Reviews
We follow the story of a GamesMaster, short one player for tonight's gaming session. His cure? Summon a demon from hell and stick him with the happiest do-gooder character there is: a paladin. This movie from the Breakfast of Demons only gets better...
I took the time to download the Dungeons and Dragons movie trailer today. I should have just spent the extra 5 minutes in bed. In case you don't have DSL or a cable modem, I'll take the time here to walk you through the trailer, scene by scene, line by line. You may need an airsickness bag.
I am a traditional gamer. I like AD&D. I like 1st Edition AD&D. I like my weird house rules. And, I'm not interested in Internet games. I don't want arcade or strategy; I want role-playing. I don't want to learn a new rules system. I just want to play my game, my way. And, I want to play it over the Internet.
They say that being married changes you. One of the little changes that I have experienced since marriage is Buffy the Vampire Slayer. My wife is a fanatic for the show. I had never watched it, but now she has me absolutely hooked. She is still much more the addict than I could ever be, but I have to admit that I look forward to every new episode. It was her intense love for everything Sunnydale that led me to buy the new Buffy boardgame for her.
It's been almost 5 years since I've purchased a D&D rulebook, so it was a big deal for me to finally buy a copy of the new Player's Handbook. My reaction upon diving into it for the first time was a mixture of excitement and disappointment...
I admit, I used to play Magic when it first came out. I have also played several other card games from different companies. I admit this with a certain amount of shame. I am proud that I managed to unload almost all of my cards. With this in mind, I wasn't looking to learn or buy a new card game this year at Gen Con. That is, until I ran across the nice Canadian gents at the Anoch booth. I sat down for a demo and was impressed.
This year at Gen Con saw the launch of Skotos.net. This company intends to bring online role playing to a new level. Unlike Everquest or Ultima Online, there is no software to purchase. One need simply to point one's web browser to www.skotos.net and start playing. (Once they are up and running.) Skotos is the brain child of CEO and President Christopher Allen. I had the chance to meet with Christopher and get the rundown on his baby.
"Blending together the almighty power of DIRECTX and the remarkable ease of BASIC, prepare for a language that gives absolute beginners unprecidented power to create professional software."
This year's GenCon was another success. Onsite organization was far above normal expectations. Pick - up of pre - registered badges was amazingly smooth. I arrived onsite by 10AM to pick up my badge and event tickets on Wednesday. I was told that we would be unable to get our badges until noon. As it turned out, Wizards was able to open the pick up area early, and many of us were out of there with our badges before noon. Wizards of the Coast was able to make this happen through the use of temps. It seemed that they hired out the entire slate from a local temp service.
This year is my 11th attending GenCon. I just got home after picking up my badge and event tickets. I have to admit that I wasn't impressed with Andon taking over the running of the convention from TSR. I realized that Wizards was going to make changes after buying TSR, but Andon seemed bent on trying to ignore any tips that TSR employees were willing to give. After this morning, my feelings have been slightly changed.
