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The holiday season tore our campaign a new one, as we've had to postpone or cancel a host of sessions. It's made me twitchy, but it's at least given me prep time for upcoming adventures. Here's a map that I just made on a whim. I haven't actually decided what to use it for, though I may...

I use Campaign Cartographer, which is enough of an investment in time that I don't use it that often for actual battlemaps. One time-saver I do use is occasionally visiting the Cartographer's Guild and using some of those choices for my needs.

Notes from the Handbook to the Imperial Gardens: When the young emperor Pelsidion laid eyes upon the Five Fold Field of the Tormenghast, he fell in love with it. The Tormenghast people, far less so. It was decided that this perfect vista, so exemplary in it's preserved state, should be added...

Here's where you need to make a decision based on two things: are you having fun and are they having fun? The answer for a game NEEDS to be both. If they had fun and you didn't (or vice-versa), then you need to figure out a compromise. Here's the thing: Torch Issues. That's what my group...

I didn't say they were making an excuse, I said they were setting their priorities. And there's nothing wrong with that. But many times, when I hear people say they can't game, what we often discover is that they haven't really tried that hard or that they decide that they don't want to invest...

What I'm really curious about is how well DDI and Pathfinder subscriptions are doing and how they factor into the overall sales picture. I think Ryan Dancey's discussion on his first blog post here puts some focused perspective on WotC's strange strategy as of late. They're definitely shooting...

Yes, but one is a laborer while the other is a craftsman. The miner retrieves the materials, but are his materials somehow transformed from the action of retrieving them? Are they indistinguishable from other raw materials of the same kind mined by another miner? No. The miner has not...

Well now you're in a question of priorities; how important is gaming to that particular person? As someone in his forties, gaming is no longer something that just happens. It's an effort, often that requires considerable planning. We have jobs, we have kids and we have social lives beyond...

After checking around, you are correct...although for the most part 'distributors' in this sense mostly means just Diamond. ICv2 themselves mention that they also balance the data with their experience and opinions. Given their history with the industry, that's not a poor choice...but it...

ICv2's data is interesting, but it sounds like it's entirely based on polling retailers...primarily comic-book and hobby shops. AFAIK, they don't poll distributors directly, nor do they get data from large chains (such as B&N and Borders), regular bookstores, toy stores like TrU or from the...

Ryan, glad to have you here. I look forward to your insights both on the game and the industry. Folks tend to forget what D&D was like pre-3E; People like me who never went to 2E but flocked back when 3E arrived tend to have a better memory of it. I do not exaggerate to say that you and WotC...

I've never actually played an online game. There are several reasons for this. While I don't begrudge anyone the chance to play in any capacity, I do consider it an inferior experience to face-to-face gaming. As others have mentioned, our game is not just a reason to roll dice, it's a reason...

This was a funny thing. After the first combat, we tried to figure out what the difference between a short and extended rest actually was. We eventually realized there was some minor technical difference (one specific situation where the extended rest was important, sort of), but otherwise the...

In 1938, Tolkien had written a razor-tongued reply to the German firm Rütten und Loening Verlag, who, upon negotiating the publication of a German translation of The Hobbit, dared to ask Tolkien if he was "arisch" [Aryan]. Tolkien replied with insulting philological precision that since he was...

So as I'm sure most folks know, WotC released a new version of Gamma World. Being a fan from all the way back when it used the system from Metamorphosis: Alpha, I was interested. Seeing it branded as 'D&D: Gamma World'...well, not as great. The new model that WotC is testing with the 'sell it...

Thanks for the suggestions, all. I like quick-and-dirty encounters, too...but I can do those, myself. If I'm going to buy an adventure, I'd prefer it actually have something I couldn't do myself in five to ten minutes. Stat-blocks are plenty and numerous, so what I want are either interesting...

Spitballing, here: Act I: Insertion The Players spend a brief amount of time investigating. The Frenchman has a contact within Berlin. He once served as an administrator for the French Sector. He has a lead on where "Die Nadel" can be found. He also has access to a secret tunnel used to...

Well, it might have something to do with the fact that they conquered Earth in the second appearance (The Dalek Invasion of Earth), set in the year 2164. Then they started forcibly converting humans into robotic slaves twice more and would have succeeded without the Doctor's intervention...

I am currently a DDI subscriber (though this year, I only JUST decided to maintain that subscription as I feel the value proposition is tenuous). One of the things I had most hoped for from DDI was the high quality adventures I once used to enjoy from Dungeon magazine. I found Dungeon to be...

DUDE. That is actually a THING that has happened.