DC Season 3 Championship

Riverton Racers (3rd place) vs. Troya Nova Paladins (4th place)

The Racers hosted their franchise's first home-field playoff game at the Circus in the Bankside district of Riverton. (Tim W's wizard Cathbad helped secure the funding for that facility many years ago -- I hope he found time in his busy adventuring schedule to catch the most important sporting event ever held in that arena!) It wasn't a battle of the league's best teams, perhaps, but a battle of the league's hottest teams. The match certainly did not disappoint. Vico scored on the game's first shot, and the Racers played with the lead for nearly 60 minutes. Midway through the second half, Apollonius scored to tie the game, but Gratian's inexcusable red card put the Paladins down a man heading into extra time. Who would emerge as the hero? Well, it wouldn't be the Racers' franchise savior, Vico, because he reverted to the kind of goonery that got him run out of Prospect and was hit with a red card of his own. Both teams played ten aside, therefore, as the game moved into the second half of extra time. With the minutes slipping away toward a dreaded decision by penalty kicks, Racers forward Mattias tallied the first playoff goal of his career. At the final whistle, it was 2-1 for the Racers, and the league's two-time cellar dwellers had claimed the Thaler Cup in Season 3!

Fort Allegheny

We haven't had much of an opportunity in recent months to play our zombie apocalypse campaign, Dark Enigma, but I was at least able to set up the next location: a remote government facility where the heroes are hoping to find some answers. Everything looks...intact, but what horrors lurk within?

DC Season 3 Playoffs

Semifinal 1: Prifddinas Golden Dragons (1st place) vs. Troya Nova Paladins (4th place)

The Dragons were flying high coming into this game, with the league's best goal differential (+14), offense (2.36 goals per game), and defense (1.36 goals against per game) as they sought to defend their Season 2 Thaler Cup championship. The Paladins, meanwhile, had slipped all the way to fourth place primarily because of their defense (1.93 goals against per game, vs. last season's 1.30). Perhaps it was memories of their epic extra-time victory over the Dragons in the Season 1 championship game, but something certainly brought out the best in the Paladins, who played a nearly flawless match and cruised to a 3-1 victory on the road. Superstar forward Belisarius went a long way toward expunging his reputation as a playoff choker by scoring his first two career postseason goals. The only downside for the faithful of Mithras was that key midfielder Theophilus picked up two yellow cards and thus will have to sit out the championship game.

Semifinal 2: Troya Nova Imperials (2nd place) vs. Riverton Racers (3rd place)

The Imperials were runners-up for the Cup last year and just completed their best-ever regular season. Their offense was barely league-average, but they won a lot of close, low-scoring games thanks in part to a stellar 1.43 goals-against per game, which was tied for second in the league with their first-round opponent, the Racers. It was Riverton's solid offense (2.21 goals per game), however, that allowed them to leap over the Paladins and the Prospect Pioneers in the final regular-season game and claim a playoff spot for the first time in franchise history. This game started off quietly with a scoreless first half, but the teams combined for four goals in a wild second frame. Early in extra time, Racers midfielder Haelmoren scored from long range to make it 3-2, and the side from Riverton managed to kill the clock and secure their place in the Thaler Cup championship.

5.5 in Hand

Our copy of the new PHB arrived today. Nathaniel has been exploring the changes and has already identified some pretty broken character options. I foresee him wanting to switch over our existing campaigns to 5.5 sooner rather than later. Not so for poor Matthew, whose artificer has no 5.5 equivalent...

DC Season 3 Awards

We'll hand out the individual hardware before the playoffs begin. Belisarius of the Troya Nova Paladins won his second consecutive scoring title with 12 goals in 14 games. Through three seasons, he's the game's all-time leader in goals with 27. The MVP award, meanwhile, went to a member of the Riverton Racers. After finishing in last place in Seasons 1 and 2, the Racers made a trade with the Prospect Pioneers to acquire feisty forward Vico, whose penchant for penalties almost outpaced his prodigious scoring talents. Vico behaved himself in Riverton, and his team-high 9 goals (tied for third in the league) boosted the Racers into the playoffs.

Dark Tomb: The Ice Chasers

The third game of the pocket-sized dungeon-crawler Dark Tomb launched on Kickstarter this morning. It was funded in about five minutes! 

The boys and I played through the original Dark Tomb during our trip to New York this past summer. We'll probably dive into the second game when we visit my in-laws for Thanksgiving or Christmas. The third one should arrive just in time for next summer's travel!

Halftime

I've reached the midpoint of Season 3, and it's shaping up to be a three-way race between the Golden Dragons (4-1-2), the Racers (3-1-3), and the Paladins (3-1-3). The Imperials and Pioneers will likely contend for the fourth and final playoff spot, with perhaps the Defenders in the mix as well, but it would take a miracle for the Gauntlets or Navigators to climb out of the cellar. 

The biggest story so far is the meteoric rise of the Racers, who finished in last place in the league's first two seasons. This year, they're tied for the best goals-against per game (1.29) and boast the second-best goal differential (+7). Can the Racers sprint from worst to first? To do so, they'll have to run past the first-place Dragons, who score a league-leading 2.57 goals per game and have the top goal differential at +8. 

Whether they finish first, second, or anywhere better than dead last, the Racers can thank striker Vico, whose 5 goals are tied for second in the league behind the Paladins' Belisarius (6). Vico, a talented but penalty-prone star, wore out his welcome with the Prospect Pioneers and was traded to the Racers in the offseason. Now he's the frontrunner for MVP as he leads his team on a race to the playoffs.