Spotlight Interview on the D&D website.

Interesting choice for a spotlight.

Gentlemen, the hobby has officially arrived.

QuoteThe cost-to-benefit ratio calculations here for their marketing people are complex ("D&D being associated with porn fights stereotypes about gamers" MINUS "D&D being associated with porn--and arson, and petty theft---may upset some parents" MINUS "This guy doesn't play anything we currently publish" = They did it anyway) but I can't complain with the end result.

:hatsoff:

QuoteWizards of the Coast: What can you tell us about your ongoing campaign—where is it taking place, and what plotline is the group currently involved in?

Zak: The idea of the world is that once there were these enormous demons, then some medusae (or medusas, or gorgon sisters, or whatever) came and turned them to stone statues, and the planet is actually just a big spherical labyrinth hanging in space carved from those stone statues. If you kill a medusa, parts of the dungeon turn back to flesh and new areas are opened up. The trees and grass and other familiar landscape features people see are just a thin layer on top. It's a gigadungeon (that word copyrighted by me, today, I guess).

The plot we've got right now started when I ran Mandy through James Edward Raggi IV's module Death Frost Doom as a solo adventure and she inadvertently unleashed a plague of skeletons on the land. I liked that, it reminded me of late Medieval Black Death era paintings and woodcuts, so I went with it. From there, they've mostly just been trying to stop the skeleton plague, though recently we've sort of had to make a whole new party and split the campaign into the "I Hit It With My Axe" campaign and the private weekly campaign. The filmed episodes shoot too far apart for everybody to get their regular "fix".

This idea is awesome.

I love his blog.

Quote from: Benoist;366452This idea is awesome.

I love the whole idea
...and everything about it

Boom de ahda
Boom de ahda
Boom de ahda

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ypRUAFs03Xw

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4XPkNODYqwQ&feature=related

I love gamers and all their craziness...

Yes, it's a PR stunt, but a really good one at that. WotC earned my respect for posting the unexpurgated interview (with a link to Death Frost Doom, no less!).

And Zak S. deserves props, not only for tearing down gamer stereotypes (and for fulfilling my 15-year-old self's dream) -- even if technically it's just him gaming with the guys and gals from the workplace -- but for being the epitome of old school GMing: "tough but fair", well read in the classics of fantasy and SF which informed the birth of our hobby, and incredibly creative.

Quote from: Koltar;366535I love gamers and all their craziness...

And this song does need a gaming version.

I've been reading his blog for a while now. His writing is good and he keeps stuff entertaining... I'm not always into reading about other people's games.

Quote from: Simlasa;366809I've been reading his blog for a while now. His writing is good and he keeps stuff entertaining... I'm not always into reading about other people's games.

Agreed.  I spent a few hours reading his blog last night, something I never do.  Great writer, with a good perspective, and his 3.x/AD&D hodgepodge game reminds me of mine---minus the porn chicks of course.  

Sex sells.

Quote from: Simlasa;366809I've been reading his blog for a while now. His writing is good and he keeps stuff entertaining... I'm not always into reading about other people's games.

I agree as well, it's one of the few blogs I look at semi-regularly.

I actually think it's awesome to get spotlights like this. It's kind of following what they started with Shelly Mazzanoble, then the Robot Chicken guys, et cetera. It's showing D&D players are not necessarily people living in their mom's basement eating pizza pops all day. That's really cool.

Yes, there's something to be said for that. But how many people actually read about this? Is it somewhere visible?

RPGPundit

Interesting perspective. Porn stars are just whores (male and female) that get filmed on a job. When did porn star become an acceptable career choice and in American culture when did they gain the mainstream acceptance of pseudo movie stars.
I mean if the guy wrote and said I play with a bunch of whores i met....

Now don't get me wrong I have nothing against whores or porn stars but it is odd that we get loads of disenting comments when we mention having a glass of wine with a game as many tables seem to ban alcohol but playing with prostitutes is celebrated ... just saying

And what is with the US legal system where brothels are illegal in most states but the adult movie industry is lauded. Couldn't brothels just put web-cams in each room and then they would be legal as well? again just curious.

Quote from: jibbajibba;366903Interesting perspective. Porn stars are just whores (male and female) that get filmed on a job. When did porn star become an acceptable career choice and in American culture when did they gain the mainstream acceptance of pseudo movie stars.
I mean if the guy wrote and said I play with a bunch of whores i met....

Now don't get me wrong I have nothing against whores or porn stars but it is odd that we get loads of dissenting comments when we mention having a glass of wine with a game as many tables seem to ban alcohol but playing with prostitutes is celebrated ... just saying

And what is with the US legal system where brothels are illegal in most states but the adult movie industry is lauded. Couldn't brothels just put web-cams in each room and then they would be legal as well? again just curious.

That's because whether you like their professions or not, pornstars (and even prostitutes) are people. Further, they are not the kind of people one might think of as being RPGers, but here they are, so it's a novelty. In contrast, glasses of wine are much less capable of actually playing an RPG. A better comparison might be, I don't think I'd allow anyone to actually be having sex while playing in my game. All this other stuff is just morality and I have very little of that, so yeah, pornstars are ok, but booze is not unless taken in moderation... drunks trying to game get annoying very quickly, I know first hand.

As for the brothel bit, there you're right, it's fucking silly. We unfortunately still suffer from our puritanical roots, and our rules reflect that. Lots of hypocrites around and inconsistencies abound. It doesn't help that it's a State's rights issue.

I don't see that much novelty in it... but I live in Las Vegas. Porn stars, prostitutes and strippers are the folks next door... and a lot of them are just honest working folks. As long as nobody is being forced into anything and they're getting medical inspections I see no harm.
Prostitutes are just a special variety of therapists... I'm glad they're out there providing a service to the folks who need it.