Huzzah for Technology!

Thousands of miles apart? Living in different countries? No sweat! Thanks to the miracle of the interwebs, we have a new Shattered Realm campaign going -- and it's not just me and the boys! Using Skype, Matt and his daughter have joined the fun from their home in Canada!

Monster Blues

The boys' Shattered Realm heroes had been fighting their way through a wight-infested ruin when they came upon a deep well in which a cry for help could be heard. After a few prudent skill checks, however, they began to suspect that the pitiful entreaties were actually a ruse. As we wrapped up the game session, a wraith emerged from the well to attack the party. With Matthew's rogue low on hit points, Nathaniel feared that one solid Life Drain hit would consign the rogue to an eternity of ghostly undeath. He pored over the wraith's stat block and, even after we tucked him in, he lay in bed stewing over the situation. I had to have a long talk with him about probability -- the odds of Matthew's rogue falling victim to the wraith -- before he agreed to go back to bed. Maybe (probably) this goes without saying, but it's not a good idea to let a six-year-old read the Monster Manual at bedtime...

More Minis!

Need more minis for D&D? Of course you do! Click here for a Kickstarter that needs some extra love as its end date is rapidly approaching...

Fun With Fireballs

Can you spot the sorcerer, the ranger, and the ranger's animal companion in this throng of skeletons?

When the boys' primary Shattered Realm heroes ran afoul of a vampire, the dastardly villain unleashed his horde of undead minions. The heroes lured the (literally) boneheaded creatures into a crowd around them, and then Matthew's sorcerer dropped a fireball in the middle of everything -- roasting heroes and monsters alike! The fireball did enough damage that it destroyed even the skeletons that made their saving throws, while the heroes had enough hit points to withstand the full force of the blast. It wasn't pretty, but it got the job done: 26 skeletons destroyed with a single spell!

Painting 101

Today I attended a fun painting class at my local Games Workshop store (Warhammer - The Summit in Reno). I got the chance to practice dry brush, wash, and other techniques, but I don't necessarily think the mini turned out any better or worse than the ones I painted a few months ago.

Once our house situation is sorted out, I look forward to painting the models from the First Strike and Know No Fear sets that I picked up a while back.

Game Balance

We were discussing 5e wizard cantrips the other day -- typical dinner conversation in our household -- and then Matthew switched gears to ask which classes get access to the legendary Wish spell. With no PHB handy, I speculated that the sorcerer and wizard could get it.

"As a cantrip?" Nathaniel piped up.

Heh. Wish as a cantrip would present a few game balance issues, don't you think?

Curses!

We wrapped up our brief Eberron adventure this evening, but not before the boys got their first taste of a true D&D classic: cursed magic items. Matthew's fighter put on an enchanted cloak that turned out to be more than he bargained for. Now the objective for our next adventure will be to find someone who can cast Remove Curse. As an alternative, Nathaniel suggested: "Don't worry, my paladin will be able to cast that spell in just five more levels!" Yeah, Matthew wasn't on board with waiting quite that long...

Starfinder Review

Click here for an early review of Paizo's sci-fi version of Pathfinder, Starfinder!

Our Visit to Eberron

Whether as a player or as a DM, I've never participated in an adventure set in Eberron. I must admit a somewhat fraught relationship with that campaign setting. Maybe it's the magic robots, or the fact that the main continent of Khorvaire makes me think of an old-time Chevy, but it's probably the history of the setting itself.

Eberron was created as the result of a contest held back in 2002, when thousands of gamers submitted ideas for the next great D&D campaign setting. Naturally, I jumped on that opportunity as well. The Shattered Realm setting was in its infancy, and the Druid Cycle world seemed too hard to distill into a one-page overview sheet, so I opted to submit the setting now called Torchlight, which in those days was known as Woden's Gallows. For those who haven't seen it, Torchlight is a low-magic, dark fantasy world based on the literature and mythology of Anglo-Saxon England (the focus of my graduate studies). I still can't believe I (and so many others) lost to a setting whose primary "hook" was magic robots, but...whatever.

Anyway, as the boys are crazy for D&D these days, I've cracked open a free Eberron adventure that I picked up years ago. I'm ignoring all the stuff about Dragonmarked houses and whatnot, and pretty much running it as if it's in a generic D&D setting. Even so, the boys want to take a ride on Eberron's infamous magic train, but I told them it doesn't have any stops in the Shadow Marches...

Red Box Redux

The boys have two characters apiece in the Shattered Realm setting, so when they decided they needed still more characters, I figured it was time to break out some published D&D adventures to help pick up the slack. We started with a Fifth Edition mod of the original solo adventure from the 1983 edition of the Dungeons & Dragons Basic Set -- the legendary "red box" edition. The boys enjoyed partaking in a bit of D&D history, but they also recognized just how primitive those early adventures could be. "It's just a bunch of rooms filled with random monsters!"

Reiver Madness

Okay, okay, the title for this post is a really lame pun. Moving on! The Reivers are a new type of fear-inspiring, close-quarters combat squad for the Primaris Space Marines. Here they are taking on some bloated, festering Plague Marines.

I love that the First Strike starter set includes a detailed battle map and a simple but effective piece of 3D scenery. Games look great right out of the box, even before the minis are painted.

First Strike

I picked up two of the new 40k starter sets (First Strike and Know No Fear) today at the Games Workshop store in Reno. (You should've seen the guy's face when I told him I was going to paint the minis with paints from Michaels!) Here are the sprues for First Strike, the smaller of the two sets.

As you can see, the models aren't molded in the usual dark gray plastic; instead, the Primaris Space Marines (think Ultramarines on steroids) are in blue and the Death Guard forces are in green. This way, even for folks who don't want to paint the models, it's easier to tell which side is which. That's handy for me, too, because it may be a while before I get around to painting the minis for either starter set, as we may have some big news to report in the next couple of weeks! (No, Amy isn't pregnant...)

Pathfinder: Kingmaker

Wow, I just found out about Pathfinder: Kingmaker, a single-player computer RPG in the style of Baldur's Gate and its successors. Click here to see the Kickstarter page -- but there's only a few hours left!

Beast Mode

With apologies to Marshawn Lynch, there's a new Beast Mode in town. The boys started up an adventure with new characters in the Shattered Realm setting this past weekend, and Nathaniel's shapeshifting druid has been the bane of low-level villains everywhere. Whether as a tiger, dire wolf, or giant hyena(!), he's running rampant over his foes. Matthew's assassin rogue may be dealing more damage per round, but there's something viscerally satisfying about watching the druid clawing down hapless kobolds and orcs.

Starter Set Madness

Aye caramba! The new edition of 40k has not one, not two, but three starter sets! I swear I'm only going to buy the cheapest one...

Twisty Plots

I love throwing plot twists at the boys in their Shattered Realm campaign, and they love trying to figure out what's going to happen next. Last weekend, they learned that one of their half-dozen closest NPC allies was secretly a traitor -- but they didn't know which one. What followed was a lengthy discussion of NPC actions and motivations, and a review of all the available evidence. It took a few leading questions on my part, but ultimately they realized that the main NPC of the campaign was also the master villain! Long story short, that treacherous NPC suffered a swift and ignominious fall from grace.

Then, last night, the boys were gearing up for peace talks between an embattled border town and the goblinoid army that was about to lay siege to it. (I have enough D&D minis to put over a hundred goblins, hobgoblins, and bugbears into the field -- so when I say "army", I really mean it!) A key part of the peace negotiations was an exchange of prisoners. The invaders insisted that the town give up a hobgoblin who had switched sides and joined with the heroes. The town's leadership refused, but the noble hobgoblin agreed to return to his people and face whatever punishment would be meted out to him. The boys were devastated. They're assuming, of course, that their pal will be executed, but would I let a great NPC go to waste? Never! Some time will pass, and then I'll find a way to bring him back into the story.

After all, it would make a great plot twist...

Epic Save

Over the many years and many players of Druid Cycle adventures, it seems to me that Jason was the one guy who always had great rolls in clutch situations. (Apologies to Kevin, whose mantra was "I roll 1s like it's my job.") These days, in the Shattered Realm campaign that I'm running for the boys, it's Nathaniel who scores the big roll when he needs it. And in today's game session, he really needed it. The heroes were beset by a mind-controlling witch who was on the verge of turning Nathaniel's beloved animal companion against the party. (Protip: How do you scare the crap out of a six-year-old gamer? Don't threaten his own character -- threaten his pet!) Nathaniel needed to roll a natural 20 for his animal companion to succeed on the save, and doggone it, he made that save! He and Matthew and I all cried out so loudly that poor Amy -- who's laid up with a fever -- came hobbling out of the bedroom to find out what the heck was going on!

Countdown to 30

The first Front Porch campaign -- the superhero smackdown antics of Earth Commanders -- started just about 29 years ago in the summer of 1988. Next summer, then, will mark 30 years of Front Porch gaming action. For the 25th anniversary I did a series of posts on the subject (see the label "Countdown to 25"), so I might as well do the same for the 30th. 2018 will be doubly significant because it also marks the 25th anniversary of the Druid Cycle campaign setting.

Bears vs. Babies

Our latest Kickstarter purchase has arrived!

Yeah, that's one furry box! From the makers of Exploding Kittens, behold the glory of Bears vs. Babies. The object of the game is to assemble armies of bears and other creatures, like this guy...

...and this guy...

...to do battle against hordes of demented babies, like these little buggers...

The player who eats the most babies wins! Three out of four Suttons agree: This game is a winner!

Free RPG Day Today!

Don't forget, it's Free RPG Day today!