Tyler Dion at the Held Action blog picked up on my posts about D&D in the scouts, and covered the subject much better than I did, uncovering some more info on the UK scout badge, as well as finding a great blog post by a scoutmaster who introduced his troops to D&D:

I will never forget the first game I hosted. Two of the Boy Scouts played. We created their characters and began the game, which only lasted for fifteen minutes before those characters were killed by monsters. I learned a lot about being a game master during that short time. I had managed the game by the rule books. I needed to use the books more as guidelines and fit them to the gameplay. Once I began doing that the games lasted longer and they were more fun. More boys wanted to get in on the action. Nearly 100 boys have played in my world during the last thirty years.

Previous posts on scouts and RPGs:
A REAL D&D merit badge
UK scout recognized for organizing a D&D club

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This Saturday (June 19th) is Free RPG Day, when RPG publishers offer free adventures and quickstart rules at game retailers all over the world.

Visit the official site at freerpgday.com, and you can find a location near you on their Retailer Locator page.

(And speaking of RPG-themed holidays, the next Read an RPG Book in Public Week is almost a month away. Time to start thinking about what you're going to get caught reading this summer!)

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In response to my previous post on scouting badges, Escapist reader Darrell Impey wrote in with the following:

You know, there was a time when the UK Scouting hobbies badge was sponsored by D&D, there's even one available on ebay at the moment...
(eBay link)

And here is a picture that I grabbed, in case the eBay page gets taken down:



I still like my roleplaying advocacy badge a bit better, but it's good to know that some UK scouts were able to display their geek pride this way.

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CNN brings us a piece on Dungeons & Dragons Encounters, a series of pre-packaged characters and adventures produced by Wizards of the Coast, designed to bring new players to the hobby, and maybe even bring some of the lapsed players back.

Wizards of the Coast, the current publishers of D&D, recognized that some of the 24 million people who used to play the game left, not because they didn't want to play, but because their lifestyles changed and they didn't have the time anymore — so they have created a new rules system to address those concerns and bring back their former fans.

The new "D&D Encounters" provides all the materials needed to run a D&D game, but in a relatively short period of time. The goal, said brand director Liz Schuh, is to get those former gamers rolling the dice again.

Despite how you may feel about fourth edition D&D, it's always nice to see positive press for the hobby, especially from such a big name as CNN - and even better, it is delivered without any of the old urban legends.


Full article here: Dungeons & Dragons tries to lure back players

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In a piece on blogcritics.org, Glenn Contrarian uses the Dungeons & Dragons alignment system to discusses political morality: Dungeons and Dragons...and Morality in the Modern Political World


(This column has been posted due to its relevance to the roleplaying hobby. Flamewars on the political aspects of this column are not welcome. Thank you.)

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First, the bad - The Guardian has a piece on the 40th anniversary of Chick comics that gives a brief mention to the infamous Dark Dungeons tract. It even has a cute title. Read it here: The Prints of Darkness.

Now, the good - artist Nick Edwards has created a comic on the Ins, Outs, Dos, and Don'ts of LARPing. Read it here - LARP: What Is It?

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Kotaku recently published a nifty timeline of social games from 3100 BC to the present, and Dungeons & Dragons gets a special mention:

1974 was perhaps the most important year in modern game history; this is when Dungeons and Dragons came to market. It integrated the ideas of abstracting tactical combat along with storytelling and a unique social aspect in which individual players used their imagination and creativity to contribute to the ongoing game. From D&D, you can trace a history through early mainframe computer games, to MUDs (multiuser dungeons) to MMORPGs such as World of Warcraft.

Read the full article and see the chart here: kotaku.com/5548105/history-of-social-games

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This story from NetworkWorld about Japanese choose-your-own-adventure textbooks hit my inbox yesterday:

Japanese news outfit Asahi reports that Namco Bandai — the Japanese role-playing game powerhouse behind the Tales series — and textbook publisher Gakko Tosho have a partnership to produce textbooks laced with JRPG elements. The new textbooks in development for math, science, and language arts will hit classrooms as early as next spring.

It sounds like Namco Bandai is layering a choose-your-own adventure into the basic work/textbooks most students use in elementary school. Students follow an RPG storyline by, say, solving math problems and each right answer nets them a key. Scoring enough keys wins the student some kind of prize — but it's not clear if the prize is contained within the book or something physical the teacher distributes. It could be pretty entertaining edutainment if it's not too easy to cheat the game like you can with most choose-your-own adventures.

Because Namco Bandai is behind it, most people will connect this with video games - but it's much more like a tabletop RPG than anything else, and with a carefully planned format and teacher's guide, there wouldn't be any real concerns over students "cheating" the game. There are a lot of cues that could be taken from existing RPGs that would expand and improve upon this idea.

This could be an incredible teaching tool that inspires kids to learn through roleplaying. It would be really nice to see Wizards of the Coast attempt something like this here in the US.

Of course, we wouldn't have to wait around for WotC, would we? Pretty much anyone could take the initiative on something like this... (nudge, nudge)

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Michelle Drury from Middle Tennessee State University's Department of Psychology is doing some research on the benefits that tabletop games (including RPGs) may have on social development, and she could really use your help.

Here's more from Ms. Drury, from a post on the CAR-PGa forum:

"My goal is to show that non-computer/non-console gaming (i.e., RPGs, tabletop games, CCGs, etc.) is beneficial to social development. Both organizations sound amazing and just what I need. I have two versions of the survey: for computer/console gamers, and for non-computer/non-console gamers. Obviously people do both, so I ask that people fill out the form based on what they predominantly engage in."

Ms. Drury is hoping to receive 3000 responses of each survey, but currently has only about 10 percent of that. You can help her out by visiting her page and filling out one or both of them:

Tabletop games: http://sites.google.com/site/drurygamingsurvey/
Console games: http://sites.google.com/site/drurycomputergamingsurvey/

For more information, you can contact Michelle Drury at

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Yesterday, heavy metal icon Ronnie James Dio passed away after a six-month battle with stomach cancer. Through his long career, Dio sang for Elf, Rainbow, Black Sabbath (later reunited as Heaven and Hell), and his own self-titled band Dio.

This has virtually nothing to do with roleplaying, except for the fact that many of the articles covering his passing have made mention of his appeal to Dungeons & Dragons players - such as these pieces from NJ.com, MTV.com, and waaf.com.

And, I have to admit, I am a very big fan. His larger-than-life vocals and fantasy-inspired lyrics were frequently the backdrop to my early years as a roleplayer, and I'm pretty sure I had a character or campaign at one time or another that was based on one of his songs.

Rest in peace, Ronnie, and thank you for the soundtrack to so many of my adventures.

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My good friend Stormbringer has created a forum at the Citadel of Chaos for newbie gamers who are interested in getting involved in old-school RPGs.

If you're a newbie who wants to kick it old-school, or a grognard who'd like to help bring in some new blood, visit Hall of Apprenticeship at http://www.citadelofchaos.net/forum/forumdisplay.php?fid=86

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The latest Tell Me About Your Character interview is up - please welcome Peter Cobcroft from Canberra!

Want to join in the fun? Submit yours today! Find out how on the Tell Me About Your Character page.

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Today is my birthday, and what better way to celebrate it than making a post about the presents I got from my best friend Henry?

Like any good best friend, Henry always seems to find appropriate birthday presents. This year, he gave me a shirt with hot rods and guitars all over it, a DVD set of Blacula and Scream, Blacula, Scream, and a 700-page book by Walter Martin called The Kingdom of the Occult.

It's a very detailed tome on the myriad of occultic threats that we face every day, from Scientology and Satanic cults to Shirley MacClaine and MMORPGs (which they incorrectly consider the Doom games to be). The cover flap tells me that the author passed away in 1989, but judging from the references to Avatar: The Last Airbender, Charmed, The Da Vinci Code, and Harry Potter, and the fact that it has a publication date of 2008, I figure there's been quite a bit of ghostwriting going on.

Of course, any such book worth its salt would have to include a reference to roleplaying games. Dungeons & Dragons gets two brief mentions in the book, one of which is a "case study" of a woman who experienced some supernatural phenomena in her house after her husband began playing D&D:



Keep those warning signs in mind - if your windows are rattling and the basement people start hating you, it may be time to get rid of your gaming books and dice.

The other reference bugs me a bit, however:



Actually, that is incorrect. I have given very much thought to what I am sharing with others when I offer to let them try roleplaying. If I knew for a moment that I was sharing something dangerous with my friends, my daughters, or the kids that I run adventure games for at conventions every year, then I wouldn't do it. There is no "spiritual deceit" here. Only good, honest fun, that you really needn't be afraid of.

Even the basement people can tell you that.

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Recently, word got out that the Cub Scouts were offering a new achievement award that scouts could earn: Video Games.

This was met with more than a little bit of grumbling from bloggers and columnists, who complained about how in their day, the Scouts used to promote healthy outdoor activities, but were now handing out merit badges for high scores. (Some even displayed their ignorance by calling it a Boy Scout Merit Badge, which it isn't.)

After a moment or two of pondering over the subject, I figured there had to be more to the story. The Scouts wouldn't offer an award for just playing video games. I was willing to bet there would be something more substantial to earning the achievement, such as understanding the video game rating system, and budgeting the amount of time spent playing them.

As it turns out, I hit the nail on the head. Here are the three basic requirements for the award, courtesy of Wired GeekDad:

1. Explain why it is important to have a rating system for video games. Check your video games to be sure they are right for your age.
2. With an adult, create a schedule for you to do things that includes your chores, homework, and video gaming. Do your best to follow this schedule.
3. Learn to play a new video game that is approved by your parent, guardian, or teacher.

As usual, the facts won't hinder anyone from expressing their outrage - but for the rational thinkers among us, it's good to know they're available.

So why am I mentioning this on a blog that has to do with analog RPGs, and not video games? Well, a little heart-warmer hit my inbox today that reminded me of this mini-controversy. A scout from the UK has recently been recognized for doing something positive in his community, and wouldn't you know it, it involves roleplaying games:

A Fenland teenager, who set up one club for young people and helps run two more, has been nominated for Cambridgeshire Constabulary Young People of the Year. Eighteen-year-old Philip Taylor, of Benwick, was nominated for giving up his spare time to set up a games club and help run his local Scouts and Beavers.

As a nominee for YOPEY, Philip is in with a chance of winning the top prize of £1,000 from a prize pot of £3,000 put up by the police and the other sponsors including Spicers, EACS and Dialight.

Philip set up a model war-gaming club in the Benwick Village Hall two years ago which meets fortnightly.

Anyone is invited to the club and it gives somewhere for local youngsters to go and learn how to play such fantasy games as Warhammers and Dungeons and Dragons.

Philip said: "It is a chance for people to come and learn a new game. It is also better than hanging around on the streets as it gives the young people something fun to do in a safe environment.

Read more here: [article | archive]

Creating a club to keep kids out of trouble is worthy of a scout award, and it's likely that the scout organization has one that they should give to Mr. Taylor. But it's not very likely that they offer an RPG Advocacy badge, for encouraging young people to get involved in a hobby that will keep them out of trouble and benefit them creatively and socially, while simultaneously demonstrating those benefits to the public.

So, being the geek that I am, I made one myself, just for Mr. Taylor:


Wear it with pride, my good man.


(CORRECTION: Looks like I made an error in that image. Boy Scout merit badges are round, not triangular, like the Cub Scout achievement badges are. My apologies.)

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My partner Paula is watching an episode of the television show Bones as I write this, and in it, the main characters are investigating the death of a socially awkward teenager who was part of what seems to be some sort of LARP group.

I'm not a big fan of these sorts of shows, so I have to confess I'm not paying too much attention. (It's not really helping that the LARPers are portrayed as antisocial and hostile to authority, and there are incessant references to "losing grip on reality.") But one of the questions that is getting asked frequently is "Why do these people do this?"

And that struck me as a great theme for a resource page for the site, for those outsiders to the hobby who would like to know more about it - Why do we roleplay? What do we get out of it, beyond simple entertainment?

I have a few ideas of my own, but I'd like to get some input from you as well. Then I'll compile everything into a new resource page for the site. Post your answers in comments, or drop me an email. And thanks in advance!

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