It's Holiday Time! So I'll leave you with this...

I'll be back in action early next month with new reviews, articles and interviews. In the meantime, here is some music. And visuals. And a return to greatness.

God, please don't let me die before December 18th.

Book Review - Back to the Future: The Ultimate Visual History

By Michael Klastorin and Randal Atamaniuk

Published by Titan Books

"Great Scott! Few films have made an impact on popular culture like the Back to the Future trilogy. This deluxe, officially licensed book goes behind the scenes to tell the complete story of the making of these hugely popular movies and how the adventures of Marty McFly and Doc Brown became an international phenomenon.

Created in conjunction with Universal Pictures and fully endorsed by director/co-creator Robert Zemeckis and producer/co-creator Bob Gale, Back to the Future: The Ultimate Visual History is a stunning journey into the creation of this beloved time-traveling saga and features hundreds of rare and never-before-seen images from the set of the movies, along with concept art, storyboards, and other visual treasures.

The book also features exclusive, in-depth interviews with key cast and crewmembers— including Michael J. Fox, Christopher Lloyd, Lea Thompson, Robert Zemeckis, Bob Gale, Frank Marshall, Kathleen Kennedy, and more—and tells the complete story of the production of the movies, from the initial concept to the staging of iconic scenes, such as the Enchantment Under The Sea dance and the hoverboard sequence, and the film’s groundbreaking special effects. The book will also delve into the wider Back to the Future universe, exploring the animated TV show, Back to the Future: The Ride, Back to the Future merchandise, and much, much more."

I was 14 years old when I went to see back to the Future back in early 1986. I was getting into my movies then - there were plenty of fun, action-packed movies to see and travelling to the cinema on my own or with friends was becoming a regular thing. I saw a lot of movies but there were few that stuck with me beyond the 1980s, and one of these films was Back to the Future.

All three films are fun, entertaining and thrilling, the first film especially, and I made sure they were part of my movie collection from very early on. They've not lost any of their sparkle or magic and even though their predictions of the future weren't exactly spot on - it's their arrival date on the 21st October 2015 and sadly we still don't have flying cars, hoverboards or huge holographic sharks - it's an amazing look at the ages as seen through the lens of the 1980s.

And this is what the visual history gives us - a look back at the attitudes and techniques of the people who bought us these wonderful films. From the original, and very different, drafts of the project, through the original shoot with Eric Stoltz to Michael J Fox's inclusion and beyond. It covers the films and even the non-movie projects such as Back to the Future: The Ride and the animated series. Peppered with interviews and comments from the stars and crew, as well as stories about the sometimes troubled production there's an absolute treasure trove of information in here.

I'm a fan of the movies but I've never been a collector, so I can't tell you what in here that die-hard fans of the franchise might find new and enlightening, but personally I found a lot of the content to be full of facts and figures I wasn't aware of. The Eric Stoltz stories especially piqued my interest as I'd heard that there had been issues with his involvement but didn't fully realise the extent of it. This book fills in those blanks, and even though it doesn't appear to be anyone's fault there's a sense of relief when Michael J Fox is bought in.

Beyond this fascinating look at the early production the book then talks you through the rest of the primary film, and then the next two films. We get first drafts of scripts and ideas, early designs, storyboards and even internal memos and casting calls; it really is fascinating, A lot of the attention to detail is on the first film, and with good reason, but the next two films are discussed at length and there's a lot to learn. It's a great read.

But just reading the book isn't the only thing it's good for - it's interactive as well. Inside the book there are plenty of little treats that you can remove and have as keepsakes, reproduced mementoes of the movies. It starts with the photo of Marty and his brother and sister that you see in the movie - and when you tilt it the brother and sister vanish. Then there's a 'Save the Clock Tower' flyer, then a Hill Valley High School Tardy Slip... there's so much in here that you can take out, handle, read and simply geek out over it's wonderful. I didn't think it could get any better until I got to the back of the book and found a poster of Jaws 19 in the inside back cover. Now I can't decide whether it stays in the book or goes on my wall. Each item is
held in with simple glue that means you can tale it out to have a look and then pop it straight back in again.

Back to the Future: The Ultimate Visual History is a wonderful book and a great read. It fills you in with the details, the designs and the drama behind the making of the films and I had a lot of fun reading it. This book is what I hoped for in a 'Making Of' book. It was my density.

Highly recommended.

Book Review - The Mutant Files: Deadeye

by William C Dietz

Publisher: Titan Books

Review by Richard Williams

"Detective Cassandra Lee of Los Angeles’s Special Investigative Section has built a fierce reputation taking down some of the city’s most notorious criminals. But the serial cop killer known as Bonebreaker - who murdered Lee’s father - is still at large. Officially, she’s too personally involved to work on the Bonebreaker case. Unofficially, she’s going to hunt him to the ends of the earth.

In the meantime, duty calls when the daughter of Bishop Screed, head of the Church of Human Purity, is kidnapped by mutants and taken into the red zone to be used for breeding. Assigned to rescue her, Lee must trust her new partner - mutant lawman Deputy Ras Omo - to guide her not only through the unfamiliar territory but through the prejudicial divisions between mutants and norms…”

The Mutant Files is a series of books set in a not too distant future where the world has been ravaged by an airborne disease that has affected millions. This society is divided into mutants and ‘norms’ with the mutants getting the raw end of the deal. Special clothing and masks need to be worn and simple luxuries such as eating out have become a masterclass in trying to prevent the spread of infection with specially treated partitions, booths and masks/nasal filters.

In short it’s all a bit grim.

Our protagonist in these dire times is an LA street cop named Cassandra Lee and damn me if the author wasn’t trying to throw every cliché in the book into… well, the book. Lee is a tough as nails ass-kicking heroine who prefers to work alone because of the partners she’s lost in the past, armed with a non-standard issue weapon, tasked with a job that comes straight from the mayor’s office which is putting pressure on the department, who spends her free time trying to solve the murder of her father, also a cop, whilst being stalked by the very same murderer who is both seemingly omniscient and unburdened by too many demands on his/her time. So yeah, just about every cop drama cliché I can think of has been thrown at this book as though the creator said ‘gee, I wonder how you write something almost guaranteed to get picked up by a network’.

I say that because I get the strong feeling that this book would make a great bad TV show. The all-too familiar lead female with her textbook problems (which in TV land of course includes a homicidal stalker) working with poor unfortunate mutants that a costume department would love. I’m particularly thinking along the lines of the Buffy/Angel shows where you had ‘whatever the heck’ demon of the week and then a fairly harmless set of demons that could be shown enjoying a drink in a demon bar. The mutants in this book are the bar demons. Now don’t get me wrong, I loved Buffy and I didn’t love angel but OK, it had some good moments, but in this book I found the idea of an airborne disease that gives some people long floppy ears like a donkey and other people tentacle arms and other people just seriously messed-up puss-filled wounds a little too much to take on faith. This story could have tackled the issues of segregation and divided societies whilst demonstrating the troubles of policing a near post-apocalyptic world without the Carnivale freak-show of mutations. Just replace those with some genuinely upsetting physical symptoms of disease that kills 40-70% of those infected and boom, you’ve got compelling drama without the dead cop father (which wasn’t very compelling).

But I shall try not to judge this book on what it isn’t and might have been. So what is it? It’s a short book with plenty of action that seeks to entertain you until you reach the last page and no further. I doubt you will be talking about this book long after you put it down. The bad guys are purely bad guys, the good guys have shades of light and dark and the setting is post-post-apocalyptic. It’s the kind of story where bad guys get killed and you’re allowed to feel good about it.

If you like a quick read that doesn’t make too many demands on time or attention and has the usual cast of hard-bitten heroes, refreshingly cruel villains and poor unfortunate victims that are either saved in the last minute or discover they had a hero in them the whole time then you might just love this book.


Alternatively you can just wait for it to come out on the Fox network.

Random nerd thoughts. I'm tired.

I'm going to be running a Star Trek D6 game for the next couple of weeks, just to see how we get on. I'm using the original Task Force Games' 'Prime Directive' rulebook and the 1st Edition WEG Star Wars RPG, and I've done a quick and dirty conversion so that we can use them both for the D6 system. Hopefully, something will come of it. If not - oh well, we have to try these things.

I'm missing my story-driven, heavy-duty roleplaying with some proper characterisation and melodrama. At first I think 'go complicated' and consider rules heavy games, like MERP or Pathfinder, but then I feel that the rules get in the way. That's why I like D&D 5th, it can be as lite as you want it to be.

In view of that, I'm now looking at Fighting Fantasy again, as keeping it simple might result in some decent roleplaying. Not only that, it'd be nice to game in Titan again.

Book Review - The Autobiography of James T. Kirk

By David A. Goodmnan

Published by Titan Books

I'm a big Star Trek fan, but I've always leaned more towards the movies and The Next Generation and subsequent spin-offs. Recently I've been catching up on classic Star Trek and remembering just how wonderful a show it is, but to do 'The Autobiography of James T. Kirk' book justice I'm handing you over to my wife Lisa Hicks, who was into The Original Series before I was.

'The Autobiography of James T. Kirk chronicles the greatest Starfleet captain's life (2233–2293), in his own words. From his youth spent on Tarsus IV, his time in the Starfleet Academy, his meteoric raise through the ranks of Starfleet, and his illustrious career at the helm of the Enterprise, this in-world memoir uncovers Captain Kirk in a way Star Trek fans have never seen. Kirk's singular voice rings throughout the text, giving insight into his convictions, his bravery, and his commitment to the life—in all forms—throughout this Galaxy and beyond. Excerpts from his personal correspondence, captain's logs, and more give Kirk's personal narrative further depth.'

“I've already got a female to worry about. Her name is the Enterprise.”

CAPTAIN KIRK, Star Trek: The Original Series, "The Corbomite Maneuver"

I first became a trekker at the tender age of 6. My imagination had become a solid base quite evolved from the dribbling and occasional dabble of Dusty Bin and Andy Pandy. Star Trek by day and Batman by night I quickly joined the ranks of baby Uber Nerd.

My mother had felt I was mature enough to cope with the technological age which brought us Metal Mickey so I was allowed to sit at my dad’s feet and through the medium of T.V I Boldly went where no man has ever gone before.

To our household the hero was always Scotty. That institution of my father’s Scotland that held everything together in a complete shit storm and managed to get the old girl ship shape in a space second or the ever dashing Dr McCoy who was the right degree of miserable for me and perhaps formed my current persona "Damn it Jim! I’m a watcher not a writer!".

In the end it doesn’t matter who your favourite was, all characters are surpassed by the charming and sly fox known as Captain James Tiberius Kirk. To be given a glimpse into the origin story of this Starfleet bad boy is a dream come true and with this book you are given full access to his humble beginnings and decadent space adventures.

David A Goodman gives you everything, setting, story and memories. Even watching the original series again from the beginning you can’t help but fill in the gaps of what happened after the extra special episodes back on ship or to Kirk's friends who you really should NOT become attached to. You feel for him and hear more from him on his relationship with Carol and his son David and you weep a little inside when you see pictures of them included as ‘The Search For Spock’ plays in your brain. 

On a read-back I know that this review sounds like a eulogy but when you are raised on Star Trek and then raise your own children on it, it’s special to you. Kirk is a family friend. His ideals and love for Starfleet gives you a morale boost and you long to be travelling through the stars on your own journey and I would definitely choose Starfleet over anything else any day! You also feel that his relationship with his one true woman ‘Enterprise’ keeps him together and you understand why its decommissioning and his desk job would have killed him. 

This book may not be classed as canon by the hard-core of us but to me it’s perfect. It’s well researched and just brilliant. Goodman captures the brilliant and heart-warming friendship between Kirk, Spock & McCoy wonderfully and you realise just how much you miss them all every week you walk with them through good and bad times and indeed their first meeting.

For me my favourite part was the bit I prayed for when this book fell into my hands; "Please please let the Kobayashi Maru be in here”...and without spoiling it... it is. If you’re a fan of Star Trek this is a lovely little read that really does no harm but continue on the legend when you need it the most.

If this was a eulogy...I would simply say Kirk led Such a tragic but beautiful life. One that was truly lived to every potential. 

Lucky Bugger.

Hints & Tips - WHOSE SIDE ARE YOU ON, ANYWAY?

On the first Monday of every month, read a new hint or tip from Jonathan Hicks, as featured on www.rpg.net and available on Kindle as 'The Book of Roleplaying Hints, Tips and Ideas'.

What makes Gamesmasters act the way they do? Jonathan Hicks would like to know, but he can't be bothered to get involved with all that psychological rubbish. Let's have a look at some of the more common styles of refereeing instead. It’s much more fun.

Gamesmasters. The very words are enough to strike the fear of the gods into the heart of even the hardiest roleplayer. Why? Well, why do you think? The Gamesmaster (GM) is the one person with the power to allow your well-cultivated character to live- or die.

It's ultimate power. It's the ability to spend a few hours with total control over your group of friends. Nothing compares to the feeling of having all the PC's by the proverbials.

But that's not entirely true, is it? Other than being a dining table god, the GM also has a major responsibility to the players. The GM has to supply an evening's play that the players will enjoy, and if the job is done well they come back for more. But that doesn't stop a few GM's from abusing their power every now and then. So what do you look out for? What are the traits that make the power hungry megalomaniacs stick out?

If you're new to roleplaying, then you may find the next few examples interesting. It may give you an idea of who to avoid. If you’re not so new to it all, then there may be a few descriptions you recognise...

The SMARMY GIT GM

GM: Right, you've broken into the warehouse, and as far as you can tell the alarms haven't gone off.
PLAYER 1: I'll sneak to the crates in the corner.
PLAYER 2: I'll cover him.
GM: As you sneak across, you hit a tripwire and a laser hits you in the back, doing damage... (The GM rolls dice secretly behind his screen. As the numbers come up, a slow smile spreads across his face and he slowly looks up at the player. His eyes are twinkling.) Boy, that's gonna hurt. That's gonna hurt real bad.
PLAYER 1: How much damage did I take?
GM: (Shaking his head and pursing his lips.) Oooh, painful.
PLAYER 1: (Getting exasperated.) How much damage have I taken?!?
GM: Oh, do I pity you... etc.

Oh, it makes you mad. Fair enough, the player may have made a mistake or an error in judgement, but there is no reason to lay it on so thick. The Smarmy Git GM will almost sneer at the player as the misfortune piles up, or they'll make the odd comment, such as 'I wouldn't have done that'. Well, of course you wouldn't have done that, you wrote the bloody scenario! Needless to say, this kind of GM doesn't hang on to players long. It's fair enough the villains of the game laughing in the PC's face when something goes wrong, but when you get the impression that the GM is getting some sort of sardonic pleasure out of your misfortune... well, would you stay in his games?

The BLAND GM

GM: You walk out of the starport.
PLAYER 1: What do I see?
GM: The street. Some people.
PLAYER 1: Anything else?
GM: Yeah, some speeders.
PLAYER 1: Any taxis?
GM: Not that you can see.
PLAYER 2: Any chance of a little enthusiasm, GM?
(The GM shrugs.)

You kind of get the impression that they don't really want to be there. The Bland GM talks in monosyllables, doesn't inject enough energy or description in his GM'ing. In short, they're boring. How can you get that sense of being somewhere when every location is as dull as the last? Games don't last long if the player's imaginations aren't sparked enough for them to visualise their surroundings, or get a sense of individuality from the NPC's. The name of the game is entertainment, after all.

The OVER-THE-TOP GM

GM: The mist swirls around your ankles as you approach the dark building. The trees loom over oppressively, the branches clawing at the sky. As the building comes into view, you see that the metal walls are gnarled, twisting like some architect's nightmare, the sides forming and reforming, as the glass roof appears to oscillate with dark and bright colours. The windows are warped, casting bent reflections across the glade. The mist appears to be pouring from the single exhaust pipe the building possesses, flowing from it like something alive, covering everything around with moisture from it's damp touch. The ground underfoot... etc.
(The players rap their fingers on the table and look at their watches.)

On the other side of the coin there's the Over-The-Top GM. In an almost direct contrast to the Bland ref., the OTT GM can go off on a descriptive tangent about a location, a character, and an object. Although it's good that whatever the PC's are looking at is well described, there is such a thing as overdoing it, and the OTT GM is probably doing the game more to show off his narrative skills than to actually get anywhere. Well designed and described places only work when your players are able to interact with them without having ten pages of prose jammed down their throats every few minutes.

The COMPETITIVE GM

GM: You turn the corner and you see four guards lounging around the door to the hangar, but they have their blasters out. What are you going to do?
PLAYER 1: I'll throw my grenade and hit the deck.
PLAYER 2: I'll take cover in a door alcove and open up on the first one.
GM: Right. Initiative rolls... good. They get the drop on you. They're very good shots. They fire... two hit you, the other one hits you...
PLAYER 1: Hang on; I thought you said they were lounging around. Don't we get surprise?
GM: No, they're professionals, and you'd better deduct some hit points.
PLAYER 2: Shit.

It's not a game; it's a competition to see if the players can beat the scenario he's designed for them. At least, that's the way the Competitive GM sees it. Roleplaying is not a form of entertainment, it's a set of rules designed to pit players against a GM's creations. If the players don't complete the goal set out for them, they've lost. Hmm. Now, I'm sure I've read somewhere that there are no winners or losers in a roleplaying game, and that the whole group is there for an evening's entertainment and to participate in a game where everyone can have fun. From what I can gather, the GM is supposed to supply stimulating stories for the players to get their teeth into. Oh, that's where I've read it. It's included in every roleplaying game ever written.

The RULES LAWYER GM

GM: So, what was it you wanted to do again?
PLAYER 2: I want to pull my blade whilst grabbing the rope and leaping off the building. If I've judged the length of the rope right, I should swing in through the window and right on top Baron DeGungey.
GM: So you want to draw your blade (flips through pages of rulebook and looks up penalties for drawing a weapon), leap off the building with the rope (looks up difficulty ratings for using a rope in the rulebook companion volume), aim for the window (flips through pages of another supplement for the strength of glass against a swinging human body), and land on Baron DeGungey (consults the book for stats and then quickly noses through the grappling rules in the rulebook). Right, roll for your leap.
PLAYER 2: (Looking at her watch) Actually, I've got to go now.

Nothing is more frustrating than waiting for a ruling from the GM whilst he ploughs through tomes of rules to locate the adjustments for your roll, or to try and find a rule that covers your action. The rules of a particular game should be treated as guidelines because trying to find a reference to every player action takes up too much time. It's also impossible to allow for every idea a player has, but does that stop the Rules Lawyer GM? Oh, no. He'll spend the time looking for that particular rule that decides on the outcome. Even if the rule isn't included in the book, there are several supplements to choose from, no doubt. And even then, the rules will have to be interpreted from an amalgamation of several different rules if the rule isn't there... see what I mean? This is the exact way to stunt a game. GM's should be able to make rulings on the spot, not ruin the pace of a game with their noses in books.

The EGO-TRIP GM

GM: The door to the starship swings open.
PLAYER 1: What do we see?
GM: The figure that strides confidently down the ramp is dressed in dark armour, giving an evil look. The gun slung over one shoulder is huge and powerful. Yeah, this one looks as though he can handle a fight. Mean and moody, with a touch of danger, that's what you can sense.
PLAYER 2: I don't suppose this is your old PC from last year's campaign, is it, GM?
GM: Errr...

Let's skip this one quick, because it is one of the most annoying. The ego-trip GM will bring a powerful NPC into the game, maybe even his old character from an old campaign, and will run it as one of the group, saving the day and rolling high. And why? Well, this GM gets a sense of pleasure from showing up the party with a character that fits all his ideas of a good PC. You have to ask the question- whose pleasure is the game being played for?

The FAVOURITISM GM

GM: The hatchway looks unlocked, and you know for a fact that the computer centre is down there.
PLAYER 1: I'll make my down through the hatch.
PLAYER 2: I'll draw my pistol and get my flashlight out.
GM: (Ignoring player 1) You pull your gun and descend through the hatch.
PLAYER 1: I thought I was going first.
PLAYER 2: I'll check the floor for booby traps and sensors with my infrared.
PLAYER 1: I'll head over to the computer bank.
GM: There doesn't seem to be any traps or alarm systems, but your eyes do detect a heat trace in the corner.
PLAYER 1: Hello, GM? What about me?

This kind of GM is not too common and good job too. The Favouritism GM will pretty much give most attention to the player whose character he likes the most, or to the character whose player he gets on with better. Players have gone to a lot of trouble to turn up for a few hours of gaming, so can you imagine their frustration at being dealt with for a few seconds every few minutes? The ignored players are the ones that don't return to a game because they don't like the thought of sitting around while other players hog the game. I mean, it's alright for the GM; he'll constantly have a hand in the game. It's not much fun watching others have a better time.


See any you recognise? See any you would avoid at all costs? Do you see any you can relate to as a GM? The examples are nothing but surface observations. It would be way too difficult to postulate on why the GM does certain things in certain ways to certain characters or players. Not only would it relate to how the GM's mind works, but it would also have links to the relationship between GM and player. Once again, the diversity of the roleplaying hobby has bred different views on how a game should be run, but all games should have a common factor - that it should be entertaining to both players and GM's to further the enjoyment of participation and the growth of a healthy campaign. Fair enough, the examples may make you point your finger at your GM and shout, 'That's you, that is!' Just think about the similarities between the script and paragraph and your own games for a moment. Do you think what the GM is doing will ruin the game? Will it stunt the growth of the campaign? If the worst comes to the worst, will it cause animosity between friends? Maybe, as a player, you are used to that kind of GM'ing, and may actually enjoy the way the games are being run.

The examples can be used for three things- as a reference for new players, so they can think about what kind of GM they want to game with, or avoid. For experienced players, so they can be aware of problems in their game. And most of all the GM, who can look at the example and question himself... am I like that? What will happen to my sessions if I don't correct the problem?

It's also a bit of a laugh, so players can point the finger at the GM and say, 'that's you, that is!'

Review - Dogs of War

By Paolo Mori

Published by Cool Mini or Not

"Conceived by renowned game designer Paolo Mori, Dogs of War is an elegant game set in a steampunk-influenced renaissance universe. Noble houses engage each other in a series of fierce battles, and it is up to the players and the Dogs of War they control to deploy their private armies in support of whatever house they wish to favor.

Clockwork knights and imposing war machines shift the tides of war as they enter the battlefields, but the interest of their Dog of War captains actually lie in the rewards offered by each noble house to its supporters.

Players will want to gain influence with the noble houses and make sure those houses are victorious in battle so that their influence is more valuable at the end of the game. Thus the Dogs of War flock to support a house on the rise and are all too quick to betray their previous patrons if things go awry. There are several pathways to victory, from crushing your opponents in battle to managing to gain influence with the right houses, or simply reaping the best battle rewards offered by them."

I usually reserve my 'this is a great looking game and has high production values' comments for another publisher Who I Will Not Name, but if I didn't know better I'd assume that this wonderfully illustrated and hefty box had been produced by that other publisher Who I Will Not Name and had followed their usual standard. I'm new to Cool Mini Or Not and straight away I'm impressed by their product. It's well packed, there's plenty of components and it feels like a worthwhile spend of RRP £44.99. It's at all gaming stores now, so find your local store here.

Speaking of contents, inside the hardy box you get a game board, coins and tokens of various use, cards for all occasions, some nifty player's screens that keep your machinations secret, and some plainly coloured but well sculpted playing pieces, like busts, that act as representations of the mercenary captain each player wants to play. It's all of very good quality and there's plenty of material, so at first it may seem a little daunting and complicated but it really isn't that bad once you get into the flow of the game.

And what a simple game it is - after a game overview there's just six pages of rules that are easily interpreted and will get you up and running in about an hour, based on playing the game with three players as we did. In fact, the majority of the rulebook is background material which fills you in with the backstory of each of the captains and the world they live in. It's the kind of thing you'd expect to see in a wargame or tabletop RPG, and it's an interesting world and adds flavour but doesn't influence gameplay.

It's at this point I'd usually explain how the game works, but you can download the rules for free here and straight away you can see how the game works, what's involved and read about the history of the world.

So let me tell you how this game worked for us.

First and foremost, we had a lot of fun with it. It was easy to grasp but even though we were playing with the minimum number of players - it's for 3 to 5 people - it did take a while to get set up correctly. I think our mistake was handing the rulebook around, but what we should have done was leave it with one person to instruct the others and then step in if they weren't sure about something.

So, we chose our captains and regaled each other with stories about the mercenary we had chosen. That's not part of the game, we just did that for fun, but after reading the background it seemed a shame not to reference it and add some atmosphere.

Then we started to hire armies and choose our battles. It was going swimmingly... and then the scheming started. And with scheming come suspicion. And with suspicion comes ATTACK HIM FIRST BEFORE HE DOES THE SAME TO ME, GODDAMIT!

This is where Dogs of War is a very fun game. You choose where to place your captains to win the victory and claim the prize, but it also pits you against the other players around the table as well as form uneasy - and potentially fatal - alliances. We were choosing the house we wished to support and then started to commit. At first we were enjoying the game but it really doesn't take long before you realise that everyone around that table that's not you wants you to fail. And fail big time. So, all you can do is hit back. I can't go into what was actually said - the language is far too colourful - but there were some amazingly heated debates around the table that night, and once it rose to fever pitch we called it a night, with the promise that we would play again with cooler heads.

Don't get me wrong; this game may seem like it makes you hate your friends, and that they hate you, but that's the fun of it - there are games out there where you play, lose, then graciously shake the hand of your opponent with a muttered 'good game'. Not Dogs of War. We were ready to flip the table, accuse each other of either betrayal or simply cheating, and start jamming the pieces where they weren't supposed to go. This game isn't just about winning tokens or cards, it's about being the best and everyone - everyone - wants to be the best.

Perhaps we missed the point. Perhaps it was just meant to be a simple strategy game that you'd play for an evening and have a good laugh about, but that's not what happened. I blame the fact that there's no dice, no element of chance so that you can say 'that's the luck of the draw' and blame it on fate. Although there is an element of chance, it's primarily down to the decisions and deviousness of the players, and that's what makes it playable over and over again.

Dogs of War is a cracking game. It won't tear friends apart but it will certainly make for some interesting conversations both during and after the game and it makes for an evening of surprises and shocks. It makes me laugh even now how fast alliances would change every turn, and that 'what will happen next?' factor will make you want to come back to it on a regular basis.

Recommended.

Book Review - Empire of Imagination: Gary Gygax and the Birth of Dungeons & Dragons

By Michael Witwer

Published by Bloomsbury on October 6th

"Here, for the first time, is a comprehensive biography of the mythic icon among geek and gaming culture, Gary Gygax - and the complete story behind the invention of Dungeons & Dragons.

The godfather of all fantasy adventure games, Gary Gygax, has a life story that has only been told in bits and pieces. Michael Witwer has written a dynamic, dramatized biography of Gygax from his childhood in Lake Geneva to his untimely death in 2008. Gygax's magnum opus, Dungeons & Dragons, would explode in popularity throughout the 1970s and '80s and irreversibly alter the world of gaming. D&D is the best-known, best-selling role-playing game of all time, and it boasts an elite class of alumni - Stephen Colbert, Robin Williams, and Junot Diaz all have spoken openly about their experience with the game as teenagers, and some credit it as a workshop where their nascent imaginations were fostered.

Gygax's involvement in the industry lasted long after his dramatic and involuntary departure from D&D's parent company, TSR, and his footprint can be seen in the genre he is largely responsible for creating. But as Witwer shows, perhaps the most compelling facet of his life and work was his unwavering commitment to the power of creativity in the face of myriad sources of adversity - cultural, economic, and personal. Through his creation of the role-playing genre, Gygax gave generations of gamers the tools to invent characters and entire worlds in their minds. Told in narrative-driven and dramatic fashion, Witwer has written an engaging chronicle of the life and legacy of this emperor of imagination."

I thought I knew about the history of D&D.

I've tried to start this review several times from several angles; my feelings about biographies, my history of gaming, my own experiences with the industry, and how gaming has both changed and influenced my life. The problem is, every one of my personal opinions and experiences cannot make a good introduction to this review because this book is about the man who was instrumental in bringing me the hobby that I love so much. Any one of my anecdotes about how gaming changed my life, no matter how huge and explosive it was, would pale into insignificance compared to the life, history and involvement of Gary Gygax; the man who was the game.

I first became aware of Empire of Imagination earlier this year and my excitement for the book's publication was inflated by an interview with the book's author, Michael Witwer. I felt I already knew a lot about the history of gaming, especially TSR, through other excellent books but what I wanted was something more personal, a more closer-to-the-heart account of what happened. So, when I found out that not only would we be finding out about the man himself but also the tumultuous beginnings of the D&D brand, I was left salivating with expectation.

The 320-page hardback book, with a lavish Jeff Easley front cover that emulates the AD&D manual 'Unearthed Arcana', landed on my desk on Thursday. By Friday I had cleared my reading schedule to sit down and read. By Sunday morning I had finished the book. Gary Gygax went on a long, treacherous and challenging journey in both his personal and business life and, after reading Michael Witwer's book, I feel as though I've been on a part of that journey, too.

The book begins with a pivotal moment in his life - the moment he was ousted from TSR in 1985. This was something that I, and no doubt many gamers, already knew, but then we go back and begin the long journey to this point with details of Gary's childhood life, from a neighbourhood scuffle in the summer of 1948 onwards. These different chapters of his life (referred to as 'Levels', which is an excellent reference to the D&D game but also makes sense as Gary grows, experiences more and more and matures as a man, father and grandfather) are opened with short scripted roleplaying sessions, with an unnamed Dungeon Master guiding a player, Egary, through a long campaign on a quest to find the Key of Revelation. It's a lovely, affectionate addition to the book and after reading it fully I'm sure that Gary Gygax would have had something of a good chortle to himself at the references.

The writing style itself jumps between plain, explanatory narrative to dramatisation. Dramatising events can be something I find contentious, because how could the incident be even remotely correct? How do we know what people were thinking, what their motivations were? However, Michael Witwer does an excellent job making sure that the drama in the book doesn't overshadow the facts that he has gathered from his long, rigorous research, including interviews with many friends, colleagues, business partners and family. He even states in his opening Author's Note; "In many cases, scenes and dialogue have been re-created, combined, and in some instances imagined to best support the known documentary record". You can't say fairer than that. He isn't trying to say that the dramatisations are accurate, but an effective way of communicating what happened. The rest of the narrative, between these moments of semi-fiction,  reads as an account of the incidents from as many different angles as he could gather. If there are areas of contention, or conflicting stories, he addresses them both.

So, did I really have a problem with the dramatised aspects of the story and did they ruin my perhaps unrealistic expectations of being told an accurate story? Well, yes and no. While there will always be a part of me that thinks 'How could you know that?", the long list of people that Michael Witwer acknowledges in the book, all the friends, family and associates that knew Gary Gygax over the years and spoke to the author, and who no doubt shared their personal stories, makes me certain that the story is as accurate as it can be, as accurate as Michael can make it. With every quote and reference there is always a note as to where he gathered the information so every point is covered by his investigations, and that gives me the root in fact that I required. The book has truly been well researched.

The writing is informative and doesn't feel like a dry wall of text. He tries to get across the feelings and emotions of certain moments but doesn't push it, but many times you don't need to be told how people felt or what feelings were running high - just by reading what happened is enough to leave you feeling somewhat exasperated and more than once I shook my head and mumbled 'Why did they let that happen?'. I have the power of hindsight, which makes it all the more frustrating as you read what happens leading up to the key moments in Gary's life, and you see the seeds of destruction planted many, many years before. From bad business decisions, to key people bought in who would change things for the worst, from misrepresentation in the media to the breakdown of friendships, it's all here.

It was his post-TSR days where I also learned a lot, finding out what he got up to after he was ousted. This was a part of Gary's life that I never truly followed as he was always the 'D&D Guy' to me, but learning more about his work on Dangerous Dimensions and Lejendary Journeys was informative and enlightening. On top of all this we understand the legacy he left behind, the ongoing influences that he and his game still have to this day. He truly did change people's lives, across the world.

And I can agree with that, because I was one of those people.

So, essentially, what we have is the story of a man who grew up with a fiery imagination and managed to communicate his dreams to the masses; but the details -  the relationships, friendships, loves and betrayals - make for a compelling and sometimes bittersweet story of a man beloved by millions.

The book left me feeling warm and yet somewhat sad, but it was definitely a most satisfying read. It also made me want to call up some of my old gaming friends, from way back in the 1980s, and get an old-school D&D game on the go. At the end of it all - after all the work, strife, arguments, law suits, and personal hardships - Gary Gygax just loved to play games. And I feel that playing those games, and keeping the tabletop fires burning, is the best way to honour him.

I thought I knew about the history of D&D. As it turns out... I really didn't.

Most highly recommended.

Book Review - Frostgrave: Tales of the Frozen City

Published by Osprey Publishing

Stories by: Matt Ward, Sarah Newton, Jonathan Green, Ben Counter, M. Harold Page, Mark A. Latham, M.J. Dougherty, Karen McCullough, David A. McIntee, Duncan Molloy and Graeme Davis.

'This new fiction anthology collects eleven stories of wizards and adventures as they venture into the ruins of the Frozen City.'

One thing that I missed from the Frostgrave: Fantasy Wargames in the Frozen City core rulebook was a defined setting. We knew about the city of Felstad and that the Empire around this once mighty city fell into almost ruin when the city was encompassed in the ice, but the lands that surrounded it, what was left of the Empire that now produced these warbands hoping to learn and loot from the thawing metropolis, was a mystery.

I was hoping that this book of eleven stories set in the world of Frostgrave might shed some light on this background and, while it does provide some tantalising glimpses of the world beyond the city, it doesn't really fill in any blanks or fill out the setting. In fact, it gives only snapshots of life beyond the city and doesn't world-build at all.

The game the stories are based on is, after all, a wargame, and the nature of the short sharp stories reflects the short sharp fights that the game creates. This works for the nature of the game, sure, but as a reader who wanted to explore the world this didn't give me what I was looking for.

The stories are very short and build some excellent little pictures of the kind of situations that warbands will find themselves in, but where many short stories are paintings on a greater canvas, these felt much more like sketches of those paintings. The stories didn't really give much time for characterisation, but the motivations of the characters is already defined by the nature of the game; wizards and warbands searching out and unlocking the secrets of this once great city. The stories don't contain very much in the way of characters that you can really feel for or empathise with. At first I felt this was going to disconnect me from the stories as if I couldn't care for the people involved then why should I care about the story as a whole?

But I found that the stories did work in another way - they had twists and turns and revelations and once I realised that the stories were primarily about the way the warbands had been affected by the city, how the city was twisting and manipulating them, I realised that the stories weren't about the characters but about the city itself; the dangers it presents, the mysteries it contains, and the monsters it has produced. There are some great foundations for characters in here that I'd like to see more of - especially Aen and Caelum - but I found myself turning the pages and moving on to the next story thinking 'What will this place throw at them now?' more than 'What will they do now?'

I ended up really enjoying Tales of the Frozen City. At first I was a little concerned that I'd be indifferent to the short adventures as I wasn't really feeling anything towards the characters, but once I realised that I was reading about the city itself it gave me a whole new appreciation of the book, as well as give me some great ideas for scenarios in the game and pointers to how I should be designing my own encounters.

If you're a fan of Frostgrave then buy this book - I doubt you'll regret it. If you're not yet exploring the Frozen City but considering taking the plunge, then this might give you a good starting point to experience the setting and the kind of things you can expect. If you're new to the setting or just a fantasy fan in general then you might get some enjoyment out of the stories but don't expect any multi-layered depth; the stories are too short for that kind of detail.

I enjoyed the stories and, even though I didn't get that setting background I really wanted, I can recommend it.

Interview - Joseph McCullough

Joseph McCullough is the creator and author of the tabletop skirmish game 'Frostgrave - Fantasy Wargames in the Frozen City', which is doing the rounds on the tabletop circuit and is getting a lot of well-deserved attention. I caught up with Joseph to find out more about his hobby, the genesis of the game and what else lies in store for warbands exploring the dangerous city of Felstad...

Hello Joseph, and welcome to Farsight Blogger. First of all, tell us a bit about yourself and how you got into this glorious hobby.

Thanks for inviting me. My story begins in Greensboro, NC. My parents were both sci-fi/fantasy fans, so I was already well-versed in some of the classic fantasy worlds like Narnia and Middle-Earth before I could read. My first contact with gaming came when I picked up a D&D box set from a yard sale when I was 8. I didn’t really understand the game, but I knew it was for me. Soon thereafter my father became my first Dungeon Master, for a Middle-Earth Role-Playing campaign. He’d never role-played before, but I think he enjoyed it. He even painted up a few miniatures.

Role-playing became my number one hobby as a teenager, and I took this straight into college at UNC where I spent most of my time (underground) at the local game store, Cerebral Hobbies. I probably played just about every RPG that was popular at the time. My favourites were AD&D, GURPS, CoC, Warhammer Fantasy Role-Play, and Deadlands. Along with this, I played a few miniature wargames. I had always loved painting miniatures, it was just a great way to relax on my own.

Some years after college, I decided to go for an MFA in Creative Writing and made the unusual step of travelling to Bangor in North Wales to do it. I didn’t complete the course, but I met my future wife, so it worked out. After we were married, I relocated to the UK. A year or so later, I got a job with Osprey Publishing in the production department. Nine years later, I’m still here.

Frostgrave: Fantasy Wargames in the Frozen City has been received really well and is doing great on the wargaming scene. How did the idea of a ruleset for just wizards and warbands come about?

From my miniatures collection! Over the years I have painted loads of wizards, but except for the very occasional RPG character, there never seemed to be much use for them. Since, in the UK, I’ve mainly become a wargamer, I kept looking for a wargame that featured wizards, but I could never find one I liked. So, I just decided to write my own.

The setting of the Frozen City, with a vast location covered in ice and snow and slowly thawing out to reveal centuries-old secrets, is extremely evocative. How and why did you come up with such a setting?

I knew I wanted to set the game somewhere really dangerous. I wanted players to feel that they not only had to contend with their opponents, but also with the table itself. Wizards are such powerful individuals, you need a scary location to challenge them.  A ruined magical city worked perfect, both to give the wizards a reason to be there, but also allows infinite scope for creating dangerous, deadly, and just plain weird scenarios. The idea of making it ‘frosty’…that was partly to up the danger factor one more level, but also to do something a little different. I suppose cold fantasy has become much more popular in the last few years, but there don’t seem to be many miniature games that embrace it.

Is there a larger world to the setting? There isn't a lot of background detail in the rulebook but in the 'Frostgrave – Tales of the Frozen City' fiction anthology there's tantalizing glimpses of life outside the primary location. Will you be exploring that at all?

There is more, and bits and pieces will be revealed slowly. However, I am someone who very much likes to keep his setting blurry around the edges. For one thing, the ‘there be monsters’ part of the map tends to be where most of the adventuring occurs, but also, I want players to feel very free to take the setting and use it any way they like. I think one of the reasons the game has caught on to the extent it has is that players enjoy being able to use whatever miniatures they want and making up a back story for them.

Are you looking to expand the rules? There's new campaigns coming out soon but do you have any plans for rules regarding other situations, for example large-scale combat and sieges?

For now, I’m looking to expand in depth, give players more options for customizing their warbands, new scenarios, and expanded rules for adventuring, such as fighting battles underground. Bigger battles could happen someday, but, in truth, I can’t see myself writing it. Larger wargames take a different kind of design philosophy that is much more numbers intensive and usually less narrative focused. I’m not sure I’m the best person to write that kind of game.

The setting - with it's long-lost ruins, empty towers and dark halls - is pretty much perfect for an old-school dungeon-basher such as myself. Any chance of a tabletop roleplaying version of the game?

That’s something I would be better-positioned and more likely to write, and there has been talk about it being a possibility. For the moment though, my schedule is taken up with writing new material for the main game, so it will be a while if it happens.

What else can we expect to see for Frostgrave in the future?

There is a full line-up of Frostgrave material coming next year – two new print supplements, and a handful of smaller e-supplements. There is set to be a bunch of new miniatures released in support of those as well. Beyond that, we’ll, I’m not allowed to say much, but the adventure will definitely be continuing…