As a follow-up to my last article where I talked about the Perils of Edition Wars, today I’m going to discuss the problems with engaging in speculation.

Consider the following scenario: Company A announces X Game or License. Cool, right? Cool. Then what? Well, often what happens is discussion coupled with an endless array of speculation on Twitter, forums, blogs, Facebook, etc. A long-time fan knows somebody at the company and they heard a rumor. A person who’s heard of the company and hates their games claims that they’re going belly up.

If you’re remotely connected to the hobby games industry, you know this to be true. Countless threads have popped up about companies that supposedly weren’t doing well or game lines that were rumored to be poor performers. In some cases, yes, bad news does happen. In my time as a freelancer and in the industry, I have dealt with companies who have gone bankrupt, who’ve lost the license to an RPG, and embezzlement. For those of you who have followed me or my work, you may have caught on to something.

I don’t fan those flames especially if I am not directly involved. I may be a contractor, but to many companies I am still a representative of the product I worked on. Bad-mouthing a company or making egregious claims will quickly put a freelancer in hot water. Mind you, some companies are more conservative than others, but if you want to leave a good impression? Distance yourself from fan. The minute you submit work to be considered for publication you are not just a fan anymore — you’re a professional.

We’re all fans of something. However, no two business models are the same. For hobby games, many of these businesses are run with a lot of love in people’s spare time. That’s not always the case. Companies like White Wolf Publishing, Wizards of the Coast, Paizo Publishing, and Steve Jackson Games are full-time businesses with offices, personnel, etc. Even then, the business models are wildly different. Often, what speculation does is clue the folks working at these companies that that person has no idea how their business actually runs.

That’s pretty normal for an industry where fans can connect with companies. However, I caution freelancers that even though you may mean well? Feeding that rumor mill may cause you some strife later on down the road — especially if fans regard you as a representative of the company that you’re working for.

When you see a rumor or something you’re dying to know, take it up privately with your contact at the company. Tell them that you want to know if this is true because you were hoping to write more for them. Then, when they respond? Ask them if you can share that information as a quote. Trust me when I say that in some cases you do not want to ask forgiveness. Permission and manners will get you a lot further especially if you’re dealing with companies that have licenses and products slated for the next year or so.

Having said all of this, I don’t think that freelancer speculation is an issue, but it does pop up every now and again for new writers and game designers. Often, it becomes a challenge if and when the fan believes that a decision is made to personally affect them, rather than be based on financial or resource-management concerns. Understanding the business side is part of the process if you make the transition from fan (consumer) to designer (creator). I hate to make a big deal out of it, but if common sense were common then… Well… I wouldn’t have to crack a joke about it. Still, some freelancers never have to worry about the business stuff because they get paid on time and their experiences have been nothing but positive. Oh, if only we could all be so lucky.

1.    Get the blessing of your table.

If your GM and your fellow players are not okay with tweeting at the table, don’t. Respecting your table is an entire post of its own, but this is your first step on the path to live tweet glory.

2.    Establish some guidelines.

Do people want you to hashtag their names to things they say? Use their twitter handles? No attributing at all? There may be a general consensus or even no consensus at all. I sometimes tag quotes with their sources, but often don’t to simply save on characters. I do try and hashtag the game system (D&D, Mage, etc) the sub-type (Dark Sun, Eberron,  Sorcerer’s Crusade) and sometimes the chronicle title (the Skype M:TA hack I’m in is called Aethertide.) Learn what your table is and isn’t okay with you quoting, and unless someone likes or can take being teased live on the internet, play nice in your tweets. Don’t be a dick.

3.    Know your device.

I’ve live-tweeted from other people’s mobile devices, my own phone, and a laptop. The easiest by far is my phone. It’s very little hassle to tweet off the app and then drop my cell so I can roll dice. Pick the option that is the least distracting for you and your table.

4.    Narrative or quotes.

You can post narratives of what’s going on “…aaaaand now we’re fighting twelve orcs.”

Though, you can also go for quotes. “We’ve found the shitty town where you’re a folk hero.” Quotes go fast and generally get more retweets, but a snappy narrative can get good laughs too. Or prayers for you party; usually simultaneously.

5.    Be polite and notify your audience.

If you play in a game, particularly if you play in more than one, some people will learn what nights to expect live game tweets. Plenty of people won’t. As a public service to both, it’s nice to tweet a pre-game “I’ve got my ______ game tonight! Live tweets start in ______.” People who love them know to tune in. People who don’t will now know to mute you.

6.    Go for the gold.

Unless you have a group that is wittier than a Writer’s Room, only tweet the best of your session. It took me time to get a handle on what would be a crime not to tweet, and what could be let go. I try not to quote myself or talk too much about my own characters, but I will do either if it’s an intense night at the table for me. It gives me a small way to take a deep breath and dive back in without derailing my table too often with my need to go “Damn, you guys, this is a really terrifying scene” or “This is so touching. There is something in my eye.”

7.    Include a visual aid.

Last but not least: people like visuals. Roll a host of amazing rolls? Someone have a catastrophic failure they’d like to share? Tweet a photo. Other enjoyable photographic aides include amusing entries on character sheets, minis in dire peril on a hex map, and the awesome receptacles you and your friends carry your dice in.

Have a favorite court reporter of table-top or LARP on twitter? Share in the comments!

It involves people bitching and whining about things they’re reading on Twitter.

It involves people demanding that other people change the way they use Twitter.

It involves people asking that other people change the topics they care about and the things they care to share.

And I think it’s a load of bull.

You’re Doing It Wrong

If your social networking experience isn’t fun, you’re doing it wrong.

Mike Shea (geek famous for SlyFlourish.com), wrote an excellent post about this phenomenon in his personal blog, entitled You Are Responsible.  He summarizes the post like this:

Ultimately, each of us is responsible for dealing with the situations in which we find ourselves. We have a lot more control over our lives than we think. It’s easy to assign responsibility for our problems to the rest of the world. We hate how people write email. We hate how they tweet. We hate that our boss is a micromanager. We hate that we don’t have a single evening to ourselves when we have a family of six. It seems like these are external forces but the responsibility for dealing with them is completely up to us. It’s our problem, not theirs. Analyzing our problems ultimately comes down to a single question:

What are you going to do about it?

If you’re not enjoying Twitter, then YOU are the one responsible for doing something about it. And whining and complaining… that’s not doing anything about it.

Unfollow, Already!

There was a certain person that I followed back in the early days of my Twitter account. I won’t specify whether they were a dating-related person or a geek-related person to protect their privacy.

At first, this person was pleasant to follow. But as the months wore on, I got tired of watching them argue with other people I followed. So I unfollowed them.

A few days later, they popped up in my Mentions. “Hey!” they said. “I was trying to DM you. You unfollowed me! I’m so hurt!” (Not exact words, but the sentiment.)  Feeling conflict-avoidant, I mumbled something about accidentally unfollowing them while tidying up my stream. I re-followed. They DMed me instantly with some “juicy” gossip, which reinforced why I unfollowed in the first place.

A week passed and I was again becoming more and more irritated about the arguments this person was instigating with other people I followed. So I unfollowed again. I was pestered again.

Lather, rinse, repeat until FINALLY this person and I ended up in a fight because I was tired of watching them abuse another person I followed. This person was standing up for their own interests just fine and didn’t *need* me to jump in, but I was so irritated that I blew up. The anger ruined my day. I unfollowed for the final time.

Moral of the Story: If I had stuck to my guns and told the person the first time that I could not follow them because of the way they treated other people I followed, I would have saved myself all that frustration. My social networking experience would have been more fun.

What Paul & Storm Taught Me About Global Filter

I love Paul & Storm. For those who are like, “Who?” allow me to introduce you. Paul & Storm are a geek music phenomenon. I was first introduced to them as the opening act for my other favorite geek musician, Jonathan Coulton.  They’re hard to describe, so I’ll let their music speak for them. Click here and listen to Opening Band, The Captain’s Wife’s Lament, Frogger: The Frogger Musical, and Nun Fight.  These are my favorites, but I’m sure you’ll discover some of your own.

Back to my soapbox!

Paul & Storm have a Twitter account, which I follow because they are goddamn hilarious. However, they have a tendency to start hashtag memes on a near daily basis. Sometimes, I love the hashtag memes and ROFL in my cubicle as I read them. Other times, they irk me and I want nothing more than for them to GO AWAY.

Do I bitch at @paulandstorm and say, “DUDES! I AM SO TIRED OF YOUR HASHTAG NONSENSE! YOU SHOULD STOP TWEETING THAT STUFF.”?

No.

I go into Tweetdeck’s Global Filter, and I add the hashtag to the list. Suddenly, my stream is completely free of the meme and I can go on with my day, blissfully unawares.

This method also works great if you’re totally over hearing about a certain subject that’s trending in your stream. Say…. oh, dickwolves.

Moral of the Story: Unless you’re the type of person who enjoys being riled up and annoyed, there’s no reason to get that way. Use your global filters (and if you don’t use a service that allows it, get one). Your social networking experience will be more fun.

Know When to Walk Away, Know When to Run

Sometimes you’re having a Very Bad Day.

Sometimes your normally awesome friends are having a Very Bad Day.

If this happens, you can close your Twitter app.

No one is going to unfollow you for missing a day of tweeting. You’re not going to lose hundreds of dollars of income from your small business.  In fact, your absence will mostly go unnoticed in the grand scheme of things.

What will get noticed is if you blow up and throw a hissy fit because you’re having a horrible day. Remember Thumper’s mom from Bambi? “If you don’t have something nice to say, don’t say nothing at all.”  Grammatically incorrect, yes. But the sentiment is right on.

Moral of the Story: Stepping away from Twitter for a day is sometimes the best option for days when social media frustrates you. Yes, you’ll miss it, but in the end, you’ll have prevented yourself from anger, frustration, and possibly losing the respect of your followers. In the end, your social networking experience will be more fun.

Before You Comment…

I’m not saying that the best way to deal with offensive people is to ignore them.

By all means, if something bothers you, you have the right to speak up and let the offending person know that they are being offensive. If there’s someone being sexist/racist/____-ist in your stream, let them know that you are unfollowing them because of their ____-ist tweets.

I am saying that you shouldn’t keep obnoxious people in your stream.

After you’ve let them know why you’re unfollowing, drop the topic. Block the person.

You know why? Because you are not going to be able to change their worldview in 140 characters. If more of their followers tweet them with the same unfollowing message, maybe then they’ll think about it. But save yourself the arguing. Save yourself the headaches. Send your one tweet, block, and move on.

How Awesome is Your Stream?

Is your Twitter stream full of people who make you laugh?

Is your Twitter stream full of people who share awesome stories?

Is your Twitter stream full of the breaking news that is relevant to your interests?

If it isn’t, then you’re doing it wrong. And you have the power to fix it. Your Twitter stream should be a float down the Lazy River, not a swirly in a middle school toilet bowl. Freshen up your stream today and we’ll all benefit from a brighter, happier you.

The folks at YourTango are declaring a new annual holiday: February 13th is Break Up With Your Ex Day.

I’ll bet your first thought was: “Wait, if they’re my ex it’s because I already broke up with them!”

(At least, that was my first thought before I read the article.)

But nope, that’s not it.  This holiday is the day that you unfollow your exes on Facebook, Twitter, Foursquare, or anywhere else you might follow them.

YourTango’s argument:

Keeping in touch with, or even just keeping tabs on an ex can make it harder to embrace the present, whether you’re healing from the breakup, looking for new love, or embracing a new relationship.

You can have a clean break. No more obsessing over the ex. No more “checking in” to look at pictures of them with their new flame (and then comparing the new flame to yourself, and then getting sad because they are “better” than you in some way).

On the one hand, I can see how this would be beneficial for some people.  If it makes you feel better to completely erase all evidence of your ex, then go ahead and do it.

But on the other hand, you had good times with that person. You have happy memories. You have mutual friends. And (here’s the biggest thing), if you erase your ex from digital existence, it’s easier to forget the lessons you learned in that relationship. And make them again.

There are only two of my long term boyfriends that I am not friends with on Facebook. The first one is because we had an ugly breakup. I’ll chalk it up to us being young n’stupid. The second cut me out. We didn’t have a horrible breakup, just one of those “we’re not making each other happy, let’s go separate ways” type breakups, but he blocked me from everything. Never knew what went through his mind, but I got over it and moved on.

Have I scoped out new girlfriends of my exes? Sure. Have I lamented a bit when they got engaged or married? Sure. But y’know what? Coping with those emotions have made me a stronger person.

But hey, that’s just me… what do you think?

[poll id="27"]

Leave an elaboration to your answer in the comments if you wish. I’d love to hear your stories about dealing with exes in the digital space.

Unrelated note: YourTango was one of the first sites to write a post about my services, back in the day. Awww.

Dear Anon-O-Box,

I’m a thirty-something guy that is interested in a girl I only know from Livejournal and Twitter. She doesn’t post to her own LJ but does semi-regularly to the [geeky topic] group that I’m on as well. I follow her on Twitter but she doesn’t follow me. I’m interested in her because she has a lot of common interests with me listed on her LJ profile page and she tweets that she’s at local pubs that I like. I know I’m traveling a thin line that could appear stalker-y. Is there a way I can catch her eye without crossing the line?

Thanks,

Don’t Wanna Be A Stalker

e answers:

Dear DWBAS,

You’re right about traveling a thin line. You’re perched on the edge of something that could possibly go spectacularly well and could also go horribly, horribly wrong. Honestly, you may already be a bit into stalker territory.

Have you interacted with her on your [geeky topic] Livejournal community or on Twitter? Your note doesn’t specify whether you’ve just been admiring her from afar or if you’ve been communicating with her.

Step One: Interact where you are, but don’t go overboard

Interact with her on the LJ community and Twitter. If she posts a comment that you find interesting or funny, reply to say so and add a little bit of your own insights. But don’t reply to everything she says (or even half the things!). That bumps you from “cool guy who likes the same things I do” to “that guy who has to comment on everything I say – what is WITH HIM???”

Step Two: Gauge her interest

Notice if she is replying to your replies. If she isn’t, then move on. Pressing the issue by replying to her more often will throw you into Stalkerland.

See if she’s followed you on Twitter. Does she reply to your posts on the LJ community or things you tweet?

Step Three: Lather, rinse, repeat

If she is communicating with you, please continue on. If the conversations start to get one-sided (aka, you doing all the talking), back off for a bit.  Continue to nurture your online friendship.

Step Four: Try to move it to a different venue

No, no, not to your place and wearing something more comfortable. I’m talking about IMs. How do you frame it? You blame Twitter, of course. You’d love to talk to her in more than 140 characters at a time. If she’s into you, she’ll take the bait.

Step Five: Continue stoking the fire

Keep up the conversation. Do what comes natural to you – talk about things you both enjoy. If she’s digging you, she’ll start talking about other aspects of her life. That’s where your keen listening skills come in…

Step Six: Offer up a date

You know what she likes… you’ve been talking to her for a while now. She hasn’t run away screaming. When a movie is coming out that you’d both enjoy, offer up the idea of going to it together. It doesn’t have to be a movie either. Maybe a night out at a comedy club to see a favorite comedian, or going to a local music festival. Activity dates are great and generally mitigate the first date awkwardness pretty well.

After that… see where things go!

Happy dating, geek friend!

How About You, Readers?

Have you ever dated someone that you met on a message board, Twitter, or other social networking site? How did you move from online to offline without looking stalker-y?

The other fun part about Twitter is managing how much you tweet, especially because the Twitter stream looks vastly different if you follow 30 people than if you follow 300 or 3000. Someone who tweets “too much” according to someone who follows 30 people doesn’t tweet nearly enough for someone who has to keep tabs on 300.

I used to get upset when folks unfollowed me, especially if they were people I really liked. Or if folks didn’t follow me, especially if they seemed to reply to my tweets when I tweeted them. But not so much anymore. I’ve adopted the same attitude I have in the rest of my life – the folks who need me will be around, and those who don’t won’t be. It’s all good.

Meeting Fans at GenCon 2010

It appears my internet fame has grown since last year because I got spotted in the wild much more than I had at previous conventions.  It was pretty neat getting recognized and greeted by fans and getting to put faces to screennames and avatars.

But it’s always sad to hear, “I follow you… but you don’t follow me.”

Why I Can’t Follow Everyone

I use Twitter to keep my fingers on the pulse of certain types of people:

• close friends, family, coworkers
• industry experts & businesses (dating biz, copywriters, marketers, probloggers, RPGs)
• other interests (news, food blogs, vegetarianism, health, etc)

Twitter has also replaced my feed reader. I don’t subscribe to any blogs via RSS or email anymore. I follow them on Twitter and click through whenever an interesting tweet comes up.

At the moment, I follow around 300 accounts. This is a pretty good number  for me, as some of my followers are morning tweeters and others are evening tweeters. A lot of the folks I follow are what I’d call power-users. I see them in my stream a lot. Because of this, there are folks I follow whose tweets I miss frequently because they get washed away in the current before I have a chance to check in and read.

Following everyone in my main stream would mean I’d miss even more of the tweets by non-power-tweeting folks I currently follow.  And that would suck, because I really like those people.  Heck, sometimes I even miss a Wil Wheaton tweet – that’s how busy my stream can get!

The Next-Best-Thing: Lists

I maintain quite a few lists on Twitter, some public, some private. You may already be on one or two. Lists allow me to pop in and monitor conversations on certain topics that appeal to me and catch up with people who tweet while I’m sleeping.

In effect, if you’re on a list, I *am* following you. I just can’t handle having all of you lovelies bathing in the same Twitterstream simultaneously.

My current lists:

• GDG staff – If a writer on our staff is on Twitter, she’s on this list. Even the guy writers (GGG & guest astrologer Ryven) are on there, cuz we’re nice like that.
• Fit4GenCon - Folks who use the #fit4gencon hashtag are here. These are geeks with health & fitness goals for GenCon 2011. I’ll be adding a #plus5CHA list as soon as that hashtag starts hoppin’!
• Dating – My collection of dating sites and dating bloggers. This is the only one that I screen people for before adding them. There’s a lot of crap out there in the dating website world. I only add sites I know come out with useful content.
• RPG folks – Anyone who tweets about RPGs goes here.
• Geek Girls – Geeky girls of all flavors are on this list.
• WotC – Wizards of the Coast employees & freelancers

Ask Me!

If you’re not on one of those lists and it applies to you, send me an @ and ask me to add you. It’s just a couple clicks in TweetDeck and I’d be glad to do it. If you’re asking about the “Dating” list, give me a few days to scope you out after you request to be added. I want to be sure you’re the type of person I can recommend to my followers.

The fun part about having big lists? I may notice certain people that really inform or entertain me and pop them into my main stream. I tend to do a purge-and-add on Twitter every few months or so, removing inactive accounts and adding new faces. I’ll certainly be pulling from my lists whenever that happens next.

How About You?

What’s your Twitter policy?

Do you follow everyone back or are you more selective?

Would you describe yourself as a casual tweeter or a power user?

I’m going to get to see the Sun in IMAX resolution and real time and I’ll be tweeting live from the event, along with the other lucky Twitter folks who were chosen.

NASA Press Release regarding the event

NASA, Newseum to Debut Images from Unique Solar Spacecraft

WASHINGTON — NASA will hold a news briefing and unveil initial images from the Solar Dynamics Observatory, or SDO, at 2:15 p.m. EDT on Wednesday, April 21, in the atrium of the Newseum. The Newseum is located at 555 Pennsylvania Ave., NW, in Washington. NASA Television and the agency’s Web site will provide live coverage of the briefing.

Launched on Feb. 11, 2010, SDO is the most advanced spacecraft ever designed to study the sun and its dynamic behavior. The spacecraft will provide images with clarity ten times better than high definition television and more comprehensive science data faster than any solar observing spacecraft in history.

The participants for this briefing are:

• Dean Pesnell, SDO project scientist, Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md.
• Alan Title, principal investigator, Atmospheric Imaging Assembly instrument, Lockheed Martin Solar and Astrophysics Laboratory in Palo Alto, Calif.
• Philip H. Scherrer, principal investigator, Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager instrument, Stanford University in Palo Alto
• Tom Woods, principal investigator, Extreme Ultraviolet Variability Experiment instrument, Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics, University of Colorado in Boulder
• Madhulika Guhathakurta, SDO program scientist, NASA Headquarters in Washington

The Newseum is a 250,000-square-foot museum of news that offers visitors an experience that blends five centuries of news history with up-to-the-second technology and hands-on exhibits.

For more information about NASA TV downlinks and streaming video, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/ntv

For more information about the SDO mission, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/sdo

The Video

For a quick overview of SDO, check this quick video on YouTube:

The Tweetup

Now, I’d advocate you following me on Twitter, but hopefully you’re already doing that. However, even if you don’t have a Twitter account, you can watch the events unfold on Twitter’s website by going to the SDO Tweetup List page. That will show you the Twitter streams of everyone participating in the Tweetup.

We’re meeting up in DC at 11 am, but the actual press conference starts a little after 2 pm EDT.

I’m excited to see this historic (and geeky-cool!) event and am so grateful that NASA is letting me in so I can share it with all of you.

Twitter allows us to connect to people in almost the same way.  Let’s take a look at how you can scope out possible dates:

Personal Networks

Check out the people your real life friends follow.  Chances are, you already know the locals, but there’s always a chance there’s someone on the edge of their social circle that you’ve never met.

Mutual Interests

Go to http://search.twitter.com and click on Advanced Search:

Next, fill in your ZIP code and search radius.  Depending on the population in your area, you could find plenty of people within 20 miles, or need to stretch to 100 or more.  Play with this number to see how it works for your location.

You could just hit SEARCH here and see what you can see.  Check out some profiles and follow people that you find interesting.  Or, you can take it a step further and insert some keywords.

Maybe you want someone who loves dogs, or plays Dungeons & Dragons (#dnd), or loves hiking.   Load up the “Any of these terms” box with the keywords you’re interested in:

Scope out the tweets and follow people that you find interesting.

Don’t Be “That Guy”

Let’s say you find your dream tweep.  They’re in your area, they tweet about things that interest you, and you find out through a little bit of watching (and admit it, google stalking) that they are single.

“That Guy” ruins it for himself nearly instantaneously by getting way too excited way too quickly.

He does any or all of the following things:

• Sends her @ replies to nearly everything she tweets.
• RT’s nearly everything she says, commenting on how witty/funny/intelligent she is.
• Whines to his followers if she doesn’t tweet him back.  “Oh, how I wish @geeksdreamgirl would talk to me… but she must be too busy…“
• Inserts himself into her @ conversations with other people.
• If she follows back, he DMs her far too often.
• Stalks her on Facebook, her blog, forums, or just about anywhere else she hangs online.

While I do refer to this person as “that guy,” it is also something girls do to guys who interest them.  Don’t be that stalker person – it’s not flattering, it’s downright creepy and annoying.

How to Woo Someone On Twitter

Wooing someone on Twitter is a bit of an art.  You have to teeter on a fine line between friendly and interested.  Go too far into the interested category and you risk being seen as a stalker.  Go too far into the friends category and you could lose them to someone who gets to the finish line before you.  Oh, the frustration!!

Steps to Woo on Twitter:

1. Don’t worry if you don’t get a follow back. In fact, think of it as an opportunity – she won’t see everything you tweet, just the things you want her to see.
2. Start with a RT. If something your crush tweets is funny or useful, retweet it.  Stick to one or two RTs a day, maximum.
3. Don’t reply twice. You know what I mean, folks. If you reply to something she says, and she doesn’t reply back, don’t reply again about the same thing.
4. Suggest links. If you find an article that would be interesting to your crush, send her an @ and let her know about it.
5. Be patient. You’re building trust. This isn’t going to happen overnight. Think about your best Twitter buds… they took a while to become mutual good friends. It’ll be the same here.
6. Move it off Twitter. Once you have the follow-back and the rapport, drop your IM handle in a DM and suggest that you chat sometime in more than 140 characters.
7. Lather, rinse, repeat. Continue to build up the rapport through conversation. It’s much easier to flirt through IMs, too!
8. Do your research. You know what your crush likes, so your job is to find a great place to meet that’s impossible to pass up. For example, you just “happen” to have an extra ticket to the Jonathan Coulton concert on Friday.
9. Meet somewhere public. A concert, festival, museum walk, anywhere that’s an activity date. If you have similar interests, being in this kind of environment will be a positive experience and give you instant conversation fodder.
10. Flirt! If you feel there’s a connection, flirt it up! Let her know the next day that you had a great time and you’d love to hang out with her again soon – maybe dinner on Wednesday followed by D&D Encounters?

Happy dating, geek friends!

Unlike the edition wars crowd, I enjoy 4e as much as I enjoyed 3.5.  (Though I will admit I enjoy that there are fewer numbers in 4e.  I’ve never been good at numbers.)  I got a chance to play Savage Worlds at ConCarolinas in May and had a blast.  For me, it’s never really been about a system as much as having fun with friends and getting to be part of a crazy story.

So, in the spirit of happy roleplayers everywhere, I’ve teamed with the wonderful folks at Gator Games to give away a free copy of the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game: Core Rulebook.

How To Enter

There are two ways to enter this contest.  Both ways have an equal chance of winning, to be accommodating to those folks who aren’t Twitter addicts.

Due to shipping costs (heavy book!), this contest is open to US residents (and overseas military personnel with an APO/FPO address) only.

Comment Entry

Leave a comment on this post detailing your absolute favorite thing about the 3.x system.  It doesn’t have to be long (unless you want to be long-winded), maybe just your favorite class or feat or spell or magic item.

WARNING:  Comments that are phrased in a way that incite ill will toward 4e will be deleted.  You all are mature enough to be able to do this without being snarky.  As an example of what NOT to do:  “What I loved about 3.x is that it wasn’t like an MMO.“   Got it?  Good.  We want to pick winners, not wieners.

Comments are one per person and are weighted equally with the Twitter half of the contest.   More on that in a minute…

Twitter Entry

Entering the Twitter half of the contest is really easy.   Follow the contest sponsor (@gatorgames), and retweet things you find interesting.  You may RT up to five times per day from Monday through Friday.

Gator Games’ owner, Jean Seaborg, posts from 6-10 game links a day – current news, game updates, reviews, podcasts.  She’s also known to find and tweet cool freebie deals.  The last one was a free cookie at Mrs. Fields… om nom nom.

The Randomness

On Saturday, I will roll for the two finalists… one from the comments section here, and one from the week’s Twitter entries.  To determine the winner, a coin will be flipped.   A post announcing the winner will be made on Monday morning, October 12, 2009.

About Our Sponsor

Many thanks to Gator Games of San Mateo, California for sponsoring the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game: Core Rulebook contest!   If you’re close enough to make them your Friendly Local Gaming Store, please go check them out in person.

If you’re clear across the country like me, Gator Games has an online store full of used games, cards to build your ultimate Magic or Yu-Gi-Oh deck, minis, and all sorts of goodies.

You can also sign up for the weekly newsletter to get a quick review of all the new releases of the week.  Last, but not least, feel free to friend them on Facebook (Gator Games & Hobby), Myspace, or FriendFeed in addition to Twitter.

Thanks Jean for donating this prize!  I’m looking forward to reading some great comments below and giving away this book to a lucky reader!

(Note:  I know my audience well, so I’m going to say this before someone points it out.  I realize this is in the D&D category of posts and that Pathfinder is not D&D. The reason it is categorized D&D is because RPGBloggers only grabs my posts in that category’s feed – and I wanted to be sure this post got put up there.  If this gets your tightywhities in a wad, I apologize and will try to still love you even though you’re anal.  Much love, e.)

As a fairly new DM, I’m excited about the DMG2.   At the moment, I am planning out an Eberron campaign that I’ll eventually get around to running.  The DMG2 is a candy store full of awesome ideas and things I definitely want to steal and use as part of my campaign.

I’m also excited about D&D Game Day this Saturday!  DaveTheGame and I are going to play at a FLGS and then (hopefully) play again at home with more friends that night!  And arrrrr, perhaps talk like a pirate too.

There are tons of great reviews about the DMG2 out there, so how’s about I do the contest part and I let you read the previews and reviews some of my good friends have written?

Read Up on WHY You Want a DMG2

• Critical-Hits – Review: Dungeon Master’s Guide 2
• StupidRanger – DMG2 Review, aka Why I Love Robin Laws
• DungeonMastering – Video Review by Nick
• Fist Full of Comics & Games – Crushing Wall Trap
• At-Will – Hellbound Soldier template
• Icosahedrophilia- Swinging Rope or Vine terrain
• GeekDad – Customizing Monsters

(Got a DMG2 review on your blog?  Leave your link in the comments and I’ll add it up here.)

Enter The #famousDM Contest

Unlike ChattyDM’s #aboutmyPC contest, I only have one prize to give away, so entering (and winning) will be easier on all of us!

Here’s the question…

What famous character (book, TV, movies, etc.)
would you like to have as a DM and why?

Answer that question via Twitter and tag it #famousDM.

For example:

Stewie Griffin would be the ultimate sadistic DM. After all, DMing is world domination, right?  “Victory is mine!”  Poor PCs. #famousDM

Be sure you tag it #famousDM, otherwise I won’t see it to enter you into the contest.

To Win

To be eligible your entry must:

• Be posted to Twitter before Friday, September 25th at 11:59 pm EST.
• Be tagged #famousDM.
• Give the name of a famous character and a reason why you’d like to see them as your DM.

You can enter as often as you like, but if your reasons start to get lame like “…cuz it would be fun” or “…because I’d want to see what he’d do” then I have the right to exclude that entry because you’re a lazy bum.

All eligible entries will be tossed in the Hat of Randomness (aka an Excel spreadsheet), and the Hand of Randomness (aka random.org) will draw the number of the winner, which will be announced on Monday, September 28.

Good luck and let the fictitious DMs roll!!