tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post713848441360151792..comments2024-03-19T04:29:47.922-04:00Comments on GROGNARDIA: Open Friday: New Year's PredictionsJames Maliszewskihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00341941102398271464noreply@blogger.comBlogger42125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-89408403257339825532011-01-02T17:08:36.371-05:002011-01-02T17:08:36.371-05:00Kudos to Matt Finch for listing eight interesting,...Kudos to Matt Finch for listing eight interesting, specific, testable prophecies.Rick Marshallhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01707062453047354335noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-31114863724755079042011-01-02T00:00:52.789-05:002011-01-02T00:00:52.789-05:00My predictions:
Stronger ties between Paizo and W...My predictions:<br /><br />Stronger ties between Paizo and WotC. Hasbro continues not to care, because they can't think of a way to really capitalize on the D&D brand, but continue to assume there's gold in them thar hills.<br /><br />Stronger push for DDI. Those who count beans in WotC will continue to see that as a stronger way to bring in revenue as the sales of books continue to sink. The virtual table will be the new tentpole attraction.<br /><br />Continued experimentation with "niche" settings in the OSR. Lot's more "weird fantasy," "weird sci-fi," and mixes of the two. A steampunk OSR setting or game will suddenly make a play for center-stage. <br /><br />New experimentation with alternate forms of revenue streams in OSR products. And by this I mean, selling something other than books and PDFs. <br /><br />Raggi's continued success (and openness about his business practices) inspires others to try to follow in his footsteps. Most will fall flat on their faces because they won't really have anything new or needed to offer. One (possibly two) will become big new names in the OSR. <br /><br />Folks mostly known as OSR types will start to branch out into other RPG genres, other sorts of games, other media (novels, low-budget animation, online comics). A tiny handful of these will experience unexpected success.trollsmythhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01895349218958093151noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-4896555889810481322011-01-01T15:40:15.449-05:002011-01-01T15:40:15.449-05:00I predict that neither Barking Alien nor Biopunk w...I predict that neither Barking Alien nor Biopunk will tell me who these "more socially relevant innovators" in RPGs are, considering that RPGs have only become less and less popular since the Gygax days.<br /><br />I also predict that anyone who cares about what's "socially relevant" when they sit down and play a game in the privacy of their own home with their friends will eventually ask themselves why they care.<br /><br />I also predict that if he does tell me who these socially relevant innovators are and we try out these socially relevant games, nobody in my ethnically diverse, pansexual, mixed-gender gaming group will think it's all that special.<br /><br />I also predict that biopunk will continue to refrain from using blanket statements and talk like a Master Baiter when he comes around to -my- blog yet still do so elsewhere, for reasons obscure to me.Zak Sabbathhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08812410680077034917noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-42809389271425762011-01-01T10:45:52.812-05:002011-01-01T10:45:52.812-05:001. Paizo and Hasbro will come to real blows. There...1. Paizo and Hasbro will come to real blows. There will be key employee defections from one side to the other. There will be legal battling between the two game publishers that will not amount to much aside from some public squabbling.<br /><br />2. Hasbro will (finally) release a digital D&D based and branded "virtual game table" type of product that will generate much positive press and will cause other RPG houses to announce or seriously consider similar initiatives.<br /><br />3. Hasbro will announce ongoing development of a D&D based TV show or animated feature at GenCon, release date TDB.cibethttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16815626047653230637noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-2282892842705390532011-01-01T10:43:45.074-05:002011-01-01T10:43:45.074-05:00I rather hope OSRIC will enter distribution in 201...I rather hope OSRIC will enter distribution in 2011.Stuart Marshallhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00375137683685614654noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-32790456767735142032011-01-01T07:51:55.802-05:002011-01-01T07:51:55.802-05:00I predict that I will be trying out 4e in this yea...I predict that I will be trying out 4e in this year. I am currently playing in 3.5 ToEE campaign and can say that 4e positively looks like 1e compared to the rules glut that I have to wade through in this one while playing.<br /><br />I mean in 4e vs PF fight, ruleswise and even setting-wise (PoL vs Golarion), PF is for me the worst offender. On the other hand I love planet stories and all that.opossum101https://www.blogger.com/profile/14918781180223282882noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-1173281003572907422011-01-01T00:15:57.077-05:002011-01-01T00:15:57.077-05:00Someone will fix D&D by inventing RuneQuest (a...Someone will fix D&D by inventing RuneQuest (as has happened every year).<br /><br />Someone will talk about what they think is an idea for a role-playing game, but is really an idea for a dice mechanic (as happens more or less constantly on rpg.net).anarchisthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05546197561922726279noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-43843975487370948562010-12-31T19:58:01.253-05:002010-12-31T19:58:01.253-05:00-Hasbro sells off all rights to D&D.
-OSR con...-Hasbro sells off all rights to D&D.<br /><br />-OSR continues to grow and more innovative products continue to be produced by the fans.<br /><br />-more local hobby game stores close<br /><br />-Obama's college transcripts are opened and it's revealed he was president of the D&D club. (meanwhile birthers claim this proves he was really born in Blackmoor)Thomas Denmarkhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06135075012362548876noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-44791619096799402082010-12-31T19:00:53.118-05:002010-12-31T19:00:53.118-05:00First off:
My Predictions:(Forgot last time)
1)4...First off: <br /><br />My Predictions:(Forgot last time)<br />1)4th Edition continues to crumble.(No Suprise there.)<br />2)Pathfinder market share up.<br />3)WW's WOD attempts comeback.<br />4)More professional new Old-School stuff.<br />5)James Maliszewski will become the Anti-Pope of Old School when he embraces Dogs In The Vineyard, and attempts to spread his influence over a Forge-less world.(Ok, maybe not that one.)<br /><br /><br />@Barking Alien:<br />"@Biopunk - Careful with the terms innovation, socially relevant and variety. As I've learned the hard way recently some OSR fans can develop allergic reactions. They break out in silly responses. Treat them gingerly and consult your local grognard. ;P" Only when they're insulting about it, and I would dare say most people aren't posting 'silly' responses to what is after all subjective positions on a game. It's their opinion on RPGs, it's kinda not earth-shatteringly important. Just fun. Not a grognard, by the way! ;-)<br /><br />@Biopunk:<br />Choice of words:<br />Purposefully insulting, great tactic. Never saw that on the Net before...<br /><br />Reinventing the Wheel:<br />Happens every day, people love to tinker, but incrementally, this field reflects that strongly.<br /><br />Socially relevant innovators:<br />Those dudes? Oh, I mean they're known to a select group of people, but their efforts aren't as well known amongst even the Fan Community as even say Bill Slavisek, Johnathon Tweet, Sandy Peterson, or the like. I agree they have interesting product. Zak Sabbath in particular.<br /><br />On Flaws: All games have them, old or not. Though some seem to think otherwise, especially if the devs supposedly thought long and hard about 'fundamental changes'.(Slaughtering 'Sacred Cows' and the like.) <br /><br />On players: I've read the blogs, and almost all of them do play, but many would like to play more, but with the same line-up, and they never seem to seek out anyone else that could be potentially interested in playing. More people would be good, all I'm saying...<br /><br />On Art: It was good back then, still good today, imo. There are artists around now I'd like to see do some illos, of course.<br />As for the hobgoblin: not partial to it. Mine looked different :-)<br /><br />Paradigm Shift: In IT industry, it's definitely code, dude.<br /><br />On reactionary: overused term, caution is good sometimes. Why isn't Alignment gone yet? Hit Points, still? 'vancian magic[nonesuch]'s still here. were just some of my reactions to Third Edition! But everybody's reactionary sometimes!velaranhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15689908090884198784noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-88624411669210594482010-12-31T16:57:47.835-05:002010-12-31T16:57:47.835-05:00Thanks to Tenkar's (www.tenkarstavern.com) exc...Thanks to Tenkar's (www.tenkarstavern.com) excellent blog I've become aware of many of the other great RPG blogs that exist, challenge, and inspire me throughout the year.<br /><br />It is my hope that the articles at White Haired Man's (www.whitehairedman.com) blog will do the same for many of you. Happy New Year and many happy returns.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-53756271251616378752010-12-31T14:50:15.441-05:002010-12-31T14:50:15.441-05:00@KP: Thanks.
We are also a terribly nostalgic ...@KP: Thanks. <br /><br />We are also a terribly nostalgic bunch that views a certain part of our youth through rose-coloured glasses. I really don’t begrudge those in the OSR for reminiscing over illustrations in the Monster Manual or whatever image it was that first inspired them. <br /><br />We were all inspired by all those illustrations because, at the time, the game was completely ‘new’ to us. We were inspired because the artwork was relatively simple and that our imaginings of the creatures in our fantasy worlds could easily grow from it.<br /><br />Very few of us have any remaining physical representations of game play from that time. <br /><br />Playing a game that is mostly in your head tends to do that. <br /><br />The art didn’t make the game intrinsically any better; it just gave us a common point of reference when discussing our part in playing it.<br /><br />It is also one of the few things that we can now agree on as a ‘shared’ experience. <br /><br />When most of us fought our first hobgoblin, it probably looked like the hobgoblins on p.52 of the Monster Manual or on the cover of Keep on the Borderlands. That is pretty cool.<br /><br />I just don't believe in saying that because that happens, it makes one artist's representation superior to another's.biopunkhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11614894519622906554noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-29347728373586676012010-12-31T14:04:55.798-05:002010-12-31T14:04:55.798-05:00I am curious as to how the 4E vs Pathfinder battle...I am curious as to how the 4E vs Pathfinder battle will play out over the year. Both companies put out state-of-the-art products; and my bookshelves are filling up with both. The problem - other than my increasing debt-load - is that I definitely don't have time to play both; so who to support.<br />When 4E came out with it's tougher GSL (and doesn't that look like a tactical error now)many of the independents launched their own 3.5 variants; at the time PF looked like one of the herd, and a little slow to launch to boot. Now, as PF continues to move from success to success I'd imagine they'll benefit from many of the other alternate 3.5 systems being quietly abandoned in there favour. Look at the way Monte Cook's Dungeon-a-Day went from being generic 3.5 to pretty much an official PF product.<br />PF also has an advantage in that all those myriad 3E/3.5E products will work with it with the odd adjustment; and I imagine it'd be easier and quicker to adapt AD&D and OSR products to PF than to 4E.<br />OTOH 4E looks so different and "next-gen"; and it seems like it'd be fun and balanced to play (at least as far as combat and dungeon-crawling go; it seems to be a little prescriptive and deficient on the role-playing side of things).<br />For a veteran of many campaigns PF (or OSR even) seems the more logical choice. For a brand-new, teen player? I don't know. I think 4E might be a more attractive product for players new to the hobby. In my experience (as a gamer and junior high teacher) most teens who've heard of tabletop RPGs only know 4E - to them that's D&D. The odd exception being the kid who's dad played D&D, and shows up at Games Club clutching a set of worn 1E rulebooks, .<br />Alcibiades of WillowdaleJBMhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13915780514486101083noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-82924365800152779922010-12-31T13:41:16.338-05:002010-12-31T13:41:16.338-05:00Oh, and Paradigm Shift is what happens to your cha...Oh, and Paradigm Shift is what happens to your character after Epic levels. It's in the new 4ed Immortals set. Trust me.toddroehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05668825555921002430noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-44013611914061138062010-12-31T13:37:06.729-05:002010-12-31T13:37:06.729-05:00One of two things will happen:
1. Hasbro will giv...One of two things will happen:<br /><br />1. Hasbro will give up on WotC's brand management of D&D and will take over the brand name entirely. We can then look forward to either the D&D board game with collectable expansion packs and D&D Trivial Pursuit, or D&D branded Nerf, Transformer, and G.I. Joe products.<br /><br />2. Hasbro will give up on WotC's brand management of D&D and will sell the IP to the highest bidder. Some rich grognard will buy it up and keep it locked away. Tunnels & Trolls will reign supreme.<br /><br />:Ptoddroehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05668825555921002430noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-19906823107303128592010-12-31T12:56:02.533-05:002010-12-31T12:56:02.533-05:00I thought the AD&D hardbacks will be republish...I thought the AD&D hardbacks will be republished in their original form by WoTC... For fun and profit... Or it will be in 2012 only? Why should they wait for another year? :)Bardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06020447449864895480noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-25844997794999747462010-12-31T12:55:29.561-05:002010-12-31T12:55:29.561-05:00I predict tin foil hat sales will skyrocket in 201...I predict tin foil hat sales will skyrocket in 2011. <br /><br />:)Joe Bardaleshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00242764968237965401noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-3838119644237374092010-12-31T12:55:28.908-05:002010-12-31T12:55:28.908-05:00@Biopunk: Your views, and hopes for the OSR seem i...@Biopunk: Your views, and hopes for the OSR seem in stark contrast to what the OSR holds dear. Looking back at the founders of early roleplaying with fresh eyes, and examining their design choices; embracing more straightforward art than 'dungeonpunk' and flash; as well as showing new-school gamers what value old school gaming has to offer.KPhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18374233546533225028noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-30748401146186137512010-12-31T12:34:50.227-05:002010-12-31T12:34:50.227-05:00I don't keep close enough tabs on the OSR publ...I don't keep close enough tabs on the OSR publishing world to be able to predict what changes or innovations might be around the corner. I HOPE that in 2011 that there will be more OSR products that provide DIY creation toolkits/guides for the aspiring OSR DM, than what I consider 'vanity projects'.KPhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18374233546533225028noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-1963753548204118492010-12-31T12:12:14.565-05:002010-12-31T12:12:14.565-05:00@veralan:
"ALL RPGs are D&D with the se...@veralan: <br />"ALL RPGs are D&D with the serial numbers filed off..." <br /><br />- Maybe to you, but reinventing the wheel every month isn't exactly bringing anything innovative to the table. <br /><br />As to "the who"? <br /><br />-Micheal Curtis, for sure, for his 'The Dungeon Alphabet' alone.<br />A few months earlier, I would have said Raggi, McKinney or Sabbath; now that they have put all their eggs in one basket, I'm not so sure.<br /><br />As to the "who is professing to love, but not play"?<br /><br />-Read more blogs. It is not an uncommon complaint. And as you do, remember that not everyone has the same opportunities you do to get together a group to game with.<br /><br />I said nothing about 'correcting' anything, but that is effectively what home-brew and house rules do. I said admitting there are "failings".<br /><br />"Telling somebody to develop 'emotional maturity' sounds highly insulting..."<br /><br />-That was the point of my statement. <br /><br />That is part of a paradigm shift.<br /><br />Paradigm Shift isn't "code" for anything. It is is a way of describing a fundamental change. It has nothing to do with "better". It has everything to do with 'different'.<br /><br />Remember the 'R' in OSR is supposed to be for 'renaissance', not 'reactionary'. <br /><br />There is far too much of the latter in this 'movement'.biopunkhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11614894519622906554noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-49266541391957055602010-12-31T12:07:42.321-05:002010-12-31T12:07:42.321-05:00People will continue to bitch and carp at each oth...People will continue to bitch and carp at each other on forums and blogs.DMWieghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03682249561077936507noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-39213570324082996852010-12-31T11:46:24.198-05:002010-12-31T11:46:24.198-05:00"At what level do I get Paradigm Shift?"..."At what level do I get Paradigm Shift?"<br /><br />I think it's a mutation that comes up during character creation.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-86952364173394915402010-12-31T11:37:00.320-05:002010-12-31T11:37:00.320-05:00RPGNow Print on Demand will become an important pa...RPGNow Print on Demand will become an important part of the small press publishing landscape.<br /><br />In addition RPGNow Print on Demand will start to make "Out of print" obselete as witnessed by many of Chaosium's current offers (like the Great Pendragon Campaign).<br /><br />Finally See more full color OSR supplements as RPGNow's PoD Color price is very competitive. Although it will take a few months for everybody to catch on.Robert Conleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03863009007381185340noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-77263177628594270472010-12-31T11:32:32.585-05:002010-12-31T11:32:32.585-05:00At what level do I get Paradigm Shift?At what level do I get Paradigm Shift?Anthonyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01254215329246851683noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-66370699647866426182010-12-31T11:01:34.011-05:002010-12-31T11:01:34.011-05:001) I also think that James Raggi will continue to ...1) I also think that James Raggi will continue to gain traction, partly due to a big brouhaha about the art and content of his material. I don't think he will have cash flow problems. I do think that he will have more copies of his game than he can sell during the year, and that he will respond to this with discounts or packaged bundles of game + modules.<br /><br />2) Frog God Games will continue to publish a steady stream of materials for Swords & Wizardry / AD&D / OD&D. Some people will hate this, some people will be happy about it.<br /><br />3) Old school gaming will gain traction in the mainstream community via the larger clones gaining more name recognition. This will lead to a gateway effect that brings younger gamers in, and return gamers in. This will result in message boards becoming more elitist about their new and old members. A new message board might even spring up as a result, but I doubt this.<br /><br />4) OSRIC will get more aggressively published, which will lead to more edition-warring among the clones. Publishers will try to stop that trend, and will succeed to a large degree, but it will remain a low-level feature of the landscape from then onward. AD&D will get new players through OSRIC in the same way that other clones have a "gateway" effect.<br /><br />5) There will be a lot of controversy about Joe Goodman's "old school" game as publication approaches. It will be generally hated in the old school message boards, but will get some traction in the mainstream. It might or might not succeed - that will depend on its quality and whether Goodman supports it in 2012.<br /><br />6) WotC will not bother with the clones; their problem is Paizo and Pathfinder, and the clones are minuscule compared to the threat of Pathfinder. Last year, WotC could have used the clones to explain their weakness to HASBRO (incorrectly, but still a good straw-grasp). Now, with Paizo building so fast, it's simply too clear that WotC's weakness lies elsewhere than the clones.<br /><br />7) The value of the D&D trademark falls, as Pathfinder rises. WotC will seek to use it for collateral purposes - movies, novels, card games, whatever they can do to change it into a generic franchise rather than a purely gaming franchise.<br /><br />8) 4e recovers a bit of ground after the disastrous launch, but continues to lose ground to Pathfinder - more slowly, but still a frightening trend for WotC brand management.Matt Finchhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07678557558458924177noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-72804007968841385922010-12-31T10:55:57.992-05:002010-12-31T10:55:57.992-05:00I'm expecting 2011 to be a year more about big...I'm expecting 2011 to be a year more about big campaigns than big products. I'm also hoping to meet a bunch more Toronto area gamers.Ry Sthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15697008932594866267noreply@blogger.com