Cypher Preview

The funding campaign for the new edition of Cypher System will begin soon. In the meantime, you can click here for a preview of the updates!

Random Retro-Gaming Thought

We'll never get old-school D&D games on Evercade because of the licensing costs -- but why not games from The Bard's Tale franchise? Make it happen, guys!

Breaking: Cats and Dogs Pull Trigger on Blockbuster Deal

It's the offseason for my historical Strat-O-Matic hockey league, but there's still plenty of action! Almost every team is wheeling and dealing, and the granddaddy of all deals is an absolute blockbuster between the Bearcats and the Bulldogs:

Bulldogs get:

• Hap Holmes (G)
• Joe Hall (D)
• Fred "Steamer" Maxwell (LW)

Bearcats get:

• Bruce Stuart (C)
• Frank Patrick (D)
• Riley Hern (G)

I'd have to say it's the most impactful trade in the history of this league. No other deal -- not even the one that brought Tommy Dunderdale to the Dogs all those years ago -- had such potential to reshape the entire league. How did we get here? 

The short version is that it's a trade of Holmes for Stuart. In Season 11, the Dogs were revitalized by the emergence of rookie center Jack Adams and they wanted to build around him. Goaltending has been a problem for this team, even when Hern came in midway through the season and carried the Dogs to the playoffs. Trading for Holmes gives the Dogs a young goaltender with an incredibly high ceiling, a guy who has already won two Goaltender MVP trophies in just five seasons of play. Even after a down year, Holmes has the second-best save percentage in league history (.922), leaps and bounds better than the other goalies in the Bulldogs organization (Hern with a career .904 and Paddy Moran with a career .902). The Cats, meanwhile, get a true number-one center in Bruce Stuart; BruStu is fifth all-time in goals (90) and fourth all-time in points (223). He will allow the team to maximize the effectiveness of superstar left winger Joe Malone, who has never had such a talented linemate. With Stuart feeding him passes, Malone might well take the next step to become the top forward in the game, and Stuart will rack up so many assists that he might finally win a scoring title. Season 12 can't get here soon enough!

Design Diary

Monte Cook is sharing an ongoing Design Diary as he and his team develop the new edition of the Cypher System. Articles can be found here.

New Edition

Not sure how I feel about this! The Cypher System is getting a new edition in 2026. Just when I was getting into a groove with the current rules...

More MM Thoughts

I'm about two-thirds of the way through the new Monster Manual. The more I read, the less I like! Here are some random observations...

• The organization is weird. All subtypes of mephit are listed under the main entry "Mephit," but most dragons, giants, and other creatures with variants are alphabetized by subtype (e.g., you find black dragons under "B", hill giants under "H", etc.).
• Lots of foes now inflict multiple damage types on a hit, with poison being the most common (huzzah for dwarf characters!). All hobgoblins, for example, now inflict poison damage on their attacks. It's rarely clear why, however, creatures are now inflicting these additional damage types. 
• Lots of creatures and NPCs now have a generic at-will attack (often a multiattack) that's identical for both melee and ranged. This approach is used for spellcasters, too, where it makes these characters seem bland and flavorless. In "classic" 5e, spellcaster stat blocks included complete spell lists, but now the design seems to drive DMs to spam these generic melee/ranged attacks rather make tactical use of the spells listed on the stat block. I guess it's easier for DMs to run encounters this way, but it feels kind of boring. There are still spells identified as once- or twice-per-day options, but no longer are there formal spell lists broken out by level. 

Mighty Crabjoys

Side-note: There's a ton of merch for Superman on the DC website, but why can't I buy a Mighty Crabjoys t-shirt?!

Look Up

So I ended up getting the chance to see Superman after all -- and it was pretty great! I really enjoyed it, but it definitely felt like an MCU movie from ten years ago. I still prefer the Snyderverse in all its epic, imperfect grandeur. 

I'm Prone to Exaggeration

I finally got around to buying the new Monster Manual and it seems...fine, I guess. Why is it, however, that just about every monster imposes the Prone condition when it hits?

Superman

An exciting new era begins today for DC films. Superman is here! Boy Scout stuff will most likely prevent me from seeing it in the theaters, but I'm there in spirit!

Gamebreaker

The Vanguard Saga campaign is moving slowly, but at least it's moving! I'm really satisfied with how the party has turned out. Amy, Matthew, and Nathaniel all ended up creating characters that feel true to this setting and are worthy successors to the original heroes whose epic stories were depicted with 3.75" action figures in my parents' basement when I was in elementary school. 

I'm also pleased with my choice of the Cypher System as the common ruleset for this and any other Front Porch Multiverse campaign. For Tim W's email-based Vanguard Saga adventure, and for any narrative-centric games, the Cypher System is exactly what we need. But...how do the rules stack up against a fourteen-year-old math whiz with a keen understanding of game design? As it turns out, not so well! Sorry, Monte, Nathaniel has broken your combat system. Just as he did with the far-less-sophisticated TinyD6 system, Nathaniel figured out how to create characters that are, for all intents and purposes, invincible against conventional attacks from foes that would be of an appropriate level for the party. The bad guys (and the gamemaster) are now going to need to get a lot more creative...

Grand Champion

Bragging rights! I am the first NBA Hangtime Grand Champion of our household! My Stockton-esque custom character Ace has defeated all 29 teams!

Better Late Than Never!

It's been years, but Dungeons Pop has finally delivered! This long-awaited Kickstarter arrived today, and I'm stoked to have this incredibly cool pop-up 3D terrain for use in fantasy campaigns. Here are two of the larger maps...

Each lies perfectly flat when folded up, but unfolds when you open it to display a flavorful adventure site. Nathaniel and I are already talking about how we can weave all the sites together into a campaign. 

The set also includes a couple of blank maps to be used with the dozen or so Mini Pops -- smaller pop-up terrain pieces that stay open thanks to clear plastic sleeves attached to the bottom. Below are two Mini Pops on one of the generic maps.

Great stuff! Well, kids, Merry Christmas from 2023!

Free RPG Day!

It's Free RPG Day today!

Jammer Time

I'm delighted how much the boys, especially Nathaniel, enjoy NBA Jam. The cabinet includes the three original games in the series, the last of which, NBA Hangtime, has a feature that allows you to create custom players. Of course, we've already created a bevy of our own ballers: my slick shooting guard Ace, Matthew's sharpshooter Dwayne (an obscure Simpsons reference, not a reference to actual NBA player Dwayne Wade), Nathaniel's elderly (yet somehow still quite spry) super-dunker Grandpa Nuker, and Nathaniel's lanky shot-blocker Cornelius D. Nide (get it?). We also have plans to create the main Globetrotter characters from Futurama: Bubblegum Tate, Sweet Clyde, and Curly Joe. The characters may be wacky, but the game gives me a great opportunity to teach the boys about basketball, which had kind of fallen off my radar in recent years. 

DC Season 5 Championship

Troya Nova Imperials (1st place) vs. Riverton Gauntlets (2nd place)

The two best teams of Season 5 squared off in the Thaler Cup championship game. The only lineup difference for either club was that the Imperials swapped out playoff veteran Julus (2 goals in 5 career playoff games) for rookie sensation Dioscorus, who joined Tiarnan and superstar Agrippa in a formidable front line. These three forwards peppered Giles with shots, but the MVP turned everything aside until midfielder Tiberius blasted one past him. Shortly before the end of the first half, Gauntlets striker Joscelin tallied to make 1-1 heading into the break. In the second half, Dioscorus restored the Imperials' lead and Agrippa made it 3-1 a few moments later. The Gauntlets were unable to put much pressure on Troya Nova's keeper in the waning moments, and the game ended 3-1. The Imperials have won their first Thaler Cup!

DC Season 5 Playoffs

Season 5 is in the books! The biggest shocker, perhaps, was that the defending Thaler Cup champions, the Prifddinas Golden Dragons, failed to make the playoffs for the first time in franchise history after fading down the stretch. The Caer Eurfryn Defenders also regressed, meaning that the Kingdom of Teyrnas had no representation in this year's postseason. The Riverton Racers and Liminia Navigators also missed out on the big dance. As for the teams that did reach the playoffs, here's how the first round turned out...

Semifinal 1: Troya Nova Imperials (1st Place) vs. Troya Nova Paladins (4th Place)
The Imperials wrapped up their second straight first-place finish and faced their intra-city rivals, the Paladins, who had returned to the playoffs after a one-year hiatus. Both teams were strong offensively, with the Imperials scoring a league-best 2.43 goals per game and the Paladins tying for second with 2.36. As it turned out, there was indeed a lot of scoring (well, for soccer, anyway!) in this game. Imperials midfielder Vigilius and Paladins striker Henricus traded first-half goals. In the second, stay-at-home defender Caelus tallied for the Imperials -- his first playoff goal to go along with his one regular-season goal in five seasons of play! -- to give the home team a 2-1 edge. Star striker Tiarnan added to the Imperials' lead, and his insurance goal turned out to be the game-winner when keeper Aleyn misplayed the ball and allowed superstar Belisarius to notch a late goal. It was too little too late for the Pallies, however, and the Imperials punched their ticket to the Thaler Cup championship game with a 3-2 victory.

Semifinal 2: Riverton Gauntlets (2nd Place) vs. Prospect Pioneers (3rd Place)

The Gauntlets reached the playoffs for the first time in franchise history with a strong campaign that saw them in first place until the season's very last day; they ended up finishing second, but their +8 goal differential was the best of any team, and (thanks to League MVP goalkeeper Giles) they allowed just 1.57 goals per game, a half-goal better than the next-best club. Their opponents, the Pioneers, were middle-of-the-road in most statistical categories, but won a lot of games simply by outworking their opponents. The Pios were back in the postseason for the first time since a disastrous trade that sent Vico, a future MVP and Scoring Champion, to the Racers in exchange for a bag of balls. In this semifinal, the Pioneers' Remi scored a goal on the game's very first shot, a stunning turn of events in light of Giles's superlative season. The Gauntlets quickly righted the ship, however, and a late-first-half goal by Rafe and second-half tallies by Zefiro and Reimar helped them secure a 3-1 victory and a date with the Imperials in the championship game.

DC Season 5 Awards

Season 5 was a whirlwind! I played through it pretty quickly, but this campaign certainly didn't lack for dramatic moments or compelling storylines. Before we get to the playoffs, I'll pause to hand out the individual awards. For the first time ever, a goalkeeper has won the League MVP; Giles, top keeper for the upstart Riverton Gauntlets, snagged that trophy by posting a .878 save percentage (second-best was the Defenders' Primus at .845, while no one else broke .820). The Scoring Championship was a tie for the third time in five seasons; this year, the award was shared by Vico of the Riverton Racers and Belisarius of the Troya Nova Paladins, who each scored 11 goals -- one fewer than the single-season record of 12, set by Belisarius in Season 3.

Boomshakalaka!

Cross one off the bucket list! I've always wanted to own a stand-up arcade cabinet, and now, thanks to the good folks at Arcade1Up, I've got one! NBA Jam was perhaps my all-time favorite '90s arcade game, so it was an easy choice. 

Matthew and Nathaniel were kind enough to assemble it for me, and now I've got them hooked as well!

DC League -- Season 5

After wrapping up baseball, I'll be switching over to soccer on my Evercade. Up next is Season 5 of the league set in my Druid Cycle campaign world. Perhaps megastar Agrippa will finally get that elusive championship!

Season 11 Awards

We have our champions, the Canaries, so now let's see who won the individual awards for Season 11... 

Position Player MVP: Sam Thompson, Haymakers

This was no easy call. Resolutes right fielder Elmer Flick had a remarkable year, providing top-notch defense, speed, and a potent middle-of-the-order bat. The Canaries' Hugh Duffy was even better at the plate and rated as the league's top defensive center fielder. The winner, however, was Sam Thompson, who was not quite as solid defensively in right field as Flick, but he led the league in home runs with five (tying the single-season record) and total bases. In a season in which his superstar teammate Cap Anson was plagued by nagging injuries, Thompson almost single-handedly kept the Haymakers in playoff contention.

Pitcher MVP: Old Hoss Radbourn, Blue Legs

Needless to say, in a year when offense dominated, the pitchers really struggled. Only two were consistently excellent all season; John Clarkson of the Resolutes put up the second-best ERA among starters (3.18) and contributed more to his team's offense than perhaps all other pitchers combined, but the top hurler this campaign was Old Hoss Radbourn, who had a 6-1 record in 9 starts, led the league in ERA (3.08), and pitched his Blue Legs team into the championship series.

Playoff MVP: Ed Delahanty, Canaries

Jimmy Collins and Dan Brouthers were offensive juggernauts for the Blue Legs, and Canaries pitcher Mickey Welch posted a sparkling 1.59 ERA across his two starts in the series, but there's just no way this award could have gone to anyone but Ed Delahanty, who hit .437 in the four-game set, including three triples(!) and the series-winning home run in the tenth inning of Game 4.

Season 11 Championship Series

In Game 1, the Canaries hosted the Blue Legs. Old Hoss Radbourn, the likely Pitcher MVP, was the obvious starter for the Legs, while the Canaries opted for Mickey Welch. The game was scoreless until the fourth, when Billy Hamilton's RBI groundout gave the Birds a 1-0 lead. They would quickly surrender that edge after Nap Lajoie's sacrifice fly in the fifth. Jimmy Collins gave the Legs their first lead with a solo home run in the eighth. The Canaries managed to put pressure on closer Vic Willis in the bottom of ninth, but Willis somehow managed to wriggle out of a bases-loaded, no-outs jam. As such, Game 1 was a 2-1 victory for the visitors.

Pud Galvin started for the Birds and Tim Keefe for the Blue Legs in Game 2. The Canaries were feeling the pressure to get a split before going on the road, so they came out swinging in the first inning. One batter after Ed Delahanty tripled, Honus Wagner hit a sharp grounder to third baseman Collins, who bobbled the ball, allowing Wagner to reach first safely and Delahanty to score. George Davis followed up with a base knock to plate Wagner, so it was quickly 2-0 for the Birds. The score remained unchanged until the sixth, when King Kelly doubled and Collins hit his second home run of the series to tie the game at two. In the ninth, with Al Spalding pitching in relief of Keefe, Wagner roped a one-out double. After Davis popped out, Hugh Duffy lashed a single that scored Wagner and gave the Canaries a walk-off 3-2 win.

The scene shifted to the Blue Legs' park for Game 3, with the same starters as the first game. In the opening frame, Wagner's double scored Roger Connor to give the Canaries an early lead. They added to that lead in the third when Delahanty tripled and scored on Connor's double. The Birds added another run on George Wright's sacrifice fly in the fourth, and still another on Delahanty's run-scoring single in the fifth. In the sixth, Lajoie tripled and scored on Kelly's sacrifice fly to give the Legs their first run of the game. Wright delivered his second sacrifice fly in the eighth to give the Canaries a 5-1 lead. In the bottom of that inning, with Rube Foster now pitching for the Birds, Lajoie drew a walk and scored on a triple by Dan Brouthers. Willis came on in the ninth and sent the Canaries down in order. The score was 5-2 in the bottom of the ninth. With runners on the corners and one out, Monte Ward hit into a game-ending double play. The Canaries now had a 2-1 lead in the best-of-five series.

Hoping to clinch their second championship in franchise history, the Canaries knew the Blue Legs would not go down without a fight, especially on their home field. Keefe and Galvin, the Game 2 starters, got the draw for Game 4. Keefe was sharp in the early going, racking up strikeouts left and right. In the third, Delahanty tripled and later scored on a wild pitch. The next inning, Sam Crawford plated Brouthers to tie the game at one run apiece. The fifth inning saw the Birds take a two-run lead, first with Galvin's sacrifice fly and then Delahanty's run-scoring double. The Legs flipped the script in the sixth, with Collins driving in Brouthers and then Crawford driving in Collins. The score was 3-3 heading into the later innings; the pitchers were now Spalding for the Legs and Clark Griffith for the Birds. The game remained tied after nine, but Delahanty homered to lead off the tenth inning for a 4-3 Canaries edge. Griffith got two quick outs in the bottom of the tenth, but a double by Brouthers made things interesting. Kelly came to the plate with the Legs' season on the line, but he popped up to second baseman Wright to end the game and the series. 

Canaries win the title!

Season 11 Playoffs

I can't believe how quickly I played through Season 11 of my historical Strat-O-Matic baseball league. We've said farewell to the perennial contenders (the Haymakers) and last year's winners (the Resolutes), so now it's time for the championship series between the Canaries and the Blue Legs. After their scorching start, the Canaries ended up finishing 15-9 with a league-best +17 run differential and 4.88 runs scored per game. Their runs allowed of 4.17 per game, however, ranked third in the four-team league, just a hair's breadth worse than their opponents, the Blue Legs, who allowed 4.13 per game. Those similar figures resulted from wildly different approaches. The Canaries had so-so pitching and were the most successful when their starters could keep the ball on the ground and allow the team's top-ranked defense to make plays; as for the Blue Legs, they relied on strikeouts to limit contact, as their defense was tied with the Resolutes for the league's worst. Both teams hit a lot of home runs (13 for the Legs and 12 for the Birds), so it should be an entertaining series with the potential for some real fireworks!

Rounding Third

We're now at the three-quarters mark in my latest season of nineteenth-century ball. Offense is still the big theme of the season. Teams are now scoring 4.33 runs per game, down from the 4.96 at the one-quarter mark, but still well above last year's average of 3.55. The Canaries have cooled off after their hot start, but they're still leading the league with 5.00 runs per game -- unfortunately for them, they're also allowing a league-high 4.39 runs per game. The hottest team in the second half has been the Blue Legs, who now sit just a game back of the Birds. It may still be mathematically possible for the Resolutes or Haymakers to reach championship series this year, but I think it's a safe bet to say it will be Blue Legs and Canaries vying for the Season 11 title.

FCBD 2025

FYI, today is Free Comic Book Day!

2001: A Space Odyssey

Although Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings trilogy is probably my all-time favorite cinematic experience, I think the greatest movie ever made is 2001: A Space Odyssey. I was delighted to learn that there's a board game coming out soon! Here's the link: 2001: A Space Odyssey | The Board Game

Stars Aligned

The stars aligned this weekend -- well, a Boy Scout activity got postponed -- so I was able to run the introductory solo adventures for our new The Vanguard Saga campaign. Amy, Matthew, and Nathaniel all got to do their solo adventures yesterday and, as an added bonus, we had time for the first full-party session this evening. And with Tim W already deeply into his email-based adventure in this setting, it really feels like The Vanguard Saga is coming to life. It's my oldest fictional setting -- with characters I created way back when I was in elementary school -- but this is the first time I've ever used it in an RPG campaign.

The Season of Juice

I don't record a lot of data for my nineteenth-century Strat-O-Matic baseball league, so the individual games go by pretty quickly -- I can roll up two or three in an hour. After just a week of "real" time, I've already played through a quarter of the Season 11 schedule! With six games for each team now in the books, I can say that the recurring theme for this season is, without a doubt, offense. 

Thus far, teams are racking up an average of 4.96 runs per game, a significant increase over last year's full-season average of 3.55. The first-place Canaries (6-1) are leading the way with a staggering 7.67 runs per game. For comparison, that's more than two full runs per game above the record (5.24), set by these same Canaries way back in Season 4, their only championship year. Part of the Canaries' success has come from the long ball, as this team has hit more home runs (8) than the other three teams combined (7). What's up with the Canaries and, indeed, with the whole league? The players aren't juicing, the ball isn't juiced, so it really comes down to luck. I expect some regression as we move through the season -- or will the Canaries' luck hold out long enough to end their title drought?

5e SRD

There's a new version of the D&D System Reference Document that corresponds to the revised version of Fifth Edition. You can download it here.

Season 11

With a lot of things up in the air in real life, I've been hesitant to dive into any big gaming-related projects. Another season of Strat-O-Matic baseball seems like a good fit, as it doesn't require a lot of time or effort. I haven't given too much thought lately to these nineteenth-century baseball stalwarts, but it will be interesting to see if the hard-luck Canaries can finally end their drought and after watching the Haymakers, Blue Legs, and Resolutes all celebrate titles since the Canaries last won it all in Season 4. 

Superman Day

Apparently, it's Superman Day. Happy Superman Day to those who celebrate!

A New Generation

With a spiffy new Front Porch Multiverse spreadsheet and Cypher System stats for hundreds of characters from over a dozen past campaigns, I'm excited to take the next step and start the first campaign of this new era. Now that Amy and the boys and I have wrapped up the zombie-battling Dark Enigma game, we'll get going with The Vanguard Saga. This setting dates back to when I was a young child and is my oldest fictional universe, predating the Druid Cycle world by a decade or more. Every few years, I update the timeline as well as the major NPCs who drive the storylines. As of today, I have a lineup of twelve amazing characters who will help me introduce this setting to my family and provide us with hours of fun storytelling in the months and years ahead. I've also taken the time to create full-color models of these characters using Hero Forge, so everyone will get to see what they look like in high-res detail!

Hair Band

I feel like this board game was pretty much made for me...

The Game Goes On

This isn't gaming related, but it's very much on my mind. Today, a Putin-loving creep became the NHL's all-time goal-scoring leader. I'm reminded of a similarly dark day when baseball's all-time home-run record fell to a likewise loathsome character, although loathsome for very different reasons.

And yet, the game goes on. It's bigger than any one man or one record. But all the same...Auston Matthews, stay healthy and stay focused. You've got a job to do now, and we're counting on you.

Dungeons Pop

This is no April Fool's Day joke -- Dungeons Pop is on the way! This Kickstarter ended nearly two years ago, and the product is finally shipping. Can't wait to get my hands on this super awesome pop-up 3D terrain!

DC Season 4 Championship

Prifddinas Golden Knights (2nd place) vs. Caer Eurfryn Defenders (4th place)

For the first time ever, the teams vying for the Thaler Cup come from cities in the same country, in this case the Kingdom of Teyrnas. Prifddinas and Caer Eurfryn are only about 75 miles apart on the Great Caravan Road, but the political and cultural rift between them is enormous; these cities have a long rivalry and a deep animosity that goes far beyond sports. There were no fireworks in this game, however, just some great soccer. The first half was dominated by goalkeeping, with the Defenders' Primus and Dragons' Morcan matching each other save for save. Early in the second half, star midfielder Edern scored to give Prifddinas a 1-0 advantage. The Defenders tried to push back, but struggled to maintain consistent pressure in the offensive zone. As time slipped away, defender (yes, in retrospect, it's kind of awkward that there's a team that shares a name with a position on the field) Cadawg turned the ball over right in front of Primus, leading to an easy goal by Prifddinas superstar Niall, the league's all-time leader in playoff goals. The final score was 2-0, and now the Prifddinas Golden Dragons have their second Thaler Cup!

The Battle of Ellicott Ridge

Some real-life challenges had prevented Amy, the boys, and me from playing Dark Enigma for the past month, but today we managed to convene for a special two-part finale to wrap up this zombie-themed campaign. There was nary a zombie to be seen in this climactic battle, however, because the heroes were facing off against government forces seeking to silence them and obtain the secret formula that had turned the residents of a quaint town in western New York into ravenous undead. In a classic siege battle, the player characters and their NPC allies unleashed withering fire on agents advancing up toward the clifftop compound where the heroes were holed up. There were some pretty epic moments, and all three of the players got a chance to shine: Nathaniel's cleverly placed traps slowed down the advancing agents, Amy saved the life of a major NPC with a critical healing roll, and Matthew took down the leader of the foes after hiding in the brush and ambushing him once most of his men were already well on their way up to the compound. I hope we return to these characters for a new storyline at some point in the future, but next up on the agenda is my long-gestating Vanguard Saga campaign. I just hope it isn't another month before we can get it started!

DC Season 4 Playoffs

There are eight teams in my Druid Cycle soccer league, and only the top four quality for the playoffs. We've now said goodbye to the Troya Nova Paladins (snapping their three-season playoff streak), Riverton Gauntlets, Prospect Pioneers, and the woeful Liminia Navigators. Better luck next year, guys!

Semifinal 1: Troya Nova Imperials (1st Place) vs. Caer Eurfryn Defenders (4th Place)

The Defenders and Imperials will forever be linked by the blockbuster trade they completed prior to Season 4, a deal that sent promising youngsters Tiarnan and Aleyn to the Imperials and star keeper Primus and veteran forward Amulius to the Defenders. Coincidentally, these two teams also happened to play each other on the final day of the regular season, with the Imperials claiming a 2-1 win on their home pitch. I expected this rematch to be a similarly tight contest. The Imperials were heavily favored -- with the league's best defense, tied for the best offense, and the best goal differential (+11) -- but the scrappy Defenders seemed to be peaking at the right time. Here's how the semifinal game went down. Imperials superstar Agrippa scored early in the first half, but Ardghal, the Defenders' best midfielder, tallied the first playoff goal in franchise history to even things up before the end of the frame. Just moments into the second half, Camedyr gave the Defenders their first lead, after which they played keep-away for much of the remaining time. Tiarnan, a player involved in the aforementioned blockbuster trade, scored for the Imperials on a corner kick with just three minutes remaining in regulation. It looked like extra time was inevitable, but then Defenders striker Amulius -- the player for whom Tiarnan was traded -- blasted home the game-winning goal. The final score was 3-2 for the visiting Defenders, who earned a spot in the Thaler Cup championship game. The first-place Imperials, meanwhile, lost in the first round for the second straight season.

Semifinal 2: Prifddinas Golden Dragons (2nd Place) vs. Riverton Racers (3rd Place)

The Dragons won the first-place pennant last season but lost in the playoff semifinal. They were strong this year, too, with an offense that tied for the lead league, as well as the second-best marks in defense and goal differential (+6). The Racers, meanwhile, were a solid team with no real weaknesses and were keen to defend their shocking Thaler Cup championship from Season 3. Riverton came out flat, while Prifddinas maintained strong pressure in the first half and led 1-0 on a goal by midfielder Daithi. In the second half, Luaran made it 2-0 for the home team, but former Dragons midfielder Amren brought the Racers to within a goal. However, this year's League MVP, Donnan, made an end-to-end rush and scored to restore the two-goal advantage. The game ended 3-1, so the Golden Dragons will face the Defenders for the Thaler Cup. Get ready for the Battle of Teyrnas!

DC Season 4 Awards

I've come to the end of the fourth campaign of my Druid Cycle league in Sensible Soccer. The Imperials finished in first place with the best regular season in league history (9-3-2). They were led by superstar striker Agrippa, whose 10 goals tied with Camedyr of the Defenders for the league lead; as such, these two gentlemen will share the Scoring Championship award. In a season of good-but-not-great performances by scorers and goalkeepers alike, the League MVP trophy goes to the Golden Dragons' Donnan, the best defender in the game. Donnan played top-notch defense in front of his keeper and also chipped in 4 goals (only one other defender in the league had as many as 2). Next up -- the playoffs!

Broken Sword

Anybody know anything about the Broken Sword game series? I checked out the Legacy of Kain series on my Evercade and found them to be kind of ho-hum, so I'm on the lookout for something else. Broken Sword is the latest classic game series to debut on Evercade, and it looks like of cool!

Edge Quest

I love fencing. I love board games. Wouldn't I love a fencing board game?

Well...

Enter Edge Quest, coming soon to Kickstarter. It's got cards, dice, and all that board-gamey goodness, but there are also fully articulated action figures representing the fencers. Awesome in principle, but can you imagine having to stop play to adjust the arm and leg positions of both fencers with every thrust, parry, riposte, and whatnot? Fencing is fast, but the manipulation of the figure seems like it would make for an agonizingly slow game experience. I'd be up for static miniatures that enable players to show the position of their fencers on the game board (especially if the arena is more diverse than a simple fencing strip), but fiddling around with the figures seems kind of ridiculous.

Phase 2 Complete!

With 555 named characters, my Front Porch Multiverse spreadsheet is a paltry 41.3% the length of my behemoth Druid Cycle character spreadsheet. Even if I added in all the Shattered Realm characters to the multiverse sheet, the Druid Cycle spreadsheet would still have nearly twice as many names as all other campaigns combined. Wow! 

Anyway, I now have Cypher System levels for all multiverse characters and, for most of them, stat blocks from the Cypher System Bestiary and other sources. All systems are go for the first campaign to use this ruleset!

Strange Times Indeed

As if anyone needed further proof that we're living in strange times, there's an article on the Monte Cook Games website about tariffs. This strident opponent of tariffs tips his cap to Monte and friends!

Three Nations Kick-Off

Hockey's 4 Nations Face-Off has been a delight to watch over the past couple of weeks. It got me thinking that I might run a similar tournament in Sensible Soccer using the players from my Druid Cycle league. Thus far, each player has suited up for one of eight teams from cities across the three major human nations (the Kingdom of Teyrnas, the Empire of Troya Nova, and the Southern Principalities) of this campaign world. Why not have a best-on-best tournament that would allow the players to represent their respective homelands? Perhaps I'll set something up for after the completion of Season 4. It's an intriguing idea, and at the very least, it would be fun to see a stacked Troya Novan lineup with superstar rivals Belisarius of the Paladins and Agrippa of the Imperials playing side-by-side for the first time.

Monster Manual

Amazon says the new Monster Manual will be out on February 18. Once I have a copy, and I've read through it fully, I won't have any more excuses to put off converting the Druid Cycle world to 5.5. Let me make it clear, however, that I don't relish the thought of reviewing (and probably in many cases changing) the stat block for all 1312 named NPCs.

The Forgotten Realms

Wow, looks like we'll be getting a D&D TV series at some point. Perhaps I won't cancel our Netflix subscription just yet! Check out the news here.

Phase 2 -- Stat Blocks

I now have a pretty comprehensive spreadsheet compiling the names, places, factions, etc., from non-5e D&D campaigns of today and yesteryear. These campaigns include:

• Alien 
• Cyberwars (with all of its prequels, sequels, and spinoffs)
• Dark Enigma
• Doctor Who
• Earth Commanders
• The Ladder
• The Other World
• Project Descartes
• Tales of the Ternion
• Torchlight
• The Vanguard Saga

Putting the spreadsheet together was the main objective of this phase of my project. However, in order to create a true multiverse where characters from various campaigns can cross over and interact with each other, the characters all need compatible game stats. The list above reflects a wide range of rules systems, from the Alien RPG (Alien) to TinyD6 (Dark Enigma) to 4e D&D (Torchlight). As I noted in a previous post, I've opted for the Cypher System as the common platform for the Front Porch multiverse. As such, my last step for Phase 2 is to assign a Cypher System level and stat block to all the characters in the spreadsheet. The core rulebook is a huge help, but I also picked up a copy of the Cypher System Bestiary, which looks like it will give me enough examples to balance characters from such wildly different genres.

DC League Season 4

Sensible Soccer is one of my favorite retro games on Evercade, and lately I've been using it to play through a fourth season of my Druid Cycle soccer league. This league must take place in some sort of alternate version of the Druid Cycle campaign setting, however, or perhaps is set at some point in the future, because, as the PCs know quite well, it's not all fun and games on the continent of First Home these days. The looming threat of war hangs like a storm-cloud over the continent, and it seems inevitable that there will come a day when differences will be settled not on the soccer pitch, but on the battlefield.

Tomb, Raided

I played through the original Tomb Raider on my Evercade and, well, I don't think I'll play through the two sequels that are bundled on the same cartridge. I'm sure I played at least one of these titles back in the day, but this time around, the whole experience just felt kind of...tedious. I constantly found myself scouring YouTube playthroughs to find some hidden switch or lever that I needed in order to move forward. At this point, I think I'll go back to some Commodore 64 classics.

Season 11 Creighton Cup

Another campaign comes to a close with the conclusion of the Creighton Cup championship series! In Game 1, the Comets held a 2-0 lead until the closing minutes when Billy McGimsie scored to give the Victorias a glimmer of hope, but the game ended 2-1 with the road team picking up a surprising win. Game 2 started off with fireworks as Marty Walsh (Victorias) and Mike Grant (Comets) traded goals in the first minute; things settled down after that, and the Vics rebounded nicely from their series-opening loss, doubling up the Comets in a 4-2 win. The road team had won the first two contests, and Game 3 would continue the trend; the Comets demolished the Vics 5-1, but it was a costly victory: left wing Frank McGee, the league's all-time leader in goals scored, suffered a season-ending injury. The series shifted back to the Comets' rink, and they were determined to win the Cup on home ice. The Vics took the lead twice, but both times the Comets answered back. With the score tied at 2, we headed to overtime! The Vics hoped to extend the series to a decisive fifth game, but Comets were relentless in their attack. Finally, dynamic young defenseman Eddie Gerard, who had been struggling throughout the postseason, blasted the puck from the blueline and beat Bowse Hutton for the Cup-clinching score. The Comets won the series 3-1, with top center Duke Keats taking home Playoff MVP honors. The Comets now have their second Creighton Cup in franchise history, and the first since way back in Season 3.

Season 11 Playoffs

Playoff time! The Thistles and the Millionaires finished fifth and sixth, respectively, so they missed out on the big dance. In the opening round, the first-place Victorias faced the fourth-place Bearcats, while the Comets and Bulldogs duked it out as second and third. 

The Vics got quite a scare in Game 1 when they surrendered a goal on the first shot and superstar blueliner Cyclone Taylor was injured and left the game shortly thereafter; however, they rallied for a 3-2 victory in overtime on a goal by captain Hobey Baker. Game 2 was a 5-0 laugher for the Vics on the road, with Taylor returning to rack up four points. The third game, back at the Vics' rink, was a tense affair that remained 1-1 into the final minute of regulation time, when Newsy Lalonde struck with a game- and series-ending goal.

In the first game of the other series, the Comets and Dogs went back and forth in a wild shootout that ended 6-4 for the hosting Comets. Riley Hern, the goalie who had lifted the Dogs into the playoffs, was so terrible in Game 1 that the Dogs opted to start Paddy Moran in Game 2. Moran performed well, but the Comets prevailed in a nailbiter 3-2 finish. In Game 3, the Dogs built a quick 2-0 lead, only for Frank McGee and Duke Keats to score on three consecutive shots (Keats got the second and third tallies). By the end of the third, the contest was knotted up at three goals apiece. Moran turned aside a number of tough shots in overtime, but Dick Irvin managed to sneak one past him late in the frame to give the Comets a win and a series sweep.

Next up: The Creighton Cup championship series between the Victorias and the Comets!

Season 11 Highlights

I've been playing through Season 11 of my Strat-O-Matic historical hockey league and although I haven't been posting updates, the regular season is now complete and I've moved on to the playoffs. Season 11 was full of fun and surprises: the defending-champion Thistles failed to reach the postseason, Bulldogs rookie Jack Adams finished seventh in the league in scoring, third-year Comets defenseman Eddie Gerard took a huge step forward (9 goals in just 16 games!), and Newsy Lalonde of the Victorias won a season-long duel over the Bearcats' Joe Malone to claim his first MVP trophy. In perhaps the coolest story of the year, hard-luck goalie Riley Hern was unemployed at the start of the season but signed with the floundering Bulldogs around the midpoint and absolutely saved their season -- his 2.22 goals-against average and .929 save percentage were both second-best in the league, and the Dogs made the playoffs largely because of Hern's netminding heroics.

Phase 2 Underway!

I finished pulling together a spreadsheet with characters, locations, factions, and other data from recent campaigns -- the ones for which I have really comprehensive records. The next phase of this project is to scour my earlier notes for similar data from the campaigns of years past. I went back to faded copies of Front Porch newsletters from the early '90s, handwritten stat blocks for NPCs, player guides printed from the old Tandy 1000 SX, and everything else I could track down. Sadly, it wasn't as much as I had hoped to find. 

Players, if you're reading this, I'd love to get your thoughts on campaigns of the past and anything that really stood out to you -- characters, themes, storylines, anything!

2025?!?

Wait, is it really 2025? That's a date I would have used in an '80s campaign to represent a dystopian near-future setting that was rife with corruption, power-hungry tyrants, bitter political strife...oh, wait...