Recent content by Burnside

Mild spoilers:

Having now read all 4, the level 1 is probably the strongest adventure of the set.

The art definitely doesn’t look like very early D&D art from the 70s, but it definitely looks like early-to-mid-80s D&D art.

It’s definitely shooting for all of the above. It does not assume you have ever played before, and there is a 32-page rule book akin to what’s included in previous starter sets, but for 2024 rules. The conceit is that Eddie has prepared this box and the included adventures for you to take over...

I received this yesterday; happy to answer questions about it.

Did the original not have a climax (genuinely asking; I've never read it)?

Well, I'm ridiculous so naturally I've got both. I mean, none of my choices are defensible. I'm just making observations now that I own another thing I compulsively bought. The "problem" (if there is one) I guess is that the adventure without the toys (ie the digital version) isn't much of an...

That's neither here nor there as far as the actual point I was making, to be honest.

I'm aware. I guess I'm speaking to anyone who might not be. Arman has said that part of the reason they went with Keep on the Borderlands was, of course, to capture the nostalgia audience. This suggests that in addition to boardgame players (who, yes, are the primary intended target) they're...

Okay, but when I play Clue (Cluedo, for Brits), they give me a little golf pencil in the box so I can mark off that it wasn't Professor Plum in the Library with the Candlestick. It's not like NO board games involve pencils.

I'm a little taken aback at the amount of work that seems to have been done to ensure that you don't need...a pencil with an eraser. Like, I'm sure that there legitimately is a group of people for whom having dozens of little yellow physical circular cardboard tokens in denominations of 1 and 5...

I really, really like Level Up: A5E’s Journey activities: Journey Activities | Level Up These really helped me make travel into a fun and engaging mode for my players, rather than the part of the adventure to be “gotten through” on the way to the “meaningful part.”

I guess without knowing the details, my concerns are mostly about my view of the DM's role: presenting NPCs with motivations and environments to explore, letting the players interact with those elements, and narrating what happens as a result of player choices and the dice rolls. So for me I...

From the “Strahd Prevails” section of the epilogue of Curse of Strahd: “With the characters out of the way, Strahd shifts his attention back to making Ireena Kolyana his bride. If she is still alive and within his grasp, Ireena is turned into a vampire spawn and sealed in her crypt beneath...

I'd say for 75-80% of my players (and right now I have a little over 30 regulars), D&D effectively is DNDBeyond's character building tool, and that's it. Most of them really would not consider buying and reading the Player's Handbook even digitally, much less physically. They also don't really...