Michael Tresca
Recent & Upcoming Releases
-
April 16 2024 -
May 31 2024 -
June 3 2024 -
June 4 2024 -
June 18 2024 -
July 16 2024 -
September 17 2024 -
October 1 2024 -
November 12 2024 -
February 18 2025
Art & Arcana Review: A Sumptuous Feast for the Eyes
As a long-time Dungeons & Dragons player, I sometimes take for granted just how much tabletop role-playing games elevated fantasy artwork. Whether it was on the cover of D&D boxed sets or in the pages of Dragon Magazine, fantastically-detailed art seemed par for the course. But art tells stories: it shares the outlook of its creators, it expresses thematic differences in editions, and it...
Happy Hallowmeme: Momo
Join us this October as we look into the horrifying meme-beasts that haunt the Internet and trace their roots back to literature and role-playing games. In this installment we meet Momo, a creepy bird-monster who encourages people to commit suicide.
Shootout at the D&D Corral
Dungeons & Dragons has many influences, including European and American authors. Of the American influences, one genre is sometimes overlooked but just as critical: the Western.
The Adventure is Over
The animated television series Adventure Time concluded last month after an eight year run and ten seasons. Drawing inspiration from a variety of sources including Dungeons & Dragons, creator Pendleton Ward later returned the favor as a story consultant for Tomb of Annihilation. Here's why it matters.
Will Your Town Be the Next Stop on the RPG Tour?
Tabletop role-playing games have experienced a surge of interest thanks to the rise of online video, which makes the hobby much more accessible. But playing in-person is usually limited to finding other players and local hobby stores. Thanks to The RPG Tour, there’s now an opportunity to introduce role-playing to the masses, and it may be coming to a town near you.
The New EN World Columnist Program
I wanted to give you an update on the EN World columnists program and how it's changed, as well as some staff updates. A lot of shuffling has happened behind the scenes, so we thought now would be a good time to announce those changes.
Where Are All the Dungeon Masters?
In light of the Labor Day celebrations happening in the U.S., now's a good time to look at the amount of effort tabletop role-playing takes. Is it holding the hobby back from a bigger audience?
When Conan Punched Cthulhu
Dungeons & Dragons has a multitude of gaming and literary influences, but two that stand out are H.P. Lovecraft's Cthulhu Mythos and the sword-swinging barbarian character Conan by R.E. Howard. D&D brings the two together in a fashion that's become standard fantasy now, but was revolutionary for a role-playing game.
D&D = American + European Fantasy
Dungeons & Dragons draws on a rich mythology from the works of European authors like J.R.R. Tolkien and Michael Moorcock. And yet D&D was also influenced by American authors like Fritz Leiber, Jack Vance, H.P. Lovecraft, and R.E. Howard. The end result is that D&D's tone sits somewhere between the two. Photo by Jorge Martínez on Unsplash European Folklore The bones of D&D have obvious...
STL vs. Reality: The Highs & Lows of 3D Sculpts
One of the interesting aspects of owning a 3D printer is that you come to appreciate the difference between a digital sculpt and its physical counterpart. Not all 3D sculpts are made for printing, and the consequences of using a digital sculpt that's not built for 3D printers can be disastrous for the end product.
When Dice Met Dungeon
These days it's not uncommon for board games to include "adventure"-style elements that mimic tabletop role-playing games, including using dice as a resolution mechanic. But it wasn't always that way. Picture courtesy of Pixabay. Dice Came First Greek poet Sophocles claimed that the Greeks invented dice games. Archaeological evidence proved otherwise, dating dice games as far back as 6000...
Roll20 Weighs in on Esports
You might recall that Roll20 (owned by the Orr Group), a popular online platform for role-playing games, also happens to own an esport team. I asked Nolan T. Jones, co-owner of the Orr Group, what he thought about esports and D&D being back in the spotlight.
D&D: The Board Game?
Dungeons & Dragons' classification has sometimes befuddled stores in how to place it on shelves. Is it a book? A game? A toy? Some settled on treating it as a board game. That's a classification increasingly obfuscated by the fact that D&D actually spawned several board games. Technically, a Tabletop Game Board games share something in common with the original D&D: they both took place on a...
An Army in the Dungeon
Dungeons & Dragons' roots stretch all the way back to wargaming and it has a subtle influence on play that's sometimes forgotten today. Early D&D relied heavily on henchmen and hirelings, who often rounded out a group that could number as high as 20 members. This sort of play affected the kinds of D&D, from expectations on mortality rate to distribution of treasure. Picture courtesy of...
Games Are (Still) Not the Problem
The latest hysteria over video games like Fortnite echoes the Satanic Panic over Dungeons & Dragons in the 80s. Some things never change.
![[Chaosium] What readers have to say about Dagon for Beginning Readers (Unnatural Selections)](https://www.chaosium.com/product_images/uploaded_images/screen-shot-2024-05-06-at-11.09.09-pm.png)
![Terrain Feature Volume #3 - Deserts [Ennead Games]](/data/assets/cxfEnhancedNewThreadsWidget/press-release-red-rubber-stamp-over-white-background-88070630.jpg)
![[Chaosium] Chaosium Con Australia Update: Play Horror on the Orient Express the Board Game at Chaosium Con Australia in June](https://www.chaosium.com/product_images/uploaded_images/hotoe-aus.jpg)
![[Chaosium] From the Archives - What Almost Never Was... ('Out of the Suitcase' with Chaosium president Rick Meints)](https://www.chaosium.com/product_images/uploaded_images/438263811-10161855405522743-4436059744439747497-n.jpeg)