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WotC’s Archetype Entertainment Reveals Stunning New Sci-Fi RPG ‘Exodus’

3 years ago Bert Ballast

Of all the announcements made at The Game Awards, the new sci-fi RPG ‘Exodus’ from WotC’s Archetype Entertainment is the one to watch.

It has been more than a decade, since Mass Effect. In that time, we’ve seen sci-fi games come a long way. The legendary trilogy (just going by the name of the bundle you can get on Steam) paved the way for a sci-fi renaissance that saw titles like No Man’s Sky (once it was finally good), Prey (the good one), Prey (the other one), and of course TV’s Todd Howard’s own Starfield.
And then RPGs have come even further since. We are living in the era of Baldur’s Gate 3 and Cyberpunk 2077 where narrative-driven stories are making a comeback in a big way, and especially with BG3, the idea of “choices matter”, once the rallying cry of Mass Effect, is back on top.
This is the perfect storm for the announcement of a new Sci-Fi RPG in an original world created by a team of ex-Bioware devs. Archetype Entertainment, the WotC-owned studio that has been working on an up-til-now unnamed RPG, headed by James Ohlen who helped pave the way for Mass Effect and Baldur’s Gate 3 in the first place, announced their new title at The Game Awards. And Exodus is looking extremely cool.
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Though it’s very early on, it’s hard not to be excited for what looks to be some quality sci-fi.
Archetype Entertainment Shows Off ‘Exodus’, Reminds Us Why We Love Sci-Fi
[embedded content]
“We are proud to announce EXODUS™ — An epic new sci-fi action-adventure role-playing game (RPG) franchise developed by the team at Archetype Entertainment. Check out our official reveal trailer for #EXODUSGAME, produced by Blur Studio. BECOME THE TRAVELER.”
Just look at this trailer. Presented by none other than Matthew McConaughey, the trailer for Exodus shows us a new sci-fi universe. One in which time passes. It calls on the shades of Interstellar, making McConaughey an apt choice for the reveal.

In the trailer we get a glimpse of a couple of explorers discovering some sort of artifact. Aliens show up. All the usual sci-fi stuff so far, but then… when disaster strikes, choices are made. And time passes.
That’s the most exciting thing here. The idea of interstellar travel taking time, of years and centuries potentially passing as you speed away from worlds, or make your choices and influence NPCs, is exciting, to say the least. It’s just enough of a touch of hard sci-fi to make the world feel a little more grounded.

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Even if there are aliens called Celestials who are after humanity for nefarious reasons. We don’t know a ton from the reveal trailer.
But don’t worry, Archetype Entertainment has your back. Because there are actually two trailers. Check out the cinematic story trailer.
Exodus Cinematic Trailer
[embedded content]
And in this one, we get more of a detailed glimpse at the world of Exodus.
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We see a world affected by The Traveler, which in this case isn’t a giant big space orb, but is instead your character. In the trailer, Tom and Max seize an artifact and are separated. Max returns to the world she left behind. And tom continues onward, at light speed, with time slowing to a crawl. We see the remnants of their adventures:

And then the stage is set. We meet our Traveler. And we see what it means for lifetimes to pass by while you journey on, looking for the next adventure. In an interview with Polygon, Archetype’s Chad Roberts and James Ohlen gave more details about the time dilation mechanics and how they’ll impact the story:
“This essentially supersizes all of the choices that you make. Instead of seeing the consequences of a choice you make in conversation or in gameplay, you know, days later, or weeks or months later, years or even decades later, you’ll see the impact. The choice you made with, say, bringing a remnant technology back with you, or how you decided to use that tech. You’re going to have all sorts of twists and turns, and family dynamics that just get really weird. You have some children, and you go off, and it’s been a month for you, but 30 years for them. And they’re like, ‘What the fuck, dad?’ [laughs]”
Learn More About Exodus Here

Time slows to a crawl at light speed and when you’re waiting for a cool new game to come out.

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Bell of Lost Souls Staff Writer and DM, J.R. covers RPGs of all stripes and on occasion eats sandwiches. You can ask him about either at [email protected]

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MTG: Weekly EDH – Top Five – Rise of the Machine

3 years ago Bert Ballast

Just when we thought the spider was indestructible, a Phyrexian angel swoops in to remind us why she’s the Praetor’s voice.

Welcome Planeswalkers and Praetors to our ongoing series about the best casual experience in Magic: Commander. For the uninitiated, Commander is a semi-casual format for Magic: the Gathering, where you use a deck of 100 cards led by a legendary creature, your Commander.
Aside from basic lands, you are only allowed one copy of each card in the deck. Moreover, you can only include cards in your Commander’s “color identity” or artifacts. Each color and color combo has a unique playstyle and a wealth of mighty generals to lead your deck to victory.

EDHRec.com is a great source for Commander info and can give you ideas to build your next Commander deck or tune an existing one. They also provide a definitive ranking of which Commanders are ranking the highest each week. These are the top five Commanders for this week, based on decks built and logged playtime.

Pantlaza, Sun-Favored

The sun still rises on the empire of Pants Laser, and it’s well deserved. Discover is such an incredible mechanic, and with just a few doubler tricks (Helm of the Host, Mirror Box, etc), you can play your entire deck in a single turn.
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Gishath, Sun’s Avatar

The biggest, baddest dino on the block is still our second entry and well-deserved. As strong as Pantlaza is, with all the tricks it can do, it’s hard to compare to the raw power of Gishath. This is the perfect deck for the “turn cards sideways” strategy.

Hakbal of the Surging Soul

Keeping his shiny bronze medal, Mer-cules himself is maintaining Merfolk supremacy. I built a Hakbal deck back when the precon dropped, but hadn’t gotten a chance to play it until this week. Let’s just say…I get this ranking. Hakbal, left to his own devices, is a problem.

Edgar Markov

Too fabulous to die, we have Edgar Markov maintaining his fourth-place seat. Vampires, specifically Mardu vampires, are always a powerful choice, and the Ixalan newcomers keep making it better. I wouldn’t be surprised to see Eddie move up in the next week or so.

Atraxa, Praetor’s Voice

Finally booting Tymna, we have New Capenna’s most thorough building inspector, Atraxa. Honestly, I’m surprised it took her this long to get back on the top five. Her nasty keyword soup, plus a free proliferate trigger, makes her a deadly Commander. Most tables I’ve played with have a KoS rule for Atraxa, on the same level as Urza or Kaalia.
What are your thoughts on this week’s commanders?
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Originally from North Carolina, Clint comes to Austin as the latest in a long list of haunts of a wandering actor. An avid gamer, writer, actor, pyrotechnician, and general nerd, he has finally turned his love of EDH into a career. When not busy being a clueless cowboy, Winterfell Bannermen, or whatever else acting life throws at him, he enjoys reading folklore from around the world, writing narratives for his Wargaming armies, or running D&D 5e games as a professional DM. Look for his storytelling podcast, By the Dancing Fire, or find him on Twitch at FeybornPhyrexian, where he produces MTG content.

CCG
Magic: The Gathering

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Outside the Box – December 8th: It’s Getting Festive

3 years ago Bert Ballast

Welcome to another issue of Outside the Box, this week with news from Atomic Mass Games, Para Bellum Wargames, Perry Miniatures, Cool Mini or Not and more!
Asmodee Group/Atomic Mass Games released the Battle for the Throne set for Marvel Crisis Protocol:– > More Asmodee Group News
The Ironclad Drake can now be pre-ordered from Para Bellum Wargames: – > More Para Bellum Wargames News
Cool Mini or Not announced Zombicide: Dark Age Chronicles:– > More Cool Mini or Not News
New Napoleonics sets are available from Perry Miniatures: – > More Perry Miniatures News
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Artel W Miniatures presents new preview pictures: – > More Artel W Miniatures News
The 12 Days of Christmas special has started at Reaper Miniatures:– > More Reaper Miniatures News
TT Combat released their new 8/10mm terrain:– > More TT Combat News
The limited edition Festive miniatures are now available from Warcradle Studios:– > More Warcradle Studios News
Puppetswar released new miniatures: – > More Puppetswar News
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And Rubicon Models presents a new preview:– > More Rubicon Models News

For this week’s new Kickstarter campaigns – follow this link!
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And if you want to stay up to date, head over to the Tabletop Fix for daily news updates!

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Author: Tabletop Fix

The Tabletop Fix is a newsblog about wargames and miniatures.
Unofficial – Independent – Non-Commercial. I have been writing about the tabletop and miniatures industry since 2010.

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Age of Sigmar: The New Flesh-eater Courts Miniatures are FECing Great!

3 years ago Bert Ballast

We’ve gotten our hands on the new Flesh-eater Courts miniatures and they are even cooler in person. Talk about a glow-up!

I was already pretty excited about the new Flesh-eater Courts releases from the images that Games Workshop used. But we got our Army Box for them from GW as a preview and WOW — it does not disappoint. Let’s take a closer look at these new miniatures .
Varghulf Courtier

Let’s start with the Varghulf because it’s the only “replacement” model. I really like the new pose and please excuse the gaps in the model. This is why I prefer plastic glue vs super glue — but also once you do a little hobby work on them you won’t even see the gaps on the final product. Anyhow, it’s a great new update to the existing Varghulf model. Plus it’s plastic instead of resin now. Also these guys are beastly on the tabletop and I have a feeling you’re going to be seeing even more of these in the coming months.
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Now on to some of the new stuff…
Morbheg Knights

The Morbheg Knights are brand new kit for a brand new unit. I love the idea that these are the “cavalry” for the “noble” Flesh-eater Courts. I mentioned before that I was a big fan of the bat-like mounts and now seeing them in person they are even better! We’ve built one of each type but you can also just have them loaded up with weapons for those times you want to reinforce the unit. I can’t wait to see what the community does with this army and what other nasty tricks they come up with on the tabletop.
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Abhorrant Gorewarden

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This might be my absolute favorite model from this batch. I really like the way the wings turned out on this model. I also like all the little details all over the body. The keys in particular are a really subtle nod to the role this Gorewarden plays in the lore. He’s got the literal “keys to the kingdom” and they are a sign of his authority. Aside from that detail, I also really like the overall imposing stature of this model. It’s almost a statue in some ways — like a gargoyle glaring at all those below.
Cryptguard

When the Flesh-eater Courts were finally getting their Battletome I was wondering if they would get another Battleline unit or an Crypt Ghoul update. And the Cryptguard are the answer. This is another great addition to the range and just gives more options to FEC players. There’s a lot of diversity in these models and it’s great to see ghouls with weapons. I mean, it’s slightly terrifying, but also it makes sense. If a skeleton can wield a sword and shield then a ghoul should be able to pick-up a stick or two and swing that at foe. In this case the stick just happens to be a halberd but you get the idea.
I also appreciate that the GW kept their terribly bad (for your back) posture. It just goes to make them a bit more inhumane even though these are the most “alive” members of the Grand Alliance Death. If blood-crazed cannibals were already scary then get ready for those same ghouls but with weapons!

The Flesh-eater Courts Army Box should be showing up in stores this weekend. I hope you’re able to get your hands on a copy if you wanted one!
Big shout out to Clint for assembly and to Mars for the photos. Check out our Instagram for mini photos and more.

They are so FECing cool looking!

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Writer, Editor, Texas Native, and Austinite for 15+ years, Adam covers all things Tabletop Gaming. Which includes Warhammer 40,000, Age of Sigmar, D&D, Board Games and everything else that involves dice, boards, cards and a table.
A hobbyist, player, and collector of miniatures and games, Adam’s current obsession are his Death Armies for Age of Sigmar, his Blood Angels and Tyranids for 40k, and his ever growing Arkham Horror: The Card Game Collection.

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Warhammer 40K: ‘Space Marine 2’ Gets A Release Date

3 years ago Bert Ballast

Your life may be honor, and your craft may be death, but do you know what Space Marine 2 is coming out? It’s soon!

Last night The Game AdvertisementsAwards told us all a bunch of things we already know. Baldur’s Gate 3 is game of the year. Indie Games are a vibe, not an actual category, and just because a studio has millions doesn’t mean they can’t make an indie darling (sarcasm). And of course, a whole lot of games with cool-looking trailers are coming out sometime between very soon and Blizzard-Activision Soon (never).
Space Marine 2 is one such game. And last night, during Geoff Keighley’s show about video games that made Gonzo the Great talk about Tears of the Kingdom, Space Marine 2, (official title Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2), revealed its release date.
And since it’s slated for a September 9th, 2024 release, it’s coming much sooner than many of the other games on display.
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Space Marine 2 Release Date Reveal Trailer – September 9th Can’t Come Soon Enough
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In the release trailer, we don’t get many new details. We just get to see the newly Primaris’d, now-Lieutenant Titus pledging eternal service to the Emperor (or at least the Ultramarines), while admitting that his craft is death. And it’s true. Even if this trailer is sparse on details, don’t forget that extended gameplay trailer from a few months ago:
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Where we basically see that Lieutenant Titus is basically a The Craftsman of killing Tyranids. He finds all sorts of inventive ways to show that he shall know no fear on the battlefield.

But the latest Space Marine 2 trailer does give us one vital piece of info, the Space Marine 2 release date, September 9th, 2024. That day happens to be a Monday, so, clearly Games Workshop and Focus want you to take time off from work to play the game. We recommend working on your fake cough now, so you’ll be a dab hand at it by the time Space Marine 2’s release date finally arrives.

Alongside the release date trailer, a press release promised all the usual action and adventure you might expect from a 40K game press release:
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Crush the Tyranid Swarms. Defend Humanity!
Prepare for the most satisfying and intense battle of 2024, continuing the story of legendary Space Marine Lieutenant Titus, voiced by Vikings and Taken star Clive Standen. Drive back the everlasting night solo or in up-to-three-player co-op in Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2’s epic new campaign. Unleash the Ultramarines’ deadly arsenal and embody the unwavering brutality of the Emperor’s greatest warriors to protect Humanity from the untold horrors of the galaxy, including the dark forces of Chaos!
If you don’t want to wait, you can, in fact, sign up for the beta for a chance to explore the grim darkness of the distant future firsthand.
Sign up for the Space Marine 2 Beta
And get ready to finish the fight. You know, the one that the Tyranids started. Not a different fight which needed finishing.
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Bell of Lost Souls Staff Writer and DM, J.R. covers RPGs of all stripes and on occasion eats sandwiches. You can ask him about either at [email protected]

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Games Workshop: Advent Engine Day 8 – ‘Servo Skull To The Rescue’

3 years ago Bert Ballast

The Advent Engine has fired up once again and we’ve got a new image to chew on. What could this one be from Games Workshop? You make the call.

Welcome to the Advent Engine! It’s that special time of year when Games Workshop’s teaser department kicks into overdrive and we get the Advent Engine every day for (almost) a month! This time around we’ve got a headache of an image to unpack. But not a headache for you, O Reader Mine, but rather for the poor soul who’s skull got converted into this…contraption.
via Warhammer Community
“Is it just us, or is the Advent Engine getting more cryptic every day? Our skulls are devoid of ideas, no matter how much parchment we try to fill with thoughts on just what it could be.”
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Advent Engine – Servo Skull To The Rescue
So we’ve got a skull and it’s attached to a toilet paper roll handle parchment scroll. There’s also some additional hardware attached, too. Now my very first inclination here is that this is an Adeptus Mechanicus thing. At least it seems like a contraption they’d whip up:

But let’s widen the scope here as Servo Skulls aren’t just and Ad Mech thing. Space Marines use them. Inquisitors use them. Heck, I’m pretty there’s been a few Guardsmen with them at some point. Basically the entire Imperium of Mankind has these guys floating around.

What about those weird cherub skulls? Do those count, too?
And if this could be an Imperial thing, that means it could also be a Chaos thing — although this one doesn’t have a mohawk or extra spikes on it. However, it does look pretty Warhammer: 40k to me. Could it be some from Age of Sigmar? I don’t want to rule that out but I do think this one is a bit too advanced. And on closer inspection, does that skull have Space Marine Service Studs in it’s brow? Hmm…
In any case, if you’ve got ideas we’d like to read them! So drop us a line in the comments with your theory of what/who this Servo Skull serves.
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Previous Advent Engines:
Day One – ‘Wings And More To Come’
Day Two – ‘Now That’s A Purity Seal’
Day Three – ‘Minefield’
Day Four – ‘Fur Cape’
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Day Five – ‘Branching Out’
Day 6 – ‘Book Report’
Day 7 – ‘Chain Gang’

It would be nice to read that parchment. That would be a huge clue!

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Warhammer: Friendly PSA – Online Order Christmas Cut-Off Shipping Dates and Also Codex: Zoats?!

3 years ago Bert Ballast

Do you want to place an order from Games Workshop for a Christmas gift? Well you need to order them online by these dates based on region!

This time of year there’s an increase in travel traffic and also shipping deliveries. On top of that, some of these deliveries have to travel farther than others to get to where they need to go. There’s a lot of logistics involved and expectations to be met. With that last part in mind, GW is attempting to give everyone a heads-up when it comes to deliveries in time for Christmas gifts. There is a cut-off date for guaranteed UPS Shipping.
via Warhammer Community
Christmas Shipping Cut Offs
“The Christmas dates differ by region – please note that these are the UPS shipping dates, and that your local mail service may have slightly different dates. There are two tables, one for Australia (which is massive and requires its own dates) and another for the rest of the world. “
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As you can see there are some regions that are impacted starting today, December 8, 2023. Be sure to check for your particular region if you plan on ordering anything online from warhammer.com.
Ideally, you’ve gotten your orders in already and everything is gravy! But if not, well, good luck. There’s always the Warhammer Store option which you can check locations for via the store finder. Personally, I like to shop at our local stores where I also play games at. I’d like to continue to have those places to play and buying stuff from them seems like the best way to facilitate that. So go support your local scene and shop at your FLGS!
Codex: Zoats?!
Oh come on now. You didn’t think we’d let this one slide by without mentioning it, did you?

At around the 0:10 second mark, there’s a comment about “Codex Zoats….finally.” Obviously this is just a joke/throw away line…right? Are Zoats the new ‘Squat Clock’ gag from GW? Personally, I’m here for the gags just as much as other long time fans. At the same time we’ve had a couple different Zoat models over the years.

Blackstone Fortress had one and so did Blood Bowl of all places:
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What the heck are Zoats? Well if you’re asking that please check out the Lexicanum for even more details. But the long and short answer is that they are another race from the lore that has appeared in both 40k and Warhammer Fantasy Battles. They have a pretty interesting backstory and have had a few art images over the years. They’ve popped-up mostly as one-off models and never had a full ‘codex’ release. And, again, while this might be a joke line it could always come true one day! Heck, GW brought back and updated the Squats… it could happen. The Grimdark Universe is a BIG place.

Zoats for Christmas? Not THIS year…
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Wizards of the Coast Updates Info for 'Magic: The Gathering – Murders at Karlov Manor' Release

3 years ago Bert Ballast

Wizards of the Coast updated their release information for Magic: The Gathering – Murders at Karlov Manor, a new Standard set, which is headed to retail on January 9, 2024.
This first Standard set of 2024 (see “Product Line Deets Revealed”) features a murder mystery flavor to it. Along with the new set, WotC has announced the key dates for retailers to keep in mind regarding events and the release:
Scheduling Opened: December 5, 2023
WPN Marketing Portal: New materials became available December 5, 2023
Promotional Kit Delivery: Starts January 26, 2024
Prerelease: February 2-8, 2024
Release: February 9, 2024
Open House: February 9-11, 2024
Store Championships: March 2-10, 2024
Commander Party: February 16-18, 2024
Standard Showdown: Runs from February 12 to April 4, 2024
Ravnica: Cluedo Edition Release Date: February 24, 2024

As an additional point of note, Standard Showdown will be returning to retail stores with this set. This part of WotC’s plan to bring Standard back as a popular format for in-store play (see “Tabletop Woes”). Also, this release will introduce another round of 30th anniversary promos.
Click on Gallery below for full-size images!

‘Avatar Legends’ RPG is the Perfect Gift for the A:TLA Fan on Your List

3 years ago Bert Ballast

The Avatar: The Last Airbender RPG Avatar Legends will let you bring the power of bending the elements to the holiday season.

Long ago the four nations lived in harmony. Everything changed when the Fire Nation attacked. And now you can roleplay in that exact moment, or many others from throughout the Avatar the Last Airbender universe. From Avatar Wan to Avatar Kyoshi, and from the Fire Nation to Cabbage Corp, the world is wide open and ready to play.
We’ve talked about Avatar Legends plenty here on the site. Back when the playtest rules were out for backers of the Kickstarter, we covered how to play. And while the details have changed, you can still get a feel for what the rules are like in the video:

[embedded content]

But the best way to learn is by playing for yourself. And now Avatar Legends is out in the wild, all the backers have gotten their copy, and anyone can dive in. It also makes a great gift that you can enjoy with the fan on your gift list! You can find your copy online or at your friendly local game store today.
Avatar Legends Core Rulebook

Avatar Legends: The Roleplaying Game brings you and your friends into the beloved setting of Avatar Legends—as new heroes of your own stories! Weave tales of self-discovery and action with your team of friends, and go penguin-sledding while you’re at it!
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In this RPG, you might face off with the Triple Threat Triad in Republic City, travel through a spirit portal to rescue a missing child, negotiate peace between Earth Kingdom outlaws, pursue enemies through the Four Nations, and even learn a thing or two from beloved Avatar Legends characters.
Choose a setting amid the eras of Kyoshi, Roku, the Hundred Year War, Aang, and Korra. Create your heroes from 10 playbooks—archetypes that help you play compelling protagonists.Master an element, weaponry, or technology to rise and meet your destiny. Pursue balance by learning from great mentors and getting into trouble across the Four Nations.

Wan Shi Tong’s Adventure Guide

Wan Shi Tong’s Adventure Guide expands the play material found in Avatar Legends: The Roleplaying Game with new Legendary NPCs from every era, new techniques for each of the six trainings, and new character archetypes packed with unique moves and character arcs!
In addition, Wan Shi Tong invites you to explore the Avatarverse in new and exciting adventures from every era—you might rescue a mentor from the clutches of evil villains, help negotiate peace at a prestigious summit, aid a Fire Nation defector as they flee the Fire Lord Ozai’s wrath, or even recover long-lost Air Nomad artifacts!
Of course, you can also expand the game with Wan Shi Tong’s Adventure Guide. This book contains four new playbooks, 14 NPC Legends (all your favorite characters like Toph and older Toph), and five adventures set throughout the various eras you can play in.
In addition to these books, you can also find a Cloth Map that is quite lovely. Action decks, special dice. All of these you can find on Avatar Legends’ pre-order page, linked below.
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Avatar Legends Custom Dice Pack

This pack of engraved dice contains six pairs of six-sided dice usable in Avatar Legends: The Roleplaying Game. Each pair bears the color and symbol of one of the six different trainings of heroes in this world:
AirbendingWaterbendingEarthbendingFirebendingWeaponsTechnology

Now get out there and destroy some cabbages!
Oh hey! BoLS might make a little money if you decide to buy these items.
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Bell of Lost Souls Staff Writer and DM, J.R. covers RPGs of all stripes and on occasion eats sandwiches. You can ask him about either at [email protected]

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Attacks and spells never miss in this new Dungeons & Dragons-esque fantasy TRPG

3 years ago Bert Ballast

A new tabletop roleplaying game looks to provide the Dungeons & Dragons experience without the frustration of missing attacks or spells.
Called the MCDM RPG, the upcoming tabletop roleplaying game features a gameplay system that is “unburdened by sacred cows from the 1970s.” In the TRPG, players become characters who start as already established heroes, perhaps even “locally famous” ones, who come together to embark on adventures. Wherever the stories take the players, the MCDM RPG appears to prioritise “fun” above all else.
Rather than focusing on the act of dungeon-crawling – as the original version of Dungeons & Dragons did – MCDM RPG can support exploring dungeons without the need for tracking torches and rations, as well as avoiding the need for hex-based maps.

Image credit: MCDM Productions

Instead, the tabletop RPG puts the emphasis on action, with players able to engage in battle through “dynamic” moves such as knocking opponents through walls or into each other. Every character in the MCDM RPG will be equipped with a selection of “thematic” abilities that they will have access to, with players able to gain more resources throughout the fight, rather than gradually exhausting them.
Perhaps the most distinct aspect of MCDM RPG is its approach to combat in that players never have to roll to successfully land an attack or spell. Players in MCDM RPG “cannot miss” and spells can’t be saved against. Instead, whenever players perform an attack or cast a spell, they roll two d6 dice and add an attribute to determine how much damage they do.
Should players want to avoid instigating violence immediately, they can choose to try and negotiate with a non-player character – controlled by the game master rather than a player – if they’re willing to talk. Some NPCs may even change their allegiances or change their minds on carrying out certain actions, with players testing their patience and interest stats.

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Watch on YouTubeLiv recommends nine fantasy RPGs that aren’t Dungeons & Dragons.
The MCDM fantasy RPG was created and is set to be published by MCDM Productions, a company that has previously created supplements for D&D 5E such as Flee Mortals!, a book featuring a rogue’s gallery of unique monsters for GMs to include in their games, and Strongholds & Followers – a book containing rules for acquiring property and running homesteads.
The crowdfunding campaign for the MCDM RPG, which has already reached a total of over $2 million (£1.6 million), is currently on Backerkit until January 5th, with a pledge of $40 (£32) getting backers a PDF copy of the rulebook sometime in 2025.

D&D title Baldur’s Gate 3 rolls a critical at The Game Awards, scooping up six accolades

3 years ago Bert Ballast

The Dungeons & Dragons video game Baldur’s Gate 3 took home six trophies from last night’s Game Awards.
An official D&D video game, Baldur’s Gate 3 is the third in a trilogy of titles set within The Forgotten Realms setting of the tabletop roleplaying game. The original Baldur’s Gate was released in 1998 and was developed by Bioware, the company behind the Mass Effect and Dragon Age series of video games. In the series, players take the role of a character embroiled in an epic story that spans The Sword Coast, the city of Baldur’s Gate itself and beyond.
As with the previous entries in the franchise, Baldur’s Gate 3 has players creating a character, choosing from a range of D&D classes and playable species, before setting out to explore the land, meet recruitable companions and fight various enemies. The gameplay for BG3 is based on the D&D: 5E system, with players being required to roll a d20 – which appears as a digital die representing a random number generator in the game – and add any bonuses they might have in order to pass various skill checks or saving throws.

The ceremony for The Game Awards 2023.
Combat in BG3 is also based on the 5E system, requiring players to select from their available actions and perform a limited number within a turn-based order. Depending on what kind of character players are controlling, such as their class, they’ll be able to choose from casting spells, wielding weapons and transforming into other beings. In the single-player mode, players can control up to four different characters at once – including their custom character – whereas the multiplayer mode can support four players at once: each controlling their own character.
Baldur’s Gate 3 won a total of six different awards at last night’s ceremony for The Game Awards 2023, an annual event that looks to celebrate various video games released each year. (Thanks Eurogamer.)
Having been nominated for eight awards BG3 took home six: including the coveted Game of the Year, as well as Best RPG, Best Multiplayer and Best Community Support. Neil Newborn, the actor behind Baldur’s Gate 3’s elven rogue Astarion, was awarded Best Performance, whilst the D&D video game also took home the Player’s Voice Award – which is voted for by the public.

Image credit: Larian Studios, Dicebreaker

Larian Studios is the company responsible for developing and publishing Baldur’s Gate 3 and is otherwise known for creating the Divinity: Original Sin series of roleplaying games, which has also been adapted into a board game.
Baldur’s Gate 3’s success, alongside the release of the blockbuster film Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves earlier this year, has solidified 2023 as a big year for the tabletop RPG – with the launch of the next edition coming in 2024.

ICv2 Video Interview: Maggie Thompson with Heidi MacDonald, Part 1

3 years ago Bert Ballast

NEWS

ICV2 VIDEO INTERVIEW: MAGGIE THOMPSON WITH HEIDI MACDONALD, PART 1
On Early Sci-Fi and Comics Fandom and Fanzines
Posted by Heidi MacDonald on December 8, 2023 @ 3:20 am CT

Maggie Thompson, likely in the mid-80s, while working for the Krause Publications ‘Comic Buyer’s Guide.’Maggie Thompson was a key figure in the history of comics because she and her late husband Don, who died in 1994, started the early fanzine Comic Arts, then the sci-fi fanzine Newfangles, and then went on to edit the Comics Buyer’s Guide for over 20 years (see “‘CBG’ DOA”). She has continued to be an active part of the comics community as a writer and historian. In Part 1 of this interview with comics journalist Heidi MacDonald, she describes her early days in comics and sci-fi fandom and her collaboration with Don on their first fanzines. In Part 2, she discusses the Comics Buyer’s Guide.We are also making available lightly edited transcripts of the interview, in two parts:ICv2 Interview: Maggie Thompson Interviewed by Heidi MacDonald, Part 1ICv2 Interview: Maggie Thompson Interviewed by Heidi MacDonald, Part 2This interview was conducted as part of ICv2’s Comics Direct Market 50th Anniversary celebration; for more, see “Comics Direct Market 50th Anniversary.”
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Marvel to Settle with Estate of Steve Ditko
Last of Five Battles with Creators and Estates Comes to an End
December 8, 2023
The Ditko lawsuit was the last of five court cases involving Marvel and its creators or their estates.

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‘Dungeons & Dragons’ Goes Postal
With New Stamps Arriving in 2024
December 8, 2023
The U.S. Postal Service announced that they will release Dungeons & Dragons stamps in 2024.

Goatboy’s Grimdark Armylist – Space Goats go Stormlance Taskforce

3 years ago Bert Ballast

Goatboy here and with a mean, masticating Space Goats list. The Braying Legion is running as a Space Wolves Stormlance Taskforce and will chew things up and spit em out!

As I finish up some World Eaters nonsense on my personal table I have to think – what’s next for the Goatboy? What do I try to bring back? What do I even work on in between client work, illustration, and keeping my kids in line? What kind of high-pressure list should I wax poetic on next?

Right now, it seems to be the cycle of returning to Space Goats again. I always cycle back to them and even took them a few years ago to an LVO and won more games than I lost. This time around, I think they might be ok from a pressure standpoint and at the very least I wouldn’t make an Ironstorm Spearhead list like all the other Space Marine ones we see.
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I could try a Vanguard Spearhead but I don’t think a bunch of sneaky marines on foot is a very Space Goat sort of thing. I would also need to rebuild a lot of things as again – the old Space Goats/Space Wolf nonsense was full of Thunder Wolves and things that tried to punch you to oblivion.
Which of course leaves me looking at the Stormlance Task Force because it loves stuff mounted, gives you advance/charge, and it has Storm in its name so it sounds awesome. The more I look at it and the more I think of how I want to play, this seems to be the way to go.

Modernizing the Space Goats
Now as the list was built before, there would be a lot of “clean” up to get things right. I would have to figure out some more Thunder Goats as the old style had them in units of 5 and the new one is either 3 or 6. I keep thinking 6 because it’s awesome, it’s part of the theme, and it’s totally awesome.
At the same time, I also want to throw in some Dreadnoughts too. I know it isn’t nearly as good as other lists with them, but if I am throwing a crap ton of Thunder Wolves down the line I need some fat butts to sit in the back. This means building out some Dreadnoughts that won’t die to some long-range shooting, can bully the backfield, and in a pinch Advance/Charge and wreck your face.
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The final piece is of course, some Scouts because they are one of the cheapest units that can push the Deployment Zone out and maybe help you from getting hit by Calgar and friends. It also just lets you do some fun push back, first turn scoring, and is a unit you don’t care enough about to sacrifice for a counter punch as needed.
I didn’t want to add any special characters to the army either, as this is all about Space Goats and not Space Wolf characters that somehow got goatified. There are a few, but again I wanted this to be pretty simple in setup. If I was going to go all in and rebuild this list up I need to keep it simple.

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10th Edition Space Goats
Space MarinesSpace WolvesStormlance Task ForceStrike Force (2000 Points)
CHARACTERS
Wolf Guard Battle Leader on Thunderwolf (80 Points)• 1x Close combat weapon1x Crushing teeth and claws1x Storm Shield1x Thunder hammer
Wolf Guard Battle Leader on Thunderwolf (80 Points)• 1x Close combat weapon1x Crushing teeth and claws1x Storm Shield1x Thunder hammer
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Wolf Guard Battle Leader on Thunderwolf (80 Points)• 1x Close combat weapon1x Crushing teeth and claws1x Storm Shield1x Thunder hammer
Wolf Lord on Thunderwolf (125 Points)• Warlord• 1x Close combat weapon1x Crushing teeth and claws1x Relic Shield1x Thunder hammer• Enhancements: Fury of the Storm
Wolf Lord on Thunderwolf (115 Points)• 1x Close combat weapon1x Crushing teeth and claws1x Relic Shield1x Thunder hammer• Enhancements: Portents of Wisdom
Wolf Lord on Thunderwolf (100 Points)• 1x Close combat weapon1x Crushing teeth and claws1x Relic Shield1x Thunder hammer

OTHER DATASHEETS
Brutalis Dreadnought (175 Points)• 1x Brutalis bolt rifles1x Brutalis fists1x Twin Icarus ironhail heavy stubber1x Twin multi-melta
Brutalis Dreadnought (175 Points)• 1x Brutalis bolt rifles1x Brutalis fists1x Twin Icarus ironhail heavy stubber1x Twin multi-melta
Redemptor Dreadnought (200 Points)• 1x Icarus rocket pod1x Macro plasma incinerator1x Onslaught gatling cannon1x Redemptor fist1x Twin storm bolter
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Redemptor Dreadnought (200 Points)• 1x Icarus rocket pod1x Macro plasma incinerator1x Onslaught gatling cannon1x Redemptor fist1x Twin storm bolter
Scout Squad (55 Points)• 1x Scout Sergeant• 1x Bolt pistol1x Boltgun1x Close combat weapon• 4x Scout• 4x Bolt pistol2x Boltgun4x Close combat weapon1x Missile launcher1x Scout sniper rifle
Scout Squad (55 Points)• 1x Scout Sergeant• 1x Bolt pistol1x Boltgun1x Close combat weapon• 4x Scout• 4x Bolt pistol2x Boltgun4x Close combat weapon1x Missile launcher1x Scout sniper rifle
Thunderwolf Cavalry (180 Points)• 1x Thunderwolf Cavalry Pack Leader• 1x Crushing teeth and claws1x Heirloom weapon1x Storm Shield• 5x Thunderwolf Cavalry• 5x Crushing teeth and claws5x Heirloom weapon5x Storm Shield
Thunderwolf Cavalry (180 Points)• 1x Thunderwolf Cavalry Pack Leader• 1x Crushing teeth and claws1x Heirloom weapon1x Storm Shield• 5x Thunderwolf Cavalry• 5x Crushing teeth and claws5x Heirloom weapon5x Storm Shield
Thunderwolf Cavalry (180 Points)• 1x Thunderwolf Cavalry Pack Leader• 1x Crushing teeth and claws1x Heirloom weapon1x Storm Shield• 5x Thunderwolf Cavalry• 5x Crushing teeth and claws5x Heirloom weapon5x Storm Shield
2000pts

Using the 10th Edition Space Goats
This is a pretty simple list. You have things you push forward into the enemy. You got units that sit in back and are a pain to remove. This lets you hopefully control the game and win the game. You can use terrain to move around, get some crazy assaults off, and just pressure the opponent like the Space Goats Gods intended.
“I will be with you at the end, for the Goat Time” ~ Svren the Hoovenclaw – Bringer of the Braying Legion of Mastication
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Thomas Reidy, aka Goatboy, the ever-evil member of BoLS. I do arts, play 40k, and even paint a lot of stuff. I have been playing Warhammer 40K since the 1990s, and have won multiple national events including Adepticon and GW GTs. I’ve been writing for BoLS for 15 years. Look at my Instagram to see what I am working on – or working on for someone. I am always doing something hobby related.

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Warhammer 40K: Abaddon’s 5 Most Important Black Crusades

3 years ago Bert Ballast

Abaddon the Despoiler has led 13 Black Crusades. But which ones were the most important? That’s what we’re here to discuss!

We could have just made a quick list numbered 1-13 and ranked the Black Crusades but out of context it wouldn’t make much sense. Instead we’re going to talk about 5 of them and why they are the most important 5 Black Crusades. Keep in mind these are based off the most recent lore in which Games Workshop “reworked” the meaning behind each one.
Some call it a retcon…Abaddon would say it was all part of his plans to begin with. Either way, the results speak for themselves.

#5 – The 5th Black Crusade, aka The Tide of Blood

The 5th Black Crusade was a big deal for a couple of reasons. First, it unleashed Doombreed, the greatest of all of Khorne’s Daemon Princes (take that Angron). The fact that this Black Crusade shows Abaddon knows how to bargin with Daemon Princes is already impressive. But he got Khorne’s #1 guy to fight for him!
Secondly, it wiped out two entire Chapters of Space Marines: the Warhawks and the Venerators. Thirdly, it caused the Blood Angels to sacrifice a Battle Barge to contain Doombreed… for a time. Not only did millions die on Tarinth to summon Doombreed but the cost to the Imperium as a whole was grave. While those sorts of losses were already bad enough, the “secret mission” of this attack was to “loosen the psychic equilibrium” in this relatively stable region of space. Knowing what we know now, we can see how that would come into play later.
#4 – The 3rd Black Crusade, aka The Desecration of Gerstahl

This Black Crusade is actually super important because it was one of those massive feints that Abaddon pulled. The start of the Black Crusade saw Abaddon launch an attack on Cadia. It was led by Daemon Prince Tallomin, so-called ‘Prince of Princes’ — so it was a host to behold. But this was all a distraction to pull forces away from a Shrine World of Saint Gerstahl. There was a prophecy written on the tomb of the Saint that said the saint would rise again when the “Eye of Darkness opened for the last time.” To prevent that from coming to pass, Abaddon destroyed the tomb and his remains. Why do that? Well, again, now that we know the goal of Abaddon, we know that this had some ramifications down the line. Could this Saint have stopped Abaddon and prevented the Great Rift? Now we’ll never know.
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#3 – The 12th Black Crusade, aka The Gothic War

While this Black Crusade might have been listed as an Imperial Victory there were two major things that happened in the background as a part of Abaddon’s grand plan. First, 4 of the six Blackstone Fortresses were destroyed. That was a major blow as we now know that these Blackstone Fortresses have an affect on the warp and can be used to alter the fabric between real and warp space. And secondly, Abaddon not only learned how to control them, but he stole TWO of them! Again, we know what ultimately happened to both but this turned out to be a pretty big score for Abaddon. It also lead directly to…
#2 – The 13th Black Crusade, aka The Fall of Cadia

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I don’t think I need to get into too much detail as to why this was such a big deal. Not only did Cadia get cracked in half and was destroyed, it also caused the universe to split as the Great Rift tore open across the stars. This is also how one of the two of Abaddon’s Blackstone Fortresses was used as it smashed in to Cadia to put the nail in the coffin of the planet. The doorway between the warp and real space was flung wide open and the universe changed forever. So what could top this Black Crusade?
#1 – The 1st Black Crusade, The First Battle of Cadia

Again, the Imperium might have pushed Abaddon back into the Eye of Terror but it cost them greatly. At the end of this Black Crusade the Imperial Fists First Captain Sigismund had fallen and Abaddon claimed the Daemon Sword Drach’nyen. These two factors changed the game and really made Abaddon the new Warmaster of Chaos. Abaddon might have been a great warrior before he claimed the sword but afterwards…well, 12 more Black Crusades and he’s still going. Sure he’s been “stopped” here and there but how many souls has he claimed along the way? And he’s never been truly defeated. At least not yet…

Those are our picks for the 5 most important Black Crusades of Abaddon? Which ones do you think deserve to make the cut?

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How the Grinch Stole this Closet Cosplay

3 years ago Bert Ballast

He’s a mean one, and you can be too; we’ve built the foulest Grinch closet cosplay for your holiday enjoyment!

While some might say that Santa Clause is the most recognizable Christmas character, I would argue for someone more green and mean. What’s a more iconic story of Christmas redemption than a grouch who grows a heart (literally) and finally lets go of his grudges?
Actual footage of me rushing off to make this cosplay

There have been many versions of this classic American Christmas tale, but my favorite has always been Jim Carry’s rendition. His zany antics are as comical as they are indicative of Carry’s very physical form of comedic acting. His performance as The Grinch was spot on. To celebrate his spectacular Grinch retelling, here’s a Grinch closet cosplay list to inspire YOUR holiday hijinks!

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The Grinch Closet Cosplay: The Body Suit

The colder the weather gets, the more I just want to be COMFY. Onesies and body suits have come full into fashion in the last few years, and here is a perfect excuse to use one. This green onesie is soft and comfortable, has pockets, and is the EXACT color for The Grinch! Add in a few key accessories, and you’re ready to rock. (Or throw them).

If you’re more interested in the antics of acting as Santa, there’s a perfect ready-made Grinch kit for you online. From the red velvet slippers to the Santa hat, the fluffy green eyebrows, and everything in between.

The Grinch Closet Cosplay: Makeup Options

If you’re really going to commit to the cosplay and do a full face paint, I can’t recommend Mehron enough. I’ve used their body paint for my Houtua cosplay recently, and it blends beautifully. They have a few different tones that can be used for highlighting and contouring in the green palate, as well!
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The Grinch Closet Cosplay: The Feet

These are just hilarious. You can go barefoot or wear regular shoes (or Santa slippers) with this cosplay… But I quite like the ridiculousness of these over-the-top accessories.

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The Grinch Closet Cosplay: The Santa Hat

While The Grinch does wear a regular Santa hat during the story, I thought a Who Hat would be so much more fun. This hat is tall and twisty, and will bring the Whimsy to your Seussian cosplay.

Oh hey! BoLS has the hookup for affiliate status with Amazon. Any of these links you click will help us keep the holiday lights on for another year. Make our Christmas wish come true- all we think about is you… clicking those links!

~Join us next week for more cosplay coverage~
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Have a cosplay question you would like Mayhem’s Muse to answer?
Know a cosplayer you’d like to see featured? Send an email here!

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Jennifer aka “Mayhem’s Muse” is the Cosplay Editor for BoLS and manages Ad Sales and Communications. Her cosplay awards include the RTX Judge’s Choice Award and Dragon’s Lair Austin’s Cosplay Symposium.
Jennifer has been a Cosplay Guest Judge at RTX, Tacticon and Genghis Con in Colorado. She regularly attends conventions to cover cosplay for BoLS. Her cosplay work has been featured in publications such as Girls Who Love Monsters, Geek Fuel, and Renaissance Magazine. Jennifer has modeled in the Her Universe Fashion Show, Precision Camera’s yearly Precision Camera University, and has taught several workshops for photographers about partnering with cosplayers and creative muses/models.
Jennifer is a lifelong enthusiast of retro video games and loves Dungeons & Dragons, urban fantasy, tabletop games, VR technology, and historical archery. She has set National Records through USA Archery’s Traditional Division for Asiatic Bows and earned 4th Place in the World Nomad Games in Kyrgyzstan in 2018 for Women’s Korean Archery. Jennifer is currently studying for her Masters’s Degree in Organizational Leadership.

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WizKids Reconfigures 'Pathfinder Battles: Fearsome Forces'

3 years ago Bert Ballast

WizKids has changed the product configuration of Pathfinder Battles: Fearsome Forces as well as pushed back its release date.
Pathfinder Battles: Fearsome Forces was originally set to hit retail in October 2023 (see “‘Pathfinder Battles: Fearsome Forces'”). This miniatures booster set is now looking at arriving in September 2024 because they have changed the booster product format from 12-count Battle Boxes to full Battle Bricks. The Battle Bricks contain 24 single-boxed miniatures.Additionally, the case count for the product has been increased to four Battle Bricks per case (96 miniatures total). As far as MSRP for the product goes, the individual packs will go from $6.99 to $5.99, and the new Battle Bricks will be priced at $143.76.
Click on Gallery below for full-size images!

‘Warhammer 40K: Rogue Trader’ Is Out – Head For The Koronus Expanse Today

3 years ago Bert Ballast

Warhammer 40K: Rogue Trader has officially launched. The Koronus Expanse beckons, time to decide whether you’re going to do a Heresy.

Alright chums, you’ve seen the early access vids. You’ve maybe even played the first bits. But now, Warhammer 40K: Rogue Trader, the first ever 40K cRPG, is officially out in the wild. That means the galaxy is yours for the taking. If you have your Writ of Trade and a trusty crew.
Fortunately, you’ll get both at the outset, and the game keeps getting better once you get going. From Pathfinder Kingmaker and Wrath of the Righteous developer, Owlcat, Rogue Trader puts you in command of your very own Rogue Trader vessel, unleashes you upon the galaxy at large, and leaves the rest up to you.
Warhammer 40K: Rogue Trader – Take To The Stars For The Emperor (Or Not)
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There is a lot to juggle in Rogue Trader. But that is exactly what you want out of a foray into the Warhammer 40K universe. It is a party-based cRPG with a system designed from the ground up by Owlcat in conjunction with Games Workshop to bring you all the grim darkness of the 41st millennium right on your desktop. Or laptop. Or whatever you’re playing on.

You take command of a voidship and head out into the wilds:
Begin your adventure aboard your personal, giant voidship, traveling between the multitude of systems within the Koronus Expanse, a barely charted and incredibly perilous region of space. Despite being considered a backwater of the Imperium, this region encompasses an enormous stretch of the void, filled with dangerous creatures and prodigious opportunities for profit and exploration.

As this is a role playing game, you have plenty of opportunities to do exactly that. You decide whether you’re going to be loyal to the Imperium and follow the faith of the god-Emperor, or whether to get out there and do a Heresy. Just be careful, because there is an Inquisitor in this sector of space, and you don’t want to run afoul of him until you’re brimming with the Fell Powers.

Accompanying you is a crew of all sorts of 40K riff raff. Psykers. Xenos. A member of the AdMech, an Inquisitorial agent, even a Space Marine if you play your cards right. This party is as varied as it is capable.
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You’ll take that capability into the sweet sweet tactical action against the perfidious foes of the Emperor. Or you know, just to make a few hundred thousand credits. But your actions, your party, your ship, can all influence the shape of this corner of the galaxy.
Check out Rogue Trader Today!

The Koronus Expanse awaits!

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Bell of Lost Souls Staff Writer and DM, J.R. covers RPGs of all stripes and on occasion eats sandwiches. You can ask him about either at [email protected]

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D&D Race Guide: How to Play a Simic Hybrid

3 years ago Bert Ballast

Simic Hybrid character combine some of the more common player races with animal enhancements to make them the perfect adventurers.

Did you think D&D was without its super soldiers? Because it absolutely isn’t. Guildmaster’s Guide to Ravnica introduced the Simic ‘Guardian Project’ to 5E in 2018. And now thanks to a little bit of magic and a lot of mad science Simic Hybrids combine animal traits with humanoid hosts to make people perfectly suited for adventuring.
“The Simic Combine uses magic to fuse different life forms together. In recent years, they have extended this research to humanoid subjects, magically transferring the traits of various animals into humans, elves, and vedalken. The goal of the so-called Guardian Project is to build a Simic army of superior soldiers, perfectly adapted to a variety of combat situations. These hyper-evolved specimens are called Simic hybrids, though they sometimes call themselves guardians.”
Simic Hybrid Traits

Simic Hybrid characters are created in adulthood from Humans, Vedalkens, or Elves. But you probably won’t have to worry too much about their base race’s standard traits. They have a +2 increase to their Constitution score as well as a +1 to any other ability score of your choice. Because of the races they are created from, Simic Hybrids are medium creatures and have a walking speed of 30 ft. But they also have Darkvision up to 60 feet in dim light—which would be novel to an otherwise Human or Vedalken character, but not so much to Elves.
Enhancements

As animal-human hybrids, these characters gain access to a few animal enhancements and abilities. One ability from the following list can be chosen at first level and then another at fifth.
Manta Glide is available at first level and gives the character ray-like fins that they can use to slow a fall or glide. Up to a hundred feet can be subtracted from the distance of a fall when calculating damage, and for each foot they fall, they can move horizontally two feet.
Nimble Climber is also available at first level. It gives the character a climbing speed equal to their walking speed.
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Underwater Adaptation is the final first-level enhancement. It allows the character to breath underwater and gives them a swimming speed equal to their walking speed.
Grappling Appendages is available at fifth level and cause the character to grow two extra appendages alongside their arms. Each can be used to grapple a creature or be used as a natural bludgeoning weapon, but can’t wield their own weapons or cast spells.
Carapace is also available at fifth level and gives the character a +1 to their AC by making their skin think and shell-like.
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Finally, Acid Spit is the last fifth-level enhancement. It gives the character spit-glands which can allow them to target and strike an enemy within 30 feet, causing them to take acid damage.

Best Classes

With the level of freedom you get to build your own Simic Hybrid character, I truly don’t think there are any bad choices for your class. Want to go with a Wizard build? Butt the extra ability score point in Intelligence and don’t take Manta Glide or Acid Spit because spells would make them superfluous. Want a class that doesn’t wear armor like a monk? Carapace has you covered. Want a hands-on character like a Fighter or Barbarian? Extra appendages will help you get some bonus strikes in, even if you do have a weapon in your regular hands.
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Tips & Tricks

If you’re going in a Simic sort of direction with your character, you’re going to want to figure out what you want early on. Some enhancements are better (or worse) than others for some classes. And in some cases abilities that would be very helpful for one character can be entirely useless or superfluous with another. Don’t fall into this pit and have to ask your DM for a special one-time character re-tool down the road. When you start off making your character, try to know exactly what you want from them already.
Have you ever played a Simic Hybrid character? Have you had one in any of your adventuring parties? What enhancements did you or would you pick?
Happy adventuring!

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She/Her/They/Them | Writer, Cosplayer, Podcaster, Tapletop RPGer, Opossum Enthusiast, Mediocre Ukulele Player, & Coffee Addict. To find Meaghan elsewhere on the internet, check out her LinkTree at https://linktr.ee/habie_cosplays
Any emails regarding articles or potential game or accessory spotlights can be sent to [email protected].

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RPG Spotlight: ‘Monsterheart’s Lets Us Embarrassingly Relive Our ‘Twilight’ Phase Together

3 years ago Bert Ballast

Take off your serious tabletop gaming hat and get ready for a ridiculous HBO monster high adventure with this week’s RPG spotlight.

It’s cold outside, and you know what that means — cuffing seasons. If you’re anything like me, cozy winter nights are the perfect time to play romance-themed tabletop RPGs. If you’re the sort of person who enjoys the very specific intersection of trashy romance and urban fantasy, Monsterhearts may be the game for you.
I wasn’t even being salacious with my featured image, this is the actual cover.
Originally started as a joke, Monsterhearts first became available to the general public in 2012. The game uses the Powered By the Apocalypse system of gameplay. Monsterhearts is designed to focus on personal relationships, cinematic themes, and role-playing over many of the more technical aspects of a more crunchy RPG system.
Just like in the other Apocalypse games, players pick their character archetype and have most of the heavy lifting of character creation done for them already. The four stats the characters use are different through with Hot, Cold. Volatile and Dark. Hot and Cold mostly relate to interpersonal actions, turning someone on, shutting someone down, or manipulation for example, while Volatile and Dark relate more to action and occult endeavors such as physically lashing out or “gazing into the abyss.”
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If this sounds like a hilarious way to co-write True Blood fan fiction with your friends, you’re not wrong. And if you think this seems like a game with the sort of sexy potential that may make it awkward to play in certain friend circles, you’re not wrong either.
Monsterhearts is fun and silly and kitschy, but it’s also a game that aims to be sexy with built-in rules for avoiding steamy situations and then which character archetypes are better or worse off for not avoiding them. Because of this, Monsterhearts may be the game for you or it may very very much not be. When bringing adult situations to any RPG table it’s important to have a solid understanding of everyone’s comfort levels. For some, Monsterhearts may be too much, and that is absolutely okay.
Play as the Mummy. The sexy mummy.
For me, Monsterhearts would be the perfect game to play with my post-college roommates. We shared trashy romance novels, one of them got the rest of us hooked on Twilight (we knew it was bad, but one day I was starting the first book, and the next thing I knew I’d finished the series and I may have lost all of the time between), and we laughed about bad television. None of us took any of it very seriously and Monsterhearts would be a perfect way to take a ride on the Nostalgia Express together and have a good laugh.
Still not sold? Critical Role played Monsterhearts so you have the perfect opportunity to see if this is your new favorite game in real time.
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What are your Valentine’s Day plans? Have you played Monsterhearts?
Happy Adventuring!
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New RPG Roundup: ‘Spider’s Guidebook’, ‘Cthulhu, Spark of Innovation’, and More

3 years ago Bert Ballast

Before the End: A Prelude to The Legacy of Cthulhu

In a future closer than we imagine, humanity is lost amid conflicts, wars, and diseases in the ceaseless quest for power, bringing disgrace to the whole world. In the end, when it seemed that things could not get any worse, those who had always been waiting revealed themselves in jubilation: Dark Priests and Cultists, scattered all over the world, brought back the Great Old Ones, who completely devastated civilization as we know it.
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But what happened before the disaster? What facts led the world to this tragedy? Would it be possible to prevent (or at least remedy) such a disgrace? In the module Before the End, we will have these answers! Each player will play an ordinary person, living their life quietly (or not so much) and who, somehow, came into contact with the secret movement of Dark Priests, Cultists, and horrors that seek to bring the Great Old Ones back.

A New, Dimension Hopping Ninja-Inspired ‘Shadow Scar’ RPG is Coming From the ‘Cyberpunk’ and ‘Witcher’ TTRPG Developer

3 years ago Bert Ballast

One of the big teasers on display at PAX Unplugged was R. Talsorian Games’ Shadow Scar, a new ttrpg about multiversal ninjas.

R. Talsorian Games officially announced a new ttrpg earlier today, in an interview with Dicebreaker. The new game, Shadow Scar, was also on display at PAX Unplugged. Drawing inspiration from anime like Naruto, as well as the world-hopping antics of Stargate, and a heavy dose of Japanese mythology, Shadow Scar will be the first new original RPG from Cody Pondsmith.
Cody Pondsmith is not only lead designer on R. Talsorian’s The Witcher and co-designer of Cyberpunk RED, he’s also Mike Pondsmith’s son. And he hopes to shake things up with the RPG. Here’s what we saw at PAX Unplugged!
Shadow Scar – Ninjas, Dimensions, Demons

The pitch for the game is: you play members of a secret agency known as Shadow Scar (just like the name of the game). They’re tasked with fighting the rogue, monstrous Yokai who’ve been unleashed onto the many worlds of the “Mosaic”. Mosaic is both the name for the multiverse in the game, as well as the TTRPG system being developed for play.

It’s bound to be familiar to fans of R. Talsorian games. Start with a pool of D6s, try and get above a three, sixes count double. And your successes are trying to beat a target number, set by the Storyteller.
Promising to be “fast and cinematic”, the Mosaic system also allows characters to gain a bonus success, at the cost of giving the storyteller an advantage to use later on, changing a success to a failure. It’s an interesting give-and-take that seems to add some narrative tension.

So where do the ninjas come in? As members of the Shadow Scar agency, you fight a secret war against the monstrous yokai who often use innocents and their own agents as shields and hapless pawns.

To counter this, there are six different clans that will teach agents “secret techniques and sorcery” that give your character their signature techniques and magical powers. Because of course, you’ll have those.
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There are six clans all in all:

Arashi
Futsumashi
Hibana
Kuromaku
Tantei
Wanami

Now, you might be reading all of this and wondering about the setting. In the Dicebreaker interview, Pondsmith talks about a love of Japanese mythology and how it’s influenced the setting:
“I have always found Japanese myth to be so different from a lot of other mythos – in that so many of the creatures in Japanese myth are less terrifying and more weird. It’s things like goblins that lick grime off of dirty toilets and spectral creatures that don’t really do anything other than walk behind you at night and freak you out.”
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When asked about cultural consultants, Pondsmith said that R. Talsorian Games had been talking to some people:
“We’re attempting to reach out to folks. We have some people that we’re talking to about cultural consulting for the Japanese setting – especially because so much of the game is set in there – who have been wonderful so far. And we will continue to bother as we get closer to release on things.”

But the Japanese folklore-inspired setting is only one corner of the multiversal setting in Shadow Scar. There’s also a steampunk-inspired 19th-century Industrial Revolution setting known as Steel Court, where players will hunt airship pirates. In the world of 5th Street, players will find the rain-soaked streets and smokey alleys of a city full of “criminal masterminds and pulp superheroes.” And then there’s Refuge, which, according to Dicebreaker, focuses on a lunar colony where humanity has taken “refuge” on the Moon and must deal with a multidimensional invasion.
Shadow Scar is set to launch sometime in 2024!

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Bell of Lost Souls Staff Writer and DM, J.R. covers RPGs of all stripes and on occasion eats sandwiches. You can ask him about either at [email protected]

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MTG: Elementary, Watson! – Awesome Previews from ‘Murders at Karlov Manor’

3 years ago Bert Ballast

Journey back to the City of Guilds for a murder mystery the likes of which the Multiverse has never seen!

Welcome in Praetors and Planeswalkers! Magic has recently unveiled the next set, and it’s already shaping up to be a grand mystery! Murders at Karlov Manor sends us back to the much-beloved plane of Ravnica, where a series of terrible murders has taken place.
As the head investigator, it’s your job to oversee the investigation and ensure the culprits are brought to justice. However, you could also be covering for the crooks and helping them perpetuate a deeper murderous scheme. Whichever side you choose, you’ll have tons of new heroes, old favorites, and wicked tricks to outwit and outplay your opponents.

Murders at Karlov Manor – New Heroes

Several new characters are joining the ranks of Ravnica’s elite, primary among them the face character, Alquist Proft. This crack detective is leading the investigation into the grisly deaths surrounding the Karlov estate. He’s assembled quite the team to help him crack the case, new faces and old. He also brings the Detective creature type into the main set, having first been introduced in Universes Beyond: Doctor Who.
He won’t be alone, though, and several more investigators are rumored to show up as more of the Karlov mystery unfolds. Of course, no mystery is complete without a group of plucky young sleuths, and even without their titular companion, these meddling kids are exactly what the doctor ordered.
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Returning Favorites

Alongside the new heroes are several classic favorites from Ravnica’s past. No pursuit of justice would be complete without the Boros exemplar herself, and Aurelia is reimagined in glorious fashion. Among the other suspects are Etrata the Dimir assassin, Izoni the Golgari Priestess, and Voja of the Selesnya.
Was one of these shady figures the culprit? Or is another force working in the shadows to sow chaos? If anyone knows chaos, it’s the titular lord of the Rakdos Cult, and anathema to Aurelia, the big man himself.

Like Aurelia, Rakdos is reimagined in perfect form. His new card plays into his demonic nature, and he makes your opponents make a terrible deal; sacrifice their army or risk giving you power. Whichever guild you repped back in the day, there’s someone you’ll recognize making an appearance. But are they friend or foe? Only time will tell.

Clue-themed Cards

Alongside the standard release is Magic: Clue Edition. Fans of the titular mystery game will recognize their favorite characters, locales, and murder weapons, reimagined as in-universe cards.
I’m a big fan of the Lead Pipe card specifically, and I can’t wait to get a Commander damage win while it’s equipped. Perhaps most exciting, however, is the reprint of the classic Ravnica dual lands, each one representing a potential murder location.
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Are you excited for the new set?

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D&D: Five Slimes That Will Kill You in Half the Times

3 years ago Bert Ballast

Slimes and oozes and the like are a fantasy adventure trope, and these five will absolutely dissolve you if they get the chance.

Slimes and oozes and the occasional cube are a fantasy anime and JRPG trope extraordinaire. From games like Slime Rancher and Dragon Quest to shows like That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime, these little oozes have come a long way.
And they have been a part of D&D since the beginning. That makes them part of the fantasy trope inspiration ouroboros that goes back to the 70s. And just like in their accompanying media, slimes and oozes in D&D are often lower-level threats. Until you come across the one that isn’t.
And then you usually die.
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Black Pudding

Black Pudding is, in real life, a kind of blood sausage that inserts itself onto breakfast plates throughout the UK and Ireland. But in D&D, a Black Pudding is a heaving mound of sticky black sludge that is, probably, a scattered fragment of the demon lord Jubilex.
Not only are Black Puddings extremely corrosive, dealing acid damage to anyone who touches or hits them with a melee attack within 5 feet, they also start to eat away any nonmagical weapon that hits them. Also, they deal fairly sizable damage, dissolving any nonmagical armor you happen to be wearing.
This would be bad enough, except, when they take lightning and slashing damage, a Black Pudding splits into two. Making it even easier for them to swarm and dissolve your quickly overwhelmed form.
Dragonblood Ooze

Dragonblood Oozes are slimes given life from the congealed blood of a dragon, given mobility and hunger. The dragon’s blood knows it is supposed to be a dragon, and the blood often tries to shape itself into a draconic form — which is EXACTLY WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE AND NOTHING ELSE, NOT EVEN A LITTLE BIT — manifesting brief shapes before collapsing into an amorphous heap.
These slims not only deal scads of damage, they can grapple targets and slowly dissolve them, and can even “expel a spray of gelatinous mass in a 30-foot cone” which not only damages targets but pulls everyone 30 feet closer to the ooze. Frightening against an unprepared, lower-level party.
Huge Gray Ooze

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As the name suggests, this is a Gray Ooze, but it’s Huge. Because size matters in D&D. Like the Black Pudding it is intensely corrosive and will corrode weapons and armor. However, a Huge Gray Ooze (as seen in Waterdeep: Dungeon of the Mad Mage) has magical properties that make it even deadlier than your typical Gray Ooze.
In addition to being bigger and hitting harder, a Huge Gray Ooze is a particularly deadly D&D slime because it can turn Invisible, once per rest, allowing it to sneak up undetected on an unsuspecting foe. And on top of that, it can also magically increase in size, becoming a Gargantuan Gray Ooze for up to a minute, and while enlarged, it DOUBLES its damage, allowing it to make short work of most foes.
White Maw

Gray Ooze gets a lot of screen time here. And that’s because everyone knows that slimes are hilarious and also evil. In Tales from the Yawning Portal, we see exactly how in the form of White Maw, a sentient, intelligent Gray Ooze that is capable of taunting its prey. White Maw can disguise itself completely as a chunk of white stone without any effort.
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On top of that, it’s a telepathic ooze and can speak mentally with any creature within 50 feet of it, even if they don’t share a language. White Maw is Gargantuan, which is important, because it takes up a 20 ft. by 20 ft. area, and because it’s an Ooze, it can occupy other creatures’ spaces, and vice versa. This matters, because White Maw can also attack any creature that starts its turn in one of its squares, meaning that it can engulf and pseudopod attack whole parties to death at once.
Elder Oblex

Finally, there’s the Oblex. These slimes are specially created, capable of assaulting and devouring the minds and memories of other creatures. They feed on your personality, essentially. The bigger the brain, the tastier the meal. Following this principle, Oblexes tend to go after spellcasters and the like.
Elder Oblexes are especially terrifying because they’ve consumed so many memories that they can extrude a duplicate of a devoured creature, which is indistinguishable from their originating creature except for a faint sulfurous smell. These goo duplicates, or gooplicates, can help the Oblex lure in prey as well as control wide areas of the battlefield, allowing an Elder Oblex to devour the memories of multiple creatures at once adding ever more personalities to its gooey center.
What’s your favorite D&D slime?

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Bell of Lost Souls Staff Writer and DM, J.R. covers RPGs of all stripes and on occasion eats sandwiches. You can ask him about either at [email protected]

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Ghosts of Saltmarsh and Baldur's Gate: Descent into Avernus Now Available in Maps

3 years ago Bert Ballast

We are excited to announce that two more books from the D&D catalog—Ghosts of Saltmarsh and Baldur’s Gate: Descent into Avernus—have been added to Maps and can be accessed today by Master-tier subscribers.
If you don’t already own these books, now is the perfect time to pick them up, as they’re both on sale in the D&D Beyond marketplace at 25% off for a limited time.

Get Access to Maps
Users with a Master-tier subscription can use Maps to import maps and tokens from books they own on D&D Beyond. They can then invite their players to join in on the fun, even if they don’t have a subscription!

Ghosts of Saltmarsh

Set in the coastal region of Saltmarsh in the Greyhawk setting, Ghosts of Saltmarsh features seven classic nautical adventures from past editions of Dungeons & Dragons. These adventures can be played individually as one-shots or linked together to form a campaign that will take a party from 1st to 12th level. Low-level parties can experience the haunting horror of The Sinister Secret of Saltmarsh and Danger at Dunwater, while higher-level groups can face off against Tammerut’s Fate and The Styes.
In addition to the seven adventures, Ghosts of Saltmarsh features four backgrounds and 55 monsters perfect for naval campaigns, as well as an entire appendix on ships and sea-based combat. You’ll find stat blocks and maps for six different ships of various sizes and rules for crews, weapons, and ship upgrades. Finally, the appendix has random encounters at sea, mysterious ships and islands, and underwater locations. Plenty to help a Dungeon Master get their feet wet with nautical adventures.
Baldur’s Gate: Descent into Avernus

Let’s plane shift from the seas of Greyhawk to the scorched battlefield of the Nine Hells. Baldur’s Gate: Descent into Avernus is an adventure that takes characters from 1st to 13th level and beyond while they explore the first layer of the Nine Hells, the eternal battlefield of Avernus. Throughout this adventure, players can encounter 37 new hellish monsters, 12 fiendish magic items, and special Baldur’s Gate versions of existing backgrounds.
As harsh as the burning dust of Avernus can be, that doesn’t mean players can’t travel in style. Baldur’s Gate: Descent into Avernus introduces a new type of vehicle: infernal war machines. These vicious vehicular contraptions are bristling with devilishly destructive devices, from the freewheeling Devil’s Ride to the gargantuan Demon Grinder! These contraptions of death and destruction can be upgraded with various infernal devices such as an Acidic Bile Sprayer or Soul Spike Armor!
Get Adventuring With Maps
To celebrate their release on Maps, you can save 25% on both Ghosts of Saltmarsh and Baldur’s Gate: Descent into Avernus for a limited time! Once you have these books in your library, they’ll be usable straight away in Maps, so you can dive into the Azure Sea or descend into the Nine Hells with maps and tokens at the ready. Prep less and play more!

Davyd is a moderator for D&D Beyond. A Dungeon Master of over fifteen years, he enjoys Marvel movies, writing, and of course running D&D for his friends and family, including his daughter Willow (well, one day). The three of them live with their two cats Asker and Khatleesi in south of England.

Warhammer 40K: List Of The Week – World Eaters Devour A Win

3 years ago Bert Ballast

The World Eaters eat up victory and take ALL the skulls. Take a look at the winning list for the week from BCP.

Welcome 40K players. We’re back with Best Coast Pairings to showcase the top list of the week for competitive 40k. We have the top lists being played out there in the world, what faction are winning, and the list that won the biggest event this last week. So put on your armchair general’s hat and let’s dive into the data, brought to us by Best Coast Pairings.

World EatersBerzerker WarbandStrike Force (2000 Points)
CHARACTERS
Angron (415 Points)Warlord1x Samniarius and Spinegrinder
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KhÃrn the Betrayer (80 Points)1x Gorechild1x KhÃrn’s plasma pistol
Lord Invocatus (140 Points)1x Bolt Pistol1x Coward’s Bane1x Juggernaut’s bladed horn
World Eaters Lord on Juggernaut (130 Points)1x Exalted chainblade1x Juggernaut’s bladed horn1x Plasma pistolEnhancements: Favoured of Khorne
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World Eaters Master of Executions (105 Points)1x Axe of dismemberment1x Bolt pistolEnhancements: Berzerker Glaive
BATTLELINE
Jakhals (70 Points)1x Jakhal Pack Leader1x Autopistol1x Jakhal chainblades1x Dishonoured1x Skullsmasher8x Jakhal8x Autopistol1x Icon of Khorne7x Jakhal chainblades1x Mauler chainblade
Khorne Berzerkers (200 Points)1x Khorne Berzerker Champion1x Berzerker chainblade1x Plasma pistol9x Khorne Berzerker7x Berzerker chainblade7x Bolt pistol1x Icon of Khorne2x Khornate eviscerator2x Plasma pistol
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Khorne Berzerkers (100 Points)1x Khorne Berzerker Champion1x Berzerker chainblade1x Plasma pistol4x Khorne Berzerker3x Berzerker chainblade3x Bolt pistol1x Icon of Khorne1x Khornate eviscerator1x Plasma pistol
DEDICATED TRANSPORTS
World Eaters Rhino (75 Points)1x Armoured tracks1x Combi-bolter1x Combi-weapon1x Havoc launcher
World Eaters Rhino (75 Points)â€¢ 1x Armoured tracks1x Combi-bolter1x Combi-weapon1x Havoc launcher
OTHER DATASHEETS
Eightbound (135 Points)1x Eightbound Champion1x Lacerators2x Eightbound2x Eightbound eviscerators
Exalted Eightbound (300 Points)1x Exalted Eightbound Champion1x Paired Eightbound chainfists5x Exalted Eightbound5x Eightbound chainfist5x Eightbound eviscerator
Exalted Eightbound (150 Points)1x Exalted Eightbound Champion1x Paired Eightbound chainfists2x Exalted Eightbound2x Eightbound chainfist2x Eightbound eviscerator
Total: 1975
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The Most Played Faction: This chart represents the primary faction identified by players when submitting their lists. This gives a global view of what is popular and being played out there in the competitive scene. We are also tracking how many weeks they have been in that position.
December 7, 20231: Adeptus Astartes =232: Chaos Space Marines =133: Tyranids =114: Astra Militarum +35: Aeldari +56: Orks +27: T’au Empire -28: Necrons -49: Death Guard -310: Chaos Knights -1
November 30, 20231: Adeptus Astartes =222: Chaos Space Marines =123: Tyranids =104: Necrons =25: T’au Empire +26: Death Guard +37: Astra Militarum +18: Orks -29: Chaos Knights (new)10: Aeldari -5

The Most Winning Faction: This chart represents the primary faction identified by players who are winning events. This gives a global view of what is potent and winning games out there in the competitive scene. We are also tracking how many weeks they have been in that position.
December 7, 20231: Chaos Space Marines =42: Adeptus Astartes =43: Aeldari +24: Orks =25: Tyranids -26: Astra Militarum (new)7: T’au Empire +18: Chaos Knights +19: Death Guard -210: Leagues of Votann =2
November 30, 20231: Chaos Space Marines =32: Adeptus Astartes =33: Tyranids +14: Orks +25: Aeldari -16: Necrons -17: Death Guard +28: T’au Empire -19: Chaos Knights (new)10: Leagues of Votann -2

Data brought to you weekly by our friends at:

The Best Coast Pairings Tournament Organizer is the free app that makes it easy for anyone to set up, run and manage an event of any size with tools like online registration, pairings, list collection, and remote scoring. Players can use the BCP Player App for iOS or Android to quickly look at pairings, lists, and tournament results from any event they attend, and with a subscription, players can see details, and lists, from any event around the world and earn credit toward exclusive discounts for tickets and merchandise. Find and compete like never before- download the BCP Tournament Organizer or the BCP Player App from bestcoastpairings.com today!

Aeldari are still winning big! Who could have seen that coming?!

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The MCDM RPG Raises More Than $1 Million in Its First Few Hours

3 years ago Bert Ballast

In the span of two or so hours, the MCDM RPG launched into crowdfunding and raised more than $1 million for their new fantasy RPG.

The MCDM RPG has officially launched into crowdfunding with big goals, including finishing the RPG and developing their own, in-house Virtual Tabletop. And, from the first couple of hours, it looks like they’re going to succeed. In the opening hours of their backer kit campaign, the team surpassed their goal, raising more than $1.1 million at press time, with 29 days left in the campaign.
If you’re unfamiliar with the MCDM RPG, it’s a new tactically focused fantasy RPG being developed by MCDM Studios, whom you might know from their previous books, Flee, Mortals! as well as Strongholds & Followers and Kingdoms & Warfare. Or from Matt Colville’s series Running the Game.
At any rate, this new RPG is meant for anyone playing a “heroic fantasy RPG” who wants more out of the game. What does that look like, exactly? The crowdfunding campaign has some answers!
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The MCDM RPG On Backerkit – $1 Million and Growing
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The campaign launched just a little over two hours ago, so these are the earliest days yet. The video above takes you through the game, in-depth, including the core mechanics, character options, and more. If you have questions, Colville probably has them answered. But in a nutshell, though, the game is a “heroic fantasy RPG” so, you know, it takes aim at more traditional d20-based fantasy games.

And because they’re going for a brand new game, brewed up completely from scratch, they’re able to detach from some of the “sacred cows” of those who have come before. They say it in the opening copy of the campaign for “What This Game Is”:
“A Fantasy RPG where your character starts, at level 1, already a hero. Maybe even locally famous! You might meet in a tavern, or start in the middle of the action!
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Whether you’re a group of local heroes sent to investigate mysterious goings-on in the nearby haunted wood, or famous mercenaries plotting and scheming in the big city, the MCDM RPG makes building adventures and fighting monsters fun.
Basically, any adventure or story you’re running in your current Fantasy RPG, you can do that in this game. Just, in a more straightforward and fun way, unburdened by sacred cows from the 1970s.”

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Which, as we’ve seen in a comparable company that makes games about the kinds of denizens you find in delves, those ideas can be a burden. Especially as design moves on. The MCDM RPG (title still in the works, to come later), is all about the action and the play and fights that feel like they get more amazing, not less.

To that end, the mechanics are pretty straightforward and play pretty fast: roll 2d6 + modifier, that’s the damage you do. You don’t miss, you don’t waste spell slots on creatures who can then save and nothing happens.
Something always happens. Which is one of the core ideals of the game. Something interesting should always happen. Fights shouldn’t be a slog of dwindling resources.
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The character design reflects this. You can see a sample class, the Tactician, which has shades of everyone’s favorite 4E class, the Warlord, but manages to be its own flavor of commander/master of the battlefield.

Similarly, we get a look at the kinds of people you can be. Here are Dwarves, for instance. In the crowdfunding campaign, MCDM outlines an ambitious list of stretch goals, starting with an in-house virtual tabletop, unlocked at a mere $1.5 million:
We think a Virtual Tabletop that lets you play this game with folks remotely, especially in this day and age, is critical to letting people play how and when they want. We believe very strongly that a custom-designed VTT built from the ground up to work with our game is the best solution because it means we can custom tailor the user experience for our community.
Therefore, should we hit $1.5m, we will pay someone to work on this. We can’t promise it will exist! Software development is risky and fraught with perils, but we already have a working prototype! Now all we want to do is spend some money to get it done.
And a whole new campaign setting boxed set, waiting at the $2 million mark.
Back The MCDM RPG On Backerkit!
Time to draw steel!

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Bell of Lost Souls Staff Writer and DM, J.R. covers RPGs of all stripes and on occasion eats sandwiches. You can ask him about either at [email protected]

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Horus Heresy: New ‘Alpha Legion Saboteur Consul’ Revealed… Or Are They?

3 years ago Bert Ballast

Games Workshop is showing off a new Alpha Legion Saboteur Consul coming soon. But can this image really be trusted?

If there’s one thing to remember about the Alpha Legion is that they cannot be trusted. They have a long history of deception, betrayal, espionage, and counter-espionage. And even sometimes the dreaded Uno Reverse Card. They can be so mixed up not even they know which side they are on. Or are they? EXACTLY!
Ahem…Anyhow, Games Workshop did tease a new Alpha Legion Consul coming soon and I suppose it’s reasonable to believe this image is real. It’s just for a new model, right?
via Warhammer Community
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“Masters of misdirection, a Saboteur Consul can stroll into the ranks of their opponent without revealing themselves, masking their presence to create havoc, spoil defences, or eliminate high-ranking targets. “

Alpha Legion Saboteur Consul
First off, I appreciate the subdued pose of this model. You can tell he’s trying to play it cool and not draw too much attention his direction. His Astartes Shotgun is tucked up under his arm and he’s got his hand on a dagger ready to take care of things quietly. Oh and that’s definitely a power dagger, too.
I also like the wrist mounted accessories he’s sporting. He’s got some plans in motion for sure. What are those plans? That’s something he’s going to keep close to his chest.

I’m not going to lie, I think the paint job on this one is doing a lot of heavy lifting. It’s a good looking job and it’s helping to sell the sneakiness of this model. The camo on the cloak is a nice touch. And speaking of sneaky, this secret operator is going to be coming from Forge World. That does mean it’s going to be cast in resin.
Additional notes from GW are that there aren’t any alternate construction options for this one. That means no alternate head with an exposed face. This Consul keeps his helmet on.

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What do you think of the Alpha Legion’s newest Consul?

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Games Workshop: Advent Engine Day 7 – ‘Chain Gang’

3 years ago Bert Ballast

We’ve got another Advent Engine from Games Workshop and this one is giving us “lockdown” vibes. What in the world could it be?

Welcome to the Advent Engine! It’s that special time of year when Games Workshop’s teaser department kicks into overdrive and we get the Advent Engine every day for (almost) a month! Today’s Advent Engine is a curious one. It’s got some archaic looking hardware involved. Could something be getting chained up or is something else going on?
via Warhammer Community
“We wood love to tell you what the Advent Engine is showing off today, but we just can’t get a handle on it. “
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Advent Engine ‘Chain Gang’
So what are we looking at here? Well, as mentioned, it’s archaic looking for sure. There are chains and hooks attached to some sort of wooden structure. The text from GW teases a “handle” but they might just be acting cheeky. But maybe this is some sort of steering device or handle for something.

That said, my very first gut reaction was “Nighthaunt” due to the chains and wood. This could some some strange torture device that GW cooked up for one of these vengeful ghosts. They have a well documented habit of using those materials.
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Now, this isn’t 100% but I think we might be in the right ballpark. Then again, what’s throwing me off is that lightning bolt looking object on the left. That could be a lot of things. But lightning bolts are associated with Stormcasts Eternals. It’s also hard to see what’s going on under the wooded apparatus. Perhaps this is some Kruleboyz contraption. Or something attached to a Gargant…

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Those Mega Gargants do tend to pick-up a lot of strange stuff. Whatever this one is it’s certainly intriguing. I’m looking forward to seeing what this one turns out to be in the future!
If you’ve got any ideas as to what this could possibly be drop us a line in the comments.
Previous Advent Engines:
Day One – ‘Wings And More To Come’
Day Two – ‘Now That’s A Purity Seal’
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Day Three – ‘Minefield’
Day Four – ‘Fur Cape’
Day Five – ‘Branching Out’
Day 6 – ‘Book Report’
What the heck is this one? Hopefully we won’t have to wait a whole year to find out!

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Return to Arrakis

3 years ago Bert Ballast

By Andrew Peregrine

“My planet, Arrakis, is so beautiful when the sun is low. Rolling over the sands… you can see spice in the air.” – Chani, Dune Part One

With the release of Desert Planet: Adventure Compendium Vol 1, our Dune RPG comes full circle. We started on the desert planet, and after stepping out into the wider universe to encounter the Great Houses, the Imperial Court, and factions like the Tleilaxu, we are back on Arrakis once more.
But why come back? Isn’t Arrakis just a barren desert rock with a single dusty export, albeit one central to the Known Universe? Well, yes and no. It is certainly how the Imperium at large sees the planet. But the Fremen know better, as do the Great Houses if they are honest (not that they ever would be). While it might not look like much on the surface, Arrakis is a great setting for adventure, challenge, exploration, and political shenanigans, and it offers danger and riches in equal measure.
We’ve wanted to give our PDF adventures a proper hardcover release for some time. It’s always helpful to have a book in your hand when you are running a game, and all these adventures deserve a place on the shelf with the other books. But we didn’t want to just offer a reprint, so we’ve taken the opportunity to add a little more detail. Given they are set on Arrakis, it was easy to string them together as part of a cohesive campaign. So, we’ve added a thread the gamemaster can use to link them all together into a long campaign. But if the gamemaster just wants to slot them into their own game as they are, they can still do that.
As we were returning to Arrakis, it also seemed a good idea to offer a little more detail on Arrakeen. While Sand and Dust: The Arrakis Sourcebook is pretty comprehensive, we could never have hoped to contain a whole planet in a single book. With most of the adventures set in and around the city, we took the opportunity to add a few more places, locations, and characters to expand on the city of Arrakeen. There are also three new short adventures designed to get a beginner started in a Dune campaign. With the new Villeneuve movie Dune Part Two coming out soon, we hope more people will be drawn to adventure on the desert planet. So, along with Wormsign and Agents of Dune, these new adventures offer a helping hand for a new gamemaster. But as we try to do with every Dune adventure, they will easily adapt to any campaign, be it one of our published ones or adventures of your own design. Of particular interest to Dune fans is our inclusion of a famously missing scene from the recent Dune movie, the Atreides dinner party. If you ever wondered who the guests were and what strange dishes they were eating, we have some answers for you here.
So, the compendium offers our answer for ‘what can you do on Arrakis’, and while we’ll continue to take the game across every aspect of the Imperium and its eras, Arrakis still offers plenty of adventure. You can dine with the Atreides before you raid a prison with the Fremen or strike out into the desert in search of water bandits. You might save a village and keep a Fremen secret, or hide from a storm where an even more deadly peril might be waiting. You might find a potential prophet and save priceless works of art that hide a deeper secret.
Arrakis is all this and more. It is a place of beauty, if you know how to see it, but a place of cruelty, greed, and danger to those who just see the spice. Which will your player characters be?

‘House of the Dragon’ Season 2′ Brings ‘Fire & Blood’ to Life

3 years ago Bert Ballast

The first House of the Dragon season 2 trailer is here, and we get a good look at the wars to come.

It’s been over a year since House of the Dragon Season 1 came out. The show was a great entry in the fantasy genre and helped to redeem the A Song of Ice and Fire franchise after the last few horrible seasons of Game of Thrones. Since then we’ve been waiting for the good glimpse at the second season, and when it would come out. Now at long last we have that glimpse, with the House of the Dragon season 2 trailer. It shows off how the new season will be from a battle of mostly words and wits to one of swords and fire.
Minor spoilers for non-book readers ahead.
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Overall Info on HotD Season 2

The trailer does give us a few nice overall details on the show. Maybe the most important is some info on the release date. The second season is coming next summer, close to two years after the first. Unlike a number of other productions, HotD was not forced to pause by the recent Hollywood strikes, as it was being filmed in the UK with UK actors/contracts. Thus a summer 2024 release may have always been the plan. In addition, we should note that one of the two showrunnerszaqMiguel Sapochnik left the show after season one, so we may see changes as a result.
Season 2 is Bringing the War

On to the House of the Dragon season 2 trailer, however. This trailer really drives home how the show and its conflict have changed. Season 1 focused on personal conflicts and how they were fraught with diplomacy, words, and the occasional murder. However that “peaceful” conflict ended with the death of Luke at the hands of Aemond Kingslayer.
This season is all about the real start of the Dance of the Dragons, the great civil war that will tear about the Seven Kingdoms and the Targaryens. As such we get a lot of scenes of marching or camping troops and armies preparing for battle. For instance, we have shots like the one above, which shows troops from houses Rosby and Stokeworth, both loyal to Rhaenyra at the start of the Dance it seems we’ve got some big fights coming up.
The Dragons Danced

We also got a lot of shots of dragons and their riders in this trailer. This is after all House of the Dragon and one of the promises is the dragon fights. Now the House of the Dragon Season 2 trailer may have shown off more dragon riders than you realize at first glance.
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During the Dance, one side gathers a group of people known as Dragonseeds, mostly bastards with some Targaryen blood, to attempt to get them to ride unclaimed dragons. The trailer seems to show some of these events, so we will have even more riders to get to know. It also seems to hint at a fair amount of dragons fighting.

That could be something of a misdirection. There really isn’t a whole ton of dragon-on-dragon combat in the Dance overall. Due to how deadly it is, any fight pretty much always ends with one or both parties getting killed. Based on what’s shown I can only really see one major dragon fight in the season. Of course, the show may have added in more that aren’t in the books, so we shall have to see.
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Blood and Cheese

The trailer also has a number of shots that seem to be from what is known as the Blood and Cheese incident. Based on the timeline it’s likely this is going to be the first or second episode of the 8 episode season. And fair warning, brace yourself.
Blood and Cheese is likely the darkest, and one of the saddest, incidents in the whole story. A lot of fans were even wondering, or hoping, that it would get cut or changed. But no, it looks like it’s coming. Be prepared for the show to start with a bang.
What is Season 2 Covering?

One of the big questions people have is just what House of the Dragon season 2 is going to cover. This goes along with just how many seasons the show will get and how much of the book it will include. In Fire and Blood, the book the HotD is based on, the Dance of the Dragons takes up 6 chapters. There is also one chapter that covers the lead-up and another that covers the immediate aftermath. That seems to give the show 8 chapters to cover. There are three or four more that kind of wrap up the story of the last few characters, but it’s much less likely they will get adapted.
via HBO
Season 1 adapted the first two of these chapters. It also dived slightly into the third of the 8 chapters with the death of Luke. Given that Martin has talked about at least 4 seasons of HotD, two chapters a season seems right on track. There are four main events that we can see in the trailer.
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Blood and Cheese
The Sack of Duskendale the Battle of Rook’s Rest
The mission to Winterfell
The Red Sowing/Dragonseeds

Of these the Dragonseeds are the latest in the book, however those events only get us through the third and part of the fourth chapter. It’s not clear if this is all the season is covering, or if this trailer really only shows the first part. However, the cataclysmic battle of Rook’s Rest, which does feature a big dragon fight, would make a good season climax. We will just have to see.

Let us know what you thought about the trailer, down in the comments!

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Abe is that rare thing, an Austin local born and raised here. Though he keeps on moving around, DC, Japan, ETC., he always seems to find his way back eventually. Abe has decades of experience with a wide range of tabletop and RPG games, from historicals, to Star Wars to D&D and 40K. He has been contributing to BOLS since almost the start, back when he worked at and then owned a local gaming store. He used to be big into the competitive Warhammer tournament scene but age has mellowed him and he now appreciates a good casual match. He currently covers 40K tactics and lore, as well as all things Star Wars, with occasional dabbling in other topics. Abe remains in mourning over the loss of WFB to this day.

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‘House of the Dragon’ Season 2′ Trailer Promises War – Breakdown

3 years ago Bert Ballast

The first House of the Dragon season 2 trailer is here, and we get a good look at the wars to come.

Overall Info on HotD Season 2

Blood and Cheese

Blood and Cheese
The Sack of Duskendale the Battle of Rook’s Rest
The mission to Winterfell
The Red Sowing/Dragonseeds

Let us know what you thought about the trailer, down in the comments!

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General

GameStop Cuts Loss on Sales Decline

3 years ago Bert Ballast

GameStop cut its loss on a substantial sales decline in Q3, the company reported in its quarterly financials. Sales were down 9.1% overall to $1.078 billion from $1.186 billion in the year ago period, and down 13.3% in the U.S. The biggest percentage change in sales was in the collectibles category (including tabletop games and merch), where sales were down 14.3% to $29.7 million for the quarter. Game software and hardware and accessories were both down around 7.5%.GameStop lost $3.1 million in the quarter, a big improvement from the $94.7 million loss in the year ago quarter, primarily behind cost cuts. Sales have been dropping pretty rapidly at GameStop, especially in the collectibles category, but costs have been cut faster, stanching the bleeding of cash to fund operating losses (see “GameStop Collectible Sales Plummet”).

Goatboy’s Warhammer 40K Meta Hotness: December 2023 – Marneus Calgar & Friends

3 years ago Bert Ballast

Let’s talk about the Space Marine Vanguard detachment’s winning super-star. Marneus Calgar & friends are this week’s 40K Meta Hotness.

The new Space Marine codex is in full on wreck your business mob as of late. All different flavors are showing up, with the Iron Storm detachment really doing a number on people. But that isn’t the detachment I want to talk about. Instead let’s look at the Vanguard detachment. A building block for an army that is designed to win with movement, applied pressure, and seemingly with Calgar and friends.
Marneus Calgar is a pretty interesting unit in that he isn’t just a single special Character. He comes attached with two super Bladeguard-like friends. They help amp up his survivability, increase any unit they join, and provide a very angry response in close combat. You mix this unit up with some Centurion Devastators and you have a very rough little unit to deal with.

Marneus Calgar Movement Tricks
Marneus grants any unit he joins the ability to Advance, Shoot, and Charge. This is a pretty nutty little rule! With a few extra additions, it can create a unit that can Infiltrate, Move, Advance and Charge – if they go first. This is pretty dang nutty to have such a powerful little unit that all of a sudden shows up, throws lascannons at you, and then some powerfists of destruction.

Marneus Calgar Close Combat Power
Marneus punches pretty well with 6 Twin Link Strength 8 power fists that hit at damage 3. The Victrix that ride with him have 5 attacks each at Damage 2, and then you got the Devastators as well throw out some Damage 2 basic fist attacks. Then you add in the Apothecary Biologis, that grants Lethal Hits and access to an enhancement that helps them get closer to you. YIKES!

Finally Marneus Deep Strikes
Oh and then you got Uriel Ventris, a nice little new model that grants an Infantry unit the ability to Deep Strike. Now this alone isn’t that bad, but what you can combo it with the Vanguard Spearhead detachment Stratagem – Guerrilla Tactics. This lets you pick this model up and then “Deep Strike” it later as it has that ability from Uriel. Thus granting you a unit that can punch something, go back into the shadows, and punch something else later.
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A Sample Tournament List
John Lennon almost won the World Championship with the following list utilizing this combo. It is a pretty powerful set of rules and really amps up the better player to have a ton of control in a game. Marneus Calgar does wonders in the list.
John Lennon’s Adeptus Astartes
Space MarinesUltramarinesVanguard SpearheadStrike Force (2000 Points)
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CHARACTERS
Apothecary Biologis (80 Points)• 1x Absolvor bolt pistol1x Close combat weapon• Enhancements: The Blade Driven Deep

Marneus Calgar (185 Points)• 1x Marneus Calgar• Warlord• 1x Gauntlets of Ultramar• 2x Victrix Honour Guard• 2x Victrix power sword
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Uriel Ventris (75 Points)• 1x Bolt Pistol1x Invictus1x Sword of Idaeus
OTHER DATASHEETS
Aggressor Squad (220 Points)• 1x Aggressor Sergeant• 1x Auto boltstorm gauntlets1x Fragstorm grenade launcher1x Twin power fists• 5x Aggressor• 5x Auto boltstorm gauntlets5x Fragstorm grenade launcher5x Twin power fists

Centurion Devastator Squad (350 Points)• 1x Devastator Centurion Sergeant• 1x Centurion fists1x Centurion missile launcher1x Twin lascannon• 5x Devastator Centurion• 5x Centurion fists5x Centurion missile launcher5x Twin lascannon
Company Heroes (95 Points)• 1x Ancient• 1x Bolt pistol1x Bolt rifle1x Close combat weapon• 1x Company Champion• 1x Bolt pistol1x Master-crafted power weapon• 2x Company Veteran• 2x Bolt pistol2x Close combat weapon1x Master-crafted bolt rifle1x Master-crafted heavy bolter

Eradicator Squad (95 Points)• 1x Eradicator Sergeant• 1x Bolt pistol1x Close combat weapon1x Melta rifle• 2x Eradicator• 2x Bolt pistol2x Close combat weapon1x Melta rifle1x Multi-melta
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Eradicator Squad (95 Points)• 1x Eradicator Sergeant• 1x Bolt pistol1x Close combat weapon1x Melta rifle• 2x Eradicator• 2x Bolt pistol2x Close combat weapon1x Melta rifle1x Multi-melta

Inceptor Squad (220 Points)• 1x Inceptor Sergeant• 1x Close combat weapon1x Plasma exterminators• 5x Inceptor• 5x Close combat weapon5x Plasma exterminators
Inceptor Squad (220 Points)• 1x Inceptor Sergeant• 1x Close combat weapon1x Plasma exterminators• 5x Inceptor• 5x Close combat weapon5x Plasma exterminators
Inceptor Squad (110 Points)• 1x Inceptor Sergeant• 1x Assault bolters1x Close combat weapon• 2x Inceptor• 2x Assault bolters2x Close combat weapon

Scout Squad (55 Points)• 1x Scout Sergeant• 1x Bolt pistol1x Boltgun1x Close combat weapon• 4x Scout• 4x Bolt pistol2x Boltgun4x Close combat weapon1x Heavy bolter1x Scout sniper rifle
Scout Squad (55 Points)• 1x Scout Sergeant• 1x Bolt pistol1x Boltgun1x Close combat weapon• 4x Scout• 4x Bolt pistol2x Boltgun4x Close combat weapon1x Heavy bolter1x Scout sniper rifle
Scout Squad (55 Points)• 1x Scout Sergeant• 1x Bolt pistol1x Boltgun1x Close combat weapon• 4x Scout• 4x Bolt pistol2x Boltgun4x Close combat weapon1x Heavy bolter1x Scout sniper rifle
ALLIED UNITS
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Callidus Assassin (90 Points)• 1x Neural shredder1x Phase sword and poison blades
2000 Pts

Using Marneus Calgar
As you can see, this list is designed to not present a normal army on the tabletop. It will move, hide in the shadows, and show up to wreck your stuff when you least expect it. Heck, it even has movement tricks to try and mess up assaults as well. It is a pretty neat list, and it has so many cool bodies and interactions that if you can master it, you too can be a master of the shadows.
For the Emperor!

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Horus Heresy: Biggest FAQ Winners and Losers

3 years ago Bert Ballast

The Horus Heresy got a giant set of FAQs WOW! Here are some winners and losers from the recent Age of Darkness drop.

On 12/5 I awoke to something I didn’t think I’d honestly see for awhile, a slew of FAQs that were aimed at addressing rules issues, balance and overall changes to Horus Heresy. While minimal balancing was done to the points cost and abilities of impacted units, there are some important rule clarifications that call out vague wording and core game rules changes that are worth reviewing. With that in mind, here are some winners and losers from the recent FAQ drop.

Armigers – Loser
This was a fix that was long in the making as the original release saw Armigers without critical wording of “vehicle”. From a rules standpoint this insured they could not be affected by things like Haywire, Detonation, Armourbane (X), and Battlesmith (X). With that in mind, there are new tools out there to deal with these fearsome walkers more so than previously. I don’t think that this change is a death sentence for the much-loved Armigers as hordes of these are still a critical mainstay in Knight armies. If anything, it makes victory with a Knight army a much steeper climb. This is a sensible change that needed to happen.
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The Meta – Winner
Not much has shifted with all of the new rules coming out. There were no significant mentions or disruptions to most factions. While I anticipated that things like Custodian Guards, Stone Gauntlet and Contemptors would surely be hit with a nerf bat in the first FAQ, the FW Specialist games division must feel that they are working as intended. In some ways, this is great. If you have invested in these armies and units, your investment is safe for now. The only faction that seems to have been taken to task was the Ultramarines and Fulmentarus Terminators and probably Alpha Legion because again, they won’t take Fulmentarus Terminators anymore.

Fulmentarus Terminators – Loser
Nothing made me happier than typing the above, “Fulmentarus Terminators – Loser.” But all joking aside the hard-boiled terminators from Ultramar had some major changes that have left them less fearsome. If you have played against Ultramarines in the last year and a half you’ve no doubt run into a wall of Plasma Rockets coming from out of sight which have caused havoc on your would-be advance toward Ultramarine lines. Savy Ultramarine players would often deploy these in the back of their army behind walls of tanks and troops which made getting to and engaging with this unit a monumental challenge. Fulmentarus Terminators have lost the no-line-of-sight shooting that made them a headache for many armies. While not entirely toothless, they will now be more susceptible to incoming fire. Opponents of Ultramarines will have the option to remove these with high-strength shooting or volume of fire. For those blueberry players out there wringing your hands, you should be asking which is better another Kratos or a squad of Predators.

Psyker Shooting Reactions – Winner (everyone but Thousand Sons)
Reactions are now limited to non-special rule attacks. This means that psyker shooting attacks and other attacks, such as Battlesmith can no longer be used as part of a reaction. This is highly impactful to our friends in the Thousand Sons, who have relied on using psychic abilities to disrupt game mechanics or punch above their weight in terms of unit removal prior to getting charged.

Reaction in the Assault Phase – Winner
Knowing is half the battle, and knowing if your opponent made a charge before deciding whether to allocate a reaction to the charging unit can be game-altering. This small but significant change allows players to really optimize against their opponent’s charge phase and make more efficient decisions in selecting their reaction targets.
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Rylanor the Unyielding – Winner
In the land of Dreadnaughts, the Weapon Skill 6 Dreadnaught is King. Rylanor had a glow-up this FAQ as he will now be able to stand toe to toe with the Custodes dreadnaughts and dunk on pretty much every other Legion’s Contemptors. Couple that with base attacks of 4; you’ve got a bonafide elite killer. If you run into Rylanor in the wild, you better start praying for 5+ to hits.

Knight Vestal Covenant – Losers (everyone who was using them for FNP)
Prior to this FAQ there was a trick in which a Custodes army could utilize a detachment of Sisters of Silence to grant FNP to a unit by attaching a Knight Vestal Covenant to it at the start of the game. It was an easy way to make a hard army even harder by adding a 5+++. Overall I think this is a positive change for the health of the game though it means we’ll probably see fewer sisters until we get a wide release of their missing units.
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Legion Caestus Assault Ram – Winner
If you ever had dreams of owning one of these, now is the time. Coming in hot with an improved transport capacity of 16 along with the updated Misericord special rule which allows embarked terminators and primarchs to charge on the turn that they disembark. This stout flier may be a must-have for delivering your vanguard to where they are needed most going forward. Here’s to hoping Forge World has plans to release a plastic kit, as the resin version is a bear to assemble,

Warlord Titan – Winner
With a price equivalent to that of a used 1998 Civic, I better be able to fire this thing from Turn 1 to Turn 5 or until it’s destroyed. Warlord Titans now have Night Vision.

Final Thoughts
After reviewing the new FAQs and looking for major changes, I found nothing that was going to turn the game upside down or topple the current meta. Overall this FAQ was fairly tame, it didn’t have the teeth and nails of your typical 40k FAQ that flips the entire game on its head and shakes meta like a Magic 8-ball. I believe that the rules clarification and sensible changes that were made are positive for the health of Horus Heresy. There isn’t an army out there that is now unplayable or downright awful. Everyone still has plenty to work with thanks in part to many of the best units being useable across the 18 different marine legions. Looking forward, I foresee more changes coming in late 2024 with another FAQ that might be aimed more at game balance and points adjustments, however, I wouldn’t expect it soon.

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Ryan is a California boy at heart who uprooted himself in 2012 and found a whole world of friends and community in Austin, TX through tabletop gaming. He’s been playing RPGs, Warhammer, D&D and a variety of boardgames and table top games since 2000. His most recent interest and obsession has been Horus Heresy and painting up legions of miniatures. Ryan is an accomplished painter and always has something in the works.

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Set Your Sights on this ‘Metal Gear’ Sniper Skull Cosplayer

3 years ago Bert Ballast

Her works hold the Guinness Record for Largest Cosplay Construction, and she’s telling all about her Sniper Skull cosplay and beyond.

Hideo Kojima is considered the connoisseur of video games. His impeccable taste and creative eye helped define the spy game genre. Kojima’s Metal Gear franchise is one of the best-selling of all time. These games bring tech and intrigue to the next level; it’s no surprise a prestigious cosplayer would choose them as her inspiration.
Sniper Skull cosplay with permission by Ruby Taki- Image by Chisa Sakurai

The header image of this article comes from Metal Gear Solid 5: Phantom Pain. This scene below showcases the ominous, disturbing presence of The Skulls. Cosplayer Ruby Taki has long focused on Kojima’s gripping series as the source of her cosplay-build inspiration. She has even won Guinness World Records for her Metal Gear cosplay.

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Sniper Skull Cosplayer Interview with Ruby Taki
Ruby Taki’s work was sent to us by a member of the BoLS cosplay community. The reader knew of my love for Metal Gear, and we were chatting about some of the larger constructions we had seen. Ruby Taki’s work came up, and I knew I had to interview her. What follows is a peek into the mind of an incredible artist and visionary, talking about her Sniper Skull cosplay and much more.
How did you get your start in cosplay?
I’ve been interested in cosplay since I was a teen, but I actually started cosplaying about six years ago. In Japan, where I was born and raised, cosplay culture has been around for a long time. As a person who grew up watching anime and playing video games, it was inevitable for me to get into cosplay. My passion for transforming myself into a character is my biggest motivation.
MGO3 cosplay with permission by Ruby Taki- Image by Bryan Lee

What do you do with your time outside of cosplay? Any special skills or experiences?
I love house music, and I’ve been a DJ spinning vinyl records for over 10 years; I used to throw parties at clubs in NYC. I’m also into martial arts; I started learning Muay Thai because I wanted my body ready to cosplay authentic-looking female soldiers.
What is your strongest construction aspect?
I often make characters that no one has done before, so I have to figure out on my own how to make them. I research and examine the nature of various materials to find the right material for my projects.
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Blade Wolf cosplay with permission by Ruby Taki- Image by Eleventh Photography

What is your favorite type of cosplay work to do?
The field that I feel confident and unique in is making constructive robot costumes.
What are your favorite completed projects?
My most famous cosplay creation is Metal Gear REX. It was completed in 2014 and was certified by Guinness as the world’s largest game-based cosplay in 2017.
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Sniper Skull cosplay with permission by Ruby Taki- Image by White Specs Photography

What material is your favorite to work with?
My most used material is styrene. Light, hard, and easy-to-process styrene is ideal for making robots and weapons with clean flat surfaces.
What are your favorite fandoms? Favorite characters?
There are a lot of my favorite animations and games, but it is the Metal Gear series that I’m passionate about as a cosplay subject. And my favorite character is Metal Gear REX.
MGO3 cosplay with permission by Ruby Taki- Image by Cosplay With Me

What kind of games do you play? Videogames? Tabletop? Wargames?
I usually play console games. I’m interested in military uniforms and airsoft guns. I’d like to try the airsoft worker game, but I don’t have any friends who are knowledgeable about airsoft war games or friends who will go with me, so I’ve never done it before. I heard that the cosplay war game is also popular in Japan; I’d like to try that someday as well.
What conventions do you attend? Have you guested/spoken on panels/competed in contests?
Most of my costume is difficult to transport, so I attend the conventions around the New York area, like Maryland, DC, and Massachusetts.
I’ve entered NY Comic Con’s cosplay contest twice, and both got second place in the game category. I’ve never participated in a panel discussion at a convention because I’m not good at English speech, but I’ve done interviews with newspapers and magazines about my cosplay.
Metal Gear Rex cosplay with permission by Ruby Taki- Image by Dara Phan

What projects are you working on in the future?
Currently, I’m working on a large bi-pedal robot costume called Sahelanthropus from Metal Gear Solid V. In estimation, the total height will be about 15 ft. Perhaps it will break my REX’s World Record.
Who are your cosplay inspirations? Whose work do you admire?
Every time I go to conventions, I get inspired by all the beautiful cosplay and props. I don’t have any particular cosplayer I admire, but I respect cosplayers. Some create things that make me say, “How in the world did you make that?!”
Blade Wolf cosplay with permission by Ruby Taki- Image by Eleventh Photography

What are your favorite movies/shows for while you craft?
I watch Netflix when I’m working on a project. I choose a drama series that has many seasons so I don’t have to worry about selecting what to watch constantly. One of my favorite shows that I watched over and over again is an anime series called “Ajin.”
I won’t spoil the story, but this villain, Grandpa, is super smart and spontaneous; very amusing to watch his tactical strategy. I usually play rock or house music or something upbeat to keep me awake and focused while I’m working on a cosplay project.
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What message do you have for people wanting to break into cosplay?
Cosplay is really fun! Try, enjoy, be creative and make friends! I was alone when I first attended a convention in costume; I was shy and nervous, but then people recognized my character. They called me by my character’s name and looked at me like they were excited to see me. I felt really good, and I got hooked on that feeling of joy.
I’m someone who loves a challenge; I choose difficult characters to make. I do a lot of research and experiment with materials until I find the right ones to use. It’s a painful task, but I learn a lot from failure.
Failure becomes knowledge. I always tell myself as long as I have passion, I can make anything.
Anubis cosplay with permission by Ruby Taki- Image by Dara Phan

Anything important we’ve left out that you want to share?
I began to hear “Cosplay is not consent” often at conventions lately. On the other hand, female Cosplayers tend to choose highly exposed characters for popularity. It’s a fact that sexy cosplayers are more popular than cosplayers with well-crafted costumes, but I don’t use my gender as an advantage.
I evaluate skills and craftsmanship regardless of gender. As I hate women becoming subjects of sex crime, I don’t want to act that would be mistaken for that subject. Even if I cosplay a character with relatively exposed costumes, I try not to make a wrong approach by my behavior. That’s my motto, and I’m proud to tell the world about it.
What are your social media/website links? Where can we find you?
I have Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, posting my costume projects and progress pictures. You can find me everywhere by searching Ruby Taki.
Metal Gear REX cosplay with permission by Ruby Taki- Image by Dara Phan

~Join us next week for more cosplay coverage~
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Marvel: A Face You Can Trust – Skrull Explainer

3 years ago Bert Ballast

When you can’t trust the faces you know, who can you trust? The Skrull are here to put that question to the test!

The Skrulls are some of the oldest antagonists in Marvel Comics. These green baddies have made their way to the big screen already with promises of bigger roles for them in upcoming films. But what do we know about the Skrulls, and what should we expect of future Marvel projects?
First Appearance

The first Skrull appearance was in 1962’s Fantastic Four #1. Here a group of Skrulls disguise themselves as members of the Fantastic Four in order to commit a few crimes and pin it on the heroes in order to get them out of the way of a future Skrull invasion.
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The Fantastic Four are initially blamed and arrested, but are eventually able to steal the Skrulls rocket ship, go into orbit, and prove that shapeshifters from space were actually responsible for the crime spree; ultimately clearing their names.
Shapeshifting and invading Earth would be hallmarks of the Skrulls going forward.
Skrull Powers & Abilities

The most well-known ability of a Skrull is its shape-shifting. They can shift into just about any shape, organic or inorganic, and seem to have very little limitation of size. Whatever they turn into must be a solid, however.
Using their shapeshifting, Skrulls can utilize a few other key abilities. For example, their shapeshifting allows them to be stretchy and take on creative shapes with their bodies, similar to Mr. Fantastic. Similarly, they can shift themselves a pair of wings and have the ability to fly or even use parts of their own bodies to create weapons.
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Skrulls also have a nearly perfect ability to mimic sounds and voices, making them ideal for infiltration and spy work. And a small number are even able to use telepathic powers.
These powers do have limits, however. If a Skrull is taking on the form of a super-powered individual, they don’t take on the powers of that person. Additionally, a very high decibel sound will temporarily disable their powers completely or cause them to lose control of their powers.
In Other Media

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In the MCU we have seen the Skrulls make appearances so far in Captain Marvel, Spider-Man Far From Home, WandaVision, and Loki. Most recently, the Skrull played a major part in Secret Invasion, where we found out that even Fury himself was a Skrull in disguise for a time. Throughout the series, the dreaded “Super Skrull” was teased, and at the show’s end, we saw a battle between the two. Now that G’iah has vanished, who knows where the Super Skrull will show up next in the MCU?
Aside from the MCU however, Skrulls have been seen in a number of animated shows such as The Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes, and Hulk and the Agents of S.M.A.S.H. as well as multiple video games.
The Skrulls have been part of the Marvel family for a very long time, and we’re looking forward to seeing more of them in live-action in the upcoming Secret Invasion series. The MCU has been building up to this for a few years now, and it will be exciting to see how it all plays out.
What is your favorite Skrull appearance or battle in comic history? Do you have a favorite, specific Skrull? What do you think will happen in Secret Invasion later this year? Let us know in the comments!
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Go Head to Head in the Most Fateful Duel in the ‘Star Wars’ Galaxy

3 years ago Bert Ballast

I’ve been watching a lot of Star Wars, which got me thinking about the only good part of Episode 1. Spoilers: It wasn’t podracing.

Ask any Star Wars fan, what is the best part of Phantom Menace, and you’ll get one of two answers. Either Podracing, which is the wrong answer, or Dual of Fates, the correct answer.
via Lucasfilm Ltd.
With the mountains of games, both video and tabletop, which followed Star Wars: Phantom Menace, there must be a game strictly devoted to this iconic showdown. And wouldn’t you know it, we are showing off one such game today.
Star Wars: Episode 1 – Clash of the Lightsabers Gameplay
This is a War-style card game with hand management and press-your-luck mechanics. The goal of both players is to be the first to win 5 points. Battles are won in War-style, combat strength comparison, in sets of 3 battles per round.

Each player takes the role of Star Wars character Darth Maul or Qui-Gon Jin. The minis don’t have really any gameplay impact aside from keeping score, but they are neat!
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Darth Maul is clearly wielding a wooden staff, but otherwise still neat!
Each round, both players draw 7 cards to begin the battle. These cards are used for individual battles but also can be played after the attack cards are revealed to try to eke a win out of a close contest.

Each round makes up 3 separate battles. Before each round, both players secretly place 3 Attack cards face down, 1 for each battle, in the middle of the play area. The cards—each featuring a still from Star Wars: Phantom Menace – along the sides are for keeping score between each round.

But what makes this game more than just War is the way the 3 battles work within each round. Players draw before the round and won’t draw again until the next round starts. During each battle, players can play cards from their hands to attempt to influence the battle. This means players will have to know when to concede one battle in order to save cards for the other 2 in the hopes of winning the majority.

Qui-Gon is losing this first battle. He’s got to decide if he wants to play additional cards to attempt a victory or save those cards for the other 2 battles. To earn points, players must win a majority of the 3 battles. Winning 2-1 earns 1 point, and winning 3-0 earns 2 points. First to 5 points wins!
Final Thoughts
For a game with such a simple appearance, there’s a surprising amount of strategy here. Knowing when to push for a victory versus conceding to have a better footing later.
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If you’re looking for a quick-playing card game with a good amount of gameplay (and some pretty sweet pewter miniatures), with the bonus of being themed about the best part of the Star Wars prequels, Clash of the Lightsabers might be for you.

Plus any excuse to play “Duel of Fates” on blast.
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Matt has loved games of all kinds his whole life: board, video, war, roleplaying. He’s worked as a writer for BoLS since 2017. He’s worked as freelance editor for board game rulebooks and has designed many of his own games as well.

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Rebuild the Starfinder Society in Scoured Stars

3 years ago Bert Ballast

The Scoured Stars Adventure Path tells the story of the Starfinder Society, a group of galactic explorers dealing with the aftermath of a catastrophic mission that lost 80% of the organization’s personnel and resources. The players take on the role of new agents working to uncover the mystery behind the disaster and eventually mount a rescue mission for the trapped survivors. In the end, it’s up to the player characters (PCs), now the Society’s most experienced agents, to defeat a threat accidentally unleashed by the Society and prevent their newfound foes from gaining the power of a slumbering god. All in a day’s work for your average Starfinder!

Illustration by Mirco Paganessi

FIRST SEEKER JADNURA

Jadnura began his Starfinder agent career as a solitary explorer. A kasatha who wanted to share his knowledge with the wider galaxy, Jadnura always went about his missions on his own and rarely interacted with fellow Society members. As his expeditions became more and more dangerous, Jadnura eventually came to rely on his fellow Starfinders and developed a genuine love of the organization that allowed him to explore his passion for archaeology and exploration.

Illustration by Michele Giorgi

Over a career spanning nearly two decades, Jadnura excelled at two things: his solarian training, and his ability to fill the Starfinder Chronicles broadcasts. Anyone reading the Chronicles over the last decade had likely seen Jadnura’s name countless times as the leader of an expedition or a wise voice adding opinion or additional fact to a specific chronicle. Throughout the Society, Jadnura was a respected leader and was often nominated for a position in the Forum.

Everything changed when Jadnura undertook his mission to the moon of Kukanou-2b. On that mission, Jadnura uncovered the mentrasi Tear, though he didn’t yet realize the full implications of the relic’s discovery. Returning to the Lorespire with the Tear, Jadnura dedicated himself to uncovering its mysteries. Though he barely scratched the surface of its true powers, Jadnura discovered a strong connection to the mysterious region of space known as the Scoured Stars. Dreams and waking visions drew Jadnura’s attention to the region, and as the current First Seeker stepped down, Jadnura took his first grasp at leadership by nominating himself as a successor.

The Society’s membership overwhelmingly supported Jadnura, and many saw the quest to the previously forbidden Scoured Stars as the start of a new chapter in the Society’s history. They weren’t wrong.

THE MISSION

Jadnura assembled an overwhelming force to travel to the Scoured Stars. Every major starship and group of agents was prepared to descend on the abandoned worlds of the trinary star system to catalogue data and uncover the truth of the mysterious Tear relic. Jadnura himself took charge of the mission, leaving behind only what assets were already committed to other missions, or those too unsuited to travel (such as the Wayfinders’ flagship, the Master of Stars).

Upon entering the Scoured Stars, Jadnura began to coordinate missions across the three systems. However, in the expedition’s opening hours, the Tear relic started to act in a strange manner. Soon all sorts of horrors, from fiends to robotic defenders to enraged fauna, began to assail the Society’s expedition. Before Jadnura could call for a general retreat into the Drift, all communication stopped. Later expeditions would find the Scoured Stars inaccessible, the system entirely covered in a shield of aurum energy that prevented any means of entry. The Society lost most of its agents and resources in a handful of hours

Illustration by Kevin Sardinha

AFTERMATH

The chaos that followed the Scoured Stars incident almost tore the surviving Society membership apart. The few members of the Forum who hadn’t taken part in the mission openly debated how to handle the situation. Debates turned to bickering and then into outright hostility as members of the Society proclaimed their vision for the future as the only right way forward. Much time was spent on infighting or trying in vain to breach the Scoured Stars, instead of stabilizing the fractured Society.

With creditors and outside forces poised to take the venerable institution of the Starfinder Society down for good, one agent stepped forward. Luwazi Elsebo was an experienced Starfinder who had been on a long-range mission near the Azlanti Star Empire’s space at the time of the Scoured Stars incident. She ended her mission early and returned to the Lorespire Complex when the news reached her. When she saw the squabbling members who fought for power, she stepped away and focused on keeping the Society intact.

Illustration by Mirco Paganessi

Calling in favors from across the Pact Worlds, Luwazi managed to keep the Society financially solvent while also sponsoring new missions to restore faith in the fractured organization. She went on to stabilize each of the Society’s internal factions, which had each suffered greatly from the recent losses. Finally, she engineered the use of mercenaries to act as temporary agents, directly leading to the formation of the Acquisitives faction.

For her efforts, the remainder of the Society rallied around Luwazi and nominated her as First Seeker. However, Guidance refuses to acknowledge the appointment until the matter of the Scoured Stars incident can be truly resolved.

Starfinder: Scoured Stars collects 12 adventures from the first season of Starfinder Society, telling the story of the Starfinder Society as it rebuilds from a great tragedy. This hardbound adventure path takes PCs from 1st to 15th level with over 70 hours of playtime.

Get Starfinder: Scoured Stars in PDF, standard hardcover edition or faux leatherette bound Special Edition. Starfinder: Scoured Stars is also part of the Starfinder Adventure Path Subscription.

Blast into space, January 31st 2024!

‘Warhammer 40K: Darktide’ Eyes ‘The Traitor Curse’ Update Part 2 Before The Holidays

3 years ago Bert Ballast

Warhammer 40K: Darktide adds consumable Stimms and more in the upcoming Traitor Curse Update – Part 2. And all before the holidays.

As Fatshark celebrates a riotous year with Warhammer 40K: Darktide, culminating in the two-part Traitor Curse Update, the game is looking better than ever. Classes have been overhauled, and pretty significantly. The way you define your playstyle, the way you tackle missions, all of it has been given polish and shine where needed.
And the Traitor Curse Update brings even more to Darktide. In Part 1, we got access to the Carnival and its deadly denizens. Part 2 promises even more, with a host of new features, including “time-limited combat encounters”, new missions. More importantly new consumable items in the form of Stimms are on the way.
Warhammer 40K: Darktide – Traitor Curse Update Part 2
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According to an update from Fatshark, they plan to release The Traitor Curse – Part 2 before the winter holidays. This means you’ll be able to slink into the back-alleys of the carnival in search of the Moebian Stimm production facilities just in time for your winter break. And you’ll want to as well, because the update has a lot to offer.

New Consumables – Stimms: Loot four different Stimms from the field to aid you in the fight against the heretics; restoring health, boosting damage, increasing speed or hasten cooldown regeneration
New Weapon Marks: Quartermaster Brunt has new weapon variations available to diversify your playstyle introducing, amongst others, the foldable Munitorum Mk III Sapper Shovel and the Agripinaa Mk XIV Quickdraw Stub Revolver with its fanning technique
New Mission – Warren 6-19: explore The Carnival’s back alleys and destroy the Moebian production facilities
Time-Limited Combat Encounter: The Karnak Twins have been sighted ambushing strike teams across Tertium
Quality of Life: Among several tweaks and fixes brought to the game, we have adjusted the Veteran talent tree based on player feedback to make the keystones quicker to reach
Ne – – – REDACTED: Expl – – – ola – – – disp – – – at – – – orr – – –

New and returning players will be excited to discover the new Stimms. Especially the healing and damage boost ones, though all four seem pretty handy in a pinch. Of course, depending on your luck, you may end up with exactly the wrong one at the right time, but that’s the stuff that legends are made out of.
Is it weird that you’re looking to destroy the bad Stimms being produced by the Moebians and now that you’re getting closer, more and more Stimms are starting to appear? Maybe. But the Emperor doesn’t Protect so you can think about things, he Protects so you can bring his justice/mercy/bullets to the enemy.
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Which you can do with the new Weapon Marks. They may even come in handy with taking out the Karnak Twins before their “time-limited” limit runs out.
For more on the Traitor Curse update, click here.
Check out Warhammer 40K: Darktide on Steam!

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The Emperor Protects – but make sure to reload.

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D&D: These are Our Favorite Tiny Monsters for Deadly Encounters

3 years ago Bert Ballast

D&D is ultimately a game about little guys. Sometimes they’re weird. Other times, they will kill you without a thought. Like these!

Dungeons & Dragons is a game where, almost universally, size matters. Typically the bigger you are, the deadlier you are, and vice versa. Look at the upper echelons of the Challenge Ratings and you’ll find it chock full of creatures that are at least Huge, if not larger. This makes a weird kind of sense once you realize that D&D is a game about little guys. So of course the deadliest things are going to be big guys.
But, just as evil most often stings worst when it comes from the people you thought you knew, some little guys will absolutely kill you without hesitation. Here are five of the deadliest, littlest guys in D&D.
Intellect Devourer

This small brain dog might not seem like it’s especially threatening as it only weighs in at around CR 2, but it has a lot going for it. It’s fast-moving, with a speed of 40 ft, and it can detect the presence and location of a creature within 300 feet, so there’s no outrunning hiding from one once it’s on your trail. It doesn’t have eyes so you can’t stop it by blocking the line of sight.
All it has to do is get within 60 feet of you and it can unleash a surprisingly deadly attack. It has a couple of claws that deal some minor damage, but with Devour Intellect, it can potentially consume a brain, stunning a target by reducing its Intelligence score to 0, which then lets it magically consume a target’s brain, teleport into its skull, and take over total control of the body. Just two actions and an unlucky saving throw can destroy even the highest-level character, making these lethal in large numbers.
Flameskull

Flameskulls are one of my favorite monsters. These burning skulls are fashioned from the skulls of dead wizards by “dark spellcasters” and are eternally bound, intelligent guardians who are tasked with accomplishing a specific goal. Flameskulls are also sticklers for obeying the letter of their commands.
Flameskulls are also continuously aflame. Flameskulls also reform unless they are buried with holy water, or subject to a dispel magic. And once a Flameskull no longer can fulfill its intended purpose… it becomes beholden to no one and instead is its own autonomous being. This is worth mentioning because in addition to shooting a fire ray, they can also cast fireball, magic missile, and flaming sphere — and when launched against an unsuspecting party can prove quite deadly.
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Left Hand of Manshoon

This is a special magical hand found in Dungeon of the Mad Mage. The Left Hand of Manshoon (one of his clones, to be exact) has been transformed into a powerful guardian. It has the statistics of an archmage, meaning it can cast 9th level spells, has a flying speed of 30 feet, and has blindsight out to a range of 60 feet. It can cast spells that will devastate a party and fly away to do it again and again and again.
Traxigor

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Traxigor is an otter who was once a powerful archmage but has instead been transformed into that of an otter. Unlike other otters, he can speak Common, Draconic, Dwarvish, Gnomish, Halfling, and Troglodye. This means he can be a powerful ally, or an even deadlier foe if threatened. Though, who’s going to threaten an otter?
Demilich

Finally, we have the Demilich. This is one of those iconic monsters from D&D’s storied past. It’s all that’s left of a Lich that runs out of souls to feed to its phylactery. After its bones turn to dust, the demilich—a malevolent skull, will rise through the air and assume a wraithlike form that will slay the weak-hearted and leave others trembling with fear.
But they’re sad, in a way, as these are ancient liches whose reason for being has faded, leaving them no longer able to channel the arcane power they wielded as a lich. They are wretches who can only exist to kill the living… unless you happen to become a demilich on purpose. In which case all bets are off. But this tiny skull is loaded with legendary actions, a life-draining attack, and if they’re truly powerful, the ability to steal your very soul.
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Bell of Lost Souls Staff Writer and DM, J.R. covers RPGs of all stripes and on occasion eats sandwiches. You can ask him about either at [email protected]

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Simon Stålenhag’s Apocalyptic 90s RPG ‘The Electric State’ Hits Kickstarter With A Bang

3 years ago Bert Ballast

The Electric State Roleplaying Game, based on the art of Simon Stålenhag’s book of the same name, is already a huge hit.

The Electric State RPG hit Kickstarter yesterday and has, at press time, nearly reached ten times its funding goal, all in less than a day. Published by Free League, whose work on another Stålenhag-art-based RPGs, Tales from the Loop, won multiple awards. If Tales from the Loop was roleplaying in an 80s that never was, The Electric State is an apocalyptic vision of the 90s in all its bleak glory.
The game has a very distinct road trip vibe. You play as people on a journey through an alternate America in a 1997 that never was. Amid the ruins of gigantic battle drones and weaponized cartoon mascots, the world seems poised on the brink of collapse (shades of failed-Capitalism abound), and now it’s time to find out what you’ll do.
The Electric State RPG – Now On Kickstarter
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“A group of travelers are heading out on a journey through a strange America in an alternate 1997. The ruins of gigantic battle drones litter the countryside, heaped together with the discarded trash of a high-tech consumerist society in decline.
A road trip on the verge of reality awaits. Go on a journey into the unknown. Free League Publishing today announced that the crowdfundig campaign for The Electric State Roleplaying Game is now live on Kickstarter.”

As you might expect, The Electric State uses the Year Zero Engine, which powers most of Free League Publishing’s games. It’s the same RPG engine in Tales from the Loop, and indeed, Nils Hintze, of Tales from the Loop is writing the game, “in collaboration with the Free League core team” per the Kickstarter page. But the Year Zero engine will likely go to some darker places in this game.

The Electric State RPG describes an America that changed following the development of “neuronic” technology in the 1960s. A year ago, in-game, a big update went out that changed everything, titled “Mode Six.” After that, society started to crumble.
Which is why your characters are on their road trip through the Electric State:
The game is not about the goal but the journey – what the characters experience and how it changes them. This is a game of exploration, but that which is explored is yourself and your friends, and what you are willing to do when the world collapses around you.
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The Electric State RPG is a game of exploration and relations, conflict between groups and individuals, and what you are willing to do when you are stuck halfway to your goal and bad turns to worse. It’s a road movie through a land that is slowly falling apart.

So what do you get from the Kickstarter? The goal is to create the eponymous standalone core rulebook, The Electric State RPG, with options for a special collector’s edition as an exclusive Kickstarter reward. Of course, now that stretch goals have been smashed through, the book is getting bigger, and folks have unlocked new game content, as well as an accompanying Digital Art Book and VTT content module for Alchemy.
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Back The Electric State on Kickstarter!

See you on the road through The Electric State.

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D&D: ‘Baldur’s Gate 3’ Players Spend Almost 10,000 Years in Character Creation Before Being Transformed Into Cheese

3 years ago Bert Ballast

The numbers are out, and Larian studios has a lot to say about the people playing through Baldur’s Gate 3 and their habits.

Baldur’s Gate 3 players have spent almost the entire post-heresy Imperium just creating characters, according to numbers released from BG3 developer Larian Studios. While the tech-priests on Mars and Holy Terra were trying desperately to recover technology lost to the ravages of a heretical civil war, people were really out there just trying to get their elf to look right.
Although it hasn’t been a full ten thousand years yet. Per Larian’s numbers, it is only 8196 years in the Character Creator, so far. Long enough that Genestealers have infiltrated the Imperium, but the first Hive Fleets and full-on Genestealer cults haven’t yet been encountered.
But the numbers tell a vivid story about the antics of players in Baldur’s Gate 3, far more than just how long spent in character creation. There’s a surprising number of sentient cheese wheels out there too.
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Baldur’s Gate 3 By the Numbers – 1.24 Million Wedges of Cheese and Counting

⚔️ Since our launch in August, over 1.3 million players have completed Baldur’s Gate 3.🧀 A number almost equaled by those of you transformed into a wheel of cheese.📈 All this, and more in our latest thread of amazing stats! pic.twitter.com/38hSZw1wPk
— Larian Studios (@larianstudios) December 5, 2023

Larian Studios made the big announcement earlier this week, releasing some surprising information about the game in a series of images that highlight some of the absurdity around 2023’s best cRPG.

For instance, players have spent a combined 8196 years in character creation. And 1.3 million players have completed the game, meaning that for every character that completes the game, around 55 hours were spent in character creation. Not necessarily on that character, but, 55 hours sounds about right for how long it took me to finally get my playthrough going.
That’s a whole lot of Down, Down, Down By the River.
While we’re on the 1.3 million players who have finished the game, almost as many have also been transformed into a sentient wheel of cheese. So if that happens, you’re probably on the right track.
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Another interesting set of numbers revolves around the brand-new Honour Mode, introduced in the latest patch. More than 158,000 Honour Mode playthroughs have been started, and only 464 have made it to the end so far, which is honestly impressive. Baldur’s Gate 3 is not a short game.
Honour Mode is Larian’s “ironman” option, where you have one playthrough, you get one save file (so no save scumming), and when your party dies, the save is deleted. A true challenge if you’re up for it.

Other notable stats include which subclasses are the most popular in Baldur’s Gate 3. This one really catches the eye, because some of these subclasses are a little underwhelming in 5th Edition, notably the Beast Master Ranger (which is significantly improved in Baldur’s Gate 3), and the Berserker Barbarian (which is actually playable in BG3). The fact that so many people choose Battle Master as their option for Fighter is telling as well.
But WotC will hang on to the Champion Fighter until the day they die (or, you know, leadership changes).

One last bit of number crunching reveals that god’s favorite princess, Shadowheart, is the most popular romance option, followed by Karlach and Lae’zel. But more popular than either of those, is petting the Forgotten Realms’ goodest boy, Scratch.
Check out Baldur’s Gate 3 on Steam.
The numbers people are looking for now? How many Geoff Keighley’s The Game Awards will Baldur’s Gate 3 win?

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MTG Deck of the Week: “Caw-Gates” – Open Up!

3 years ago Bert Ballast

Check out the current trending decks in Magic: The Gathering! This week, “Caw-Gates” opens the floodgates to your demise!

Welcome Magic: the Gathering players! We’re back to showcase one of the top decks of the week for competitive Magic. We have the top lists being played on MTGO, what’s winning, and the decks that won the major events this last week. So get your playmat ready, set your spindown to 20, and dive into the data, brought to us by TCGPlayer.com.

Decklist
4 Counterspell4 Prismatic Strands2 Guardian of the Guildpact4 Journey to Nowhere1 Dispel4 Preordain4 Squadron Hawk3 Azorius Guildgate4 Sacred Cat4 Brainstorm2 Dawnbringer Cleric4 The Modern Age4 Basilisk Gate4 Citadel Gate1 Heap Gate4 Sea Gate2 Lórien Revealed1 Plains4 Island

Sideboard
4 Dust to Dust2 Hydroblast3 Pyroblast4 Blue Elemental Blast2 Red Elemental Blast

Deck Notes
I don’t play much Pauper, but I do love the vibe of it, and this deck fits right in! With a lot of early draws, you can rush out your Gates and your bigger hitters, taking down your opponent in record time. Plus, with all the counter and exile magic, your opponent won’t be able to mount a defense.
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MTG is ever-changing, with new busted and broken cards rising to the top. Check back in next week for the upcoming top deck.

Just so you know BoLS may collect a share of sales from the links on this page if you decide to shop from them.

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Games Workshop: Advent Engine Day 6 – ‘Book Report’

3 years ago Bert Ballast

Games Workshop’s Advent Engine is firing up again on Day Six. Help us decipher this latest teaser image as something has books on the brain.

Welcome to the Advent Engine! It’s that special time of year when Games Workshop’s teaser department kicks into overdrive and we get the Advent Engine every day for (almost) a month! Today’s image has some pretty big clues. Or maybe it’s just someone mangling a book. You can should judge a book by it’s cover. However, this book might be an exception…
via Warhammer Community
“Books always make good Christmas presents – but we suspect the tome that the Advent Engine is showing us today might be a slightly… sticky read, going by the symbols. Might not hit the bestseller lists…”
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Advent Engine – ‘Book Report’
Again, not trying to be too judgmental about this book but look close at that cover. If those three rings aren’t sending up “biohazard warnings” to your brain then you must be new around here. That SURE looks like a symbol of Nurgle, the Plaguefather. And while he loves gift giving not everyone appreciates his tastes in gifts.

This seems to be further supported by the text from WarCom. Either way, I don’t think I’d want to delve too deep into that particular tome unless I had one of those hazmat suits. I’d also recommend being up to date on all your vaccine shots in that case, too.

Yeah…that might help.
Anyhow, let’s focus on this teaser anyhow. We’re going to ignore the “text” on the page because that’s just the painter showing off their free-hand skills. Instead, focus on the arm and hand holding the book. That hand in particular looks…odd. At first I thought maybe it was a goblin but then I saw the Nurgle symbol. Folks, I think there’s only one thing this could be (if it’s not a daemon).

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I’m not 100% saying we have some new Skaven Plague Monks coming. But that would be pretty sweet! Or at least a new Plague Monk character, right? We’ll have to wait to find out.
If you’ve got any other guesses please let us know in the comments. For now, I’m just thankful that Papa Nurgle hasn’t blessed me so far in this season of giving.
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Skaven + Nurgle = Good Times?

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Warhammer: Vote Now For Your Favorite Miniature of 2023

3 years ago Bert Ballast

Games Workshop has a very important vote for Warhammer Fans to make. Pick your favorite miniature from 2023!

When it comes to fantastic miniature kits, 2023 has quite a few bangers from Games Workshop. Personally, I felt pretty spoiled for miniatures this year as quite of few of the releases were armies that I collect and play. There were also quite a few releases that were super tempting and almost got me to start a couple new armies.

The Voting Begins…
We had some HUGE releases with the arrival of Slaves to Darkness, World Eaters, Seraphon, Tyranids, The Dawnbringer Crusade arc, and Cites of Sigmar this year. Also, GW is putting Lion El’Jonson in April as a release which is probably a technicality…but we’ll let him in because he’s a freaking Primarch.
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Oh and what about Legions Imperialis? That out, right? Those tiny marines are just too cute…

Talk about a vote for the little guy…
With all that said even with the plethora of amazing miniatures this year I already know which model is getting my vote. And it’s not even a contest in my mind.
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It’s me, right?! RIGHT?! Yeah…no. Nice try.
I might be a huge fan of the Tyranids but even I know superior predator when I see one. And while he might of lost to his brother in the lore you just can’t seem to keep this guy down for very long…

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Yeah. I know exactly who’s getting my vote. But hey — don’t let me sway you! Everyone has a mind of their own and can make their own choice. So exercise that noodle and think about which was your favorite model release of 2023 from GW. And then do something about it: VOTE.
via Warhammer Community
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“Cast your vote now and help decide who’s crowned Miniature of the Year 2023, but don’t dawdle – you’ve only got less than two weeks to make your voice heard, as voting ends on Tuesday 19th of December.“
Click Here To Vote for the 2023 Miniature of the Year from Games Workshop
So many good models…but I already knew my choice without looking at the full list.

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Warhammer 40K: Paint Adeptus Mechanicus Like The Pros

3 years ago Bert Ballast

Games Workshop has a new painting video to help you get your Adeptus Mechanicus Combat Patrol painted up like the studio!

With a brand new Combat Patrol and new codex almost out the Adeptus Mechanicus is poised to make a splash. With that in mind the folks over at Warhammer Community have a new video out that will help you get your models painted like the pros. This tutorial will help you with the various colors you’ll need and give you a better-than Battle Ready look for your army when complete.
Painting Adeptus Mechanicus

This does focus on the each of the units within the Combat Patrol, however, the color scheme and techniques mentioned here are useful for an entire Adeptus Mechanicus force.
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Required Paints

For me the great part about these videos is that they provide the paint lists. I know it’s a small thing but I always like seeing the full list. Honestly, the list should be in every good painting tutorial. This also shows off the exact shade of red they are using for those Ad Mech clothes. They are also going with Martian Ironcrust for the basing. Alternately you could use the classic glue + sand mix and just paint that. But really, the technical paint does save a step so it’s up to you.
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Again, this covers all the models in the Combat Patrol. These techniques can be applied across the Ad Mech range. That’s because the models in the box touch just about every type of surface you’ll see in the army — from armor plates, to robes, to skin tones, and even some of the more esoteric weapons of Mars!
Get Your Paint To Mars!
For anyone looking to play Ad Mech this is a great intro video to watch to get started on your hobby journey. There’s tons of other, more advanced tutorials out there which you can find on YouTube. But I appreciate the simple and approachable presentation of this one from GW. If you have no idea on how to get started or you’re a veteran painter just looking for some tips/inspiration then watch this video.
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I was a little skeptical about using Leadbelcher Spray as the base for the whole model. However, the coverage of the other paints on top of it turned out pretty good! Plus the Nuln Oil coat step just further cemented my belief that it’s made of liquid paint skill. It’s like cheating… but for painting.

Are you painting up an Ad Mech army? What color scheme are you going with?

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Steve Jackson Games Unveils 2024 Lineup of Releases

3 years ago Bert Ballast

Steve Jackson Games recently unveiled their 2024 lineup of releases.
The 2024 release schedule for SJG features some new games, reprints of fan favorites, and of course, a variety of Munchkin expansions. Some of the more interesting points of note on this list of games include the new Groo: The Game and a new two-player starter set for Car Wars. Munchkin is also going to have an interesting year as it will offer up punny cards for the Shadowrun IP. There will also be a Munchkin Big Box set headed to Kickstarter in April 2024.The lineup, announced thus far, goes as follows (titles with estimated release dates are subject to pending Kickstarter results):

Groo: The Game (January 2024)
Munchkin Snakes (January 2024)
Tabloids (February 2024)
The Fantasy Trip Bestiary (February 2024)
Frag (March 2024)
The Fantasy Trip Hexagram #12 (estimated release March 2024)
Ogre Miniatures Set 4 (March 2024)
Munchkin Pony Excess (April 2024)
Car Wars Orange/Purple (May 2024)
Express (May 2024)
CARnage 2 STL (estimated release May 2024)
Munchkin: The Floor Is Larva (June 2024)
Car Wars Expansion Pack 1 (June 2024)
Munchkin Shadowrun (estimated release July 2024)
Car Wars Vehicle Guide (July 2024)
Munchkin Age of Sigmar: Dire Domains (July 2024)
Untitled Assorted One-Page RPG Set (estimated release August 2024)
The Fantasy Trip Hexagram #13 (estimated release August 2024)
Munchkin Golems (August 2024)
Car Wars Expansion Pack 2 (August 2024)
Hacker Deluxe (September 2024)
Munchkin Big Box (estimated release September 2024)
Foes 3 (estimated release October 2024)
Munchkin Ghosts (October 2024)
Car Wars Expansion Pack 3 (October 2024)
Choose Cthulhu Books 7-10 (estimated release December 2024)
Squarescape (estimated release December 2024)
The Fantasy Trip Hexagram #14 (estimated release February 2025)

Click on Gallery below for full-size images!

League of Legends RPG: Top Lane

3 years ago Bert Ballast

For players who love standing on the front lines, taking the hits, look no further than the top lane in League of Legends.

Top lane champions on Summoner’s Rift are the tanks, bruisers, and juggernauts, duking it out for dominance. Often dealing as much damage as they take, they aim to find ways to attract enemies and take pressure off of their squishier companions. Some try to physically move their enemies away from their allies, some interpose themselves between their allies and danger, while others use supernatural abilities to make themselves the only available target. Even outside of combat, these types of characters have their allies’ safety in mind.

Model your Tales of the Valiant roleplaying character on the top lane greats with these magic items, weapon options, spells, and talents inspired by their lore and abilities!

Magic Items

Cool weapons don’t need to be your character’s whole personality, but, I mean, they could be a solid base.

K’SANTE’S NTOFOS

Weapon (Maul), Very Rare (Requires Attunement)

These paired weapons are two large stone slabs with handles at their lower ends. Each is held in one hand, but both must be wielded to gain this weapon’s magical effects. You cannot wield another weapon or a shield while wielding this weapon.

You gain a +1 bonus to attack and damage rolls made with this weapon, and a +2 bonus to your AC while wielding K’sante’s ntofos.

As a bonus action, you can shatter the ntofos, causing them to become bladed weapons. The damage type changes from bludgeoning to slashing damage, and it deals an additional 1d6 slashing damage. The ntofos remain this way for 1 minute, and then they revert to their slab form. Once you shatter the ntofos in this way, you can’t do it again until you finish a long rest.

MORDEKAISER’S NIGHTFALL

Weapon (Mace), Legendary (Requires Attunement)

You gain a +3 bonus to attack and damage rolls made with this weapon. If you hit a creature with an attack and it has no other creatures besides you within 5 feet of them, you may roll the damage dice twice, taking the higher of the two rolls.

Once per long rest,as a bonus action, one Large or smaller humanoid you can see within 10 feet of you must make a DC 16 CHA save. On a failure, both you and the target vanish into the Realm of Death, a pocket dimension of gloaming dread with a radius of 20 feet.

Creatures within the Realm of Death (including you) cannot see or hear outside of it. Creatures outside of it see shadowy spheres in the spaces you and the target vanished from. Those spaces are still occupied.

While you are in the Realm of Death, you have advantage on attack rolls against the target. At the end of each of the target’s turns, it can make a DC 16 CHA save. On a success, both you and the target reappear on the plane you vanished from in the spaces you left.

At the end of your third turn in the Realm of Death or if either you or the target are reduced to 0 HP, you both reappear on the plane you vanished from in the spaces you left.

Weapon Option

Add this weapon options to your bag of tricks.

Darius’ Apprehend

Prerequisite: a Weapon with the Reach Property

Make a weapon attack against a Large or smaller creature you can see. On a hit, you pull the creature 5 feet closer to you and both you and the target halve your speed until the end of your next turn.

Spells

These spells are inspired by champion abilities.

ILLAOI’S TEST OF SPIRIT

4th-Circle Divine and Wyrd (Necromancy)Casting Time: 1 actionRange: 20 feetComponents: V, S, M (a holy symbol of Nagakabouros or another kraken-like entity)Duration: Concentration, up to 1 minute

A tendril from the deep lashes out and rends a creature’s spirit from their body, allowing you to put it to the test.

You pull a spectral image from a Humanoid target that looks vaguely like them and bind it to an unoccupied space within 5 feet of you. While this image exists, a ghostly tether connects it to the target. The image has AC 10, immunity to all conditions, and resistance to all damage. Other creatures may target the spirit with attacks and spells that deal damage. Any damage dealt to the image is also dealt to the target.

Once the target has taken 30 damage from this spell or moves more than 40 feet away from the image, their speed is reduced to 10 until the end of their next turn. The spell then ends.

SHEN’S STAND UNITED

3rd-Circle Arcane and Divine (Conjuration)Casting Time: 1 reaction, when a creature you can see or hear within range takes damageRange: 120 feetComponents: SDuration: Instantaneous

Weaving hand signs, you invoke protective energy, appearing next to an ally in their time of need.

You teleport to an available space within 5 feet of the creature who triggered the reaction to cast this spell. When you appear, you and that creature gain a number of temporary hit points equal to 3d6 + your spellcasting ability modifier.

You can then choose to take an amount of the damage that triggered your reaction equal to or less than the temporary hit points you gained.

Talents

Try these talents to bring some top lane flair. (In other 5E games, these are called “feats.”)

Sett’s Pit Grit (Martial Talent)

You know how to take a hit and dish them out. You gain the following benefits:

You gain a pool of d6s called Grit. You have a number of Grit dice equal to your PB. You regain all expended Grit dice when you finish a long rest.

As a bonus action, you can spend 1 Grit and gain an amount of temporary hit points equal to the number rolled plus your CON modifier.

If you have fewer than half of your maximum hit points, when you deal damage with a weapon attack or unarmed strike, you may spend 1 Grit and increase the damage dealt by the amount rolled plus your CON modifier.

Ornn’s Master Craftsman (Technical Talent)

Your smithing prowess has few rivals. You gain the following benefits:

You gain proficiency with Smith’s Tools. Double your PB when you make a check with Smith’s Tools.

Using your Smith’s Tools, you can spend 20 gp worth of raw materials to upgrade a weapon or piece of armor, granting it a +1 bonus to attack and damage rolls (if it’s a weapon) or a +1 bonus to AC (if it’s armor). This bonus lasts for 24 hours and does not make a nonmagical weapon magical. You may use this once after you finish a long rest.

Find more great options for your character in Tome of Heroes. Weapon options, subclasses, new races, and extensive rules for downtime are all waiting to make your adventures more awesome. Check out Tome of Heroes in the Kobold Press store today!

A House for the Empire

3 years ago Bert Ballast

By Aaron M. Pollyea, STA Contributing WriterArt by Paolo Puggioni

I’ve found that writing adventures for Klingons to be an enjoyable challenge. On one hand, I need to keep the tone of honor, conflict, and that general smoky atmosphere we see on every Klingon starship bridge. On the other side, it’s easy because it’s still telling stories that are about people with hopes and dreams not too dissimilar to our own.
When I decided that I was going to write two Klingon standalone adventures for Star Trek Adventures, I knew I wanted to explore the idea of sentient species in the Empire. When we look at the map of the Orion Spur, we see the Klingon Empire is sizeable; it’s not just a small group of star systems. We also know the Federation has hundreds of intelligent species. Why doesn’t the Klingon Empire?
The simple answer is that they do. Nothing says they shouldn’t have just as many intelligent species across that arbitrary border in space, but why don’t we ever see them? In “A House By Any Other Name,” we explore a couple of the reasons for this, but we are also introduced to an intelligent species the Klingons had conquered long ago, the Hageet, a non-humanoid species struggling against the social and martial ties that bind it.
The Hageet were fun to design as I wanted to make an alien species that would have been difficult to see on the small screen because of budget constraints. Tall, amphibious, four eyes equally spaced around their flat heads so they can see in all directions; these are all things that would fit more in animation than live action. That’s the beauty of roleplaying games: no budget except the limits of your imagination!
But why would the Klingons, a culture that prizes freedom and had thrown off the shackles of enslavement in their past, keep whole worlds as what amounts to be second-class citizens or slaves? I attempted to explore this idea through building up more of their experience with the Hur’q and explaining how vertical social movement occurs with the Houses in the Klingon government. How does all of this tie into an interesting adventure? High stakes politics in a literal cutthroat environment where even the Chancellor is involved. A Minor House willing to do anything to stay in its position, even dishonor others in the eyes of the Empire.
As with many of the adventures I write for Star Trek Adventures, I try to put in a lot of different ideas that could stem off into full campaigns for your group. One of the new ways I can do this is through mission briefs, and it’s here that I can not only continue the story of the Hageet, but I can also put forth new ideas about how the Empire wages its war against the Dominion and what place minor houses and subject species have in the war effort.
I hope you enjoy “A House By Any Other Name;” it was a lot of fun writing it and figuring out the details that went into it.
Get a copy of “A House By Any Other Name” now and get into the action!
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Purchase the Star Trek Adventures The Klingon Empire core rulebook or the starter set and get started right away!
Klingon Core Rulebook PDF:Modiphius.netModiphius.us
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Thanks for reading this article, and thank you for your interest and support of Star Trek Adventures! Keep frequencies open for news about other Star Trek Adventures product releases. Live long and prosper!

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'Magic: The Gathering – Murders at Karlov Manor' Product Line Deets Revealed

3 years ago Bert Ballast

Wizards of the Coast revealed the product line details for Murders at Karlov Manor, a new Magic: The Gathering Standard set, for release on February 2, 2024.
The first Standard set of 2024 features quite a few product changes. This set rings in the era of the Play Booster, which changes the lineup of product SKUs in a significant way (see “Consolidate ‘Magic: The Gathering’ Product SKUs Further”). Essentially, Play Boosters replace Set and Draft Boosters in several products, including the Bundles and Prerelease Packs. This puts WotC down two SKUs across their new Q1 product line from last year, after all is said and done, because they kicked set-specific Jumpstart displays to the curb as well after the product performed as bad or if not worse than Theme Boosters, which they added Jumpstart to Standard set releases to replace. To quell their open-and-play fan base’s appetite for non-traditional boosters, they replaced the Q1 Premium Bundle with Murders at Karlov Manor Cluedo Edition, which is a game that includes a specialty booster type. The rest of the product line for this set goes as follows:
Murders at Karlov Manor Collector Booster Packs and Displays. Murders at Karlov Manor Collector Booster Boxes come with 12 packs. These packs have 15 Magic: The Gathering cards and a traditional foil double-sided token inside of them. The cards included will be a combination of 5 cards of rarity Rare or higher, 3-5 uncommons, 4-6 commons, a full-art land card, and the token. Every Collector Pack features a total of 10–12 traditional foil cards.
Murders at Karlov Manor Play Booster Packs and Displays. Play Boosters include 14 Magic: The Gathering cards and a token/ad card, Suspect Punchout card, or an Art Card. Each pack comes with 1-4 cards of rarity Rare or higher, 3-6 uncommons, 6-9 commons, and a land card. One card in the pack will be a traditional foil and traditional foil land cards come in 20% of boosters. Display come with 36 packs.
Murders at Karlov Manor Bundle. The bundle comes with 9 Murders at Karlov Manor Play Boosters, 15 traditional foil basic lands, 15 non-foil basic lands, a bundle exclusive foil alt-art card, a storage box, a Spindown life counter, and 2 reference cards. These bundles will ship in cases of 6.
Murders at Karlov Manor Cluedo Edition. The Cluedo Edition features 8 Ravinica: Cluedo Boosters that allow players to play a Clue-inspired game on Magic: The Gathering. It also comes with 21 Evidence cards, 1 of 10 foil Shock Lands with new art, 4 Hidden Info screens, an Evidence notepad, a case file envelope, and a card storage box.
Murders at Karlov Manor Commander Decks. The Commander Decks each come with a 100-card ready-to-play deck that feature 98 additional non-foil Magic: The Gathering cards and 2 traditional foil Legendary cards. The contents of each deck includes a foil-etched Display Commander, a two-card Collector Booster Sample Pack, 10 double-sided tokens, a life wheel, a strategy insert, a reference card, and a deck box. These decks come case configurations of 4 decks per carton.
Murders at Karlov Manor Prerelease Pack. Prerelease Packs are specifically for use in prerelease events. These packs include 6 Murders at Karlov Manor Play Booster packs, one of three Mythic Rares exclusive to the prerelease pack, a year-stamped Rare or Mythic rare card, a code card for Magic: The Gathering Arena (only available in select regions), a deck box, and a Spindown life counter.Click on Gallery below for full-size images!

Warhammer 40K: The Most Powerful Retro Codexes OF ALL TIME

3 years ago Bert Ballast

40K Codexes come and go in the endless cycle of editions. But these fewchanged the game forever. How many of these do you remember?

First of all some ground rules. We are still in the early phases of 10th Editon here. Plus, 10th is very much in the footsteps 9th, and 8th Edition before it – after GW hard rebooted the game after 7th, and the launch of Primaris Marines. That was in 2017 for you keeping score at home – and boy do those pre-COVID days feel like much longer ago than that!
So this list of the game’s most powerful codexes are from before that 2017 Rubicon-like moment. These Codexes listed here are from “the before-times”, that long stretch of Warhammer 40K that existed from 3rd Edition all the way to 7th, when the game existed in one almost 20 year period of minor tweaks across editions.
These are listed from oldest to newest, and we excluded the 8th-10th edition Codexes as they yet to stand the test of time. but rest assured, a new list of infamous codexes is being compiled for them as well. We’ll get to them in due time.
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The Best of the Best Retro Codexes

Chaos Space Marines – 3.5 Edition (2002)
Andy Chambers, Pete Haines,Andy Hoare, Phil Kelly and Graham McNeill
Ahh, who can forget the most beloved of Chaos codices? The one that still gets old CSM vets teary-eyed. The “everything AND the kitchen sink” 3.5 codex included rules for every Legion and allowed ultimate flexibility in list creation. You could pull off first-turn assaulting Daemon Princes , Lash Princes, Iron Warriors with Basilisks, Alpha Legion operatives, you name it – it was in there. When the CSM players lost it all in 4th ed, the wailing started that would last for 20 years.

Tyranids, 4th Edition (2005)
Phil Kelly and Andy Chambers
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Yes, there was a time when dinosaurs ruled the Earth – the glory days of BIG BUGS. Kelly and Chambers kicked out a book that stomped its way across the table at a time when the Carnifex was the be all end all of the Hive Fleets with its (then) super-chonky plastic model. It seems that the other races have been out-evolving the Tyranids in codex design ever since. Remember having to deal with this 18 years back?

2 Walking Tyrants with Devourers
3 Fexes at Elites with Barbed Stranglers
4 Units of 12 Stealers – sometimes more…
3 Units of Dakka Fexes

Orks, 4th Edition (2008)
Phil KellyThe book that brought the community the thrice-damned Nob Bikers. Greenskin players everywhere thank the heavens for Phil Kelly and his loveletter to Mork and Gork. It only went downhill from this book, until we got all those new buggies a few years back… and new Ghaz. Anyone remember building (or fighting) lists like this:
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Warboss on Bikes X 2, PK, Bike, Cybork, Attack Squig
Nob Bikers x 10, Painboy, All different wargear, 4-5 Klaws
2 Units of Grots

Chaos Daemons, 4th Edition (2008)
Alessio CavatoreThis “deep strike” book was good, then became TURBO-CHARGED with the White Dwarf Screamer Update. For a while everyone was panicking over lists like these:
Fateweaver Builds

Herald of Tzeentch X 2
Pink Horrors X 4
9 Screamers X 3
Fiends X 6 X 3

or alternatively Fatecrusher Lists
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Fateweaver
Crushers
Pink Horrors MSU

Imperial Guard, 5th Edition (2009)
Robin CruddaceThe book that brought the world Leafblower. How can we ever forget the year everyone and their brother built all mech alpha strike IG lists. I’m sure Forge World appreciated the Medusa and Hydra sales spike.

Grey Knights, 5th Edition (2011)
Matt WardThe Grey Knights returned to the game after a decades-long absence since Rogue Trader, with a GIANT splash. Hello Draigo Star – Paladins, Draigo, Libbie – walking around not giving an Eff. All the psybolt shots. Ultimately like Doomrider, the Grey Knight’s reign of terror was mercifully short-lived. They came, they went…

Necrons, 5th Edition (2011)
Matt WardThe Flying Croissant Circus. This is the book that defined Flyer-Spam. Perhaps the book that invoked the most dripping acid venom in opposing players. While the list could face the occasional hard counter, or be tabled on turn one by a wily foe, in general, players hated having to deal with lists like this: Flavor with more Croissants per your taste…

2 Destroyer Lords, Scythe, 4+ inv save, the + to will be back
4 Croissants with 5 Warriors in each
3 units of 6 Wraiths
3 Annihilation Barges

Imperial Knights, 6th edition (2014)
It was a thin little book, and it only had two units in it. It was long on lore and short on rules, but the game was forever changed. This was the arrival of the mega unit, ultra-small-modelcount armies. In a way, it was the reinvented return of the classic “Big Bugs” style list that had been long out of fashion – only bigger and stompier. They didn’t soar to the top of the meta, but their existence acted as a gatekeeper army that everyone had to have an answer to. This style of army has been with us ever since. I’m sure you remember lists that looked like this:

Knight Paladin
Knight Errant
Knight Paladin
Knight Errant
Knight Paladin

Honorable Mention: Eldar Craftworlds, 3rd Edition (2001)
Gavin Thorpe, Jervis Johnson,Andy Chambers
Who can forget the Alaitoc Ranger Disruption table, or the Ulthwe’s Black Guardians. It may not have destabilized the game, but boy – it didn’t make you any friends, and poisoned the Eldar buddy-game well for a long, long time.
~What notorious codex candidates do you have from 8th through 10th Edition? Throw them down in the comments with a typical “power-list” from the modern era.

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Dad, Gamer, Publisher, Pilot, Texan. All games all the time since junior-high.
I started BoLS Interactive in 2006. I’m a lifelong tabletop & RPG gaming enthusiast, and internet publisher working to entertain and inform my readers every day.
I’ve been playing RPGs and Tabletop Games since the 1970s. I’m been playing and covering Warhammer and Warhammer 40K for over 35 years.

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Four Against Darkness Character Sheet

3 years ago Bert Ballast

Four Against Darkness character sheets! I’ve gathered up some links to character sheets for 4AD. If you don’t know much about the game I’ve included some info. Keep scrolling for the sheet links. I also put some links to other 4AD sheets.

From the DriveThruRPG description: “Four Against Darkness is a solitaire dungeon-delving game. No miniatures are needed. All you need is the book, a pencil, two six sided dice, and grid paper. You choose four character types from the classic classes (warrior, wizard, rogue, halfling, dwarf, barbarian, cleric, elf), equip them, and start adventuring in dungeons created by dice rolls and by your choices. When you enter a room, you generate its content on a series of random tables. You will meet monsters, fight them, hopefully defeat them (or decide that discretion is the better part of valor!), you’ll manage your resources (healing, spells, life points, equipment), grab treasure, dodge traps, find clues, and even accept quests from the monsters you meet. Your characters can level up and become better at what they do, but it will not be easy.”

Four Against Darkness Character Sheets

Four Against Darkness Character Creation

I found this video on YouTube about 4AD character creation.

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‘Warhammer The Old World’: Five Characters We Could See In The Game

3 years ago Bert Ballast

Take a look at what epic characters we could get in Warhammer: The Old World. It’s not the ones you think.

After a long wait Warhammer the Old World will be coming out next year. The rules we’ve seen so far seem really good, and draw on the all the best of GW. At this point we have a decent idea of what the rules, at least in a larger sense, are going to look like. However, what the armies are going to look like and include remains a big mystery. One aspect in particular that remains a big question is what Epic characters we will see in the game. Let’s take a look at some options.
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What Won’t Be In The Old World

Warhammer Fantasy Battles had a massive roster of named characters. Many of them were hugely popular with detailed backgrounds. However, almost none of them will be in the Old World. WFB had its current year set in or around 2522 IC. The bulk of characters from that game were alive or active around then. However, The Old World is set quite a bit earlier in the timeline, around 2276 IC. That is about 250 years before WFB! This means that a lot, if not most, of the characters in classic WFB were not alive at the time of The Old World. Effectively any Orc, Goblin, Dwarf, Lizardman, Beastman, or Human would not have been born. Others who might have been alive, are not yet famous. Meanwhile, the bulk of the Vampire Counts are inactive or “dead(ish)” at this time.

The game is also going to be limited to nine main factions at the start. So even though pretty much all Deamons would have been active, we are unlikely to really see them in the early days of the game. Of the characters active in old WFB, pretty much only Elves and some supernatural beings will be around in The Old World. So let’s take a look at who we know of who might be showing up.
Tyrion/Teclis

Speaking of Elves, we’ve got a two-for-one with the twins High Elves Tyrion and Teclis. These two storied Elves have a long and rich history in both WFB and Age of Sigmar. Both were alive and active at the time The Old World is set. We don’t know a lot about what Tyrion was doing in this period, so it is possible he won’t show up. However, Teclis was not only already famous, but played a major role in the Great War Against Chaos, which is what the period of the Old World is leading up to. I think it’s super likely he is going to show up and be one of the main stars.
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Magnus The Pious

Speaking of leaders and stars, the time when the game will be set finds the Empire without one. Or with too many. It’s not like the time of the Three Emperors, when the Empire is divided in a three-way civil war and weak. Eventfully a leader known as Magnus the Pious shows up and units the Empire, and the Old World, to fight and win the Great War Against Chaos before becoming Emperor. This means there is a decent chance that we will get Magnus as an epic Empire hero/leader. However, the Old World is set about 30 years before the Great War and the rise of Magnus, so it is unclear if he will show up. It’s possible we are a few years too early, or could get an early version of him.
The Green Knight

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While most Bertonnians fall into the mortal human category, the Green Knight is an exception here. As he has been active throughout the entre history of Bretonnia, the mystical Knight would totally be around and acting like normal during the period of the Old World. Moreover, his status, and unique rules, are a big draw to the faction. Given that he has a model that is still pretty amazing, I’d be shocked not to see him show up.
Settra

While the Vampire Counts may be inactive during this period, the same is not true of all undead. Indeed we know that the Tomb Kings are one of the important factions and likely in the launch box. That being said, it would be very unlikely for us not to see their leader Settra The Imperishable show up. Settra was active during this period and over the years led a number of raids and attacks on the south of the Old World and Bretonnia. Based on how GW has been pushing the two factions, it seems likely that Bretonnia and Tomb Kings are going to be the two launch factions, and their rivalry will be front and center.
Orion

Last up, we’ve got Orion. He’s a bit of a cross between an Elf and a supernatural being. Wood Elves are one of the core starting factions and the immortal Orion was active in the proper time period. He’s a massive and impossible presence and has a decent model. However, players have been clamoring for a new and updated version of him, and some rumors say one is coming. I can’t say if he’s going to get a new model, but I would be pretty shocked to see him left out of the Wood Elf armies. Like the Green Knight, he’s something very different and a hallmark of the faction.

Let us know who else you think is going to show up in the Old World, down in the comments!

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Dungeons & Dragons

Druid 201: The Best Spells for Druids

3 years ago Bert Ballast

Which of nature’s guardians are you? Some flit through the trees, unseen by many, silently tending to the groves and the thickets. Others prowl the night as a panther or sail its skies as an eagle, viewing the passage of time through beastly eyes. But whether you’re an herbalist in a small town or a remote watcher of the wilds, you’ll need some spells! Take a look at some of our picks for the best druid spells:

Animal Friendship (and Similar Spells)
Awaken
Call Lightning
Druidcraft
Conjure Animals
Primal Savagery
Shapechange
Sunbeam
Transport via Plants
Wrath of Nature

Check Our Best Spells for Rangers List for More
Druids have one of the most impressive spell lists in fifth edition. In fact, they have over 20 exclusive spells, meaning most of them couldn’t make it into our top 10 list—including several classics. In the interest of highlighting as many great druid spells as possible during this series, we strictly avoided any repeats from our Best Spells for Rangers article. However, many of those spells were also in contention for a top spot here, so if you’re searching this list for favorites like healing spirit, goodberry, guardian of nature, or pass without trace, take a look at our ranger list!

1. Animal Friendship (and Similar Spells)
Artist: Lie Setiawan
1st-level enchantment
As a druid, your party will look to you for help when encountering wild animals. Fortunately for you, the druid spell list is awash with spells that can help. If you need to convince a roaming brown bear that you mean it no harm, look to animal friendship. Incognito communications can be sent via squirrel or finch using animal messenger. Use beast bond to get a glimpse of life through the eyes of an animal—or, more practically, to aid in scouting. And if your druid just wants to chat, they’ll be thrilled to discover speak with animals and speak with plants.
Remember to keep an eye on these spells’ restrictions and durations! You don’t want to burn a spell slot trying to send an animal messenger to a destination beyond its reach, for example.
2. Awaken
5th-level transmutation
It happens to every druid. You ask if you can talk to a nearby animal or plant, the Dungeon Master enthusiastically acts out the role of a raccoon (or a patch of crabgrass), and the party falls in love. Within moments, the players are asking the DM about the logistics of raccoon domestication—when you have an idea.
The awaken spell grants a creature heightened intelligence and the capacity for language. The target’s Intelligence score (which must have been 3 or less to cast this spell) increases to 10, and the target learns one language you know. The creature is charmed by you for 30 days as it acclimates to its new world and will choose whether to remain friendly to you after 30 days based on how it was treated.
This spell is worthwhile for the roleplay value alone but boasts some practical and tactical applications. If you are going to defend the woods from deforestation and you have some time to prepare, it might behoove you to awaken trees for muscle and eagles as scouts. Wizards get to build towers or dungeons with rows upon rows of massive constructs; if your druid wants to live in the woods with an awakened cat best friend and some awakened shrubs in his garden, I encourage you to let them.
3. Call Lightning
3rd-level conjuration
Druids aren’t all benevolent, old herbalists living in a cottage in the woods with a sweet smile and a green garden. Some protect nature by calling upon its wrath and blasting monsters to smithereens.
Call lightning is often a mainstay spell for damage-dealing druids. For the cost of only one 3rd-level spell slot, you can strike the battlefield with lightning every turn. The spell’s 60-foot radius is huge for fifth edition and will likely cover most or all of the encounter’s map. It’s also well-suited to many playstyles. Once you’ve cast the spell, on future turns you can use your action to trigger its lightning bolt and use your bonus action for healing word to balance damage with healing. Or you can Wild Shape into a tiny creature like a spider or fly and crawl behind a rock, smiting enemies with lightning each turn. However you fit it in, call lightning is a reliable spell that lasts an entire encounter and makes you feel like a druid.
If you want to deal damage every turn but will trade a smaller area of effect for a more valuable damage type and an anti-shapeshifter capability, look to moonbeam.
4. Druidcraft
Transmutation cantrip
Well, it’s right there in the name, isn’t it? Druidcraft is a versatile cantrip with various applications. Predict the weather, light or snuff out small flames, give a plant a small magical growth spurt, or create a harmless sensory effect. Predicting the weather and making flowers bloom can impress NPCs, build relationships, or mark yourself as trustworthy to fellow druids. Lighting small fires has an obvious practical application when camping or traveling, but instantly snuffing out nearby fires with a quick spell can also be helpful in an emergency. The harmless sensory effects could be used to distract creatures just as an arcane caster might use minor illusion. Spoil your party with a druid who can predict the weather and light campfires with a single word.
5. Conjure Animals
Artist: Jason Kang
3rd-level conjuration
Conjure animals is easily one of fifth edition’s most versatile and economical spells. With a 3rd-level spell slot, you can conjure extra creatures to help soak damage that would otherwise be directed at your party, even out action economy, and even help with environmental challenges. For example, you could summon two brown bears for big bodies with decent offensive capabilities, eight giant owls to harry your enemies from on-high or serve as flying mounts, or a giant constrictor snake to restrain a single baddy for an encounter. Also, these conjured creatures stick around for a full hour, meaning they’re useful for transportation and if you’ll be facing multiple encounters in quick succession.
The one caveat to this is that it’s the DM’s discretion which animal can be conjured in what scenario. If you’re looking for a more surefire way to summon a beast buddy, take a look at giant insect, conjure woodland beings, or summon beast.
6. Primal Savagery
Transmutation cantrip
Transform your teeth into fangs or your nails into claws as you embrace your instincts. Primal savagery is a close-range cantrip that matches the popular fire bolt in damage. The spell is painfully direct, has strong roleplay potential, and scales better at higher levels than its competitors.
If you prefer the image of a druid fighting with their staff or expect to run into incorporeal undead, consider snagging shillelagh instead. If you are hoping for a lot of 1-2 combos with the party’s melee combatant, take a look at thorn whip.
7. Shapechange
9th-level transmutation
If your druid was the type of kid who said they wanted to be a dragon when they grew up, they’ll be pretty happy when they reach 17th level. Shapechange can shift your form to any creature with a CR equal to or less than your level. Mechanically, this spell is treated similar to a Wild Shape since you gain the benefits and hit points of the new form without losing any of your mental prowess. With this spell, you could transform into a pit fiend, ancient brass dragon, or androsphinx. What else would you rather do with your magic?
8. Sunbeam
6th-level evocation
Sometimes, you need to blast a vampire in the face with light. Fortunately, there’s a spell for that.
Sunbeam doesn’t mess around. You shoot light forward in a 60-foot line, blinding any creatures in the way, and can create a new flash of light as an action on future turns for 1 minute. Undead and Oozes have disadvantage on this saving throw, and you emanate 60 feet of sunlight in all directions while this spell is active. This is the quintessential anti-Undead spell and your druid’s opportunity to fully embrace their power.
If you’re looking for something a bit more explosive, even if it’s an instantaneous effect, look to fire storm or sunburst.
9. Transport via Plants
6th-level conjuration
Transport via plants is the druid’s answer to teleport, allowing you to step into a tree on one continent and walk out of a tree on another. The spell is lower level than teleport, and it has zero chance of any mishaps, but it does have a rather strict limitation: You can’t go anywhere in the world, but you can go anywhere with a plant that you have seen before. Most of the places worth going already have plants, right?
10. Wrath of Nature
Artist: Filip Burburan
5th-level evocation
Wrath of nature is a gift to the druids who like to beat up monsters. Nature bends to your will and responds to your rage for 1 minute when you cast this spell, turning the battlefield itself into a fighter for your cause. The terrain within a 60-foot cube becomes difficult terrain for your enemies, trees deal damage to nearby monsters at the start of your turn, vines attempt to restrain creatures at the end of your turn, and you can use your bonus action to launch a rock at a foe. This spell can instantly change the course of the battle, making you feel like the powerful guardian of nature that you are.
Perhaps most valuable is that none of these effects use your action other than the initial casting. This allows you to balance your turn with whatever else best suits your playstyle.
Building a Druid
You’ve prepared your spells, gathered any stat blocks you might need for Wild Shape or summoning spells, and are ready to embark on an adventure! To get started, visit the D&D Beyond character builder and turn your defender of nature from a concept into a reality!

Damen Cook (@damen_joseph) is a lifelong fantasy reader, writer, and gamer. If he woke up tomorrow in Faerûn, he would bolt through the nearest fey crossing and drink from every stream and eat fruit from every tree in the Feywild until he found that sweet, sweet wild magic.

Dungeons & Dragons

Scale to New Heights With Red-Hot December Subscriber Perks!

3 years ago Bert Ballast

Is the winter cold getting you down? This December, subscribers can feel the heat with the Red Dragon Dice Set! These dice will summon a red dragon to your character sheet when you roll a critical 20, making them the perfect choice for dragonborn, Draconic sorcerers, and more!
This month’s subscription perks are automatically unlocked for new and current D&D Beyond subscribers. If you’re not yet a subscriber but want to collect these perks, you’ll need to subscribe to D&D Beyond before they’re gone! (Not sure you want to subscribe? We offer a 30-day free trial subscription!)

Unlock Maps With a Master-Tier Subscription
With D&D Beyond’s Maps tool, Master-tier subscribers can quickly create a virtual play space using official maps and tokens from their D&D Beyond book collection.
You can also upload your own maps, apply fog of war, and invite players to join the map based on the D&D Beyond campaign they are in. What’s better, only you, as the Dungeon Master, need to have a D&D Beyond subscription. Players can join whether they have an upgraded or free D&D Beyond account and control their tokens as they explore the map.
Maps is currently in Alpha, so expect more features and maps to be added in the future. You can see the sources currently available in our Maps Tutorial.
Where Can You See Collected Perks?
If you are not subscribed, you can see this month’s perks on our subscription page. If you’re a current subscriber, you’ll receive a monthly email that details the perks.
Once you receive your perks, you can find character sheet backgrounds and character portrait frames on your character sheets. Simply go to My Characters and click “View” on one of your characters. From there, click on your character name or “Manage” and then “Change Sheet Appearance” to access the backdrop, frame, and theme customization menus.
Your digital dice collection can be found on the My Dice page.
What Do You Do If You Haven’t Received This Month’s Perks?
If you’re a current subscriber but can’t access this month’s perks, go into your account settings and click “Sync My Entitlements.”
If You Subscribe, Do You Receive Perks From Previous Months?
No, you only receive perks for the months you are subscribed. However, we will occasionally extend the period during which you can receive a particular month’s perks.
What Happens to My Perks When My Subscription Ends?
If you receive subscription perks but later end your D&D Beyond subscription, you’ll maintain access to the perks you’ve collected.
What Else Do You Get With a Paid D&D Beyond Subscription?
Our subscription page has all the details, but a Hero- and Master-tier subscription allows you to:

Share books and other content you’ve purchased with players in your campaigns (Master-tier)
Host game sessions in the Maps tool, to run D&D for your players right from your browser
Create and save as many characters as your dungeon-crawling heart desires
Save an unlimited number of encounters, to make DM prep easier
Use publicly available homebrew content

Pass Time Between Adventures with Downtime Mode

3 years ago Bert Ballast

“There’s more to life than fighting monsters and looting treasure. What happens when a PC wins a deed to a tavern in a game of cards, crafts a magical item, builds a home, or pursues a relationship? All these goals and more are resolved by running downtime. Downtime is the space between adventures, where your PCs take a step back before the next chapter starts. In downtime, you can sum up the important events of a whole day with just one roll. Use this mode when the characters return home or otherwise aren’t adventuring.” —Pathfinder GM Core

With the lowest stakes and longest time covered, downtime is a great way to start sessions, or take a break between major beats of a campaign. While most groups will do downtime activities in a few minutes, some downtime periods may last an entire session to suit the story beats. Just like exploration mode, downtime mode can be interspersed with encounters and roleplay beats to keep things moving.

There are a variety of tasks characters can take during downtime, such as taking long-term rests, earning income through a variety of avenues, going shopping, and retraining skills! Some of these tasks take longer than others—happening over a series of days or weeks, rather than hours in game. But take care not to linger too much in downtime at the table—15 minutes to half an hour is a good baseline for most downtime activities.

Downtime should always start with each player deciding what activity their character doing—or a group of characters deciding to collaborate on a downtime activity, like putting on a show to earn income. Some downtime tasks only require a simple roll and a little embellishment; for example, rolling a 22 to Earn Income via Crafting only requires the character stating what they’ve made and what it looks like. The GM might choose to roleplay a short scene of the buyer complimenting the work.

This is also a great time for daily preparations, such as choosing spells. Players should decide on a standard set of daily preparations, which will then be assumed to be the default unless the player states otherwise during a given downtime.

For longer periods of downtime that may take place over weeks, months, or even years, the GM and players should check in about long-term goals for the downtime. Then, rather than rolling for every single day and activity, the GM can lay out specific events that are bigger stepping stones to that end goal.

Using downtime is a great way to slow the game down after a stressful adventure or battle, as well as ease players into the session at the beginning of a new chapter! Pathfinder GM Core goes into detail about running downtime, to support GMs as they help characters achieve long-term and short-term goals. Pathfinder Player Core outlines some basic downtime activities for player characters, as well as suggestions for thinking outside the box!

Pathfinder Player Core and Pathfinder GM Core are available now on paizo.com and at your friendly local game store!

General

MTG: Get a Clue! ‘Murders at Karlov Manor’ First Look

3 years ago Bert Ballast

Mysteries, Investigations Abound in Murders at Karlov Manor
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Magic: The Gathering Returns to Ravnica, Features Overarching Puzzle ExperienceMagic: The Gathering will challenge players to solve a murder mystery scenario with the upcoming Murders at Karlov Manor set. The experience will feature new characters and a few fan favorites who will scour the manor in search of a killer – all against the backdrop of fan-favorite Ravnica.In this First Look at the new set, which comes out on Feb. 9, Alquist Proft, Ravnica’s greatest detective, and others will be trying to figure out who is a cold-blooded murderer in a classic case of whodunit. Through play, Magic players will weave their way through the story, deciphering puzzles, and solving the mystery.Thirteen “Mystery Files” puzzles are built into the set, drawing fans deeper into the detective feel of the game. Beginning at prerelease on Feb. 2, a new puzzle will open each day on a webpage, all leading toward the final solution.Story spotlight cards will help players navigate through Karlov Manor as they put together the clues. There will be serialized Ravnica City cards featuring guild leaders, borderless lands, a Dossier Showcase art treatment and an invisible ink treatment as well.
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If this darker, detective-style look of Ravnica sounds familiar, you might be acquainted with a certain board game. We’ll give you a Clue.Ravnica: Clue Edition, available on Feb. 23, will feature Clue-themed shock lands, brand new cards featuring a person, place, or object, and a whodunit gameplay twist that will excite players. Play Magic, look for clues into the death of Guildmage Boddy, and crack the case or eliminate your rival detectives!Check out the beginning of this mystery story at DailyMTG and follow along as heroes and villains alike make their way through Karlov Manor. Can you solve the case before becoming the next victim?
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In addition, MagicCon: Chicago will visit the Windy City on February 23-25, 2024, and will feature a Pro Tour event using the upcoming Murders at Karlov Manor set. In addition, immersive experiences will draw attendees into a world of mystery in Ravnica during the weekend event.

Pax Unplugged 2023 Board Game Standouts: ‘Dune: Imperium’, ‘Block & Key’, and More

3 years ago Bert Ballast

Pax Unplugged featured an overwhelming number of new games to check out. These are just a few of the coolest games you can’t miss.

Last weekend, I hopped on a plane back to my homeland—to the city of brotherly love, hoagies, Gritty, and all those jawns: the city of Philadelphia. It was Pax Unplugged 2023 weekend and it was a great time getting to see friends I haven’t seen in ages and the chance to check out a ton of new board games.
Some of these aren’t technically “new releases,” but they were at least newish and new to me, so I figure that counts.
Sonic Roll — Semi-Cooperative Dice Rolling
Even though the rest of this list is in no particular order, it felt disingenuous not to start off with a game featuring my favorite radical rodent, Sonic Roll by Kess Entertainment.
I didn’t know there would be a Sonic Game at PAXU. I just wear Sonic apparel 85% of the time.
In Sonic Roll, players are working together to race through levels by rolling various combinations of colored dice. Blue dice are for speed, yellow dice are for jumping and flying, and red dice are for attack. Play as Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, and Amy (in her classic design) to beat up badniks, unlock special stages to collect Chaos Emeralds, and maybe even unlock some more hidden content in the campaign mode!
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Sonic Roll is planned to arrive at Barnes & Noble stores in early 2024, with a wider retail release online at Target and Amazon. Kess Entertainment was also showing off a Spy x Family game and a Mega Man game with similar dice-rolling mechanics but with an entirely different gameplay on top. But I’ve always had a preference for my Blue to Blur instead of Bomb.

Varia – Card and Dice Dueling Game
Varia is a lot of things all wrapped into one nice little package by Guildhouse Games. It’s a head-to-head duel where each player has their own character deck. Each character’s deck has its own tricks and combos to pull off and ways to potentially counter their opponent.

There are currently over 15 different characters to play as, with more on the way. And thanks to Varia’s innovative deck-building system, you can build your own custom character and be sure it’ll be on par with the other decks you play against.

Block and Key – 3D Pattern Matching
I’m always looking for games with a unique presentation, and Block and Key by Inside Up Games nailed the presentation.

Block and Key is a little hard to describe. It’s much easier if you can be there to see it. But imagine each player’s point of view looking straight on each side of the platform. From that perspective, players are attempting to place blocks to form certain patterns, no matter how far forward or back the blocks are, as if you were to take a picture from that POV and find your matching pattern.
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It’s a truly mind-bending game of perspective and raw brain power that just looks great. Plus, the platform you play on is the game box itself! That’s just good design.

Dune Imperium: Uprising – Stand Alone Expansion
Dune Imperium has been out for a little while now, but Dire Wolf has now released Dune: Imperium – Uprising. Uprising is somewhere between a 2nd edition and a standalone expansion. It’s got a lot of the same core design of the base game but with some tweaks and improvements. Plus, all other currently available expansions are compatible with Uprising.

What really stood out to me about Dune: Imperium — Uprising was how streamlined it is, especially the combat section. It’s abstracted just enough to remove a lot of the clutter that often accompanies other strategy combat systems, but without losing any of the strategy.
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The Big Shuffle Film Noir Set Matching Card Game
Previously Pluto was just dripping with character. Everyone at their booth was dressed in classic prohibition-era gangster outfits and smoking candy cigarettes. I’m so upset I didn’t get a picture with them, but their game, The Big Shuffle, can speak for itself.

The Big Shuffle is a game about setting up your perfect scene. Players are each competing to be the first to get their scene set first. But the scene is shared, so players need to stay one step ahead of each other in order to be the one to get it set just right.

Each card will alter the amount of influence that player has over the Who, What, and Where of the scene. Each player is trying to get the scene to match their agenda but also has hidden shared agenda cards between players. This gives multiple ways to win, or maybe a way to doublecross a potential ally at just the last minute.

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Wizards of the Coast Announces New Timeless 'Magic: The Gathering' Format

3 years ago Bert Ballast

Wizards of the Coast announced the Magic: The Gathering Timeless format, for MTG Arena.
The Timeless format is the culmination of several years of cards added to MTG Arena, such as Wilds of Eldraine Enchanting Tales and Strixhaven Mystical Archive, that seemingly had “no home” on the platform as far as constructed play goes until now. This online only non-rotating constructed format allows players to use any card in their MTG Arena collection. It includes the digital-only cards as well as future set releases. There is a restricted list for the format, which at this moment, includes the following cards:
Channel
Demonic Tutor
Tibalt’s Trickery

The restricted list cards limited to one copy per deck and players will receive wildcards for copies of the card beyond one in their online collection. Timeless goes live as of December 12, 2023.
For more information on future releases of Magic: The Gathering products, check out ICv2’s 2023 calendar (see “‘Magic: The Gathering’ 2023 Release Calendar”).

General

‘Cyberpunk 2077’ Ultimate Edition Launches With New Featuers, Makeouts, And More

3 years ago Bert Ballast

Cyberpunk 2077 got its last big update today. The Ultimate Edition has launched for Xbox, PlayStation, and PC.

Saddle up for one last ride into Night City, like never before. The Ultimate Edition is here, and Cyberpunk 2077‘s last big update makes it a game worth revisiting. As tunes from the in-game radio station start playing, both Keanu Reeves and Idris Elba want you to know that in Night City, the future is yours for the taking.
At least, that’s what they have to say in the big new Ultimate Edition launch trailer. Which you can check out below.
Cyberpunk 2077 Ultimate Edition – Launch Trailer
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“Cyberpunk 2077: Ultimate Edition is an open-world, action-adventure RPG containing every story set in Night City, featuring a host of memorable characters including rebellious rockerboy Johnny Silverhand (played by Keanu Reeves) and veteran secret agent Solomon Reed (played by Idris Elba). Play as V, a cyberpunk mercenary, and take on the most powerful forces of the city in a fight for glory and survival. Dive into the base game, its critically acclaimed spy-thriller expansion Phantom Liberty, and experience the game-changing Update 2.0 — all in one package. Legends are made here. What will yours be?”

In the new trailer, we get even more of a glimpse at the revamped Night City. As we saw in yesterday’s feature overview, the Ultimate Edition update is a major change for the game. It gives you a reason to replay if it’s been a minute since your V went sailing off into the sunset.
And if you’ve never played before, it gives you a reason to stick around in Night City as long as possible. Because one of the big problems about 2077 at launch, and through a few of the earlier updates, was that once you made it through the quests—and don’t get me wrong, there are a ton of quests in the game, and they feature incredible writing (for the most part)—you end up with little else to do in Night City

But now, with replayable street racing, with revamped motorcycle stunts and combat, there’s more to do than ever once you’ve hit the level cap.
Especially since the game plays very differently now. Folks who are fans of roleplay will have the chance to hang out with their lover, be it Judy Alvarez, Keery Eurodyne, Panam Palmer, or River (I guess, sure, he’s fine).

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Which just adds a bit more dynamism to a city that thrives on neon, money, and violence. And for those who love to push their systems to the limits, the graphics have been improved even further. And that’s all before you add mods.
Check out Cyberpunk 2077 on Steam!
See you in Night City.

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Bell of Lost Souls Staff Writer and DM, J.R. covers RPGs of all stripes and on occasion eats sandwiches. You can ask him about either at [email protected]

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D&D: Five Ways Your Character Can Make Someone Believe Anything

3 years ago Bert Ballast

Need to get someone to believe the most outrageous explanation? Here are five ways to defy reason and steam a good ham.

We’ve all been there. Your D&D character told one lie too many and now they’re caught, not necessarily red-handed, but on the precipice of being found out. And they can’t just double down on what you’ve said because there’s no way anyone would believe so bold-faced a lie as claiming that the blazing inferno is just the Northern Lights, displayed at this time of year, at this time of day, in this part of the world localized entirely within their kitchen… or is there?
Of course, there is. It’s D&D and there’s magic for pretty much any of this.
Modify Memory

Let’s start with the most morally questionable one. Modify Memory allows you to reshape someone’s perceptions of reality. Does that make you like unto a god? Debatably. Will there be repercussions? Only if you get caught. And since you can rewrite a single event to reflect pretty much anything you want, you can Modify someone’s Memory into believing that they did, in fact, see the Northern Lights and enjoy an unforgettable luncheon besides.
Hallucinatory Terrain

Okay, so you don’t want to brainwash someone into believing that what you said is true. Why not settle for the next best thing? With Hallucinatory Terrain you can disguise that blazing inferno as any sort of natural terrain (within a 150-foot cube, so hopefully that inferno hasn’t blazed it like it was April 20th). But you can make a pond look like a meadow, and if you can argue with your GM, you could make flames look like the natural terrain of charged particles colliding with the atmosphere.
Suggestion

This one’s more of a gamble. Because for a Suggestion spell to work, you have to work a course of action that sounds reasonable. But if you can convince someone that believing what you tell them sounds reasonable, Suggestion causes them to pursue the course of action you magically suggest to the best of their ability.
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Geas

As long as you’re magically compelling someone, you could also add in a penalty when they go against your suggested course of action. With Geas, the target takes 5d10 points of psychic damage when it acts in a manner directly counter to your instruction, and it stays that way for up to 30 days, which is plenty of time to leave a lasting impression.
Pyrotechnics

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Or you could magically extinguish the fire (assuming it’s not too big), creating a dazzling display of fireworks that could blind an unprotected target who fails their saving throw, allowing you to dispose of the evidence (fire) while creating a reasonable facsimile of a dazzling light show that might be localized entirely within your kitchen.
All this despite the fact that they are obviously grilled.

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Bell of Lost Souls Staff Writer and DM, J.R. covers RPGs of all stripes and on occasion eats sandwiches. You can ask him about either at [email protected]

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Warhammer Preview Online: Black Library Time

3 years ago Bert Ballast

The Annual Black Library Preview returns from Games Workshop this weekend. What are you hoping to see?

Save the date and set an alarm because the Annual Black Library Preview is kicking off this Saturday at 2pm GMT. For those of us outside of GMT, that’s okay — GW made a graphic for us:

Once again, this will be on hosted on the Warhammer Twitch channel. So what can you expect to see this year?
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via Warhammer Community

“We’ll have more surprises along the way, as we reveal new tales from Warhammer 40,000, the Horus Heresy, the Age of Sigmar, and the World of Legend. “
Warhammer Preview Black Library, Place Your Bets
This year isn’t just a bunch of (great) interviews from your favorite Black Library authors. Aside from new book title reveals there will also be miniature reveals to boot! I’m hoping we get a fair spread of them this year, too.

We just had some massive reveals at the World Championships Preview and I’m guessing this one will mostly be focused on the Black Library titles and authors. That said, this seems like the perfect time for some one-off minis!

Characters like Minka Lesk as an example. Not only does she feature in her own books, but she’s just one of many characters that has made the jump from the page to the tabletop.
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This could also be a chance for some one-off miniatures from the Old World to stop by, too. Seeing as how the Old World will be set before Warhammer Fantasy’s End Time by 200-ish years, we might get to explore some old fan favorites during this time.

Jumping forward to the Age of Sigmar, we could see some more characters like Blacktalon make an appearance, too. Again, there’s lots of lore and characters to explore with all the tales from Black Library. And each of those characters could be a made into a model for the tabletop.
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Honestly, there’s probably too many characters to choose from — so we’re kicking this one over to you. Which character from the Black Library would you love to see get a model? Let us know in the comments!

Seriously, sooo many to choose from!

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The Electric State RPG channels Tales from the Loop’s techno-nostalgia through a dystopic American lens

3 years ago Bert Ballast

Tales from the Loop, Free League’s tabletop RPG about an alternate history Sweden gripped by the effects of a massive tech facility that might have warped time and reality, has always succeeded on a careful mix of nostalgia and sci-fi speculation – the tone straddled between halcyon fondness and wonder.

The company is now adapting artist and author Simon Stålenhag’s The Electric State into a standalone tabletop RPG book that isn’t explicitly tied to Tales from the Loop but won’t be able to shake the shadow of its influence. Crowdfunding via Kickstarter, The Electric State is a decidedly darker and more sinister sandbox for players to explore, trading youthful hijinks for a desperate flight across a desolate post-war America.

According to a press release, the world of The Electric State RPG takes place in a version of the US that split from our timeline during the late 1960s thanks to the discovery of neuronics, a new technology that would eventually allow people to vacate the material world for alternate reality, en masse. A second civil war fractured the current political barriers, and somewhere within the nation of Pacifica (formerly California) the Sentre corporation has introduced the Mode Six upgrade to its cheap neuronic headsets. The fallout: people stop showing up for work, infrastructure crumbles and those in power scramble to understand and control a world that has vacated reality for a mass online environment.

The Electric State RPG’s Kickstarter trailer

Players will journey together across a version of the US emptied of its people and littered with the smouldering, forgotten detritus of war on both military and capitalistic fronts. Their goal, for whatever reason, is to reach Pacifica. Free League is clear in their description that this game cares more about the journey than the destination – it’s a road story where the characters’ shared experiences will alter them and bare their souls even as the environment threatens their safety.

Sessions might involve traversing perilous geography that is actively decaying under their feet while the wreckage of a weaponised corporate mascot mecha trundles mindlessly across the horizon. It could also involve schisms in the group as individual goals grind against the security of the collective – navigating these points of friction can prove as dangerous as an irradiated desert or crumbling overpass.

The Electric State RPG is a standalone book that will contain everything players need to create short-to-medium length campaigns. It will use a version of Free League’s Year Zero Engine – the same powering Tales from the Loop and follow-up Things from the Flood – that involves a pool of six-sided dice augmented by attributes, items and circumstances. Every rolled six counts as a success, with multiples increasing the severity of the outcome.

Image credit: Simon Stålenhag/Free League

It’s a simple system that prioritises narrative circumstances and interaction between players. Behind the post-apocalyptic road trip fiction at the heart of The Electric State, it might prove a stellar engine for tragic and harrowing tales that are a far cry from that 1980s Sweden that never was.

The Kickstarter campaign for The Electric State RPG runs through December 20th and is aiming to produce a physical and digital edition of the core rules. Free League is hoping to release a condensed alpha PDF version of the game before the end of 2023, and backers will be granted access to a full digital copy of the rules early. Shipping on physical books is expected to begin in November 2024.

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Cities Without Number Character Sheet

3 years ago Bert Ballast

Cities Without Number is an OSR cyberpunk tabletop role-playing game from indie RPG wizard and now street samurai, Kevin Crawford. Of course, this is the cyberpunk version of Crawford’s series that includes Star Without Number and Worlds Without Number.

If you haven’t seen the core book for Cities Without Number you can check that below. Keep scrolling for character sheets. I’ll be adding more character sheets as I find them.

Cities Without Number RPG

Here’s the link to the core RPG rulebook: Cities Without Number.

From the DriveThruRPG Description: “Cities Without Number is a cyberpunk role-playing game built for sandbox adventures in a dystopia of polished chrome and bitter misery. It’s both a full-fledged Sine Nomine toolkit for building a cyberpunk world of your own and an Old School Renaissance-inspired game system for playing out the reckless adventures of the desperate men and women who live in it. Whether polished metal or flesh and blood, your operators will risk their lives and more to seize those precious things a merciless world would keep from them.”

Cities Without Number RPG Character Sheet

Creating a Cities Without Number Character

I found this CWN character creation walkthrough on YouTube.

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Take a Peek At the 2024 D&D Player’s Handbook

3 years ago Bert Ballast

At the PAX Unplugged ’50 Years of D&D’ panel, we got a closer look at the upcoming 2024 Player’s Handbook. Check out the new Fighter.

D&D has big plans for 2024. And whether or not the books actually release when WotC (briefly) said they would, 2024 will see the advent of a new set of core books. These new books are basically a 5.5E, maybe more like a 5.25E, depending on how many playtest changes they walk back between now and then.
But at the PAX Unplugged panel on D&D, we got to see firsthand a few things from the new Player’s Handbook. None of this is final, yet, as they made perfectly clear in the panel. But along with new art, we got a look at a subclass and a background or two.
And now, so will you.
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D&D 2024 Player’s Handbook Sneak Peek

In the 50 Years of D&D Panel, Jeremy Crawford took an audience through a few pages (still in progress) of the 2024 Player’s Handbook. Starting with a new iconic Fighter, pictured above.
“Fighters rule many battlefields. Questing knights, royal champions, elite soldiers, and hardened mercenaries—as Fighters, they all share an unparalleled prowess with weapons and armor. And they are well acquainted with death, both meting it out and staring it defiantly in the face.

Accompanying the Fighter overview, a preview of one of the subclasses. Again, none of this is final, but the artwork seems to at least be locked in place. The new PHB will feature more artwork than ever, with Crawford stating that every class and all 48 subclasses would have a piece of art to illustrate what they might look like. Seen above, the Champion Fighter shows what this might look like.
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This is about where the Champion Fighter was the last time we saw the subclass in an Unearthed Arcana. Boring, but easy enough to play, feeling like a very solid entry for anyone looking to get started with the game.

We also got a look at what the Backgrounds will be like, in terms of art. As Crawford says, the team wants the Backgrounds to feel like a background. Which is why they’re depicted as a place. Acolytes have a temple, Hermits have their huts, and so on.
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Sadly, the Backgrounds continue to be the “build-your-own” hodgepodge of features that, while fine for a build, lack the flavor of the other features from the 2014 Player’s Handbook.

The team also talked, briefly, about the new Dungeon Master’s Guide and Monster Manual. The new DMG will feature a complete campaign setting, all new advice for DMs, and new magic items, including magic items for all of the characters from the D&D cartoon.
And the new Monster Manual will feature more than 500 monsters, with new art, new abilities, and more high CR monsters.
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All of this awaits in 2024.

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Bell of Lost Souls Staff Writer and DM, J.R. covers RPGs of all stripes and on occasion eats sandwiches. You can ask him about either at [email protected]

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Isekai’d, part 2: How You Got Here

3 years ago Bert Ballast

When playing in or running an isekai campaign, an element of the story is just how the characters arrived in this strange, new environment. How the PCs arrive determines much about how the world operates, how people treat them, what the characters might already know about the world, and whether the characters get to play as idealized versions of themselves or as someone else entirely.

Catch up on the Isekai’d! series from the beginning!

Methods for Getting There

While the methods for arriving on another world from Earth are limited only by the GM’s imagination, here are some common methods anime and manga stories use.

Magical Summoning

The PCs are summoned to their new home with the aid of a powerful spell or magical artifact. Typically, the PCs arrive in their own bodies, but they might appear in a completely new form due to the specifics of the summoning.

Most of the time, the PCs are summoned for a specific reason, such as slaying a terrible dragon god ravaging the empire. However, the PCs might have accidentally or mistakenly been summoned by someone expecting a completely different group of people.

Portal to a New World

A method found not just in anime and manga but also stories such as Alice in Wonderland and The Chronicles of Narnia, this method involves the PCs passing through a portal to another world. The shape and location of the portal could be anything, but symbolism calls for some door or opening to be breached, accidentally or on purpose.

A crucial decision for this method is whether the portal stays open after the PCs pass through or it closes behind them. Traditionally, the portal closes so that PCs are driven toward action. If the portal remains open however, it allows PCs (and possibly their enemies) to step back and forth between worlds, for good and ill.

Reincarnation

This method occurs when the PCs die on Earth only to be reincarnated into different bodies in another world. This can mean starting life from scratch as a child in the new world or appearing in the body of a recently dead creature. The PCs might also appear in their own bodies, having been reincarnated in the new world thanks to divine providence (or stupidity).

Depending on the nature of the reincarnation, PCs may only have vague memories of their time on Earth and lack skills from their previous lives, making this method a simple choice for GMs wishing to run a traditional-style 5E or Tales of the Valiant roleplaying campaign.

Trapped in a Game

A group of friends playing an MMO finds themselves transported mentally or bodily into the game world. Again, the players might appear as themselves, but more often, they appear in the bodies of their characters. The explanation for their appearance is a mystery that they must uncover later.

This method is particularly suitable for higher-level PCs (10th and above) because they are known in the game world. This doesn’t always need to be the case, however. It can work equally well for beginner PCs.

Combining Methods

You can even combine methods. For example, a magical summoning ritual might involve the PCs’ souls being transported into the bodies of freshly sacrificed criminals or the PCs might become trapped in a video game after passing underneath a store sign advertising the game.

Not all PCs need to arrive in the same way, either. One PC might be reincarnated while another is summoned. However, some consistency should be maintained between PCs’ methods of arrival and how this affects their abilities to maintain game balance.

New Rituals

Most methods of transporting the PCs to another world are intentionally mysterious and not meant to be reproduced by the PCs. However, there’s more fun available to players who can make choices.

The following two rituals are powerful, hard to find, and only cast in dire circumstances. Both are probably best offered in the late stages of the campaign or as they seek to replenish their ranks with people from their own world.

Note that these two rituals use Tales of The Valiant system notation, giving you spell source rather than classes that can cast them. It also refers to spells as “circles” instead of “levels” as a way to differentiate the terms.

SOUL TRANSFER

8th-Circle Divine (Necromancy, Ritual)

Casting Time: 1 hourRange: TouchComponents: V, S, M (a dead body anointed with special herbs and oils worth 5,000 gp that are consumed in the casting)Duration: Instantaneous

You transfer the soul of a creature who has died in another world into the dead body of a creature in your world. This ritual works on the body of any creature except for a Celestial, Construct, Elemental, Fiend, or Undead, provided that the body is relatively intact.

The soul retains its personality and alignment but gains all its new body’s physical traits and abilities. It can call on its memories and use them as it sees fit. This ritual also allows the newly transferred soul to understand Common and any language its new body previously had access to.

A creature brought back to life by this ritual possesses the statistics of the relevant creature (such as that of an owlbear) or class levels, as appropriate, though you can never transfer a soul into a body whose level exceeds your own.

SUMMON HERO

9th-Circle Arcane (Conjuration, Ritual)

Casting Time: 1 hourRange: 30 feetComponents: V, S, M (a magic weapon placed within a magic circle inscribed with powdered silver worth 1,000 gp. The magic weapon is consumed in the casting)Duration: Instantaneous

You summon a hero from another world. The hero gets no saving throw against the spell but is not trapped within the magic circle and is free to act as it sees fit.

When you cast the spell, you determine what sort of hero you summon and their relevant skills and abilities depending on the type of magic weapon you place within the magic circle. For example, a magic longsword calls upon a hero capable of wielding such a blade, while a magic staff within the circle would call upon a hero adept at wielding magic.

This spell can never call a hero whose level exceeds your own.

Games Workshop: Advent Engine Day 5 – ‘Branching Out’

3 years ago Bert Ballast

It’s Advent Engine time and Day 5 is here! It looks like this time around it’s branching out into new territory.

Okay, maybe it’s not entirely ‘new’ territory as this is still teasing a new model. But at least it IS new!
Welcome to the Advent Engine! It’s that special time of year when Games Workshop’s teaser department kicks into overdrive and we get the Advent Engine every day for (almost) a month! Today we’ve got a new teaser preview and it’s certainly something…
via Warhammer Community
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“Here in the northern hemisphere, we are deep in the embrace of winter’s chill, but today the Advent Engine is reminding us that fresh buds of spring will return. Just what we need to get us through the long dark.”

Advent Engine – ‘Branching Out’
I think (based on the text at least) this is probably a newly budding tree of some type. Either that or a stick in the mud. It wouldn’t be the first time that GW rotated an image to mess with us! That said, if this is a tree branch with some fresh buds on it, then that means new life. What faction could possibly be associated with new life?

Oh. Right. Could this be a Sylvaneth? I would make the most sense being a tree and all.
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However, I’m no botanist or master of dendrology — so forgive me if I’m mixing up my trees here. But, for some reason, I associate Sylvaneth with Oak trees and those DO bud. A quick google search will show off what those look like. And while they are similar to the image above, they aren’t 100% exact. But that could just be some artistic license there. Also, these are magic trees so /shrug — who knows what they would look like in the “bud” stage.

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This doesn’t scream “Oak” to me either…
In anycase, they aren’t the only tree faction out there. And perhaps those are antlers instead of a tree branch. I’ve never seen antlers look like that but, again, magic right? Perhaps it’s infected?

I’m just not going to rule that out. In the meantime, if you’ve got any clues or guesses drop us a line in the comments with those ideas, too!
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Previous Advent Engines:
Day One – ‘Wings And More To Come’
Day Two – ‘Now That’s A Purity Seal’
Day Three – ‘Minefield’
Day Four – ‘Fur Cape’

If this one isn’t Sylvaneth related then what faction could it be?

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Vice City Beckons With A New, Gator-Filled ‘GTA 6’ Trailer

3 years ago Bert Ballast

After someone “leaked” the Grand Theft Auto VI trailer, Rockstar released it early. Gators, social media, and crime ensued within.

The new Grand Theft Auto 6 trailer was an absolute roller coaster yesterday. First, it was leaked ahead of schedule, and then Rockstar had to quickly follow up with the official release.
Now that it’s out in the world, the hype, thus far at least, seems entirely warranted. Because to say that this trailer hits the ground running is to say that Henry Kissinger’s death was only kind of nice. Once it gets started, the trailer doesn’t stop delivering everything you’d want to see in your GTA.
For starters, in the GTA 6 trailer, we return to Vice City and its surrounding state, Leonida. Leonida takes a cue from America’s most memeable state, and manages to be home to even more Leonida Mans (Leonida Men? Leonidas Man?) than you might expect. It’s also surprisingly full of gators, and yet, despite all that, still has nothing on Florida.
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GTA 6 Trailer – Gators, Bikinis, Crimes
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The GTA 6 trailer wastes no time. We meet our setting, Vice City, meet our “heroine” Lucia, as Tom Petty’s “Love is a Long Road” starts blaring up. And then it’s a quick intro into not just Vice City, but the area around it. In fact, in the first few moments of the trailer, there’s a surprising number of animals.

On the beach, there are birds and dolphins.

We head out into the Everglades (or whatever the Rockstar name for them will be, probably something more clever than Neverglades) on a fan boat. Find a whole lot of Flamingos.

And then, just when you’re thinking this is a surprising amount of birds, the trailer takes you right back to Vice City and all the GTA elements we’re familiar with. Beaches. Bikinis. Car chases. Boat chases. Strip clubs.
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You know, the whole nine yards. And then, the game starts showing off some new hotness. GTA 6 will lean heavily into what’s going on right here, right now. Including the endless doomscrolling, which you can see in the in-game social media clips.

And of course, people have already started grabbing actual social media handles that match the ones made up in the game. And then after this, it gets excessively Florida/Leonia, with a Gator on the run, an old man in a speedo watering his lawn, you know, normal stuff.

GTA 6 will release in 2025. And at this moment, only on next-gen consoles, though if history has anything to teach us, the PC port will follow. Eventually.

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Bell of Lost Souls Staff Writer and DM, J.R. covers RPGs of all stripes and on occasion eats sandwiches. You can ask him about either at [email protected]

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Warhammer: Horus Heresy – How The FAQs And Errata Updates Impact Your Army

3 years ago Bert Ballast

The Horus Heresy just received a MASSIVE wave of FAQs and Errata. Your army will be impacted by these changes.

Games Workshop has reviewed and updated just about every army with the new Horus Heresy FAQs. There is a batch of changes/clarifications in the Core Rules that will have an affect on your games. A few of the main changes include an update to Reactions and a clean-up of how Graviton and Haywire apply to mixed squads. And those are just in the Core Rules.
GW touched on the Libers Astartes, Hereticus, Imperium and Mechanicum. They even went into Exemplary Battles and Legacy units, too! It’s a huge batch of updates to the game.

via Warhammer Community
“Warhammer: The Horus Heresy is a game of fierce, bloody battles set during an all-consuming galactic civil war. A large number of new units and rules publications have been added to the game since its release last year, and the team has spent time poring over the vast majority of the currently published material, answering questions, adjusting values for some Legacy units, and clearing up certain rules in a series of Errata and FAQ documents.”
Horus Heresy FAQs And Errata
Core Rulebook FAQ & Errata Download

This is the main chunk of the Errata/Rules updates. There’s also an additional Rules Commentary as well as an FAQ section that clarifies quite a few other rules, too.
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As you can see above, there’s a TON of things that got touched on within the Core Rules. Be sure to read them carefully or better yet download the document and read it in its entirety. You’re going to want to be update to date on these rules if you’re playing Horus Heresy.
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As for the rest of the documents, they each got updates but they aren’t quite as extensive. But they are quite impactful on their respective armies.
Liber Astartes FAQ & Errata Download
Liber Hereticus FAQ & Errata Download
Liber Imperium FAQ & Errata Download
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Liber Mechanicum FAQ & Errata Download
The final batch of FAQs & Errata apply to the Legacy Factions and units. From Legiones Astartes to Imperial Militia Voidjumpers, there are quite a few units that have received updates.
Legacy of the Legiones Astartes FAQ & Errata Download
Legacy of the Solar Auxilia FAQ & Errata Download
Legacy of the Imperialis Militia FAQ & Errata Download
With all these updates it’s safe to say that the entire game just got an update. Lots of these changes might be clarifications or minor tweaks but they are changes nonetheless. If you’re playing Horus Heresy we highly encourage you to download these documents and read the updates. Obviously, the core rules and your respective army should be your main priority.

What do you think of all these updates for The Horus Heresy?

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My Little Pony RPG Tells the 'Story of the Seasons'

3 years ago Bert Ballast

Renegade Game Studios will release Story of the Seasons, a new adventure soucebook for My Little Pony RPG, into retail in March 2024.
This adventure sourcebook contains four seasonal adventures for MYLP RPG as well as a variety of source material. The source material includes rules for downtime, details on festivals in Equestria, and a gazetteer featuring Ponyville’s most exciting locations. There are also rules for playing a new creature type: Griffons. The adventures are for characters of any level and the book provides 12 story seeds for future adventures in Equestria.It will retail for $45.00.
Renegade Game Studios also revealed Dark Skies Over Equestria, a new My Little Pony RPG Adventure Series Book (see “‘Dark Skies Over Equestria'”).

Tabletop Creators Summit returns in 2024 with more expert advice and networking for designers, publishers and industry pros

3 years ago Bert Ballast

We’re delighted to announce that the Tabletop Creators Summit, Dicebreaker’s free event for designers, publishers and other members of the tabletop industry, will return to London next spring after a successful launch earlier this year.

The Tabletop Creators Summit was held this past May as a free event for designers, publishers and all those involved in making tabletop games, whether first-time creators looking to launch their first game or established companies working on their next crowdfunding campaign.

The day-long event held during MCM Comic Con in London’s ExCeL opened with a series of talks from industry experts from major companies such as BackerKit, Panda Game Manufacturing and Osprey Games on topics including crowdfunding, manufacturing and marketing and PR. In the afternoon, designers and publishers were able to meet, share ideas and discuss future collaboration during an open networking event, before a free drinks reception in the evening.

Check out the winners from our latest event, the 2023 Tabletop Awards!

Our first Tabletop Creators Summit launched with a bang, far exceeding our wildest attendance expectations and being received with universally glowing feedback from attendees there on the day and those around the industry. We were delighted with the reception – and thrilled to be able to bring it back!

Our second Tabletop Creators Summit will build on that strong foundation with an even closer focus on supporting those working in the tabletop RPG scene. Future summits will similarly offer talks, panels and networking opportunities closely tailored to other parts of the tabletop industry in order to give every attendee the most helpful advice possible and allow them to meet those working in the same space.

The second Tabletop Creators Summit will be held on Friday, May 24th during MCM Comic Con London. Save the date! The event will take place in the Platinum Suite of the London ExCeL convention centre.

Further sign-up details will be released in early 2024, along with the first details of our headline speakers and attending companies.

The first Tabletop Creators Summit event was supported by our Headline Sponsor Misty Mountain Gaming. Gifts for attendees – including premium dice sets and manufacturing toolkits – were provided thanks to the support of Misty Mountain Gaming and Panda Game Manufacturing.

For sponsorship and partnership opportunities at the May 2024 Tabletop Creators Summit, please email contact@dicebreaker.com.

Goodman Goes Exclusive with Diamond Book Distributors

3 years ago Bert Ballast

Goodman Games has inked an exclusive deal with Diamond Book Distributors for distribution of their products into the North American and international book markets.
Goodman Games is the longtime publisher of the Dungeon Crawl Classics RPG, a sword and sorcery RPG that revives classic RPG adventures from the past. They also produce rulebooks for 5E, a sci-fi line called Mutant Crawl Classics, and other RPG source material. Most recently they licensed Grimtooth’s Traps from Rebellion Unplugged to produce new DCC RPG and 5E books (see “‘Grimtooth’s Traps'”).“Diamond is the gold standard in book trade distribution,” said Joseph Goodman, founder of Goodman Games. “They’re selective in which RPG publishers they represent, and we are very pleased to be working with them.”
Goodman Games also recently announced Dungeon Crawl Classics: Tome of Adventure – Purple Planet, which is headed to BackerKit in February 2024 (see “‘DCC: Tome of Adventure – Purple Planet'”).

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‘Doctor Who’, “Wild Blue Yonder” and the Trauma of Time

3 years ago Bert Ballast

In the Doctor Who episode “Wild Blue Yonder” the Doctor and Donna must face themselves. And also aliens who look just like them.
There’s an obvious parallel to draw with the second of the three Doctor Who 60th anniversary specials, “Wild Blue Yonder”. It is, at its most basic level, a story where evil aliens quickly learn to imitate the Doctor and Donna with the goal of taking over their lives. And, of course, being evil, they mean to use those lives to destroy everything they can.
We see a much smaller version of this in the 2008 Doctor Who episode “Midnight“. However, “Midnight” exists primarily as a means to reveal the importance of the Doctor’s companion by exposing the Doctor’s primary weakness: namely that they are an immortal who needs a human companion to ground them and back them up. Without Donna in “Midnight,” the Doctor talks their way out of control of a deadly situation and nearly has their life taken over by an evil alien copying them.
But that’s not what “Wild Blue Yonder” is about. Yes, it literally has the same conceit in a much bigger-budgeted shell. However, this story is about something much more relatable: it’s about getting older, living through trauma, and feeling alienated from the rest of the world in the process. It’s seeking escape from that trauma in the past only to get retraumatized instead.
It’s a story about the Doctor, Donna, and how their relationship is not the same as it once was. How do they relate to each other now? Is their shared love still enough to help repair years of hardships?
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Courtesy of BBC Worldwide
The Double Doctor Donna
The bulk of “Wild Blue Yonder” takes place on a spaceship, starless and black, at the edge of the universe. However, before that, Donna and the Doctor briefly nip back in time to 1666 and meet Sir Isaac Newton. The sequence plays for laughs. Donna and the Doctor joke around and make a terrible gravity pun. And, in the process, they accidentally cause “gravity” to be renamed “mavity”. It’s just like old times.
Except it isn’t. Because for Donna, it’s been 15 years and for the Doctor, it’s been, technically speaking, billions more than that. The pair want a proverbial vacation from their problems. Instead, they wind up coming, quite literally, face-to-face with them.
Even before they encounter aliens who want to imitate them and take over their lives, there are already two sets of the Doctor and Donna. There’s the version of them they want to be, the people they were when they first traveled together. And there’s the people they are now: older, frailer, and sometimes harder, too, if only out of necessity.
Russell T Davies provides a perfect visual metaphor with these mysterious aliens taking on the Doctor and Donna’s shapes. The aliens learn to be more like Donna and the Doctor by scaring them—and, more importantly, by exposing their pain. This spaceship is a hell of the Doctor and Donna’s worst fears and memories and the devils tormenting them have stolen their faces.
Courtesy of BBC Worldwide
Donna
When the TARDIS leaves Donna and the Doctor stranded, Donna panics. She says three words: “Rose is waiting.” And those words tell us so much about the woman Donna has become in the intervening 15 years since she and the Doctor last traveled together.
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Like any parent, Donna’s greatest strength and her greatest weakness is her love for her child. Rose’s well-being is as constant a part of Donna as her own heartbeat.
In the first Doctor Who 60th special “The Star Beast” we see a neighborhood kid deadname Rose because she’s a nonbinary trans femme. And you can bet that there’s a lot more punishment where that came from. Every time Rose hurts, Donna feels it, too. But she can’t show it. Not to Rose. It’s clear Donna sees it as her responsibility as Rose’s mother to be stronger than diamond, even when she feels so brittle she could shatter.
Rose is Donna’s whole world. And part of that goes beyond motherhood. Because for those 15 years, Donna cannot remember her time with the Doctor or she will die. Donna knows she’s lost something but she has no idea what. Before Donna’s memories finally return, she carries around a loss she can never name so she can never heal. Not all trauma comes from what we remember. Sometimes it comes from what we can’t.
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And now all of a sudden here Donna is, memories back, but she’s trapped. She can’t get back to Rose. And she’s not even begun to integrate these memories of her time with the Doctor. She wants to be who she was before. But she can’t. She barely knows who she is now.
And who is the Doctor now? Is this someone Donna can still trust?
Courtesy of BBC Worldwide
The Doctor
The aliens copying the Doctor and Donna terrify them in countless and horrifying ways. But the cruelest torment comes when the faux Donna tricks the Doctor by naming the pain they are carrying.
Faux Donna has more than just Donna’s memories, she can also see what the Doctor’s been through. And to convince the Doctor that she is the real Donna, she gives them the one thing they need most: a friend who already knows and understands their trauma.
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Faux Donna tells the Doctor that, because of the meta crisis that links them, she remembers everything that’s happened to them since they split. That includes the Doctor finding out they are not from Gallifrey, that they have no idea where they are from, only that they were taken and tortured by the Timelords. And Faux Donna talks about the Flux and how it destroyed half the universe. She tells the Doctor it’s not their fault. She knows their pain. And she understands.
It’s in this moment that the Doctor admits to themselves how alone they feel with their trauma. But as they reach out for a healing embrace, the Faux Donna melts into a puddle of goo—and she laughs. She laughs because she gave the Doctor false hope and then snatched it away.
To talk about trauma is to relive it. And after the Doctor runs from Faux Donna they begin slamming into walls, screaming in anguish. The Doctor is desperate for Donna to know and to understand. They crave the past as an escape even more than Donna does. But the path forward requires accepting that that’s not possible.
Courtesy of BBC Worldwide
Kaboom
The former captain of the spaceship has set it to explode, albeit very slowly. The reason is obvious: the shape-shifting aliens can never escape because they will bring war and destruction with them. And, once again, there’s a synchronicity here. The Doctor and Donna have to escape from those nightmare copycat aliens before the spaceship explodes, but they also have to leave behind a fantasy in the blast, too. They have to leave behind the fiction of going backward, of undoing their pain.
In the TARDIS we find out that the real Donna doesn’t have the Doctor’s memories. She does want to know what happened, it’s just that the Doctor isn’t ready to tell her. It’s a powerful moment where both of them realize that they aren’t who they used to be, not on their own, and not together. They love each other. But they can’t cure one another’s trauma in a moment, not just by being together again.
But then they find themselves back on Earth and who do they see? Wilfred Mott. His smile. His glimmer. The Doctor never thought they’d see Wilf again. And Donna never even knew there was a connection she and her granddad had lost. They didn’t need to run to the past for him. He’s right here, right now. Even though it’s only for a moment.
Because in that shared moment between the three of them, there is an acknowledgment: even when the walls are built up from ceiling to core, the trauma of time that leaves the sky looking starless and black can still heal. If you look hard enough, if you just keep going, there is a glimmer. And that is enough. That’s a start.

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Lina is a 10+ year entertainment journalist veteran whose bylines include SYFY Wire, Looper, and Screen Fanatic. She has written comic scripts for IDW Comics and Zenescope Enetertainment and has written Doctor Who shorts for BBC Worldwide. She is a long-time podcast host and producer who has worked on Who Won the Week, SYFY’s Every Day series, and the Amazon podcast Untold Story. She currently co-hosts the New York Times recommended podcast Song vs Song.

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Minis Spotlight: Synthwave Nids, Fulgrim Transfigured, and More

3 years ago Bert Ballast

Author: Matt Sall

Payday developer is working on a co-op, live service Dungeons & Dragons video game

3 years ago Bert Ballast

Hot on the heels of Baldur’s Gate 3 and its meteoric success, the studio behind the Payday series has announced an upcoming video game set in the world of Dungeons & Dragons.

Starbreeze Entertainment announced Project Baxter (an internal name) in a December 4th press release, saying that it has licensed the D&D intellectual property from Wizards of the Coast and is currently aiming for a 2026 release date. Project Baxter will “carry the signature Starbreeze game cornerstones of co-operative multiplayer, lifetime commitment through a Games as a Service-model, community engagement and a larger than life experience,” the release said.

Starbreeze will act as publisher on top of development duties using Unreal Engine 5 – the most recent and powerful engine will be the core of dozens of upcoming titles such as The Witcher 4, S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl and Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II. The studio currently anticipates launching on all major platforms (XBox, Playstation and PC) with cross-platform play included.

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Baldur’s Gate 3’s ENTIRE CAST on bringing the D&D video game to life
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“It is hard to imagine a better pairing than Dungeons & Dragons® and Starbreeze – both with their foundation in cooperative and community driven experiences, ‘play it your way’ and infinite replayability,” said Tobias Sjögren, Starbreeze CEO. “Development of the game is in full swing, and we are excited to deliver an amazing Dungeons & Dragons action-adventure in 2026.”

“Dungeons and Dragons is having an extraordinary year,” said Eugene Evans, SVP Digital Strategy and Licensing at Wizards of the Coast and Hasbro. “Our gaming brands, including Dungeons & Dragons, continue to attract great partners as we execute our plan to grow our digital games portfolio through licensing and development. Our collaboration with Starbreeze is a prime illustration of this strategy. Given their impressive games and passion for Dungeons & Dragons, we are confident that they will create an experience that will delight fans worldwide.”

Hasbro executed the first stages of this aforementioned plan several years ago, but the results were middling – Dungeons & Dragons: Dark Alliance transmuted the IP’s fantasy fun into muddling toil. That didn’t stop WotC CEO Cynthia Williams from highlighting further digital ventures as a key method for monetising the D&D brand.

Image credit: Starbreeze Entertainment

Prior to the roaring and somewhat surprising success of Larian’s Baldur’s Gate 3, Wizards of the Coast had cancelled five ongoing video game projects, signalling a general lack of commitment in developing D&D video games in-house. Instead, the Hasbro-owned company has gone the route of tabletop peer Games Workshop – lincense that IP out to as many contracted studios as possible and hope one of the lines snag a fat, Baldur’s Gate 3-sized fish.

Two pieces of concept art shared with the announcement show a medieval-ish city abutting a castle in the distance, along with character art of a battle wizard toting a glowing staff and spell tome. The vibe certainly fits D&D’s high fantasy pastiche, but the gameplay remains a bit of a mystery. Will we be looting royal coffers via heists, where the druid sprouts vines up to a side access and the wizard blasts open the vault door while the bard soothes the, er… court hostages?

Starbreeze’s Payday 3 launched in September but stumbled thanks to a bevy of matchmaking software issues, communication issues and delayed patches to fix the initial bugs. The third entry in the popular multiplay co-op series was eventually deemed a success, but that black spot apparently limited its ongoing popualrity.

Goatboy’s Warhammer 40K Hot Mess: Battleline Units

3 years ago Bert Ballast

I just noticed almost no winning 10th Edition 40K lists are running Battleline units. GW needs to fix that!

As I pour over winning 40K armylists to figure out what I can write about it did come to my attention that almost all the armies didn’t even have any Battleline units! I mean, sure the new Chaos Knight army is all Battleline, but most of the armies that had units in booties did not utilize really any Battleline boots.

Do Battleline Units Have a Place in 10th?
It’s a shame too as while there is some fun in building lists with various methods of mayhem. But we have to wonder – was all this freedom worth it? Have we lost the soul of the 40K battlefield in losing the need to utilize your Battleline (or Troops as us old timers knew these units as). I know we have all talked about it before, but should we even still have Battleline units in the game?
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Do we run the risk of making a Battleline unit too good that having 6 of them on the tabletop would end up being too much for game right now? Do we make a tax for all armies to try and utilize Battleline units? The worry is that what is a tax for one army could end up being a bountiful option for another. Can we at least just make the Chaos Daemon Battleline units good?
So how do we fix them? Make them cheap as heck so taking them seems like a slam dunk just by having bodies on the table top? Do we just make everyone take them due to how their detachments work now? Do we somehow fix how games are scored to make them good?

Fix Battleline Points
The first thing, is we need to make sure the Battleline units are all within the same range of points, unit sizes, and what not. I think anything that is Battleline should have a similar level of points to unit size, wounds, and options whether it’s a Space Marine Intercessor, or a T’au Empire fire Warrior. This way, everyone has access to something that is evenly balanced between all the armies. So if it is a tax to take it – it isn’t too bad to have it in your list.

Fix Battleline Scoring
You could also do something where these units can score more points during a game. Maybe they get a bonus if they deploy the teleport homer. Maybe they can get bonus points if they hold an objective. Right now it seems to be sticky objectives is how they push them. However, with armies becoming so hard-hitting it is less of a thing to sticky an objective. Why not do something where they can hold it and get more points?

Battleline CP Bonuses!
On the realm of holding objectives why not let your Battleline units that hold an objective let you roll X amount of dice to try and “channel” extra CP? For each objective they hold, you can roll an extra d6, and if you roll one 5+ you get a CP? Would that be too powerful to add on for them?
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Part of me loves the freedom in list building now, but that is the guy who loves to play a ton of monsters. I do think having a bit more interaction between those Combat Patrols and real army lists would be better for the game as you try and design where new players go after buying their first dip of plastic crack. It just makes some sense to me to let those Battleline units actually do something instead of – just sitting on the shelf badly painted.
How would you fix Battleline Units in 10th?

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This Week’s Warhammer 40K Products & Pricing CONFIRMED – Necromunda Tauros, Heresy Librarian Arrive!

3 years ago Bert Ballast

We return to the nightmare hiveworld of Necromunda, and uncover more Horus Heresy marines. Take a look at these prices.

It’s a happy holiday season indeed with both Necromunda and Horus Heresy releases. The Palanite Enforcers receive reinforcements, and the Horus Heresy Legions have new recruits! Here are the latest releases.
GW says all of these kits go up for preorder on December 16, and have a street date of January 6.

Necromunda Apocrypha $50 €40 £30
“Enhance your Necromunda campaigns with a collection of out-of-print, updated, and brand-new rules and twists on regular proceedings for players and campaign arbitrators. This 128-page book contains guidelines for creating antagonists, creating campaign locales, details on resurrection packages, scenarios, uprising campaigns set in Hive Arcos and more. It’s coming in hardback and ePub formats.”

Palanite Enforcer Tauros Venator $60 €45 £35
“Take your Palanite Enforcers beyond the walls of Hive Primus and onto the roads and plains of the ash wastes with the Tauros Venator. This rugged, high-speed vehicle can be equipped with a twin-linked heavy stubber or a twin-linked concussion cannon for dispensing the Enforcers’ unique brand of restorative justice.”

Thousand Sons Librarian Consul $45 €35 £27.50
“The Thousand Sons were exquisite psykers before the Edict of Nikea outlawed the use of powers across the Imperium, and not even the absolute decree of the Emperor could stop the Prosperans from dabbling in warp-touched sorcery. Armed with a powerful force weapon and their own prodigious psychic talents, the Thousand Sons Librarian Consul is a Forge World resin miniature with a choice of either a bare or helmed head.”
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That Tauros makes even Necromunda seem like a great holiday destination!

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Dungeons & Dragons

Peril in Pinebrook: A Free Introductory Adventure for Young Players

3 years ago Bert Ballast

Peril in Pinebrook is a free, introductory adventure designed for new and young Dungeons & Dragons players and inspired by The Practically Complete Guide to Dragons. For a more accessible experience, it includes a simplified version of fifth edition’s rules and premade character sheets.
The adventure is recommended for four players, plus a Dungeon Master, and can be run in a single game session lasting 60 to 90 minutes, or be broken up into six 10- to 15-minute sessions. Peril in Pinebrook is only available to download as a PDF. Grab your copy today and jump into play within minutes!

What You’ll Find in Peril in Pinebrook

A short, self-contained adventure
Text for new Dungeon Masters to read aloud, including text for play setup
Tips for encouraging roleplay and keeping the adventure moving
4 premade character sheets
Simplified rules, so there’s no need to reference other D&D rules

What to Expect When Playing D&D
Dungeons & Dragons is a cooperative storytelling game. In every game, there is one Dungeon Master and typically four to six players. Each player acts as a heroic character who takes on quests, fights monsters, and solves puzzles. The DM describes the world around these characters, presents obstacles to be overcome, and roleplays as non-player characters (NPCs), such as the town mayor, bandits, or even a talking squirrel.
Because the players can freely act as their characters, you never know what they’ll say or what they’ll do. DMs, likewise, have all the opportunity to surprise their players. Perhaps that kind merchant you meet on the road is really a silver dragon in disguise!
There are a variety of rules that work as a framework for your game experience. Peril in Pinebrook is self-contained, so you have everything you need in the PDF to run and play your first D&D adventure.

Continue the Fun With D&D Beyond
If you enjoy Peril in Pinebrook, we offer another free play experience for new players and their DMs, Intro to Stormwreck Isle. To access this adventure, you’ll need to sign up for D&D Beyond, the official digital toolset for Dungeons & Dragons. D&D Beyond offers tools that make it easy to learn and play D&D, including a character creator and character sheets with integrated dice rolling, as well as access to the Basic Rules of the game.

What Is The Practically Complete Guide to Dragons?
Soak in the magic and might of one of the most revered monsters in D&D with The Practically Complete Guide to Dragons. The illustrated guide reveals the secrets of dragons and expands their lore. Find out what kind of treasures and foods different types of dragons prefer, explore their lairs, and more!
You can flip through The Practically Complete Guide to Dragons at your leisure or use it to add depth to your D&D adventures. It’s a great read, as much for young dragon enthusiasts as for experienced DMs.

Michael Galvis (@michaelgalvis) is a tabletop content producer for D&D Beyond. He is a longtime Dungeon Master who enjoys horror films and all things fantasy and sci-fi. When he isn’t in the DM’s seat or rolling dice as his anxious halfling sorcerer, he’s playing League of Legends and Magic: The Gathering with his partners. They live together in Los Angeles with their adorable dogs, Quentin and Eliot.

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‘Godzilla vs Kong: The New Empire’ – The Icons Team Up to Fight a Monstrous New Threat

3 years ago Bert Ballast

The two icons return to the screen next year in Godzilla vs Kong: The New Empire. This time they’re teaming up to take out a new, dangerous enemy.

2021’s Godzilla vs Kong is a campy romp with plenty of giant monsters fighting while wrecking cities. There are no excess, time-eating scenes filled with explanations and pontificating or slo-mo. The story gives what you need to know when you need to know it, and added background information doesn’t get in the way of the ride. Is it the best movie ever? No. Is it even in the top 5 Godzilla movies? No. But it is a great popcorn movie you can enjoy without feeling tired at the end.
Its hybrid release during the tail end of the pandemic closures led to record streaming numbers, so of course, we’re getting more for better or worse. I saw Godzilla Minus One this weekend – I’m leaning toward worse.

Godzilla vs Kong: The New Empire Trailer
Godzilla vs Kong: The New Empire starts not too long after the last movie. Instead of more infighting, the duo band together to fight against a new, mysterious red ape that wants to wipe humanity off the map.
Kong and Godzilla have experienced some upgrades since we last saw them. Along with their newfound alliance, the giant lizard has gone from emitting blue energy to pink, and Kong has some new weaponry… and a kid.
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If you like giant CG monster fights, this looks like a good bet. It isn’t going to be Citizen Kane or an Oscar contender; it shouldn’t be. Let’s just hope it has a decent corny/serious balance so it’s fun and not a drag.
Director Adam Wingard told IGN he is letting the monsters tell their own stories.

The skills that it takes to create a giant monster movie are so specific that you have to learn them, and only at the end of production was I like, ‘Oh wait, now I know. I had all these different ideas of what I would do next time and how I could improve upon it.So much of the film is entirely animated CG shots; so much of it is just pure imagination. We have some sequences going up to about eight minutes long, where it’s just the monsters doing their thing, and so the movie really allows the monsters to tell their own narrative in a visual, nonverbal way.

via Warner Bros.

Godzilla vs Kong: The New Empire Cast & Details
The film stars Rebecca Hall, Brian Tyree Henry, Dan Stevens, Kaylee Hottle, Alex Ferns, and Fala Chen. Director Adam Wingard is at the helm once again, and Godzilla vs. Kong writer Terry Rossio is behind the script.
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The epic battle continues! Legendary Pictures’ cinematic Monsterverse follows up the explosive showdown of “Godzilla vs. Kong” with an all-new adventure that pits the almighty Kong and the fearsome Godzilla against a colossal undiscovered threat hidden within our world, challenging their very existence—and our own. “Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire” delves further into the histories of these Titans and their origins, as well as the mysteries of Skull Island and beyond, while uncovering the mythic battle that helped forge these extraordinary beings and tied them to humankind forever.

Godzilla vs Kong: The New Empire hits theaters on April 12th.

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Pop culture writer and news editor that has been on the BoLS team since 2010. Contributor on the One of Us podcast. Marvel, Vertigo, Batman, and dystopian sci-fi fan. Enjoys bad movies, amazing stunt performances, and the internet. Hates rom-coms. (she/they)

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Let’s Play D&D in ‘Die Hard’

3 years ago Bert Ballast

Yippee-ki-yay and happy holidays, this week we’re visiting Nakatomi Plaza to play D&D in everyone’s favorite maybe-a-Christmas movie.

Mid-December is the perfect time to sit down and watch what could or could not be a Christmas action movie. And an even better time to jump in and play it yourself. Modern setting aside, Die Hard is the perfect backdrop for a D&D adventure. Every character is a caricature, the action of over the top, and it takes place in one enclosed building. It’s a dungeon crawl. So let’s jump right into the Nakatomi dungeon and play D&D with…

John McClane

If you haven’t seen Die Hard in a few years, a few things aged like milk. But what really struck me as an-adult-watching-Die-Hard is that John McClane… is sort of an idiot. But he’s a resourceful, lucky, hard-to-kill idiot who is ridiculously good at shooting things and crawling through vents for some reason.
I decided to lean into that by choosing Fighter and Gunslinger. Perhaps Paladin would have better captured his law enforcement background, but to me, Paladin implies believing in something. And I’m not sure John McClane believes in anything at all. Plus Paladins have magic, and John isn’t a magic guy, he likes to keep it simple. He’s got a gun and another gun taped to his back and he’s good to go.
It’s important to point out that neither of these characters has armor, and John loses layers of clothing throughout the movie as if to expose as much of his bare skin to broken glass and open fires as possible, so of course, there is none to be found on the character’s sheet. To make up for that I gave him the feat Tough so he had a few more hit points to mess around with.

Hans Gruber
Seeing Alan Rickman this young is also a trip.

In complete contrast to John is Hans Gruber, who is very smart and seems to have every step of the Nakatomi Plaza heist planned out. Y’kow, with the exception of some guy with a gun coming in and saving (or possibly ruining) the day. I chose High Elf for him mostly because of his haughty and fancy attitude about things like expensive suits and feigned respect. And a little because of the accent.
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Besides that, most of his sheet comes back to his knack for planning with an added side emphasis on performance and deception. After all, he (almost) successfully tricked John into thinking he was regular ol’ Bill American-Dude. He’s also missing armor because despite knowing that explosions and police action were part of the plan, he didn’t seem to have any protective clothing or even anything heavier than a designer suit. But let’s be honest, you’d be playing Hans with a pack of hired goons, so does it really matter? Just throw bodies at that problem. They’ll be your armor for you. Merry Christmas!

How would you have made the Die Hard characters for Dungeons and Dragons? Is Die Hard a Christmas movie? What movies, shows, or characters would you like to see me make D&D character sheets for next? Let us know in the comments!
Happy adventuring!
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‘Collectors’ is the Miniatures Storage Solution You’re Looking For

3 years ago Bert Ballast

Store and display even the largest miniature collection at an affordable price with Collectors from Draco Forge.

Looking for a storage solution for your army collection? A way to keep the minis for your D&D campaign together and easily accessible? Maybe a new, secure way to organize your painting workflow? Collectors from Draco Forge is for you.
The Collectors system is an affordable and flexible way to store your miniatures. The customizable system is designed to help you organize, store, and have easy access to your miniature collections. They are designed to feel like part of your furniture rather than just another display/transport option.
The entire system fits perfectly into the IKEA Kallax shelves we all use for storing board games and hobby supplies. The components are furniture grade. This gives you a custom-built look without the custom-built price.

Collectors Are Customizable
There are three sizes available, including two half sizes so that you can store your minis and game boxes in the same cubby. Each Collector contains adjustable shelves to handle everything from small troops to large monsters and vehicles. Mix and match to suit your needs.
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The Collectors system is made with large collections in mind. It houses a ton of minis for a low cost and without taking up a lot of shelf space.

The shelves slide out for easy access, and you can opt for metallic trays if your collection is magnetized or acrylic if you like the look. There’s also the availability to add a clear acrylic front cover to protect your minis from dust.

Collectors is a fantastic choice if you want a way to store and display your minis. It’s designed by gamers for gamers and has great features. The Kickstarter is live now – it’s fully funded, and the first stretch goal has been unlocked. Plus, Draco Forge has a business plan, manufacturing, and shipping in place already.
So… what are you waiting for? Get your miniatures organized without breaking the bank – snag some Collectors!

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Cyberpunk 2077 Gets Its Last Big Patch ‘Update 2.1’ Tomorrow

3 years ago Bert Ballast

CD Projekt RED gives Cyberpunk 2077 a fantastic sendoff in Update 2.1, which drops tomorrow and adds a ton to the game.

Cyberpunk 2077 shows that game launches mean nothing right now. It’s all about how you stick the landing. When the game initially launched, the hype for it outweighed the underwhelming performance. Lawsuits followed, money got involved.
But the development team at CD Projekt RED kept working. Sometimes in spite of grueling crunch. And then came Patch 1.5, which changed the game for the better, and brought back players who had left the game and swaths of new players.
Then came the excellent Edgerunners from Studio Trigger, and the trajectory of Cyberpunk changed forever. After that, Phantom Liberty and the 2.0 overhaul made the game feel like what it was meant to be. Now, with CD Projekt RED eyeing the Witcher 4 and Cyberpunk 2, whatever form that will take, the developers are set to give Cyberpuk 2077 one last ultimate edition sendoff with update 2.1.
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Cyberpunk 2077 – Update 2.1 Adds Implanted Radio, Hangouts, And More
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CD Projekt RED showed off some of the new features and improvements in a new video on the Cyberpunk 2077 YouTube channel. And, what a ride it is. Look, your time spent in Night City may vary. But this looks like a fantastic reason to start yet another playthrough.

Here’s just some of the features we get to see. V’s new Radioport means you can listen to tunes as you wander the streets on foot.

Metro Cards are a surprising update that I had no idea I wanted to see. But when you go to metro terminals, the doors will open and you’ll actually ride the metro as you fast travel. Which is cool.

And then of course there’s a new car, the Porsche 911 Cabriolet, as well as new bikes, improved bike combat, replayable car races, all adding to the vehicular mayhem in the previous overhaul from 2.0.
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Also Boss Fights have been improved, which we saw in a glimpse of a menacing new Adam Smasher fight, showing off the Sandevistan, albeit not as dramatically as he did in Edgerunners.

And more importantly, hangouts with your partner. This is just a simple, romantic update that lets you hang out with whoever V is romancing at the time. It’s lovely. Night City might not be a place for happy endings, but, boy can you enjoy the ride while you’re there.
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Cyberpunk 2077 Update 2.1 releases tomorrow!

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Bell of Lost Souls Staff Writer and DM, J.R. covers RPGs of all stripes and on occasion eats sandwiches. You can ask him about either at [email protected]

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Wizards of the Coast Shakes Up 'Magic: The Gathering' Pioneer and Modern Formats

3 years ago Bert Ballast

Wizards of the Coast updated their banned and restricted lists for Magic: The Gathering on December 4, 2023.
This update to the banned and restricted lists featured a few significant changes to Pioneer and Modern format. The new updates included the following moves:
Karn, the Great Creator and Geological Appraiser were banned in the Pioneer format.
Smuggler’s Copter was unbanned in the Pioneer format.
Fury and Up the Beanstalk were both banned in the Modern format.
Monastery Swiftspear was banned in the Pauper format.

The two cards banned in Pioneer were of no shock what-so-ever to anyone currently playing the format. Karn, the Great Creator was a metagame breaking card that allowed players to search their sideboards for answers to threats and win via combo strategies. Geological Appraiser was clear mistake from the very first day The Lost Caverns of Ixalan was legal in Pioneer. The card basically allowed players to win the game on turn three fairly consistently through a Discover combo.
However, the unbanning of Smuggler’s Copter was a bit of a surprise. This card was among the first cards banned in Pioneer (see “Pioneer Format Bannings”), and now, it’s back. WotC staff believes the Pioneer format has evolved enough that it can absorb the impact of this powerful vehicle card.
The Modern bannings were a long-time coming. Fury has been the oppressive force behind Rakdos Scam decks for quite a while, and needed to go so that certain creature decks could be competitive in the format. Up the Beanstalk was just a mistake, where designers clearly hadn’t factored Fury and Solitude into their decision to allow this card to be legal in Modern. Up the Beanstalk essentially negated the drawback to the Evoke cost on these cards by allowing the player to draw a card upon evoking these creatures. Up the Beanstalk was too good in Omnath decks, and now it is banned.

D&D: ‘Payday 3’ Developer Starbreeze Teases New Co-Op Video Game ‘ProjectBaxter’

3 years ago Bert Ballast

Exactly what it says on the tin, folks. Starbreeze, the developers of Payday 3, revealed they’re working on a new D&D co-op game.

In the dozen or so metaphorical years and three actual ones that have transpired since 2020, we have heard that the future of D&D (and WotC) is digital. From corporate restructuring and a shiny new logo, to the release of new D&D video games, some amazing, others that… well to say they fell flat is a charity. The 2021 Dark Alliance release didn’t do well enough to spark outrage at how buggy and unplayable it was when it stumbled out of the gate.

Alongside all of this, WotC has been quietly opening up video game studios and starting development on many as-yet-unannounced projects. Only now, one of them is slightly more announced.
Starbreeze, the developers of Payday 3, have just teased the existence of a new “internal project, set in the world of Dungeons & Dragons.” Codenamed “Project Baxter,” this appears to be a new co-op D&D game set to release in 2026.
Accompanying the news are two images and a whole lot of buzzwords. Let’s take a look.
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Starbreeze Teases New D&D Game, “Project Baxter”

Here’s the full text of the update on Starbreeze’s website:

“‘Baxter’ is Starbreeze next internal project. Set in the world of Dungeons & Dragons®, the game will feature the signature game cornerstones of Starbreeze’ productions; co-operative multiplayer, lifetime commitment through a Games as a Service-model, community engagement and a larger than life experience. Project Baxter is set to launch on all major platforms in 2026 and will be produced in Unreal Engine 5. Stay tuned for more updates”

And attached to that was an image of a D&D city and a magic user published under the filename “Warrior_Publish.” But that probably doesn’t mean anything.

What is interesting are some of the quotes, including one from Tobias Sjögren, CEO of Starbreeze, who hopes they will deliver “an amazing Dungeons & Dragons action-adventure in 2026,” as well as one from WotC that says “our collaboration with Starbreeze is a prime illustration of our strategy.”

The fact that this is being developed as a Service Game may raise some hairs. Dark Alliance had a similar model and stumbled. But, both Payday 2 and Payday 3 had success in finding their communities. It’s just a question of what that gameplay will be. Fantasy Payday could be really fun. But, also Vermintide exists.
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Expect to see more as 2026 draws ever closer, despite fervent wishes that time would just chill out for a minute so we can all breathe.

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D&D: Five Ways To Recover When You Don’t Have Time To Rest

3 years ago Bert Ballast

Almost anything in D&D can be fixed with a good night’s sleep. But what do you do when you can’t get eight hours of shuteye?

In D&D, most everything can be cured with a good night’s sleep. An axe to the face? Severe blunt force trauma? Suppurating wounds? Even the soul-withering touch of an ancient spectre can be fixed with a little snack and eight solid hours of uninterrupted rest.
But what do you do when life imitates art, and your character doesn’t have time for a full Long Rest to cure what ails them? Here are some other solutions to turn to. As you might expect, most of the answers are magic.
Greater Restoration

Greater Restoration will cure most everything that ails you. It’s not exactly the same as eight hours of uninterrupted sleep. But it comes awfully close. This spell is one of the only non-sleep ways to restore a level of exhaustion, without actually stopping for a Long Rest. And if you don’t need that, it will also end an effect that is charming, petrifying, cursing, or reducing your hit point max or ability scores.
Sure, it’s a 5th level spell and it costs 100gp, but it’s absolutely worth it if you’re racing against the clock.
Heroes’ Feast

Food can be a good substitute for sleep, in D&D, as long as it’s magical. Heroes’ Feast is a fantastic way to keep the party going, even when you’re diseased and poisoned and down and out on hit points. It’s not as fast a spell as Greater Restoration, but this spell affects multiple creatures. If you eat from it, not only do you gain 2d10 extra hit points (increasing your maximum by the same amount for 24 hours), you also are cured of all diseases and poisons, becoming immune to the latter.
A good way to counteract the draining effects of undead who often reduce your hit point maximum in increments of 5.
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Prayer of Healing

Sometimes all you need is a quick break to freshen up. And Prayer of Healing allows you to top up pretty much everyone in your adventuring party with a single 2nd level spell. After Healing Spirit was nerfed, this is probably one of the more wide-reaching low-level healing spells, and it’ll get you ready to take on whatever else the DM has to throw at you.
Twilight Domain Cleric’s Channel Divinity

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Of course when you need to heal up, the Twilight Cleric’s Channel Divinity can keep you going. At least for one extra fight. It doesn’t actually heal, but it gives you the ability to grant any creature that ends its turn within your Twilight Sanctuary aura (a sizable 30 foot radius sphere) 1d6 temporary hit points without using up a reaction, action, or bonus action. You just get to do it.
It’s a great way to make everyone feel like they’ve had a rest even when they haven’t.
Reincarnate

Finally, though it may seem counterintuitive and expensive, it can be worth it just to let someone die and then bring them back in a hurry. If you absolutely have to get back to full health/cure that curse/disease/magical soulblight but only have an hour, just succumb to it.
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And then of course be sure you have a Druid or someone else that knows the Reincarnate spell. It will literally cure all wounds and refresh all levels of exahustion plus removing curses and ailments afflicting your old body. Because your old body will be dead but you’ll be reincarnated in a new body, magically created just for you. And all this with none of the debilitating penalties of a typical Resurrection spell.

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Warhammer: The Old World – Magic Rules Preview

3 years ago Bert Ballast

Get ready for a little Wizardry 101 from the Old World. Today we’re getting the lowdown on how spellcasting will work.

Warhammer: The Old World is taking some of the best ideas from various editions of Warhammer Fantasy and rolling them all into one. But the game designers aren’t just recycling the old rules. They are also making some tweaks to the game as well. We’ve covered the four phases of the game and old school fans have noted how there’s not a “magic phase” like in Warhammer Fantasy. So what gives? Turns out magic isn’t just a one-phase thing anymore…

via Warhammer Community
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“…if anything, magic is even more prevalent as it’s cast during every phase of the game.”
Magic In The Old World
Just to set the stage a bit, it’s important to know that The Old World is set before the time of the Colleges of Magic. Sure, there are still Imperial Wizards using the Eight Winds of Magic, but the formal schools have not been established…yet.
“That’s not to say that there aren’t lores – there are eight in the core rulebook alone, each representing a particular approach to the study of magic: Battle Magic, Dark Magic, Daemonology, Elementalism, High Magic, Illusion, Necromancy, and Waaagh! Magic. Most mages will have access to two or more of these, selecting one Lore at the start of each battle.”
Within each of the Lores there are seven spells. One of those spells is the “signature spell” which will be available to any wizard who practices with that lore. Also, in a nod to Warhammer Fantasy, each wizard comes with a level from one to four. The higher the level, the more spells they know at the start of the game.
Spell Categories

One change is the introduction of various Spell Categories. As a concept, GW has uses similar styles of categories before for things like Psychic Powers and even Magic. However, these are a bit more defined. They also help determine when the spell type will be cast:
“There are six types of spell: Enchantment and Hex (Strategy phase), Conveyance (Movement phase), Magic Missile and Magical Vortex (Shooting phase), and Assailment (Combat phase). These are cast in the appropriate phase, so units can end up Enchanted or Hexed from the outset of your turn, magically moved when it’s time to charge, and blasted with arcane power when the rest of the shooting happens.”
Spell Casting
To cast the spells, it’s pretty straight forward. During the appropriate phase, the caster declares what spell they are attempting and rolls 2D6. They also get to add their skill level to the roll, too. If they meet or beat the casting value then the spell is cast. However, if a natural double 1 is rolled, then a Miscast happens:
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On the flip side, a natural double 6 is a Perfect Invocation.
Magical Defense
Now, if you want to stop these spells we need to look at the defensive side of things. Opposing wizards can attempt to stop the spellcast with a dispel attempt of their own.
“…provided they’re within 18” as first and second-level casters, or 24” at levels three and four. Roll 2D6 and add your level to the roll – if you beat the casting roll, the target spell is cancelled. A double 6 counts as an Unbinding, dispelling no matter the casting roll, but should you roll a double 1, you’ve been Outclassed in the Art – and you must roll on the Miscast Table…”
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On top of this, both Casting and Dispel rolls can be modified with various magic items. You can bet the battle for arcane dominance is real on the tabletop of The Old World. And even if you don’t have a wizard around to dispel, there’s a Fated Dispel you can use as well. It’s a once per turn unmodified 2D6 attempt to stop a spell.
Some unit/armies also have some innate magical resistance. Most notably, Dwarfs — and they even have Runesmiths who can make dispel attempts, too.
Spellslinger Characters

Here we have an example of one such spell caster. This gives us a good example of all the options available here. Note the point costs and limits on magical items, too. Oh, and if you really want to go full-on magic mode, why not take a unicorn, too:

“She’s at her best when she’s joined by a unit, as her aura confers Magical Attacks and Magic Resistance (-2) to the brave men and women she leads, and her Shield of the Lady ability allows her to seek sanctuary in the back rank where she can cast her spells untroubled by the aggression of the foe.”
Having a wizard join a unit to provide those Auras seems pretty handy! You can make some assumptions about what Magic Resistance does as well but at -2 seems good.
How about a look at a trio of spells?
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From the rundown of the magic system and the spell examples it’s clear that this is a simplified version of the Magic system from previous editions. However, there’s still a lot of tactical flexibility and nuance here. Positioning your Wizards around the battlefield will be key and an important part your magical offense and defense. Ideally, this should make casting faster and more dynamic as both players will be reacting to the various spells flying around. Magic in The Old World will certainly keep you on your toes!

What do you think of these changes to magic and their implementation for The Old World?

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D&D’s historical book will contain “never-before-seen correspondences” between Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson

3 years ago Bert Ballast

Most tabletop RPG players are familiar with the origin story of Dungeons & Dragons and its two co-creators Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson, even if only in loose terms. A new historical book documenting the first six years of D&D’s history claims to dive deep into that period, including previously unpublished letters between Gygax and Arneson.

The Making of Original Dungeons & Dragons: 1970-1976 was revealed during a PAX Unplugged panel hosted by game design architects, Jeremy Crawford and Chris Perkins, along with senior designers Amanda Hammon and James Wyatt. Amongst new D&D 2024 core book details and several upcoming adventure supplements, this 500-page tome stands out – it’s not a playable module or rulebook but instead an annotated collection of artefacts, correspondence and design work that would eventually create the most popular and successful tabletop RPG in the industry.

Hammon described The Making of Original Dungeons & Dragons: 1970-1976 as a “retrospective, historical account of the original D&D” that contains original illustration and notations from the original RPG manuscript. Perkins called it a replica of the original D&D manual, complete with footnotes, edit lines and original scans wherever possible.

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Publisher Wizards of the Coast hired game historian Jon Peterson to help research and collate all of the information, though the panel didn’t share how or where they collected the material. Peterson has published several books on the history and design of D&D, including Playing at the World, The Elusive Shift: How Role-Playing Games Forged Their Identity, Heroes Feast and Dungeons & Dragons Art & Arcana.

The biggest draw of this “historical perspective” and “chronicle about the origins of this game”, as Perkins characterised it, will be the inclusion of letters shared between Gygax and Arneson while both of them were playtesting the system that would eventually become Dungeons & Dragons’ first incarnation. The panellists claimed these correspondences have never been seen by the public, so it remains a mystery what insights they might provide. The designers famously collaborated by combining Arneson’s homebrewed Blackmoor setting with Gygax’s Greyhawk, talking by mail and phone to synthesise the rules and worldbuilding into something they could pitch to publishers.

Alongside the annotations and historical context, The Making of Original Dungeons & Dragons: 1970-1976 will essentially reproduce a replica of the original D&D manuscript – random tables, illustrations, type font, layout and all. No release date was provided at the panel beyond a general 2024 expectation (and some accidentally published dates on social media that might be wrong). Wizards of the Coast is still working on an untitled D&D documentary with Joe Manganiello in the director’s chair.

Image credit: Wizards of the Coast

WotC Releases, Then Retracts D&D 2024 Release Dates – Here’s What We Know Is Coming

3 years ago Bert Ballast

This past weekend at PAX Unplugged WotC talked about the future of D&D, and, shortly afterward, scrubbed all release dates.

WotC wants 2024 to be a big year for Dungeons & Dragons. It’s not only the 50th anniversary, but it’s also the launch of a new edition(ish) as well as a corner turned on the grand scheme of things for D&D at large. At a panel titled “50 Years of D&D” Amanda Hamon, James Wyatt, Chris Perkins, and Jeremy Crawford reminisced about the past and then looked to the future.
As they did so, WotC’s social media was awash with new images about the forthcoming books. Only these images had details that were missing from the presentation: release dates. They’ve since been scrubbed, but that itself is telling.
Curious about what next year holds in store for D&D? Here’s a look at everything from the panel.
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PAX Unplugged’s 50 Years Of D&D Foretells Its Future
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After reminiscing about the adventures that inspired them, including some love for the old magazines’ Dungeon as well as Dragon which ended up giving rise to Paizo (fun fact!), the WotC team cast their gaze into the future. Or at least to the release schedule as it exists in the present. This itself was pretty cool. Starting with something called the Descent into the Lost Caverns of Tsojcanth. Described as “a distilled version of the classic Lost Caverns of Tsojcanth” meant to be played in a single session of play.

Lost Caverns of Tsojcanth is an old 64-page “tournament adventure” and WotC will include a tournament scorecard as an homage to the past. This is the first of many “events that celebrate play” WotC has planned. It calls to mind the virtual play weekends WotC and Baldman Games have run over the past two years, which helped show off more recent adventures.

But far more exciting, the launch of a new edition and a new adventure that features Vecna (who often appears when editions change). The adventure, titled Vecna: Eve of Ruin is said to feature “classic D&D characters” who haven’t been in 5th Edition yet.

And alongside that, we got a look at the new 2024 Edition Player’s Handbook. Which, let’s just take a minute to talk about how amazing the new Fighter artwork looks. There’s a Dwarf Fighter, sword and shield in hand. Who knows if sword and board will actually be an option (it isn’t really a common one in 5th Edition, but holding out hope for 5.5), it looks cool nonetheless.
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But, these images didn’t exist in a vacuum.

As you can see here, alongside the panel, there were other images shared. These ones came from the official D&D Instagram, and featured a detail not shared in the panel.

Release dates. And early ones at that, putting both Vecna and the new PHB right at the start of summer.
Release Dates Briefly Shared By WotC

In addition to Vecna: Eve of Ruin and the 2024 Player’s Handbook, two other big releases, both detailed at the panel, also had social media images with release dates: Quests from the Infinite Staircase, an adventure anthology of oldclassic adventures updated to 5th Edition, bound together by an “infinite staircase” which is an old D&D cosmology trope.

And also The Making of Original Dungeons & Dragons: 1970-1976, a title as clunky as the original D&D was. In it, you can leaf through a “historical perspective” of the history of D&D. WotC tapped game historian Jon Peterson of Playing at the World and other various gaming history media, to create this nerdiest of history books.
But, now all these images have been replaced with identical images, save for the fact that these release dates have been scrubbed. Which raises the question of is this the actual release schedule, and WotC wasn’t ready? Or was there a mixup, and there’s a different plan? We’ll all know in a few months, either way.
At least you have an idea of what 2024’s release schedule *might* look like.

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Bell of Lost Souls Staff Writer and DM, J.R. covers RPGs of all stripes and on occasion eats sandwiches. You can ask him about either at [email protected]

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Games Workshop: Advent Engine Day 4 – ‘Fur Cape’

3 years ago Bert Ballast

Apparently fur is in for the season. At least for this new tease from the Advent Engine.

It’s that special time of year when Games Workshop’s teaser department kicks into overdrive and we get the Advent Engine. Today is Day 4 and we’ve got another big teaser. It looks like someone is wearing a cape that’s topped with fur. At least, that’s what we think it looks like. But see for yourself!
via Warhammer Community
“Some would say that a cloak is key to being a fashionista in the worlds of Warhammer. Whoever we’re seeing in today’s Advent Engine image would clearly agree. Check out those smooth lines, that layered fur, and the fluttering parchment accessories. Style. Icon. “
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Advent Engine ‘Fur Cape’
Well, from the text from WarCom it appears we’re on a similar train of thought. They pretty much confirmed this is an image of something with layered fur on it. There’s quite a few armies that utilize layered fur on their cloaks and capes. Personally, my mind immediately goes to Chaos and the Slaves to Darkness:

The newest kits changed up the “standard” fur but it’s still there. But let’s not forget their 40k counter-parts either. Infact, Abaddon is a pretty keen example of this look, too:

That said, we do have what appear to be three ribbons coming off the left side, too. That’s certainly more indicative of something like a purity seal, isn’t it? And that’s a whole lot more Imperial than chaos…

Space Wolves could be a candidate. Or really any Space Marines as the purity seals are kind of their thing. Plus, they aren’t afraid of a little extra lining in their cloaks/capes, either.
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There’s a lot more options out there, too. But enough of our theories. If you’ve got some guesses drop us a line in the comments and let us know what you think it could be!
Previous Advent Engines:
Day One – ‘Wings And More To Come’
Day Two – ‘Now That’s A Purity Seal’
Day Three – ‘Minefield’
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The Advent Engine marches on…

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Necromunda: New Ironhead Squat Prospector Champion Is Ready To (Cut) Rock

3 years ago Bert Ballast

This might be the Squat/Genestealer Cult crossover “you never expected but totally makes sense” because it’s a Squat with a Mining Laser!

Games Workshop is previewing an upcoming new model for Necromunda. It’s an Ironhead Squat Prospector Champion with a Mining Laser and he’s ready to get to work. Will he be cutting rock or will he use this tool to carve up the enemy? Why not both!
via Warhammer Community

“Fortunately, a lot of the prospecting equipment of the 41st Millennium doubles up rather well as a weapon, as we can see with the forthcoming Squat Champion with a mining laser. This Strength 9 weapon can slice through pretty much anything the outlands can throw at you, and even his suit-mounted circular stone-saw works nicely in hand-to-hand combat, while his Photo-lumen maintains visual range even in the darkest reaches of the deep wastes. “
Ironhead Squat Prospector Champion
Wielding the Mining Laser is just the first part of his kit. He’s also got a few other bits that help him get the job done. Here’s a closer look at that suit-mounted circular stone-saw and Photo-lumen:

He’s a stout miner ready to cut out whatever you need. And yes, that tool/weapon should look very familiar. It appears to be based on the same tech the Genestealer Cult uses for their Mining Lasers:

Obviously there’s some differences here. But it’s pretty clear they are in the same general family. And it makes sense as Squat tech and Imperial tech are both based on STCs. They might have diverged over time but the core is still similar.
Personally, I really love these connections. And it makes total sense as the GSC are essentially industrial workers before they kick off their uprising. They use lots of the same tools you’d expect other miners would use across the galaxy. Same with these Ironhead Squat Prospectors on Necromunda. It all fits!

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The Ironhead Squat Prospector Champion will be up from pre-order and will be cast in Forge World resin.

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D&D’s 2024 adventure slate includes a face-off with Vecna and an anthology of updated classic dungeons

3 years ago Bert Ballast

Pax Unplugged provided a stage for Dungeons & Dragons to dump a slew of information in a tight, one-hour panel. Four high-level designers revealed new information about the tabletop RPGs upcoming core rulebooks, announced a historical retrospective with unpublished letters from the co-creators, and D&D’s social media may have accidentally revealed a release date for 2024’s new edition.

You’d be forgiven for missing the solid slate of new adventure modules amongst all that noise, but it’s worth looking at what the mega-popular RPG has planned for next year. At the height of its 50th anniversary, D&D will bring the past forward via truncated dungeon one-shots, returning villains and an adventure anthology full of familiar faces and locations.

Jeremy Crawford and Chris Perkins, longtime gad design architects, joined senior designers Amanda Hammon and James Wyatt to unveil three marquis titles that – if the accidentally released dates can be believed – should hit kitchen tables by mid-year. First on that list is a series of short adventures that distil classic D&D modules into a single session, updating the old-school rules and encounters for 5th Edition-compatible play – all while preserving the spirit of the original.

This year’s best tabletop games! Tabletop Awards 2023 winners revealed

The experience should be perfect for hobby shop evenings, convention events and at-home one shots. The panellists offered Descent Into the Lost Cavern of Tsojcanth (pronounced soj-con, according to Perkins) as a great example: it celebrates an older and still beloved form of D&D (Wyatt cheekily interjected with “meatgrinder”) that might not be representative by D&D’s contemporary releases but still deserves recognition. Several of these will be released through local stores and events throughout 2024.

The year’s biggest release, aside from D&D 2024’s core rulebooks, will be Vecna: Eve of Ruin. This full-sized adventure campaign will support group play all the way to level 20 and end with a fateful encounter with the eponymous lich-turned-god that’s haunted the Forgotten Realms since 1976. Hammon described the book as a “tour of the Multiverse” meant to serve as an appropriate 50th anniversary release by revisiting plenty of memorable locations from throughout the RPG’s history. Perkins added that “lots of iconic D&D characters, shall we say, stick their noses into the party’s business”.

Image credit: Zoltan Boros/Wizards of the Coast

Quests from the Infinite Staircase continues D&D’s anthology trend, joining recent releases such as Journeys through the Radiant Citadel and Candlekeep Mysteries. But this latest collection follows closer to Tales from the Yawning Portal, as both are collections of classic adventures that have been updated to 5th Edition rules, not dissimilar to the one-shot adventures mentioned earlier in this article.

A new cosmic being character will lead groups through the modules, which are “bound together by overarching elements”, according to Perkins and make use of the Infinite Staircase that links D&D’s planes and realms together. Using the Staircase and this unnamed guide, DMs can link the anthology together into a broader campaign.

2024 'Dungeons & Dragons' Book Lineup Revealed

3 years ago Bert Ballast

Wizards of the Coast revealed the Dungeons & Dragons book release lineup for 2024 at PAX Unplugged.
Next year, D&D will celebrate its 50th Anniversary, and WotC has an array of new books coming to market to mark the occasion. They begin the year with Descent into the Lost Caverns of Tsojcanth. This single session dungeon crawl adventure, based on 1982 classic module, features a tournament scoring system that can be utilized with in-store play as well as at convention events.Next, WotC panelists previewed Vecna: Eye of Ruin, which is a 5E adventure revolving around the legend of the powerful lich (see “Dungeons & Dragons: Vecna”). This adventure goes all the way up to 20th Level and culminates with a battle with Vecna himself. WotC also announced Quests from the Infinite Staircase, which is a collection of older D&D adventures update for 5E.
The Making of Original Dungeons & Dragons: 1970-1976 will also hit stores in 2024. It is book with a historical account of the creation of Gary Gygax’s and Dave Arneson’s original D&D book. Rounding out the major announcements, WotC panelists also unveiled the 2024 Player’s Handbook. This revised rulebook is based on months of playtest documents collected from Unearthed Arcana. It inserts backgrounds for races for determining stats, includes lots of subclasses, and more. The panelists also made mention of a new Dungeon Master’s Guide and a Monster Manual, which will contain 500 monsters, in the works, but didn’t indicate a release date.

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Midgard Monday: Teeth of the Dragon Empire

3 years ago Bert Ballast

It’s Midgard Monday! Each week, we visit a corner of the wide world of Midgard. Look for standalone content you can drop into your campaign—whether it’s in Midgard or your own homebrew. Find new inspiration each Midgard Monday!

The Mharoti Empire has a reputation as the most intimidating military presence on the land. Even kingdoms outside of the Empire’s front lines have heard of the power and majesty of the Armies of the Dragon.

Fewer know to look out for Mharoti’s extensive spy network, though. Previous articles discussed making an operator for your campaign, creating plots and schemes for them, and tools at their disposal. The Dragon Empire also equips its agents with creatures, items, and the cunning and training to succeed at their missions.

The Empire breeds specific draconic creatures for use by its field agents.

Moontouched Tortoise

The moontouched tortoise is an adorable, pudgy tortoise ranging in color from purple to light and dark blue. It often subtly changes these colors to match the mood or clothing of its charmed target. Their big, bright eyes and seemingly grinning face make it particularly cuddly looking.

Moontouched Tortoise

Tiny Dragon, Any EvilArmor Class 13 (natural armor)Hit Points 17 (5d4 + 5)Speed 20 ft., swim 20 ft.

STRDEXCONINTWISCHA6 (−2)10 (+0)13 (+1)13 (+1)12 (+1)15 (+2)

Saving Throws Con +3Skills Deception +4, Insight +3Damage Resistances cold, fire, lightningCondition Immunities charmed, frightened

Senses darkvision 30 ft., passive Perception 11Languages understands Common and DraconicChallenge 1 (200 XP)

Too Cute. Any creature targeting the moontouched tortoise with an attack must succeed on a DC 12 Wisdom saving throw or be unable to target it.

ACTIONS

Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +0 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 1 (1d6 − 2) piercing damage.

Draconic Charm. The moontouched tortoise chooses a humanoid target within 30 feet. That creature must succeed on a DC 14 Charisma saving throw or be charmed. The target may repeat the saving throw each hour. Regardless of success or failure, it does not know it was targeted with this ability. The Tortoise must complete a short or long rest before it can use this ability again.

Spineburst Salamander

A spineburst salamander can grow from tiny, pocket-sized creatures to towering guardians with little notice. They make great defenders and distractions for operatives. When tiny, they wrap around their handler’s forearm or back of the neck to stay warm. When grown, they position their spikes outward to defend their handler. They are often reddish brown, with striations of bright red, orange, blue, or yellow.

Spineburst Salamander

Large Dragon, Lawful EvilArmor Class 16 (natural armor)Hit Points 68 (8d10 + 24)Speed 30 ft., climb 20 ft., fly 50 ft.

STRDEXCONINTWISCHA17 (+3)16 (+3)17 (+3)7 (−2)12 (+1)8 (−1)

Damage Immunities fireSenses darkvision 60 ft., passive Perception 11Languages DraconicChallenge 4 (1100 XP)

Spiked Defense. When a creature within 5 feet of the salamander hits it with a melee attack, it deals 4 (1d8) piercing damage to the creature.

Shape Change. As an action, the salamander can change its size to and from Tiny to Large. While Tiny, the salamander loses its Spiked Defense trait, its Bite attack, and its Spike Barrage action, but retains its AC, HP, and movement speeds.

ACTIONS

Multiattack. The salamander makes three attacks: one with its bite and two with its claws.

Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +5 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 7 (1d8 + 3) piercing damage.

Claw. Melee Weapon Attack: +5 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 6 (1d6 + 3) slashing damage.

Spike Barrage (1/Short or Long Rest). The salamander picks a point within 30 feet of it that it can see. Each creature within 15 feet of that point must make a DC 13 Dexterity saving throw. On a failure, the target takes 18 (6d6) piercing damage or half as much on a success.

Magic Items

The Dragon Empire manufactures items that help its operatives in the field, designed to draw little or no attention.

BRACELET OF BLADES

Wondrous Item, Uncommon (Requires Attunement)

This innocuous-looking beaded bracelet comes in a variety of shapes and colors and has seven charges. When you touch a bead, it produces a dagger in your for 1 charge which disintegrates after 1 minute. The bracelet can produce thieves’ tools for 2 charges which disappear after 10 minutes. The bracelet gains 1d4 charges at dawn each day.

FIGURINE OF WONDROUS POWER: JASPER CHAMELEON

Wondrous Item, Rare

This jasper statuette of a small lizard can become a chameleon for up to 8 hours. Once it has been used, it can’t be used again until 2 days have passed. The chameleon can telepathically communicate with you at any range if you and it are on the same plane of existence and allow you to see through its eyes and hear through its ears. Otherwise, it follows all the other rules for figurines of wondrous power.

Chameleon

Tiny Beast, UnalignedArmor Class: 12Hit Points: 1 (1d4 − 1)Speed: 20 ft., climb 20 ft.

STRDEXCONINTWISCHA2 (−4)14 (+2)8 (−1)1 (−5)10 (+0)2 (−4)

Skills Stealth +4Senses darkvision 30 ft, passive Perception 10Languages —Challenge 0 (10 xp)

Sticky Pads. The chameleon climbs walls and upside down on ceilings without needing to make an ability check.

Natural Camouflage. The chameleon has advantage on Stealth checks.

ACTIONS

Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +4 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 1 piercing damage.

Downtime Activities

Sometimes non-magical approaches are warranted. Magical detection by security might be common, so operatives go back to basics with subterfuge techniques. Hidden blades, tools disguised in clothing, and other such items are staples of the spy genre and are important narrative options for your stories.

Craft Clandestine Device. (Costs 1 or 3 Infamy Points)

The character can convert an existing non-magical item to be impervious to Perception or Investigation checks to discern its actual purpose. For 1 Infamy Point, people wishing to detect the item for what it is receive disadvantage on the check. For 3 Infamy points, the item is completely indistinguishable from a regular item of its type. Perception and Investigation checks to identify the item as anything but what it appears to be automatically fail.

This downtime ctafting ability references the Criminal Enterprise in Chapter 5 of Tome of Heroes. For further information on Downtime Activities, see Tome of Heroes.

Get into Midgard with the Midgard Worldbook! This acclaimed campaign setting is rich and deep, with over a decade of support from Kobold Press. Does a new setting feel like a big lift? Check out our intro article, Unpacking the Midgard Worldbook!

AoS: Flesh-eater Courts Battletome Review – Let the Feast Commence!

3 years ago Bert Ballast

The Flesh-eater Courts Battletome is here. Grab your best cutlery; it’s time to go questing with the noble knights and brave peasantry of the Summerking’s Court!

Welcome in, ghoulish generals! If you’re like me, you’ve been waiting for this week’s release for a very long time. The Flesh-eater courts have always been a bit on the outside of Age of Sigmar lore, and their rules were either obscenely overpowered or laughably weak. But the Lord of Death provides, and we finally have a book worthy of our noble bearing. While some of the things in the book are nerfs, this feels like the most balanced the ghouls have been in a long time. Love it or hate it, this is exactly what the Flesh-eater Courts needed. Plus, we got a host of new models to boot, to sink your teeth into.

Flesh-eater Courts – The Good
First and foremost, Ushoran is here! The original Strigoi vampire and sire of a twisted bloodline in the World that Was, Ushoran has returned as a bright and noble paladin called the Summerking. In actual fact, he is a massive and terrifying Mortarch with a mace made of the remains of his meals. A twisted bone crown grows from his head, and his terrible delusions are so strong they can affect even the enemy armies.
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Alongside him is a veritable feast of new heroes and units, like the winged Gorewarden and bat-riding Morbheg Knights from the Army Box. This gives the Flesh-eater army a new and unique style of combat, allowing them to move with predatory speed across the battlefield to ambush the unwary.

If you want to stay classic, you can still employ hordes of loping cannibals, as well as the new Cryptguard. These Mordant ghouls with just enough humanity remaining to wield rusted weapons in service of their lords. The new army book has so much to customize your army, from new army-wide delusions to powerful magic items. I’m especially fond of the Command Trait Shadowy Obfuscation, which makes your general invisible until he’s within 12″. That lets you get your mighty lords into combat quickly and safely, where they can generate the new noble deeds points you need to summon and buff your army.
Flesh-eater Courts – The Bad

Unfortunately, a lot of the things that made old-school ghoulies great have been severely dampened in this new book. Summoning can only be done when a leader has accumulated enough noble deeds points. While this doesn’t sound like much, they can be hard to generate without some luck. Also, the “Feeding Frenzy” ability that made ghouls stronger in combat is based on noble deeds as well. While this certainly isn’t game-breaking, it means you’ll need to be more careful with your heroes. This is nothing new for death, but many of the FEC heroes are a lot more fragile than your bog-standard Vampire Lord, so careful positioning is key.

Flesh-eater Courts – The Ugly
As much as I love the new models, this is Death, and they are very fiddly. You’ll need to take special care not to bend or break each piece, and some of the required joints are VERY small. I would suggest building this over a bowl to make sure any spare parts don’t hit the carpet. While this is general advice for building anything, it is ESPECIALLY true with the newer pieces. The Vargheist in particular can be difficult, but trust me, it’s worth the effort. The models are gorgeous when built.
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Will you be joining the Summerking’s court?

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Dungeons & Dragons 2024 will cram its books full of art, fantasy shopping and the Blob of Annihilation

3 years ago Bert Ballast

Four stewards of Dungeons & Dragons recently held a Pax Unplugged panel to discuss the future of the ultra-popular tabletop RPG, specifically discussing the triumvirate of core rulebooks that will shepherd players into the 2024 era. Bigger, better and meaner, these books sound as though they take a maximalist approach to table-side player aides.

Chris Perkins and Jeremy Crawford, trusted faces of the D&D project, joined senior designers Amanda Hammon and James Wyatt on December 1st to host a panel that spent a good chunk of its time discussing the exemplar supplements from the tabletop RPG’s past. D&D is celebrating its 50th anniversary in 2024, which meant the panellists left plenty of time to dive into its future – namely, what players can expect from the newest Players Handbook, Dungeon Master’s Guide and Monster Manual.

The audience was constantly assured that next year’s core rulebooks will be the biggest core releases D&D has ever seen, stuffed with more original art and gameplay material. The designers were obviously present as salespeople as much as creative experts, but there are only so many times one can hear “mountains of brand new art” or ballooning page count before wondering if Wizards of the Coast pays all their staff by the word.

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Perkins and Crawford effusively praised how the team laid out the twelve player classes in the new Players Handbook, with each section beginning with new, full-page artwork. The fighter class art portrayed a battle-hardened dwarf, sword and shield in hands, leaping over a barricade in the midst of a pitched skirmish. Each class will contain four subclasses – for a record-setting total of 48, Perkins insisted – that will be graced with their own, albeit smaller, illustrations.

Reworked character backgrounds will also benefit from Wizards of the Coast’s investment in the art budget. These options, chosen when creating a character, will now bestow a special mechanical feat reflecting their time before answering the call to adventure. The team also hopes a stronger visual representation will allow players to feel as though their characters have a distinct and real home, somewhere out there. “What we want you to be able to do is imagine that this is where your character came from, or a place like it,” Crawford said.

D&D’s art bonanza extends to mundane equipment and magical items, all of which will have their own bespoke illustrations in the Players Handbook, according to Crawford and Perkins. These sections should feel like “a fantasy catalogue”, flipping through a department store holiday buy guide except that it’s all sharp sticks and cursed amulets instead of chocolate truffles and pyjama sets.

Image credit: Lie Setiawan/Wizards of the Coast

Perkins mentioned that the design teams are currently building the Dungeon Master’s Guide and Monster Manual, owing to the lack of new information relative to the Players Handbook. That said, he did admit that players “have struggled with the 2014 DMG as far as its usability at the table, so we are taking strides to make it a much more useful and accessible resource and reference book – for new DMs and experienced DMs, alike.”

This fully reorganised book will contain one complete campaign setting and several adventures of various links, according to Wyatt. The team said their goal is to create a book that dungeon masters actively want to use at the table, and not just as reference material between sessions.

Monster Manual fans should prepare themselves for a glut of new information. 2024’s almanac of threats will stuff 500 separate entries between its covers, including more high Challenge Rating monsters for players nearing max level. Two of those include the Arch-Hag and a CR20 ooze creature called the Blob of Annihilation. We don’t know much more than that, but the name alone conjures both fear and hilarity on par with the notorious Gelatinous Ooze.

PAX Unplugged Panel: 50 Years of D&D Adventures

All of D&D’s monsters have been “tuned up” in some way, says Wyatt, as the team ensured that each creature brings something distinctive to encounters. Perhaps they’re not a world-ending threat – they might not even survive the first fireball or axe cleave – but they should nonetheless create memorable fights. Parties encountering high-CR monsters will discover they boast a beefier HP pool and can dish out more damage, as D&D’s designers want their nightmare-level threats to feel “more effective at the CRs”, according to Crawford.

Wizards of the Coast hasn’t officially announced a release date for D&D 2024, at least not on purpose. A series of images posted to social media – and then summarily deleted – slotted the three new core books for a May 21st release date, which will kick off a year of new products that include a Vecna-focused campaign adventure and an annotated historical delve into the tabletop RPG’s origins.

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Take Flight: ‘Wingspan’ Board Game is 30% Off With Free Promo Pack

3 years ago Bert Ballast

Wingspan is literally one of the best games ever, if the ranking charts are to be believed. And it can be yours with a nice discount as well!

It’s pretty rare for a modern board game to really make a splash. Catan is a staple for many households now, Codenames is definitely getting a lot of attention. But one that’s always flying just under the radar for non-board gamers is Wingspan. And Wingspan is great.

Wingspan Overview
Wingspan is a competitive engine-builder that requires a delicate balance of collecting birds, housing them, and feeding them. The gameplay is rich and deep enough that even the most advanced gamers will find themselves engrossed.
But, the game isn’t complicated. With only a quick rundown of the basics, you’re going to be ready to play. On each player’s turn, they do a single action. Either play a bird, gain food, lay eggs, or draw birds. Birds are worth points, have special abilities, and build nests for eggs. However, birds require food to be played and additional birds require eggs.

As an engine builder game, the depth and complexity of the game don’t come from the rules, but rather from how different game mechanics interact and trigger off of each other. Building a proper game engine that feeds itself is always incredibly satisfying. This is true in Wingspan as it is in any other.
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If you’re brand new to Wingspan, this is the perfect time to pick up this fantastic game for yourself. This sale also includes the Swift Start Promo Pack, which adds 10 new birds and guides for running new players through the first four turns. Perfect for jumping right into what is sure to be your next favorite game!

BoLS might make a few bucks on anything you buy from these links. But, be honest, you don’t enjoy randomly browsing online stores. So let us do the annoying part for you. Help us help you.

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Dungeons & Dragons' next core books given a 2024 release date, only to vanish

3 years ago Bert Ballast

A series of social media posts promoting Dungeons & Dragons’ 2024 lineup of releases originally contained release dates for the popular tabletop RPG’s new trio of core rulebooks, but those posts have apparently since been deleted and replaced.

D&D’s creators took to the PAX Unplugged stage on December 1st to chat about RPG’s past and future, which included a new adventure anthology, a historical making-of book and a massive campaign with evil lich Vecna on the cover. The main attraction was a piece of art promoting the 2024 edition of the Players Handbook, which claimed it would be released on May 21st, 2024.

The images with attached release dates were quickly scrubbed from Wizards of the Coasts’ social feeds, replaced by the same images used during the PAXU panel, but not before ENWorld staff member Morrus rehosted them to the community forums.

According to the images, D&D’s 2024 core rulebooks would release in late may alongside the Vecna: Eve of Ruin campaign adventure. The Making of Original Dungeons & Dragons: 1970-1976 would follow on June 18th, providing players a history book from the RPG’s earliest days, while adventure anthology Quests From The Infinite Staircase drops on July 16th.

It seems likely that D&D’s associated social media accounts simply used the wrong images when cross-promoting information revealed at the PAXU panel where Jeremy Crawford, Chris Perkins, Amanda Hammon and James Wyatt laid out plenty more information about these upcoming books. Dicebreaker has reached out to Wizards of the Coast for more information but did not receive a reply prior to publication.

Public playtesting on material that will eventually fill the three new core volumes colloquially called One D&D (it’s definitely not 6th Edition) or simply D&D 2024 recently wrapped up with a second pass at the Barbarian, Druid and Monk player classes. That timeline conceivably leaves enough rope for WotC’s design teams to prepare the books for a May 2024 publication date – Crawford mentioned during the panel that the company is actively working on the Dungeon Master’s Guide and Monster Manual.

D&D previously delayed the Deck of Many Things due to defects and misprintings plaguing a significant portion of the physical cards comprising the notorious magical artefact within the RPG’s universe. If I were a massive corporation hoping not to bungle the largest product release of the last decade (that they also want to stay relevant for the next ten years), I’d also be cagey about prematurely announcing a street date for my new core rulebooks. The future is an unpredictable space, and global distribution is only slightly less chaotic.

Attribution

Original images allegedly shared to D&D’s social media, now rehosted on ENWorld forums.

Kickstarter Highlights: Mushrooms, Monsters, Monarchs, and More!

3 years ago Bert Ballast

The Seeker’s Guide to Enchanting Emporiums

A 5E supplement filled with magic shops, mystical loot, unique NPCs and thrilling plot hooks. A stunning sequel to Twisted Taverns!
This 250+ page, vibrantly-illustrated anthology collects more than 15 wondrous emporiums – each containing a wealth of NPCs, Quests, plot hooks, and wondrous items to behold. Designed for the 5th edition of the world’s most popular roleplaying game, this collection of characters, environments and more is sure to inspire any GM across the planes!
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Rolling for Initiative — Holiday Sales Kickoff Without 'D&D: The Deck of Many Things'

3 years ago Bert Ballast

Rolling for Initiative is a weekly column by Scott Thorne, PhD, owner of Castle Perilous Games & Books in Carbondale, Illinois and instructor in marketing at Southeast Missouri State University. This week Thorne discusses how sales have been so far during the holiday season, despite Wizards of the Coast not releasing D&D: The Deck of Many Things on time.The holiday shopping season is upon us. Our Thanksgiving weekend sales beat last year’s by 25%, helped by strong Magic: The Gathering, Pokemon, and board game sales as well as this year’s Games Workshop army boxes, which are generally more hit than miss. Unfortunately, if past trends bear up, we should have a decent first weekend of the month, then a slow first full week of the month, as people do most of their shopping at the big box stores and online. Online sales broke yet another record this year, with more people shopping on their phones than from the desktops for the first time ever.As Christmas approaches, we should see renewed foot traffic as customers start worrying about getting presents for others on time and are not wanting to trust USPS, Fed Ex or UPS to get mail ordered purchases to them on time. I’m expecting sales figures for the Saturday before Christmas to easily beat the Saturday before Christmas in 2022, since Christmas Eve sales trend lighter than usual here. To mitigate some of these past trends, we’ve already handed out a bounce-back coupon and hope to see some response next week. Last month, we received notice from Wizards of the Coast that TheDeck of Many Things got pushed back to an unspecified date (see “Boxed Set Pushed Back”). This past week, quietly, WotC announced it will now come out on January 5, 2024. According to the press release, the original run of product did not meet WotC’s quality standards, hence the pushed-back date. After years of releasing new product like clockwork on the scheduled date, this makes the second time this year that WotC had to push back a release date for one of its Dungeons & Dragons products. The release date for Bigby Presents: Glory of the Giants got pushed back a few weeks as well for some unspecified reasons. It certainly would have been nice to have the Deck of Many Things on hand for Christmas sales but there is not much we can do about it. We are going to offer potential Deck of Many Things buyers, who would like to buy it as a holiday gift, the option of purchasing the book now and receiving a gift receipt and a greeting card with a note that the possessor can bring us the receipt when Deck of Many Things releases and pick up their copy. Not sure how many customers will want to take advantage of this option but it is an option the store will make available. It is a pity we do not have this available for holiday sales, but it cannot be helped. Here is to hoping WotC can fix quality control for its D&D line next year.Comments? Send them to castleperilousgames@gmail.com.The opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the writer, and do not necessarily reflect the views of the editorial staff of ICv2.com.

Goatboy’s Warhammer 40K: Assault Is Good Again – Here’s Why

3 years ago Bert Ballast

Nowadays it seems like having decent assault is good in Warhammer 40K. Here’s why that is and what the future of assault looks like for hte Grimdark.

From the initial misgivings of the new 10th Edition – players thought was that Assault was dead, shooting was king, and only losers got close enough to roll that 2d6. Now it seems that having some method of thunder-punching things into oblivion is the way to victory.

40K Assault On the Rise
The latest GW GT World Championship winner was in reality, a CSM pressure assault list with Accursed Cultists, Chosen, and Slaanesh-marked Legionaries whose entire plan was moving in and charging. The sheer design of the army was all about putting pinpoint pressure into the whole MSU design a lot of lists were planning to play. Each of these units can throw out a decent amount of attacks at a pretty good AP. They also did the one thing that seems to be important in any kind of assault-heavy list.
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They have the ability to Advance and Charge.

What Changed?
This seems to be the big key to any of these assault armies. All of them have some chance to do this and thus move farther than their normal move stat would normally allow. In fact, all of these armies seem to really pressure the distance in some way. This ability to move so much more means that opponent’s plans get shifted. A few rolls of a 5+ on the advance and all of a sudden, the opposing army no longer has all that room to do all their activities.
World Eaters have been moving up the Meta a bit, and while they are not always at the top tables (unless piloted by the true Chaos Lord of Khorne Mr. Vanella) – they do run rampant in the 4-1 to 5-1 brackets. They can quickly put a ton of pressure on your fast through scout moves, faster movement, and advance/charge. It is pretty nutty to see how this army quickly got decent by a few subtle point shifts and probably the other bigger change to the game…
The other change that helped assault was of course, removing Towering and the ability to overwatch out of LOS. In fact – this is probably the other main part of the punching-to-victory equation. As events start to really move towards GW-style terrain or actual staging battlefields with blocked lanes of death, you are not nearly as dependent on having to go first, moving as fast as you can, and then touching as much of the enemy as you can.
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Decent Assault Means 40K 10th is Healing
It’s been a crazy time for Warhammer 40K 10th edition. I don’t think we were really playtesting it, such as as we were – balancing it, and giving GW the masse data needed to polish off its rough edges. Especially as we see Codexes come out like Necrons, with nice shifts in unit rules and just the overall feeling that – new Codexes mean we get new models and cool rules, instead of completely broken and bonkers new rules.
Which of course, leaves me feeling like while Assault seems good, I don’t think we are going to see it wrecked whenever we get more new codexes. Of course, this will be proved when we see the Chaos Space Marines codex. Right now CSM Chosen seems pretty nutty with the best rule for assault, a plethora of sharp weapons, and being able to truly fit in a Rhino.
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Do you like Assault being decent? Is the first thing you think about when you imagine the 40K universe is the whirl of the Chainsword as it chews through some Tyranid/Cultist/Enemy of the Imperium? While the Bolter is cool – the chainsaw that rips through the enemy is so much cooler. Or the crackling of a power fist. Or the sheer brutality of the Thunder Hammer.
Long live Assault!

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