The Tome Show

Shadowbane (Tome Book Club)

In February 2012 the Tome Show Book Club read Erik Scott DeBie's Shadowbane, a Forgotten Realms novel set in Luskan with characters developing out of his previous book Downshadow. This book is part of the larger D&D novels story called the Abyssal Plague, although background knowledge of that event and the events of Downshadow are not needed (Jeff had not read Downashadow before this book and Tracy had not read any Abyssal Plague books). According to Jeff, "DeBie understands what it means to write in a shared world better than any other author writing in the Forgotten Realms and in Shadowbane he has crafted the perfect Realms story."
If you want to know more bout Erik visit his website. If you want to know more about the Realms swing by Candlekeep and the FR Wiki.
If you want to buy Erik's FR books, take a gander:
Amazon.com Widgets

If you want to buy the next Book Club book it is Brimstone Angels by Erin Evans.


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Building Campaigns the Elder Evils Way (Tome 190)

Ryan Costello Jr from the 3.5 Private Sanctuary (website I Facebook) and Know Direction (Facebook) joined Jeff for this episode (Tracy was sick but feeling much better now). We build a campaign using the guidelines from Elder Evils, the last 3.5 D&D book from WotC that was also 4e "compatible".
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2011 in Review, Look Ahead to 2012 (Tome 189)

In this episode of the Tome Show Jeff and Tracy are joined by editor Sam Dillon (who didn't edit this episode, so don't blame him) and Icosahedraphelia host, Chris Heard.
Our sponsor is Gamerati and Gamerati TV.
And the following is the text of the interview with Mike Mearls:

Year in Review:
Tome Crew: How do you feel about the direction of design for the brand in the last year? What lessons have you learned from it? 
Mike Mearls: So far, I think our overall direction is sound. We’ve gotten great feedback on our announcement of the next iteration, and it’s encouraging to see a groundswell of overall interest in D&D. To be honest, I was worried that people might just ignore what we had to say. I think I’ve learned that people love D&D and want to see it succeed. If you give them a chance to help make that happen, they’re more than happy to step up and take part.
TC: I'd like to hear the story of how the decision was made over the last year to revise the game...what brought us up to the announcement?
MM: The big realization was that with each edition, we were creating artificial divides within the D&D fan base. This divide affects the long term health of D&D as a whole because it makes it harder for people to find game groups or even discuss the game with other players. That doesn’t mean that new editions are strictly bad. Instead, it means we need to consider them very carefully and weigh the long term benefits and drawbacks, rather than focus solely on the short term.
When you have a splintered audience, your best bet is to find a way to bring people together. Our central idea is that regardless of what you like about D&D, you can find it in the next iteration. The basic approach is to preserve what’s there and express it in a compact, elegant way, rather than focus on inventing a new way to play D&D.
TC: 2011 was a big year for D&D branching into other mediums (comics, more/new board games, video games, movies, etc.). Has this been a successful movement for the brand?
MM: There’s a lot of interest in D&D out there, and we’ve seen that reflected in the enthusiasm for products outside of the traditional tabletop offerings. The truth is that many people play D&D for a period of time and then move on because life gets in the way. They still love D&D, though, and are willing to delve into it in whatever format fits their lives.
TC: D&D has had some big changes over the last year, could you tell us a bit about why this all came together at once (change in leadership, return of the boxed set, canceling minis and bringing them back, etc.)?
MM: I don’t think any of these things were part of some grand plan. In a lot of ways, the changes in products and such represent a few different attempts to innovate, shake things up, and keep the game fresh.
TC: What was your favorite moment in D&D from 2011?
MM: Running an adventure using some of the basic design principles that are in play for D&D Next. It was good to see a game that included role play, problem solving, investigation, and a couple of fights, fit into less than an hour. A close second would be running and playing five different editions of D&D with members of the R&D team. The thing that stuck out to me was that each edition of the game had its strengths, and in many ways those strengths could complement each other.

Look Ahead:
TC: What do you anticipate being the process for playtesting of D&D Next?
MM: We’re aiming to reach as many D&D players as possible, while ensuring that we get a good sense of what the players as a whole think. It’s easy to let a few, loud voices guide a playtest process, so we’re taking pains to design a system that gives everyone an equal chance to be heard.
TC: How can we expect the D&D Digital Tools to develop in the next year as Silverlight loses support and 4e enters its twilight?
MM: We’re continuing to support the tools by adding content through the magazines and loading materials from our books to it. In 2011, we made an effort to get feedback on which classes and races need more support, and 2012 is when you’ll see the fruits of those labors.
TC: What D&D product for 2012 are you most excited to get into people’s hands?
MM: I’ve seen some initial layouts and text for Ed Greenwood Presents Elminster’s Forgotten Realms, and that book is an amazing look at the Realms through the eyes of the world’s creator. Every time I have an approval meeting, I want to keep reading the text rather than just approve the layout and move on.
TC: With DDXP going away, what newer and bigger things can we expect from D&D at GenCon next year?
MM: We have some great plans for the show, but nothing we want to announce yet. D&D has always been an important part of GenCon, and this year we definitely want to step things up.
TC: What will your favorite moment in D&D be in 2012?
MM: Definitely GenCon. We have some nifty stuff planned.

Lillian Cohen-Moore (Gamer to Gamer Ep 2)

In this episode Tracy talked to Lillian Cohen-Moore, a freelance journalist, a gamer, and an all around awesome person.
Gamer to Gamer is a podcast hosted by Tracy Barnett and has the intention to find out about gamers. Who are they? What do they play? How do they play?
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Unnamed DM Show (Ep 2)

Mike, Randall, and Jeff are at it again. Jeff wants to know how to get his campaign back in gear, Randall is trying to figure out how to make is Myst-based game more dynamic...and Mike...Mike sticks to his time-limit. :-)
This episode was recorded in early February 2012 and there were no name suggestions at that time. Many name suggestions have come in since then and we will discuss them on the next episode...but feel free to keep them coming in, you have another week or two before we make a decision.
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Dice Monkey Radio Episode 4

Welcome back!
In Episode 4, our special guest is Cam Banks, the lead designer of the Marvel Heroic RPG! We talk to him about D&DNext, Non-Disclosure Agreements, The Marvel Heroic RPG, and answer a call about prophecies.
News:
D&DNext
Marvel Heroic RPG

Everything I Need To Know I Learned form D&D (Tome Book Club)

In this episode we discuss the book Everything I Need to Know I Learned from Dungeons and Dragons and talked to the author Shelly Mazzanoble.
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Links
Shelly's site
The Judy Facebook Fan Page

Cam and Jess Banks (Gamer to Gamer Ep 1)

Welcome to the introductory episode of the Gamer to Gamer show (a Tome Show production) where host Tracy Barnett gets to know a bit more about gamers around the world. If you'd like to be a guest on Gamer to Gamer email thetomeshow@gmail.com. In this episode we meet Cam and Jess Banks.
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