TAO Games adopts new business model, makes best games ever.

Above: Bliss Stage

TAO Games, makers of Bliss Stage and Polaris, have just adopted a "pay-what-you-want" model ala the Humble Indie Bundle for PDF copies of all their RPGs.  This is something you should definitely care about, because they make games that kick lots and lots and lots of ass.  They're experimental, relationship focused, and, most importantly of all, recognize that being a hero costs more than it pays.   I remember hearing an interview with Ben Lehman, the designer behind TAO, in which he said something to the effect that when he was first getting into gaming he noticed that other people were trying to keep their D&D characters alive while he was trying to get his killed in the right way.  This anecdote basically describes my initial experiences with D&D to a T.  Anyone who's ever gamed with me or talked about fiction with me or basically ever met me is well aware by this point that nothing gets me going quite as much as a well executed melodramatic heroic sacrifice.  It's why I love David Gemmel, it's a large part of why I love Lloyd Alexander, it's why I still cry every single time Boromir takes that third arrow and keeps chugging in The Fellowship of the Ring.  I like to see my heroes worn down by the business of being heroes.  It's not an easy business, and I hate it when it appears to be.  If you've ever felt the same, you should absolutely buy a copy of Bliss Stage.  I'll do a more complete post about it at a later date, but suffice to say that it manages to out-Evangelion Evangelion and is about emotionally scarred child soldiers battling aliens using mechs made out of love.  Also, the mechanic for resolving major plot points mandates that PCs die, and it's got all kinds of character erosion going on at all times.  So yeah, it's pure, unadulterated Ben-shit, and you can get it for whatever you're willing to part with.  Do it now.