SPECIAL NOTE: We are very pleased (ecstatic even!) to be able to announce that our very own steeley-eyed missile man – Jack Clemons – has sold the memoir of his days with NASA’s Apollo and Space Shuttle programs. Safely To Earth will soon be released by the University Press of Florida. Much of the material for the book first appeared here on Amazing Stories (you can read some of them here.) Congratulations, Jack!
NEWSLETTERS & PRESS RELEASES (see full text below) (catching up, some items may be a little dated)
Michael J. Sullivan; District of Wonders; SFWA; Krypton Radio; Pro Se Productions; Haffner Press; Signum University; RPG Net; FANAC.Org; Perehelion SF; Quantum Muses (2x); World Fantasy Association; WSFA-Cathy Green; RPGNet; Modern PR
SOCIAL
Fans Can Disagree AND Get Along
One Judge in Texas and the law just crumbles (sing to One Night in Bangkok
How to Destroy the Fake News Business Model
What it Looks Like to Leave Earth After the Election
Resistant to All Treatments Bacteria in US
ENTERTAINMENT
Star Trek Discovery: as if you didn’t already know
Roddenberry’s Vault now on BluRay
Han’s Murderer to “explore his humanity”
Batman Cat…or…Bruce Wayne was really a feline?
Frazetta Family Featured on First Episode of Strange Inheritance
INDUSTRY
Pulse Nightclub Memorial Poetry Anthology
Beneath Ceaseless Skies 212 Available
Who owns who (the Big 5) (via File 770)
SCIENCE
Washington could not have crossed this Delaware
Rocky Mountain High…high, high, high
PRESS RELEASES & NEWSLETTERS
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RPGnet Newsletter #82
January 3, 2017
Introduction
Happy New Year! Weve got a fair bit to catch up on from the end of last year and, as always, were looking for your input on how to improve the Newsletter to make it more useful or entertaining. Please PM the Newsletter Editor (Iustum) with any questions, criticisms, or suggestions.
In particular, the Newsletter is always looking for suggestions on RPG-related Kickstarter (or other crowdfunding) campaigns to cover in our Kickstarter Spotlight column.
New Columns
The closing weeks of 2016 brought two new editions of Christopher Cecils Fuzzy Thinking: The Horde Approaches and Dice Efficiency.
Jonathan Hicks made some more Observations From A Gamer’s Chair, all about how Preparation is the Key when it comes to a successful gaming experience.
Maybe a little late now in this post-holiday world, but Sandy Antunes offered thoughts on The Last Minute Gift for the Gamer in your Life in the latest Sandy’s Soapbox.
The Lawful GM, Kirk Johnson-Weider, considered the role of Dealmaking in a politically-centered RPG campaign.
And, Fred Furtado of Superseeds continued his Wild Cards history update in Resuffle, Part 2.
New Reviews
Okaydeep breath now: weve got a lot of new Reviews to cover:
RPGnets own Shannon Appelcline reviewed The Manhattan Project: Energy Empire, a new worker-placement game in the Manhattan Project line with some innovative mechanics and excellent production.
Shannon also checked out Salvation Road, a post-apocalyptic co-op game with nice theming and some clever mechanics that’s a low slow in the end-game.
After that was a bunch of board game reviews from Antonios S:
- Star Trek: Ascendancy, a 4x board game with tremendous production value but somewhat slow-moving gameplay.
- Olympos, a civ-building boardgame that can satisfy that civ-building itch in only 90 minutes.
- Forsaken Lore, the first small expansion for the Eldritch Horror game line, which is an indispensable addition to the already-great base game.
- Strange Remnants, the second small expansion for the Eldritch Horror game line, which brings both some new rules and a new theme.
- Mansions Of Madness (Second Edition), the reimagining of the internationally acclaimed collaborative horror board game, which improves on both the production and rules of the original.
- T.I.M.E Stories, the hybrid boardgame/RPG/PC adventure made for tabletop gaming that created a new gaming niche, but may not be for everyone.
- The Colonists, a resource management, city building and worker movement game that is deep, engaging, and epic in both scope and time commitment.
- Mission To Mars 2049, a nicely produced family game built upon a modern theme but with mechanics that show their age.
- Incorporated, a bidding and worker placement boardgame that simulates economic warfare that is brilliantly themed, with mechanics that fit and a cutthroat feeling that only those shorting in the stock exchange have felt in such tension.
- Hold The Line: The American Revolution, an introductory plastic miniatures wargame that is is easy, fast, entertaining and visually pleasing.
- And, an expansion to it: Hold The Line: The French & Indian War, which will provide dozens of hours of entertainment to aficionados of Hold The Line, even though at the listed price the payment to entertainment ratio is nowhere near favourable.
Antonios S then rounded things off with reviews of a couple of RPG products. First was Heroes Of Magnamund: Expanded Character Handbook, the Lone Wolf Adventure Games first confident step towards becoming a fully-fledged RPG.
He also examined the Adventures In Middle-Earth: Player’s Guide, a fantastic merger of the Middle Earth setting and Fifth Edition Dungeons and Dragons.
Threads You Might Have Missed
2016 was widely considered to be a sub-optimal year. But now It’s 2017! What’s coming out that you’re excited about?
Keeping the positivity going, lets have some RPG news in the style of The Onion.
Having problems with your PCs Plan A being the immediate murder of any NPC obstacle? Check out some tips on Conflict design that doesnt end in full murdering.
Sign Off
Have a good week, everyone.
- Iustum
Newsletter Editor
***
Happy Holidays, and Happy New Year to all.
To brighten up the long dark days of Winter, may we suggest some Fannish cheer? On offer: videos, audios, and newly scanned vintage fanzines. The Fan History Project has been moving right along.
FANAC FanHistory Youtube Channel: The big news thish is in video & audio. We’re starting to get some notice. Cory Doctorow picked up on our posting of the mid-80s fannish mystery “FAANS” to the FANAC Youtube channel, and wrote about it for BoingBoing.net. The MAC Video Archeology Project contributed some choice pieces of 1976 video, including a truly entertaining interview with Alfred Bester. The interview has had more than 700 views and FAANs is up over 400.
Older convention material is usually audio. Another really interesting Youtube entrant is the audio recording (with photos attached) of a panel from the 1968 Worldcon, Baycon, on which panelists tell personal anecdotes about HP Lovecraft and Robert E. Howard. Today we tell stories about those panelists – Robert Bloch, Ed Hamilton, Fritz Leiber and more. Ever wondered how the old timers like Jack Williamson got started in SF? He tells us the story in his SunCon Guest of Honor speech, now on the channel. Let us know what you think about these pieces, and what you’d like to see. We’re just 18 subscribers short of the number needed to get a vanity URL from Youtube. Till then, you can find more than 40 audio and video recordings, from 1968 to 2004, at our channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCbp3AN0f2gEcBZJwKTff-Og Check it out. I’ll put some more links on the bottom of this note. Subscribe to the channel! Then you’ll get a notification when we put up new pieces.
FANAC.ORG website: Our Newszine History Project is still going strong. Since our last update, we have added 200 new issues. We still have 100s more to do and could certainly use some help with missing issues. We’re not ignoring the rest of the fan publishing world though – we’re adding some choice fanzine titles, like Greg Benford and Ted White’s 1950s VOID and Dave Kyle’s 1930s Fantasy World (credited with being one of the first comics fanzines).
FANCYCLOPEDIA 3: The Fancyclopedia.org project (Fancy 3) continues to document our fannish history. Since the end of September, Fancy 3 has added about 1,900 new pages, covering mostly filk, conventions and fanzines. Several new editors have been added, and more are always welcome. Right now, we’d especially like to get more information on clubs past and present. If you were a member of an SF club and it’s not listed in Fancy 3 (or the listing is meager) you can help us expand it. Remember, we don’t need polished text — even one additional fact will help. Contact us at fancy3@baskerville.org to become an editor or to supply information.
Travelling Fan History: As you know, we were at Worldcon. If you were at Philcon, you may have seen us there, manning a table and being part of the Dave Kyle memorial events. We’re planning to be at more regionals in the coming year, starting with Boskone. Our goal is twofold: first, to let people know about the Fan History resources we’ve assembled, and second, to solicit materials and volunteers. This is a group effort, guys. The Baycon materials were brought to us by Tom Whitmore, the SunCon speeches are from Anne Davenport, FAANs came courtesy of Stephen Silver and Joel Zakem, and the Video Archeology effort has heavy lifting by David Dyer-Bennet and Geri Sullivan. We’ll put a list of contributors on the web page. Join us — what materials do YOU have?
There’s more. We’ve added photos and fanzines and convention publications. In the next few months, we’ll be providing you with material from Baycon, Heicon, Loncon II, Aussiecon and also from many local conventions. But the real success for us has been that people have offered all kinds of new material to us and especially to help us find and preserve more to be able to acquire new material to archive and bring to you including –audio, video, fanzines and convention publications.
Thanks for your interest in fan history. Those who don’t know fan history may not be condemned to repeat it, but those that do are surely enriched by the knowing.
Regards…Joe Siclari
Selected Links:
Fanac.org – https://www.fanac.org
Fancyclopedia 3 – https://fancyclopedia.org/
Fanac Youtube channel
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCbp3AN0f2gEcBZJwKTff-Og
FAANs https://youtu.be/YI_6LT8cn9E
Bester Interview https://youtu.be/0j1mFt5GyHg
Baycon Lovecraft panel https://youtu.be/g5DG_EGJn1Q
Cory Doctorow article
https://boingboing.net/2016/12/16/faans-a-fannish-mystery-humo.html
SunCon Guest of Honor speeches
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WK8WmnasPX0&t=9s
Fanzines
Newszine list (chronological)
https://www.fanac.org/fanzines/newszines.html
VOID https://www.fanac.org/fanzines/VOID/
Fantasy World https://www.fanac.org/fanzines/Fantasy_World/
You are receiving this because you expressed interest or contributed. To contribute or even unsubscribe write to fanac@fanac.org .
***
I’m advertising eligibility for the Nebula Award, as I’ve got a hard SF story that’s on the recommended reading list this year. It’s “Only a Signal Shown” published in Perihelion. It’s a little different. If you’d like to have a look, here’s the link: https://www.perihelionsf.com/1609/fiction_8.htm
| Perihelion Science Fiction
Science fiction online magazine with stories, articles, and artwork. |
***
Wow, new Years must have hit harder than I thought. The January issue of Quantum Muse has been up since the first, but we’re just getting around to announcing it now at www.quantummuse.com.
Our featured artist is Amir Zand and we have an interview with Kim Harrison.
Also, starting this week we will be presenting specail offers from Quantum Muse Books. Stay tuned.
January is our Best of 2016, so please enjoy this really good batchof stories.
Technical Singularity by Richard Tornello Julie 5 by Michele Dutcher Katya And The Crow by Harris Tobias The Hedged Bet by Michael Bishop The Raven by Iain Henson Samantha Berg and the Averted Adventure by James Turnbull
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Quantum Muse
Hello all. Quantum Muse has created a small press named Quantum Muse Books. We are attempting to have weekly specials. Read below for this week’s offer.
On Quantum Muse this week, we have a discussion going on about, Best hidden and alternative realities?
The weekly flash fiction is Joy by Harris Tobias.
The offer from Quantum Muse Books (QMB) is for a free ebook, Digital Voodoo by Timothy O. Goyette. Go to Amazon to get your copy.
Best wishes from your friends at Quantum Muse.
***
Peter Dennis Pautz, President
World Fantasy Awards Association
8050 Mukilteo Speedway, # 43; Mukilteo, WA 98275-0043; USA
SFExecSec@gmail.com
2017 World Fantasy Awards Judges
*Elizabeth Engstrom 298 Hambletonian Drive, Eugene, OR 97401; USA; EngstromWF@gmail.com
§ **Daryl Gregory 3124 Sylvan Avenue; Oakland, CA 94602-3956; USA; darylgregory+wfc@gmail.com
*Nalo Hopkinson 1447 7th Street #1; Riverside, CA 92507-4510; USA; hopkinson.wfa@gmail.com
§ *Juliet Marillier PO Box 189; Guildford WA 6935; Australia; world.fantasy.marill@gmail.com
*Betsy Mitchell 884 Lincoln Pl., Brooklyn NY 11213: USA; betsymitchell.editorial@gmail.com
(Judge Mitchell greatly prefers PDF submissions)
(Judging is often easier with hard copies, but those judges marked with an * can accept pdfs; ** can accept mobi; *** both; § can accept ePub)
Co-Chairs: Renee Babcock and Jonathan Miles; chair@wfc2017.org
World Fantasy Convention 2017; PO Box 29976; Austin, TX 78755
Dear Colleague:
The judges for the 2017 World Fantasy Awards, for work published in 2016, have now been empanelled. The judges read and consider eligible materials between the date of this letter and June 1, 2017, so it is desirable for them to receive materials between now and June 1, the earlier the better. If, for instance, something is received on May 31 the judges may well have only one day to read it before their deliberations conclude. Anything received after June 1 will receive little or no consideration.
The awards will be presented at the convention, to be held Thursday, November 2 through Sunday, November 5, 2017, at the Wyndham Riverwalk, 111 East Pecan Street; San Antonio, TX 78205; USA; 210-354-2800.
An attending membership costs $225, which does not include the Awards Banquet, tickets for which must be purchased separately. Banquet tickets will be available in July. Information and forms can be found on the convention website at https://wfc2017.org/wfc2017/
If you have any materials that you wish to be considered by the panel, please send them directly to the addresses above, and very importantly, please mark all packages as PROMOTIONAL MATERIALS – NOT FOR SALE OR RESALE – NO COMMERCIAL VALUE — WORLD FANTASY AWARDS MATERIALS. Also, please make sure to send a file copy of all materials to my office at the address above so a comprehensive submission list may be kept. This is the how we ensure the judges have received eligible items, and you can be sure that your work has been given fair attention.
Qualifications: All books must have been published in 2016; magazines must have a 2016 cover date; only living authors and editors are eligible.
Fantasy Types: All forms of fantasy are eligible, e.g. high, epic, dark, contemporary, literary.
Categories: Life Achievement; Best Novel; Best Novella (10,001 to 40,000 words); Best Short Story; Best Anthology; Best Collection; Best Artist; Special Award Professional; Special Award Non Professional.
Please note that the nominees in the Life Achievement category will not be released, though the winners will be announced well before the awards banquet.
All questions pertaining to the convention should be directed to the Convention Chair.
Questions concerning eligibility, the judges, and the awards administration may be sent to my attention.
Once again, the World Fantasy Awards Administration and the convention are most pleased to be working with you. With your continued good will and support, we shall successfully uphold the already prestigious reputation of the World Fantasy Awards.
As always, thank you very much for your time, and for your assistance.
Respectfully,
Pete Pautz
***
The Washington (DC) Science Fiction Association (WSFA) is pleased to announce that the submission period for the 2017 WSFA Small Press Award is now open and will close on April 2, 2017.
The WSFA Small Press Award honors the efforts of small press publishers in providing a critical venue for short fiction in the area of speculative fiction. The award showcases the best original short fiction published by small presses in the previous year (2016). An unusual feature of the selection process is that all voting is done with the identity of the author (and publisher) hidden so that the final choice is based solely on the quality of the story.
The winner is chosen by the members of the Washington Science Fiction Association and presented at their annual convention, Capclave, held this year on October 6-8 in Gaithersburg, Maryland.
Submissions should be sent to admin@wsfasmallpressaward.org
See our webpage https://wsfasmallpressaward.org/The_Rules.php for details.
Cathy Green
for WSFA Small Press Award Committee
Award Sponsored by Washington Science Fiction Association and
Capclave — Where Reading is not Extinct
https://www.capclave.org
https://www.wsfasmallpressaward.org
***
RPGnet Newsletter #83
January 10, 2017
Quick Kickstarter Spotlight
Andrew Ragland, Line Developer for FASA’s pulpy Victorian RPG 1879, dropped us a line to let us know that the Kickstarter campaign for the 1879 Gamemaster’s Guide Art & Print is nearing its closing date (January 15, 2017).
This campaign is interesting in that it isn’t designed to fund the creation of an RPG or even a particularly RPG book – the Gamemaster’s Guide is already written, and the only thing that it needs to become a finished product is art and the related printing costs.
If you’re interested in 1879 – and it’s worth a look if you’re into fantasy historical RPGs – take a look at the 1879 Gamemaster’s Guide Art & Print while there’s still time.
New Columns
Let’s start things off with a look back: Shannon Appelcline of Advanced Designers & Dragons brought us “2016: The Year in Review.”
Christopher Cecil also dropped a new Fuzzy Thinking: “Rongar the Mighty!”
And, last but not least, Christopher Herde continued Our Story by “Throwing the Gauntlet” with a discussion of dueling and how you can integrate it into your RPG campaign.
New Reviews
Matthew McFarland kicked the week off with a look at “Stoytime Chimera,” a fantasy RPG for children that isn’t as simple or focused as it wants to be.
Antonios S kept things going with a look at two game accessories: the “Galactic Star Battle Organizer,” an organizer for the Battlestar Galactica board game, and the “Cosmic Organizer,” a similar organizer for Cosmic Encounter. Both are solid, though not perfect, game aids for their respective games.
Antonios S also reviewed “Chromosome,” an asymmetrical tactical boardgame that is cleverly-themed, though without much in the way of mechanical innovation.
Antonios S continued with a look at “Adrenaline,” a one-hour tabletop resource management game in the guise of a shoot ’em up that is simple, easy, and light-hearted but no joke.
IdiotSavant reviewed “On Display,” a short, lightweight LARP which is an excellent introduction for new players.
Arquette reviewed “Dungeon of the Endless,” a hybrid rogue and tower defense computer game that makes something greater than the two genres alone.
Then, Antonios S was back with a review of the World War Cthulhu supplement “World War Cthulhu London,” which increases the line’s capacity multifold, allowing it to channel non-military campaigns in the home front.
Finally, Antonios S looked at “Shadows Over Scotland,” a supplement for Cthulhu Britannica that is one of the strongest products of the Cthulhu Britannica line.
Threads You Might Have Missed
Rather than select particular threads, this week Yr. Humble Editor is going to plug his favorite part of RPGnet: the Play-by-Post sub-fora. Having trouble finding an in-person group? Want to run a certain campaign or system but can’t get your normal table to bite? Have a hankering to try out a system? Stop by the Roleplay-By-Post Meta Forum – there are always games recruiting players, players recruiting GMs, and everything in between.
And, if you’re interested in what a PbP game looks like, or you’d like some information on some of the PbP’s more prolific GMs, check out the Index of Games Past on the RPGnet wiki. Many PbP GMs have provided links to their prior (or, in some cases, current) games. This is probably the most efficient way to get a flavor for what RPGnet PbP looks like in practice.
If you want to get some more roleplaying in, and have a few minutes a day at a computer to post, RPGnet’s PbP subforums are for you.
Sign Off
Have a good week, everyone.
- Iustum
Newsletter Editor
***
I’m getting in touch as we thought you might like our latest film, Sulphur.
It merges documentary and horror, diving head first into the ceremonial weirdness of bonfire night in Lewes, Sussex. An annual event of ritual, anti-catholicism, errant fireworks and some healthy hostility between locals and outsiders.
You can see it here: https://vimeo.com/196164800
The shoot involved sending two crews and two actors into the furnace to explore the peccadilloes and darker dimensions of our odd, English folk traditions.
Sulphur was directed by Christopher Ian Smith, whose short films have played at festivals across the world. His feature documentary New Town Utopia (www.newtownutopia.com) is Exec Produced by Margaret Matheson (Scum, Sid and Nancy, Sleep Furiously) and due for completion in Feb 2017.
It was edited by audiovisual master Xavier Perkins (Exceeda), with a music score by analogue hauntologist Concretism (https://concretism.bandcamp.com/).
If you would like to chat with the director Chris I’m sure he’d be happy to tell you more.
Thanks
Nelly Crane
