The Open Game Table: The Anthology of Roleplaying Game Blogs, Volume 1 released today (March 23, 2009). The OGT collects nearly fifty articles penned last year from over thirty of the RPG blogosphere’s best & brightest. Yours truly wound up with an article (on designing Pantheons) that was selected for inclusion, a feat that both surprises me and bolsters my confidence.
I watched the Open Game Table come together since Jonathan Jacobs, of Nevermet Press (and The Core Mechanic), made the crazy announcement about his intent publish such a compilation. I was involved in the review process, where the reviewers read and scored all the submitted articles (except our own). I must say, the competition was pretty intense, because it was difficult to narrow the submissions down to the few to be selected. I had a great time reading some excellent articles that I missed and finding blogs I never knew existed!
I was excited to see the fresh art that was being produced for the book from a stable of rising talent and watching the book come together as Jonathan and his retinue of editors chipped away at this masterpiece of creativity. It was a privilege to be asked my humble opinion of how things looked for suggestions to make it better.
I just finished reading my digital copy of The Open Game Table and I am honored to have been included in the anthology, because this is some fantastic material that people are writing about. The book provides a lot of articles on everything from mechanics to gaming advice to history, and much of the quality is on par with what you would expect from a major publisher (yet these authors are doing it for the love of the game!).
While a lot of the content is driven by 4th Edition Dungeon & Dragons, most of the material can be applied to other formats. I totally recommend that you grab a copy today! Here is a list of the table of contents:
- Play Style
- Game Play
- Characters & Players
- Monsters & NPCs
- Encounters, Settings, and Locations
- Adventure Design
- Campaign Setting Design
- Classes, Action, and Equipment
- RPG History & Commentary
- The RPG Toolbox
You can find The Open Game Table at the following retailers:
Indie Press Revolutions (coming soon!)
@Zachary: Yeah, it’s hard to maintain objectivity when you have a stake in the material. It’s why I choose to take more of the “my experience” route. I can’t wait to receive my physical copy so I can show it off… speaking of physical copies, I need to take stock on how many additional copies I want to order.
Its a fantastic book. I can’t wait to have my review of it up–which I’m going try very hard to be objective, but I’m so proud to be a part of it and thrilled with Jonathan and our community it will be a little tough.
Zachary’s last blog post..The Great RPG Tournament: Sweet 16
Wohoo! thanks for the bump Mad Brew! Hey Zach! Your evaluation copies will be in the mail in the next day or two… I’m chipping away at the massive stack of books in my dining room and mailing out arm fulls of them every day to all the contributors. Media Mail (USPS) is slow… so be patient… its on the way.
jonathan’s last blog post..Open Game Table NOW ON SALE!!!
Me too. I know I have at least two folks talked into buying one.
Zachary’s last blog post..The Great RPG Tournament: Sweet 16
@Jonathan: You’re welcome! I know you have a slew of things to ship, I’ll be patient.