Tag Archives: Dungeons and Dragons

Introduction

Similar to my mobile experience this year, the 2024 look back on tabletop reflects a shifting of priorities. Because I no longer ran the Dungeons and Dragons club at my school and my plans to run a semi regular group with my family are still in the planning stage, I backed off D&D some this year. Chris, Jason, and I became less communicative over the year and my desire to play Magic the Gathering went with them. As a result, I became more involved in Warhammer this year.

Therefore, I came up with the idea to structure this article according to how likely I am to return to the hobby in the future. No spoilers, but the list goes from least likely to most likely. Then again, if you spend any time here, you know that things change daily and by this time next week, I might be knee deep in something completely unplanned.

Magic the Gathering

I already talked about the in person play group falling off. Unfortunate, but not unexpected. We’re all busy adults. We have other priorities. And, it truly was fun for the couple of times we played. Who knows? Maybe things end up working out again. I hope

Because, the other part of this is that I stopped playing Arena, too. It started as a gradual decline. But, I haven’t logged in at all in over two weeks. And, truly, I don’t miss it at all. So, unless the group gets together or I find inspiration to go to one of the stores, I don’t see myself playing the game anytime soon.

I could try to get one of the boys into playing the game to keep the tradition alive. I guess we’ll see how things go. Also, if any of them show interest over the next couple of months.

Dungeons and Dragons

The reason this comes in second is that I recently purchased an adventure. A couple of days ago, I visited DM Guild. I wanted to find an adventure with a Christmas theme. I looked for a few and landed on one that spoke to me. Many probably would have gone with Krampus. I looked at one but then I found the one I actually wanted.

It’s called “Not a Creature Was Stirring”. It revolves around a story that more closely resembles “The Grinch”. I think we can have a lot of fun with the adventure. I just need to get myself into the story telling mode. Right now, I’m trying to get out of the school mode. I will update you all with the progress during the holiday break.

Warhammer

Once I finally took the plunge into the miniatures that I received through my subscription, I got hooked. Every week, I build and paint one of the kits. I currently have several pieces for both of the armies. As a student replied, I don’t have a full army. But, I have enough pieces to play through the tutorials and scenarios that they set up.

One of the reasons that I think this one might get more play is that I got a request twice to play. Once, Christine felt sorry for me when I played through solo. Then, when Chris came to visit, we talked about playing. Never got around either time, but that encourages me the most.

The Verdict

While our 2024 look back on tabletop might strike you as melancholy. And, I admit, there’s some of that. But, mostly, I understand that the only constant in life is change. Things change and we adapt. Maybe with the free time, I can find other games to fill the time.

Dragons of Eternity Episode 1: Noob’s Book Club

Vecna: Eve of Ruin

August 23, 2024 Noob of All Trades Leave a comment

Introduction

Vecna had a bit of a brat summer (did I use that correctly) recently thanks to season 4 of Stranger Things. I know this won’t come as a shock to man of you, but I knew little about Vecna. Growing up, I focused on Dragonlance and Dark sun as the campaigns of choice. As a result of Stranger Things and the story, I researched some and enjoyed the story. So, when I saw that they released Vecna: Eve of Ruin, I jumped at the chance to read some more.

Like Quests from the Infinite Staircase, it opened my eyes to the possibilities of Dungeons and Dragons again. As I read, I thought of the sessions around the table with a play group and I smiled. Now, I just need to find a playgroup. Hey, sometimes you put the cart before the horse.

The Story

Of everything in the book, this impressed me the least. I mean, it’s fine. It’s just the typical Dungeons and Dragons trope of betrayal. Two dudes become powerful. One becomes an even more powerful lich in death. They disagree, fight, more or less destroy or incapacitate one another. And, now, they vow to finish the job.

*Look how pleasant the two despots appear as they plot the destruction of Oerth.*

I forgive them for the mundaneness (mundanity? I guess neither are words according to my autocorrect) of the story. As I said while we watched Superman II the other day, tropes start somewhere. So, at the time, perhaps the story felt more original or fresh. One part that I found interesting and funny about the story is that it really gets its start after a Wish spell gone awry.

The Setting

This is where things start to get good. The adventure takes place on many different worlds and planes. You travel from Neverwinter to Pandemonium. In between, you visit legendary spaces like Eberron, Barovia, and Krynn. I tried to restrain myself some because I don’t want to spoil everything. But, safe to say that you won’t be disappointed with the settings to each adventure.

Personally, I want to read more about the adventures set in Barovia and Krynn. Those who know me know that I grew up a huge fan of the Dragonlance books. Heck I mentioned them again in the introduction. So, to have another chance to visit those worlds and characters again makes me very happy.

The Characters

Again, without spoiling too much, they went all out on this one. While I read through the character dossier, I said, “Wow. This is a list of some of the most legendary characters in Dungeons and Dragons.” Quinn replied, “We should play Dungeons and Dragons again. We could play with our friends.” Smiling, I said, “I would love to play Dungeons and Dragons again. That’s exactly what I was thinking.”

Again, I restrain myself. You don’t understand how difficult that is for me. I care nothing for spoilers, but I understand that others do, so I won’t give much away. Let me just say that if you recognize a name from Dungeons and Dragons, they make an appearance in this volume. I’ll leave it at that.

The Verdict

I know some oldheads often complain about the fifth edition of Dungeons and Dragons. (a) Oldheads complaining about something new isn’t new and (2) it took me a while to warm to the new edition myself. I went back to 2, 3, and even 3.5 before finally setting on 5 as my chosen way to play the game. More recently, books like Vecna: Eve of Ruin put my mind at ease and make me think the game is in good hands.

On the Tabletop

Quests from the Infinite Staircase

August 21, 2024 Noob of All Trades 1 Comment

Introduction

As part of our celebration of 10 years of the page, I wrote an article about the tabletop games of present. In that article, I mentioned that I don’t play as much Dungeons and Dragons as I used to when I was younger or even a year or two ago when Quinn and I played a few times as a duo. As a result, I wanted to talk about two sourcebooks I recently picked up. One of them is Quests from the Infinite Staircase.

Before I get into the artille, I want to talk some about the possibility that things might be looking up in the D&D department. While I read the two books to prepare for the article, Quinn and Christine worked on a puzzle while we listened to records. Yes, we are that kind of hipster family. Anyway, he casually said, “We should play D&D again.” I agreed because, honestly, I’ve been thinking about it more and more. So, look forward to articles and videos hopefully!

The Infinite Staircase

While I used and played adventures in the other realms when I was younger, they never emphasized the “multiverse” as they are now. So, like the city of Sigil, I never knew about the Infinite Staircase. As a result, I loved reading about the lore behind it. I think if we start a new adventure at some point, I might use this as my starting point.

It gives a good overview of the things that make Dungeons and Dragons interesting. It also opens the possibility of the multiverse right away. That way, if they want to travel to a different realm, this makes it easily accessible to do so. Also, the other book I ordered deals with multiple worlds, so maybe we can play that one after we finish these adventures.

Nafas

My favorite, and I imagine for others too, part of the book was the introduction (to me, at least) of Nafas. The genie on the cover of the book, Nafas acts as a steward of the staircase. Moreover, he also tells great tales of heroism and might even grant a wish if you’re lucky. As a dungeon master who enjoys storytelling, he makes for a fun addition to the campaign.

He just opens up so many cool role playing possibilities. If you remember from the sessions that Quinn and I played, I used part of that to write another adventure that we haven’t yet played. However, I also filed away ideas for other possibilities later when we sit down to play. Nafas opens up almost literally infinite story possibilities for me and whatever group I end up playing with.

The Adventures

The book comes with 6 ready made adventures to get your party started. They range in level from 1 up to 11. While many of them take place in dungeons (makes sense, right?) very few, if any, contain dragons from what I discovered so far. I intend to read through the adventures closer at a later time. But, I read through the excerpts at the beginning of the book and also the “about the original” blurbs that they include for each adventure for those of us who missed them.

Additionally, the adventures scale for dungeon masters as well. The first adventure works for beginning DMs, allowing them some creativity in how they implement the dungeon. Another offers a fun and interesting hook to start the adventure. Yet another requires less hack and slash and more cerebral solutions to problems and one even introduces characters to science fiction elements like robots and futuristic weapons and gadgetry.

The Verdict

Quests from the Infinite Staircase accomplished its goal of making me want to play the game again. Some of the other books I bought, including some surprises (like the Dragonlance update) never moved me to pick them up and play. This one, however, and the other book I plan to discuss on Friday, both have. I can’t wait to get started.

Images courtesy of Dungeons and Dragons and Wizards of the Coast.

On the Tabletop

Tabletop Games of Present

August 20, 2024 Noob of All Trades 1 Comment

Introduction

As my celebration of 10 years of maintaining my own little corner of the internet, I came up with the idea of writing about my past, my present, and the future of gaming. Last week, I wrote about my past (and a little about my present in comic books) and today I start with tabletop games of present.

Most of the tabletop games of past for me took the form of the classics. Games like Uno, Monopoly, Sorry, Backgammon, Chess, and Othello dominated my childhood. When I went to high school, I discovered role playing games. Then, when I went to college, I found Magic the Gathering. Both went dormant during my early adulthood. I never found the time to play D&D or Magic the Gathering.

Board Games of Present

On the other hand, we bought and played a ton of board games over the years with the boys. We obviously started with the classic kids games like Candyland and Chutes and Ladders. Then, we moved on to more complex games. Yahtzee and Pass the Pig became big hits during camping trips. Many laughs were had over Apples to Apples. Cards Against Humanity never interested me because “edgy” comedy that mostly just comes off as sexist or racist in the guise of a joke just isn’t my thing.

To help with content for the web page in the early days, I joined an ill fated and short lived board game subscription box. Never mind, I just searched for it on a whim and it still exists. I swear that it closed up shop. Maybe I just stopped subscribing. Or, maybe, someone bought the web address and brought it back. Ultimately none of that matters. Never mind again. I did some digging and the page appears to just be a placeholder.

The games that came in the box were always fun and entertaining. We played all of them at least once. One of our favorite games that we played several times, Professor Evil and the Citadel of Time, came from one of their boxes. That led to us playing more cooperative games because I never understood the need for competition in the house. It just leads to bad feelings and sore losers. Then again, how can you not be a sore loser? Whatever, just another thing about society that makes no sense to me.

However, last Christmas, I finally caved and bought Catan to try to jump start family game nights again. We tried several times to put together family games nights. Usually, we succeed during school vacations and then after a few weeks, it falls apart. So far, Catan suffered the same fate, but we played it with some friends and had fun, so there’s hope.

Dungeons and Dragons

Quinn and I famously played a couple sessions of Dungeons and Dragons together. I also tried to put together a family session that, unfortunately, ended in disaster. I just wasn’t in the right frame of mind at the time to be DM and I think I turned them off from the game. Every now and then, I look at one of the local groups or try to put together a club at my current school to scratch that itch. I ran the D&D club at my previous school for two years and it grew exponentially in that time. I give Stranger Things most of the credit for that, but the kids said they liked the way I ran things, too.

So, instead, I order each new source book at it released. I most recently ordered Vecna: Eve of Ruin and Quests from the Infinite Staircase. Maybe I will take some time tomorrow to write up a quick review of them to give you more of an idea of where I am with Dungeons and Dragons at this point in my life.

Magic the Gathering

Chris and I played MtG monthly or semi-monthly for quite a few years. Mostly just kitchen table stuff to have fun, but the games got pretty intense, too. More recently, we hooked up with another guy and played a few rounds of Commander. Unfortunately, that group is currently in hiatus, too, right now. But, as the weather gets colder and we spend more time at home, maybe we can get a few games going.

Otherwise, I only play Magic the Gathering Arena daily to finish quests and collect rewards. I stopped purchasing new sets because, frankly, people are right. They release too many and the cards just end up sitting in a binder or boxes. I shifted that money to my Warhammer subscription and enjoy that so much more.

Warhammer: Age of Sigmar

Most of my tabletop games of present are currently miniatures. I know now that I made the right decision. Chris came over this weekend and one of the things I suggested was playing Warhammer. I also thought about playing D&D with the boys, but none of them were home. Anyway, I showed off the models and he seemed impressed by them. We both agreed that the money spent on the models made more sense that the Magic cards as I just discussed.

We never actually played the game, but he sent me a reddit post later on that night about one of the really cool models that are out there. So, next time we get together, I think I might suggest actually sitting down and playing. I still don’t have all of the rules, but rules are just there so that people can rules lawyer one another to death.

The Verdict

I started this page because both Chris and I loved games. Growing up, so did the kids. But, I also worked ridiculous hours for most of that time. While the page never reached the audience as I hoped, I still like having the various creative outlets that it offers. And, I continue to search for the chances to play these tabletop games of present.

On the Tabletop

Tabletop Games of Past

August 13, 2024 Noob of All Trades 2 Comments

Introduction

As of the 27th of this month, 2 Generations Gaming will be 10 years old. We’ve written 772 posts (this makes 773), released 93 podcast episodes, and recorded a bunch of videos. That’s an awful lot of talking to ourselves. And yet, I continue to write and record. In fact, I have the final 3 episodes of the Poppy War waiting to be recorded this week. In addition, I want to start recording the daily YouTube video again starting next month. As a result I need to put together the new overlay. In the meantime, this month I want to celebrate games. Today, tabletop games of the past.

Board Games

Growing up, we played mostly the classic board games. I remember Monopoly, Yahtzee, Uno, and those types of games. I can’t remember if any other board games existed at the time. I imagine that none of the modern types of games ever crossed my path if they even existed. Games like Ticket to Ride, Catan, or the cooperative games that we’ve played as a family. But, I need to save that for the “present” article.

I think that my favorite game depended on the company. I remember playing Rummikub with my grandmother and cousins. With my parents and brothers, I remember mostly Yahtzee and Uno with some Monopoly, Sorry, and sometimes Othello and Chess. Then, I also have distinct memories of playing Yahtzee with a cousin on my mother’s side. If pressed, I’d have to say that Othello is my favorite game as a kid.

Magic the Gathering

Magic the Gathering came much later in life. The game released in 1993, the year that I graduated high school and went to college. I found a small group of guys who knew about the game and introduced me. We played semi-regularly until I dropped out of school. After moving out to Massachusetts, I bought a box of Ice Age cards and kept a collection with some decks. I tried to teach Christine using Portal decks during our trip to Disneyland, but it didn’t take at the time. Then, I met Chris, we started hanging out and discovered that we both had a history with the game. That led to several epic kitchen table battles that continue to this day.

Role Playing Games

You know this story. My mother bought me a Dragonlance Novel. I mistakenly, for much of the book, read it as the Eleven nations, not the Elven nations. In either case, the book hooked me and got me interested in the game. My friends and I played weekly in the basement of one of my friends like the dorks from Stranger Things. I kept the game going with one friend in particular for a couple of years.

I also combined my love for Marvel comics and role playing games by picking up this little gem when I saw it in the book store. I actually enjoyed this one more than Dungeons and Dragons in a lot of ways. But, the rest of the group didn’t agree, so I mostly just made characters and played a few games with the friend mentioned earlier.

Similar to board games, I never branched out to play games other than these two. Only since starting the page and having kids did I learn about the other games and try them out. But, as I said earlier, I’ll talk more about that next week.

The Verdict

I wanted this month to be a celebration of my time in gaming. 10 years is a long time to keep anything going. I’m proud of what I’ve done here even if it hasn’t led to fame on the internet. I’ll keep on keeping on and hope that you enjoyed my travels with tabletop games of the past.

On the Tabletop

Deck of Many Things Review

January 13, 2024 Noob of All Trades Leave a comment

Introduction

As a socially awkward teen outcast by many of my peers, I played Dungeons and Dragons with my friends. So, I’ve been playing the game for well over 30 years now. Even so, the game sometimes surprises me. For instance, I never heard of the Deck of Many Things. That may shock some of you. Let me explain.

We ended up having a few play sessions before the friend group started to grow apart. Those of you who played know the usual outcomes. You either struggle to put together a group or the group disbands in the middle of a campaign. Sometimes both. Then, my adult and family playgroups never happened and became just me and Quinn. So, I’ve played probably less than the average player.

And that’s how you get a video like this where I am pleasantly surprised by my purchase.

The Book of Many Things

Even so, looking at the introduction to the book that comes with the deck makes me slightly embarrassed that I never encountered the deck before. It gives a history of the deck that goes back to the beginning. At some point, I should have ubiquitous piece of lore from the game. Thankfully, the book anticipates my ignorance.

They split the chapters into 5 sections. The first set of chapters gives DMs ideas of how to use the deck in their campaign. The other four sections then go into more detail for a different type of idea. There are chapters on character creation, astrological phenomena, adventure locations, and new monsters and characters to introduce into your games. It even shows you how to use the deck to create random puzzles. Overall, I think I’m going to have a lot of fun with this deck.

The Deck of Many Things

The deck comes with another reference guide. This one shows you how to set up the various spreads for putting together your adventures, characters, or puzzles. It then explains the meaning of each card. Similar to a tarot reading, they explain what upright and reversed mean in each context. Very cool touch.

The deck itself varies in the quality of artwork for each card. Some are highly detailed and vibrant. Others are far too plain. It makes sense in the context that all of the cards are different and represent different things. Some of those things are fantastic and vibrant. Others are not and their art reflects that. Overall, though all of the art is awesome.

These are my three favorite cards for art.

The Verdict

I think this is my favorite purchase so far for Dungeons and Dragons since getting back into the game. I understand now why it became such a popular part of the game over the years. No doubt that it becomes the one resource that I use more than the others. Heck, I already have an idea to scan the cards and maybe try to write some kind of app that automates the process for me. I’ve been trying to practice more coding every week. That gives me the opportunity to do so.

On the Tabletop

Tabletop Game of the Year 2023

December 29, 2023 Noob of All Trades Leave a comment

Introduction

We finish our year here at 2 Generations Gaming with a renewed sense of purpose. I started a new podcast. We rebooted the original one. I updated our YouTube on a more regular basis. And the page got a fresh new look and content every month. Next year marks 10 years of the page and I want to bring even more. But, for today, we finish with the tabletop game of the year 2023.

For once, I actually played more tabletop than console or PC games. I wanted to say electronic games there, but I played plenty on my phone. Mostly just Hearthstone, Marvel SNAP, and MTG Arena, but daily. So, when I wrote the contender’s article the other day, I mentioned five or six games.

The Contenders

Before I reveal the big winner, let’s take a TLDR look at the contenders.

3 Honorable Mentions: Shadowrun, Pathfinder, and Dreams and Machines all received only a tutorial play through or read through. So, while I enjoyed all of them, I can’t really give them proper consideration this year. Maybe next year.
Dungeons and Dragons: One of my favorite tabletop games from when I was a kid. I tried sharing it with my family a couple of years ago, but that failed miserably. Then, Quinn and I played through a duets adventure and he got hooked. I will try again on Sunday when Aiden’s girlfriend is over for New Year’s Eve.
Magic the Gathering: MTG, it’s not just for phones anymore! Chris, Jason and I, as mentioned more than once here, put together a playgroup for Commander that met twice or three times. Chris is coming over tomorrow to record the podcast and I suggested getting the boys together to play some Commander, too.
Warhammer 40k: Like the honorable mention, I only played this once for a tutorial lesson. But, it kick started my newfound obsession with miniatures. I even painted a few and entered a painting contest. I signed up for another one, but a time commitment prevented me from going.

Tabletop Game of the Year 2023

Magic the Gathering has been part of my life since the beginning of the game. I played during my brief first college career. I tried to show Christine how to play with the Portal decks. When Chris and I started hanging out and we both realized what nerds we were, we played every couple of months. Now, with another friend to play on a semi-regular basis and the possibility of getting my kids involved, Magic the Gathering is my obvious choice for tabletop game of the year.

The Verdict

Next year, I want to try again to play Dungeons and Dragons with the family. I just found a New Year’s Eve adventure for Sunday. I’m hoping that leads to more adventures next year. Perhaps it even becomes a monthly thing and next year I get to tell you all about it. One step at a time, young grasshopper…

On the Tabletop

Tabletop Gaming Contenders 2023

December 27, 2023 Noob of All Trades 1 Comment

Introduction

As mentioned in the previous article, 2023 brought many opportunities for tabletop gaming. Given that, there obviously should be more tabletop gaming contenders 2023 for our game of the year. While technically true, many of the tabletop games I tried only as a solo venture. These games are intended to be played with friends and family.

You get a group together. Put out some snacks. Start with the intention of being serious this time. Eventually, one of you breaks character and you all laugh hysterically. Things didn’t go as planned, but you don’t care. You’re having fun with the people you love.

Honorable Mention

Three games I played strictly on a trial basis, Pathfinder, Shadowrun, and Dreams and Machines. And, I never truly played Shadowrun. I only perused the reading material that I received through one of my Humble Bundles that I purchased several months ago. As you may know, Humble is both a boon and a bane to cheap gamers like myself. You can buy many games for cheap. Then, unfortunately, many of them sit on the shelf (both real and virtual) and get forgotten.

The other two games, I ordered physical copies. I think Pathfinder came as part of another Bundle. Dreams and Machines crossed my news feed and I purchased it. 40 or 50 bucks. Not bad, and made by the same people who made the Fallout tabletop RPG I bought a few years ago. Of the two, I liked Pathfinder better. The play style of Dreams and Machines is more unique and story driven. Pathfinder, though, is based on the D&D mechanics and, as a result, plays more familiar to me. The true test, though, comes if I can convince my family to play either.

Dungeons and Dragons

Quinn and I played Dungeons and Dragons last year after I researched ways to play the game as a duo. I put together a dinosaur adventure for us and we played through. As I wrote the adventure, I got a quick idea for a follow up and wrote that one, too. We haven’t sat down again to play, but I think I might try to get him to sit down this weekend and then I can give you a report next month. I also reviewed each of the new books that released this year until the latest release, Deck of Many Things, delayed until next month. I’ll pick up the reviews again then.

Magic the Gathering

Other than just playing Arena, as I’ve written about a few times, Chris, Jason, and I formed a playgroup for Commander. Both Chris and I enjoy the format. Jason tolerates it for the sake of being able to play Magic. We played twice this year. I hope that our schedules align and we get to play every other month or so in 2024. While I’m terrible at the game, I have fun and enjoy hanging out with the two of them That’s my Christmas wish, Santa.

Warhammer 40k

I only played the game once. Somehow I acquired a beginner box with a Space Marine and Necron army. I painted the Necrons and thought long and hard about which Space Marine faction to paint. I never actually settled on one, so they lie in my pile of shame. And, that, primarily is why I’m considering this one for game of the year. Even though I only played once, it inspired me to assemble and paint more than a dozen of my models. Plus, now that I work closer to home, I have more time than ever to paint the rest. I think my next project will be the Space Marines and then I can run another tutorial for the page.

The Verdict

Three tabletop gaming contenders 2023 enter. One leaves on Friday as our Tabletop Game of the Year. But, one more thing before I leave you in suspense for a few days. I completely forgot to mention that Quinn and I picked up Roll Player adventures again and played through a couple more of the books. If we played that more, it would definitely be on this list, too.

Introduction

Magic the Gathering

Dungeons and Dragons

Warhammer

The Verdict

Introduction

The Story

The Setting

The Characters

The Verdict

Introduction

The Infinite Staircase

Nafas

The Adventures

The Verdict

Introduction

Board Games of Present

Dungeons and Dragons

Magic the Gathering

Warhammer: Age of Sigmar

The Verdict

Introduction

Board Games

Magic the Gathering

Role Playing Games

The Verdict

Introduction

The Book of Many Things

The Deck of Many Things

The Verdict

Introduction

The Contenders

Tabletop Game of the Year 2023

The Verdict

Introduction

Honorable Mention

Dungeons and Dragons

Magic the Gathering

Warhammer 40k

The Verdict

Celebrate the Holidays with 2 Generations Gaming