Kenneth Newquist, who puts the “Nuke” in Nuketown, has gone and done it again: unsolicited praise for this little podcast from atop his mighty throne. Many moons ago, he generously provided Dice Make Bonk with its first in-print review, with real ink and pages and everything. I have a great big happy place in my heart for Nuke.

(If you’re looking for those archives he mentioned, look no more. And yes: we’re still on hiatus.)

Like me, Nuke is a busy, busy fellow. Unlike me, he still actually puts out the occasional show, writes prolifically about role playing, and has time to add to the gestalt Internet mind. If you haven’t checked it out by now, it’s well past time you did.

I mean, this is the first time I’ve posted in over 6 months, and it’s all to drive home the point that Nuke is awesome. Doesn’t that tell you something?

I love the RPGs, but I’m not a big fan of the MMO, if you get my drift. Still, I’m curious about the gameplay. I want to spend time with my online friends, too. So I wonder what can be done to make it more appealing to me.

The Dire Cafe being my RPG social network of choice, I decided to wonder about it over there and give my thoughts to other people. Wanna read too? Check out Part One (Storylines and Community) and Part Two (Starting Players with the Ultimate Weapon).

Both start out with a way to change how gameplay works, then build up a franchised MMORPG as an example. I’m having fun writing them, and from the responses, people are having fun reading them. So enjoy!

Oh my.

DriveThruRPG and over 60 of our publishing partners are offering the dozens of FREE titles listed below for our very own ThanksGiveAway holiday, Monday, November 12 through Friday, November 16. Check the site after 10 AM EST each day to find exciting new gifts from us to you, and please email, blog and post to your gaming friends to let them know ThanksGiveAway week is here!

http://rpg.drivethrustuff.com/thanksgiveaway.php

There are some real goodies in here, folks. Check in often — offerings change every day! And the Conan Pocket Handbook? I’m so totally there.

A month or two ago, I took the time to make pretty the RSS feed link on the right side of the page. It worked great for a while, providing just the latest rounds without all my fluffy posts in between. For whatever reason, it stopped working and I have no idea why.

And of course, now it seems to be working. But I don’t trust it.

Now, turning to edit the next round of DMB, I discover that one of my favorite audio processing plugins has disappeared: not merely from my computer, but from the entire face of the Earth. Google can’t track down even a whisper of it. The plugin, called LADSPA Leveler, has apparently been pulled out of Time and Space entirely.

So I’m having to let a lot of technical things slide by this month. I just don’t have the energy to produce a film, troubleshoot weird code that works except it doesn’t, contact an alternate universe to get their copy of Leveler, *and* bang out a new round of Dice Make Bonk. Something’s got to give.

Therefore, I decide to produce the film and bang out the next round. Except — you guessed it — for the inevitable delay. Keep watching the skies. The usual channels like GOBLIN, the Dire Cafe, and so on will all joyously proclaim when the new round is out.

In the meantime, check these out: new behind-the-scenes pictures from the first shooting weekend of In The Wind. (Courtesy of John Maio Photography.) It’s pretty!

Scronk may have shuffled off this mortal coil and joined the choir invisible, but as a famous Ghostbuster once noted, “the door swings both ways.” Character death can suck, but character resurrection can itself be awkward if not handled with delicacy and restraint — at least that’s my theory, and I’m sticking to it. In a world where the dead can walk again, sometimes by their own design, is there drama in bringing back a fallen comrade?

Spirits, speak to us! (Insert 25 coppers for the first four minutes, 10 coppers for each minute after that.)

Wait a moment … I’m receiving vibrations from beyond the veil… MP3 is content in the Happy Hunting Grounds, but Ogg/Vorbis cannot rest until its work in the mortal realm is complete.

By the way: I consider the Dire Cafe is my official comment forum by proxy, at least as far as new rounds are concerned. Got something to say about this episode? Say it here!