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.