Dungeons & Dragons is a game designed to create the illusion that you've entered another world. Epic fantasy novels heavily inspired the creators of D&D, and the tableto?p role-playing game's connection to fantasy literature has only grown stronger with age.

Both the Player's Handbook and the Dungeon Masters Guide encourage players and DMs to hit their local library before they get to work designing their next character or crafting their party's next adventure. I've been playing D&D on both sides of the DM screen for years, and I can safely confirm th?at the ten standal??one books and series listed below helped me create some of my favorite characters and campaigns.

10. The Dresden Files by Jim Butcher

Some of the best D&D campaigns I've been in revolved around solving mind-bending mysteries with a magical twist. If your latest campaign is a noir-influenced fantasy whodunnit that's piqued your interest in the mystery genre, you should check out The Dresden Files.

Jim Butcher's long-running urban fantasy series follows the adventures of the titular sorcerous detective, who dedicates his eternally imperiled life to solving outlandish capers tied to Chicago's hidden magical underworld. If you're in the market for some exciting noir tales that happen to feature the odd vampire or demon, The Dresden Files is for you.

9. The Cthulhu Mythos by H.P. Lovecraft and August Derluth

Many of D&D's most iconic monsters, including the multi-eyed, beam-spewing Beholder, are beings from the Far Realm, a plane of pure cosmic chaos where the line between reality and illusion becomes illegible. I've been in more than a few D&D games where the Far Realm's innate insanity slithered its way into the mix, and this refreshing dose of existential dread wouldn't t have been possible without the Cthulu Mythos.

H.P. Lovecraft's tales about a pantheon of incomprehensible extraterrestrial gods lurking in the shadows of the universe pioneered the cosmic horror genre, and D&D players are looking to add a bit of eldritch spice to their latest character or campaign will find plenty of inspiration in them. Be warned: Lovecraft was, to put it bluntly, racist, and his uncensored work will make most readers uncomfortable.

8. The Lord of the Rings by J.R. Tolkien

It would be heresy not to put The Lord of the Rings on this list. J.R.R. Tolkien's famous literary cycle was D&D's biggest inspiration, to the point where there were legal disputes?? surrounding the ear??ly usage of terms like orc, elf, dwarf, and dragon.

Some D&D fans might be surprised to see The Lord of the Rings ranked so low. I'd still recommend Tolkien's iconic trilogy to any D&D player who hasn't read them, especially if they started playing a campaign set within the Forgotten Realms. However, D&D grew out of Middle Earth's shadow long ago, and saying that Lord of the Rings is "the" series for D&D fans feels a bit regressive, especially since many modern D&D settings go out of their way to ??buck the tro??pes Tolkien established.

7. Malazan Book of the Fallen by Steven Erikson

One of the best parts of a D&D campaign is building the world where the story will play out, especially if the group's DM is willing to let the other players in on the world-building process. If you and anyone else at your table are kicking around the idea of starting a new campaign set at a much later or earlier point in your world's history, Malazan Book of the Fallen will give you some great ideas.

The Malazan series is a masterclass in fantasy world-building that follows the rise of the titular empire over millennia. With a cast consisting of immortal mages and dynasties with lineages stretching back centuries, Malazan is? perfect for players and DMs who want to e??xplore how the passage of time can change a character, a civilization, or even a world's innate magic.

6. Mistborn by Brandon Sanderson

Any experienced D&D can attest that the Rogue is one of the funniest classes to play. Plenty of fantasy novels star nimble-fingered sneaks who prefer to creep through the shadows while the warriors and the mages hog the spotlight, but few will feel more familiar to D&D players than Mistborn.

Brandon Sanderson's seminal fantasy series unfolds in the world of Scadriel, where ash never stops falling from the sky, an oppressive empire rules most of the world, and the only hope of defeating the fallen hero of prophecy lies in a young thief named Vin. Vin is essentially an Arcane Trickster Rogue, and her quest to overthrow the Final Empire with magic and subterfuge is full of fun twists on established fantasy tropes that will leave D&D fans in awe.

5. The Book of the New Sun by Gene Wolf

One of D&D's most "peculiar" settings is Dark Sun, a grim realm where magic is inherently toxic and a gang of vicious Sorcerer Kings rule everything under the red, dying sun. Due to some problematic elements of its worl??d-bui??lding, Dark Sun has not received an official setting book for a while, but anyone who enjoys it will find a suitable substitute in The Book of the New Sun series.

Set on a far-future version of Earth where society has regressed to feudalism, The Book of the New Sun is a haunting parable that follows a disgraced torturer's transformation into a messianic figure who holds the key to the world's future. Visions of the future and mysterious magics abound in this series, and anyone who's experienced the world of Dark Sun will feel right at home reading this.

4. A Song of Ice and Fire by George R.R. Martin

I'm one of those D&D players who love to lose themselves in their character, and I'll always prefer a campaign that gives me the complex challenge of navigating interpersonal relationships over ones that focus on dungeon-crawling or combat. If you're also one of those players, I can't think of a fantasy series you'll like more than A Song of Ice and Fire.

George R.R. Martin's iconic world runs on dynastic politics, not magic or prophecies, and its dedication to subverting and reimagining established fantasy tropes means that none of the characters you come to care about are safe. Any fan of D&D and other character-driven TTRPGs will love A Song of Ice and Fire.

3. Wings of Fire by Tui. T Sutherland

If the title didn't tip you off, dragons are an important part of D&D, and there are a wide variety of them across the game's many supplements and setting books. Some of my favorite (and most traumatic) D&D memories are tied to dragons, and the only fantasy book that comes close to challenging D&D's draconic diversity is Tui T. Sutherland's Wings of Fire series.

The world of Wings of Fire has a dragon for almost every element, and play?ers who've run a Dragonblood Sorcerer will feel more than a little validated reading the series.

2. The Sword of Shannara by Terry Brooks

One of the DMs in my local D&D group has weaponized the art of the "mid-campaign twist." Every game he runs shifts pitch at the halfway mark, re-contextualizing everything we've done up until that point in shocking and exciting ways. Terry Brooks Shannara series does something very similar, and D&D fans who know what it's like to watch the world you've adventured through?? turn upside down will feel a bit of nostalgia reading it.

At the onset, the Shannara books feel like a near-complete rip-off of Tolkien, with elves,?? young naive warriors, and magical MacGuffins designed to kill evil overlords. However, as the books progress, shocking secrets about the world of Shannara are unmasked, and readers are left to grapple with the knowledge that this world might not be as fantastical as it appeared at first glance.

1. Discworld by Terry Pratchett

What is D&D, if not the perfect blend of fantasy? The game gives you all the tools you'd ever need to slot every fantastical creature and form of magic into your campaign setting; the only limits that exist are those in your imagination. For this reason, I believe that no fantasy book embodies the spirit of D & D more than Discworld.

The flat realm of Discworld is a wonderous patchwork woven together with elements pulled from almost every mythology, religion, and folklore tradition in the world. Wizards, demons, gods, and Death himself exist harmoniously as part of a magical ecosystem where nothing feels out of place. As funny as it is profound, Discworld is the perfect fantasy series for D&D fans.

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The Chronurgy Wizard is an interesting class choice, forgoing the usual fire and brimstone of aggressive Wizard classes to instead manipulate the battlefield, giving your teammates more time and your opponents less. For those looking to change the outcome of battle through careful planning and supportive tactics, this is the cl??ass for you. 

This guide will go over the basics of the Chronurgy Arcane Tradition, giving players insight into pref??erred stats, races, backgrounds, feats, spells, and multiclass options. This way, whatever your DM throws at you, yo?u'll be prepared. Hell, you'll have been prepared long before they even thought of what to throw at you.

Best Chronurgy Wizard Build Options

Stats

• Strength - Unimportant, lowest points possible.
• Dexterity - Semi-important. Useful for initiative, saving throws, and Wizard AC.
• Constitution - Semi-important. Useful for saving throws and max HP.
• Intelligence - Most important, highest points possible. Primary spellcasting attribute.
• Wisdom - Mostly unimportant. Useful for some saving throws.
• Charisma - Unimportant, lowest possible points. 

Races

• Gnome - Gnomes give +2 INT, as well as +1 DEX or CON depending on the subrace. Also have an advantage on all Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma saving throws against magic. The best general choice.
• Vedalken - Vedalken give +2 INT and +1 WIS. They also provide an advantage on all Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma saving throws against magic. Make sure your DM is okay with races from Guildmaster's Guide to Ravnica.
• Variant Human - +1 to two stats of your choice, preferably INT/CON or INT/DEX, and allows access to one free Feat, discussed later. The free Feat can be very strong early.

Background

• Mage of High Sorcery or Sage - Gives proficiency in Arcana and History. Backgrounds are more for RP purposes, so the benefits are minimal.

Feats

• Alert - +5 to initiative, you can't be surprised, and creatures you don't see don't gain an advantage on attack rolls against you. Pairs well with the Chronurgy Wizard's Temporal Awareness ability to give yourself tons of bonuses to initiative.
• Metamagic Adept - You learn two metamagic options and gain 2 sorcery points. Choose Extended Spell and Quickened Spell as your two metamagic options to continue with the theme of manipulating action economy.
• War Caster - You have an advantage on saving throws to maintain concentration, and when taking an attack of opportunity, you can instead cast a single target spell on the target. Keeps your spells going, and has an added bonus of better opportunity attack options.
• Lucky - You can reroll one d20 or force to reroll an attack roll against you three times per long rest. Generally useful in any situation. 

Spells

Chronurgy Wizards have access to a number?? of unique spells, as well as the entirety of the Wizard spell list. This list will contain the most notable and useful?? of the Chronurgy-specific spells. 

• Gift of Alacrity - 1st level spell. For eight hours, give a target +1d8 to initiative rolls. Pairs incredibly well with other initiative-boosting feats and passive abilities. It may not be worth using too often early in the game, but it becomes a solid use of a level 1 spell slot later on.
• Fortune's Favor - 2nd level spell. Lasts for one hour. Gives an ally the ability to reroll a d20 on an attack roll, spell check, or saving throw one time. Alternatively, if the ally has been attacked, they can use the spell to roll a d20, a give the lower of the two dice to the enemy attacker as their attack roll. 
• Pulse Wave - 3rd level spell. Targets in a 30-foot cone must make a CON saving throw. Creatures take 6d6 force damage on a failed save, or half of that on a successful save. If they fail, the targets are also pushed or pulled 15 feet, depending on your choice. The spell is solid damage, mixed with an interesting utility effect that can hit several targets. 
• Temporal Shunt - 5th level spell. As a reaction, you can make an enemy who is attacking or starting to cast a spell make a WIS saving throw. If they fail the saving throw, they vanish, only reappearing at the start of their next turn. Taking an enemy out for a whole turn is insane, and as a reaction even better. One of the best Chronurgy spells.

Multiclass Options

• Wizard/Fighter 2 - Two levels in Fighter give you Action Surge, allowing you to take another action in one turn. This pairs nicely with other spells that manipulate the action economy and enables you to start fights with multiple big spells. Also gives some amount of bonus health, as well as proficiency with all armor/shields.
• Wizard/Sorcerer 3 - Gives players access to metamagic, similar to the feat above. This grants players three sorcery points, which can be raised to five if paired with the metamagic adept feat. More Quickened and Extended spells is nice, but keep in mind that you will have to raise your CHA to 13 to level the Sorcerer class. 
• Wizard/Artificer 1 - Only requires one level, but grants proficiency in Con saving throws, and grants proficiency with shields and armor up to medium. A nice upgrade with a very small requirement.

With all this in mind, becoming a master Chronurgist who warps time and space on the battlefield is within ?your grasp. Remember, there's no time like the present unless you're a Chronurgy Wizard. Then you can just make the present any time you want.

The post Best Builds for a Chronurgy Wizard in D&D 5e appeared first on Destructoid.

Hasbro, the parent company that owns the Dungeons & Dragons license, has raked in $90 million in royalty fees since the release of Baldur's Gate 3, according to a Bloomberg report. The 2023 Game of the Year for many outlets has been a massive success with a 96% review rating from over 500,000 Steam gamers.

"Baldur’s Gate 3, last year’s most critically acclaimed video game, has brought in about $90 million since its August release for parent company Hasbro Inc. through a licensing deal," wrote Bloomberg's Cecilia D'Anastasio.

Despite the $90 million in revenue, Hasbro has laid off many of its staff. It cut 1,000 of its full-time staff in January after taking away 900 jobs over the past few months. CBC News reports 29% of Hasbro's workforce has been let ??go. This came after ?a reportedly weak holiday season.

Despite that horrible news, the universally beloved game was given Game of the Year from The Game Awards over steep competition like The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom and Marvel's Spider-Man 2, among others. It also just won the coveted prize from the DICE Awards.

Despite the game's 1.0 release back in August, developer Larian Studios is still updating Baldur's Gate 3 six months later. In today's sixth patch, unique kisses have been added to the game for each roman??cable character.

"All characters now have unique kisses that reflect their personality, with an emphasis on the plural," said Larian Studios in an update blog on Steam. "These kisses are randomised and vary from the incredibly ro??mantic to�uh, a little more intense." Additionally, new idle animations have been added in the camp to "help your campsite feel more alive." Other gameplay modifications have been added.

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Critical Failure

Advanced Dungeons & Dragons: Iron & Blood: Warriors of Ravenloft came to me as a request from the fabulous Akeashar. I had never heard of it, but my local game shop had a cop??y in stock. As I browsed the rack of PS1 games, I couldn’t remember the name. I just knew it was ridiculous, and sure enough, I found it based on that fact alone.

I don’t know. Initially, I thought it might not be that bad. There’s a cheesy �0s CGI cutscene that seems to go on forever and doesn’t make much sense unl??ess you read the story in the instruction manual, but the presentation seems like whoever made the UI maybe sort of cared. One of the characters is a werewolf, so that’s always a plus for me.

The??n I got into the game and a woman with ??no pants on shook her butt at me, knocked me to the ground, and stabbed my character in the dick.

Looks like you were over-matched, friend

Despite spending so much time playing bad games to the point where it might go past the limits of “hobby�and land in “passion�territory, I’m still sometimes surprised. It’s the same as a good game �you never know what bizarre concoction of mechanics is going to impress you. In order to tell you about some of my favorite games, I usually have to open with an apology. Sometimes, genius hides in the most improbable places. Except, we’re talking about kusoge, so reverse-genius. Or perhaps just a different kind of genius. Something wrought by a min?d that can conceive wretchedness on a leve?l beyond us.

Iron & Blood: Warriors of Ravenloft has that stunning level of badness. As its full name suggests, it’s supposedly a Dungeons & Dragons game. Except it’s a fighting game,? which could be cool. Then you read the controls, and things get a little dicey.

Each face button is a different attack, paired with high or low, so your fighter has a whop??ping 12 basic attacks. Then it’s ??like, “you can only hit a prone opponent by using the ‘Hit while down attack��which is toward, back, toward, circle. I am not making this up. This is how you strike at the crotch.

I might have been nicer if you begged

I decided to check out campaign mode because I already knew I wouldn’t be able to convince my husband to play this with me. You select four characters and compete against your opponent's party. Each fight yields rewards, and by that I mean, it a?lways offe??red either magic power or a new teammate. A dude on the other team got an artifact once, but I don’t remember the voice mentioning it.

Let me tell you something: I’ve read the entire manual, and I still don’t get most of the mechanics. I went into training mode to see if it was a tutorial, but instead, I was faced with a mystery. The AI doesn’t just act like a dummy that you can pract?ice your hit while down attack. It’s completely just a normal fight. One that you can lose. There’s no move list for you to try out. I’m not even sure why it’s a separate mode.

But there are some mechanics that are just completely baffling. I was trying to figure out what was up with artifacts, so I checked the instruction manual and found that they can be toggled in the options menu. Can they? There’s no option there, and the spot where it should be according to the manual is instead taken ??up by Auto Save.

On my first playthrough of the campaign, artifacts never showed up for me ??as a match objective. I was puzzled, so I looked them up, and I’m not sure I’ve ever seen a manual be so coy about a mechanic.

�i>In Campaign mode, contestants must find and acquire artifacts by first recognizing an object’s unique? signal, and then performing the proper button combination to gain the artifact.�/i>

That’s something I would write if I had to pen a manual without ever having seen the game. And if I was trying to meet a deadline of 3pm that afternoon. And if I stayed up the entire previous night playing Harvester.

I scanned the manual again for any mention of this “proper button combina?tion�and it came up bupkiss. Must be simple right? No, I?? looked up a guide and every character has a different combination. Here’s Kaurik’s, for example: half-circle counterclockwise starting from up, and triangle. To be fair, this is apparently the same combination of his Dervish Attack.

An??yway, a??re you following so far? Because I’m completely lost.

The Shin Test

It shouldn’t be this complicated. It doesn’t have to be. I have this test I like to run on bad fighting games called “The Shin Test.�It’s simple: crouch and hit the light attack button and see if that’s enough to win. See how far it can get you on the default difficulty, at least. Shaq-Fu rates rather highly on the Shin Test (or Shindex, if you will), but Castlevania Judgment does n??ot. It’s not really a mea??sure of quality, but it’s interesting when applied against kusoge.

How high Iron & Blood: Warriors of Ravenloft measures on the Shin Test varies based on the character you pick. Sarah the Werewolf, for example, wrecks shins. E?ven the gargoyle trashes tibias. The dorky wizard with the dumb thing on his head?? Shins laugh at his stupid fire magic. With Sarah, I was actually able to finish head-to-head mode on the default difficulty with only crouching light attacks. The Minion of Chaos�legbones didn’t know what hit them.

Violence against crotches

I’ve covered a few fighting games in this column, and it’s really hard to say which is the worst. I don’t really want to give up the idea that Transformers: Beast Wars: Transmetals is the bottom of the dish drain, but Iron & Blood: Warriors of Ravenloft is right there with it among the caked-on dishwater. Iron & Blood might edge out a win simply because of i??ts enthusiasm for violence against crotches.

I never even mentioned the music, which is�interesting. If Iron & Blood looks like the sort of game that you’d see in a movie or TV show that represents a video game while barely resembling one, its soundtrack sounds like someone making fun of �0s techno. I almost couldn’t believe what I was hearing: a bunch of synthetic music until someone comes in whispering “Xenobia.�/a> Yeah, there are lyrics, and as far as I can tell behind all the grunting, they’re rapping about what’s going on in the game. To be fair, part of the soundtrack was done by Michael Bross, who did the scores for some of the Ratchet & Clank and Oddworld games. This is just not his best work. Or maybe it fits the unfortunate tragedy that is Iron & Blood so tightly that it’s really genius.

For previous Weekly Kusoge, check this link!

The post Advanced Dungeons & Dragons: Iron & Blood: Warriors of Ravenloft for PS1 is not worth typing out appeared first on Destructoid.

Get snared in Dotemu's fantastic remake

Epic Games Store users can bag themselves an absolute gem of a title for free, as Dotemu's Wonder Boy: The Dragon's Trap is offered up to all EGS customers grat??is thi??s week.

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=eYXzXBbFKOY

Developed by Lizardcube and released in 2017, Wonder Boy: The Dragon's Trap is a remake done right. Based upon the excellent 1989 Sega Master System RPG, Lizardcube's title recreates the cart-based classic in a 1:1 capacity, ?switching out the 8-bit visuals for stylish and attractive hand-drawn visuals. In addition, the?? remake features a charming, rerecorded score, and includes new features such as additional difficulty options and a new playable hero, Wonder Girl.

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=dMah9liwPyY

In addition to the Wonder Boy remake, Epic Games Store will also be giving away Baeloth's Gladiator of the Dark Pits expansion pack, for use with Dungeons & Dragons adventure title Idle Champions of the Forgotten Realm. Players need only log in to the D&D title from?? July 14 to automatically unlock access to the DLC expansion.

The new titles will be made available for all to download from July 14-21. Next week, from July 21-28, players can claim the shopkeeping sim Shop Titans and the 64-player WWI FPS Tannenberg.

If you do not have it already, be sure to pick up The Dragon's Trap. Without hyperbole, it is one of the most enjoyable?, enduring?, and compelling remakes ever made.

The post The fantastic Wonder Boy: The Dragon’s Trap is free on Epic Games Store appeared first on Destructoid.

Roll for initiative

Dungeons & Dragons is yet another gaming franchise that's making its way to the big screen, and this one has been a long time coming. Whispers of the film started back in 2013, when the battle for legal rights started, and pre-production started in 2017, when Hasbro officially announced that the movie was happening. After a delayed release date from 2021 due to the pandemic's effect on production, the Dungeons & Dragons movie got pushed to 2023.

The newest update on the film comes from Wizards of the Coast's D&D Direct Event, where it announced the project's official title: Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves. The logo was also unveiled, which draws heavily from the game's branding??.

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=MHXWY_gPzMw

Actors attached to Honor Among Thieves include Chris Pine, Hugh Grant, Sophia Lillis, Michelle Rodriguez, Justice Smith, and Regé-Jean Page. We don't know yet what the plot of the movie will look like, but we do know that it's being written and directed by John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein, the duo known for directing the 2018 film Game Night.

Dungeons & Dragons has surged into the mainstream in recent years largely due to actual play podcasts �the most prominent among them being Critical Role and The Adventure Zone. Many of these shows, and other independent D&D-inspired projects, have branched out into other media like comic books, animated series, and even their own official Dungeons & Dragons campaign settings.

It was only a matter of time before mainstream Hollywood caught onto the trend, but as someone who fell down the D&D content rabbit hole a few years ago, I can only hope that they do the property justice when there have been so many incredible indie projects. If this Dungeons & Dragons movie gets the tre?atment that most other gaming properties get onscreen, I'm going to be pretty disappointed, to put it plainly.

Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves is set to release in theaters on March 3, 2023.

The post The Dungeons & Dragons movie just dropped its new title, logo appeared first on Destructoid.

Your good friend Regis told me all about you.

It’s been five years since we last saw a new game based on Dungeons & Dragons. This seems like a long time, considering the tabletop RPG has never been far from video game adaptations. We last got Sword Coast Legends, and I’m sorry to have just reminded you about that. On the bright side, we’ve got Baldur’s Gate III to look forward to.

We also have Dungeons & Dragons: Dark Alliance, which is billed as a spiritual successor to the Baldur’s Gate: Dark Alliance games from way back. Technically. They’re all action RPGs and they’re set in the Forgotten Realms campaign, but that’s about it. There’s no narrative continuity and the gameplay is extremely divergent, so, emphasis on spiritual.

Here we join Drizzt Do'Urden, Catti-brie, Bruenor Battlehammer, and Wulfgar from R.A. Salvatore’s Legend of Drizzt series of novels. It’s their job to clean up a goblin problem the Dwarves seem to have. Or, as Catti-brie says in the most annoying voice possible: “Goblins! Goblins! Goblins!�/p>

Dungeons & Dragons: Dark Alliance (PC [Reviewed], PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X)
Developer: Tuque Games
Publisher: Wizards of the Coast
Released: June 22, 2021
MSRP: $39.99

Hilariously, my first experience in joining an online party was seeing another player’s character shimmy towards a chest, reversing direction every few seconds. Thankfully the rest of the game wasn’t as glitchy. As glitchy.

It’s not even that the game is unreasonably buggy, ju?st extremely janky. The ragdoll is insane, with some enemies launching off into the sky when getting hit by an arrow, and others plummeting into the ground. But the day I complain about insane ragdoll is the d??ay hell is colder than Icewind Dale.

The issue I did have with the jankiness comes down to responsiveness. The most irksome example of this is aiming a bow with Cattie-brie. You can charge your shots, but if you press the heavy attack butt??on before she’s done nocking her next arrow, she does�nothing at all. She doesn’t start charging her next attack, she doesn’t fire an uncharged attack, she just stands there, waiting for you to notice her inactivity and press the button again.

It’s gluey one moment and ?overly sensitive the next. Why is it, when I’m aiming with crosshairs, Cattie-brie will jump into her explosive arrow attack because I gently pressed up and hit the arrow button. I get that’s what the comm?and is, but you usually don’t want to fire a short-ranged attack when you’re using crosshairs. This seems like something that could have been easily refined.

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I hate the lock-on system in Dark Alliance. Using it greatly narrows your vision and enemies will shamelessly attack from off-screen. If I ignored the lock-on targeting, I’d often have my hero miss the enemy completely, throwing a flurry of attacks at the? air behind them. It’s embarrassing!

I keep calling reference to Cattie-brie because she was the only character I really enjoyed. The three other characters are melee-focused, and that comes down to a lot of button mashing. It’s not just down to misunderstanding the combat system either. Every party I was in, the other members would just rush in and start piling?? on a single target, mashing him to death and maybe dodging out when the big bad starts throwin?g a big attack. Meanwhile, I would just be sitting back and flinging arrows, kicking to death anyone who would come close.

Bruenor is supposed to be the tank character, and that works okay sometimes, but aggro is all over the place. Once, I was felled in combat, and? the enemy that did me in just remained in place, slamming his fist into my lifeless body repeatedly, completely ignoring the threats that were all still around me.

The enemies are just plain daft at the best of times. In the chaos of four players diving into combat, the crappy AI isn’t always that noticeable until you take a closer look. They’re not very responsive to player actions, often taking their time to throw an attack under duress. There? were many moments where?? my party would just beat on giant enemies, and they’d stand there taking it without even trying to defend themselves.

The difficulty is all over the place. You choose your level of difficulty on a scale with a recommendation being made based on your party st??rength, but it still fluctuates wildly. One of my first matches had the group practically walk through the level and topple the boss, except for this one area where we had to fight an almost unending supply of trolls that would corner one player and mash them into a paste. There was a lot of runni??ng around and reviving each other in the fight; another action enemies usually ignored.

The end boss of that chapter was laughable. We toppled it without exertin??g ourselves, and that just confused the party leader. “Oh, he has a second form,�he said when a cutscene kicked in. Nope, that was just an elaborate way of showing him die.

The enemy variety in Dark Alliance is dismal. Some of the bosses are the same as regular enemies, just a bit better buffed and sporting a n?ame above their head. I think of any modern MMO, and th??eir dungeons are filled with unique bosses that you topple on your way to the head cheese. That’s completely lacking here. It’s just wading through goblins, verbeeg, trolls, and cultists until you hit one with a name.

The environments elicit the same deja vu. There are a few that look unique, but most of the time you’re just fighting through corridors within some crag f??illed with cobblestone floors and frozen ledges. I get that this is supposed to take place within a single region of Icewind Dale, but maybe someone should have thrown down a rug, just to spiffy up some of these dungeons. You know, if they were expecting company.

I wrack my brain trying to figure out Dark Alliance’s strengths, and I’m not coming up?? with much. The level design works surprisingly well for multiplayer. I was afraid looting would fall by the wayside, but every time a fight would wrap up, everyone would run off in different directions and grab chests before finally moving on. I didn’t feel like things were getting missed. Well,? except for the shoes that would pop out of chests some other player would open. Those just rot, forgotten on the ground.

Okay, I screwed that one up. Its other strengths are�Let me put it gently: there is some promise to its multiplayer. If its control issues are mopped up and the enemies recover from their collective hangovers, Dark Alliance could be reasonable fun with friends. Fo?r a little while. I guess.

_{[This review is based on a retail build of the game provided by the publisher.]}

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Goblins! Goblins! Goblins!

Maybe Dungeons & Dragons just isn't something that can be enjoyed without friend?s.

Dungeons & Dragons: Dark Alliance (PC [Reviewed], PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X)
Developer: Tuque Games
Publisher: Wizards of the Coast
Released: June 22nd, 2021
MSRP: $39.99

To answer a question that some may have, Dungeons & Dragons: Dark Alliance is a spiritual sequel to Baldur’s Gate: Dark Alliance. While there are stark differences that make this one distinct from its two predecessors, the dropping of the Baldur’s Gate name probably has more to do with the upcoming Baldur’s Gate III and wanting to avoid confusion.

Otherwise, the idea’s the same: a more action-oriented take on the pen-and-paper RPG. It’s once again set in the Forgotten Realms campaign, this time using characters from the Legend of Drizzt series. It takes place soon after R. A. Salvatore’s pulp novel, The Crystal Shards.

For what that's worth, anyway. The plot isn?’t exactly dense, involving a few factions getting their hands on magic gewgaws that you don’t want them to have?. Still, you get a chance to see some of D&D’s more prolific characters in action. There’s Drizzt, Wulfgar, Catti-Brie, and Bruenor, each with their own powers, roles, moves, and loot.

The problems with playing single-player become apparent pretty quickly. The AI in Dark Alliance is absolutely daft. I spent most of my playtime as Catti-Brie (which was probably a bad choice in retrospect) and was perfectly capable of standing on a ledge to soften up groups of enemies. They can’t work ledges, period. Rather than mull about trying to get to you, they just act like you’re not there while you take potshots. They’ll even continue conversations while you try to interrupt them by feeding arrows into their g?roin.

Not that you even need to find a? ledge to stand on. You can just go outside the rather tight range that enemies have and they’ll act like you aren’t even there anymore. They’ll just return to their neutral state. Then you can, once ??again, lob projectiles at their crotches until they fall over.

Or you could, you know, not cheese every encounter??. It’s just really damned tempting. Even when I forced myself into direct combat, the enemies just aren’t that aggressive. There were many times where they just stood there as I lined my crosshairs up with their face or slashed up their friends. When they do attack, they’re simply predictable. Usually, the only way I’d die in combat was when I’d get trapped in a swarm of enemies. Other times, I had the difficulty too high and someone would lay me flat with a s?ingle swing.

Playing solo is just a drag. The characters prattle on the worst one-liners, and the story isn’t much to speak about. The fights are repetitive and slow, and the difficulty is all over the place. Looting is fine. It’s one of those things in video games that never really gets old, but it wil??l only carry you so far.

I’m just not digging Dungeons & Dragons: Dark Alliance right now. It feels rickety at best and annoying at worst. Monotonous, bland, uninteresting. However, I know that multi-player can offset some of the problems I had. I wouldn’t judge Left 4 Dead or Gauntlet based on their single-player, so it seems unfair to set my criticism in stone until I’ve sampled what Dark Alliance can offer. I’m not hopeful, but it’s worth giving it that chance. Though, if you were planning to be a solo adventure?r, maybe reconside?r.

_{[This review is based on a retail build of the game provided by the publisher.]}

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Another big get for Xbox

Xbox Game Pass owners will have a new avenue for their dungeon-pilfering needs next month, as Tuque Games announced that Dungeons & Dragons: Dark Alliance is coming to Xbox Game Pass.

This new Dark Alliance will be available through Microsoft's subscription se?rvice on Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, Windows PC, and phones and tab??lets via Cloud Gaming all on June 22, the day it launches.

The new Dark Alliance is, of course, a dungeon-crawling action game that you can play with up to four other players. It will also have cross play be??tween PC and Xbox, so Game Pass users can still match up no matte??r where.

Playing as either Drizzt, Catti-brie, Bruenor, or Wulfgar, your party can blast through hordes of monsters through Icewind Dale. The developers are doing a live stream every Friday at 12 p.m. PT leading up to launch if you want to check out some footage, or if you'd rather get that Dark Alliance fix now, there's also a re-release of Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance out on consoles that's, well, exactly how you remember it.

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Due to "unforeseen issues"

There's a new Dungeons & Dragons: Dark Alliance on the way, and today, Black Isle and Interplay have released a re-release of the classic Baldur's Gate variation of Dark Alliance. It's out now on PlayStation 4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X|S, but the Nintendo Switch version? has hi?t a snag.

On Twitter, Black Isle Studios posted a statement saying that "due to unforeseen issues," it would be delaying Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance's Switch launch for a few days. "We're incredibly sorry about this and we're working hard to remedy this as quic?kly as possible."

Hey all,

Due to an unforeseen issue on the Nintendo Switch store, we’re going to have to delay the launch for a few days to fix it.
We’re incredibly sorry about this and we’re working hard to remedy this as quickly as possible.

Thanks for your patience! pic.twitter.com/qw3h8hey1L

— Black Isle Studios (@BlackIsleStudio) May 7, 2021

The re-release of Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance has higher resolution graphics, though it will still have the classic hack-and-slash action of the original. It will also have the ability to adventure with a friend, a key piece of the original Dark Alliance's appeal.

The only thing better than? dungeon crawling and looting is doing so with a pal. Hopefully the Switch version snafu can get fixed up soon.

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Console MMO fun!

In today's giveaway you can claim a Gift of the Noble Guard key for Neverwinter PS4 or Xbox One!

It's giveaway time again! Today we've got console keys for Neverwinter: Avernus conte?s??t, giving you exclusive content and a boost in XP for your adventures, so claim one before they're gone!

About Neverwinter: Avernus.

Following the events of Infernal Descent, the previous major update for Neverwinter, Avernus sends players on a thrilling journey across the wastelands of Avernus, the first layer of the Nine Hells. In the remains of the Vallenhas stronghold, players meet Lulu, a curious hollyphant and Archdevil Zariel’s old companion. With a locked infernal puzzle box in the player’s possession, Lulu offers aid in opening it; the only problem is, Lulu has lost her memories. The only hope of restoring her memories is an odyssey through Avernus, where players team up with two unlike??ly companions: Makos and the opportunistic merchant, Mahadi.

Along the way, players explore the sprawling Ad??venture Zone of Avernus as they fight their way through hordes of demons and devils and ch??allenge the powerful ruler of Avernus, Archdevil Zariel. This epic journey also lets players take part in the brand new Path of the Fallen campaign to earn new rewards, drive infernal war machines and experience how their actions directly impact and evolve the world of Avernus.

I don't know w??hat's happeni??ng here, but chances are if you're reading this, you do!

Here's?? what's included in your Gift of the Noble Guard content:

• Cape of the Noble Guard
• Stone of Health
• Adventurer's XP Booster
• 5 Injury Kits

Clai??m a key from the corresponding widget below -- just be quick, because we only have 25 keys for each platform! Once they're gone, they're gone baby, gone.

Neverwinter is available to play now -- for free! -- on PS4 and Xbox One.

PS4 key:

Giveaway: Take a Gift of the ?Noble Guard for Neverwinter ??on PS4

Xbox One key:

Giveaway: Take a?? Gift of the Noble Guard for Neverwinter on ??Xbox One

The post Giveaway: ??Take a Gift of the Noble Guard for Neverwinter on PS4 or?? Xbox One appeared first on Destructoid.

It's free, just take it!

In today's giveaway, you can take a key for the Gift of the Twisted Noble pack for Neverwinter Avernus expansion!

The best time to get free stuff is around the launch of a new game or DLC. You probably already knew that from the sheer amou??nt of brand new stuff we give out, but still. The more you know.

Neverwinter just launched its Avernus ex??pansion, featurin?g brand new missions and content. And you know what that means -- free stuff!

Deets on the expansion below.

Following the events of Infernal Descent, the previous major update for Neverwinter, Avernus sends players on a thrilling journey across the Wastes of Avernus, the first layer of the Nine Hells, where players will meet Lulu, a curious hollyphant and Archdevil Zariel’s old companion, who arrives in what remains of the Vallenhas stronghold. With a locked infernal puzzle box in the player’s possession, Lulu offers aid in opening it, the only problem is, she’s lost her memories. With the only hope of restoring her memories being ??to take an odyssey through Avernus, players must team up with two unlikely companions, Makos and the opportunistic merchant, Mah?adi, to take on this dire quest.

Along the way, players can expect to explore new story content as they fight their way through hordes of demons to continue the Descent Into Avernus storyline and take part in a br??and new Path of the Fallen campaign. This new journey also lets players drive infernal war machines, unravel the mysterious past of the Archdevil Zariel and experience how their action??s directly impact and evolve the world of Avernus.

And here's what we're giving away!

Gift of the Twisted Noble Content (PC)

• Cape of the Twisted Noble
• Stone of Health
• Adventurer's XP Booster
• 5 Injury Kits

Claiming a?? key is simple as requesti?ng one from the widget below. We've only got 50 keys (for the PC version, only), so grab yours now! Once they're gone, they're gone.

Neverwinter and its newest expansion, Avernus, is free to play and available now.

Dtoid Giveaway: T??ake a Gift of the Twisted Noble key for Neverwinter Avernus

The post Giveaway: Take a Gift of the Twisted Noble? key for Neverwinte?r Avernus appeared first on Destructoid.

Old habits die hard

There's a certain time, place, and mindset for idle games, and while I'm in no way in the mood for Idle Champions of the Forgotten Realms right now, I recognize that on??e day, things could change. One day, I could be stuck with no motivation to play anything else. I might want something a little less reflex-intensive. I might want to make never-ending pr?ogress because my brain thinks it feels good.

When that day arrives, I could stand to check out Idle Champions of the Forgotten Realms on Nintendo Switch. The eShop version launches tomorrow, May 7. It's a (well-?monetized) free-to-play release.

Idle Champions of the Forgotten Realms releases on #NintendoSwitch tomorrow, May 7th!

Check it out here: //t.co/A5xZCMqJPj @NintendoAmerica @NintendoEurope @NintendoUK @NintendoCanada @NintendoAUNZ @Wizards_DnD @CNEGames #dnd #dndgames #indiedev #PlayApartTogether pic.twitter.com/YoM1BoF1Px

— Idle Champions (@idlechampions) May 6, 2020

Idle Champions is a popular D&D take on passive gaming that I always see Steam friends playing (or should I say "running") on PC, but I've avoided first-hand exposure. I've already been through Cookie Clicker, Clicker Heroes, and Universal Paperclips,? okay? I ?know how this gold-generating story goes.

You'll form an RPG party, figure out their ideal battle positions, upgrade their gear, fight until you hit an inevitable wall, and reset the run,?? netting yourself long-term progression benefits. It's the idle way.

For those of you with more of a deep-seated Dungeons & Dragons background, you'll spot a lot of familiar characters in Idle Champions – Codename Entertainment draws from "digital games? (Minsc & Boo, Deekin Scalesinger, Celeste, and Makos), printed novels (like the Companions of the Hall, and Jarlaxle Baenre), and comic and TRPG content (like Birdsong, Barrowin Undurr, and Asharra)."

I've never cared much for the art direction, but mechanically, I can tell this is the good stuff. It's a sha??me there doesn't seem to be cross-platform-save support. Starting fresh in these games can be rough.

The post The D&D clicker game Idle Champions is out on Nintendo Switch appeared first on Destructoid.

D&D is so fetch

Dungeons and Dragons is riding a great wave of cultural resurgence thanks in part to its inclusion in the Netflix show Stranger Things as well as general interest in the tabletop role-playing game market also seeing a resurgence. Even I, a person who dislikes fantasy settings immensely, now find myself in a Waterdeep Campaign with some of my ?oldest friends. Despite that caveat, I'm having a blast because of the pure freedom I'm given so long as the dice rolls are with me.

With this cultural rediscovery of the classic series, it only makes sense that the owners of the copyright would want to capitalize by bringing other games to market. Hot off the heels of a less-than-stellar trailer for a Dark Alliance hack-and-slash RPG, as well as the earlier announcement that Baldur's Gate 3 is happening, Wizards of the Coast has made it clear that we can exp?ect more games in the D&D universe in the near future.

Speaking with GameIndustry.biz, Wizards of the Coast president Chris Co??cks spoke on the future of video game development in regards to D&D:

"We really don't limit people, the D&D team's job is to say 'yes' when people want to play something. The best dungeon masters tend to want to figure out how to say 'yes,' and have the players do what they want to do. We want to open it up, open up the narrative possibilities, the character development, open up the level of problem solving and combat opportunities and thri?lls that players can be able to experience. And we're going to do it in a variety of genres. And in future games we will explore different area??s, whether it's grand strategy and combat at army level scale, to really intimate character portrayal."

Cocks went on to make a stand for single-player games, stating that there "would be single-player modes in all of our games" but also recognizing that they can't deny the legacy of party mechanics in the series. "...But we always think that our co-operative perspective, th???at forming a party with your friends and doing great things together, the party is bigger than individual components, will always be an important part of our secret sauce."

If Warhammer can scratch our Left 4 Dead itch, then I think the sky is the limit for a game set in the lore rich universe of D&D. So what is your dream D&D game? Despite them baiting me with a grand strategy, I want to see something a bit more out there: Rocket League with Warhorses.

Expect "seven ??or eight" Dungeons & Dragons games in the near future [GameIndustry.biz]

The post Wizards of the Coast plans for ‘seven or eight’ Dungeons and Dragons games in the near future appeared first on Destructoid.

Time for another playthrough of Neverwinter Nights

Announced a few months back, Beamdog and Skybound Games are bringing a bunch of classic D&D RPGs to consoles this Fall. Going under the collective title of "D&D Classics Enhanced," these new ports will be available on PS4, Xbox One, and Switch and will include the entire range of enhanced edition ports that Beamdog has released on PC. For those unaware, the titles include Baldur's Gate, Baldur's Gate II, Neverwinter Nights, Icewind Dale, and Planescape: Torment.

Skybound has finally unveiled some footage of the ports and they don't look too bad. While I'd certainly expect performance to be solid (the newest of these games is 17 years old), the tweaked interface doesn't come off as badly optimized for gamepad users. All of the titles save for Neverwinter Nights will be hitting digital shops on September 24 in North America and September 27 for the rest of the world. NWN lands on December 3 in North America and December 6 eve?rywhere else.

If you're not keen on digital releases, know that Skybound will be producing physical versions for all the games included. Releasing the same dates as the digital copies, the boxed versions will come in bundle packs for $49.99 each. Baldur's Gate I & II will be packed together, Planescape: Torment and Icewind Dale will make up another bundle, and Neverwinter Nights will be sold by itself with 10 additional DLC campaigns. You can find out more info and pre-order the games from Skybound's website.

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Hunt for the Thessalhydra

Avid Stranger Things watchers no longer have to settle in for long Netflix sessions to experience th??e horrors of Hawkins, Indiana. Soon, they'll get to experience them firsthand.

Hasbro, Wizards of the Coast, and Netflix have teamed up to create an official Dungeons & Dragons campaign centered around the first couple seasons of Stranger Things. It comes with five pre-made character sheets based on the role-playing fantasies of the boys in the show. (Will the Wise and Dustin the Dwarf were explicitly mentioned.) Also included are an adventure book, a rulebook, a set of six dice, and two Demogorgon figures -- one that's meant for painting. There a??re pictures of everything i?n the gallery below.

The ultimate goal of the campaign is to hunt the Thessalhydra, which is the gigantic shadow monster that haunts Will from the Upside Down in season two. However, because this is where the show got its ties to D&D in the very first e??pisode, there's also a seemingly-inevitable encounte?r with the Demogorgon.

This might serve as the perfect stopgap for the people who are eagerly awaiting the next season. Stranger Things Season 3 comes to Netflix later this summer. But, the Stranger Things Dungeons & Dragons campaign hits retailers on May 1. It's priced at $25 on places like Amazon. That's t?he cost of living out the nightmares of a cult classic.

Hasbro Stranger Things Dungeons & Dragons Roleplaying Game Sta??rter Set [Amazon]

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You're gorram right I'm taking that candle

Blizzard's Hearthstone has gone through some major changes in the last year. The biggest shakeup saw the game disallowing many of its older cards in the standard gamepla??y modes, moving them to a separate format called "Wild." The regular updates the game receives have also been changed. They used to alternate back and forth between campaigns with stories and s?tandard expansions, with the campaigns guaranteeing a specific set of cards for those who completed a series of puzzle battles. Over the last year, the development team has decided to move away from the story expansions, instead releasing just the standard expansions.

As a concession to those who preferred the old ways, the last two expansions have included a free mode similar to the older campaigns, though the reward has been randomized. The most recent freebie is some of the most fun I've had with Hearthstone since I started playing, but it doesn't hide the fact that the game has become a lot less frien??dly to those who aren't?? willing to pay for digital cards.

Hearthstone: Kobolds and Catacombs (Android, iOS, Mac, PC [reviewed])
Developer: Blizzard Entertainment
Publisher: Blizzard Entertainment
Released: December 7, 2017
MSRP: Free to play, packs cost $1.50 apiece

Let's start with that new mode, called Dungeon Run. It's a brilliant combination of a collectable card game and a rogueli??ke, adding more than three dozen puzzle fights to the solo adventures portion of the game. It's couched in the idea of exploring an underground lair, with stronger monsters and more fabulous treasure the deeper underground you manage to explore. Each encounter is a different boss monster with its own special rules and powers to work around, and these are randomized every time you play.

Beating a boss earns you a choice of three sets of three cards to add to your deck, and at certain levels you also gain powerful passive abilities or low cost, game changing cards that would be too powerful to play?? i??n the competitive game. If you can defeat eight bosses with a single deck you win with that class and can try again with another, but if you lose even once you have to start over. Completing this mode with all nine classes unlocks a special card back, and it's a considerable challenge to do so.

The new mode is a fantastic way for new players to learn how to play HearthStone, as it gives them some basic class cards at the beginning and requires learning and crafting a strategy as the game progress?es. It's sort of similar to drafting a deck for an Arena run, except the cards you choose tend to fit into a specific strategy rather than being totally randomi??zed.

T?he bosses you'll face are varied and diverse, much like the opponents you'll come up against in ranked play. It's also a lot of fun since it gives you access to some?? of your class's best cards, assuming you progress far enough to earn them. The random nature can occasionally make it feel unfair though, especially if the boss you end up against completely counters the strategy you had been working towards.

The new mode is a blast, and I d??rained my phone's battery eight times over the first weekend after releas??e. It's great to have some single-player content to play when I don't want to face off against a human opponent, and the random bosses mean it's always a challenge to finish an entire run. 

As for the expansion cards themselves, they're... fine. The new Recruit mechanic lets you pull a card directly from your deck onto the battlefield, similar to Barnes or Y'sharrj's special abilities. It works better with creatures who do something at the end of your turn or when they die, and Battlecry minions who do something when they're played from your hand aren't triggered by the mechanic. This completely invalidates the Grimy Goons strategy of buffing cards in your hand before they hit the table, but the Gadgetzan expansion is?? rotating out soo?n anyway so it's not a huge loss.

The spellstones are far more interesting, adding a risk/reward mechanic to some spells that get more powerful if you meet certain requirements before casting them. Each class also gains ten new cards that can be unwrapped?? or crafted, including a legendary minion and weapon. 

Every player who logs in during the promotional period gets one of these weapons for free, as well as the legendary minion Marin the Fox. The weapon you get is randomized, which is unfortunate as some are considerably more useful than others. The Druid's Twig of the World Tree works like Astral Communion without a downside, and the Paladin's Val'anyr fits the class perfectly, discouraging the opponent from trying to break the weapon early due to a powerful Deathrattle effect. On the other end, the Rogue's Kingsbane requires a deck to be built around it, and the deck probably won't end up being very good. Far too many decks are running weapon destruction cards rig??ht now?? to be able to get much value out of Kingsbane.

The problem many players are facing is a lack of resources needed to craft new cards. You can break down cards you don't want into a resource called Arcane Dust, and each card you break is worth about a quarter of what it would cost to craft a new copy. Back when Whispers of the Old Gods and Mean Streets of Gadgetzan released, each class got one legendary minion apiece, and all other class-specific cards were epic or lower. By focusing on a specific class and melting down anything you didn't intend to play, it was possible to build a very competitive deck without spending additional money for packs. Ever since Un'Goro, each class has received two legendary cards in every expansion, effectively doubling the cos?t of entry if you want to be able to play with all the toys. 

Blizzard has made some changes to make things slightly better for the consumer, and you'll no longer get any duplicate legendaries in packs. Doing daily quests to earn in-game money can net you a free pack every two to three days, and you can earn one per week through the "Tavern Brawl" weekly event. But the game feels pretty stingy in how many free packs you can earn, especially when most you open will have four commons and an uncommon card at best. For example, beating the Dungeon Run with all nine classes nets you a cosmetic card back and no other rewards. You do earn some bonus packs just for trying it out, but there's no two ways around it; the game has gotten more expensive since I first started playing.

Kobolds and Catacombs has some great ideas, and I hope future expansions will each add something similar to Dungeon Run. HearthStone is still my favorite digital CCG, but I f?ully admit I'm a casual player and have no aspirations of topping the leaderboards. It's unfortuna?te, but it seems like the competitive side has gotten a lot closer to being the pay-to-win game people accuse it of being. If you're just looking to have some fun playing cards, stick to the Arena and Dungeon Run where the players with the deepest pockets don't have the advantage. It's a little on the nose how many money piles you'll see in the background of this expansion.

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D20!

Developer Beamdog has made a reputation for itself by resurrecting classic BioWare RPG's. We've already seen modern, updated versions of both Baldur's Gate games, Planescape: Torment and Icewind Dale, but the next on the docket will be a remastered release of Neverwinter Nights.

Some of the updates included in this enhanced edition will be 4K resolution, scalable UI, brand new shaders and lighting and even support for mods and save games from the original release of Neverwinter Nights. You'll be able to nab the game for $19.99 whenever it launches; pre-orders from the official site will grant you access to an early build of the game so that you can prepare any mods or saves for the final ??version.

Back in high school, I would play Neverwinter Nights with one of my friend's almost every night for a good while. We never did get around to finishing the campaign, but I do credit him with introducing me to a wider range of games than I was typically familiar with. As such, I still have a fondness for Neverwinter, even if most people considere??d it a letdown. So, yeah, I'm definitely super excited for this.

Beamdog Announces Neverwinter Nights: Enhanced Edition For PC [Game Informer]

The post ??Neverwinter Nights: Enhanced Edition is coming soon appeared first on Destructoid.

Acoustic covers still up in the air

Today, during PAX South 2017, Penny Arcade announced PAX Unplugged, the latest in its ever-expanding series of Penny Arcade Expos. As the name suggests, PAX Unplugged will focus on tabletop gaming, taking ?the community-forward nature of your average PAX and applying it to the house that the Monopoly Man built. Unplugged will take place in Philadelphia, PA and will run from November 17-19, 2017.

"This show is borne out of demand. The industry as a whole is asking for more," Ryan Hartman, Penny Arcade's Director of Events and Soldier: 76 main said in a phone interview conducted earlier this week. "This is our chance to throw new things at the wall. This is gonna be a PAX, it's gonna have a PAX feel, it's gonna ?have our vibe and our fingerprints all over it, but [Unplugged] has its own spin and flavor. It's not a cut and paste of other shows we've done."

"It's on-brand for a gaming convention, because we're going to play around with that space," Penny Arcade co-founder and Zarya main Jerry Holkins said. "My suspicion is that because Unplugged is a different beast, we're goi?ng to learn a thing or two there that we can bring ba?ck [to the other shows.]"

Between the regular Acquisitions Inc. game, as well as the tabletop areas found in each video game-focused PAX, Penny Arcade's enthusiasm for tabletop gaming has never been in question. However,? there's always the question of logistics. PAX has traditiona??lly been a place where the general public can get their hands on E3 demos, or even some exclusive first looks. But in those cases, game demos are rarely longer than 30 minutes, and ostensibly require enough space for a game station and one person.

Hypothetically, if Wizards of the Coast were to offer public demos for some hot new D&D expansion, that requires a sizable table and space for a few participants. Plus, some tabletop games would tak?e a while to demo, potentially exacerbating PAX's already sizable line problem. Hartman did make a salient point that I hadn't considered: running a tabletop convention meant they didn't have to worry quite as much about power and internet, so that could potentially free up space.

Hartman expects that game companies will be mostly providing truncated demos, but space is something they aren'??t currently worried about. "I think for the size and space we have in our first year, I think we'll be pretty good," Hartman told us. "The good thing you find, being in the convention business, is that a lot of these spaces are malleable and they'll conform to your will and how you want to set them up. There is consideration on our part, and we are in the midst of putting the final touches on how we want to lay this show out."

"In terms of convention?? space, malleable is right. There are convention spaces that you wouldn't even know were malleable because the air walls just look solid. You have a sense of the internal geography of these spaces, but in a lot of cases, they're designed to unfold," Holkins said.

There's also the matter of the ever-expanding PAX empire. Three and a half years ago, Mike Krahulik, the other co-founder of Penny Arcade, found himself at the center of a major games industry controversy. Krahulik posted a handful of tweets that one could describe as "misinformed," if one was feeling extremely charitable. Many pundits and developers were understandably feeling less than charitable, resulting in Gone Home developer Fullbright pulling its anticipated debut title from the sho??w and multiple calls for PAX boycotts.

I don't bring this up to shame anyone -- I'm writing this article ahead of time, but barring any unforeseen horrific accidents, I'm at PAX South right now. Krahulik apologized, not just for the transphobic comments, but for his often "vengeful" behavior, and the company has been relatively controversy-free sinc?e then. Rather, ?I bring it up so you have some context.

In his aforementioned apology post (and in this other apology post), Krahulik spoke about distancing Penny Arcade from PAX. "It's outgrown us and it belongs to the gaming community at large now not just PA fans. Someday I expect to attend a P??AX and not even be recognized," Krahulik wrote. "During the Q&A at PAX Prime we actually talked about slowly removing ourselves from the show over the next few years. We've been doing it for a decade now and I'm happy to step out of the way and let the show grow without me rather than in spite of me."

Although we didn't speak with Krahulik during our interview and were unable to track down the PAX Prime Q&A in question for corroboration, Holkins spoke about winding down Penny Arcade as a media "empire" during the final days of The Penny Arcade Report and PA TV. "Child's Play and PAX have lives of their own, now. They're vital, and they need an obsessive level of care," Holkins wrote. "We will do everything in our power to ensure that these things outlast us by a wide margin. But I don't think I want to 'grow my business??' anymore; I sort of want to do the opposite."

Right now there are five different ?PAX events running, if you include PAX Dev. PAX Unplugged will be the company's sixth yearly event, so I was curious if Penny Arcade was still interested in making PAX feel like its own thing, or even potentially selling the name to organizing partners ReedPop.

Although Hartman and Holkins had positive things to say about ReedPop ("They're awesome to work with," Hartman said), it seems like Penny Arcade isn't quite done with PAX. "We have the four pi??llar PAXs, we have this cool direction with Unplugged, so I still find the space really interesting," Holkins said. "Eventually, I'll be too old to do this. [PAX] will have to be passe??d on to people we trust, but we're not done working on it yet."

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Sometimes you just gotta fight it out

If there's one role-playing game I regret never having played, it's got to be Planescape: Torment. This PC RPG has gained a huge cult followi??ng over the years, and it's pretty easy to find people willing to sing its praises. From what I know about the game it sounds fascinating; dying merely sends your story down a different path since your character is an immortal being, and the setting requires you to travel between multiple dimensions to try and recover your lost memories.

Torment: Tides of Numenara is a spiritual successor to Planescape: Torment that was successfully kickstarted in 2013. Although it's been delayed several times, it's nearing release and should be available on PC, PS4 and Xbox One on February 28. Planescape: Torment is well known for solving problems through means other than combat, focusing more on dialogue and other means of solving problems. Set a billion years in Earth's future, Torment: Tides of Numenara looks to continue that tradition, but accedes that sometimes mix??ing it up with bad guys is unavoidable.&nbs?p;

The trailer shows how you'll be able to deal with enemies when conversation fails you. Of particular note is the use of Cyphers, single use items with the power to ?turn the tide of battle. This power comes with a cost however, and hoarding Cyphers can literally blow up in your face if they react and explode in your inventory. Even holding too many will cause "Cypher Sickness," inflicting a stat penalty on a character with many Cyphers in their inventory. Fortunately, it appears as though the player will be able to devote skill points towards making sure this doesn't happen.

Up to three companions can join your party, and the player will have full control of them during combat. Each has their own unique abilities, and non-player characters will be able to use Cyphers too. Even if combat begins, you don't necessarily need to clear the map of enemies to proceed. Focusing on a lea??der might cause their unde??rlings to cut and run, or you can try to talk enemies out of fighting midway through a battle.

Similar to Planescape: Torment, if you fall in combat, that doesn't necessarily mean it's game over. Dying transports you to the Castoff's Labyrinth, an Escher-like maze inside your own mind. Successfully n??avigating it can unlock new story threads, and returns you to life more powerful than before.

I hadn't been following this game closely, but everything I've seen here looks intriguing. The developers are promising "thousands of meaningful decisions that will make every playthrough unique." After nearly four years of development, it looks like Tides of Numenara will be worth the wait. Maybe I can even get a run of Planescape in before Torment launches on February 28.

Torment: Tides of Numenara - A New Take on Combat [YouTube]

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A collection of smaller stories sounds perfect

The first addition to Dungeons & Dragons this year is Tales from the Yawning Portal, a new c??ampaign book that takes ideas and dungeons from the past five decades and brings them to the fifth edition.

It's framed as a collection of tales being told at the Yawnin?g Portal inn:

"When the shadows grow long in Waterdeep and the fire?place in the taproom of the Yawning Portal dims to a deep crimson glow, adventurers from across the Forgotten Realms, and even from other worlds, spin tales and spread rumors of dark dungeons and lost treasures. Some of the yarns overheard by Durnan, the barkeep of? the Yawning Portal, are inspired by places and events in far-flung lands from across the D&D multiverse, and these tales have been collected into a single volume."

Included adventures are Against the Giants, Dead in Thay, Forge of Fury, Hidden Shrine of Tamoachan, Sunless Citadel, Tomb of Horrors, and White Plume Mountain. I really like the idea of all these mini-adventures being in one place, because even though I really enjoy adventure books like Curse of Strahd and Storm King's Thunder, the rate at which my group plays doesn't work wel??l with full campaigns. I'm going to start my own homebrew campaign soon, and I'd love to pepper in the Tomb of Horrors somewhere in the middle of our game. Plus, it's sometimes hard to run these book adventures because cover-to-cover knowledge helps, and that's easier with smaller chapters.

Tales from the Yawning Portal will release April 4, 2017 for $49.95.

_{[The header image is the cover from Princes of the Apocalypse because as of right now, there are no images from Tales from the Yawning Portal that work for our header dimensions!]}

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Oh, and 'D'

PAX South is merely three weeks away, and the list of panels and exhibitors has been finalized. This is the third year for the newest PAX, which is held annually in San Antonio, Texas. Along with the panels and exhibitors, the keynote speaker was also announced, and this year's address will be given by Christopher Perkins, the principal story designer for Dungeons & Dragons.

Perkins has a long relationship with the founders of PAX, Mike Krahulik and Jerry Holkins, who write and draw Penny Arcade. Perkins first served as the Dungeon Master for Holkins and Krahulik as well as PVP artist Scott Kurtz in a series of podcasts that began in 2008. The podcasts followed the exploits of the trio as the founding members of Acquisitions Incorporated, a group of adventurers for hire. These proved popular enough that a live version was incorporated into PAX West, and eventually led to a series of YouTube videos precipitating a session that was live-streamed to theaters across the count?ry. This will be the first year that Acquisitions Incorporated performs at PAX South, with a panel hosted by Perkins on Saturday, January 28.

In addition to the keynote and the live D&D game, attendees will be able to check out lots of other panels and concerts, spend time checking out upcoming games from AAA and indie developers on the show floor, or just hang ??out and play video or tabletop games with others. PAX South will be one of the first v??enues where the public will be able to check out the Nintendo Switch in person.

The schedule has been posted at the PAX South website, and the Penny Arcade Q&A panel on Friday, January 27 promises "the most signifi??cant PAX announcement since the reveal of PAX South." Holkins and Krahulik have expressed interest in expanding P??AX to Europe in the past, so there may be an announcement of a fifth PAX show in the immediate future. We'll let you know as soon as we hear anything.

_{[Kyle MacGregor, who represents PAX for Stride PR, was previously employed at Destructoid. As always, no relationships were factored into this writeup.]}

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Stat blocks for the things that go bump in the night

Picking up a new Dungeons & Dragons book is one of my favorite experiences. Opening it for the first time, the spine cracking a bit, the pages resistant to turning -- it all makes for a bizarrely tactile feeling that I look forward to each time. The Monster Manual type of books have always been my favorite to flip through, especially with the Fifth Edition version. Each creature comes with stat blocks to make them playable for your adventures, but it's always the story hooks that dig deep into me, helping me to conjure half-formed inklings of worlds and scenarios I can drag my players into. Wizards of the Coasts' newest book Volo's Guide to Monsters combines the granular nature of stats with ??even more narrative, and it's all the be??tter for it.

Instead of being a collection of beasties ripe for plucking and placing into a campaign, Volo's Guide is presented as an in-universe text. Volothamp Geddarm, a traveling scholar who's known for not always being completely accurate in his writings, has collected his observations on monsters into a book. Elminster, the Sage of Shadowdale, isn't so sure that Volo's gotten everything right. Because of this, there's the D&D equivalent of post-it notes with Elminster's notes throughout the book disputing what Volo has to say. Unlike the Sword Coast Adventurer's Guide, the focus is still on material to improve your game, but these story blurb?s add so much character to the book and make it a more entertaining read.

Volo's Guide is divided into three chapters: monster lore, character races, and a bestiary. The monster lore chapter is a sort of deep dive into some of the most iconic D&D monsters. Instead of just the few pages beholders have in the Monster Manual, they have thirteen. This allows for a more in-d?epth look at how eye-beasts reproduce, behave around minions, how they fight and live their daily lives. There are also rolling tables so you ?can make a beholder on the fly (traits like skin color, texture, eyestalk shape, and the like) and a sample map of one of their lairs. Seeing so much information on one subset of enemy really got my creative juices flowing, and I almost want to make a beholder campaign now. Also included in this chapter are giants, gnolls, goblinoids, hags, kobolds, mind flayers, orcs, and yaun-ti.

In the second chapter, there are new character race options. I was expecting only a few, but there are seven new (well five, if you're counting downloadable supplements) races and six monster races. The angelic Aasimar are more fleshed out here than in the Dungeon Master's Guide, and the huge, mountain-dwelling Goliaths are no longer relegated solely to the downloadable Elemental Evil Player's Campaign. The forest-protecting Firbolgs, the wingless, birdlike Kenku, the cold-blooded Lizardfolk, the lithe feline Tabaxi, and the aquatic Tr?iton all make for good additions to what players can choose from.

Kenku seem especially interesting to me: a long time ago, one of them tried to steal from a powerful deity. As punishment, the e??ntire race suffered three curses. Their wings withered away permanently, the spark of creativity was taken from them on account of their scheming, and their voices were ripped from them so they could never conspire again. In gameplay terms, this means they absolutely can not speak or create new things. They can only plagiarize and mimic, but are exceptionally good at doing so. In effect, they've become living tape rec?orders that can only communicate with soundbites collected throughout life. How cool is that? I want to play as one right now.

Monster races aren't quite as in-dep??th, lacking history and storytelling hooks, but still include enough information to be playable. Bugbears, goblins, hobgoblins, kobolds, orcs, and yuan-ti purebloods are all ready to be played now. An all-monster campaign could be a fun, if I ever have the time to run it.

The last chapter is a straight-up bestiary, like the Monster Manual before it. Including monsters from previous editions and some brand new ones, it seems to sort of skew toward the slithering, more horrific side of D&D. Which means I'm way into it. For instance, the Slithering Tracker is an old ?favorite: beings seeking revenge are sometimes transformed by hags and li??ches into a blobby puddle of remains. Their minds live on, and even once they've found their vengeance, they're still a nasty blob and often go insane because they can't find satiation or communicate. Grim stuff.

Volo's Guide to Monsters is going to be a regular on my table, and I'll be plucking out nasties and their stories to creep out my friends for a long time. I love the marriage of narrative and mechanical information. It's easy to ignore if you just want to have new stat blocks, but it's hard not to get sucked in and read all of it. It's $29.99 right now and it came out yesterday.

_{[This review is based on a retail copy of the book ??provided by the publisher.]}

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They won't affect your actual game, but they're fun additions

Wizards of the Coast has been busy with Dungeons & Dragons since fifth edition came out a couple years ago. With five full adventures out (including the recent Storm's King Thunder, which I haven't had the chance to play through yet), Volo's Guide to Monsters releasing in a week or so, and all sorts of other projects, no one can say the team is slouching. Third-party books are starting to drift in to fill the gaps between releases, and I received two of them for review. Candlewick Press's Dungeonology and Monsters and Heroes of the Realms: Coloring Book aren't designed to supplement your game, but they're fun to flip th??rough for fans of the multiverse, and both look great on a coffee table.

It's best to think of Dungeonology as a hybrid between a light source book for the Forgotten Realms campaign and an overview of D&D in general. It's all told through the perspective of Volothamp Geddarm as he describes what the Realms are like, and how parties form up, gear up, and the monsters ?they might face. Chapters include topics like equipment, magic items, factions, treasure, and notable heroes. 

What's cool is that just about every page has an interactive element to it. The magic section has a small spellbook attached that you can flip through, there's a gigantic foldout map, and there's even a small cornucopian bag of holding that you can reveal. For this reason, the book will skew towards a younger audience, but I'm a huge dork and got a kick out? stuff like opening small sealed letters to read what the Elminster of Shadowdale had to say.

For the most part, the text isn't dense like you might expect from the Player's Handbook or the Monster Manual. This is very much a surface-level examination of D&D, so don't go into this looking for ways to improve your play as either a dungeon master or adventurer. Dungeonology is certainly an eye-catcher, and whenever my friends spot it, they're immediately compelled to flip through, even if it's only for the great art (mostly from previous books) and interactivity. I read through a fe??w Amazon reviews that were upset that this doesn't provide info for playing the game, but that's not what it's intended to be. If you know what it is going in, $20 is a great price for this.

Before we talk about Monsters and Heroes of the Realms: Coloring Book, there's something you should know about me. I'm an awful artist in all ways: drawing, painting, some of you are thinking w?riting, and ev??en coloring within the lines are all skills that completely escape me. As such, I'll probably never actually try to use the coloring book for its intended purpose. 

The idea of a D&D coloring book is charmingly nerdy, and because this type of activity is inherently childish, I imagined simple drawings of cartoonish Beholders and Goblins. I was surprised to open it up and find that it's mostly elaborate art from previous sourcebooks, decolored for your pleasure. This means two things: it's great to flip through and be reminded of how cool some of these images are, and also holy shit ?even someone good at color??ing would have a hard time with this. Because of my admitted lack of skill, I found this daunting. However, my artistically-gifted girlfriend is looking forward to slowly filling it out.

Because of the relative complexity of the art in Monsters and Heroes of the Realms, this isn't quite as well-suited to children as Dungeonology is, unless your child is supremely gifted. Again, great coffee table book though, if you're okay with letting your n?erd flag hang out in your house. It's under $15, so it's not too hard to justify.

If you're looking for more books to improve your D&D games, Dungeonology and Monsters and Heroes of the Realms: Coloring Book aren't what you need. You'll want to wait for Volo's Guide to Monsters, coming out next week. However, if ??you want to suppleme?nt your knowledge of the Forgotten Realms, or entice someone new into the world of roleplaying, Candlewick's latest offerings might do the trick.

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Cutting out the extra work

Over a year ago, I started writing about video games here at Destructoid. Since I had been playing a ton of the pen-and-paper-RPG Dungeons and Dragons, and digital games ow?ed so much to that series, I figured I would attempt to write about that as well.

It hasn't worked out so well thus far. Roleplaying with a group of best friends can be a transformative experience that smiths memories as real as any physical adventure, but it also comes with its own set of constraints, namely time and organizing multiple schedules. Syncing up multip?le people's time and expectations to align about as perfectly as the planets required to summon an Elder God is difficult, and trying to reliably write about that and relate it to you is its own challenge.

So when I heard about Fantasy Grounds, a virtual tabletop program that's designed to facilitate long-distance roleplaying games, my ears perked up. My players were close enough where playing virtually seemed unnecessary, but a program where I could organize and collate everything I needed from the Dungeon Master's Guide to whatever adventure I?? was currently r??unning sounded perfect. 

Fantasy Grounds may at first seem un?wieldy and expensive, but like a magical sword, its worth becomes increasingly app?arent with each successive swing. Please don't take my lunch money.

Just look at that image and try not to get overwhelmed. There are dice, a chatbox, a map, a combat tracker, an NPC list, and character tokens up, and this was just a fraction of the features that I played with. I've been using Fantasy Grounds for the past couple months to DM Curse of Strahd for my regular group of players, and I feel like I've still only scratched the surface of what ?it can do.

We'll start with what I used it for the most often: cross-referencing. If you pay for the licenses for each book (boy oh boy we'll talk about the price eventually), you can check for rules, spell effects, monster stat blocks, or anything else you could ever think of in seconds, all in one place. That alone is a huge boon that's demonstrably improved my sessions. Thumbing the Player's Handbook each time you want to reso?lve a spell effect can slow down games considerably, so games felt punchier when I could bring them up on a whim.

Since Curse of Strahd can be overwhelmingly open-ended, I assigned certain regions to the hotbar on the bottom so that I coul?d refresh my memory or bring up maps anytime my players wandered into a new area. That hotbar is incredibly convenient, as you can drag and drop anything you want into each one so that you have it at the ready. It fills up quickly, but you can also hold CTRL, Shift,? or ALT to bring up another full bar, which leads to smart organization depending on how you want to customize it.

The maps themselves are beautifully scanned in from the books, though they aren't scalable so zooming in causes all sorts of artifacting. What particularly helped me is that there are small pins in each room that when clicked on bring up the information that pertains to that area. With Strahd, this made it so that I didn't have to memorize every single room in each dungeon, and was therefore l?ess stressed about my players going into areas that I wasn't familiar w?ith. Absolute knowledge of a dungeon is still preferable, but since time for studying the book is already limited, having this knowledge at my fingertips was instrumental in quicker prep times for impromptu adventures.

Again, this was all with me using a laptop during a live session instead of playing long-distance games with others. There are a billion differe?nt things you can do when playing online with friends, like using that chatbox to share languages that only certain players know (instead of having to walk a player away from the table to give them private info), or using the combat tracker to log combat. I was rolling real dice at the table, but the combat tracker is a powerful piece of calculation. Just like the hotbar, you can drag and drop any monster or attack and drop it into the combat tracker to expedite the process.

In online play, you can add fog of war to the map to prevent players from seeing entire dungeons and metagaming, and move tokens around that represent?? each player or NPC to wherever you want. Depending on how you prefer to play (with maps or more theatre-of-the-mind-style), there are ways to make it work.

So I mostly love Fantasy Grounds, but there are two caveats. The first is that it can be tough to learn how everything works. There's no integrated manual when you buy a license, so figuring out how hotbars and integrating each book can be initially overwhelming. However, there are a couple of resources that can make sense of things. First, there's the online manual here that helps a ton. There are also video tutorials that made the program click for me (though the voiceover is amusingly quiet). You can learn how to make this all work with some referencing, I'd just recommend that you ma??ke sure you're nice and comfortable with the program before starting a game with your friends and being completely lost.

The other caveat is that the pricing structure can be daunting, making it seem more expensive than it truly is. There are two types of licenses: regular and Ultimate. The regular one allows you to be a player or a DM, but your friends will also have to get a license to play with you. This costs $3.99 per month or a flat $39, with that monthly fee not counting towards the full price if you ever decide you want a full license. With the Ultimate license, players can connect to you without ever paying for a license. This costs $9.99 a month or $149. That's without the Player's Handbook ($49.99), Monster Manual ($49.99), or any other supplements you might want. Adventure books cost $34.99 new, which? is actually cheaper than the books when they rel?ease.

It might ini?tially seem like you're getting nickeled and dimed, but if you don't own the books and go straight into this method of paying, it's not all that bad, especially if you have your whole group pitch in. It's also important to note that you don't necessarily need those supplements, since you can add them in manually if you want. For instance, instead of having all monsters at the ready, you can quickly add them manually in if you already have the necessary books. However, as stated before, having all of the references in the program is a lifesaver and I can't recomme?nd it enough.

If you have a group of friends who are on the fence about Dungeons & Dragons (and other pen-and-paper-RPGs, since Fantasy Grounds supports quite a few of them), it might be worth your time to divide the cost and pick up an ultimate license. For one person, it can be cost-prohibitive, but the experience of both prepping and running games is much better now that I have Fantasy Grounds. Considering the fun my ??group and I have had with roleplaying, it's definitely worth everyone chipping in the equivalent of a new game.

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Roll for initiative on September 4

I've written before about how much I've enjoyed the Penny Arcade Expo (PAX) over the last several years. For me, one of the highlights of every show is the live Dungeons & Dragons game featuring Penny Arcade's creators, Mike Krahulik and Jerry Holkins, PVP creator Scott Kurtz, and a rotating cast of geek royalty. The games follow the exploits of the Acquisitions Incorporated adventuring group as they fight mons?ters and seek profit. 

Fathom Events recently announced that this year's game would be live-streamed to theaters across the country, and tickets are available now. Writing on the Penny Arcade website, Jerry Holkins advised that anyone attending the stream will receive "a? really solid Acquisitions Incorporated adventure to take home and play with your own group that’s tied into the campaign."

If you've never watched one of these shows, you might be surprised at how compelling it can be. D&D at its core is all about collaborative storyte??lling, and all of the people inv??olved with this are professional storytellers. The secret sauce here is Dungeon Master Chris Perkins, who keeps the story moving along but gives the other participants enough slack to be funny and true to their characters.

The first game started all the way back in 2008 and was recorded in podcast form as a promotional tool for Wizards of the Coast, which owns the Dungeons & Dragons brand. In 2010, a live version of the podcasts made its debut at PAX West, and it quickly became one of the most popular events a??t the convention.

Once the live shows proved popular, Wizards o??f the Coast began providing more and more elaborate props and scenery for them, including character-appropriate costumes for the participants. Previous guests have included Kris Straub, Wil Wheaton, and Morgan Webb filling the fourth chair at the table. For the last couple of years, Patri?ck Rothfuss has rounded out the crew.

_{[I was in the audience for this show. My friend nearly got pegged in the head by Wil Wheaton's D20 at 38:47 of part two. We looked for it in the darkened theater after the show, but for all we know, it's still in there.]}

D&D is one of the clearest influences on video game development, and the merging of role-playing game mechanics with other genres was one of the defining trends of the last generation of console games. If you're interested in getting caught up with the story before the show begins, there's a weekly YouTube series that will continue to run all the? way up to the big show on September 4.

See Acquisitions Incorporated in Theaters! [Penny Arcade]
Dungeons and Dragons Live from PAX West [Fathom Events]

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A new story, a sorta kinda monster book, and Neverwinter on PS4

Once again, I've been slacking when it comes to writing about Dungeons & Dragons news. Even arranging time to be the Dungeon Master in a Curse of Strahd campaign has proved difficult lately, but that doesn'??t mean I'm not excited about the onslaught of new stuff that Wizards of the Coast is bringing out this year.

At a livestream event in a Hollywood comic shop called Meltdown last Wednesday, I learned a bit about the next storyline, a new Monster Manual-ish book coming soon, Matt Mercer's (of Critical Role and game voi?ce acting fame) new show. There's plenty to be excited about while also making you wish you had?? the free time of a fifteen-year-old.

The next storyline, Storm King's Thunder, is about King Hekaton, the giant who was in charge of keeping all other giants in their place. His disappointment in giantkind has led to him abandoning his post. Now everything from hill giants to cloud giants are trying to move up in the world, no matter who or what is crushed underfoot. The adventure is for players levels 1-11, will introduce rune magic items, and will be?? releasing September 6.

Volo's Guide to Monsters is more exciting to me in that it seems to be a combination of Monster Manual and a lore book. It provides expanded information on monsters we already know about while ??adding "dozens" of monsters to fifth edition. Also included are new race options, allowing players to be orcs, goblins, and firbolgs. It'll be releasing November 15.

Matt Mercer's new eight-episode show on Nerdist.com is called Force Grey: Giant Hunters and will tie into Storm King's Thunder. The cast includes Ashley Johnson (Ellie from The Last of Us), Jonah Ray (the new host of the upcoming Mystery Science Theater 3000), Utkarsh Ambudkar (The Mindy Project), comedian Shelby Fero, Chris Hardwick (Talking Dead, founder of Nerdist), and Brian Posehn (Nerd Poker). They all had varying degrees of experience with Dungeons & Dragons and the preview adventure we got to wat??ch was high?ly entertaining, so I'll probably watch the rest as they release in the coming months.

Oh yeah, and Neverwinter is coming to the PlayStation 4 this summer. Someday I'll start D&D&Dtoid, and I'll try to convince Brett to roll some dice wi?th me. Steven won't do it though; he's just going to call me a nerd while he talks about books no one cares about and rattle off baseball scores, just like the people who made fun of me in high school.

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This is a weird one, that's for sure

Neverwinter’s newest event is uh… a tad strange.

Portobello’s Campaign is a series of missions inspired by Acquisition Inc.’s live Dungeons & Dragons sessions at PAX Prime 2015.

If you’ve never heard of Acquisition Inc. before today, it’s a live, annual one-shot D&D campaign run by Dungeons & Dragons story designer Chris Perkins at each PAX Prime event. You can watch last year’s game on YouTube, and it’s pretty dang entertaining.

Portobello’s Campaign sees Perkins and his alter ego Portobello DaVinci rope players in for an incredibly meta series of missions set in the actual table-top game. Your characters, enemies, maps, and bosses all become pieces on a huge table, with a behemoth Portobello looming over you like something from Attack on Titan.

As much as I love Neverwinter, it still took me a few watches of this trailer to get on board. The writing in the trailer isn’t exactly stellar, but it is incredibly camp, and reminiscent of what your average person thinks of when they hear ‘Dungeons & Dragons.' Neverwinter’s always been self-aware of how daft a lot of D&D stuff can sound, so seeing it delve completely into cheesy territory shoul?d be entertaining.

While there is, unfortunately, no word of it coming to the Xbox One version, Portobello’s Campaign is a month-long event that will be? starting on March 31 for PC.

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The newest adventure for Fifth Edition Dungeons & Dragons

Shame on me. I made a mental note to write about Curse of Strahd the day it came out last week, but GDC's chaos complicated my plans. I read about half of the new adventure book for Dungeons & Dragons while on Steven's futon between appointments, but still f??orgot to write a post about it?.

So here it is! Curse of Strahd marks the first foray into the Ravenloft setting for Fifth Edition. It's all about Count Dracula Strahd Von Zarovich, a vampire lord residing in the gloomy land of Barovia. I'm particularly excited to run this book because it's horror-themed, replete with hags, werewolves, and spooky fortune-telling. Said divination also brings a unique mechanic to D&D: by using either a regular deck of playing cards (or the fancy set made by Gale Force Nine), you can do a tarokka reading that determines certain parts of your campaign. This can lead to different artifact and enemy locations, or decide which NPCs players should seek out to jo??in forces with. 

Curse of Strahd also comes with a huge, perforated map that you can easily fold up and hide in the book. One side of it shows the whole of Barovia, and the other?? shows cutaway views of Castle Ravenloft, which seems huge. The map has already been a convenient reference for all of the plans I'm formulating prior to this Friday's game. Since this adventure is for players level 1-10, my regular group will be rolling new character?s.

I'm still trying to figure out how I want to cover this. Huge allotments of time are required for D&D in general, and providing on-going coverage is another challenge in and of itself. So I ask you lovely folks: what do you want to know about the b??ook? Do you have questions about the bestiary, the general content of the storyline, whether it's too rail-roady? Would you like me to do quick summaries of each game, whenever I wrangle my friends all together in the same place for long enough? Let me know how you want to see this play out.

Curse of Strahd released on March 15 for $49.95.

_{[This coverage is based on a retail copy provided by the publisher.]}

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The sorta-kinda expansion to Baldur's Gate: Enhanced Edition

I forgot this was happening! Beamdog (the dudes and dudettes behind the enhanced editions of both Baldur's Gate games and Icewind Dale) is making an expansion for the original Baldur's Gate that bridges the gap between it and its sequel, titled Siege of Dragonspear.

While this was originally a small project, it?'s now going to last about 25 hours and include a new class, the "spirit-calling shaman." The original cast returns along with some new characters, such as a Flaming Fist archer, an alcholic skald,a goblin shaman, and a Gnome Cleric (Pike, is that you?). If you so choose, you can import your character and save data ?across all three games. 

Siege of Dragonspear will be coming to Windows, Mac and Linux on March 31, with Android and iOS to follow soon after. Cross-platform cooperative play is also a Thing that is Happening, so you can get five buddies and all adventure together. The standard edition of the game will cost $19.99, though there's also a Collector's Box for $129.99. Keep in mind that you will need Baldur's Gate: Enhanced Edition to be able to play this expansion.

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