Recent content by Dire Bare

The cycle begins once again . . . https://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2010/08/23/traditional-values

Culture and ethnicity are not as distinct as you might think. There are German and Scandinavian (Viking) phenotypic (physical) traits. You can grow up in those societies while looking different, but you will stand out as an outsider. You can be born into those societies and then grow up within...

Sorta. Technically, sure . . . but your ethnicity is a lot about perception. Your own self-perception and how others perceive you. I have mixed European descent, with ancestors from England, Scotland, and Germany (that I know of). But I don't think of myself as having a mixed ancestry, and have...

You make some good points . . . but . . . Not including the "half" races is an "erasure of multi-ethnic family representation"? Nah. Certainly, D&D players of mixed descent sometimes saw themselves in such characters, like Tanis Half-Elven from the Dragonlance stories. But the way the game...

Studio Agate does the Fateforge RPG, which is basically another alternate D&D like Tales of the Valiant . . . but with amazing production values and artwork. 7th Sea fans are in for a treat, visually at least!

Yup, one of my stores sells used RPG books and has 3e, 4e, 5e 2014, 5e 2024, and last time I was in there and looked, some older books as well. Serious fans know the difference, but for casuals and grandmas buying gifts it's confusing. You can ask a staff member for help . . . but they will...

It is an odd term I haven't heard before, but . . . with RPGs, the audience (the players) is telling the story. Perhaps the opposite of a metaplot?

Fans still have PTSD from BECMI and "Advanced" D&D being actually different games . . . Using the terms "basic" and "advanced" probably wouldn't be a good idea, but a stripped down, simpler version of the game . . . without actually changing the rules . . . would be super cool. I'd love to see...

Just pre-ordered the LotR5E starter set and downloaded the PDFs from DriveThruRPG (physical boxes won't ship until late July, PDFs are available immediately after purchase directly from Free League). Something I noticed . . . the 5E starter set comes with the "combat diagram" from The One Ring...

@SlyFlourish just posted a podcast that talks about the book. Lazy RPG Talk Show - Labyrinth Worldbook Spotlight. My personal capsule review . . . it's awesome fun! I have the PDF and I'm slowly going through it after the initial skim. I'm very excited to bring in some ideas from the book for...

Are we getting hung up on the word "heir"? In the novel, there most certainly is an "heir" of Strahd, but . . . (spoilers) Darklords aren't supposed to be able to flee their prisons in the mists, although some have managed it. Strahd knows this and constantly strives to find and bind Tatyana...

The Ravenloft setting, starting with the original Ravenloft module was never gothic horror. It was from the beginning, a blend of gothic horror and D&D, two seemingly incongruous genres that shouldn't work together, but do. Not always smoothly, certainly, but wonderfully. But claiming the author...

Okay. Very clever.

Who said it was a happy ending? It is very much not. Nice assumption though. Sheesh.