CAR-PGa Newsletter February 2021

CAR-PGa NEWSLETTER

Vol. 30, No. 2

An international network of researchers into all aspects of role-playing games

February 2021

David Millians, Editor

Paideia School, 1509 Ponce de Leon Avenue, Atlanta, Georgia 30307 USA

millians.david@paideiaschool.org

LETTER FROM THE CHAIR

Hello All,

I'm pleased to report that we had our first board meeting for the new year this month and we've come up with several recommendations to expand the CAR-PGA's membership and activities. All of these details are in our annual report, which is one of the outputs of our meeting. You can view the annual report here. 

But more importantly, we're hoping to enlist you in getting others to join us. We have several fans but not nearly as many members, and we'd like to change that. To that end, we've included a sample letter you can send to anyone who you think might be a good fit. If you'd rather write your own letter, be sure to send them to https://car-pga.org/join-us.

Finally, we're going to launch a virtual series of meetings to further our own understanding of role-playing and keep you all in the loop on the status of our organization. Hawke Robinson has graciously agreed to be our first guest, so look for that invitation soon.

I hope you're excited as I am about the opportunity to engage with the RPG community, but we can't do it without your help. Everything we've been working on this past year has built up to this moment, and now it's time to take things to the next level. 

I'm ready. Let's go!

Mike

Chair

ARTICLE

Digital Document Project

By Hawke Robinson

Unfortunately, due to COVID, the team of archivists that were starting to work hands-on with the Cardwell Archives we acquired, stopped coming to the location where the archives are stored until they feel safe going anywhere. They are not leaving their homes or allowing anyone to come to their location or bring such large quantity of materials to their location.

We are trying as quickly as we can to recruit new volunteers to handle these archives, but it will be a month or two before we have them onboarded, trained, and moving along again.

I also just brought online the core software we will be putting all of the research and museum archives into, Collection Space museum archive open source software, that will make it possible in the future to get access to all these electronically instead of the manual analog process it has been for Cardwell's collection previously. While this means it will be a learning curve getting it all working and scanned in, it will help everyone in the future to find research materials much more quickly with more scalable access within the limitations of copyright laws regarding research archives and museum public access.

Unfortunately, I and everyone else on our team is completely overloaded right now with merging the old archives, trying to keep up with the research and community programs, working on the PBS RPG training programs, getting the RPG.Education online learning platform back online, finishing the RPG Workbook, and all the new staff training.

Lend a hand!

Volunteer position listings are here https://www.rpgresearch.com/volunteer and here https://www.rpgresearch.com/jobs.

Donate here https://www.rpgresearch.com/donate.

If your timeline isn't immediate, it would help our process a lot if you would either please email info@rpgresearch.com with your request, Or, better yet, fill out a request support ticket (select Category: "Research or Museum Archives", Sub Category "Archive Search Request") here https://www.rpgresearch.com/support/ticket/submit.

Submit all the details you are requesting, and this will generate a support ticket that we can track and assign volunteers to address.

Thank you for your patience and understanding as our non-profit 501(c)3 group of volunteers scramble trying to keep up.

Hawke Robinson
Founder & President, RPG Research and RPG Museum.
www.rpgresearch.com

Mission: https://www.rpgresearch.com/mission
Vision: https://www.rpgresearch.com/vision
Impact: https://www.rpgresearch.com/impact

And future public URL for the RPG museum when it is up and running https://rpgmuseum.org/.

NEW MATERIAL

FROM DAVID MILLIANS

Appelcline, Shannon (2021 Jan 1) 2020: The Year in Review. https://www.rpg.net/columns/advanced-designers-and-dragons/advanced-designers-and-dragons43.phtml. Obituaries and appreciations, publishers, inclusivity, Covid, legacy games, mass market attention, and Kickstarter.

Bidaux, Thomas (2020 Jan 25) Kickstarter & Games in 2020. https://medium.com/icopartners/kickstarter-in-2020-for-games-70d26b5cba73. Record breaking year for Kickstarter and huge growth in game projects.

Carter, Chase (2021 Jan 18) Baked bean dice are real and you can buy them (again) soon, you weirdos. https://www.dicebreaker.com/themes/food/news/baked-bean-dice-buffet-etsy. Lilit makes dice from food.

Davis, Adam (2021 Jan 20) Listen to founder Adam Davis on Inverse Genius Podcast (Round 2!). https://gametogrow.org/2021/01/20/listen-to-founder-adam-davis-on-inverse-genius-podcast-round-2. Adam discusses using tabletop games as therapeutic tools.

DeLapp, Erik (2020 Jan 29) Feeling Lonely? Wearing Cat Ears May Help. https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/29/style/modern-love-feeling-lonely-wearing-cat-ears-may-help.html. Meeting and dating through multiplayer role-playing games.

Dixon, Brandon (2020 Apr 2) When You Take Away Player Agency, It’s Not Being a Good DM – It’s Assault. https://medium.com/@swordsfall/when-you-take-away-player-agency-its-not-being-a-good-dm-it-s-assault-e10e6ed080c4. Grand plans without compassion for people.

Gailloreto, Coleman (2020 Jan 6) RPGS Where The Hero Founds Or Leads a Society. https://screenrant.com/rpg-hero-leader-build-society-pathfinder-kingmaker-haven. Digital RPGs that emphasize skills other than combat.

Gault, Matthew (2020 Dec 31) Dungeons, Dragons, and Diversity. https://www.wired.com/story/dungeons-dragons-diversity. Fundamental elements of D&D hinder its revision for contemporary society and the mass market.

Graham, James (2020 Jan 29) RPGs on Kickstarter in 2020: 5e Rises; Pathfinder Falls; the OSR Simmers. https://d100news.com/2021/01/29/rpgs-on-kickstarter-in-2020-5e-rises-pathfinder-falls-the-osr-simmers. Analysis of largest game projects funding last year.

Haupt, Ian (2020 Nov 24) Family-run board game company sees big sales increase this year. https://www.thenorthernlight.com/stories/family-run-board-game-company-sees-big-sales-increases-this-year,12015. Profile of Columbia Games in local newspaper and account of increased demand for board games during pandemic.

Museum Fatigue (2021 Jan 28) teaching a college class in minecraft?. https://museumfatigue.org/2021/01/27/teaching-a-college-class-in-minecraft. A digital anthropology class meets in a digital environment. Learning and hijinks ensue.

Nelson, Samantha (2020 Dec 29) How Cosmic Horror Went Mainstream. https://www.ign.com/articles/how-cosmic-horror-went-mainstream. From pulps to games to mass media.

Parvini, Sarah (2020 Jan 13) Turning to Dungeons & Dragons to escape a real-life monster – Covid-19. https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2021-01-13/online-d-d-provides-relief-covid-19-pandemic. Imagination as relief in hard times, plus changes in society and the game itself.

Peterson, John (2021 Jan 16) The Origins of Rule Zero. http://playingattheworld.blogspot.com/2021/01/the-origins-of-rule-zero.html. Gamemaster flexibility and John’s new book.

Peterson, John (2021 Jan 23) A History of Hero Points: Fame, Fortune and Fate. http://playingattheworld.blogspot.com/2021/01/a-history-of-hero-points-fame-fortune.html. The development of a game mechanic that increased player agency and changed the games we play.

Peterson, John (2020 Jan 31) Immersion and Role Playing in the 1970s. http://playingattheworld.blogspot.com/2021/01/immersion-and-role-playing-in-1970s.html. Early uses of the term, game roles, rules knowledge, and defining a hobby.

Pulsipher, Lewis (2020 Dec 31) What the Future Holds for RPGs – Part 1. https://www.enworld.org/threads/worlds-of-design-what-the-future-holds-for-rpgs-part-1.677125. Technology and convenience.

Pulsipher, Lewis (2021 Jan 1) What the Future Holds for RPGs – Part 2. https://www.enworld.org/threads/worlds-of-design-what-the-future-holds-for-rpgs-part-2.677134. Actual play and economics.

Reiter, Eli (2021 Jan 21) How One Rabbi Uses Roleplaying Games to Build Community. https://www.wired.com/story/roleplaying-rabbi-community-building. Rabbi Menachem Cohen’s pastoral work and game design.

The Scout Association (2021) Dungeons & Dragons. https://www.scouts.org.uk/supporters/dungeons-dragons. Free PDF Starter Kit to get the dice rolling for a scout badge.

Studio Twenty (2021 Jan 25) Black History Month 2021 | Celebrating Black Excellence in Gaming. https://twentysidedstore.com/blogs/news/black-history-month-2021. Eric Lang, Mike Pondsmith, and black musicians.

Tregenza, Holly (2020 Jan 30) Canberra Dungeons and Dragons business helping children with autism improve their social skills and make friends. https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-01-30/children-with-autism-making-new-friends-with-dungeons-dragons/13104254. Dice4 Diversity helps kids practice and build social skills.

Wang, Tina (2021 Jan 27) How a Game of Role-Playing Murder Mystery Became a Huge Hit in China. https://pandaily.com/why-role-playing-murder-mystery-game-is-popular-in-china. LARP and role playing trends in China.

Wieland, Rob (2021 Jan 11) Try A New Role Playing Game During New Gamemaster Month. https://www.forbes.com/sites/robwieland/2021/01/11/try-a-new-role-playing-game-during-new-gamemaster-month. Introduction to annual event.

FROM HAWKE ROBINSON

Robinson, Hawke (2021 Jan 4) 30,000+ people directly helped by RPG Research in 2020!. https://www.rpgresearch.com/blog/rpg-research-community-blog-1/post/30-000-people-directly-helped-by-rpg-research-in-2020-18. Programs and analysis from the past year. Way to go Hawke!

Robinson, Hawke (2021) Overview List of the Pros and Cons of Each Role-Playing. https://www.academia.edu/44992757/Overview_List_of_the_Pros_and_Cons_of_Each_Role_Playing_Game_Format. Interventional analysis of many game formats and structures.

Robinson, Hawke (2021 Jan) RPG Therapeutics Officially Contracted to Provide Services to PBS. https://rpg.llc/blog/our-blog-1/post/rpg-therapeutics-officially-contracted-to-provide-services-to-pbs-14. Press release concerning webinars through PBS in 2021.

© Copyright 2021 by the Committee for the Advancement of Role-Playing Games (CAR-PGa), ISSN 1071 7129. The CAR-PGa Newsletter is a monthly publication. For more information contact David Millians, Editor, Paideia School, 1509 Ponce de Leon Avenue, Atlanta, Georgia 30307 USA, phone (404) 808-1070, fax (404) 377-3491, e-mail millians.david@paideiaschool.org. Back issues are available. Contributions of material from the membership are urged, and the byline is responsible for content. Deadline is the last weekday of the month, email preferred. Permission is granted to copy anything in the Newsletter, provided we get a credit line in the publication copying it, and it doesn't have someone else's copyright on it. Information, including details on joining CAR-PGa, can be obtained on the Internet at car-pga.org.

CAR-PGa Newsletter January 2021

CAR-PGa NEWSLETTER

Vol. 30, No. 1

An international network of researchers into all aspects of role-playing games

January 2021

David Millians, Editor

Paideia School, 1509 Ponce de Leon Avenue, Atlanta, Georgia 30307 USA

millians.david@paideiaschool.org

LETTER FROM THE CHAIR

Well, that sucked.

2020 was a difficult year for so many reasons. The near-universal condemnation of 2020 can be deafening, so I'm going to shift the conversation a bit instead. Yes, the pandemic was bad; yes, it's clear that in times of social unrest we still have a long way to go in ensuring equal and fair treatment of everyone no matter the color of their skin; yes, the election in the U.S. was exhausting as were the allegations that came with it. But here's the good news: humanity is in a position to do something about it. For the CAR-PGA, that extends to our games too.

We can choose to wear masks, social distance, game virtually, and not play with people in-person outside of our bubble. It's difficult, particularly those of us who have in-person games with people we've played for decades, but until we get a vaccine it's critical we protect the most vulnerable. I'm proud that the CAR-PGA took a leadership position on the topic with our infographic, even as that infographic no longer applies.

We can respect all gamers no matter their background. We've added a Diversity & Inclusion section to our Best Practices page. We also updated our by-laws to reflect this commitment to diversity.

We can support the most vulnerable gamers. I mentioned recently that one of my long-time players passed away from non-COVID-related issues related to his poor health; he is certainly not alone. We have a page dedicated to gamers from all walks of life. While we're on the topic, respect for all gamers extends to EVERYONE, including the dead. A certain company is selling dice made from recycled medical skeletons. The history of corpses used in medicine is fraught with abuse that disenfranchised the poor and people of color--to learn more of why purchasing dice made of a human being is a bad idea, please see this article.

So 2020 wasn't great, and some of those circumstances were simply out of our control. But I'm not willing to chalk all of our rough year up to chance either; the power to make 2021 better begins with us.

Speaking of which, we're overdue for voting on the Chair (my role, which was supposed to be voted on in July) and the Board of Directors (in January). If you'd like to join the Board or would like to be considered for Chair, please let David know.

Have a wonderful, safe holiday and New Year. 

Sincerely,

Mike Tresca
Board Chair

NEW MATERIAL

FROM DAVID MILLIANS

Appelcline, Shannon (2020 Dec 8) The Top RPGs of the ‘00s and ‘10s. https://www.rpg.net/columns/advanced-designers-and-dragons/advanced-designers-and-dragons41.phtml. D&D and other contenders, based on ICv2 information, plus Shannon’s usual clear analysis.

Arnaudo, Marco (2020 Dec 6) Paraludic Literature: A Definition, a Historical Overview, and the Case Study of Frostgrave Tales. http://analoggamestudies.org/2020/12/paraludic-literature-a-definition-a-historical-overview-and-the-case-study-of-frostgrave-tales. Games inspiring stories inspiring games.

Edney, Matthew (2020) The Maps We Play…. https://geography.wisc.edu/histcart/2020-extras. Historical examination of maps in games.

Fay Onyx (2018 May 12) Addressing Ableism in Tabletop Role-playing Games. https://writingalchemy.net/resources/addressing-ableism-in-tabletop-role-playing-games. Links to discussions of mental health, monsters and disabilities, diversity, and more.

Jones, Shelly & Tanya Pobuda (2020 Dec 6) An Analysis of Gender-Inclusive Language and Imagery in Top-Ranked Board Game Rulebooks. http://analoggamestudies.org/2020/12/an-analysis-of-gender-inclusive-language-and-imagery-in-top-ranked-board-game-rulebooks. Room for improvement remains.

Morales, Christina (2020 Dec 24) In a Pandemic Fairy Tale, a Garden Leads to a Magical Friendship. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/24/style/fairy-garden-covid.html. Sweet magic of imagination in Covid Times.

Wieland, Rob (2020 Dec 21) Fight Cthulhu Across Time and Space On Your Tabletop. https://www.forbes.com/sites/robwieland/2020/12/21/fight-cthulhu-across-time-and-space-on-your-tabletop/?sh=481daba1558c. Mini-reviews of suggested settings and adventures for Cthulhu gaming.

© Copyright 2021 by the Committee for the Advancement of Role-Playing Games (CAR-PGa), ISSN 1071 7129. The CAR-PGa Newsletter is a monthly publication. For more information contact David Millians, Editor, Paideia School, 1509 Ponce de Leon Avenue, Atlanta, Georgia 30307 USA, phone (404) 808-1070, fax (404) 377-3491, e-mail millians.david@paideiaschool.org. Back issues are available. Contributions of material from the membership are urged, and the byline is responsible for content. Deadline is the last weekday of the month, email preferred. Permission is granted to copy anything in the Newsletter, provided we get a credit line in the publication copying it, and it doesn't have someone else's copyright on it. Information, including details on joining CAR-PGa, can be obtained on the Internet at car-pga.org.

CAR-PGa Newsletter December 2020

CAR-PGa NEWSLETTER

Vol. 29, No. 12

An international network of researchers into all aspects of role-playing games

December 2020

David Millians, Editor

Paideia School, 1509 Ponce de Leon Avenue, Atlanta, Georgia 30307 USA

millians.david@paideiaschool.org

LETTER FROM THE CHAIR

Hi All,

November is an opportunity to reflect on our blessings and be thankful for what we have. As the recent passing of a player in my high school gaming group reminded me, good health and a supportive family are definitely blessings. Similarly, having a great gaming group who meets with you consistently is an increasingly rare thing in our busy adult world. I'm blessed to have a virtual group who puts aside a few hours on a Sunday night to join my Fifth Edition Dungeons & Dragons game.

But good health can be fleeting. At the beginning of the pandemic we shared an infographic about how to game safely, and one of the challenges in sharing it was that countries disagreed on how many people you should game with. That seems like forever ago, and now we have more concrete answers. The dreaded winter surge is upon us, when people retreat indoors for the holidays and when tabletop RPGs thrive. In that regard, playing RPGs around a table has much in common with a poker game or board game night: it's clusters of people sitting within six feet of each other talking (and hopefully, laughing). All of this, we now know, makes games a perfect vector to spread the virus.

And that's a problem, because in the U.S. the Center for Disease Control has come to the conclusion that it's not enough to avoid "close contact" (within six feet) with someone for 15 consecutive minutes ... it's a CUMULATIVE 15 consecutive minutes with anyone outside your bubble. As this case in a Vermont prison demonstrates, contact with people who show no symptoms is risky, even if individually that contact was under 15 minutes each. 

What does this mean for gamers? If you're gaming in-person with people who are not part of your bubble, you're at risk, mask or no mask. We all know not to attend mass gatherings, but now the virus has shown up at our tables. Oregon announced a pause in counties with pandemic spikes, limiting gatherings to no more than six people. That's the size of my virtual group.

The good news is there's multiple vaccines on the horizon for 2021. But in the short-term we have to change the behaviors we cherish most, because it's spreading the virus even faster than before. Until we get through the holidays and can receive a vaccine, if you're thinking of playing in-person with people outside your bubble, DON'T. There are plenty of virtual options to keep a game going. While it doesn't beat in-person gaming, it's better than infecting seven people while playing a dice game. 

Please wear a mask, wash your hands, and stay safe.

Sincerely,

Mike Tresca

Committee Chair

LETTER FROM THE EDITOR

It’s a short, sparse issue this month, though with some important words from Mike above, as well as some fascinating links in the New Material just below.

This newsletter runs on input, ideas, reviews, and articles (short or long) from readers, so, please, if you have something you’d be willing to share, I would enjoy hearing from you and disseminating your thoughts to a wide audience interested in a wide range of subjects related to game advocacy.

I wish you all well and hope your 2020 closes well. See you in the new year!

David

NEW MATERIAL

FROM DAVID MILLIANS

Carter, Chase (2020 Nov 10) D&D combat wheelchair designer releases free resources for approaching disability in the Witcher TRPG. https://www.dicebreaker.com/games/the-witcher-trpg/news/witcher-trpg-disability-resources. Expanding possibilities.

Chhabra, Sameer (2020 Nov 20) Dungeons and Dragons is tackling its history with racism, but this D&D master says more needs to be sone. https://www.cbc.ca/radio/day6/covid-19-trial-volunteer-jonathan-salk-on-vaccine-patents-toy-story-turns-25-d-d-tackles-racism-and-more-1.5809626/dungeons-and-dragons-is-tackling-its-history-with-racism-but-this-d-d-master-says-more-needs-to-be-done-1.5809. Interview with Shawn Taylor on the legacy of Tolkien and white creators.

Home-Douglas, Pierre (2020 Oct) Engaging Ethics. http://www.asee-prism.org/engaging-ethics. College-level classes using media, science fiction, and simulations to teach complex, human subjects.

Jeeyon, Shim (2020 Nov 11) a potentially nuanced and productive conversation for POC to have with each other. https://twitter.com/jeeyonshim/status/1326630326341263361. Open discussion of white people playing non-white characters, especially streaming, in light of controversy about Matthew Mercer’s character in Chris Spivey’s Haunted West Game.

King, Darryn (2020 Dec) The Role-Playing Game That Predicted the Future. https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2020/12/mike-pondsmith-cyberpunk-2077/616924. Mike Pondsmith’s Cyberpunk.

Mehan, Alex (2020 Nov 26) D&D 5E lead designer says improvements to racial depictions will take “several years” to fully implement. https://www.dicebreaker.com/games/dungeons-and-dragons-5e/news/dnd-improvements-racial-depictions-take-years. Interview with Jeremy Crawford on the impact of Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything and plans for future development.

Rabbit Rabbit (2020 Sep 30) A Game Designer’s Analysis of QAnon. https://medium.com/curiouserinstitute/a-game-designers-analysis-of-qanon-580972548be5. Playing with reality.

Roll20 (2020 Oct 29) Black Lives Matter: Our Progress Update. https://blog.roll20.net/post/633333476019634176/black-lives-matter-our-progress-update. Public accountability featuring Black guest blog, content creators, internal culture, fundraising, and more.

Tidball, Jeff (2020 Nov 30) Why Virtual Tabletop Conventions Fail, and How Organizers Can Fix It. http://www.jefftidball.com/posts/why-virtual-conventions-fail. Timing, scheduling, focus, and making connections.

Verso, Francesco (2020 Nov 16) Let’s Welcome the Future… in China. https://www.blackgate.com/2020/11/16/guest-editorial-lets-welcome-the-future-in-china-2. Energy and imagination emerging in the non-English, non-White world.

FROM HAWKE ROBINSON

Robinson, Hawke (2020 Oct 30) Amazing Month of October. https://www.rpgresearch.com/blog/rpg-research-community-blog-1/post/amazing-october-2020-status-update-8. Lots of news and wonderful updates from RPG Research.

© Copyright 2020 by the Committee for the Advancement of Role-Playing Games (CAR-PGa), ISSN 1071 7129. The CAR-PGa Newsletter is a monthly publication. For more information contact David Millians, Editor, Paideia School, 1509 Ponce de Leon Avenue, Atlanta, Georgia 30307 USA, phone (404) 808-1070, fax (404) 377-3491, e-mail millians.david@paideiaschool.org. Back issues are available. Contributions of material from the membership are urged, and the byline is responsible for content. Deadline is the last weekday of the month, email preferred. Permission is granted to copy anything in the Newsletter, provided we get a credit line in the publication copying it, and it doesn't have someone else's copyright on it. Information, including details on joining CAR-PGa, can be obtained on the Internet at car-pga.org.

CAR-PGa Newsletter November 2020

 CAR-PGa NEWSLETTER

Vol. 29, No. 11

An international network of researchers into all aspects of role-playing games

November 2020

David Millians, Editor

Paideia School, 1509 Ponce de Leon Avenue, Atlanta, Georgia 30307 USA

millians.david@paideiaschool.org

LETTER FROM THE CHAIR

It is with a heavy heart that I report two deaths this month, one you probably know, the other you certainly don’t. They are both important to me.

The first is Len Lakofka, an early contributor to Dungeons & Dragons and friend of co-creator Gary Gygax. He was notable for his articles in Dragon Magazine as well as three adventures for Advanced Dungeons & Dragons. Designers & Dragons does a fine job of summing up what Mr. Lakofka was known for: 

Lakofka wrote quite a bit of material that ended up in the published Players Handbook and Dungeon Masters Guide as a result. However, he says that his biggest contribution was convincing Gygax not to include a “system shock” roll on the Hold Person spell, which would have been a saving-throw-vs-death on a second or third level spell. Lakofka's most famous and well-known contribution to the hobby takes the form of material produced for TSR. He was paid $10,000 for a series of three modules based on his home campaign: L1: The Secret of Bone Hill (1981), L2: The Assassins Knot (1983), and L3: Deep Dwarven Delve (1999). The last was famously lost by Wizards of the Coast and recreated by them from memory.

The other person I’d like to mention is Joe. I met Joe in junior high, and he was one of the first and most loyal players in my D&D campaign. When I ended the game with a massive battle in high school, he was the only player who kept a scrap of paper that I had scribbled an in-game prophecy on. That prophecy proved invaluable when I wrote my trilogy of novels inspired by my D&D campaign. In that game, Joe’s character died abruptly (we were playing AD&D, and he failed his saving throw from a finger of death spell with a natural 1). But his character’s actions would reverberate throughout the campaign. A group of druids established a circle in his name and venerated him as a saint. 

I never imagined Joe, who was three years younger than me, would pass before I did. He died of a massive heart attack at 45. 

In these difficult times we often discuss keeping ourselves safe and sane, but it’s easy to overlook the quiet players on our fringes who love the game but aren’t taking good care of themselves. Joe was nothing but kind and friendly, but personal and health struggles both likely contributed to his sudden death. I stopped gaming with my high school friends years ago. Joe was a casualty of that division, and although we were Facebook friends, we never spoke again.

As I write this, Joe’s ashes are being spread into the sea. I added a dedication to Joe in my second novel (where his character is mentioned). In that way I hope to keep his memory alive. I’ve also been playing the superb Thousand Year Old Vampire by Tim Hutchings. It’s a solo journaling game in which you create a vampire that is eventually undone by their many sins. Because the game forces your character to forget things over time, it brings to the forefront difficult topics like aging, senility, and how we tell ourselves stories to remember our past. Your vampire eventually comes to an end and it provides closure in a way real life often doesn’t. It is a beautiful game that arrived at just the right time to help me grieve. 

There is always “that player” in our game. The quiet one who, for a variety of reasons, may look forward to the game most because things aren’t great in their personal lives. I hope Joe’s passing can serve as a reminder to us all to check in on them. 

Thank you for reading. 

Mike

Committee Chair

ARTICLE

Review: Accessible Gaming Quarterly

By David Millians

An ambitious, promising new magazine has hit the virtual gaming stands last month. Accessible Gaming Quarterly aims to explore and support the intersection of tabletop games with accessibility and disability. These are important issues in society and affect gaming and gamers as well. We all need to work for equity and inclusivity, and this magazine deserves a look.

The editor, Jacob Wood, leads off this first issue with a description of his own degenerative blindness, how it brought him to tabletop gaming, and the games and methods he has used over time to play everything from D&D 3.0 to Fudge. Justin Oldham then explores some of the same of the same challenges from a different angle, especially the advances in technology and the shifting attitudes in society.

T Dave Silva follows with an essay on Batgirl/Oracle and the The Thing and the ways in which their physical differences gave them challenges and opportunities, metaphors for all of us, and Thomas Carter shares the background of a blind orc magician about to begin tales of great discoveries and deeds.

Elsa Sjunneson discusses conventions through the lens of adaptation as a disabled value. Where does a wheelchair park? Where can a guide dog lie down? No one should be invisible, and we should all learn to adapt.

Jacob Wood rounds out this first issue with an in-depth review of Power Outage, Bebarce El-Tayib’s rpg for parents and educators of children with disabilities. I think I need to pick up a copy!

Speaking of getting a copy, the second issue of Accessible Games Quarterly was publicly released late last month in PDF and print forms.

NEW MATERIAL

FROM DAVID MILLIANS

Abad, Tobie (2020 Oct 11) Talk on Filipino Tabletop Games. https://tagsessions.blogspot.com/2020/10/talk-on-filipino-tabletop-games.html. Brief description of presentation on games to the Department of Foreign Affairs.

Appelcline, Shannon (2020 Oct 26) Giants of the Industry: Lenard Lakofka. https://www.rpg.net/columns/advanced-designers-and-dragons/advanced-designers-and-dragons39.phtml. Life and legacy of a beloved creator.

The Academy of Adventure Gaming Arts & Design (2020) Origins Award Winners. https://www.originsawards.net/origins-award-winners. Best Games of 2020.

Byrne, Bob (2020 Oct 26) RIP Lenard Lakofka – Lord of the Lendore Isles. https://www.blackgate.com/2020/10/26/modular-rip-lenoard-lakofka-lord-of-the-lendore-isles. Another exploration of Lakofka’s contributions to tabletop gaming.

Hall, Charlie (2020 Oct 19) Dragonlance authors sue Dungeons & Dragons publisher Wizards of the Coast. https://www.polygon.com/2020/10/19/21523673/dragonlance-authors-weis-hickman-sue-wizards-of-the-coast-dungeons-and-dragons. New trilogy of novels in limbo for now.

Klion, David (2020 Oct 23) The Game That Ruins Friendships and Shapes Careers. https://foreignpolicy.com/2020/10/23/the-game-that-ruins-friendships-and-shapes-careers. The insights provided by Diplomacy and analysis of President Trump official and once fellow-player Michael Ellis.

Lone Shark Games (2020 Oct) October Surprise. https://www.october-surprise.com. Many creators and companies declare their support for Biden-Harris.

Maliszewski, James (2020 Oct 27) A TSR Mystery. http://grognardia.blogspot.com/2020/10/a-tsr-mystery.html. Whatever happened to TSR’s Education Department and its planned educational modules?

Moreno, Jim (2020 Oct 26) Call For Writers Launches to Create Kara-Tur – The Island Kingdoms: Bawa for D&D 5^th Edition. https://www.thegamer.com/kara-tur-island-kingdoms-bawa-dnd-5th-edition. Re-envisioning the problematic, orientalizing D&D 3^rd Edition supplement.

Morrissey, Russ (2020 Oct 19) Dragonlance’s Margaret Weis & Tracy Hickman Are Suing WotC for Breach of Contract. https://www.enworld.org/threads/dragonlances-margaret-weis-tracy-hickman-are-suing-wotc-for-breach-of-contract.675697. New Dragonlance novels now in Washington state court.

Petersen, Sandy (2020 Oct 16) I Love Games. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KT8c0ExHftk&feature=youtu.be. Sandy discusses the games that have influenced him as a designer.

Pulsipher, Lewis (2020 Oct 9) How RPG Tools Have Changed. https://www.enworld.org/threads/worlds-of-design-how-rpg-tools-have-changed.674603. Dice, boards, and other pieces over time.

Pulsipher, Lewis (2020 Oct 16) The Chain of Imagination. https://www.enworld.org/threads/worlds-of-design-the-chain-of-imagination.675256. A spectrum of imagination demand by varying nedia from movies to novels with hobby games in between.

Roll20 (2020 Oct 15) The Orr Group Industry Report Q3 2020 – Breakout Hits and Steady  Classics. https://blog.roll20.net/post/632076046197489664/the-orr-group-industry-report-q3-2020-breakout. D7D 5E, Call of Cthulhu, and Pathfinder still dominate, while many games, like Tormenta and inSANe and Lancer, show strong growth in play.

Stacey, John (202 Oct 16) GAMA Announces Efforts to Restructure Membership. https://www.gama.org/news/530914/GAMA-ANNOUNCES-EFFORTS-TO-RESTRUCTURE-MEMBERSHIP.htm. Declaration of intent to increase engagement and diversity.

Thrower, Matt (2020 Oct 12) Friendly local game stores’ struggle to survive during coronavirus. https://www.dicebreaker.com/categories/board-game/feature/flgs-pandemic-survival-struggle. Hope, innovation, and a few grants help UK stores keep afloat for now.

Wizards of the Coast (2020 Oct 27) Heroes’ Feast. https://dnd.wizards.com/heroes-feast. Cookbook for Dungeons & Dragons.

Yorke, Chloe (2020 Oct 23) Genshin Impact, Steam, Call of Duty and Jay Chou Lead China Charge. https://radiichina.com/genshin-impact-steam-call-of-duty-and-jay-chou-china. The world’s largest game market continues to grow and affect gameplay everywhere.

© Copyright 2020 by the Committee for the Advancement of Role-Playing Games (CAR-PGa), ISSN 1071 7129. The CAR-PGa Newsletter is a monthly publication. For more information contact David Millians, Editor, Paideia School, 1509 Ponce de Leon Avenue, Atlanta, Georgia 30307 USA, phone (404) 808-1070, fax (404) 377-3491, e-mail millians.david@paideiaschool.org. Back issues are available. Contributions of material from the membership are urged, and the byline is responsible for content. Deadline is the last weekday of the month, email preferred. Permission is granted to copy anything in the Newsletter, provided we get a credit line in the publication copying it, and it doesn't have someone else's copyright on it. Information, including details on joining CAR-PGa, can be obtained on the Internet at car-pga.org.