Omicron Press's page

I'd love to join, that sounds like exactly what I need right about now. Email sent.

Update: I've posted issue #4 of Campaign Compass, my article for roleplaying tips, as well as Development Journal #2 for my current project. I'm also proud to announce my first official contest, where you could win a PDF copy of my first publication, Cityforge #1: Tyrant's Hollow. Come on in and have a look for details:
www.omicronpress.com

Very easy. You'll find a link at the bottom of each newsletter email.

Through the e-zine/newsletter subscription, you will only receive newsletters and articles that I send out manually, whereas with Feedburner, you'll receive an automated email whenever any new blog post is made.

The former means less volume (1-2 emails a week), but less content delivered. The latter means more volume (probably around 3-5 emails a week), but you can more closely follow what's going on in the community.

The Facebook fan group is not a bad idea, actually, and one I've given some thought before. I think I'll look into it some more.

As for the newsletter/e-zine, I'm in the process of changing it from a weekly, automated follow-up message system to a live broadcast that allows me to manually send out email messages to all of my subscribers at once. It may skip a few issues for you during the transition, but everything should work fine in the long run.

EDIT: I also deliver subscription RSS feed updates by email, via Feedburner. They can be viewed in plain HTML or text formats, no RSS reader required, if that works for you.

I'm an up-and-coming RPG publisher looking to drive some traffic to my fledgling blog. I've got all kinds of momentum going, but the blog is brand new and it would be great to have some like-minded gamers drop by and make the place look alive, bounce some ideas around, and give me some feedback. I figured this would be a good starting point, since I plan to focus on producing content compatible with the Pathfinder RPG.

You may have a few questions for me at this point...

You're selling something, aren't you?
No. Not yet, anyway. It will be a few months, at the very least, before I publish my first paid product. I am not a used car salesman, and this is not a sales pitch -- it's an invitation. I am a gamer first and an entrepreneur second.

Why should I visit your site?
At present, there are three good reasons:

• The free Campaign Compass e-zine. It's a weekly article full of advice for players and game masters. You can read it on-site or subscribe to receive it by email. You're also free to suggest topics for the next issue, leave comments, ask questions, and give answers.
  
• The Cityforge development journal. I'm looking for feedback and input as I offer an insider look at the creation my first product. Your advice and input now could affect the end result later.
  
• Be a part of something new and exciting! I'm looking to build a community out of this. For now, every post has a comment section, but I may start up a forum before long, if I can generate some interest.

The site URL is www.omicronpress.com. You can also reach me by email at robertbaker@omicronpress.com. Don't be shy. I'll check up on this thread often, but you'll probably get faster replies out of me by email or through blog comments.

Looking forward to having some readers,
Robert Baker, Omicron Press

As someone who's been playing tabletop RPGs for as long as I've been able to read, I've experienced quite a few. I don't have an "other RPG" so much as I have several dozen other RPGs.

It can be difficult to compare and contrast all of the different games that are available at present. It ultimately boils down to what you're looking for as a gamer. I personally enjoy an emphasis on storytelling, but I also enjoy strategic combat scenarios and the odd bit of number-crunching, so PFRPG is a good 'catch-all' for me. However, I also frequently play (and GM) World of Darkness (particularly Changeling: The Lost, which I highly recommend to the uninitiated), Exalted, Ars Magica, and even the occasional tactical wargame that has little or no roleplaying element to it at all.

I personally recommend anything by White Wolf, though there are countless smaller indie publishers out there that come up with material worth its weight in gold every day. Evil Hat's FATE comes to mind, as does Animalball's Instant Game.

Like I said, it all depends on what you're looking for. If you want a heavy emphasis on story and character development while glossing over rules and numbers, the aforementioned FATE RPG is just for you. If you want detailed, gritty tactical combat mechanics, you might try GURPS, although it's never been for me personally. To find the right game for you, all you have to do is shop around. Try every game you can get your hands on at least once, or if that's not possible, just read through some of the material and see if it clicks with you. At worst, you'll put it down and move on. At best, you'll discover a new mainstay of your hobby.