Here we go again

So, it has been a very long time since I blogged, and to be honest, it has been on purpose. See, a couple of months ago I had my DM over for a visit, and when I say “over” I mean he was back from the US for a couple of days.

Well we hung out like old times and I quickly came to realize that everything we had together in terms of role playing games was gone. We have both gone our separate ways and we no longer share the same common frame of reference.

And that’s when I dawned on me, I think I am finally done with RPGs. I mean, I have no one to play with, and even if I did I wonder if I would actually do it. Perhaps I have lived in the past for many years now, hoping for the return of something that is irrevocably dead.

Without getting too whiney or sentimental, I am putting this blog on hiatus. I will not delete the contents, but the domain name is going to die in about six months, since I am not going to renew it. The Gigaboot name was a joke with my old friend based on a campaign in Glantri, but since that is all in the past and can never be restored I will let it slip away.

Paizo Dragonlance sale

Paizo has a sale on all their Dragonlance stuff. Check it out here.

Currently reading

Well, I have finally gotten my filthy hands on a variety of Dragonlance rulebooks for the 3.5 D&D system, and I have also read them faster than you can say Black robed wizard. So what does an RPG geek do?

I have stated looking into Warhammer 40K. My sister’s boyfriend works for Games Workshop, so he got me a couple of novels, so I have started reading the Eisenhorn trilogy. The Warhammer universe is pretty new to me, and I have never played the game either, which is pretty nice, since I am discovering everything for the first time.

As far as I can tell, the timeline is not quite as developed as the Dragonlance world, but it has a lot of really cool aspects, such as Space Marines, Daemonhosts etc.

For the time being, I am sticking to the books I have burrowed, but I just might have found myself a new addiction.

Just got Holy Orders of the Stars

Well, actually I got it the other day, but the weather here has been so good that I haven’t really been online.

So anyway, I am on a quest to buy all the Dragonlance books that Margaret Weis Publishing did a couple of years ago and next in line was Holy Orders of the Stars. I found it on Amazon and paid a whopping £ 1.94. Yes sir, it was that cheap. Shipping and handling made a little more expensive, but all in all I paid around £ 7.

As usual, the quality of the book is astounding. The work is top notch and the authors have bridged a lot of different aspects of Dragonlance, and turned otherwise confusing elements into a coherent representation of the pantheon and religion of Krynn.

If I had a gaming group, this book would be very useful. Hat tip to the authors.

Just got Dragonlance campaign setting

Amazon finally sent me my copy of the Dragonlance Campaign setting. Actually, it didn’t take them that long, but since I have been a little impatient, I felt like it took forever. Anyway, I paid £ 5 for a brand spanking new copy, so that was a really good price.

The last couple of weeks I have been exploring the 5th Age setting. Originally I really disliked what they did with Dragonlance after Dragons of Summer Flame, but since the world more or less returned to normal, I figured I would give it a shot. And I am glad I did, even if it is about five years too late.

I am still not a fan of the way the world was stolen, but I think the setting might actually have benefitted from the reset. It seems that there is a lot more opportunity now to create themes that are not adhering to a strict Dragonlance code, and since the two major deities are gone, it is much easier to explore the rest of the pantheon. I particularly like how the gods are not quite as grouped as they were before.

My plan is to update some of my later writings, so they fit the Age of Mortals, and use these for the basis of my new campaign with the gang. Hopefully we will start in May, but things have gone wrong before. I will post whatever I write here on the blog, so if that ever happens feel free to tell me what you think.

The Hobbit starts filming

Via TheOneRing.net

In a hole in the ground there lived a Hobbit…

Wellington, NZ, March 21, 2011—Production has commenced in Wellington, New Zealand, on “The Hobbit,” filmmaker Peter Jackson’s two film adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien’s widely read masterpiece.

“The Hobbit” is set in Middle-earth 60 years before Tolkien’s “The Lord of the Rings,” which Jackson and his filmmaking team brought to the big screen in the blockbuster trilogy that culminated with the Oscar-winning “The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King.”

The two films, with screenplays by Fran Walsh, Philippa Boyens, Guillermo del Toro and Peter Jackson, will be shot consecutively in digital 3D using the latest camera and stereo technology. Filming will take place at Stone Street Studios, Wellington, and on location around New Zealand.

“The Hobbit” follows the journey of title character Bilbo Baggins, who is swept into an epic quest to reclaim the lost Dwarf Kingdom of Erebor, which was long ago conquered by the dragon Smaug. Approached out of the blue by the wizard Gandalf the Grey, Bilbo finds himself joining a company of thirteen dwarves led by the legendary warrior, Thorin Oakensheild. Their journey will take them into the Wild; through treacherous lands swarming with Goblins and Orcs, deadly Wargs and Giant Spiders, Shapeshifters and Sorcerers.

Although their goal lies to the East and the wastelands of the Lonely Mountain first they must escape the goblin tunnels, where Bilbo meets the creature that will change his life forever … Gollum.

Here, alone with Gollum, on the shores of an underground lake, the unassuming Bilbo Baggins not only discovers depths of guile and courage that surprise even him, he also gains possession of Gollum’s “precious” ring that holds unexpected and useful qualities … A simple, gold ring that is tied to the fate of all Middle-earth in ways Bilbo cannot begin to know.

Martin Freeman takes the title role as Bilbo Baggins and Ian McKellen returns in the role of Gandalf the Grey. The Dwarves are played by Richard Armitage (Thorin Oakenshield), Ken Stott (Balin), Graham McTavish (Dwalin), William Kircher (Bifur) James Nesbitt (Bofur), Stephen Hunter (Bombur), Rob Kazinsky (Fili), Aidan Turner (Kili), Peter Hambleton (Gloin), John Callen (Oin), Jed Brophy (Nori), Mark Hadlow (Dori) and Adam Brown (Ori). Reprising their roles from “The Lord of the Rings” trilogy are Cate Blanchett as Galadriel, Andy Serkis as Gollum and Elijah Wood as Frodo. Jeffrey Thomas and Mike Mizrahi also join the cast as Dwarf Kings Thror and Thrain, respectively. Further casting announcements are expected.

“The Hobbit” is produced by Peter Jackson and Fran Walsh, alongside Carolynne Cunningham. Executive producers are Ken Kamins and Zane Weiner, with Philippa Boyens as co-producer. The Oscar-winning, critically acclaimed “The Lord of the Rings” trilogy, also from the production team of Jackson and Walsh, grossed nearly $3 billion worldwide at the box office. In 2003, “The Return of the King” swept the Academy Awards, winning all of the 11 categories in which it was nominated, including Best Picture – the first ever Best Picture win for a fantasy film. The trilogy’s production was also unprecedented at the time.

Read more here

Very nice indeed :-)

New Chronicles cover

I was surfing Amazon the other day in search for Dragonlance books, when noticed a new cover for the Dragonlance Chronicles. As far as I can tell, this is the cover for the omnibus edition, which apparently is being rereleased.

It seems that there is still money to made off of Dragonlance, and that gives hope. Maybe one day Wizards will start producing new material. Or even better, maybe Margaret Weis will be able to acquire the license. One can always hope

Opening the goodie box

I was close to popping a hernia yesterday when I brought in my big box of D&D. For a while now, I have been contemplating bring the whole library back into the house, and yesterday was the day when I finally did it. So, as of today my office now holds all my old D&D material plus other assorted goodies.

the idea is that I will start gaming again with my old group, and based on those sessions I might be able to actually start posting to the blog again.

Getting the band back together

The funny thing about this blog, is that I always proclaim the death about D&D and yet it seems like I keep blogging about it. The other day I wrote about how I am no longer part of any groups, and D&D is kind of dead for me and blah blah blah.

So anyway, I am talking to this friend of mine, who used to be in my old group, and he actually suggests that we start playing again. I send a few emails, and before I know it, we have established the old group and are planning a weekend trip to a summerhouse to get some serious gaming done. How about that.

Right now we are trying to decide if we should play Dragonlance or Vampire. I am hoping for D&D Dragonlance although Vampire sounds pretty tasty too.

Happy belated New Year

As any reader of this blog, and I know there are next to none, will no doubt have noticed, I have pretty much stopped blogging here. In fact, I have been considering dropping this blog for good, and use the domain for something else. As it is, I can’t really get myself to drop it, so for now it will remain here, and occasionally I will hopefully write a post or two.

As we have entered 2011, I feel that it is time to have make a status of the gaming situation for me, so here we go.

• New Dragonlance gaming material to look forward to: 0
• New Dragonlance novels to look forward to: 0
• Active Role Playing gaming groups: 0
• Active board game groups: 1
• Number of home brew pages: 0

All of a sudden it makes a lot of sense why I have nothing to blog about here. Alas.