Update on The RJK DVD Collection - Titled "El Raja Key Archive"

Robert J. Kuntz just posted this over at his blog Lake Geneva Original RPG Campaign. He gives us a post titled "El Raja Key Archive Final Update," where he reveals the label that will appear on the DVD.

 

 Rob recently told me:

I received the test DVD and we finished going through the 1,100 files over Skype.  We are now into the Descriptions Phase, .5 mb of descriptions for the files made by Paul and myself.  That too by Skype.  Kevin Maurice has designed a beautiful interactive interface for it, and he is finishing up the "cascading" view for the images, etc.  We have learned something with this:  none of us knew the amount of effort and time that was required for this, as we have never collectively done such a project like this and had to adjust many times during it.  The date keeps moving due to this, but is looking like 3rd week in August, as Paul is going to Gencon.

That half a mb of file is running over 200+ pages just for the descriptions of the 1100 files. As he says in his post:

Tonight we finish up on the 200+ pages of file descriptions while fine tooth combing Paul's and my own descriptions of the auctioned and scanned items which started over 10 years ago, this for errors, omissions and possible better wording/changes.

As I personally speculate on what those 1100 files contain and the fact that it includes auctioned and scanned items, I am eagerly awaiting the day that it goes on sale. IMO this is one of the few things that is a must buy for me. A mother lode of information and insight into the creative mind of Rob Kuntz, one of the original play-testers and contributors to the Original Dungeons & Dragons and the creator of the World of Kalibruhn™. 

Rob also told me how busy he and his wife Nathalie have been over the past few weeks, launching a new company, DVD related work, Website,Design, Layout Cover Design, Module to go with DVD, Book on Arneson, E-Book right after, and then  more adventures/source for GH/Kalibruhn.

So he has many things that are going to be published over the remainder of this year and going into 2017. Fantastic!!

 

Happy Gary Gygax Day July 27th 2016

I just want to remind everyone to celebrate Gary Gygax Day and have a lot of fun playing D&D.

D&D (OD&D) has enriched my life on some many different levels and has allowed me to get to know many different people from many different backgrounds in the midst of having fun.

More news about the new book on Dave Arneson by Robert J Kuntz

Over on Kuntz' blog titled Lake Geneva Original RPG Campaign and subtitled  "When Imagination Was The Only Rule," he posted Dave Arneson's True Genius: First Major Treatise on Dave Arneson.

This portends a great leap forward in our understanding of Arneson and the design of the original Dungeons & Dragons:

The work is not the usual history tour so much as it is a tour of Arneson's mind, design philosophies and ultimate systems organization, the latter which busted wide open 2,000 years of game history with his unprecedented systems architecture.

and

The tentative date for its release is set for 2 months from now; final editing of the ms is now being overseen by Nathalie Hachet-Kuntz (TLS) and Allan Grohe (BBP). 

 Waiting for this is like waiting for Christmas when you were 6 years old!

Robert J Kuntz Update!! New Projects to be Published Soon!!

Robert J Kuntz, close friend of Dave Arneson & Gary Gygax and one of the original and major playtesters of the Original Dungeons & Dragons, has a number of projects that are now coming to fruition and are being published. Over on Kuntz' blog there is the announcement about these projects:

Titled the El Raja Key Archive:

The RJK DVD Collection is nearly set to go after many delays.   The Collector’s Trove (Paul Stormberg/Kevin Maurice) is finalizing the matter and I have recent word from Paul of a final release date in a month to 6 weeks.  There’s some extra content that’s been added by me and that is a solid, surprise bonus.  I am awaiting a mailing of the DVD to me for review and then after that it goes into production and release.  The size, from what I’ve been told, is 6.8 GB constituting 1100 scanned files.

Three Line Studio link Which is the new website by Kuntz and his wife Nathalie and is brand new and under construction. There first product will be:

...a book of linked essays regarding Dave Arneson:  “Dave Arneson’s True Genius.”  This is a preliminary shot across the bow for my major forthcoming works, “A New Ethos in Game Design” (due out 2017) and “New Models for RPGs” (due out 2018).

The manuscript for Dave Arneson's True Genius is finished (around 20,000 words) and we intend to release this before the end of the year! 

 Then Kuntz goes on to say:

My RPG Works continue with the Italian republication of Bottle City due out by Mondiversi (Amos Pons) at LUCCA 2016; a new D&D module already written (17,200 words) but of which I cannot speak about as yet other than to say that it derives from something I created for GENCON way in the past... And I have been negotiating with my friends at Black Blade Publishing about some related work and this particular module, all of which takes time.  I am full-time in this industry but many who publish and assist have day jobs, so I must understandably wait upon them for final dates and verdicts, etc.

To me these are must reads and  I am looking forward to getting each one of them as they come out. One of those "some related work" that he mentions in regard to Black Blade Publishing I believe will involve somethings that I am very interested in and I will announce as soon as any news is released.

Useful Links for OSRIC Resources

Here are links to the OSRIC Monster List and the OSRIC Spell List. If you use or write for OSRIC you may find these useful. (These lists are not created by me)


OSRIC Spell List.xlsx
OSRIC Monster List.xlsx

A Supplement for Perilous Realms

A friend of mine whose screen name is tetramorph and who hangs out at OD&D - Campaigns and House Rules Discussion has joined the ranks of the self-published with his:

A Supplement for Perilous Realms: Suggestions for Pick-up Sessions and Otherwise Rollicking Fantastic Medieval Wargames Campaigns Playable with Original Edition Rules and their Various Simulacra

You can buy it in hardcopy for $4.15 on Lulu.

Otherwise, there is also a free PDF.

His blog post is found here. I encourage you to check it out.