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/2012/02/dice-of-doom-podcast-037-lady-blackbird-religion-in-rpgs-and-dealing-with-a-large-gaming-group/ http://diceofdoom.com/blog/2012/02/dice-of-doom-podcast-037-lady-blackbird-religion-in-rpgs-and-dealing-with-a-large-gaming-group/#comments Mon, 06 Feb 2012 11:12:02 +0000 RupertG http://diceofdoom.com/blog/?p=3642 In this episode of the DoDcast we discuss our early impressions of Lady Blackbird, discuss the role of religions in roleplaying games and discuss ways of dealing with a large gaming group. Continue reading →]]> http://diceofdoom.com/blog/2012/02/dice-of-doom-podcast-037-lady-blackbird-religion-in-rpgs-and-dealing-with-a-large-gaming-group/feed/ 3 http://diceofdoom.com/blog/2012/01/dungeons-dragons-5th-edition-announced-dnd5e/ http://diceofdoom.com/blog/2012/01/dungeons-dragons-5th-edition-announced-dnd5e/#comments Mon, 09 Jan 2012 22:12:31 +0000 RupertG http://diceofdoom.com/blog/?p=3617 Today, with very little surprise, Wizards of the Coast announced that they were working on the 5th edition of the venerable game Dungeons & Dragons. Rumours of the announcement have been swirling through the Internet for a while now, particularly after it was revealed that veteran D&D game designer Monte Cook had rejoined the R&D Team. Continue reading →]]> http://diceofdoom.com/blog/2012/01/dungeons-dragons-5th-edition-announced-dnd5e/feed/ 3 http://diceofdoom.com/blog/2012/01/confessions-of-a-roleplaying-book-collector/ http://diceofdoom.com/blog/2012/01/confessions-of-a-roleplaying-book-collector/#comments Sun, 01 Jan 2012 19:00:09 +0000 Guest http://diceofdoom.com/blog/?p=3608 Once again I was looking, lovingly, over my collection of roleplaying books. As I went through them, I discovered that there was a book I hadn't bought yet from the Dungeons & Dragons 4th Edition set. I immediately became anxious that my collection wasn't complete. It had become important that I had a set, a complete set and I had found that it was less than it should be. Continue reading →]]> http://diceofdoom.com/blog/2012/01/confessions-of-a-roleplaying-book-collector/feed/ 1 http://diceofdoom.com/blog/2011/12/dice-of-doom-podcast-036-eclipse-phase-screwing-characters-tragedy-ecology-and-dwarven-womens-grooming-habits/ http://diceofdoom.com/blog/2011/12/dice-of-doom-podcast-036-eclipse-phase-screwing-characters-tragedy-ecology-and-dwarven-womens-grooming-habits/#comments Tue, 20 Dec 2011 13:18:52 +0000 RupertG http://diceofdoom.com/blog/?p=3601 Eclipse Phase review, deliberately screwing with your players for plot, tragedy as a campaign genre, is a realistic campaign ecology important, and the age old question - beards and female dwarfs. Continue reading →]]> http://diceofdoom.com/blog/2011/12/dice-of-doom-podcast-036-eclipse-phase-screwing-characters-tragedy-ecology-and-dwarven-womens-grooming-habits/feed/ 9 http://diceofdoom.com/blog/2011/11/warhammer-magic-guide-lore-of-heavens/ http://diceofdoom.com/blog/2011/11/warhammer-magic-guide-lore-of-heavens/#comments Fri, 18 Nov 2011 08:51:00 +0000 Ellisthion http://diceofdoom.com/blog/?p=3589 The Lore of Heavens is an averagely powerful spell Lore in Warhammer Fantasy Battles, with a mix of Augments, Hexes, and Direct Damage. It notably features the (in)famous Comet of Casandora spell. It has an interesting selection of spells for both defensive and offensive purposes. It is somewhat a jack-of-all-trades Lore. Whilst primarily used by those who have no choice, like Skink Priests, the Lore of Heavens has some interesting options available, particularly for movement control and area denial, and can perform well in the hands of Level 1-2 Wizards. Continue reading →]]> http://diceofdoom.com/blog/2011/11/warhammer-magic-guide-lore-of-heavens/feed/ 0 http://diceofdoom.com/blog/2011/11/minecraft-pocket-edition-for-ios-review/ http://diceofdoom.com/blog/2011/11/minecraft-pocket-edition-for-ios-review/#comments Fri, 18 Nov 2011 06:01:24 +0000 RupertG http://diceofdoom.com/blog/?p=3592 The port of Minecraft to iOS has been a long and uncomfortable wait for many. Despite an original announcement stating that iOS was going to be first off the rank, Android pipped iDevices to the post when Minecraft Pocket Edition was announced for the Xperia Play. Thankfully, for those of you with an iOS enabled device, the wait is over and you can now enjoy the fruits of Mojang's labour in the form of a much cutdown version of everyone's favourite sandboxed game. Continue reading →]]> http://diceofdoom.com/blog/2011/11/minecraft-pocket-edition-for-ios-review/feed/ 4 http://diceofdoom.com/blog/2011/10/dice-of-doom-podcast-035-eclipse-phase-first-impressions-when-good-rules-go-bad-and-polarising-games/ http://diceofdoom.com/blog/2011/10/dice-of-doom-podcast-035-eclipse-phase-first-impressions-when-good-rules-go-bad-and-polarising-games/#comments Thu, 27 Oct 2011 11:23:54 +0000 RupertG http://diceofdoom.com/blog/?p=3576 In this gripping episode of the DoDcast we discuss our first impressions of Eclipse Phase, debate what to do when good rules go bad (or, in Paul's case, what the hell to do when you stuff up) and we look at polarising roleplaying games into left and right. Continue reading →]]> http://diceofdoom.com/blog/2011/10/dice-of-doom-podcast-035-eclipse-phase-first-impressions-when-good-rules-go-bad-and-polarising-games/feed/ 2 http://diceofdoom.com/blog/2011/10/post-by-band-of-misfits-discussing-how-to-switch-up-your-skill-checks-in-dnd/ http://diceofdoom.com/blog/2011/10/post-by-band-of-misfits-discussing-how-to-switch-up-your-skill-checks-in-dnd/#comments Thu, 20 Oct 2011 22:13:26 +0000 RupertG http://diceofdoom.com/blog/?p=3563 Recently, in one of our podcasts, we discussed the idea of rolling your skill checks first in response to a challenge and THEN roleplaying the resulting success or failure. For example, you would roll your diplomacy check, and then you'd roleplay the resulting success or failure based on the result. The idea has been picked up and run with by the guys at Roving Band of Misfits who discuss it at length, along with some very useful rule interpretations for implementing it in your D&D 4e game. It is well worth the read. Continue reading →]]> http://diceofdoom.com/blog/2011/10/post-by-band-of-misfits-discussing-how-to-switch-up-your-skill-checks-in-dnd/feed/ 0 http://diceofdoom.com/blog/2011/10/dice-of-doom-podcast-034-dragon-warriors-review-tpks-whos-to-blame-and-win-your-character-a-set-of-steak-knives/ http://diceofdoom.com/blog/2011/10/dice-of-doom-podcast-034-dragon-warriors-review-tpks-whos-to-blame-and-win-your-character-a-set-of-steak-knives/#comments Wed, 05 Oct 2011 04:13:33 +0000 RupertG http://diceofdoom.com/blog/?p=3553 In this episode of the Dice of Doom podcast we review Dragon Warriors through hopefully not particularly rose coloured glasses. We discuss the question "Total Party Kills:Who's to blame?" and what's more, identify exactly who it is. We also, as part of Play a New RPG Month, are offering you the chance to win your Character a set of Steak Knives in game. Continue reading →]]> http://diceofdoom.com/blog/2011/10/dice-of-doom-podcast-034-dragon-warriors-review-tpks-whos-to-blame-and-win-your-character-a-set-of-steak-knives/feed/ 0 http://diceofdoom.com/blog/2011/09/the-big-bang-theory-mystic-warlords-of-kaa-available-on-facebook/ http://diceofdoom.com/blog/2011/09/the-big-bang-theory-mystic-warlords-of-kaa-available-on-facebook/#comments Tue, 27 Sep 2011 03:48:31 +0000 RupertG http://diceofdoom.com/blog/?p=3539 First introduced in The Big Bang Theory episode "The Creepy Candy Coating Corollary" in season 3, the (until now) fictional collectible card game Mystic Warlords of Ka'a has intrigued nerds as to how the game might be played and whether or not Enchanted Bunny is really that useless. Well, now is your chance to find out. The game has been released as a Facebook game. So far, it seems pretty polished, with tutorials, single play, duels, collectible cards (which cost Facebook Coins) and the ability to challenge your friends. You can install the game to your profile by clicking this link. Continue reading →]]> http://diceofdoom.com/blog/2011/09/the-big-bang-theory-mystic-warlords-of-kaa-available-on-facebook/feed/ 1 http://diceofdoom.com/blog/2011/09/play-a-new-rpg-month-update/ http://diceofdoom.com/blog/2011/09/play-a-new-rpg-month-update/#comments Sun, 25 Sep 2011 21:01:24 +0000 RupertG http://diceofdoom.com/blog/?p=3528 It's less than a week till the official start of Play a New RPG Month so I thought I'd write an update on what has been going on in preparation for the month. It has been pretty humbling (and downright awesome) to see people that we don't know discussing PANRPG independently of our involvement. This means that the idea is spreading, and we couldn't be happier. Continue reading →]]> http://diceofdoom.com/blog/2011/09/play-a-new-rpg-month-update/feed/ 3 http://diceofdoom.com/blog/2011/09/dice-of-doom-podcast-033-spirit-of-the-century-review-dragon-warriors-first-impressions-and-do-rules-support-descriptive-combat/ http://diceofdoom.com/blog/2011/09/dice-of-doom-podcast-033-spirit-of-the-century-review-dragon-warriors-first-impressions-and-do-rules-support-descriptive-combat/#comments Mon, 19 Sep 2011 12:24:27 +0000 RupertG http://diceofdoom.com/blog/?p=3525 In this episode of the Dice of Doom podcast we review Spirit of the Century, talking about our experiences with stunts and aspects. We also discuss our first impressions of playing Dragon Warriors which is a flashback from our gaming past. As part of our discussion on Dragon Warriors we get sidetracked (egads! who would have seen that coming!) and we spend quite a bit of time discussing how rules describe combat, should they describe combat? and whether it's up to the players to look after that aspect of the game or not. Continue reading →]]> http://diceofdoom.com/blog/2011/09/dice-of-doom-podcast-033-spirit-of-the-century-review-dragon-warriors-first-impressions-and-do-rules-support-descriptive-combat/feed/ 8 http://diceofdoom.com/blog/2011/09/guest-appearance-on-roving-band-of-misfits-level-up-podcast/ http://diceofdoom.com/blog/2011/09/guest-appearance-on-roving-band-of-misfits-level-up-podcast/#comments Wed, 14 Sep 2011 12:59:08 +0000 RupertG http://diceofdoom.com/blog/?p=3520 I recently had the very good fortune to appear as a guest on the Roving Band of Misfits Level Up Podcast in a bonus episode to discuss the Play a New RPG project. A lot of fun was had by all. Click on through to the Roving Band of Misfits site to listen to the show. Continue reading →]]> http://diceofdoom.com/blog/2011/09/guest-appearance-on-roving-band-of-misfits-level-up-podcast/feed/ 0 http://diceofdoom.com/blog/2011/09/dismemberment-and-permanent-injuries-in-dnd/ http://diceofdoom.com/blog/2011/09/dismemberment-and-permanent-injuries-in-dnd/#comments Wed, 07 Sep 2011 23:00:19 +0000 Ellisthion http://diceofdoom.com/blog/?p=3510 We recently had a great question on Twitter by IvPalmer: “Have you guys ever came across a dismemberment case in D&D? A player lost an arm last session and I'd like to give him options.” As it happens, yes, we have, and, like you, we wondered what exactly to do about it. The rules don’t give an answer… or do they? Continue reading →]]> http://diceofdoom.com/blog/2011/09/dismemberment-and-permanent-injuries-in-dnd/feed/ 24 http://diceofdoom.com/blog/2011/09/dice-of-doom-podcast-032-riddles-and-puzzles-in-rpgs-favourite-components-of-rpgs-dice-and-randomness-in-games/ http://diceofdoom.com/blog/2011/09/dice-of-doom-podcast-032-riddles-and-puzzles-in-rpgs-favourite-components-of-rpgs-dice-and-randomness-in-games/#comments Wed, 07 Sep 2011 12:10:27 +0000 RupertG http://diceofdoom.com/blog/?p=3503 In this episode we discuss using riddles and puzzles in your roleplaying games, our favourite components of RPGs, are dice important and is a linear or bell curve of randomness more 'heroic'? Continue reading →]]> http://diceofdoom.com/blog/2011/09/dice-of-doom-podcast-032-riddles-and-puzzles-in-rpgs-favourite-components-of-rpgs-dice-and-randomness-in-games/feed/ 6 http://diceofdoom.com/blog/2011/09/play-a-new-rpg-month/ http://diceofdoom.com/blog/2011/09/play-a-new-rpg-month/#comments Tue, 06 Sep 2011 05:05:47 +0000 RupertG http://diceofdoom.com/blog/?p=3495 After finding out how enjoyable and fun it was to play so many different games, we decided we would start a new project. So today we are announcing Play a New RPG Month. OK, we've been talking about it on the podcast for ages, but this is the hard, do it now, get out there and make it happen, announcement. We want to encourage as many gaming groups as we can to break the routine and try out something new. If you are a group that already plays a lot of games, we'd still like you to join us. Let's make a big show of it and see what happens. Continue reading →]]> http://diceofdoom.com/blog/2011/09/play-a-new-rpg-month/feed/ 3 http://diceofdoom.com/blog/2011/08/dice-of-doom-podcast-031-refocusing-a-game-that-has-lost-its-way-should-a-gm-controlling-hp-in-combat-and-the-role-of-the-gm/ http://diceofdoom.com/blog/2011/08/dice-of-doom-podcast-031-refocusing-a-game-that-has-lost-its-way-should-a-gm-controlling-hp-in-combat-and-the-role-of-the-gm/#comments Tue, 30 Aug 2011 20:39:42 +0000 RupertG http://diceofdoom.com/blog/?p=3486 In this episode we talk about ways to get a game back on track, we answer a question "Could a GM control the HPs of the players in a game to promote better roleplaying?", and we summarise our thoughts on the role of the GM. Continue reading →]]> http://diceofdoom.com/blog/2011/08/dice-of-doom-podcast-031-refocusing-a-game-that-has-lost-its-way-should-a-gm-controlling-hp-in-combat-and-the-role-of-the-gm/feed/ 3 http://diceofdoom.com/blog/2011/08/symatt-draws-toki-and-oinkers-for-me/ http://diceofdoom.com/blog/2011/08/symatt-draws-toki-and-oinkers-for-me/#comments Tue, 30 Aug 2011 11:00:14 +0000 RupertG http://diceofdoom.com/blog/?p=3475 Symatt brings one of my favourite characters that I used to play in a D&D 3.5 campaign years ago to life. Continue reading →]]> http://diceofdoom.com/blog/2011/08/symatt-draws-toki-and-oinkers-for-me/feed/ 1 http://diceofdoom.com/blog/2011/08/gurps-review/ http://diceofdoom.com/blog/2011/08/gurps-review/#comments Fri, 26 Aug 2011 11:30:40 +0000 Ellisthion http://diceofdoom.com/blog/?p=3431 We've been keen to play GURPS for many, many, many years now and the Grand Gaming Experiment gave us the opportunity to give it a shot. So with all this anticipation and excitement, did it live up to our expectations? Continue reading →]]> http://diceofdoom.com/blog/2011/08/gurps-review/feed/ 29 http://diceofdoom.com/blog/2011/08/the-angry-dm-challenges-you-to-solve-a-puzzle/ http://diceofdoom.com/blog/2011/08/the-angry-dm-challenges-you-to-solve-a-puzzle/#comments Mon, 22 Aug 2011 23:26:27 +0000 RupertG http://diceofdoom.com/blog/?p=3461 Our good friend and all round good guy The Angry DM is running a competition on his site in a most interesting fashion. To win the prize you need to solve a puzzle given in the form of a script from a gaming table. All the clues are present in the conversations of the players and GM. You need to piece together what the party should have done to solve the riddle. Continue reading →]]> http://diceofdoom.com/blog/2011/08/the-angry-dm-challenges-you-to-solve-a-puzzle/feed/ 14