Month: September 2021

D&D is a Combat Game

ThinkDM

Wizards of the Coast has caused a little bit of a stir in the tabletop community with the advertising of their new book. D&D says its new adventure book, The Wild Beyond the Witchlight (WBW) is possible to complete without engaging in combat.

Now, most situations in a D&D game should be presented with the possibility of avoiding combat. That’s just good open design.

But, if you’re going to play an entire adventure without combat, you should probably be playing another game. Why is that?

D&D is fundamentally a game about combat. That’s what most of its rules are for. That’s what most of your character features do. When you advance and get more powerful–whether that’s through killing monsters and gaining XP, or from talking through social situations and surpassing leveling milestones–you generally get more combat powers. Where fighting to get stronger makes sense, there’s a certain incongruity with talking…

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So, Then I Just Backed it: A Series on My Kickstarter Adventures (Part 3)

As someone who enjoys writing articles, I also enjoy reading other people’s articles. Whether that be online, in books, or periodicals, it gives me perspective on topics from various angles, which is why its important to read various reviews on games. It allows me to amass a plethora of opinions to better determine if I want to use my money to purchase a game or any other product. This is my journey on the books and articles side of backing projects on Kickstarter as well as Indiegogo.

In my previous article (Part 2), I refer to a project entitled “Medium of the Ages: An Illustrated Anthology,” which was the first book-based project I had backed. It featured various artwork from multiple artists who based it on The Legend of Zelda series. This project was ultimately removed due to copyright issues with Nintendo; this was the first…

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Swordtember Blade #17 – “The Soldier” or “The Smouldering Blade of Khtæn”

Dyson's Dodecahedron

This month is Swordtember. I’m going to try to draw a sword every day for the month. If I manage to keep this going for the whole month, I’ll release all 30 sword images (minus the frame and Swordtember logo I drew) as an incidental stock art pack.

Simply named “the Soldier” but generally referred to as the Smouldering Blade of Khtæn this Yán Koryáni sword trails steam-like white wisps behind it wherever it goes. It is a sword +2, +4 vs creatures that regenerate (and prevents regeneration by any creature that cannot regenerate wounds caused by fire or acid).

(The design of this blade is based on a drawing by David Sutherland of Yán Koryáni troops from the 1977 “Legions of the Petal Throne”.)

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GenCon? Old School Dungeon Merch? Hell yes!

Dyson's Dodecahedron

Are you at GenCon this year? Checking out your seventeenth-favourite blog on your phone while letting your feet relax from all the walking?

The Hoopy Froods over at Gamer Concepts have got a bunch of cool stuff (in booth 1229). But forget about their cool t-shirts, nerdy stickers, murderhobo notebooks, handbags of holding… and check out the sherpa blanket.

Yeah… that’s a sexy soft warm dungeon experience for you. Well, in my case it was IMMEDIATELY claimed by the cats as their official new favourite thing. But when they aren’t snuggled into it, the Deep Halls Blanket has proven to be as soft, warm, and lovely as it looks. And it is really cool to see the Deep Halls in this format.

Of course, another one of their Deep Halls products was the focus of a lot of attention over the last year and they’ve got a bunch of them…

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Top Ten Soundtracks in Gaming

The Game Campaign

The most magical thing about video games is that they are the culmination of every other medium. They use art, music, film, and more to help create an entire world and one of the most easily recognizable components of a famous video game is its soundtrack. The moment you hear the opening to the theme of one of your favorite games, you know instantly what it is and you associate it with all the feelings that the game instilled in you during your playtime.

The mark of a great soundtrack is one that not only leaves a lasting impression but matches the themes and overall tone of the game. This might be one of the hardest lists that I have had to create simply because there are so many great options. I even contemplated making this list a top 20 but that time has not come quite yet. There can…

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Swordtember Blade #16 – Zatiak the Unforged

Dyson's Dodecahedron

This month is Swordtember. I’m going to try to draw a sword every day for the month. If I manage to keep this going for the whole month, I’ll release all 30 sword images (minus the frame and Swordtember logo I drew) as an incidental stock art pack.

Zatiak is broken a blade made of some heavy lusterless crystal, maybe even a stone – shattered who knows how long ago, the blade still maintains a coherent form and is no less useful than a properly forged blade. It is treated in all ways as a non-metallic sword +2.

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Boss Rush Banter: Should You Sell Your Old Consoles and Video Games?

Gaming has erupted and evolved since the 80s. Nintendo, Sony, and Microsoft have released several amazing generations of consoles that perhaps, a millennial or Gen-X person has lived to see and experience most of them.

The NES is almost forty years old. Gamecube just celebrated twenty years, and the first Xbox will hit that same benchmark this November. Games from previous generations are selling at a profit because it’s “vintage” now–such as the original Super Mario Bros. that went for two million dollars. A copy of Super Mario 64 sold for 1.6 million, and someone actually paid $870,000 for an original Legend of Zelda.

While many of us may not have the rare editions sitting pristinely in its original packaging, many gamers are growing older with several classic games in their collection. Some simply keep them to revisit when they are feeling nostalgic, while others are avid collectors.

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3 Sides to Alignment in D&D

The Nerdd

Dungeons & Dragons is known for a lot of things. Elven Warriors fighting against floating eyeballs. Magical musicians that want to sleep with any living creature. Edgelord orphans who’s parents were killed by orcs, and was raised on the streets, and can never trust anyone again. But one of the most common things from this game that has reached the public consciousness, is the alignment chart.

Of course, just like everything in this game, eventually it was seen as an unnecessary aspect of character creation, and even a hindrance to the stories we could tell. So let’s take a look at where Alignment began, and how it can be used today.

Original Idea

In the first edition of Dungeons & Dragons, the alignment chart was less of a chart, and just three options: Lawful, Chaotic, and Neutral. At this point, the classic fantasy characters that Gary Gygax was trying to…

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Swordtember Blade #15 – Anarxya

Dyson's Dodecahedron

This month is Swordtember. I’m going to try to draw a sword every day for the month. If I manage to keep this going for the whole month, I’ll release all 30 sword images (minus the frame and Swordtember logo I drew) as an incidental stock art pack.

Beaten into a sword-like shape in the soul forges of the Inevitable City, Anarxya was once a demon who rebelled against its kin. Now a sentient sword +1, all those of infernal or celestial origin must save vs spells when struck by the blade or suffer a -2 penalty on saving throws for the next hour (this effect can be applied multiple times to the same target).

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Nintendo GameCube Turns 20 Years Old

Nintendo Applies for New Japanese Trademarks on the GameCube

Today marks the 20th anniversary of Nintendo’s little console that changed gaming everywhere. The Nintendo GameCube released on September 14, 2001 in Japan; it released in the U.S. in November of the same year, and Europe and Australia in May 2002. In December 2001, Panasonic, with its deal with Nintendo, released the Panasonic Q, a GameCube and DVD hybrid exclusive to Japan. With its original purple known as Indigo, the GameCube later released a black version known as Jet Black and a silver one known as Platinum.

Panasonic Q - Wikidata
The Panasonic Q

The GameCube consists of four ports like its predecessor, the Nintendo 64. The controller is mostly known for its big A-button and small B-button, along with its legendary comfortable grip. The springs clicking in the L- and R-buttons on top are very notable. It also has a handle in the back so gamers can carry it over friends’ houses to…

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