Rebel Scum!

After a short break, we resumed our first Star Wars X-Wing battle and it ended moments later in a fiery conflagration. My lowly TIE fighter was the only survivor, and two very frustrated little boys stormed away from the table. Matthew cooled down and wanted to play again, so we opened up the other ships I had bought and set up our forces -- two Rebel ships for Matthew and three Imperial fighters for me. I put several hits on his ships and started thinking I had him on the ropes, but his plucky X-Wing shot down two of my fighters in quick succession and won the day for the Alliance. Damn Rebel scum!

Dogfight

We opened up the Star Wars X-Wing miniatures game today and I made a frantic attempt to process the quick start rules while the boys punched out all the cardboard counters and argued over who was going to be the X-Wing. Ultimately, we settled on Nathaniel as the intrepid young X-Wing pilot, with Matthew and I playing as the cruel Imperial TIE fighter pilots. The boys quickly picked up the play sequence of plan > move > attack, and in minutes we were zigging and zagging across the cosmos (as represented by my in-laws' coffee table).

Nathaniel hasn't quite mastered the maneuvering, however, so he often ended up in situations where a TIE fighter was directly behind him (as in the image below). Much frustration ensued when he found himself unable to open fire on his big brother.

We've called a temporary truce, but after we fuel up (with snacks for the pilots, of course, and whatever fuel the X-Wing and TIE fighters use), I hope we'll jump right back into the action. It's a fun game!

Happy Holidays!

This will probably be my last post of the year, unless some exciting game news drops between now and January 1. I hope you and all your loved ones have a safe and happy holiday season! If you need me, I'll be playing Icewind Dale and Star Wars X-Wing...

Coming Soon, To a Campaign Near You...

As 2014 draws to a close, I thought I'd preview some of the big events on tap for next year...

• The epic-tier Druid Cycle heroes hope to conclude their war against the Movement and its allies in the great cities of Troya Nova and Prifddinas.
• As these adventures begin to wrap up, we'll see indications of a much broader conflict that is brewing across the multiverse...the Quintessence War.
• Along the way, expect to see more multiverse madness with characters crossing campaigns in unexpected ways. 
• And maybe, just maybe, we'll have a real, honest-to-goodness superhero campaign. There's a ton of great public domain material from the Golden Age and...wait, Captain Battle, look out behind you!

Funded...Again!

We did it again! Amazing Heroes Wave 1.5 is now fully funded. Bring on Wave 2! We need some villains now!

Amazing Progress

The Amazing Heroes Wave 1.5 Kickstarter has made some amazing progress over the past couple of days. With 61 hours to go (as of this writing), we're 94% funded. I can't wait to see all these awesome old-timey superheroes in action figure form!

Battle Master

Over the last few days, while waiting for my DMG to arrive (Amazon says today!), I've been working on various 5e character builds. There's a lot of cool stuff in the PHB, but my top choice is an old standby: the fighter (battle master). Unless I'm playing in an extremely low-combat campaign, I think a polearm-wielding human battle master is favorite build. And for his background, I've chosen to make him an acolyte; I envision him as a Solomon Kane type of guy, roaming the world and dispensing his own brand of harsh justice!

Board Game Fun

A colleague at work invited me to join the board game group that he and his wife host a couple of times each week. Today was my first time gaming with them, and I thoroughly enjoyed myself. Good folks, good games. Among others, I tried out The Great Snowball Battle, Fact or Crap, Pandemic, and Star Wars X-Wing. I may just have to invest in that X-Wing game...

Glorious Dung!

Click here for a nice article about a chap who recently rediscovered D&D thanks to Fifth Edition. Bonus! The URL includes the following: ...the-awesome-glory-that-is-dung.html

DMG Day!

Although some lucky folks (myself not included) were able to get their hands on a copy through a preferred store, today the Fifth Edition DMG goes on sale all across the country. From what I've heard, it may well be the best damn DMG in D&D history...

Victory...Again!

For the second time in a week, I've played through the sixth and last adventure deck of the Rise of the Runelords campaign for the Pathfinder Adventure Card Game. This go-around, it was Kyra the cleric and Sajan the monk who pounded the stuffing out of Karzoug, and despite my earlier reservations, this pair had a much easier time with the final adventure than Val and Seoni did. In fact, the encounter with Karzoug was a bit anticlimactic. The coolest part was when Sajan's charmed red dragon betrayed us (a 1-in-12 chance whenever you play that card) and attacked the party with its fire breath -- both heroes managed to escape taking any damage from the fiery ambush en route to bringing down Karzoug on the first try.

And now that I've played through all of Rise of the Runelords twice, I think it's time to put this game aside for a while and concentrate on Fifth Edition D&D...

Cartography

Have I ever mentioned how much I love Mike Schley's D&D art and cartography? I don't think I've ever encountered a D&D artist whose work so closely matches what's in my mind's eye.

Victory!

After thirty-two scenarios, Valeros and Seoni were ready for their greatest challenge yet: Karzoug the Claimer! As you can see from the card below, the master villain of the Rise of the Runelords campaign is no pushover.

The heroes ended up fighting Karzoug twice during the final scenario, and in both encounters Seoni had to use up every card in her hand to make that ridiculous target of 40 on her combat checks. (Val, with less firepower, was responsible for hitting the 30.) The second encounter in particular was a bit dicey, as it all came down to the final d12 roll of Seoni's check, where I needed a 6 or higher for the win. I ended up rolling a 9, so the heroes of Sandpoint defeated the Runelord of Greed and saved Varisia.

Now, the greater challenge will be playing through the sixth Runelords adventure deck with my second pair of heroes, Kyra the cleric and Sajan the monk; they're solid characters, but they're not quite as buff as Val and Seoni. Good luck, guys! You're going to need it!

The Thing From Beyond Time

If I didn't already love the Pathfinder Adventure Card Game, tonight's scenario would've been the clincher. I played through the penultimate mission of the Rise of the Runelords campaign with my top pair of heroes, Valeros and Seoni, and the experience was...intense, to say the least. In fact, it was a game experience I'll probably never forget.

My heroes had chased the villain across three locations, defeating her twice -- at great cost to their own health and resources -- before cornering her in the fourth and final location. As (bad) luck would have it, that location was a monster-infested chamber with a portal that would soon disgorge a hideous, Lovecraftian creature from another universe. See below!

Yeah, crap. Each passing turn brought this beastie closer and closer to entering Golarion (the world of the Pathfinder campaign setting). There was no way my wounded, exhausted heroes could take down the Thing and then defeat the scenario's powerful main villain for a third time. We were down to our last turn before the Thing's inevitable arrival and, with Desna the goddess of luck smiling upon us at last, Seoni uncovered the villain. She and Val unleashed everything they had, burying their foe and thereby winning the scenario a split second before the Thing could arrive.

One more mission to go...we take on Karzoug the Runelord himself.

A Whole New World

After a few weeks away from D&D, Matthew requested that we play again over the long weekend. He remains far more interested in DMing than playing, so this time I suggested that we start by creating a unique and well-developed setting for his adventures. We spent a couple of hours brainstorming -- much more time than his little brother would have liked -- and now Matthew's campaign setting has a home town, some key NPCs, and a few storylines that are directly linked to the characters' backgrounds. I tried to help him come up with plot threads that he can use to create adventures and encounters that aren't quite as random and off-the-cuff as in his first attempt at DMing. We played through the first scenario last night, with my bard Jack of Napes (get it?) and Nathaniel's rogue Dylan joining forces with the dragonborn NPC Rhogar. I hope it was the first of many adventures in a whole new world of Matthew's creation -- a world that already has narrative links to the Front Porch multiverse, of course. The minions of Ophion/Ekhis are, indeed, everywhere.

Timely Assistance

I'm trying to finish up the first campaign for the Pathfinder Adventure Card Game -- remember that? -- so that I can turn my attention more fully to Fifth Edition D&D. I'm now playing through the final set of missions, and my top duo of Valeros the fighter and Seoni the sorceress managed to survive a tough scenario against a bunch of electricity-wielding foes thanks to their timely discovery of a Ring of Energy Resistance, which allows the wearer to absorb a significant amount of acid, cold, electricity, or fire damage. That ring was the difference between victory and defeat. Now, of course, I'm wondering how my second pairing (Kyra the cleric and Sajan the monk) is going to survive this scenario when their turn comes up...

Hey, I Know That Guy!

Druid Cycle players: I'm reading through the hardcover Rise of Tiamat adventure module and I stumbled upon a minor but pivotal NPC named Iskander...

DMG Review

And here's a review of the Fifth Edition DMG, coming soon to a game store new you!

Downtime

Cool DMG excerpt today...a preview of downtime activities for PCs. Click here for the article.

Reprieve

Well, the second issue of the new Legends of Baldur's Gate comic book series was a lot better than the first, so I'm not going to drop it from my pull list just yet. The end of the issue even teased an appearance by Coran, so perhaps more characters from the game will show up in the comic. Wait, didn't Coran get killed in Baldur's Gate II? Or perhaps my party just failed to save him...

600th Post!

And for what it's worth, this is the 600th post on the Front Porch blog!

More Amazing Heroes

The Amazing Heroes line of action figures was successfully funded on Kickstarter back in August. Now there's a Wave 1.5 Kickstarter (link is here) to add a few more characters and some nifty packaging options.

Yeah, it's been a slow week for gaming news, hasn't it?

Icewind Dale Reviews

For some reviews of the new Icewind Dale: Enhanced Edition, click here, here, and here. The reviews are pretty favorable...as if they could be anything else!

More Free D&D

The free online supplement for The Rise of Tiamat -- containing magic items, monsters, and spells that you can use with the free Basic D&D rules -- is available here.

Icewind Dale Party

I'm nearing the end of Baldur's Gate II: Enhanced Edition with my super-fun all-evil party, so next up is Icewind Dale: Enhanced Edition. I considered resurrecting my first-ever Icewind Dale party from so many years ago, but instead I decided to enlist some new heroes led by good old Mandeville -- or, rather, young Mandeville. Most players know him as the Earth-born knight who has become one of the elder statesmen of the heroes of the Druid Cycle campaign world, but I've also added him to the Shattered Realm setting as a much younger man who is still at an early point in his lifelong journey across the multiverse. We haven't seen much of Mandeville lately in the epic-tier Druid Cycle adventures, but he's going to be a key figure in upcoming events, starting in early 2015. Until then, however, you can find him in Kuldahar...

SEGA!

We were at Bed, Bath and Beyond today to buy a new coffee maker (our fifth in the last three years -- yeah, we drink a lot of coffee! Or we have really bad luck with machines...or both...), and I found a reissued Sega Genesis with wireless controllers and 80 (!) games loaded on the console (details here). For under forty bucks, I couldn't pass it up. The games on this console are about what you'd expect from '90s side-scrollers, but I have to admit a certain nostalgia factor: I have fond memories of playing Genesis after school with Jason and Scott during our teenage years. My boys and I have sampled only a small percentage of the 80 titles, but I'm very much looking forward to playing through the acclaimed Golden Axe trilogy, a D&D-style fantasy game.

Icewind Dale for iPad

Yo, iPad gamers! Icewind Dale: Enhanced Edition is now available in the App Store!

All Quiet...For Now...

It's been kind of a quiet week on the gaming front, but the players in the epic-tier Druid Cycle campaign have seen some hints about important characters and themes for Quintessence War, the big multiverse-spanning event I've planned for 2015. Those high-level characters are going to be involved by default, but this event is going to involve lots of other heroes, as well. Anyone interested in joining a short-term campaign (using Fifth Edition rules!) should let me know, and we can start working on character ideas.

Another Basic Update

The DM's component of the free Fifth Edition Basic rules has been updated again. Click here to visit the site.

Icewind Dale: Enhanced Edition

I had forgotten that Icewind Dale: Enhanced Edition (click here for the official website) was in the works, but now it's out! Well, the PC and Mac version is out. The mobile version is coming soon. I'm excited, but I'm also in no hurry. Much of my free time these days has been spent with Fifth Edition stuff, and I still have yet to finish Baldur's Gate II: Enhanced Edition with my all-evil posse...

Digital Tools

Wizards has announced that they're no longer partnering with Trapdoor Technologies to produce the DungeonScape web-based D&D tools. From what I saw of the application, I think it's the right move for Wizards.

Basic Rules Updated!

The free D&D Basic rules have been updated! Click here to visit the download page, where you can get the Player PDF and/or the Dungeonmaster's PDF.

Which Monster Are You?

Which D&D monster are you? Click here and take the official quiz! Apparently I'm a lich, just like good ol' Acererak...

Fratricide

Well, Mathew admitted outright during our game session over the weekend that his primary objective as a Dungeonmaster is to kill off any character played by his little brother. We're still a long way away from Norman Rockwell-esque Family Gaming Night...

Halloween ComicFest 2014

Head over to your friendly local comic book store tomorrow for some free comics! It's Halloween ComicFest -- the kid brother of Free Comic Book Day. Click here for details.

Minsc and Boo Stand Ready!

The new IDW comic book series Dungeons & Dragons: Legends of Baldur's Gate debuts today. My friendly local comic book shop will be holding a copy in my box, but I won't get to read it until I return to Nevada. Can't wait! Click here for all the info.

Airport Reading

Sorry for the lack of posts lately...I had to make a last-minute trip this week, but along the way I picked up a book you might enjoy. It's called Of Dice and Men, a history of D&D as told by long-time player (and now journalist) David Ewalt. I've only made it through the first two chapters so far, but I'd say it's worth your time.

TPK

The Lost Mine of Phandelver has taken a backseat lately as Matthew has wanted to spend our family D&D time running his own adventure. I'd like to see Lost Mine through to the end, but I'm happy to help nurture Matthew's interest in DMing. His adventure involves the heroes exploring an incredibly convoluted lair in pursuit of a dragon that has stolen the local townspeople's treasure.

At first, encounter balance proved challenging for him, as he liked to select foes based not on their game statistics, but on the awesomeness of their miniatures. Now he's starting to understand the types of foes that are appropriate challenges for low-level characters. In one of our encounters yesterday, we squared off against three skeletons and three zombies. For those who haven't played Fifth Edition yet, that's a pretty reasonable encounter for a party of three second-level characters.

Even the best-laid encounter plans, however, often go awry. On the first round, the fighter was encircled by foes and beaten unconscious as a result of some very bad luck on the monsters' attack rolls. The wizard (yours truly) and the archer made a hasty retreat. What followed was a comedy of errors in which the heroes scampered around the map, trying to revive dying comrades and evade the undead.

All three heroes went down at least once, until the encounter ended when the archer felled the last zombie as his two companions lay bleeding to death on the floor. Matthew and Nathaniel had never heard the term TPK -- Total Party Kill -- before that encounter, but they certainly know it now!

Gaming...Nevada Style

In the casinos, gambling is called "gaming." It's not my kind of gaming. I don't have any sort of philosophical objection to gambling, but I've lived in Nevada for nearly six-and-a-half years and I've never once gambled -- not even a single pull on a grocery store slot machine (yes, we have them in grocery stores, restaurants, gas stations...). Now, at last, there's a slot machine that I might just try...the official D&D slot machine! Click here for all the details.

More PvP!

Some of my favorite storylines in comic books are ideological conflicts between heroes. Whether it's Marvel's Civil War or DC's Identity Crisis, I really dig tales of heroes grappling with weighty moral or political issues that force them into heated debate (and the more-than-occasional smack-down!) with their comrades. We've got a bit of that stuff going on right now with the epic-tier Druid Cycle heroes. A couple of player characters are attending a council in which the political future of the Kingdom of Teyrnas is being debated. The council started off civil enough, but now tempers are flaring...and the DM is enjoying every minute of it!

PvP

Over the weekend, two of my players got into an argument over the correct initiative order, and then attempted to target each other's characters with their attacks. To top it off, they got into a slap-fight after the encounter ended.

I should also mention that their ages are seven and four.

Matthew, at seven, has the reading and math skills necessary to understand the rules, as well as the imagination necessary to portray a character in a fantastical world. Four-year-old Nathaniel clearly isn't ready. That wasn't a problem until recently, however, when Nathaniel expressed a strong interest in playing D&D just like his big brother. Expecting him to get bored in a matter of minutes, I handed him the mini for an NPC guest star -- a sleazy human archer named Griff -- and told him that he could control that character. He handled it better than I expected. He understands concepts like taking turns, moving his mini a certain number of squares on the map, and making attack and damage rolls, but he can't read or add well enough to play without major assistance. Still, he took an immediate liking to Griff, and now, for all intents and purposes, Griff is his character. He squeals with obvious enjoyment whenever Griff fells a monster, and at the conclusion of each combat encounter he gleefully exclaims, "Let's play D&D again!"

Math Problems

DungeonScape...well...it has a ways to go. It has a nice look and a pretty decent user interface, but it really needs to get the math right. Oy.

DungeonScape

Woo-hoo! I've been selected to participate in the beta testing of DungeonScape, the official D&D Fifth Edition online toolset. I can't wait to log in and try it out!

Nevada Bound

Just a few hours until my flight departs. These last two weeks have been amazing, but I'm eager to get home and see my family. I'm about to leave for the airport, but first, here's a quick shot of the Frankfurt skyline from my hotel window.

Danke schoen, Deutschland!

Cologne Cathedral

My time in Germany is rapidly drawing to a close. Today my colleague and I took the train from Cologne to Frankfurt, where we'll depart tomorrow for the States. Before I left Cologne, however, I made one final trip to Cologne Cathedral. I didn't have my camera with me during my first visit two weeks ago, so here's a belated photograph of the front of this breathtaking Gothic church.

Ah, We Are All Heroes...

Click here for an extended preview of the upcoming Baldur's Gate comic book!

Trier

Trier is perhaps Germany's oldest city. It was once the capital of a Roman province, and ruins from those days can still be seen across the city. The most impressive ruin is the Porta Nigra, or Black Gate, a massive gatehouse dating back to the late second century AD.

Trier was also a residence of the Roman emperor Constantine the Great (c. 272 - 337), who was keen on expanding the city. One of his major projects was Basilica of Constantine, which is now a church.

Speaking of churches, the Cathedral of Trier is...amazing. I can't say it captured my imagination quite like Aachen did, but it was a sprawling, majestic place filled with works of exquisite art. I even paid a couple of bucks to visit the treasury. Alas, the cathedral's most impressive relics -- the skull of St. Helena (the mother of Constantine) and the Seamless Robe of Jesus -- were not on display.

Today I'm joining a colleague for a barbecue at the home of a German friend of his, and then tomorrow it's back to work!

Luxembourg American Cemetery

Saturday, I went with two of my colleagues down to the charming little country of Luxembourg. Our first stop was the Luxembourg American Cemetery and Memorial, which holds the remains of over five thousand American soldiers -- including General George S. Patton -- who died in World War II.

Soon after we arrived, a heavy fog rolled across the grounds. In these precious few moments before all the tour buses showed up, the cemetery was quiet and still. It was a deeply moving experience, and I will never forget.

We also visited the nearby Sandweiler German War Cemetery before having lunch in
Luxembourg City. That was our morning in the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg; then it was on to Trier.

More Intercontinental Gaming

When Tim W was in Hong Kong on one of his trips, we did a bit of intercontinental gaming via Skype. I wanted to do the same for Amy and Matthew while I'm in Germany, but the time difference -- it's nine hours earlier in Nevada, so Matthew is either asleep or in school when I would be available -- has forced us to use the asynchronous email-based method that's become standard in the Druid Cycle games. We're continuing with The Lost Mine of Phandelver over email, focusing on roleplaying scenarios rather than combat. It's nice to be able to keep the story going despite the 5000-mile distance between us.

THE Star Wars

I've spent my limited free time in Germany reading The Star Wars, the comic book series based on the first draft of George Lucas's epic narrative. The verdict? Not my cup of tea. Turns out Annikin is lame and annoying in every Star Wars universe. Now I'll turn back to the Fifth Edition PHB and start working on character builds.

I Guess I Was In Belgium!

At breakfast this morning, one of my colleagues was telling me that his cell phone sent him a couple of text messages during our excursion on Sunday. It seems that after leaving the quaint little resort town of Monschau, we must have briefly crossed into Belgium without realizing it. My colleague's cell phone had dutifully informed him of the cell service rates in that country. So, now I can say I've been to Belgium...sort of...

Anyway, here's a nice photo from Monschau.

Kegel Fun

Tonight I went out with five fellow US-based GE guys who are also here in Germany. After dinner at an old-timey pub called Haus Unkelbach -- I had the Reibekuchen with applesauce -- we went down into the cellar to visit the pub's Kegelbahn. What followed was a very enjoyable night of kegeling. I'll leave it to your imagination, or you can click here if you want the details.

Bunkers

After leaving Aachen, we drove to Hurtgenwald, site of one of the bloodiest battles of the Second World War. The Battle of Hurtgen Forest resulted in over thirty thousand American casualties between September and December of 1944. We visited a very nice World War II museum, but the real adventure began when a volunteer asked if we'd like to see the German bunkers that are scattered throughout this heavily forested region. Needless to say, we didn't turn him down!

We drove out to a dirt road and followed our guide deep into the woods. Over the course of two hours, we visited about a half-dozen of these small but sturdy fortifications. The image above is a good example of how the bunkers are somewhat camouflaged by the surrounding trees and hills. The rectangular opening (known as an embrasure) was for machine gunners to attack advancing Allied forces. The image below shows what these embrasures look like on the inside of the bunker.

These bunkers were part of the infamous Siegfried Line, or the Westwall as the Germans called it. Many bunkers saw a lot of action. Take a close look at the image below and you can see where Allied weaponry has damaged the concrete.

With a battle that lasted for four long months, it's no surprise that countless artifacts have been discovered in this area. Indeed, during our trek today, our guide's teenage son dug up a twisted rod of rusting metal. I have no idea what purpose it may have served, or even whether it was an actual artifact from the war, but his discovery was a very cool experience nonetheless.

Aachen is Rockin'

This morning we visited the imperial city of Aachen and its wondrous cathedral. Commissioned by Charlemagne in 796, this church was the coronation site for dozens of German rulers throughout the Middle Ages.

Flash photograph was not permitted inside, so click here to view the Wikipedia article and feast your eyes on the beautiful art and architecture. From now on, when I think of the Citadel of Mithras in the Druid Cycle campaign setting, I'm going to envision the inside of Aachen Cathedral!

Duns Scotus Encounter

I sat at the aforementioned Starbucks at the Frankfurt train station (or, more accurately, at the sprawling office complex known as The Squaire) until my coworker arrived. We took the train from Frankfurt to Cologne and then spent the rest of the day exploring that fascinating, ancient city. One of the many places we visited was an old Franciscan church. I soon realized that this church was the burial place of the eminent medieval philosopher Duns Scotus (best remembered today, unfortunately, as the origin of the word "dunce"). I had no idea that Duns Scotus had died in Cologne. Tomorrow we plan to visit Aachen, the capital of Charlemagne's empire, where I hope to continue to immerse myself in medieval lore. And unlike today's jaunt, I won't forget my camera!

Made it!

I arrived safely in Frankfurt. Now I'm just hanging out with an old friend...Starbucks!

Stay tuned for (hopefully) regular posts from Germany!

Auf Wiedersehen

Today I'm heading out on a very long flight from San Francisco to Frankfurt. It may be a couple of days before I post again, but I hope to update the blog regularly with pics from my trip.

D&D Artist

I love the maps of Phandelin and the surrounding area from the new Fifth Edition Starter Set. They were created by Mike Schley, whose excellent art and cartography can be found here.

More Tyranny, Please!

Click here for another excerpt from the upcoming Tyranny of Dragons comic book series.

Character Builds

I've been discussing Fifth Edition character builds with Matt over the last few days, and I have some preliminary favorites (subject to change, of course!). I'll list them below, in the following format: race (sub-race) / class (build) / background.

1. Elf (High Elf) / Fighter (Eldritch Knight) / Folk Hero
2. Half-Elf / Paladin (Oath of Devotion) / Outlander
3. Half-Elf / Warlock (Chain Pact) / Noble
4. Human / Fighter (Battle Master) / Soldier
5. Dwarf (Hill Dwarf) / Cleric (Tempest Domain) / Acolyte

I may well add an archer (ranger or rogue) to the list, and I probably need a gnome (I love the Tinker racial ability) and some sort of crazy hermit monk. In any case, I'm going to bring my PHB with me on my upcoming trip to Germany and I'll see if I can crank out a few character sheets along the way.

Cologne...The City, Not the Dude Version of Perfume

I think the dude version of perfume is named after the city, but whatever. This has nothing to do with that. 

Late next week I'll be heading out on a sixteen-day business trip to Germany. It's been ten years since I was last in Europe -- and I've never been to Germany before -- so I'm pretty excited about the opportunity. I'm flying into Frankfurt and will be spending most of my time in the Cologne area. I'll try to make regular blog updates with photos, as Tim W has done during his recent trips to Asia. 

New D&D Mobile Game

There's a new D&D game coming out next year for mobile devices. Click here for details...and a video!

PHB Thoughts

I'm slowly making my way through the new PHB and I really like what I'm seeing. The Eldritch Knight (fighter build), Tempest domain cleric, and Oath of Devotion paladin are all characters I'd love to play. I have yet to study the sorcerer, warlock, and wizard classes, but I expect I'm going to add a warlock build to my list as well. If you've had a chance to peruse the PHB, what are your favorites so far?

Tyranny Preview

Click here for a preview of the upcoming Tyranny of Dragons comic book series, based on the Fifth Edition campaign of the same name.

Funded!

Take that, Hitler!

We did it. Against all odds, the Amazing Heroes Kickstarter has successfully funded! (Just don't ask me how much I kicked in!)

When we crossed the $30,000 threshold, all three Sutton lads celebrated by dancing and air guitaring to the dulcet tones of Motley Crue's "Kickstart My Heart."

DM Junior

We're less than halfway through The Lost Mine of Phandelver and already Matthew is clamoring to be the DM. He's working on his own tale about a town whose wealth has been stolen by a greedy dragon. His story is set in the Forgotten Realms*, but as a bit of a nod to the Front Porch multiverse, my wizard's name is Kentigern -- the same name I used for my wizard character during the big Front Porch fifteenth anniversary epic that Tim W ran back in 2003. Matthew has a really good grasp of the basic 5e game mechanics, but it will be interesting to see how he reacts to a wizard whose arcane spells will no doubt wreak havoc with his melee-heavy encounters!

* - Despite not being a huge fan of the Realms, I have to admit that I got a real charge out of hearing my kid talk about the Sword Coast! Baldur's Gate is going to be a lot more meaningful for him the next time he plays around with it.

D&D History

Click here for an interesting article on the history of D&D and its core rulebooks.

Dragon Whispering

The Augury spell. The Spyglass item. The amazing Revelation Quill. I love anything in the Pathfinder Adventure Card Game that allows me to sneak a peek into location decks. Most of the time, these items and spells help me locate the main villain so that I can get my characters ready for the inevitable showdown, but last night my monk used his Spyglass to spot one of the best Ally cards in the game...the Charmed Red Dragon! This beast can deliver big-time assistance in combat, but with a catch: Each time you play this card, there's a one-in-twelve chance that the dragon turns against you, breathes fire on all heroes at your location, and flies away. It's a chance I'm willing to take. Even if he loses the dragon, my monk will get the last laugh -- he's got solid resistance against fire damage!

Potion Power

My pre-ordered copy of the Fifth Edition PHB has yet to ship, so I'm biding my time with some Pathfinder card action. As soon as I started the final scenario of the penultimate adventure, I realized that closing two of the four locations would require skill checks -- one Diplomacy, one Perception -- that my characters could not hope to beat without major assistance from blessings. In the space of three or four turns, however, I managed to pick up two humble potions that made life a lot easier: one that allows a character to automatically succeed at a Diplomacy check, and one that allows a character to automatically succeed at a Perception check. Blind luck, but I'll take it!

Kickstarter Blues

It's not looking so amazing for Amazing Heroes, the first-ever Kickstarter to which I've pledged. I remain hopeful, but with only a week to go, we're still a long way from the $30,000 goal. I have a feeling that not even Stardust the Super Wizard can get us out of this jam!

Pathfinder Video Games!

A video game based on the Pathfinder Adventure Card Game? Yes, please! Click here for the scoop!

Blast From the Past: Reavers of Harkenwold

Today is our final Blast From the Past post on the great adventures of yesteryear, and we've reached the problematic, polarizing Fourth Edition era. I spent most of this period DMing Druid Cycle and Torchlight adventures, but I did run a couple of published modules, including the first D&D Encounters adventure and the surprisingly fun Revenge of the Giants, which I adapted for the Druid Cycle setting. Overall, I found the Fourth Edition adventure modules to be far too formulaic and linear -- a mind-numbing slog through overly long combat encounters.

Reavers of Harkenwold (2010) stands in stark contrast to the rest. Included in The Dungeon Master's Kit -- the DM-focused product that was part of the short-lived Essentials line -- this brief adventure (contained in two thin booklets) is refreshingly open-ended. The characters' choices drive the plot, which focuses on their involvement in a revolt against the cruel marauders who have taken over a peaceful little province. I haven't participated in this adventure either as a player or as a DM, but I'd have to say that it ranks first on my list of adventures I'd love to run.

Basic Rules Update

The D&D Basic rules have been updated. Click here to get the latest version!

Front Porch Quotes

"Bring it on!"

"You're not the only one who plays this game."

"I roll ones like it's my job."

"Whoa, haymaker!"

"I'm missing a finger!"

Over the years, numerous Front Porch player quotes have become legendary, at least among our little group. They're usually meaningless to other folks, but they remind us of all the fun we've had together. (Side-note: Eagle-eyed readers may have spotted a number of these quotes in "When Last We Left Our Intrepid Heroes," the short story I wrote to introduce the concept of the Front Porch multiverse.) Back in the old days, Tim W even kept a running log of player quotes in his infamous blue folder. Now I have them saved in a file in the Front Porch folder on my hard drive. A lot has changed for all of us since the first time Scott said "Nomenclature" or the first time Jason said "16 Dexterity," but even just perusing this list brings back so many great memories.

It's with great pride, then, that I add my son Matthew's first-ever quote to the list. His 5e fighter is a none-too-subtle fellow who's fond of shouting a strange (and loud) battle cry that I can only attempt to represent phonetically: Ah-WAAAHHH! During one recent adventure, the party was preparing to attack a key lieutenant of the main villain from The Lost Mine of Phandelver. As I was setting up the minis on the map, I noticed Matthew's whole body shaking. My heart skipped a beat. Was something wrong? Was he sick? He wasn't sick...he was in character. The next thing I know, he exclaims: "I just can't hold it in anymore! AAAHHH-WAAAHHH!!!" So much for the stealth approach.

Online Action?

The email-based Druid Cycle games have been pretty slow lately, as a lot of folks have been busy with other stuff. Any interest in switching gears and doing a bit of online real-time gaming for a while? The last time we had a big real-time campaign was Torchlight back in the 2009-2010 timeframe. Perhaps we could try out 5e. We could do a mini-campaign and run through The Lost Mine of Phandelver, or even a shorter two- or three-session adventure. Let me know!

A Hoard of Free D&D

Want more free D&D? Click here to be taken to the Hoard of the Dragon Queen page on the Wizards site. This adventure is part of the "Tyranny of Dragons" storyline and will set you back 30 bucks, but the online supplement is free. The supplement is a PDF containing all the magic items, monsters, and spells from the adventure. It makes a nice little addition to the Basic rules that were released last month.

PHB Review

EN World has reviewed the Fifth Edition Player's Handbook. Read all about it here.

Phan-tastic!

The Lost Mine of Phandelver is lost no more. I've now run every combat encounter in this introductory Fifth Edition adventure using a solo character and a slightly reduced number of foes (the adventure assumes a party of four or five characters, so I omitted a couple of enemies in each encounter so as not to stack the deck against my lone fighter). Playing through the full adventure with Matthew and Amy is taking a lot longer, but at least now I have some good experience with the mechanics of combat.

The verdict? This is really D&D. Kudos to Mike Mearls and company -- I think they saved the D&D franchise with this edition.

Groot

Click here to watch Groot -- aka Vin Diesel -- talk about playing D&D (and stealing potato chips!) in his youth.

Digital Comic Museum

The Amazing Heroes action figure Kickstarter project has a long way to go to reach its $30,000 goal, but I'm still holding out hope that one day I'll have Black Terror, Silver Streak (whose costume, natch, has not one iota of silver anywhere on it!), and their fellow Golden Age pals standing guard over the bookcase that contains my graphic novels. I really shouldn't be getting my hopes up, but...well...too late!

If you're at all interested in Golden Age superheroes, the Digital Comic Museum (click here to check it out) is worth an hour (or, in my case, a lot more) of your time. It's a treasure trove of old-timey public domain comics (in digital format, of course), all available for free.

More on Backgrounds

Click here for some additional details on 5e backgrounds, including the full list that will be included in the PHB.

Blast From the Past: The Shattered Gates of Slaughtergarde

In this installment of Blast From the Past, I'll discuss my favorite published adventure from the Third (and 3.5) Edition era. Most of my face-to-face, pen-and-paper gaming time during this era was spent with fellow medievalist graduate students at the University of Rochester. We had a steady group of five or six people, with two of us (myself included) serving as the primary DMs. During my stints in the DM's chair, I used a variant version of the Druid Cycle setting, and Mike, the other DM, used his own game world as well. Consequently, I don't think I DMed or played in a single published adventure during this entire era.

That doesn't mean, however, that I don't have a favorite adventure. The Shattered Gates of Slaughtergarde (2006) is an immersive, non-linear mini-campaign that takes PCs from level 1 to 6, but includes enough supporting material for a much longer campaign. Included in this set (rather than a single book, it's a folder containing several booklets, maps, and handouts) is a brief player's guide with character creation tips and new options to help players link their characters more closely to the adventure and its setting; the two adventure booklets, meanwhile, feature a streamlined encounter layout that anticipates the Fourth Edition design.

What makes it my favorite from this era? Aside from the aforementioned selling points, it's also something I read and re-read when Amy was pregnant with Matthew. I remember thinking to myself that one day I'd play through this adventure with my kid(s). That day is getting closer.

Black Terror!

No, it's not a racist '70s film (or maybe it is -- I haven't checked IMDb), it's the name of a Golden Age superhero who isn't owned by either DC or Marvel. I first encountered Black Terror in Masks, a phenomenal superhero team-up book from Dynamite Entertainment. I was already a fan of Dynamite mainstays like The Shadow (and Miss Fury, although I'm rather disappointed by their current take on the character), but I found Black Terror to be a hugely entertaining character despite his limited role in the series. Quite simply, the dude is badassery personified. I mean, come on, he's got a skull and crossbones on his chest!

Imagine my surprise and delight when I discovered a Kickstarter campaign to create action figures for Black Terror and other superheroes of yesteryear. (Click here to visit the Kickstarter page.) Obscure Golden Age characters? 1980s-style action figures? Yeah, I think I'm going to have to invest in this one...

Conversion

We're just barely into Fifth Edition -- still without the Player's Handbook, Dungeonmaster's Guide, and Monster Manual -- but I'm eager to turn the page on the previous era. Henceforth, I'm a one-edition kinda guy, and that edition is 5e. (Oh, and sorry, Pathfinder. You're really special, but I was just using you to make D&D jealous.)

This means that I've got some conversion work to do. All of my notes for Front Porch multiverse settings assume a 4e system, or at least a system based on 4e (such as the modern Gamma World game). My first order of business will be to update these notes so that any new multiverse campaigns (for example, something set in the Shattered Realm world) will be playable using 5e rules.

The Druid Cycle campaigns present a more difficult problem. Not everyone has a strong opinion about which rules we're using, but I know that some folks like the way their characters work in 4e. I don't want to mess with that. I don't want to pressure people into abandoning a build they enjoy, only to have them find that rebuilding the character in the new edition makes it less fun to play. (Side-note: Are there faint echoes of Obamacare here? "If you like your character build, you can keep your character build!") We probably won't know until the new PHB comes out whether it will even be possible to create a 5e character that closely mimics a given 4e build. It's going to be hard enough to turn a 4e fighter into a 5e fighter, to say nothing of the fact that quite a few races and classes from 4e simply do not exist yet in 5e -- and may never exist, for all we know. We have a couple of guys who converted their 2e and 3e/3.5e clerics into invokers. Now what? Do they convert them back into clerics?

Aside from the character quandary is the matter of expense. A lot of us (including myself) have invested our hard-earned cash in numerous 4e books. I haven't heard directly from any of our usual gang on this subject, but I expect there may be reluctance to sink money into another set of rulebooks so soon after 4e came out. (Indeed, 4e is younger than my six-year-old kid. I first saw the announcement that 4e was in development on the day after he was born.) Basic D&D is free (and I applaud Wizards for that bold decision), so the availability of Basic may mitigate this problem somewhat, but Basic includes only the fighter, cleric, rogue, and wizard classes -- not exactly a vast array of options.

So where do we go from here? How do we handle the conversion of existing Druid Cycle characters? Let me know what you think.

New D&D Website

There's a new official D&D website. Click here to check it out. At first glance, I don't like it...

Assault on Cragmaw Castle

Mock my drawing skills if you like, but the attack on Cragmaw Castle (the climax of the third chapter of The Lost Mine of Phandelver from the Fifth Edition Starter Set) is going to be tons of fun. I'm kind of disappointed that I didn't have an owlbear mini (I had a dire bear and a giant owl), but at least I had the grick...

Blast From the Past: Night Below

We return today to my "Blast From the Past" series, a look at memorable published adventure modules from each edition of D&D. Today I'll cover Second Edition. This is my favorite D&D era, so it was difficult to choose a single adventure as my favorite.

My pick is Night Below (1995), a boxed set containing a massive campaign set largely in the Underdark. Billed as "The Ultimate Dungeon Adventure," it lives up to its claim with a sprawling storyline and harrowing encounters with mind-flayers, kuo-toa, aboleths, and other Lovecraftian monstrosities. Back in 2000, I ran this adventure in the Shattered Realm setting. We used our existing characters, so the heroes were a bit overpowered for the first two-thirds of the adventure. As Kevin and Jason may recall, the third and final chapter was a mad dash through the Underdark -- one encounter flowed directly into the next in a seemingly endless battle. I hope it was as fun for the guys to play as it was for me to DM!

Skellig Michael

One of the filming locations for the new Star Wars movie is the remote island of Skellig Michael. I've never been there, but I read a lot about it during my years as a medievalist. It's a place I've always wanted to go, and it's certainly inspired my imagination when I've devised the little rocky islands that seem to be ubiquitous in the Druid Cycle world. Click here for more, including a nifty video!

Spreadsheet Action

As a kind of "proof concept," I recently transferred my notes about the Shattered Realm campaign setting from a word processor document into a spreadsheet. With a spreadsheet, I can sort and filter the entries so that, for example, I can quickly compare the number of elves and dwarves in the world (we try to ensure racial diversity here at the Front Porch), or list all the members of a specific organization, or whatever. Thus far, the Shattered Realm setting has 101 named characters, 10 organizations, 46 named locations, and 20 items of "culture" (a catch-all term for artifacts, important texts, famous historical events, etc.). I think this setting has surpassed the Torchlight world in terms of the sheer amount of named stuff, but it's still an order of magnitude less (I'm not exaggerating) than the Druid Cycle world. It would be extremely handy to get my Druid Cycle notes into a spreadsheet, but that's rather too large a project to tackle at the moment!

Big PHB Preview

Wowzers. Click here for a big, artwork-intensive preview of the PHB.

Factions

The Lost Mine of Phandelver is shaping up to be one of the better D&D adventures I've seen in recent years. It's a lot more open-ended than most 4e modules, and reminds me somewhat of games like Baldur's Gate in that the various NPCs in town have quests that you can take up in addition to the main storyline. Most of these NPCs offer typical rewards (i.e., gold), but some also offer membership in various organizations. I'm no Forgotten Realms guru by any means, but I recognized the Harpers and the Zhentarim; the Order of the Gauntlet and the Lords' Alliance, however, were new to me. I think it's cool that the adventure provides players with opportunities for their characters to join established Realms organizations -- it's yet another way that Fifth Edition helps integrate characters into the game world. And from what I hear, these various factions play a key role in D&D Adventurers League, the new organized play system.

Dungeons & Dragons Basic Set

For my first look back at awesome adventures from each edition of D&D, I'm going with the 1983 "red box" edition of the Dungeons & Dragons Basic Set (I also have the 1981 edition with Keep on the Borderlands -- another gift from my Aunt Nedra) in lieu of an official First Edition adventure module. I own several First Edition books, but I didn't start playing D&D until around 1985 -- here I'll give another shout-out to Kevin and his brother Brian, who introduced me to the game -- and played Basic exclusively until Second Edition AD&D came out in 1989.

Opening that beautiful red box for the first time is a moment seared into my memory. I had played D&D a few times with Kevin, Brian, and their gaming group, but the red box was my first experience reading the rules and creating characters on my own. No game product I've ever seen -- save perhaps for the much later Pathfinder Beginner Box -- has provided so engaging an introduction to both the mechanical and narrative aspects of roleplaying games. The Basic Set begins with a solo adventure in which your hero meets and befriends a beautiful cleric named Aleena, who soon dies at the hands of the evil wizard Bargle. That was powerful stuff for a little kid. The solo adventure is followed by a full-party dungeon crawl in the ruins of castle Mistamere, wherein the heroes are tasked with tracking down and capturing Bargle. I played through that one as a solo adventure and also ran it for Scott and other lads in the early days of the Front Porch (as part of the Fantasy Quest campaign -- our first foray into D&D after a steady diet of superhero RPG action in Earth Commanders). Flipping through that bright red adventure booklet today, I get the distinct urge to resume my decades-old hunt for that elusive wizard...

Butt-Kicking...for Goodness!

The rumors were true. Read all about it here.

Build-a-Background

It's no secret that I love the background feature of Fifth Edition, and a world with as much history and diversity as the Druid Cycle setting is just crying out for a variety of custom backgrounds. As any longtime player would know, a character from, say, the Cauldron in Troya Nova is going to have a very different background from a Cymry knight of Teyrnas.

Anyone want to take a stab at building a Druid Cycle background? It doesn't necessarily need to be for one of your existing characters. Just download the Basic D&D PDF from the Wizards site and check out the five backgrounds to get a feel for how they work. A Druid Cycle background could be specific to a geographical region or culture (as in the examples above), or it could be based on an organization (e.g., the Druid Council, the Machinery, the Ekhis Movement, etc.)...or anything else that would logically link a character to some facet of this game world. To build a background, select proficiency in two skills, proficiency in two types of tools (or languages), a background feature, etc. Anyone who submits a background gets a special prize!*

Disclaimer: "Special prize" may be fictional in nature.

RIP Hawkman

My beloved Hawkman died a heroic (and no doubt temporary) death in Justice League United #3. Today, his funeral was held on the planet Thanagar.

Hamsters and rangers everywhere, rejoice!

IDW is launching a new D&D comic book series and a much-beloved miniature giant space hamster may be involved. Even better news? The author is Jim Zub, writer of the acclaimed Pathfinder comics. Click here for the teaser!

Temple, Tower, and Tomb

Ever play this adventure?

Temple, Tower, and Tomb (1994) is one of my favorite modules from the Golden Age of D&D. (I'm defining "Golden Age" as the Second Edition era -- your own personal Golden Age may vary!) This brutal, trap-laden dungeon crawl can be played as three standalone adventures or as a single mini-campaign in which the heroes must recover three long-lost artifacts. I ran this adventure as a one-shot during a backyard campout with Front Porch stalwarts Scott and Jason. It took us nearly all night to finish it, but finish it we did!

Over the next couple of weeks, I'm going to do a series of posts in which I look back on the first four editions of D&D and select my favorite published adventure from each edition. However, you won't see classics like Tomb of Horrors or Temple of Elemental Evil on this list. The adventures I'm going to select aren't necessarily the most famous or iconic; they're the adventures I love because they're somehow personally significant for me and my friends. They're also the adventures I'm dying to run again someday -- this time using Fifth Edition rules.

Starter Set

My family and I spent a very pleasant day at Yosemite National Park yesterday. Amy noted that the ruggedly beautiful terrain was like something out of a D&D adventure, and I agree. Here's a photograph I took from high up on Lembert Dome.

When we got home, a package was waiting on our doorstep...it was the Starter Set that Matt sent me! (Click here for EN World's thorough review of the set.) I flipped through the included adventure (The Lost Mine of Phandelver) last night and it looks like a lot of fun. When we get started, I'll ask Matthew to think back to our trip as I describe the Neverwinter Wood and the Sword Mountains and such. Yosemite certainly inspires the imagination. Check out this majestic view of Half Dome, as seen from Olmsted Point.

Characters

The best thing about Fifth Edition is its emphasis on the narrative aspects of character creation. In 4e, characters often felt like nothing more than a massive jumble of stats and powers. The game rules did not prevent seasoned RPG veterans from creating three-dimensional characters, of course, but the system itself did not provide much help on that front, especially for newer players. Fifth Edition, in contrast, does a great job of encouraging people to think of characters as fully-fleshed-out individuals who occupy a specific and meaningful place in the world. With personality traits, flaws, bonds, and the like, the new system puts all of that narrative detail right there on the character sheet alongside traditional game stats. I love it.

We'll use the pre-generated characters for The Lost Mine of Phandelver, primarily so that Matthew can learn the game rules. It won't be long before he's coming up with heroes of his own. He creates lots of characters to populate his Lego stories, and he's certainly familiar with many aspects of the characterization of DC and Marvel superheroes (origins, motivations, etc.), but he has yet to engage in any sort of sophisticated character building. I can't wait to see what he comes up with!

Blast From the Past

My parents are visiting from New York this week, and they brought a suitcase full of old D&D books from my childhood. It's a treasure trove of wonderful memories.

This is the First Edition Player's Handbook from 1978. I wasn't playing D&D at the age of two, of course, but years later my Aunt Nedra -- yes, that's her real name and not the name of a D&D character -- gave it to me as a gift when she learned that I was interested in RPGs. I'll never forget cracking it open for the first time and learning about exotic new character classes like the assassin and monk. I had only played Basic D&D up to that point, so this book really opened my eyes to the possibilities of Advanced D&D.

Stay tuned for more blasts from the past!

I'm Inspired by Inspiration

I love the new inspiration rule in 5e. If you roleplay your character in accordance with your background (personality traits, ideal, bond, and flaw), the DM can award you with inspiration -- which you can cash in for advantage on a single die roll. As a second option, you can give up your inspiration and award it to a fellow player.

I heartily approve of any game mechanic that encourages roleplaying. The sheer simplicity of this mechanic also appeals to me. I think it should work just as well in pencil-and-paper game sessions (sadly, a rarity for Front Porch players these days) as in online adventures.

The Dex Fighter

It took me a while, but I managed to dig up a post from over two years ago in which I pointed out the problems with heavy armor in 4e and in the early iterations of the D&D Next playtest materials. (I'm too lazy to figure out how to link directly to that post, so if you care to read the whole thing, the date was May 26, 2012.) Basically, I was pointing out that the fighter in heavy armor was at a disadvantage when compared to high-Dexterity characters wearing light armor. The implication, then, was that power gamers in 5e would build Dexterity-based fighters, dumping Strength -- the classic stat that we've always associated with the fighter class.

Based on my initial observations, that problem appears to have been addressed in 5e. All other things being equal, the fighter (or cleric, paladin, etc.) wearing plate armor and carrying a shield is going to have the highest armor class -- higher than the rogue, and higher than the Dexterity-based fighter. At lower levels, though, it's easy to build a Dexterity fighter who can match the Strength fighter's AC. I started out making a human Strength fighter but then decided to go with a high elf Dexterity fighter instead. Both begin with an AC of 18 and fight with a 1D8 melee weapon, but the high elf has lots of nifty race features. Add in the folk hero background and I've got a pretty cool character with solid combat stats and a lot of flavor.

Phan-delving

Big thanks to Matt, who's sending me a copy of the Starter Set! I look forward to delving into The Lost Mine of Phandelver, the adventure included in the box. I'm going to rope Amy into running through it with me, and Matthew is capable of joining us as well. Not sure what we'll do with Nathaniel. He's too young to grasp the concept of RPGs, so perhaps I'll tell him to pretend that he's a dog and let him move a wolf mini around the map so that he feels like he's participating!

Got It!

I have downloaded and devoured the initial Basic D&D rules. They're contained in a no-frills, low-art PDF that hardly looks like the culmination of more than two years of development. In fact, I don't think I've ever seen an official D&D product that looked so...pedestrian.

None of that matters. This is Fifth Edition, and it's my edition. In my own small (very, very small) way, I helped make this game. I hope all the playtesters out there (175,000!) feel that same sense of pride. We invested a lot of time and energy in reviewing the many iterations of the rules and providing detailed feedback; even at this early stage, I have no doubt that our investment has paid off. 5e feels like D&D in a way that 4e never did.

What's even more important to me, though, is the knowledge that this is the edition my sons will grow up with. I'm looking forward to years of family game nights around the kitchen table. Matthew isn't even seven yet and already he's clamoring to be the DM. After seeing what he can do with Legos, I have no doubt he'll come up with amazing new worlds for us to explore.

So that was my obligatory moment of sentimentality. With that out of the way, I'm ready to roll up my sleeves, roll up some characters, and start playing!

It's Here! It's Here! It's Here!

Get your free Fifth Edition D&D Basic set...click here!

5e Roll-Out

Today is the first day of the six-month roll-out of Fifth Edition D&D. We can expect the initial version of the free Basic D&D rules to be posted online today (and updated periodically throughout the year), and the Starter Set will be available for purchase in certain game stores. The Starter Set arrives everywhere else on July 15. I pre-ordered my copy on Amazon ages ago, but I have no idea when I'll be seeing it. If anyone out there gets a copy before I do, please let me know what you think and I'll share your comments right here on the blog so that the rest of the gang can get a sneak peek at the new edition.

Proofin' It

I wonder how much frantic proofreading is going on at Wizards. I'd love to take a peek into their offices right about now!

We've been told that the Basic D&D PDF will be available for download from the Wizards site (here, if you don't have it bookmarked already) on July 3, but I haven't seen anything about a specific time. Often the new daily content on the site appears at or shortly after 12 AM Eastern -- which means I can see it at 9 PM Pacific. You can bet I'll be checking regularly after 9 this evening, but I wouldn't be surprised if it doesn't show up until later in the day tomorrow. In any case, I'll post as soon as it's up!

Tomorrow!

Fifth Edition...tomorrow. To quote the immortal Sir Roberts: "Bring it on!"

On Second Thought

You know what? Watching other people play D&D is not all that much fun. I made it about ten minutes into the video below before I bailed. Still, my excitement for the Starter Set remains undeterred!

Lost Mine of Phandelver

See the clip (well, at more than an hour and forty minutes, it's hardly a "clip"!) below to watch players experience the adventure from the Starter Set.

Waiting...

This week I'm playing a few scenarios of the Pathfinder Adventure Card Game while awaiting the release of Basic D&D.

Check out this unusual scenario layout. Valeros and Seoni had to work their way around the circle of stone heads, disarming or destroying each of them, before they could face the dragon in the center.

Basic Details

We're only days away from 5e! Click here to see some more details about Basic D&D.

Here's the Wizard!

Click here to see the pre-generated 5e wizard from the Starter Set. I think Timothy will be pleased to see that his favorite class has turned out rather well!

I Want It Now!

Starter Set unboxing video...watch it!

Dwarf Cleric Preview

Click here to see the character sheet for the pre-generated dwarf cleric from the 5e Starter Set.

Ransack...I Mean, "Ranzak"!

We were in Sacramento this weekend, and when I'm there I never miss an opportunity to visit A-1 Comics, my favorite West Coast gaming and comics store. As part of today's Free RPG Day festivities, I picked up the new playable character -- Ranzak, the goblin pirate -- for the Pathfinder Adventure Card Game. Click here for a look at my new favorite card-based hero!

Get Thee to a Game Store!

It's Free RPG Day! Keeping my fingers crossed for the Pathfinder module...and the Pathfinder Adventure Card Game booster pack!

5e Fighter Unveiled!

Click here to see the full character sheet for one of the pre-generated characters from the Starter Set. This one document provides a wealth of information about the new edition (or, at least, the Basic game). I'm a bit bummed, however, about the benefit for the "Noble" background. In the playtest, nobles received three non-combatant retainers, but now the benefit is more about the person's reputation. I liked the earlier one better because I'm keen on game features that provide henchmen of any sort.

Free RPG Day 2014

It's almost here! Free RPG Day is this Saturday, June 21. Click here for details!

Map Time!

Another Starter Set preview has been posted (here). This time it's the area map for the introductory adventure. The style reminds me a lot of the old maps from Basic D&D, and brings back great memories of early campaigns with Kevin and his brother Brian, our unforgiving DM. Hard to believe it was almost thirty years ago that these fine lads introduced me to D&D!

500, Yo!

This is the 500th post for the Front Porch blog. Thanks to everyone for reading and sharing your thoughts and ideas. With 5e D&D coming out in the next few weeks, I'm sure we'll be off and running toward 1000!

Another Writer Commentary

The second issue of the new Pathfinder comic book series is out, and writer Jim Zub has done another commentary. Click here for the play-by-play.

To my fellow Colgate alums...

Happy Colgate Day!

Quintessence War...in 3D!

Here's another tidbit about next year's multiverse-spanning Quintessence War event: I'm pulling out all the stops and using my vast array of 3D terrain and miniatures to bring this story to life. Of course, due to the vast distances between myself and the rest of you guys, I'm going to photograph all the setups and send frequent updates so that everyone can see the action as it unfolds.

Metro Entertainment

I'm visiting family in the Los Angeles area this week (I know, I know -- it's the worst place in the world to be right now for a New York Rangers fan). Yesterday we spent a pleasant afternoon in Santa Barbara, and Amy spotted a super-cool store just off of State Street. Metro Entertainment (website link is here) is one of the better comic book and gaming stores I've visited lately. I even managed to pick up the latest installment of the Pathfinder Adventure Card Game.

Here's Another One!

Click here for a pic of the first page of the warlock class description from the upcoming 5e PHB.

What a Tease...

Here.

Combat Math

I love studying the underlying math of the various D&D editions. Check out this article (here) on 5e and backward compatibility with earlier editions.

Multiverse Madness

If you caught my recent post titled "Quintessence War," you may have some idea of the big Front Porch event that I'm planning for 2015. (The post itself is just one line, but check out the many, many labels underneath.) I'll reveal a few tidbits here and there, starting with this quick overview: Quintessence War is going to be a mini-campaign with a storyline that crosses multiple game worlds. Players will create brand-new characters (using the 5e D&D rules) for this event, but the plot will feature plenty of multiverse-spanning NPCs, some of whom have already started marking appearances in current Front Porch adventures. Stay tuned for more details!

Let's Go, Rangers!!!

Please forgive the occasional non-game-related post...

Basic D&D Is Free!

Also launching in July, alongside the D&D Starter Set, is Basic Dungeons & Dragons...and it's free! Anyone can download this PDF from the Wizards site. Basic includes the rules necessary for play and character creation for the core races and classes. The PDF will be updated and expanded as new settings and adventures are published. We haven't seen anything yet, of course, but this sounds like a game changer to me. Click here for all the details.

Pathfinder Writer Commentary

Jim Zub, the writer of the Pathfinder comic books, provides an interesting page-by-page commentary of the current issue here.

Quintessence War

In 2015, the multiverse goes to war.

What a Rip!

D&D has a new system of organized play -- D&D Adventurers League -- and it appears, at first glance, to be a total rip-off of the Pathfinder Society. See for yourself here. Amazing, isn't it, how quickly Pathfinder has become the brand leader?

City of Secrets #1

What to make of the new Pathfinder series? Much of this first issue is setup for things to come. Unfortunately, it didn't do much to hook new readers; if you aren't familiar with these characters or the world they inhabit, you're likely to be a bit lost -- or, worse yet, you may have little reason to care about the various goings-on in Magnimar. On the plus side, I love the artwork and consider it a substantial improvement over the last series. The RPG material at the end (including a removable map depicting a tavern -- perfect for staging a brawl!) was also very welcome. Check out full reviews here (for a negative review) and here (for a positive review that is, alas, riddled with typos).

Pathfinder Returns!

Dynamite's Pathfinder comic book returns today with the first issue of Pathfinder: City of Secrets. Click here for more info.

Tyranny of Dragons

Here's an update on my post from earlier today: Wizards has a brief article explaining their upcoming Tyranny of Dragons brand-wide storyline, so click here for the details.

Holy Crap! Here Comes D&D Next!

All of a sudden, a massive list of upcoming D&D Next products has been released! Check out the Wizards of the Coast product catalog page (here) to see the cover art, price, and tentative release date for the first wave of D&D products. First up is the starter set, which arrives on July 15!

Kids Track

Kids Track (click here for more info) is an interesting "lesson plan" for teaching young children how to play the Pathfinder roleplaying game. I've spent some time teaching Matthew (currently age six) about RPGs, but what I like about the Kids Track is that it's very well organized and presents the core concepts in discrete, manageable chunks. I'll definitely keep this document in mind when it's time to introduce Nathaniel (age three) to these games.

Mech Maker

I've never contributed to a Kickstarter project before, but...design your own mini? 3D printing? It's tempting...click here for details!

Heroes of Magnimar Reminder

It's been a slow couple months for gaming news, huh? I suspect all of that will change once we start getting more information about the release of D&D Next. In the meantime, don't forget about the relaunch of the Pathfinder comic book, and the coinciding in-store game events that will be held all across the country this month. Click here to find a participating game store near you!