Yeah - I've met Lou Zocchi in person.
VERY entertaining guy.

 He's like an interesting blended mix of P.T. Barnum and W.C. Fields.

That homemade D20 comparison chart he has ?
One of the sneakiest things I did was say this to a kid ..

 KID :  "whats that chart all about?"
Me/Ed C. : "why don't you ask him...he'll tell you...."
Kid walks over ...asks..

KID: "Whats that chart about ?"

 LOU ZOCCHI : " Well let me explain it to you..."

Poor kid is now trapped for the next 20 minutes while Lou eloquently and charismatically explains why his dice are the best made dice on the planet and truly roll random ...unlike those other dice...and I'll tell you why , my boy....

I'm such a bastard....


One of the best shows at either ORIGINS or GenCon.


- Ed C.

Quote from: KoltarYeah - I've met Lou Zocchi in person.
VERY entertaining guy.

 He's like an interesting blended mix of P.T. Barnum and W.C. Fields.

Wow, Koltar, you do amaze me sometimes.

I was wondering today how to describe Zocchi, and I came with "the P.T. Barnum of RPGs." No kidding.

W.C. Fields is definitely in there too, except it seems LZ loves kids (so long as he gets to explain dice probability charts to them).

It's tangentially related to RPGs but I picked up a copy of the Dungeon boardgame at a garage sale for a $1. It was complete and in great condition! I was psyched!

Went to my FLGS and picked up a used/old copy of Arms Law. I love those criticals.

I just ordered a copy of Magic of Incarnum off amazon for $0.01 plus shipping.  I don't know if I'll ever use it, but for $0.01, what have I got to lose?

Hidden Crypts & Ruins of the Wild.... just because minis are cool, and minis dungeons are even better... ...and... PHB 3.5e (My first actual 3.5 book), acquired approximately one week before 4e was announced.

On a side note, It's like having writer's block. I'm hankering to GM some, and want to startup a new adventure or campaign, but can't decide what to write up. Should it be?:

1) Wilderlands of High Fantasy 3.5
2) Wilderlands of High Fantasy Basic D&D
3) James bond style Spycraft 2.0 Adventure
4) A Pirates of the Caribbean style d20 Adventure.
5) A Low Level Eberron Adventure?
6) A Traveller Classic Adventure in the periphery of the Empire
7) A FUDGE rules Indiana Jones Pulp Adventure
An Eternal Rome d20 adventure set in Roman Britain

and there are 3 or 4 other games under consideration as well, however they are less desireable than those listed above. What sounds good?

I picked up the SW Explorers Guide, for all the same great reasons everyone else has.

GURPS Martial Arts. I just couldn't see how I could be without it. More of an impulse buy, though, since I'm not actively running a GURPS game at the moment.

I passed on Aces & Eights--because I'm going to cajole my friend into getting it, and I'll go for the forthcoming softcover when he decides to run a campaign--in favor of ordering a copy of Metal, Magic, and Lore, for the old-school. I'm looking forward to thoroughly checking that one out. My friend Rob brought this one back from GenCon. He showed it around and people started asking me about it because it looked like my kinda thing. So I guess I'm the victim of some sort of viral word-of-mouth conspiracy on that one. Hopefully, mine will get here soon and I'll start a winter campaign in November, after the October Cthulhu insanity.

Quote from: Zachary The FirstBoot Hill!  Neat!  And welcome to the site, Allen (even though you joined in June)!

Thank you. I was involved in a playtest of Forward to Adventure back in June, which is why I joined. but I hadn't looked around the forums much until recently.

Allen

My last two RPG related purchases were a $0.01 copy of Lords of Madness - sure it's 3.5, but it's fluff for some of my favorite monsters and it cost a PENNY - and jrient's Mekton Zeta eBay auction.

Hey!  I hope you enjoy them!  I only sold 'em cause they were extra copies.

Quote from: jrientsHey!  I hope you enjoy them!  I only sold 'em cause they were extra copies.

Oh, I intend to. Ever since my sole experience with a LGS 'game day' (back in '00) resulted in someone walking off with my ATM, I've been hunting for one. Amazon once ordered me one, then three months later admitted they couldn't find one and refunded me. SO glad I found that auction.

Thanks again, and looking forward to their arrival!

Quote from: AllenshThe last RPG related item I purchased was an old Boot Hill module called "The Lost Conquistador Mine" that I intend to steal ideas from for my Aces & Eights game.

Allen

Now that's just fucking brilliant - well played, sir!

My last RPG related purchases were domain names and server space to create a gaming forum - //www.d20haven.com. (though the focus is d20-based gaming, it's got places to talk about all kinds of gaming!)

Before that, it was three D&D books - Tome of Battle: The Book of Nine Swords, Expedition to the Ruins of Greyhawk, and Magic Item Compendium.  I'm getting my 3.5 library filled out before it goes away.

Now J Arcane has me thinking about Wilderlands....

I just nabbed "Damnation City" for Vampire the Requiem. This shit should have been out 15 years ago for Vampire the Masquerade. I've been gaming for 22 years, so I can make a believable city for my Vampire game, but this book has some nice shortcuts and a lot of great ideas I hadn't really put much thought into previously. Right now it's me second favorite nWoD book (right behind Second Sight) and probably my fifth favorite RPG book I own. It's not a book you read for fun though -  like most of the ST-related nWoD books it's meant as a toolbox for an ST to build his or her game with. But it's awesome. And it's thicker than the Vampire book itself, so w00t. I think it's a great value.

-=Grim=-

While not RPG specific, the various WH40k Omnibuses from Black Library I've purchased could very well go to helping flesh out the grim-n-gritty future I can't fething wait to dip my fingers into.

Quote from: GrimJestaI just nabbed "Damnation City" for Vampire the Requiem. This shit should have been out 15 years ago for Vampire the Masquerade. I've been gaming for 22 years, so I can make a believable city for my Vampire game, but this book has some nice shortcuts and a lot of great ideas I hadn't really put much thought into previously. Right now it's me second favorite nWoD book (right behind Second Sight) and probably my fifth favorite RPG book I own. It's not a book you read for fun though -  like most of the ST-related nWoD books it's meant as a toolbox for an ST to build his or her game with. But it's awesome. And it's thicker than the Vampire book itself, so w00t. I think it's a great value.

-=Grim=-

Could you do a full review?  I'd love to see what's inside it...

I also picked up the Hackmaster Player's Handbook and GM Guide this year. Mark Plemons (I think) offered a special deal on ENWorld, so I bought the Player's Handbook, and got the GM Guide for free (I think).