There was a lot of cool stuff going on this year for Free RPG Day. I managed to pick up a couple of different items when Noble Knight Games did their sale for the promotion. I got the Hunter: the Vigil Quickstart from White Wolf Publishing, the Trail of Cthulhu adventure from Pelgrane Press and the Murder at Miskatonic scenario from Skirmisher Publishing.

Not everyone was so lucky…either they did not have a local store that was participating in the event or they missed out on one or more of the items up for grabs. Well, the folks at Skirmisher have posted a new version of Murder at Miskatonic at RPGNow.

Gaming Extravaganza Brings Crowds to Indy for the Annual Convention

It’s that time of year again when gamers are gearing up for Gen Con Indy, the original, longest running and best-attended gaming show in North America. With an estimated 27,000 unique attendees converging on the Indianapolis Convention Center, visitors to Gen Con will immerse themselves in the 6,000+ gaming events and more than 250 exhibits over the four day extravaganza that has become the world’s premier game convention. Starting Thursday morning and running round-the-clock attendees can play their hearts out with fellow enthusiasts and by joining in card games, board games, video games, table top and live-action role-playing games, seminars, films, workshops and so much more. Activities range from interactive game play and computer gaming to big money hobby-related tournaments sponsored by industry leaders Upper Deck Entertainment and Wizards of the Coast. The event will be held August 14-17, 2008 at the Indiana Convention Center in Indianapolis.

The setting for this ‘script’ is negotiation over the surrender of a fortress manned and protected by a contingent of Templars. Also present are merchants from a secret society with a very deadly secret, servants, priests and monks and the forces of the Muslim leader who is demanding surrender.

On the surface this is a parley to determine the exact nature of this surrender and how it is to be conducted but under the surface each faction has their own secret agenda and these intermingle between the various forces at work. It’s a nice, tangled knot of interwoven motivations and goals that should be ideal for a one-off convention-type scenario.

Review by James ‘Grim’ Desborough

Way back in September of last year I wrote a review of the print version of Cthulhu Live 3rd Edition.

Cthulhu Live 3rd Edition is a great book that is an easy-to-read manual with straightforward information and lots of options to enhance or run your LARP. There are plenty of photos of players in costume, as well as props and monsters, to give you a visual feel for how the game could be played. These photos help set the mood of the game, and give ideas for “how-to-build” your own stories. If you are a fan of H.P. Lovecraft or Live Action Role Playing, it would be worth it to buy this book, get together with some friends, and create some tales of your own.

This is a great book and a great improvement on previous editions. For the last several months you could only get the book in print for $20 or so, say on Amazon.com.

Well, finally available is the eBook edition of the Cthulhu Live 3rd Edition core book. You can get it at the Flames Rising RPGNow Shop for only $10.

Sometimes rolling the dice or holding the controller just isn’t enough…This week’s Flash Fire Mini-Reviews will be exploring some of the different Live Action Role Playing options folks have for getting in character and having some fun.

Whether you are part of an ongoing global campaign like the Camarilla or just looking for a fun party game for a few friends, LARP is available in a vareity of products.

For Free RPG Day, Impressions Advertising & Marketing works with hobby game retailers and RPG publishers to bring NEW RPG Quickstart Rules and Adventure Modules into the hands of gamers. Consumers will be able to grab brand new material for a variety of RPGs — no overstock, retail-priced or dead product here. The goal of [...]

Having been a fan of the Cthulhu Mythos and Live Action games for years, I was thrilled when I came across a book that merged the two. I first discovered Cthulhu Live years ago in its 2nd Edition format and had a blast running the game, creating characters and designing plot hooks for players. I had a lot of fun with the game and was really excited when I heard there was a 3rd Edition in the works.

White Wolf’s Mind’s Eye Theatre challenges us to enter a world just beyond the mortal senses, to look into the shadowy mirror of ourselves and find a world populated by the supernatural — vampires, mages, and others wage an eternal battle for dominance and survival. Choose your role in this World of Darkness … are you a defender of humanity, or a predator of the night?

What is “LARP?” How do I design a “LARP?” As a GM, how is this different from tabletop gaming? The book of LARP, written by a team of writers, sets out to answer those and several other questions. Written for the novice or beginner LARPer, the book sets out to direct interested players on all aspects of a LARP game.

“The Age of Romance and Gothic Elegance” proclaims the first line on the back of Vampire by Gaslight, and the Victorian era certainly seems tailored to be the Age of the Vampire. No other period in human history seems to suit the proclivities of the Kindred more than the end of the nineteenth century, and so the expansion of White Wolf’s Minds Eye Theatre into this complex and rich historical period is both welcome and daunting.

A World thrown completely out of balance calls out for a defender and sets the stage for White Wolf’s continuation of the Mind’s Eye Theatre (MET) line.

Drawing on themes as old as civilization itself, Laws of the Resurrection hearkens back to the myths and legends of ancient Egypt to offer to players the role of a truly immortal protector of the world, a Mummy. Born of the fusion of ancient knowledge with modern souls, these creatures, known as Amenti, carry out the sacred law of Ma’at, bringing balance and order to a chaotic world.

In the game The Shining Host, you play a fae trapped in a mortal shell, destined to roam earth in search of dreams, and cast out of your true home, Arcadia. You can still make illusions real, though as time wears on you, it becomes harder and harder. But with the onset of civilization, true artists are hard to find, and the inspiration there once was for fantasy is fading. Personal tragedy is hidden because it is disbelief, making it a tougher, yet more interesting game to follow. As reality becomes more prevalent, your world fades.

Faith and Fire also brings to the reader a sense of character through its writing. MET’s writers did a tremendous job clearly expressing how to play in the Dark Ages by using a second person voice. You will feel drawn into the medieval world as a player, before you have the chance to pick up your character sheet. While the Clan text was extremely intriguing and well-written, you will find yourself distracted by the artwork. However, the writing is straightforward, and definitely worthy of a careful read. Overall, Faith and Fire’s text was edited well, and intriguing throughout.

Cthulhu Live is set in the universe of eldritch horror created by Howard Phillips Lovecraft. Cthulhu Live is a theater-gaming experience of horror, action and suspense. The participants are both actors and audience. The game is a full evening’s worth of fun every time it is played.

LARP (Live Action Role Playing) offers players a chance to get into costume, test their acting skills and interact with many more characters than the standard tabletop game usually entails. Several different LARP games are available; Cthulhu Live remains one of the most widely played in several countries.

Rich talks to us about his work on Wraith: the Oblivion, Orpheus and other products from White Wolf Game Studio.

Bruce talks to about writing the last of the Mage: the Ascension novels, developing the Mind’s Eye Theatre line of LARP products and lots of other dark and dreary projects.

The creator of Cthulhu Live discusses Lovecraft fiction and Live Action Role Playing. We also discuss the rise of video games and their affect on “traditional” games.