Good afternoon. I am taking some time out of your day to ask for your consideration as a judge in the ENnie Awards.

Good afternoon. I am taking some time out of your day to ask for your consideration as a judge in the ENnie Awards.

Good afternoon. I am taking some time out of your day to ask for your consideration as a judge in the ENnie Awards.

The ENnies are “an annual fan-based celebration of excellence in tabletop roleplaying gaming” and I have placed my name in nomination as a Judge at next years’ awards.

Judges are voted on by the public, and anyone can vote. Just click on the link below, and place your vote accordingly. 

http://www.ennie-awards.com/vote/index.php?judges=true

You would like to know more about me and why I want your vote, please visit http://www.ennie-awards.com/blog/2015-ennies-judge-nominees/ and select ‘Doyle’ from the list of judges.

If for some reason you want to know more about how I feel about role playing, you can visit my blog, which while not updated in a while, presents a fairly good picture of my current interests:

http://startingoverwosr.blogspot.com/

Thank you for your consideration.

http://www.ennie-awards.com/vote/index.php?judges=true

Thanks, Jason, for reminding me to post this notice to the Gauntlet.

Thanks, Jason, for reminding me to post this notice to the Gauntlet.

Thanks, Jason, for reminding me to post this notice to the Gauntlet.

Originally shared by Doyle Tavener

Campaign Alert – Nephilim: After the Fall

This Thursday, and every other Thursday night thereafter, I’ll be running a new campaign of Nephilim, which was Chaosium’s Occult Roleplaying Game from the 90’s. More information here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nephilim_(role-playing_game)

The game will meet from 9-11 PM CST, every other Thursday. If you have any interest in Nephilim, and can hang with the day and time, contact me and I’ll add you to my notification list.

Here’s the player information about Concordat Space, the Classic Traveller that I am about to begin:

Here’s the player information about Concordat Space, the Classic Traveller that I am about to begin:

Here’s the player information about Concordat Space, the Classic Traveller that I am about to begin:

Concordat Space

The Corporate Colonies, as they are known, constitute several sub-sectors of space, far from most known space lanes, and are split equally between colonies that are sponsored by several different Mega-corporate entities, and the corporate worlds, which are controlled by a single entity. 

This area of the galaxy was surveyed early in galactic history, and was labeled as being barren in official survey reports, but within a generation was being claimed by several different Mega-corporations.

This led to discord early on, and while formal war was not declared among the Zaibatsus, there were ‘difficulties’ and ‘disagreements’ for at least a dozen years or more. 

These were finally resolved in 345-236, under an agreement called the Concordat, which formalized relations between the differing corporations, divvied up several planets into colonies, and established rules of warfare when differences could not be agreed on. 

Technically the new stellar entity was called The Council of the Western Colonies, but all involved understood this to be a polite fiction. Even on the so-called colony worlds, the Zaibatsus still controlled the government, albeit a divided government that subsequent generations were able to play off against each other in order to win more rights and privileges, to varying degrees on different colonies.

There are fifteen systems that are considered as belonging to the Concordant, with another two worlds known but either unclaimed or considered to be either useless or too dangerous to exploit. 

Name Hex UPP Base Trade Classifications Ex. Stats Al. Code

Bor Ondor 0208 C422365-4 CMB Co Po Ni Di A201 CS

Bactra 0309 A552561-B MMB Ni Po Mr 511 CS

Hideko 0310 B200719-C MMB Va Na Ni 403 CS

Texaca 0407 BA20514-5 CMB Na Ni 104 CS

Parmenides 0408 C200569-6 LB Va Na 312 CS

Johor Bahru   0509 B764819-6 MMB Ag 501 CS

CS-0510 0510 XBC0000-0 Ba A101

Hithadhoo 0607 C76A562-5 LB Ni Wa 703 CS

Carltonville   0610 A673919-C MMB In Hi 121 CS

Newspeak 0706 D865600-7 CMB Ag R411 CS

Upsalong 0709 A763919-C MMB Hi 221 CS

Jung 0710 B100819-C Va 203 CS

CS-0804 0804 X100300-6 LB Va Ba As 132

The Eumenides 0806 D000460-4 LB As Va 114 CS

Tylos 0807 B77296B-9 CMB In Hi 212 CS

Meridian 0808 B66486A-9 Ri 205 CS

New Switzerland 0810 A00071-A Va Ri 211 CS

Fuligin Nebulae 0106, 0206, 0305, 0306, 0404, 0506, 0603, 0604, 0605, 0703, 0802

Base Codes: MMB = Merchant Marine Base, LB = Locator Base, CMB = Colonial Marine Base

The only Allegiance Code is CS = Concordat Space.

Military Force notes: Five of the Big 6 Zaibatsus operate small navies, which are the equivalent of heavily armed merchant vessels. When ground forces are desired, a contract is made with the Colonial Marines, which are generally not authorized to act on Corporate Planets. There is no Scout Service per se, but independent ‘Locators’, operating under long term contracts, act in an essentially similar manner. 

New Switzerland 0810 (Capital): originally called Diamond City, this world acquired its nom de guerre from becoming the financial center of the Concordat. The ‘planet’ is actually a series of physically connected space stations orbiting the gas giant, Hydranis IV. Citizenship is open only the higher level executives of the Zaibatsus, though midlevel management is always conspiring to be promoted and thus earn a space in the coveted community. 

Hideko 0310 (Corporate): A wholly-owned subsidiary of the Franken-Dimas Mega-Corporation, this conglomerate owns one of the few gas giants in the universe know to harbor life forms. The company exists to cultivate and genengineer various medicines, aphrodisiacs, and anagathics. Extreme body modification is practiced, resulting is very specialized life forms based on baseline human genetics. 

Bactra 0309 (Colony): This is nominally a colony world, but is actually controlled by the concordat Colonial Marines, a sub-par, sub-standard, ill-equipped force that is alternately supported and starved by the Zaibatsus, as political winds deem. 

Texaca 0407 (Corporate): This enormous world, though not a gas giant, once harbored life, the vast majority of which has fossilized into petroleum. Surface conditions are unremittingly hostile, and the gravity is just barely within the level of human tolerance, requiring powered  exo-skeleton vacc-suits for any extended  period. 

Parmenides 0408 (Colony): This world, or more properly moon, is honeycombed with universities, laboratories and research facilities, all controlled by the mysterious Institute, who claim to be above corporate politics. 

The Eumenides 0806 (Colony): This asteroid belt, gifted with an abundance of heavy metals, is the site of full scale skirmishes between the forces of at least four Mega-Corporations, not to mention the so-called ‘Belters’, independent Miners with small scout vessels. 

Newspeak 0706 (Independent Colony): This was a rigidly controlled agricultural world, which recently rebelled against its former Corporate masters, but which as managed to avoid extermination by Corporate forces due to their continuance of food shipments to the corporations off-world. The former regime was undeniably brutal, and some unusual means were used to suppress the populace. 

Jung 0710 (Corporate): The series of five moons, controlled by Jeffson-Epting-Marabond Corporation has a stranglehold on Info and Enter-tainment, producing a stream of mixed content and advertising for the entire sector. Currently, the certain creators are promulgating the Avant-Garde ‘acting’ movement, where real humans are recorded in actual performances. 

Carltonville  0610 (Corporate): The homeworld of the Hugh Fitz-Carlton conglomerate, still controlled by the old man himself, celebrating his 343rd year of sapience. Carltonville styles itself a forge-world, specializing in heavy equipment and vehicles. 

Upsalong 0709 (Corporate): The homeworld of Lepondi-Fugalsang, which specializes in air and starcraft, as well as having the largest of the corporate navies. 

Johor Bahru  0509 (Corporate): This world is controlled by Johor-Salu, a zaibatsu which specializes in terraforming, environmental sciences and life-support services. 

Hithadhoo 0607 (Colony): A water-world, rich in sea life, both native and imported. Too valuable to belong to any one mega-corporation, a corporate council oversees the colony, and is the battleground for various contractors, which try to undermine competitors as much as compete their own contracts.

Bor Ondor 0208 (Colony): This failed colony world was once owned by the defunct Barrion-Long Conglomerate, which was declared Morally and Financially bankrupt by the rest of the Concordat over thirty years ago, after most of the colony died in an undisclosed accident. The remnants are governed by cross-corporate council that works to ‘remediate’ the world. 

CS-0510 (unclaimed): This system has a single gas giant, and improbably, no moons or asteroid belts. 

CS-0804 (unclaimed): The inexplicably old red sun is orbited by several asteroid belts, none of which have proved to have much in the way of valuable resources. Some belters still try, however, to plumb their depths.

Tylos 0807 (Corporate): This industrialized world has a long history of rebellion with the Zaibatsu that controls it, and has changed ownership several times in the past 200 years. 

Meridian 0808 (Colony): This pleasure planet advertises itself as the “Planet of Celebration” mixing religious pilgrimages, visits to cultural and natural landmarks, and more typical tourists activities. 

The Fuligin Nebulae (0106, 0206, 0305, 0306, 0404, 0506, 0603, 0604, 0605, 0703, 0802) : A sooty, gaseous cloud that extends for parsecs, this line of darkness divides the sector in two. It is assumed that there are undiscovered worlds on the other side, but the nebulae seems to have strange effects on Jump, and is currently interdicted by the Concordat. Still there are rumors of Locators who have ‘jumped the wall’ and made it ‘beyond the black’ (a watchword for the strange and uncanny in this sector), bringing back weird tales of these worlds, including a lost world of strange aliens and high technology… 

I am about to start up an old-school Classic Traveller campaign, which will meet Face-to-Face, every other Thursday.

I am about to start up an old-school Classic Traveller campaign, which will meet Face-to-Face, every other Thursday.

I am about to start up an old-school Classic Traveller campaign, which will meet Face-to-Face, every other Thursday. We’ll be playing at one of the player’s home, at about 6:30 PM. The home is located near Beltway 8 at the Hammerly exit, which is quite close to Gessner and I-10. 

We will be using the classic Traveller Rules, which are the original, and not any later iteration. The setting will not be the Third Imperium of Traveller fame, but my own creation, called Concordat Space. This will be a regular ongoing campaign, not a one shot or limited series. 

If you are interested, please indicate here, and I will contact you privately with more details.

Everyone should purchase this self-evident pecuniary stroke of fortune immediately.

Everyone should purchase this self-evident pecuniary stroke of fortune immediately.

Everyone should purchase this self-evident pecuniary stroke of fortune immediately. To act as an inducement to those among you who lack the mordant wit necessary to properly appreciate the opportunity offered to you, I do hereby offer (of my own free will, and cognizant of all the dangers herein) to run a single scenario, of up to three sessions of four hours each, to anyone who purchases said Bundle, in the fervent hope that my humble instruction in these matters will, in the vernacular, ‘raise the game’ of any who partake of my offer.

Originally shared by Robin Laws

Bundle of Holding shows rare discernment with Dying Earth RPG deal only a sandestin could refuse: http://bit.ly/16MA4L0

http://bit.ly/16MA4L0

Didn’t you have some questions about this, Jason?

Didn’t you have some questions about this, Jason?

Didn’t you have some questions about this, Jason?

Originally shared by Kenneth Hite

I have loved Over the Edge by Jonathan Tweet since the moment I read it some 20 years ago. Possibly since the moment I read the disclaimer. It’s still one of my Top Five Best RPGs of all time, although I will allow it might actually be only one of the Top Ten Best RPGs of all time for someone who didn’t encounter William S. Burroughs and Philip K. Dick at a vulnerable age (freshman year in college), like I did. In my love, I even dedicated my guest Dork Tower strip to it (link in comments) way back in 2004 or so.

But my love for Over the Edge itself is, if anything, dwarfed by my love for “Last Chance Brains,” the included scenario in Weather the Cuckoo Likes, by Robin Laws. That scenario made me a raging Robin Laws fanboy, a condition that has only mildly moderated since. And that scenario, and its surrounding supplement, and the Over the Edge 2nd edition corebook, and nine more OTE supplements, some available for the first time ever in PDF, are all distending the current Bundle of Holding until it is like unto a great gravid spider ready to explode its festering mind-larvae into your ludopulmonary system.

You’d have to spend hundreds — even thousands — of drachmas in a Tangier musk den to get this much alteration of your core reality — but in the Bundle of Holding, it’s still less than $17. Buy it now, because Now ends on Wednesday, to be replaced with T.H.E.N.

http://www.bundleofholding.com/index/current

http://www.bundleofholding.com/index/current

To continue with the Owlcon theme, I’ll be running two events:

To continue with the Owlcon theme, I’ll be running two events:

To continue with the Owlcon theme, I’ll be running two events:

Dungeon Crawl Classics RPG

The Breeding Pits of D’Naal Kalthurion 3 – 6 players

Sun 10:00 AM [4 hrs] 

A series of horrific murders of local villagers by a pack of ravenous beasts has prompted the characters to investigate the bloody trail that leads to the hold of D’Naal Kalthurion, a noted mage. The villagers have held a lottery – and all of you drew the black stone, and must investigate! This a DCC RPG funnel adventure, which means you will be playing two or more zero-level villagers. If you survive the first five encounters or so, you will level up – and perhaps even live to tell about it!

Gamma World 1E

Raiders of Lost ‘Arkana 3 – 6 players

Sun 3:00 PM [4 hrs] 

The Road Warrior. The Vault-Dweller. Hiero the Priest. The Star-man’s Son. The Barbarian with the Starsword. Legends of the Wastelands, but now all dead. Or so they say. The Village of ‘Arkana needs defenders from the raiders of the Wastelands and their monstrous leader, Ego. Can some old men, even legends, defend the helpless against the vicious?