Minnesota Gamer

Gary Gygax, July 27, 1938 – March 4, 2008

2008-03-04T20:42:21Z

In case folks havn't heard the news yet, Gary Gygax has gone to the big Convention in the sky. Here's the news from the AP wire. RIP Mr. Gygax.

Growth, Shrinking & DnD

2008-02-17T14:35:39Z

Hey there, guys,

I've always been fascinated by size-change (even though I rarely use it in my games). This preoccupation of mine has always led me to find difficulty with the standard spells "Enlarge" and "Reduce". They seem under-powered and "unrealistic" (if shrinking and growth are "realistic" at all). :)

In my mind, a powerful, evil Wizard ought to be able to do the whole "make a 76' tall giant out of my henchman and have them assault the castle" or "shrink a hero and put him in a cage for experimentation". This just isn't possible with the standard write-up.

So, what I'm asking is this: what do you think of the following functional variations (all other elements of the spells are the same as in the 3.0 rules)?

Enlarge

This spell can enlarge a single creature or object up to 150 lbs/level, increasing their size and strength. The spell caster increases size by a size multiplier. This multiplier is found by adding 1 to half the caster's level. A 1st-level caster, therefore, would have a size multiplier of 1.5 while a 10th-level caster would have a size multiplier of 6. Weight and mass also increase at a rate equal to the cube of the height increase. This means that if the height increases by x2, weight increases by x8 (which is 2 x 2 x 2 or the cube of 2).
     Hit points and Strength both increase by +2/level. AC is penalized, due to size, at -1/level. AC is also benefitted, due to natural thickness and mass, by +1/2-levels (rounded down).
     Items resting on or touching the target are not affected but worn or carried, non-magical possessions are. Once a caster reaches 5th-level, magical possessions are also affected although only grow in mass: not magical abilities.
     If the target is bound or enclosed, it takes damage equal to 1hp per point of hardness rating of whatever is binding it (if it grows beyond the enclosure's dimensions).
     The effects of this spell do not stack.

Reduce

This spell can shrink a single creature or object up to 150 lbs/level, decreasing their size and strength. The spell caster decreases size by a size divider. This divider is found by adding 1 to half the caster's level. A 1st-level caster, therefore, would have a size divider of 1.5 while a 10th-level caster would have a size divider of 6. Weight and mass also decrease at a rate equal to the cube of the height decrease. This means that if the height decreases by ÷2, weight decreases by ÷8 (which is 2 x 2 x 2 or the cube of 2).
     Effective hit points and Strength both decrease by +2/level (minimum of 1, each). Note that the health of the target is not actually impaired; being smaller, the target is just easier to damage and has less material to inflict harm upon. AC is increased, due to size, at +1/level. AC is also penalized, due to increasing fragility and mass, by -1/2-levels (rounded down).
     Items resting on or touching the target are not affected but worn or carried, non-magical possessions are. Once a caster reaches 5th-level, magical possessions are also affected although only shrink in mass: not magical abilities.
     The effects of this spell do not stack.

Yours,
Sylvan (Dave)

Ten Commandments of Tabletop Gaming

2007-05-07T22:14:50Z

A little cross-promotion never hurt anyone...

Here are the fruits of my 10-minute, afternoon break as I contemplated "the Ten Commandments ... of Gaming".

http://joshuwain.livejournal.com/630162.html

Enjoy and pass it around! :)

Yours,
Sylvan (Dave)

Vintage and used gaming stuff to sell.

2006-12-06T22:26:42Z

I have a bunch of vintage and used gaming supplies ranging from Vintage board games from the 60's and 70's, a ton of first edition AD&D stuff, and other assorted RPG books and supplements from the early 80's onward. I am going to start with some of this stock to re-start my E-bay business, but I thought I would give people on my friends list and communities I am on first crack at them. They can be shipped or if your local I can arrange a cash exchange. I do take paypal as a way of taking credit as well. I'm not going to post prices on the list since they may vary depending on how much of this you are willing to buy from me, and the price may be negoitable. Some items, like the D&D books I would prefer to sell in lots of more then one, but I will split them up. Again more your interested in, more I'll negotiate the price, I just want to get this stuff out of here to get some investment capital and extra money for the holidays. Below is the list seperated by type by what I have, I'll make a few LJ cuts for each section as its LONG. Listed with each entry is its year and condition, but for more detials on the items and pricing please contact me at yarrickwulf @ yahoo.com

1st ed AD&D/D&D core books/Boxed sets:

1st D&D paperback Core books (DM book, PHB, Expert Rules, DM comp. 1&2)- Good- 1984
1st ed Dungeons and Dragons: The Book of Marvelous Magic- Very Good- 1985
1st ed Dungeons and Dragons: The Book of Wonderous Inv.- Excellent- 1987
1st Ed AD&D DM's Guide- Excellent- 1979
1st ED AD&D Monster Manual- Excellent- 1979
1st Ed AD&D Players Handbook- Very Good- 1980
1st Ed AD&D Fiend Folio- Excellent- 1981
1st Ed AD&D Fiend Folio- Excellent- 1981
1st Ed AD&D MM II- Excellent- 1983
1st Ed AD&D MM II- Excellent- 1983
1st Ed AD&D Legends and Lore- Excellent- 1984
1st Ed AD&D Manual of the Plains- Excellent- 1987
1st Ed AD&D Dungeoner's Survival Guide- Excellent- 1986
1st ed AD&D Battle System Box Set- Good (missing box)- 1985
1st Ed AD&D Dragonlance Adventures- Excellent- 1987
1st Ed AD&D Oriental Adventures- Excellent- 1985
1st Ed AD&D Unearthed Arcana- Excellent- 1985
1st Ed AD&D Wilderness Survival Guide- Excellent- 1986
1st Ed AD&D Greyhawk Adventures- Excellent- 1988
1st ed AD&D Hollow World DM's Source Book- Very Good- 1990
1st ed AD&D Hollow World Player's Guide- Very Good- 1990

1st Ed AD&D Adventures:

1st ed AD&D Adv module: Oasis of the White Palm- Very Good- 1983
1st ed AD&D Adventure: Ravager of Time (UK)- Very Good- 1986
1st ed AD&D Adventure: Ravenloft- Good- 1983
1st ed AD&D Adventure: Red Sonja Unconquered- Excellent- 1986
1st ed AD&D Dragonlance Adventure: Dragons of Flame- Very Good- 1984
1st ed AD&D Dragonlance Adventure: Dragons of Ice- Good- 1985
1st ed AD&D Dungeon MD A2: Secret of the Slavers Stockade- Very Good- 1981
1st ed AD&D Dungeon MD A3: Assult on the Aerie of the Slave Lords- Very Good- 1983
1st ed AD&D Dungeon Module UK1: Beyond the Crystal Cave- Excellent- 1983
Role-aids 1st ed AD&D Final Challenge Solo Adventure- Near Mint- 1984

2nd/3rd ed AD&D/D&D

The Atlas of the Dragonlance World- Excellent- 1987
2nd ed AD&D Greyhawk Adventures: Fate of Isus Adventure- Excellent- 1989
2nd ed AD&D Ravenloft: Masque of the Red Death Box set- Excellent- 1994
3rd Ed D&D: Kingdoms of Kalamar Villan Design Handbook- Like New- 2002
3rd ed D&D Living Greyhawk Gazetter- Excellent- 2001

Board Games

3M Bookcase Games: Break Thru- Near Mint- 1965
3m Bookcase Games: Foil- Excellent- 1968
3M Bookcase Games: Phlounder- Excellent- 1962
3M Bookcase Games: Ploy- Good- 1970
3M Bookcase Games: Quinto- Excellent- 1964
Anti The Trust Busters Game- Good (minor cover water damage)- 1973

Other RPGs

FASA Citytech- Good- 1994
FASA Shadowrn: Seattle Sourcebook- Very Good- 1990
FASA Shadowrn: Virtual Realities 2.0- 1995
FASA The Battletech Compendium- Very Good- 1990
FASA: Star Trek The Role Playing 2nd Ed Game Core Set- Excellent- 1983
FASA: Star Trek The RPG Int Manual: Agent's Operation Man- Excellent- 1987
FASA: Star Trek The RPG Int Manual: Game Operations- Excellent- 1987
FASA: Star Trek The RPG Int Manual: The Klingons- Excellent- 1987
GURPS Steampunk- Like New- 2001
Middle Earth Roleplaying Box Set- Good (box minor damage, no dice)- 1986
Palladium Books: Heros Unlimited Revised- Excellent- 1987
Palladium Books:Rifter number 19- Like New- 2002
Palladium Books:Villans Unlimited- Very Good- 1992
Robin Hood the Role Playing Campaign- Near Mint- 1987
RoleMaster Boxed Set- Good- 1985
TSR Star Frontiers: Alpha Dawn Boxed Set- Very Good- 1983
White Wolf Vampire The Dark Ages- Like New- 1998
West End Games: 2nd ED Star Wars RPG- Like New- 1996

poke

2006-11-22T23:40:30Z

This is your happy moderator. Sadly I've had a very busy and stressful summer (loosing a job that was a bad situation to begin with and trying to start a small business which is now more of a side small business at the moment) but getting close to winter I've becoming more interested in trying to get things going for my part in getting more interest in the gaming community in Minnesota.

We've lost a few game stores while I was "away" but for once, in a long time we've actually managed to get a few back, and it seems that in general this year gaming is for the first time in awhile on the rise, and gaming in general- not specific to interest in only one CCG, etc. This is a very good sign and hopefully, I can get out there to stir the pot as it were in the next couple of months.

Anything anyone would like to contribute or share if anyone is still alive out there?

Wanted: RPG/Gaming props

2006-08-14T16:36:17Z

The search continues: we've had a couple folks contact us but are still seeking props and more so I'm reposting this with a few additions

We're working on the new episode of "Fear of Girls", and are once again on the hunt for props. We are seeking gaming stuff. If you have any RPG books, miniatures, Magic cards, posters, etc. that you'd be willing to allow us to use as set dressing we'd really appreciate it.

We're also looking for a few Art Department Production Assistants. We'll be shooting this Friday, Saturday, Sunday and any help on any of these days would be fantastic. These are unpaid positions but it will be a lot of fun.

For anyone who hasn't yet seen "Fear of Girls" its a very funny short mockumentary about a couple of completely over the top RPG gamers. You should definitely take a look. You also might recognize a few familiar faces.

The fun news is that it had been optioned by a studio and this second episode, is actually more of a pilot.

Thanks Much.

Be in a movie and share your interests!!

2005-12-08T05:25:22Z

Dear Twin City affiliated community,

I am contacting your group (as well as many other TC groups) on behalf of a documentary I am making about the Ax-Man Surplus Store.

I believe that Ax-Man is one of the lesser known gems of the Twin Cities to outsiders as well as even a few locals. One of the great things about Ax-Man is that I think it works for *all* walks of life (get audio stuff there, motors, stuff for art projects or jewelry, or even a fun place to go on a date!)

I am going to make the film about the history, the merchandise, and especially the sub-culture of Ax-Man. THIS IS WHERE YOU COME IN!

I am looking to interview people about the things they have made from Ax-Man stores. I am looking for both big and small projects as well as people who just simply enjoy shopping there or have something to say!!

The first and largest round of interviews will be happening December 19th through January 7th.

If you are interested in this project or have questions, you can e-mail me at axmanfilm AT gmail DOT com (for I will be cross posting this note only once in a mass quantity and then only posting to more appropriate communities from now on... you can only make this stretch once to certain communities so don't worry moderators!)

Thanks everyone for reading and please pass this along to anyone you know!

RIP Keith Parkinson

2005-10-30T17:35:07Z

mn_gamer @ 2005-09-15T14:07:00

2005-09-15T19:07:24Z

a comprehensive list of RPG violations.

Help for gamers displaced by Katrina

2005-09-03T13:03:05Z

Larry Dixon and Mercedes Lackey are organizing efforts to assist fans and gamers displaced by Katrina. You can read more about it at http://www.gryphonking.com. If you know a fan or gamer in need of assistance, they can call 918-343-9462 or email gryphonking@gmail.com to find out how to get a roof over their heads thanks to Larry and Mercedes.

Spread the word so fans in need are taken care of.

(crossposted to mnstf)

Conservation and Car-Pooling

2005-09-01T14:37:10Z

I should do more to not use up so much energy.

I need to start carpooling from Columbia Heights, Minnesota (near 40th and University where I live) to Eden Prairie, Minnesota (Valley View Road and Highway 169 where I work at Digital River).

Any suggestions of where I can go to find those needing a lift? I'm going to check with the carpool info they have here at the office, but I'd also like to know if anyone else has any insights...

Yours,
Sylvan (Dave)

Another Dragon Comic

2005-08-28T10:16:57Z

TRUST THE COMPUTER! THE COMPUTER IS YOUR FRIEND!

2005-08-21T20:15:27Z

Greetings, citizen! THE COMPUTER has made you a TROUBLESHOOTER, a protector of the underground city of ALPHA COMPLEX. You and your fellow Troubleshooters will have lots of fun rooting out Communist mutant traitors. The Computer says so.

Members of treasonous secret societies like the Frankenstein Destroyers, the Illuminati, Psion, PURGE and the Sierra Club may attack, maim or blackmail you. Treasonous mutants with powers like Electroshock, Pyrokinesis, Charm, Puppeteer and Bureaucratic Intuition may shock you, incinerate you, subvert you, control you or bury you in paperwork. But it will be fun. The Computer says so, and The Computer is your friend.

Most fun of all is uncovering your fellow Troubleshooters' secret societies and mutations, accusing them of treason and persuading The Computer to terminate them -- before they do the same to you.

PARANOIA: The Roleplaying Game of a Darkly Humorous Future

Pursuant to Central Processing Unit directive 214.08.20/547.4 'Restoration of Classic RPGs to Print After Unduly Prolonged Absence,' Mongoose Publishing brings you PARANOIA, an entirely new edition of the classic science fiction game originally published in 1984. In service to a well-meaning but deranged Computer, you and your fellow players seek to eliminate traitors. Your deepest fear: Your fellow players will discover YOU are one of those traitors.

PARANOIA: A light-hearted game of backstabbing, treachery and guile, where trusting other players is a sure route to the termination centre. Get paranoid starting in August 2004. Or else!

PARANOIA IS FUN. OTHER GAMES ARE NOT FUN. BUY PARANOIA.

Convergence Gaming

2005-07-04T09:00:29Z

First off, Convergence was a blast. Pirates of the Spanish main seemed to be the most popular miniature game I had with me (and I ran games of it all three days.) We had two games of pirates running at one time, and I had players/comments even on the 22nd floor which I was glad that it worked out as well as it did.

I also had one sucessful demo of D&D Miniatures, Wargods of Aegyptus, a few people come in and simply talk about miniature gaming with me (from everything from Mech Warrior clix to Warhammer Fantasy), and even a group later Sat night that came in and painted miniatures (which had made me wish I would have brought my paints along with as well :/).

Overall with such short notice to the gaming staff this year as I was slightly pessimistic of being "lost in the fray" but it turned out really well. The CCGers controlled the gaming for most of Friday night, and there were a few other small things on Sat- but with the lack of foresight and not getting in contact with the gaming staff earlier on MY part; it went VERY well and a number of possilibilites are open for next year as I plan to work a lot closer with the gaming staff and get my volunteer/scheduling and ideas brought up a lot earlier then last year so it will be printed in the Con book and elsewise.

I would also like to thank the Convergence gaming staff once again for letting me have this opportunity. I look forward to working with you next year as I had a really good time.

Miniatures seems to be a niche thats been harder to fill at conventions that aren't strict gaming conventions. I think it has a better chance of filling a niche at Convergence in the future however from what I saw this year.

So once again it's another year off but its never too soon to start thinking about this for next year. I've had a number of ideas from running more quick game demos (espically during the earlier parts of the day) on teaching people how to play/ and running quick games to perhaps putting in a scheduled event or two. Do people think we'd have the interest in running a warhammer 40k mini-campaign for example?

Another thought that came up was the hobby aspect of miniature gaming. Such as painting and terrian building.

mngamerguild.org down

2005-07-01T16:22:39Z

hi all, just a quick update:

The community website, minnesota gamer's guild is currently down (again I know.. but atleast this time it was a while between?)

Again it has more problems to do with the ISP at the location of the server. I'm not sure of the exzact cause yet, but I will hopefully get it resolved shortly, but knowing most ISP's it won't be resolved till atleast monday if not sometime next week. *sighs*

I'm going to add the LJ group to the business cards and possibly at some point the flyers as well as an alternate to when the community website goes down again. Once again I'm sorry for the inconvience and will get the problem resolved asap.

Thanks for your paitence.

Convergence

2005-06-26T20:04:46Z

Edit: Because of the below comments and getting a hold of the Convergence Staff in this way, this post has now changed.

I will likely be running some miniature gaming up on the 22nd floor. Mostly will be miniatures and short games and I won't likely be there the whole convention. There may be posters on the main level with the schedule, otherwise I will for sure make sure there is something on the upper level listing when I will be there running demos and such. I will likely be bringing some of the smaller games, like pirates, around the convention as well when I'm not up on the 22nd floor.

I really want to see Miniatures do well at conventions other then strict gaming conventions, espically the quicker games like Pirates, D&D minis, Star Wars minis, etc. What I will have with me will be small and limited to a duffle bag or a small rolling suitcase. I may however bring the wargods demo kit depending on how things run.

So if anyone is going to be at Convergence this year, I will be there, on the 22nd floor running gaming as well as around the rest of the convention.

What I'm seeing for the future here would be a possible room party at Convergence next year instead; provided I have the funds and interest to do it.

Convergence runs next weekend July 1-3rd at the Sheraton in Bloomington. Registration is $55 at the door (which is what I need to pay this year since I'm the eternal procrastinator) so its not too late if you want to go.

Star Wars movie event! Please come!!

2005-05-06T20:57:17Z

If you're planning on going to see Star Wars this month, listen to this!

I just purchased my ticket to see Star Wars on May 21 (Saturday) at 3:30 p.m. at the Crown Theater in downtown Minneapolis. The cost is $5.75 and you can purchase them at the theater now.

Please come! Let's all get together and share the "last" film from a galaxy far, far away. Marfalump will be there! Honest! (is lying)

I hope to see some of you there (whether you are in costume or not). Hmmm... how shall we identify each other if we do go to the same showing? Any ideas?

mn_gamer @ 2005-05-03T03:47:00

2005-05-03T08:47:45Z

Well, it's that time again. Wizards of the Coast is promoting yet another prerelease event, and it's happening on the 21st and 22nd of this month. Misty Mountain Games is hosting the event, and I believe they are going to have it at the Minneapolis Convention Center. The cost to participate is $30, or $25 if you sign up early at their site: http://www.legionevents.com/index.html (requires credit card).

Also, if you're in the Minneapolis area and are looking for a group to play Magic: the Gathering with, why not sign up at the Minneapolis Gathered Cards site? Just click the URL below and log on today!

Minneapolis Gathered Cards Club

mngamerguild.org down

2005-03-31T05:37:37Z

Hello all,

Just posting that the Minnesota Gamers Guild website is down; it couldn't have come at a worse time for me after the Mini-con events in which I tried to promote it more there.

This has to do with an ISP problem where the server is housed. We have no idea of the cause of the outage yet.

My main e-mail account is thus also on said server and also down. Feel free to use the Yahoo group or Livejournal community untill the situation is resolved.

Thank you for your paitence.

Re-naming MN Gamer

2005-01-23T21:10:10Z

View Poll: mngamername

After a lot of thought, I've decided that regardless of what happens on the legality side of things that I do not want to be associated with the Minnesota Gamers Convention as much (if not more at this point) then he wants to be associated with us for a number of reasons, but there is no reason to get into more detail right here and now, I think the previous post covered the matter well enough.

What will happen is this: mngamer.com will remain registered to me. It will contain a splash page with a re-direct to the new URL that will explain why we changed our name, etc.

The content of the site, including all all of the posts will remain intact. Since were still new theres a smaller number of posts that I can sort out and edit out any references to MN Gamer without much of a problem, but I will keep as much of the orignal content as I can intact.

In a way this is a good thing for us. Were still new enough that this is not a major disaster, and it gives us an opportunity to choose something truely unique and catchy.

There will be a couple of phases on this. First I am going to ask people to vote for a name above (taken from suggestions I've allready recieved).

When a name is chosen I will note it and the runners up just incase. I will then do a day or two of through research to make sure that name is NOT taken by someone else. (I did before but this time I will search registries and trademarks as well)

When that is done I will register the new URL. MN Gamer will still be up as MN Gamer during these steps of the process.

once I have gotten a clear URL to register, I will post that URL in an announcement on the very front of the site. Once it is submitted it will take several days to register.

Once this is done, MN gamer will be down for a few days while I make the appropriate changes. MNgamer.com will remain as a redirect page, and there will also be a splash page on the new URL while I make the appropriate changes. Depending on what we name it, I may change a few of the logos as well.

But the first step of this is names. Personally I like North Star Gamer and the Minnesota Gaming Association the best out of the names we've got so far. I've talked to people outside the state of MN on this one, and I'm a bit suprised that most of them can relate North Star to Minnesota; even the ones who have never been here. So its a good one to go on, but as allways I am still open for suggestions on names, please leave them below

The live Journal community user name will most likely stay the same, though the community title will change.

Once again I thank all of you for your paitence and support. We will get through this little bump on the road.

At the Source next weekend.

2005-01-23T05:49:30Z

Magic the Gathering players, lissen up!

Next weekend, The Source Comics and Games (yeah, those guys you saw on tv) are hosting a Draft 'Til You Drop event as well as an All-Star Survivor event!

Starting at 10 a.m. Saturday, all draft games are $10 each. Any draft type that you can dream of will be played: Rochester, Backdraft, Iron Man, Kamigawa, and even Unhinged! Drafts will continue until 4 a.m. Sunday morning (children will need parents or guardians present after 9 p.m.)!

There will also be free pizza and pop all day, and big prizes to win!

Visit or call The Source Comics and Games today!

call 651-645-0386 or visit http://www.sourcecandg.com for more information.

DON'T MISS OUT, SOLDIER!

Also, don't forget to join my Magic the Gathering group:
http://games.groups.yahoo.com/group/minneapolis_gathered_cards/

Magic at the Source is very popular right now.

MN Gamer down

2005-01-03T23:47:30Z

MN gamer.com is down again, and I have not as of yet got a hold of the server admin. I intend to make a few changes so we don't see this again, as I'm thinking its something simple that wouldn't be hard to fix. Hopefully he'll get my message tonight and we'll be up again this evening or tommorow morning.

Thanks for your Paitience

If you're in Minneapolis and love Magic the Gathering....

2004-12-29T12:07:52Z

I'm trying to start a group setting where Magic players can gather and share tips, strategies, and work on their decks and gaming skills.

Come to Minneapolis Gathered Cards and let's get started!

(looking for at least 10 dedicated players... more are always welcome!)

Question

2004-11-26T19:33:57Z

Should I a) just offer up my entire magic the gathering collection up for sale at 200 dollars or b) go thru all of them, find out what i have and then do it? I started collecting around the time of Ice Age.

Minnesota Gamer

Gary Gygax, July 27, 1938 – March 4, 2008

Growth, Shrinking & DnD

Ten Commandments of Tabletop Gaming

Vintage and used gaming stuff to sell.

*poke*

Wanted: RPG/Gaming props

Be in a movie and share your interests!!

RIP Keith Parkinson

mn_gamer @ 2005-09-15T14:07:00

Help for gamers displaced by Katrina

Conservation and Car-Pooling

Another Dragon Comic

TRUST THE COMPUTER! THE COMPUTER IS YOUR FRIEND!

Convergence Gaming

mngamerguild.org down

Convergence

Star Wars movie event! Please come!!

mn_gamer @ 2005-05-03T03:47:00

mngamerguild.org down

Re-naming MN Gamer

At the Source next weekend.

MN Gamer down

If you're in Minneapolis and love Magic the Gathering....

Question

poke