Crystal Shard Cover; more DRAGONSPEAR; a whole barrage of 13TH AGE stuff; and the DUNGEON BASTARD on

Apologies for the lack of news update yesterday - the day was taken up with arranging my trip to GenCon and subsequent visit to San Francisco and San Diego. Today's news might be a little long as a result. Also, please please check out our ZEITGEIST hardcover Kickstarter - we're approaching our next stretch goal, and we'd really love to be able to push forward and produce the subsequent hardcovers!

[h=3]EN World News[/h]

• Rel discusses convention gear in his latest Experience Point article. Are you carrying too much? [HI][threadcm]http://www.enworld.org/forum/showthread.php?337673-Experience-Point-Are-you-using-too-much-gear[/threadcm][/HI]
• We have a review of the PARSEC RPG, a game set 200 years in the future when war and resource depletion ravage humanity and hope exists in the form of an FTL drive to escape a dying world. [HI][threadcm]http://www.enworld.org/forum/showthread.php?337683-PARSEC-RPG-Reaching-for-Stars-Just-Out-of-Reach[/threadcm][/HI]
• Kamikaze Midget discusses giving your character a goal - a concrete thing they want to change abut the world they live in. [HI][threadcm]http://www.enworld.org/forum/showthread.php?337688-Shoot-for-the-Goal[/threadcm][/HI]
• Our second Season of Sexism video (the fake geek girl episode) seems to have inspired a lively discussion! The next episode, covering gaming art, is due on Monday. [HI][threadcm]http://www.enworld.org/forum/showthread.php?337600-Season-of-Sexism-2-The-Fake-Geek-Girl-plus-Origins-Award-Winners-and-Red-Aegis-designer-dream-team![/threadcm][/HI]
• Melody Mooney, who plays Dee in EN World's The Perturbed Dragon animated show, is trying to get votes in Felicia Day's "vlogs" competition. It would be great to get some RPG related content there, and Melody is running Geeklings and Parental Units (one of the events is about parents playing a D&D event, and introducing kids to D&D). Please help her get the position as a vlogger by simply voting - one click and you're done! Thanks!

[h=3]Dungeons & Dragons News[/h]

• The cover for Legacy of the Crystal Shard has been revealed (pictured right). "Legacy of the Crystal Shard allows characters to continue to participate in important events connected to the Sundering and glimpse the future of the Forgotten Realms." It's 96 pages and $34.95, slated for November 19th.
• Into the Pit of Madness #4 by Jason Thompson -- To help celebrate the conclusion of this program, the group tries their hand at the final D&D Lair Assault: Into the Pit of Madness. In this episode, the resurrection of Tharizdun draws near! Within his temple, the Black Cyst, the two heroes struggle desperately against the essence of evil… and the madness that is already inside them…
• Slave Pits of the Undercity by Jason Thompson --"For years, pirates and slavers have raided the Sea of Gearnat and the Wild Coast, heedless of bribes and privateering contracts! We, the lords of Fax, Safeton, Narwell, and Hardby, have gathered information that the slavers' base is in a ruined temple in the lawless city of Highport!"
• Ghosts of Dragonspear Castle Excerpts: Adv 2 -- Another we peek inside Ghosts of Dragonspear Castle. The second adventure in the book's Daggerford campaign begins with the tracking of an elusive Red Wizard of Thay to the ruins of the Ambergul noble estate.
• The Feather Guilds by Ed Greenwood -- Guilds have various functions in the Realms, and Ed discusses a specific set of guilds in this week’s column. Learn more about Feather Guilds and their savvy guildmaster Asplara Flaene.
• The Neverwinter video game is now officially live (as opposed to being in beta).
• In the new D&D Next Q&A Rodney talks about named legendary creatures, legendary encounter building & artifacts. [HI][threadcm]http://www.enworld.org/forum/showthread.php?337701-June-20-Q-amp-A-Legendary-Creature-Questions[/threadcm][/HI]

[h=3]Pathfinder RPG News[/h]

• Author Ed Greenwood interviewed on today's Paizo blog to talk about his new Pathfinder Tales novel, The Wizard's Mask.

[h=3]13th Age News[/h]
There's a lot of 13th Age stuff today, so I've given it its own section.

• The Chamber of Mazarbul talks about expanding rituals in 13th Age.
• A blog post about using 13th Age to introduce kids to RPGs.
• A 13th Age monster statblock generator in Excel and OpenOFfice formats.
• A 13th Age game on a Google Hangout.
• A 13th Age Q&A thread on RPGnet ("sell me on 13th Age").
• New reviews of 13th Age at RPGnet (one, two, three).
• Kobold Press presents some more Midgard Icons for 13th Age. "In our eighth installment we visit the legendary clockwork city at the heart of the Crossroads, to meet an icon born in fire and revolution…"

[h=3]RPG News[/h]

• Star Wars: Edge of the Empire is a game I'm quite excited about (and it appears I'm far from alone!) FFG has posted a new preview from the GM's perspective. Tell me about Star Wars: Edge of the Empire! [HI][threadcm]http://www.enworld.org/forum/showthread.php?337718-Tell-me-about-STAR-WARS-EDGE-OF-EMPIRE[/threadcm][/HI]
• If you backed Monte Cook's Numenera Kickstarter, you should have received a download link for a novella anthology called Tales from the Ninth World. The stories are by Cook and Shanna Germain. [HI][threadcm]http://www.enworld.org/forum/showthread.php?337726-Tales-from-the-Ninth-World[/threadcm][/HI]; also, Numenera's cover was tweeted by Shanna Germain. [HI][threadcm]http://www.enworld.org/forum/showthread.php?337738-Numenera-Cover[/threadcm][/HI]

​

• Shaintar: Legends Unleashed is Sean Patrick Fannon's epic high fantasy setting for the Savage Worlds RPG. It's being Kickstarted right now. (Thank to Jacob for the scoop!)
• The Trellborg Monstrosities by John Houlihan is a standalone adventure for both hardened Call of Cthulhu & Savage Worlds veterans and newcomers alike and is set in 1943 as the tide of war is finally turning against the Nazi war machine.
• Gaming Paper just launched a Kickstarter for a geomorphic mega-dungeon.
• Green Ronin has released a new Mutants & Masterminds SCARE sheet. "They say the dead walk in the bayous of New Orleans, and that everything that happens in the city gets seen—through the eyes of dead pigeons and rats—and gets told to the city's mysterious protector, Hoodoo Mama. They say the dead are her friends, and don't tick her off, unless you want to join them... "
• Read an article on Roleplayer's Chronicle about the design of the Shadowrun 5th Edition cover.

​

[h=3]Dungeons & Dragons and the Influence of Tabletop RPGs[/h]
A PBS-produced short. Since their growth in popularity in the 1970s, RPGs have had a huge influence not just on players, but on everything from Hollywood to the development of video games. Now, In a world dominated by video games and social media, there remains an enduring interest in gathering around a table and playing games face to face. Beyond cards and board games, Role Playing Games allow not just for interaction and play, but the creativity of storytelling, world creation, and engagement with ideas.The adaptability of D&D and other tabletop RPGs can satisfy players in a way that our digital world still cannot, with unique game mechanics and engagement and limitless use of imagination. As tabletop RPGs enjoy a cultural resurgence, more and more people are discovering the freedom and interactivity that makes them unique.

[video=youtube;_7DOzBtadMk]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_7DOzBtadMk[/video]
​

[h=3]Community News[/h]

• It's convention season, and Geek's Dream Girl discusses self-care at coventions.
• Campaign Mastery reveals the truth about organizations in games. or more - institutional secrecy in organzations in games.
• Kobold Press talks about an RPG club in a high school. The principal of Haddon Heights School organized an activity day for students, which included tabletop gaming. "The sessions ranged from chess and Risk to a game of Settlers of Cataan and an old-school superhero roleplaying game."

[h=3]Boardgaming News[/h]

• Play Board Games has reviewed Pick-a-Pig and Pick-a-Dog. These games are both party games in which you must collect the most cards to win. Each card you collect can only contain one difference from the last one you picked up.
• Fantasy Flight Games has posted the rules for Descent: Labyrinth of Ruin on their website for your downloading pleasure.

[h=3]The DUNGEON BASTARD on DRUIDS![/h]
The Dungeon Bastard sneaked out another video while I wasn't looking! This time his subject of choice is druids in a new "Class Warfare" segment.

[video=youtube;l_ro_gNDNa0]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l_ro_gNDNa0[/video]
​