Update Complete

I've now completed a massive update to my Druid Cycle notes based on the archives I discovered on the old Tandy computer at my parents' house. So much rich detail added to my spreadsheet! I think this information is really going to enhance the experience for this new generation of players.

Paladins Claim the Thaler Cup!

Donated by Thaler, the wealthiest merchant in the Druid Cycle campaign world, the Thaler Cup will be awarded to the winner of my fantasy soccer league each season. In this first campaign, the first-place Paladins duked it out with the second-place Golden Dragons for the inaugural Thaler Cup.

The championship game was scoreless through a full 90 minutes of play. The Dragons' keeper, Morcan, was phenomenal, as he kept his team in the game despite a 17-2 shot advantage for the Paladins during regulation time. In extra time, however, Gratian and Apollonius both scored to give the Paladins a 2-0 victory. (In keeping with soccer's FIFA World Cup, I'm using full periods of extra time and not a sudden-death "golden goal" rule.) The Paladins have won the first title, but the Golden Dragons have proven themselves to be a powerhouse as well. Looking forward to Season 2 and the addition of two expansion teams, bringing us up to six franchises.

First One in the Books!

With only four teams, and with each team playing their opponents only twice, the first season of my Druid Cycle soccer league (a custom league in Sensible Soccer) is already in the books. The Paladins paced the circuit with a 5-0-1 record. These lay brothers of Mithras led the league with 3.00 goals per game, and tied for the best goals-against average with 0.83 per game. In the championship game, they'll host the second-place Golden Dragons, who went 3-1-2. The Imperials (1-4-1) and the Racers (0-4-2) both have a long way to go before they're ready to compete for a title. 

For the individual awards, forwards Agrippa of the Imperials and Niall of the Golden Dragons tied for the league lead in goals with 6 apiece, so they'll share that trophy. The League MVP award goes to midfielder Nicephorus of the Paladins, who contributed top-notch offense (5 goals) as well as elite defense; he was arguably the main reason why the Paladins allowed a league-low 5.83 shots against per game. 

Next up, the championship match between the Paladins and the Golden Dragons!

Tomb Raidin'

The boys and I finished up the two remaining scenarios in the original Dark Tomb mini-box prior to returning to Nevada. Once we optimized our tactics, we breezed through the combats. We had a lot of fun along the way, and there were plenty of epic moments when all three characters got their opportunity to shine. I'll be sure to pack the Dark Tomb sequel box into our luggage for our next trip!

The Lost Archives

Once upon a time, I was the proud owner of a Tandy 1000 SX. From Christmas in 1986 through my high-school graduation in 1995, it was the only computer I owned, and it held up remarkably well. My parents used it for many years after I left home, and then it sat in the basement for many more years. During our trip back to New York this past week, Nathaniel and I managed to get it running again. We found a treasure trove of old games -- Spy Hunter, anyone?! -- but most importantly, the mother lode of Druid Cycle archives. All of my adventure summaries, gamemaster notes, and well, everything I had ever typed up for that campaign world during its original development in the early '90s was still right there on that massive 20MB hard drive. The printer doesn't work anymore, and I had no way to export the data from the ancient PFS File program, but I took a photograph of every screen so that I can sit down one day and revisit all those old notes. There's so much I've forgotten since those early days, and I have absolutely no doubt that a deep dive into that material will yield tons of great stuff that I can apply to today's campaigns.

Narrow Escape

The boys and I delved into the first scenario of the mini cooperative game Dark Tomb the other day. (All components fit within a tin about the size of a modern smartphone.) Nathaniel is playing a spellcaster with a pet raven, Matthew is a rogue-like character, and I'm something akin to a ranger. The game plays quickly and we had fun discussing optimal tactics, but some lousy rolls set us back and nearly cost us a victory. As it stands, all three characters managed a narrow escape from the first dungeon. On to the second!

DC League

Next on my Sensible Soccer agenda is a league set in the Druid Cycle campaign world. I'm going to start small, with just four teams representing the three largest human cities in that setting: the Paladins and Imperials (Troya Nova), Racers (Riverton), and Golden Dragons (Prifddinas). That should be a manageable undertaking for the inaugural season, but I already have plans to expand the league with four new teams (a second franchise in Riverton along with three other cities) starting in Season 2. 

Free RPG Day

Get to your local game store for Free RPG day -- today!!!

Dark Tomb

We'll be doing some traveling this summer, but the boys and I will nevertheless have plenty of game action to occupy our downtime. A recent Kickstarter called Dark Tomb is perfect for travel: It's a cooperative, d20-based game that literally fits in your pocket!

D&D 2024

Over a decade ago, I invested countless hours in playtesting what would ultimately become Fifth Edition D&D. I submitted vast amounts of detailed feedback through many rounds of playtest materials. (Click the "5e" label and dive in to those earlier posts, if you dare!) The game that was published in 2014 was, in my opinion, an absolute masterpiece -- the best version of D&D in the game's long history. 

Fast-forward to the present. I wasn't terribly enthused by the prospect of the 2024 revamp of Fifth Edition, and some of what I was seeing in the Unearthed Arcana playtest PDFs was as troubling to me as anything from The Edition That Shall Not Be Named. But you know what? I watched this video and now I feel a bit better.

All I Really Want...

Random Thursday thoughts! All I really want -- aside from some patience, a way to calm the angry voice, and maybe deliverance -- is MultiVersus, but as a miniatures game. The obvious answer is CMON's Mayhem system, but it doesn't offer the full range of WB characters. In fact, it pales in comparison to what Restoration Games is doing with their Unmatched series these days.

Evercade Alpha

Evercade launched a revamped website today and it includes a bombshell development: They're getting into cabinets now! I don't know if I'll purchase the Evercade Alpha when it comes out in the fall, but damn, it's a pretty cool concept!

Tiffany, Heather, Cody, Dylan, Dermot, Jordan, Taylor, Brittany...

As part of my years-long (okay, decades-long) expansion of Druid Cycle history and lore, I've identified the reign of every Emperor/Empress of Troya Nova and every King/Queen of Teyrnas. Running through the lists of names, I can't help but speak them aloud in the cadence of the esteemed Cletus Spuckler when he calls to his prodigious brood...

Evercade Hall of Fame

Adding up all the games on all the carts, I probably have upwards of 200 retro games I can play on my Evercade systems. Of those games, I've completed probably about two dozen. Of those two dozen, only a select few merit inclusion in my new Evercade Hall of Fame -- games so awesome or so memorable that they rank among my favorite video games of all time, regardless of the era or system. 

Here is the inaugural class of Hall of Famers, presented in alphabetical order:

• Brave Battle Saga
• Captain Commando 
• Dragon View (Drakkhen II)
• Drakkhen
• Final Fight
• Flashback 
• Sensible Soccer

What's likely to be the next entry in the EHOF? Well, the first three Tomb Raider titles come out for Evercade in July...

Meet the Argos Achaians!

I had a lot of fun with a custom Sensible Soccer team featuring my childhood buddies from Horseheads. Although we lost our first World Cup tournament in the finals, we roared back the next time around to claim the Cup! For my next fantasy soccer experience, I'm going a bit further back in time...all the way to the Trojan War! Achilles, Odysseus, Ajax (the Greater and the Lesser) and all their companions from the Iliad will take the soccer world by storm as the Argos Achaians!

FCBD 2024

Heads up! It's Free Comic Book Day today!

A Sensible Obsession

Sensible Soccer is pretty much my new obsession. I have a huge list of custom teams, games, tournaments, and leagues in mind. One idea I'd love to explore is to create a soccer league based on the major human cities of the Druid Cycle campaign setting. Perhaps even a famous NPC or two might show up on the rosters! In the short term, however, I'm working on a Team USA -- complete with my 8-bit approximation of their real-life 2024 home and away kit -- populated by my neighborhood buddies from when I was a kid. Can't wait for my friends and I to start on the road to a World Cup!

Sensible Soccer

Sensible Soccer -- named for the company, although the game is pretty sensible too -- may just be one of the most perfect sports games I've ever played. I picked up an out-of-print Evercade cartridge basically just to get this game, and it hasn't disappointed. It's infinitely customizable and the gameplay is intuitive and fun. I foresee many, many tournaments and leagues in my future...

Back to the Tomb!

Just when I was wondering what else Evercade had up their sleeves...

Game Time = Family Time

Between Matthew's swim practices and meets, and Nathaniel's Boy Scout activities, and all the schoolwork for both of them, it's been tough to keep up any kind of momentum on our campaigns. It doesn't help that we're also juggling three campaigns at the moment, with the zombie-themed Dark Enigma (which also includes Amy) and two Druid Cycle games (one of which includes the boys' cousins). I've found myself kind of stressed out by the difficulty of getting everyone to the table, and when I gave it some more thought, I realized that game time is a proxy for family time. With the busy pace of life these days, we don't seem to have much time to sit down and just be together.