The Friday Grab Bag - March Fo(u)rth for GM's Day!

GM's Day! is March 4th. It is the day the RPGing community celebrates the hard work our GMs do. Like Mother's Day or Father's Day, it is a day of appreciation. You can pick up a gift for your GM or bake them a cake. Get them a nice card or finish that character background you promised. Or run a game for them! Just make sure you tell them how much you appreciate all the hard work they do running games for you.  Be sure to also Like and Share the GM's Day Facebook page here.

Also, let us not forget that on this day in 2008 we lost one of the greatest GMs of all time, and a founder of our hobby, Gary Gygax.  Let's remember him today and roll some dice in his honor.

As part of the GM's Day celebration, Creative Mountain Games, along with many other publishers, is offering a substantial discount off their wares at RPGNow.com here and Drive Thru RPG here.  Finally, if you happen to be at Gary Con VIII in Lake Geneva, WI, this weekend, seek me out and say "Hello!"  Maybe we will get the chance to throw some dice together!

The Friday Grab Bag on CreativeMountainGames.com 

Essentially, a clearinghouse for topics not covered

elsewhere or needing a particular focus.

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Events & Play Wednesday - March Fo(u)rth for GM's Day! & Remember Gary Gygax

GM's Day! is March 4th. It is the day the RPGing community celebrates the hard work our GMs do. Like Mother's Day or Father's Day, it is a day of appreciation. You can pick up a gift for your GM or bake them a cake. Get them a nice card or finish that character background you promised. Or run a game for them! Just make sure you tell them how much you appreciate all the hard work they do running their game for you.  Be sure to also Like and Share the GM's Day Facebook page here.

As part of the GM's Day celebration, Creative Mountain Games, along with many other publishers, is offering 30% off the full catalog here on RPGNow.com here and Drive Thru RPG here.

Also, let us not forget that on this day in 2008 we lost one of the greatest GMs of all time, and a founder of our hobby, Gary Gygax.  Let's remember him today and roll some dice in his honor.

Events & Play Wednesday on CreativeMountainGames.com 

News of Conventions and Gamedays as well as pictures

from those I have attended and games I have played.

Please Like, Share, Plus, Tweet, Follow, and Comment!

NASA - Why the World Didn't End Yesterday

NASA has a video on their YouTube channel titled "Why the World Didn't End Yesterday."  Enjoy, if you were spared!

An Epic Geeky Proposal

In a recent article on ComicAlliance.com called "'Scott Pilgrim' Fangirl Proposes To Boyfriend In Epically Epic Fashion" details how one young romantic proposed to another.  Read more here!

The Flog and Archery with Felicia Day

Over on the Geek and Sundry YouTube channel, Felicia Day's latest Flog video highlights a trip to learn archery with her friend Morgan Webb.  Enjoy!

Morgan Webb feeling deservedly smug after hitting a bullseye.

Playing at the World by Jon Peterson

A new book has been released that goes into great detail on the origins of wargaming and other tabletop pursuits.  I haven't read it yet but early buzz is strong so I plan to pick it up.  Don't let the price scare you as it's over 700 pages long.  It's called Playing at the World by Jon Peterson and is available at Amazon here!

J K Rowling Tree Houses

It was recently revealed that J K Rowling is building some tree houses for her kids.  Check them out here!

The Days of Yore

There has been a cool project over at WotC brewing for some time now to reprint the 1E AD&D core books in a premium format that will also support the Gygax Memorial Fund.  Read more here!

Spock at 81

Actor and celebrity Leonard Nimoy turned 81 years old yesterday.  He's been a geek icon for almost longer than there have been geeks.  As I was surfing some of his accomplishments, I couldn't help revisiting this old gem . . .

Walworth Country Today on Gary Con

As many know, Gary Con IV is one week away but it always helps to get the word out.  Many thanks to the Walworth County Today news website for highlighting this fun event in their recent article titled "Gary Con lives on in Lake Geneva" and I hope it inspires even higher attendance this year.  Enjoy!

Munchkin In and On Target

Steve Jackson Games's Daily Illuminator recently reported that Munchkin can now be found in Target stores, which is a big coup for any tabletop gaming publisher.  Good for them and all of us!

The CMG Blog Triad 2012

The CMG Blog Triad for Creative Mountain Games (links for all three to the top right) has grown over the last half year and my goal was to keep posting on the main blog daily and alternate every other day in the other two corners.  This has gone well but I find I often have more links and material to post that sometimes I set aside for later or don't post at all rather than make combination posts on any given day, since I like to keep most posts brief and to the point.  Because of this, in 2012, I am stepping up my blogging to include daily posts on all three corners of the CMG Blog Triad.  Here is how they generally breakdown.

Grymvald.com houses blog posts that are geared toward campaign settings, inclusive of my own Grymvald tabletop RPG setting.  Although I had previous included posts about genre movies on the main blog, since I often don't review movies outright but rather try to view movies and write about them with an eye toward what can be utilized as inspiration for setting creation, I will be blogging in that vein on Grymvald.com in the future.  I'll also be adding more campaign and setting essays there in 2012 and I hope they prove useful to everyone who reads them in their own creative efforts.

MFWARS.com includes rules-based materials as well as links to all sorts of creative videos and websites that assist tabletop gamers in bringing their game sessions to life.  There will continue to be YouTube links to videos geared toward miniatures and scenic design and building, painting, molding, casting, and the like.  I'll also be stepping up the number of rules essays I post there.  Hopefully, my own ruminations of game design will prove of interest, particularly as it relates to the Griffins & Grottos Medieval Fantasy Wargames and Roleplaying System as well as the Surcoat Combat Miniatures Game, and other works as they move from idea through enactment.

CreativeMountainGames.com continues to be the main blog and will house announcements for CMG, like news of my CMG offerings, and miscellany not more properly posted in the other two corners of the Blog Triad.  Mind you, this is not to say that there will be much, if any, material not related in some way to tabletop gaming.  This is a site and company devoted to those pursuits and there will be very little material found here that isn't somehow tied to the hobby.

I hope that 2012 will be a fun and productive year for everyone involved in tabletop gaming and I hope that what you find in all three corners of the CMG Blog Triad are useful and inspirational to every gamer who takes the time to check each corner every day or when time permits.  My thanks to all who follow this blog and to those who will discover it moving forward!

Elf Ears for Realz

There's a new way to become more Elf-like if you don't mind a little surgery.  Read a news article and check out their video here!

Author Anne McCaffrey has Passed

It is with a heavy heart that I share the news that author Anne McCaffrey has passed away at 85.

Much Ado About Something?

It appears that a new version of Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing is in the making.  At the helm is Joss Whedon (Buffy, Angel, Firefly, Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog, etc.)and although it has not yet appeared on IMDb.com, apparently many of his usual suspects are going to be involved, including Amy Acker and Nathan Fillion.  You can read more about it here.

Menagerie Run Amock!

The New York Daily News reports that a Zanesville, OH, man, "Terry Thompson, 61, released the wild animals in his preserve before taking his own life."  Apparently, he had an extensive menagerie of exotic beasts, many of them deadly predators, and decided to free them all before he did himself in.  Local authorities enacted a shoot-to-kill protacol and believe that they have accounted for all of the loose animals.  (There are some reports that one monkey might have been eaten by one of the predators or might still be on the loose, with Hepatitis C.)

Enrique Bertran, NewbieDM, Interviewed for CNN's Geek Out! Blog

If you don't follow Geek Out! Blog from CNN, you should.  There's all sorts of gek-related news and interviews.  This time, Enrique Bertran (NewbieDM) is interviewed about rpgKids.  Check it out!