The stirring shonen manga drama of one man's quest to become the Greatest Game Master in the World. A graphic novel series by Jason Thompson and Victor Hao, published by Del Rey Manga.
Posted in Uncategorized on 02/26/2010 01:09 pm by jason
It’s been just over a month now since King of RPGs came out, and the blog has been a little quiet for the last few days, so I wanted to write in and say what’s going on. (The image is a sketch that Victor drew recently.)
King of RPGs volume 2 is on schedule for a Spring-Summer 2011 release. I don’t have an exact date at this time, but the book is completely scripted and about half drawn. It’s a 260-page epic of dice-melting melodrama which will make the first volume look like “Genshiken.” Victor and I will be at several conventions over the summer, and I’ll be running some tabletop RPGs, while I’m settling into my new home in Seattle. In the meantime, I’ll be posting some new material on the site over the next few months!
* a never-before-seen, totally non-canonical 6-page early version of King of RPGs, drawn by Victor Hao
* D&D stats for all the major King of RPGs characters
* sketches and artwork from volume 2
* some of my own storyboards and character designs which I gave to Victor for reference
…and, very possibly, some new stuff so weird I can’t even talk about it yet. But please wait for it! Since D&D 4th ed came out in 2008 and King of RPGs was announced in early 2009, it’s been an interesting time for gaming — the visibility of tabletop RPGs has gone up, but once again, like Grand Theft Auto and World of Warcraft, roleplaying has been blamed for violent insanity and antisocial behavior. It’s like the ’80s all over again! But like Theodore Dudek, we, the creators of King of RPGs, are committed to taking you into “a world of pure imagination” (1970s Willy Wonka version, not the Maroon 5 cover, of course). By force if necessary. Kicking and screaming. So come in, RSS us, and have a nice cup of tea we take you behind the scenes into the creation of King of RPGs volume 2 and, dice willing, some other exciting projects! And feel free to comment or write!
Posted in Uncategorized on 02/22/2010 03:43 pm by jason
For those who couldn’t make it IRL, the great Panxa took some photos of the King of RPGs Launch Party at Endgame Oakland back in January. The photos don’t show all the spilled Coke, Mountain Dew and red food coloring…
Posted in Uncategorized on 02/18/2010 08:58 am by jason
Largehearted Boy is a great music blog which also touches on art, literature and other wide-reaching aspects of pop culture. The author, a man with some gold and levels under his belt, was awesome enough to plug King of RPGs and let me contribute to the “Book Notes” series, where authors choose and explain a music playlist for the books they’ve written. On that note, here is my playlist for King of RPGs volume 1, my selection of rap, metal, nerdcore and ’80s fantasy movie soundtracks that I listened to while writing the first book in the series. Please check it out and, if you haven’t been there before, take some time to explore the site — for gamers specifically, there’s also a playlist by Mark Barrowcliffe for his D&D-playing memoir The Elfish Gene!
Posted in conventions on 02/17/2010 11:34 am by jason
I’ve moved up to Seattle recently, so Sakuracon is right in my backyard. And now I’m pleased to announce that Victor and me will be attending Sakuracon 2010 (April 2-4) as Guests of Honor!
We’ll have a booth with King of RPGs graphic novels & other stuff, and we’ll also be doing some panels on manga, creating a graphic novel, and other topics. However, those panel times aren’t nailed down yet. What *is* nailed down, however, are the three King of RPGs roleplaying games which I’ll be running at the convention!
APRIL 3
2-6 PM
KING OF RPGS TOURNAMENT: THE ISLE OF DOOM
On a mysterious jungle island awaits fabulous treasure, horrible monsters and (very possibly) painful death. Do you dare join a crew of adventurers and set sail to uncover the riches of the legendary Isle of Doom?
8 PM-midnight or whenever
KING OF RPGS TOURNAMENT: THE SIEGE OF GHARAZAK
The great city of Gharazak is besieged by an army of ferocious lizard men. Only a group of brave heroes has the chance to save their city from unimaginable horror… or loot the place before it collapses. Will anyone survive?
APRIL 4
2-6 PM
KING OF RPGS TOURNAMENT: THE CHOCOLATIERS OF DEATH
In the corrupt city of Ildaun, sinister merchants, princes and rat-catchers wage war in a sticky-sweet web of intrigue, doom and backstabbing. Unlike the other games, which will use the D&D rules, this one will be run using Robin Laws’ “Skulduggery” system, published by Pelgrane Press and known in an earlier iteration as The Dying Earth RPG.
All these games will feature pregenerated characters based on the cast of King of RPGs, including characters who won’t show up until volume 2. If you’re in Seattle, come to Sakuracon and join in the tabletop RPG action! I’ll post the rest of the panel schedule as soon as it’s ready.
Posted in Uncategorized on 02/16/2010 09:00 am by jason
New pages uploaded every Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday!
And, on that note, this is the last page of the King of RPGs Volume 1 free samples. The final edition of Volume 1 is in stores now, Volume 2 is about halfway drawn, and I’m working on some new King of RPGs apocrypha about which more later. Please feel free to comment or email me if you have any questions about the book for me or Victor. We’ll be posting some sketches and other bonus material soon, and I’ll have more to announce soon on this site!
Posted in Uncategorized on 02/08/2010 11:43 am by jason
The King of RPGs Graphic Novel Video Trailer is now up on youtube. Behold, and let your eyes widen before the fiery majesty of game mastering! We’ll have more announcements soon, which will be up on this site in a couple of days…
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