A review of the Kickstarter “Darkplane,” a campaign setting for the fifth edition of ‘Dungeons & Dragons.’ This setting combines Gothic Horror, weird almost Lovecraftian touches, and a gritty world to create a setting that just begs to be played in.
Continue Reading
In this episode, Dave and Mike check out the Pathfinder Adventure Card Game and talk about race cars, spring break, and having a sense of humor about Kickstarter.
Continue Reading
‘The Lost Dungeons of Xon’ Kickstarter uses an interactive PDF to simplify life for the GM. It’s now on Kickstarter, and it’s a great bargain…
Continue Reading
This week on the podcast, we talk about the perennial geek favorite: the dungeon crawl. Why does the lure of loot always get us back down into those dark, dank catacombs? What makes the perfect dungeon crawl experience, and why do so many games fall just short of what we’re hoping for? We play Wrath of Ashardalon, one of the Dungeons & Dragons Adventure System games, and talk about everything from Descent: Journeys in The Dark to Diablo III.
Continue Reading
Hobby games continue to experience upward growth. Read which games lead their categories inside.
Continue Reading
Our game this week is Memoir ’44. We took turns getting pummeled as the Axis, and–spoiler alert–had a pretty good time at it.
Continue Reading
Want an interesting way to reanimate those classic ‘D&D’ modules everyone has seen over and over again? Why not run them backwards? Hangover style…
Continue Reading
For the past few weeks, I’ve been doing some investigations into “classic” Dungeons & Dragons for an upcoming Adventurers League three-week (six hours) session. Way before Advanced Dungeons & Dragons, and even before the Basic Set (1977) that was my starting point with the game. I’m talking about what many folks refers to as Original D&D or OD&D.
Continue Reading
The Dice Section is a podcast about tabletop games and what makes them great. On and off for the past few years, my co-host, Dave Kirby, and I get together and talk about what we’ve been playing and why. We try to go in-depth with the games we love and explain what’s so special about them, how they fit in with our own personal day-to-day stories, and why we keep coming back to the table to play more.
I’m excited to bring the show over to the GeekDad Podcast Network and host it here.
Continue Reading
Prepping for a roleplaying game doesn’t have to take hours. With the help of Obsidian Portal, I only spend about half an hour a week on mine. Here’s how to use campaign wikis to up your Dungeon Mastering game.
Continue Reading
It’s time for one of my favorite posts each year: our Best Board Games list!
Continue Reading
When I was a kid, I drooled over the inside covers of Dungeons & Dragons books, marvelling at all the different campaign settings and splatbooks. Out of everything, the Planescape setting was the most fascinating.
Continue Reading
Having played a brief demo of WizKids’ Dungeons & Dragons – Attack Wing at this summer’s GenCon, I was really looking forward to the fall release of the Starter Set. I’ve finally had the chance to play a few sessions, and am itching for more.
Continue Reading
The circle is complete. Wizards of the Coast has released its 5th edition Dungeon Master’s Guide, and with that book the trio of books that has formed the basis of Dungeons & Dragons for decades is united again in a new edition. Earlier this year, WotC released the 5th edition Player’s Handbook and followed it up with the 5e Monster Manual. Based on reviews and fan reaction and my own informal discussions with numerous players during my own Adventurer’s League gathering every Wednesday evening, the opinion seems to be that the 5th edition is a welcome return to traditional dungeon crawls and role playing to satisfy veteran players while bringing in enough new content and rule updates to freshen up the game and make it welcoming to new players. These reactions, however, have been based on the Player’s Handbook, Monster Manual, and the handful of ready-made adventurers that have been offered up to dungeon masters and players through the Expeditions and Encounters events. The 5e Dungeon Master’s Guide has been the most obvious missing element, but no longer. It’s here…
Continue Reading
The must-have piece of art for every geek’s game room.
Continue Reading
If you’ve been waiting for a tabletop aerial combat game that includes more shimmering scales and fewer S-foils — more actual fire power than, you know, “firepower” — you’ll probably be interested in WizKids’ Dungeons & Dragons – Attack Wing, set for release next month. I had a chance to play a short demo at this year’s Gen Con, and it sure seems like fun.
Continue Reading
Join in on the fun as the PAX edition of Acquisitions Inc. is streamed live tonight.
Continue Reading
I scheduled a trio of role-playing sessions for my trip to Gen Con this year: a custom Firefly adventure, Monte Cook Games’ “Into the Violet Vale,” a Numenera convention event, and a one-hour Dungeons & Dragons encounter, “Defiance in Phlan.” The Shiny: Firefly This was my introduction to Margaret Weis Productions’ Cortex Plus System, as […]
Continue Reading
Here’s the deal — there are no middle versions of D&D for me. With the exception of a few rare games played over the last 10-20 years, I really stopped playing AD&D consistently in the mid-80s. I only have the D&D Basic Set and AD&D as a comparison with the newest 5e. You’ll get no 2e, 3e, or 4e commentary or debates from me — I wouldn’t be able to contribute anything. In a sense, any feedback I provide here on the new D&D rules should be treated the same as if it were coming from a new player (but a player with experience with RPGs). While I feel it’s a bit unfair to pit the 1978 AD&D Players Handbook against 2014 D&D Player’s Handbook, the reality is it’s not really a battle. AD&D was a product of its time, and it was outstandingly fun. AD&D had its problems (some of which I’ve shared above), but we still played it. A lot. With grins on our faces.
Continue Reading
Do you remember your first time through White Plume Mountain? Now you can revisit that excitement every day!
Continue Reading
One of the best things about going to a big gaming convention is, of course, all the cool new games you get to try out (and buy). And another is fun events that are made possible by large groups of people in one place. Here are some of the things we’re looking forward to at Gen Con this year.
Continue Reading
Bad for You: Exposing the War on Fun is an illustrated tour through cultural freak-outs. The book is a historical look at the hysterical horror adults have felt about kids activities, from comics, games, technology, play, and thought. It’s a fun, surprising and biting survey. GeekDad has an interview with authors Kevin C. Pyle and Scott Cunningham.
Continue Reading
Tony DiTerlizzi is one of my favorite author-illustrators, and his WondLa series is a family favorite. The final book of the trilogy, The Battle for WondLa, is out this month, and I got a chance to speak with DiTerlizzi before he heads out for his book tour. We talked about all things WondLa, his upcoming Star Wars book, Dungeons and Dragons, and more.
Continue Reading
Does a six foot four, grumpy, Scottish warrior reflect my actual personality, or what I wish I could be? What does your role-playing choices say about your life?
Continue Reading
Use Chessex’s Dungeoneering dice to bring variety to the table!
Continue Reading
In honor of the 40th anninversary of Dungeons & Dragons, we present Five Amazing TV Moments from D&D History. In these clips — from 60 Minutes to Freaks and Geeks — we see the how the famous game has been portrayed, from being ridiculed and used as a scapegoat to being celebrated.
Continue Reading
On Saturday, January 25, at a small art space in Brooklyn, a group of stalwart adventurers embarked upon a most unusual undertaking—the world premiere of D&D Yoga. Before the adventure began, each member of this brave group of yoga practitioners (I have it on good authority they like to be referred to as yogis) was […]
Continue Reading
Find the Dork Tower webcomic archives, DT printed collections, more cool comics, awesome games and a whole lot more at the Dork Tower website: www.dorktower.com.
Continue Reading
When exactly is the 40th anniversary of D&D? When was the game first available to play? The answer is more complicated that you’d think.
Continue Reading
GeekDad’s own John Kovalic and Ethan Gilsdorf were both interviewed on Wisconsin Public Radio in light of the anniversary of the RPG that started it all.
Continue Reading