FREE RPGs and More

There are many free Role Playing Games (RPG) around the internet.  Many of these games are online MMORPGs, but there are some that are traditional paper and pencil RPGs that have been created by players that have an interest in gaming and making games. Some of these games do involve other peoples copyrighted material, so remember that as you look around at all the interesting free games.  Below I'll list some of the sites that have FREE RPGs, online and print.

Online:

http://www.bestonlinerpggames.com/ - This site is loaded with free games. These range from MMORPGs, Fantasy RPGs, Adventure RPGs, Horror RPGs, Action RPGs, and Sci-Fi RPGs. Great for finding a whole bunch of different games to give a try.  Many of the games are not traditional RPGs, but they do offer some fun.

http://www.kabam.com/ - These are Facebook games, but maybe worth a mention. Facebook offers many different games to distract and entertain. Kabam offers several RPG type games with Atlantis, Ancient Rome, and Camelot as themes.

http://www.rpggames4free.com/ - This is another online RPG site.  They break down their list of RPGs into different catagories, including fantasy, adventure, browser, flash, and text.

Print: 

http://www.1km1kt.net/ - This is a massive site filled with FREE RPGs games.  They have some that MMORPGs listed as well, but many are paper and pencil downloads.  They have over 500 FREE RPGs listed in the free catagory.

http://www.thefreerpgblog.com/ - This blog offers posts and discussions about FREE RPG games.  They link to Delicious (a social bookmarking site) so to have all the links to all the games in one place.

http://www.homebrew.net/games/ - This site is dedicated to only paper/pencil download RPGs. They have a nice sized list and the author has been searching for these RPGs for over 10 years.

Other:

Brikwars: http://www.brikwars.com/downloads/BW2005.pdf Ever wonder what to do with all those extra lego and mega-blok? Well Mike Rayhawk created a game that uses those little minifigs to play some fun miniature games with! This is a link to the PDF rule book.  Here is a link to the suppliments which include other minifigs, and blank minifig cards: http://www.brikwars.com/supplements.htm. If you want to see the website that has all the information... here you go: http://www.brikwars.com/.

There are so many more RPG games out there, and as we have time we will continue to add more.  For now, enjoy the list and find a new game to try out... oh and by the way, we will be giving Brickwars a try at the Dragon's Den.

Gaming Store Logic: Magic

So we have had many different individuals come and go from the Dragon's Den as Magic players. I can honestly say that I have heard some of the craziest comments in regards to the collectible card game Magic. To give everyone a laugh, I thought I would jot some of them down for people to read and enjoy.

1. "Wow, you have a lot of players playing here. So none of them can be that good."
     Me: "What???"
     "Well I know that when a store has a lot of players, none of them are good."

So we may not have pro players... No wait we have a player who just won a PTQ and now has a pro-point, and we have at least one other player who was on the tour years ago.

Well maybe we don't have any big event Top 8 players... Just a few weeks ago we had several players Top 8 in different events.

Well maybe we don't have any state champions... But our judge is a former NY State Champ and we had several Top 8 players this year in multiple states. 

So I guess we might have a good player or two even though we have 40-60 players on a Friday night!

 2. "So I'm from the city, you guys have Magic Events?"
     Me: "Yes, every Monday, Friday, and some times on the weekend too."
     "Well I figure I can beat everyone here because I'm from the City, so I didn't bring my "A" game."
     Me: "Well... (see above comments)."
     "Oh really."
     Several hours later... 
     Me: "So how did it go?"
     "I should have brought my "A" game."

So I'm curious, why do you go to a tournament and not bring your "A" game? I mean if you are playing around the kitchen table, then sure play a fun deck, but when you go to an event wouldn't you want to play to win? Casual is a great format for playing for fun and we run that Tuesday nights, but for the other events bring your "A"game!

3.  "It is not fair that players go to big events and don't play net-decks."
     Me: "What???"
    "Well, it's not fair that we don't have a chance to prepare for a deck when it is not a net-deck."

Well I kind of thought that playing Magic was about building a deck and playing the game.  When did it just become using the internet and playing with someone elses idea and concepts. Have we sunk so low that we have no originality left or creativity???

4. "All the cards have to be spoiled."
     Me: "Why??"
    "Well all the Pro Players have to have all the cards spoiled. They are the reason all the cards are spoiled.  They need to know if they will buy any."

Really????? So what we are saying is that the small number of pro Magic players is more important then all the other players in the Magic community? So we need to show them all the cards to see if they want to purchase the cards? So we don't want players to have a little unknown in the game?  So we don't want to have any surprises?  Merry Christmas?!?!?

5. My all time favorite comment was not by a player or customer, but by a company...
     "We are going to start a GRASSROOTs program to make Magic work better for all stores and players. We will start with the large Professional TOs, who will then feed down to the smaller stores."

Ok, now I know I might be a little crazy, but really??? When did Grassroots programs work top down?? Can you even hear what your saying? Grassroots is a program to start small and have those small groups feed into bigger groups, that then feed into the largest groups. This would also be a great idea if the groups would talk to each other, but it appears that most TOs do not want to work with each other, especially the PTOs in this area who have never wanted to chat with us in the reverse grassroots program.

Agree or disagree...

Dystopian Wars by Spartan Games

So we have started carrying and playing Dystopian Wars from Spartan Games here at the Dragon's Den. with that in mind, we have started noticing several things about the game and how certain factions behave. We'd be very interested in hearing what others have seen with the factions and adding that in the comments about this post.

Kingdom of Britannia:

So torpedoes are a plus, but they really do not have a great rating crew rating for boarding actions.  You might want to keep out of range band 1, with range band 2 and 3 being great!

Federated States of America:

Well what can you say... 1 extra point of DR is AMAZING! I know the CR is the same, but that extra DR means a huge difference and has kept fleets rolling and not sinking! Rocket Batteries is a nice plus

Prussian Empire:

The Prussian's have some neat weapons including the Tesla Coils, which can be lethal and kill crew on hits. They also have lots of options for replacing turrets with different equipment. They also have great movement rates.  They are solid in range band 1 for combat.

Empire of the Blazing Sun:

Well torpedoes and Rocket Batteries in one ship is always a nice touch.  The Battleship also has an upgrade included that you get to chose from 2 different generators.  Blazing Sun also has torpedoes on the cruisers as well... and can fire in range band 1.

We are playing in the store almost every Wednesday and Thursday, and every one of the current 4 factions is represented.  If you are interested in playing, come in and check it out.  We are so looking forward to seeing the Land Battle Groups that are coming out next for all four factions!  Once they hit stores, we will have them together and we will be playing!

Soon we will have pictures of the painted forces, so check back soon and often!

Sean "Striderlotr" Banks

New Paltz Gaming Convention (NPC)

The New Paltz University Gaming Society ran their annual gaming convention, NPC, last weekend. This was the first 2 day event for them starting Saturday and ending Sunday. They approached us (the Dragon's Den) and asked if we would be a vendor and if we would run some events at the con. So for the third year in a row we were a part of NPC. We ended up having a great booth and running several different tournaments and demos of some great games.

Saturday we ran a 14 player Scars of Mirrodin Draft! The players had a great time and we saw many great cards pulled during the event. The players were super excited to have a chance to win some exclusive con promo cards that we got from Wizards, foil promo Kor Skyfisher... if I remember correctly. We also played several demo games including Steve Jackson's Cthulhu Dice and Zombie Dice, Munchkin, Mayfair's Stationmaster, and Bandai's Resident Evil Deck Building.

Sunday we ended up running an 8 players constructed Yu-Gi-Oh tournament. We also had a small group for a second Magic event, this time Standard Constructed. We also ran demos of several other games including Ascension Deck Building, and D&D.

All weekend long the convention was running video game tournaments from retro systems to current. We also saw several pick-up games of Warhammer 40K in the hall we were located in as well as many other board games from the gaming society.

This is an event that more players should check out. Check their website for more details on last years event, and hopefully soon, this years events. http://www.wix.com/gamingsociety/new-paltz-gaming-society

Sean "Striderlotr" Banks

Spartan Miniature Games at the Dragon's den

We have recently found a miniatures game that we wanted to add to the store.  The best part is that they make several different ship to ship combat games that all play great... and similar to each other that you get the idea quickly on how to play.  Spartan Games from the UK at http://www.spartangames.co.uk/ has developed and produced two titles Uncharted Seas and Firestorm Armada! They do have a new line that will release in the next few weeks... just in time for Thanksgiving called Dystopian Wars!

Uncharted Seas is the first game we gave a try, as we were able to get the rule book first and many of the starter fleets. This is a naval based game with a fantasy flair. You have choices between human, elf, dwarf, undead, and more! With it being a fantasy based naval game, wind becomes a factor and can change during the game. Tactics involving how you turn and position in regards to the wind, become very important. The combat method is fairly simple: range is broken down into 8 inch increments, roll D6s and compare to the ships damage rating or critical rating (on a 6 score 2 hits and roll again!), then apply the damage or effect.

Firestorm Armada is a futuristic space battle involving large "capital" sized ships and their escorts.  This is another ship to ship game, just taking place in space.  One big difference between the fantasy and futuristic would be the carriers. Firestorm Armada adds in carriers with the ability to launch flights of fighters, bombers, and interceptors! It adds an interesting mix to the game.

Dystopian Wars is the newest game to come out from Spartan Games. This time they went with a Victorian Era Steampunk game, and it is land, sea, and air! The pictures that they have posted so far look great and we are really looking forward to giving this game a try! We have had players talking about this game from the moment it was previewed, and I think that the time period and steampunk flavor are helping to drive it for many players looking for a miniatures game.  We will be carrying the full line from the release (hoping November 23), and getting more models as they are released. We might actually be sold out prior to the release!

If you are looking to try a new miniatures game, or you are looking to play a ship to ship game, then this company (Spartan Games) is one to check out! The mix of titles including fantasy naval, futuristic space, or Victorian Era Steampunk battles gives players many options and allows them to pick the genre that they best enjoy... or play them all!  Each game and each faction in each game has a starter that can get you playing in little time with a similar force composition and point total. Once you look over one of the games and you want to get involved, come on in to the Dragon's Den! We can order all the different pieces for Uncharted Seas and Firestorm Armada, and we can take pre-orders for Dystopia Wars.

Sean "Striderlotr" Banks

Resident Evil [Deck Building Game]

Resident Evil [Deck Building Game]
Release Date: November 19th, 2010
MSRP: $29.99
Promos: Pre-orders can get Alternate Foil Chris Redfield and Jill Valentine

The latest addition, sort of, to the deck building game genre! I say sort of because the game has not released just yet, and has been pushed back... BUT we got an advance copy to do some demos and help promote the game! Thank you Bandai! It is always nice when a company works with the stores to make sure promo items are available.  Players really like to get promo items when a game comes out, or during special events!

Here is a list of all the characters you can play as in Resident Evil:
Albert Wesker
Leon S. Kennedy
Claire Redfield
Sheva Alomar
Barry Burton
Ada Wong
Jack Krauser
Chris Redfield
Jill Valentine
Rebecca Chambers

Ok, now for the game and some of the cool ways to play...

Bandai offers 3 different ways to play the game right out of the box; Story Mode, Mercenary Mode, and Versus Mode. Each offers a different way to play and different ways to win! I personally find that games that offer a variety of ways to play tend to be played more, as it is hard to get bored with the game that quickly.

We have run several games of Story Mode using the First Timers set up.  Each game went for a good amount of time with interaction between the players, not just between the decks. We will be running some demos of the other versions soon, but we wanted players to be able to read about the game at it stands.

Sean "Striderlotr" Banks

Dark Sun Setting for D&D 4E

So I have been playing D&D 4E since before it was released... yes I was a play tester, and I have also participated as a DM and a player with D&D 4E. One thing that I have enjoyed has been the different Campaign settings. Dark Sun really piqued my interest, especially after playing in the Wednesday Night D&D Encounters.  There have been some fantastic aspects to Dark Sun that I enjoyed in 2E and was disappointed to not see make it into 3 or 3.5. I'm going to hit on some of the points that I enjoyed and hopefully readers will find some of the concepts exciting enough to give Dark Sun a try.  There are 8 big changes when playing in Dark Sun:

1. The World is a Desert
2. The World is Savage
3. Metal is Scarce
4. Arcane Magic Defiles the World
5. Sorcerer-Kings Rule the City-States
6. The Gods are Silent
7. Fierce Monsters Roam the World
8. Familiar Races Aren't What you Expect

Races:

The races that are in the book are met with mixed response. The Thri-kreen are such a different race and offer players the chance to play something very different. I played one in Encounters, and then had to make a Thri-Kreen in a home game. I find them to offer a nice alternative to standard races. The Mul on the other hand just did not see as much love/respect... and I'm not sure why.  They are a very tough race, that can take a beating. They make great front line fighters to force the enemy to deal with.  Oh, and on a side note, who would not want to play in a world with halflings that are cannibals!

Themes:

Choosing a theme for your character allows you to access more powers and to give the character more flavor.  There are 10 different themes offered in the book.  Each theme offers a wide variety of options for creating your character, including access to different feats and powers.  You do gain a power that is associated with the theme when you select the theme during character generation... which is really cool.

Psionics:

As magic is scarce, and illegal, on Athas you will find many players having access to psionics instead.  At the DMs discretion, players can chose a Wild Talent.  Wild Talents are minor psionic powers that characters can use in game that are similar to wizards cantrips.

Classes:

Several new classes were added based off of existing classes, including Wild Battlemind, Arena Fighter, Animist Shaman, and Warlock Sorcerer-King Pact.  These classes again add more of the Dark Sun flavor to your character and represent some of the differences in this very harsh world.

Equipment:

Maybe one of the most interesting pieces of the Dark Sun world is the lack of available metal. Most items are made out of more naturally occurring items.  Horn, bone, hides, stone, wood, crystal, and shells appear in a variety of forms from armor to weapons.  There are some metal weapons and armor, but they would be considered masterwork and difficult to find.  To represent the fragile nature of the weapons on Athas, DMs can use the optional weapon breakage rule.  The Reckless Breakage rule is the one I really like: If you roll a natural 1 you can choose to reroll the attack.  A non-metal weapon breaks with any second attack roll, but you might hit! A metal weapon will break if you roll a natural 5 or lower.  This can be a very useful tool as you might not mind breaking your item, but you really want to hit the monster!

So, if you have not tried Dark Sun out, or you were curious what the heck it is... give it a try! Dark Sun is a very harsh and gritty world full of danger, but offers a tremendous amount of fun to enjoy a new world to explore!

The Dark Eldar are Coming!

If you play Warhammer 40K, then you have most likely heard that the Dark Eldar are coming back into the fray! They were brought out a few editions ago when they made the new box set that included Dark Eldar and Space Marines. They are now back... and looking to bring EVIL to a whole new level.

We were able to get an advanced copy of the new Dark Eldar Codex, as well as three of the new boxes of minis; The Dark Eldar Kabalite Warriors, Reavers, and Raider. We had one of our local gamers (who I think is secretly living here) assemble and paint them up, as they look really nice and I think they will be represented nicer out of the box then in it. Marc has done a very nice job getting them assembled quickly and getting them painted... with multiple paint steps!

We have also had the codex out for players to read and review... which has led to some very interesting conversations. We have had some people rip them and say how bad they are, while others quietly read the book and made few comments. Another of our gamers commented that most players that are bashing the Dark Eldar are most likely thinking of them with Space Marines in mind.  This faction cannot be played out like Marines... or like most other factions.  You need to think about the Dark Eldar in a different way.

The new models look fantastic as well.  Again, out of the box, assembled, and painted really brings them to life and shows off the stupendous detail.  The models hanging on to the outside of the Raider look fantastic and really add to the fast, raider mentality that Dark Eldar portray.

If you are interested in getting any of the Dark Eldar kits or the Codex, stop in at the Dragon's Den and check out what we have right now, and maybe even place an order!

Who are the Planeswalkers in Magic the Gathering

In Magic you play as a Planeswalker. A being so powerful you can travel across planes of existence and summon creatures to battle for you. When reading through many of the different books, novels, and comics you may have stumbled upon many other Planeswalkers and wondered... How many planeswalkers are out there?

Well if you are playing Magic right now, you know all the current Planeswalkers. We have seen at least one for each color and some that are multicolored. Here is a list of the current Planeswalkers and what color they represent.

Jace Beleren- Blue
Tezzeret the Seeker- Blue
Jace, The Mind Sculptor - Blue
Ajani Goldmane - White
Elspeth, Knight Errant - White
Gideon Jura - White
Elspeth Tirel - White
Garruk Wildspeaker - Green
Nissa Revane - Green
Chandra Nalaar - Red
Chandra Ablaze - Red
Koth ot the Hammer - Red
Liliana Vess - Black
Sorin Markov - Black
Ajani Vengeant - Red, White
Venser, the Sojourner - Blue, White
Sarkhan Vol - Red, Green
Sarkhan the Mad - Red, Black
Nicol Bolas - Blue, Black, Red

But, there are many more that have apeared in books, comics, and graphic novels.  So many of these different Planeswalkers appear briefly, but several are referenced over and over again.  These are the more commonly talked about Walkers, some are even cards... just not Planeswalkers... Yet...

Urza
Ravidel
Bo Levar
Commodore Guff
Daria
Freyalise
Kristina of the Woods
Lord Windgrace of Urborg
Taysir
Tevesh Szat

Armada Comic created a number of different comic book runs based on Magic. They introduced new and used many existing Planeswalkers in their stories. They also introduced the concept of Battle Mages and Spell Squires, people that were aspiring to become Planeswalkers. There are way to many to list, but Ravidel is mentioned as both, before becoming a Planeswalker. Here is a list of the Planeswalkers mentioned in the comic books.

Ravi
Serra (Viewed as a goddess, but was aPlaneswalker in love with Feroz)
Feroz
Sandruu (Minataur Planeswalker trained by Feroz, and banished by Taysir)
Taysir (Jealous of Sandruu as he has won the heart of a woman Taysir wanted)
Ravidel
Freyalise
Tevash Szat
Kristina of the Woods
Leshrac
Faralyn
Jamil (killed his brother using Nightmare)
Altair (Was enchanted to not access his ability to Planeswalk, freed his people with the help of Nightmare, the enchantment was broken and he served Nightmare for 10 years)

Welcome to the FLGS Blog!

Welcome to the first post on the Friendly Local Gaming Store, FLGS for short, Blog! We hope that you learn something new about what happens in the gaming store world as well as what new and exciting events, items, and trends are taking place.

Follow this blog for more information and we will try to get posts up weekly to notify players, collectors, and hobbyists of all types!  This Blog is created by the Dragon's Den in Poughkeepsie, New York. We are the store that's all about fun!

Gamma World Game Day: Trouble in Freesboro

This past weekend was the Gamma World Game Day adventure called Trouble in Freesboro. Players had a chance to create characters using the new random method character generator. It was fantastic to see everyone excited about how their character might look or how they might interact. We had everything from the telekinetic hyper-cognitive, to the pyrokinetic rat swarm! Trying to figure out what the pyrokinetic rat swarm did with night vision goggles and a riding horse... but that added to the fun! As always the maps were fantastic, but not a surprise as they were created by Jason Engle.

The adventure was well written and the players really had fun. Facing off against Genghis Tangh and his group of Porkers added to the jokes that were flying. One of the coolest aspects that Wizards worked into the adventure was the active links to see play handouts virtually. We had a player with a laptop who pulled up the 3 links that the players found as they explored. The email and evacuation plan were nice touches, but the security camera video was the best!  They went back and watched it multiple times after the session.

The promo cards that everyone received were Alpha Power: Power Mimic, and Omega Power: Dehydrated Man. They both should be in a deck you create, as they really are powerful. There is something about a Powdered Scientist that can be helpful... but can leave to pursue its own goals is hysterical!

West Point Historic Games Weekend

This past weekend, The West Point Museum held the first West Point Historic Games Weekend.  Focused on playing historic games of all types, ranging from board games, to miniature games, to card games; each game had history involved in it. The Dragon's Den was excited to be a part of this first event and helped to run demo games both days. The games that were being demoed at the event were:

1. Flames of War
2. Command and Colors Ancients
3. Battles of Napoleon: The Eagle and the Lion
4. Wings of War
5. Pocket Battles: Celts vs Romans

One of the highlights at the event was a 2 day long game of Axis Allies! The big twist was that it was played blind! This means that the teams that play each side (Axis or Allies) don't know what the other side is doing until they either enter a new territory or do a recon mission.  They set up the complete game using 1940 Pacific and 1940 Europe, make 2 very large game boards. Each team had 3 members controlling different countries involved in the war. This method of play allowed for some fantastic tactics and plans that you could never do if you can see the whole board in play.

If you are curious about how the blind Axis and Allies is played, or what it looks like to have both of the games together, check our calendar in December as we are planning a day to give this a try! We are also looking forward to attending next year and making the event even bigger.

Castle Ravenloft Board Game

Castle Ravenloft

This Boardgame is crammed to the top with stuff! 41 interlocking dungeon tiles, 92 plastic minis (yes they are the D&D minis, just unpainted), 5 different heroes, an adventure book, 200 cards, 192 tokens, and a D20! Play as a heroic adventurer, explore, overcome hazards, find treasure, and face Lord Strahd! Published by Wizards of the Coast for 1-5 players.

Below is a convention chart showing which prepainted D&D miniature (DDM) is represented in the game which an unpainted game piece. The chart offers the name of the DDM mini, and it's set.

Minis to Painted DDM Minis
Wolf = Warg, Harbringer
Spider =  Death Jump spider, Savage Encounter
Ghoul = Gravetouched Ghoul, Unhallowed
Zombie = Terror Wight, War Drums
Rat Swarm = Rat Swarm, Savage Encounters
Skeleton = Warrior Skeleton, Archfiends
Kobold = Kobold Soldier, Angelfire
Blazing Skeleton = Blazing Skeleton, Against the Giants
Gargoyle = Earth Element Gargoyle, Blood War
Zombie Dragon = Zombie White Dragon, Deathknell
Werewolf = Werewolf, Against the Giants
Kobold Sorcerer = Kobold Sorcerer, Aberrations
Dracolich = Dracolich, Dragonqueen

Also, WotC has now posted a new set of adventures for the game. Click on the adventures link in the previous sentence to check out the 2 new adventures: Zombie Guards of Castle Ravenloft, and Search for the Sunsword.

Magic at the Dragon's Den

Many people have asked us about our events at the Dragon's Den... specifically Magic Events. We post our schedule of events on our web-page: EVENTS

But to answer the question here, so players can know and come play, here is a general break down of our events.

Monday 6:00pm: Standard Constructed FREE
     This event is Standard and follows the rules for Standard constructed events. We hand out prizes to the top players as well as random door prizes. DCI Foil Cards are the prizes for this event, plus other foil promos that are left over.

Monday 6:00pm: Draft $15.00
      This event will include 3 of the most recent booster packs. We hand out prizes to the top players as well as random door prizes. DCI Foil Cards tend to be extra prizes for this event, plus other foil promos that are left over. The main prize for this event is a prize pool of 2 packs per player split between top players.

Tuesday 6:00pm: Casual
     We don't have a set game for this night, but we have players who come in and play alternate formats of Magic. Planechase, Archenemies, and EDH are three of the different formats that get played this night, but other versions could be played as well.

Friday 3:00pm: FNM Draft $15.00
      This event will include 3 of the most recent booster packs. We hand out prizes to the top players as well as random door prizes. DCI Foil Cards and FNM cards are the prizes for this event, plus other foil promos that are left over. The main prize for this event is a prize pool of 2 packs per player split between top players

Friday 3:00pm: FNM Standard FREE

     This event is Standard and follows the rules for Standard constructed events. We hand out prizes to the top players as well as random door prizes. DCI Foil Cards and FNM cards are the prizes for this event, plus other foil promos that are left over.

Friday 6:00pm: FNM Standard FREE

     This event is Standard and follows the rules for Standard constructed events. We hand out prizes to the top players as well as random door prizes. DCI Foil Cards and FNM cards are the prizes for this event, plus other foil promos that are left over.

Friday 6:00pm: FNM Standard $10.00 Event

     This event is Standard and follows the rules for Standard constructed events. We hand out prizes to the top players as well as random door prizes. DCI Foil Cards and FNM cards are the prizes for this event, plus other foil promos that are left over.The main prize for this event is a prize pool of 3 packs per player split among the top players.

Saturday 5:00pm: Extended FREE
      This event is Extended and follows the rules for Extended constructed events. We hand out prizes to the top players as well as random door prizes. DCI Foil Cards are the prizes for this event, plus other foil promos that are left over.

If you have never stopped in for one of our Magic events, they are a treat.  we have many fantastic players who are not only good players, but fun players. We have been averaging 40 or more players at our 6:00pm FNMs, and we get over 60 players for our Prerelease events!

If you are looking to learn to play Magic, stop in and ask; almost every employee in the store now either plays or collects the game. For more information about the game, try the Wizards of the Coast web site.

D&D Essentials Game Day: Sunderpeak Temple

To celebrate the release of D&D Essentials and the new D&D Red Box, Wizards of the Coast (WotC) went old school and really brought some great memories back for an old time RPGer. Here is a break down of some of the interesting RETRO things they did to make this such an interesting event.

1. A Classic look on the cover of the adventure: The fighter taking on the Red Dragon! This is such an iconic image that players who played in the 80s will remember this image and think fondly of Keep on the Borderlands... which interestingly enough is the next Wednesday Night Encounters.
2. The Goldenrod character sheets reminded me of the old school blank character sheets that you could buy to make your PC look official. The images they used for the characters all looked very retro as well.
3. The "hand-drawn" map was classic! I loved the triangles that were not all the way closed at the bottom, it really gave it a feel of being drawn that day for the players. The one thing that would have really made it was if the maps on the inside cover had been printed in blue not black.

Now for how it played out! We ran several sections for this event. Some went better then others! We had one DM who almost TPKed in the first encounter! It was rough, but the players managed to survive... only to die 2 encounters later. They had fun and played it out to the bitter end. Another group made it to the final fight and found out that the Dragon was not as tough as the Orcs and Rage Drakes! The fighters both beat the Dragon on initiative and used their daily... then action pointed!

Just as a reminder, we run many sessions of D&D here at the Den. Come in on a Wednesday night to play D&D Encounters. This week will be the last session for the Dark Sun Encounter: Fury of the Wastewalker. Next week we start the new Encounter Keep on the Borderlands!

New Boardgames

Recently we got in many new Boardgames. Several of theses games really push the boundaries and will challenge you to a great game. We wanted to post a quick write up about some of these great games and hopefully see some on you in on Thursday nights to try them out! You can even play some of these games solo if you are having a night home alone.


Ascension: Chronicle of the Godslayer: This is a fast-pasted deckbuilding game set in an epic fantasy world.  The game was created by several Magic Pro-Tour Champions, with art for the cards from Eric Sabee.  Has many of the great features and feel of a CCG but in ONE box! Published by Gary Games for 2-4 players.

Dungeons & Dragons Castle Ravenloft: This Boardgame is crammed to the top with stuff! 41 interlocking dungeon tiles, 92 plastic minis (yes they are the D&D minis, just unpainted), 9 different heroes, an adventure book, 200 cards, 192 tokens, and a D20! Play as a heroic adventurer, explore, overcome hazards, find treasure, and face Lord Strahd! Published by Wizards of the Coast for 1-5 players.

Warlords of Europe:  Reminds me of Conquest of the Empire, but set in a feudal Europe setting. The game offers a variety of plastic units including swordsman, knights, archers, and spearman. Some people might think it is like Risk, but it does offer more diversity in play with cards that can change the course of the game.  They also introduced a mechanic to the game that allows you to roll different dice depending on what terrain you are fighting in(D8, D10, and D12). Published by Conquest Gaming for 2-4 players.

The Eagle and the Lion: Battles of Napoleon: The first game to be released in the Battles of Napoleon series, with everything you need to recreate classic battles between the French and the British. This game was great to demo at Gen Con! fantastic plastic pieces, order cards, event cards, and so much more. The game also has a scenario book to play historic events! Published by Nexus for 2 players.


Dungeonquest: Can you venture into the dragon's lair and steal his treasure? This dungeon delving game includes 6 heroes each with unique abilities. The game includes 50 dungeon tiles, many cards, lots of tokens, and a great game board. On an interesting note, if you are looking for sleeves for the cards in this game, Fantasy Flight yellow is the correct size... you will need 7 packs to sleeve all the cards in the game. Published by Fantasy Flight for 1-4 players.