The RollPlay Roundtable Discussion: Part 2 with Matt Colville, Matt Mercer, Adam Koebel and Mike Mearls
In October of last year, itmeJP gathered together some of the best known names in the Dungeons & Dragons community and put them in a video call roundtable together to talk shop. Adam Koebel moderated the conversation between Matt Mercer, Mike Mearls, and Matt Colville. Topics ranged across many different aspects of the game: criticisms, advice for Dungeon Masters, why we play the game, and many more.
Strongholds & Streaming Kickstarter from Matt Colville Raises the Bar
Just over two years ago, John Wick’s 7th Sea: Second Edition Kickstarter smashed through the barriers of roleplaying game potential, becoming the first campaign of its kind to surpass the $1 million mark. Among contemporaries in the RPG space, consistent hits from Monte Cook Games and Richard Thomas, along with extraordinary successes from Evil Hat Productions, Modiphius, Kobold Press, Frog God Games and others illustrate the possibilities of crowdfunding. And with the meteoric launch of Strongholds & Streaming, the first Kickstarter project from Matt Colville, we will almost certainly see the bar raised even higher.
Critter Corner: Highlights from Episode 3
Hello! Nerditor Doug here to welcome you to the second installment of Gin’s musings and thoughts on the new campaign of Critical Role, Geek and Sundry’s mega-popular live stream gameplay starring Matt Mercer as Dungeon Master with a bunch of nerdy-ass voice actors playing D&D. New episodes stream every Thursday at 10 p.m. eastern. Viewers can watch through Alpha Project, Twitch and recently YouTube live as well.
Critter Corner: Highlights from Critical Role Episode 2
Hello! Nerditor Doug here to welcome you to the second installment of Gin’s musings and thoughts on the new campaign of Critical Role, Geek and Sundry’s mega-popular live stream gameplay starring Matt Mercer as Dungeon Master with a bunch of nerdy-ass voice actors playing D&D. New episodes stream every Thursday at 10 p.m. eastern. Viewers can watch through Alpha Project, Twitch and recently YouTube live as well.
Critter Corner: Discussing Critical Role Episode 1
“Welcome to Wildemount. The year is 835 PD, or Post Divergence.” – Matt Mercer
Hello, Critter darlings. Have you wandered my way because you haven’t yet caught the first episode of the Critical Role new campaign? Or were you perhaps one of the 100K+ plus live viewers, but now you’re out amongst the interwebs looking for analysis, fan theories, and/or gossip? In any case, I hope you’ll find something interesting here. Fair warning, this isn’t really a ‘highlights’ kind of article. I do give some character overviews and a session summary, but my main purpose is trying to build a case for a theory I have about the overall story arc we might see as the new season unfolds.
*mild spoilers for Critical Role, Campaign 2 Episode 1 ahead
Back and Forth on the Revilo Creation Collection with Creature Curator Brian Colin
Salutations, nerds! Today we’re going to take an opportunity to talk about a Kickstarter by the phenomenally talented Brian Colin. The Revilo Creature Collection is a bestiary the likes of which you’re unlikely to have seen before. The creatures in the book are ones Brian has brought to life in the form of sculptures.
D&D Welcomes Kate Welch as Game Designer
Way back in November 2017, Wizards of the Coast announced their search for a game designer to join the fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons team. Countless hopeful candidates the world over threw their hats, resumes and CVs in the ring for this nerdy dream job. And on Jan. 18, 2018 we found out who earned this incredible position.
Tomb of Annihilation Companion a Guide for All Dungeon Masters
Guest poster Brian McGee started playing fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons with my home group earlier this year, quickly discovering enthusiastic enjoyment from the world’s greatest roleplaying game. After a few sessions playing in my Spelljammer campaign, a one-shot as a tribe of grung and a pickup session of Sunless Citadel he went all-in as a Dungeon Master. We all had a terrific time playing in his iteration of Matt Colville’s Delian Tomb, and when his turn behind the screen came back around Brian wanted to run Tomb of Annihilation. We decided to use the same party we started his game with and took them on the journey to Chult. When the Tomb of Annihilation Companion landed on my desk, we’d just played our first session. Since Brian expressed an interest in doing some writing for Nerdarchy I passed the guide along to him as both a resource for our game and his first writing assignment. – Nerditor Doug
D&D Customized Content Creation: From Modules to Modular
I’ve been ruminating a lot lately about the evolution of Dungeons & Dragons. From early days playing through adventures like The Keep on the Borderlands and Palace of the Silver Princess to running fifth edition D&D quests like Curse of Strahd or careening through a slapdash Spelljammer campaign the game – and the people who play it – have changed a lot.
One of the ways D&D cleaves to current day sensibilities is through individualized customized content. This isn’t to say D&D wasn’t personalized for all the groups out there rolling funny-shaped dice back in the day, but the way folks play and the content we use to make the magic happen at the table has undergone a sea change.
Stuff Your Digital Stocking and Help a Charity with Frog God Games and Kobold Press Humble Bundle
Is it Dec. 6, 2017 at 11 a.m. PST already? You’re in luck, roleplaying gamer! While you’re getting ready to stuff your stockings this holiday season you can stuff your digital bookshelf full of a dragon’s hoard worth of awesome books – and help out a charity for doing it!
Bill Webb, co-founder of Frog God Games partnered up with Wolfgang Baur and Kobold Press to create the first ever fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons Humble RPG Book Bundle. The offering is live for two weeks and the clock is already ticking.
Nerdarchy Dice App Dev Shares Insights Into Our Dice Roller App
D&D Beyond Updates, Cyber Monday Sales and Adam Bradford Live Chat
The November Live Development Update and Q&A from D&D Beyond went up recently, and product lead Adam Bradford once again delivered a robust discussion covering a wide range of topics encompassing the fantastic digital toolset. The latest updates highlights new homebrew background and feat creation, showcasing the Honorable Hood and Dagger Master content to illustrate how creators can use these tools. There’s also refined monster listing descriptions that adds compendium info, official errata updates and an overview of how the Xanathar’s Guide to Everything preview videos as well as new videos might be integrated further into the content on the site.
Wyatt Ferris Inspires Gamers to #PlayForWyatt
It’s truly a testament to how awesome the gaming community is that when tragedy took an awesome person from our nerdy world, and his mom reached out, gamers around the globe answered the call.
Hello Awesome Crafters, Last week my 17 year old son Wyatt Ferris took his own life after suffering a traumatic brain injury. He was very active in the gaming community, both as player and GM. In order to show our endless love for Wyatt and to honor his countless hours at the gaming tables, we’re asking GMs and storytellers around the world to add Wyatt as an NPC in your games. Wyatt was a paladin, cavalier, war priest, rogue, swashbuckler, investigator, Hellknight bodyguard, and more. Please see the photos here of Wyatt and use the hashtags #Play4Wyatt #WyattNPC so we can follow his continued adventures. Thank you for helping this broken hearted mother mend after this tragic loss. I love the gaming community for starting this for my son. My Twitter is @baddicebad. Please Like, Comment, Share and Subscribe!
Kobold Press Grants Wishes with Genies Great And Small
Gazing Into Eye of the Beholder: The Art of Dungeons & Dragons
Whether you started playing Dungeons & Dragons out of the original woodgrain-colored box and the three little brown booklets inside or you’re new to the hobby and go completely digital with D&D Beyond, before you make a single die roll, you’re drawn in by art. From Greg Bell’s Doctor Strange “inspired” mounted warrior on the original 1974 box cover to Tyler Jacobson’s depiction of an adventurer battling King Snurre on the fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons Player’s Handbook, fantasy art’s history and influence on D&D is woven into the fabric of the game.
The stories behind the art, helping to create the worlds we play in, are the focus of the new documentary Eye of the Beholder: The Art of Dungeons & Dragons from the team of X-Ray Films and Cavegirl Productions. The film profiles artists who contributed to the rich world of fantasy D&D art and features insiders, designers, writers and fans sharing the impact of art on their games and lives.
