Elemental Evil Player's Companion...Free!

The Elemental Evil Player's Companion for Fifth Edition D&D is now available for free online. Click here to get yours!

Lunchtime D&D

A lunchtime D&D campaign at work? That would be pretty sweet. Click here to learn how one DM got started.

City Builder System

Dwarven Forge is back with a new Kickstarter project -- this one is a modular system for building cities for RPGs and wargames. Looks awesome, but it's super expensive. Click here and commence drooling!

Games, Games, and More Games!

So now that I have a new computer, the floodgates are open. I'm playing Mass Effect (thanks, Matt!), Darkest Dungeon (ditto!), and Neverwinter -- all at the same time! I think I need to focus on one at a time or I'll never get through any of them. But with all this gaming goodness at my fingertips, I'm no longer pining away for Sword Coast Legends. Well, at least for now...

More Sword Coast News

Check it out, you guys! More info about Sword Coast Legends can be found here.

Tesla

Players from the late-'90s conspiracy campaign The Other World -- which lives on in the Front Porch multiverse through several recurring characters -- probably recall that the overarching storyline involved control of the wireless power technology developed by Nikola Tesla. Turns out that wireless transmission of power is now a reality! Click here if you dare...but beware that the infamous G might be watching you...

Mass Combat!

More free D&D! Click here to download the new rules for mass combat. Great timing, too -- as the title implies, mass combat will figure prominently in the upcoming Quintessence War storyline.

Neverwinter

The last time I bought a computer, Amy was nine months pregnant...with our first kid! So, after more than seven-and-a-half years, it was time (past time, actually) to upgrade. I purchased a bunch of parts from Amazon and New Egg, and then some of my engineer pals from work came over and put the thing together for me.

The first game I downloaded was the basic version of the Neverwinter MMORPG. It's a lot like World of Warcraft, of course, but it's free and it's fun, so I'll give it a whirl. I think the most important outcome from trying out Neverwinter was that it got Matthew interested in playing D&D again. He immediately scurried off to come up with a new storyline for his campaign, which we haven't touched in several months. An hour later, Nathaniel and I sat down to the continued adventures of our rogue and bard, respectively. Halfway through, Matthew wanted to ditch the adventure and start a different one, but at least he's keen on paper-and-pencil D&D again!

Illusion Spell

Damn, it really looks like a white dress!

Free D&D Adventure!

Remember my "Blast From the Past" series? No? Well, it was a series of posts in which I reflected upon favorite adventures from past editions of D&D. My pick for Third Edition was The Shattered Gates of Slaughtergarde. I'm happy to report that this adventure is (temporarily) free! Click here to download the module, but act fast! It's only free until noon (Pacific time) tomorrow, February 21.

D'Oh!

Dang! I wasn't fast enough to get the $20 Falcon. Well, at least I can pick up another Starter Set for a great price.

X-Wing Re-Stock!

A new shipment of Star Wars: X-Wing products has reached online (and, I assume, brick-and-mortar) stores! I've never seen prices so low for some of these ships. Millennium Falcon for $20! Starter Set for $27! Click here to see the deals on Miniatures Market. I'm about to go on a binge...

Fun With Tocharian

While working on plans for the multiverse-spanning Quintessence War storyline, I found myself needing a set of names for a group of ascetic individuals who live in a remote, rugged environment. I usually use real-world languages -- everything from ancient Egyptian to medieval Welsh -- as the basis for campaign cultures, so I considered a number of possible linguistic candidates. I settled on Tocharian (a bastardized version of Proto-Tocharian, to be exact) as the source of names for this group, and even just a quick perusal of the Tocharian lexicon has given me lots of ideas for cool characters. Spoiler alert! Quintessence War players are going to meet a dude named Daksinake, and he's going to be pretty important...

"Not Feats Again!"

Matthew is playing through the classic Star Wars RPG Knights of the Old Republic on our iPad, and he really loves the ability to customize his character as he advances in level. (For those who are unfamiliar with the game, it's a d20-based system that closely resembles Third Edition D&D.) However, he often expresses exasperation when prompted to select a feat. He'll hand the iPad over to me, and I'll spend a few moments poring over the options to find the one best suited for his character. Matthew isn't terribly concerned about making a choice between something that would give him, say, a +1 to damage vs. a +1 to saving throws. Perhaps someday he'll turn into more of a power gamer like his old man, but for now he just wants to play the damn game and keep the story going. His experience with KotOR is further confirmation for me that Fifth Edition D&D strikes an elegant balance to accommodate both types of player. Players like me can scour the feat lists and look for ways to optimize, and players like Matthew can forego the feat to take the stat bonus instead. Everybody's happy!

More on Legends

Lots more info today about Sword Coast Legends...click here to get started!

Sword Coast Legends

How fortuitous that I just ordered the parts for a new computer...here comes a brand-new D&D video game! It's a multiplayer game based on the Fifth Edition rules, and it's going to provide an option for a real-time Dungeonmaster. Click here for more!

Mystara

World building...I love it. Click here for a fascinating read.

New DM Screen

After a hurricane ripped through our town on Friday -- the house next to ours had part of its roof torn off! -- we wanted to get out for a while, so we headed up to Reno, which is the closest thing to a big city in our little corner of Western Nevada. I finally picked up the new Fifth Edition DM Screen (along with an A-Wing and B-Wing for our Star Wars: X-Wing escapades) and, wow, it's easily the best GM/DM screen I've ever seen. It has the obligatory charts (conditions, cover, skill DCs, etc.), but what really sets it apart is the narrative stuff. This screen helps you create NPCs on the fly by providing tables for distinguishing characteristics, ideals, bonds, and flaws, and it even includes a fairly robust random name generator. In about thirty seconds, I created Kirondic, a fellow who's loyal to his family but also seeking redemption, perhaps because of the shameful secret from his past. Oh, and he's prone to squinting. The screen also features a couple of handy tables called "Something Happens!" and "Quick Finds," which help DMs move the story along if things begin to slow down or if the PCs need a bit of prodding. I just rolled a 19 on "Something Happens!", so now the PCs catch a whiff of a foul smell in the air. Actually, that sounds a lot like our Druid Cycle game sessions...

Eberron in Fifth Edition

I don't think we have a lot of Eberron fans in the Front Porch crew, but free D&D is still free D&D. Click here to access the first version of the Eberron rules for Fifth Edition. The materials are presented in draft form and are subject to change, but at least we get some cool new races like the warforged.

Pre-Super Bowl Battle

With a few hours to kill before the start of our Super Bowl party, the boys and I geared up a bunch of ships for a big Star Wars battle. The story so far...

The Imperials came through an asteroid field in a tight formation, while the Rebels advanced straight ahead. That little Z somehow survived a round of focused fire from the Decimator and its two TIE escorts. Luke's X-Wing, meanwhile, has swooped in to provide his buddy with some cover fire, while the Hawk is lurking on the outskirts and providing logistical support to the two fighters. To be continued!

A-Wing for the Win!

I had a fantastic time playing X-Wing today. The highlight of the afternoon was a skirmish in an asteroid belt with two players as the Rebels and two as the Imperials. I was flying an A-Wing, and was joined by another fellow commanding a pair of Z-95 fighters. On the Imperial side, one guy had a couple of basic TIEs, and our host was zipping around in a sleek TIE Interceptor. Maneuvering around the asteroids was a challenge, and we had numerous ship-to-ship and ship-to-asteroid collisions. The battle raged for a couple of hours, and ultimately came down to our host's Interceptor against my A-Wing. Both ships were badly damaged and suffering from the lingering effects of critical hits. The Interceptor limped along with a malfunction that made it dangerous for him to execute any sharp turns, so I used his limited mobility to my advantage. Just about every turn I managed to get behind him and open fire, but he evaded everything my weak little guns could throw at him. At one point he risked a sharp turn for a chance to shoot back at me, and, well, the Force was not with him. The Interceptor exploded as he attempted to turn, and my A-Wing emerged from the asteroid belt victorious. Such a fun battle! I can't wait for another opportunity to play with these guys again.

X-Wing Battle

Tomorrow I'll be joining at least six other Western Nevada gamers for a huge X-Wing battle. Will I achieve the glory of Wedge Antilles, or get squashed like Dak Ralter? May the Force be with me!

Exploding Kittens

Have you seen how much money the Exploding Kittens card game Kickstarter has raised? At this writing, they're at $4.7 million with 20 days to go, and the goal was only $10,000!

First 5e Survey

If you have experienced Fifth Edition D&D in any form -- as a player, as a DM, or even if you've just read through some of the materials -- please take a few moments to complete the first official survey. Click here to get started.

Family Feud

When Mom is sick and needs a little extra sleep, it's a day for holing up in the playroom with X-Wing. Matthew and Nathaniel wanted to have Vader and Luke face each other in a battle, so here it is...a pic snapped before the two titans began to open fire! (Matthew is Vader and Nathaniel is Luke.)

So who won? As of this writing, the battle is still going. (We're taking a break to watch the NHL All-Star Game.) The ships are very evenly matched, and Matthew's greater level of skill at the game is offset by Nathaniel's R2-D2 upgrade card; R2 can repair Luke's shields, so Vader really needs to score a lot of hits to bring down his recalcitrant son.

Comin' Through!

That Imperial Decimator is quite a bruiser -- and one of its pilots even has the ability to damage other ships by crashing into them! Check out the pic below, where an X-Wing and a Z-95 are frantically diving out of the way to avoid becoming a hood ornament for the Imperial warship. Now I really need to buy a big ship for the Rebels...

Penguin's "Missile"

I love the Fisher-Price Imaginext DC Super Friends action figures. I think they're the most fun superhero figures on the market, and they're virtually indestructible -- perfect for two rough-and-tumble little boys who aren't exactly careful with their stuff. Fisher-Price also releases new figures, vehicles, and playsets on a regular (and frequent!) basis. Visions of the upcoming Solomon Grundy figure got me through a fourteen-hour work day today, but check out the new Penguin set. There's something about that blue missile...

Upcoming D&D Products

Wizards just announced a bunch of upcoming new D&D products, including a Temple of Elemental Evil board game (I'll buy it just for the minis) and a new adventure called Princes of the Apocalypse.

Intergalactic Freak-Out

Tonight we had our first all-family Star Wars X-Wing game. On the Rebel side we had Matthew as Luke Skywalker in his X-Wing and Amy as an elite Z-95 Headhunter pilot (the Z-95 is the ship that looks like an X-Wing, but without the X-shaped wing configuration). For the Imperials, Nathaniel played the VT-49 Decimator (the big-ass ship in the upper-right corner of the image below) and I took the controls of a lowly TIE fighter.

The Empire got off to a great start despite some questionable maneuver choices by the Decimator pilot (ahem). My little fighter zipped around, chipping away at the Rebels' shields. The climax came during a showdown between Luke and the Decimator.

Alas, when the Decimator vaporized Luke's ship, the game ended in an epic full-on scream-fest between Matthew and Nathaniel. Argh. Both of these guys have a lot to learn about being gracious in victory and defeat.

NPC Census

Lately I've been working on expanding the Shattered Realm setting, adding new NPCs and whatnot. This time around, I'm keeping track of everything in a spreadsheet rather than a simple text file. A spreadsheet allows me to sort and filter quickly, and because each row corresponds to a single entry, I always know how many NPCs (or locations or organizations, depending on the tab) exist in the game world. So far, Shattered Realm is up to 165 named characters, which is roughly 50 more than in the Torchlight setting. Not surprisingly, the largest number of NPCs in the Front Porch multiverse can be found in the Druid Cycle setting, where I estimate about 650 unique NPCs. Damn. That is a lot of NPCs!

A Well Traveled Package

I've always wanted to do a cross-country drive. If I ever get the opportunity, perhaps I'll follow the route taken by this Amazon package I ordered last week...

Wow. Pennsylvania to Ohio to Iowa to Nebraska to Wyoming to Nevada to California (huh?) and then back to Nevada again. At least it's now at our local post office -- can I assume that it will arrive today? In case you're curious, the package in question contains an extra set of dice for the Star Wars X-Wing game and a totally rad Captain Cold figure and vehicle set for Nathaniel to celebrate his first week at preschool.

New Basic D&D Resource

The Fifth Edition Basic rules are now available in an easy-to-use website format. This should be a great resource for players and DMs alike. Check it out here.

The Front Porch...on TV!

The front porch is now on TV! Well, sort of...

Click here for a local news clip featuring my good friend Jeremy (a star of our late '80s Earth Commanders and Fantasy Quest campaigns), my father, and some footage of a very wintry front porch.

First Teaser

I sent the first teaser for the upcoming multiverse-spanning Quintessence War storyline today to the epic-tier Druid Cycle players. Waiting is going to be the hardest part -- I'm excited to get this story off the ground!

Happy 2015!

Happy New Year, everybody! I hope you all have a great 2015.

Rebel Scum!

After a short break, we resumed our first Star Wars X-Wing battle and it ended moments later in a fiery conflagration. My lowly TIE fighter was the only survivor, and two very frustrated little boys stormed away from the table. Matthew cooled down and wanted to play again, so we opened up the other ships I had bought and set up our forces -- two Rebel ships for Matthew and three Imperial fighters for me. I put several hits on his ships and started thinking I had him on the ropes, but his plucky X-Wing shot down two of my fighters in quick succession and won the day for the Alliance. Damn Rebel scum!

Dogfight

We opened up the Star Wars X-Wing miniatures game today and I made a frantic attempt to process the quick start rules while the boys punched out all the cardboard counters and argued over who was going to be the X-Wing. Ultimately, we settled on Nathaniel as the intrepid young X-Wing pilot, with Matthew and I playing as the cruel Imperial TIE fighter pilots. The boys quickly picked up the play sequence of plan > move > attack, and in minutes we were zigging and zagging across the cosmos (as represented by my in-laws' coffee table).

Nathaniel hasn't quite mastered the maneuvering, however, so he often ended up in situations where a TIE fighter was directly behind him (as in the image below). Much frustration ensued when he found himself unable to open fire on his big brother.

We've called a temporary truce, but after we fuel up (with snacks for the pilots, of course, and whatever fuel the X-Wing and TIE fighters use), I hope we'll jump right back into the action. It's a fun game!

Happy Holidays!

This will probably be my last post of the year, unless some exciting game news drops between now and January 1. I hope you and all your loved ones have a safe and happy holiday season! If you need me, I'll be playing Icewind Dale and Star Wars X-Wing...

Coming Soon, To a Campaign Near You...

As 2014 draws to a close, I thought I'd preview some of the big events on tap for next year...

• The epic-tier Druid Cycle heroes hope to conclude their war against the Movement and its allies in the great cities of Troya Nova and Prifddinas.
• As these adventures begin to wrap up, we'll see indications of a much broader conflict that is brewing across the multiverse...the Quintessence War.
• Along the way, expect to see more multiverse madness with characters crossing campaigns in unexpected ways. 
• And maybe, just maybe, we'll have a real, honest-to-goodness superhero campaign. There's a ton of great public domain material from the Golden Age and...wait, Captain Battle, look out behind you!

Funded...Again!

We did it again! Amazing Heroes Wave 1.5 is now fully funded. Bring on Wave 2! We need some villains now!

Amazing Progress

The Amazing Heroes Wave 1.5 Kickstarter has made some amazing progress over the past couple of days. With 61 hours to go (as of this writing), we're 94% funded. I can't wait to see all these awesome old-timey superheroes in action figure form!

Battle Master

Over the last few days, while waiting for my DMG to arrive (Amazon says today!), I've been working on various 5e character builds. There's a lot of cool stuff in the PHB, but my top choice is an old standby: the fighter (battle master). Unless I'm playing in an extremely low-combat campaign, I think a polearm-wielding human battle master is favorite build. And for his background, I've chosen to make him an acolyte; I envision him as a Solomon Kane type of guy, roaming the world and dispensing his own brand of harsh justice!

Board Game Fun

A colleague at work invited me to join the board game group that he and his wife host a couple of times each week. Today was my first time gaming with them, and I thoroughly enjoyed myself. Good folks, good games. Among others, I tried out The Great Snowball Battle, Fact or Crap, Pandemic, and Star Wars X-Wing. I may just have to invest in that X-Wing game...

Glorious Dung!

Click here for a nice article about a chap who recently rediscovered D&D thanks to Fifth Edition. Bonus! The URL includes the following: ...the-awesome-glory-that-is-dung.html

DMG Day!

Although some lucky folks (myself not included) were able to get their hands on a copy through a preferred store, today the Fifth Edition DMG goes on sale all across the country. From what I've heard, it may well be the best damn DMG in D&D history...

Victory...Again!

For the second time in a week, I've played through the sixth and last adventure deck of the Rise of the Runelords campaign for the Pathfinder Adventure Card Game. This go-around, it was Kyra the cleric and Sajan the monk who pounded the stuffing out of Karzoug, and despite my earlier reservations, this pair had a much easier time with the final adventure than Val and Seoni did. In fact, the encounter with Karzoug was a bit anticlimactic. The coolest part was when Sajan's charmed red dragon betrayed us (a 1-in-12 chance whenever you play that card) and attacked the party with its fire breath -- both heroes managed to escape taking any damage from the fiery ambush en route to bringing down Karzoug on the first try.

And now that I've played through all of Rise of the Runelords twice, I think it's time to put this game aside for a while and concentrate on Fifth Edition D&D...

Cartography

Have I ever mentioned how much I love Mike Schley's D&D art and cartography? I don't think I've ever encountered a D&D artist whose work so closely matches what's in my mind's eye.

Victory!

After thirty-two scenarios, Valeros and Seoni were ready for their greatest challenge yet: Karzoug the Claimer! As you can see from the card below, the master villain of the Rise of the Runelords campaign is no pushover.

The heroes ended up fighting Karzoug twice during the final scenario, and in both encounters Seoni had to use up every card in her hand to make that ridiculous target of 40 on her combat checks. (Val, with less firepower, was responsible for hitting the 30.) The second encounter in particular was a bit dicey, as it all came down to the final d12 roll of Seoni's check, where I needed a 6 or higher for the win. I ended up rolling a 9, so the heroes of Sandpoint defeated the Runelord of Greed and saved Varisia.

Now, the greater challenge will be playing through the sixth Runelords adventure deck with my second pair of heroes, Kyra the cleric and Sajan the monk; they're solid characters, but they're not quite as buff as Val and Seoni. Good luck, guys! You're going to need it!

The Thing From Beyond Time

If I didn't already love the Pathfinder Adventure Card Game, tonight's scenario would've been the clincher. I played through the penultimate mission of the Rise of the Runelords campaign with my top pair of heroes, Valeros and Seoni, and the experience was...intense, to say the least. In fact, it was a game experience I'll probably never forget.

My heroes had chased the villain across three locations, defeating her twice -- at great cost to their own health and resources -- before cornering her in the fourth and final location. As (bad) luck would have it, that location was a monster-infested chamber with a portal that would soon disgorge a hideous, Lovecraftian creature from another universe. See below!

Yeah, crap. Each passing turn brought this beastie closer and closer to entering Golarion (the world of the Pathfinder campaign setting). There was no way my wounded, exhausted heroes could take down the Thing and then defeat the scenario's powerful main villain for a third time. We were down to our last turn before the Thing's inevitable arrival and, with Desna the goddess of luck smiling upon us at last, Seoni uncovered the villain. She and Val unleashed everything they had, burying their foe and thereby winning the scenario a split second before the Thing could arrive.

One more mission to go...we take on Karzoug the Runelord himself.

A Whole New World

After a few weeks away from D&D, Matthew requested that we play again over the long weekend. He remains far more interested in DMing than playing, so this time I suggested that we start by creating a unique and well-developed setting for his adventures. We spent a couple of hours brainstorming -- much more time than his little brother would have liked -- and now Matthew's campaign setting has a home town, some key NPCs, and a few storylines that are directly linked to the characters' backgrounds. I tried to help him come up with plot threads that he can use to create adventures and encounters that aren't quite as random and off-the-cuff as in his first attempt at DMing. We played through the first scenario last night, with my bard Jack of Napes (get it?) and Nathaniel's rogue Dylan joining forces with the dragonborn NPC Rhogar. I hope it was the first of many adventures in a whole new world of Matthew's creation -- a world that already has narrative links to the Front Porch multiverse, of course. The minions of Ophion/Ekhis are, indeed, everywhere.

Timely Assistance

I'm trying to finish up the first campaign for the Pathfinder Adventure Card Game -- remember that? -- so that I can turn my attention more fully to Fifth Edition D&D. I'm now playing through the final set of missions, and my top duo of Valeros the fighter and Seoni the sorceress managed to survive a tough scenario against a bunch of electricity-wielding foes thanks to their timely discovery of a Ring of Energy Resistance, which allows the wearer to absorb a significant amount of acid, cold, electricity, or fire damage. That ring was the difference between victory and defeat. Now, of course, I'm wondering how my second pairing (Kyra the cleric and Sajan the monk) is going to survive this scenario when their turn comes up...

Hey, I Know That Guy!

Druid Cycle players: I'm reading through the hardcover Rise of Tiamat adventure module and I stumbled upon a minor but pivotal NPC named Iskander...

DMG Review

And here's a review of the Fifth Edition DMG, coming soon to a game store new you!

Downtime

Cool DMG excerpt today...a preview of downtime activities for PCs. Click here for the article.

Reprieve

Well, the second issue of the new Legends of Baldur's Gate comic book series was a lot better than the first, so I'm not going to drop it from my pull list just yet. The end of the issue even teased an appearance by Coran, so perhaps more characters from the game will show up in the comic. Wait, didn't Coran get killed in Baldur's Gate II? Or perhaps my party just failed to save him...

600th Post!

And for what it's worth, this is the 600th post on the Front Porch blog!

More Amazing Heroes

The Amazing Heroes line of action figures was successfully funded on Kickstarter back in August. Now there's a Wave 1.5 Kickstarter (link is here) to add a few more characters and some nifty packaging options.

Yeah, it's been a slow week for gaming news, hasn't it?

Icewind Dale Reviews

For some reviews of the new Icewind Dale: Enhanced Edition, click here, here, and here. The reviews are pretty favorable...as if they could be anything else!

More Free D&D

The free online supplement for The Rise of Tiamat -- containing magic items, monsters, and spells that you can use with the free Basic D&D rules -- is available here.

Icewind Dale Party

I'm nearing the end of Baldur's Gate II: Enhanced Edition with my super-fun all-evil party, so next up is Icewind Dale: Enhanced Edition. I considered resurrecting my first-ever Icewind Dale party from so many years ago, but instead I decided to enlist some new heroes led by good old Mandeville -- or, rather, young Mandeville. Most players know him as the Earth-born knight who has become one of the elder statesmen of the heroes of the Druid Cycle campaign world, but I've also added him to the Shattered Realm setting as a much younger man who is still at an early point in his lifelong journey across the multiverse. We haven't seen much of Mandeville lately in the epic-tier Druid Cycle adventures, but he's going to be a key figure in upcoming events, starting in early 2015. Until then, however, you can find him in Kuldahar...

SEGA!

We were at Bed, Bath and Beyond today to buy a new coffee maker (our fifth in the last three years -- yeah, we drink a lot of coffee! Or we have really bad luck with machines...or both...), and I found a reissued Sega Genesis with wireless controllers and 80 (!) games loaded on the console (details here). For under forty bucks, I couldn't pass it up. The games on this console are about what you'd expect from '90s side-scrollers, but I have to admit a certain nostalgia factor: I have fond memories of playing Genesis after school with Jason and Scott during our teenage years. My boys and I have sampled only a small percentage of the 80 titles, but I'm very much looking forward to playing through the acclaimed Golden Axe trilogy, a D&D-style fantasy game.

Icewind Dale for iPad

Yo, iPad gamers! Icewind Dale: Enhanced Edition is now available in the App Store!

All Quiet...For Now...

It's been kind of a quiet week on the gaming front, but the players in the epic-tier Druid Cycle campaign have seen some hints about important characters and themes for Quintessence War, the big multiverse-spanning event I've planned for 2015. Those high-level characters are going to be involved by default, but this event is going to involve lots of other heroes, as well. Anyone interested in joining a short-term campaign (using Fifth Edition rules!) should let me know, and we can start working on character ideas.

Another Basic Update

The DM's component of the free Fifth Edition Basic rules has been updated again. Click here to visit the site.

Icewind Dale: Enhanced Edition

I had forgotten that Icewind Dale: Enhanced Edition (click here for the official website) was in the works, but now it's out! Well, the PC and Mac version is out. The mobile version is coming soon. I'm excited, but I'm also in no hurry. Much of my free time these days has been spent with Fifth Edition stuff, and I still have yet to finish Baldur's Gate II: Enhanced Edition with my all-evil posse...

Digital Tools

Wizards has announced that they're no longer partnering with Trapdoor Technologies to produce the DungeonScape web-based D&D tools. From what I saw of the application, I think it's the right move for Wizards.

Basic Rules Updated!

The free D&D Basic rules have been updated! Click here to visit the download page, where you can get the Player PDF and/or the Dungeonmaster's PDF.

Which Monster Are You?

Which D&D monster are you? Click here and take the official quiz! Apparently I'm a lich, just like good ol' Acererak...

Fratricide

Well, Mathew admitted outright during our game session over the weekend that his primary objective as a Dungeonmaster is to kill off any character played by his little brother. We're still a long way away from Norman Rockwell-esque Family Gaming Night...

Halloween ComicFest 2014

Head over to your friendly local comic book store tomorrow for some free comics! It's Halloween ComicFest -- the kid brother of Free Comic Book Day. Click here for details.

Minsc and Boo Stand Ready!

The new IDW comic book series Dungeons & Dragons: Legends of Baldur's Gate debuts today. My friendly local comic book shop will be holding a copy in my box, but I won't get to read it until I return to Nevada. Can't wait! Click here for all the info.

Airport Reading

Sorry for the lack of posts lately...I had to make a last-minute trip this week, but along the way I picked up a book you might enjoy. It's called Of Dice and Men, a history of D&D as told by long-time player (and now journalist) David Ewalt. I've only made it through the first two chapters so far, but I'd say it's worth your time.

TPK

The Lost Mine of Phandelver has taken a backseat lately as Matthew has wanted to spend our family D&D time running his own adventure. I'd like to see Lost Mine through to the end, but I'm happy to help nurture Matthew's interest in DMing. His adventure involves the heroes exploring an incredibly convoluted lair in pursuit of a dragon that has stolen the local townspeople's treasure.

At first, encounter balance proved challenging for him, as he liked to select foes based not on their game statistics, but on the awesomeness of their miniatures. Now he's starting to understand the types of foes that are appropriate challenges for low-level characters. In one of our encounters yesterday, we squared off against three skeletons and three zombies. For those who haven't played Fifth Edition yet, that's a pretty reasonable encounter for a party of three second-level characters.

Even the best-laid encounter plans, however, often go awry. On the first round, the fighter was encircled by foes and beaten unconscious as a result of some very bad luck on the monsters' attack rolls. The wizard (yours truly) and the archer made a hasty retreat. What followed was a comedy of errors in which the heroes scampered around the map, trying to revive dying comrades and evade the undead.

All three heroes went down at least once, until the encounter ended when the archer felled the last zombie as his two companions lay bleeding to death on the floor. Matthew and Nathaniel had never heard the term TPK -- Total Party Kill -- before that encounter, but they certainly know it now!

Gaming...Nevada Style

In the casinos, gambling is called "gaming." It's not my kind of gaming. I don't have any sort of philosophical objection to gambling, but I've lived in Nevada for nearly six-and-a-half years and I've never once gambled -- not even a single pull on a grocery store slot machine (yes, we have them in grocery stores, restaurants, gas stations...). Now, at last, there's a slot machine that I might just try...the official D&D slot machine! Click here for all the details.

More PvP!

Some of my favorite storylines in comic books are ideological conflicts between heroes. Whether it's Marvel's Civil War or DC's Identity Crisis, I really dig tales of heroes grappling with weighty moral or political issues that force them into heated debate (and the more-than-occasional smack-down!) with their comrades. We've got a bit of that stuff going on right now with the epic-tier Druid Cycle heroes. A couple of player characters are attending a council in which the political future of the Kingdom of Teyrnas is being debated. The council started off civil enough, but now tempers are flaring...and the DM is enjoying every minute of it!

PvP

Over the weekend, two of my players got into an argument over the correct initiative order, and then attempted to target each other's characters with their attacks. To top it off, they got into a slap-fight after the encounter ended.

I should also mention that their ages are seven and four.

Matthew, at seven, has the reading and math skills necessary to understand the rules, as well as the imagination necessary to portray a character in a fantastical world. Four-year-old Nathaniel clearly isn't ready. That wasn't a problem until recently, however, when Nathaniel expressed a strong interest in playing D&D just like his big brother. Expecting him to get bored in a matter of minutes, I handed him the mini for an NPC guest star -- a sleazy human archer named Griff -- and told him that he could control that character. He handled it better than I expected. He understands concepts like taking turns, moving his mini a certain number of squares on the map, and making attack and damage rolls, but he can't read or add well enough to play without major assistance. Still, he took an immediate liking to Griff, and now, for all intents and purposes, Griff is his character. He squeals with obvious enjoyment whenever Griff fells a monster, and at the conclusion of each combat encounter he gleefully exclaims, "Let's play D&D again!"

Math Problems

DungeonScape...well...it has a ways to go. It has a nice look and a pretty decent user interface, but it really needs to get the math right. Oy.

DungeonScape

Woo-hoo! I've been selected to participate in the beta testing of DungeonScape, the official D&D Fifth Edition online toolset. I can't wait to log in and try it out!

Nevada Bound

Just a few hours until my flight departs. These last two weeks have been amazing, but I'm eager to get home and see my family. I'm about to leave for the airport, but first, here's a quick shot of the Frankfurt skyline from my hotel window.

Danke schoen, Deutschland!

Cologne Cathedral

My time in Germany is rapidly drawing to a close. Today my colleague and I took the train from Cologne to Frankfurt, where we'll depart tomorrow for the States. Before I left Cologne, however, I made one final trip to Cologne Cathedral. I didn't have my camera with me during my first visit two weeks ago, so here's a belated photograph of the front of this breathtaking Gothic church.

Ah, We Are All Heroes...

Click here for an extended preview of the upcoming Baldur's Gate comic book!

Trier

Trier is perhaps Germany's oldest city. It was once the capital of a Roman province, and ruins from those days can still be seen across the city. The most impressive ruin is the Porta Nigra, or Black Gate, a massive gatehouse dating back to the late second century AD.

Trier was also a residence of the Roman emperor Constantine the Great (c. 272 - 337), who was keen on expanding the city. One of his major projects was Basilica of Constantine, which is now a church.

Speaking of churches, the Cathedral of Trier is...amazing. I can't say it captured my imagination quite like Aachen did, but it was a sprawling, majestic place filled with works of exquisite art. I even paid a couple of bucks to visit the treasury. Alas, the cathedral's most impressive relics -- the skull of St. Helena (the mother of Constantine) and the Seamless Robe of Jesus -- were not on display.

Today I'm joining a colleague for a barbecue at the home of a German friend of his, and then tomorrow it's back to work!

Luxembourg American Cemetery

Saturday, I went with two of my colleagues down to the charming little country of Luxembourg. Our first stop was the Luxembourg American Cemetery and Memorial, which holds the remains of over five thousand American soldiers -- including General George S. Patton -- who died in World War II.

Soon after we arrived, a heavy fog rolled across the grounds. In these precious few moments before all the tour buses showed up, the cemetery was quiet and still. It was a deeply moving experience, and I will never forget.

We also visited the nearby Sandweiler German War Cemetery before having lunch in
Luxembourg City. That was our morning in the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg; then it was on to Trier.

More Intercontinental Gaming

When Tim W was in Hong Kong on one of his trips, we did a bit of intercontinental gaming via Skype. I wanted to do the same for Amy and Matthew while I'm in Germany, but the time difference -- it's nine hours earlier in Nevada, so Matthew is either asleep or in school when I would be available -- has forced us to use the asynchronous email-based method that's become standard in the Druid Cycle games. We're continuing with The Lost Mine of Phandelver over email, focusing on roleplaying scenarios rather than combat. It's nice to be able to keep the story going despite the 5000-mile distance between us.

THE Star Wars

I've spent my limited free time in Germany reading The Star Wars, the comic book series based on the first draft of George Lucas's epic narrative. The verdict? Not my cup of tea. Turns out Annikin is lame and annoying in every Star Wars universe. Now I'll turn back to the Fifth Edition PHB and start working on character builds.

I Guess I Was In Belgium!

At breakfast this morning, one of my colleagues was telling me that his cell phone sent him a couple of text messages during our excursion on Sunday. It seems that after leaving the quaint little resort town of Monschau, we must have briefly crossed into Belgium without realizing it. My colleague's cell phone had dutifully informed him of the cell service rates in that country. So, now I can say I've been to Belgium...sort of...

Anyway, here's a nice photo from Monschau.

Kegel Fun

Tonight I went out with five fellow US-based GE guys who are also here in Germany. After dinner at an old-timey pub called Haus Unkelbach -- I had the Reibekuchen with applesauce -- we went down into the cellar to visit the pub's Kegelbahn. What followed was a very enjoyable night of kegeling. I'll leave it to your imagination, or you can click here if you want the details.

Bunkers

After leaving Aachen, we drove to Hurtgenwald, site of one of the bloodiest battles of the Second World War. The Battle of Hurtgen Forest resulted in over thirty thousand American casualties between September and December of 1944. We visited a very nice World War II museum, but the real adventure began when a volunteer asked if we'd like to see the German bunkers that are scattered throughout this heavily forested region. Needless to say, we didn't turn him down!

We drove out to a dirt road and followed our guide deep into the woods. Over the course of two hours, we visited about a half-dozen of these small but sturdy fortifications. The image above is a good example of how the bunkers are somewhat camouflaged by the surrounding trees and hills. The rectangular opening (known as an embrasure) was for machine gunners to attack advancing Allied forces. The image below shows what these embrasures look like on the inside of the bunker.

These bunkers were part of the infamous Siegfried Line, or the Westwall as the Germans called it. Many bunkers saw a lot of action. Take a close look at the image below and you can see where Allied weaponry has damaged the concrete.

With a battle that lasted for four long months, it's no surprise that countless artifacts have been discovered in this area. Indeed, during our trek today, our guide's teenage son dug up a twisted rod of rusting metal. I have no idea what purpose it may have served, or even whether it was an actual artifact from the war, but his discovery was a very cool experience nonetheless.

Aachen is Rockin'

This morning we visited the imperial city of Aachen and its wondrous cathedral. Commissioned by Charlemagne in 796, this church was the coronation site for dozens of German rulers throughout the Middle Ages.

Flash photograph was not permitted inside, so click here to view the Wikipedia article and feast your eyes on the beautiful art and architecture. From now on, when I think of the Citadel of Mithras in the Druid Cycle campaign setting, I'm going to envision the inside of Aachen Cathedral!

Duns Scotus Encounter

I sat at the aforementioned Starbucks at the Frankfurt train station (or, more accurately, at the sprawling office complex known as The Squaire) until my coworker arrived. We took the train from Frankfurt to Cologne and then spent the rest of the day exploring that fascinating, ancient city. One of the many places we visited was an old Franciscan church. I soon realized that this church was the burial place of the eminent medieval philosopher Duns Scotus (best remembered today, unfortunately, as the origin of the word "dunce"). I had no idea that Duns Scotus had died in Cologne. Tomorrow we plan to visit Aachen, the capital of Charlemagne's empire, where I hope to continue to immerse myself in medieval lore. And unlike today's jaunt, I won't forget my camera!

Made it!

I arrived safely in Frankfurt. Now I'm just hanging out with an old friend...Starbucks!

Stay tuned for (hopefully) regular posts from Germany!

Auf Wiedersehen

Today I'm heading out on a very long flight from San Francisco to Frankfurt. It may be a couple of days before I post again, but I hope to update the blog regularly with pics from my trip.

D&D Artist

I love the maps of Phandelin and the surrounding area from the new Fifth Edition Starter Set. They were created by Mike Schley, whose excellent art and cartography can be found here.

More Tyranny, Please!

Click here for another excerpt from the upcoming Tyranny of Dragons comic book series.

Character Builds

I've been discussing Fifth Edition character builds with Matt over the last few days, and I have some preliminary favorites (subject to change, of course!). I'll list them below, in the following format: race (sub-race) / class (build) / background.

1. Elf (High Elf) / Fighter (Eldritch Knight) / Folk Hero
2. Half-Elf / Paladin (Oath of Devotion) / Outlander
3. Half-Elf / Warlock (Chain Pact) / Noble
4. Human / Fighter (Battle Master) / Soldier
5. Dwarf (Hill Dwarf) / Cleric (Tempest Domain) / Acolyte

I may well add an archer (ranger or rogue) to the list, and I probably need a gnome (I love the Tinker racial ability) and some sort of crazy hermit monk. In any case, I'm going to bring my PHB with me on my upcoming trip to Germany and I'll see if I can crank out a few character sheets along the way.

Cologne...The City, Not the Dude Version of Perfume

I think the dude version of perfume is named after the city, but whatever. This has nothing to do with that. 

Late next week I'll be heading out on a sixteen-day business trip to Germany. It's been ten years since I was last in Europe -- and I've never been to Germany before -- so I'm pretty excited about the opportunity. I'm flying into Frankfurt and will be spending most of my time in the Cologne area. I'll try to make regular blog updates with photos, as Tim W has done during his recent trips to Asia. 

New D&D Mobile Game

There's a new D&D game coming out next year for mobile devices. Click here for details...and a video!

PHB Thoughts

I'm slowly making my way through the new PHB and I really like what I'm seeing. The Eldritch Knight (fighter build), Tempest domain cleric, and Oath of Devotion paladin are all characters I'd love to play. I have yet to study the sorcerer, warlock, and wizard classes, but I expect I'm going to add a warlock build to my list as well. If you've had a chance to peruse the PHB, what are your favorites so far?

Tyranny Preview

Click here for a preview of the upcoming Tyranny of Dragons comic book series, based on the Fifth Edition campaign of the same name.

Funded!

Take that, Hitler!

We did it. Against all odds, the Amazing Heroes Kickstarter has successfully funded! (Just don't ask me how much I kicked in!)

When we crossed the $30,000 threshold, all three Sutton lads celebrated by dancing and air guitaring to the dulcet tones of Motley Crue's "Kickstart My Heart."