Finding Me at FanExpo Canada 2018

This weekend the Toronto Convention Center will again be full to bursting with geek culture in all of its manifestations. Yes, it’s time for the massive multi-track behemoth of a show that is FanExpo Canada. Of its many tracks, the one that grows by bounds and also leaps every year is the gaming programming. Once again I’ll be talking tabletop roleplaying with the burgeoning, sometimes costumed throng.  I don’t do the booth thing at FanExpo but if you’d like to chat or get something signed, grab me at these locations before or after the panel.

Saturday 11 am ROOM 717A GUMSHOE AND MYSTERY ADVENTURES IN TABLETOP ROLE PLAYING GAMES

Saturday 3:00 pm ROOM 715B ROBIN LAWS SPOTLIGHT PANEL

Sunday 1:00 pm   ROOM 705 MASTER OF THE GAME: GAME MASTER MASTER CLASS

Sunday 3:00 pm   ROOM 717A GETTING STARTED IN TABLETOP ROLEPLAYING GAMES

Finding Me at Gen Con 2018

It feels like Gen Con comes around faster every year and this year [squints at calendar] it’s literally true!
As always I’m looking forward to chatting, signing, and seminaring. You can find me at the following public events.
Thursday, Aug 2, 4:00-5:00 p.m.: One GM, One Player MasterClass [Lucas Oil : Mtg Rm 5]
Friday August 3rd, 1:00-2:00 p.m.: Ken and Robin Talk About Stuff LIVE! [Lucas Oil : Mtg Rm 5] As usual, this has sold out, so bring your event tickets.
Friday August 3rd, 4:00-5:00 p.m.: Investigative Roleplaying MasterClass [Lucas Oil : Mtg Rm 5]
Saturday August 4: 2:00-3:00 p.m.: Swords, Spies & Shoggoths: The Pelgrane Press Panel [Lucas Oil : Mtg Rm 5]
Saturday August 4: 4:00-5:00 p.m.: Dramatic Interaction MasterClass [Lucas Oil : Mtg Rm 5]
I will also be making a special guest appearance at another panel to announce an exciting new project, but you’re going to have to guess on that one.
Otherwise, when I’m not in transit or scarfing down one of the convention center's fine calorie-bearing sustenance products, you’ll find me at the Pelgrane Press booth, #1317. As they say because it rhymes: don’t be shy, please say hi!

The Kickstarter for The Yellow King Roleplaying Game is Now Live

The curtain rises on Pelgrane Press’ Kickstarter for my latest epic project, The Yellow King Roleplaying Game.

The Yellow King Roleplaying Game Kickstarter Launches Wed at 8 pm Eastern

The Kickstarter for The Yellow King Roleplaying Game, from yours truly and Pelgrane Press, launches this Wednesday, June 21st, at 8 pm Eastern.

Finding Me at Dragonmeet 2016

After a parlous period during which it seemed that Pelgrane Press’ magic spreadsheet had turned into a sensible spreadsheet, I am once again delighted to report that I’ll be attending Dragonmeet in London this Saturday. I’ll be there with the Pelgrane crew, including Kenneth Hite, Rob Heinsoo, Gareth Ryder-Hanrahan and of course co-honchos Cat Tobin and Simon Rogers.

The event itself has yet again shed its skin and grown larger and for the first time will be at the Novotel London West near the Hammersmith tube station.

Stop by to chat at the Pelgrane booth, or catch me at the following seminar events:

13:30: Ken and Robin Talk About Stuff Live: Join us for a live podcast recording as Ken nerdtropes up a storm and we field audience questions with our usual jetlagged aplomb.

15:30: What’s Up with Pelgrane Press: The whole team spills the beans on plans for 2017 and beyond, and I periodically urge the non-Kens among them to use their outdoor voices and speak up for the nice people.

If the publishing gods so decree, we’ll have a special Dragonmeet preview edition of Cthulhu Confidential, the flagship GUMSHOE One-2-One release. I could not be more excited about seeing this finally arrive in print form, so please propitiate the ink deities as the weekend draws near.

(Any Simon Rogerses out there might want to take note of the relationship between the venue and a local purveyor of Christmas sandwiches—traditional lunch of choice for humble, undemanding and hard-working freelancers. See handy map.)

Help Our Fiction Writing Visualization Tool By Taking This Survey

Gameplaywright is developing a writing visualization tool that might seem familiar to those of you who know my book Hamlet’s Hit Points. It might even have something to do with the HHP follow-up project I’m working on, which uses its beat system, plus spiffy new insights, to address fiction writing in general. If this intrigues you, please help us out by taking a brief survey.

My Events at THE KRAKEN

Along with such illustrious names as Sandy Petersen, Jeff Richard, Ian Brumby, Jason Durall, and Michael “Mob” O’Brien, I will be doing the guest thing at THE KRAKEN, October 7-10 at Schloss Neuhausen, Germany.

This year THE KRAKEN celebrates the 50th anniversary of Glorantha and, of course, the 500th of the Reinheitsgebot, Germany’s most beloved set of government regulations. And did I mention that it’s in October?

To celebrate the Glorantha bit, I’ll be running two games: one Hillfolk, the other HeroQuest, both set in the early settlement period immediately prior to the events of King of Dragon Pass. The first may inform the other but no one will have to play both sessions to follow the action. This is important because slots in each game are made available via a lottery system.

I’ll also be taking part in the following panels:

Sharper Adventures in HeroQuest Glorantha: inspired by the best-selling convention chapbook of the same name, this examines ways to make your Glorantha-games more dynamic and player-driven.

Fix My Game, Robin! The perennial GMing master classs panel gets an imperative name.

Advanced Gaming Lore: More tips and tricks, and a free-ranging Q&A.

And here’s where we get to the Reinheitsgebot part—I’ll also be helming a German beer tasting. Root for your favorite product of the German brewing industry to win my seal of approval! London bookmakers heavily favor the Doppelbock but the truth is in the tasting.

THE KRAKEN is no mere convention, but a gaming retreat. I’ll take my trusty mic along to talk to event organizers to explain just what that means, gathering audio to recycle on future editions of Ken and Robin Talk About Stuff.  And since I’ll be in the same room as Sandy Petersen it would be remiss of me to fail to snag an interview with him as well.

As of this writing, one slot has opened up for a full attendee package including accomodations. One can also attend as a day guest, if one happens to be in or around Germany’s least populated region. Book here. Cake has been promised.

Not in Germany but want to check out the proceeds? You’re in luck; they’ll be recording everything for their YouTube channel. Might a mysterious new chapbook be announced?

And if you’d like to celebrate the Gloranthan anniversary with a special feathered message for Greg Stafford, join the duck army.

For more on THE KRAKEN, follow on G+, Twitter or Facebook.

Finding Me at FanExpo Canada

As sure as summer turns ineluctably to fall, the packed-to-the-rafters multi-track madness of FanExpo Canada descends upon Toronto, this time from August 28th to 31st.  I’ll be taking part in the following gaming track seminars alongside a mix of local reliables and new faces.

Sat 4 pm Advanced Kickstarting and Crowdfunding (Room 701B)

Sat 5:30 pm GM Masterclass (Room 701B)

Sun 3:15 Robin’s Laws of Life, Love and Game Mastery (Room 703)

Sun 4:45 State of the Gaming Industry (Room 703)

Though I don’t do the booth thing at FanExpo, I’m more than happy to chat and sign books if you catch me in the hallway between seminars.  It’s what I’m there for.

Finding Me at Gen Con

Once again that mammoth wave of sensory overload we call Gen Con,wherein we all magically remember again that gaming is fun and community brings joy, approaches at its typical barreling speed.
I’m very much looking forward to this year’s event. My top priority during exhibit hall hours is to chat with the people who read my books and play my games. By all means, please feel empowered to swing by and strike up a conversation or get a book signed. That’s what I’m there for. My newest game, The Gaean Reach, would look very nice with my signature on it. So would Hillfolk, The Esoterrorists 2nd Edition, or any number of fine products, recent or classic.
When I am not palavering at a panel, I’ll do my best to be at the Pelgrane Press booth during show hours—with the usual gaps when I am pulled away for interviews and business entreaties, or succumb to the cruelly inevitable exhibit hall pizza slice. That’s the auspiciously numbered Booth 101.
My public events sked goes like this:
Thurs 4 pm, Feng Shui 2 panel
Join the Feng Shui 2 team for scoops, teasers and art previews, including announcements regarding the upcoming Kickstarter campaign. (Crowne Plaza : Conrail Stn)
Fri 1 pm, Ken and Robin Talk About Stuff Live
Robin D. Laws and Kenneth Hite talk roleplaying, history, conspiracy, occultism, writing, food, movies and whatever you ask them about in this live edition of their award-winning podcast. (Crowne Plaza : Victoria Stn C/D)
Seminars don’t generally require tickets, but people have been grabbing them for KARTAS Live, so if you’re the cautious type you might want to pop over to the Gen Con site to reserve.
Fri 11 am, Pelgrane Press panel
Lob questions at the Pelgrane conclave regarding GUMSHOE, 13th Age and more. (Site TBA)
Note new time!
Sat 4 pm, GUMSHOE Adventure Masterclass
Learn to structure investigative scenarios with the GUMSHOE gurus. (Site Westin)
The last two events have yet to propagate to the Gen Con site. I’ll update when locations become available, and spread the word via social media on the day.

World War Cthulhu

The title says it all: Cubicle 7’s newly released fiction anthology World War Cthulhu combines tentacled cosmic horror with the 20th century’s darkest era. Edited by Jonathan Oliver, it includes such darkling luminaries as Greg Stolze, Sarah Newton, and World Fantasy Award winner Lavie Tidhar.

My story, “The Egyptian”, reveals the wartime career of infantry sergeant Tyler Freeborn, formerly of Miskatonic University, and his uneasy bond with the title character, an on-again, off-again soldier who fights with terrible ferocity. If  your only concern is to get your unit through the war, and Nyarlathotep reports for duty, do you turn him down?

Grab it as an ebook download from the Cubicle 7 web store.

Catching Me at FanExpo Canada 2013

FanExpo Canada rolls out this weekend at the Metro Toronto Convention Center. Its gaming track, thanks to the impossible oddsmanship of coordinator Justin Mohareb, has evolved in a thriving and genuine entity. It’s the week after Gen Con, so I always try to wriggle out of it, only to be drawn back in. This time Justin’s entreaty I could not refuse included his bringing my boon compadre and podcaster-in-crime Kenneth Hite up to join the extravaganza of gaming and genre palaver. So to heck with Nathan Fillion, Zachary Quinto and Stan Lee. Come to see us—along with Chris Perkins, Ed Greenwood, and many more.

I’m not doing the vendor table thing, but you can catch up with me at the following seminar events. I’m more than happy to sign books or chat after events. Don’t be shy about getting my attention in the vast scrum that is FanExpo. I’ll be the one in the groovy shirt.

Date	Time	Event	Room
Sat	3:45 pm	Ken and Robin Talk About Stuff – Live!	705
Sat	6:00 pm	GM MasterClass (with Ed Greenwood, Kenneth Hite, Chris Perkins, Matthew McFarland)	701B
Sun	11:15 am	Writing Adventure Games (with Ed Greenwood, Kenneth Hite & Jonathan Lavallee)	703
Sun	12:30 pm	Advanced Kickstarting (with Jason Anarchy)	713
Sun	3:15 pm	Robin Laws Q&A	703

Another One for the Portrait Gallery

In my continuing bid to become the Kiki de Montparnasse of the hobby gaming world, I have once again been immortalized through the pen of a top illustrator.  First Gene Ha, then John Kovalic, and now Jonathan Wyke, who contributed many fine pieces to Hillfolk and Blood on the Snow. I’ll be adding it to my roster of drop icons. Thanks, Jonathan!

Finding Me at Gen Con 2013

Once again it’s the time of year when hobby game designers start posts by telling you it’s that time of year. Gen Con is right around the corner, luring us in with the scent of fresh polyhedrals and keeping us there with the glow of community and creative renewal.

My big focus this year, barring catastrophic tinkering by the print gods, will be on the arrival of Hillfolk and its companion, Blood in the Snow. I had this largely designed by Gen Con 11, was plotting initial Kickstarter moves at Gen Con 12, and now look forward to see it finally realized as a physical object. Backers have been playing the game for a while, based first on their preview editions and then with the finished PDF. But there’s nothing like a tangible item to infuse one with a sense of completion. Swing by the Pelgrane Press booth to pick it up, at its new upsized digs: #101, across from the Paizo booth.

Also at the show, the GUMSHOE game that started it all, bigger and more unremitting than before—The Esoterrorists 2nd Edition! I am stoked to see that hit the trade table, too.

When not otherwise booked I’ll mostly be haunting the Pelgrane booth. I’m there to chat, so don’t be shy. I’m happy to sign any of my books for you, not just Pelgrane stuff.

To catch me in a more structured circumstance, join me for any of the following events:

Thurs	3-4 pm	Hillfolk Signing #1, with Jennifer Brozek, Paula Dempsey, Steve Dempsey, Dave Gross, Rob Heinsoo, Ryan Macklin, Michelle Nephew, Jeff Richard, Rob Wieland & illustrator Rachel A. Kahn	Pelgrane booth
Fri	1-2 pm	Campaign Doctors Panel with Jack Graham, Luke Crane & Amanda Valentine. (Posthuman Studios)	Crowne Plaza Ballroom A/B
Fri	3-4 pm	GUMSHOE and Investigative Roleplaying Panel with Kenneth Hite & Simon Rogers. (Pelgrane Press)	Crowne Plaza Ballroom A/B
Sat	Noon-1 pm	Table to Page: Narrative Gaming Panel with Corey Reid, Gareth Skarka, Emily Care Boss & Kirin Robinson (Scratch Factory)	Crowne Plaza Victoria Station, C / D.
Sun	11 am-Noon	Hillfolk Signing #2, with Keith Baker, Emily Care Boss, Steven S. Long, TS Luikart, Andy Peregrine, Wade Rockett & Pedro Ziviani,	Pelgrane Booth

Advertise on Ken and Robin Talk About Stuff

“Ken and Robin Talk About Stuff”, the Golden Geek-winning, five-star podcast I co-host with my boon colleague Kenneth Hite, is now opening up a few more advertising slots. This is your chance to join the fun and erudition, in the fine company of present sponsors Pelgrane  Press, Profantasy Software, and Dork Tower.

If you’d like to advertise your game, company or other product or service to an eager audience of discerning listeners, download our rate sheet, with contact info, in handy PDF format.

Feel the Horror of the 2013 Gen Con Buzzword

Can the Gen Con buzzword competition survive in a world where former also-ran Kevin Kulp now reigns as defending champion? In 2012 his ruthless use of the term incubate won him the the crown he had so fiendishly slavered for, for so many years.

If this sounds like madness to you, a) it is and b) here’s the recap.

Each year at Gen Con, players of this cruel insider marathon attempt to drop a ridiculous and/or repellent piece of business jargon into conversation in as many contexts as possible. Straightfaced usages score full points. Visible irony warrants a deduction. For extra points, slip it into podcasts, ENnies acceptance speeches, or like circumstances in which an innocent public is subjected to the buzzword’s full horror. Super extra points are awarded for causing some other unfortunate soul to use the word as if it is a thing decent, sane people actually say.

Past buzzwords have included wheelhouse, idea farm, and the verb form of status.

This year we’re not letting you off so easy. The terrifying term of 2013 is eventize, a malformation of the English language in which one proposes to take something and make an event out of it.

Examples of use:

• “When this hits retail, we’re going to eventize the heck out of it.”
• “In 2013, it’s not enough to launch a Kickstarter. You have to eventize your Kickstarter.”
• “We’re working on a way to eventize our errata.”
• “Really, when you think about it, all gaming is a process of micro-scale democratized eventization.”

As suggested by the final example above, derivations of the term will be accepted. It goes without saying, rules lawyers, that the ordinary word event, unadorned and alone, earns you nada. It is a thing a decent person might say.

Report point-scoring activities to me for inclusion in the final tally, to be announced after the show. All judging decisions are final.

Hillfolk Signings at Gen Con

Hail, raiders of the Gen Con high country!  To celebrate the launch of Hillfolk and its companion volume Blood on the Snow, we've arranged two signing events at the Pelgrane Press booth. We have so many contributors at the show that we're going to be splitting our signers into two bunches.

On Thurs Aug 15th at 3 pm swing by to grab autographs from such tentatively scheduled luminaries as Jennifer Brozek, Steve Dempsey, Dave Gross, Rob Heinsoo, Ryan Macklin, Michelle Nephew, Jeff Richard and illustrator Rachel A. Kahn.

Then come back on Sun Aug 18th at 11 am for the cuneiform stylings of Keith Baker, Emily Care Boss, Steven S. Long, TS Luikart, Andy Peregrine, Wade Rockett and Pedro Ziviani.

The Pelgrane Booth has moved to bigger digs this year, and is now #101, across from our fine pals at Paizo.

I’ll be there for both events, and around the booth for much of the rest of the time. As always I’ll be happy to deface any of my books, new or old, for you.

Many other contributors are at the show but unable to make this event. This will not prevent you from suavely bushwhacking and/or waylaying them as they perform their duties at booths elsewhere on the exhibit hall floor.

Kickstarter backers will be able to arrange ahead of time to pick up their books at the show. And of course there will be copies on sale for those of you who did not join us for the campaign back in October.

Hillfolk, Blood on the Snow, The Esoterrorists 2nd Edition Now Available to Pre-Order

Gen Con fast approaches, and you know what that means. A number of projects I’ve had on the go for a good while are now coming out at the same time!

Which in turn means that Hillfolk and Blood on the Snow, and The Esoterrorists 2nd Edition are all on their way and now available for preorder.  Click the preorder buttons on the above-linked product pages or go straight to the Pelgrane Store.  (Eso 2 has actually been on preorder for a while but is now at the printers.)

These orders include instant PDF access.  This is your first chance to get Hillfolk or Blood on the Snow since the Kickstarter closed in November. PDF-only purchases will follow after a suitable window to highlight the print release.

For the benefit of those headed to Gen Con, the pre-order function will give you the opportunity to arrange to pick up your copies of Hillfolk and Blood on the Snow at the show. The Gen Con pick-up option will also allow you to pre-book Pelgrane’s notoriously generous 4-for-3 deal, otherwise available only in the fever of the moment at the Pelgrane stand.

Hillfolk Goes to Layout

I am very pleased to report that editorial for the core Hillfolk book has been completed. The last submissions are in, edited, and proofed, and the text and illustrations are now in the hands of graphic design supremo Christian Knutsson. That final straggler of a Series Pitch is now in hand at last. Barring unforeseen calamity, that means that Blood in the Snow should be ready for layout by the time Christian has finished with the core text. He estimates that layout will take three weeks. After we sign off on the layout, we’re looking at an eight week turnaround for printing.

We will fulfill electronic editions as soon as layout is ready, so everyone will have the PDFs in hand even as the presses are rolling on the print copies.

So raise your cups of mead, raiders. The snows of an overlong winter have delayed us, but we have finally equipped our forces. We now ride off into the badlands, to claim our victory.

If you missed the Kickstarter but want to jump on board now, stay tuned for pre-order details.

And here, apropos of nothing in the first paragraph, is John Kovalic’s illustration for his Blood on the Snow Series Pitch, “The Dagon Bar and Grille,” which brings to DramaSystem the vibe of an animated sitcom. Plus tentacles, natch.

The Lion and the Aardvark Toronto Launch Event

With offices in London, a Creative Director in Toronto, and writers from the US, UK, Canada, Australia, Ireland and arguably France, Stone Skin Press is a decidedly post-national operation. Yet since I’m in Hogtown, a nice swath of The Lion and the Aardvark’s 70 contributors happen to reside in the GTA. Thanks to the good offices of the Rowers Pub Reading Series, we’ll be celebrating that fact on Tuesday May 14th at 8pm, in the cozy, craft beer loving confines of the Victory Café in Mirvish Village (Bloor / Bathurst.)

Scheduled to read are Ann Ewan, Kathryn Kuitenbrouwer, Laura Lush, Julie McArthur, Daniel Perry, Richard Scarsbrook, Heather Wood, Halli Villegas, and Jim Zub. Buy a copy and get it signed by the aforementioned, plus interior illustrator Rachel Kahn and your humble editor.

In The Lion and the Aardvark, 70 writers from across the creative spectrum bring their modern sensibilities to the classic fable format. Zombies, dog-men and robot wasps mingle with cats, coyotes and cockroaches. Parables ranging from the punchy to the evocative, the wry to the disturbing, explore eternal human foibles, as displaced onto lemmings, trout, and racing cars. But beware— in these terse explorations of desire, envy, and power, certitude isn’t always as clear as it looks.

Update: Ed Greenwood has had to drop out to attend to a family medical matter. He'll be there in spirit.

Hillfolk Mystery Contributor Revealed

If it’s mid-April it must be time for another Hillfolk progress report. Here’s where the project stands.

I am still awaiting submissions from three Series Pitch writers. Once those are in I’ll be know how the actual word count compares to the goal.  This will allow me to edit two other pitches that came in over the requested length, because I’ll then know how much of these I have to cut.

That’s the work of a few days.  Once everything’s in and proofed, layout will take about three weeks. We can’t assume that Christian can immediately clear his schedule of other projects when I drop the manuscripts on him, so there’s an indeterminate amount of time there.  Once he’s able to start work, we can estimate a hard release date.  Turnaround from layout to print is eight weeks. Then the shipping starts.

So our current timeframe looks like [waiting for final submissions] + approximately 1 week final editing + [deck-clearing for Christian] + 3 weeks layout + 8 weeks printing.

Absent a hard release date, let me see what else I have up my sleeve…? How about the long-teased identity of Hillfolk’s mystery contributor?

That would be Ed Greenwood, whose pitch “For Queen or Country” mixes espionage and faery folk in Elizabethan England. Ed surprised me with this over-the-transom submission of piracy, subversion and the Horned Man. This will appear in the main Hillfolk book. The illustration is by Aaron Acevedo. Looks like the original inspiration for Tinkerbell preferred Tudor-era court dress to a miniskirt made of leaves.