Map-tacular!

Now this is a map of the Sword Coast! I've said it before and I'll say it again: Mike Schley is an amazing artist!

Sometimes You Get Lucky; Sometimes You Get Eaten

We returned for more Mansions of Madness this weekend, and right from the get-go we had problems. The setup instructions for this scenario included only one ladder token (the rulebook indicates that ladder tokens appear in pairs, allowing characters to travel from one to another as if moving between adjacent spaces), which we found to be confusing; making matters worse, I misread my own story selections, so when the second ladder token eventually appeared midway through the story, it was in the wrong place. To make the scenario playable, the ladder had to be able to transport characters between three different rooms, so it ended up being more of a portal. Whatever. A weird ladder that leads to multiple locations isn't exactly out of place in the world of H. P. Lovecraft.

The excitement really started to increase once the team realized that an evil cult was sacrificing its own members in a blood ritual to summon horrific eldritch monsters from another world. As the investigators raced to save their old friend Marie -- who had attempted to infiltrate the cult, but was subsequently captured and imprisoned in the crypt of the old monastery -- they had to deal with monsters hunting them through the hallways. Tough-as-nails gangster Michael McGlen (Matthew) took one look at the shoggoth lumbering toward him and decided to challenge it head-on with his Tommy Gun.

Meanwhile, occult writer Gloria Goldberg (Amy) and socialite Jenny Barnes (Nathaniel) managed to rescue Marie from the crypt, and they decided to make a break for the exit. Michael, however, stayed behind to battle the tentacled monstrosity. He riddled that thing with bullets, but the creature broke his arm and inflicted so much horror on him that he was only one Sanity point away from going insane. Realizing he was likely beaten, he at last elected to flee.

As the ladies raced for the exit, with monsters hot on their trail, they encountered the cult leader guarding the only way out of the monastery. Jenny's ax broke as she hacked away at the frenzied foe, but at least he was down to only a single Health point. It was likewise for poor Gloria, who had been mauled by a zombie moments earlier. She raised her pistol to fire at the cult leader, knowing that safety was only a few feet away. All she needed to do was score a hit, and then she could use her move action to escape with Marie -- and the investigators would win!

Alas, it was not to be. When Gloria opened fire, she missed...and her own bullet ricocheted back at her, ending her life. What fate befell Michael and Jenny? We may never know...

Random SCL Thought

I'm enjoying Sword Coast Legends. It's a worthy successor to Baldur's Gate and other such classic D&D video games, and despite having very little time to devote to it, I think I'm making pretty good progress. But for whatever reason, whenever I hear the voice of NPC necromancer Hommet Shaw, I picture Ricky Gervais...

Desert Dude

Nathaniel played two games of Forbidden Desert with Amy today, and then another one tonight with me while Matthew was at a swimming lesson. Desert has become Nathaniel's go-to game, and I've never seen him so quiet and attentive as when he's setting up the tiles and cards for a game.

SCL Is Here!

Sword Coast Legends is out! (Hat tip to Matt for the news!)

4th to 5th Conversion

Driving one final stake in the heart of Fourth Edition D&D is a new document that explains how to convert 4e characters and adventures to 5e. Click here to download...

Kickboxin' Kate

The investigators made great time tracking down the clues, and soon they found the insane, poltergeist-possessed homeowner -- and his zombified wife, of course! -- in the garden. A massive battle ensued, with Jenny and Joe pumping hot lead into their foes. As the battle dragged on, however, Amy's character, the scientist Kate Winthrop, had little to do; we hadn't found a weapon for her, so she was forced to punch and kick, to no avail. The clock ticked toward the investigators' defeat, but Kate somehow landed a kick -- and here I'm thinking a Chuck Norris-style roundhouse kick -- that dropped the crazy dude and won the game for the investigators.

All in all, though, Amy wasn't a fan of Kate, so I suspect she'll try a different character next time. My hope is that she'll opt for reformed gangster Michael McGlen; he has a low Sanity score and his weapons include a tommy gun and dynamite...what could possibly go wrong?!

Beware of Ax-Wielding Maniacs!

We're well into our first game of Mansions of Madness, and the intrepid investigators are hot on the trail of a man who was driven insane by the death of his son and may well have murdered his wife. The clues suggest that he's out in the garden, but first the investigators are going to have to get past the ax-wielding maniac in the laboratory.

Kate the scientist (played by Amy) was able to use her flux stabilizer (yes, that's a thing!) to hold off the maniac for a while, but now he's coming after her. Fortunately, gruff detective Joe Diamond (Matthew) and gun-toting socialite Jenny Barnes (Nathaniel) are on their way. Let's hope they reach Kate in time!

The game has some interesting combat mechanics, including long-lasting physical and mental traumas (poor Joe, for example, is now seriously claustrophobic, and I have a "broken leg" card that I'm itching to play against the next hero who gets hurt). In addition to conventional hit point damage, characters can take horror damage that reduces their sanity; an insane character can be a major threat to his fellow adventurers -- possibly turning against them at the worst-possible moment. There's a magic spell that can restore sanity, but the most readily available "cure" for horror damage is our old friend alcohol. So, after Jenny took some horror damage, I heard a sentence I never expected a five-year-old to say: "Well, at least I have a bottle of whiskey!"

Mansions Unboxing

We cracked open Mansions of Madness this evening, and the boys were really excited to get their hands on the puzzles and other mini-games that are an integral part of Mansions. Meanwhile, I set up the minis and checked out the map tiles. As one would expect from Fantasy Flight Games, the components are all top notch. In this first pic, Sister Mary runs afoul of a Chthonian. She'll need more than her trusty crucifix to defeat this eldritch monster!

Next, Jenny Barnes, Michael McGlen, and Joe Diamond get ready to throw down against a band of evil cultists!

The sheer amount of stuff in this box is kind of intimidating, but it all looks super fun. Expect to see posts from our first game at some point in the next week or two.

Lex...in Limbo!

I had planned on making my final push in Injustice this weekend. Lex, Hawkgirl, and Catwoman are just one level away from winning! However, Mansions of Madness has arrived at our house a few days ahead of schedule (you rock, Amazon!), so I anticipate spending much of the weekend going through all the Lovecraftian awesomeness. I think it's going to take a while to get up to speed with this game, and in the meantime we also need to continue our Tyranny of Dragons campaign. Perhaps we'll do Tyranny this weekend and then dive into a full game of Mansions the following weekend, after I've had enough time to get familiar with the rules. From what I've seen, though, it looks like it's going to be an amazing game experience!

Mansions of Madness

The next addition to our family board game collection is Mansions of Madness (thanks, Kevin!), a cooperative game set in the world H.P. Lovecraft's Cthulhu stories. It looks very complicated, but it comes with tons of cool minis. Can't wait to give it a try!

If Someone Asks If We're a God, We'll Know What to Say

My boys love all things Ghostbusters -- the movies (even the second one), the '80s animated series, the Lego Ecto-1 set, etc. Now, as if in answer to prayers we had yet to pray, there's going to be a Ghostbusters board game...with minis! Click here to see some preview pics!

Game Time!

Kevin is in town for the weekend, and already we've inundated him with games. He squared off against Nathaniel in X-Wing and then we all played a game of King of New York, in which Kevin's giant robot was the last monster standing. Next up, we'll bring out Forbidden Desert, Ticket to Ride, and probably some form of Catan.

5e Prestige Classes

The latest Unearthed Arcana article focuses on the Fifth Edition version of prestige classes -- my most un-favorite part of Third Edition. There were some seriously broken options out there, and I rarely allowed them in campaigns of that era. Has the concept of the prestige class improved in the new edition? Click here and judge for yourself.

Last Level!

I've made it to the last level of the iPad Injustice game! Now it's time to beef up my team -- Lex Luthor, Catwoman, and Hawkgirl -- for the final push to victory!

Playmobil...Hockey?!

When I was working in Germany for a couple of weeks last year, I enjoyed wandering around the local Kaufhof -- a truly epic department store -- and perusing its massive toy section. I picked up a few pirate- and medieval-themed Playmobil figures for the boys as souvenirs, and every once in a while we set up all our Playmobil stuff for some genre-bending battles. 

Well, those pesky Germans have done it again. There's now a line of officially licensed NHL hockey Playmobil sets. Mein Gott, they're cool! There are skating players, goalies, referees, and even a Zamboni, but the centerpiece of this line is an arena playset. Kids -- and, let's face it, grown-ups like me -- can control the goalie with one hand and a skating player with the other. The skating players can actually shoot the puck (mit echter Schussfunktion!), so two players can go head-to-head and compete for the little plastic Stanley Cup. Team selection is limited to the NHL's Original Six, so I foresee Matthew as the Canadiens (his favorite team since he was a wee lad), Nathaniel as the Rangers (his favorite team as well as mine), and myself as the Maple Leafs. At least this way we can be sure that Boston will never ever win the Cup...