MOB

Died before then: excerpt from 'The Great Winter and Time of Two Counts'

FIGHT FIRE WITH GAMES: the original TERROR AUSTRALIS is part of DriveThruRPG's 'Modern and Urban Horror' bundle; one of eight genre-themed bundles raising funds for Australian bushfire relief – great value for a worthy cause! Every single penny earned from the sales of these bundles will be divided equally between these two charities: —Disaster Relief and Recovery - Australia Red Cross —Bushfire Emergency - World Wildlife Fund of Australia

Friday Jan 18, 2020: On the eve of Arcanacon, Call of Cthulhu's Reign of Terror wins the inaugural Australian Roleplaying Industry Award for BEST SCENARIO. Congratulations to Australian Call of Cthulhu authors Mark Morrison, Penelope Love, Darren Watson, and Chaosium's own Jamie Coquillat. And all the creative team behind this book! The Australian Roleplaying Industry Awards (ARPIA) "recognise and encourage Australian involvement in the role-playing industry". Awards presented include Game of the Year, Best Artwork, Best Scenario, Best Rule System, Best Cartography, Best Electronic Product (Best Aid or Accessory – Digital), Best PDF only Product. Chaosium vice president Michael O'Brien, who gave the keynote address at the awards ceremony in Melbourne, Australia on Friday evening said: "It was a pleasure and an honour to give the keynote speech at the inaugural Australian Roleplaying Industry Awards tonight. As I said in my address, the ARPIA awards are a further recognition of the depth and richness of the Australian RPG scene and its contribution to the industry on the world stage. It’s a great community to be part of – so rich, so diverse, so creative, and so welcoming. Last year RPG designer and publisher Sarah Newton was the guest speaker at the inaugural ARPIA meeting announcing the awards, having just flown in from her home in France. Something Sarah said in her speech sticks with me: although she was from a long, long way away and meeting people for the first time, she said she quickly knew everyone there shared something special - being part of the RPG tribe. The ARPIA awards are a recognition and celebration of many of the wonderful things being created by the Australian branch of that tribe, to be shared with the booming RPG community around the world."

So, the PETERSEN GUIDE TO LOVECRAFTIAN HORRORS is a new addition to DriveThruFiction, and to mark the occasion, it is the Deal of the Day and 50% off.

Our friends from AcqInc doing their bit to aid Australian bushfire relief! Starts on Wednesday at Penny Arcade on Twitch TV:

Many thanks to the 2200 people who downloaded a 'Pay-What-You-Want' copy of the RuneQuest Glorantha Bestiary over the past seven days and made a donation to Australian bushfire relief. Based on messages and feedback from supporters of this initiative, we estimate more than USD$20,000 has been raised for the Australian fire-fighting and recovery effort!

In fact, there are three Michaels, we go by Mike, MOB, and Michal to make it easier. And there are three Davids: David Scott, David Larkins, and David Naylor. Not to mention all the Js: Jeff, Jason, Jim, Jamie, Julia and John.

Many thanks to the 2200 people who downloaded a 'Pay-What-You-Want' copy of the RuneQuest Glorantha Bestiary over the past seven days and made a donation to Australian bushfire relief. Based on messages and feedback from supporters of this initiative, we estimate more than USD$20,000 has been raised for the Australian fire-fighting and recovery effort! We thought a collection of fantastical creatures was an appropriate choice for this fundraiser, as the bushfires' devastating effect on Australia's unique wildlife is heartbreaking. In fires that have burned more than 24 million acres so far, more than one billion Australia animals have perished. Yet surviving the fires is only the first part of an uncertain future. Fundraising efforts will help look after wildlife while the land recovers. If you would still like to support Australian bushfire relief efforts, a list of worthy causes is here. #weareallus

Our friends at Petersen Games are launching Glorantha: The Gods War 2 on January 20 at Kickstarter. Designed by game design legend Sandy Petersen and set in Greg Stafford's mythic cult universe of Glorantha, setting of the RuneQuest RPG, The Gods War is a fast moving strategy game set in a universe on the brink of disaster. In The Gods War, you take the part of powerful elemental factions, battling to determine the fate of the cosmos. The Gods War 2 Kickstarter adds exciting new expansions, and enables newcomers to purchase the original game. Check out a preview of the campaign here. And if you'd like to be notified when the campaign goes live, sign up to their newsletter here!

Moderator Hat: yes Moderator Hat: @Fábio Silva, yes. You'll find tribe here is from a great swathe of beliefs and backgrounds and places, but very welcoming.

Emphatic start to this review of the Smoking Ruin... (pretty emphatic end to the review too) "There is a line on the dust jacket of the Guide to Glorantha that reads; 'Glorantha is the technicolor cure for bland, pseudo-medieval generic fantasy.' Normally when you read something like this, you can be forgiven for thinking it is self-aggrandizing, pretentious crap. Not in this case. If you have any doubts, all you need do is look at exhibit A, The Smoking Ruin & Other Stories. Seriously. You can open to any random page and find proof that--yes Toto--you aren't in Thedas, or Middle-earth, or Faerûn any more." — Andrew Logan Montgomery, review of The Smoking Ruin https://andrewloganmontgomery.blogspot.com/2020/01/there-is-line-on-dust-jacket-of-guide.html

Many thanks to the almost 2000 people so far who have downloaded THE GLORANTHA BESTIARY and made a donation to Australian bushfire relief. This book (normally $19.99) will be 'pay-what-you-want' until Sunday Jan 12. Rather than pay us for it, there are links on the product page at DriveThruRPG where you can instead make a donation to the Australian fire-fighting and recovery effort, including animal welfare initiatives. Surviving the fires is only the first part of an uncertain future for Australia's unique wildlife. https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/247725/RuneQuest--Glorantha-Bestiary

Many thanks to the almost 2000 people so far who have downloaded THE GLORANTHA BESTIARY and made a donation to Australian bushfire relief. This book (normally $19.99) will be 'pay-what-you-want' until Sunday Jan 12. Rather than pay us for it, there are links on the product page at DriveThruRPG where you can instead make a donation to the Australian fire-fighting and recovery effort, including animal welfare initiatives. Surviving the fires is only the first part of an uncertain future for Australia's unique wildlife. https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/247725/RuneQuest--Glorantha-Bestiary

I was recently interviewed by EN World, and to finish off the discussion I was asked if I had a favourite story to tell about Greg. This is what I said: EGG: With the many tributes from Chaosium and yourself, it’s clear that Greg Stafford’s passing carried an immense weight and left an empty seat at the gaming table. If it’s not too much, can you share a favorite story about Greg? MOB: Like my colleagues Rick, Neil and Jeff, who now run Chaosium with me and also “grew up with the company”, Greg’s sudden death last October came as a great shock. Like them, I’ve known Greg for over thirty years, and he’s had a profound influence on my life both as a game writer, and as a wise and knowing friend and mentor. My colleagues and I attended a family memorial for Greg in Arcata, CA, where he spent his final years. As there was to be a bigger, more public commemoration in San Francisco a week later, only a small handful of games industry folk were in attendance. But it was fascinating to meet so many other people in Arcata who said Greg was one of the most interesting, charismatic and inspirational people they knew. They spoke of the impact Greg had on their lives, yet were unaware of his role at Chaosium. Some vaguely knew Greg had something to do with “designing games”, but many didn’t even know he was a game designer at all, let alone one of the greatest game designers of all time. Such was Greg’s humility, and the richness and breadth of his interests and passions, which apart from games included mythology, shamanism, Oaxaca, King Arthur, roller derby, and much more.

and watch their first adventure, from last year's PAX Aus on YouTube: Delve into the Call of Cthulhu RPG at Chaosium.com and use the code to get 10% off your order! Code: ACQINC-PLAYS-CTHULHU

"Brisk & Full-bodied" – now also got a smokey flavour to it, though that's not coming from the tea... Melbourne is smothered in bushfire smoke, which is predicted to only get worse as the week goes on. A minor aggravation in comparison to what others are going through elsewhere, but a stark sign that although the fires are a long way from here, we are in the midst of a national crisis. Air quality from bushfire smoke. Anything above 50 is bad. Above 300 is "hazardous" - the EPA advice is "Everyone should avoid all outdoor exertion". Melbourne is 403 (though that didn't stop my 78 y.o. dad playing four sets of tennis in it yesterday)

The RuneQuest Glorantha Bestiary is 'Pay-Want-You-Want' for the next seven days; but don't pay us, donate to Australian bushfire relief:

We're making the RuneQuest Glorantha Bestiary 'Pay-What-You-Want' on DriveThruRPG for the next seven days (regular price is USD$19.99). If you download it, instead of paying us, we encourage you to make a donation to the Australian fire-fighting and recovery effort. We at Chaosium think Gloranthan beasts are special; however Australian animals are unique and precious - and real. But it is estimated up to half a billion of them have perished so far in the devasting wildfires still raging across the continent. That number is expected to rise dramatically, as vast swathes of habitat have been consumed by flame. Some places where you can donate: WIRES is a wildlife rescue nonprofit rescuing and caring for thousands of sick, injured and orphaned Australian native animals. World Wildlife Fund Australia is directing its efforts towards koala conservation. Thousands have perished so far. The Port Macquarie Koala Hospital is raising funds to distribute automatic drinking stations in the burnt areas to help in koala and wildlife survival, and sharing the funds with other wildlife organisations in the fire affected regions. Other places to support: Australian Red Cross, New South Wales Rural Fire Service, Country Fire Authority Victoria.

Our friends at New Gamemaster Month are running a contest! Help spread the word about New GM Month and 7th Sea and you'll be entered to win a 7th Sea HEROES AND VILLIANS book in PDF: https://gleam.io/PUmEl/new-gamemaster-month-chaosium

Only for one half of a spherical planet. In the Gloranthan calendar, Sacred Time comes at the very end of the year. It marks the joyous time when communities gather together across the world to celebrate building the cosmos anew for a new year. Like our own New Years Eve here on planet Earth, is a time of divinations, omens, and predictions, when oaths are sworn, resolutions are made, and promises are given, to oneself and to others.

Loïc Muzy is staying busy over the festive season – here's a Christmas greeting by way of two work-in-progress sketches for the new book: Chaosium's Dark Young of Shub-Niggurath and Clarke Ashton Smith's Atlach-Nacha

Mike Mason, the creative director for Call of Cthulhu, sits down for a convivial chat with Brian Courtemanche, one of the writers of the campaign: