Dragon+ ... and it's Thursday

Oy. I keep thinking it's Friday. Anyway, click here to learn about Dragon+, a new iOS app that provides the latest D&D-related news.

FCBD 2015

Just a reminder...Free Comic Book Day is coming up this Saturday (May 2)! Click here to visit the official website. I think last year's event was the biggest and best ever, and this year promises to be even better!

Catan Dice Game

So among the many Settlers of Catan products there's a dice-based Catan game (click here). We picked up a copy today at Target -- seems like a fun game for road trips and such.

Imperial Raider

The boys and I are in the midst of yet another X-Wing battle. This time, I'm the Rebellion and they're each controlling a large Imperial ship (one of which is our brand-new Slave I!). Speaking of big Imperial ships...today I saw a preview of the upcoming Imperial Raider. Freakin' awesome!

Good Game, Eh?

I beat Mass Effect yesterday, bringing down that hoser Sovereign in a hail of assault rifle fire. The game's greatest mystery, however, remains unresolved: Why do so many people in the future have Canadian accents? Should we be worried?

Simplify, Simplify

Thoreau advises us to simplify our lives (as I learned from a Calvin & Hobbes strip -- I've never actually read Thoreau), and I'm taking that advice to heart. First up, I'm going to put my plans for the massive Quintessence War storyline on hold. I still intend to run this adventure someday, but I'd like to wait until there's an opportunity for more people to participate. Likewise, it's time to hit the ol' Pause button on The Druid Cycle and take a break from that campaign for a while. Those battle-tested heroes have earned a rest, and I need to invest some time in converting that world to Fifth Edition. Blog posts, which have been pretty sporadic lately, will continue to be sporadic, although I'll still pop in here and there to share game news and whatnot.

In the meantime, I'm going to start up a short-term Fifth Edition adventure with some of the regular Front Porch players. It's going to take place in the Shattered Realm setting and will serve as an introduction to 5e. I also plan to play a lot more Star Wars: X-Wing and 5e D&D with my boys, chip away at Neverwinter, finish up Mass Effect, and of course jump into Sword Coast Legends the nanosecond it gets released. Wait, wasn't this post supposed to be about simplification?

Map Time

At long last, the revamped Shattered Realm campaign setting has a map. Another map (for the second continent) will be needed, and I still have to create the interactive digital version (akin to the Druid Cycle map that displays pop-ups when you hover your mouse pointer over the various points of interest), but at least I've settled the basic geography. How far is it from Marcher Keep to the Herberage? Well, now I know -- and you will, too, if you play in the upcoming Fifth Edition mini-campaign...

Holy Sophie's Choice, Batman!

It seems that I'm rapidly approaching the climax of the first Mass Effect game. During the frenzied assault on the villain's main base, I had to choose whether to save Kaidan Alenko or Ashley Williams -- the two NPCs who have been with my main character since the beginning of the game. When confronted with the choice, I googled various Mass Effect game guides and walkthroughs to confirm that players cannot, in fact, save both of them; the game forces you to decide which NPC lives and which one dies. Damn!

In the end, I chose to save Kaidan. Ashley seemed more like the die-in-a-blaze-of-glory type anyway, and earlier in the game she had mentioned wanting to restore the reputation of her disgraced family. In game terms, though, I sacrificed Ashley because she was...redundant. As a gun-toting, front-line warrior, her skill set exactly overlapped that of my main character. Kaidan has all those wacky biotic and tech powers that my main character will never have, so it makes more sense to keep him around. Sorry, Ash!

Modifying Classes

Some cool notes today from Wizards about customizing 5e character classes, including an example of a ranger that lacks spellcasting capabilities. Click here to read the article.

5e Behind the Scenes

Click here for some fascinating insider info from Jeremy Crawford, a key member of the Fifth Edition team.

Catan Kids

We went over to my sister-in-law's house for dinner last night, which gave Matthew and Nathaniel the opportunity to introduce their older cousins (ages nine and thirteen) to Catan Junior. Matthew jumped out to a big early lead by buying up lots of parrots -- sounds weird if you haven't played the game, but a lot of people consider it to be an optimal strategy -- although his progress stalled when he didn't have enough resources to buy the ships and forts needed in order to win the game. It was four-year-old Nathaniel who earned the victory, defeating the three older kids to the astonishment of everyone but himself. He may be the youngest of the bunch, but he can hold his own in board games.

Game Card Holder

One of the dudes in our local board game group has started a Kickstarter to manufacture a game card holder for collectible card games, board games, and other games that involve lots of cards. Click here for the details...