Poll Closed!

The Druid Cycle poll has closed...and look who emerged victorious! It's Team Iskander by a landslide!

It Might Be Giants

The next Fifth Edition campaign is going to be announced in a couple of days, and it sounds like the theme might be giants. I'd love to see Against the Giants revamped for the current rules, but whatever they do, they'll have a hard time topping Curse of Strahd, the new incarnation of Ravenloft.

Behold...the Inland Empire!

To this native New Yorker, the term "Inland Empire" conjures up images of a distant, fabled land -- like something out of the Forgotten Realms or another D&D campaign setting. As it turns out, the real-life Inland Empire is a smog-choked urban sprawl to the east of Lost Angeles. We've come down for Matthew's ice hockey tournament -- let's go, Grizzlies! -- but the prospect of spending four days here got me thinking about writing a new D&D adventure: Escape from the Inland Empire.

Rebirth

Today, DC comics reboots its line with an event called Rebirth. Here's hoping that this latest continuity revamp fixes all (heck, I'd settle for some) of the problems introduced in the "New 52" reboot that debuted in 2011. Kind of like how Fifth Edition D&D has restored our faith in the brand after the brief but troublesome Fourth Edition era.

I can dream, right?

Settlers

Check out this brief CNN video about the creator of Settlers of Catan.

Poll Closing

Just about a week to go in our Druid Cycle poll. Be sure to vote before it's too late!

SCL DLC

I had heard that Sword Coast Legends was dead -- or, at least, the studio that created it -- but apparently there's at least one last hurrah. A new module of downloadable content is available; click here for more details.

Tourney

This post is kind of off-topic, but damn it -- I'm going to share it anyway!

The local fencing group that I'm part of, DCCSC Fencing, held its first-ever tournament on Saturday. Our students are teenagers who are relatively new to the sport (some have been fencing for as little as two months, with no one having more than about a year's worth of experience), but they did very well against fencers from other clubs who were often older and almost invariably had more experience. I'm really proud of these kids!

Druid Cycle Poll

Only three votes so far in the Druid Cycle poll. No love yet for Team Cathbad?

Druid Cycle: Civil War

From both Marvel and DC, we've been treated to a couple of recent cinematic showdowns between heroes. As a fan, I rather enjoy these narratives because I think they carry a lot more dramatic weight than the usual superhero fare in which the obviously good heroes beat up on the obviously evil villains. (For the record, my favorite tale of internecine superhero strife is DC's Identity Crisis.)

We have a similar situation brewing in the Druid Cycle campaign world. In what has been the "B" plot in our 2016 adventures thus far -- but will almost certainly explode in the coming weeks -- we have two iconic heroes who have put forward very different and very incompatible philosophies about justice and morality. Cathbad wants a world in which the champions of the realm are held accountable to international laws, while Iskander opposes such restraints.

Which position do you agree with? Be sure to vote in the poll on the right-hand side of the page!

Comics Haul

Thanks to some creative scheduling, I was able to make it to Free Comic Book Day after all. It was a pretty good haul this year, so I'll have plenty of reading material for Matthew's next ice hockey road trip!

Free Comic Book Day!

Today is Free Comic Book Day! Go get yourself some free comics, yo!

5e Adventure Poll

Got a favorite Fifth Edition adventure thus far? Vote here in the EN World poll! I think my favorite is Curse of Strahd (the new version of Ravenloft), and as of this writing it has a big lead on the other storylines.

FCBD 2016

Here's your annual PSA: Free Comic Book Day is this Saturday, May 7!

A double dose of kid sporting events (hockey for Matthew and baseball for Nathaniel) will prevent me to partaking in this year's festivities, but perhaps I'll be able to catch some of the offerings in digital form.

New D&D Comic

There's a new D&D comic book from IDW. Minsc of Baldur's Gate meets Strahd von Zarovich of Ravenloft! Horrific hilarity ensues!

Eh...

I bought the first issue, but I'm not especially hopeful it will improve upon the last several iterations of D&D comics. Bring back Fell's Five, I say!