tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-44560393197158618912024-02-06T23:50:35.810-08:00Thread Raiders CentralA fun gaming community where we play on-line video games as well as table top games like Dungeons & Dragons.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04351107986288637343noreply@blogger.comBlogger21125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4456039319715861891.post-47168037272327813302019-01-01T13:52:00.001-08:002019-01-01T14:15:10.442-08:00A Simple D&D Adventure Template<div>
By JANicholinni from FictionMission.com<br />
December 12, 2018</div>
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Here you are, sitting down somewhere, and you decide to write an adventure but don't know where to begin. I have been there many times until I figured out a Simple D&D Adventure Template. I use this model typically to get the general ideas out of my head and on paper where they can be seen. There is no fancy document or graph. No boring slide presentations, or secret recipes passed down from Dragon parents on the Eve of a summer solstice once every thousand years. There is simply a list of questions to organize your thoughts. The best part is this template works with any setting, genre, or adventure. How does it work with any adventure, you ask? Because all adventures have the same basic components. They are listed below.</div>
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<b>The Simple D&D Adventure Template</b></div>
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A word of advice on how to use the Simple D&D Adventure Template before you begin. Creativity and Inspiration come in many forms and not always in an order that you would like. These questions are in no particular order. Feel free to answer them in whatever order is easiest for your style of creative inspiration. I bounce around a lot myself so don't feel like you need to answer them in order.</div>
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<i>What Is/Are The Conflict(s)?<br />What Are The Conflict(s) Win Condition(s)?<br />What Could Happen If They Win?<br />What Are The Conflict(s) Lose Condition(s)?<br />What Could Happen If They Lose?<br />What Are The Possible Adventure Hooks?<br />Who Is The Quest Giver?<br />Where Is The Quest Going To Happen?<br />Who Is The Villain?<br />What Is/Are The Villain's Goal(s)l And Motivation(s)?<br />What Is The Adventure Title? (Optional)<br />Don't Over Prepare.</i></div>
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<b>What Is An Adventure?</b></div>
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Before we dive into what The Simple D&D Adventure Template is we need to know what an adventure is.</div>
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So what is an adventure?</div>
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Google Dictionary says:</div>
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<i>ad·ven·ture</i></div>
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<i>/adˈven(t)SHər,ədˈven(t)SHər/Submit<br />noun</i></div>
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1. an unusual and exciting, typically hazardous, experience or activity.<br />
"her recent adventures in Italy"<br />
synonyms: exploit, escapade, deed, feat, experience<br />
"her recent adventures in Italy"</div>
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verb DATED<br />
1. engage in hazardous and exciting activity, especially the exploration of unknown territory.<br />
"they had adventured into the forest"</div>
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I would consider dungeon diving, traveling cross country, exploration of wilderness, catacombs and ancient ruins all adventures. There’s also the mad wizard’s lab, haunted castles, recently empty graveyards, and all manner of social or royal court-based intrigue style games as well.</div>
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Adventure in a fantasy world is much the same as it is in the real world with a few notable changes. Challenges, traps, puzzles, skill checks, saving throws, and battling the monsters or antagonists. A fantasy world is only as rich as you and your gamer friends make it.</div>
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Adventure for RPG's is typically a series of related events and challenges. In older D&D editions, a series of related challenges and themed encounters was called a “module”. Each module was an adventure. Some were standalone while others built on previous modules. Each had its own story arc, challenges, unique monsters, NPCs (Non-player characters) and a kick ass title. But don't get hung up on the title. Your group should probably play the adventure first.</div>
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Now let's dive into each question so we can understand how the Simple D&D Adventure Template works.</div>
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<b>What Is/Are The Conflict(s)?</b></div>
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This question is the meaty core of what your players will see. Is it invading goblins? A storm giant army raining stones from the sky? Archdevil schemes fighting for souls? Maybe an artifact has resurfaced and has begun causing havoc in the city. Could there be a subplot with a Chancellor trying to take over the appointed council thereby overthrowing the current monarchy? Perhaps there's an armada blocking all sea going trade from the harbor.</div>
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This question is probably the easiest to answer as this is how most people think in terms of what adventure they want. What game they want to buy, or movie to watch.</div>
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There <i>must</i> be conflict. Nobody wants to play a game where you just sit around.</div>
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<b>What Are The Conflict(s) Win Condition(s)?</b></div>
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Win conditions can be as simple or complex as you want. A win condition is simply what the players need to do to accomplish the goal. Common goals are things like defeat this enemy, retrieve this item or person, or find information on this. There can and should be multiple ways to achieve a goal. Try to base this off of what type of game style your players prefer.</div>
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In my experience simpler is better. No more than three steps to a complex win condition. Any more than that and people get frustrated to the point of not wanting to play. Keep in mind every group is different and every game is different. If everyone has agreed to a heavy court intrigue style game you might be able to get away with more complex conditions.</div>
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If it's a hack-n-slash style, then defeating a big bad is usually all the players want. Sometimes I change it up and add a second condition but that condition is obvious.</div>
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“You killed the shark demon before they could complete the ritual. However, the portal is still open and the giant yellow eye is staring at you from the other side.”</div>
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The next win condition is obvious. Close the portal. The ‘how’ might not be as obvious but be flexible and allow for creative solutions. If they are having to hard a time and failing knowledge checks let time do its work. The power source fueling the portal is spent. Or You interrupted the incantation. Wild fluctuations and spurts of unfocused energy lash out from the portal itself. After a few moments the portal collapses in a blinding flash of white hot light. If you want them to work for it when they search the room or area have them find a letter or notes that reveal a clue on how to close the portal. There are many solutions. Being able to read the table and have multiple win conditions will help make the game better. You add some stress and when they figure it out, they feel like a badass. </div>
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<b>What Could Happen If They Win?</b></div>
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This should be no surprise to any experienced DM or GM. Standard answers include everything from treasure, boons and favors or magical stuff to wishes.</div>
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Feel free to get creative with rewards based on how the players handled the situations. If they were doing something in the public's eye, then adjust the reward according to how the population sees it. This can lead to some very interesting role playing encounters with the town's folk.</div>
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<b>What Are The Conflict(s) Lose Condition(s)?</b></div>
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Now here is where things can get dicey. Nobody at the table expects the players to lose. To not complete the quest. To team wipe, too (total party kill).</div>
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As a storyteller I want my players to succeed. I want them to save the day. I also want to make them use those resources and drop at least one of them to unconscious. It needs to be a challenge.</div>
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Occasionally though, they need to lose. They need to be shown that players don't always get to win. You can't be 3rd level expecting to fight a Pit Fiend or a family of 4 Cyclops and survive. Sometimes it's helpful to throw an encounter that can't be won through combat. They need to sneak, avoid the encounter or use their words creatively.</div>
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<b>What Could Happen If They Lose?</b></div>
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This is something as storytellers we might not want, but it does happen. So how do we plan for this? The loose conditions are typically the opposite of the win conditions.</div>
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<li>Usually it's as simple as:</li>
<li>Didn't retrieve the item or person.</li>
<li>Their charge was killed.</li>
<li>Didn't deal with or defeat the main antagonist.</li>
<li>Failed to complete the quest in the allotted time frame.</li>
<li>TPK just happened. (Total Party Kill)</li>
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Depending on what your win conditions are there might be degrees of success and failure. It will be easier for you if you don't give too much thought to the specifics of this as you don't know what the players will do. Surprises happen.</div>
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<b>What Are The Possible Adventure Hooks?</b></div>
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An adventure hook is a way for you to suggest whatever adventure it is that you want to run. It's a way for you to entice the players with a promise of adventure, treasure or some other significant reward.</div>
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Some sample adventure hooks can be as simple and straightforward as a Wanted poster. A tavern conversation. A note in that coin purse the rogue liberated from a rich noble. Even the town crier can be a quick and simple lead for an adventure hook.</div>
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Some hooks require more planning. A letter or ledger implicating someone local found among those bandits’ belongings. Perhaps nothing more than a signet ring. Or one piece to a three-piece puzzle. One of the party's contacts or sponsor's is having trouble. If the players decide not to help they can start losing benefits like discounts and such.</div>
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There is an advanced storyteller skill called Foreshadowing. This is a very useful skill and every attempt to develop it should be made.</div>
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During an adventure or an adventure closing, drop subtle hints of some seemingly unrelated thing or event that might happen. This thing or event is usually unrelated to the current events. At least on the surface. It depends on your skill as a storyteller.</div>
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The key to foreshadowing is to present the information as a side note with other, more pressing information. Say the party is in a powerful monster lair. In the treasure they find the magical Rod they were sent to recover. They also find the recent bodies of another group or small military unit and someone or something they were chasing. There's a letter. Maybe it's in code or just spelled out. It's short and vague. Maybe it’s a list of rare ingredients. There is no way the players know what these ingredients do when put together. It could also be only part of the list. Over the next few adventures, more lists are found. What does this foreshadow? What is the common thread that says these are all the same people working towards a goal? That is foreshadowing. It makes the world feel real. It gives the players a choice to peruse this before it happens and becomes a big problem.</div>
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The best adventure hooks pique their interest in some way. Use current events, an aspect of someone's backstory or if you have been listening to their conversations, dangle that carrot. </div>
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<b>Who Is The Quest Giver?</b></div>
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The quest giver can be anyone from a local peasant to the tavern owner to the king. Depending on your group's morality they might work for free a few times. A peasant that cannot pay but his daughter was taken by some raider tribe is a classic trope.</div>
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The tavern owner having a giant rat problem can pay with free rooms for a period of time and ale. Don't be afraid to use bartering of services or items other than money. This will add variety and game immersion. Just like a flea market today it's not always about the money. Sometimes it's a service, a boon or material supplies.</div>
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Keep the reward in line with the quest giver's means. In other words, don't have a peasant offering keys to the kingdom and don't have a king offering some basic equipment. At least not without some hefty story plot to back it up. Just stretch your imagination a bit.</div>
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<b>Where Is The Quest Going To Happen?</b></div>
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This is a great question and one that will help you actually build the adventure in a way that is realistic. </div>
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Dungeons are easy. Underground, usually a little stale and damp. Cooler than the surface or at least the temperature is more stable. There are premade maps all over the internet.</div>
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Towns and cities are more complicated; with a local government and such. Hopefully you have already done most of that world building. Most likely, you are giving the quest from a city or town. The possibilities of where the adventure can lead however, are many. Each one of them is exciting.</div>
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Let's not forget the many types of biomes. Artic, desert, jungle, and plains stretching as far as the eye can see. Each one has its own challenges. A few minutes of research and drawing upon your many hours of movies and television plus any books you have read should give you ample material to work with.</div>
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Are you feeling ambitious? Is your party a powerful one? How about the adventure taking place on an elemental plane? D&D is rich in planes lore.</div>
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<b>Who Is The Villain?</b></div>
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The question ‘who is the villain?’ assumes that your adventuring party is largely considered “The Good Guys”. A better phrasing might be:<br />
Who is the antagonist?<br />
Either way somebody wants something and the players are in the way, knowingly or not.</div>
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This adversary is the big bad in the adventure. The boss, head honcho, the big cheese. Whatever you call it this is the one that needs to be fleshed out a bit to give your adventure structure and purpose. By defining this question, it makes the rest of your adventure building easier. Check for a later post on making villains. This can be a blog article all on its own.</div>
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<li>So how does having a fleshed out antagonist make building the adventure easier? There are many ways, but the ones that help me the most are as follows.</li>
<li>Providing a theme for the “bad guys”</li>
<li>Establishes a level of power for the “bad guy group”</li>
<li>Helps with improv storytelling by knowing goals and motivations.</li>
<li>Helps with prewriting a few catch phrases or general dialogue.</li>
<li>Lets me plan ways to drop future hooks or foreshadow events.</li>
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<b>What Is/Are The Villain's Goal(s)l And Motivation(s)?</b></div>
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Goals and Motivations are not the same thing. This is actually a two-part question.</div>
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Goals are what the antagonist wants to achieve. This can be anything, from attaining a certain object to world domination to becoming a god or Divine being.</div>
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Motivations are what drives the antagonist forward guiding their decisions. Is it greed, revenge or just the need for absolute power. Perhaps they want to exemplify law but in their version. Maybe they plan to run the underbelly of society by taking over one guild at a time.</div>
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Does this process seem a lot like building a character? It should because that's what you need to do for your most memorable villains.</div>
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<b>What Is The Adventure Title? (Optional)</b></div>
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The title is optional. Veterans of D&D remember adventure titles that were huge in their day. Under Mountain, Temple of Elemental Evil, White Plume Mountain, Tomb of Horrors and many more.<br />
These however, were published adventures. They needed a title by default.</div>
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Newer adventures or republished adventures with 5e conversions are titles like Rise of Tiamat, Storm King's Thunder, and Curse of Strahd.</div>
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You are in no way obligated to come up with a title unless you want to be published or are streaming the adventure. Titles help us remember what the adventure was about. If you feel like this will help you better organize your adventures, then I advise you to take a few minutes and title your work. I do. I have a series of four adventures that I titled. No, they are not published sadly. I never got to test them first. The point is that titles make organization easier.</div>
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Well that's all I have for you now. I know some of these questions lead to more questions if you let them. It all depends on how deep you want to go, but eventually you need to say I have enough info. If you fill in all the gaps, then your players will have nowhere to go. By that I mean you can actually restrict the story unfolding if you have to much information. Leave openings and have multiple ways for events to unfold. Players do things you will never anticipate.</div>
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There are times when I don't answer all of these questions. I simply have a few bad guys picked out and a goal. Sometimes I run an adventure with nothing more than an index card with a few bullet points.</div>
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Keep in mind I have been doing this for a number of years and have gotten comfortable with improv. With practice and a few simple techniques, you can get there to. The main questions I have answered before any adventure revolve around the villain:<br />
Who are they?<br />
What do they want?<br />
What are they willing to do to get it?</div>
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<b>Don't Over Prepare</b></div>
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The above questions are a simple framework to get you thinking. Fill out as many of them as you need to and write that adventure. Remember to leave room for other things to happen. Your players will make many decisions that you didn't expect. Players outnumber the DMs and simple math states they have the advantage of numbers. It's usually four or more players to one DM.</div>
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Don't let this bother you. That's the way it should be. You aren't in a competition to win. That's not what D&D or most RPG games are about. It's about sharing a story. Yes, that story involves combat and other obstacles but it's how you interact with each other. It's about how much the dice love or hate you that session. How do your players overcome these situations? At its heart D&D, I believe, is a tactical combat game that allows people to tell an epic story of overcoming the odds.</div>
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As the DM you have a responsibility to lead by example. Present a challenge and let the players decide how to beat it. Celebrate in their victories and comfort them in their losses. So don't over prepare. Keep your prep simple. Leave multiple avenues for success. Flesh out that villain and watch as the story unfolds.</div>
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<i>Thank you for reading this blog article written especially for ThreadRaiders. You can follow them on Twitter (insert link here), subscribe on Twitch and check out their podcast (insert podcast link here).</i></div>
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<i>You can also follow me on Twitter (<a href="https://twitter.com/J_A_Nicholinni" target="_blank">@J_A_Nicholinni</a>).<br />Follow my Fiction Mission Facebook page <a href="https://www.facebook.com/JANicholinni/?ref=br_rs" target="_blank">@JANicholinni</a><br />And stop by <a href="http://fictionmission.com/">FictionMission.com</a> for other content and blog articles.</i></div>
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“Writing The Road To Adventure”<br />
Your Gamer Buddy,<br />
JANicholinni<br />
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Follow <a href="https://twitter.com/ThreadRaiders" target="_blank">Thread Raiders </a>on Twitter!</div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17942539169555324686noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4456039319715861891.post-72315094874103264122018-12-19T19:56:00.001-08:002018-12-19T20:29:21.825-08:00Why I Chose Hybrid Barbarian Monk for My Character in 5EFor one of the D&D 5E campaigns I usually run as DM, another player has taken over as DM for an adventure arc. As such, I had an opportunity to roll a character based on the legend and lore I already know from the overall story arc. Initially, I opted to try and roll a 5E Paladin of Bahamut with the Archetype Oath of Redemption. My thought process for this was I wanted a Paladin build that could play both tank and absorb heavy damage.<br />
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At the time, I had not considered the impact of the Oath features of this Archetype requiring use of a reaction or bonus action. In 5th Edition, action economy is a hugely important piece of the puzzle to effective combat and character usage. The result of this build is in our party’s first real combat encounter during my player’s DM-ed adventure, we were nearly TPKed. While my Paladin did his job, and kept one or two of the other characters from dropping too low in HP, the build struggled to protect more than one character per round. This was an unintended consequence of action economy in combat, and so I rethought the usefulness of the build.<br />
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What I’ve decided to do, instead, is roll a new character with the player DMs permission. Due to the overall story arc, I am able to dip into some pretty cool hybrid combinations of classes and backgrounds, and as such I made the decision to roll a Barbarian Monk with the Archetype Way of the Kensei. I brought this build up in the ThreadRaiders Discord channel #ttrpg-classroom for some feedback, and the question came up asking why opt for the dip into Monk as opposed to either straight Monk or straight Barbarian.<br />
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Diving into the question led me to compare the three options and what features each provided or did not acquire by 7th level -- the current level of my character. This seemed like a perfect opportunity for another blog post on the ThreadRaiders blog, so how about we dive right into it?<br />
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With the bump to 7th level, the straight Barbarian build in D&D 5th Edition receives the following features:<br />
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<li>4 Rages per long rest with +2 Rage Damage</li>
<li>Barbarian Unarmored Defense</li>
<li>Reckless Attack</li>
<li>Danger Sense</li>
<li>1st Primal Path Archetype class feature</li>
<li>Ability Score Improvement</li>
<li>Extra Attack</li>
<li>Fast Movement</li>
<li>2nd Primal Path Archetype class feature</li>
<li>Feral Instinct</li>
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With the bump to 7th level, the straight Monk build in D&D 5th Edition receives the following features:<br />
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<li>Monk Unarmored Defense</li>
<li>Martial Arts with 1d6 Martial Arts die</li>
<li>7 Ki points per long rest</li>
<li>Unarmored Movement</li>
<li>1st Monastic Tradition Archetype class feature</li>
<li>Deflect Missiles</li>
<li>Ability Score Improvement</li>
<li>Slow Fall</li>
<li>Extra Attack</li>
<li>Stunning Strike</li>
<li>Ki-Empowered Strikes</li>
<li>2nd Monastic Tradition Archetype class feature</li>
<li>Evasion</li>
<li>Stillness of Mind</li>
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For the sake of simplicity, the build I have chosen will be the one we use for comparison. That build is 2 levels of Barbarian and 5 levels of Monk. Further, I will not be comparing the Archetype options for straight builds or hybrid builds, just to keep this article at a readable length.<br />
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With the 2 levels of Barbarian and 5 levels of Monk hybrid build, the character gains the following:<br />
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Barbarian (2)<br />
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<li>2 Rages with +2 Rage Damage per long rest</li>
<li>Unarmored Defense (Barbarian)</li>
<li>Reckless Attack</li>
<li>Danger Sense</li>
</ul>
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Monk (5)<br />
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<li>Unarmored Defense (Monk)</li>
<li>Martial Arts with 1d6 Martial Arts die</li>
<li>5 Ki points per long rest</li>
<li>Unarmored Movement</li>
<li>1st Monastic Tradition Archetype class feature</li>
<li>Deflect Missiles</li>
<li>Ability Score Improvement</li>
<li>Slow Fall</li>
<li>Extra Attack</li>
<li>Stunning Strike</li>
</ul>
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The above hybrid dip assumes the character at 2nd level will meet the prerequisite Dexterity and Wisdom scores for the multiclass into Monk (13 for each).<br />
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What does the hybrid dip lose out on compared to a straight 7th level Barbarian?<br />
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<li>2 Rages per long rest</li>
<li>1st and 2nd Primal Path Archetype class feature</li>
<li>Feral Instinct</li>
</ul>
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Before we compare the straight 7th level Monk to the hybrid dip, let’s consider what the loss of the 2 additional Rages per long rest means.<br />
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While in a Rage, while not wearing heavy armor the character gains:<br />
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<li>Advantage on all Strength checks and Strength saving throws</li>
<li>When making a melee weapon attack using Strength, gain Rage Damage bonus as listed in the Rage Damage column of the Barbarian table (+2 at level 7)</li>
<li>Resistance to bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing damage</li>
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It is important to note here the Rage Damage bonus for 2nd level Barbarian and 7th level Barbarian are identical.<br />
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This means the dip into Monk with the 2nd level Barbarian does not see a loss of Rage Damage per Rage, but does see a loss of 2 Rages per long rest. If we assume during the 2 extra Rages that the character is using the Attack Action and Extra Attack every round, this equals 4 Rage Damage lost per round during each Rage lost or in total approximately 40 Rage Damage at 10 rounds per Rage, or 80 Rage Damage in total per long rest -- assuming, of course, every attack by this character strikes true on its intended target.<br />
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Losing Feral Instincts hurts somewhat, as this means the straight Barbarian would likely act sooner in turn order given the advantage on initiative rolls, but on average only once out of every two combats and even then not necessarily by a large enough margin to consider this a must-have lost feature.<br />
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The extra Rage Damage, on paper, looks like an easy choice, but consider that the dip into Monk means 5 uses of Flurry of Blows per long rest, and that damage difference is muted a bit. We will dive into that more further down in the article.<br />
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What does the hybrid dip lose out on compared to a straight 7th level Monk?<br />
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<li>2 Ki points per long rest</li>
<li>5 ft of Unarmored Movement</li>
<li>Ki-Empowered Strikes</li>
<li>2nd Monastic Tradition Archetype class feature</li>
<li>Evasion</li>
<li>Stillness of Mind</li>
</ul>
Much like with the 2nd level Barbarian, the Martial Arts die for 5th level Monk and 7th level Monk are identical.<br />
<br />
This means the dip into Monk with the 2nd level Barbarian does not see a loss of Unarmed Strike damage per Ki point use, but does see a loss of 2 Ki points per long rest. If we assume the use of the 2 extra Ki points as 2 uses of Flurry of Blows, this equals an average of 7 damage per use of Flurry of Blows to a maximum of 12 damage per use of Flurry of Blows. This extra damage plays out to be roughly 14 damage on average per long rest, and 24 damage at maximum per long rest.<br />
<br />
On paper, the extra damage from the additional uses of Flurry of Blows may seem worthwhile, but consider the hybrid dip means the character would also receive the extra Rage Damage twice per long rest while Raging.<br />
<br />
Stillness of Mind, Evasion, and Ki-Empowered Strikes are nice, but are only situationally useful. If the character isn’t subjected to a Dexterity saving throw, then Evasion is muted. If the character isn’t affected by any effects causing the charmed or frightened conditions, then Stillness of Mind is muted. If the character’s foes are not resistant or immune to bludgeoning damage, then Ki-Empowered Strikes are muted.<br />
<br />
With all of the above taken into account, the real question is what is the average damage output per round given the right scenario?<br />
<br />
For this scenario, we will give the straight Barbarian a Greatsword for the slight increase in damage on average over a Greataxe or similar heavy, 2-handed weapon. We will give the straight Monk and hybrid Barbarian Monk a Quarterstaff.<br />
<br />
In determining the number of rounds we should compare for this article, I fell upon a few places where most consider the average combat in an average D&D session for an average group of 4-5 characters to last for roughly 5 rounds or fewer.<br />
<br />
With this said, we will consider the Barbarian to rage for the full 5 rounds of combat while using an Attack Action each round coupled with the Extra Attack from 5th level Barbarian. We will consider the Monk to use the Attack Action coupled with the Extra Attack from 5th level Monk, and then use their bonus action each turn to Flurry of Blows for the same 5 rounds of combat as the Barbarian. Lastly, we will consider the hybrid to rage for the full 5 rounds of combat while using an Attack Action each round coupled with the Extra Attack from 5th level Monk, and then use their bonus action each turn to Flurry of Blows for the same 5 rounds of combat.<br />
<br />
The average attack for the straight Barbarian with the Greatsword is 7 damage. When we add in the 4 damage from Strength modifier, the 3 damage from Proficiency bonus, and the 2 Rage damage, we find the average successful strike while raging to deal 16 damage with a Greatsword. The straight Barbarian does get the Extra Attack from using the Attack Action, so this character’s average damage per round in the above scenario is 32. Not bad.<br />
<br />
The average attack for the straight Monk with the Quarterstaff or Unarmed Strike is 4 damage. When we add in the 4 damage from Strength modifier, and the 3 damage from Proficiency bonus, we find the average successful strike to deal 11 damage either using Quarterstaff or Unarmed Strike. The straight Monk does get the Extra Attack from using the Attack Action followed by a Flurry of Blows using their bonus action for a full 4 attacks per round, which equals 44 damage.<br />
<br />
Did you see that coming? I was caught off-guard while working up these numbers by the difference between the straight Monk and straight Barbarian when looking at average damage per round.<br />
<br />
Now, let’s look at the average damage of the hybrid. The average attack for the hybrid with the Quarterstaff and Unarmed Strike is 4 damage. When we add in the 4 damage from Strength modifier, the 3 damage from Proficiency bonus, and the 2 Rage damage, we find the average attack with the Quarterstaff or Unarmed Strike to deal 13 damage. The hybrid does get the Extra Attack with the Quarterstaff from using the Attack Action with the Quarterstaff followed by a Flurry of Blows with Unarmed Strike using their bonus action, which equals 26 damage with the Quarterstaff and 26 damage with Unarmed Strike, for a total of 52 points of damage on average.<br />
<br />
It is important to note I did a lot of research into whether Unarmed Strikes receive the Rage Damage from raging, and since Unarmed Strikes are considered a melee weapon attack, they do.<br />
<br />
If we consider the full 5 rounds of an average combat, that is a difference of 40 points of damage between the hybrid Barbarian Monk and the straight Monk, and 100 points of damage between the hybrid Barbarian Monk and the straight Barbarian.<br />
<br />
Hopefully, this article can shed some light on a very rarely used multiclass option which as you can see from just the average numbers can be fairly handy at dealing large amounts of damage consistently. This is also without considering the Archetype choices for each build which could change the numbers quite a bit, but then we get into a lot more variables and things become significantly harder to truly quantify accurately.<br />
<br />
If you liked this article, feel free to give me a follow on Twitter <a href="https://twitter.com/seanringrose?lang=en" target="_blank">@SeanRingrose</a>, or hit me up in the <a href="https://discord.gg/W9yp76" target="_blank">ThreadRaiders Discord</a> #ttrpg-classroom chat channel. Also, make sure to check out the <a href="https://twitter.com/threadraiders" target="_blank">ThreadRaiders on Twitter</a> for more articles like this one, as well as plenty of great TableTop RPG content.<br />
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17942539169555324686noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4456039319715861891.post-34220038309182778072018-12-03T10:46:00.000-08:002018-12-03T10:51:02.096-08:00Keeping Combat Moving and Players Engaged<div dir="ltr" id="docs-internal-guid-e25f8d98-7fff-8980-baac-046674fd9bd2" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; font: 400 16px/22.08px Times New Roman; letter-spacing: normal; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.66px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Recently in the </span><a href="https://discord.gg/ggUGS8" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.66px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">ThreadRaiders TableTop RPG Classroom Discord channel</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.66px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, the question came up asking for methods to deal with players who tend to wait until their turn in combat to plan out their strategy, movement, and action for their turn. The overall issue focuses on dealing with out of character delays during combat which tend to pull players out of the immersion and intensity of the moment/encounter.</span></span></div>
<span style="color: white;"></span><br style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;" /><div dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; font: 400 16px/22.08px Times New Roman; letter-spacing: normal; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.66px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">One of the first suggestions shared by Festive Jordan focused on using a physical “turn timer”, such as an egg timer or 1 minute sand timer, and then took it a step further by offering an in-character/in-game method reasoning for use of the timer.</span></span></div>
<span style="color: white;"></span><br style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;" /><div dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; font: 400 16px/22.08px Times New Roman; letter-spacing: normal; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.66px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">“'For the legends say that too much time spent in the cavern will cause a person to lose their mind. Why, I once knew an adventurer that was in there only 5 minutes before starting to hear things. She came out a changed woman.”</span></span></div>
<span style="color: white;"></span><br style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;" /><div dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; font: 400 16px/22.08px Times New Roman; letter-spacing: normal; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.66px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">This is a great example of coupling an out-of-character tool to enhance in-character immersion and engagement. By limiting the time player’s have to think during their turn, it enforces the idea that turns should be quick, and that combat has a natural cadence and flow in, and out of, character. Jordan also noted this method can reduce the amount of table talk, which also can speed up combat fairly significantly.</span></span></div>
<span style="color: white;"></span><br style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;" /><div dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; font: 400 16px/22.08px Times New Roman; letter-spacing: normal; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.66px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Another experienced DM, TK, suggested adding in out-of-character timed in-character elements.</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.66px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br class="kix-line-break" /></span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; font: 400 16px/22.08px Times New Roman; letter-spacing: normal; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.66px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">“My party last week almost lost their only tank because of quicksand. Their first reaction create or destroy water. I gave them 2 minutes to figure out how to save him in real time, because 140 lbs of armor 30ft cube of water in a 15 foot deep hole that's 2 feet wide, he gonna die.”</span></span></div>
<span style="color: white;"></span><br style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;" /><div dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; font: 400 16px/22.08px Times New Roman; letter-spacing: normal; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.66px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">What this particular suggestion does is help enforce the concept of urgency in combat, and also in terms of character interactions. Two minutes is a very short time for everybody in a party to yell at each other, all the while one poor PC is sinking deeper and deeper. The next time combat comes up for this party, I suspect the players will be far more aware to be quick with their turns and consistently plan for the unexpected and the unknown.</span></span></div>
<span style="color: white;"></span><br style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;" /><div dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; font: 400 16px/22.08px Times New Roman; letter-spacing: normal; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.66px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">The point was also raised by Psychotic Monk in the Discord channel about having players roll both attack and damage dice simultaneously in an effort to expedite combat turns even more.</span></span></div>
<span style="color: white;"></span><br style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;" /><div dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; font: 400 16px/22.08px Times New Roman; letter-spacing: normal; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.66px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">“I for one try to always remember to roll my hit rolls along with my damage rolls at the same time. It saves some time and I have tried to group my dice, even different colors for difference modifiers.. since i am playing a fighter/Brute (UA experimental class).”</span></span></div>
<span style="color: white;"></span><br style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;" /><div dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; font: 400 16px/22.08px Times New Roman; letter-spacing: normal; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.66px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">Lastly, try to remember as a DM it is your responsibility to set clear expectations about how you expect and desire combat to flow. Just as you can’t read player’s minds, they can’t read yours. If you share your expectations, you’re much more likely to have players try to meet them.</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; font: 400 16px/22.08px Times New Roman; letter-spacing: normal; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.66px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">What methods do you use to keep your combat flow moving, and your players engaged during combat? Join the </span><a href="https://discord.gg/ggUGS8" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.66px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">ThreadRaiders Discord</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.66px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> today and jump into the TTRPG Classroom channel to share and discuss your methods, or send us a tweet </span><a href="https://twitter.com/ThreadRaiders" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.66px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">@ThreadRaiders</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.66px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> on Twitter.</span></span></div>
<span style="color: white;"></span><br style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;" /><div dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; font: 400 16px/22.08px Times New Roman; letter-spacing: normal; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.66px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Also, if you like the content of this post, do us a favor and share it on your favorite social media platform. You can also hit me up on Twitter over </span><a href="https://twitter.com/SeanRingrose" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.66px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">@SeanRingrose</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.66px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. Stay tuned to this space, as well, for future posts similar to this one.</span></span></div>
<span style="color: white;"></span><br style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;" /><div dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; font: 400 16px/22.08px Times New Roman; letter-spacing: normal; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.66px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">--Sean Ringrose</span></span></div>
<span style="color: white;"></span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17942539169555324686noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4456039319715861891.post-34483137090446125902018-10-11T21:17:00.005-07:002018-10-24T08:24:34.331-07:00The Thread Raider Extra Life Event Is Fast Approaching!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0Ifx0mUQ2aPo7SixtCU-kvcba9gMPQ9t32Xno6J_LC9oOsr7PtBxKwywk9z_cj2U0BGRbleIo-_y8a2QT4CWbAIGxNCoc_NRZ2WeUOAm6qd83zcvY5YrosGm28rH68ITdhnIyCPhynKU/s1600/Extra+Life.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="630" data-original-width="1200" height="168" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0Ifx0mUQ2aPo7SixtCU-kvcba9gMPQ9t32Xno6J_LC9oOsr7PtBxKwywk9z_cj2U0BGRbleIo-_y8a2QT4CWbAIGxNCoc_NRZ2WeUOAm6qd83zcvY5YrosGm28rH68ITdhnIyCPhynKU/s320/Extra+Life.png" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Can you believe that in less a month, we'll be knee deep into 48 hour Extra Life streaming extravaganza! Not only that, here at Thread Raiders, any donation made to the <a href="https://www.extra-life.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=donordrive.team&teamID=39523" target="_blank">Thread Raiders and its member's Extra Life Page</a> will go to Children's Hospital! If that isn't a good cause, I don't know what is!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">You'll be able to find our channel at twitch.tv.threadraiders, where we will be streaming the two day event! The following is the general run down of what's going to be happening during the Thread Raiders Extra Life:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman";">FRIDAY</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman";"> Date: Friday Nov 2nd <br /> Time: 4:00 pm - 7:30 pm Eastern <br /> Game: Dueling DMs! (Dungeons and Dragons 5th Edition)<br /> DMs: @Daquine and @ChaoticAnarachy<br /><br /> Javier The Mighty, the old and dying Warforged Conquest Paladin, has lived a long life full of battle, fighting and conquest. However, all warriors must at a ripe old age, he is dying. Javier’s last wish is to die and be laid to rest at the resting place set for the highest level of his order of paladins, the Temple of Tempus, which is the temple and deity he pledged his life to. <br /> </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman";"> Two Dungeon Masters compete against each other in a marvelous rendition of Alice and Wonderland. Daquine and Chaotic will take us on a horrifically enchanted journey into a much darker version of wonderland. Will you be able to keep your sanity? Let's find out! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman";"> Date: Friday Nov 2nd<br /> Time: 9:00 pm – 12:00 am Eastern<br /> Game: Dungeons and Dragons 5th Edition : Rebels of Cloudberg!<br /> DM: @Metzgirl</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman";"> Nobles in the town of Clouberg have been having an increasing number of thefts of a specific type of valuable property, and they know it's the thieves’ guild. However, they have no evidence and the town's police won't stir up trouble unnecessarily. The nobles have had enough, so they're hiring a group outside the law to come take care of things.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman";"> SATURDAY</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman";"> Date: Saturday Nov 3rd<br /> Time: 12:00 am – 8:00 am Eastern<br /> Game: Tales from Aud Bin Chuur<br /> DM: @Murasakininja</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman";"> The adventurers have tracked a rash of disappearances across Chuur, down into uncharted miles of the Deep Below. They’ve come across the unknown at every corner, both wondrous and terrifying. As the search comes to an end, what they find might just blow their minds! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman";"> Date: Saturday Nov 3rd <br /> Time: 9:00 am -12:00 pm Eastern<br /> Game: Honey Heist: Elder Scrolls Theme<br /> DM: @Dire Foxicorn </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman";"> Four adventurers are summoned by Sheogorath to obtain an item for him. Because he likes the look of them. For now. As a reward, he will gift them with something ... golden, glimmering, and beautiful. More beautiful than cheese? Well, maybe. Depends on how they do.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman";"> Date: Saturday Nov 3rd<br /> Time: 1:00 PM – 3:00 PM Eastern<br /> Podcast: Nerds from Nowhere!<br /> https://www.nerdsfromnowhere.com/<br /></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman";"> What is a nerd? Someone who loves D&D, sci-fi, fantasy, and video games? While we at Nerds From Nowhere may love all of these things, we like to think of a nerd as someone who is passionate about something. So whether you are a sports nerd or a Star Wars nerd, a fishing nerd or an anime nerd, a music nerd or a science nerd, we want to share that passion and excitement with you. Join us as we discus all facets of nerd culture, even the ones you wouldn't normally associate with nerds.</span></div>
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Date: Saturday Nov 3rd<br /> Time: 4:00 pm – 7:00 pm Eastern<br /> Game: Truckin’ Turtles! <br /> DM: Bisonic<br /><br /> “An action packed adventure with ninjas, ghosts, superbeings, mutants, and danger in the Palladium Megaverse”!<br /><br /><div>
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Date: Saturday Nov 3rd<br /> Time: 7:30 pm -11:00 pm Eastern <br /> Game: Vampire the Masquerade - Emerald City Nights <br /> DM: @SoMattyGameZ </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman";"> Seattle, the Emerald City, bastion of the Grunge movement, lays quiet in 1996 after the unprecedented growth in the mortal population. All the while, the Kindred have seen their numbers dwindle after a string of assassinations and corresponding death sentences. As the long serving Prince struggles to retain her power, a new batch of leaders ascend to bring a new world order to the City on the Sound.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman";">SUNDAY</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman";"> Date: Sunday Nov 4th<br /> Time: 12:00 am – 3:00 am Eastern<br /> Game: Hallway<br /> DM: @Maxine_Baughman</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman";"> There is a hallway, with a bunch of doors, all you have to do is go through a door complete the challenge and exit the room. Each room is completely different, but having to do with each type of and counter one may find in a full campaign. <br /> -------------------------------------------------------<br /><br /> Date: Sunday Nov 4th<br /> Time: 4:00 am – 8:00 am<br /> Game: Dungeons and Dragons 5th Edition : Desert Heist Theme<br /> DM @David Steele <br /><br /> Wazen Al-Shamuri has had enough of the competition damaging his business and so he has turned to the rogues of the Golden Song to ruin his enemy. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman";">Your goal: rob the famed Lounge of a Thousand Whispers, a pleasure salon that caters to the rich and powerful. Your reward: everything you can carry away before the executioner's blade finds you!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman";"> -------------------------------------------------------<br /><br /> Date: Sunday Nov 4th<br /> Time: 8:30 am – 12:00 pm Eastern<br /> Game: Dungeons and Dragons 5th Edition : TPK THEATRE<br /> DM: @TK (Kanthos88) <br /><br /> The TPK Theatre, a set of one-shots guaranteed to delight with death and destruction. Made for 1-6 players with interesting ways to role-play and potentially die in fun and interesting ways.<br /></span><br />
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Date: Sunday Nov 4th<br /> Time: 1:00 PM – 6:00 PM Eastern<br /> Game: Dungeons and Dragons 5th Edition<br /> DM: @ChaoticAnarachy<br /> Sponsored by @TabletopLoot – TabletopLoot.com<br /><br /> The game where the donations change the fate of the characters!! Donate to add dice rolls, monsters, change alignments, and more! <br /><br /> Fools March a well-known village located on the material plane, where travelers from all realms and worlds far and wide would come to visit and feel accepted. A place known for its charisma and acceptance of all races and class has been cursed and the people have suffered greatly. With no way to hunt for food and water becoming scarce, they have learned to grow radishes, potatoes, and rhubarb to live on. Many, if not all, suffer from malnutrition and most face certain death. The buildings are worn down and need rebuilding. People, who were stuck here during their travels, have no homes and sleep on the streets in groups to keep warm during the cold nights. People have started to lose hope, yet the bond between them is still strong. Will these adventurers be able to lift the curse??? Come find out! <br /><br /><div>
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Date: Sunday Nov 4th<br /> Time: 7:00 PM – 11:00 PM<br /> Game: Broomsticks and Wands RPG<br /> DM: The creator himself, @DeathByMage<br /><br /> Get your wands and spell books ready! The players each get a chance to tell their tale of what happened that day, but who didn’t survive? Find out Sunday night! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">To find out more, you can find us here on the following platforms:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Twitter: <a href="https://twitter.com/threadraiders">https://twitter.com/threadraiders</a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Instagram: <a href="https://www.instagram.com/thread_raiders/">https://www.instagram.com/thread_raiders/</a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">BlogSpot: <a href="https://threadraiders.blogspot.com/">https://threadraiders.blogspot.com/</a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Tumblr: <a href="https://threadraiders.tumblr.com/">https://threadraiders.tumblr.com/</a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Twitch: <a href="https://www.twitch.tv/threadraiders">https://www.twitch.tv/threadraiders</a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Discord: <a href="https://discord.gg/qAkRbST">https://discord.gg/qAkRbST</a></span><br />
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<span style="box-sizing: border-box; color: black; font-weight: normal;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; color: black;"></span></span><b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike><b></b><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span><br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17942539169555324686noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4456039319715861891.post-31916137547075894412018-07-24T08:37:00.001-07:002018-11-01T09:06:07.485-07:00Dungeons and Dragons and Magic The Gathering Have Finally Crossed Over<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1ChXaPduO-zjXjulJLNV1IfNP4RN39aE50eU1c14dCy5zJGidBE9f3Ji-bZz7JR1Yzrh2Yh95EVuUlDBfsdpRPz5ulr7iLLkojdBFkHaDqZCzbPK7pXVcu4bs4cFm4_1La6Tw4zWHQ7M/s1600/dungeons--dragons-51038c712a373.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="310" data-original-width="800" height="124" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1ChXaPduO-zjXjulJLNV1IfNP4RN39aE50eU1c14dCy5zJGidBE9f3Ji-bZz7JR1Yzrh2Yh95EVuUlDBfsdpRPz5ulr7iLLkojdBFkHaDqZCzbPK7pXVcu4bs4cFm4_1La6Tw4zWHQ7M/s320/dungeons--dragons-51038c712a373.png" width="320" /></a></div>
After so many years of both Magic and Dungeons and Dragons being around, these two worlds are finally coming together in the form of a new book, entitled Guildmasters' Guide to Ravnica.<br />
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In this book, D&D players will have access to everything they need to know in order to play in the world of Ravncia. This setting has been deemed a "fan-favorite" Magic setting.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCmN5ors6a7WXnxaL6gyGMSn5rLtuiQjlVR2drnuirJFnJe5npaolaa9VntoWjdqIdCr4iOIpc0m7SDFmB6fiEZK-t7ii7hUiPvCP-vohrne7YbzEF1bNkZOneX54n1tW31a3DzOg4ayA/s1600/image001.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="528" data-original-width="400" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCmN5ors6a7WXnxaL6gyGMSn5rLtuiQjlVR2drnuirJFnJe5npaolaa9VntoWjdqIdCr4iOIpc0m7SDFmB6fiEZK-t7ii7hUiPvCP-vohrne7YbzEF1bNkZOneX54n1tW31a3DzOg4ayA/s320/image001.jpg" width="242" /></a></div>
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"Fans of Dungeons & Dragons and Magic The Gathering have been asking for years when these two amazing brands would play together," said the director of D&D, Nathan Stewart, "With the huge surge in popularity of D&D and Magic's commitment to bring the lore and storytelling to life, the timing seemed perfect. Ravnica is full of adventure possibilities and I can't wait for fans to jump in to embody a member of one of the iconic guilds. I will personally be making a new character for Rakdos."<br />
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Aaron Forsythe, Senior Design Director for Magic The Gathering said this:<br />
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"We're excited for fans to dive deeper into the robust world of Ravnica as they adventure as a member of their favorite guild. Picking up Guildmasters' Guide to Ravnica is a great way for D&D and Magic fans alike to tell a part of Ravnica's story with their friends around the table."<br />
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The release date for Guildmasters' Guide to Ravnica is November 20. Keep a look out for it!<br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17942539169555324686noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4456039319715861891.post-55421770764092976642018-07-04T07:54:00.001-07:002018-07-04T07:54:24.447-07:00Demystifying the Clunky Episode 1 Shadowrun The world<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmeAEehr13tJJXLR-DkeFVRCr9Ln02c02zSuGD4afyrPD-1SyuRPNx5L50UW4AX7v7_UKDd8jdTKXLFSngmTvt9GKqKDDe94Hq4k1zuoNgtCEkLldZjryuO2KvlMEmjuNHCGKeydhFyEc/s1600/Shadowrun.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="350" data-original-width="620" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmeAEehr13tJJXLR-DkeFVRCr9Ln02c02zSuGD4afyrPD-1SyuRPNx5L50UW4AX7v7_UKDd8jdTKXLFSngmTvt9GKqKDDe94Hq4k1zuoNgtCEkLldZjryuO2KvlMEmjuNHCGKeydhFyEc/s320/Shadowrun.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
Thread Raiders has a new video out for you all today! Hot off the presses is the first of a three part series from Thread Raider, TK (@Kanthos88 on Twitter), where he takes a look at the tabletop RPG, Shadowrun.<br />
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We've all heard that Shadowrun is a clunky system to play, but here, TK demystifies the system, and shows us how the game is supposed to be - fun.<br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17942539169555324686noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4456039319715861891.post-45163352956277196802018-07-02T17:34:00.002-07:002018-07-03T10:41:33.452-07:00Fallout 76 Is Coming!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwSlESF1UvzI3ks9O0OeCJYV-V3ZellRO_Wl_CtyO97ZbWMhNZpUesEqsNyd-c7DqKZ6758PdrDc2aq-QiSajqfw7KcWSv2W0pgTkJqpQsY39gy9r0qGqvwV7vzC9_1qnZNvyDZLutRAo/s1600/fallout76-fallout-76-bethesda-trailer-video-info-information-reveal-release-e3-background-vault-pip-boy-everything-need-to-know.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwSlESF1UvzI3ks9O0OeCJYV-V3ZellRO_Wl_CtyO97ZbWMhNZpUesEqsNyd-c7DqKZ6758PdrDc2aq-QiSajqfw7KcWSv2W0pgTkJqpQsY39gy9r0qGqvwV7vzC9_1qnZNvyDZLutRAo/s400/fallout76-fallout-76-bethesda-trailer-video-info-information-reveal-release-e3-background-vault-pip-boy-everything-need-to-know.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Ever since its reveal at the Bethesda presentation this year at E3, Fallout 76 has been getting a lot of buzz around the title. For those who don't know, Fallout is a series that centers around what would happen if America went through nuclear war, and the residual fallout taking place afterwards.<br />
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Fallout 76 is the first game in the series since its inception that is going to be an online MMO. Now, you can survive the wasteland together with friends. And I have been able to get the game pre-ordered, and now I'm waiting to get into the beta of the game.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyCVEuTL5JozviQ6-PqwJXBWS1Aowub2fJ6FOj-oaiCqOsr9M8sUUaaTzWUq1ZfuqPW0XUINo_odZeKuprZdvIpE-0SEAphBJSZemYpYFRDAcxT8sLOZ44ktg_bXzYXRPe_gJLcYfyI2s/s1600/Fallout+76.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="695" data-original-width="1473" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyCVEuTL5JozviQ6-PqwJXBWS1Aowub2fJ6FOj-oaiCqOsr9M8sUUaaTzWUq1ZfuqPW0XUINo_odZeKuprZdvIpE-0SEAphBJSZemYpYFRDAcxT8sLOZ44ktg_bXzYXRPe_gJLcYfyI2s/s320/Fallout+76.png" width="320" /></a></div>
As you can see, after completing my order, I received an email from Amazon, where I ordered the game from, and I followed the instructions. Now, I'm simply waiting for the time in which I can finally get further instructions on how to get my hands on the juicy little beta of Fallout 76.<br />
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For a while after the presentation, there had been rumors and speculations on the game, such as the spamming of the new nuke option, which allowed other players to destroy other player's hard made settlements. Bethesda came out and said that that shouldn't be an issue, as it would take those players a while to find the code necessary to detonate the nuke anywhere on the map. On top of that, if by chance a player or a group of players discovers that their settlement was destroyed while they were away, rebuilding will be easy. The settlement will be blueprinted, and the cost to replace your settlement will be cheap.<br />
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The map of Fallout 76 is, according to Bethesda, four times larger than that of Fallout 4.<br />
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UPDATE: As of July 3, I got an email with the following message:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuOxtWApeZCETrue_9GU9Ik5_2KHFwBt_VpAphKRpjJIaXacEwNPNtVnlnf_ktxllMBm5Ysa0-Gfm3SiUsVNw7RafeNhjsHugLz8j_LGPAr_MQhmHWMZHgGhmZOTzhiN_XZD_dJVPF6dg/s1600/Fallout+76+Beta+Thank+You.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="643" data-original-width="815" height="315" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuOxtWApeZCETrue_9GU9Ik5_2KHFwBt_VpAphKRpjJIaXacEwNPNtVnlnf_ktxllMBm5Ysa0-Gfm3SiUsVNw7RafeNhjsHugLz8j_LGPAr_MQhmHWMZHgGhmZOTzhiN_XZD_dJVPF6dg/s400/Fallout+76+Beta+Thank+You.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17942539169555324686noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4456039319715861891.post-55295535744417930492018-05-08T18:10:00.002-07:002018-05-08T18:10:46.414-07:00Bill And Ted Fans Rejoice! The Most Excellent Duo WIll Face The Music<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjA1e3IOkzsOVaSBXs0yX7vpfYTi1ZgjezccR1sdhg4RXFYrifZvoXYctfaH2X4fVAm-QD0RkLpacnd65uuVyRAuXj9GmmG53UGi5up7bWWOTObsCN5lANB8H2_s7aRFhb3SWzpUSSn7-o/s1600/Screen-Shot-2018-05-08-at-10.51.22-AM.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="674" data-original-width="1132" height="190" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjA1e3IOkzsOVaSBXs0yX7vpfYTi1ZgjezccR1sdhg4RXFYrifZvoXYctfaH2X4fVAm-QD0RkLpacnd65uuVyRAuXj9GmmG53UGi5up7bWWOTObsCN5lANB8H2_s7aRFhb3SWzpUSSn7-o/s320/Screen-Shot-2018-05-08-at-10.51.22-AM.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
According to an announcement today, Keanu Revves and Alex Winter will finally reunite on the same screen after 27 years after they last appeared as Bill and Ted in a third installment of the Bill & Ted series entitle, <b>Bill & Ted Face the Music</b>! There's even the possibility that William Sadler could reprise his role as Death.<br />
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Here's the official synopsis:<br />
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<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"When we last met Bill and Ted they were time-traveling teenagers trying to pass history class and win the battle of the bands. Once prophesized to save the universe with their rock and roll, middle age and the responsibilities of family have caught up with these two best friends who have not yet fulfilled their destiny. They've written thousands of tunes, but they have yet have to write a good one, much less the greatest song ever written. With the fabric of time and space tearing around them, a visitor from the future warns our heroes that only their song can save life as we know it. Out of luck and fresh out of inspiration, Bill and Ted set out on a time travel adventure to seek the song that will set their world right and bring harmony in the universe as we know it. Together with the aid of their daughters, a new crop of historical figures, and some sympathetic music legends, Bill and Ted find much, much more than just a song. The film is currently in pre-production."</blockquote>
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Chris Matheson and Ed Solomon, the original creators of Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure and Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey, have returned to pen the script, while Dean Parisot was confirmed to direct the film.<br />
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<a href="http://bloody-disgusting.com/movie/3497702/excellent-news-bill-ted-face-music-officially-announced/" target="_blank">Source</a>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17942539169555324686noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4456039319715861891.post-12706807821641357122018-05-04T21:18:00.004-07:002018-07-04T09:59:10.624-07:00Micrsoft, Nintendo and Sony Get A Warning From FTC Regarding Warranty-Voiding Restrictions<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhI5COEnuyyXDfUatLN9lS5IdakalwPlyWX13ifjLo6Nc1l-9I5dAXaLOir4RDlU_kIw63rdlFxEC9E7PT5DDVMj27Jr-jYHtIWfF3a-98FlnhHjrV5yWZ-RLYMvbxw3_bHasn4ozVuBMk/s1600/warranty.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: black;"><img border="0" data-original-height="316" data-original-width="632" height="160" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhI5COEnuyyXDfUatLN9lS5IdakalwPlyWX13ifjLo6Nc1l-9I5dAXaLOir4RDlU_kIw63rdlFxEC9E7PT5DDVMj27Jr-jYHtIWfF3a-98FlnhHjrV5yWZ-RLYMvbxw3_bHasn4ozVuBMk/s320/warranty.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div>
<span style="color: #f3f3f3;">You know those little stickers that you see on the back of your consoles that warn you that sending it in for third party repair voids the warranty of the system?</span><br />
<span style="color: black;"><span style="color: #f3f3f3;"><span style="color: black;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: black;">Well, it turns out that, according to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has warned companies, some that include the likes of Nintendo, Microsoft and Sony that this policy is actually illegal.</span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #f3f3f3;">According to a Freedom of Information Act request from <a href="https://motherboard.vice.com/en_us/article/xw7b3z/warranty-void-if-removed-stickers-sony-microsoft-nintendo-ftc-letters" target="_blank">Motherboard</a> found that six different companies were given letters on April 9. Other than the three companies mentioned above, the three other companies sent these letters were Asus, HTC and Hyundai.</span><br />
<span style="color: black;"><span style="color: #f3f3f3;"><span style="color: black;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: black;">The letter stated that the companies have 30 days to change the warranty policies on their websites, or else legal action will be taken by the FTC.</span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: black;"><span style="color: #f3f3f3;"><span style="color: black;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: black;">Reportedly, the letter said,</span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: black;"></span><span style="color: #f3f3f3;"></span><br />
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<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="color: #f3f3f3;">"Warranty language that implies to a consumer acting reasonably under the circumstances that warranty coverage requires the consumer to purchase an article or service identified by brand, trade or corporate name is similarly deceptive and prohibited."</span></blockquote>
<span style="color: black;"></span><span style="color: #f3f3f3;"></span><br />
<span style="color: black;"></span><span style="color: #f3f3f3;"></span><br />
<span style="color: #f3f3f3;">In the letters, it was cited that specific language that violates the law warns against using a sticker as a "seal" to prevent users from opening up the console. This method, according to the FTC, is particularly concerned" about it.</span><br />
<span style="color: black;"></span><span style="color: #f3f3f3;"></span><br />
<span style="color: #f3f3f3;">The FTC is specifically citing the 1975 Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act, which doesn't all repair restrictions n warranty for any manufacturer that charges over $5 for a product.</span><br />
<span style="color: black;"></span><span style="color: #f3f3f3;"></span><br />
<a href="https://www.gamespot.com/articles/ftc-warns-microsoft-nintendo-and-sony-about-warran/1100-6458680/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #f3f3f3;">Source</span></a><br />
<span style="color: black;"></span><span style="color: #f3f3f3;"></span><br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17942539169555324686noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4456039319715861891.post-10341389260352981162018-04-13T12:32:00.003-07:002018-04-13T12:32:50.817-07:00Retroverse Released And In The Wild!Last week, we interviewed Chris Lock, of Lasers and Liches, who bought the Tales of the Retroverse to us, a retro 80's style twist to the D&D universe. The details of Kickstarter campaign setting can be found by <a href="https://threadraiders.blogspot.com/2018/04/retroverse-80s-is-invading-dungeons-and.html" target="_blank">going here</a>.<br />
<br />
Following the initial interview, which took place on Twitch on April 7th, and can be watched in the video below, the Kickstarter was then launched on April 10th, and within just a few days, got over 60% funded!
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<iframe frameborder="0" height="420" scrolling="no" src="https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/snickelsox/lasers-and-liches-tales-from-the-retroverse-5e/widget/card.html?v=2" width="220"></iframe></center>
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Stop on by the Kickstarter and join the world of Retroverse!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17942539169555324686noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4456039319715861891.post-1534831165437815942018-04-04T11:01:00.000-07:002018-04-04T11:01:06.773-07:0034 Things I Learned From Video Games<ol>
<li>There is no problem that cannot be overcome with violence.</li>
<li>You can overcome most adversaries simply by having enough quarters.</li>
<li>If it moves, KILL IT!</li>
<li>Piloting an vehicle is simple and requires no training.</li>
<li>One lone “good guy” can defeat an indeterminate number of “bad guys.”</li>
<li>“Bad guys” move in predictable patterns.</li>
<li>Except for “Bosses,” most “bad guys” can be dispatched with one hit.</li>
<li>You often fair better against a large mob of “bad guys” then against a “boss” in one on one combat.</li>
<li>“Bosses” always hire henchmen weaker then they are to do their ‘muscle work’.</li>
<li>If you see food lying on the ground, eat it.</li>
<li>You can smash things and get away with it.</li>
<li>Smashing things doesn’t hurt.</li>
<li>Many nice things are hidden inside other things.</li>
<li>Cybernetics are our friends.</li>
<li>When driving, you can knock other vehicles off the road and get away with it.</li>
<li>If someone dies, they disappear.</li>
<li>Money is frequently found lying on the streets.</li>
<li>All shopkeepers carry high-tech weaponry.</li>
<li>If you get mad enough, you can fight even better than normal.</li>
<li>If it’s on the ground, you should get it.</li>
<li>Repulsive ugly, cannibalistic, evil beings have just as much right to be loved as heroic fighters.</li>
<li>The operation of a weapon is a simple and obvious procedure.</li>
<li>You never run out of ammunition, just grenades.</li>
<li>No matter how long you fight, you can always fight again.</li>
<li>Death is reversible (but only for you).</li>
<li>Ninjas are common, and fight in public frequently.</li>
<li>Whenever huge fat evil men are about to die, they begin flashing red or yellow.</li>
<li>When you are born, you drop out of the sky (a stork?) and are completely invincible for a short time.</li>
<li>Although the enemy always have more aircraft than you, they fly in elaborate patterns which make it easier for you to shoot them all down.</li>
<li>All martial arts women wear revealing clothes and have great bodies.</li>
<li>All martial arts men have rippling muscles and angry expressions.</li>
<li>The enemy always leaves weapons or power ups lying around for no reason other than so their bitter enemy can pick them up and defeat them with it.</li>
<li></li>
<li>Shoot everything. If it blows up or dies, it was evil. If it doesn’t, try and pick it up…it was probably a power up or bonus.</li>
<li>Carpe diem! You only live three times!</li>
<li>The most powerful fighters always wait until you have achieved a near impossible, flawless win record and/or killed a certain number of opponents before they appear in your presence and beat the crap out of you.</li>
<li>You sustain injury if you shoot the innocents.</li>
<li>200-1 odds against you is NOT a problem.</li>
<li>Gang members frequently all look the same, and often have the same names.</li>
<li>When racing vehicles, do not worry if your vehicle crashes and explodes. A new vehicle will appear in its place.</li>
</ol>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17942539169555324686noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4456039319715861891.post-60983124172603371202018-04-03T14:20:00.001-07:002018-04-03T14:20:14.461-07:00ThreadReview: Idle Champions of the Forgotten Realm<br />
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<b><u>ThreadReview: Idle Champions of the Forgotten Realm</u></b><o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><u><br /></u></b></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Note: At time of
review this game is still in early access, so some of the criticisms and
features may not be reflective of the final product.<o:p></o:p></i></div>
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<br /></div>
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I currently live in rural England. Rural England, for those
who do not know, is deprived of some of the now basics of modern life; such as
a solid internet connection, cash machines and public transport that arrives more
than once a month. Among many things it means the ability for me engaging in
online games is utterly limited. I saw a few developers playing through Idle
Champions and thought it might be a good game to download and play on my own. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhphCm0U9HqrkUdX5tFT4rqum7uDL5Walljw68yKbbOVtGyARVmjjdVdrKgX5JBursIf5UlLvh42JVIVZFIJqZ0Dv1v_peVZfwLj2YGDvSg3ouGkRnCS95xxgEt3hqYYnNm9K5KLeTvB37D/s1600/IdleChampions_Logo_Banner.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="200" data-original-width="600" height="106" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhphCm0U9HqrkUdX5tFT4rqum7uDL5Walljw68yKbbOVtGyARVmjjdVdrKgX5JBursIf5UlLvh42JVIVZFIJqZ0Dv1v_peVZfwLj2YGDvSg3ouGkRnCS95xxgEt3hqYYnNm9K5KLeTvB37D/s320/IdleChampions_Logo_Banner.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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The premise of the game is simple: It’s an idle clicker game
set in the Forgotten Realms setting of Dungeons and Dragons. You recruit
champions such as Bruenor Battlehammer, Minsc and Nayeli Goldflower to go
through side-scrolling adventures in the Forgotten Realms. Defeated foes yield
gold that is used to recruit new champions and level up the existing parties’
abilities. Like in adventure parties around the world, your champion’s
abilities can impact the damage of fellow champions. That, however, is
dependent on where they are positioned in the battlefield in a system called
“Formation Strategy”.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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Despite the game being in early access there are frequent
events and content updated weekly: from damage bonus weekends to special events
to earn new champions. In particular, there have been a few events based around
recruiting members of Force Grey, with only at the time of writing there being
hints that you’ll be able to recruit Strix from “Dice, Camera, Action” in the
near future. There is also some DLC already available on the Steam Store for
more champions, equipment and chests (This games version of loot crates).<o:p></o:p></div>
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Yes…there are loot crates. These chests can be purchased for
gems, which can be found in game as rewards for defeating bosses (every 5
levels) and from completing quests. There are two levels of chests, silver and
gold, which drop gold, consumable items and equipment for your champions. </div>
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While
I do have issues around the use of loot crates in games, the way they are
implemented in this game if fairly balanced and doesn’t enter into any kind of
pay to win formula.</div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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Since starting this review there has been a major update of
sorts to the game. Familiars are basically auto-clickers that can be assigned
to fulfil three different tasks: Clicking Monsters, Levelling up Champions and
Click damage and finally using Ultimates. There are six different familiars
currently available to buy and use; three of which are only available to be
purchased with actual money.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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I’ve logged over 224 hours into this game already and loved
every second of it. The only issues I’ve encountered have been down to
connecting to the server for online save. That is something I hope </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
may change
down the line as this game develops. Bottom line: If you love Dungeons and
Dragons, free games and new content uploaded weekly then this is a game you
must play!<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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<i>-Tim</i></div>
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04972107068848792950noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4456039319715861891.post-47849889540157921362018-04-03T12:39:00.001-07:002018-04-04T09:13:52.179-07:00#Retroverse! The 80's Is Invading Dungeons and Dragons On April 10th!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8wyal5xuQ8u-orAIOyK-PDWk3csVWR2fe3f_C-brZRzQrUx29_9B21H2lwZ5VgufaScaly20vsIIy98FqhcU0kIkMv_ox4ZIVRttIFr7Sql6yeYUf9e95VKcaMgTZygFj7HuH_MIorFE/s1600/IMG-3556.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="943" data-original-width="1334" height="226" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8wyal5xuQ8u-orAIOyK-PDWk3csVWR2fe3f_C-brZRzQrUx29_9B21H2lwZ5VgufaScaly20vsIIy98FqhcU0kIkMv_ox4ZIVRttIFr7Sql6yeYUf9e95VKcaMgTZygFj7HuH_MIorFE/s320/IMG-3556.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
Have you ever played Dungeons and Dragons and thought, "Man, this normal fantasy stuff is getting old. I need something new, something fresh! I need something radical!"<br />
<br />
Well, you're in luck! Introducing Retroverse, a D&D 5e universe from Lasers & Liches, that "resides in a place of half faded memories, barely remembered songs, lost childhood friends, outdated styles, abandoned dreams, lost playthings, vapor ware, and time corroded nostalgia," and is "a place both strange and familiar. A place for adventure, friendship, chaos, and the magic of yesteryear."<br />
<br />
For those of us who lived though the 80's, this is a great idea for those who love playing D&D, and want to relive their childhoods through their imaginations.<br />
<br />
Check out the trailer for it here:<br />
<br />
<center>
<iframe allow="autoplay; encrypted-media" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="180" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/wlhOSJugVC4" width="554"></iframe></center>
<br />
This setting includes brand new monsters, races and classes! The classes are:<br />
<br />
1. Synthweaver<br />
2. De-Fragger<br />
3. Code Warlock<br />
4. Goreangyr<br />
5. Holo Knight<br />
6. Glitch Hunter<br />
<br />
The new races include:<br />
<br />
1. Ceran<br />
2. Wo-nari<br />
3. Raich<br />
4. Trog<br />
5. New dragonborn variants (Neon, Laser, Tesla and Xenon)<br />
<br />
On April 7th at 8:30 EST, myself <a href="https://twitter.com/DaquineGameArmy" target="_blank">Daquine</a>, and two other fellow Thread Raiders, <span class="username u-dir" dir="ltr" style="direction: ltr; font-size: 14px; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"><b class="u-linkComplex-target" style="font-weight: 400;"><a href="https://twitter.com/Thymbraeus" target="_blank">Thymbraeus</a>, and <a href="https://twitter.com/Kanthos88" target="_blank">Kanthos88</a> will interview Chris Lock, who is the lead designer of the Retroverse and <a href="https://twitter.com/LasersAndLiches" target="_blank">Lasers and Liches</a> on the <a href="http://www.twitch.tv/threadraiders" target="_blank">Thread Raiders Twitch channel</a>! He can be found as <a href="https://twitter.com/snickelsox" target="_blank">Snickelsox</a> on Twitter, so go visit him and give him a follow! We'll also be playing a game of Retroverse the following Tuesday, April 10th, at 8pm EST on the same channel! </b></span><br />
<span class="username u-dir" dir="ltr" style="direction: ltr; font-size: 14px; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br /></span>
<span class="username u-dir" dir="ltr" style="direction: ltr; font-size: 14px; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;">Also, go check out the <a href="http://www.lasersandliches.com/" target="_blank">Lasers and Liches</a> website!</span><br />
<br />
<span class="username u-dir" dir="ltr" style="direction: ltr; font-size: 14px; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed;">Get ready to mingle with the past in a brand new setting!</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17942539169555324686noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4456039319715861891.post-85547934643174029922018-03-30T21:19:00.001-07:002018-04-04T09:14:53.908-07:00Paizo Announces Pathfinder Second Edition For Summer 2018<br />
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As many of us tabletop gamers know, Pathfinder began as a refinement of <a href="http://geekandsundry.com/the-story-of-dd-part-three-how-3rd-edition-became-the-mother-of-many-rpgs/" target="_blank">Dungeons and Dragons 3.5 edition</a>. Somehow, it grew to rival that of the original fantasy tabletop game it sought to both replicate and divide from. After 10 years of Pathfinder goodness, Paizo announce that they were going to release a second, updated version of their popular system.<br />
<br />
In the first part of August of this year, a <a href="http://paizo.com/pathfinderplaytest" target="_blank">free PDF version</a> of the documents will be released to all the players around the world so that they can test the next version of Pathfinder. The Pathfinder Playtest Rulebook will contain 400 pages of brand new rules to check out and play. there will even be an accompanying adventure called Doomsday Dawn.<br />
<br />
There are some bits and that can be previewed while the August 2 (the launch day of the playtest rules) looms closer and closer. <br />
<br />
The basics are the same, but there will be plenty of cool changes. Ancestry is an example of one of the new things found within the second edition of Second Edition There will still be a plethora of choices that you can make when leveling up.<br />
<br />
Rules have been streamlined for GMs, making monster designing on the fly easier than before. <br />
<br />
If you want physical copies of the playtest material, it's possible to purchase them. Paizo will offer the Pathfinder Playtest Rulebook, Doomsday Dawn, as well as a two-pack of Paizo's Flip-Mats from game stores or from the Paizo website on May 1. During Gen Con, there will be limited quantities of them for sale, which takes place on August 2 to August 5 in Indianapolis this year. Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17942539169555324686noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4456039319715861891.post-55063075884693160002018-03-28T10:58:00.000-07:002018-03-28T10:58:04.255-07:00Fun Things To Say in a Public RestroomBy “Richard”, Posted 21 November, 2003 on www.funny.co.uk<br />
1. Stick your palm open under the stall wall and ask your neighbour, “May I borrow a highlighter?”<br />
2. Say “Uh oh, I knew I shouldn’t put my lips on that.”<br />
3. Cheer and clap loudly every time somebody breaks the silence with a bodily function noise<br />
4. Say, “Hmmm, I’ve never seen that color before.”<br />
5. Drop a marble and say, “Oh shoot! My glass eye!”<br />
6. Say “Darn, this water is cold.”<br />
7. Grunt and strain real loud for 30 seconds and then drop a cantaloupe into the toilet bowl from a high place and sigh relaxingly.<br />
8. Say, “Now how did that get there?”<br />
9. Say, “Humus. Reminds me of humus.”<br />
10. Fill up a large flask with apple juice. Squirt it erratically under the stall walls of your neighbours while yelling, “Whoa! Easy boy!!”<br />
11. Say, “Interesting….more sinkers than floaters”<br />
12. Using a small squeeze tube, spread peanut butter on a wad of toilet paper and drop under the stall wall of your neighbor. Then say, “Whoops, could you kick that back over here, please?<br />
13. Say, “C’mon Mr. Happy! Don’t fall asleep on me!<br />
14. Say, “Boy, that sure looks like a maggot”<br />
15. Say, “Darn, I knew that drain hole was a little too small. Now what am I gonna do?”<br />
16. Play a well known drum cadence over and oven again on your butt cheeks<br />
17. Before you unroll toilet paper, conspicuously lay down your “Cross-Dressers Anonymous” newsletter on the floor visible to the adjacent stall.<br />
18. Lower a small mirror underneath the stall wall and adjust it<br />
so you can see your neighbor and say, “Oooh, you might want to get a doctor to check that out”<br />
19. Drop a D-cup bra on the floor under the stall wall and sing “Born Free.”<br />
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17942539169555324686noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4456039319715861891.post-85274527467941616772018-03-21T09:48:00.000-07:002018-03-21T09:48:07.454-07:00When Game Franchises Should Pull The Trigger<div class="adn ads" data-legacy-message-id="16213a656153565d" data-message-id="16213a656153565d" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; border-left-color: transparent; border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 1px; font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; padding-bottom: 20px; padding-left: 8px; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">
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<span style="color: black;">The following blog post was another old post of mine that, despite its age (first posted on August 27, 2009), holds true for the most part. Some of the games I mention, such as Tomb Raider, have been able to come back from the edge of redundancy with the two newest entries in the series. But ultimately, the idea behind this article that I wrote almost ten years ago can still hold true, regardless of the time since original publication.</span></div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia,Times,serif; font-size: 14.4px; line-height: 1.7; margin: 0px; padding: 18px 0px;">
<span style="color: black;">Crash Bandicoot. Sonic the Hedgehog. TombRaider. Tony Hawk.</span></div>
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<span style="color: black;">What are the simple chain that connects each one of these games? The Chain of Redundant Gameplay and Rehashed Play Mechanics. Yes, games like the ones mentioned above have all been guilty of the very same thing over the course of the last several years. These games have begun to wear out the fun, gameplay, and originality that, back in the day, made them fun, exciting, and yes, even great.</span></div>
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<span style="color: black;">I guess we could start with the most simple of questions. Where did these games go wrong? It all depends on what game you are looking at. Take the Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater series. When the original Tony Hawk debuted to gamers in 1999 on the Playstation, it brought about, not just a new series, but made a new genre popular to video games – extreme sports. In the beginning, the game was great, it was fun, it had fresh ideas and at it’s base, it was very entertaining. Once the second and third iterations of the game came about, the same basic elements of the game stayed close to the series, despite some of the game’s newer mechanics, levels, and options. Like football games nowadays, Tony Hawk seemed to release a new version of the Tony Hawk titles once every year. After Tony Hawk 4 was released, the series began to stale as a series. Any originality that the game once held, had dropped out of the sky like a rock. Soon, the series was, bland, boring, and anything but good.</span></div>
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<span style="color: black;">After so many sequels, the game developers of Tony Hawk never thought outside the box. They only came up with half-assed games in the series. By the time the eighth game came out, the skating genre, along with the Tony Hawk series, seemed dead. At least until another game was released. Simply called Skate. This game totally resurrected the skating game. What is sad though, is the game wasn’t even created by Neversoft. Shame on you Neversoft, shame on you. Outdone by a company in the same genre that you brought about. And on their first time out. Tsk tsk.</span></div>
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<span style="color: black;">Looking at games like Tony Hawk, where there’s nothing really new, and the same could be said about others, like Crash Bandicoot, where there’s really nothing new about it except for a few additions here and there, you would think people would stop buying these games. Sonic the Hedgehog is a primo example of this paradox. On one hand, ever since Sonic Adventure for the Dreamcast, the first 3D iteration of the series came out, the series has gone down hill. Really down hill.</span></div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia,Times,serif; font-size: 14.4px; line-height: 1.7; margin: 0px; padding: 18px 0px;">
<span style="color: black;">I can remember going to my friends house back when I was in high school and it was the golden age of the Super NES and Sega Genesis, one of the games we’d play were his collection of Sonc games. The side scrolling speed and fast paced action of the games were great fun. It was actually FUN to play. I’d ask to play it just because of the simple speed of the whole game.</span></div>
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<span style="color: black;">But then, doomsday hit. Sonic Adventure was born. The world went to hell. Gone were the elements that made Sonic fun. This was the day the Adventure Field was born. This was the day other retarded and unnecessary Sonic mascots entered a game that didn’t need them. Amy? Let’s smash things with a hammer. That sound fun. Big the Cat? Really? REALLY?</span></div>
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<span style="color: black;">Ever since Sonic Adventure, every game since then has totally lost what it means to be a Sonic game. Sonic Adventure 2 tried to fix it, but added more garbage then what it took out. Sonic the Hedgehog for the Xbox 360 and PS3? Oye. Sonic Unleashed? Oh come on! Sega, you were so damned CLOSE to actually making a GOOD Sonic game in how many years? Why for pity’s sake did you have to include the horrendous werehog element? I have played this game, and it would have been pretty good if the werehog levels weren’t in the game. I actually enjoyed the daytime speed levels of the normal Sonic. It was what I imagined when the Sonic series made it’s move to 3D.</span></div>
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<span style="color: black;">It seems like everytime Sega tries making a good Sonic game, a game that they say should be great, amazing and actually good, Sega craps up the core formula that they perfected back in the days of the Genesis! Stop adding stupid things like unnecessary animal characters and werehogs, and get back to the basics. Get back to the speed. That’s all Sonic is good for. Just take Sonic, build a few good levels that are made for speed, and let the blue blur fly.</span></div>
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<span style="color: black;">I believe if you make a game, and then make sequels for them, it is true, if it isn’t broke, don’t fix it…..to a point. These mentioned games are proof of this. Granted, some games series continue using the same mechanics, but you know that there those games will eventually, and hopefully, come to an ultimate conclusion. Take God of War. I love those games. Really, I do. Granted, having played, and even owned all three of the available titles out there, which includes the first and second games on the Playstation 2, and Chains of Olympus on PSP, I know full well that each of these games, as some would argue, are pretty much the same. And yes, I would agree up to a certain point. I know that once God of War 3 comes out, that should be the end of the series. At least as we know it. I do hope that the character Kratos can live on in more games afterwards, but I do hope the GoW saga can truely come full circle and just stop. I don’t want them to just put out shovelware every few years in the attempts to make a few bucks. It’s like Lord of the Rings. The story came full circle, and everybody is happy. Nobody is asking for a sequel to this wonderfully told story. That’s how it should be.</span></div>
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<span style="color: black;">But some companies just don’t get that philosophy. The first two or three games are good. And the fourth, fifth, and sixth game might be, well, enjoyable, but not nearly as good as the first set of games. I guess what I’m hoping for is that these game companies will take their established franchises and really try something new. Take the Metroid series. Now that’s a series that has done something right. Instead of just taking the same old same old and rehashing it with better graphics and sound, they went from the side scrolling 2D point of view to full first person 3D. That really added something new to the table. Very awesome indeed.</span></div>
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<span style="color: black;">My thought on this whole issue is this. Don’t just mix a 10% of new material in with 90% of all the old stuff. I understand that, really, what makes certain games the way they are is how they are played. That, to an extent, is alright. God of War wouldn’t be God of War with out the ass kicking, chain blade throwing ass whooping that it’s famous for. But please, try to take that 90/10 ratio and try evening it out to a little closer to 50/50 please. It’s great to see a great mix of the new and the old. If not, just pull the trigger and end it right here and stop making us suffer for your lack of creativity and originality.</span></div>
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<span style="color: black;">Please tell us your thoughts on the matter below in the comments!</span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17942539169555324686noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4456039319715861891.post-82730694662584513062018-03-19T05:00:00.000-07:002018-03-19T05:00:26.358-07:00Do We Need Another Verson of Pathfinder?Now that it's been a while since the news was first released that Paizo has been working on a second edition of their popular Pathfinder game system, it's given us a lot to think about and speculate on. Many people have chimed in on the subject with their own thoughts on, whether or not it's a needed change, or not at all.<br />
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Like everything in life, the subject of this topic and debate will always be around, just like it has been with every version of Dungeons and Dragons (the debate on 4e will always be around us, mocking us, showing us the what for). And just like with life, we know that no matter how hard a person (or in this case, the company Paizo) tries, we know they can't please everybody, no matter how well received the new edition generally is.<br />
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Here's an interesting subject for the comments:<br />
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What do you think about this change and update to the current Pathfinder system? Is it something you're looking forward to? Or do you wish that Paizo hand left things as they were? Even if they had, we can't deny that the company has had their game system tested, especially with the popularity of D&D 5e. Despite some people's (not everybody mind you) dislike for 5e, based solely on it's simpler, streamlined game D20 system, you can't deny that it has gotten a lot of positive praise from it's broad consumer base. 5e's simplicity has admittedly brought many new players into the TTRPG fold. This is probably a huge reason why Paizo had to fight back, after losing some of it's crowd base to 5e.<br />
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The following is a video by Dawnforgecast, explaining both the merits and downsides of the direction that Paizo is taking.<iframe allow="autoplay; encrypted-media" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="180" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ZtQxCYyLndQ" width="554"></iframe><br />
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The playtest will occur in August of this year.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17942539169555324686noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4456039319715861891.post-89261413265999249952018-03-14T09:45:00.000-07:002018-04-05T08:54:09.480-07:00Daquine – A Thread Raider Being Nostalgic<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; font-family: Georgia,Times,serif; font-size: 14.4px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 1.7; margin: 0px; orphans: 2; padding: 18px 0px; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">
Hey all of you lovely people! I thought I’d share some stuff with you in this very nostalgic blog entry on Thread Raiders! At this point, I’m not really sure where I will be taking my posts, but we’ll all find out….together!<br />
<br />First and foremost, I’d like to take the time to thank you for visiting, and I hope that we, as Thread Raiders can provide some fun, interesting, and perhaps even clever entertainment for everybody! I thought about perhaps wowing everybody with some incredible tid-bit or article on life, the universe and everything, but rather, I think the first post of the blog might be good to go back….go back to the past.<br />
<br />I was looking around on an older blog of mine (we’re talking February of 2009, almost 9 years ago) and thought I’d share the post with a new audience. It’s all about my thoughts on Saturday morning cartoons and my love for them. Oh, how I loved my Saturday morning cartoons. They were grand! Many my age will remember with fondness the awesomeness that was Saturday morning cartoons.<br />But fear of possibly repeating myself, I shall share with you my old nostalgic post of Saturday morning cartoons that I wrote all the way back on February 23, 2009. Here we go….<br />
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Remembering Saturday Mornings Cartoons…<br />
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I was sitting at my computer looking through some pages on the internet called “You know you’re a child of the 80’s when…” lists. I’m sure a lot of you have looked through lists like this. Even though some might be different for some of you. Instead of the 80’s, you may be a child of the 70’s or the 90’s. What ever floats your boat. But I for one, am a child of the 80’s.<br />
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Anyway, I was looking at a list, and noticed that one of the entries told about how cartoons were found ONLY on Saturdays. This made me very nostalgic. Back in the 80’s there were no cartoons being aired during the weekday,and there sure as heck wasn’t any freakin’ Cartoon Network.<br />
<br />As a child, I remember coming home from school on Friday, being thankful how great it was that the weekend was finally here. Not only was it a break from the “horrors” of school, but I knew that tomorrow morning, I was going to get up at the butt crack of dawn and watch my Saturday morning cartoon! It was great. It was an absolute staple of my childhood, as I’m sure it is with many other kids of my era. Watching shows like He-Man and Thundercats…wow.<br />
<br />Not long ago, I thought I would look through the TV listings and see what sort of shows kids were watching on Saturday mornings. Needless to say I was just floored. Most of the shows were either absolute crap, or shows you could catch during the weekdays. The greatness was gone. The excitement of waiting all week just to watch several hours worth of cartoons was gone. Oh, what has this world come to? I realize that is over-dramatic, but in some ways, it just feels wrong when I look at the stuff kids are watching nowadays on their Saturdays. The excitement and coolness is gone.<br /><span style="color: black;"><br class="Apple-interchange-newline" /></span></div>
<b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17942539169555324686noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4456039319715861891.post-31069113362529418312018-03-12T06:00:00.000-07:002018-03-12T06:00:27.908-07:00Pathfinder 2nd Edition and Pathfinder Playtest NEW GAME MECHANICS!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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As many of you may already know, there is some exciting news in the world of Pathfinder! The second edition of the game, after 10 years of being enjoyed by countless table top RPG fans, has finally been announced!<br />
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Just like many games before it, this new version of Pathfinder includes brand new game mechanics that will help bring about a whole new world of Pathfinder gameplay.<br />
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But will this new version of the game be loved, or reviled, for changing up the classic Pathfinder ruleset? I'm sure a number of players will enjoy the fresh look on the 10 year old system, while there will undoubtedly be those who will shun it, but that's all part of updating a beloved ruleset. You can't please everyone, but you can sure try!<br />
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In the following video by Take20, you'll get to watch a video describing some of the new things coming out for the Pathfinder Playtest!<br />
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Personally, I'm really excited to try it when it comes out. Rest assured, when the finished product releases, I'll be buying up my own copy for sure!<br />
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17942539169555324686noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4456039319715861891.post-77884974268376859852018-03-11T21:13:00.002-07:002018-03-11T21:13:53.579-07:00The Newest Dungeons And Dragons Book To Release - Mordenkainen's Tome Of Foes!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="color: white;">For anybody in the Dungeons and Dragons (D&D) community, we are always going to follow what Wizards of the Coast, the owner of world famous table top RPG, is going to be doing next. In this case, the next big release that they are going to be sharing with the world is Mordenkainen's Tome Of Foes!</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_W3t2Z_ARqlhfqNyzWQWOATYQUIctHZneriVbHVLzufB2Mw9D7Ky5hU81H1TNKh9gJOdZnVcl2QQPeSDUE3j_5SEIPc_mkifj3Ah7GMuZp7h2BXsBfhQ3f0c15MRY_MSjKi-V4wz_EzQ/s1600/Mordenkainen%2527s+tome+of+foes.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1224" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_W3t2Z_ARqlhfqNyzWQWOATYQUIctHZneriVbHVLzufB2Mw9D7Ky5hU81H1TNKh9gJOdZnVcl2QQPeSDUE3j_5SEIPc_mkifj3Ah7GMuZp7h2BXsBfhQ3f0c15MRY_MSjKi-V4wz_EzQ/s320/Mordenkainen%2527s+tome+of+foes.jpg" width="244" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: white;">Similar to Volo's Guide To Monster's, Mordenkainen's Tome Of Foes will focus on <span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">Mordenkainen and the world of Greyhawk. The book covers game stats for a number of new monsters, demons, devils, duergar, elves, and many others.</span></span><br />
<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: white;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: white;">The book is set to release on May 29th of this year. I'm quite excited about it, as I've already pre-ordered my copy. I hope to make a book review and look through when I finally get the book! It'll be on my YouTube channel, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/user/DaquineGameArmy" target="_blank">Daquine Gaming</a>!</span></span><br />
<span style="color: black;"></span><span style="color: white;"></span><span style="color: white;"></span><br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17942539169555324686noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4456039319715861891.post-39510182952331220332018-03-10T22:06:00.002-08:002018-03-10T22:06:50.587-08:00How Large Can A Mimic Get? My Thoughts<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; font-family: Georgia,Times,serif; font-size: 14.4px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 1.7; margin: 0px; orphans: 2; padding: 18px 0px; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="color: black;">In many forms of entertainment, such as tabletop games, video games, amongst others, we recognize a wide menagerie of creatures, monsters, and enemies that a hero or group of heroes has to overcome. Such enemies include the classic street thugs of the classic video game, the wizards and orcs of tabletop games, such as Dungeons and Dragons, and many others.</span></div>
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<span style="color: black;">But there is one type of monster that is, with a good mix of creativity, can be both really fun and equally horrifying to play against. That monster is the mimic.</span></div>
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<span style="color: black;"><img alt="" class="m_-7623126026946310604alignleft m_-7623126026946310604size-medium m_-7623126026946310604wp-image-332 CToWUd a6T" height="244" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/proxy/AVvXsEg1nnccamFk39jhsMwthflAQ1PDcP8owWisiYHoO8KM1WQjunk0Lag2hSZteN7GpR6McYC-xMoJeRfd9XY73xptZz_gY7YFIswgWKf9jyXHe9OySK-MnBDlaq8nYKzjhWQJlYjMaflnsTCe3eMWK07MNQywiLo3PbCckXAXVI315LsBBUiK29l6uA=s0-d-e1-ft" style="cursor: pointer; display: inline; float: left; height: auto; margin: 12px 24px 12px 0px; max-width: 100%; outline: 0px; padding: 0px;" tabindex="0" width="300" />We both love and hate this creature, because it is both awesome, with it’s great teeth filled maw, and love of deceiving us with it’s seemingly harmless shape when we first encounter it. The mimics that I’m referring to will be the ones we typically come across in Dungeons and Dragons. Most mimics in other forms of media and entertainment can be included as well I suppose, but I want to talk specifically about the ones found in the classic tabletop game.</span></div>
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<span style="color: black;">The reason for this is, most other forms of media where they are found are usually one type of object – a treasure chest. Those are great and classically sinister versions of the creature, but that’s the problem, that’s the only form we typically ever see, a lot of times, even in D&D. I’ve come across a variation or two of the mimic during my time playing the game, such as barrel mimic. That was always fun, but really, it’s still fairly close to the classic chest that a mimic, well, mimics.</span></div>
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<span style="color: black;">About six months to year ago, I started thinking of all the different and fun types of mimics you could possible come across, such as the barrel mimic, but I soon wanted more. I began scouring the interwebs for some awesome image of the hungry, tooth-filled creature, and found quite a few. But of course, the most common type was – you guessed it – the treasure chest. I wanted more.</span></div>
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<span style="color: black;"><img alt="" class="m_-7623126026946310604alignright m_-7623126026946310604size-medium m_-7623126026946310604wp-image-328 CToWUd" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/proxy/AVvXsEjkTQZ1nE3bCS562SX0KvzgSiV2EnTEWjI7XgX7TRpaWvq8sqZmGC5H34sehvsFxZWgochBpIl2w2_rwe2rh33BpG0yMq5foAYSecxz9fCTjhu1O1AwDBidnbma0NekXZtepuGUf1iyfrXv6x04upYAZndyREVm1dyfSEBeeUQ8l4dgrzGk=s0-d-e1-ft" style="display: inline; float: right; height: auto; margin: 12px 0px 12px 24px; max-width: 100%; padding: 0px;" width="218" />I had been playing a lot of Dark Souls, and encountering my fair share of mimics, and with that in mind, I began looking for Dark Souls mimic through Google image search. Low and behold, I ended up finding some pretty kick as images of mimics I never would have thought of. I found some sample art of ladder mimics, bonfire mimics, amongst others. It was a scary thought that there could be a larger variety of the mimic out there.</span></div>
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<span style="color: black;">That got me thinking – if a mimic could take the shape of so many different types of objects, what else could it be, and more importantly, how large could they get? The initial thought was pretty spooky, as a large, or monstrously sized mimic could be a horrific thing to take on. If there was such a large mimic out there to encounter in the world of D&D, how creative could you be when creating one? How large could they get?</span></div>
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<span style="color: black;">As I began thinking about it, a wonderful idea sprang to mind late last year, before Halloween, I wanted to run a game for the scariest time of year. But what should I do? Should I do the classic haunted house? A gothic setting with werewolves or vampires? Naw. I settled on a fun idea – a game were I would lead my players though a house full of several types of mimics, such as rugs, ovens, and even a giant pipe organ, and they’d have to find their way out with their lives intact. But there was a catch. It wasn’t just a house of mimics, oh no. How would anybody get a bunch of mimics together in the same place, let alone in the same building? You’d have to have a death wish to get that many of them in one spot.</span></div>
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<span style="color: black;">I figured that the house wasn’t just an ordinary house. The house itself was a giant mimic. To be specific, it was a it was a Mimic Hive. It was both mother and caretaker to all the smaller and younger mimics found within itself. It was an older creature, something that had found a way to live throughout the years, and grow beyond the size of a typical item like a barrel or a chest. It had earned the right to be as large as it was, and have mimic children of its own (mimic children – that thought made me laugh as I wrote it).</span></div>
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<span style="color: black;"><img alt="" class="m_-7623126026946310604alignleft m_-7623126026946310604size-medium m_-7623126026946310604wp-image-330 CToWUd" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/proxy/AVvXsEhF5Q_Dz6ped5VPLyrFC04kQExz-SzR4B-MdQaU_PSWtV9Uu6LhkL6Tm0anuLFk40pmHyau4sDqj7Hp2KAR3gR5kQJPuR1ORdwD-S4mXXvD0vTfVyZ0V79WzP0imyNqgBZSyNjd38QVTrJABziuwhPJ4ME_lw33RQGqeF2JyvkpCqzEvdY=s0-d-e1-ft" style="display: inline; float: left; height: auto; margin: 12px 24px 12px 0px; max-width: 100%; padding: 0px;" width="218" />But I don’t think it should stop there. Why would the size of a mimic need to end at the size of a house or typical building? I want to think bigger, grander than that. What about a fortress or castle mimic? Could you imagine, an entire castle, which could be inhabited with people, as mimic? What would it look like if it came alive? How powerful would a monster of that size be? But let’s get even larger than that. Much, much larger.</span></div>
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<span style="color: black;">What about something the size of a landmass, or even the planet itself? How would something like this even exist? I’m not sure how it would work, but I can imagine that a planet sized mimic would be similar to the head of Unicron from Transformers. It would be the mimic devourer of worlds, and we would just be parasites living on the skin of that mimic.</span></div>
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<span style="color: black;">I’m sure that the logistics of a mimic the size of a landmass, such as a continent, or even a mimic who IS the planet, would be scoffed at by many, saying it may not be logical even from a fantasy standpoint, but I think it could be something for people to look into if they wan’t to inject something fun or different into their game.</span></div>
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<span style="color: black;">What are your thoughts on this? How large would you take your mimics? Would they be larger than even a planet? How would it work in this case? Let me know!</span></div>
<b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike><span style="color: black;"></span><br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17942539169555324686noreply@blogger.com