DDOCentral

Short anecdote: today I spoke to several of the students who had taken home rules to read and digest. The most confident of those was one of the older boys who had claimed the Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition Player’s Handbook, Monster Manual, and DM’s Screen. I asked him how it was going:

“There’s a lot of words in those books and I think I’d like to find something with less words.”

This made me smile. I did mention that I would soon have another Starter Set if that would be more useful, a comment that was met with a nod and smile. But the key reflection we shared was how much the book had grown since 1981. This was a reference to the Basic D&D (1981) book I have been running at the school club.

On reflection, it’s curious to note that most teens seem to cherish the large…

After establishing the threats to the Nentir Vale, the next step was to gather adventurers for my warband. I fully embraced the random generation charts but still ended up with a group of humans. Their backgrounds ranged from townsfolk, sturdy frontiersmen, and even a zealot. I also wanted to dabble in magic and chose one of my heroes to be a mystic.

For gear, I was able to wrangle up a few quality weapons and some simple enchanted items. I loved the idea of a rough and tumble barbarian with just enough charisma to gather a group under their leadership. So I chose Takari to be my warband leader wielding a bastard sword. I definitely wanted some ranged attackers and selected Kester, a tradesman-turned-adventurer, who opted to finally wield the crossbows he diligently made for years in the city. There was also Sigmund, the zealot monk on a mission to…

This evening I had the very great privilege of being able to give five students at the school D&D club a game to take home and learn how to play, all with the intention of becoming Game Masters. To be honest, it’s the best and fastest uptake I’ve ever had – the enthusiasm to learn and offer a game to friends was palpable. It was only possible because the RPR Patrons made it so – thank you, every one of you!

Here’s what different students took away to use:

1. D&D Basic Rules booklet (printed copy of the free rules on Wizards’ site)
2. D&D Starter Set (5th Edition) – the Phandelin one
3. D&D Player’s Handbook + Monster Manual + DM’s Scrren Reincarnated + Goblin Henchman’s Face Folio
4. Basic Fantasy RPG + Morgansfort
5. Basic Fantasy RPG + The Caves of Chaos
6. Everyone got some polyhedral dice

Honestly, I could probably have given…

It’s been 15 years since the gravity-bending Super Mario Galaxy graced our screens with its unique controls and approach to platforming.

Additionally, this game came on the heels of a disappointing outing for the rotund plumber as Super Mario Sunshine didn’t bring in the success many thought it would. Super Mario Galaxy shattered expectations and became a bona fide classic.

The accolades are there showing a lot of love for the game and that is, in part, because of its level design.

Galaxy features 42 total worlds called galaxies. This game broke them into robust galaxies (15) featuring multiple missions, mystery galaxies (20) that feature one mission, and boss galaxies (six) which feature a boss battle.

These numbers shatter previous 3D Mario total worlds, featuring a diverse universe to explore.

That said, which galaxy is your favorite?

One of my favorites…

Just a quick note to say the D100 Dungeon book came (finally) this week and it’s great to have it on paper because it makes flipping between the various tables much easier than using the digital version. I did a review and example of play earlier in the month, so I’ll just leave you with a couple of photos.

Game on!

I’ve mentioned before that one of the features I enjoy from classic GURPS is the chapter on Random Characters. At the weekend, I dug out my GURPS 1st Edition boxed set and had an absolute blast rolling up some characters using those rules. There are three reasons why I think having those rules is cool.

Firstly, random characters give GURPS a truly quick character creation system. This is invaluable for Open Table play, where you need to onboard players within about 15 minutes. This is also useful for pick-up games. For me, the best use is for giving me a way to generate interesting characters for a solo game.

Secondly, the rules fit the classic roleplaying tradition of eschewing game balance concerns in order to give players meaningful choices to make within the game world. Rolling up a character gives a vast range of character ability but also provides an…