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Pathfinder Review: Bestiary 3

Jan 13

There better be a Bestiary 4. No monster line is ever complete, any TTRPG company should know that! They have more Divs, Asura, Celestials, Behemoths, Kami, Oni, and many other creatures to add more of that they've gone and created.

WotC, DDI, 4E, and Hasbro: Some History

Jan 05

After Vince Calouri was pushed out of Wizards of the Coast he was replaced by Chuck Heubner. Chuck basically had to manage Wizards on the downslope from the Pokemon salad days. Hasbro has been through many boom & bust cycles in the toy business and they have a standard response when it happens: cut headcount and reduce overhead. Since Wizards was de facto the only part of the business that had...

Review of Innistrad Decks: Deathly Dominion & Carnival of Blood by Wizards of the Coa

Dec 30

In terms of newbie-friendliness, I would have to say that Spectral Legions is a lot easier to grasp for a new player, and is still an amazingly powerful deck; there are a few cards in it that are perhaps a bit strange, but overall it's really quite an amazing piece. Carnival of Blood is great but if you're newer to the game it's a lot harder to determine where good strategy lies since many of...

4 Hours w/ RSD - Escapist Bonus Column

Dec 29

As many of you know, the Escapist has recently run a 3-part series on the past, current and future of Dungeons & Dragons. The ENWorld coverage begins here. I contributed some insights to that column and wanted to take this opportunity to expand and clarify some of my thoughts on this topic. Who Is This Guy Anyway? I [Ryan Dancey] have been involved on the business side of hobby game...

Review of Karma Deck & Booster Pack: Requiem by Creation’s Edge Games

Dec 22

This is a fine review, but I do have to say that I'm sad to see that this is a direction that 3PP are moving with 4e. I was fine with the 'card' system presented in 4e. I thought it was just a new way for players to organize and track their abilities. But, when WotC started producing booster packs of cards of abilities, then I think they're moving far away from a DnD game that I want to...

Review: The Book of Vile Darkness by Wizards of the Coast

Dec 15

Pre-Release Review: The Book of Vile Darkness by Wizards of the Coast In what must be one of the oddest choices for a Holiday Season release, the 4E version of The Book of Vile Darkness is hitting the shelves just in time for Christmas. While certainly more fitting as a Halloween release, admittedly there is something perversely amusing, in a sort of Tim Burton-esque “The Nightmare before...

Mega-Double Review / Interview Special: Gauntlgrym & Neverwinter by R.A. Salvatore

Dec 15

When I attended GenCon 2011 this past August, and got the chance to sit down with the Wizards of the Coast Brand Manager Laura Tommervik, I had no idea that the conversation would lead to some amazing opportunities for me as a game reviewer this fall. Not only did I end up getting a pre-release paperback review copy of the new Neverwinter novel by R.A. Salvatore, but I also got the chance to...

4 Hours w/RSD: Run Away!

Dec 12

“The party is currently split ... in two different dimensions. Mei Ling is "mostly dead" and being dragged like a meat balloon through zero gravity tunnels by Marteen and Bog. Temper is very badly injured and "Dimissed" herself back to the Prime Material Plane a melee round before being turned into Shoggoth kibble.” -- Paul Jaquays Unwinnable Does Not Mean Bad One of the complaints that I...

Review of Heroes of the Feywild by Wizards of the Coast

Dec 02

I'm surprised your view of the Skald is so negative. I think it does a great job of "essentializing" the original Bard. It gets to use Charisma for its basic attacks, which means those at-will powers will be as effective at hitting and dealing damage as regular bard powers. The skald's aura is a cool twist on healing in my opinion, since the bard doesn't have to use actions in order to let...

Review of Advanced Encounters: Terrain Toolbox by Sneak Attack Press

Nov 03

A great idea for a product! That's something I could use.

Review: Pathfinder Beginner Box

Oct 27

As a committed 4e player, WOTC should be standing up and taking notice of what their competitors are doing and doing a million times better. I get the impression that Pathfinder is a heavy load for a DM, but this seems to be inspired in helping them get onto that road faster than before. The steep learning curve just got a lot less steep. Congrats Paizo, WOTC please take note.

Streets of Zobeck by Open Design

Oct 27

Isn't this actually a pretty old format? I'd argue a bunch of the Judges Guild books from the 1970s would qualify for the adventure setting format, as described.

Review of Goblins of Golarion by Paizo

Oct 20

I really don't understand how a 32 page full color book is 'over priced' at $10.99... especially with as much custom art as this book includes in it, and especially considering the quality of the writing in it. How much /should/ a 32 page full color book cost? Cause I don't see anything being offered much cheaper anywhere else.

4 Hours w/RSD: Undermountain Update

Oct 18

Undermountain Update Since my last column we have played 4 sessions of Undermountain and I am happy to give folks an update. If you’re unfamiliar with the Undermountain concept you can read more about it in my last column, but in summary it’s a stripped down version of Pathfinder optimized for simple dungeon crawling and light rules. There Is No Ruler The first major change I’ve made since...

PATHFINDER REVIEW: GameMastery Chase Deck & Condition Cards Deck

Oct 17

We tried out the chase cards to resolve a situation in our Griffins & Grottos game just recently and they worked well enough. We've been playing a narrative game, sans minis, this time around, but when one of the players picked up the Chase card deck, we wanted to try them out. We had to fudge things a little because it wasn't quite the terrain in play at the time and we weren't using the PF...

Review of Kobold Quarterly Issue #19 (Fall 2011) by Open Design

Oct 10

As the seasons change, and with the year of 2011 nearly done in, it’s time for the final issue of Kobold Quarterly for this calendar year! Open Design’s flagship periodical has been going strong these past couple years, covering a wide range of role-playing material for not only D&D 3.5 and Pathfinder, but also D&D 4E, and the relative newcomer to the FRPG market, the DragonAge RPG. The...

Review of Mordenkainen’s Magnificent Emporium by WotC

Sep 29

So after gushing about this book for several paragraphs, you gave it 3.75 because of the availability constraints? Really? How about you add that in a post-script, but not have it affect the score? I'm sorry you had to drive and get the book, and maybe WotC will learn from this fiasco, but in a month's time are any of us going to remember or give a crap about this roadblock? Remember, there...

Pathfinder Review: Tome of Horrors Complete

Sep 21

I loved the d20 version of this book and am proud to have it on my shelf. I am very interested in a Pathfinder version. My only complaint is that no one has redone the rock and crystal living statues from BECMI. I would love to see them in a Necromancer Games book one day. Again, great work and an accomplishment in which you should be justifiably proud.

Review of Warhammer 40K: Space Marine by THQ

Sep 15

Having almost completed the singleplayer mission I have to say that what impresses me the most is the visual aspect of the game. While it may not be the most cutting edge graphics (at least according to some reviews I've read), the folks at Relic have managed to catch the very specific atmosphere of the 41st millennium. As I guided Captain Titus through the missions and objectives, I really...

4 Hours w/RSD - Introducing Undermountain (Ryan Dancey)

Aug 24

The past six columns I’ve been laying the groundwork to talk about my own personal home game and why I think it will be interesting to the people reading this column. I haven’t played in a tabletop RPG group since I stopped living full time in the Seattle area about 10 years ago. During the time I’ve been gone I’ve played a handful of pickup one-shot games and played in several convention...