http://diceofdoom.com/blog The Dice of Doom is a blog about gaming, being a gamer and general interest content suitable for nerds. Mon, 06 Feb 2012 11:12:02 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 http://diceofdoom.com/blog/2011/05/the-most-terrifying-plush-cthulhu-you-will-ever-see-also-most-awesome/ http://diceofdoom.com/blog/2011/05/the-most-terrifying-plush-cthulhu-you-will-ever-see-also-most-awesome/#comments Sat, 21 May 2011 02:40:46 +0000 RupertG http://diceofdoom.com/blog/?p=3229 If ever you were able to play with the DNA of Pikachu and Cthulhu, well… This would be the result… In plush form…Similar Posts: “I, Cthulhu” by Neil Gaiman Symatt draws Cthulhu for us as part of his CounterSketch project … Continue reading →]]> http://diceofdoom.com/blog/2011/05/the-most-terrifying-plush-cthulhu-you-will-ever-see-also-most-awesome/feed/ 1 http://diceofdoom.com/blog/2010/08/horror-roleplaying-part-4-zombies/ http://diceofdoom.com/blog/2010/08/horror-roleplaying-part-4-zombies/#comments Thu, 05 Aug 2010 06:46:16 +0000 Cuchulain http://diceofdoom.com/blog/?p=2101 Zombies are one of the all-time great horror sub-genres, and they fit extremely well into almost any setting. There are many different flavours of Zombie, however, and you shouldn’t just automatically choose the most obvious. Continue reading →]]> http://diceofdoom.com/blog/2010/08/horror-roleplaying-part-4-zombies/feed/ 0 http://diceofdoom.com/blog/2010/08/making-the-most-of-magic/ http://diceofdoom.com/blog/2010/08/making-the-most-of-magic/#comments Tue, 03 Aug 2010 05:26:58 +0000 Cuchulain http://diceofdoom.com/blog/?p=2089 How to make the most of magic in your fantasy role-playing game. Advice for spellcasters, dungeon masters and writers. Continue reading →]]> http://diceofdoom.com/blog/2010/08/making-the-most-of-magic/feed/ 15 http://diceofdoom.com/blog/2010/07/horror-roleplaying-part-3-the-vampire/ http://diceofdoom.com/blog/2010/07/horror-roleplaying-part-3-the-vampire/#comments Thu, 29 Jul 2010 06:30:19 +0000 Cuchulain http://diceofdoom.com/blog/?p=2046 The genre of horror is, indeed, a broad one: from vampires to atomic horror, Cthulhu Mythos to slashers and serial killers. In fact, it would be fair to point out that these each constitute sub-genres in their own right, and each needs their own special consideration. I shall endeavour to point out some of the particulars of the most common types – claiming to have an exhaustive list would lead to inevitable ridicule. Continue reading →]]> http://diceofdoom.com/blog/2010/07/horror-roleplaying-part-3-the-vampire/feed/ 4 http://diceofdoom.com/blog/2009/08/4e-monster-manual-2-in-depth-review-and-analysis/ http://diceofdoom.com/blog/2009/08/4e-monster-manual-2-in-depth-review-and-analysis/#comments Sat, 01 Aug 2009 13:18:15 +0000 Ellisthion http://diceofdoom.com/blog/?p=1298 I was a bit apprehensive going into this review, because, whilst the 4E splat books have been pretty darn good so far, some of the 3.0 and 3.5 Monster Manuals were… um… not that great. Fortunately, as you will see, … Continue reading →]]> http://diceofdoom.com/blog/2009/08/4e-monster-manual-2-in-depth-review-and-analysis/feed/ 2 http://diceofdoom.com/blog/2009/05/upcoming-articles-monster-of-the-week-index/ http://diceofdoom.com/blog/2009/05/upcoming-articles-monster-of-the-week-index/#comments Sat, 16 May 2009 15:48:52 +0000 Ellisthion http://diceofdoom.com/blog/?p=1033 As some of you may have noticed, Monster of the Week has lapsed. In order to keep things fresh and interesting, I have decided to discontinue it for the moment, and focus on providing a greater variety of articles. Some … Continue reading →]]> http://diceofdoom.com/blog/2009/05/upcoming-articles-monster-of-the-week-index/feed/ 2 http://diceofdoom.com/blog/2009/05/monster-of-the-week-basilisks/ http://diceofdoom.com/blog/2009/05/monster-of-the-week-basilisks/#comments Sat, 02 May 2009 04:48:44 +0000 Ellisthion http://diceofdoom.com/blog/?p=996 Basilisks are, like many D&D creatures, a solid mythological creature. Check the Wikipedia entry, it’s quite good. What’s particularly interesting is, apparently, a Cockatrice is a variant of a Basilisk, with more bird than lizard. Anyway, the important thing is, … Continue reading →]]> http://diceofdoom.com/blog/2009/05/monster-of-the-week-basilisks/feed/ 0 http://diceofdoom.com/blog/2009/04/monster-of-the-week-aboleth/ http://diceofdoom.com/blog/2009/04/monster-of-the-week-aboleth/#comments Sat, 25 Apr 2009 08:24:28 +0000 Ellisthion http://diceofdoom.com/blog/?p=990 Aboleths are large and intelligent marine creatures not to be confused with an Axolotl, another strange fishy creature also starting with ‘A’. However, rather than having legs, an Aboleth has psionic powers and another nasty stuff. They look something like … Continue reading →]]> http://diceofdoom.com/blog/2009/04/monster-of-the-week-aboleth/feed/ 4 http://diceofdoom.com/blog/2009/04/monster-of-the-week-goblins/ http://diceofdoom.com/blog/2009/04/monster-of-the-week-goblins/#comments Sat, 11 Apr 2009 15:45:33 +0000 Ellisthion http://diceofdoom.com/blog/?p=977 Goblins are like the eternal minion. Fireball fodder. Unlike Zombies, they can think for themselves, so are perfect for enlisting in huge quantities for random armies. Ever since The Hobbit they’ve been associated with being standard foes, and are thus … Continue reading →]]> http://diceofdoom.com/blog/2009/04/monster-of-the-week-goblins/feed/ 0 http://diceofdoom.com/blog/2009/03/monster-of-the-week-wraiths/ http://diceofdoom.com/blog/2009/03/monster-of-the-week-wraiths/#comments Sat, 28 Mar 2009 01:00:40 +0000 Ellisthion http://diceofdoom.com/blog/?p=954 Wraiths are incorporeal undead, pretty standard in just about any fantasy setting. Their very nature makes them very difficult to injure at all. For a DM, they are a handy monster as both a random encounter, and forcing the players … Continue reading →]]> http://diceofdoom.com/blog/2009/03/monster-of-the-week-wraiths/feed/ 0 http://diceofdoom.com/blog/2009/03/monster-of-the-week-medusa/ http://diceofdoom.com/blog/2009/03/monster-of-the-week-medusa/#comments Sat, 21 Mar 2009 11:02:20 +0000 Ellisthion http://diceofdoom.com/blog/?p=925 I was going to write an article about Cockatrices, having been killed by one in NetHack (a Rogue-like game, more on NetHack later this week). However, I found 4E D&D doesn’t have them… yet. It’s possible they’ll be in the … Continue reading →]]> http://diceofdoom.com/blog/2009/03/monster-of-the-week-medusa/feed/ 0 http://diceofdoom.com/blog/2009/03/monster-of-the-week-vampires/ http://diceofdoom.com/blog/2009/03/monster-of-the-week-vampires/#comments Mon, 16 Mar 2009 04:12:30 +0000 Ellisthion http://diceofdoom.com/blog/?p=914 Another classic creature born of human fear and storytelling, Vampires are a staple in a host of roleplaying games. They are inherently a strong opponent, and a puzzle, all at once. They are intelligent, and can serve in both combat … Continue reading →]]> http://diceofdoom.com/blog/2009/03/monster-of-the-week-vampires/feed/ 6 http://diceofdoom.com/blog/2009/03/monster-of-the-week-hellhound/ http://diceofdoom.com/blog/2009/03/monster-of-the-week-hellhound/#comments Sat, 07 Mar 2009 04:39:47 +0000 Ellisthion http://diceofdoom.com/blog/?p=891 Yay, Hellhounds! I’ve favoured them a little ever since DMing a solo game where the player used Handle Animal to tame one, and I let him keep it as his Animal Companion. Anyway, historically, Man has liked two things: dogs … Continue reading →]]> http://diceofdoom.com/blog/2009/03/monster-of-the-week-hellhound/feed/ 4 http://diceofdoom.com/blog/2009/02/monster-of-the-week-hydras/ http://diceofdoom.com/blog/2009/02/monster-of-the-week-hydras/#comments Sat, 28 Feb 2009 08:29:23 +0000 Ellisthion http://diceofdoom.com/blog/?p=885 From the trials of Heracles, we get a classical monster which is instantly recognisable, and a dangerous opponent. Tough and strong, with enough heads to attack everyone at once, the Hydra is a good “monster-y” monster: it’s only purpose is … Continue reading →]]> http://diceofdoom.com/blog/2009/02/monster-of-the-week-hydras/feed/ 0 http://diceofdoom.com/blog/2009/02/monster-of-the-week-humans-and-pc-races/ http://diceofdoom.com/blog/2009/02/monster-of-the-week-humans-and-pc-races/#comments Sat, 21 Feb 2009 13:50:48 +0000 Ellisthion http://diceofdoom.com/blog/?p=860 Humans, and, to a lesser extent, other player races, are quite handy for use as enemies in many campaigns. I mean, the real world’s done pretty well with just Humans, even without magic! Incredible, yeah. Anyway, in both campaigns set … Continue reading →]]> http://diceofdoom.com/blog/2009/02/monster-of-the-week-humans-and-pc-races/feed/ 0 http://diceofdoom.com/blog/2009/02/monster-of-the-week-ettin/ http://diceofdoom.com/blog/2009/02/monster-of-the-week-ettin/#comments Sat, 14 Feb 2009 05:24:56 +0000 Ellisthion http://diceofdoom.com/blog/?p=836 Originally just a word for a giant, an Ettin is now a two-headed giant or ogre-like creature. The fit a nice niche in D&D: they’re stronger than Ogres, which are a good foe for a low-level party, but they are … Continue reading →]]> http://diceofdoom.com/blog/2009/02/monster-of-the-week-ettin/feed/ 2 http://diceofdoom.com/blog/2009/02/monster-of-the-week-zombies/ http://diceofdoom.com/blog/2009/02/monster-of-the-week-zombies/#comments Sun, 08 Feb 2009 04:22:12 +0000 Ellisthion http://diceofdoom.com/blog/?p=832 Ah, Zombies. A classic creature from various mythologies that, like many others, has been revived through modern film and literature, and is thus standard fare for roleplayer gamers such as us. Ironically, many of the aforementioned reviving pieces are set … Continue reading →]]> http://diceofdoom.com/blog/2009/02/monster-of-the-week-zombies/feed/ 0 http://diceofdoom.com/blog/2009/01/monster-of-the-week-mimic/ http://diceofdoom.com/blog/2009/01/monster-of-the-week-mimic/#comments Sat, 31 Jan 2009 10:39:27 +0000 Ellisthion http://diceofdoom.com/blog/?p=821 The Mimic is a classic monster dating back to the beginning of D&D. It’s a creature that, in standard Gygaxian fashion, tries to kill you despite looking like a piece of furniture. It can assume the shape of just about … Continue reading →]]> http://diceofdoom.com/blog/2009/01/monster-of-the-week-mimic/feed/ 6 http://diceofdoom.com/blog/2009/01/monster-of-the-week-lycanthropes/ http://diceofdoom.com/blog/2009/01/monster-of-the-week-lycanthropes/#comments Sun, 25 Jan 2009 01:19:09 +0000 Ellisthion http://diceofdoom.com/blog/?p=813 Lycanthropes, or Werewolves, are a strong part of our standard mythology. Wolf attacks on humans combined with the human penchant for imagination lead to an obvious result. Oh, look, wolves ate my sheep. It was totally that next door neighbour … Continue reading →]]> http://diceofdoom.com/blog/2009/01/monster-of-the-week-lycanthropes/feed/ 7 http://diceofdoom.com/blog/2008/12/monster-of-the-week-golems/ http://diceofdoom.com/blog/2008/12/monster-of-the-week-golems/#comments Tue, 23 Dec 2008 07:16:07 +0000 Ellisthion http://diceofdoom.com/blog/?p=770 (Er, Monster of the Month, due to sickness and the whole Christmas thing) Golems are a classic part of D&D. Everyone knows the deal: you find a statue with massive eye gems, you pry the gems out, and the statue … Continue reading →]]> http://diceofdoom.com/blog/2008/12/monster-of-the-week-golems/feed/ 0