“The Balance” – Out of the Box # 24 D&D Encounters
Furthermore, different characters will always have different motivations, so those choices can be rooted in the very basis of the character. The right encounter might flush those motivations to the surface. This can often lead to heated discussions, but can also serve to really clear the air on where characters stand with each other. That can only lead to character development.
“The Balance” – Out of the Box # 24 D&D Encounters
Blast from the Past — Dr. Strange TV Movie
Everybody knows Marvel is releasing a Dr. Strange movie starring Benedict Cumberbatch next month, but did you know there was a Dr. Strange movie for television way back in 1978? It’s true. Peter Hooten starred as Dr. Strange, looking more than a little like Gabe Kaplan in the TV show Welcome Back, Kotter. Also, Hooten’s costume was more than a little goofy looking, at one point sporting a giant star and at another showing ancient Egyptian iconography, but it was the 1970s, so what could you expect? Just don’t get me started on that faux silky cape.
“Watchdog” – Out of The Box #23 D&D Encounters
Out of the Box Encounters Using Daern’s Instant Fortress Introduction:
Another popular cliche or trope that seems to endlessly occur in every D&D game is this: Defeat monster, check it’s pockets, take it’s stuff. Here’s a way to rethink that. What if the magic item is part of the encounter. What if that magic item defined the encounter such that it makes it very difficult to acquire without damaging it. What if that self-same magic item was also highly desirable?
Now, let’s add something to that concept. Let’s apply a template to that encounter that takes a common everyday monster (zombie) and applies it to a monster less common…say, one that makes it harder to just take the magic item?
Carolina Renaissance Festival keeps alive history and fun
Nobles and royals gather above the heads of the rabble at the opening of jousting for the Carolina Renaissance Festival. (all photos by Ty Johnston)
A pair of Scottish soldiers are upbraided by their officer (he’s the fancy-looking fellow at left) at the Carolina Renaissance Festival.
This past Saturday the Carolina Renaissance Festival kicked off the opening weekend of its twenty-third season, all with 12 theater stages, more than 100 shops, and 25 acres of fun. Located in Huntersville, North Carolina, just north of Charlotte, the festival offers music, games, rides, comedy, costumes, and food. There’s even a falconry show, and what would a renaissance festival be without jousting tournaments.
This is a perfect venue for those of you who like to sashay about in public in your favorite historic costume, but if you should forget your costume or don’t have one, there is a rental office that can provide any look you want. If your costume tastes tend toward the more speculative, the festival offers a Time Travelers Weekend Nov. 12 and 13 where you can dress as your favorite comic book hero, wear that steampunk outfit, appear as a movie monster, or what have you.
The Time Travelers Weekend isn’t the only special event, either, as a Pirates’ Christmas is scheduled as well as a special Halloween weekend, a brewfest, and more.
“The Passenger” – Out of the Box #22 D&D Encounters
movies, Horror follows this the most. Good horror has a bait and switch, or a surprise hook, that takes the viewer by surprise. There are many foes within the Monster Manual capable of this with the right delivery. What should follow is the generation of tension, and perhaps a little player paranoia, to add depth to the next few encounters. The right moment or delivery of this “bait and switch” can set the tone and give your players pause.
Blast from the Past: Dungeons & Dragons Animated Series
The first 9 episodes only cost me 99 cents. May you be so lucky, if you choose.
1983 was a big year for me. Over the summer I turned 14, and in the fall I would begin ninth grade, kicking off my high school years as a freshman. But more importantly, it was a big year for my role-playing habits.
TSR’s sci-fi game Star Frontiers had been out for a year and was coming out with new products left and right. Advanced Dungeons & Dragons was riding high with a ton of new modules, including the original Ravenloft module (the maps!), and even the D&D Basic Set was getting a slight reworking with a new boxed set. Then towards the end of the year there hints of something major coming from TSR in 1984, and eventually that would be known as Dragonlance.
So, 1983 had a lot happening in the worlds of D&D. But perhaps the most noticeable, at least for the 13-soon-14-year-old me was the Dungeons & Dragons animated TV series.
Our heroes. Yep, that’s Bobby the Barbarian at center.
Saturday morning cartoons were a huge deal then, and TSR big shot Gary Gygax had pulled off the unthinkable when he traveled to Hollywood and got Marvel Productions (yes, of the comic book Marvel company) and Teoi Animation of Japan involved with this new animated show.
“Counting Sheep”- Out of the Box D&D Encounters # 21
Introduction: I can’t speak for every table, but a touch of the ridiculous can often turn a normally staid affair into one that hooks players into memorable encounters. Even darker humor is often better than none. If you can add a description to that...
Character Progression – Awarding Experience and Rewarding Players
There are about as many different ways to handle character progression as there are role-playing systems, but most commonly they revolve around one tantalizing resource – experience points. It might go by different names or work differently from system to system, but at the end of a session most players are excited to rack up some XP. Loot and items may come and go, but XP is a permanent reward, one which drives the game forward and works as a proverbial ‘carrot on a stick’ for your players.
So how, as GMs, do we hand out this resource? Some GMs meticulously calculate exactly
how many points each character receives, while others eschew the XP system entirely and
give out levels at narrative milestones. There’s no right or wrong way to handle character
progression, but it is important to make sure that whatever method you’re using is right for
the players in your group, and that everyone’s on board.
Keep track of it all with Digital Character Sheet
Recently I had the opportunity to speak with Nathan Thurston, the creator of Digital Character Sheet, in order to learn about his product. Instead of me telling you about it, I thought I’d let him fill you in. My questions for him are in bold, followed by his answers.
What exactly is Digital Character Sheet?
Digital Character Sheet is software that replaces or supplements a Tabletop RPG player’s character sheet. It was created out of a desire to break away from the sometimes hard to fill, awkward form-fillable PDF character sheets, and provide a more elegant and sensible avenue to store character information.
“The Menagerie”- Out of The D&D Encounters Box #20
Tabletop Roleplaying Games – Cypher System by Monte Cook
Tabletop Roleplaying games have been around a while. In the last years many different games have
English: Monte Cook at the 2007 ENnies. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
been made. Some have fallen and and others have thrived. The hobby of sitting around a table and rolling funny shaped dice is possibly the biggest it has ever been.
Some might say that is because of Monte Cook, and other game designers like him. Nerdarchy had the pleasure of interviewing him just the other night and it was a REAL pleasure to do so. Monte Cook has been designing games since he was in college and, if my math is correct, approaching 30 years, designing in the industry.
The Cypher System is a tabletop roleplaying game built on the back of other games, also made by Monte Cook. Numenera was first and was highly acclaimed for its approach and unique fantasy setting. Next came The Strange. This used the core mechanics from Numenera but offered a new setting and different options for character creation designed for that specific world.
It then occurred to Monte Cook that not everyone wants to play in a specific setting and the core rules that these system used could be expanded upon to make a system that was setting universal and in addition could handle any genre of tabletop roleplaying games.
And so The Cypher System was born. The Cypher System offers things that many other games do not and truly rivals the other games as you can make anything you want.
Major Advantages of the Cypher System
Want more 5E D&D potions? Look No Further Than The Emporium of Uncanny Magic
For those who played Dungeons & Dragons prior to fifth edition they might have noticed some old, favorite potions no longer appearing in the 5E D&D Dungeon Master’s Guide. This makes sense as 5E D&D is the most streamlined version of the game so far. What to do, then, if you want to include those potions in your current 5E D&D game? Simple. You turn to The Emporium of Uncanny Magic – Lost Potions from Insane Angel Studios.
“Shell Game”- Out of The Box D&D Encounters #19
show up and be willing to have a good time. “Shell Game” is one such encounter. It uses the resources on the table as the encounter starts, and uses those limited resources to maximum effect to create an oddball moment that might come up in later conversations. And really, isn’t that what it’s all about?5th Edition Tome of Beasts – Aberrations
Hello again I am guess you can tell from the title that Nerdarchist Ted is here to talk more about the 
awesome monsters found in the Tome of Beasts. Last week I touched on the Devils in the book. You can check out that article here. Today we are going to look at some of the Aberrations that can be found within its pages.
Aberrations are creatures from beyond. They are nor of this world and are the things of nightmares. This time Kobold Press brings you 20, if my count is right, new aberrations for use in your 5th edition game. I can assure you that with this spread you get challenge ratings as low as 1/4 with the map mimic and as high as 19 with the Shoggoth
The Map Mimic is cool because it allows dms to use those nasty surprise creatures at the earliest levels. And who does not want to have them find a map that leads to another mimic? Think of all the fun you 
can do with such a thing.
Shoggoth, I believe is right out of Cthulian Horrors. With a challenge rating of 19 I would imagine it would be so. This is the type of monster that could have a campaign leading up to it as the major adversary. And since the tome of beasts gives you so many more options you have enough aberrations to make that type of game happen
The Arboreal Grappler is an awesome Ape with limbs that are at least 10 foot long. Encounter this guy on the plains and you are all set, but meet this guy in the jungle with heavy tree cover and they might just pull you up into their world and let you fall to your death.
Comic Book University: YouTube for the super hero in all of us
[caption id="" align="alignright" width="326" class="zemanta-img"] The Incredible Hulk #1 (May 1962). Cover art by Jack Kirby and Paul Reinman. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)[/caption] I don’t normally do a shout-out for a solitary YouTube channel, especially one that is fairly new, but the channel called Comic Book University...
