I read some things this week. After the jump, you can read them, too.
This article about video game developer Obsidian (Neverwinter Nights II) switching from Dungeons & Dragons to Pathfinder for its licensed RPG content caused a minor uproar this week. It seems that every blogger has weighed in on this, from The Angry DM to Snark Knight. Like all fanboy fights, the controversy is basically delineated based on which brand any given commenter prefers. If you play Pathfinder, it’s a big win for Pathfinder. If you play D&D, then who cares, it’s not a big deal. Without any inside knowledge, I think the safest conclusion to draw is that D&D’s digital strategy is still an afterthought.
This isn’t a new RPG, but I’m getting around to reading Shadows of Esteren’s Book 0 Prologue, which is a free intro to the game and its medieval horror setting. This was a very successful Kickstarter (like, to the tune of $600,000), so I’m hoping to get into it.
In the interest of shameless self-promotion, I was on the Mad Adventurer’s Society’s YALP podcast. We’re playing FATE Core in a Land of the Lost-type setting, and I am by far the least talented person in the group. The first episode is an “Episode 0” in which we covered Game Creation and Character Creation, which are both collaborative processes in FATE. It’s tough to tell who’s who in the beginning, but my voice is the one that makes a comment about, “The conceit of the setting” or something. Later, I’m creating the Hollywood actor-type character, Mark “Steak” Johnson.