Level Up!

Our weekly family D&D campaign hit a milestone on Saturday when our fledgling heroes from the Tyranny of Dragons storyline reached second level. Amy was pleased to have the opportunity to start shifting her paladin into more of a striker (apologies for the Fourth Edition terminology!) role, while Matthew loved getting a boost to his warlock's Eldritch Blast spell ("I can do 19 damage if I roll the maximum!"). Nathaniel didn't quite understand all the options now available to his rogue as part of the Cunning Action feature, but he really latched on to the idea of avoiding opportunity attacks. In his brief D&D career, he's been kind of paranoid about opportunity attacks, so gaining the ability to move around without incurring them was pretty exciting to him.

Syrinscape

My favorite freebie from this year's Free RPG Day was definitely the voucher card for three free sound sets from Syrinscape. Between those and the two free sets that I got for signing up for an account, I now have a pretty robust set of sounds -- battle noises, magical effects, and even environmental sounds like rain and wild animals -- that I can cue up on my iPad during game sessions.

"Free RPG Day? Nobody Told Me!"

We showed up at A-1 Comics in Sacramento about an hour before their 10 AM opening time and we still weren't the first ones there. Even so, I managed (ahem) to end up first in line at the front of the store. When the dude opened the doors, a dozen or so diehards (not including my two little henchmen) filed into the store. Then the guy turned around, looked us up and down, and wondered why the hell we were all staring at him. None of his colleagues had told him that it was Free RPG Day! I explained what was going on -- or rather supposed to be going on -- and he rummaged around until he found the box of Free RPG Day stuff. Huzzah!

Once again, Paizo ruled the day with an adventure module, a new character for the Pathfinder Adventure Card Game, and a card with a product code for a few of the new Pathfinder RPG PC Soundsets from Syrinscape. Can't wait to check it all out!

Free RPG Day...Today!

Remember, today is Free RPG Day!

Free RPG Day 2015

Mark your calendars! Free RPG Day is this Saturday, June 20. Visit your friendly local game store for some free stuff!

Stumpley

It's hard to believe that Fifth Edition has been out for about a year now. I had promised Matthew that I would run a family campaign once Nathaniel was old enough to contribute, and now that time seems to have come. We're doing the Tyranny of Dragons adventure, with Amy as a half-elf paladin, Matthew as a tiefling warlock, and Nathaniel as a human rogue. For a little added levity, I've incorporated a churlish halfling monk NPC named Stumpley, or "Stump" for short. Only too late did I realize that his voice -- I still try to do unique voices for all the major NPCs -- sounds rather too much like MODOK from The Super Hero Squad Show. So I've adjusted it a bit and now he sounds like the unholy offspring of MODOK and Fozzie Bear. Oy. Well, at least the campaign is off to a good start!

You, Sir, Should Unmask.

Indeed?

Lots o' D&D Today!

Wizards just posted several new PDF downloads on their site:

• Click here for an update to the free D&D Basic rules for players.
• Click here for PHB errata. (Woo-hoo! The Polearm Master feat wasn't nerfed!)
• Click here for a free D&D adventure geared toward younger players.

SCL Release Date

Sword Coast Legends has a release date: September 8! Check it out here.

Hail to the King, Baby!

Nathaniel seems to have become obsessed with King of New York. And why not? It's a top-notch board game, right up there with X-Wing or any of the Catan series. He and I have played quite a few one-on-one games of King over the past week, and I'm impressed by his emerging tactical acumen. He doesn't always make the optimal choices -- but then again, he's four-and-a-half. Most kids his age are playing Candy Land and Chutes and Ladders. It's fun to watch his mind grow -- even when his T-Rex develops web-shooting powers and ensnares my gigantic fish-piloted robot.

DMing For Kids

As the father of two little boys who are endlessly fascinated by their dad's vast array of miniatures, maps, dice, and other RPG paraphernalia, I really appreciated today's D&D article (click here) on DMing for kids. I've done a lot of such DMing over the past year or so, and I think this article is spot on.