Month: October 2021

Is D&D’s “XP Valley” Killing Campaigns?

ThinkDM

A sneaky system design quirk may contribute to D&D campaigns fizzling out before they reach high level.

Is D&D a Low-Level Game?

Prevailing wisdom says that most 5th Edition D&D is played at the lowest levels.

Folks have plenty of reasons to feel this way:

D&D’s April 2015 Player Survey data suggested “most of you are still playing in the 1st to 6th level range.” Notably, that survey was only a month after the game officially released. Folks also cite DnDBeyond’s Campaign Level Spread data, which controlled for certain factors in an attempt to only capture played characters, but remains imperfect and suffers from sampling bias. Sometimes, folks point to the sales data of third-party content produced for Adventurer’s League and DM’s Guild, which still composes a small fraction of the player base.

It’s impossible to say whether this phenomenon is a sampling error, a self-fulfilling prophecy based on 5e’s…

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Lord Gygax’s Writing Technique #ADnD #DnD #RPG 

Play What You Want

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Flogging A Dead Horse GIFs | Tenor

A while back, I observed that, despite Lord Gygax’s writing being rightly criticized at times, he sometimes made some funny observations that I loved, and you really can’t have one without the other. Rather than accept the compliment for our beloved leader, some of you took me for task, stating there is no way (Seriously? No way?) Lord Gygax’s writing could be rightfully criticized. I have some questions for those people.

Gary Gygax" T-shirt by SaintAgnost | Redbubble
I need this shirt.

1/day, an ogre mage can cast “a ray of cold the same dimensions as that of a cold wand.” Putting aside the missing preposition, what’s a “cold wand”? A wand of cold? No, because that’s not a thing either.

Okay, that one’s not so bad. It’s probably a wand of frost. I don’t like having to go to another book to figure out what the book…

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The Ochrenvault Complete

Dyson's Dodecahedron

The Ochrenvault – Low Resolution Tagged

The Elders of the Ochren built a portal to the stars deep within the Ochrenvault – a deep set of caves and “dungeons” that were cut into the mountains by nature and the ochrefolk (a “privileged” class of humans and half-elves that were “permitted” to serve the elders). The Ochrenvault is deep in the inhospitable jungles of one of the Ochren Isles (commonly marked on maps now as the Ochre Isles, as knowledge of the Ochren fades from this world) and delves deep into the tropical island’s rocky hills.

The Ochrenvault – Low Resolution Untagged

This post compiles the six different sections of the Ochrenvault map into one massive and unwieldly monstrosity. The map measures in at 16 inches by 40 inches at 4 squares per inch (with 10′ squares). If you wanted this blown up to the size used for miniatures, that would…

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Boss Rush Banter: Which November 2021 Release Will Make the Biggest Splash?

Video games are released regularly–ensuring a non-stop supply of fun for gamers of all kinds. After a relatively slow 2020, this year has seen some incredible releases, with November looking to be another hot month. Here are some examples of the hype we are seeing for November releases:

  • 11/5/2021: Call of Duty: Vanguard (PC, Xbox, PlayStation)
  • 11/9/2021: Forza Horizon 5 (PC, Xbox Game Pass)
  • 11/11/2021: Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy (PC, Xbox, PlayStation, Nintendo Switch)
  • 11/12/2021: Shin Megami Tensei V (Nintendo Switch)
  • 11/16/2021: Sherlock Holmes Chapter One (PC, Xbox, PlayStation)
  • 11/19/2021: Battlefield 2042
  • 11/19/2021: Pokemon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl (Nintendo Switch)
  • 11/23/2021: Final Fantasy XIV: Endwalker (PC/Mac, PlayStation)

In addition to this, Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy, Age of Empires (PC), and Mario Party Superstars are being released in the final days of October. All of them deserve their level of excitement and have their own fanbase; however…

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Fly Free or Die #13: Clean Slate

Pathfinders' Guild of Berkeley

Selling a chunk of starmetal turns out not to be that simple… Old friends, old enemies, brainwashing, and a secret plan in today’s chapter, which is told by the party mechanic Gouda. –GM

6th of Lamashan, 321 AG (After Gap)

Lindol

Today in our campaign, the main goal was to sell a large amount of not-quite-legal starmetals obtained from last’s sessions efforts to kill a space beast.

When we arrived on world, we noticed that when shopkeepers saw our fairly diverse party, they hid some of their wares. Some child eventually came up to us and claimed that they could show us around. After revealing that we were here to sell metal, the child offered to give us information, with a catch: money.

Upon handing over a few credits, we were told that Vesk had been coming and closing up shops. It seemed the shopkeepers had assumed that we would…

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Top Ten Halloween Inspired Settings in Gaming

The Game Campaign

We are in the throes of spooky month and you know what that means: all the Halloween content. Developers love incorporating holiday themes from real life to add a little bit of spice to their games. It can be an easy-themed level to put the player in a particular mindset, it can be an update to celebrate the season, or it can be an entire game that is trying to showcase its spooky nature.

However, I’m not trying to pick games that are scary. Instead, I want games that would fit in at a Halloween celebration. Show me the jack o’lanterns, bobbing for apples, candy, and cheesy decorations. These are the elements that scream Halloween and not just a horror game. Grab your bags and let’s ring the bell of our first entry.

Costume Quest

Auburn Hollow – Costume Quest

What can be more Halloween than an entire town dressed…

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Nintendo Adds Disclaimer in Mario Party Minigames

The release of Mario Party Superstars sees a return to form in minigames without motion controls. This title features boards and minigames from the Nintendo 64 era, and the release of the Nintendo 64 controller for the Nintendo Switch Online Expansion Pack had the potential to put this party to a halt.

For those who aren’t in the know, Nintendo ran into some trouble during the very first Mario Party title when players started reporting injuries they received when playing certain minigames involving the control stick on the Nintendo 64 controller. Players were using the palms of their hands for ease of winning these minigames but were awarded friction burns and lacerations rather than the bragging rights and coins they wanted to receive.

Nintendo had agreed as part of a settlement with the New York state attorney general’s office to provide protective gloves for players, offering up to four gloves…

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The Ochrenvault – Map 6

Dyson's Dodecahedron

The Ochrenvault - Map 6
The Ochrenvault – Map 6 (300 dpi promo)

The Elders of the Ochren built a portal to the stars deep within the Ochrenvault – a deep set of caves and “dungeons” that were cut into the mountains by nature and the ochrefolk (a “privileged” class of humans and half-elves that were “permitted” to serve the elders). The Ochrenvault is deep in the inhospitable jungles of one of the Ochren Isles (commonly marked on maps now as the Ochre Isles, as knowledge of the Ochren fades from this world) and delves deep into the tropical island’s rocky hills.

The Ochrenvault - Map 6
The Ochrenvault – Map 6 (1200 dpi)

Here we have arrived at the deepest halls of the Ochrenvault, beyond even the areas haunted by the shattered spirits of the remaining Elders of Ochren. Set on the shore of the shallow river that continues down into the unknown and eventually into the sea, the…

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Boss Rush Banter: Why Can’t I just Enjoy Games My Way?

At one point or another we have all experienced someone making us feel bad for choosing to enjoy a certain game or platform. I remember for myself, as a kid (and even a teenager) where I would be belittled for liking a game franchise, that in my peers’ minds, was deemed childish, but as someone who is fairly laid back, I easily brushed off these comments and in some scenarios, even brushed off bullying. Why are we cutting each other down for a pastime we all enjoy instead of remaining open minded while supporting each other’s passions?

I often remember back in 2008 when I had a PlayStation 3, I enjoyed playing the Call of Duty games. I had purchased the DLC for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, and was enjoying playing online like I normally would. One time my girlfriend, who is now my wife, was interested…

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