Showing posts with label Dungeons and Dragons. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Dungeons and Dragons. Show all posts

Thursday, August 13, 2026

Gen Con 2026: Photo Journal

Gen Con 2026 was one to remember.  It broke attendance records, brought over 83 million dollars to downtown Indianapolis, and featured a tornado warning about 30 minutes before the vendor hall closed on Saturday.   In reflection of the convention, it is probably my favorite of the five Gen Cons I have attended.  Here are some of my favorite images of my experience: 

Checking out the board at the D&D Tower


Indy Gets Behind Gen Con

Fourth Wing dragon art

Gen Con is always magical

Time for adventure!

Adventure Over!

My favorite new game at Gen Con

No detail missed at the Witchlight Carnival

The Dungeon Masters stage

The destruction of Cardhalla

Farewell Gen Con, until next time!


Saturday, August 1, 2026

Gen Con Days 1 and 2 Reflection

Walking into the hotel room at 11:30 PM with tired feet from miles of walking, sore shoulders from carrying bags of games, and a heart filled with joy from new and old friends laughing, strategizing, and putting all “to the roll of dice” means Gen Con is here, and it is the midway point. A weary body and buzzing mind are in reflection of what I have experienced and in planning what I still want to do. For now, I reflect on my top moments of the first two days of Gen Con 2026.

5. Dungeons and Dragons shares plans:

From the D&D Tower on West Washington Street, company leaders announced Dungeons & Dragons: World of Warcraft, and a revival of the gritty, post-apocalyptic D&D setting Dark Sun. Writer, producer, and actor Joe Manganiello took the stage to announce D&D Icons will bring Margaret Weis, Tracy Hickman, and Luke Gygax back to creating classic settings. R.A. Salvatore brings back the Forgotten Realms hero Drizzt Do Urden. Greyhawk was highlighted in the reveal of Greyhawk: Crown of the Witch Queen, where we will experience the ascent the very famous Tasha. Maybe the biggest reveal, at least the one with the most questions, was made by Darth Vader. He announced a partnership between Dungeons and Dragons and Star Wars in 2027. Vader said nothing more other than to stay tuned.

4. G.I. Joe Operation: Crimson Masquerade:

Friday opened with espionage as I joined a G.I. Joe RPG adventure. Five of us took on the roles of various Joes, as we went undercover to stop an arms dealer at a Metropolitan Art Museum Gala. We discovered Major Bludd was planning to sell state-of-the-art weapons systems to a foreign power. Our GM was awesome at teaching us the mechanics of the game and encouraging a game with serious role-play. Then, he let us set up a very cinematic fight at the end to top off the session. Let’s just say the final battle would be great on screen but was probably even more epic in our imaginations.

3. Dungeon Crawl Classic:

There isn’t much to say beyond this was a simple dungeon crawl of zero-level (basically civilians) characters who are certain to die. Not much story, not much role-play, we simply go in, fight, and try to survive. The laughs and action, with new and old friends at the table, made this a game to remember!

2. The Four Doors:

This may be my favorite game discovery of Gen Con 26! The Four Doors was created by Matt Leacock, Matthew Riddle, and Ben Pinchback. Matt Leacock is known for his very popular game Pandemic. I learned and played this game with four enthusiastic strangers who were fun and ready to play. We worked together to try to keep the evil shadow from closing the four doors of a magical lighthouse. Our job was to collect four sacred treasures to protect the doors, then cast a spell to ignite the lighthouse to stop the sinister shadows. This collaborative game was easy to learn, but we found it challenging to win, which is a good thing!

1. The Stars Come Out:

I had the chance to meet, face-to-face, authors Jim Zub and Stacey King, whom I have interviewed several times on the podcast Teachers in the Dungeon. While waiting in line to see Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman, creators of DragonLance, I met Jesse Theiler and Joelle, creators of The Dungeon Cocktail Experience. Then Joe Manganiello stepped in front of me to talk to Margaret and Tracy. I came face to face with Joe’s dog Bubbles, with whom Joe carries everywhere. He turned to say hi to me, and I gave him a hi right back. It was a good afternoon checking the box of “rubbing elbows with celebrities.”

As I finish writing this, I have crossed the midnight hour, sliding into early Saturday morning, which means we have officially passed the halfway mark of Gen Con. I plan to post the top 5 moments of days 3 and 4 on the normal day Seeking Positivity In The Galaxy posts, which is Tuesday, August 4.  

Tuesday, March 24, 2026

Writer's Block, So Here Is What I'm Reading

The writer’s block is heavy these days. I don’t know if it is work or a sports lull. Maybe it’s the anticipation of warmer weather. Who knows? I don’t have anything to focus on, so I will share what I’m reading. I don’t plan to go too deep; I’m just going to share what I like or don’t like.

The Fallbacks: Bound for Ruin by Jaleigh Johnson

Yeah, this is pure brain candy fun. It is part of the new Dungeons and Dragons novels that I have completely enjoyed. I really like the adventuring crew that Johnson has created for us. Like most D&D games, it is a collection of eclectic characters trying to make their way along the Sword Coast. They visit Baldur’s Gate, Candlekeep, and Waterdeep, where they go to the Yawning Portal to dive deep into the Undermountain. Oh, all the while being chased by a lich. This has been a complete indulgence of the mind.

Duke Volume 1 and The Transformers Volume 1 in The Energon Universe

Yep, that is Duke of G.I. Joe, and yep, that is the Transformers, as in the robots that turn into cars, trucks, jets, etc. These two volumes are collections of the first six issues of these story runs by Image Comics. Wondering why I mention them together? These stories tie in together as part of the Energon Universe, which also includes the title Void Rivals. This series is a ton of fun!

Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo

The characters are a range of interesting to compelling, the story is good with some nice twists, but the world-building is amazing! The story primarily takes place in one area of the world, but the characters are from all over the world, and those areas and backgrounds are well-developed. This world is fleshed out in the series Shadow and Bone and continues in the duology Six of Crows and Crooked Kingdom. I have to lean on my students' recommendations, as they say the duology is the best, and Shadow and Bone is not quite as good as Six of Crows. This is actually a non-Star Wars and non-Forgotten Realms series which I may actually read.

The Amazing Spider-Man

Really brief here, but I have been enjoying this story where Peter Parker is swept (or punched as it may be) into intergalactic adventures to learn how to defeat Hellscape. Norman Osborne takes on the Spider-Man mantle while he rediscovers who he is. The Spider-Team (Miles, Gwen, Spider-Boy, Silk, and others) try to hold down the fort in New York City. 

Tuesday, November 15, 2022

Game Club Dungeons and Dragons: The Scarlet Citadel Part 2

Last week I started a series of posts that will recap the Dungeons and Dragons game I am leading with a small group of teens from my Game Club.  These are brand-new players to Dungeons and Dragons.  You can review the introduction and explanation of the Game Club as well as the first session recap here:  The Scarlet Citadel Part 1  You can also catch my recap on the Podcast Teachers in the Dungeon.  Here is the link to that first episode:  Teachers in the Dungeon  

The story picks up in the town of Redtower where the adventurers Posun the Wood Elf Monk and Faist Roffton the High Elf  Sorcerer have assisted a caravan of raw materials to the town.  After delivery to Agneiska, she recommends the adventurers head to the Cage Tavern and Inn where they should find food and lodging.  The two head across town to the Cage Tavern and Inn.  They are immediately taken by the large rib cage bone structure outside the inn leading into the construction of the building itself.  As


they enter, they note that the rib cage is incorporated into the construction of the building.  They note the eclectic architecture when the proprietor of the Cage Tavern and Inn welcomes the pair.  Ariadna and Ambrozy Gjorski offer them a room that includes a warm meal and breakfast.  Then, noting that Faist and Posun are new to Redtower, they introduce them to another newcomer named Striker.  Striker is a halfling and a little suspicious of strangers.  Ariadna suggests that if they have come to Redtower for adventure, they have come to the right place.  There are plenty of avenues for mercenary work and adventure in the White Forest, but most come to explore the Scarlet Citadel.  Posun mentions that they were ambushed by goblins on their travels to Redtower and that the goblins mentioned the name Gellert the Gruesome.  Ariadna makes the connection to the Scarlet Citadel by mentioning that rumor has it that Gellert is likely in the Citadel somewhere.  

Ariadna excuses himself to wait on other customers.  Posun and Faist talk with Striker to get to know him when they notice an old, grizzly soldier seated at a nearby table has taken interest in them.  The soldier is a younger man who just giggles and grunts.  The man introduces himself and his companion as Ted and Squeeks.  Ted asks them about their adventures, then interrupts their answer to tell them about his forays into the Scarlet Citadel.  As Ted talks more about the Citadel and the riches, he becomes crazed and incoherent all the while Squeeks just giggles and encourages Ted.  The party ends the conversation rather abruptly, and they head to their rooms to sleep.  

In the morning they decide to explore Redtower a bit and head to the Sweet Sap Brewery.  They meet Remy Argentford and Mags Halfbottle.  They are a couple of halflings who purchased the business a while back, but they become quite obsessed with Striker.  Being a halfling, Remy and Mags are so glad to meet him.  When they ask about his family name, he tells them, a bit suspiciously, that he has no family or family name.  The two become quite distraught with this as they cry and wail that Striker has no one.  They pledge friendship to him, feed him well, and move on to do other work.  Faist and Posun find some enjoyment in the attention that Striker received, but Striker seems quite unphased by all of this fuss.  

The trio decides the next step is to head for the Scarlet Citadel to see what all the talk is about.  

This ended the play session.  I was happy that they reported they had a good time.  When playing with teenagers, it is always dangerous to have a session that doesn't include combat or other similar action, but they really enjoyed the role-play in Redtower.  The session met most of my goals as DM.  I wanted the players to continue to explore their characters' personalities and skills of their characters.  The role-play helped with all of that.  The only goal we didn't meet was to get to the Scarlet Citadel, but that is where they are headed.  All in all, the session went well.  Stay tuned to part three in a few weeks. 


Sunday, October 30, 2022

Game Club Dungeons and Dragons: Scarlet Citadel Part 1

I started a new Dungeons and Dragons campaign in my high school Game Club recently, and I plan to recap the adventure here on Seeking Positivity in the Galaxy.  Why?  Because there is so much positive to playing an RPG game, and Dungeons and Dragons happens to be the game that brings me the most joy.  On top of that, I love teaching it to new players, and my entire group of students playing is brand new to the game.  

A little about our Game Club before I get to the first recap of our game session.  The club started in the spring of 2014 in the second semester of my first year at the school.  A group of about 5 students approached me and heard I had run a game club at another school, and they hoped I would be willing to start one at this school.  If these 5 students could see the club today, I am pretty sure they would be very happy with what it has become.  The club now has four different kinds of game meetings: Board and Card games, Miniatures games, Geopolitics (a game developed by our students), and RPG's (Dungeons and Dragons).  The club has over 70 students and staff who are active in the club.  Last year, the club had an attendance of 568 for the year.  This year at the time of this post we have had 306 attendance so far!  

We have eight games of Dungeons & Dragons going this year with anywhere from 3 students to 6 students per game.  Four of the games are run by staff members and four games are run by student Dungeon Masters.  

The game I am running has four freshman students who are completely new to the game.  Since it has been a few years since I have run a classic dungeon crawl, that is what I went with to teach these students how to play.  I am using the published adventure titled, The Scarlet Citadel: A Dungeon of Secrets written by Steve Winter and published by Kobald Press.  

Here is the narrative I wrote to introduce the adventure:  "You have been hired by Warren Hammerstone to protect his wagons of goods headed to RedTower.  He is pretty grumpy about having to hire someone to 'protect' his goods, but there has been just enough trouble along the road that shipments are required to have protection."  

The two characters who started this adventure are Posun a wood elf Monk and Faist Roffton a high elf Sorcerer.  They met when they answered the call from Warren Hammerstone.  Posun has turned to adventure to challenge himself and discover the world.  His village burned and his father died when he was 15 when the temple took him in.  His adoptive father gave him a rune of Tyr when he left the temple.  Faist Roffton was expelled from his school of magic when he accidentally set the library of spell books and scrolls on fire.  The fire burned the goods of the library but was not hot so Faist did not realize he was in the fire.  He is unaware, but he has a rune burned into the temple of his head.  

Posun and Faist left the village to protect two wagons of goods from Hammerstone's forge and metal works with two drivers and a salesman.  The trip was to take two full days of travel; they should arrive in RedTower by dinner of the second day.  In the afternoon of the first day they encountered two soldiers on horses looking for a merchant named Dugan Lovay whom they hadn't seen, so the soldiers continued on to the village which Posun and Faist had just come that morning.  In the evening the road moved into the White Forest and as the sun was lowering, they heard a voice say, "Looks like some nice things in those wagons" as a goblin stepped out in front of the mules of the front wagon.  Another voice in the trees said, "Gellert the Gruesome might reward us well if we brought some of that treasure back!"  An arrow sailed out from the trees, hit the driver of the front wagon, and he fell dead.  

Posun and Faist fought this group of six goblins to victory, however; the archer from the trees escaped.  The driver of the second wagon and the salesman were both kept safe during the battle.  As they collected themselves, Faist decided he would drive the front wagon.  As the wagons got back on the road, Posun walking alongside the wagons, noted some boots sticking out of the grass at the edge of the forest.  He allowed the caravan to move ahead and after they passed, he examined the boots to discover they were on the feet of a dead woman.  He pulled the body out of the grass and gave her final rights and placed a rune mark of Tyr on her hand. He thinks this could be Dugan Lovay, but he did not tell anyone else of his discovery even when they arrived at RedTower and were asked about her.  They delivered the goods to Agniezka the Smith in RedTower, and that concluded our first session. 

It was fun to work with these two enthusiastic students.  They had picked up their pre-made characters in advance, so they were familiar with certain aspects, but they didn't know anything about skill checks or combat.  They picked up on that all very quickly.  It was pretty cool to see their eyes as more table items came out like miniatures and maps.  They were sold on the game pretty quickly.  It was a great start.  

I will continue to write about their adventures through the school year, so be sure to check that out here, but I will also be recapping the adventures on the podcast Teachers in the Dungeon.  Join us there too!  


Tuesday, October 4, 2022

Dungeons and Dragons Ponies??

From the office of "Things I Thought I would Never Need," comes a most adorable, fun, and unexpected surprise with a Crossover Collection of My Little Pony with Dungeons and Dragons.  This is a five-pony set of 4.5-inch pony's in a collectible box that includes an exclusive 20-sided dice, and a Dungeon Master's screen that declares, "Cutie Marks & Dragons."  Each pony wears a removable outfit that matches the class of each pony.  

There is Mysteria the Wizard, Shadowstar the Rogue, Valor Stronghoof the Barbarian, Spinner Talltalethe a Bard, and Woodheart the Kind a Druid.  The cost varies slightly between retailers, but it is listed at $74.99 on the Wal-Mart website. 

The price tag is a little high for my liking, but if the cost comes down, I will have a hard time keeping this set from my collection.  What can I say, I am a sucker for fun, cute things.  In addition, both of my daughters liked My Little Pony in their early days, and we had many of the 4.5-inch ponies running around the house.  There is a bit of nostalgia for me as it brings family memories in with my own hobby of Dungeons and Dragons.  I also appreciate the uniqueness and creativity of this set.  Who sat down and thought, "Let's dress the My Little Pony characters as D&D classes?"  I mean, seriously.  

Anyway, what a fun way to bring kids along for the ride with ponies and Dungeons and Dragons.  I wonder how far down the road a new D&D supplement will be that has stat blocks for playable miniature ponies.  

Tuesday, September 20, 2022

Funny Things We Hear

Thanks to my good friend Colby Mead for the topic of this week's post.  On a recent episode of Colby's podcast, The ColbyCast (episode 52 to be exact), Colby and his son Caleb discuss their favorite movies, but it is the discussion before the movie talk that caught my ear.  The father and son duo were discussing Caleb's Labor day weekend coaching hockey, and Colby mentioned a humorous conversation he heard at a hockey tournament one time.  Coming out of an ice rink, he heard one boy say to another in
passing, "Did you hear Carson fractured something?"  Colby mentions while he hopes Carson is fine (whoever Carson is) that the comment was "on point" to something you might hear at an ice rink. And in my shoes, seems like a humorously "on point" comment, and I agree, I hope Carson is fully healed now and helping his team to many victories.  

That story made me think about some "on point" comments that I hear on a fairly regular basis that are just humorous when either taken out of context or when they are, as Colby mentioned, on point. 

I will never forget, early in my daughters' gymnastic careers, them talking to friends in the back seat while I was driving them home talking about how big so-and-so's rip was.  I remember thinking, rip?  Like a rip in their leotards????  Or did they mean to say, "Did you see the rip in a certain mat, or I didn't know what!?  I discovered that a "rip" is a nasty open blister that appears on the hands of gymnasts from doing the bar event.  They often will callous, but when the callous is stretched or "ripped" it becomes quite painful and nasty to look at for a gymnast dad.  So if you hear a gymnast discussing a "rip," it has nothing to do with an outfit, bad gas, or damaged gym equipment, it is totally worthy of your sympathy
and admiration that they just keep swinging with those hands pain or no pain.  

If you hang out in my crowd of people, you may hear one of us threatening that "you just might die the next time we get together."  Out of context, someone may want to file a police report, but then you might realize that one of us is the Dungeon Master of a Dungeons and Dragons campaign and the other person's character has probably made some bad decisions.  Not to worry, someone may die, but it is "just" someone's D&D character.  

In the library, I heard some kids whispering the other day that someone wanted to get a book, and the other kid mentioned that you just go up to the counter to "rent" the book from me.  While I would be happy to rent books as a fundraiser for the library, I informed the students that they can check them out rent-free.  

I realize that sometimes life just flies by, and we miss a lot of things that are on the periphery of our awareness.  Stop to listen from time to time and like my friend, Colby, you just might catch something that is so "on point" or just a bit out of context, that it will make you smile or even laugh a little bit.  

Friday, November 26, 2021

Teachers in the Dungeon Gift Guide 2021

Looking for a good gift for your significant other who plays D&D?  Maybe you are a DM and looking
for a fun gift for your players.  Perhaps you want to treat your DM to a nice gift.  Here are some ideas from Tom Gross and Dan Reem of Teachers in the Dungeon.  (any companies and individuals are pure recomendations from Teachers in the Dungeon, none are paid sponsorships)

Tom's List:  

Dice, Dice, Dice and more Dice!  Feed your #DiceGoblin and buy lots of dice.  Buy lots of dice from your local game store!! 

Dice Box:  The special dice or Game Dice need a special place to hang so they treat you well at the table. A custom-made wooden dice box is a great gift.  It gives your favorite player some swagger at the table when the Dice Box comes out to take control of the game.  

D&D Apparel:  Speaking of swagger, a classic D&D ampersand t-shirt or ball cap gives your D&D gal or guy a way to show their love of the game.  Or, check out some third-party groups that make their own roleplaying shirts.   

Roleplaying Book:  If your player is new to the game, a core rule book or a supplemental book is always appreciated, but for something unique, check out the third-party books.  Kobold Press has a great choice of really cool supplemental books for the player and DM alike.  You might also check out Cawood Publishing for some cool new books.  Also, Raven Press Maps (ravenpressmaps, Instagram) has a really cool and colorful map book with mini scenarios for quick battle opportunities.  

Character Token Sets: These are really cool little tin boxes, unique to the character class, that have a combat tracker tile the player can use to keep track of combat stats, and character condition tokens.  We have used these in our games and they are really helpful and keep you from constantly erasing on your character sheets.   

Dan's List

Minifigures: Whether you get the stock mini's or a custom figure made from a custom service like HeroForge, miniatures make great gifts for the gaming table.  

Miniature Paints: Cephalopod Studios is a small business that produces quality paints that do not need to be thinned, and any friend, player or family member who paints minatures would appreciate these. 

Commissioned Art:  Get your favorite D&D player a custom portrait of their character by commisioning a local artist or one online to create a unique work of art.  These are really special gifts and these talented artists are really great to work with.  The Teachers in the Dungeon recommend Jeremy Cole, Tatterdemaelion on Instagram.  

A quick note...

Before we wrap up, we always recommend buying your supplies and D&D gear and materials from your local game store or local creators.  It seems that you get more for your dollar buying from mass stores and websites, but the real value for your dollar is buying from your local creators and stores.  They support you and your game community in many ways.  They host product releases, they support local libraries and school clubs, they support your economy, they host game nights, they are the experts in the products.  They deserve your support.  

For more details on our thoughts about these products, check out the "Christmas Gift Guide" episode on the Teachers in the Dungeon podcast.  You can find the show on Anchor, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts and more.  On Teachers in the Dungeon, we discuss Dungeons and Dragons 5e and homebrew content from both player and DM perspectives, with additional episodes devoted to other topics related to D&D.  

Tuesday, October 19, 2021

Teachers in the Dungeon: An Episode Guide

Hello fellow adventurers and welcome to the Episode Guide to the Teachers in the Dungeon podcast.  

The show is a little over two months old and it has grown in ways we didn't see when we recorded our first episode over the summer.  Our goal is to discuss and analyze the games we play, and we plan to discuss other Dungeons and Dragons topics.  We also look to build a positive Dungeons and Dragons community where we celebrate content creators, game builders, Dungeon Masters and players.  Here is a quick breakdown to the different types of episodes you will find on Teachers in the Dungeon.  

Campaign Episodes: 

These episodes are the heart and soul of Teachers in the Dungeon.  We are currently breaking down the adventures of Zedi, Rix, Siv, Borem, Caersws, and Dirichlet.  They are better known as The Tiefling's Jacks.  Tom Gross and Dan Reem recap the adventure, talk about some inspiration for the setting, analyze decisions, mistakes, and successes by characters, players, and the Dungeon Master, discuss the origins of names and more.  These episodes last anywhere from 20 to 30 minutes in time.  The goal here is to make it the length of a short commute.  The Teachers in the Dungeon pack a lot into a little time.  

Random Encounter Episodes: 

Like a random encounter in Dungeons and Dragons, a Random Encounter episode could be about anything Dungeons and Dragons related.  In some upcoming episodes, Tom and Dan discuss their top three non-Wizards of the Coast resources.  You might find some interviews with players in the Random Encounters as well as a peek to the past by discussing Dungeons and Dragons rulebooks from first, second and third editions.  A random encounter is like opening up a chest in the dungeon; you never know what you will find.  


Bonus Action episodes:
 

A Bonus Action is a quick and timely move, when you have one you use it!  Similarly, a Bonus Action Episode is a quick and timely topical episode.  Bonus Actions may be a timely interview from a local comic shop anniversary.  It might be a timely book or Dungeons and Dragons resource release that we discuss.  While they may be timely, they are worth a listen anytime.  

 If you love Dungeons and Dragons or just like some fun game conversation, give Teachers in the Dungeon a listen.  We also love feedback!  Leave a comment below or drop us an email teachersinthedungeon@gmail.com

Follow us: 

Twitter: @dungeonteachers

Instagram: Teachers in the Dungeon

Monday, August 9, 2021

Teachers in the Dungeon: A Podcast

I have been excited to announce a new podcast that I have co-created and will co-host.  The show is titled Teachers in the Dungeon where co-creator and co-host, Dan Reem, and I will recap and analyze the games we play and Dungeon Master (DM).  I can give you a hint from some pre-recording, we make a lot of mistakes as players and Dungeon Masters.  If anything, as listeners who aspire to play, DM, or have played for years, it will make you feel better about giving the game a try, because through it all, we have a blast playing.  

At the beginning of this journey, we will have a couple different kinds of episodes.  As mentioned above, one type of episode will be our game recap and analysis shows.  We will also have episodes called "Random Encounters" that will discuss random topics of D&D and role-playing.  Our goal with Random Encounter episodes is to work through 5e rules, table observations, educational opportunities, character creation, and any other random topics that are on our minds.  Down the road, we hope to interview players and content creators from the 5e community.  

Episode 1, to release today August 10, breaks down where the show concept grew (my brain), and a bit about our backgrounds as players and DM's.  When we "dive into the dungeon" in episode 2, you will join our merry band of third level explorers including Borem, Rix, Zedi, Caersws, and Dirichlet as they head into Telesaria a home-brew campaign created by Dan.  

Teachers in the Dungeon will release once a week on Tuesdays, so I hope you join us.  We are always looking for feedback, so hop on our social media or send us an email in the following ways:

Twitter @DungeonTeachers

Instagram:  TeachersInTheDungeon

Gmail: teachersinthedungeon@gmail.com

Website:  www.teachersinthedungeon.weebly.com

"Grab some dice and grab some fun and join the teachers in the dungeon!"

Wednesday, June 30, 2021

Dark Alliance: My first impressions

I just downloaded the Dungeons and Dragons: Dark Alliance game to my Xbox a couple days after its release. Regular readers of Seeking Positivity in the Galaxy will know that I am a huge Dungeons and Dragons fan, but I am light on being skilled in today's video games.  Nevertheless, because of my excitement for Dungeons and Dragons adventures, here are my first impressions of the game.  


First, I am super excited about the options of characters available to play.  They are the characters made famous by R.A. Salvatore's Drizzt Do'Urden adventures, so of course, we are able to play Drizzt with his loyal, magical companion Guenhwyvar, Wulfgar, Cattie-Brie, and King Bruenor Battlehammer.  You know that I had to play Bruenor.  Where is Regis you might ask?  I suspect he will show up somewhere as an NPC, but that is just a hunch.  He is too important to just be left out. 

The game begins at Kelvin's Cairn in a safe spot where there is a merchant, a world map where you can designate locations to travel, a chest to collect treasure gathered in battle, and a teleportation platform that takes you to the locations designated on the map.  The game leaves you to figure out the mechanics of how to equip items, sell and purchase items, collect from the chest, choose locations on the map, but trying things, reading the screen, and pushing random buttons seem to achieve the basic functions of the game.  At least I was able to quickly find a battle tutorial on the map and give that a try.  


In the battle tutorial, the basic attacks are pretty easy to master.  The tutorial, however, gets a little crazy after that.  As the information of what different attacks do and how to do them pop up in a text box in the lower right-hand corner of the screen, you are still in active combat.  In the battle tutorial, you fight two goblins at a time and while they amusingly taunt you with threats and bottom slapping while asking if you like the scenery, you have to read the directions and, for someone like me who apparently cannot tell the left side of the controller from the right, figure out the button combinations and dodge the attacks all at once.  I am sure this is not a problem for this generation's videogamers, but for this guy, it wasn't impossible, but it took all the time I set aside to play to complete the tutorial and feel comfortable that I knew all the available combat maneuvers for Bruenor.  There are about 12 maneuvers.   

With all that, Dark Alliance is a fun combat-oriented game.  I have no doubt that there will be a story to follow, it is Dungeons and Dragons after all.  I look forward to actually entering combat in the story and seeing if I can apply the tutorial lessons with some of the really cool special attacks, or if I will just resort to the basic maneuvers of the game.  I recommend this to anyone who enjoys a fantasy combat game but especially recommend to anyone who has enjoyed the R.A. Salvatore books because we get to do some really cool combat with these loved characters.  I will give more impressions as I dive deeper into the game.  

For the D&D players out there, this game will be perfect for those game sessions that get canceled at the last minute and you need to blow off some D&D steam.  Log in, choose Bruenor and swing that axe at some pesky goblins.  


Thursday, June 24, 2021

New Magic the Gathering set in D&D!!

I started playing Magic the Gathering and collecting the cards about 12 years ago when I fell in love with the art and the fun text on the cards.  I played for several years, then moved on still attracted to the art on the cards.  My attention has returned to this great game as Magic the Gathering is now bringing a Dungeons and Dragons set "Adventures in the Forgotten Realms."  

There is so much I want to say about this that I will save for when I actually have the cards in hand, but once again the art is pulling me back.

One notable example of this is the Legendary Creature card that has the iconic character Drizzt Do'urden.  Anyone who has listened to the podcast CWK Pourover, will know that Drizzt Do'urden is my favorite fictional character of ALL literature I have read.  So, when in mid-May the original art for the Drizzt Do'Urden painting by Tyler Jacobson sold, I wasn't surprised at the price.  According to the MTG Art Market, the original painting for the card sold for $155,000.  It is a beautiful card with Drizzt and his magical companion panther Gwenhuvar leaping into battle.  

My fear with such interest in this set and the price of the original art is that the card will be impossible for ordinary MTG players (like myself) to attain.  I have no idea what the production rate of this card will be, but we have seen what secondary markets can do to trading card game assets like this.  My fear, however, leads to the excitement of more people discovering not only Drizzt Do'Urden but Dungeons and Dragons overall.  I hope this crossover brings MTG players into the role-playing game.  D&D has been slowly bringing Magic the Gathering into its lore with a couple settings books, Guildmaster's Guide to Ravnica and Mythic Odysseys of Theros which I'm sure has brought D&D players to the MTG tables.  This collaboration makes a lot of sense, and I am really surprised that it has taken this long,.  Both of these games have long-standing players with a little crossover players, but this effort, I believe, will bring many of us together.  

Bottom line: this is an exciting time for both D&D and MTG players.  Keep an eye out for announcements from the Wizards of the Coast about this set which is to release on July 23.  

Sunday, March 21, 2021

Candlekeep Mysteries

Dungeons and Dragons released its newest book last week, and while all their books are wonderful, this book, Candlekeep Mysteries, is absolutely amazing!  In brief, here is why: 

1. The variant cover is beautiful.  It is a deep red with shiny gold art and lettering.  It has a mystical stamp on the front center with a fairy looking on just to the left and from above the title.  When you flip the book over, there is a terrifyingly beautiful Beholder staring at you with all 11 eyes! The standard-issue cover isn't too shabby either with an image of a couple of adventurers pouring over a book in the library as they attempt to solve some great mystery.  Look carefully, there is danger looming right behind them!  



  

2. There is a great pullout map of Candlekeep that shows the Inner Ward and the Great Library. That's a big deal.  

3.  The book has 15 adventures (there might be one more, it was a quick count) that are "bite-sized" quick adventures for different levels.  What is really cool about the adventures is it appears that each one is based on or revolves around a different book.  How awesome is that?  

4. Let's be real, as a librarian in real life, I have been waiting for something about the greatest library in Faerun!  We get titles and the structure of Candlekeep's curators like The Keeper, The Council of Eight Great Readers, Master Readers, the First Reader, and more.  What may be the best detail is that there are 13 Modrons that escaped from Mechanus who now are part of the library staff.  They catalog and shelve books, but it is noted that they shelve one book at a time.  

This book, upon a quick viewing, is an amazing work.  While I haven't read any of the adventures yet, the description of Candlekeep with its extradimensional meeting rooms and study areas that have permanent silent spells so students aren't disrupted, leave so much to be discovered. I can't wait to dive in to some of these mysteries.  Another aspect of Candlekeep is for characters to gain admittance they must provide a unique book that the librarians of Candlekeep don't already have or it must be a highly valuable and rare copy of something they already have.  It will be fun to send characters on a hunt to find something unique before ever heading there.  This book has so many possibilities and so much fun in store.  

If you make a visit to Candlekeep, let me know in the comments below or tag me on Twitter @draftline

  



Sunday, February 16, 2014

Dungeons and Dragons Fun

If you have about an hour and a half, you can still get in a great, exciting Dungeons and Dragons adventure.  This tabletop board game uses figures, dungeon tiles that come out randomly as characters move to the edges of each tile, treasure, encounter, and monster cards that drive the action. A basic adventure goal like escaping from the under dark or destroying Shimmergloom in the Legend of Drizzt game leads the adventurers on from tile to tile.  This game is an old fashion D&D dungeon crawl or brawl as monsters are always coming at the characters along with dungeon encounters such as poison gases, cave-ins, and lava vents blowing up!  This game is a real challenge to defeat, and every game has a different path to the conclusion that is if you ever get to the goal encounter.
One of the reasons I paid the premium price, $60.00 or so, is that the game is compatible with other D&D board games as well as the awesome player vs. player Dungeon Command, so I can combine my game with friends' games.  Also, the game can be played by 1-5 players, so that when I can't get together with my friends, which is often after working 2 jobs and raising two kids, I can get a game in on my own.
If you have played this game, what are your thoughts?