The RIPON Band

Rgp'ing, jamming, & intoxicants pretty much summed up extra-familial (we were raising three kids) pursuits during my twenties.

Ripon was musically very good and occurred during an rpg & intoxicant ebb.

Go figure.

5th Edition Dungeons & Dragons

Over on EN World there is a nice ongoing compilation of news about the forthcoming 5th Edition of Dungeons & Dragons (formerly D&D Next). The rules will be released one product at a time beginning this summer with the D&D Starter Set.

I am very interested in how these rules play out, especially in the areas of cross edition dungeon module scenarios. Developing exciting and suspenseful campaigns typically can be the most time-consuming part of being a game judge. However, it is rare that I have come across something prepackaged that is uniformly satisfying.

The "OSR revival" stuff has usually been on track with products that seem to appeal to my gaming group. The new edition will likely draw back many fans who went all "old-school" in response to 4e, but with anemic, sluggish, or (at least in my opinion) over-balanced adventures then there still may be a market for chaotic gonzo home brew.

Never be able to match the big guy's artwork though, it's very nice.

Direbane Publishing on DriveThruRPG!

Terrific news! DriveThruRPG has accepted Direbane Publishing as an online vendor of gaming works! All the rules-related materials are either available or in the review queue at DriveThruRPG, and will be available in PDF format at a reasonable $3.00 each or less for the multi-booklet sets. I will investigate print-on-demand to make the booklets available in an A5 format if the end user's price is not too steep. I have the capability to produce physical booklets here, but I am not sure if the agreement to make DriveThruRPG the sole online provider of Direbane Publishing materials applies to both electronic and physical versions. Ha, plus I need a "real job" soon besides this fun!

My first setting dungeon is intended to be the mega-dungeon, Underport.
There is a cross-section of Underport on the "Krull" page to get an idea of its size.