"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.