# Announcing the 2012 Gen Con EN World RPG Awards Nominees!



## Morrus (Jul 13, 2012)

Congratulations to the 2012 ENnie Awards nominees! Feel free to get to know the products below by clicking links. Voting begins on Friday, July 20 and runs to Sunday, July 29. The ceremony itself will be on Friday, August 17, in the Union Station Grand Hall at 8pm with the cocktail reception beginning at 6:30pm.

The Gen Con EN World RPG Awards (the “ENnies”) are an annual fan-based celebration of excellence in tabletop roleplaying gaming. The ENnies give game designers, writers and artists the recognition they deserve. It is a peoples’ choice award, and the final winners are voted upon online by the gaming public.

The ENnies were created in 2001 as an annual award ceremony, hosted by EN World in partnership with Eric Noah’s Unofficial D&D 3rd Edition News. With award categories recognizing the components that make a game great to the types of products fans have come to love, categories for fan-based websites and much more, the ENnies are the best way for fans to acknowledge outstanding effort from and to say “thank you” to the publishers, designers and artists who make this hobby great. 


*Best Adventure*

Dead Rock Seven (Pelgrane Press)
Invasive Procedures (Pelgrane Press)
Madness at Gardmore Abbey (Wizards of the Coast)
Streets of Zobeck (Open Design)
The Rending Box (Pelgrane Press)
*Best Aid/Accessory*

DungeonMorph Cards (Inkwell Ideas, Inc.)
GameMastery Chase Cards (Paizo Publishing)
Masks: 1,000 Memorable NPCs for Any RPG (Engine Publishing)
Mutants and Masterminds GM’s Kit (Green Ronin)
Shadowrun Runner’s Toolkit (Catalyst Game Labs)
*Best Art, Cover*

Black Crusade: Core Rulebook (Fantasy Flight Games)
Cthulhu by Gaslight (Chaosium Inc.)
Mutants and Masterminds Gamemaster’s Guide (Green Ronin)
Neverwinter Campaign Setting (Wizards of the Coast)
Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Beginner Box (Paizo)
*Best Art, Interior*

Book of Drakes (Open Design)
Do: Pilgrims of the Flying Temple (Evil Hat Productions)
Dragon Age: Set 2 (Green Ronin)
Legend of the Five Rings, Fourth Edition: The Great Clans (Alderac Entertainment Group)
The One Ring: Adventures Over the Edge of the Wild (Cubicle 7)
*Best Blog*

Campaign Mastery
Gaming as Women
Gnome Stew
Roving Band of Misfits
Sly Flourish
*Best Cartography*

Harker Asylum - Virtual Boxed Set (0One Games)
Madness at Gardmore Abbey (Wizards of the Coast)
Mass Transit III (Maps of Mastery)
Pathfinder Campaign Setting: Jade Regent Map Folio (Paizo)
The Shadowlands Conversion Guide (BlackStar Studios)
*Best Electronic Book*

Advanced Encounters: Terrain Toolbox (Sneak Attack Press)
Cthulhu Apocalypse: The Apocalypse Machine (Graham Walmsley & Pelgrane Press)
GURPS Social Engineering (Steve Jackson Games)
Spookybeans: The Gothic Comics RPG (Chapter 13 Press)
Way of the Wicked Book One: Knot of Thorns (Fire Mountain Games)
*Best Free Product*

Black Crusade: Broken Chains (Fantasy Flight Games)
Dragon Age Quickstart Guide (Green Ronin)
The One Ring: Words of the Wise (Cubicle 7)
The Shadowlands Conversion Guide (BlackStar Studios)
Pathfinder Module: We Be Goblins! (Paizo)
*Best Game*

Cosmic Patrol Core Rulebook (Catalyst Game Labs)
Do: Pilgrims of the Flying Temple (Evil Hat Productions)
Hollowpoint (VSCA Publishing)
Marvel Heroic Roleplaying Basic Game (Margaret Weis Productions)
Savage Worlds Deluxe (Pinnacle Entertainment Group)
*Best Miniatures Product*

Dungeons and Dragons Dragon Collector’s Set (Wizards of the Coast)
Monster Medallions Set 1: Deadly Encounter Groups (Fiery Dragon Productions)
Pathfinder Battles: Heroes and Monsters (Paizo)
Serene Fist Set Four: Katana Schoolgirls vs. Zombie Furries (Okumarts Games)
Steam Tower (Mayhem in Paper)
*Best Monster/Adversary*

DC Adventures: Heroes & Villains, Vol. 1 (Green Ronin)
Deathwatch: Mark of the Xenos (Fantasy Flight Games)
Hacklopedia of Beasts (Kenzer and Co.)
Hunter Sheets Issue Two—An SLA Industries Supplement (Nightfall Games)
Monster Vault: Threats to the Nentir Vale (Wizards of the Coast)
*Best Podcast*

Haste – The Official Obsidian Portal Podcast
Iron GM
Jennisodes
Law of the Geek
Role Playing Public Radio
*Best Production Values*

Hacklopedia of Beasts (Kenzer & Co.)
Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Beginner Box (Paizo)
Smallville High School Yearbook (Margaret Weis Productions)
The One Ring: Adventures Over the Edge of the Wild (Cubicle 7)
Vampire: The Masquerade 20th Anniversary Edition (CCP Games/White Wolf Publishing)
*Best RPG Related Product*

Carnival Arcane (Midnight Syndicate Soundtracks)
Complete Kobold Guide to Game Design (Open Design)
Cthulhu Wrapping Paper (Gaming Paper)
Lords of Waterdeep (Wizards of the Coast)
Tales of the Far West (Adamant Entertainment)
*Best Rules*

Bulldogs! (Galileo Games)
Hollowpoint (VSCA Publishing)
Lorefinder—The Pathfinder / GUMSHOE Mashup (Pelgrane Press)
Marvel Heroic Roleplaying Basic Game (Margaret Weis Productions)
Spellbound Kingdoms (T. Shield Studios)
*Best Setting*

Ashen Stars (Pelgrane Press)
Cthulhu Apocalypse: The Apocalypse Machine (Graham Walmsley & Pelgrane Press)
Cthulhu Britannica: Shadows Over Scotland (Cubicle 7)
The Investigator’s Guide to Occult London (Pelgrane Press)
Unhallowed Metropolis, Revised (Atomic Overmind Press)
*Best Supplement*

Agents of Oblivion (Reality Blurs)
Cthulhu by Gaslight (Chaosium Inc.)
Dungeons and Dragons Player’s Options: Heroes of the Feywild (Wizards of the Coast)
GURPS Horror, Fourth Edition (Steve Jackson Games)
Star Hero (Hero Games)
*Best Website*

D&D Insider
Obsidian Portal
Pathfinder Wiki
See Page XX – The Pelgrane Press Webzine
RPG Geek
*Best Writing*

GURPS Horror, Fourth Edition (Steve Jackson Games)
Panopticon (Posthuman Studios)
Stealing Cthulhu (Graham Walmsley)
The Investigator’s Guide to Occult London (Pelgrane Press)
Your Whispering Homonculous (Open Design)
*Product of the Year*

Cthulhu Britannica: Shadows Over Scotland (Cubicle 7)
GURPS Horror, Fourth Edition (Steve Jackson Games)
Hacklopedia of Beasts (Kenzer and Co.)
Hollowpoint (VSCA Publishing)
Madness at Gardmore Abbey (Wizards of the Coast)
Marvel Heroic Roleplaying Basic Game (Margaret Weis Productions)
Masks: 1,000 Memorable NPCs for Any RPG (Engine Publishing)
Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Beginner Box (Paizo)
Star Hero (Hero Games)
Stealing Cthulhu (Graham Walmsley)
*Judge’s Spotlight Award*

Matthew Muth – ?
Kennon Bauman – ?
Kat Boulware – ?
Jody Kline – ?
Kurt Wiegel – ?
You’ll find out at the ceremony!
*If you are a publisher, click the image below to download a bigger version of the badge to proudly display on your website.*

*If you’re a fan, feel free to download and print out this flyer for posting in your FLGS.*


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## halfjack (Jul 13, 2012)

I am thrilled -- and blown away -- to see our own _Hollowpoint_ in here not once but three times! This is a really unexpected list, full of great titles by smart people. Going to be a very difficult voting period.

Thanks, ENnie team!


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## Aberzanzorax (Jul 13, 2012)

Sorta surprised no "best adventure" by Paizo (historically they do well there) but one by WotC.

That's actually kinda nice to see...that WotC is stepping up their adventure quality.

Congrats to em!


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## justinhalliday (Jul 13, 2012)

In the effort to make a point, I succeeded in only douching up the place.  So I shall try to make that right.  Here's what I should have written:

_Congratulations to all of the ENnie nominees!  It's great to see a huge range of systems represented. Let the voting begin.

On a personal note, it's disappointing to see that the Free Products nominees are either ads for paid products (in  the case of Dragon Age) or require you to buy the same company's paid  product to work._

If you want to see me at my douchiest, here's what I originally posted:



Spoiler



Those Best Free Product nominations are appalling!  Let's take a quick look at these 'free' products:

An adventure that was available free for one day of the year:
Black Crusade: Broken Chains

A demo of a real paid RPG (Dragon Age):
Dragon Age: Quickstart Rules

A short adventure released as a promo for a real paid RPG:
The One Ring: Words of the Wise

A conversion guide from Pathfinder to Shadowlands?:
Shadowlands Conversion Guide

Another short adventure released as a promo for a real paid RPG (Pathfinder):
Pathfinder Module: We Be Goblins!

What about nominating an actual free product?

EDIT: The Black Crusade PDF is available free on the net, but it's damned hard to find!



Mod Edit: Watch your language please.  ~Umbran


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## GrayLinnorm (Jul 13, 2012)

Kind of disappointed that _Pathfinder Bestiary 3_ wasn't nominated for best monster book.


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## Aberzanzorax (Jul 13, 2012)

justinhalliday said:


> <Snipped after the fact.




Interesting points, and I agree with some of em. I don't think quickstart rules or conversion guides belong as a "best free product". In a sense, I don't really think of them as "products" in their own right. 

However, I don't think you're being fair to Black Crusade: Broken Chains, The One Ring: Words of the Wise, or We Be Goblins.


All three of those products are indeed full RPG products, not ads, not promos, not conversions, etc. They are adventures. Also, all three are still available, at this very moment, for free in PDF.

Maybe you wanted a full free RPG? It'd be nice if they had "best free RPG" as a category. There are some awesome free RPGs at http://www.1km1kt.net/



EDIT: Didn't realize you had a product for that category. Sour grapes are never pretty. You may want to redact your comment. I'm deleting the quote in my post.


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## Ycore Rixle (Jul 13, 2012)

*Fantastic!*

All the people here at T. Shield Studios - that would be me - are very happy and gratified to see Spellbound Kingdoms on the list.

Congrats to all the other nominees, thanks to the judges, and most of all thanks to all the fans for supporting the game.


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## InkwellIdeas (Jul 13, 2012)

Wow!  Those of us behind the DungeonMorphs products (Cards & Dice) couldn't be happier! Thanks to the judges, to everyone who backed the project on Kickstarter, people who have picked them up afterward on the DungeonMoprhs website, the manufacturers & of course my collaborators on the project:


Tim Ballew Risus Monkey
M. S. Jackson . .lapsus calumni. .
Shane Knysh fictitious entry - making roleplaying better one post at a time
Dyson Logos Dyson's Dodecahedron
David Millar Dave's Mapper | RPG Map Generator
Brutus Motor This is Dice Country
AJ Stone  Stonewerks's Blog


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## MatthewJHanson (Jul 13, 2012)

We at Sneak Attack Press are excited to receive our first nomination for Advanced Encounters: Terrain Toobox.

In fact we're so excited we're putting it on sale for just ONE DOLLAR!


Congratulations to all the other nominees, and thanks to everybody at the ENnies!


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## MatthewJHanson (Jul 13, 2012)

justinhalliday said:


> Those Best Free Product nominations are _nonsense_!  Let's take a quick look at these 'free' products:
> 
> ...
> 
> What about nominating an actual free product?




I'm sorry that your book was not nominated, but I'd urge you to take a moment to relax and think before you post.

The "sour grapes" attitude comes across as unprofessional and probably does not do much to ingratiate yourself to the judges (some of whom may be judging your products again next year).


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## Umbran (Jul 13, 2012)

justinhalliday said:


> What about nominating an actual free product?




Are you aware of many free products from this year that were submitted for consideration?  They cannot nominate a product that doesn't exist, or that wasn't submitted.


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## Aberzanzorax (Jul 13, 2012)

Umbran said:


> Are you aware of many free products from this year that were submitted for consideration? They cannot nominate a product that doesn't exist, or that wasn't submitted.



<!-- BEGIN TEMPLATE: dbtech_usertag_mention -->@Umbran <!-- END TEMPLATE: dbtech_usertag_mention -->

Check his sig. He has a free product...and on his blog he posts about his sour grapes (using those words, no less). I suppose throwing a fit about it is a good way to increase his downloads...it worked on me I'm ashamed to say.


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## Matchstick (Jul 13, 2012)

I never thought of Words of the Wise in that way.  A promo would have rules in it to allow for people to play it IMO, and Words of the Wise is simply an adventure, no rules previews or combat rules or anything.

I'm a little surprised to see Savage Worlds in there, considering it's mostly just a re-issue with a few new rules.


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## gdmcbride (Jul 13, 2012)

We here at Fire Mountain Games are humbled and blown away by the nomination of our first product "Way of the Wicked Book One: Knot of Thorns".

Thanks to everyone involved in the Ennies.

Gary McBride
Fire Mountain Games


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## Erik Mona (Jul 13, 2012)

Congratulations to all of the nominees! Paizo Publishing is honored to be listed among such fine products. 

Now I'm off to go build my shopping list!

--Erik Mona
Publisher
Paizo Publishing


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## Steel_Wind (Jul 13, 2012)

Aberzanzorax said:


> <!-- BEGIN TEMPLATE: dbtech_usertag_mention -->@Umbran <!-- END TEMPLATE: dbtech_usertag_mention -->
> 
> Check his sig. He has a free product...and on his blog he posts about his sour grapes (using those words, no less). I suppose throwing a fit about it is a good way to increase his downloads...it worked on me I'm ashamed to say.




While I have not hit his links, looked at his blog, nor do I profess to know a single damn thing about _*any*_ of his products (submitted or otherwise), I would observe _generally_ that people are allowed to be disappointed and express their displeasure. 

Yes, even if they do it in a way that some may find offensive or churlish. Yes, even if it upsets some Ennie judges, too.

Nobody is beyond reproach - not even the volunteer Ennie Judges. Those who submit products must have a thick skin. Those who judge those products must develop one as well.


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## Klaus (Jul 13, 2012)

I'm thrilled to see Heroes of the Feywild and the Monster Medallions among the nominees!

Congrats to my fellow nominees, and thanks to the judges for their hard work!


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## Monkey King (Jul 13, 2012)

Congratulations to all the nominees! It is indeed a great time to be a gamer.

Open Design is honored and delighted to have 4 nominees this year, including our first in the Adventure category.


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## KatCloaked (Jul 13, 2012)

There were lots of great products submitted this year for consideration.  Congratulations to all of the nominees!


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## justinhalliday (Jul 14, 2012)

MatthewJHanson said:


> I'm sorry that your book was not nominated, but I'd urge you to take a moment to relax and think before you post.
> 
> The "sour grapes" attitude comes across as unprofessional and probably does not do much to ingratiate yourself to the judges (some of whom may be judging your products again next year).




Yep, and that's an important lesson in 'don't post angry', for which I apologize.



Aberzanzorax said:


> Interesting points, and I agree with some of em. I don't think quickstart rules or conversion guides belong as a "best free product". In a sense, I don't really think of them as "products" in their own right.
> 
> However, I don't think you're being fair to Black Crusade: Broken Chains, The One Ring: Words of the Wise, or We Be Goblins.




I didn't want to make my post about my game (which is why I didn't mention it), because that isn't my actual point.  What I wanted to draw attention to the fact that all of the nominally 'Free Products' are ads for paid products (in the case of Dragon Age) or require you to buy the same company's paid product to work.



Umbran said:


> Are you aware of many free products from this year that were submitted for consideration?  They cannot nominate a product that doesn't exist, or that wasn't submitted.




I have to assume that there are other free products that were submitted that are actually free and don't require other paid additions.


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## dd.stevenson (Jul 14, 2012)

justinhalliday said:


> Those Best Free Product nominations are appalling!  Let's take a quick look at these 'free' products:
> 
> *Snip*
> 
> ...




Not to belabor the obvious, but pathfinder products can be played using the SRD, without ever purchasing a rules book.  This isn't just a "technicality"... many loyal pathfinder customers really do play this way...


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## Aberzanzorax (Jul 14, 2012)

Annnnnnyyywhooo.....


Some personal congratulations (not personal like I'm in any way involved, just personal in that I'm personally happy for em)...to:

Open design (quality as always)
Fire Mountain Games (new quality, coming strong outta the gate!)


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## ColonelHardisson (Jul 14, 2012)

I bought Cosmic Patrol because I saw it on the list of nominees. Had I not seen it there, I may never have known about it.

Just throwin' it out there...


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## Charles Dunwoody (Jul 14, 2012)

Ycore Rixle said:


> All the people here at T. Shield Studios - that would be me - are very happy and gratified to see Spellbound Kingdoms on the list.
> 
> Congrats to all the other nominees, thanks to the judges, and most of all thanks to all the fans for supporting the game.




I checked out Spellbound Kingdoms because of the nomination (just hadn't heard of it before). I'll likely buy the rules and adventure and hopefully the future supplement.


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## Skeld (Jul 14, 2012)

Congrats to the nominees.

Aren't the Pathfinder minis actually a Wizkids product, produced under license from Paizo?

On the free product category subject, if an rpg product is produced and distributed for free, it should be eligible for the free category.  For example, We Be Goblins was available in print on free rpg day and is available as a free PDF from Paizo.  In what universe that wouldn't be considered a free product?

Aside from a few nuggets, this is the worst list of nominees in recent memory.

-Skeld


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## possum (Jul 14, 2012)

Kinda disappointed that Flames of War didn't get any nominations this year, but I'm glad to see Paizo and WOTCs.


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## Ycore Rixle (Jul 14, 2012)

Kravell said:


> I checked out Spellbound Kingdoms because of the nomination (just hadn't heard of it before). I'll likely buy the rules and adventure and hopefully the future supplement.




Glad to hear it! I hope you enjoy the game.


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## Argyle King (Jul 15, 2012)

GURPS Horror was nominated for a lot of categories.  I personally felt it was a fantastic supplement, so I am not surprised at all on a personal level.  I just didn't realize how many other people (apparently) shared my positive view of the book.


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## Mark CMG (Jul 15, 2012)

Congrats to the 2012 ENnies nominees!


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## Pelgrane (Jul 16, 2012)

I am slightly overwhelmed with ten nominations for Pelgrane, that and our fiction Kickstarter hit target in five days. It's been quite a week! Congratulations to all nominees, and look forward to seeing you at the ceremony.


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## Kobold Stew (Jul 16, 2012)

Best wishes to all the nominees -- I think this is a great line-up this year, and I look forward to the results!


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## Charles Dunwoody (Jul 17, 2012)

Ycore Rixle said:


> Glad to hear it! I hope you enjoy the game.




I have it now and I am impressed. The monster attacks are great and the PDF is bigger than I expected. The art is better than I expected as well. I received a great product for the cost. These rules deserve more attention, so the nomination makes good sense.


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## Boz Shulun (Jul 17, 2012)

To all the nominees, congratulations.

To the podcast nominees, a special congrats and thank you. Your hard work and determination are inspirations. Though Gamerstable didn't make the cut this year, you have set the standard for us, giving us drive and focus to join the ranks next year.

Eric


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## Grumpy RPG Reviews (Jul 19, 2012)

Boz Shulun said:


> Though Gamerstable didn't make the cut this year...




Neither did I, but the Jennisodes - among several excellent programs  - did and defiantly deserves it. Congrats to all.


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