Goodman Games

Berating authors... hmm, I'm so there. J/K... looking forward to tearing into a box set and looking over the maps right away.

Uh oh. I guess that puts me first in line for drubbing over the head with a blunt instrument. Better dust off the Topographic Rex character stats to see what sort of damage my delicate wittle heart can withstand.

Har har. For myself, I can't wait to see the maps either. Sometimes my alter ego takes over when I'm working on such things, and the results surprise the Clark Kent in me. Plus, as anyone who works in print design knows, there's the terror of hoping that the guys running the press got the colors right...

...and I sincerely hope they didn't leave off all the Starbucks locations I noted on the maps. Nobody has a problem with this, do they?

GEN CON! GEN CON! GEN CON! GEN CON! WOOHOO! It's my first time, and I might not make it out alive! How cool is THAT?!

Hey, this time tomorrow, I'll have the box in my hands. I'll see you Goodman people bright and early in the morning.

.....paces the floor anxiously.......

Well? Come on man, people here have a need to know! We're living vicariously through you!

I have the box in my hands, and it's...heavy!

Tell me about it. I actually complained to the Goodman gang about having to lug that heavy box around all day. As soon as I get to read some of this material, I'll tell everybody about it.

This is going to really sound strange. It's been so long since I've bought a boxed set but it has the same smells from the boxed sets when I was a kid.

The box is jammed back to the brim. Not much room for stuffing character sheets and your own stuff. That is probably the only complaint.

The maps are on heavy paper. Not the flimsy World of Greyhawk paper. There are 4 fold-up maps and they are all gorgeous.

First glance at the two campaign books look great.

I'll post more later. As soon as I finish my Ram Growler my typing skills may diminish more:).

Later,

Greg Volz
Natural Twenty Gaming
www.naturaltwenty.com

I noticed the exact same thing, naturaltwenty. Guess our ages are showing. It will take a long time to go over everything in this “heavy box”, but I’ll give a “first glance” to anyone who is interested. The World of Aereth Gazetteer, one of the two sourcebooks in the box, covers the geography, organizatons, and history of the Northlands, while the GM’s Guide (not DM), covers the deities, new monsters (with illustrations similar to the original Monster Manual) , and setting rules among other game master info. One of the really nice features in the GM guide are suggestions in creating an adventure path (via Paizo) using existing DCC modules.
The Players Guide is a combination of the original Greyhawk box set, including those often overblown titles for royalty (all you old timers will know what I am talking about) and the newer Living Greyhawk Gazetteer. You even get the flag of each country on the back cover, just like old times. I can’t speak as to the content of most of the book yet, but I see that even Green Ronin’s Freeport is included, a definite plus. The only problem I have is that the maps are too large for casually reading the book and finding a location on the without unfolding everything. It would be nice to have a letter size map posted on the website.
Don’t take any of that to mean that there is a problem with the maps, just the opposite. They are exquisite and Topograhic Rex should be proud. Unfortunately, my maps have odd radiating creases at the folds, a problem I hope that is unique to my box.
That’s about all that I have had a chance to look over. If anyone can’t get their own box, and has any questions, feel free to ask, and I’ll see if I can’t find an answer for you.

And while I'm at it, here is my first Known World NPC and my GM alter ego:
Mica Grimshaw is a well-traveled mystic theurge and a long time member of the Brotherhood of the Silver Raven. He is a firm believer in the betterment of the sentient races and believes knowledge and education are the keys to this betterment. To these ends, Mica is currently trying to unite the Brotherhood into a more concrete organization dedicated to collecting lost lore, detecting, and often opposing any threat that might arise this dangerous world. Grimshaw is not above enlisting (sometimes unwittingly) adventurers in his plans.
Without a central authority, the Brotherhood of the Silver Raven, is effectively being led by Grimshaw, his core beliefs in the acquisition of knowledge, being in line with most of the others in the organization. There are independent minded bards and rogues, among others, that chafe under any leadership, and Mica Grimshaw does not push the issue as long as no evil is committed in the name of the Brotherhood.

Yeah, that boxed set is heavy, isn't it?

We've been thrilled to meet the eager fans willing to pick up the Gazetteer so quickly! Been one day and most of the boxed sets have sold already! So cool.

Jeff LaSala wrote:Yeah, that boxed set is heavy, isn't it?

We've been thrilled to meet the eager fans willing to pick up the Gazetteer so quickly! Been one day and most of the boxed sets have sold already! So cool.

But there are plenty more back at the office, just waiting to be sold online immediately post-con, right?

RIGHT!?!?

I hope they made plenty, I just put in a pre-order at my FLGS.

Keep the reviews coming!

Maliki wrote:I hope they made plenty, I just put in a pre-order at my FLGS.

Keep the reviews coming!

Did your store already have the pre-ordering info from GG? I'll have to give Dream Wizards a call and see if they can pre-order for me as well.

I think this is just through their normal distributer, when their distributer gets it then they will send a copy to FLGS.

Wow.

Thanks for the good reviews of the maps (and the rest, of which I am confident once you've had some time to digest it. Harley, Jeff and Mike did an amazing job, especially given the sheer size of the project!).

The printers nailed my color settings on the maps, so for that I am indescribably relieved, same with the Gaz. and Guide covers. I am extremely pleased that the maps themselves, and their style, seem to have been as well received as the magnificence of Aereth itself (Whew!) And a rousing 'amen' to Brad McDevitt for the heraldy he cooked up to grace the back of those book covers.

Shouting out to our awesome "SomeGuy" fan from Ohio, I've not noticed any of the 'radiating creases' on any of the other copies, so I think it may be your copy only, as you surmised. Everyone at Goodman Games thanks you for making the special trip to be a part of this kick-ass event in the sordid and saucy history of the DCCs. We were all well impressed.

Huge thanks to the rest of you who made it to GenCon '06, thanks for visiting the booth, hope those of you who made the leap for the Box Set are as overjoyed as we believe you'll be with it. For the rest of us, we'll make short work of our fingernails waiting for our chance at it!

And...yea, isn't it nice how friggin' heavy that box is? And someone pointed out the smell. Hells yeah. Love it.

Just one thing: Watch out for Harley. The man is a true GreatHeart, and gives the most sincere hugs this side of Oprah. But...the man is also bear-strong, and I think I still need to pop a few ribs back into place!

someguyfromohio wrote: Unfortunately, my maps have odd radiating creases at the folds, a problem I hope that is unique to my box.

Someguy,

Drop me a PM and let me know your mailing address. I haven't opened my boxed set yet ("No time for fun Doctor Jones!") but asuming they are in good shape I will mail you my maps.

All the other copies we opened (for signings) were clean, so I hate the thought of you having creased maps.

We will be posting a larger convention report and thank you soon, but for right now, a HUGE thank you is due to everyone that took the time to stop by the booth and say hi. What an amazing time. Thank you for making us a part of your games.

//H

toper wrote:Just one thing: Watch out for Harley. The man is a true GreatHeart, and gives the most sincere hugs this side of Oprah. But...the man is also bear-strong, and I think I still need to pop a few ribs back into place!

Heh. Maybe I'm just Bear-Stupid. I'm working on scaling that back a little, but my exuberance gets the best of me.

And a hearty congrats to those who suceeded in getting a copy of Iron Crypt 1st Edition. That sucker was gone before noon the first day.

Similarly, we sold nearly all the advance copies of DCC World. There might be a handful going home, but things got pretty crazy Sunday afternoon. Once these are gone we'll have to wait until the September shipment for more.

//H

Wow! A personal “shout out”. Even my wife, a decidedly non-gamer, is impressed. I thank you and I won’t even mention that I was called “crazy” more than once at the Goodman booth.

I won’t even mention that I was called “crazy” more than once at the Goodman booth.

By whom? Nonsense! We're all kinds of crazy here.

Harley Stroh wrote:
Heh. Maybe I'm just Bear-Stupid. I'm working on scaling that back a little, but my exuberance gets the best of me.

Never. No scaling it back my friend, I was just making fun. You gotta be who you are, and your -2 subdual damage hugs are a part of that.

I'm thinking DCC phase two has begun. Pirates, anyone?

yup! I'd go for pirates!

jason wiebe
sculptor and dcc convert...

Pirates? Oh yes, ledz do it!

For those of us that didn't make it to GenCon this year, when does DCC #35 go on sale?

The box set is heavy... very heavy.

So I got the maps laminated today and layed them out on the floor to inspect every inch. I am hovering over the maps when my GF comes in and says to me: "Is that your world blanket?" She smiled and then walked away.

I dare not give away yet what she means by "world blanket."

...........................................Omote
FPQ

Hierax wrote:For those of us that didn't make it to GenCon this year, when does DCC #35 go on sale?

It's on a boat on the way from China right now. The sale date depends on the boat and customs (two things that are hard to predict precisely), but I would estimate late September/early October.

How in g-d's name did you get those mongo sized maps laminated?

Does Kinko's do that or did you go through a custom shop? Inquiring minds want to know. Never would have occurred to me, and it sounds like a GREAT idea with all the use these things will likely get. I cringe when I see how tattered my old Greyhawk and Forgotten Realms maps are. Like to avoid that in this new set, especially with the price being considerable.

Thanks in advance for the info, and smart thinking,

Ben "superfan" Waxman

Superfan,

The laminating machines at CopyMax (OfficeMax) are just big enough to laminate properly (with 2 inches to spare!). I advise making sure the person at the controls of the laminating machine appears competant enough not to screw up your bust-ass, and extremely expensive maps.

While laminated, you obviously can't fold them anymore but who cares?! The laminating process preserves these works of art and really brings out the colors even more. They're in front of me right now and while laminated they look gorgeous.

I'm really digging this setting GG. *2-thumbs up*

................................................Omote
FPQ