CAR-PGa NEWSLETTER, Vol. 31, No. 11, November 2022

An international network of researchers into all aspects of role-playing games

David Millians, Editor

Paideia School, 1509 Ponce de Leon Avenue, Atlanta, Georgia 30307 USA

millians.david@paideiaschool.org

LETTER FROM THE CHAIR

Hello All,

Our latest guest was Christine Resotko. Christine has been playing RPGs since 1990, ran Earthdawn for FASA at the 1994 GenCon, started the CADL Adventurers Club at her library branch in 2014, presented to the Michigan Library Association Annual Conference on Tabletop, Card, and TRPGs in Libraries, presented on RPGs in libraries at this year’s GenCon, and writes the Confessions of an RPG Nerd blog posts for the American Library Association Game Roundtable. Our conversation was a great reminder of the CAR-GPA’s roots, particularly in the library and education space, and how important it is to introduce tabletop games to those who may not otherwise be exposed to them. You can watch our virtual session on our YouTube channel.

I’ve got some good news as well! We no longer have to worry about getting enough subscribers for our shortlink, which is now, as YouTube gave us our own handle: http://www.youtube.com/@car-pga. That link is now updated on our web site. Please be sure to bookmark it and share with everyone who might be interested.

You may have heard mention of a new Dungeons & Dragons documentary on the horizon, just in time for the game’s 50th anniversary in 2024. That’s not quite the whole story though. Over ten years ago back in 2012, I was involved with a Kickstarter to launch a documentary on the subject. I helped find talent to be interviewed and I was even interviewed for the documentary. But unfortunately, due to a variety of technical and legal issues, the documentary never moved ahead. Fast forward to this year and Dungeons & Dragons writer Joe Manganiello will co-direct the project with Kyle Newman, while his brother Nick Manganiello, along with Anthony Savini and Cecily Tyler, Hasbro president of Wizards of the Coast and digital gaming, will produce. I’m in contact with Anthony and Cecily, and our very own Jon Peterson is an executive producer. I’ve offered to help get the word out about the documentary and I’m hopeful you’ll join me in supporting this relaunch. It’s been a long time coming.

Finally, we’ve seen a surge of new members so I want to welcome them here. Welcome Liz Brown, Douglas Gardner, and Andy Heavilin.

Thank you for your support!

Sincerely,

Mike Tresca

CAR-PGA Chair

NEW MATERIAL

FROM DAVID MILLIANS

Burns, Kam (2022 Oct 22) How Therapists Are Using Tabletop Games to Help People. https://www.wired.com/story/therapists-dungeons-dragons-tabletop-games-helping-people. Professionals challenge the “life-magic of narrative social play” for personal growth.

Campbell, Steph (2022 Oct 3) 6 tips and tricks to run smooth tabletop RPG encounters for kids. https://www.ttrpgkids.com/2022/10/03/6-tips-and-tricks-to-run-smooth-tabletop-rpg-encounters-for-kids. Expectations, tools, and patience.

Carter, Chase (2022 Oct 5) LEGO crowdsources fans for official Dungeons & Dragons Ideas set. https://www.dicebreaker.com/categories/roleplaying-game/news/lego-ideas-dungeons-and-dragons-set-announcement. Contest linked to fiftieth anniversary of publication.

Carter, Chase (2022 Oct 13) D&D documentary directed by Critical Role’s Joe Manganiello will use 400 hours of archival footage. https://www.dicebreaker.com/topics/dungeons-dragons/news/dungeons-and-dragons-documentary-joe-manganiello-announcement. Produced by Wizards of the Coast and involving Jon Peterson as well.

darjr (2022 Oct 6) Dungeons & Dragons Adventurer is A New UK Magazine To Teach D&D. https://www.enworld.org/threads/dungeons-dragons-adventurer-is-a-new-uk-magazine-to-teach-d-d.692213. Step-by-step adventures and character development, plus physical goodies like dice, binders, and more.

Edwards, Ron (2022 Oct 23) Role-playing culture and presentation. https://adeptplay.com/seminar/role-playing-culture-and-presentation. Presentations and discussion of the history and culture of gaming with handouts.

Jarvis, Matt (2022 Oct 4) One D&D’s playtest is already bigger than D&D 5E’s. https://www.dicebreaker.com/series/dungeons-and-dragons/news/one-dnd-playtest-bigger-dnd-5e. Massive sign up to work with draft rule system.

Jarvis, Matt (2022 Oct 18) Announcing the Tabletop Awards, a new celebration of the year’s best boardgame, RPGs and the people who make them. https://www.dicebreaker.com/events/tabletop-awards-2022/news/announcing-tabletop-awards. Publisher submissions open until November 14, 2022, and voters’ choice open now.

Knight, Brett (2022 Oct 11) Could Dungeons & Dragons Be The Next Harry Potter? Stranger Things Have Happened. https://www.forbes.com/sites/brettknight/2022/10/11/could-dungeons–dragons-be-the-next-harry-potter-stranger-things-have-happened/?sh=3109109d2e6f. A lifestyle with many media profitable possibilities.

Meehan, Alex (2022 Oct 4) “Diverse voices make characters come alive”: Anansi’s Tapestry of Lives creator on making D&D 5E NPCs more inclusive. https://www.dicebreaker.com/categories/roleplaying-game/interview/anansi-tapestry-lives-interview. More voices, more ideas and inspirations.

Pulsipher, Lewis (2022 Oct 7) The Great Dichotomies of RPGs. https://www.enworld.org/threads/worlds-of-design-the-great-dichotomies-of-rpgs.692021. Starting a conversation about styles of play and design.

Reeve, Robert G. (2022 Oct 10) D&D maker Wizards of the Coast and its RPG rivals are starting to look like Apple and Amazon. https://www.dicebreaker.com/categories/roleplaying-game/opinion/dnd-rpg-big-tech-apple-amazon. Recent hires from the tech industry, as well as mergers and acquisitions, point to increasing vertical integration of the market especially in digital form.

Riggs, Ben (2022 Oct 31) How the First Map of D&D’s Forgotten Realms Ended Up Above a Pub. https://www.writerbenriggs.com/blog/how-the-first-map-of-dampds-forgotten-realms-ended-up-above-a-pub. Tracking down a piece of history.

Whitehead, Adam (2022 Oct 7) Slaying the Dragon: A Secret History of Dungeons & Dragons by Ben Riggs. https://thewertzone.blogspot.com/2022/10/slaying-dragon-secret-history-of.html. Review.

Wieland, Rob (2022 Oct 25) A Beginner’s Guide to Horror Role Playing Games. https://www.forbes.com/sites/robwieland/2022/10/25/a-beginners-guide-to-horror-role-playing-games. Several suggestions for fun gaming.

© Copyright 2022 by the Committee for the Advancement of Role-Playing Games (CAR-PGa), ISSN 1071 7129. The CAR-PGa Newsletter is a monthly publication. For more information contact David Millians, Editor, Paideia School, 1509 Ponce de Leon Avenue, Atlanta, Georgia 30307 USA, phone (404) 808-1070, fax (404) 377-3491, e-mail millians.david@paideiaschool.org. Back issues are available. Contributions of material from the membership are urged, and the byline is responsible for content. Deadline is the last weekday of the month, email preferred. Permission is granted to copy anything in the Newsletter, provided we get a credit line in the publication copying it, and it doesn’t have someone else’s copyright on it. Information, including details on joining CAR-PGa, can be obtained on the Internet at car-pga.org.