Technically, Zobeck is a setting for 3E D&D, but I’m happy to see fan material for it in any edition. This one is especially nice because he really gets the urban kobold spin, and he has first-hand knowledge of how kobolds fit into the Zobeck setting. Go take a look, and let me know what you think.

Also, the Tome Show has posted another installment in their discussion of Blood of the Gorgon. I haven’t gotten to listen to it yet, but will check it out later today. I think this one includes a segment with one or more patrons. If you like it, please let me know in the forums. If you hate it, please tell the kind folks over at the Tome Show.

Empire of the Ghouls by Wolfgang Baur
Six Arabian Nights, by Wolfgang Baur, David “Zeb” Cook, Clay Fleischer, Jeff Grubb, and Joshua Stevens

Naturally, I hope you vote for your favorites in this and the other categories, though I fully expect that Monte Cook is going to take the ENnie in this category. For a retired guy, he’s quite a juggernaut, and deservedly so.

In the larger scheme of things, it doesn’t matter who wins the Electronic Book category. I’m absolutely 100% thrilled to have two nominations in that category, given that Open Design released exactly two products eligible for nomination. It’s like we’re doing something right….

Congratulations to all the nominees!

And the Atomic Array podcast takes a look at Colonial Gothic, a small-press game that seems to have found a following. What do you all think of podcasts? Should the chittering voice of kobolds ring out over the podwaves? I like the format, generally, but… it might take time away from the next issue. Let me know in the Forums.

If you’d like a copy of the issue that started it all, give it a look now, because when they are gone, they’re gone.

The creator of Kobold Quarterly comics Bolt & Quiver and 10 by 10 Toon, the mighty Stan!, is also giving away a freebie, and you don’t even need to leave your PC to pick it up.

Stan!’s new company, Super Genius Games, is creating a series of One Night Stand adventures (playable in a single session), and he is giving the first one away for Free on RPG.now. It is called The Forgotten Tomb of Felgar the Goblin King, and you can grab it free any time this weekend.

Oh, and on the Kobold topic, the Paizo gang is offering the Revenge of the Kobold King as a freebie. Yow!

It’s a sad fact that most new magazines don’t survive, and KQ has at least as many foes as your typical kobold. Like our wily mascot, though, we’re beating the odds. We’ve outsmarted them and outlasted them, and I’m happy to say this coming year looks even brighter. Or at least as bright as it gets, down in the mines.

This issue is our Midsummer Madness issue, appearing on or around the summer solstice, the longest day of the year. I’ve always treasured the long summer days since moving to the Seattle area 10 years ago. The sun stays up long past bedtime, until 10 or 10:30 at night, and people get a little strange around this time of year. Everyone stays up late because, well, it’s light out and it’s hard to sleep.

And frankly, I’ve been staying up late as well, working on the magazine and finalizing the most recent Open Design project, Nicolas Logue’s Blood of the Gorgon, which went off to its patrons about the time KQ went to press. It’s glorious, with beautiful maps, a rich and engaging storyline full of cults, blood, and all the entertainment that a madman villain can bring.

The next Open Design project, Tales of Zobeck, will be just as exciting. It provides an anthology of about eight adventures written by a both professional designers and promising Open Design patrons. It also includes a gazetteer on the city of Zobeck itself, by yours truly. Tales of Zobeck will be the short version of the larger setting book I’ve been wanting to write for about two years, and I’m up to my eyeballs in it and loving it.

The summer madness has also brought new and weird experiences this summer. There’s no more Vancian magic in the new edition of my favorite RPG, when I know Jack Vance was a founding influence on Gygax and the original editions the game. There’s no more gnome PCs in the players’ book.

That one actually kind of hurts.

I love gnomes, because one of the defining characters in my high school campaign was a gnome who always thought he could beat the odds. Gotta respect him for trying. And for running an illusionist/thief. Man, the weird thing isn’t the new math involved in a new edition, it’s fighting off the nostalgia for the way it used to be.

I digress. Kobold Quarterly is heading to GenCon and I will have a surprise for those subscribers who stop by and visit the Open Design booth there, near either the Green Ronin or Paizo booth. Ask all you like about the subscriber prize, there will be no hints until 10 AM on Thursday, August 14th, when the dealer’s hall opens. Kobolds love to spring surprises and I promise no traps are involved in this one.

If you have comments on this issue’s articles, the state of the RPG field, or an opinion on whether the next issue should be 3rd Edition or 4th Edition, direct your couriers, message spells, sealed letters, and email to letters@koboldquarterly.com or to Kobold Letters, PO Box 2811, Kirkland, WA 98083.

Until then, I look forward to serving you nothing but the best in independent Wizards & Warlocks for another year, and thank you for your patronage.

Kobold-in-Chief

These portraits must be drawn with traditional media (no photos or digital versions, crayons encouraged) and posted to a Flickr pool. And everyone who enters gets a free PDF copy of KQ!

Check out the full details of the D&D Self Portrait contest.