As September rolls around, so does the first Saving Throw of the month. Well, okay, it is the sixth day of September, but close enough. Today's column is another relatively short one, as this week seemed to be another quiet one in the world of tabletop gaming. There are a few recent and upcoming releases and news on a couple contests. Also, since I didn't receive any submissions, you get treated to a featured story by me about why my ranger is afraid of boats.
The second hall of fame contest is likely to begin next week, though this one might run differently. I'd like your feedback on ideas I have for this contest, which I'll talk about at the end of the column. For now, I let you enjoy the meat of today's column.
Gaming Tip of the Week
"When getting into canoes to traverse an unfamiliar river, try to ensure that each canoe gets a physically strong character"
Well, in some cases, irrational fears don't always seem quite so irrational. Is my ranger's luck with boats just bad luck, or is she cursed to be nearly killed every time she gets in one?
Palladium Books is offering its fans a chance to have a significant character in the RIFTS, Palladium Fantasy RPG, or Heroes Unlimited named after them. Interested fans enter the contest by purchasing Heroes of the Megaverse, a $10 black-and-white print. For this order, the fan will be assigned a number. Ten numbers will be randomly selected each month from September to December. Fans can order the print multiple times to get more chances to win, and Palladium recommends entering during the months of September and October for the best chance to win.
Exile Games is holding a contest where fans of Hollow Earth Expedition can win prizes by submitting a "story seed." These story seeds are limited to 1,000 words in length and must be submitted by September 10. The first place winner will receive a game prop pictured here. The second place winner will be awarded a Hollow Earth Expedition t-shirt, and the third place winner will receive an 11" by 17" map identifying the portals into the Hollow Earth.
With this column over, it's time to talk about the next contest. It will likely run in one of two ways. The first possibility wouldn't be much different than how the first contest ran; it would have the same overlapping two week cycle of accepting entries in one week and allowing participants to guess the ending in the next week while the new entries are accepted. The biggest difference would be starting with higher scores and each entry will only have two endings: one real and one false. This makes it no more complex than the last contest.
The other idea is more involved, requiring an overlapping three week cycle. In this, those who submit contest entries would submit their story with the real ending and the fake ending, but in the next week, I'd publish the story without any endings. Other participants would then be able to write their own fake endings for the story in that second week, and then, in the third, I'd publish all the endings in a random order, and everyone can then guess. Every time someone guesses your fake ending, you'd gain points, and of course, you could still gain points by guessing the real ending. I fear this is too complicated to work very well, though, and could end up resulting in some long entries depending on how many people submit endings.
Anyway, discuss on the boards or let me know what you think directly. I don't guarantee the contest will start next week, either, but you can already begin submitting contest entries with one real ending and one false ending, as I don't anticipate changing that.
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