Jaded Gamer - Know your history

 

One thing I can't stand is when people start talking about the history of the ttrpg hobby who don't actually have a fucking clue about it. I've ran into many folks who only been gaming for ten years or so who show up and act like they are the walking talking expert. Puking forward opinions that seem to be coming from popular streamers or influencers... who have only been gaming for the same amount of time or a few years longer. 

Not to long ago I saw one person saying that there is no reason Traveller should ever be mentioned since it really wasn't the scifi defining ttrpg that people think it was. Really? It was the science fiction game for decades. Sure as shit wasn't Star Frontiers, a game that only lasted about maybe four years.

Because it's not making big splashes like it used to doesn't mean it wasn't ever anything. Besides that game still has a rather huge fanbase which you can see based on how well it sells and is supported. But they just aren't vocal youtubers and wannabe influencers. Hell I don't think I've ever seen a Traveller fan put up a video screaming mad about all the changes coming with the newest edition like DnD 'fans' do. 

Another one that really gets me is when people say Vampire the Masquerade didn't have any real effect on the hobby. I was very active in the hobby when that game dropped. Attending conventions, playing different games, really deep diving as best one could back then. The internet wasn't even there yet, CERN hadn't placed the software into public domain yet. Contact through BBS set ups and Usenet was how people kept in contact.

What I saw and witnessed during that time was a massive amount of change. New folks pouring into the hobby, not old folks coming back, but new folks coming in. An entire subculture of club kids, goths and horror buffs. I will also mention that as a hormone fired up youth at the time seeing the amount of women coming into the hobby was a huge surprise (a very welcome surprise). 

They tried to base the game more on the story than the system. By todays standards it's not that big of a push. But back then it was huge. There were a few games that tried but none of them made the attempt with as much success. In an era where things were getting more crunchy and more detailed when it comes to game systems they went the other direction. Plus they tried to make some of it more story and socially oriented. Also, bear in mind, the ultra rules light game Over The Edge didn't come out until the year after VtM. 

There were months where White Wolf products out sold TSR products. People saw that success as well and took note. It became a reason why many folks started looking at making more games that lean towards story more than system. Paving the way for a lot of new games with a new style. The ripples of effect from that game are one of the big reasons why we have story games in such quantity now.

To say that game had no affect on the hobby is showing your ignorance of the history of the hobby. One day I need to make up a list of 'hobby changing moments'. Things like DnD 3.0 with the release of the SRD under the OGL, the influencergasm that came with DnD 5.0, Magic the Gathering disrupting damn near everything, stuff like that. You can damn well be sure that VtM would be on that list.

90% of D&D discourse is BS

This is some top shelf Jaded Gamer worthy stuff right here. Two thumbs up. 

Slow down in posts

 

I'll be slowing down on posts here for a week or two. Mainly due to my job. I work at a very well stocked FLGS that also does used books. I love my job. The owner has decided to pick up and move the store to a much MUCH better location. I'm all on board with this. Now when I say very well stocked, I'm not exaggerating. This has turned out to be a monumental effort and we still have a lot to do by reopening day this coming Wednesday.

Also judging by the number of folks who've been coming up to the door asking if we're open and just to see what was going in... yeah we're going to be really busy the first few weeks. 

Most of my posts for the last week I had done already. Now I have several half done ideas and I'm to wore out to finish them. So I won't be getting many up for a bit. The owner has hired another person but they still need to be trained. 

Just also really happy to see the store grow and get better. I've been there for three years. I've known the owner for decades. He officiated my wedding. Seeing the business he started eight years ago growing and getting better is awesome. 

I'll probably do a post of pics of the shop when it's done and I get the chance as well.

Ten things found in an ICE agents pockets

Well here you go. You know it's true.

Things found in an ICE Agents pockets

1 – Package of extra small condoms.

2 – A pamphlet on how to get by in life with a microsized penis.

3 – Their KKK membership card.

4 – A pocket copy of Mein Khampf.

5 – A well licked picture of Donald Trumps asshole.

6 – Note for their doctors appointment for their rectal prolapse.

7 – A receipt from when they bought a case of adult diapers.

8 – Medical diagnosis for suffering from ‘chronic masturbator’s hand cramp’.

9 – Their swastika armband for their after hours meetings.

10 – Medal for being a pussy ass bitch.

In case there is any misunderstanding here let me just be clear:

FUCK ICE 

Show them no quarter.

2026 Gaming Resolutions

 

Once again it's that time of the year. My new years gaming resolutions presented in six pack formula.

First lets look at last year (you can see the post HERE).

1 - Achieved although it morphed. See this years number 2. 

2 - Achieved. 

3 - Not so much. Got one thing out and just barely. And no playtesting on my own games. It stays the number 3 for this year.

4 - Didn't really happen. Had opportunity but other issues made it not happen.

5 - Achieved. Continuing that course.

6 - Somewhat achieved. Had off and on moments that's for sure. It's going to number 1 this year.

While I did decent with last years I didn't manage them all. But that's okay, it did help motivate me to get some stuff done. Here we are with the gaming resolutions for the new year. 

1 - Keep updating my blog on a regular basis. At least two posts a week of some sort. Just sometimes hitting that wall really knocks me down. But this is what's helping me keep my mind off the dumpster fire of a world that is happening around me so I can have a few moments to breathe. 

2 - My Tuesday night group fell apart when the time frame was no longer viable for me and a couple other players. But now a Sunday midday group has formed to take it's place. So I want to keep that going just like before. Currently I swap out GM duties with a friend each week. 

3 - More releases for my Truly Rural Productions stuff on DrivethruRPG. I'm especially motivated to do this after getting my first medal for "Be A Better Player Vol One". Most will be collected material from my blog. Going to keep pushing it on Ko-Fi and itch as well even though nobody seems to buy my stuff from there. I'm also eyeballing the Year Zero Engine for doing a full game release at some point, but likely not in 2026. Of course this means facing my imposter syndrome head on more than ever before.

4 - Run a few other games than normal. First up is Vaesen at some point. Got everything I need but just need to get my butt in gear and do it. Really enjoyed playing it at DieCon this year and love the whole premise. Then I also want to run 1st ed Vampire the Masquerade, but I'm not sure everyone in my current group would like it.

5 - Continue building the little webpage I have going for the Sunday group. If it gets decent enough maybe I'll share it outside my little group of players. Maybe slowly work towards my friends homebrew system getting published at some point.

6 - Cull some of my gaming collection down. I really need to focus on what I am going to use, things with memories attached and stuff like that. So much of what is on my shelf will never be used nor do I have any really attachment to. Time to clear out some stuff and focus. 

Jaded Gamer Diary - Quick State of Affairs

Been a very busy weekend and week so far for things offline. Cyberpunk Sunday should be back next weekend, I just missed it this time around with stuff that is going on. Just never a moments rest for the wicked.

January first will see the release (finally) of Clandestine Societies issue two. Now I can start work on compiling material for issue three. 

Got some more small cyberpunk themed things in the works as well. One being a collection of small companies and groups that low level runners could run into. 

Also got some fantasy material that I need to do something with. Just not entirely sure the direction I want to take it. A themed focused release or more of a random collection like Clandestine Societies is.

You can find my material up over on DrivethruRPG, itch io and on my Ko-Fi page. Not professional, not slick, but cheap. 

Should have more blog posts up hopefully. But 'tis the season for family stuff to interfere with everything so we'll see. 

The 3 Waves of the RPG Moral Panic - RPG History

Jaded Gamer Diary - TRADITION!

 

Over on Reddit somebody started a thread about TTRPG traditions at their table. I found it funny. You can find the discussion HERE, but I also copy/pasted some of the ones I enjoyed for you all. 

So in my house of gaming, whenever someone orders a pizza they win extra exp (+5 in Wod . + 20 IP in cyberpunk. +1D4 in Cthulhu)

Whenever two characters are about to fuck, we are legally obliged to play (or sing) Kiss from a rose by seal.

And whenever something happens to a player irl that may remind them of the ongoing game, they are forced to message me saying "What did you do" (I.E: one of my Cthulhu players found a copy of the King in Yellow when going through second hand dealerships).

If your character has an impressive beard, they get a bonus to social checks. There's often lots of debate about what constitutes a "Charisma Beard", but the GM is the final arbiter.

My players always talk about wanting to "Gandalf", sacrificing themselves so that the rest of the group can live. I will often include a houserule to make it work better (like being able to "detonate" a spellbook, having all the spells cast at once), but so far, no one has done it.

All new characters are rolled with the same oversized wooden dice I got from the dollar store and lovingly hand numbered. I always get a look and a raised eye brow. "Tradition" I say.

Be A Better Gamemaster - PCs are not the Players

 

Normally I stray away from giving advice for gamemasters. I did better at giving advice for the players. But every now and then I just feel the need to say something. So guess no better time than the present.

I'm going to start off this series with one of the things that really irks me. It's when the Gamemaster doesn't seem to understand that the Player Character and the Player are different. They are not the same and it's sort of supposed to be that way. So stop expecting the player to be the PC. 

What the hell am I talking about? Let me explain.

To many times I've been at the table and my uber charismatic character is going to try and schmooze his way past some guards. So I tell the GM that's what I'm going to do. Then the response I get is "Well what are you telling them, lets here it" or they want to roleplay the scene and let that determine success or failure. Well you know what? I'm not an uber charismatic mother fucker. Nor do I think of great thing to say right at the drop of a hat.

They don't let you make a die roll or test against your maxed charisma or social skills. You, the player, are suddenly supposed to have all those skills in real life. Then you get told "oh well to bad" when you don't. 

So, gamemasters, don't fucking do that. If you or them want to roleplay it a bit that's fine. But don't let that be the arbitrator of success or failure. There still needs to either be that die roll or you let them succeed. 

Just like don't expect the person playing a character with all sorts of mechanical skills do be able to tell you step by step on how to check through an engine for a problem. Or the player playing the law enforcement officer to suddenly know every little law and ordinance there is. 

This also goes for puzzles, riddles, and how the PC can solve them. Their super brainy magic user is smarter than the player. Let them roll to figure it out if they want.

The characters are different than the person sitting at the table. That's the entire idea of ROLE PLAYING. So let them play the role a bit and let those really good stats or skill help move the character along. Not just the wit of the player. 

That's what I got this time. Short, sweet and to the damn point. If you like it go over to my Ko-Fi page and show some support. 

My PbtA dislike in one sentence

 

Somebody summed up what I don't like about Powered by the Apocalypse games in one sentence really well. 

"The thing that many people miss with that is that PbtA isn't really meant for freeform roleplaying; it's about telling specific kinds of stories."

Right there. I'm here to roleplay, hopefully a good fun story comes out of it, but not always. I sure as shit don't want to tell a specific kind of story. This why every time I've played a PbtA game it has been my definition of 'not fun'. As little fun as a player I have means I sure don't want to be the poor fool trying to run it either. 

But guess what? I'm free to not like something. If you like it, good on you. Just stop expecting everybody else to think your favorite thing should be their favorite thing as well. 

EDIT: I've decided to add more comments about PbtA that just make me shake my head and walk away.

"PbtA is not a system, it's a philosophy. Don't go into a PbtA expecting things to be exactly the same"

Jaded Gamer Diary - Paradigm Shift

 

The term "paradigm shift" has found uses in other contexts, representing the notion of a major change in a certain thought pattern—a radical change in personal beliefs, complex systems or organizations, replacing the former way of thinking or organizing with a radically different way of thinking or organizing.

That major change of thought pattern happened for me in regards to gaming. Not in gameplay, narrative designs, or anything else. But a complete readjustment in how I thought roleplaying games were perceived by the market at large. That sudden realization that things had truly changed.

I gamed through part of the Satanic Panic era. It actually lasted longer here in the rural backwater rural hells of Missouri than it did in some other places. I had to put up with people acting like I was some sort of devil worshipper if they found out I was playing those "evil games". So we hid it most of the time. Didn't break out the books in front of others (until near the end when some of us finally stopped giving a damn) and only played in our friends basements and anyplace else where people couldn't see us. Church leaders said it was bad, teachers said it was bad, hell my useless ass excuse of a step mother even gave me a few lame "warnings" about it. 

So I always figured it would be that way. The ostracized gaming community that everybody else shuns. Sure we had a few big break outs in popularity like Vampire the Masquerade but that quickly got shot to hell by a few idiots who were barely connected to the community did stupid violent things. Even with online popularity building rapidly it still felt like we were just the outsiders.

Then the shift happened for me. I was at Wal-Mart in Desloge Missouri. When I walked through the book section and saw the 5th edition Dungeons and Dragons Players Handbook on the shelf. It stunned me for a moment to see that sitting there, like three copies of it. At a local Wal-Mart. Like it was normal. 

Because it had become normal and more mainstream but I hadn't noticed. 

That right there was when I realized things had changed. Changed a lot since the days of my youth when I was rolling dice with my little group of friends in high school. Soon they were selling dice (called campaign dice) there as well, the DnD Starter Set was on the game shelf in the toy section. They even sell a dice tower there now. And I'll admit I bought the little box with three dice sets in it just for the sheer humor of buying them from fucking Wal-Mart. 

Now we even have a Time Magazine Special about Dungeons and Dragons and how it changed the gaming world. And it's a positive thing. 

Still I'm not sure why I didn't notice how mainstream it was going before that. Manga was going mainstream, anime as well, should have seen it coming. But I didn't and I'm kind of glad about that. Because I got that wonderful shock to the system when I did finally notice.

Is there a point to all this rambling? No, not this time. Just me thinking about how much things have changed and feeling like typing it all out.

If you like my posts and this blog consider showing me some support over on Ko-Fi. 

Jaded Gamer Diary - Things Change

 

Just some personal musing and such today. About gaming, but not about how to game or what to do, but about how I've seen the way I run games change over the last few years. 

I used to be really good at impromptu sessions. Would have a vague idea or two in my head and would toss out a couple ideas just to see where the players wanted to go and we would run with it. Then I would right some notes throughout the session, keeping track of new NPC names and the such. That was about the only reference I would use, notes about what popped up during these sessions that the players may come back around to.

This is how I ran games and it seemed to work really well.

Then we hit this thing called Covid-19. Not only did it just bring all my face to face gaming to a sudden screeching halt but it put it put me in the hospital as well. Spent some time in a drug induced coma hooked up to a ventilator. Things got scary for my wife as the doctors didn't think I was going to make it. Scary for me as well since I was locked in nightmare sleep mode and couldn't wake up from it. But my body bounced back and made it through.

The after affects of that is what changed things. Not the physical therapy, although that sucked, but the brain fog. That shit ain't no joke. At first I would not be able to come up with words every sentence or two and it took me a while to just say anything lengthy. Trying to remember stuff was hard as well. Initially the two big differences I noticed that a lot of peoples names, people I had known for years, were suddenly gone and I had to relearn them. Then it was my inability to do any sort of math in my head.

But a few months later after I was off the walker and crutches I sat down to try and run a game. That's when I noticed something else. My ability to run games off the cuff with no prep was greatly reduced. I just couldn't think quickly or would just go blank. Now since then it's gotten better but not by much.

So I've started using written adventures now. With my group I've ran the Land of the Free campaign for Cyberpunk 2020. Currently I'm running Tales of the Red: Street Stories for Cyberpunk RED. Been eyeballing Over the Edge once again since I own a bunch of the old adventures published for that. I still do some stuff of my own but I have to make notes beforehand or they turn out pretty badly. 

Things have changed and I've adapted. But I wish I didn't have to. But I'm still here and I'm still running games. Not the way I used to though. Just talking about what's been swimming around in my head for the last few months. 

If you enjoy my posts please feel to show some support over on my Ko-Fi page. 

Flooding and a lull in my posts.

 

There will be a little lull in blog posts for a bit. We recently had our roof decide that it didn't want to stop water anymore. While it didn't collapse we had buckets of water coming into our bedroom and garage. Now I managed to save most of our stuff in the bedroom cause we acted before it got really bad. The garage we lost quite a bit but I'm not sure what all yet, haven't gotten to the clean up there because the sheet rock ceiling did collapse and I'm letting it dry up some. 

Total loss won't be known until for a bit. 

So now in various parts of our house we have piles of books stacked everywhere. Boxes of our clothes. All sorts of thing. So it's a mess. Not really in the mental space to work on writing right now. 

The landlord has been on top of things as best he can. But he can't seal the metal roof properly until it's above freezing. This is because the sealant won't properly set in these temperatures (it's 5F right now with wind chill in the negatives). Then once that's sealed and no longer leaking then he'll be replacing the ceiling in the garage. 

So just to let you all know what's going on and while my blog posting will be slow for a week or two.

As usual you can show some support over on my Ko-Fi page. 

Jaded Gamer Diary - Personal Politics

Wrote this one a while back and never posted it. Now beginning with the new year I feel it's more relevant to me than ever before. Hell just a couple months ago I removed somebody from my game group for their personal politics and bringing them at the table. Then acted like he was the victim when his hate got people to turn their back on them. 

So here we go. One rant that should have been posted earlier on. 

--------------------------------------------

Been a while for a real Jaded Gamers and I need to vent a little. This time on the idea that "personal politics shouldn't matter as long as they aren't brought up at the game table". 

Yeah fuck that and I'll tell you why. 

I shouldn't have to deal with somebody, during my personal choice of entertainment, who supports things that I utterly despise. Even if they don't say it to my face (because most won't) or don't bring it up at the game table. If I know they are one of those who is perpetually spitting out hateful shit constantly online, or around others, then I don't want them around me.

Had a person I gamed with say they think all gay people should be rounded up and put into concentration camps. I absolutely refuse to game with that person anymore. 

Had a person who said all liberals should be subject to psychological evaluation by a set of standards determined by conservatives or be deported. I absolutely refuse to game with that person anymore. 

Had a person that said Covid was a culling that our world much needed. Yeah, guess what, won't game with that person anymore. 

I will simply stop inviting them to be at my games. Will unfollow them on social media. Will tell them no they cannot play in my group anymore. And I will tell them why. If they get butthurt, then they get butthurt. But since they obviously have a level of complete hate for others then they should expect to be treated the same way.

The same goes with buying gaming products. The politics that a person supports will strongly affect my decision of buying a game if they stand on the side with hate. Fuckers like Zak S, Jon Tarnowski, Mike Mearls, etc; will never see a dime of my money. 

You even begin to say this is gatekeeping then you are ignorant as to what that word even means. Go educate yourself if you are even capable of learning something. 

Also if my personal politics offend you that much then don't invite me over either. Don't buy my products. Hell I probably don't want to associate with you anyways. 

Rant over. 

2025 Game Resolutions

Well it's that time of year again. Time to look at what I want to accomplish in the upcoming year in the gaming side of my life. I managed to actually accomplish a few of the ones I put forth last year. Honestly there probably won't be a lot of change from those. 

Six pack style.

1. Continue on with my Tuesday group. It's been going for over a year now. We've gone from Cyberpunk 2020 and are now into RED. Did a bit of Little Fears in there as well. That needs to stay as my break form the norm from time to time. Although I will only be the guy running games every other week now, which leads to number... 

2. Play a bit more this year. Last year I wasn't a player in a single game. This year it appears that it's going to be starting with me being the alternating GM with the one person who I enjoy gaming with the most. So getting to set back and lapse into another persona at the table for a bit is going to be really nice.

3. Release more products through Truly Rural. Probably shovelware for the most part. Random generators and lists, that sort of thing. But I want to get either 'Welcome to the City' or 'Members of the Guard' into a full on playtesting level by the years end.

4. Hopefully I will get to playtest a few more products for R.Talsorian as well. It was a lot of fun doing the ones for "Tales from the Red: Hope Reborn" and the Shadowscar starter kit. They were one of my favorite game companies back in the day with Cyberpunk, Castle Falkenstein, Bubblegum Crisis and so many more. 

5. Worry less about the community and focus more about making myself happy. I'm just to old, tired and worn out from trying to herd kittens. Somebody else with more youth and enthusiasm can do that. I'll still host a discord server in case anyone locally wants to use it. But I don't see me pushing it. 

6. Do more with my blog. Brought back the six packs, maybe I need to do a few more Masters Workshop installments. Or, holy shit, more Be A Better Player. Lots of Jaded Gamer Diary rants. Oh and definitely a lot more reviews.  Who knows?

Jaded Gamer - New Year Social Media Edition.

 

Going into the new year, social media edition. 

It's time to take a look at the various social media platforms I use and what I'll be doing with them in the upcoming new year. Because sometimes you just need to look at all your time sinks and let some go to get some of that time back.

BlueSky - I'm all in on this one. Currently It's my preferred platform for social media. Just wish a few more folks were over there and that a few features were present as well. They may be in the future as they are always rolling out improvements.

Twitter - Pulled the plug on this one. I'm out. Didn't delete my account so nobody else could take the name. It really turned into a shit hole that's for sure.

MeWe - I'll keep using it, but really besides the groups there isn't much going for it. 

Threads - More useless than three day old shit. I'm done there.

Instagram - Random posting of memes is about all I can find a use for it. Bailing on it here soon as well.

Facebook - To many folks I know are still there. To many locals are still there. I'll keep using it until other folks leave. Much like MeWe groups are the only real big perk.

Mastodon - I'm on the dice.camp server. It's nice. I'll keep using that one as well.

Discord - Really getting tired of trying on there. Sometimes it feels like it's working out, other times not so much. Not really my vibe for the most part, but there are lot of people there and discussions that I like. But just having to drop in at just the right time before they scroll past is not a fun thing.

Jaded Gamer Diary - The edition nobody wanted until they did.

 

The edition everybody said they weren't going to buy.

It started quite some time ago. Here locally every little leak about the new edition of DnD (DnD One, 5.5, 6th already, etc) people were bitching about. The usual bullshit, some saying it's going "Woke", or the usual grognard saying now ADnD was better like they always do, many saying it's just a cash grab. Whatever. But everybody was bound and damned determined to tell everyone, especially those working at game shops, that they weren't going to be laying down any cash for the new version.

Already we had seen a huge drop in sales for new DnD material. Ever since Wizards went full moron with the OGL debacle we have a hard time selling their product for the line. So we got stuck with extra copies we really don't want.

So, my employer and FLGS, didn't order that many copies. A lot less hobby covers and only a few regular covers. Now he also had to preorder ahead for all three corebooks. So raising the number you wanted to get was damned near impossible.

Then guess what happened? C'mon guess. You know what the answer is. 

Everybody bought the damn thing they said they weren't going to buy.

So our hobby covers sold out really damned fast and we couldn't get anymore. Had a few folks accuse us of having a bunch stashed back to sell later at a higher price. Others doing the usual pouty fit. Some even saying they knew they should have ordered it online from some other shop that "actually stocks it". The fuckers who said they weren't going to buy it at all ever are suddenly mad that we didn't have it for them to buy.

It's times like this that I feel DnD has more jackasses in it's community than any other game. Then I remember to how I've seen Vampire: The Masquerade fans act many years ago and they still hold that number one spot. 

Jaded Gamers - Block the Toxic.

 

Okay now let me get started on this one. I'm all for whoever wants to play tabletop role playing games should be allowed to do so. The biggest scumbags should be allowed whatever hobby they want to dump money into if they wish. HOWEVER nobody else that is that hobby, or the communities they form, are required to put up with them. 

This is not gatekeeping plus it accomplishes a few things. First it protects your own mental well being. Nobody should have to put up with toxic individuals spewing hate into their field of view. Second it protects your ability to have fun participating in your hobby. Once you aren't having fun there is a good chance you may drop out and move on. Third it reenforces to assholes that nobody has to listen to them. Which needs to happen a lot more often.

A lot of the feelings of accepting anybody that wants to come to the table stems from the early days of tabletop roleplaying. When finding new people or those who were interested were far and few between. Back then people put up with some assholes just so they could either have a full table of player or so they could be a player at a table. Now that's no longer an issue. Plenty of people to chose from so be picky about who you bring into your circle.

On social media platforms block them. Don't be afraid of that button. People have FINALLY leaned hard into this idea over on BlueSky and guess what? It's fucking working. They are still there but the reach of their hate is drastically diminished. So diminished that some have simply given up and moved on back to where they came from. If the social media you use doesn't have a full block function then it's time to find one that does and move. Trust me, it's not worth wading through the shit for a little bit of interaction. 

At your table you can tell them to leave. Introduce them to the world outside of your private gaming area. If you are at a table that lets every asshole in to do as they please. Then you really need to find a new group. I know that's hard but sometimes it has to be done. Take the other good players with you, help them find a place away from the pricks who are making things terrible. 

Don't let anyone guilt trip you into thinking that you have to provide a place for everyone. Because you sure as shit do not. 

Another thing is do not let them attempt to gaslight you into thinking that their toxic bullshit is something else. The old "You're only doing this because of my politics" or "You just can't handle people telling you the truth" crap is an absolute pile of garbage. Also they are major big ass red flags. They pull this shit you need to kick them away even faster.

Jaded Gamer Diary - The bad folks

 

Having now worked in a game shop for a few years I have a whole new understanding of the dynamic of the people who go there to play. Not all of it good. Most of it is, lots of great people, some enjoyable folks and plenty of opinions on the games but then there are those who make me shake my head.

The GM that nobody wants to play under. Got a couple of these. They are the ones who think they are gods gift to the gaming world. The experts, the know it all, the wanna be elite. Not to mention abusive and a bully most of the time. Always bragging about how epic their games and never leaving the counter as they vomit forth this self congratulatory monologue. 

Of course their groups consist of another type of gamer.

The Players that nobody wants in their group. Several of these as well. These are the ultra creeps who leer at every woman who walks into the place, the hygiene challenged, also some abusive bullies who focus on tormenting their fellow players. Oh and the fucking experts when it comes to how to play the game. The guys you don't call chuds because that would be insulting to the chuds. You may also find a few GM's that nobody wants looking to play in some games as well. But, to no surprise, they are also Players that nobody wants.

Also lets now forget about the Self Injectors. They see a group playing a game and they immediately walk up and start talking. Usually telling them how to do it better while interrupting the group nonstop. Almost always leads to them asking if they can have a seat at the table to play. Acts insulted when you tell them to fuck off because you're playing a damn game.

I've experienced these in the past. But damn I get a front row seat now.

Dungeons and Dragons 2024 releases

 

Working at a game shop I try to stay caught up on new releases and what is coming out. Of course the most asked about property is still Dungeons and Dragons. Now while we've seen a list of what they are planning on releasing in 2024 there is nothing about when in 2024 any of the books are coming out. Even the WPN network page that Wizards has set up so shops can keep up to date has nothing slated for release after the much delayed Deck of Many Things. But here's the list we can find.

Descent into the Lost Caverns of Tsojcanth – 2024

Vecna: Eve of Ruin – 2024

2024 Player’s Handbook – 2024

The Making of Original Dungeons and Dragons: 1970-1976 – 2024

Quests from the Infinite Staircase – 2024

I'm assuming this is the order in which they are going to be released but even that is unknown. As for dates, well the only safe thing I can assume is that the 2024 Player's Handbook will be a GenCon release with DnD Beyond getting it a few days early. 

I am also going to assume that more hard dates will be released at GAMA if not a little before. 

Now why isn't there any mention of the new version of the DM's Guide and Monster Manual? This is a good question and I have two theories. 

One: They are going to stagger the release of the books with the other two coming next year. Since they are claiming that the new editions/versions/whatever will be compatible with 5e spacing out the dates shouldn't be an issue. This could be used as a meter to see what players and GM's think they need in the a new DM's Guide and MM plus give them more time to work on them since they fired several folks.

Two: The one I would almost bet money on. This isn't the new edition/5.5/One/whatever of the Player's Handbook. As we all know, at least those who buy or sell the books, the price for regular print DnD books has gone up recently. This 2024 version is just a little update, maybe some new art or cover, but with the new price point on it. We all know that Player's Handbooks outsell all the others hands down so it would make sense that it is on the verge of selling out of the last print run. So Wizards of Hasbro not wanting to miss out on charging more are upping the price on the new printing. With the actual new edition still being off in the distance as they struggle with an audience that is getting fed up with everything.

All that being said I'm not a DnD fan. I don't buy anything they put out. HOWEVER the Making of Original Dungeons and Dragons book is certainly catching my interest. There have already been so many different project trying to detail out that era I'm wondering if there is anything new to be said about it. But the history of the hobby part of me sure wants to find out. 

Now about those other releases:

Descent into the Lost Caverns of Tsojcanth revives the classic first-edition adventure, Lost Caverns of Tsojcanth. It’s a single-session dungeon-crawl that’ll evoke the feeling of an adventure module from 50 years ago – complete with a tournament scoring system to see how well you fared. 

This doesn't sound like a full fledged hardback book. Could they maybe be testing the water with smaller adventure modules like the days of old?

Vecna: Eve of Ruin We’ve known for a while that a Vecna 5e adventure was on the way, and it’s been confirmed in the form of Vecna: Eve of Ruin. This is a rare campaign – not just because it features all sorts of iconic D&D characters, but because it actually goes up to level 20.

Quests from the Infinite Staircase updates a range of old-school D&D adventures, much like Tales from the Yawning Portal did previously. Several elements apparently tie these individual adventures together, one of which is a cosmic being who’s “completely new to the D&D canon”, according to Wizards.

Those last two sound like standard hardback releases. One and done.