RPG REVIEW Issue #1, September 2008 D&D 4th edition ... AD&D/D&D 3.5 Scenario... RuneQuest Demiurgy ... Call of Cthulhu Tcho Tcho ... Cannibal Contagion ... Mythweaver ... DragonQuest Retrospective ... The Dark Knight Review ... Fatal Frame/Project Zero IV ... Virtues of Bad Game Design ... Lord Orcus Listens! ... Hot Gossip Industry News 1 RPG REVIEW ISSUE ONE September 2008 Table of Contents Administrivia Editorial and Letters many contributors p2-4 Hot Gossip: Industry News by Wu Mingshi p5 D&D 4th edition Review by Lev Lafayette p6-12 Arachne: A high level D&D Scenario by Lev Lafayette et al. p12-17 Cannibal Contagion Designer©s Notes by Nathanael Phillip Cole p18-19 Mythweaver Designer©s Notes: Ghosts of the Red Box by Michael Dessing p19-21 Call of Cthulhu All About The Tcho Tcho by James Haughten p21-26 RuneQuest: Demiurgy and The Temple of Helios Scenario by James Haughten p26-30 Interview With Steve Perrin with Steve Perrin p30-32 How RuneQuest Was Designed by Steve Perrin p33-34 Retrospective: DragonQuest Review by Lev Lafayette p35-37 DragonQuest : Interview With The Seagate Adventurer©s Guild with lots of people! p37-42 DragonQuest Scenario : The Abduction by Erica Hoehn et al. p42-45 Movie Review: Dark Knight by Andrew Moshos p45-49 Game Design Theory: Via Negativia by Lev Lafayette p49-55 Computer RPG Review: Fatal Frame/Project Zero IV by Laurean Leigh p56-57 CAR-PGa: An International Roleplaying Association by Paul Cardwell p57-60 Lord Orcus Listens! A Gaming Advice Column by Steve Saunders p60-64 Next Issue of RPG Review many contributors p64 ADMINISTRIVIA RPG Review is a quarterly online magazine which is available in print version every four issues. All material remains copyright to the authors except for the reprinting as noted in the first sentence. Various trademarks and images have been used in this magazine of review and criticism. This includes Dungeons & Dragons, and DragonQuest, owned Wizards of the Coast, RuneQuest, licensed to Mongoose Publishing, Call of Cthulhu, owned by Chaosium, Delta Green owned by Pagan Publishing, The Dark Knight, distributed by Warner Brothers, and Fatal Frame/Project Zero by Tecmo. Use of images, material etc, is not to be construed as a challenge to any intellectual property. Text is in Nimbus Roman, headings in Nimbus Sans, front page in Utopia. Any errors or omissions are unintentional. EDITORIAL There comes a time, probably around midlife, when you realise that if you©ve been engaging in the same hobby since your very early ©teens, started clubs during your university years and beyond, that you©re probably not going to give up on the hobby anytime soon. Further, if you fancy yourself a bit of a writer, a publisher and a collector of friends who are also competent in these areas, you may very well end up starting an online RPG magazine. So welcome to the first edition of RPG Review, a gaming ©zine which is both a fan-publication in one sense (that is, the production and commercial sense), but takes itself sufficiently seriously in others, looking at predecessors such as Different Worlds and Interactive Fantasy; and perhaps even more so Alarums & Excursions. A common theme within the magazine is a sense of balance. There is a balance between contemporary games and those of the past and each issue will feature a retrospective; in this issue it©s DragonQuest. There is a balance between ©indie games© and mainstream publications. Between critical pieces and practical pieces; and between tabletop gaming and other related activity, such a computer games and inspirational films. 2 RPG REVIEW ISSUE ONE September 2008 I have many people to thank for this first issue, but most of all I wish to thank Erica Hoehn for her work in proofreading and Victoria Jankowski for her advice on art and layout. I am overjoyed, of course, with the quality of the contributions. Minsghi makes a glorious spy with her industry gossip and her English classes are going just fine. Nathanael Cole and Michael Dessing have both provided excellent articles on their design projects. James Haughten©s talent is exceptional and the imagination positively glows in his RuneQuest and Cthulhu contributions. One of the industry greats, Steve Perrin has offered his words of wisdom to the publication. Erica Hoehn shows that not all fairy stories are simple in her DragonQuest scenario, and the ªcollective responseº by the Seagate Adventurer©s Guild of Auckland was astounding! Andrew Moshos provides a delightful and readable review of the Dark Knight and Lauren Leigh enthusiastically presents the long-awaited fourth episode of one of the best console games ever produced. Finally, Paul Cardwell informs us on the activities of the CAR-PGa, our main protection against the anti-gaming lobby and, in a case of justified juxtaposition, Steve Saunders channels the spirit of Lord Orcus in an irreverent and necessary manner. Being the first issue of a ©zine that I©ve pretty much put together it is perhaps not surprising that there©s far too much of my own material here; from the review of D&D fourth edition, the Tragedy of Arachne scenario to Via Negativia: The Virtues of Bad Game Design. I pray you will accept my indulgence in this first issue, although I will confess some pride in seeing this first issue being distributed. These are, despite some naysayers, excellent times for traditional tabletop roleplaying. To be sure, as a commercial enterprise there are new difficulties, and especially for the Friendly Local Games Store. RPG Retailing is very difficult these days, but that is a sign of the changes in the industry. Electronic documents, independent press, and computer- assisted systems have led to a situation where there is more diversity and, I dare say, quality publications from an enormous variety of sources. This little publication is itself a contribution to these new circumstances. Onwards, Lev Lafayette; [email protected] LETTERS From Swordbearing Bunnies of Olympus... As a longtime game designer and player, I©m happy to see the inauguration of RPG Review, and I look forward to your coverage of the still vibrant and expanding world of role-playing games. Best of luck in your new venture. B. Dennis Sustare Austin, Texas, USA ... To Runic Feng Shui HeroQuesters... Best of luck to Lev and company as they embark on their webzine journey. In namechecking Different Worlds and Interactive Fantasy as among their inspirations, they©ve set a high bar for themselves -- one I look forward to seeing them leap over. Robin D. Laws Toronto, Ontario, Canada 3 RPG REVIEW ISSUE ONE September 2008 With the Art of Dungeons Ever Over The Edge Lev & Company: Good luck on your worthy endeavor. As an old-time gamer with a scad of Different Worlds and the complete run of Interactive Fantasy in my basement office, I©m heartened to see someone picking up the banner and carrying it forward. Jonathan Tweet Seattle, Washington, United States Here©s A Good Tip! I just got a peek at the table of contents of the first issue of the RPG Review zine, and it looks like a winner! I have known Lev for several years virtually, through RoleplayingTips.com, and RPG Review should be a great new addition to the RPG community. I just subscribed via the online form and can©t wait for my first issue. Best of luck to you and your team, Lev. Johnn Four Edmonton, Canada The Shaman Speaketh... Dear Lev, Great to read that you guys are starting a new game magazine! We need more of this, and I©m glad you guys have risen to the occasion. I want to extend my wishes for scads of good luck, contributors and success on the venture. Greg Stafford President, Issaries Inc. Arcata, California, USA From the Mentor ©Zine: And We Did So! Dear Lev Greetings from San Francisco! Good luck with your online magazine. Gigi has been asked before to write for other periodicals, but has always declined. She says she only wants to write to Dear Tadashi. You will have to find Gigi D©Arn Jr. yourself. I look forward to magazine. Happy gaming! Tadashi Ehara Different Worlds Publications 4 RPG REVIEW ISSUE ONE September 2008 Hot Gossip: Industry News by Wu Mingshi La, so you finally get around to publishing this magazine, hey? Good for you, about time, good list of endorsements you have too. I©ve been waiting for months to write this article, my fingers start to grow spider webs at the keyboard waiting. Maybe Arachne go crawling all over them, eh? Hey, you remember Gigi D©Arn from Different Worlds? Yes, well I©m her long-lost daughter. No, don©t you look at me like that. It was the ©seventies. It was complicated, you know? I©m still not allowed to know who father was. Some people think it was Tadashi, but that©s getting pretty wild rumour. OK, so I am being very surprised to find out that the West End games have close up the shop. They almost made it to twenty-five years, old as me! Over the years we remember the company fondly, very fondly. Made such good games! Paranoia was one of my special favourites, and Torg too. Star Wars was the very big seller for long time and I even like Ewoks, they funny and almost human, but most of all like The World of Tank Girl. Oh! And there was the Junta as well - I remember smacking the bottom of one player as the executing scene, she thought it very funny. Anyway, D6 system not sell so well, even though some people seem to like it.