Evil Hat Productions» vitamin u http://www.evilhat.com/home Turning Passion Into Great Games! Fri, 03 Feb 2012 17:45:23 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 New S7S Review! http://chadu.livejournal.com/782762.html http://chadu.livejournal.com/782762.html#comments Thu, 08 Apr 2010 14:17:36 +0000 Chad Underkoffler http://chadu.livejournal.com/782762.html Swashbucklers of the 7 Skies.

http://bit.ly/d0T2sH

Check it out!]]> http://www.evilhat.com/home/2010/04/new-s7s-review-2/feed/ 0 New S7S Review! http://chadu.livejournal.com/782762.html http://chadu.livejournal.com/782762.html#comments Thu, 08 Apr 2010 14:17:36 +0000 Chad Underkoffler http://chadu.livejournal.com/782762.html Swashbucklers of the 7 Skies.

http://bit.ly/d0T2sH

Check it out!]]> http://www.evilhat.com/home/2010/04/new-s7s-review-3/feed/ 0 Origins Awards Nominees and Bonus Jury Ballot http://chadu.livejournal.com/782509.html http://chadu.livejournal.com/782509.html#comments Sat, 27 Mar 2010 12:11:05 +0000 Chad Underkoffler http://chadu.livejournal.com/782509.html
The Academy of Adventure Gaming Arts and Design announced the following nominees for the 36th Annual Origins Awards at GTS the other day:

http://paultevis.com/blog/2010/3/26/origins-awards-nominees-and-jury-selections.html

(snip)

Roleplaying Game
Doctor Who: Adventures in Time and Space – Cubicle 7 Entertainment
Eclipse Phase – Catalyst Game Labs
FantasyCraft – Crafty Games
A Song of Ice And Fire – Green Ronin Publishing
Supernatural Roleplaying Game – Margaret Weis Productions

Roleplaying Game Supplement
Big Damn Heroes Handbook – Margaret Weis Productions
The Day After Ragnarok – Atomic Overmind Press
Seattle 2072 – Catalyst Game Labs
Warriors & Warlocks – Green Ronin Publishing
Weird War II – Pinnacle Entertainment Group

(snip)

Bonus content: This is the ballot presented to the retailers at GTS, representing the jury selections:

http://paultevis.com/storage/Ballot%20GTS%202010.pdf


I'm glad that my Swashbucklers of the 7 Skies made the jury selection ballot; it's an honor just to be pre-nom'd. ;)

Since S7S won't hit traditional distribution (through Alliance) and being listed in Game Trade Magazine until next month at a minimum, and that retailers are the ones who vote for OA noms at GTS, I was hopeful but not overly optimistic about its chances of getting a nom.

On the upside, I should be at Origins this year, and will be able to vote on the nominees! Yay!

Other notes:

1. Congrats to all my friends who have stuff on the nom slate!

2. I'm intrigued that 3 of the 5 RPG noms are licenses.

3. I'm intrigued that 3 of the same companies show up on in both RPG categories.]]> http://www.evilhat.com/home/2010/03/origins-awards-nominees-and-bonus-jury-ballot/feed/ 0 [s7s] New (Podcast) Review! http://chadu.livejournal.com/772055.html http://chadu.livejournal.com/772055.html#comments Fri, 13 Nov 2009 16:59:32 +0000 Chad Underkoffler http://chadu.livejournal.com/772055.html
The Voice of the Revolution #36: October 2009, Swashbucklers of the 7 Skies Review and Kevin Allen Jr. Interview

Check it out!]]> http://www.evilhat.com/home/2009/11/s7s-new-podcast-review/feed/ 0 [s7s] Swashbuckling Edjumacation! http://chadu.livejournal.com/762253.html http://chadu.livejournal.com/762253.html#comments Mon, 05 Oct 2009 13:04:54 +0000 Chad Underkoffler http://chadu.livejournal.com/762253.html S7S YahooGroup yesterday: a homeschooling mom is using S7S (with associated player-generated journals) as a Creative Writing course for her 2 kids and two of their friends! http://sites.google.com/site/warblingswallowadventure I think that's pretty awesome, and went a long way to dissolving some of the Sunday Blahs!]]> http://www.evilhat.com/home/2009/10/s7s-swashbuckling-edjumacation/feed/ 0 [s7s] Two New SWASHBUCKLERS Reviews! http://chadu.livejournal.com/751626.html http://chadu.livejournal.com/751626.html#comments Mon, 10 Aug 2009 13:40:33 +0000 Chad Underkoffler http://chadu.livejournal.com/751626.html http://rpg.geekdo.com/thread/429022
Physically, the hardcover of S7S is a gorgeous 320 page book. The interior illustrations, all fine and useful (ranging from ships to characters) are all black and white, but the cover gleams and stands out. Fred Hicks of Evil Hat, who did the cover, did an excellent, appealing job here. Even if a book is not judged by its cover, this book, sitting in an FLGS screams "pick me up and check me out", even if the cover doesn't tell you what the game is in the same way.


http://geekbuffet.wordpress.com/2009/08/08/ahoy-there-an-excellent-swashbuckling-rpg/
Why you should go pick up a copy of S7S is simple: few games are as accessible, intuitive and richly devoted to players’ creative well-being as this one. Now I’m off to liberate a Crailese freighter of its most burdensome cargo!



Check 'em out!]]> http://www.evilhat.com/home/2009/08/s7s-two-new-swashbucklers-reviews/feed/ 0 [s7s] New S7S Review http://chadu.livejournal.com/745998.html http://chadu.livejournal.com/745998.html#comments Tue, 21 Jul 2009 19:25:55 +0000 Chad Underkoffler http://chadu.livejournal.com/745998.html
http://reviewarchive.iblog.my/2009/07/21/book-review-swashbucklers-of-the-7-skies/

Swashbucklers of the 7 Skies is a delightfully original roleplaying game.

[...]

PDQ is a quick-playing, versatile, and elegant framework of rules that rewards good roleplaying and maximizes entertainment for everyone. It suits all levels of experience, with different advantages for novice (simplicity) and expert (flexibility) players.

[... T]here is extensive background material on swashbuckling adventure. This covers swashbuckling romances, settings, and other supporting ideas. The tropes featured are action, adventure, heroism, intrigue, romance, style, and villainy. A generous and fascinating bibliography, filmography, and ludography provide plenty of inspiration. Don’t skip this section; it’s full of hilarious and tragic pullquotes from favorite books, movies, and other resources.


Thanks, [info]ysabetwordsmith!]]> http://www.evilhat.com/home/2009/07/s7s-new-s7s-review/feed/ 0 [s7s] ENnie Awards Nominations! http://chadu.livejournal.com/743514.html http://chadu.livejournal.com/743514.html#comments Mon, 13 Jul 2009 13:40:01 +0000 Chad Underkoffler http://chadu.livejournal.com/743514.html Swashbucklers of the 7 Skies has been nominated for two 2009 ENnie Awards:

Best Setting and Product of the Year!

Other fine product nominees, for each category, include:

Best Setting
* The Dreadful Secrets of Candlewick Manor, Arc Dream Publishing
* Hot War, Contested Ground Studio
* Pathfinder Chronicles Campaign Setting, Paizo Publishing
* Slipstream, Studio 2 Publishing

...and...

Product of the Year
* Dark Heresy: Disciples of the Dark Gods, Fantasy Flight Games
* Don't Lose Your Mind, Evil Hat Productions
* Dungeons & Dragons 4th Edition Players Handbook, Wizards of the Coast
* Hunter: The Vigil, White Wolf
* Mouse Guard, Kunoichi/Archaia
* Scion: Ragnarok, White Wolf
* A Song of Ice and Fire Roleplaying, Green Ronin
* Starblazer Adventures, Cubicle 7 Entertainment, Ltd
* Star Wars: The Clone Wars, Wizards of the Coast

As ever, it is an honor to be nominated.

Full list of nominees in all categories here.

Voting begins on July 24th!]]> Swashbucklers of the 7 Skies has been nominated for two 2009 ENnie Awards:

Best Setting and Product of the Year!

Other fine product nominees, for each category, include:

Best Setting
* The Dreadful Secrets of Candlewick Manor, Arc Dream Publishing
* Hot War, Contested Ground Studio
* Pathfinder Chronicles Campaign Setting, Paizo Publishing
* Slipstream, Studio 2 Publishing

...and...

Product of the Year
* Dark Heresy: Disciples of the Dark Gods, Fantasy Flight Games
* Don't Lose Your Mind, Evil Hat Productions
* Dungeons & Dragons 4th Edition Players Handbook, Wizards of the Coast
* Hunter: The Vigil, White Wolf
* Mouse Guard, Kunoichi/Archaia
* Scion: Ragnarok, White Wolf
* A Song of Ice and Fire Roleplaying, Green Ronin
* Starblazer Adventures, Cubicle 7 Entertainment, Ltd
* Star Wars: The Clone Wars, Wizards of the Coast

As ever, it is an honor to be nominated.

Full list of nominees in all categories here.

Voting begins on July 24th!]]> http://www.evilhat.com/home/2009/07/s7s-ennie-awards-nominations/feed/ 0 Camp Nerdly 3: The Blogging http://chadu.livejournal.com/735700.html http://chadu.livejournal.com/735700.html#comments Mon, 01 Jun 2009 15:15:45 +0000 Chad Underkoffler http://chadu.livejournal.com/735700.html Camp Nerdly 3.

Short form: Had great conversations, played fun games, drank regional sodas (Cheerwine and Dr. Enuf FTW!), and made silly faces at well-behaved babies. An all-around win.

Also, for the vid-inclined, Jason Morningstar's One Cool Thing I Saw At Camp Nerdly 3 on YouTube.

Otherwise, the long day-by-day breakdown behind the cut...

(Apologies ahead of time, I'm not going to try and get everyone's LJ username... but feel free to chime in with comments!)

WEDNESDAY
[info]macklinr flew into BWI in the evening; I picked him up; we swung by [info]drivingblind's place -- it's on the way back -- to chew the fat a bit.

Much talk regarding games, girls, the gaming industry, and keeping your head on straight.

Good times.


THURSDAY
Purchasing final bits of gear, packing, and puttering.


FRIDAY
Drove down in the early afternoon. Freaking hot and humid. Registered, found my cabin, unpacked, said hellos, checked the schedule, explored the campsite.

Played my first game of 1000 Blank White Cards -- I really dug it. Then, later, a game of Misspent Youth, where our Youthful Offenders (YOs) ended up, uh, kinda worse than the Authority. Good times. (See my Overview of MS.)

Oh, and also kept Ryan awake all night with my snoring -- with an able ripsaw-assist from Buddha.

I need a new sleeping bag: my mummy bag only fits up to mid-torso: my chest and shoulders don't fit into the damned thing. Luckily, I had a blanket. And despite the heat of the days, the nights were cold and damp, even in the cabins. Note for next time!

SATURDAY
Chatting in the morning, then playstormed [info]nikotesla's game Xenon.

After lunch, took a long, solitary walk up to the deserted Camp A. Lots of solo thinkery on issues of current concern, while communing with nature in the Big Blue Room. Went back to my bunk and nap-crashed for an hour or two.

Learned how to play Jungle Speed, which I will be purchasing soon. Played JS until it was time for me to go and be an Oven Master (cook) for dinner.

Ran the stove for dinner: cooking soup, pasta, sauce, and a balsamic glazed chicken for around 55 people with Emily Care Boss, Epidiah Ravachol, and Joshua Riley.

Played MythEnder, and helped End the Migard Serpent! Boo-yeah! Gotta say, some of the other players' characters had some full-octane insanity that I was envious of... like "The Tongueless Last Emperor of Rome" as a Companion Weapon or the Drowned Pirate Captain who wants to "kill the ocean" demanding a terrified farmer tell her a children's story as a was to regain Mortality. Awesome. (See my Overview of ME.)

Late (around midnight), I ran a game of PDQ# Space Opera. We started with two facts:

#1. This is all Flash Gordon/Buck Rogers: swords and rayguns.
#2. All of the planets have the names of elements from the Periodic Table.

As we worked through "setting the dials" and character creation, and then later in play, we added more facts to the setting. In almost exactly two hours, we went from nada to a setting described by 20 or so facts, four fully-statted PCs and 2 NPCs (a villain and an archvillain; the latter, alas, didn't show up in play), and three action-filled, entertaining, hilarious scenes -- complete with immediate adventure resolution and a cliffhanger!

I think PDQ# SpOp ("spop!") is going to be my minimal prep game to run at conventions. I'll type up my notes tonight and try to bash together some simple handouts and forms to fill out to facilitate even speedier play. Then I'll print out a bunch and slap them in a folder to put in my game bag.


SUNDAY
Played a version of the game Fred describes as "the Grateful Dead concert of Indie Gaming" (I'll let him chime in on that when he gets a chance), Ganakagok in the morning, and it was great! Nine of us played the newish "jeepforged" version of the game. The best way I can describe it is that it's a structured, freeform, one-room LARP.

Ryan and I packed up, loaded the car, came back to the Deluxe Apartment in the Sky-y-y to eat something, take showers, and do laundry. Then I drove Ryan back up to Fred's so he could crash there before flying out today. Had a nice long discussion covering much ground, and also got the 411 on the "end of Season 1" D&D4e game I missed on Saturday.

Got home, ordered a pizza for the first time in two weeks, ate, watched Batman: Brave & the Bold (with Bat-Mite! How cool is that?), then did freelance editing into the wee hours. Then I crashed like the Hindenberg.


SUMMARY: Had oodles of fun. Will try to go again next year!]]> Camp Nerdly 3.

Short form: Had great conversations, played fun games, drank regional sodas (Cheerwine and Dr. Enuf FTW!), and made silly faces at well-behaved babies. An all-around win.

Also, for the vid-inclined, Jason Morningstar's One Cool Thing I Saw At Camp Nerdly 3 on YouTube.

Otherwise, the long day-by-day breakdown behind the cut...

(Apologies ahead of time, I'm not going to try and get everyone's LJ username... but feel free to chime in with comments!)

WEDNESDAY
[info]macklinr flew into BWI in the evening; I picked him up; we swung by [info]drivingblind's place -- it's on the way back -- to chew the fat a bit.

Much talk regarding games, girls, the gaming industry, and keeping your head on straight.

Good times.


THURSDAY
Purchasing final bits of gear, packing, and puttering.


FRIDAY
Drove down in the early afternoon. Freaking hot and humid. Registered, found my cabin, unpacked, said hellos, checked the schedule, explored the campsite.

Played my first game of 1000 Blank White Cards -- I really dug it. Then, later, a game of Misspent Youth, where our Youthful Offenders (YOs) ended up, uh, kinda worse than the Authority. Good times. (See my Overview of MS.)

Oh, and also kept Ryan awake all night with my snoring -- with an able ripsaw-assist from Buddha.

I need a new sleeping bag: my mummy bag only fits up to mid-torso: my chest and shoulders don't fit into the damned thing. Luckily, I had a blanket. And despite the heat of the days, the nights were cold and damp, even in the cabins. Note for next time!

SATURDAY
Chatting in the morning, then playstormed [info]nikotesla's game Xenon.

After lunch, took a long, solitary walk up to the deserted Camp A. Lots of solo thinkery on issues of current concern, while communing with nature in the Big Blue Room. Went back to my bunk and nap-crashed for an hour or two.

Learned how to play Jungle Speed, which I will be purchasing soon. Played JS until it was time for me to go and be an Oven Master (cook) for dinner.

Ran the stove for dinner: cooking soup, pasta, sauce, and a balsamic glazed chicken for around 55 people with Emily Care Boss, Epidiah Ravachol, and Joshua Riley.

Played MythEnder, and helped End the Migard Serpent! Boo-yeah! Gotta say, some of the other players' characters had some full-octane insanity that I was envious of... like "The Tongueless Last Emperor of Rome" as a Companion Weapon or the Drowned Pirate Captain who wants to "kill the ocean" demanding a terrified farmer tell her a children's story as a was to regain Mortality. Awesome. (See my Overview of ME.)

Late (around midnight), I ran a game of PDQ# Space Opera. We started with two facts:

#1. This is all Flash Gordon/Buck Rogers: swords and rayguns.
#2. All of the planets have the names of elements from the Periodic Table.

As we worked through "setting the dials" and character creation, and then later in play, we added more facts to the setting. In almost exactly two hours, we went from nada to a setting described by 20 or so facts, four fully-statted PCs and 2 NPCs (a villain and an archvillain; the latter, alas, didn't show up in play), and three action-filled, entertaining, hilarious scenes -- complete with immediate adventure resolution and a cliffhanger!

I think PDQ# SpOp ("spop!") is going to be my minimal prep game to run at conventions. I'll type up my notes tonight and try to bash together some simple handouts and forms to fill out to facilitate even speedier play. Then I'll print out a bunch and slap them in a folder to put in my game bag.


SUNDAY
Played a version of the game Fred describes as "the Grateful Dead concert of Indie Gaming" (I'll let him chime in on that when he gets a chance), Ganakagok in the morning, and it was great! Nine of us played the newish "jeepforged" version of the game. The best way I can describe it is that it's a structured, freeform, one-room LARP.

Ryan and I packed up, loaded the car, came back to the Deluxe Apartment in the Sky-y-y to eat something, take showers, and do laundry. Then I drove Ryan back up to Fred's so he could crash there before flying out today. Had a nice long discussion covering much ground, and also got the 411 on the "end of Season 1" D&D4e game I missed on Saturday.

Got home, ordered a pizza for the first time in two weeks, ate, watched Batman: Brave & the Bold (with Bat-Mite! How cool is that?), then did freelance editing into the wee hours. Then I crashed like the Hindenberg.


SUMMARY: Had oodles of fun. Will try to go again next year!]]> http://www.evilhat.com/home/2009/06/camp-nerdly-3-the-blogging/feed/ 0 [s7s] Early Reviews! http://chadu.livejournal.com/721777.html http://chadu.livejournal.com/721777.html#comments Fri, 10 Apr 2009 16:54:01 +0000 Chad Underkoffler http://chadu.livejournal.com/721777.html [info]drivingblind just set up a reviews page on www.7skies.net.

Go give 'em a read!

Oh, and if write one and/or come across one in the wild, drop me a comment here!]]> [info]drivingblind just set up a reviews page on www.7skies.net.

Go give 'em a read!

Oh, and if write one and/or come across one in the wild, drop me a comment here!]]> http://www.evilhat.com/home/2009/04/s7s-early-reviews/feed/ 0