DnD 5th Edition: Starter Set Artwork

There's not much to be said for the contents of the DnD 5th Edition Starter Set, since WOTC has yet to reveal those details, although we know it will contain a 32 page player manual and 64 page referee manual. 

We also know what the cover will look like.  Thoughts on the cover?  It does not stray far from the Basic Set covers that have come before, but does it capture the essence of Dungeons and Dragons? 

While it fails to satisfy my standards for Dungeons and Dragons art, I leave it to you to draw your own conclusions.

Here are Basic Dungeons and Dragons Set covers, from the preceding versions, which I display in reverse order of publication.

 

 

Fixing My Catan Board

I almost backed the Settlers of Catan Board Kickstarter.  In the end I decided to wait for the board's retail release.  The economics of the kickstarter project seemed too optimistic, considering the amazon and kickstarter fees and shipping costs.

I finally bought a 6-player board from one of my favorite retailers, The Sentry Box in Calgary, while we were there visiting  friends.  The catan board is great, but it is a uniform blue color, where the interior hexes should be tan to match the resource tiles.

To fix this, I picked up some spray paint, taped the edges, laid down some spray paint, and ended up with the board, below.  The blank catan tile on the right was used for color matching, as we had a challenging time finding the right tan color to match the original catan tile components.

I think we did pretty good at matching the color, and now we've got a nice portable catan board for game nights.

Modern Microgames: Dark City Games

If you like the old Metagaming and other microgames, or The Fantasy Trip, you should check out Dark City Games, which produces pre-programmed adventures for a Melee / Wizard / TFT retroclone called Legends of the Ancient World.  I've already purchased seven of the Dark City adventures, and the rest look fantastic.  Here are the adventures I've already purchased.

And the ones below are on my to-buy list.  Check out Dark City Games!

Microgame Collection

I finally got around to unpacking my Microgame collection this evening.  It has been tucked away in three boxes in the basement since our move back in August, and I'd forgotten about several titles that had recently been added to the collection, including "A Fistful Of Turkeys."

There are a few titles left to acquire, but that exercise is not terribly urgent.  One of those has no placeholder at the moment: 20th Maine.  It is not the most expensive one to purchase, but several have sold on eBay without me paying attention to the listings.

Nash the Slash: Rest In Peace

Saddened to hear of the passing of Nash the Slash. I'm sure he's in American heaven right now, playing his electric violin and partying hard.

Demon: Grim Reaper

The Grim Reaper is a new Demon for a Magic Realm expansion. 

His vulnerability is one step up from Tremendous: that is, he cannot be killed except perhaps by a lucky missile attack, a poisoned or magical blade, or perhaps a lucky lightning or fiery blast attack.  The Exorcize spell will kill him, but he is immune to Transform and Absorb Essence.

Miniatures Painting: Paint Brush Kickstarter

I make no apologies for pledging towards this Painting Brush Kickstarter.  It's being run by Games and Gears, who I understand are a reputable brush and hobby accessory company. 

Having suffered through various attempts at painting miniatures using Citadel and other substandard paint brushes, I've finally decided to buy some decent paint brushes to see what sort of impact better brushes have on my painting results.

I've also pledged for some of the synthetic brushes and the paint brush stand that are being offering as add-ons.

If you are dissatisfied with your current paint brushes and are thinking of stepping up your painting game, you might want to check this Kickstarter out.

Divining Rod: Extra Search Treasure For Magic Realm

Magic Realm already has an extra search item among the Treasures available to loot or buy:  The Magic Spectacles.  With an expansion to the game, it is worth adding a second extra search Treasure.

What could be more appropriate than a Divining Rod as a second extra search Treasure?

Enchanted Crossroads For Magic Realm

I posted the Crossroads earlier.  Here is the Crossroads tile again, this time with both the enchanted side and the regular side.  When enchanted, clearing 3 supplies Purple magic, clearings 1 and 6 supply Gold magic, and clearings 2, 4 and 5 supply grey magic.

Magic Realm: Hills

Here's an example of a Hills tile for an expansion to Magic Realm: the Defile.

Depending on the direction of travel through the Hill, you may be forced to travel over hilly terrain, rather than travelling around or through a valley, thus the Hill clearing in one of the two directions.