and if western characters are too stereotyped. Disgaea news, Gygax respects, and a certain feline MMO round out the rest of the podcast.This week the panel takes a look at big news like DLC for Two Worlds and the rename of Valkyrie of the Battlefield. Okay, so it isn't all bad. The panel is finally allowed to talk about Persona 3: FES, and they also share some insights about what it'll take to take on World of Warcraft.This is our big wrap up show for GDC 2008. Mikel Tidwell tells us what he saw at the conference and we react to the big announcements of the week. Also, we have an update on the epic Smash Brothers showdown that Mikel and Chris had two weeks ago.An updated Dragon Quest Swords release date, Mass Effect DLC, and a Lost Odyssey interview make up the bulk of the news this week. But don't despair, we unveil a new retro coverage segment. Finally, the panel tells Chris that he has no choice but to unlock Mr. Game and Watch.This week we have a followup on the Mass Effect Fox News scandal. Also, we have a FFXIII release date...or not? All that plus more Smash Brothers pining is yours in this week's RPGCast.Oliver Motok joins us for his first RPGCast this week. That means one thing, of course, there's not much RPG news so we hit Currents again. We get into the controversy over Mass Effect's sex scenes as well as the huge console sales of December. Also, you'll get to find out what game has gotten Shawn to not play much FFXI this week.It's award time at RPGamer and RPGCast doesn't miss a chance at the fun. First up are big stories for games like the Sonic RPG and the Star Trek MMO. Then we go through the awards list and give our reactions and personal opinions about who came out on top. Over two hours of punditry, what else can you ask for?We run out of RPG related news in twenty minutes. Thus, we take on the current gaming industry news in general, so that we have something to give you. We wouldn't want a lawsuit over not providing enough RPGCast.We have a special guest! Jon-Enee Merriex from K2 Network joins us for this week's podcast. Jon is the Lead Game Master for Sword of the New World: Granado Espada, so we talk to him the upcoming expansion, Manifest Destiny.Shawn Cooper, Anna Marie Neufeld, Mikel Tidwell, and Chris Privitere gather to celebrate the holidays on this week's RPGCast. The festivities start with Atlus's new SRPG and Square Enix's upcoming releases. Shawn's glowing review of FFXI: Wings of the Goddess follows. Then comes an in-depth look at one of the more interesting review scales on the site as well as what we've been playing. See you in 2008.Shawn Cooper, Anna Marie Neufeld, Mikel Tidwell, Jordan Jackson, and Chris Privitere are the panel this time. This week Square Enix raises our ire over a cellphone-only FFIV sequel, Blue Dragon gets an extra word, and Chris tries Culdcept Saga. We also find out that half the panel wants Pok?mon Snap and that Shawn and Mikel really like FFXI.Shawn Cooper, Michael Cunningham, Mikel Tidwell, Jordan Jackson, and Chris Privitere are on the panel this week, so we have a huge panel for you. We discuss waffle eating cats, game review theory in the wake of the Gamespot fiasco, and Final Fantasy VII. Oh and we discuss the week's news like the Blizzard merger. Jordan and Mikel also go in depth about their reviews of Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn and Dragon Quest Monsters - Joker, respectively.Anna Marie Neufeld, Mikel Tidwell, Jordan Jackson, and Chris Privitere conspire this week on the podcast. Tons of news after last week's drought. We cover unoriginal naming schemes, the correct way to pronounce "XF," and why anyone would want a Two Worlds expansion. We wrap it up with some Pok?mon Snap, Mass Effect, and of course our ever popular MMO coverage.Anna Marie Neufeld, Mikel Tidwell, Jordan Jackson, and Chris Privitere make up this week's panel. Not much news this week, but there was a lot of turkey. Atlus also announced a couple games, the panel gives excuses on why it isn't playing Mass Effect, Jordan laments Fire Emblem's difficulty, and one of the hosts might be starting a new WoW addiction. This week it's Mikel Tidwell, Jordan Jackson, and Chris Privitere. We start off with on the scenes coverage of the FFXI Fan Fest by Mikel. Then we delve into Mass Effect and why you should buy it...before we review it? Finally, we go over some daily lesson plans from the new Pok?mon science lessons. All this is yours if the price is...er...if you download the podcast.Michael Cunningham, Jeffrey Cottrell, Mikel Tidwell and Chris Privitere coming at you with the latest and greatest. Bandai-Namco-Banpresto mergers, Mass Effect hype, and Final Fantasy XI Fan Fest highlight the news. While Dragon Quest Monsters and Fire Emblem dominate the panel's playtime this week. Also, Mikel is hoping there'll be Mithra at the Fan Fest, I think that'll work out for him.Anna Marie Neufeld, Adriaan den Ouden, Chris Privitere, and Mikel Tidwell bring you the latest news. The new Parasite Eve game, Mass Effect, Disgaea: Afternoon of Darkness, and Dragon Quest Monsters all get the panel's attention. And this week marks the return of Persona 3 to podcast, so those despairing about its absence last week have nothing to fear.Very different cast this week as we work out the kinks in our new schedule. Adriaan den Ouden, Katie Crandall, and Chris Privitere talk about the Okami annoucement, the new Disgaea, and plenty of other goodies. Also, the panel looks at how credible this Bioware KOTOR MMORPG rumor really is. Also, we had some recording problems so the podcast has a lot of clipping, so turn the volume low and we promise it'll be fixed next week. We're sorry. Special thanks to Ed Walker (Foxworth) for doing the sound engineering this week.sabin1001, Firemyst, Aethelred, PawsThis week Bryan Boulette, Mikel Tidwell, Anna Marie Neufeld, and Chris Privitere tackle the Nintendo press conference, Bioware being sold to EA, and some new game announcements. Also, Mikel and Chris give their initial import impressions of Crisis Core -Final Fantasy VII-. This week Bryan Boulette, Mikel Tidwell, Adriaan den Ouden, and Chris Privitere cover Beerfest in World of Warcraft, A.S.H., Soul Nomad, and Final Fantasy Tactics. Then you'll need to hide your shield from the like-likes cause next up is Zelda. So. Much. Zelda.sabin1001, Firemyst, Aethelred, Paws, lost_keeperWould you spend $10,000 on a WoW character? Did you get Manaphy this weekend? Will we ever see Mother 3 in English? What happened at the Phantom Hourglass release party? Our panel tackles these questions and more on this week's RPGCast. So come join Bryan Boulette, Anna Marie Neufeld, Mikel Tidwell, Majed Athab, and Chris Privitere and help us meet the weekly requirement.RPGamer's got the Halo 3 coverage you so desperately need...no of course we don't. Escape the Halo overload with our coverage of TGS. We go through all the interesting RPGs that were on the show floor with Paul Koehler, who was there on the scene to cover it all for us. Paul will discuss his thoughts of White Knight Story Final Fantasy IV DS, Tales of Innocence. Oh and don't worry, we still get in our weekly love fest for Persona 3. This week we have Anna Marie Neufeld (Paws), Mikel Tidwell (Firemyst), Adriaan den Ouden (omegabyte), and Chris Privitere (sabin1001). We take a look at some of the games that came out of Microsoft's TGS pre-event, the new Pok?mon GTS site and the demo of Folklore on PS3. We also gush over Persona 3 and Final Fantasy Tactics: The War of the Lion some more and have Adriaan discuss his recent .hack//G.U. review.sabin1001, Firemyst, Aethelred, PawsRPGamer's podcast debuts with a chat about the week's news, a look at Wild ARMs 5, and a discussion of recent releases Blue Dragon and Heroes of Mana. This is our first podcast folks, so be gentle, and thanks for supporting us as we get things going.

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