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Welcome to You Heard it Here Last where we talk about news you’ve already heard.

https://www.enworld.org/threads/mongoose-acquires-twilight-2000-and-2300-ad.707036/

Mongoose Publishing is at it again. Recently we discussed that Marc Miller had turned over publishing of the Traveller RPG to Mongoose and now they have picked up the rights to Twilight 2000 and 2300 AD. Mongoose has been publishing 2300 AD under licensing since 2007 and currently Free League has the publishing rights for Twilight 2000. Mongoose reports nothing will change and Free League will continue with Twilight 2000 until the current licensing phase ends.

While not necessarily canonical Twilight 2000, 2300 AD, and Traveller all feel like part of the same universe and this seems to open up a huge IP space for Mongoose going forward.

Mike, what are your thoughts?

[Kick to Mike]

Christina, your take?

[Kick to Christina]

Our next item was a minor if interesting article from Rascal News

https://www.rascal.news/oh-captain-my-captain-rpg-simon-and-schuster/

The article starts with “On September 24, Simon & Schuster’s Adams Media released Oh Captain, My Captain! a Descended From The Queen RPG by James D’Amato. This marks the first time in recent memory that an imprint of the Big 5 (the largest entities in book publishing, which include S&S, Penguin Random House, Hatchette Livre, HarperCollins, and Macmillan) has produced a standalone tabletop roleplaying game.”

I guess I have a longer memory, because TSR had a publishing deal, albeit a rather strange one, with Random House in the 1980s and for a long time Dungeons and Dragons was a common sight in traditional bookstores of the day. But, to be fair the low sales of RPGs dropped them from consideration by traditional publishing houses decades ago.

This is what I find interesting. The article discusses the possibilities that TTRPGs might once again become a hot product at the traditional publishing houses and how that’s a good thing, however, the traditional publishing companies are not in a good place write now.

Indie publishing and self-publishing, especially with the creation of Kindle Unlimited have done a number on the traditional publishing companies and they no longer hold the book world in a vice grip. This almost seems like a desperate grab by the Big 5 to gain some market share.

Mike, thoughts?

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In 1977 Marc Miller, bored with the Chess Club at Illinois State University, made his way to the Strategic Games Club…the rest they say is history.

Ok, for those of you that have no idea who Marc Miller is or why the fact that Chess is boring matters I’ll go a little deeper.

Marc Miller, Frank Chadwick, John Harshman, and Loren Wiseman created the roleplaying game Traveller, that’s with 2 L’s by the way, in 1977 born out of games at that Strategic Games Club.

Traveller is the quintessential sci-fi roleplaying game, building on the science fiction novels of the 1960 and 70’s and coming onto the scene just after Dungeons and Dragons and before Star Wars.

My first dive into Traveller started in 1983 with the Classic Traveller Starter Edition. I still have the boxed set buried somewhere in a pile of old games. I remember stumbling across it in my friendly local gaming store and being taken by the cover art. Three heroes wearing golden armor with a space ship flying overhead.

I had just watched the Return of the Jedi a few days earlier in the theatre so I had to get the game, and boy it did not disappoint.

What disappointed me was all my friends. I couldn’t find anyone to play it with me. But that was ok, because the character generation portion of the book was so good it was like a solo game all on its own. I made so many characters…or at least tried to make so many characters, a lot of them didn’t make it. But we will come back to that.

Fast forward a few decades and finally I get to run a Traveller game.

It was a blast and if you want to hear all about it listen to our “Anatomy of a Campaign” series.

Christina, do you remember the first time you ever heard of Traveller?

[kick to Christina]

There are a lot of versions of Traveller out there, many of them still being played, and while we might discuss bits and pieces from the other versions, we are going to focus this discussion mostly on the new caretaker of the Traveller Legacy, Mongoose Publishing and their 2nd Edition Version of Traveller.

Christina, before we dive into Traveller give us the disclaimer.

[Kick to Christina] – We aren’t getting paid for this. They didn’t give us any games or material or support. We actually played the game, a lot.

Now that the official stuff is out of the way, what do you like best about the system?

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Welcome to You Heard it Here Last where we talk about news you’ve already heard.

Let’s start with our favorite toy company and their ability to stay in the news.

https://futurism.com/hasbro-ceo-ai-dungeons-dragons

https://screenrant.com/dnd-ai-controversy-dungeons-and-dragons-fans-hasbro/

At a recent Goldman Sachs Conference, Hasbro CEO Chris Cocks admitted that the entertainment conglomerate not only plans to build bespoke AI systems in the future, but that it's already begun using it in development of games including "Dungeons & Dragons" and "Magic: The Gathering."

He claims that currently they are using AI in house. He is quoted as saying;

"It's mostly machine-learning-based AI or proprietary AI as opposed to a ChatGPT approach. We will deploy it significantly and liberally internally as both a knowledge worker aid and as a development aid."

Of course, this has caused the internet to meltdown over the last week or so.

Christina, here we are again, just another day at Hasbro.

[kick to Christina]

[kick to Mike]

This next piece isn’t so much a news article as a question, especially leading into some upcoming podcasts we are recording. Are game reviews you read online real?

Recently I opened up my browser and started looking for news to discuss on this episode and I came across a prominent game review of a game I own. I bought the game because I was a huge fan of the source material, but upon getting it I discovered the absolutely worst game mechanics ever. This thing was a massive, over engineered dud! I wouldn’t let me dog chew on it, it was that bad.

But the reviewer, who admitted they had been given a copy of the game for the review, gave it solid marks, even glowing at points.

So, I ask again. Are online game reviews real? Are they worth anything?

[Kick to Christina and/or Mike]

Finally, I need to report some sad news. At GenCon I had the pleasure of meeting Howard Andrew Jones, a favorite author of mine. I absolutely loved his novel ‘Lord of a Shattered Land’ and could not wait to pick up his new one ‘The City of Marble and Blood’. He spent several minutes talking with me and signed a copy of his book.

A few weeks ago, Howard Andrew Jones announced that he had inoperable and fatal brain cancer.

Our thoughts, prayers, and meditations go out to him and his family.

Do yourself a favor and pick up ‘Lord of a Shattered Land’

Thanks again and join us next time for news you’ve already heard.

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I remember opening up “Keep on the Borderlands” the first module I ever ran. It came in the D&D Basic Set and I thought it was very cool. The players started out in a keep, a perfect base of operations. It had a tavern, a blacksmith, a provisioner, and a chapel. Everything a growing adventuring party needs. From there the players would travel to the Caves of Chaos and explore underground lairs of beasts an monsters. You know, the dungeons of dungeons and dragons.

To be fair I don’t really remember much about those first games I ran. I remember the feeling of running them and how much fun I had, but I don’t remember the details.

As a game master I quickly moved away from the Modules and started doing my own thing. I would read modules, but then always felt like I had a better idea. So, I tended to do my own thing.

Fast forward several years and I was playing more GURPS. Steve Jackson’s Generic Universal Roleplaying System. That system was well known for its source books that help you world build, but had few written modules. That was perfect for me.

After decades of making up my own adventures I decided that I wanted to run some of those talked about modules and, being a huge fan of Traveller decided our groups next game would be Pirates of Drinax (listen to our series The Anatomy of a Campaign for details on that one).

I hated it.

Ok, I didn’t hate the idea or setting, but as a game master I hated being tied to the books, trying to make incidents and events happen that I was unfamiliar with, no matter how much reading I did. And of course, with every player question I found myself diving into the books and spending far to much time trying to find the answers.

I should have learned my lesson.

But I didn’t. After Pirates I decided to take on an even bigger challenge with Masks of Nyarlathotep.

And 30 episodes in, I am having a miserable time (please don’t tell my players that)

Personally, I like to make it up as I go.

But that’s just my opinion. Some people love pre-written modules. Other’s prefer sandbox worlds and settings and still others enjoy the Western Marches style…oh, is that a new one for you. Don’t worry we will cover that.

In this episode Mike, Christina and I are going to talk about the type of campaigns. What’s good, What’s bad, and why?

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Welcome to you heard it here last where we talk about news you’ve already heard.

We are starting this week off with some good news.

https://www.reddit.com/r/traveller/comments/1f2le2u/mongoose_publishing_now_owns_traveller/?share_id=uyOnyDYBcc2twtg2LBUZi&utm_content=1&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=iossmf&utm_source=share&utm_term=22

Traveller is a 1977 table top roleplaying game that brought science fiction into roleplaying. Building on the success of Dungeon and Dragons introduced in 1974, Traveller dropped onto the scene just before Star Wars hit the big screen, and boy did it make a splash. Today Traveller is considered a seminal work in the world of table top roleplaying. Marc Miller, one of the creative minds behind Traveller recently announced that Mongoose Publishing will be carrying the torch of Traveller if anything might happen to him. This succession plan for the game was important to Marc Miller and even though Traveller has been published by a variety of game companies and publisher, ensuring the future of this beloved franchise was important to him.

And I am very happy to hear this.

Christina, I know that Sci-Fi is one of your jams. What are your thoughts?

[Kick to Christina]

Mike, since I already invoked Star Wars, what do you have to add?

[Kick to Mike]

Next up in news is another little Kickstarter project you might have heard of.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/foundryvtt/ember-rpg?ref=724lwv

Ember by Foundry VTT.

This little project dropped on September 3rd with a goal of 10,000 dollars. In two days, they had already 232,000 dollars. It runs until October 3rd, so this is one to keep an eye on.

What is it.

Well, Foundry VTT has taken all the updates and lessons they have learned running a virtual table top and put all of those bells and whistles into their own virtual table top system. This is a new game setting and rules systems that will allow you to play table top games with your friends in a virtual setting.

And it will work with D&D 5e.

Mike, I know you have been a big fan of Foundry for a while. Why is this different from what they already do?

[Kick to Mike]

Christina, I know you prefer simpler VTT’s, what are your thoughts on this?

[Kick to Christina]

And there you have it, Tune in next time for all the news, you’ve already heard.

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One of the things that I love every year about GenCon is the anticipation. Seeing the vendor hall slowly fill up with stuff, from carpets, to displays, to boxes and boxes of products. Fork lifts making there way down the crowded isles and the constant beeping of heavy machinery backing up.

It’s hot and sweaty and you are praying for the convention center to turn the air on in the hall, but you know that won’t happen until Thursday morning.

As the booths start to come together you start feeling that excitement build. What do we have new? Is this going to be a good space? Is it going to be a good show?

Making your way into the vendor hall Thursday morning is another treat. Walking past the crowds starting to build and line up 2 hours before the hall opens. You make your way inside and it actually looks like GenCon. Of course, there is always those few booths that wait until the last minute to set up. You watch them and wonder if they will be ready when the doors open.

It’s also a great time to make your way around the hall and find you friends from years past. Say hello and maybe take advantage of the exhibitor badge to snag a copy of your must have game before it sells out.

Five minutes before the doors open everyone is ready. You take that deep breath, double check everything and then….

All hell breaks loose.

I think that’s what I love most about GenCon.

In this episode Mike, Christina and I are going to do a little GenCon 2024 Recap. We are going to talk about our events, sales, booth, and all the cool stuff that got us energized for another year.

Mike, Lets start with some quick overall thoughts on GenCon 2024.

https://terragons.com/

https://www.howardandrewjones.com/

https://paizo.com/

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Welcome back to another episode of You Heard it Here Last, where we talk about news you’ve already heard.

We are starting off with some news that was announced at GenCon this year. Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman have announced a new Trilogy of Dragonlance books titled Dragonlance Legacies with the first entry titled War Wizard.

https://www.enworld.org/threads/new-dragonlance-novels-from-weis-and-hickman-in-2026.706042/

Dragonlance was one of the beloved D&D properties, starting as a campaign setting and then developing into a series of novels with the first novel Dragons of Autmn Twilight being released in 1984. With that much love behind Dragonlance you can understand the excitement from the industry.

Mike, did you ever read the Dragonlance series?

[Kick to Mike]

What about you Christina?

[Kick to Christina]

And now for something completely different (please don’t sue me Monty Python). Dice Dungeon has launched a Kickstarter Campaign for a new D7D 5E supplement titled 80’s Adventure allowing fans of D7D to roleplay in their favorite decade…the 80’s.

https://www.tabletopgamingnews.com/travel-back-to-the-1980s-with-80s-adventures-a-retro-5e-supplement-adventure-module-on-kickstarter-now/

Now the 80s was the decade of my teens and I gotta say, not really sure why so many people think it was such a cool time. Sure, I have some beloved films, songs, and a few memories, but if I am memorializing a decade for my D7D adventures it wouldn’t be the 80s.

Mike, what do you think about this new supplement and if not the 80s which decade would you have chosen?

[Kick to Mike]

Christina, how about you. Is this supplement up your alley or do you have a better decade in mind.

[Kick to Christina]

And there you have it folks, make sure to tune in next time for all the news you’ve already heard.

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I was 15 years old and a buddy of mine who lived down the street owned a video store. Ok, his parents owned a video store. He was 15 just like me. Not only did we have access to a huge array of VHS, but he also had a Laser Disc player.

The Laser Disc was the precursor to the DVD and it was really cool.

In the summer while his parents were working, I would ride my bike to his house and we would fire up the laser disc player and watch all kinds of movies we probably shouldn’t have. Movies like Friday the 13th and the one that scared the shit out of me.

The Exorcist.

To me the Exorcist is one of the perfect and most terrifying horror films ever made. The 1973 film directed by William Freidkin from a novel by William Peter Blatty has been called the scariest movie ever made.

I will never forget the bright summer sun streaming in through the gaps in the curtains while I sat huddled on the couch watching a nightmare unfold in front of me.

I think that’s probably why I find myself trying to bring horror elements into my roleplaying games.

Literary historian J. A. Cuddon, in 1984, defined the horror story as "a piece of fiction in prose of variable length ... which shocks, or even frightens the reader, or perhaps induces a feeling of repulsion or loathing". Horror intends to create an eerie and frightening atmosphere for the reader. Often the central menace of a work of horror fiction can be interpreted as a metaphor for larger fears of a society.

From authors like Edgar Allen Poe, Shirley Jackson, Clive Barker, HP Lovecraft, Richard Matheson, and Steven King to Filmmakers like John Carpenter, James Wan, We Craven, and Guillermo Del Toro Horror is a big part of our lives.

Whether we like it or not.

And that’s what makes Horror such a perfect genre.

Today, Mike, Christina, and I are going to be talking about the Horror Genre, what we like about it and how to incorporate it into your roleplaying, because of all the topics we have discussed so far, horror is the one you have to be careful with.

Christina, what was your first horror movie?