Setting the record straight on the claims made in this piece of 'journalism' would take a lot of effort, and most of it has already been done - refutations for every negative claim made here can be found either in the Escapist FAQs, or in Mike Stackpole's Pulling Report.

Due to the ephemeral nature of YouTube, these videos may not stay up for long. If you've missed them, and really need to see them for a research project or the like, contact me at

August 19th, 2008 (link to this)

AN OPEN LETTER TO MICHAEL GOLDFARB - The following is an open letter to Michael Goldfarb, blogger for the John McCain campaign here in the United States, and author of both of these comments:

• If anyone out there has some podcast recording equipment that they no longer use or would be willing to donate, please contact me - - I'm looking for a good headset mic, something that will isolate my voice and leave out all of the kid and pet sounds in the background, but I'm willing to accept anything that will improve the quality of the show.

• Barring that, I am also willing to accept monetary donations. A new headset runs between $30-40, so if a dozen or so Escapistcast listeners each pitched in two or three bucks, you'd be listening to a new episode before you could say "Am I still unconscious?" If even more than that is received, then that means better equipment, which means a better sounding show. I will put all donations towards the podcast, but I'll be happy just to get back to recording again, no matter what. To make a PayPal donation, look for the PayPal button on the right sidebar of the podcast page.

June 7th, 2008 (link to this)

March 17th, 2008 (link to this)

EPISODE 0 OF THE ESCAPISTCAST IS LIVE - The introductory episode of The Escapistcast, "Intros & Inspirations," is now ready for your listening pleasure at www.theescapist.com/escapistcast

March 4th, 2008 (link to this)

GARY GYGAX, R.I.P.

(photo by Alan De Smet)

Ernest Gary Gygax
July 27, 1938 - March 4, 2008

HAPPY GM'S DAY! - March 4th (or 'March Fo(u)rth!') is GM's Day, a holiday organized by the folks at EN World to recognize the efforts of RPG gamemasters everywhere.

So do something nice for your GMs tomorrow. It doesn't have to be something material - you could send a grateful email, card, or phone call, offer to help out at the next game, or anything else to let them know how much you appreciate all of the time and effort they put into your entertainment.

To all GMs - Happy GMs day!

March 1st, 2008 (link to this)

COMING SOON, THE ESCAPISTCAST! - I have been knocking around the idea of doing an Escapist podcast for a couple of years now (because I don't have NEARLY enough on my plate as it is...), and I think the time as finally come.

So, consider this the official announcement - keep your eyes and ears peeled for The Escapistcast, coming soon!

FACEBOOK ESCAPIST GROUP - If you're a Facebook member, consider joining the Escapist Roleplaying Advocacy Group to get site updates, join in discussions, or just leave some graffiti on the wall!  Hope to see you there!

February 16th, 2008 (link to this)

SQUARE ONE, EPISODE THREE - The globally anticipated third episode of the Square One podcast is finally up and ready to enjoy! This episode is all about creating characters, which is why it is titled "Creating characters (and giving them character)."

Square One is a podcast devoted to helping new gamers discover all of the great things about the hobby. If you know someone who is thinking about giving RPGs a try, let them know about the podcast! You can listen and subscribe at www.squareonepodcast.com

"GOTH BONNIE AND CLYDE" FAIL THEIR SNEAK CHECKS - A young couple from Cleveland, Ohio dubbed the "Goth Bonnie and Clyde," were arrested for the theft of nearly 8.5 million dollars in cash and checks from the armored car company where one of them worked.  Roger Dillon and Nicole Boyd staged the ill-planned heist to escape their poor financial situation and give themselves a better life.

True-crime websites and other media outlets have dubbed the pair with the "Goth Bonnie and Clyde" moniker due to their love of vampire novels and Dungeons & Dragons.  Few, if any, have tried to make the connection between gaming and the crime, other than to mention that the couple were known for having their heads in the clouds.

The two face up to 25 years in prison and a $250,000 fine if convicted.

Read more: Fox News (article | archive) -Telegraph (article | archive) - New York Times (article | archive) 

November 30th, 2007 (link to this)

DEAD RISE AT BALL STATE - Over 400 students at Ball State University participated in a live-action roleplaying game called "Humans Versus Zombies." 
 

Fred Betzner's "12 Sided Die" is a geekfest bachelor party, as four Dungeons & Dragons fanatics gather in honor of their buddy, who's leaving their games world ("it is not a game!") to (shudder) get married. I imagine it's funnier to those who know the lingo, but it was funny enough to me, especially when a non-D&D fan arrives, followed by a hired D&D version of what might be a stripper at the more usual bachelor party.

Just when the whining becomes repetitious, the evening tightens into what it is more seriously about all along, the importance and frailty of friendship and the relationship of games to reality, for which dramaturgic Dungeon Master Betzner has a D&D-based twist. The unevenness of director Brad Stephenson's cast doesn't much matter because the two central actors, Glenn Bailey Jr. and Josh Futrell, are fine; even the epic 17-minute length doesn't seem excessive.

The aim of The International Journal of Role Playing is to act as a hybrid knowledge network, and bring together the varied interests in role-playing and the associated knowledge networks, e.g. academic research, the games and creative industries, the arts and the strong role-playing communities.

They have put out a call for submissions for the first issue, and the deadline is January 1st, 2008:

The International Journal of Role Playing invites researchers, designers, developers, academics, artists and others involved in the growing field of research related to role playing to submit articles. The IJRP is a peer-reviewed journal, and welcomes submissions from any sphere of interest, knowledge network, research field or development sector that directly or indirectly relates to role playing interests.Potential topics include but are certainly not limited to the following:

• Role playing games, e.g. frameworks, storytelling and graphics; art, design and creative industry
• Role playing culture, psychology, media, economics, and sociology
• Role playing technology, surveys, vocabulary, training and education
• Other aspects of role playing and related research and development

Find out more at: www.play.blogs.com/rp/

WORLDWIDE D&D DAY - The fourth annual Worldwide Dungeons & Dragons Game Day is fast approaching - November 3rd, 2007:

Now in its fourth year, World Wide D&D Game Day is set to break all records for sites and attendance internationally. Last year we saw over 1300 locations provide the setting for our trip to the horror realms of Ravenloft. Over 25,000 estimated heroes from as far a field as Singapore to Iraq, from Alaska to Buenos Aires threw down their dice in celebration of this D&D extravaganza!

Participating sites will have a prepared adventure, dice, characters, and miniatures just waiting for you. Check here for a participating location near you.

Or, if you can't find one, start your own! The official page features five ready-made characters in PDF format that you could quickly drop into an adventure of your own design, or some dusty old module that you've had for years but never got around to running. Call some pals, order some pizzas, and get some adventuring going on!

Find out more - www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/4dnd/gameday

JIMMY EAT WORLD OF GREYHAWK - How do members of Canadian rock band Jimmy Eat World have fun while traveling in their tour bus?

The band are currently on the road promoting their new Chase This Light album and, according to lead singer Jim Adkins, their idea of tour bus fun usually involves dice, boards or cards.

"We play Dungeons And Dragons a lot. What else do we do? Scrabble. We play a lot of Bridge."

"The craziest we did was spin the bottle," chimes in guitarist Tom Linton, launching the pair into a fit of giggles.

Read more at Chartattack.

GLEEMIN' TO THE MAX - Wizards of the Coast's new gamer networking site, Gleemax, is open and somewhat functional. There are still many improvements to be made, but if you're the patient sort, you can sign up right now and start posting and blogging away - www.gleemax.com. If you like, you can read my profile and blog posts right here.

THE FREAKS COME OUT AT NIGHT - Joe Torok of Lansing, MI's City Pulse has contributed a great little piece on joining a Vampire LARP group as a complete newbie:

I myself had a more difficult time embracing my inner geek; self-consciousness nagged. But despite some hesitation in realizing my character, I felt welcome in the game. When all else failed, I held out my hand with fingers crossed, a sign that I was temporarily removing myself from the game and going out of character — after all, vampires have no bodily functions aside from the desire to feed.

Read the whole article, and even get details on joining Lansing's Vampire troupe, here: article | archive

Role players cluster in one of seven makeshift villages that stand out on the rolling Kansas prairie. Large shipping containers, tan and metal, have been modified to resemble homes, shops and even a mosque. Inside, role players have couches, chairs and tables.

Military trainers give the advisers-to-be specific tasks, such as controlling crowds, searching buildings, securing the perimeter or arresting terrorists. Role players are given a rough script that tells them what the soldiers are doing and how they should react.

Cultural awareness is the goal of each phase. For example, advisers learn that chewing tobacco or placing their hat on the ground are disrespectful acts that can spoil an otherwise promising meeting.

...

''It's pretty fun,'' [roleplayer Lee Anderson] said after his performance as an unhappy Afghan, as he kicked a small footbag in a circle with fellow role players. ''You get to mess with soldiers. And it's pretty good pay.''

Throwing beanbags at the soldiers while shouting "LIGHTNING BOLT! LIGHTNING BOLT!" is strongly discouraged, however.

As good as being a professional roleplayer may sound, don't get your heart set on joining up:

Like acting jobs everywhere, there's more than enough interest. Ty Evans, who supervises the local role players for Eagle Support Services of Huntsville, Ala., doesn't have to advertise the positions. Word of mouth has generated a stack of applications.

''If someone quits there are three or four people already in line,'' he said.

Participants work for six days at seventeen dollars an hour. If you do manage to get a position with them, please remember The Escapist's finder's fee!

Read the full article here: article | archive

ANOTHER ALL-NIGHTER - Last December I mentioned a lock-in organized by Franklin High School's Dungeons & Dragons and Anime Club, in which participants spent the evening in the gym playing D&D and video games and watching anime, with the proceeds going towards their trip to Anime Boston.

This year, they're doing it again, and the coverage in The Citizen is a lot better:

Junior Andrew Chippinelli is an enthusiastic member of the Dungeons and Dragons club, speaking about the benefits of role-playing such as learning social skills through various complex character interactions from conversation to diplomacy.

"It gives them their imagination they lost when they were younger," Chippinelli said. "It teaches you to never say everything is impossible because it could have just happened. It helps you with your self-esteem, self-confidence."

...

The club has been well received and supported by school administration. It is also sponsored by Casey Family Services as a positive after-school activity for students.

"We had a lot of questions, a little bit when we went to the school board," Molly Horn said, such as some school board members asking what the club was doing and clarifying what anyone had heard about the game. "Some of the kids were there as well."

Once again, it's good to see positive coverage of gaming that mentions the beneficial aspects of the hobby, as well as a positive after-school activity for young people. Kudos to Franklin High School and The Citizen - and if any of you ever need any assistance, don't hesitate to contact me -

Read the full article here: article | archive

A BRIEF MOMENT OF NATIONAL FAME - It didn't have anything to do with gaming, but your friend and narrator and his family were briefly mentioned in an article on drive-in movie theaters in the October 19th issue of USA Today. Click here to read it if you're interested.

ATLAS CEO RUNS FOR OFFICE, GETS SMEARED FOR MAKING GAMES - John Nephew, CEO of Atlas Games, has put his hat in the ring for City Council of Maplewood, Minnesota. He has passed the primary "with flying colors," according to the Steve Jackson Daily Illuminator - but it seems that someone is trying to hold him back by bringing up Let's Kill, a card game that his company produces.

"Let's Kill" casts players in the role of deranged serial killers competing with each other for media coverage. Players draw victims, weapons and locations from two 55-card decks, using implements like weed whackers, bread trucks and even sporks to off their quarry in the most sensational way possible. It's published by Atlas Games, the company Nephew runs with his wife, games editor Michelle Nephew.

"I'm absolutely appalled by this game," says Maplewood resident Judith Franey, an early childhood educator who has worked in the Saint Paul public school system for 23 years. "Fantasy and imagination are powerful tools that fuel reality, and I worry about the effect this game will have on people's minds." Franey is also the author of "The Kindness Curriculum," an activity book for parents and teachers aimed at child development.

Critics seem to be concerned about the effects the game will have on young players, with disregard for the fact that the game is listed as "For mature audiences only" on the Atlas website and catalog.

Not everyone is missing the point of Let's Kill, however:

Council Member Will Rossbach, who with Nephew led primary voting, disagrees. "These are stick figures doing imaginary things," he says. "The controversy is being drummed up by people opposing John Nephew. He's being picked on. If this is the only thing they can find to diminish John's reputation, he must be a pretty good guy."

I wonder how long it will be before they discover that Nephew has also written and produced books for Dungeons & Dragons, and how severe the reaction will be once they do...

Read the full article here: article | archive

More information: Nephew's campaign blog | Pen & Paper's entry for Nephew

August 17th, 2007(link to this)

D&D GOES FOURTH - The official announcement of Dungeons & Dragons Fourth Edition was made at the Gen Con Game Fair on August 16th, precluded by numerous subtle hints (such as putting 4s in the place of the letter A in web banners and MySpace messages - INDI4N4POLIS, 4DVENTURE, etc., and displaying dice with the 4 on top).

Early reports seem to indicate that the new version will be faster, easier to run, and more attuned to online play - possibly through the recently unveiled GLEEMAX social networking section of Wizards' site. No word has been given yet on how compatible it will be with the large collection of published 3.x and d20 material.

As of this writing, the D&D section of www.wizards.com is down, possibly due to heavy internet traffic of fans looking for more information on the update..

The new books are planned for a May, 2008 release date. Apparently, that release date has been considerably tightened up since the 2001 announcement of April 1st, 2011 - and the "revolutionary d30 system" appears to have been scrapped entirely...

August 14th, 2007(link to this)

LARGEST LARP EVER - The 2007 Penny Arcade Expo (PAX) could be host to a new world record - the largest "Massive Multiplayer Live Action Role Playing Game" - MMLARPG - in history. Later this month, the Seattle-based convention will host TerraDrive Live, a LARP based on the Technomancer Press tabletop RPG TerraDrive.

A wiki for the TerraDrive Live setting was opened on June 1st, which permitted many participants to create factions and develop the characters that they would play during the convention.

"I didn't expect players to metaphorically represent different people/places/events in PAX in the TerraDrive universe," [Technomancer CEO Tony] Hellman told [ars technica]. "They created the planets La'an, Ta'leTop, the Omega T'kon Asteroid, and the W'eaton Comet." In other words, sections of the real-world Penny Arcade Expo like the LAN gaming area and Will Wheaton's keynote will have special meaning for players of the game, with different factions vying for control of different area.

Hellman hopes to get most of the attendees involved in the game by demonstrating the rules while they wait in line for registration.

"We have to have a system where there aren't a lot of rules," Hellman explained. "My goal is to teach everyone how to play while they wait in line Thursday night and Friday. If I can teach the whole convention how to play, almost everyone will. The big barrier is when you see a bunch of people doing something that looks fun, but you don't know how to get involved."

It will be interesting to see what the response from Guiness Book will be. Two and a half decades ago, a group of friends and I inquired about setting a record for the longest game of D&D (it was during our "reckless youth" days), and were informed that role-playing was not an activity that they recognized. Perhaps this event will tell us if that has changed in the last 25 years.

Read the full article here: (article | archive)
Related links: PAX - www.pennyarcadeexpo.com | TerraDrive - www.terradrive.net | TerraDrive Live Wiki - en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TerraDrive_Live | Technomancer Press - www.technomancer-press.com

July 17th, 2007(link to this)

RENO COUPLE NEGLECT THEIR CHILDREN, BLAME D&D ONLINE - A couple from Reno, Nevada, Michael and Iana Straw, have been arrested for child neglect of their two young children while devoting most of their attention to online role-playing games, including one based on the classic tabletop RPG Dungeons & Dragons.

In the few days since the story broke, I have seen several different articles on it. Few of them can agree on the ages of the children, but all manage to drop the name Dungeons & Dragons at least twice. The Straws were involved in other MMORPGs as well, according to every article, but all chose to focus on the D&D brand. Could it be because it's such a tried and trusted scapegoat?

Expect to see this come up again later as "proof" of the corrupting nature of tabletop D&D. There won't even be a need to make a distinction between the online and face-to-face versions. You can likely count on it.

Read more: (article | archive)

DEXCON 10 - Once again, I have been invited to be a guest at Dexcon - a great con held at the East Brunswick Hilton in East Brunswick, New Jersey. I've been a bit busy lately, so this update is very late (the con starts TOMORROW, in fact). The folks at Dexcon have also renewed their offer for Escapist readers - if you pregister for the con, you get a $10 discount just for letting them know that The Escapist sent you! (When filling out the preregistration form, enter RPGADVOCATE-DEX10 in the SPECIAL DISCOUNT CODE field, and $10.00 in the DISCOUNT field.)

July 13th, 2007(link to this)

ORIGINS 2007 REPORT - This year at the Origins Game Fair in Columbus Ohio, I organized five different events: three "Intro to RPGs" events geared towards people who have never played an RPG before and are looking for an easy introducton to the hobby, and two "RPGs for Kids" events for kids of all age and experience levels.

The "Intro to RPGs" events were mostly a bust - with six seats available in each event, only one ticket sold for one of the three, and the buyer of that ticket, while very nice and a pleasure to roleplay with, was not a newbie at all and was more interested in trying out Savage Worlds, the game system I was using. (For the record, we played anyway and had a pretty good time.)

The "RPGs for Kids" events, on the other hand, were a big hit. All tickets sold out completely, and everyone had a grand time. I ran TOON and Faery's Tale, and both events were a good mix of kids and adults. As I recall, none of the players, kids and adults alike, were familiar with the game being played, and only a few had ever roleplayed before - but all of them picked up on the rules and concept of roleplaying right away. Personally, I consider that the best possible outcome.

It should go without saying - but I'll say it anyway - that I will be organizing even more of the "RPGs for Kids" events for Origins 2008. Hope to see you there!

June 6th, 2007(link to this)

GAMING WITH KIDS ON ROLEPLAYINGTIPS.COM - Katrina Middelburg-Creswell, a high school teacher and RPG club organizer in the Netherlands, wrote an article for roleplayingtips.com about gaming with kids that shares some very useful advice. She also dropped a link to an "excellent" (her word, not mine) gaming advocacy site and the Facts and Fictions About RPGs PDF! (Here's a link to it, if you have come here from there and are looking for it.)

CHRISTOPHER PRITCHARD RELEASED AFTER 19 YEAR SENTENCE - You may start to hear news stories about the release of Christopher Pritchard, who conspired with two friends to kill his stepfather, Leith Von Stein, on July 25th 1988 - stories that will describe him as "obsessed with Dungeons & Dragons," which, some will say, was the whole reason behind his actions.

The details, as usual, will be hidden well, or possibly ignored entirely. Pritchard believed he would benefit from a two million dollar inheritance if his stepfather died, and promised money and sports cars to his friends Neal Henderson and Chris Upchurch if they would help him with the assassination. Dressed in black, they infiltrated Von Stein's home and stabbed and bludgeoned Leith and Bonnie Von Stein. Leith died on the scene, but his wife survived and was able to call 911 for assistance.

Pritchard has always maintained that he was in a "fantasy world" when he planned and carried out the murders - but the promises of cash and sports cars to his co-conspirators were very real. He didn't promise them magic chariots and bags of gold. He handed his friends a map to his parents' home, not to a wizard's tower. Black clothes don't make someone a ninja, or even someone who THINKS they're a ninja - it's just the most convenient color to wear during your assassination plot.

"Fantasy worlds," however, are an excellent cover-up for any inhuman acts that you may have committed that you don't want to own up to. It's a common reaction for a person to be so offended by their own actions that they find some method of detachment from them. In Pritchard's case, he had some help.

The crime was the focus of two novels, Blood Games and Cruel Doubt, and two made-for-television movies - Cruel Doubt and Honor Thy Mother. Both movies featured misrepresentations of gaming materials in order to more closely relate gaming the crime.

Honor Thy Mother aired on CBS (the same network that brought us Mazes and Monsters) on April 26th, 1992. In it, a phony copy of an AD&D manual was featured as a prop. The cover of the manual was unlike anything TSR has ever put out for AD&D, and while reading it, an investigator claims to find a reference to "extra points for multiple hits," an obvious fabrication by the writers, as AD&D contains no rules that are even similar to such a description.

Cruel Doubt was a miniseries that aired on NBC, May 17th and 19th, 1992. In it, a copy of TSR's AD&D Player's Handbook was featured as a prop with different artwork that included a picture of a character with clothing and a backpack that matched that of one of the show's killers, as well as other illustrations that were extremely occultic and sinister in nature. This was an obvious attempt to make the book appear to be more of an inspiration to the crime.

Pritchard may have really been in a fantasy world when he planned to gain fortune by killing his stepfather, but blaming it on a game is wrong. So is misrepresenting that game to make it appear as if it was a part of the crime - even going as far as to add artwork and rules to it.

Pritchard has allegedly redeemed himself, and is now working with at-risk children. He claims to have his head "screwed on straight" now. Let's all hope he has gained some wisdom and personal responsibility in the process.

Read more: article | archive